Book One: Panacea (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Fifty-Three

At the Gilbert house, Elena puts her necklace and then turns to Diana behind her. Elena then nods and lets Diana help her get into her dress. It's Founders' Day, and that means Elena gets to wear a ridiculous dress and Diana gets to laugh as she suffers it. Not in a mean way, she loves her sister, but it's funny to her. This was her once, she had to wear the stupid dress and parade around and now she gets to watch Elena go through it all too.

"Ouch, this dress hurts," Elena complains.

"Suck it in, baby," Diana tells her as she pulls the laces tight on the back of Elena's dress. Elena gasps a little and then shoots Diana a look in the mirror. Elena then softens a little.

"You wanna talk about what happened?" Elena asks her. Diana frowns at her. "The heart thing"

"Oh...no" Diana answers.

"Do you know who's it was?"

"Elena" Diana scolds.

"What if it's someone we know?" Elena defends her pushing the subject.

"It's not someone we know" Diana assures her.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I called everyone I know...they are alive and well and fine...."

"What did you do with the heart?" Elena inquires, Diana shrugs a little.

"I took it to the hospital" She admits. "Meredith is looking at it"

"Who?"

"Meredith Fell" Diana offers. "Some relation to my mother...not sure which, she's running some tests on it"

"What did you tell her?"

"She already knows everything" Diana counters. "She's on the council so it's fine. Stop worrying, I'm dealing with it"

"How did Alaric react to it?" Elena asks, Diana looks at her. "What?" Elena asks. "It's a good indicator of how he will react to future strangeness..." Diana smiles a little.

"He was okay" She answers. "Promised to protect me" Elena softens a little. "If you awww I will punch you" Diana warns.

"But it's sweet" Elena argues. "We all know your badass, Di, he knows that too, but he still wants to protect you...it's nice"

"We're friends" Diana counters, Elena shoots her a look. "I told you"

"Yeah, and you listed off all the reasons you couldn't be together, and right now, two of them are gone....he's not your teacher anymore, and Isobel is gone..."

"But X is still a threat" Diana offers. "They already stabbed me to prove a point, Elena, what if they come after you next? Or Jeremy? Or Jenna? Or Ric? What if it's not a warning next time? What if they kill one of you because of me? Because of me and him?" Elena looks at her sadly.

"I just want you to be happy," Elena tells her. "He makes you happy"

"Yes, he does" Diana agrees. "More than anyone else, ever...but shit happens" Diana shrugs and then walks away because she's going to cry and she won't cry in front of Elena.

...................

Diana stands in the crowd watching the parade, she smirks a little when she sees how uncomfortable Elena looks up there.

"She looks great" Alaric states behind Diana. She smiles a little.

"She looks ridiculous" She counters, he chuckles and nods.

"I didn't want to be mean to your sister" He admits. She glances behind her at him. "Hi"

"Hey" She whispers warmly, they share a look and he smiles at her. He moves closer to her, to stand at her side, she watches Elena and smirks. "I remember what it was like being up there...."

"Wait, what?" he asks with a smile. "You had to do the whole....dress and float thing?" he counters, she smiles and nods.

"Yeah, it was horrible..." She answers. "I got a crown though, so...that was cool"

"A crown?" he asks her, she nods.

"I won" She answers. "Miss Mystic Falls 2008" he smiles at her.

"Wow" he breaths. "You were a girly girl" he teases. "I am having a very hard time imagining that" she nudges him.

"Yeah, I mean, by then I was...changing, but...it was still..." she shakes her head.

"What do you mean?" he asks her.

"It was towards the end of my time here" She answers. "When my telepathy kicked in...I struggled" She looks at him. "I heard thoughts....all the time, couldn't turn it off...." She looks down a little. "I thought I was losing my mind, and by then, by this time that year, it was bad...I could barely get out of bed, I didn't go to school, cried....all the time"

"Diana" he whispers sadly.

"It's better now" She assures him. "I learned how to block it out, only letting what I want in..." She takes a deep breath and looks back at the parade. He senses the need for a subject change, so he grants it.

"No Derek?" he asks her. "Thought the Mayor would make him be here"

"He went back to the lake house" She answers. "I think he's struggling a bit"

"He went through a lot" Alaric offers.

"Yeah" She nods. "I don't know what I would do if I woke up one day and 6 months had passed and I had no memory of it" She admits. "And I swear he knows I'm keeping things from him, he always knew....."

"Keeping this from him, is protecting him" he assures her, she nods, she knows that.

"Is it wrong I am glad he lost his memories?" She asks, he frowns at her. "Without them...He's the old Derek, the one I knew before I left, the one that was my best friend, the goofy footballer down the street...." He smiles at her. "The good kid with a big heart and not a bad bone in his body....the things he did" She brushes a tear from her cheek. "I could never have imagined that the Derek that was my best friend could have done that to me..."

"It's not wrong" he answers her, she sniffles a little. "I'm glad you have him back"

"You're not still jealous of him being around, are you?"

"No," He tells her, she cocks her head. "I know where I stand with you. I'm not worried" She laughs a little and nods.

"So sure of my feelings for you?" she asks.

"Yeah" they share a look, she looks down as she blushes a little. "You would never have put up with Isobel if this was nothing more than a.....sex thing" He adds. "Just as I would never have put up with Derek and X if it was nothing but sex" She lifts her eyes to look at him. "It's not about sex" He assures her, she nods a little. She knows that too.