Elena slowly got up from her bed with a sigh and walked over to her window to pull the curtains wide open. It has been three months since Stefan and Klaus left to find a werewolf pack to turn into hybrids and it seemed like they hadn't had much luck yet.

Elena still talked with Stefan on the phone and over text very often, she even started trading texts and some calls with Klaus, which surprised her. She actually liked talking to Klaus, he had almost the same dark humor as her and he had seen so much history that it was unbelievable. One of the things that had resulted in her texting and talking to Klaus was that he asked her to call him Nik, which she gladly accepted, seeing as how the whole Klaus thing made her think of Santa.

She had also visited Finn, in whatever place he was in, three times since the sacrifice. The first time it happened after the sacrifice, Finn was so happy to see her that her grabbed her around the waist and spun her around. They usually spent their time talking about non-personal stuff and whatever else came to mind.

Elena smiled as she walked up to her wardrobe when her phone pinged to indicate a new text message.

Stefan:

Tennessee is sooooo boring :C

Stefan:

Sympathy, Elena, sympathy!

Stefan:

Next time you want sympathy from me, I'll remind you of this conversation >:(

Elena chuckled at the last text as she placed her chosen outfit on the bed. A black top with a criss crossing plunging neckline, maroon colored skinny jeans, black combat boots and a black leather jacket matched with a simple black choker.

She took a quick shower and put on some eyeliner and mascara, then she quickly put on her clothes before starting to make her way to the kitchen. Before she got far, she decided to wake her brother up so he didn't sleep the entire day.

As she walked into her little brothers' room, she couldn't help but smile at the peaceful picture he made as he slept and she really hated to have to wake him, but needs must and all...

"Aaahh!" Jeremy groaned as Elena pulled the curtains up to let the sun in. "Early. Bad!"

"You're adorable Jere and I wish I could let you sleep." Elena smiled at him. "But you can't sleep the entire day away."

"Maybe I could if you pulled the curtains down again." Jeremy mumbled hopefully.

"Aim high, little brother, aim high." Elena chuckled as she walked out of the room.

Elena pulled out her phone to call Caroline, hoping against hope that she wasn't doing what Elena thought she was doing. "What are you doing?"

"Just shopping for the party you're trying to bail out on." Caroline hummed.

"I never said yes in the first place." Elena groaned as she walked down the stairs.

"You were never going to which is why I planned it anyway." The laughter in Caroline's voice was obvious.

"But... but..." Elena tried to come up with a good argument as she walked into the kitchen where she saw Alaric making coffee.

"Come on, Elena!" Caroline mock whined.

"Fine, but were having it in the boarding house." Elena decided with a huff even as she smiled at Alaric.

"Yes!" Caroline whooped loudly, "Bring Jeremy and we'll meet at the boarding house."

"Wait, Caroline, just... keep tonight small. Please?" Elena pleaded.

"Wear something pretty." Caroline sing songed as she hung up.

"Ugh." Elena groaned as she put her phone in her pocket.

"You don't want the party then?" Alaric chuckled at her.

"Both yes and no." Elena sighed. "And I would love to have a party as long as it's just pack and family, you know?"

"I understand." Alaric nodded with a small smile.

"By the way, how's Jenna?" Elena asked. "I haven't seen her in a while."

"She's stressing over some assignment." Alaric told her. "She tried to explain it to me but I didn't understand anything. She asked me to tell you that she's sorry she can't be here for your birthday and that she'll make it up to you."

"Can you tell her we love her and we know she can do anything she sets her mind to?" Elena murmured as a yawning Jeremy walked into the kitchen.

"Absolutely." Alaric nodded.

"Thanks." Elena grabbed Jeremy and pulled him towards the door.

"Hey Elena!" Alaric called out. "Happy Birthday."

Elena laughed, "Thanks."

As the Gilbert siblings arrived at the boarding house, the first thing Jeremy did was walk into the kitchen to get something to eat, while Elena walked into the parlor to get some bourbon.

"Good morning." Damon spoke up from behind her.

"Hey Damon, I was..." Elena turned around and froze. Damon was standing behind her completely naked with a smirk on his face.

"You should learn to knock." Damon's smirk deepened. "What if I was indecent?"

"Ha! I knew it!" Elena started to do a happy dance.

"Knew what?" Damon frowned.

"That you and Enzo were making the beast with two backs, bumping uglies, doing the horizontal tango, bow chicka wow wow, doing the frick frack...." Elena trailed off with a big smirk. "Do you need me to continue?"

"No we don't, gorgeous." Enzo laughed as he came up to them, holding out a towel to Damon.

"And you don't care?" Damon asked hesitantly, worried that she would be disgusted.

"Are you both happy?" Elena looked at them.

"Yes." Enzo didn't even think before he answered.

"Happier than I've ever been." Damon admitted quietly.

"Then that is all that matters." Elena pulled both of them into a hug.

"Lena, why are you hugging a clothed Enzo and a half naked Damon?" Jeremy asked a few minutes later as he walked into the parlor eating a sandwich.

"Because they just gave me the best birthday present." Elena laughed as she pulled back from them.

"Okay then." Jeremy shrugged and turned to the two men. "You two coming to Elena's birthday party?"

"It's going to be here, isn't it, so we really don't have a choice, do we?" Damon mock huffed, but the twinkle in his eyes gave away the happiness he was feeling.

XOXOXOX

Elena, Jeremy, Caroline and Tyler are at the boarding house, fixing it up for the party.

"Tyler, where is Mason?" Elena asked as she took some napkins from Caroline. "I haven't seen him in a while."

"He has been staying with mom and avoiding Damon since he walked in on Damon and Enzo." Tyler shrugged.

"I didn't take Mason as being homophobic." Jeremy said as he walked in carrying a box.

"He's not." Tyler told them softly. "But I think he was half in love with Damon and got his heart broken when he found out about Damon and Enzo."

"Oh, that's a bit sad." Elena looked down. "Should I go and talk to him? Would that help?"

"Wait another two or three days and if he hasn't come back around by then you can go and talk to him, Alpha." Tyler advice slowly. "I think he's just licking his wounds and binge drinking."

"Is everyone going to keep the whole 'Alpha' thing going?" Elena groaned.

"Yes!" Jeremy, Caroline and Tyler chorused and then they high fived.

"I hate you all." Elena mock grumbled.

"No you don't." Jeremy piped up brightly as he kissed her on the cheek.

"I should get home to get my clothes for tonight." Elena laughed as she made her way towards the door.

"I'll come with you." Caroline bounced after her. "The boys can handle the rest."

As Caroline drove them towards the Gilbert house Elena called Bonnie on speaker.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" Bonnie said as soon as she picked up.

"Thanks Bon." Elena laughed.

"So how is the birthday girl?" Bonnie asked with a chuckle.

"I'm fine if a bit worried for tonight." Elena said as she looked at Caroline with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't have to worry about anything." Caroline defended.

"Hey, Care." Bonnie had a smile in her voice. "You managed to convince Elena about the party, I hear."

"She didn't convince me about anything." Elena protested. "She just basically sprung the party on my innocent unsuspecting self."

The car was quiet for a while until both Caroline and Bonnie burst out laughing. Elena crossed her arms over her chest and mock pouted, "Rude."

Caroline and Elena talked with Bonnie for a while longer until they reached Elena's house.

"There is something I need to talk to you guys about when I get home." Bonnie said, sounding a little worried.

"You know you can tell us anything, Bonnie." Elena insisted.

"I know, but this is big." Bonnie murmured. "Anyway, I hope you both have a great time tonight and I'm sorry I can't be there."

"We'll party for you to, Bonnie." Caroline chuckled as they hung up.

A few hours later Elena stood in front of the mirror in Stefan's room, looking at her outfit; long-sleeved mesh shirt, a sparkling gold skirt and black pumps. Caroline had done her make up in gold and black to match.

"You look good, gorgeous." Enzo piped up from behind her as he and Damon walked in.

"Thank you." Elena smiled, then she frowned at the small boxes that they were holding. "I think I remember telling you not to get me anything expensive."

"I didn't." Enzo denied at the same time as a smirking Damon said, "I didn't buy anything."

"Did you steal me something?" Elena looked at Damon with her head tilted to the side.

"No, I found it." Damon held out the box in his hand to her.

"My armband!" Elena gasped as Damon opened the box. "I thought I'd never see it again after Kathrine stole it."

"Alaric found it in his loft." Damon pulled it out and helped her put it on. "I thought it would make you happy to have it back."

"It does make me happy." Elena smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you."

"My turn." Enzo smiled and opened the box in his hand and held it out to Elena.

"Oh, they are beautiful." Elena gasped. Inside the box there was Gold Plated Black Cubic Zirconia CZ Drop Earrings. "They look very expensive, though."

"They weren't." Enzo murmured. "They used to belong to my mother."

"And you're giving them to me?" Elena asked shocked.

"It's not like I'm ever going to have children and well..." Enzo shifted a little awkwardly. "You did save my life and my sanity."

"Thank you." Elena slowly pulled the earrings put of the box and put them on.

"Shall we?" Damon offered her his right arm as Enzo offered his left.

Elena laughed and grabbed their arms and together they walked out of Stefan's room. When they came down the stairs the party was in full swing and as they walked past some people in the hallway one of the girls called out to her, "Hey Elena! Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks." Elena called back as they continued to walk into the living room to see that it was filled with people.

"Oh, hey, hey, hey, hey. You don't want that." Damon grabbed an expensive bottle of bourbon from a girl walking past, then he compelled her. "You want the cheap young stuff over by the cheap young people."

Elena laughed at him as the girl walked away and Caroline came over to them with a bounce in her step.

"Do you like it?" Caroline asked but quickly changed her mind. "Don't answer that."

"This is keeping it small?" Elena asked as Caroline just kept smiling. "What are we drinking?"

Caroline grabbed her arm and pulled her away. They spent around forty-five minutes just dancing and laughing until Elena felt the need to take a break. She walked out on the porch to get some fresh air when she saw Damon, Alaric and Enzo talking and decided to walk over to them.

"Hello Birthday Girl!" Damon greeted her.

"Hi." Elena smiled and stole the glass out of Damon's hand to take a sip.

Elena spent some time talking with the three of them before she walked inside again and made her way to Damon's room.

"This room's off limits!" Caroline called out from the bathroom.

"Caroline?" Elena walked into the bathroom to see Caroline holding a blood bag.

"Sorry, I just needed to take a break." Caroline smiled at her and put the bag down. "Are you hiding?"

"Looking for you, actually." Elena chuckled. "I thought it might be time for cake."

"Absolutely." Caroline beamed, then she gestured to the empty blood bag. "I just need a little more..."

"Would it help if you had a few sips straight from the vein?" Elena asked softly.

"Yeah, but I don't want to make people look at you oddly when they see the marks." Caroline mumbled a little embarrassed.

"That's easily fixed." Elena smiled. "You can either take from my arm and I'll just change into another shirt or you can take from my thigh."

"The arm would be best, I think." Caroline said slowly. "There is a risk that I'll take too much if I take from the artery in your thigh."

"Arm it is." Elena pulled off her shirt and held out her arm to Caroline.

"Thank you, Elena." Caroline murmured as she bit into Elenas arm, in the middle of her upper arm.

After Caroline was done feeding and they had wrapped Elena's arm, Elena walked over to Damon's closet and pulled out a black button up, which she put on and tied under her breasts.

"How is Stefan, by the way?" Caroline asked.

"Last I spoke to him he was actually enjoying being a ripper without the black outs and the guilt." Elena smiled.

"I'm happy for him." Caroline smiled as they walked down to the party again, then she smirked. "And how is Klaus?"

"Why do you ask in that tone of voice?" Elena looked at her best friend.

"Well, he's gorgeous, tall, with the most adorable dimples, your words, and a killer accent" Caroline kept smirking.

"So what?" Elena asked.

"So get your flirt on girl!" Caroline wiggled her eyebrows at her. "And climb him like a tree!"

Before a blushing Elena could say anything, her phone rang. 'Saved by the bell!' Elena thought to herself. "I need to take this."

"You can run, but you can't hide." Caroline called after her as she walked out on the porch to answer.

"Thanks for saving me from a very awkward conversation." Elena said as she picked up the call.

"You're welcome, love." Klaus chuckled from the other end. "We called to which you a happy birthday."

"Thank you." Elena assumed the 'we' Klaus was referring to meant him and Stefan. Elena heard a pained shout in the background of wherever Klaus and Stefan were in Tennessee. "You two having fun?"

"We are, actually." Klaus laughed. "Stefan is playing 'Truth or Wolfsbane' with his new friend and I'm drinking pretty good bourbon."

"Sounds like a blast." Elena laughed softly, "I'm sort of jealous."

"Why?" Stefan's voice sounded. "Didn't you enjoy your party?"

"Caroline promised me a small get together, Stefan." Elena grumbled. "This is not a small get together, this is a collage frat house party!"

"Oh, poor, poor, Elena." Stefan mocked her.

"Yes, you should pity me or who knows what will happen to all your hair products while you are gone." Elena sing songed back mock innocently.

Klaus burst out into a roaring laugh as the threat, "Thanks for the laugh, love, but we need to go now. Have a nice evening, love."

"Bye and have fun with your game and your bourbon." Elena smiled as she hung up the phone.

Elena saw Alaric walking towards his car with Damon and Enzo and decided that if Alaric was going home, she would ask him to drop her off at the Gilbert resident.

As she walked into her room half an hour later, she saw the birthday card from Jeremy on her bed and she smiled. He must have put it there when he went home to change before the party. Elena laughed as she read the text on the card;

She placed the card on her bedside table and walked into the bathroom to wash off her make up and brush her teeth. When she was done, she crawled into bed, sent a text to Caroline explaining where she went and the she shut of the light and fell asleep.