Chapter 6: The Truth
The rest of the week is uneventful and stress-free yet Elena still can't shake the feeling that something isn't quite right. She still dreams those vivid dreams– more nightmares than dreams – of vampires and other deadly creatures. She doesn't know why, vampires don't exist of course and it's all just a remnant from her fever, but they feel more real than dreams have a right to feel. She spends her days watching movies, reading books, talking to her family and crying. She has no idea why she sobs, she'll be feeling perfectly contended then she'll read something, or watch something and it will just set her off. She knows she has nothing to cry about – she has a great family, great friends, she's a cheerleader; she's never known any sort of sorrow or hardship. Yet there's a heavy weight on her heart, a dull ache that won't go away.
Miranda and Grayson watch her with worried eyes. She hears them whispering about her when they think she can't hear them. Miranda thinks it may be about Matt, but Elena knows it isn't. She can't remember exactly what happened but she's pretty sure they're broken up but there's a peace about her when she thinks of him. Grayson thinks that she took too much on at school and the stress has finally gotten to her. The same thing happened when he was on summer break from medical school, he says. No, it's not that either. Sophomore year and medical school are two pretty different levels of stress and school has never been that taxing for her.
Elena's sitting at the breakfast bar eating cookies and drinking milk like she's a little girl when the doorbell rings. She carries on munching, waiting for someone else to answer the door. She doesn't really want to see anyone looking like this – with greasy hair, old sweatpants and a faded blue tank top. The doorbell rings again and Elena rolls her eyes and slumps off to the door, cookie still in hand. She opens it to find Bonnie standing there, her face lighting up when she sees Elena looking more alive than she's seen her in 3 years.
"Elena, how are you doing?" Bonnie sweeps her into a tight hug.
"Hey Bonnie, I'm ok," Elena replies, taken aback by the intensity of the hug.
"What happened? Caroline said that you were sick. Was it side effects from coming back? Caroline says she's been having some. I guess the," she drops her voice slightly, "vamp to human transition is kind of difficult." She walks further into the hall, dropping her bag by the wall and turns to face Elena. Her face is shining. "I can't tell you how good I feel."
"I'm happy for you Bonnie," Elena says in confusion as she shuts the front door behind Bonnie, "but going back to what you just said. I could have sworn you said something about…vamps?"
"Yeah, and I know you may not want to hear it but it is so good to see you as a human again. Caroline too. It finally feels like we've been given the life we were supposed to have. We can all grow up, go to college, get married, have kids, get wrinkly together. No one will get left behind."
"Bonnie, what are you talking about?" Elena asks bluntly
Bonnie wrinkles her forehead. "You mean you don't remember?"
"Don't remember what, Bonnie?" Elena demands, taking a step towards her friend.
"What happened before. And the spell. It took us back to the past. You don't remember? Damon and Stefan, Klaus, any of it?"
Elena takes a deep breath. "I've been having dreams. Every single night I dream about these two brothers I'm in love with, but they're vampires. I dream that my parents die. Jenna, Uncle John, Jeremy – all of them die until I'm the only one left. And then I die, but I'm alive again. I'm a – a- vampire. But I thought it was the fever. I woke up and everything was normal."
Bonnie takes Elena's hand in hers. "Elena," she says gently, "those dreams you've been having. They're not just dreams. They really happened."
"Matty, you know I love you but you've been way clingy lately. It's totally killing my buzz," Vicki drawls as she walks through her front door.
"Vicki, you're not high are you?" Matt hisses, instantly rising from his comfortable position on the couch.
"Chill out, I'm joking. Anyway, what is this I heard about you applying for a position at the Grill? You don't have to keep an eye on me, you know. This protective younger brother thing is getting old fast."
"We need the money, Vicks," Matt points out patiently, "and the Grill is pretty much the only place that I'm qualified for."
"Whatever," Vicki huffs, leaning back against the wall, "you've been acting so weird since you got back from that party. Which was totally lame-ass by the way."
"I just missed you." Matt looks across the room affectionately at his sister, still hardly believing she's there before his eyes.
"You keep saying that," Vicki whines, "God, if this is what breaking up with Elena does to you, I hope you guys get back together soon."
Matt is about to say that it's not that, that they haven't been a couple in three years but stops himself just in time. He had to tell Vicki something as to why he had been acting strange the past week so he told her that he and Elena broke up. He figures it's close enough to the truth, seeing as how they broke up only a few days after the party originally. It's weird thinking of him and Elena as a couple now, it's been so long and such a lot has happened. He remembers it well, though. Days were easy then, no heartbreak, no supernaturals constantly trying to kill them, no Salvatores stealing Elena's heart. Just a quarterback and a cheerleader – two best friends – snuggling in front of a movie and stealing kisses between classes. He used to think about them getting back together sometimes, while she was still a mortal and he still had hope that she'd see how bad the Salvatore brothers were for her. But then she turned and he knew that any possible future between them had been struck out. She'd stay young while he would get older, get married to someone who wasn't her, have kids and eventually die. He'd never have the life he dreamed about with her.
Now Elena's human again, he lets his mind wander to that forbidden place. That maybe there's a slight chance for them now, that maybe she'll realise what she's been missing all this time has been right before her eyes. He quickly dismisses it. Elena goes for dark, handsome, dangerous guys, not the boy-next-door, she's proved it time and again over the past years. Countless people have died because of it. No, they had their chance and now they will continue on as good friends. Elena's finally got her life back, that's all that matters. But she can't go near the Salvatores, a traitorous voice whispers inside, she wants a normal life. Maybe…
He stands up and abruptly strides over to the fridge to clear his head. Vicki stares at him like he's grown two heads.
"Matty, you just totally spaced. Have you been taking stuff from my stash?"
"No, and Vicks, the drugs? They've got to go." Matt turns to his sister sternly.
She rolls her eyes. "Oh come on, Matt. Stop being the fun police. Relax, I'm fine."
"That's the thing, you're not. And if you're not careful something will happen to you. And I'm not going to let that happen again."
"What do you mean again? Nothing's happened to me. I've got it under control."
"No more drugs," he repeats firmly, ignoring the fact that she picked up on the word 'again'. He has to be more careful in future.
"You're not the boss of me," she replies sulkily. She pushes off from the wall and storms down the hall into her bedroom. "In case you didn't realise, I'm the older sister!" she calls back angrily.
Matt wrenches open the fridge and lets his arm rest heavily on the door for a moment. "Good to be back," he mutters.
Caroline's bored. A week at home pretending to be sick combined with her workaholic nature is not a happy marriage. Luckily her mother isn't at home much to keep an eye on her but she doesn't dare go out of the house much in case someone sees her. She's snuck out a few times, once to the bookstore to stock up on some new reading material (she's going more Dickens and less Twilight now) and a couple of times to the mall. Hey, a girl's got to live, right? On Friday she finds herself out of ideas. She's read, watched tv, cleaned the house, written numerous lists, got ahead on next year's school work like a nerd and researched colleges (sadly 2 years away again). She's lying on her bed, trying to get through Oliver Twist when she finally has enough and sits up, slamming the book shut.
"Ugh," she groans out loud.
Her brain feels slower since she's become human. When she was a vampire everything was sharp, fast and clear. She could understand and pick up on things so quickly and easily and now it's like she's wading through treacle. She absently wonders what she'd be doing if she was still a vamp, she'd probably be at the boarding house, planning and scheming and finding a way to save them all from another threat. An idea pops into her head and in less than five minutes she's donned a hoodie and is heading towards the boarding house, hood up and sunglasses on.
When Caroline gets there she lingers outside for a while, studying it. She's so used to just going in there, no invitation necessary but she's a stranger to them now. The thought upsets her more than she wants to admit. She doesn't even know if they are even here in Mystic Falls. She knows Elena met Stefan on the first day of school but she's pretty sure he came to town before that. Taking a deep breath she strides up to the door and rings the bell. She waits a few beats and then the door opens and a man in his mid-thirties pokes his head out.
"Yes?"
"Hi!" Caroline smiles brightly, "you're…" she racks her brains furiously to recall him,"…Zach Salvatore, aren't you? You're on the town council with my Mom."
"You're Liz Forbes daughter," he comments, frowning slightly, "shouldn't you be at school?"
"Shouldn't you be at work?" she counters.
"Day off."
"Well, for me too, kinda. It's the last day of school before summer vacation so they let us out early," she babbles.
He pauses. "Can I help you with anything?"
"Right, well, uh, we're having a fund raiser next week and my Mom told me that she left some stuff here from the last fundraiser and never got it back."
"I don't remember that." His frown deepens.
"You know my Mom, total flake. Anyway, she told me to come by and get it to save her doing it. I think she said it's in the living room. Do you mind if I come in and take a look? It will only take five minutes, I swear."
He reluctantly opens the door and she walks past him hurriedly. She glances up to them top of the stairs and can make out a dark figure moving out of sight. She continues on to the living room and makes a pretense of looking around for the made-up object.
"Nope, not in here. Do you think I could get a drink of water? I'm parched. I'll just continue looking around a bit more. I'm sure it's here somewhere."
As soon as Zach disappears she runs over to the basement door and descends as softly as possible, cursing her human speed and loudness. She goes to the cell door but it's empty. A strange scent lingers in the air and she inhales deeply, following the trail. She knows that smell. Just down from the cell is an entire room filled with vervain plants. Vervain, of course, they're going to need some, and fast. She opens the door and snatches a bit, stuffing it into her pocket.
"Can I help you with anything?" A voice from behind her suddenly asks and she whirls to find herself facing a familiar, good-looking face.
It's Stefan.