Red Bird

I: Nothing Girl

Of course, she'd been proven wrong almost immediately. Bonnie Bennet and Elena Gilbert had done that. It was suspicious that Bonnie, being a Bennet witch, had no clue of her ancestry. But Elena . . . Reese didn't know what she felt about Elena. Her initial instinct had been to take out her phone and call him. She found his doppelganger and she hadn't even been trying.

But the cruelty about Reese Yung was that there was no middle ground with her. Elena's life didn't matter to her enough for her to spare it . . . no, what stopped her then was something else. Something Esther; this overpowering feeling in her bones that told her no. It was the pesky Raven connection — with the state Reese had left Esther in, she knew it would've taken a lot to get that through.

She did what she always did — wait.

3) She had her time here, in high school, pretending she wasn't Reese Yung — the true meaning of her name lost amongst humans, homework and partying. Three full years to create friendships built on her lies and the quiet heaviness in her stomach, reminding her that one day . . . one day, she would have to leave. Again, everything regarding Mystic Falls was a blur, including what she felt about it. Acrimony, sadness, disregard? The words rolled over her thoughts without making an impression. 

The fact of the matter was she knew this was coming; she knew Time would bring Nik and Elijah right back to her. Her coven — if she could call them that at this point — would follow closely. And her life would be back to running. 

Reese Yung had predicted every twist of the tale, except this one: 

4) She didn't think she actually wanted to leave. 

Which was incredibly ill-timed. Leading to,

5) Elena was interrogating her. A few nights ago, she'd been kidnapped, something that was progressively getting less alarming (which in itself was quite alarming) in situations Katerina was involved with. Reese, with nothing better to do, had offered her all-powerful witch help to the Salvatore brothers. But. She'd arrived late at that abandoned mansion. She was greeted by the decaying, grey body of Elijah Mikaelson, pinned to the wall by a wooden stake and Elena sparing furtive glances at her . . . 

First, of course, Reese went to her apartment and cleaned the shit out of it. Then, she received the message she was waiting for — Elena wanted to meet. 

And that led to this: 

Reese draped across the sofa, legs tangled; one hand holding her chin upright and the other in the air, a silent reminder of the magic on her fingertips. Elena, sitting stiffly in the armchair, brows knotted in and maintaining a safe distance from Reese. 

"I know you're lying," Elena said, crossing her arms. "To us. About a lot of things."

"Yes," Reese agreed. "I am. Are you surprised?" 

"I should be," Elena replied. "But at this point, I've come to expect the worst from you."

All Reese had done to the Mystic Falls gang till now was hide the fact that she was a witch. So. Dramatic. "Hm. Go on. Grant me some clarity."

"Rose said some stuff about you. A lot of stuff about you, actually. And —"

"— of course she did. Y'know, I'm like, famous in the supernatural world. Anyone who's anyone knows who I am."

Elena pursed her lips. "Yes. Elijah — the Original — is looking for you."

Reese interpreted that Elena posed that as a question of why, but Reese just grinned. "Didn't Damon stake Elijah?" 

"Yes."

"Then why the present tense?" Is-looking-for-you. Elena was smart — she would've at least theorised something by now.