chapter six,

after she'd found out about the misfortune of her family. She'd been absolutely distraught and had hardly even spoken to her mother. While Carrie had been at work, Elijah had stayed and cooked Marian's favourite meals, hoping that it would lighten her mood. He'd even offered to take her out of town, which she'd declined.

Bonnie and Jeremy had been strangely distant from her, and she wasn't sure why. She was terrified that they'd somehow drawn a connection between her and Elijah, though she knew the chances of that were slim.

She spoke to Kaleb the most, her online pen-pal. He was a few years older than her—much to Bonnie's dislike—but he had proven to be a good friend. Both had confessed to being supernatural; Marian had been shocked when he'd told her that he was a witch too, and he'd laughed when she'd told him that she could barely do even the simplest of spells.

With his help, she'd been trying hard to perform a spell which could send a letter straight to him in a matter of seconds. It had taken her weeks, but she'd finally managed it several days ago. He'd joked about it having something to do with her finally finding someone from her biological family.

School had been hard for Marian. Although Jeremy and Bonnie weren't her only friends, she couldn't help but feel that at that time they were the only ones that mattered. Penny had noticed her melancholic mood and decided that on Friday night she and Hannah would stay over at Marian's house.

She sighed as she entered the Mystic Grill, headed towards the nearest table. She hadn't eaten since breakfast; Elijah had kept her busy trying to keep her up to date with the current supernatural affairs. According to him, a werewolf pack was causing trouble. It was because of this that he'd rushed off and left the girl some money to buy herself some dinner, promising to make it up to her tomorrow.

She frowned as she saw Bonnie and Jeremy sitting at a table together, her heart slowly sinking in her chest. They'd both told her that they were busy when she'd asked them out to dinner. She glazed to the left, hearing Matt angrily end a phone call. Marian walked up to his table, taking a seat opposite him.

"Hey," she said. Matt looked up.

"Hey."

"What's up?" she asked him. She could tell that something was bothering him, and seeing Caroline's contact information still on his phone told her it had something to do with her.

"Nothing. Just ..." he trailed off. Marian looked him over, noticing that he was wearing nicer clothes than usual. She smiled sadly; Caroline had probably either forgotten that she was meeting him, or had been too preoccupied to tell him.

"You get stood up?" she asked. She felt bad for Matt; first Elena, and now Caroline. He said nothing, simply nodding in defeat.

"I just ... I don't get it. She told me she was with Bonnie," he explained suddenly, looking over to Jeremy and Bonnie who were laughing at something. Marian gulped, hoping they wouldn't notice her. "Did I do something wrong?" he continued. "Is there—is there something wrong with me?"

"Matt, you're a really good guy," she told him.

He scoffed. "That's what Elena said just before she dumped me."

Marian put her hand on the fist that rested on the table. "What I mean is that you're such a nice guy that no one would ever want to intentionally hurt you." She smiled at him. "And Caroline's more of a spontaneous person. She tends to be a bit last-minute with things. She probably just forgot to tell you she couldn't make it and panicked when you called her."

"Yeah, probably," Matt muttered. "Or she's with someone else."

The girl shook her head. "Caroline may act like she's the stereotypical preppy head cheerleader sometimes, but she's really not the type to cheat on a guy she genuinely likes.

Matt looked agitated, looking up at her with a frown. "What do you know, Annie? You've never had a boyfriend." She looked down, curling her lips inwards before turning her head slightly. Matt followed her gaze, watching as Bonnie and Jeremy stood up from their seats. "I'm sorry."

"You had no way of knowing," Marian muttered, her eyes following the pair as they left the Grill, happy smiles on each of their faces.

"Is it Bonnie?" Matt asked. The girl raised an eyebrow at him. "Who you like; is it Bonnie?"

"No," Marian said.

"Sorry, it's just you two always seem to hang out together and I thought that maybe ..."

"Bonnie's like my sister," she explained. "That would be weird. Besides, she's not into girls anyway."

"Are you? Into girls, I mean," he asked.

"I could be," she shrugged. "I'm not really either into guys or into girls; sexuality's not definitive. I like people, does that make sense?" Matt nodded. "Like, if someone—be it boy or girl or whatever they are—can make me smile, that's a shot in the right direction."

Matt sat back in his seat, a surprised expression on his face. "Wow," he breathed. "Wasn't expecting that," he admitted.

"What can I say? I'm pretty mature for my age." She smiled to herself, laughing quietly at her own joke. Yes, she was mature for her age in this current life, but in truth she was rather immature for her true age—she was a thousand years old, after all.

...

The next afternoon, Marian and her two friends walked to her home from school; Penny had wasted no time in taking Marian's hand after their history class and pulling her out of the classroom. She hadn't even had time to notice the longing look Jeremy gave them as the girls who sat next to him rushed away. He was conflicted, unsure whether he should pursue the forbidden love of his sister's best friend, or the newfound feelings he had for his own.

"Okay, I've got some marshmallows and chocolate. Are you sure you have popcorn?" Penny asked.

Marian laughed, groaning. "We bought some yesterday."

"I'm just making sure," she said, holding her hands up. "By the way, will your uncle be there?" Marian shrugged. "I hope he is. I heard he's hot." Marian choked.

"Penny!" she exclaimed.

"What? Hannah saw him when he picked you up the other day," Penny explained. Elijah had told her that he didn't want her to be walking home alone anymore, seeing as Niklaus could be arriving any day now.

"Seriously?" Marian asked, turning to Hannah who walked behind them. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation.

"Yeah. Will he be there tonight?" Hannah asked. Marian grimaced.

"Well now I'm going to tell him not to," she said.

"Oh, come on," the girls complained.

"You're both disgusting," said Marian. "He's way too old for you." She snorted. A thousand years too old.

...

The three of them had just finished watching their first Star Wars film and started the next one—The Empire Strikes Back—when Carrie had arrived home, pizza and garlic bread in her hands.

"Dinner!" she called. Three sets of feet stomped their way to the kitchen almost immediately.

"You're the best," Marian said, taking a stick of garlic bread.

"Thanks Carrie," said Hannah.

"You can't have all of that! I want some," Penny complained, looking at Marian's plate.

"We'll split it in half," Marian said, rolling her eyes. She opened a box and took a couple slices of pizza before making her way back to the couch.

"I think I'm in love with Princess Leia," Penny sighed after settling back down, playing the movie. They laughed.

"Jeremy's in love with her," Marian added. Penny threw a pillow at her.

"No one cares," she groaned.

"Speaking of Jer-bear," Hannah said. "What's up with you two? He's been acting super weird lately."

"Beats me," Marian admitted, pushing the pillow off her and back onto Penny. She didn't want to think about seeing them at the Grill yesterday. "Him and Bonnie hardly spoke to me this week." She looked down at her phone as it vibrated on her leg, an email popping up.

"Who's that?" Penny asked curiously.

"It's Kaleb," she answered absentmindedly, a small smile on her lips. She hadn't heard from him in a few days. Penny groaned as Hannah grinned, quickly snatching Marian's phone from her hands. "Hey!" the girl protested.

"Dear Marian," said Hannah, trying her best to do a British accent, recalling that he lived in England. "I am so terribly in love with you. Forget all about Jeremy. Run away and live with me in my castle. Love Kaleb, the king of wherever he lives."

Marian laughed, taking her phone back. "That was terrible." They focussed back on the film, each contemplating whether they should rewind it to see the parts they'd missed but deciding against it; they'd seen it enough times.

Carrie walked into the room and sat in the armchair to the side of the living room, her hair damp. "So what are we watching?" she asked.

"Star Wars," Penny said. "Empire Strikes Back."

Carrie pushed her hands off the arms of the chair, standing back up; she'd never really liked the Star Wars films. "Okay, I'm out. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

They were around half-way through when the front door opened again. Marian gulped, realising that it must be Elijah. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that he wouldn't come into the living room. "Marian, is that you?" he asked, walking into the room. "Oh," he said, seeing the two other teenagers scattered about it. He sent his niece a questioning look.

"Uncle 'Lijah," Marian gasped. "Uh, this is Hannah and Penny. Guys, this is my uncle." They each muttered a greeting, Elijah nodding at them.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," said Penny. Marian looked down in embarrassment.

"And you also," Elijah said, smiling. His eyes drifted up to the TV screen, seeing Luke Skywalker rushing about after having a dark premonition about his friends. "Interesting choice of film," he stated. "Well, I've had a busy day, so if you don't mind ..." He took a step backwards. "It was nice meeting you all."

"Nice meeting you too," said Penny. Marian threw her head back into the couch. "Night, Marian," he called.

"Night, 'Lijah."

She grabbed the remote, rewinding the movie until it was at the spot they'd been watching before Elijah had come home.

"So hot," Penny muttered.

"Shut up!" Marian screeched.

part i:

tvd s2, e13, ""

wc: