8
It was one week to the full moon, just one week left and still Elena had made no headway with her twin. Eileen refused to even consider that there might be ways to save her, ways to keep her from dying and to Damon's offer to feeding her his blood so she would turn when she died she had point blank said she would 'burn the entire town down given the opportunity and motive' and that Damon turning her would give her both.
Bonnie and Caroline had approved of this, Damon had said a simple 'Fair enough' and given up and John had gotten drunk again.
Elena had rarely even seen her this last week, she kept leaving the house whenever she could despite telling her to be careful with Klaus around.
"I know she doesn't like me," Elena said and her friends looked surprised at that admission. It annoyed Elena, she wasn't as unaware as they liked to make her out to be. She just didn't always know how to confront things. "But I'm just worried, I don't even know where she goes and-"
"Mystic Grill." Caroline said, "Matt says she's been coming there for the last week has a new friend she's made."
"You knew?"
Caroline frowned, "You didn't? She isn't exactly hiding it. Yesterday when I was picking up our order she was there with the guy again and Elijah was there too."
"She might be there with him right now," Elena realised and got to her feet. She didn't like the thought of her twin being alone with an Original and rallied her friends to come with her despite many protests.
They found her at a small table a bit out of the way with a man who was clearly not Elijah and probably the friend that Caroline had told them about. Elena put on her biggest brightest smile and moved toward their table. Eileen's friend noticed them and pointed them out. The sigh Eileen let out was unheard but so very visible in the sudden slump of her shoulders, even from the distance, that Elena felt more than a bit hurt.
Especially when the man Eileen was with lit up like a Christmas tree trying to suppress his laughter badly at her twin's reaction.
"Hi Eileen, I was looking for you at the boarding house, who's your friend?"
"Elena this is my friend-"
"Nick, pleasure to meet you." The man interrupted and he and Eileen had a silent conversation that ended with her rolling her eyes. "And you must be Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Damon and Stefan."
"Eileen told you about us?" Elena could barely control the hope in her voice.
"No, Elijah did."
"You know Elijah?" Bonnie stepped forward and everyone became alert. They didn't quite trust Elijah nor anyone who worked with him.
"Well, with the Martins dead I thought it would be a bit remiss of me to leave him to deal with you all on his own."
Bonnie curled in on herself, all her suspicion deflated as she was filled with guilt instead and Elena looked at her, worried. She hadn't gotten over Luka's death and their part in it, Damon telling her to get over it already not helping things much.
Meanwhile, Caroline got another table close by to empty and they sat it turning to the two who looked more than a bit annoyed.
"So what were you guys talking about?"
"Sex workers' rights."
"What?" That was so out of the blue that Elena didn't know how to react.
Eileen squared her shoulder, her back straightening and her hands waving about in her passion as she spoke. "The fact that legalisation of prostitution and other sex related services allows for proper regulations to be made regarding the safety of both, the sex workers and the clients."
"That's not going to happen, most countries are too non-secular and believe in sex as a 'holistic' thing, they're never going to legalise it." Nick said and Eileen was visibly riled up.
"They will if the people change their minds on it, it's not like religious folks don't buy sex, the stigma around it is societal, change will happen even if takes time. I mean masturbation was stigmatised for the longest time, institutions pushed the idea that it would cause blindness and disease etc to stop it and now it's utterly commonplace in our culture!"
"Still won't happen within your lifespan."
"My lifespan is ending a week from now, that doesn't mean jack shit, there are already activists fighting for rights and now they have platforms like they didn't before-"
"Wait, he knows?!"
The two gave her a look, "He did say he was here on Elijah's behalf, right?"
"Yes but...you're not going to stop her?"
"Well," The man started to say leaning back in his chair a little smirk on his face that reminded Elena of something, she just couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was but it was just so familiar, "2000 years ago Eileen's ancestor, Eve took a bite from an apple and suddenly this thing called free will began and-"
"Ugh, ignore him, he's just trying to annoy me for stopping to fight with that bitchy couple in Smithville about how idiotic Creationism is."
"Smithville?"
"We drove out there last week for their 90's movie screenings. It was pretty cool, I'd never seen The Mummy on the big screen before."
"All this time you've just been-"
"Hanging out having fun. Yeah."
"It's better than hanging around being all morose for your lats few days on Earth."
"I was hoping that maybe you'd like to come home with me for a bit, I mean Jenna's finally gotten used to the idea of vampires and-"
"Elena," Her twin started with a grave tone finally looking her straight in the eye and Elena knew she wouldn't what she would hear, "While you and Stefan have been cooped up trying to see what plans you can come up with to save me, something I keep on telling you not to do, I have been seeing your family all around town."
"What?"
"Well, Jenna's thesis was finally approved and she was here with Alaric celebrating and we got to talking, Jeremy's been chatting with me about college because the courses he's looking into are pretty much what Gavin's done. John, I'll admit, I don't know too well but even then I've come across him stumbling out of the bar and...bursting into tears when he sees me." Eileen put her chin down on a hand and shrugged. "You don't talk about anything of substance beyond the supernatural, anytime I've tried to start a conversation about the things that matter to me you shut me down saying I was deflecting. At first I thought it was a small town thing, like there aren't many opportunities to follow different interests and you were just honing in on this one thing but apparently that's a you thing."
"In Elena's defense you think everything is a small town issue." Nick interjected and Eileen rolled her eyes.
"And in my defense, it really is a very small town. By the way, Klaus informed me that he'd be picking me up tomorrow."
"What?!" Elena practically shouted and for the first time she could see the unease on everyone else's faces as well, even as Eileen kept a straight face. "Klaus has been keeping in touch with you?"
"We text, we chat. He's even seen Marie Taglioni dance! Can you imagine it, she originated the role of La Sylphide, the first ballerina to really showcase en pointe work!"She clapped her hands in rapture before shaking it off. "So anyway, I'll be packing today so it's actually great that you guys are here. We can discuss everything, so Damon's going to handle the staging of the 'accident' in which I die, I'm supposed to be staying with Jenna and you in your house so she'll be the one to talk to Marlene about me, although you're actually better at the whole hysteria thing so in case it needs to be more convincing we can get you in and...that's it really. Everything's already set up."
"You're leaving then?"
"Dude, in a week I'll leaving the plain of existence entirely. I mean, I'm not exactly enthused to be staying in the same house as Katerina," The way she said it said it all, Eileen said the Petrova's name the way Elijah did, not the way Damon and Stefan and Elena did, not Katherine, no it was Katerina with that little drawl and everything. "But I figure I'll get to know my great-great-great and probably a few more greats in between grandmother so what the heck."
"For a New York girl you curse like a southern belle." Nick said, "Well a sober southern belle in front of her parents at least."
"That's the worst heckle I've ever gotten." Eileen looked actually hurt completely ignoring them all and that was when Elena realised that she was never going to be a part of her twin's life, not just because of her impending death but because there was no place for her in it. Eileen had a sister already she had Marlene and Elena wouldn't, couldn't match up to her. That was the stick she was measured by and she would always fall short of it.
"Is there anything I can do? Not for you but for Marlene?"
Eileen blinked furiously before breaking in a sad wistful little smile , "She always wanted a dog but it never seemed like the right time, maybe push her in going to a shelter and adopting one once I'm dead?"
"I'll do my best." And Elena let go, beginning to mourn the sister she never had.
8
