Part 9
The following morning, for the first time since she had arrived at Robert E Lee no one whispered as Jane walked by. Jane was suspicious, wondering what had happened. Now someone had spoken to her she was going to be accepted? Somehow it seemed unlikely.
"Did you read the diaries?" Sarah was waiting for her by her locker.
Jane nodded. "Guess who I met, practically straight away afterwards?"
"Bonnie? I heard she's back in town, she's supposed to be kind of cool." Sarah yawned, leaning against the row of badly painted orange lockers.
"Worse." Jane made a face. "Damon. He thought I was Elena, like everyone else, then this other girl showed up, again thinking I was Elena and seemed determined to make me pay for something Stefan did to her. It's really fucked up and I have no clue what's going on."
"You met Damon? *The* Damon Salvatore?" Sarah was looking at her in awe. "Was he cute?"
Jane shrugged. "Yeah, if you like the brutal type with pointy teeth and hands that can rip your heart out." She collected the books she needed and they headed down the hall to their first class. "What happened to all of Elena's crowd, are they all still here?"
"From what I heard of Meredith went to study at Duke University on guidance from that gorgeous European History teacher Alaric Saltzman. Like I said, I heard Bonnie's back in town, Elena's supposedly dead, Stefan and Damon supposedly left after the funeral. Caroline has a job as a model for a magazine company in New York, and is the Chanel 8 Weather Girl."
Jane debated. Who out of all of them could give her the most answers...well, Bonnie was the one who was the psychic, and Bonnie had seen her in the library with the diaries, so it made sense, vaguely, to Jane. "I think I'm going to talk to Bonnie."
She didn't mention the nightmare she had had the other night, Bonnie had been in that. So had the weird girl who wanted to kill her. Sarah nodded. "Okay, we'll go after school."
Jane's eyebrow arched delicately. "We?"
Sarah shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Jane shrugged, not quite ready to believe there was the possibly of a real friend yet. But it would be nice to think about that.
* * *
Elena left Bonnie's house, needing to be alone. So many memories filled her, she was somewhere in a state between jealousy, anger and sadness. She hadn't wanted to hear what Stefan had to say. Stefan was the *good* guy. He would never hurt anyone.
There had been no one after Katherine, he had been heart broken by her loss. Why would anyone else even tempt him? It had been hard enough for him to give into her.
Her feet ate up the miles of the familiar town streets as she wandered around in the gathering dusk. So far no one had recognised her. Stefan and Bonnie had tried to stop her, but she didn't want to listen to them.
She found herself pausing outside her own house, a little smile on her face as she stared up at the quince tree outside. She could see a figure moving about in her room.
Elena felt tears stinging her eyes. Margaret and Aunt Judith didn't live there now. They ad moved away, and she would never be able to go inside her own house, never be able to see her room again. Someone else lived there now.
The dark figure was leaving the room, and a few seconds later she heard the front door opening. She drew back in shock as she watched the girl coming out.
This must be the girl Jane, Bonnie and Damon had been talking about. The resemblance was almost ridiculously uncanny, Elena thought. It was as if someone had taken a pinch of everything that made Elena Gilbert Elena Gilbert and had added them to this *stranger's* DNA.
The girl was walking quickly down the street. Elena found herself almost automatically following, her footsteps soft so as to not be detected. Apparently she didn't do a very good job because after a few minutes Jane turned around, clearly sensing someone was there.
"Who's that? I know someone's there." Jane's tone was annoyed and angry. Elena guessed she couldn't blame her. She waited a few minutes, not so easy to blend in with the night now she wasn't a vampire anymore. Jane took a few small steps forward, then stopped. Her own shock mirroring Elena's, like everything else about this girl.
"You're dead," Jane said.
Elena stepped into as much view as she dared. "I didn't last very long being dead. I still have things to do in this world."
"Why is everyone stalking *me* if you're still alive?" Jane demanded.
~As if I know all the answers~ Elena thought. "I don't know." She sighed heavily. The sooner they could find out what was going on, she supposed, the sooner they could leave. "You'd better come with me."
* * *
Allegra wished she could have been there when Stefan found the rose. She had seen him wandering around afterwards, an uncharacteristic anger in his expression. So she knew she had made a mark. That was at least good for now.
Now the real issue that was bugging the hell out of her was this Elena girl. Once she was done with playing with Stefan's heart, she faked her death and was now back in her stupid little human high school, pretending her name was "Jane". How boring, Allegra thought.
Now "Jane" looked like she might even have a *friend* on top of it all. It had pleased her at first, that Elena's plan hadn't been going very well at first because people where whispering about her, and it was clearly upsetting her. But now things were settling down.
~As if I can allow *that* to happen~ Allegra thought as she followed the girl Sarah, on her way to meet "Jane" now.
Sarah was so typically human she didn't have a clue she was being followed. It made Allegra laugh out loud. Sarah, finally alerted stopped, and looked around, confused.
"Hello?" she called out, sounding a little stupid, almost like she wasn't sure if she wanted an answer.
~The unanswered question answered by the devil in a skirt~ Allegra thought, reaching out from the shadows and grabbing the human, knocking her head back and sinking her teeth in. The blood flowed through her, warming her, basking her in its power and life.
She tossed the body to one side and walked away, smiling and whistling to herself cheerfully.
* * *
The following morning, for the first time since she had arrived at Robert E Lee no one whispered as Jane walked by. Jane was suspicious, wondering what had happened. Now someone had spoken to her she was going to be accepted? Somehow it seemed unlikely.
"Did you read the diaries?" Sarah was waiting for her by her locker.
Jane nodded. "Guess who I met, practically straight away afterwards?"
"Bonnie? I heard she's back in town, she's supposed to be kind of cool." Sarah yawned, leaning against the row of badly painted orange lockers.
"Worse." Jane made a face. "Damon. He thought I was Elena, like everyone else, then this other girl showed up, again thinking I was Elena and seemed determined to make me pay for something Stefan did to her. It's really fucked up and I have no clue what's going on."
"You met Damon? *The* Damon Salvatore?" Sarah was looking at her in awe. "Was he cute?"
Jane shrugged. "Yeah, if you like the brutal type with pointy teeth and hands that can rip your heart out." She collected the books she needed and they headed down the hall to their first class. "What happened to all of Elena's crowd, are they all still here?"
"From what I heard of Meredith went to study at Duke University on guidance from that gorgeous European History teacher Alaric Saltzman. Like I said, I heard Bonnie's back in town, Elena's supposedly dead, Stefan and Damon supposedly left after the funeral. Caroline has a job as a model for a magazine company in New York, and is the Chanel 8 Weather Girl."
Jane debated. Who out of all of them could give her the most answers...well, Bonnie was the one who was the psychic, and Bonnie had seen her in the library with the diaries, so it made sense, vaguely, to Jane. "I think I'm going to talk to Bonnie."
She didn't mention the nightmare she had had the other night, Bonnie had been in that. So had the weird girl who wanted to kill her. Sarah nodded. "Okay, we'll go after school."
Jane's eyebrow arched delicately. "We?"
Sarah shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Jane shrugged, not quite ready to believe there was the possibly of a real friend yet. But it would be nice to think about that.
* * *
Elena left Bonnie's house, needing to be alone. So many memories filled her, she was somewhere in a state between jealousy, anger and sadness. She hadn't wanted to hear what Stefan had to say. Stefan was the *good* guy. He would never hurt anyone.
There had been no one after Katherine, he had been heart broken by her loss. Why would anyone else even tempt him? It had been hard enough for him to give into her.
Her feet ate up the miles of the familiar town streets as she wandered around in the gathering dusk. So far no one had recognised her. Stefan and Bonnie had tried to stop her, but she didn't want to listen to them.
She found herself pausing outside her own house, a little smile on her face as she stared up at the quince tree outside. She could see a figure moving about in her room.
Elena felt tears stinging her eyes. Margaret and Aunt Judith didn't live there now. They ad moved away, and she would never be able to go inside her own house, never be able to see her room again. Someone else lived there now.
The dark figure was leaving the room, and a few seconds later she heard the front door opening. She drew back in shock as she watched the girl coming out.
This must be the girl Jane, Bonnie and Damon had been talking about. The resemblance was almost ridiculously uncanny, Elena thought. It was as if someone had taken a pinch of everything that made Elena Gilbert Elena Gilbert and had added them to this *stranger's* DNA.
The girl was walking quickly down the street. Elena found herself almost automatically following, her footsteps soft so as to not be detected. Apparently she didn't do a very good job because after a few minutes Jane turned around, clearly sensing someone was there.
"Who's that? I know someone's there." Jane's tone was annoyed and angry. Elena guessed she couldn't blame her. She waited a few minutes, not so easy to blend in with the night now she wasn't a vampire anymore. Jane took a few small steps forward, then stopped. Her own shock mirroring Elena's, like everything else about this girl.
"You're dead," Jane said.
Elena stepped into as much view as she dared. "I didn't last very long being dead. I still have things to do in this world."
"Why is everyone stalking *me* if you're still alive?" Jane demanded.
~As if I know all the answers~ Elena thought. "I don't know." She sighed heavily. The sooner they could find out what was going on, she supposed, the sooner they could leave. "You'd better come with me."
* * *
Allegra wished she could have been there when Stefan found the rose. She had seen him wandering around afterwards, an uncharacteristic anger in his expression. So she knew she had made a mark. That was at least good for now.
Now the real issue that was bugging the hell out of her was this Elena girl. Once she was done with playing with Stefan's heart, she faked her death and was now back in her stupid little human high school, pretending her name was "Jane". How boring, Allegra thought.
Now "Jane" looked like she might even have a *friend* on top of it all. It had pleased her at first, that Elena's plan hadn't been going very well at first because people where whispering about her, and it was clearly upsetting her. But now things were settling down.
~As if I can allow *that* to happen~ Allegra thought as she followed the girl Sarah, on her way to meet "Jane" now.
Sarah was so typically human she didn't have a clue she was being followed. It made Allegra laugh out loud. Sarah, finally alerted stopped, and looked around, confused.
"Hello?" she called out, sounding a little stupid, almost like she wasn't sure if she wanted an answer.
~The unanswered question answered by the devil in a skirt~ Allegra thought, reaching out from the shadows and grabbing the human, knocking her head back and sinking her teeth in. The blood flowed through her, warming her, basking her in its power and life.
She tossed the body to one side and walked away, smiling and whistling to herself cheerfully.
* * *