Lois hadn't stopped running until she was home. Elena had stormed into her room, worried sick. She'd found her car left unlocked, passenger door open and the keys discarded on the asphalt.

"I didn't feel well, I needed to get home." Lois had replied. It was a half truth, she hadn't felt well. She'd seen Mr Tanner brutally murdered in the same way she was attacked not long ago and then the same vampire that killed him had hunted her back to her house.

She shook away the memories of him chasing her through the parking lot and into the woods, not stopping until she was on the front steps of her porch.

"I've been invited in, so don't think you're safe in there. I'll let you go for tonight, your teacher's blood has satisfied my hunger."

She shuddered, and Elena mistook it for a shudder from her nausea, reaching for a blanket to wrap around her sister.

"I'll get you some water." Elena soothed, her motherly instincts kicking in just as they had the second the Gilberts siblings had been made orphans.

"And maybe a bucket," She added jokingly in an attempt to ease the tension in the air. "You made quite a mess, thanks for not doing it in my car."

All Lois managed was a meek smile, curling up on her bed. Elena exited, leaving Lois alone. Henrik appeared, sat on top of her desk.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

Lois sniffled, she didn't want to cry in front of him.

"No," she mumbled.

Henrik opened his mouth to reply, but Elena re-entered the room with a glass of water and a bucket. She caught Lois' look, saying, "I wasn't joking about the bucket."

Setting everything down, Elena wrapped her arms around Lois, careful to do so over the blanket to separate their skin.

Lois did cry then.

The thoughtful gesture of Elena making sure she didn't touch Lois because she knew how much it troubled her was the tipping point for all of her emotions over the last four months.

Both girls held each other as they cried, eventually falling asleep on top of Lois' bed covers.

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"To repeat, the animal terrorising Mystic Falls has been caught."  Lois heard as she descended the stairs the next morning.

"Scum ball... scum bucket." Jenna scowled, glaring at the television.

"Who are you talking to?" Elena asked from beside her, her tone curious.

"Him."

Elena looked over to where the TV was, "The news guy?"

"Also known as Logan 'Scum' Fell," Jenna replied. "Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?"

"Oh, no way!" Elena laughed. "You and him? He's cute."

"He is not cute," Jenna denied adamantly. "There's nothing cute about him."

Lois walked over to the kitchen table, noticing multiple boxes had been placed there.

Elena was sorting through one of them, causing Lois to ask, "What are you doing with all this stuff, Lena?"

"I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood that she would loan it to the Founder's Council for their heritage display," Elena explained, gesturing to the boxes on the table.

Jenna picked up what appeared to be a wedding ring, turning it around in the light as she asked, "Is this Grandma Beth's wedding ring?"

"Originally, it was Great-Great-Grandma Mary's wedding ring." Elena informed them.

Lois couldn't stop herself from peering into the box curiously.

She felt a wave of energy brush over her as her twin appeared beside her, picking up an item out of the box, "How much do you think this stuff is worth, you know, like, on eBay?"

Elena leant over and snatched it from his hands with a huff, "You're not gonna find out."

"That stuff is mom and dad's. You can't just give it away." He argued and Lois watched as his aura flashed grey.

"I'm not giving it away. It's called a loan, Jeremy." Elena retorted, annoyance lacing her tone.

The doorbell rang, and Lois was left alone with her twin who was staring at the box sadly.

"After the founder's party, the display is taken down and all the stuff is returned to their owners. Lena will have a list of everything we have to loan and  we'll get everything back, Jer," Lois spoke quietly, but could see that Jeremy still wasn't convinced.

"Mom—," Lois paused, the familiar wave of sadness that she normally felt whenever their lost parents were mentioned. "Mom loved this historical society stuff, it's... nice that we get to continue this for her."

"Yeah, you're right. I know you are, but it still... sucks," Jeremy replied sadly. "This whole thing, our lives? They suck."

"I know, Jer, but at least we have each other."

Jeremy lurched forward then, unexpectedly, wrapping his arms around his younger sister. 

"I know you don't like hugs anymore," He murmured into her hair, his grip tightening, "But I really need a hug right now."

So despite the flashes of emotions, thoughts and memories Lois was battered with from the contact, she stayed still because that is what her brother needed, and she would do anything for her brother.

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Jeremy had disappeared after swearing Lois to secrecy over the hug.

Lois had spent the rest of the morning sorting through the boxes of Gilbert family junk on the kitchen table.

She'd found some ancient looking journals, and laughed a little as she wondering if Elena's addiction to journal writing was genetic somehow.

One that caught her attention in particular were some journals from the 1860s written by Lois' ancestor, Jonathan Gilbert.

After checking if they were needed as part of the display (they weren't), Lois moved them up to her room and began reading through.

She was torn from her focus when she heard the doorbell ring.

Unfortunately for Tyler Lockwood, Jeremy had beaten both Elena and Lois to the door.

Jeremy immediately tried to slam the door in his face when he realised who it was, but Tyler held it open, "I'm here for my mom, I'm supposed to pick up a box of stuff for her."

"It's right here!" Elena called, moving towards the duo with the box in her hands, "Please be careful."

"Yeah, be careful with it, dick," Jeremy snarled.

"Hey! Not now, okay, guys? Please?" Elena sighed tiredly.

"I'm fine, he's just being a punk." Tyler retorted.

"I got your punk."

Lois pulled Jeremy back from the door by the hood of his jacket, stifling a laugh as he stumbled slightly from the unexpected movement.

Elena covered her mouth to hide her smile, turning to Tyler, "Okay, Tyler maybe you should go. Tell your mom that we'll see her tonight."

Elena walked off and Jeremy strode forward to shut the door again, but Tyler pushed it open again, calling out to catch Jeremy's attention, "Hey! Would it make a difference if I told you I actually like Vicki?"

Jeremy scowled, "Not even if you meant it."

The door was promptly slammed shut.

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AURA COLOUR CHART

red: energy, strength, anger, lust, passion, ego

orange: self control, ambition, thoughtfulness, courage

yellow: optimistic, happy, intellectual, naive

light green: peaceful, healing, compassion

dark green: deceitful, jealousy, moody

light blue: fear, indecisive, sensitive, skepticism

dark blue: spiritual, loyal, creative, kind

violet: wisdom, intuition, highly spiritual

indigo: benevolence, highly intuitive, seeker

pink: love, sincerity, friendship

grey: depression, sadness, exhaustion, low energy, skepticism

brown: greed, self-involvement, opinionated

black: lacking energy, illness, imminent death

white: perfect balance