Ch. 10

A/N: I am so so so so so sorry. Words cannot even describe how sorry I am. I was really busy and then my computer broke. Something issue with the cooling fan that made it overheat. So I have not been able to update. Luckily, school is ending very soon, so updates will hopefully be quicker. Finals are next week. Unfortunately after finals end, I will be going to Barcelona and France for a little while, but I will try to update again by then. As always thank you to everyone who reads this story. I love all the messages I still receive about new followers and favorites. You guys made my day. Again sorry about the late update and the mistakes, so if anyone is still reading this story, enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. Anything you recognize is not mine. I only own my OC's, Emilia and Alliana.

Alliana was spending time with Rebekah, but her mind was focused elsewhere. Alliana was not happy. Everywhere she turned, Tatia seemed to be there. Every time that she wanted to spend time with Elijah or Niklaus, Tatia would be with them. It was infuriating. They should be spending time with her, not her older twin sister. What made Tatia better than her? She was just as pretty as Tatia, but Elijah and Niklaus both would rather spend time with Tatia. They both do not also see that Tatia is playing both of them.

As Alliana did her chores with Rebekah, she wondered about how to get the brothers to spend more time with her. She could not think of any ideas.

"Rebekah, what do you think of my sister?" Alliana asked.

Rebekah turned to her. "Why would you ask?"

"I am wondering why your brothers, Niklaus and Elijah are no longer spending time with me."

"I think she is awful. She is playing with both of my brothers and they do not even know."

"How about we show them?"

"What do you mean?" Rebekah asked.

Alliana just smiled. "We show them," she said.

Alliana and Rebekah created a plan with a little help from Kol. They were going to make Tatia reveal that she is playing with both of the brothers by having Alliana talk to Tatia about them.

Alliana walked into the marketplace and saw Tatia. She looked away and waited for her twin to see her. It did not take long. Tatia called over for her.

"Alliana!" Alliana looked over to see Tatia. She walked over slowly.

"Hello, sister," she said politely.

"It is very nice to see you," Tatia said. Alliana noticed Elijah behind Tatia and Niklaus not too far behind either.

"Yes, it is. I have not been able to speak with you as someone always seems to be with you."

"I don't know why that would be," Tatia said. Alliana noticed Elijah move slightly closer, listening to their conversation. Niklaus also moved closer, but into a place where Elijah could not see him. Alliana smirked. Her plan was working perfectly.

"Yes. You seem to be spending a lot of time with Elijah. He is a dear friend of mine." Niklaus' face took on a confused expression.

"Yes. He has been very kind to me."

"I have also noticed you spending just as much time with his brother, Niklaus. He is also a dear friend of mine." Elijah's face had also then taken a confused expression.

"Yes. He is very sweet to me."

"I have heard talk about them thinking of courting you for marriage. You do know that you cannot have them both."

Tatia smiled. "But why would I only have one, when I can have both." Niklaus and Elijah's faces both became serious, then furious.

"Dear sister, you know if you continue down this path again something unfortunate would happen. You have already had one child and had been disgraced," Alliana said. Her voice takes on a sickly sweet tone. "We would not want that to happen again, now would we?" She smiled. Tatia's face fell. Alliana giggled. Elijah and Niklaus both stormed away. Tatia turned just in time to see them storm away furiously. She tried to run after them, but they went in opposite directions, so she could not.

Alliana smiled. Now Niklaus and Elijah would have to be with her. Everything went perfectly.

I walked by my brother's room. I could see him drawing in his sketchbook. My heart filled with warmth. In the wake of our parents' deaths, I had looked for solace in my drawing as a way of grieving and comfort, while Jeremy took a different route. He had pushed away his sketching, seeking solace in drugs and Vicki. I was so glad to see him with it again. I stood there silently, watching him sketch for a few minutes when Elena walks up behind me. She sees what I see and we share a smile. Elena motions for us to leave and I nod. I close Jeremy's door as we walk away. Jenna is downstairs getting her stuff to leave.

"Jeremy's got his sketchpad out," I tell Jenna.

Jenna turns around and looks at us. "You're kidding."

"Nope. But the minute we encourage him, he will put it away," I say.

"Psychology major," Jenna says. "Check that."

Jenna and I both turn to see Elena checking her phone. "Stefan?" I ask.

Elena sighs before she says, "He knows how I feel and where I stand, and I know where he stands. But it doesn't matter. He's leaving, moving away." Elena finishes buttoning up her jacket.

"Where's he going?" Jenna asks. Elena opens the door.

"We've stopped asking questions. The answers get scary," I say. We all walk outside, and Elena closes the door behind us.

"Yours leaves, mine returns," Jenna says.

"Logan?" Elena asks.

"He's back," Jenna says. Elena and I both groan. "I didn't let him past the front door."

"I hope you slammed it in his face," Elena says.

"Ah, medium slam," Jenna replies.

"You want me to kick his ass?" I ask.

"Nah. That would just be too cruel," Jenna replies.

"Well, next time he comes here, I will punch him in the face," I say. Jenna and Elena laugh. "No joke. Three strike rule, Jenna."

"Yeah. You're not even allowed to watch the news," my twin agrees.

"Exactly. No more Logan 'Scum' Fell," Jenna says.

Bonnie joined Elena and me in school. We were walking in the hallways and saw Matt and Caroline talking. I am really happy for Caroline. She followed my advice, even though she was super drunk and probably doesn't even remember it.

"Did I miss something?" Elena asks.

"They've been hanging out," I say.

"Kind of weird, don't you think?" Elena says. We watch them walk into their next class together.

"I think it's sweet," Bonnie says.

"Me too. Caroline needs someone nice like Matt," I say.

"As opposed to a homicidal vampire like Damon," Bonnie says. I start giggling.

"Yeah. How are you doing with all that?" I ask.

"I'm freaked out," Bonnie admits. "Damon attacked me. I could be dead right now."

"That's a morbid thought," I interrupt her.

"What? It's true," she replies. "But I'm also grateful." We look at her questioningly. "To Stefan. He saved my life, and…" Elena looks away, trying not to look hurt. "Have you seen him?"

"Not since he told me he was leaving," Elena replies. She opens her locker and places her scarf and bag in it.

"He wouldn't leave without saying good-bye," I say.

"Yes, he would. He thinks he's protecting me. Clean break and all that," Elena says. She switches her stuff for the books she needs.

"So what are you going to do?" Bonnie asks.

"What am I supposed to do? I already begged for him not to go," Elena says. "If I ask again, then I'm being selfish." That is stupid. You fight for the people you care about. And I know Stefan and Elena care for each other at the very least, if not love each other. I would do anything for the people I love, but I am not in this situation.

"It is what it is," Bonnie says as we walk away from Elena's locker. I quickly change my books in my locker, which is near Elena's and walk back to Bonnie and Elena. "Maybe it's for the best. I mean, what kind of future could you have had with him, even if he stayed?" Again, stupid. You make your own future. They can be happy and together for as long as they want. It's their choice. I can feel my blood start to boil. I'm getting worked up about something that isn't my business. Right after Bonnie says that and I start to get mad, the banner that people were hanging up above us falls. I instantly calm down. We all stare at the banner, which says 'The Promise of YOUR Future.' That's ironic. Elena and I look to Bonnie.

"Did you…?" Elena starts to ask.

"No, I swear," Bonnie quickly replies. Elena quickly walks away, pushing the banner away. Bonnie watches her leave, and then follows after a few seconds. I help the kids lift the banner back up before I follow.

After school, Elena and I see Stefan sitting on one of the picnic tables outside. I tell her that I would see her later and went home. I find Jeremy and Jenna talking about Jonathan Gilbert's journal.

"I thought he was just crazy or a drunk," Jeremy says, probably referring to the fact that Jonathan wrote a lot about vampires.

"He was a Gilbert. Probably a bit of both," Jenna says, handing Jeremy the journal. He goes to look through it again.

"Hey, don't knock the family name," I tell her teasingly.

"I'm not wrong," she says.

"Sadly, no. You are not wrong."

"Want to help me make some food for before we leave?" Jenna asks.

"You mean 'do I want to make food, while you watch'?"

"Yeah. I probably shouldn't cook."

"No!" Jeremy yells from the couch. Jenna and I laugh.

"Don't worry. I will make some food that is actually edible," I say.

"Hey! My food is edible," Jenna says. I laugh.

"Just keep telling yourself that." I turn away to start making dinner.

After a delicious dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce, courtesy of me, Jenna, Jeremy and I head to Career Night. Jeremy heads off to who knows where. Jenna starts to talk with a few of her friends who were here to help showcase their careers. I started to wander around. I look at some of the career options, but none really interest me. For the longest time, I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps, but now I am not so sure. Elena has always wanted to be a writer, but I know she is no longer sure either. After our parents died, it just kind of seems hard to be these things when all our parents did was push and support us doing these things. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad teaching me about medicine and following him around his practice. He always told me that I had to be really smart and really determined if I wanted to be a doctor. He fostered my great love of learning, along with my mom giving me all these great books to read. Being here reminds me that they are not here themselves. Their death has changed me and I am lost as to who I am now.

After a little while I find Jenna again and stick with her. I don't feel like being lost in my own thoughts. I spot Logan here and point him out to Jenna, who immediately walks the other way. I follow her to find her talking with Elena, who is standing next to Stefan.

"Hide me," Jenna says.

"What's going on?" Elena asks.

I walk over. "The Scum Fell has landed," I say.

Elena groans. "Logan's here?"

"Yeah. And we are so happy to see his ugly face," I say sarcastically.

"Wait," Stefan says. "Logan Fell?"

"The one and only," I say annoyed. Stefan walks away. Okay? We watch him walk out into the hallway and stop there. We follow him.

"Stefan, what is going on?" Elena asks.

"Jenna," Logan says as he walks over. "Are you dodging me?"

"No, she just walks the opposite direction every time she sees you for no apparent reason," I say sarcastically. I am very sarcastic to people I don't like and people who annoy me.

"Um, Elena, why don't you, Jenna, and Emilia go somewhere else?" Stefan asks.

Elena nods and grabs Jenna's arm. "Let's go." She drags Jenna away quickly. I follow, but stay just long enough to give Logan a 'Fuck off' glare. When we get away, Elena turns to Jenna.

"When Logan came to the house, what did he say?" Elena asks. I think I know where she is going with this.

Jenna groans and fixes her bag on her shoulder. "Fake flattery. Stupid, dimpled grin. Puppy dog eyes."

"Jenna, focus," I say. "How did he act? What did he say?"

"He was the usual Logan. He was charming, a little more manic than usual," she replies. It hit me. He's a vampire. "He kept trying to convince me to let him in." Yup, he is definitely a vampire. Great…

I turn to Elena. She looks me in the eyes. We do our special twin telepathy thing. I tell her he is a vampire by looking in her eyes. She looks alarmed when she gets it. I quickly turn to Jenna. "Okay, listen to me very carefully," I say seriously. "Do not, under any circumstances, talk to him again. And whatever you do, do not let him in the house."

"We're serious, Jenna. Never talk to him again. Like, ever," Elena says. Jenna looks at us confused, but she nods her understanding.

"Hey, Emilia. Hello, Elena," Mr. Saltzman says as he walks up to us behind Jenna. "Jenna." She turns around to talk to him. "Yeah, I was hoping to, uh, see you tonight."

"Career Night is the new bowling," Jenna replies, flirting. He laughs. Ooh. This is interesting. Strange for my aunt and my teacher to be flirting, but interesting. Elena and I excuse ourselves and quickly walk away.

We find Stefan and we all start looking for Logan. I see Jeremy and Tyler talking. Uh-oh. This won't be good. Soon enough, they are fighting in the hallway. Mr. Saltzman and Mayor Lockwood break them up and the Mayor takes them outside. I turn to Elena.

"Go. Go with Stefan and find Logan. I'll stay and deal with Jeremy," I say. She nods and they walk away. I walk over quickly to Mr. Saltzman. I'm going to need backup.

"Hey, Mr. Saltzman. I need your help," I say to him. He nods and we walk outside. We find them right as Mayor Lockwood tells them to fight. Both Jeremy and Tyler say no. As Tyler starts to walk away, his father pushes him back and yells at him to fight. Mr. Saltzman intervenes at that moment.

"Whoa. What's going on out here?" he asks as he walks up. I stay back by the door. My presence would not help the situation much. Mayor Lockwood stiffens and straightens up before turning around.

"Just lettin' these 2 kids work it out," the mayor says. "We're good here. Go back inside."

"I don't want to go back inside," Mr. Saltzman replies, calmy. "What I want is an answer to my question. What's going on out here?"

"Who do you think you are talking to?" Mayor Lockwood asks. He sounds pissed off. Good, he's a dick. "Do I look like a student?"

"No. You look like a full grown alpha-male douche bag," Mr. Saltzman says calmly. Ooh, burn! Jeremy tries to hide a smile and Tyler just looks surprised.

"You don't talk to me like that," Mayor Lockwood says sounding even more pissed off. "I can have your job like this." He snaps. Mr. Saltzman just looks down and smiles back at the mayor.

"Ah, you do that. Then, it'll be you and me in this parking lot, working things out." Mr. Saltzman takes a step closer to the mayor and crosses his arms. "You cool with that?"

"You just marked yourself," Mayor Lockwood says, trying to sound intimidating and failing. He looks at Tyler who starts to walk away and the mayor follows. Mr. Saltzman turns to Jeremy.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy nods in reply. "Come on." They walk back over to me and the door. Jeremy has a guilty look on his face.

"Thanks, Mr. Saltzman," I say. I look at Jeremy. "You, let's go." I gesture with my head to the door. Jeremy opens the door and we all head in. I go and find some of my classmates and talk to them. A little while later, Jeremy comes back inside again, holding his nose which is bleeding. I say goodbye to Mia, my classmate and walk over to Jeremy.

"What did you do?" I ask him.

"Nothing. I was just trying to talk to Tyler about his dad, when he punched me out of nowhere," he tells me.

"Then don't talk to Tyler. He's an ass. Come on. I'll clean you up at home." We grab Jenna and head home.

I clean Jeremy up and head to my room. I check my phone to find that Elena had called me. She left a voicemail saying she had taken Stefan home. She wasn't back yet, so she must be staying there. I'm glad they are most likely back together. I start reading a book that my mom gave me before she died. I let myself get lost in the story instead of thinking about my parents. I quietly listen to music. It is loud enough that I can hear it, but quiet enough it does not distract me from getting lost in my story. I get so lost in the story that I do not see my phone flashing, telling me that Elena is calling.

I wake up the next day and I see that Elena is not in her room. She must still be at the Salvatore's. I finish getting ready and check my phone. I find a missed call and a voicemail from Elena from last night. It must be her telling me she will see me at school or something. I'll listen to it at school. I drive Jeremy to school and drop him off. I park the car and pull out my phone. I listen to the voicemail and a feeling a dread and worry comes over me as soon as I start to listen to it.

Elena's voice is choked. She must be crying. "Emmy. It's me. I found something in Stefan's room…a picture….from 1864….it's of Katherine… Emmy, she looks exactly like me." Her voice cracks as she says the last sentence. "I don't know what to do. I'm on my way home now. Emmy. What do I do? I'll see you soon." Right before she hangs up I hear her shriek and the sound of squealing tires and a crash before it ends.

I have to find her.

I quickly start my car and head towards the Salvatore Boarding house. On my way, on a quiet road I find something that stops my heart. Elena's car flipped over and completely totaled on the side of the road. I quickly get out of my car and rush over. I don't see my sister in the car or anywhere else around here. I see what's left of the windshield on the road, but I can't find my sister. I get back in my car and rush over to the Salvatore boarding house. I need to get some answers and find my twin.

When I reach the house, I rush inside, but not before I pull something out of my glove compartment. I find Stefan in his room facing the window and facing away from the window. He is holding something in his hand. I can see it's my sister's necklace. She never takes it off. Something is definitely wrong. I feel my blood boil. Stefan seems distracted. I get behind him and pull him around me and to the ground. By the time he realizes what is going on, I am have one knee pressed against his torso, pinning him, and one arm pressed against his neck while the other holds a stake against his chest.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't push this stake directly into your heart," I say threateningly. Stefan stares at me in shock. "Where is my sister?"

"I don't know. She left the house when I went to get her a drink. I found her necklace. I have tried calling her, but she won't talk to me. She is with Damon. That's all I know. I never meant to hurt her."

"You have 1 minute to explain why she would run out of this house and call me crying about a picture of Katherine before I shove this wooden stake deep into your heart, so you will not survive."

"Elena found a picture from 1864 of Katherine. She realized that she looks exactly like Katherine and she left. I never got the chance to explain. I don't love her because she looks like Katherine. That has nothing to do with my feelings for her. Her looks drew me in, but I fell in love with her because of her personality, not her looks," Stefan says in a rush. I back off of him.

"Fine. I don't forgive you yet, but I am not going to kill you at this moment." We both get up. "This is some seriously crazy shit. The vampire who turned you almost 150 years ago, that both you and your brother fell in love with looks exactly like my twin sister."

"Yeah. It is a little crazy."

"But, I swear if you hurt my sister again, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"I would never hurt her."

"Little late for that, buddy," I say. "Do you have a plan to find my sister?"

"Yeah, but we need Bonnie's help."

We find Bonnie at school. She is outside. I walk up to her first. We start walking to a picnic table.

"Hey, Ems. Where have you been?"

"Bonnie, we need your help," I reply. Stefan walks over.

When Bonnie sees Stefan, she immediately stiffens. "Hi, Stefan," she says.

"I haven't seen you lately. How are you doing with everything?" Stefan asks.

"I'm fine. It's all been fine," she replies. Polite conversation is normally good, but right now I really want to get to the point.

"Good."

"Yeah," she says. "Are you back in school?"

"No. Actually I came here to find you," Stefan says.

"Like I said, we need your help," I say. "We were hoping you can help us with something with a spell."

"Stefan, I know Emmy and Elena are okay with all this, and I appreciate what you did to help me, but I'm not ready to dive into all of this with you just yet."

"Bonnie, I get it. And I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't necessary. Please. I need help," I say. "It's Elena." Her eyes widen in surprise and worry. "She's with Damon." We sit at a picnic table.

"I have Elena's necklace. I was just hoping that you could use this to make some sort of connection," Stefan says. "I just need to know that she's okay."

"How do you know I can do this?" Bonnie asks.

"Because I've known a few witches over the years. I've seen what they can do."

"I'm still new at it."

"It's okay. Give it a shot," Stefan says. He hands her the necklace.

"It's okay, Bonnie. I know you can do it," I say. She gives me a small smile, before she closes her eyes in concentration. After a few seconds, her eyebrows furrow and her grip tightens on the necklace in her clasped hands.

"There's nothing," Bonnie says when she opens her eyes. "Nothing's happening. Usually there's an image or…" She looks at us worried. "Tell me if anyone is looking."

"Okay," Stefan and I both say. Bonnie grabs a leaf off the ground. She places it on the table and holds her hand over it like she did with the feathers in Elena's room. She moves her hand, but nothing happens. Something's wrong. She tries again, but still nothing happens. Her hands drop in disappointment and worry.

"Something's wrong," Bonnie says.

"With Elena?" Stefan asks quickly. No dude.

"No. With me. There's something wrong with me," Bonnie replies.

"There's something wrong with your magic?" I ask. She nods.

"I have to go. I'm sorry, Ems. Sorry, Stefan." She gets up and grabs her stuff. "I can't help you." Bonnie quickly runs away. Stefan and I turn to each other.

"I am going to find Bonnie. You keep searching for Elena," I say before I run after Bonnie.

I first search for Bonnie at her house, but she isn't there. I next go to her Grams' house. I knock on the door. Sheila Bennett, Bonnie's Grams opens the door.

"Hey Grams," I say. "Have you seen Bonnie? She ran from school a little while ago."

"She was just here a few minutes ago. You just missed her," she replies.

I sigh in frustration. "Do you know where she might have gone?" I ask politely.

"No, but you might," Grams says. "She's keeping secrets from me, but she tells you everything." She gives me a pointed look.

"Yeah, I know she's a witch," I say slightly guilty.

"She needs to clear the block in her magic. She needs to clear whatever has got her so scared."

I get it. "I know where she is. I will help her get past this block."

"I know you will."

"Thanks Grams. Bye," I say before I rush to get to Bonnie.

I run through the forest. I know these woods like the back of my hand. I spent most of my childhood in these woods. I run to the ruins of Fell's Church. Bonnie is there.

"Bonnie!" I call to her. She looks at me, surprised. "It's just me."

"What are you doing here?" I walk over to her.

"I'm here to help you. Stefan will find my sister. I am going to help you get past your fear." She nods at me. I pick up a leaf from the ground and hand it to her. "It's okay. You can do this."

She tries to lift the leaf with magic again. It doesn't work, so she shakes her hand and tries again. A creaky noise sounds through the area. Bonnie stops and looks around. The noise sounds again, but louder. We both look around, but nothing is there.

"Hello?" Bonnie calls out. It echoes, but no one answers. The sound of wood cracking sounds through the forest. "Anyone there?!" The echo of her shout is also heard throughout the area.

"Bonnie, calm down. It's just us," I say. She looks at me and smiles. I let out a breath I had been holding. I inhale right before the ground underneath us caves in and we fall.

I wake up on the ground. My whole back hurts, but it is manageable. I get up to find Bonnie next to me unconscious. I shake her to wake her up. Luckily, she didn't land on any large rocks. I assess her for other injuries. She has a cut on her leg, but it isn't too bad. She has a small cut on her head, but she seems fine, so I am not too worried about injuries. I look around to find us trapped in a tomb, I think. The only exit is above us. Bonnie starts to call out for someone to help us, but I know it's useless. Nobody was around us, so nobody can hear us now. Bonnie takes a huge gasp beside me. I turn to look at what she is looking at. It's a closed door with a star inscribed in a circle. Emily Bennett's sign. I turn to Bonnie.

"Hey. It's okay. We will be fine. Someone will find us and we will be okay," I say to her. It is almost all a lie, but I have to keep her hopes up for our sakes. "Just think of this as a way to help you get past your block. You can do this." Bonnie starts to calm down, but she still shies away from the door.

We wait a while sitting in the 'tomb.' Bonnie has tried to get her phone to work, but there is no service. I have been thinking of random things. Some historical facts, a little worrying about Elena, ideas for a new drawing, memories that I quickly move away from, lyrics for a song I recently heard. Bonnie eventually gives up on trying to get her phone to work. She uses it as a flashlight and walks over to the door with Emily's symbol. She presses her hand against it and leans against it. She turns her head as if she was eavesdropping. I get curious, so I walk over to her, ignoring the pain in my back. I place my hand gently on her back and press my ear against the door as well. I hear whispers. They sound in pain. It scares Bonnie, so she walks back away from the door. Someone flashes behind her and touches her on her shoulders. I jump in shock. She freaks out and starts screaming.

"Get away from me!" Bonnie screams. I turn to see that it is only Stefan.

"Bonnie. It's me. It's Stefan," he says.

Bonnie calms down enough to shakily ask, "Stefan?"

He nods. I move over to them. "The ground gave way and we fell," I say.

"Come on. Let's get you two out of here," Stefan says.

"How?" Bonnie asks shakily. It's very obvious she is very scared.

"Close your eyes," I tell her. She doesn't need to be more freaked out now.

"Trust me," Stefan says. "Come here." He says to me. I walk up next to him. He wraps his arms around Bonnie and I and suddenly I feel a rush and we are back on forest level.

"You can open your eyes now," I say gently to Bonnie with my hand on her shoulder.

Bonnie says, "Whoa" when she opens her eyes.

"I didn't want to scare you," Stefan says.

"How did you know where we were?" I ask him.

"Well, your grandmother told me what you were doing. I guessed the where," Stefan says.

"Yeah, that's the same thing I did," I say.

Bonnie still looks a little scared. "I heard them. Down there. Behind the door." I don't know for sure what she is talking about. I only heard whispers, but I guess she heard more. Stefan seems to know what she is talking about. "Are they in pain?"

"In the beginning, yes. But not anymore. They've starved to the point of desiccation," Stefan replies shaking his head.

"But if they have blood-" Bonnie starts to say, but Stefan interrupts her.

"That's not going to happen, Bonnie," Stefan replies. Oh, they are talking about vampires. They must be trapped in that tomb. "They can't get out. Emily saw to that when she had you destroy the crystal."

Bonnie still looks a bit scared, so I add, "You're safe, Bonnie."

We take Bonnie home after that. As soon as we hit the front porch, Grams is opening the door. "Well, now, look who's returned from battle." She opens her arms and Bonnie rushes into a hug. I smile at the sweet sight. "Can I talk to your friend for a minute?" I can tell she is talking about Stefan, so I follow Bonnie inside her house. Bonnie leans against the counter in her kitchen with her arms wrapped around herself. I make her tea to help calm her down. My mom used to do it for us all the time when we were little, so she knows the meaning behind it. She smiles gratefully when I hand it to her.

"Hey. You'll be okay," I say to her. "I know it seems hard now, but you are one of the strongest people I know. You'll get through it."

Bonnie gives me a big smile. "Thanks, Ems." I give her a big hug.

"I gotta get home. Will you be okay?" I ask her.

She nods to me. "I'll be fine. Go."

I give her another hug. "I love you Bon-Bon."

"I love you too, Ems."

I get home and try to attempt to change into my pajamas. When I try to take off my shirt, pain radiates from my whole back, especially my middle back. I go into the bathroom and look at my back in the mirror. There are bruises starting to form across almost my entire back. There is a deep-ish cut in the center of my back going diagonally from towards my right shoulder to my lower left back. It is only in the center of my back and isn't bleeding too badly. There isn't a need for stitches. I must have gotten this from falling on all those rocks. It's not the worst I've had so I continue to change and go to sleep.

The next morning, Elena finally calls me.

"Emmy?" Elena asks when I pick up my phone.

"Elena! Where have you been?! I got your message and I drove to find you and I found your car and it was completely totaled! I got so scared!"

"Emmy, I am so sorry. I meant to call you to tell you that I was okay, but I was busy. I am fine. I am okay." I breath out a sigh of relief.

"Good. I was getting so worried. You do something like this again and I swear I will find you and drag you home by your ears."

Elena laughs. "I will be sure it never happens again."

"You better."

"Hey. I need to ask for a favor."

"You are lucky I am feeling generous because I know you are alive."

"Can you come to talk to Stefan with me?"

"Ugh. Fine. But I get to borrow something from your closet," I say.

"Okay," she replies.

"And I get the last cookie the next time I make them."

"Fine."

"And you have to be my slave for the next week."

"What?! No way!" Elena says laughing.

"Fine, but you still have to do the first two."

"Okay. Just come with me."

I laugh. "I'm on my way now."

"Love you, Lia."

"I love you too, Lena."

I meet up with Elena in front of the Salvatore Boarding House. We head inside and to Stefan's room. Elena walks in the room.

I hear her say, "hi." I also hear Stefan reply the same. I walk in.

"Hi." Stefan looks at me in confusion. "I'm the emotional support." I say as a way of explanation while I lean against the wall by the door. Stefan nods his head in understanding. He looks back towards Elena.

"You could have told me," she says.

"I wanted to tell you," he replies.

"You said no more lies, only the truth." This is getting intense. I feel like if this wasn't my life it would be a good TV show. I feel like I might need popcorn for this. Elena starts walking towards Stefan "I can handle the truth, Stefan. As crazy as it is, I can handle the fact that you're a vampire. And you have a vampire brother. And that my best friend is a witch. I can accept that the world is a much more mysterious place than I ever thought possible." I have almost always known that the world is dangerous, but I guess growing up in a small town can inhibit that fact for other people. Elena starts walking around Stefan's desk and to him. Her eyes never left Stefan's. This is so intense.

"But this- this lie, I cannot take," Elena continues. "What am I to you? Who am I to you?"

"You are not Katherine," Stefan says. God I hope not. Not only would that be really creepy, but it would kind of suck. Katherine sounds like a total bitch. I would hate to meet her. "You are the opposite of everything that she was," Stefan continues.

"And when did you figure that out?" Elena asks, slightly sarcastically. "Before you kissed me? Before we slept together?" My suspicions have been confirmed. I knew they slept together.

Stefan takes a breath before he answers, "Before I met you." Ooh, this just got more interesting. I move slightly closer and I begin to listen a little more carefully.

Elena's face is shocked and confused. "What?"

"The first day of school… when we met… it wasn't for the first time, Elena," Stefan replies.

Elena asks the same question I was thinking. "Then when was it?"

"May 23, 2009." No. That was the day our parents died.

"But that was-" Elena starts.

"The day everything changed. The day our parents' car drove off of Wickery Bridge," I say. I quickly move next to my twin. I grab her hand and squeeze it tight to let her know I am there. She looks like she had taken a blow to the chest.

"You were there?" Elena asks.

"Every couple of years I come back to see Zach and to see my home. Last spring, I was out in the woods, by old Wickery Bridge," Stefan says. He moves around the desk to stand in front of us. "And I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged." Elena's eyes started to fill with tears. This was obviously very hard to hear for her. My heart started to get very heavy, but I didn't break out in tears. "Your dad, he was still conscious. I was able to get to him, nut he wouldn't let me help him until I helped you two."

"Oh my god,' Elena says, her voice cracking. I grab my twin in a tight hug. "When we woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how we got out of the car. They said it was a miracle."

"I grabbed you first," Stefan says to Elena. "Then I quickly rushed to grab Emilia, but by the time I went back for them, it was already too late. I couldn't…. I couldn't save them."

I remember something from the crash. "Wait. I was semi-conscious. I saw you there. I saw you take my sister. I thought I was hallucinating, because the next thing I remember is being in the hospital," I say.

"That was me. I could see that you were conscious, so I grabbed Elena first," Stefan says. "When I pulled you out, I looked at your face, Elena. You looked like Katherine. I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren't her. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Katherine." That sounds really stalkery, but I didn't say anything. I let go of Elena but I keep holding her hand. "And I wanted to leave town, but Elena, I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you. I am sorry that I didn't tell you. I wanted to, but you were so sad." Stefan's eyes were filling with tears. HE tried to continue, but he didn't say anything. I took the opportunity to ask something that has been on my mind since I found out about this whole debacle.

"Why does Elena look like her?" I ask.

"You guys have been through so much," Stefan starts. Why would this involve me?

"Why do I look like her, Stefan? What are you not telling me?" Elena asks. She takes a step back as she says this. I follow behind her.

Stefan looks down when he answers. "It didn't make any sense to me." He looks up at Elena. "You were a Gilbert. She was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth." He takes another deep breath. I could feel my heart dropping in dread. He looks back at us. "You two were adopted."

My breath left me in a big rush. My heart completely dropped. I felt like I had been stabbed. I didn't know how to handle this information. I just grab my sister and pull her into a hug again. She was completely frozen in shock.

Stefan leads us to his couch. I sat next to Elena and Stefan was on her other side. Her first words after finding this out was, "How do you know this?" I wrap my arms around Elena and rub her back trying to comfort her as much as I can. It's the only thing I can do until I figure how to handle this.

"Your birth certificates from the city records. It says 'Elena Jennifer and Emilia Grace Gilbert. Mystic Falls General.' But there's no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant."

Elena turns to Stefan. "What else do you know?"

"For me to go further, I would've had to look into the Pierce family, and I couldn't do that. It was too much of a risk. If someone found out that I was asking about Katherine…" Stefan says.

"Listen to me, it doesn't matter, Lena," I say.

"Emilia is right. Elena, you are the woman that I love. I love you," Stefan says. They stare deeply into each other's eyes. I could tell they were about to start kissing, so I leave the room quickly, but very quietly. I walk down the stairs and go into the kitchen. I start searching the kitchen for mugs and tea. It will probably not be enough, but it was the only thing I could think of to do. I find some generic tea and start heating up water. I pour it into a mug and when I start to steep my tea, Damon walks downstairs putting on his leather jacket. He sees me and slows down.

I take a deep breath before saying quietly, "Thank you." I know he heard me. "Thank you for saving my sister. It means a lot to me, so thank you."

He nods before softly saying, "No problem." He then walks out the door. I pour the rest of the hot water into another mug and start steeping that before bringing it up to my sister. I knock on Stefan's door before walking in. Stefan has his arms wrapped around my sister who was crying. I hand her the tea.

"I think it's time we head home. Jenna will be worried," I say softly.

Sure enough, Jenna was on the couch, quickly flipping through a magazine when we got home. You could feel the worry from her.

"I don't set a lot of rules, Elena. Not with you two. I trust you to tell me the truth," Jenna says. Bad moment to bring up talking about the truth. Jenna gets up and walks around the couch and up to Elena, who was in front of me. "Where were you? Why did you lie to me about it? I thought we were closer than that."

"Now is not the time you want to talk to me about lies," Elena says. She goes to go upstairs.

"Don't do that. Don't turn this back on me. I didn't do anything," Jenna says loudly.

"Okay, question. Are we adopted?" Elena asks. Jenna stops. Her eyes open wide in surprise and she swallows. "I trust you to tell me the truth too, Jenna. How could you not tell us? I thought we were closer than that." Elena says throwing what Jenna just said back in her face. I say nothing.

Elena starts to run up the stairs. "Your parents- they asked me not to!" Jenna shouts to her.

"I don't want to hear it!" Elena shouts back from upstairs. Jenna turns to me. I just stay quiet as I walk up the stairs. My mind is still so confused.

A/N: This is officially the longest chapter at over 7,500 words. Thank you for reading. I completely made up Elena's middle name. I don't know what her actual middle name is. Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows.