Chapter 3:

"So, uh, Mrs. Wilson told me you had a guest over last night? Care to explain." Jenna winked at Elena while they ate breakfast, "C'mon. Mrs. Wilson said he was a cutie." Jenna's hair was tied up and her attire was wrinkled. She would be late for class again. Jenna didn't seem to care that much, though.

"He?" Jeremy set down his spoon, "A boy was here last night?" Elena hated when Jeremy acted that way. If he was rejecting their culture, why play the part of the Romani brother? If it didn't matter anymore, why did he always get so mad?

"He was looking for someone else, he thought I was his Juliet. He had the wrong address." Elena lied. She knew Jeremy was aware of the impending sacrifice but she didn't know if he knew Klaus was in town. "I'm not running away anytime soon."

"Good because your Uncle's coming to town." Jenna was hesitant when she delivered the news. Elena knew exactly what Uncle she was referring to. Uncle Benny- the eldest in the family. Elena was positive he wasn't an Uncle to her, or even Jenna but that's what they called him. Uncle Benny and Jenna didn't get along, mostly because he disowned her. Elena choked on her coffee, having to raise her hands to stop.

Uncle Benny was the matchmaker. He was the one that told you who you were going to marry if the process was taking too long. Elena knew that he wasn't coming for Jeremy because Jeremy hadn't told the family he was done yet… Uncle Benny was coming for her. "I'm getting married." Once Elena said the words out loud, she accepted them. It was Romani tradition to get married young and she had to honor tradition.

Jeremy slammed his fist down on the table, slid his chair across the floor with a screeching sound and stormed out of the house. Elena heard him say, "You're too young." Before he slammed the door.

Jenna frowned, "He's right Elena. Tell Benny you have someone in mind."

"But I don't. Jenna, it's my duty to get married and have children. I won't lie to my family because I want to delay the process." Elena sounded like a robot and not at all like herself. "This is my job."

"Marriage shouldn't be a job."

"When is he coming?"

"Tonight. You know us gypsies, we never plan." Elena noticed Jenna's slip of words- she used us instead of those and we rather than they.

Elena gasped, "Tonight? So, I have at most a month before I get married." She tried to control herself, "I really have to…" She sighed, "I really need some air." Elena slipped on a pair of shorts and a sparkly shirt her Aunt Taylor bought her for Christmas last year. Aunt Taylor was the typical Romani woman. She never believed there was a thing as too much bling, too much makeup or too much partying. She was married at 16 to another Romani man named John Richard Wilson, but everyone called him J.R.

Elena had two sections of her closet, the gypsy girl and the normal girl. At school, she was the normal girl who wore bland clothes and fit in with the typical suburban style but at home, or with her family she looked like them. Short skirts, shorter shorts (but nothing that would show too much) and tight dresses that made the cleavage and navel area extremely visible. The girls did this because they were proud of their bodies but also because they were attracting future husbands. A Romani girl had to market herself to find the perfect man. In Mystic Falls, it's extremely hard to market yourself to a .03% Romani population. Of course, she could always drive to West Virginia where the population was much higher.

Jenna walked up the stairs, "Your mother will always love you even if you didn't go down the planned path." Her figure lingered at Elena's door. "Think about that before you send out your wedding invitations."

Elena put on a pair of shoes, moved passed Jenna and walked down the stairs and out the door like Jeremy had. She needed to talk to Alaric about Klaus. She needed to clear her mind of her Uncle Benny and think about the more important situation. Apparently, after Alaric went to the dance last night he went home instead of with Jenna.

She stopped by The Grill to pick up coffee and food because there was a 70% chance he had a hangover. Elena viewed Alaric as family, not an unmarried man that she needed to keep away from. He was, in fact, married to Isobel which meant he was her stepfather. She walked into Alaric's building, smiling at the people she knew. She asked a few about their families and how they were doing as she always did. Elena felt that Alaric should move from his apartment to a place that wasn't across the street from a bar.

Her hand connected with the door, "Alaric…it's me! I know you're probably in hangover mode but I brought breakfast and coffee."

The door opened, "I like breakfast." Klaus said, "Oh sorry, I don't know where your teacher friend is." Elena went to turn away from him but Klaus pulled her into the apartment. Katherine and she cut their eyes at one another. "What did you bring?" He took a coffee from her cup holder.

"I can't be here." She didn't understand why seeing Klaus made her think of her marriage. "I really can't."

"Calm down, Elena." Katherine hissed, "It's not like you two are alone. I'm not allowed to leave the apartment."

"Be quiet." Klaus told her, which she did. Elena was flushed, her hands were clammy and she looked like she was about to pass out. "Come with me." He instructed her. The only thing that let her move her feet was the overwhelming fear of him.

"I told you last night that I can't talk to you- I don't want to talk to you. You're going to kill me!"

"And here you are at my doorstep."

"I was bringing Alaric coffee and food."

"What makes me any different from him? He's an unmarried non-Romani and you can come to his apartment early in the morning?" Elena didn't like that he was implying she wasn't as clean as she put herself out to be.

"He's my stepfather." She told him, "He was married to Isobel. I'm confident you know her."

"Oh." Elena left him standing in the hallway after his false accusation. He felt like an idiot for the first time in many years. She had a way of disarming him with the twinkle of her eyes and that bothered him.