✔️| Gilbert (K.M. Love Story)

~••♪10♪••~

A few days had passed since homecoming, Ariana hadn't heard from Niklaus in those three days but Elena had apologized and she'd finally returned home. She yearned to play the piano but she didn't know what to play, she had little inspiration for music over the last few days but a project was due and she needed to write a piece by the next Monday.

"Ari"

"Lena"

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Sure" the girl smiled and stood up, taking her sisters hand, Ariana was dressed differently today, Caroline and Bonnie had brought her a new wardrobe, courtesy of Damon's bottomless bank account to apologize for the awful homecoming.

She wore a long brown jumper dress with a flowery hem, black tights, brown boots, her glasses and she carried her leather satchel.

"Here" she felt something placed in her hand and didn't know what it was.

"It's a parasol Aria, it's really sunny out there" Elena explained and Ariana nodded, taking her sisters hand in her spare one and exiting the house, allowing Elena to put the parasol up for her.

"Do you think I should go back to Juilliard?"

"Why? Do you want to?"

"Not necessarily, I just think that I have more of a purpose there"

"Stay for a few more weeks Aria, then if you don't like it still, you can go back to school, okay?"

"Okay, at Juilliard I used to do performances and get money"

"What did you do with the money?" Elena was overly curious to know.

"I saved it" she informed nervously and Elena sighed, already knowing the answer to her next question.

"For what Ariana?"

"The operation" she mumbled. When she was ten, the doctors said that they could complete an operation to remove the damaged parts of her eyes and allow her to see again but the drawback was that it cost large sums of money that their parents couldn't afford.

"Ariana, we already talked about this before, it's not worth it! It costs too much money and it may not even work" Elena ranted.

"Elena! This could change my life! I just want to see! Even if it's just for a few days, please help me Lena."

"We can't raise that much money Ari"

"I know, it was just a suggestion" she mumbled and they kept walking down the stone sidewalk. "But, I am not going to stop trying" the younger twin informed as she strutted forward slightly, aware that they were at the grill by this time.

"Ariana you can't!"

"What about the money mom and dad left me?"

"You can't waste your money like that Ariana"

"It's not wasting it if it makes me see" she sighed, they were now in the grill and Elena walked straight over to the darts board where Damon was throwing darts continuously as bulls eye. He turned when they walked toward him and Elena pushed Ariana to sit down.

"You do not look good, day drunk is not your most attractive look"

"You think I'm attractive" he smirked sloppily.

"Ah ah ah, I never said that, I just said that this is my least favorite look"

"Hmm, onto more important matters, why does Aria look like you just ran over her puppy?"

"That doesn't matter" Elena hastily replied, she knew that Damon would easily pay for the operation but she wasn't sure that the operation was the best thing for her sister. It may not even work and the shock from it all could upset her.

"Really? Because she doesn't seem very happy" Damon tsked and Elena grumbled.

"Hey monkey, how about we get you a strawberry milkshake?!" The girl instantly perked up and Damon chuckled, walking to Matt to order it. The blond bartender gave it to him on the house as it was for Ari.

"Now isn't this nice?" They heard a British accent announce a few moments later and they all sighed. Ariana just continued to sip her milkshake through the straw, ignoring the hybrid.

"Klaus"

At that point, Ariana blocked out the conversation though she was aware that it was about the location of Stefan. Klaus couldn't take his eyes off of the beautiful doppelganger as he spoke, she was twirling an antique looking parasol around in her pale hands, her bracelet clicking.

Eventually Elena stormed away and Damon continued to throw darts, occasionally glancing back at Ariana who sat with her head in her hands.

"What's up with you and Elena?" The Salvatore eventually asked and he saw Klaus glance over from where he sat with his hybrid a few tables away.

"We just had a ...disagreement"

"About what exactly?"

"Money" she sighed, their parents had left them thousands of dollars but Elena refused to chip into it, even if they were struggling and she couldn't work out why. Elena refused to give Ariana anything.

"What about money?"

"Just the stuff our parents left us, Elena is being stubborn about using it"

"Using it for what?"

"It's a long story" she sighs, she understood why Elena wouldn't use the money, she didn't want to waste it but that hadn't stopped the older doppelganger sister from spending it on a spa day with Caroline a few months prior.

"I'm a vampire Ari, I've got time" he sat beside her and took her hand to announce his presence.

"She won't use our parents money for something important but she wastes it on stupid things"

"She's older Ariana, she's just protecting it"

"Protecting it?! Why does nobody ever care what I think?!"

"Ariana, what do you need that money for?"

"No, maybe it is just a stupid idea" she sighed and removed her hand hastily from his "every time I think me and Elena are okay, I do something stupid and mess it all up. "

"Elena's just got a lot on her plate Ari"

"Really? Ya think? The rest of us do too Damon! She just doesn't believe it" she grumbled.

"Aria, you need to calm down okay? You never act like this, just tell me what it's for Ari, I want to help"

"No, this isn't a fairy tale, we can wish for things but those wishes will never come true" she whispers and stands, Matt comes over at that moment and offers her a ride home which she gladly accepts. "I'm sorry Dame" she sighed and kissed his cheek, carefully.

"That's okay monkey"