Apologies for the delay, I've been caught up with university assignments all fall.

I plan on finishing this story by the end of February, and I have the whole plot drafted now so the updates can be expected regularly. This will be about 25 chapters long with an epilogue.

I would also like to know if y'all want Katherine in this story. Yes, she will be mentioned, but I want to know if you'd like her in the scene. Let me know in the reviews!

Let's get into the study date now, Shall we? ;)

Chapter 3

Study Partners

Elena woke up with a start, the icy gusts of air making her exposed feet colder than usual. She had immediately fallen asleep after school the previous day; she didn't intended on sleeping for so long but now it was 3:00 AM and her body had gone stiff due to the uncomfortable position she was lying in. With half her legs dangling down the bed directly facing the open window, she felt the chill deep in her bones.

Now looking at the clock and thinking of all the tasks she had yet to complete, she thought she might as well get Friday started now. After taking a very hot shower and wearing three layers of clothes to warm her up, she made herself a chicken sandwich using the leftovers from last night and prepared a mug of hot chocolate for breakfast. As she usually liked to do in her early mornings like today, she took her breakfast up to her desk and ate while reviewing what she had already written last morning in the library. The article was mostly done, save for the concluding paragraph and minor changes, so she got that done in the next hour.

It was nearly thirty minutes past four when she started working on the history assignment about various plagues. Though all plagues throughout history were almost equally interesting and just as deadly and worthy of presentation, she found herself intrigued by the ones that specifically took place in war-zones and how they had impacted the outcomes of famous battles and conquests. She compiled all useful articles into one document and specifically highlighted those that she thought held more potential, she did want to value Damon's input into these so she left it at that; researching too deeply on a particular section will only waste her time if they don't end up choosing it at all.

With a mental note to dig into her father's civil war collection in his office before leaving, she opened her binder to get Mr. Wattles' math assignment out of her way. At about 6 AM, she heard her mom in the kitchen and packed her book bag.

Miranda was making coffee when Elena came down the stairs from her father's office stuffing some books into her bag, she hugged her mother good morning and grabbed her travel mug to put in some ice. While the coffee brewed, Miranda asked Elena if she was feeling better now that she caught up on ages of lost sleep.

Elena laughed, "Yes mom, I did catch up on some sleep, but I was up at 3 because I forgot to shut the windows at night. Been up for 3 hours."

"Oh honey! You work too hard, your dad and I seriously getting worried now. Atleast give up that job at the grill, you don't need to have a side-job Elena."

"Yes mom I do, I want to be able to see the real world, I want to see what it's like when you're not dependent on somebody all the time. I understand your concerns, but I really hope that the both of you will support me."

Miranda let out a defeated sigh, "Lainey I know where you're coming from and it makes me very proud to see you standing on your own feet, but I just want to see you happy and healthy sweetheart."

She kept a comforting hand on Miranda and assured, "Mom, I am very happy and I'm very grateful that I have you to take care of me. I promise I won't strain myself more than I can handle, and I'll tell you if anything's wrong."

Miranda sighed again and kissed her daughter's forehead, "How did my baby grow up so fast?"

"Oh momma, don't you get all mushy now!" She said playfully while pouring her cold coffee and sealing the lid. "Besides, I really need to head out now, my project partner must be waiting in the library."

"You have a group project?" Miranda asked.

"No, it's just us two people, you know how Mr. Saltzmann is; he swore off group projects in sophomore year"

"Yeah, Alaric is a different entity altogether."

"Sure is." Elena said sipping her coffee and swinging her bag on her shoulder.

"Lainey, your aunt's gonna be here tomorrow morning, place a breakfast order at the Grille for tomorrow on your way from school, will you honey?"

"Wow, Jenna's coming?" Elena asked, brimming with excitement. "Sure will, bye mom!" She called out shutting the door behind her.

Jenna Sommers was the best aunt in the world and was more like a sister and friend to Elena than an aunt; she had moved in with her boyfriend in Atlanta when Elena was still in freshman year and had last visited in Christmas. The news of her arrival almost a year later had Elena bubbling with happiness as she walked into the library with a spring in her step and a wide goofy grin on her face.

And that's how Damon found her, "You're chirpy today, alert the media!" The smile on her face was replaced by a scowl and she sat beside him leaving one chair between them. "No but really, what might have happened at the crack of dawn to put a smile on grumpy old Elena's face?"

"Well, you're still as annoying as usual, obviously nothing's changed." She replied with a tight smile. "Now, if we're done discussing the colors of my mood, shall we?"

He shrugged as she flipped her laptop on and opened the document before facing it in front of him. She watched him as he scrolled and made a child-like disgusted face at an image of a plague-infected rat. Elena giggled at the sight and it was his turn to scowl. "What, you're scared of rats?"

"No, I am disgusted by them. There's a difference!" He defended.

She hardly shrugged, "So, notice the pattern?"

"Yeah, these certainly aren't all plagues." He replied confused.

"Nope, just the ones that took place in war-zones." She looked at him for a sign that he was interested and continued when he nodded in encouragement, "I think everybody is going to write about the plague, it's pathology, and the impact it had on the population and some might even go as deep as how it changed ecosystems and wiped out towns."

"Mhm" He said, still not sure where she was headed.

"So, we can try something different. The war zones caught my eye, and I hope that considering this perspective will keep us from being repetitive. I was thinking more along the lines of how the plague affected a particular war, and intentionally or not, lead to the winning of battles, cities and conquests." She was tracing the lines of wood on the table now, uncertain if he would find the idea even remotely interesting.

"Wow!" Her head snapped up. "Wow, just wow. I see why you're on top of every class Elena. You really do have your own unique way of doing things." He looked positively surprised and that made her blush in embarrassment, she still wasn't used to compliments, never will be.

"I'm sure not all my ideas are so unique." She shook her head and her eyes twinkled when she remembered all the material she brought with her. She quickly pulled out the three books written about the Civil War and yellow plague and put them on the table.

"We could even use these, one of these is a fiction work and though it is very uniquely written and it can blow away anybody's mind, I think we can find considerable amount of background on the Yellow plague since the love interest of the protagonist in this novel died tragically of the plague. And you know what? I believe most of it will be raw evidence for us because the author's wife had died of the same plague the same year, so it's actually a first-hand account of-" She gulped. "I'm blabbering, sorry."

"No, by all means continue." He said hesitantly.

"You must probably think I am a lunatic." She said, embarrassment evident in her voice.

"I have dealt with having Barbie Forbes hanging around in my house every day for the past two weeks. Trust me, I know what lunatic means and you are not one." He said with a deep chuckle.

Elena's eyebrows were through the roof, her body was tense and there was a fire raging behind her eyes. Well aware of the cold words to be followed, Damon immediately jumped to defense, "I was kidding, just a joke."

"Ahaan?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I mean, not so much about the Barbie part, she really is one hell of a half to my animated Ken brother."

Elena's laugh reverberated in the quiet library room until the school bell rang. "I know, I know. Caroline can be a handful to take, but she's still my best friend and I love her, flaws and all." She said with a sincere smile, one which he returned. "Of course"

"We should really be heading to class now, shall we continue this tomorrow? At the Grill maybe?" She enquired.

"Elena, you want to meet me at the Grill? On Saturday night?" He said wiggling his eyebrows. "But honestly, how do you expect to do this in a packed club?"

"Umm, my place then? I'll email you my address."

He simply took her phone from her hand and started typing something keeping it away from her reach. "Damon!" she screeched.

"Uh huh, text me. Welcome to the 21st century Elena" He smirked and shoved her phone into her waiting hands.

"Sure, whatever. I really wish the library was open on weekends too, you know." Now they were walking towards the lockers and Elena couldn't help but notice the stares they were getting, by they she meant him. She never got so much attention and for the most part, it was because she avoided it at all costs. Ofcourse, she heard whispers in bathroom stalls about girls crushing away on him and going through all lengths to get him to notice them, but experiencing it in person was downright nauseating.

Give the boy some rest. She thought as they entered the class, completely oblivious to the very curious looks from Caroline and Bonnie.