Jeremy was at his locker the next morning. It was his first day back at school since Elena had revealed herself to everyone and had them move to the new house. He was sure someone would come up to him soon. He wasn't looking forward to that too much. It was why he had ignored all of Bonnie and Alaric's calls and text messages.

As if on cue, Bonny soon approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jeremy."

Jeremy turned to look at her. "Hey, Bonnie."

"Are you okay? I wasn't sure you'd be here today," Bonnie said.

"Yeah, I'm fine, and of course I'm here. Unfortunately, school is still mandatory." Jeremy said as though the idea of that was ridiculous.

"I've been calling you all weekend," Bonnie said.

"I know. I was busy. Thanks a lot for sending the sheriff to my house by the way," Jeremy said sarcastically.

"It wasn't your house. Elena kidnapped you. I was worried. I thought she'd taken your phone so you couldn't talk to me," Bonnie said.

"Okay, first of all, you're being really over dramatic. Elena didn't kidnap me. It would be impossible for her to do that since she's my guardian. Second, no one took my phone. I just didn't feel like talking," Jeremy told her.

"That can't be true. I mean, I know that the sheriff said she had paperwork, but she must have found a way to forge it," Bonnie said. She didn't believe it was real. There was no way a judge would give an eighteen-year-old custody of another teen.

"Uh, no. There was a hearing. I was there. A judge signed the paperwork making her my guardian," Jeremy told her.

"Then she must have manipulated the judge or used magic against him," Bonnie said, mostly to herself.

"That I can't confirm or deny, but it's legal," he said.

"So, you know she's a witch. Do you know everything? Do you know that she was somehow reincarnated into your sister's body. Do you know that she's related to the Originals, that she saved Klaus from Mikael?"

"Well, it would be hard for me not to when they're living in my house. I've known all of it longer than you have, since a few weeks after Jenna died," Jeremy said.

"Why wouldn't you tell me? Did she threaten you?" Bonnie asked. That seemed like the only reason he would have for hiding it.

"Oh my God! Bonnie, I'm not some victim being held hostage. Elena is my sister. I kept her secrets because she asked me too. I didn't tell you because it was up to Elena to decide when or if she wanted you to know. Frankly, Bonnie, it wasn't your business," Jeremy said.

"Of course, it's my business. She was supposed to be my friend. She lied and manipulated all of us for her own gain," Bonnie said.

"No, for her kid, for her family. Tell me you wouldn't do something similar for your family," he challenged.

Just then, Elena and Rebekah made their way over. "Is everything alright, Jeremy," Elena asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. I have to get to math class, and how sad is it that I'd rather sit through that than continue this conversation?" Jeremy asked rhetorically before taking his math book and a notebook from his locker.

"Hey, I know you're getting your test back today. I expect to see it this afternoon," Elena said firmly.

"Yeah, yeah," Jeremy said before closing his locker and walking away.

Elena turned to Bonnie and smiled. "Hello, Bonnie. That was a cute little stunt that you all pulled last night. Let me give you a little advice for the future though. I plan for every possible contingency. In fact, even when it seems like it's not possible, you should assume I've planned for it."

Bonnie glared at her. "I'm not going to let you hurt Jeremy or manipulate him!"

"I could say the same to you. There's a reason I moved Jeremy before I revealed myself to you. I knew that at least some of you would attempt to use him as a weapon against me. That won't be happening. Jeremy is mine, and no one will take what is mine again. Should you try, what you saw me do to Mikael will seem trivial compared to what I'll do next. Do make sure to pass that on to your friends, especially the Salvatores. I have a feeling their stupidity will keep them from taking my last warning seriously," Elena said.

"You really think you can threaten me? I'm a Bennett witch," Bonnie said pompously.

Elena laughed loudly. "You know, that does actually mean something in magical circles. The Bennett line is a powerful one," she said before leaning in to whisper in her ear. "But not as powerful as mine, and I've been doing this a lot longer than you. I suggest you curb that ego before it gets you killed."

Rebekah could only watch with fascination as her aunt handled the Bennett girl. It was amazing how well she'd hidden her true self. Less than a week ago, she came across as a weak, malleable human. She had proven recently that she was anything but.

Elena stepped back from Bonnie and turned to her niece. "Come on, Rebekah. We'll be late for class."

"Of course. We wouldn't want that," Rebekah said with a smirk before following Elena towards their first class. They got to class just before the bell rang and took their seats.

Elena sat down next to Caroline. "Hi, Caroline."

"Hey. Listen, I had nothing to do with what happened last night. I told all of them it was stupid, like you hadn't already planned for something like that," Caroline said sarcastically. She might not know Elena like she thought she did, but she knew her friend had been manipulating events to work in her favor for years. There was no way she would've chanced a legal action to take Jeremy away.

Elena smiled at her. "I know. You were always the smarter one. I know you want to talk. Would you like to come home with us this afternoon? Or if you're not comfortable with talking to me in private, we can meet somewhere of your choosing."

Caroline shook her head. "Thanks, but it's fine. I may not know much, but if you wanted to hurt me, you would've done it already. I'll go to your place."

"Great. Just so you know, my niece and nephews are living with me, and I won't ask them to leave their home just because you're there," Elena said.

"I get it. It's fine," Caroline said. The two of them then turned to face the front of the class to pay attention to the teacher.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Elena and Caroline were seated in the dining room of Elena's home several hours later. She had asked the others not to interrupt them while they talked. "So, I'm sure you have questions or things you'd like to say. Go ahead."

Caroline nodded. "I was really hurt after the other night. I felt used."

"I know. I'm sorry I made you feel that way, but I'm not sorry for the way I handled things. I had to look out for my family, for my daughter," Elena said.

"Yeah, I thought about it more and I realized that I don't know what I would do if someone took my kid. I would probably do whatever it took, even if it hurt other people," Caroline said.

Elena nodded. "There is absolutely nothing a good parent wouldn't do for their child. I would lay down my life for Freya, or for my niece and nephews. I would sacrifice anyone else's life as well."

"I get all that, but I have to ask you something. Was our friendship real?" Caroline asked.

"Look, I cannot deny that there were people in my life that were a means to an end, like the Salvatores, but you were not one of them. Yes, our friendship was real. I cared very much for you. I am very sorry for what almost went down with Niklaus. I didn't mean for it to happen that way. I made an assumption I shouldn't have when Niklaus grabbed Katherine," Elena said.

"I believe you. I know you didn't intend for me to get hurt. I don't like that you used me, but I understand. I just wish you could've trusted me with the truth about you," Caroline said.

"Trust doesn't come easy for me, Caroline. I trusted my sisters without hesitation, and they took my baby. After that, trust is something that I have a hard time with," Elena said.

Caroline nodded. She would probably feel the same way if someone she loved that way had betrayed her so terribly. "I guess I can understand that. I'm not like the others. I believe that everything you did was for the right reasons. I don't like it, but I understand it. I don't want to lose our friendship."

"I don't want that either, but you need to understand that my family comes first. If one of the others comes after one of them, I will strike back without mercy. I don't want to make you choose, but it may come down to that," Elena said.

"I have a feeling it will too. The others won't accept our friendship, but that's their problem. When I became a vampire, you were the one that accepted me without question. Even Bonnie initially treated me like there was something wrong with me. You may have lied to me, but you were always loyal to me. If it comes down to it, you're the one I'll stand by," Caroline said firmly.

"Thank you. Would you like to stay for dinner? I promise the others will behave themselves," she said.

Caroline smiled. "You can keep a bunch of originals in line, including Klaus? I kind of want to see that."

"Is that a yes?" Elena asked.

"Yeah. I never thought I'd break bread with the vampire that was going to kill me, but I think it's going to be entertaining to see you handle him, so I'm in," Caroline said.

"Great. Come on," Elena said before standing up and leading the way out of the room.