Emily looked up from her notebook when she heard Mr. Saltzman speak up as soon as he walked into his history class filled with students. "Okay, this week we're gonna set outside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founders' Day," Mr. Saltzman told the class. "Apparently the community leaders feel it's more important than World War 2 but hey, what do I know?"
"Sorry, I'm late," a voice spoke quickly from the opened door. Emily glanced up to the doorway and her eyes widened once she saw it was Bonnie Bennett. Emily was surprised that Bonnie was back, but she was also happy she was. Emily hadn't spoken to Bonnie since Grams' funeral.
"Well, it looks like we will be at full occupancy today," Mr. Saltzman said once he saw the brown eyed girl. "Welcome home, Bonnie," the history teacher smiled softly at the young girl.
Bonnie nodded and quickly moved to her seat, which was right next to Emily, Elena, and Stefan. As soon as Bonnie turned towards her, Emily smiled brightly at her friend as did Elena. But once Bonnie's eyes reached Stefan's, her smile quickly vanished and looked to the front of the class.
Emily's eyes furrowed in confusion, so she quickly closed over at her sister and best friend, who was just as confused as she was. She thought Bonnie was okay with Stefan after everything that the four went through. But she knew for one thing, she was going to figure the reason for Bonnie to ignore the younger Salvatore.
Emily and Elena were walking outside of school when Emily spotted someone she needed to speak to. "Bonnie!" Emily called out to the Bennett witch when she finally saw her outside of school. Every time Emily or Elena tried to talk to her, she would always make up an excuse to get away from the Gilbert sisters.
"Hey," Bonnie mumbled out when she saw who called out to her, before continuing to walk quickly.
Emily quickly jogged closer to Bonnie, "I tried to grab you after class but you were already gone," Emily told her friend. "How are you holding up?" Emily questioned softly, "how's your family?"
Bonnie shrugged, "we're dealing, it's been hard."
Emily gave Bonnie a small smile, "well, I for one have missed you so much."
Bonnie gave Emily a small smile before glancing over at the worried Elena, "yeah, I just had so much to deal with after Grams' funeral and, honestly after Elena told me the tomb spell failed, I just didn't want to come back."
"I hope you understand why I called," Elena spoke up for the first time. "I wanted you to know before you came home."
Bonnie nodded her head lightly, "I understand why. I just wish I didn't know."
It was silent for a moment before Elena tried to speak to her friend again, "I know it's been really hard-"
But before Elena could finish, Caroline jumped in and interrupted the younger twin. "Bonnie!" Caroline yelped in excitement. "Bonnie! Thank God you're home!" Caroline exclaimed before pulling Bonnie into a tight hug. "I know we talked everyday but I missed you."
Emily quickly glanced over towards Elena and saw that she was just as shocked as Emily. She thought Bonnie didn't want to speak to anyone, but she had spoken to Caroline everyday, meaning she just didn't want to talk to the Gilbert sisters. Knowing that Bonnie didn't want to talk to her or Elena made Emily a bit upset, but she could understand. She and Elena both forced the vampire world in her life and when she did get apart of it, it killed her Grams. Emily just wished Bonnie would have explained to her that she needed a break.
"How are you doing?" Caroline asked Bonnie softly.
"Better. Better," Bonnie nodded her head. "You know, glad to be back and trying to keep myself busy."
"Well, I can help with that," Caroline smiled brightly. "Major wardrobe confab needed ASAP," Caroline exclaimed. "You need to help me pick up the perfect dress for the Founders' court."
"The Founders' court? Did I miss something?" Elena questioned confused.
Emily's eyes widened, "please tell me you're joking, Lena." Once Elena shook her head, Emily rolled her eyes and explained, "Miss Mystic Falls!"
Caroline nodded her head, "they announced it today and you, Emily, and I are on it," Caroline told the younger sister.
"Oh, my God!" Elena's eyes finally widened, realizing what they were talking about. Elena glanced over at her sister, "we signed up for that so long away... I completely forgot."
Caroline scoffed with a chuckle, "yeah." She looked at Elena seriously, "so, are you dropping out then?"
Elena stood silent for a moment before looking down and shaking her head, "I can't."
"No?" Caroline questioned in confusion.
"Her mom is the one who wanted her to enter," Bonnie explained to Caroline while looking at the two Gilbert sisters with soft eyes.
Emily linked her arms with Elena's and squeezed it gently while giving her sister a small smile. She knew that Elena was saddened about the fact that their mother wouldn't get to see the two girls at the Miss Mystic Falls. Emily remembered that it was their mother's pride and joy, so she would happily make her mother proud.
Emily made her towards the football field, where saw the football team practicing. She looked closely until she finally saw the number one jersey, the one she was looking for. Emily leaned against the fence and waited for Tyler to notice her. It didn't take long for the football team to start whispering about the head cheerleader watching them practice. Finally, Tyler glanced over to her before whispering something to the football players. He then jogged towards and took his helmet off.
"How's the face?" Emily questioned with a smirk from where Matt laid a good punch.
Tyler rolled his eyes at the brunette, "my face is perfect like always."
"Sure it is, Ty," Emily chuckled. "Can you please do me a huge favor?" Emily begged her friend.
"What do you need?" Tyler faked huffed.
Emily pushed Tyler's shoulder before stating, "will you be escort for Miss Mystic Falls?"
Tyler placed his hand under is chin, "mmm, I don't know. Maybe if you asked nicely," Tyler smirked over at his best friend.
Emily rolled her eyes and sighed, "fine." She took a deep breath and smiled at the smirking football player, "Tyler Lockwood, would you do me the honor and being my escort?"
Tyler smirked before smiling and pulling Emily into a sweaty hug, "I would be honored to, Emmie."
Emily pushed Tyler off of her, "you stink, Ty." She pointed towards her friend, "you better not stink later for dance practice."
Tyler held his hands up in innocence, "I promise I will smell my best."
Emily chuckled, "now get back to football, you guys sucks," Emily smirked at her friend before walking off the field. Emily always knew that she could count on her best friend, Tyler. He could be a jackass sometimes, but he was always there for her no matter what.
"This year's queen will have the special honor of taking stage at the hundred and fiftieth Founders' Day Gala," Mrs. Lockwood spoke to the older Gilbert girl. Emily was sitting straight in a seat in the Founder's' Hall with the mayor's wife and two important women in Mystic Falls. To be Miss Mystic Falls the contestants have to go through an interview to decide who deserves it more. "Before we crown our winner, we'd like to get to know a little bit more about each of you," Mrs. Lockwood spoke with a bright smile.
Emily smiled at the three women before answering confidently, "I run the student council at Mystic Falls High School, which helps out with all the fundraisers in our town, school functions, and anything to help the community." Emily took a quick pause before continuing, "My mother, Miranda Gilbert, was proud to be a volunteer in Mystic Falls and she cherish being apart of the Miss Mystic Falls organization. I want to make my mother proud and stand up what she believed in for this town. She believed that we should all come together in community, honor, and family. She was proud to be apart of this town, so I hope I can do her justice in her memory."
"Honor your partner," Mrs. Lockwood instructed the couples in the middle of Mystic Falls High School cafeteria. Emily stood straight across from her best friend, Tyler Lockwood, with his mother watching the couple closely. Emily bowed her head towards the dark haired boy who did the same, but with a small smirk. "Let's focus. Right hand around," Mrs. Lockwood instructed. Emily listened, and placed her right hand beside her face while staring at Tyler. "Flirt with your eyes," Mrs. Lockwood continued. Emily couldn't help but laugh as quiet as she could when Tyler began to wiggle his eyebrows at her. Emily knew the dance like the back of her hand, so she decided to have some of her own fun. Each couple moved closer to each other and began to walk around each other with their right hand up. Emily smiled up at her friend and fluttered her green eyes at the dark haired boy, causing Tyler to laugh quietly. "Left hand round," Mrs. Lockwood commanded after a moment.
"You know your mom has been staring at us the whole time?" Emily whispered quietly towards Tyler once they switched hands.
Tyler glanced over to the older women quickly, and in fact, his mother was keeping a close eye on them. Tyler chuckled lowly, "mayor's son and Mystic Falls' darling daughter, she thinks we would make the perfect couple."
"Both hands," Mrs. Lockwood instructed.
"You couldn't handle me, Ty," Emily smirked at her best friend while lifting up both of her hands and continue to move around each other slowly.
"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Mrs. Lockwood yelped loudly, causing everyone to stop dancing and look over towards the mayor's wife. Emily couldn't help but laugh when she saw who Mrs. Lockwood was scolding, it was Stefan and Elena. "There's no touching during this part," Mrs. Lockwood told the couple, "it's about the simple intimacy of the near touch." Mrs. Lockwood looked at the couples before smiling at her son and his best friend, "very nice, Emily!"
Emily smiled at the older women, "thank you, Mrs. Lockwood."
"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood," Tyler imitated Emily's happy voice with a smirk.
"Shut up," Emily pushed on Tyler's shoulder with a chuckle before the couple continued to follow to Mrs. Lockwood's instructions.
"Thanks for doing this with me, I know you aren't the dancing type," Emily told Tyler once the dance class was finished for the day.
Tyler shrugged while taking a big gulp of water, "it was no problem." Tyler smirked, "my mom will be happy that I'm getting closer to Mystic Falls' darling child."
"Don't give her any ideas," Emily laughed at her friend.
"She had that idea since we were four years old and I brought you home," Tyler explained with a chuckle.
Emily was about to speak, but she saw Elena and Stefan waiting for her, so she turned back to Tyler's dark eyes with a smile, "I need to get going, but I will soon with a suit, Mr. Lockwood," Emily smirked.
"And I will see you a dress, Mrs. Gilbert," Tyler smirked at the green eyed girl before walking away and towards his smiling mother.
Emily chuckled when she saw Mrs. Lockwood still smiling once Tyler walked up to her. Emily quickly jogged up to Elena and Stefan with a smirk, "you guys seemed to have fun today."
Elena chuckled and linked her arms with her sister before smirking, "you and Tyler look like you are getting closer," Elena hinted.
Emily glanced over at Stefan and noticed that he was looking at the ground with a clenched jaw, Emily's eyes furrowed but decided not to think anything of it and turned to her sister with an eye roll, "you know Tyler and I are only ever going to be friends."
"Whatever you say, Emmie," Elena joked.
The trio began to walk away from the school cafeteria, but they stopped once they say who walked through the door. Emily could feel the tension as soon as they laid eyes on the dark eyed girl, so she tried to fix it, "Hey, Bonnie," Emily smiled warmly at the girl.
"Hey," Stefan finally spoke up with a small smile, "how are you?" But Bonnie didn't say anything. All she did was stare at Stefan with a frown before moving her eyes over towards the Gilbert sisters with a blank stare.
Tired of the silence, Caroline who stood next to Bonnie, decided to quickly speak up, "I begged Bonnie to fill in for Matt, he had to work today."
It was of course silent once Caroline spoke, but Elena decided to try with her friend. "Bonnie, do you have a minute?" Elena asked softly.
Bonnie stared at the younger sister before speaking, "we only have 30 minutes for rehearsal."
Emily knew that Bonnie was only making an excuse up, so she decided to help her sister out, "it'll only take a minute, I promise," Emily smiled at the Bennett witch.
Bonnie stared the green eyed girl with soft eyes, she decided to at least hear her out, so she nodded her head before moving towards the side of the large cafeteria.
Emily thought maybe Bonnie would talk to her more, so she decided to start. "Bonnie, what's wrong?" it didn't take a genius to find out that Bonnie was avoiding the Gilbert sisters.
"It's not worth talking about," Bonnie shrugged.
Elena looked at Bonnie in confusion, "what do you mean, not worth it?" Elena paused while glancing over at her sister before turning back to Bonnie, "you barely said ten words to either of us and you won't even look at Stefan." As soon as Bonnie looked away from Elena's brown eyes once she spoke Stefan's name, Elena realized the problem. "Is that what it is? Is it Stefan?" Elena questioned.
Bonnie sighed after a moment of silence between the three girls. "Listen. Elena, I can't pretend that everything's okay." Bonnie glanced over at the older sister for a second before continuing, "everything my Grams did was to protect us from those vampires in the tomb. And now they're out which means she died for nothing."
Emily sighed sadly, she really felt bad for Bonnie. She didn't even want to be involved in anything that had to with vampires. But she did it because Elena and Emily asked her to. And now that Bonnie knew that the spell didn't work, it felt like that Grams died for nothing, just be in danger with the tomb vampires. Emily looked at Bonnie with soft green eyes, "I'm really sorry that happened, Bonnie."
Elena nodded quickly, "what can I do to make it better?" Elena questioned desperately.
Bonnie looked over at Emily with a barely noticeable smile before turning to the younger sister with a sigh, "that's just it. There's nothing you can do." Bonnie paused, "I blame him, Elena, him and Damon," Bonnie glanced at both sisters before continued, "and I'm not gonna put either of you in a situation where you have to choose sides. I'm just having a hard time with it, okay?"
Emily stared at the dress that has been on the back of her closet door since the day she bought it. It was a simple but beautiful strapless red dress with a silver beading around the waist. Emily remembered when she and Elena signed up for the Miss Mystic Falls, as soon as they did, the two sisters and their mother headed straight to the dress shop. Emily thought it was weird to get the dress a year before the actual event, but her mother explained that she wasn't going to find the perfect dress the first around, and she was right, it took the twins four months for them to find their dresses, after visiting the stores on the weekends with their mother. While Emily went for a red dress, Elena went for a silk blue dress, their father would joke about how they were opposites but everyone knew that the two girls were a lot alike.
Emily softly grabbed the red dress from the hanger in her closet and carefully placed it into a long black bag before placing her heels and jewelry into her large purse. Emily glanced around the room, to make sure she had everything, before making her way down the wooden stairs. Once Emily reached the bottom of the stairs, she looked up and saw Elena and Alaric talking. "Hey," Emily called out before looking over the vampire hunter in a nice suit, "are you our ride?"
Alaric nodded before asking, "do you want me to take that for you?" He pointed towards the things her arms.
Emily looked down at the things in her arms that felt like were going to slip before taking a thankful sigh and handed over the bag to Alaric who was already holding onto the younger twin's bag, "you are life saver."
"Alaric," a voice spoke up. Emily glanced over Elena's shoulder and saw that it uncle John. "hey buddy, what are you doing here?" John questioned the history teacher in confusion.
"Well, I'm the chauffeur," Alaric explained.
"I thought I was driving," John said while glancing over at Emily and Elena.
"No need," Jenna called out to the man she despised while walking down the stairs, "we're going with Ric." Jenna looked over at Alaric with a small smile.
"Are we ready?" Elena questioned once she saw aunt.
Jenna nodded and opening the front door to let the sisters passed by before turning back to John, "Jeremy can ride with you."
Emily was looking into one of the many vanity mirrors that sat on a white table top in the Founder's' Hall while putting the finishing touches to her red lips. She sat the lipstick down and looked into the mirror with a bright smile, Emily's makeup was absolutely perfect with her red colored lips, rosy cheeks, and smokey eye shadow. Emily felt like nothing could go wrong today, the only thing that mattered to her was to make her mother proud.
"Thanks for helping me," Elena interrupted the silence that took up the room. She glanced into the large mirror and back at the strawberry blonde, who was doing her long brown hair into medium curls.
Jenna chuckled and continued to curl Elena's hair slowly, "don't thank me until you're sure your hair isn't gonna burn off."
"You know, I remember when mom and us were first applying to this, she was so excited," Elena spoke after a moment of silence.
"We all were excited, at the time," Emily told her sister when she twirled in her chair to face Elena with a small smile adoring her face.
Elena nodded, "it was. She made it sound like so much fun." Elena glanced over at her sister, "you were into it just as much as mom was." Elena shook her head while looking down at her fingers that laid in her lap, "but, a lot has changed since then."
Emily reached over and grabbed Elena's hand with a small smile, "it's okay not to be okay right now. Mom always spoke about this day, but now she's not here, it doesn't feel right, I know," Emily explained to Elena.
"I hate to break it to you, but it's a little late for cold feet," Jenna told the younger sister, since Elena was the one hesitating unlike Emily, who was excited to participate the Miss Mystic Falls.
Elena shook her head, "I don't have cold feet." She glanced over at Emily with a small nod, "Emily's right. I just... I think I'd be enjoying it a lot more if she was here."
"She would be proud of you for sticking it out," Emily told her twin sister.
Jenna stared at the two girls with sorrow in her eyes before finally regaining her voice and spoke, "well I tell you one thing, your hair would have a better chance if she was."
Emily looked over at the strawberry blonde that was welding the extremely hot wand with wide green eyes, "maybe you should put that down before you burn yourself or us," Emily joked while Jenna rolled her eyes at the older sister.
Elena chuckled before standing from the chair, "we should probably go put our dresses on," Elena exclaimed and grabbed Emily from her chair before the two sisters made their way out of the room.
The two Gilbert sisters made their way through the large building with smiles on their faces before they reached the room where all the dresses were stored. Emily's face twitched in confusion when she saw one of the contestants, Amber, pacing up and down the room. "Hey, Amber," Emily called out to get the blonde's attention before speaking softly, "are you okay?"
Amber looked up to see the cheerleading captain staring up at her in worry, with Elena close by and the same worried expression. Amber shook her head with a small chuckle while continuing to pace the small room, "I hate being the center of attention. I get panic attacks."
Emily removed herself from her twin sister before slowly walking up to the blonde and grabbed her arm softly, to stop Amber's pacing, "do you want to talk?" Emily asked the girl carefully not to freak her out more than she already was.
Amber looked at the older sister with a grateful smile, "thanks. But," Amber chuckled in nervousness, "I think I just need some air." Amber gave the two Gilbert sisters one last smile before dashing out of the room.
"Poor girl," Emily commented with the shake of her head before moving to a large closet in the corner to find her red dress while Elena saw her dress leaning against a tall mirror.
"Hey," Elena gasped. "You can't be here," Elena told the blue eyed vampire.
Emily glanced behind her when she heard her sister speak, she rolled her eyes when she saw it was the older Salvatore brother. "What are you doing here, Damon?" Emily questioned.
"We need to talk," Damon told the two girls with full seriousness.
"Does it have to be right now?" Elena questioned softly while holding her blue dress in hand, to make a point.
Damon moved closer towards Elena before speaking, "normally I would have a completely different outlook of what I'm about to tell you, but since it could really inconvenience me, I'll squeal."
Emily moved closer to the duo and looked at Damon in confusion, "what's going on, Damon?"
Damon paused before spilled out the truth, "Stefan's still drinking human blood."
"What?" Elena breathed out.
Emily's eyes widened, "are you serious?" Emily was in shock, she knew that Stefan was having problems but she thought it was because he was having withdraws, but in reality he was drinking blood like he was Damon.
Damon nodded, "yeah. A month ago, I would have rejoiced but with the council back on the alert, it is not good time for Stefan to fly off the handle."
"I know he's been a little edgy, but he said that was normal," Elena tried to explain to older Salvatore.
"He has a fridge full of stolen blood bank contraband in the house," Damon stated.
"Oh my God," Elena gasped before she took a seat on one of the couches.
"He has no idea what normal is," Damon continued, "his entire existence isn't normal. Normal to a vampire is drinking human blood, but he spent all this time fighting it, when he should have been learning to control it and now it's controlling him instead."
Emily shook her head and began to pace the small room exactly like Amber was just doing minutes ago. "This is Stefan, he's the president of self control." Emily bit her lip and looked up at Damon in nervousness, "what can we do to help him?"
Elena shook her head in denial, "this is Stefan we are talking about."
Damon looked at the older sister before focusing his blue eyes on her brown ones, "Stefan on human blood, Elena. He'll do anything, he'll say anything, because he's not gonna want to stop. Trust me," Damon explained.
"This is all my fault," Elena exclaimed before quickly jumped up from the couch and now she is the one to begin to pace. "I'm the one who fed him the blood in the first place," Elena continued.
"Elena, if you didn't do it, I would have done it," Emily confessed to her sister.
Before Elena could say anything, someone suddenly opened the door of the small room. The two sisters glanced up at the door and saw it was the vampire that they were talking about, Stefan Salvatore. "What's going on here?" Stefan questioned once he saw the seriousness on each face of the twins.
"I was just filling the girls on your extracurricular activities," Damon explained tightly to his brother.
Stefan stared at his brother with a scoff, "what are you talking about?"
Emily glanced over at her sister and noticed the shocked glassed eyes that still took over Elena's face, so she decided to speak up, "we know about the blood, Stef," Emily told her friend while crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm gonna..." Damon began, noticing the tension with the trio, "I'll be downstairs, drinking," Damon mumbled before quickly walking out of the room and closing the door.
Stefan chuckled once Damon was out of the room before stating, "I was going to tell you," Stefan stared at the green eyed girl before focusing his eyes on his girlfriend.
"When?" Elena questioned while crossing her arms over her chest, like her sister.
Stefan moved to walk closer towards Elena slowly, "I'm fine." Stefan smiled, "I'm fine, the blood, it doesn't change anything."
Emily sighed while she leaned against the window, to give the couple some space. But she couldn't just keep her mouth shut when Stefan was in trouble and he didn't want help. "It's changing you," Emily spoke softly.
"Why because I kept a secret from you?" Stefan questioned the older sister, "I don't have to tell you everything, you're not my girlfriend, Emily."
Emily sighed quietly, she decided to ignore the random pain she felt when Stefan spoke and decided to continue, "you're right, I'm not. But Elena is, and she didn't even know." Emily shook her head and looked into Stefan's green eyes sadly, "you aren't you, Stef." Emily looked over at Elena with a small smile, "I'm going to go get dressed," she exclaimed before quickly grabbing her red dress from the closet and making her way out of the room.
"Miss Tina Fell, escorted by Bartholomew Whitmore," mayor Lockwood spoke at the bottom of the staircase before the brunette made her way down the stairs in her long pink dress.
"Has anyone seen Amber?" Mrs. Lockwood quickly asked as soon as she walked up towards the remaining girls.
Emily looked at the mayor's wife in confusion, "she said she needed air, but that was awhile ago," Emily explained before Mrs. Lockwood walked away.
"Do you see Stefan down there?" Elena questioned while leaning over the balcony.
Caroline leaned over the balcony and shook her head, "nope. Just my boring fill in escort," Caroline sighed.
Emily looked over at the blonde, "I thought Matt was your date."
Caroline sighed loudly, "they wouldn't let him out of work." Caroline looked down at the balcony before smirking over at the green eyed sister, "is that Tyler Lockwood I see as your escort?"
Emily rolled her eyes, "we're just friends, you know that," Emily told her best friend. She couldn't remember how many times she have told the whole Mystic Falls about her and Tyler's relationship.
Caroline rolled her eyes at her friend before remembering and quickly turning towards Elena with wide eyes, "wait, what happened with Stefan?"
Elena glanced over at her sister before turning back to the blonde with the shake of her head, "I don't know, he just disappeared somewhere, I don't know." Elena's eyes widened, "what am I doing? I should have never gone through with this."
"What do you mean?" Caroline questioned quietly.
"I need to find Stefan, this isn't me, I'm not this person anymore," Elena explained before trying to walk away.
Emily quickly grabbed Elena's arm and made her sister face her. "Lena, you need to calm down," Emily commanded while looking at Elena with soft green eyes. "We will find Stefan later and we will fix it. Right now, you are doing this because mom wanted this for us." Emily gave Elena a bright smile once she saw her sister calm down, "it's just for a few minutes you are going to go out there and make mom proud. Okay?"
Elena nodded her head slowly and whispered, "okay." Emily nodded and gave Elena's hand a squeeze before placing Elena beside Caroline and she stood next to her sister by the staircase.
"Miss Caroline Forbes and her escort Jeffrey Lockwood Hamilton," mayor Lockwood spoke before she gave the two sisters one last smile before gracefully making her way down the stairs to her replacement.
"Elena, you're next," Mrs. Lockwood whispered towards the younger sister, "come on."
Elena quickly looked over at her sister in nervousness, causing Emily to chuckle lowly before rubbing her sister's shoulder soothingly, "you're going to do amazing," Emily promised her sister.
Elena finally gave the confidence she needed, she gave Emily a real smile before walking towards Mrs. Lockwood. "Miss Elena Gilbert, escorted by mister Stefan Salvatore," the mayor Lockwood spoke.
"Are you ready, Emily?" Mrs. Lockwood questioned the green eyed girl once Elena was out of sight.
Emily closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her eyes and smiling at Mrs. Lockwood, "I'm ready."
"And last by not least, Miss Emily Gilbert, escorted by Tyler Lockwood," mayor Lockwood called out to the audience.
Emily took one last deep breath before slowly making her way down the staircase, she smiled once she saw the smirking face of Tyler Lockwood. "Impressive," Emily whispered to the male.
"Well I am your escort, I had to look as good as you," Tyler whispered back. Emily smiled up at the Lockwood with a tint to her pale cheeks.
Even though Emily dreamed about this moment, she was beyond nervous as soon as they walked out the front doors and were faced with all of Mystic Falls staring at them. Emily squeezed Tyler's large hand tightly, causing him to give Emily a small smile and a squeeze back. Emily was careful not to trip over her long dress while walking down the aisle of people. She took a quiet sigh when she saw Jenna smiling brightly at her along with Alaric. Emily thought back at the times when she was three and her father would place her on his large feet and dance in the living room with Frank Sinatra playing in the background, she remembered her father smiling down at her, telling her that she was anything but ordinary and she was going to achieve anything that she desired. Thinking of that memory, caused Emily to gain the confidence she needed, so she stood up straight and put on a bright smile while walking down the aisle of people.
Finally, the contestants made it to the middle of the crowd, where they would be dancing. Once they came to a stop, Emily glanced over at her sister before looking across from Elena. She was confused when she didn't see Stefan, but she saw Damon. Emily decided to focus on the dance, instead of what her vampire friend was doing. In this moment, Emily wanted to imagine that she didn't know the existence of vampires, but she wanted to imagine that her mom and dad were smiling proudly in the crowd.
Once the soft music began to play, Emily took a step forward and bowed towards Tyler, who whispered, "you're going to do great." Emily gave her friend a small, barely noticeable smile before taking a step back. Emily stood straight and as soon as the vocals began in the song, she raised her right hand and began to dance to the soft melody. Emily took a step back at the right time, before switching hands and holding up her left, she continued to dance with a proud feeling soaking up her heart. As Emily danced with Tyler, she felt like she was honoring her mother right then and there. She felt like she could feel her mother beaming at her in happiness. Emily somehow felt closer to her mother while she danced around with her best friend, knowing she was honoring her mother.
"Where is Amber?" Caroline questioned while she glanced around the stage at all the girls, but couldn't find the blonde.
Emily's brows furrowed and whispered, "I don't know."
"Before I crown the winner," mayor Lockwood spoke into the microphone once he walked on the stage, "I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." Mayor Lockwood paused for the audience to clap and cheer before he continued, "so, without further ado, it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Ms. Caroline Forbes!"
Caroline froze in her spot when she heard her name, Emily chuckled at her best friend before pulling her into a tight hug, "you deserve it!" Emily knew that Caroline wanted this with everything she had.
"Congratulations!" Elena told Caroline before pulling her into a hug.
"I actually won!" Caroline cried out in happiness.
"Get up there, Miss Mystic Falls," Emily smirked at her best friend.
Caroline squealed and pulled Emily into another hug before walking towards mayor Lockwood, who placed a white satchel around her. Emily was proud of her best friend. Even though she didn't win, she knew she lived out her mother's dream and that was all Emily needed.
Emily was speaking with Mrs. Lockwood when Elena politely excused her sister and quickly pulled her in the direction of Damon. "Did you find him?" Elena questioned Damon.
Damon pulled the two girls to the side and whispered, "there were signs of a struggle in the upstairs bathroom," Damon explained. "There was blood and that Amber girl is missing," Damon continued.
Emily's eyes widened, she didn't even think that Stefan could be hurting Amber since she was missing. Emily looked at Damon in worry, "do you think he'll hurt her?"
Damon didn't answer her question, but commanded the two girls, "come on, let's get your coats."
"Stefan!" Elena yelled out once she saw her boyfriend's mouth deep into Amber's neck while the blonde screamed for her life.
At hearing Elena's voice, Stefan pulled away from Amber and dropped her to the ground with wide eyes. "Stefan, come on, get control," Damon commanded his brother. He slowly walked towards Stefan with his hand out, "it's okay, come on. Breath through it, man." But once Damon was close enough, Stefan threw him against a tree in distress.
"Stefan! Stop it!" Elena yelled out.
Stefan ignored the voice of his girlfriend, and charged towards Damon. But before he could even move two steps, Stefan bent down in pain. Emily glanced behind her and saw that it was the Bennett witch causing the pain. She knew that this was what needed to be done, so Emily held Elena close towards her and stayed silent. Once Stefan's face returned to normal, Bonnie stopped messing with Stefan's mind. The said Salvatore began to look around at each faces in horror before Damon called out to him softly, "it's okay, Stefan." But Stefan gasped in shock once he looked over at the two Gilbert sisters, who looked afraid of him, so he ran away from the woods and away from the worried faces.
Once Stefan had left, Damon called sheriff Forbes, who arrived quickly with her deputies and an ambulance for the injured Amber. Sheriff Forbes walked over towards the blue eyed vampire, Bennett witch, and the Gilbert sisters after speaking with Amber, "she doesn't remember what happened," sheriff Forbes told Damon.
"It's a good thing the girls got here when they did," Damon told the blonde women, "she lost a lot of blood."
Sheriff Forbes nodded before turning to the three girls and asked, "you didn't see anything?"
It was a long pause when no one answered, so Emily glanced over at her sister and Bonnie and saw that they were staring at each other. To avoid suspicion, Emily decided to speak up, "we found her on the ground bleeding, so we quickly called Damon."
"Is she going to be okay?" Bonnie whispered.
"It looks like it, yeah," sheriff Forbes told Bonnie before suggesting, "why don't you girls get back to the party?" sheriff Forbes glanced over at the blue eyed male, "Damon and I can take it from here."
"Okay," Elena nodded.
The three girls began to walk away from the sheriff and the vampire. It was silent for long time before Elena spoke up softly, "Bonnie, can we talk about this?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Bonnie mumbled out while continuing to walk through the woods.
"Bonnie, please," Elena begged.
Bonnie quickly turned around and stared at the brown eyed girl, "I told you I wasn't going to make you choose, but I need to make the choice for myself." Bonnie glanced at the two girls, "please, just leave me alone," before quickly walking away.
Emily sighed once she saw Elena's sadden face. She knew Bonnie just needed time to come to terms with everything that happened. But Emily knew that Elena just wanted her best friend back, she could understand that. Emily wrapped an arm around Elena's waist and began to walk back towards the party with Elena's head on her shoulder.
The two sisters walked in silence before they stood on the front steps of the Lockwood mansion. "Are you okay?" Emily asked her sister once they came to a stop in front of the party.
Elena sighed and shook her head, "I don't want Bonnie to hate me forever and I don't know what we are going to do with Stefan."
Emily gave Elena a small smile, "Bonnie just needs time to understand that she values your friendship no matter what. just give her time, not everyone can take knowing about vampires as easily as us," Emily whispered the last part before rubbing Elena's back softly, "and about Stefan, we'll figure it out and we won't stop, we'll help Stefan, I promise."
Elena stood in silence for a moment before chuckling in disbelief, "what would I do without you? You've got me through today every time something came up."
Emily gave her sister a joking smirk, "I'm just that good." Once Elena was smiling and laughing, Emily grew serious, "I will always be there for you." Elena smiled brightly at her sister before hugging her tightly.
"Oh, good, there you guys are," Alaric called out while walking out of the Lockwood mansion when he saw the sisters, "Jenna wanted me to get the car." But as soon Alaric saw the sadden look in the younger sister's eyes, he grew serious and asked, "what happened?"
Emily sighed and moved closer to Alaric before explaining, "Stefan has gone off the rails when it comes with blood." Emily shook her head, "we don't know what to do or how to help him."
Alaric stared at the two girls for a moment before nodding his head, "I might know what you should do."
After driving to Gilbert house in silent, the two sisters quickly changed up stairs before meeting Alaric by his car, like planned. Alaric opened up his trunk and pulled out his black bag. As soon as he opened it, Emily realized it was the bag he kept the vervain darts in.
Alaric pulled one out and held it out, "you just need to push it inside of him and he will go down," Alaric explained.
Emily grabbed the vervain dart from Alaric hands before turning to Elena, "you need to do it, Lena." Once Emily saw her sister's eyes widened she grabbed her hand, "I'll be right there if you need any help," Emily promised her sister.
Elena nodded her head and grabbed the dart before pushing it in her back pocket. While Elena walked towards her car, Emily turned to Alaric with a nod, "thank you for doing this."
Alaric nodded his head, "Stefan's a good guy. I'm glad to help you and Elena even if he is a vampire."
Emily pulled Alaric into a quick hug and whispered, "you're a good guy too, Ric," before jogging towards Elena's car.
It was silent in Elena's car before Emily questioned, "can you do this?" She wanted to make sure that everything would go smoothly so they could help the younger Salvatore.
Elena was quiet for a moment before nodding her head, "I need to this. We're helping him, right?"
Emily gave Elena a small smile, "of course we are. It's going to hard, but we're helping him to get better." Emily really hoped this would work, it was their only chance to help Stefan. She wasn't going to give up no matter how hard it would get.
After a few more quiet minutes, Elena pulled up at the Salvatore boarding house. Emily gave Elena's hand a tight squeeze before they quietly made their way inside the large house. While Elena went straight up the stairs towards Stefan's bedroom, Emily headed to the living room where she saw Damon.
Damon rose an eyebrow at the older Gilbert sister, "what are you guys doing here?"
"We came up with a plan," Emily explained to Damon, "but we need your help with the heavy lifting."
Damon nodded his head in agreement. They sat in silence before Damon looked over at Emily in wonder, "why are you so worried for Stefan?"
Emily rose an eyebrow at the vampire like it was obvious, "because he's my best friend."
"Are you sure that's the reason?" Damon smirked before taking a drink of his bourbon.
Emily looked up at Damon weirdly, she didn't understand what he was getting at. "Of course that is the reason," Emily glared at the vampire.
Damon held up his hands in innocence, "I didn't say anything. It just looks like you're closer to him then just a friend."
Emily rolled her eyes, "Stefan is my sister's boyfriend and there's nothing there."
"That never stopped me," Damon smirked.
Emily rolled her eyes, "come on, we have a plan to follow through with," before she walked up the stairs and stood outside Stefan's bedroom with Damon smirking over at her. Emily was beyond confused why Damon thought that she liked Stefan more than a friend, it didn't make sense.
It was silent for a few moments, before Emily heard a heavy body drop to the ground. Emily quickly walked into the room with Damon slowly following behind. Emily headed straight for Elena who was staring at Stefan's body sadly. "Are you okay?" Emily questioned her sister. But all Elena did was wrap her arms around her sister's waist and hug her tight.
"Sure you want to do this?" Damon questioned while glancing at Stefan, who knocked out on the wooden floor.
Elena stared at her boyfriend before nodding, "I'm sure."
The two girls followed Damon while he carried Stefan down the stairs towards the Salvatore cellar. They watched Damon place Stefan against the wall before closing and locking the large door. "There's no guarantee this is going to work," Damon explained.
Emily crossed her arms over her chest, "it's the only option we have."
Damon nodded towards the older sister before making his way to the stairs, but turned around when he didn't hear any footsteps. "You coming?" Damon questioned the two girls.
Elena glanced over at Stefan through the small window before shaking her head, "I'm gonna stay here."
Damon nodded, before he moved down and sat against the hard wall. Emily nodded her head at her sister before the two sisters joined Damon and sat across from him. While Emily sat next to her sister, she couldn't help think about what Damon had said to her. Did she care and worry so much about Stefan because she had feelings for him? Was she blind for her love of Stefan?