Chapter 36

Elena walked over to Bonnie's house after filling her body with animal blood, the door was open but when she tried to walk through it an invisible barrier blocked her.

She rang the doorbell, waiting for a few moments until she heard footsteps, a hand pulled the door further open. Instead of seeing Bonnie's small figure and bouncing red curls, she saw Matt, with bloodshot eyes and an exhausted expression.

His face lit up as her face registered in his mind, but Elena was not as happy about this surprise, "What are you doing in Bonnie's house?" she needed to see Bonnie, she knew she would be in better control around her than Matt, she could smell his blood pulsing through his body, and see his vein clearly highlighted under his pale skin.

"She said I could use her laptop to book flights to Italy to find you, she left for school five minutes ago, have you gone crazy just leaving like that?" Matt's voice shrilled accusingly.

"No, I'm not crazy" Elena wasn't in the mood for being interrogated she needed a friendly face not someone to give her a lecture.

"I couldn't believe how your Aunt was so relaxed about you in another country with a stranger, and leaving school" Matt said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Damon isn't a stranger" her heart tightened as she said Damon's name, wishing she could be with him more than anything.

"Maybe not but you saw what he did to my hand, he's the crazy one" Matt said spitefully, rubbing the cast on his arm absent-mindedly.

"Don't call him crazy" Elena was having a hard time not taking his blood already without him making her infuriated.

"Whatever" he said shrugging it off, "I'm just glad you came to your senses and left him. So, you're coming back to school right?"

Elena laughed bitterly, "I did not leave Damon, I love him and that's not going to change, I'm going to be with him as soon as I can but until then could you just stop acting like he's a monster, you're the one who tried to hit him, all he did was stop you"

"It's one thing lying to me but don't lie to yourself, we both know you don't love him, you couldn't, he's just using you" Matt said matter-of-factly.

Elena's eyes darkened, her temper was harder to control, like most of her emotions, now that she was a vampire. His blood had been just tempting to her when he first came to the door but now she had the urge to take his blood out of anger, because she couldn't listen to anyone talking badly of Damon, who she loved and who right now she wanted to be here with her before she ripped Matt's head off.

"It's the truth whether you like it or not," Matt concluded after Elena's silence and continuing death glares he went on, "he doesn't care about you, or else he would be here now, wouldn't he?" his voice full of hatred towards Damon.

Elena snapped unable to control the aching in her jaw caused by the clenching her teeth, her anger portrayed on her face, her body shaking from trying to contain the undercurrent of her emotions, but she knew it was too late he pushed her too far.

Her hand reached up, folding across his neck pushing him against the door frame, even his footballers posture couldn't keep him in place against Elena's new, unexpected strength, a growl rippled through her bodily, releasing a snarl between her extended fangs.

Matt's face paled, losing its entire colour, his breath sharply inhaled at her unanticipated act of rage.

"You don't know Damon; maybe if you had of given him chance you would have seen he's a hundred times the man you'll ever be" Elena's voice was cold and enraged as her dark lapis lazuli eyes pierced into his.

Of course his expression didn't change though, because he was still drinking vervain and still in shock, so compelling wouldn't make him shut up or forget that this had happened.

A cold hand was placed on Elena's shoulder, giving her a flash back of yesterday in the forest, when Damon had put his hand on her shoulder to stop her from killing the man…

Her hand released Matt's neck instantly, leaving read marks, she whipped around but her face fell when instead of Damon's calming eyes there was his brother's widened horror stricken green ones.

"Stefan" Elena exhaled regaining control after her sudden outburst.

"We need to go" his voice was strained as he looked past her to Matt, who looked as if he was about to pass out, "Go to the boarding house, I'll be there in a few minutes" he said to Elena, trying to understand why Damon didn't warn him that Elena was a vampire.

She looked at Matt worryingly, then at Stefan.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt him" he looked at her meaningfully, slowly she nodded, she trusted him better than she would trust herself at this moment.

She ran to the Boarding House trying to get away from the scene that had just unfolded. The back door was opened so she walked through the kitchen into the living room. She sat on the sofa trying to calm down, she wished she hadn't came here, wished she would have stayed with Damon but she couldn't.

Stefan walked into the living room only a few minutes after her,

"Where's Matt?" Elena asked worried to see him there alone,

"He's in my basement, I have to keep him there until the vervain he drunk wears off and I can compel him to forget about… what happened" Stefan said sitting on the opposite sofa to her, staring intensely at her.

"How long will that take?"

"It depends on how much he took but I would say around twenty-four hours should be enough"

Elena sighed, "Thanks for, um… stopping me, but how did you know I was there?"

"Damon phoned and told me to find you, he never said you were a vampire now though" Elena's heart skipped a beat at hearing Damon's name.

"Damon?" I shouldn't have known, he knows me better than I know myself, Elena thought smiling, glad that Damon didn't hate her for leaving.

"Yeah, is that why you came back because he changed you into a vampire?" Stefan said, sympathy clouding his eyes.

"No, Damon didn't change me; I left because I didn't want him to see me like…like the way I was there now with Matt"

"Don't worry, you'll learn to control your emotions and soon you'll be able to turn them off completely but wait, if Damon didn't turn you who did?" Stefan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Elena cringed away from his question; "Just another vampire, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time" Elena smiled weakly along with her weak excuse.

Stefan wasn't satisfied with her answer, "Why didn't Damon stop him?" if Elena was still a human she might not of heard the edge in his voice, but with her new vamp hearing she could hear the faults in his controlled voice.

"She was a girl, and she was very strong, she must have been a vampire longer than Damon. He tried to stop her but she was quick" Elena tried to keep as close to the truth without having to cause him the pain of knowing the girl he loved didn't love him back.

"So did she get away afterward?" he asked his eyes narrowing at the thought of whoever killed her getting away.

Elena flinched thinking back, Damon had said when she woke up that 'she wouldn't hurt her anymore' or something along those lines her memories were blurred because she was so weak at the time, "No, Damon killed her" Elena only now really thinking about how Damon had avenged her death by killing someone who he loved, he killed Katherine for her. And what do I do to thank him, I run away like a coward, Elena couldn't help but thinking.

Stefan nodded, regaining control in his voice, "I'm going to go check on Matt" he said not wanting to make her feel forced into telling him anymore, "Will you be ok here for a second?"

Elena nodded, Stefan turned his back to walk out but stopped as Elena said, "Thank you" he turned his head to the side, "I know I already said it but I'm really glad you stopped me from doing something I would have regretted"

"It was nothing, I'm pretty sure Damon would have ripped my throat out if I didn't" he smiled slightly, his usual depressed look fading lightly.

The truth that he would never admit to her, not even admit to himself, was that he cared for her. Maybe not as much as Damon cared about her, but she reminded him of happy memories with a similar looking girl especially now that she was a vampire as well.

Her presence eased the pain in his heart or at the very least filled the hole slightly, the hole where his heart had once been until it had been pulled out centuries ago when he let himself fall for a blonde hair blue eyed girl who refused to chose between him and his brother.

That was the second he vowed to himself to protect Elena, like a brother he wanted her to have the best out of life, he just couldn't make up his mind if the best life for her was with Damon…

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