Apparently, Audrey had missed a lot when Klaus and Rebekah took her out of the gym. In an attempt to fight the compulsion, Stefan had forced Elena to run when the timer ran out, doing whatever he could to avoid feeding on her. For a short time, it appeared to be working, until Klaus found them. After that, any hope the former couple had was gone, as Klaus compelled Stefan to turn off his humanity. Unable to resist after that, Stefan fed on Elena, and she ended up in the hospital.

   Once it was discovered she was needed alive, Klaus was taking as much of her blood as possible, with plans to take her and Tyler away from Mystic Falls with him, Rebekah, and Audrey. Yet, after an encounter with Damon, Klaus had vanished. Leaving Stefan with specific instructions to keep Elena and Audrey safe. Finding out Damon was taking care of her sister, Audrey didn't bother to go and find her, and instead made her way to the cemetery. Having missed the funeral, now she was home, the first thing Audrey wanted to do was leave flowers for Jenna. She took the chance to put flowers down for her parents too, and even left some for John, and took time when she got home to read the letter he left for her.

   He'd sacrificed himself so Elena could live. It didn't make up for everything he'd done, but it was enough for Audrey to set any anger she once felt for him aside. Unable to sleep after that, she sat by her window with a blanket over her lap, her hands clutching the key chain she'd gotten her dad. And she stayed there till the sun started to rise the next day. It felt strange to be back in Mystic Falls, to properly be back in the house she'd grew up in. Just like she'd thought when she woke up at the school, she didn't think she'd ever see Mystic Falls again.

   "Hey..." A voice spoke from the doorway.

   She glanced over, and her smile grew instantly. "Jer..." Jumping to her feet, she ran and wrapped her brother in a hug, and he returned the embrace with a chuckle. "Oh, I missed you."

   "I missed you too." Jeremy mumbled as he pulled away, kissing her forehead. "I'm really glad you're home, Rey."

   "Yeah." She trailed off, looking down with a small smile. "It's, uh...it's weird being home, but I'll get there."

   "Elena already left." He told her. "But I can walk with you to school, if you want."

   Audrey blinked at the mention of school. It was the first day back, the first day of senior year in her case, and she'd forgotten all about it. It was an event Caroline had been planning since the first grade, making a book detailing the matching dresses they were going to wear to graduation, and even where each bead of detail would be on their prom dresses. 

   "Go ahead without me." She told her brother, shaking her head. "I'm nowhere near ready, and I'm not making you late." Jeremy opened his mouth to argue, but she shook her head, gently pushing him out of the door. "I'll be fine, Jer. I'll come to find you at lunch." 

   With a sigh, Jeremy gave a reluctant nod, and made his way downstairs. When she heard the front door close, signalling he'd left, Audrey turned and headed in the direction of the bathroom. She grabbed her phone as it vibrated on the dresser, her brow furrowing surprise as she saw the caller ID. "Rebekah?"

   "He bloody left us!" Rebekah's voice huffed in answer. "He actually left us in this crap town!"

   "He didn't take you with him?" The Gilbert girl asked in surprise.

   "No." She huffed again. "The self centred arse." Audrey tried to bite back a smile at that, as Rebekah cleared her throat. "No matter, we can suffer through it together. Get ready for school and come pick me up, I'm staying with Stefan. We can make sure we have the same class schedule."

   Audrey opened her mouth to agree, when her words clicked properly in her head, causing her to pause in her tracks.

   "You're coming to school?"

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   Rebekah's appearance at school went down as well as Audrey expected. Once Audrey was finally ready, she met Rebekah at the boarding house like asked, and two made their way to school together. With the help of compulsion, they got Rebekah enrolled into the senior class, and her class schedule was identical to Audrey's. So, when they walked into History late with their arms looped together, Audrey could feel the questionable glances of her friends and sister on her. 

   But Audrey managed to avoid Elena after class, who she knew had a lecture fully prepared to give her, as Caroline dragged her off to get changed for cheer practise. The Forbes girl was giving her no option in it, getting Audrey her old spot back so they could make up for the time they lost together over the summer, something the Gilbert girl had no way to argue around. 

   "You're coming tonight, right?" Caroline asked as they made their way outside.

   Audrey furrowed her brow. "What's tonight?"

   "The bonfire." Caroline said in disbelief, making a look of realization appear on Audrey's face. "How could you forget? It's the first event of senior year! Senior year, which by the way, is meant to be the best year of our lives."

   "Oh, please don't give me the speech." She pleaded. "I don't need the speech."

   "No speech." Caroline held her hands up. "But you're coming to the bonfire. No excuses."

   Audrey rolled her eyes, but didn't argue, the two joining in the group stretches as they joined everyone on the field. She spotted her sister running around the track, and sent her a small wave, that Elena returned. 

   "Has anybody seen Dana?" One of the other girls asked.

   Caroline and Audrey glanced at one another discreetly, shaking their heads when other girls looked in their direction, and carried on stretching. "Sounds like you have an opening on the squad." Rebekah's voice piped up, suddenly appearing and placing herself in the middle of the two girls.

   "What are you doing?" Caroline asked with a slight glare. Rebekah ignored her and started to stretch, making the irritation on Caroline's face grow. "Hey. Hey. You can't just come here and infiltrate all of our lives."

   A wicked smirk appeared on Rebekah's face, as she stood and looked at the Forbes girl. "I'm only interested in yours. Your spunk, your popularity." She glanced at Audrey, who stepped back, not wanting to be involved. "Your best friend." Her eyes then flickered over to Tyler, who was practising with the rest of the football team. "Maybe even your boyfriend."

   Caroline scoffed and glared for a moment, before walking in Tyler's direction, leaving the Gilbert girl giving the original a look. "Was that really necessary?"

   "It's only a joke." Rebekah defended lightly. "Your friend is very high strung."

   "She's just trying to have a good year." Audrey sighed, but Rebekah had stopped paying attention. 

   Before Audrey could say anything else, Rebekah had the entire teams eyes glued on her, doing two perfect front walkovers before landing in the splits. "Oh my God." She glanced over her shoulder, to see Caroline watching with a less than impressed look, Tyler biting back a smirk beside her. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   It didn't take long for Audrey to start regretting coming to the bonfire. She started looking for Caroline as soon as she arrived, but the blonde was nowhere to be found, and she wasn't answering her phone. It didn't take her long to find Rebekah, who instantly pulled the Gilbert girl to her side, having no one else to talk to either. It wasn't that Audrey didn't like spending time with Rebekah, she had started to see the original as a good friend back in Chicago, but Caroline was the only reason she'd came in the first place. 

   She'd been looking forward to hearing about everything she missed, like how things had happened between Caroline and Tyler, and the birthday celebration she knew Caroline would have forced Elena to have. 

   "Oh, you do it." Rebekah shoved the hose into Audrey's hands, letting a huff of frustration. "I can't get it to work."

   Audrey shook her head with a small smile, and held it over the plastic red cup Rebekah had in hand, filling it with beer. "You two alright?" Stefan mused as he joined them, glancing between the two girls. 

   Audrey just looked at him. She's heard how his new emotionless self had been acting all day, making the idea of engaging in an conversation with him far from appealing.

   "I thought Tyler would be here." Rebekah admitted.

   Stefan narrowed his eyes on Rebekah. "You're into Tyler now? That's kind of fickle."

   "When you're willing to give me the time of day again, we'll talk." Rebekah informed him simply. "Until then, a girl had needs."

   "Could you maybe satisfy them with a different guy?" Audrey asked her, ignoring the eye roll she got instantly. "I know you aren't exactly fond of Caroline, but she's my best friend. So please stop hitting on her boyfriend."

   As Rebekah opened her mouth to respond, Elena appeared beside the keg. "Excuse me." She muttered, taking the hose and pouring herself a drink.

   "Elena, hi." Stefan looked at her, a bemused smile tugging at his lips. "What are you doing?"

   "I'm having fun, Stefan." Elena shot back, before downing the entirety of her cup. Audrey stared at her sister in disbelief, who looked back at the youngest Salvatore with a challenging expression. "You have a problem with that?"

   "Alright, take it easy." He warned her. "We both know you're kind of a lightweight." 

   "Uh-huh. Really?" She asked him. "You think I'm going to let the blood addict tell me how to drink?" Pouring herself another drink, Elena looked at her sister with a small smile, before she walked away from the three.

   Audrey gave a small snicker, Rebekah giving a small snicker of her own, before the pair left Stefan on his own. As Rebekah got distracted by Damon a few moments later, Audrey pulled out her phone, to see there was still no word from Caroline. With a deep sigh, she sent the blonde a message she was going to head home, she took one last look around the party before leaving.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   It was late when Elena and Alaric got back from the bonfire. Audrey sat at the kitchen counter, dragging the spoon in her hand along the bottom of an ice-cream tub, glancing up as her sister walked into the kitchen. She could see the small burn mark on her cheek, which confirmed everything Caroline told her over a string of messages, informing her of the plan the group had came up with. The Forbes girl already felt guilty Audrey had been left out, and the guilt was even worse after she had no choice but to ditch her at the bonfire. They had a plan to take down and lock up Stefan, so he'd no longer be an issue until he got his humanity back, but nothing had gone the way the group had hoped. 

   Tyler was apparently sired to Klaus, and when they finally got Stefan down, he and Elena were almost killed when Alaric's car caught fire. Luckily, the pair had manged to get out before serious damage could be done. 

   "Jeremy's upstairs." Audrey informed her. "He got home not long after I did. I'm guessing he wasn't involved in tonight's fun either?"

   Elena let out a sigh. "Rey..."

   "Don't. I get it." Audrey shook her head. "You guys don't trust me now, do you?" She asked her knowingly. "I've been gone all summer with Klaus, I'm friends with Rebekah. That's why you didn't tell me, isn't it?" Elena's silence was answer enough, and Audrey nodded as she got to her feet. She dumped the empty carton into the trash, dropping the spoon into the sink. "You guys don't trust me to be involved because of them."

   "Well, you haven't been honest either." Elena shot back, not answering her question. Audrey furrowed her brow at her in confusion, watching her twin pointed to her necklace. "When were you going to tell me about Elijah?"

   "How did yo--"

   "Stefan." Elena cut her off. "He was going on about not having to worry about keeping you safe, because of that necklace, because of your bond with Elijah. Why wouldn't you tell me?"

   "Because of this!" Audrey scoffed. "Because of the tone in your voice right now. I know when you're being judgemental, Elena. Why do you think I avoided you at school? To avoid the speech you were going to give me for sticking with Rebekah." She shook her head. "You don't understand. Hell, I'm still learning about all of it. But it's not an excuse to exclude me." With a sigh, she just looked at her for a long moment, before she brushed past and made her way upstairs.

I got blocked for this chapter, it's why it took so long. It's also why the ending isn't the best. But honestly, there wasn't much for Audrey to do in this episode, and I didn't want to force it. The next update will be a lot better, which I should have out sooner, as I have officially finished my first year of University. All my assignments are handed in, so my focus can officially be on writing for a while.

I hope you all enjoyed!