A/N: HOLY UPDATE! Just gonna get into it, longer A/N below. XOXO

"That's the thing about a hurricane. She's all lightning and wind and rain

Get to close and you're swept away, better hold on till it breaks

Cause it's a hell of a ride if you can just survive the pain,

But that's the thing about a hurricane

She said she was running from her past, and every breath she stole felt like my last.

Her kiss told me better get out of here, but I was too far gone to care." –Hurricane by Dustin Lynch

Chapter 7

Jeremy was shocked to see his sister. Not only was she drunk, but she was making out with a random guy in the middle of a bar. "Hey, 'Lena. What's up?" He looked at Elena, trying to hide his blatant disappointment in her.

"Hey Jer. Not much. What are you doing here?" Elena stepped far away from Tyler and glanced up at her brother once, before refusing to meet his judging gaze.

Jeremy shrugged indifferently, "Matt said he knew where you were, and I wanted to come see if you were okay. Clearly, I didn't need to do that. Do you even know this guy, Elena," Jeremy asked, trying to hide his anger, "And what the hell, are you drunk? What has gotten into you," he looked from his sister to Tyler and glared slightly, "Or should I be asking who?"

Elena, who had kept her head down like a scolded child, whipped it up at her brother's words, "Excuse me," she asked betrayal in her eyes and voice, "What did you just ask me? What the hell is wrong with you Jeremy?" She shoved her brother forcefully.

"Hey, Elena, calm down. It was just a question, a very valid question. How am I supposed to know that this jackass isn't the reason you and Stefan broke up? You haven't talked to me in weeks, Elena! For all I know you didn't leave of your own free will. Hell, maybe this guy forced you to leave."

Elena snapped her head up and her brother's last sentence, and slapped him. She stumbled backwards, the hurt of her brothers venom laced words cutting through her. "How dare you, Jeremy Gilbert? How dare you act like you know what's going on?"

Jeremy scoffed, "I know enough, Elena. Damon and Matt filled me in."

Elena rolled her eyes, "And what did they tell you? What did they tell you to make you jump to the conclusions you just did? I would love to know what Matt or Damon told you that would make you believe that someone other than Stefan and our mother made me leave town? Did Damon tell you any of that? Did he tell you that I told him that Mom wanted me to stay with Stefan? That she didn't care that Stefan hurt me? That she told me to suck it up when I came home with bruises on my wrists? Did Damon tell you that he had heard Stefan and me arguing for weeks before I finally decided to leave? Did he tell you that I caught Stefan cheating on me? Did Matt tell you that I tried to get Stefan to leave me alone? That I tried everything possible to get away without leaving town, because of you? Did either one of them tell you that Stefan threatened to hurt you if I didn't stay with him? Tell me, Jer, what exactly did they tell you?"

Jeremy looked at his sister with shock in his eyes, "Elena," he began, his voice rough, "I had no idea about all of that. I knew about some of it, but I had no idea that Mom was being so awful about everything, or about Stefan threatening me to make you stay. God, Elena, if I had known, I would've gotten you out myself."

Elena glanced at her brother before looking over to where Tyler had seated himself at the bar, watching the interaction, "I tried to protect you from a lot of things Jer. You didn't need to know about my issues, it was something I needed to deal with on my own, and I did. Right now, I'm happy."

Jeremy sighed deeply and pulled his sister to him, hugging her tightly. "I love you, Elena, no matter what. You should have told me what was going on. I would have done anything in my power to help you."

Elena buried her head in Jeremy's chest, "I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Jer. I'm sorry I was an awful sister. I just left you. I didn't tell you where I was going, or what was happening. You must think I'm awful."

Jeremy kissed the top of Elena's head. "I could never think you were an awful sister, and you have nothing to be sorry for." Jeremy pulled Elena back slightly and looked into her eyes, "You are my sister, and I love you, no matter what, okay?" When he saw Elena nod, he continued, "Now, introduce me to this Tyler guy. According to Matt I don't have to worry about him," he quirked his eyebrow when Elena giggled, "And I wanted to say hi to Vicki."

Elena nodded and pulled Jeremy over to the bar where Tyler was, "Tyler, this is my brother Jeremy. Jeremy, this is Tyler." She beamed at both of them. She looked around and saw Vicki on the other end of the bar, "Hey, Vicki," she called, "I got someone here who wants to see you."

Vicki looked over and as soon as she saw Jeremy, she beamed and ran over to him, "Jeremy? What are you doing here," she asked.

Jeremy shrugged, "I needed to come see Elena, and when I found out that you were here too, I figured it was a win-win. How've you been? I've missed you." Jeremy smiled when Vicki jumped over the counter to hug him. "And I take it you've missed me too Vic. God, why didn't you tell me where you were going?" He hugged her tight, inhaling her scent.

Elena smiled at the scene before her, Vicki and Jeremy had truly been so much more than friends, and she knew how crushed Jeremy had been when Vicki up and left in the middle of the night without so much as a word.

…***…***

A while later, Matt and Elena were sitting at a table, watching Vicki and Jeremy catch up. Tyler had disappeared somewhere with Mason about fifteen minutes earlier, and Elena was starting to get worried. "Hey Matt," she began hesitantly, "I love Vicki, and I know she doesn't mean to string Jer along, but did you ever tell her exactly how crushed he was when she left? I don't want her to get his hopes up."

"I tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen. She never saw just how much Jeremy cared about her then. Hell, maybe if she did then things would've gone differently and she wouldn't have left town."

Elena nodded, "Yeah, what was that all about anyways? I mean, you never told me who Pretty Boy was, but when she asked me about Stefan that's what she called hi-" Elena broke off mid-sentence as the realization hit her. "Matt," she whispered, her throat closing, "Please tell me that Stefan and Pretty Boy are two different people. Please tell me that Stefan wasn't the one who…" Elena trailed off, not able to finish. When Matt only looked at the table and stayed silent, Elena drew in a sharp breath, "Oh my God, why didn't you tell me?"

Matt glanced up with guilt in his eyes, "I thought about it, Elena. But you were so in love with him. You wouldn't have listened to reason."

Elena scoffed and shook her head, "He attacked your sister Matt," she yelled, "He made her leave town, and you let me go out with him, for an entire year! Who else knew? Did Damon and Jeremy keep this from me?"

Matt opened his mouth to respond, but Elena cut him off by jerkily standing up, "You know what Matt, save it. It doesn't even matter. You can just go back home and forget about this. Next time you're here to see Vicki, don't bother coming to see me. God, you knew what he did to her. You knew what he did to her, and you didn't bother to tell me. I could understand in the beginning, but at the end? When I was constantly sick, or covered in bruises? When I wouldn't talk to you or my brother? Why couldn't you say anything then? You were supposed to be my best friend." Elena had tears streaming down her face and as she turned to walk away, she felt a hand grab her arm. "Get. Your. Hand. Off. Me. Now!" She turned to see Matt holding her and tried to rip her arm out of his grasp, only for him to tighten his hold.

Matt looked at Elena with remorse on his face, " 'Lena, I'm so sorry. You have every right to hate me, but please just listen to me?" He paused for a moment and when Elena nodded, he dropped her arm and continued, "I always meant to tell you, but by the time it got bad, you had already cut us all out of your life. I am so sorry that it went as far as it did. I never wanted you to get hurt. I love you, 'Lena. You know that." He hugged her to him tightly, rubbing her back as she sobbed into his shirt.

…***…***

One Month Later

The past month had been rocky, to say the least. Elena had plenty of ups and downs, and was finding it hard to let anyone new in her life. After Jeremy and Matt showed up unexpectedly, she broke down to Tyler and told him a little bit about what she found out. After that, she had retreated in on herself and had barely left her room; the only exception was when she went to work. She did really appreciate Mason taking a chance on her, and she didn't want to act ungrateful. She kept to herself totally though, only helping customers who asked. She ignored Mason, Nic, Tyler and especially Vicki. She hadn't said one word to her oldest friend since Matt told her what happened. Elena didn't know how to feel about the situation. On one hand, she felt awful that Vicki went through what she did, but on the other hand Elena was pissed that Vicki and Matt had kept such a secret from her. She hadn't talked to anyone from Mystic Falls since Jeremy and Matt returned. She didn't know how anyone was doing, and personally she didn't care.

Now, she was walking to the bar and regretting just a little that she wasn't talking to Tyler. Her Audi was still parked behind the gas station, and it was hot out. Why don't you just talk to him, Elena questioned herself. "Because," Elena muttered to herself, "The look of disgust in his eyes when I talked to him that night was enough to let me know what he really thinks of me." She paused for a moment and tossed her hair up into a messy bun, "Great, and now I'm talking to myself." Hearing a loud rumbling behind her, Elena glanced behind her and rolled her eyes at who she saw slowing down.

"Hello, love. Fancy a ride into work today?" Nic smirked, already leaning over and opening the passenger door for her.

"No, Nic. Just like every other time you've asked me, I'm going to say no. Just run along, it's not that much farther." She fixed him with a glare, hoping he would leave, but when he didn't Elena finally sighed in resignation and got in the vehicle. "Thanks," she said with a sarcastic smile.

"Of course Elena. Anything for Mason's favorite new bartender."

Elena rolled her eyes and sat as close to the door as she could once Nic started driving; paying close attention to his hand that was wandering across the bench seat. When Elena felt him grab for her hand, she suddenly rethought her decision to accept the ride and was regretting even more not letting Tyler drive her. "Nic," she said sharply, warning evident in her tone as she pulled her hand away. She glanced over at him briefly and saw him smirking. Elena shuddered in disgust and wondered if she could jump out of the moving vehicle without injuring herself. She relaxed for a moment, but tensed when she saw his hand roaming again from the corner of her eye, "Nicklaus," she ground out as his hand found her knee, trying to keep hold of her anger and not let fear take over.

Elena attempted to push Nic's hand off of her, but that turned out to be the wrong move when he grabbed her hand in his and refused to let go of it. "Now Elena," Nic began patronizingly, "I think it's obvious that I have an attraction to you, and I know you're not with Lockwood," he paused and leered at Elena, "So why not give me a chance. I haven't forgotten that little show you and Tyler put on before you stopped speaking with him and I'm sure you'd be able to please me."

Elena wanted to vomit at his words. She wanted out of his truck. She wanted to be in the bar, where he wouldn't dare touch her. She wanted to be in Tyler's truck, she wanted to be in Mystic Falls with Stefan. She wanted to be anywhere but here, in this moment. Elena sighed in relief when she saw that they had stopped moving and were at the bar, finally. That relief was short-lived when she felt Nic push her down onto the seat, kissing her forcefully and demanding entrance. No, no, no, Elena thought, this can't be happening. Even Stefan didn't do this to me. She tried futilely to push Nic off her, but she barely weighed 100 pounds, and none of it was muscle. She whimpered against his mouth and managed to get a hand free from its spot pinned between their bodies.

Slowly, Elena reached her hand behind her, feeling for the handle. Nic, however, saw her and roughly ripped it away from the door, squeezing hard enough that something went pop. Nic ripped his mouth away from Elena's long enough to growl in her ear, "Now love, you're going to cooperate and not fight me. It'll only make it hurt that much worse, understand?" When Elena refused to answer, Nic slapped her with enough force to make her entire body move. Fortunately, this gave her just enough momentum to push out from under him and open the door of the truck. As soon as the door was open, Nic tried to drag Elena back into the truck where no one could see her.

Elena screamed bloody murder and kept kicking at Nic until his grip finally loosened enough that she was able to slip out of the truck. As soon as she hit the ground, she was up and running into the bar. She glanced around quickly, and didn't see Mason or Vicki anywhere. I hope they're not together back there, Elena thought to herself as she ran back to the office and pounded on the door. "Mason, Mason! Open the door!" Elena looked around frantically and when she saw Nic walk into the bar and spot her she banged on the door harder. "Mason," Elena half-sobbed, "Please, open the door!" She sunk to the ground when she still got no response, and covered her head to make herself as small as possible. Hearing feet approach her, Elena kept her head down and her eyes closed.

"Elena," she heard a male voice say.

"No, no, no, no. Please don't. Please don't," she whimpered, keeping her eyes closed.

"Hey, Elena, it's okay. It's just me," the voice said again. "It's Mason. What's wrong sweetheart," he asked, like he was speaking to a child. "A couple of the regulars told me they saw you run back here and start banging on the door. What happened?"

Elena sniffled and slowly opened her eyes, peeking up from between where her arms were crossed over her knees. "Mason," she said confusion in her voice.

"Yeah Elena. It's Mason. It's just me. No one else is here." He sat next to her slowly. "Want to tell me what happened?"

Elena shook her head, still not meeting his gaze. "My fault. Should have let Tyler drive me. Shouldn't have let Nic drive me in. Should've known better." Elena's words were stilted and lifeless.

"What happened with Nic 'Lena? Did he hurt you?"

Elena shook her head 'no' but then nodded in the affirmative. She stuck out her wrist and then slowly looked up at Mason.

"Oh, Elena," he sighed softly, "Are you okay?"

Elena shook her head, leaning against Mason's shoulder. "I was so scared. Where is he…" Elena trailed off when she heard his voice coming around the corner.

"Mason, I think you need to have a talk with Elena," Nic stopped and tried to hide a smirk when he saw Elena curled up into a ball on the floor. "Oh good, keeping an eye on her for me?"

Elena looked back and forth at Mason and Nic, panicking. Mason had stood up when Nic approached blocking her from his view, and Elena realized how trapped she was. Stupid girl, she thought, why would anyone here want to help you? You just signed your own death wish. She whimpered at her thoughts and missed the words exchanged between Nic and Mason until she heard a very loud "What's not to get? You assaulted her. You're fired, Nic. Be thankful I'm not forcing her to press charges." He continued to glare at Nic and didn't relax until the threat was out of the bar.

Elena looked up at Mason and smiled in relief. "Thank you," she whispered. "You didn't have to do that."

Mason sat down next to the brunette again and gently pulled her to him, "Yes, Elena, I did. He hurt you. That's not okay. Do you want me to bring you home?"

Elena shook her head, "No, you've gone through enough trouble tonight. Can-can you call Tyler for me?"

Mason nodded, "Yeah I can do that. In the mean time, why don't we go sit in the office and I'll take a look at your eye, okay?"

…***…***…***

"Where is she? Is she okay?" Tyler burst through the office door, frantic. When Mason called him saying that Tyler had to pick Elena up; something had happened with Nic, Tyler's mind went to the worst place possible.

"I'm right here, Tyler. I'm fine. A little sore, but fine." Elena poked her head out from behind Mason's back. "Really, Mason was wonderful."

"What happened," Tyler asked, relieved and furious all at once.

"I'm sorry," Elena immediately identified the anger in Tyler's voice, "It was my fault. I should've known better. I should have just let you drive me to work; I should have just ignored him like I've done every day for a month. It's my own fault, Tyler." Elena hung her head in shame.

"Wait; can someone explain to me what the hell is going on? Why the fuck was Nic driving you in, Elena? I thought he freaked you out?" Tyler didn't even realize that his voice was rising until Mason pushed him out of the room and away from a shaking Elena.

While Mason and Tyler were talking, Elena pulled out her phone and dialed a number she hadn't dialed in over a month, "Damon?"

"Hello, Elena," Damon drawled out, "What's wrong?"

"I miss you. I miss everyone. I want to go home," Elena sobbed into the phone.

"Oh, Elena," Damon sighed, "What happened honey?"

"I-I-I-" Elena cried, "I was stupid. I made a stupid decision."

"Did someone hurt you, Elena?"

She nodded, but remembering that Damon couldn't actually see her, she just whimpered.

"Do you want Jeremy and me to visit for a few days," Damon asked gently.

"Not Jer, just you. I miss you Damon." Elena hung up the phone before Damon could respond when she saw Tyler and Mason walk back into the office.

"Elena," Tyler sighed, "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Elena nodded, "its okay. I'm fine. Can we go home now, please?"

Tyler nodded, "Yeah, come on." He walked over to Elena and gently pulled her out of the chair, careful of her wrist.

"I can be back tomorrow Mason," Elena said meekly. She knew that Mason was going to be short-staffed now, and she felt guilty that it was her fault.

"No, you won't Elena," Mason told her. "You'll come back to tend bar when you feel like you're up to it. We'll manage. If you want to come back tomorrow to get a drink, you can, okay?" Mason pulled Elena to him gently and hugged her.

"Thank you," Elena sobbed into his chest, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much."

…***…***

A week had gone by, and Elena hadn't stepped foot in the bar since. She had locked herself firmly in her room, only coming out when she was sure Tyler was gone at work. The bruising on her face had gone down, and was now just an ugly yellow color. Her wrist didn't hurt anymore, but her pride was still wounded. She felt so stupid, trusting Nic to just give her a ride, nothing more. She scoffed at naivety and was going to lie down and go to sleep when her phone beeped, alerting her to a new text message.

***Which window is yours ;) –Damon

Elena smiled and bolted down the stairs when she got the text message, "Damon," she shouted gleefully, running into his arms.

"Hey, spider monkey, how've you been?" Damon carried Elena over to the hood of his car and sat her down.

"Better now that you're here. I missed you. I missed you so much," she sobbed into his shoulder, finally able to fully release the stress of the past few months.

"So," Damon began, "Mutt said you were living with a boy." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"It's not like that, you dork. Tyler's great. Everyone here is great."

"Clearly not great enough if they let you get hurt," Damon muttered, gently inspecting Elena's face. "Jesus, 'Lena, how big was this guy that hit you?"

"Not very big," Elena muttered, ashamed, "I know I'm pathetic, Damon. I couldn't even protect myself."

"Elena Gilbert, you look at me." Damon waited until Elena looked at him of her own volition, "You are not weak. You are stronger than you know." He punctuated the words with a kiss to the tip of Elena's nose. "Now tell me, when does this Tyler fellow get home? I need to have a word with him about letting you go ten rounds on your own," Damon chuckled.

Hearing a rumbling coming up the driveway, Elena bit her lip. "Now. He's home early. I wonder why."

"Elena," Tyler called, jumping out of the truck as soon as it was parked, not even bothering to turn off the ignition, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be," Elena replied, confused.

"Mason said he saw a strange car going down my driveway. Vicki was trying to tell him something, but neither one of us was paying attention. He's on his way over."

Elena shook her head and sighed. "You didn't have to leave work early, and you should've listened to Vicki. Tyler, meet Damon. Damon, meet Tyler."

Tyler and Damon glared at each other for a few moments, before Damon spoke, "So, you're the one keeping Elena safe, huh?" He scoffed, and pulled Elena closer to him.

Tyler bristled at the contempt in Damon's voice and responded in kind, "And you must be the guy who ignored the abuse that went on in your own house." Tyler smirked at the wounded expression on Damon's face for a moment until he heard the angry gasp from Elena.

"Tyler," she yelled, pushing Damon away from her and jumping off of the car, "How dare you! Damon did everything he could to help me. Need I remind you I dated Stefan for a year, there's a lot I never told you about?" She glared at Tyler before giving Damon an apologetic smile. "Damon is the one keeping his brother and my mother away from here. Besides Matt, he is the very best friend I have and the only person in Mystic Falls I can truly trust." Elena paused for a moment and glanced between Tyler and Damon, biting her lip. "It's because of him that I feel safe enough to tell you something," she paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I think I want to go back home."

"What the hell, Elena," Damon shouted, "No! I will not take you back there, not with Stefan still running around. Absolutely not!" His voice rose with each word, sneering at Elena by the end.

"I just miss everyone Damon. I miss you, and Matt, and Jer. I miss Caroline and Bonnie. I miss my dad, I miss Liz, I miss Matt's mom…" she trailed off, fighting back tears. "I miss everything about home besides Stefan and my mom. I hate that they took my home from me."

Damon's face softened at Elena's words and he sighed gently, "Sweetheart," he began, "You know you can't go home yet. It's not safe. If I promise to fly everyone out here, on my tab," he added as an afterthought just to make Tyler glare at him some more, "Will you stay a little longer? I need you to be safe."

Elena nodded slightly. "Okay, I can do that," she said quietly. She crossed her arms and was getting ready to turn to Tyler and ask him if he was okay when she heard a car speeding down the driveway. Seeing long hair flying out the window, she smirked and turned to Damon. "Looks like your favorite Donovan has arrived, Damon." Elena winked at him and giggled as Vicki jumped out of Mason's car.

"Elena," Vicki huffed out as she walked around the car, "I swear to God I tried to tell these two idiots that it was probably just Damon and if there was an issue you'd call one of them." She rolled her eyes at Tyler and Mason's overprotective antics. "So what'd I miss? Did Salvatore screw you into the hood of his car yet?" She leered at Damon and Elena, holding back a laugh at the wounded look on Tyler's face. "Oh, chill out Lockwood. It's not like you have a claim on the girl or anything."

Tyler growled at Vicki, ready to say something, but at Mason's glare turned to Damon instead. "Dude, I know Elena invited you here, and that's fine and all, but I don't have room for you. I'll point you to the nearest hotel, though. Or would you prefer a brothel?"

Elena gasped, "Tyler!"

"It's fine, Elena. I'm sure that Vicki would have me, wouldn't you, Vick?"

Vicki nodded hesitantly, not sure of where this conversation was going. "Yeah, Damon, you can crash with me."

Damon nodded, "Excellent. Elena, what do you say you spend the night with me?" He winked at Elena, enjoying ruffling this Tyler characters feathers. "It can be just like old times. You, me and Vicki. Ah, if those walls could talk." He shook his head and laughed with mirth.

"Wait, I thought he was the good brother?" Mason, who had been silent up until this point decided to speak up, if only to see what Damon or Vicki would say to get a rise out of Tyler. Much to his surprise, the voice he heard next was Elena's.

"But he is the good brother, Mason." Elena chirped and giggled as Damon wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body close to his.

"And don't you forget it Gilbert." He punctuated the sentence with a kiss to Elena's cheek, causing her to giggle again.

"Right," Tyler growled out, annoyed with the how at ease everyone was with Damon. "Elena, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Elena looked between Damon and Tyler and after sharing a look with Damon walked over to Tyler. "What, Tyler," she huffed out in aggravation.

"Look, don't take this wrong, okay?" He paused and roughly ran his fingers through his hair. "But, you can't just go around inviting people I don't know to my house. It was one thing when it was Matt and your brother because I know Matt, and you didn't know they were coming anyways…"he trailed off at the glare on Elena's face.

"Seriously," Elena shouted, drawing the attention of the rest of the group. "I didn't know you were my freaking boyfriend, Tyler. I wasn't aware that as a grown-ass woman, I had to get permission from you to do something. God, Jeremy was right. How could I be so stupid?"

"Elena, I-" Tyler began, trying to apologize.

"No, Tyler," Elena cut him off. "It's fine. I'll pack up my stuff and I'll just stay with Vicki from now on, okay? Who knows, maybe I'll even stay with Mason for a while."

"You'd be welcome anytime sweetheart," Mason called out, trying to break the tension.

Elena laughed at Mason before rolling her eyes and walking away from him, towards Damon and Vicki. "Hey, Salvatore," she called.

"Oh, no Elena. I know that look. Don't do it. This is not a good idea. Think about what you're doing," Vicki tried to stop Elena when she saw the determined look in Elena's eyes.

"Don't do what, Vicki?" Elena paused to stare at Vicki. "I'm just taking a page out of your book. Didn't you do this all the time with my brother?" Without waiting for an answer, Elena continued her trek over to Damon, who was still standing by his car.

"What may I do for you, Elena?" Damon grinned salaciously at her.

"This," Elena said firmly, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling his lips to hers.

A/N: Well then, this was a long time coming. And this baby is NINE pages long. It's a whole big rambling mess, but I hope it makes a little bit of sense. I can't leave this story unfinished, but if you see the note in my bio, I'm taking a slight hiatus from fanfic for mental reasons. There are like, 15 of you who have this story on Alert, so could you maybe pretty please review and tell me what you think? And don't worry; this story WILL stay Tyler/Elena. Damon is just here to shake things up a bit ;)