Three days later, Poppy found herself in school, once again tapping her pencil impatiently as she waited for the last bell to ring for the day. There were rumors going around about her and Elijah, though no one really knew who he was – all that the students of Mystic Falls High School needed was to see the popular girl entering the car of an attractive man who was new to town. She honestly didn't mind, and she knew there was a lot of talk, especially since he'd been her ride home every day that week.

The school bell rang, dismissing all of the students and Poppy held herself back from jumping for joy. She was excited to leave, to put it lightly.

She rushed out of the classroom and all eyes were on her, yet again, when she got into the car that pulled in front of her. Elijah greeted her with a small smile.

"Good afternoon, Poppy."

Immediately, she smiled back. "Hiya." The blonde looked towards a perplexed Caroline who was standing in front of the school doors, staring at them and obviously concerned. Poppy gave her a smile and a thumbs up. She turned back to Elijah. "Okay, Mikaelson. Take me away from this place known as hell."

Elijah rolled his eyes at her, but sped away to the place where they would be meeting with Jenna.

"So I'm guessing you'll be acting like you've never seen any of this? After all, Jenna still doesn't know about this world we're all tied up in…" she said, looking over at him.

"Yes, that is the plan. Though I may show off a bit of my knowledge," he said. Then he looked over at her. Today she was wearing dark burgundy jeans with a thin white sweater and black knee-high boots. He frowned. "It's quite cold today, are you sure you don't want to pick up a coat before we leave?"

Poppy gave him a weird look before she smiled. "Awe, is Elijah worried about my wellbeing? That's so sweet. And I suppose a coat would be good, but I can just text Jenna," she told him. She then sent a short message to her aunt before turning again to the Original. "So, what did you do today? Wreak havoc amongst the town? Kill Damon Salvatore? Oh, please tell me you killed Damon Salvatore…"

Elijah chuckled, but shook his head. "Unfortunately, that was not on today's agenda. However, I spoke with Jonas about meeting with him tomorrow. He agreed that we can go right when you get off of school. Other than that, I ran a few errands that I'm sure you wouldn't approve of, what with all of the humanity in your personality."

The young girl nodded. She couldn't argue with that. "Nice, okay. Elena and Stefan are off at this Lake House, thank goodness. I don't want to deal with her pouty annoying face anymore – that girl has officially gotten on my last nerve. She keeps pummeling me with texts. 'Poppy, don't get into trouble!' 'Poppy, don't eat my ice cream!' 'Poppy, don't hang out with Elijah!' 'Poppy he's dangerous!' I swear, if she texts me again, I'm going to turn into a vampire myself just so that I can rip her head off," she said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, seriously? You hardly even count as dangerous. You literally have the same exact goal as them – getting rid of Niklaus. Plus, don't you two have some type of agreement?"

Elijah nodded at the last question, mostly ignoring the middle details. "Yes, we do. I'm not sure why she's so unsure about trusting me when I have been put in many positions where I could easily kill anyone in your family."

He slowed the car down at a small area that showed where one of the old estates began.

"We should probably put this discussion on hold, however. Your aunt should be here soon and she said to meet her by the sign," he said as he got out of his seat.

Before she knew it, Poppy's door was open for her and Elijah was holding it. She smiled and hopped out of the car. "Thank you," she said, walking over to the sign. She hadn't even noticed how cold it was that day until he brought it up in the car, but now that was all that she felt.

Whenever she exhaled, she could see her breath. "You know, I normally love autumn and winter. I loathe spring, and I never really liked the heat of summer. I have Swedish genes somewhere in my family history, and I was born for this kind of weather. However, I really am not enjoying it right now." Poppy said. Elijah sighed at her complaining.

"This was why I said it would be a good idea to pick up your coat rather than wait for it," he said in his know-it-all voice. Or at least that was what Poppy thought about it. She rolled her eyes at him and hugged herself, trying to keep warm. "I would offer my coat, but I could only imagine what Jenna would say. Especially after what she thought she saw earlier this week."

Poppy groaned dramatically, throwing her head back. "Don't even remind me of what happened earlier this week – or yesterday, we will definitely not talk about what happened yesterday. We can temporarily put that to the side and come back to it when we aren't about to meet my aunt," she told him firmly.

"Agreed," he said, smirking at her.

The blonde was incredibly grateful when she heard her aunt pull up in her car. She rushed up to her and opened the door herself, holding it for Jenna.

"You have my coat, right?" she asked quickly. Her aunt laughed, but nodded and handed her the black trench coat. "Thank God you came. It is freezing out here. And Elijah couldn't very well offer me his coat due to what you might think of it. But, I am warmish now, so thanks for bringing that."

Jenna laughed at her niece's rambling. "Okay, Poppy," she said, shaking her head. Then she turned to Elijah who had walked up while the two were having their exchange.

"Hello, Jenna," he greeted, smiling at her.

"Hey Elijah." Jenna said, returning the smile.

"Alright, enough greetings, I'm getting bored. Let's go see some history," Poppy said, turning around and going towards the well-walked trail that the town had made. Then she paused and frowned. "Wait, that was such an oxymoron…"

Elijah chuckled and Jenna rolled her eyes.

"Not all history is boring, Poppy," Elijah said. She scoffed and turned back to look at him, slowing her pace so they could walk next to each other. "You were telling me only the other day that you were a fan of old literature. All of it contains history through the dusty pages."

"How poetic," she teased.

Jenna watched this exchange and had to hold back laughter. It was so obvious that the two liked each other – it was like they were dancing around each other, waiting for something to change the tempo. She wanted to meddle, but she knew that it wouldn't do them any good. However, she couldn't hold it in anymore when she saw that the two were nearly matching.

The two turned their heads to look at her.

"What's funny?" Poppy asked her aunt. She collected herself.

"You two are practically color coordinated, I mean how did you even do that?" she said, confusing the two even more.

When the blonde looked down at herself, then over to the Original she gasped, then groaned. "Oh my god, she's right. I literally want to jump off a cliff right now," she said, only being a little bit dramatic. She really wasn't pleased with this, at all.

Elijah let out a small chuckle. "How unfortunate…" he said.

"You're like that annoying couple that always match their outfits up," Jenna said, laughing still. Poppy turned her glare to her aunt, and this time it was threatening enough for her to actually collect herself. "Okay, sorry. That was a bit far, but this is still hilarious. Sorry, let's just keep walking.

The blonde crossed her arms and switched her glares back and forth between the two. She regretted putting herself between them and sighed. Then she turned to Elijah.

"For some reason, I think that matching isn't helping us very much with making her believe that nothing is happening," she said under her breath, knowing he'd hear. He looked down at her.

"You would think that it would be rather easy to convince her, since there isn't anything happening in the first place," he said quietly. Then he looked forward and put his hands in his pockets casually. "And there isn't, is there?"

Poppy sighed and ran her hand through her hair angrily. "We'll talk about this later," she snapped, sounding a little ruder than she really meant.

"The old Fell property actually starts just beyond that fence," Jenna interrupted, not aware that she was interrupting anything in the first place.

"Ah, the Fells. One of the 'Founding Families,'" Elijah said, smirking. Poppy rolled her eyes, knowing that this was the part where he would be 'showing off a bit of his knowledge.'

"Why do you say it like that?" Jenna asked, frowning.

"My research-" Poppy held herself back from chuckling. "-showed me that this area was actually settled almost two full centuries earlier. It was a migration of townsfolk from the northeast. It was Salem, to be precise."

"Massachusetts? As in the witch trials?" she asked, very interested. Meanwhile, Poppy played with a small lock of hair, only half listening to the conversation.

"Which means that the ever lauded founding families… They didn't actually found anything." Elijah finished. Poppy was pulled from her thoughts at that statement.

"Seriously? So I'm guessing that it was just a bunch of testosterone-y men who just decided that they were the founders out of nowhere," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Men are very territorial…" Jenna said, nodding.

"Yes, they are," Elijah said, noticing the one and only Alaric Saltzman walking up to them. Poppy and Jenna both turned their heads to see him. Jenna tensed up a bit and bit her lip awkwardly.

"Elijah, this is my… friend. Alaric Saltzman," she said. Poppy rolled her eyes, knowing very well that they were more than friends by now.

"Yeah, I got your message about walking Elijah and Poppy here through the old property lines. I thought I would tag along. You know, being a history buff and all. Where to next?" Alaric said.

Poppy raised her eyebrows, knowing that her teacher was definitely there for more than just the history. The idiot was feeling threatened by Elijah. She held back her laughter and turned to the Original. They exchanged a look of mutual understanding for a moment before turning back to the couple, who were both very confused as to what just happened.

"I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners," Elijah said, turning the conversation back to what they were there for. "Some say, you know, the descendants of the slaves are the true keepers of American history."

"Well, I only brought the surveys," Jenna said. "I've got that list in the car. Just give me a sec."

With that, she left. Poppy took a deep breath and looked down at her shoes, knowing that this would be a tense moment.

"Alaric Saltzman," Elijah began. "So you're one of those people on Elena's list of loved ones to protect."

"So is Jenna. And Poppy." Ric replied.

"You don't have to be jealous," he said. "I don't really pursue most younger women."

Poppy snorted, not very ladylike, but the look that Ric gave him was priceless. Then she froze, realizing he said 'most.'

Ric didn't seem to be as amused as Poppy was.

"It's a joke, Ric, lighten up." Elijah said, patting him on the back and walking away. Poppy followed him, not really having anything else to do.

"Right," was the last that they heard Ric say before they continued walking out of earshot.

She turned to look at him. "That was hilarious, first of all," she said, smiling. "I never imagined my history teacher to be the jealous type, but seeing it in action is absolutely amazing. And second, I am for the very first time since I've met you, completely disappointed with your fashion choices. Well, I mean, you still look nice and it's definitely your color, it's just that I'm upset that we both chose the same exact day to wear frigging burgundy."

Elijah chuckled at her. "Yes, it is certainly something to be upset about. Meanwhile, children are starving off in Africa…" he said, teasing her. Poppy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Whatever. And I totally heard you when you said that you don't pursue most younger women." With that, she winked at him and walked away towards her aunt who was talking with Ric.

"Hey, so where are we going next again?" she asked. Jenna raised her eyebrows.

"Uh, slave quarters," she said, then she basically targeted in on Poppy. "But first, you're going to tell me why Elijah is ogling at you right now."

The blonde smirked to herself, but shook her head. "I'll tell you later," she said quietly. Then she turned to face the boys. "Let's go see some slave quarters."

When they were almost done with the tour, Alaric left to work on something and they continued, but it wasn't long before they were finished.

"Would you two want to go to the Grill? I'm getting a bit hungry." Jenna suggested.

"That sounds amazing, actually. I do need my daily dosage of macaroni and cheese," Poppy said, laughing at herself. The other two chuckled with her, and they began on their way back to the cars.

"So what did you study in college, Jenna?" Elijah asked, making conversation.

"Psychology," she said. "But I'm a realtor. In case you didn't know, it's sort of difficult to get a career with a degree in psychology… Almost as hard as an English degree, like Poppy is leaning towards."

The girl in question rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Jenna..." she turned to Elijah. "I want to be a photographer, and be able to write along with it. I know how to use all of my equipment, so there's no reason why I should take classes in that. And being a photo journalist would be amazing, so that's what I'm choosing to do. Mixing my hobbies to make a career."

Elijah nodded. "I've always enjoyed the idea that I can freeze a moment in time and keep it with me as an image."

She smiled. "That's exactly why I got into it. It's like my personal super power – I can store my memories, whichever ones I want, however I choose."

Jenna nodded awkwardly and walked to her car. "Okay, I guess I'll see you guys soon."

"See ya, Jenna."

With that, they drove off to the Grill.

"You humans go to this place so often, but I still can't seem to understand the interest." Elijah said, shaking his head as they pulled up. Poppy rolled her eyes.

"Elijah, it isn't about the food, it's all about the atmosphere. This is where you go if you want to hear gossip about other people, or create gossip. It's quite possibly the most magical place in Mystic Falls, which is saying something because this place is crawling with witches…" she explained.

The Original chuckled at her and Jenna came up to them and they walked in together.

Entering, they saw Alaric, Damon, and Andie all sat together. Jenna took the front and decided to walk towards them, making Poppy groan.

"Hey, guys." Jenna greeted.

"Ew, the ugliest Salvatore brother is here." Poppy said, glaring at Damon.

"Ew, the ugliest Gilbert twin is here." Damon countered.

"How original, asshole," she snapped back. He rolled his eyes and waved it off. She gave him a sneer and he turned his attention back to the other two.

"So I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Jenna said.

"Well, as much as I'd like to continue this, I've got papers to grade," Alaric said, putting down some money and trying to get away from the situation.

"No, you know what?" Andie, Damon's current blood-toy said. "We should continue this. Let's have a dinner party."

Damon smiled at her and Poppy rolled her eyes. "Oh, my girl. Full of good ideas. I'll be happy to host. Say tonight. Maybe?"

"It's good for me. Jenna?" Andie said, turning to the girl in question.

"I don't know if tonight works…" Alaric said.

"Yeah, I'm free." Jenna said, smiling tightly and giving Alaric a look.

"It'd be a pleasure." Elijah added.

"I'm in, I guess…" Poppy said, crossing her arms.

"Great." Damon said with a smile that was obviously just for show.

"Wonderful. Now I'm gonna go sit over there so I don't have to be in your annoying presence anymore," she said, glaring at the vampire.

"Please, I am in no means stopping you." Damon replied. He easily returned the glare.

She turned and found a small table that was far away from Damon's and sat in one of the two seats. It wasn't long until she was joined by none other than Elijah. She smiled at him and patiently waited for someone to come to take their order.

"You do realize that everyone's staring at us, right?" Poppy asked him, looking around the room as the town couldn't seem to take their eyes off of them.

"Yes, I am aware," he said in a bored tone, obviously not caring whatsoever.

Poppy finally found a target – an annoying girl from her school named Taylor – and glared at her. "Would you like us to take a picture? I'm sure it would last longer," she snapped.

This seemed to snap everyone out of it and they all went on to enjoying their own meals.

Elijah couldn't seem to stop his laughter at her small outburst and he shook his head. "You can be very amusing, even when you are in no means trying to be," he told her. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I'm great. I've been told this many times, believe me," she said, smirking.

"You really must learn to be more modest," he told her, frowning.

"Please – I'm allowed to be full of myself because everything that I say is completely true." Poppy said, smiling to show to him that she was joking. She then nodded her head towards the table that they were at only minutes ago. "Whereas Damon, he's just an arrogant asshole who thinks that he's better than everyone on the planet, when we all know that this is not true in any way."

She looked over at the table, knowing he had been eavesdropping. The vampire was, in fact, looking their way and glaring at them. He then shouted, "I may be arrogant, but at least I'm not a selfish brat."

She smirked over at him and shouted back, purposely trying to make a scene, knowing that it would take a bit of the gossip away from her and Elijah. "Hmm… I've heard it both ways."

In her mind, she did a self-five. That was smooth as hell. She couldn't even help but voice this thought.

"Damn, I am smooth. That is basically the best comeback ever, I don't care what anyone says," she said to no one in particular.

The waiter finally arrived and they both ordered small meals, wanting to save room for the dinner party that was going to be held later that evening.

"You know, I'm not so sure about that dinner party…" Poppy voiced her concerns. She bit her lip nervously. "I mean, I get that you're practically immortal, but still I can't help but think that they have a motive. I'm really doubting if the idea was even Andie's in the first place – they probably just compelled her to say it so that it would be more subtle. And honestly, I don't want you to die. You've come to be good company, strangely enough."

Elijah rolled his eyes. "The Salvatore brothers are not bold enough for a move like that. I also have a deal in place with Elena. She wouldn't back out of it, especially when it involves protecting her loved ones," he said.

Poppy nodded, but still frowned. "You wouldn't ever actually kill any of my family, would you?" she asked, a little uncomfortable in her seat. "I mean, I know you have a much… different relationship with Elena, but I still wonder. I can trust you, right?"

Elijah frowned, but locked eyes with her. For some reason, he had been avoiding telling her about the sacrifice. He knew that it would make her upset and somehow this girl had a hold on him, and he didn't want her to let go.

"In order for us to kill Niklaus, we have to let him complete the ritual to destroy the Sun and the Moon Curse. After that, when he is changing and is most vulnerable, we will kill him. Elena agreed that she would comply, as long as each and every person on the list she had given me remained completely unharmed in the process."

She didn't quite understand what he was saying, but knew that whatever it was, she wouldn't like it at all.

"Poppy, Elena has to be sacrificed for the curse to break," he said to her, simplifying it.

Her jaw dropped as she looked at him and her eyes widened. "Seriously? She agreed to do this?" she asked, just to make sure. She didn't want to believe that her sister, her twin, was going to die.

"Yes, she did."

"Why would she do that? That girl – she thinks that she's being brave, but it's really the opposite," she said, looking down at her lands that were sitting on the table. "I don't blame you for anything, I blame my idiot sister. Technically, this isn't your fault. But I need to know. If she goes off and does something crazy, will you kill anyone in my family to hurt her? Or can I trust you not to?" she asked him, now looking in his eyes. They were truthful and old – they had seen things that people had only read about in history books. They were magnificent.

"If it comes to it, I will find a loophole. I apologize for not saying anything about this arrangement sooner," he said. Poppy nodded.

"It's fine, I get why you wouldn't mention it – it's sort of a tough subject to bring up," she said.

Their food arrived as well as Poppy's latte and now she was very thankful to have it. She quickly grabbed the mug and took a huge drink of it, sort of burning her tongue, but not really caring at the same time because she was just thankful for the cinnamon that was now spreading through her body.

"You know, I'm surprised you hadn't noticed how obsessed I am with photography earlier. I've had my camera out while you've been with me before. And in case you weren't aware, I have taken pictures of both of us," she said. He only shrugged.

"I was aware of that, I only assumed it was a hobby. But the art of photography is truly wonderful. It's amazing how it has grown throughout the years. Centuries ago, you had to pose for hours while waiting for someone to paint you on a canvas, but now you can simply press a button and the job will be done."

Poppy nodded and took another drink of her latte. As she thought about their previous topic, something hit her.

"If Elena is stupid, you can just kill Damon," she said, trying to be quiet, but pleased with herself at the same time. "No one likes him except for her and Stefan, but he will get over it and she will take a while to recover. It's basically brilliant."

Elijah chuckled at her. "You seem to have a lot of enthusiasm when talking about killing someone," he said.

Poppy rolled her eyes. "No, I have a lot of enthusiasm when talking about killing Damon," she corrected, smirking.

Then they ate their meals, talking about whatever came to mind.

This chapter was very fun to write, I must say. Poppy's flirting is on point, and Elijah basically has no idea what to do about it – it's pretty great ;) And I'm sure you all know what happens during/after the dinner party, so you guys will be able to see how Poppy reacts. Also, what happened 'yesterday'? You'll find out eventually, but I'm being evil for the time being and not telling you. Just thought I should include that in my little notey thing for those who were a bit confused. As I go throughout the story, I will include small flashbacks that are sort of one-shot type of things where they're just being cute, and that will probably be one of them.

xKittyPetrovax3: Thank you for all of the suggestions! I'm not sure why, but I always sort of pictured someone like Annasophia Robb to be Poppy – with her Carrie Bradshaw hair, of course. So I'm officially declaring that Poppy's celebrity look alike is Annasophia Robb, which is very exciting!

Thank you for reading! Please send in some feedback, I love all of it!

~Alissa