Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Vampire Diaries which includes both the book and T.V. series. Only L.J. smith owns the character's and anything affiliated with the Vampire Diaries series. I merely am writing a fanfiction plot I came up with and any made up character's that aren't affiliated with Vampire Diaries I do own.(L.J. Smith owns this series still even if she has been fired and a ghost writer has taken over after Midnight, she spent so long on it that in my books she will forever be the owner of everything Vampire Diaries – even if she isn't on the books any longer.)
Summary: No more longing for the moon, no more longing for the sun. No more can she curse for the things she has done. Reaching for what she once had, she leaves destruction, suffering and bodies in her wake. She is the Ripper. Is salvation a possibility for her, who will be the one to offer it to her? Prince charming on his white horse or the dark knight who will kill for her.
Authors note: Enjoy.~
Songs in order (one song per each scene/POV): Gold On The Ceiling by The Black Keys, Restless by Unkle, Swimming Home By Evanescence, Consolers Of The Lonely by The Raconteurs, Demons by Sleigh Bells, Strangeness and Charm by Florence + The Machine, Shame & Fortune by Yeah Yeah Yeahs and finally, What I've Overcome by The Fireflight.
Sighing quietly Elena ran her fingers through her tresses as the cashier rung up her purchases, her eyes observing the boutique's little accessory rack.
A woven sea green, Caribbean blue, lilac purple and black bracelet caught her eye, along with an amber and violet Amore & Baci bracelet. With a smile, she placed the two on the counter; before she knew it she was out of the store, aviators perched on her nose and eyes searching for more places in the mall to kill her boredom.
The whirring of blenders reached her ears and the sweet, tangy scent of strawberries, cherries and raspberries wafted to her nose.
She felt a craving arise in her, but this time it was for something other than blood—which made her happy.
Smiling and humming pleasantly to herself, Elena followed the smells and sound to this "fruit paradise".
She hadn't treated herself like this in alongtime, even when she was human.
Elena didn't have to wait long before she reached the medium sized stand, and she didn't have to wait long to order and receive her smoothie.
Her mouth latched onto the thick straw specially crafted for the drink's thickness.
Mmmm, peach, strawberry, raspberry, cherry and a little guava and banana.
Elena practically skipped away from the smoothie stand, passing other customers as her eyes surveyed the mall for other stores that caught her eyes.
She almost tripped over her own feet at what she spotted in her peripheral vision.
As soon as her eyes flicked over to the sunglasses island and saw a blond and brunette, Elena stopped dead center of the mall.
Elena walked slightly forward to avoid the gusher of customers pouring into the mall.
Her fingers peeled away the sunglasses just to ensure she wasn't imagining the faces of her best friends on stranger's faces. Eyes widening and her grip on her bag tightening she took in a shaky breath.
Elena felt panic course through her body as the girl's face's showed up in the larger mirror.
Part of her leapt in joy, because she really missed the two…the other part well, not so much.
Elena couldn't be seen, if they caught her she'd need to run and running wasn't in her plans. She wanted to things to go smooth, it'd be an easier transition for her into this life – god knows she was struggling still, months after her change.
Biting her lip, she put on her sunglasses, took a deep calming breath to center herself, and turned as she began to walk in the opposite direction, not even sparing a glance at the merry pair.
Her one goal now was to finish up shopping and get the hell out of the mall as fast as possible, without them noticing her or bumping into them.
But, her gut twisted minutes after when she felt two sets of eyes burning at her back.
Xxxx
The moment blood hit the back of his throat, he felt a wash of calm and stability enter his body.
He stood in his bathroom rounding up a few necessities for the upcoming trip to Denver.
Today was the day, when things would either hit the fan or they'd get lucky once again and be fine until the next disaster or dangerous plan came along.
Stefan had his little appointment with the teacher, and then he was off to kidnap the kid who saw dead people.
Definitely just another one of those days.
Damon threw out the blood bag and picked up his chosen items, only to throw them haphazardly into the medium sized duffel bag – good enough for two days worth of clothing and some 'vampire hunting' tools he got off Ric. He'd been especially careful when he stowed away the vervain and wolfsbane grenades.
Rubbing his eyes, Damon took a moment and sat down with a sigh, he knew it was going to be a long day and night.
His plan was simple: get the kid, dodge originals, and hide the kid somewhere safe to go off and contact his dead people and figure out this damn vampire bloodline thing.
The whole thing really made his head hurt. He knew he was going to keep an eye out for Jeremy, now that they knew about the rings he had to make sure Jeremy didn't end up dead.
He so couldn't deal with two psycho vampire hating hunters.
Although Jeremy was far from being a hunter, he knew he shouldn't chance it.
He heard the door slam and awoke to reality again.
Stefan had just left.
Which meant the game was now on and Damon admittedly wasn't sure if he was ready this time.
All he could think about was what would go wrong this time.
XXX
As soon as she got back to her place she slammed the door shut and locked all the locks in place as if they could protect her from what she'd just seen, from the emotions welling up inside her.
Biting her lip, Elena dropped her purchases and placed her bag onto the counter as she ripped open the fridge and her eyes locked onto a bottle of raspberry Smirnoff.
Her fingers ripped it from its spot and she grabbed another blood bag from the dwindling stash.
Elena's movements were jerky as she poured the blood into a tall black mug and heated it up before adding the vodka.
Only when she seated herself on the couch and she began drinking the blood did her nerves calm themselves.
Her body lay slack against the length of the leather sofa, the material making cracking noises as she shifted around to get comfortable, eyes closed and head lolling to the side.
Before her mind lay the images of the incident at the mall, they sent shivers through her body and made her feel on edge and frantic.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
This wasn't in her plans; they were supposed to be in Mystic Falls.
Honestly, of all places, why had they gone to Salt Lake City to shop?
Elena's eyes opened as she downed more of her drink to stabilize the panic rising in her body.
What if…they saw her?
Did they see her?
She had felt the sensation of eyes boring into her back as she had exited the mall in a quick but seemingly calm getaway.
Elena could not…no, would not tolerate nor handle them seeing her.
Because she didn't want to know what would happen after.
But she did know that it would involve her running away again and much needed explanations or a reluctant confrontation before running away.
And most definitely, moreguilt—and she already had enough stirring inside her as it was.
Her fingers ran through her hair in frustration. Why couldn't it just be easy for once?
Why couldn't she be left to deal withthisby herself?
She honestly didn't want to put them through anything else; she was sure if Bonnie found out that one more person close to her had turned she'd just lose it and have a major breakdown.
Elena wasn't sure she could even fathom seeing her friend tear apart further at the knowledge, especially if Elena couldn't control herself, or if she was aRipper.
Her fingers curled tightly around the handle of the half empty mug in her hand at the term she was now branded with.
Stefan had been one and she'd heard stories already about it but now, she lived those stories herself and she'd wished she was just an ordinary vampire.
She didn't just feed and kill, she fed, decapitated them to their deaths. They suffered far worse then what they'd go through with a regular newborn vampire.
That is why she hadn't gone back yet, she didn't want to prey on anyone from her hometown like that, and what if it was a human near and dear to her?
The question was could she control herself?
Elena wasn't so sure, she had too long of a way to go it'd only be some odd months.
Chugging down the rest of the contents, Elena quickly cleaned the mug and checked the locks. She walked into her room and closed the blinds before shedding her shoes and slipping underneath the quilt she had brought with her that lay atop the bed's sheets.
Her eyes shut closed as she snuggled in, trying to escape from her reality filled with guilt, sadness, anger, pain, loss and stirring lust for blood—if just for a little while.
She would escape into a 'world' where she wouldn't have to worry being spotted by her friends.
Xxx
By the time afternoon arrived, he arrived at Jeremy's location.
He'd contacted him earlier via text message, alerting him of his arrival.
So he watched as the younger Gilbert gripped onto a baseball bat, helmet reaching near his eyebrows, and bat wiggling in his grasp in anticipation of the baseball. There was sheen of sweat on his brow and his lips tightened into a firm line in focus, eyes trained in front of him—burning with eagerness and determination.
He pocketed his hands and leaned against a pillar watching as Jeremy missed the ball dead on with a grunt.
Ooh, Miss!
Damon smirked and let out a whistle to get his attention.
Jeremy loosened his grip on the baseball bat and pivoted around, brown eyes locking onto his own icy ones as a silent message passed between the two men.
Damon gestured with the cock of his head to come over.
And without a word the younger Gilbert did as he was told and dropped the bat off into its shelf and the hat in its cubby before walking over to Damon.
"You sure you don't want me to compel you? Maybe I could even make you better at baseball," Damon joked. Jeremy scoffed at this.
"Man, what're you doing here?" Jeremy asked with a sigh sounding confused folding his arm together.
"We need to talk," Damon gestured for him to follow him as he walked away.
Only when he felt like there was enough distance between prying ears did he speak.
"I need your help." He asked seriously looking in his eyes as they faced one another.
Jeremy's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "For what?"
"Well you have a special ability,"
"Yea I know, so what?"
"I need you to contact someone for me, it's important." The two began looking not at each other but at the ground.
"Why?"
"Because."
"Really, because?" Jeremy gave him a look.
Damon sighed and lowered his voice so only Jeremy could hear. "Because we found out that if the Original vampire who started our bloodline, who sired the person that sired Rose, dies, then we go too."
"So, how does this involve me?" Jeremy stopped making Damon stop again reluctantly.
"I need you to talk to Rose so I can find out who sired her and track them down, and consequently know what Original to keep alive and which ones to kill." Damon shrugged making it sound so simple.
"Are you serious?" Jeremy shot him a 'are you crazy look'.
"What?" Damon asked, feeling a little out of the loop.
"You drove all the way to across the country…just so I could talk to a dead vampire?" he said sounding incredulous.
"Well, dead vampire is…redundant, but yes."
Jeremy let out another scoff and began walking away, which caused Damon to roll his eyes. "Well, I can't. I could talk to Anna and Vicky 'cause I knew them. I've never even meet Rose." He glanced at Damon weirdly turning towards him.
"What good is your dying and then coming back to life again if I can't have you talk to a ghost when I need you too?" he rose an eyebrow at him in frustration, sighing to himself.
"Look man, I don't know what you want me to say." He shrugged and they walked in silence for a few seconds.
Damon shook his head and just before he was going to open his mouth, Jeremy had an expression on his face as if the answer to the cure to a serious disease came to his mind. "What if I used you as a connection to contact her?"
"I mean, you were close to her right? So you could be like my anchor to talking to her?"
Damon nodded his eyes unfocused as thoughts began swimming in his head.
"Good, fine…so can we do this later? My friend just got here."
Damon went to open his mouth with a smirk on his lips but Jeremy cut him off.
"And, yes Damon…I actually have some, so don't even go there."
He shook his head, still grinning. "I don't know what you're talking about; I wasn't going to say a thing." He held his hands up in mock surrender
With a tired sigh Jeremy walked past Damon. "I'll call you when I'm done."
"Yea, yea…just hurry up."
Not even a second after he heard a laugh that sent a chill through his blood. "Well, well. Look who we have here,"
Damon turned around with wide eyes to face Kol—one original who he really hadn't wanted to see today.
In his left hand he held a wooden bat resting against the side of his neck with a infuriating smirk plastered on his face that he greeted Jeremy with before turning towards Damon a feral fire burning in his eyes, daring the older Salvatore to do something.
Jeremy just stood dumbfounded and in shock behind Kol, staring between the two vampires.
"Looks like the third wheel came out to play?" His head cocked to the side, smirk growing wider.
Damon clenched his fists and teeth, eyes blazing.
Forgetting everything Damon bit out, "Shut up."
That only made Kol's smirk widen. "That's not very appropriate."
In an instant, Kol was in front of him swinging that bat hard against him.
The wood breaking in half at the impact it made against Damon's face, who fell to the ground in a daze.
"What the hell man!" Jeremy exclaimed, his voice sounding off in the midst of the ringing in his head.
"No hard feelings mate, but we're not 'buds'." He flashed over towards the bat shelf at the side and picked up an aluminum bat with a frown making a tsking noise. "You know, I'll never get used to aluminum,"
Through unfocused eyes he saw Kol doubles appraising matching bats, chuckling. "But, at least it won't break."
Kol flashed over and swung at Damon again, but Damon was faster by a second this time and caught it mid-swing.
Reaching quickly over, he took the broken, sharp ended piece of the destroyed baseball bat and shoved it right through Kol's abdomen with a grunt of effort. Blood dripped down to his hands, and he heard the squishing sound of organs and flesh resisting against the intrusion of the bat.
Kol fell to his knees unconscious as Damon dropped the bat to the ground, trying to catch his breath.
He got to his knees blindly, knowing he wouldn't have much time left before Kol was up and at it again.
"Did you kill him?" His eyes met Jeremy's.
"No, but it'll give us a head start." He grunted standing up as pain washed over him.
Grabbing the kid, he got the hell out of there before Mr. Sunshine decided to rejoin the conscious world.
Xxx
Stefan looked up from his book stared at the wall shielding his view of the hunter as he heard Alaric awake with a groan from his spot on the ground.
"Did I...uh," 'Ric cleared his throat.
Stefan cut him off, knowing what he was referring to. "No, no, you pretty much…laid there dead for half the night." His eyes flickered over to the ground as if he had been captivated by something extremely interesting there.
Standing up Stefan walked slowly over to the history teacher by day, vampire hunter by night who decided to get up on his feet. "But, on the plus side, I did almost finish reading Moby Dick." He threw the heavy book onto the little table near the cot with a humorless smile and an equally humorless tone.
'Ric wore a tired, haggard and frustrated look on his face. "This…is stupid."He spoke, his breaths coming out unevenly.
The younger Salvatore met the teacher's eyes with unreadable emotions. "Evil me, or whatever you want to call him, is not gonna make an appearance…why would he?" he said more than asked with exasperation.
Alaric scoffed to himself, looking away muttering out loud. "I mean, the best hiding place is the one where you can't find the person who hid it." His eyes re-locking onto Stefan's in frustration.
Stefan nodded, feeling sympathy for Ric. "I know."
He knew what he needed to do and he had hoped he wouldn't have to result to his backup plan, but they didn't have many options here.
Speaking of backup, where in the hell was Caroline or Bonnie?
Sighing quietly to himself he shook the question away for a moment.
Stefan had no time to think of that, he had to disobey his brother's wishes; he didn't have the time to wait.
They needed to do this now.
They needed that stake.
"So how do you want to do this?" the hunter said, resigned to what he knew would be coming next.
A small lump formed in his throat at the thought of what he knew he had to do, his stomach churning not in nausea but in uneasiness. "I don't want to do any of this."
Alaric looked away, shifting around to turn away from his friend—and soon to be tormentor. "Well that makes two of us." Sighing quietly he fingered the resurrection ring before slipping it off. "But I don't think we have much choice in the matter."
"Wait, wait what are you doing, you need that ring." Stefan spoke quickly keeping a careful eye on Alaric.
"No I don't. WhatI need is hope that my alter ego doesn't have a death wish." Alaric placed his ring atop the cot's bedding
With serious eyes, Alaric turned to Stefan. "So, I'm taking bets that my dark side has a sense of self-preservation." His muscles rolled underneath his flesh, relaxing and preparing for the inevitable attack.
"So let's see if he defends himself against death."
Stefan shook his head, looked away and scoffed at Alaric's resignation and recklessness.
Didn't he get that so much could go so wrong.
He couldn't do this, wouldn't do it.
Not to Ric.
Anyone else and it might've been easier; if he had that switch flicked then this would've been easier.
But reality is…he hadn't.
"Look, Alaric, I'm not gonna kill you…okay?" He began distancing himself, hoping he would back off from the idea.
"If we have any chance with this Stefan, you're going to have to try." He expressed firmly, his eyes still unreadable and determined; 'eyes on the prize'.
Stefan felt tension rise in his bones with indecision.
He knew that it would come to this, but he had hoped it wouldn't
But now that they were at this impasse, could Stefan resort to the backup plan he and Damon talked about?
Maybe, if he was his brother, maybe he could set it all to the side.
The friendship, any feelings of remorse and just do it.
But, he wasn't Damon.
He wasn't even sure if Damon would be able to do this.
Stefan ground his teeth together in frustration at his decision.
How far would he have to go to wake up the dark part of Alaric…the brink of death?
The weight of Alaric's gaze only made things worse.
Looking sideways to Alaric his eyes ran over his face, trying to spot any crack in his decision in hopes to find a way out of this.
But Alaric was unrelenting and unreadable except for determination and resignation, just awaiting Stefan to get it all over with.
Something twisted in his gut but he swallowed it away, his choice made.
He knew what he had to do and he couldn't back out of this now.
There was no time.
Xxx
Caroline cursed as she sped down the highway, pushing down on the accelerator harder when she saw what time it was.
"Whoa! Caroline, slow down." Bonnie gripped onto her seat in the front when Caroline switched lanes sharply.
The road was fairly empty with only the occasionally car zipping past.
"Can't remember?" Caroline's eyes narrowed in determination to get to Mystic Falls as fast as she could even if not safely.
"Well we aren't going to get there at all if we get in an accident!" Caroline pressed down harder for a few seconds before slowing down when she saw a cop car in the rearview mirror, letting them pass.
"Look, I'm sorry but honestly…I need to get to Mystic Falls. I have this twisting feeling in my gut that something's not right. Plus, I promised Stefan I'd be there to have his back with getting that stake." Her fingers loosened and then re-gripped the steering wheel as she leaned forward, eyes scanning the fast waning light.
It had already gotten dark.
With normal speed, they'd arrive soon—but soon was too far away.
Soon wasn't soon enough, her stomach was churning in uneasiness because she knew that things never went as planned.
God knows Caroline was worried about what tricks and obstacles would reveal themselves tonight.
"Well it looks like with your speed-demon driving, we should be there soon. I'm so sorry Caroline…it's all my fault." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bonnie shake her head with a tight mouth.
"Explain?" Caroline slowed down a bit more.
Taking a deep breath, Bonnie turned to her bestfriend. "Look, we wasted our time searching for Elena. Today was supposed to be about shopping and girl time and money burning, but I guess I saw things when there was nothing there. I ruined our whole day, but I can't just stop worrying about it and asking why?"
Caroline's expression softened and she glanced at Bonnie for a second before turning away, her voice soft and sweet. "No, Bonnie. You didn't ruin our day, we had a kickass time shopping and goofing off…which we haven't and don't get to do often. It was nice and much needed, and I get it. You miss Elena. It's normal…'cause I miss her too. I'm her other best friend and I wonder about all that too but like I said, she must've had her reasons and all we can do right now is deal with what's in front of us and hope that she is okay somewhere on the sidelines. I have a feeling she'll be back, so stop worrying!" Her lips upturned into a classic 'Caroline grin'.
Bonnie felt a little lighter at Caroline's words.
Sometimes Caroline really knew what to say to a person.
"Anyways, it's not like anything bad came from our little sleuthing activities. I mean I picked up some hot shades and I totally felt like a Bond girl. And, then we did some more shopping to get back into the girl's day out mood. So I can't really complain about it." Bonnie laughed, causing Caroline to giggle.
"But right now I'm so not loving the taking our time thing." She shifted around impatiently wishing she could just teleport them and her car into Mystic falls, at the Boarding house.
Sighing, Bonnie rolled her eyes despite the smile still playing on her lips. "Fine, go for it 'Bond Girl.'"
Grinning wider Caroline hit the accelerator, ripping down the now empty road.
She couldn't help but feel on edge and desperate to reach Stefan.
Xxx
With a loud thwack, Stefan's fist met Alaric's face.
Alaric was propelled right against the wall, his hands shooting out at the wall to protect his face from more damage.
He let out a pained grunt, hunching over for a second in pain before panting and righting himself against the wall.
He had done it quickly, so that the hunter wouldn't be prepared and change his mind.
Alaric looked pissed, which kind of surprised Stefan a bit—but kind of made him feel annoyed.
"You're not putting enough effort into this." He spat on the verge of growling.
Disgust and venom flared in the history teacher's eyes as his mouth formed a tight line.
"If I put anymore into it I'm going to break your spine." He growled before his fist impacted Alaric's face again.
Alaric let out another groan of pain as his body hit the floor on all fours.
Stepping away, he took a moment to catch his breath as well as the man on the ground.
Spitting Alaric panted in pain, groaning as he assessed the damage.
Blood was pouring through his fingers from his nose and mouth, a puddle forming beneath his face.
As soon as he caught the scent, Stefan tensed and backed away—panting with bloodlust.
He felt the burning ache in his throat and gums, the beast rattling inside its cage within him.
His face already showed signs of the change within him, dark lines and dilated pupils with blood tinging the occuli.
He wanted the rich wine laying inside of Ric, the red glistening up at him like rubies in a treasure cave that beckoned him near, calling him and tempting him like some sort of Succubus in the night.
It promised him sweet ecstasy that he could find nowhere else but within its content and taste.
It's what the predator inside salivated over, dreamed and thirsted for every waking hour.
Alaric glanced up at him with blood marred features, expression unreadable but knowledge stirring in the depths of his eyes. The shadows in the dim cell cast a twisted light onto the hunter lying so vulnerable before him, pouring out the life-source that he craved.
No, he no longer wanted it. He needed it.
"Well don't back down now." 'Ric poked tauntingly.
"No, no, no, no…I can't…the blood." He backed away flinching as Alaric steadied himself on his feet, putting a hand out as if a mere limb could shield him from his darkest desire.
Stefan couldn't even look at Alaric nor the blood-puddle he half stood in.
He hadn't yet gained the control and restraint that his brother had over the century and decades.
"Oh, come on, you're past that" Alaric righted his swaying body again, taking a step closer while forcing Stefan back with wide eyes.
"No, I'm not." Another step back as he bit out, getting frustrated from the denial of his thirst.
"Well, use it," A step closer, another step back.
"Give into it!" Alaric neared further.
"Try and kill me Stefan, come on!" he yelled baiting him, still panting in exertion.
"Not like this Alaric." Stefan shook his head backing away like a cornered dog as Alaric kept getting closer.
"Yes, like this," He said firmly.
"You're gonna have to want to kill me for me to believe that you will." Blood dripped from his chin, tempting him further.
Stefan really wasn't sure how long he could keep the top on the devil jar before the demon exploded out and ripped Alaric for every single drop of blood he was good for, Vervain in his system or not.
"I go this far, I may not be able to stop." His mind was becoming hazy with thirst, forming words was becoming difficult as was breathing.
Only one word kept ringing clearly in his head.
KILL.
"Listen, if you want the answers from my darkest side, you're going to need to tap into yours." His words sharp in Stefan's ears.
Alaric's gaze was intense, pushing him further into a corner as if the blood pouring out of him wasn't enough.
"So, don't back down."One last step and Stefan was pinned with his back against the wall, lip curling as he struggled to restrain himself and gums tingling, itching and aching.
"Don't fight it, just do it." Alaric's voice was echoing in his head.
Two voices waring in his mind, Alaric's telling him to give in mixing with his restraint—the part of him that screamed to gain control and hold onto some shred of sanity and not give in to his bloodlust.
Alaric's face was inches away from his own, alcohol drifting to his nose mixing into the sweet scent of blood.
Both were breathing heavily from strain in the silence.
Something shifted right then, in Alaric's eyes, who grabbed at his shoulders, shoving Stefan into the wall angrily.
With a curl of his lips Alaric shouted two words in his face that set him and his vampire senses off. "DO IT!" his voice reverberating in the cell.
Growling in frustration, the dark veins shifted underneath the surface of his face, his eyes darkening and blood red bleeding into the whites as he forced Alaric off of him with a snarl.
As harsh breaths left his lips, he fought to calm himself down, staring down at the injured man before him.
Who began…laughing?
His face returned to normal while he stared with confusion, feeling as if he missed out on some joke.
Alaric's body began to shake as he turned to face him, his face distorted by the blood and shadows.
If Stefan had just walked in, he would say that this man wasn't Alaric at all, because he looked so cynical and unlike the man he knew he hardly recognized him.
He wore a crazed expression and grinned up at the younger Salvatore as if Stefan had just told him an insanely hilarious joke.
"You're so weak." His voice was venom and wickedness.
Again Alaric got to his feet, but Stefan stood frozen in awe and confusion at what he was witnessing.
The two were footsteps apart, electricity cracking in a bad way.
Stefan felt a shift in the air and unconsciously took note of a change in the hunter as well.
"Look at you," he spoke again, pity lacing his tone along with the darkness rising in him.
The blood dripped down into his mouth as he strived to catch his breath in-between words. Alaric's lips twitched, yearning to smirk. "One of… nature's most…hideous, creatures, and you can't even get that right." Another bait he knew he shouldn't take.
But, this time he couldn't resist and his judgment clouded over.
If it's a fight Ric wanted, he'd get it.
"You" Stefan whispered.
A light smirk adorned Alaric's parted lips as his eyes burned into Stefan's with a message to not back down.
"Me." He echoed back, unwaveringly challenging one of the world's most deadliest predators in front of him.
Xxx
Music blaring from the radio situated on her night-table was the reason she jolted awake at 11:56 later that morning. Her head ached slightly but she shook it off as she sat upright, almost slumping back into the soft, cool bedcovers.
With an irritated groan and waking mind, Elena slid off the bed sluggishly and hit the reset button on her clock to shut off the obnoxious tune. Her sleepy eyes adjusting quickly to the dark, curtained room as if she were standing around with the lights switched on.
She ended up dragging herself to the kitchen to open the fridge where her face was greeted with cool air that smelled like booze and blood. The latter sent a pang of hunger through her which she planned to fulfill very soon.
Sticking to her plan she grabbed three blood bags and nuked them each for some odd seconds before pouring two of them in her favorite, large mug.
The other was to be her spare.
Elena slipped in some home-made cinnamon buns into the oven for a few minutes which she began to eat for brunch.
She'd been taking up some baking to fill in her free schedule.
And as soon as her laptop booted up she was on Facebook checking on her two supernatural BFF's.
She let out a relieved sigh when she spotted nothing terrible or revealing about Elena's location, which left her to check on her brother.
Admittedly, Elena had been checking on her brother via his social networking sites, only to make her feel at ease with the idea that he was by himself in another country.
She knew sending him out of Mystic Falls was better than keeping him there, but with him absent from her side she couldn't make sure he was doing fine or if any of the Originals wandered over or had him captive.
That was one fear she'd had in the back of her mind even when she was human, and it had been amplified two-fold when she turned. For all she knew he could be a hostage or at the mercy of Kol or whatever pissed off Original – she wouldn't put it past it for Klaus' sister to fly into Denver and hurt him just to hurt Elena, even when she was out of the picture.
Elena gnawed on her lip gently as her eyes slowly took in every detail of his wall – messages sent back and forth to other's pages, switching from drinking from the mug and taking a bite out of one of two buns as she did so.
Her eyes took in a goofy picture of Jeremy and some guys at the batting cages, making her smile warmly and a pang in her gut developed as did a lump in her throat.
She felt her eyes water over as she looked through more pictures he had posted; now abandoning reading the rest of the messages on the wall.
Her lip quivered at every picture she went through – especially the ones starring the both of them.
There were even some pictures of their parents and the pair of siblings.
Those especially made her feel like someone kicked her in the gut because they brought memories of a simpler time in their lives when vampires, witches, and wolves never existed. Where the biggest horror was failing classes, worrying about the dances running smoothly and some of the 'evil teachers' being unfair and unreasonable, being cheated on by boyfriends and the like.
Just regular high school drama.
But that was a fairytale concept of a life because she wasn't human, and neither was everyone around here.
The mythic creatures that were the stuff of fairytales and Hollywood were now reality, and they weren't as fluffy as Twilight or how the media portrayed them.
It was hell at times.
Though, she had to say that she didn't regret meeting Stefan or even…Damon. She was sure if things were different— if it'd just stopped with them—things would've ended up better.
But of course it hadn't.
Sighing shakily to herself she rubbed at her eyes where tears began to hit her cheeks.
It took her a few deep breaths but she got through the rest of the pictures unflinchingly as well as her 'meal'.
Elena returned to Jeremy's wall and finished where she left off, her hand cupping her cheek as her lips tugged at the corners, upwards at some of the recent statuses.
Good, he's enjoying himself.
That's all she could ask for, never mind her feelings.
She'd rather he was happy.
Her fingers tapped rhythmically against the marble top of the table, making clinking sounds.
The desire to physically check up on Jeremy in Denver was worsening to the point where she actually had to click the X on the web page.
Getting up to clean her dishes, Elena wondered if it'd be so bad to just pop in.
It wouldn't take her long to fly in and it was still fairly early enough for her to take that 1 hour or so flight in to Denver just to check in on him and then disappear again.
Just as she shut off the tap, she heard a vibrating sound from the breakfast nook island.
As soon as she dried her hands her brow furrowed.
Who the hell was texting her?
She brought up the message and her body relaxed, with a smirk on her lips.
You free today, darling? ;)
I am now, why?
I'm bored…and I thought since it's been a few weeks we should 'reconnect' and have those drinks I promised you awhile ago. ;D
Where are you?
Denver.
Denver, how come so far away?
Got bored, need a newer hideout other than Georgia and Phoenix.
I don't know….
She walked over to her computer already booting up the internet.
Oh, come on…please? Just meet me I promise you won't regret it and that you'll have fun and enjoy yourself. ;) I promise, pinky swear?
Hmmm, I don't know other than drinks…what's in it for me; I'm not exactly that close either. And really? Pinky swear…are we still mentally developing, if you haven't noticed we're texting so that's virtually and realistically impossible.
How about…a kick-ass time with a hunk of a guy? I'm game for whatever you want to do. Awww, don't rain on my parade sweetheart .;'(
Okay, okay you big baby – I'll be there later.
YES! Awesome, text me just before you get in – I'm in the need for some fun. I'll pick you up. I promise many pleasures; I promise I won't disappoint you tonight. ;D
Rolling her eyes, her eyes flicked over flight times until she found a perfect one in the afternoon and purchased it.
A smile illuminated her face and for once she felt entirely carefree and excited in a good way for something other than the kill.
Author's Note: Is it her 'new' boyfriend, is he a vampire, who could it be? Will Elena meet up with our 'dark prince'
Find out next chapter, more to come soon my dearest readers~ ;P