Grace - Elijah Mikaelson -

Chapter 42

The day after the victory always had something melancholic. It was the day choices should be made that no one wanted to think about before the climax of the fight. 

Since Esther was dead and her last try to kill her children died with Alaric, change was inevitable. 

Nik wanted to leave Mystic Falls. He had his hybrids already packing. Of course he assumed that Grace would come with him, so Elijah could join them, too. But for the young vampire it wasn't that easy. She was actually afraid to leave her family behind, especially Jeremy. There was still so many unfinished business. Grace wasn't ready to leave, but she also finally wanted to be with Elijah.

The choice wasn't easy, so the only decision she made for the morning was to join a very grumpy Rebekah to clean up the school after yesterday's dance. 

Grace was grateful to have something to do and she could spent time with Rebekah at the same time. That girl needed someone urgently right now. She told Nik and Grace what Esther had done to her and of course she was also disappointed that she couldn't go to the dance. It had been important for her. Of course it was something ridiculously simple for someone who was a thousand years old, but the younger vampire understood that Rebekah needed this to remind herself of her humanity. 

In comfortable silence, they picked up trash and untied balloons while they both were deeply buried in their thoughts. At least it kept their hands busy. Accidentally crushing some glasses and bins definitely left less damage than cracking skulls. 

Soon, they were joined by Caroline, who looked surprised to see the women in the hall, cleaning. 

"Hi, Care." 

Grace stated friendly, to which Caroline nodded greeting. Her eyes were on Rebekah and she frowned. 

"Where's Matt?"

The Original didn't stop picking up used bottles. 

"He bailed. Work called him in last minute." 

Caroline sighed and started to help. Grace kept an wary eye on the girls, they usually had potential to scratch each other's eyes out. She knew on which blonde she would bet her money on. 

Climbing on a table, she detached a banner from the wall. 

"I'm sorry about your mom...well, I know you hated her and all, but still..." 

Caroline's voice became a bit more sympathetic. It made Grace look over her shoulder to see her friend's reaction. She knew, even after all Esther had done to them, she never hated her own mother. Rebekah couldn't. 

"I'm sorry about your teacher. He seemed like a nice guy." 

A small, proud smile passed the brunette's lips. That was actually development. Maybe there still could be peace between the Originals and her sister's friends. Even tough Grace had chosen her side, it still was hard for her to see them all fighting. 

"Yeah, he was..." 

The blonde's voice shifted into a sad tone, and Grace had the urge to hug her tightly. Caroline also had lost much and still no one really seemed to see that. 

"I'm getting started on gym." 

Rebekah stated to break the silence and Grace let her go. It was obvious that she needed a minute alone. 

"Thank you, Grace. It's nice that you're helping." 

Smiling, Grace jumped down from the table. 

"No problem. Rebekah needed someone by her side today." 

She felt Carolines gaze on her. There was something she wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure if it would be good to go for it. With raised eyebrows, Grace tilted her head to make her.