A/N: This is my first story for Vampire diaries. It's a Delena story and plays up the torment that Stefan is causing now that he is in back in Mystic Falls and in full ripper mode. The story starts the morning after "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Disclaimer: I do not any of the vampire Diaries storylines or characters.

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Chapter 1

Elena woke with a start. She lay in bed listening and heard nothing but the usual creaks and sounds of the house settling. She turned her head looking at the clock. 5:15 am. She had 45 minutes until she needed to get up for training with Alaric. After last night's encounter, staking Stefan after he called pathetic when their plan to save him fell apart, she was more determined than ever to protect her friends, her family and hopefully herself.

Elena rolled away from her clock to get a little more asleep. She was settling back under the covers when she noticed the shadowy figure on her window seat. She bolted upright turning on her bedside lamp.

"Stefan" Elena whispered not wanting to wake Jeremy or Alaric.

"Nice little stunt last night, Elena. You and the Scooby gang caught me off guard. It won't happen again."

"Stefan, let us help you. This isn't the real you." Elena said gently to him.

"That's where you're wrong Elena. I'm finally free to be the real me." Stefan said learning forward. "Now, after last night, I think I need to keep a closer eye on you. Can't have you off plotting without me around, can we?" he said with a wicked smile.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked scooting back on the bed to put as much distance between herself and Stefan as possible.

"Start packing. You're coming to live at the Boarding House with me."

"This is my home, Stefan. I'm not leaving it. No more plots. You leave me alone and I'll leave you alone," Elena said emphatically.

"Now where's the fun in that." Stefan got to his feet. He sauntered toward her bed and placed two rings on her bedside table. Elena's eyes grew wide as she recognized the rings. Stefan had somehow removed both Jeremy's and Alaric's magical protection rings while they were sleeping.

"Let's see if baby bro survives a broken neck this time." Stefan blurred to Jeremy's door.

"Wait' yelled jumping from her bed. Stefan walked back to lean against the doorframe of Elena's room, arms crossed over his chest with a chesire cat grin.

"I'll come stay with you," Elena said quietly.

"Now that's more like it, Elena. Teamwork, cooperation. That's all I want." Stefan said walking across Elena's room. "Think of the positive side of things. You'll be closer to Damon" he said with a wink. "I'll be back to pick you up for school. Make sure you're packed and ready." Stefan blurred out the window leaving the curtains fluttering in the breeze.

Elena picked up the rings with trembling hands and headed to Jeremy's room. She silently walked in relieved to hear him snoring. She gently placed the ring back on his finger. She sat on the edge of the bed fighting to control the terror inside her. She got up and headed to her parents room. Elena didn't feel comfortable just walking in and putting the ring back on Alaric. She gently knocked on the door. "Ric, its Elena."

Elena heard feet fit the floor and a second later the door flew open. "What's wrong? Everything okay?" he said trying to fully wake up.

"Here." Elena said holding out her hand, his ring sitting in her palm.

"Why do you, how did you get?" Alaric said looking from Elena's outstretched hand to his empty finger.

"Stefan just paid me a visit. He got your and Jeremy's rings tonight. He wants me to go stay at the Boarding House," Elena said with sadness.

"No. You're not going," Alaric said turning to find pants as he realized he was standing before her in his boxers.

"Ric, he took both yours and Jeremy's rings in your sleep. Then he threatened to break Jeremy's neck. I'm going. He won't hurt me, I'm his human blood bag to protect" Elena said with disgust quoting Stefan's words. "We just need to come up with a new plan to lock up Stefan. That way I don't have to be there any longer than I have to be."

"Elena, you don't have to. We'll think of something."

"If I go stay with him, it will buy us time. If I refuse, he'll retaliate. We can't be on the defensive. We have to figure out a way to break through and bring Stefan back, the real Stefan. I'll check in everyday and you'll see me at school. I'll be okay. Worst case scenario, Damon will be there." Elena lifted her chin to show there was no sense in arguing. Her mind was made up.

Elena packed a duffle bag with a week's worth of clothes. She hoped that was as long as she would need to be at the Boarding House. She picked up her duffle and backpack and headed downstairs to wait for Stefan.

"Elena, I think this is a bad idea," Jeremy said as he ate his cereal standing in the hall looking at Elena's bags.

"I do to, but I can't let you guys get hurt." Elena heard a car and she peaked out the front window. "Its Stefan, I have to go. I'll see you at school Jer." He gave her a depressed look. "If we play his game for now, maybe we can catch him off guard later. Trust me, Jer."

"I trust you Elena. Its Stefan I don't trust."

Elena gave her brother a hug and walked out of the house to the car. Stefan had already popped open the trunk and Elena put her bag inside.

"Good morning, Elena, ready for a great day at school" Stefan said smiling sarcastically.

"Just drive" Elena said never glancing at Stefan instead staring out the car window looking at her house. She suppressed a sigh. Stefan just snickered. A short time later, he pulled in front of the school.

"Now I expect you home straight after school young lady" Stefan said mockingly.

"You're not going to school today?" Elena asked as she climbed out of the car grabbing her backpack.

"I have some things to do" he said using air quotes. "If you catch my meaning" he said wiggling his eye brows, very Damonesque.

"Gross." Elena said under her breath slamming the car door and turning to walk into school. She heard the car tires screeching as he sped away. Elena ran into Bonnie and Caroline just after stepping in the door.

"You're not really going to go live with him?" Bonnie asked nervously. Elena gave both of them a look. "We ran into Rick already this morning" Bonnie admitted.

"What choice do I have? He had both of their rings and threatened to kill Jeremy and probably would have killed Rick next. I can't risk that. If I'm there he should leave you guys alone. Like I told Ric, we just need a better plan and fast. I have to go straight there after school. Maybe me being there will give us some inside information that will help save Stefan and deal with Klaus. I'll spy on things at the Boarding House and you guys work things from your end."

Elena managed to make it through the day and after school convinced Tyler to drop her off at the Boarding House since Caroline and Bonnie refused since they still thought this was all a bad idea.

"Do you want me to come in?" Tyler asked.

"No, thanks. I'll be okay."

Elena stepped in the front door and saw her bag sitting in the foyer. She could hear music blasting from the back of the house. She wondered away from the music hoping to find Damon but no luck. With nowhere else to go she wandered toward the music. As she started for the back of the house she heard a woman's voice. Elena slowed her steps worried she was in the house alone with Rebekah. Then she heard Stefan's voice.

Elena walked into the parlor and stopped dead in her tracks. Her jaw dropped open at what she saw. Stefan was sitting in one of the winged back chairs in only his jeans. His chest had streaks of blood on it. He had a bottle of alcohol in one hand and was holding the wrist of a twenty-something blond in his other hand. Elena looked around the room. There were two girls slumped over on the couch and three girls were dancing around in their underwear with rivulets of blood dripping from their necks.

"I love this song" one of the girls screamed and started dancing seductively motioning to Stefan to join them.

"Elena, so nice to see you. Welcome home." Stefan said as he pulled the girl into his lap so that her back was pressed against his chest. He brushed her hair aside and locked eyes with Elena. His eyes turned black and the veins started protruding from his face and then he bit viciously into the girl's neck ripping at the skin as if it was a turkey leg.

Elena could do nothing but stare. She had heard Damon describe how Stefan killed but it was entirely different to see it. When the girl was drained, he dropped her roughly on the floor. He got up, stepped over her body and walked seductively to the dancing girls. He started to grind against a girl from behind while another one started dancing against him reaching around to rub her hands over his chest. He leaned down and bit the neck of the girl he was grinding against and drank deeply as she moaned part in pain and part in pleasure. Stefan looked up blood dripping from his chin.

"Are you going to just stand there or come join us?" Stefan said with a mischievous grin. Stefan's words snapped Elena out of her trance and she ran upstairs. Not knowing where else to go she ran into Damon's room, closing the door behind her and locking it. She slid down the door to the floor trying not to cry.

How can that be Stefan? Is the man I love still in there? Even Damon had never been that brutal at his worst she thought. As the vision of what she had witnessed downstairs started to replay, her stomach started to churn. She fought the nausea but she heard a thud downstairs and then Stefan shouted "Who's next?" Elena couldn't fight the nausea anymore and ran to the bathroom.

Damon walked in the door and immediately heard the music. He looked down and saw a bag giving it a quizzical look. He headed to the Parlor and saw Stefan in the midst of a blood orgy. He flicked the music off and looked around the room with disgust.

"How many times are we going to have to replace these rugs, Stefan?" Damon said pouring himself a drink from the bar. "What's with the bag by the door? Taking a trip?" Damon asked hopefully.

"We have a guest," Stefan said with a small smile.

Damon froze reaching out with his heightened senses and blurred to his room. Elena. He tried the door. It was locked. He listened again and could hear her vomiting. He broke the lock and raced to the bathroom. Damon knocked and gently pushed open the door and saw Elena on her knees on the floor her head resting against the porcelain. His heart leapt as he saw her, even in this state.

"Elena. Elena, why are you here?" Damon said crossing the room to kneel next to her. "I thought I told you not to come here for a while."

"He made me, Damon. He wants me to stay here to keep a closer eye on me. He stole Jer and Ric's rings this morning and threatened to kill them if I didn't come." The tears that Elena had been holding back from everyone else flowed down her cheeks.

"Damn Stefan. I don't want you anywhere near him."

"He won't hurt me," Elena said. "He can't hurt me. Compelled to protect me, remember."

"There are worse things than physical pain, Elena. He is not under compulsion to avoid inflicting that kind of pain."

Elena started to feel sick again. "You might want to leave, Damon. This isn't pretty," Elena said trying to laugh.

"I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress" Damon said sitting behind her and pulling her hair back.

After there was nothing left in her stomach Elena sat up. "We have to save him Damon. He would never want to be like that and we can't live in this sick world he and Klaus have forced us to be in." The two sat in silence for a long time. Elena stood up. "I need a shower."

"Oh, really" Damon said raising an eyebrow at her. Elena swatted him in the arm with a look of disgust.

"Can you bring my bag up for me?"

"Sure," he said with a smile. He knew she wasn't ready to face what was downstairs yet. Damon blurred away and was back bag in hand within seconds.

"Thanks" Elena said taking the bag and staring at him.

"Oh, I guess you want me to leave" he said backing out of the bathroom closing the door with a smile.

Elena shook her head and leaned against the door trying to pull herself together. She started the shower and climbed in trying to forget what she saw earlier. We have to fix him, Elena thought. This will not be my life.

Elena exited the bathroom a short while later combing her wet hair in a clean set of clothes. She saw Damon dragging a couch from the far side of the room with only one hand placing it between the bed and the door.

"Redecorating?" Elena asked with a quizzical look.

"Ha, Ha. If Stefan is black-mailing you to stay here then you're staying in this room where I can keep an eye on you. The couch is more comfortable than the floor, unless you want to share the bed" he said using his sexy voice.

"The couch placement really makes the room" she said with sarcastic enthusiasm.

Elena flopped on Damon's bed and turned the TV on flicking through the channels. When Damon was satisfied with the arrangement of the room, he flopped down on the bed next to Elena stealing the remote. Damon started flicking through the channels and the two bickered over what to watch. A short time later, Elena's stomach started to growl.

"Any chance there is food in the house?" Elena asked sitting up as her stomach growled again.

"Hello, vampire. Liquor. Blood. All I need to be good to go."

"Hello, human. Food, water. My stomach knows that its empty and I need to eat. Want to take me to get some dinner? Unless Stefan wants me to starve to death, he shouldn't object." Elena said with a heaviness she didn't intend.

Damon sat up putting his hands on either side of her face. "We'll fix this Elena. I won't let him make you are prisoner or stop you from living your life."

"Can you check to see if things are cleaned up, ah, downstairs? If I see that again there may be no use going out for food." Damon blurred away and was back. "Coast is clear." Damon picked Elena up bridal style and blurred to the car. They got in a headed for the Grille.

Damon and Elena headed inside and saw Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy and Alaric together in a booth. "I'm going to get a drink" Damon said heading for the bar. Elena headed over to join the others.

"Elena, how is it there?" Caroline asked.

"Let's just say, I've seen slasher movies with less gore. Any ideas yet?"

"Nothing yet, but we'll keep working on it." Alaric said quietly.

Tsk, Tsk they are all heard and turned to see Stefan leaning against the railing above them as Damon made to the table drink in hand.

"Brother" Stefan said nodding at Damon.

"Brother" Damon said moving to Elena's side.

Stefan turned to Elena. "Don't bother plotting. If I see you make a single move against me I will take them out one by one." As Stefan uttered his threat at Elena he made pretend shooting motions at Bonnie, Jeremy, Alaric, Caroline. He held the gun in place at Damon for a couple of seconds longer than the others before pretending to pull the trigger then blowing at the end of his finger.

"I expect you home in an hour Elena."