In history class, Elena found herself face to face with Alaric. It was so strange, seeing him look this young. But this Alaric hadn't had four women he'd fallen in love with die on him, just the one, and she wasn't dead dead, just vampire dead.
How was she supposed to interact with him since she had all these memories of him, of them being friends, but this one didn't remember that. She'd just have to keep herself in check unless they became friends.
"Good morning, everyone. Alrighty." He wrote his name on the board. "Alaric Saltsman. I know it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."
He continued speaking, but Elena turned back to look at Bonnie. The witch looked exhausted.
Rough night?
Bad dreams.
Emily?
You know about that?
Some. Talk after class?
Yeah.
"You can call me Ric. I'm your new history teacher."
At lunch, Bonnie told her about the dream, the one where Emily visited her, taking her to the place where she'd locked the vampires away.
"What happened in this other life about this?"
"You remember the twenty-seven people who died in a fire that Stefan mentioned his first day in class?"
"Sort of?"
"They were vampires, not Union sympathizers, and there's a tomb beneath those ruins, where they were placed instead of burning up in the church. Emily placed them there because Damon begged her to, after he promised to look out for your bloodline. The power to open it lies in that medallion, which is why Damon wants it back. There's a reason Elijah called the comet a Nexus Vorti, because that celestial event is what gave the necklace its power to do what Damon wants."
"Nexus Vorti?"
"A miraculous event that can fuel a witches power."
"Why?"
"He thinks someone named Katherine Pierce is down there, even though she's not, and he's trying to get her out."
"Katherine? I heard you mention that name before."
"I look just like her, though she was born five hundred years before me, a Petrova doppelganger. And the Salvatores were both in love with her."
"Which explains why you didn't go for Stefan."
"Elijah had a thing for her too, when she was human."
"Seriously?"
"But she betrayed him and ran."
"He doesn't still have feelings for her, does he? Because that would make working with him awkward."
"Whether he does or not isn't my problem. We're not going there. He's the only one strong enough to-" Elena cut herself off, not willing to divulge that part of her plan just yet.
"Strong enough to what?"
"Nothing. At least not right now. You'll try to stop it and it needs to happen. As for the vampires in the tomb, leave them until you're stronger and know more about what you're doing."
"Why can't I just get rid of the necklace?"
"Because Emily won't let you. She'll make sure you keep getting it, no matter what you try to do."
"Great. I'm being haunted by a ghost that I can't get away from and a vampire who won't leave me alone."
"Oh, my god!" Caroline slumped down into a chair next to Elena.
"What happened?"
"I had too much to drink at that party, you know, seeing Damon and all that, and I got wasted, so Matt brought me home and like a pathetic loser, I asked him to stay and he slept beside me. No, no sex happened, but he snuck out the next morning and now things are awkward."
"So, talk to him. Ask him if the two of you are okay," Elena said.
"Why are you the mom friend?"
"Because I just am."
Elena's hand moved to her stomach. Because she was a mother, to two children she would never see again, who would never be hers, and now she was trying to overcompensate by being the mom to her friends.
"So, what's going on with you, Bonnie?"
"Bonnie is being haunted by the ghost of her ancestor." Elena was thankful to talk and think about something other than the children she'd loved with all her heart, but would never see again, never hold them in her arms, never- she cut herself off and focused on the conversation around her.
"A ghost? It's not Halloween, Bonnie," Caroline laughed.
"It's not a joke, Caroline," Elena said firmly. "She actually is being haunted."
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yep and we're trying to figure out why." Bonnie traced her fingers around the gem.
"What about a seance?" Caroline suggested. "What better way to contact a ghost than with a seance?
"Um, not a great idea. This ghost is seriously powerful and can take over Bonnie's body entirely."
"Oh, wow. So, definitely not a good idea."
"I think Emily has a way to destroy it. Look into her spells. You should find something there. Once the necklace is gone, Emily will go with it."
"Does the tomb need to be opened?"
"Eventually, but Emily won't allow the crystal to be used to do it. She'll do whatever she has to do to make sure it isn't used."
"You guys are seriously freaking me out," Caroline hissed.
"I just haven't been able to sleep since I got the necklace. I just want it all to stop."
"Next time you have a dream, tell her about me. She might not know."
"What about you?" Caroline asked.
"Considering us talking about ghosts just now freaked you out, do you really wanna know if there's something else out there that might scare you?" Elena raised an eyebrow.
"No. I don't. But you'd tell me if I needed to know, right?" Caroline looked at her friends, worry in her eyes.
"I promise. If it's something you need to know, we'll tell you."
"Okay."
"Just don't have any seances and look into Emily's spell books. Maybe if you take care of it yourself, she'll leave you alone and not try to body jump into you to take care of it." Elena thought for a moment. "Caroline, there is something you should know."
"What is it?"
"The necklace I gave you, it's meant to protect you, so don't ever take it off."
"Does it work?"
"Have you lost time or gotten confused about big things since I gave it to you?"
"No."
"Then, it works."
"Okay. So how long have you know about all of this?"
"Since right after the accident that killed my parents." Elena traced her fingers around the top of her water bottle. "Some things happened and now as much as I hate to admit it, I'm a part of this world and I've been trying to protect you from it."
"Why?"
"Because you're my friend and better I walk through fire than the people I love."
"Aww!" Caroline leaned over and hugged her.
"Elena!" Jeremy walked over to her quickly.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I made a deal with Ric to do an extra credit assignment to get my grades back on track and I was wondering if you could maybe get some of the journals from Elijah."
"I will text him and let him know. He should have at least one at the house by tonight."
"Okay, thanks." He jogged away, leaving the three girls alone.
Jeremy needs a journal for his history project. Could you bring a few by the house tonight?
I'll be there.
Thanks
"You and Elijah are so nauseatingly adorable. The way you talk to him about everything," Caroline teased. "Wait, does he know?"
"He's a part of it too. That's why I talk to him all the time."
"Who else is a part of this?" Caroline asked in a low voice.
"Leave the Salvatores alone. Trust me, they're dangerous."
"I knew Damon was trouble, but Stefan too?"
"Stefan too."
"But you're okay around him."
"Because the Salvatores know if they hurt me at all, Elijah will tear them apart. And while he does what he can to keep the people I care about safe..." Elena trailed off, unsure of how to put into words exactly what Elijah might do.
"He won't go out on a limb to save the rest of us if we're in trouble."
"He'll try. He has tried and succeeded saving a few people, but he's got something he needs to see through and being diverted at all at the wrong moment, that could cause problems that will take years to fix."
"And this plan, it involves you?" Bonnie guessed worry etched across her face.
"The conversation about what his goals are, consider it to be continued at a much later time. Just know that I am a full and willing participant in what he's working on." Elena stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder and raked her hair out of her face.
"That sounds ominous."
"He's trying to save me. Now, come on, we'll be late for class."
Bonnie and Caroline exchanged glances behind her back, but she didn't pay attention. She couldn't, because she was too busy cursing herself for being an idiot and opening her mouth too much. What if the wrong person overheard?
When she passed Alaric in the hall on her way to class, she automatically said, "Hey, Ric."
"Hello, Miss..."
"Elena Gilbert, Jeremy's sister."
"Oh, right. Nice to meet you, officially." He smiled and nodded.
"See you tomorrow." She waved and walked on.
"See you."
"Please tell me you knew him well enough in the other life to be on friendly terms with him, and that wasn't you flirting with him," Bonnie whispered.
"He played a big part in, well, everything. So yeah, I knew him pretty well. That and he married my bio mom."
"Bio mom?" Bonnie caught her arm and spun Elena to face her.
"I was adopted by my uncle and his wife. John Gilbert and Isobel Fleming, Alaric's wife, are my bio parents."
"Oh, wow."
"He won't find out about my connection to her for a little while, so please keep this to yourself."
"Right. Of course. Will you tell him everything?"
"Probably not. His life wasn't very happy for a long time the first time around and to know what could happen this time? It might make things even worse for him." Like make him turn to booze more that he already did and he'd never have the strength to put the bottle down.
"How did you do it?" Bonnie asked.
"Do what?"
"Not talk about everything you knew about people, about what was coming?"
"It's been hard. Especially when it comes to people I care about a whole lot." Elena slid into her seat and Bonnie took the one next to her.
"What's coming for me?"
"I'm trying to change things, Bonnie. So there's no point in telling you what might be. Which is why I talk to Elijah all the time. He knows everything so I don't have to lie to him or tell him half truths or avoid talking to him altogether."
"Maybe that's why he fell in love with you, because you trusted him enough to be honest with him." Bonnie pulled out a pencil and swung it between her fingers.
"He's not in love with me." Elena rolled her eyes. Why did everything think that? So she trusted the guy and he was willing to risk a lot to help her. That didn't mean he was in love with her.
"Caroline sees it, Matt, Stefan, Jenna. Even Jeremy has made comments about it, and he's usually stoned out of his mind. Anyone who spends time with the two of you sees how he looks at you. That's not the look of 'I'm plotting something with her and she trusts me.' That's 'I'm hopelessly in love with this girl and I'll do anything for her.'"
"He's pretty much always looked at me the same way, except for the first few times I met him, the first time around."
"Did you do anything stupidly heroic to try to save your family and friends then too?"
"Yes," she said slowly. "Very stupid. I threw a vervain grenade in his face, among other things."
"Then accept it, the guy fell in love with you then because you were brave enough to fight him, and he's fallen in love with you this time too. Trust me. I know that look."
"He's not." Elena shook her head.
"But you trusted him enough to find him. You didn't even try to get anyone else's help. You went straight to him. What does that say about you?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow, exasperated.
"That I trust him."
"Why do you trust him?"
"Okay, Bonnie, I love you, but please, stop. He's not in love with me. Never has been."
"Denial will only get you so far."
The class started then, and Elena pulled out her books, thankful for the interruption.