Chapter 23: Memory Lane

March 4, 2010

With a groan, Ellie slowly pushed herself up in the bed. The aftermath of the car crash had been way worse than anyone had expected. At least it was worse for Ellie. Matt had gotten off the easiest. He wasn't really hurt at all. Tyler had been knocked out but the worst he got was a headache. Caroline had been in the hospital for a couple of days, but she got out long before Ellie did. Ellie had ended up with a concussion and was banged up enough for them to keep her in the hospital for a few days.

When they finally released her, it was like everyone was on edge in case something else happened. Bonnie had been especially worried. If Ellie hadn't known any better, she would have thought that Bonnie was acting guilty. Guilty for what, she couldn't say. Matt had ended up being the one to break the news to Ellie that Tyler's dad had died. The news was like a blow to the chest. No one really explained how Tyler's dad died, just that the man was gone.

The first time she saw Tyler after every and could recall it, she watched as he tried his best not to cry. He gave her apology after apology and in the end they set up camp in her room to binge watch Star Wars. His uncle Mason had made a reappearance as well and was lingering in town.

Today, Jenna had come up with the idea to have a barbecue and she kept bouncing back and forth trying to get stuff ready for the party and trying to make sure that Ellie was ok. Ellie was relaxed on the couch watching tv as Jenna looked over everything that she had. "Did I forget anything?" Jenna asked as she swept.

"No, and if you did I already sent a list to Elena for stuff to get at the store while she's there." Ellie said as she shifted to look at her aunt.

Jenna looked up in surprise. "You're a saint, Ellie." She praised as she dumped the pan into the garbage. "How are you feeling today?"

"Honestly, fine for the most part. My collarbone is still a bit sore but other than that, I'm pretty much fine." Ellie said. "It's not nearly as bad as last time. I just hope Mr. Saltzman is good on the grill. I am starving and a freshly grilled burger sounds like heaven right about now."

"Agreed. We haven't had a good barbecue in a while." Jenna said as she moved to help Ellie stand. "Be careful."

Ellie rolled her eyes but she couldn't help the way she smiled fondly at Jenna. "I'm bruised, not an invalid." She retorted.

"You're still breakable."

"I'm breakable even when I'm not banged up, but I adore you for your concern." Ellie told her. What Jenna didn't need to know was that Ellie had snuck out to the house where Emily and the other witches were and they had done what they could to help speed up her healing. She was in much better condition than she'd been in when she got out of the hospital. "When is Mr. Saltzman supposed to be here?"

"Sooner rather than later, he just had some errands he had to take care of." Jenna told her.

The faint sound of a car door caught the teen witch's attention and Ellie looked over to see if she could see anything. "I think I heard Elena." She said and on cue the door unlocked and opened to Elena trying to bring in way too many bags at once. "Elena, god you aren't She Hulk. You're gonna break something!" Ellie teased as she helped set the bags on the table.

"It's fine. It's all good. Um, there's some more in the car Jenna." Elena said as she unwrapped the handles from where they'd gotten twisted on her wrists. Jenna headed out to get more groceries as Ellie made sure nothing was going to break. "So how are you?"

"Sick of that question, to be honest." Ellie replied as she started taking the supplies out of the bags. "I mean, I appreciate everyone being worried, but it's just bruises at this point and it's no big deal. Don't you remember that time when we were playing softball in like eighth grade and Bethany Wilson threw the ball so hard that when it hit me we thought my leg was broken?"

Elena's eyes went wide at the memory. "Oh my god mom was so mad. I thought she was gonna fight Bethany's mom. That snooty brat looked so smug I swear she did it on purpose. I especially remember Caroline trying to murder her."

Ellie grinned at the memory of how Caroline had tackled Bethany when they'd been playing football. She'd been certain that the blonde was going to pummel the other girl then and there. Sheriff Forbes had been called in for that. "Well no one can ever say that Care isn't loyal." Ellie told her. When Jenna walked in with yet another armful of bags Ellie gave her sister a funny look. "Did you buy the whole store?" She asked curiously. "Is this everything? Surely there's not more."

"No. No. This is everything." Jenna nodded before she moved to rub the red marks on her arms where the bags had been too heavy and cut off her circulation.

"I didn't buy the whole store." Elena said with a roll of her eyes. "I just bought what we needed."

"Mmhmm." Ellie said skeptically as she looked at all the snacks Elena had bought. "Well I guess no one is going hungry." Elena glared at her sister, but said nothing else. "Elena, can you reach that big bowl for me?" She asked as she pointed up to a chip bowl on the top shelf. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem but with her shoulder still sore, it hurt to stretch it too much.

"Yeah." Elena nodded as she did as she was asked before passing the bowl to Ellie. As Ellie put the extra supplies away, Elena filled bowls and plates with different snacks. "Oh, Jenna, I just wanted to say thanks for letting me invite Caroline. She could use a day of distraction."

"Oh, she's not the plus one I'm worried about." Jenna said as she came to stand between the girls at the counter. "Why is Damon coming?"

Ellie made a face at his name. "Ew. Why is Damon coming? It's not like he's particularly welcome here." She said sassily.

"Because Alaric is a pity-taker." Elena informed them.

"Um… when did we get to be on a first name basis with Mr. Saltzman?" Ellie asked curiously as she stole a chip from the bowl. "Are we supposed to be on a first name basis with him?"

Jenna shrugged. "I don't think he'd mind you being on a first name basis with him. I mean your birth mother is… was his wife. So I guess it's kind of a special circumstance? You can call him Alaric if you'd like."

"I'll think about it." Ellie told her.

"But come on, Jenna, be nice." Elena said as she snacked on a grape.

Jenna scoffed at the younger girl. "I'll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off you."

"Wait, what?" Ellie asked in surprise. "What happened?" Elena looked away from Ellie, refusing to meet her sister's eyes. "Uh no, you don't get to do that. What happened?"

"Oh, you know, I found Damon kissing Elena on the front porch on Founder's Day." Jenna informed her.

"Elena!" Ellie said in surprise. "Does Stefan know what happened?"

"I… uh."

"Does Stefan know what happened or not? It's a yes or no question." Ellie asked sharply. There were already a multitude of reasons that Ellie didn't like Damon, but this one was a new level of messed up. Kissing your brother's girlfriend? Definitely not ok. "Elena if Stefan doesn't know, I'll tell him myself." She warned. She wasn't super close with Stefan, but she respected him enough to tell him the truth.

"He knows, ok." Elena sighed. "It's fine. The situation is already settled." Ellie shared a look with Jenna. She would have thought that Elena wouldn't want to be anywhere near Damon if he kissed her without permission. The sudden idea that Elena would let Damon kiss her, that she would cheat on Stefan with his brother, pushed itself forward in her mind. It was an awful thought, and no matter how strange Elena was acting, Ellie hoped to god that her sister wasn't a cheater.

Not knowing what else to say, Ellie just said, "Jenna is it ok if I invite Bonnie? Since Care is coming, Bonnie might like to as well."

"Yeah, go ahead." Jenna told her and Ellie moved to head upstairs to get her phone.

Ellie moved up the stairs carefully before heading to her room. She dialed the familiar number of her friend and waited. "Hello?" Bonnie answered.

"Bon! Hey! I was wondering if you wanted to come over. Jenna's having a barbecue." Ellie informed her as she fiddled with a ring on her shelf.

"She is?" Bonnie asked. "When?"

"Like now I guess. You can come over whenever. Caroline should be here soon." Ellie told her. From downstairs she could hear the doorbell ringing.

"Caroline's going to be there?" Bonnie asked and Ellie could hear a shift in her voice.

"Yeah. Elena invited her. Honestly, I'm surprised that she didn't invite you as well." Ellie replied.

There was a pregnant pause. "Um, yeah I don't think I'll be able to make it. I've got some stuff to do." It sounded like an excuse to Ellie.

"Is everything ok? Did you and Caroline have a fight or something?" She asked curiously. Everyone seemed to be fighting lately.

"Huh? Oh, no, no. Everything's fine." Bonnie denied. "Really, I just have other stuff I have to take care of."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely. Eat a burger for me! I gotta go."

"Uh, ok. I'll talk to you later." Ellie said. The call ended abruptly and Ellie just stared at the screen in confusion. Was everyone suddenly in like a gang or something? With a shake of her head, she headed back downstairs.

"Is Bonnie coming?" Jenna asked as she wrapped up on setting out snacks.

"She apparently has stuff she's gotta do." Ellie shrugged.

"Haha, good news! Found the shot glasses." Mason said as he strolled into the kitchen, holding up alcohol and the shot glasses victoriously.

"Mason!" Ellie said excitedly.

"And that would be my exit." Elena said as she walked off with a handful of grapes.

"I'm here ten minutes and already I'm back under the bleachers at the pep rally." Jenna teased as Mason leaned over to hug her.

"It's just like old times, huh?" Mason teased as they laughed. "Only I didn't swipe this bottle from my old man." He joked. "Oh, Ellie, come here. I haven't seen you in ages." He hugged her carefully before giving her a bright smile. "You look great."

"So do you." She replied. "I'm really sorry about Mayor Lockwood." She told him softly.

There was a small look of grief that flashed over his features, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "I'm sorry about what happened to you. Tyler told me. He's been worried sick about you." Mason replied as he looked her over. "He feels awful that you got hurt because of him."

Ellie waved it off. "It could've been worse. Besides, it was an accident. I don't blame him for it." She said honestly. "He's already apologized like a thousand times anyways."

"I'm just glad you're ok." Mason told her honestly. She gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand.

It was then that Mr. Saltzman came in from the back door. "Oh, the expensive stuff. I like you already." He joked with Mason.

"Just happy to be invited." Mason told him.

"Oh, thank Ric. This was his idea." Jenna said as she smiled at Alaric.

"Really?"

"Yeah, well, you know, I thought it'd be nice to meet some of Jenna's old high school friends." Alaric confessed. "Dig up a little dirt." He joked.

"Oh, I've got dirt. I've got dirt." Mason laughed.

"I have no secrets. Only dirty shame." Jenna said as she held up her shot glass.

"To dirty shame." Mason agreed as he and Alaric also held up their shot glasses. Ellie, who was not old enough to drink legally and didn't have a shot glass, held up her glass of soda and clinked glasses with them. "Cheers." Mason said brightly.

"Hey." Damon said as he walked in and Ellie's smile immediately fell.

It made her feel better to see Jenna have the same reaction. "Damon."

"We were just doing shots. Let me get you a shot glass, buddy." Alaric said as he wiped off his hands.

"No. Here. Use mine." Jenna said as she downed her alcohol and shoved the tiny glass into Damon's hand before walking out.

"She doesn't like me very much." Damon said to Mason as he passed the glass to the other man.

"With good reason." Ellie scowled. "Sorry Mason, but I can't stand to be within a five foot radius of this dickhead. So I'm gonna be like anywhere else."

"Ok." Mason said. As she walked out she could hear Mason introducing himself. "We haven't met. Mason Lockwood."

As she walked out of the kitchen, Caroline walked through the front door. Caroline was positively beaming as soon as she spotted her best friend. "Oh my god! Ellie!" She rushed over and hugged the young witch. They hadn't seen each other much since the accident. Caroline hugged her with just as much caution as Mason had, but there was something different about the blonde. "How are you? I am so so so sorry that I haven't been by much."

"I'm ok. I'm just glad you're ok. You're the one that needed surgery." Ellie reminded her. "Are you ok?" She asked after a moment. "Something seems… different about you."

The color drained from Caroline's face. She shook her head a split second later and smiled brightly at the other girl. "Huh? No, I'm fine. Just hungry. Do you know when the burgers are going to be ready?"

"I don't think Mr. Saltzman… Alaric… whatever I'm supposed to call him, I don't think he's gotten started yet." Ellie said. She tried to place the change in her friend. It was like the air around her was different from what it used to be, if that even made any sense. "Really are you sure nothing's different with you?"

There was no hesitation this time. "I'm sure. Just the same old me." Caroline assured her.


After they'd eaten, Caroline and Ellie were sitting in the kitchen while the others were in the living room playing pictionary. "So what have I missed?" Ellie asked as she watched Jenna yell out guesses to what Elena was drawing.

"Nothing much. Tyler and Matt are actually speaking again." Caroline informed her as she pulled a bowl of chips to her.

"How is Matt? Last time I saw him, that I really remember, he was worried sick about us." Ellie asked curiously.

Caroline looked hesitant to answer. "Um… I wouldn't really know. We kinda broke up." She admitted softly.

"Broke up?" Ellie nearly yelped in shock. "Wait what? And you didn't tell me? What happened? Everything was going so good between the two of you."

"It's my fault. I was crazy Caroline. I guess I went too far and he just had enough of it." Caroline said dejectedly. "It is what it is I guess."

"That's it? You're not even going to try and get him back? And you're not crazy, Caroline." Ellie questioned.

Caroline shrugged. "What if it's for the best? Matt doesn't deserve to be stuck with all my drama. It's surprising he's tolerated me for this long."

"Stop that." Ellie said sharply. "Stop putting yourself down like that. I've said it once and I'll say it till the day I die. Caroline Forbes you are amazing. You are one of the sweetest most wonderful people that I have ever met. And everybody has their drama. I mean look at Elena and Stefan. They've been all over the place and I still don't know what's going on with them."

"But Elena's… well Elena. Everyone loves her. I don't know. I just…"

"You guys gonna come play or what?" Jenna called from the living room.

Caroline put on a fake smile and nodded. "Of course. We're coming." She didn't wait for Ellie. The blonde moved quickly to sit on the couch and Ellie just sighed at Caroline's avoidance of the topic. Ellie ended up sitting carefully on the arm of the chair where Mason sat. She watched silently as they played. It was odd that the drawings from Alaric and Damon typically ended up being things that Mason guessed correctly.

It was Damon's turn to draw and Ellie couldn't help the slight scowl on her face at being forced into such close quarters with the older Salvatore. Elena had gotten up a moment ago to go and get the pie that Damon had brought over. "Dress! Ballerina! Ballet!" Jenna was yelling excitedly. She'd probably had one too many drinks if she was enjoying Damon's company.

"Puppy! Puppy!" Caroline was also yelling. Damon had drawn what looked like a dog in a tutu with an arrow to show spinning and some music notes. She wasn't quite sure where he was trying to go with it. Maybe he was just stupid. "Puppy with a tutu."

"No. No." Damon said as he made wild gestures to the picture.

"Dog. Hound dog." Jenna was guessing. "You ain't nothing but a hound dog!"

"Dances with wolves." Mason answered casually. Everyone on the couch turned to look at him. It was honestly a touch odd to see Caroline, Alaric, and Jenna so in sync like that. Ellie too turned to look at him curiously and he just shrugged.

"Mason wins… again." Damon said as Mason gave Alaric a look. What was that even about?

"How is that a wolf?" Jenna complained as Damon headed towards the kitchen.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "I guess he's just a shitty drawer." She sassed. The corner of Mason's lips quirked up in a smirk. As Caroline moved to have her turn drawing, Ellie leaned down to Mason's level. "In case you couldn't tell. I really hate him."

"Yeah, I think I'm picking up on that." He joked back. She shifted so that she was sitting comfortably again as Alaric and Jenna spouted off guesses to what Caroline was drawing. Her focus was pulled away from the game to see Damon standing far too close to Elena.

Jenna must have guessed Caroline's drawing successfully if her excited cheer was anything to go by. "Oh, Ellie come on, let's go get the pie. Elena is taking too long." Jenna said as she tugged on Ellie's sleeve. Ellie smiled warmly at her and complied with her tipsy aunt's request. As they walked over to where Elena and Damon were, Ellie couldn't help but glare at the non-existent distance between the stupid troll and her sister. "There you are." Jenna said. "Isn't this fun?"

"Yes. Thank you so much for inviting me." Damon told her.

"Did I have a choice?" Jenna asked him.

"No. I don't think you did." Ellie chimed in.

"I know what you must think about me and I-." Damon started.

"No." Jenna cut him off. "You don't. You have never dated you. I have dated many you's." It was almost fascinating to see how quickly Jenna had gone from giggly and tipsy to serious.

"Well, I'm a work in progress." Damon said.

"God if this is you with progress then you really must have crawled straight out of hell. A demon perhaps? Demon… Damon… coincidence? Probably not." Ellie snarked.

He elected to ignore her comments as Elena passed Jenna the pie server. "Ooh, these are fancy."

"Thanks. My mother's silver set." Jenna said without looking at him as Ellie moved to get the plates. "Hey guys, come on. Let's eat pie." Jenna called once everything was ready. Alaric moved and sat at one head of the table and Mason moved to sit in the middle of the bench.

"Mason. Why don't you start us off?" Damon suggested as he placed the pie in front of the Lockwood. He smiled at Mason but if you asked Ellie he was verging on creepy.

After a moment, Mason replied, "Sure." Ellie watched as he turned the pie so that the handle of the server was away from him before he stuck his hand straight in and scooped out a piece. He looked over and saw the stare Alaric was giving the pie before laughing a bit awkwardly. "What am I? I apologize. I'm an animal."

Ellie tried hard to not laugh in the momentary awkward silence. "So, Mason, you and Jenna never dated?" Alaric questioned.

Mason looked up at the blonde in mention before shaking his head. "She was always lost in Logan Fell land."

"Oh, my first mistake." Jenna sighed.

"Let's admit it, he was probably your worst too." Ellie commented as she used the server to get her own piece of pie.

"You're probably right." Jenna agreed. "Mason was a catch. He had girls lining up." She said fondly.

"Really?" Damon asked in surprise. "Huh. I always pegged you for a lone wolf." Ellie rolled her eyes at him. He definitely hadn't known Mason long enough to make any kind of accurate observation, but he always seemed to feel the need to put his two cents in. She hadn't forgotten his stupid comments about Elena not being a cheerleader type.

There was an odd tension between the two of them as Mason replied, "Oh, I'm sure I wasn't half the lady killer you were." It wouldn't surprise Ellie if Mason didn't like Damon, because Damon is a massive asshole, but the tension seemed to be a bit thick for them to have just met. "How about a toast?" Mason suggested as he held up his beer bottle. "To new friends." The other legal drinkers in the room held up their beer bottles as Ellie held up her glass of water to clink. "Cheers!" Mason said as everyone repeated it back.

Ellie looked back to see Caroline and Elena still putting away the pictionary supplies. She moved over to them and asked, "Are you guys gonna come get some pie?"

Elena looked hesitant. "I don't think so." She chewed on her lip before turning to Caroline. "Would I be the worst friend in the world if I abandoned you and went to Stefan's?"

"You want to leave?" Caroline asked in surprise.

"It's just that he hasn't gotten back to me." Elena confessed as Ellie looked between the two girls in confusion. "And I'm starting to get this bad feeling."

"Bad feeling about what?" Ellie asked curiously. "He might just be busy."

Elena seemed to almost completely ignore her sister's statement. Ellie quite honestly took offense to being ignored. "I don't think that's a good idea, Elena." Caroline told her.

"Damon's got it under control here." Elena added.

"Got what under control?" Ellie asked.

"Nothing." Elena replied.

"Take it from me, there's nothing worse than a clingy girlfriend." Caroline offered and Ellie winced at the reminder of the breakup that had upset Caroline the way it had.

"I'm not being clingy. I'm just concerned." Elena corrected the blonde. "You understand, right?"

"I don't because I don't know what's going on." Ellie said frustratedly.

Elena moved towards the door when Caroline offered, "How about I drive you?"

"Yeah, ok. That'd be great, thanks."

Ellie groaned. She was very quickly losing her patience. "Elena, seriously, what is going on? Why would you be concerned about Stefan? Talk to me."

Elena paused for a split second to look at her twin. "It's nothing really. It's probably just a stupid bad feeling and me being paranoid. But I want to go check on Stefan. Just stay here and have fun. We'll be back later."

It was clear that Ellie had just been dismissed and disregarded and it made her more than a little annoyed. With her mood being as sour as it had become, she headed upstairs as opposed to rejoining the adults laughing at the table.


She finally made her reappearance as Mason and hopefully Damon were preparing to leave. From the time Elena and Caroline had left, the teen witch had studied the grimoires in her possession to cool down. As she made her way down the stairs, Mason was saying, "No takers for more drinks at The Grill?" When Jenna and Alaric didn't respond, he added, "It's like I'm with a bunch of adults here."

"I prefer the term 'Role Model'." Jenna corrected him.

"And she's absolutely killing it." Ellie added with a grin.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Ok. Well, thanks for having me. It was awesome." Mason said truthfully as he moved to pull Jenna into a tight embrace. "Alaric, catch that game next week?" He asked as he moved to shake the other man's hand.

"Yeah, looking forward to it." Alaric replied.

"Ellie you should come and hang out with me and Tyler." Mason offered as he moved to hug her. "I feel like I haven't had enough time to hang out with the two of you."

She smiled brightly as she hugged him back. "Oh, be careful what you wish for. You'll end up sick of me."

"Not possible."

"Hey, you know, I should probably head out, too." Damon said. Mason nodded before turning and walking out of the house. "Jenna, you are a wonderful hostess." He praised her as he raised her hand to kiss it.

Ellie's nose scrunched in disgust. "And you are a terrible artist." Jenna replied before snatching her hand from his.

"Is that the only thing that makes me terrible?" Damon asked curiously.

Jenna almost smiled before she informed him, "Still deciding."

"Good enough for me." Damon agreed.

"Don't worry, I still can't stand you." Ellie snarked as she gave him a dark look.

Her hatred didn't seem to faze him in the slightest. Instead he headed for the door before turning back to say, "Alaric, let's not catch that game next week." Ellie rolled her eyes at the now closed door. She really couldn't stand Damon.

Not long after they were gone, Caroline called. "Hello?" Ellie asked.

"Can you do me a favor?" Caroline questioned.

"Why? Just so you guys can continue to ignore me?" Ellie shot back in frustration. She was still very annoyed with Elena's dismissal.

"Ellie… please?" Caroline's voice was soft. It honestly just sounded like she was defeated. It was a total flip compared to how she was earlier.

"What happened?" Ellie asked seriously.

"Can you please just come pick me up? I got a flat taking Elena to Stefan's and she decided to walk the rest of the way."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Ellie said softly as she grabbed her keys. She called out to tell Jenna she was leaving before going to her car. "Where are you at?" She listened as the blonde described her location and she made it to the blonde as the tow truck person was loading up her car. "What happened?"

Caroline was anxiously picking at her nails as she responded, "I told you. I got a flat and Elena walked to Stefan's."

"No. Something's wrong. Did something happen with you and Elena?" Ellie asked her.

There must have been something in Ellie's tone that made it clear that she wasn't going to drop the subject. So with a heavy sigh, Caroline admitted, "I said some stuff to Elena that upset her. I know I shouldn't have said it. Really, I was projecting my issues with Matt onto her relationship with Stefan. But now she's mad at me and I feel like crap."

It seemed like everyone was having issues with Elena lately, but Ellie wasn't going to say that out loud. Instead, she offered up, "How about we go to The Grill and get some ice cream?"

"Yeah?" Caroline asked. "That would be nice." Honestly, it wouldn't be fair to take out her anger on Caroline. Especially since Elena had been the one to dismiss her instead of talking to her. They arrived at The Grill quickly and after Caroline ordered herself a burger and fries the blonde headed to the bathroom. A moment before Caroline came back, Ellie did a double take. She could have sworn she just saw Elena come out of the bathroom. "What is it?"

Ellie hesitated on what to say. "I must be seeing things." Ellie commented. "I thought I saw Elena, but she's with Stefan." Caroline looked kind of nervous, but Ellie brushed it off as Caroline being nervous about seeing Elena. "Anyways, eat your food before it gets cold." Caroline did as she was told and the conversation drifted to easier topics, like the tv shows Caroline was getting caught up on. But Ellie sat up straighter when she saw Stefan and Elena walk in. "Caroline." Ellie said softly.

The blonde looked up as they were passing them. Her expression immediately shifted to one of guilt. "Elena…" She called.

Elena whipped around and Ellie could see that her twin was very frustrated. "Hey."

"Hey." Caroline replied. Stefan started to say something, but thought better of it. He touched Elena's shoulder before walking off to a table. Elena looked like she was trying to fight off a headache as she rubbed her forehead. "Oh my god, I am so sorry about earlier today. I don't… I don't know what came over me."

"It's ok, Caroline." Elena said tiredly. "Everything that you were saying was right. It's just hard for me to hear, you know?"

"So you're not mad at me?" Caroline questioned. It was clear that Caroline didn't believe it.

"You were just being a good friend." Elena said with a shrug. "In your own way."

Caroline scoffed. "My own head-case, horrible way." Caroline corrected. Elena smiled before turning to walk away. Calling her back, Caroline said, "Elena, I really am sorry." The two girls in the booth watched as Elena went and sat with Stefan. It looked like the pair was having a heated conversation. Whatever Stefan said, it caused Elena's jaw to drop. She got up and walked away a moment later and Ellie watched as Stefan buried his face in his hands.

"Care, I'll be back." Ellie said before she went to Stefan. He looked more upset than she'd ever seen him. "Stefan?" She asked softly as she reached out to touch his shoulder. He looked up at her and she felt sympathy swell up in her. "Is everything ok?"

He gave her a sad smile before standing up. "It's nothing. I think I'm just gonna head home." She watched as he walked away and she couldn't help but feel useless. It was becoming more and more obvious that something was going on, she just didn't know what.


Author's Note:

Guys we have officially made it into season two! I'm literally so excited. I've been waiting for us to get to this season for months. We're only like five chapters away from getting to Katherine and Elijah's arrivals.

To TheVulcanNara: I'm so sorry I didn't reply to you last chapter! The site glitched and I could see that someone had commented but I couldn't see the comment. I'm glad she doesn't seem like a Mary Sue to you! As for Bonnie channeling her, it was a one time accident because Bonnie had happened to be wearing her bracelet, and because she was untrained, she was desperately trying to use all the magic she could get her hands on, which led to accidentally channeling Ellie. It most likely won't be happening again.

To RiRi: Sorry about not replying to this on the last chapter, the site glitched and I couldn't see your review. But don't worry, I'm gonna have Ellie and Bonnie have a long talk. Out of all the things Bonnie has done for Elena one of the things that's bothered me the most is the ease in which Bonnie had in literally using a witch roofie on Luka. It was so not ok, but Bonnie was so focused on Elena that she didn't think about it. Bonnie absolutely made the most sacrifices for Elena, and Ellie is going to try her best to protect her.

To Daynesky: It makes me so happy that you're excited for my updates, it means the world to me! I hope you liked this chapter!

To spirouFr: I hope you like this chapter!

To Mimi: Ellie's going to be upset. While she wasn't super close to Anna, she cared a good bit about her, especially since Jeremy had such strong feelings for her.

To RiRi: Yes, we love Callie! And no, Elena didn't have the brothers compel Jeremy to not tell Ellie, but she did basically guilt trip him into not saying anything. The same way she guilt tripped Alaric into not telling Jenna. The whole "oh she'll be in so much danger if she knows". And Jeremy loves Ellie, and with Elena constantly reminding him that Ellie would be in more danger if she knew, he doesn't say anything, but he absolutely hates not being able to tell her and he doesn't think that it's right that they're lying to her. Think of it kind of like how she guilt tripped Bonnie into not telling Jeremy that Elena had Damon and Stefan compel Jeremy so that he'd leave town because he'd be "safer" if he left. I hope that makes sense.

-Madame Magic

Posted: 7/18/20