A couple of days later
It's the first day of school, and that means the real chaos is about to begin. The last few days, Elena actually took some time to relax—which she needed—but she also made a few smart moves. She gave Jenna and Jeremy gifts: a bracelet for Jenna and a necklace for Jeremy. Both laced with vervain. It's not going to fully protect them if vampires show up, but at least they won't be easily compelled. It's a solid start.
Right now, Elena's getting ready. She's wearing the same outfit she did at the start of the show—nostalgic, honestly.
'So, are you ready?' I ask.
"If I'm being honest... still a little scared. But yeah, I think I'm ready," she says.
'Fear's good. Keeps you sharp, makes you think more clearly. It'll help you stick to the plan. But don't worry—you're not doing this alone. You've got me.'
She smiles. "Thanks."
'Don't mention it. Now hurry up before you're late,' I say.
She laughs softly and heads downstairs. Jenna's already in the kitchen.
"How can toast be this hard to make?" Jenna mutters.
"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna," Elena says as she pours herself a cup.
"There's coffee?" Jeremy says, snatching her cup without hesitation.
Jenna offers them lunch money. Elena doesn't take it, but Jeremy does, of course. Then Elena reminds Jenna she's got a presentation today—and she's already late. She rushes out the door.
Look, Jenna might not be the most qualified guardian, but she's trying, and that counts for something. Good news is, I saw her wearing the bracelet. And Jeremy? he's wearing the necklace, too. They're a little more protected now, which is something.
I still wonder when Elena's going to finally tell them about the supernatural. She wants to wait for the "right time," but honestly? She should've already said something. We could prove it so easily—I could take over her body, or just show up on her cheek like I did before. But whatever. She wants them to have a bit more normal life before everything goes sideways. Her choice.
A honk outside pulls her attention. Bonnie's giving her a ride to school. I wonder... did Sheila ever tell Bonnie she's a witch? Did she show her anything? If so, that means Elena might actually have someone else to talk to about this whole supernatural mess besides me.
Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
Elena walks outside and heads to Bonnie's car. They're talking while Bonnie drives them to school, but nothing they're saying is all that important. From what I can tell, Sheila did tell Bonnie she's a witch… but she didn't actually show her any magic. So right now, Bonnie doesn't believe her. Honestly, I'm not even paying much attention to their conversation—it's kind of boring.
Instead, I'm focused on the birds I'm controlling. One of them is following Jenna, just to make sure she's safe. Another is tailing Jeremy.
There's also a third—this one's following Stefan. Yep, you heard that right. He's been in town for a couple of days now, and I've been keeping a close eye on him. No sign of Damon yet, but two dead bodies have already turned up. The police are calling it an "animal attack," but let's be real—Damon is back. I don't care that he kills people, as long as he starts doing it a bit more quietly.
Elena and Bonnie finally pull up to the school. They're still talking about nothing important as they walk through the parking lot, and I've gotta say—I kind of hate it.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be reborn as the strongest sorcerer, and still end up in high school. This is some bullshit.
Right now, they're at the lockers, still chatting, until Elena spots Matt. She waves at him, but he doesn't wave back—just grabs his books, earbuds in, and walks away.
"He hates me," Elena mutters.
"That's not hate," Bonnie replies. "That's 'you dumped me but I'm too cool to show it,' while secretly listening to Air Supply's Greatest Hits."
'Well, the least he could do is try to understand,' I said. 'Her parents died, and her life is in danger now... not that he knows that. Yet.'
"Yet?" Elena asked, confused.
"What?" Bonnie looked at her.
"Nothing," Elena said quickly.
'Elena, try to remember not to talk out loud. People will think you've lost your mind,' I reminded her.
Then, out of nowhere—Caroline. She popped up and hugged Elena tight. Been a while since I've seen her. Like Bonnie, the last time was at the funeral, with her mother, Sheriff Forbes.
Speaking of Sheriff Forbes… she's on the Council. Should Elena and I try to infiltrate it? Probably not. They're all adults, and they can't know about me. To them, Elena's just a kid. Our best bet is to let Damon get close, let him earn their trust, and then he can feed us information. I might've been too quick to want him dead—turns out, he could actually be very useful.
Once Caroline was done consoling Elena and chatting with Bonnie, they made their way to class. But they stopped by the office—and that's when they saw him.
Stefan.
'There he is,' I said. 'Our first potential ally. He's reasonable, especially since he's obsessed with Katherine—and you look exactly like her.'
He'd just compelled the secretary so he could go to school here. Typical vampire smoothness.
"I'm sensing Seattle. And he's playing a guitar," Bonnie said.
"You're really gonna run this whole 'mysterious new guy' thing into the ground, huh?" Elena asked.
"Pretty much," Bonnie smirked.
'You really should tell her the truth,' I said to Elena. 'Bonnie not knowing she's a witch is dangerous—for her and others. She can't control what she doesn't understand.'
Right after I said that, Elena noticed Jeremy heading to the bathroom and instinctively started to follow him.
'Don't,' I said. 'I know you're worried about him, but everyone deals with grief in their own way. Trying to baby him won't help. He'll just push you further away if you keep hovering.'
She paused, sighed, and turned back to Bonnie. We'll keep Jeremy off drugs—we will. But not today.
After that, nothing really important happened. School went on like normal… if you ignore the fact that Stefan kept staring at Elena every chance he got. I could tell she was getting uncomfortable. Honestly, if I could, I'd just cut him a little—just enough to warn him to stop being weird. This isn't the show.
Elena didn't go to the cemetery this time. Instead, she headed straight home. When she got there, the house was empty. She went straight up to her room.
"Okay, what do you mean 'yet'? I thought only a couple people would know about the supernatural world—not my regular friends," Elena said aloud.
'Elena,' I replied, 'you don't seriously think you can keep the supernatural world hidden from all your friends, do you?'
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm going to do," she said.
'Then you're a fool.' I didn't even sugarcoat it. 'If you think you can keep this secret forever—while we're dealing with vampires, witches, Originals, and god knows what else—you're delusional. I'm not saying they need to fight alongside us. I'm saying they need to know, so they can protect themselves. Especially Bonnie. She's a witch whether she believes it or not. We should either tell her the truth, or ask Sheila to finally show her some magic.'
Elena didn't respond. She just sat down on her bed.
"I just… I just want to protect them," she said quietly. "If any of them get hurt, it's going to be my fault. All the danger—it's coming because of me."
'No,' I said firmly. 'We will protect them, and we will not fail. But none of this is your fault. You didn't ask to be born into this. It's their fault—those who want to use you. You should be a normal teenager. Instead, you've got a dead sorcerer in your soul and a target on your back from vampires. This life? It's far from what you deserve.'
She was quiet for a moment, then asked, "Then… what do we do? How do we tell them?"
'First, we start with Jenna and Jeremy. Not right now, but when things get worse—and they will—they need to know. We should also get vervain jewelry for Caroline and Bonnie, just in case. Then we talk to the Salvatore brothers. Once I track down Damon, we'll need to get him under control and form an alliance with both of them.'
"Okay… I'll do that," she said, clearly thinking it through.
'Remember, Elena. You've got me too.'
She smiled a little. "I know. And I'm really thankful."
'Good. I like being appreciated. Now get started on your homework. I remember you were failing half your classes last year. Let's not repeat that.'
She laughed but got to work.
While she studied, I started thinking—should I let Caroline become a vampire? Should Tyler activate his werewolf curse? Should we really drag Matt into the supernatural world?
Caroline actually thrived as a vampire. Sure, she had a rough start, but with me and Elena helping her, she might skip all that.Tyler? Becoming a werewolf would bring nothing but pain—literally. The only upside was Klaus turning him into a hybrid. But then we'd have to deal with the sire bond, and him being Klaus's puppet. Maybe I can find a way to break that bond early.And Matt… poor guy lost his whole family because of the supernatural. Do we really want to pull him deeper into this mess?
There's so much still to come. Sirens. Silas. The cure. Don't even get me started on those witches. And that's not even scratching the surface of all the other supernatural bullshit heading our way.
All we can do is take it one threat at a time—get stronger, stay alive, and make sure no one Elena cares about dies.
This is going to be a pain in the ass.
The Next Day
Nothing really happened—it's just another normal day. Right now, we're in history class, and it's boring as hell. I need to find a way to get my own body. I am not redoing high school.
"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted from this battle, Miss Bennett?" the teacher asked.
Bonnie looked up, surprised. I guess she wasn't paying attention.
"Um… a lot? I'm not sure—like, a whole lot," she said.
"Cute became dumb in an instant, "Miss Bennett," Tanner snapped.
'Is he even allowed to say that? I mean, he's a teacher,' I said to Elena.
"Mr. Donovan," Tanner turned to Matt. "Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"
'Seriously, how does he get away with talking to students like this? Am I crazy, or does this school just not care?' I said again.
"It's okay, Mr. Tanner. I'm cool with it," Matt replied.
Elena chuckled a little, shaking her head.
"Elena, surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significant battles," Tanner continued.
"There were 346 casualties. Unless you're also counting the local civilians," she said calmly.
I smirked. That's right. This isn't the old Elena. This is the new and improved Elena—because I made damn sure she studied this part of history.
"That is correct," Tanner said, trying not to show he was annoyed. "But there were no civilian casualties in that battle."
"Actually, there were 27," Elena corrected. "Confederate soldiers fired on a church, thinking it was hiding weapons. They were wrong. That information is in the Founders' Archive, stored in Civil Hall—if you'd like to brush up on your facts."
Oooh. Burn.
Tanner looked like he swallowed a lemon. The whole class was grinning. I swear I felt something tight in my chest. Not anger. Not irritation.
...Pride. I felt proud. In someone else.
Weird.