Disclaimer: I may wish I owned The Vampire Diaries, but I don't.

Chapter Nine- Unexpected Guest

When I came to myself, I was in a dark room. My enhanced vision could just barely see through the thick darkness that surrounded me. I eased myself up, wondering when I would see my saviour. I had a feeling that I knew who it was. I passed a hand on my arm, expecting to find a big cut, but instead I was met with a thin white scar, which disappeared under my fingers. I frowned. Since I lost a lot of blood, it shouldn't have closed unless I fed, and I had just woken up.

Just as I was about to jump to my feet and get out of that oppressive little room, the door cracked open. A woman walked in, carrying with her a knocked out man. I got up, my mouth falling with surprise. Lexi. I hadn't seen her in a hundred years, literally.

- I brought you food. - She told me, shifting uneasily.

- Thanks. And thanks for saving my life back there. - I said, my voice showing almost no emotion.

She handed me the guy she had been carrying. I picked him up, wondering why she had saved me. We hadn't parted in the best of terms. Actually, the way we had parted was so far from best of terms it probably didn't even know best terms. I bit into his throat, expertly piercing his aorta. The bittersweet taste of blood invaded my mouth, making a wave of relief wash over me. I wished I could drain him dry and relish every single ounce of the red liquid he had in his body and, by his weight, that was a lot. But as I felt the flow slowing down, I stopped. I knew I had to, even though I could feel my veins burning for more. It had been a long time since I had last felt such a strong urge to feed.

I looked up to find that Lexi was still standing at the doorway. I knew her. She wasn't one to stand still for too long. She wanted something, I was sure of it.

- What, Lexi? - I asked her, trying not to sound as rude as I had sounded when I thought the words.

- Why are you here? Why did you come back after all what happened? - She answered, her voice carrying a genuine concern.

- That was a long time ago. I didn't think anything would happen again. Well, the stay was good while it lasted. - I replied, my eyes getting slightly dreamy as I remembered my blood exchange with Damon.

Lexi looked down, shaking her head. I could see the start of a smile forming on her lips. I wished nothing had ever happened between us. I really liked her, though I was still angry at her. When you have eternity to live, forgiving takes time. There's no point in saying that life is too short to be spent being angry at someone. I had literally all the time in the world.

By the time I snapped out of my thoughts, Lexi was gone. I glanced at the limp body in my hands, remembering what had happened earlier that day. I knew I had to get to Stefan and Damon, but I also knew that I needed my strength back, so I closed my eyes and allowed myself to fall asleep.

Somewhere North of Virginia, 1700.

Lexi and I stood in new ground. No one really knew what laid ahead. Travelers had already died trying to cross through the wilderness that woke up at nightfall. And that was exactly why we wanted to go there. I, for one, was curious. Lexi, being a young vampire, was eager for a challenge, for a way to try out her new powers. With an adventurous grin, we walked into the dense forest.

I never saw it coming. The city, the gas-lit lights, the civilization... There was a whole culture developing in the jungle and no one knew about it. After so many deaths, no one wanted to explore the place. I couldn't blame them. If I was human, I was sure I wouldn't have been so confident about going into unknown territory where a lot of people had died.

Night came and we settled into our beds. The inhabitants of the city had welcomed us with open arms and even offered us a bed to sleep in. I had been looking forward to sleeping properly. It had been over a day since we last saw a bed and a good night's sleep. We really needed it.

We were woken up by the slicing pain of knives cutting out throats. I had hardly been gladder about being a vampire than at that time. As I tried not to think about the pain, I wondered why they had chosen that method of kill. I supposed their weapons were more efficient that way. I allowed my eyes to close once more as the blood poured out of my neck. I didn't want them to know that I was alive, that they couldn't kill me like that. Our best chance of escape was to fake our deaths.

By the time the men left the room, my wound was already healed. I positioned Lexi's head so that the blood had a hard time running out of her veins. The less of it she lost, the faster she would heal. I kept my ears open for any sign of movement outside our little cottage. They, whoever they were, didn't seem to be planning on coming back to check up on their work. Good for us.

As Lexi finally healed, I told her about our situation. I could see in her eyes that something was wrong, but I dismissed it as stress. I really wasn't in the mood to look into it. All I wanted was to go back to my cosy little house in England.

You did this! You should have protected me like you promised, you should have seen this coming! - Lexi shouted at me as we approached the nearest city.

Lexi, I didn't know! And you should look out for yourself as well! I won't be around forever, you know? - I screamed back at her.

You know what? Fine. Go home. I'll stay here, looking out for myself. - She replied, her tone going back to normal.

Fine. - Was my only answer.

I couldn't blame her. We could have died. They could have been more primitive and used stakes instead of knives. If they did, we would have been dead in a matter of seconds. Besides, young vampires aren't used to the strength of their emotions. She couldn't handle her anger. I should have been responsible and dealt with her, but I was upset, tired and still a little bit in pain. Not a good combination.

I woke up with a jump. I couldn't remember all the details of our little adventure, but what I had dreamed had been enough to leave me uneasy. Seeing Lexi again had stirred up old memories, ones I didn't care for. I only wished there was something I could do about it. Maybe she didn't want me gone anymore. She could have left me to die. But I knew her. I knew that she didn't kill, and leaving me to die would have been almost the same as killing. I could only hope that she didn't hate me anymore. By some reason that I failed to understand, even after so much time resenting her, I still wanted her back by my side. I trusted her, and at that moment I needed someone who I trusted. Not someone like Katherine, but someone like Lexi.

I got up, my legs still feeling a little bit sore, and went looking for her. Maybe, if she wasn't still angry with me, she would be willing to help.

I found her in the living room, a book open on her lap. I smiled. Though Lexi had always been a rather agitated girl, she still somehow managed to love books. I understood her. I had always found them to be a great source of entertainment. They had the ability to suck you into a whole new world, a world that could be anyway you wanted.

- Lexi, I'm... I'm sorry for... you know what. - I said, my voice lowering as I finished the sentence.

- It's alright. I forgave you a long time ago. I thought you were the one that hadn't forgiven me. - She muttered, her brown eyes looking up at me with such repent that I actually felt bad for her.

I mentally cursed myself. I should have looked for her the minute I got back to the United States, 40 years before. But I had forgotten. I had chosen to forget. It hurt me to think of one of my best friends telling me go away. I didn't travel around with anyone. It took me some time to be sure that I could trust my new traveling companion, and during that time a bond developed. Having Lexi say that she wanted me gone had felt like a stake stabbing my heart. For a long time, I had tried not to feel anything, to just put the whole event behind me. Needless to say, it had only been a temporary solution, since there I was, standing in front of Lexi and feeling a wave of sadness and guilt hitting me. I knew there was no time for me to feel bad. Damon and Stefan needed me as soon as possible.

- Are you ready for some adventure, Lexi? - I asked her, a smile stretching across my face. - It's probably going to be dangerous.

- Yes, I am. - She said, her voice sounding much happier.

I ran out of the house, Lexi close behind me, towards Mystic Falls .


Author's Note: I'm very sorry for the long wait! The next chapter will be up in much less time!