Chapter 70: My Brother's Keeper
November 27, 2010
Ellie had spent the majority of the last day or so curled up with Elijah. To her surprise, he seemed pretty content to stay in the apartment and ignore the rest of the world for a few days. His only response was that she needed to rest, and this was the best way he could ensure that she would. Unfortunately, their little reprieve had to come to an end. The Miss Mystic Falls pageant would be the big event tomorrow, and Ellie had promised Caroline ages ago that she would help make sure everything was perfect.
Which meant Ellie had found herself at the Lockwood Mansion, following behind Caroline as the blonde barked sharp orders at the poor freshmen that had signed up to help. Caroline was a perfectionist. It wasn't the fault of those girls that they hadn't known what they were signing up for. As they strode through the mansion, Caroline paused to look back at Ellie. "Where the hell is Stefan? I thought he was coming?"
"I don't know, Care. I haven't really talked to anyone but Jenna the past couple of days. She's been keeping me updated on Jeremy to make sure he's ok." Ellie explained.
"Well, if you weren't with them then where were you?" Caroline asked before she caught sight of some of the young boys moving tables. "No! That table is supposed to be outside, not in the house!" Once the boys shifted gears, she turned back to Ellie. "Well?"
Ellie's cheeks flushed red as she confessed, "I've been with Elijah the past couple of days."
"Like you've been with Elijah?" Caroline asked excitedly.
"No, just regular been, as in spending time with him. He's been worried about me so he's used the past few days to make sure that I rest." Ellie explained. "We haven't done much of anything and definitely not that."
Caroline rolled her eyes at Ellie's tone. "Well, good for him. You looked like you were about ready to fall apart the other day. You still don't look back to normal, but you look better than before. So whatever he did, I'd say it's Caroline approved."
"Well, thank you, your Majesty." Ellie shot back as she curtsied dramatically.
"He definitely did you some good, you're sassy today." Caroline replied. "But honestly, if Bonnie's bailing because Professor Shane has her like a total witch on a mission, then Stefan needs to get his ass over here and help. I'm gonna call him." Ellie moved close as Caroline dialed Stefan's number. When he answered, Caroline said, "Stefan, hey, where are you? I thought you would be here by now."
Ellie pressed close to Caroline as they walked so that she could hear Stefan's reply. "I'm not coming." He told her.
Caroline quickly asked, "What do you mean, you're not coming? I don't need to remind you that your Miss Mystic Falls attendance record totally sucks."
"Yeah, come on Stef, don't leave me to face the wrath of Caroline alone." Ellie joked.
"Besides, you're a Founding Family member. By definition, you have to be here." Caroline reminded him.
"Elena and I broke up." He told them. "By definition, I don't need to be anywhere."
"Did that sound as depressing to you as it did to me?" Caroline asked.
"Oh, I'm not depressed. I just want to rip into someone's artery and feed until I can't breathe anymore." Stefan huffed.
"I guess it's a good thing you didn't put him on speaker." Ellie retorted. "When did you guys even break up? I fall off the radar for like two days and of course big stuff happens."
Caroline shot her a look before telling Stefan, "Well, you can't. With Ellie and I as your sober sponsors, we aren't going to let that happen. Try and sublimate."
"She said she has feelings for Damon." Stefan told them quietly.
"What?" Caroline and Ellie nearly shouted in surprise. "She can't have feelings for Damon!" Caroline insisted. Ellie felt incredibly frustrated. Just as she'd thought, nothing she'd said had gotten through to Elena. "He's… Damon, and you're you, and I'm… revolted." Caroline ranted as she paced. Ellie quickly moved to keep up with her so that she could still hear what Stefan was saying. "You know, I'm gonna talk to her."
"Good luck with that. Clearly nothing I've said to her has gotten through her stupidly thick skull." Ellie replied.
"I'm going to shake some sense into her clearly diseased brain." Caroline continued.
"Yeah, well, I don't know what good that'll do. Elena's right. Being a vampire really has changed her." Stefan told them.
"All the more reason you need to cure her." Caroline insisted.
"Caroline's right Stefan. Don't forget that Elena has repeatedly told you that she never wanted this. And at this point, Klaus isn't going to stop until he gets that cure. So it's better to help him rather than get in his way." Ellie reminded him. She didn't need to mention that she thought Stefan was going to drown in his guilt if he couldn't help Elena.
The two of them turned to see Elena approaching and Caroline quickly said, "Look, we've got to go. Be careful and remember, there's sublimating and then there's insanity."
"I'll be fine guys. Bye." He told them before hanging up.
Caroline smiled softly at Elena, but Ellie simply turned back to the table behind them. Part of her felt guilty for giving Elena the cold shoulder. But Stefan was her friend and Elena hurt him for someone that didn't even seem to regret the awful things that he'd done. Dumping him over feelings for his brother were even worse. "Hey." Elena greeted as she approached them, but Ellie silently continued to arrange the flowers on the table.
"Hey." Caroline replied. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Yeah." Elena obviously sensed the tension from Ellie.
"Wait, no hang on Ellie, switch those flowers around, they're too similar to be so close together." Caroline instructed. Despite the awkwardness with Elena being with them, Ellie grinned in amusement.
Elena didn't seem to have much patience for the silence. "What is it?" She asked. "Come on guys out with it."
Ellie just raised an eyebrow at Caroline. They both knew that it likely wouldn't go well if she were the one that answered that. Caroline sighed before turning to Elena, "Look, I'm your best friend, and I would never pick sides, but are you sure that this is what you want? Because Stefan is your soul mate. Sorry. Picking sides." Caroline apologized.
"You're not wrong." Ellie quipped.
Elena sighed and told them, "It's not like I don't love Stefan anymore, but I can't deny that ever since I turned, my feelings for Damon have become more intense."
"Yeah, I know. Stefan filled us in on all the gory Damon details." Caroline replied.
"He did? Is he ok?" Elena asked.
"No. He's heartbroken."
Elena huffed in frustration. "Well, what was I supposed to do? Lie to him?"
"No, but you weren't supposed to let Damon weasel his way into your confused newbie vampire heart." Caroline complained. Ellie was mostly just trying to keep from saying something that she would regret or maybe even worse… something she wouldn't regret.
"Well, he did, and that's exactly what I am... confused. I need to figure out what these feelings actually mean." Elena told them.
Ellie gave her a skeptical look. "So you don't intend to get with Damon then?" She asked.
"I just want to figure out what I'm feeling Ellie. I get that you're close with Stefan, but it's just complicated, ok?" Elena tried.
Before Ellie could reply, they were interrupted by a man that looked to be in his thirties at oldest. "Excuse me. I'm a little lost. I'm here to interview contestants." He told them.
"You're Professor Shane?" Elena questioned curiously. Both Caroline and Ellie gave her a look.
He nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Professor by day, pageant judge by other day." He told them a little awkwardly. "In spite of being absurdly unqualified, I'm apparently awarding a scholarship."
"Inside by the parlor." Caroline informed him.
"Right here?" He asked for clarification. When Caroline nodded he added, "Alright, I'll just follow the scent of hair spray and world domination."
After he walked away, Elena turned back and explained, "He's the one who told Damon how to break the hunter's curse."
"He's also the one that has Bonnie so obsessed with practicing magic that she bailed on pageant prep." Caroline told them as she made a face.
"He hardly looks like he's out of college. How on earth does he know anything about anything?" Ellie asked curiously. While she wanted Bonnie to be ok with doing magic again, something about that guy set her nerves on edge.
"I don't know." Elena replied, "But now he's judging Miss Mystic Falls? Jack of all trades or kind of creepy?"
After he was gone, the awkwardness between the twins returned. "I'm going to go make sure that the rest of the flowers have arrived." Ellie said as she excused herself from the other girls. When she went inside the house, she spotted the professor talking to another one of the judges and she couldn't shake the odd feeling that she got from him. It didn't feel dark like what she'd felt when she first saw Esther, but it didn't feel right either.
"You ok, Ellie?" Jeremy asked as he stopped beside her.
"Yeah." She nodded as she pulled her focus from the professor. "What about you? Are you ok, Jer? I haven't seen you since…"
"Since I killed one of Klaus' hybrids?" He supplied casually.
She gave him a look. "I was going to say since you triggered the mark but yeah that works too."
He laughed lightly. "I feel fine, Ellie. Better than fine actually. I feel great. Don't worry about me." Ellie was definitely worried about him. He almost reminded her of the way he was when he was on drugs, like he was almost too ok.
"Hey, can I actually talk to you for a second?" She asked as she pulled him into an empty room.
"Yeah, what's up?" He replied.
Ellie twisted her hands together nervously. "There's something I need to tell you."
"Is it something bad?" Jeremy asked with a small laugh. "You're acting like you killed somebody or something."
"It's not bad. I just don't know how you're going to take it." She confessed.
Jeremy moved to sit on the couch and when she took a seat as well, he said, "Alright, out with it."
"You know Elijah? Klaus' older brother?"
"Of course I know Elijah. What about him?" Jeremy asked in confusion.
Swallowing her nerves, she replied, "I'm kind of… with him."
There was a pause as he processed what she just told him. "Wait. 'With him' as in with him, with him?"
"Yes." She confirmed nervously.
"When the hell did that happen?"
"After Alaric stabbed a kitchen knife in my stomach and he thought he didn't make it to me in time and I almost died." She said quickly. The words were tumbling out of her mouth before she got so nervous that she couldn't say anything at all. It felt like the anticipation of ripping off a band-aid in one go. For a split second it's fine and then the pain sets in.
Jeremy observed his sister for a moment, noting the way her nails were digging into the flesh of her palm. He reached out and grabbed her hand, forcing her to release her grip. "Ellie why are you acting like I'm going to react badly?"
"Are you not?" She asked carefully.
"It's a little weird, I'll admit, but out of anyone, it makes sense that you'd get with him really." He replied. Relief so strong that it was almost painful washed over her.
"It does?"
Jeremy gave her a look. "Don't think I didn't notice how defensive of him you were when he came to the house to make the deal with Elena." He replied. "After everything that we've been through, you deserve to be happy. Though, I'll admit that I'm really glad you didn't go for Klaus."
Ellie snorted in amusement at the thought. "Oh god that would have ended horribly."
"Why were you so worried about telling me?"
"Well, I don't know. I guess I'm bracing myself for however Elena reacts."
Jeremy quirked an eyebrow up. "Elena doesn't know yet?"
"Not yet, though I'm sure she'll find out soon enough."
"That'll go well." He retorted.
"No kidding." She shot back. "But really, you're ok with it?"
He gave her a serious look before telling her, "As long as he treats you right, then yeah, I'm ok with it. You're a pretty good judge of character, and he hasn't really done anything worse than Stefan or Damon, so I guess he deserves a shot." She smiled gratefully at him before he added, "Listen, I gotta get back and help Matt unload the truck, but I'll see you in a bit."
She took a second to let it process that she'd just told him about her and Elijah and that it hadn't gone badly before she headed back outside to try to find Caroline. She followed the sound of the blonde's voice shouting, "Whoa, stop, stop, stop! Those flowers go in the back as indicated by the floral chart that you guys had plenty of time to memorize." Ellie snorted as she caught sight of the faces of the poor girls that had made the mistake. As they turned around, Caroline added, "Yeah, thank you."
"Care, take it easy." Ellie laughed.
"Now, how did I know I'd find you two at the helm of this ship?" Klaus asked as he approached.
"Go away, I'm busy." Caroline said bluntly.
"I was wondering what time I should pick you up tomorrow."
Caroline rolled her eyes before replying, "About a quarter to never."
"I was promised a date in return for one of my hybrids." Klaus reminded her.
Ellie quirked up an eyebrow in surprise. At least Caroline knew how to get what she wanted. Plus, it helped set in the idea that she and Tyler were broken up. "Yes, a date, like to a movie, where we don't have to talk and I can put at least three seats between us." Caroline sassed.
"Surely the reigning Miss Mystic Falls won't be hosting the party alone. And I assume you're not taking Tyler… not after his indiscretion with his lady werewolf friend." Klaus said gently.
Ellie kept quiet as she watched the interaction. She still wasn't wasn't really sure how to be around him at the moment. Caroline hesitated before she replied, "Fine. If you insist on coming, meet me here, 2 P.M. black tie optional. And I already have a dress, so don't even think of getting me so much as a corsage. You understand?"
As Caroline was walking away, he called, "I'll see you tomorrow, Caroline." He grinned at her retreating figure before he glanced over to the young witch. "Ellie." He acknowledged softly as he nodded in her direction.
"Klaus." She replied. There seemed to be an understanding between the two of them. He knew she didn't hate him, but even he could admit that it was fair that she was angry at him. But still, they weren't back to normal and she wasn't sure how long that would take. She gave him a small smile before she said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow." He confirmed.
Like the past few nights, Ellie had returned to the apartment and stayed the night. By the time the morning rolled around, Ellie was almost dreading the pageant. If last year was anything to go by, it wasn't going to go well. "You're getting dressed early. I thought the pageant wasn't until later?" Elijah asked as he leaned against the entrance to the bathroom. He was watching as she put the finishing touches on her hair.
"It isn't, but Caroline and I promised April that we would help her with her last touches since she's in the pageant. Plus, with Care running the show, I need to be there in case she gets a little too intense about it." Ellie replied.
"It's nice of you to help April." He said as he smiled softly at her.
Ellie turned to face him after she put the back of her earring on. "I know how she's feeling. Elena and I did the pageant just a few months after our parents died and it didn't feel right without mom. So I'm sure April's feeling something similar. She's a sweet girl." He followed as she headed into her room to grab her dress. "Plus, I need to be there in case Klaus shows up early. Caroline might kill him. I don't think he realizes that she gets more than a little stressed out when she's in charge of an event."
"Why would Klaus be attending the pageant?"
"Caroline promised him a date in turn for a hybrid to kill so that we could stop Elena's hallucinations." Ellie replied. "Could you step out a second so I could change?"
"Of course." He agreed as he stepped out, closing the door behind him.
"I told Jeremy about us." Ellie told him suddenly.
He glanced towards the door, despite not being able to see her. "You did?" He inquired curiously. "And how did he take that?"
"Surprisingly well. All I have left to worry about is however Elena reacts, which I'm not looking forward to."
When she swore under her breath he asked, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, it's just… the stupid zipper is stuck." She huffed. "Can you help me please?" He opened the door slowly, to make sure that she had time to cover herself. The zipper had gotten stuck at the base, leaving her back bare and he wasn't so full of himself to deny that his breath got stuck in his throat for a moment.
He stepped up behind her and he could see her watching him from the reflection in the mirror. His hand slipped past the zipper, just inside the dress to grab a hold of the bit of fabric that had gotten jammed and he could feel the heat of her skin rising at his proximity. Even if he wouldn't tell her, he could also hear it as her heart started to beat a bit faster. As the fabric came loose, he zipped her up slowly, not particularly wanting to break the moment so soon. "There we are." He told her.
Elijah let himself indulge a bit as he ran his hands down her back and sides, before resting them on her hips. She laughed lightly, letting her head fall back against his shoulder. "That's just not fair." She complained. "It's not my fault I have to go help Caroline."
"I know that." He agreed as he pressed a firm kiss to her neck. "I was just helping you get dressed."
Her heart rate skyrocketed at his touch, much to his pleasure. "Elijah…" It was barely a whisper. She turned to face him and made no move to stop him from pulling her into him and kissing her soundly. One of his hands moved up to tilt her head to the side as he kissed her neck again. She let out a soft, startled sound as he came across a particularly sensitive spot on her neck and she dropped her head back farther instinctively. "This is just evil, Elijah." She said breathily.
He grinned as he pulled back slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He teased.
She moved forward, reaching up to pull him back to her by his neck. Ellie kissed him firmly as her nails scraped against the back of his neck, rewarding her with that delightful sound. She nipped his bottom lip lightly before replying, "Yes, you do." She kissed him once more before pulling away fully to fix her smudged lip gloss.
"How am I to be blamed when you look as magnificent as you do?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She observed them in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed red and he looked incredibly too pleased with himself.
"Well should I change then?" She shot back.
"Oh, love, I'm afraid you would outshine all of the girls there no matter what you wore." He replied. "Speaking of the pageant, would you allow me to accompany you?"
She made a face as she asked, "You want to go to a high school pageant?"
"You say that as if I could somehow not enjoy myself. I seem to remember having a rather good time when we went to events together, if the ball and then the dance were anything to go by." Elijah informed her.
"Mmm, especially without someone trying to kill us." She agreed. "I would love for you to accompany me to the pageant."
He smiled warmly at her. "It would be an honor."
Her stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies. "The pleasure is mine." Once her makeup was fixed, she told him, "I have to get going, but I'll see you in a bit?" He nodded in confirmation before she pulled away to grab her purse.
When she arrived at the Lockwood Mansion, the pageant girls were already all over the place trying to get ready. She could still remember being thirteen and coming to pageant prep with her mom and Elena. They'd been so excited to enter the pageant themselves in a few years. It was still insane to think about how much things had changed. "Hey, Mayor Lockwood!" Ellie greeted as she walked over to the woman. "Do you know where April and Caroline are? I'm supposed to help her get ready."
Mayor Lockwood smiled softly at her. "That's so sweet of you, honey. She's upstairs. I'm fairly certain that she's in the same room that you used last year."
"Ok, thank you!" Ellie said gratefully.
When she reached the room, she knocked gently on the door. "Come in!" Caroline called. Ellie walked in to see Caroline putting the finishing touches on April's hair. "April was a little nervous, so we got a head start on her hair."
April looked a bit embarrassed so Ellie added, "I get it. I was a mess last year and Elena was even worse. We were both nervous."
"You were?" April asked.
"Oh totally. Jenna had no idea what she was doing. She thought she was going to burn our hair off."
Caroline was grinning as April laughed lightly. "It couldn't have been that bad." April replied.
"It definitely was." Ellie supplied. "I mean our hair actually turned out fine, but Jenna was convinced she was going to burn us somehow. She's never been the one to do much to her hair."
Caroline nodded in agreement. "She's really just not the type. I don't think Jenna was ever a girly girl. There we are, all done."
April turned to look over her hair in the mirror and Ellie watched as her eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god, Caroline it looks beautiful! Thank you so much!" She hugged Caroline tightly in gratitude.
"It's my pleasure." Caroline assured her. Another knock came from the door. "Come in!" Caroline called once more.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. I couldn't find my shoes." Elena replied as she walked in.
April smiled reassuringly at her and said, "Oh don't worry about it. You're just in time actually. I haven't been able to decide what to wear." She took the dresses out of the bag. "So I have this red one and this blue one."
She moved both dresses in front of her body and it took less than three seconds for all three girls to chime, "Blue."
"Really?" April asked curiously. "The blue seems a little safe."
"Safe is good when it comes to the judges." Elena told her.
Caroline nodded and added, "She's right. Gracie Lockwood had a three foot slit her year and practically got laughed off the court."
They laughed at the memory of the dress. It hadn't helped Gracie's case the dress color was the worst shade of orange that anyone had ever seen. "She got my vote." Damon said as he walked into the room.
"Get out, lurker!" Caroline huffed as she tossed a pair of socks at him.
"Ouch." He sassed. "Where's Professor Shane?"
"Check the judges table."
Before Caroline could close the door in his face, his hand shot out to keep it open. "Red one, definitely." He assured her.
"We've already agreed that the red one's a little bit too showy." Caroline informed him.
"It's a pageant. That's the whole point."
Caroline straightened up before asking him, "Did you win Miss Mystic Falls last year? No, I don't think you did."
"Neither did Elena, and she wore blue." He reminded her.
"Nobody cares what you think."
"I care." April admitted.
"See, April cares. Red, right, Elena?"
Both Caroline and Ellie turned to Elena expectedly, but to their surprise, she confessed, "The red is pretty."
Damon, being incredibly smug, told them, "And my work here is done."
"Uh, what happened to thirty seconds ago when you hated the red one? What happened to 'safe is good'?" Caroline asked.
Elena paused, before shaking her head and telling April, "Whichever one you want to wear, April."
She quickly rushed out of the room after Damon. "What just happened?" Caroline asked as she looked over to Elena.
"Hell if I know. That was weird, even for the insanity that is Elena right now." Ellie replied. She shook herself before telling the younger girl, "April, you should go ahead and get dressed. The pageant will be starting soon."
They left April to get dressed and Ellie found herself wandering around the backyard. "Somehow, you've gotten even more stunning since I last saw you." She turned at the sound of his voice.
"Elijah." She said affectionately. He leaned forward and kissed her gently. "I'm glad you're here."
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
"Just Elena being weird." Ellie replied. "You're just in time. I think the show is about to get started." She took a hold of his hand as they headed to join the main group. They stood comfortably together as they listened to Mayor Lockwood give her speech. As someone passed in front of Ellie, she stepped back slightly into Elijah, grinning as his hand moved from resting on her lower back to her hip.
He caught her reaction with ease, grinning along with her. "Is something amusing, Miss Gilbert?" He asked.
"Oh not at all, just admiring all the work Caroline put into this." She replied. As a waiter walked by, Elijah procured two champagne glasses for them. "Why thank you, good sir."
"My pleasure."
The two clinked their glasses together before taking a drink. To Ellie's surprise, the champagne was better than she expected. "Hi, everyone. I'm Caroline Forbes. As the reigning Miss Mystic Falls, it is my honor to introduce this year's Miss Mystic Court!" Everyone applauded for the group of girls as the music began. "We begin the procession with Valerie Fell, accompanied by Dylan Clark. Next, we have Amber Wolverton, accompanied by Hector Linsey."
"I still can't believe that I did this only a year ago." Ellie commented softly as she watched the bright eyed girls descend the stairs. "So much has changed."
"Not all bad changes, I would hope."
Ellie turned slightly to smile at him, "No, not all bad. If someone had told me that this is where we would be when we met, I would have laughed in their face. Never thought it would be the best thing that could happen to me."
He felt a rush of surprise. "The best thing? Surely not."
Turning fully, she corrected him. "Surely so. Out of everything that has happened to me since my parents died, and I mean everything, you are absolutely the best part. Please don't doubt how much you mean to me because of the insanity of our lives."
He lifted a hand to gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I will not make the mistake of doubting you again." He replied.
"Good, I'd hate to have to kick the crap out of you to get it through that stubborn head of yours." She teased before kissing him quickly. "We should be paying attention." She reminded him.
He had a look in his eyes that she couldn't place, so she kissed him swiftly once more before turning back to the girls. "Katherine Wilson, accompanied by Eric Hanson." Caroline was saying.
"Wait, where's Jeremy? He's supposed to be April's escort." Ellie asked as she stood on her tiptoes to try and spot her brother in the crowd.
"And finally, we have a last minute entry. April Young, accompanied by Jeremy Gilbert." Caroline announced as everyone clapped.
There was an awkward pause before Matt appeared, offering his arm to April. As everyone clapped once more, Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god." She spotted Caroline making a dash towards Elena. "We should probably go see if they know where Jeremy is. With the whole him having to kill a hybrid, him disappearing right now is a bit worrying."
"Of course." Elijah agreed.
The two made their way through the crowd towards Elena and reached her just as Caroline did. "Hey, what's with the last minute escort change?" Caroline whispered. "Where is Jeremy?"
"I'm calling him right now, but he's not picking up." Elena sighed.
Damon had walked over as well and added, "Do the math. Emo teen, open bar, it's fine."
"Matt said that Jeremy's been having nightmares about killing vampires and he's been hiding it from me." Elena explained.
"What?" Ellie asked in surprise. "How long has that been going on?"
"I don't know. Since he triggered his mark I guess."
Damon shrugged before telling her, "Relax, I'm sure he's fine."
"I don't know. I have a bad feeling."
"If I'm not worried, you shouldn't be worried." Damon insisted. "Let it go."
Frowning Ellie added, "Given that you have a track record of not really giving a damn about my brother, excuse me if I don't feel reassured by that."
"I'll go look for him." Damon replied.
"Ok." Elena agreed.
Once he was gone, Caroline said, "Ok, Elena, you go home. I'm gonna start asking around here. Ellie, do you want to ask around first or do you just want to grab a map and do a locator spell?"
"We can ask around first. I'm sure if we all disappear in the middle of this, someone is going to notice since we were contestants last year. Plus, April needs some support. I don't have the feeling that the world is about to end, so hopefully he's not in any immediate danger." Ellie told her.
"Guys, maybe Damon's right. Maybe he grabbed a bottle from the bar and snuck off to the woods." Elena suggested.
"Elena, Jer isn't some punk emo kid anymore. He hasn't gotten drunk like that in months. You can't actually tell me that you didn't realize that he was better, can you?" Ellie asked worriedly. "He's been clean for a while."
"Ellie's right. And also, no. Damon's never right. Damon is sneaky and manipulative and rude, but he's never right. God, how can you not see that?"
Elena made a face before she shot back, "I don't know, but why do I think that you won't hesitate to tell me?"
"Fine. friend-tervention. I think your so-called feelings for Damon are really starting to cloud your judgement, and I don't like it. And the thought of the two of you together really makes me want to barf." Caroline explained.
Klaus appeared behind Caroline, warning her gently, "Easy, love. You're making a scene."
"Wow, Caroline. Thank you for making this very difficult time so much easier." Elena snapped before walking away.
"How did I become the bad guy?" Caroline asked quietly.
Sighing, Ellie reached out to squeeze her hand reassuringly. "You're not, but like always I guess, Elena has somehow managed to focus solely on herself and not take into account literally anyone else's reasonings for anything."
"Ellie is right, of course, but let's get you a drink. I'll tell you all about being the bad guy." Klaus suggested.
Seeing that he clearly wanted time alone with the blonde, Ellie nodded. "He's right. After the stress of the past couple of days, why don't you go get a drink? Take a break, you deserve it."
As they walked away, Elijah said, "You're a good friend, truly."
"She's my best friend." Ellie shrugged. "We've been with each other for everything. It's hard to not be a good friend when she's as amazing as she is."
"Ellie! There you are!" Jenna said. "Hello, Elijah. You look nice. Then again you always look nice it's kind of your thing."
"It's nice to see you too, Jenna. How is your thesis?" Elijah asked.
Jenna grinned. "I think I am finally in the home stretch with it. For once, my advisor doesn't seem to hate the majority of it, so I'll take that as a win."
"Hey, Jen. Have you seen Jer since you've been here?"
"No, why? Is everything ok?"
Wincing, Ellie admitted, "It depends on your definition of ok."
"Ellie…"
"Apparently, Jer has been having murder dreams about killing vampires." Ellie confessed. "And now he's disappeared when he was supposed to escort April and you know how he was. He spent ages in his room watching that video so he could learn the dance for her."
Jenna was nodding along. "I'll keep an eye out for him."
Before Jenna could really start to worry, Mayor Lockwood caught their attention. "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. Caroline, would you do the honors?"
Elena stepped up behind Caroline as the blonde moved to stand in front of the mic. "This year's Miss Mystic Falls is…" There was a pause as she opened the envelope. "April Young."
"Yeah! Go April!" Ellie shouted in excitement as applause and cheers rang out from the crowd. She noticed the shift in Elena's stance as her sister tracked something through the crowd. "Wait, Elijah, what just happened? Why did she react like that?"
As Elena all but rushed off the stage, he supplied, "It seems your brother has made his reappearance."
Ellie shared a look with her aunt. "Come on, let's go." The three of them made their way after Elena and Jeremy.
They were looking through the upstairs rooms when they heard Elena's voice. "Jer, wake up. Jer, Jer, please wake up!"
"Jeremy!" Matt shouted as they approached.
"Get out of here, Matt." Jeremy said darkly.
"Jeremy, you don't want to do this, ok? That's your sister. It's that stupid mark on your arm."
Matt tried to reason with him, but Jeremy shouted angrily, "Shut up, Matt!"
"Jer!" Ellie called as she stepped into the room, Jenna and Elijah just behind her. "Jer, hey look at me." When he didn't immediately comply, she repeated, "Jeremy, look at me." Feeling Elijah's tense behind her, in case Jeremy tried to strike, she grabbed a hold of his jacket to keep him in place. "Jeremy, it's me. It's Ellie. You don't want to do this, Jer."
"She's a vampire." He replied.
"I know. I know she is, but she is our sister first. She is still the same Elena that told mom and dad that she was the one that spilled juice on the carpet when it was you and the carpet was brand new. She is still our sister that dressed up as Batgirl the year we decided to go as the Bat family because you wanted to be the Robin to my Batman. She is still Elena." Ellie could see it. She could almost feel that she was getting through to him, but when Elena shifted, his focus was broken and he snapped back into hunter mode.
"Jeremy, no!" Jenna shouted, but before he could strike, Stefan rushed into the room, forcing Jeremy away.
Ellie sighed in relief as Stefan shoved Jeremy towards Matt. "Get him out of here, Matt!" Stefan shouted.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Matt said as he quickly dragged Jeremy away.
Jeremy had managed to shove a small stake into the side of Elena's neck that she was trying to pull out. When he pulled the stake out, Ellie felt her discomfort at the longing before her. He was still so in love with Elena it hurt, but instead of pushing him away, Elena lingered in his touch. When she finally pulled away to stand, she noticed the Original behind Ellie. "Elijah, what are you doing here?"
Elijah shared a look with Ellie, silently asking what she wanted to do. While she appreciated his concern for what she wanted, she could admit to herself that she was tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop. "He came here with me." Ellie replied.
"What do you mean?" Elena asked.
"As in my date, Elena."
The tension could have been cut with a knife. "Your date?" Elena repeated. "What?"
"Yes, my date, as in with me and has been for a while now." Ellie snipped. Was she a bit more sarcastic than she needed to be? Probably. But it bothered her to see Stefan having to go through all of this because Elena wanted to switch brothers. And she was tired of basing her decisions around keeping Elena placated versus her own happiness.
"That's… that's a joke. Right?" Elena asked.
"Why would I joke about that?"
Both Elijah and Jenna moved closer to Ellie. The twins were both headstrong, and they both knew that Ellie didn't take well to people insulting the ones she cared about. "After all the hell you've given me over Damon, you get with Elijah?"
"Damon and Elijah are nowhere near the same." Ellie scoffed.
"But you've made it perfectly clear that you think Damon and Klaus are!"
"Actually, if we're being accurate, I think Damon is worse than Klaus. But if you're going to make that kind of a comparison, it shouldn't be that hard to piece it together that Elijah would be compared to Stefan in that scenario." Ellie shot back.
Elena actually had the audacity to roll her eyes. "I cannot believe that you've stood there acting like you're better with me when you're messing around with the enemy."
"The enemy? The enemy? When the hell has Elijah ever done anything to you other than try to keep your ass alive?! He tries to keep Klaus from ever finding out about you, which you went behind his back to try and get Klaus to sacrifice you anyways. He tries to give you a literal magic potion to bring you back after you're sacrificed. He repeatedly protected you from his siblings and made deals with you to protect literally everyone you care about."
"And then he-"
"I swear to god, Elena, if you say he broke his word because he didn't kill Klaus, I'm going to have to kill you. He's been his brother for a thousand years. Stefan hasn't killed Damon yet for the shit he's done. How many times do I have to say this? But what have you done, let's see? You've broken your word to him, repeatedly. You've literally stabbed him in the back, repeatedly. You've stabbed his sister in the back. Oh, and let's not forget not only did you go on a murder mission that got his brother killed, you brought not only his father in to town to try and kill all of them, but their mother as well."
"And look how all of that turned out, Rebekah still killed me."
"Because you brought Esther into all of this!" Ellie shouted. "If Rebekah wanted you dead, permanently dead, you'd be dead. Do I need to remind you that the only reason you're not dead is because she helped Stefan kill a guard so that you could feed? And going on that they're the enemy? Let's be real, Elena. They have all been insanely patient with you. They have absolutely killed people for less and yet you still live."
Elena gave her a look like she was insane. "How is that somehow an argument in their favor, Ellie?"
Elijah had placed a warning hand on Ellie's back that caused her to notice the sharp little flames on the candles around the room. "You know what? I'm done trying to get it through to you why I have issues with the way you are about Damon. Because clearly, anything I've ever said to you has just gone in one ear and out the other. So, no, Elena, I don't have to argue in favor of my relationship with Elijah, nor do I have to apologize for it. After all the crap I have dealt with because of your decisions, I get to have this happiness for myself. It's mine, and at this point I don't really give a damn if you like it or not."
The young witch turned to walk away, but Elena just had to open her mouth. "You're kidding. You get a say in my love life but suddenly it's an issue if I have something to say about yours?" Elena asked. "Hypocrite much?"
Ellie whipped around, and as the candles shot high in warning, Elijah wrapped a hand around her waist, pulling her away from her sister carefully. "Elena, your sister has gone through extreme lengths to keep not only you but your family and friends alive despite your numerous, reckless, attempts to kill me and my family. But she is right, my family, myself included, have killed people for less. While Klaus may want you alive for the chance of curing you, I gave Eleanor my word that I would keep her loved ones safe. That includes you. While I might not have been able to prevent the death that led to your transition, I have done my best to keep my word to her."
"Elijah…" Elena started.
"No, I think it's best for Eleanor and I to go now to give the two of you time to both cool off. I would like to think that you would be more concerned with the fact that your brother just tried to murder you as opposed to the fact that your sister and I are involved." He told her calmly as he started to lead Ellie out of the room. Just before they exited, he paused to look back at her. "And Elena, a word of warning. I don't take well to people talking to the ones I care about in such a disrespectful manner. I would like to think that by now, you know how I am about respect. I suggest you keep that in mind the next time you find yourself at odds with Eleanor."
Ellie found herself grinning as she let Elijah lead her out of the room. After they were far enough away, she asked, "Did you just threaten her?"
"It wasn't so much a threat as it was a… gentle reminder." He replied. "You have defended my siblings and I rather fiercely, even against my own mother. You deserve nothing less than someone to defend you and your honor just as fiercely."
She kissed him in appreciation. "Thank you. Listen, I'm going to take a breather for a bit, ok? I got a bit worked up in there."
"Of course, take all the time you need. I probably need to make sure Klaus is staying in line anyways."
With that, the two of them separated and Ellie found herself wandering around the Lockwood property. It didn't take long before she had pulled off her heels, opting to walk barefoot through the grass than deal with her shoes sinking down into the occasional wet spot. She walked along the edge of the water as the gentle sound of the water flowing eased her senses. Eventually, she found a spot under a large tree and settled underneath it. She was far enough away from the event that it was finally quiet and she allowed herself to relax. Ellie wasn't sure how long she'd sat there before an unfamiliar voice asked, "Hey, are you ok?"
Ellie opened her eyes to see a pretty girl in a red dress before her. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I guess the pageant was a little more draining than I was expecting." Ellie replied. "Sorry, who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Hayley. Are you… are you Elena or Ellie? I know Ty has mentioned Ellie a lot, but when he said you guys were identical, I didn't realize he meant there was like zero difference between the two of you." The girl in red said.
She sat up a little straighter. "Wait, Hayley as in Hayley from the mountains, Hayley?"
"I don't know if that's meant to be a bad thing or not, but yeah. I'm that Hayley." She confirmed.
"Sorry, no, I didn't mean it like that. I'm Ellie, by the way. I'm just… I'm sorry about your friend, Chris. I know what it's like to lose a friend to this chaos, it sucks."
Hayley winced at the mention of her friend before she gave her a curious look. "Mind if I sit? I swiped a bottle of vodka from the house."
"Feel free." Ellie said as she moved over to make room in the shade for the other girl.
They sat in silence together for a moment before Hayley asked, "Is it always crazy like this here?"
"It didn't used to be, but for the last year or so, yeah it's been pretty crazy." Ellie confirmed. She spared a glance around and after scanning the area with her magic, confirming that Klaus and Elijah were definitely out of range, she added, "I heard about what you're doing here with Ty. About the sire bond."
Hayley tensed nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about." She denied.
"I'm not going to tell Klaus."
Obviously, that had been the thing that Hayley was worried about. "Wait, Tyler said you were close with the Originals?"
"I am, but that doesn't mean that I'm ok with Klaus taking away the free will of the hybrids and making them do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. I think you're doing the right thing. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know." Ellie told her sincerely.
"Ty was right, you are pretty cool." Hayley commented.
Snorting, Ellie replied, "Yeah. He'll say that until I kick his ass at poker. It's not my fault he has an easy tell." She took the bottle as Hayley offered it to her and took a swig before saying, "I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you earlier. After everything that you've done to him, I'm really grateful to you."
"You don't have to be. I just wanted to help him out."
Despite Hayley trying to dismiss her gratitude, Ellie added, "No, I do. I've known Tyler my whole life and he's had to deal with a bunch of crap. You helped him out when I couldn't. It wasn't some little thing that you did. I owe you, really. And hey, if you're friends with Tyler, in my book you're friends with me."
Hayley grinned warmly. "Well, I guess in a town like this, I could really probably use all the friends that I can get."
Ellie laughed at Hayley's bluntness. "Oh absolutely." She looked over at the werewolf as an idea struck her and she said, "Hey, as much as I love Ty, there's only so much of him that one can handle before they need a break. So, whenever you reach that point, text me and we can hang out. Here, give me your phone. I'll give you my number."
Hayley passed her the phone willingly. "You are much more chill than I expected you to be. I've only run into a handful of witches and vampires since I turned for the first time and most of them are pretty put off by the wolf thing."
"Tyler's one of my best friends, and a werewolf. I'm friends with a slightly psychopathic hybrid, and like the majority of my friends are vampires at this point. So why would I be bothered by you being a wolf? Honestly, compared to Klaus and Tyler, you're much calmer than them both. You seem cool, and I'm typically one for giving someone a chance."
"Thanks. I appreciate it. Other than the hybrids, I don't really know anyone here. And most of them don't like me since I make them break all the bones in their bodies like a thousand times over."
"To be fair, it's a pretty valid reason to not be your biggest fan." Ellie replied as she passed the bottle back.
The wolf nodded. "That is pretty fair."
Sparing a glance at the time on her phone, Ellie told her, "Listen, I should be getting back to my date, but text me and we can hang out sometime, ok?"
"Ok, I will. See you later, Ellie. It was nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." As she walked away, Ellie shook the strange feeling that she got from the werewolf away. It wasn't a bad feeling like what she got from Esther or even from that Professor Shane. It was just more of a feeling that something wasn't quite right and Ellie just didn't know how to put her finger on it. She was sure she would find out sooner or later, she just hoped it wasn't something that ended badly.
Author's Note:
Ellie and Elijah having slightly... intense moments always make me nervous lol. Also Elena finally knows! And Elijah might have threatened her to treat Ellie better lol. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review to let me know your thoughts!
To Guest: Sorry, Hayley's going to be a part of this story. Now, I will tell you that I have changes planned for her, and she's obviously not going to have the weird love triangle/square between her, Elijah, Jackson, and Klaus because I didn't really like that either. But since I plan on Hope happening, since she's a huge part of Klaus changing for the better, Hayley will be involved. But hopefully, I can do her character in a way that you don't hate.
To skyellebaby: It was definitely horrifying for her, and it's not anything that she's going to forget any time soon. He really is so soft for her and it makes me so happy. Care is definitely on Ellie's side. And yes, the Stefan and Ellie scene just felt so right, and it's only an added bonus that he basically ignored how Elena was acting in favor of taking care of Ellie. Well, Stefan knows that Bekah was daggered, he was there when it happened. But Ellie's going to figure it out soon enough. Kat and Ellie are always fun. At the very least, Ellie and Davina will interact and maybe they can chill together. It would be good bonding.
To brigitm28: They really are perfect together lol. Is it bad that I'm glad it made you cry lol? I guess I mean it as it means a lot that I've managed to get you so connected to her that it affects you. Also, don't feel bad about crying while reading, I've cried countless times while writing it, probably an embarrassing amount. Stefan most likely will show up before season three, depending on how I can work it lol. What did you think about Elena finding out? Was it what you expected lol?
To WarriorofMyth: I hope you get to this point to see my response, and if you do, do you like how Katherine and Ellie's relationship has developed?
To FanGirlie101: Oh my god! Welcome to my story! It literally makes me so happy when someone tells me that they binged it. Did you like the whole thing with Elena finding out? Was her reaction what you expected? Yes, Ellie will be going to NOLA. What makes her different is still in the works, but I do hopefully plan on addressing it at some point. Also, I update every week around this time! I'm glad you love this story!
To AdiraBraelynn: And we got even more Ellijah this chapter as well! He's definitely worried sick about her. And she's definitely being bombarded with too much drama because of Elena. While Elijah might not spirit her away to another country, he might end up stealing her away from the others for a while! I think when she couldn't find Bekah that's when they kind of assumed that she's been daggered. We got a bit more Caroline this chapter, hopefully we'll get more of her soon. I also hated the cure plot, but Tessa and Silas and Amara were so neat. They're definitely too nice to Elena after everything she's done but it's not surprising lol. She doesn't deserve them. Exactly! Nate is way too fine for his own good, and I can just imagine him being Katherine's favorite.
-Madame Magic
Posted: 5/22/21
