Chapter Five: All Emojis Lead To Innuendos

Elena Gilbert

Bonnie's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she dipped the crab claw into the mustard sauce and bit into it. "Oh my god, the guy may be insane, but his choice of takeout is incredible."

Caroline raised her glass. "So's his choice of wine," she confirmed with an approving flick of her eyebrows.

Elena flattened her lips and rolled her eyes. They were all seated on throw pillows around the coffee table, tucking into the seafood, while Enzo changed the lock on Elena's apartment door. She couldn't understand how her stalker had got in – did he pick the lock? Did he have a copy of her key? All she knew was that there was no damage to the door.

She would have to give Stefan a copy of her new key tomorrow, and something about that bothered her. She couldn't completely rule Stefan out as being her stalker, even though it made no sense: she had known him for two years, and not once had he hinted at having any obsession with her. In fact, she kind of sensed he had a thing for Caroline, but since he'd never mentioned it, she never questioned it.

"All done," Enzo declared, patting the edge of the door and twisting the handle a few times, the way guys did when they'd finished a job and wanted to show off their handiwork. Getting the applause he craved from the women in the room, he beamed proudly and brought the new keys over to Elena, dropping them into her hand. "Do I get to join in with girls' night now?"

Bonnie patted the pillow next to her, inviting him to sit down. "Of course you can," she smiled. But, as soon as he sat down, she slid her plate away from him. "Just don't touch my crab claws."

"You've taken all of them," he protested.

"And it will stay that way," she declared. She picked up the bottle of wine, tilting it in a consolatory offering to her boyfriend.

"None for me, love," he replied. "I'm the designated driver... and after Caroline's finished her fourth glass of the evening, I'm sure I'll be the designated carrier to her apartment too."

Caroline shot him a dry smile, finished her glass, and then topped it up, determined to prove to him that she could handle her drink.

Unlike Caroline, Elena was sipping on her wine slowly, feeling a little tipsy but having no intention of getting drunk. She needed to keep a clear head. "Did you find any signs of the lock being picked?" she asked Enzo.

"No dents, no scratches, nothing loose in the mechanisms," he informed her, popping a king prawn into his mouth. "My guess is that he used a copy of the key."

Elena's shoulders sagged. "I was afraid of that."

Caroline shuffled closer and put an arm around her comfortingly. "Hey, that's a good thing," she soothed. "It means he hasn't got a copy now, and he can't pick the lock to get in again."

"I guess," Elena agreed, still feeling unsettled. "But it also means my stalker has to be someone I've been in contact with – or someone Stefan has invited into his home. I've never lost my keys, so somebody must have taken them to copy while I've been distracted. That could have happened at work, or at the gym, or at the hair salon..."

"Or at the spa?" Bonnie questioned, picking up a rectangular piece of paper from the table and fluttering it back and forth in her hand. "As in the same spa on this voucher your stalker left attached to the flowers?"

Elena took the voucher and studied it again. It was for a free sixty-minute VIP massage at Rose and Savior Spa in the town square. She had never been there before, not even when it was called Rose-Marie's Spa. It was close to closing down at one point, but had since undergone a significant renovation, reinventing itself into a place so successful it was near impossible to get an appointment. However, the fact that her stalker had left her a VIP voucher meant that he must have pulled some strings with the owners since it was a fast-track ticket for an appointment – and extremely limited. Elena shook her head. "No, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to go there and ask some questions."

Placing the voucher back down on the table despondently, Elena didn't hold too much hope in getting answers from Rose and Savior. She had already called Siren Shelley's, only to be told that the order had been placed over the phone and a third-party college student had collected the food, showing them ID before they handed over the alcohol. The name didn't match the name on the card details, but the restaurant was warned by the caller that this would happen beforehand. They made a point of telling Elena that they didn't appreciate the appearance of the "skater dude" who had been selected for the pick-up – it was a fancy place, and all that – so she felt inclined to apologize for this, even though she didn't ask for the damn takeout in the first place.

After a long conversation, the restaurant still wouldn't reveal the name of the cardholder to Elena, so she gave up. The stalker was too good at covering his tracks.

Whether she would go to the police about this, she still wasn't sure. Would they even take it seriously? What would she even say? Some guy with a key came into her apartment, left flowers, a takeout, and a voucher for a spa? They would give her the side-eye and tell her to change the locks and ignore his messages. She had already done the former... but the latter?

Elena picked up her phone and glanced at the latest messages again.

User192011211518: How's the food? Am I tantalizing your taste buds?

User192011211518: No reply? It must be good.

User192011211518: Yummy yummy yummy – just like my profile picture.

ElenaGAuthor: Go away.

User192011211518: There she is! How about a smiley emoji for me? Better still, a winky face!

She'd sent him the fuming emoji.

User192011211518: Ooo, nice! *wink emoji*

ElenaGAuthor: What the hell do you mean, "nice"?! I sent you an emoji showing how fuming mad I am! Don't you see the white steam coming from out of its nose?

User192011211518: Oh, is that steam? I saw the white around the mouth and I thought it meant... I thought you were going to... I thought I was going to get... never mind.

She'd sent him a string of angry expletive emojis with grawlixes in front of its mouth.

User192011211518: Squinty eyes... red in the face... repeatedly cursing. You like it rough?

She'd then sent him the middle finger emoji. There was no misinterpreting that.

User192011211518: Where do you want that finger? I'm open to all suggestions.

Argh! The guy was so frustrating!

ElenaGAuthor: Up your ass!

User192011211518: Kinky. Be gentle with me.

Elena planted her phone back down on the table. She hadn't replied – she wasn't going to reply. But her fingers were twitching with the temptation, and she was deliberately preventing the edges of her lips from curling upwards. He was not funny – he was infuriating! The only reason she wanted to smile at his responses was because she'd had too much wine – that was all. Her inhibitions were lowered. She'd see sense in the morning and block him.

But she had to know who this guy was. The urge to find out was itching away inside of her.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She picked up her phone again.

"Who are you messaging?" Bonnie asked.

Elena's eyes flicked up briefly from her phone screen. "Elijah. I think he can help me find out who my stalker is."

"Actually," Bonnie corrected, "I meant Caroline."

Caroline's face shot up, eyes wide with a look of guilt, and her face flushed from drinking too much wine. She tucked her phone underneath her crossed arms, and with an overly innocent tone, admitted, "Klaus...?"

Bonnie flattened her lips disapprovingly, and reached across the table, palm upwards.

With a sulking huff, Caroline surrendered her phone to Bonnie and then finished the rest of her wine.