Elena woke up in a bluish looking room, and for a split second she didn't know where she was or what had happened. Everything was a blur. Slowly, the fog of the blur cleared away to reveal Stefan looking down at her.
"Hey." He said monotonously.
"Stefan," She breathed, "what happened?"He bowed his head, not daring to look Elena in the eye.
"Stefan… how am I alive?" She asked with a hint of panic in her voice. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again.
His silence said it all, but still she refused to believe it. She could not be.
"Matt! Is he okay? Where is he?" She asked frantically.
"Matt's fine, Elena. A little CPR and he was as good as new. He's at home resting. He wanted to come see you, but I told him that wouldn't be such a good idea."
Damon barged into the hospital room followed by Meredith. Elena's eyes met his for a very brief few seconds. Stefan looked up and his eyes wandered between the pair.
"Well Elena," Damon said, finally breaking the silence, "sweet Meredith here decided to help you out a bit. Seems like you've got a little case of the vamps."
Surprisingly, she didn't feel too bad about it. It was inevitable, she spent more time with vampires than with humans, anyway.
"I…I don't know what to think."
Damon spoke up again. "Well, I don't know about brooding Stefan over here, but I'm kind of glad. Better undead than dead." He flashed his famous smirk, which seemed to be mocking her in this situation.
"Elena, I'm sorry…I can't stand to see anyone die period…but you, someone Alaric cared about so much…sweet Elena, I couldn't. I won't blame you if you decide to hate me forever."
"Just remember honey, forever's a long time now." Damon whispered to Meredith, which caused both Elena and Meredith to roll their eyes.
"Of course I don't hate you. I mean…it can't be all that bad being a vampire, can it?"
"It has its ups and downs, Elena." Stefan said, finally speaking up. "I'll be here for you. I can teach you. I won't let anyone hurt you for as long as I live."
Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I need a drink." He muttered to himself. Stefan's phone sounded, "Jeremy." He said quietly, excusing himself.
"Oh God, Jeremy. What am I going to do? He's lost so many people…too many…" Elena said, her brows furrowed.
"Elena, you're still alive...in a way. Jeremy will be fine." Damon said, serious now.
Meredith quietly left the room.
"But I'm not, Damon. I'm not alive. Jeremy's dealt with a lot. I'm not going to be the same girl as I was before. I just wanted him to live a normal life."
Again, Damon scoffed. "Normal? Elena, the kid is anything but normal. He wasn't meant to live a normal life. If he was, he wouldn't have been born into a family of Vampire hunters with a sister who's a doppelganger. Not to mention, he sees ghosts! That's not exactly normal, Elena."
Elena looked down. "I guess you're right. But I just…I don't know."
Damon sauntered toward Elena, looking her in the eyes. "I'm just happy you're alive. If you would have died, I mean actually died, I don't know what I would have done." She smiled softly, quietly looking up into his eyes.
"Damon," Stefan interrupted, go make sure Jeremy stays at home. He wants to come see Elena, I told him it wasn't a good idea right now. Something tells me he doesn't care."
"I'm on it, brother." Damon left the room casually, giving Elena a small smile.
"Stefan, when will I be able to see Jeremy? He needs me, I'm all he has now." He gently grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb in circles on her palm.
"Jeremy will understand. You'll see him soon. I promise."
Elena smiled, pushing her messed up hair behind her ear.
"I love you, Elena." Stefan said, caressing her cheek.
"I love you." She replied guiltily, an image of Damon crossing her mind.
Suddenly, out of nowhere she became ravenous for something to eat. Her stomach wasn't exactly growling, but her mouth was watering and she felt weak, and shaky.
"Stefan…I'm really hungry. I'm starving. I need something to eat."
"Elena, we need to get out of here. Follow me, don't get to close to anyone, okay?"
All she could do was nod.
She followed Stefan out to the parking lot, and before they left, he stopped her. "If you feel like you need to drink someone's blood, I want you to close your eyes, and breathe. I want you to think of how you'll get through it, and I want you to think of everyone you love. Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline, me, and even Damon…"
Elena looked away and nodded. "I understand."
As they were walking to the car, a tall woman with thick blonde hair was hurrying to her car. She was plump with puffed cheeks, she looked like she had been crying. Elena stopped and looked at her. She felt an overwhelming pang of sympathy for the girl.
A breeze rolled through right then, and Elena found herself jumping toward the woman, at what seemed like the speed of light.
Stefan was quicker. Before Elena could sink her teeth into the poor woman, Stefan pinned her down to the car. "Elena. Remember, breathe."
The woman was too shocked and afraid to even move.
Elena took closed her eyes, and took long, deep breaths. "Stefan, we need to go, now."
He nodded. "I know. Get in the car. I'll be there in a minute."
Elena quickly went to the car, scared of her own self, and who'd she become.
Stefan grabbed the woman's hands, and looked her in the eyes. "You will not remember what just happened. You will forget everything that just happened in this parking lot."
Stefan was in the car before the woman could even take notice of him ever being there.
They raced down the roads, and as soon as they got to the Salvatore home, Damon was waiting at the door with two blood bags.
He was waiting at the door with a smirk, "I knew my brother wouldn't let you feast on fresh blood, so I made sure to have some blood bags ready."
With no hesitation, Elena ran over to Damon and tore the bag open with her teeth and sucked the blood out of the bag.
"I'm impressed!" Damon said, amused.
"Yeah, she almost made this woman at the hospital dinner. It was a close call."
"Almost? I'm sorry, Elena." Stefan rolled his eyes. Damon turned his head toward Elena, and added in a whisper, "I'll get you out of the house one day without my killjoy brother, and I'll show you what a real meal tastes like."
Elena smiled, blood smeared across her lips, "No Damon…I don't want to kill people, or hurt them."
Damon grinned, "Even in your afterlife you're a saint."
Elena shuddered. "Don't say that….'afterlife', that sounds so weird."
Damon shrugged, while Stefan smiled. "Damon," Elena said, "how's Jeremy?"
He smirked, "I don't know, why don't you ask him?"
Elena squinted, confused.
"Hey, Elena." She looked toward the staircase.
"Jeremy."
I don't know how I feel about this chapter, so I'll leave it up to you to tell me how I did. :) Want more? No? Be brutal, I can handle it.