(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Fifty-Three

At the Mystic Grill, Cassandra, Elena and Bonnie are having dinner at a table. Elena and Cassandra both agreed to tell Bonnie about them being adopted. With everything else that has come out recently, keeping secrets is going to tear them apart. Bonnie leans back in her seat, staring at the twins.

"I can't believe you're adopted. I never saw that coming" Bonnie admits, Cassandra shrugs and pokes at the last of the fries on her plate.

"And it gets weirder. I looked at our birth certificates and it lists Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as our birth parents. None of it makes any sense." Cassandra points out.

"Which is why you should ask Jenna" Bonnie argues. Cassandra groans. "First of all, the Cassie I know would always want the real truth, good or bad" Bonnie points out, Elena nods in agreement.

"And second of all?" Cassandra asks with a smirk.

"You just found out that you're a psychic, that I am a witch...and your sister is dating a vampire, so unless your birth parents are aliens..." Cassandra laughs a little and Elena smiles. "How bad could it be?" Bonnie asks them. Elena and Cassandra share a look. Elena shrugs a little, Bonnie has a point.

"I guess" Cassandra reluctantly agrees.

"Ah, okay, look, I have to go to the store. My outfit for the dance is severely lacking accessories" Elena offers and gets up. "Do you need a ride back, Cassie?"

"No" Cassandra answers. "It's okay, I'll just walk back" Elena stands and pulls on her jacket.

"Are you sure?" Elena asks her, Cassandra nods.

"Yeah"

"I'll pay the bill" Bonnie assures them. Elena leaves. Bonnie gets up to pay, she starts to walk away from the table when Damon approaches her. She stops and looks at him. "What do you want from me?"

"I think we need a fresh start" Damon answers.

"You tried to kill me" Bonnie argues.

"But I didn't, and if I wanted to, I would have. Does that not count for anything?"

"You know, I can start fires with my mind. Fires kill vampires, right?" Bonnie asks him. Damon looks slightly concerned. "Just stay the hell away from me" Ben walks over to Bonnie and Damon.

"Everything okay over here?" Ben asks them.

"Yeah, we're fine" Damon answers.

"I wasn't talkin' to you." Damon, controlling his urge to kill Ben, grimaces, and walks away and towards where Cassandra is sat alone. He drops into the seat across from her. She glances up from her phone.

"Who pissed you off today?" She asks him, he scoffs and rolls his eyes turning to glare across at Ben and Bonnie. "Seriously?" She counters and gives him a look. "With Bonnie again?"

"Not her" He argues.

"Ben?" She asks, he gives her a look.

"You know who that is?"

"Yeah, he's a few years older than us but..." She shrugs. He leans back in his seat and watches her as she slides her phone into her pocket.

"You already eaten?" He asks her, she hums and nods before she tilts her head.

"You could buy me some pie though, if you want" She offers, he glances at her and smirks.

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

Outside of the Grill, Elena is walking through the parking lot. Her cell phone starts ringing and she retrieves it from her purse.

"Hello" Elena greets as she answers her phone.

"Hello, Elena"

"Hey, who's this?" Elena asks and then pauses as she reaches her car to retrieve her keys.

"Your sister hit me with her car" Elena freezes, mouth hanging open, looks behind her. She sees the man in the hoodie approaching her. "She got away from me. You won't" Elena quickly unlocks the car door, gets in, ignites the engine, reverses, and speeds off down the road, right past Noah, who watches her drive off as he walks across the road.

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

Jenna, dressed up in a cute '50s outfit, is cleaning up the living room when Cassandra returns home. Jenna looks at her as she closes the door and then walks straight past her. Jenna sighs and shakes her head.

"Spoke to the insurance company. Jeep's totalled. You can keep using mine for now" Jenna offers, Cassandra glances at her and then notes her outfit.

"So you're coming to the dance?" Cassandra asks. Jenna smiles.

"Alaric asked me to help chaperone" Jenna walks around the couch and leans against it. Cassandra takes out a can of soda from the fridge before moving to stand in the kitchen door, watching her soda as she opens it, she looks accusingly at Jenna.

"Why didn't you tell us, Jenna?" Cassandra asks her, Jenna looks slightly startled by this sudden change of topic.

"Your mom was gonna do it eventually. I never thought I'd have to." Jenna admits.

"If my mom were here right now and I asked, she'd tell me the truth" Cassandra scolds her. She knows Miranda would have. She can feel it in her bones that her mother would have just come out and told her if confronted on it. Jenna sighs and closes her eyes. She knows it too.

"Your dad was about to leave the office one night when this girl showed up" Jenna starts. "She was sixteen, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her babies, and he gave her a place to stay, but a few days later, she disappeared. And there you two were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby. I-it just wasn't happening. All Miranda ever wanted was to be a mom"

"Well, why were our parents' names on the birth certificate?"

"Your dad was a doctor, Cassie. He took care of it. They didn't wanna lose either of you, so they kept it quiet, told as few people as possible, but if anyone ever wanted proof, they had documentation"

"What else do you know about her? The girl?"

"Just her name. Isobel" Jenna answers and gives Cassandra a small smile as she moves past her and into the kitchen. Cassandra takes a drink from her soda and then heads upstairs to get ready for the school decade dance.