CHAPTER FIVE,
so screwed.

▬▬▬▬   ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚   ▬▬▬▬

       SORELLE LEFT THE NEXT MORNING and went back to the Forbes Residence to get changed. Liz, as always, wasn't home—most likely already at work. Caroline also wasn't home which wasn't that strange to Sorelle since the blonde has always been an early bird, the complete opposite of her.

Once she had finished, Sorelle drove back to the Salvatore Boarding House. She bumped into Andie when she arrived, Sorelle shot her a confusing glance, her mouth opening and closing as she was taken aback by the woman's presence.

"Hi, good morning." Andie smiled, "Sorry. Damon called me, so I just came by for a bit but I'm leaving now."

"Uh-huh." Sorelle blinked, stepping aside for her to walk out the door. "Good morning. . . ?" Andie gave her one last smile before walking to her car and leaving. Sorelle pursed her lips and shook her head, closing the front door behind her before walking up the stairs to Damon's room.

". . .Tyler Lockwood ran away from home last night." Sorelle rapped her knuckles gently on the door causing Damon to look over. His eyebrows raised at her and he pointed to his phone mouthing 'Stefan'.

Sorelle quietly let out an 'Ah', walking over to take a seat on Damon's bed. Damon leaned against the pillar of his bed and switched to speakerphone so that Sorelle could hear the conversation as well.

"How do you know?" Stefan asked, his voice tinged with confusion.

"Well, I heard it from Ellie, say hi, Ellie." Damon responded, giving Sorelle a tilt of his head.

"Hi, Stef."

"Elle? Hey!" Stefan's voice was cheery as he greeted the Madden girl. A wide smile curled on her lips as she shook her head fondly.

"Anyways!" Damon cuts in, "I heard it from Ellie, and later on Sheriff Forbes told me who heard it from a very distraught Carol Lockwood, thus, ending our werewolf chapter—well, not really since Ellie's still here." Damon received a harsh smack from Sorelle at that causing him to snort, "Which brings us to. . ."

Stefan sighed, "Killing Elijah."

"Exactly." Damon smirked. Sorelle made a face and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"I think killing Elijah is a bad idea, I mean. . . he's literally our only chance at killing Klaus."

"Sweet, sweet Ellie." Damon purred, "Don't worry, we got this." Sorelle merely rolls her eyes in response, idiot.

"Well," Stefan spoke up with a sigh, "It's not going to be easy. He's crafty."

"Well, I've got a crafty little dagger." Damon retorted as he walked to his dresser, holding up the dagger in his hand and Sorelle sighed, this will not end well—she just knew it.

"He's an Original. We don't know what all that encompasses." Stefan pointed out and Sorelle nodded, agreeing with his statement.

"Stef''s right."

"Trust me guys." Damon scoffed, "I'm gonna dot all my T's. I don't want any surprises."

"Wow, Damon, tell me you're actually gonna be careful for once?" Stefan sarcastically comments eliciting a loud laugh to leave Sorelle's lips. Damon shot her a glare before he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Stefan, I've become you." Damon remarks, "How tragic for the both of us. Got to run now. I have a murder to plan. Busy day." With that, he ended the phone call and shoved his phone into his back pocket.

Damon glanced over at Sorelle and raised an eyebrow, "C'mon, we got work to do."

"I didn't sign up for this."

"I don't care."

. . . . . . .

Much to Sorelle's disdain, the Madden girl was dragged to the Grill by Damon. The two were later joined by Alaric and Andie. She didn't want to go through with the plan to kill Elijah, the Original didn't do anything yet to show that he was a threat. She doesn't understand why they felt the need to kill him when they all have the same goal in mind which is killing Klaus.

Sorelle knew there was no changing Damon's mind though, the raven-haired vampire was just as stubborn as she was—makes sense as to why they're such good friends.

"Other than your lecture on the history of Mystic Falls," Damon's voice broke Sorelle from her thoughts, "Did you get anything out of Elijah?"

"No." Alaric frowned, rolling his eyes with a loud sigh, "It was. . . boring." His lips curled into a sarcastic grin, voice dripping with jealousy, "Of course, Jenna thinks he's charming."

Sorelle snorted, "Jealousy, jealousy." Alaric gave her an impassive look causing Sorelle to grab her soda and take a sip from it so she could hide the huge smile that was itching to show.

"You sounded jealous." Damon smirked, adding fuel to the fire. He turned to Sorelle, "Sound a bit jealous?" Andie let out a small chuckle at the pair's teasing.

"Just a tad bit." Sorelle joked causing Alaric to let out an exasperated sigh.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here." Alaric's lips pulled into a straight line, side-eyeing Andie which made Damon furrow his eyebrows.

"Andie?" Damon questioned before a smirk plastered on his face, he placed his arm around Andie's shoulder, "She's been compelled not to divulge my secrets. Haven't you?" He puckered his lips and Andie smiled widely before leaning in to place a kiss on his lips.

"Mmm, my lips are sealed."

Sorelle made a gagging noise, pulling a face as she turned away from the sight. Alaric cringed as well, lips turned downwards into a disgusted frown.

"This is too weird."

"Oh, shut up." Damon rolled his eyes before he blew out a sharp exhale, "I just need the right opportunity." Sorelle's eyes darted around and she sat up straighter in her seat when her eyes fell upon two familiar figures. Elijah and Jenna. She tapped Damon's arm and he turned to look at her before his eyes followed her gaze, perking up immediately when he recognized them.

"Ah, there's Jenna with her new boyfriend." Damon smirked causing Alaric to turn around. The raven-haired vampire gave a quick wave to the pair when he noticed that they were walking towards him, "Hi." Alaric pursed his lips and turned back around in his seat, a scowl visible on his face.

"Hey, guys!" Jenna beamed with a wide smile, giving everyone a wave.

Sorelle waved and smiled back before taking another sip of her soda, "Hi, Jenna." Jenna's smile widened and she gave the Madden girl a playful wink.

"So I hear you two had quite the meeting of historical minds today." Damon chirped, a smirk ghosting on his lips. Jenna shrugged her shoulders, a grin still adoring on her face as she gave a quick glance over at Elijah.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Jenna chuckled.

Sorelle glanced over at Elijah who did the same and she gave the Original a soft smile as she mouthed, "Hi."

Elijah shook his head fondly and smiled, mouthing back at her, "Hi."

"Well," Alaric cuts in, mildly annoyed, he grabbed some money from his pocket and threw it on the table, "As much as I'd love to continue this, I, uh, I've got papers to grade."

"Jealous." Sorelle coughed causing Damon to let out a snort whilst Alaric shot her an annoyed look, the two being the only ones that heard her. Alaric threw a scrunched-up straw wrapper at her but she dodged it with a smirk.

"No, you know what?" Andie spoke up, gaining everyone's attention, "We should continue this. Let's have a dinner party."

"Ooh." Damon cooed, "My girl. Full of ideas." Sorelle grimaced and rolled her eyes, scooting away from Damon with a scowl. He turned to Elijah and Jenna, raising his hand, "Me and Ellie will be happy to host." Sorelle choked on her drink, coughing slightly as she stared at Damon with bulging eyes.

"Me and who now?"

"Ellie." Damon gritted his teeth, a forced smile on his lips as he elbowed Sorelle in the stomach gently.

"Hm." Sorelle gave him a sarcastic smile, her gaze averted over to Elijah whose eyes were narrowed at her. She swallowed harshly before glancing back at Damon "Sure. Yeah."

"Great!" Damon beamed, "Say tonight, maybe?"

"It's good for me." Andie said cheerfully before she turned to Jenna, "Jenna?"

"I don't know if tonight works—" Alaric began but Jenna cut him off.

"Yeah, I'm free." She gave Alaric a hard stare before sending Elijah a smile. The Original shrugged his shoulders, lips curling into an amused smirk.

"It'd be a pleasure."

"Great." Damon sent Elijah a mocking smile. Sorelle rolled her eyes and grumbled incoherent curses under her breath, fingers twirling her straw as she took another sip of her drink.

"Great."

. . . . . . .

Everyone minus Elijah left the Grill after that and went back to the Salvatore Boarding House. Damon went to go see Katherine and Sorelle offered to go along with him but Damon was quick to decline since he didn't want her to get hurt by Katherine which doesn't make sense to her because the Petrova vampire never had a problem with her. The two argued for a bit before Alaric broke them apart.

"I don't get why he didn't let me go." Sorelle grumbles, lying on the couch as she stares up at the ceiling. "Katherine literally likes me."

Alaric and her were in the library waiting for Damon to come back. Jenna and Andie, on the other hand, were in the living room setting up for dinner.

"It's just Damon being Damon." Alaric sighed, "You know he's really protective of you."

"Too protective." Sorelle remarked. Alaric opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Damon who had just arrived, the raven-haired vampire was practically dancing his way inside.

"Honey, I'm home." Damon sang as he strolled into the study. Sorelle sat up and her eyebrows raised, she noticed that Damon had a bounce in his steps and he looked extremely happy.

"You look. . ." Sorelle trailed off, squinting her eyes at him. "Happy. Why?"

Damon scoffed, grabbing some bourbon to pour out into a glass that was placed on the alcohol tray, "Why? Seriously? Can't I just be happy with no reason at all?

"No."

"Okay, what the fuck."

"Children!" Alaric exclaimed, he threw his hands up in exasperation before giving Damon a look, "What did Katherine tell you?"

"That an Original aka Elijah can die." Damon smirked, tilting his glass towards Alaric before taking a sip. Sorelle and Alaric glanced over at each other before they both looked back at Damon.

"And when are we gonna do that?" Alaric asked slowly, standing up from where he was sitting to walk over to Damon.

"Tonight. At the dinner party." Both Alaric and Sorelle's eyes went wide at his answer.

"Yeah, no. Absolutely not." Sorelle was quick to object, "Are you forgetting that Jenna's gonna be here?"

Alaric nodded in agreement, his face holding a worried expression, "Uh, yeah, I agree with Elle. This is a bad idea."

"There's no such thing as a bad idea." Damon huffed, pouring some more bourbon into his glass and another, "Just poorly executed awesome ones." He turned around, holding up the glass that he just poured alcohol in, and handed it to Alaric, "Here."

"No." Alaric turned away, "I don't like the idea of Elijah being in the same house with Jenna."

"Jenna's perfectly safe." Damon sighed, "Besides, it's just a fact-finding mission. It's totally harmless."

"Just a fact-finding mission." Sorelle rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

"Yeah." Damon shrugged his shoulders, taking a sip of his drink.

"Alright, fine. Listen, no sneak attacks." Alaric stated, giving Damon a look, "No surprise plans. Nothing that's gonna put Jenna in harm's way, okay?"

Damon raised his hand, eyebrows furrowed together with an amused look on his face, "Scout's honor." He patted Alaric on the shoulder and the three turned towards the entrance at the sound of footsteps. Andie came into view and she sent them all a smile.

"Hey, Jenna needs help with the wine." Damon turned to Alaric and smirked, the brunette male sighed and turned to leave to go help his girlfriend.

Andie sent Alaric a grateful nod, "Thanks."

"Yeah."

Once Alaric had left the room, Damon was quick to set down his glass and stride over to a box, opening it and pulling out a beige saggy bag. Sorelle knitted her eyebrows together and walked over to him, peering over his shoulder and her eyes went wide at what was laid in his hands. The dagger. The dagger that would be used to kill Elijah later on tonight.

"What's that?" Andie questioned as she walked up beside Damon.

"Dessert." Damon answered with a smirk. He grabbed a bottle that contained white oak ash and pulled the cork out, lifting the dagger and dipping it inside the bottle, "Elijah's stronger than me. He's faster than me. It's all about the element of surprise."

"Ah, it's too bad. I like him." Andie frowned, shrugging her shoulders, "He's very old-school. Classy."

"And hot." Sorelle added with a smirk, her eyes gleamed in amusement at the irritated look that appeared on Damon's face at her comment.

"Ooh, yes. He is very hot." Andie giggles.

"Which is why," Damon interjects loudly, glancing over at Andie, "You should encourage the gentlemen to take their after-dinner drinks in here while you do coffee in the kitchen with the girls." He walked over to where the alcohol was placed and hid the dagger between the liquor bottles.

"That's a little sexist, Damon." Sorelle tutted with a raise of her eyebrow, "Don't you agree, Andie?"

"Hm, definitely. It is a bit sexist."

Damon turned to face Andie—who was right behind him—he pulled his lips into a straight line and grimaced, "Stop talking." Andie's face fell into an emotionless expression before a wide smile grew on her face. Sorelle rolled her eyes, figuring that the woman was under compulsion, and listened to every command of his.

The sound of the doorbell being rung echoed through the house and Damon gently pushed Andie towards the doorway, allowing her to leave first. The raven-haired vampire turned back to Sorelle and breathed out a loud sigh.

"I don't want you to be present when we kill Elijah. That's why I want you in the kitchen with the girls."

"Please." Sorelle scoffed, "You and I both know that I'm more than capable of protecting myself if something happens. I'm going to be there and you can't change my mind."

Damon stood in silence for a moment before he pursed his lips, "Fine. Stubborn woman."

Sorelle simply smiled in triumph before she narrowed her eyes at him, "Stefan knows about this right?"

"Yes."

"What about Elena?" Silence.

Sorelle widened her eyes, "Damon."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her. So, don't go telling her." Damon shrugged. Sorelle shot him a deadpan look before she gave him a reluctant nod. She didn't want to keep this a secret from Elena but Sorelle didn't want her to be a part of this whole situation so not telling her seems to be her only choice. She let out a frustrated sigh and brushed past Damon to get to the front door.

When Sorelle arrived at the door, her face fell into a scowl when she saw that John was at the entrance, "Who the hell invited him?" Jenna, who had opened the door, sent her a grateful look.

"That's what I said!"

Damon came from behind Sorelle and narrowed his eyes at John, "John! Surprise. Leave."

"When Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games." John stated, sparing a glance at Jenna who rolled her eyes and walked away.

"There are not going to be any games tonight, John." Alaric spoke up causing John to turn around, "It's just a friendly dinner party." Alaric gave Damon a look before he also walked away. John averted his gaze over to Damon and Sorelle and the raven-haired vampire lifted his hands up in defense.

"What he said."

"So, if you would please, get the hell out because no one wants you here." Sorelle feigned a smile but John didn't budge.

"I don't think so. Besides, I think you are the one that shouldn't be here, you're a kid and you're gonna get hurt." John breathed out, and he sent the two a fake smile, "If that's all, I'll go see if anyone needs help."

Sorelle narrowed her eyes at his retreating figure, "I really want to kill him." Damon placed his arm around her shoulders and sighed.

"You and me both."

. . . . . . .

Everyone had no choice but to accept the fact that John was going to stay for dinner. Sorelle found that man agitating and had disliked him from the very moment they met. The Gilbert man always seems to have an opinion on everything and never knows when to shut the fuck up. Not only that, but she still held a grudge for what he did to Stefan and Damon the night the tomb vampires were killed.

Sorelle made sure to keep her distance from John, focusing on helping Jenna and Andie while he was somewhere around the house.

A loud knock was heard and Sorelle glanced over at Damon who was on the other side of the dining room. Their gazes connected and Damon nodded his head towards the entrance, wordlessly telling her to come with him. Sorelle pursed her lips, she turned to Jenna who had just finished plating, and sent the Gilbert woman a smile.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get the door with Damon." Jenna nodded and gave her a smile before shooing her away. Sorelle chuckled and followed Damon who had just left. As she made her way towards the front door, she noticed that Damon had already opened the door and Sorelle saw that Elijah was standing on the other end. The two men turned to her and a gentle smile immediately appeared on Elijah's face.

"Sorelle, it is good to see you again."

Sorelle placed her hands inside her pockets and gave him a soft smile, "You too." She paused for a moment noticing that Damon was pretty tense, "Did I interrupt something. . . ?"

"Oh, no. Nothing at all." Elijah answered, adjusting his cuffs, "I was just simply reminding Damon here that if something—let's say, dishonorable would to happen, I won't hesitate to kill everyone in this house." Sorelle's eyes went wide and she glanced over at Damon who had a grimacing expression on his face.

"Even Sorelle?" Damon muttered sheepishly but he pursed his lips when Elijah gave him a hard stare. The Original quickly plastered a smile on his face when he noticed that Jenna was walking towards them.

"Jenna!" Elijah beamed with faux happiness, "Wonderful to see you again. How are you? You look incredible."

"Thank you, you too." Jenna laughed. Sorelle walked up to Damon who closed the door and she gave him a raise of her eyebrow.

"We're still gonna go through with this?" Sorelle whispered under her breath, as quietly as possible so that Elijah couldn't hear her.

"Yeah."

"If this goes wrong, we're so screwed."

Damon placed his finger on his lips, "Shh. Like I said, we got this."

The pair strolled into the dining room where everyone was already seated. The only empty chairs were next to Elijah and at the head of the table. Damon took that spot which only left Sorelle with the seat beside Elijah.

She took in a deep breath and sat down and Elijah gave her a soft smile—which she returned—before he went back to cutting his food. Guilt bubbled up inside of Sorelle as she watched Elijah from the corner of her eye. She quickly shook her head, trying her best to get rid of the feeling.

"I hate to break it to you, Damon." Jenna spoke up, pouring some wine into Damon's glass, "But according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town."

"Hm." Damon hummed in faux interest as he looked over at Elijah, "Do tell."

Elijah paused, setting down his utensils, "Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years, they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."

"Hm, because they were witches." Jenna added in amusement, whispering the word 'witches' as if she didn't believe in them. Sorelle quietly ate a piece of her steak, if only she knew.

"Yeah, there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem." Andie stated and Damon smirked, pointing a finger at her. His eyes were still on Elijah's as he spoke.

"Andie's a journalist. Big on facts."

"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria." Elijah explained, glancing up at Jenna, "It broke out in the neighboring settlement so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned." He held up his glass of wine, "Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire—could you pass the. . ." He nodded to Alaric and the brunette male pursed his lips before following his request.

Jenna laughed, "I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society." Andie let out a small chuckle at that and a light-hearted smile appeared on Elijah's lips.

"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me." John comments with a shrug causing Sorelle to roll her eyes and look over at Damon who gave her an annoyed look. A quiet snort left her lips, glad to know that they were both not enjoying this dinner.

"So," Damon clasped his hands together, staring at Elijah, "Why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?"

Elijah glanced up from his plate, an amused smile tugged at his lips, "You know. . . a healthy historian's curiosity, of course."

Damon gave the Original a strained smile, "Of course." He inhaled sharply and held out his arms, his lips upturned into a smirk, "Does anyone care for some cognac? I have a bottle I've been saving for ages."

"None for me, thanks. Nine bottles of wine is my limit." Alaric answered jokingly causing a small giggle to leave Sorelle's lips.

Everyone proceeded to stand up from their seats which made Sorelle pout. She wanted to finish her food at least, it was the only good thing about this dinner and they were eating steak for god's sake, she loves steak.

"But the food—" Sorelle began but Damon shook his head and she pursed her lips and got up reluctantly, cursing the raven-haired vampire under her breath.

Damon looked over at Andie and shot her a pointed look to which she quickly caught on and said, "The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study."

"I have to say, the food was almost as wonderful as the company." Elijah comments with a charming tone and Andie smiles, pointing a finger at him.

"I like you."

"Ellie." Damon called out to her, Sorelle turned to see him beckoning her towards him, "Come on." She pressed her lips into a straight line, following him into the study where Elijah was already inside, glancing around at the bookshelves.

"So, let me guess." Damon began, making his way over to pour some cognac into an empty glass for Elijah, "In addition to the moonstone, the doppelgänger, the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. You need to find this witch burial ground." Sorelle stood next to Damon and started to pour herself a drink when he finished pouring his.

"Because I feel as though we've grown so close, Damon." Elijah said, "I'll tell you yes." He paused for a moment, "Do you know where it is?"

"Maybe." Damon responded, reaching out to hand him his glass, "Tell me why it's so important."

Elijah turned around to look at him, grabbing the glass and clinking it gently against his, a slight smirk was on the Original's face, "We're not that close."

He turned back to look at the shelves of books, "It's quite a collection you have here. Sorelle, dear, do you read?" Sorelle froze, not expecting the sudden question from Elijah.

"Um, not really." Sorelle replied, "Maybe when I'm bored or feel like it."

"It is a funny thing about books. Before they existed, people actually had memories." Elijah stated.

Suddenly the door busted open, momentarily startling Sorelle who was about to take a sip from her drink. Alaric and Andie walked in and the male had a slightly panicked look on his face which made Sorelle worried.

"Gentlemen." Alaric chuckled in a nervous tone that only Sorelle caught, "We forgot about dessert." She squinted her eyes at Alaric and the male shook his head, discreetly pointing at Elijah. Sorelle pursed her lips and gave him a soft nod.

"Elijah?" Andie smiles, holding her hand out for the Original.

Elijah smiles, unaware of the tension that was in the air, "Miss Star." He took her hand and gave her a little twirl, a quiet gasp of delight left her lips as the two exited the room. Damon smacked Alaric on the arm harshly, mouthing angrily 'What are you doing?'

Alaric gritted his teeth and pointed at the dagger behind him on the alcohol tray but Damon still looked confused. Alaric let out an irritated sigh, walked over to where some papers and pens lay, and began to scribble something on a piece of paper. Sorelle furrowed her eyebrows together and her eyes bulged at what Alaric had written out when he handed the paper for the two to read it.

The dagger will kill you if you use it.

Sorelle smacked her forehead and pursed her lips, feeling that a headache was starting to form. Great. Just great.

The three made their way back into the dining room where Elijah and Andie were already seated. Sorelle took a seat farthest from Elijah which made him look at her warily. Sorelle avoided his gaze and took a sip of the alcohol from the glass that she brought with her, she was going to need this drink due to what was gonna happen soon.

"Ric, would you do me a favor and grab the notebook out of my bag?" Andie asked Alaric who was standing by the doorway. Alaric gave her a tight-lipped smile, nodding as he turned around to go get what she needed.

"Elijah, did John tell you he's Elena's uncle/father?" Damon questioned.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that." Elijah answered.

"Of course, she hates him, so there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list." Damon added with a forced smile causing Sorelle to let out a chuckle. She rolled her eyes when she noticed that John shot her a glare.

"No, Ric, it's in the front pocket. On the. . . you know what? Excuse me, guys. Sorry." Andie muttered before she stood up from her seat to walk over to Alaric.

"What I'd like to know, Elijah." John started, "Is how you intend on killing Klaus?"

"Gentlemen, there's a few things we should probably get clear right now." Elijah said in a low threatening tone, "I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Elena. I allow Elena to remain in her house living her life with her friends as she does as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take her away from you and you'll never see her again." Sorelle swallowed harshly and downed her glass in a split second.

"Okay. My first question is," Andie returned to the table, opening her notebook as she sat down, "When you got here to Mystic—" She was cut off by a pained cry from Elijah who was stabbed through the back with the dagger by Alaric. Andie let out a frightened squeal and John shot up from his seat in surprise, the two gaped at Elijah's body, watching as the Original gasped for air. Sorelle flinched, closing her eyes as she gulped harshly.

In mere minutes, the Original slumped in his chair, completely desiccated.

Alaric slammed the dagger on the table and gave Damon an intense stare, "Now, get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert." Sorelle let out a shaky sigh and grabbed her glass, walking out of the dining room to go back into the study. The guilt in her grew too intense at this point.

"I need a drink."

. . . . . . .

Sorelle jumped when Damon suddenly burst through the door, his eyes frantically glanced around the study and he let out an audible sigh of relief when his gaze fell upon Sorelle who was staring at him completely stunned.

"Care to explain what the hell that was?" Sorelle asked him as she stood up from the couch.

"Elijah's alive. I thought he took you or something but I'm assuming he's after Elena right now." Damon said with pursed lips and Sorelle groaned, she could never have a moment of peace in this town, there was always something.

"What?! I thought he was—you know what? Let's just go. You're explaining on the way there." Damon rolled his eyes but nodded and the two quickly rushed out of the house, getting into Damon's car. Sorelle could barely put on her seatbelt before the raven-haired vampire started the car and sped out of the driveway.

"Jesus—at least drive safely!" Sorelle shouts as she stops herself from hitting her head.

"Sorry." Damon muttered out distractedly causing Sorelle to roll her eyes.

"Explain."

"The dagger can't be removed, it has to stay in place for Elijah to stay fully dead."

Sorelle huffed, side-eyeing Damon, "Told you it was a bad idea."

"Now is not the time to tell me 'I told you so', Ellie."

"I told you so."

"God—"

"We're here." Sorelle quickly took off her seatbelt, practically flying out of the car as she ran to the front door of Elena's lake house. She knocked frantically and the door instantly opened, her gaze met Elena's and the Madden girl was quick to pull her into a hug.

"Thank god. I thought we came too late." Elena let out a shuddering breath and hugged Sorelle back tightly, gripping on her jacket.

"No, no. I'm fine. He hasn't arrived."

"We need a plan." Damon stated as he walked up to the front door, he looked over at Elena, "Invite me in."

"Come in." Elena quickly muttered and Damon walked inside and gave Stefan a look.

"Elena came up with one before you guys showed up." Stefan pursed his lips turning to the Gilbert girl, "Elena?"

"I—uh. . ." Elena trailed off nervously, gnawing at her bottom lip, "I'm gonna pretend to negotiate with him and if he doesn't agree—which I think will happen—I'll stab myself with a knife and threaten to turn myself into a vampire."

"Jesus." Sorelle murmurs, blinking at Elena in shock as she registered her words through her head, "That's fucking brutal but I have to admit that's a good plan, you're okay with that?"

"Yeah." Elena whispered. Suddenly Damon, Stefan, and Sorelle tensed up, the familiar scent of Elijah invaded Sorelle's senses and she was immediately whisked away by Damon, the two were leaning against a wall somewhere in the house—she didn't know where but she knew that they were close by to the entrance since she could hear Elena and Stefan's footsteps.

A loud crashing sound of what Sorelle thinks is the front door being broken was heard. Sorelle pressed her lips together, holding her breath for a moment as the sound of another's footsteps resonated through the silent air. It was definitely Elijah, she could tell that it wasn't Stefan or Elena.

"You know, I might not be able to enter this house." Elijah shouted, "But I'm a very patient man. I'll wait you out."

Sorelle heard footsteps again but this time it was a bit quieter, softer, she knew this was Elena and she was right when she heard the Gilbert girl say, "They shouldn't have done what they did."

"The deal is off." Elijah said coldly.

"I'm renegotiating." Elena responded but Elijah only seemed to be irritated.

"You have nothing left to negotiate with." It was silent for a couple of minutes before Elena's voice was heard again.

"I'd like to see you lure Klaus into Mystic Falls after the doppelgänger bleeds to death."

"Stefan won't let you die." Elijah answered with amusement.

"No, he won't." Elena gulped before her voice came out harshly, "He'll feed me his blood to heal me and then I'll kill myself and become a vampire just like Katherine did." Her tone got softer, "So unless you want that to happen again, promise me the same as before. Promise me. You won't harm anyone that I love even if they've harmed you."

Another moment of silence before Sorelle heard Elijah respond, "I'm sorry, Elena. I'm going to have to call your bluff." Sorelle grabbed Damon's hand, the raven-haired vampire immediately interlocked their fingers, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand soothingly.

Suddenly, Elena let out a piercing cry which was followed by Elijah's panicked shout.

"No!"

The sound of a knife clattering on the floor was heard. Sorelle gnawed at her bottom lip nervously and she listened as a gasp left Elena.

"Yes, yes, you can have your deal. Let me heal you." Elijah blurted out frantically.

"Give me your word!"

"I give you my word." And this time, Elijah was the one to let out an exclamation of pain. Damon and Sorelle immediately walked out from their hiding place to see Elijah on the ground with the dagger in his heart, grey veins crawled up his body as he slowly came to desiccation. Sorelle frowned before she fell to her knees in front of Elena, cupping the Gilbert girl's face into her hands.

"You okay?"

"Mm, yeah."

"Little tip." Damon let out a small tsk, "Don't pull the dagger out."

. . . . . . .

Stefan and Damon carried Elijah's body into Damon's trunk and the four left Elena's lake house to go back to the Boarding House. Once they've arrived, Sorelle and Elena followed the Salvatore brothers into the house and down to the cellar where they placed Elijah's dead body inside.

"What do we have here?" Damon mused as he rummaged through the Original's jacket, he pulled out a translucent rock and Sorelle's eyes went wide in recognition, "A little moonstone bar of soap. I'll hold on to this."

"So, that's it." Elena sighed, "I mean, as long as we keep the dagger in there, then he stays dead."

"Yup." Sorelle muttered softly, popping the 'p'. She ran her fingers through her hair and tucked a loose strand behind her ear.

"Okay then." Elena glanced between the three and let out a quiet sigh, "Goodnight." She turned to leave but stopped and turned around to face the trio again, "You know, you guys want me to fight, fine, I'll fight, but if we're gonna do this, you can't keep anything from me anymore. From this moment on, we're doing it my way." Sorelle looked amused at Elena's rant, she glanced between the two Salvatores, watching as they both shared a look.

"Seems fair." Damon shrugged whilst Stefan slowly nodded in agreement.

"Okay."

"Elle?" Elena quirked a brow and Sorelle shook her head with a chuckle.

"You got it, Miss Gilbert."

Elena pursed her lips and nodded, shoulders sagged in relief, "Okay." She turned to leave this time and Sorelle glanced over at Damon who had a slight scowl on his face.

"Seems like she's had a change of attitude." Damon raised an eyebrow at Stefan, "How did you get through to her?"

"I told her a little story." Stefan answered, his arms crossed over his chest, "About when I was making the wrong decisions and somebody showed me there was a better way."

"Ah," Sorelle made a noise in acknowledgment, "Ripper Stefan, huh?" Stefan pulled his lips into a thin line at her comment.

"Lexi too?" Damon asked grimly.

"Yeah." Stefan drawled out before giving his brother a sarcastic smile, "You remember her?" Damon didn't respond and Stefan took that as a sign to leave, leaving him and Sorelle in the cellar.

"So. . . what she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?" Sorelle snorted, quirking a brow at Damon and wrapping her arm around his.

"Oh, shut up." Damon rolled his eyes causing Sorelle to let out a giggle. The two began their way up the stairs and as they got closer to Damon's room, Sorelle's ears perked up at the sound of the shower running. She looked over at Damon who shared the same confused look and they walked inside slowly.

"Andie?" Damon called out, "Thought you left." The two walked towards the bathroom seeing that there was a woman under the shower as she washed herself. The woman turned around and both Damon and Sorelle's faces fell when they recognized her.

"Hello, Damon, Sorelle." Katherine smirked, glancing over at the raven-haired vampire, "Hey, Damon. Do you have a robe?"

"You have got to be shitting me." Sorelle mumbled with a quiet scoff.

"How did you get out?" Damon questioned with furrowed eyebrows, his jaw clenched.

"I knew that if I begged you not to kill Elijah, that's exactly what you'd do." Katherine quirks an eyebrow, letting out an amused chuckle, "Little known fact, Originals can compel vampires but as soon as they die, the compulsion wears off."

"Of course, you didn't tell us." Sorelle rolled her eyes and Katherine gave her a small wink.

"And I'm still here." Katherine sighed, looking over at the raven-haired vampire, "I didn't run. I meant what I said, Damon. I'm going to help you." Damon only stares at her blankly. Katherine inhaled sharply after a few moments of silence, "So, how about that robe?"

The next thing Katherine knew, she was hit in the face with a towel. She snatched it off of her face and scowled at Sorelle, "Seriously?"

"Don't look at me like that, you asked for it."

. . . . .

author's note! — klaus is coming soon eek!!! i'm gonna start writing some notes at the end of each chapter (maybe) we'll see if i go through with it but!!!

how is the story so far??? lmk ur thoughts pls <33

p.s do we like the banner gif? i made it a few days ago and i'm so proud of it hehe