Author's Note: Aaaaand welcome to PTL season 5! If you've stuck around this long, thank you so so much! I've been taking a break from writing this story if I'm being honest, and so far I've written up to Damon getting out of the prison world in season 6 which really isn't much. Now that season 5 is up and running, I'll try to get back into the swing of things and see where I end up. Here's a reminder of everyone's FCs in case you forgot!
Elowen: Victoria Justice
Josiah: Blake Michael
Esmeralda/Eliana: Gina Rodriguez
Sydney: Freema Agyeman
Toby: Rhys Matthew Bond
Angel: Tommy Martinez
Adriana: Cierra Ramirez
Veronica: Alexa Demie
Sofia: Jessica Alba
Now without further ado, here we go! Leave a review if you could because that would mean a lot :)
xxxx
It was dark. Dark, murky, and difficult to see. It was hard to make out anything in the room- no, it wasn't a room. A closet? It was definitely an enclosed space, and it was filled to the brim with water.
Finally, something came into focus. It looked like a figure, but it was difficult to make out who it was. They were completely still, floating aimlessly, until suddenly, their eyes shot open and they started thrashing around, banging on the door to whatever was holding them captive, choking and unable to breathe. As they continued to struggle, their face came into full view.
It was Stefan.
Elowen shot up with a loud gasp, her hand coming up to grab her throat. She coughed a couple of times, the feeling of water invading her lungs vivid in her mind. As she caught her breath, breathing heavily, Damon stirred from beside her.
"What's wrong?" He asked, half asleep, voice scratchy and deep.
Elowen looked down at him and swallowed. "Nothing. Bad dream. I need some air."
Damon grunted in response, but didn't move to wake up. Elowen quickly flung the covers off of herself and quietly rushed to put her shoes on.
Stefan had been missing all summer. After he left to dump Silas's calcified body in the quarry with Lexi, he never came back. Elowen had wasted her summer away searching for him instead of preparing to leave for college, much to Caroline's chagrin, but this was something she couldn't simply let go. Damon had told her time and time again that he wouldn't give up until he found his little brother and that she should be worrying about living a normal college life, but Elowen wasn't having any of it.
After getting her shoes on, she grabbed her car keys off of Damon's nightstand and expertly snuck out of his room and then out the front door. Veronica, Angel and Adriana had gotten their own apartment somewhere in downtown, but often still stayed the night at the boarding house. Tonight was thankfully not one of those nights, and they had taken Janus with them when they moved, so Elowen didn't have a dog to accidentally alert anybody that she was leaving. She made it to her car and out of the driveway in one piece, heading for the quarry.
The quarry had been the first place Elowen had looked, as it was the last place she knew Stefan had been, but saw no sign of Stefan or his car. Now she was beating herself up for not checking in the water, like her dream had shown her. She really should've waited for morning to come, or at least for Damon to wake up, but this was Stefan. If he really was down there, drowning and dying over and over again, she wanted him out of there and safe and sound next to her the next chance she got.
Arriving at the quarry, Elowen shut her car off and stepped out. She used the flashlight on her phone and carefully walked to the edge of the waterfall, peering over the end into the water. Now that she was here, she realized that she had no idea where to start. She blew out a puff of air, her head turning to look on either side of her. She saw a small, probably slightly dangerous, pathway leading down to the water, and set off in its direction, when a branch snapped from behind her. Whirling around, she came face to face with Stefan.
Relief flooded her face and she immediately ran over to him, flinging her arms around his neck in a tight hug.
"Oh my god, Stefan! You're okay." She pulled back. "Where the hell have you-"
She pushed him away roughly.
"You're not Stefan."
Silas smirked down at her. "You're right. I'm not."
Elowen backed away. "Silas. How are you-"
"Here? I'll make it simple for you. The spell that turned me into stone was bound by the witch who cast the spell. If that witch dies…."
"The spell is broken." Elowen shook her head. "But, Bonnie's not…" She trailed off. "She can't be dead! She's been sending me emails all summer!"
Silas shrugged. "I don't really care. What I do care about, however, is making sure that pesky little power of yours won't get in the way anymore. So," Silas took a step forward, prompting Elowen to step back again. "You're going to get back into your car, go home, and forget you were ever here. You're going to forget about the dream you had, and you know what? You're going to stop your search for Stefan. He called you to tell you that he's alive and breathing and that he needed to get away, and that was that. You're going to focus on college because that's what he told you to do. Got it?"
Robotically, Elowen nodded her head. Silas smiled.
"Now, get in your car and leave. Good talk."
Without casting Silas another glance, Elowen walked over to her car, got in, started the ignition, and left for the boarding house.
xxxx
Elowen sat at her desk in her room the next day, typing out an email for Bonnie.
Hey, Bonnie. I thought that I'd let you know that I finally heard from Stefan! He told me that he's alive and breathing and that he just needed to get away for awhile. I don't think I blame him after everything that happened senior year. He said that my main thing should be getting ready for college, and I think he's right. Don't know how I'm supposed to do this thing without you. Caroline agrees. She's spent the whole summer designing the color palette for our dorm room.
Get this. Veronica decided to come to Whitmore with us. She never did strike me as the type to care about college, but Angel told me that she's smarter than she looks. I think she's just in it for the parties, but who knows? Maybe I'm wrong. She hasn't really seemed all that bad this summer. Actually, her and I have gotten kind of close. She asked if I wanted to room together, but I told her that Caroline already had dibs, so she's rooming with Elena. Not sure if that's the smartest idea, but we'll see how that goes.
Anyway, I can't wait to see you when you get back, whenever that is.
Love,
Elowen.
As she pressed send, someone knocked on her door. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose (she had yet to put her contacts in), and looked over to see Damon in the doorway. She smiled at him.
"Hey."
"Hey." He came over and sat on the edge of her bed. "Where'd you go last night?"
Elowen frowned. "I didn't go anywhere last night."
"Uh, yeah, you did. You said you had a bad dream and you needed air and you disappeared for like, an hour."
Elowen started to slowly shake her head. "I don't… Oh! Stefan called me."
Damon's eyebrows shot up. "He did? Is he okay? Where's he been this whole damn time?"
"He told me that he's alive and breathing and that he needed space."
Damon scoffed. "Needed space? Needed space from what?"
Elowen shrugged. "I don't know, but good for him. A lot's happened over the last few years. If I had the opportunity to leave for awhile, I would."
"Yeah, but he couldn't at least call or tell anyone where he was going? Where even is he?"
"No idea. He didn't say, but he did tell me that I should focus on college, and he's right. Move in day is in a few days, and I'm not even halfway packed. Caroline's ready to wring my neck for it."
Elowen stood up from her desk and over to her closet.
"Even Veronica's starting to get on my back about it."
"I'm surprised she's even interested in college."
"I said the same thing, but Angel told me otherwise. By the way, do you think I should dye my hair? The red hair thing Veronica has going on is kind of hot."
"Please don't."
Elowen whined and turned back to face Damon. "Why not? Even Elena's done something exciting to her hair! Maybe I could go blue."
"No."
"I thought you were supposed to be the fun one."
Damon stood up from the bed and walked over to Elowen. "I am, but dyeing your hair? Really?"
Elowen pouted. "Fine, I won't do it."
Damon placed his hands on Elowen's hips and brought her closer to him. "Thank you."
"What about fringe bangs?"
Damon groaned.
"What? It looks cute on Veronica."
"What is up with you and Veronica lately?"
Elowen shrugged. "Don't know, but she's really not that bad once you get to know her."
Damon rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss Elowen, drawing a giggle from her.
"Damon, I need to pack," she mumbled against his lips.
"Just a couple of minutes," he mumbled back.
"Damon, I'm serious."
"So am I."
In one swift movement, he picked her up, causing her to laugh loudly, which was drowned out by Damon kissing her again, and walked over to her bed.
xxxx
Jeremy and Angel were sitting at a bench in the park, hovering over Jeremy's phone as they tried to type out a reply email to Elowen.
"Dear Elowen…" Jeremy started to say before Bonnie cut him off.
"Wait, don't start with dear."
Josiah leaned over the park bench to look down at Jeremy's phone. He shook his head.
"Agreed. Too formal."
"It's bad enough the two of you are dead," Jeremy replied. "Now you're being control freaks?"
"What are they saying?" Angel asked.
Jeremy sighed and turned to Angel. "They're saying not to start with dear."
Angel shrugged. "I personally wouldn't start with dear, either. Elowen is Bonnie's friend. Just start with hey."
Jeremy sighed loudly, shaking his head. "You guys are going to be the death of me."
"Careful," Josiah chided. "You've already been dead before. Twice."
"Whatever, dude."
Angel reached over and took the phone from Jeremy's hands.
"Hey!"
"Just let me write this one, okay, man? I know what I'm doing."
"Fine. Go crazy."
Hey, Elowen. You guys have no idea how much I miss you.
I'm glad you finally heard from Stefan! Even I was starting to get a little worried. It's not like him to just vanish. He's right, though. Your main focus should be college now that you know he's okay.
Angel stopped.
"Ooh. How am I not supposed to sound biased against my sister?"
Jeremy clicked his tongue and snatched the phone. "Give me that!"
Josiah and Bonnie laughed. Jeremy shot a glare over his shoulder at them, but looked back down at his phone to finish the email.
Veronica rooming with Elena? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
"Hey!" Angel complained as he looked over Jeremy's shoulder.
"Dude, your sister hates Elena," Jeremy pointed out. "Do you not remember how eager she was to bash her when her emotions were off? She even went after Toby just to try and make her mad."
Angel huffed. "It's not my fault Veronica doesn't like the girl next door, nice girl act."
"It's not an act," Bonnie defended lightly.
"Bonnie says it's not an act," Jeremy relayed the message.
Angel rolled his eyes. "Look, all I'm saying is, Veronica doesn't like Elena because everything was fed to her on a silver spoon. Perfect suburban family in a small town suburban neighborhood. She thinks Elena's entitled. Not to mention, the reason I'm a vampire is sort of her fault."
"Elena is so not entitled!" Bonnie said from behind Jeremy.
Jeremy waved her off. "Calm down, Bonnie. I got this." He faced Angel with a sigh. "I understand where she's coming from."
"What?!" Bonnie hissed. Josiah took a sidestep away from Bonnie and leaned down to Jeremy's ear.
"Be careful, man."
Jeremy ignored him. "You guys grew up poor in a poor neighborhood, right?"
Angel nodded.
"Veronica sees that Elena got what she wanted her life to be like and so she's just jealous."
Angel shook his head. "No, no, no. Veronica doesn't get jealous. She gets vindictive. She'll eat Elena alive."
"Which brings me back to my 'Veronica hates Elena' point."
Angel huffed. "Just finish the email."
Jeremy sighed, but did as Angel said.
I know you and Elena haven't had the best relationship, but maybe you should keep an eye on her and make sure Veronica doesn't eat her alive. If Angel said that she's smarter than she looks, then I'm sure she's in it for more than just the parties. She really doesn't seem all that bad under her bitchy facade.
"She's really not once you get to her soft center," Angel piped up, reading what Jeremy was writing over his shoulder. Jeremy shot him a look and Angel threw his hands up.
"Sorry."
I miss you guys. I'm glad you're having a great summer.
Love,
Bonnie.
xxxx
Toby walked into the bathroom, where Elena was taking a bubble bath. She looked like she was lost in thought as she looked off into the distance, a funny look on her face.
"You okay?" Toby asked, jarring her from her thoughts.
Elena blinked and looked up at him. "Hm?"
Toby sat on the edge of the tub. "You just look like something's wrong."
Elena sighed and shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I've just got this weird feeling like something bad's about to happen."
"Well, I hope not. You're leaving tomorrow."
"And you're not. Are you sure there's nothing I can say to make you come to Whitmore with me?"
Toby shook his head. "Nah. College isn't for me. At least not anymore."
Elena tilted her head. "Why not?"
It was Toby's turn to sigh.
"My mom used to make a big deal out of college. Talked a big game, asked me what I wanted to major in, presented me with all these options, went over the different schools with me. She made it sound fun… and then she died."
"And so did the magic."
"Yeah."
Elena reached out and grabbed Toby's hand. "Why don't you go, you know, for her? In her memory? I'm sure she would like that."
"I'm sure she would, too, but… if I went to college, all I'd be able to think about is how she's not here to go through it with me."
Elena nodded in understanding. "I get that. I almost didn't finish high school after my parents died. I just didn't see the point. If they weren't gonna be there to see me graduate, then why bother?"
"What made you want to continue?"
Elena thought about this for a moment. "I think… I wanted to be a role model for Jeremy. I wanted to show him that even though our parents were gone, we could still get through this and that it was okay to move on. Somewhere along the line, I started to do it for myself, to prove to myself that I could do it. That I could finish something, especially after all this supernatural stuff went down. And I did."
Toby smiled. "Well, I'm happy for you." He leaned down to kiss her. When he pulled back, he started to stand up and head for the door.
Elena reached out and grabbed his wrist to stop him. She smirked up at him when he turned to look down at her.
"Why don't you join me?"
Toby shook his head endearingly, but started to pull his shirt up and over his head. Elena watched him with a smile as he undressed and slipped into the bathtub, opposite of her. She splashed him with water once he settled, and he gaped at her. Before she could process what was happening, he was splashing her back.
She laughed loudly as they continued to splash each other before Toby caught her arm and pulled her towards him so he could kiss her.
"I love you," Elena whispered when he pulled back.
Toby reached over and brushed some of her hair out of her face.
"I love you, too."
xxxx
Elowen rushed down the stairs holding a box in her hands. Damon was behind her, bringing down one of her suitcases.
"Okay, I think I have everything," Elowen said as she set the box down on another suitcase. "Caroline should be here soon with her mom."
"What about Elena and Veronica?" Sydney asked as she came into the foyer, followed by Eliana. Esmeralda was already there, balancing a second box on her hip.
"Veronica's mom came up from Atlanta to see her off, so they're riding together, and Elena said she doesn't mind riding to campus by herself," Elowen replied.
"What about Toby? How come he can't take her?"
"Because wolf boy is stuck on Jeremy duty," Damon explained as he set Elowen's suitcase at her feet. "Honestly, I kind of feel for the kid."
Elowen lightly pushed Damon's shoulder. "Knock it off. If this were me and you were tasked with looking after Jo-"
Elowen stopped herself. Getting over Josiah's death was something she still hadn't successfully done. Actually, it was something her whole family hadn't done very well. It didn't help that today was the first day of what would've been his senior year. That was something that was looming over everybody, something nobody wanted to bring up, so they didn't.
Damon sighed. He reached over and placed his hands on either side of Elowen's shoulders.
"I would've done it in a heartbeat. Wouldn't have let him out of my sight for even a second. Hell, I would've even helped the brat with his math homework if I had to."
This garnered soft laughs from everyone else, Elowen included.
"Thank you," she told him quietly.
Damon smiled down at her and brought her in for a hug. He rested his chin on the crown of her head.
"Anything for you, Wen."
Unbeknown to them, Josiah was standing in the foyer with them, watching over everyone. He scoffed lightly and shook his head.
"For the record, I totally would've told you to screw yourself," he said to them even though they couldn't hear him. "Unless it came to history. Who better to ask for help than a vampire who's almost two centuries old?"
There was a honk from outside. Damon and Elowen pulled away.
"That'll be Caroline," Eliana said as she walked over to peer out the open window. She came back over and embraced Elowen tightly. "Stay safe, my little Elliebean."
"I will, Ana. Promise."
They pulled apart and then it was Sydney's turn to hug Elowen.
"College was some of the best years of my life," she told Elowen, pulling away. She nodded her head at Eliana. "It's where I met this one."
Elowen smiled. "I know, Syd. I've heard the story before. Multiple times."
"Oh, Arty says hi from New Orleans and that she wishes you luck. Storm says not to have too much fun and Zion said the exact opposite."
"And Nikki and Nicole?"
"Nikki mentioned something about not underestimating your studies and my mom just said that she's proud of you. They're all gonna try and visit again soon."
Elowen turned to grab one of her suitcases when Damon caught her wrist and pulled her in for a quick kiss.
"Just so you know, I'm planning on forgetting about you the second you walked out the door," he mumbled against her lips.
Elowen rolled her eyes. "Ditto."
Damon grinned and let her go. Esmeralda opened the front door and her and Elowen started taking her things out towards the car.
"I'm gonna miss you!" Eliana called after them as they left.
"I'm gonna miss you, too!" Elowen yelled back before Damon closed the door.
He sighed once they were gone and turned to Sydney and Eliana.
"Alright, who's hungry?"
Eliana crossed her arms. "You're gonna cook?"
"You can say no and I can leave and you two can starve. I'm trying to be a good boyfriend to my girlfriend's family. Either take it or leave it."
Eliana and Sydney shared a look. Sydney laughed and turned back to Damon.
"Okay, come on. I'll keep Binx out of the kitchen for you."
"Where even is he? What kind of dog doesn't say goodbye to its owner?" Damon asked and him, Eliana and Sydney left the foyer.
"Elowen said goodbye to him earlier this morning," Eliana explained as they arrived in the kitchen. She pointed towards the stove. "Now get to work."
Damon threw his hands up. "Alright, Miss Bossy. Breakfast coming right up."
xxxx
Elena sat in the living room across from Jeremy, rehearsing his cover story for how he was suddenly alive and back at school.
"There were issues at home. Ever since I lost my parents, my aunt, I've been acting out. Drugs, drinking… I was looking for attention, so I lit my house on fire and faked my own death," Jeremy was saying.
"Really stress the drug thing," Elena told him. "And I'd definitely say that the fire was an accident, because there's crazy, and then there's… well, me."
"Or I could just not go back, considering my school already held a memorial for me."
"I don't see why we're making him go back, to be honest," Toby said as he walked into the room, carrying one of Elena's suitcases. "You know he's just going to be seen as the crazy freak who faked his death and ran away from home."
Jeremy gestured to Toby. "See?"
Elena huffed and looked at Toby. "Not helping."
Toby put down the suitcase and held his hands up. "All I'm saying is, he can finish out high school online. It's not going to hurt anybody."
"He's going. End of discussion."
"You wanna know who else is going? You. You're going to be late. Elowen and Caroline have already left."
Elena stood up from the couch, starting walking towards the door, and then stopped. She began shaking her head.
"No, no. Maybe I should stay and wait until Jeremy settles into school-"
"Elena, you're leaving. End of discussion," Toby threw her words back at her. He grabbed her wrist and started pulling her towards the front door. "You're going to drink cheap beer and make bad decisions, and I am gonna take care of your little brother." He stopped in front of the door. "Trust me. You have nothing to worry about."
Elena sighed and turned back to Jeremy.. "Okay, well at least Whitmore is only a few hours away, so if there's anything you need, Jer, just call me."
Jeremy chuckled as he walked over. "Hey, I'll see you on laundry day."
He leaned over and hugged her. When Elena pulled away, she faced Toby.
"So, how do you think this whole long distance thing is gonna work?"
Toby shrugged. "No idea. Maybe I might end up meeting someone new while you're gone."
Elena shot him a look, but leaned up and kissed him. From behind them, Jeremy rolled his eyes.
"I love you," Elena said as she pulled back.
Toby smiled. "I love you."
Elena gave one last wave at Jeremy and Toby pulled the front door open.
"Alright. Off you go."
Elean grabbed the suitcase Toby had brought down and started to walk out, but as Toby closed the door behind her, she quickly peeked back in to kiss Toby one last time, then finally left. A smile lingered on Toby's face after the door was closed. His eyes flickered over to Jeremy.
"You don't need me to chaperone you to school, do you?"
Jeremy shook his head. "God, no."
"Good. Now go before you're late on your first day."
Toby opened the front door again. Jeremy huffed, but grabbed his backpack and walked out.
xxxx
Elena had met up with Caroline and Elowen on campus and as they walked through the crowd of freshmen, Elena kept glancing at Elowen. Finally, Elowen sighed and turned to Elena.
"Spit it out."
Elena looked embarrassed, but opened her mouth anyway. "Have you made progress on looking for Stefan?"
"Oh, yeah. He called me last night. Everything's fine, he just needed a breather from Mystic Falls for awhile. Why?"
Elena nodded. "Then nevermind."
Elowen frowned. "No, Elena, what is it?"
Elena was quiet for a moment before she answered.
"Well, I know this is going to sound weird, but… I've been getting this sinking feeling in my stomach every time I think about him."
"You're been dreaming about my boyfriend?"
"No! No, they're not dreams. It's more of a… feeling. Did he say where he was or why he left without saying anything?"
"No and no."
Elena furrowed her eyebrows. "He's been missing all summer and you didn't think to ask why?"
Elowen shrugged. "I was more concerned with making sure he was okay and that nothing happened to him. Finding out that he was still alive was good enough for me."
Elena sighed. "Well, can you try calling him again and just make sure that he's really okay?"
"I mean, I guess I can. I'm just not sure why you care so much. You and Stefan barely talk."
This seemed to shut Elena up.
A few feet away from them, they saw Veronica and her mom walking towards them, as well as Esmeralda and Liz, who had gone to find them. Veronica smirked when she made it to Elowen.
"Hey, bitch-" She started to say in greeting when her mom reached over to nudge her.
"Hey!" Sofia scolded. "Language!"
"Mom, are you really going to tell your 20 year old college freshman daughter to wash her mouth out with soap?"
Sofia sighed. "Alright, fine, you're right. You're grown now, but you should still watch your mouth and what you say around people who aren't your friends."
"Got it, mom."
Veronica laughed, along with Elowen and Esmeralda. Veronica walked over and slung her arm around Elowen's shoulder.
"Come on. Let's go unpack."
"Oh!" Caroline grinned widely. "Guess what?"
Elowen turned to Caroline. "What?"
"I talked to the people in charge of the dorms and I compelled them to-"
"Ahem!" Veronica coughed loudly. Her eyes darted over to Sofia, who was tilting her head slightly in confusion.
Caroline's eyes widened. "I mean, I asked them if they could let us have a four person dorm instead of two, and they said yes, so we can all room together."
Sofia frowned. "Just like that? That doesn't sound right."
"Well, they said a lot of students pulled out of staying in the dorms last minute, so they had the room," Caroline quickly lied.
"Huh. Okay. Well, either way, that's exciting!" Sofia nudged Veronica. "I'm glad you made friends in Mystic Falls so fast."
"Not like I had a choice," Veronica muttered under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing." Veronica smiled at Sofia. "Just that I'm glad, too. Let's just find our dorm."
"Good idea."
xxxx
"You brought a panini press?" Veronica asked as she pulled it out of one of Caroline's boxes.
Caroline pointed to a part in the room. "Small appliances, by the fridge."
Esmeralda, Liz and Sofia all walked in, each of them carrying boxes.
"Okay, that's the last one," Esmeralda said as she set the box down. She walked over to Elowen, her arms open. "Now give me a goodbye hug."
Elowen smiled and met Esmeralda halfway, enveloping her in a hug.
Liz did the same with Caroline. "Say goodbye before I change my mind and drag you home with me."
Caroline laughed and hugged her mom. As Esmeralda and Liz pulled back, Sofia walked over and hugged Veronica.
"You know that you can call as much as you want to, right?" Sofia asked, slightly tearful, as she pulled away. "I don't hear from you and your siblings very often since you guys moved out. It's lonely."
Veronica smiled. "I'll call, I promise. We've just been busy."
A pang of guilt hit Veronica's chest as she thought about what her, Adriana and Angel were keeping from her. She knew it was for the best that Sofia didn't know, but part of her still felt horrible for having to lie to her, especially the truth about Angel being dead but undead.
Behind them, Liz was walking over to hug Elena.
"This is where your dad fell in love with medicine, you know? He would be really proud to see you here."
Elena smiled. "Thank you."
Esmeralda gently grabbed onto Liz's shoulder. "Okay, let's go before we all decide to stay."
Liz cast one last glance at Caroline before smiling and nodding.
"Alright, you're right. I love you! Bye, girls."
"Bye, honey," Esmeralda said to Elowen. "I love you."
"I love you, too, mom!" Elowen replied.
Sofia gave Veronica a quick kiss on the forehead before stepping back and waving at her.
"Don't forget to call!"
Veronica smiled. "I won't. Not this time."
Esmeralda, Liz and Sofia all finally left the dorm room and closed the door behind them. Elowen, Veronica, Elena and Caroline all turned to face each other once they were gone.
"So, roomies, I think we should drink to something," Elena said.
Elowen walked over to her bed and plopped on it. "You go ahead. I don't drink, remember?"
"Which I respect, but that makes you one of the most boring 19 year olds ever," Veronica said as she walked over to one of the boxes, opened it up, pulled out a blanket and unwrapped it, revealing a bottle of bourbon.
"Don't tell Damon, but I swiped this from his stash."
"You're lucky you're miles away, because he totally would've killed you over that."
"Well, you drink that, but I was thinking something a little different for us." Elena smirked.
Caroline walked over to one of her suitcases on her bed, unzipped it and revealed her stash of blood bags. She pulled out two and tossed one at Elena, who caught it. Elena held up her blood bag.
"To us, and college, and being functional vampires."
"Uh, hello?" Veronica cut in. "Points for being inclusive." She was talking about the vampire comment, considering her and Elowen weren't vampires. She rolled her eyes. "Guess I have to do everything around here."
Judging by Elena's face, she didn't appreciate the backhanded comment. She looked at Caroline, who shook her head, then at Elowen, who shrugged. Veronica raised her bottle of alcohol.
"Here's to the next chapter in our lives and surviving whatever the fuck we just went through."
"Amen," Elowen spoke up, raising her hand into the air.
"I'll drink to that," Caroline said, reaching over to clink her blood bag against Veronica's bottle of bourbon.
There was a sudden knock on the door and quickly, using their vampire speed, Elena and Caroline threw their blood bags back into the suitcase and closed it. Veronica hid her bourbon behind her back and Elowen got up to help her cover it up.
A girl walked into the dorm room, carrying a couple bags of stuff.
"Hey, she greeted with a smile when she saw the four of them.
Elowen, Caroline, Veronica and Elena all shared a confused look.
"Uh, who are you?" Caroline asked.
"Oh, I'm Megan," she replied. "Your roommate."
"The dorm room occupancy is four," Veronica pointed out. "How are you here?"
Megan shrugged. "No idea, I'm just going where they tell me. So, which bed is mine?"
xxxx
Elowen was on the phone with Damon, filling him in about Megan being there.
"What?" Damon asked. "Wait a minute, how'd that happen?"
"There must've been a mixup at the housing office."
Elowen was speaking quietly so Megan wouldn't overhear her. She glanced over and saw Megan opening her tablet.
"Compulsion. It's the unwanted roommate repellent."
"That's exactly what Caroline said, and Veronica agreed."
"Right, so then just compel her ass out the door."
"Damon, what's the point in going to college to get away from Mystic Falls, only to recreate Mystic Falls? I can't believe I'm saying this, but Elena and I agree on this."
"Look at you, giving it the old college try."
Elowen sighed. "I'm just ready for things to be as normal as they can be, with me being a witch and my boyfriends being vampires. Klaus is in New Orleans, Silas is at the bottom of the quarry, and Katherine's human. Nothing should virtually be able to ruin this for me."
"Don't speak that out into existence. You're going to jinx it."
"You're right. You holding down the fort okay?"
"It's only been a couple of hours. What could possibly go wrong in less than a day?"
"Don't speak that out into existence. You're going to jinx it."
"Ha, ha." There was a pause. "Listen, I got to, uh… go. Love you."
"Yeah, love you, too."
And then Damon hung up.
xxxx
Esmeralda, Sofia and Liz were in the town square back in Mystic Falls at the end of the summer celebration the town was putting on. They were sitting at a table, eating lunch.
"So, what's the appeal of this little town?" Sofia asked as they ate. "I mean, it was enough to make all three of my kids move here without much warning."
Esmeralda laughed. "I think small towns in general are kind of tempting, aren't they? No big buildings, bright lights and most importantly, no traffic."
Sofia grinned. "You had me at no traffic." She looked around their surroundings. "Mystic Falls is really cute, though. There's a lot of history here, isn't there?"
Liz nodded her head. "Oh, yeah. Definitely."
Esmeralda looked up as she felt someone approach them and her face lit up.
"Stefan! You're okay! Elowen told me that you called her and said so, but I couldn't help but still be worried. What was with the sudden vanishing act?"
Stefan took a seat across from her, next to Sofia.
"Ah, it's complicated," he told her. "I'm not sure I want to get into that."
The smile on Esmeralda's face slowly slipped. Her empath power was telling her something was very, very wrong. She felt herself begin to panic as she realized that this wasn't Stefan. Silas read her thoughts and figured this out. He smirked at her knowingly.
Sofia, blissfully unaware, turned to Stefan with a smile.
"Who's this?"
"This is Stefan," Liz replied when Esmeralda didn't. "He's Elowen's boyfriend."
Sofia's smile turned into a frown. "I thought Damon was Elowen's boyfriend?"
"He is. It's… they've got a thing. I don't ask questions."
Stefan reached over for the empty styrofoam cup and popped the lid off. He pulled out a pocket knife from his pocket, clicked it open, grabbed Sofia's wrist and cut it open. Her eyes widened and she tried to pull her hand away, but Stefan tightened his grip on her and put her wrist over the cup, allowing her blood to drain into it.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sofia asked in alarm, still trying to fight against Stefan.
"I'm outing myself as Not Stefan, obviously," Silas replied. "None of you be afraid. Don't move."
Immediately, Sofia relaxed.
"What's happening?" Liz asked.
"We've met before, actually, when I was appearing as your daughter and I bashed your head in. Does that ring any bells?"
"Silas."
"Indeed. I am a 2,000 year old immortal that Caroline and her friends thought they got rid of."
"What's going on here?" Sofia asked frantically. "What's he talking about?"
Silas glanced over at her. "Ah, yes. Sofia Garcia, the oblivious mother who has no idea her son is a vampire."
Sofia's eyes widened. "What? What are you-"
"Are you appearing to us as Stefan?" Esmeralda asked, cutting her off.
"Well, yes and no. This is my true form and Stefan is my doppelganger. You're wondering what I've done with Stefan. I know that because I can read your thoughts. To answer your question, just know that he's locked away and suffering somewhere. Your daughter actually figured it out a few nights ago, but I made her forget."
Liz glanced down at Sofia's wrist, which was still dripping blood into the cup.
"What's with the knife? Most vampires go straight for the neck."
"Ugh," Silas groaned in disgust. "Please, Liz. I came first. Vampires are nothing more than a disgusting perversion of me. I'm unkillable, I'm immortal and I'm psychic, and to function I need human blood, but don't ever call me a vampire."
SIlas smiled and removed Sofia's wrist from the cup.
"Cheers," he said, picking up the cup and drinking from it. As he set the cup down, he scanned all three of their minds. When he saw that they knew nothing, he reached over for a napkin and cleaned up the cut on Sofia's wrist.
"Unfortunately, I can see that none of you can help me find what I'm looking for, so all you need to remember is that Stefan's back and that he stopped by to say hello."
He put the lid back on the cup and stood up as his words took effect on the three of them. After a moment, Esmeralda smiled.
"It's good to have you back, Stefan. Call Elowen and let her know. I'm sure she'd be glad to hear it."
"Will do, Esmeralda."
xxxx
Elowen, Caroline, Veronica, Elena and Megan were all walking around the campus.
"So, you're dating a guy named Damien," Megan was saying, but Elowen cut her off to correct her.
"Damon."
"But you're also dating his little brother-"
"Stefan."
"And they're miraculously okay with this, and Stefan left without a word three months ago and you had static until a couple of days ago?"
"Correct."
"And you didn't think to ask why?"
"That's what I said," Elena piped up.
Elowen rolled her eyes. "I spent my whole summer looking for him to make sure he was alive, and he is. Where he is doesn't matter as long as he's breathing."
"Huh." Megan turned to Elena. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
"I do. His name's Toby. He decided not to enroll in college, so he's not here."
Megan faced Caroline. "What about you?"
Caroline smiled sadly. "I did. His name was Josiah. He was Elowen's little brother. He, uh… died three months ago."
Megan's face turned sympathetic. She glanced at Elowen. "Oh. I'm so sorry."
To change the subject, Megan turned her attention to Veronica.
"And you?"
Veronica shrugged. "I hooked up with this guy named Tyler once, but then he had to leave town because of some drama that went down. He came back and then he left again. He's in Tennessee now. It's probably a good thing it didn't go anywhere. I don't catch feelings. Not my thing."
"So you don't want to get married someday?"
"Eh. Marriage isn't a big deal to me. It is to my little sister, though." Veronica nodded her head at Elena. "She's got the hots for her little brother."
"Is he hot?"
"Oh, very."
"Hey!" Elena cut in. "Please don't talk about my brother like that in front of me."
Veronica smirked. Caroline decided to jump in.
"It's probably a good time to talk about roommate ground rules. Privacy is very important to me."
Megan nodded. "Same here."
"I have low blood sugar. My diet's finicky, so keep your paws off my stuff."
"We'll split up the shelves."
"And if I suddenly get up to leave or disappear for awhile, don't follow me or look for me."
Megan tilted her head slightly in confusion, but still nodded. "Okay… sounds good."
Elena smiled. "Great, then we agree on everything."
A male student approached them, holding out a flyer. Caroline took it.
"Excuse me, ladies. Party at Whitmore House tonight."
Elowen peered over Caroline's shoulder to look at the flyer. Veronica smiled flirtatiously.
"We'll be there."
His eyes landed on Caroline. "I hope so."
Veronica leaned over to Elowen as he walked away.
"He is delicious."
"And totally into Caroline."
"He so is not!" Caroline said loudly.
Elowen laughed while Veronica snorted.
"Honey, that was an 'I like you' look if I ever saw one." Veronica glanced over her shoulder to watch him. "If you don't want him, I'll take him."
"Yeah, go ahead, have fun."
Veronica turned back to everyone else with a smirk.
"I love college."
xxxx
Elowen was flopped out on her bed while Elena was putting on earrings in the mirror. Veronica loudly shut a drawer, causing Elowen to sit up and watch her.
"Megan's juicer takes up all the small appliance space," Veronica stated. "Sucks to be a panini press. She also has an entire drawer dedicated to organic linen."
Elowen laughed lightly. "What happened to privacy?"
"I wasn't apart of that conversation, Caroline and Elena were. Me, on the other hand, likes to snoop in people's things. Besides, she takes long ass showers, which gives me ample time to go through her stuff."
Caroline huffed and looked over at Elowen. "How are you okay with a fifth roommate?"
Elowen shrugged. "We're trying to have a normal college life, aren't we? That means we need college friends."
"We also need personal space. I mean, what if me or Elena suddenly get a craving, and one of us tries to eat her? Or the blood bags go bad because we can't store them in the mini fridge?"
Veronica was looking in the fridge and pulled something out.
"What the hell is protein water? Sounds like a rich, healthy person drink."
Caroline stood up from her bed, crossed the room and took the water bottle from Veronica.
"You know what? Maybe if I drink all her stuff, she'll wanna move out."
Veronica shrugged. "Fine by me."
Elowen sighed and started to stand up as Caroline untwisted the cap and took a sip.
"Caroline, no-"
Caroline suddenly choked and coughed up the water, collapsing to the ground.
"Vervain," she wheezed out.
The door to the bathroom opened up and Megan rushed out with a towel wrapped around her.
"What's going on? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, she's, uh, she's fine," Elowen said quickly.
Megan looked down at Caroline worriedly. "What happened?"
"Water just went down the wrong pipe," Caroline lied. "I'm okay, really. I shouldn't have touched your stuff. I'm really sorry."
"It's fine. It just sounded like someone was dying out here. Well, I'm glad you're okay!"
With a smile, Megan turned and walked back towards the bathroom as Elena helped Caroline back to her feet.
"She knows who we are!" Caroline hissed once the bathroom door closed behind Megan. "She drinks vervain water!"
"That doesn't mean she knows about us," Elena replied.
"Seriously? We share a bathroom with this girl! What if she's a hunter, and she stakes us when we're in the shower? Or she steals your daylight ring and my necklace while we're asleep and then we burst into flames when the sun comes up?!"
"Don't you think that if she was a hunter, you guys would be dead by now?" Veronica asked. "And I just dug through all of her things. There were no weapons to kill a vampire whatsoever."
Caroline still shook her head. "I think we should lock her up. You know, let the vervain get out of her system, and then we compel her to forget about us. Oh!" She gasped, turning to Elowen. "Do the spell! The one that mimics compulsion!"
Elowen shook her head. "Caroline, I'm trying to have a normal college life. You think compelling our roommate to forget about us is having a normal college life?"
"Look, Elowen's right," Elena agreed. "The best way to convince her that we're normal is to act normal, and do normal, human, freshman-y stuff."
Caroline crossed her arms. "Such as?"
Veronica smirked and wrapped her arm around Caroline's shoulders.
"Party with that hot student who gave us the flyer."
xxxx
Caroline, Elena, Elowen and Veronica all walked up to the Whitmore House where the party was already in full swing. The guy who gave them the flyer approached them.
"Hey, I remember you," he said when he got to them.
"Mystery flyer guy," Veronica flirted with a tilt of her head.
"Jesse, technically, but mystery flyer guy works, too."
Veronica smirked. "I'm Veronica." She nudged Elowen. "This is Elowen."
Elowen gestured to Caroline, "This is Caroline," she pointed at Elena, "and this is Elena."
"Nice to meet you," Jesse replied politely.
"Hi." Caroline smiled and then turned away and walked off without a word.
Elowen shot him an apologetic look before following after her. Veronica lingered behind.
"Sorry about her," she spoke up once Caroline, Elowen and Elena were gone. "She's had a rough summer."
"Oh, and here I was thinking I came on too strong."
Jesse laughed and so did Veronica. He glanced back at where the others had gone and pointed after them.
"Aren't you going to catch up with your friends?"
Veronica shrugged. "I think I'd rather stay here with you. Is that a problem?"
Jesse smiled down at her. "No, I don't think it is."
Veronica smirked. "Perfect."
"Couldn't you have been a little nicer?" Elowen asked Caroline as they walked up the steps towards the door.
"Does it matter?" Caroline shot back, glanced over her shoulder. "Veronica clearly has dibs."
Elowen sighed. "Caroline… it's been three months. It's okay to move on."
Caroline faltered. Elena chose this moment to jump in.
"She's right, you know… you can't hold onto him forever."
"I can and I will."
They made it to the front door. Elowen walked in, but Caroline and Elena found that they couldn't enter.
"What the hell?" Caroline mumbled, trying to go in again, but couldn't.
"Someone must own this place," Elena whispered. "We have to be invited in."
Megan appeared at the entrance next to Elowen.
"Hey! I was wondering if you guys were gonna make it."
Caroline and Elena awkwardly stood outside in front of the door. Jesse and Veronica caught up with them.
"You guys going in, or…?" Jesse asked.
Elena cleared her throat. "Go ahead."
Jesse shrugged and walked around them, Veronica following them. Caroline's hand shot out and grabbed Veronica's arm, keeping her from entering the house. Veronica turned and gave a look that clearly read 'what the hell are you doing', but Caroline simply smiled at Jesse when he turned around.
"Sorry, I need to borrow her for a minute."
Veronica took a deep breath and forced herself to smile at Jesse. "I'll be right there. Just give me a minute."
Jesse nodded. "Alright."
"Why are you guys just standing there?" Megan asked as Jesse disappeared.
"We were just…" Elena trailed off. "Caroline?"
"Waiting for someone," Caroline said quickly.
Elena nodded. "She's late."
Megan looked at them funny, but nodded anyway. "Right. Well, I'm gonna go hang."
Elena and Caroline dropped their overly bright smiles. Caroline turned to Elena.
"Like I said, she knows."
"Uh, hello?" Veronica ripped her arm from Caroline's grasp. "What the hell are you doing? Can you not see that I'm flirting with mystery flyer guy aka Jesse?"
Caroline sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just… Elena and I can't get in. Someone owns the house."
Veronica stared at her blankly. "And this is my problem, how?"
Caroline opened her mouth in surprise, but nothing came out. When she didn't say anything, Veronica pointed over her shoulder.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna find Jesse. Bye!"
"Bitch," Caroline whispered once Veronica was gone.
"Hey," Elowen chided, coming back outside with Caroline and Elena. "What were you expecting her to do? Abandon the party because you can't get in?"
Caroline huffed. "She's really bad at this friend thing."
"You can say that again," Elena mumbled.
Elowen sighed. "Be nice. She's not used to having friends."
"Why? Because she's so bitchy nobody liked her enough to stick around?" Caroline retorted.
"If memory serves me right, you used to be the naturally blonde version of Veronica a few years ago," Elowen shot back. "You know, when you were human?"
Caroline shut up.
"Give her a break. She is the way she is because she figured out that being mean got things done because people wouldn't listen to her otherwise. I don't think she knows how to do anything else and I think she's scared to break away from it. It's become a safety net. She doesn't know how to be anyone else and nobody's given her the opportunity to."
Caroline sighed. "Fine, maybe I'll stop being so hard on her. Maybe I'll give her a chance."
"Thank you. Now… do you want me to stay out here with you, or…?"
Caroline rolled her eyes, understanding the hidden undertone,
"Alright, fine. Go have fun. We'll be fine."
Elowen smiled. "I'll tell you all about when back at the dorms."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get out of here before I change my mind."
Elowen spun on her heel and ventured into the house, disappearing from sight.
