a/n: I really should be working on my paper.....but this is much more productive :)

FOURTEEN

It was seven when we left the house and all I could think about was how awkward it would be. I couldn't sit still the entire way there and Damon only grinned at my discomfort. "Do you think he said something to Jenna?"

"Why would he?"

"I don't know," I said quietly and then shook my head, feeling the embarrassment all over again. "We need to start locking that door."

"Hey, if someone had knocked instead of rushing in, he wouldn't have seen anything. They all know about us anyway."

"Knowing and seeing are two very different things," I said and put my head on the headrest behind me. "We still haven't even told them about Tyler yet. I think we should do that tonight." He was going to say something in response when the necklace at my throat started to pulsate like it had on graduation. I noticed Damon's hands tighten on the steering wheel. We looked at each other for a second before he slammed down on the accelerator. As he sped towards the house I kept an eye out for anything unusual and had to brace myself as he slammed on the breaks to park.

We both flew up the steps and burst into the house, fangs out and ready to attack when we saw everyone staring at us. I counted heads and came up with seven instead of the four that should have been there. I felt my face return to normal and my fangs retract, but I was still cautious at the sight of Pearl, Anna, and another vampire from the tomb. One that hadn't tried to kill Damon and Stefan in revenge. "Miss Gilbert," Pearl said and inclined her head to me. "Damon." Her voice was a little colder when she spoke to him.

I looked at Jeremy who had kept his head down and the moment my eyes found him, I could hear his thoughts. I should have told her first. "When did you come back?" Damon asked as he stepped forward. The pulsating began to lighten as if it sensed the lack of a threat.

"A few hours ago," Anna said as she put her hand on Jeremy's arm as if to reassure him.

I looked at John who was looking less than enthusiastic at having more vampires in town. We all knew he only put up with Damon because of me but other than that, he still hated vampires. Alaric went back to stirring something in the pot behind him and I smiled to myself as I realized he hadn't look out way. Conversations seemed to pick up where Damon and I had cut them short and soon it was as if nothing happened. "Jere, can I talk to you?" I asked after everyone had eaten and we were waiting on one of Jenna's desserts.

He nodded and followed me outside onto the back porch. I led him a little further away from the house so the others couldn't hear us. "Why did you invite them back?"

"I thought they could help."

"Pearl was Katherine's best friend for I don't know how many years," I said sternly.

His eyes went wide. "I didn't know."

"Listen, I get that Anna is a friend of yours, but-"

"Elena, I'm a human," he said, cutting me off. "Uncle John and Mr. Saltzman have those rings that heal them if they get hurt. That's why they're able to help you. I hate having to sit back and watch you get attacked knowing that if I try to help, I'll die or distract you."

I sniffed the air and took a step closer to him. I swore under my breath. "You took her blood."

He nodded briefly. "I want to fight for you because you're still my sister no matter what biology says." That made me want to cry, but his next sentence washed that feeling away. "If something happens to me, at least I'll come back."

I grabbed his hands in mine and looked him in the eye. "I'm not going to tell you you can't become a vampire. However, I want you to promise me that you won't make that decision until you're a hundred percent sure it's what you want. I would hope you would wait a few more years until you're really an adult."

"You didn't," he said and immediately regretted it.

I shook my head and stepped away from him. "I didn't have a choice Jeremy." There was a few moments of silence before I turned to go back to the house. "Thank you for bringing them back. We could use all the help we can get," I said and noticed that he wasn't following me.

My blood froze in my veins as I knew what I would see before I even turned around. Isobel was holding Jeremy still with one arm, the other was behind his back. From the pain on his face, I could tell there was something digging into his skin. She smiled cruelly at me. "Hello Elena."

"Let him go," I snarled, my face in full vampire mode.

"Stop!" she demanded after I took a few steps towards her. "I heard he has Anna's blood in him. I have a wooden stake placed on the back of his heart. If you do as I say, I'll let him go. Ignore me and I'll make sure he just dies."

My fangs bit into my lip as I tried to ignore the urge to tear her in two. "What do you want?" I asked in a tight voice, one that I barely recognized.

"I will let him live if you agree to come with me."

I considered it while I concentrated on sending Jeremy a private message and I hoped that he got it. Get inside and tell Damon. I will be fine. From the wide-eye expression he was giving me I could tell he had heard it. "I'll go," I said meekly, suddenly wishing I had remained on the porch to talk to Jeremy.

"Good girl," she said and shoved Jeremy to the ground. In an instant, she was behind me and I groaned as she injected me with vervain. I staggered to my knees and could feel the poison seep through my body rapidly. I could barely see Jeremy enter the house before everything went black.

My body was stiff and I was frigid because of the damp concrete floor. The musky smell of mold sent waves of nausea coursing through me. There was a dull light behind my eye lids and I was afraid to open them. I reached out with my other senses and came up with nothing. When I got the nausea under control, I pushed myself up and leaned against a rough brick wall. My eyes half-opened and I saw small streaks of moonlight shining through cracks in one of the walls. I put my head in my hands, feeling sluggish as I did so. My body was sore to the point where I wanted to scream at any movement. My hand went immediately to my throat and grasped the locket that was still there. It made me ache for Damon before I checked to see if I was wearing my ring. I sighed heavily, a few tears sliding down my cheeks as I felt the cool metal against my other fingers. I took a deep breath and forced myself to my feet. I needed to get out of here and I couldn't do that sitting down. The moment I did, I felt another wave of nausea.

"Elena?"

All dizziness and other unfortunate feelings went away at the sound of that familiar voice. I cursed myself for not knowing that he was there and I clenched my fists to my side as he stepped forward into the small streams of light. "Stefan."

In the blink of an eye, he had his arms tightly around me. I had been intent on lashing out, but his tears on my hair caught me off guard. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I should have been there to protect you," he whispered and then tightened his hold. "I was so lost in trying not to give in that I lost track of everything."

I shoved him away from me, finally regaining control of myself. "What the hell are you talking about?" I shouted.

The hurt on his face made it hard for me to be angry with him. "I hurt you," he said tightly.

I stared at him. "You attacked me. Twice. You almost killed John right in front of me. You brought Katherine to town!" I yelled.

He was looking at me with horrified eyes. He shook his head and took a step forward and then stopped when I backed up. "Elena, I would never do that to you."

"You almost killed Damon," I whispered. "You threatened my family."

He was throughly confused. "What does Damon have to do with this?"

It was then that I reached out and searched his thoughts, surprised that I could read his mind and almost dropped to my knees at what I found. He really didn't remember anything that had happened since he came back the night he had been "attacked." Katherine had set him up from the very beginning. "No," I breathed, feeling tears well up in my eyes again before they rolled down my face.

He was there, cupping my face and holding me up. My back was against the brick as he used his body to keep me still. "I'm so sorry Elena," he breathed and pressed his lips to mine. We were both crying, our salty tears wetting our lips.

I wanted very much to pull away, but was physically still to weak to do so. Mentally, I was a wreak. I was torn between wanting to believe that everything was real, that Stefan wasn't really the person we had come to know these past few months and the underlying threat that this was a trick. His hands crushed my jaw as if he was trying to prove to himself that I was real and his kisses were anything but gentle. "Stefan..." I breathed as I could feel another wave of nausea creeping up on me.

Before I could pull him away, he tore himself from me and stared at me in total disbelief. "Katherine?"

I was about to protest when I noticed my fangs indenting my lower lip. "I'm not-" I started as a door opened and we both looked to see Isobel standing there.

She smiled that cruel smile that seemed to be plastered to her face. "I'm glad you two could catch up." As she said this, she pulled another body through the door and tossed it a little ways away from us.

As I realized who it was, I ran to her side. "Bonnie?" I cried as I dropped to my knees and made sure she was alright. She was unconscious, but other than that she seemed to be okay. "What have you done?" I asked Isobel as I stood up, more enraged now.

She looked from Bonnie to Stefan before resting her eyes on me. "The funny thing about compulsion is that it works on even the weakest of vampires. If done correctly, they will never know what they did and no one will ever suspect anything is wrong."

"You did this?" I was livid now and if I was sure that she was alone, I would have rushed her.

She nodded to Bonnie at my feet. "She did most of the work." She then nodded to Stefan. "He helped too. He got your blood for me and Bonnie..." she said with another smile curling at her lips. "Bonnie brought Katherine back." She turned to saunter out and paused at the door. "I hope both of you can control your hunger," she said, her eyes coming to rest on Bonnie before she headed out, slamming the door behind her.