Friendship Or Complication

by Winchestergirl123

Melanie Gilbert just wants to survive her crazy supernatural life. Falling in love never crossed her mind, but imagine her surprise when she finally does. She never planned for these feelings to come out of hiding, making her question who she really is as a person. All she knows though is that you can't always control what the heart wants. Rebekah/OFC. •Cover by January Lily•

10. Chapter 10: The morning after

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of the characters. I only own my OC Melanie Gilbert.

*Edited 1/28/17*

---

"The silence isn't so bad, till I look at my hands and feel sad. Because the spaces between my fingers are right where yours fit perfectly."

Owl City

Chapter 10: The morning after

You know what the downside to getting completely drunk off your ass is? The agonizing hangover you end up getting the next morning.

Melanie groaned into her pillow as she was awakened by a painful headache. She warily cracked opened her eyes, but quickly squeezed them shut when she saw the sunlight that was coming from her bedroom window. Ugh, I hate you sunlight! She thought miserably. Laying out on her bed, she turned her head towards where her alarm clock was at and saw that it was eight in the morning.

Melanie groaned again, irritated. Why in the hell did she wake up so damn early? She was in so much pain right now. She was dealing with a earth splitting headache. Not to mention she felt nauseous and her throat felt dry from thirst. She grumpily opened her eyes again, slowly this time. Once she adjusted her eyesight to the morning light she threw the bed covers off of her and that's when she noticed she was still wearing her homecoming dress. The hell? Why am I still wearing this dress? She tried remembering what happened last night. Well other than the memory of her wasted off her ass. Groggily she swung her legs over the side of her bed. She felt uneasy doing this, which only made her realize how bad of a hangover she was having. Damn you alcohol! She cursed inwardly, but knew that she was the real one to blame for drinking the amount of alcohol that she did. God, why did she drink so much anyways? She mused this thought over in her head, but stopped once she felt her throat dry up. Bringing her hand to rub her throat, she thought water would help ease the pain. It was then when she lazily moved her eyesight towards her nightstand next to her bed, that her attention was caught.

On the nightstand there was a glass full of water and a small bottle of aspirin. Melanie hurriedly reached for the glass and chugged the cool water down along with the two aspirins. She felt the thirst in her throat ease up and she sighed in relief. After that she put the glass and aspirin bottle back on the nightstand and that's when she saw a small note that she must of not noticed where the bottle of aspirin had been. Confused, and having no idea who it was from, Melanie decided to read the note.

Hey Mel,

I left you a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin on your nightstand. I figured you were going to need them badly when you'd wake up in the morning. And in case you haven't figured out yet genius, I was the one who tucked you in bed last night after you passed out on the couch. Don't worry though I didn't change you or anything for obvious reasons. One of them being that I would of faced your wrath if I did. You maybe small but you still pack a mean punch. In all seriousness though, if you need to talk to me more about what you told me last night, know that I'm always here for you. You don't have to be afraid about judgement Mel. I'm not going to stop being your friend, no matter who it is you like.

- Matt

It took Melanie several reads in order to take everything the note said. And that's when she started remembering the events from last night...

She remembered arriving to the dance at Tyler's house, expecting to meet Rebekah there...but she didn't. No instead she had the oh so honor of having a conversation with Stefan and she had to listen to his comment about Rebekah's absence. After that her memory was filled with her drinking, drinking, and drinking the sorrow away. Thanks to her drinking, it led her to grumpily wander around Tyler's house in a complete drunken state. My God...she even realized she talked for a brief moment with Klaus! About Rebekah no less...

Oh shit! How stupid am I? He could of killed me?! Yo be honest If I was him, I would of killed me... I was being a drunken idiot.

But strangely the original hybrid didn't end up killing her. Melanie furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

Don't get her wrong she was glad that he didn't kill her, but the question still remained. Which was, why?

She was irrelevant to him. After all she was a mere unimportant human being. She wasn't a doppelganger liker her older sister. Her blood wasn't important or special in any means. She didn't possess any magical powers like Bonnie. Nor was she a vampire or a werewolf. She was just a boring, powerless, human. So why didn't Klaus do her any harm? Especially in the vulnerable state she was in last night, with no protection what so ever. Well other than the fact that she had vervain in her system, but he still could of snapped her neck like a twig without even blinking...but he didn't. She figured it had to have been because of how many people were around them. Too many witnesses. What could have stopped him from killing her? Did he hesitate because of what she said about Rebekah. With how she complimented her. Was it because of that? Maybe Rebekah told her brother how much she liked her? After all Klaus did mention when he called that Rebekah had been spending time with her. Maybe that was it!

Melanie quickly shook away that false hope.

No.

That couldn't have been the reason. Rebekah didn't even show up to the dance. Which was the sole reason why she got drunk in the first place. Rebekah must of finally realized how much of a pitiful and weak human being she was. She didn't want her friendship. Why would she? Rebekah was a thousand year old vampire and she was beautiful. She was also experienced in so many ways that Melanie wasn't. She had been to and seen many wonderful things during her life. Much better and intriguing than her. So why even be friends with a simple being like her? She was inconsequential. That was the cold hard truth.

So the youngest Gilbert felt pathetic to have even thought that this friendship would lead to more.

You're a idiot, Melanie! Rebekah doesn't want you as a friend. So what makes you think she'll want to be more? Wake up! You're alone and you'll always be alone! You're stupid to even have these feelings for her. Why can't you be normal!

Normal...

Such a funny little word. Yet how powerful it was.

It was a word that had always taunted Melanie. Because let's face it, nobody in her life now was 'normal'. But they were normal when it came to liking people and relationships. Except for the youngest Gilbert.

She always felt like the odd one out. For years now, since at a young age she knew she was different from everyone else. Not in any supernatural way, but in a human way you could say. She knew about her difference when she was about five years old. It was when she and her family had gone to a friends wedding. She remembered how they were all dressed up. Elena and her had to wear yellow dresses. Much to Melanie's disappoint, but Elena's enlightenment. Melanie though had never liked the color yellow, even when she was little. But she wore it anyways. She remembered how Jeremy was dressed up as well and he had to wear his little boy tux. He much like her didn't like wearing his attire either and she remembered the two of them playing tag around the house, in their formal clothes before their mother Miranda and father Grayson calmed them down. Even at a young age, Jeremy and her were always playful together. Elena, being the older sister, even back then kept a close eye on them, but especially towards Melanie. Anyways, it was at this friends wedding, that gave Melanie the first clue that she was different...

When they arrived at the church everything had been fine...but once Melanie saw the bride enter and walk down the isle, that's when things took a turn. She remembered thinking how beautiful she looked, kinda like a princess. A princess who was about to get ready to marry her prince charming. But what she pictured in her mind wasn't that...no she pictured a princess marring another princess. Which back then she didn't really see the meaning behind it. She was just a child after all. But as the years went on and as she grew up, she knew that the way she viewed and thought of things, weren't how other people viewed them...especially when she got into high school and the whole dating thing started up. Frankly, she never wanted to date... at least not any guys. They never caught her interest. She never felt any ounce of attraction towards them. Not at all. But she did feel something towards girls.

Melanie always found girls to be more intriguing than guys. They were more fascinating to talk to and look at. She always felt a tinge of warmth in her stomach when she talked to girls that she found appealing. The kind of feelings your suppose to get when you have a crush or find someone attractive. At least that's what people would tell her anyways. That when you like someone you would feel butterflies in your stomach. But Melanie wasn't feeling that way towards boys...no it was towards girls. And she felt confused because of that. How could she like girls? That wasn't right. No she must of misinterpreted her feelings for something else. Because there was no way that she could be...well a lesbian. So, she did what she thought was the best thing to do. She denied those unwanted feelings and buried them deep down her consciousness where they'd be hidden. And over the years she tried her best to keep those feelings under control as much as possible.

After all, ignorance is bliss.

Especially when the topic of dating was brought up. Which was mostly done by Caroline. She was like her personal match maker. The bubbly blonde always tried her best to set up Melanie with guys that she thought for sure would get along with her.

Caroline set her up with a bunch of guys. There was the football player, basketball player, the top leading guy in the theater production, and so on. But whenever she did this, Melanie always either declined the offers or told her she was busy with school. That was always her main excuse. But of course there were times when she couldn't refuse and she reluctantly went on the dates. And they sucked.

She never felt any type of connection towards them. It's not like she didn't try, because she did. She even went as far as kissing one of the guys Caroline set her up on. But immediately she knew it was wrong and ended the kiss. She felt gross and icky and she didn't feel fireworks of any kind. It felt forced...and she didn't want anything that was forced. Of course though, Caroline felt disappointment, that she didn't manage to find a guy for her. The youngest Gilbert wanted to shake some sense into her, and tell that it was pointless for her to try to find a guy because there would never be a guy in her life. Melanie was determined to end up alone in life. She preferred that than to have people know about her sexuality. How would a small town like Mystic falls take the news that one of its well known resident was gay? Probably not well, and she'd probably feel like any even bigger loner...

That's why Melanie liked and valued the friendship she had with Rebekah. She didn't feel alone when she was with her. She felt happy and complete. Rebekah brought back those butterflies and warmth that she tried so hard to bury deep down over the since meeting her...Melanie knew she couldn't deny herself the feelings she had towards the original vampire. It just wasn't possible. But sadly...due to last night events, she felt like utter shit. Rebekah didn't want to be her friend and there was no freakin' way she would ever feel the way she does.

This is what you get for being different... a broken heart.

Melanie didn't want to be different, she wanted to be like everyone else! She wanted to be like Elena. Her older sister always made things seem so easy. Fitting in, making friends and finding love. She found love in Stefan and no doubt probably in Damon as well. Why couldn't she be like her? Or like the rest of her friends? Why was she the defective one? Why would the universe do this to her? Was it all for a laugh? Cause to her it wasn't funny.

Melanie wished her aunt Jenna was still alive. Out of all the Gilbert family members, she was the closest to her. Jenna always understood her problems with fitting in and her social skills with people. Her aunt herself told her how she sometimes felt inadequate when she was compared to Miranda, her older sister. Much like how Melanie felt towards Elena. So the two of them shared similar problems. Jenna though always gave her encouraging words to get her through her upcoming adolescent life. So it made her wonder, what her dear aunt would tell her right now. How would she of reacted to her sexuality?

The youngest Gilbert had to admit that her aunt would of probably been welcoming. She had a feeling deep down that Jenna knew she was different from everyone else. She just got the vibe that she would of been supportive towards her. Still right now Melanie really craved her aunt's wise and supporting words. It would of made things so much comforting to know someone was on her side. Because she had no idea how the rest of her family would react to her being gay. Not that she was going to tell them any time soon. Truthfully, she didn't want to tell anyone. She wasn't ready for that...but unfortunately she already told someone.

Melanie quickly looked back towards the note. Her face dropped and she swear she felt her blood turn ice cold, as she read the note all over again.

Matt knows. Matt knows. Matt knows.

"Oh, my God—"

Once the realization that someone knew her deepest darkest secret hit her, Melanie felt the remains in her stomach rise up and she quickly bolted to her bathroom. Once there she sunk to her knees near her toilet and without even caring that she was still wearing her dress, she finally released everything she was holding in. It was gross...but at the same time she felt a little bit better. After her little puke episode, she shakily rose up from the ground, and that's when she saw her reflection in her bathroom mirror. She cringed when she saw the state she was in. Her once beautiful dress was crinkled. Her face was red and splotchy from the crying she had been doing when she was throwing up. The make up she had on was now running down her eyes and her hair was a tangled mess. Actually now that she thought about it, her appearance was exactly how she was feeling...a utter complete mess.

Matt knows...I told him and now he knows I'm gay.

How could she of told him that? No one was suppose to know! Damn it! That's what happens when you get drunk and have your feelings hurt. You open your mouth and pour your heart out.

Melanie leaned against her bathroom sink as she started taking deep breaths.

It's okay.

She said reassuringly to herself. Matt's a good guy and based on the note that he left her, there was no judgement on his side. He even told her that if she needed someone to talk to he was there for her. Matt, one of her best and closest friends was supportive about her sexuality. Best of all, he wasn't criticizing her on who she liked—Rebekah. So maybe...just maybe everyone else wouldn't judge her either? Well except for Elena...

Melanie had no idea on how her older sister would react to her being gay, but she had no doubt that her sister would hate the fact that she had feelings towards Rebekah. Elena disliked Rebekah with a passion and Rebekah wasn't exactly Elena's biggest fan. Things between them were never going to be civil. Not that it mattered anyways...based on what happened last night Rebekah wanted nothing to do with her. So she didn't have to worry about telling people about her sexuality or about who she liked. Though deep down she couldn't keeping denying the fact that she cared deeply for Rebekah...because she did. But that didn't mean she was going to tell people yet. Matt was enough for now and she trusted him not to tell the others her secret. Matt wasn't a gossip. So she knew he was a trustworthy friend.

Still, the fact that Rebekah forsaken their friendship hurt Melanie. A lot.

She was the undesirable one. The insignificant one of the group...

Just like she had been and would always be...

---

After taking a long waited shower, Melanie looked much more presentable. She still felt like utter crap, but at least she wasn't wearing her worn out Homecoming dress and the make up she had on was no longer drooping on her face either. Instead now she was wearing dark washed out jeans, her dark grey purple checkered out flannel, with a grey black t-shirt underneath, and lastly for foot wear she had on her black vans. Her brown locks that were in curled waves were now loose and still wet from the shower she just had. She managed to untangle the bed head mess she had, and felt glad that it wasn't a mess anymore.

Once she got dressed, Melanie quickly but quietly went down the stairs. Much to her relief no one was in the kitchen. Seeing as she was alone, she went towards the coffee maker. She needed caffeine...badly. After the coffee was made and ready to drink, she took a sip enjoying the warmth. Even just the smell alone was helping get rid of her hangover and the splitting headache she still had.

"I'm surprised to see you up and awake, this early in the morning."

Melanie stopped mid-sip, as she heard Jeremy's voice fill up the kitchen. She turned her head towards where her brother was at and saw him leaning against the entrance of the kitchen. She took another quick sip out of her coffee mug before she set down the mug on the counter and turned to face her brother again.

"Well, I wanted to grace everyone with my morning presence. But it looks like you're the only one here to witness it. Lucky you." Melanie jested, throwing her arms around the room, fatuously.

Jeremy rolled his eyes playfully at hearing his younger sister's sarcasm. "Haha, very funny. For real though, I would of thought you'd still be in bed." He came over to where she was at and stole her coffee. "You look like crap by the way." He told her with a good-natured smile before taking a sip of her coffee. Enjoying the brother-sister rib that was happening.

"Oh, Geez really? I had no idea." Melanie said rolling her eyes before grabbing back her coffee. Her older brother always was the coffee thief. She hurriedly finished the whole mug, before he had the chance to steal another sip again.

Jeremy noticed this and laughed. His laugh and smile faltered a little. "Seriously...how are you, Mels?"

Melanie furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm fine..." She mumbled, disheartened.

Jeremy looked unconvinced. "You sure about that? Cause from what I heard, you got pretty wasted last night."

Melanie groaned. Of course he heard about her drunken night, so must of everyone else. Fantastic...

"Well...contrary to belief, I'm okay." Melanie said lamely. "Other than the fact that I have this annoying ass headache. I'm in tip-top shape."

Jeremy saw past Melanie's sardonic persona and sighed. "Was there a reason why you drank so much? The last time you got drunk that bad was when you were heavily depressed about mom and dad's passing." He said in dismay. His eyes sadden as well.

Melanie felt herself falter. What Jeremy said was true now that she really thought about it. The last time she had gotten that drunk was when she was in her depressed state. It had been a couple of months since her parents had died and she had been so sad and depressed that she hadn't spoken to anyone within those months. One night though her sorrow got so bad she drank a whole bottle of vodka by herself. She got so drunk she ended up passing out on her bedroom floor where Jeremy was the one who had found her. Luckily he didn't tell anyone since he to was dealing with the death of their parents in a similar way. Only his way of coping had more drugs. Which was something Melanie never used. Jeremy did though but over time he's usage had stopped. As well as his depression. Melanie's too, for a bit anyways. But she never drank that much again...until last night. So she can understand why Jeremy was worried. He must of thought she was feeling depressed again. Well she wasn't...at least that was what she was telling herself.

She took a deep breath, controlling her wavered voice. "I'm fine Jer, really. I just kind of lost control last night. Besides...I wanted to have fun. I mean aren't people are age suppose to let loose once in a while and have fun?"

Jeremy raised a single eyebrow and smirked. "You let loose? Mel, you hate party's. I'm still in shock that you even went, let alone got drunk."

"Oh shut up. I can have fun once in a while." Melanie said playfully shoving his shoulder.

Jeremy returned the shove just as playfully. "Right...well as long as it wasn't because of something serious...then I'm glad you had a good-time. But you might want to come up with a better excuse for Elena." He forewarned her.

Melanie let out a huff. Great...the last thing she wanted to deal with was Elena reprimanding her for her actions last night. She already had a lot to deal with that she didn't need her older sister's chastising nature to be added on her list of why her life sucks so much right now.

"Great can't wait for that. Where is she anyways?" Melanie asked feeling her headache grow immensely at the thought of her older sister.

"She went out for a run. So you have an hour or so to chill out before she comes back." Jeremy told her.

"Even better..." Melanie muttered before putting the coffee mug into the sink. She then faced her brother again. "Wait a minute, what are you doing up anyways? You hate mornings."

"I was going to hang out with Tyler." Jeremy said before looking rather sheepishly. "I also wanted to leave before Elena came back too."

"Why?" Melanie asked.

"I got fired from my job last week from the grill..." He admitted to her and smiled lamely. "I also failed my history report."

"What?! Jer, you got fired?" Melanie exclaimed. "And how do you know you failed your history report? I haven't even gotten mine back yet."

"Yeah, I got fired, okay? I didn't want to work there anyways. And I know I failed because I turned in a copy that I found online." Jeremy told her not sounding the least bit of upset. "Look things have been crazy lately. I can't pile work and school! It's hard, not to mention not really important with what we deal with everyday."

Melanie sighed, understanding him. "I get that but Elena's going to be extremely upset when she hears about this, you know? And along with my drunkenness we're both going to face her mother hen wrath!"

"Yeah...hence why I'm leaving to hang with Tyler. You want to come with or no?" Jeremy asked her.

Melanie scoffed. "And what? Stay here and face the wrath of a scolding Elena? Nopity nope. I'm going with you buddy." The brunette said shaking her head vigorously, ready to leave the house.

"Alright just hold on." Jeremy told her before he left the kitchen and went upstairs. When he came back down he was holding a crossbow.

Melanie tilted her head. "Um, Jer. Why do you have Alaric's crossbow?"

Jeremy gave her a childish smile. "You'll see. Now come on lets go."

After that, the young pair of Gilbert siblings left the household together, feeling cordial with each other. As they were both not ready to face their dear older sister's scolding. They were glad to be getting out of the house and it was just an added bonus that they were going to spend some brother and sister time together. Both of them needed it. Especially Melanie.

---

After the Gilbert siblings left their household, they made a quick stop to one of the small coffee shops the town had. On behalf of Melanie. The youngest Gilbert still had a major bad headache and a massive hanger over that was still lingering. So she knew that another cup of coffee would help her with the rest of the ongoing day.

Anyways, after a quick visit to the coffee shop, the two then left, making their way deep into the woods where Tyler was waiting for them.

Once they had arrived there, Jeremy and Tyler began shooting cans with the crossbow that Jeremy had taken from Alaric. Melanie, at the mean time was leaning against one of the trees, as she continued drinking her caffeinated drink with ease. Laughing slightly at the childish ways her brother and friend Tyler were acting.

Her hangover now was finally coming to an end. She was feeling a little bit better and guessed it has to do with the fresh air she was breathing. Although, she liked to think it was because she was spending time with Jeremy. It had been a while since she got to have quality time with her older brother. Granted he wasn't much older than her, but still she remembered how he liked to remind her that she was the youngest. Though deep down she liked the brother sister teasing. It enlighten her from their supernatural chaotic life. Plus it was just an added bonus that Tyler was here with them as well.

Melanie enjoyed Tyler's company, he was a fun guy to be around and hang with. Except she didn't always feel this way towards him. There was a time when she didn't like being in the same room as him. She remembered distinctly how much of a bully and prick he was towards Jeremy. Her brother and him didn't exactly see eye to eye in the past. They argued and even fought each other. Now Tyler back then didn't exactly treat Melanie the same way he did with Jeremy, but he also wasn't necessarily the nicest person to her either. But still, despite his lame attempts in trying to keep peace with her back then, Melanie still had it out for Tyler. After all Jeremy was her older brother and she never liked seeing someone cause trouble for him or the rest of her family. Hence why she used to heavily dislike Tyler a lot.

But look at them now...

It was if the past didn't exist and now it seemed like they had ways been close friends.

It made sense to her though. With everything that they had been through together, with the existence of all the supernatural creatures, of course it made them closer with each other.

Melanie took another sip of her warm rich coffee, as these thoughts ran through her mind. She then looked towards her brother who at that exact moment shot another can with the crossbow. A small smile graced her face as she heard Tyler's praise-meant.

"Nice shot!"

Jeremy in return just shrugged, as he reloaded the crossbow again. "So, what's the point of this again?" He asked him.

"The point is I'm pissed at Caroline, and Bonnie dumped your ass." Tyler said, earning an unamused expression from Jeremy and a head swap from Melanie, as she let him know that wasn't funny. Tyler though just laughed at her attempt to keep him at bay. To him it was just harmless joking around between them. He gave Jeremy a grin. "The point is to get drunk and shoot stuff." He better clarified, before grabbing another beer from his cooler. He then gave Melanie a smirk. "Isn't that right, Mel?"

Melanie groaned at his teasing know it had to do with her getting drunk last night. "Haha, very funny Tyler." She said giving him a playful glare. "But I'll think I'll pass." She stated as she held up her coffee.

"Psh, that's not what you said last night." Tyler teased as she cracked open his beer.

"Shut up." Melanie huffed, slightly irritated now since she really didn't want to think about last night anymore. It just reminded her of Rebekah...which was a topic she really didn't want to dwell with anymore. Luckily for her the guys blamed her hangover for her sudden erupt crankiness.

Tyler laughed at her before turning towards Jeremy. The Gilbert boy just gave him a pointed look. "Profound." He said blankly to him before sighing. "If Alaric finds out I took this he is gonna use it on me and Mel."

"Hey..." Melanie said defensively. "You're the one that took the damn thing. I was just the innocent bystander." She retorted lamely knowing how childish she sounded. Though to her it seemed amusing.

Jeremy rolled his eyes, knowing full well his sister was playing the innocent act. "You saw me take it didn't you?"

Melanie scoffed. "Well yeah, I ain't blind."

"Ahh, see. You didn't even ask me to put it back. Which makes you a culprit, just as me." Jeremy retorted with a cheeky smile.

Melanie furrowed her eyebrows at him. Damn...he had a point. "Whatever." She grumbled, but deep down she was enjoying the brother-sister banter between them.

"So what's the deal with that?" Tyler asked out of nowhere. Both Gilbert siblings gave him a bemused look. Tyler saw this and clarified his sudden question. "He's like your guardian now?" He asked, and now they knew that he was referring to Alaric.

Jeremy turned to look at Melanie, who in return just nodded her head. In her honest opinion she really did hunk of Alaric as a guardian. He was the closest thing the Gilbert's had for a father figure.

Jeremy nodded as well towards Tyler. "Sort of yeah. I think he feels responsible for us." He admitted to the hybrid.

Tyler took a another gulp from his beer before speaking up again. "Do you guys like him?" He asked the both of them, curiously.

Melanie with no hesitation answered first. "Yeah, I like him." She said ardently before lowering her eyes to the coffee cup she was holding in her hands.

"I do too." Jeremy answered just as honestly. He then aimed his crossbow, but faltered his stance when he saw that Tyler was still in the way. His eyebrows furrowed a bit. "You wanna move out of the way?" He asked him.

At hearing this, Melanie looks up again and saw the scene that was unfolding right in front of her. She narrowed her brown eyes at Tyler, confused as to why he wasn't moving.

Tyler saw the expression they had on and he let out an amused chuckle. "I'm a hybrid Gilbert." He reminded him with a hint of pride in his voice. "You can't kill me unless you cut my head off or rip out my heart." He let his eyes wander to the weapon Jeremy was holding. "And you're not gonna do it with that lame ass crossbow." He smirked patronizing him. "But go ahead. Take a shot." He dared, challenging him as he set the beer can he had on the ground. Taking a stance right in front of Jeremy he gave him a taunting smile." Unless you don't think you can't hit me."

Jeremy took a second debating on what he should do. He looked at Melanie again, but saw how she had a unreadable expression on her face. Though he did notice how the hold on her coffee cup looked tighter. He then came to a decision, as he readied and aimed the crossbow back forward Tyler. Accepting the challenge, he squeezed the trigger and he along with Melanie saw how the arrow flew out, as it headed towards Tyler. The hybrid quickly caught it with ease before the arrow got him right in the face.

It was silent for a second before both Jeremy and Melanie let out breathless laugh from amazement and momentary fret.

Tyler chuckled seeing their reaction and dropped the arrow to the ground. "See, I told ya." He boasted with a larger grin on his face.

At that moment Melanie felt her phone vibrate. She took out her cell phone with the hand that wasn't holding the coffee cup and reached into her jeans pocket. When she took out her cellphone she saw that she was getting an incoming call from her sister. She inwardly groaned, not wanting to deal with Elena berating just yet. She was having fun with the guys. Without even thinking twice she ended the call before putting it back into her pocket. After that she quickly chugged down the rest of her coffee and then dropping the cup on the ground, without a care. She then made her way where Jeremy was standing.

"You guys have been hogging the crossbow for nearly an hour. How about letting me have a try now." She asked them, although it sounded more like telling then asking.

Tyler grinned at this. "Oh, well, we didn't want you to break a nail." He said joking around with her.

Melanie rolled her eyes at this. "Please, as if breaking a nail would stop me from beating you with my shooting skills."

"Ha! What shooting skills." Tyler laughed.

Melanie gave him a glare but said nothing to him. Knowing full on well she was about to show him up. She turned towards her brother. "Jeremy if you will." She asked him politely holding her hands out.

Jeremy gave Tyler a grin before handing Melanie the crossbow, already knowing what to expect. "Gladly." He told her and then stood back ready for a show to happen.

"Thank you." Melanie said appreciatively, before aiming the crossbow towards the cans. Each and everyone that was still standing had gone to the ground, as she never missed one with every shot she made. When they were all gone, she lowered the crossbow and she gave a smirk towards Tyler.

"How...just how in the world did you do that?" Tyler asked shell shocked. His mouth agape and his eyes were buggering out from watching Melanie shoot down the cans, expertly.

"What? Just cause I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't know how to shoot. I'm like one of the guys." Melanie laughed, musically. "You're not the only one who has skills Lockwood." She said with a grin before giving Jeremy a hive five. Both Gilbert's were still laughing loudly due to Tyler s expression. Melanie who was now feeling way better from her hangover and heart ache, finally smiled genuinely. "Now, who's up for another round?"

---

Meanwhile in the Mystic Grill, Elena was pacing back and fourth, running a hand through her hair. She let a scowl appear on her face momentarily as she received her brother's voicemail. "Jeremy, the minute you get this, call me. I've already tried calling Mel, but she doesn't answer and now you're not either? Where are you guys at?" She let out a disheveled sigh, but her voice remained stern. "Just call me back." She said before she hung up the phone and put it back into her jeans pocket.

Damon who was playing darts to the side heard her. He smirked lazily. "You're feisty when you're mad." He said in an alluring manner, but stumbled slightly when he made his way towards her due to all the daytime drinking he had been doing.

Elena shook her head tensely. "It's not that I'm mad. I'm just―worried." She admitted in a low voice.

"Why?" Damon questioned incautiously. "So Jeremy lost his job at the grill. I think he'll survive, Elena."

"Oh, yeah what about Mel?" Elena asked in a short tone. The oldest Gilbert shook her head in uneasiness. "They're both spiraling. Ever since Bonnie broke up with Jeremy, he's been moody, barely speaking with anyone. And Mel's been acting out..." She sighed drawing out the sentence.

"Oh you mean with her getting plastered last night?" Damon asked nonchalantly as he threw another dart. Once he saw that it hit the board right in the middle he turned back to face her. The vampire gave her a half-shrug. "They're just being typical teenagers. They'll get over with whatever they're dealing eventually."

Elena thought that perhaps Mel would be able to get over her teenage issues like Damon suggested, but she knew that her youngest sister wouldn't be able to. Last night proved that, and as for Jeremy? She quickly gave Damon a pointed look. "He's been seeing ghosts and he's lost just about everyone he cares about."

"Not everyone. He still has you and baby Gilbert." Damon informed her sharply.

Elena took notice of this tone and furrowed her eyebrows. "You okay?" She asked softly.

Damon scoffed as he looked at her. "What makes you think I'm not okay?" He questioned sullenly.

"Well..." Elena huffed crossing her arms. "You're day drunk. It's not exactly your most attractive look."

At this Damon gave her a teasing smile as he came closer to her. "Oh? What is my most attractive look?"

"Uh-uh." Elena said raising her hand, just as he was now a few inches away from her. "I'm not saying you have any attractive looks. I'm just saying...this is my least favorite one." She admitted sheepishly.

"Noted." Damon said with a flirtatious grin. "See if I can make any improvements."

There was a moment of silence between them until a familiar British voice filled their ears.

"Don't mind me."

Both Elena and Damon, startled from their conversation, turned around and saw none other than Klaus standing a few feet away from them. He was leaning against of of the Grill's tables, and standing next to him was a man.

"Klaus." Elena spit out curtly.

The hybrid in hearing her anger just gave her a wily grin.

Damon glared him. "You going to do this in the grill? It's a little beneath you, don't you think?"

Klaus still held a look of innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate." He turned to look towards the man that was standing next to him. "Get a round in won't you tony?" He asked and then watched as the man nodded and walked to the bar.

"I'm surprised you stuck around long enough for happy hour." Damon said to him in low voice that held danger.

Klaus was unfazed by this and instead gave him a narrowed stare. "My sister seems to be missing." He stated to both of them and saw how tensed they looked. "Need to sort that out..."

"Cute, blonde bombshell, psycho." Damon listed with attitude. "Shouldn't be too hard to find."

"You see that's what I assumed as well. I'd thought she'd be around with that sister of yours, since they seem to be quite close with each other." Klaus said glancing towards Elena giving her a knowing look. He saw how she tensed up she got and he narrowed his eyes at her. "But as of last night it turns out she hasn't seen her. How odd is that right, love?" A moment of silence passed between them, as she made no attempt in responding to him. His eyes then turned towards Damon. "Anyways, truth is I've grown to rather like your little town." He said as he walked closer to the dart board. "Think I might fancy a home here. I imagine you're wondering how does this affect you..." He turned to give them a superior expression. "And the answer is, not in the slightest. As long as I get what I want, and everyone behaves themselves, you can go on living your little lives however you choose." Klaus said with a serious voice. "You have my word."

Elena though wasn't buying this. "What more could you possibly want?"

"Well for starters, you can tell me where I might find Stefan." Klaus demanded more than asked.

Damon clenched his jaw. "Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass."

"You see that's a shame." Klaus said acidly before he threw the dart, making it hit the middle with such force that it went through the board. The hybrid then turned back to face them again, his expression now solid with fury. "Your brother stole from me. I need him found so I can take back what's mine."

"That's sounds like a Klaus and Stefan problem." Elena butted in with a scowl.

Klaus made a threatening step closer to her, but stopped when Damon stood in front of her protectively. The hybrid eyed the vampire before he let out a smirk. He then turned to look at the doppelganger. "Well, this is me broadening the scopes sweetheart."

---

A couple hours later, after they finished shooting in the woods, Melanie and Jeremy finally decided to head back home. They were hesitant at first since Elena would of probably already been there and neither Gilbert wanted to deal with her yet. But they reasoned with themselves saying that they could't avoid their older sister forever. Therefore, with that in mind both Gilbert siblings walked into their home.

As soon as they walked inside Melanie saw Elena and Alaric. Her older sister was setting up the dinner table, while Alaric was in the kitchen chopping vegetables. Jeremy saw this too and gave them a gesture of hello nodding his head at them. He then with out a word walked towards the fridge and took out two bottle of waters for him and Mel.

Much to her surprise, Mel saw how Elena had a tight smile on her face rather than a scolding expression. "Hey, you guys are just in time. We're cooking."

Mel who stayed behind near the table gave her older sister a dour look. "No thanks, I'm not really hungry."

"Yeah, me neither." Jeremy said as he made his way back towards the front door, with Melanie right behind him. "Besides, we're just passing through."

Alaric the ever peace maker spoke up, causing them to stop in there tracks. "Ah, well, I thought we would all stay in and have a meal together like a typical―well atypical family." He said trying to make light of the conversation between them.

Jeremy scoffed. "Why?" He asked in chagrin.

"Maybe because you got fired and you didn't tell anyone." Elena retorted back to him as she crossed her arms over her chest. She then gave looked over towards Melanie and her parental expression became more noticeable. "And how about the fact that you got drunk last night. Matt had to drive you home Mel! What would of happened if he hadn't been there? I mean what were you thinking?" She asked with a raised voice, scolding her.

Melanie rolled her eyes, but wasn't the least surprised with having her older sister reprimanding her. She still didn't like it though. The youngest Gilbert gave her a annoyed look as she sensed her headache coming back. "I was thinking of having fun Elena, you should try it sometime." She quipped back to her with a tight sharp smile. She really didn't want discuss about the real reason she had gotten drunk off her ass with her.

Elena furrowed her eyebrows at sister and frowned. "Having fun?" She repeated incredulously. "You call that having fun? Mel―"

Jeremy sensed the tension between his sisters and spoke up. "Look, can we do this later? We made plans with Tyler. He's right outside."

At this Alaric's eyes went wide. "Wait..." He said in surprise. "When did you guys start hanging out with Tyler Lockwood?"

"I don't know." Jeremy said in nonchalance, thinking it wasn't a big deal.

Melanie felt the same way and just shrugged her shoulders. "Does it really matter?"

Elena gave them a look as if they were crazy. "Yeah, it matters." She said firmly, this time uncrossing her arms from her chest and instead placed them on her hips. "He was sired by Klaus. He's dangerous."

"You know he has ears right?" Melanie said with a caustic voice. "He can hear you perfectly well."

"He's right outside." Jeremy commented before giving Elena a "Are you serious" look. "Besides you of all people are gonna lecture me on who I can and can't hang out with?"

Hearing her brother say this made Melanie think of Rebekah and of how Elena would constantly tell her not to be around the blonde vampire. Despite Mel not wanting to think about Rebekah, she couldn't help but think of the blonde beauty. She then looked at her older sister with a glare as she thought about all the times she said to stay away from Rebekah. "Yeah, Elena you can't control everyone." The youngest Gilbert countered back, letting the anger she felt come through the surface.

Elena noticed how they were both behaving and glowered at them. "What is with your guys attitude?"

Jeremy just rolled his eyes. "Whatever, this is lame. Tyler's waiting for us."

Just as he and Melanie were about to walk towards the door again, Elena quickly stood in front of them blocking the way.

"No. Oh, no, no. You two are not going anywhere, especially not with Tyler." Elena said sternly.

Melanie was beginning to feel even more irradiated, as did Jeremy. They both looked back towards Alaric hoping for some sort of support.

Alaric though gave them a apologetic expression. "Sorry guys, but I'm with her on this one."

Melanie shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelievable." She muttered lowly.

"Alright, fine." Jeremy said in annoyance. "You want us to stay in? Then let's all stay in." He gave Elena a pointed look before glancing towards the front door. "Yo, Tyler! Come on in!" He shouted, surprising everyone in the room, except for Melanie. The youngest Gilbert remained still as she stood next to him and watched as the front door opened.

"Jeremy!" Elena hissed lowly. She then watched as Tyler came into the house.

Melanie finding the situation to be slightly amusing, shared a look with Alaric and muttered, "Awkward..."

---

After the awkwardness that followed Tyler's entrance, they were all in the dining area. Melanie, Elena, Alaric, and Tyler were seated at the table, while Jeremy placed a plate in front of Tyler.

"Thanks." Tyler said politely despite feeling the tension in the room.

"This is weird." Elena commented eyeing Tyler with mistrust. "Klaus has hybrids stalking me, and now you're just sitting in our kitchen."

"Look, maybe I should go." Tyler said sheepishly as he was about to get up from his seat.

Jeremy shook his head as he took a seat next to him. "No stay. You're not doing anything."

"Unless you have to you know, check in with your hybrid master." Elena said nonchalantly, but one could hear the assertion in her tone of voice.

"It's not like that Elena." Tyler responded calmly back to her.

Alaric gave Tyler a questioning stare. "Tell me Tyler, what's the difference between being sired and being compelled?" He asked him curiously.

Tyler took a deep breath before he started explaining. "Compulsion, that's just mind control, like hypnosis. And being sired is...its like faith. You do something because you believe it's the right thing."

Elena raised her eyebrows at him, not at all falling for what he was saying. "So you believe that serving Klaus is the right thing?"

"I don't serve him." Tyler corrected firmly. "Klaus released me from a curse that was ruining my life. I owe him for that."

Alaric who was also skeptical, narrows his eyes at him. "What if he asked you to jump off a bridge?" He asked waiting to see what his answer would be.

Tyler scoffed finding this question to be ridiculous. "He wouldn't. And even if he did, I'd be fine. I'm a hybrid." He said reminding him and everyone else in the room.

"Okay, so what if he asked you to rip out your own heart?" Elena continued on with the questions.

Tyler gave her a dismissive look. "Again, he wouldn't." He told her curtly.

"What if he did?" Elena insisted.

By this point, Melanie could tell Tyler was losing patience. She was still surprised by his outburst though. Not at all expecting it.

"I don't know! Then I'd rip out my heart!" Tyler exclaimed, irradiated. He took a second to calm down before he saw everyone's startled expressions. Even Jeremy and Melanie were beginning to look at him in wariness. Tyler shook his head. "You guys are like Caroline. Getting all freaked out over something you don't understand."

"You're right Tyler. I don't understand." Elena seethed out. "Klaus has terrorized every single one of us, and you're just blindly loyal to him."

Tyler gave her a defensive look. "You're over thinking it. I can still make my own decisions."

Just as he said this Melanie heard Jeremy's cell phone ring. She frowned a little wondering who would be calling him. She saw as he looked at his cell phones screen before he got up from his seat, excusing himself from the conversation and wandered into the kitchen.

Things got even more awkward after that, and nobody made an attempt to make small talk.

Melanie fell further into her seat, wanting to disappear from the room. In all honesty she really just wanted to be far away from his older sister at the moment. It didn't really help how she was acting, but she couldn't help but blame Elena. Perhaps it was because of her older sisters constant nagging that Rebekah finally decided to just stop being friends with her. Maybe her older sister had been the one to drive the blonde vampire away from her due to the over protectiveness.

This of course made Melanie roll her eyes. She was just making up excuses because she didn't really want to admit the real reason as to why Rebekah had bailed on her. The simple answer was that Rebekah didn't want to be friends with her. The original vampire in no way would even feel the same way she did towards her. This of course made her feel even more worse and she absently started playing with her fingers. It was habitat she did whenever she was feeling down, or when she felt awkward. And right about now she felt the two. Much to her relief, Jeremy had come back into the room. She saw how he hung up the cellphone before he took his seat again.

"What was that about?" Elena asked him.

"It was nothing." Jeremy said throwing away her question.

"I got to go." Tyler suddenly told them as he got up from his seat. "Um, thanks, for the food offer but..." He drawled on awkwardly.

"Next time." Alaric said finishing his sentence.

Tyler nodded his head at him. He then muttered a goodbye to Elena and waved towards Jeremy and Melanie before leaving the house.

Melanie didn't blame him for wanting to leave. Despite having skeptical thoughts towards the sire bond like Elena and Alaric. She still felt like they didn't need to be hard on Tyler. I mean Tyler couldn't control what he was. Just how a person can't control who they like...even despite the person's gender.

Melanie quickly shook her head from her thoughts. This was not the time to dwell and ache about her feelings towards Rebekah.

"So, Tyler Lockwood is a lunatic who has access to our house." Elena said catching Melanie's attention. The youngest Gilbert, wanting to hear more on the conversation came to stand next to Elena and Alaric who were in the kitchen.

"I mean this whole sire bond thing is...weird." Alaric said in a low voice. "I don't think even Tyler is fully aware of what little reason lies behind what he's saying. It's this weird cult logic." He said inputting his own thoughts and opinions into the issue.

Elena sighed shaking her head. She turned to face Melanie who she noticed was right beside them. "Well that's a wonderful influence on you isn't it?" She rhetorically asked her sister with a pointed look before glancing towards Jeremy. "Especially on you Jer―" The oldest Gilbert froze when she didn't see her brother. "Jeremy?" She asked confused as to where he had gone.

Melanie turned around and was equally confused when she didn't see her brother. Where was Jeremy? She walked into the dining room and immediately saw his protection ring on the table.

"That's his ring." Alaric said out loud, bemused as to why he had taken it off.

Melanie picked up the ring examining it, all while she thought the same thing as Alaric.

Elena came over to where they were at and grab the ring from Melanie. She frowned looking at it. "Where did he go?" She asked, concern now plainly evident in her voice.

The three of them heard a noise coming from outside. They turned their heads towards the front door and saw how the door was wide open. They quickly walked outside and right from the porch they saw how Jeremy was standing in the middle of the street.

What the hell? Melanie thought in bemusement. Why was her brother just standing there?

"Jeremy?" Elena called out, but he remained frozen and quiet. At his lack of response she frowned. "What is he doing?"

Suddenly the sound of a speeding car filled up their ears. The three of them looked down at the end of the street and saw how a car was making its way towards Jeremy. This made them feel complete panic because of the car wasn't slowly down...in fact it looked as if it were just going faster towards him.

"Oh my God! Jeremy!" Elena shouted at him, hoping he would move.

But he didn't. He remained in place.

Melanie was shouting at him now too. But like with Elena, her shouts didn't falter him at all.

Whats wrong with him?! Melanie thought as she watched the car come closer. Move Jer!

"Jeremy move!" The youngest Gilbert yelled so loud that it even hurt her ears as she and Elena ran towards him.

Alaric though got there before them and jumped in time to push Jeremy out of the cars way. Unfortunately he ended up getting run over by the car instead.

Melanie and Elena were left in shock as they saw Alaric's body on the street laying face down. The both of them got over their initial shock and hurriedly ran towards where their history teacher was at. They turned his body over and instant relief surged though them when they saw that he was wearing his own protection ring.

Just as they were basking this in, the car that had ran Alaric over pulled next to them. The car window rolled down and Elena instantly recognized the man as one of Klaus' hybrids. "There I go again..." He commented with fake innocence. "Bumping into people." He then drove off down the street.

Melanie though had no idea as to who that man was. She turned towards Elena with her eyes wide. "Who the hell was that?" She asked in alarm.

"One of Klaus' hybrids." Elena answered her before Jeremy come over towards them with a hazy expression. His eyes went wide once he saw Alaric's body. "He's gonna be alright." Elena told him as she gestured to the ring he was wearing. She then eyed her brother with worry. "Are you okay?"

Jeremy still seemed out of it. "I don't understand."

Something clicked in Elena's mind. "Who was that on the phone earlier?" She asked him.

A light went off in Jeremy's eyes as he stared back towards his sisters. "It was Klaus!" He said in remembrance.

Melanie and Elena's panic grew when they heard this. The oldest Gilbert composed herself well enough to explain to Jeremy what has happened to him. "You were compelled Jeremy!" She informed him before she looked back towards Alaric's body. "We've gotta get him inside―the both of you need to help me." She told her siblings as they carefully picked up Alaric's body and took him back inside the house.

All while this was happening, Melanie couldn't help but think if Rebekah knew Klaus was planning on doing this to her brother. The youngest Gilbert hoped that she didn't know. Because if Rebekah did know that Klaus was going to do this to Jeremy...well she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to forgive her. Even with the strong feelings she was harboring for her...

---

Once the three Gilbert siblings had gently laid down Alaric's body on to their living room couch, Elena hurriedly called Damon. And needless to say it didn't take long for the raven haired vampire to arrive at the Gilbert house.

There was a sense of tension as soon as Damon had entered the household. This didn't come to as a surprise for Melanie though, especially since Alaric had just gotten run over by a car. That alone was bound to cause a lot of tension.

"How is he?" Damon asked looking at the three of them.

Melanie, who was on the floor next to her brother Jeremy, leaned against the living room wall. From where she was at she could see the firm expression plastered on Damon's face. She right away could tell that he was angry and worried.

Elena who was closer to the living room couch, let out a deep breath. "He's dead, but he had his ring." She manged to explain herself more thoroughly this time to him. Not at all hysterical like she had been on the phone with him. "Klaus' hybrid hit him." Her voice then lowered a bit in worry. "Now we just wait." She said looking over at Alaric's injured body with concern.

Having heard this from her, Damon let his eyes wander over towards the two young Gilbert's and that's when his eyes narrowed at the second oldest Gilbert. "Jeremy, why aren't you wearing vervain? Where's your bracelet?" He asked him.

Jeremy furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at his left wrist. Once he saw that there was nothing there, he looked back towards Damon and blinked. "I don't know..." He said to him, daze like.

Damon then looked at Melanie with a earnest expression. "What about you, Mel?"

"I'm not wearing any...but I still have some left over vervain in my system." Melanie explained to him as she absently played with the sleeve of her flannel.

"It was Tyler." Elena said giving both Jeremy and Melanie a knowing look. Although she made sure that her parental like scolding was leaning more towards Jeremy right now. "It had to have been. That's why he was hanging out with you. To get you off vervain." She vehemently told him.

Damon clenched his jaw. "Klaus is trying to send us a message. He wants us to find Stefan, who stole his coffins full of his dead family members."

Elena turned to look at Damon with a bemused expression. "Coffins?" She repeated back, puzzled.

Melanie on the other hand was surprised to hear that Rebekah's dead family members—the very same ones she had mentioned to her before—were inside these supposed coffins that Stefan had stolen.

"Yep!" Damon announced gaining Melanie's and everyone else's attention once more. "So all we have to do is find four coffins and—viola!" He said lightheartedly. "No one else on your family's Christmas list needs to die."

"Wait..." Jeremy spoke up sharply, catching everyone's attention. Melanie turned her head to look at him. She right away noticed the "are you serious" stare he was giving Damon. "That's your plan? To steal back four dead originals, so that this evil hybrid doesn't kill me and everyone else we know?" He asked with transparent attitude heavily directed at Damon.

Damon did not appreciate this. He scowled at Jeremy. "You got a better idea?" He retorted back to him.

Melanie saw how Jeremy quickly went to stand up. She was startled by this sudden move, but she managed to keep herself in composure. She kept her brown eyes on Jeremy as he started to act a bit more fervently.

"Yeah!" Jeremy said ardently as he now stood at his full height. "Let's get the hell out of here! Pack our bags and go!" He said directly at his older sister, but Melanie could tell this was aimed towards her as well.

Elena gave Jeremy a soft expression. "Hey, Jeremy, calm down." She said hoping that would lessen his edge. Unfortunately it didn't.

"No, no! I'm not gonna calm down, Elena!" Jeremy heavily protested. "This happens every time, no matter what we do! You not only get on my case about school and work, but you're also consistently smothering both me and Mel, telling us we need to be more responsible, and what we can and can't do, who we can and can't hang out with—but who cares? None of us are gonna make it out of this town alive!" He shouted at his older sister with absolute emotion, and then without saying another word, he ran upstairs.

The living room was then filled with silence, with only the sound of the living room clock ticking.

Melanie who was still on the floor, looked towards to where her brother had ran off to. Although she hadn't said a word during his unexpected rant, she couldn't help but agree with everything he had just told Elena. Because in her opinion, Jeremy did have a point. A very valid and major point. Why did any of this unavailing nonsense, like going to school and being "responsible", even matter anymore? Why did Elena have to consistently breathe on her neck about being "safe". There was no such thing as being "safe" here in Mystic Falls. Not ever since vampires came into their life. Since then everything had been one giant mess, filled with only danger and heartbreak.

Speaking about heartbreak...

Melanie felt her stomach tighten. Damn heartbreak. That only in return made her think about Rebekah...and she couldn't offered to feel like this right now. Not in front of Elena and Damon. She took a deep breath and clenched her fists, before she stood up from the floor, and started making her way towards the stairs.

Elena saw how her sister started to walk away too. "Mel—" She began to say, but stopped as soon as Melanie spun around to look at her.

"What?" Melanie snapped at her. She didn't necessarily want to sound so harsh. But with everything that was going on, like her brother almost getting killed, Alaric getting run over, and her strong feelings for Rebekah, just made her indignation escalate to a whole new level.

Elena was taken back by her attitude, but she muddled through. "Where are you going?" She asked her in concern.

"Where does it look like?" Melanie said in a caustic way. Her demeanor changed though as soon as she saw her sister's face fall in dejection. She mentally berated herself, since she knew her older sister was just asking because she was worried for her. And even though her concern annoyed her to no ends, she composed herself a bit. "Up to my room." She said in a gentler tone to her. She of course still sounded somewhat mad, but not as before. Melanie then saw how Elena's expression faltered up a little bit in distress and saw how she was ready to talk again. But before she could ask her anymore invasive questions, she spoke up. "Let me know when he wakes up." Melanie said gazing at Alaric momentarily, her expression turning grim. She then hurriedly made her way upstairs. She just needed to be alone right now. Alone in her room and away from everyone else. She needed time to wallow over her feelings for Rebekah, and time to process everything that had happened so far today. So with that thought alone, she slammed her bedroom door shut, and excluded herself from the outside world.

Elena sighed in angst, as she heard the sound of her sister's door being slammed shut. It caused her to feel great unease with the way both of her siblings were acting, but especially with Melanie. The oldest Gilbert had been noticing how vexed, woe, and closed off she had been acting. Getting drunk at the Homecoming, giving her attitude. It just didn't sit well with her. Deep down though Elena had a feeling as to why Melanie was acting this way. But she had to keep telling herself that daggering Rebekah had been a good thing. She didn't trust her at all with the plan they had with killing Klaus, and even if they failed in succeeding through with that plan, the outcomes would of probably been a whole lot worse if Rebekah had been there. Besides, she didn't like the fact that Melanie and her were friends. Even despite Melanie saying Rebekah in no way was a danger to her, Elena didn't see her side of things. If she'd knew one thing for sure, it was that the Mikaelson's were a danger to everyone. With the exception of maybe perhaps Elijah, but even he was not a force to be dealt with. So she in now way wanted Melanie to be associated with any of them...but especially with Rebekah. Unfortunately, as she was thinking this a sudden thought entered her mind. And as much as she wanted to ignore this thought and throw it away, she knew she couldn't. The life of her brother had almost been taken away, all because of Klaus. She in no way could ignore that. Maybe the next time he struck, it would be Melanie's life at risk. Elena couldn't have either of her siblings in danger. So if she needed to give him the one person she wanted daggered the most, then fine she would. She gazed back at Damon and gave him a knowing look. "He said he wants his family back." She slowly informed him.

Damon face faltered, already knowing where she was going with this. "No. No, I know what you're thinking. The answer's no."

"If we give him Rebekah..." Elena trailed on with persistence.

"Yeah, then Klaus undaggers her. First thing she does is kill you." Damon retorted back to her. "Frying pan, fire. Not an option." He said ending the idea.

Elena bit the inside of her cheek. What Damon was saying was true. If Klaus did undagger Rebekah, the blonde vampire would not hesitate to come after her. She would also tell Melanie, about what she had done to her. Which was something Elena was dreading to happen...for Melanie to know the truth of what she did to Rebekah. She was ashamed to tell her, that her blonde friend had been daggered by her. Melanie with out a doubt, would be extremely mad at her. But that was something Elena could not dwell on at the moment. With that in mind she focused on the current topic. "Klaus' coffins...how many did you say they were?" She asked him, wanting to distant herself from the guilt she was feeling. Besides, right now she needed to figure out a way to stop Klaus from coming after her family members. She would deal with the whole daggering Rebekah and not telling her sister about it nonsense later. Much later.

---

Melanie had no idea how long she'd been in her room wallowing. A few hours at the most probably. She knew for sure that it was night time now. On the account that she had watched the sun set from her bedroom window. While alone in her room though she had time to think about a few things. One of those things involving a certain blonde beauty. The same blonde beauty that was currently making her heart ache with such new emotion, she'd never felt before.

This emotion only grew more when she had watched the sun set. She had no idea as to why, but it just did. It made her heart tremble with sorrow, but it also caused a sense of anger to wash through her. Everything that had happened today just fueled the pain and aggravation she was feeling.

With Jeremy almost getting killed.

Alaric getting run over.

Her on growing and strong feelings she felt towards Rebekah.

All these things just made her feel extremely overwhelmed.

Also add to the fact that she was mad at herself for not being able to stop Jeremy from being compelled. She should of noticed when Tyler compelled him. She was there with him! But yet she hadn't noticed. She must of been to busy thinking about Rebekah, that she missed when Tyler compelled Jeremy. So thanks to her crush on Rebekah, her own brother had almost been killed. That was just unforgivable. Melanie just hoped...prayed even that Rebekah did not know about this. That Klaus didn't tell her how he was going to use Jeremy as collateral damage in order to get what he wanted. Because if she knew, and didn't tell her about it, Melanie didn't think she would be able to forgive her...

She had half a mind to call Rebekah and ask her, but what good would that do? The blonde original vampire would probably ignore her calls, just like she had been ignoring her since Homecoming. So why call and humiliate herself even more? It would be pointless. Not to mention she wouldn't be able to handle anymore rejection...not if it came from Rebekah. Her heart wouldn't be able to handle it. Oh but how much she wanted to hear Rebekah's lovely British voice...that thought alone almost had her calling her, but she quickly restrained herself.

Get a hold of yourself!

Melanie thought to herself as she laid on her bed. She currently was staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom with a broken expression set on her face.

Maybe things would be easier for her she were to leave and go somewhere else. Somewhere were it wasn't as chaotic and dangerous as it was here in Mystic Falls. But as soon as she thought about this, Melanie scoffed. She couldn't just get up and leave. Not with out her family anyways. But deep down she wondered how things would be if she were far away from Mystic Falls...away from vampires...away from Rebekah...would her feelings decrease? Would she finally stop longing to be with her? Would she be able to stop lov—

Her heart felt thoughts came to a halt, as soon she heard the familiar sound of sister screaming. With out even waiting another second, Melanie got off from her bed and raced down stairs. She in no way was expecting to see the scene happening right in front of her. There on the living room floor was Alaric coughing up blood violently.

"What happened?!" Melanie asked with wide eyes as she made her way down the stairs.

"I—I don't know! I just came back and he was barely waking up but then he just started coughing up blood before he collapsed." Elena cried out. "Somethings wrong with the ring or something, but I—I don't know!"

"Where the hell is Jeremy?" Melanie asked in hysterics, as knelt down beside Alaric. The history teacher was still coughing up a lot of blood.

Elena faltered a bit. "I don't know. He's not here.." She tried to compose herself. "I thought it was just me and Alaric...I thought you left too."

Melanie glanced up at her sister hearing she voice break, before she managed to focus on what they needed to do. "Elena we need to call the paramedics. Now!"

Elena listened and quickly called the paramedics. After that she knelt down next Melanie, as they both held onto Alaric as he coughed up more blood. After a while, Alaric's body stopped moving and both girls grew even more worried. Melanie checked for a pulse, and felt relieved to have found one. It was a weak one but it was a pulse nonetheless. Alaric still really needed to be taken to the hospital though.

Just as Melanie was thinking about this, there was a sudden knock on the front door. Elena got up and went to the answer the door. She came face to face with two male paramedics.

"What happened?" One of them asked Elena as soon as she opened the door.

"He got hit by a car...and he's coughing up blood." Elena informed them as the two paramedics came inside.

Melanie got out of the way of the paramedics, and went to stand next to Elena.

"Get his vitals." Melanie heard one of the paramedics say to the other one.

"Pulse pretty weak. Looks like internal bleeding." The other paramedic stated out loud. "We gotta get him out of here."

"Let's move." The first paramedic said agreed, ready to take Alaric to the hospital.

"Let's not and say we did."

Once hearing that new voice, Melanie and Elena turned around to the front door and saw someone standing there. It was then that Melanie realized that this was the same person, who had run over Alaric. One of Klaus' hybrids.

"Why don't you two meet us at the hospital?" The hybrid said looking at the paramedics, and in complete trance, the two paramedics left the house. Melanie quickly went back to Alaric's side, trying to give him some sort of help and comfort, now that the paramedics had abandoned him.

"What?" Elena asked shock. "No, no, no! You have to help him!" She called after the paramedics, but they continued on as if they had not heard her. "What are you doing?" She growled at the hybrid who was leaning against the front doors entry.

The hybrid shrugged nonchalantly. "You can still save his life, Elena. Here." He said offering his wrist before he sighed in mock exasperation."I can't get in. One of you two is going to have to invite me in." He said pointedly looking at both Elena and Melanie.

Elena gave a look that disagreed, and Melanie quickly took notice to this. The youngest Gilbert then focused on balancing Alaric's head on her lap.

"No, why are you doing this?" Elena asked, her voice wavering.

"Klaus asked for his family. You didn't deliver." The hybrid retorted back to her.

As soon as he said this, Melanie felt Alaric begin to cough again. She saw blood drip down to the side of this mouth. "Elena!" She yelled out, catching her older sister's attention.

Elena hurriedly ran over towards them, and knelt beside Alaric again. "It's okay, I'm here." She said trying to bring some sort of solace.

"Might want to invite me in." The hybrid said,snidely from the front door. Melanie and Elena looked at one another as if they were silently communicating with each other. Before of one them said anything, they both heard a sound of a arrow hitting something. They looked back towards the front door and saw how the hybrid fall to the ground. Both girls were immediate relieved to see none other than Jeremy standing a few feet away, with Alaric's crossbow.

"Jeremy!" Elena cried out making her way towards him. Melanie stayed where she was at and kept trying to help Alaric with his coughing fit.

"He's not dead yet." Jeremy brusquely informed his older sister as he made his way inside the house. Melanie watched as he made his way into the kitchen before he came back with a large butchers knife in hand. Her brown eyes widen at the sight of it, but she remained shell shocked quiet. This isn't going to end well...She thought to herself. And boy was she right.

Elena too was taken back by this. "What are you—" Her question though was cut short as soon as Jeremy hacked the hybrids head off with butchers knife. Completely detaching it from it's body. She let out a surprised scream and quickly turned away. She still caught some sight of how her brother cut off the hybrids head off. Melanie on the other hand had witnessed the whole entire thing and she became frozen with even more shock.

"Now he's dead." Jeremy said blood covering his hands and body. He either didn't notice or didn't care because he made his way inside, acting as if he just hadn't cut off a hybrids head. "We've got to get Alaric to the hospital now." He said out loud, jolting Melanie out of her shocked state. She managed to compose herself and than began helping Jeremy, as they moved Alaric's body back onto the couch. After that she watched as Jeremy grabbed the house phone to call for help.

Meanwhile, as this was happening,, Elena was still standing by the front door, deeply unnerved to the core because of what Jeremy had just done. .

---

After careful examination by the doctor, Alaric was finally able to leave the hospital. Damon had been the one to drop him, along with Jeremy and Melanie off at the hospital. Elena had decided to stay behind. When they had left, Melanie noticed how unnerved her older sister still was. And although she wanted to say something to comfort her, she just couldn't bring herself to do so. Everything now though seemed to be alright with Alaric, and the doctor he had was clearly astonished by his well being. Although, Jeremy and Melanie knew the reason behind this. It was because of Damon's blood that really healed Alaric internally from the injuries he had.

"So, the ring brought you back to life, but it didn't heal you? Does that mean it's broken?" Jeremy asked Alaric. Melanie too was confused at the fact that the ring wasn't able to heal him completely this time.

Alaric shrugged his shoulders as the three of them continued to walk through the hospitals parking lot. "I don't know. It's never happened like that before. I guess I have Damon's blood to thank for the fact that I'm still walking."

"He said to say you owe him a drink." Jeremy said in a ease like tone.

Alaric scoffed. "That's funny. I'd rather have head trauma." He commented lightly, but he noticed how quiet both of Jeremy, and especially Mel were. He stopped in his tracks, making them stop as well. "Hey...are two okay?" Alaric asked with a troubled expression.

Melanie shrugged her shoulders and focused on staring at her shoes, while Jeremy spoke up for the both of them.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we be?" Jeremy asked rhetorically. "I mean I shot a hybrid in the back and chopped his head off with a meat cleaver in front of my sisters. What?Typical Sunday, huh?" He mused with heavy sarcasm.

"You guys can talk to me about this stuff. You both know that, right?" Alaric told them with a soft expression set on his face.

"What could you tell us that we don't already know?" Jeremy retorted. "This is the way things are. It sucks, but we just got to get use to it." He said to Alaric before he started walking ahead.

Alaric sighed and then looked over towards Melanie. The youngest Gilbert wasn't even looking at him, but instead was looking at her shoes. This caused to him frown in distress. "What about you Mel?' He asked gently. "Is that what you think to?" He said inwardly hoping she would say something to him. She had been quiet ever since they had first arrived at the hospital a couple hours ago. Alaric knew Melanie well enough now to know that whenever she's was completely silent, that meant something was deeply bothering her. This was something he noticed from the first time meeting her. He knew of her past depression and such. How she kept quiet, refusing to talk to anyone, for months after the passing of her parents. Elena had been the one to tell him about this. The youngest Gilbert, although sometimes hard at the exterior, did in fact have many emotional issues, and this of course caused Alaric to feel despair. Ever since Jenna's passing, and becoming the official guardian to the Gilbert's, he's come to see himself as a father figure to them. Especially towards Melanie. Out of all the Gilbert siblings she was the one who needed the most guidance...so seeing her quite and sad made him feel like he had failed her. It really did. He just wanted to know what was bothering her. If she really thought the same way Jeremy did.

Melanie looked up from her shoes and slowly turned to face him. She saw how he was patiently waiting for her to reply back...to say anything to him. And while she wanted to stay in absolute silence, she decided to speak up. "Yes." She answered him with a grim like tone. She saw how his expression fell. Her response to this was merely a shrug as she continued on with her opinion. "It is what it is, Alaric. It's either kill or be killed." As she said this she couldn't help but think back to when her brother chopped off that hybrids head off.

Was it disturbing? Yes. Would that image always be implanted in her head? Probably. Was she mad at her brother for doing that? No. Not at all.

Like she had told Alaric. It's either kill or be killed. Meaning that if she for some reason was in a situation were it required her to fight for her life, she'd do that. She wouldn't go with out a fight. Therefore, she had to agree with her brother for the second time today. Because they really needed to just get use to the chaos they lived in. It sucked a lot, but if they were to stay here in Mystic Falls, then they really needed to get with the program. If they didn't then they wouldn't last very long. Simple as that. Although she could see based on Alaric's face, that he in fact think it was that simple to follow. She saw how his eyes soften and how his mouth was closing and opening, almost as if he were trying to figure out what to say to her. But before he say anything to her, she spoke up.

"Look...do me a favor and don't worry about me. I'm fine really."

Alaric didn't look convinced. "Mel-" he began but was interrupted.

"I said don't worry about me." Melanie said in a harder voice. She got a hold of herself and ran a hand through her hair. "Let's just stop talking about this, okay?" She asked looking at him with a pleading expression.

"Okay." Alaric said nodding his head, despite him wanting to continue on with the conversation. It was obvious though that Melanie was over it.

"Alright, good." Melanie said relieved they were through with the conversation. She then began making her way through the parking lot.

Alaric furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait, where are you going?"

Melanie glanced over her shoulder to look at him.

"Just gonna go for a walk. I need some alone time right now, Ric."

"What about Elena?" Alaric asked her.

Melanie inwardly scoffed, but her answer out loud was well composed."I'll deal with her parental wrath later. Right now I just need to be alone." And with out another word, she turned back and continued on walking.

Alaric knew he should of gone after her. Elena would of definitely not allowed for Melanie to go off on her own right now. But something told him that she really needed space apart from everyone—especially from Elena. So he let her be, in hopes that this walk would somehow make her feel less dispirited with everything that she was going through. Deep down though he knew it wouldn't, not really...but he still hoped it would some how help her in one way or another.

---

Melanie initially only intended on going for a walk because she wanted to be alone—and that's what she did. Except what she hadn't intended on doing was going to Matt's house. It was completely unanticipated, not to mention totally unplanned, but with what went on today, she needed someone to talk to. Whether she wanted to admit that out loud or not. She just wanted (actually no, she needed) to vent about everything that had occurred. This was something that was quite disparate to Melanie. Since it wasn't that along ago that she was this repressed young girl who hardly liked to talk about her problems and feelings. She liked burying things deep inside her. Not wanting anyone to know what was going on with her. Not her friends nor her family members. The last thing she wanted was for them to feel bad and worry over her. She already had enough with Elena's mother hen routine. Besides they all had their own problems to deal with. So why unease them with hers? It seemed like a selfish thing for her to do. Not to mention she never liked being seen as weak. She was already the youngest of the group. So with that she needed to be strong and well put together, especially with the life she had.

She remembered when the act of not talking first started. It was when she was a child. From her recollection it was mainly just small incidents, when she wouldn't talk to anyone. But those only lasted for short time. Many just assumed that she was just shy, and it was easily forgotten. It wasn't seen as something serious, just a small phase she was going through. However that all changed after her parents died. Once her parents passed way...well her not wanting to talk to anyone escalated and it seemed like it was going to stay that way. She didn't talk to anyone for months. Not to her friends, aunt Jenna, Jeremy, and especially not to Elena. She just stayed silent. The quiet one of the Gilberts. A lot of people in town wondered why she was like that. Which was something Melanie noticed right away. She heard the whispers of people and noticed their puzzled stares whenever she passed them. Mystic Falls after all was a small town and with the passing of her parents and her extreme introverted behavior, certainly had people talking...

Selective Mutism is what they called it. Her condition...but Melanie never liked putting a label on her so called "condition." So she didn't like to talk back then? Big deal. It was her way of dealing with grief. Many people dealt with grief differently. Although not all the ways were necessarily good. Take Jeremy for example. He dealt with the passing of their parents by taking drugs and alcohol. And although she did engage with alcoholic tendencies every once in a while in order to cope with her own grief, taking drugs was not something she did. That was a line she certainly never wanted to cross. She had her limits, and she was glad that Jeremy no longer partook in that anymore.

Of course her non-talking "issue" was no longer an issue anymore. Well scratch that...it wasn't...most of the time. Because even after the emotional confrontation she had with Elena, and with her finally talking for the first time in months after her parent's passing, there were still times were Melanie refused to talk. One example of this would be when she figured out the truth about vampires and that Elena had been lying not only to her, but to everyone else about their existence. That certainly put a strained in their sibling relationship. She didn't talk to her for at least a couple of weeks. But that wasn't out of grief, no it was out of anger.

If there was anything Melanie hated in this whole world, it was when people lied to her. And Elena had lied to her. Her older sister said it was because she just wanted to protect her, and although Melanie understood that notion, she was still deeply hurt. Of course though, Melanie ended up forgiving her and the two of them made up and moved on. It was just something Melanie knew she couldn't hold a grudge on forever. They needed each other. But she made it point clear with those couple of weeks, of her ignoring and not acknowledging Elena, what would happen if she angered her like that again with lies. Because if there was one thing that bothered Elena a lot, it was when either of her younger sibling were mad at her. But she especially hated it whenever Melanie refused to talk to her. And as much as Melanie loved her older sister, there were times were she wished she could go a couple of days with out having to deal with Elena's "parental" control. Melanie knew she meant well, but it was just too much to handle. Luckily Jeremy understood her better and didn't smoother her like Elena. Which is why she preferred spending time with him than Elena. And it also helped that he wasn't consistently breathing down her neck about what she could or could not do. And with who she couldn't hang out with...

Speaking of people Elena had said she didn't want her hanging out with...

If there was one person in this whole Melanie just loved being around and had no trouble talking to...it had to be Rebekah. The blonde original vampire compared to everyone else in Mystic Falls, was like a breath of fresh air.

A gem among stones.

A rare beauty. Inside and out. She was absolutely Melanie was with her...it was complete bliss. There was no pressure when she talked to her and she didn't need to overthink things.

Everything that came out of her, although bashful, ended up being a remarkable memory for her. She didn't need to hide herself anymore and the most important thing was that Rebekah made her feel like she wasn't a waste of space. That she wasn't a burden. That she mattered. She actually made her feel happy...which was something Melanie hardly felt now a days. So she had no trouble talking to Rebekah...but now that she was AWOL, well that made quite a damage within Melanie's self-esteem. She left her...and there was a possibility that she knew about Klaus' plan to hurt her loved ones. Oh, but how she hoped that Rebekah didn't know anything about that...cause if she did...well that would of caused a even bigger hole in her heart. Perhaps she was an idiot for catching feelings for Rebekah in the first place...but she couldn't help it. She was just so... awe-inspiring.

The blonde original vampire had been through a lot in her life and yet she still had the energy to continue on. If Melanie had to go through what she went through...who knows if she would have been able to stay as strong as her. But that was one of the many reasons why she liked Rebekah so much. She was strong...yet stunning... but there was something about her that still showed off how fragile she was. Kind of like how she was too. Which is why Melanie felt connected to her...two souls who each have been through their own turmoils finally finding each other. But now her blonde gem was gone...and Melanie felt empty. And no matter how much she wanted to shake off that feelings, she couldn't. And it wasn't like she could talk to just anybody in order to cope with this feeling, along with what happened today. Actually, there were several close people she could confide in with the whole vampire/hybrid drama, but there weren't many she could vent about with the whole Rebekah thing.

Well technically there was one person she could talk to...Matt.

Matt was the only person who knew about her secret...so he was definitely someone she could confide in. He was trustworthy and she knew that he would actually listen to her without judging her.

So that's why she was currently at his house.

"Whoa.." Matt said flabbergasted as he sat on his living room couch. He was momentarily shell-shocked after hearing Melanie explain to him about everything that happened today. Starting with Jeremy being compelled to stand in front of a moving car, Alaric pushing him out of the way and him getting hit by the car instead, his ringing malfunctioning, and then lastly on how Jeremy cut off a hybrid's head off without even blinking an eye. It was a lot to take in, but since the discovery of vampires, or anything supernatural, Matt's learned that anything in Mystic Falls was indeed possible. But man...the things he missed because he was stuck at work still astonished him greatly. To even think that Jeremy and Alaric could of been killed today was just dreadful.

Melanie, who was sitting next to him on his couch, let out a scoff. "Whoa, is an understatement." She said with a acerbic tone of voice.

"So why do you think the ring malfunctioned?" Matt asked her.

Melanie sighed and leaned further onto the couch. "I don't know. I'm just glad that he woke up. Guess we have Damon to thank for that."

Mat nodded his head absently. "Yeah, guess we do." He said before moving his blue eyes at her in concern. "So how are you? After all that?" He couldn't help but ask. She seemed relaxed on the outside, but who knows how she was in the inside. He knew how well she was at hiding her feelings.

Melanie's demeanor faltered a bit, but she quickly went to dismiss it. "I don't know." She answered numbly. "I mean how does one feel after watching their brother hack off a hybrid's head off?" She asked with blank sarcasm. The room was filled with silence but Melanie could feel Matt's worried gaze on her. She closed her eyes for a second and then looked back toward's Matt again. This time she was more real and honest with him. Besides this was why she came here in the first place. To talk. "I guess you could say I'm in a state of shock..." She said despairingly. "But like I said to Alaric, it is what it is. If Jeremy hadn't have done that then who knows how things might of turned out..."

Matt seemed slightly discorded, but he managed to give her a look of understanding. "Yeah...man things just seem to be getting crazier and crazier everyday." He commented, baffled like. "First Homecoming and now this? You think by now we'd be use to it..."

At the mention of Homecoming Melanie began getting a feeling desolateness. She started messing with her fingers as a response to this. A image of Rebekah entered her mind and she instantly felt her heartbeat pick up. A split second of hope entered her as soon as she saw the blonde beauty in her mind. However that quickly went away. She lowered her eyes to the floor when she reminded herself that Rebekah wasn't here with her...that she left without even saying good-bye to her.

Matt took a notice her behavior and immediately knew the reason behind it. He felt like kicking himself. He should of been more careful with mentioning Homecoming. Of course it would of caused a reaction like this out of Melanie. He knew she was still hurt...but he also knew that perhaps talking about it would be helpful towards her. So he decided to go with that. Anything to help a friend that he viewed like a younger sister.

"How are you? You know, regarding the other thing?" Matt asked her gently.

Melanie stopped playing with her fingers as soon as she heard this. She lifted her gaze back up towards him and froze. Although this was exactly the other reason as to why she came here, she remained quiet. Matt remained quiet as well not at all pressuring her to talk. Which as something she appreciated. He was letting her taker her time and that actually did help her get rid of her nerves a bit. She had to remind herself once again that this was Matt...one of her best friend. That he had to ill intentions towards her. Hell he knew about her liking girls and he made no homophobic comments towards her. He accepted her...

So with complete trust in him, she answered back.

"She left..." She said letting her voice crack a bit, but she hurriedly went to harden it again.

"You don't know that for sure." Matt said trying to be optimistic with her. "Something might of came up and she needed to leave town." His eyes soften as he spoke to her. "She could still come back."

Melanie although heartbroken, decided to lean on her obdurate side. "No, if something important came up she would of told me in person. Or at least she would of called or texted to let me know." She shook her head. "She hasn't even responded back to any of my messages. No, she's ignoring me." She gave Matt a dejected look. "It's probably for the best anyways..." She said, glum taking over her exterior.

"Melanie..." Matt said, but was interrupted by Melanie.

"No think about it Matt. What kind of future would I even have with Rebekah?" She asked vehemently. "It would of never worked out."

Matt narrowed his blue eyes at her. "And why not?" He asked.

Melanie gave him a hard look. "You know why." Was all she said to him before looking at the living room wall ahead of her.

"If this has to do with her being a girl, who cares. This is the twenty first century. You can like whoever you want." Matt prompted encouragingly to her. "I mean you do like Rebekah, don't you?"

Melanie felt her heart pick up speed again. "Of course I like her." She answered honestly. It was only then after she said that, that she realized this it was the first time she said her real feelings for Rebekah out loud. Well rather than her drunken out burst she had, but this time she was one hundred percent sober. And she could actually feel her cheeks start to warm up. Her feelings were genuine. But what Matt said still whirled around her mind. You can like whoever you want. Pssh. If only it were that easy...Melanie thought, because although what Matt said was kind, not everyone had that stand point of view. "Mystic Falls is a small town Matt." The young Gilbert said dejectedly. "People talk, and not everyone is going to have that same opinion."

"Well then forget them Mel." Matt ended up saying. "It's your life, not theirs."

Melanie felt her mouth turn up. Talking to Matt was making her feel slightly better and hearing him say these things to her helped her inner turmoil as well. Unfortunately, it didn't vanquish all her worries. There was still one that remained...and that was Elena. Even if Rebekah did come back, and by some miracle Melanie somehow had the courage to tell her that she liked her, and that the blonde original vampire returned the same romantic feelings she had, the youngest Gilbert still had to deal with Elena. Not to mention she would have to tell everyone about her being a lesbian. Which was something she wasn't necessarily ready to tell them yet...but she especially didn't want Elena finding out. She wasn't so much worried about the fact of her finding out that she liked girls—okay maybe she was—but it had more to do with the specific girl she liked. The one girl Elena absolutely did not approve of. If she disliked Rebekah being her friend, one could only imagine how she'll react when she finds out that her younger sister has actual strong feelings towards the blonde original vampire.

"Elena would never approve." Melanie said somewhat bitterly.

Matt chuckled a bit. "Since when has Elena ever stopped you from doing your own thing."

At this Melanie let out a smile and turned to look at him again. "True..." She said jestingly.

There was another moment of silence before Matt's face softened. "But in all honesty, you shouldn't hold back because of others. That being said though, it's totally your decision when you want to tell people. Whenever you're fully ready. Just know that I'll be here for you."

Melanie's smile faltered a bit due to what he said. It wasn't bad thing though it was more emotional, because what he said reminded her of the letter he had written her. "Thanks, Matt..." She said, her face in result softening as well.

Matt nodded his head before looking the clock that was on the living room wall. "It's getting late. How about I drive you back home." He said before he got up from the couch.

Melanie stood up from the couch as well. "No that's okay." She said as she made her way to his front door.

Matt furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you sure?" He asked her.

Melanie just gave him another rare smile of hers. "Yeah, don't worry about it. Besides I could use the fresh air the night has to offer." She said as she opened the front door, before she stepped out though she turned towards him again. "Hey, Matty?" She called out gently.

At the sound of Melanie using that doting nickname, Matt turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

Melanie gave him a soft expression. "Thank you ...for everything." She said to him meaningfully.

Matt right away understood by when she said everything. For him driving her home, taking care of her, writing the letter, and offering her the one thing she needed the most at the moment...support. In return he gave her a kind-hearted smile. "Anytime Mel."

Melanie gave him one last smile before she stepped out his front door and made her way home. During her walk she thought about everything they had just talked about, all while a mental image of Rebekah played in her head.

---

The walk back to her house was a lot faster than Melanie intended it to be. However she knew that getting back to her house the sooner was better. She did after still have to deal with Elena. So with a huff, Melanie finally opened her front house door and stepped in. Already full on ready for Elena's lecture about her disregarding her safety and coming home late.

When she came inside though the sight before her slightly threw her off. Yes, Elena was there, but she was sitting on one of the living room couches. And when she lifted her gaze onto her's, Melanie saw how her older sister remained seated with a tense expression. Although it wasn't the same expression her sister would use when berating her. So this was weird and concerning. Had something else happened? She hoped not...

Melanie walked closer towards her. "Whats up?" She warily asked.

Elena pursed her lips. "It's late." She said, her voice lower than usual.

Melanie took notice of this and it found odd. What was even more odd was that she hadn't started lecturing her right away. Perhaps Elena was just working up to it? Whatever the reason was, the youngest Gilbert was still taking caution for her older sister's behavior.

"Yeah, I went to take a walk. Clear my head, from all that went on today." Melanie started saying. "Ended up at Matt's house and we talked for a bit." She thought for sure that would get a parental scolding from Elena, but no, her sister remained seated and tense. This unnerved Melanie even more. She decided to be blunt. "What's going on?" She finally asked, as she now stood in front of her sister. "Is it Jeremy? Is he okay?" She found herself asking quickly.

"Jeremy's fine. He's upstairs in his room sleeping." Elena calmly told her.

Melanie felt relief for a few seconds, before speaking up. "Why the serious face then?"

Elena sighed, and patted the couch. Indicating for Melanie to take a seat next to her. Once she did that, Elena turned to face her. Her expression instead of tense, was now filled with sorrow.

"Look I have something to tell you." Elena started off saying, her voice somber. "You have to promise me you won't overreact when I do."

Melanie's nerves escalated, and she full on ignored what her sister said. "Just tell me already." She said as she gripped the edge of the cough tightly. She mentally was now preparing herself for bad news.

Elena let out a aghast sigh. She took notice that her sister didn't promise anything. This made her feel slight dismay, because she knew how unwell Melanie can take unexpected news. And what she was about to tell her, was indeed unexpected news for her. But the more she stared at younger sister, the more she knew she couldn't keep that news to herself anymore. Elena just had to keep reminding herself that what she was about to tell Melanie was for her own good.

"Jeremy's leaving."

Those words completely threw Melanie off. Not at all expecting for that to be what Elena needed to tell her. And although it wasn't horrible devastating news, it still hit something emotional within her. Her grip on the couch loosened and she blinked a couple times before speaking. "What?" She managed to say, her voice wavering a bit.

Elena steadied her voice. She kept her eyes on Melanie. "I said Jeremy's leaving."

Melanie shook her head. "No, I got that part. I heard you say that. What I want to know is why?"

Elena felt her stomach drop a bit. She figured this feeling was more due to the guilt she felt, rather than real stomach problems. She knew that Melanie was going to be asking her this question. It was to be expected after all. Her sister was always the attentive one. Despite this though, Elena needed to keep her cool. Melanie would know right away she was lying, if she didn't remain composed. "You heard him earlier, Melanie." She said ardently. The gaze she had on her faltered a bit. "He doesn't want to be here. He doesn't feel safe, not that I blame him. How can I force him to be here, especially after what happened today?"

Melanie right away understood what her sister meant. After what happened today, she too was starting to doubt she was safe anymore. But for Jeremy to actually leave Mystic Falls, away from Elena, away from her? That was just...too hard to believe. It couldn't be true...then again it could. She was present when she heard him give out that whole "lets pack up our bags and go" rant. She thought maybe it was just him having a spur of the moment thing, but having heard her sister say he was actually leaving, just made Melanie realize how real he was being. Despite this though, she couldn't help but feel slight anger. She narrowed her gaze on Elena.

"So what? You're just gonna let him leave? Just like that? I mean where is he going to go?" She questioned heatedly.

Not at all expecting for her sister to suddenly lash out on her, Elena frowned. "Melanie it's what he wants." As soon as those words left her mouth the feeling she had in her stomach intensified. Just ignore the guilt. This is for her own good. It's for both of their own good. Jeremy and Melanie. She tried ignoring the feel once more. "He's going to be staying with some family friends in Denver. You remember them, don't you?"

Denver? As in Colorado? He was going that far away? That just made Melanie feel even more distress. She knew which family friends Elena was talking about. That wasn't the issue. The issue was that Jeremy was leaving. Her brother was leaving Mystic Falls. He was leaving her. And that hurt. Truth be told, Melanie had always been closer with Jeremy than she was with Elena. Maybe it had to do with the fact that they were closer in age. With them being Irish twins. Only being eleven months apart from age. But truthfully, Melanie just felt more comfortable with Jeremy. He understood her better than Elena. And he was made her feel better. Although, it's not like she disliked Elena's company. It's just sometimes her over-protectiveness and smothering was too much to endure.

"Melanie..." Elena said, diverting Melanie's attention from her thoughts. The youngest Gilbert had to shake her head to get focused again. "I think you should go too." She told her earnestly.

Melanie leaned away from her, further into the couch. Her eyes grew wide from hearing her say this. She frowned. "Excuse me?"

Elena right away heard how appalled she sounded. She let out a sigh. "I think you should go too. To Denver with, Jeremy." When she saw how cross Melanie looked, Elena softened her voice. Taking a gentler approach. "I just feel it would be better if you weren't in Mystic Falls. Jeremy's right...you guys aren't safe here."

Melanie furrowed her eyebrows. "So, since Jeremy is leaving, you want to get rid of me too?"

Elena's brown eyes widen. "Melanie, I don't want to get rid of you or Jeremy." She replied, feeling shock that she had said that.

Melanie remained stern with her. "Well it sure feels that way."

Elena shook her head. "No, I just want you guys to be safe. So if that means that the two of you have to leave Mystic Falls, then so be it."

Melanie's hard exterior faltered a bit. "What if I don't want to though?"

Elena, although not liking what she said, kept calm. "It's your choice." She looked at Melanie and despite how hard she had been with her, Elena was beginning to see her come through with what she was saying. She decided to work with that. "But do you really want to remain here in Mystic Falls?"

Melanie lowered her gaze onto the floor. "You're here. So is Alaric, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt." Rebekah too. Melanie mentally betrayed herself. She really needed to stop thinking about the blonde original vampire. It wasn't helping her feel better. Besides...she probably wasn't even in Mystic Falls anymore. Much to her disappointment...

"I'm sure they would understand your decision for leaving." Elena softly reassured her. "And if you're worried for me, don't. I'll be fine. You know that."

Melanie, to her surprise was actually taking what her sister said into consideration. If she were being honest with herself, other than Elena and her semi amount small group of friends, there wasn't another reason for her to stay in Mystic Falls. And just like Elena had said, she was sure their friends would understand her wanting to leave. Also, if she left Mystic Falls she wouldn't have to be in constant worry about getting hurt or killed. No more having to deal with vampires, hybrids, or anything supernatural life threatening. It was better that way.

Except leaving Mystic Falls also meant she was leaving any chance of ruining into a certain vampire. A original blonde haired, blue eyed, cheek freckled vampire. Now did she really want that? Did she really want to leave behind any chance of coming face to face with her again?

Melanie was left feeling a mix of different emotions.

Elena could practically feel the inner turmoil Melanie was having, just based on her expression. Once again her guilt was beginning to rise. She tried ignoring it as she spoke up. "Why don't you get a good night sleep on it. Jeremy isn't leaving until in a couple of days. You got time to think it over."

Melanie couldn't muster up anything else to say, so she just grimly nodded her head. She then got up from the couch and walked up the stairs.

Elena was left watching her sister go upstairs. Once she heard the sound of her bedroom door opening and closing, she let her collected exterior drop. She ran a hand through her hair and released a tired sigh. Now that Melanie wasn't here anymore, the guilt that kept trying to reach her surface, finally did. Elena felt awful for doing this, but the guilt would have to keep subsiding.

Making Damon compel Jeremy into leaving Mystic Falls had been the right thing to do. And also trying to convince Melanie into doing the same thing, was also the right thing. Of course it would of been much easier to compel her, but she still had some leftover vervain in her system. So all Elena could do now, was make Melanie leave the old fashion way. By making it seem like it was her own choice to leave Mystic Falls. For her to leave. Away from the danger, away from Klaus, and deep down she wanted Melanie to be just far away from Rebekah. Even if the blonde original vampire was still daggered, the oldest Gilbert was going to try her hardest to keep that dire secret from Melanie.

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Wow, this was a long chapter. I fixed it, adding a few of the chapters together. Thought that would even the flow of the story. Thanks for those who actually read this whole thing. ^_^