Elena opened her front door to find Alaric on the other side. She was surprised to see him. She hadn't spoken to him since the truth about her came out. He didn't even really try to talk to her at school, although she did catch him staring at her a few times. "Hello, Alaric."
"Hi, Elena. I was wondering if we could talk," Alaric asked.
Elena stepped to the side and motioned with her hand for him to come inside. "Please."
"Thanks," Alaric said before stepping inside.
"I see you've decided to come yourself this time, instead of trying to sic the police on me," Elena said once she'd closed the door.
"I'm sorry about that. It was Damon and Bonnie's idea. I didn't know much about you at the time. They had just told me that you'd lied about who you were. They said that you were related to the Originals and that you were working your own agenda. They said that you kidnapped Jeremy to use him against us," Alaric said.
"Ric, I shouldn't have to tell you by now that not much good comes from listening to Damon. However, I am not blameless. In a perfect world, I would've spoken to you first. Unfortunately, things went down quickly. I had to act just as swiftly.
"But why? Why did you have to move Jeremy like that? Did you really think we'd hurt him?" Alaric asked.
"I wasn't taking any chances. I don't take chances when it comes to my family. I was mainly concerned about the Salvatores, but I also knew that they could influence the rest of you, which turned out to be accurate," Elena said.
"You talk about Stefan and Damon like they're your enemies," Alaric said in disbelief.
Elena seemed to contemplate that for a moment. "No, I wouldn't say enemies. That term gives them more power than they deserve. I'd more call them nuisances."
"Did you ever care about them? About any of us?" Alaric asked.
"Come on. Let's go into the living room and talk," Elena said before leading him into the living room. She motioned for him to have a seat before sitting down on the couch herself.
Alaric took a seat a few inches away from her on the couch.
"To answer your question, yes, I cared about most of you. I didn't enjoy using you or lying to you, but I won't apologize either. I did what I had to do for my family, for my daughter. I will be honest that I have very little sympathy for the Salvatores, especially Damon. He used me as much as I used him, even if he doesn't realize it," Elena said.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Damon's interest in me began when he realized Katherine was never in the tomb. She betrayed him, so he turned to the person who looked just like her, the 'nice' version of her. Damon is in love with my face, not me. He was using me to replace Katherine. Truthfully, I have very little respect for Damon. He's a loose cannon. He acts like a child throwing a tantrum when he doesn't get his way. He broke Jeremy's neck because I rejected him, and he's damn lucky I didn't kill him on the spot for that," Elena said. She'd come very close. If it weren't for the fact that Jeremy was wearing his ring, she would've killed Damon. Even with the ring, the only thing that saved Damon was that she might need him in the future.
"So, you really do care about Jeremy?" Alaric asked.
"Jeremy is my brother. I am as much Elena Gilbert as I am someone else," Elena said.
"Then how can you protect Klaus after what he did to Jenna? How could you even look at him?" Alaric asked.
Elena sighed. "Ric, I'm not going to make excuses for what Niklaus did. Killing Jenna was reprehensible. I can't tell you how angry I was. But at the end of the day, he's still my nephew, and while his actions were inexcusable, the position he found himself in was one he was forced into. I don't expect you to care about that, but my position is different."
"I…I guess it's hard to turn away family, no matter what they do," Alaric said.
Elena nodded.
"I really am sorry for how I acted and for not talking to you sooner. Bonnie and Damon said it was a bad idea. They were afraid you might do something to hurt me," Alaric said.
"I have no reason to hurt you, Ric, nor do I have a desire to," Elena said. That wasn't to say she wouldn't if he did something to put her family at risk. She cared about Ric, but her brother and her nieces and nephew came first. She would not allow anyone to harm them.
"I spoke to Caroline a little bit afterwards. She explained a little about the reason you did things and that she still trusts you. Jeremy does to. I spoke to him after class one day. I don't want to turn my back on you, Elena. You may not have been who I thought you were, but I still care for you. You're still Isobel's daughter and Jenna's niece," Alaric said.
Elena was quiet for a few moments. She wasn't sure she trusted him. Alaric had a habit of aligning himself with Damon, despite the number of times Damon's plans blew up in their faces. It also seemed strange that it had taken Ric this long to speak to her. "Ric, I need you to listen to me carefully. If that's really what you want, I couldn't be happier, but if this is a ploy to get close to me so that you can all betray me, I would suggest you abandon that plan."
"Elena, I swear…"
Elena put her hand up to interrupt him. "Stop. Just listen to me. I want you to think about it very carefully. I care very much for you, but I do not respond well to betrayal. If I find out that you are here for that purpose, I will not be merciful, especially if your actions harm a member of my family. If they haven't already told you, you should ask Bonnie or the Salvatores what I did to Mikael for betraying me and harming my family. Now, I'm giving you one chance. Walk out that door now, and I'll forget this conversation. I will hold no ill will towards you."
Alaric gulped slightly. It was clear to him now just how dangerous she was. "Elena, I swear, I'm here because I want to be. I want a relationship with you and Jeremy."
"Alright. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now," Elena said. He'd at least earned that much from her after all he'd done for her and Jeremy, but she meant what she said. If he betrayed her, she would have no mercy for him or anyone else he was working with.
"Thank you. I know trust can't be easy for you. Would it be okay if I saw Jeremy?" Alaric asked.
"He's not home. He and Kol went down to the Grill. You can wait if you want," Elena said.
Alaric barely managed to keep himself from reacting to that. The fact that Elena let Jeremy go off alone with an Original was deeply concerning to him. "That's okay. I've got a bunch of grading to do tonight. I'll come back another time, if it's okay."
'That's fine. Just let me know when you want to come," Elena said. Normally she wouldn't require that, but she had to deal with Elijah's repressed memories soon and she didn't want to trust Alaric showing up when that happened.
"I will, thanks," Alaric said before standing up. "I'm glad we're going to be able to get past this."
"Me too," Elena said before they both headed to the door. She said her goodbyes and escorted him out. She watched him get to his car and head out. She still wasn't sure she trusted him, but he at least deserved a chance. She only hoped she didn't regret it. If she did though, so would he.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Alaric walked into the boarding house and headed into the living room, where he found Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie.
"How'd it go?" Damon asked.
"Well, I got in the door. After some initial distrust, Elena invited me into her life. She doesn't fully trust me though," Alaric told them.
"We knew that was likely. It's going to take time to get her to trust you. Once she does, we can strike," Bonnie said.
Alaric was more than a little hesitant. If his conversation with Elena had proved anything, it was that she was dangerous when she was crossed. "I don't know that this is a good idea anymore. Elena made it very clear what would happen if I betrayed her."
"She threatened you? That just proves that we're right. She's no better than the Originals. We need to stop her before she gets someone killed, like Jeremy. She already has him and Caroline under her spell. We have to stop her," Bonnie said.
"Not to mention that they all need to pay for what they've done to us," Stefan said. That was honestly all he cared about. He wanted Elena and Klaus to pay for what they did to him. Klaus had taken everything from him and Elena may as well have handed him over to Klaus on a silver platter.
"That's easy for both of you to say when you're not the ones putting your necks on the line," Alaric said.
"I know. I'm sorry it has to be you, Ric, but there's no one else. We can't even trust Caroline at this point. You know this is the right thing. We have to get Jeremy away from those people," Bonnie said.
Alaric nodded. He did know that. He'd had a few reservations before he saw Elena, but she'd admitted to letting Jeremy go off alone with one of the Originals. He wasn't safe there. She would prioritize them over Jeremy. "I know that, but if this goes wrong, and it very much could, we could all end up dead."
Bonnie shook her head. "I can handle Elena. I was able to take on Klaus. Hell, if it weren't for Elijah, I would've killed him."
"And Elena is more powerful than Klaus is. You all told me yourselves that she took out Mikael, whom Klaus feared, without breaking a sweat. She has the Originals under her control. The worst thing we can do is underestimate her," Alaric said.
"Are you saying you won't do it?" Damon asked with annoyance in his voice. They needed Ric. They needed him to get close to Elena. He could figure out what her weaknesses were so they could exploit them.
Alaric reluctantly shook his head. "No. I don't believe Jeremy is safe under the same roof with five Originals. I'll do what's necessary to protect him. I'm just saying that this could very easily go very badly. We need to be prepared for that."
"We'll be fine. We always are. As long as we stick to the plan, we'll stop these people once and for all," Damon said with a smirk.
"Damon, let's not pretend that you care about stopping them or protecting Jeremy. You want revenge on Elena. Admit that at least," he said.
"Yeah, well, we deserve it. She screwed us over for the monsters she calls family," Stefan said.
"Just make sure it's worth dying for, Stefan, because you just might die for it," Alaric said before heading out of the room.