"You're positive you're okay?" I question Jeremy as he shuts the front door behind him, leaving the two of us to stand on the front porch. This is the first chance all night that I've gotten to talk to Elena's younger brother alone. He seems fine, but I just want to make sure that he's in the right headspace for me to leave. Isobel can be a real bitch when she wants to. Taking Jeremy captive in order to get Elena to give her the Gilbert invention was a dick move. I'd come over at Jeremy's request to help Jonathan and him configure a lie to tell Elena. We'd all wanted it to appear as if Isobel had compelled him to forget what actually happened. From the phone call Jeremy and his sister shared, it sounds like she believes his made up story.

"I'm fine, I promise," Jeremy smiles, reaching out and curling his fingers around my arm just above the elbow. "I wanted to say thanks for not compelling me to forget."

"It's your decision on what you get to remember and what you don't. That's how it should always be. Just cause I have the power, doesn't mean I should always use it as a first resort."

"Have a good night, Diana. I'll see you tomorrow morning? I have to be at the school at seven," Jeremy reminds me as he lets go of my arm.

"I'll be here. Sweet dreams, Jeremy."

Once I return home, I grab a blood bag from the supply in the basement, quietly listening to Damon and Stefan's conversation as I sit on the steps, sucking the contents from the bag.

Stefan reminds his older brother that Elena is not Katherine and that the past will not be repeating itself. Damon, in his usual cocky way, lets Stefan know that he wants to challenge that. I can't tell if he actually means it, or if Damon is just trying to give Stefan a hard time. Although these last few days have been going well, I still can't get a good read on what Damon's end game is.

Frustrated, I find myself sitting on the roof, a cup of warm coffee held between my hands. After a while, I hear Stefan's room window open, the younger Salvatore coming to sit next to me. I smile over at him. Kind hazel eyes meet mine. There is sadness in them too. This upsets me. I don't want Stefan to be in pain. He's spent too much of his existence dealing with guilt and shame. Sometimes I wish there was a way for me to take some of that away, even if it was just for a little.

"I'm assuming you're up here cause you heard the talk Damon and I had?" Stefan prompts.

I nod as Stefan scoots closer to me. He wraps his arm around me as I lay my head on his shoulder.

"You're going to get hurt again, Diana."

I swallow hard, fighting back the tears that well up in my eyes. In my head I was able to combat the thoughts, find ways around them and make up excuses. Stefan voicing the reality of the situation makes it concrete. I can't defend Damon's behavior to his brother. "We're both going to get hurt again, Stefan. That's the problem with being society's place holders."

Stefan lets out a long sigh as if he too is coming to terms with all of this being real. "You could go, Diana, disappear like you did before. I wouldn't hold it against you, not this time. I don't want to watch Damon hurt you again."

"I'm invested now, Stefan. I need to see this thing through, whatever it is. If Damon leaves me for someone else, so what? At least I'll know it wasn't me walking away this time."

"What else are you sticking around?"

I glance up at Stefan, intertwining my fingers with his as he lets his cheek fall onto the top of my head. "I'm not going to walk away from you this time, Stefan. I won't let you deal with what will inevitably happen alone. Never again."

Stefan presses his lips to the top of my head, "You're too good to me, Diana."

Grimacing I shake off Stefan's arm, standing up. As I go to leave I stop behind the younger Salvatore, resting my hands on his shoulders, my lips brushing against his ear, "Don't lie."

Damon is already in bed when I enter his room, a book resting on his bare stomach. Ocean blue eyes land on me as I shut the door; peeling off the dress I've been in all day. It lands in a heap on the wooden floor with our clothes from earlier. I crawl into the bed as the vampire next to me places his book on the side table. He curls an arm around me, holding my body to his.

"How was dinner with little Gilbert?"

"Do you actually care or are you just making small talk, Damon?" I respond lazily.

Damon gives me a hurt look, "I honestly want to know. You two have been spending a substantial amount of time together. Has he given you any insight on to what the hell John wants with the invention?"

"No. We didn't talk about the invention or vampires or anything supernatural for that matter. I compelled him to forget the whole Isobel thing and then we had a nice discussion about the parade tomorrow. That's it, nothing worth writing home about. How'd everything with Isobel go? Did she promise to leave town and never come back?"

"Besides her annoying snide comments, things went smoothly. Elena is a little rattled. Stefan was there to save the day though, so everything is in order."

I roll my eyes, "Stop pining over your brother's girlfriend, Damon. It's pathetic and very below you."

"I'm not pining, Diana. I don't want Elena."

"I'm sure," I answer looking over at him with a smirk. He's so obvious it's painful. "Have we decided what to do if Bonnie didn't actually preform the spell or if Isobel has her own witch?"

Damon shakes his head, "No. Elena is confident that Bonnie preformed the spell correctly. Also, we'd know if John and Isobel have their own witch. Those assholes never stay hidden for long, they like sticking their nose's in everyone's business too much."

Nodding, I roll over onto my side, "I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Good night, Damon."

The sun is just beginning to peak up over the hills as I slide Damon's keys into the car ignition. I'd never officially asked the vampire if I could borrow his car, but I'm assuming he won't get too upset. It's just a car after all. It's not like I'm going to destroy it on the fifteen-minute drive between the Salvatore Mansion and Jeremy Gilbert's high school.

I flip the radio on as I reach the main road through Mystic Falls. A few people are out, walking their dogs or waiting with their kids at the end of streets. They glance towards the car, but none seem to be paying much attention. That's so typical of human's. If it isn't drastically out of the ordinary, they ignore it. This fact alone makes it incredibly easy to be a vampire cohabitating with the living. Once they think you're one of them, your home free.

"Do you have an aversion to answering your cellphone?" Jeremy questions as he gets into the car, throwing his backpack into the back seat. "I called you like three times last night."

"I must have forgotten that the sole reason for my existence is to answer the phone every time you call. I was busy last night, what did you need?"

"Anna came by last night. She said someone killed her mom," Jeremy explains as we pull away from his house, heading towards the high school.

"Did she say if she knew who did it?" It'd be important to know if we have a vampire killer in town.

"She's pretty sure it was my uncle," Jeremy responds slowly as if he's uncertain.

I roll my eyes. This is so typical of Anna. Jonathan Gilbert probably looked at her funny once and now she's out to get him. I wonder if Pearl is actually dead or if Anna just made up that whole story in order to turn Jeremy against his uncle. "Well, what do you think?"

"I don't know. I want to believe Anna, but that just doesn't sound like John. What would he gain from killing Anna's mom?"

"Look Jeremy, I don't wanna be that person, but I'm trying to look out for you. Anna has a history of blowing things out of proportion. She'll get latched onto one way of thinking and just can't let it go. I'm not saying she's lying, but you might want to check into the story. I mean the girl's basically stalking you and your family. Maybe just be careful."

Jeremy laughs as we pull into the parking lot. "She isn't stalking me. She likes me and didn't know how else to get my attention than to be everywhere I was."

"That's stalking, Jeremy."

"I think it's kind of cute," Jeremy answers with a shrug.

I roll my eyes at the boy, "I think your kind of a weirdo. All I'm saying is that if I was trying to get you, I wouldn't take the stalker route."

"Oh yeah?" Jeremy raises an eyebrow, smirking. "What would you do instead?"

"I don't know, buy you a car," I answer, my words coming out as more of a question than a statement. I've not ever tried to win the affection of a human. Usually, if I want something from them, I'll just compel them to do it. Vampire, human relationships rarely work out unless the human is willing to be changed.

"Buy me a car? Can you even afford to buy me a car?"

"When you live forever you tend to accrue quite a bit of money, Jeremy. I could buy you like half this town."

Jeremy grins, "I think I'll pass."

I laugh, leaning towards Elena's little brother, "I'm serious though. I'd take you to dinner or ask you to coffee. That way, I knew you were spending time with me because you wanted, not because we has the same class schedule."

"You're the worst. Anna has been really nice. I like her and I'm gonna trust her about her mom," Jeremy confirms, glancing over his shoulder as the bell rings. "I gotta go. See you at the parade tonight?"

I nod, "Text me if you want a ride home, okay?"

Jeremy gives me a thumbs up and a smile before grabbing his bag and heading towards the school.

As I go to put the car in reverse, the passenger side door opens again, a dark figure taking Jeremy's place. I press down on the brake pedal, ready to lash out at whoever thought getting in this car was a good idea. When I lay eyes on the man now occupying the seat next to me, I freeze. Two ocean blue eyes stare at me over the tops of black, Aviator sunglasses. "Hello, Diana."

"How did you get here, Damon?"

"Seems as you took my car, I had to walk," he answers back, glowering over at me.

Shrugging, I pull the car out of the spot, driving it back towards the main road, "Aw, poor baby, I bet that was so hard for you."

"You can't just take my car, Diana. Do you even have a license?" Damon responds sternly. He sounds like the father of a disobedient child. The idea of him really caring whether I'm driving around with a license or not makes me laugh.

"Relax, Damon," I respond, tossing my wallet into his lap. "I'm all certified. Since when do you care, anyway?"

"All of the police and other officials in town are ingesting vervain. You can't just compel your way out of a violation, Diana. We need to be careful until this whole vampire fear goes away. If we aren't we risk discovery. Now, I don't know about you, but I'd like to avoid that. Why did you even need the car?"

"I was dropping Jeremy off at school." I answer, quickly continuing on as I see Damon open his mouth to speak. "On the way he told me that Anna came to him last night to tell him that someone killed her mom. I'll give you three guesses on who she said the killer was."

Damon scowls, "Jonathan Gilbert."

"You're incredible."

"Buy why?"

I shrug, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel as I wait for the garage door to open. "Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe Pearl served her purpose so John offed her. Or maybe, he thought killing Anna's mom would drive Anna out of town. The Gilbert's typically don't like vampires. I'm sure Jeremy's uncle isn't thrilled that Anna and Jeremy are a thing. Jonathan could of also just been trying to send a message."

"We need to keep an eye on him tonight at the parade. I know the invention doesn't work, but he could have something else planned." Damon states as he pulls two blood bags out of the fridge, handing on to me. "Can I count on you to help?"

"I live here now, Damon. It's my responsibility to keep this town safe."

"Hey, are we okay?" Damon questions as I turn to leave.

Spinning back around I face him. I'm still not thrilled about what he said about Elena last night, but what other choice do I have? Damon and I have been through it all. No matter what he does, I'm always going to come back. Even now, knowing that I'm setting myself up to be hurt, I can't help but nod. "Yeah, we're okay, Damon."

The dark haired vampire smiles, his arm snaking around my waist, lips pressing against mine, "I love you, Di."

I smile up at Damon, laying my lips to his cheek. "I know."

Hours later, I stand in the center of the park, eyes searching the crowd for anyone that I know. Although Damon and I had arrived together, he'd hurried off to find his brother. I'd hoped the two of us could spend some time alone, but that's obviously not going to happen. I spot the two Salvatore brothers standing off towards one of the floats. As I head over to them I notice Elena. She's in a gold colonial dress, her hair hanging in tight curls around her thin face. She looks just like Katherine. Rolling my eyes, I toss one of my blonde curls over my shoulder, waving over at Caroline. She motions for me to join her.

"The float looks amazing, Caroline. You did awesome!"

Caroline smiles, "Thank you. That means a lot. Ugh, Damon is looking over here. I still don't understand how you can be with him."

"I promise you, he's not as bad as he seems. He's a big softie on the inside. Who's your date, Caroline? I don't think I've met him yet," I answer, eying the blonde boy off to Caroline's left. Honestly, I'll do anything to keep the attention away from Damon and myself. Usually, I love bragging about dating Damon, but today I don't have much to say on that front.

"This is Matt Donavon. He's my boyfriend." Caroline smiles. "He used to date Elena."

"Donavon? Is he –?"

"Yeah. We don't talk about that though," Caroline cuts me off. "Find me after the parade. I want to hang out."

I nod as Caroline and Matt are led over to the Miss Mystic float. Letting out a long sigh, I turn around, once again scanning the park. Dozens of people mill around, chatting excitedly as they look over the floats. I suddenly remember why I stopped going to these things; they're boring as hell. As I head towards a bench in the shade, wanting to get away from the people, I spot Elena and Jeremy. They look like they're fighting.

"Go to hell, Elena," Jeremy grumbles, shaking off his sister's grip before stomping off. Maybe something interesting will happen today after all.

"Trouble in paradise?" I question, falling into step with the younger Gilbert.

Jeremy looks over at me, the scowl on his face letting up a little. "She's just being a bitch. I found out she had Damon compel me to forget what actually happened with Vicky. She's trying to fix things, but she can't."

"Why?"

"She's going to choose them every time. No matter what, she's always going to go along with what Stefan and Damon want. It's bullshit."

I nod, placing my hand on Jeremy's shoulder to prevent him from walking anymore. "What's really the matter, Jeremy? I mean, I get being upset with your sister and what not, but I feel like this rage is a little misplaced."

Jeremy sighs, "Anna asked me to run away with her. She was going to turn me and we were going to leave together. I told her no."

"Can I ask why you told her no, or do you not want to talk about it?"

"I just can't leave. Things are complicated. If I disappeared Elena and my uncle would know who I was with. Besides, where would we go? I don't have any money saved and I doubt Anna had much."

"So it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Anna wanted to turn you into a vampire?"

"I don't know if I'm ready to live forever. Hey, I gotta go. They're loading my float."

"Find me after the parade. I'm not done talking to you," I answer as Jeremy begins to walk away.

Jeremy grins, giving me a salute before disappearing amongst the other high schoolers dressed as colonial shoulders. It bothers me that Anna asked Jeremy to run away with her. She's obviously upset about everything that's going on, but that doesn't constitute turning a confused human boy and skipping town with him.

"There you are," an arm is thrown over my shoulders, lips pressed to my temple for a second. "You look amazing. Where have you been? I was looking all over."

"Oh, you were? Are you sure you weren't ogling over Elena?"

Damon lets out a sigh as we stop on the outskirts of the crowd gathered to watch the parade. "Will you please drop that? I'm not into Elena. The only girl I have eyes for in this tiny, stupid town, is you."

"Right. Did you talk to Bonnie by any chance, see if she actually un-charmed the device?"

"No," Damon answers with an eye roll. "Did you?"

"I was busy helping Jeremy through his sibling dispute with Elena. You know he's really upset about the fact the two of you made him forget what happened to Vicky."

Damon grimaces, leading us through the crowd towards where Bonnie is standing. He positions us in front of the witch as the Miss Mystic float passes by. I wave at Caroline who smiles at me. I envy that girl. Things must be so simple for her. She's got a handsome boyfriend, a coveted title, and seemingly not a care in the world. Being a high schooler must be so simple.

As I look back to Damon, he spins around, eyeing Bonnie.

The witch glowers back at the dark haired vampire, "What do you want?"

"Just watching the parade," Damon responds, glancing back over his shoulder towards the floats that continue to drive past.

The civil war float rolls by, Jeremy sitting right on the edge. As it passes, Elena's brother looks over at me. I smile, giving him a thumbs up as he pretends to die from being shot by another boy riding the float. As the parade comes to a close, Damon re-joins me in the crowd.

"Did you get anything out of her?"

Damon shrugs, "Well, she was defensive, but that could just be cause she hates me."

"Did you also try and kill her?" I joke.

"No. I've only killed Jonathan and Alaric. They both deserved it."

"I'm sure. Look, I'm supposed to be meeting Caroline and Jeremy now that the parade is over. I'd invite you, but both of those people also hate you. I'm beginning to notice a pattern here, Damon."

The dark haired vampire rolls his eyes, pulling me in for a kiss. "I'm an acquired taste, love. Neither Caroline nor Jeremy has any taste. You have fun though. Go make those friends. I'll just go bother Stefan. You know he's really protective of you. It's kind of annoying."

I smile, standing on my tiptoes to kiss Damon one more time. "I love you."

"Love you too." Damon answers as I disappear into the crowd.

For a while, I wander around, unable to find either of my new friends. Those who have gathered for the Founder's parade events mill around. Children chase after each other, giggling excitedly. Workers in bright orange shirts work on setting up chairs in front of a stage where the mayor and his wife will be giving a speech after the sunsets. Oddly, I feel out of place. I have more of a claim on this town than most people here, yet I feel like an intruder. This feeling quickly passes as Caroline hurries over to me, an excited look in her eyes.

"That was incredible, but I've never been so happy to get out a dress before. I don't understand how women wore those things all the time. They're so uncomfortable. How did I look up there? Did Matt and I look okay?" the blonde talks a mile a minute, leading me over to one of the food stands that have popped up along the outskirts of the park.

"You looked fantastic, Caroline. They definitely picked the right girl to be Miss Mystic. And that float? Holy cow. When did you even find time to decorate that?" I gush; knowing it's what Caroline wants to hear. She likes to be fawned over and told how great she is.

Caroline beams, order a lemonade, "I'm so glad you liked it. I've got to go meet up with Matt, Elena, and Stefan, but shopping sometime?"

I smile, nodding as Jeremy walks towards me, "Definitely. Have fun, Caroline."

"Since when are you two friends?" Jeremy questions, stopping next to me.

"Caroline and I are like best friends, Jeremy. She tells me all of the towns little secrets and I tell her how fabulous she is. It's a win-win situation for both of us. But –" I wrap my arm around Jeremy's shoulders leading him towards the booth that sells cotton candy " – let's not talk about her right now. Let's talk about what a fantastic colonial solider you were. Honestly, I've seen a lot of guys in those hideous uniforms, but I gotta say, you can pull it off."

Jeremy grins, shrugging my arm off, "Don't. I looked ridiculous."

"I have no reason to lie to you," I answer before turning to the guy behind the counter and ordering a bag of blue cotton candy. It's stupid, but out of all the food I've consumed over my many years of life, this sugar air is one of my favorites.

Once I have the bag in hand, Jeremy and I head over towards an unoccupied bench. I undo the twist tie, breathing in deeply as the sugary scent hits my nostrils.

"Can you even eat that?"

I roll my eyes, pulling off a piece of the cotton candy, letting it dissolve on my tongue before I answer, "Yes. As long as I have an adequate amount of blood in my system I can operate just like a normal human. Honestly, did Anna tell you anything about being a vampire?"

Jeremy shakes his head, "Not logistics stuff. She told me about the fun stuff, like turning your emotions off, heightened senses, and getting people to do whatever you want."

"Those aren't always benefits, Jeremy. I don't like that that's the kind of stuff she pushed. All of those things can cause issues, especially flipping the switch."

"Yours is flipped and you seem fine."

I turn on the bench so that I'm facing Jeremy, the playful vibe of our original conversation gone. "Who told you I flipped the switch? I haven't turned my emotions off. There's ways you can block out feelings you don't want. That's what I do. If the switch was flipped I'd be ripping your neck open and draining you of blood, not helping you work through your sibling rivalry and sharing my fair treats."

"Sorry," Jeremy mumbles. "I just...you aren't like Stefan so I assumed...forget it. Sorry."

"Stefan chooses to feel everything," I answer, settling down a little. I don't like people starting false rumors. I like Jeremy and want to keep working at being his friend. I can't do that if people are feeding him little lies about me behind my back. "I block out the stuff I don't want to deal with. It's why I'm kind of a bitch and Stefan is a lovable teddy bear with guilt issues."

Jeremy grins, "Damon's flipped his switch though, right? I mean..."

I laugh, "Nope. Damon's just an asshole."

"Why are you dating him if you hate him so much?" Jeremy questions, reaching into the plastic bag on my lap and pulling himself off a piece of the blue candy.

Pulling out my own piece of cotton candy, I smile over at Elena's younger brother, "Because, I know him better than anyone else. There's stuff worth loving in there, he just doesn't like showing it to people. No matter what he does, I know he's going to come back with some stupid excuse and a dozen ridiculous, but cute ways to make up for it."

"You're gross," Jeremy laughs as the Christmas lights strung in the tree above us flicker on.

"Just you wait, Jeremy Gilbert. One day you'll find someone you love enough to talk that way about. Then we'll see who's gross."

Jeremy's soft brown eyes meet mine, "Are you still going to be around then?"

I smile back at him, leaning forward a bit and resting my hand on his knee, "Of course. Who else is gonna give you a hard time about it?"

Before Jeremy can say more, Elena appears, her gaze shifting between the two of us. She doesn't look pleased with the way that we're sitting. "Jer, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?"

I squeeze Jeremy's knee before gathering my things and standing. "I'll see you around, Jeremy."

Jeremy frowns, scowling over at his sister, "Yeah. See ya."

I wander around, fighting off the feeling of not belonging as I search for Damon. I've not seen him since the parade and would like to meet up with him again before the speeches tonight. As corny as it seems, I'd also kind of like to be with him when the fireworks go off. We're together now, and I fee like I'm entitled to a few gross couple things. As I round the back of one of the floats, parked along the street, I notice Damon and Jeremy. The vampire has Elena's brother by the arm. Jeremy struggles, but Damon holds tight, keeping the boy in place. Rolling my eyes, I start to walk forward, set on intervening. There's no reason why Damon should be treating Jeremy badly. Before I can reach the two, Stefan appears, taking Jeremy from Damon. The two share a few words before Jeremy stalks off.

Damon, spotting me across the walkway, saunters over, pulling me into a hug, "I wondered where you ended up. I've missed you."

"I saw what happened with Jeremy. I don't approve of that, Damon. Elena and Jeremy's fights shouldn't be any of your business."

Damon rolls his eyes, hands running down my arms, stopping just above my elbows. For a while, he just stares at me, a grin set on his full, pink lips. Eventually, I sigh, curling my arms around Damon's back, my head resting at the crook of his neck. Something about the way he looks at me just makes me melt. It's always been that way. "I'm sorry I upset you. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

I press my lips to the exposed skin of Damon's neck before taking a step back, "You could sit and watch the fireworks with me tonight."

Damon grins, "Whatever you want. Why don't you go find us a seat while I get drinks? I'll find you."

Nodding, I let the dark haired vampire press his lips to mine before we both head off in opposite directions.

A few minutes later a panicked looking Damon squats down next to my seat. He takes both my hands in his, eyes scanning over the area around us before landing back on me. "I know I promised to watch the fireworks with you tonight, but this is life or death. Do you trust me?"

"Of course. Damon, what's going on?" I question as we both stand, Damon leading me through the crowds.

"We need to find Stefan and Elena. The tomb vampires are here and they're planning an attack on the founding families. We would have had the device to stop them, but we had Bonnie deactivate it in order to keep our cover."

"How did you find all this out?" I question as Damon leads us across a parking lot to where Alaric is standing, talking with a few other men.

"Anna told me. I don't see any other choice but to trust her," Damon says hurriedly before grabbing hold of Alaric's shoulder and steering him away from his group. "Rick, do you still keep all those nifty vamp killing weapons in the car?"

"Yeah," Alaric answers, his brows knitted together in confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"Because this square is crawling with tomb vampires. I think we might need to stake one or two."

Alaric nods, heading off towards the parking lot as Damon and I continue our search for Stefan and Elena. As I'm about to suggest splitting up, the two people we've been looking for walk past. Damon grabs Elena's hand as I link elbows with Stefan.

"Uh, what're you guys doing?"

"Saving your lives," I answer quickly.

"Fifteen words or less," Damon tacks on, talking quickly. "Tomb vamps are here. Founding families are the targets. Get her out of here now."

Damon drops Elena's hand, picking mine back up as we begin to walk backwards away from Stefan and his girlfriend.

"Wait. Wait." Stefan says. "Where are you two going?"

Frowning, I shake my head, "That's more than fifteen words, Stef."

Damon and I turn around, walking forwards again. He leads us towards one of the shops situated around the park. I scan the area, trying to spot any of the tomb vampires. I'm sure I'd recognize them. If we can take out even a few before the fireworks display, we might have a chance of saving those people. Sure, I'm not the biggest fan of some of the founder's of this town, but that doesn't mean I agree with killing them. These people aren't their ancestors.

"Hey." Damon stops outside a wooden shop door. "I know this is a lot. Are you going to be okay?"

I place my hand on Damon's cheek, pressing my lips to his for a second, "I'm okay. Whatever it is that we're about to do, I can handle it."

The vampire nods, turning and bursting through the shop doors. Inside, Jonathan Gilbert stands over a table, the invention laid out before him. He doesn't look up as Damon and I enter the space, blocking his only means of escape.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Damon demands.

Slowly, John lifts his head, fingers still playing over the metal device as he fits one piece into the other. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."

As Damon goes to step forward, Jonathan spins the internal piece of the Gilbert invention. The dark haired vampire clutches the sides of his head, groaning out in pain as he falls to his knees. Does the device work or is something else going on? I continue to stare at Damon, frozen in my spot by confusion as John steps forward, injecting the man on the ground with what I assume is vervain.

Curious blue eyes glance up at me as Jonathan pockets the syringe, getting to his feet. "I guess I was wrong about you. You're just a sympathizer. You should go before the others get here."

My gaze shifts from John Gilbert down to Damon who is now just a heap on the floor, incapacitated by the vervain and whatever caused his initial outburst of pain. Stumbling backwards, I fumble with the doorknob, falling out onto the street as the door opens. I stand outside the shop, staring at the wooden door that has been shut in my face. What happened in there? John activated the Gilbert invention, but it wasn't supposed to work. Could something else have caused Damon to become immobile? Did Bonnie not actually go through with the spell? If the device was still charmed why wasn't I affected?

A solid grip on my left shoulder pulls me out of my trance. Spinning around, I come face to face with Alaric. He looks concerned, gently guiding me over to the curb, the two of us sitting down.

"Where's Damon?"

I shake my head, trying to make sense of my racing thoughts, "He just collapsed. John Gilbert, he took Damon." Tears well up in my eyes, spilling down my face.

Alaric stands the both of us up, leading me across the parking lot, "Are you sure that your supernatural? There's not way someone compelled you or anything?"

I stop, turning towards Alaric, "No, Rick, Damon just tells everyone that I'm 600 years old. I drink blood because it tastes good. Of course I'm a vampire. I don't know why I wasn't affected. Something or someone must have been protecting me. Is Stefan safe?"

"Yes. He's with Elena. Come on."

Together we walk to an underground staircase. Elena and Stefan are sitting at the bottom, the female inspecting her vampire counterpart. Upon seeing me, Stefan stands, pulling me into a tight hug. He holds me close to his chest for a second.

"Thank God you're safe," Stefan says once he's released me from the hug, kissing the top of my head.

Alaric looks over at Elena as Stefan and I sit down on the steps, "They're taking the vampires to your family's old building."

Stefan shakes his head, frowning, "It's the Gilbert device. It has to be."

"But how did he get it to work? Bonnie un – spelled it," Elena answers, confusion washing over her face as she turns to look at me. "Why weren't you affected?"

"I don't know. There's no reason why I shouldn't have been." I respond, frustrated by the situation. Everyone is going to question what happened. I don't want any of the people I now consider friends and family to think I had something to do with the Gilbert invention still working.

"Maybe she didn't. Maybe Bonnie didn't actually do what she said she was going to," Alaric offers up.

Elena shakes her head, jaw set. She trusts Bonnie and wants to believe that the witch would do anything to keep the people Elena cares about safe. "She did. We saw her do it."

"No. No," Stefan steps in, placing his hand on his girlfriend's knee. "Think about it. We asked Bonnie to deactivate a device that could protect people against vampires."

"So we could protect you," Elena states, sounding frustrated.

"And Damon. And Diana. Vampires. Maybe she protected Diana so that we could all have a chance. Maybe she felt guilty."

"Either way, I'm not so sure your friend Bonnie is as one our side as you originally thought."

Elena frowns at my words. She eyes Stefan for a second before staring down at her hands. I think in her heart, she knows Stefan and I are right, but Elena doesn't want to admit that. Bonnie is her best friend. Up until now I'm sure the witch has done everything in her power to keep Elena safe. This time, we just asked Bonnie to choose between friendship and morals. Per usual for witches, Bonnie chose the path of morality.

"Where's Damon?"

"Diana said he was affected by the device. John Gilbert got him. I bet they brought him to the store with the others." Alaric offers, giving me a friendly smile when I squeeze his arm in thanks.

"Can you get my brother? Take him home?"

"Of course," Alaric responds as the four of us stand.

"Let's go."

Elena, Stefan and I take off towards the other side of the park. The dark haired girl leads the way, knowing exactly where the shop is along the strip. Stefan keeps hold of both our hands, glancing back at me every few seconds. I try to look brave, but on the inside I'm terrified. What if we're too late? What is Jonathan staked Damon? How could I have just stood there and watching him fall?

As Elena goes to cross the street, Stefan stops, "Wait. Wait. I can hear them. The buildings on fire."

"What?"

"The buildings on fire."

The three of us walk up behind John Gilbert. He's got his arms crossed over his chest, eyes set on the store where they'd put the vampires. He looks smug and I long to slap that stupid smirk off his wrinkly old face.

"Where's Damon?" Elena demands.

The girl's father turns around slowly, eyes scanning over Stefan and I before settling on Elena. "With the rest of them, where he should be. It's over for Damon."

"You're crazy."

"Why? Because I'm doing what should have been done 145 years ago? This is the right thing, Elena."

"You don't get to decide that," I state, taking a step towards the man. I know he won't die, but I still think I'd get some satisfaction out of wringing his neck.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I do. Go ahead and try to save him, though. You won't make it out. It'll save me the trouble of killing you myself."

Stefan looks at Elena, "You know the building well. Is there another entrance in?"

"Utility door," Elena responds quickly, pointing towards the side of the building. "There's one around the side."

Stefan and I take off. Somehow we lose Elena, but I don't turn around to look for her. I stay on Stefan's heels. We need to get to Damon. If the building is burning he won't last much longer. I'm not losing him. We've been through too much for him to go out this way.

As Stefan goes to pull the door open a voice sounds behind us. I spin around, eyes landing on Bonnie.

"Hey! You can't go in there."

Ignoring her, Stefan pulls the door open.

"The fire will take you out," The witch continues, trying to talk us out of our decision.

Stefan turns around, "He's my brother, Bonnie."

"You protected one of us earlier, I'm sure you can do it again. I mean, you are the reason we're in this mess," I sneer at Bonnie before following Stefan into the building.

We run through the main room, quickly finding the stairs to the basement. Thick black smoke is pouring out from under the door, cries of dying vampires floating into the space. Stefan reaches for the handle, letting out a hiss of pain as he quickly pulls his hand back. "Damon will kill me if you get hurt. Stay up here."

"No, Stefan. I'm going down. Now try the door again."

Stefan hesitates, his fingers hovering over the metal knob. This is the only thing standing between Damon and us.

"Open the door, Stefan!"

The vampire curls his hand around the door handle. This time he is able to pull it open. Fire flares up in our face. The wooden steps leading downward are engulfed in flames. Closing my eyes for a second, I accept my fate. Jonathan Gilbert was right, at least one of us is probably not going to make it out of this alive. As I go to enter the basement, fingers curl around my wrist. Stefan jerks me back into the hallway, a stern look in his usual soft brown eyes. "What the hell, Diana? You can't go down there. There's too much fire."

I stare back at Stefan. He isn't going to stop me from doing this. I'm old. I've had a good existence. If me sacrificing myself means that Damon will live, I'll do it. "I'm not losing him, Stefan."

Damon's brother sighs, loosening his grip on my arm. I turn towards the door just as the fire on the steps begins to recede, creating a path for us. Bonnie decided to help after all. Grabbing Stefan's hand, the two of us descend into the basement.

Smoke fills the small space, clouding my vision. I take in what I can see. There are at least two-dozen vampires down here, all groaning; some even begging for their lives. On the floor at my feet is Anna. Her skin is ashen, veins raised to the surface of her face; there's a stake in her heart. A pang of sadness washes over me. I might not have been too fond of Pearl's daughter, but I know she meant something to Jeremy. He's going to be devastated.

"Damon!" Stefan's voice pulls me out of my trance.

Together we rush over to the fallen vampire, slinging his arms over our shoulders as we help him stand. Damon groans, his feet dragging out behind him. Stefan and I hoist Damon up, trying to get a better hold of him.

"We need to get out of here now!" I yell as a beam falls to the ground right where Damon has been laying.

Stefan nods before we fly back up the stairs, into the cool night air. Damon coughs, dropping to his knees on the pavement outside of the store. Elena pulls Stefan into a hug, kissing him a few times before coming over to check on Damon. The dark haired vampire keeps his arm thrown over me, his head resting on my shoulder. Although he's shaking a little, I can't see anything else wrong with him. Damon will be operating at a hundred percent once he's had a blood bag or two. We got lucky tonight.

Reaching up, I take Bonnie's hand. She tenses a little, but then relaxes, eyes set on mine. "Thank you, Bonnie. Thank you."