Journey To The Past [Sequel to At The Beginning]

Chapter 81

Gilbert Residence
That night Cassie went and slept over Elena's house at Stefan's request. HE figured Elena may need her best friend considering Cassie was also the only one privy to Katherine's information. At around 3:30am, Elena awakened from her sleep when she heard a noise coming from inside the house. She looked to her left to see Cassie sound asleep. Her bedroom door was slightly ajar. Elena laid back down, turned over in her bed, and shut her eyes. In the bathroom, a towel was rustled by movement. Jonas appeared in the doorway, looking at Elena.
Elena and Cassie both jolted out of bed, when they heard a door slamming loudly. They both sat up in her bed. "What the hell was that?" Cassie asked with a hand over her heart. Elena shrugged. Jonas quickly disappeared from the bathroom. Elena and Cassie got out of bed and slowly walked across her room. Elena quietly opened her ajar door and walked out onto the landing with Cassie right behind her. Elena looked around the landing for anything suspicious while Cassie quietly approached Jeremy's room, looking in through his ajar door. Suddenly, Elena heard a noise from behind her. She gasped and spun around and then Cassie did the same.
Both girls eyes landed on Alaric, shirtless and in his boxers, who had also been startled by Elena's unexpected appearance on the landing. Elena, Cassie and Alaric all tried to catch their breath after the scare. "Elena. Cassie." He said in surprise. Alaric lowered the ice cream bowl he's carrying towards his nether region. "We heard something." Cassie said as she averted her eyes. Alaric chuckled nervously. Elena avoided his gaze, embarrassed. Jenna walked up the stairs, wearing Alaric's shirt. Cassie smirked at Jenna's disheveled appearance as Jenna ran her hand through her hair, embarrassed as well. "That was us. I'm sorry." Jenna said with a shy smile. "We didn't think anyone else was up." Alaric said with a coy expression. "But here you are." Jenna said with a light chuckle. "We were just-" Alaric began to stutter.
Meanwhile in Elena's bedroom, Jonas pulled out a handkerchief and collected some of Elena's hair from her brush. Jonas also grabbed some of Cassie's jewelry and placed it in the handkerchief. He folded the handkerchief and placed it in his coat pocket.
Back on the landing, Jenna and Alaric try to explain the situation to Elena, but are failing in their attempt. Alaric sighs and holds out the ice cream bowl to Elena and Cassie. "Chunky Monkey?" Alaric asked the girls. The girls looked at each other and stifled their laughter. "Well..." Alaric said through a chuckle. "I'm naked. So I'm gonna go." Alaric said quickly, walked past Elena and Cassie, into Jenna's bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Elena and Cassie started to walk back towards her room. Jenna, embarrassed, walked up the remainder of the stairs. "I'm really, really sorry girls." Jenna said sincerely. Elena and Cassie turned around when they reached her doorway. "It's okay, Jenna, don't worry about it." Elena assured her. "I know he's been staying over a lot. Are you- are you sure it's okay?" Jenna asked, genuinely asking for permission. "Seems like things are good." Cassie said with a smile. "They're extremely good." Jenna said not being able to contain her smile. She was glowing with happiness. "Then I'm extremely okay with it." Elena said with complete honesty.
Jonas was still in Elena's bedroom; grabbed a picture of Elena in her cheerleading uniform, placed it inside his jacket, and left the room quickly. Jenna, Cassie and Elena exchanged good nights, smiled at each other and went back to their respective rooms. The girls got back into Elena's bed. Jonas quietly hid in the bathroom, waiting for Elena to shut her eyes while Cassie faced the other way. Elena curled up in her blankets and drifted off to sleep. Jonas headed out of the bathroom, stopped and took Elena's hand mirror, before he exited, he placed the mirror in the waistband of his pants. He exited the bathroom, walked onto the landing, descended the stairs, and exited the house without a soul knowing he was there.