- Under Control -

"Rise and shine!"

Emma jolted awake, blinking her eyes rapidly. The sudden wake up call was not scheduled in her agenda. All she wanted was to sleep. After everything that had happened in a short amount of time, it felt like a bag a bricks were tied around her waist, making it impossible to do anything.

She lifted her head up and turned it to the side to see Jenna's face looming down at her with hands perched on her hips. "What?"

Her aunt reached out and pulled the covers off of the girl, causing the poor thing to curl up in hopes to capture the escaping warmth. "After putting it off for so long, I finally turned in your registration papers at the school. Today, missy, will be your first day of nineth grade." she announced with a wide smile stretched on her face.

The young Gilbert groaned, burying her face into her pillow. "But, Jenna, I don't want to." she complained, although most of what she said was muffled.

It was nice not having to go anywhere unless she needed to, like the grocery store or a vampire rescue. She wanted to stay home.

Jenna rolled her eyes. "If you don't get up now, I'm going to call John and have him take you back." She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms when the lazy girl raised her head again.

What a low and evil threat. "Fine." Emma grumbled, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Oh, wipe that smirk off your face, I'm only going because this house got boring." Not really. "Now," She made her way over to her dresser. "please leave so I can change."

Once her aunt left, she opened multiple drawers and pulled out a lime green t-shirt, a pair of jean capris, and socks. Slipping the clothing on, she stood in front of her body length mirror and stared at herself.

She gathered her hair in a bunch and kept it held up with a hair band.

Maybe it was having to go back to school or having to face everyone she once knew that cause butterflies to swarm in her gut. She hadn't seen or spoken to anyone she use to hand out with since she had to move. And being the new kid at the school over where John lived wasn't a walk in the park. Word somehow gotten around about what happened to her parents, and she couldn't go down the halls without pitiful eyes. Going back to her old school, she feared she'd have to go through that all over again.

A sigh escaped from her chapped lips. "Let's get this over with."

Emma walked out her bedroom and trudged down the stairs, entering the kitchen where her sister and aunt were already eating breakfast.

"Good morning." Elena greeted, sipping her coffee. In return, she received a grunt. "Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Jenna chuckled and stirred her own coffee. "This one here is being difficult about going to school."

Emma just rolled her eyes and took a bite out of the bagel that was made for her. With a very valid point popping into her head and her mouth full, she spoke to the other girls.

Elena grimaced, looking away from the unpleasant sight. "Okay, that was gross, and we didn't hear a word you said."

The young girl chewed a bit more and swallowed. It was good. So good that there was no Jenna was ever going to be prepared for it. "I said I realized I can't go to school. It's the middle of the year, and I don't have any school supplies." she explained with a smirk. There was no way her aunt could have gotten all she needed if it took her so long to get her registration papers in.

Elena coughed into her fist. "Spoke too soon."

Emma's proud smirked twitched, thrown off, and looked to her sister. "Wh-"

"I got you everything!" Jenna squealed, holding up a teal backpack from behind the island. She set it on the counter and opened the main pouch, showcasing the contents inside. "See, I got you notebooks and a binder that has a pouch holding your pens, erasers, and freshly sharpened pencils."

The girl frowned and crossed her arms. Now she really did have to go.

Her sister glanced at the microwave clock. "Oh, gotta go, Em. We have school." she said, grinning when Emma sent a glare in her direction.

The two of them sauntered to the front door.

"Come on, Jeremy! We have to go to- Ugh, I can't even say the word." Emma called out the stairs, shivering at thought of the hell hole.

Elena rolled her eyes as Jenna came up behind them.

"You forgot this." she said, waving the forgotten backpack.

Emma grabbed it out of her hands and put the straps over her shoulders.

Elena laughed, opening the door, but when it was wide open, the three were surprised to see a certain man who should have been miles away from them standing on the front porch.

"Elena. Emma." he said in a cheery voice, smiling at the girls.

"Uncle John. Hi." Elena greeted.

Emma on the other hand was gaping at him. She turned to Jenna. "But I got ready!"

Jenna patted Emma's shoulder. "I know, but I only said that so you would get up." She turned to John. "John, you made it."

"I said I would be in by noon." John said, walking into the house with his things.

"Oh, what you say and what you do are typically two very different things." Jenna replied, rubbing her neck. Emma was still staring at her with wide eyes. "He's not here for you." Jenna assured.

Jeremy came down the stairs. "Uncle John. What's up?" he asked, slapping his shoulder.

"Hey." John said, and Jeremy walked out of the house. John watched him as he said, "I had some business in town." He turned to the girls. "I thought a visit was in order."

"How long are you staying?" Emma asked, hoping he would say a short period of time.

It was strange seeing him at the door, leaving an awkward feeling in her gut. She hadn't spoken to him since she came back to Mystic Falls, especially the night she left. She knew he was angry she had ran away, Jenna made sure to share how he felt, which was why she avoided speaking to him anytime he called to check in. If she was being honest, she never expected to see him ever again, unless it was for something specific.

John shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know yet."

Wrong answer.

Elena nodded and grabbed Emma's arm, already guiding her past the man. "Okay. Well, we're gonna go to school. See you later."

The sisters walked out onto the porch, and when they turned to Jenna, they gave her a look as a way to show their unhappiness. Their aunt only shook her head and shut the door.

Emma huffed as they walked to Elena's car. "I run away from him, and yet he manages to appear out of nowhere."

"Hey, no matter what happens, you are staying. He's not taking you away, again. Ever." Elena said, wrapping an arm around Emma's shoulders.

The girl smiled and leaned into her sister's touch. It really was nice to be home.

"How about we don't think about him and think about your first day of school. Remember, if you need anything, just come up to me, Bonnie, Stefan, Matt, Caroline, maybe Jer, okay?" Elena asked.

Emma nodded. "Thanks. I might take you up on that offer. Ninth grade is not all rainbows and sunshine."

~♡~

Emma's day went in a direction she didn't expect it would take. From the moment she stepped onto the school grounds, she was met by a large crowd of people she use to know. They welcomed her back with open arms, almost as if she never left to begin with.

Every class she entered, she was invited to sit by people during the lectures instead of sitting in the back like she wanted to do. Yes, some offered their condolences, she anticipated it, but other than that, the first half of the day went smoothly.

She had been walking down the hall when she crossed paths with her sister. "Hey." she greeted with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Hi," Elena responded, an inquiring eyebrow arching up. "you seem to be in a good mood."

The young girl shrugged. "Yeah, today has been really good."

Elena let out a chuckle. "So, is it safe to say you overreacted for nothing?" she questioned, earning an eye roll.

"I had every right to be on the defensive, alright. But yes, I may have reacted too strongly this morning." Emma admitted. "How's your day going?"

Her sister shook her head. "Not bad until Alaric asked me to meet him. Something about Jeremy."

"Oh," Emma frowned.

She had come to find out that Jeremy was not aware of the vampire activity in Mystic Falls. Before she returned to the city, Elena had compelled him to forget about Vicki and her vampire status. At first, she understood where her sister was coming from. Jeremy couldn't handle the first time he found out Vicki had died. She thought it was in his best interest to not remember, and it only lead to more heart break.

The youngest Gilbert never had to courage to say it, but she felt as though it wasn't the right call. There she was remembering what happened to her, and her brother was left in the dark. It wasn't fair to him, and if anything, left him an easy target.

"Want to come with me to check it out?"

"Yeah." Emma said, glad to have been included for once.

The two ventured to the history teacher's classroom where he was already waiting at his desk. The look on his face gave off a bad vibe

"I made a copy of a paper that Jeremy wrote for me." Alaric said, grabbing the mentioned paper off his desk. "I really think you guys should take a look at it." He handed it to Elena.

Emma looked over her sister's arm and read the title of the cover page:

Fact or Fiction:

The Truth About Vampires in Mystic Falls

He wrote an essay about vampires. And not only about vampires, but about them in their town. Seeing the title along made her question if he ever forgot about his knowledge of the supernatural in the first place.

"Jeremy wrote this?" Emma asked, looking at the teacher.

Alaric looked down. "He's very clear that he didn't think it was real."

"I really hope you're right because I've done so much to protect him from all this." Elena said, handing the paper back to Alaric.

He set it down behind him and turned back to the girls. "So, how do you deal with it? You know, with all the lies and the secrets. You have to lie to almost everyone who's important to you."

"It's not safe for them to know the truth, so, yes, I keep it from them, but it's only because I love them." Elena defended.

Alaric nodded. "Okay, I can understand that. But Emma knows everything that happened to her."

He was right. She did. "I made the choice to not forget it all." she explained, something she wished her brother was able to do as well. "And for some reason, I can't be compelled or something. Damon already tried when he 'jokingly' wanted me to help him pick out his next victim."

"That's what I mean. Even being immune to compulsion, there's still a threat of the supernatural." Alaric got up and went around to his chair. "You know, I think Stefan is a great guy, but at the end of the day, he's still a vampire."

"I know it's hard to understand but Stefan's different." Elena said. "He would never do anything to hurt me or anyone else."

~♡~

". . . going to the party."

Emma walked into the kitchen to see Jenna, John, and Jeremy eating Chinese take out. "Oh, are you talking about that Founder's Day thingy?" she asked, grabbing a carton and chopsticks of her own before situating herself next to Jeremy.

Every year, there was always some sort of event the Founders of Mystic Falls hosted. She wasn't aware of what the purpose of this one was for, but she wouldn't have been surprised if it had to do with raising money.

John looked up from his food. "Yes, and you all are going."

Emma pouted, stabbing the chopsticks in the carton. "But I don't want to go a boring party."

"One day, when you can appreciate the significance, I'll tell you about all your heritage and how important it is we cherish it." John promised, taking a bite.

Jenna stood by the table. "Hmm. The Gilbert family legacy. I forgot how sacred it was." She pointed to herself. "I'm not a Gilbert so I was never cool enough to hear it." she joked, which made John shake his head.

Emma chuckled. "Don't worry, Jenna, I'll tell you everything right after I find out."

Jeremy leaned over to John. "Why does she hate you?"

"We used to sleep together." he commented, resulting in Jenna throwing a bag of the food at John. Emma and Jeremy ducked away, surprised at the action.

"I'm standing right here." Jenna said, sounding pissed.

John looked away from her and continued to eat. Emma had to hold in her laugh, seeing that it was not a good time to. She looked to her left to see that Jeremy was doing the same as well, which made it harder for her to hold it.

~♡~

The next morning, Emma sat with Jeremy at the dining table for breakfast. Placed in front of her was a medium sized bowl filled with her favorite cereal, something she missed eating during her time with John.

"Oh, Fruit Loops. How I missed you so much." Emma cooed, shoving the spoon in her mouth.

Jeremy scrunched his face, turning to her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Uncle John never let me eat this. He always had me eating this whole wheat crap that was horrible." she mumbled with her mouth full.

"All the reason why I was happy not to be the one living with him." Jeremy said.

Emma scoffed and hit his arm, sending him a glare. He acted like she had a choice in the matter of who she stayed with. She was placed with whoever was family.

"No, Elena, I will not go to your bedroom with you."

She leaned back at the sound of Damon's voice, coming from the front door, to see the said vampire being dragged up the stairs by her. She couldn't figure out why he'd be at the house so early in the morning.

"Uh, gotta get my shoes." she stuttered out, jumping out of her seat. Not one of the best excuses she'd given, but it was the best one she could come up with. Of course, once she was halfway to Elena's room, she realized she was already wearing her sneakers.

"What's going on?" she asked and slipped through the closing bedroom door.

Elena sighed, closing it behind her. "Em, you should get ready for school."

The young girl moved to the bed and plopped down next Damon. "I'm pretty much ready. Why? You don't want me here?"

Her sister hesitated before responding. "No, it's just you don't have to worry about this."

"Elena, I'm fine." she said, staring at the other girl with questioning eyes. Was she second guessing her involvement because of Alaric's comment?

*"Did you two know that you're Uncle's been kickin' it with the Founder's Council?" Damon asked.

"Really?" Emma asked, surprised her uncle was immersing in the matters of the town. He hadn't lived here in years.

"Yep."

"Perfect, let's add it to the growing list of how everything's falling apart." Elena said sarcastically, crossing her arms.

Damon tapped Emma's leg and pointed to some broken shelves behind Elena. "What happened right there?" he asked.

Elena looked at them and quickly shook her head. "Uh, nothing." She looked at her sister and Damon, who were giving her doubtful looks. "Look, guys I-I'm worried about Stefan. He says that everything's okay, but he's clearly struggling. How long is it gonna take before he's back to normal?"

Damon thought. "A few days, give or take."

*"Damon, it's been a few days." Emma said.

"Give, then. I don't know." Damon said, rolling his eyes. "What's the big deal?" he asked, getting up from the bed.

"He's not himself." Elena said.

Damon walked to Elena's dresser and opened the top one. "Well, maybe his problem is he's spent too long not being himself." Damon pulled out one of Elena's bras holding it up.

Elena grabbed it and put it back. "Please don't make me sorry for asking you."

"It is what it is, Elena." Damon grabbed one of the pictures that were on the mirror. "The Stefan you two know was 'Good Behavior' Stefan, 'Reign it in' Stefan, 'Fight Against His Nature to an Annoyingly Obsessive Level' Stefan, but if guys think there's not another part to this, then you have not been paying attention." Elena grabbed the picture back and put it where it belonged.

"He's not you, old man, not even close." Emma said, petting the bear in her lap.

Damon looked at her. "Why do you keep calling me 'old man'? I do not look that old."

Emma breathed out a laugh. "But you are old, right?" She smiled when she saw that Damon glared at her.

"Whatever. Anyway, he doesn't wanna be me, girl scout." He started to get closer to Elena, slowly. "But that doesn't mean deep down that he's not." Damon 'mmh' before stepping away and leaving.

"He's such an idiot." Emma said.

Elena nodded. "Tell me about it." She crossed her arms again. "Hey, Em, I'm gonna go talk to Jer, okay?"

Emma nodded. "Okay." She got up and left the room, going to hers. She sat on her bed, looking around when she spotted a photo album. She reached out grabbed it. Emma opened it and saw pictures of her parents. There was one when the Gilberts decided to have a picnic at a part nearby. They had everything for a typical picnic. They flew a kite, kicked around a ball. Had the best time ever. Emma's eyes had small tears forming. She missed her parents so much.

~♡~

"I don't like this dress." Emma said, tugging at the skirt.The Gilberts had arrived at the Founder's Day party and Emma was grumpy that she didn't have a choice but to come.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Stop complaining. We won't stay that long." she said, looking around the crowd. The sisters left Jeremy and Jenna to look for Stefan. They walked in where the music was playing and saw Stefan wave them over. "Hey."

"Hey." Stefan, raising his glass. "How are you?" He gave Elena a kiss on the cheek. He then hugged Emma. But when his face was close to hers, she was able to smell the alcohol in his breath.

"Whoa, Stefan, are you drunk?" she asked.

Stefan cleared his throat. "Um. . . Okay, I know it's a little weird, but it's really helping me. The alcohol help takes the edge off."

Emma laughed. "You're totally that drunk high school guy at the party sneaking booze."

"I totally am. Yeah." Stefan said, nodding in agreement.

"How worried do I need to be?" Elena asked.

Stefan quickly put the glass down. "Oh, no. You don't need to be worried. It's just until, um, the cravings go away." He put his hand on Elena's shoulders. "Listen. How about we enjoy it while it lasts?" He held a hand out. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Elena looked shocked. "You hate dancing. I usually have to beg you."

"No, no, no. You have to beg the sober me. The drunk me, there's no begging necessary."

Emma looked around. "There's no one dancing. It would be kinda weird if you two were."

"Well, my friend, that's because they need something better to dance to." He looked at the girls. "Be right back."

"Drunk Stefan is so cool." Emma said when he went away. Elena just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, that's not going to work." A voice said behind them. The girls turned to see Kelly Donovan. "I already tried to bribe the guy with 20 bucks and a date. He said Carol Lockwood had complete control over the music choices."

Elena shrugged. "You'd be surprised what Stefan can accomplish when he puts his mind to it." They watched the guy changed the music to an up beat song.

"Thank god." Kelly said, and walked off to who knows where.

Stefan came back and grabbed Emma's arm, taking her to the middle of the dance floor. Emma laughed when Stefan twirled her. They jumped up and spun around, having the time of their lives. After a while, Emma moved to dance with Matt while Stefan went off to Elena.

Emma was by a table of food when Damon suddenly appeared next to her. "How's it going, little Gilbert?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Stop calling me little." She put a piece of bread in her mouth.

"Hey let me see your wrist." Damon didn't let her respond and grabbed her wrist anyways. "Where'd you get this ?" he asked.

"Uhh, Uncle John gave it t-"

"Of course." Damon ripped of the bracelet, ignoring Emma's protest. "Now," He grabbed Emma's face with his hands. "stop talking." Immediately, Emma closed her mouth. Damon smirked. "That solves the mystery. Let's try again. Say 'Damon is so awesome and incredibly handsome.'"

Emma's eyes widened and she began to struggle. "D-da-m-on is. . . so awesome. . . and. . . incredibly handsome." she repeated.

Damon kept his smirk. "I know I am." He put the bracelet back on her. "Bye, bye." And he left her standing alone.

"Hey wait!" she called out, following him. At first she lost sight of him but found him again talking to Stefan.

She walked up when she heard, ". . . how I just killed Uncle John Gilbert?"

"What?!" Emma said, eyes widening.

Damon looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Why does she show up at the worst time?" he asked himself. "Anyway, great party, right?" And he walked away once again.

"Wait, Damon!" Emma turned to follow him, Stefan as well but he disappeared. She finally caught up with Damon. "Repeat what you just said."

"Uh, 'Anyway, great party?'" Damon responded.

Emma glared at him. "No, what you said before that, stupid."

Damon pretended to be shocked. "'Stupid' is bad word." When he only got a glare again, he sighed. "Okay so I killed Uncle John. What's the big deal?"

Emma waved her arms around. "The big deal is that you just killed my uncle. How could you do that?" she frantically said.

Damon started to get annoyed by the little girl. "You know what? I had to kill him. He was a problem. He was going to expose Stefan and I and I wasn't gonna let that happen. Besides, no one liked him so really I was doing everyone a favor."

Emma scoffed, small tears forming out of frustration. "Doesn't matter. He was family." She shook her head and looked away. But she eyes widened. "Damon. . ."

"Ugh, what now?" Damon said, not wanting to hear her complaining again.

"Look."

The vampire followed her gaze to see none other than John Gilbert walking inside, nodding to people who greeted him. "You've got to be kidding me." He grabbed Emma's hand. "Come on." He guided themselves past people who were starting to gather around where the mayor was.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight." Richard Lockwood began. "In just a few moments, we will officially begin the countdown to our upcoming Founder's Day celebration and it's a very special one this year." Damon looked around the crowd and Emma had to stand on her toes to try and see the mayor. "The 105th birthday of our town." Everyone clapped as some guys carried in a huge bell. "And- and I would like to welcome back one of our town's favorite sons to do the honors of ringing our official charter bell. John Gilbert, would you pleas join me up here?"

John walked up and stood in front of everyone. "150 years of community, prosperity, family. We take care of each other, look after each other," He made eye contact with Damon. "protect each other." Damon glared at him. "It's good to be home." He began to clap and everyone joined him.

Damon tugged Emma towards Alaric. Damon leaned close to him. "Look at his right hand."

"Whose?" Alaric asked.

"The town's favorite son. Look at his ring." Damon said.

Emma looked over at her uncle's hand, as he pulled the rope for the bell, to see the same ring Alaric has. "That looks like yours, Alaric."

Damon nodded. "Yeah, and that would be a big coincidence if he didn't just come back from the dead 5 minutes ago." Emma glared at him and stomped on his foot. "Ow, stop it." He turned back to Alaric. "Where the hell did you get that ring?"

"Isobel, my wife." Alaric replied.

Damon laughed. "Who gave birth to Elena under the medical care of the esteemed Dr. Grayson Gilbert, John's brother." He dragged that part out.

Emma was confused. "Wait, what are you saying?"

Damon took a sip of his bourbon. "What I'm saying is that John know a lot of things." The three started to follow John but Emma was stopped by Damon. "This is how far you go."

"What?" Emma asked, shockingly. "Why is everyone pushing me away? Just because I'm fourteen doesn't mean I'm useless." she defended.

Alaric whispered to Damon. "It's too late to stop her now. She already knows so much."

Damon groaned. "Ugh, fine you can come. I swear, this girl gets her way to many times." So again, the three followed after John. "Goin' somewhere?" Damon asked him when they caught up.

John was fixing his jacket. "Never like to be the last one to leave a party." He looked past Damon and saw Emma. "What is she doing here?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "I tried to get rid of her but she won't listen."

John sighed, thinking in his head that the young Gilbert doesn't really listen to anyone. "Here to kill me again in front of my niece or have Mr. Saltzman do your dirty work?"

Alaric stopped walking. "Okay, you obviously know who I am."

"I do." Jon said, stopping as well. "Alaric Saltzman, the high school history teacher with a secret."

"Sure know a lot for someone who just got to town." Damon said, eyeing John.

John walked past Damon. "More than you can imagine, Damon. My knowledge of this town goes beyond anything that you or you or the council knows. So if you were planning on some clever high-speed, snatch-ring, vamp kill move, know that if I die everything I know goes to the council, including the fascinating little tale of the original Salvatore Brothers and their present-day return to Mystic Falls." John threatened.

Emma has never seen this side of her uncle and honestly, it scared her. He has information that could easily get Stefan and Damon killed in a snap. "Uncle John," she said, earning the attention of the males. "how'd you get that ring?"

"Well, I inherited one, your father Gray, the other. This was his." John held up his hand. "And I wouldn't have given mine to Isobel had I known she'd hand it over to another guy." He looked at Alaric.

"So you did know her." Damon said.

"Who do you think sent her your way when she wanted to become a vampire?" John confirmed.

Damon furrowed his eyebrows. "You sent her?"

"Guilty." John sarcastically said. "Why, did you think someone else sent her?" Damon shrugged. "Maybe Katherine Pierce?"

Damon had a blank face. "How do you know about Katherine?"

"How do I know anything, Damon?"

Damon got into John's face. "What do you want?"

John smirked. "So many questions." The two stared at each other for a while. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Rick." John said, turning to the history teacher's direction. "I've heard so much about you." He turned and began to walk away when he stopped. "Come on, Emma. Let's go home."

Emma stood there, not sure what to do. She turned to Damon as if she was looking for permission. Damon just nodded and Emma slowly followed her uncle to the car. The ride back to the house was in silence. When John pulled up to the house, Emma quickly got out of the car and into the house, not wanting to stay with John any longer. She ran up the stairs and closed her door. Emma sighed and changed out of her dress. When she finished, she got inside her bed and went to sleep. Or at least tried to.