Elena woke up the next morning with a slight hangover. She had a bit of a headache, but she was more concerned about the fact that she and Jeremy would both be screwed once Elijah and Klaus returned. There was no hiding their escapades last night now that Jeremy had had his face rearranged.
Elena slowly made her way downstairs. She needed some water and painkillers for her head. She made it to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water when Rebekah came in.
"Morning. I thought you might need these," Rebekah said before holding out a bottle of Aspirin.
"Oh, you read my mind," Elena said before taking the offered bottle. She popped two of them into her mouth and washed them down with some water. "If only this would solve the Elijah problem."
"You do know Elijah would never hurt you, right?" Rebekah asked. She wanted to make sure that was clear. No, his reaction wouldn't be pretty, but her brother would punish the kids and lecture her, but that would be the end of it.
"Yeah, I know, but I haven't been grounded since my parents were alive. I get the feeling that's about to change," Elena said.
Just then, Jeremy came downstairs. He made a beeline for the bottle of Aspirin on the table. "Thank God."
Rebekah got a good look at his face. "Oh, bloody hell! It's worse."
Jeremy took two pills and swallowed them dry. His head was killing him, as was his face.
"Yeah, we're definitely not hiding this," Elena said.
"Maybe not. Elijah and Klaus won't be home for another two days. Maybe the bruising will be gone by then," Jeremy said. It was wishful thinking. He'd had his fair share of black eyes. They never went away that quickly. It would be better by then, but not gone.
"Oh, I forgot to share the good news," Rebekah said in a sarcastic tone. "Elijah called about an hour ago. It turns out that Finn and Kol are adjusting better than anticipated. They'll be home tonight. The one time Kol's control isn't bloody abysmal upon waking up."
Elena and Jeremy both groaned in despair.
"Maybe I can tell them I ran into a door or something," Jeremy said.
"I don't think anyone has successfully lied to Elijah, except for maybe Nik," Rebekah said.
"You know what? Screw it! Who are they to get pissed at me for fighting? They're violent all the time," Jeremy fumed.
"I don't suggest using that argument either," Elena said.
Jeremy sighed and stood up. "I'm going back to sleep for a while. Maybe when I wake up, this will end up being a nightmare."
Rebekah snorted as she watched him head back upstairs.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Elena was in her room writing in her journal. Writing always helped her relieve stress, and right now she was stressed as she anxiously awaited Elijah and Klaus' return. While she hadn't partaken in the fight, she was at a party she hadn't had permission to be at, and she was drinking. Elijah and Klaus were going to want the full events of the night, and Elena wouldn't lie.
Soon, there was a knock on Elena's open door. When she looked up, Rebekah was there. "Elijah's home."
Elena got up and went downstairs. Elijah was waiting in the kitchen with bags of take-out. "Hey, Elijah. Where's everyone else?"
"Hello, Elena. Niklaus will be along shortly with Kol and Finn. I brought food home for a late dinner. Where's Jeremy?"
Just then, Jeremy came in with Rebekah. He was wearing sunglasses, which covered up the majority of his bruises.
Elena raised an eyebrow at his brother. Did he really think that would work? It was almost nine and pitch-black outside. It would definitely be a red flag for Elijah.
"Jeremy, why are you wearing sunglasses and what happened to your lip?" Elijah questioned.
"Uh, there's a bit of glare in here, and I just bit my lip while I was sleeping," Jeremy lied.
Elijah turned briefly to look at the window at the dark sky before turning back to the teen. "And what exactly is the glare from? The moon?"
Jeremy just stood there in silence.
"Take off the sunglasses," Elijah told him.
"I'd rather not," he said.
"Take them off, Jer. It's over," Elena said.
Jeremy sighed in defeat before removing the glasses to reveal his black and swollen eye.
"I see," Elijah said as he got a good look at the young man's face. It was very obvious that the boy had been in a fight, which Elijah was less than pleased with, but he would find out how it started before taking any action. "Who threw the first punch?"
"One of the other guys," Jeremy said truthfully. Maybe this was his out. He didn't have to tell Elijah that he'd involved himself in a fight between two other parties.
"So, one of them hit you?" Elijah asked.
Rebekah shook her head at Jeremy, knowing that he was thinking of lying.
Jeremy did consider lying, but decided not to risk it. If Elena was asked, he knew she wouldn't lie. "Not exactly. Tyler hit one of the others, and they all started fighting. I was backing Tyler up."
"So, you involved yourself in a situation that didn't concern you," Elijah surmised, sounding none too pleased.
"I was helping a friend!" Jeremy argued.
Elijah sighed. He would get back to that later. He had other questions. "And where did this happen? I would normally assume it happened at school, since you were supposed to be at home at any other time, and none of your friends were permitted to be here while we were gone, but I would've received a call if it happened on school grounds.
Jeremy remained silent, as did Elena and Rebekah.
Elijah took in the guilty looks of all three of them. "I see. You don't want to answer. Well, that's all right because I have my suspicions. See, I received a call from Mayor Lockwood this morning. Apparently, she returned from her trip late last night and found the aftermath of a party her son threw. The mayor thought I might want to know, as both of you are friends with her son, and she thought you might have been there. I assured her that that couldn't be the case, as you didn't have permission to attend any party, let alone one with no supervision, but I'm beginning to wonder, given Tyler Lockwood's involvement in Jeremy's fight.
Once again, no one spoke.
"Since no one wants to speak, I'm going to assume that my theory is correct," Elijah said in a stern voice.
"Elijah, I was with them. I thought it would be all right," Rebekah said. She knew that wasn't really going to fly with Elijah, but she hoped that she could shift more of his anger towards her instead of Elena and Jeremy. She had been in charge after all.
"Sister, if you truly thought that, you would've apprised me of the situation!" Elijah said in a raised tone.
"Elijah, we're sor…" Elena started before she was interrupted.
Elijah raised a hand to stop her mid-sentence and regarded her sternly. "Not now, Elena. Rest assured, you will explain yourself, but not right now. Niklaus will be home with Finn and Kol momentarily. We will have dinner and you will get to know them. Then I am going to take the rest of the night to calm myself. Tomorrow, I will speak to each of you individually, and you will tell me in detail exactly what happened last night.
Jeremy groaned at the thought of having another day to find out what punishment the original was going to dole out. "Come on. You're going to make us wait…
"Jeremy, I mean this in the nicest possible way, but please stop talking," Rebekah said. She could tell her brother was absolutely livid. Pushing him right now would not be a good idea. Even she was unwilling to push Elijah right now. That had a lot to do with the fact that she knew he was more pissed at her than Jeremy and Elena.
"Good advice. Have I made myself clear on this matter?" Elijah asked.
"Yes, Elijah," Elena said.
Jeremy reluctantly nodded.
Just then, they heard the door open and close. Klaus came in a moment later with his other brothers.
"Well, someone's already pissed off Elijah, and it wasn't me. I definitely have to shake that person's hand in congratulations," Kol said with a smirk as he entered the room.
Kol, Finn!" Rebekah said in happiness before going to hug them both.
Elena watched as Rebekah hugged her brothers. The younger one reciprocated, but the older one seemed to stiffen a bit. There was obviously some discord between him and the others. That had to be Finn, and it was probably because he was daggered for so long.
Klaus, meanwhile, had gotten a good look at Jeremy's face and was livid. "I want names!"
"Not now, Niklaus. I will discuss it with you after dinner," Elijah said.
Kol went over to Jeremy and stuck his hand out. "You must be the one that pissed off my big brother. Kol Mikaelson."
"Jeremy," he said as shook his hand. He got the feeling he would like Kol.
"You'll have to tell me how you got my brother's pants in twist later," Kol said.
"That's enough, Kol! I'm in no mood," Elijah warned.
Kol ignored his brother and turned to newest Petrova doppelganger. "Bloody hell. You're the spitting image of Tatia."
Elena smiled and shook his hand. "Usually, I get compared to Katherine. This is a nice change of pace. I'm Elena. I guess I'm your niece, several generations removed."
"It's a pleasure, Darling," Kol said.
Elena turned to Finn. "Hi. You must be Finn then."
Finn smiled at the young girl. He was far from pleased with most of his family, but the girl and her brother were innocent. They had been thrust into this family without any choice in the matter. "Hello, Elena. I hope you and your brother have found things tolerable here."
"Yeah. I can't say I look forward to tomorrow, but things have been mostly good here since we moved in," Elena said.
Klaus scowled at his oldest brother, knowing exactly what Finn was implying with what he said to Elena. "Shall we eat?"
"Yes. Jeremy, after dinner, I want to get a closer look at your eye, and then you will ice it for a while. For now, let's sit down and eat," Elijah said before removing his blazer and placing it on the back of his chair. He then sat down. The others did the same, and they all chatted while they ate.