Thankfully, the universe must have been looking out for her at least a little bit, for when she returned to the country house, it was Caroline who greeted her at the door. Though she preferred Caroline to the other occupants, the blonde still had a litany of questions to ask. Most of them, however, were solved by handing over the folded note.
After taking a second to read through it, Caroline's eyes flicked over the page to meet Elena's. Elena only shrugged, a conversation of such weight without a single word spoken. Even Caroline's small smile said we'll figure something out.
"What's that?" Damon, ever nosy and somehow always present in the most obnoxious of moments, asked as he entered the living room.
Elena reached out and grabbed the page out of Caroline's hands before Damon could get close enough to read any of the cursive threats over her shoulder. She folded it quickly, shoving it back into her jacket pocket. "It's nothing," she said.
He dropped down on the couch next to Caroline with an "Mm," his disbelief evident. He and Caroline exchanged a look, then he turned his cold blue eyes toward Elena. "I'm surprised you haven't left yet. Here I thought you'd be out of our hair the second Harmon reopened."
She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words fast enough. Caroline beat her to the punch. "Actually, Jeremy's going to stay a bit longer. Something about renovations, isn't that what you were saying?"
"Right," Elena said, confirming the story she'd made up on the fly. That didn't give her much time to plan her way out of the hole Mr. Lithander had shoved her into. But if she knew Caroline at all, she'd bet the girl already had at least one scheme cooking.
"Well, you're of course welcome to stay. Marcus and I will be heading back to Harmon tomorrow night. I don't recommend the daily trek from here," he said. Why was he being so nice? It made her want to strangle him even more than normal.
Caroline and Elena exchanged glances again. Damon narrowed his eyes at both of them. She hated the man, but he wasn't unintelligent. He had to know there was something else going on underneath the surface. She decided in a split second to tell him a fraction of the truth, throwing out the lie Caroline had carefully constructed.
"Actually, Salvatore, there was an issue with my enrollment," Elena said, trying to sound as confident as possible as she spoke. "Someone found out about it, and if I return to lecture on Monday, they're planning to expose some things about me that I would much prefer to keep hidden."
He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, looking at her with a hard but curious expression. "Is that so? I thought Jeremy Gilbert didn't have any secrets." He raised one mocking eyebrow.
Not rolling her eyes was nearly impossible, but somehow she accomplished it. Truly a show of her growth as a person. "Just the one, I'm afraid."
"What's the issue? I'm familiar with the admissions board, and the dean is a close friend of my father's," he explained. Of course, he had connections with the higher-ups. He probably hadn't even needed to submit a formal application. He probably hadn't even needed to pay a dime.
Now she looked at him with the same curious expression, with a little extra confusion. "You want to help me?"
"Such a surprise?"
"Well, based on everything I've ever overheard you saying about me, plus some of the things you've said to my face, I'd think you'd prefer me to be exposed or expelled."
His look turned sympathetic. Meanwhile, Caroline stepped away, exiting out the back door as they continued to talk. Why did she have to leave the two alone? Both her own and Damon's gazes followed the blonde as she left without a word.
"You've got it all wrong, Gilbert," Damon said once his eyes returned to hers.
She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Having this conversation alone felt much different than having it with Caroline present. "Do I?" she asked, leaning forward to look at him.
He shook his head, letting his eyes close for a second, brows furrowed. "Yes," he said, somewhat forcefully. "There's a lot you don't understand."
Well, hadn't she been told that before? If keeping her cover wasn't so goddamn important, she would have flown off the handle right then and there. Because Elena Gilbert was sick and tired of being talked down to by men who thought they knew everything there was to know about everything. But if Damon was so smart, so intelligent, so above her, why hadn't he figured out her secret yet? Clearly there were some things he didn't understand.
"Then explain it to me," she said finally, through gritted teeth.
"I can't."
"Well." She leaned back, wanting to put distance between them. "Then I don't want, nor do I need your help. There's a lot you don't understand, Salvatore," she huffed. "I can figure this out on my own. And when you lose this competition, which you will," she said, standing up from the couch. She took a step closer to him, looking down at him where he sat. "There will be even more so which you don't understand. And I will cherish knowing that which you do not."
And with that, she stormed off up the stairs, toward the guest room she'd only just evacuated earlier that morning. As she sat on the edge of the bed, face red with an anger she hadn't felt in a long time, she thought about what he must have been talking about. What he must have meant by those words, there's a lot you don't understand. About him? About them? If only she hadn't let the words affect her so deeply, maybe she could have delved a little bit deeper. And why had Caroline left her to deal with him on her own? What had she needed to do so badly in that moment that she'd abandoned her friend? Or perhaps, just like Elena, Caroline couldn't be in the same room with the Salvatore without blowing up on him. For that, she could definitely forgive.
A few hours later, Caroline sat across the room at the table as Elena flipped through her own enrollment records. Once again, all the threatening notes she'd received were splayed out on the bed in front of her. This time, the letter from Gregory Lithander sat front and center. She'd re-read it multiple times, trying to figure anything out. Unfortunately, it was fairly straightforward. Attend another lecture and he'd expose Jeremy as a fraud, as a woman. Which, in the eyes of Harmon College, was probably worse.
"Where did you go earlier?" Elena asked without looking up. They'd been sitting in companionable silence for an hour or so, but she couldn't let the question go unanswered.
"When?" Caroline asked, uninterested.
She looked up from her notes then, blinking in shock. "Earlier, in the living room. Damon was trying to figure out how to help, and you just left." Maybe she was reading into it too much, maybe it wasn't a big deal in the slightest and everything else just had her feeling on edge. Keeping the hurt from her voice didn't work as well as she'd hoped.
"Oh, that. I had an idea, and I wanted to talk to Marcus about it before I forgot," Caroline started. "I think he knows this Lithander guy."
For some reason, a weight lifted off her chest. This threat had definitely shaken her, made her evaluate everything more critically.
Caroline stood up from the table and sat down next to her. She placed a hand on top of hers and offered a small smile. "I told you we'd figure this out, and I meant it. Listen, Marcus thinks we might be able to pay Lithander off."
"Pay him off?" Elena asked, raising a brow. She'd never engaged in blackmail before. Was this normal protocol around the wealthy elites of Harmon?
She nodded. "If we give him enough money, maybe he'll keep quiet." The maybe didn't bring with it much comfort.
Elena licked her lips. Money was a somewhat sore subject. She'd used a good portion of her inheritance to pay for the program and housing. Her father had been well off, but she wasn't exactly rolling in hush money. She shifted awkwardly, eyes landing on the page in front of her again. How much she wished she could just rip up the page and have the threat disappear along with it. Why was seeking education fraught with so many issues? She'd already done everything she could to sneak into the school, tricked and fooled many people along the way, and there were still more hoops to jump through. None of the men at Harmon College had to worry about any of these issues, none of them had to jump through hoops or wear their brother's old clothes. Being restricted from knowledge freely available to men would never cease to anger her, and someday, maybe, she'd do something about it so women wouldn't have to endure what she did just to learn.
"I don't know, Care. I don't really have that much. Definitely not enough to make him leave me alone," Elena said. "I have some, maybe a thousand. Enough for a few more years at Harmon."
"Well—," Caroline started.
"If you tell me to ask the Salvatores, I might just lose my mind," Elena said, drawing her eyebrows together, exasperated. She simply could not continue to rely on the niceties of Mr. Salvatore and company to get her through college. At some point, she would need to figure out how to do something for herself.
"Actually, I was going to say that I could give it to you."
Her mouth dropped open. "How do you have that kind of money?" Women holding money at all was a strange concept. Strictly speaking, Elena's inheritance had really gone to Jeremy, and he'd been kind enough to split it.
The blonde smiled, and Elena realized just how little she really knew about Caroline, about Marcus, and especially about Damon. She'd shared a lot of herself with Caroline, but her friend often deflected when asked about her personal life, about her history. The same was true for the twins, Damon, and Marcus. How much did she really know about any of them? Who were these people with whom she shared so much time?
"Marcus and I come from a rather, well off family, and when our parents died they left us a large sum, most of which has stayed tied up in investment accounts. That's what I talked to Marcus about, he's going to make a withdrawal on Monday, and no Elena, I'm sorry, but I won't take no for an answer."
She tilted her head to the side, about to argue back, but Caroline held up a hand. "No. You're going to let me do this for you. You are my best friend, okay? I didn't get to live my dreams, so please let me help you with yours."
Her eyes softened at Caroline's confession. "Okay, Care." She leaned her head on the blonde's shoulder, looped her arms around her. "Thank you."
"Just…" she paused, looking down at Elena. "Don't say anything to Damon about it, okay?"
"I wouldn't dream of it," Elena said, smiling. She didn't know why Caroline didn't want her to share that information with Damon, but she wasn't going to question it. In fact, she wasn't going to question her friend again, because clearly, the blonde had her best interest at heart. And what more could she really ask for?
The transaction was quick and painless, and Elena hadn't even needed to be a part of it. Caroline explained that Marcus had agreed upon an amount of money with Mr. Lithander and then hand-delivered the sum himself. She'd made a note to thank him for that at a later date. And despite his involvement, Caroline stressed over and over that Marcus was still out of the loop, which whether true or not, Elena chose to believe for her own sanity.
Sitting in her dorm room, which only days ago she'd felt would never happen again, a wave of relief washed over her. She'd only missed a few days of class, and Salvatore of all people, had collected her makeup work and dropped it off. Beside the stack of assignments that sat neatly organized—and likely peppered with condescending notes—sat a letter from her brother.
She opened the envelope and scanned the letter. It read:
My caring sister,
I'm sorry for my delay in responding to your many, many letters. I've been on the move quite a bit in the last several months, and have just returned back home for a short rest. There is so much that I'd like to tell you and even more I'd like to learn about your—or should I say my—time at Harmon College. I hope that it's been everything you dreamed of. I'm about to set off overseas once more but just wanted to check in and make sure there haven't been any hiccups in your own adventures.
I plan to be out of the house for another few months, but you may reach me through Alaric in London. I've attached his address. Let's plan to meet back home on your Summer break. Like I said, there is so much I need to tell you. I miss you, and I love you.
The one and only,
Jeremy Gilbert
She ran her fingers over his words, his messy penmanship making her smile. Some things never changed. Opening her desk drawer, she pulled out a few sheets of paper and one of her nicer quills and began writing.
My well-traveled baby brother,
I'm so happy to finally hear back! I've missed you dearly, and can't believe how hard it is to not have you nearby. There's no one here like you. I've made a few friends, but certainly no one I can tell all of my secrets to.
The classes are amazing, and the campus is so beautiful. There have been a few hiccups, certainly, but I'm learning more than I ever did from our father. I'm even outperforming a few of my Greek classmates. Oh! And, there's this secret society called Harmon's Great Minds that I may get the chance to join. I can't wait to tell you all about it, Jer. I miss you, and I love you, and I definitely would like to meet up at some point this summer. I hope your travels are everything you've hoped, and I cannot wait to hear all about them.
The best big sister in the world,
Elena Gilbert
She folded the letter and slipped it into an envelope, addressed it, and slipped it back into the desk drawer. Then, she unpacked her trunk, certain that she'd actually get to stay this time around. Once her things were put away, she tucked herself into bed with Crime and Punishment, which she'd definitely stolen from Salvatore's house, and read many a chapter before falling asleep comfortable, content, and home.