A/N: Sorry for the wait again! Thank you all for the support so far.
Last time I checked, I still own nothing besides Ellie and my plot.
Summary: A spell gone haywire, Bonnie accidentally resurrects a long since dead woman, who has no idea who she is other than she woke up in a grave and Caroline has her necklace. But, as it turns out, she has a connection with Damon and Stefan.
Not The Person You Used To Be.
Chapter VII
She couldn't remember any of the parties that were held when she was human, but she imagined that they were elegant, given the time period she was human. But, she was sure that they weren't like the one going on around her.
People drinking, loud music, people grinding and dancing up on each other. She wondered around the party, trying to push her way through the crowd, the music making her head hurt. She needed outside, into the quiet night. She liked the night for some reason, Damon not really comfortable being out in the dark for some reason.
It was vampires, she guessed. She pushed her way to the front door, book in hand. She spotted her brother sitting on the stone railing of the front porch with a few other people. Damon glanced over at her as she approached, a smirk appearing on his face.
"Ellie," he greeted, "I thought you got lost in the crowd, curled up somewhere..."
Ellie shot him a look, noticing the man sitting beside him, looking a little uncomfortable. He was older, though Damon didn't seem to mind him being there. Hell, a lot of the other people failed to noticing him either.
Damon noticed her looking at him, his smirk still in place. "Oh right, Ellie, this is Alaric," he gestured to Alaric, "Rick, this is my sister, Ellie."
"Sister?" Alaric questioned, looking at Damon, "I thought Stefan was your only sibling."
"Well, if it matters, I had no idea she was alive until a few days ago." Damon said, Ellie giving him a look. Damon rolled his eyes, giving her a glass bottle with amber liquid inside.
"Here," he said, "drink it, loosen up."
Alaric gave him a look, "she looks no older than Stefan."
"Actually, they are the same age," Damon pointed out, "she would be in high school, therefore she can take a drink."
Ellie gave Damon back the bottle, "I'm...alright, thanks."
"Suit yourself," Damon said with a shrug, "at least you are not ignoring me."
Ellie sighed, "yeah, I wanted to apologize for that, but you seem to be busy so I'll talk with you later."
She patted her brother on the arm before walking down towards the drive way, a few people were laughing and talking with each other. Damon turned, calling out.
"Where are you going?"
"Just to the yard," Ellie said, stopping a smile forming on her mouth, "if I'm old enough to have a drink once and a while, I should be able to know when I have a headache or not, right?"
Damon smirked, "whatever you say, don't make me come after you."
"You won't have to, don't worry," she looked over at Alaric, "it was nice meeting you."
Alaric nodded, giving her a small smile as Damon seemed to be distracted by something on his phone. Ellie turned on her heel, making sure she remembered to wish Elena a happy birthday. She remembered saying that to her a few hours before when she was helping her, Caroline, and a boy named Tyler with setting up the party.
She also recalled the awkward conversation about Elena kissing Damon, and Tyler and Caroline's horny-ness. She wasn't sure what that was about, but they seemed to talk about it just fine in front of her.
Ellie shook her head slightly, picking a spot in the grass and sat down, she opened the book. After realizing that she had no light, she tossed the book in the grass and laid down. Her eyes scanned the dark sky, picking out a few of the stars that were out that night.
The sounds of the party seemed to fade as she lay, day dreaming. Remembering.
Ellie stood bare foot on the cold floor of the manor, watching her brother unlatch the lock on the back door. A seven-year-old Stefan turned to look at her, a slight smile on his face. The whole estate was dark, Damon fast asleep, along with their father and the help.
Stefan had woke her up, tapping on her shoulder and told her to get up. He wanted to show her something. Ellie was unsure at first, but ended up following him downstairs.
"Come," Stefan whispered, pushing open the door carefully, making sure that it wouldn't make any noise. He held the door open as Ellie stepped through, looking around the darkened yard. Stefan walked out into the grass, Ellie following close behind.
They didn't get far from the main house when Stefan stopped, sitting down in the grass. Ellie stood awkwardly beside him, remembering that she wasn't supposed to get dirty. Stefan grabbed her hand and pulled her down beside him, Ellie sitting down in the grass.
The two of them looked up into the sky, many little lights littering the sky. Ellie smiled at seeing so many of them.
"They are called stars," Stefan explained, "Damon says if you see a moving one, you're supposed to wish on it."
"Do they come true?" Ellie asked, her smile still in place.
"I don't know." Stefan said, keeping his eyes skyward as Ellie looked back at him. Stefan raised his arm, pointing up towards the sky. Ellie followed his pointing finger with her eyes, Stefan point towards a bright star.
One that was the brightest in the sky, Ellie staring at it for a few moments before Stefan spoke.
"That's the north star," he said, "the brightest one. It always points north, so if you are lost during the night, you can find that star to find your way back."
Ellie nodded her head, wondering how much Damon told Stefan about stars. She wondered if anybody noticed that they were gone yet, Ellie worried about facing father for being out so late in the night. But, Stefan continued to tell her about some of the stars he could remember, her mind drifting away from the house and beds they weren't in.
This was when she realized that she liked the night.
Ellie was pulled out of her thoughts after the flashback, her memories seemed to be coming back to her in chunks now, she could remember what Stefan looked like when he was younger. When he was human, before she died.
She didn't realize how much time passed when the yard got quieter. She looked over towards the house, confused. There was still music playing, and people were still outside. But, Alaric had left somewhere and her brother was gone. She guessed she would head back inside, maybe hide out in Damon's room until the party was over.
She picked up her book, and stood. She took a few steps forward when something shifted in the air, a tingle in her spine making her stop. This was familiar, something she felt when Damon would sneak up behind her or beside her.
She sighed, turning, "Damon, I told you I was-"
She stopped short when the person there wasn't Damon at all. It was dark, but she could make out that the person in front of her was a little shorter than Damon, but only a little taller than herself. He stood there in the grass, his mouth parted slightly. Green eyes locked on hers, confusion written all over his face.
"He wasn't telling a lie." he remarked, sounding astonished. Ellie remained on the spot, her brain trying to place who he was. Then it clicked, her voice soft and confused.
"Stefan? What...?"
"How are you even...?" Stefan's voice was a little forceful, "you died."
"It's a long story," Ellie said, "but, I was...resurrected, to use Damon's word for it."
Stefan took a few steps towards her, Ellie getting a good look at his face. He was her brother, her twin. He looked exactly the same as he did in her memories. Her brothers hadn't changed at all, yet they did in so many ways.
"You're human." Stefan stated after a few moments, Ellie nodding her head. Stefan backed off a bit, Ellie understanding. Damon had said that he was off the rails, and dangerous.
"You were in Tennessee..." Ellie said, wondering what he was doing back. Stefan glanced towards the busy house, then looked back at her.
"I have to go back, but I had to see for myself." he said, Ellie wasn't sure how to react to him. A part of her wanted to embrace him, but another saw him as a stranger. This was not the Stefan she knew, not at this moment.
"You should go," Ellie said after a few moments, "before Damon or Elena know you are here."
"Damon already knows that I'm here," Stefan said, "but, I should leave before Elena knows."
Ellie nodded her head stiffly, the twins maintaining eye contact for a few moments before Stefan was gone, the sound of wind signifying that he was gone.
A breath escaped from Ellie's lungs, one she didn't realize that she was holding. She pressed a hand against her face, then turned and walked towards the house. She didn't want to be outside anymore.
She walked into the busy house, brushing past Elena as she went.
"Hey, Ellie," she called, Ellie turning to look at her. She attempted to keep the distressed look off her face, but it was hard.
"Are you okay?" she asked, Ellie nodding her head.
"Have you seen Damon?" she asked, Elena glancing towards the door.
"He left to go pick up Andie." she said, Ellie remembering the news reporter that tended to spend the night with Damon every second day or so.
"Ah, okay," Ellie said, "I'm going to go lay down, tell him that I'm in his room if he wants to talk with me." she said, turning and heading back upstairs. She opened the door to Damon's room, looking around. She was grateful that nobody was in there.
She sat down on Damon's bed, her mind running over her short encounter with Stefan. She sighed, laying down on top of the covers and closed her eyes.
Maybe if she slept long enough, this night never would have happened.