✧.•°*𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗, 𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄

a/n: please comment and vote, it helps me keep motivated and it gives me an idea if you guys are liking the story, writing and plot so far! thank you <3

IT TOOK A FEW SECONDS FOR EVELYN TO GRASP WHAT JUST HAPPENED, her mind reeling from the numerous events that happened that day, and it made her even more stressed. Who was that man? And the figure? And why are they- a twig breaking snapped her out of her shock-like state and she quickly looked around before jumping to her feet.

Shivering, Evelyn rubbed her hands up and down her arms; she didn't usually get cold, since she was a child she has always been told her temperature was sometimes higher than normal, but staying in the woods 'til it became nightfall, while wearing only a shirt and some shorts was probably not the best idea on her part.

She looked around herself and just picked a direction as she tried to get out of those woods, her hands shaking while she tried to get her phone to turn on, but it seemed as if her battery died. With a frustrated groan, Evelyn started to walk faster, her figure jumping every time she heard even the smallest sound around her and her eyes watering, a few tears escaping.

As soon as she saw a stretch of road, she ran towards it and started to follow it as she hoped it would lead her back to Mystic Falls. As she quietly walked on the side of the road, she noticed the lights of a car coming closer and closer, so she walked towards the middle of the road, just enough for the driver to notice and not hit her, hopefully.

She raised her arms, waving at the car that finally was in her line of vision, trying to get the driver's attention. "Hey! Hey!" She shouted, jumping out of the way as they swerved slightly before braking successfully.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she walked towards the vehicle as the driver opened the door to their side and walked out and towards her. "Are you okay?" The man asked her, his brown eyes scanning her figure quickly before snapping to her face, widening slightly. "Hi," she said quietly, her blue lips catching his attention as well as her clattering teeth, "Could you please drive me-," Before she could even finish her sentence, the man nodded his head. "Of course, come in. You're... turning blue, Miss...?" The man asked, gently stirring her to the other side of the car where he opened the door for her.

Evelyn waited for him to get inside his car before she spoke, "Evelyn, my-my name is Evelyn," she said, sending a grateful smile as the man removed the jacket of his black suit and handed it to her before blasting the AC of the car.

"Thank you," She mumbled out quietly before putting the jacket on.

"My name is Elijiah. Where would you like me to take you?" He asked politely, re-starting his car before he looked at her, his mouth agape as he analysed her face, watching as she squirmed under his watchful eyes.

"Umh...Mystic Falls, if you don't mind." She said, watching as Elijah nodded his head. "May I ask what you were doing in the woods at this hour? And not dressed for...the occasion, if you will?" He questioned, starting to drive.

"I...accidently fell asleep in the woods and when I woke up it was night, so I didn't really know what to do," Evelyn explained briefly, giving him a polite smile as he nodded his head.

"Would you like to use my phone to call your parents and warn them that you are safe?" Elijiah asked politely, glancing at her as she sucked in a breath at his words, but she said nothing, trying to not make the situation any more awkward than how much it already was. "Uh...sure, thank you." She said, taking the phone from his hand.

She quickly dialled Zach's number, but it immediately went to the voicemail, so she tried to call Caroline, this time it rang a few times before it also went to voicemail. She slowly removed the phone from her ear, clenching her eyes shut as she tried to not let any tears fall down.

"Are...are they not answering?" He asked gently, his tone soft and warm. "Y-yeah umh...I don't, I mean, they are probably sleeping." She sniffled, nodding her head at her own words while Elijiah just pursed his lips.

"Miss Evelyn, may I ask if you have your house keys with you?" He watched her reaction, as her eyes went wide and she started to pat her short's pockets before she cursed under her breath. "I don't but...uh, it's fine, I'll, I'll just crash at a friend's place or something." She tried to sound confident, going as far as smiling at him again, ignoring how she could barely see him from how close to crying she was.

"I'm...not comfortable with leaving you in such a condition of distress while you have no secure place to go, Miss Evelyn. Could I offer for you to stay at my apartment for the night, and tomorrow morning I will drive you to your house?" He proposed, his eyes leaving the road only once as he looked at her profile before glancing back.

Evelyn sucked in a breath of air, "Are...are you a serial killer or something? Are you going to kidnap me and torture me, Elijiah?" She asked with a voice so small that it made even him feel bad.

"I wouldn't even dream of touching one strand of your hair with malicious intent, Miss Evelyn. I give you my word, I only have your safety and comfort in mind." After a few seconds of silence, Evelyn nodded her head. "Okay...I'll trust you," she said, and Elijiah gave her a small smile, "I won't betray your trust, I promise." He said, and Evelyn watched as they turned right at the first roundabout.

It was going to be a long night.

✧.•°*

EVELYN DID NOT REMEMBER FALLING ASLEEP, but when she opened her eyes, the night was even darker than before, the moon shined bright over the clouds, and the wind seemed to have picked up again, sending chills down her bare legs. "Miss Evelyn," A voice snapped her out of it, and only then did she notice the arms holding her body against a hard, yet cold chest.

It took a few seconds for her to come to her senses, but she quickly realised Elijiah was carrying her towards his apartment, which seemed to be in one of the prettiest buildings Evelyn had seen in a long time. "Oh, I'm so sorry Elijiah, I didn't even notice I fell asleep." She apologised, placing her feet on the ground as Elijiah let go of her, "There is nothing to apologise for, I'm sure you have had a long day. Come," He instructed, gesturing with his head towards the apartment complex.

The security guard stationed behind the desk nodded his head at Elijiah before he looked at Evelyn, his eyes moving up and down her figure before stopping to stare at her naked legs.

"I suggest you remove your eyes from Miss Evelyn's legs before I have to step in," Elijiah said, moving to stand in front of her as he stared down at the man. "Y-yeah of course, s-sorry Miss Evelyn," He spoke quickly, his head snapping to the ground as he avoided looking up.

Evelyn barely nodded her head, her hands clutching Elijah's jacket, watching as he turned around towards her and gave her a closed-lip smile and placed a hand on her back, gently pushing her towards the elevator and clicking the fourth floor. "I'm sorry for that man, I hope he didn't cause you too much discomfort, but I will talk to his superiors tomorrow and sort this out." He apologised, filling the almost tense silence between them, watching carefully as Evelyn's shoulders relaxed slightly at his words.

"Thank you, Elijiah, really." She spoke softly, smiling at him as the elevator stopped moving.

Said man just waved her off, quickly moving towards his apartment door and opening it, "No need to thank me, it is after all the bare minimum. Please, make yourself at home, Miss Evelyn, and I apologise for the mess." Elijiah watched as Evelyn stepped inside his apartment and removed her shoes, not wanting to leave any mud and dirt on his pavement, and closed the door behind her, his shoulder relaxing slightly now that they were in his home

"I will prepare some clothes for you to change into, and the bedroom you will be sleeping in, if you could excuse me for a moment. Please, help yourself with anything you need," he said, gesturing with his hand towards the massive kitchen before walking away. Evelyn sucked in a breath before moving towards the sink and washing her hands, drying them with her shorts before she started to open some cabinets, looking for the glasses while also trying to not mess up anything as her hands slightly shook.

After finding them, she grabbed one and filled it with water, drinking it greedily before repeating the process twice more, soothing her dried, aching throat. "Miss Evelyn...if you will follow me, please?"

Evelyn placed down the glass, quickly reaching Elijiah as he led her to a bedroom which had two doors inside. It looked rather feminine, with cream-coloured walls and pink fluffy pillows, as well as the white carpet at the foot of the bed.

"This is my sister's room. She hasn't been...visiting as much, but I'd like to be ready for when she does." Elijiah explained, chuckling as he studied Evelyn's confused expression. "Oh, I can't sleep here, really, I can take the couch-" Evelyn said, shaking her head at his words. "Nonsense, my sister won't mind you using her room for a night, do not worry, Miss Evelyn." He said, stepping inside the room and opening one of the doors.

"Here is her wardrobe, please take any clothes you need, my sister has too many anyways, and this...," he opened the other door, this time revealing a spacious bathroom, "is her bathroom, feel free to use anything inside, I've left you clean towels and a new toothbrush and toothpaste aa well." He said, gesturing inside with his hands.

Evelyn stared at him for a few seconds, her throat closing before she looked around once again, "Are you sure your sister won't mind...?" She questioned again. "Yes, Rebekah would've had my head if I was to treat you with anything less than kindness." He smiled at her, slowly exiting the room while he watched her look around, her fingers brushing the blankets neatly placed on the bed.

"I sometimes enjoy drinking a cup of tea before going to bed, would you like me to prepare one for you as well?" He asked, smiling as she gave him a small nodd, "very well, you will find me in the kitchen then. Call me if you need anything," He said before closing the door behind him. Evelyn stood there a moment before she went to the walk-in closet and started to look for some pyjamas.

Thankfully, it seemed her and Rebekah, Elijiah's sister, shared the same size, so she quickly took the first pair of pyjamas that she found, as well as some underwear, and Evelyn was pleasantly surprised as she saw some fluffy socks, taking one of that as well before she went to the bathroom, locked herself in, and turned on the shower before removing all her clothes and bikini that she was still wearing. She jumped inside the shower as soon as the water turned out and quickly started washing herself and her hair.

Evelyn took this time to let herself relax, her shoulders drooping slightly under the hot water, her eyes closed for a few seconds as she enjoyed the peacefulness of the moment.

After a quick shower, she dried herself with the towel and got dressed, using the hairdryer to dry her hair before brushing her teeth. As soon as she was ready, Evelyn slowly walked out of the room and towards the kitchen. There stood Elijiah, now only wearing black sweatpants and a grey shirt while he stood in front of the stove, probably waiting for the tea to be ready. She cleared her throat lightly to catch his attention, and immediately Elijiah turned around, a pleasant smile on his face.

"Please, take a seat." He said and Evelyn complied. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Elijiah served her tea in a deep blue mug, while he drank from a green one. "I hope it's of your liking, Miss Evelyn," he said, sitting down on the chair in front of her.

Evelyn gave him a small smile and nodded her head, "It is-," Evelyn cleared her throat before gently placing the mug on the table, "Thank you for letting me stay here Elijiah, I don't ...I don't even know what would have happened if you had not found me. And please, call me Evelyn." She thanked him, avoiding eye contact until the end when Elijiah placed his muh down and squeezed one of her hands.

"As I said before, Mi-, I mean, Evelyn, I only have your safety in mind. I'm glad I helped you." He said before letting go of her hand. The two drank the rest of the tea in silence, and Elijiah watched as Evelyn's eyes slowly closed, so he gently guided her towards the bed, helping her into bed before placing the blankets over her. "Could you turn on the bedside lamp, Elijiah, please?" She asked softly, Elijiah only shook his head and looked towards the ceiling.

"That won't be necessary, Evelyn, you don't need to be scared of the dark." He said, his tone low and calming, and Evelyn slowly looked up as well, noticing the glow-in-the-dark stars stickers on the ceiling, which created a soft light, enough for the room to not be in complete darkness but dark enough for her to fall asleep easily.

Maybe her and Rebekah were more alike than she thought.

"Goodnight Evelyn," Elijiah said softly, essentially tucking her in as he made sure the blankets covered all parts of her body other than her head.

"Night 'Lijiah," her words were slightly slurred, and he was sure that if he was not a vampire he wouldn't have caught them, but he was, so he let those words warm his cold, dead heart before he closed the door behind him, his thoughts spinning as he walked towards his own room.

This complicates everything.

✧.•°*

AT TEN AM OF THE NEXT DAY, Evelyn and Elijiah were seated inside his car as he slowly came to a stop in front of her house. Elijiah was once again wearing one of his suits, while Evelyn was wearing a pair of Rebekah's jeans and a light blue shirt, in her lap there was a bag with her clothes inside, as well as the pyjamas she used, since Evelyn insisted on washing it for him, along with those clothes, so that she could later return them clean to Elijiah.

"Thank you so much, I really don't know how I can make up for everything you did, Elijiah..." She trailed off, looking at Elijiah who just smiled at her words. "It wasn't a problem, Evelyn, so don't worry about anything." He opened his door and stepped out, quickly going to Evelyn's side and opening the door for her and accompanied her to the door of her house. "You do have my number, yes?" He asked once again, his eyes never trailing away from her face as Evelyn nodded.

"Yes. I promise to call you if I'm ever in trouble, ok?" She swore, a small smile on her face as she thought about what he had told her during breakfast.

"Perfect." He nodded his head, and just as he was about to take a step back, Evelyn wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him. It took him a few seconds before he snapped out of it and wrapped his arms around her as well, squeezing lightly. "You're a saviour, seriously," She mumbled against his shoulder before stepping back, giving a small smile before she opened the door that was, as usual, open and waved at him.

"Thank you again 'Lijiah." Said man only nodded at her before she closed the door, and he quickly walked back to his car, speeding off and outside of the city, his phone against his ear as he called some of the vampires who...worked for him.

Meanwhile, Evelyn walked towards the living room of her house, knowing she had a charger there, but she quickly found herself looking at a rather bizarre scene, because why was Vicki Donovan of all people standing inside her house, along with Elena, Stefan and Damon.

"Umh...what is happening?" She asked, her brows furrowed as she kept glancing at Vicki, who stared at her as if she was the one who didn't belong there. "Eve! We were worried sick! Where have you been all night?! And why did you answer the phone!" Elena shouted, her surprise wearing off as she launched herself into her friend's arms, who gladly hugged her back. "It's a long story, but my phone died so I couldn't call anybody, sorry for making you guys so worried." She said quickly, not even bothering to try and explain what really happened because she didn't exactly want to be lectured by her friend and cousin about 'stranger danger'.

"But like, really, why is Vicki here? I mean..." She trailed off as Vicki scoffed at her words. "What? Now I can't even stay here after you two have told me to stay here?! Make up your mind!" She shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. Evelyn moved closer to Elena, slowly whispering in her ear "What drug is she on right now?" just to jump in surprise as Vicki growled at her.

"I heard that!"

"How?" Evelyn questioned before shaking her head at her own words, "you know what, I don't want to know. Where is Zach? I'm pretty sure I gave him an heart attack with everything that happened," she said, looking more at Stefan and Damon for answers. Immediately, she noticed the way both of their faces changed, as well as they tensed, but neither of them spoke.

"Guys? Hello?" Evelyn said, looking at them weirdly. "Come on, baby cousin, I've gotta tell you something and you're not gonna like it," Damon said, surprising everyone in the room as he placed in hands on Evelyn's shoulders and stirred her towards her room, upstairs.

"What?" She asked, confused and worried at the same time. "Listen kid, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. Your uncle is gone, yesterday morning he packed up all his stuff, told me he was leaving, that he got a girlfriend that asked him if he wanted to travel the world and...he said yes." He said, lying without a second thought, his eyes analysing her face as it became increasingly sadder each word he said, "He said to tell you that he was sorry, but that you knew you'd be okay here and that he really loved you, and that's why he knew you'd understand his decision."

"Oh..." She said softly, her gaze on the floor as she tried to process what he just said. "Are you...are you sure? I mean, he wouldn't just leave me here like this, without telling me anything or-" She cut herself off, sniffing slightly as she felt tears build up in her eyes again.

"I'm sorry kid," Damon only said, squeezing her shoulder before walking out of her bedroom, closing the door softly, leaving behind him a confused and sad eighteen years old.

✧.•°*━━━━━━━

please leave a comment and a vote guys, pleaseeee you have me here begging and everything please

mean= no vote no comment btw :(((((((((

but fr you guys have no idea how many times i changed this chapter. there was a version where evelyn discovered everything , a version were damon almost killed her too, one where vicki was about to kill her and one where she was compelled to leave mystic falls so...yeah, ive basically rewritten this chapter so many times, but ive settled for this versions for...obvious reasons lmfao.

honestly hope i bought justice to my man lijiah, literally the loml <3.

also, this is not proofread!! I was supposed to edit one of the previously mentioned version when i started to write this one, and it took me around two and a half hours to write everything, so it's almost five am for me, so please let me know if you find any errors and ill be sure to edit them as soon as i have time, thank you for reading <33