Hey you guys! I hope you are doing well! I'm so thankful that you all like my story and your support really keeps me going! We are so close to the end of this season! It's kind of freaking me out haha!

I know that you guys aren't really big fans of the love triangles, but let me tell you this: Damon only has eyes for Alex. While he's been a player for a long time, he is focused completely on Alex, so don't worry!

Season 1 Episode 18 The Last Dance

The next day, I sat at the dining room table with Elena, Bonnie, and Jace. At the moment, Elena was signing papers with a lawyer that would make the boarding house hers. I had to admit the idea was a good one. Now it would be Elena who invited people in and she would be under the watchful eye of Stefan and Damon. It gave my heart a little piece of mind.

"So this place is all yours?" Bonnie asked, looking around. "They just gave it to you?"

"For now." Elena replied. "As sole owner, I'm the only one who can invite a certain type of person in here, if you know what I mean."

The lawyer didn't seem phased by Elena's cryptic explanation. Jace chuckled, looking much more at ease considering Katherine was now fallen to the hands of Klaus. I kind of wondered if she was dead. I didn't believe Klaus to be a man of mercy, so I figured that Katherine was gone. I didn't really mind too much to tell the truth.

"Wouldn't want to clean it." Bonnie commented, getting a laugh from all of us.

"I like this idea." Jace said and then looked to Elena. "You aren't going to kick me out or start charging me rent right?"

"No." Elena said with a smile as she signed another line. "I need as many people watching me as possible."

"Yeah, I like this idea." Jace said. "By the way, could we not invite Damon in?"

I pushed his shoulder playfully. Damon and Stefan were currently standing outside of the house. They weren't allowed to come in while the process of signing over the house was going on, but also Elena had to be the one to invite them in. The idea of not inviting Damon in was one that was funny and if he couldn't get into his house he would probably take up residence at mine, which I wouldn't mind. However, Elena needed Damon more than I did at the moment. My own house was pretty safe, considering mom was gone most of the time and she wouldn't be able to invite anyone in. As an extra precaution, I had Damon compel her not to invite anyone in, at least for the time being. I also gave her some jewelry, a necklace that contained vervain so she wouldn't be able to be compelled again.

"Alright, Ms. Gilbert." The lawyer said, packing up his things. "You're all set."

"Thank you." Elena said politely. We then as a group walked the balding man out and waited until he was gone. Both Salvatore brothers stood at the door, looking at Elena expectantly.

"Stefan." Elena said with a wide grin. "Would you like to come inside my house?"

"I would love to." Stefan said, entering the home. "Thank you."

Elena then met Damon's gaze and when it became apparent that she wasn't going to invite him in he huffed.

"What are we 12?" He mocked.

"One of us is." Jace muttered. Damon set a glare Jace's way, but he didn't seem phased by Damon's anger.

"If I let you in, do you promise to obey the owner of this house?" Elena asked. Damon made a face.

"No." He replied, causing me to roll my eyes. Elena had made it perfectly clear how she wanted things to go. Damon on the other hand, didn't like rules that he didn't make.

"Seriously, Damon. My way. You promised." Elena said. "I call the shots. No lies, no secret agendas. Remember?"

"Yes Elena." Damon replied, looking less than happy to be agreeing to this. "Sure."

"Then please, come in." Elena said. Damon rolled his eyes, entering the house finally. It was a bit of relief that washed over me as he finally gained entrance into the house. I had my mind set on keeping everyone safe. Anyone in this house would be safe as long as Elena didn't invite anyone dangerous inside.

When both of the brothers were inside, the four of us teenagers, grabbed our stuff and made our way for the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Stefan asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"To school." Elena explained. I pulled my jacket on, and the whole time Damon was glaring at me, as if he wanted me to stop and take it off.

"No, no, no." Damon said, coming forward to grab my bag from me. "We didn't create a safe house for you to leave it."

"Yeah, guys, Klaus is out there." Stefan said as I tried to get my bag away from Damon. "We know that."

"Right. But where? No one knows." Elena said. "Look, I really appreciate what you guys are doing. And I'll be able to sleep at night knowing that I'll be safe here, but I'm not going to be a prisoner"

Stefan and Damon shared a look.

"Don't worry, I'm ready." Bonnie said. "If he shows his face, I can take him."

"And Jace and I are set." I said, grabbing my bag from Damon. I opened it to show him many different types of weapons that we were prepared to use if Klaus were to show up. "We know what he looks like now. We are ready."

"Are you even carrying any books?" Damon asked, jerking the bag back to him to search through the large array of weapons. I had to pack light so no crossbows or anything, but I managed to put some stakes and a fully loaded stake pistol in there. I was praying that no one tried to search my bag.

"The way I see it, I have plenty of body guards that Klaus won't even make it near me." Elena said turning toward the door. "Come on."

All of us were going out the door, including Stefan, when Damon caught my arm. I turned back to him, his face serious and eyes holding that worried glint that he got when I did something stupid.

"I don't like this." Damon said to me. I gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry Damon." I said. "Elena will be fine-"

"It's not Elena I'm worried about." Damon said. I stopped talking then. "I'm afraid that you are going to risk your life to save hers."

I felt a smile creep onto my face. I reached up and placed my hand on his cheek. It warmed my heart that he was so worried about me. Sure, Elena was the main priority right now, but the fact that Damon still cared about my safety was a good feeling.

"I'm going to be fine." I told him. I then stood up on my tip toes and kissed him swiftly on the lips. "I will always come back to you Damon Salvatore."

"I'm going to hold you to that one." He said kissing me again. We broke apart when we heard the loud beep of Jace's truck horn. Damon's eyes narrowed. "I'm gonna' kill that kid."

"Don't." I replied. "He's been a big help."

"Teaching you to fight is not what I consider help." He mumbled.

"Would you rather me be defenseless?" I asked. Damon shook his head.

"No." He admitted. "I just wish I could be the one to protect you."

"This isn't 1864 anymore Damon." I commented. "I can take care of myself."

"I know." He replied. Another beep of the horn. "Go. Before I stick that horn up his-

"Bye!"


We arrived at the school and for someone whos life was being threatened Elena was doing pretty well. I think she was just putting on a good face for all of us. She was trying to be positive, that way none of us would worry about her. But how could we not worry when Klaus could be hiding around any corner just waiting to strike? To say I was being extra observant that day would be an understatement.

"Let me see the picture again." Jace said. I pulled the photo that Isobel gave me out of my pocket and handed it to him. His forest green eyes scanned it for a moment or two before he handed it back to me. "Still so creepy that she looks like you."

"As creepy as your ex looks like me?" Elena asked with a grin as she turned in her chair. We were all seated in Alaric's classroom. Lucky for us, we weren't too far from Elena's chair if the need to get close to her arose. Stefan was two rows away from her, which was not ideal. But Bonnie was pretty close too, so that made me feel a bit at ease.

"No… that pretty much takes the cake." He mumbled. Elena smirked before she turned around in her chair to face the board. I chuckled myself, causing Jace to glare at me. I looked down at the picture again. We weren't for sure that this was Klaus, but I was pretty convinced. It made sense, considering the guardian's history. I hoped that he wouldn't show up any time soon, but I didn't think wishing would do me any good.

"Hello, class." Alaric said as he entered. He had his lesson plan in his hands and he was looking through it. "What are we learning today?"

I furrowed my brows a bit at his question. He wasn't really expecting an answer, but considering he had written up the lesson plan, I just thought he would have known already. I brushed it off though, sometimes people could just forget.

"With the decade dance tonight, we've been covering the sixties all week." A girl in our class, Dana, said. I rolled my eyes. These stupid decade dances were not my thing. I only went to the last one because of a vampire coming for Elena. And by the look of Elena looking at the poster for it, I was guessing that I was going to have to be at this one too.

"Right." Alaric said. "The sixties."

Just then, something strange happened. Alaric's gaze fell upon Elena, which wouldn't have been weird, except that he took his sweet time looking away. Elena was busy getting a notebook out of her bag and didn't notice. I however did, and when I looked over to Jace he seemed to have caught on too. Alaric eventually looked away and started writing on the blackboard.

"The sixties. I wish there was something good I could say about the sixties, but... Actually, they kind of sucked. Except for the Beatles, of course." Alaric said, his gaze traveling over me for a millisecond. "They made it bearable. Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the... we walked on the moon. There was Watergate."

"Watergate was the seventies, Rick." Elena said. When everyone looked at her she corrected herself. "I-I mean, Mr. Saltzman."

Alaric then grinned, but it wasn't a typical Alaric smile. This one was a bit wicked and it just caught me a bit off guard.

"Right. It all kind of mushes together up here, the sixties, seventies." Alaric explained. "Thank you, Elena."

She smiled a bit, but even she seemed a bit confused about Alaric's slightly off behavior. After a few more seconds of him just staring at Elena, he eventually looked over at me again. The wickedness of his last smile faded, and it was replaced by fondness. I shifted a bit in my chair, uncomfortable with his new found fascination with us. He eventually did look away and nothing else out of the ordinary happened.

I tried to brush off the weird feeling I got as I left the classroom. I also noticed how Alaric was watching us leave and this weird tug in my chest to go and talk to him. I didn't know why it was there, I figured it was just my guardian intuition calling on a false alarm. I shook my head as we made our way to lunch. I was being paranoid, and I wasn't going to scare Elena with my weird sense of danger when there was none.


"I haven't seen him at all." Elena said. "Have you?"

"No." I replied. "I don't think he would show up here anyway. Too many witnesses."

Elena nodded, walking with me through the lunch line. Everyone was setting up for the decade dance that night. There was paint and sparkles flying everywhere as people continued decorating and making things. It made me a bit sick to my stomach.

"You know we don't have to go to this thing." I told her. She looked up at me with furrowed eyebrows. "I mean wouldn't it be safer to just stay at the house?"

"Alex you don't have to go if you don't want to." She said. I made a face. "I don't want him to win. If I hide… I'm letting him win."

"I get it." I replied. "But you know I have to go. The guardian in me won't let me stay home while you put yourself in danger."

Elena smiled at me while I pouted. The two of us got our lunch and we walked up to a table currently inhabited by Bonnie and Jeremy. From the looks of it, it looked like they were having a deep conversation, a serious one at that.

"Hey, Jer." Elena said, interrupting them. I wasn't too far behind. "How you doing? Are you okay at the house alone with John?"

"It's not ideal." Jeremy said, standing up. "Sorry Alex."

"It's ok." I replied. "My dad's an ass, I've gotten used to it."

"You haven't heard from Jenna, have you?" Elena asked. Jeremy shook his head.

"It looks like she's staying on campus." Jeremy replied. "Look I'm- I'm late for class."

In a second he was gone. Both Elena and I looked to Bonnie.

"What's going on?" Elena asked. Bonnie shrugged.

"I told him he had to dress up tonight and he got all uptight." Bonnie explained. Elena seemed satisfied with the answer, but the way the conversation looked, didn't look like just a simple disagreement about costumes. Speaking of which…

"What the hell am I going to wear to this thing?" I asked. It wasn't like I kept a whole box full of 60's clothes in my closet. I didn't know what my mom could have, and honestly, after the Sandy get up she gave me for the last decades dance, I wasn't too interested in asking her.

"I'm sure Stefan has something." Elena said. "We will look after school."

I sighed. I wished I could just wear a t-shirt and be done with this. Besides, dressing in some tight dress wouldn't serve me good if I were fighting off the most powerful vampire of all time. But, I couldn't draw attention to myself, so I had to dress up.

"Hey, Elena, there you are." Dana, the girl from our history class, said as she came up to us. "Okay. This is going to sound freaky, but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight."

We all gave her a confused look.

"Tell him she has a boyfriend." Bonnie said.

"You could at least meet him. He'll be at the dance tonight." Dana explained. "Look for him. His name is Klaus."

I felt my heart drop into my stomach. My eyes went wide and my protective guardian senses kicked in. I looked to Elena who looked just as scared, if not more, than I did.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Elena asked. I was hoping we had all heard her wrong, but we could never get that lucky.

"His name's Klaus." Dana repeated. "I know the name's stupid, but I swear he's hot."

"Where is he?" I asked sternly, my eyes sweeping the room. I saw no one that resembled the photo I had. I stood up to get a better look.

"I don't know." Dana said, eyes glazed over. I felt a flare of my temper rise up in my chest.

"What do you mean you don't know?" I asked. I grabbed her arm roughly. "Dana, where the hell is he?"

"Alex stop!" Bonnie said, pulling me off of the frightened girl. "She's been compelled."

"He's here Bonnie!" I almost shouted. Bonnie gave me a look, silently telling me to calm down. But how could I calm down, when this freak of nature was coming after us?

"But he wants to know if you'll save him the last dance." Dana said. "How cute is that?"

"Adorable." I muttered. Dana gave me a strange look, and I honestly felt bad for how harsh I was being. It wasn't her fault, but Klaus was too close right now, and the need to protect Elena continued to rise inside of me.

"Dana I think you should go." Bonnie said. The brunette girl shrugged and then skipped off. I continued my search around the room, my eyes full of malice. Whoever this creep was, he needed to keep his distance.

"Are you ok?" Bonnie asked Elena. Elena didn't speak, she didn't even move. I sat down next to her, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Hey… Elena." I said. She didn't look at me. "Look at me."

Her eyes slowly met mine and I saw then the true terror etched in her face. It was one thing to know that Klaus was coming, and what his true intentions were. It was another thing for him to actually be here, and especially be so close. He was already threatening her, and the sight of her pure fear was striking me to my core.

"You're not going tonight." I ordered. "You're staying at the boarding house."

"Alex, she can't just hide from this." Bonnie tried to reason with me. I gave her a confused look.

"We have a safe house, Bonnie." I reminded her. "The key word here is safe."

"We don't have another choice." Bonnie said. "He just told us that she had to be there."

"Well fuck him." I said through my teeth. I looked back to Elena. "She's not going."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." Elena said. Both Bonnie and I looked to her. She had calmed down, but her true emotions still shone through her mask. I squeezed her hand again. "I have to go."

"No, you don't." I said. Elena looked at me, her own determination beginning to pull through. One thing Elena and I had in common, and I wasn't sure if that was biologically or because of the bond, was our stubbornness. Elena and I both were so hard headed and we both butted heads sometimes.

"I have to lure him out." Elena said. "Once we have him… Bonnie can do the rest."

I met Bonnie's gaze and she nodded to me. There was no doubt in my mind that Bonnie could kill Klaus, especially with the power of 100 dead witches from the witch burial site on her side. But the idea of Elena being so close to Klaus made me sick to my stomach.

"It will be ok." Elena said, squeezing my hand this time. The two of us stared at one another for a very long time. Our bond was becoming stronger and stronger with each passing day, with each passing second. I wanted so bad to protect her, but I was so afraid of failing. What if he got her tonight? What if she died tonight? I didn't think I could handle it.

"Fine." I finally muttered. "But I don't like this."


We went to the boarding house after school, and my mood had definitely not improved. Elena and Bonnie did the hard job of explaining what happened at lunch while I just pouted in my seat on the couch. Damon tried to soothe me, sitting next to me and rubbing soothing circles on my back. It didn't really work, but I appreciated his effort.

"So we go to the dance, we find him." Damon said. Everyone, except for me and Stefan, were on board with using Elena as bait, again, to lure out Klaus. I was getting very tired of being on the opposite side. Usually, I was ok with stuff like this, but Klaus was no joke. It also might have been the fact that it wasn't only Elena he was after. Whether or not he wanted to kill me as well I wasn't sure. But Klaus was connected to the guardian, and I was unfortunately the guardian. I was afraid, not only for Elena's safety, but also my own.

"Sorry I'm late." Alaric said as he entered the house. I barely even looked up when I saw him. I was too busy wallowing in my anger.

"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight." Damon said to Alaric. "Klaus made his first move."

"When we find him then what?" Jace asked. "What's our plan of attack?"

I was still a little pissed at Jace for not being on my side. He agreed that we wouldn't get another chance like this, and it was starting to upset me that both Jace and Damon were agreeing on something.

"Me." Bonnie replied. "I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you can find him, I can kill him."

"That's not going to be that easy." Alaric said. "I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around."

"Alaric has a point. I mean, what if he..."

But Damon didn't get to finish his sentence, because when he got close enough to Bonnie, she used her power to shoot him across the room and hit the wall. I won't lie and say I wasn't a bit surprised at how much power she did have. I knew deep down that Bonnie could do this, but I was still not on board with the idea.

"Well, I was impressed." Stefan said, his eyes looking to me. All eyes shifted to me then and I felt the impending question hanging in the air. No one spoke, and I was now on my own, not even Stefan was on board with me.

"It doesn't matter if he's an Original. I can take down anyone who comes at me." Bonnie said. "I can kill him, Elena. I know I can."

Elena nodded and then looked to me with a pleading look. She wanted my approval, I could see it in her eyes. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before I nodded. Elena smiled weakly. I stood up angrily stomping from the room and up the stairs.

I hated being the odd man out. I wished that there was another way, but at this point they had convinced me there wasn't another one. Klaus would be there tonight, that was obvious. He didn't know our plan, and he would be surprised. He would die tonight, and then we could move on from this. I just wished there was another way.

"Still pouting?" Damon's voice echoed in my ear. I grunted and threw my arm over my eyes. I was laying on his bed, and I could hear the door shut, followed by his footsteps. "Pretty girl…"

"Don't you pretty girl me." I said, turning a glare to him. "I'm pissed at you."

"And you are adorable when you're mad." He said coming closer. "But Alex… we have to do this."

"She could get hurt." I said. Damon sighed. He crouched down in front of me and took my hands. I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling of his smooth fingers following the contours of my arms. I was still irritated, but his touch was relaxing me with each moment that passed by.

"She won't." Damon said. "You said it yourself. Elena's going to be fine."

I stared at him for a long time. Damon was silently convincing me that everything was going to turn out ok. I was grateful for that, but I was still afraid. If it came down to saving Elena or myself tonight… I honestly believed I would save her. I didn't think that was the guardian in me, I think it was the fact that Elena had become more to me than just a cousin. By blood she was my sister, and my bond I was her guardian. But she was also my friend, and if I lost her… I didn't know what I was capable of.

"Stefan and I will not let anything happen to her or to you." He vowed. "Klaus is going to die tonight."

I nodded. Damon then stood up, bringing me up with him. He then placed a kiss to my forehead, his hands travelling around my waist. I gripped his shirt tightly, never wanting to let go. If only time would stop and this is how I would live forever. Wrapped up in Damon's arms, feeling cared for and safe… that was paradise to me.

"We should get ready." Damon said. I nodded, releasing my hold on his shirt. He walked over to his closet, rifling for something toward the back. What came out was something that surprised me.

"What is that?" I asked, looking at the garment in his hands. It was a dress, dark blue in color and had white polka dots all over it. It had about inch wide straps, and a sweetheart neckline. The waist was tiny, but the skirt poofed out at the bottom and gave off the princess look.

"I found it for you." Damon said, handing the dress to me. "These things were all the rage in the 60's."

"It's beautiful." I said, my hands feeling the delicate fabric. This was more my style then what I wore to the last decade's dance.

"Beautiful dress for a beautiful girl." He said fondly, caressing my cheek. I smiled at him and stood on my tip toes to kiss him full on the lips. I was about to pull back, but Damon stopped me. His hands trapped my face where it was, and I was struggling to keep my composure. He deepened the kiss by forcing my mouth open with his tongue. I could feel myself becoming undone with each movement and I knew if he didn't stop we would never get to the dance.

"I need to get dressed." I told him when he pulled back to assault my neck. I bit my lip to fight back a moan as he sucked at the tender skin of my throat.

"I can help." Damon said in a husky voice. I shook my head, making him groan in annoyance. He pulled back fully to look at me and I told him to keep his eyes away as I went to his bathroom to change.

"You should really invest in a door." I told him, taking off my shirt, followed by my bra.

"Where is the fun in that?" He asked. I rolled my eyes, pulling the dress up over my pants just in case Damon got any ideas about seeing my backside.

"Can you zip me up?" I asked him. Damon was at my back in a second and he swiftly pulled the zipper up tight, the dress pushing up my small breasts and curving around my waist. I then swiftly dropped my pants and turned to look at him. His eyes swept over me.

"God, you're so sexy." He said. I giggled a little pushing him playfully. He smirked at me and then he got ready. Damon didn't really dress up. He wore his usual black attire, his black button up having the first couple buttons opened. I bit my bottom lip thinking of how he looked shirtless.

Once the both of us were dressed we headed out the door. I could feel my stomach churning the closer we got to the school. At some point, Damon reached over the center console and took my hand. His thumb began rubbing at my skin as a way to calm me. He never looked at me, but he didn't need to speak. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my anxious nerves.

The dance was already in full swing when we got there. Damon opened my door like a gentlemen and placed his hand on the small of my back. Elena was huddling close to Stefan and out of instinct, my eyes searched the area. No one I saw resembled the guy in the picture and honestly it was starting to make me wonder if the guy in the drawing was really Klaus. Maybe it was someone else, or it was Isobel trying to mess with me. I couldn't ask her because she had to go and set herself on fire.

We entered the gym, the place looking very much like a cheesy 60's movie. Damon was still at my side, and we were behind Elena and Stefan. On the other side of Elena stood Jace who was keeping an ever vigilant eye. He had a backpack on, one that blended in with his jacket that was full of different kinds of weapons just in case. I moved my hand down slightly to make sure the strap that held my stake in it was secure around my thigh.

"Thanks for being here, everybody." Dana said into the microphone. We were weaving our way to the front of the crowd. "We have a special shout-out tonight."

We then stopped, all of us searching the place. No one stuck out to me and it was starting to really mess with my psyche. Where was this guy? He was hiding very well for a stranger. Usually people who were new to town were easily spotted, but I didn't see anyone I didn't recognize at all. Maybe he wasn't showing up after all and this was just a scare tactic.

"This is for Elena." Dana said. "From Klaus."

Just like at lunch, my heart sunk. He was here. He was definitely here. I moved from my place with Damon closer to Elena. I narrowed my eyes as I swept the place again, this time more carefully so as to pick up on a unfamiliar face.

"That was a lame, cheap shot." Damon said. "He's just trying to bait us."

"Well it's working." I said continuing my search. "I don't see anyone that looks like the guy in the picture."

"I know everyone here." Elena commented, holding on to Stefan for dear life.

"Maybe he's not here." Stefan suggested. "Just wants us to believe that he is."

"He's here." I mumbled. Klaus wouldn't put on this big show and not show up, especially with all of us in one place. He was most definitely here.

"It's a party, people. Blend." Damon said, grabbing my arm. "Let him come to us."

The couples dispersed and I felt a feeling of dread sinking in the further Elena got from me. I knew Stefan could protect her much better than I could, but I still didn't want to go too far. Damon's hand curled around my waist.

"Relax." He cooed in my ear. But I didn't relax. "There's Rick. Come on."

Damon then led me over to my history teacher, my eyes still looking through the crowd. If this guy in the picture was Klaus, then he wasn't here. But this could very well be someone else. We couldn't be sure.

"Special dedication, huh?" Alaric asked when we reached him. "This guy's a little twisted."

"I'm not impressed." Damon replied, very self-assured. I peeked at Alaric out of the corner of my eye, noticing him watching me very carefully. I shivered under his gaze. "Here."

Damon handed Alaric the picture that Isobel gave me. Alaric's eyes scanned the photo, and I saw a small flash of familiarity in his eyes. He recovered quickly though, looking back up to us with furrowed brows.

"We think this might be our guy." Damon said. "Tell me if you see him."

"I will." Alaric said. Damon then turned to me.

"Stay here ok?" He said. "I'm going to get a closer look at our party goers."

"Why do I have to stay here?" I said, sounding a bit whiney. Damon smiled a little.

"I want to know where you are at all times." He replied. He then looked to Alaric. "Watch her."

Alaric nodded and then Damon walked away, looking over at the dancers. I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. Even after all of my training, and even when I was armed and dangerous, Damon still couldn't let me take care of myself. I honestly couldn't blame him though, because if the roles were reversed I assumed I would do the same thing.

"You seem tense." Alaric commented. I shrugged. "You think this guy is here?"

"Most definitely." I replied. "He wouldn't make such a show if he wasn't."

"How do you figure?" He asked. I licked my lips before I turned slightly to him. Again, something about Alaric seemed off. I wasn't sure what it was or how to place it, but something was off.

"He has us all here, ready to fight. He's probably hoping that we will let our guard down." I explained. "Then he will strike and we are screwed."

"Very intelligent of you." He said with a smile. "It's always good to be on your guard."

I nodded. The two of us fell silent again and I looked into the crowd again. It was then I noticed that Elena was no longer with Stefan. No, she was dancing with Damon. I didn't really mind it, except for the fact that he was spinning her into him very close and both were smiling very big. To someone who didn't know the situation, they would think that Damon and Elena were a couple. I felt my stomach churn.

"Here is your picture." Alaric said, catching my attention. I turned seeing him holding out the photo. I took it gingerly in my hands before looking it over again. I swallowed hard and put it down. "She looks very much like you."

"Yeah." I replied. "Kind of creepy."

"A little." He said with a chuckle. "How much do you know about it?"

"Not a lot." I admitted. "I know that I'm a guardian, and that I'm somehow connected to Klaus. I also know that I'm supposed to die saving Elena… I just hope that isn't tonight."

"It won't be." Alaric said quickly. I looked over at him confused. "Damon would never allow it."

I nodded once. I was starting to feel a little uneasy standing next to Alaric. He was acting different, these mannerisms were not of my history teachers. His speech was even different, much more refined. Something wasn't right… I just didn't know what.

Damon eventually came to get me, pulling me out to the dance floor when a slow song came up. I placed my hands around his neck and his own went around my waist, pulling me close to him. The time was going by quickly, and I was starting to wonder when Klaus would make a move, if he did at all.

"You alright?" Damon asked, looking down at me. I met his gaze and the concern in his expression broke my heart. I didn't want him to worry about me, I hated him worrying about me.

"I'm fine." I replied. He gave me a disbelieving look. "It's nothing… just…"

"Just what?" He asked when I trailed off. I shrugged. "Tell me."

"It's just… Does Alaric seem weird to you?" I asked. "Like, does he seem… different?"

"He's not any weirder than usual." Damon commented, eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

"I'm just being paranoid." I replied. "This whole thing has got me all shaken up."

"I know." Damon said, pulling me in closer. I leaned my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat drum against his rib cage. I closed my eyes and tried to just listen to its sound, focusing on the calm it gave me.

It wasn't long before I had to stop and Damon started dancing with Bonnie. I went to the snack table, grabbing a drink. Damon was a very good dancer, and honestly it embarrassed me at how clumsy I looked next to him. I sipped on the cup of punch, watching the dancers when I heard someone call my name. I looked up to see a frantic Alaric approaching.

"Alex." He said. I put my cup down. "It's bad."

"What happened?" I asked eyes wide. "Did he get Elena?"

"No." Alaric said. "He got Jace."

I swallowed hard, and felt my stomach lurch. I grabbed Alaric's arm and gave him a frantic look.

"Where is he?" I asked. Alaric gestured for me to follow him and I did. I could feel the same sense of uneasiness as before, but it was clouded by my worry for Jace. Where was he? What had Klaus done to him? Why did Alaric come to me before he went to Damon?

I followed him down a couple empty halls before he stopped in front of a janitor's closet. He opened the door and inside I saw Jace tied to a chair. I leapt forward and assessed him. He had blood pooling from his temple, an obvious blow to the head. His eyes were droopy as if he had just woken up. A piece of duct tape covered his mouth.

"Jace… hey buddy…" I said lifting up his head gingerly. "Hey, wake up."

I took the tape off of his mouth slowly, so as to not hurt him. I heard him mumble something, but he was so quiet I couldn't hear.

"What?" I asked. He said it again. "Jace, I can't hear you."

"Klaus." Jace said, this time louder so I could hear it. His green eyes then moved up slowly over my shoulder. "Klaus."

"What are you…." I trailed off. I turned slowly, but behind me still stood Alaric. However, this didn't look like Alaric to me. "Alaric…"

"Wrong." He said with a grin. I then put the two pieces together and a feeling of dread came over me. The uneasy feeling I had, it was because Klaus had been here the whole time. He had been at the school, he had been in the house, and now he was here.

"Klaus…" I said, my breathing starting to become uneven. "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry." Klaus/Alaric said. "Elena is not on my kill list tonight."

"Who is?" I asked, fearing then for my own life. My hand flickered down to where the stake was strapped to my leg. I had to be careful, because if I startled him he could attack.

"It's not you either, love." He replied. "That's why I am keeping you here."

He then closed the door and I heard the sound of the lock. I could still see his sickening smile through the small window.

"Wouldn't want you getting hurt now would we?" He said. I launched myself to the door and tried to open it, but it was no use. I then started beating on the door, wildly screaming. "We will be seeing each other soon my dear."

"Let me out!" I screamed at him, but all I received was a chuckle and then he was gone. I continued to beat on the door, screaming at the top of my lungs for about five minutes before I heard a moan behind me. I turned and went back to freeing Jace. "What happened?"

"He said that Klaus got you." Jace explained. "Then the asshole hit me and tied me up."

"We have to get out of here." I said once the ropes around Jace's hands were untied. "He's going after Elena."

Both Jace and I started banging on the door and screaming as loud as we could. I even got a shovel from the back and started hitting things to make more noise. I don't know how long we did this before I saw Elena in the hallway.

"Elena!" I shrieked. She was with Stefan and he was the first to turn. He ran for us practically ripping the doors off it's hinges.

"What are you two doing in there?" Elena asked me, eyes frantic and scared.

"Klaus is in Alaric's body." I said.

"Yeah, we know." Stefan said. "Come on we have to find Bonnie."

"What's wrong?" I asked as we followed Stefan and Elena down the hall, toward the cafeteria.

"If Bonnie fights Klaus, using all that magic will kill her." Elena explained. I didn't ask any more questions and followed them. We made it to the cafeteria, a fight between Bonnie and Klaus already ensuing.

When Bonnie saw us, she quickly shut the doors so we couldn't enter. Stefan tried to open it, but even he couldn't get in. The four of us banged on the doors, trying to open it as Bonnie used all of the magic from the 100 witches to fight off Klaus. I heard her start to scream, and I could hear the pain in her voice. I felt my heart start to break.

Suddenly, Bonnie looked over her shoulder at us a smile on her face. Then in a big burst of light and magic, she fell to the floor. The doors opened and we rushed in. Elena threw herself to the floor, taking Bonnie into her arms.

"No! Oh! Bonnie!" Elena yelled, holding her best friend in her arms. "Bonnie, Bonnie! Bonnie! Hey, hey."

I could feel the tears prick my eyes as I looked at Bonnie's lifeless body. Klaus was gone, he was nowhere in sight. Whatever Bonnie did, she made him go away at least for now. But at the cost of her life.

"Stefan, she's not breathing!" Elena yelled. "Stefan! Stefan, I can't find her pulse! Stefan! Do something, please! Stefan, please! Just give her blood, do something, please!"

I could feel myself breaking down, the tears falling from my eyes. I felt hands grab for me and I leaned into the body of who took me.

Not Bonnie… this couldn't happen to Bonnie.

"It's too late." Stefan said. "I'm sorry."

I let out a sob as Elena started to frantically cry and scream. Jace held on to me, running his fingers through my hair. Bonnie… I continued to say her name in my head, not able to form any words. I willed her to wake up, have the life return to her and her be ok. But nothing happened.

"Stefan, get Elena out of here." Damon said from behind us. I quickly turned around to look at him. "I'll deal with the body."

"What do you mean, deal with it?" Elena cried. Stefan picked her up while Damon made his way over to Bonnie's lifeless body. "This is Bonnie!"

"Get her home. Now." Damon said to his brother. "So I can clean this up."

Stefan dragged Elena out of the cafeteria while she cried and shrieked. I watched Damon as he carefully closed Bonnie's eyes. Jace released his hold on me and I stood behind Damon. He looked up to me, giving me a sorrowful look.

"What happened?" I asked hoarsely. Damon stood up, putting his hands on my shoulders. He looked me deep in the eyes before speaking.

"She did what she had to do." He said. I narrowed my eyes, backing away from him.

"You knew…" I said. "You knew that she was going to die."

"She did what she had to do." Damon repeated. I felt more tears prick at my eyes and fall onto my cheeks. He reached forward but I smacked his hands away.

"Don't touch me." I ordered. "How could you do this?"

"Alex-"

"She was my friend!" I yelled, the tears now pouring from my eyes. "She was Elena's best friend. How could you let her do this?"

"You don't understand-"

"I want to go home." I said, glaring at Damon. "Jace… take me home."

Jace didn't say anything as he drove me home in his truck. I could see him cautiously sneaking peeks to me, but he didn't say anything. I was thankful, because I didn't want to talk. I was afraid if I started to, I would break down again.


Bonnie was dead.

I could deal with the other victims who had died because of us, but not Bonnie. Especially when she knew what would happen, and she did it anyway. I couldn't believe Damon hadn't tried to stop her, but Damon continued to surprise me all the time. Damon wanted what he wanted, and het usually got it. He wanted Elena safe, and if that meant Bonnie had to die, he let her do it.

"Here we are." He said, pulling up in front of my house. The lights were on, that meant mom was home. I wiped at my eyes, taking a deep breath. I would have to come up with some story to appease her when she asked me what was wrong. Another lie.

"Thanks." I mumbled, grabbing the handle and pushing it open. Jace reached out for my arm, but he pulled it back, and I was grateful. I didn't want to hear that everything was going to be ok. Everything was not ok.

I slammed the door and trekked up to my house, not bothering to turn and wave goodbye to Jace. I heard his loud engine disappear into the distance and I sighed. I then pushed the door open where mom sat in her usual place on the couch.

"Hey baby- What happened?" She asked when she got a good look at me. She jolted up from her seat and I sighed again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I said. "Just… a fight with Damon."

It wasn't necessarily a lie, it was just a half truth.

"He stopped by earlier." She said, catching my attention. "Told me to tell you that he was sorry, and to give you this."

She handed me a note, my name written in his fine print. I glared at it, debating on tearing the thing up. But Damon knew that I wouldn't want to hear anything he had to say, but I might read it.

"What did he do?" Mom asked me cautiously. I shrugged. "Come on… I feel like you don't tell me anything anymore."

I looked up at her, my mouth open to protest, but she wasn't wrong. We had gradually been torn apart by me constantly being out with my friends, or at work, or getting kidnapped. And I couldn't tell her that it wasn't anything personal, I was trying to keep her safe.

"He just…" I began, trying to find the right words. "Did something he knew would make me mad."

"Oh." Mom said, not prying by asking what that thing was. "Well, that's men for you."

"Yeah." I mumbled. "Listen, I'm going to go to bed. See you tomorrow."

"Night baby." She said sullenly. I turned around, not having the heart to see her sad expression anymore. Everything was going wrong, and everyone was getting hurt. I didn't think I could handle this anymore.

I went to my room, shutting the door behind me before I plopped down on my bed. I had Damon's letter in my hand and I thought maybe I should just read it later. But the answers were in this envelope, and I couldn't stop myself from opening it.

Pretty Girl,

First off, I want to say that I am sorry that I hurt you. I never want to do that, and tonight I did exactly that. I apologize.

Second, I want to say that you didn't let me explain which kind of pissed me off. But I let it go because you were crying and everything. You know I hate to see you cry.

Bonnie is fine.

She cast a spell to fake her death so Klaus would think she was dead. Now, we have the advantage. Bonnie is safe. Bonnie is alive. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but trust me she is ok.

Now, I want you to call me and tell me that you acted like a bitch and tell me you love me so I know that we are ok. If you don't… well I'm just going to come and kidnap you and make you love me again so you don't have much of a choice.

Forever yours,

Damon

I felt my heart leap as I read the letter over again. I then grabbed my phone and quickly dialed the desired number, it rining only two times.

"Ready to apologize?" Damon's voice rang through my ears. I felt tears pricking my eyes again.

"She's ok?" I asked. I heard Damon chuckle on the other end.

"She's fine." Damon replied. "I promise."

"I love you." I said. There was a long pause as I waited for him to say something.

"Good." Damon replied. I smiled to myself, letting tears of happiness fall instead of the sad ones I shed earlier.