Chapter 12: Unpleasantville

December 7, 2009

Dear Diary,

I'm… adopted. Elena just dropped the bomb on me when she was confronting Jenna about it. Jenna has been apologizing to me nonstop, but Elena just keeps avoiding her. But Elena also absolutely refuses to tell me where she learned about us being adopted. Won't tell me who told her. It makes no sense. Elena and I got a hold of our birth certificates, and they both list Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as our birth parents. I just don't know what's going on anymore.

Ellie made her way to Mr. Saltzman's classroom with haste once the bell had rang. Jeremy was supposed to be getting his grade for his extra credit assignment. Luckily, she was only a few classrooms down and stepped through the door right as Mr. Saltzman tossed a paper down on Jeremy's desk. When Jeremy's eyebrows shot up in surprise, Ellie felt herself get excited as she leaned over to look at the essay. At the top left corner of the page was a big red 'A' that was circled. "Surprised? It's a good essay." Mr. Saltzman praised as Ellie excitedly bumped shoulders with Jeremy. "Your thoughts are clear, and your argument is well laid out. It's just… you don't actually think there are vampires in Mystic Falls."

"No. I mean, I think statistically there's been more animal attacks, mysterious deaths, uh people gone missing, more than any other place in the whole commonwealth of Virginia." Jeremy explained and Ellie took note of the fond look Mr. Saltzman gave Jeremy.

"It's conjecture." Mr. Saltzman said. "But creative, which is why you got the 'A'. I just wouldn't get too, uh, caught up in the whole conspiracy theory of it all."

"Ah, I won't." Jeremy assured him as he stood from his seat and the siblings moved to leave.

"Oh, uh, Jeremy, the source that you cited for the 1860s info, uh Jonathan Gilbert…"

"Oh, our ancestor's journal?" Jeremy asked.

"I'd really like to see that some time."

"Really?"

"A first person account of the Civil War? That's like, uh, porn for a history teacher." Mr. Saltzman joked as Jeremy turned to set his bag on the table before rummaging around in it.

"You think my essay's creative, wait till you get a load of this thing."

Once Jeremy dropped the journal onto Mr. Saltzman's desk, the older man picked it up with a smile and said, "Thank you."

"Congratulations, Jer!" Ellie cheered as she looped her arm through his and gave him a squeeze. "I'm really proud of you! Oh Jenna is gonna be so excited! We should hang it up on the fridge!" She said with an excited gasp. "Oh my god we should get it framed!"

He shoved her away with a scoff. "Shut up you weirdo."

"I'm afraid that's impossible my darling brother. I'm quite proud of you and I must tell the world." She told him with an over dramatic hand gesture. "But really, Jer. I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks. But can you take the crazy elsewhere? I need to go turn in an assignment for art. He let me have a little bit more time since I was doing the work for Mr. Saltzman."

"I see. You're embarrassed by me. I understand. I'll disappear." She told him with a sniffle. "Farewell dear brother." Jeremy just rolled his eyes at her as they walked away from one another. A moment later, she walked into Elena and Caroline. "Hello my other half." She greeted. "Hello Elena." Caroline laughed at Elena's face before looking her arm through Ellie's.

"Hi to you too, Ellie." Elena replied. "Oh! That reminds me. I have something for the two of you." The trio stopped as Elena pulled out two necklaces from a small bag. "For you, Caroline." She said as she handed the blonde one. "And for you, Ellie." Once both girls managed to put their necklaces on, Elena smiled.

"It's so pretty. Thank you." Caroline said softly. "God, and it'll go with like everything. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion, just a little friend gift." Elena replied as the found a table to sit at.

"Lesbian friend necklace?" Caroline asked teasingly. "Cause we're freaky like that?"

Ellie scoffed. "Pass on the twincest. No offense, Elena. You're gorgeous and all but no thanks." Ellie said and the girls laughed.

"Did you just compliment yourself by complimenting her?" Caroline questioned.

"Am I wrong?"

"Nope." Elena agreed. "But, your friendship is important to me, Caroline. So is Ellie's."

"Why are you being so mushy?" Caroline asked.

"Because you've been avoiding me, and I wanted you to know that whatever is going on with you and Matt, it's ok." Elena admitted.

Caroline went wide eyed in panic. "I was gonna talk to you about that. I was, but there's just not much to say. We've hung out a couple times. That's it, but… I just feel like we've peaked as friends. This is weird. I shouldn't be talking to you about this. It's weird. It's weird, right?"

"It's a little weird, but if it's what you and Matt want, then it's not about me."

"But it's all about you." Caroline told her. "Matt's not over you, and we all know it."

"I'm with Stefan now. Matt understands that. He knows he has to move on." Elena replied. When there was an awkward silence, Elena turned her focus onto Ellie. "As for you, Ellie. The necklace is also an apology. I shouldn't have dropped a bomb on you like that just because I was mad at Jenna. I'm really sorry."

"Wait, what happened?" Caroline asked. It was pretty rare for Elena and Ellie to have serious fights or for one of them to do something that really upset the other.

Ellie looked over to Elena, she didn't mind telling Caroline that they were adopted, but Elena might. A moment of silent communication passed before Elena nodded subtly and Ellie turned to Caroline and confessed. "Elena and I are adopted."

"You're what?!" Caroline shouted and the twins hushed her in a panic. "Oh my god I'm so sorry." She apologized when she noticed the stares focused on them. "You guys are what?"

"We're adopted. We just found out a few days ago. And before you ask, we have no idea who our biological parents are." Ellie explained.

Elena might not have seen, but Ellie felt Caroline slip her hand into Ellie's holding on tightly. "That's insane. How did you find out?" Caroline asked softly.

"Well, Elena kind of dropped the bomb on me but refuses to tell me how she found out, hence the apology necklace." Ellie said.

"It doesn't matter how I found out. What matters is that Jenna was lying to us." Elena replied.

"Elena, she wasn't lying to us. Lying involves us asking her about it and her denying it. It never came up. She's felt awful about it and it doesn't help that you're ignoring her." Ellie told her. "Besides, you threw that in her face after skipping school and lying about where you were and she was in the middle of getting on to you." The fact that she was with Damon still burned in the back of her mind but she tried to push it away. "God ok, all of this made me completely forget the good news I had."

If Ellie's desperate attempt to change the subject was obvious, neither girl protested it. "What good news?" Elena asked.

"Our darling baby brother got an 'A' on his extra credit history assignment." Ellie informed her.

"What?! Really?" Elena asked. She never thought he'd do badly, but she never thought he'd do so well either.

"Mmhmm, it was creative and well thought out, so says Mr. Saltzman. Jeremy also let Mr. Saltzman borrow Jonathan GIlbert's journal. He told us a first person account of the Civil War was like 'porn for a history teacher'." Ellie told them, causing the girls to burst into laughter. "Yeah that's how I felt about it." She joked, relieved that the tension had lessened.


After school, Ellie found herself at The Grill with Elena and Bonnie, going through the same process of explaining to their friend that they weren't biologically the children of Miranda and Grayson Gilbert. "I can't believe the two of you are adopted." Bonnie told them. "I never saw that coming."

"And it gets weirder. We looked at our birth certificates. They both list Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as our birth parents. There are no adoption records. None of it makes any sense." Elena explained.

"Which is why you should ask Jenna." Bonnie told her.

"That is exactly what I've been saying." Ellie replied to which Elena just groaned. "And that is the exact reaction she's been giving me"

Bonnie focused back on Elena. "First of all, the Elena I know would always want the real truth, good or bad."

"And second of all?" Elena asked sarcastically.

"You just found out that your boyfriend…" Bonnie cut off suddenly and gave Ellie a look like she just remembered she was there. "You just found out your boyfriend has some serious history and that I'm a witch. So unless your parents are aliens, how bad could it be?"

"Ah…. ok, look, I have to go to the store. My outfit for the dance is severely lacking accessories." Elena said as the twins rose from their seats.

"Ok. I'll pay the bill." Bonnie replied.

"Ok, bye."

"Bye."

"Well, at least now Caroline and Bonnie know." Ellie said. "But we really should ask Jenna."

"Yeah, I know but…" Elena's voice trailed off as her phone started ringing. She dug it out of her bag and answered it without looking. "Hello?" After the person replied she said, "Hey, who is this?" Whatever they said set Elena on edge, pausing from digging around with her keys to looking up slowly.

"Elena… what is it?" Ellie questioned as Elena locked on to something behind them.

"Ellie get in the car. Now!" Elena sounded terrified, enough so that the moment the door was unlocked Ellie slung her door open before slamming it shut. They sped out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"Elena what the hell was that? What happened?" Ellie asked frantically as her sister sped down the road frantically. "Elena! What happened?"

Her sister's hands were twitching against the steering wheel. "There was someone watching us. He called me and he was watching us." Elena confessed. She knew she was too shaken up to dismiss her sister's concern. "I don't… I don't know maybe it was just some dumbass prank call but whoever it was freaked me the hell out." They were still speeding down the road at Elena's confession. She seemed to realize just how fast she was driving them and slowed down considerably. "I'm sorry. I just got spooked is all. Let's just… get to the store and get what we need and then go home."

"Elena…" Ellie pressed gently. "A prank call shouldn't have scared you that badly. What is it?"

She could practically see Elena's walls going up as her sister shook her head. "Really, Ellie, it's nothing. Just me being a scaredy cat." Ellie felt like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, she knew Elena wasn't going to tell her anything. On the other hand, Elena had looked like the boogeyman was going to snatch them both at any second. The best option would be to wait for a better time to try and get it out of her. When Elena was scared enough, her determination was insanely impressive.

They rode in silence to the store, Ellie keeping quiet about the way Elena kept looking over her shoulder like something was going to jump out at her. When they finally made it to the store, Elena parked under the most well lit spot that was closest to the entrance. "Ok, come on." Ellie said and made sure to walk closely next to Elena to try and calm her sister's nerves. "So, what do you need?"

"Um just a couple things… let's go." Elena said, unable to stop herself from looking over her shoulder as the automatic doors opened behind them, only to be opening for an old woman who looked about as dangerous as a snail. "I'm fine. It's fine." Elena reassured her worried sister.


Ellie stood with Caroline and Matt at one of the outside tables as they painted a sign for the dance, She had been roped into coming into school far too early to assist the blonde in last minute finishing touches. As they painted, Matt grinned at Caroline. "I've never seen you such a mess." He teased.

Caroline scoffed and swiped her paintbrush down his arm in retaliation. "Don't talk smack!" She told him before he raised his paintbrush up in a faux threat.

"I mean, I just thought that you told everyone else what to do." Matt informed her.

"Well, I do that too, but if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself." Caroline explained. "You know, I just like that we're hanging out. Who knew? You and me."

"Well, who knew you could be fun?" Matt teased. Ellie would have said that she knew Caroline was fun, but that would have potentially broken the moment of Caroline and Matt's precious flirting so she kept quiet. Painting, and hoping to remain unnoticed.

"So what are you wearing to this dumb dance, anyway? Should we color coordinate?" Caroline questioned. Her voice softening at the end from her hesitation.

"Uh… I'm not goin'." Matt confessed.

"Why not?"

"I gotta work. Bussin' tables at The Grill." Matt admitted.

"Since when are you a busboy?" Caroline asked.

The look on Matt's face made Ellie wince. "It's a job. You know, some of us have to work, Caroline." He told her. "With my mom in and out, things are tight, so…"

"I didn't mean it like that." Caroline insisted. "I just meant that I didn't know that you had a job."

"Well, I do." He retorted. "I gotta go."

"I really didn't mean it like that." Caroline groaned after Matt was gone.

"I know, Care. But it's a sensitive subject for him. Money especially and his mom even more so. Just give him a bit to cool off and try to talk to him later." Caroline just nodded sadly and went back to painting,

The day seemed to drag by, not even the energy of the students excited to go to the dance could make it pass any faster. After hours and hours of watching the ticking of the clock, enough time had finally passed for Ellie to be at home getting ready for the dance. She could see that Jenna was already dressed and ready to go as Elena tried to pass their aunt without saying a word. "Spoke to the insurance company." Jenna called. "Car's totaled. You can keep using mine for now."

"So you're coming to the dance?" Elena questioned.

"Alaric asked me to help chaperone." Jenna replied and Ellie grinned at the blonde, despite the tension.

"Why didn't you tell us, Jenna?" Elena asked as she turned to face her aunt.

"Your mom was gonna do it eventually. I never thought I'd have to." Jenna said.

"If our mom were here right now and I asked, she'd tell us the truth." Elena said and when Jenna looked both uncomfortable and upset, Ellie tried to put herself in the blonde's shoes. If Elena died and Ellie was left to take care of her kids and they were asking questions, throwing what Elena would have done in her face, she wasn't so sure she'd react as calmly as Jenna was. It seemed awfully unfair to act like they knew more about their mom or the situation.

When Jenna spoke, her voice was soft, lost in memories. "Your dad was about to leave the office one night when this girl showed up. She was sixteen, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her babies, two beautiful, healthy girls, and he gave her a place to stay. But a few days later, she disappeared. And there the two of you were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby. I-it just wasn't happening. All Miranda ever wanted was to be a mom. And like a miracle they suddenly had not one but two babies to love."

"Well, why were my parents' names on the birth certificates?" Elena asked.

"Your dad was a doctor, Elena. He took care of it. They didn't want to lose either of you, so they kept it quiet, told as few people as possible, but if anyone ever wanted proof they had documentation." Jenna confessed.

"What else do you know about her?" Ellie asked. "The girl."

"Just her name. Isobel." Jenna replied. "But that's all I know, Elena. And I have to get going. I'll see you two at the dance."

Once Jenna had gone, the girls moved upstairs to start getting dressed. Eventually, Elena broke the silence by asking, "Do you think I'm being too hard on Jenna?"

Ellie set down the blush she was holding to face her sister. "I think that you're still dealing with the fact that biologically we aren't mom and dad's. But yeah, I think you're being a bit too hard on her. We lost our mom, Elena and it sucks ass, but she lost her sister. I literally can't even imagine my life without you in it for like a week. Mom and Dad shouldn't have died so soon but they did and with it came a shit ton of responsibilities for Jenna. It probably didn't even cross her mind Elena. So yeah, maybe ease up a bit?"

The rest of the time they spent getting dressed together went peacefully until Ellie left to go to her room to put on her outfit. She turned up her music as she pulled off her clothes to switch into her fifties clothes. Out of nowhere, what sounded like Elena's scream rang through the music. "Elena? Elena!" Ellie shouted as she flung her door open and ran down the stairs. She found her sister in the arms of Stefan, shivering and shaken. "What the hell happened? Elena are you ok?"

Stefan looked over Ellie frantically, as if he were worried she'd been hurt somehow. "Ellie are you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What the hell happened?" Ellie replied.

"Someone was outside the window." Elena told her. "I don't know, I might have been seeing something else but I could have sworn someone was outside the window and it scared the hell out of me."

Something about it seemed off, but Ellie supposed it could be blamed on how frightened Elena was. "Um, Ellie, I'll stay here with Elena until she's finished getting ready and I'll make sure the house is secure. Why don't I walk you to your car so that you can get to Caroline? I'm sure she'll be waiting on you." Stefan's suggestion didn't really seem like a suggestion, but Elena was nodding supportively, obviously wanting Ellie to go.

"I… ok, but if anything else weird happens Elena you call me ok?" Ellie said. "I'm serious."

"I will, I promise. But I'm safe with Stefan." She assured her twin. "Really, go ahead. Caroline will freak if you're late."

With much reluctance, Ellie allowed Stefan to walk her to her car. "Don't let anything happen to her, Stefan. Someone called her yesterday and scared the crap out of her." Ellie warned.

"I know. She told me. Ellie I swear on my life that I will do everything I can to keep Elena safe." He said sincerely. The seriousness in which he said it was almost startling, but Ellie just nodded at him gratefully. "We'll see you at the dance shortly, Ellie."

She nodded before pulling out of the drive and heading for the school. If someone was stalking Elena, would it be breaking the witch code of conduct or whatever it was to use magic to protect her? It just seemed odd for Elena to scream like that just from maybe seeing a face in the window. Everything with Elena lately had just been so bizarre. It wasn't long before Ellie was pulling into a parking spot beside Bonnie's car where Caroline, who looked fantastic, was waiting. "Hello, my beautiful date." Ellie greeted as she got out of the car.

"You look amazing, Ellie." Caroline praised. After Matt revealed he wasn't going, Ellie swooped in to go with Caroline to get the girl out of her sour mood.

"Same to you Miss Forbes." Ellie laughed. The moment they walked into the dance, her jaw dropped. Everything had turned out spectacularly and the place was filled. "Care, this looks amazing."

"If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself." Caroline reminded her right before Bonnie came rushing up to them. "Come on, Bonnie's already inside."

"Oh my god, Ellie you look great!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Come on, we gotta take pictures. I brought my camera." Bonnie dragged the girls over to where a fifties themed photo station had been set up. Someone had even gone through the trouble of getting an old retro diner booth.

"Hey Tyler!" Ellie called, just loud enough for the Lockwood to hear. "Come take our pictures!" The boy came to them at her summons and willingly took the camera from Bonnie. The trio sat on the edge of the table, arms wrapped tightly around one another and smiling brightly. They goofed around, taking silly pictures. They even managed to rope Tyler into getting into the photos.

"Wait! I love this song! Come on, let's dance!" Caroline called and the camera was stashed away in Bonnie's bag before she put it in her locker and the four of them went to the dance floor. Ellie wasn't sure how long they'd danced, but eventually Caroline got her attention and Bonnie's. "Let's get some punch, I'm thirsty."

They nodded as Bonnie said, "I could use something to drink too." The girls slid through the crowd and got a couple things of punch. "Hey, is that Elena?" Ellie turned immediately at the mention of her sister and sure enough there was Elena standing by herself. As they approached Elena was playing with her earring nervously.

She smiled at the three of them, though to Ellie it seemed a touch forced as her sister asked. "Having fun?"

"Mmm, no, but this took about two hours so I'm at least staying half of that." Caroline told her, gesturing to her outfit before Ellie bumped hips with her.

"What's Damon doing here?" Bonnie asked and following her line of sight, Ellie saw Damon standing next to Stefan looking around.

"He wanted to come." Elena said. "I promise, he'll behave."

"So what is this, like, a threesome now? You and the Salvatore brothers?" Caroline sassed.

"No, but if I'm gonna be with Stefan, then I have to learn to tolerate Damon. It's not like I can kill him." Elena said.

"There's a thought." Bonnie said.

"Mm, I'll help." Caroline replied.

"I'm in too. Just let me know when, Bon." Ellie added as the three of them clinked drinks. Elena just grinned at them. "But, Elena, I have to ask. You have repeatedly warned us to stay as far away from Damon as we can get so you aren't listening to your own advice why?"

Caroline and Bonnie both eyed the younger twin, waiting for her response. "I told you, if I'm with Stefan I have to learn to tolerate him."

"Not really. You could just avoid him, tell him to go to hell. For you know, hurting Caroline, scaring the crap out of Bonnie and harassing her, being an all around dick." Ellie trailed off with a wave of her hand. "Hey, Bon! You're a witch, just set him on fire maybe? I'll help you hide the body."

"Ellie!" Elena hissed.

"That's not a bad idea." Bonnie said thoughtfully.

"Oh, I know a few tricks to keep the body from being found. I've learned a thing or two from being the daughter of a sheriff." Caroline added.

"You guys are crazy." Elena laughed. She turned around and frowned before scanning the crowd. "I'll see you guys in a bit. I want to see if I can rope Stefan into dancing."

Elena was gone before the three of them could say anything else. "Is it just me, or is Elena acting weird?" Bonnie asked as they moved to stand at one of the round tables.

"Definitely not just you." Ellie confirmed. "She was with Stefan before I left because she thought she saw someone outside the house so she was acting really weird."

"Oh my god. Someone was outside your house?" Caroline asked worriedly. "Do I need to tell my mom?"

"It might have just been a prank, but I'll let you know, Care, thanks." Ellie said sincerely.

Caroline shifted uncomfortably just before a voice called, "Hi, Bonnie. Wanna dance?"

"I'm out of here." Bonnie said.

When she tried to leave, Damon moved to block her path. "Please give me another chance."

"You have two seconds to move before you get a drink thrown in your face dick." Ellie warned. The older Salvatore looked over at her, and Bonnie walked off before he had another chance to stop her.

Before they went with Bonnie, Caroline warned him, "Back off, Damon." The three of them walked off, leaving Damon behind. "I cannot believe the audacity he has. Coming here and harassing Bonnie."

"God, ok this dance is ruined for me. You guys wanna go get something to eat instead?" Bonnie suggested.

"Um the answer to food is always yes, Bon." Ellie reminded her as they walked out of the school and into the parking lot.

"Let's sit up there." Bonnie said as they walked into The Grill. It was just a stroke of luck on Bonnie's part that that hot guy Ben was working at the bar.

"Be a little more obvious, Bonnie." Caroline sassed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't rain on my hot guy parade." Bonnie replied.

"What? It's just a little drizzle. Ben Mckittrick? Really?" Caroline asked.

"He's hot."

"He's a washed up jock who pours drinks for a living." Caroline corrected. "You could do way better."

"Damn, Care. Harsh much?" Ellie asked.

Caroline ignored her in favor of Matt walking by. "Hey." She greeted cheerfully.

"What's up?" Matt said in passing, not even looking back.

"Ouch. That was icy." Ellie said sympathetically as Caroline watched Matt go. "Come on, let's go get a table." She led the blonde by the arm over to one of the tables and sat down.

They ordered their drinks and after they arrived, Caroline sat with her chin in her hand looking rejected. "Tonight was so much better on paper." The blonde said pitifully.

"Ah, you're just feeling sorry for yourself." Bonnie told her. "Go and talk to him. Be bold and fearless."

"Yeah, this coming from the girl who's been eye stalking the bartender." Caroline replied.

"You're right." Bonnie admitted.

Without another word, Bonnie rose from her seat and strode to the bar. "Oh my god is she actually doing it?" Ellie asked as she and Caroline straightened up in their seats.

"Oh my god I think she is." Caroline replied. They watched in silence as Ben leaned forward to rest his arms on the countertop, grinning at Bonnie. Caroline sat back in a huff, no longer able to use Bonnie as an excuse. It was then that Matt walked by without a word and Caroline asked, "Seriously?"

"Is that for me?" Matt asked sarcastically.

"Does it look like I'm talking to anyone else in the vicinity?"

"Do you need something?" Matt asked.

"Are you mad at me or something?"

"No, Care. I'm not mad. I…"

"Well, then why are you being so weird?" Caroline questioned as Ellie tried to make herself invisible so that she didn't disturb the conversation that almost seemed like an argument.

"I'm not. I'm working."

"You're avoiding."

"No. I have a table to clean." Matt corrected. "You know, that's the kind of thing that washed up jocks do to make a living." As he walked off, realization washed over both girls. He'd overheard her comment about Ben and taken it personally. Caroline groaned in frustration.

"You know if you want to fix it then you're gonna have to talk to him and apologize." Ellie offered softly.

"Yeah, I know." Caroline confessed before getting up and walking over to where Matt was clearing a table. Ellie discreetly moved closer to hear what they were saying. "Look, I said something stupid. I'm sorry. But I wasn't even talking about you."

"Yes, you were, Caroline." Matt told her. "Ben could easily be me. We're just alike."

"That's not true." Caroline said. "Are you seriously mad about this? Look, Matt you know me. Ok, I say stupid things without thinking, and then I have to apologize and take it back, and I'm a terrible awful person, but I'm working on it."

"Look, can we just not do this right now?" Matt asked.

"Ok." She agreed. "When do you get off?"

"Look, this thing we've got, it's nice, and it feels really good, and I know you wanna take the next step." Matt started.

"How do you know that? Have you even asked me?" Caroline interrupted.

Matt floundered for a response. "I'm… I'm not over Elena." He told her. "I don't, I mean, I don't know if I am, but if we go there, then it could mess up, and we might lose this. And this is the only good thing I've got going for me right now. So if it doesn't work, I'll just disappoint you and hurt you, and I don't wanna do that."

Caroline just shook her head. "Well, big problem, Matt. because you took the next step all by yourself, and you played the whole thing out in your head, and you decided to bail before even giving it a shot. So this really great thing that we have, don't worry about losing it. 'Cause it's already gone." She turned and walked off and Ellie stood to follow her. "I love you, Ellie, but don't. I just really wanna be alone right now."

Ellie watched helplessly as her best friend walked out of The Grill. "Matt." She nearly whined. "Matt, you know she really likes you."

The boy looked conflicted for a moment, and then strangely determined. "Ok." He said as he put away his thing of dirty dishes and towel before coming back out with his keys and his jacket.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm fixing this." He told her. "Thanks, Ellie." He pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking out the door.

Not long after both Matt and Caroline had left, Bonnie practically skipped over to where Ellie was sitting at their table. "Where's Care?" She asked as she sat down.

"I'm assuming she's with Matt by now. I think they're about to step into dating territory." Ellie said excitedly. "So… how did it go with Ben?" She sang.

"Be quiet!" Bonnie scolded but she couldn't help the silly grin she had. "Ok, so maybe we're going on a date."

Ellie squealed quietly as Bonnie shushed her again. "Oh my god that's amazing! Caroline is gonna be so excited." Ellie informed her. "Oh damn, I should probably get home. Can you give me a ride? My car's at the school."

"Yeah, of course." Bonnie agreed. The ride home was filled with laughter and excitement over Bonnie's upcoming date and Caroline and Matt's blooming relationship.

With a smile, Ellie waved her friend goodbye. As she turned back to face her house, she could hear the memory of Elena's scream rushed back to the forefront of her mind and she hastily went inside. Her worries eased at the sight of Elena sleeping peacefully in the arms of Stefan on the couch. "Hey." Ellie greeted softly as to not wake Elena.

"Hey." Stefan replied. "I didn't really see you at the dance."

"Bailed with Caroline and Bonnie after having to be in the presence of your douchebag brother, no offense." Ellie told him.

Stefan laughed quietly and nodded. "That's understandable. Hope he didn't ruin your night."

"No, I think it turned out pretty good, actually. Did you guys ever find the creep that was outside?" She asked.

"Yeah, actually. Just some punk messing around. Everything will be fine." Stefan assured her.

"That's good. Well, I think I'm gonna get to bed. Goodnight Stefan."

"Goodnight, Ellie."


Author's Note:

Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought or if you have any questions or anything you'd like to see. Also, Happy Ramadan to anyone that celebrates it!

To Mimi: You and Only Reviewer are really putting ideas into my head. The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to want to write Ellie and Katherine as friends. Because yes, Katherine has done a lot of bad things like turning Caroline and triggering Tyler and Mason's werewolf curse, but when she was a human she was just a girl that hadn't done anything to deserve what happened to her. I'd have to figure out how that would work, but because my brain can never let go of a tempting idea, it's now a definite possibility.

To Aryabloodlust: She's definitely going to have a breaking point with how much crap she takes from Elena, but as someone who has a sister, I sometimes let stuff go when I shouldn't and then something can just make everything go to crap out of nowhere.

To Only Reviewer: Ellie didn't really see anything because of how disoriented she was, but she could somewhat hear the conversation at the time. And no, once Ellie finds out about the vampires she's not going to just sit aside and let Elena run the show. Especially if Elena's trying to do something she doesn't agree with. As for Katherine, the idea for some sort of friendship between the two is now driving me insane because I can't get it out of my head. I now have ideas for the two of them brewing so I guess we'll see what happens.

To RiRi: Right? Like if my sister did that to me I would be absolutely furious.

To Guest: I really can't wait for him to get here either. Honestly I was not expecting to see people wanting Ellie and Katherine to be besties, but if they were going to be, it probably would be nice to see Ellie and Katherine and Caroline all be close. Plus I'm a sucker for a good redemption arc.

To Guest (2): Ellie is most definitely going to have some words for the three of them. It's going to be very interesting to write.

To Oz: She's really not going to put up with Elena's crap once she finds out. I feel like a lot of the times in fics when Elena really messes up, she never really has to pay the price. Like the character is just like "oh look at how sad Elena is, I forgive you." I can't think of a fic I've read where Elena really had to deal with the blow out. Ellie isn't going to be so forgiving. But Ellie is very protective of her friends and her family, she'd do anything she could to try and keep them safe. Hopefully she does a better job of that than Elena did.

To Leila Davis: Honestly, no. Elena really did not think about Ellie at all during the reveal. I can't wait for the originals either.

To Oz (2): Don't sweat it! I got what you meant. Thank you so much for reviewing, it means the world to me.

-Madame Magic

Posted: 4/24/20