Happy Birthday, Elena

Chapter 12

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All throughout lunch and showing Rebekah around town, Elena was distracted. She was sure that if she hadn't been holding Elijah's hand that she would have still been at the restaurant, or even still in the car. She couldn't stop thinking about what Elijah and Rebekah had said as they left her house. She hadn't even noticed that Ric had been acting differently around her throughout the summer, and even looking back on the times that they were in the same room together, she still couldn't see him having acting like he was falling in love with her.

"Elena, darling, are you okay?" Elijah asked as he pulled her to a stop and held her face in his hands so that she was looking at him.

"Honestly? No, I'm not. Ric's behavior and his words today show that what you and Rebekah said in the car earlier is probably true, but I've been dwelling on every interaction he and I have had throughout the summer, and I can't tell if he was ever acting differently than usual to pinpoint when he might have started falling in love with me. And not being able to pinpoint that makes me question if it was before this summer, or if it was just a supercharged interaction today and that you and Rebekah might have read his increased heart rate wrong. That while he might have been hiding something from me, that it might not be that he's in love with me." Elena said with a defeated sigh.

"Do you want me to go with you tonight? I will gladly drop Rebekah off and accompany you." Elijah offered again.

"I just want my life to be simple. To fall in love and have the person that I love be the only one that's in love with me. Why can't I have that? With Stefan there was Damon, and now with you there's Alaric. I don't want my step-father to be in love with me. Because he's not just my step-father, Elijah, he's my history teacher as well. He could lose his job if he tried anything with me, even if I am an adult, and I don't want that to happen to him." Elena said as her eyes started filling with unshed tears. "I don't know what to do, Elijah." She added while wrapping her arms around him and starting to cry into his chest.

"I need you to say the words, Elena. I can't show up at dinner with you without you expressly asking me to be there." Elijah whispered as he held her close.

"Please come with me to dinner, Elijah. I don't think I can face him alone, even if Jeremy is going to be there." Elena said in a small voice.

"Of course, darling. Of course." Elijah replied whiling rubbing her back to calm her down.

That was how Rebekah found them a few minutes later. Elena crying into Elijah's chest, Elijah rubbing Elena's back and pressing his lips to the top of her head. Rebekah had to admit that they looked good together, and she stood by her comment to Elena that afternoon at the house: Elena was good for Elijah. But now she was mentally adding to it. Elijah was good for Elena as well. Walking over to the couple, Rebekah lightly cleared her throat, and they pulled away from each other slightly, but Elijah didn't let Elena leave his embrace. He needed her to know that he was there for her. But before any of them could say anything, Elena's phone beeped with a text message.

I'm not feeling well, 'Lena, so it'll just be you and Ric for dinner. – Jer

Elena's face blanched when she read the text from her brother. Jeremy wasn't going to be at dinner? That wouldn't be a family dinner then.

We can reschedule. The point was for us to have dinner as a family for my birthday. – Lena

Okay, let's reschedule for tomorrow night then. I'll let Ric know. – Jer

Elena let out a sigh of relief at Jeremy's response before looking up at Elijah and showing him the conversation. As he handed her back her phone, Elijah leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple before whispering that he would still go with her the following night if she still wished for him to do so. With another sigh of relief, Elena leaned into Elijah.

"Let's get something to take home for dinner. You've had a long day, my darling." Elijah suggested, glancing at Rebekah.

TVD – HBE – TVD

Jeremy looked up from his phone and leveled Alaric with a glare. He didn't like lying to Elena, and he knew that Alaric knew how much Elena being lied to, so he couldn't fathom why Alaric had just asked him to lie to Elena about not feeling well.

"She wants to move dinner to tomorrow night when we can all make it." Jeremy said. "Now tell me why you just had me lie to my sister."

"Damn it. I wanted to have dinner alone with Elena so that I could tell her how I feel, but of course she's going to want reschedule for tomorrow night." Alaric replied.

"Then why couldn't we just tell her the truth? Or better yet, you could have asked her to meet you alone for dinner on another night. We didn't have to lie to her." Jeremy argued.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just freaking out here. And clearly not thinking straight. What is it about Elena being with Elijah that makes me this worked up?" Alaric questioned.

"Is that rhetorical... or are you expecting an answer from me?" Jeremy countered.

"If you have an answer, it would be nice to have one."

"You always wanted a family, Ric, but after she gave Elena up, Isobel didn't want anymore kids. So when you started dating Jenna, and then took on the role of our guardian over the summer, you became attached to the idea of the 3 of us being a family. Elijah wasn't apart of that image, and frankly, neither were Damon or Stefan, so while your actions might being seen as you being in love with Elena, you're really just anxious that Elijah is going to mess with the idea of the family that you have been envisioned us being all summer." Jeremy explained.

"How did you become so wise and intuitive?" Alaric asked, already feeling his mind settle at what Jeremy had just said.

"I learned from the best. Now call Elena and tell her that you had me lie and tell her why." Jeremy said.

TVD – HBE – TVD

Elena was already feeling better after her meltdown, but as she, Elijah and Rebekah reached the car after getting dinner to go, her phone started buzzing and when she saw who it was, the color drained from her face, and the feeling of dread settled down on her.

"What do you want, Ric?" Elena asked, her voice shaking as she quickly got into the car to sit down.

"I need to apologize to you, Elena." Alaric replied, she could tell that he was anxious about something.

"Apologize for what? Being an ass in general, or being an ass that lied to my face today?" She questioned.

"Both. And for asking Jeremy to lie to you about not feeling well." Alaric said.

"You WHAT!?" Elena exclaimed.

"Elena, please listen to me. Okay, yes, I lied to you today. And I asked Jeremy to lie to you about not feeling well, but I wanted to have dinner alone with you to tell you how I thought I was feeling. Elena, I know that my actions today were way out of line, and I'm sure Elijah and Rebekah picked up on my accelerated heartbeat, but I swear to you, it wasn't because I was hiding that I'm in love with you. Which, for the record, I thought I was when I saw you today. But Jeremy just made me realize what it was. I've always wanted a family Elena, and Isobel denied me that, and even kept the fact that she had had a child before we got married from me. So when I got the chance to be a father, or at least a father figure, to you and Jeremy, I let the idea of us being a family overpower my logical though process. I do love you like a daughter, Elena, I do, because to me, you are my daughter. You are the closest thing that I have to a daughter, and I royally screwed that up today. And I'm sorry." Alaric said, rushing most of it in fear that Elena would hang up on him.

"So let me get this straight. You basically romanticized our idea of you, me and Jeremy being a family, and when you couldn't handle seeing me a guy, you thought it was because you were in love with me?" Elena summarized.

"Yes. It was stupid, and selfish of me, and I will do everything I can to make it up to you, Elena. If you'll let me." Alaric replied.

"Do you have any idea what you put me through this afternoon? I had an emotional break down today because I thought that I would have to break your heart over you being in love with me. And furthermore, you know that I hate being lied to, and yet not only did you lie to me, but you asked Jeremy to lie to me on your behalf." Elena said, hot tears stinging her eyes.

"Elena... I'm so extremely sorry. I was an ass, and you have every right to hate me for it." Alaric said.

"Put Jeremy on. I want to talk to him." She insisted.

"I didn't want to lie to you, Elena." Jeremy said.

"I need you to leave whatever room you and Ric are standing in and go up to your room." Elena instructed.

"Sure, of course I can do that." Jeremy replied.

"Are you in your room?" Elena asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yes. What do you need from me?" He asked.

"I need you to pack some more of my clothes into a bag and I'm going to text you Elijah's address so that you can bring them to me. I'll forgive Ric eventually, but, in the meantime, I'll be staying at Elijah's apartment. There's still a few more weeks before school starts, and I'll take that time to forgive him for what he did before having to see him on a daily basis." Elena explained.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Jeremy questioned.

"No, Jer, I'm not mad at you. But please just get some of my clothes, and my stuff from the bathroom, and bring them to me." Elena requested.

"Of course. I'll bring them over as soon as I can. I take it since you asked me to leave the room, you don't want Ric knowing what's happening?"

"Not right away. Or, at least not before you leave to bring the stuff over. Once you get back to the house, and he inevitably asks you where you went, you can tell him at that point."

"I'll see you soon, Elena."

"See you soon, Jer."

Once the conversation ended, Elena sent a text with Elijah's address to Jeremy before hitting her head against the back of the seat. And up until Rebekah cleared her throat, Elena had forgotten that she wasn't alone, and took notice of the fact that both Original siblings were staring at her. Elijah with corner filling his eyes, and Rebekah with expectance on the retelling of the conversation, even though Elena knew that they had both heard everything that Alaric and Jeremy had said, clear as if they were with them.

"Are you going to be okay my darling?" Elijah asked.

"I'll be fine... eventually. You guys were mostly right." Elena replied before scooting over and snuggling into Elijah's side.

"I was trying not to listen to the conversation, so what did step-daddy have to say?" Rebekah asked.

"He snapped. Or at least, something in him snapped. He had idealized the family that he had always wanted when he became acting guardian to me and Jeremy at the beginning of the summer. And since Elijah didn't fit into the picture he had in his head of who his family was, he snapped, and because of that, he thought that he was in love with me, and so he lied about it." Elena explained.

"That is the most twisted, messed up thing... and our father beat Niklaus just for not being his son." Rebekah commented.

"Really, Rebekah, is now the time to be talking about what Father did to Niklaus?" Elijah asked.

"Probably not, but oh well, it's out there now." Rebekah said with a shrug.

"It's fine, Elijah. Let's just go home, eat dinner and call it a day." Elena said.

"I like the sound of that." Elijah commented with a smile.

"Like the sound of what?" Elena and Rebekah asked together.

"Of you calling my apartment, home." He replied.

"Right now, it feels more like my home than my house does. And you've heard the saying, right? 'Home is Where the Heart Is'."

"That I have, darling."

TVD – HBE – TVD

Jeremy wasn't sure what clothes to pack for Elena, so he mostly just opened her drawers to find her summer clothes and threw those into the duffle bag he had grabbed from his closet. And he only hesitated slightly when he went into her underwear drawer. 'A brother should definitely NOT being going through his sister's underwear drawer.' He thought to himself before just grabbing a handful of stuff and throwing it into the duffle as well. 'It's for Elena. She asked me to get some clothes together for her, so it's not that big of a deal.' His thoughts reminded him. It wasn't like he was snooping, he was just doing what Elena has asked him to do.

Once the duffle was full, Jeremy walked back through his and Elena's joint bathroom to his own room and left through his door. If Elena didn't want Alaric to know just yet what she had asked her brother to do, no way was Jeremy going to exit into the hallway from Elena's bedroom door. Acting as nonchalant as he could, Jeremy headed downstairs, letting Alaric know over the sounds of the TV that he was going out for a bit and that he would be back later. When he wasn't interrogated on where exactly he was going, Jeremy slipped outside and hurried to Elena's car, his key to the car firmly in his hand.

Putting the address that Elena sent him into the GPS, Jeremy pulled out of the driveway and started to head towards the other side of town. As he drove, Jeremy drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, wondering why he was nervous about bringing his sister some clothes while she was staying at her boyfriend's apartment so to avoid her step-father. Shaking his head and laughing a little at himself, Jeremy relaxed. He had no reason to be nervous. But the sheer absurdity of the fact that not only was Elena technically his cousin, but her biological mother's ex-husband would end up being their history teacher and then start dating their aunt was hysterical.

Pulling up to the curb, Jeremy put the car in park and grabbed the duffle bag. Getting out of the car, he looked up at the building in awe. It was definitely one of the nicer apartment buildings in Mystic Falls, and when he really thought about it, it made sense that someone like Elijah would live here. Making his way inside, Jeremy found the apartment easily. It seemed as though each apartment was set up as more of a townhouse, given that the staircase was extremely tall. Double checking the apartment number against the text that Elena had sent him, the younger Gilbert reached up to knock, stepping back when the door swung open and he was met with Elijah staring him down.

"Dude, I come in peace. Elena asked me to bring her some stuff." Jeremy said, holding his hands up to show that he wasn't armed.

"Please forgive me, Jeremy. Over the past few days, the only other times we've had someone knocking on the front door was when it was the elder Mr. Salvatore." Elijah said, relaxing and stepping aside. "Come in." He added.

"Thank you. It's a nice place you've got here." Jeremy commented while glancing around.

"It's merely a place to keep Elena safe." Elijah replied modestly.

"Between you and me, and maybe Rebekah if she's listening... we both know that it's more than just a place to keep Elena safe. I saw the way you were looking at her the other night and this morning." Jeremy said, lowering his voice. "And, uh, I would like to apologize for my accusations the other night. I was out of line." He said.

"Apology accepted, Jeremy. Please join us in the living room." Elijah said clapping a hand on Jeremy's shoulder and steering him towards the living room where Elena was sitting.

"Where's Rebekah?" Jeremy asked.

"In her own apartment down the hall. I've only known her for a day, so I haven't invited her in yet, and she's fine with that. It gives her time to visualize how she wants to decorate." Elena replied. "How did Ric react when you left to come over here?" She asked.

"Honestly, he looked like a hurt puppy, drowning his self-pity in bourbon while the TV played some stupid show. I really don't think he even heard me say that I was going out for a bit." Jeremy admitted.

"I hurt him." Elena mumbled and before Jeremy could even move to his sister's side, Elijah was there, pulling her into his lap.

"You reacted accordingly, my darling Elena. He lied to you, you have a right to be upset and to have said what you said to him." Elijah commented.

"He'll get over it, 'Lena." Jeremy agreed.

"Thank you for bringing some more clothes for me, Jer." Elena said peeking out from Elijah's chest.

"Of course. But it looks like Elijah's got it covered here with making you feel better, so I'll leave you to it, and I'll stop by and say 'hi' to Rebekah before I head home." Jeremy said with a smirk.

"Jeremy..." Elena said warningly.

"Come on, 'Lena. You can get together with an Original, and I can't?" Jeremy asked. "That's not fair, sis."

"I believe what your sister is warning you against is that Rebekah was just recently un-daggered by Niklaus, and the last thing she remembered from before she was daggered was that she had been with Stefan. So take things slow and show her that you care." Elijah explained.

"He just... dude, you just gave me the most lowkey 'don't-hurt-my-baby-sister' speech of all time." Jeremy said, a look of awe on his face before leaving Elena and Elijah alone.

"He does know that I don't have to give him that speech because Rebekah is more than capable of taking care of herself, right?" Elijah asked.

"I'm honestly not sure."