hey guys, once again: sorry for the delay, but don't worry, it's not a writer's block, it's just what usually happens when you have other plans - LIFE. I think it's slowly coming to an end now, I finally figured out what to use James for, and I'm really excited to go to the dark places I have in my head for him - muhahaha! anyways, I don't wanna frighten you, just tease you a bit ;) I hope you enjoy!

Katherine looked at the Earl lazily while resting on the pompous sofa of the finest foreclosure in town. He was just licking the last drops of blood off the beautiful blonde they had found in the woods. She like him before, but now that he was a vampire, she adored him. He acted with a decadence that was almost too much to handle and seemed to have lost all his 'good' qualities. The previous night, he had even been rough to her, which ended in them spending a passionate night together, but she did not regret it at all. It had been 5 days since she had changed him, and it was slowly time to get on with her plan.

"I think we should pay a visit to Claire," she suggested. He dropped the dead body and rose steadily. Slowly, he wiped the blood from his mouth and gazed at her with his piercing eyes.

"What for?" he asked a bit angry.

"Well, don't you remember what we've talked about? You actually want to be with her. And she can make you walk in daylight, honey. Is that not what you want?" she teased. He let out a displeased snort and walked over to her, avoiding the patches of sunlight falling through the huge windows. He then bowed over her and started kissing her neck.

"I want so much. Right now, I want you," he said and pulled her off the couch in one swift movement. He carried her to the only bedroom, hands on her bottom and hair, kissing her passionately. Katherine let out a deep moan while giving in to him. Maybe they could wait just one more day...

"No fucking way!" Caroline screamed at Claire and Stefan, who had just told her about their plan.

"Told ya," Damon commented drily from behind her.

"Do you remember what happened the last time you had human blood? I was there, Stefan, alright? I'm not gonna let this happen again!" she said furiously.

"Caroline, please, calm down! He promised to keep himself under control," Claire hastily said before her friend could stop screaming again.

"Control is a word the blood-drinking Stefan doesn't know. Right, Damon?"

"Probably the only time I'll say it, but: you're right."

"Can we all calm down, please? This is not a big deal. I promised to restrain myself and I will do so. It's for Elena, and I won't let anything happen to her again," Stefan finally said. He was getting tired of all this arguing.

"Caroline, please. Help us with this one," Claire said pleadingly.

"You're out of your minds. No way!" she said and stormed towards the door, just to freeze after only a few steps. Damon and Stefan immediately looked at Claire, who had her hand extended.

"We're not asking for your permission, Car. This is a request. And you're gonna accept it," she said sternly. She dropped her hand and the female vampire could move again. She turned around and looked at Claire, anger in her eyes.

"You'll have to force me to," she said and stormed off. Claire looked at her, disappointment written all over her face.

"What now?" Stefan asked. She turned around to face him. After exchanging a long look, she took a deep breath and answered.

"I trust you, Stefan. We're gonna do it without her. And we're gonna do it now."

"Are you serious? What if..." Damon started off, but Claire cut across him.

"You can do this, Stefan," she said and locked eyes with the younger Salvatore brother.

"Alright," he said after what seemed like an eternity looking into Claire's eyes. She believed in him, and for once in his life, he did as well. She nodded encouragingly.

"Okay, so here's how it's gonna work. Wait, let my check first..." she said and looked at Stefan, who immediately felt like a block of ice, unable to move. A small smile appeared on her face. "Good. Now, you're gonna drink from me. Not much, only a few drops should suffice. Then, I want you to attack me. But please be careful, I won't be able to defend myself."

"Then why should he attack you?" Damon interfered.

"Because we have to be absolutely sure. You can keep him in check, if he overreacts. After that, I'm gonna drink Damon's blood. And then, we will see if my plan works," she sighed a bit at the last sentence and started unbuttoning her leather jacket. Claire dropped it on the couch and walked over to Stefan, stopping right in front of him. She put one hand at his cheek and stroked it softly. "I know you don't like me very much, but please don't drain me," she said, half a smile on her lips. Both Damon and Stefan had to laugh. Claire smiled a bit as well, but her mimic became dead serious after. She swallowed and turned around to check if Damon was ready. He looked very uncomfortable, but she knew that he would not stop her from doing this little experiment. He nodded and she faced Stefan again. "Let's do this," she whispered and bent her head to the side.

Stefan stared at her neck in amazement. She smelled so sweet, and he knew that once he tasted her blood, it would be hard to stop. But he had to! For Elena. Slowly, he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to him. He could hear Damon snort with disapproval in the background. But Stefan didn't care. He had never bitten someone without touching another part of their body as well. It made him feel more individual, not just like every other bloodsucker. He could feel her tense up and he knew that he had to do something to make her relax. Hesitantly, he approached her neck with his mouth, but before he reached her skin, he whispered softly into her ear.

"Don't be afraid, trust me," he said and planted a soft kiss on the sensitive skin on her neck. Claire was totally taken by surprise at his actions, and so she didn't really realise that he had already sunken his teeth into her skin the next moment. Only when something wet flowed down her cleavage did she notice that he was already sucking her blood.

"That's enough, little brother. I think you should stop now," Damon suddenly said close to Claire. She could feel Stefan stop sucking, and for one moment, she thought that he would just abandon their plan and continue drinking from her, but he withdrew his fangs from her skin. She touched the wound and looked at him, astonished. Damon wrapped his arm around her.

"You okay?" he asked concerned. She shot him a confused look.

"Yes, I am fine," she stuttered while looking at Stefan, who just wiped the last drops of her blood from his mouth. The dark veins around his eyes had vanished and he looked almost normal again.

"Alright, what are you waiting for?" Damon said, looking at Stefan. He checked with Claire and when she slightly nodded, he darted towards her and grabbed her body. She let out a surprised scream and found herself lying on the couch the next second, Stefan on top of her. He had stopped only a few inches away from her throat, and she could clearly hear him grunt while trying his best not to bite her again. The next moment, he was being pulled away and she could hear Damon scream at him. "Touch her like this ever again and I will kill you for real this time, Stefan!" Claire rose up and shook her head in confusion. What did he mean? She looked down on herself and saw that her shirt had been torn and pulled up to her breasts. She rearranged it and got up slowly. Bloody hell! She walked over to the fighting brothers and pushed them from each other slowly.

"Damon, calm down, please. No harm done. Now, if you may?" she asked him. He turned his head from Stefan to her and raised a brow.

"What?"

"Your blood?"

"Right. Sorry," he said and rolled up his sleeve. He bit his wrist and offered it to her. Willingly, she gulped down some of the red liquid and let go of his hand. She immediately felt the blood run through her veins.

"Thanks," she said to Damon and faced Stefan. Without any hesitation, he lunged at her only to stop in mid-air. Claire, who had her hand extended, dropped it and started cheering. Damon pulled her into a hug and smiled happily. Stefan, who had dropped to the ground, got up and grinned as well. Claire let go of Damon and hugged him as well. "It worked! Bloody hell, it worked!" she cheered again and again.

"Time to celebrate," Damon announced and swayed a bottle of their finest Scotch in one hand. Claire grinned happily and fetched three glasses. This was the best news in a very, very, very long time.

Elena had just brushed her teeth and was ready to go to bed when her phone rang. Caroline's number appeared on the display. She hadn't talked to her friend for a few days, so Elena picked up quickly.

"Hey, Car, what's up?"

"Elena, how can you let them do this? It's insane! Stefan will be back to sucking people dry in dark alleys in no time! I thought you would know better!" her friend ambushed her.

"Woah, woah, Caroline, slow down! What are you talking about?" Elena asked confused.

"Wait... you don't know? Claire is gonna let Stefan drink her blood! They asked me to help, but I refused!"

"WHAT?" Elena almost screamed.

"It's some sort of experiment, they didn't tell me the whole story, but it's got something to do with Klaus."

"Where are they now?" Elena asked hurriedly while putting on her jeans and jacket.

"I got home from the Boarding House about half an hour ago, they were gonna do it there. But, Elena..." Caroline could not finish her sentence because Elena hung up on her. She hurried out of the house and jumped into her car to race to the Boarding House. Stopping the car in front of the house a few minutes later, she took a deep breath before she got out. Light was softly falling through the living room windows and Elena approached them cautiously. She wanted to get a look on what was going on first before storming in like a jealous maniac. Maybe, it was all half as bad as Caroline said. She stood on the tip of her toes to peek into the room inside. Elena had to fight the urge to scream. What she saw was even worse than she had expected!

She had chosen the exact moment when Stefan lunged at Claire and threw her on the couch to take in the scenery. Elena could clearly make out the biting wounds on Claire's neck and her torn shirt. She watched with anger as her friend got up and separated the two brothers, who were obviously arguing about something. She turned away from the window and walked to her car slowly. Clearly, they went through with their plan. Elena did not know what hurt more: the fact that they did not tell her about this, or what she just saw – a passionate Stefan lunging himself at her friend with a hunger in his eyes that she did not know of. When she heard cheers, she faced the windows again. Whatever they had been planning, it must have worked. Disappointed, she turned to get into her car, but found her way blocked. Scared, she looked up at the person standing in her way.

"James?" she asked in confusion.

"Hello, Miss Elena. I'm afraid I'll have to occupy some of your time. Now, if you may?" he said with a charming voice before putting one hand on her mouth and dragging her away with him. And while Damon, Stefan and Claire were celebrating inside, the terrible scream that escaped Elena's lunges was not heard by anyone.

As always: review and you're my hero.

and, before I forget: special thanks to grungie, who made remembered me that I really don't like elena that much right now. and also naishu - for always encouraging me and sharing my beliefs when it comes to fanfiction. you're awesome.