The Boarding House

By: Darkest Ember

Chapter 1: A Complaint

Summary:

Elena and Jeremy Gilbert are orphaned once again and have nowhere else to go except the mysterious Salvatore boarding house…

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the Vampire Diaries characters. This is written purely for entertainment purposes.

Jenna Sommers was beside herself in the kitchen, scrunching a very used tissue between her fingers as she sat at the table, waiting for Elena and Jeremy to return from school. She still couldn't believe how badly this day had progressed. First, that smug, out-of-line history teacher, Mr. Tanner, basically told her that she wasn't fit to be a guardian at Jeremy's parent teacher conference. Then, within hours, a Social Service agent knocked on the front door revoking Jenna's rights as Elena and Jeremy's legal guardian.

"They can't be on their own until Elena turns eighteen," she had bitterly reminded the man, secretly hoping that that fact would be enough to make the man give up and leave.

He shrugged, "The place hasn't been used in years, but the Salvatore boarding house has always been open."

Did this man not recall the tragic car accident from last June? Does he truly believe that taking two distraught teens from most of what's left of their living relatives is a good idea? Jenna had wondered with contempt as she watched the man drive away.

As far as Jenna knew, the Salvatore place was practically a landmark in Mystic Falls. But that didn't ease her mind a single bit. The place had to be decrepit. There's no way Elena or Jeremy would enjoy living there…

She groaned inwardly as she heard the front door open and close, one set of feet ascending the stairs, the other heading toward the kitchen. Jenna could already tell who was who without even looking. She knew her niece and nephew as if they'd been her own children. And she had tried damn hard to be a good guardian for them…or at least that's what he had thought.

"Hey Aunt Jenna," Elena said, suddenly freezing, "what's wrong?" Jeremy had popped his head over the side of the railing and noticed Jenna's eyes were watering. He stumbled down the stairs and stood opposite of Elena.

Jenna sighed nervously, "You guys, uh, might want to sit down for this." Elena and Jeremy exchanged confused and concerned expressions as they complied. "S-someone contacted Social Services with a complaint saying that I was unfit to be your guardian. Now…you guys will have to move into a boarding house until Elena turns eighteen."

Jeremy sat in stunned silence. Elena, on the other hand, leapt up to her feet with tears leaking from her eyes. "No, Jenna, you…you can't be serious! You've been doing just fine as our guardian. We won't leave," she said firmly.

"I wish it was that simple, Elena. I'd do anything to stop this from happening."

"Do you know who made the complaint?" Jeremy inquired.

"The man said it was 'strictly confidential.'"

"Let's hire a lawyer," Elena suggested.

Jenna swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. She wished that she still had some amount of optimism left, but she knew this was going to happen whether she wanted it to or not. "Right now, we don't have much of a choice, but I promise you two that this will only be temporary, a week at most. We will get through this," she said strongly. She wasn't sure exactly what she would do, but there had to be something. There had to be.

Jenna strolled over to the refrigerator and wore a small smile. "You guys name whatever you want for dinner and I'll make it." The broken, yet united family of three gathered around the table, savoring their last meal together until who knows when. There was laughter, conversation, and plenty of eating. But it was all a lie, in a sense, a mask of happiness being worn to cover each of their feelings of pending suffering ahead.

William Tanner placed the phone back on its receiver with a confused expression on his face. Moments ago, all he could think about doing was calling Social Services and getting the Gilberts away from their unfit guardian. Now, he wasn't too sure why he so eagerly desired to do such a thing. Sure, he thought Jenna wasn't capable of properly raising two teenagers, but it really wasn't his business. He liked to involve himself in his students' lives as little as humanly possible.

He jumped at the sudden sound of some of the locker doors being slammed shut. A familiar, yet unidentified stranger stood before him in all black with a knowing smirk on his face. "That was such an award-winning performance," he said, applauding in mockery.

"Who are you?" Tanner demanded, knowing he wasn't a student at Mystic Falls High.

"That," he answered in a darker tone, "is not important."

He took a few strides toward Tanner with a menacing expression on his face. Tanner was angry that this stranger was making him so fearful and confused suddenly. Just as he was about to raise his fist to attack, the stranger reached forward and gripped Tanner's wrist with iron strength. Tanner dropped to his knees wincing in pain.

He was suddenly caught in a trance, unable to tear his eyes away from the piercing blue ones glaring down at him. "You are going to forget ever having made that phone call or this little occurrence between us. You've never seen me before," he stated. His words entered my mind, swimming in my subconscious and registering in my memory with force. Tanner blinked a few times, confused, kneeling alone in one of the hallways of the school.

Elena leaned up against the edge of her window seat as she gazed out into the darkness staring back at her. Her diary rested securely on her lap, pen in hand. It pained her to have to write these words, but it's not like she could resist. Reality was settling in hard and cold. Tomorrow night she'd be sleeping in a foreign bed. It was happening, and her diary needed to know. After all, she had no idea how she'd ever be able to tell anyone else…if she even decided to tell anyone at all about her move.

Dear Diary, September 4th, 2010

I tried, I really tried to make today different than the others. I tried to smile and be able to say, "I'm okay" and really mean it. I tried to attempt getting back into my old life for the first time since my parents died. My heart was set on all of this, but it's all for nothing now, Diary. My world has crumbled once again and I don't know if I'll ever be able to get back on my feet again. Jeremy and I are being taken out of Jenna's care and being put into some old boarding house in the middle of the woods. Why must this world be so cruel to my brother and me? Weren't my parents enough? Now, this?

Jenna promised that she'd find a way to get us out of the boarding house as soon as she possibly could. But what happens if she can't? I think I know how to fix this…a sudden thought just popped in my mind. I have done nothing since my parents died, I mean I hardly ever saw Bonnie or Caroline over the summer, and of course I had to break up with Matt. What if I took this as a challenge? Putting all my effort into escaping this place and returning home to Jenna might be just enough to take my mind off this atrocity. Thanks for your time, Diary. I'll be sure to keep you posted on the suffering, and hopefully the success, to come.

-Elena

Elena closed her diary and placed it behind the large picture frame above her bed before heading into Jeremy's room to see how he was doing. "Aren't you going to pack anything?" she asked, noticing that there were no boxes or suitcases for clothes in his room. He glanced up from his computer and shrugged. "Whatever I need I'll grab it in the morning. You heard what Jenna said. It's only temporary." Elena appreciated his oddly positive outlook and left him to his business before retreating her room and crawling under the covers, trying her best to enjoy her last night in the very house that she'd lived in her entire life.

A/N: Well, here's a new story I'm trying out :) I have lots of fun things planned for this story and plenty of action between both Stefan/Elena and Damon/Elena. I'd like some feedback before continuing please. I know that I think this story is going to be great, but I'd love to hear what the readers think, so feel free to drop a quick comment!