CHAPTER FIVE
MARBLE HEARTS

I woke up with the sun shining irritably on my face through the curtains over my windows. Sighing, I removed the covers from my body, and walked to my bathroom, which was also connected to Jeremy's room - a jack-and-jill bathroom. I opened the door and there stood Vicki Donovan brushing her teeth, with my toothbrush and my eyes grew wide.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm almost done," Vicki said, her mouth full of toothpaste.

I nodded slowly and said: "It's okay, take your time."

I backed out of the bathroom and closed the door. I quickly changed into the outfit I was planning on wearing and walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Jenna and Elena were both sitting at the kitchen table.

"Jenna," I whispered, catching her and Elena's attention. "Are you aware of what's going on upstairs?"

"Uh-huh," Jenna replied.

Elena furrowed her brows and tilted her head in confusion. "What's going on upstairs?" she asked, pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

"Vicki stayed the night last night, in Jeremy's room." I confessed to her, and her eyes grew wide.

Elena let out an annoyed sigh, turning to face Jenna. "And you have no objection?"

"He could be craftier about it. At least make an effort to sneak her in and out." Jenna said. I nodded and took the seat next to her since Elena got up. "Oh, and, uh, just so you guys know, I won't be home for dinner."

"Oh, so you're actually going to do it. You're going to go out with Logan." I said in a cooing and teasing tone.

"I'm going to show up and torture him, yes." Jenna replied, and then turned to Elena. "And have you heard from Stefan?"

"Not since he left that very vague message three days ago." Elena said, grabbing the milk from the fridge before continuing: ""Hi. Um, Elena, I, um...I have something I have to do. I'll, uh, explain in a few days."" Elena said, mimicking her own version of Stefan's voice.

I chuckled lightly before I asked: "Haven't you called him?"

"Nope. Not going to either," Elena replied, letting out a sharp sigh at the end.

"And you're okay with everything?"

Elena slammed the milk carton down on the counter. "No, I'm not okay with any of it. But I'm not going to cry about it either. You know, I was going to write in my diary this morning, and then I thought: 'what am I going to write?' I'm not going to be one of those pathetic girls whose world stops spinning because of some guy." Elena insisted, shoving a spoon-full of cereal in her mouth, chomping on it angrily.

"Okay, then," I mused, wide-eyed.

"I'll be fine," Elena said, continuing to chomp on her helpless cereal and walking away, leaving Jenna and I speechless.

Elena and I were standing at our lockers with Bonnie, and Caroline was acting like her normal bubbly self, and she was casually talking about the car wash.

"The Sexy Suds Car Wash is tomorrow. The football team and the band have committed. Well, not all of the band. Just the ones who can pull off a bikini. I want in-your-face sexy. I mean, it's a fundraiser, for God's sake." Caroline said to the girls that were following her, while they passed out flyers.

"Unbelievable." I said, shaking my head. "It's like nothing happened."

Bonnie rolled her eyes before saying: "She's in denial."

"Hey," Stefan's voice sounded suddenly, approaching Elena and I.

"Hey. Uh, you know, I've got to go...uh, be somewhere right now." Bonnie said awkwardly, and walked away from us. Elena and I exchanged agitated looks, and neither of us looked at Stefan until he spoke.

"I'm so sorry I haven't called."

"No worries. We'll live," Elena replied.

"I was dealing with Damon," Stefan said, making my head snap up in interest.

"And did you deal with Damon?" I asked, images from the Founder's Party flashing through my mind.

"Yes. Yeah." Stefan replied, nodding.

Elena tilted her head to the side in disbelief. "For four days?"

"You two have every right to be upset with me. But, can I explain it all to the both of you, please?" Stefan asked, desperate.

"Sure, when?" I asked.

"I've got to be home after school, but the Grill around four o'clock?"

"Okay." Elena and I agreed, nodding our heads in sync.

"Thanks." Stefan thanked. We then heard heels click and clack on the tile floors, and turned to see a curious Caroline approaching us.

"Stefan, where's Damon? He has some serious apologizing to do." Caroline asked, a bold smile was plastered across her lips.

"He's gone, Caroline." Stefan said to Caroline.

"When is he coming back?" Caroline asked, hope written on her features.

"He's not coming back, I'm sorry." Stefan said, and glanced at Elena and I before backing away and disappearing in the crowded hallway.

"This is a good thing, Caroline." Elena reassured Caroline, resting her hand on her shoulder.

"I know that." Caroline replied in a dead tone.

Around 3:57, Elena and I entered the Grill, immediately searching the vicinity for the appropriate guy we were looking for. When we didn't see him, we noticed Matt shooting pool, and decided to go over and asked him.

"Hey, Matt, um, have you seen Stefan?" I asked.

"Nope," Matt replied, twirling the pool stick in his hands. Elena gripped my wrist and began to pull me away, until Matt spoke: "But if you guys want to kill some time, you can rack." He said, but noticed our reluctant expressions. "Come on, we haven't played in forever. I'll let you break, Elektra."

A large smile spread across my face, "You cheated, you know how much I love to break." I accused, grabbing a pool stick from the rack on the wall.

Elena and I were kicking Matt's ass at pool, and he was being a good sport - it wasn't a competitive game we were playing, we were all just enjoying each other's company. And for some reason, we got on the topic of Vicki and Jeremy.

I positioned the tip of the pool stick in front of the cue-ball and said "And there's Vicki, all nonchalant brushing her teeth in the bathroom, with my toothbrush, I might add - like it's no big deal that they're hooking up." I shot the cue-ball, sending it rolling into a green and white stripped ball; the momentum knocked the appropriate ball in the hole.

"Yeah, I'm not going to lie, y'all's brother and my sister, that's weird." Matt commented.

"Yeah," Elena agreed, while I grabbed the cue-ball and prepared to make another shot. Elena's phone vibrated, she pulled it out of her pocket and stared at the screen.

"How late is he?" Matt asked.

I sighed, fumbling the white ball in my hand. "Hitting the hour mark," I mumbled, taking another shot. "Nothing's wrong, though. Which means we are not talking boy problems with you."

Matt prepared himself to take a shot, seeing as though I missed. "Good. I mean, it's not like we were ever best friends or anything."

"Okay," Elena said. "Here it goes. What do you think of Stefan? Is he a good guy?"

"Why? What's he done?" Matt asked, curious.

"Not any one thing." I replied. "He's just so secretive all the time. We think there's something that he doesn't want us to know, which makes us want to know all the more."

Matt arched a brow. "Like that he's a serial killer and he keeps a clown suit in his trunk?"

"No, of course not," Elena denied, chuckling at the thought. "But what do we know about him, really?"

"He's great at football. Little bit of a loner. And as much as I hate saying it, he might be a nice guy."

"So, you think that we're just being paranoid?" I asked.

"I think you guys should talk to him." Matt replied.

"Talk to who?" Stefan's voice asked, causing the three of us to turn toward the direction from which is came. "I'm so sorry that I'm late."

Elena sighed, placing her hands on her hips and asked: "What happened?"

"I got help up," Stefan said, approaching the pool table.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"There was this thing with my Uncle."

"And you couldn't call and tell us you were going to be an hour late?" I asked, getting angrier. I was getting fed up with all the secrecy and lame excuses.

"Okay, you three have fun," Matt spoke out awkwardly, before patting my shoulder and walking away.

Stefan stepped forward. "I'm really sorry. It was unavoidable." Stefan explained, trying to look sincere.

"What was unavoidable?" I asked, and I didn't receive an answer. I scoffed and set down my pool stick, grabbed Elena's wrist and began to walk past him.

"No, Elektra, Elena, please -"

Elena spun around quickly. "No, Stefan, don't you get it? Every question gets a vague non-answer. What is so awful that you're afraid to tell us?"

"I know you," A deep voice announced from behind Elena and I, we both turned around to see a dark-skinned man in his late fifties - early sixties, and he was staring right at Stefan. "My God."

"I'm sorry?" Stefan asked, completely confused.

"I know you. How can it be?" the man asked.

"I think you have the wrong person, sir." Stefan said politely.

"You haven't aged a day."

"I'm sorry," Stefan replied, grabbing mine and Elena's hands, "Excuse me." he said before turning to Elena and I. "Hey, can I take you guys home, and we can talk about it?" Stefan asked, guiding us toward the exit. "Is that okay?"

"Wait," I mumbled and pointed over my shoulder with my thumb. "What was that?"

"I don't know. Nothing."

I slammed my hand against my thigh, annoyed. "Right, nothing. Okay, um..." I trailed off, glancing over at Elena before I continued: "We've got to go, Stefan."

Later, I was lying on my bed, face down, sulking. My face was pressed against an old teddy-bear that I had gotten on my sixth birthday. My head snapped up when I heard footsteps approaching my bedroom.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked from the doorway.

I didn't move from my position. "Is Vicki in there?" I asked, sighing loudly at the end.

"Don't answer a question with another question." Jeremy remarked. "Maybe. What's wrong with you?"

"I'm miserable," I stated after a brief moment of silence.

"Well, you should just stay there then." Jeremy said, I sat straight up and looked at him. He laughed.

"Maybe, I will go downstairs and get something to eat." I pondered, trying to move past him.

"No, Stefan is making dinner for Elena. You know them time." Jeremy said. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Them time?" I asked, giggling.

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Jeremy asked grinning at me.

"Oh, just never mind." I said, jumping back on my bed.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." He said grinning as he turned to go back to his room, I rolled my eyes and laid back down.

When I woke up in the morning I picked out a bikini to wear to Caroline's car wash event. I normally wouldn't go for this kind of stuff, but after the night at the Founder's Party I just didn't want to get on her bad side. I felt bad. I grabbed my bikini, shorts, and tank top.

I went to Elena's room and she was not wearing a bikini. "You're going to get scolded, I hope you know that."

"Maybe she won't notice."

I laughed. "Yeah, keep dreaming, Elena."

When we arrived at the car wash, it was already in full swing. Guys and girls were doing their jobs, getting all soapy and wet while having fun washing other peoples' cars. I laughed when I saw someone spray Matt with the water hose.

"No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay-you-laters. We are not running a charity here." Caroline sternly instructed Elena.

"No, we are not."

"Hi," Stefan greeted, coming up from behind Elena and I.

"Hey," Elena and I chirped simultaneously, while Elena stood up from the table and made her way to stand next to Stefan.

"The event is called Sexy Suds, you know." Caroline commented rudely Stefan, who was wearing a zip-up jacket and jeans.

"Did we just get scolded?" Stefan asked, watching Caroline angrily walk away from the three of us.

"And judged, yeah." I added, "Well, you heard the woman." I said, chuckling as I removed my shirt, revealing a pale blue bikini top with faded-purple Aztec markings on the fabric, and it tied together in the front - pushing my breasts together.

Stefan stared, but broke his concentration when Elena spoke: "I'm sorry, but I guess you're going to have to take that off." Elena said, referring to his jacket.

"Uh, I think you have to go first," Stefan replied, smirking slightly.

"Okay," Elena said, smiling and tried pulling off her shirt, but had trouble getting it off. I laughed, standing there and watching as Stefan attempted to help my poor sister. "Okay, um - sorry, so not sexy."

"I disagree," Stefan said, cupping Elena's face in his hands and giving her a quick kiss. I sighed, looking down at my feet.

After half-way washing a car, I noticed Stefan's ring on his middle finger. I saw that soap was covering the beautiful blue crested gem. "Hey, you're getting soap in that." I pointed out.

"Oh, it's fine," Stefan replied.

"I noticed that Damon has one too. Is there a story behind it?" I asked, curiously staring at the ring.

Stefan nodded, "Yeah, it's the, um...it's the family crest. It's from the Italian Renaissance." He explained.

"Huh," I mumbled, grasping Stefan's hand and peering at the ring. "What's the stone?"

"It's lapis lazuli."

"You should really take it off. I can put it in my bag." I offered, gesturing to my bag at the table where everyone had placed their belongings.

"No, it's fine, really." Stefan replied, removing his hand from mine. "Thanks, though."

"Okay," I said before glancing over at Elena and saying: "I'm going to go get some towels."

I searched around for some towels, for about ten minutes, and ended up finding zero towels. I sighed, and began making my way over to the table where Caroline was watching over the cash register.

"Hey, we're out of towels and those shimmy things," I announced, sitting down in the chair beside her.

"I will get some more." Caroline stated and handed me a wad of money. "Mind the money." And with that, she walked away from the table and toward the school.

Suddenly, the man from the Grill last night approached the table and was paying for his car to be washed. Millions of questions were bubbling up inside me about last night and how this man supposedly knew Stefan.

"I saw you last night," I spoke up. "You were talking to a friend of mine. At the Grill."

The man nodded, "Well, I thought it was somebody I knew."

I folded my arms on the table. "Stefan Salvatore." I said.

"Nah, it can't be. It was just my mind playing tricks on me."

"Where do you think you'd seen him before?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

"When I first moved here, I stayed at the Salvatore Boarding house." the man replied. "Stefan was just passing through to visit his Uncle. I mean, none of us knew he was even here until the attack."

"The attack?"

"His Uncle got killed." The man answered. "Mauled by an animal in the woods."

"His Uncle? Zach?"

"Mm-mm," the man hummed in response, shaking his head. "Joseph."

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't think I'm familiar with the story." I said.

"Oh, how could you? I mean, this happened years ago."

"Grandpa, you've got to go. Mom wants you home," Tiki said, approaching the table from behind me. "Okay?" the man nodded and walked away. "He wasn't buggin' you, was he? He's a little Alzy-heimer."

"No, he was sweet," I denied, standing up from the table and walking after the man. "Hey, sir, I'm sorry. Um, are you sure that the man that you saw, that you knew, his name was Stefan Salvatore?"

"Yes. Uh, I remember the ring and his brother."

"Damon?" I offered.

"Yeah, Stefan and Damon Salvatore."

"When was this?" I asked.

"It was early June, 1953. Yeah, June 1953." The man said.

After the man and I were done talking, I decided to make my way back to Stefan. I was severely confused, and I thought I could just approach Stefan and act like nothing was wrong, but when I saw him, I immediately stopped walking.

Stefan looked up and smiled at me, and I smiled back. Stefan excused himself and made his way over to me, shaking off his soapy hands. "So, Caroline finally freed you, huh?"

I ran a shaky hand through my hair. "Uh, I don't know where she went. She abandoned me." I said. "Hey, I, uh, realized earlier, I had no idea that your family was from Italy."

"No?" Stefan asked with a small smile. "The last name Salvatore didn't do it for you?"

"Right. Duh, are there any other Salvatores in Mystic Falls?" I asked, my curiosity was once again, getting the best of me.

"My Uncle Zach."

"Where did everyone else go?" I questioned.

"Kind of just spread out."

"Hmm," I hummed.

"Why?" Stefan asked.

"I'm just trying to learn more about you. I didn't get a home-cooked meal, like Elena." I joked.

Stefan and I eventually parted ways, and I saw Jenna sitting at a picnic table alone. I chuckled and made my way over to her. "Your car was done over an hour ago."

"You are saying that out loud, why?" Jenna asked, just as Logan Fell appeared.

"Hi, Elektra, right?" Logan asked, and I nodded, shaking his head formally. "I like I met you and your sister once when you guys were nine."

"Your emotional maturity level when we were together." Jenna remarked playfully.

"Ouch," Logan mumbled. "Here I thought we were making progress."

"Is he enough in your good graces that I can ask him for a favor?" I asked, hopeful.

"If I do her a favor, will I get back in your good graces?" Logan asked Jenna.

"Ugh, a very reluctant 'maybe' to both," Jenna replied.

"Done, wait. One condition: dinner, tonight, your house."

"Fine, but you're eating leftovers." Jenna stated.

"What do you need, Elektra?" Logan asked, grinning down at me.

"Do you have access to old news stories, say, fifties?" I asked.

"Yeah, at the station. Between the archives and the Internet, we pretty much have everything." Logan replied.

"I have this report, way past due." I began, lying through my teeth. "You'd be a lifesaver."

Logan nodded, buying my convincing lie. "I'm heading there now. Let's go."

As Logan walked toward the news van, I turned to Jenna. "If anyone asks, you don't know where I went. I don't want Caroline to know that I left." I said, briefly glanced over at Stefan before getting in the van with Logan.

✥ ✥ ✥

"We digitized all our archives last year." Logan said, guiding me toward the archives. "You can pull up all the remote footage right up on-screen. What is it exactly you're looking for?" he asked, opening a door, revealing a small room with several screens, sound equipment, and a large desk arranged nearly inside.

"An incident from 1953, if it even happened, at the old Salvatore Boarding House." I explained.

Logan's cellphone started ringing. "Sorry, one second." He mumbled and answered the phone. "Yeah?...fire?...all right, I'll be right there." He hung up and looked at me. "I've got to go. You believe there's actual news to cover in this town? All right, use keywords to search the database. It's pretty easy to navigate. And Brady down in Tech, will help you out, with anything you need."

"Okay," I said, smiling.

"All right? Oh, hey, could you put in a good word for me with Jenna?" Logan asked.

"You got it."

"Good luck," Logan said and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

I typed : JOSEPH SALVATORE + ANIMAL ATTACK in the search engine.

When I pressed the search button, only one link popped up, reading:

NAME: JOSEPH SALVATORE,
DATE: JUNE 12, 1953.

I clicked on the link and a black and white video log began playing.

"This is Franklin Fell reporting to you from the Salvatore Boarding House, where a brutal animal attack has ended in tragedy. Hey, they're bringing out the bodies. See if you can get closer. Is that the nephew?"

As the camera zoomed in, I saw Stefan standing next to a brick pillar. I audibly gasped, and placed my hand over my mouth. I replayed the video several times, getting more shocked the more I watched.

Dear Diary,

     I am not a believer. People are born, they grow old, and then they die. That's the world we live in. There's no magic, no mysticism, no immortality. There is nothing that defies rational thought. People are supposed to be who they say they are, and not lie or hide their true selves. It's not possible. I'm not a believer. I can't be.

     But how can I deny what's right in front of me? Someone who never grows old. 1953.

     Never gets hurt. I mean, I saw the glass cut Stefan's hand that night at the football game, but when he showed me his hand, it magically disappeared.

     Girls bitten. Caroline.

     Bodies drained of blood. Vicki.

     Vampire.

I stormed out of the house and got into my car. My heart and head were pounding as I approached the destination. How is this even possible? I thought. But how could I deny all the things that are in front of me that directly point to this conclusion. I mean, Vicki even told Matt that it was a vampire that attacked her.

When I pulled into the driveway, I marched up to the front door and as soon as I was about to open the door, it opened from the inside. Stefan was about to run out of the house, but stopped when he noticed that I was standing there.

"What are you?"

✥ ✥ ✥

not edited.