Elena awoke to her phone vibrating with an incoming text message. She read it with half opened, blurry eyes. 'We have a problem. New vamps in town? Orr..' This instantly woke Elena up. Or what? If there was any chance she or someone she cared about was in danger of being hunted by a vampire, she needed to eliminate them! The possibilities were endless and this jolted her immediately out of bed. She hurried to find an outfit that didn't scream 'Vampire Girlfriend going to stake some ancient bastards' but one that she could easily maneuver in, especially if she had to run.. not that running would do her much good against the undead who were fifty, if not more, times faster than her. While she was starting her black SUV, her body finally realized how tired it was. It was Monday morning and she was up earlier than she normally was for school. She slumped against the steering wheel. Ughh.. couldn't you vampires wait?
Elena picked her head up lazily and as she was putting the vehicle into drive she caught a blurry movement in the corner of her view. With her mind being so sluggishly tired, she didn't dwell on it; until it, or rather she was standing right in front of her, no longer a mere blur of an image. Her voice caught in her throat and a sort of whine came out. She fumbled for the cell phone in her lap. Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing, but Elena snapped a picture with her phone and sent it to Stefan without a second thought. The women, the exact replica of Elena appeared directly by her car window. Elena gasped and made a move to floor it, but apparently this women had other plans for her. She kept the SUV at bay by simply keeping a hand on it. Elena had never been so scared in all her life. All she could think was that this must be who Stefan was warning her about in his cryptic text earlier. Like Damon would have said, she was looking at a solid maybe. Elena stared at the impossibly strong version of herself.
"Humph." The women's laugh was like tinkling bells, only cockier. "You're fun." She gave Elena a devious smile. "I'm going to enjoy this." Buzz. Elena jumped at her phone clicked the OK button while trying not to be obvious. 'That's Katherine! Stay put. I'm coming.' Elena tried not to gulp. The women, Katherine, who had been at her car window a split second ago, was already gone and this left Elena feeling lost and frightened beyond compare. Within seconds, her stomach was clenching and unclenching and her knuckles were white with the force she was holding her steering wheel.
Stefan came to her aid in 3 minutes flat. He had to have run the entire way because when he wrapped his arms around her, Elena could feel his ragged breathing from over exertion. Even vampires have their limits and feeding off of furry bunnies and pesky squirrels didn't fulfill a vampire's health desires. Stefan was stronger than any human being, but as a vampire he could be much, much stronger and they both knew it.
"It's ok Elena," He whispered soothingly. "It's all going to be alright now." He assured her. It sounded to her like he was trying to assure himself as much as he was trying to reassure her. After finally letting go, he gently lifted Elena out of the drivers seat and placed her in the passengers side. Without another word they began their drive to school where no one would talk of vampires or any danger greater than chipping a nail or making a tackle on the football field. Using her peripheral vision, Elena noticed the look on Stefan's face. It was a mix of anger and sadness. She took note that it didn't suit him. She reached over and gripped his hand, squeezing it ever so gently. They shared a smile before the ride was over and they were at school.
