❛ ACT I ❜
-ˋˏ chapter eleven ˎˊ-

TWO CHILDREN, a young girl and boy, sat on the grass one sunny afternoon. The girl had beautiful brown hair that was loose and came up to her shoulders and a youthful smile on her face. The boy was lanky and taller but just as young, with curly blonde hair and baby blue eyes.

The girl layed on her stomach peacefully as she drew a colorful picture and the boy was messing around with the mud - not daring to go close to her because he knew she'd throw her box of crayons at him. Again.

Their mothers sat on a bench near by - chatting away, not focusing much on the children. It was a safe town.

The girl smiled happily down at her finished product. Five stick figures holding hands under a rainbow. Three girls and two boys, the shortest girl in the middle holding her brother's and sister's hand.

Then she shrieked when a wet and thick substance smacked her in the face and splattered onto her drawing - the familiar cackling laughter of her best friend coming after.

"Leo!" She yelled and wiped the mud from her eyes to glare at the boy.

The Connors boy held his stomach and layed on his back in hystericals, eyes
squeezed shut. He loved messing with her.

"You should have seen your face Sof!" He smiled amusingly at the angry girl.

Sofia stood up grumbling, wiping away at the mud covering her. Then a mischievous thought occurred.

She started to walk closer to him and Leo didn't suspect a thing until she said."Give me a hug!" She smiled and ran towards him as he took off in the opposite direction.

He was screaming and Sofia found it funny how scared he was. "Mom!" Leo yelled out to the blonde women who was too busy sharing her pasta recipe to Miranda Gilbert to hear her son's pleads.

Sofia caught up to him and hugged him from behind causing them to fall over on the grass.

"Ha!" Sofia giggled as she got up from the ground and looked down at him smugly. "Bet you forgot who's the faster one, huh?" She stuck out her tongue childishly.

Leo rolled his eyes before pulling her leg down, making her fall next to him. He laughed again and Sofia shoved his side before laughing too.

Their childish giggles floated through the summer air of their quiet town and everyone knew it was the Gilbert girl and Connors boy.

"Come on." Leo offered his hand to Sofia, a huge smile on his young face, and the brunette girl grabbed it.

"Leo!"

"Sofia?"

Their mothers called out for them and the two didn't realize that they ran out of sight behind some bushes.

"Last one there has to tell Elena that we accidentally flushed her fish down the toilet!" Sofia said and took off with a laugh, her short legs not getting her too far.

"Sofia! That was you!" Leo groaned before racing after his best friend.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The familiar warm breeze glazed the soft skin of the girl wrapped up in her arms on the same bench her mother sat on eleven years ago when she was only seven years old.

Sofia smiled fondly of the memory of her childhood best friend, eyes on the exact spot they played together. So much has changed yet Sofia felt at peace knowing that she still had innocent memories.

Her slender fingers played with the silver daylight ring around her finger, a habit she picked up on for months now.

With a shake of her head, Sofia reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, dialing the number she knew by heart.

It rang once before he picked up.

"Took you long enough. Four days without calling!"

Sofia smiled and rolled her eyes. "Is the Leonardo Connors saying he missed me?"

Leo scoffed on the other end. "I hate that name."

"I missed you too, Leo." She said and she could picture the smile one his face. "How's uni?"

Leo let out an annoyed huff from the other end. "Agonizing. Professors here are so cruel Sof. One of them made fun of my eyeliner!"

"You wear eyeliner? Since when?"

"Since the girls at The University New Orleans digs it."

"Of course that's the reason."

"Excuse you Gilbert. When was the last time you went on a date?"

Sofia's face scrunched up, trying to sound believable. "Last night."

"Bullshit. I know you always sleep in after a date night because your social battery is like zero. And it's 08:15 here so it's 09:15 over there." She could hear the smirk. "You really should try and up your lying game Sof."

Sofia crossed her arms over her chest with the phone still by her ear. "Dammit, I forgot how well you know me."

"It would be better if you came here!"

"I-

"What's holding you back Sof?" He cut her off.

Sofia sighed and ran a hand down her face. "Nothing is holding me back there's just too much going on right now."

The boy sighed, understanding that she wasn't going to budge. "Okay fine but I'm worried about you Sof."

"Why?" She sat up straighter.

"It's been almost a year since..... you know." She gulped as he continued. "You stayed for your family but Sof you need to think about yourself too. You had such a good plan for your future. You were going to come with me here to TUNO and study medicine. What happened to all of that? What are you going to do, stay in Mystic Falls forever? You deserve better Sof. "

Sofia bit the inside of her cheek, feeling defensive. But she had to remember that Leo just wanted what's best for her, even if his words stung a bit. It just reminded her how far behind in life she was, forever stuck at the age she was meant to thrive.

"Leo, I get it, believe me." She emphasized. "I wanted that for me too but I just I can't leave right now. But as soon as everything is sorted and nothing ties me here, I'll join you in New Orleans." Sofia promised.

Once this Klaus business is over and her sister lives, Sofia planned to leave Mystic Falls to live the life she wanted before everything crashed.

"Okay, good. I only want what's best for you Sofie." Leo's voice went softer. "You deserve to live a little."

Sofia laughed at the irony. "I know, and I will once I know everything is fine here. It makes no sense for me to go off somewhere yet I'm still worrying about everyone here."

Leo furrowed his eyebrows slightly at her tone. She made it seem like something dangerous was going to happen.

He shook off his thoughts. If something was wrong, Sofia would tell him.

"Moving on." Sofia's voice brought him back from his thoughts. "I actually need to talk to someone about something and I can't exactly confide in anyone here." She said with a sigh.

Leo grinned. "Am I that someone?"

"Yep." The vampire popped the 'p'.

"Well, confide to your heart's content."

Sofia smiled. She knew she could always talk to him and he wouldn't ask too many questions or judge.

"Well." Sofia took a deep breathe, soft eyes looking over the glistening pond ahead. "I met this guy -"

"Hold up. A real guy?" His voice was amused.

Sofia scoffed. "Yes a real guy."

"With arms, a head -"

"Leo." She said sharply in annoyance.

"Carry on." He snickered.

Sofia rolled her eyes at her friend but continued. "I met a guy, a real guy, and we got along really well." She felt smile form. "He was charming, sweet and a gentleman. He made me feel like I wasn't alone with everything. It was the first real feelings I felt since the crash."

Sofia said it all. The things she wanted to gush about to her friends and sister like she was sixteen again. Elijah really did make her feel like she had a silly crush.

"Aw." Leo cooed and Sofia raised an eyebrow at his sudden softness before he coughed. "I mean, that's cool. Was he older?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Look at you, doing your bit of elderly service."

Sofia laughed loudly. "Not like that!" She giggled.

"Oh, can't blame me for thinking it. Girls these days want the older rich guys."

Sofia chuckled. "He was actually the first guy that I liked for real. Not just because he said I was pretty unlike my past mistakes."

Leo snorted at the word 'mistakes' "Yeah Sof, you're choices weren't that great. I mean that one guy you dated for two months literally gave you a hand made card for your birthday. It looked like a kid made it."

Sofia frowned. "Harry was sweet."

"Sweet but not that smart."

"Anyway." She interrupted. "He was really great. And I really liked him."

"What did he do?" He asked knowingly.

Sofia frowned and pulled her top down a bit to reveal her shoulder where the grotesque wound was. Painfully visable veins surrounding her heart like a virus and her once clear skin around her heart was a dull grey. It looked like a stab wound stuck in time with no blood spilling out.

She was shocked and slightly fearful of what it was when she looked in the mirror that morning. It was like a small ache in her chest that didn't go away like it should. She was a vampire, whatever it was should have healed by now.

It didn't take her long to put the pieces together and come to the conclusion that she was connected to Elijah since he was daggered in the heart last night. But why? Did Jonas do a spell that linked them? Was there something she wasn't aware of?

Sofia didn't say anything to her family or friends about the discovery. If this really was because of Elijah, she definitely needed to know first.

"He wasn't as truthful as he said he was. Made me start to give him my trust just to break it." Sofia said vaguely, having to restrain herself from telling him everything.

"I'm guessing you're going to continue being vague."

"He broke my trust, that's that." Sofia shrugged.

"I know you're big on trust. I'm sorry Sof."

Sofia shook her head. "It's fine, he's gone now - uh left to Chicago. I just needed to talk to someone about it."

"Not like I don't like you talking to me, but why can't you talk to your sister or Caroline or Bonnie about this? Or Jenna?" He gasped. "Ohhhh, was it a secret affair or something?"

"Oh God." Sofia pinched the bridge of her nose. "No it wasn't. Do you really think I'd be part of an affair?"

"No but it wouldn't hurt to spice up your story a little bit."

"I'm hanging up."

"I'm sorry! Don't hang up."

"Promise you'll stop teasing me."

"I promise!"

Just then Sofia felt her phone buzz. She pulled her phone away from her ear to see a text message

Elena

Hey Sof, can you pick me up from the Salvatore house for school? Stefan can but I need to talk to you. Please?

Sofia sighed. She was not in the mood to talk to her sister right now. But her older sister nature got the better of her, like always.

She brought the phone back to her ear. "Keep good on that promise for later when we can finish the conversation. I need to go pick up Elena." She said dreadfully.

Leo laughed at her tone. "I thought you loved spending time with your sister."

"Not when this day was meant for me." She grumbled and got up. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay, bye Sof."

"Bye Leo."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The car was filled with a silence that was unsettling to both sisters as the eldest drove through the familiar streets towards Mystic Falls High.

When Sofia arrived at the boarding house, she completely ignored Damon when he tried to talk to her. She was still upset that he thought she'd betray them and like he said - she was one to hold a grudge.

Elena was the one to speak first after observing her older sister for a moment. "How are you?" She asked finally.

"Lovely, knowing my friends and sister don't trust me." She said with false enthusiasm, eyes on the road ahead.

Elena looked at the vampire "I didn't even know they were planning on killing him until Stefan told me that same night." She defended.

"But you knew he wasn't going to save you." Sofia looked back at her, hurt that her little sister was just going along with it.

"Elijah was careful with his words." Elena said clearly. "I knew what I said yes to."

Sofia glared at her.

"So what? You and Elijah were just going to fool us until the time came when Klaus sacrifices you? Then what Elena? We mourn over our dead sister and friend? Jeremy already lost mom, dad and me in that crash. He doesn't need to loose his other sister too."

Elena scoffed in disbelief, matching her sister's look."I wasn't going to let Klaus kill everyone I love because I ran."

"Nobody suggested running Elena! We were going to figure something out -"

"No we weren't!" Elena raised her voice but backed down slightly at the warning look from Sofia. "Let's face it, Sof. We aren't going to think of something in time."

Sofia shook her head, her grip on the wheel tighter than before. "We will because I'm not letting you die over some stupid curse." She said harshly.

Elena stayed quiet and sat back in her seat, not wanting to anger her sister more. She didn't regret not telling Sofia - she stands by her decision. It was the better choice. Why should everyone she cared for die when she could just give herself up?

But Elena should have known Sofia would be furious when she found out.

Sofia couldn't believe Elena thought sacrificing herself wasn't a big deal. Like she wasn't leaving everyone behind in the process.

Jenna would blame herself because she was their parental guardian and she wouldn't even know the truth behind everything.

Jeremy would spiral back into his drug addiction that he worked hard on escaping. He believes everyone is going to leave him sooner or later, despite Sofia's reassuring.

And Sofia would never forgive herself. She made a promise to her parents after she turned that she would protect their family with every fibre in her. It was all she had at the end of the day

Sofia forced herself to calm down as she turned into the school parking lot. She sighed as she parked but grabbed Elena's hand before she could exit

Elena looked at her sister and was relieved to see she wasn't angry anymore.

"We're going to find a way to keep you alive Lena. No matter if you want to or not, you're not dying on us. Okay?" Sofia said sternly.

At that moment Elena was reminded that Sofia was her big sister and she would do anything to protect her, whether she got herself hurt in the process or not.

The younger Gilbert nodded silently and got out of the car. Elena smiled softly at her sister as she shut the door and walked away, Sofia seeing Stefan's figure amongst the students.

After the couple disappeared into the school, Sofia huffed in exhaustion and sat back in her seat.

Then her phone buzzed.

Caroline

Girls night at your house, Bonnie already knows. Tell Elena and we'll be there at six! :)

Sofia scoffed in amusement, of course Caroline planned something at their house without them knowing until now.

She reversed out of the parking lot and drove home to take a nap before six and ignore the wound by her heart for long as possible.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Chinese food or pizza?"

Sofia, Elena, Bonnie and Caroline were in the Gilbert kitchen choosing what they were going to eat for their movie.

It was a 'girls night' as Caroline called it as every girl wanted to forget about their problems for a night.

Caroline was having Matt drama and Bonnie was upset that she lost her powers. Elena was stressing about Katherine's stay at the Salvatore's and Sofia was trying to ignore the wound that magically appeared.

There wasn't any tension much to Sofia's luck after she found out that neither Bonnie or Caroline knew of Damon's plan.

Sofia sat on the counter stool with Bonnie next to her and Caroline standing on the other side whilst Elena took out some plates.

"Like you have to ask." Elena smiled as she put a few plates down.

"Great!" Caroline took out her tablet to place in their order but frowned at her home screen picture of herself and Matt as the Founder's Day Parade.

Bonnie shared a look with Sofia and the vampire took the device from the blonde. "I'll do it." She sent a sad smile to her friend, who only sighed.

"Do you think Jonas is being sincere?" Elena asked Bonnie as she sat next to Caroline and opposite the other two.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, obviously frustrated that the warlock took her powers. "I don't know what to believe. I think he's at a loss. He's not sure who to trust."

"Well." Caroline interrupted, changing the topic. "What are we going to do about this movie situation?"

Sofia smirked knowingly. "Let me guess, 'The Notebook'?"

It was Caroline's favorite movie and she made them watch it so many times. Sofia was positive she could recite the entire movie.

Caroline's eyes lit up. "My thoughts exactly!"

Sofia laughed and Elena smiled at her friend in amusement. "Caroline, how many times have you watched that movie?"

Caroline pouted. "That's not the point."

"It's exactly the point Care." Bonnie chuckled and Caroline threw a chip at her.

Sofia heard the front door open and close before turning around to see her aunt entering the kitchen, looking miserable.

"Hey." Sofia greeted her aunt.

"Whats going on?" Jenna asked, surprised to see Caroline and Bonnie.

"Girls night." Elena answered.

"Oh." Jenna sighed and put her bag down.

"How are you doing?" Sofia asked, handing her aunt a chocolate bar from their stash. She looks like she needed it.

Jenna bit into the treat. "You heard about my fight with Ric, didn't you?"

Sofia nodded and Elena tilted her head. "He feels terrible."

"Is this some kind of disguised attempt to cheer me up?"

Elena looked at her friends and sister before turning back to Jenna. "No, this is about us girls hanging out and you know, we'll be here if you happen to talk or..."

"Because I am a winner when it comes to successful relationships." Caroline added bitterly.

Jenna frowned. "You too?"

Caroline huffed. "You have no idea."

"Okay then." Jenna gave in and sat next to Sofia. "It's this whole Isobel thing. He's hiding something from me."

Elena and Sofia shared a look. Jenna knew that Isobel was Elena's biological mother and Alaric's 'dead' wife. She just didn't know that she wasn't actually dead.

"To play devil's advocate, maybe there is a great reason why he's not telling you. Maybe he's just trying to protect you." Caroline suggested optimistically.

But everyone but Jenna knew she was trying to back up her actions of not telling Matt about her vampirism.

Jenna shook her head."Well that's not his call to make. I mean, I deserve the truth. Everyone does."

"Sometimes it's harder than that."

"Not if it's someone you care about, it isn't."

Sofia felt a wave of guilt hit her and looked down at her hands, playing with her daylight ring.

A tense silence fell over the group, the truth being known to every girl but one.

"You know what we need?" Caroline broke the silence making everyone look at her. "Dancing! There's a band at the Grill tonight."

"I'm in." Sofia smiled, wanting to do something fun.

"Me too." Bonnie smiled.

"In." Jenna stood up straight.

"Same."

"Yay!" Caroline clapped happily.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The band's music echoed through the street of the Mystic Grill and Sofia found herself bobbing her head to it as the five girls entered the restaurant.

The place was packed with people wanting to listen to the band and waiters rushed past in a rush. The lights were dimmed and small tables were put around.

Jenna saw Alaric walk to towards the bar and unlocked her arm from Sofia's. "I need a drink. "

Sofia watched the women leave with a frown but turned her attention back to her friends just in time to see Matt pass them.

"Hey Matt." Caroline beamed at the boy but he ignored her and walked away making Caroline look down.

Sofia glared at the back of Matt's head before grabbing Caroline's hand. "Let's dance!" She tried to cheer her friend up.

Caroline smiled slightly at Sofia's attempt and she followed the vampire onto the dance floor.

Sofia twirled the blonde around and back onto her arms dramatically making Caroline giggle before they danced to the beat of the song together. Sofia was happy to see Caroline smile again.

Elena and Bonnie danced not too far away from the two vampires and Sofia took this as her chance.

"He said the ball's in your court." Sofia said as they moved to stand at a table, still swaying their hips to the music slightly.

Caroline shook her head. "Yeah but I can't do anything about it. I'm still keeping so many secrets."

Sofia squeezed her friend's hand. "You need to show him how much you care, everything else will fall into place afterwards. It's your decision on what you tell him." She advised, holding eye contact with her friend.

Caroline stayed silent for a moment before her eyes lit up with an idea just as the song ended. The girl quickly took off her jacket and gave it to Sofia before making her way towards the stage.

Sofia held the jacket to her chest in confusion. "Caroline?!"

"What's she doing?" Bonnie asked as she and Elena joined Sofia's side with Jenna in tow.

"No clue." Sofia answered as Caroline took the mic from the singer eruptly.

"Hey everybody!" Caroline greeted into the mic, her voice catching everyone's attention. "Let's hear it for the band! Weren't they awesome?"

The audience clapped.

Caroline cleared her throat nervously. "So there's the guy. And, uh, he told me to tell him how..."

Sofia stopped listening when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around to see a guy that looked young but not a teenager. He was about her height and had a attractive smile.

"Hey." He greeted, eyes looking over her body.

"Hi?" Sofia greeted back hesitantly.

"You're Sofia Gilbert, right?"

"Yeah, why?" She asked suspiously.

"I'm Ethan Harris. I was in your year at high school." He grinned flirtatiously, believing that she recognized him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't remember you." She apologized honestly, not wanting to lead him on.

"That's okay, you didn't seem like the type to know everyone. You always stuck to the one dude, Luke, right?" He took a step closer to her.

"Leo." She corrected, beginning to get uncomfortable and a bit irratated. What did this guy want?

"Oh right." He shrugged carelessly, unbothered. "Anyway I came over to ask you if you would like to get a drink with me?" His hand reached out to brush her hip and she recoiled.

His smirk was cocky and it made her skin crawl. Sofia pursed her lips and took a step away. "No thanks." She rejected.

Then without another word, she turned back around to face the stage and back in her spot next to Jenna, away from Ethan.

Sofia heard him mutter and curse her as he walked away and she rolled her eyes in disgust. She hasn't had a boyfriend for almost two years now but that didn't mean she would jump at the opportunity to get with guy who wasn't worth her time.

"Who was that?" Jenna asked, leaning closer to her niece over Caroline's singing. Sofia didn't even notice that her friend was singing because of Ethan.

"No one important." Sofia shrugged nonchalantly and looked at her aunt.

Jenna smiled and slid glass of bourbon towards her making Sofia smile back.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It's been a little over ten minutes since Caroline's song and her reunion with Matt and the band was playing again.

Sofia drank a lot but didn't get drunk unfortunately, keeping an eye on her friends and aunt out of boredom. She drove them here so it looks like she had to play the sober friend.

"Sof!" Bonnie's voice called her from the other side of the restaurant and thanks to her supernatural hearing, she caught it.

Sofia walked away from the bar and towards the bathroom where Bonnie and Elena was, the latter looking confused.

"Whats up, Bon?" The vampire asked once she stood next to her sister.

"I need to ask you both something." Bonnie admitted nervously.

The sisters glanced at each other questionly before looking at their friend. "Okay?" Elena encouraged her to continue.

Bonnie took a deep breathe before spitting the words out like wildfire. "Would it freak you two out if I started dating your brother?"

Sofia's eyes widen. "You and Jeremy?" Her voice came out more shocked that she wanted.

"You're into our brother?" Elena asked, surprised too.

Neither sisters saw this coming. Hell, Sofia didn't even know Bonnie and Jeremy were friends. And both sisters weren't too fond of Jeremy's last girlfriends - Vicki Donovan who introduced their little brother to drugs and Anna - the girl who almost killed Elena to get into the tomb.

But as weird as it was, considering Bonnie was older than him, Bonnie was such a great person and Jeremy could use that in his life. Whatever weirdness Sofia felt didn't matter if it made her brother happy.

"I know it's weird, but he's been so good and strong. He makes me happy." Bonnie smiled but it faltered at the still shocked looks on the sisters' faces . "And I can't tell what you're thinking."

Sofia smiled softly at her friend and hugged her, feeling Bonnie's tense posture relax. "I think it's a good thing."

"Really?" Bonnie asked as they pulled away.

"Yeah, I mean it will be odd at first but if you guys make each other happy, who am I to say you guys can't date?" Sofia shrugged, although the word 'date' was a bit reluctant.

Bonnie smiled gratefully at Sofia before looking at Elena. "Elena?"

Elena looked as hesitant as Sofia felt but she nodded. "I think it's good too. I mean our brother has had more pain in his life than a hundred people's worth of pain, and he deserves to be with someone as amazing as you."

Bonnie beamed at them and pulled both girls into a tight hug. "Thanks you guys!"

"Of course Bonnie." Sofia smiled down at her as Elena excused herself to take a call. Sofia looked Bonnie in the eye. "Now, you come to me if Jeremy gives you any problems, okay? I'll give him a punch or two."

She was obviously joking and Bonnie giggled. "Okay."

But confusion clouded the younger girl's eyes as she saw something over Sofia's shoulder. The vampire turned around and followed Bonnie's gaze.

It was Jonas Martin and he looked livid.

"Why does he look like he's on a war path?" Sofia asked nervously and crossed her arms.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Bonnie took a step away but Sofia strepped in front of her, a cautious look on her eyes. She didn't like the idea of Bonnie being around a witch who looked murderous.

"Sof, if anything happens, you'll know." Bonnie assured her before stepping around the vampire and walking towards Jonas.

Sofia huffed and watched Bonnie closely as she approached the man, listening in.

"Dr.Martin, are you okay?"

"Where is she?" He spat.

"I don't understand."

"My son is dead!" He exclaimed and Sofia's eyes widen.

"Whatever you think you need to do, there's a better way." Bonnie pleaded.

"They killed Elijah and Luka and my only shot at getting my daughter back is if I have Elena."

That was enough for Sofia and she started to walk towards them but the lights went out making people scream in fear and Sofia hold her head in pain at the sudden raise in volume.

She panted as she stood up straight again but didn't get a chance to do anything before someone pulled her to their side.

"Sofia." Jonas said, his grip on her arm tight and she still couldn't see much.

Panic set in. "Where's Bonnie?!" She pushed him off of her but he grabbed her again with more force.

"How could you stand by them after they killed Elijah?! Your soulmate!" He hissed at her in betrayal.

"What?!" She asked in disbelief, not being able to process his words.

His grip on her arms tightened. "It's time you know." He roughly cupped both sides of her head and started chanting in Latin making Sofia gasp as images flashed through her mind.

A grimoire

Blood

Chanting

A forest

Fire

A group of vampires with blood covered mouths

Her birthmark

A snake symbol with an 'M'

Two figures dancing in the darkness

Death

Cries

A light

Darkness

Jonas let her go and her body fell to the floor, before leaving to find Elena as the vampire stayed unconscious.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey guys!

I read some chapters of DITD and there's some spelling mistakes I beg you to ignore 😭.

Anyway, how was the chapter? Opinions?

Please vote!