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Chapter 2
Elena opened her eyes the next morning, surprised to find that she had actually fallen asleep and had slept soundly. She had been sure she would have nightmares but maybe her body had been too tired to dream. She rolled over and smiled at both Bonnie and Caroline, who were sound asleep on her floor. She'd told them to go to the guest room but neither one of them would leave her alone. She had amazing friends.
She quietly climbed out of bed and walked down the hallway, peeking in on Jeremy, relieved to find him sound asleep in his bed. Damon had been right; he had been safe with Katherine. She made her way downstairs to the kitchen, her body crying for some coffee.
Soon she filled her favorite mug and walked outside to sit on the back porch. It wasn't long before she knew she wasn't alone. "I'm okay Damon."
"Sure you are," he retorted sitting down in the rocker chair beside her. "And last night was all sunshine and cupcakes."
"Last night was...eye opening," Elena said softly.
"Care to elaborate..."
"I always thought I knew what vampires were capable of. But I held Stefan above all that."
"And now Saint Stefan has fallen off his pedestal."
"I was wrong." Elena knew she had Damon's full attention. "I heard the stories straight from him. How he used to be but I thought he had changed."
"He did change Elena," Damon pointed out. "For years he survived on animal blood and wallowed in his guilt for his years of being the ripper. In fact, he wouldn't even be like this if it wasn't for me."
"That's not true Damon," Elena insisted.
"He only went to Klaus to beg for my life Elena. He should have just let me die."
"He'd never just let you die if there was a way to save you." Elena looked down at her cup of coffee and shook her head. "The truth is none of this would have happened if I had died in the car crash with my parents. The doppelganger would be dead and Klaus never would have come to Mystic Falls."
"You can't seriously be blaming yourself," Damon said staring at her incredulously.
"Why not? It makes as much sense as you blaming yourself." Elena arched one eyebrow as she stared at him. "The truth is it doesn't matter who is to blame. We just have to fix this. Stefan didn't want to be like this...he didn't want to be a killer."
"And how do you propose we fix my dear little brother?"
"I don't know Damon," Elena said honestly. "Did you talk to him last night?"
"He didn't come home last night."
Elena lowered her coffee cup and stared at him. "That's why you're here so bright and earlier. You were worried Stefan was here."
"The thought might have crossed my mind that he would stop by here, considering he has been ordered to watch over you," Damon admitted.
"Thank you Damon," Elena said softly. She opened her mouth to say something else but the back door flew open and Alaric stood there obviously nursing a very bad hangover.
"Elena, you have some very worried friends looking for you," he commented as his eyes dart back and forth between the two of them.
Elena stood up and noticed the look of annoyance on Damon's face as she passed by him. She attempted a smile but was sure it fell flat when he didn't smile back and instead disappeared in a blink of an eye.
She turned and followed Alaric back into the house, motioning towards the coffee pot. "It's strong," she advised heading towards the stairs. She could already hear Bonnie and Caroline moving around upstairs.
"Are you ok Elena?" Alaric asked concerned. He could barely look at her neck, the large white bandage a glaring reminder of what had happened the night before. "Damon told me what happened."
"I will be ok," Elena answered honestly. And she would be, someday. She trudged up the stairs, pondering the day to come. Tomorrow was the first day of school and she was barely prepared. A large part of her wanted to blow it off but she knew that was setting a bad example for Jeremy.
"Elena, there you are," Bonnie said from her bedroom doorway. "Where were you?"
"Getting coffee." Elena held up her mug as proof.
"And stopping for an early morning chat with Damon," Caroline commented coming out of the bathroom.
"How did you-"
"Vampire hearing people."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Did he have news on Stefan?"
"Stefan didn't go home last night," Elena said as she plopped down on her bed.
"Does Damon have a plan on how to handle him?" Bonnie sat down beside her.
"Honestly Bonnie, I think Damon and I are still processing the fact that he is back and that he is a danger to everybody in Mystic Falls."
"Except for you," Caroline pointed out. "You are the safest person in this damn town."
"Lucky me," Elena muttered.
"I can look for a spell," Bonnie said tentatively. "Something to maybe turn off Klaus' compulsion."
"No," Elena said shaking her head. "We don't know how Stefan will react if he finds out. I don't want to give him a reason to come after anybody I care about."
"Ok enough," Caroline said throwing her hands up in the air. "We've spent the past couple months worrying about Stefan, wanting him back here and now he's back. Okay, so maybe not the Stefan we all remember but I refuse to worry about him for another minute, at least today. Let's go do something fun."
"Like what?" Bonnie shared a look with Elena.
"Let's go shopping! My wardrobe seriously needs an update." Caroline threw open Elena's closet door and made a face. "And so does yours Elena. How 'bout yours Bonnie?"
"I could use some new clothes."
"Why don't we all get ready and meet back here in an hour?" Caroline said clapping her hands in excitement. She didn't wait for them to respond before she disappeared from the room.
"I don't want to go shopping," Elena said her voice dangerously close to a whine.
"I know." Bonnie reached over and squeezed her hand. "But maybe getting out doing something normal like shopping with your friends would be good for you."
"Ok," Elena said taking a deep breath. "I guess I'll see you in an hour." She waited until Bonnie had left the room before she got up and walked over to her mirror. She stared at her neck, the bandage would have to be changed but she didn't want to see the bite mark.
"Did I just hear Bonnie?" Jeremy mumbled from the doorway.
"Yeah she just left." Elena turned around forgetting about the bandage and that Jeremy still didn't know what had happened the night before.
"What in the hell happened to you?" Jeremy hurried across the room and made a move towards the bandage.
"I'm ok Jeremy," Elena said reassuringly.
"That's not what I asked you," Jeremy said intently.
"Klaus came back last night," Elena finally said.
"He did this." When her eyes darted away he shook his head at her. "It was Stefan, wasn't it?"
"He's not himself." Elena was finding it hard to stomach that excuse herself and she knew it wouldn't fly with Jeremy.
"So he bites you? So Damon didn't make it back in time."
"No, he did," Elena said walking across the room. "Klaus had some elaborate plan and Damon stopped him."
"Are they still here?"
"Klaus left but Stefan has been ordered to stay here and make sure nothing happens to me."
"No," Jeremy said shaking his head.
"I don't like it either Jeremy," Elena said facing him. "But at least with Stefan here we can watch him and hopefully come up with a plan to help him."
"Yeah, let's hope before he kills someone," Jeremy said storming out of her room.
"Jeremy!" Elena knew it was futile to chase after him. Jeremy wouldn't listen to her right now. She was better off letting him calm down and then trying to talk to him.
The mall was crowded; full of people out doing last minute school shopping. Elena had lost count at how many people from school she had recognized.
"Ooh look at that dress," Caroline cried hurrying into the nearest store.
"Didn't she say that about the last three dresses she bought?" Bonnie mumbled to Elena.
"Her mom's credit card is sure getting a workout."
"I heard that," Caroline's voice reached them from inside the store. She waited until they finally joined her inside before sighing. "My mom is totally trying to make up for the fact that my dad hates me. She told me to get anything I wanted."
"Have you talked to your dad since...?" Bonnie's voice trailed off.
"He isn't taking my phone calls." Caroline was usually pretty good at sounding like she didn't have a care in the world but both Elena and Bonnie could hear the hurt in her voice. "It's ok. He has to either except me as I am now or let me go...right? And he is my dad..."
"Your mom came around," Bonnie pointed out. "Give him some time."
"Why are we talking about this? We said no drama today. Just tons of shopping. Now Elena this dress would be perfect on you."
"I really don't need a new dress Caroline," Elena said still uneasy about the whole money thing. She and Jeremy had their trusts from their parents and a trust was set up for their houses expenses but Jenna had been in charge of all that.
"Nobody ever really needs a new dress." Caroline pulled it off the rack and held it out for her to take. "At least try it on."
Elena sighed, taking the dress from her and making her way towards the fitting rooms. She really wasn't in the mood for shopping and gossiping. She had too much on her mind and way too many things she should be dealing with. Starting with how they were going to handle Stefan and ending with not letting Klaus get a hold of any more of her blood; she didn't want to help him create any more hybrids.
It didn't take her long to get the dress on and she had to admit that Caroline was right; the dress did look good on her. She loved the deep purple color. She turned to look at the back side of the dress and nearly screamed when Stefan appeared behind her.
"What are you doing here?" Elena hated that her voice trembled and her back hit the wall of the dressing room as she tried to take a couple steps back. She hated that she was afraid of him now.
"Klaus gave me one job; make sure nothing happens to you Elena. I'm going to be following you, watching you." He leaned in and smirked when she looked towards the door behind him. "You will never make it." He reached out and grabbed her wrists, holding them both above her head with one hand. He leaned in, ripping the bandage off her neck so he could see the bite marks he had left behind. "Looks like it hurts."
"You're hurting me Stefan," Elena said glaring at him. She yanked on her arms but she couldn't make him let go until he wanted too.
"I am dying for another taste," he murmured enjoying the look of total fear that came into her eyes. He had always loved terrorizing people but girl's especially. Seeing total and utter fear, caused by him, was exhilarating.
"Klaus won't be happy," Elena warned. She nearly cried out in relief when he let go of her arms and backed away. She could see the hunger that was still in his eyes and if he opened his mouth she knew his fangs would be present.
"That was close," he said his mouth still salivating for a taste.
"This isn't you Stefan," Elena said softly covering the wound on her neck with her hand. "Somewhere inside you...you know this isn't right."
"All I know is I feel free for the first time in years and it feels great. Remember Elena I'll be watching." He disappeared as fast as he appeared.
Elena was sitting on the floor of the fitting room when Caroline and Bonnie walked in laughing. Her hand was still covering her neck and she was shaking with leftover adrenaline.
"Elena, are you okay?" Bonnie crouched down beside her looking from the bandage on the floor to Elena's neck.
"What happened?" Caroline asked looking around suspiciously.
"Stefan."
"Wait, Stefan was here? How come I didn't hear him?" Caroline was confused, with her vampire hearing she should have been able to hear him.
"Did he try anything?" Bonnie asked concerned. From the way Elena was shaking it was obvious more had happened than just a little casual conversation.
"He just wants me to know he is watching me...following Klaus' orders."
"So he's like stalking you now?"
Elena stared up at Caroline and after a long moment passed, she nodded. Stefan was stalking her. Wherever she went, he would follow.
"I don't like this," Bonnie stated helping Elena stand up. She looked back down at the bandage on the ground. "Did he take the bandage off?"
"Yes." Elena watched as they both shared a look before Bonnie picked her clothes off the bench and handed them too her.
"Get dressed," Caroline said as they both walked out of the fitting room.
Elena sighed and changed as fast as she could. She picked the bandage up and crumbled it in her hand, covering her neck with her other hand. She left the dress in the fitting room and hurried back out into the store. She accepted the scarf that Caroline held out to her with a puzzled look.
"You can't walk around covering your neck with your hand Elena."
"Do you think Stefan is still here?" Bonnie was looking around like uncomfortably.
"Probably," Elena admitted tying the scarf quickly.
"I take it our shopping trip is over," Caroline said only a little disappointed. When her mom had handed over her credit card and gave her permission to get whatever she wanted, Caroline had been excited, that was every teenage girl's dream. But the actual reality wasn't as great as it sounded; her mom was only feeling sorry for her. And Caroline didn't like pity shopping. She'd rather have her father's love.
Damon sat down in the only available chair in Jeremy's room; he didn't know where Elena's little brother had gone but he had to be back eventually. And Damon didn't feel like dealing with Ric's contempt anymore today.
He looked around the room, his eyes immediately finding the framed photo of Elena and Jeremy in a much happier time. Their parents stood beside them, every one of them had a big smile on their face. He'd never seen that smile on either of the Gilbert kids' faces since he'd met them. He picked up the frame and stared at the smile on Elena's face.
He wished he could have met Elena before...before Stefan...before her parents had died. Granted he still would have been the prick he'd been when he'd first come to town. Back when he'd still been obsessed with rescuing Katherine from the tomb; back when he'd been an idiot.
When he thought back to the many times he'd made fun of Stefan for falling in love with Katherine's doppelganger, he hadn't been able to see Elena's appeal. He still couldn't pinpoint the moment he had realized he had also fallen for the doppelganger.
He heard Jeremy coming long before he reached his bedroom giving him plenty of time to put the picture down and sprawl without a care in the world as Jeremy opened the door.
"Jesus!" Jeremy stood in the doorway glaring at him. "What are you doing here Damon?"
"We need to talk."
"Ever heard of using the front door?"
Damon rolled his eyes. "I didn't feel like dealing with Alaric and his ongoing antagonism."
"Well you did kill the guy," Jeremy pointed out.
"Can nobody let that go?" He stood up and walked closer to Jeremy. "What happened with that vampire hunter? Did you find him?"
"Call Katherine and ask her?"
"Don't you think I tried that already? She is not answering her phone." A fact that thoroughly pissed Damon off. Katherine swore up and down that she was trustworthy and had even proved herself as an ally but the radio silence over the past twenty-four hours was annoying.
"We found Michael," Jeremy said walking around Damon to his desk. "Katherine stayed behind to try and wake him up."
"Then why isn't she answering her phone?"
"I don't know," Jeremy said crossing his arms across his chest. "Now I have a question for you. What are you planning to do about Stefan?"
"Don't worry about Stefan."
"I can't do that. He hurt Elena Damon. He ripped her neck open."
"I know that," Damon grumbled. "He won't do it again. Not while he's under Klaus' compulsion."
"Why is that? Why is Klaus protecting Elena now?"
"Ask your sister." Damon moved towards the window, planning to leave the same way he'd entered.
"You know she never tells me anything."
"That's her choice." A choice that Damon rarely agreed with. The kid had earned the right to be fully informed. Plus he was their direct link to the other side. Damon cocked his head to the side when he heard Caroline and Bonnie's voices from downstairs. He froze, listening to their annoying chatter before returning and hurrying out of Jeremy's room through the door and running down the stairs.
"Damon!" Caroline said loudly when he appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"
"When did you get here?" Alaric asked suspiciously as he walked into the room.
"What happened?" Damon asked ignoring the both of them. He stated at Elena who was just standing there starting back at him.
"Your psycho brother is what happened," Caroline said rolling her eyes.
"What did he do?"
"He cornered her in a fitting room," Bonnie explained to everybody.
"How did he know you were at the mall?" Alaric asked confused.
"He's following me," Elena said still staring at Damon. "Wherever I go, he goes. Klaus' orders."
"More like stalking her," Caroline mumbled under her breath.
"Are you ok?" Damon asked his voice dangerously quiet.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Elena nodded her head. "He just...he surprised me."
"He more than surprised you Elena. You were shaking when we got there." Bonnie stared intently between Damon and Alaric. "We have to do something about him. He can't just show up whenever he wants. Not anymore. We can't trust him."
"I know that look," Jeremy said. "You have a plan."
"There might be a spell that I can do...something to protect Elena from him."
"You mean like a barrier?" Alaric asked curiously.
"Elena already has her necklace," Caroline said confused but froze when she realized she hadn't seen Elena with the necklace since Bonnie had worked her magic with it. "Where is your necklace?" She turned to Bonnie. "Do you still have it?"
"No, Katherine stole it." Bonnie was still pissed she hadn't realized it was Katherine at the grill that day, not Elena.
"I have it." Damon started walking towards the door.
"Well give it back to her," Caroline said annoyed. "She needs it for protection Damon."
"I don't want it," Elena said calmly as she watched Damon head straight for the front door.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Caroline used her vampire speed to block the door.
"What do you mean you don't want it?" Bonnie asked confused.
"I don't want the necklace back."
"Move blondie," Damon said his voice flat and his face cold.
"No Damon," Caroline said glaring at him. "Stefan is a serious issue. We need to deal with him."
"And we will." Damon roughly pushed her aside and opened the door. "You guys can look for a spell while I go find my brother." He looked back and stared intently at Elena, not leaving until she nodded at him, letting him know she was really ok.
"You need that necklace Elena," Bonnie insisted.
"I can't wear it Bonnie," she said as she finally sat down on the couch. "It's from Stefan...and I just...I can't wear it right now."
"Can't we make her another necklace?" Caroline asked.
"Well yes," Bonnie replied.
"Great! One problem down." Caroline sat down beside Elena and stated up at Bonnie. "Now, you think there's a spell you can do?"
Elena sat back and listened to everyone surrounding her discuss how to keep her safe. She felt like they'd had this conversation way too many times and she was tired of it. She was tired of always having to watch her back and worrying about keeping her friends alive. She was just tired.
Damon entered the boarding house full of rage, slamming the door behind him. He could hear the music coming out of the living room and walked around the corner not really surprised to see Stefan sitting in a chair watching a bunch of giggling girl's dance to the music. There was already one dead girl at their feet and there were bite marks on every other girl's necks.
"Brother!" Stefan said his ever present smirk on his face. "You're just in time. Amanda here was admiring your photo and I told her you would love to show her a good time."
"What are you doing?" Damon asked disgusted. "Klaus preferred you to stay here to protect Elena, not kill every girl in sight."
"Who said anything about killing anybody?" Stefan asked innocently. When Damon looked pointedly down at the dead girl on the floor he chuckled. "Well that was an accident. Being so close to Elena today made me hungry."
"I'm getting sick of asking you what you did to her Stefan-"
"Then quit asking."
"So I'm just going to leave you with a warning," Damon continued ignoring him. "If anything happens to Elena, anything, I will kill you myself."
"Really?" Stefan said honestly a little surprised. He stood up and walked towards his brother. "Threatening my life now? Over Elena Gilbert? A girl who is clearly still in love with me, even though I can't be clearer when I say we are over."
"Nothing better happen to her Stefan," Damon repeated.
"Still chasing after my leftovers." Stefan shook his head as he pulled one of the girl's closer to him and kissed her cheek. "Have you ever thought about finding a girl who wasn't already in love with me?"
"Really Stefan," Damon said arching an eyebrow as he stared him down. "Is this you trying to get to me? Are you trying to screw with my head?"
"Maybe...just a little."
Damon laughed as he slowly backed out of the room. "I think you might need a little practice. Elena doesn't love me, I know this. But Elena still in love with you? I'm not so sure anymore." He turned and headed for the door calling over his shoulder, "Don't get any blood in the carpet please." He heard the girl's scream as he walked out the front door.
Elena barely glanced at herself in the bathroom mirror as she hung up her towel after her shower. She'd stood in the hot water for almost thirty minutes praying that knots in her body would release or the headache that she had developed over the course of the evening would disappear. But all she'd managed to do was deplete the hot water.
Elena wasn't paying attention as she walked into her room but she soon sensed Damon and found him sitting on her window seat. "Damon."
"If I didn't know you better I would have thought you were trying to drown yourself in there."
"But you do know me better than that," Elena said walking across her room so she could sit beside him.
"Yep, you rarely take the easy road," Damon said still amazed by that. Most humans he dealt with always looked for the easy way out, looked out for themselves. But never Elena.
"What easy road?" Elena mumbled under her breath but she knew Damon heard her, he heard everything. "I don't think a single part of my life has been easy."
"At least not since my brother and I disturbed your life." A part of Damon hated that they'd brought all this danger and destruction to her front door but a larger part of him couldn't imagine not knowing her.
"Since before that," Elena disagreed. "My whole life changed when my parent's car went through the guardrail. I didn't feel connected to anything after that. A part of me thought it was because I wasn't supposed to have survived. I was walking through my life praying for something to make me feel anything but nothing did."
"Then you met Stefan," Damon said looking down at the ground.
"He did wake me up," Elena admitted. "He made me feel again. Which is why I can't understand how that guy could turn into...what he is today."
"When Stefan drinks human blood...in the amounts he's been feasting on...he can't control himself," Damon tried to explain.
"Could you?"
Damon turned to stare at her, the impulse to lie and say 'of course I could control myself' was hard to ignore but he went for the truth this time. "I don't know. Stefan hasn't indulged in large amounts of human blood in years Elena, I only drink human blood."
Elena nodded and sighed. "I don't know what to do Damon."
"What do you mean?"
"We need to fix Stefan," Elena said biting her lip. "But I don't know how or if it's even possible."
"Did Bonnie find a spell?"
"She is still looking for one. Right now she is only focused on finding a protection spell, something to protect me from Stefan."
"He won't hurt you," Damon said seriously. When she turned to look at him he repeated it. "I told him I would kill him if anything happened to you."
"Damon," Elena sighed. "You can't kill him."
"I meant it." Damon reached over and took her closest hand in his. "I told you once that nothing would ever happen to you while I was around. I meant it. I won't let him hurt you."
Elena opened her mouth to say something but couldn't find the right words to respond with. She finally nodded her head and squeezed his hand. She knew he meant it. She didn't always understand it, his devotion to her. She hadn't done anything to deserve it our even asked for it. She'd even tried to push him away more times than she could count but he never went away.
And she needed that right now. She needed Damon.
