Out of the 46 colleges that Elena and Kol had applied to, Elena had heard back from 34 so far. Of those 34, she had over 28 acceptance letters, 2 that put her on a waitlist, and 3 that denied her. She and Kol still had a few weeks to hear back from the rest and decide, but Elena was shocked that she had made it. She remembered when she was on the run, choices like college and life itself were no longer options, but here she was with 29 different acceptance letters.

"Paris? Really?" Elena asked, looking at her and Kol's acceptance letter to a school there. They were trying to narrow down their choices, picking out their top five, until they heard back from others.

"It's France, Elena. France!" Kol exclaimed.

Giving unintelligible grunts, Elena rested her head on the table and set their acceptance folders to the school in Paris back in the pile of 'maybes'.

"Kol, we are never going to pick a college at this rate," she complained. Every college they were accepted to was put under the 'maybe' pile. Only one had made it to the 'no', and even that was still under debate by Kol. They had been at this for hours, attempting to make decisions.

Glancing at her watch, Elena saw she needed to get going. "Kol, narrow down the choices by at least 3 –and not in the 'maybe' pile," Elena told him getting up. "I have to go prom dress shopping with Rebekah, Bonnie and Caroline. I should be back late tonight. I want 3 out, Kol!" Elena called.

While having transitioned to a vampire and burning her own house down, Elena lived at Mikaelson Mansion. At first it was supposed to be only temporary – a few days at max, but everyone had already been accustomed to living with one another, so the adjustment to Elena's stay became more permanent. She'd admit it was odd at first. The house was technically Klaus's, and the room she slept in was Elijah's, but neither men seemed to mind. From what she could tell, Elijah enjoyed having her in the house and Klaus liked the company –not that he'd ever tell her. The two of them were still trying to piece together the incident over Finn and this so-called virus he was infected with. Klaus had been trying to trace Finn's previous movements and where he could have possibly gotten it from.

"Ready?" Rebekah asked waiting at the door for Elena.

Nodding, Elena left Kol to his work and went with Rebekah. The house felt oddly empty without Klaus and Elijah around to fill it. The brothers were spending some time down in New Orleans on business.

"Scale of 1 to 10, how bad is it today?" Rebekah asked her when they got in the car. She was referring to Jeremy. It had taken Elena a while to grieve over her brother. After the events with Finn and her transition were all said and done, she was left with this empty unknown. Her heightened vampire feelings made her spiral back in a dark hole. It was only now she was starting to climb her way out.

"7, maybe," Elena answered staring out the window as Rebekah drove. Her heart clenched with need for her baby brother. It was a constant ache in her chest. Some nights she'd dream about him or there'd be a moment that reminded her of him. Those were the worst.

Rebekah glanced worriedly out of the side of her eye for Elena. She wished there was something she could do for the girl, but Rebekah was learning only time could surpass grief. Funny how emotions worked.

Once in town, Rebekah parked and Elena let out a breath. She had to keep going, for Jeremy. He'd want her to keep living. With a smile to Rebekah, the girls got out from the car and met their friends to begin shopping.

"That looks amazing on you," Bonnie told Elena who came out from one of the dressing rooms. It was their fifth store in town. Bonnie had already found her dress, a dark navy, while Caroline, Elena and Rebekah were still hopelessly shopping for theirs.

Elena walked up to the platform, picking up the ball gown as it swept the floor. Glancing at herself in the mirrors, she smiled. It was as if it was tailored to fit her. With a strapless sweetheart neckline and a wrapped and pleated bodice, the abstract silk print of her pink A-line skirted gown was perfect.

"Wow," Rebekah agreed coming out with her own dress. She looked at Elena's reflection in the mirror. Her brother was going to swoon hard.

"Rebekah," Elena awed, glancing back to the blonde and stepping off the platform. Grabbing her dress, Rebekah picked it up carefully, and stood critiquing herself in the mirror. Her dress was a bright yellow, strapless sweetheart neckline similar to Elena's, but it had elegant beading at its bosom edges. Pinned near the thigh, the dress was ruffled so that it fell like a princess's would, draping all around her.

Elena was reminded of Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast as she stared at Rebekah in the mirror.

"This is how it should be," Caroline said with a warm smile, as she looked at them all. "Friends and memories."

Each of them grinned, enjoying the idea. They had been through a lot over the months –too much some would say. It felt nice to have a sense of normalcy in picking out prom dresses.

"Okay, now I'm all that's left!" Caroline said nervously. "what if we don't find something?"

"We'll find you one," Elena assured her. Going to change, she smiled softly at her friend. Knowing Caroline, she was looking for the dress to outshine them all.

"You still have close to a month Caroline. Prom is still weeks away," Bonnie said.

"I know," Caroline sighed. But she wanted it to be perfect, Elena mocked in her head. Caroline had only said it about 20 times during their shopping trip.

"But I want it to be perfect," she whined.

Elena snickered to herself. Pulling out her phone, she texted Klaus.

Caroline needs a prom dress. See what you can find?

While he was away in New Orleans, she was sure Klaus would be able to find something elegant and fitting for Caroline. He still fancied her, even though she was trying her best to make it work with Tyler.

Done. He texted back minutes later. It brought a smile to Elena's lips and she shook her head, quickly slipping from her dress.

She had talked with Elijah over text almost every day, and they video chatted together about once a week. He had been gone close to a month now, trying to fix the chaos in New Orleans. While Elena missed him beyond reason, she tried to keep herself busy. She focused her attention on picking out a college to go to with Kol, finding a prom dress for the school dance, and aside from the oddly normal things in her life, figuring out her tie with Kol.

Elena had kept the news Elijah, deciding to tell him in person when he was home. He was sure to worry. Both her and Kol had no idea what the link exactly was between them. Something between his blood and her transition changed them. From what they could tell, it wasn't a sire bond. It was more like…magic binding them together.

"Ready?" Kol asked walking into their home gym, wrapping his hands in tape. They decided to practice with one another, not just physically fighting, but test out the bond they shared as well. Sometimes when Kol would feel an emotion or pain powerfully, Elena could sense it and feel it to. Other times when Elena was thinking hard, Kol swore he could hear her in his head. It had developed over the days, becoming stronger and more solidified.

Taking formation in the middle of the room, the two raised their arms. It became fast paced real quick. Kol had tried hard to establish a mental connection with her, telling her each jab telepathically right before he took it. He wanted to see if she'd be able to hear him and defend herself against his speedy movements.

Their theory was correct and Elena met Kol jab for jab. They danced around the room, hitting and blocking, hitting and blocking. Soon Kol had her running around at vampire speed, grabbing onto a pair of nun chucks to test her skills. She was able to jump, flip, and slide out from each move he came at her with. Their bodies were in perfect sync with one another. Elena barely had to concentrate on what he was saying.

"I guess that is that," Kol stated out of breath as they took a water break. They were bonded. Neither of them was sure how or why, but it had happened.

"And you don't feel any different?" he asked Elena carefully.

Drinking from her water bottle, she let out a breath and thought back to the past few weeks. What was out of the normal for a vampire?

"Blood," Elena said, with the thought occurring to her. "I don't have a strong lust for blood. Is that because of our bond?"

Kol was surprised, taking a moment to think about it. If they were linked and shared a wavelength of emotions and thoughts, could it be that their desire for blood was also shared?

He had noticed that Elena was never really interested in drinking blood. Whether it was from a bag or a human, she was able to pass up on the offer and contain herself. She only devoured enough to sustain her vampire body. They had all thought it was a strong sense of control, but now Kol was beginning to think differently.

Breaking out of his thoughts, he looked to Elena. "Ready to go again?"

She had thought Klaus was bad in pushing her when he had wanted answers, but Kol was a whole other story. He had been on this kick for days, attempting to study all the grimoires he could find, and test out their bond in various ways. Even now, he pushed her to the extreme with combat training and their shared mental link. It was almost borderline obsessive.

"I heard that," Kol said with narrowed eyes. It was beginning to get much easier to reach and read Elena.

"We are definitely going to need to learn how to put up some sort of mental blocks," she told him, setting her water bottle down and fixing the tape on her hands. A girl needed a bit of privacy every now and then.

Kol walked to the middle of the room, waiting in fighting stance for her.

"You know, we are kind of like the Wonder Twins," Elena told him.

Kol stood up straighter and looked at her funny. Wonder who?

"…the Wonder Twins," she stated again. "The cartoon twin superheroes…the whole 'powers activate!' thing..."

Kol was beginning to think she had lost it. He continued to look at her funny.

She walked over and grabbed her phone, showing him exactly what she was talking about. They spent the next 20 minutes watching videos of these so-called Wonder Twins and their powers.

"I'm not saying 'powers activate' with you," Kol clarified before they went back to fighting. It made Elena laugh, trying to picture Kol bumping knuckles with her and saying the phrase.

"I'll keep that in mind," she smiled.

They went back to fighting, going another hour and a half with one another. Once again, they kicked, jumped, swung and fought one another, neither taking a hit. It was as if it was rehearsed it was so perfect.

A throat cleared, breaking them from their battle, and their heads snapped to the door. Standing with his arms crossed, and leaning in the door way, was a nicely suited Elijah.

Elena's eyes lit up and a smile grew on her face. Running to him, she laughed as he caught her in his arms and kissed her.

"Elena," Kol groaned. Her excitement and happiness in seeing his brother was overwhelming him. While he was happy to see Elijah alive and well, he wasn't as ecstatic as she was.

Elena broke from Elijah, setting herself back down on the ground and reeling in her emotions. Sorry she told him telepathically.

Elijah looked at the pair oddly. Something was going on and he wasn't sure what. He didn't quite understand why Kol was saying her name like that.

"Am I missing something?" he wondered to the two of them. Seeing Kol raise an eyebrow, Elijah looked to Elena, who seemed suddenly flustered. Watching her shake his head, he did his best in believing her.

The bond sharing news of Elena and Kol could wait. Elena wanted to hear all about his trip and finally spend some time with him. His bed had felt empty and entirely too big for her while he was away.

"How was New Orleans?" she asked. Walking out from the gym, she waited for Elijah to grab his duffle. He wasn't expected home for another week at least.

"Fine," he said trying to brush off the matter. "And your time here?"

Elena hesitated, feeling like something was there, but she shrugged it off. Walking down the hall together, hand in hand, she thought back to her days.

"It was good. I went with Bekah and we shopped for prom dresses the other day. She looks gorgeous." Elena smiled. "And then I sat with Kol and we tried to decide on colleges."

"Any update?" Elijah wondered. In their days of video chatting and texting she had kept him updated, even asking him what he thought of some of the locations they were looking at. As far as he heard, Kol was making the process very difficult and decisions hadn't been made

"We've narrowed the options down quite a bit. We are waiting for a few more applications to come back and we have things narrowed down to 15 different places."

Elijah nodded and glanced to her, happy to be back. He had missed her. She really was the one for him.

"Did you find a prom dress?" he asked when they got to their room. He set down his duffle on the bed and unbuttoned his suit jacket. It had been a long trip.

"I did," she blushed. She hadn't officially asked Elijah if he'd be willing to go with her. She wasn't even sure he'd make it home in time from helping Klaus to make it to the dance. But her friends had convinced her to search for a gown anyway. Even if Elijah couldn't go, they wanted her there.

Raising an eyebrow, Elijah waited for more details. He shed his jacket and laid it nicely on the bed before undoing his cuff links, and going in their bathroom.

"Actually, I was thinking," Elena started. Would he even be willing to go to prom? Would he think it was lame? She bit her lip.

"I was too," Elijah called. Coming back out from the room with sleeves rolled up, he had a pink rose in his hand. Elena tilted her head slightly, completely confused. Where had that rose come from?

Elijah walked towards her. "I was thinking about your prom actually…"

Giving the rose to Elena, he then led her to the bathroom. "Elena Gilbert, would you do me the honor of attending the Mystic Falls High prom with me?"

The bathroom was covered in white rose petals and candles. A bath had been started, with bubbles beginning to fill up the tub. Smiling in awe, she turned back to Elijah and kissed him hard.

"How?" she asked breathlessly, looking back to the romantic scene.

"Rebekah gave me some assistance," he smirked. She had told him the color of the dress Elena picked out, so he could give her a matching rose, and then she lit the candles for him when he texted her, he was almost home. Elijah did the rest, spreading the petals and starting a bath for the two of them.

Leading her further into the bathroom, he took the long-stemmed rose from her hands, setting it down on the countertop before taking her in his arms and helping her strip down.

They laid in the bath together, Elena resting peacefully against Elijah's chest. His return was absolutely perfect. "You know, you didn't give me an answer," Elijah said huskily in her ear.

Smiling, she opened her eyes and turned her head to see him. "I'd love to," she said, smiling into his awaiting kiss.

They battled in a strong lip lock while in the bathtub. Water splashed over the tub's brim as Elena, covered in bubbles, shifted to sit in Elijah's lap. Neither seemed to care at the large puddle now on the floor, as both were too enrobed in one another.

"Welcome home," she breathed, pulling back to stare deeply into his eyes. She had missed him profounder than words could express –his presence, character, body, soul, eyes, mind. She missed him all. Every piece. Completely.

Elijah took her mouth in his, dominating her with his lips. Holding onto her tightly, he enjoyed the feel of her skin on his. Welcome home, indeed.

"Do you have it?" Elena asked quietly when the line picked up.

"'Why hello Klaus, how are you?' Well, I'm doing well thanks, Elena. And how are you?"

Elena rolled her eyes "Hi Klaus."

"Elena," he said smiling through the phone.

Elena glanced over her shoulder to Caroline studying herself in the mirror. With a frown on her face, Caroline held her hands on her hips and attempted to settle for her less than perfect prom dress. The dance was only a day away now and she still had found nothing.

"Do you have it?" Elena repeated.

"All taken care of," Klaus confirmed. "It should be waiting for her when she arrives home."

Elena didn't bother asking how Klaus could pull of what he did, but she appreciated it in this moment. Caroline had dragged her to over ten different stores outside of the city. Bonnie and Rebekah were both busy doing other things and so Elena was the only one left to help support her friend.

"You are a lifesaver," she muttered, turning back around so Caroline wouldn't hear.

"Now that I love to hear," Klaus said jovially. He seemed to be in a good mood, almost overly so.

"Is everything okay? What is going on there?" Elena asked. Something was up with Klaus. He actually seemed…happy.

"It's great, love," Klaus smiled. "Wish Caroline the best for me."

Without another word the line was disconnected. Elena turned around, startled when she found Caroline in front of her with a displeased look.

"Elena! You are supposed to be helping me. Not chatting with your boy toy," she barked, referencing Elijah.

Elena let her friend's attitude slide. Grabbing her by the shoulders, she humored Caroline and had her friend try on three more dresses.

"I guess this is the best one out of all of them," Caroline sighed, turning around and looking in the mirror at her backside. It was a long black dress. It fit her form nice and had some jewels around the neckline. But it wasn't anything 'Caroline special'.

"We'll find you something Care," Elena encouraged. Caroline had no idea her perfect dress was already waiting for her.

"Elena, it's late and the stores are about to close. Prom is tomorrow. How am I going to find a dress?"

"If you still don't like this one by tomorrow morning we can come back and do some emergency shopping. I think you just need to take a break for a while."

They had been going for all day. Elena was exhausted from walking every which place, not to mention carry all the heavy dresses around for Caroline to try on and put back.

Her friend sighed but nonetheless agreed. Changing back into her normal clothes, Elena shook her head and let out a worried laugh. Klaus's dress better be amazing.

Caroline came home from her excursion with Elena feeling hopeless. Throwing her bag down and dropping her keys, Caroline went to go pout to her room. She needed to forget this day. On her bed sat a large black box, wrapped with a royal blue ribbon.

Curious, she walked towards it. A card sat tucked on top with her name scrawled on it.

Caroline,
Deepest apologies I couldn't be there to attend your prom. I heard you were looking for a dress. I came across this and immediately thought of you.

Regards,
Niklaus Mikaelson

Tempted by curiosity to see what he had picked out for her, Caroline carefully pulled off the top of the box and pushed back the tissue paper. It was gorgeous. Ivory and strapless, the mermaid style gown was detailed with intricate beading and tulle at the bottom.

Immediately she tried it on and it was perfect. It had hugged her form in all of the right ways and made her feel like Princess Grace of Monaco hot. It was the perfect dress.

Grabbing her phone, she typed a message to Klaus.

Thank you.

The theme of prom was Pictures of You. Caroline and Rebekah had been working on the set up for a while now. Rolling out a red carpet, the girls lined candles beside the pathway up to the gym and hung Chinese lanterns from the trees. Alongside the twinkly decorations they put up easel size electronic photo slideshows of the senior class. They wanted everyone to be walking through a photobook.

"No, not there!" Rebekah yelled to a student volunteer who was hanging lanterns.

Elena chuckled as she watched her and Caroline go over to critique the man.

"Next time, remind me to return to Mystic Falls on the night of the dance, not any sooner," Elijah said, coming back from setting up some electronics inside the school.

Elena smiled and laughed. The two of them had been there since early morning, setting up and hanging things to Rebekah and Caroline's liking.

"Think we can get out of here any time soon?" Elena wondered to him. They barely had much time together since he had returned home. Elena had been so preoccupied with colleges and prom that it left little time for the two of them.

Both Caroline and Rebekah began shouting at different individuals.

"Not likely," Elijah spoke, narrowing his eyes at the girls. They were much too similar sometimes. Turning his attention back to her, he leaned in and snuck a kiss.

It was very un-Elijah like. Elena noticed he had been doing little things like that more often. He was constantly touching her or kissing her. While she enjoyed it, she wondered what spurred it.

"'Lijah!" Rebekah called, waving him over from across the yard.

"Looks like I better go," Elijah said, kissing Elena once more before walking off to please his sister.

Shaking her head, Elena finished hooking up the slideshow frame, plugging it into the power and waiting to make sure it worked.

Pictures appeared and began showing on a timer. She watched as stills of her classmates appeared on the screen, smiles to the camera. As she was about to walk away, to a job well done, a photo had caught her eye. It was her and Jeremy posing for the camera. She couldn't remember where it was taken but they were hugging each other and smiling.

Her heart ached.

"I remember this one," Matt's voice boomed from behind her. It startled her.

Wiping the tears from her face, she glanced to Matt who came up to put his arms on her shoulders.

"Your mom took this one," he recalled. Elena looked back to the screen and saw the photo had changed. It was now her and Matt huddled up close with one another smiling. Matt's hair was a crazy mess, and the two of them appeared so young.

"First day of high school," Elena recalled. Her phone buzzed.

"Man, what was I thinking with that hair?" Matt asked shaking his head. The two of them laughed.

Are you alright? Kol's voice asked her in her head.

I'm okay, Elena replied before turning her attention back to Matt.

"Hey, you okay?" Matt wondered seeing Elena a bit dazed. Something had been going on with her lately. It wasn't the first time he had noticed here lost in space.

"Yeah, sorry," she nervously laughed trying to shake it off. She hadn't told anyone about the Kol connection yet. The only person who had known was Rebekah, and she was sworn to secrecy.

"You know you can tell me anything, right Elena?" Matt wondered. He knew his friend and he knew something was going on. The only thing he didn't know was what.

Elena smiled and glanced around. Even if they wanted to talk, there were too many ears around.

"Come on, let's get out of here. Want to stop by the deli? My treat," he enticed. It was starting to become their thing that they'd sneak way from setting up a school dance and walking around downtown.

Giving into her friend, she took his outreached arm and snuck off with him.

"Wow," Matt breathed out after Elena was done telling him about her connection with Kol. "So, do you hear him all of the time?"

"No," Elena replied, picking at her French fries. "It takes some effort –not as much as it did when we both first noticed it, but we have to be conscious of it to establish a link."

"And that ties into your blood lust?" Matt asked worriedly. If it did, Kol had control over his friend and he didn't know the guy well enough not to believe he wouldn't turn Elena into some homicidal vampire.

"Kind of," she tried to explain. It was all still theories so far, but it made sense. "I drink blood," she told him hushed over the table, "it's just I don't drink that much. Kol and I think it's because he usually keeps more than enough in his system to satisfy his hunger, that somehow with our shared connection, it curbs mine as well."

"So, essentially he indulges in enough for the two of you."

Elena gave a small laugh but nodded. It seemed funny when he put it that way.

"And why haven't you told Elijah?" Matt wondered. Elena was secretive, sure, but Elena had trusted Elijah more than he's ever seen her with anyone.

She sat there thinking for a while. What was the big deal? She knew the longer she hid it from him the angrier he'd be about it.

"I guess I don't want it to change anything," she answered. She thought back to when they had talked about sire bonds and who's blood she'd use to transition. Kol was always an option, but he was the very last option. The pair had gotten close with one another and Elijah had commented on that.

"When I tell him, I think there will always be a suspicion of a sire line. And I don't want that. I like how things are and I like that isn't any drama between brothers right now."

Matt nodded beginning to understand. Elena didn't want to come in between their brotherhood.

"You guys are kinda like the Wonder Twins," Matt commented in their silence.

Elena broke out into a huge smile. "I said that same thing!"

The two laughed.

Elena hadn't seen Elijah for the rest of the day. Getting ready, she did her hair, applied her makeup and slipped on her dress. Nervously, she grabbed her shoes and trotted down the large staircase to look for him.

"Wow," Kol called, seeing her walk down the stairs. Elena looked beautiful. Dressed in her pink silk dress, her hair was lightly curled in waves and displayed her attractive bare neckline.

"Have you seen Elijah?" Elena wondered to Kol. The limo with all of her friends was going to be here any moment.

"I haven't," Kol said swallowing hard. He made sure to block his emotions from Elena as she approached him. It wasn't that he found her sexually attractive (well, maybe a little), but he felt an overwhelming sense of protectiveness about her. Here she was, standing tall and beautiful, and all he wanted to do was protect her from the harsh world. The feeling even extended against his brother.

The bond must have amplified his previous feelings.

"The limo is here!" Rebekah called walking down the stairs. With a smile on Elena and Kol's face, they grinned at Rebekah. She looked like she had just walked out of a fairy tale.

"Have you seen Elijah?" Elena wondered nervously to Rebekah.

"Last I saw he was on the phone with someone outside." Grabbing her bag, she didn't bother waiting for the pair to join her.

Leaning against the wall, Elena slipped her high heels on her feet. "Ready?" she asked turning back to Kol. Accepting his arm, they walked out the door together.

She walked down the front steps to find Elijah waiting patiently by the limo, smiling at her from a distance.

"You look…" Elijah had no words to express his desire and love for her. "You are gorgeous," he settled for. Leaning in and kissing her softly, he smiled at the beauty before him. Her heart, her soul, her body…. everything about her was stunning.

"Okay, come on you love birds!" Caroline called from inside the car. Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Rebekah and now Kol were all waiting for them. Everyone had decided to go as friends. Smiling, Elena slid into the limo, Elijah following after her.

"To prom we go!"

The group smiled and laughed as they watched the slideshows on the red carpet. They shared and laughed at all the memories the photos triggered.

"Oh my gosh," Elena said smiling as a picture appeared of her, Bonnie and Caroline at the school's car wash. Elena (and Caroline) were still oogling after Stefan at that time.

"I remember that," Stefan smiled proudly with Caroline on his arm. "You guys were horrible at actually washing the cars."

They all laughed.

"The decades dance," Bonnie partly groaned at seeing herself in her 1950s clothes. The Mikaelsons all snickered at her clothing and they all chatted about it.

"It was the first time we got introduced to Klaus," Elena remembered. Elijah gave her hand a squeeze and she smiled. The picture then faded into one with Bonnie and Jeremy slow dancing. Bonnie touched the screen.

Most eyes turned to Elena, waiting for tears to happen or for her to break. Instead though, drawing on Kol's strength and calmness, she gave everyone a smile. She let his energy patch up the hole tearing in her heart. He gave her a nod.

"Come on," Matt said, reading the sudden tension. Grabbing onto Bonnie he led the group inside.

The gym inside the school had string lights and drapes coming down from the ceiling, with huge crystal chandeliers all over. Tables had been set up and the dance floor was full of people. The space had been transformed into an entirely different place.

"Why do I feel like we're at a practice run of Caroline's wedding?" Bonnie asked the group as Caroline ran off to go check on the nomination table for King and Queen.

"Because I think we are," Matt answered. The group of them laughed once more.

The night went on without a hitch, well almost.

"What is going on with you and Kol?" Elijah wondered to Elena as they slowed danced. He couldn't help but ask. The entire night he had caught them giving looks to one another, or Elena was off staring in the distance while Elijah was on her arm. Had something gone on between the two of him while he was gone?

"What? Why would you say there is anything going on?" Elena wondered. She tried to hide her nerves and keep them from her voice. Elijah's eyes narrowed and he twirled her around, bringing her back to him again. "Because you can't seem to answer my question," he spoke.

Elena let out a shaky breath. Swallowing hard, she glanced up at him. "After I transitioned and you left, weird things started happening."

"Weird how?" he asked.

She let out a breath. "I felt different. At first, I thought it was the transition, but it was more than that."

She swallowed nervously. "Kol was in my head…or at least it felt like that. We'd be looking at colleges, and I would swear I could hear him talking, but his lips weren't moving."

"And then Kol experienced it too," she said. "I was working out and trying to do some backflips at vampire speed. I ended up breaking my ankle. Before I could even think, Kol had come running. He didn't know what he felt or why, but he knew something was wrong."

Elijah tried to hide his emotions. A sire bond.

"It's not a sire bond," she told him, reading his face. She could tell he was trying not to freak out in front of everyone. "It's more…magical than that."

His eyes went to hers. "magical?"

Elena bit her lip. "We can hear each other when we want," she told him. "We can speak telepathically with one another."

Elijah's stomach sank. They had shared something together from the transition.

"We are linked on some sort of level with one another. We've tested it out and we can even draw on one another's strength."

Elijah tilted his head at that.

"I think I don't drink much blood," she said lowly at the end to him, "because Kol keeps a healthy amount in his system. I don't get the urges as strongly as others do."

They were linked on more than a mental level then. It was part physical too.

Elijah stood there trying to absorb it all in. This was not what he pictured her answer to be. In honesty, he was hoping she'd deny he was seeing anything. "How long have you been keeping this from me?"

His face was hard, his eyes angry.

"…it started a few days after you first left for New Orleans," she answered honestly. And with that, Elijah let go of her and walked off.

Picking up her dress, Elena went running after him. "Elijah! Wait! Elijah!"

"How could you keep this from me, Elena?" Elijah asked incredulously, spinning back around on his heels. "You've kept this from me for over a month now. A month!"

"I know," she said sadly. "I just…" Elena didn't know what to say.

"You share some deep magical connection with my brother, Elena," Elijah said angrily. "My own flesh and blood. You didn't think I deserved to know that?" He paused for a moment before going to walk off again. His anger was getting the best of him.

"Of course, I did!" Elena called. Picking up her dress, she took a few steps towards him. Tears were filling her eyes. "Of course, I thought you should know. But…I was afraid. I still am." She looked away. "I don't know what is happening to me and you were so far away and I-…" Everything felt like an excuse. "I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say to you."

Elijah stood at the end of the red carpet with his hands in his pockets. His jaw clenched. "You were supposed to tell me the truth."

Elena's heart was slowly breaking. She hadn't meant to hurt Elijah; she just wasn't of all that was going on. Before she could say more, Kol had walked out with a concerned look on his face. He glanced at the two of them. "Oh. You told him then," Kol asked Elena.

It made the situation worse, and before Elena could stop him, Elijah had his own brother up against a tree by the throat.

Don't, Kol said telepathically to Elena, as he saw her move to pull Elijah off of him. Kol knew it would make matters worse for the pair if Elena were to help him right now.

"What have you done?" Elijah growled to Kol.

"Nothing… Elijah," Kol choked.

Kol's submission worked and Elijah finally let him go. "Have you looked into getting witches to remove the bond? Bonnie perhaps could help."

Elena bit her lip. Telepathically making sure Kol was okay, she focused back on Elijah. "No, I haven't asked her. I haven't been looking to remove it."

The words hit Elijah harder than a white oak dagger to the chest. She hadn't tried to find a way out of the bond?

"Why?" he gritted out.

"Because I don't see it as a bad thing," Elena spoke softly. "I know you think it is, but it's not. I'm not sired to him, Elijah. I have my own thoughts and feelings and I make my own choices."

She stepped towards him carefully. "I'm still in love with you. The bond doesn't change."

Until it does, Elijah thought. "You may not be sired, but you are linked, Elena. You are linked to my brother!"

She cringed as he yelled at her. Glancing down at her hands, she didn't know what else to say.

Elijah left after that. Running home with vampire speed, he abandoned Elena at her last school dance.

"Come on," Kol said straightening out his suit and taking her back into the gym. She was flooding with emotions, he could tell. Tears started to fall down her eyes, and he pulled them off to the side to give her a moment.

She had royally screwed up. Taking in deep breaths, she wiped her tears and tried to compartmentalize everything. Her and Kol had been working on that too. It helped with the emotions and sharing thoughts.

"He'll get over it," Kol murmured to her as they walked through the crowd.

"Bonnie Bennett and Matt Donovan!" April Young's voice cheered.

Elena glanced up confused and saw a white spotlight shining on her friends. Prom king and queen. They had just won!

Stopping to clap, she tearily smiled. At least something good came out of this night.