The sun had barely began to fully rise into the sky of Mystic Falls at exactly seven fifteen in the morning before the two younger Gilbert siblings showed up at the local hospital and dragged their oldest sister and aunt from the recovery wing with their blonde accomplice, Matt Donovan.

Emily's head was currently leaned against the cold glass window of Jenna's car as her twin sister drove them to the Gilbert house. She was still exhausted from sleeping in an uncomfortable chair all night. Emily's green eyes sleepily fluttered shut as she decided to get a little bit of rest before they reached their house. But unluckily for the brunette girl, she only closed her eyes for about three seconds before her brother began to shake her awake as they had reached their destination.

Emily groaned and yawned simultaneously as she stretched her sore body before she sluggishly got out of the black car and jogged as fast as her tired legs would move to the front door of the Gilbert house. She quickly unlocked the door and pushed it all the way open, so they could get Jenna inside without causing her body anymore harm than it had already experienced in the last twenty-four hours.

"Watch it!" Emily scolded her brother and friend as she noticed how close they were to bumping Jenna against the wall as they helped the strawberry blonde through the entrance. She didn't want her aunt to be in anymore pain when it was already the three sibling's fault that the older vampire went after Jenna.

Jenna looked up at her oldest niece, instead of watching her feet like she had been doing to make sure she didn't trip, before she told Emily with a small chuckle, "I'm fine. You don't have to keep worrying about me."

Emily stepped in line with her aunt as she took her brother's place and helped out Jenna like Matt was doing as she held the sore strawberry blonde's other arm. She squeezed Jenna's arm gently before she stated, "I'm not going to stop worrying until you can at least run a mile down the block."

Jenna rolled her hazel eyes and muttered, "I haven't ran a mile in years."

Emily looked over at her aunt with a smirk as she concluded, "well then it looks like I'm not going to stop worrying about you."

Jenna bumped her arm that her niece was currently holding into Emily's side with all the energy she had and mumbled under her breath, "you are a pain in my ass, Gilbert."

Emily kissed the side of her aunt's head as she stated with an arrogant smile, "I love you too, Jennie."

The vampire Gilbert silently watched the exchange between Emily and her aunt with furrowed brows. She was still worried about Jenna like her sister, but was showing her concern more openly. "The doctors said that you have to take it easy," Elena reminded her aunt for the second time since they left the hospital.

"Yeah," Jeremy exclaimed once he joined his family and the blonde quarterback in the living room after he had closed the front door. A playful smirk rose on his lips as he joked, "you don't want to rip your stitches, hemorrhage and die, right?"

Emily swiftly twirled her head around and glared at her brother as she deadpanned, "not funny, Jer."

Jenna rolled her eyes at her nephew before she mumbled as her cheeks turned a bright red color, "the only thing I'm gonna die from is embarrassment."

"No," Matt uttered softly as he tried to ease the strawberry blonde's mind.

Jenna turned her head to the left and looked at the Donovan boy as she explained her embarrassing accident, "I walked into a knife." She shook her head and huffed, "I mean, how does someone even do that?"

Emily glanced over at her siblings at her aunt's question and noticed they were looking at her with identical worried expressions. Emily didn't want her aunt to ask anymore questions about the event, so she decided to be the one to speak up to help lessen Jenna's confusion and embarrassment. She gave her aunt a gentle smile before she stated, "I fall at least five times a day, so you shouldn't worry about it too much, Jennie." Emily knew her aunt just wanted to understand what happened to her, but the Gilbert siblings couldn't have Jenna finding out about the supernatural world. It would just put her in even more danger.

"It was a freak accident," Elena finally told her aunt as she realized what her twin sister was trying to do. Elena knew they needed to convince Jenna that it really was an accident and not because of her evil doppelganger.

"Yeah, it happens," Jeremy added to his sister's remarks as he shrugged his shoulders.

Matt nodded his head as he agreed with the three Gilbert siblings even though he was completely clueless to the truth they were hiding. "Yeah, I mean, I've done it like twenty times at the Grill," he told the strawberry blonde.

Jenna snorted as she laughed at Matt but quickly grabbed onto her sore wound with a small but painful groan. She took a deep breath to ease the pain on her tender stomach before she muttered, "liar."

Matt gave the older woman a small chuckle as he confessed, "yeah, okay. I was just being nice." The blonde teenager silently pulled Jenna to a stop once they reached the leather couch before he slowly began to lower her down as easily as he could.

Emily quickly grabbed the pillows from the couch and moved them out of the way once she noticed what her blonde friend was doing. "Easy!" She reminded Matt when she heard her aunt starting to whine in discomfort.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Jenna scolded her oldest niece as she tried to push the brunette's hands away from the pillows and the small blanket that was surrounding her.

Emily ignored her aunt as she continued to move the pillows around before she placed a large one between Jenna's body and the couch so she could be more relaxed. The green eyed girl stood up straight once she was finished and looked down at her aunt with her brows furrowed in worry before she questioned softly, "do you need anything? Food? Water? Tea?" Emily threw her aunt a smirk as she added her last suggestion, "maybe some wine?"

"Hey!" Elena yelped as she slapped Emily's right shoulder. "She can't have any alcohol right now!" She reprimanded her twin sister with a deep frown.

Emily turned around and held her hands up as she looked at her sister innocently. "I was only joking," she told Elena before she turned back to her aunt and wondered, "so, what will it be?" She rolled her eyes playfully before she added, "minus the wine."

Jenna chuckled lightly while her hazel eyes shined in amusement as she looked between the Gilbert twins. She always loved to watch the banter between the two sisters. Jenna moved her eyes back to her oldest niece as she finally answered, "I could really go for a sandwich right now."

Emily gave her aunt a soft smile and stated, "of course." She bent down and kissed the top of Jenna's head before she informed her aunt, "one delicious sandwich coming right up."

Emily took the white bag from the blonde teenager's awaiting hand and linked her unoccupied arm with her twin sister's before they made the short walk into the kitchen. Emily handed Elena the take out bag silently before she grabbed five small plates from the top cabinet by the sink.

The two sisters then began to work in unison as they placed lettuce, turkey, cheese, and tomatoes on slices of french bread that they had picked up from the market. However, before they could finish making the sandwiches, their brother suddenly came charging into the kitchen like a man on a mission.

Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest as he paced through the small space between the large refrigerator and the kitchen island. "So, what are we going to do?" He interrogated his two sisters once he calmed himself down enough to even speak.

Emily looked up from the sandwich she was currently working on and rose an eyebrow at her brother as she uttered, "I thought it was obvious? We're fixing something to eat."

Jeremy swiftly stopped his pacing and faced his two sisters as he corrected the green eyed girl, "no, I mean about Katherine."

Emily heaved out a sigh as she knew this conversation was going to come up sooner or later. She had been thinking about what they were going to do while Jenna slept last night but couldn't come up with an idea. "Honestly, Jer, I'm not sure," Emily told her brother. She didn't know what they were supposed to do when Katherine is much older and stronger than the vampires they are associated with.

Elena instantly looked up from the sandwich she was working on once she heard her sister's answer and stated, "we have to do something."

Emily ran her hand through her messy brown hair as she mumbled, "I know, guys. I know." Despite how friendly Katherine has always been with her, Emily couldn't let her doppelganger's sister get away with hurting Jenna. She would always put her family first before anyone else. The green eyed girl took a deep breath before she suggested to her siblings, "look, maybe you guys should go see what the Salvatore's are going to do." She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "God knows Damon is already planning something evil."

Jeremy's brown eyes widened in shock before he wondered carefully, "so, you agree with us? That Katherine needs to pay for this?"

Emily glanced between her brother and sister for a moment before she finally nodded her head. "Well, yeah," she muttered like it was obvious before she added seriously, "no one gets away with hurting our family." That was one thing Emily could never stand for. She would rather die than let anyone hurt her loved ones.

Jeremy gave Emily a large grin and commented, "good." He glanced over to his other sister as he continued, "I'm glad we're all on the same page."

Emily bit down on her bottom lip before she interrupted her brother's obvious excitement, "uh, actually, Jer. I think that Elena should be the only one going to the Salvatore's."

Jeremy's grin instantly turned upside down into a frown as he realized what Emily was saying. He narrowed his brown eyes as he complained in a growl, "why should I have to stay here when I could be helping?"

"Jer," Emily spoke softly, "since Elena's a vampire now, I don't have to worry too much about her. However, you are still very human." She shook her head and stated, "it's just not safe for you to go running into this, especially when it has to do with Katherine."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and grumbled, "you can't protect me from the supernatural world. I've been involved in this from the beginning, so stop treating me like a baby," before he stormed out of the kitchen along with the sound of the front door slamming behind him.

"Hey," Elena began as her gentle brown eyes connected with Emily's worried green ones. "I'll make sure he doesn't get into anything dangerous," she promised. Elena squeezed her sister's hand and consoled her, "he'll be safe with me," before she quickly jogged out of the room to catch up with her brother, so she could keep her promise.

Emily sighed heavily as she watched her sister rush out of the kitchen to find Jeremy. She was worried about her brother. Emily didn't want him to do anything stupid and end up getting hurt. But she trusted that Elena would protect him like she would.

Emily closed her eyes for a moment as she calmed herself down before she grabbed three of the five plates for the remaining people in the house as she decided to focus on keeping her aunt safe and healthy for the time being.


The vampire Gilbert ran outside of the house as she didn't plan on breaking her promise to her sister. However, as soon as Elena stepped foot on the porch, she barely caught the back of Jenna's black car as it rounded the corner with her brother inside. Elena breathed out a sigh before she pulled her cell phone out and decided to give the Salvatore's a heads up as she waited for Jeremy to get far away enough that they would end up arriving at the boarding house at the same time.

ELENA : Jer and I are on our way over. What are we going to do about Katherine?

Elena pressed SEND on her cell phone before she slowly began to walk down the road as she silently waited for Damon's reply. But to Elena's surprise, she only had to take about three small steps before she heard the familiar tone that notified her to a text message.

DAMON : WE R KILLING THE BITCH ;)

Elena playfully rolled her eyes and chuckled lightly at Damon's answer. She had heard that exact excitement from the blue eyed vampire early this morning when she had went to the boarding house before picking up her sister and aunt from the hospital. Elena quickly slipped her cell phone back into the pocket of her jeans once she realized she gave her brother enough time before she took off with her newly found vampire speed.

It only took the vampire Gilbert about three minutes of running before the two siblings reached the Salvatore boarding house at the same time like she planned. Elena didn't bother saying anything to Jeremy, even though she wanted to, once her brother looked at her as she knew he would just get angry if he knew that she was babysitting him. Instead, Elena just walked silently next to her brother as they moved towards the boarding house.

However, as the two Gilberts silently walked up the long driveway, Elena took notice that there was someone standing in front of the entrance. "Bonnie!" The vampire Gilbert called out after she realized the figure that was knocking on the large wooden door was her best friend. "What are you doing here?" Elena questioned with furrowed brows once she and Jeremy were only a few feet away from the Bennett witch.

Bonnie looked over her shoulder once she heard someone speaking from behind her and saw the two younger Gilbert siblings. She gave them a small greeting smile but turned back around when she caught the sound of the front door squeaking as it opened. Bonnie crossed over the threshold and waited until Elena and Jeremy were standing beside her before she finally answered, "Stefan called me."

"Hey!" The aforementioned vampire exclaimed once he saw the person he was waiting for. Stefan then moved his eyes to the side and gave the two Gilbert siblings a small nod as he already knew they were coming over, courtesy of his brother texting Elena. He understood completely why they wanted to be involved in this since Katherine harmed their aunt. Stefan was just glad Emily wasn't involved in their plan. He wanted her to be as far away as possible from Katherine when it all took place.

Stefan looked back to Bonnie as he focused on the task at hand and instantly spotted the book she was holding. He sighed in relief and praised, "you brought the grimoire, thank you."

Bonnie barely heard the words coming out of the vampire's mouth as her eyes roamed around the boarding house in array of confusion. She watched Elena run into Damon's awaiting arms before her eyes moved over to Caroline, Jeremy, and Alaric, who were grabbing weapons from a large table that was full of them. Bonnie swiftly twirled her head back around and stared at Stefan with her brows furrowed as she questioned nervously, "what's going on?"

Damon threw his arm over Elena's shoulder before he looked over at the Bennett witch and called out loudly with his signature smirk as he answered before his brother could, "we're gonna kill Katherine."

Stefan quickly raised his hands up as soon as he saw Bonnie's brown eyes widened before he quickly uttered apologetically, "I can explain."

"Please," Bonnie begged as she was beyond confused at what was happening right now.

Stefan lifted his eyes towards the ceiling like he was in deep thought before he looked back at the Bennett witch and repeated exactly what his brother had said word for word, "we're gonna kill Katherine," and added, "tonight, at the Masquerade Ball."

Bonnie shook her head in disbelief before she focused back onto the living room, where the three vampires and two humans were now all looking at the wooden weapons. The Bennett witch understood why they would want to kill Katherine, thanks to Stefan explaining what happened last night over the phone, but she was worried about the casualties that would be involved. Bonnie looked over at Stefan as she decided to voice her concerns as she whispered, "can we talk? In private?"

Stefan furrowed his brows as he stared at Bonnie before he finally nodded his head, "yeah, of course." He took one last look at the vampires and humans in the living room before he walked away with Bonnie into a small parlor room. "What's wrong?" Stefan questioned once he closed the door behind them.

The Bennett witch sighed before she quietly placed her Grams' grimoire onto an old wooden table. "Look, I know you want to do this to protect Emily and that you love her," Bonnie began before she instantly held her hand up when she noticed Stefan was about to open his mouth. "Don't even think about disagreeing with me," Bonnie commanded before she added, "we all know it's true." She chuckled in disbelief before she continued, "I mean, you don't even care that Damon and Elena are all over each other."

Stefan sighed in defeat as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, okay," he mumbled before he confessed, "it's true. Elena and I agreed to end it a couple of days ago. She wasn't in love with me anymore and I guess I just fell out of love with her." Stefan's eyes quickly widened before he pleaded, "but you can't tell Emily about this! Elena nor I have told her yet." Stefan shook his head and uttered, "I just haven't had the time to tell her with everything happening lately."

Bonnie nodded her head in understanding before she stated with a gentle smile, "you should tell her soon. I can tell there's something between you two." She chuckled as she added, "I'm pretty sure everyone knows except her."

Stefan rubbed the back of his neck as he mumbled, "yeah, that might be my fault." The vampire quickly continued when he saw Bonnie's shocked expression, "it was when Isobel was in town and I couldn't be selfish when I was still involved with Elena!"

"Stefan," Bonnie uttered in disappointment, "you definitely need to tell her the truth." She pointed her finger at the green eyed vampire and stated, "she deserves to know." Bonnie shook her head before she told Stefan, "despite being compelled, I can still see she has feelings for you, so please tell her as soon as possible."

Stefan sighed and nodded his head as he listened to Bonnie. He always felt guilty about compelling Emily all that time ago. He knew he should have told Emily the moment he and Elena broke up, but Stefan was afraid. He was afraid that Emily wouldn't see him in that way anymore and he just didn't want to lose her from his life. However, with Bonnie mentioning that she can see that Emily feels something for him, it made Stefan believe that he may still have a chance.

Stefan shook his head and stated, "it's just not the right time right now. We have to focus on killing Katherine." He couldn't get distracted with his feelings for the oldest Gilbert when they had a plan that needed to be finished.

"You better tell her soon," Bonnie told the vampire once again before she questioned as they both got back on topic, "are you sure this is the right thing to do?" She sighed before she muttered, "a lot of people could get hurt."

"What Katherine did to Jenna," Stefan mentioned before he stated, "it crossed a line." He looked into Bonnie's brown eyes as he declared, "she has to be stopped before it happens again."

Bonnie shook her head and mumbled with uncertainty, "I don't know, Stefan."

"Look, Katherine knows me, right?" Stefan questioned as he tried to convince the Bennett witch to help them. "She knows that I'm not gonna try something in a crowd full of innocent people," he explained, "so, that gives me an edge. I could catch her by surprise."

Bonnie bit down on her bottom lip as she thought everything over for a moment before she suggested, "I could do a spell to trap her." She snapped her fingers as she completed her idea, "like the tomb spell."

Stefan nodded his head in agreement and muttered, "right." He stared into Bonnie's brown eyes as he added, "we can isolate her - away from the others." Stefan could still see the conflicted emotions on the witch's face so he begged once more, "please, Bonnie."

Bonnie stayed quiet as she tried to make sure this was the right thing to do. She knew there was a lot of things that could go wrong. But on the other hand, they needed to stop Katherine from hurting anyone else. "Okay," Bonnie finally mumbled as she nodded her head. She knew if Mystic Falls was to ever be safe again, then she needed to help them trap Katherine and get rid of her once and for all.


The three red used plates quietly clinked against the porcelain sink as Emily carefully slipped them into the soapy water after a couple of hours of chatting along with her aunt and blonde friend. The green eyed girl wiped her wet hands off on a small tea towel before she turned around and leaned against the counter, where she noticed her blonde friend putting on his Mystic Falls Timberwolves varsity jacket.

Emily folded her arms over her chest and twitched her head to the side as she wondered, "you leaving already?" She gave the blonde a smirk as she informed him, "Ric is probably going to show up with some pizza for the basketball game soon."

Matt chuckled lightly before he nodded his head and stated, "I would love to stay here and stuff my face with pizza all night, but sadly I have to get ready for the Masquerade party." He rose an eyebrow at the brunette girl as he suddenly remembered, "aren't you like in charge of that thing? Shouldn't you be there already freaking out about everything going perfectly?"

Emily's green eyes widened as she gasped before she slapped Matt's shoulder and mumbled, "I don't freak out."

Matt rolled his eyes and uttered sarcastically, "oh, yeah. You're right. My mistake. I guess I was seeing things when I thought I saw you yell at Elena for accidentally dropping a plate at last year's Masquerade Ball."

"It was a China plate, Matthew!" Emily exclaimed before she took a deep breath and shook her head once she heard the blonde teenager laughing at her outburst. She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "whatever," before she pushed Matt towards the front door. "Besides," Emily began as they walked through the living room, "I called Mrs. Lockwood earlier and explained what happened to Jenna and told her I wouldn't be able to help out before the event started." The Gilbert girl glanced over at the small clock above the staircase as she added, "I just have to leave in about an hour or so."

Matt opened the front door before he turned to face the brunette girl with a smirk as he stated, "well, don't let me hold you back, Ms. Perfect."

Emily rolled her eyes and ordered, "go get dressed in your lovely suit, Matty." The green eyed girl knew that the blonde despised having to wear suits and ties ever since they were children, so she always loved to tease him about it.

"Ugh," Matt groaned before he pleaded, "don't remind me. I hate those stupid monkey suits."

"Oh, don't be such a baby," Emily laughed before she gave the blonde teenager one last smile and stated, "I'll see you tonight," before she watched Matt walk to his pick-up truck, wave, and then drive away towards the Donovan house.

Emily closed the front door behind her once she couldn't see the blue pick-up truck anymore before she called out to her aunt, "Jennie? What movie should we watch before I have to leave?" However, when the Gilbert girl didn't receive a response from the strawberry blonde, Emily quickly jogged into the living room in worry but instantly sighed in relief once she noticed Jenna had just fallen asleep and that nothing was wrong.

Emily grabbed the small blanket that was thrown on the back of the leather couch before she softly placed it over Jenna's body. The brunette girl then bent down and kissed the top of her aunt's head before she headed to the kitchen to wash the dirty dishes. Emily knew she still had time, so she decided to waste a couple of minutes before she had to start getting ready for the Masquerade Ball.

Emily had barely turned on the hot water before she suddenly heard the familiar tone of her cell phone ringing. The Gilbert girl sighed as she turned the water back off before she quickly grabbed her device from the kitchen table. Emily glanced down at the screen and noticed it was the youngest Salvatore that was calling her. "Hey, Stef," she greeted the vampire.

"Hey, Emmie," Stefan's soft voice spoke through the phone before he questioned gently, "how are you feeling? I know Mason was a big part of your life." The vampire was worried about the human girl since he hasn't had a single chance to even check up on her with everything going on.

Emily carefully took a seat at the kitchen table at the mention of the deceased werewolf. She had forgotten about the horrible event thanks to what Katherine made her aunt do. Emily heaved out a sigh before she confessed truthfully, "it's tough, you know. But Lena talked me through it and helped me understand that I can't just stop living because I'm mourning. I just have to keep moving forward." Emily chuckled wholeheartedly as she added, "besides, I have my family, my friends, and I have you. So, I'll be just fine."

"I'm glad," Stefan smiled through the phone. He couldn't help but feel love in his chest as the human girl singled him out. Maybe Bonnie's right, Stefan thought. Could it be possible for Emily to feel something for him, despite Stefan compelling her to not believe what Isobel had said about him being in love with her?

"I'm really sorry I didn't come by last night to check up on you, but with what Katherine did..." Stefan quickly apologized before he trailed off as he didn't want to mention the compelling done by his ex-girlfriend and upset the Gilbert girl.

"Yeah, I know," Emily muttered with a frown as she traced a small pattern on the kitchen table. "Speaking of her, did you guys come up with a way to deal with Katherine?" She questioned before she informed the brunette vampire, "I know Lena and Jer headed over to the boarding house earlier to see if you and Damon had anything planned."

"Yeah, they showed up," Stefan told the Gilbert girl. The vampire then grew silent as he thought about if he should tell Emily everything that was said at the boarding house between the vampires, humans, and the Bennett witch. He finally decided to tell her the plan as he didn't want to take the chance of Emily getting hurt. He would rather her know the truth than to be clueless. "We're planning on, uh, dealing with Katherine tonight at the ball," Stefan explained.

Emily rose an eyebrow at the vampire's explanation. "Is that code for killing her?" She wondered.

Stefan scratched the back of his neck in worry for the human's reaction as he didn't really understand Emily and Katherine's relationship. He noticed a while back that Katherine was always kind to the human girl. "Uh... yes," Stefan finally responded awkwardly.

Emily stayed silent for a moment before she mumbled, "I figured that was going to happen." She didn't really like the plan per se since Katherine has helped her understand her doppelganger, but Emily knew the town wasn't safe with her in it. "But are you sure it's a good idea to do it with every resident of Mystic Falls in attendance?" Emily questioned as she grew worried about dealing with Katherine in a very crowded place.

"It's our best option," Stefan answered before he explained to the brunette like he did to the Bennett witch, "Katherine won't think twice that we would do something to her in a public place. It'll throw her off her game."

Emily shrugged her shoulders lightly as she commented, "that's probably a good idea." She had to agree with the way they were going about it. They needed to catch Katherine off guard if they were going to succeed in dealing with the older vampire. Emily just hoped that no human would end up getting hurt.

"That is one of the reasons why I called you," Stefan began before he told the Gilbert girl, "I just wanted to warn you to stay away from the Lockwood's tonight. I don't want you anywhere near the plan or Katherine."

Emily bit down on her bottom lip and sighed before she uttered, "well, uh, that's going to be a problem."

"Why?" Stefan quickly interrogated as his brows instantly furrowed in worry.

"I have to be there, Stef," Emily stated before she explained, "I'm basically running the event with Mrs. Lockwood." There was no way she could not go to the Masquerade Ball. She was the small town's darling child after all. It would look like something was up if she wasn't at one of the most important events.

"Dammit," Stefan mumbled roughly, "I forgot." The green eyed vampire sighed before he compromised, "okay, okay. Just promise me you will stay away from Katherine and if she does find you, then I need you to look for me, Damon, Elena, or Caroline right away."

"I promise," Emily uttered before she added with a small shrug, "I'm mostly going to be busy with the event anyways, so I should be fine."

Stefan still didn't like the idea of Emily going to the Lockwood's even though there would be four vampires there that would be able to protect her. "Do you really have to go?" He questioned anxiously.

Emily chuckled lightly at the worried vampire before she told him, "I'll be fine, Stef." The Gilbert girl wasn't all that scared about going to the Masquerade Ball. Katherine had never laid a single finger on her, so why should she be frightened that the vampire would harm her now?

"Yeah, okay," Stefan mumbled in defeat as he knew there was no way to convince Emily to stay home. "But I'm going to keep a close eye on you until we know where Katherine is," he told the brunette girl before he expressed softly, "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"Stefan, I will be fine," Emily told the vampire once more. "Now stop worrying about me and focus on the plan," she commanded with a giggle.

"I'm always going to worry about you," Stefan whispered gently to the human girl before he stated, "but I'm going to let you go now. I'm taking your advice and going to focus as I know you need to get ready."

Emily chuckled lightly and uttered, "good. I'll see you soon, Mr. Salvatore," before she ended the call. The Gilbert girl sat there for a moment as a bright smile shined on her face without her knowledge. Emily couldn't help but feel happiness in the pit of her stomach at how worried Stefan was about her. However, before she could look too deep into her newly found feelings for the brunette vampire - who happens to be her sister's boyfriend, Emily quickly shook her head and stood up from the kitchen table as she knew she had to start getting ready for the ball.

Emily headed towards the leather couch once she entered the living room and checked on her injured aunt one last time. She was still worried about the strawberry blonde, but knew as long as she was asleep, then she wouldn't be in any pain. Once Emily was sure that Jenna was okay, she headed up the staircase. However, as she silently moved through the Gilbert house, the brunette girl couldn't help but feel weird since she wasn't getting ready with her sister or Bonnie and Caroline or even Jenna. Emily was used to getting ready for an event with other people - but everyone was busy with the Katherine plan or in Jenna's case; sleeping and healing.

Emily made a beeline towards the bathroom the siblings all shared to take a quick shower. She knew she wouldn't survive in a dress all night if she didn't shower since she was stuck in the hospital and didn't have the chance to last night. The Gilbert girl only had less than an hour to get ready, so she quickly washed her hair with a strawberry scented shampoo and conditioner as well as washed her body with a mango scented soap before she swiftly jumped right back out.

Emily wrapped her wet brown hair into a small towel and wrapped a larger one around her body before she slowly tip toed into her bedroom. She headed straight towards her closet and grabbed the red knee length dress that was hanging on the back of the door. Emily had placed it there a few days ago, so she didn't waste time looking through all of her clothes. She was thankful she did that now, since she didn't have much time.

Emily threw the large towel into her blue hamper and slipped on a matching red bra and panties along with the red skater dress before she headed to her vanity table. She wanted to go with a simple look, so Emily just placed a nude eye shadow on her lids and a light pink gloss over her lips before she slipped on a silver diamond ring along with a pair of silver earrings.

Emily moved back to her closet and bent down to pick out a set of shoes once she was happy with her makeup and jewelry. She decided to settle on a pair of black open toed heels. Emily crouched down and slipped the shoes over her feet before she closed the small latch around her ankles.

Emily turned around and moved towards her dresser after her shoes were secure on her feet and noticed just the thing she was looking for; her clutch bag. Emily grabbed the small item from the top of her dresser before she opened it to put her cell phone inside but was surprised and relieved when she spotted a black lace mask.

The Gilbert girl pulled the mask from her clutch bag before she moved in front of her fully body mirror. Emily then stared at her reflection for a moment as she was busy thinking before she unwrapped the small towel from her head and placed her damp brown hair into a low messy bun. She didn't have the time to blow dry her hair or even straighten it, so this would have to do. Emily then carefully slipped the lace Masquerade mask over her green eyes.

Emily twirled her body in front of the mirror before she looked back at her reflection with a small nod and a smile. She was quiet pleased with her final product. The Gilbert girl then glanced over to the clock on her bedside table and was surprised with how fast she had gotten dressed. She was ready in record timing with twenty minutes to spare.

Emily decided she would head out now so she could ease the mayor's mind since she was supposed to be there helping out hours ago. The Gilbert girl placed her clutch bag over her right shoulder and turned off the lights in her bedroom before she slowly made her way down the staircase. However, as Emily walked down the steps, she couldn't help but feel her legs shake as she wasn't used to wearing heels lately.

The brunette girl reached the fourth to the last step when she suddenly heard the front door open. Emily stopped moving completely as she looked up and noticed Alaric walking in with a box of pizza and a full bottle of bourbon.

"Hey!" Alaric greeted the young girl. He glanced down at her outfit and wondered, "are you going to the Masquerade thing?"

Emily gave the vampire hunter a smirk as she commented, "well, I hope my mask didn't give me away," before she continued to walk down the stairs until she reached the flat surface of the hallway. "But, yes, I am," Emily stated with a chuckle before she questioned with furrowed brows, "is that a problem? Do you need me to stay with Jenna?" Emily would gladly sacrifice herself getting yelled at by Mrs. Lockwood if she had to stay and take care of her ill aunt.

"No! No!" Alaric quickly assured the brunette girl. "I was just wondering because of the whole plan to kill Katherine tonight. I would have thought your sister or Stefan would make you stay home," he whispered.

Emily rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Stefan did try. But I have to be there." She chuckled lightly as she added, "you know the mayor would have my head if I wasn't."

"Very true," Alaric commented with a quiet laugh before he told the young girl, "well, call me if you need anything."

Emily smiled and praised, "thanks, Ric." The Gilbert girl bit down on her lip before she questioned once more as she still felt nervous about leaving her aunt, "are you sure you don't need me to stay with Jenna?" Emily had been with her aunt ever since the compelled accident happened, so she didn't really like the idea of leaving Jenna's side.

Alaric rolled his eyes playfully and muttered, "she'll be fine, Emily." He glanced over at the sleeping strawberry blonde and stated, "she's probably just going to rest all night anyways." He looked back at the teenage girl and added, "besides, she would kill us if you miss going to this thing."

Emily laughed and uttered, "yeah, you're probably right." She stared at her aunt for a moment before she told Alaric, "I shouldn't be gone too long. I'll be back by eleven or so to release you from the boredness of watching Jenna sleep."

Alaric shook his head and raised the bottle of bourbon as he corrected the young girl, "I won't be too bored. I do have the company of old Jim." He chuckled lightly as he added, "besides, I think you will be more bored with talking to every resident that loves you."

"Hey! It's not my fault I have fans," Emily joked before she gave the vampire hunter a small smirk as she compromised, "well, then I'll be back at eleven, so we can both have some time with old Jim."

"You better hope there's still some left," Alaric uttered teasingly before he headed towards the kitchen and called out to the young girl that he saw as family, "have fun!"

Emily chuckled at the vampire hunter before she turned around and grabbed her keys from the small table by the door. She looked back into the living room one last time and saw her aunt still sleeping and Alaric flipping through the channels on the TV while munching on a slice of pizza. Emily knew her aunt was going to be safe with Alaric. She was more worried about the residents of Mystic Falls that were going to be obliviously in the middle of something very dangerous.