A/N - Rewritten September 2018.


3rd POV

"Hey, is she still up there?" Jenna asked as Jeremy came down the stairs.

He nodded. "I don't know what could have happened last night that has her so freaked out. She couldn't stop crying, I'm a little scared to leave her alone."

Jenna frowned. "Maybe we should just let her sleep. If that doesn't help, maybe we can get her to talk."

"Talk about what?"

They both looked at the stairs. Ella was walking down, her hair piled on top of her head, her neck clean, and dressed in sweatpants and a tank top.

"Hey, are you feeling better?" Jenna asked, kissing Ella on the forehead after she sat down at the kitchen table.

"A little bit" Ella looked at Jeremy. "I'm so sorry if I freaked you out last night. I had an… episode, and I really needed my little brother." Ella's voice was small, and she looked so weak and pitiful wrapped up in the extra-large, extra soft blanket she had curled around her body.

"It's alright, Elle. I'm just glad you're alright" Jeremy nodded.

"You better get dressed. If you're feeling well, you have to go down to the sheriff's office with the rest of your group to talk about Vicki" Jenna told the younger girl, setting a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.

Ella smiled gratefully. "Alright." She stood and grabbed the cup carefully. "I'll take this upstairs and get dressed."


Ella's POV

"Did she tell her brother where she was going?" Sheriff Forbes, Caroline's mom, asked me.

"Not that I know of. Matt never mentioned anything."

"Is there anyone I can talk to that may know what happened to her prior to her leaving town?"

"Not that I can think of. Matt and Jeremy were the only people she was really talking to the last few days. And Stefan. Stefan was trying to help her get clean."

"What was Vicki's behavior like those last few days before she left?"

"She was very erratic. She would go from calm to angry to upset in under a minute."

"Any signs of aggression or violence?"

"Not really. I mean, she got a little mean, but…" I trailed off swallowing hard as I remembered how Vicki had almost killed me.

"So you believe Vicki really has left town?"

"It's something she would do." I smiled sadly, leaving quickly once I was excused.


When we got home, Elena, Jenna, and I curled up on the couch.

"You're wallowing," Jenna said flatly.

"So are you" Elena rebutted.

"My wallow is legitimate. I was dumped."

"Yeah, well, Logan's a jerk" Elena huffed, toying with the edge of the blanket.

"You didn't get a brush-off e-mail saying 'I'm leaving town. See you.'" Jenna sighed.

"Wanna keep it down over there?" Jeremy called from the kitchen table.

"Why? What are you doing?" Jenna sat up to look over the couch back to see Jer.

"Homework," he told her plainly.

Elena looked surprised and joined Jenna in staring at Jer. I sighed and curled up on my side, my head resting on the opposite arm that Elena was resting against.

"Since when do you do homework?" Elena asked him.

"I gotta finish this. I'm way behind and I have a quiz tomorrow, so…"

"What do you think? Alien?" Elena asked Jenna.

"Some sort of replicant" Jenna murmured.

"He can hear you," Jer said sharply. After a moment, he spoke again. "Are you okay, Ella?"

I turned so I could just barely see him from around the couch. I smiled softly at the concern from him. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just really tired." I promised. I went back to laying on the couch and fell asleep to the soothing sound of my family's voice.

I woke to a gentle knocking on my door. I sat up, disoriented. I blinked a few times, realized I was in my room. Jer must have carried me up.

"Ella?"

It was Bonnie. She opened the door a crack and peaked in.

"Hey" I greeted, sitting up further in bed. "Come on in" she walked in, Elena following her.

"How are you doing?" they both sat on either side of me, Bonnie laying her hand on my forehead like she was checking for a fever.

"I'm just tired." I felt like a broken record.

"You've been saying that a lot lately" Elena noted. I nodded and shrugged.

"I know, but I've been feeling really tired all the time, lately" I admitted, leaning back. Elena and Bonnie got onto my bed and sat beside me.

"Well, I promised Elena I'd take her mind off all the drama, so wanna see something cool?" Bonnie offered with a sly grin.

I chuckled and handed her a small feather pillow. "How?..." she shook her head and decided against asking the question, instead ripping the pillow open, releasing the white feathers inside.

"Okay, I need to swear you to secrecy," Bonnie told Elena.

"It's kinda a bad week for that kind of stuff," Elena said flatly.

"Swear. I'm not supposed to be showing you this" Bonne insisted.

"Well, why only me?" Elena asked, glancing at me.

"Ella already kind of knows, and Grams knows she knows," Bonnie explained. Elena nodded.

"Okay, I swear" Bonnie smiled happily.

"Okay, there's no windows open, right?"

"Right" Elena agreed.

"There's no fan, no air conditioning."

"None" I nodded.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked.

"Grams just showed me this. You're gonna love it" she looked at each of us. "You ready?"

We both nodded.

Bonnie loosely held her hand over the feathers. As she slowly raised her hand, a feather followed her hand into the air. I was stunned.

"Bonnie, what's going on?" Elena asked, confused.

"So, you can control it now?" I asked her, remembering the fire incident at the Sexy Suds Car Wash.

Bonnie simply smiled and did it again, this time with both hands. More feathers followed her hands into the air. It was beautiful.

Bonnie set the feathers down. Then, without a single movement, three times the number of feathers she had just lifted flew into the air, floating in the air above my bed.

Elena and I gasped in wonder, laughter escaping us. "It's all true, Elena. Everything my Grams told me. It's impossible, and it's true. I'm a witch" Bonnie's eyes sparkled with happiness, comfort, and acceptance. She was completely embracing her witchcraft now, and she looked all the better for it.

"It's weird, huh? After all this time joking about being psychic, I really am a witch" It still was surreal to Bonnie. I knew I had to tell her about vampires, but she looked so happy.

"You don't think I'm a freak now, do you?" Bonnie asked seriously.

"Of course not. We all know I'm the freak here" I joked, lying back despite the feathers everywhere.

"I don't understand, though" Elena said. "If your Grams told you to keep all this a secret, why did you tell me?"

"You're my best friend. I can't keep secrets from you" Bonnie words were heartfelt, and she said them like it was obvious. In a way, it was.

"I'm gonna go see Stefan," Elena said suddenly.

"Um, okay, see you later, then" Bonnie said as Elena got up and left to get dressed in her room.

Bonnie and I shared a look as soon as Elena left the room. "Bonnie, I hate to ruin the mood, but I think there's something I need to tell you."

Bonnie became serious when she saw the look on my face. "What is it?"

"You have to keep an open mind, okay?" she gave me a pointed look. "It's just as weird as witch stuff. Bonnie, vampires are real."

She was silent for a moment.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Bonnie, I'm serious" I sighed. "While you were dealing with your witch stuff, Vicki was turned into a vampire and I nearly died to keep her from draining Jeremy." Bonnie's eyes widened in realization.

"That's why you've been so tired lately!"

I shrugged. "That's part of it."

"But, how…?"

"Damon and Stefan are vampires. That's why you got that bad feeling when you touched Stefan." I explained.

I have to admit, Bonnie handled all the information very well, all things considered. She had questions, of course, but she took this all really well.

"Does Elena know?"

I nodded. "She doesn't want to tell anyone else, though. I'm not sure if that's the right thing, but you can never un-tell someone something."

Bonnie nodded in understanding.

"But, like you said, you're my best friend. I had to tell you."

"Are you going to tell Caroline?"

I sucked in a sharp breath at her question. "I don't know. I think I should, especially after Damon, but you know Caroline. And this needs to stay a secret." Bonnie nodded.

Bonnie's phone beeped. She pulled it out and checked her messages. "Caroline's throwing a party at the Grill. Wanna go? Get our minds off the supernatural?"

I smiled at the idea. "Sure. I'll meet you there later?"

Bonnie nodded. "Sure. Feel better, Elle" with that, Bonnie left.

While Bonnie and I had been taking, Elena had left and come back. I didn't bother to talk to her. I just changed into clothes more suitable for a party and headed out.

I walked in just in time to see Bonnie walking away from Caroline, not looking happy.

"Hey, what happened?" I asked, coming up next to her. Bonnie shook her head angrily.

"Caroline tried to rip the crystal from my neck" she seethed. Bonnie had told me about the crystal and how it had belonged to her ancestor, Emily Bennett. "Damon wants it back, I guess."

"That doesn't sound like Caroline" I mused, thinking hard. I tried to remember what Elena had told me about vampires; I hadn't been about to do my own research yet. "Maybe Damon compelled her."

"Compelled?"

"It's like a mind control. I'm not sure if it would work on you, since you're a witch, technically a supernatural creature, but just to be safe, you might want to avoid eye contact." I warned her.

"Could that be why Caroline's been acting so weird since Damon arrived?" Bonnie wondered, looking back at our blonde friend.

I nodded. "Oh, most definitely." I hesitated for a moment. "Would I be a bad friend if I went to check on some of our other friends? It seems like everyone is having drama lately."

Bonnie nodded, waving me off. "Go, go. I need some time to cool off, anyway."

I smiled and headed off to find Elena. With all the drama with Stefan, I figured she could use her twin right about now.

"You're lurking" I whispered in her ear from behind her when I found her wandering around, watching Stefan and some blonde chick.

Elena jumped, nearly sloshing her drink on herself and me. Thankfully it didn't splash either of us.

"Ella! Don't scare me like that" Elena gasped, hand over her heart. "And I'm not lurking."

"Sure you are" I shrugged nonchalantly. "You're missing Stefan, and jealous that he seems so relaxed with someone else, and it doesn't help that she's a pretty girl, but you're terrified of doing anything about it in case it blows up in your face."

Elena's shoulders slumped, but she had this look of wonder on her face. "How do you do that?"

"I don't know" I didn't bother to think about it, I had never figured it out before. "I just know. You know that."

"Ah, the famous Elena. Times two" we both looked over to see said blonde girl, holding four shots.

"Towel girl," Elena said flatly, her face now expressionless. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"I've been called worse" the girl shrugged, not bothered by the comment.

"What?" I had no idea what they were talking about.

"When I went to talk to Stefan, he was in the shower and she was walking around in a towel" Elena explained.

"Oooh," I nodded. "So that's why you've been lurking" before Elena could defend herself, I turned to the other girl. "I'm Ella, her twin sister."

The blonde smiled. "I'm Lexi. Here" she handed us each a shot.

"I didn't know that you guys could drink" Elena set down her glass of soda to grab the shot glass.

"Oh, yeah" Lexi nodded. "It helps curb the cravings" I filed that away for future reference. "But makes for a lot of lushy vamps." Elena and I both laughed at her comment. Lexi seemed like a fun girl.

"You know, I've never seen Stefan drunk" Elena commented. "He always seems so…"

"Uptight?" I offered. Lexi laughed.

"Yeah" Elena nodded. "But not with you."

"Well, that's the benefit of knowing someone for over a hundred years," Lexi told us. "You can just be yourself."

"Yeah, he can't be himself with me" Elena sighed.

"Well, not yet. The first step was him telling you" Lexi explained. "The rest comes with time."

"You seem so sure."

"Elena, it's like that with every relationship. Supernatural, or normal." I interjected.

"Ella's right" we both looked at her. "The love of my life was human. He went through what I imagine you're going through. Denial, anger, et cetera. But at the end of the day, love really did conquer all."

Elena looked like she was really thinking about Lexi's words.

"Are you gonna drink that?" I laughed at the abrupt change in tone and handed Lexi my shot glass. She obviously needed it more than me. Elena did the same.

"I'm scared" Elena admitted.

"But you're here" Lexi soothed. "Because you're crazy about him. I get it, okay? I mean, what's not to love? Listen, take it from someone who has been around a long time. When it's real, you can't walk away."

Lexi took one last shot and moved to walk away.

"Hey, Lexi" Elena stopped her. "It was really nice meeting you." I smiled at Lexi, letting her know I felt the same.

Lexi didn't say anything, just smiled smugly and walked back over to Stefan.

"She's right you know," I told Elena. "You and Stefan have this epic love story, and just because the road turns into a steep slide every now and then doesn't mean you should give up on that. I mean, just being around you two makes me so filled with love I want to vomit rainbows"

Elena laughed at me, which was my goal. She needed to smile and laugh more. "Go. Go makeup with lover boy" I pushed her towards Stefan.

And again, I was alone. Maybe I should stick with Bonnie more often.

I walked around, trying to find someone to talk to when I saw Matt sitting in a booth. Caroline was practically in his lap, and it was obvious she was drunk. But Matt, being Matt, would take care of her.

I felt my heart breaking. I laughed at myself. I knew I couldn't have feelings for Matt Donovan, my sister's ex. And him and Caroline? Caroline deserved a nice guy after Damon.

That didn't stop me from feeling like crap beaten over and over again. I just watched as Matt picked Caroline up and carried her out of the Grill.

I was overwhelmed with desperation and despair. I'm not sure what was mine and what wasn't. All I knew, was I had to get home and get Matt off my mind.

I blindly started stumbling my way out of the Grill, just needing to be out of there.

"Whoa, whoa" I slammed into a firm chest, a slightly familiar scent filling my nose.

"Tyler?"

"Ella? Are you drunk?" he asked, surprised. I wasn't one for drinking, usually.

"I wish" I snorted. I tried to go around him, but he wouldn't loosen his grip on my arms.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, let me go" I pulled against his grip again, but he didn't let me go. "Let me go, Tyler."

"No. Come on, Ella, what's wrong?" I could feel tears sliding down my face by now, and I knew I looked wrecked.

"It won't stop, Ty" I finally looked up at his face. I'm not sure what he was seeing, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty. "It won't stop and I just want it all to stop. I don't want to feel anything anymore" I cried.

"Hey, come here" Tyler wrapped his arms around me in a hug, maneuvering me so he could walk me out of the Grill. Once outside, he sat me down on a bench. "What do you want to stop?"

"All the feelings. I want the pain to go away. I don't want to feel abandoned anymore. I want to be noticed for once in my life as more than the best friend, or the freak." I cried, not entirely conscious of the words spilling out of my mouth.

Tyler had a strange look on his face when I had stopped talking. Kind of like realization mixed with determination.

Before I could process it, his lips were on mine. The kiss was warm and inviting, and I found myself lost in it. Tyler pulled back slightly, still holding onto me. "I don't want to be alone" I whispered against his lips.

He kissed me again, harder, his tongue invading my mouth. I leaned into him, wanting more. There was a fog in my brain, preventing me from rational thinking.

Tyler pulled away and led me to his car. He drove us to his house, carefully leading me up to his bedroom, trying to avoid his parents.

And I wasn't alone. For that one night, I felt wanted. I knew we were using each other, but at that moment, I didn't care.