"Eleeeena, it's your birthday! Happy Birthday," Caroline squealed as she tackle-hugged me by my locker.

She stuffed the strings attached to several 'Have a Beary Nice Birthday' balloons into my hand. It was a sweet gesture, but I really wasn't in the mood for all this. I needed to find Matt.

Sighing my thanks, I tried to make my escape for History class.

"Not so fast!" Caroline grabbed me by the arm and wheeled me back around to face her with a surprisingly strong grip. Someone must have been mixing steroids into her nail polish.

"Caroline, look, it's great that you're so excited about my birthday, but I'm just…not. So can I please go to class?"

Caroline's lips slipped into a pout.

"No! You only turn eighteen once, and we are going to celebrate in style. This is a big deal, Elena – we are going to celebrate your induction into adulthood with an adult party," she smirked.

"No, no parties," I told her seriously. I lowered my voice, glancing nervously at the clock. We only had a few more seconds before the late bell, not that Mr. Saltzman would rat me out. He had been very understanding toward Matt for the past few weeks…not to mention the fact that he was now dating my aunt Jenna.

"Caroline, it's only been two weeks since Vicki…don't you think it's a little soon for a party? I need to be there for Matt right now."

Caroline's face fell. "I know it's been hard on everyone, but…this is exactly what everyone needs to boost their spirits! A real party. And you know what, just to make you happy, I'll keep it small – just you, me, and Bonnie, okay? Girl's night! You can't say no to girl's night," she bargained.

"Fine," I gave in, exasperated. Caroline sure did know how to wear a person down. "Sounds…great," I lied. "I just need to tell Matt where we're going, in case he needs anything."

"If he needs anything, he can text you. Or Tyler. Tonight is your night, Elena, and besides, where we're going is a surprise, and you're not getting it out of me!" With that, she snapped her mouth shut and scampered off to class, clearly worried that I would pump her for info. While it would be easy enough to beat it out of her, I was too exhausted to care.

"I'll pick you up at 7," she called over her shoulder. "Look hot!"

Rolling my eyes, I hurried into History, avoiding Mr. Saltzman's look of concern. The first thing I did upon dropping into my seat was to check on Matt.

Poor Matt. He was staring at the page of his textbook with glazed eyes. He didn't look like he was getting much sleep.

'Hey,' I jotted down in a note, pretending to care about the founding of Mystic Falls. 'How are you doing today? I called you a bunch last night to see if you wanted to talk – sorry if I'm bothering you. I stopped by your house on my way home from Bonnie's, and your lights were out.' I slid my note to the edge of my desk and waited. When Matt continued to stare blankly at his desk, I balled the note up and tossed it into his lap.

He jumped a little, but looked around and managed a small smile for me.

'Hey, Happy Birthday,' he wrote back. 'Thanks for everything you've done for me these past two weeks. You're the best. Yeah, sorry I missed you last night – I picked up a new job. Now that Vicki's gone, my mom has skipped out completely and I could use the extra cash. Are you doing anything fun for your birthday?'

I felt completely horrible as I read his response. Not only did his only sister die from an overdose, but Matt also had to support himself while trying to keep up with the normal demands of high school. And here I was, agreeing to Caroline's party!

'I'm sorry, Matt. I'm always here for you, you know that. About your job – if it's too much, you know Aunt Jenna and I would be more than happy to help. My parents left me and Jeremy way more than we need, and they'd want to help if they were here, I know it. As for my birthday, Caroline wants a party, but it just doesn't feel right.'

As I passed my note back, Mr. Saltzman stopped in the middle of his lecture and fixed me with a look. I stared back at him, biting my lip sheepishly. I understood that just because he was dating Jenna didn't mean I got unlimited free passes.

I wanted to ask Matt about his new job, and see what he thought about my offer of help, but he was the first one out of the room when the bell rang, and I didn't see him around campus anywhere after that.

With a heavy heart, I went home and was about to go upstairs to call Caroline and cancel my stupid party when I was intercepted by Jenna and Jeremy.

"Elena, you're home! Caroline just called to tell me about your party tonight – I have to say it's a great idea. She was awfully secretive about where you girls are going, though."

"Yeah," I sighed, perching atop one of the kitchen stools. I could admit defeat when I saw it – Caroline had definitely beat me to the punch by getting Jenna onboard.

"Isn't that kind of pointless?" Jeremy chimed in. "Keeping the location a mystery, I mean. This is Mystic Falls, we're talking about. We have so many options – there's The Grille, The Grille, oh…and did I mention The Grille?"

"Ha-ha," I said sarcastically. "Really, Jenna, I'm not in the party mood. I think I'm just going to call her and ask for a rain check."

"Well, that's just too bad." Jenna had that determined glint in her eye that she sometimes got. "Jeremy and I got you your favorite cake. You are going to sit down and eat some cake with us, and then you're going to go get ready for your party, and you are going to have fun, Elena. I know these past few weeks have been rough," she said sympathetically "but when you put them in perspective, not letting them ruin your birthday will be the best thing in the long run!"

I had trouble following her logic there – Jenna still had a thing or two to learn in the parent department, grad student or not – but I appreciated the effort.

"Fine," I sighed.

"Aww, man," Jeremy mockingly complained. "Jenna, why'd you do that? Now there's less cake for you and me."

I punched him in the arm and managed a genuine smile as I licked off a big fingerful of chocolate frosting.

Tonight wouldn't be so bad.