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It seemed like such an amazing change to see. Eileen became happier, she came alive bit by bit every single day as her sister got better. When the doctors insisted on studying Marlene's recovery Eileen tore them to bits, making them cry and brought her sister home instead. She smiled easier, laughed , actually laughed and not just that bitter sound he'd heard from her before.
And with every passing day as she bloomed, she also got closer to her death. This knowledge, the sword of Damocles hanging over them had Elena and Stefan convulsing with guilt.
Meanwhile everyone else pretended nothing was wrong. Damon charmed her sister, Alaric telling them they couldn't control what choices everyone else made and Eileen...
She swung between being ecstatic around her sister and frustrated with Stefan and Elena's honest attempts to save her. It was depressing knowing that the moments when they tried to talk her out of killing herself were the lowlights of her day.
It had gotten obvious to the point where Marlene was asking about it and Eileen...she just used it for her own purposes.
"What's going on between you and the twin?" Marlene asked of her sister while the two were in her room. As Damon and he both turned to look at the closed door behind which the two were, Elena and Ric, waited impatiently to know what was being said.
"It's just...you know about her Uncle being the biological father right?"
"Ohh yeah, that was great gossip, just amazing."
"Yes well, the uncle/bio dad is a bit of a flake, doesn't stay in one place for long and he's irresponsible and well, let's just say Daddy would not like him."
"And?"
"And Elena thinks I should go with her to Mystic Falls when they leave so that I get to meet him because there's no telling when he'll be in town again."
The amazing thing was, it wasn't even a lie. Elena had said all that about John, had said that he wasn't very reliable and that he was there to sit out the drama but she didn't know where he'd be after that. She hadn't said that with the intention of convincing Eileen to come to Mystic Falls, had mentioned it in passing to Alaric really, but she had said it.
Marlene was silent but then she sighed, "Well, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know, I mean he doesn't exactly seem like a person I'd like but..."
"But?"
"But I am curious and well, meeting him would help me figure out the family medical history. If there's anything I should be on the lookout for. I really don't want to go to the hospital for anything anytime soon."
"Wow, this whole coma whole thing really messed you up huh."
"No, I'm just saying. But I obviously can't just jet off now, I mean you just woke up and-"
"You should go. It sounds like fun and you should have to take care of me."
"Marlene sweetie, it's cute that you think anyone could ever make me do something."
"Haha, you know what I mean. I feel fine honestly, you should go have fun while you still can. You get a couple of weeks off after the showcase right?"
"Yes, but-"
"So go. I mean, I almost want to go with you just to see you in a small little town out in the wilderness."
"I googled it, it's so small!" Eileen said in a horrified whisper and Marlene burst into laughter.
"Oh my God, I would pay good money to see that! You have to go, seriously, pack your bags right now and the second your showcase is done, I want you to go with them and text me every little detail."
Stefan wanted to clap. It was a stunning performance, he was truly impressed by how she'd turned it around to make it seem like Marlene had to convince her to go out to Mystic Falls. All this while she was adamant that she had to keep up her end of the deal and come to Mystic Falls to die.
"What about roses?"
"No, she hates roses," Elena and Marlene were in a flower shop trying to pick out what flowers would go into the bouquet they'd give her. It was the day of Eileen's showcase and the day they would be leaving for Mystic Falls as well.
Elena felt the churning in her stomach get worse. She was literally leading her twin sister to her death. Picking these flowers felt like picking flowers for a grave.
"What about the daffodils?" They were nice, cheery and yellow. Elena had always liked daffodils.
"She doesn't like yellow flowers. Plus daffodils are narcissus so she'll start on the whole ego thing." Marlene laughed, "My sister can be a dick sometimes."
"She's not always this serious?" Elena asked. After all, she knew practically nothing about her twin while Marlene had spent her whole life with her. Elena was jealous, plain and simple.
And she wished her parents were alive. She wanted to ask them why they didn't take Eileen too, why just her. Did they not know about her? She liked to think so, because if they knew and still chose to take just Elena then it just brought up more questions. John hadn't known, finding out about the other daughter he had and never met had had him spiralling into something that seemed like depression but acted like alcoholism.
Everything was just spinning out of control.
"She is pretty serious but that's kind of the fun of it. Sometimes she'll say the most ridiculous things just to mess with them and people have no clue if she's being serious or not. You have not lived until you see people just floundering for days trying to figure out if she complimented them or called them the worst thing to ever exist, it is hilarious," Marlene giggled as if remembering something and Elena sighed. She wished she had such nice memories of Eileen too. Her twin didn't really seem to like her much. She didn't dislike her either but honestly Elena could deal with that. The apathy was not something she was used to. "It takes her time to warm up to people. It takes her years of knowing them to call people friends."
"Wow!" Elena and Bonnie had become best friends on their first play date when Bonnie gave her the zebra cracker because Elena had said it was her favourite animal.
"Yes, which is why if you cause my baby sister any emotional harm or pain whatsoever, I will bury your body alive in the woods of your precious little town and burn down every single thing you hold dear." Elena looked up from the pink tulips she was looking at and found Marlene smiling serene and pretty at some orange blossoms. As if she felt the eyes upon her Marlene looked up and met Elena's eyes and her smile deepened, eyes turning crescent shaped in glee.
Elena had received many, many threats in the last few months, from vampires and witches and werewolves.
None of them had terrified her as much as this one did.
This was it, her moment of triumph. When the audience, unseen for the glare of spotlights, would live solely through her. She was nameless, faceless, voiceless, she was only the vessel. The girl that was Eileen was gone and in her the story lived.
When she paused, they held their breath. When she leaped, they flew. When she turned, their world twisted. When she adored, they fell in love. When she broke, they grieved.
But then the spell broke. The lights dimmed, the shoes came off, the story reached its end and she was Eileen Henri again.
And whether it was disappointment or excitement she felt in her gut she didn't quite know.
They'd said their goodbyes, kept them brief and sweet. After all, as far as Marlene knew Eileen would be back home in a few weeks. It was just a little trip, a bit of fun. Her sister had squished her cheeks, talked about little babies growing up and then listed all the mad things she'd done on her spring breaks before making Eileen promise not to do them. Then they were on the road.
The two vampires made the journey easy. They didn't need to sleep so they drove all night with the humans packed into the back seat, Elena on one side of her, Mr Saltzman on the other. Her twin had fallen asleep an hour into the trip and Mr Saltzman had watched with no little amusement as Eileen tried to shift Elena's head from where it was lolling onto her shoulder without waking the girl up. Apart from a couple of school trips she'd never really been out of the city so Eileen kept her eyes peeled, watching the road and the scenery pass them by.
It wasn't nearly as interesting as the movies made it seem.
They passed a sign that read "Mystic Falls" and Eileen's phone chirped, a sound that woke Elena up.
'Welcome to what will be your resting place, my dearest doppelgänger
-Klaus'
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