The witches had left with the bodies of the sacrifices about an hour. Damon and Elijah were still in the funeral home. Elena was sitting with her back against the wall, her head resting limply against her shoulder. Elijah was a few feet away from her body, his head resting against the wall.

Damon was in front of her body, the anxiety ripping him to shreds. What if she was actually dead? What if his blood wasn't enough? "Elena, wake up," he pleaded, never feeling more vulnerable in his life. Elena had absolutely torn him apart, making him feel… human again. It was terrifying, but he was starting to get used to it.

"You don't have to worry," Elijah sighed in a bored tone. "She'll wake up."

Damon just stared at the other vampire in annoyance. "If you don't care, you can just leave. Really."

Elijah rolled his eyes. "I do care. I saved her, didn't I?"

"Yes, what happened with the sudden change of heart?" Damon asked bitterly. Klaus shrugged his shoulders.

"It was all a part of the plan. I didn't want the curse broken, and needed Klaus dead," he explained flatly, staring at Elena with a soft expression.

"So you used Elena as bait?" Damon spat, clenching his fists.

"Don't talk to me like that," Elijah said with a wise voice. "I wasn't expecting the knife to be blessed. Her wound would have healed if Klaus had complete trust in me." Damon was just about to respond, asking the original vampire what he meant, but Elena's eyelids started to flutter.

Damon took a deep breath in relief, but when he actually realized that she was dead, he was filled with nothing but dread and guilt.

…

Stefan and Caroline walked into the Gilbert house. Bonnie and Jeremy were sitting on the couch, deep in conversation. They immediately lifted their heads to stare at the pair.

"Any news about Elena?" Jeremy asked cautiously, staring directly at Stefan.

"No. Damon's still looking. We decided to come back in case one of the vampires coming after Elena comes after you two," he explained slowly, flatly. "I should have stayed… but I'd just slow Damon down."

"Don't worry, Stefan," Bonnie reassured him. "I'm sure Elena's fine." But as she said those words, a terrible feeling coursed through her chest. Bonnie shook the feeling off and decided that it was nothing.

Elena was fine. She had to be.

Stefan just nodded and walked over to the couch. "So, did you learn anything else out about how to break the spell?"

"Yeah," Bonnie sighed. "But it's really no help."

Stefan looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She took a deep breath and continued. "If the human dies or turns, the spell will be broken. In transition, the human's lusts and desires will be unbearable, but after the transition is complete it should be gone… unless the feelings are real, of course. But the downside of this is, if the spell was too strong it will be magnified, even after transition."

"Well, we don't have to worry about that," Caroline said with a shrug. "Elena's always going to be human, and her feelings for Damon definitely aren't real."

…

Elena wanted nothing more at the moment to be held at the clutches of this pleasant darkness. Nothing hurt; her wrist was healed, she was happy, and for some odd reason it was as if all of the pain from her parents' death had been completely erased.

It was peaceful.

But then Elena could feel herself being brought upward, as if she was floating from the bottom of the black sea up to the surface. Lungs bursting and heart racing, she rushed to the top. Elena got closer and closer to the surface and suddenly…

Elena's eyes shot open, chest heaving, desperate for breath. She gripped her chest to calm herself when she realized that she no longer felt serene.

She was weak. She was tired. And, damn, she was hungry.

Elena desperately looked around her, and realized she was in the old funeral home. She turned her head a little more and was met with Damon's blue eyes. The way he looked at her was scaring her; his eyes were filled with such shame.

Elena then noticed another pair of eyes on her and turned her attention. Elijah was staring at her through those muddy eyes of his. She immediately jumped and looked around for a weapon. She found the knife that had been used in the sacrifice and gripped it furiously. But within seconds, Damon had his hand on top of hers, in a bone crushing grip. She glared at him but he looked away from her eyes and to Elijah's.

"No hard feelings," Damon said to the original vampire. Elijah shrugged.

"She's on edge," he said slyly. "The transition is already beginning."

Elena looked at both of them, confused. "The transition? What are you talking about?"

Damon just continued to stare at her, and Elena ground her teeth together in frustration. She ran her hands anxiously through her hair. She continued to give Damon a death stare, until Elijah finally answered. "You're becoming a vampire. No need to make a big deal out of it."

Elena's eyes widened and she immediately stood up, ignoring the wave of pain that went through her head. "I'm a… what?"

Damon stood up and just looked at her solemnly. "Let's just get you back home. I think Klaus is done with us for now." He then shot a frustrated glare at Elijah. "You can leave now."

Elijah rolled his eyes but got up. Before he could walk over to the door, Damon grabbed him by the forearm and whispered a faint, "Thank you." It wasn't something he was used to saying, and felt foreign on his lips. But at the moment Damon didn't care. When Elijah disappeared he was left with only Elena.

"What now?" she asked, staring at Damon with wide, wild eyes. He shrugged and looked at her straight forward.

"That's your decision, Elena."

She gritted her teeth. "I don't want this. There has to be a way out." She could feel tears coming to her eyes, but ignored the feeling.

"There isn't a way out," Damon retorted, his eyed filled with sorrow. For once his irises didn't remind her of the warm sky; they reminded her of a dull, depressed blue. "You're dead."

Elena could now feel tears streaming down her cheeks. "So, now, I have the choice to be a teenager for the rest of my existence or just stop it all."

Damon nodded solemnly. "You don't have to choose now. Come on, let's just get you home."

Elena nodded, and pulled herself together, walking through the woods with Damon until they reached his blue mustang that was miles away from the funeral home.

…

The drive was long. It had already been a few hours since Damon and Elena had left the state of Pennsylvania. The sky was pitch black, and Elena's head lolled back and forth. She was absolutely exhausted. Damon knew she was tired, so he pulled in to the closest hotel that met his standards. They were in Washington D.C. at this point, so it was fairly easy to find a nice hotel.

He pulled into a Hilton and handed his mustang over to the valet. Damon quickly grabbed Elena by her waist and led her inside. He went to the counter and checked in as fast as possible. Damon never realized how stressful his life could get, trying to check in before Elena could notice all of the people around her, that were filled with blood. Her elixir of eternal life.

But, oh, she noticed. Elena's eyes continued to dart anxiously across the room and she gripped Damon's leather jacket to control herself. He placed his hand over hers and finished checking in. Within seconds they were inside the room.

Elena would have been in awe if her life were as simple as it had been only a few days ago, but now she couldn't have cared less. She rushed over to the mini fridge and found a can of cherry soda. Elena opened it, not wasting any time, chugging the entire can without thinking twice. The soda tasted good, but it wasn't the red liquid she was craving.

"The hunger's starting to bother you," Damon noted from across the room. Elena turned around to face him, as if she had just noticed he was there. God, he looked good in those Armani jeans and that leather jacket. She subconsciously licked her lips and approached him.

"I'm so sorry about your jacket," she said seductively, running her fingertips over where her nails had scratched the leather earlier. Damon just swallowed and stared at her with a burning gaze. In a swift motion, she tore the jacket off of his shoulders. "Can't have you wearing something that's below perfect, now can we?" Elena pouted. "No, it just won't do. You're too hot for that."

Damon could feel the lump forming in his throat. Where did this come from? She had taken him completely off guard.

Elena giggled and ran her hands up and down Damon's t-shirt clad back. "Oh, is that a stain on your shirt, Damon?" She kissed the back of his tense neck, bringing her hands to the hem of his white t-shirt.

Damon finally snapped out of his trance, and held Elena's hands in place, in a secure grip. This wasn't right. He wasn't going to take advantage of her like this, while the spell still haunted her mind. "You're not thinking clearly," he said sternly, taking her hands away from him.

"Yeah, I am," Elena retorted with a smirk. Damon just shook his head and walked towards the door. "Where are you going?" she asked, fretting.

"Out," he replied curtly. "I need to think about what to do with you. You only have about a day left before you die, Elena, and no offense, but your fake obsession with me is really starting to piss me off." Damon didn't know why, but he had reached a breaking point with this love spell. Something inside of him seemed to snap.

"What the hell?" she said, confused as to where Damon's sudden outburst came from.

"What you're feeling is not real, Elena. Why won't you get that? It's fake! It's never going to be real! Everything I'm feeling for you is natural, but you just woke up one day and decided to love me… and you have no control over it!" he shouted, punching the wall. She raised her eyebrows in bafflement as he stormed out of the room.

Elena sat on the bed, pained by Damon's rejection. About an hour passed, before even her thoughts couldn't distract her enough. She figured she'd look for him; he couldn't be that far. Elena guessed he was at the bar, drinking his feelings away. She quickly made her way to the elevator and down to the flight of the bar and grill. She was at the doorway, just looking to see if Damon was in there. The place was pretty vacant, except for the few partiers still remaining. He wasn't there.

Elena was looking through the doors when she noticed a very drunk man stumbling towards her. His eyes were half closed, but Elena's gaze was fastened on his arm. It was obvious that this man was very intoxicated, drunk enough to fall off of his barstool, and… break his wrist. Or, maybe it was the result of a fight. But, Elena didn't care. All that mattered was that he was standing before her, with a slightly mangled wrist that was bleeding a little.

"Well, hello there, gorgeous," he slurred. Elena didn't respond. She just bit her lip, still staring at the blood. He came closer, and Elena physically could not take it. Within seconds, she had gripped his arm and pulled his bloody wrist up to her lips.

The blood tasted amazing.

She raised her head for oxygen, and then brought her lips back to the wound, ignoring the man's confused cries. She continued to suck the blood away from his wrist until there was nothing left. She let out an annoyed groan.

She needed more; she would do anything for more blood. Elena then suddenly noticed a stabbing pain coming from her gums. She gripped her head in agonizing pain, noticing that something was growing in her mouth. Elena let out a short cry, and then suddenly realized her entire face seemed to change. Her vision darkened, the hunger growing unbearable. She only had a vague idea of what to do, but her instincts kicked in. She immediately dug her newfound fangs into his throat, sucking the life out of her victim.

Elena found the experience rather enjoyable. The amazing taste of his blood mixed with the sound of his racing heart was even more intoxicating than life itself.

Cliffhanger… again! Gosh, why do I keep leaving you guys with these? Maybe it's just because I'm evil! LOL… at least I wrote a longer chapter!

So, Elena's a vampire now! How will Damon react, and what's going to happen when they make it back to Mystic Falls? Should the love spell still be active on Elena? I'm kind of thinking of putting it to a stop, since Damon seems to be getting upset by it, and I think it will be interesting to see her actually falling in love with him, and reacting to how she acted during the love spell! Tell me what you want to read! I'll listen to you all!

So, how is Elena going to react to being a vampire? Her life was pretty messed up before she died, so it's gonna take a lot of self-control for her to not flip the humanity switch… Can Damon help her through it? Review to find out!

Thanks!

-Sara

More reviews = Sooner Updates :)