Elena was at her locker at school getting her things ready for the day. Moments later, she heard footsteps approach her, followed by her friend's voice.

"Elena!"

Elena turned around to see Caroline. "Hey, Care."

"How's the moving going?" Caroline asked.

Elena had told her friends that the reason they couldn't come by the house this week was because they were in the process of moving to the mansion. It wasn't a complete lie. Elijah and Klaus had told them that they would start packing. It was still more deceptive than Elena liked, but it couldn't be helped. If they knew Elijah and Klaus were preoccupied, Elena knew that at least Bonnie and Damon would take advantage of it. "It's going okay. It's just a really slow process. When it's finished, we'll be back to living in Mystic Falls though."

"Good. So, Tyler is throwing a party at his house tonight. His mom's going to be out of town. What are the chances that you can come?" Caroline asked.

"Zero," Elena said bluntly. Even if Elijah were around for her to ask, and even if he wouldn't be worried that her friends might try something, she still didn't believe he'd give her permission to attend a party with no supervision, and which would certainly contain alcohol and possibly drugs.

"Come on, Elena. We haven't been able to hang out without an original hovering over you in over a month," Caroline whined.

"That's because they think someone will try something, and they're not wrong. Bonnie, for one, definitely would," Elena said.

"Yeah, I've tried talking to her about that," Caroline said. At first, she was on board with Bonnie's determination to rescue Elena and Jeremy from the originals, but Elena and Jeremy actually seemed to be doing well. She hadn't seen Elena this happy since at least before Jenna died, maybe even since her parents died. "What if we invited Rebekah?"

Elena chuckled. "You must be desperate for me to go if you'd willingly have Rebekah there. I don't know. I still don't think Elijah would agree."

"Does he have to know where you're going? I mean, my mom wouldn't agree either. That's why I told her I'm spending the night at Bonnie's," Caroline told her.

Elena burst out laughing. "You want me to lie to Elijah? Caroline, I don't know if anyone has ever successfully lied to Elijah. He just might be a vampire lie detector." Of course, Elijah wasn't there for her to lie to, and she could probably get Rebekah to agree. Elijah and Klaus didn't necessarily need to find out. However, it was a gamble, and she wasn't sure she wanted to start breaking huge rules just yet.

"You could tell him that you'll just be hanging out at a friend's house. That won't even be a lie," Caroline reasoned.

Elena sighed. "Alright, let me talk to Rebekah about it."

"Great!" Caroline squealed before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Elena didn't really have a chance to speak to Rebekah until lunchtime. She had quite a few classes together, but needless to say, they were always busy with classes.

"So, I've heard that the Lockwood boy is throwing a party tonight," Rebekah said.

"Yeah, Caroline told me about it this morning. She wants me to go. I told her it was impossible, but she suggested it might be doable if you came," Elena said.

"If Elijah found out, he'd be furious. Let's do it," Rebekah said with a smirk.

Elena chuckled. "You're really pissed at Elijah for not letting you go with him and Klaus, aren't you?"

"Well, there's certainly that, but I also like breaking rules. Besides, he'll only find out if one of us tells him," Rebekah reasoned.

Elena was still hesitant. She got the feeling that if Elijah wanted to know something, he would find out. However, she would like a night out with her friends.

Jeremy soon made his way over. "Hey. You guys hear that Tyler's having a party?"

"Yes, we were just discussing it. I suppose you want to go as well," Rebekah surmised.

"It would be first time we've been out of the house for a while, aside from school. Come on, Rebekah. You can come too. I know you like to party," Jeremy said.

Rebekah laughed. "You don't have to convince me. We were just discussing it. In fact, I think it's your sister that needs the convincing."

Jeremy turned to Elena. "Come on, Elena. Nothing's going to happen, and Elijah and Klaus don't even have to find out."

Elena snorted. "Yeah, famous last words. Fine. Caroline probably won't stop hounding me until I agree, and I guess we had to break the rules anyway."

"Awesome!" Jeremy said before he sat down and started eating his lunch.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Elena, Jeremy, and Rebekah arrived at Tyler's at around eight. Jeremy went off to find the boys while Elena and Rebekah went in search of Caroline and Bonnie.

"Elena!" Caroline exclaimed, beckoning the two of them over.

"Hey, Care, Bonnie," Elena said as she made her way over.

"Rebekah," Caroline greeted civilly.

"Caroline, Bonnie," she said back.

Bonnie merely grunting in greeting.

"I'll find us some drinks," Rebekah said before leaving Elena with her two friends.

"How are you doing? Is everything going okay?" Bonnie asked.

Elena sighed. "Bonnie, you've gotta stop asking me that every time you see me. We're fine. Things are going well. We're adjusting. In fact, I don't even remember the last time I felt this safe. Things could be going better if you and Damon would stop trying to 'save' us."

"Elena, you can't expect us to just do nothing while you live with a bunch of murderers. They're dangerous," Bonnie said.

Elena chuckled. "Bonnie, this whole town is dangerous. It's riddled with vampires, werewolves, and witches. The boyfriend I thought I could trust kidnapped me as some sort of bait. I've been in danger for over a year. This is the first time I don't feel like I'm in danger. It's also the first time I haven't had to worry about anything other than being a senior in high school. Jeremy's probably off getting drunk with Tyler and Matt, and for the first time, I don't feel like I have to stop him. I no longer feel like it's my job to parent him."

"You trust the originals with Jeremy?" Bonnie asked in surprise.

"Yeah. They've treated him no different than they treat me," Elena said.

"Okay, can we put all of this aside. We're supposed to be having fun," Caroline said.

"Yes, I agree with Caroline for once," Rebekah said as she came back with two cups. She gave one to Elena.

"Thanks," Elena said before taking a sip. It was beer. Yes, it was definitely breaking Elijah's rules, but since she was sure she'd done that just by coming, she figured she might as well go all in.

"So, what did you end up telling Elijah?" Caroline wondered.

"Nothing," Rebekah answered. "He and Nik are setting up at the new house. They won't be home for hours. We just have to make sure we're back before then."

"What if they come back early?" Caroline wondered. She'd been down the road of setting up alibies with parents many times. She knew that contingencies had to be in place.

"Then I'll tell them we decided to get a late dinner," Rebekah said.

"You know, Rebekah, you're not so bad when you're on our side," Caroline said with a smile.

Rebekah smiled back in response. "I suppose the same could be said for you."

The four of them sat on Tyler's patio just talking and drinking for about a while Elena felt herself loosen up quite a bit. It had been a while since she could just enjoy a night out with her friends without some sort of supernatural danger being involved. It was nice. It felt like her life was finding a new normal.

Soon, they all heard a loud crash from inside. They all immediately stood up.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Rebekah asked.

Matt soon made his way outside from the patio entrance. "Hey, you guys might want to get in here. Tyler and Jeremy just got into a brawl with a couple of guys."

"Bloody hell," Rebekah fumed before leading the way inside. Elena was right behind her, followed by the others. They followed the scuffle to the living room, where five guys were beating the hell out of each other.

With ease, Rebekah picked each of them up and carelessly tossed them aside. Well, except with Jeremy, of course. Him, she took by the arm and got him onto the couch gently. Once the fight was properly broken up, she turned to the three boys that she didn't recognize. "Leave!"

The three boys immediately made a hasty exit.

Rebekah turned her glare to Tyler Lockwood. "What were you thinking? You're a bloody hybrid! You could've killed someone!"

"What do you care? You've killed many people," Tyler said. Granted, he knew it probably wasn't his best move, but Rebekah shouldn't care if he accidently killed someone.

"Because Jeremy was in the fight too, you idiot! You could've killed him. And let me assure you, if you had, you would not have lived much longer," Rebekah told him. Nik and Elijah wouldn't have even had the chance to kill him. She would've done it herself.

"Tyler, she's right! You getting into a fight is dangerous now. You could've really hurt someone," Caroline said.

"I know. Look, I'm drunk, and a little high. I wasn't thinking clearly. One of them said something stupid, and I got pissed," Tyler said.

Elena turned to her brother. "And you felt the need to get involved, I take it."

"I was backing up Tyler. There were three of them, so I figured I'd even out the fight a little. I'm fine," Jeremy assured his sister.

"Jeremy, love, you are not fine. You only think you're fine because Elijah hasn't gotten ahold of you yet," Rebekah said. There was no way they'd be able to hide their activities now that Jeremy had been in a fight. Elijah would find out, and he would be livid with all three of them.

"Come on, he doesn't have to find out. What's changed from an hour ago?" Jeremy asked.

"Your face, Jer," Elena said before handing him a hand mirror from the table.

"Oh, crap," Jeremy swore under his breath as he got a look at his face. The adrenaline was still pumping, so he didn't feel it yet, but a bruise under his left eye was starting to form and he had busted lip.

"And the bruising and swelling hasn't even fully set in yet. We're screwed," Elena said.

"Rebekah could heal me," Jeremy said.

"No, I couldn't. If I gave you my blood, all it would take is for you to slip and crack your skull open, and you would be a vampire. Then Elijah and Nik would kill me," Rebekah said. She would heal him if it was an emergency, but not for some bruises. If anything happened, her brothers would both kill her, and Nik would probably dagger her once they were done.

"What about makeup. Elena, you did that the first time you got into a fight. You used makeup to cover it up," Jeremy said.

"And if you remember correctly, I also got grounded for three weeks because Mom figured it out," Elena said.

"Yeah, but it was your first time. This would be different," Jeremy said.

"You're right, it would be different. Mom was human. Elijah's an original vampire, and also Elijah. He'd figure it out in moments," Elena said.

"Alright, we can figure this out later. We should head home. Jeremy needs some ice for his face," Rebekah said.

Elena nodded. The three of them said their goodbyes and somberly left the Lockwood mansion.