Elena made her way to Jeremy and Jenna's on the day of the full moon. She'd told them she was coming and had asked Caroline and Bonnie to meet her there too. She had made a decision that she needed them all to be aware of, and she didn't want to go through it more than once. It wasn't an easy decision to make. It would probably be the first in a long line of not so easy decisions that she had to make.
Elena walked inside and made her way to the kitchen, where she found everyone. "Hey, everyone."
"Hey… Elena," Jeremy said awkwardly. It was hard for him to call her that. It didn't feel right, but he didn't have anything else to call her. He didn't know her real name. This whole situation was so awful. The girl he'd believed was his sister for the past two years was someone else entirely. Yet, he still loved her as his sister, and that made him feel incredibly guilty. It made him feel like he was betraying the real Elena. He almost wished he could be mad at this Elena for taking his sister's place. It would make it easier. But she hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, she had told them the truth the moment she knew. He couldn't blame her for it. She was just another victim. It could even be argued that she was the biggest victim.
Elena smiled slightly. She knew this was hard for him. She knew it was hard for him to look at her, to say her name. Well, not her name. She wasn't Elena, but she didn't know how to be anyone else. She didn't even know her real name. That was one memory that hadn't returned yet.
"How are you doing?" Jenna asked. Then she grimaced at her own question. "Sorry, that's probably a stupid question."
"It's a natural one. I'm doing as okay as I can under the circumstances," Elena said.
"I just want you to know that we still love you," Jenna said. She meant that. She had been devastated at the loss of her niece, but she still loved the girl in front of her as though she was her niece too.
"I know you do. I love you guys too. It's what makes the decision I've made so hard, but also why I think it's for the best," Elena said.
"What decision?" Jenna asked with trepidation in her voice.
"I can't stay here anymore. I have to leave," Elena said sadly.
"You did leave," Jeremy reminded her.
"Not this house, Mystic Falls. I have to leave Mystic Falls," Elena said.
"Elena, no!" Jenna exclaimed.
"Jenna, I'm not Elena. That's a fact that we all need to come to terms with, and I don't think any of us will if I stay here. This town knows me as Elena Gilbert, and they always will because they can't be told the truth. Staying would mean pretending that I'm her, and that wouldn't be fair to any of us. It wouldn't be fair to the real Elena Gilbert. I have to figure out who I am. I have to rebuild my life somehow. That won't be possible if I stay in this town. I'll have to continue to be someone I'm not. Plus, everywhere I turn, I'm reminded of Stefan and what he took from me," Elena said.
Jenna cried a little. She felt like she was losing her niece twice. "I understand, but I don't want you to go. I still feel like you're my responsibility."
"I'll be okay. I don't know how, but I will find a way to survive this. I won't let Stefan and Katherine destroy me. That's another reason I have to leave. Staying in a life they forced on me will swallow me whole if I stay," Elena said.
"Will you ever come back?" Jeremy asked. He wasn't going to try to convince her to stay. As much as he loved her, he needed her to leave. Maybe that made him selfish, but he did. It was the only way he could truly grieve his sister. Like her, he couldn't move on with her around all the time. He didn't want her gone forever though.
"I don't know. If I do, it won't be for a long time, but if you ever need anything, you can call me. I will always be there for you," Elena assured him.
"When are you leaving?" Caroline asked. She was not surprised by this in the slightest. She'd figured out a while ago that Elena would not stay for long. She'd figured it out not long after Damon died. She and Bonnie had discussed it a few times.
"Tomorrow, after I've dealt with the full moon," she said. Her bags were already packed. She just had to pick them up.
Jenna nodded. "I know I can't stop you, and I shouldn't. If you need to do this, I won't stand in your way. Wait here a minute, okay?" Jenna said before leaving the room.
Elena turned to Jeremy. "I need you to do something for me. Don't fall apart. Don't go back to drugs. Lean on Jenna to deal with this."
Jeremy nodded. "I don't think I would've gotten through my parents' deaths without you. I won't forget that, ever. You may not be my sister, but I do love you, and I'm grateful for what you're doing now, because I do need you to leave. I'm sorry."
Elena smiled at him. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I love you too."
Jeremy nodded before leaving the room. He couldn't stay there any longer.
Elena turned to her two friends. "You're not going to try to talk me into staying?"
"No. We've known for a while that you were going to leave," Caroline said.
"And we've also known for a while that we're going with you," Bonnie continued. She and Caroline had discussed this at length. They knew that once Elena figured things out in her head a little more, she was going to come to the realization that she couldn't remain in Mystic Falls. They talked about it and came to the conclusion that they couldn't just let her fend for herself out in the world when was quite literally going through an identity crisis.
"Bonnie, no," Elena immediately said.
"Yes. We're not letting you do this on your own," Caroline said firmly.
"You guys can't just walk away from your lives. This is your home. And you have to grieve. That's part of why I'm doing this. So that you can all grieve without me being in the way," Elena said.
"We are grieving. We'll grieve the rest of our lives, but we'll do it while helping our friend. You're still our friend, Elena. You may not be the friend we lost, but we still love you. We won't abandon you," Bonnie said firmly.
"No, you can't just…"
"Elena, you have a choice. You can take us with you or we can follow you like stalkers," Caroline said.
Elena couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. She could very much picture Caroline doing that. "What about your parents?"
"We've already told them that we'll be leaving soon. My dad wasn't thrilled, but I'll be eighteen in a few weeks. There's very little he could do," Bonnie said.
"Same. We told them we're going to be traveling for the summer. Once the summer is over, we'll figure the rest out," Caroline said.
Elena sighed. She knew it was pointless to argue. Bonnie and Caroline weren't to be trifled with when they made up their minds. "If you're going to do this, there are a couple of things you need to know. One, I'm going to have to find my father eventually. I don't know what he thinks happened to me, but at the very least, I need to let him know that I'm okay. I'm not quite ready for that yet, which is why I'm glad I have no idea how to contact him, but I will have to figure it out at some point. You guys have to be okay with that."
Bonnie nodded. "We figured that out too. I don't know if I like the idea of you letting Klaus into your life, but that's your decision. Too many of your decisions have been taken from you. We won't add to that."
"What's the other thing?" Caroline asked.
"Once everything is said and done, I'm going after Stefan and Katherine. I'm going to find them and I'm going to hurt them, a lot," Elena said in a cold tone. She'd said that once before when Damon was dying, but that could be construed as venting. She needed her friends to know that she was serious. She was going to have vengeance.
"Good. We'll be right there with you to give them what they deserve," Bonnie said just as coldly. She didn't judge her friend for wanting revenge. She wanted it too.
"They destroyed the lives of two of our friends. We want them to pay as much as you do," Caroline said.
Jenna came back into the room at that moment. She held out a check for Elena.
Elena took the offered piece of paper and gasped. It was a check for fifteen grand. "Jenna, no. I can't take this."
"Yes, you can and you will. I need to know that you're okay. You are still in my care. You're my responsibility, whether we're actually related or not. It's the only way that I can be comfortable with you leaving. I need to know that you actually have some way of getting by. That will at least give you a start," Jenna said. That money was from the money her sister and brother-in-law left for the real Elena's college fund. It was the least she could do for the girl she loved like her niece, and she believed her sister would want it that way.
"I'll pay you back," Elena swore.
"If that makes you feel better. I love you," Jenna said before hugging her. "I want you to promise me that you'll take care of yourself, and that you'll call if you need anything."
"I promise. I love you two, Jenna," Elena said before pulling away. "I should go. I have to meet up with Tyler soon. It's almost time."
"We'll walk you out," Bonnie said before leading the way towards the back door.
"We'll meet you at the lake house tomorrow. We'll take my car. Any idea where you wanna go first?" Caroline asked Elena.
"New Orleans," Elena said. She didn't know why, but the city just popped into her head. She wondered if she'd been there before. Well, if so, that was even more reason to go.
"Awesome. This is going to be so much fun! We'll see you tomorrow," Caroline said before she and Bonnie started towards their cars. Elena did the same.