I've had it up to here with this,
You're always calling,
Girl you're just tripping,
No I'm just falling over and over again
[Calendar Pages - We Are The In Crowd]

"Why can't you just trust me on this?"

"Because in case you haven't noticed, you've just barely become a vampire!"

"Stefan I know what I'm doing!" Elena shouted, "Besides, Damon is going to be there every step of the way! Nothing is going to go wrong!"

"Last I remember Elena, you're a doppelganger, not psychic. Please just hear me out. I don't want you to do something you'll regret," Stefan approached.

"Last I remember, you were all for me making my own decisions," Elena spat. The more he spoke about something going wrong, the angrier she became. She knew she could handle this, why was he being so difficult? "Or is that only when it's convenient for you?"

Stefan floundered for an appropriate response.

"Let's get something straight here, Stefan; I can handle myself. I don't need you to hold my hand like I'm five years old, because I certainly am not!" With that she stormed out of the room, leaving behind a shocked looking Stefan, and an even more confused Damon.

Since when did Elena talk to Stefan like that? Damon thought.

Stefan's eyes flashed to where Damon was standing. "This is all your fault."

"Mine?" Damon asked, his tone annoyed. "I'm just trying to help her."

"And in what way is that?"

"I'm trying to help her deal with the hand she was dealt. In case you hadn't noticed Stefan, she might not be a pro at this, but she's certainly in control."

"And who are you to be the judge of that?"

"Someone more experienced than she is. We both know we've crossed paths with older vampires that are less controlled than the girl who just walked out the door. Why can't you just listen to her? She knows what's she's capable of. She doesn't need you to baby her every goddamn second of the day."

"I don't baby her. I'm just trying to protect her from making a mistake she'll regret." Stefan turned on his brother, "Why are you even here? She doesn't need you. In case it slipped your mind; Elena chose me."

"For the last time Stefan, I don't give a shit about that. I'm just here to help her as much as I can."

"Is that out of a guilty conscience?"

"What reason would I have to feel guilty? Her becoming a vampire wasn't my fault."

"You're the one who let Rebekah escape Alaric alive."

Damon threw his hands up in the air. He was beyond fucking done arguing with his brother. "Since when am I responsible for Rebekah? That's just it, I'm not. How was I supposed to know she would go after Elena? That's just it, I didn't. And seeing as Klaus is dead and we're still here, that means he wasn't our sire. Which means one of the other crazy Originals is. Fucking with chance isn't something I like to do, and in case you can't put two and two together, I may have just saved our lives." He paused, both of them glaring at one another. "If anything, Saint Stefan, this is your fault, because I'm not the one who left her at the bottom of a river to die."

"I didn't mean for her to die!"

"Sure you didn't. What did you think would happen?

"I-"

"Because in case you missed the memo Stefan, humans don't have gills."

With that Damon took off out the door.

Elena was silent the first thirty minutes into the drive, and Damon could see she was still fuming.

"I don't think I've ever seen you speak to Stefan like that. Hell, I don't think I've ever seen anyone yell at him like that." He eyed her closely when she only shrugged in response. "Do I sense trouble in paradise?"

She shrugged again.

"C'mon Elena. You've got to give me more than that."

"Yes...No. I don't even know."

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Not exactly. We're not fighting. It's more like...I'm the problem."

"How so?"

"He hasn't done anything wrong. It's more that I'm getting angry over nothing these days. I've been yelling at him the way I-"

"The way you yell at me when I make you angry." Damon said knowingly. "What has he done to get you so fired up? I'm hurt, Elena. I thought you reserved that treatment for me alone." He pouted. "I thought I was special."

Elena rolled her eyes at him. "He's not even doing anything wrong. He's just being Stefan; coddling and worrying."

"And it's bothering you."

"More than it should," she mumbled.

Back at the boarding house Stefan was a little more than agitated. Who was Damon to tell him that? To throw in his face the mistake he made?

And Elena. Since when did she treat him that way?

He'd seen her speak that way to Damon on many occasions. It was odd, though, to finally be on the other side of her angry remarks.

He heard footsteps approaching, thinking it was Elena he flashed to the door.

Not moments later, Katherine strode in like she owned the place, stiletto heels and all.

The hair was about the only thing that gave it away, that she wasn't Elena.

"Hello, Stefan." She purred.

"Katherine. Now really isn't the time."

"Mm. Elena giving you troubles?" Katherine tsk tsk'd. "Is my darling dishwater doppelganger growing bored with you, perhaps?"

"She's just having problems with the transition. It hasn't been easy on her."

Katherine turned to stone. "I do hope you're talking about her transition of moving into the boarding house."

"She's a vampire, Katherine." Stefan looked at her.

Angry wasn't strong enough a word for how Katherine felt.

"How?"

"Matt Donovan drove off Wickory Bridge with her in his truck."

"How come I saw the quarterback waltzing around town? Why didn't he drown?"

Stefan sighed. "I saved him. Left Elena. She wanted me to save him."

Katherine raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Oh. So you saved football boy, but left the 'love of your life' presumably to die."

Stefan shrugged. "I don't have to justify my actions to you."

Katherine smirked. "Interesting. I think I'm going to stick around here awhile."

Holy shit. It's been awhile. A long while. I've been trying to get something up, but then things got busy, and I've finally found some spare time for this. Not to mention my computer is dead. No trying to save it at all. It's driving me insane, the thing was like my baby. Within a few months though, hopefully I'll have another, and I won't be so deprived from the internet. If I can swindle a laptop from someone tomorrow, you can expect another update. That is, if anyone is even reading this anymore haha. I've got it written; it's just a matter of typing and posting it.

Comments and feedback make me smile! And are a great incentive to write :D