fourcolorlove | mystic cafe } { can i handle the seasons of my life

It was possible that Elena might have been a little overeager in terms of coffee.

It wasn't necessarily the fact that it was Tyler, exactly. While she was very happy to see him, and it wasn't less because it was him, it was more the fact that it was someone who was part of that group. Who had been through what she had been through and didn't stay away completely. She had always hoped that she wouldn't be alone, stuck in Mystic Falls forever, even though at the same time, she could understand why they wouldn't want to stay. There was still a vampire problem. There were still the Founder's Council and occasionally, even one of the hybrids swung into town that needed to be taken care of.

She was still the doppelganger, and she was still leading a double life whether she wanted to or not.

But it was a lonely double life, and the idea that there was someone in town, someone who could understand, who she could talk to was something she wasn't going to let slip by. She didn't know how long Tyler was going to be here, or what his plans were, and from all she could tell, he didn't really know either. She knew that he was here for his mom, not for her, and that realization was enough to get her to slow down a bit. She took a breath, waited a few days to make the plans, and let him spend time with his mom. A few days, though, was probably all she could have waited for a chance to just be herself again.

She made the call, made plans to meet him at the cafe later, and while she was there, tried not to make it seem like she was arriving too early. Regardless of all that, however, she was excited.

It was the first time she had been excited about something in a really long time.

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It was strange, being in Mystic Falls again. In some ways, it felt almost like he had never left at all. And he wasn't sure how he felt about that fact. Tyler had left the town after graduation, tried to leave everything that had happened here behind, but apparently that was easier said than done. Being here again, it brought back a lot of those old feelings, those old memories.

And most of them weren't particularly good.

Still, it was nice to know at least...someone was still here that knew about everything that happened. Sometimes, it got exhausting, trying to pretend to be a normal person. In his years out of Mystic Falls, he never really told anyone what he really was. Who was going to believe he was some weird hybrid between a vampire and a werewolf, let alone accept it?

Needless to say, there was something nice about not having to hide.

Which is why he found himself almost looking forward to meeting up with Elena as he made his way into the cafe.

He smiled as he spotted her, making his way over.

"Hey"

"Hey," she said with a smile as she spotted him. "Glad you could make it."

"Me too." He grinned back. "It's good to see you again."

"Good to see you too," she said with a nod as she settled back into her chair again. "How's your mom doing?"

"Okay, I guess," He says with a shrug of his shoulders as he sits down.

"I was helping out when you weren't here, but it's hard to get her to slow down," she smirked, "no matter what's going on with her. I think that's why people kept reelecting her."

"She has more of a knack for running things than I think even my dad did," He says with a small chuckle. "I'm pretty sure the only way she stopped is if she really just couldn't do it anymore. And even I kinda doubt it."

She smirked. "She'd probably just use the deputy mayor like a puppet. But I think it's good for her, though. Keeps her sharp."

"I gotta agree with you there," He said with a small laugh. "I don't think she'll be quitting on us any time soon, at least."

"She's tough," Elena said with a nod. "Which is good, in this town. Though it has gotten better lately -- not as many ... Council problems since the Mikaelsons left."

... Okay, they could talk about everything, but not necessarily while they were out in public.

"That's good. This town could deserve the break from those kind of problems."

He can't help but tense up a little at the mention of the Mikaelsons. Even though he had broken his sire bond years ago, Klaus would always be a soe subject. A reminder of one of the worst times in his life.

She noticed the way he tensed up, and she could understand it. Tyler both went through and lost a lot in order to break the sire bond to Klaus, and he didn't need a reminder of that.

"It's been ... quiet. Which is good."

Though she hadn't heard from any Salvatore brother in a very long time. She wasn't entirely sure if really wanted them to come back into town again, but there was a small part of her that wanted to know if they were okay.

"Quiet beats the alternative."

He pauses for a moment, before finally asking.

"How's Caroline been doing, do you two still talk?"

He can't help but ask. Even though he and Caroline were never able to get back what they had lost during his first few months as a hybrid, he still finds himself wondering how she's doing from time to time. He supposes part of him always will.

Elena figured the question would be coming eventually. He and Caroline had been through so much together that she would have been surprised if he hadn't asked, honestly.

"Sometimes," she nodded. "Facebook mostly, and sometimes she comes back for Miss Mystic Falls. She's ... doing really well. She's happy."

"I'm glad."

And he was, honestly. Caroline deserved to be happy, after everything she had been through. He was glad to hear she had found happiness.

"Me too," she said with a nod. "Have you heard from Matt?"

"Nope. We occasionally talk on facebook, but that's about it." Which was close as he had really come to staying in touch with anyone from back home.

She nodded. "I haven't heard much from him either. I'm pretty sure he hasn't looked back much and considering all he went through, I can't really say I blame him."

"Neither do I. It seems like everyone got out of here." He paused in thought. "Well, except for you. I was surprised to here you've stayed here. I'd of thought you'd want to get away as much as the rest of us did."

She shrugged as she leaned back in her chair a bit. "There was a lot to ... clean up still. The Mikaelsons left, Damon and Stefan left, Bonnie and Caroline went away to school -- Sheriff Forbes needed help with the Council and keeping any eye on things, and I just ... couldn't get myself to go."

She was the last Gilbert standing in Mystic Falls. It was her responsibility.

"Makes sense." And it did. Elena had always been the sort to feel responsible for things, even when they weren't really her fault.

"How's Jeremy been doing?"

He and the other Gilbert had never exactly become friends, but they had definitely been on better terms than they had started out with. Though things had become more strained after everything with Klaus.

"Jeremy's been doing really well," she said with a smile. "He really likes Colorado, and he made a lot of friends, got into a good school -- he's happy."

And safe. Safe was the important thing as far as Elena was concerned and from what she could tell, there weren't any hybrids or vampires poking around. That much was certain.

"He ended up staying there?" He asked with a smile. He was glad to hear Jeremy was doing well. He deserved some happiness. Hell, they all did after everything they've been through.

"Yeah," she nodded. "He comes back for holidays and stuff, but he's got a life out there now. It's good."

"Good. It's kind of impressive how many of us actually managed to go out and have our own lives." For while there, the idea had seemed really far from possible.

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mystic cafe } { can i handle the seasons of my life

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thanks lj, I never got this reply

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