One word he recognized, written three - no, four - times on the page: Mort. That meant death, didn't it? Matt traced the word with his finger, frowning. Creepy.
"I'l show it to Ethan," Chloe said, jumping up and taking the book from him. She crossed the room and interrupted Ethan's conversation with another girl. From the other side of the room, Matt watched Ethan's face break into a slow smile as he took the book.
After a few minutes, Chloe returned, grinning. "Ethan was real y excited," she said. "He said he'l tel us al about it after he gets someone to translate the book." Matt nodded. "That's terrific," he said, pushing the last of his unease away. This was Chloe, lively, laughing Chloe, and he would try not to think about death or blood or anything morbid around her. "Hey," he said, pushing away the dark thoughts, focusing on the golden highlights in her dark hair. "Are you going to the party at McAl ister House tonight?"
Maybe not pulled back, Elena thought, looking critical y at herself in the mirror. She tugged the barrette out of her hair and let her golden locks tumble, sleek and flat-ironed, down around her shoulders. Much better.
She looked good, she noted, running her eyes dispassionately over her reflection. Her strappy short black dress accentuated her rose-petal skin and pale hair, and her dark blue eyes seemed huge.
Without Stefan, though, what did it matter how she looked?
She watched her own mouth tighten in the mirror as she pushed the thought away. However much she missed the feeling of Stefan's hand in hers, his lips on hers, however much she wanted to be with him, it was impossible for now.
She couldn't be Katherine. And her pride wouldn't let her just mope around, either. It's not forever, she told herself grimly.
Bonnie came up and threw her arm around Elena's shoulders, regarding them both in the mirror. "We clean up nice, don't we?" she asked cheerful y. "Ready to go?"
"You do look amazing," Elena said, looking at Bonnie with affection. The shorter girl was practical y glowing with excitement - eyes sparkling, smile bright, cheeks flushed, mane of red hair flying out seemingly with a life of its own -
and her short blue dress and strappy high-heeled shoes were adorable. Bonnie's smile got bigger.
"Let's get going," Meredith said, al business. She was sleek and practical in jeans and a soft fitted gray shirt that matched her eyes. It was hard to know what Meredith was thinking, but Elena had overheard her murmuring to Alaric on the phone late at night. She figured that Meredith, at heart, might not be into the party either.
Outside, people walked quickly in large, silent groups, glancing around nervously as they went. No one lingered, no one was alone.
Meredith stopped midstride and stiffened, suddenly aware of a potential threat. Elena fol owed her gaze. She was wrong: one person lingered alone. Damon was sitting on a bench outside their dorm, his face tipped toward the sky as if he was basking in the sun despite the darkness of the evening.
"What do you want, Damon?" Meredith said, warily. Her voice wasn't actual y rude - they'd gotten past that, working together this summer - but it wasn't friendly, and Elena could feel her bristling beside her.
"Elena, of course," Damon said lazily, rising and smoothly taking Elena's arm.
Bonnie looked back and forth between them, puzzled. "I thought you weren't going to spend time with either of them for a while," she said to Elena.
Damon spoke quietly into Elena's ear. "It's about the Vitale Society. I've got a lead."
Elena hesitated. She hadn't told her friends about the hints she and Damon had found that the Vitale Society might be more than a myth, or that they might be connected to her parents in some way. There wasn't real y anything much to go on yet, and she didn't feel quite ready to talk about the possibility that her parents might have been mixed up in some kind of dark secret or how she felt, seeing the images of them when they were young.
Making up her mind, she turned to Meredith and Bonnie. "I've got to go with Damon for a minute. It's important. I'l explain it to you guys later. See you at the party in a little bit."
Meredith frowned but nodded, and she steered Bonnie toward McAl ister House. As they went, Elena could hear Bonnie saying, "But wasn't the whole point..." Keeping his hand tucked firmly under Elena's arm, Damon led her in the opposite direction. "Where are we going?" she asked, feeling too aware of the softness of Damon's skin and the strength of his grip.
"I saw a girl wearing one of those pins from the photo," Damon answered. "I fol owed her to the library, but once she got inside, she just disappeared. I looked everywhere for her. Then, an hour later, she came out the library doors again. Remember when I said we needed to look for answers somewhere other than the library?" He smiled. "I was wrong. There's something going on in there."
"Maybe you just didn't see her?" Elena wondered aloud.
"It's a big library, she could have been tucked away in a study carrel or something."
"I would have found her," Damon said briefly. "I'm good at finding people." His teeth shone white for a moment under the streetlights.
The problem was that the library was so normal. Once they were inside, Elena looked around at the gray-carpeted floors, the beige chairs, the rows and rows of bookshelves, the buzzing fluorescent lights. It was a place to study. It didn't look like any secrets were hidden here.
"Upstairs?" she suggested.
They took the stairs rather than the elevator and worked their way down from the top floor. Going from floor to floor, they found ... nothing. People reading and taking notes.