Elena's usual route included passing the Salvatore house where Stefan would join and finish out the run with her. She considered going a different way and passing Bonnie and Matt's houses instead, but she was feeling strong today. She may not like what Stefan put her through but she's tired of avoiding things that remind her of him.
Today is the closing of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. She reminded herself.
Elena slowed to a stop when she reached the Salvatore house. Wondering if Damon was home, she thought she'd stop and say hi.
*ding don-*
Damon opened the door before the ring could finish. He heard her walk up before she even reached the porch.
"Damon. Hi." Elena was surprised with his quick response at the door.
"You haven't seen me in a month and all you say is 'hi'?"
They both chuckled and embraced in a hug.
"Damonnn, I want to meet this Elena girl!" Katherine called loudly from upstairs.
"Not now, Katherine!" Damon stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
Damon had no intension of Elena meeting Katherine. Not now. Maybe not ever.
"Oh, I don't mind Damon. I'm actually kind of curious to meet this girl you've kept around so long. She must be something special."
But Elena didn't know that she couldn't meet Katherine because Katherine looked exactly like her. And if Elena sees a young woman who looks like her twin, she'll ask questions. Questions Damon isn't allowed to answer. Not now anyways.
"Ehh, maybe next time" Damon loosely promised. "But how are you Elena? I haven't seen you in forever."
Forever is a funny term coming from someone who literally lives forever.
"I'm…good, oddly enough. Better than I have been anyways. Jer helped me realize that today is the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one, it being graduation day and all."
"That's right! You better have saved me a ticket. I'd like to be there for you today – plus I can keep Jenna company in the stands." He said with a wink. Damon always had something dirty in mind when it came to Jenna.
"Ha-ha." Elena mocked. "Of course I saved you a ticket. I've also got an extra one that won't be used anymore if you want to bring Katherine."
She was referring to the ticket she saved for Stefan.
"She won't be able to make it. I'm sure you'll find someone to give the ticket to though." Damon reassured.
"Alright…" Elena is confused and even more curious about this secret Katherine girl. "Well, we're all meeting at The Mystic Grill this afternoon for an early celebration lunch if you want to join us. Feel free to bring this secret 'Katherine' – if that is her real name." Elena joked.
"We'll see. If nothing else, I'll just bring little ol' me. Now you best be on your way, you're all sweaty and gross. I can't imagine you'll want to show up to lunch like that." Damon enjoyed teasing Elena.
"I guess you'll have to come to lunch to see for yourself if I clean up or not."
Elena turned around and began to walk away when she stopped and turned back towards Damon.
"Don't ask Elena." Damon knew she was going to ask about Stefan.
"I was just wondering if you'd heard from him." Elena knew he wouldn't answer, but she asked him anyways. Her curiosity always got the best of her.
"Goodbye, Elena." Damon said, avoiding the answer.
Elena turned back around, picking up her run where she left off.
"Come on Damon. I just want to see her reaction when she sees me! We can always just compel her afterwards to forget what she saw. It'd be fun!"
Katherine was at the top of the staircase when Damon walked back in the house.
"No Katherine. She doesn't know about us – vampires, doppelgangers, you know, the whole 'supernatural' thing. And no compulsion with Elena, ever. Plus I promised Stefan"
"No, you promised Stefan you wouldn't tell her anything about him. Not that you wouldn't show me to her. Please? Just bring me to lunch with you!" Katherine was begging now.
"In front of all her family and friends? No way, then we'd have a whole lot of people to compel. When Stefan figures out his shit and she knows about what we are, then MAYBE. Okay? Conversation over."
"You're sexy when you're stern." Damon ran up the stairs, chasing Katherine into his bedroom knowing he had plenty of time to kill before lunch at the Grill.
When Elena finally reached her house, she burst through the front door.
"I'm back!" she shouted, not knowing where anyone was.
"Food's in the oven!" Jenna shouted back. "How was your run?"
"It was great. I feel…rejuvenated. Like the old me again. It's nice." Elena wasn't lying. She really did feel rejuvenated. She just left out the part about feeling incomplete – and she knew she wouldn't feel complete until she got answers.
Elena ate breakfast and ran upstairs to shower again and get ready for the day.
"Hello?" Elena answered the phone.
"Hey, it's me. Hold on, I'm going to three-way Bonnie in." Caroline replied.
Bonnie didn't answer her cell when Caroline called so Elena called her home phone.
"Hello?" It was Sheila, Bonnie's grandmother.
"Hi Grams, its Elena. Is Bonnie there? She didn't answer her cell." Elena loved Sheila. She was like another grandparent to her, hence Elena calling her Grams like Bonnie does.
"Of course dear, here she is."
"Hey Elena!" Bonnie was in a good mood, it being graduation day and all.
"Hey Bon, Caroline is on the line too."
"Hi there." Caroline said in her usually girly tone.
Elena put her phone on speaker so she could roam around her room and through her closet hands free.
"Okay. What are you girls wearing today? A different outfit to lunch than graduation tonight, right? Who am I kidding, of course you are. We can't dress casual for our graduation night. Please tell me you girls are wearing dresses?" Caroline was always concerned with girly things like this. Always wanting the three of them to match and look their best.
"Sounds good to me," Elena replied.
"Same here." Bonnie echoed.
"Great!" An excited Caroline exclaimed.
Elena thumbed through her closet hoping to stumble across a cute outfit but nothing caught her eye.
"I invited Damon to lunch today." Elena proclaimed, changing the clothes topic.
"God he's hot." Caroline said, letting out a sigh, knowing he has a new girlfriend.
"Elena…are you sure that's a good idea? Doesn't he remind you of…?" Bonnie didn't complete her sentence, knowing Elena is sensitive to the 'Stefan' word.
"Stefan?" Elena replied. Bonnie was surprised with her response. "No, it's fine. Damon and Stefan are two different people. Yeah, they are brothers, but Damon is still my friend and I want him there today. He's coming to watch graduation tonight too."
"Is he bringing his girlfriend?" Caroline asked bitterly.
"No," Elena answered. You could practically hear Caroline's frown turn in to a smile. "He's being weird about her. I stopped by the house today during my morning run and –"
"You're back running again? Elena that's great!" Bonnie knew this was a big step for Elena.
"Yeah! It felt great. I feel great! Anyways, I stopped by and Katherine was there – that's her name, Katherine – but he wouldn't let me meet her. He actually shut the door behind him, like he was trying to hide her or something. It was weird."
"That is weird. Maybe she's ugly." Caroline had high hopes.
"You really think someone that beautiful is going to date someone ugly? I don't think so." Bonnie replied, crushing Caroline's hopes.
"It wasn't like that," Elena said "it was something else…something suspicious."
None of them had any good guesses so they went back to discussing the outfits for the day.
"Alright guys, I'm gunna go. See you at The Grill in an hour and a half?" Elena wasn't a great multi-tasker so she thought she'd get off the phone and really start getting ready.
"Same here. Sounds good, I'll see you two there!" said Bonnie.
"You guys are so lame. Okay, see you there!" Caroline would talk for hours if they let her, but neither Bonnie nor Elena had that kind of time.
They all hung up and got ready for their big day.