CHAPTER TEN
THE MASQUERADE

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     When Rowan opened the front door of the Salvatore Boarding House on a nice Saturday morning, with keys in her hand and the urge to buy new shoes in her heart, she didn't expect to see Caroline standing alone on the front porch, looking like she was about to burst into tears. Her hand was raised, finger mere inches from the doorbell that Rowan knew didn't work. She had seen Damon disable it a week or two before, after a mailman had pressed it when he had a hangover. It was better than Damon murdering the mailman, she supposed. Her hand holding her car keys fell to her side. A pout pulled at her lips.

Perhaps it was selfish of her, but Rowan had really wanted to go shopping. Now she could see that it wasn't going to happen. Not when Caroline looked so upset. She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment, debating over what to say, before she let out a soft sigh and settled with stepping backward and opening the door wider to show that Caroline was welcome to come inside. Caroline's face crumpled in relief. As she hurried inside, Rowan was quick to close the door and shove her keys into her purse. She hooked an arm around Caroline's shoulders and led her through the house until they reached the living room. Caroline was fidgeting with the edge of her jacket, looking too shaken to sit, but Rowan pushed her down into the couch anyway.

"What happened?" she asked as she went over to the table. There was a blood bag lying forgotten on the surface. It was still cold from the freezer downstairs, so Rowan grabbed a glass and poured some of the blood into it. Caroline looked on the verge of tears again when she turned around and handed over the glass.

"Where's Stefan?" Caroline asked after she took a small sip. "And Damon? They should probably hear what I have to say, too." Frowning, Rowan opened her mouth and shouted for Stefan and Damon. Shouting wasn't truly necessary—she could already hear two sets of footsteps on their way to the living room—but it felt good doing it regardless. She waited impatiently, her foot tapping incessantly against the floor and arms crossed over her chest, until Stefan and Damon arrived. All three of them looked at Caroline expectantly.

"I'm still shaking," Caroline said nervously, taking another sip of her drink. She couldn't seem to hold the glass still. Caroline lowered the glass until it was resting in her lap and took a deep, trembling breath in an attempt to calm herself. It didn't seem to work very well, so Caroline chose to down the rest of the blood instead. Rowan took it from her without a word and refilled it, only this time she was the one who drank. She was already stressed out and Caroline hadn't even said anything yet.

"Spit it out, Caroline," Rowan ordered once she had finished her glass. Her words were harsh, but her voice was soft. For once, there wasn't a bite to it. She just sounded tired. Caroline nodded at her, took a deep breath, then let her shoulders slump.

"I saw Katherine today," she revealed. Rowan closed her eyes and reached up to rub at her temple. Without a word, she turned toward the table of decanters and grabbed the strongest alcohol that was closest to her, lifting the lid and filling the glass with more of the golden liquid than she probably needed. In her opinion, she didn't think it was enough, considering they were about to talk about Katherine. They hadn't heard a word from the she-devil since she had nearly killed Jenna a week earlier, and all of them had been on pins and needles ever since, waiting for her to make her next move. They knew what she wanted now, knew she wasn't just there to make their lives miserable, and now they could do nothing but wait. Now that waiting was over.

How ironic that Katherine reappeared the same day Jenna was coming home from the hospital. Rowan didn't think that was a coincidence.

"Where did you see her?" Stefan asked, glancing once at Rowan as she gulped down her drink. It burned down her throat, but it was easy to ignore. She didn't know whether he looked disapproving or envious. No doubt he wanted a drink or two at the mention of Katherine, too.

"At the Grill," Caroline said, frowning. She was still trembling.

"Why don't you make her another drink, little red riding hood?" Damon asked, shooting Rowan a smirk and raising his eyebrows. Rowan paused and pinned him with a cold stare.

"Call me little red riding hood again and I'm going to rip your tongue out of your head," Rowan deadpanned, shoving the empty glass into Damon's chest in a silent order to get Caroline a drink himself. Rolling his eyes, he actually did, and Rowan took the short pause to take a seat beside Caroline on the couch. "Alright, Caroline. Keep going."

"Okay, well, I just stopped by to gawk and..." Caroline grimaced in embarrassment. "...quasi-stalk Matt. Of course he saw me, like, almost immediately, so I had to make some stupid excuse about using the little girls' room." Caroline shot Rowan a horrified look. "I literally used those words and I'm still cringing." Rowan felt her lips twitch, but she fought the smile she wanted desperately to give.

"I'm cringing with you," she couldn't help saying. It earned her a small smack on the arm by the back of Caroline's hand.

"Skip the teen drama and get to it," Damon ordered. Rowan turned her head to glare at him.

"Then I had to pretend to use the bathroom even though I didn't really have to go because I'm a doofus." Caroline sighed dramatically and closed her eyes. A shiver went through her. When she started speaking again, her voice was more subdued, more serious. "Katherine followed me in there. At first, she pretended to be Elena, trying to screw with me, I guess. I tried to play along and then get out, but she was—well, she's faster." Caroline shook her head. "Anyway, she wanted me to give you a message. Either you hand the moonstone over to her tonight at the masquerade ball, or she's going to rip this town apart until it rains blood. Those were her exact words."

For a moment, Rowan was confused. She had completely forgotten about the annual masquerade ball Mayor Lockwood always put together. It was technically a charity event, but Rowan had been close enough to Tyler when it had started to know that Richard Lockwood hadn't cared for charity. He cared about looking good, about getting praise for the endless amount of nice parties he—or, rather, Carol—organized. Rowan had always skipped going to the masquerade every year, but she suddenly remembered she had promised Tyler she'd go this time, just because it would be the first one without his father present.

Now Katherine wanted to have a meeting there. A meeting she knew would turn violent. Rowan shouldn't have been surprised.

"Oh, Katherine," she murmured. "Forever charming."

"She wants to do it in public," Stefan said, deep in thought as he started to pace. Rowan tracked his movements warily, frowning to herself. "Killing Mason threw her off guard."

"She's running scared," Damon said, not sounding nearly as worried. Rowan braced her elbows on her knees and put her head in her hands. His voice alone was starting to grate on her nerves. "What she did to Jenna was desperate. She's out of tricks."

"Don't underestimate her," Rowan said sharply, head shooting up as soon as Damon stopped talking. Stefan paused in his pacing and shot her a surprised look. She wondered if he had even been listening to a word Damon was saying. He probably blocked out most of his words by now. If so, Rowan envied him. Shaking her head, she shot another glare toward Damon. "The last time you underestimated her, Jenna almost died." Stefan nodded, agreeing with her, while Damon glared at her coldly until Stefan started speaking again.

"Rowan's right. We have to play this smarter than her," Stefan decided. Caroline shifted uncomfortably where she sat, wringing her hands together. It was a nervous tick Rowan had thought she had grown out of years ago. Frowning, she reached over and placed her hand over Caroline's fidgeting ones. Caroline let out a small breath.

"Can't we just give her the moonstone so she'll leave?" Caroline asked, voice small.

"No, Katherine's not getting dick—" Damon started. Rowan rolled her eyes.

"Wasn't she getting dick from Mason?" she asked, voice flat. Damon ignored her.

"I've had it," Damon continued. "I'm going to go to the masquerade ball and I'm going to kill her. Tonight." Stefan immediately shook his head.

"You're not going to kill her," Stefan said. When Damon opened his mouth to argue, Stefan continued with a simple, "Because I am." It made Damon's mouth snap shut. He looked surprised, though pleased. Caroline and Rowan shared an uneasy glance. Neither of them really felt like taking on Katherine so soon. Personally, Rowan would have been fine if she never saw Katherine again.

"Well, that's great and all," Rowan drawled, trying to cover her up her unease, "but how? She's going to know that we're going to make a move tonight. She's going to be prepared."

"She will be," Stefan agreed, "and we're going to play into that." He paused and thought for a moment, then grimaced. "Call Bonnie. We're going to need her."

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The dress Rowan picked was tight, hugging her curves and short enough that she'd never be able to wear it to school, or to anything other than a masquerade. The heels were high, as black as the dress itself. She had painted her lips a dark red, and her hair was curled and falling freely over her shoulders. The only piece of jewelry she was wearing was her daylight necklace, which she seldom took off anyway. She reached up to play with it as Caroline got dressed. They had already gone over the plan a few times, and Rowan could tell that Caroline was dreading her part.

Technically, both Caroline and Rowan had the same role—lead Katherine to the magically sealed room. It was just that they both knew who Katherine would go to in order to get answers, and it wasn't going to be Rowan. Katherine seemed to have truly only turned Rowan because she was bored. She turned Caroline not only to get back at Stefan and Damon, but so that she could use Caroline to spy on them.

"Caroline," Rowan murmured, watching as Caroline fumbled with the clasp of a silver bracelet. Sighing, she walked forward and took it from her shaking hands, clasping it around her wrist for her. Caroline murmured a small thanks and looked into the vanity mirror, fluffing out her hair. Her hands were still shaking. Rowan braced her hands on the back of the chair Caroline was sitting on. "You don't have to do this, you know. I can deal with Katherine." Caroline's shoulders slumped, but when she met Rowan's gaze in the reflection of the mirror, she was smiling.

"And let you get all the glory after she's dead?" Caroline scoffed. "Please." Rowan couldn't help smiling. She opened her mouth to respond in a similar manner—if they were going to speak like their old selves, then she had a lot of material—but she stopped when her phone started ringing. It was lying in the middle of the bed. She hesitated to answer it when she saw Elena's name and face on the screen. Deciding that it would be suspicious if everyone started avoiding Elena for the day, she held in a sigh and answered the phone, hooking it between her cheek and shoulder as she went about the room collecting things to put into her purse.

"Hey," she greeted, putting an extra bout of cheerfulness into her voice. It wasn't as hard to do as she thought it would be. She and Elena had been spending a lot of time together ever since Katherine had gone after Jenna. Elena spent most of her time in the hospital as they waited for Jenna to be released, and Rowan brought it upon herself to join her. Because of that, she had a feeling she knew why Elena was calling. "How's Jenna? She's came home today, right?"

"Yeah," Elena said. She didn't sound nearly as cheerful as Rowan did, and it made Rowan's movements slow as concern swarmed through her. She fought the urge to ask Elena if she was alright. "Yeah, she did. Alaric is over and we ordered takeout, but..." Rowan didn't say anything, knowing that Elena was gathering her thoughts. She didn't have to wait long before Elena was releasing a shaky laugh. She sounded almost like she was nervous. Rowan couldn't remember the last time Elena was nervous. "Well, everyone's ditching me. Jeremy disappeared on me and Matt said he was going to the masquerade tonight. I'm kind of...I don't know, lonely. Do you want to come over?" Elena paused, then added, "Please?"

Rowan didn't know what she felt more. Endearment or guilt.

"I would, Elena, but..." She started, stumbling over her words. She should have figured out what she would say to Elena. She should have assumed that Elena would call. They'd practically been glued at the hip since Jenna's accident. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She wanted desperately to say yes, but she also desperately wanted to see Katherine dead. She bit her lip and said, "I'm actually going to the masquerade tonight. I promised Tyler I'd go, since it's the first without his dad, you know?"

It was the truth, at least. It wasn't the entire truth, but at least she wasn't blatantly lying. That should have made her feel better. Instead, it just made her feel worse.

"You're going, too?" Elena asked, surprised. "So is Bonnie. It seems like everyone is going, actually. Except for me." There was a beat of silence. Rowan knew Elena was getting suspicious. It was alarming enough that Matt was going. Matt wasn't even involved with their little plan—she was pretty sure he was the only one ignorant of supernatural creatures—so him going made Rowan frown. It was no secret that Matt hated those type of parties, particularly because half of the time, he was working the parties instead of attending.

"You're not going?" Rowan asked, swallowing. She knew she didn't sound convincing. She was a horrible liar.

"I used to go to those things with Stefan," Elena said. Rowan could practically see her shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh." Rowan frowned. "Right. Sorry." She bit down on her bottom lip to keep herself from saying anything else. The longer they spoke, Rowan became more and more tense. She didn't like hiding something from her. She didn't like keeping secrets.

"No, it's okay." Elena forced out a laugh. Rowan winced at the sound. "I hope you have fun. You deserve it." Rowan grimaced, swallowing again.

"Elena—" Rowan started, then stopped, unsure of what she actually wanted to say. "I can—"

"Seriously, I'll be fine," Elena dismissed. "Go have fun." Rowan couldn't seem to stop grimacing. She couldn't help feeling guilty. Like she had just rejected Elena somehow. The thought made her chest hurt. Those thoughts flew out of her head when Elena added, "Dedicate a dance to me." Rowan could hear a smile in her voice. Blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Always," was her rushed reply, and then she was hanging up and practically shoving her phone into her purse. She didn't know why she was suddenly embarrassed—or maybe she did—but she didn't want to focus on that, so she decided to go downstairs instead. She avoided looking at Caroline, knowing her eyebrows would be raised. She was halfway down the stairs when she heard Caroline get up to follow her. Stefan, Damon, Jeremy, Bonnie, and Alaric were all gathered downstairs. Everyone was already dressed save for Alaric, who was going to stay home with Elena and Jenna.

"Katherine," Caroline said as a greeting, "is either going to come for me when she gets suspicious, or she's going to go for Rowan." Rowan crossed her arms over her chest.

"My bet is one you," she said bluntly, shooting Caroline a knowing look. "No offense. But if she does come after me, I won't fuck it up."

"Good," Alaric breathed. He seemed to be a bundle of nerves, unable to stand still. "Are you sure you guys don't want me there tonight?"

"No," Stefan said, shaking his head. "I need you to stay with Elena. I don't want her knowing about this."

"None of us do," Rowan pointed out, "but if we all keep telling her we're going to the same place and none of us even think about inviting her, she's going to get suspicious. She already thinks people are acting weird today."

"I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight," Alaric promised, though he wasn't looking at Stefan when he said it. Rowan frowned at his stare, then averted her gaze to Bonnie instead, who looked nervous. Her arms were crossed across her stomach, her expression troubled.

"Alright," Stefan said with a sigh. "If anyone wants to back out, I understand."

"Yeah," Damon spoke up. "Cold feet, speak now. I don't want this going south if someone chickens out." He pinned his gaze on Rowan, then moved it to Caroline. "Newbies," he added. Caroline scowled, looking offended, while Rowan fought the urge to swing her purse at Damon. It had a chain for a strap. It was made of real metal. She was sure that it would hurt if it landed against his face.

"Fuck you, demon," Rowan said instead. Alaric, Bonnie, and Stefan all snorted, while Jeremy and Caroline flat-out laughed at the nickname. Damon just glared, unamused. "I hate Katherine more than you do." Damon opened his mouth at that, no doubt to argue his point. Rowan had her own argument prepared—her main point being that being forced to kill herself was a thousand times worse than him having his heart broken by a woman he thought he was entitled to—but Caroline spoke before she could.

"I won't chicken out," she said firmly. "Look, she killed me—she killed us—so fair's fair." Caroline spared a glance at Rowan, then shrugged and pinned a stare on Damon. "As long as there are no werewolves running around."

"Oh, I took care of Mason," Damon said, sounding so smug that Rowan had to glance away. She caught Caroline's doubtful look. When she looked at Rowan for confirmation, Rowan could only offer a nod.

"As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone," Jeremy added, "he won't turn." There was a beat of silence as everyone looked at each other. They all looked confident in their plan except for Bonnie, who still looked troubled. Stefan tilted his head to look at her.

"Bonnie?" he asked. "You with us?" Bonnie offered a small, hesitant nod, taking a step forward.

"But no one gets hurt," she declared. All of them nodded. The first thing they had all agreed on was that they wanted to execute this plan with as little bloodshed as possible. There was always a chance that Katherine would hurt a lot of people—in fact, Rowan was counting on it—but they had all agreed that they wouldn't drag anyone into their mess that didn't need to be there. Which meant that they would all be keeping their distance from people who weren't involved, like Matt and Tyler and any of their casual friends from school.

"Except Katherine," Damon added, smiling. "Tonight, Katherine gets a stake through her heart."

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Rowan had been doing great at avoiding people she knew at the masquerade gala until everyone started dancing, and then she was bombarded with boys wanting to dance with her, with girls who recognized her red hair and coming up to compliment her dress. That was how Tyler found her. She was rather rudely turning down another demand to dance—because the boys asking her weren't actually asking—and Tyler overheard her sharp voice and her harsh words. He came to her rescue a few moments later, sliding up and throwing an arm over her shoulders. His presence alone made everyone around her scatter. It was easy for Rowan to forget just how much of an asshole Tyler was to everyone else but her.

Relieved, she let him drag her onto the dancefloor, not remembering that she was supposed to be available to go off on her own just in case Katherine came for her. She only remembered when she noticed Stefan dancing with a girl that definitely wasn't Elena. Her stomach lurched so painfully that she thought she was going to be sick, and her grip on Tyler's hands tightened. She looked away before Katherine could notice her looking their way.

Luckily, that was when Tyler spoke, and she had never been more grateful for a distraction.

"I didn't think you'd be here," he murmured. Rowan tilted her head and attempted to smile. She didn't know how convincing she was, but at least she was trying.

"I promised you, didn't I?" she responded. Tyler made a low sound and spun her under his arm.

"Well, yeah, but we haven't exactly been talking lately," Tyler mumbled. Rowan nodded in understanding. She hadn't meant to distance herself from Tyler, but ever since she had seen Mason's dead body in what she now considered to be her home, she couldn't quite look him in the eye. The guilt of simply knowing about it was eating her alive.

"I know, and I'm sorry," she murmured. She was apologizing for more than just being distant, but it wasn't like she could tell him that. For all he knew, her only problem was disappearing and not answering his calls. "It's just that something...bad happened. It's something I have to deal with on my own."

"On your own?" Tyler echoed in disbelief. "You've been glued to Salvatore's side for weeks now." Rowan grimaced. She knew he was right, and she hated it. She didn't hate being glued to Stefan, because she often found his presence comforting. She just hated that Tyler probably felt like she was replacing him somehow. Stefan and Tyler couldn't have been more different. One could never replace the other.

"He has experience with what I'm dealing with," Rowan said quickly. It was the truth, but Tyler still seemed bothered by it. At his small scoff of disbelief, she pulled away to frown up at him. "Tyler, please," she said with a sigh, slipping her hands out of his and taking another step back. They had officially stopped dancing. It wasn't like they were doing more than swaying back and forth anyway. "Please don't be like this. I'd tell you if I could, but I can't." Tyler didn't respond. A ball formed inside of Rowan's throat. She had already lost her parents because of her newfound vampirism. She didn't want to lose her best friend, too. "Tyler—"

She broke off when she saw a flash of pink. Everyone at the party was wearing dark colors—most were wearing black, though some were wearing dark red or gold—so a light pink color stuck out like a sore thumb. It caught her attention immediately. Her eyes widened when she saw what it was. It was the color of a sweater that Elena was wearing as she slipped through the bushes along the edge of the party. She was doing a good job at staying hidden. Rowan wasn't sure she even would have seen her if she hadn't averted her gaze from Tyler at the exact right moment.

"I'll—" She stuttered, shooting Tyler a wide-eyed look. The last thing she had expected to see was Elena hiding in a bush. Whatever she had been about to say to Tyler was completely forgotten in her need to get to Elena's side as soon as possible. "I'll talk to you later, I have to go."

"What? Rowan—" Tyler started, sounding exasperated, but Rowan was already moving away from him, sliding between people on the dancefloor until she reached the sidelines. She cast her gaze around just in time to see Jeremy get jerked to the side violently. Sighing, she quickened her step and rounded the large hedge. There was an empty picnic table there, the spot having been blocked off so that no partygoers would disappear behind the hedges. Elena had a tight grip on Jeremy's arm, eyes narrowed in a glare.

"What the hell is going on?" Elena demanded, releasing Jeremy when he tugged at his arm. Rowan walked forward, the heels of her shoes sinking into the soil. Sighing in annoyance, she grabbed Jeremy's shoulder to brace herself and reached down to pluck her shoes off her feet.

"Elena, what are you doing here?" she demanded as she did. Once she was barefoot, she set her heels on the picnic table. She was a good few inches shorter now, but at least she wasn't sinking into the ground.

"Are you seriously asking me that?" Elena demanded. It had taken her a moment to respond to Rowan's question. For a moment, her eyes had been glued to Rowan's dress, eyes lingering in a way that made Rowan's skin prickle with nerves. Then she seemed to remember that she was angry, and her eyes flashed back up to meet Rowan's gaze before she looked at Jeremy. "Everyone's been avoiding me all day, Alaric didn't want me to contact anyone or leave the house, and then I learn that Stefan came to this thing? He hates this kind of stuff, more than you do, Jer." Releasing a frustrated little huff, Elena turned her gaze back to Rowan. "What is going on, Ro?"

Rowan opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she felt her phone buzz inside of her purse. Pulling it out, she saw a single text from Damon telling her it was time to make herself easy prey. Caroline was staying inside of the house, while Rowan was staying outside. Katherine had last been seen outside. Gritting her teeth and shooting a glance toward Elena, she quickly forwarded the text to Caroline and put her phone away. Caroline could handle it. She had wanted the credit for Katherine's death, and Rowan had never really wanted the glory, anyway.

"Jeremy, go find Bonnie," Rowan ordered. "I'll explain everything to Elena." Rowan and Elena watched him walk away. Once he was gone, Rowan crossed her arms over her chest and pinned Elena with a frown. "You need to calm down. We just didn't want you involved in this, okay?"

"Involved in what?" Elena demanded.

"We're going to kill Katherine tonight." Elena's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Rowan would have found the image funny if she hadn't been full to the brim with nerves. "None of us wanted you here because she would have used you against us. Which is precisely why you need to leave." Elena seemed to physically bristle at those words, but before she could say anything to Rowan that would have surely started a heated argument, Jeremy was back with Bonnie. It distracted Elena enough to get her back to the subject at hand.

"You're trying to kill her here?" Elena asked, eyebrows shooting up in disbelief.

"We saw an opportunity and we knew we needed to take it," Jeremy explained. Elena immediately started shaking her head and waving a hand at him.

"Okay, stop with the we," she ordered, shooting them all shocked looks. "Are you guys crazy? You're going to get yourselves killed."

"We know what we're doing, Elena," Bonnie pointed out, then frowned and turned to look at Rowan. "Shouldn't you be—"

"I got stuck here, so Caroline's doing it." Rowan shrugged. "She'll be fine."

"See, that's exactly what I'm worried about," Elena exclaimed, exasperated. "What if one of you gets hurt because of me?"

"It's not just about you anymore, Elena," Jeremy pointed out, not unkindly. "She's messed with all of us. I mean, she literally killed Caroline and Rowan. She has to be stopped."

"Did you really expect us to just do nothing when she went after Jenna?" Rowan added. If there was one thing that convinced all of them to be part of the plan, it was Jenna almost dying. Everyone liked Jenna. She was good, probably one of the best people in Mystic Falls, and her getting hurt at all made all of them feel sick and angry.

"Is everything going as planned?" Elena asked after a moment. The mention of Jenna had calmed her, made her become rational. Rowan understood her fear of Katherine, understood that Elena didn't want anyone else hurt because they defied what Katherine wanted. Now Elena seemed to understand their reasons, too. In fact, now she seemed to agree with them. "Nothing has gone wrong?"

"No." Rowan paused, tilting her head to the side. "Well, not yet." Jeremy made a sound of offense and sent an elbow into her side.

"Don't be pessimistic," he said.

"I'm being realistic," Rowan corrected. "There's a difference."

"Knowing your luck, you probably just jinxed everything," Jeremy teased. Rowan raised her eyebrows and rounded on him, their conversation with Elena momentarily forgotten. She narrowed her eyes and pointed up at him. He towered over her, but if Rowan was good at anything, it was intimidating people bigger than her.

"Listen, baby Gilbert, I don't recall giving you permission to mouth off to me," she growled, poking at his chest. Jeremy let out a small huff of amusement. Elena was staring at them in bewilderment, since they had never bantered like that before, and Bonnie was staring on with a small grin.

"I don't need your permission," Jeremy said, laughing again.

"Oh, you bet your ass you do—"

Rowan never got a chance to finish her sentence, because at that very moment, Elena cried out in pain and hunched forward, vivid red blood soaking through her light pink sweater.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Dedicated to babyrobins because she has raved about this story on her profile a few times and it always brightened my day so thank you so much, you're a sweetie. xxx

I'd like to take this moment to address Elena's sexuality. In this story, she is bisexual. On top of that, she's known she's bisexual for a while, she's just always been in the closet. I'm just saying this so that you'll all know that she won't have a "oh shit i'm not straight" crisis in this fic. Anyway, here's a bisexual Elena moodboard.