When The Sun Rises

by MadameXOX

The universe has not been kind to Elena Mikaelson. She's been abducted, she's been hunted, she's even been thrown off a damn cliff for crying out loud! So it stands to reason that she might be a little traumatized, okay? But that's fine, she can deal. At least, that's what she tells herself. Luckily for her, no one is about to let her try and cope on her own. This is a sequel

20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Elena couldn't get her tremors under control as she and Enzo left the ice rink, her body was shaking so hard that it was taking all of her focus just to stay upright, she was almost certain that if she stood still for long enough, she'd hear her knees knocking together.

Enzo's eyes scorched into her face as her own frustration was growing, why couldn't she just-

"I can get us back to the car much quicker, if you're willing to allow me the honour of holding you for just a few moments?"

Elena looked up at Enzo's face, his pale skin was speckled with blood spatters, his mouth stained red, and he was equally as filthy as she was, but he still had the nerve to look good. Screw him and his vampire genetics.

She thought about it for a split second,

"I'm covered in blood," she whispered, and Enzo blinked before reaching out with his free hand, gently cupping her cheek and smearing the blood on her face with his thumb as he stroked her ever so tenderly,

"If I had a problem with a bit of blood," he spoke quietly as he stepped closer to her, "I'd be a terrible vampire."

Elena frowned up at him,

"What about your control? You said-"

"I know what I said," his voice was huskier than it had been before, "And I stand by it, you are both my biggest challenge and the greatest reward. I don't think I could hurt you even if I wanted to."

Fuck those butterflies in her stomach, and fuck his British mannerisms that make her stupid heart flutter like that,

"I don't want to make things harder for you," she whispered to him, and he smiled down at her, his dark eyes softening,

"What is life without a little difficulty? I've come to find that some things are worth the challenge that they present."

There was nothing Elena could do but nod and then Enzo was moving, much like he had when he'd requested that she put the star up on his Christmas tree. He moved his bags higher up his wrist and then tugged her up to his chest, a slightly smug expression on his face as her shaking legs wrapped around his middle and for just a second, she wondered what he was thinking about as he stared into her eyes.

It was a moment that, to Elena, seemed to stretch on almost endlessly before Enzo began to move.

Now, they did get to the car much quicker than they would have done had she walked, but she knew for a fact that Enzo was capable of moving faster than he did. It should have taken just seconds to get to the parking lot if Enzo moved at vampire speed and as it was, the journey still took a few minutes.

She wasn't sure why he was taking longer than he needed to, but she wasn't going to complain.

Not only was she not particularly bothered about being carried, but she was dreading making that phone call to Elijah.

What if they were hurt? Right now, she existed in a world where sure, she, Enzo, Niklaus and Caroline had been ambushed, but they'd lived. In her universe right now, everyone she loved was safe and alive, and in Caroline's case, slightly insane. What if she made that phone call and the manor had been attacked? What if Jeremy-

No.

They were fine.

They had to be.

When they made it back to the car, Enzo placed Elena in the driver's seat like she was a fragile ornament of spun glass,

"I'm going to put our shopping in the trunk," he seemed to hesitate for a second before he took her fingers in his, giving them a little squeeze, "Phone your brother. We can't leave until you've made your call."

Elena sighed but nodded as she shakily pulled out her phone, sticking it on speaker after she dialled Elijah's number because she didn't want to get blood on the screen.

It rang and rang, and for every second that he didn't pick up, Elena's heartrate increased, and she got closer and closer to hyperventilating until finally, finally Elijah answered,

"It's Elijah."

And Elena could have sobbed, because if any of them had been hurt, he wouldn't sound so damned relaxed. Her shoulders heaved as relief spread through her like a wildfire,

"Elena? Are you there?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm here," she sounded awful. Her voice was coarse from the sobs that she was desperately holding back, and it cracked awfully and she heard Elijah's breath catch,

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" His voice was panicked, and she could hear Kol in the background trying to snatch the phone from Elijah's hands,

"Not anymore," she whispered into the phone, "We, that is, we were ambushed-"

"What do you mean, ambushed? Where is Niklaus?"

Elena chewed on her cheek,

"We're all okay," she spoke quietly, her voice wobbling, "It was the werewolves from Montana, 'Lijah, there were dozens of them. Are you guys all safe? Nothing's happened your end?"

There was silence for a moment before Elijah's voice came through sounding like he was desperately trying to control his emotions,

"It's been quiet here," he told her, "Kol and Jeremy have been playing video games, Finn has been tending to the goats and Rebekah has taken the opportunity to spend the evening with Stefan, we're okay. Now, where is Niklaus? I can't hear him making a ruckus?"

Elena swallowed,

"Care got bit," her voice wobbled hideously, "Nik healed her, obviously, but uhhh, he's got her helping him to clean up and he's sending Enzo and I home-"

"Good," bittersweet relief clung to Elijah's voice, "Elena, Sweetheart, you come home to us, alright? And for the love of God, drive carefully, the roads are icy… Maybe I should come and get you-"

"I'm okay, 'Lijah. I'm going to drop Enzo off at his place and then I'm coming straight home, okay?"

It was Kol's voice that reached her ears next, he'd clearly succeeded in stealing Elijah's phone,

"How bad was it this time? You said 'Not anymore' when Elijah asked if you were hurt, so how bad was it?" He sounded panicked and Elena's heart lurched as she pictured him pacing through Elijah's study,

"I'm okay, Kol, it was just a few bumps and bruises, I swear, and for most of the fight, I wasn't even involved-"

"What the hell does that mean? There's no way you'd sit out willingly, I know you too well to believe that for even a moment."

"I, uhhh, I was doing my best impression of a bird," she tried to make her voice soothing, "In that I was perched on a beam near the ceiling of the ice rink."

There was silence and then Elijah was back,

"Come home, Elena. We can talk about this when you're back, just be careful, okay? Drive safely and come home."

She heard something crashing in the background and she almost flinched,

"I'll have to pay to get your car cleaned," she told him with a forced laugh, "We're covered in werewolf blood-"

"I shall handle it. I could not care less about the car, Elena, I care about you and your group of misfits. Now, come home."

"Love you guys,"

"We love you too."

She hung up and turned to Enzo, who had sat beside her,

"They're okay." She knew, logically, that he'd heard every word, but it helped her to hear it out loud and he seemed to understand, offering her a soft smile,

"And so are we."

She nodded, texted Niklaus to let him know that the family were fine, and then she sucked in a deep breath, forcing a smile onto her face,

"Are you ready to go?"

Enzo nodded at her and slipped on his seatbelt, watching her as she started the car.

She focussed on getting them out of the city before turning to him with a shaky laugh,

"I suppose you'll never want to hang out with me again after this," she chewed on the inside of her cheek as his eyes snapped to her face, a little frown between his brows,

"Where on earth would you get that idea from?"

Elena offered him half a shrug,

"I mean, we did just get attacked by a bunch of insane werewolves who thirst for my blood like it's the nectar of the gods," She shot him a grin, "One day, I'm going to string my Damon up by his testicles for this."

Enzo clenched his jaw, and his eyes darkened slightly,

"Those are more of the same of what you faced alone in Montana?"

At Elena's nod, Enzo scowled, his fingers clenching into a tight fist,

"When you find him, do be sure to give me a call, I'd love to meet this thing masquerading as a man."

Elena grinned at him and felt the strangest bubble of hope in her chest,

"So, you're not going to start avoiding me, then?"

Enzo gazed at her blood-soaked face for a second before shaking his head,

"I'm not afraid of a good fight, Gorgeous, it'll take more than that to scare me off now."

And Elena couldn't stop the mildly hysterical giggle that flew up her throat and out of her mouth,

"You know," she gasped out between giggles, "Bloodthirsty werewolves aside, I had a really lovely time with you today."

Enzo inclined his head at her, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips,

"I particularly enjoyed the chestnuts."

They spent the majority of their drive filling the silence with idle chatter and Elena took the opportunity to soak in as much information about Enzo as he was prepared to give her.

She learned that his favourite food since leaving Whitmore has been Elijah's pancakes and the particular type of syrup that Elijah stocked, his favourite drink was O positive, he didn't enjoy reality TV and his hunt for his old friend had kind of dried up, but he wasn't particularly bothered about that.

By his own words, he'd found someone much better to spend his time in pursuit of.

She was confused by the pang of jealousy that shot through her when he'd said that. She and Enzo were just friends, so he was free to pursue whoever he'd like, right?

And he'd spent so long alone, he deserved to find someone special…

So why did the idea of him finding someone make her want to set the lucky woman on fire?

She reasoned that she was probably just afraid of losing her friend.

Yes, that was it.

But if that's what it took for him to be happy… Well, she wasn't selfish enough to begrudge him that. After a bit of minor scorching, of course.

And when she pulled up outside of his apartment building, she was only vaguely surprised to find Kol in the doorway, leaning against the walls with his arms crossed and a dark scowl on his face that lightened when he spotted her.

Elena barely had time to cut the engine before Kol was yanking her door open and dragging her from the vehicle, tugging her into a bruising hug that she was powerless to try and escape from even if she'd wanted to.

"You are going to be the death of me," he murmured into her hair, and she just sighed, resting her head on his shoulder and squeezing him back,

"I'm okay," she pressed her cheek into his shoulder slightly harder, "But you're covered in blood now."

Kol snorted and pulled back from the hug just slightly so he could look at her face,

"It's not the first time, Little Bird, and it won't be the last time. I'm what Elijah calls a messy eater."

He slowly released her before turning to Enzo, who was getting his shopping bags from the trunk,

"I'm glad that you're not hurt, and Nik called, thank you for trying to protect our danger-prone dwarf."

Elena scowled up at Kol as Enzo grinned,

"In the spirit of honesty, your sister is a badass. I watched her gut a guy with her ice skates, so while I tried to protect her, even went as far as to ask her to leave, I don't think she actually needed it."

Kol scowled down at her and shook his head,

"Of course you did. Why wouldn't you try hand-to-hand combat on the ice while you're a spindly little human?"

Elena blinked and glared at her brother,

"What else would you have me do? Sing them a little song and do a little dance?"

Kol sighed and stepped around her,

"I'm going to get in the car, say your goodbyes and get a move on, you stink of werewolf entrails."

Elena rolled her eyes and watched with a swell of fondness as her brother climbed into the passenger seat.

Enzo stepped up to her, his fingers trailing down her cheek,

"Are you okay?" he asked her softly and she nodded, grabbing his hand with hers,

"Thank you for inviting me out today, I really did have a lovely time with you right up to that very last second when I got launched."

Enzo squeezed her fingers and turned them slightly so that they weren't facing the car,

"Thank you for coming with me," he whispered to her, "Next time, we'll try to avoid the murderous ending."

Elena grinned up at him,

"Next time?" she most definitely did not have butterflies. Nope. Not at all.

He tucked one of her curls behind her ear, gently skimming his fingertips across the shell of her ear, sending a series of delightful shivers down her spine and his caramel eyes were scorching into hers,

"Next time."

She was stuck under his gaze when a loud, blaring horn made her jump and she spun to glare at Kol as she covered her ears and he shrugged, mouthing 'sorry, I slipped' at her and she rolled her eyes before stepping back from Enzo, offering him a small smile,

"I'll see you tomorrow, right? When you come into the library to get your next book?"

Enzo inclined his head with a soft smirk,

"As the Lady wishes."

"Night, Enzo."

"Goodnight, Gorgeous."

She watched him walk towards the apartment building and called out after him,

"That's still not my name!"

He looked over his shoulder and shot her a wink, the dirty rotten no-good Brit, before disappearing behind the door.

For a second, she just stood in front of his building like a blood-soaked stalker, watching where he had disappeared before shaking her head and sucking in a breath, turning and getting back into the car.

Kol watched her for a while as she drove before eventually breaking the comfortable silence,

"I'm glad that Niklaus sent you home," he admitted with a half shrug, "And I'm glad that you weren't alone."

Elena blinked,

"I'm okay, Kol. Look at me, I'm alright."

"I am looking at you, Elena, and I'm seeing one of, if not the most important people in my world once again coated in blood. And you were supposed to be safe, you were going out with Nik and your friends and you were supposed to be having a good day and you've come home after having to be healed because you were ambushed! One day, your luck isn't going to be enough. And that just terrifies me."

Elena sighed and grabbed his hand off his lap, squeezing it between her trembling fingers,

"I don't need luck, Kol. I have the words best bodyguards and my brother is this insane Original vampire who insists on teaching me this life saving magic, he's a bit of a drill sergeant really, but he saved my life today."

Kol locked their hands together and gave her a weak smile,

"This brother of yours sounds awesome, you'll have to introduce us," his eyes locked on her hand that was sandwiched now between both of his, "Your tremors were starting to go away before today," he whispered, "And now they're bad again. This sucks." He sounded so genuinely disappointed and so heartbroken that Elena's heart squeezed in her chest,

"I'm gonna be okay, Kol. And creepy bedroom stalkers and ambushes aside, I've had a great day. We went to the market, we had hot cocoa and I pelted Enzo with chestnuts and then Niklaus cleared the ice rink so we could all skate privately. And after the ambush, Caroline finally kissed Nik!"

Kol's eyes widened,

"No, she didn't!"

But Elena was grinning and nodding,

"She totally did. You should've seen his face afterwards! And I didn't even get a chance to talk to her about it before he was sending Enzo and I home."

Kol shook his head, an amused grin on his face now,

"He totally did that on purpose. What a wanker."

Elena grinned and nodded, excitedly slapping the steering wheel,

"That's what I'm saying!"

Kol shook his head,

"He's doing this because of the goats, I'm telling you. We'll just have to put the geese into his bedroom next time."

Elena's eyes widened as she imagined the utter havoc the geese would cause if they got inside the house. She was imagining utter mayhem as she pulled up to the Manor.

She'd barely had time to cut the engine and get her seatbelt off before the front door swung open and Elijah marched out. Elena met him halfway, launching herself from the car and throwing herself into his open arms. One of his arms folded around her waist, crushing her into him and the other went up and around her shoulders, his hand closing around the back of her head.

He held her like he'd been afraid.

"I'm okay," she breathed,

"I know," he responded, squeezing her a little tighter before nodding his head and stepping back, keeping one hand on her back as he guided her inside, "Come, you should go and have a nice, hot bath. You're freezing."

She hadn't noticed.

"I need my shopping," she made to turn but Elijah just kept her moving,

"Kol will fetch your bags and bring them to your room. You've had a long day; it's time for you to relax."

"Okay," she let him guide her into the house before she turned to him, grabbing at his sleeve like she were a child, "I still have some money left from the build up I got from work, I'll get your car cleaned after my shift tomorrow."

But Elijah just shook his head at her with a fond smile on his pale face,

"Don't be ridiculous," he gently booped her nose, "I'll have it cleaned in the morning."

Elena just sighed and made her way to the stairs,

"These villains are always ruining my nice clothes. From now on, I'm living in cheap tracksuits I swear to God."

She heard Elijah snort from behind her and his voice chased her up the stairs,

"Absolutely not, I'd sooner replace every item in your closet."

She rolled her eyes as she walked into her room. She'd barely shut her door before she began to peel away her blood-soaked clothing and she went immediately into her bathroom, locking the door behind her as she started to fill her bathtub with hot water.

It was decidedly odd, she thought, that even though she'd been ambushed once again, and been involved in a fight for her life, again, she was still buzzing with a strange content-ness that seemed to vibrate through her bones.

Or maybe that was her tremors.

Either way, right in this moment, Elena didn't feel like she was heading for the meltdown that she'd expected.

Maybe the world was changing her, she thought. Maybe she was just getting used to the strange chaos of her life and that was a slightly scary thought.

That her world had changed so much from the safe, ordinary life that she'd led as a child into this darker supernatural filled universe where she had been born a thousand years ago and ninety nine percent of her favourite people were all vampires.

And it didn't phase her anymore when she took a life.

Because she had, now.

She had killed many, many people since Stefan and Damon had walked into her world and at first, she'd struggled so badly to carry the weight of that guilt. Sometimes, she'd felt like it was crushing her from the inside out.

But now? Now she understood that this crazy world of hers ran on a survival of the fittest vibe, and she had no intention of losing. She wanted to live, and she wanted the ones that she loved to live, and she didn't particularly care about the lives of those who put her future in jeopardy.

They were just tally marks on her psyche now.

After all, taking one life was a tragedy. But when you reached the numbers that she now had, they were a statistic.

And each one represented her struggle to obtain the life that she was living.

And she knew, in her darker heart, that she would always do whatever it took to keep this life that she'd built.

There was no denying now that a darkness lingered on her soul, she'd been touched by death and it had changed her, it had left an oily stain on her that she wasn't interested in trying to clean.

After all, the girl that she'd used to be couldn't exist in this world and Elena never wanted to be her again.

No one would walk over her again, no one would convince her that she didn't deserve to be happy. She was stronger than that, now.

She climbed into her bath as soon as she could, and the blood from her skin and hair seeped into the clean water until it was a mottled reddish brown.

She scrubbed herself clean and she carefully undid the braids in her hair before scrubbing that clean, too.

After she felt the heat penetrate into her bones, she climbed out and slid into a pair of pjs before walking back into her room, smiling at the sight of her bags on her bed.

She carefully leafed through them until she found the crochet bear that Enzo had given her, and her fingers lightly skimmed over the heart, a soft smile stretching over her lips before she put the bear on her bedside table.

She wasn't sure what time it was, but she knew it was late and now that she was alone in her room, while she wasn't frightened, she also couldn't settle. She found herself idly wandering around her room, she re-organised her photo wall and she found herself checking that her window was locked.

It was when she found herself sorting out her sock drawer that she gave up with a little sigh and slowly crept from her room. She made her way down the corridor and considered her options, she could go and sit with the chickens, she supposed.

Or she could go and put a movie on in the sitting room, but that felt rude and inconsiderate to her likely sleeping siblings.

She could go and get herself a glass of warm milk from the kitchen, but she was just as likely to set the stove on fire.

In the end, her feet made the decision before her brain did, and it wasn't until the door swung open that she realised that she was exactly where she wanted to go.

She stepped into Kol's room and he shut the door behind her. He was in a pair of grey and black pjs and was padding across his room in bare feet with his gaming headset on his head, but he'd clearly been listening for her, as if he'd known that she would come and seek him out.

She curled up on her seat of the couch and he slid the grimoire over to her, as if he knew just by looking at her that she wasn't ready to settle down just yet,

"Pick something fun," he told her quietly as he flopped back onto the couch, picking up his xbox controller, "Not something dangerous or life saving, something light and fun. Something that we can use to annoy Niklaus."

Elena grinned at him, and he returned it before turning back to his game and blasting the head off a werewolf. She thought it was kind of poetic, after the day she'd had. Perhaps he found it cathartic.

She watched him for a moment longer before turning to the grimoire and hoisting it onto her lap and beginning to flick through the delicate pages.

It was truly a testament to how dark Esther had turned that most of the later entries were the kind of magic that Kol had banned her from practicing.

He had told her that dark magic was dangerous and not just because they were usually dangerous spells in general, but because the use of black magic left a taint on your mind and soul, and once you started using it, even if you only did one little spell, the taint would only spread and one spell would turn to two and then, whether you liked it or not, it would consume you.

It was more addictive than most witches could understand.

And so, Kol had left those spells in the grimoire, not for her to ever use, but to remind her that her magic was a blessing. They remained there for her to study, to remind her of what she should never be.

She skimmed through the grimoire until she found something that she found interesting and when she showed it to Kol, he appraised her slowly before nodding.

She practiced it for a while, playing with her magic and grinning when she started to see results.

Kol guided her while he played his game until she'd been silent for a while and when he turned to check on her, he found her curled up with her head on the arm of the couch, her eyes shut and the grimoire still on her lap as she slept.

He moved silently, gently plucking the grimoire off her lap and putting it on the table before very carefully picking his sister up and taking her back to her room, tucking her in beneath her covers and tenderly pressing his forehead into hers before he silently padded across her floor and checked that her window was still locked before leaving her to sleep, gently clicking the door shut behind him.

When she woke the next morning, it took her a moment to work out where she was.

She blinked the world into focus and then stretched her arms up over her head before clambering out of her bed.

She went about her morning routine as usual, tending to the animals and then stealing Daisy from Jeremy's room to accompany her on her run.

She ran and ran, adding twenty minutes to her usual route before she trudged through the back door. She let Daisy off her leash and gave her a quick ear scratch before making her way upstairs and hopping into her shower, giving herself a quick scrub and freshen up before dressing in a smart black dress and straightening her hair, meticulously pinning it into a bun on the top of her head before making her way downstairs.

Jeremy met her at the bottom of the staircase with a grin,

"Elijah made croissants, come on, we've got to be quick, or Klaus will eat them all."

Elena rolled her eyes and reached up to ruffle his hair,

"We'd better get a move on, then. We wouldn't want to starve, after all."

But in her heart, despite her teasing, she couldn't deny the rush of relief that she felt at finding out that Niklaus had returned.

She knew it was ridiculous to worry, that her brother literally couldn't be killed by the insane werewolves, but matters of the heart rarely make sense.

She followed Jeremy into the dining room and took her seat, gently ruffling Kol's hair with a little grin and he shot her a tiny scowl before he passed her a plate with two croissants and a strawberry tart on it that she was almost certain Elijah hadn't put out for breakfast.

She ate quickly, almost scarfing down her food, much to Elijah's amusement. He watched her with a small grin on his face, his eyes twinkling with his amusement,

"Elena, please stop impersonating Niklaus, it doesn't suit you."

Nik scowled at Elijah, which would have likely looked slightly more intimidating had he not had egg yolk running down his chin and into his beard scruff.

Elena grinned and shook her head,

"I'm running late," she spoke between bites of her tart, "Time is working against me this morning."

Elijah just shook his head, leaning back into his seat,

"I would offer you a lift, but my car was collected for a deep clean an hour ago."

Elena just shrugged and offered him a small smile, getting to her feet as soon as her plate was cleared,

"Thanks anyway," she offered them all a little wave as she backed out of the dining room, "See you all later!"

And then she was jogging through the hallway, grabbing her bag and keys from the entrance hall and then flying out to her car, scowling at the snow as her feet crunched through it.

The roads were clear as she drove to work, the snowfall made the roads especially icy, so, on top of running late, she had to drive slowly.

By the time she was parking her car, she was ten minutes late.

She grumbled to herself as she unlocked the library, quickly running through the motions of opening and getting ready for the day ahead.

She was just about to run the vacuum when the bell above the door chimed and Caroline came prancing into the room, a wide, face-splitting smile on her face and Elena had just opened her mouth to greet her friend when she was crushed into a tight hug and lifted from the ground, a giggle tearing from her as she was spun in the air,

"I take it things went well with you and Nik then?" she teased when Caroline put her back on the ground,

"Very well," the blonde girl gushed, "I can't believe I kissed him, 'Lena! I kissed him! And he kissed me back!"

Elena rolled her eyes and grinned before reaching out and flicking her friend in the head,

"Of course he kissed you back, you idiot. Now tell me that you two are officially together and he's going to take you out tonight to wine and dine you."

Caroline flushed, the smile never leaving her face,

"We're together," she whispered excitedly, "Elena, I'm dating Klaus! I'm dating your brother!"

Elena giggled and shook her head,

"And he didn't even have to piss on you, isn't that something?"

Caroline scowled at her before hopping to sit on Elena's desk,

"What about you and Enzo? Did he kiss you?"

Elena almost choked on the oxygen in her lungs and her eyes widened, much to Caroline's amusement,

"No! I told you; it wasn't a date! Besides, he told me he's pursuing someone." She tried to keep the ugly jealousy out of her voice, but she wasn't sure how successful she was because Caroline's smile dropped into a look of pure shock and her arms crossed over her chest,

"Are you being serious?" At Elena's nod, Caroline threw her head back and glared at the ceiling, "Elena Mikaelson, sometimes I could just shake you. He's pursuing you."

Elena scowled and crossed her arms over her chest,

"We're just friends, Care. We had a lovely time at the market and at the ice rink before the attack, but that's it. He's got his eye on someone and I'm happy for him, he deserves that."

Caroline hopped off the desk with a huff and put her hands on Elena's shoulders, looking her in the eyes,

"Elena, I'm going to say this very slowly so that you understand, okay? Enzo. Likes. You."

Elena rolled her eyes and shrugged her off,

"Look, you're seeing stuff that just isn't there, Care."

Caroline sighed and shook her head,

"You're hopeless," she groaned, "Completely and utterly hopeless."

Elena grinned,

"I had a really great time, though," she whispered, "I'd do it again."

Caroline gave her a soft, sweet smile,

"So did I. Your brother can be incredibly sweet, you know?"

Elena narrowed her eyes,

"It was all the Paris talk, wasn't it? He totally won you over before we even got to the market."

Caroline blushed and looked at her toes,

"No one's ever talked to me like that before," she admitted quietly, "It's kind of nice, feeling like you're that important to someone."

Elena put her head on Caroline's shoulders,

"I get it. I mean, it's gross because that's my brother, but I'm really happy for you. And for me, because I got to see it happen, so there's that."

Caroline giggled and gave her a little shove,

"I assume we're wrapping gifts tonight, right?"

Elena nodded with a soft groan,

"I need to get it done before Christmas is on the doorstep, but it's such a boring activity. You should bring your gifts over to mine after my shift and we can do it together."

Caroline nodded and then poked Elena in the arm,

"And tomorrow, you, me and Jeremy can go shopping for our Christmas Day outfits. Rebekah told me its customary to wear red, so we need red dresses and some part of Jeremy's outfit needs to be red, either the tie or the shirt."

And all Elena could do was groan, yet more shopping.

Carlone giggled and grabbed the returned books, stealing one of the few chores that Elena actually had to do. Elena narrowed her eyes at her friend before continuing with their cleaning,

"Klaus was terribly worried about you yesterday, when you were with Enzo at the market. I think he was worried about how you'd cope with the snow."

Elena frowned while she vacuumed and pursed her lips,

"I had a great time, though. Enzo brought me a bear."

Caroline grinned and shook her head,

"You're so oblivious," she muttered beneath her breath and Elena scowled at her,

"What actually made you kiss Nik? You've been denying having feelings for him for so long... What changed?" Real curiosity churned in Elena's gut, and she kept her eyes on her now blushing friend, who was being uncharacteristically shy, her eyes turning to her shuffling feet,

"I, uh, I had a really fantastic time with him at the market. He brought me a copper rose and we danced in the square, we shared a mulled wine... Then he cleared out the ice rink, just because I said that I liked to skate... And while we were skating, 'Lena, he kept whispering in my ear about how beautiful I am and how badly he wants to show me the world. And then, when we got attacked and I was bitten and taken to the ground, I realised that I wasn't afraid, because I knew Klaus would save me. I knew he was there, and I was completely fine, because he wouldn't accept anything else. So, when he proved me right, I don't know, I just reacted, I guess."

Elena watched her with a soft smile, a ball of tenderness in her chest as she watched her friend,

"For what it's worth, I think Nik will do everything in his power to make you happy. He's been besotted with you since your birthday when he first healed you with his blood."

Caroline couldn't stop the little smile that spread across her lips,

"I think you're right," she whispered,

"I know I'm right," Elena rolled her eyes, "Niklaus is a love-struck fool, we all know it."

"Don't mock a man in love, Gorgeous," Elena nearly jumped out of her skin as Enzo appeared at her back, his body just centimetres from hers, "There's nothing wrong with a man knowing who and what he wants and doing everything in his power to get it, anything less is simply criminal."

Elena grinned up at the dark-haired man who was smirking down at her,

"Enzo! You're here to swap your book?"

He nodded, holding out the book that he wanted to return, and she took it from him, being mindful not to touch his fingers. She took it over to the desk and marked it as returned before leading him over to where the other books in the set were kept. They were on the bottom shelf and when she pointed them out, Enzo blinked from behind her,

"I'm afraid I've hurt my hip," From behind him, Caroline was rolling her eyes and grinning, "Would you mind terribly bending over and grabbing it for me?"

A rush of sympathy went through her and Elena nodded, ignoring the wide-eyed stare that Caroline was now sending her,

"Of course, how did you hurt yourself? I thought vampires healed fast?"

She bent down to return his book and grab him the next in the series and it took a moment for him to respond and when he did, his voice was oddly husky,

"I, uh, knocked it on the way over. The ice is terribly lethal, you know."

She straightened up with the book in her hands and blinked at the hungry look in Enzo's eyes,

"When was the last time you fed?"

Enzo blinked and frowned, as if he couldn't understand the question and Elena rolled her eyes,

"You look hungry, that's all."

Caroline snorted as Elena made her way over to the desk,

"I bet he's real hungry. Positively ravenous."

Elena sat at the desk and checked the book out to Enzo, and when she handed it to him, his fingers were not as courteous as hers, and he dragged them gently across hers before taking the book with a grin,

"Thank you," he tucked the book into his pocket and Elena grinned,

"You know, Angela would have happily done this for you yesterday while we waited for Niklaus?"

Enzo grinned and stepped towards the door,

"Yeah, but she wouldn't have looked even half as good bent over as what you do," he shot her a wink as her mouth fell open, a dark blush working up her cheeks as he disappeared out of the door.

Behind her, Caroline was cackling away like a witch from Oz and Elena turned in her seat, shooting her friend a scowl,

"It's not funny. One day he's going to do that British flirting thing with someone and they're going to take him seriously."

Caroline rolled her eyes and patted Elena on the head,

"You're so dumb," she cooed, and Elena just scowled.