I open my eyes to find my vision blurry, I close and reopen my eyes. I feel oddly okay, considering yesterdays day. As I focus on my surrounding I realize I'm in a forest. What the hell? Did Lexi and the others leave me here? I sigh standing up. I look around a minute before choosing to go right. I start walking hoping to find where in the world I am. Suddenly I hear giggling. It's a little farther from where I am so I pick up my pace. I reach the end of the forest and see a town ahead. A giggle rings out again and I back away. There is not a single person that the giggle could belong to. The whole area was empty, it looks practically abandoned. There's a rush of wind behind me and I turn around to see a little girl. She looked barely six, her hair was matted with blood just like the rest of her body. There were several stab wounds in her chest and I hold in a gasp as blood still seems to be flowing through it. She tilts her head to the side and giggles. She starts to walk towards me and I back away, she stops seeing my movement and pouts before disintegrating. I gasp as she turns to dust and turn around towards the town again. This time the town is filled with people. What the hell? Is this a dream? Please be a dream. The people seem happy and several children are playing nearby. A few people are practising with weapons. A few are reading amongst other things. The oddest thing about them is the clothes they're wearing. They're all dressed in medieval clothes. The women are wearing long and fluffy gowns and men are wearing suits? I think. Suddenly it's as though the air changes. Everyone seems to be on alert and the children that were playing run towards the houses. All the adults have weapons and get into a formation of sorts.

For a few minutes nothing happens. But then everything becomes a blur and the town people are surrounded by a few hundred people. They seem to be talking but I can't hear a word and in the next minute everyone is attacking. The whole place is filled with screams and cries of women, men and children alike. I turn towards the forest not wanting to see that and not having the courage to go help or knowing how to help. As soon as I turn a woman is standing in front of me. She's holding a golden dagger across her chest as though to protect herself. She mumbles something but it's to low for me to hear. She says something again this time louder but it's in a foreign language. She says it again this time practically a shout. Then she looks me dead in the eye and repeats herself before raising the dagger. My eyes widen and I step back to turn and run but she's faster and the dagger goes straight through my throat. I can feel the pain radiating and my eyes close before I gasp. I open my eyes to see I'm in my bedroom. I can still feel the pain in my throat and my hands go directly towards my neck. I don't feel any pain as I touch my neck. I sigh and look around, I'm thankfully in my bed and Jeremy is sleeping next to me. I am so thankful that was a dream, though it doesn't last long as I feel my sickness returning. I rush to my bathroom and empty my stomach. After I'm sure that's the end of it, I sit up before flushing the toilet and standing up. I brush my teeth and rinse properly to get out the horrid taste before looking for a pain killer.

I find Ibuprofen and decide to eat something before taking it. I take the pill bottle with me to the kitchen. I look out to see it's still dark, I look towards the clock and see it's only five in the morning. Great. I make some coffee and pancakes before sitting down and eating. I've never appreciated food so much before. After cleaning up I take a pill and go back to my room. I lie down on the bed and close my eyes trying to get some sleep. I feel my exhaustion returning.

I wake up to hearing voices and open my eyes to see that I'm thankfully still in my room and not the creepy forest again. I sit up to see whose talking and find Caroline, Matt and Tyler standing facing the door and arguing with someone. "What the hell are you guys doing? People are trying to sleep here." I tell them and they all turn around in sync. Creepy. "Ari." Care exclaims and the next moment I'm wrapped in her arms. "You scared us." Care says, her voice muffled as she has her head buried in my neck. I wrap my arms around her and hug her back tightly. "Sorry Care." I whisper and she pulls back. "How do you feel?" Care asks. "Fine. Better than earlier this morning and last night?" I say confused on the amount of time that passed. Care smiles at me before hugging me again. "Stop hogging her." Tyler says from behind us and I laugh a little. After hugging all three of them I ask them to wait downstairs so that I can get ready. I take a quick shower and go downstairs to see them sitting on the couches glaring at Elena and Stefan. Well that's new. Especially since Matt is glaring at her too. I first thought he was glaring at Stefan but he obviously isn't. Jenna walks into the living room and sees me. "Ari, I'm so glad you're okay." Jen says as she walks towards. She hugs me and I hug her back tightly just not enough to hurt her. She pulls back and looks at me to determine if there are any injuries."I'm fine. Stop worrying so much." I tell Jenna and she gives me a small glare. She's about to say something but Mason loudly announces his presence. "Look whose finally awake." Mason says and I roll my eyes at him. He gives me a hug and I return it.

"I'm feeling fine thank you for asking." I tell him and he gives me a small smile. "Good to know. I'm sure you can explain why the hell you gave the moonstone to the Elijah guy." Damon's voice rings out and I turn my head to see him standing near Elena and Stefan. Bonnie had joined us too. Yay, not. "Well maybe you should explain why you gave the moonstone to Katherine first. I mean we can still get it from Elijah's dead body but getting it from Katherine is pretty difficult. Since you know she's trapped in a tomb that vampires can't enter and you won't risk your precious Elena. I won't let you risk anyone else, so... you're the bigger idiot." I inform him and walk towards the kitchen. I'm seriously very hungry. "Well I'm sure you can get it, since you're human and so brave." Bonnie snarks. "Well witch you can get it too and why would I get it? You lost it... oh no I'm sorry you gave it away for no reason so you can get it back. I have better things to do like I don't know stare at a blank wall or maybe actually attend school. Ugh school." I say while whispering the last part. "Look..." Bonnie starts. "I think she made herself clear. She isn't going to help you and neither are we." Care states firmly as I make myself a sandwich. "Woah Care, chill. What's wrong?" I ask her. At this moment Jeremy and Alaric walk in. What is this some supernatural meet?

Jeremy walks towards me and I smile at him. He visibly brightens and comes forward. I hug him when he's close enough and he hugs me back. "I was so worried Elle." Jer whispers. "I'm fine Jer." I assure him. After he pulls back he looks over me and I roll my eyes. "So anyone want to enlighten me as to what happened?" I ask no one in particular. Care looks at me and I raise an eyebrow in question. "Well after you fainted from over using magic to save these idiots they left you there. They didn't even know you fainted. If it wasn't for Lexi and Lee you would probably still be trapped there." Care explains and I almost laugh when Jenna glares at Elena and she flinches. Guess Elena isn't on the favorite or priority list right now. "Caroline we told you it was just an accident." Elena explains and Care turns to glare at her. "Forgetting your own sister isn't an accident Elena. I don't know why I never saw how selfish you were before." Care says practically yelling. Okay this is a lot more serious than I thought. "Caroline that's not true Elena already told you it was an accident." Bonnie defends Elena. I finish preparing my sandwich and sit down to eat. They go back and forth like this and after I finish eating I clean up. I go towards Care and start dragging her to my room. "Ari what the hell are you doing?" Care asks. "We are going to school. And you are going to stay in my room till I get my bag packed." I inform her. She protests but I ignore her.

We reach my room and I start packing my bag also packing in a stake and vervain dart along with the moonstone. I plan to hide it somewhere today, it's not safe to keep it with me. "Do you know where my phone is?" I ask Care who gives me a glare before sighing. "No, I don't know. Maybe it's back at the house you were in." Care says and I nod. It probably is. "Okay then. I have everything else so let's go." I tell her. "I don't get why you aren't mad." Care complains as we walk down. "I'm not mad because I know and have accepted that Elena is always going to put herself first. Besides Care it doesn't matter if I'm mad at her as it won't bother her because she won't feel any guilt. Did you understand that? I don't think even I did." I ask Care a little confused at my own explanation. "A little and I guess you are right. I'm sorry I... we didn't come they didn't let us and Lexi told us it was better if didn't go since you know we're just teenagers." Care explains. "It's fine Care. I'm actually glad you didn't come, I didn't want any of you to get hurt." I tell her and she smiles. "Do we really have to go to school?" Care asks and I nod sadly. "Yes Care, we have to. Education is very important and I for one don't want to stay here with crazies." I tell her and she laughs. "Fair enough. Let's go." Care says and we reach the living room. "You guys coming or what?" I ask Matt and Ty. They both nod and stand up taking their, something I hadn't noticed before. Matt get anther bag handing it to Caroline.

I go to Jenna and give her a hug. "Be careful, don't push yourself to do well... anything." I tell her and she laughs a little before nodding. "Sure as long as you promise not to faint again." Jen says and I nod. "That's a difficult task but I'll try not to faint." I promise her. I hug Mason before we leave. Me and Ty in his car as Care and Matt take Care's car. "You okay?" Ty asks as he starts driving. "I'm fine. I think, don't worry too much okay?" I assure him. "It's hard not to. We were really worried when we couldn't reach you and when you weren't in your house." Ty tells me. "Sorry. I'm fine though really, I'll try not to get kidnapped again if it helps." I tell him jokingly and he laughs a little. "That is a little reliving." Ty says and I smile at him. "Thanks for the wolf hoodie by the way. It was really funny." Ty says sarcastically. I laugh at his facial expression and he glares at me. "I'm sorry, I really didn't know you were a wolf back then." I tell him through my laughter. He shakes his head and but chuckles anyway. "Thanks though really, it's pretty cool." Ty says and I smile. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." I tell him. We reach school soon and all of us had to our lockers. The whole school day goes about very slow. Tyler drops me back off at home and I go inside to see Mason and Jenna watching a movie and laughing whole joking around. I smile happy that Jenna had someone like Mason I like him better than Alaric anyways. "Hey you're home." Jenna says. "Yeah, school's over. You seem to be having fun. You guys hungry? I'm making lunch." I ask them. "Sure. I'll help." Mason says. "You know how to cook?" I ask him while keeping my bag on the coffee table. "Is that so hard to believe?" Mason questions in return. "Yes, a little. Just hard to picture you cooking, that's all." I tell him. "It is." Jenna agrees. "Just wait I'll prove how great of a cook I am. You guys sit and watch the movie while I cook. Okay?" Mason asks. "Sounds great to me." Jenna says. "Sure, if it turns out awful or something we can just order in." I agree. "Gee thanks for the faith." Mason says sarcastically. "You're welcome. Have fun." I say and sit down next to Jenna.

They were watching the hangover which isn't all that bad. I have seen it before with Ares and Noah. Oh my god Ares and Noah, I haven't called them in days they're probably freaking out. I don't even have my phone anymore, I think I might remember Ares's number. I hope. "Hey Jenna can I use your phone?" I ask her. "Yeah sure. Here." Jenna says. I take her phone and try to remember the number. I type it before deleting and redoing it. "What are you doing?" Jenna asks. "I'm trying to remember Ares's number." I tell her. I type a number and press call before I can give it a second thought. Ares's voice rings out and I sigh in relief. "Hey Ares, I'm sorry for not calling you in so long and I know you're probably worried and hopefully not pissed. I'm fine, so please call me on this when you can, I lost my phone two days ago so... call me I guess." I say into his voicemail and hand the phone back to Jenna. "Thanks Jen." I say and she smiles. "No problem." Jenna says and focuses back on the movie. After a few minutes, Mason comes into the living room. "Foods ready." Mason announces. "Great. Let's eat." I say and get up before helping Jenna up who grumbles about us coddling her too much. We all walk to the kitchen and sit down. The food admittedly looks amazing and we start eating since we were all hungry. "The food was amazing Mason." I tell him as we're cleaning up and he smiles. "Thanks Ari. Told you I'm a good cook." Mason says and I give him a look. "Don't fly to cloud nine now. You aren't that great of a cook." I tell him. "You really know how to bring down someone." Mason says and I roll my eyes at him. After cleaning up I go to my room and Mason and Jenna go to Jenna's room. I change into some comfortable clothes and take a bag and put some money, a sketchbook and a stake in it before going towards Jenna's room. I knock on the door before entering. "Hey I'm going out for a walk." I tell them and they nod. "Okay. Be careful and here take my phone." Jenna says offering up her phone and I take it. I say goodbye to them, take the moonstone and leave.

I walk to the back woods of our house and towards the clearing me and Jer often visit well we did before our parents died. I reach there in five minutes and walk towards the big tree in the middle of the clearing. It's surrounded by small trees and right below the tree, there are two small chests buried. One belongs to me and one to Jer. My chest had Jer's first ever drawing, a necklace that Aunt Jenna gave me on my fifth birthday and so on. I take out the chest and put the moonstone in it. It seems pretty stupid to keep it here but not many people know about this place and so it's very safe. I think it is. After burying it back in the ground I sit against it and start sketching my surroundings. I've always loved coming here as it's secluded and no one knows about it. Not even mom and dad did. It also has a calmness about it that sort of just makes you want to stay here forever. As it starts getting darker and it's harder to see I pack my things back again and start walking back. I reach home after ten or fifteen minutes as it's harder to see the route at night. When I walk in I don't hear anyone or anything. I check Jenna's room to see she's not there and Elena's obviously not here.

I lastly go to Jer's room and find him sitting on the bed. "Hey." I greet him. He looks up at me and smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes like it hasn't ever since I came back. Something had happened or is happening. "Hey Elle. Where were you?" Jer asks. I sit down on the bed next to him. "Just out for a walk. You?" I ask him, I really want to know what's wrong but I don't want to push him either. "Just around town." Jet answers vaguely. "Hey, what's wrong? And don't try to lie, I keep noticing these small things ever since I came back. You've been jumpy and anxious always looking around as if you're afraid of something... of someone." I say and he looks at me with this helpless look in his eyes but doesn't say anything. "It's nothing Elle, I promise. Can you stay here though? I just... I missed you." Jer asks. "Yeah sure. Anything you want. But food first? I'm really hungry." I say and he nods. We walk to the kitchen and I decide to make some simple sandwiches. Jer sits on a barstool and looks around as though waiting for someone to jump out. "Here." I say setting down a plate in front of him. "Thanks Elle." Jer says and take the plate practically gulping down the sandwiches. I eat slowly not really in a hurry. We clean up after finishing and Jer keeps glancing at me every few seconds. "What?" I ask him. "Nothing, just... making sure you're here." Jer tells me. "I'm always here. I promise." I tell him giving him a smile. He smiles back.

Me and Jer go back to my room and settle on the bed. We put on A Night At The Museum and get comfortable in the bed. After a while I notice that Jer isn't laughing or reacting. I turn to see that he's blankly staring at the screen. "Jer?" I ask and jerks away from me. I back away a little scared as to what is happening to him. "Sorry Elle, just lost in thought." Jer says after controlling his breathing and sitting back down. "What's wrong?" I ask him. "Nothing. I told you I was just lost in thought." Jer says and I can see right through the fake smile of his. "Jer I can see something's clearly bothering you and I just want to know what's wrong. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. Please tell me, it doesn't matter what it is. Just tell me, I hate seeing you so lost and scared." I tell him and he seems to be having a battle with himself. "You'll hate me." Jer says after a few moments. "I could never hate you. You're my brother and there's nothing in this world that could make me hate you." I assure him. "You promise? Promise that you'll still love me and not be disgusted by me." Jer asks. What has happened? "I promise, I'll always stand by you. No matter what." I tell him sincerely. He nods and shifts a little closer to me. I take his hand in mine and he smiles at me briefly. "I... you know I'm dating someone right?" Jer asks. "Yeah you told me. Why?" I ask him confused but a billion thoughts running through my head. "Well I... I'm not dating, um a girl." Jer states and seems to wait for a response. This is what he is worried about? "I don't see the problem in that. What does this have anything to do with you bring scared and jumpy?" I ask him even more confused. "Well uh I'm getting to that. You don't mind that I'm dating a guy?" Jer asks sounding confused. "Well as long as he isn't a pedophile or hurting you I don't particularly care. Jer wether you like girls or guys is your decision and your feelings, I just want you to be happy. I don't care if the person making you happy is a guy or a girl, it just isn't the main focus your happiness is." I explain and he nods visibly relaxing a bit.

Jer sits staring at our hands and I know that whatever it is he's trying to tell me is very awful. What could him dating a guy have anything to do with his behavior? Is... is the guy hurting him? That would explain his jumpiness and it would explain the incident at The Grill. He seemed really scared of the boy at our table that day. He kept looking around after we left as though scared the boy will jump us. Then there was the day he told me he was dating someone, he didn't seem particularly happy about it. "Jer? Is... whoever you're dating abusing you?" I ask him. Jer looks up at me with a surprised look before he looks down again. Please say no. "Jer? Please tell me." I plead. "I'm so scared Elle. Please help me." Jer says his voice cracking a little towards the end. I hug him tightly and he does the same, crying practically sobbing. I don't say anything just hold him close running my fingers through his hair. After a while his cries turn to hiccups and he's just holding onto me. "Jer, who is he? What did he do?" I ask him. "I... I met him after you left for New York. His name is Andrew. He goes to Mystic High and he's a year older than me. We became friends and it was really nice Elle and one day he just asked me out and I said no. I didn't really know if I liked him or guys in general and I didn't want to string him along or something. After a month or so we went to a party and he kissed me, I left after that but I realized I really liked him Elle so the next day, I asked him out and he agreed. Things just went on from there. As we became closer he became more and more possessive, I mean I always knew he was possessive but a few nights before you came he got too angry. He saw me with Matt and I tried to explain but he hit me, he apologized immediately and I didn't think much about it. I thought it was just a random burst of anger or something, but it just went on from there. I wanted to leave, to fight back but I just can't Elle. But at the night of the masquerade... he tried to, he uh he tried to force me but I hit him and ran away. I really wanted to tell you that night but you weren't here and I was, I am scared Elle. He's going to come for me Elle." Jer says scared. "Hey I won't let him hurt you, I promise Jer. Don't worry." I try to calm him.

After a while I calm him down and he falls asleep. What do I do? I take Jenna's phone and text Care, Tyler and Matt to come here. How did I not know? They're here within a few minutes. I take them downstairs and explain everything. "I can't believe none of us noticed." Care says seeming disappointed in herself. "Do you guys know who he is dating? Who the hell is this Andrew?" I ask them. "He's a football player and he's a year younger than us. He also hastens to be a jerk." Matt says. "Okay any idea where he lives?" I ask him. "Ari, what do you plan to do?" Ty asks. "I don't know. I just, I just want him to pay for hurting my brother." I tell them. "We know Ari but you can't just go into his house and beat him." Care says. "Why not? Sounds like a great plan to me." I tell her. She gives me a look and I shut up. "We need to think of a better way okay? I get it you want to punish the guy that abused your brother but Ari hitting him isn't going to help." Care says. "You didn't see how scared he was Care. I've never seen him so helpless before. It's like he lost faith in himself and I hate it. I don't know how to help, I don't and that scares me more than anything." I tell her. I feel a few tears fall and Care comes and sits next to me. She hugs me and I do the same. "I don't know how to help Care. I don't like this, I don't like feeling helpless." I explain. "I know Ari. But we will help him. Just not by hurting the guy." Care says. "Yeah we'll find a way." Matt agrees. "Fine." I agree reluctantly. We all sit in silence trying to think of something. "Well there's an obvious answer." I state. They all look at me. "Would you like to enlighten us?" Ty asks sarcastically. "We could go to the police since physical abuse is a crime more so as Jer's a minor. This isn't some supernatural mystery you know, it's just a moronic abusive douchebag who thinks he can get away with this." I say. "I guess you are right. The answer is simple. But will Jeremy do this? I mean he'd have to go and explain everything, you think he'll be able to do it? You said he's pretty scared and we don't know how this will work." Care says and I nod.

It will be difficult and I really hope Jer will agree to this. "I'll talk to him tomorrow and then we'll plan what to do." I tell them. "Talk about what?" Jer's voice rings out. I turn to see him standing near the living room entrance. "Come sit." I tell him and gesture for him to sir beside me. He comes and sits down. "Well we think that you should report him. Only if you want and if you think you'll be able to." I tell him. "You'll be with me right?" Jer asks. "Of course we all will be." I promise him and everyone nods. "Do you think it'll help?" Jer asks. "I hope so. I think that it'll help you stop being scared of him. You won't have to be afraid of him anymore and apparently it's a better option than me torturing him." I explain joking a little at the end and Jer cracks a small smile. "I want, I want to stop being afraid of him and I want him to be punished for his actions. And it is a better option than you touring him." Jer says with a smile and I smile back at him. "Okay let's go." I say while standing up. "Now?" Ty questions. "Yup. Liz is still at the station right?" I ask Care and she nods. "Okay." Jer agrees. "I am going to go get Jenna." I announce. "What? Why?" Jer asks a little scared. "Jer she's our guardian and she needs to know. You need all of your family too. Well the ones who have time." I tell him, whispering the last part and he nods. "Don't worry I'll explain her everything. Just wait a few minutes. Okay?" I ask. Jer nods and I go upstairs and into Jenna's room after knocking. She's thankfully awake with Mason. "Hey, I need to talk to you." I tell Jenna and she nods. "You want me to leave?" Mason asks and I shake my head. "It's fine." I tell him and he nods. I explain everything briefly and Jenna gets out of bed in hurry before rushing downstairs when I finish. I look to Mason who seems worried and we go downstairs too. When we reach we see Jenna hugging Jeremy tightly as he cries and she tells him how sorry she is for not noticing. Jer pulls back after a few minutes. "It's okay Jen you didn't have any way of knowing." Jer assures Jenna. "Okay let's go." Jenna says and we all leave.

Me, Jenna, Jer and Mason go in his truck while the other three go in Ty's car. We reach in a few minutes and Liz is clearly surprised to see us. After explaining everything to Liz which was mostly done by me, Liz tells us that they need to question Jer. He looks towards me and I smile at him. "Don't worry Jen will be there with you." I reassure him and he nods relaxing a little. I couldn't go with him as only guardians or parents are allowed to go with him. The rest of us sit down nearby and wait for them. "You think he'll be okay?" I ask Care. "Yeah he will. He has all of us, he'll be fine." Care assures me. "Thanks all of you." I say and they all give me a glare. Gee thanks. "Don't be stupid Ari. Jeremy needs everyone right now and there is nothing to thank us for. We're glad that we can help." Mason says and I give him a small smile. After a half an hour they come out and Jer looks a little off. I look towards Jenna and she shakes her head asking me not to question him. "Ready to go home?" I ask. Jer nods and we leave the station. Care hugs Jer telling him that she'll always be there if he needs her and I can tell he's grateful. Ty and Matt say something to him none of us hear well maybe Caroline and Mason could. Jer gives them a small smile and we leave our separate ways. We reach our home and after Jenna and Mason talk to Jer, they wish us goodnight and leave.

I follow Jer to his room. He sits on his bed and I debate on leaving him alone. Suddenly I feel arms wrapped around me and I return the favor. "Thanks Elle. I love you." Jer says and I smile. "Anytime Jer. I love you too. Come on let's get some sleep, tomorrow we can go for archery. You said you wanted to try but we didn't get a chance." I tell Jer and he nods. "I want to go to self defence too, I don't want to feel weak anymore." Jer tells me and I nod. "Sure but you should know, what you did today makes you very strong too. Being able to talk about something so traumatizing has to be very difficult and I want you to know that what you did was brave and I am proud of you." I tell him and he smile brightly at me. I smile back glad to have my brother back, maybe not fully but just a little. We lie down on the bed and I get comfortable. "Elle, can I ask you something?" Jer asks. "Sure. What is it?" I ask him. "Why did you flinch when I said that Andrew tried to force me?" Jer asks. I freeze a little because I didn't think I reacted at all. "Well it's an awful thing Jer so what did you expect me to do?" I ask him. "No that wasn't it Elle, we both know that. I told you what I'm scared of why can't you tell me?" Jer asks. "I just... it's nothing okay? It was just a reflex or something." I tell him. "Please Elle, did someone hurt you too?" Jer asks and I sigh. He's not going to give up. "No Jer. It was just a reaction. To hear that your brother was being abused and that he was almost... raped is a little difficult okay?" I say a little more sure of myself this time. "Right, sorry." Jer says and I know he doesn't believe me, he's just pretending to give up. "Goodnight Jer." I wish him. "Goodnight Elle." Jer says and kisses my forehead.

HEY GUYS

Sorry for the very late update and not a great one either. I know this chapter didn't really have much other than the few important details and Jeremy's experience. I want to apologize to anyone who is offended by this but I don't really know how to write about something I have never been through, I tried my best and with the help of Google wrote the best I could. I also know that Jeremy isn't ever said to be gay or bi in the series, but this is a fanfiction so... Anyways I'll try to post the next update soon, there are quite a few twists to come. I also hope you liked the chapter even a little. THANK YOU FOR READING.