Damn, ya'all. 30,000+ words. 24 chapters. Insanity. I know this story is a little unorthodox with its daily short updates, but it helps keep me honest and on track, so thanks for putting up with it, and for favoring me with your incredibly sweet reviews. Can't thank you enough for those. I'll be off Thursday so we can all fangirl over the new episode (which, about time, right?) but never fear, a new chapter will be waiting for you on Friday.
Elena chose school. The prospect of spending a day moping around the house worrying about Damon just didn't appeal, and if she really was serious about going to college next year, she probably should clock some classroom time. But more than that, school was an escape. What had once been that annoying thing she wedged in between cheerleading practice and parties was now a lifeline to normalcy. Elena was never going to be a bookworm, but it was nice to be pulled into discussions about the Constitution or mitosis instead of worrying about the life cycle of a hybrid.
"Hey stranger," Caroline said brightly. There were other benefits of coming to school. Elena shut her locker, turning toward her friend with a smile.
"Hey, Care." She pulled the blonde into a tight hug. "Missed your face."
"Oh, don't even look at my face. It's one of life's crueler jokes that vampires can still get dark circles under their eyes. How is that fair? My heart doesn't even beat, how can I have dark circles?" Caroline said, but it was all with weary good humor. Elena cast a worried look over her shoulder, but she knew that in the hustle and bustle of the hallway, Caroline's flip remarks would go unnoticed.
"Shut up. You look great, as always," Elena assured her. Sure, she did look a little pale and tired, but Elena was sure she looked far worse. No matter how bad things got, Caroline had the uncanny ability to look adorable. "How are things going, with...?"
"The sire breaking? No clue; Daddy won't let me anywhere near them anymore. Not since he got out of the hospital." She sighed as they headed for first period. "I mean, it makes sense. Tyler's nearly killed just about every member of my family now, y'know? But I still wish I could be there for him. Changing just sucks so hard for him. And he's trying. He's really serious about breaking the bond."
"He should be, after what he did to you," Elena said. It was unfair to blame Tyler, but deep down, she couldn't help but think that if he'd tried a little harder, if he'd loved Caroline a little more, he never would have bitten her, sire bond be damned. Now Klaus could just waltz into the Forbes house at any time, and Caroline was in his debt. Klaus always collected on his debts.
"Yeah, well, I think he's paid for that a couple times over now. And I'm alive and Daddy's alive, so let's just stop talking about it, okay?" Caroline said hurriedly. Was that a flush coloring Caroline's pale cheek? Couldn't be. She must just be upset that Elena was criticizing Tyler. Fair enough; Elena didn't really have the moral high ground when it came to boyfriends. "Besides, don't you want to tell me why you smell like blood?"
Elena blinked. She was good. "Oh. Um. Yeah. You should probably know. Katherine's back."
"And she bit you?" Caroline said, sounding appalled at the notion. Such a strange little vampire.
"No, no. Nothing like that; Damon would've killed her. I didn't want her to be able to impersonate me anymore, though. I just made a little cut. So everyone could tell the difference. It's on my left shoulder, just in case," Elena said. Was it wrong to tell Caroline what she hadn't told Bonnie? Maybe. Probably. But Caroline wasn't nearly as silly as everyone thought she was. And she always, always had Elena's back. She needed to know.
"Gross. Sorry that skank's back in town," Caroline said as they walked into English class, sliding into their usual seats. "Everything else okay?" she asked a little too carefully, a little too innocently.
"You mean with Damon?" Elena teased.
"Yeah. I'm not going to sit here and trash him, but you know what he did to me. He's not going to get away with that with you," Caroline said.
"He's not. I swear, he's not the same man," Elena said. "He's-" but she never got a chance to explain. Class began. Apparently, the Grapes of Wrath were growing heavy for the vintage.
The rest of the day passed in a pleasant blur of mindless classes and meaningless gossip. She hadn't gotten a text from Damon, but she tried not to let it concern her. Damon was too sneaky to have been caught, and even if he had been, he could talk his way out of any situation. Probably he just hadn't found anything and had headed off for some drinking or whatever he did all day. Nothing to worry about. He'd probably be at home. Safe and sound. He'd promised her.
Elena waved goodbye to Matt and headed across the parking lot. She drew to a halt as her car came into view. Perfect. Just what she needed. Not. Could she walk home? Yes, but it probably wasn't a great idea. Dammit, dammit, dammit. She threw her shoulders back and marched the rest of the way to the car.
"What do you want, Stefan?" she asked, jingling her keys. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could get home and make sure Damon had kept his promise.
"What? This is my school too, Elena. I have as much of a right to be here as you do," he reminded her, leaning against the hood of the car, arms crossed over his chest.
"Yeah, right. How many school administrators have you compelled to keep them believing that?" Elena retorted. It had seemed sweet at first, that Stefan would enroll in high school just to be close to her. But the ruse had worn thin, and there was no point in pretending anymore.
Stefan's shoulders shook in a silent bark of laughter. "Probably about as many as Damon has so they don't notice you're absent every other day," he said.
Elena's eyes flew open wide. "That's not—he hasn't-" she sputtered.
"Yeah, okay. I'm sure you're right; Damon would never use compulsion on innocent people," Stefan said. "But I didn't come here to fight. You know Katherine's back?"
Elena tried to shake off her surprise and anger. It didn't matter, not really. She'd thought the school was sympathetic to her string of personal tragedies, but yeah, it was likely that Damon had helped them reach that conclusion. But still, did Stefan have to slander his brother at every turn? "Yeah. Of course I know. We were her first stop once she was in town—she couldn't wait to try to turn Damon's head."
"He doesn't normally need help with that," Stefan deadpanned.
"I thought you didn't come here to fight, Stefan. If that's true, then lay off," Elena said sharply. She started to unlock her car door, but Stefan put his hand over hers, stopping her. She looked up at him, surprised at the familiar gesture.
"I knew he would get what he wanted eventually," Stefan said softly, squeezing her hand. "He always does. And I almost wanted him to, when I left town. I knew his love would keep you safe. But he might be the bigger danger for you than Klaus, Elena. Be careful with him."
Listening to that quiet, intense voice, feeling that tight grip, Elena remembered why she'd loved this boy. The boy who took everything to heart, the man who took his duty to family so seriously he'd sacrifice everything to save the brother he didn't like but whom he loved fiercely. But that man had thrown her love away when it became inconvenient. Stefan might love more deeply than anyone she'd ever met—but he didn't love her with that same terrifying depth. He never had, and he never could.
She drew her hand back. "I can handle myself, Stefan. You're the one who needs to be careful with Katherine in town."
"She's nothing," Stefan said.
"You and Damon are both liars where she's concerned. But, I've made your life easier. If you're not sure which doppelganger you're talking to, just look at the shoulder. If there's an X, it's me," Elena said.
"You—got a tattoo?" Stefan said, brows furrowing in confusion.
"Not quite. But I didn't want any more doppelganger hijinks." She moved towards the car door again. "That it?"
"Yeah." He started walk away, but stopped. "I'm glad you're okay."
Elena didn't respond. Couldn't respond. Breath caught in her throat, choking off all thought. Sitting on the driver's seat was a gleaming ring. A ring set with a strange blue stone. A ring adorned with a shining silver D.