Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries.

16

Finders keeper.

Jeremy kept biting his lips in a poor attempt to conceal the scowl that tried to appear on his face, though he was aware he was doing a bad job at keeping his emotions in check, judging by the slight arch in the man's brows the only time he bothered to look at him. He tried not to take his obvious disregard too personally, the youngest Gilbert knew he was nothing special compared to his two sisters, he was the normal one, the boring Gilbert- Well, at least until the baby was born, unless their mom gave birth to the next messiah…

He clenched his jaw, pushing any thoughts of inadequacy out of his mind. This wasn't about him nor it would ever be, he was here to offer his assistance to his sisters in any way he could, even if all he could truly do was offer his shoulder for Elena to lean on and nod in affirmation after Alex spoke of the vampire's past.

The mention of the vampire's brother sparked a change in his demeanour, something that he took notice just because he couldn't stop looking at him, trying to pinpoint any tell tale sign of his evilness but came empty handed, much to his disappointment. Mr. Mikaelson looked like a normal man, nothing about him seemed out of place besides his way of speaking but that was something that could be easily overlooked.

This wasn't what Jeremy was expecting when Alex told them the truth. He had made a mental image of both Mikaelson brothers using Alex's vague descriptions to the point he was sure he could spot them in a crowd with no problem. That wasn't the case at all and he was a little ashamed to admit he had let his imagination get carried away, heavily influenced by the testimonies written in the journals and fuelled even more by the movies he watched with Anna to get 'educated' in the supernatural area.

While Mr. Mikaelson lacked the pointy features and sharp protruding fangs that characterised pop's culture depiction of vampires, there was something off about him, though he couldn't quite name what it was besides the fact that he was a thousand years old vampire. But he also looked and reacted very human-like, in a way that caught him off guard and Jeremy noted that the mention of his family was a sore subject for the man and he cheered inwardly, for it meant that Alex had been right about her assumptions once again. Though that came to no surprise… maybe just a tiny bit if he were honest, it was still hard to believe that his sister just knew things about people she never met but Mr. Mikaelson's reaction had cemented the fact that yes, Alex was basically a walking cheat code for life, a very dangerous thing to be around the company she tended to keep.

He bit back a sigh, taking his gaze off the man to look at his sisters. Maybe he was okay with being the boring one, being part of the supernatural world seemed like a hassle- A hassle he wanted to be part of.

Mr. Mikaelson rose from his spot, cutting off Jeremy's thoughts as the man extended his hand for Alex to take, a sign that their meeting had come to an end.

She let go of Elijah's hand at the same time an idea struck her and Alex hurried to the phone and picked up the small notebook next to it, ripping a corner of one of the pages in which she scribbled her phone number in a uneven hand writing that she handed to the waiting vampire. "I would appreciate a head ups next time," Alex said, "To avoid, you know..." she glanced down at her clothes and Jeremy made a choked sound that he hid behind a fake cough.

Elijah looked down at her pyjamas, smirking lightly, he nodded, pocketing the piece of paper in his jacket, "Until we meet again then," He said as a goodbye as Elena opened the door for him, ducking her head when he walked past her. She was done being brave.

A heavy silence hung amongst them as they waited for a minute, and then another one and another one just to be sure, standing next to each other just exchanging glances until they heard him drive away and Jeremy let himself fall into the couch, gaze loss on the ground as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Did that really just happened?" He asked, looking up to them.

Elena nodded stiffly, lips tight she returned her stare to the door when Alex called her name, "Elena?"

She snapped out of it and whipped her head towards a worried Alex, "M' fine," She licked her lips and cleared her throat, "I'm fine, really. Just don't wanna talk about it. I'm done with vampires for today."

"Are you- Hey!" Jeremy winced when Alex nudged his side to shut him.

"Alright. If that what you want,"

"I do." Elena said, shrugging disinterestedly, "There's no point on discussing this. We all know what were supposed to do, right?"

"Right," Alex nodded, the expression in her face made it obvious that she didn't quite believe Elena's words, "We already did our part. It's all in Elijah's hands now."

"Good," Elena said tersely, "If we're done here I would like to go now, I have homework to do."

Alex arched a brow, tilting her chin up, "Go on. As you said, there's nothing left to talk about." With her permission, her sister went upstairs and it wasn't until they heard the door to her room close that Jeremy spoke.

"She's an awful liar." He said.

"She is," Alex confirmed, "But I think we should leave her alone for now," she said and added, "Just for today. She needs some time on her own to make her peace with the fact there's no turning back now without us breathing down her neck asking her if she's okay every 5 seconds."

Unconvinced, Jeremy gave in, "Alright, just for today." he repeated and she nodded as her phone started ringing and they shared a panicked look before she darted upstairs to find it.

It was too soon for Elijah to be contacting them, vampires were fast but not this fast!- 'Oh,' she felt her soul return to her body when she saw Stefan's name displayed on the screen along with an unread message.

'Are you busy for dinner?' it read.

"Alex?" Jeremy called coming up the stairs.

"It's just Stefan. It's fine!"

Alex spotted Stefan sitting in a far corner as soon as she stepped in The Mystic Grill. She avoided and squeezed her way between the patrons blocking her way until she made it out of their blockade safely if not a little messy, she waved eagerly at Stefan as she hurried to his side, sliding into the seat in front of him sporting an amicable smiled that faded slightly when she looked over at the bar and saw two familiar figures hunched next to each other with a half emptied bottle of liquor between them.

"Should I be concerned?" she joked, pointing a finger at the unusual pair. They didn't look like they were in a friendly outing, the stiffness in Alaric's shoulders told her enough. Whatever, they could talk out their issues like the grown men they were. She didn't have to insert herself into a situation that had nothing to do with her. It was part of her rules and one she was more than happy to comply. They'll figure it out, that she was sure of.

Stefan followed her finger, watching them for a second and then looked back at her, "He tried to kill Damon last night so he killed him first. Then Zach tried to finish the job himself and almost got himself killed too," he grimaced at the memory.

Okay, maybe she'll had to prob just a little.

"Is Zach okay?" she asked, wincing and bracing herself for the worst.

"Yes, Damon let him go with just a warning," Stefan said like he still had a hard time believing it, "He send him to his room like he was a bratty child and that was it. No snapped neck, no threats of a painful death, nothing. Still, Zach decided to find somewhere else to stay just in case."

"He did now," She wondered, a small smile on her lips before she faced her friend. She hadn't been wrong then, Damon was indeed changing, well, he killed Alaric but that was supposed to happen anyways so is not like he did something he wasn't meant to. She wasn't very familiar with Zach but she was glad to hear he was alright. The less people died an unnecessary death the better.

"You're not going to say anything about the fact he did killed your teacher and he's sitting right over there?" he pointed at Alaric's form.

Alex smirked, "Just ask away, Stefan. I know you're dying to know." she wiggled her fingers.

"Alright," he said, raising his hand in surrender, "How?" He asked simply.

She lifted her hand, flashing her ring, "The Gilbert's rings have the power to bring back humans from death as long as it was caused by a supernatural creature. The only downside is that you turn evil after dying a number of times but I found a way to prevent that."

He raised his brows, "I'm guessing Emily was the one behind them?" he asked and she nodded as a waitress came to their table, setting down their drinks and a large order of loaded nachos to share between them.

"There you go," The girl called cheerfully, "The rest of your food will be done shortly. We are short staffed tonight so sorry for the inconvenience." She apologised.

"That's quite alright." Stefan said and Alex smiled reassuringly to the girl before she left. "Hope you don't mind I ordered for us,"

"It's fine," She reached for a nacho, "Elena told me she met with you today by the way." she said after swallowing, taking a sip of her coke.

"Ah, yes. That," He paused, looking awkward, "I don't think I was of much help for her research."

Alex laughed before she reached for the plate again, setting her gaze on the most delicious nacho she'd ever seen, covered in cheesy goodness and bits of bacon. her mouth watered just by looking at it and since Stefan hadn't seen it yet, 'Finders keeper,' only to have the precious nacho snatched from her cheesy claws.

"Too slow." Damon said as he sat in the empty chair between them, eating the nachos he took from her as if it were the first thing he had eaten in the whole day.

Wide eyed, Alex could only gape at him, "I was going to eat that!"

"Hello, Damon. I thought you were hanging out with your new friend over there. What happened?" Stefan asked mockingly and Alex turned her gaze to the bar, finding it now empty.

Damon's face scrunched before shrugging, "Got bored of him. Thought I come by to say hi." He explained as he set down his empty glass on the table with a solid thud and poured himself another drink, tilting the glass towards her in a silent offering.

"No thanks, I promised my mom this was a healthy outing," She said at the same time the waitress returned with their meals.

"Here you go. Would you be needing anything else?" The girl asked, setting their plates down.

"Actually-" Damon began before Stefan cut him off.

"This would be all thanks." He said.

Dumbfounded, the girl nodded before she excused herself.

"Rude," Damon muttered, puffing out a breath that stank of whisky, "For your information, I haven't eaten today."

Ah, so she wasn't wrong then. Sensing a strange air amongst them, Alex spoke, "We can share."She offered to keep the peace, splitting her steak in half and scrapping part of the salad and roasted potatoes to the other end of her plate.

"How very kind of you, Alex. Unlike my brother, you do have a heart to help starving vampires." he said before opening his mouth wide.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"She's not feeding you," Stefan sighed, handing his brother his own cutlery before he called over the waitress to ask for a new set for himself.

She could only roll her eyes at their childishness, 'Wouldn't it be easier to just let him order instead of doing all of this?' Alex wondered as she savoured a roasted potato. She glanced between them, noticing the tenseness amongst the brothers. She could only assumed it was because of that whole mess with Zach and Alaric, she couldn't imagine Stefan was too happy with Damon actions. If he only knew how much worse he could get, 'He wouldn't be reacting this way.' She pulled out her phone, scrolling down the countless photos in her gallery until she found the one she was looking for and showed it to them.

Damon snorted, "What's that?" he reached for the phone, pulling it closer to his face, his smirk widened as he took in the embarrassing image of her dressed in her duckling pyjamas during one of her many sleepovers with Caroline. Yes, it was the very same she had wore during her first meeting with Elijah, she just needed an outside opinion to make herself feel better and convince her brain that it wasn't as bad as she was making it out to be. But Damon's reaction and the fact Stefan had yet to say anything got her doubting herself again.

"I've got a question and I need you guys to answer honestly," She said, "If you saw me wearing this pyjama, in scale of one to ten- Ten being the absolute worst you ever seen-"

"Eleven," Damon interrupted her, grimacing still at the imagine, "What are those anyways? Deformed lemons?

Flustered, she locked the screen, "Alright, that's enough." she turned to Stefan, "Well?"

"Can I see it again, I don't think I caught all the details," He smirked.

"Shush, you've seen enough."

He pressed his lips trying to suppress a smile, "It's something else..."

"I came here fishing for compliments but now I feel worse." She sighed, going to her meal, "And they were ducks!" She said, stabbing her fork on the piece pf steak Damon was going to eat and shoving it in her mouth.

"So rude." He said, smirking and reaching for another piece.

(...)

"I'm Back! Alex yelled as soon as she set a foot in the Gilbert household, battling to remove her coat and not drop the plastic container in her hands. She succeeded, barely.

"We're in the living room," Miranda called.

She gasped at the sight before here, "Step away from my mother," She said dramatically, "The eldest child had arrived.

"Make me." Jeremy challenge from his spot on their mother's lap.

Miranda shook her head, smiling, still playing with Jeremy's hair, "How was your date?"

"Ew," Jeremy made a face, looking at her like she committed a sin.

"Not a date, mom." She clarified, sticking her tongue at her brother. The audacity of his to judge her from having vampire buddies when he was head over heels for Anna, what a hypocrite. "It was fun. I brought you some brownies," she wiggled the bag in front of her and Miranda's whole face lit up like a child in a candy store.

"Ah, bless you. I was craving something sweet," Her mother said, using Jeremy's head as a makeshift table.

"Mom!" He whined, moving from her lap, shaking his head off from any crumb that might've fallen on his hair.

"I'm sorry, dear. But you were at the perfect height. You know I can really maneuver with this balloon attached to my belly." She said before taking a bite from the baked good, "This is from The Grill? It's so good."

"Yeah, I think they fired the dude that did the desserts."

"What's that?" Jeremy pointed at the other container she was holding.

"Huh? Ah, this is for Elena."

"Speaking of your sister," Miranda began, turning serious, "You know what's wrong with her? She seemed a little off today."

Subtly, Jeremy pinched Alex's side.

"No, mom, sorry. Maybe she fought with Bonnie or maybe with Caroline?" She lied with a straight face, "I haven't really talked to her today so I wouldn't know."

Miranda hummed, unconvinced and before she could say anything else, Alex spoke, "I'm going to give her this. Hopefully I can cheer her up a bit." she said and headed to the stairs before stopping by the second step, "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Don't worry too much. She's probably going through some teenage stuff, you know she's in that age."

Her mom snorted, "I suppose so- Hey! That was mine you little thief." She scolded Jeremy from taking the brownie she was eating.

Alex seized the opportunity to leave, barely escaping the interrogation and mentally thanking Jeremy for taking one for the team. She wasn't sure how long they could lie to their mom without getting caught and she hoped Elijah hurried up this whole mess.

She knocked on Elena's door and waited for her to acknowledge her presence- which didn't happen because her sister seemed to be lost in her own world. She was sitting in her bed, diary open in her lap and pencil pressed in the pages but they were blank.

"Elena?"

Her sister jumped, closing the diary in response before she could register what she was doing, "Ah, it's you." She greeted in relief, "I thought you were Aunt Jenna. Mom had been sending her upstairs to check on me all day. I don't think I'm a very good actress."

She smiled sadly, feeling guilty, "It's okay, you don't have to fake a smile all the time." She said, clearing her throat before she jumped on bed with her, wanting to change the topic, "I brought you something."

Elena grabbed the container, popping it open curiously, filling the room with the lovely smell of Tiramisu, "Just what I needed, lots of sugar to forget my troubles." She joked, taking the plastic fork, "Did you pay the mandatory toll?"

"Yeah, I brought some brownies for mom and everyone else but I don't think she's going to share them." Alex smiled, getting up, "I'm going to take a shower and change into my ugly pyjamas. We're having a sister's sleepover. We haven't had one in a while." She said, noticing Elena was about to protest, "And you can't say no to it. Make some space in your bed for me and Roger, I'll be back soon."

Elena rolled her eyes good naturedly, "Fine but if you fall asleep first don't blame if you wake up with a new moustache..." She shrugged innocently.

Far from the thick woods surrounding Mystic Falls, in one of the fanciest restaurant in the area, sat one of the oldest vampires to exist, dressed in his usual pristine suit and perfectly combed hair. He waited patiently for his brother's arrival, sipping a glass of wine as he observed the empty place with a calm expression despite of what he felt inside. Meeting with his brother was always quite the experience and years of not seeing each other only added to it.

He heard the sounds of footstep approaching his table and he keep his gaze locked forward, hiding his disappointment at his brother predictable tactics.

"Brother," Elijah greeted the strange man as soon as he sat down.

"Elijah, it's always a pleasure to see you. How long has it been?" The man asked, even though this was not his brother body he could see hints of Niklaus in him and his mannerism.

"It matters not." He dismissed, "If you're here it is because you received my message."

He licked his lip, a predatory smirk appearing in his face, "Ah, I see. Down to business as always. Typical Elijah." He said almost jokingly before his expression shifted into something else. Rage and hope dance together in his eyes, betraying what he truly felt, "It it true then, you found the doppelganger?"

Elijah frowned slightly, taking another sip from his glass, one he took a second too long to savour just to press his brother's buttons.

Niklaus pressed his lip together, annoyed but aware of his brother's power play.

"More like she found me, actually, no. It was her sister who got in contact with me."

"Sister?" He repeated, sardonic, "A sister who's willing to sacrifice one of their own is not one to be trusted." He said and they both smiled.

"Indeed," The double meaning of his words didn't got lost to Elijah. "But I meet both girls, they both want to do this."

He leaned closer, face serious, "In exchange of what, exactly? Does the sister wants to play vampire now?"

"I'm not sure. She wishes to speak with you first," He said vaguely, "But what I'm sure of is that we have the doppelganger."

Niklaus chuckled lowly, a slight raps accompanied the sound, so unlike his usual tone. Crystal blue eyes glazed with emotion and Elijah felt pity for the poor witch, she had no idea what she got herself and her family into. Only a demon could make a dealt with the devil and not die trying.

"We should celebrate, brother! because soon I'll be free from this damned curse." Niklaus exclaimed, euphoric, happier than he ever seen him.

*Insert epic music here*

Hello, thank for reading and for not giving up on this. I've been going trough some stuff in my personal live and my creatives juices weren't juicing for a while, luckily I'm back and just as excited as ever to continue this.

Thank you for the reviews, they were the light at the end of the tunnel and my motivation to retake this fic. Again thank you for your patience and the lovely words 3

IMPORTANT:

I also started posting this on Ao3 at the beginning of this year thanks to the suggestions of someone here so if you prefer to do your reading over there, Stardust is now available over there as well. Also, I started writing a Stranger Things fic with our girl Alex as the main character ofc similiar vibe to my previous fics of girl-from-our-world-falls-into-another-universe trope C: so please give a read if you like me love strangers things and are desperate for a 5 season lol

love you all c:

I'm happy to be back.