a tale as long as time.

"You've heard of them then?" Stefan asked with a raised eyebrow wondering where. "Hopefully you've never run into them because so far what I know is that Klaus is insane. I mean what kind of lunatic keeps his siblings daggered and in coffins?" He said actually hoping that he could pull this plan of his off. Truly, all Stefan wanted was for him to leave town and not continue to put people that Stefan cared about in danger. "There is never a dull moment here. I actually don't remember Mystic Falls being so full of supernatural. Maybe it was back in 1864 and we just didn't notice, or maybe this all came after us. I don't know. What I do know though is that there's a lot of things that've changed around here. I mean there are witches, werewolves, hybrids, hunters, and a human faction that still wants all the supernatural beings dead. Because apparently there are some humans who know about what goes bump in the night and their whole goal is to try and end the supernatural beings all together," he told her.

Stefan supposed she was right, Klaus was her problem as much as his given they were trying to start fresh. And he knew that anyone in his life could be a target for Klaus sick game, another reason he'd wanted to keep his emotions off. If he didn't have any emotional connection to anything or anyone then it would be harder for Klaus to break him. But he hadn't wanted to think of it like that. "We can figure out this Klaus problem together then. I really just need to keep the coffins hidden from him until he agrees to leave town for good. Then I'll give them back. Once of course I know that he's gone and not coming back. And if he doesn't agree well my plan was to dump the coffins in a body of water large enough that he's spend the next hundred years or so trying to fish them out,"

---

When they had arrived at the Lockwood Manor Eleanor leaned over to quickly kiss his cheek, "I promise it will be worth all of this secrecy, but I will in fact let you do all the talking to Carol," she told him as she stepped out of the car and taking in the view of the Manor. It still looked pretty much the exact same on the outside as it had in 1864 and it was almost surreal being in front of it again all these years later. The last time she'd been here was the night she'd hidden away her belongings, just a few short days later her best friend had died, and she followed not long after that. All which of course caused her to leave Mystic Falls altogether. It wasn't like she could've stayed. She'd known the moment she turned into a vampire that if she stayed in Mystic Falls she'd be killed either way, so she and Addy went on the run together and everything changed for her.

"I shouldn't need very long, and hopefully there's no one else here who might delay my process," She said sure that Carol was likely married and had kids so she just hoped that the husband and kid(s) weren't home. They would only after all get in her way, and while she didn't know if any of them had activated their werewolf gene she'd rather not find out. That was not how she planned on dying what so ever.

"Only from Eleanor. She crossed paths with them once. I think she was briefly involved with one of Klaus' siblings...Kol I think she said his name was." It had been a long time since Adelaide and Eleanor had spoken of the original family, but she was almost certain that Eleanor had told her about them once before. And, if she remembered correctly, Eleanor might have spoken of Klaus once before as well. She hadn't said anything good about him either. "I've never had the pleasure of crossing paths with any of them myself, but Klaus must be completely psychotic if he keeps his siblings daggered in coffins for several decades at a time."

When he spoke of everything supernatural that existed in town, she was definitely at least a little bit surprised. "Sounds like things might actually be a hell of a lot more complicated and insane than they were even back in 1864." Of course, there was probably a lot that happened in Mystic Falls that they weren't aware of as humans, she doubted that there was just an influx of supernatural activity in recent years. She nodded in response to his later words. "Of course, just let me know what I can do to help." If it was imperative that they get Klaus out of Mystic Falls, and the only way for them to really do so was by essentially bribing him to leave with his daggered siblings, well, that was what they were going to do. "How long were you helping Klaus before you chose to royally piss him off?" Truthfully, she only wanted to know because she wanted to know how long he'd been binging on blood. She'd heard the term ripper before, and he'd already told her of his struggles with bloodlust when he first transitioned so she knew that he would probably need some help dealing with the addiction, whether he cared to ask for it or not.

---

"I'll take your word for it, El." Damon said. Clearly whatever was in that box had something to do with him if she insisted that he'd be surprised by its contents, and even though it had been over a century and a half since they had last seen her, he liked to think that she at least knew him to a certain degree. "It's like you stepped into the past, isn't it?" He asked, noticing the way that she was looking at the Lockwood manor. "The sense of deja vu will wear off eventually, but there is a lot that has changed in this town and a lot that hasn't. And I'm obviously not just talking about the pesky little vampire problem either." He shot a smirk her way as they approached the house.

"Carol's husband died a couple of months ago, her son Tyler is usually off being one of Klaus Mikaelson's lackeys so he shouldn't be much of a problem." He told her before ringing the doorbell. A few moments later, he heard footsteps and a light switch on in the foyer. Shortly after, a confused Carol Lockwood was standing in the entranceway. "Damon? What time is it?" Damon sent an ever so charming smile the mayor's way. "I'm so sorry, Carol, I know it's late. I would have waited until the morning to get in touch with you, but it was imperative that I talk to you tonight. Do you mind if we come in?" Of course, he had already been invited in, but he needed the mayor to invite Eleanor in as well. "Oh, and where are my manners? I didn't bother introducing you to Eleanor. She's an Abbot, another one of the founding families as I'm sure you already know. So, whatever we discuss, she can hear as well."

"Who would've thought that Eleanor Abbot of all people would get involved with an Original," Stefan said a little shocked honestly. He of course knew that they had all lived very different lives, none of them were the same anymore and so it would be an adjustment for them all but it was still a little shocking to him and he could only being to imagine how Damon might react. "Awhile, I've kind of only been home a couple of weeks. He showed up a couple months ago and pretty much decided to go through with this crazy ritual to break some curse put on him so that he could become both a werewolf and a vampire being of course the first ever hybrid. Once that was broken he decided he wanted to make more so he compelled me into turning off my emotions then we went on a spree through Tennessee to hunt down and turn as many werewolves as possible into vampires. Only it didn't work, and at first I thought it was because the Elena, the doppelgänger was still alive. But really it was because they had to drink her blood specifically which we found out after he turned her friend Tyler. And after all of that I was free to stop helping him. So I kind of left my emotions off and decided to turn on him. So now I guess I'm the crazy one," he said running his hands over his face again.

Honestly, this was all getting so much worse than he'd ever imagined it would. "Things are so much more complicated than they were back then," he laughed. "I mean if there was all this stuff going on back then I had no idea. I mean of course I know that Katherine was a vampire now but I didn't know then. And I had no idea that everyone she'd brought along were also vampires or that there were witches or werewolves. I mean apparently the Lockwoods have been passing this werewolf gene on since George in 1864," he said still finding it so crazy how the supernatural were all drawn to Mystic Falls as if it were some kind of beacon for the supernatural.

---

If Eleanor hadn't been brought out of her trance by Damon speaking she certainly would've been at the mention of Klaus Mikaelson. That was a name she hadn't heard in rather long time. This wasn't the time to ask Damon about them though, she followed Damon up to the house and smiled politely at Carol waiting to be invited in. "Yes, of course come in," Carol said stepping out of the doorway to let them in. "And we can talk this way," she said leading them into the house clearly curious as to what was so important that they'd show up to her house this late in the day. Eleanor followed, allowing Damon to go in front of her so it would be that much easier for her to sneak off and grab what she wanted. At least she knew now to that she'd be unbothered given apparently the poor woman husband was dead and her son was a lackey to Klaus. Also not something she wanted to think about at the moment.

"Do you mind if I use your ladies room?" She asked figuring that she could just excuse herself to go and retrieve what she wanted while Damon kept her busy. "Of course, now Damon what's so important you showed up at this hour?" Eleanor heard Carol as she walked away to explore the house. It was a very odd sensation being inside the house again, it was even weirder seeing how much the house looked the same yet so different. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she was reminded of all the happy memories she had in the place. Eleanor made her way towards the staircase and towards where George's old bedroom was smiling even wider when she saw it was still there. Of course, walking into the room she quickly discovered that this was apparently the room of Tyler. Not that it was going to be a problem, she'd make sure he never knew she was there. She quickly made her way through the room and into his closet where she picked at the baseboard until it popped up just like it had for George. And there it was. She pulled it up, put the baseboard back down and quickly took the box out to the car before heading back inside to return to Damon and Carol. "Your home is really lovely Mrs. Lockwood," she said still smiling as she linked her arm with Damon's.

"I can't say that I know very much about any of them to be honest. Based off of what she told me though, it wasn't anything serious." Adelaide wasn't the only one who had strayed away from major romantic attachments of any kind over the years. Eleanor stuck around in one place for longer than she did, but neither of them were ever romantically involved with anyone for very long in the grand scheme of things anyway. "Elena's the one who looks just like Katherine, correct?" She asked cautiously. She didn't want to come across as the jealous ex-girlfriend, but it was hard not to be at least a little bit curious about the human. It wasn't hard to figure out that Stefan had a history with her despite the brief interaction that Adelaide had witnessed. And even though she reminded herself that she wanted to remain just friends with Stefan for the time being, she couldn't ignore the twinge of jealously she felt whenever he mentioned her name. She knew that it was stupid to feel any sort of jealously at all, they had been apart for a very long time now, but it was hard to do so when the girl Stefan had very recently been involved with bore Katherine's exact likeness.

"You're not crazy, Stefan. I know that I haven't been back long at all, and we don't really know each other anymore, but if you're anything like the man you used to be then trying to bargain with Klaus so that he'll leave town for good doesn't make you crazy. It just means that you care about this town and the people who live here. Nothing about that is crazy." It definitely seemed like there was a lot more going on in town than met the eye. Of course, a lot more had been going on in 1864 too, and everyone had basically been none the wiser except for a select few. "And how are you doing now?" She asked him. She didn't want to overstep and ask too many questions, but she did know what it was like to turn one's humanity back on after an extended period of time. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience to say the least.

---

Damon didn't notice Eleanor's change in demeanor when he mentioned Klaus. He likely would have if Carol hadn't come to the door shortly after he mentioned the original douchebag. "Thank you." He smiled when the mayor invited them both into the house, signaling for Eleanor to go in before he did with a nod of his head. He followed behind both women, shutting the door behind him. He hoped that he'd be able to stall long enough for Eleanor to hopefully find her little mystery box. Truthfully, if this was anyone else but her he probably would have told them to figure out how to get into the house themselves, but just as they had discussed earlier at the boarding house, she wasn't just some girl. Even though he would never admit it to anyone, she still had a hold on him just as she had in 1864.

Damon watched briefly as Eleanor excused herself before shifting his attention back to Carol. "I think I might have located another important artifact from my family. Well, I haven't located it, but I read about it in Zachariah Salvatore's journal. We might be able to use it to help us deal with our original vamp problem." Damon began, spinning a tale that wasn't true...yet. He knew that Klaus and his family were a pain in the ass to just about everyone in this town, and he knew that Carol would believe what he said because she trusted him just as much as the rest of the founder's council did. It wasn't very long at all before Eleanor was approaching once more, linking her arm through his own as she complimented the Lockwood home. She was as much of a charmer as he was at times. "Why thank you. As a founding family member yourself I'm sure you can appreciate the authenticity of many of the historic buildings in this town."

Maybe Stefan cared too much for Mystic Falls and the people in it, but either way he cared. This place was his home, where he'd been born and made the most amazing memories in his life. Sure he had spent more time away from it then being there but even that didn't make Mystic Falls less his home. "I'm doing as good as I can I suppose," he told her getting up to pour himself a glass of bourbon that he'd seen sitting out. That was what this conversation needed, alcohol. "Yes, Elena is Katherine's doppelgänger. And while there is some history there, with Elena and myself, for the most part I'm over it," he told her not wanting to go to into his past with Elena, unless of course Addy asked and wanted to know more in which he'd tell her whatever she wanted.

He wasn't lying. Stefan for the most part did feel over Elena. He didn't feel the same attachment towards her that he had when they'd first met. He didn't feel the desire to be near her all the time anymore, and he didn't feel like they were going to work out. Plus they'd broken up for a reason, even if she hadn't wanted to admit it, she'd started to develop feelings for Damon and Stefan didn't want that. He saw it heading in the same direction things headed with Katherine honestly. He'd been reminded of 1864 when they'd both been after her affections and how badly that had turned out. He'd also been reminded that Katherine had ruined a lot of things for him and Damon. She'd come in and taken away his chance to be a husband and father and Stefan had just realized that maybe his feelings for Elena weren't entirely true, but he hadn't realized that until he saw Elena developing feelings for Damon. It was honestly a rather weird and messed up situation that he was just trying to work himself out of.

---

"I can, you really don't find homes built like this anymore," Eleanor told Carol glad that she seemed none the wiser to something being taken from the house right under her nose. Eleanor had a feeling that if anyone had discovered her box by now her belongings would've been placed in a museum of sorts given they would be considered antiques, and she wouldn't stand for that. They belonged to her then and she was just here to collect them a little later than planned. "Assuming Damon has told you about this artifact we should really be getting out of your hair. I'm so sorry that we bothered you so late with this," Eleanor told her actually finding it unbearable boring to stand around and talk about the authenticity of her home. She already knew all about this home, honestly, Eleanor probably knew more about this home than the current Lockwood family did.

"You will keep me updated on this artifact correct? And if there's anything I can do at all to help you procure it do let me know,"

Eleanor did not roll her eyes though she wanted to, rather she let Damon continue to take the lead in talking to the woman as he'd suggested. As far as she knew there was only one weapon that could kill an original and she wasn't exactly sure that it would be a good idea for said weapon to come into play. Though she only knew about this because in the rather short period she'd spent with them in New Orleans a pair of them had come to like her enough to tell her very little about them but enough. Though in the end it hadn't been enough to get her to stick around. She had kept in touch with Rebekah for a short while after she'd left town but that too had ended eventually, and while she never knew why she always assumed it must've been for the better. She did make herself a mental note to ask Damon about them when they were back in the car as she was rather intrigued as to why they were there.

"Well, if there's any way that I can help, let me know." Adelaide wasn't going to push the issue. They had only just decided to start over, and were only just starting to get to know each other again. She could assume that he was struggling with the bloodlust and consequences of having his humanity turned off for a time, but it was just that: an assumption. At least until he came out and told her himself what he was dealing with anyway. She wasn't going to push him to tell her anything unless he wanted to though. Stefan had always been a bit of a private person, and she could imagine that likely still held true today.

"She didn't seem over it when she saw you today." She blurted out before she could even think twice about what she was saying. So much for not sounding like a crazy, jealous ex-girlfriend. She was quick to follow his lead and pour herself a glass of Bourbon too. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You don't need to elaborate about what happened between you two if you don't want to, I'm not going to pry. It was just weird seeing her given how much she looks like Katherine, and knowing you two were a thing at one point and time. And I'm totally going to stop talking right now before I say anything else." She said, punctuating her words with a long sip of her drink.

---

"It's a shame, most historic homes and buildings get completely knocked down or modernized in this country nowadays." Carol said. Damon could see that Eleanor would have no problem charming the founders council and just about anyone she came in contact with in town. She was clearly even more captivating as a vampire than she'd already been as a human. Not that he was really all that surprised by that fact. "Yes, Eleanor's right. My apologies again for bothering you at this hour, Carol. I will definitely keep you posted if I come across anything else in any journals or if I find said artifact." He definitely wasn't planning on looking for anything, he had pretty much fabricated that whole story, but it had clearly been believable enough to say the least.

"Thank you for letting me know, Damon, and it was a pleasure meeting you, Eleanor."

Damon set the mayor one last charming smile before leading Eleanor back out to the car. "I'm guessing you found what you were looking for?" He asked as they headed back towards the boarding house. "And if so, do I get to ask what's inside or are you going to make me wait and see for myself?" He was extremely curious and a tad bit impatient given all of the mystery surrounding said box. "I wonder how Stefan faired with Adelaide." He added as an afterthought.

[Sorry this is shorter ]

Stefan had known this conversation would happen, it had too. If they were going to start fresh they had to tell each other things, including all about their love lives. This was easily something they would've done growing up but it felt different now. "Believe me I don't think that Elena even knows what she wants. And it was recent that we broke things off so I'm sure she's still dealing with that. But there is nothing going on between us now. And as far as I'm concerned there will never be anything between us again. I don't think I could put myself through that again. I mean I will always care for her in come capacity because we were happy for a while and we've been through a lot of things together over the last year. But she started to develop feelings for Damon, and even though she will deny it we all know. Damon may not but anyone with eyes could see that she had feelings for him. And I'm not exactly a fan of sharing my girlfriends with anyone, especially my brother. Plus there were some other things going on," he said biting his lip and hoping that he wasn't about to scare Addy away after only getting her back.

"So Elena had this annoying need to put herself in danger because she thinks that she can handle things the same as we can even though she's only human. And she felt that she could help me control my blood lust when in reality being around her and hearing her blood pump made me want to rip out her juggler. Because I struggle to control myself when I drink human blood, it's something I've struggled with since I first turned. And I just couldn't handle her anymore. I couldn't stand the thought of her always feeling like she had to fix me rather than just let me figure things out or even work through them with me. You were never like that," he said shaking his head. "When we were together and I was struggling with things you were just there for me, you let me come to you. And you helped me but in a manner that you knew would be helpful and not by putting yourself at risk or not even taking into consideration what I was deal with," he said clearly realizing that he was a bit more annoyed about the whole Elena thing than he'd realized.

---

"Patience is a virtue Damon," Eleanor told him as she got into the car. "I did find what I was looking for, and you may ask what's in the box but as I've said it's a surprise and will be well worth the wait when I show you." She told him reaching over to grab his hand and lace her fingers with his. There was no way Damon would be disappointed when they arrived back to the boarding house and were somewhere private again. He might get emotional, Eleanor knew she would get emotional, but he would no be disappointed. This was just one of the many steps they could take to solidify their new found relationship. It was also fun to have something so mysterious to keep him guessing. Eleanor had picked up on quite a few things over her time on earth that made her feel alive and on how to string guys along. Not that she was stringing Damon along, truthfully he was the only person in the entire world she would never string along. There were very few people Eleanor had crossed paths with over her time that she felt a real connection to and those are the people she would die for. Damon, Adelaide, Stefan, and maybe Kol and Rebekah Mikaelson, that was it. That was her long list of people she'd truly let into her life to care about. Kol she'd had to leave because she'd been worried she might've gotten attached to him, and she'd never know if anything more could've come from their fling but she was fine with that.

Eleanor glanced over at Damon as he drove and decide now was as good a time as any to ask the questions that were waiting to come out of her. "So you mentioned something earlier about the Mikaelson's being in town. Well, Klaus being in town but you wouldn't happen to know if the rest of his family is here as well would you? Or what he wants even? And you also you realize that you can't kill Klaus Mikaelson correct? It's better if you just go along with what he wants. God he's a pain but believe me he's always much more behaved when he has what he wants. He's like a very ill mannered toddler really. The kind that were obviously over coddled by someone and feels they are owed everything they want,"

Adelaide knew that this conversation was bound to happen eventually. It was kind of inevitable given their own history, and the fact that it had been so long since they had last seen each other. She just really hoped that she wasn't coming across like a jealous ex-girlfriend or something of that nature. She wouldn't have to worry about that though. They used to have conversations like this a lot when they were young. She never worried about whether or not she was asking too many questions or bringing up the wrong things, but things seemed different now. They didn't just seem different though, they were different. "She has feelings for Damon?" History definitely seemed to be repeating itself then. Well, at much as it possibly could anyway. Obviously some things were different. Elena wasn't Katherine, she was a human and not a vampire. And Stefan had broken things off with her rather than get caught up in some bizarre love triangle. "Damon doesn't have feelings for her though, does he?" She knew that it wouldn't make sense given the fact that Damon was clearly trying to patch things up with Eleanor, but as the brunette's best friend, she still needed to ask.

She listened as he continued on and told her more about why he and Elena had broken up. Something told her that this was the first time that he'd ever spoken about the issues with their relationship. It made sense given she knew Stefan was selective about who he opened up to usually. She was always the person he used to go to, and she assumed Lexi was the one he went to for the last century and a half. "So she has a hero complex then, that definitely gets old really fast. No offense to her or anything. And, well you can talk to me about those things now that I'm here. And if you want me to help you through it I can. It'll obviously be a work in progress, but I can help you learn to control it if that's what you want."

---

"You've always loved torturing me." Damon said as he drove back towards the boarding house. He had never been an overly patient person when he was human and that had definitely carried over into his life as a vampire too. Eleanor had always been about surprises and trying her best to surprise him despite the fact that he always told her that he had a strong dislike for surprises. Of course, it mainly had to do with how impatient he was, not her surprises necessarily, but that was besides the point. With how she'd been talking about this mystery box, his curiosity was growing more and more as well as his impatience. "Can I guess what's inside and then you can tell me if I've got the right idea at least?" He had a feeling he knew what her answer would be already, but figured he might as well try his luck. Of course, they'd probably be back at the boarding house before he could actually make any real guesses anyway but he asked anyway.

The conversation shifted away from the mystery box before he could make any really guesses. And he was definitely surprised by the shift in conversation to say the least. "Most of his family are daggered and in coffins right now. Stefan has the coffins hidden so that we can bargain with Klaus to try to get him to leave town for good. He wants Elena. She's a doppelgänger, as I'm sure you probably figured out already, and he can use her blood to create more hybrids. Just because we don't know of a way to kill him just yet, doesn't mean we won't figure something out. I'm not scared of some original douche. But that's why we're trying to get him to leave town so that we can buy ourselves some time to figure out how to kill him."

Stefan shrugged his shoulders. "He did but I don't know if he still does," he told her honestly not entirely sure where his brother stood as far as Elena went. "I would assume even if he does that he wouldn't do anything about it because he would never fuck up this chance with Eleanor. She's the only girl Damon has ever loved, he hasn't let himself even try to find love since he lost her," Stefan told her as he did know his brother. Damon might like to act like the tough guy all the time but Stefan knew that he loved Eleanor so deeply that the thought of replacing her with anyone probably killed him on the inside. And Stefan could relate to that on a very deep level. Honestly, Stefan had felt quite guilty about having feelings for Elena when he'd first met her, he'd said it was because he was a vampire and he didn't want to hurt her, but really it was more because he felt like for the first time he could've been really moving on from Adelaide and that was scary. Though things hadn't worked out between him and Elena and now Adelaide was sitting in his living room and he was right back to where he was before he'd met Elena. Not planning to be emotionally involved with anyone other than her even if that meant he was alone for the rest of eternity.

"I do want to work on them because I don't enjoy it holding so much power over me," He told her honestly. "How do you deal with it? The bloodlust I mean? I know that Damon drinks to curb his appetite, before my friend Lexi died she taught me how to feed on animals. Ever since I turned she was always right there whenever I needed her she was like a guardian angel. But since she died I haven't exactly had a go to person, so it's been harder than usual to control myself," he told her wishing he didn't have such a problem with this, but he supposed everyone had something they were addicted to. His just happened to be human blood and he just so happened to be so addicted that he actually ripped people apart if he wasn't stopped.

---

"You should be scared of him if you know what's good for you. Klaus is dangerous and so are his siblings which he will do anything to get back even if that means ripping Mystic Falls apart. And if he's already created a hybrid well, I'd be extra careful around Tyler because if he bites you it's game over," Eleanor told him trying her best to stay calm as she hadn't realized when she got back into town that the Original family was in town as well. Though hearing that Klaus had his siblings in coffins did answer the question she'd asked herself years ago as to why she'd never heard back from Rebekah. She'd likely been daggered this entire time. "Sorry, I'm totally being a buzzkill. Let's just get back to the boarding house so I can show you what's in the box," she said softly.

There was no point in trying to talk Damon or likely Stefan even out of whatever insane plan they had, well at least not right now. And she did want to make sure she approached Damon delicately about her relationship with the Original family. Honestly, unless they ever decided to divulge every person they'd spent time with apart from one another she'd never even thought she'd have to tell him. It didn't matter. Until one of the people she'd spent the most time with over the last one hundred and fifty years happened to be in the same town. And she hadn't thought about Kol in years but it would rather hard to deny that they had a past if they happened to bump into one another. Eleanor also knew that she had nothing to feel bad about, Damon had only recently entered her life again and up until today she'd been totally free to see whoever she'd wanted, as well as do whatever the hell she wanted. She wanted to be honest with him though, not to clear her own conscience but so if any awkward meetings were to happen he would know that she didn't still have feelings for him.

Damon truly had nothing to worry about when it came to Eleanor, as much as she talked about taking things slow she'd never stopped loving him and she never would. And ever since she'd seen his face earlier in the grill she'd known she was going to forgive him even if she wouldn't have admitted it then. Damon was her weakness, and she was fine with that.

"I hope so, Eleanor still has feelings for him, and I'm pretty sure he's the only person she's ever really loved too." Adelaide knew that her friend hadn't really involved herself in any sort of longterm romantic attachment over the years. Adelaide hadn't either. There were a couple of flings here and there, but nothing that ever ended up amounting to something. Partially because she closed herself off to the idea of love and partially because she never really fully got over Stefan. As far as she knew, most people didn't ever really get over their first love though. That person was always special to them in some capacity. For her it had been even worse given the fact that she not only lost the man she was to marry, but her childhood best friend too. She was never fully ready to let someone else in after that.

"If you want help, we can work on it together, Stefan." She knew how difficult dealing with the bloodlust could be. She struggled with it a lot herself over the years. Sometimes she was better at handling it than she was at other times. It was just part of the nature of being a vampire and something that she learned to live with over time. "I'm not going to lie to you and say that I haven't struggled with it myself because I have. It's not an easy fix, but I've found focusing on the fact that they likely have a family or other loved ones helps ground me a bit." She knew what it was like to lose someone she loved, and she never wanted to be the reason someone lost one of their loved ones. "Alcohol definitely helps sometimes too, it really depends on the person though. We can start trying different things to see what works best for you. It won't be easy, but I'll be there to help in whatever way you need me to."

---

Damon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn't afraid of Klaus. If anything, he considered the guy to be more of a thorn in his side than anything else. An inconvenience if you will. Eleanor seemed to be speaking from personal experience though which definitely peaked his interest a bit. "You sound like you're speaking from personal experience." He commented, glancing over to her briefly as he drove. He knew that he hadn't seen her in one hundred and fifty years, and a lot could happen in that amount of time, she it wouldn't necessarily be all that surprising if Eleanor had crossed paths with Klaus or some of the members of the original family in the past. It did make him wonder in what capacity she had done so though.

"No, it's fine. If you're speaking from experience, feel free to enlighten me. I've only been dealing with Klaus for a couple of months now. He's caused some issues in town since he arrived. Namely trying to use Elena to create more hybrids as I told you before and forcing Stefan to flip his humanity switch off for a few months which resulted in my brother leaving a trail of bodies in his wake across the country." Klaus had really fucked things up in Mystic Falls, that was why they were trying to get him to leave. Hopefully Stefan's plan would work and they would be able to do so soon enough.

"When they get back I guess we could try and pry information out of them. Make sure they both have pure intentions with one another," Stefan joked. "It will be nice to see Damon more like himself again. He's been very closed off since we turned a little rough around the edges really, and he's gone on his fair share of benders but now that you guys are back I think he'll become more of his old self again. The one everyone liked because he had a heart and tried to care for others," he added knowing that the Damon everyone in this town knew was not the Damon that he'd known. The Damon that Stefan remembered from growing up was kind to people, he laughed a lot, and he was always so much happier. The Damon Stefan had known since he'd become a vampire had a lot of ruthless moments, and didn't seem to care much about the world or the people in it. He also hadn't seemed to laugh or let loose like he use to, so it would be nice that the four of them could be together again. Maybe everything between them wouldn't be like it had but it could be similar.

"Where would you suggest we start then?" Stefan asked her wondering what her first task for him would be. After all, he did want to get better, he wanted to fight off the blood lust so badly he'd do anything at this point. And since she seemed so willing to help him he'd be happy to let her. He also felt very safe in her hands, she'd never let him down when they were younger so he was going based on that as well. "I've tried drinking and it doesn't seem to help me much, it does a little I suppose but not enough for me to not want to drink so much from one person their head comes off. Which is always my problem, I get a little human blood and all of a sudden I need to drink people so dry they fall apart,"

---

Eleanor opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to figure out exactly how to say what she needed to. "I found myself in New Orleans in a rather foul mood back in the early 1900s. I was alone because Addy had decided she wanted to go travel across Europe and I didn't, I've always liked staying places longer than she has, and I wanted to travel as much of America as I could. While I was there I met someone, the first person aside from you that I've ever felt drawn to. He was charming and quiet certainly took the foul mood away. As it turns out his name was Kol Mikaelson. We saw one another for well nearly three months the longest I've seen anyone. Usually men came and went but I liked him so I stuck around for a bit. He introduced me to his family because they were hosting a Christmas ball and what better time to meet them? And for the most part we all got along fine. His brother Finn was a bore but the rest of them seemed normal. Aside from Klaus, he had this mindset that in order to be with his siblings he had to like you. I of course the charming girl I am was able to charm him into letting me stick around. I hardly ever saw Klaus really though I spent most of my time with Kol or Rebekah their sister. And they would tell me stories of him and the awful things he's done but how they wanted to believe that deep down he was capable of good. We also talked about how they have a bond to one another to protect one another even when they're mad at each other. They always put each other first. And I also learned that it's rumored that if an original dies ever vampire in their sire line dies along with them. Not that it's very probable, but still I don't know which sire line I'm in but I'd rather not take chances with my life either," She told him truly hoping there was a different way to get him to leave town than piss him off.

Klaus own siblings were afraid of him at times so of course Eleanor was going to take that to heart. And she was thankful she hadn't stuck around long enough to have to watch Kol or Becks get daggered because she knew she probably wouldn't have made it out alive herself. "Look no one here has to take my word for it and I know everyone wants him to get his family and leave, but I do think it would be smart for everyone to think things through a little better before going up against one of the most notorious vampires in history. He can compel you to do his bidding, he's been around for centuries, and from what I've heard he's only ever been scared of one thing that I doubt you guys have access to,"

"I'm sure that will go over extremely well." Adelaide said, sarcasm dripping from her words. She liked that even though they were talking about some difficult things, there was still a lightness to the conversation at times. Despite their history, they still managed to make each other laugh at times. It was almost how things used to be between them, and after everything that had happened over the last hundred of fifty years it was honestly a welcomed solace. "That's probably just how he learned to cope with everything. Everyone handles things differently. Eleanor did always bring the best out in him though, so here's hoping that remains true now too." Damon definitely had seemed different during the very brief interaction Adelaide had with him in The Grill earlier, but Adelaide wasn't exactly surprised by that. They were all different now. It was kind of just the nature of what they'd been through.

"We need to figure out what anchors you, to your humanity I mean. Why do you feel remorse afterwards? Is it another person, a memory? Once we figure that out, we can move forward to try and figure out a way to use that as an outlet to help you control it." She told him. It seemed like a simple enough task, but that wasn't always the case. It took time to figure that out, but she was willing to take that time to help him figure things out.

---

Damon couldn't help the slight twinge of jealousy he felt as he listened to Eleanor explain how she knew of Klaus and the rest of the original family. He wasn't surprised that she'd been involved with other men, after all it had been one hundred and fifty years since they had last seen each other, but it hit him a different way when she actually spoke of it. And of course it didn't really help that she'd been romantically involved with one of Klaus' siblings out of all of the vampires in the world. He hadn't had much experience with most of the original family yet outside of Elijah, Klaus and very briefly Rebekah, the original douche did keep most of them daggered after all, but he already disliked this Kol Mikaelson. Not that he was going to let that on to Eleanor if he could manage to keep it to himself. Jealousy didn't getting seem appropriate given the fact that they'd lived for so long without each other, he just couldn't help himself though.

"Well, maybe you can charm Klaus into leaving town for us then." He told her. "Because he's been a major thorn in everyone's side since he came here. Hence why Stefan has a bunch of his daggered family members hidden so that when he does show back up in town officially we can attempt to bargain with him." He wasn't going to act like the jealous ex-boyfriend. He refused to act that way, so he chose to discuss anything but Kol Mikaelson. Whether it was obvious or not, he didn't really care.

"You're right, they'd kill us," Stefan replied laughing himself. The last thing Eleanor and Damon probably wanted was for anyone to pry into their business. So in the spirit of not wanting to piss his brother off, at the moment at least, he decided he'd keep his mouth shut. "Though I do want to know where they went because I'm rather curious. And it's also well past five when she said she'd meet up with you and tell you if she was staying or not," he joked pretty sure it was obvious that neither of them were leaving. If either of them had decide to leave town he was sure they would've reached out to each other by now. "So simply because I'm curious and I can't help myself was there anywhere El had wanted to go while she was here?" He asked feeling like he was a 17 year old human again. He and Addy had done things like this all the time. Anytime Eleanor had some kind of secret surprise she'd built for Damon usually she would involve them because it was always easier for them to keep Damon distracted while she did whatever. But this time if there was a surprise she'd clearly acted alone without them. And the three of them use to be the dream team at surprises.

Stefan fell silent when she asked him why he felt remorse afterwards, he couldn't say that he'd ever really thought about it. Not for an extended period of time at least so never long enough to really figure things out. "After I kill someone and I see what I've done I feel bad because I stole someone's life and that makes me a monster. And then when I realize that I'm a monster feel worse because I was made into this against my will and I don't want to be a monster. So I put their bodies back together and leave them. So um I hope that was helpful," he said not really sure if it was going to be helpful or not.

---

Eleanor honestly would've preferred to stay out of all the drama involving Klaus, but she had a feeling since she'd decided to stick around town she'd get drug into it all eventually. "The only reason I will put myself in the vicinity of Klaus is because I care about you, Addy and Stefan. You should know though that I have an awful feeling about it. So just make me a promise okay," she told Damon before sighing softly. "Just promise to be careful and not die. I don't think I could handle it," she told him suddenly having flashes to the last time she'd been this worried about Damon and his safety. She felt a very similar feeling to that right now. He was literally telling her about some insane plan that Stefan had come up with to try and get an Original to leave town which could easily get him killed if he wasn't careful. And she was reminded in that moment of how easily it would be for her to lose him again.

If she lost Damon again so soon after they found one another and right in the beginning of them trying to start over she'd likely turn off her emotions and given that Eleanor had never done that she had no idea what she might do. Because it would be too unbearable for her to go on feeling everything, though she didn't want to think like that because maybe everything would go fine. "Can we change the subject please, to anything else?" she asked knowing they were almost back to the boarding house but she'd rather not talk about this anymore. Honestly, she wanted to return to the boarding house now and just be happy again. At this point she was almost willing to just tell Damon what was in her box even to get back on the subject of something else. Even though she knew she was the one who'd brought it all up she wouldn't have if she knew it would've led to her feeling like this.

"They would absolutely kill us." Adelaide laughed. "Well, I'm not where she and I were supposed to meet up either, so we're both in the wrong here. But I'd also really like to know where they ran off to suddenly." She couldn't help being curious about that. Being around Stefan seemed to bring out the part of her that used to play these guessing games and spy on Damon and Eleanor. He was already bringing out parts of her that hadn't surfaced since she was human. They might not have spent much time together yet, but she already felt more like her old self than she had been in a really long time and she didn't fully know what to make of it, but she did kind of like it. "She did mention something about hoping the Lockwood Manor was still standing. But I know that she just had an interest in seeing the town in general."

She frowned slightly when he explained why he felt remorse when he lost control. "Hey." She started, reaching out a hand to place over his own. "You're not a monster, Stefan. The fact that you feel remorse after losing people is a clear enough indication to me that you aren't. It means that you can get through this, that you can learn to control this, and I'm going to be here every single step of the way. And I'm not going to tell you that it's going to be easy, because it isn't, but that doesn't mean it's impossible either."

---

"I know that you think that Klaus is bad news, and I'm not going to argue with you and say that he isn't because he's been a major pain in my ass since he set foot here in Mystic Falls, but I'm not going anywhere. I promise that I'm not going anywhere. I'll be careful, but I'm not going to stop trying my hardest to get him out of this town. He's already caused enough damage here, especially with Stefan, and the last thing that any of us need is Klaus Mikaelson becoming a permanent fixture in this town." Damon told her. He knew that Stefan put on a brave face, especially when he had his humanity shut off, but he knew that Klaus had brought a part out in his brother that hadn't surfaced in a very long time. He'd seen the bodies in Tennessee. Stefan was struggling, he only hoped that Addy had decided that she would stick around because there was only so much that he could do to help his brother. Adelaide had always grounded him though, and he hoped that held true now more than ever before.

"Why did you decide to come back to town?" He asked her, choosing to change the subject because it was clear that she wanted him to but also because he could see how much even talking about the original family seemed to bother her. He was sure that, in time, he'd learn more about her time spent with them, but he wouldn't push the issue now. "Given how Addy reacted when she saw my brother, I'm guessing that she's not the one who decided a walk down memory lane was in the books for you two."

Stefan nodded hid head, he hoped that she was right, because he did want to get better. He didn't mind drinking animal blood really, he'd been doing it for so long now that it felt more natural than drinking human blood really. However, Stefan would also like to be able to drink blood from bags or however else he felt like without totally losing control. That was what he hoped to get out of the currently problem he and Addy were working on. "What would your first suggestion be for then? Because I know this won't be easy, but I am willing to work for it." He told her hoping that she knew how much he appreciated her. Things already felt at ease between them. Not fully back to normal, though he wasn't sure if they knew what normal between them was anymore given how long it had been since they'd been together.

"The Lockwood Manor? Of all the places around town that's where she would want to go, I mean I'm sure Damon would've taken her there if she'd asked. He's probably the best one around town to get Carol to let her in too. Only because he's taken it upon himself to become a member of the founder council so he and Carol Lockwood the Mayor have a pretty good working relationship," Stefan said honestly trying his hardest to put the pieces together. It didn't make sense to him. Though he supposed it wasn't his business so maybe he didn't have a right to be so curious about it all, he was though. "So if you don't mind me asking, why did you guys decide to come back here? I mean I'm assuming based on your lack of enthusiasm to speak to me merely hours ago that you hadn't wanted to come with Eleanor but you did," he said wondering if it was her bond with her friend that had brought her back to town or if maybe deep down she'd wanted to return. He was happy with the outcome either way but again, he was curious.

---

Eleanor appreciated Damon changing the subject like she'd asked, because she didn't want to discuss it anymore, she couldn't. Though she hadn't been expecting the question she was asked. Why had she returned to town? Why now? Why after all these years had she chosen now to return to town? Why had she chosen to return at all?

"I can't speak for Addy because I don't know what goes through her mind most of the time, but I was lonely. And I was missing you more than I ever had before. I think it's because your birthday is coming up and even though I was still very much mad at you, I'm always sad on your birthday. I mean that was always a special day for us. We had our first kiss on your birthday, we made love for the first time on your birthday, you told me you loved me more than life itself on your birthday, and I don't know why everything always fell on your birthday but it did. And this year it just made me more sad than it normally does, I don't know why it just did. It hurt so much that I almost turned off my emotions for the first time in my life so I wouldn't have to feel it anymore. I didn't, because I like to feel things. Even the bad feelings I suffer through because it makes me feel normal. It just broke my heart that we weren't together and that my last memories of you were tainted and that the last birthday, our special day, I saw you with her. And I wanted to remind myself of a better time. I wanted to soak up all the good from our time together so that maybe I could move on and be happy with someone else finally. I also thought you were dead so why was I continuing to waste my time pining after you? So I begged Addy to return to Mystic Falls with me so I could enact my plan to break into the Lockwood Manor and retrieve what was rightfully mine. Well, I didn't tell her about the box, I just begged her to return with me so we could see the town and I could get the closure I wanted. But then there you were, clearly not dead. Which I'd heard people mention yours or Stefan's name throughout history but I hadn't let myself believe I'd ever see you again because I would've driven myself crazy," She told him knowing full well that she likely sounded like a crazy person, or maybe he'd be heartbroken that she'd felt the way she had for so long, either way though at least he knew.

Adelaide could tell that this had bothered Stefan for a very long time. She supposed that strictly drinking animal blood for a while likely put a bandaid over the issue so to speak, but he needed to learn to control the bloodlust instead of allowing it to control him and the only way for her to really help him do so was by getting him to drink human blood. "I think we should start small, drink blood from a bag, and work our way up to you drinking blood straight from the vein. We're not going to progress to that until we both think that you're ready for that though so don't think I'm going to just throw you to the wolves so to speak. I think that once we do work up to that, it's important that you feed from someone that you know personally. We can use the remorse that you normally feel to our advantage, if you usually feel that towards someone you don't know, you'll feel it even more with someone that you do know."

She shrugged her shoulders when he seemed surprised that Eleanor had wanted to go to the Lockwood Manor. "That's what she said to me. I didn't pry too much, although I do know that she was friendly with George Lockwood back in the day, so maybe there was something of meaning that she had left behind. I don't know really to be honest." She didn't really know why Eleanor had wanted to go to the Lockwood Manor of all places in Mystic Falls, though if that was where she and Damon had gone, she supposed that they would both likely find out soon enough. "Eleanor's wanted to come back for a while now. I've always been against it, still was, but she also gets pretty down around Damon's birthday every year, so I figured that this might at least be good for her. It turned out better than I thought it would I suppose."

---

Damon was honestly pretty surprised when she told him why she'd wanted to come back to Mystic Falls. He knew that they were starting over, but he kind of assumed that she couldn't even stand to think about him over the years after everything that had happened between them. He figured she'd spent all of this time hating his guts, and he knew that they'd been through a lot together and their feelings had been very strong for each other, but he didn't expect her to tell him that she thought about him around his birthday every year and even considered shutting off her humanity because of the overwhelming feeling of sadness that she felt. She was right about one thing though, a lot of important milestones for them had happened on his birthday. He'd always known that to be true, but he'd never fully thought about it in that capacity. Of course, he tried not to feel much of anything and remained pretty closed off and reserved since he presumed her dead all of those years ago, so he tried not to think of even the best memories they shared together during the brief amount of time that they had together.

He brought her hand up and kissed the back of it before he spoke. "I'm glad that you came back, and I'm sorry that you've felt that way for so long. I really don't know how you handled it as well as you seemed to." He'd never been able to handle his heightened emotions all that well since turning into a vampire. That was why he either shut off his humanity or numbed everything with alcohol, it was easier that way. She hadn't taken the easy way out though.

Stefan hadn't realized that Damon's birthday was coming up until Adelaide had mentioned it, not because he didn't care about his brother but because that was the last thing they celebrated. Really until recently Stefan rarely even saw his brother, plus birthdays had been something that seemed so unimportant now that they were vampires. "Well, I hope I'm not overstepping but I'm glad she persuaded you to tag along," he said not sure what else was in store for them all but Stefan was sure that with the four of them together again there wouldn't be very many dull moments. And he could only begin to imagine how things were going to be once everyone else in town found out that Adelaide and Eleanor were sticking around. Really he supposed this would mean that they'd have to go into town and meet everyone else. All the people that Stefan hung around which he hoped wouldn't get too weird for anyone.

"So since you guys are sticking around you know that you can stay here if you need to right? There are plenty of extra rooms and I'm sure we have extra clothes around here somewhere too if you need those. Of course, I guess there's also always the option of shopping if you need to. And I would be happy to show you around town if you want tomorrow. I mean it's still similar but a lot has actually changed since you were here last," he told her almost in a plea to spend more time with her, even though he already knew he would get too. It was like there was a small part of him that still couldn't believe this was happening and it wasn't just another very vivd dream.

---

Eleanor was glad she'd come back too. She was glad that things seemed to be working out better than she could've imagined as well. "It's because Damon, I embrace my emotions and then deal with them accordingly," she told him smiling when they arrived back to the boarding house. "So there are a few things I need from you when we go inside," she told him with a glint of happiness in her eyes. "I would like to take a bubble bath so I will need bubbles, I will also need something to sleep in given I'm staying here and have no clothes with me, I'd prefer a t-shirt. I really didn't plan on staying so I didn't even pack an overnight bag. That means tomorrow I'll need to go shopping. Oh yea and don't go through my box without me, and last you have to tell me what you want for your birthday by tomorrow morning," She told him before she leaned over to kiss his cheek. "You're welcome to join me in the bath too if you want," she whispered before she climbed out of the car and went to collect her box from the back so she could head inside.

Eleanor was fine with people calling her a tease if they wanted, she suppose she did rather enjoy getting guys to eat out of the palm of her hand so she got what she wanted from them. It was different with Damon though, as she had full intentions of giving into him. She wanted to give into Damon. Eleanor wanted Damon. She wanted to be with him in every manner of the word. This was Damon after all, her love. Maybe they weren't still head over heels 'in love' like they were but she loved him and there was no point in denying what she wanted. And maybe it was a silly to expect Damon to want to celebrate his birthday after all these years after all he'd be turning like 175 but Eleanor had missed so many of his birthdays that she wanted too so she hoped he would go along with her.

Adelaide smiled at his words. "You're not overstepping. I'm glad that she did too." If Eleanor hadn't persuaded her to come to Mystic Falls with her, she never would have known the truth. She knew that Eleanor likely would have crossed paths with Stefan and Damon anyway, but she didn't know how she would have taken knowing that Stefan was alive if it came from Eleanor and she didn't get the chance to see it for herself. Honestly, if Eleanor told her that she had seen them both, Adelaide probably would have hightailed it out of the States and put as much distance between herself and Mystic Falls as she possibly could. She'd been running for a very long time now, and she probably would have continued to do so if she hadn't talked to Stefan herself.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that." She told him. "Eleanor and I were only planning on a quick day trip, so neither of us really came prepared to stick around very long at all." She hadn't even thought about where she was going to stay when Stefan brought up staying at the boarding house. She was glad that she wouldn't have to worry about that now, though she would definitely need to sort out the clothing situation tomorrow. "I'm definitely taking you up on all of those offers. If I can borrow a shirt or something to sleep in, and one to wear tomorrow that would be great. And since you offered, I definitely wouldn't mind having you show me around town tomorrow, but we need to go shopping for me first. And I'm going to need your honest opinion on outfits, so don't try telling me everything looks good either. I see through the nice guy facade, Salvatore." Her tone was light and teasing. She honestly still couldn't believe how easily things seemed to just fall into place between them. It was definitely nice given how long it had been.

---

"Are you trying to insinuate that I don't do that, Miss Abbot? I'm beyond offended that you would make such a false accusation about me." Damon said, feigning hurt. He figured making light of the situation was probably a good idea given how a few moments earlier Eleanor had been making him promise that he'd be careful and that he wouldn't die at the hands of Klaus. He didn't want her to worry about him, but he knew that was kind of inevitable and bound to happen with everything that was going on in town. It was probably a lot for her to process all things considered. He doubted that she expected to even really run into him when she came back to town, it wasn't like she'd been planning on sticking around for very long, and she probably wasn't anticipating the possibility of crossing paths with the original family either, so he wanted to make sure that she didn't worry too much about all of that for the time being.

He listened as she listed off all the things that she would be needing once they returned to the boarding house. He wasn't necessarily surprised by the flirtatious nature of her words, it was something he'd experience firsthand in 1864, however, he was surprised that, in spite of everything, that she still seemed to have the same exact hold on him that she had all those years ago. He wouldn't admit it to anyone else, not even Stefan or Addy, but there wasn't a single thing that he wouldn't do for the woman seated next to him. "Your wish is my command, El." Was all he said before getting out of the car and following her back into the house.

"I'm not insinuating anything," Eleanor said shaking her head in a playful manner. "I was simply saying that I do, and that's how I've handled being a vampire for so long," she told him, there was no right or wrong way to be a vampire and Eleanor knew that everyone handled it just as differently as they did everything else. "Now come along, because the sooner I get my bubble bath the sooner I'll be done, which means time for the great box unveiling," she told him happily walking right into the boarding house. She glanced over and smiled when she saw Stefan and Addy on the couches together. She smiled over at them and gave a little wave. "You decided to stay as well then?" She asked Addy allowing her eyes to dart towards Stefan. Eleanor would deny that she was happy her best friend had deiced to give this all a chance. She was happy that she wouldn't have to stay in Mystic Falls alone. Sure she might've said she'd be fine staying behind with Addy but truthfully she would've left with her friend if Addy had decided she didn't want to stay. She did love Damon, and she did want this chance with him, but she had an unbreakable bond with Addy. And Eleanor knew that if Addy left town she would've been running, she'd also likely end up on some kind of emotional bender, it would then be Eleanors duty to her friend to save her from her own self destruction.

"Stefan would you mind doing me a favor?" She asked walking over to the pair on the couch. "I need you to guard this box with your life. Do not open it, and do not let Damon see what is inside under any circumstances. It's important. I'll come back and get it after I take a bath but I know Damon and I'm sure he's just as impatient now if not more than he was in 1864. And it's a surprise what's inside," She told Stefan handing over the pale blue box knowing she was putting it in good hands. Stefan and Addy had always been her go to crew to help her surprise Damon. "Also we're celebrating his birthday even if he says we're not. So be prepared because I am going all out," She called as she'd already started to walk away from them and up the stairs to find a bathroom that had a tub.

---

Stefan nodded his head. "Tomorrow then we will go shopping for you some clothes, and yes you can borrow a shirt for tonight and tomorrow. Then I would be happy to show you around town. And what are you trying to say Stanton? I am a nice guy and I promise I would not let you buy anything horrendous," he told her trying not to laugh. Stefan had a feeling that Addy could pull anything off, but he supposed he'd see tomorrow. It would be rather interesting to go shopping with her and see her in clothes from the current era. He knew she'd been wearing current fashion but it would be different seeing her this way since there was only ever one thing girls really wore in 1864, dresses. That was most certainly not the case anymore.

Before he could say anything else Eleanor was walking in and walking over handing him a box to keep away from Damon. Stefan had no idea what could possibly be inside the box but he took it anyway and nodded his head. "Sorry Damon, the lady as spoken," he said shrugging his shoulders knowing that it was always best to go along with El in these situations. He couldn't help but smile himself though at the whole thing, Eleanor walking in and announcing things like birthday celebrations, and Damon looking happy. He was sitting here across from Addy feeling just as happy. The night felt very light and good. He couldn't remember the last time things had felt like this, and what made it better was it was coming in the midst of a very dark time in Mystic Falls. He wasn't even really sure how things could get much better than they were now.

"That's what every supposed nice guy says." Adelaide countered. Of course, Stefan had always been a good person, there wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for someone who needed help of some kind. Something told her that despite his darker periods in life, that still held true now, so this conversation was all in good fun. She was honestly looking forward to spending more time with him tomorrow, and getting to know the person he was now a little bit better too. A couple of hours ago, if someone told her that would be the case, she would have laughed in their face. Especially given the fact that she hadn't expected to see Stefan again. Here she was now though, about to stick around Mystic Falls and spend time with the last person she ever anticipated spending even five minutes with. A lot could certainly change in a few hours.

Before she could say much of anything else, Eleanor and Damon walked through the door. She smiled when her friend asked if she was staying and nodded. "As a matter of fact, I did." She told her. Under no circumstances had she expected to stick around Mystic Falls for longer than the day trip that they had initially planned, but clearly there was something different in the cards for both of them. "Where did you two run off to?"

---

"Whatever you say, El." Damon teased as he followed her back into the house. He knew that everyone handled being a vampire a little bit differently. The heightened emotions had always been something that he struggled with just as the bloodlust was something that Stefan had always struggled with. Each person had their own personal challenges that they dealt with each and every single day. He supposed that Eleanor had learned to handle feelings and emotions a bit better than he had. Of course, part of his reasoning behind being emotionally distant was because of how much he had lost because of Katherine. Specifically who he had lost. But Eleanor was back, so he knew that was likely going to change as time went on.

"Yes, ma'am." He said as they walked back into the boarding house. He was definitely eager to see what was in this mystery box of hers. He noticed Addy and Stefan seated on the couches when they walked in, glad to see that they had talked things over and the conversation had likely gone pretty well. Stefan didn't seem emotionally detached anymore, so that was good sign too. Just as he had hoped, Adelaide had managed to get his brother to turn his humanity back on which would likely be good for everyone in town given how Stefan had been acting with the switch flipped off. "We went to retrieve a box she asked George Lockwood to hide at the Lockwood Manor." He answered the redhead's question as he walked over to pour himself another glass of Bourbon. When Eleanor asked Stefan to guard the box for her, he pouted. "Do you really not trust me that much that you're
requesting that my brother guard your little mystery box while you're gone?" He asked Eleanor, feigning hurt. As she walked off, he rolled his eyes as she mentioned celebrating his birthday. "She thinks we're celebrating my birthday." He corrected her, knowing fulling that Eleanor would hear him. "So what have you crazy kids been up to? I'm glad to hear that you're sticking around, Addy. Hopefully Stefan will be much less broody with you here."