When Elena opened the bathroom door three days later, she froze upon seeing Vickie brushing her teeth in the sink.
"I hope you used a condom," Elena said after a moment of awkward silence. "I'm too young to be an aunt to my kid brother's baby."
"Don't worry. We were careful. And I'm almost done."
"Take your time, but Vickie, please be careful with my brother. He tries to be tough, but he's sweet underneath that."
"So, you're not mad that I deflowered him?"
"He can decide who he wants to sleep with. I just want him happy and if you make him happy, that's all I ask. Oh, and don't talk about what you do. I may not have a problem with him growing up, but I'd rather not hear about certain grown up things that he gets up to."
"Okay, um thanks, I guess."
Once Elena had taken a shower and dressed, she headed down the stairs.
"I hope you're aware that Jeremy had an overnight guest last night and I'm not sure if they were actually safe or not."
"I saw a box of condoms in his nightstand when I tore through his room the other day, so I think we should be good." Jenna smiled when she added, "I won't be home for dinner."
"Let me guess, Logan?" Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Don't judge me."
"Not judging, just saying that exes are usually exes for a reason."
"If it makes you feel any better, I plan on showing up and torturing him."
"Be careful." Elena poured herself a bowl of cereal
"So, what about you? Are you seeing anyone?"
"No." Adding milk to it, she took a bite.
"You've got your pick of three different good looking guys and you're not dating one?"
"Stefan has a dickwad brother and I don't want to get involved with that, Matt and I just didn't fit, as much as I care about him, and Elijah is- well, he's Elijah."
"You say that like it explains everything about the guy."
"It does to me." Elena chewed on another bite of cereal thoughtfully. "Wait. You're including Elijah in that mix, even though he's obviously several years older than I am?"
"I've seen the way he looks at you, but he's respectful about it, so no I don't have a problem with it. But, if you do decide to go there, wait until you're eighteen to actually go there, please."
"Okay." Elena snickered around the next mouthful of cereal and walked out of the kitchen.
When she arrived at school, Elena watched Caroline as she talked to a group of cheerleaders.
"Do you know what happened? With her and Damon?" Bonnie asked. "When I talked to her this morning, she didn't seem to remember much."
"I know what she told me and that he's a first rate jackass."
"Hey, Elena."
"Stefan. Haven't seen you for a few days." Had he still managed to spike Damon with vervain and imprisoned him? "You okay?"
"I was dealing with Damon."
"Good. Whatever pain or misery that can be inflicted on him right now, he deserves it."
Her phone buzzed and she checked it.
The Martin witches have freed Enzo. He's promised to help us in any way he can, but he'd like to annoy Damon as much as possible.
Damon is in the Salvatore basement being desiccated and Zach is still alive, for now.
So, he'll just have to wait until Damon finds a way out.
"Stefan," Caroline waltzed up to them. "When you see Damon, tell him I said that he sucks."
"He's gone and I don't talk to him when he's not around, but when I do see him, I'll pass the word." Stefan walked away then.
"You okay?" Elena asked, placing her hand on Caroline's shoulder.
"I'm fine. I just want to get back to normal and be me again."
"We can do that."
"Let's pretend that no one named Salvatore exists for a while."
"That sounds like a good idea."
Just then, Kelly Beech stopped them.
"Have either of you seen Damon Salvatore?" she asked plaintively. "He was supposed to take me on a date, but he didn't show up and now he's not answering my texts. And since you're friends with Stefan, I thought you might know."
"That worked out well," Elena muttered.
"We haven't seen him in a few days," Caroline said, her lips thinning.
"Well, if you see him, tell him he owes me an apology for standing me up."
After class, Elena found herself in The Grill, like she was supposed to be there.
"Hey, Elena." Matt smiled when he saw her. "Wanna shoot some pool? I'll let you break."
"Sure. Why not?"
As they played, they started to talk and the conversation soon turned to something more than just idle chitchat, much like they had before they dated. It felt nice, them just being friends, much like it had been between them after the supernatural stuff in her life disappeared.
"And then there was Vickie, nonchalantly in the bathroom, like it's no big deal that they're hooking up."
"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, your brother and my sister, that's really weird."
"I told her I wasn't ready to be an aunt to my kid brother's kid, so they'd better be careful."
"Were you meeting someone here?"
"Nope. Just decided to come down and then I saw you."
"I've missed this, us being best friends," Matt said.
"Yeah. Maybe we can be those rare people who can go back to being friends after they've dated."
"We could be, if we tried." Matt lined up a shot. "So, you're not with Stefan, though he's clearly into you."
"Matt, you really wanna talk guys with me?"
"Not really, but he keeps asking about you."
"I'm definitely not into Stefan."
"What about Elijah?"
"You're the second person today to ask me about him," Elena sighed.
"That just goes to show that I'm not the only one who sees the way he looks at you."
"How does he look at me?" Elena challenged.
"Like you're something special. It sounds weird, coming from me, I know, but that's what I get when I see him with you."
"Elena!" Caroline ran up to them. "I know you're not on the cheer squad anymore, but could you help with the car wash tomorrow?"
"Sure. What do you need?"
"A two piece bathing suit. It's gonna be as close to a stripper pole vibe as we can get."
"I'll be there, not sure about the two piece."
"Do it, Elena. What if Elijah shows up? Give him a full view of what he's missing!"
"Caroline Forbes!" Elena kicked at Caroline's backside without any real intent to harm and the blonde girl ran away giggling.
"I guess that makes three?" Matt guessed.
"Yeah."
"See? Told you it wasn't just me. The guy is into you."
"Okay, Elena Gilbert. What did I say about sexy?" Caroline braced her hands on her hips.
"I've got a bikini on, beneath my clothes."
"So, take your clothes off and get sexy. I saw your man crush at the cash table."
"I do not have a crush on Elijah." Elena stripped the clothes off.
"Damn it. I forgot about the bruises," Caroline muttered. "It's a good thing you've got an olive complexion and they're almost faded, because then, no one will notice, as long as you're washing the cars and not talking to the public. Oh, my god, that sounded so mean. If you wanna stay covered up, I totally understand!"
"Nah, I'll be okay. I'll be sure to get nice and sudsed up for good measure," Elena teased.
"Oh, look. Jackass's brother is here." Caroline huffed and Elena followed the direction she was staring in.
"So, Stefan's 'jackass's brother'?"
"To remind myself that I need to stay away from guys who's brothers were bullies to me just in case they're exactly the same way beneath their charm."
"Okay."
"Oh, look. His ticket is up next!" Caroline handed it to her. "Go take care of your man and get all nice and wet while doing it."
"Caroline." Elena's face flamed when she realized he was probably listening.
"Damn, but he fills out those jeans nicely."
Elena headed out, desperate to get away from Caroline's teasing.
"Mind if I help?" Stefan asked.
"I'm washing Elijah's car. If I didn't start with his, Caroline would scalp me," Elena said as they approached Elijah's car.
"Hello, Elena. I'm not cutting in line am I?" Elijah smiled when he saw her.
"Is this your ticket number?" She held up the stub.
"It is."
"Then no. You're not cutting in line. Caroline sent me over here and Stefan tagged along."
They washed the car in silence, Stefan kept glancing at her, but Elena refused to speak. When it was just her and Elijah, she could remain silent with him and not feel like she had to fill every moment with chatter and she wanted that again, but Stefan seemed insistent on making her fall in love with him.
They were almost done with the car when Elena heard her name being called and she looked around.
"Elena?" Caroline ran over to them. "Have you seen Kelly Beech? She volunteered to run the cash box, but she vanished."
"Um, no. I haven't seen her since she stopped us, asking for Damon."
"Damn it. Now I'll have to do it."
"Just think of it. Every cute guy who comes through will have to speak to you first."
"You know what? You're right." Caroline tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked back to the cash table.
Kelly had disappeared during the car wash, just like Caroline did last time. Elena exchanged glances with Elijah and his mouth thinned. It looked as though Damon was meant to be freed after all. They may have been able to get to Caroline, but that didn't mean they could save Kelly in time.
"How's Damon doing? Still abusing teenage girls?" Elena sniped, furious now.
"He's not going to be a problem."
"Are you sure? Because he seems like a creative guy when it comes to getting what he wants, using anyone and everyone, if it's a means to the end. No matter who gets hurt or what he has to do as long as his goals are accomplished."
"Trust me, he's being handled."
Elijah walked along side Elena after she finished the last car.
"Have you told Enzo?"
"Enzo had to wait for the Martin witches to make him a new daylight ring, but as soon as he's got one, he'll be on Damon's case."
A car on fire caught her attention and Elena realized that it was Bonnie who'd started the fire. Elijah raced over, catching Bonnie's arm.
"Bonnie, enough."
"Did I do that?" Bonnie asked, looking from Elena to Elijah and back to the car.
"I believe so. Your powers have awakened. It's time for you to learn to harness them, so you stand a chance in what's to come."
"What's to come?"
"War," Elena said. "A war I already lived through, and now I'm back, to make thinks right."
"Wait, what?"
"Perhaps this conversation should best be held somewhere more appropriate." Elijah glanced around.
"Right. My place," Elena said, grabbing her t-shirt and cell-phone.
Unlocking the phone, she sent a text to Caroline.
An emergency came up. So sorry.
Can I help?
Don't tell Stefan that I left?
Got it.
They drove in silence towards the Gilbert house and when they arrived, Elena led the way to the living room
Sitting down, Elena said, "You're a witch, Elijah's a vampire, and I was brought back from the dead to save people, to change things as best I can. Until now, he's been the only one who's known anything. I contacted him because I knew him in this other life."
"Wait, like resurrected?"
"More like yanked out of heaven because what I did last time around led to so much pain and suffering even though I tried to be a good person and now I've got to fix what I did wrong as much as the spirits of nature will allow."
"Does Caroline know?"
"No. Though we'll tell her as much as she needs to know when the time is right."
"This is crazy," Bonnie whispered.
"Talk to your Grams. She'll help you."
"Did she help me in your other life too?"
"She did." Though not nearly enough as Bonnie needed, thanks to Elena's selfish desire to make Stefan happy.
"That's why you didn't laugh when I said that she said I was psychic."
"You're a witch, and she's the best one around to teach you to control your powers."
"I'm um, I think I'll head over there now." Bonnie stood up. "Will you tell me about this other life?"
"I've told you all that really counts for now, because I plan on making most of it completely different."
"Okay." Bonnie nodded once, her expression still dazed, and left the house.
"That could have gone better," Elena said.
"It went as well as could have been expected. She'll come around. She has no choice."
"But I do. We do. We have a choice in what we ask her to do from here on out. She's my friend, not a weapon to be used. If she wants to help, great, but I won't make her do anything she doesn't want to do."
"You're right of course. And who knows? Perhaps magical help will come from an unexpected source."
They sat in silence until Logan and Jenna entered the house.
"Hello, Elijah. I thought I saw your car out front."
"I suppose it's time for me to leave. Miss Sommers, Miss Gilbert." Inclining his head, Elijah left the house.
With Elijah gone, Elena headed up the stairs and collapsed on her bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.