Author's Note
Bulldozed88 asked about pairings and if other Originals would make an appearance.
On Pairings: I purposely left them out of the description, because I honestly have no idea where it's headed. There are a couple of established pairings that you'll find out over the next couple of chapters as they arise within conversations and flashbacks. I will say that in the show I like Elena with Damon and Caroline with either Klaus or Stefan. BUT when I start writing, I start doing things that I would never in a million years want to see happen on the show. I also don't want to list a pairing and attract an audience that way, only to break them up and have everybody get mad. (I once listed Elena and Damon's names side by side, but not as a pairing and when there wasn't a whole lot of Delena one of the readers got mad. I kindly explained that I never said the story was a Delena fic, to which they apologized and we all moved on, but I can't imagine the hate mail forming if I had). If you have preferred pairings, or if you like the chemistry I've written between two characters, let me know. I can't guarantee that I will put them together, but if you give me an idea, I'll give you credit. I know I have some ideas on relationships that I would like to explore, so if I find out you're feeling the same way that may change how things go.
As for Originals: Nik makes an appearance in this chapter, and yes, he is referred to as 'Nik.' 'Klaus' works as an angry 1000 year-old vampire name, but I prefer calling him "Nik" since he's supposed to be a human teenager in this story. I haven't decided if the other Originals will appear- and if they appear, if they'll even be siblings.
Disclaimer:
This chapter brings up a recurring location called Sybill. I'm not sure if there's a place like Sybill that exists, so I'm not basing it on anything. What it is will be explained more in chapters 3 and 4.
Chapter 2
"Bex!" For the first time since she'd been home, Elena was happy to be here. She wiped her eyes, stood, and stumbled over to her friend to give her a hug. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question." Rebekah said as she looked up at the trees, then swatted a bug away from her.
"You first." Elena said as she folded her arms.
Rebekah sighed. "My mother decided that two years at Sybill was enough and figured she'd give me a chance out here at a "real" school. Plus, she wanted my brother and I to be able to graduate together.
"But why Mystic Falls?"
"Elena, where have you been the past year?" Rebekah held back a laugh. "My family lives here. I told you that the day we met."
Elena was sure she would remember if Rebekah had mentioned her family living in the same town she was from, but then again, she'd had a lot going on when she first started at Sybill. She didn't remember her first month there. Then she made a realization. "Wait! Is Nik your brother?"
"Yeah, do you know him?"
"This is going to be awesome!" Caroline squealed as Elena and Katherine exchanged glances and shook their heads. Caroline turned toward them, but kept walking backwards. "First we have to figure how many classes we have together, plan study nights, find the best table in the cafeteria and claim it for the next four years-"
"Care, watch out!" Elena said quickly.
Caroline gasped and whipped around just in time to run into somebody and fall to the ground.
The twins' hands immediately covered their mouths as they both tried their best not to laugh.
"My apologies." The guy said with a smooth English accent.
Both girls' hands fell from their mouths, to reveal their dropped jaws.
He reached down to help Caroline up off of the floor.
"Sexy." Caroline said breathless.
The boy raised his eyebrow. "Come again?"
Caroline's eyes widened as she realized what she said. "Okay!" She said quickly. "I said 'It's okay.'" Caroline grabbed his hand and he lifted her off the ground. "It's my fault. I should have been looking where I was going."
"No, I wasn't looking either. Otherwise, I would have veered away from the girl walking backwards through the hall."
Caroline giggled. The boy smiled and extended his hand. "I'm Nik. My family just moved here."
"I'm Caroline. I've lived here all my life." Katherine and Elena cleared their throats. "And these are my friends, Katherine and Elena. They're twins."
"I had no idea."
"Really? Because I couldn't tell them apart for the first two years I knew-"Caroline noticed the smile Nik was giving her. "You were joking."
"You know, I've always heard that British humor was quite different from American humor, but I assumed sarcasm was universal." Caroline smiled, not knowing what else to say.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Caroline. I look forward to seeing you around."
"Me too...well not me. You." Nik laughed and walked away.
"Bye." Caroline said in a high squeaky voice once Nik was out of earshot.
"Caroline Forbes rendered speechless?" Katherine started.
"I never thought I'd see the day." Elena finished.
"You guys, did I actually...giggle?"
"Yes." Katherine admitted. "Yes you did."
Caroline groaned.
"Come on," Elena said pulling the other two along. "Time for class. Don't want to be late."
Elena leaned back against the tree. "Yeah, he's dating my friend, Caroline." She immediately felt a pang of guilt. At Sybill, honesty was a huge thing. She had never lied to Rebekah, and even just now not telling her everything made her feel rotten. "I'm sorry, that's not the truth."
Rebekah raised an eyebrow, "Are you not really friends with Caroline? Because he is dating her. She's very...perky."
"No," Elena was shaking her head. "I am friends with her, at least I was before. I meant, that's not the only way I know him."
"Oh!" Rebekah smiled knowingly. "You two hooked up behind Cheer Captain's back." She leaned again the tree opposite Elena, but immediately jerked away from it as she swatted at another invisible creature.
"What?! No! No nothing like that. I just... I probably owe him my life. Several times over."
"My brother, the hero."
Elena shrugged. "He probably doesn't realize what he did. I don't know if I would consider us anything more than acquaintances, but he always seemed to be there in the darkest parts of my life."
"Like what?" Rebekah leaned in as if expecting to hear some juicy gossip.
"Well, for starters, when it started getting bad..."
Elena stared at the clock. Even though she was wearing a long sweater, she was shivering, and it wasn't exactly cold inside the classroom. She nibbled on her thumbnail and subconsciously rocked back and forth. The voices in her head were getting louder. She wasn't crazy. The voices were real. They pleaded with her, they mocked her, and they berated her. These voices belonged to real people. Real people with real lives. Well not anymore. Not since-
Her thoughts were cut off by the ringing of the bell. Elena grabbed her stuff as quickly as possible and made a beeline for the bathroom. She found the first available stall and reached into her purse to pull a bottle of pills. It wasn't what she really wanted, but they would have to suffice for now. She emptied the bottle into her hand and knocked them back into her mouth. She reached into her purse again and pulled out the bottle of water and gulped it down. As she walked out of the bathroom, she felt someone grab her arm and pull her around the corner.
"What the-Nik?"
"What the hell are you on, Elena?"
"What the hell are you on, Nik? You can't just go around grabbing girls like that."
"I see what you're doing. And let me tell you, you're not just hurting yourself. Something is wrong and you need help."
"Go to hell, Nik." Elena tried to walk away, but Nik's grip tightened around her wrist jerking her back toward him. She looked up into his eyes and saw hurt. "Why do you care so much? We're not even friends."
"Friends or not, I've seen the effect drugs have on people. You need to stop, before you kill yourself."
"But what if that's what I want? What if my life is just so screwed up that I don't even want to be living in it anymore?"
"Then, you need to talk to someone. Hell, if you don't have anybody else to talk to, talk to me." Nik paused and Elena looked down. "Give me your phone."
Elena sighed and pulled her phone out of her pocket. He fiddled with it for a second before saying "There, now you have my number," Then his phone began to buzz in his pocket, "And I have yours." He hung up with himself and handed Elena's phone back to her. She snatched it and stuffed it back in her pocket.
"Are you done?"
When Nik didn't reply, she just turned and walked away.
"It was the first time anybody confronted me about what was going on."
"I can't believe you never told that story at Sybill." Rebekah said.
Elena shrugged. "It never came up in group. I talked about it solo sessions. It just seemed too personal to share with everybody. If I'd realized he was your brother, I would have told you sooner though."
"Well, I guess I can forgive you for that."
Elena cracked a sad smiled, before mentioning, "He was also the one that found me that day."
"Like I said. My brother, the hero."
The girls shared a chuckle. In the distance, they heard the bell. "That means we're late. Doesn't it?" Rebekah asked.
Elena nodded. "Yep. I didn't want to be there anyway."
"That's right!"
"What?"
"You never told me why you were out here in the first place. You told me that story about Nik, just to avoid telling me why you were here. Didn't you?"
Elena smiled and softly shook her head. "That wasn't my intention, Bex."
"Then spill. Why did I see you running away from the school like it was on fire?"
Elena squeezed her eyes shut as she thought about the frame and heard the gunshots in her mind yet again. "They framed a banner. For the shooting." The shooting had come up plenty of time in group sessions and in private conversations. "They killed nine, but they framed eleven ribbons."
"Two for them?"
Elena nodded. "Because they died too." A thought popped in her head, "Come to think of it, Nik was one of the few people that was there when it happened." One of the few people here who knows the truth.
