A life in the shadows

27

Matteo woke up to squeals coming from downstairs. He looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand which read 1:50 PM. That made him sit up immediately. He'd overslept- a rare occurrence. He got out of bed, pulling a hoodie on and over to the bathroom. Once he came out, he followed the squeals to the kitchen, to see Siobhan, Elena and Caroline all marvelling over her ring.
"Good morning." He said from the doorway. Siobhan smiled at him, her face lighting up.
"Hi."
"And that would be our cue." Caroline grabbed Elena's hand pulling her past Matteo. "Hi."
"Hello Caroline, Elena."
"Have fun." Elena smirked before she and Caroline walked out.
"So you slept in?" Siobhan asked as he walked over to her.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Weird. Are you okay?"
"I feel fine, maybe a little tired. I can't remember the last time I slept in this late." He hugged her from behind, placing a kiss on her forehead before walking over to the fridge.
"Maybe you're stressed out?"
"Very." He replied solemnly. A look of hurt flashed over her face and he carried on. "Because I'm still not convinced you won't realise how much better you deserve."
"Hey, I'm never going to leave you. If anything, shouldn't I be worried about the guy who's had commitment issues for the last century?"
"Never, because he's smart. Well now he is, he was an idiot before, but now he's smart enough to realise the precious gem he has."
"So what we're both saying is... we'll marry each other?" She raised her brow. "Glad we got that sorted."
"Have you had breakfast, darling?"
"Yes." She said and Matteo started cracking eggs. "But I wouldn't mind more." She turned around watching him cook. "Just one question. What are you wearing under that hoodie?"

"I can't believe Siobhan and Matteo are getting married!" Caroline grinned.
"Why not?" Damon walked into the room.
"It's an expression, Damon." She groaned. "Like, oh my god they're getting married."
"I'm glad they're happy." He said.
"Who are you, and what have you done with Damon?"
"What?"
"You're glad they're happy? That's not a Damon thing to say."
"Shut up. And you know, any relationship where my brother isn't getting drained of his blood has my approval."
"Did you see that ring?" Elena gushed.
"What do you think Matt and I were doing yesterday?"
"You helped pick out that ring?" The girls stared at him.
"Okay, this is kinda getting creepy, so I'm going to leave."
"No, no, sorry. Okay sit. So what did you get up to yesterday?"
"It turns out my brother had a bigger influence on my life for the past hundred and forty five years than I thought. I mean half the people I met were because of him, so he took me to see the familiar faces. Then he took me to a school."
"A school?"
"Full of vampires, witches and werewolves."
"What?"
"I know. And it's more than that. They're all so polite and good and really creepy."
"They're not creepy." Siobhan laughed walking in. "They're really moral and have consciences. We teach them to be better people. To be kind and nice. To always think of others, not just themselves."
"Like I said. Creepy. They adore Matteo."
"Give me a second," Matteo walked out of the room and jogged up the stairs. A minute later he jogged back down and headed to the living room, with his briefcase.
"It's gift time!" Damon clapped his hands.
"Gift time?"
"I took Damon to this space I have, filled with things from my past. I thought you guys might like some of these things." Matteo said, bringing out Eliza's journal. "This is for you. Eliza's journal. She wrote in it when she was about your age. She was one of my favourite Gilberts, she and Josh. I know she'd want you to have it. Maybe you'll find you had a lot more in common with her than you'd think."
"Thank you." She said, gently cradling the leather bound book. "It means a lot."
"Of course." Matteo smiled at her before bringing out the wooden antique box. "This is for you, Caroline. The original Mrs Forbes gave it to me. It was supposed to go to the eldest Forbes daughter, but Mrs Forbes didn't think she was deserving. She thought that if I did ever end up marrying Caitlyn like my father wanted, I could give it to our daughter."
"Is this the lost Forbes gem?"
"You know about it?" Elena asked.
"Yeah, my dad used to tell me stories about it. It's supposed to bring luck and protection to the person who has it. And it goes to the eldest Forbes daughter. It was gifted to our family long before Mystic Falls when our family lived in New York. It's been lost since, well, eighteen sixty four."
"Well I don't think there's anyone more deserving of this than you, Caroline."
"Thank you so much." She said. "I bet Christmas is more fun with you around."
"He's the ultimate gift giver." Siobhan agreed.
"This is awesome, Matt." Elena said. "I mean seriously awesome."
"Well, as long as when you're reading that, you ignore the bits about me. I'm not like that."
"You read it?"
"Never." He said. "But I was there when she was writing in it. I mean I'd sometimes get a peak over her shoulder and see my name."
"Why didn't you read it?"
"Would you want Jeremy to read your journals after you died? I mean in a very very long time when you've gotten old and grey."
"Oh."
"Eliza was practically my sister. We'd known each other our whole lives, until I died."
"I'm really sorry."
"The past is gone. And she lived a wonderful life." Matteo closed his briefcase. "Who wants to go for a car ride? I still have a few things to give out."
"Sure, um how many others?"
"We'll start with Jeremy."