Summary: Before Tatia came to town, Elijah and Niklaus shared one girl, their best friend, Alliana. When Tatia comes to the village, everything changes, the biggest change being their friendship, with Tatia taking their time and attention away from Alliana. This continues until the night the Mikaelson's turn, when they realize what she means to each of them too late. They believed she was gone from their lives forever, until they arrived in Mystic Falls. There they find not only the doppelgänger of Tatia, but the doppelgänger of Alliana. Meet Emilia Gilbert, the younger twin of Elena, the one who is about to change the lives of the Mikaelson's forever.
Season 1-4 rewrite with an OC as the main character. Stays true to canon and then veers off more each season. This is going to be a large story and not much is done, so bear with me.
A/N: This is my first story. I am rewriting this, but still my first story. If you read this before, welcome back. This version is going to be a bit different. If you started reading this after Jan 2020, then good for you, you got to miss the mess of what this was before. I hope everyone likes this. Feel free to tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but not outright flames. If you don't like it, don't read. Let's be respectful.
Just some notes about the story. Emilia's character is going to be a bit darker than she was before. I think I've got her characterization down a bit more solidly, so she seems like an actual human being with flaws and things that make her more real. I am going to use more swears and terms like "Oh, God" in a way that may not be suitable for all kinds of readers. I just want to warn you if it's like really against your beliefs to do stuff like that. I'm sorry, I hope it doesn't bother you too much and if it does, I understand. I don't want to disrespect anyone's beliefs, but it happens in the story and I want you to be warned. There are also some darker topics that are going to be touched on. Season 1 stays the same with some vague hints. Season 2 will make more references to this. Things will become more explicit and more obvious. All will eventually be explained (to Elijah) at the end of Season 2, but it will still be a part of the story and of Emilia throughout. So blanket trigger warning for the story. I don't want to spoil anything, but I don't want to harm or stress anyone out, so blanket trigger warning for: panic attacks, PTSD, self-harm, survivor's guilt, and other related things. I am going to keep this at a T rating, because nothing is super explicit, and I plan to keep things that way. But please be safe and let me know if I go further than the rating suggests.
Edits made: 11/12/2021
Ch.1
"Alliana, come over here and meet your neighbors!" shouted her aunt.
"I am coming," Alliana shouted back. She took a deep breath, waving away her annoyance for a moment before plastering a bright, serene smile and joining her aunt, who has been joined by a large family of many children.
The woman who must be the mother walked over to Alliana and greeted her, "Hello, my name is Esther. These are my children." She introduces the group.
"Finn, my eldest," a tall, thin man with medium brown hair nods in Alliana's direction.
"Elijah, my second eldest," a tall, strong young man with dark wavy hair greets her. "Hello."
"Niklaus, my third son," an older boy with blonder hair and deep blue eyes who barely looks at her is introduced.
"Kol, my fourth son," a boy with dark brown hair walks over to her. He grabs her hand, kisses it, and winks at her.
"Rebekah, my daughter," a girl with light blonde hair and blue eyes smiles at Alliana.
"And finally, Henrik, my youngest," a young boy with medium brown hair, waves to her.
Alliana greeted them all in return, never changing her expression from the polite but friendly grin despite the thoughts now racing through her mind.
Her aunt was the one to introduce her. "This is my brother's child, Alliana. She will be staying here with us for a while."
Alliana fought valiantly to not let any of the ugly emotions show on her face and succeeded. "Hello," she greeted. Her smile was warm, but her eyes and demeanor displayed more hesitancy. At least, that is what it seemed to the other family.
Esther looked over the girl and without turning said, "Rebekah, can you show Alliana where to collect water?" Esther decided "She will do chores with you".
"Yes, mother," Rebekah said, nodding. She turned to the new girl. "Come follow me."
She started to walk towards the forest and Alliana followed quietly. The trees were tall and a bright vivid green. They forest was light and spacious. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, making them look brighter than usual. It was a beautiful spring day. After spending the majority of the walk quiet, she followed Rebekah further into the forest, contemplating how to get the other girl to open up.
"We collect water from the creek not too far from here. It is fed by a waterfall a little further down. My brothers and I love to play there. When it's warm and we are finished with our chores, of course," Rebekah told her.
"It must be nice to have such a large family," Alliana commented to the younger girl.
"At times. My brothers and I are all different," Rebekah replied.
"Tell me about them," Alliana said, smirking.
Rebekah stopped and looked at the new girl, who smiled at her gently when she noticed the blonde girl looking at her. Rebekah smiled back and continued to give more details about the different brothers. Finn, the thoughtful. Elijah, the moral protector. Niklaus, the artist. Kol, the trickster. And Henrik, the youngest.
Alliana stopped paying attention to the blonde's ramblings. "It must be nice. My family is not as close," Alliana replied, looking off into the distance.
Rebekah leaped at the opening, "I wondered why you are here. The village doesn't get too many new people."
Alliana hid her smirk with behind her polite smile, "I asked my parents if I could leave. They sent me here to my aunt."
"They just let you go? Why? Did they not want you to stay?"
Alliana flinched slightly before fixing her smile, "They knew that I wanted to see new places. My aunt's counts as somewhere new, I suppose."
"I cannot believe they would let you go. My family never lets me go anywhere" Rebekah complains.
"If it would make you feel better, my parents are probably going to send my sister here soon."
"You have a sister?"
Another small flinch, "Yes, she is my twin sister."
"A twin? My closest sibling is Kol, who is a summer older than me. What is having a twin like?"
"As I said, we are not close. We are very different."
"What is she like?"
Alliana took a deep breath before saying, "Her name is Tatia…."
"Jeremy, Elena, Emilia! It's time to get up for school!" Aunt Jenna shouts.
Finally, I can leave my room. It's been ages. But there's no need to worry Jenna about the night I had. One quick look at the mirror. Okay, hair. My milk chocolate waves look more like stringy frizz, so I'll put it back. My average eyes are surrounded by puffy, dark circles but at least that can be fixed by my beloved bottle of concealer. Too bad the familiar process of covering up can't erase the dead look in my eyes. Oh, maybe I should try using better words.
Be grateful, Em. You are alive. It's better than…
It's a new year, Emilia Gilbert. A new year for you, for the Gilbert family, even if it smaller now… You can do this.
Quick check, and I'm good to go. Well, good enough for me. Ok, let's not go down that lane.
I grab my sketchbook and walk downstairs to see Aunt Jenna rushing around the kitchen. "Toast, I can make toast," she says.
"I can eat some cereal. They just need some coffee," I say as I walk to the cupboard.
"Yeah, it's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna," says Elena as she walks in. My twin is looking good, as always. Ok, I said I wasn't going down that lane. I am glad to see her looking more like herself after the way this summer has been. This is a good thing. New year for the Gilbert's.
"Is there coffee?" says Jeremy as he walks in. Elena hands him the coffee pot.
"It is your first day of school and I am totally unprepared. Lunch money?" Jenna says as she offers us some cash. I shouldn't have expected anything else, really.
"We're good," Elena and I say, while Jeremy takes some of the money.
Jenna rushes around the kitchen, searching for things. "Anything else? A number two pencil? What am I missing?"
"Don't you have a big presentation today?" I remind her as I finish my cereal and start to clean up.
"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at…now. Crap," Jenna starts rushing and grabbing her stuff. Yikes. I definitely wouldn't want to miss that meeting.
I give her a small push, "Then go. We will be fine." Jenna rushes out and I turn to my twin. And she's zoned out. I nudge her. She takes a moment to shake out of her wool-gathering. I turn to Jeremy and ask him, "Are you okay?"
"Don't start," he says as he turns away and walks out. The attitude is getting to be a bit much. But it's been like this all summer, with a disconnect that's been there…even longer. God, I'm being stupid and naïve. Why should have I have expected something different? And speaking of stuff like the summer, Elena is zoned out again.
I finish the last of her coffee and push her out the door. I sigh, "This is going to be a long day."
Bonnie is driving us to school. Elena won shotgun, so forgive me for being quiet in the back seat. I should've driven today. I can drive. I am over my issues with cars. It's just better if I'm the one driving. And Elena is spacing out again. Yikes, we are not starting the day great. Luckily, I still have half an ear on Bonnie. Better to hear her rambling about Grams telling her that she is psychic, than water. I mean sure, psychic, that's what it is.
Bonnie finally notices that Elena is not paying attention and calls out to her. "Elena! Back in the car."
"Oh, I did it again, didn't I?" Elena wakes up and responds.
"Totally spacing out. Yes, yes you were," I tell her.
Elena makes a face at me and I chuckle. She turns to Bonnie and says, "I'm sorry Bonnie. You were telling us that…"
"That I'm psychic now," Bonnie says.
"Right. Okay, then predict something." says Elena.
"About us," I say.
Bonnie sighs, then says, "I see..." Right as a bird crashes into the windshield. We all gasp, and Bonnie swerves the car, and then stops it. I stop and take a breath. My heart is pounding in my chest. Breathe, breathe, breathe. It's air, not water. Focus on Bonnie. She's here, in the driver's seat, not Dad. Bonnie turns to us, "Are you guys okay?"
"It's okay. We're fine," I say. God, I'm a fucking liar. Fake it 'til you make it. Which by the look on Elena's face, goes for both of us.
"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere," Bonnie explains.
"No, really. We can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of our lives," Elena tells Bonnie. I mean that may be true when speaking in terms of 'the rest of our lives', but for now, it's okay my hands are shaking. This is fine. I think the fact that we are in a car is enough to count as good. I mean, for Elena. I am over my issues with cars. Fake it 'til I make it.
Bonnie sighs. "I predict that this year is going to be kick-ass and I predict that all the sad and dark times are over, and you guys are going to be beyond happy. Both of you." Elena and I smile at Bonnie and she smiles back. As soon as she turns, my smile drops.
"Okay. Let's go," I sigh.
Bonnie, Elena, and I are walking down the hallways, trying to quietly pass through our classmates greeting each other after the summer apart. Ugh, the enthusiasm is giving me a headache. I'm not great in crowds. Luckily, no one wants to deal with the 'Death Twins' so we get a bit of leeway and make it to Bonnie's locker. I chuckle at something Bonnie says and look around. I spot Matt, who is looking forlornly at Elena. Crap. Technically, he and I were friends first, starting forever ago. Way before he and Elena started going out in freshman year. But she dumped him back in the spring after our parents died, and he's avoiding us both. I think the whole town knows that I don't look enough like my twin to get away with being confused for her, but I'm lumped with her in his mind. Demonstrated when Elena waves at him, and he just grabs a book from his locker and walks away.
Elena turns and leans against the lockers. She sighs and says, "He hates me."
Bonnie grabs a few books and says, "That's not hate. That's 'You dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's Greatest Hits.'"
I laugh and comment, "Air Supply, really?" before I am suddenly grabbed and pulled into a bear hug by someone.
I jump and reach for my bag when I hear the person gripping me speak, "Emilia. Elena. Oh my god. How are you? It's so good to see you guys." It's only Caroline, my blonde best friend. It's just Caroline. I relax as she lets go of me and pulls Elena into a hug. She lets go of my twin and asks Bonnie, "How are they? Are they good?" She pulls me into another bear hug. This time, I'm prepared, so I laugh and hug her back. I've missed my bubbly best bud. I chuckle in my head, because she would hate to hear me call her 'Bud'.
"Caroline, we are right here. We are fine," says Elena.
"Yeah Care. We are fine, but I still need to breathe." She lets me go. "We are great. Thanks."
"Really?"
"Yeah, much better," my twin says.
"Oh, you poor things." Caroline grabs Elena again. I laugh at Elena's face. She doesn't always get along with Caroline, but she has to love her. I wouldn't accept anything different.
"Okay, Caroline," says Elena.
Caroline lets her go. "I'll see you guys later?" She asks. "Ok. Bye," she waves as she rushes away. She breezes out with as much energy as she breezed in. I am still giggling at Elena and how uncomfortable she was.
Elena glares at Bonnie and at me, "No comments," she pleads.
"I wasn't going to say anything," Bonnie says.
We continue to walk down the hallways; my minds wonders over what this year is going to be like. All I can think is that this year will be different. I shudder as I realize, it can't be anything other than a positive difference.
As we pass the front office, Bonnie tells us to hold up, "Who is this?" she asks, referring to a stranger in a leather jacket.
Elena says, "All I see is his back."
It's fine. Everything's fine. I look at Elena and Bonnie who turn to face me. I guess they are expecting me to contribute. "It's a hot back," I comment offhandedly. I look again at the new guy. He is taller than us and built muscular. If this were freshman year again, all I would notice were things that point to an attractive figure. Nice leather jacket, form-fitting in a way that shows off his body in a hot way. But this isn't freshman year. Now, he's an unknown. And that means danger.
"I'm sensing Seattle and plays the guitar," Bonnie continues.
"You are really gonna really run this whole this psychic thing into the ground, huh?" I ask, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, pretty much," Bonnie replies.
Elena is staring at the new guy with far more interest. I should have expected something like that, I guess. Elena and boys, some things never change. I roll my eyes and look around in time to spot Jeremy looking shifty as he walks into the bathroom. That's one thing I wish would've changed.
"Elena, let's go," I say as I grab her arm. "We will be right back, Bon." We follow our brother into the bathroom and spot him putting drops into his eyes. I know him too well to guess that he's just using allergy drops.
Elena walks up to Jeremy and gets in his face. She looks into his red, dilated eyes. "Great. It's the first day of school and you are already stoned."
"No, I'm not," he defends. But Elena is disbelieving and starts to fight Jeremy, as she is trying to go through his pockets for his stash of weed, while he tries to block her. I stand back, watching and sighing internally. This again.
They keep fighting until Jeremy says, "Look, stop! I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?"
Elena rebuts, "You haven't seen crazy. We gave you a summer pass, but that is over. I am done watching you destroy yourself." He goes to get up when Elena stops him and finishes, "You know what. Go ahead. Keep it up, but just know that one of us will be there every time to ruin your buzz. Got that?" Someone flushes the toilet and the tense mood is broken as the fact that we are in a bathroom seems to occur to all of us at the same time.
Elena starts to leave when I speak up, "Jere, I know who you are, and it is not this person. So, don't be like this. It's been a hard summer for all of us, and we need you to come back, not whoever this is." I give him a look trying to show how disappointed I am in him. God, it's only been a few months, but I am tired of being this role. I loved being the responsible sibling, I didn't ask to be the parent as well. I look down and murmur more to myself then my two siblings, "They people we turned into while grieving cannot be out personalities for the rest of our lives."
He looks guilty for just a second, which gives me hope. But then he gets up with his current usual attitude, "I don't need this," and leaves.
My sister and I look at each other and just sigh.
We leave the bathroom, with her leading us to our shared first class. She bumps into someone. And it's the mysterious stranger from before. As I guessed, he is tall and muscular and attractive, with brown hair and dark green eyes. And by the looks he is giving my sister, he is totally into her. Wow, it took a whole three seconds for her to ensnare a new one. That has to be a record.
"Uh, sorry…This is the men's room, right?" he asks.
"Yes, um. I was just- We were just…um." My sister stumbles over her words. Wow, Elena. I know he's pretty, but this is a new level.
"My sister is trying to say that we were in the bathroom because of our brother and some family issues. It's kind of a long story. We are just going to get out of your way." I nudge Elena's arm and start to walk away with Elena following, but then Elena and the new guy run into each other again. They both try to go the other way and run into each other again. Yikes. The longer the interaction goes on, the more tense I get. If this were a romantic comedy, then I could laugh at the meet cute. But this is the real world, and something in me has alarms ringing. New guy finally stops to let Elena pass and we can finally make it to class.
"He was totally checking you out," I whisper to my twin. A warning.
"Shut up," she giggles back. A warning that she didn't pick up on.
Throughout the day, in every class they share (and I am in with them), Elena and the new guy, were exchanging glances. It would be cute if it weren't annoying. As always, Elena is the pretty one, she gets the guy. It's fine; I'm used to it. This is just the way the world works. Plus, she is my sister - my twin - and I love her. So, I'll always support and protect her. She can see the world as full of potential romance; I don't want to take that from her. Especially after a summer of complete doom and gloom. I'll focus on studying first and being there in case it isn't the world she dreams of.
After school, Elena and I walk to the cemetery to spend some time with our parents. Well, their gravestone. It's something Elena started doing this summer after one too many sleepless nights. It seems to help her, so I come with for support. It's not my favorite activity, as it's very easy for the mind to wander. My gravestone should be right there, next to their shared one. Or would I be placed in the same plot? What would my epithet say? Beloved daughter, taken too soon? What would the neighbors say about me when I was gone?
Ok, no. Focus. Breathe. I'm here. I'm present. I'm alive. And I'm free. Let's focus on that.
Elena is writing in her journal as I draw in my sketchbook. I am sketching the gravestone, which seems incredibly morbid, but we are hanging out in a cemetery after school. We can't get more morbid than this. This is actually an improvement over some of our low moments, this summer. The visit starts as usual, with us placing flowers on the grave before sitting down and moving on to our activities. This time changes with a crow landing on our parents' gravestone.
Elena greets it with a small, "Hi, bird." Then fog starts to roll in.
Elena and I look at the fog and the bird, then to each other. "This is not creepy at all," I comment, sarcastically. Apparently, things can get more morbid.
Elena gets up to shoo the bird and mumbles, "That's what I thought," when it leaves. She turns to face where she was sitting when the bird appears on top of the statue that I am currently at the base of. Its squawking scares me into jumping up to stand next to my sister. Elena reaches down to grab her bag before I grab her hand and we rush away from the fog and persistent bird. Once we are close to the tree line, she looks back. Amateur mistake. I focus on running faster and pulling her behind me. I don't know if it's my fault for pulling too hard or just Elena's unfamiliarity with managing running through the wood terrain, but she falls. When she gets up, she runs into the new guy, quite literally, again.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
Elena takes a second to breathe out a few heavy breaths from the running before asking, "Were you following us?" I look back. Was there someone following us? I clamp my mouth shut to not let my breathing increase in any way.
"No, I, uh, I just-, I saw you fall," he responds. He seems shifty about his answer which means that I am now definitely paying closer attention to him.
"Uh huh," Elena comments. "And you just happen to be hanging out in a cemetery," she says, sarcastically. Hate to point out the hypocrisy of that, but…
"I'm visiting. I, uh, I have family here," the guy says. Yikes. I guess she forgot that we can't have a monopoly on tragedy.
"Oh," my sister eloquently responds. "Wow. Tactless." Yeah, that's usually my thing. Or Caroline's. "I'm sorry. It's the fog, it's making me foggy." Wow, the eloquence continues. "And back there, there was this bird. And it was all very Hitchcock for a second." I nod my agreement, but he seems focused on smiling at Elena's rambling. Hah, wow, called it. This guy is into Elena. I stop watching him for a second to roll my eyes. "That is the bird movie, right, the Hitchcock?" She breathes and chuckles out a light laugh before, "I'm Elena. And this is my twin sister, Emilia."
"I'm Stefan," he introduces himself. Well, it's nice to finally have a name and not 'stranger' or 'new guy'. I mean he's still a stranger, but I don't have to call him that.
"I know. We have history together," Elena replies.
"And English and French." Wow, dude. Way to be even more obvious.
"Right," Elena comments. Stefan notices a piece of grass in Elena's hair and gently pulls it out. Elena thanks him and they stare at each other for a few moments. Wow, I suddenly fully understand what it means to be invisible. Elena looks down, notices and comments, "Nice ring."
"Oh, uh, it's a family ring," Stefan says as he twiddles with it. "I'm kinda stuck with it. It's weird, huh?"
"No, no. It's just, I mean, there are rings, and then there's that," Elena responds. I mean she's right. The ring is huge and blue. Is that lapis lazuli?
Stefan and Elena stare at each other for a few more seconds before Stefan starts frowning and asks, "Did you hurt yourself?" Elena hums her confusion and Stefan asks again.
Elena responds with, "Oh, uh, I don't know." She moves to stand on a nearby stump to roll up her pant leg, which reveals a cut on her shin, above her socks. "Oh, look at that." It's a gash, but it's barely anything. Just a small dribble of blood. The worst danger would be infection.
I finally enter the conversation, swinging my bag over my shoulder to search for some bandages I keep inside, "Here, Elena, I've got something in here somewhere."
Stefan has turned his back to us and Elena notices, asking him, "You ok?"
He nods and says, "You should go…take care of that."
Elena rolls down her pant leg as I find the bandage and says, "Really, it's nothing." But she stops and I see that Stefan has disappeared. Like completely. Hmm.
Elena looks to me and I shrug casually and hand her the bandage. She rolls her pant leg up again and as she places the bandage on the cut, I look around for the new guy, Stefan, again. His disappearance is odd. Elena pops up with a smile, which I return and we head home.
We are about to leave to meet Bonnie and Caroline at the Grille, telling Aunt Jenna on the way out. She gives us an "Ok, have fun," before she stops and says, "Wait, I've got this." She then puts her hands on her hips and says, "Don't stay out late, it's a school night." Without the joking tone, she would sound exactly like Mom. And the thought doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Wow, growth.
Elena and I chuckle, and I congratulate her with a "Well done, Aunt Jenna."
Elena and I are opening the door, about to step out, when again, Elena runs into the new guy, Stefan. Yikes. Three time in one day. What the heck is with this?
"Sorry I was about to knock," Stefan says. Sure, that explains the weird chilling on our doorstep thing. "I wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier. I know it was … strange." Yeah, no kidding. And the strange behavior continues with this apology on our doorstep that you know where it is, complete stranger.
"No worries," Elena replies. "I get it. Blood makes you squeamish."
"Um, something like that," he says. "How's your leg?" Really? Not gonna explain you knowing where our house is?
"Oh, it's fine," Elena answers. "Just a scratch, barely."
I take the moment to interject my burning question, "Yeah, how did you know where we lived?"
He finally looks to me for a moment, as if just noticing I was there. Wow, fabulous. "It's a small town," he says. "I asked the first person I saw." He turns back to Elena and reaches into his back pocket before saying, "I thought you might want this back," pulling out Elena's journal.
"Oh, I must have dropped it. Thank you," Elena says.
"Don't worry, I didn't …read it." I wouldn't have assumed that before he mentioned it. Now, though…
"No?" Elena questions. "Why not? Most people would have."
"Well, I wouldn't want anyone to read mine." And cue another intense stare down that I don't need to be present for.
"You keep a journal?" Elena asks in pleasant surprise.
"Yeah, if I don't write it down, I forget it. Memories are too important." And another stare down. Yikes, what is it with these two and exchanging intense glances? If Elena would move her body, I could leave them to it. But again, stranger, so I'm a witness to whatever this is.
"Yeah…I'm just gonna, um, you don't have to stay out there," Elena says as she walks past me, back inside to put her journal down. I stay in the open doorway, not blocking but holding the door open and watch Elena put down her book, keeping an eye on the new guy.
He looks at the doorway for a moment and says, "I'm fine." After a few moments, Elena peeks her head back outside. Stefan asks, "Sorry, were you going somewhere?"
"Yeah, we are meeting some friends," Elena responds, referring to me, as if I have ever been a part of this conversation. "Do you wanna come?" Ugh! I stare at Elena in shock. She's just going to invite a random dude to hang out with our friends. This was supposed to be our night. I haven't seen Bonnie and Caroline for months! I sigh inwardly. At least this will be in a public place. Stefan nods and we head off, with the two of them in front and me, silent and invisible to the pair, lagging behind. The Grille is a wonderful sight by the time we reach it. Well, except for the stares that come from entering with the new kid.
After a slightly awkward introduction between everyone, Caroline, Bonnie, Elena, Stefan and I are sitting around a table at the Grille. Elena and Stefan are sitting next to each other, sneaking glances, and Bonnie and I are sending looks between us. Elena and Stefan's looks are not subtle; we know exactly what they are thinking. It's kind of cute, if I have to be honest. And Caroline is questioning Stefan like the police question a suspect. Caroline may not like it, but she is her mother's daughter.
"So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline asks.
"Yeah. I moved away when I was still young." Stefan replies.
"Parents?"
"My parents passed away," he answers, first looking towards Caroline and Bonnie and then shifting his focus to my twin for a much longer time. Well, they have something in common.
"I'm sorry," Elena responds. Stefan nods to her.
"Any siblings?" I ask.
"None that I talk to," Stefan looks over to me when he replies, then back to Elena. Again, not subtle. Wow, I can't imagine not speaking to your sibling at all. Even at our- my- worst, I still chatted with Elena, even if I was keeping silent about things.
"I live with my uncle," he continues. And another thing they have in common. Although, these vague answers are not helping me feel better about him being a part of our lives now. Because based on how many looks have been exchanged (which would've been a great drinking game), his interest is well-established and not looking to change any time soon.
Caroline, trying to shift Stefan's attention back to her, tries to start another conversation. "So, Stefan, if you're new than you don't know about the party tomorrow."
"It's this 'back to school' thing they do at the falls," Bonnie says.
"They do it every year. It's a lot of fun," I add, sardonically, "I mean as much fun as a bunch of drunk high schoolers and a bonfire can get."
"Are you going?" Stefan asks my sister. And that's the cherry on top of their 'obvious feelings' sundae. I gotta give him credit; he is willing to go after what he wants. Based on the way this night was going, I figured they would just stare at each other all night.
"Of course, she is." Bonnie says. Elena looks at Bonnie and then me. Her eyes asking if she should go, the doubt clouding her usual decisiveness. Parties are hard after what happened this spring, but I nod to her, lightly, telling her she should go. I hope I'm not going to regret this. She looks down, brushes a piece of hair behind her ear, looks at Stefan, and smiles. They just smile at each other. The absolutely obviousness is starting to affect even Caroline, who is looking a little put out. I look down at my phone to check the time.
"Elena, I think we have to go. Jenna is waiting for us." I start to get up. Elena follows looking back towards Stefan.
"Yeah, I should probably be getting back as well. My uncle is waiting." He gets up and grabs his jacket. We all leave together. Great. I walk behind them listening to music and just letting them talk. I can't deal with them anymore, but I don't stop watching him just in case. He walks us all the way home and we thank him.
We go inside and I start laughing at my sister, trying to be positive for her sake, "You are totally into Stefan! You guys are cute together. You keep exchanging these glances with each other and staring deep into his eyes," I say this while doing a ridiculous impression of a swooning lady. Elena laughs and pushes me. I continue, "I thought you guys wouldn't notice if Caroline, Bonnie, and I just left." Ugh, I hate being this fake, but she needs me to be positive. Doing it for her. Doing it for her.
Elena laughs and blushes hard, "Let's just stop talking about it."
"I am so telling Bonnie about this tomorrow."
The next day, we are in Tanner's History class. Ugh, I hate his class. Somehow, he ruins my favorite subject by being an ass. I think he hates everyone; I love history and he still hates me. He also never calls on someone when they know the answer. Which means, he never calls on me. In class, we are talking about the Battle of Willow Creek, which happened in Mystic Falls. He is asking different people about the details of the battle, all of which I know, due to all the years of listening to the Historical Society, but as always, he doesn't call on me. Damn this small school for not having an AP history class. I would kill for a better teacher, but for now, I settle for doodling and texting Bonnie about Elena and Stefan, until he calls on her, asking about casualties of the war.
"Miss Bennett?" Tanner calls on Bonnie.
"Um…a lot? I'm not sure, but like a whole lot," she answers. She sends a silly look my way and my whole chest feels light. She's heard enough of my explanations over the years to have an idea of the death toll, but she played stupid for me.
"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett." Tanner replies. Well, screw you, dude. She just looks down and goes back to her own doodling/texting me.
"Mr. Donovan." Matt looks up. "Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"
"It's okay, Mr. Tanner; I'm cool with it." I actually chuckle at this one, but very quietly.
Mr. Tanner then decides to call on my sister, "Miss Elena Gilbert," I know he emphasizes her name because he doesn't want me to answer. Asshole. "Surely, you can enlighten us about one of this town's most significantly historical events?" My sister just looks at him with a blank face.
"I'm sorry. I don't know,' she says. I mean, it sucks, but she really doesn't know. She's never been as invested in town history as me, but no one really is. She was also zoned out again. She was probably thinking about our parents, or Stefan. Probably Stefan due to some more of those exchanged glances earlier in class.
"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break." Tanner's voice brings me out of my thoughts and, once I register what he said, into anger. With the broken look on my sister's face, I am about ready to punch him. Stefan's voice breaks me out of my anger.
"There were 346 casualties, unless you are counting local civilians." He knows his history.
"That's correct, Mister…." Tanner replied.
"Salvatore." Like the founding family?
"Salvatore. Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?" See Tanner, we think alike. We could get along if you weren't an ass.
"Distant," as Stefan says this, he gets a strange look on his face. I can't tell what it means. Tanner continues on with his class.
"Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle." Tanner goes to turn back to the board, when Stefan interjects, making Tanner turn back to him.
"Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on a church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The Founder's Archives are, uh, stored in Civil Hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner." The entire class, including me starts chuckling. I gotta say that it felt good. Mr. Tanner continues on with the class, looking kind of pissed the entire time. Hmm, maybe I could learn to like 'new guy'.
It's already packed by the time Elena and I get to the party at the Falls. Some people are dancing, others are making out, and most people are drinking. Eventually including my group of friends. I don't drink anymore. The scent of stale beer makes me gag. And I don't like being drunk, having my senses be dulled like that. But Elena and Bonnie are more carefree teenagers, so they are drinking. It's fine. I'll be the designated driver.
Bonnie, in her tipsy wonder, starts to tease Elena about Stefan.
"Just admit it, Elena," Bonnie taunts my twin.
"Oh, okay, fine. So, he's a little pretty," my twin says.
"Lena, that is a huge understatement and you know it," I say. Even I can admit he's appealing and that's saying something. Although he's since lost his charm for me due to his intense focus on Elena. I wouldn't want to be into someone who is only focused on my sister. I mean, that limits my choices to the extreme. But I learned a long time ago that no one wins against Elena. I've seen Caroline try enough to never want to have to go through it myself. Case and point: her with Stefan.
"He has that romance novel stare," Bonnie says.
Putting on a fake narrator voice as I tease, "Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul," performing the action on Bonnie. Elena blushes and Bonnie and I laugh.
"So, where is he?" Bonnie asks, looking around.
Elena joins the quick search, "I don't know."
I glance around again, nothing new to notice, "How much you want to bet that Caroline or some other girl stole him away?" I ask. Just because he stood up to Tanner doesn't mean he's entirely off the hook. He could be a womanizer under that charm. Or worse.
"Or how about you tell us, Bonnie. You are the psychic one," Elena points out.
"Right, I forgot. Okay, give me a sec," Bonnie says. "Grams says I have to concentrate."
"Wait, you need a crystal ball." Elena looks around.
"What about that empty beer bottle?" I ask, while I grab it. "Ta Da! Here, try this." We all laugh as I hand the bottle to Bonnie. Elena tries to help pass the bottle to Bonnie reaching for it, when all our hands touch at the same time. Bonnie's eyes open wide very quickly. She stares at us with the wide-eye look for a few seconds and then drops our hands immediately. Wow, what did she see?
"That was weird," she says.
"What?" Elena and I ask at the same time.
"When I touched you, I saw a crow." Elena and I look at each other.
"What?" I ask again.
"A crow. There was fog, and a man." Elena and I just look at each other, knowing what the other is thinking. I go to explain when Bonnie pivots, "I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There is nothing psychic about it." Bonnie grabs the bottle. Elena and I keep staring at her slowly retreating figure. "Yeah, okay. I am going to get a refill." Bonnie finally turns and starts speed-walking away. I call after her, but as I start to follow, Elena grabs my arm panicked. I turn to question her, when we see Stefan walk up to us.
"Hi." He greets.
Elena smiles back and she gives me a look I know well and desperately wish to ignore. It's the 'go away baby sister' look, which is stupid because I'm only 15 minutes younger. She used to use it all the time when she and Matt started dating, but I wasn't nearly as worried back then as I am now. She stares harder and I can feel her begging me to give her some alone time. I can't help when she begs.
So, I point in the direction that Bonnie just went and take a few steps that way, "I am gonna go after Bonnie. I will find you guys later."
I try really hard not to stay nearby and keep watch. I have to let some of my protective instincts go, no matter how badly I don't want to. As I am walking away, I see Jeremy, wandering around, under some kind of substance. I groan. He's probably chasing after Vicki. She is Matt's sister, so I can't hate her, but she's always been reckless, following in her mom's footsteps- especially now that she is into drugs- and taking advantage of Matt's generosity. And while I would never say it directly, I don't like her with my brother. But he doesn't listen to me anymore. I stop and realize that I'm in the middle of a party, so I take a deep breath and try to ignore it for now. This is my first party in a while, too, and I am going to try to enjoy it as much as I can.
I find Bonnie and Caroline and get to chatting casually about the start of the school year and all our classes, the new gossip, and what not. If they are close to a vantage point in which I can watch Elena and New Guy, then all the better. But someone else, seems to have noticed the efficiency of the spot, because Matt keeps staring at Elena and Stefan who are on the bridge.
I walk over to him and put my arm around his shoulders, "Matty, stop staring. Be happy for her. She isn't as depressed anymore," I say to him. "You saw what she was like after the accident. She blamed herself for going and being a detour for us." I release him and take a step back, lost in the memories. "I was fine, very sad, but fine enough. I got out, stepped up for the family and whatnot. You know what's that like," he nods in response. "But, Elena was in such a dark place and she didn't want to hurt you. I am so sorry, but I have to support her coming back to herself." No matter how much I don't like or trust the way it's happening.
He just looks towards me and takes a sip of his drink. "I know, it's just that I still love her."
I sigh, "I know. She loves you too, just not in the same way. You were her first love. She will always love you. You will always love her, but you need to move on. Be happy with someone who will love you the way you want her to."
Matt pats me on the shoulder. I have to keep myself from flinching. "Thanks, Emmy. I will think about it, but for now, I still believe in us."
He's delusional, but I won't comment. I tell him we should get back to the party. We head closer to the bonfire, meeting up with Elena. Matt takes off to talk to her before I can, so I go off to continue my conversation with Bonnie. A few minutes later, Caroline walks back over to us and starts drinking really heavily.
"Whoa, Caroline slow down," I tell her.
"Guys are stupid," she bursts out in one breath.
"Isn't that the truth," I comment. Bonnie laughs in agreement. I focus on Caroline and realize, oh, I know that look. "This is about Stefan, isn't it?" She just lost another crush to Elena. Poor girl.
Caroline sighs, "Yeah," but she perks up immediately, "I am now going to drink until someone is hot enough to make-out with."
"Have fun with that," Bonnie says to her. I chuckle and look over to see my brother stumble into the woods, Elena following him.
"I gotta go." I go after them into the woods, which is very bad idea in the dark, especially if they are in any way intoxicated. "Jeremy! Elena!" I call out. I wander for a few more minutes before I find them with Jeremy over Vicki's body. "Oh my god." I look over to see her bleeding from her neck. That's not good, for a lot of reasons. "Jeremy, help me get her up. I'll put pressure on her wound, while you carry her. Elena, call for help."
We start walking back to the party with Elena calling for someone to help us. Matt and Tyler run over. Everybody tries to swarm around her. Tyler asks for the crowd to give her some space. We lay her on a picnic table. My hands are against her neck. I can feel her blood is rushing out from her wound. I'm trying to scream out instructions over the crowd's noise, "It's her neck. I think something bit her. She is bleeding really badly. Someone grab me something to help! I need something to soak up the blood and help place pressure on her neck other than just my hands."
"Here, try this," Elena hands me something, I think it's a forgotten sweater. I don't care; all I notice is that I can use it to soak up some blood. As I remove my hand to replace it with the sweater, I notice that the wound has a sickeningly familiar look to it. But as the blood starts rushing out again, I focus on trying to stop the blood loss. I look up for a moment to search for a hopefully incoming ambulance when I notice Stefan with an alarmed face, leaving very quickly. I look back down at Vicki. Somebody eventually calls an ambulance, which comes and takes Vicki from me. I am having trouble washing off most of her blood from my hands. It doesn't help that my hands are shaking. The party has mostly been cleared, because the police and animal control are swarming around this area. Elena, with her arm around me, and I watch as Matt follows Vicki into the ambulance. I'm not sure how much I'm really seeing any more. My thoughts are rushing too fast.
Bonnie walks over to us, "Hey, we are going to mainline coffee. Wait for some news," she tells us.
"Someone needs to take Jeremy home," Elena points out. I turn to Elena and we have one of our 'twin psychic' conversations. I should be the one to take Jeremy. I haven't had anything to drink, unlike Elena. But I could freak out Jeremy more with Vicki's blood still on my hands. She grabs my wrists above the blood stains and squeezes them, nodding her understanding. "We'll be fine," she whispers.
"I'll go with you, Bon," I announce, turning to face her.
We move to walk our separate directions when Bonnie takes a breath and says, "Guys, there is no way I'm psychic. I know that. But whatever I saw, or I think I saw, I have this feeling…that it is only the beginning," Bonnie says. Elena and I exchange nervous glances, but she shrugs them off. Things to be done. I can't help but dwell more on the ominous message.
I shake myself out for a moment, just enough to whisper to Elena, "I'll see you at home. Tell Jenna I will be home in a couple hours." And we hug goodbye.
I follow Bonnie and Caroline to the Grille, where we get coffee. The night has hit Caroline hard, because she is super plastered. Well, I guess it has hit all of us hard in different ways. I switch my order to tea after I try to lift my hot cup and start shaking. I don't need caffeine jitters too.
"Are you sober yet?" I ask my best friend after minutes of helping her drink coffee and water. A trip to the bathroom for me, along with some good scrubbing has left my arms clean and stinging but has made me calmer. Or just given me the time to compartmentalize enough to sit quietly next to my drunk friend.
The girl in question lifts her head up, pauses, and says, "Nope," before her attempt to hold her head up is unsuccessful, and it falls back to the table.
"Well, keep drinking," Bonnie tells her. "I gotta get both you and Emmy home…I gotta get me home."
"Why didn't he go for me?" Caroline asks. Bonnie and I instantly know she is talking about Stefan. "You know how come, the guys that I want, never want me?" Oof, too heavy to talk about now.
"We are not going to touch that," Bonnie replies.
"I'm inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing. And…Elena always says the right thing." Caroline sighs. I guess we are talking about it. "She doesn't even try! And he just picks her. And she is always the one that everyone picks, for everything. And I try so hard, and I'm never the one." You and me both, Caroline.
"It's not a competition, Caroline," Bonnie tries to comfort her.
"Yeah, it is." Caroline replies. Again, she's not wrong.
"Bonnie, why don't you get more coffee. I will talk to Care Bear here," I tell Bonnie. She nods and gets up. I slide closer to Caroline and wrap her in a side hug, "Care, I know that it is really hard to compete against Elena. I know better than anyone, I am her twin. I had to compete with her for space in the womb." Caroline drunkenly giggles and I continue, "I've had to compete against her for almost everything and I know that she will always be the prettier one. But I, I mean we, both of us, just have to hope for the day when someone sees past that. There will be someone who will see the amazingness that is Caroline Forbes. And you just have to hope that he comes soon. And when he comes, you will know, because you will be his top choice." She stares at me for a minute and sloppily hugs and thanks me, before she returns to her slumped position. Well then. I probably just wasted a perfectly good speech on drunk Caroline, who is going to remember none of this, but oh well. "I am going to find Bonnie. Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah," she sighs. I pat her shoulder before I get up and get Bonnie to take me home. But not before getting one of the bartenders to look out for our drunk friend. Maybe getting them to call the Sheriff, aka Caroline's mom, to take her very drunk daughter home would be a good idea.
When I get home, I find Jeremy on the couch, looking at a picture of our parents. I see Jenna looking at him, silently offering her support. I try to memorize the moment. It's good to see the remaining Gilbert's trying. It's really nice to catch a glimpse of the real Jeremy.
I find Elena in her room, sitting on her window seat, writing in her journal, so I sit down with her.
"What are you writing about?" I ask.
"I was writing about how I wanted to change. I wanted to be better, more alive," she replies. "But, it is so hard. The bad things of the past always follow you." She is right in more ways than one.
I take a deep breath. "Buckle up, because I'm in a speech mood. I just wasted a good one on trashed Caroline, so listen up." Elena laughs and jokingly snuggles into her spot. "I think that you are more alive. You looked more alive than I have seen ever since Mom and Dad died. And it was a rough summer for all of us." Even longer for me if I think about it, which I won't. "And, so what if the bad follows. There's all kinds of good around. And we are around to see that. We totally have all kinds of good karma coming our way and that's going to outweigh all the bad things that have happened. You just need to be prepared to accept it. Because when it does come, and it will, you – we - have to be able to invite it in." I look down and rub my forearms and murmur, "We both need the good stuff to come." I clasp my hands tightly before looking outside the window and noticing a familiar figure. Ugh. I sigh and turn back to my sister. I'm going to regret this. I nod my head towards where Stefan is standing. "Invite the good in, Lena. I'll see you in the morning." I give her a hug and go to my room.
I really hope Stefan is the start of something good.
A/N: Hey, so this is a rewrite of this fic. I am sorry for not updating for five years, but for most of them I did not have a computer to write on. But I did have a lot of ideas for the story. Seeing as I never got to the parts with the Originals, I had plenty of plans, ideas, and guilt over not making it there, that was going to waste. But, as the plans took more solid shape, I realized how I wanted to fit Emilia in wouldn't make sense with how I had been writing her. So, I downloaded all of what I had published to the story and I realized how bad it was. I think my ideas were good, but the execution of the details of the episodes and Emilia's characterization were lacking. I've matured and so has my writing, so this should be a lot better. Again, please tell me if you agree or ways to continue improving. No flames and keep everything respectful.
A/N 2: I went back before the 2-year anniversary of this rewrite being posted, so look out for mostly minor edits, but also a few new scenes.