Mending a family
Elena walking into the home she shared with her siblings in Ireland. It had been just over a year since they'd fled Mystic Falls. They'd lived in a few places. They'd stayed in Switzerland for about three months before moving on to Italy and then France. They'd been in Ireland for about two months. They didn't stay anywhere for very long. So far, they had not been found by Esther and Finn, but they accomplished that by moving constantly.
Under most circumstances, Elena might enjoy the travelling. She'd always wanted to see more of the world. She'd barely been out of Mystic Falls before they were forced to flee. However, having to flee a controlling, abusive mother made the experience far less enjoyable than it would've been otherwise. And the fact that she wasn't allowed to contact anyone made it worse. Still, it wasn't terrible. It was certainly better than being stuck in the mansion and unable to make a move with Esther's approval.
Elena made her way to living room, where she found Rebekah. "Oh, thank God you're home. I need your help," she said before grabbing her sister by the arm and pulling her out of the room with her.
"Whoa! What on Earth are you doing?" Rebekah asked as her sister pulled her upstairs. She could've stopped her, but she was intrigued by what had Elena so frantic. It wasn't worry about them being discovered. She would've mentioned that by now.
"I need your help. I have a date tonight," Elena said.
Rebekah laughed. "That's lovely! Who is it with and where are you going? How did you meet?"
Elena got her older sister into her room before letting her go and answering her questions. "His name is Sean. We met at the university library," she said. She was taking some classes at the university. It wouldn't amount to any kind of career, since they would likely be moving in a month or two, but it was something fun to do. It was something normal. She enjoyed it.
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Of course, you would meet someone in a library. Where are you going?"
"Just to a pub for a couple of drinks. It's probably stupid for me to even go. It's not like I can have a relationship with him. Our lives don't really make room for that type of thing," Elena said.
"So what? It doesn't mean you can't have some fun. Not every date has to be about having a relationship. It can be casual. Although, I do suggest you not tell our brothers about this, unless you want the man dead," Rebekah said. She knew from experience that Nik would definitely have a murderous reaction. Elijah and Kol might join in this time as well. They were all fiercely overprotective of Elena.
"Yeah, that's part of what I need your help with. I have to find a way to get out of this house without them knowing what I'm really doing. Now, I'm sure I can come up with a convincing lie, but there's only one problem," Elena said.
"Elijah," they both said in unison.
"Yeah. Trying to lie to Elijah is like trying to lie on a polygraph, while drink," Elena said.
"How about we leave together? We'll tell them we're getting drinks. That won't be a lie. We will get drinks. It just won't be together," Rebekah said with a smirk.
"And this is why I need you. Also, I need you to help me figure out what to wear," Elena said nervously. It had been a long time since she'd been on a date. Actually, she never had, not like this. With Matt, it had been easy because they'd known each other their whole lives. And she and Stefan didn't really date in the traditional sense. They just sort of got together. This was a new experience for her.
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Elena entered the pub where she was meant to meet Sean. Rebekah dropped her off and went down the street to another pub, so that she could have some privacy without her big sister being there.
Elena found her date at a table in the middle of the establishment. She immediately went over to him. "Hi."
"Hi," Sean said before standing up. He pulled out a chair for her to sit in.
"Thank you," Elena said before taking a seat.
"I ordered a drink for you. I hope you don't mind," Sean said before retaking his seat.
"Not at all. Thank you," Elena said before taking a sip of her drink.
"I do wish you'd allowed me to pick you up. It's the gentlemen thing to do," he said.
"That's sweet, but I live with three older brothers, all of whom are psychotically overprotective," Elena said.
Sean laughed. "You mean like pull a shotgun on me overprotective?"
"More like rip your throat out overprotective," Elena said.
Sean laughed harder.
Elena smiled. It was cute. He thought she was joking.
"You must be close with your siblings if you still live with them," Sean said.
"Yeah, we're close. My brothers are annoying, but they'd do anything for me," Elena said. She had only become closer with her siblings since they went on the run. They were close before, but without Esther around to make things more tense, they'd become even closer.
"I've always wanted siblings. I'm an only child. How many siblings do you have? I know you mentioned three older brothers, but are there any others?"
"Yeah. Technically eight, however, I'm only in touch with four of them. I have an older brother and sister who died before I was born. I also have two brothers that I'm not in touch with anymore," Elena said sadly. She certainly didn't miss Finn any, but she missed Jeremy like crazy. She also often wished she could've known Freya and Henrik.
"Wow, you have a big family. I'm sorry to hear about your brother and sister," Sean said.
"Thanks. Like I said, it happened before I was born. I wish I could've known them, but I try not to dwell on it too much. The siblings I'm in touch with are wonderful," Elena said.
"And what made you all come to Ireland?" Sean wondered.
"Just a change of scenery. We wanted to see more of the world," Elena said.
"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, isn't it, sister?" A new voice said.
Elena stiffened at the sound of that voice, the voice of the sibling she wanted to hear the least. She turned to see Finn at her right smirking.
Finn extended her hand to human across from his sister. "Hello, there. I'm Elena's big brother, Finn."
"Oh, hi. I'm Sean," he said as he shook the man's hand. "It's nice to meet you. I would've liked to meet you all at your house, but Elena was telling me you're all a bit overprotective."
"Well, she is the youngest of us. I'm sure you can understand," Finn said before smirking at Elena.
Elena said nothing. She simply stared at Finn and tried to think of a way out of there without causing a scene. She was definitely not expecting this. How had Finn found them? They'd managed to avoid Finn and Esther for over a year.
"Yeah, of course. Don't worry, we're just having some drinks," Sean said.
"Well, I'm sure you won't mind if I join you then," Finn said before pulling up a chair and sitting between the couple.
"Uh, sure," Sean said, feeling very uncomfortable.
Elena discreetly took out her phone and sent Rebekah an SOS via text. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure how long it would take her sister to get it. She was in a loud pub drinking. Her sister was a vampire, but she could tune out certain things, especially when she was distracted.
"So, what are we talking about?" Finn asked.
"Oh, Elena was just telling me about your family," Sean said.
"Oh, really? Did she tell you about our mother? The poor woman has been trying to get in touch with Elena and our other siblings for more than a year now," Finn said.
Elena chuckled. She wasn't about to show fear or even discomfort in front of Finn, although, he could probably tell anyway from her fast heartbeat. "Yes, the 'poor' woman. What my brother is failing to mention is that our 'poor' mother is an evil, controlling, bitch. See, I'm adopted, Sean. I didn't know who my biological mother was until a little over a year ago. When I met her, she told me in the most traumatic way possible and then tried to erase the life I'd lived before that. You remember that, don't you, Finn?"
Finn only glared at her in response.
"Oh, um, I'm really sorry to hear that," Sean said, sounding extremely uncomfortable.
"Oh, don't be. It all worked out. I've cut that horrible woman out of my life, and I have a great relationship with my siblings. Well, most of them," Elena said as she glanced at Finn.
Finn grunted in response before turning to Elena's date and looking him directly in the eye. "You and Elena could use some more drinks. You should go get them."
"I'll go get us some more drinks," Sean said before getting up.
"Take your time," Elena said. She didn't want him anywhere near her for what was about to happen. "How'd you find us?"
Finn chuckled. "That's the thing. I didn't. I mean, we knew you were in Ireland, but I had no idea you'd be in this pub. It was a happy accident. As for how we tracked you to Ireland, well, it's amazing the resources there are to track people in this century. Still, you didn't make it easy.
Elena scowled. That would be her luck. Walking into the wrong damned pub.
"You know, while tracking you all over the world hasn't been fun, I must thank you. You proved me right. You were manipulating Mother the whole time, and now she knows it. Oh, I can only imagine the punishment you'll have coming when she gets her hands on you," Finn said.
Elena rolled her eyes. Again, she refused to display fear, even if she did feel it. "So, you were right. Did you want a medal?"
Finn laughed. "I applaud you for the bravado, but I can hear your heartbeat. You know you've lost. Get up. It's time to go."
Elena made no move to do as he commanded. Instead, she picked up a knife that was sitting on the table.
"What are you going to do? Stab me? That wouldn't do anything to me, and you know it," Finn told her.
"True, but it would be so satisfying. How as the dagger by the way?" Elena asked.
"Stand up," Finn demanded again.
Elena sighed. "Here's the thing, Finn. I would rather die than be back under the thumb of that woman."
Finn chuckled. "So, you're going to stab yourself, are you? I'd just heal you."
"Yeah, except I know exactly where to stick this to make sure I'd die before you had the chance," Elena said as she brought the Knife to her jugular.
Finn stared at her for a minute. "You're bluffing."
Elena laughed. "Ask Elijah what happened when he thought that."
"Yet you're still standing, proof that you knew what you were doing. You're not going to kill yourself, Elena," Finn said confidently.
Elena put the knife down. He was right, she wasn't. She would've if necessary, but it wasn't necessary. "You're right, I'm not. Do make sure to compel all these people before you leave, okay, Finn."
Finn stared at her in confusion before watching her raise her hand. The next thing he knew, he was being thrown back. He knocked into a group of unsuspecting people.
Elena wasted no time in getting up and rushing to the door. She barely made it outside when she spotted Rebekah.
"Sorry. I left my bloody phone on the bar while I was dancing. What happened?" Rebekah asked.
"Get us out of here. Finn's in the pub," Elena said.
"What?" Rebekah asked in shock. Just moments later, she noticed Finn come out of the bar. She immediately grabbed Elena and sped away at vampire speed. She immediately took them home. "Brothers get down here! We need to leave!"
All three of their brothers came down. "What happened?" Elijah asked.
"Finn cornered me in the pub I was in. I barely got away. Esther's probably not far away either. We need to go now," Elena said.
"I'll call the pilot," Klaus said.
"Alright, there's no time to pack. We need to get out of here now," Elijah said.
"How'd you get away?" Kol asked curiously.
"I yelled rape," Elena lied. None of her siblings knew that she had developed witch powers. It wasn't something she wanted anyone to know about. She wasn't happy about it. It was a connection to Esther that she didn't want. She didn't want to be anything like her.
"Good for you, little sister," Kol said impressed.
"Let's go," Elijah said before ushering them all out of the house.
