Outlook on Life

Chapter 16:

Elena

"Uh, can I say holy shit!?" Alaric announced as soon as she walked through the door. All the guys eyes went straight to Elena as the television set on the news station replayed her entire speech from the charity event last night.

"Yeah Elena, you can make one hell of a speech!" Enzo declared making her laugh; it was the same thing Giuseppe had said when she got back to the table last night. She'd thought he might have been mad at her for what she'd said but he'd dismissed it claiming he would have been more upset if she lied.

"Yeah thanks" she smiled at them certainly feeling better when she saw all the positive encouragement her speech had been receiving from the media all morning. It certainly was an eye opener for Damon, Stephen and Caroline as they finally realised when she said her childhood was bad, she actually meant it. "Turns out I don't do the whole reading the speech thing very well"

That earned her a few chuckles from the boys. "No, luv" Klaus agreed "When you first got up there are started reading I could see you struggling with what they wanted you to say but the truth is going to do more good for the charity than some fluffy statistics would have done"

"I know" she agreed, her voice more a whisper still being amazed that something she said could have made such an impact. She wasn't used to being in the spotlight but it did feel good to be raising awareness to the real issues that tend to get ignored.

"I think you should be allowed to make more speeches" Mason grinned at her and Elena rolled her eyes at him. While she glad about doing the speech last night she wasn't looking to repeat it.

"Anyway, lets get started" Lexi interrupted and they all headed over to take their seats for this weeks session.

Elena walked into the gym to see a smirking Tripp "Don't say anything" she warned shooting him a glare as she set down her bag and wrapped her wrists and ankles in wraps to protect herself from sprains while she trained.

Tripp held up his hands in fake innocence "Hey, I wasn't going to say anything" he said reaching for a magazine and throwing it to her. Elena glared at him again but caught the magazine to see a picture of her on stage wiping away a tear.

The mystery woman's name is Elena Gilbert and last night while accompanying her boyfriend Damon Salvatore and his family she made a speech. A speech that addressed the issues in our foster care system, calling out anyone with the ability to make a change to do so but in a way that will make a difference. Elena revealed last night she was in foster care from the age of 4 and recounted briefly some of her experience during her emotionally charged speech.

Elena stopped reading half way through, aiming the magazine at Tripp's back and throwing it at him "You're so annoying" she rolled her eyes but he only teasingly grinned back at her. "Lets just get to training"

Elena and Tripp trained for hours, her technique was almost as good as it used to be. Tripp was asking more questions about strategies and ways to combat opponents fighting skills. They had figured that if he learnt all the ways to combat each type of fighter that he could watch and analyse during round one and then give her suggestions in the break...if the fighter lasted that long.

The blasting music was cut off by the fight coordinator, Cade, as he walked in with a huge smile on his face. "You miss Gilbert made quite an impression these past 2 months with all those wins" he smiled talking a seat and waving a hand for her to continue practising, which she did. "If I didn't get the impression that you actually like Cooke, then i'd be passing on the many offers I've been getting to become your coach"

Elena stiffened slightly at that information not sure why he was mentioning it, she hit harder instead of responding to that comment.

Cade chuckled at that reaction "Anyway, there is a 5 thousand dollar fight event on Friday and I wanted to know if you want in since the fighter we had entered months ago got hurt?" Elena's eyes widened slightly trying to assess if he was being serious or not but he seemed to be genuinely waiting for an answer.

"Well hell yeah!" she replied to his expectant look, did he really even have to ask? Elena smirked at him as he handed Tripp the information package and with the insurance papers she'd need to sign to enter. As soon as the boss man left she turned to Tripp who was mirroring her grin.

"Its gonna be great" he smiled confidently

Elena nodded her agreement "I'm finally going to tell everyone" he raised a brow at that and she shrugged pretending it was no big deal to her, but Tripp just shook his head at her knowingly. It was one of the reason's she liked him; he just sensed her moods and knew how to react to them. "Do you think they'll come?" she asked a little less confident that she was hoping to sound.

Tripp squeezed her shoulder "You'll do great in this comp with or without them. From what you've told me I think they'll support you and if they don't then it's their loss because, Elena?" he paused looking her in the eyes "Your an amazing woman. A strong woman who takes what life gives her with her head held high and bounces back stronger from it...you don't back down and if these people can't respect that and be proud of it, then they're not as smart as you make them sound"

Friday had come quickly and Elena was waiting anxiously next to Tripp in the dressing rooms just praying that her friends will support her. She'd told Giuseppe and he was supportive and encouraged it, telling her stories about back in the day when he had fought too; something that didn't surprise her too much. She had chickened out and asked Giuseppe to ask Damon, Stephen and Caroline if they wanted to attend, she played it off like it was no big deal and was glad that he bought it.

Elena had also told the guys at their counselling session about the fight, excitedly bringing it up in as they all talked. The guys seemed pleasantly surprised that she fought and had actually asked for the details to come without her having to offer. Lexi had been wary about them going but it ended up with them convincing her to go with them.

Of course she did leave it last minute so she couldn't be too upset of anyone had something else on but she was hoping that at least Alaric and Giuseppe would show.

"You'll be fine" Tripp soothed rubbing her shoulders as she strapped her hands and ankles. "Come on" he tilted his head to the door and she followed him out bouncing up and down to get the blood and adrenaline flowing through her body as they made their way up to the front row seats reserved for members and coaches.

"Elena" a male voice called out and she grinned happily turning around to see Giuseppe and Stephen walking over. Elena moved faster than was probably humanly possible and barrelled into Giuseppe hugging him tightly. He laughed and hugged her back "I can't wait to see you kick some ass" he announced as she pulled away.

"Hey Stephen" she smiled ushering the two over to the front row so they could take their seats. Elena stood bouncing and stretching as she chatted happily with them and introduced them to her coach Tripp who seemed to get along great with Stephen. Elena could tell Stephen wasn't to keen on the idea of boxing because he winced slightly whenever one of the fighters practising in the octagon got hit. "You good Stephen?" she asked and he nodded but she wasn't buying it.

"He'll be fine" Giuseppe assured her "If it gets ugly I'll send him to the back row" he laughed and rolled his eyes.

"ELENA!" a group of voices said in unison and she ran over happily hugging and greeting Alaric, Enzo, Mat, Mason, Lexi and Klaus who all made it to the fight. "Your gonna do great" Alaric fist bumped her a big excited grin on his face.

"Come on" she led them over to Giuseppe, Stephen and Tripp where she introduced them all, happy that they seemed to be able to chat together. Giuseppe was talking with the guys about the fight and his fighting days while they all commented on the fight that was currently going on in the ring.

Lexi and Stephen happily talked and joked together neither one that keen on the fighting.

"10 minutes Gilbert" Tripp announced and moved to secure the boxing gloves on her hands as she jumped and stretched readying herself for the fight.

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Tripp

Tripp followed Elena up to the ring, giving her a reassuring smile as the announcer called her name.

"GILBERT VS. KASH" the crowd roared anticipating one hell of a fight. It was going to be brutal but Tripp had full confidence that Elena could take this bitch down.

He made his way back over to her group of friends who's conversations had all stopped as they readied themselves for the fight about to start once the film crew gets their before shots in. Each of the woman made their way to a corner trying to regulate the adrenaline and in Elena's case; excitement, coursing through her body.

Elena looked over and smiled at the dark haired man who'd just joined the with a blonde decked out in pink. God how did she meet these people? he thought with an amused smirk. They all certainly are characters.

But then again did he really expect anything else from Elena? she wasn't your average woman that's for sure.

"Damon" Giuseppe greeted and Tripp did a double take, how had he not noticed that it was Elena's boyfriend? Damon sat next to his father making his own introductions to the others in Elena's guest section.

While Elena hadn't said anything abou ther situation with Damon, he had noticed that she didn't talk too much about this boyfriend and somehow he doubted that they were actually together. They sounded more like friends than lovers but what the hell did he know about it.

The buzzer sounded and he watched the two woman circling each other. Her opponent was an Irish woman known for the few times her elbow managed to end up doing some damage. Elena would have to watch out for this chicks dirty tricks.

As they circled each other, their eyes glued to one another's every movement, Kash was getting frustrated with Elena's lack of movement and went in for a sloppy attack. Tripp smirked when Elena grabbed Kash's arm and threw her to the ground pinning her as the referee counted down "3..2...1...Gilbert!" he called it and threw Elena off of Kash.

"Too easy" Elena shook her head as she walked out of the ring and grabbed the information sheet he'd been holding in his hand to read over her next opponent. "Ahh, James in 20 minutes" she announced looking happier about her next match.

Once again James was an easy win for Elena and she was getting frustrated when the woman from Chicago had only barely managed to stay in for 15 minutes. Even then the only reason it went so long was because James knew how to take a hit, but didn't get much of a chance to get any of her own in as Elena whaled on her.

"Elena" Tripp warned and she huffed nodding her head at him already knowing that she needed to get herself under control again. Her frustration was causing her to prolong the fight instead of simply pinning her opponent when she got the chance, if she didn't stop she would get red carded and loose the match.

"Come on" he held up his hands and she smirked and practised dodging his jabs. He needed to get her worked up again while she burned a little energy away.

"You're doing great Elena" a few of the guys congratulated her as she resumed her bouncing up and down in front of them while carrying on a playful conversation.

"GILBERT VS. KANE" the announcer called and Elena broke out into a relieved smile punching the air in her excitement for what she knew was going to be a more evenly matched fight.

Tripp shook his head as she ran up to the ring eagerly awaiting for the fight to start. He just hoped she would suppress her excitement during the fight and just let it motivate her instead of control her. They both knew that with Kane she'd have to take a few jabs, and to do that she needs to be in control. "Come on Elena" he cheered as he stood up in the coaches corners, knowing it would get to round two in this match.

The buzzer sounded and both girls were at each others throats instantly, neither one waiting to do much sizing up before jumping into the fight. Tripp rolled his eyes but watched Kane carefully as they traded blows and kicks. Elena was landing harder and more frequent blows then Kane was getting in. Elena's fist slammed hard into Kane's face, knocking the woman to the ground before pouncing and holding her down with her legs.

Kane bucked under Elena almost throwing her off with an illegal use of her elbow. Tripp held his breath as Elena noticed at the last second with only enough time to move and soften the blow instead of dodge it completely.

He smirked satisfied at the way Elena slightly manoeuvred Kane's arms to inflict more pain while she continued to pin her to the mat. "3...2...1...GILBERT"

Once the fight was over Elena was shaking her head as she approached the group, a grin frown on her face "What the hell is going on? These are good fighters and their going down too quickly" she asked, suspicion in her voice as she scanned the crowd, her eyes landing on Cade the big boss.

"If it is then you stick it out or he'll get rid of you...let me" Tripp said grabbing her arm when she tried to walk past him. Elena gave a reluctant nod as he headed over to his boss.

Her suspicions confirmed slightly when he approached to see the Kane coach shaking Cade's hand. "Cade, man" Tripp smiled in greeting realising he'd have to play the role of the dodgy coach to get any form of answers.

It turned out Elena was right, she was being set up with fighters earning a good amount of money to let her taken them down. Cade had set it all up for their previous fighter but the payments had gone through already even though he knew Elena didn't need them to win. Tripp played it off as if Elena was oblivious, too caught up in the adrenaline and frustration to have noticed.

"It doesn't matter anyway" Cade shrugged at him, a smirk on his bosses face that had Tripp wary of what the man was about to say. "The next 3 fighters are being paid to take her down instead. I can't have Gilbert winning too many...it'll raise suspicions and if she does win these then it'll be one hell of a show. These women are decked out"

Decked out? what the hell does that mean? Tripp wondered but just nodded before heading back over to Elena to warn her.

"Decked out?!" she hissed at him making him frown in confusion.

"Yeah?" Tripp nodded as Alaric and Giuseppe approached her.

"Everything okay?" the men questioned and Elena paced back and forth in front of them shaking her head and ringing out her hands.

"No!" she sighed "The next three fighters are decked out...I don't like dirty fights" She announced quietly making sure nobody around them heard, "I don't play with that stuff and these girls were good enough to take me down before the drugs"

Drugs?!

"Elena?" he whispered with a confused frown and as looked at him obviously realising he hadn't known what the term meant. "What's going on?"

Elena sighed, her shoulders deflating "Decked out...on drugs. They're taking something to help them perform. Most of the common stuff numbs the pain, heightens the adrenaline and energy you have. They'll be more aggressive and focused...their goal isn't only to win Tripp, it's to injure. They want a good show, it's the production side of the industry and it's why i stopped fighting all those years ago, I don't know if I can do this"

Thinking quickly he realised there wasn't much he could do, "So you trick her in the first round, you use her moves against her and let her take you out early...you fake an injury. I can warn the medics of some discomfort and it will be more believable" he suggested, a little panicked

"It sound's like the best option here, Elena" Giuseppe backed him up "You can't risk getting hurt over money"

With a big sigh Elena nodded and continued her stretching with the 5 minute clock counting down the time until her fight.

"GILBERT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, VS. JENNSON" the announcer roared drowning out the noise of the crowd once again, as his booming voice flooded the room through the speakers.

"Good luck Gilbert" Cade smirked at her, seemingly innocent but they all knew better. Elena smiled back but Tripp cursed when he saw her eyes light up in rage he knew this first fight wasn't going to go down like they planned.

"She want's to win this" he found himself whispering to Alaric who nodded quietly, obviously having seen that as well. She was fiery personality and she was dangerous when she was pissed off; Elena wasn't going down without one hell of a fight!

Tripp watched nervously as Elena managed to dodge most blows and jabs the juiced up Jennson chick was aiming her way. It was working to Elena's advantage that this woman was predictable and only had a few moves she was truly comfortable in using during fights. He could see her coach getting riled up and screaming at her 'Knock Gilbert on her ass' but Elena was just as fast and more cunning.

He breathed a sigh of relief when Elena threw herself into a roundhouse kick that sent Jennson spiralling to the floor easily enough for Elena to pin her down. "3...2...1...GILBERT" it was declared and she was ripped off of Jennson by the referee.

With a hard face Elena found her way back down to the group, "I'm gonna kick these bitches asses and them Cade is going to get a piece of my mind for pulling a stunt like this" she declared and while nobody disagreed that they all deserved it, he knew she could never go after Cade.

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Elena

"3...2...2...GILBERT" she was quickly pulled off of Yasmine and without the constant attacks she collapsed to her knees as the crowd roared in approval. She'd won every match she'd fought in today, improving her record and brand with the sheer brutality of her last couple fights. Those woman juiced out had been harder to win against.

This last fight had gone for 4 rounds and they were hitting the 5 limit which would have drawn them into a tied fight with no winner. Elena was sure that she looked like shit, her face felt like it was on fire from the blows she'd taken tonight and she was sure one of her ribs was bruised but she didn't regret going through with the fights.

The referee pulled her to her feet and held up her numb arm as they announced her the winner of the prize money. Managing a weak smiled she looked over to her group of friends who wore a mix of pride and concerned faces and the sight made her chuckle.

As soon as the referee let her go she hit the floor again but Tripp was in the ring helping her up just as she hit the floor. "Thanks" she mumbled hanging onto him for support

"You're one crazy mother fucker Gilbert" Tripp laughed and she smiled up at him before happily hugging everyone as they congratulated her on the win.

"Hey" she smiled at Damon as she lent on him to keep herself up right, he looked more concerned than proud but she supposed it was a nice feeling that someone cared enough to support her and worry for her. "I need to get in the ice tub"

Damon laughed and shook his head at her "You might need a doctor too" he announced and she laughed despite his serious tone.

"I've had much worse than this Damon" she assured him "I'm practically a doctor now anyway, and I have Tripp" she shrugged one shoulder as she waved a hand towards Trip who nodded finishing up his conversation with Lexi.

Tripp unhooked her arm from Damon's shoulder, laughing slightly at the lazy smile she wore on her face "You look like shit babe" he teased and they both laughed. "Let's get you in a nice ice bath, yeah?"

"Ohhh, please" she agreed nodding her head knowing how much better her muscles would feel after a soak in icy water for half an hour. "I'll let your mean comment go if you add a neck massage" she smiled innocently at Tripp who rolled his eyes at her antics and helped her walk as she waved goodbye to Damon and everyone else.

Elena was glad that they had all come to see her tonight even if both Caroline and Stephen had gone home when the fights stared getting too much for them to handle. After all, they'd shown up despite their discomfort just to support her and that was enough for her.

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