A/N: Hey guys! I apologize for the lack of updates - I've been uncharacteristically busy these days. *Sigh* life.
To her friends' credit, no one was waiting for her at her home when Elena finally returned. No one was pacing anxiously on her porch or waiting beyond the door; no one was waiting to ambush her in her room or appear out of nowhere to lecture her on her choices and decision-making skills. It was pleasantly surprising and she relished in the fact that maybe her friends were beginning to give her the benefit of the doubt.
After washing up, Elena went downstairs and spotted Jeremy on the couch playing video games. He turned as she approached and sat down lazily next to her brother. "Hey, Elena. Where've you been?" he asked casually as he turned his attention back to the television.
"Bonnie's," she replied simply.
"Oh?" Jeremy didn't sound convinced but didn't press the issue. "Damon has stopped by a few times asking if you were here. He was more and more pissed off with each visit. Did something happen?"
Elena bit her lip, wondering if she should tell her brother what was happening. She promised that she would no longer keep secrets from him, but this wasn't something she wanted him to know. Ever. "Nothing big. You know Damon; making a big deal out of nothing. Hey, are you going to the masquerade ball this weekend?"
This time, Jeremy took on a pondering expression and took a long pause before shrugging and answering. "I'm not sure what I've got planned for that. Why?" His eyes were still trained on his game but when Elena glanced at the screen, she could tell he wasn't paying attention to what was happening.
She narrowed her eyes at her brother. She knew better than to accuse him of keeping secrets since he could tell she was keeping one. "Just wondering."
The two sat in silence with Jeremy returning his full attention to his game and Elena watching absently until Jenna walked in the door and saw the two Gilbert kids.
"Elena, hey. How's Bonnie?" Aunt Jenna asked as she walked into the kitchen and placed a pizza box on the counter.
Elena stood up from the couch and strolled into the kitchen. "Good. Pizza for dinner?"
"It's not gourmet, but I've been busy at school."
"It's cool." Elena grabbed a slice and walked back over to sit on the couch.
Tonight was the masquerade ball and Elena had come to the conclusion that everyone was avoiding her. Even Katherine, who has only stopped by once to make sure that the Salvatore brothers hadn't done anything but she left immediately after with no explanation. She hasn't seen either Stefan or Damon since they found out about Katherine; Stefan wasn't even going to classes. Elena had seen Bonnie and Caroline at school but nothing beyond that. Jeremy was being awfully vague about everything and Alaric was watching her like a hawk.
She had no idea what was happening and it was getting on her nerves. She wanted to do something at the Lockwood's masquerade ball but she couldn't get anything accomplished if everyone was ignoring her existence.
Elena sighed as she sat down on the couch next to Aunt Jenna. Her, Jenna, and Alaric were having a movie night with pizza but Elena could only think about what was happening with her friends.
She popped open the pizza box and grabbed a plate while looking over to the stairs. "Where's Jeremy? Isn't he hungry?"
"He already left for the Lockwood party," Aunt Jenna answered from her laying down position on the couch. Elena furrowed her brows at her aunt and glanced back to the kitchen where Alaric was pacing.
"He went to that?"
"Yeah, I'm glad. He needs to have fun. Lose some of that emo thing."
Were they planning something without Elena? Is that why everyone was ignoring and avoiding her?
She stood up from the couch, dismissing herself with an excuse to grab napkins and she headed straight for Alaric.
"What's going on?" she asked the man as he tried to open a bottle of wine.
He looked unsure. "What do you mean?" he spoke quickly.
"I haven't heard from anyone all day. All week, even. It's like everyone's been avoiding me and now Jeremy is supposedly at the party. He hates stuff like that." Alaric was shifting uncomfortably and it was obvious he was hiding something.
"I don't know what to tell you, Elena." She tilted her head and eyed his phone on the counter as it vibrated. She reached for it but he quickly snatched it up and cleared his throat, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible as he pocketed the phone.
She eyed the man for a moment before speaking. "So then you'll be okay if I just head out. Try to meet up with everyone." She began walking away until the man called out to her.
"Wait." He grabbed her arm lightly to stop her from walking away. "Wait, wait."
"What're you hiding, Ric?" She asked in a hushed tone.
He took a moment before answering. "Stefan asked me to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't go to the party."
"Why would it matter if I went or not?"
Alaric sighed. "Katherine showed up at the boarding house a few days ago, saying that you were planning on doing something at the party. No one wants to see you get hurt, Elena."
Anger and annoyance flared up in the girl. "I don't want to see anyone else get hurt because of me either, Ric," she whispered. "And what could I possibly do anyway? The plan would only work with everyone's cooperation and since no one is willing to help, absolutely nothing would have happened if I went."
It was true. Elena was going to try and convince Katherine to get into contact with whomever she was relying on before in order to get them out in the open and hopefully lead her and her friends to Klaus. Avoiding Elena wasn't necessary since she couldn't do anything herself anyway.
She knew she was being irrational when it came to this plan, but she was desperate to stop the threat before it even became a threat. And if this Klaus person was as dangerous as Katherine stated, then they need to be one step ahead.
"Are they all at the party now?" Elena asked Alaric.
Alaric shrugged. "Jeremy, Bonnie, Stefan, and Damon are there; maybe Caroline too. I don't know where Katherine is or how she got that information now that I think about it."
Elena averted her gaze quickly before continuing through the subject. "Why are they all there then?"
Alaric glanced back to where aunt Jenna was comfortably lying down before leaning in to answer. "They still don't trust Katherine, they think she might be up to something tonight."
Elena furrowed her brows. "Like what?"
"I don't know, just a precaution, I guess. They don't want you getting mixed up in whatever she might be planning which is another reason they want you to stay here."
Elena contemplated everything that she was told. Stefan and Damon still don't trust Katherine; even though Katherine went to them when she found out Elena wanted to do something idiotic. Shouldn't that have given her the benefit of the doubt? The brothers were probably thinking that Katherine was trying to set up some sort of trap.
Now everyone was at the party to make sure that Elena or Katherine didn't make an appearance and Elena was stuck under house arrest with no idea how to get anyone to talk to her.
With a sigh defeat, Elena nodded at Alaric. "Fine. I'm going to bed then, are you two good?" Elena asked, nudging her head in the direction of Jenna.
Alaric visibly relaxed at the thought of Elena stepping back from their discussion. "Yeah, we should be okay. Have a good night, Elena." He smiled at the girl before picking up the wine and 2 glasses, and making his way back to the couch.
Maybe on some level Elena felt guilty for lying, but not enough to prevent her from silently grabbing her car keys and slipping out the front door.
Elena had been searching for someone, anyone, she knew at the party and kept coming up empty. Stefan and Damon were nowhere to be seen, she had briefly seen Jeremy before he walked inside with Bonnie, and Caroline hasn't made an appearance to her yet either. Elena knew she couldn't walk inside just in case Katherine was there and people would question on the sudden appearance of the long lost Gilbert twin.
After an hour of trying to sneak around, she decided to give up and head back to her car. She pulled out her phone and tried to call Katherine but it went straight to voicemail. "Hey, it's me. I know you've all been avoiding me; Alaric filled me in. I don't know where anyone is or what anyone is doing. Call me back when you can."
Elena ended her message and sighed loudly as she put her phone away. She was searching for her keys when she felt a sudden pressure around her neck; a ruffle of fabric, and her vision suddenly went black before her body went limp.
Katherine burst through the boarding house hours later. "Where the fuck is she?"
Stefan bolted upright at the sudden intrusion. "Who?"
"Elena! Where is she?"
After Katherine had gotten the call from her doppelganger, she went to go check on her at home but she wasn't there. She tried to call her back but it would ring a few times before being shut off until it started to go straight to voicemail. The vampire checked out Bonnie and Caroline's places but came up empty until she decided to check the party and after scouring the parking lot, she found Elena's car but no sign of the human at the party.
Stefan furrowed his brows in confusion as he stood to face the angry vampire. "Isn't she home? Alaric was supposed to keep an eye on her."
"Nope," Damon said as he walked into the living room. "He just called and said the car is gone and Elena isn't home." His voice shook as he tried to keep his panic subdued. "She's probably just with Bonnie or something."
"She isn't, I've checked. Her car was also parked at the Lockwood manor but no sign of her and her phone is off." Katherine stepped right up into Stefan's face. "You said nothing would happen," she hissed.
"We don't know if anything has happened," Stefan tried but he didn't sound convinced himself.
"I can't believe I let you two idiots convince me to keep a distance."
"You're blaming us?" Damon asked.
"Are you stupid? Were you two dropped on your heads as children? This is entirely your fault."
"How do we know you didn't call someone to be at the party?" Damon accused. "For all we know, you orchestrated this."
Katherine glared at the older Salvatore brother. "Where's the trust? In case you haven't noticed, everything that has happened to Elena is because of you two. You are the danger to her, not me."
"You're the one who wanted to hand her over to some psycho vampire!"
"And now I'm the one trying to save her!" she shot back.
Damon stood in silence, his jaw clenching and unclenching in attempt to find something to say. Stefan watched with bemusement, as he felt guilty for leaving Elena without protection.
Katherine spun on her heel and walked back towards the front door. "You two better call the witch and do a locator spell or I'll start ripping you into shreds bit by bit." With the threat hanging over their heads, Katherine exited the boarding house and made to continue her search for the girl.