9/4/21: Hey y'all! So I finally got around to rewriting chapter 2 like I had been intending to ever since I rewrote chapter 1 last summer. I'm so much more satisfied with this chapter now, and I think I nailed the progression of Stefan/Elowen a lot better this time round. Before, one of the reasons I wasn't happy with this one was because I felt like I rushed them or made their feelings for each other sudden or abrupt when it hadn't been hinted at at all in the first chapter. I also didn't like how I wrote the Stefan rejects Caroline scene because it seemed choppy and like it didn't flow together before, like the entire conversation had been different fragments smooshed together instead of one smooth, concise interaction like it is now, and also some of Caroline's lines kind of came out of left field so I fixed that too. I also added extra details and descriptions and changed some of the dialogue that overall just helped everything seem way more put together. Hope you guys enjoy the changes! :)

xxxx

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle? Ms. Bennett?" Tanner picked on Bonnie randomly and stared at her expectantly, waiting for her answer. The girl in question looked up, her eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights because she hadn't been paying attention to a single detail.

"Umm… a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot," she answered, her voice purposefully sounding like a dumb valley girl, not even trying to get the question right because she didn't see the point in trying to bullshit her way through, especially when the teacher was Tanner. Tanner sighed in frustration.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett." Tanner turned his attention to someone else. "Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

"It's okay, Mr. Tanner," Matt shook his head. "I'm cool with it."

Tanner hummed and scanned around the room some more. "Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

Elena looked up and broke out of her trance, becoming embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I- I don't know," she answered, her voice quiet as she shifted uncomfortably.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break," Tanner snapped at her, and Elowen felt anger flare up in her chest.

"346," she spoke up, her voice carrying a small attitude as she tried to save Elena from public ridicule by taking the heat off of her. It worked, as Tanner turned around to face Elowen. "There were 346 casualties, Mr. Tanner."

He opened his mouth to say something when Stefan butted in from the spot next to her.

"Unless you're counting local civilians."

Tanner turned his gaze briefly to Stefan, before turning back to Elowen.

"That's correct, Ms. Ramirez, Mr...?" Tanner trailed off, his voice sounding bored. He didn't know Stefan's name because he hadn't been bothered to learn it. Chances were, if Tanner knew your name, that wasn't a good thing. It was better to be invisible in his class if you wanted to survive his teaching methods.

"Salvatore," Stefan supplied, and Tanner lit up with mild interest. His behavior did a 180 at the sound of the founding last name.

"Salvatore. Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?" He asked. Stefan shrugged.

"Distant," he answered vaguely.

"Well, good," Tanner replied. "Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

Now Tanner just sounded like a smug asshole trying to correct his opponent because he always had to be right, but Stefan had other plans.

"Actually," Stefan spoke up again. "There were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The founder's archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner."

Elowen and Stefan shared a look and smiled at each other, before turning to Elena. The girl in question was looking back at them gratefully, mouthing, 'Thank you.'

Both Elowen and Stefan nodded at her, silently telling her, you're welcome.

xxxx

"Nice way to slam Tanner earlier, dude," Elowen praised Stefan after school, once again waiting in front of the school for Josiah to exit the building like they had done the day before. Stefan only shrugged, feigning modesty.

"Ahh, what can I say? I'm quite the history nerd." The two shared a laugh over that. "So, what takes Josiah so long to get out of class?" Stefan asked to pass the time. Elowen shrugged.

"He says he likes to help his art teacher, Mrs. Mercer, clean up her classroom after school so she doesn't have to deal with it by herself. She's one of his favorite teachers and she's basically taken him under her wing as his mentor. She's close to retirement age, so I guess he just doesn't want a little old lady doing the heavy lifting without someone around to make sure she's okay."

Stefan seemed impressed with this and was about to say something when all of a sudden, Caroline bounded up to them.

"Hey!" She greeted, demeanor bright and bubbly and 100% on sunshine mode. Elowen took a step back and Stefan looked over at her, looking slightly confused. Elowen just shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Hey, Caroline! Um, I have no idea where either Elena or Bonnie is, so maybe you should try texting them or something?" Elowen tried saying, in attempt to get her to go away.

In all honesty, Elowen wasn't particularly fond of Caroline. She tried too hard instead of just being herself. Not to mention, all she seemed to do was gossip. It also didn't help that she was basically Mystic Falls High's resident mean girl. Every school had one, and in this case, it was Caroline Forbes. In her attempts to get everyone to like her, it seemed to do the exact opposite. Elowen lost count of how many times she'd overheard students badmouthing Caroline behind her back.

"Oh, no! I'm not here about them!" She turned to Stefan and Elowen realized what was happening. Caroline lightly bounced on her feet, playing with the tips of her hair as she smiled up at him flirtatiously. "So, Stefan, since you're new, I doubt you know about the party tonight."

Stefan could only look at Elowen through the corners of his eyes as he slowly shook his head. "No, I can't say I do."

"It's just this back to school thing at the falls," Elowen waved it off. "They do it every year. I went last year, it doesn't really live up to the hype."

Caroline gasped and quickly reached forward, one hand wrapping around Stefan's wrist and the other wrapping around Elowen's wrist. She felt a jolt and was sucked into a premonition.

Caroline crying at a table in The Grill with Bonnie. Bonnie got up and left after Caroline calmed herself down, leaving Caroline by herself. Dark hair, blue eyes; Damon, sitting at the bar. He looked over at Caroline and smiled. She noticed him and smiled back.

Elowen came back to reality and blinked to refocus her eyes. Stefan was looking at her, worried, but Caroline was looking at her for an answer.

Elowen shook her head a little, everything feeling slightly fuzzy. "Sorry, repeat that? I just got really dizzy."

"Oh, well, I was saying that you guys absolutely have to come to the party and I'm not taking no for an answer. Pleeeeeease?" She begged, and Elowen thought of the vision she just had. So, she put on her best smile and nodded.

"You know what? I think I change my mind. I'll be there! And I'll make sure Stefan comes, too."

Caroline's face lit up and she withdrew her hands to clap them excitedly.

"Yay! I'll see you guys there tonight! Bye!"

With that, she turned around and skipped off.

When she was out of earshot, Stefan turned to Elowen. "Are you out of your mind? What are you doing?" He asked, eyes wide.

"Chill, I had a premonition when she touched me. Damon goes after her. She looked like she was at The Grill, but she was crying and she must have come from the party. If we don't go to keep an eye on her, who knows what he'll do?"

Stefan was silent for a moment before he sighed begrudgingly, nodding at her as he gave in. "Alright, alright. I hate parties, though."

"It's hardly a party. It's literally just a bunch of underage teenagers gathering in the middle of the woods to illegally drink alcohol."

Josiah came out of the school before Stefan could reply, once again with Jeremy Gilbert at his side, except unlike the day before, they didn't part and kept talking, walking towards Elowen and Stefan. They appeared to be in a deep conversation about something art related, perhaps the art project they'd been paired up with for class.

"God, I forget what an art nerd you are sometimes." Elowen rolled her eyes and playfully nudged Josiah's shoulder with hers.

Josiah snorted. "Right, like I forget that you're a band geek," he shot back, playfully pushing her back.

"Haha, you're so funny," Elowen replied in a mocking voice, to which Josiah stuck his tongue out at her.

"You're into music?" Stefan asked, breaking up their bickering. He was genuinely interested in getting to know her better, but Josiah just took it as an opportunity to poke fun at his big sister some more.

"Oh yeah, she hides out in the garage all the time. She sings about how hot she thinks Stefan Salvatore is."

Elowen sighed in exasperation, but Stefan broke out into laughter and even Jeremy snorted a bit. Instead of retorting with a comeback, Elowen turned towards Jeremy.

"We've never officially met." She stuck her hand out for him to shake. "I'm Elowen, Joey's awesome big sister."

Jeremy surprisingly returned her handshake (she was fully expecting him to ignore it) as Josiah complained about the nickname. Elowen couldn't respond as she felt herself sucked into another premonition.

Jeremy and Tyler getting into a small scuffle as Jeremy attempted to get Tyler to leave Vicki alone. Vicki snapping at Jeremy after Tyler stormed off, so he leaves, too. Fog began to descend around Vicki and the figure of a man appeared behind her. The man lunged forward and attacked her, Vicki's screams echoing through the empty forest.

Elowen stumbled back this time, into Stefan, who grabbed her to steady her.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Jeremy asked, displaying concern as he watched Elowen wobble on her feet.

"Yeah, yeah." Elowen shook her head to try and clear it like she'd done earlier, but also trying to brush off Jeremy's worries at the same time. "I'm fine. Just… dizzy. That's the second time today."

Jeremy looked over at Josiah.

"Dude, maybe we should hang out another time. Your sister really doesn't look too good."

Josiah nodded and Jeremy turned, waving.

"I'll see you later at the party, alright?" He bid his farewell and after he was gone, Stefan effortlessly picked Elowen up and walked her the rest of the way home.

xxxx

Stefan set Elowen on the couch in the living room of her house when they arrived. He quickly found Esmeralda, who immediately sensed the worry seeping off of Josiah and Stefan.

"What's wrong?" She asked, kneeling down. Josiah had gone to the kitchen and came back with a wet washcloth. Esmeralda took it and started dabbing it across Elowen's face.

"I'm fine, mom." Even as Elowen tried to reassure Esmeralda, she didn't sound very convincing. "I just… feel a little sick, that's all."

"She had two premonitions within a couple of minutes," Stefan elaborated. "Maybe…10, 15 minutes apart? I don't know, I wasn't counting."

Esmeralda sighed and dabbed the cloth down her neck.

"She usually doesn't have that many in a matter of minutes. She's still young and new at magic. I don't think she's strong enough to handle that many all at once yet. She'll be fine after resting for a bit."

"Mom, I need to go to that party tonight," Elowen spoke up, feeling a bit better now that she was lying down. The room wasn't spinning anymore, which was an improvement. Before Esmeralda could ask why, she retold the two premonitions she had.

"They both have to do with Damon, and I can tell that something bad happens to Vicki and since Jeremy cares about her, it hurts him too. And Caroline… She's annoying, but she doesn't deserve to be manipulated. Nobody does."

Esmeralda nodded in agreement. "We'll figure something out, honey. But for now, rest."

xxxx

Later on in the evening, when Elowen had recovered, they discussed how to take care of everything that was about to go down that night.

"I think Josiah should come, with his fire power he'd definitely be able to fight off Damon for a while so I can get Vicki. Stefan can be there as backup."

Elowen was explaining her idea for a plan, but Stefan didn't like it. He shook his head before she'd even finished her sentence.

"But I'm another vampire. Why put Josiah in the line of danger?"

"Stefan, we both know you aren't as strong as Damon."

Thanks to her power of intuition, she didn't need to be told about Stefan's animal blood diet, she just knew. Stefan wanted to question how she knew that but assumed it must've had something to do with magic.

"Josiah can burn him which can definitely injure him far worse than you ever could, and you'll be there anyway to make sure he's okay," she explained, and Stefan nodded, realizing she was right. "Now, as for Caroline… someone needs to keep watch on her after she goes to The Grill. Comfort her."

She looked towards Josiah, who immediately shook his head.

"No! You're already making me attack a vampire! Why can't Stefan do it?"

"Because most likely, Stefan's the one who made her upset." Elowen looked over at him and shrugged. "You probably rejected her and she didn't take it well. Besides," she turned back towards Josiah. "You're going to be the hero for saving Vicki from the vicious animal, so you're the perfect candidate."

Josiah eventually sighed in the end. "Fine," he grumbled, and Elowen clapped her hands together.

"We have a plan! Now let's be hopeful and make sure it works."

xxxx

Stefan drove them to the falls where the party was and the three of them got out of the car. They kept an eye out for Vicki and as Elowen and Josiah went ahead, Stefan was stopped by Caroline coming up to him basically the second he stepped foot into the party.

"Hey!" She greeted excitedly, a wide, award winning smile already on her face. "You made it!"

Stefan didn't want to be rude, so he nodded his head. "Yep, I did."

Caroline made a grab for his wrist. "Well, let's get you a drink," she said, trying to tug him towards the kegs.

"Um, I'm- Caroline-" He softly yanked his wrist away from her as she turned back around.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, it's just that, I'm kinda busy right now, Caroline," he politely told her, looking around to try and spot Elowen and Josiah.

Caroline's face fell, and she sighed. "You're here with Elowen, aren't you? I saw you two arrive together."

Stefan blinked, taken off guard because Caroline was implying they were here together together, like as in, a date.

"Huh? No, I'm-"

She cut him off. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better. I can tell that you like her." She faltered a little. "I'm always too late with the guys I like..." She mumbled before she suddenly stood up straighter like she hadn't just shown one of her biggest insecurities not even five seconds ago, holding her head up high as she tried to seem like she wasn't bothered by her assumption that Stefan was already taken. "Go ahead. Let me down easy."

Stefan sighed, not knowing how else to handle the situation except to go with it. "You're right. I don't want to lie to you. You're pretty, but I'm not into you. I'm sorry, Caroline."

She nodded curtly, hearing the confirmation she'd been waiting for. "Thank you for being honest. Not many guys like to do that. Have fun with Elowen."

With that, she simply turned around and walked off the same way she came without another word. Once she was gone, Stefan used his super hearing to try and find Elowen and Josiah.

xxxx

Elowen had realized they'd lost Stefan, but they didn't have time to look for him because they had already found Vicki. Tyler had just left and now she was talking to Jeremy.

"Stefan..." Elowen whispered, hoping that maybe he'd heard her from wherever he was. "Please hurry up."

"No, you're worse. You want to talk to me, get to know me, see into my soul and screw and screw and screw until you're done," Vicki snapped at Jeremy, and even though he was drunk, he looked hurt.

"Is that what you think?" He asked.

"That's what I know."

Jeremy didn't stay long after that, leaving Vicki by herself. Within a few minutes, fog started coming down the little hill and surrounded Vicki as Elowen's premonition started to come true. Josiah moved around the trees, staying hidden.

"Jeremy?" Vicki called out, thinking he had come back. "Jeremy, is that you?" She tried again, and then the figure appeared behind her.

Elowen jumped out, yelling, "Vicki watch out!" as she pulled her to the ground, almost tackling her out of the way. They hit the dirt just as Josiah created a fireball in his hand and threw it at the figure before it could react. As Josiah formed another fireball, Damon recovered and snarled.

"You're going to regret that," he growled, speeding over to Josiah. He threw him off his feet and into a nearby tree. Elowen had started running back towards the party with Vicki already, and as she got closer, she felt something zoom past her and hoped to god it was Stefan coming to back Josiah up.

Stefan finally heard Elowen's voice and vamp sped in that direction. He passed her on the way as he showed up in time to push Damon to the ground, preventing him from biting into Josiah's neck and hurting him, potentially killing him, even.

"Run!" He yelled, and Josiah didn't need to be told twice as he took off.

"Hello, brother," Damon greeted, struggling for a minute before getting the upperhand. He vamp sped both him and Stefan deeper into the woods where nobody from the party could hear them or bother them.

"Help!" Elowen screamed as the party came into view. Jeremy and Matt were the first two to respond upon seeing Vicki.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Matt asked worriedly.

"An animal just tried to attack her! It just came out of nowhere and it was going to attack and my brother- he- he…" Elowen looked around and noticed Josiah was still missing. If she had been acting before, she wasn't now.

"Josiah?!" She screamed as panic overtook her. Matt had taken Vicki from her as she yelled out for him again. He came into view a second later, blood dripping from his nose and a gash on his forehead. She breathed a sighed of relief as she ran over to him and gave him a bone crushing hug.

"Are you okay?" She asked in a whisper and he nodded his head.

"Fine," he replied, catching his breath. "How's Vicki?"

They looked over and saw Vicki shaking like a leaf out of sheer terror, the only thing still keeping her standing being Matt as he held her up on her feet. She noticed Josiah and reached out to hug him tightly. It had been so abrupt that Josiah hadn't had time to react, causing him to tip over slightly before catching his balance. He awkwardly hugged her back once he was sure he wasn't about to fall over.

"Y-You saved my life!" Vicki's voice was loud, high pitched in volume and filled with hysterics. "I don't know w-what you did but you s-scared the a-animal away. Thank you."

She started sobbing in Josiah's arms before she passed out a few moments later, both from being drunk and from shock. Josiah gently sank to the ground with her as she slumped over, her dead body weight too much for his weakened state, a result from being thrown around like a ragdoll into a tree. His whole body ached and was screaming at him so he was grateful when Matt and Jeremy rushed forward to take her from him. Tyler had just gotten off the phone and announced an ambulance had been called and help was on the way.

Josiah had carefully stood up and limped over to Elowen, and she leaned over to ask him in a low voice, "Where's Stefan?" when he was close enough to hear her. Josiah could only shrug in response, and Elowen hoped he was okay.

xxxx

Damon had stopped in the middle of the woods somewhere, letting Stefan drop to the ground.

"When'd you get here?" He asked, breathless as he laid on the grass, before beginning to sit up.

"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school," Damon replied nonchalantly, shrugging. "Your hair's different. I like it."

"It's been 15 years, Damon," Stefan pointed out the obvious as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Thank god. I couldn't take another day of the 90's. That horrible grunge look? Did not suit you. Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads." Damon tsked with a shake of his head, feigning disappointment.

Stefan dusted off his shirt, fixing it before asking, "Why are you here?"

Damon, as usual, dodged the question. "I miss my little brother."

Stefan scoffed. "You hate small towns. It's boring. There's nothing for you to do."

Damon plucked a twig from off the ground and started tearing the leaves off. "I've managed to keep myself busy," he stated as a matter of factly, looking directly at Stefan, who just crossed his arms.

"How are those burns healing up?" Stefan asked, smug that they'd successfully managed to catch him off guard. Damon scowled and lifted his shirt. There were still faint marks of the burns that were still healing.

"These hurt like a bitch, by the way."

Stefan smirked in satisfaction. "Good."

Damon put his shirt down. "You and your accomplices ruined a perfectly good, mint condition piece of clothing. Do you even know how much money I spent on this outfit? I should demand you buy me a new one."

Stefan ignored him. "Why are you here now?"

Damon rolled his eyes and walked toward Stefan, pointing the twig towards him. "I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word... Elena."

Stefan stayed silent and watched as Damon circled around him, dragging the twig across his body.

"She took my breath away. Elena." Damon's voice had taken on a dreamy tone as he batted his eyelashes. "She's a dead ringer for Katherine." He stopped circling Stefan and stood directly in front of him. "Is it working, Stefan? Being around her, being in her world? Does it make you feel alive?" He taunted, trying to get a rise out of him. Except, instead of a reaction, Stefan merely shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. I've barely spoken a word to her since I've gotten here."

"Really? Hmm." Damon tossed the twig back onto the ground. "This doesn't have anything to do with that witchy friend of yours, does it? What was her name again? Elowen?"

Stefan clenched his jaw at this, and Damon smirked upon finally getting a response.

"So, let me get this straight. You came back to Mystic Falls to investigate a girl who looks exactly like our ex, only to fall for a completely different girl? Wow, Stef. I'm surprised." He ran a finger across Stefan's jaw, which Stefan slapped away immediately. "I guess I'll have to meet this girl for myself to see what she's all about, now, won't I?"

"Stay away from her," Stefan snapped, and Damon pretended to be scared.

"Oh no, big bad Stefan is going to come and get me! Please." He rolled his eyes. "This Elowen girl must really mean a lot if you chose her over Elena. I'm gonna go-"

"No, Damon-"

"See-"

"Damon!"

With every word Damon said, he took a step backwards away from Stefan, slowly waving and tilting his head.

"Why. Bye, bye, Stef. It was nice seeing you."

And with that, Damon was gone. Stefan groaned in response before quickly vamp speeding himself to The Grill. He saw Elowen's car parked out front and sighed, glad to see she was in a crowded place with lots of people because that meant she was safe. He made his way into The Grill, in search of both Elowen and Josiah. He spotted Josiah immediately, who was sitting at a table with Caroline, happily chatting away about something they both seemed very invested in. Thankfully, Caroline didn't even notice Damon sitting at the bar. In fact, she wasn't even paying him any attention, her focus fully on Josiah and what he was saying. Elowen, however, was very aware of Damon's presence, which is why she was sitting on the other side of the building, as far away from him as she could get. Stefan took the empty seat beside her and immediately, she lunged over and hugged him.

"Oh my god, you're okay! I was worried when you didn't come out of the woods. I thought he'd like, I don't know…. Hurt you or something." She'd looked over at Damon briefly. "He's a creepy stalker, you know that?"

"He didn't try to come and talk to you, did he?" Stefan asked, and Elowen shook her head.

"No, like I'd even let him get close enough." She looked over at Caroline and Josiah, then looked at the time. "I think it's time we get her home. What do you think?"

She turned to Stefan to see what he thought, and he nodded in agreement. The two got up and had to convince a still slightly tipsy Caroline into going home, although it was proven to be a bit difficult. Once she was home safe, Elowen drove to her house.

xxxx

Josiah was the first one in, being greeted by their mom. Elowen and Stefan paused outside.

"Do you… Um…. wanna come in?" She asked hesitantly, and Stefan was going to decline when he saw the look on her face. Even though their mission was over and had been successful, she didn't want Stefan to go. Maybe part of her was just worried about letting him out of her sight, knowing Damon was on the loose and stronger than Stefan would ever be while he was drinking animal blood. Or… maybe the near death experience was making her realize that maybe she kind of liked him, as more than a friend.

"Obviously not through the front door. My mom will see. I mean-"

"Jump up to your window so you can sneak me in?" He finished, a light, teasing smile on his face. Elowen huffed a bit, glaring back at his teasing expression.

"Do you want to come in or not?" She asked as she crossed her arms like a little kid throwing a tantrum, now just annoyed.

Throwing his hands up in surrender, he disappeared onto the roof. Elowen stepped inside and closed the door, locking it before heading up to her room. She got there and closed the door. She walked over to the window and popped it open. Stefan slid in and she closed it.

"Huh," she hummed after a second, and Stefan looked at her questioningly.

"What?"

She put her hands on her hips and looked up at him.

"This is my first time sneaking a boy into my room, yet this is probably your thousandth time sneaking into a girl's room. It's a weird feeling, that's all, realizing how much older you are when you look like my age."

She walked over to her dresser and picked out a large shirt to sleep in, and both her and Stefan turned around to change. Elowen climbed into bed and Stefan followed.

"I hope you realize I'm just doing my part as a member of the neighborhood watch committee," she mumbled into his chest. "I'm making sure you don't get eaten alive by your evil brother."

Stefan smirked a little to himself. "By forcing me to spend the night in your bed, in nothing but my boxers, while you use me as a pillow?"

"Yes."

Her answer was so serious that it made Stefan laugh softly. A comfortable silence fell over them as they laid there together.

"Hey Stefan?" Elowen spoke up a few minutes later, her voice already sounding tired as she started to fall asleep.

"Hm?" He hummed against her shoulder.

"Thanks for being my friend," she sleepily responded at last before falling asleep.

"You're welcome," he whispered against her hair, watching as she slept. He studied her sleeping form for a moment before realizing that maybe Caroline had been right. Maybe… he liked her after all.

Yeah, he thought, Caroline had been right.

He liked her.