Author's Note

So, sorry that it took me so long to update. I've had this chapter written for awhile (and several chapters after this), but I was waiting for more people to comment and then I had friends in town so this just kept getting pushed to the background. So here's the next chapter, and really, comments are appreciated and you get updates faster.

Chapter 3

"We should probably get back." Rebekah finally said. "I don't want to be known as a trouble maker on my first day."

"Yeah. I was actually supposed to meet with the guidance counselor."

"Hey! Me too!" They began their walk back not really saying much. Once they neared the school Elena noticed the guy standing outside.

She almost didn't recognize him until he exclaimed, "Rebekah! Where the bloody hell have you been?"

"Oh, hello, brother. Nice to see you too."

"If mother finds out you were late after I vouched for you to get here on your own I-"

"It's not her fault, Nik." Elena spoke up.

Nik's head whipped around toward Elena, noticing her for the first time. His expression softened to one of sympathy, and his voice lowered. "Elena?"

"Bex saw me run off in the middle of freak-out mode and came out to talk me down."

Nik took a deep breath. "Are you okay now?"

Elena nodded and forced a smile."I'm fine."

He pointed toward the school. "Get inside. Both of you."

"Yes sir." Rebekah smirked, and leaned over to Elena. "He's 10 minutes older, but acts like I'm 10 years younger."

"I heard that." He said from behind them.

Rebekah turned around, "Oh, I didn't think it was secret."

Rebekah and Elena found the guidance counselor's office. Rebekah was called in first, so Elena sat in the waiting area right outside of the office. It consisted of two chairs and a clock. A very loud clock. Or maybe the clock wasn't loud, maybe it was the lack of clocks the past year and a half that made her hyperaware of the fact that there was a clock a few feet away from her. The ticking was enough to make anybody go crazy.

The door to the office opened up and Rebekah walked out. "Your turn." She told Elena. Elena stood and hooked her pinky with Rebekah's as she passed. It was something they had started back at Sybill, though she couldn't remember how. "See you at lunch?" The blonde asked.

"If not before."

"Come in and close the door." The woman behind the desk said to Elena as she appeared in the doorway. Elena did as she was told, and turned to look at the woman. She was fairly young and actually pretty. Not exactly what she pictured when she thought about a guidance counselor. "Sit down. Make yourself at home."

Elena sat, and looked around the office. A Doctorate of Psychology degree was framed on the wall, as were several other awards. "A Psychologist." Elena said it as a statement.

"Do you have a problem with psychologists?" The counselor asked her.

Elena shook her head and shrugged. "I haven't met one I hated yet."

"Well, I hope I don't change that for you." The woman stood and walked around the desk and sat on the edge. She wasn't dressed in a suit. It was just a simple skirt and top that Elena secret wished she had in her closet. "It's not my intention to make any of my students dislike me or fear me. I want you to be able to come to talk to me about any and everything." Elena nodded and the lady grabbed the open file on her desk. "So, Elena Flemming, correct?" Elena nodded again. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Elena. Let me introduce myself. My name is Meredith Fell. You can call me Meredith, or Dr. Fell, or a variation thereof. Just don't call me miss. It makes me feel old. As you saw, I have my doctorate degree in psychology. I did my thesis on how school shootings affect students and faculty differently." Elena heard the gunshots and screams in the back of her mind, but tried to shake them off. "Apparently, you were the reason they finally asked me to come onto the staff. It was shortly after you left the school that I was hired. I think they wished they had asked me to come on sooner. Do you think that would have helped you?"

Elena shrugged. "I can't say for sure. It took me awhile to open up to my doctors about it. I don't know if you would have had much success."

Meredith nodded. "Fair enough. I guess we'll never know."

"I guess not."

"So, just taking a look at your file, I see you have a sister that goes here as well."

Elena nodded. "Katherine. She's two minutes older."

"You know, I've always found twins so fascinating. I almost did my thesis on twins, before I found out that's what somebody else in my class was doing their thesis on. Off the subject, would you mind if during one of our meetings, we talked more about you and Katherine?"

"Wait...one of our meetings? There's going to be more?"

Meredith nodded, "I would like to meet with you once a week just to make sure you're adjusting well. At least for the first month or two."

Elena scoffed. "Forced weekly meetings is not the way to gain your student's favor."

Meredith threw her hands up. "I never said they were forced. There was no condition made that says you have to see me. I just don't want to see you end up back where you were. I tell you what. Fridays, 10-11 are reserved for you. You've got free period. If you need to talk, I'll be here. If not, I'll play solitaire for an hour. Maybe read a book." Elena cracked a smile. "Back to your file, you left the school in March of your sophomore year. What exactly happened?"

Elena thought back, but everything was fuzzy. "I don't remember. I just know what I was told. I was at a party..."

Elena walked up to the house. She could hear the bass thumping, and saw a few people scattered across the lawn just talking. She walked inside and was almost immediately found by Caroline.

"Elena! I didn't think you were going to be here." Caroline had a drink in her hand and was definitely already buzzed. "How's the baby? Is she loud? I bet she's loud." She combined the last two sentences into one and slurred her words. "Does Katherine feed her with her boobs?" Caroline giggled. "Oh my God! Tell her, if she wants someone to watch her, I'm totally up for it. I'll bring Nik and we can make out while she's asleep. It'll be awesome!"

"Kat will be back at school full time next week, You can talk about it with her then." Elena's gaze darted around as she absently chewed on her thumbnail.

"Nikki, baby!" Caroline yelled.

"I told you not to call me Nikki, Caroline."

"Sorry, baby." Caroline giggled.

"Alright, I'm cutting you off." Nik told her as he grabbed the cup and sat it down on the nearest table. "Let's see if I can get some coffee going for you." Nik looked up. "Elena, would you like to join?"

"Fuck off, Nik." Elena muttered angrily before heading toward the stairs.

"Oooooh, buuuurrrrnnnn." Caroline slurred. Nik led her back to the kitchen while Elena continued up the stairs. She came up to a door that was closed, and knocked once before opening it. Luckily it was the one she was looking for. Her nostrils were immediately filled with marijuana smoke. She inhaled as if taking a breath of fresh air. Her eyes settled on Jeremy. He was...well, her supplier. There was no other name for it.

"What do you have?" Elena asked. Jeremy's father was a doctor so it was easy for him to get prescription meds. Sometimes he would make trades with some street dealers for more of the "club drugs": X, roofies, etc.

"Chill, girl. I got you."


"Mmmm coffee." Caroline inhaled the fumes of her second cup. "I looove coffee." She took a sip then looked at Nik's face. "You look worried."

"I do?" He sighed. "Sorry. Elena just didn't seem right tonight."

Caroline, nodded, shrugged and rolled her eyes all at once, "Yeah, but I think it's just lack of sleep."

Nik shook his head. "I would have blamed it on lack of sleep two months ago. The baby was born right after Thanksgiving. This is March." Nik sighed. "Something just doesn't feel right."

"Oh my god." Jeremy came running into the kitchen. "Oh my god. Oh my god!"

"Jeremy!" Nik grabbed his shoulders. "What's going on?"

"I think she's dead, dude. I can't go down for that, man."

"Who, what happened?" Caroline ask as she stood up from the stool she sitting on. Her heartbeat quickened.

"Elena, dude. Man, she took some pills. I don't know what they were, then she downed them with some vodka, man I-"

Nik and Caroline didn't hear anything else. They took off toward the stairs, the last place they saw her.

"Elena!" Caroline called, hoping for a response. They followed the smell of weed to a door that wasn't fully closed. Nik swung the door open and saw a lump on the floor.

"Oh God, Elena!" Caroline screamed. Nik ran over to her, feeling for a pulse and checking to see if she was breathing. Her pulse was faint and her breaths were short, but they were still there. "Where's my phone?" Caroline was shaking as she reached into her pockets. Nik scooped Elena up in his arms.

"There's no time. We're taking her to the hospital ourselves." Nik and Caroline raced down the stairs and out to Nik's car. "Get in the back." He directed his girlfriend, then put Elena back there with her. "Let me know if she stops breathing." He instructed then raced around to the driver's side. "Call 911. Tell them we're taking her to Mystic Falls General. Let them know what kind of car I'm driving and that I have my emergency lights on." Shortly after Caroline made the call, a sheriff's car sped in front of them and turned on its lights to lead them to the hospital.

"It's going to be okay, Elena." Caroline soothed before calling her own mother. It would be the Sheriff's job to call Isobel.

"I was in the hospital for a couple of days, then Rehab until May, spent part of the summer in MFS-"

"Mystic Falls Sanitarium?" Meredith questioned.

"That's the one. Then, at the end of July, I went off to Sybill."

"Sybill, huh. Did you know Rebekah Mikaelson?" Meredith pointed toward the door. "She was there."

Elena nodded. "She was my roommate. My best friend there."

Meredith nodded. "What did you think of Sybill?"

"What kind of question is that?"

Meredith shrugged, "It's a pretty straightforward question. Let's say you bring your file out to that office aide, so he can put it away and it falls. He sees the word "Sybill" and asks you what it is. What would you tell him?"

"I'd tell him it's none of his damn business."

"Okay, different scenario. One of your teachers asks you why you weren't in school last year. What do you tell them?"

"I'd tell them I went to a boarding school out of state."

"So, to you Sybill is a school."

"Well yeah, I mean... don't get me wrong. I know it's not just any old school. It's basically rehab, the loony bin, and a school all rolled into one."

"Did you like it there?"

Elena thought about it. "Yeah, I did."

"Would you rather be here or there right now?"

"There." She answered quickly before her brain had time to stop herself from saying the answer.

"Why?"

Elena thought about that for a moment. Why would she rather be there than here? The shrill ringing of the bell interrupted her thoughts just a clear one was coming into focus.

"Well, that's enough for today. It's great to meet you, Elena. Remember, Fridays at 10." Meredith handed over a small stack of papers. "There's a pass for your first class for tomorrow and your schedule. You have English now... so have a good day." Meredith smiled and walked around the desk to her chair.

Elena stood and walked to the door. She opened it then stopped. "Meredith?" Elena said as she turned to face her counselor. Meredith looked up. "When I was at Sybill, I didn't hear the gunshots. Since I've gotten back to Mystic Falls, they haven't stopped."

Meredith's forehead wrinkled in concern. "Thank you for being honest, Elena."

Elena nodded before walking out and to her first class of the day.