Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: Welcome to season 5! I honestly can't believe that I made it this far! I apologise for the delay in getting this posted, it took me far too long to actually write it and I haven't even started the next chapter yet! I just felt bad that it had taken this long to update. I'm working on getting a backlog, but I'm considering fully planning the rest of the series (6 to 8) before I properly get stuck into season 5. I hope you enjoy this chapter and what I have planned for the season :)

XXX

The summer before college passed quickly, far too quickly. There was so much to do and yet, I feel as though I accomplished nothing. Even though I finally got my ass into gear and became a proper mentor to April, teaching the girl how to properly be a vampire, I failed in pretty much everything else.

I never managed to speak to Bonnie, to both berate and thank her for giving my sister life. Apparently she had left to go travelling the day after graduation. It was both unexpected and sudden. And very frustrating. I just wanted to shake her and hug her, curse her and thank her. I had my sister back in my life because of her. But ever since she left, I had only been able to message or email her. Bonnie wasn't taking anyone's calls, which was annoying. But at least I was able to tell her how grateful I was. And how I would throw her the biggest party ever when she returned home.

But Bonnie wasn't the only absent member of our group. Tyler still hadn't arrived back in town, despite Klaus generously allowing to return. It was ridiculous, but at least my adopted brother didn't need to worry about coming back anymore. Apparently, during his exile, he had hidden in the Appalachian Mountains, helping werewolves deal with the full moon. It was adorable, if not slightly frustrating. I knew that Caroline wasn't pleased with his continued absence. But he wasn't the one that I was worried about, since he actually picked up the phone when I called him.

Stefan never came back from dumping Silas' body. We had given it a few days, just in case he wanted to just relax out of town for a bit, considering he had been through a lot. But then he didn't pick up his phone or answer his messages. Damon went out to check the quarry, but his car wasn't there. Without Bonnie, we didn't have a witch on hand to perform a location spell. My boyfriend had been trying to persuade a few of the witches that he knew to do one, but schmoozing them was hard work and they were playing hard to get. So unfortunately, we were unable to track down the missing younger Salvatore.

But the summer wasn't all bad. Thanks to my humanityless self's planning, Elena had a place waiting for her at Whitmore college. Her and Caroline were going there together, sharing a room. Ellie had tried to persuade me to go too, but I was firmly against the idea of college. So we compromised. I would go with my sister and get her settled in, making sure that there were no threats on campus before I made my back home. Because after losing her once, I was not going to lose my twin again. I would compel everyone on campus to be her personal bodyguard before I let that happen.

In between all of that, I just enjoyed spending time with my family and my boyfriend. If I wasn't admiring how much Zoe had grown each day, I was spending time with Damon. Normally in his bed, but we went out, exploring the new restaurants that had opened during my bitchy period and travelling around. We never spent more than a night away from town, but it helped with the itching in the back of my mind. I had never quite forgotten the freedom of our impromptu road trip and sometimes I just longed to leave and just drive. I knew that the time would come where I would have to leave town, where it would be obvious that I wasn't aging like my sister was. But that wouldn't be for a couple of years yet and I couldn't abandon my family again so soon.

So we compromised. We went to Atlanta, Washington, New York, Philadelphia. We spent nights in that secret grove, phones turned off and just spending time relaxing in each other's arms. Even though I knew it beforehand, it was a relief to know that my time as a humanityless bitch hadn't ruined our relationship. In a weird way, it had actually strengthened it. I had proven that, even with my humanity turned off, I wouldn't leave Damon. And my boyfriend, with his abandonment issues, latched onto that. He was probably the only one that I didn't need to make amends with.

I spent so much time apologising to Caroline and to Jeremy, to Jenna and Alaric, to Matt and April. I even sent numerous messages to both Bonnie's and Stefan's phones, apologising profusely. I detailed my transgressions, realising that it was a part of the healing process. I had majorly fucked up during those months and I owed it to my loved ones to make it right. Fortunately, they were more than willing to forgive me. It was more than I deserved, but damn did I cherish their kindness.

I knew that I had gotten lucky. A lot of vampires couldn't make amends after they had gone off the rails like I did. Either their loved ones were dead or they were so disgusted with them, that they didn't want to see them again. I mean, it took Stefan quite some time to make amends with most of our gang after his little humanityless stint. I guess I just got lucky that the worst that I did was persuade the cheerleaders to drop Caroline and turn April. I didn't kill anyone that the group cared about, just a load of strangers. Their faces still haunted my dreams, keeping me awake at night, despite Damon's kind words. There was nothing that I could do to fix those mistakes and the guilt was only self-serving. But I didn't feel ready to let them go yet.

In a way, I was glad that the summer was nearly over. Sometimes, I felt like a lose end. Like I was just wasting my days. Maybe it was the aimlessness of no school and no job. When my sister started college, then I would have something to do. Even if it was just protecting her from any potential threats until she got fed up and banished me back to Mystic Falls.

XXX

The night before my sister was due to leave in college, I decided to stay with Damon at the Boarding House. There was something depressing about the thought of Elena leaving town, so I decided to drown my sorrows in Damon's bath. My boyfriend was sat behind me, arms wrapped around me, keeping me close.

I just relaxed in his arms, enjoying the feel of his thumb stroking my side. I knew that my boyfriend wouldn't let me worry and would do his best to keep my mind occupied. And I let him. I would worry about my twin leaving for college tomorrow and the danger that she was potentially heading in to in the morning. I just focused on the feel of my boyfriend.

"You okay?" he murmured into my hair, arms squeezing me closer. I tilted my head back, resting it against his shoulder, closing my eyes as my faced looked up at the ceiling. The water was warm still, despite the fact that we had already spent quite some time in here. It was soothing in a way. There was just something relaxing, being submerged in warm water, in the arms of my love.

"Not really," I sighed, resting my hand on his. "I just can't help but feel as though Elena going to Whitmore is not a good idea and that something will go wrong."

"That's natural," Damon carefully shrugged one shoulder, making sure not to disturb me. "You've monitored her every move over the summer and now she is leaving your little bubble of safety. You've just got to trust that she will be okay and that if anything happens, blondie will be by her side until you can speed over there."

"Yeah, I know," my head slumped to the side, my lips resting against his neck. "I was thinking if I should just compel myself a space and join her."

"And trade all of this for communal showers and meal plan?" my boyfriend snorted, shaking his head. "We both know that you won't do that, baby."

"Yeah, you're probably right," I laughed, rolling my eyes. "I guess I'll just have to make do with popping in on her whenever I get paranoid. Hmm, maybe I could compel someone to keep an eye on her for me."

"See, now that is some creative thinking," Damon chuckled in my ear before reaching over the slide, passing me my champagne flute. "And I'm sure that Jenna will support you if you want to put that tracker app on her phone again."

"Oh, don't tempt me, because I will do that. I'm almost tempted to get Caroline to give me daily updates on her. God, that girl is such a trouble magnet, why did I even submit an application for her?"

"Because you're a good sister and you want her to achieve her dreams."

"Yeah, you're right," I sighed, sipping at my champagne. "Damn my good heart."

"I can think of a suitable punishment, if you would like," Damon purred, before his fangs scraped against my neck. I tilted my head to the side, giving him more access to the sensitive skin of my neck. With my eyes closed, I somehow managed to place my empty champagne flute on the shelf next to me, as Damon's free hand slowly drifted down my stomach, leaving tingles in its wake. I let out a gasp as his finger slowly stroked my clit with the lightest of touches.

"You're going to make me regret leaving with my sister tomorrow, aren't you?" I murmured, my voice cracking with pleasure as my boyfriend slowly increased his speed. His other hand flicked my nipple, before slowly rolling it between his fingers. I could feel his cock pressing against my back, as his thumb replaced his finger. The firm pressure kept me distracted for a moment before his fingers dipped inside me. I arched my back, allowing more of his fingers to enter me, before they curled, pressing against that special spot. He knew exactly how to play my body, to quickly drive me towards that edge of blinding pleasure.

"You're lucky that I'm not tying you to my bed," my boyfriend smirked against my skin before his fangs pierced my neck. It was enough to push me towards the edge, my body shaking at the pleasure that consumed it. Damon licked away the blood that dripped down my skin before wrapping his arm around my waist, lifting me from the tub.

Before I knew what was happening, still in that fuzzy space of pure pleasure, my front was pressed against the cool marble of the counter. Damon's fingers tangled in my hair, grown out over the summer, tugging my head back so that I could make eye contact with him in the mirror. His hips pressed against mine, every inch of his cock pressing against me. I rolled my hips back before gasping out, "Don't you dare keep me waiting."

To be fair, he didn't. He slowly entered me, his gaze never leaving mine. The drag of his cock against me had my already sensitive body growing hot again. As his hips pressed against mine, filling me completely, I let out a low groan. Damon's lips quirked up into a satisfied smirk before he slowly pulled his hips back. The resulting drag had my eyes rolling back.

"You'd better hold on, baby," my boyfriend murmured before snapping his hips forward. His thrusts were strong and quick, never letting up. I just clung onto the counter, my back arched, as I rapidly approached the edge. It didn't take me long to fall over into oblivion, my legs shaking. Damon let out a grunt, switching his grip to my hips as he followed me into orgasm. As I caught my breath, Damon hunched over, resting his forehead against my back.

"Yeah, who needs college," I eventually gasped out, allowing the counter to take more of our weight, the marble cooling down my overheated skin. "This is the place to be."

XXX

To absolutely no one's surprise, Jenna was the one who got all emotional when it came to Elena finally leaving for college. I knew that Sheriff Forbes would be picking my sister up from home and I had already said that I would drive with her. So I said goodbye to Damon, taking longer than I probably should have, before heading home.

I arrived to a sobbing Jenna clutching Ellie close, while Ric shook his head in the background. Jeremy just recorded it all, a cheeky look on his face. Our aunt was sobbing about how proud she was of Elena, how our parents would be proud of her, how much she would miss her when she was gone. Of course, she completely forgot about the fact that Whitmore was only a few hours away. It wasn't like she was going to a college on the other side of the college.

I glanced at the open door behind me, muttering, "I suddenly have so many regrets." That feeling only increased when Jenna noticed that I had arrived, finally releasing Ellie, only to grab me instead. I looked at the others, narrowing my eyes at the amused expressions before patting my aunt's back, rolling my eyes, "Any help?"

"Hey, you've only had to deal with it for a few minutes," Elena laughed, picking up Zoe from her playmat. She carefully rocked the growing baby in her arms. "I had to deal with it all of yesterday too."

I mockingly repeated her words before groaning, "Jenna, I'm not even leaving permanently. I'm just getting Els settled in at Whitmore and then I'll be home. You don't need to cry all over me."

"My oldest kids are growing up," Jenna mumbled into my shoulder as she squeezed me tighter. "I feel so old."

"It's fine, Jeremy still has a couple more years before he flies the nest, go cry over him," but my words had no effect, Jenna just continued to cling onto me. "Okay, fine, I'll be the good child and comfort you." I sighed dramatically, ignoring Jeremy's sniggering. "You're not old, Jenna, you're still young. Your whole life is ahead of you. There is a whole new world, a new fantastic point of you."

My aunt finally pulled away to give me a look, "Don't you dare start singing 'A Whole New World'."

"I'm so unappreciated," I muttered before tugging down the sleeves of my hoodie, wiping away her tears. "Got you to look though."

"You cheated," Jenna mumbled and I laughed.

"And you're easy," I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, turning her to face the rest of my family. "Now, if you aren't ready to say goodbye, you can get in the car with us and Caroline's mom can drive you back home. The boys can look after Zoe, that won't be an issue."

"No, it's fine," our aunt took a deep breath before shaking her head. "I think I got it out of my system. You two can go, I know that I'll see you soon anyway."

"Exactly, you can't get rid of me that easy," I wiggled my eyebrows, feeling accomplished when Jenna let out a laugh. "Now, I can make some goodbye pancakes or we can all just stand here, waiting for someone else to cry. My money is on Jer, but I wouldn't put it past Ellie to ruin that."

"How about we just stick to pancakes," Ric shook his head at us, taking his girlfriend from me. Well, his girlfriend for now. I knew that Ric had been looking at engagement rings, thanks to my boyfriend and his big mouth. It was a huge step and I was delighted that he was willing to do it. Yeah, they had a baby together, but I was always worried that Isobel had fucked him up enough that marriage just wasn't on the cards for him. But thankfully, it was. I was just curious as to whether he would ask for our opinion first, or if he would just go for it. Because that would give me a lot of entertainment, if he did ask for our opinion. To be fair, I would find entertainment if he just went for it. Either way, I would be thrilled and have plenty of opportunities to tease them.

"Killjoy," I snorted, prodding his shoulder before leading the way to the kitchen. "Now, are there any requests or should I just use what is in the cupboards and fridge?"

"Blueberries."

"Chocolate chips."

"Maple syrup and bacon!"

"Good lord, you lot are even more demanding than you used to be," I muttered, rolling my eyes as I got out all of the requested toppings. Before I got out everything that I needed to make the pancake batter, I turned around and pointed at each person with the spatula. "Jeremy, you're in charge of your bacon. If it burns, you can only blame yourself. Elena, use some of that maple syrup and warm up the blueberries in it, trust me, you'll enjoy it even more. Jenna… just try not to eat all of the chocolate chips."

"I make no promises," my aunt declared as Elena passed Zoe over to her father. Ric took a seat at the dining table while Jenna grabbed one of the two bags of chocolate chips. Luckily, I would only need one, so she could finish off the other bag. It was probably why there were two bags, one was the eating bag. It was a sensible way of doing it, especially since no one in this family was capable of resisting eating chocolate chips.

I got to work making the batter, checking in on my siblings to make sure that they weren't burning the toppings. I knew that I was spoiling them by agreeing to let them have three different pancake options. But this would be one of the last times that we were all together as a family until Ellie came back from college to visit. And after the events of the year, I had learnt to cherish moments like this. And if that meant spoiling them then, fuck, I would spoil them as much as necessary.

XXX

Jeremy had just finished loading the dishwasher when a car horn honked from outside. Everyone immediately knew that it was Caroline and Sheriff Forbes, picking up me and Elena, ready to take us to Whitmore. Jenna's face crumpled for a moment before she took a deep breath, clearing her throat, before muttering, "I will not cry again."

"That's the right attitude," I laughed before kissing her cheek and hugging her. My aunt held on tight, squeezing hard. "I'll be back in a few days, I promise. I'm just going to make sure that there is nothing dangerous there and compelling a few bodyguards for my idiot sister."

"A few spies, you mean," Elena gave me a look before Jenna hugged her too. I shrugged, not even bothering to deny it, before turning around and taking Zoe from Ric. The baby gurgled happily as I showered her face with kisses.

"You better not grow too much, baby girl," I cooed, enjoying the way her face lit up. It had been an absolute delight, watching her grow over the past couple of months. She truly was an adorable baby, with her big hazel eyes, so much like Jenna's. More of her hair was growing, dark like Ric's. It was absolutely adorable, especially when I put it up into a little mohawk. Even Jenna found it adorable, despite her berating. "I want you to be the exact same size when I come home in a few days, okay?"

"I'll make sure to remind her not to grow," Ric laughed as he wrapped me up into a one armed hug, being careful not to disturb his daughter. "But she's as stubborn as her mother."

"Yeah, good luck with that," I laughed as I passed Zoe over to Elena. I gave Ric a kiss on the cheek before turning to face my brother. I am not ashamed to say that the smirk on my face turned slightly evil as I stared him down.

The kid rolled his eyes at me but dutifully held out his arms. I sped forward before wrapping my arms around him, squeezing as tight as I dare. Jer just laughed, squeezing me back with all of his hunter strength. I kissed his cheeks and forehead, murmuring, "I'm going to miss you, kiddo. You better not grow either; I want my adorable baby brother to be waiting for me when I get back."

"Lexa, I outgrew you years ago," the little shit rolled his eyes but he didn't try to run away from my kisses. I knew that he would miss me, even if it was just for a few days. I knew that the kid worried about me, slightly scarred from my humanityless period. Which was why I made a silent promise to myself to check in with him every day.

My goodbye with my brother was rudely interrupted by Caroline swinging open the front door, her blonde hair bouncing, as she excitedly exclaimed, "Elena, Alexa, hurry up! We've got to get to college!"

"I'm going to kill her in the car, aren't I?" I muttered, rolling my eyes. Jeremy laughed, kissing my cheek, before I patted his head one final time. The kid grumbled about me messing up his hair as I walked over to the blonde, allowing my sister to say her own goodbye to our brother. As I reached my friend, I tugged gently on a lock of hair, "Care-Bear, dial down the excitement until we get closer."

"I'm sorry," Caroline laughed, still sounding as excited as she did before. "I just can't help it, it's so exciting! We're going to college, Alexa! We finally made it!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm just a temporary visitor," I laughed as she tugged on my arms. "I won't be hanging around forever."

"But you might change your mind when you see just how much fun we are having!" the blonde just waved away my words, looking so confident. "You might want to go to college properly, which was why I submitted your application for you. Just in case you changed your mind."

"You cheeky little bitch," I gasped before shaking my head, a smile tugging at my lips. "You're such a little sneak. But I guess at least I won't have to worry about getting on and off campus."

"Exactly, see, you're secretly happy that I did that for you."

"Don't push it," I laughed as she wrapped her arms around me, moving to tug me out of the house. Ellie followed with an amused look, grabbing her suitcase on the way while Ric grabbed her bag. I hadn't bothered bringing a bag, as I just planned on stealing some clothes from my sister if I was there for long enough. And if I did need anything that my sister didn't have, then I would just summon Damon to get them for me.

My boyfriend was having a few issues with me going to Whitmore. It wasn't that he said anything, it was just the way that his body tensed slightly whenever someone mentioned it. I couldn't help but remember when we visited that time, when Bonnie wanted to speak to creepy Professor Shane. May he not rest in peace. Damon had issues there, something from his past that he just couldn't get away from. But he hadn't stopped me from coming. I think he just had some old wounds that needed healing still. It was part of the reason why I was so adamant that it would only be a temporary trip there for me, I wouldn't be staying there for long. Just long enough to get Elena settled, while also making sure that there was nothing that could hurt her. My boyfriend's paranoia had done nothing to settle mine.

As Caroline dragged me from the house, I shouted over my shoulder, "Be safe, I love you! And I'll be home soon!"

Elena added her own goodbyes before Jenna shook her head, "Don't be like me in college!"

"Oh, don't worry, Jenna, we'll be worse!" I laughed, ignoring the despairing look on our aunt's face. We all knew that she had nothing to worry about when it came to Elena and I wouldn't be hanging around for long. So she had nothing to worry about.

XXX

I chatted with Sheriff Forbes while Elena and Caroline found out which dorm room was to be theirs. It was obvious that Caroline's mom was getting emotional at the thought of her daughter flying the nest. I found it adorable. Even though she had had all summer to prepare herself for this, Sheriff Forbes still wasn't ready. I just tried my best to reassure her that Care would be fine, and that I would be hanging around often enough to keep an eye on her daughter.

Once they had the keys to their room, the other two girls joined us to collect their stuff. Ellie grabbed her suitcase while I got her bag. I slung it over my shoulder while grabbing one of Caroline's numerous boxes. It was hilarious, just how much the blonde had packed. I was willing to bet that she didn't need at least half of it, but our girl liked to be prepared, even if it meant packing something that would only be used once.

As we walked, Caroline's mom staying by the car to sort out the rest of her daughter's stuff, my sister decided to spill the beans on the dreams that she had been having all summer. Dreams, might I add, that she had failed to tell me about previously. I was not pleased that she had neglected to let me know that she had been having these dreams, but I would save the telling off for later.

"So, you're dreaming about Stefan?" Caroline frowned, thinking deeply when my twin finished telling us what had been going on.

"They're not dreams, it's more of a… feeling," Ellie shook her head, a hint of frustration in her voice as she couldn't quite describe what was happening. I mean, they sounded like dreams. But if she didn't want to say that she was dreaming about her ex-boyfriend, then I wouldn't push her into it. "Maybe I should call him."

"Els, you said that you left things on good terms, I'm sure that there isn't anything to worry about," I did my best to reassure Elena, while pushing down the guilt over the fact that I was lying to her. Because there was something to be worried about. And the fact that my sister was having these feelings only increased my worry. We needed to find a watch to do a location spell quickly, because there was something wrong with Stefan. We just needed to find him to find out what.

I know you're wondering why I wasn't telling my sister that Stefan was missing. But I just couldn't worry her. Against all odds, she came back to life. She deserved to be happy, to live a life without worry. And I would do my best to give that to her. Even if it meant lying to her.

"Alexa's right," Caroline agreed, drawing my twin's attention back to her. Which was fortunate, because I didn't know how long I could keep my smile genuine and not give it all away. "Stefan will call you when he's ready."

"So I should just live with this nagging put in my stomach?" my sister frowned, looking a bit put out. I knew what she was after. She wanted us to tell her that she should call Stefan. But we weren't going to do that. Caroline, despite still having her weird fixation with my sister's relationship with the younger Salvatore, thought he deserved some space after dealing with bitchy me for so long, on top of grieving for Elena. It was a bit harsh, but the blonde was weirdly protective over Stefan, and I was not going to touch that. Meanwhile, I didn't want my sister to call Stefan in case she found out that he was MIA. And I just didn't want that to happen.

"It's fine, Els, you're mind is just reminding you of the last time that Stefan was gone for this long, when he was Klaus' little bitch," I gave her shoulder a gentle prod. "But it isn't like that now. You just need to relax a bit. And Stefan will call you when he's ready. Like you've said before, like I've said, you and Stefan left things on good terms. He's just recovering from everything that happened, innit."

"Listen to your sister, Elena," Sheriff Forbes spoke up as she walked past us, a box in her arms. I exchanged an appreciative glance with her. Her and Ric were the only ones who knew about Stefan's disappearance, and she knew why we wanted to keep it secret. "She is occasionally capable of being wise"

I rolled my eyes at the teasing words before dramatically sighing, "I'm so unappreciated."

"Just like back home then," Elena giggled before looking around. There were numerous students milling around, carrying some form of box or bag in their arms, either looking for their dorm room or their friends or just frantically trying to carry all of their stuff up to their rooms. It was chaotic, but it was a fun kind of chaos. But I also knew for a fact that it wasn't for me. I didn't want to live on a campus like this, stuck with attending classes for four more years. Nah, I wanted freedom. To do what I wanted, to go where I wanted and when I wanted. I was done with school and that definitely included college. Fortunately, my sister wasn't like that and wasn't regretting her decision at all. Her voice was full of excitement as she grabbed Caroline's arm, "We're in college, Caroline."

The blonde shared her excitement, laughing delightedly, "We actually made it. We're here!"

"I'm even counting Alexa in that," my wicked sister smirked at me, but the happiness in her eyes persuaded me to let her have it. "She's here, even if she thinks that she's not staying."

"Good lord, why do I suddenly feel as though you two are doing to tie me to a chair and force me to remain," I rolled my eyes as Elena released her grip on Caroline, wrapping her arm around me instead.

XXX

I made myself comfortable on Elena's bed while her and Caroline unpacked all of the boxes that were around the room. My sister rolled her eyes at me when she was that I was sitting on the bed, but she didn't bother asking me to help. It was quite funny just how quickly Elena got her stuff packed, compared to Caroline who was still sorting through boxes and suitcases.

It was bigger room than I was expecting, with three beds in the room and a small couch. There was a fridge freezer at one end of the room, next to some counter space, ready for students to prepare some food between classes. The room was quite cute, really, at the top of the building. The large windows let in plenty of light, with an attached bathroom. No communal showers for these two girls. Which didn't surprise me. Caroline almost definitely arrange for a private bathroom.

After getting herself sorted, Ellie started to help Caroline unpack all of her stuff. I just provided my own flavour of commentary, while messaging Damon, doing my girlfriend duty and letting know that I was okay and that everything was fine. I knew that he worried about me, so I did what I would to reassure him.

"You brought a panini press?" my twin laughed, holding up the appliance in question. It was hilarious, because there was no way that Caroline would need a panini press. But I could guarantee that the girl googled what did people pack when they went to college and saw that on a list somewhere. It might even have been on one of her old lists, back from when she was planning on going to college in middle school.

The blonde just shrugged, gesturing over her shoulder, "Small appliances, by the fridge."

I glanced up from my phone as Sheriff Forbes entered the room, a small box in her arms. She gave her daughter an amused smile as she placed it down by my feet, "Okay, that's the last one." She nodded before holding out her arms, her smile wobbling as her eyes filled with tears, "Alright, give me a goodbye hug before I change my mind and drag you home with me." Caroline laughed before giving her mom a squeeze. The older woman rested her head against her daughter's shoulder before nodding. "You can call as much as you want, you know?"

"Mom, we'll be fine," Care laughed, her mom joining in and nodding. She pulled away from her daughter before looking at my sister.

She held her arms out to her, "Come here." My twin smiled happily as she said goodbye to our friend's mom. Sheriff Forbes pulled back slightly, before looking at Elena. "This is where your dad fell in love with medicine, you know? He would be really proud to see you here."

"Thank you," Ellie smiled softly, before Sheriff Forbes patted her cheek. She pulled away before turning to me.

"I know you're coming home soon, but come here," the woman beckoned me into a hug, one that I was never going to turn down. "I don't want you to feel left out."

"I never would," I laughed, wrapping my arms around my sister when I was released from the hug. Sheriff Forbes looked at us, her eyes tearing up again as she fought to keep a smile on her face.

When it became clear that she wouldn't leave without a push, Caroline laughed, "Okay, go! Before I change my mind and make you stay."

"I'm going, I'm going!" Sheriff Forbes laughed before, indeed going. "I love you. Bye, girls."

The door closed behind her with a click, and Caroline spun around to face us, a wide smile on her face. Now that the adult was gone, the two girls with me were excited to start the proper college experience.

"So, Roomie, I think we should drink to something," Elena laughed delightedly, practically buzzing with excitement. I just rolled my eyes but I let her have it. Just because I was boring, didn't mean that they were. This was something that my friend and twin had been looking forward to for years. And I refused to ruin it for them.

"Well, I couldn't agree more, roomie," Caroline beamed before dancing over to her suitcase. She flipped open the lid, revealing a number of bloodbags and bottles of wine and champagne. She picked up a blood bag, passing it to me, before grabbing one for herself. Ellie grabbed a bottle of wine before holding it up in a toast.

"To us, and college and being functional vampires and students," she declared as Caroline held up her blood bag in a return of the toast. I shook my head, fighting back a smile, but did the same.

"To the next chapter in our lives," the blonde returned, before all of us 'clinked' our drinks together. But just before we could drink, there was a knock on the door. I quickly threw Caroline my blood bag. She threw it into the suitcase, along with her own, before flipping it shut. And just in time too, because the door opened, revealing an teenage Asian girl, complete with a smiling face, arms full of bags.

"Hey," the newcomer greeted us, adjusting her black-framed glasses. Her brown hair, with blonde locks dyed in, was tied back into two ponytails, framing her face. With friendly brown eyes, the girl seemed nice enough.

"Uh, who are you?" Caroline frowned, looking a lot less friendly. It was quite hilarious, how unfriendly she was being. But this new girl interrupted our moment and her being here could not mean good news for any of Caroline's plans. I didn't know what those plans were, but I thought it was safe to assume that it involved either me or Bonnie using the third bed in the room. Her and Elena exchanged a glance, but I just shrugged, sitting back down on Elena's bed, ready to watch the drama. I mean, I wasn't going to get involved, I was just here to make sure my sister was safe.

The girl laughed, shaking her head, "Oh, I'm Megan. Your roommate."

Huh, now that was unexpected.

XXX

Elena and Caroline watched as Megan got herself settled on the other side of the room, packing away her stuff before sitting down at the table in the room, opening up her tablet. My girls muttered between themselves, with Caroline pushing for either her or me to compel Megan away, getting her a new dorm room, while ensuring that our third spot remained free. But my sister wasn't having it. She wanted college to be different to the insanity back home, even if it meant putting up with an unwanted roommate.

Eventually, it got boring, listening to Care and Ellie complain, especially after Megan put her headphones in, concentrating intensely on whatever it was that she was looking at. So I decided to finally answer Damon's text with a call.

"So, how's college? You compelled everyone into being your sister's bodyguard yet?"

"Lol, not yet," I rolled my eyes, moving my legs when Elena nudged them. "But there has been drama."

"How am I not surprised? You can't go a day without drama. Do I need to come save the day?"

"Not that kind of drama. A third roommate showed up." Damon faked a shock gasp. "I know right! You should have seen Caroline's face. It was definitely a mean girl expression."

I ignored the blonde's dirty look as my boyfriend asked, "How did that happen?"

"No idea, my theory is that Caroline's mom arranged it so that she could spy on her daughter. Elena, the bore, just thinks that there was a mix-up somewhere, probably with the housing lot."

"Well, you know what they say, compulsion: it's the unwanted roommate repellent."

"See, you are the third person to suggest that now. So clearly, it is the best way to deal with this."

"Exactly, so just compel her ass out of the door."

"Ugh, I wish I could. But my sister is on her high horse and doesn't want to. She kept saying that it's too 'Mystic Falls' and she wants college to be different."

"Same old Elena, well, it's nice to know that her time on the Other Side didn't change her."

"Yeah, normally I would be thrilled by that. But I'd forgotten just how stubborn she could be. Knowing our luck, this Megan chick is secretly an axe murderer who wants to chop my sister into little pieces."

Ellie hissed my name, smacking my leg before looking worriedly at Megan. I just rolled my eyes, ignoring her. The girl was clearly focussed on her tablet and I didn't need my vampire hearing to be able to work out that she couldn't hear what I was saying. And it was worth it to hear Damon laugh, agreeing with my words.

"So does this girl's appearance change your plans? Or do you still plan on coming home in a couple of days?"

"Nah, it hasn't changed much. I might ask Sheriff Forbes to do a little bit of digging into the girl. But I doubt that she's much of a threat, so I'll come back once Elena is settled in to her classes. And once I've checked to see if there are any cool parties happening any time soon."

"If you find one I might grace you with my presence," I could practically sense the smirk on my boyfriend's face. I was about to reply when he let out a groan. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh no, who is it this time?" I sighed, shaking my head. The last thing that we needed was drama back home. Because I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave my sister to go help. I had spent the entire summer paranoid over her safety, I couldn't leave her alone in a strange place. Yeah, I knew that she would have Caroline with her. But it wasn't the same. Caroline would rip someone apart for daring to hurt my sister. She wouldn't remove all threats without thinking. Only I would do that.

"You're favourite person in the world."

"Ugh, god, what is she doing back in town? How is she even still alive?"

"Because you just aren't that lucky, baby," Damon sighed and I could practically sense the dirty look that he was giving her. "I can get rid of her or hear what she has to say."

I thought for a moment before groaning, "Ugh, hear what she has to say. It might be helpful. Then when you're done, throw her out on her damaged ass. Hopefully she'll break something and won't be able to bother us for a while."

"I'll do my best, Ally," my boyfriend laughed before hanging up the call. I held the phone to my ear for a moment longer before sighing and placing it on my lap. I had to remind myself to let go of the phone, before I squeezed it too hard and broke it. A part of me had hoped that Katherine had died over the summer, killed by one of her numerous enemies. It was only because I was feeling particularly merciful, thanks to the unexpected resurrection of my sister, that I let her leave that school alive. Otherwise I would have killed her. Apparently the little bitch had managed to avoid all of her enemies during the summer. Even as a human, she was a conniving little bitch.

I did wonder what she wanted though. She had been avoiding us all summer but she chose now to return. She was either truly in danger or she was desperate. Either way, I wasn't impressed that she was back. She was just lucky that I was out of town.

Damn, and now I was in a mood. Ugh, she always ruined my mood, even when I wasn't around her. Guess it was just the thought of her being in my home, around my boyfriend. In my home town, near my family, where she could hurt them again. Damn, now I wanted to go home, just to make sure that she didn't try any nonsense. Because I did not trust her.

XXX

When Megan decided to explore the campus, wanting to get her bearings before classes started, my girlies decided to accompany her. Caroline clearly wanted to get more information from the newcomer, wanting to know more about her background and how she got assigned the spare bed in their room. Elena joined to keep the peace, feeling a bit more trusting that our blonde friend. I just tagged along to make sure that she was safe. While Megan didn't feel like a threat, I had to be sure.

The girl asked a few questions, curious about the relationships between us all. Especially since I clearly wasn't using the third bed, nor was I busy unpacking elsewhere. So I took pity on the girl, explaining that I was there to get my sister settled in, before I worked out what I wanted to do. I made out that I was considering taking a year to go travelling, but I wasn't sure where to go yet. It probably wasn't too far away from the truth; I just didn't specify which year.

Of course, after all of that, my darling Caroline couldn't resist giving more information. With her hilarious mean girl air, she explained how I was dating Damon, who was my sister's ex's brother. How Stefan ditched town at the beginning of the summer, without speaking to anyone beforehand. She even threw in a little line on how Elena was sick for a few months, which explained why I was so overprotective when it came to my twin.

"So," Megan frowned, her mind busily absorbing all of the new information. "You current boyfriend, Damian-"

"Close, it's Damon," I quickly corrected the girl with a friendly smile.

She nodded gratefully before continuing, "Is Elena's ex's brother."

"Stefan," my sister helpfully supplied.

"That must get messy," Megan shook her head as I wrapped an arm around my twin, holding her close. Despite knowing that my paranoia was out of control, I couldn't help but grow wary about the growing number of people around us. I knew that my sister would have to go out into the world without me at some point, I wouldn't always be around to protect her. Nor was everyone a danger to her. But I just couldn't convince myself of that in that moment in time.

"Eh, they ended on good terms," I shrugged as Ellie rolled her eyes at my overprotective gesture. But she didn't try moving away, content to allow me to wrap myself around her as needed. "It makes family dinners a lot less awkward."

"So you and Stefan are friends," the new girl looked at my sister as I exchanged a glance with Caroline. I understood that she wanted to get to know her new roommates, but I still didn't trust her intentions. I'm sure that she was a lovely girl, but my paranoia was not allowing me to properly relax right now. "But three months ago, he left without saying goodbye?"

"I mean, Ellie's… illness was hard on all of us, he probably just needed some space before the insanity of college and all the bullshit that follows," I tried to smile brightly, but judging from the way Caroline winced, it probably didn't come off too well.

Fortunately, my twin decided to be an idiot, and asked, "Do you think that I should call him?"

"Absolutely not!" the blonde shook her head, sharing a glance with me. I knew why I didn't want Elena to try and call Stefan, she didn't know just how MIA he was and I didn't want her to know. Caroline just wanted her bestie to have some space after I was such a bitch to him. She felt as though he needed time to get over it and that Elena would just remind him of everything that happened.

"No way," Megan surprisingly agreed. "If he ditched without saying goodbye, then you clearly weren't as close as you thought you were. And you don't need to have that negativity in your life."

I mean, that was a bit unfair to Stefan. But if it meant that my sister didn't try to reach out to him, then I would allow it to happen. Because I knew that if Elena found out that he was missing, then she would want to get involved to save him. Which would put her in danger. And I just couldn't let that happen.

We were all silent for a moment before Megan glanced over at the blonde, "Do you have a boyfriend, Caroline?"

"I do," Care immediately nodded, a smile back on her face. "His name's Tyler. He had to miss move-in day, but he'll be here for the first day of classes."

"Assuming he registers," Ellie snorted, shaking her head. "And picks a dorm. And buys books."

The blonde gave my sister an unhappy look before raising her voice slightly, "Speaking of minding one's own business, let's talk roommate ground rules. Privacy is very important to me."

"Same here," the new girl immediately agreed, a serious look on her face as we all paused. Elena seemed content to allow our blonde friend to handle this. So I remained silent too, glancing around at the students walking around us. No one them seemed particularly threatening, but I had learnt that no one was what they seemed.

"I have low blood sugar," Caroline continued. "My diet's finicky, so keep your paws off my stuff."

"We'll split up the shelves."

"And if I suddenly get up to leave or disappear for a while, don't follow me or look for me."

That one seemed to confused Megan for a moment as she was a bit slower with her response, "Okay… sounds good."

Caroline went to open her mouth again, but Ellie interrupted with an eyeroll, "Great, then we agree on everything."

Fortunately, there was another interruption, just to keep things civil. A young black man approached us, an easy smile on his face as he held up a flyer, "Excuse me, ladies. Party at Whitmore House tonight."

Caroline took the flyer, examining it intently as I gave the young man a cheeky wink, "Ooh a party, thanks for the invite, cutie."

"We'll be there," my twin immediately agreed with a laugh.

"I hope so," the cutie gave Caroline an interested look before walking away.

"Someone's got an admirer," I smirked, giving Caroline a wink. The blonde gave me a look before returning her gaze to the young man's back. Despite herself, it was clear that she was interested in the man. She just couldn't let herself show it, because of Tyler.

Ellie had a giddy smile on her face as she wrapped her free arm around the blonde's shoulder, her gaze also on the handsome young man, "I love college."

XXX

We returned to the dorm room to start getting ready for the party. While I flicked through the clothes that my sister had brought, wondering if I wanted to wear any of them, Megan took the first shower. That was the issue with having only one between four girls and it would take a little while to get used to it. Even when I left, sharing one shower between the three of them would be an adjustment.

Ellie stared into the mirror, supposedly adjusting her earring. But there was a glazed look on her face as her fingers just held the earring, but not moving. It had been there long enough to worry me, but before I could say anything, Caroline shut a drawer shut with a loud thud, jolting her out of whatever thoughts had consumed her.

"Did you notice how Megan's juicer takes up all the small appliance space?" the blonde frowned deeply, sounding annoyed. She had refused to take a positive view on the newcomer, instead looking for flaws and reasons not to trust her. It was clear that she didn't want Megan sharing a room with her and Elena. But since Ellie was so against compelling her away, she needed to get more creative. "She has an entire drawer dedicated to organic linen."

"What happened to privacy?" my sister sighed, shaking her head as she placed the earring to the side, turning to look at Caroline. She crossed her arms as the other girl continued to go through Megan's drawers. I just rolled my eyes, abandoning Elena's clothes and walking over to my sister's bed and sitting down.

"Maybe if she didn't take such long showers, I wouldn't have time to go through her stuff," the blonde scoffed, shutting another drawer. "How are you okay with a third roommate? I would have thought that you would want Alexa or Bonnie to bunk with us."

"Because we're trying to be functional," Elena replied, her voice soft. "And being functional means that we need friends. New friends."

"We also need personal space," Caroline shook her head. "I mean, what if we suddenly get a craving, and I want to eat her? Or the blood bags go bad because we can't store them in the mini-fridge?" The blonde opened the mini-fridge in question, glaring at the bottles inside. "Ugh, and what the hell is protein water?" She pulled out a bottle, reading the label as my sister shrugged. There was a helpless look in her eyes as she glanced over at me. But all I could do was hold up my arms. There was no stopping Caroline right now. All you had to do was let her get through it before pointing out how irrational she was being. "You know what, maybe if I drink it all, she'll wanna move out."

"No one is ever allowed to call me a petty bitch again," I muttered, rolling my eyes as I stood up, walking over to the other two girls. My sister tried to stop the blonde from drinking the water, but she was not to be deterred.

Not until she started coughing the water back up. There was a familiar sizzle as Caroline dropped to her knees, clutching her throat, the bottle falling to the floor. I immediately knelt down beside her, my knee landing in the pool of water that had leaked out. It took barely a second for my skin to start burning. I hissed, instinctively jolting my leg back up.

I glanced over at Care with wide eyes as she croaked out, "Vervain."

Before we could say anything else, the bathroom door quickly opened. Megan ran out, staring at us with wide eyes as she clutched her towel close, "What's going on? Are you okay?"

I helped the blonde to her feet as the new comer approached. She held a towel in her hand, holding it out for Caroline to take. When she refused, I rolled my eyes, grabbing it myself and wiping my knee. My skin finally stopped burning and I had to hold back the sigh of relief. At least I wasn't dealing with that anymore.

"Yeah, she's, uh, she's fine," my sister spoke up while I forced the other vampire to take the towel. Caroline wasn't happy but she took the towel. It probably helped that she wanted to wipe away the vervain water that had spilled on her skin.

"What happened?" Megan asked, a worried look on her face. I wanted to believe that the girl was genuine, that worry in her eyes was real. But she could just be a good actor. It was hard to tell. But until she showed any sign of being dodgy, I just had to believe that she was roomed with Elena and Caroline by accident.

Ellie glanced over at Caroline who explained through gritted teeth, "Water just went down the wrong pipe. I'm okay, really. I shouldn't have touched your stuff, I'm really sorry."

I had to bite my tongue to hide a laugh at the very insincere apology that fell from the blonde's lips. It was only the stern look on my twin's face, thankfully out of Megan's eyeline, that stopped me. Even I knew better than to mess with that look.

"It's fine," the girl waved off her apology with an easy smile. "It just sounded like someone was dying out here… well, I'm glad you're okay!"

We all watched in silence as Megan walked back to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. The moment the lock clicked shut, Caroline spun around, looking at me and my sister with wide eyes, "She knows who we are, what me and Alexa are. She drinks vervain water!"

"That doesn't mean that she knows about us, about you two," Elena said, but not even she looked like she believed her words. It felt like too much of a coincidence, that she had vervain water in her fridge. That she was somehow assigned a room with Elena and Caroline. And it was so frustrating. But I kind of liked her, she gave off a good first impression and seemed sweet enough.

"Seriously?" the blonde scoffed, just about keeping her voice down. "We share a bathroom with this girl! What if she's a hunter, and she stakes us when we're in the shower? Or she steals our daylight rings while we're asleep and then we burst into flames when the sun comes up?!"

"You've given this a lot of thought, Care," I muttered while Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Don't you think that, if she was a hunter, we'd be dead by now?" the fact that my twin had placed her hands on her hips was not a good sign. It meant that Elena was quickly losing patience and I was not going to get on her bad side.

Not that Caroline seemed to care about that, "I think we should lock her up. You know, let the vervain get out of her system, and then we compel her to forget about us."

"Caroline," Elena gave her a look, one that had me wincing. "I'm not kidnapping our roommate! The best way to convince her that we're all normal, is to act normal. And do normal, human, freshman-y stuff."

"You have something in mind and I'm fairly sure that I won't like it," I narrowed my eyes, rolling them at the cheeky look my twin gave me. She started to bob her shoulders, dancing as we stared at her. "I was right, I don't like it."

XXX

While Caroline plotted and Elena showered, I disappeared down the shared seating area. There was something that I had been meaning to do today and the conversation from earlier had just reminded me to do it. My adopted older brother had been rather quiet on the messaging front, ever since I asked him if he was actually going to attend college. Oh, he had made a good show with Caroline, pretending that he would come and study beside her. But I knew the truth.

Ever since his mom died, Tyler had given up pretending that he wanted a normal life. If he wasn't consumed with revenge, he was scoffing at the normal life that Caroline yearned to build for herself. It was as though they were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Tyler had given up on a normal life, realising that he would never have one again. But Caroline wanted that normality. She wanted to go to college with her friends and spend time with her mom, because she realised that she would soon have to give it up. Once the years caught up with her and she couldn't hide the fact that she no longer aged, she would have to leave with the rest of us immortals. So my friend was determined to spend as much time as she could doing those normal things with her loved ones.

Just as I settled down on the sofa in front of the fireplace, I caught the eye of one of the other students in the room. He was young, around my age, with short, dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He gave me a quick smile, one that I returned. He shifted slightly in his seat by the window, "I'm Luke."

"Alexa," I returned, fingers tapping against my thigh. "I feel obligated to say that I'm not actually a student. I just came to help my sister get settled in."

Luke laughed, "That's a shame. Here I was thinking that I had already made a friend."

"Aw, sorry to disappoint," I cooed, before smirking. "Fortunately for you, my sister is a trouble magnet, so you will probably be seeing more of me than you would want."

"I'm assuming that's why you are still here, when most family members are long gone by this point."

"Oh yeah, I'll be hanging around for a few more days yet, before I feel comfortable leaving her here with just our friend to look after her."

"You remind me of my sister, she seems to think that I can't look after myself. You'll probably meet her at some point; she's studying here too."

"She sounds like someone who can relate to my daily pain," I sniggered, shaking my head. "What year is she in?"

"The same one as me, she's my twin."

"That explains so much. My idiot sister is my twin. Ironically, she's older than me, but that doesn't stop her from being stupid."

"That sounds like a lot of history to unpick," Luke laughed before glancing down at his watch. "It's a shame that we can't go through it now."

"Well, if you take my number, we can meet up during one of the numerous visits that I will be making to this damn place."

The blond quickly agreed and swapped numbers with me. I watched as he left, picking up the phone to someone with an exaggerated groan. I couldn't hold back my smile at the familiarity of it. The amount of times that I had made a noise like that, it was more than I cared to count. It was nice to make a friend.

But that didn't distract me from why I was down here. I tapped my nails against the back of my phone before sighing and shaking my head. As much as I wanted to check in with Tyler, to see what the dumb-dumb had been up to since he left town. And to see if he would actually come to Whitmore.

It didn't take long for Tyler to pick up the call, the line crackling, "Alex, hey. I wasn't expecting you to call today."

"Eh, well, talking to you helps me to relieve stress," I shrugged, settling back against the sofa cushions. "And that is very handy if I don't have my boyfriend around."

"Oh, ew, Alexa, I didn't need to hear that."

"Well, until you are down here and can tell me that to my face, then I shall continue with my little comments."

"You suck."

"Damnright I do."

"I walked right into that, didn't I?"

"Yep, and while we are on the subject of walking places; are you going to Whitmore?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. One that I wasn't going to break myself. It was important that Tyler worked through this in his own time. I didn't know if he really was going to come to Whitmore, but a part of me suspected that he wouldn't. He wasn't ready for this, the pain of his mother's death, and the end of his normal life, was still too raw. He wouldn't be able to come to college and play the game. He wasn't ready. Whether he would ever be ready is the real question.

"I just don't know," Tyler eventually sighed, the frustration in his voice clear, even though the crackling. "I want to go, for Caroline's sake. But it just… it isn't me. I never wanted to go to college, not really. I would have done it for my mom. But since she's gone, there is no real need for me too."

"Hey, I get that. I mean, I'm not going to college. The only reason why I'm even in the building is to make sure that Elena gets settled in okay and to compel her a few bodyguards," I winced before adding. "Although don't tell her about that last bit as I do not need her to know about it." When Tyler agreed, I continued, "Look, Care understands my reasons for not going. Yeah, she was a bit pissy about it at first, but she realised that my reasons were important to me. She will do the same for you. The main thing that she wants from you is communication. Tell her that you don't want to go to college, but then remind her that you still want to be with her. Just come back to Mystic Falls, visit her at weekends and just chill with her."

"But what about Klaus? I can't just relax while he is getting to build his own life down in New Orleans."

"I don't know what to tell you there, Ty," I sighed, shaking my head. "You can't live your life consumed by revenge, but he deserves to pay for everything that he's done. I won't tell you to let it go, but maybe try to consider what you would lose if you let your desire for revenge takeover."

Tyler was silent and I knew, deep down, what was running through his mind.

XXX

Once I had managed to extract a promise from Tyler that he would give Caroline a call and tell her what he was going to do, I made my way back upstairs to my sister's dorm room. Care was in the shower when I let myself in. Ellie must have not long come out as her hair was still wrapped up in a towel. She was dressed in some light shorts and a tank top, while she decided on what to wear.

Megan was on her bed, headphones in as she stared intently at her tablet. I waited for her to look up when I entered, but she continued to just look down at the device in her hands. I shrugged before walking over to my sister as she stared down at the clothes in her allocated drawers. I tapped her on the shoulder, smiling when she turned around, "Hey Els, how's it going?"

My twin gave me a smile in return, "I managed to get Caroline to calm down and stop plotting, so it's going better than before."

"How did you manage that?" I laughed, taking Ellie's shoulders and directing her back to the bed. She rolled her eyes but allowed me to move her as desired. I gently pushed her down on the bed before quickly grabbing her hairdryer. It was something that I hadn't done for a while, but since I had time, I was determined to do my sister's hair for once.

Elena had gotten it cut over the summer, wanting to do something different with it. She had admitted to me, while drunk one night, that every time she looked in the mirror, she remembered what she looked like when dead. She remembered staring down at her body for those hours, before it was hidden from sight. It was Vanessa who recommended it, changing her appearance, so that those memories wouldn't come to the front so often. So Ellie decided to change her hair. She had bangs cut in, changing her parting to the side, with some deep pink streaks added to her hair. And for the first time in years, she had stopped straightening her hair every day. I mean, it had certainly done what she intended. My sister looked very different with her hair like this, but it suited her. Death had changed Elena, I couldn't quite put my finger on how, but it was obvious that my twin was not the same person from before. And this new hair style just helped to show that.

I gently brushed Ellie's wet hair, easing out the tangles before I dried it, speaking nonsense as I did so. I told her about Luke, my new friend from downstairs. How he reminded me so much of my Luke. It wasn't just the blonde hair and blue eyes. There was a cheeky look in his eyes and he gave off an air of mischief. He was clearly one who frequently got into trouble. While the thought of it hurt, an old familiar pain, it was a muted pain. It showed that I had healed, as much as one could, from his death. It had taken over a year, but I was finally there.

I told her about the things that I had seen while I was chilling in the communal area, the people that I had spied on, the conversations that I had listened in to. It was nonsense stuff, but it kept both of our minds busy. And occupied was nice. It meant that those nasty little thoughts couldn't sneak in. Which was something that neither of us wanted.

When I turned on the hairdryer, I winced and mouthed an apology to Megan. The girl glanced up long enough to wave away my apology before looking back down at her tablet. A part of me wondered what she was looking at so intently, but the rest of me didn't care. It was just nice that I was getting to spend some uninterrupted time with my sister. Because I knew that it wouldn't be long before I left her side, to return him to Mystic Falls. It was a separation that filled me with dread, as I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her while I wasn't around to protect her. But I knew that we needed this. We had to get used to this, to not being around each other all the time. I had to get used to not being there all the time to protect her. It was hard, considering what had happened at the beginning of the year, but I had to get used to it.

Once I had finished drying my twin's hair, I brushed it through again, making sure to be gentle. There weren't many tangles, but I carefully eased out the ones that I found. Elena was content to sit in front of me, leaning against my knees, as I fussed over her hair. She directed me on how she wanted it, but that was it. I knew that she missed it when we did this. It had been far too long, really.

It was moments like this that I missed the most when my sister was dead. Even with my humanity gone, it was a thought that sometimes haunted me. We had been doing each other's hair ever since we were old enough. It was just something that we did, a moment that we shared only with each other. And I knew that those moments would only decrease as time went on. My twin going to college only reminded me that our time together was running out. And I just didn't mean because she was human. Soon, I would have to leave her side. We would have to go through life without each other. And it was a sobering thought. Maybe it was why I was so reluctant to leave her alone here. Ellie was safe with Caroline; she would be fine. And I knew that. But I just couldn't leave and go home. And even when I did, I knew that I would return far too often. My desire to reject college was warring with my need to be by my sister's side.

XXX

The party was being held at the creatively named Whitmore House. It was apparently the place to be on campus, with a lot of the senior staff and important people having offices there. It just looked like a fancy, old house to me. And I had seen plenty of those back home. Although it was surprising that the teens were holding a party here, but maybe they wanted to be seen as chilled by the new students.

I trailed behind the other girls as they approached the house. Music was pounding and I saw the familiar red cups in people's hands. It was just like any other party. Students were laughing, dancing, having fun. So why didn't I feel like joining in? Good lord, was I getting too old for college parties? Nah, that couldn't be it. Maybe I was just so concerned for my sister's safety that I was unable to enjoy the party. It was probably bullshit but that was my story and I'm sticking with it.

With a sigh and shake of my head, I moved to stand by Elena's side. Her green dress swished as she turned to give me a wide smile. Her hair was loose, except for a braid around her face. A few wispy hairs settled around her face, adding a youthful edge to the style. I returned the smile before brushing my bangs from my eyes. They had grown over the summer, frequently falling into my eyes. It didn't bother me too much and it was amusing when Jenna rolled her eyes whenever I brushed them to the side. She was of the opinion that I should get them cut again, but I wanted to grow them out more. Elena had curled the ends of my hair, so they hung just above my shoulders. I wore a red dress, decorated with white dots. The sleeves were long for a summer night, but the fabric was light enough that I didn't mind. And considering it was quite low cut and hung around my thighs, I was cool enough wearing it.

I was just about to ask the other two if they had seen Megan when the cute guy from earlier approached. I gave him a wave but he only had eyes for the blonde at my side. He had an easy smile on his face, "Hey, I remember you."

When Caroline remained stubbornly silent, Elena stepped in, smiling back, "Hey. Flyer Guy."

"Jesse, technically," Jesse laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "But 'Flyer Guy' works too."

"I'm Elena," my sister introduced herself before pointing at me and Caroline. "This is my sister Alexa, and our friend, Caroline."

"Nice to meet you," he nodded at each of us in turn, but it was obvious that his gaze lingered on the blonde.

"You too, Flyer Guy," I gave him a wink, enjoying the laugh that I got back. He seemed like a nice guy, very friendly and he gave off good vibes. Maybe we had just made a new friend.

Of course, Caroline seemed to disagree. She gave Jesse a tight smile, muttering, "Hi," before turning around and walking away. I watched her walk away before shaking my head. Honestly, she was getting more and more rude. I didn't know what was up with her, but I would certainly find out.

I followed the blonde while my sister gave Jesse an apologetic smile. When I caught up with my friend, who had moved closer to the entrance to the house, I rolled my eyes at her, "Honestly, I thought I was supposed to be the moody and unfriendly one. You're the bubbly one who wants to be friends with everyone."

"Caroline," Ellie's scolding voice soon joined in. "You can't be nice to the guy?"

"I'm with Tyler," Care replied stubbornly, crossing her arms.

"You know you are allowed to have friends, right?" I prodded her shoulder. "And Jesse could be a friend. Well, he might not now, considering you were so rude to the poor dude."

"And besides, are you and Tyler really together right now?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because we all know that he hasn't called you."

I hid my guilt before gasping out Ellie's name. I didn't realise that he had never called Caroline. I didn't even know if he had picked up her calls, and she wasn't just having a relationship with his voicemail. I had spoken to him on the phone a few times. Which was apparently more than his girlfriend. Damnit Tyler, that was not good.

"From the mountains of Appalachia?" Caroline scoffed, but you could tell that she didn't really believe her defence. Tyler could have called if he wanted to. His signal was strong enough that he was able to call me. God, even though I felt guilty that I had spoken to her boyfriend more that she had, I was relieved that she didn't know about those conversations. It was slightly better for Tyler if she didn't find out just yet.

"I'm just saying," Elena's voice softened slightly as she placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "I don't want you to get your hopes up, thinking that he's coming, when he hasn't really shown much interest."

"Until I hear it from him, then I will continue to believe that he will come to Whitmore," Caroline shook her head, but you could hear the defeat in her voice. And I silently cursed my adopted brother. I understood why he didn't want to make a decision on coming, but he was a fool for what he was doing to Caroline. The blonde gave my sister a strained smile before stepping forward into the house, where the party was taking place. Well, she tried to. But she was unable to enter. Elena was completely oblivious, stepping inside the house before turning to frown at us. I exchanged a glance with Care before making an attempt of my own. Only to fail as well. "What the hell?"

"Someone must own this place," my sister muttered, standing to the side of the door, making sure not to block it. I gave the people that walked past us an awkward smile, trying not to draw attention to the fact that we were stuck outside. "You're going to have to be invited in."

"Well, that's a pain," I frowned, glancing around. "I mean, who the fuck even owns this house?"

Before we could begin speculating, Megan appeared next to my twin. She gave us all a wide smile, "Hey! I was wondering if you guys were gonna make it."

We all just stared at her awkwardly. I mean, technically we could join in with the students partying outside. But it was obvious that the inside was the place to be. So how did we explain that we couldn't enter?

And to make things even more awkward, Jesse walked up beside us, "You guys going in, or…?"

When neither of my idiots spoke up, I cleared my throat, "Nah, bro, you go on in."

The cutie gave us a weird look before shrugging and walking past us. I watched as he greeted a guy that he knew, laughing loudly at something they said. You know what, if it didn't work out with Tyler, then he would be a good match for my blonde friend.

"Why are you guys just standing there?" Megan frowned, glancing between me and Caroline. I knew that my girls wouldn't come up with a good reason, judging from the wide eyed look on Elena's face and the panicked gaze in Caroline's eyes.

So I sighed inside before shrugging, waving a hand in front of my face, "Oh, I'm just trying to keep cool out here, got more of a breeze outside. Probably shouldn't have worn long sleeves."

The girl immediately looked worried, gesturing over her shoulder, "Do you need to sit down? Or anything to drink?"

"Oh, it's fine, I can get her some water," Ellie spoke up, her brain clicking out of panic mode and actually being useful. Honestly, we have a quiet summer and these two become useless in an unexpected and stressful situation.

Megan glanced between us all, a slight frown on her face, before she shrugged, "Right, well I'm gonna go hang. If you need me, I'll be inside."

We watched her leave before Caroline hissed, "Like I said, she knows."

XXX

Despite my instructions to get her ass out of that house, my idiot twin disappeared inside to go and get us some drinks. I hissed her name, but she either couldn't hear me over the music or deliberately ignored me. I was inclined to believe the second option, but I couldn't yell at her until I was sure. Even if it was very tempting.

Because the idiot knew that I couldn't follow her inside. She knew that I was stuck out here, helpless. If anything happened to her in there, then there was nothing that I could do to help her. And she knew that I had issues with that, especially after what had happened earlier in the year. So the fact that she had just disappeared inside a building that was so unknown was just plain unbelievable. And I was definitely going to throttle her when she left that house.

Caroline must have sensed where my thoughts were going, as she rolled her eyes and sighed. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the door. She didn't take me too far, no, she knew me better than to take me too far away from my sister, even if she was in a building that I couldn't enter. But Care did take me far enough away that it didn't look suspicious. Because in my worry over my sister, I had neglected to remember what it looked like. Lurking by the door like that could lead to people asking questions. And we didn't need people to ask questions.

"Alexa, relax," the blonde scolded me as I stared at the entrance to Whitmore house through narrowed eyes. "Elena is fine. I can hear her, she's just talking to Jesse. You don't need to worry about her."

"I always need to worry about the dumbass," I scoffed, shaking my head. But I did put a pause on my death stare. "Now, more than ever."

Caroline stared at me, before a gentle look formed in her eyes. She reached out to rest a hand on my shoulder before softly saying, "You're worried about her being here, at Whitmore, aren't you?"

"She was never safe back home and we knew Mystic Falls. I knew the safe places and places where she could get hurt. I knew who was around and who the threats were. Well, for the most part. But Whitmore? It's a complete unknown. We know nothing about it, except what Jenna has told us. And even then, it hasn't really given us much information. I have no idea who any of these people are, if they could be a threat to my sister. And there are places that I apparently just can't enter. After what happened… I dunno, Care. I just don't feel comfortable leaving her here, especially alone."

"You know you'll have to let her go, eventually, right?" Care removed her hand from my shoulder, only to wrap her arm around me. "You won't always be there to protect her."

"On one hand, yeah I know. But I always assumed that she would be in Mystic Falls and that someone would be around to protect her. And that I would sometimes be nearby. I never thought that I would be leaving her alone at college. Maybe that was naïve of me, I don't know."

"Of course it wasn't naïve. Maybe at the time, you just hadn't realised that you wouldn't be going to college too. I'm guessing that you were still considering going, before you turned."

"Eh, a little bit? I mean, after things became serious with Damon, I was always going to turn after we graduated from high school. But I hadn't quite decided on college at the time. Ugh, am I overreacting here? With Ellie going to college and my issues with protecting her."

"Alexa," my blonde friend gave me a look. "After what happened, I don't think you need to worry about overreacting. Your twin sister died, of course you would have some issues after that. All you need to know is that we're here to help you while you work out how to deal with them. And Elena won't be alone here. I'll be around to look after her and then when Tyler gets here, he will be around to look out for her too."

"Why must you speak so much sense?" I sighed dramatically, a smile tugging at my lips. Despite my worry and fears, my friend was helping me to feel better. Because I did sometimes wonder that I was overreacting and being irrational. No one had told me otherwise, but I knew that I was. I didn't like it when Elena went somewhere without telling me, if she went somewhere that I didn't know. I was getting ridiculous, but after what happened, I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her. I had lost my twin once; I couldn't let that happen again.

"Because I am sensible," Caroline laughed, giving my shoulders a squeeze before pointing with her free hand. "And look, there's Elena. Safe and sound."

I followed her finger to see my sister walking out of the building, three cups in her hands. She had a smile on her face as she shook her head, still laughing from whatever conversation she had just finished. While a part of me was relieved that she was fine, because of course she would be, there were no threats in there. I was just being irrational. But that irrational part of me just wanted to throttle her before either locking her into her dorm or driving her back home.

Elena came to a stop just in front of us, before holding out two of the red cups. I took one before raising an eyebrow. I didn't need to say anything. My sister knew exactly what I meant. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I know, you told me to leave. But if we had drinks, then it would look less suspicious if we stayed out here."

"I'm still not happy," I sniffed, before drinking some of the cheap beer in the cup. I knew Ellie's reasoning was solid. I just didn't like that it meant her leaving my sight and going into somewhere that I couldn't enter.

"I don't expect you to be, Lexa," my sister teased lightly, knocking her cup against mine.

XXX

After debating whether it was worth hanging around or if we should just go, something that took far too long, Elena decided to just call Megan and tell her we were leaving, making the decision for us. Caroline had wanted to stay, so that she could compel Megan, once the vervain was out of her system, into moving dorm room. Which meant grabbing her and keeping her somewhere. It wasn't a well thought out plan, if I was being honest. We couldn't just put her somewhere, especially since we didn't know where we could put her while at Whitmore and taking her back to Mystic Falls was too risky. And even if we did find somewhere, questions would be asked as to Megan's whereabouts. Not that I pointed it out, it was easier to remain quiet when it came to Caroline's irrational dislike of her new roommate. Ellie was very much against the idea, anyway, and I just made it clear that I wanted my sister to be kept safe. It was a bit of a frustrating conversation, really. But it needed to be done, while we knew where Megan was. And that way, the 'winner' of the conversation would be able to carry out their plan. Although I did get the feeling that it would be my sister who won this round.

When the girl didn't pick up the call, Elena left a voicemail, "Hey, Megan, it's Elena. Just calling to let you know why we left, so call me when you get this. Bye."

Of course, Caroline wasn't one to back down, as she sharply nodded, "Okay, it's settled. When she leaves, we grab her."

"Was that what we agreed?" I muttered quietly, but it was still loud enough for the blonde to hear, judging from the dirty look that she gave me. I just shrugged it off. For now, I was content to follow Elena's lead. Megan didn't seem to be a threat and until she did something to change my mind, I would continue to take my sister's side.

"Or we could just let her know that Alexa still wasn't feeling well and we decided to take her back to the dorm," Ellie rolled her eyes, an amused edge to her voice.

"Elena," Caroline gave her a look. "She saw me and Alexa stuck at the threshold, we might as well have flashed her our fangs."

Care's voice was louder than it should have been, making me look around. fortunately, we had wandered further away from the party, amongst the trees that decorated the front lawn. So there wasn't anyone around to hear us, but that didn't stop me from flicking her shoulder and hushing her. Even if I did just get ignored.

"There's no way that out of the thousands of freshmen, we were randomly paired with someone who knows about vampires," my twin was sensible enough to keep her voice down as she gently argued with our friend.

"Maybe it wasn't random," Care muttered just as Ellie's phone began to ring.

She glanced down at it, "Megan's calling." Before the blonde could say anything, my sister quickly answered the call, "Hey, Megan."

None of us were expecting the panicked shout that answered my sister's voice, "Elena! You have to help me! He's chasing me!"

The panic in the girl's voice was alarming and I immediately turned around, looking up at Whitmore House. The party was still in full flow behind us with none of the other party goers aware of the distressed young woman inside. Beside me, Elena put her voice on speakerphone, habit driving her actions, as Caroline and I could clearly hear Megan's voice with our vampire hearing.

"Megan, who's chasing you?" my sister raised her voice slightly, trying to speak over Megan's panicked babbling. We could hear clattering and banging, as she moved from room to room, closing doors behind her. But whoever it was that was chasing her didn't seem phased by the obstacles.

"Help me!" the girl sobbed, sounding horribly distressed. It was sound that had my heart clenching in my chest. It had the same affect on my sister, as she quickly shoved her phone into Caroline's hand before taking a step forward, towards the house. My hand immediately shot out, wrapping around her upper arm before tugging her back.

"You are not going in there," I narrowed my eyes at the indignant look that my twin gave me. I was not going to let her put her stupid ass in danger, especially when I couldn't go in there and protect her.

When Elena couldn't her mouth to argue, I sharply shook my head. Fortunately, Caroline took the hint to loudly speak to Megan, preventing my sister from saying anything stupid, "The line is too long, we can't make it in. Where are you? Are you able to come outside?"

"Please help me!"

"Megan, I need you to listen to me," despite her dislike for the girl, Care kept her voice gentle, yet commanding. I winced at the particularly loud scream that Megan let out. It was piercing and I honestly didn't know if she would be able to hear the blonde's words. "Get outside and we can help you."

The response to her words was not what I expected. There was a moment of silence before a horrific crash. I was just about to ask what the fuck that was when there was a chilling thud behind us. I spun around, the other two quickly following, before wincing and closing my eyes.

"Oh my god!" Ellie gasped, covering her mouth at the sight before us. I grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, as she shuffled closer.

Because in front of us laid the body of poor, sweet Megan. There was a look of stark terror still on her face, even as her body laid at an awkward angle. It was a gruesome sight, especially after hearing her screams, her begging for help. Help we couldn't give.

"Who did this to her?" Caroline gasped, resting a hand on my sister's shoulder.

"A vampire," I sighed, not even needing to move closer to the body. I could smell the blood and it took only a quick scan of her body to see the wounds on her neck. The vampire had ripped it apart violently before throwing the girl's body through the window. It was a horrible death, one that Megan didn't deserve.

XXX

The hour that followed Megan's death passed with a blur. Someone must have called campus security, as they soon pulled up to the house. Some of the officers pushed their way inside, while the rest made their way over to us. We were still stood by Megan's body. Elena was almost frozen in shock, but I could see the guilt in her eyes. I know what she thought. She thought that she could have saved her, if she had been allowed inside. But she was wrong. There was no way that she could have saved the poor girl, not from a vampire this vicious.

The officers chivvied us away from the body, but once they had set up their tape, they were content to just let us hang around. I heard one of them say something about us being her roommates, so they clearly knew who Megan was and who we were. But they didn't particularly care in that moment in time. Their main focus was hiding the body from the rest of the partying students. Not that anyone had really noticed the commotion outside. Megan had picked a quiet side of the building to have her grand exit.

As they covered up Megan's body, Ellie turned slightly to face us before quietly asking, "What is happening? Our roommate is dead, there was another vampire at the party…"

While my sister was focusing on the mystery around Megan's death, Caroline had something else on her mind. She was frowning, looking at the officials, "We don't know what she knew or who she told. We should get out of here."

The blonde went to grab our arms, but before she could, Elena let out a gasp, grabbing my arm and squeezing it tightly, "I left that message in her voicemail!"

"There's nothing wrong with a voicemail like that," I was quick to reassure my twin, but I could still see the panic on her face. She didn't want anything to connect us to Megan, beyond the fact that they were all roommates.

Fortunately, before Elena could properly panic her mind, Caroline shrugged, "Don't worry, I took her phone."

I snorted and rolled my eyes, "Of course you did."

But it was a smart move. With Megan's phone, we would be able to work out what the girl knew, if she knew anything. Well, we hoped that we could. There was no guarantee that there was anything on her phone. But it was a start.

My twin hissed out, "What?" but before she could get an answer, one of the officers approached us, a gentle smile on her face.

"Hey, girls? I'm Dianne Freeman, I'm head of Campus Security," despite the soft smile on her face, I did not trust this woman. There was something about her that just put me on edge and I trusted my instincts enough to know that this was someone to keep an eye on. "Are you okay?"

I let my sister take centre stage here. She already looked shaken, so it didn't require too much acting for her to stutter out, "I mean, I think so."

Officer Freeman nodded, "I understand that Megan was your roommate. I'm so sorry that you had to find her like this."

"Do they know what happened?" Caroline immediately asked as the officer stared at the arm that I had wrapped around my sister's shoulders. She hadn't mentioned the fact that I was not a student at the college, and it was safe to assume that she knew that I didn't belong here.

The woman looked over at my blonde friend, "We found a note. Apparently, she was struggling with severe depression."

I exchanged a glance with my sister. Megan had left for the party before us. There was no way that she had left a note and Caroline had not found it. Which meant that they were lying. There was no note. And I was willing to bet that Megan was not suffering with severe depression either.

"Wait, what do you mean 'you found a note'?" Ellie asked with a frown, her mind whirring, just like mine.

"Your roommate took her own life," Office Freeman answered, her voice soft. It was like she believed her words, but we knew that she was talking bullshit. Megan did not commit suicide. She was murdered, we knew that she was murdered. And just like the cops back at Mystic Falls, campus security were covering it up. The question was: who were they covering it up to protect?

"You think this was a suicide?" Caroline raised an eyebrow. In defence of Officer Freeman, if we hadn't heard Megan's terror and if we hadn't seen her mutilated neck, then we could have believed her. But we were smarter than that. We had experience with mysterious deaths. And despite knowing Megan for less than a day, we knew that she would not take her own life. From the way that she was so fixated on her tablet, from the vervain that she kept in the fridge, she was after some kind of information. She wanted answers. And she would not commit suicide. The poor girl just got caught up in something that she had no chance of surviving.

"We're convinced it was a suicide," the officer nodded, not seeming at all phased by our collective disbelief. "But we can't seem to find her cell phone. Have you seen it?"

I knew for a fact that it was in Caroline's pocket. Elena knew that it was in there and Caroline knew that it was in there. But despite all of that, the blonde lied perfectly when she shook her head, looking the picture of innocence, "No."

"Okay," the woman seemed to believe us. "If it turns up, let us know?"

Officer Freeman waited for us all to nod before giving us one final, comforting smile and walking away. We watched as she directed her officers, who gathered up Megan's body. While some of them departed, others stayed, to clean up the scene.

When it was quieter, with just a few officers around to talk amongst themselves, Elena put her back to scene, to stare up at us with wide eyes, a frown on her face, "What is going on?"

XXX

It wasn't until the party started to end that we left the scene of Megan's death. There was nothing to see there and until we were invited inside, we couldn't investigate. Elena, the idiot, volunteered, but I soon put a stop to that idea. As if I would let my twin go into that building on her own, especially with an unknown murderous vampire on the loose. She must have known that I wouldn't let her, as she didn't protest when I ripped her idea apart. At least it seemed as though she was getting smarter. Because I would shake some sense into her if needed.

As we approached the dorm room, Caroline listened to my sister's voicemail on Megan's phone, before promptly deleting it, with a muttered, "Delete."

"Well, that's one problem sorted," I snorted, shaking my head. "Think you'll turn it in? Or just keep it?"

"I'll keep it for as long as I can," the blonde answered. "There could be something useful on there. And I don't trust campus security. They are clearly covering this up and I don't like being in the dark."

"Oh Care, we all know that you won't be in the dark for long. In fact, I'm surprised that you aren't already investing it."

Care gave me a look before laughing, "I have plans and I will be implementing them."

When we reached the door, I stepped in front of Elena. Caroline placed a hand on her shoulder as we both listened intently. But despite the door being slightly ajar, there were no noises from within. Although it did take me a couple of seconds before I was content to allow my sister into the room. I had to make sure that there was definitely no one in there. Because while a human would make some kind of noise, courtesy of their heartbeat, a vampire could have been in there without us immediately realising. A vampire like the one that just killed Megan. So I wasn't going to take any chances with my sister's safety. Even if she did have two very capable vampires with her.

She gave me a dirty look before pushing open the door. Her quick eyes scanned the room, "Someone's been in here."

"Yeah, campus security really aren't sly," I rolled my eyes as I saw the poorly shut drawers. They had clearly searched the room and they had left a bit of a mess behind. Interestingly, it was just Megan's drawers that had been raided and some of her stuff was missing. It was like they hadn't even bothered with Caroline and Elena's stuff. I would have thought that they would have searched it a little. But they must have been in a hurry. And considering Megan had stumbled onto something, she was the priority.

"Megan's tablet is gone," Caroline pointed out as I walked over to her side of the room. There were gaps on her shelves, but I hadn't studied the area enough to know what had been taken. The biggest absences were the tablet and imaginary suicide note.

"Along with her so-called suicide note," Ellie added, echoing my thoughts, before turning to Caroline. "Can I see the phone for a second?"

The blonde handed it over without a word, more interested in the mystery than the phone. My sister took it and immediately began flicking through the apps. She scanned the messages that had been sent, deciding that that was a good starting point. I was content to leave her to it, instead focussing my attention on the other vampire.

"It just doesn't make any sense," Caroline grumbled, shaking her head. "First, the roommate that we're not supposed to have might know about vampires, and then happens to be killed by a vampire, and now the school's covering it up? Seriously, who is this girl?"

"I don't know if it is Megan or the situation," I shrugged, leaning back against the desk. "I mean, she must have stumbled across something in that building. There is a secret hidden within this school and I can guarantee that it is bad news."

"You think this is more than Megan?" the blonde questioned as Elena tapped away on the phone next to us.

"Damon has history here, bad history. When we came here last year, he was so tense, like the thought of coming here hurt him. And he wasn't best pleased with me coming here to keep my idiot sister safe," I crossed my arms, my hands curling into fists. I did feel bad, revealing my boyfriend's unease and I would apologise for it later. But this was important. We were caught in the middle of something, something dangerous, and we had absolutely no idea what it was. "Whatever it is, there is something dodgy hidden in this school. And Megan discovered it."

"Why didn't Damon say anything?" Care frowned and I gave her a look. Even without words, that look was enough to get her nodding. I didn't really need to explain, but I still felt the need to.

I snorted, "Well, you know Damon. I mean, if it wasn't for Megan's murder, I might not have said anything. Damon didn't really want anyone else to know. My boyfriend, even with his history here, let me come. He probably thought that whatever happened in the past was over with."

"And now you're thinking that it isn't."

I sighed, glancing around the dark room, "Megan was looking for something in that house. There was no other reason for her to be upstairs like that. I think that it is somehow related to Damon's past. And that isn't a thought that fills me with joy."

Before Caroline could say anything else, my sister spoke up, "Whatever's going on, it's not just about our roommate or the school. It's about us." Elena held up the phone in her hand, a photo on the screen. One that had me freezing. It was one of Megan, hugging an older man. A man that was so painfully familiar. "That's Megan, with our dad."

XXX

"You know what would save this day? You telling me that Katherine died a very painful death," I sighed down the phone. Not long after Elena's discovery, Damon had finally called me back. I had excused myself to seating area downstairs. It was late enough that no one else was around, and I had the privacy that I needed.

"Sorry, baby, she isn't dead," Damon took a deep breath. "In fact… I had to keep her safe."

"Ugh, that's gross," I screwed up my nose at the thought of deliberately keeping that bitch safe. It wasn't a pleasant thought. "Why did you do that?"

"Silas is back in town. He wants her, probably because the cure is in her body. And because I don't like giving people what they want, I had to look after her."

His words had me freezing for a moment. I had left home to keep my sister safe, only for the rest of my family to now be in danger. How fucking rude. Why was Silas still hanging around, like a dirty smell? It just wasn't fair. Because it gave me a hell of a headache. Did I stay with my sister, especially since there was something dodgy going on here, or did I go back to look after my family, who were now dealing with goddamn Silas?

"Well, shit. Okay, that is, like, the only reason why she should be kept safe. Where is she now?"

"Not here. I had Jeremy and Alaric drive her out of town, but she crashed the car. Ric lost track of her while he was healing Jeremy."

"She got my baby brother hurt?" I growled, narrowing my eyes. "That bitch. I'm going to make her pay for that."

I made a mental note to call my brother in the morning and make sure that he was alright. I couldn't believe the kid had gotten hurt on the day that I left town. And it was all Katherine's fault. That goddamn bitch. She was lucky that he was okay. That Ric was around to heal him.

"Add it to your list, Ally."

"Oh, don't you worry, I am definitely adding it to my list. And I will make her pay a thousand times over for each entry on that list. Is Jer okay?"

"He's fine. Ric healed him up and now he is back at home with Jenna. Probably getting scolded for getting detention on his first day."

"Dumbass child," I rolled my eyes. Of course he got detention on his first day back at school after the summer. I don't know why any of us expected any different. He deserved the scolding that he got. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to talk about my brother and my family, there were more pressing things to discuss. Like the newest threat in town. "What does Silas want, apart from the cure?"

"As far as I am aware, he just wants the cure. His powers are growing. He, uh, he killed the mayor. He used his jedi mind tricks to get him to slit his own throat."

My heart broke in my chest. The mayor was a good person. But he was more than that, he was Bonnie's dad. Even if he had spent a lot of time away, he was still her dad. And he didn't deserve to die. He was genuinely a good person. Bonnie didn't deserve to lose her dad. God, I hoped it was a friendly voice that told her.

"Oh no, does Bonnie know? Oh god, that's going to break her."

"Jenna hasn't been able to get in touch with her yet. Jeremy said that he will keep trying. But… that isn't the only bad news that I have."

"Oh Day, what else has happened? I've only been gone a day."

It had apparently been a very long day. Both here and back home. I hated days like this. After such a lovely summer, it felt like all of my good energy was gone. I just wanted things to be peaceful again. The Original family had fucked off, I thought Silas was gone. But no, we were never going to have peace. It seemed as though every god in the sky above us just hated me. And I just didn't know what I could do to change my energy around. To change my luck around.

"Stefan is officially missing. Silas must have done something to him, all he would say that he is suffering. You need to be careful; he is a doppelganger; he looks exactly like Stefan. Ric and Jeremy are the only ones who know. I'll let you tell Elena in your own time."

"This day is officially the fucking worst," I grumbled, my head slumping back, closing my eyes.

"I got your voicemail. Are you okay? I can come and get you if you need me to."

"As much as I would love to just be in your arms right now, I need to stay here. I don't think it's safe for Elena to be here without me, especially if Silas is running around with Stefan's face. Besides, if our dad is involved in all of this, then she is going to want to find answers and god knows where that will take her."

"Just be careful, baby. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be fine, Day. I promise. I won't take any stupid risks and I am actually stopping Elena from doing the same. It's been very exhausting."

"I can imagine. Are you okay, being there? Especially after finding out that your dad is involved in this."

"I mean, it really sucks. Like, I've put my parents to the back of my mind, I've made peace with them, with their deaths. But learning that he was involved with Megan and that Megan was searching for something here, I dunno. I get the feeling that it isn't going to be pretty. And it is going to open up some old wounds."

"I'll be there for you, Ally. The moment you need me, I'm there for you."

"I know you will be, Day. I love you so much."

"I love you too, baby."

XXX

After theorising about the newest piece of the puzzle, we went to bed. We probably would have stayed awake for longer, but I could hear Elena's jaw cracking as she tried to hide her yawns. So I let my overprotective side take over again and made her go to bed. Care decided to keep the peace by also deciding that it was time to sleep, ready for their first day of classes.

I shared a bed with my twin, as I didn't feel comfortable sleeping in Megan's bed. Logically, I knew that she never actually slept in it. But it felt tacky, taking her bed on the night that she died. So despite my sister's eyeroll and muttering, I squeezed into her tiny bed with her.

As we laid in bed, Caroline listened to the latest voicemail that Tyler had left her. The idiot had finally made his decision but instead of telling her properly, he told her via voicemail. Despite knowing that it should be kept private, I couldn't help but listen to his words.

"Hey, Caroline. I've put a lot of thought into this, and I've decided to defer school for now. This werewolf pack that I'm helping… they need me. I know it's lame to do this over the phone, but I figure this way it's harder for you to kill me. I'm really, really sorry, Care… but this is important."

I exchanged a glance with Elena as I heard a sniffle behind us. While my sister hadn't heard Tyler's words, I could tell that she knew what had happened. As Caroline sniffed again, this time louder, I let out a small sigh. I pressed a kiss to Ellie's forehead before climbing out of the bed. I crossed the small space over to the blonde's bed before resting a hand on her shoulder.

Caroline immediately realised what I was asking, as she scooted over, allowing me to climb in next to her. Before I was fully settled, I had an armful of blonde curls and tears. I gently stroked her back before whispering in her hair, "Tyler is a damned idiot for telling you his choice via voicemail. And I will make him pay for hurting you like that. I'll even take a video for us. But hon, for now, forget about Tyler. Focus on the here and now."

"Will you make it humiliating?" the blonde mumbled into my neck.

"Very humiliating," I promised, exchanging a glance with my sister. "I'll even get the boys to help. How does that sound?"

"Better than what is going through my head."

"That's my girl," I gave her a squeeze.

"I'm sorry, Caroline," Ellie's voice was soft as she gave the tearful girl a sweet smile of her own.

"I'm really glad that you're here," Care admitted, glancing between me and Elena. "Both of you."

"I'm really glad that you're here too," my sister smiled back, keeping her voice gentle.

"As if I would be anywhere else," I carefully ran my fingers through the other vampire's hair. "Get some sleep, you two. I'll watch over you."

XXX

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! It's been interesting keeping track of all the changes that I made, and it will make the rest of the story fun! But our girl is in a new place and a new chapter in her life, and a word of warning, I am pretty mean to her this season! Thank you for all the reviews, please keep them coming :) they should help with the writers block ;) I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up but hopefully soon! Until next time xoxo