7. Rivals From Love

"What do you want, Stefan?", Alaric asked.

"I want her!" Stefan pointed to Elena. "I want her so that I can take revenge on Damon for killing Katherine!"

"Why do you want Elena for that?", Jenna asked, walking towards them.

"Because he loves her … like I loved Katherine. But Katherine's dead now – because of him!" Stefan got angry and looked around for Damon. "Show yourself! Don't you want to see how I'm going to rip her heart out after I sucked all the blood out of her body?", he asked.

"Over my dead body!" Damon appeared at the top of the stairs with a furious look on his face.

"There he is! My lovely brother!" Stefan hit Jeremy in his lower back and neck and let him fall to the ground, which caused an worried reaction of Jenna.

"He's only unconscious.", Damon informed them.

Stefan did a move into Elena's direction, but even before he had reached her, Damon jumped in high speed in front of Elena and pushed her backwards.

"As I already told you – over my dead body! And before I'll break all your bones!", he growled.

Stefan laughed. "I am not on my squirrel diet anymore, Damon! So maybe I'm not as easily to overpower as you think."

"I know, little brother. But I've always been stronger than you!", Damon said and pounced on Stefan.

"Damon!", Elena screamed. "No!"

Both Damon and Stefan were lying on the ground and growling, trying to snap each other's neck. Elena tried to get to them, but Alaric grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Elena! Don't!"

Alaric pulled her towards the front door. "We have to get away or we all will be killed, Elena!"

"Let me go!" Elena struggled.

When Alaric watched over his shoulder to Jenna and Jeremy Elena took her chance and quickly pulled her arm out of his hand, bent to pick up the injection she had dropped when Stefan endangered to break Jeremy's neck and tried to reach Stefan to stab the injection into his back. Damon saw her approaching.

"Elena, back off! He'll hurt you!", he said between two breathes.

But Elena didn't listen to him and tried to inject Stefan the vervain in his back. Stefan made a quick move and hit her to the ground. Elena ignored the pain and on her hands and knees she crawled towards the fighting Salvatore brothers and stabbed the vervain injection into Stefan's leg. Stefan made a choking sound and convulsing he fell onto the ground. Damon groaned and fell to the ground too. He was exhausted from the fight with Stefan, who had been way stronger than he had thought.

"Are you ok?", Elena asked Damon worried.

"As long as my heart isn't staked I'm fine.", Damon said sarcastic and tried to smirk at Elena, but he failed and pain rushed over his face.

Elena watched him worried. "Are you sure?"

"I'll get over it, Elena. I'm not that fragile!", Damon told her, but didn't try to laugh anymore.

"Ok guys, we have to lock him there up", Alaric said while he pointed at Stefan, "Cause I don't want to be here when he wakes up!"

"We can lock him up in my cellar.", Damon said while he tried to sit up.

"Damon, you're too weak. You need blood!", Elena rolled up her sleeve and held her wrist in front of Damon.

"No, Elena! You're not going to give him your blood!", Jenna stood up with an angry look on her face and pulled Elena's arm away.

"Jenna, this is my own decision and if I want him to drink my blood, you ain't got anything to say about it! You're not my mother, Jenna!"

Jenna looked like somebody had hit her in the face.

"Elena, … -"

"She's right, Elena.", Damon sounded exhausted, "You shouldn't do this."

"I already told you that I want you to drink my blood! You're very near to a collapse!", Elena contradicted.

"No, Elena. First: I am not going to collapse. Have you ever seen me collapse? I've been in worse shape! And -"

"Damon! You don't have to play the hero!"

"… second: I'm going to be ok. And third: when do I play the hero?" - he said innocently. Elena rolled her eyes.

"... And fourth: We don't have time for this!", Damon said as he looked at Stefan, who was already moving again, but Alaric stabbed another injection with vervain into him and he fell back on the ground.

"Alaric, could you help me up?", Damon asked him.

Mr Saltzman eyed Damon suspiciously, but decided to help him. He placed his arm under Damon's shoulder and pulled him up. Elena gasped. Only now she could see that Damon was bleeding out of his neck. Alaric helped Damon to the sofa and then went back to tie Stefan's hands and feet.

"Am I the only one who still is capable here in this house or what?", Alaric reproached them.

They all looked around embarrassed.

"Sorry! Of course not.", Jenna smiled at him, "Can I help you with something?"

Oh my Gosh! Was she flirting with him? Unbelievable! It must be because of the shock she was in!

"Yeah, well, you could try to wake Jeremy up and get him into my car – it's in the garage -", he handed her the keys, "- Elena, help Damon, then I'll try to get Stefan into the car.", he said and watched Stefan desperately at this thought. Everybody nodded and set to work. Elena carefully placed her arm around Damon's chest and tried not to groan when Damon pulled himself up at Elena. Jenna had got a glass with water from the kitchen which she now threw into Jeremy's face. Jeremy gasped and opened his eyes.

"What happened?"

"Shh, everything's fine." Jenna pulled him up and led him to the door.

Elena watched her history teacher injecting Stefan more vervain.

"Do you need help, Mr Saltzman?" - she still couldn't call him Alaric – but maybe she should get used to calling him by his first name, as Jenna seemed to be quite interested in him …

"Well, ehm, yes, in fact I do need help. He's to heavy for me alone … could you …" Alaric pointed at Stefan's feet.

"Sure – Damon, just wait a moment, ok?", Elena asked Damon.

"It's ok. I can walk to the car by myself.", Damon told her and already started to limp towards the door.

Elena watched him concerned.

"Ok then. Let's get him also to the car!", Alaric pulled her back to attention.

Elena nodded and took Stefan's tied feet. Alaric took Stefan under his shoulders and they lifted him form the ground. They had to make an effort to get Stefan to Alaric's car, where they placed him on the back seat.

"Jenna, you drive, ok?", Alaric asked her and seated beside Stefan's unconscious body.

Jenna only nodded and sat down behind the steering wheel. Damon and Elena sat down on the back seat – Jeremy was sitting on the passenger seat as he had refused to sit next to Elena on the back seat – but because they were six persons and Alaric's car had only five seats, Elena had to sit half on Damon's lap, who didn't seem to have a problem with that and even seemed to be very healthy suddenly. Elena ignored Damon's try to pull her fully on his lap and only rolled her eyes. She had more important things to think about right now.

Why didn't Jeremy want to talk to her anymore? She hadn't done anything to him. Though she should have told him about vampires …

"Jer, please, I'm sorry, ok?", she tried.

He didn't even turn around to look at her.

"Elena – I don't want to talk to you! To any of you! You lied to me, you betrayed me! - I know what happened that night – when Vicky died – I remember everything!"

Oh shit. So that was the matter. Damn it. How the hell was she going to get this fixed?

Elena was desperate.

Everything had gone wrong. Stefan was a monster, Damon was near to a collapse, though he didn't want to admit it, Jeremy hated her, Jenna was mad at her and Mr Saltzman – Alaric – she corrected herself – well, he was the only one who wasn't mad or angry at her - as far as she knew. And Caroline maybe was a vampire now, too.

Review please! Any comments are welcome!