Chapter 3

I wake up and find Elena and Jenna talking in the kitchen, a travel mug of coffee in Elena's hands and a cup of coffee in Jenna's, getting their daily dose of vervian. I make my way into the kitchen, grabbing a cereal bar for breakfast and a premade salad for lunch. I scurry out the door before Elena's done talking to Jenna and give a light wave to them both before heading down the street to school.

"What's on the schedule for today?" Adaline asks, falling into step beside me. I open my mouth to answer but pause in alarm when she walks straight into a tree, her ghost body going right through the trunk. I blink a couple of times but quickly recover.

"Nothing really. Just school," I answer, and yawn tiredly. Adaline squeals and jumps excitedly, her blonde hair nearly hitting me in the face, yet her stiff traditional dress barely crinkles. I push against it, barely managing to move the crinoline under the dress. Adaline swats my hand away and continues to twirl around excitedly.

"Oh my god!" She gushes. I raise my eyebrows at the modern expression, but she ignores me. "You're so lucky! I've always wanted to go to school and learn things other than cooking." She rolls her eyes.

"You like school?" I raise my eyebrows incredulously. She smiles, shaking her head as she skips ahead of me.

"I don't know!" She claps her hands. "I've never been, what with my highly conservative father." She rolls her eyes, and plays with the unbending skirt of her dress. "He dressed me in this upon burial." She makes a face and I snort but quickly turn it into a cough.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, but that dress looks horrid," I say. Adaline just nods.

"It is. A pain to sit in," She admits, "I much prefer this." She snaps her fingers and replaces her old-fashioned dress with a sleek, straight dress with fringe and rhinestones, complete with the headdress on top. I laugh.

"You were a flapper?" She looks at me shocked.

"I was a 15 year old girl who hated the traditional views in the 1920s." She rolls her eyes. "Of course I was a flapper." The duh was implied as she fluffs her hair, which is now in a bob cut, rather than her regular long locks. I have to say, her blonde hair in a bob is gorgeous and the dark green outfit she has on really compliments her bright green eyes. I tell her as much and she gives me a cordial smirk.

"But you died in the 1920s. How were you a flapper?" Adaline waves me off.

"The late 1920s. I only died because I was driving. I had a vision when I was at the wheel and I crashed." She says it with such nonchalance that I start wondering if I should worry about her mental state. I eye her warily but she seems okay. "Ironically enough, my vision was about the car accident." I glance at her with alarm, but she waves me off. "So, what're you learning?"

"Um… music, geography, math and tech," I say slowly, still slightly perturbed by her nonchalance.

"Oh my god! That is so cool!" She spins again as she shouts and I raise my eyebrows at the modern phrases. She shrugs in response. "You learn things after watching the humans for so long." I, or we, finally make it to school, and Adaline all but runs into the building, going up to people and listening in on conversations, putting her two cents in here and there. I smile fondly and make my way to my locker, not bothering to see if Adaline knows I'm gone. If she needs me, she can find me easily.

I barely manage to keep my eyes open in Geography as the teacher drones on. Looking around the classroom, it's clear that I'm not alone, either the other students are on their phones or literally asleep. Except for Adaline of course. She's at an empty desk, sitting at the edge of the chair, eyes twinkling with fascination as we learn about urbanization and industrialism. She compensates for the lack of enthusiasm in the class by shouting out the answers she knows with an excited squeal.

Her eagerness is tiring me out from just watching and I bang my head down onto the desk.

"So, what are we learning now?" Adaline asks, alight with more excitement. I roll my eyes.

"We're learning the ever so thrilling algebra," I say and Adaline ooh's and ahh's. A classmate turns around from across the room to send me a mean smirk.

"Talking to yourself, are we, Leo? I didn't know you were that crazy," He snickers. I smirk at him sardonically while flipping him off.

"Eyes on the board, dickwad," I insult back, and he grumbles at my intolerance of 'a joke'. Oh well. I personally don't think insulting people and then laughing at their sensitivity counts as a joke. Adaline stands up and takes a look at the boy in front of me. She comes back at me and raises her eyebrows.

"You were rude to that?" She asks with disappointment. "He's so hot." I stare at her.

"Hot or not, personality just kills it," I say, stuttering a bit over the fact that I'm talking to a 95-99 year old ghost about boys. She's old enough to be my grandma. I tell her as much and she rolls her eyes scornfully at me.

"FYI, I died at 15, and haven't aged since. Of course I'm going to act like a teenager." She flips her hair and then takes a moment to study her nail beds. She seems to remember something, because she looks up slowly, rolling her eyes. "Besides, Stefan is like, 165 years old." I balk and she laughs. "So, why were you rude to that?"

It's my turn to roll my eyes derisively at her. "Because he's a total dick. Enough said." I roll my eyes. "Nothing is worth that." Adaline smirks.

"Even if he's an ass, I'd still do whatever he wants," Adaline says easily, biting her lip as she looks at him. I keep in my shocked shriek so the boy in question doesn't call me crazy again. Once I get control of my surprise - I did not think this is what I'd be talking about with a ghost in her 90s - I look at her.

"You're incredibly horny for a ghost," I choke out. "How the hell do you survive?" I instantly regret the question once I see the mischievous grin on Adaline's face.

"Ghosts can interact with each other, you know," Adaline smirks with a wink. I blink, mouth hanging open.

Suddenly, math is very interesting and I frantically turn my attention to taking notes, completely ignoring Adaline's laughter as I listen intently to the lesson, shushing her with my hand.

I head into the kitchen and see Jeremy walking out while Jenna spouts some advice to him that she thinks he hears. His head is down, his face stormy, and I hesitate, trying to decide if I want to risk an explosion. But, he's my brother, and even though he is clearly angry and volatile, I can see the hurt and pain there too.

I grab his arm. "Is Vicki okay?" I whisper. He grunts and shrugs roughly.

"Yeah, she's better than she was before," He replies. I nod my head, remaining silent, not knowing what to say. After a while, I turn to him.

"It's parent teacher night. Jenna's going to be going to your classes." I raise my eyebrow. "How many classes have you actually been to?" He snorts.

"I can count them all on one hand." He sneers but I don't smile back. He goes to leave but I grab his arm.

"Jer, you need-" I start to say but he yanks his arm out of my hand with a scowl before I can finish.

"Don't tell me what I need to do," He hisses, glaring at me. I glare right back.

"Then don't make stupid decisions," I snap and Jeremy scoffs, pushing me away. I fight the urge to smack him. "You need to keep going to school! What are you going to do if you don't graduate?"

"Fuck off, Leo," Jeremy snarls over his shoulder and then he's gone. I sigh and shake my head.

"Fucking idiot," I hiss. Adaline, who had appeared beside me halfway through the conversation, nods sagely.

"Definitely," She says dryly. I snort and head upstairs to my room.

"Oh well. Not my problem," I say firmly as a flop down onto my bed. Adaline frowns, looking like she disagrees, but she doesn't say anything.

I walk to the square and Adaline falls into step beside me again.

"So, what's going on down here?" She asks, looking around excitedly at the crowd surrounding us.

"We light candles, like these-" I answer her and show her the candle that someone passed out to me- "and watch the comet that comes through."

"Wow," Adaline breathes in wonder before running off, no doubt taking in the new sights. I shake my head, laughing fondly, before continuing to walk around the square.

The trees have gold, silver and red lights strung up between them, and a few of the local stores and cafes have booths set up along the path, selling drinks and snacks. There's a stage set up in the middle of the lawn with a band on there setting up. It's all quite beautiful and I pause for a moment to take it all in. My attention is redirected when I hear familiar laughter, and I make my way over to Elena.

"Hey Lena!" I greet her.

"Hey," She smiles, but her eyes have a sort of sadness in them, and I look at her worriedly.

I place my hand on her arm. "What's wrong?" She shrugs delicately and shakes her head.

"Nothing." She's about to close herself off but I give her a look and she caves. "It's just-" She pauses, collecting her thoughts- "It's just, I thought Stefan and I were moving along with our relationship, but..." She huffs exasperatedly. "He lied to me about something big." She pauses, and I start panicking, wondering if she knows that he's a vampire. But she continues on, so I keep my mouth shut. "He has a brother, and I didn't even know that. He never even mentioned it when I asked about his family." She shakes her head as she laughs humorlessly. "That's not even the worst part! He also had a girlfriend before me and I saw her picture and-and she looks like me. Her name is Katherine, and she looks like me. Not just like, in a coincidental way, but like an identical twin way. How fucked up is that?"

I swallow down the instant dread that creeps up as all the puzzle pieces start falling into place and I force myself to give the appropriate, disgusted expression. "Pretty fucked. But it has to be a coincidence," I manage to keep my voice steady, and I exhale slowly. "It's not like-like you have a secret twin or something out there." I force myself to laugh. Elena sighs, rolling her eyes.

"Fair enough," She admits. I smile gently and take Elena's hand, squeezing it gently.

"All the other stuff, though..." I pat her arm. "Not telling you could've meant something but it also might not have." I sigh. "All I know is that the worst thing you could do is not talk to Stefan about it, and make assumptions about him instead."

Elena sighs, tilting her head back to stare up at the sky. "Yeah, I know."

I smile softly. "Talk to him about it. If he really does care about you, he'll open up to you. Chances are; he just forgot to tell you."

Elena gives me a soft smile. "Thanks Leo." She gives my hand a squeeze, and then a smirk graces her lips. "You know, you're very good at this, giving people advice. You should become a psychiatrist." She bumps my shoulder and I laugh.

"Well, I learned from the best." I say, and I can't help the sadness from creeping in at the end. Elena notices and this time she gives me advice.

"She was the best at it, wasn't she?" Elena says wistfully. I nod, the grief still too overwhelming for me to answer. Elena notices and she takes my hands, squeezing them tightly. "Hey, stop with the sadness. Just because they're gone physically, doesn't mean they left us completely. We will keep them alive, by remembering them, and honouring them by doing what's right. Okay?" Elena pulls me into a hug and I nod.

"Yeah," I whisper before pulling away from her. She looks down at me, her eyes gentle and smile soft, and I smile back. "Thanks, Lena."

"Of course," She whispers, giving me one last squeeze before letting go and turning away. "Well I'm going to find Stefan, figure this mess out. I'll see you at home?" I nod.

"Good luck," I grin

Elena nods. "Thank you." She gives me a wave and I smile at her reassuringly before she walks away.

The square has filled with people and the sound of laughter and music makes it almost feel like the park is it's own separate world. I float through the crowd, letting their joy and gaiety buoy me around. I settle onto a park bench and remain there for at least 20 minutes as I people watch.

However, all the yummy smells coming from the food booths along the path make me realize just how hungry I am and I pause, weighing my options. I can either walk home to grab something to eat, or pay for food. The decision isn't a hard one, since I currently have no money after spending what little I did have on vervain, so I walk home. It's not that far anyways.

I make it home with no problem, surprisingly. I half expected to run into a vampire, but I guess Lady Luck decided to give me a break from the supernatural because it was just me and the moon and stars on the way home. After getting a slice of cold pizza, I walk back to the front door and fling it open.

"Have you seen her?"

I crash into the person speaking as they pop up right in front of me, blocking the exit from the house. I fall back and my arms flail around me. My pizza in my hand nearly falls but thankfully, I keep a tight grip on it. The relief quickly disappears, however, when I realize that the hard floor is quickly getting closer. Luckily, my brother has faster reflexes and he reaches out to grab my arms.

I manage to compose myself, enough to give Jeremy an angry glare. "You nearly made me fall!"

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to do that," He deadpans, not sorry at all.

I just roll my eyes. "Whatever." I push him away and he stumbles, leaving a gap so I can walk around him, but he grabs my wrist before I can leave. I turn to face him. "What the he-" I stop mid-curse when I see the pain and utter worry in his eyes. My own expression softens. "What's wrong?"

"They can't find her," He murmurs. I automatically know who the 'her' is and my annoyance is quickly replaced with concern. "Have you seen her? Please tell me you've seen her." He sees my grim frown and wilts.

"I'm sorry Jer," I say softly. There's a moment where he lets his feelings through, and I watch as a flurry of emotions - fear, worry, compassion, a lot of grief - pass through his face. I reach out to comfort him but he jerks his arm away, his cold mask of anger and indifference back on.

"Whatever," He snarls, shaking his head slowly. "I don't even know why I care. Forget it."

"Jeremy, wait," I plead as I reach out to grab his arm.

"Just leave, Leo. I don't need you." He shakes my hand off and I can practically see the anger rolling off him in waves.

"I just wanted to see if you're okay!" I snap, throwing my hands up. "No need to be an asshole."

"Just fuck off, Leora!" He snarls. "It's not like you actually care!"

My back stiffens with anger and I turn to glare at him. "Really? And you do?" Jeremy only glares at me.

"Just get the fuck out of here, Leora," He hisses and I scoff.

"You're such a fucking asshole!" I shout. "You're upset that you're alone, that you don't have anyone in your corner, but you've been pushing away everyone who's been there for you for months!"

"I pushed you away?" He scoffs. "You chose Elena over me! After everything she did to us! I needed you, and you went to her!"

I laugh humorlessly. "Jesus Christ, Jer! She's our sister! I'm not going to choose one of you over the other just because you can't let go of your fucking grudge!"

"I don't need you! I don't need you, or Elena, or Jenna. Just fucking go and leave me alone!" Jeremy inhales sharply and he pushes me away. I catch myself before stepping away from him.

"Yeah, you've been telling all of us that for a while now." I sigh, the anger whooshing out of me and leaving only grief behind. "Mom and dad are gone. Why are you okay with losing us too?" He starts to shake, fury and pain rolling off him in waves.

"You don't know a fucking thing, Leora," Jeremy says, his voice hard and guarded.

"No, Jer, I don't," I agree. "Because I can't fucking understand how you can destroy all of this." I turn away from him, heading for the door, but I pause before leaving fully, hand on the door. "I know-I know I hurt you and I'm sorry you're hurt. But I'm not apologizing for refusing to cut her out of my life like you did." I look back at him, eyes filled with tears so he's just a blurry picture in front of me. I blink them back, refusing to let them fall. "And you're a fucking asshole if you're going to push me away because of that."

With that, I leave.

I make it to the school park and I sit in the sand, sinking down onto the ground. Sobs rip their way up my throat and I shake as I cry, sniffling and gasping. After the cry that I desperately needed, I stand up and walk to the road, turning to make my way back to the town square. Just as I'm about to round the corner, I see Caroline across the street, walking towards her car. Only a second later, I notice the dark figure following behind her.

The fear grips my heart tightly and for a second there, I can't make a sound. But I finally manage to swallow down the terror and I start to shout. Before I can say a word, a hand wraps around my mouth and I get pulled back down the road.

"I'd rather you not warn her," A voice whispers in my ear and I struggle, trying to elbow him in the stomach. "Don't even try." Damon grabs my elbow with his left hand. I don't stop so he shifts his right hand down to grip my neck. "Would you rather I hold you here?" He snarls dangerously and I freeze, eyes alight with fear. I feel his grip tighten around my neck and I'm sure I'll have bruises shaped like a hand come morning.

"Asshole," I spit out but I begin to choke as he tightens his grip even more. My heart jumps in fear and I start to shake, despite my best efforts to hide my terror. He smiles sadistically and drops me, causing me to land on the ground with a thud. As I kneel on the ground coughing, he crouches down to grab my chin.

"Let me have my fun with Caroline, or I will kill her, right here, right now." His tone is cold and dangerous and predatory, and I shiver as his mouth gets closer to my ear. "And once I'm done draining her, I'll come back to kill you." I flinch away from him but I still send him a glare.

"Go to hell," I hiss, but I know better than to fight him. He'd only kill her. So I turn away from him dejectedly, showing my compliance. He squeezes my shoulder and the friendly gesture makes me want to throw up.

"Thanks kid," He says it so glibly that I actually have to fight the urge to punch him in the face. Not that I have a chance at hitting him, he's gone a second after he finishes saying thanks, the word 'kid' is only a fragment on the wind.

I stand shivering as I reach out to ring the doorbell. I only have to wait a few seconds before she flings the door open, the warm air wafting out of the small house and warming me briefly.

"Can I stay at your place?" I ask her softly, and I feel the tears start to pool as she pulls me into a hug.

"Did you and Jer fight?" Bonnie is very understanding. I nod. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not yet," I say, my voice fogged by my tears. I wipe them away and give Bonnie a watery smile. "Sorry, I know I'm a mess. Thanks for putting up with it." She gives me a knowing smile, and I smile softly in return. "Am I this predictable?" Bonnie hugs me tighter and laughs softly.

"Yes," Bonnie answers. "But don't worry; you can come to me whenever you need help."

"Thanks," I whisper, and Bonnie ushers me in, where she makes me sit on the couch as she brings in piles of junk food. There're cookies, chips and candy galore, making my eyes widen in delight. "Oh my god!" Bonnie nods enthusiastically in agreement. She loves sweets as much as I do, so we often eat our problems together.

And that's just what we do.

We sit, eating our body weight in junk food, and Bonnie listens as I recount my previous fight with Jeremy, the hurtful things we said to each other, and I listen eagerly as she tells me about her family history. I think her witch heritage is cool, but Bonnie isn't as sure as I am. I spend a while convincing her to no end that having super powers and witchy magic is totally cool. Eventually, she reluctantly agrees with me after I promise that I'll stick by her side even if she's a witch. I laugh harder and slightly more hysterically than I should at the fact that there's actually a very big chance that she is a witch, and supernatural beings aren't really make believe at all. In fact, there are a couple vampires roaming around.

At this point, it's 2 o'clock in the morning and we missed the comet, so we end up falling asleep sprawled across the couch. But honestly, the night wasn't wasted, in my opinion.