ten
adoption.

THE GRILL

"ARE YOU SURE you have no idea who it could be?" Elsie questions a few days later once Stefan abruptly sits down across from her. He just told her that a body's been found and she was definitely the victim of a vampire attack.

"None. But it must be somebody new, because leaving a body like that, they're either sloppy or trying to send a message."

"And you're positive that it's not Damon?" Elsie raises a curious eyebrow since Damon's the one that's been behind all of the town's 'animal attacks.'

"Well, I'm never sure about Damon, but he's been trying to keep a low profile lately, so it just doesn't make any sense to me."

"What're you gonna do about it?" Elsie asks curiously.

"Damon's tracking them right now. You need to be careful."

"When you sat down, I thought you were coming to tell me you were leaving," Elsie admits somberly since Elena told her Stefan said he was leaving as well. He looks surprised that she knows so she elaborates. "Elena told me."

"Not yet," Stefan shakes his head before sighing. "Damon said he told you the truth about Florence. I can't believe you're even speaking to me."

Elsie sighs, not surprised that he expected a much different reaction. "It was a lot to take in at first, but I realized there's nothing I can do about it. I only have two questions. When did you figure out I wasn't Florence?"

"Before I met you. The first day of school, when we met, it wasn't for the first time, Elsie."

"Then when was it?" Elsie demands, wondering how they could've met without her remembering. It had to of been under extremely weird circumstances or he compelled her.

"May 23rd, 2009," Stefan answers as Elsie pales, instantly recognizing that date.

It was the first time she'd had a near death experience and it changed her life. "But that was-"

"That was the day Elena's parents car went off the bridge."

"You were there?" Elsie whispers, a few things suddenly clicking into place. There was no logical explanation for how her and Elena got out of the car.

"Every couple of years, I come back here to my home. Last spring, I was out in the woods by old Wickery Bridge and I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged. Elena's dad was still conscious. I was able to get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him until I helped you and Elena. You were closest to me, but you motioned for me to save Elena first. I did, and by the time I got back, you'd stopped breathing. I did CPR and you woke up. When I went back for Elena's parents, it was too late. I couldn't- I couldn't save them."

"Oh, my God," Elsie whispers, putting her hand over her mouth in sadness and disbelief. "When me and Elena woke up in the hospital, nobody could explain how we got out of the car."

"When I pulled you and Elena out, you two looked like Florence and Katherine. I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure the two of you weren't them. I watched you two. I learned everything I could and I saw that you two are nothing like them. I wanted to leave town, but I couldn't leave without knowing you and Elena. I'm sorry I kept it from you. I wanted to tell you."

"Elena and Katherine?" Elsie whispers, not having known that Elena is Katherine's double until now. "Elena is Katherine's doppelgänger? Does she know?"

"Not yet, but I wanna tell her," Stefan declares before Elsie sighs.

"Why do I look like Florence?" Elsie questions, because she's done her fair share of research on her family tree for school projects in her life. "I've seen my family tree. There was no Florence."

"You're a Donovan and she was a Castle. It didn't make any sense at first, but the resemblance is too similar. I learned the truth, but you're not gonna like it, Elsie."

"I can handle it," Elsie assures him as he spills the words he's dressed delivering since he found out.

"You were adopted, Elsie."

Elsie falls silent, finding herself at a loss for words. Elsie feels tears fall from her cheeks and all she can muster is four little words. "How do you know?"

"Your birth certificate from city records says Elsie Love Donovan, Mystic Falls General, but there's no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant."

"Do you know anything else?" Elsie questions, only for Stefan to shake his head.

"For me to look any further, I would've had to look into the Castle family. I couldn't do that. It's too much of a risk. If someone found out I was asking about Florence... It doesn't matter. You're still Elsie Donovan."

Elsie nods, hoping this won't change things with her family, mostly Matt. Her adoptive father disappeared shortly after she was born. Vicki and her mom have always had the bad habit of disappearing for months on end, but Matt has always been a constant in her life. He's the most important person to her.

--

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH

She says goodbye to Stefan before heading to school for a college fair. College is the last thing Elsie has on her mind right now. She's simply focused on finding Matt.

She tracks him down in a classroom that showcases art. She leads him to an empty classroom, where she begins to pace. Matt watches her do so painfully. "Elsie, you're kinda freaking me out. Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"I was adopted," Elsie informs abruptly, unsure how he's gonna react.

Thankfully, he doesn't look at her any differently. He simply smiles. "Why were you so worked up about telling me that?"

"I don't know. This whole situation is weird. I thought I was a Donovan and that we were related by blood until like an hour ago," Elsie rants, feeling relief flooding through her body as Matt stares at her like she's an idiot.

"You are a Donovan," he tells her, pulling her into a hug. "Blood isn't the thing that makes us siblings. We're siblings, because we love each other."

"So it doesn't bug you that we're not blood related?"

"No. I'm just surprised mom kept it from us for so long," Matt shrugs, not having a problem with it before he peaks at her worriedly. "Does it bug you?"

"No. You're my brother, Matt," Elsie returns his hug tightly before pulling away with a teasing smile. "By the way, I heard about you and Caroline."

She's referring to how Matt and Caroline might start seeing each other as a couple. Matt matches her smile cheesily. "Aw, man, not you, too. Me and Caroline are friends. It's not a big deal."

"Shame. You two'd make a cute couple," she scrunches her nose at her brother carefully, only for the classroom door to open. Stefan steps inside and Elsie waves goodbye at Matt. "I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

Matt nods and allows her to leave with Stefan. He tells her about how Jenna's ex-boyfriend, Logan Fell is the newbie vampire that killed the girl.

He says Elena is safe at home, so he's here to keep an eye on her. Elsie frowns at him. "Aww. You're looking out for me."

"Hope that's ok," Stefan exclaims as the girl gingerly nods.

"When it comes to protectors, you seem like a good one," Elsie nods, sighing before looking around at the various booths that have jobs.

"You know, I wanted to be a doctor before everything happened, but, uh, then I couldn't 'cause of the blood," Stefan states as Elsie frowns.

"I wouldn't of made you out to be a doctor."

"Well, I've dabbled in a bunch of different things."

"Nothing stuck?" The Donovan girl whispers, wondering how he managed to do so much without falling in love with a trade.

"No, I loved it all. I just- I had to move on before anybody could notice that I wasn't getting any older."

Elsie's face softens as she realizes how lonely that must be. To constantly be on the move and not have the option to stay in a place for very long. She can't imagine it. "How long before that would happen?"

"A few years, usually. Sometimes shorter. I wish it didn't have to be that way, but I didn't have a choice. So what about you? What are your plans for the future?"

"I don't know," Elsie shrugs, honestly not having any clue. "I've worked hard for a perfect GPA, because I wanna be valedictorian. My mom doesn't have much money, so I need scholarships. I don't know where I wanna go, but I wanna be able to have the option to be somebody."

The Donovan girl has always been a rational thinker, which is why she works hard for her grades. Unlike most people in this town, she doesn't have a trust fund to fall back on. She's earned everything she has.

She's about to say more when she notices Stefan looking over her shoulder. She looks and finds Logan Fell staring at her and Stefan. He waves tauntingly at them before disappearing into the crowd. Stefan turns to Elsie. "Stay here."

She does as told and by the next morning, Logan Fell is dead.

authors note.
okay, so elsie is hella chill when it comes to accepting bad information, but she's not gonna be so chill when she learns the truth about vicki

UNEDITED