A/N: Hey guys! I'm back. I know it's taken longer than normal for me to update with this next chapter, and as an apology this chapter is the longest I have written yet. Real life has been complicated this past two weeks, but hopefully it is all starting to get better. Thank you for waiting and bombarding me with reviews asking me to update soon, it just shows me how much you are enjoying this story. Anyways, here it is. Don't forget to review!

You know how the disclaimer goes...


Chapter 12

I opened the door and walked back through the same corridor I had minutes before. Just as I was about to enter the living room again, something on the wall to my right caught my eye. I turned around and looked at it. At first I just stared at it. Then realization hit me. I had seen this before. Tremors ran through my spine. Every hair in my body stood up. I had goose bumps all over. My eyes studied what they were seeing closely, inch by inch. It was then when I saw it… and I knew.

I knew where I had seen him before. I knew why Damon looked so familiar.

I stared at it; it was bigger than the one I had seen. Its immensity was breathtaking. It was huge. My eyes couldn't stop glancing over its surface. The sublimity of the brush strokes was incredible. Outlines were blurred and softened in such a subtle and gradual mode that it gave the illusion of depth and three-dimensionality. It was almost impossible to believe that what I was seeing was not a photograph, but a portrait. The depth of the composition made it look very real.

I studied it carefully. I recognized this scene that was painted here. It had its differences but the context was very much the same. I recognized the scenery, the light, the majesty of the surroundings, and the elegance of its features. I recognized the familiar faces, their postures, and their terrifying greatness.

There was a balcony, in which three majestic and calm men stood. They were breathtakingly beautiful. They looked like statues, Greek gods. Their facial features cut by the hands of angels. Oh yes, I recognized them. How could I not?


"He was studying in Italy when he discovered the others there. They were much more civilized and educated than the wraiths of the London sewers."

He touched a comparatively sedate quartet of figures painted on the highest balcony, looking down calmly on the mayhem below them. I examined the grouping carefully and realized, with a startled laugh, that I recognized the golden-haired man.

"Solimena was greatly inspired by Carlisle's friends. He often painted them as gods," Edward chuckled.

"Aro, Marcus, Caius," he said, indicating the other three, two black-haired, one snowy-white. "Nighttime patrons of the arts."

"What happened to them?" I wondered aloud, my fingertip hovering a centimeter from the figures on the canvas.

"They're still there." He shrugged. "As they have been for who knows how many millennia. Carlisle stayed with them only for a short time, just a few decades. He greatly admired their civility, their refinement, but they persisted in trying to cure his aversion to 'his natural food source,' as they called it. They tried to persuade him, and he tried to persuade them, to no avail. At that point, Carlisle decided to try the New World.


Yes, it was them. I never thought that I would encounter this painting again in my life. I never imagined that I would come across this image once more. I quickly searched for the figure I desperately wanted to find. The blond haired man, that had once treated me so gently and that had offered nothing but love and care to me when we had met. The man that opened the doors to his home and let me spend time with his family. I searched for him in the place I knew he would be, but he wasn't there.

The others were all there, the Volturi and their guard, just like in Carlisle's painting. The beautiful trio, Aro, Caius and Marcus. The big muscular dark haired man, the small petite blond girl, the other small dark head boy, the blond short haired man, and the lean black haired man with the piercing blue eyes. I remembered him because all of the others had red eyes, except for Carlisle, whose eyes were the same golden color I had always seen, and him, with eyes as blue as a clear morning sky.

How could I forget? The painting was done with such precision that the people in it could be recognized anywhere. And that was when I knew. I knew why Damon looked so familiar.

There he was, drawn in that portrait, with such fidelity that there was no denying it was him. Thoughts came running to my mind quickly, one after the other. Trying desperately to figure out and comprehend what it meant.

It was clear to me that the people that were painted into that canvas were not human. They were immortal. They could not age. They could not die. They lived forever. They were fast, strong, cold, and hard as stone. They were powerful, feared, and they were obeyed. They were vampires. They were the vampire elite. They were royalty.

But what was he?

My mind went back to the first day that I had met him. Our encounter at the hardware store had been normal. Nothing came out as out of the ordinary. Later that night I had gone to Elena's for dinner, where I had met his brother, Stefan. Everything went fine during dinner. Well… except for the incident with the knife and my bloody finger. Blood. They had fled the room when I had started bleeding. They wouldn't even come into the kitchen. Both of them, not only Damon. Was Stefan different too?

He was quick, no, scratch that, he was very fast. I had witnessed it tonight at the game. His reflexes were impeccable; he had never dropped the ball once. He's holding back, Damon had said at the game earlier. What did this mean? Could he be faster?

The scar. Oh my God, the reaction Stefan had had to my scar when he found it. He kept insisting on what had given me the scar. He knew. He knew why it was different.

I couldn't breathe. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Air came into my lungs but it was like I was drowning in it.

This could not be happening. I was going crazy. Heart please be silent. If I am right about what I think I am, they might hear you.

I put my hand on my chest, over my pounding heart. I was feeling dizzy and I did not know if it was thanks to this confusing discovery I had just made or if it was the alcohol that apparently was still in my system.

Could it be? Could I be so unlucky that I had run into the supernatural once again? How was I going to get out of this place and have some time to think? How would I face them and Elena again?

Elena.

Did Elena know? Was she like them?

My head was spinning. It throbbed and hurt. There was too much information going through my mind all at the same time. I could hear my own heartbeat racing in my chest.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't even hear them come into the hallway.

"Bella? Are you alright?" the voice asked.

It was so distant, so far away, I could not grasp it.

"Bella?" another voice asked.

I slowly took my eyes off the painting for the first time since I had discovered it, and turned my head to meet the three pair of eyes that were staring at me, worried, intrigued and scared.

"Bella what happened? Why are you crying?" Elena asked.

I was confused by her words and raised my right hand, putting in to my cheek. It was wet. I was crying. I had not noticed that before.

Words escaped me. I could not even form a sentence.

I looked at him, and then back at the portrait. So many questions roamed through my head. I wish I knew how to ask them. I wish I knew if I could even ask them.

He stared back at me. His eyes never leaving mine, studying my every move and reaction. He was serious.

Stefan glanced over to his brother as if they were sharing a quiet conversation he nodded and then slowly took a step towards me. He extended out his hands to me showing me his palms.

What did this mean? What was he trying to do? Was he trying to tell me he wouldn't harm me? Was that why his hands were up in the air?

"Bella?" he asked again quietly.

I could not speak. I glanced to Damon and then back to Stefan. Elena was standing behind them.

Stefan took another step closer. We were only a few feet apart. He grabbed my hands gently and immediately on instinct I removed them from his grasp. I closed my eyes and took a few steps back. On it's own accord my head started shaking slowly from side to side. My body was saying no. I was shutting down.

"Bella… it's okay," he said, his voice sounded worried, "I'm not going to hurt you."

My eyes were shut tightly. I didn't believe what was happening. I didn't want to believe it.

Now I could feel the tears falling down my face. I could feel myself gasping for air. I could not breathe. My shoulders shook uncontrollably with every gasp I took for air.

"Bella, it's alright, I promise," Stefan said to me, "You need to calm down, you're in shock."

I opened my eyes again. They were still standing in the same position they had been since I had closed my eyes.

"Breathe Bella, slowly," he said motioning with his hands for me to calm down. He looked serene and composed, with a slightly worried expression on his face.

I started breathing in and out. Trying to get myself together. Stefan kept his eyes on me and I kept mine on him. For some reason he seemed to soothe me, and calm me down.

Once I had regained my ability to breathe normally I looked at Damon.

"Go ahead, ask," he said looking straight at me.

Was this happening? He was willing to answer a question I had for him? I opened my mouth to ask about the portrait but words were not coming out. I couldn't make them come out. I looked at the portrait and then back at him.

He nodded.

I gasped. It was him.

I wanted to ask him how it was possible, but I only managed to stare at him, questioning him with my eyes.

"You know," he said.

No… I didn't… I was confused. None of this made any sense.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. He then took few steps closer to me and stood in front of the portrait.

"You have seen a portrait like this one before, haven't you?" he spoke coolly and pointed at the portrait.

I nodded.

"And you know who the people in it are?" he asked, staring at me unworriedly.

I nodded again.

He lifted an eyebrow.

"Do you know what they are Bella?" he asked as he took a step closer to me, we were inches away from each other.

I gulped, closed my eyes and nodded quickly.

Silence. That was all there was in the crowded hallway. No one spoke. No one dared to breathe. I knew the inevitable question that he would ask next. I waited for it, until he asked.

"Do you know what we are Bella?"

I seriously had no clue. The only thing I did know was that there was something genuinely odd about them.

I shook my head.

Damon looked at me closely and smirked. He came closer, our faces were only inches away from each other. He put his hands on the sides of my face and looked into my eyes intently.

"Sweet, precious Bella. You have no idea what we are?" he whispered, stroking the hair that had fallen to my face, taking each strand and tugging it behind my ears.

I shook my head again.

"You do know Bella," he said leaning closer to me.

Did I? Did I really know? Were they like them? It didn't make sense, it didn't all add up.

"I know you have gathered plenty of information to come to a conclusion, we know you know. It's time for you to accept that you know too."

I shook my head again, and looked to the floor.

"No, it… it can't be," I managed to say as a sob ripped from inside my chest.

"What has you confused Bella? Why can't it be? Why?" he asked as he placed his finger on my chin and lifted my head so that we could see each other's eyes.

"It… it d d d doesn't make sense. It's different," I said stuttering.

"How is it different?" he asked.

I managed to say something, it was the first thing that came to my head, and I didn't even hear myself say it.

"You… you… you don't sparkle."

A smile shaped into Damon's lips. Mischief forming in his eyes.

"Sparkle?" I heard Elena whisper to Stefan.

Damon took his index finger and wiped the tear trails that were still on my cheeks. He looked at me with his mischievous eyes and smile.

"Dear, precious Isabella, you are correct. We don't… sparkle," he said and then after a brief pause he added, "we burn."

"What?" I asked confused.

"We are different," he explained.

"Why don't we take this into the living room? Where you can sit down Bella," Stefan said as he came closer to me.

I nodded and Damon released my face. He placed his hand on my lower back and guided me into the living room. He helped me sit down on the couch. Elena sat next to me. Damon and Stefan took chairs and placed them across from where we were sitting.

I looked at them in silence. They looked so normal, so human. How could they be vampires? They weren't cold, or hard as stone. Their eyes, they were normal. They weren't golden or burgundy, they were green and blue. How could this be?

"You must have many questions, ask, and we'll try to answer as honestly as we can," Stefan said.

I did have a lot of questions, but I didn't know where to start. I glanced over to Elena. She took my hand into hers and held it.

"It's okay Bella, ask whatever you need to ask," she reassured me giving me a short squeeze.

I looked from her to them, and then I looked away to the windows and walls. I was trying to 'figure out what to ask them.

"Take your time," Stefan said.

"You need to say it first. Tell us what we are," Damon said leaning forward in his seat. His elbows placed on his lap.

Well… that's a question I haven't been asked before. I thought sarcastically.

"Vampires," I said quickly.

They both nodded.

After a while I managed to ask the question that had been lurking in my head since Damon had told me that they were different.

"How?"

"How what?" Damon asked.

"How is it possible? How can you be different, but still the same?" I asked, not sure if I had put the question together correctly.

Damon sighed and after a pause he explained, "There are two different kinds of vampires," he shrugged.

"I don't understand."

"Imagine that we are like different breeds of creatures. Take for example lions and tigers, on the outside they're different, but they're still felines," Damon explained.

I nodded, understanding what he was saying. I looked from him to Stefan. All I could notice were their eyes. I used to think that if I ever ran across a vampire again I would recognize what it was because of their eyes. I would recognize if they were… vegetarians or… blood crazed killers like James.

"Your eyes, they're different," I pointed out.

They both nodded. How could I know? Were they like the Cullen's, resisting their nature because they didn't want to be monsters? Or were they like the rest of vampires that fed on humans until they died?

"If you were like the others… what color would your eyes be?" I asked.

"Burgundy," Damon blurted out. My heart started beating rapidly again. Before I could even say anything Stefan intervened.

"Mine would be golden Bella," he said trying to calm me down again. Stefan was a vegetarian.

I glanced over to Damon who hadn't stopped looking at me. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Stefan feeds on rabbits and puppies. I prefer our natural food source," he said.

"You kill people," I said.

"I haven't killed a person while feeding on them in centuries," Damon explained, emphasizing on centuries.

I was confused; did he just turn people into vampires every time he fed then?

"Then do you just turn them?" I asked.

"Pfft, no. It doesn't work that way. We are not venomous. The whole turning process is a little different for us," he told me.

"So you don't kill humans? You just drink from them?" I asked.

"I like the occasional sorority girl, but mostly it's from blood banks."

Okay. I understood a lot now.

"You said you hadn't killed anyone by feeding on them for centuries, exactly how old are you?" I asked.

"Around five hundred, give or take," Damon answered.

Five hundred. The number was not being processed in my mind. He has lived more than five hundred years. No wonder he acts the way he does. The guy has seen everything. He's probably bored of this life.

"Five hundred? So you were around during… The renaissance?" I asked as I calculated the time in my head.

They both nodded.

"Wow," that was all I could say.

"Are you two really brothers? Or have you been living together for a really long time and call yourselves brothers because it feels that way?" I asked.

Damon chuckled and Stefan looked at him, he was irritated.

"We are brothers. We are related," Stefan answered.

Huh. I'm thinking this isn't common.

"So you're five-hundred too?" I asked Stefan. He nodded.

I looked down, nodding. Trying to process all the information.

"Keep going Bella, keep asking," Stefan encouraged me.

"How different are you from the others? You don't react the same way to blood like them, this I know for sure. You can control it a lot better, can't you?" I asked.

"Yes, we both suffer from bloodlust, but we are able to take more control over our actions. That is, unless we have been deprived of blood, human or animal, for a long period of time," Stefan explained.


I took the little package, rolling my eyes at Edward while I stuck my finger under the edge of the paper and jerked it under the tape.

"Shoot," I muttered when the paper sliced my finger; I pulled it out to examine the damage. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut.

It all happened very quickly then.

"No!" Edward roared.

He threw himself at me, flinging me back across the table. It fell, as I did, scattering the cake and the presents, the flowers and the plates. I landed in the mess of shattered crystal. Jasper slammed into Edward, and the sound was like the crash of boulders in a rock slide.

There was another noise, a grisly snarling that seemed to be coming from deep in Jasper's chest. Jasper tried to shove past Edward, snapping his teeth just inches from Edward's face.

Emmett grabbed Jasper from behind in the next second, locking him into his massive steel grip, but Jasper struggled on, his wild, empty eyes focused only on me. Beyond the shock, there was also pain. I'd tumbled down to the floor by the piano, with my arms thrown out instinctively to catch my fall, into the jagged shards of glass. Only now did I feel the searing, stinging pain that ran from my wrist to the crease inside my elbow.

Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm—into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires.


Yes, they were different. If I had cut my fingers like the night at Elena's at the Cullen's I probably wouldn't have survived.

"What about strength, and listening to things that are miles and miles away, and speed, and special abilities?" I asked.

"Yes, all of the above. These abilities, they strengthen with time, they become more and more powerful," Stefan said.

"They do, IF, you feed correctly. Otherwise you get weak," he said looking at Stefan and then added, "Unlike them, we can have numerous abilities, not only one. Like my brother said, we become stronger with time, not the other way around."

"What other differences are there?" I asked.

"The effect the sun has on us," Damon said, and then added, "we don't sparkle, thank goodness for that."

"You said you burned, but I have seen you outside, you don't burn," I said.

Damon raised his hand and showed me the ring that had the crest on it.

"What?" I asked, I didn't understand.

"This ring protect us, it's been spelled," Stefan said.

"Spelled, as in a spell has been cast on it, by a witch?" I asked a little confused. They nodded.

Witches, there were also witches. I pushed the questions that were beginning to formulate in my head about this to the side. We would get to that later.

"Okay, what else? What about, garlic, and holly water, and crucifixes and being invited in?" I asked and then before they could answer me I blurted the last part of my question out again.

"Being invited in. Charlie… he… he keeps telling me not to invite anyone into the house," I said and looked at Damon, "he knows… he knows doesn't he?"

Damon nodded.

"He knows what has been told to him. He doesn't know that we are what we are," he explained.

"So, Charlie thinks I'm safe with you? And really I'm in the lion's den, again."

"We won't hurt you Bella," Stefan said reassuringly.

"Why? Why won't you hurt me? I know your secret. I know Damon, that those people in that portrait have their rules, humans are not supposed to know," I said quickly, my heart started racing again.

"You won't say anything, you know how to keep a secret. You've proven that already," he said glancing to my right arm where my scar was.

"Now it's our turn. I've got questions," Damon said pulling his chair closer to me.

"Who did you know that was a vampire?" he asked.

"My ex, and his family," I answered.

"Family?" Stefan asked.

"Yes, they were a large coven. They're seven, and they're all on the animal diet," I glanced over at Stefan when I said this.

"All of them?" Damon asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"That's not common," he said.

"They told me so too," I answered.

"What happened? Where are they now?" Damon asked. My stomach turned. The tape that was holding my fragile heart together felt as if it had started to rip apart.

"They left, he dumped me and they left."

"Why?" he asked.

"There was an incident and they left."

"An incident?" he wanted me to continue but I didn't think that I could. I was looking down at my fingers, were the paper cut used to be, and I nodded. He studied me.

He sighed, "you were right, paper cuts can be deadly," he said taking my hands and inspecting them.

I looked up at him amazed, how did he know that?

"How?" I started to say and he interrupted me.

"I remember what you said that night at Elena's, I just figured," he said shrugging.

"Oh," I managed to say.

"They told you about the Volturi?" Stefan asked.

"Yes. Carlisle had a big portrait like that one in his study, they told me about them," I answered. Damon's head shot up from my hands to my eyes. He seemed to have recognized Carlisle's name.

"How much do you know about the people in the portrait?" he asked.

"Well, I know that the Volturi live in Italy, and that they are like royalty. They make all the rules and laws. They are very powerful."

Damon nodded as he listened to what I was saying.

"Are you one of them?" I asked. He stood still and answered quickly.

"I used to be."

"Used to be?" I asked.

"Yes. I asked to leave, and they granted my wish," he explained.

"They let you leave? Just like that?" I asked.

"Yes, why wouldn't they?"

"I don't know, it seems odd," I said.

"How is it that you are alive?" he asked changing the subject rather abruptly. I was taken aback with this question.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He grabbed my hand and extended my arm, reaching for the sleeve of my jacket and pushing it upwards, revealing my scar.

"I'm talking about this. How is it that you have this and you're still human?" he asked seriously.

I looked down at my scar. Then, without even thinking about it twice I told them about James. I told them about how the Cullen's had come to my rescue when I had gone to meet James at the ballet studio. I told them about Edward sucking the venom out, and how it was almost impossible for him to stop.

"It was hard for him to stop. He said that my blood called to him, that he had never wanted a human's blood so much before. He had been furious the day we met. He said that he was mad that I was testing his strength not to feed on me. Breaking all the years of practice and self restraint."

"It called to him?" Damon asked confused, disbelief in his eyes.

"That's how he described it," I reassured him of my answer.

"La tua cantante," Damon said in a whisper, Stefan looked over at him surprised.

"What?" I had not understood a word he had said.

"La tua cantante, you were his singer. Your blood sang to him, like a siren, and yet, here you are. How is that even possible?" Damon explained confusion in his eyes.

"I've heard about this, but never actually believed it to be true. Can it be brother?" Stefan asked.

"Yes, I know that there have been cases of finding someone whose blood calls strongly to a vampire, but they are very few, not common at all. I have never heard of someone resisting it though. Specially not one of them," Damon answered.

They seemed to be surprised by the amount of restraint Edward had by being around me. They were even more surprised by the fact that he helped me and sucked the venom out of my system before the change started taking place. The biggest surprise was that he had actually stopped and not killed me.

"Before, when you said that you had other abilities what did you mean by that?" I asked Damon.

"There are numerous, they vary from vampire to vampire. Some of them include controlling the weather, compelling people," Damon said as he numbered the abilities.

"Compelling people?" I asked.

"Yes, by using compulsion we can get people to do what we want, we control their minds. Unless they are on something that enables us to do so. Which gets me to my next question, why can't I compel you?" he asked a little irritated.

"You can't compel me?" I asked.

"Nope. It's very… frustrating," he said.

When had he tried to compel me? My mind started searching for moments in which Damon had wanted me do to things but I came up blank. Then I remembered the times his eyes would do that crazy pupil thing. He had wanted me to get napkins, and think that being Italian was great.

"Huh," I said realizing that like Edward, his power didn't work on me.

"What? Do you know why I can't compel you? And I know it's not because you were consuming vervain, at least not until I gave it to Charlie," Damon said.

"I don't know why you can't do that thing, but my ex, his power didn't work on me either. I'm starting to think that there's something seriously wrong with my brain," I explained.

"What do you mean by his power didn't work on you? What power did he have?" he asked intrigued.

"Edward, he could read minds, but not mine. It was as if I were on mute. He once described it as if he couldn't tune me in, like I was AM and he could only read FM," I said shrugging.

"Huh," Damon said as he looked to the side, obviously thinking about something, then he added with a serious face, "interesting."

We were quiet for a while; I started thinking about how crazy this whole thing was. Here I was sitting on the couch of my new vampire friends. My life was a magnet for the supernatural. This explains why Charlie had been jumpy all week. He had learned about vampires.

"Earlier, when you told me that Charlie knew about vampires, you told me he knew, but he doesn't know about you, then, what does he know about? Does he know about the other kind of vampire?" I asked.

"Charlie knows the basics, blood, being invited in, vervain, the sun, stake to the heart and that's about it," Damon said.

"Stake to the heart? You really die that way?" I asked a little surprised.

They both nodded.

"You're easier to kill then," I said.

"That's why there aren't many of us left," Stefan said.

"So you're like an endangered species?" I said with a smile on my face, I found it a little funny, I don't know why.

"Yes, you can put it that way," Stefan said.

"We were hunted down during the late sixteen hundreds, humans discovered our existence and our weaknesses, and used them to our disadvantages. Most were killed others fled and hid themselves. Not only humans were after us at the time, other creatures were hunting us down as well. Only few vampires like us exist anymore. " Damon explained.

"What other creatures?" I asked.

Damon looked at me with satisfaction in his eyes. He liked to rope me in. He had me completely intrigued. "That is a story for another time," he answered.

What other creatures could there be out there? I knew there were werewolves, that was for sure, but what about all those other mythical creatures I had once believed that belonged precisely in myths and legends? Did they exist too? Were they here in Mystic Falls? What about all those animal attacks? Were other creatures involved? Were they vampire attacks? Or were they really just animals gone wild? I had to ask.

"Those animal attacks that we were talking about the other day... were they really animal attacks?"

They stared at me, stating the obvious. They didn't have to say anything else, I knew the answer. Elena looked down at her hands; she had been really quiet all this time. I had a feeling she was finding out about a few things herself. Maybe she wasn't as informed as she thought she was.

"So, the attacks, they were... vampires?" I just wanted to make sure.

"Yes, but we took care of that," Stefan said, reassuring me.

"Are there any left?" I asked.

"Not that we know of, but there might be," Stefan answered.

"How many were there?"

"A few," Damon answered coldly.

I couldn't believe that I was here again. In the middle of the supernatural world. In a town that apparently was populated by vampires and super natural beings. Was I in danger here? Was Charlie right about having me move with my mother?

"Do I have to be worried about something?" I asked.

"Not at the moment, no," Stefan said leaning forward and shaking his head.

"At the moment?" what did he mean? Not now but maybe in the future? How long till I had to start worrying about my life and safety? How long would it be until some crazy vampire came after me and threaten to end my life... or Charlie's? My heart started racing again. I remembered James. What the hell did 'Not at the moment' mean?

"Yes, not at the moment. Unless you and your danger magnet attract something paranormal into this town. Like gee I don't know... aliens. Then all hell would definitely break loose," Damon said sarcastically... I think.

"Aliens?" I asked confused.

"In my five hundred years I have never run into an alien," Stefan said smiling sweetly at me. He was so good at calming me down.

I smiled back at him and looked down to my feet. This was a lot of information for me to digest. AGAIN. Part of me wanted to shut down and pretend that none of this existed. That I had dreamed it or made it up, but I also knew that they were real. I couldn't run away from this. They had opened up to me, and answered every question I had asked. They weren't hiding things, they were being honest. I had never felt this kind of honesty from the Cullen's. Every time I asked Edward something I had the feeling he was only giving me half-truths. I felt he was never truly honest.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.

"Hello?" Elena answered.

I looked from Damon to Stefan, and then to Elena.

"Hi Aunt Jenna. No, we're at Stefan's the party got a little too heavy for us so we came here. We'll be there in a little while don't worry. No, he was with Anna, I don't know where he is. Okay, bye," Elena hung up and looked at us.

"It's late, you two should get going," Stefan said as he rubbed her back.

Elena looked at me and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded and stood up. Stefan and Damon stood up too.

"I think we don't have to tell you to keep this a secret, right?" Stefan told me.

"I know, don't worry, I won't say anything," I said looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Good," Damon said coldly.

"If any questions come up, you just ask okay?" Stefan told me.

I nodded and Stefan put his hand on Elena's back and guided her out of the living room. Damon gestured me to walk towards where Stefan and Elena had gone. They both showed us to the door, and walked us back to Elena's car. Apparently one of them had gone and gotten it from where we had left it at the party while I had been in the bathroom. Vampire speed, I had forgotten about it.

We got into the car and said goodbye to the boys. Elena started the car and drove us back home. The ride was quiet. There was tension in the air. Once we got to Elena's house, we stayed in the car for a little while before going in.

"They're not going to hurt you Bella," Elena said breaking the silence. I turned and looked at her.

"I don't mean to put this the wrong way Elena, but, I've heard that before, and it turns out that I got hurt, not only physically but emotionally" I said.

"They're good guys Bella, you just have to get to know them. Stefan is very protective and wants us to be safe. He is calm and serene. He truly wants you to be okay with this. Damon... he's difficult, but in his own twisted way he cares, and is the most loyal person you will ever come across. When he promises something, he keeps his word. It's hard to trust him, but in the end, even though you think you shouldn't... you really should."

I listened to the way she spoke about them. It was clear that she cared deeply for them, and trusted them more than anyone else. She continued explaining to me why I should trust them and not squirm away from them. After a while, we saw Mr. Saltzman walk out of the house, he waved to us and we waved back.

"He knows too," Elena said as she smiled to him.

"He does?" I asked.

"Yes, but that is a whole different story. We'll talk about that soon, I promise," Elena said.

I stared out the window, and looked over to my house. There were a million things running through my head at the moment. All I really wanted was to go home and lock myself up in my room, and let all the information that had been thrown at me sink in. I was lost in thought when Elena spoke.

"You don't have to stay over tonight Bella, I know that you probably want to spend some time alone, and think about everything that happened. It's alright, I understand."

"I don't want to be rude, all my stuff is here already."

"Don't worry about it, we'll talk tomorrow, or whenever you're ready. I'm going to be here, you'll know where to find me."

I smiled at her and nodded, "Thanks for tonight Elena. It was nice, considering everything that happened, it was nice."

"I know. I'm kind of relieved that you know. I really need someone to talk to, I think that we can relate to each other and now that you know it's just perfect. Now, get out and go home and rest. We'll talk soon"

I smiled and opened the car door.

"Thanks," I told her as I climbed out. I turned around and said, "Thank you, for everything."

She nodded and I crossed the street heading home. Charlie wasn't there yet, the cruiser wasn't parked. I walked into the house and went straight upstairs into my room. I changed into my pajamas and sat on my open windowsill. I searched for him in the tree, but he wasn't there. His nest was empty. That was strange, I was hoping to see him there. I let the light breeze caress my face as I took a deep breath. What the hell had happened tonight?

I took my cell and texted Charlie. I let him know that I was home, that I wasn't staying at Elena's tonight. I told him I wasn't feeling so great, it must have been something I ate at the game that tasted funny. He replied saying he'd be home shortly.

I looked over to the tree again and there he was. I hadn't even seen him fly in. I smiled to him. He was serious, but calm. He jumped into his nest and watched me. I took another deep breath and closed my eyes. For some reason having him there, made me feel at ease.


A/N: So? Did it meet expectations? Was it what you were waiting for? I'm dying to know what you guys think! If you have questions and write to me about them I'll be sure to try and answer them in the next few chapters. Don't forget to review!

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Next chapter should be out on Wednesday!