An Ode to Monologues

"No! I really don't think that this is going to end well. Let's just forget about this stupid idea and move on. Ok?"

In the last hour and a half I had said the same sentence around about six times; each time to no effect. Of course no one was paying attention to me when I said it but finally Uncle John decided to grace me with a reply.

"Why are you so against this idea? If we do this then one of the bad guys will be gone from our lives and we can focus on keeping Elena, and the rest of us alive! Don't you see what can happen if we succeed?"

I could see the others agreeing with him, even Elena was reluctantly nodding along. Were they seriously this stupid or just being exceptionally thick today? By now I was really starting to get annoyed at them, so I let my temper go. I was sick of holding myself back.

"Yes, exactly. IF we succeed. And if we don't? Then what? Do you really think that there will be no consequences from trying to kill one of the most powerful vampires in the world? Because there will be; and I can imagine more than a few hearts being ripped out. Don't you remember the terms of our agreement with him? I do; He said he would protect us and help us kill Klaus as long as Elena doesn't try to escape, and we don't interfere with him; that includes trying to kill him. If we did then our friends, family and our lives will be forfeit. So tell me now that you still think having a dinner party where you will try kill an Original with a knife, that you have no idea will actually have any effect, is a good idea? Hmm?"

After my angry monologue I looked around. I could see that I had finally got them thinking about the danger, especially Elena. But then I saw Damon and Stefan tag-team her and I knew that she would eventually agree with them. So I decided that I was not needed here; and frankly I didn't want to be here right now either.

"Right then. I'm done.".

And with that I stood up and put my coat on to leave. As I opened the door to go Damon caught my arm, the others waited behind to see what would happen.

"Where are you going? We need to plan how the night is going to happen. You can't leave now."

He looked at me beseechingly, but I wasn't going to back down; not this time.

"Well then you can count me out. I won't be a part of this, any of it. I understand what you're trying to do, but unlike you I find the risks too great, I won't put any of you in danger like that. And frankly, I surprised the rest of you would. If I still had any blood family left, I would do anything and everything to protect them; even if it meant playing under an Original's rules. I would wish you luck, but right now I am far too angry to try say anything positive."

I left while they were still stunned by my outburst. I realised that without a car it would take me much longer to get back to town, but I felt that I needed a walk to help calm me down.

""TVD"" ""TVD"" ""TVD"" ""TVD"" ""TVD""

About an hour later I arrived back at my apartment room. With nothing else to do I decided to tackle the most painful thing of all; homework. Unfortunately that consisted of a two page essay in English, a whole load of maths questions and a report about an Emperor of Pharaoh of our choosing in Classics. In total it took me about three and a half hours of sweat and tears to complete. I felt so good that I decided to go treat myself with some burger and fries at the grill.

The Mystic grill was one of my favourite places. With its calm, welcoming atmosphere and really comfortable booths it was one of the best places to come to read, do homework or just relax. And I won't forget to mention the yummy food either. I could almost feel the tension and stress sliding off of me as I climbed into one of the booths. A few moments later Matt came over to take my order. I have always liked Matt; he was one of those genuinely nice guys that could always bring a smile to your face. Plus he was quite good looking.

"What can I get for you gorgeous?" He rolled his r on the last note which almost made me snort but I held it in. In return I purred at him, and replied in a fake husky, breathless voice.

"What; Are you talking too little, old me? Why you are going to make me blush honey. Now I would like a burger & fries with some cola please. And maybe if you're quick I might give you a little something extra."

I winked at him after I said this, before we both dissolved into laughter. It was a game Matt and I played every time we saw each other. We would to pretend to flirt with each other, saying the most ridiculous things, to try make the other one laugh first.

"Coming right up, and this one was a draw,"

"Thanks Matt,"

He smiled at me as I handed over the menu and walked back to the bar. I watched him go then perused the room. There didn't seem to be anyone I knew around eating so I searched the bar. Maybe Damon or Alaric were having one of their afternoon bourbon shots.

I didn't see them there but my eyes did meet a pair of familiar brown ones belonging to a handsome Original brother. Elijah and I stared at each other from across the room. He watched me for a moment before swiftly finishing his drink and making his way over to me. He was once again wearing his expensive, Italian suits and I must say seeing him wear black on black so casually, with no tie and a button undone, well it was doing crazy things to my nerves. He slid into the seat opposite me.

I will admit that my head was a sort of nervous wreck, but I managed to pull myself together and to at least try and pretend that I wasn't freaking out. Besides I had enough reason already to be frazzled by him; I mean come on I saw him shirtless, and now when I look at him I keep on imagining him without a shirt on. I swear that this is pure torture. I shook my head slightly to clear my thoughts and looked up. He was still staring at me silently. Oh well at least my food had arrived. I started to eat and decided to at least attempt conversation.

"So….."

He cut me off.

"Do you always flirt with the employees serving you? If you do I must say that you don't do a very good job at it." He smirked.

And now you can imagine just how red my face has turned. Not just tomato red but a whole new level of red. I'm talking Rudolph the bright, glowing red-nose reindeer. Yep, it was that bad. I quickly searched the room, looking for an escape. And I found one.

"Jenna! Over here. Join us please!"

As Jenna neared I gave her he 'please save me from this disaster' eyes. At that look she stopped moving and took in the scene of my red face and Elijah smirking. For a moment I thought that she would actually turn away. Luckily she took the initiative and sat next to me, stealing my food at the same time.

"Hi Dory. Who's this?" she said in a flat tone.

"Elijah Mikaelson. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Summers. I am the temporary Classics teacher at Mystic Falls High School."

I cut him off seeing the sad look on Jenna's face.

"Jenna what happened?"

So Jenna let it all out. From Alaric not opening up to her to her meeting Isabelle, and finding out she is Elena's mother. I could understand how hard it must be for her; and I knew Elena and Alaric might be mad at me later but I had to say something before she gave up on Alaric. I knew what I was going to say would be hard, but it needed to be said. So I took a deep breath.

"Jenna, I'm gonna say some things and I want you to not interrupt me otherwise I don't think I'll be able to get it out, ok?"

She looked at me, pursed her lips then nodded.

"I know that Alaric has not been telling you things, nor has Elena, and I get that your mad but they have their reasons. They were trying to figure out a way to tell you about it all, together, I would know since I was helping them sort it out. You weren't supposed to meet Isabelle. I know it must suck that this was kept from you but they were trying to sort out their own lives too, I mean Elena doesn't even know if she wants any contact with Isabelle, and Alaric, well give him a chance. I mean how would you feel if you found out that the woman you loved, and were married to, that you had to say goodbye to, believing she was dead, suddenly turns up? I can tell you that he loves you, and that he doesn't have romantic feelings for Isabelle anymore. You don't have to forgive them straight away, just give them a chance to explain everything to you first, ok?"

"But.."

"Do you remember what happened when I was 8 years old?"

"You mean when your family….."

"YES, anyway do you remember how long it took for me to tell everyone about it? It took me two months. The reason was that firstly I didn't know how to think about it let alone talk about it. But the other reason was that I didn't want anyone to think or act differently around me. I just wanted it to be like it was before. That is what Alaric and Elena are feeling to an extent, so just give them a chance. Please?"

Boy am I on a roll with monologues today! Jenna seemed to be contemplating my words so I looked away from her and took a sip of my cola. Once again I found Elijah staring at me, though his stare didn't seem quite as dissecting as before. No it had a softer edge to it. He opened his mouth, no doubt to ask me what happened when I was 8 but paused when he saw me flinch at the beginning of his question. So he did something very kind and very surprising. He changed the subject.

"Well then tell me is the food in this place really as tasty as everyone says?" For that blatantly obvious change in subject I gave him a bright, genuine smile to which he curved his lips slightly in return.

For the next 10 minutes we all talked about the town, and anything that came to our minds. Then, or course we were interrupted by Damon and his new girlfriend Andie Starr.

"Mind if we join you, Damon and I were just wanting to get a bite to eat."

"Not at all, please take a seat." Huh, why would Elijah want them here?

I just settled for giving Damon the stink eye, in which he stuck out his tongue at me. Andie interrupted our stupid faces battle, by talking to Jenna. And of course that got Jenna talking about Alaric again, but this time she seemed a lot more pensive and less angry, so I had to grin knowing that I had helped.

"You know what you guys need? A good, home cooked dinner. We could have it at the boarding house, fancy dress, wine! What do you think? It would be great! Me & Damon, you & Alaric, John, Elena & Stefan. Oh and Elijah you could come to, that is if you are free? Say 7:30?"

We all turned to see what he would say. He gave a half-suspicious look to Damon then turned to address me.

"Will you be joining us at this dinner Dorina?"

I gulped before replying:

"No."

"Why not? Is there something going on that night?"

I could hear the undertone message in his voice, half asking if we were planning something behind his back, half threatening that it would be unwise to do so. So I calmed myself.

"No I just don't have enough money to buy a dress for the occasion. And I don't own any dresses." Hopefully that would let me get out of it.

"What colour do you prefer?"

"What?"

"What colour would you choose if you did have a dress?"

I was very confused at why he was asking me this but answered anyway.

"Purple."

We stared at each other in silence before he bid us goodbye and left. I gave Damon a confused look before he whispered something in Andie's ear. I could tell that he was compelling her but I didn't know what for. Well until she turned to Jenna that is.

"Come on Jenna, we're going shopping," She didn't give Jenna a chance to object before dragging her out of the Grill. I opened my mouth to ask him what was going on but he just shushed me and typed on his phone.

Not 5 minutes later the entire gang was here. Damon gave them the lowdown of everything that had occurred. Of course the first thing Caroline focussed on was Elijah asking me if I was going.

"Wait, so he basically asked you out? Like a date?"

I sighed then replied:

"No Caroline, not like a date, I'm pretty sure he just wants me there for insurance. So once again can you please get your head out of the gutter and focus. Now listen carefully. Promise me that nothing will happen tomorrow, please. I don't want to lose any more people. Please!" I begged them.

They all looked at each other. Damon looked back at me before sighing.

"Fine we'll just have a normal dinner. Whoopie!" Though he was sarcastic in the end he still said yes.

I grinned at him before hugging him hard, giving him a big kiss on the cheek and whispering 'Thank You' in his ear.

"Now ladies and gentlemen if you excuse me I have to go raid my closet for something nice to wear for tomorrow"

Then I said goodbye to everyone and headed home to go to sleep since I had been at the bar for about 3 and a half hours and had arrived at 7 o'clock.

""TVD"" ""TVD"" ""TVD"" ""TVD"" ""TVD""

When I got home I decided to have a shower since I still felt quite stressed at all the arguing and mental drama that had gone on today. Though I only got lukewarm water from my shower it still helped ease my back muscles. 15 minutes later I got out of the shower, dried myself off and put on my pajamas. Mentally I went over the items in my closet. I worked out that I could probably wear my white blouse, with black trousers and a black pair of heels 5 inch heels I got from Caroline last Christmas.

As I entered my bedroom I noticed my window open. Though I didn't remember opening it. I quickly closed it before turning to my bed, where I saw a box.

On top of the box was an envelope. Carefully I opened the letter and saw just one sentence:

'I will pick you up at 7 o'clock. See you tomorrow Dorina.

Yours

Elijah'

My hands shook as I opened the box.

Inside was a dress, a purple dress to be exact. A purple knee-length chiffon dress with spaghetti straps. It was gorgeous.

All I could think was that it was certainly going to be an interesting dinner tomorrow night."

TO EVERYONE PLEASE REVIEW.

(AND I WILL GIVE YOU INVISIBLE COOKIES TOO )

xx