Hello, my lovely readers. I know that's been a couple of weeks. Sorry about that. Anyway, if anyone has any specific character that they want to see in chapter 16 let me know. On with the show…

Chapter 14: Nearly Fatal Mistake

Everyone has secrets. Some guard their secrets as if their very lives depended on them while others were not as vigilant. Aaron Whitmore was not one for keeping secrets. But then again, no one ever thought to ask him about the only subject that made him tongue tied. He was not sure if that meant that it was a secret or not. All that Aaron did know was that he was desperately and madly in love with a woman he couldn't have. Elena Gilbert.

Elena was a party girl. She liked to flirt and hang out. But she wasn't really the type to become your girlfriend. Her reputation was not as bad as Kat's was in certain circles. Although not everyone knew about Kat's behavior. Like Lexi Branson. She thought that Kat simply chose to not have a boyfriend or some crap like that. Aaron had been walking by a lunch table with his best friend, Stefan Salvatore, one day when Jeremy had been trying to explain to Lexi about Kat's wild ways. Lexi had simply shaken her head and informed Jeremy that he was wrong. She knew Kat and knew that his claims were false. Elena on the other hand did need their assistance to find the true path.

In Aaron's opinion, Elena was perfect. There was nothing that he would change about her. Well, that wasn't true. If he could change one little thing, it would be her willingness to become someone's girlfriend. On that front, Aaron had a plan. And if it worked then Elena would be in his arms by the end of the day.

"Aaron, buddy, what are you getting all spacy on me over?" Stefan asked as he hit Aaron in the head with an apple. They were sitting outside the school during the lunch break to watch the cheerleaders practice for the game that night. "Jesse, man, your girlfriend is so hot."

"Yeah, she is," Jesse said with a lazy grin. "But I think I'm going to dump her. She's been sniffing around that punk, Brit kid from the Grille. I prefer my women to focus on me. Think I'm going to up my game and see what Marshall's like."

"Good luck with that," Stefan replied. "I tried to go out with her last month and she's all 'I have too much to do right now. Rain check?' She's a stuck up bitch."

"Maybe Silas is more her type," Jesse joked.

"I'm not sure that Silas is anyone's type. Poor brother of mine. He needs to find one of those dating sites or something," Stefan quipped.

Aaron drifted as he watched the other kids walking around the lawn. He wasn't one hundred percent sure that his plans for Elena would work but he was sure of one thing. There was no way that they couldn't. As the lunch hour concluded, Aaron got up and dusted off his jeans. Smiling cheerfully as he strode down the hall he saw the TV in the hall light up as someone came on to deliver a message. Usually it would be the news of upcoming school events, but not today. Today was a different story.

Elijah Mikaelson was sitting smugly in the seat that Andie Starr would usually sit in in spite her recent stint in rehab. "Hello, Myatic Falls High. This is Elijah Mikaelson bringing you the latest update in the cheerleader sex scandal. Yes, you heard it right. Sex scandal," Elijah said with a wriggle of his eyebrows. Rebekah Mikaelson paused before the TV screen. She was standing next to Klaus Mikaelson who was also watching the screen closely. Rebekah and Klaus were speaking quietly but Aaron couldn't make out what they were saying as Caroline came to join them and Klaus placed an arm around her shoulders.

"We have photographic evidence that our very own Hayley Marshall was caught exposing herself to the mascot. Personally, I am shocked," Elijah said as he held up a photo which the camera zoomed in on to show a topless Hayley who was standing in front of their schools' mascot. "Now, this can only be considered harassment and given that our mascot is a fifteen year-old we must make an example of Hayley Marshall's behavior. For further evidence I shall read an excerpt from her diary." Elijah flipped open a book when Hayley appeared on the screen.

"You photo shopped that pic, you sick freak," Hayley screamed and then leapt atop Elijah, trying to free her diary from his grasp.

"You know I never thought of using that as a tactic for a free lap dance but look at her go," Stefan cheered as Hayley continued to fight Elijah for the book.

"Now, for a commercial break," Elijah called while pinning Hayley to the desk in front of him.

Instead of a blank screen coming up while the student body laughed about the newest drama a new video came on the screen. Stefan took a step forward with his jaw dropping open as he looked at it. "What in the hell?" he gasped as the camera zoomed in on a laughing Isobel Gilbert leaning forward to lock lips with an amused Damon Salvatore. "How is that up there?" Stefan muttered to himself in a panic as he looked for the video on his phone which was still there. Aaron felt bad for his friend but he knew it had to be done.

Elena was walking down the hall, her arm linked through Andie's when she caught sight of the video just as Damon was coming along the hallway from the opposite end with Alaric on the other side. "What the hell!" Elena whispered as she came to stand in front of the screen. Staring up at the images, Elena's lower lip began to tremble as Damon's eyes glazed over while people began to talk about him. "Mom?" Elena moaned as tears welled in her eyes.

"Go, Salvatore," someone in the crowd said and then there was whistling when Elena turned to Damon. He still looked like an ice statue when Elena's heated gaze fell on him. Her lips curled backward before she let out a howl of rage and her fellow students had to move very quickly as she moved toward Damon. Aaron felt a lump form in his throat. She was supposed to be hurt and seek comfort, not become enraged as she was now.

Flying toward Damon, Elena began to punch his chest as he stared at her blankly. "How could you, Damon? That is my mother. You were with my mother. Why? Why would you do that? Why, Damon? Damn it! Answer me!"

Damon's mouth finally opened as he stared at Elena. "Because I like her."

"I hate you," Elena screamed at Damon as she slapped him hard. "I hate you so much. I hate you," she was still wailing when Alaric picked her up by the waist and began to carry her out of the crowd.

Aaron felt like the biggest idiot on planet earth. "I can't believe that someone hacked my phone," Stefan was complaining as people continued to whisper to each other. Klaus and Caroline were talking to Damon who was still standing motionless as other guys patted him on the back and made comments about what a lucky man he was.

After some time the bell rang and everyone was forced to go to classes. When Aaron walked into his chem class, he took his regular seat next Elena. "Hey, you okay?" Elena was focused on staring out the window like there was no one there.

"Can't believe Mrs. Gilbert and Salvatore," someone was saying and even that did not cause Elena to react.

"It doesn't surprise me. She was always flirting with him. And you know that's the only reason that he stayed with Vikki Donavon 'cause she was like a front for his slutting it up with his teacher. No wonder he has such good grades. I wonder who else he's giving it up to to stay ahead," another voice added.

"You're an asshole," Hayley snapped as she walked in with Elijah who was shaking his head with a smile which was almost as frightening as his frown. Klaus was following his brother with Caroline close behind. "The only person who's a bigger asshole is Damon."

"Lay off of him," Klaus snapped as Caroline shook her head.

"I just can't believe it," Caroline was saying as she sat down on a stool beside Klaus. Even though everyone in the class had been assigned partners, Klaus and Caroline were lucky enough to get each other this term while Hayley and Elijah were stuck with each other, making chemistry more explosive than usual. But Aaron was trying to focus on Elena while the other teens began to analyze the newest scandal to hit their school as if Elena was not there.

"I knew that Damon was with someone but he never told me who," Klaus was saying.

"Oh," Caroline muttered. "We should stop. Elena's in this class."

When their teacher came in, Elena got up and hurried to the front. "I need to go the nurse's office."

Aaron watched Elena go and then waited to the count of thirty before saying he needed to use the men's room. Leaving the classroom, he headed toward the nurse's office. Finding that Elena was not there, he walked out the first exit. Heading toward the parking lot, he heard raised voices. "You're screwing my wife!" a voice that Aaron recognized as John Gilbert's was yelling. "You little punk!"

Damon said something in reply but it was too low for Aaron to hear. Peeking around the corner, he saw Damon and John. John had his back turned to Aaron so he couldn't get a very good idea at what was going on but then he saw Damon raising his hands. "Dad. Dad stop it!" Elena cried out. And Aaron noticed that Elena was standing beside Damon. "You don't know what you're doing," she was pleading and then it occurred to Aaron what was going on. Oh, shit. This was not happening. This wasn't supposed to be the way that things went down. Elena was supposed to see the tape that Aaron had downloaded from Stefan's phone. It hadn't been that difficult to set up the DVD to air at the right time when news would travel throughout the school. After seeing the truth about her mother's infidelity and Damon's stupidity then she would need someone to comfort her. And that person would be Aaron.

But now John Gilbert was here. And he was furious. He was still yelling at Damon about Mrs. Gilbert but now he was waving his service pistol. "I want you to tell me how many times you were with her?"

"I don't know," Damon moaned. He was crying. Damon never cried. Not even when they were twelve and he was playing football and the guys piled on top of him and broke his right arm. "I don't know."

"You don't know? Bullshit! Tell me. How many times did you screw my wife? Did you always use a hotel or did you bring her to your house? What kind of parents do you have? Or maybe you took her to my home. In my bed. Did you do that, Damon? Were you with the woman that I have loved since I was younger than you are now in my bed? We have kids. A life. And you took that all away. My kids are going to go down the halls being known as the kids of the trampy teacher who slept with her student. She could go to jail because you couldn't just screw one of your classmates like boys your age. No, you had to have my wife, too," John was screaming.

"Dad, please. Stop," Elena was screaming in between choking sobs. "He's not worth it. Don't do something stupid. We can't lose you. Please! Daddy, don't," Elena pleaded when John turned to her.

"Honey, I have to. He ruined our family," John told Elena and then there were two shoots made in quick succession. Everything was happening so quickly that Aaron could barely process it when John turned his back and walked away. He did not even look at Aaron.

Moving around the corner, Aaron saw Elena pulling off the plaid shirt she was wearing that morning. Pressing the fabric to Damon's chest, Elena began to frantically shove her hair out of her face before pressing her hands to his chest. "Don't you dare die on me, Damon. Do you hear me? Don't you die. Because when you recover from this I'm going to kill you. Come on. Stay awake," she called as she slapped his face. Damon was getting paler as blood pooled around him.

"Elena," Damon gasped. "I'm so sorry," he said, taking one of her hands and staring her in the eye as Elena began to cry again.

"You can be sorrier when you live. Now, stay awake damn it," Elena snapped as she pressed her hands down.

Damon's grasp on Elena's hand was loosening and Elena looked around frantically when she noticed Aaron. "Aaron, help me," she shouted and Aaron hurried forward.

"Take this and keep applying pressure to his wounds," Elena ordered Aaron who followed her instructions. Leaning down, Elena pressed her head to his chest. "He's not breathing," she muttered before pulling Damon's mouth open and pressing her lips to his. Aaron felt jealous for a moment but feeling the blood pouring into the shirt, he didn't feel that way for long as Elena began to pound on Damon's chest. "Stay with me, you selfish jackass! You're not going to die on me today because you're going to make up for this really shitty thing you did. Okay, Damon? Please! Please! Stay with me."

Elena was crying as she continued to apply CPR. "Where in the hell is the damned ambulance? Did anyone call one? They had to hear the gunshot. Right?" Aaron realized that Elena was talking to Damon like he was not even there. "They're coming, Damon. So, you just have to wait. And dad didn't shoot to kill. So you can make it. Okay? You can make it. You have to make it."

There was the sound of an ambulance's siren going off in the distance. "Hear that, Damon? They're coming. You're going to be alright. You're going to live so that I can remind you of how stupid you were for the rest of your sorry life. Okay?" Elena whispered as she continued working on him but Damon did not seem to be responding. "Damon? What do you want me to say here? What do I have to say to keep you alive? Huh? I forgive you for sleeping with my mom? Okay. I forgive you. I forgive you for all the shit you've done. I forgive you for the time that you shoved me in a mud puddle when I was six. I forgive you for convincing me that kissing a frog would make him into a prince when I was eight. I forgive you for kissing Kat on our twelfth birthday and calling her Elena. I forgive you for stealing my clothes from the girl's locker room when I was a freshman and forcing me to walk through the hall naked to pick them up. I forgive you for laughing in my face last year when I asked you to the Sadie Hawkins dance. I forgive you because I love you. Got it, Damon. I love you. I always loved you. Now, live."

Aaron felt his heart explode as Damon's chest began to rise and fall of its own accord as Elena let out a happy laugh when the ambulance pulled up. Aaron was left to watch as Elena got in with Damon and they disappeared. Apparently his secret would stay hidden forever. Or so he thought.

Hit the review button with your comments/questions/requests for who the focus of chapter 16 should be…

Klaroline-lovegames: They're in there, somewhere. I don't really know when we'll have a Caroline or Klaus centric chapter but if enough people ask then we'll probably see one of the two sooner rather than later.

Aleix2106: Katherine in this story is really interesting because almost anything could happen with her before the end so I'm looking forward to see where she ends up.

Delena would not be Delena without lots of self-destructive behavior and sleeping with someone's mother is not a big, fat happy, huggable thing to do.

Stefan is a bit of a troublemaker in this story. He likes to create chaos. I think it will be interesting to see how his chapter unfolds when we get to it.

Bellax0christina: Kat's chapter was fun to write; she's this hugely complex character with so many emotions that are buried deeply underneath the surface.

Yeah, I wanted for the whole Damon/Isobel thing to be a little bit of a shock but not too much since I was referring back to the show.

Elena does love Damon quite a bit and she's going to have a hard time now that she knows what he did.

Taya: Now, you know and Elena and Damon will definitely not be riding off into the sunset anytime soon. They have a lot to work out.

Guest: Thanks. LOL.

Tippy093: Damon did get into some trouble and it's not quite over yet. They will be having some problems.

JuseaPeterson: Ch. 12: I really enjoyed writing for Enzo's POV.

You know I love Klaroline and it's kind of driving me nuts not being able to just jump in there and say here they are.

The pie part was a personal fav.

Ch. 13: Kat in this story is really interesting. She's trying to bury her feelings so I have to dig around to figure out what she's really thinking. As for the Wes bit, I don't know yet.

Yeah, Damon was with Isobel and the fallout is far from over.

Stralight000: You're welcome. I don't think that Ric was ever involved with Isobel in this story. She wasn't exactly involving herself with her students other than the whole Damon thing. Kat was a load of fun to write for.

ObsessWithElijah: Ch. 12: Yes, Bonzo. Perhaps the only time I write for them because I ship Beremy on the show which is about to go bye bye with Steven R. McQueen leaving the show, BonKai as my brand new OTP on the show along with them in FF and Kennett in FF.

Klaus and Caroline will be arguing a lot more as the story progresses.

Ch. 13: There was a whole lot of sex and or talking about sex in Kat's chapter. Thank you.

Klaroline82911: I would like to be able to fulfill that request but then I have to fulfill the requests of anyone else that wanted me to change the couples in this story…

I can see what I can do about the Carenzo friendship since I am a huge fan of the friendship on TVD, they replaced Steroline as my BroOTP because of the way Stef's been this season.

Peace,

Jessica