As I crossed the border into Mystic Falls I let my breath out and gave more confidence in my stride. When I left the magic around the border of my home town was still gone but I would always remember when Alaric crossed the line, and nearly died all over again. A slight breeze picked up the skirt of my dress and I looked down to make sure the hooks on the lace bodice were still held together. It would have been too awkward to rock up at the Salvatore's house half dressed, but a part of me wouldn't of minded. The dominant part of me. In all honesty I hadn't even wanted to wear the dress (a small red thing with black lace and metal hooks holding the corset in place) but I had little choice; it was either this or sweat pants and a baggy hoody. The old Elena would have chosen the baggy clothes but I'd learnt fast that looking good does pay off in the long run. It was a main reason why I was able to come back.

As I passed through the town I spotted the Mystic Grill and wondered if Matt still worked there. Probably. I shook my head and smiled as I wondered how he could be happy working there for most of his life. Someone shoved me roughly and I stumbled to my left, my reflexes fast enough so I didn't fall, and I looked up to see a dark skinned man shine his knife from his pocket. I raised an eyebrow as he quickly looked around us and slowly shuffle towards me. I lost it when he gave me his 'I'm-a-big-man-don't-mess-with-me' face. I doubled over laughing and shocked the man to the point where he took a few steps back. When I looked up again his cheeks were flushed and he was burning holes in my head.

"This ain't funny, girl. You better quit laughing before you get hurt" I did stop laughing at this and placed my hand on my hip, letting my weight drop on the one side. I gave the man a Cheshire cat grin and took a step towards him.

"Hurt me go on. I'm begging for it aren't i? It's the way I'm dressed? The way I walk?" I took a few more steps and the sound of my heels clicking against the concrete echoed in the silence of the streets. The man had pulled out the knife and was holding it out in front of him as a warning for me to stay away.

"Come any closer and I'll hurt you. I mean it" I bit my lip to stop from laughing again and defied his orders. When I took the next step he jerked his arm towards me, the blade widely missing my stomach, and I grabbed him by the throat. Using my speed I ran us both to a side alley and threw him against a wall where he slid down and rolled to his right. The knife had been dropped during the journey and he was realizing what a mess he was in. I could see it in his eyes. My smile was gone. I picked him up by his hair and he cried out in pain when I slammed his head against the wall once more and held him there. My face was centimetres from his when I spoke.

"I should kill you for what you were going to do to me. But I'm a nice girl…I don't really like killing people that much" He had begun shivering with fear and had started pleading with me to let him go, promising he'd never do anything like that again. I rolled my eyes.

"Your right you won't be doing this again…kind of hard to hurt girls when you can't chase after them" He gave me a confused look.

"What? I can…" It clicked a second before I snapped his lower legs in half and threw him deeper into the alley. I heard his cries still when I was three streets away.

(Stefan)

It had been three months since Elena had gone missing, so you could understand my shock and surprise when I opened the door to find her twirling a strand of her long brunette hair between her fingers. She grinned and I saw a fang pop out over her lip and frowned when I saw no veins around her eyes. I grabbed her arm and pulled her inside and looked into her eyes. When I saw that it was Elena I pulled her into a hug.

"Where the hell have you been?" She squirmed to get out of the hug and I held her at arm's length. She hid her fangs, something I would need to ask about later, and rested her hands on my arms.

"Gee, nice to see you again Elena really missed you!" Her sarcasm tore at my nerves and I resisted the urge to shake her.

"You were gone for three months, Elena. Three months!" I raised my voice at the last part and she flinched at the volume.

"I didn't mean to leave so fast…I was going to talk to you guys first but I knew what you would say…"

"What were you doing? What was so important that you had to leave for months without contacting us?" She bit her lip and seemed to be looking for the right words to say. I gave a growl of impatience and she shrugged off my arms.

"Okay! I know we needed help with Kai…and with Caroline flipping the switch….I just thought we could use some back up…" She was babbling and that was never a good sign. I took a step towards her and she held her hands palm up; a sign telling me to stay where I was. I did and crossed my arms over my chest. Why wouldn't she just tell me where she was?

"Do you know what happened in those three months you were gone Elena? We caught Caroline, after she used Liam as her blood bank, and Bonnie came back" The last part made her eyes widen and I saw tears forming.

"Bonnies…back?" I nodded and she covered her mouth with a hand.

"Where is she? I need to see her…" She made to go out the door but I placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped her in her tracks.

"No. First you need to tell me where you were and why you couldn't at least call us. Do you know how worried we were, Elena? How long we searched for you?" She shook her head and looked towards the fireplace in the living room. When she looked back to me the tears were gone.

"I'll tell you…but I think everyone needs to be here for this" I didn't like her stalling but I agreed to let everyone know they were needed. I called out friends and told them to come as soon as they could and Elena poured herself a glass of bourbon. I raised an eyebrow as she sat on the couch and hung up the phone on Matt. I hadn't been able to get a hold of Damon. I sat down opposite Elena and scratched my cheek.

"You don't like bourbon" It was a statement and she swallowed her mouthful of liquor and shrugged.

"I acquired a taste for it" I was about to ask when that happened when a man was suddenly standing in front of me, facing Elena. He held the bourbon bottle in his hand and when I stood and saw my brother's face I knew he was furious.

"Yes, Elena. When did you 'acquire' the taste" I sat back in my seat and rubbed across my eyes with a hand. This was going to be a long night.