A/N: I'm really excited for this chapter! I hope you're satisfied with this, and please review, give me some comments about this story. Love you guys, thank you for waiting! This update was a day late because I had to catch up with the Originals. Am I the only one that feel like there's gonna be something going on between Hayley and Elijah? Hmm

Disclaimer: As usual, I only own Vanessa, Cassandra and Ada.

Chapter 11: When Dinner Goes Wrong

"Nessie! Nessie! Wake up!" Jenna yelled as she knocked on the door. Groaning, I gave her an incoherent reply. When I finally headed downstairs, Jenna was dressed and I raised an eyebrow. She wasn't working so she will usually sleep in.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Oh, great! You're up. I need you to come with me," Jenna said cheerfully and I poured myself a cup of coffee.

"Where to?"

"I'm going to show Elijah's around Mystic Falls. Please come with me?" she pleaded and I shook my head no. Last night was humiliating and I didn't want to see his face, like ever.

"I have…um, stuff to do…with Bonnie and Damon…Jeremy," I said lamely and Jenna rolled her eyes.

"You're usually a good liar. You can just say I don't want to go," Jenna said.

"I don't want to go," I said quickly and she raised an eyebrow at me, trying to read me.

"Sure," she said and I looked at her, puzzled.

"That's it?" I asked, expecting her to beg me to come with her.

"Do you want to come?" she asked suddenly.

"No, no, no," I said and cleared my throat.

"I thought you like him?" Jenna asked and I widened my eyes at her supposed accusation before narrowing them.

"He's a bit old for me, don't you think?" I asked her casually. Elijah was old, really, really old but Jenna didn't know how old he really was.

"He might as well put a leash on you," Jenna teased and I gaped, insulted.

"Oh please, I'm on my perfect behavior," I shot back and she just laughed.

"I'll see you later," she said and I bade goodbyes as she headed out.

Later on, I went to the Grill to have my lunch and saw Damon with his new girlfriend, Andie. Andie waved at me excitedly and I came to join them. Alaric joined us a while later, having just crashed on Jenna and Elijah's tour.

"Other than your lecture on the history of Mystic Falls, did you get anything out of Elijah?" Damon asked, raising his eyebrows at the history teacher.

"No, it was boring," Ric said with a sigh, playing with his drink. I raised my eyebrow at his behavior. "Of course, Jenna thinks he's charming," Ric added bitterly and Damon and I snorted, amused.

"Are you jealous?" I asked teasingly.

"You sounded jealous," Damon stated with a grin. "Sound a bit jealous?" he asked, turning to Andie.

"Kinda do," Andie replied and I laughed heartily.

"Jenna had been trying to set me up with Elijah. I don't think you should be worried," I told Ric comfortingly.

"Jealous?" Andie asked me suddenly, catching me off guard.

"What? No! Why would I?" I asked her, slightly frowning.

"You don't have to get mad," Andie said with a wink and I rolled my eyes.

"Very cute, Vanessa," Damon said scornfully and I glared at him.

"About his plan on letting Elena dies in the ritual, he has this magical elixir from the 15th century to bring Elena back from the dead," I said, changing the topic. "He got it from the witches for Katherine. All Elena needs to do is drink it."

"You're…sure about that?" Alaric asked and I played with my drink.

"We don't have any other choice," I said and caught Damon sharing a look with Alaric. "What was that?" I asked them quickly. "What is it? Tell me," I said exasperatedly and Damon gave me an innocent smile.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here," Alaric said, glancing at Andie. Only then I realized that Andie was there when I told them about the elixir.

"Andie, she's been compelled not to divulge my secrets. Haven't you?" Damon asked affectionately and I shuddered at the sight.

"Uh-huh," Andie replied before kissing him in the lips.

"Mmm, my lips are sealed," Andie said and I rolled my eyes although my lips formed a grin. It was good to see Damon not pining over Elena.

"This is too weird," Alaric muttered, staring at the couple in front of us and I chuckled.

"I just need the right opportunity," Damon told and I looked at Ric questioningly. Okay, these guys were so hiding something from me. Elijah and Jenna walked into the Grill and walked up to our table.

"Ah, there's Jenna with her new boyfriend," Damon said before grinning at me. I glared at him and he smirked.

"Hey guys," Jenna greeted and I greeted her back. My eyes met with Elijah's dark brown eyes before I averted my gaze from his.

"So I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today," Damon said.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Jenna shrugged.

"Well, as much as I'd like to continue this, I've got papers to grade," Ric suddenly said, getting up from the table. I felt bad about him but could do nothing about it.

"No, you know what? We should continue this. Let's have a dinner party," Andie suggested and I looked at her suspiciously.

"Ooh, my girl. Full of good ideas. I'll be happy to host. Say tonight. Maybe?" Damon asked and briefly met my eyes.

"It's good for me. Jenna? Vanessa?" Andie asked and I looked at my aunt.

"I don't feel like going," I said and Jenna frowned at me.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Andie urged. I glanced at Damon and Ric, trying to decide if they were planning anything.

"I don't know if tonight works…" Alaric muttered and Jenna cut in.

"Yeah, I'm free," she said and I tensed. So they were really fighting. "And you should come, of course," she said to me and I just nodded.

"It'd be a pleasure," Elijah said.

"Great," Damon said with a smile.

Punch, punch, kick, snap-

"What do you want?" I asked when the twig snapped. I looked over my shoulder to see Elijah, his hands in his pockets.

"I'm here to apologize," he said gently, formally and I heard no regret in his voice. He was either very good at masking his emotions or he wasn't sorry.

"I don't really care," I said, clenching my teeth as I threw another punch at the tree.

"Vanessa," he called me softly yet sternly and I turned around to look at him. He seemed out of place, standing in the middle of the forest while wearing an expensive tailored suit.

"Apology accepted. You can go," I snapped, turning around and kicked the tree. I needed him to go. Being here with him was just too much. I had been telling myself not to like him, not to care for him. I had to throw this feelings for him.

"I've been betrayed by my brother countless times. Whenever he disagrees with me, he would dagger me and wake me up whenever he feels like it. I have always had his back, for a thousand years. You have to understand why it's hard for me to…to completely trust you," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"I haven't lived even for twenty years. It's kinda hard for me to understand such an old soul," I retorted, unwrapping the bandage around my hands.

"When Klaus gets here, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you," Elijah said and I pursed my lips. "Vanessa," Elijah called me firmly and forced me to look into his eyes. "Klaus is cruel, sadistic and heartless. He would do anything to break this curse and kill anyone that tries to stop him from reaching his goals."

"I heard that a lot of times. Everyone's scared of him. He's the real deal," I said, walking toward my backpack when he grabbed my wrist.

"He will hurt you if he knows," Elijah said softly. "You'll be my leverage."

I turned around to look at him when he said that. "You should stop making me think that I mean something to you," I said, removing his grip from my wrist harshly. "What you should do is tell me your plan. If you want to kill Klaus you can't do it alone. You'll need me. You'll need us," I said, slinging the backpack over my shoulder. When he didn't reply, I turned to look at him.

"Oh my god," I said, looking over him. "You still don't trust me," I said and scoffed in disbelief.

"After the dinner party, I'll tell you," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"You're a little bit paranoid, you know? I guess that's what you get for living more than a man should have," I said as I walked out of the forest.

At the Salvatore's Boarding House, Jenna, Andie and I reached early to set up the table.

"So what's going on with you and Alaric? I feel like there's some tension," Andie asked and I glanced at Jenna. I had been trying not to ask her since I felt like I was interrupting their business.

"I don't know. I really like him. It's more than like and I want it to work, but I can't help but feel that he's hiding something from me. And then I've got John whispering things in my ear about him," Jenna said and I felt my blood boiled. John had also been threatening to tell Jenna and Jeremy about how human I was and since he was a family, I had to stop myself from ripping him apart.

"Like what?" Andie asked Jenna before tapping my hand with a fork before making a circle around her face. Talking about John had always managed to make me wanted to kill someone. I took a deep breath and calmed myself and felt my face changed back.

"Things I don't want to believe. Things I don't believe, not if they're coming from John's mouth," Jenna said.

"Don't listen to him. He's just trying to mess with you," I said and Jenna sighed.

"He also said you were hiding something from me. Are you?" Jenna asked me seriously and I looked at her.

"No, of course not," I said, holding the eye contact. "You know he hates me, right?" I asked, trying to lighten up the mood. Since I was the troublemaker when I was still a human, I had always pulled some pranks on John.

"Trust is the key to any relationship. I mean, I am so grateful that Damon tells me everything," Andie said, changing the topic and I smirked at her words.

"What a happy surprise," I scowled when John walked passed me.

"Don't be so grumpy, Nessie," he said with an annoying smirk and I glared at him.

"I seriously don't want to rip your throat out in front of Jenna," I told him seriously and he smiled.

"Good luck with that," he said and I huffed, annoyed. After a while, Elijah finally arrived.

"Just one moment. Can I just say that if you have less than honorable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider," Elijah said calmly and I felt a shiver ran down my spine. That guy can be scary when he wanted to.

"No, nothing, nothing dishonorable. Just getting to know you," Damon said and I prayed that he wasn't lying.

"Hmm. Well, that's good," Elijah said and entered the house, and saw me. I acknowledged him with a nod and he turned back to Damon. "Because, you know, although Elena and I have this deal, if you so much as make a move to cross me, I'll kill you and I'll kill everyone in this house. Are we clear?" he said and I took a sharp breath and walked away from them, feeling slightly…terrified.

"I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town," Jenna said as she poured him a glass of wine.

"Hmm, do tell," Damon said, faking interest.

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution," Elijah told and I raised an eyebrow at this.

"Hmm. Because they were witches," Jenna whispered, possibly trying to scare us. I chuckled at this before dropping my smile when I caught Elijah looking.

"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem," Andie disagreed.

"Andie's a journalist. Big on facts," Damon told Elijah.

"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire. Could you pass the…"

"Interesting," I commented and Elijah smirked at me.

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society," Jenna said, slightly laughing.

"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me," John said and I rolled my eyes.

"No one asked you," I remarked, sipping on the drink.

"So, why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?" Damon asked carefully and I glanced at him and Elijah.

"You know...a healthy historian's curiosity, of course," Elijah answered and even a child could tell he was lying.

"Of course," Damon said with a smile.

"Would anyone care for some cognac? I have a bottle that I've been saving for ages," Damon asked as he got up.

"None for me thanks. Nine bottles of wine is my limit," Alaric said and we chuckled.

"The gentlemen should take their drink in the study," Andie said as we got up.

"I have to say the food was almost as wonderful as the company," Elijah said smoothly, looking at me and I rolled my eyes although I couldn't help but smiled at his words.

"I like you," I heard Andie said.

"You're not a gentleman. Make yourself useful," Jenna said, handing the plates to John and I smirked.

"Here, here. Put me to work," Alaric said to Jenna.

"Um, I got it," Jenna said coolly. I quickly grabbed the plates and headed to the kitchen to give them some privacy.

Elijah was with Damon in the study, possibly Damon trying to dig more information from him while Jenna and I were making coffee in the kitchen.

"You know," I began, glancing at Jenna. "Maybe if Alaric is hiding something from you, it's for your own good. Maybe he doesn't want to hurt you," I said. Jenna sighed and looked at me.

"Don't you think it's better for him to be honest than to lie?" she asked and I pursed my lips.

"I guess. But some secrets are…some secrets are better left hidden," I said, bringing the pot of coffee to the dining room.

"Why aren't you in study?" I asked John scornfully and he smirked.

"You girls forgot the dessert," he replied simply and I raised an eyebrow at him. "How much longer…are you going to hide your true face?" he asked and I heard Jenna walked in.

"Shut your damn mouth, uncle," I sneered, trying to contain my anger as I poured the coffee into a cup. Andie and Elijah entered the dining room and I glanced at them.

"Sorry, guys, dessert is taking longer than I thought. I usually just unwrap food," Jenna said and I laughed.

"So, I know this is a social thing, but I...I would really love to ask you some more questions about the work that you're doing here," Andie said.

"I'd love to answer," Elijah replied.

"Great, that's so great," Andie said. Damon and Alaric entered the dining room and I caught Damon glaring at John from across the table.

"Ric, would you do me a favor and grab the notebook out of my bag?" Andie asked as I took a seat next to her.

"Elijah, did John tell you he's Elena and Vanessa's uncle slash father?" Damon asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that," Elijah said.

"Of course, she hates him, and Vanessa hates him more so there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list," Damon said and I chuckled.

"I absolutely agree," I smirked at John and his eye twitched in annoyance.

"No Ric, it's in the front pocket. On the...you know what? Excuse me, guys. Sorry," Andie said and got up to help Ric.

"What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how do you intend on killing Klaus?" John asked.

"Gentlemen," Elijah said and I raised my eyebrows at him for not addressing me. "There's a few things we should probably get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Elena. I allow Elena to remain in her house, living her life with her friends as she does as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take her away from you and you'll never see her again," Elijah said and I narrowed my eyes at him before leaning closer to im.

"I dare you to do that," I whispered menacingly under my breath and he gave me a chilling smile.

"Okay," Andie said, sitting down. "My first question is when you got here to Mystic..." Andie's question was however interrupted by Elijah's scream of pain. All of us shot up from the chairs, obviously shocked.

"Oh my god!" I screamed in shock and saw Elijah's face turned grey. It took him a moment of pain before he finally died. "What the hell was that?" I hissed angrily at Alaric before turning to Damon. Alaric ignored me and placed the dagger from last night on the table.

"Now get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert," he said.

"Alright," Damon said, still a little shocked. I followed Damon down to the basement and when he had locked Elijah's body in the cellar, I pinned him against the wall.

"What the hell was that?" I hissed and Damon clenched his teeth.

"This was why I didn't tell you," he said, removing my hand from his neck and I stared at him in mixed emotions.

"Next time you're carrying a suicide mission, tell me," I said and he narrowed his eyes as he looked at me.

"You're attached to him," he stated, and I scoffed.

"No, I'm not," I lied, hoping it to be the truth. "He knew you were going to do something so he said he'll tell me everything after this dinner party," I said, running a hand through my hair in frustration. Damon stared at me and groaned.

"We'll figure this out," he said, walking away. I glanced at the closed cellar door and sighed.

Damon answered his phone and I tensed when I listened to what Stefan had to say. We all rushed back to the cellar only to find it to be empty.

"Elena, go get Elena!" I said and without a word Damon left. I rushed to Elijah's house, hoping somehow he would be there. He was.

"Now tell me," he hissed under his breath, slamming me against the wall. I could hear the wall cracked and could feel his body radiated with fury. He tightened his hold around my neck, crushing my windpipe and I helplessly trying to pry his grip. "Have you been using me?" He questioned me furiously.

"N-no," I managed to get the word out. "I swear I know nothing about it," I rasped, trying desperately to release his grip on my neck.

"Are you telling me the truth?" he asked, and I saw his pupils dilated. Then I answered him without my will, the word blurted out from my mouth.

"Yes," I said and he released me. I didn't even realize I could be compelled! The loss of blood from the torture yesterday must have gotten the vervain out of my system. Not to mention I didn't take any on this morning. I grew tensed and really, really anxious about him being able to compel me while Elijah relaxed.

"The deal's off," Elijah said as I coughed, and rubbed my neck.

"Elena's deal is off, but not mine," I said and he stared down at me, a little pissed off that I was right. Then he smirked, and without another words, he took my upper arm and dragged me to God knows where. I barely recognized the surrounding when we arrived. Not because it was dark, but because of the very distant memory. Flash of memories flooded my mind as Elijah dragged me through the lake house. We reached the house and Elijah took a handful of rocks from the ground. He then stopped in front of the house and pushed me to the ground before kneeling beside me.

Brushing a strand of hair from my ear, I felt a shiver ran down my spine when he leaned close to my ear. "You will not move until I say so," he said softly and I let out a shaky breath. What was he going to pull here? I couldn't move and my eyes were on the ground but I listened at how he played with the stone so that Stefan could hear him. If the situation wasn't that nerve-racking, I'd have laughed. Were all the Originals always tried to make a grand entrance? I supposed I should learn from them a lot. Elijah then threw the rocks to the door, and it broke opened.

"You have to go. I need to talk to him alone." I heard Elena said.

"Elena…" Stefan pleaded worriedly.

"Stefan, I'm okay. He can't come in the house," Elena said. Elijah walked closer to the house, leaving me behind.

"You know, I might not be able to enter this house... But I'm a very patient man. I'll wait you out," Elijah said casually. I heard hesitant footsteps of Elena and then I felt her eyes on me.

"They shouldn't have done what they did," Elena said shakily.

"The deal is off," Elijah stated.

"I'm renegotiating," Elena said determinedly and I had to admire that. She sounded like Katherine except a little naïve.

"You have nothing left to negotiate with," Elijah spat and I could feel his smirk. "Except for her," he added, motioning to me. I cursed him in my head and heard Elena's heart skipped a beat. Elena stayed silent, trying to know what Elijah meant without making her vulnerable and letting Elijah made the deal out of it.

Luckily for her, Elijah continued. "Come with me and I'll leave your friends alone and Vanessa lives."

"She's not Vanessa," Elena aid and I shut my eyes, feeling the hot tears welling.

"Are you sure about that?" Elijah questioned and I heard Elena's heartbeat quickened. "You know it's her. You know it's Vanessa when you look at her. You may never meet Cassandra, you may never know the other doppelgangers. But you should know your own twin," Elijah said and I held my breath.

"She's not Vanessa," Elena said nervously, trying to convince herself.

"She's compelled, she will do whatever I say," Elijah threatened and if Elena wasn't freak out, I was. "Come here," Elijah called and I got up against my will and walked toward him.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked anxiously when Elijah grabbed a branch from the ground.

"Do we have a deal?" Elijah asked, looking at Elena. I refused to look at her, worried that the act would disappear. This wasn't the time. This wasn't how I imagine her knowing. "Come with me, your friends live and so does she."

I finally looked up, meeting Elena in the eye. "Don't," I mouthed, feeling a tear dropped from my eye. Elena held my gaze, her brown eyes tearing before she composed herself and sucked in a deep breath. This wasn't the time for a reunion, and she knew it. Elena stayed silent and finally pulled out a knife. My eyes narrowed and I realized what she was about to do.

"I'm renegotiating," Elena said again, determinedly. "She lives, my friends stay unharmed and you stay true to your words or the doppelganger bleeds to death," she threatened. I stayed calm, knowing Stefan was there and this would be a plan.

"Stefan won't let you die," Elijah countered.

"No, he won't. He'll feed me his blood to heal me, and then I'll kill myself and become a vampire, just like Katherine did. So unless you want that to happen again, promise me the same as before... promise me... You won't harm anyone that I love. Even if they've harmed you," Elena demanded and I gotta say I was impressed. But Elijah wasn't.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I'm going to have to call your bluff," Elijah said and looked at me. We held our eyes for a moment. And I had wondered, did I mean nothing to him? That he would threaten to kill me without a blink? He then returned his eyes back to Elena who had pointed the knife to her stomach. Elena took a deep breath before stabbing herself with the knife, without another word.

"No!" Elijah rushed to the door, and I stayed frozen. My eyes widened as blood oozed from the wound. "Yes. Yes, you can have your deal. Let me heal you," he said urgently, worries and panic were clear in his voice. Then I realized. I may mean something to him. But in the end, the chance of him abandoning me was far greater. Like Klaus, he would do anything to reach his goal.

"Give me your word!" Elena demanded, her voice was strained in pain.

"I give you my word," Elijah promised and Elena fell into his arm. As soon as she was in his arms, Elijah gasped and I watched Elena daggered him. I could finally move which meant Elijah was truly dead and caught him when he fell. Elena, having lost her balance, fell but Stefan caught her and gave him his blood. Then I met Elena's brown eyes. Time passed, as we just sat there for a moment, until I finally stood up.

"You're gonna invite me in?" I asked, trying to appear nonchalant. Both of the Salvatore brothers held their breaths in, wondering what would be Elena's reaction. She didn't take it well when I first came but that was me posing as Cassidy. But we had to talk. We had to.

Elena tried getting up and Stefan helped her and she looked at me, tears in her eyes. "Vanessa Gilbert," she said, smiling with tears falling down her cheeks. She then pulled me into a hug, a bone crashing hug that said more than any words could say, "Please come in."

Damon and Stefan left to give us some privacy. Elena was on the couch sipping some hot chocolate while I was examining the photos in the living room. Our childhood photos, our parents smiling photos and I felt my heart stung. I saw Elena's reflection through the mirror and sighed. None of us had talked yet. There were so many questions and so many emotions. Elena was happy that it was me, yet angry that I lied. And I…I wasn't feeling anything at the moment. I refused to.

"Why?" Elena finally asked. I looked over my shoulder and met her doe like eyes. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"If I said I was me, what would you do?" I asked her quietly. "I'm just afraid," I admitted.

"Afraid of what?" She asked, chuckling. "Vanessa, my boyfriend is a vampire. My best friend is a vampire. Our birth mother is a vampire."

I laughed.

"I'm not who I was," I told her with a sigh.

"Stefan told me about his darkest time as a vampire. I'm sure…" she trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"That I'm better than him?" I asked and laughed lightly.

"How did you…turn?" She asked, changing the topic.

"I died in the accident. Stefan couldn't safe both of us," I said sadly, pushing the thought of my parents out of my head.

"Who turned you?" she asked, confused and I pursed my lips. Oh, she's not going to like this.

"Katherine did," I said and her eyes widened.

"She changed you?" She asked, bewildered.

"Yes, she did," I said. She taught me how to become a vampire. I however, didn't mention that part, knowing Elena might as well thought I was no better than Katherine.

"Why only now? The accident happened almost a year ago," Elena said and I sighed, looking at her.

"Everyone thinks I'm dead, Elena. It's not an easy thing. And I have to get my craving for blood under control," I replied, although it wasn't really true. I wasn't ready and Katherine wouldn't let me. "I visited once, during the 50's dance," I said. "You were living your life. So happy with Stefan."

"I missed you. We all missed you," she said and I detected how she was trying to defend herself. That she didn't really forget about me.

"Jeremy doesn't know," I said suddenly. "I'm not sure how to tell him."

"It doesn't matter. He's really happy that you're here," Elena said and I nodded. Elena was too busy with Stefan to care about the little brother.

"I suggest we go back," I told and Elena stopped me.

"I'm sorry for not knowing that you're Vanessa," she said after hesitating. "I just…I just thought it would be easier to have you as Cassidy," she said and I snorted.

"Doesn't matter," I brushed it off and she stopped me again.

"You're just like Damon! You're pushing me away right now," Elena accused and I laughed darkly.

"I'm not. Okay? I'm not. It's been a rough day," I said, trying to contain my anger and frustration. I didn't know why I was feeling like this. My only excuse was this had been a really rough day.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Damon asked when we reached the car. "And don't eavesdrop, Stef," Damon warned as he led me a couple of feet away from the car.

"What is it?" I asked, looking at Damon who seemed troubled.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about killing Elijah," Damon began and I rolled my eyes. I had no time to deal with this. I didn't want to.

"Don't you trust me?" I tested him.

"That's not it. I just thought you and him…have something going on," Damon said awkwardly and I felt like he slapped me in the face. We did have something.

"We don't," I snapped and took a deep breath. "You told me to dig out information from him and I tried, but he knew," I said. "Let's just go," I said and he nodded.

Today, was by far my roughest day.