My Life For Yours, tag elena

[The NPC]

JOHNATHAN GILBERT II

'It's no easy task being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child' – the haunting words of the letter John had left for Elena when he knew he was going to die to make sure she didn't die or worse, become a vampire. He'd had plenty of time to think about what he had said and there were three words he wrote that constantly rang in his head: 'I've failed you'. Despite giving up his life to make sure hers continued, he had failed as a father. He'd barely been there as an uncle, let alone been there as her father. She had been so close to Grayson, who was he to get in the way of that? Grayson and Miranda were so deserving of Elena and taken such good care of her that it made a lot of sense, at the time, for John to continue being 'uncle John'. However, then she had grown up and she wasn't exactly a stupid girl – it clearly didn't take much for her to find out about her real mother, his own name cropping up eventually, a lot later than he ever should have allowed for it to.

'I don't ask for your forgiveness or for you to forget'. Now that he was here in the Gilbert house, the words of his letter echoed in his head worse than they ever had. He put it down to this being the closest he had been to the family since he had died. His conversation with Alaric hadn't really put him at as much ease as he would have hoped, so he wondered if a conversation with Elena would settle him at all. It was her he was reluctant to see, but, at the same time, he felt he owed it to her to see her before he disappeared again, whenever that may be. 'Whether you are now reading this as a human or as a vampire, I love you all the same'. To John, it was actually surprising that Elena wasn't a vampire yet, considering the company she continued to keep. It didn't exactly sound safe for her to be a human any more. As much as he himself wouldn't have really liked the idea, as he had said that, he would still love her all the same – she was just a girl, she'd barely seen anything of the world yet.

Heading upstairs, he soon found her room, but found it to be empty. She must have still been at school – John's scope of time wasn't exactly spot on at the moment. In saying that, he only really knew what year it was and he believed that was completely by chance. It felt like he had been gone for so long. Stepping into Elena's room, he let out a soft sigh as he looked around. She didn't change – no matter the city, she didn't change, everything laid out pretty much how she had had it back in Mystic Falls. Well, whatever was comfortable for her. He imagined moving to somewhere like New York City had been a very big change for her, particularly since all she had ever really known was Mystic Falls. He moved around her room, his fingers ghosting – for the want of a better description – over various pieces of future and her belongings as he moved around. The end of the school day couldn't be that far away, then he could see Elena and see if it actually put him at any ease.

This post has been written by CHESS

[Elena Gilbert]

"Jack....I promise, the squirrel isn't going to get you..." Elena laughed, having to pull on the leash she had been holding. The young puppy of course barking at the small animal that was a mere five feet away. She smiled, shaking her head...hardly bothered as the barking continued on. She bite her lower lip, noticing a couple staring at her as they walked back, they reeked of judgment. "Jack!" Elena called, trying to make her voice a little more serious, more so than she actually felt. The puppy stopped in the next instant, that along with the fact that what he had been barking at was long gone by now. He sat down, head tilting to the side, tongue sticking out as he panted. How could she not laugh?! He was just too cute, she honestly couldn't imagine how anyone could not love the newest member of the Gilbert family.


He started up at her, waiting...excepting for more. Elena really did have a lot on her mind, everything was just crazy right now. It was always crazy....and honestly, she was getting tired of it. Anymore, she hardly had any idea what to do... a quiet sigh broke through her lips, she smiled softly. "You want to go home, huh? I think Ric might be home by now." Just saying his name alone, it certainly got the dogs attention...He jumped up, ears perked, and tail wagging. She laughed, shaking her head all the while. "Alright, alright, let's go." She really needed to remember to thank Arabelle, again. Jack was exactly what they all needed...though she was constantly worrying about the pup, he was the thing that they all needed without realizing it. Tugging on his leash, he easily fell into step with her...And not even a minuted later he had gone ahead of her... When they had left, it had just been for a walk. She needed to get out and taking him, well she didn't have the heart to leave him all alone.


On the way back, she ran...her feet made a light thud against the pavement... There was school... But well, missing one day wouldn't hurt anything. Her grades were still decent, perhaps even considered good by some standards. She was keeping up, doing better than most would in her situation. It didn't make long at all, ten minutes at most for the house to come into view. Pulling out the keys from her pocket as her pace slowed. Everything was fine, same as usual. Quiet, as expected....or so she thought. When she opened the door, letting Jack off his leash...he began to growl. "Hey...what is it? It okay. There's nothing there..." Her eyes flickered towards the window, nothing in view...and the house was too still. There was no one in here...she couldn't be paranoid all the time. There was no one here.He continued to growl and Elena could only sigh, walking away...having to ignore him, hoping that he would knock it off soon on his own.


Elena moved through the house, she contemplated looking to what they could have for dinner. Still a little early, but knowing was still good...Then there was a history paper she needed to write. She still had a couple weeks, but considering she was practically family with her history teacher....It wasn't long of course, just up the stairs and her bedroom was one of the first doors. But however, she was greeted with quite the surprise.. Stepping inside her bedroom, she instantly came to a stop. She wasn't alone....so Jack wasn't just being an annoying puppy. Her heart was racing, she recognized him in a heartbeat.... The fear was quickly replaced by confusion. She swallowed, it took her a moment to find her voice. "......John....?!" But he was dead, what was he doing here?!

[The NPC]

JOHNATHAN GILBERT II

Standing in as dead (again, for the want of a better description) silence as he was, John could hear the familiar patter of trainers on concrete as someone ran towards the house. He folded his arms over his chest, scowling slightly as he twisted in order to face the door, simply waiting for someone to appear, even though they weren't even in the house yet. Something inside of him told him that it had to be Elena. As he heard her at the door, he knew it wasn't and he also knew she wasn't alone, an odd little growl echoing up through the house. He let out a soft sigh, turning on his heel to face the window instead of the door, his hands dropping to his hips as he tried to level out his now frantic thoughts. He wanted to see her, but now his mind was racing with a million and one things that he needed to say, needed to clear up and he had this awful feeling that not one of them would come out right. The last time he had seen Elena...she had been made to watch him die as he sacrificed himself for her.

He could still hear the growling, presumably from a new pet since it sounded like the growling was inside the house now and not just trying to get through the door. It didn't sound all that threatening, so John didn't feel obligated to go and check. That and he didn't want to give the wrong person the fright of their life. Not that he was out to scared Elena, of course, but he imagined if he turned up in front of Jeremy, the poor kid might freak out. As much as he wanted to see him, he didn't want him having some sort of mental break down over whatever it was that had brought him back – Jeremy already had a hard enough time as it was. This was his second visit to the house, the first having brought him Alaric, and this time, he really hoped that it was Elena that had just come home. He tensed slightly as the sound of approaching footsteps got louder, his hands simply dropping to his side and turning back to the door as he heard his name being said. “Elena...” he responded softly.

This post has been written by CHESS!