Chapter 19: Miss Mystic Falls

February 7, 2010

Dear Diary,

We are still in the middle of Founder's Day celebrations and Uncle John is still here. I honestly don't remember the last time I'd seen him for this long. I'm sure they'll be announcing Founder's Court soon, I just hope this goes well. Bonnie is potentially coming back to school today. I really hope she does. Maybe being with her friends will help her heal. Plus with Founder's Court coming up so soon, I'm sure Caroline will want Bonnie to be there. They've been talking even more than me and Bonnie have. Which is surprising since normally Bonnie talks with Elena more. Actually, I'm not sure if Elena and Bonnie have talked at all lately.

Ellie walked into Mr. Saltzman's class and took her seat only a moment before she noticed Stefan walking in as well. Her eyes shot up in surprise. He hadn't been to school in a while, and she had been worried that he was really sick. "Ok." Mr. Saltzman said as he shut the door behind him, "This week we're going to set aside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founder's Day. Apparently the community leaders feel that's more important than World War II. But hey, what do I know?"

"Sorry I'm late." Bonnie apologized as she walked through the door. Ellie had known there was a chance that Bonnie was coming back today, but she wasn't sure if the other witch was actually going to do it.

Mr. Saltzman nodded at her and said to the class, "Well it looks like we will be at full occupancy today. Welcome home, Bonnie." She took her seat in front of Ellie as Mr. Saltzman continued, "Right, Founder's Day. What does it mean to have a Founder's Day? Well, if you'll turn your attention to this exquisite diorama over here that I spent all night making, you'll find the answer." He said and Ellie grinned at his slightly sarcastic tone. She understood why he didn't see the point. She didn't particularly get it either.

Her classes seemed to blur together and she was relieved when the last bell finally rang. "Come on!" Caroline said excitedly as she pulled on Ellie's arm to get the girl to stand faster. "They're posting the Founder's Court! We have to go!" Ellie hastily shoved her things into her bag and let the blonde drag her through the hallways pushing past anyone and everyone. They found the list posted on the bulletin board next to the office. "Oh my god." Caroline said softly.

"What is it?" Ellie asked.

"Oh my god! We both made it!" Caroline said excitedly as she pulled Ellie into a hug. "Oh my god this is going to be so much fun! I need the perfect dress like ASAP. Oh we can get Bonnie to help. Come on, let's go find her before she leaves for the day."

They walked outside and started scanning the crowd trying to find their friend. Hopefully, Caroline's excited mood would also put Bonnie in a good mood. "Oh look, Caroline, over there. She's with Elena." Ellie said as she spotted her sister and the girl they'd been looking for.

"Perfect." Caroline said before calling out, "Bonnie! Bonnie! Thank god you're home!" She slung her arms around Bonnie to hug the shorter girl. "I know we talked every day, but I missed you." Caroline confessed as she released Bonnie and Ellie took her place in the hug. Bonnie returned the hug and Ellie felt relief at getting to hold her friend tight. "How are you doing?" Caroline asked once Ellie stepped back from Bonnie.

"Better. Just better. You know, just glad to be back, and try to keep myself busy." Bonnie told her.

"You might regret saying that." Ellie joked as she winked at the other witch.

"Well, I can help with that. And you hush, Ellie." Caroline scolded but she was smiling too happily for there to be any real heat behind it. "Major wardrobe confab needed ASAP. You need to help me pick the perfect dress for the Founder's Court."

Ellie watched Bonnie's reaction and noticed the way the other girl seemed amused at how excited Caroline was. "The Founder's Court? Did I miss something?" Elena asked.

"The Founder's Court." Caroline repeated. "You know… Miss Mystic Falls. They announced it today and um, you and Ellie and I are all on it.""

The recognition was clear as Elena's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, my god. We signed up for that so long ago. I completely forgot."

"Yeah." Caroline said as she nodded. She read Elena's expression and asked, "So are you dropping out, then?"

Bonnie gave Ellie a small grin. They both knew how badly Caroline wanted to win. However, they also knew that neither Elena nor Ellie could drop out, not when it was something that had been so important and precious to their mother. "I can't." Elena confessed as she looked to both Ellie and Bonnie.

"No?" Caroline questioned, not understanding.

"Their mom is the one who wanted the two of them to enter." Bonnie explained. Caroline understood immediately. "But yes, Caroline, I'll definitely help you with the wardrobe." Caroline beamed at Bonnie and hugged the girl again.

"Perfect!"

"I need to get a partner for this." Ellie said suddenly. "Ok, Bon, can we talk later? I've missed seeing you."

"Yeah, of course." Bonnie said and she returned the hug Ellie gave her before the Gilbert witch took off. She searched through the parking lot and found Tyler putting away his gym bag in his trunk. "Hey Lockwood!" She called.

He looked up at her as he shut the trunk and said, "What do you want?"

"That's rude." She told him.

"I know you. I know that look. What do you want?" He repeated and she just laughed.

"Ok, ok, so I do want something." She confessed.

"That's what I thought."

She shoved him before asking, "Will you be my escort for the Founder's Court? They just posted the thing and I forgot all about it." He looked like he was going to protest so she held her hands up and said, "Please, listen, I know you hate formal things but Matt's gonna go with Caroline and Stefan's with Elena and you're my best option."

"I can't tell if that's supposed to be a compliment or an insult."

"Ty, I really do want you to be my escort for this thing. Even my mom suggested you be my escort when I first applied." Ellie added.

That seemed to catch him by surprise. "Really?" He asked. "Why would your mom want me to take you?"

"Because we were together constantly. Plus she thought you wouldn't step on my toes." Ellie joked and he rolled his eyes at her. "Please Ty, I don't want to go with someone else as my escort."

"Well… since you're so desperate, I suppose I could help you out." He teased.

"Thank you! You're the best. You better get your best tux." She warned.


By the time it was her turn for her Miss Mystic Falls interview, Caroline had already gone. Up until it was the blonde's turn, they sat side by side with Caroline holding Ellie's hand tightly. After Caroline's interview they went back to nervously holding hands and Ellie hoped and prayed that Caroline would be the winner because the blonde truly deserved it. Ellie walked into the interview room to see Mrs. Lockwood sitting between two other women. "Hello Ellie, please take a seat." She said and Ellie took her place in the single chair placed before the table. "This year's queen will have the special honor of taking center stage at the hundred and fiftieth Founder's Day Gala. Before we crown our winner, we would like to get to know a bit more about each of you."

"I am a cheerleader at Mystic Falls High. I regularly make donations to the blood bank. In the past, I volunteered at the rec center during the summers both for cheer and gymnastics. I also used to work with the recycling programs to try and help keep Mystic Falls clean. But I am aware that I've not been as involved this year due to unforeseen circumstances." Ellie said and watched as their gazes turned sympathetic at the mention of her parents. "But I know how much of an honor it is to the girl crowned Miss Mystic Falls and how serious it is to me. This was something that my mother and I had looked forward to doing together since I was a little kid. She wanted me to be as passionate about the community as she was, and I'd like to think that I've done ok in that regard. It's a legacy she left for both me and my sister. But if I'm entirely honest…"

"Please do." Mrs. Lockwood told her.

"The title of Miss Mystic Falls was something my mother taught me to value. It is something I will always value. So I believe that it should go to the person that has truly put in the effort continuously to improve our community. I wouldn't want the crown because someone felt pity for the loss that I've gone through. In my honest opinion, I believe Caroline should get the crown." Ellie explained.

The three women before her seemed shocked. "If you don't want to win, why compete?" Mrs. Lockwood asked curiously.

"For my mother. I compete because I do think that this title is something special. But I have also watched all the effort Caroline has put in. She has put her heart and soul into improving Mystic Falls because she loves this place. She loves projects and helping and she's one of the most dedicated people I've ever seen. I know it's a bit unorthodox for me to be this honest about this, and I know that she doesn't need my praise for her achievements to shine for her, but I felt like I should be honest."

"It speaks volumes about your character for you to truly speak your mind in this interview. Most candidates are very careful about what they say." Mrs. Lockwood told her. The interview continued and as they were wrapping up, Mrs. Lockwood told her, "Don't forget that practice for the formal dance will be at four this afternoon in the high school lunchroom."

"I won't." Ellie assured her. "Thank you all for your time."

She spent the rest of her free time with Jenna, dress hunting. When it came time for her to be in the lunchroom, Tyler was thankfully waiting in the parking lot for her to arrive. "Come on now princess, don't want to be late." He teased.

"Shut up." She told him as they hurried into the lunchroom and fell in line with the others.

They were two down from where Elena and Stefan already were as Mrs. Lockwood greeted everyone. "Thank you all for being here, let's jump right into it." She started. "Now, first, honor your partner." Everyone stepped closer to their partner as the girls curtsied and the boys bowed. "Let's focus. Right hand around." Tyler was making a face as they both held up their right hands and moved to the left. "Flirt with your eyes." She said as the music began to play.

"She said flirt, not look like a crazy person." Ellie said sarcastically.

"This is dumb." Tyler replied. "You're lucky I'm even doing it."

"Left hand around." Mrs. Lockwood said. Everyone was kind of quietly laughing at how silly the dance was. "Both hands." Out of nowhere, Stefan spun Elena around and dropped her into a low dip as she laughed. "Oh, no, no, no, no. There's no touching during this part. It's about the simple intimacy of the near-touch." She explained and Ellie was trying hard to not laugh at her sister getting scolded. "Very nice, Amber." She praised as she moved back to her spot to direct them all.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood." Amber said sincerely. The music resumed and they continued following the instructions Mrs. Lockwood gave. Thankfully, the dance was actually quite simple and repetitive. Mrs. Lockwood eventually told the pairs that if they had the dance down, they were free to leave.

Most pairs had already stopped to head home when Caroline and Bonnie came in. "Bonnie." Elena called in greeting. "Hey."

"Hey. How are you?" Stefan asked. Ellie walked away from Tyler to where the four of them were standing a bit awkwardly.

There was a painfully awkward silence that followed his question, so Caroline spoke instead. "I begged Bonnie to fill in for Matt. He had to work today."

"Bonnie, do you have a minute?" Elena asked.

"We only have thirty minutes for rehearsal." Bonnie told her.

"It'll only take a minute." Elena replied. "Please?" There was definitely something going on with Elena and Bonnie, but Ellie didn't know what could have caused the tension she was witnessing. After a second, Bonnie silently turned and headed back out of the room with Elena following. Ellie shared a confused look with Caroline, before they both looked over to Stefan who just gave them a smile.

"I'm gonna go tell Mrs. Lockwood that Bonnie's filling in for Matt." Caroline told Ellie before walking off.

Unable to help her curiosity, Ellie asked Stefan, "Did they have a fight or something that I don't know about? Things seem a little tense."

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Maybe it has something to do with Elena really being the last person she saw before everything happened with her Grams. Maybe Elena reminds her of it." Stefan suggested.

"Oh. I hadn't even thought of that." Ellie confessed. "It makes sense, now that you mention it. For a while after the accident, I hardly went anywhere if it meant riding in a car because I was so scared." Stefan nodded in understanding. "Hopefully things get better between the two of them soon. It's weird to see them like that."

"I'm sure it will." Stefan told her.

When it was clear their conversation was over, she walked back over to Tyler. "Hey, Ty, I think I'm gonna stick around while Bonnie and Caroline practice, but you don't have to stay." She told him.


After school, it was finally time to start getting things ready to go to the Miss Mystic Falls competition. "Ellie, do you have all of your makeup?" Jenna asked as the teenager was double checking all her things.

"Yes, and I've got both curling irons and my dress and my shoes." Ellie told her. "Oh! And the accessories." She added as she grabbed a smaller bag and put it into her purse. "Are you almost ready to go?"

"Yeah, can you zip me up? I'm sure Alaric will be here any minute now." Jenna said. Ellie turned and zipped up Jenna's dress carefully, making sure that she didn't accidentally tug on any stray hairs. "He's gonna drive us over there."

"Thank god. Me in a car with John is not something I have the patience for today." Ellie confessed. "I'm gonna go ahead and go downstairs. Um, maybe see if Jeremy's riding with us or John?"

Jenna nodded. "Ok, go ahead. I'll be down in just a second."

She carefully made her way down the stairs and heard John say, "Alaric. Hey buddy. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm the chauffeur." Mr. Saltzman told him. "Here, Ellie, let me get that dress." He carefully took the dress from her hands as she made it down the last step.

"Oh, thanks. You look great, Mr. Saltzman." She informed him with a grin.

"Oh, I actually thought I was driving." John said as he took a step towards where Ellie and Mr. Saltzman stood.

As Jenna was walking down the stairs, she said, "Oh, no need. We're going with Ric." She looked more than a little pleased that they were leaving without John.

Mr. Saltzman just gave John a smile in response. "Are we ready?" Elena asked as she walked back into the room.

"Yeah, we are." Ellie told her as she double checked all the things that she had.

"Jeremy can ride with you." Jenna said to John as she moved to get the door. Once they walked out, Jenna just grinned at the girls. "That was satisfying."

"Always is." Ellie confirmed as they headed for Mr. Saltzman's car. "Thank you for driving us, by the way."

Mr. Saltzman gave her a bright smile. "It's no problem." He assured her as they placed their things in his trunk before he put their dresses down on top of everything else.

It seemed like everything was a blur from getting to the event and trying to get ready. Mrs. Lockwood was like a ball of nervous energy. She wanted everything to go absolutely perfectly. If there was anyone in Mystic Falls that could compete with Caroline's level of perfectionism, it would be Mrs. Lockwood. They had made it through the majority of what they needed to do to be ready, when Elena said to Jenna, "Thanks for helping me."

"Don't thank me until you're sure your hair isn't going to burn off." Jenna joked as the three of them laughed.

"You know, I remember when mom, Ellie, and I were first applying for this. She was so excited." Elena told Jenna. Ellie felt the pull of sadness and grief. This was something their parents were supposed to see.

"So were the two of you, if I recall." Jenna reminded them.

"I was. She just made it sound like so much fun." Elena confessed. If Ellie tried, she could still hear the sound of her mother's voice, excitedly telling them about the beautiful dresses. She could almost hear her mother telling her that it would make her feel like a princess. "Lots have changed since then."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but it's a little late for cold feet." Jenna told her as she fixed Elena's curls.

"I don't have cold feet. I just… I think I'd be enjoying it a lot more if she was here." Elena admitted.

Ellie reached over to squeeze Elena's hand. "Mom would be so proud of you, Elena." Ellie said softly.

"She'd be proud of both of you." Jenna corrected. There was a moment of grief filled silence, before Jenna spoke again, "Well, I'll tell you one thing. Your hair would have a better chance if she was."

The girls laughed again before Elena told them, "Ok, I should go put my dress on." She looked over at Jenna, who was still holding the curling iron. "Be careful with that thing." She warned and Ellie grinned as Elena added, "Don't hurt anybody."

"Ellie, do you need help with anything?" Jenna asked as she looked over Ellie's appearance. Her hair was also curled, but where Elena's was half up in a bun, Ellie had managed to put half of her hair up in braids that tucked into one another.

"Um… can you do the hairspray for me? I'm afraid I'll miss a spot." Ellie told her. Her aunt took the can and carefully sprayed her hair to keep it in place. "Thank you! I think I'm good, you can go flirt with Mr. Saltzman now."

Jenna rolled her eyes at the comment. "You look beautiful, Ellie." She said as she put the hairspray back on the table.

"Thank you." Ellie replied with a smile. Jenna walked off as Ellie was putting the finishing touches on her makeup. Once she was done, she gave Caroline an overdramatic wink, causing the blonde to laugh at her. "Lookin good Forbes." It seemed to calm Caroline down a bit. The blonde desperately wanted to win. "I'm gonna go get dressed. See you soon." She made her way to the room that she'd been given to get dressed in, only to find Amber pacing nervously. "Amber? Is everything ok?"

"I don't know if I can do this. I get panic attacks when I'm the center of attention." Amber said as she wrung her hands together.

Ellie stepped over to the other girl and took her hands to hold in her own. "Amber, everything is going to be fine. You'll look stunning, but you really need to go get dressed. Is there anything I can do?"

Amber pulled her hands away and shook her head. "I actually think that I'm gonna go get some air. Uh, thank you though. I'll see you in a bit." Amber said as she quickly exited the room. Ellie watched her go. She just hoped that Amber would be ok.

Once she pulled on her dress and shoes, there was a knock on the door before Mrs. Lockwood stuck her head in. "Oh, Ellie, perfect. You look absolutely stunning dear. Come along, the girls are lining up." Mrs. Lockwood said.

Ellie glanced over her appearance in the mirror before walking over to the stairs where a line of girls were. She watched as they walked down the stairs one by one as Elena kept glancing over the railing. "Miss Tina Fell, escorted by Bartholomew Whitmore." There was a round of applause as she walked down the stairs.

"Has anyone seen Amber?" Mrs. Lockwood asked as she walked over to where Ellie was standing with Caroline and Elena was looking over the rail.

"Do you see Stefan down there?" Elena asked worriedly.

Both Caroline and Ellie walked over to the rail to look. When neither of them spotted the younger Salvatore, Caroline said, "Nope, just my boring fill-in escort."

"What happened to Matt?" Elena asked.

Caroline sighed heavily. "They wouldn't let him out of work. Wait, what happened to Stefan?"

"I don't know. He just disappeared somewhere." Elena admitted.

Ellie frowned. "That doesn't sound like a Stefan thing to do. Is everything ok?"

"I don't know. What am I doing?" Elena asked suddenly, not really answering Ellie's question. "I never should have gone through with this."

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked.

"I need to find Stefan. This isn't me. I'm not this person anymore." Elena said as she started to walk away.

"Uh, no, no, no, no, no way, no." Caroline told her. "You had your chance to drop out. And believe me, I was all for it. Because there's no way that I can beat you. Going up against one of you is bad enough. But with both of you in the race, I don't stand a chance. But Elena, you and Ellie are doing this because it was important to your mom."

"Miss Caroline Forbes." Mayor Lockwood announced. "And her escort Jeffrey Lockwood Hamilton." Caroline smiled at the two of them and began to walk down the stairs as the people below gave a round of applause.

"Elena, you're next. Come on." Mrs. Lockwood called and the twins went to stand next to the stairs.

"Miss Elena Gilbert escorted by Mr. Stefan Salvatore." There was a round of applause as Elena began her walk and Ellie watched anxiously when she only saw Tyler and Amber's escort standing there. Damon stepped in out of nowhere, and it was the one time Ellie felt anything other than annoyance towards the older Salvatore. It would have been awful if Elena had been left hanging. "Miss Ellie Gilbert escorted by Mr. Tyler Lockwood." Mayor Lockwood announced and Ellie put on her best smile as she moved down the staircase. It was a relief that Tyler was with her. There was no chance that he would let her get nervous.

It was surprising how loud the applause was when she was actually down the stairs. Tyler took her hand and they moved outside. "You ready?" Tyler whispered, careful enough to not make it obvious that he was talking.

"As I'll ever be." She confessed as she stepped into place beside Elena as Tyler stood in front of her. The music began and they all stepped forward to honor their partner. The dance was easy and everyone moved together. It was fortunate that no one messed up and before long they all were back in the place where they started as the music came to an end.

They were eventually taken to line up on stage, but Amber was still nowhere to be found. "Where's Amber?" Caroline whispered.

"I don't know." Ellie replied as Mayor Lockwood made his way on stage.

"Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." Mayor Lockwood said before the audience gave a round of applause. "So, without further ado, it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!"

Caroline's eyes went wide in shock and Ellie didn't hesitate to throw her arms around her friend to hug her tightly. "Congratulations!" She said excitedly.

"I actually won!" Caroline said in surprise as she hugged her back.

"I knew you would!" Ellie assured her. They pulled apart and Caroline stepped forward to let Mayor Lockwood place the Miss Mystic Falls banner on her. Ellie clapped as loud as she could, cheering on Caroline proudly. This was something Caroline very much deserved. When the girls were finally allowed offstage, Ellie pulled Caroline into another hug. "I'm so happy for you!" She told her.

Caroline was absolutely beaming. "I thought for sure it was gonna be you or Elena. I never thought I would win."

"Come on, we need pictures." Ellie said as they moved offstage to look for the photographer. Countless people congratulated Caroline as they moved about and Caroline was smiling brightly the whole time. Ellie honestly wasn't sure if she remembered the last time Caroline was as happy as this. They found the photographer and took more photos than they probably should have asked for, but the woman was kind and promised to get them both copies quickly.

"This is the best day ever." Caroline confessed. "It just would have been perfect if Matt had been here."

"I'm sure he'll find some way to make it up to you." Ellie told her as she gave her a suggestive look.

Caroline just laughed. "You're something else." Caroline groaned.

"Oh, Ellie! There you are." Jenna said as she stopped. "Also congratulations Caroline, you deserve it."

"Thank you Jenna." Caroline replied.

"Hate to cut it short, but are you ready to leave, Ellie?" Jenna asked.

"Oh, yeah! I just need to get my stuff." Ellie told her before she gave Caroline another hug. "I'm really really proud of you." She said sincerely and Caroline blushed under the praise. "I'll see you later, winner. Come on, Jenna, I gotta get my stuff."


Author's Note:

Hi guys! I'm so sorry for the delayed update. I was having to work on a house I'm renovating and didn't get the chance to update. Everything has to be done for the house within like a couple of weeks, so if the update gets delayed again it should only be next week's update. Also, it's been four months since I posted the first chapter, so Happy Anniversary to you guys and this story! Thank you to everyone that has stuck with me this far!

To Daynesky: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy the relationships she has with the people she cares about. We're getting close to her finding out the truth and I literally can't wait for you guys to read it.

To Mimi: Elena and her lies really do get quite annoying don't they? Literally her lying to Jeremy's face over the death of someone he really cared about drives me insane every single time. I love her relationship with Jeremy too. Also, I hadn't thought about the compulsion in season three, but I doubt Ellie would be ok with it. Not sure if Tyler would fall for her, but they won't be getting together. I feel like it's kinda rare to see like a really close guy and girl pairing that are just friends and I wanted to have that for them.

To Oz: Part of the reason he really hasn't lost his temper with her comes from the fact that they've been best friends for forever and she's gotten really good at keeping him in check. And since guys sometimes have that "I can't lean on another guy for help" thing, he leans more on Ellie than Matt even though he and Matt are close. As for Caroline and Tyler, not sure if they're gonna be a thing or not, but they will get closer than they were at the start of the show.

To RiRi: I'm so glad you love her! Their relationship will definitely get stronger. She'd definitely protect Jeremy from the stupid decisions Elena and the brothers made. And tada! Tyler was her escort. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

-Madame Magic

Posted: 6/14/20