Chapter 6 – 162 Candles and The Turning Point 1x08-10
A/N: edit 11/21/21
It had been many weeks since that one happy day. Alliana was spending time with Rebekah and Henrik. She could hear the clashing of blades not too far off. Rebekah and Henrik both noticed.
Rebekah smiled, "Come on, Henrik. Elijah and Niklaus are fighting again." She stopped before turning to her friend, "Alliana, come along!" Rebekah said as she ran off. Henrik soon followed her.
Alliana stopped and smiled before following her friends.
Niklaus pushed Elijah back with his blade. They circled around each other waiting for the next person to strike.
"Oh, look. Sister and Alliana have arrived to watch my fast-approaching victory," Elijah said.
"On the contrary, Elijah," Niklaus boasted as he pointed towards Elijah with his sword. They again started to battle. Swords clashed as they danced around each other in battle. Finally, Niklaus used his sword to cut Elijah's belt. Elijah just looks down at it. "They've come to laugh at you."
Alliana started to giggle first, with everyone else joining in soon after. Niklaus smiled at her.
Esther and Mikael had walked up during the battle. She was carrying a basket while Mikael just had a stern look on his face. Esther was trying to calm Mikael down. "Relax, Mikael. Niklaus means well," she said.
"That is precisely my problem," Mikael replied. Mikael walked up to Elijah. As he did, the smiles and laughter ceased. Mikael just held his hand out to Elijah to give him the sword.
Elijah handed it to him and just stepped back.
"So…" Mikael said, walking slowly around to face Niklaus. "Why don't you teach me that trick, young warrior?"
Mikael slashed his sword at Niklaus, but he defended himself, "Father, we were just having fun," Niklaus said.
"We fight for our survival. And you find time for fun?! I want to have fun! Teach me! Come on," Mikael shouted at him.
"Father, it was nothing," Niklaus replied.
Mikael kept slashing his sword at Nik, who was having a harder time trying to defend himself. Mikael pushed Niklaus' sword away and jabs him in the legs so he falls on his back. Pointing his sword at Niklaus' neck while kneeling on him he said, "You are foolish and impulsive, my boy. What? No more laughter?"
"You've made your point, Mikael," Esther interjected.
Mikael yelled and stabbed his sword into the ground, right next to Niklaus' neck. "Some days, it is a miracle you're still alive…boy." Mikael gets off Niklaus and walks away. Niklaus leans his head back relieved.
Alliana watched the whole episode in horrified fascination
Niklaus, Rebekah, Elijah, Alliana, and Henrik were all spending time together later that day. Mikael saw this and looked around to see that Esther was not near. He took the opportunity. He grabbed Niklaus, dragged him away, and started punching him. He walked away for a second and grabbed a whip. Alliana turned away from the action. After a few cracks of the whip onto Niklaus' body, Mikael walked slowly up to Niklaus. "That was for earlier. Now, you should have learned to never do it again." Mikael then walked away.
Niklaus got up, bleeding from many places and ran as fast as he could away.
Alliana followed him a few seconds later. She followed him to the spot by the waterfall. "Are you alright, Niklaus?" she asked him.
Niklaus just turned away from her. She walked closer to him and could see that he was bleeding and bruised on his face.
"Niklaus! You are bleeding!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him to a spot further upstream, right by the river. Alliana ripped part of Niklaus' already torn shirt and dipped it in water. She started to clean off his face. "I apologize for this."
"It is not the worse he has done," Niklaus somberly replied.
Alliana stared and thought for a moment, before she said, "He has done this before? Why has no one done something?"
"It is none of your concern," Niklaus waved her away.
"Of course, it is. You are my friend and I want you to be happy and safe," Alliana said as she forces him to look into her eyes. She puts a look of worry on her face. He liked the fact that someone cared and smiled at him. Alliana smiled back and they remain that way for a few minutes. When Niklaus turns to the water to continue cleaning his wounds, Alliana smiles falls more into a smirk.
It's been a few days since Halloween when Elena, Jeremy, and I talk with Sheriff Forbes, Caroline's mom, about Vicki's "disappearance." She asks us questions like 'what Vicki was like', 'did she say anything about where she was going', 'was she doing anything different', 'was she talking to anyone new', and other questions like that. I try to answer these questions as honest as possible. It helps, sadly, that Vicki is the type of person to run away, just look at her mom. If only that was what happened, but I know that Vicki was dead. This is the first childhood friend to die. Well, not friend, but I was friends with Matt, so she was around my entire life and now she is dead. A fact I am reminded of every time I see Matt or Jeremy. They would never know what happened to her and that just kills me, something that is hopefully happening in my twin. When we leave the station, Stefan is outside. I leave Elena and Stefan to talk. Ugh the drama continues. Elena is still denying her feelings. I think this week's issue is that she doesn't like all the lying. Well, sorry sis, it just kind of comes with the supernatural territory. Some people have what it takes to be a part of it, others are better left not knowing about it.
Later in the day, Elena is moping on the couch. Jenna flops down on the couch next to her. I move Jenna's legs to sit on her other side.
"You're wallowing," Jenna comments.
"So are you," my twin replies.
Jenna complains, "My wallow is legitimate. I was dumped."
I nudge Jenna with my arm, "Yeah. Well, Logan's a jerk. You can do some much better."
"You didn't get a brushoff email saying, 'I'm leaving town. See ya,'" Jenna whines.
"Wanna keep it down over there?" Jeremy asks from behind us.
"Why? What are you doing?" Jenna asks as she sits up and turns around on the couch to face him.
"Homework," Jeremy replies. Elena and I turn around at the same time.
"Since when do you do homework?" Elena asks suspiciously. My question exactly. I don't think he has touched a book or anything school related since our parents.
Jeremy doesn't even look up from his work as he responds, "I gotta finish this. I'm way behind, and I have a quiz tomorrow, so…"
Elena, Jenna, and I look at each other. I look down immediately when Elena and I make eye contact.
Elena starts, "What do you think? Alien?"
"Some sort of replicant?" Jenna asks.
"Maybe a body-snatcher?" I add. Little do they know that something like that may actually be an option with some supernatural juju.
"He can hear you," Jeremy says, looking at us. He gives us a sarcastic smile for a second, and then he gets back to work. Elena and I actually look at each other that time. What is going on with Jeremy?
Later, Elena keeps the wallowing all day, so I call for backup. Bonnie arrives later to find Elena lying in her bed.
"You up?" Bonnie asks.
Elena rolls over and answers, "No." She tries to pull the covers back over her head, but Bonnie and I pull them back. "No," Elena protests.
"Why haven't you called me back?" Bonnie asks, as she sits on the bed.
"I'm sorry," Elena replies.
I lean over her and poke her, "Are you gonna stay in there forever?"
"Yep," my sister quickly replies.
"Move over," Bonnie commands. Elena scoots over to the center of the bed. Bonnie and I lie on either side of her, under the covers.
"We are officially worried," Bonnie starts, "What's going on?" I know what's going on…Stefan drama. She's still upset over the vampire-reveal that caused the break-up. I'm still mad at Elena for ignoring me about Jeremy's compulsion but I need to help get Elena out of this funk. Ugh, stupid relationship drama getting in the way of family drama.
Elena just keeps staring at the ceiling, not looking either of us in the eye. "I'm tired of thinking, of talking. I-"
"Can I get a one-line version, so I can at least pretend to be helpful?" Bonnie interrupts. Good one.
"Stefan and Elena broke up," I summarize.
"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Bonnie asks. We both just give her a look. "Right. Stupid question." Bonnie sighs. "I know I have been kind of M.I.A. when you need me the most. I suck."
"Want to make it up to me?" Elena asks. "Get my mind off of it."
"I could always use a distraction," I add. Really could use something positive.
Bonnie looks thoughtful for a moment before saying, "Just remember you asked for it." She smiles at us before getting off the bed and closing the window. Elena and I sit up on the bed. Bonnie grabs the pair of scissors on the bedside table and one of Elena's pillows. She takes the pillow out of the pillowcase and tears it open with the scissors.
"Hey!" Elena protests, but Bonnie ignores her. She dumps all the feathers from the pillow onto the bed.
"Uh, be patient," Bonnie orders politely. Elena and I nod. Bonnie sits on the bed in front of Elena and me. "I need to swear you to secrecy." Elena gets this guilty look on her face.
I say what my sister is clearly thinking, "It's kind of a bad week for that kind of stuff."
"Swear, because I am not supposed to be showing you this," Bonnie says. Oh, it's that kind of demonstration. Good for her.
"Okay. We swear," I promise. Elena nods in agreement.
"Okay, there's no windows open, right?" Bonnie says.
Elena looks around, "Right."
"There's no fan, no air conditioning," Bonnie says.
I shake my head, "None. What are you doing?"
"Grams just showed me this. You're gonna love it. You ready?" Bonnie says.
We nod and Bonnie smiles at us. She holds her right hand over the pile of feathers. One lifts underneath her hand. She lifts her hand slightly up and down a few times, the feather following her hand underneath it everywhere it goes. She lets her hand drop and so does the feather. Okay…
"Bonnie, what's going on?" Elena asks.
Bonnie just smiles at us again and rubs her palms together. She opens her hands and set them above the pile of feathers a second time. She lifts both of her hands up and more feathers lift up beneath her hands. Elena just gasps. Bonnie sets her hands down again and the feathers fall back into the pile. She smirks at us and her eyes look up to the ceiling. Lots of feathers fly up into the air and just float around the air. Elena stands up and stares all around in amazement. I keep looking around as well. I can actually feel the magic. It is like a slight tingly feeling dancing on my skin. Elena just starts laughing in amazement. Bonnie sits there calmly. "It's true Emmy, Elena." I look to Elena, who has her hands on her mouth. "Everything my Grams told me. It's impossible, but it's true. I'm a witch."
Elena and I look at each other before looking at all the feathers still swirling around in the air. "We believe you," I say. I always did. We all start laughing again.
A few minutes later, we have cleared away the feathers and we are sitting on the bed. "It's weird, huh?" Bonnie says. "After all this time joking about being psychic, I really am a witch." We all giggle again.
"I still think it is so cool," I remark.
Bonnie looks down. She plays with an extra feather. "You don't think I'm a freak now, do you?" She asks us.
"No, of course not," I reply. There are much worse things to be out there.
"Uh, Bonnie, I just- I don't understand, though. If your Grams asked you to keep this a secret, why did you tell us?" Elena says.
"You guys are my best friends. I can't keep secrets from you," Bonnie says. Elena and I look at each other guiltily. Elena then looks down, but I hide my guilt by forcing a smile on my face. An all too familiar gesture.
Bonnie leaves a while later. We talked for a long time and just hung out. We had a lot of fun and Elena was distracted for a while. But all too soon, Bonnie leaves and I am being dragged to the Salvatore house. Elena needs to talk to Stefan and didn't want to do it alone, so that means I have to come with. As much as I'm mad at her, I can't leave her to walk alone into the vampire's den.
We get out of the car and ring the doorbell.
A woman's voice answers the doorbell, "It's open. Come on in." That's not a familiar voice. I don't know who that is. I prepare myself as Elena and I walk inside. We look around to find a woman with long, blonde hair wrapped in a towel walking towards us. That must be the woman who answered the door. I still don't know her. I palm something I stuck in my waistband before we left.
The mystery woman stops as soon as she sees my twin, "Oh my god," she says. Elena just stares at her. Yeah, the towel doesn't look good within this situation. "How, uh…wh…who," the woman stutters out. She holds up a finger as she stutters.
"I'm Elena. This is my twin sister, Emilia," Elena replies.
"Who are you?" I ask, still holding onto my hidden weapon.
The woman smiles politely as she replies, "Lexi, a friend of Stefan's." Somehow that makes this situation worse. Mysterious, hot friend in a towel. She looks nice though.
"Is he here?" Elena asks.
"He's in the shower," Lexi responds. Double bad. If this weren't my sister's drama, this would be hilarious. "Do you want to wait?"
"No," my twin replies, shortly. Yeah, she doesn't find this as entertaining as I do.
"I'll tell him you stopped by," Lexi says.
"That's okay," my sister replies, right before she leaves. Lexi and I both watch her go.
"Wow, that went poorly," I comment. I turn back to Lexi, "Sorry, she's normally a lot nicer, but you can see how bad this might look to her," as I gesture to the towel. Lexi nods and I continue, "I'm sure you would get along better if you catch each other at a different time." I take a breath before changing the topic, "How long have you known Stefan for?"
The woman, Lexie, blusters, "Oh, a really long time."
I nod slowly, "Do you mean 8 years or more like 80?"
Lexie pauses before her answers, "100 years is more like it. Stefan told me you were smart."
I shrug, "I figured that would be a good explanation for the towel." At least one that wouldn't end in me attacking Stefan for being a total dick. "Plus, Elena is the pretty one that gets all the boys; someone has to be the one that shows them that I am better and smarter than they are."
Lexie tilts her head and smirks, "I like you."
"Hmm," I comment. I'm not one to bond immediately with vampires. "I'll see you around Lexi. My sister is probably waiting for me in the car."
"Bye." I then walk out to the car.
Elena gives me a look and drives off as soon as I close the car door.
Later, Elena answers the door to find Stefan there. I am about to leave for Caroline's party at the Grille when I walk in to hear their conversation. Eavesdropping is not usually my thing, but I need to know what is going on, because she doesn't want to talk to me. I know with the disagreement about Jeremy and my usual distaste for her drama that I am not the best ear for things right now, but she is still my twin and it hurts that I am not worthy enough to confide in. She was saying about how she couldn't tell something to Bonnie and the only person she could talk to was Stefan. I hear Stefan ask if Elena needed a ride to the Grille. Might as well make my entrance.
"I could use a ride," I say, even if I don't really want to ride in a car with my sister or whatever Stefan is to her at the moment, but Jenna has the car so I need some assistance to get anywhere. And I don't want to be stuck in the backseat.
"Are you going to Caroline's party?" Elena asks her not-boyfriend.
"Lexi's dragging me," he replies.
"I am starting to like her more and more," I mumble.
Stefan pauses before he shrugs and hesitantly continues, "And, it's my birthday."
"Really?" Elena asks. Stefan nods.
Huh. I didn't think vampires would celebrate birthdays in the same way. "Wow. Happy…162nd birthday, Stefan," I declare. He gives me a puzzled look. I stare at him in disappointment because somehow I have to explain, "You said that you have been 17 since 1864. 1864 to now is 145 years. 17+145=162."
"Yeah. Happy birthday," my sister adds after a moment.
"Thank you. Both of you," Stefan says.
"Actually, I, um, I think I'm gonna stay in tonight," my sister says. I mean…okay…
"Okay. Well, have a good night," Stefan says to Elena. He looks at me. "Let's go."
I nod at my sister as I walk by her to the door, "Okay. Bye Lena."
The party is in full swing by the time we get there. Stefan and I find Lexi almost immediately. I get roped into hanging out with them by Lexi, very much in a way that reminds me of my blonde friend. She's exuberant and we wind up having some fun. Lexi is seriously growing on me and bringing Stefan along with her, despite my inherent dislike of vampires. It's actually interesting to see Lexi and Stefan interact, because she really brings out the human/forever-a-teen part of Stefan that I assume is part of what Elena saw and got her interested.
Soon, we are dancing out on the dance floor. Or should I say Lexi and I were dancing while Stefan is awkwardly swaying side to side.
"Okay, we're gonna need a little more foot movement," Lexi says. We are both literally dancing circles around him.
"Yeah, I'm not really- not really interested in making a fool out of myself," Stefan says.
"Come on. You're not that bad," Lexi says. I could tell she was getting through to him, so I pull out my phone.
"Do me a favor. Tell me if you see Damon with his camera phone," Stefan replies.
"Oh, Damon is not your problem," I say. Stefan turns to me and sees me holding my camera up. He laughs and playfully knocks it away. We keep dancing for a little while longer.
Lexi and Stefan move to play pool and I float around the part for a while. I catch up with Bonnie for a moment before I notice my twin arriving. I notice Lexi at the bar. She orders 3 shots of tequila, and then changes it to 4 shots. I'm guessing one is for Elena, who I see she notices has arrived. She then compels the bartender to forget needing an ID and to make the shots on the house.
She then walks over to Elena. "Ah, the famous Elena," Lexi says. I quickly join the two of them.
"Towel girl," Elena replies. I give her a look. Is that really the best she could come up with?
Lexie smirks gently, "I've been called worse. Here," and she hands Elena one of the shots.
"I didn't know that you guys could drink," Elena says. We walk from against the bar to a table.
"Oh, yeah. It helps curb the cravings, but makes for a lot of lushy vamps," Lexi replies. Hmm. That does clear up a question I never asked, but probably should have. "Cheers," she says to me. We clink our glasses together and she does her shot as I watch. I hand her my shot without a thought; she drinks it a moment later. Lexi then turns back to Elena.
"You know, I've never seen Stefan drunk," Elena says.
"That would be something I want to see," I say. The potential for embarrassment is compelling for me.
"He always seems so…" Elena says.
"Uptight?" Lexi finishes for her. That's for sure.
"Yeah," I agree.
"But not with you," Elena continues.
"That's the benefit of knowing someone for over 100 years. You can just be yourself," Lexi says.
"Yeah, he can't be himself with me," Elena replies.
Lexi is gentle as she responds, "Well not yet. The first step was him telling you."
I hate to help encourage this relationship, but I'm actually starting to like Stefan, so I can't help but add, "Yeah, Elena, think about it for a second. He was hiding this major part of himself from you. So much of his past is entwined with being a vampire. Like his relationship with his brother, or his ex, or his best friend," I nod my head to the blonde next to me. "Now, you know, so he doesn't have to try to step around and avoid the subject."
"The rest comes with time," Lexi follows my thought.
"You seem so sure," Elena remarks to Lexi.
"The love of my life was human." Oh, cool. "He went through what I imagine you're going through- denial, anger, et cetera. But at the end of the day, love really did conquer all," Lexi says. She then notices Elena's still full shot glass. "Are you going to drink that?"
"Oh no," Elena says and hands Lexi her shot. "Go for it." Lexi then does the shot. "I'm scared," Elena admits.
"But you're here," Lexi points out.
"'Cause you're crazy about him," I murmur.
"I get it, okay?" Lexi says. We all look over at Stefan playing pool. Lexi says still looking at Stefan, "What's not to love?" She looks back at Elena. "Take it from someone who has been around a long time. When it's real, you can't walk away." That was actually great advice. It's sincere. Lexi then drinks Stefan's shot to a response of giggles from us twins and Lexi and I start to walk back over to Stefan.
"Hey Lexi," Elena calls back. "It was really nice meeting you." Lexi just smiles and walks away. I take a moment to look my sister in the eye before I join the pair of vampires who are at the pool table. Is it weird that I would rather hang out with these actual hidden predators than my own twin? Probably better to not think about it.
"Yep, I drank yours. Sorry," Lexi says.
I add as I walk up, "Technically, you drank all the shots we had."
Stefan just leans against his pool stick which he holds upright. He smiles at Lexi, "Thank you."
"I don't think you were supposed to be listening," I comment, leaning against the pool table.
Stefan just keeps smiling at Lexi. "What? I was feeling epic. Whatever," Lexi waves it off. Stefan then starts making eyes at Elena again, but looks down when she looks back at him.
A few minutes later, Elena comes over to talk to Stefan, so I leave. I find Caroline drinking heavily at the bar.
Oh, no. I ask her what is wrong.
"Nothing is wrong. I am just a shallow, stupid, waste of space," she says, staring at her drink. Rage burns through me at her words. How dare anyone say that?
"Who called you that?" I ask, sitting on the barstool next to her.
"Who do you think?" She answers, looking at me. Ugh, I should've killed him when I had the chance. Not only did he physically hurt her, but he has to insult her.
"Damon," I state. She nods and I rub her back in comfort. "Damon is not worth your tears and he should've never said anything like that to you. He doesn't deserve any more of your focus."
"It's not like anyone else is going to pay attention to me," Caroline says.
Caroline needs a lot of things, but with her focus being on guys right now, she won't accept anything else. Her goal-orientated attitude is usually something to be admired, but times like this, it becomes an issue. She's not going to get her mind of Damon, ugh, until she finds someone else. I just want her to find someone who could see how amazing she is. Someone who treats her like the queen she is born to be, neuroses and all. But the closest thing to a queen in Mystic Falls is the Miss Mystic crown, which Caroline is already in the running for by being a daughter of a Founding Family and the closest thing to a king is, well, based on looking around who is here, is … Matt. Oh, that might work. I grab her hands and get her to look at me, "Caroline, you will find someone else. Someone who is going to be so grateful that they got to the chance to spend time with you. Someone who is going to think the world of. You just have to find them. And to do that, you need to focus more on what you think of yourself rather than what Damon, or anyone else thinks of you. Then once your head is back up high that person will think Caroline Forbes is anything but a waste of space. And a person like that may be closer than you think."
"Really?" Caroline asks.
"Really," Time to be more direct. "I have to find Elena. Why don't you go talk to Matt? He is a great shoulder to lean on," I say as I help her up off the barstool. "Plus I trust him to cut you off and give you water."
"Yeah, Matt," she says looking for him. I see her sit down next to Matt at a table. I go back to Elena and Stefan. I grab a napkin and a spare pen I find on one of the tables and start doodling. But it's only doodles because my mind is still stuck in somewhere more violent.
The next time I look up, a few minutes later, Sheriff Forbes at the bar with Lexi and Damon. The Sheriff injects Lexi in the neck with something, vervain, and drags her out of the Grille. I follow Elena and Stefan as they try to exit. We can't from the front door, so I suggest the back exit. We rush out the back to see Sheriff Forbes shooting at Lexi. Lexi keeps walking towards the sheriff, when Damon appears in front of her and stabs her with a wooden stake. Elena and I gasp, and Stefan holds Elena against his body to hide her and shushes us. I try to get to Lexi to help her, to stop this, but Stefan grabs my arm. We all watch as Damon pushes the stake further into her body and she drops to the ground. I watch with tears in my eyes as Damon and Sheriff Forbes converse for a few seconds before Damon packs Lexi's body into the trunk of the sheriff's car.
Is that it for her? She was good. She was a great friend and in love with a human and had so much to live for and her life ends at the hands of Damon? This shouldn't have happened. I could've stopped this.
My thoughts stop spiraling when I hear Stefan say, "He killed her. He killed Zach. He killed Tanner. He turned Vicki. I have to kill him." He starts to walk away. I didn't know about Zach. Poor guy. The end of the Salvatore's as well. Aside from these two and one of them is going to die very soon.
"No. You can't do that," Elena says. He turns back to face her.
"Why are you trying to save him, Elena?" Stefan asks. "He's never going to change. Don't you see that? He's never going to change."
"We are not trying to save him," I interject. "We are trying to save you. You have no idea what this will do to you." Plus, I want to kill him just as much and it won't hurt me a bit.
"Please, Stefan," Elena pleads with him.
"Everywhere that I go, pain and death follow. Damon follows me. No more," he states.
He tries to walk away again, but Elena grabs his arm one last time. "Stefan, please. Please, just- just talk to me. Let me be here for you. Talk to me."
"No," he denies. He looks down at the ground before looking back at my sister. "You were right to stay away from me." He finally walks away. Elena and I stay for a minute before going home. I let my feelings disappear. My sister needs someone to comfort her for the moment. She needs me more than I need to kill Damon. Stefan is better to deal with him; I knew Lexi for a day, he knew her for 100 years. I drive the car home where Elena quickly goes to bed. I watch her for a bit before I go to my room and grab my sketchbook. I start a picture of Lexi. I hope I never forget her. She was a great friend and one I hope to emulate.
It's a few days, a new history teacher (Alaric Saltzman, seems nice so far. He gave Jeremy a cool extra credit assignment to look into town history (Finally someone in this family other than me interested in town history). But I'm still waiting to confirm), a sleepover with a séance (Emily Bennett possessed Bonnie through the amulet Bonnie had, but it has now been destroyed), another death threat to Damon (he tried to kill Bonnie after Emily destroyed the amulet. I stabbed him in the side with a stake), and a now shared secret (Bonnie now knows about vampires) later.
I walk by my brother's room to see him drawing in his sketchbook. My heart filled with warmth. In the wake of our parents' deaths, I looked for solace in my drawing as a way of grieving and comfort, while Jeremy took a different route. He had pushed away his sketching, seeking relief in drugs and Vicki. I was so glad to see him with it again. I stood there silently, watching him sketch for a few minutes when Elena walks up behind me. She takes in the scene and we share a smile. Elena motions for us to leave and I nod. I close Jeremy's door as we walk away. Jenna is downstairs getting her stuff to leave.
"Jeremy's got his sketchpad out," I tell Jenna.
Jenna turns around and looks at us, "You're kidding."
"Nope. But the minute we encourage him, he will put it away," I add.
"Psychology major," Jenna comments, "Check that."
Jenna and I both turn to see Elena checking her phone. "Stefan?" I ask.
Elena sighs before she says, "He knows how I feel and where I stand, and I know where he stands. But it doesn't matter. He's leaving, moving away." Apparently, Stefan is stuck on the idea that Stefan brings pain and death because Damon follows him. Earlier, it was Elena who needed convincing to be in the relationship, and now it's Stefan. It's been months of this on-and-off and I'm so tired of it. Elena finishes buttoning up her jacket and moves to the door.
Jenna follows, "Where's he going?" she asks.
I follow Jenna and think to answer with the truth, Well, Jenna, he's a vampire. So, somewhere he can hide from that fact. But I really tell her, "We've stopped asking questions. The answers get scary." We all walk outside, and Elena closes the front door behind us.
"Yours leaves, mine returns," Jenna says.
"Logan?" Elena asks. Yeah, what's been going on with that? He's been really weird and flaky for someone who said he was trying to get in good with Jenna. Something is definitely fishy about the situation.
"He's back," Jenna says. Elena and I both groan. "I didn't let him past the front door."
"I hope you slammed it in his face," Elena says.
"Ah, medium slam," Jenna replies.
"You want me to kick his ass?" I ask, seriously. A genuine offer. After the whole Emily possession showdown with Damon attacking Bonnie, I am full of unreleased rage. There hasn't been a good time to make a getaway to release frustration how I would normally do it, but I could settle for kicking some guy's ass, especially one that has been hurting my family.
"Nah. That would just be too cruel," Jenna replies. Are you sure?
"Well, next time he comes here, I will punch him in the face," I say. Jenna and Elena laugh. I don't know if they realize how serious I am about this. "No joke. Three strike rule, Jenna."
"Yeah. You're not even allowed to watch the news," my twin agrees.
"Exactly. No more Logan 'Scum' Fell," Jenna finishes.
Bonnie joins Elena and me in school, walking in the hallways. We spy with our eyes Matt and Caroline talking. Oh, nice. Good for them. It's time for both of them to move on and they could really benefit from spending some time together. Plus, she took my awesome advice so I have a right to feel a little good about the situation.
"Did I miss something?" Elena asks.
"They've been hanging out," I answer.
"Kind of weird, don't you think?" Elena comments. We watch them walk into their next class together.
"I think it's sweet," Bonnie replies.
"Me too. Caroline needs someone nice like Matt," I remark. I mean, if there's one thing I know is that Matt would never physically hurt a fly, which is definitely what Caroline needs.
"As opposed to a homicidal vampire like Damon," Bonnie adds. She's not wrong.
I chuckle in response. Good one. But then I pause and turn to face her. Serious time. "Yeah. How are you doing with all that?" I ask. We had to tell her about vampires when Damon attacked and bit her in rage. At least she already knew about the supernatural cause she's a witch, but vampires…vampires are hard to handle, especially after being attacked. Or because we kind of like Stefan.
"I'm freaked out," Bonnie admits. "Damon attacked me. I could be dead right now."
"That's a morbid thought," I comment. That's more my kind of thing. Or Jeremy's.
"What? It's true," she replies. "But I'm also grateful." We look at her questioningly. "To Stefan. He saved my life, and…" Elena looks away, trying not to look hurt. "Have you seen him?" See, we're all oddly on board now and of course, at the same time, Stefan is pulling away
"Not since he told me he was leaving," Elena replies. She opens her locker and places her scarf and bag in it.
"He wouldn't leave without saying good-bye," I point out. He's too into Elena for that. I mean I'm sure he's tried to leave a couple of times before. He's certainly tried ditching her before and couldn't do it, so I'm sure he'll appear again soon.
"Yes, he would. He thinks he's protecting me. Clean break and all that," Elena says. She switches her stuff for the books she needs.
"So what are you going to do?" Bonnie asks.
"What am I supposed to do? I already begged for him not to go," Elena replies. "If I ask again, then I'm being selfish." That is stupid. I know that you are supposed to fight for the people you care about. What does she think I've been doing? I mean, maybe it's different in a healthy romantic relationship.
"It is what it is," Bonnie says as we walk away from Elena's locker. I quickly change my books in my locker, which is near Elena's and walk back to Bonnie and Elena. "Maybe it's for the best. I mean, what kind of future could you have had with him, even if he stayed?" Well, true. But I believe in making your own future. Screw fate or destiny or whatever. Maybe Elena and Stefan might make it work. Besides it's their choice either way. It's not for Bonnie or me to decide (as much as I wish I could steer her away from the supernatural and the danger that can come with it). I'm getting worked up about something that isn't my business. Right after Bonnie says that and I start to get annoyed with her, the banner that people were hanging up above us falls. We all stare at it, which says 'The Promise of YOUR Future.' That's ironic.
Elena and I look to Bonnie. "Did you…?" Elena starts to ask.
"No, I swear," Bonnie quickly replies. Elena quickly walks away, pushing the banner away. Bonnie watches her leave. I help the kids lift the banner back up before I walk to class.
After school, Elena and I see Stefan sitting on one of the picnic tables outside. See. I knew he wasn't going to just leave without a goodbye. But that doesn't mean I need to stick around for the mushy conversation. I don't need or want to stick around for another of their conversation that's only barely hiding their longing for each other. I'd rather just read an Austen novel. We split ways with her going to him and me going home.
At home, I find Jeremy sketching on the couch. He holds up his sketchbook as Jenna and I walk in the living room at the same time, "Hey, what do you think?"
I stare at the unfinished drawing of a vampire silent as Jenna answers, "Creepy." It's clearly a vampire, it has the teeth and the eyes are in the process of darkening, but it's bald.
Jeremy flips it back over and fixes some details. "Found this old journal in Dad's stuff. Johnathan Gilbert's from the 1800's."
I lean over the back of the couch to get closer to him, "Have I mentioned how excited I am that you are looking into not only our town history, but also our family's?"
Jeremy laughs, "Only about a thousand times."
I ruffle his hair, "Well it's my big sister right to say it again."
He knocks my hand away, "Well thank Mr. Saltzman. He's the one who gave me the assignment."
I pause before I answer, only semi-jokingly, "I don't want to scare off he new guy before I determine whether he'll actually be a good teacher." I'm so ready for an actually good teacher. Or at least one that won't penalize me because I get excited about history.
Jenna and Jeremy both laugh. They are plenty used to my enthusiasm for history.
I change the subject before I can suffer through any of the teasing, "So, I know you have Johnathan Gilbert's journal, but…BUT, have you thought about doing something from Mom's stuff? Because I know where everything is and I can totally point you to the best resources. She had everything on the Founders and so much of the town's history afterwords and plenty of resources on the culture of any time you intend on researching."
Jeremy interrupts before I can get more excited and ramble, "I think I'm going to stick with this. He's kind of a freak show. He wrote about demons and all these people getting slaughtered."
I jump in with an excuse, "He was a prolific writer for his time. Some of his journal entries are his rough drafts for his stories. Although I think he did take some inspiration from the events of the time. There were quite a few unexplained deaths."
"He wrote fiction? I figured he was just a lunatic or a drunk," Jeremy replies. Good. Let's keep him thinking that.
"He was a Gilbert. Probably a bit of both," Jenna says, handing Jeremy the journal. He goes to look through it again.
I walk over and hip check her, "Hey, don't knock the family name."
"I'm not wrong," she responds.
I sigh, dramatically, "Sadly, no. Lotta crazy drunks in the Gilbert line." I walk over and grab a pillow "Not that it's better on the Sommers side of the family," I say as I toss it at Jenna.
"Hey!" She cries as she chases me. Jeremy just laughs as we toss pillows at each other, laughing and screaming. After a good hit to Jeremy's face, he gets involved and is the one to grab me.
"Okay! I surrender!" He drops me and I push him. "No fair, using your height."
"It's not my fault you're short," he replies.
"I resent that. I'm perfectly average." Jeremy rustles my hair and we play-fight for a bit with me trying to do the same. It takes a minute, but I get him with a good noogie.
Jenna breaks us up and Jeremy heads back to the couch and the journal. "Want to help me make some food for before we leave?" Jenna asks.
"You mean 'do I want to make food, while you watch'?" I ask.
Jenna grimaces, "Yeah. I probably shouldn't cook."
"Nope!" Jeremy yells from the couch. Jenna and I laugh.
"Don't worry. I will make some food that is actually edible," I say.
"Hey! My food is edible," Jenna replies.
I laugh, "Just keep telling yourself that." I turn away to start making dinner.
After a delicious dinner of a shepherd's pie - courtesy of me - Jenna, Jeremy and I head to Career Night. Jeremy walks off to who knows where. Jenna starts to talk with a few of her friends who are here to help showcase their careers. I started to wander around. I look at some of the career options, but none really interest me. For the longest time, I wanted to be in the medical field, following in my dad's footsteps, but I lost that ambition a long time ago. Elena was set on being writer for even longer, but after our parents, she is no longer sure. After they died, it just seems hard to be these things when all they did was support us. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad teaching me and following him around his practice. An even though we lost that for a time, he was the one that encouraged my great love of learning and history and, along with my mom, gave me all these great books to read. Being here reminds me that they aren't, and they are never going to see us achieve these bright futures they had in mind for us. Their death has changed me, and I am still a little lost as to who I am now without them.
After a little while I find Jenna again and stick with her. No need to be lost in my own thoughts for the whole night. I spot Logan here and point him out to Jenna, who immediately walks the other way. I follow her to find her talking with Elena, who is standing next to Stefan.
"Hide me," Jenna says.
"What's going on?" Elena asks.
I walk over. "The Scum Fell has landed," I answer.
Elena groans, "Logan's here?"
"Yeah. And we are so happy to see his ugly face," I say sarcastically.
"Wait," Stefan interjects, "Logan Fell?"
"The one and only," I respond, annoyed. Stefan walks away. Okay? We watch him walk out into the hallway and stop there.
We follow him, "Stefan, what is going on?" Elena asks.
"Jenna," Logan says as he walks over. "Are you dodging me?" Eww, creepy.
"No, she just walks the opposite direction every time she sees you for no apparent reason," I answer. The annoyance comes out in sarcastic waves. Especially to idiots and people who hurt my family. Oh look, here's someone who is both.
"Um, Elena, why don't you, Jenna, and Emilia go somewhere else?" Stefan asks.
Elena nods and grabs Jenna's arm. "Let's go." She drags Jenna away quickly. I move to follow but stay just long enough to give Logan a 'Fuck off' glare. God, I wish I could threaten him more.
When we get away, Elena turns to Jenna. "When Logan came to the house, what did he say?" Elena asks.
Jenna groans and fixes her bag on her shoulder. "Fake flattery. Stupid, dimpled grin. Puppy dog eyes."
"Jenna, focus," I snap. "How did he act? What did he say?"
"He was the usual Logan. He was charming, a little more manic than usual," she replies. It hits me. He's a vampire. The creepiness makes sense now. Ugh, it makes mu skin crawl. "He kept trying to convince me to let him in." Yup, he is definitely a vampire. Great…
I turn to Elena. She looks me in the eyes, and we do our special twin telepathy thing. We both confirm our suspicions. She looks alarmed when she gets it. I quickly turn to Jenna. "Okay, listen to me very carefully," I command. "Do not, under any circumstances, talk to him again. And whatever you do, do not let him in the house."
"We're serious, Jenna. Never talk to him again. Like, ever," Elena adds. Jenna looks at us confused, but she nods her understanding.
"Hey, Emilia. Hello, Elena," Mr. Saltzman says as he walks up to us behind Jenna. "Jenna." He calls her Jenna? A little casual there, Ric. She turns around to talk to him. "Yeah, I was hoping to, uh, see you tonight."
"Career Night is the new bowling," Jenna replies, flirting. He laughs. Ooh, this is interesting. Strange for my aunt and my teacher to be flirting, but interesting. Elena and I excuse ourselves, and we quickly walk away.
We find Stefan to start looking for Logan. I see Jeremy and Tyler talking. Uh-oh. This won't be good. And soon enough, they are fighting in the hallway. With Tyler growling something and Jeremy reacting, pushing him into the lockers. Mr. Saltzman and Mayor Lockwood break them up and the mayor takes them outside before I can reach them.
I turn to Elena, "Go. Go with Stefan and find Logan. I'll stay and deal with Jeremy," I declare. She nods and they walk away. I walk over quickly to Mr. Saltzman. I'm going to need backup. We walk outside to find them right as Mayor Lockwood tells them to fight. Both Jeremy and Tyler say no. As Tyler starts to walk away, his father pushes him back and yells at him to fight.
Mr. Saltzman intervenes at that moment. "Whoa. What's going on out here?" he asks as he walks up. I stay back by the door. My presence is not going to help the situation much.
Mayor Lockwood stiffens and straightens up before turning around, "Just lettin' these 2 kids work it out," he smarms. "We're good here. Go back inside."
"I don't want to go back inside," Mr. Saltzman replies, calmly. "What I want is an answer to my question. What's going on out here?"
"Who do you think you are talking to?" Mayor Lockwood asks. He sounds pissed off. Good, he's a dick. "Do I look like a student?"
"No. You look like a full grown alpha-male douche bag," Mr. Saltzman says calmly. Ohoho! I knew I liked Mr. Saltzman for a reason other than not being Tanner. Jeremy tries to hide a smile and Tyler just looks surprised.
"You don't talk to me like that," Mayor Lockwood says sounding even more pissed off. "I can have your job like this." He snaps.
Mr. Saltzman just looks down and smiles back at the mayor. "Ah, you do that. Then, it'll be you and me in this parking lot, working things out." He takes a step closer to the mayor and crosses his arms. "You cool with that?"
"You just marked yourself," Mayor Lockwood says, trying to sound intimidating and failing. He looks at Tyler who starts to walk away and the mayor follows.
Mr. Saltzman turns to Jeremy, "Are you okay?" Jeremy nods in reply. "Come on." They walk back over to me and the door. Jeremy has a guilty look on his face.
"Thanks, Mr. Saltzman," I say. I look at Jeremy. "You, let's go." I gesture with my head to the door. Jeremy opens the door and we all head in. I look down at my phone for a moment to find that Elena texted me. Apparently, Logan Fell kidnapped Caroline. In the time it took me to find that out, I lose Jeremy.
But Elena joins me as we wait for news.
Stefan comes back in and after a quick conversation that has me finding out that Caroline is fine. She was just knocked unconscious and then handed to her mom to be taken home safely.
I would have stayed longer but Elena gives me a look. The 'leave now little sister' look. Ugh, I hate it. But I hate it more now because it's a familiar and demeaning look. Instead of hating the look because I don't want her to be with Stefan.
I give her a hug and whisper in her ear, "Keep in touch. If you are coming home or not, whatever. Keep me notified."
I release her and she nods.
I stare Stefan home before giving him a silent nod and leaving them to their conversation.
I have to wait a little while longer for Jeremy to return. He comes back inside again, holding his nose which is bleeding. I say goodbye to a classmate and walk over to Jeremy.
"What did you do?" I ask him.
"Nothing. I was just trying to talk to Tyler about his dad, when he punched me out of nowhere," he tells me.
"Then don't talk to Tyler. He's an ass. Come on. I'll clean you up at home." We grab Jenna and head home.
I clean Jeremy up and head to my room. I check my phone to find that Elena had called me. She left a voicemail saying she had taken Stefan home. I check her room, which is empty, so she isn't back yet. Which means she is probably staying there, and, in that case, that means they are likely back together. I'm glad, I guess. It's gross. But fine, I accept that it's happening. I pick up a book that my mom gave me before she died. I try to lose myself in the story instead of in my memories. I add some music to my set up, loud enough to not distract me from getting lost in my story. I get so lost in the story that I do not see my phone flashing, telling me that Elena is calling.
A/N: Just minor edits, I think.
Feel free to review!