A/N: Thank you to everyone who has favourited or chosen to follow this story; every update brings me a new message that someone has chosen to follow or favourite "Jagged Pieces." I'm glad you're not finding it too boring.

When I woke up the next morning, I found myself pacing in my room instead of getting ready for school. For the first time in my life, I found myself completely unsure of how to deal with or process what I was feeling.

I was extremely on edge. I could hardly sleep last night. I kept reliving the kill from last night and I felt like I wanted to do it again; like the one thing I wanted more than anything else in this world was to kill someone. But above all, I wanted to kill an innocent person. The first person I would see when I left the house, I wanted to kill. He or she wouldn't even know what was happening and would be dead within a second. And as much as I wanted to, I could not stop thinking about this. Or playing out this… this fantasy… in my head. I'd been having thoughts like this since I drank from that guy in Klaus's dining room. Thank goodness Aunt Liz was working the night shift last night.

I raked my fingers through my hair as I continued to pace.

I don't want to feel like this, with this urge to kill. I know it's so negligent and monstrous of me to even consider — for a moment, even just in my head — deviating from the controlled and civilized way I have chosen to live my life. My undead existence. I just want to be me again. I don't think there has been a moment, not since I turned, where I was just me. Now I'm just a paranoid vampire, always afraid someone will find out what I am and 'out' me. And then try to kill me.

But there's one part that scares me most of all: as each moment passes with me as a vampire, I forget a little more about the human life I had never appreciated until it was gone.

C came to check on me when she noticed I wasn't leaving my room. I was still pacing, feeling overwhelmed.

"Ri, you're going to be late."

"I'm not going to school today, C."

"You? Skipping? Really?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I need to!" I snapped at her. She looked shocked but didn't respond. I stopped pacing and spoke softly to her. "I'm sorry. I'm just on edge today and I don't think it would be good to go into a building with a few hundred humans." Yesterday was bad; I shouldn't have gone to school — I barely made it through the day.

She understood. "You okay, Ri?"

"Yea, I just need a day off to refocus and cool down. I'll be fine tomorrow." I forced a smile.

"Do you need help 'refocusing'? I could spend the day with you."

"Thanks, C, but no. I'm sure you have things to do. I'll be okay on my own."

I was surprised when she pulled me in for a hug, but I think I actually needed it.

"Just know what you are not alone anymore, Ri," she whispered to me.

I nodded, trying not to let the tears in my eyes fall. "Thanks." We pulled apart and I forced a smile. "I think I just need a day of fresh air."

After C left for school, I sat in the kitchen slowly sipping a blood bag. I called Aunt Liz at the police station to find out when she was coming home; not until this afternoon. Good. That gave all morning to figure out how to calm myself down. Or to get away before I actually hurt someone.

I went back to my room, deciding that a long, hot shower would help clear my thoughts a little. I grabbed some clothes to change into, after my shower, only to turn around and find Klaus standing by my bedroom window. I couldn't even look at him, but I heard him walk over to stand directly in front of me.

"Just let me explain, love."

"No." I gritted my teeth. "Leave. Now."

I stepped around him and walked towards my bedroom door. I held onto it, indicating that he should leave. I waited for him to walk past me and through the door; I still couldn't look him. He put his hand on my arm, trying to get me to look at him. I closed my eyes, squeezing them shut to prevent the newly-arrived tears from falling. When I opened my eyes again, I saw his worried expression. His eyes had tears of their own.

"Please." My voice cracked, revealing the vulnerability I was trying to hide. "Just leave."

Klaus's eyes widened, but he gave a slight nod and slowly passed through the doorway and into the hall. I shut the door with a hesitant click and slid down it until I was sitting on the floor. I pulled my knees up to my chest, leaned my back against the door, and tried to stop the tears that were now flowing down my cheeks.

I felt so much better after the shower. I was still on edge, but the hot water and steam did cut through some of my tension.

I had just finished drying my hair when I heard a knock at the front door. I was so focused on thinking "Please, don't be Klaus. Please, don't be Klaus" that I was stunned to see Rebekah standing on the porch. Once I got over my shock of seeing the blonde Original, I tried to slam the door closed, but Rebekah shot out a hand, preventing the door from closing. "Wait. Can I talk to you?"

"No," I snapped, slamming the door purposely against her hand. Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"Riley, please," she said, placing her other hand on her hip. "I just want a few minutes."

I sighed heavily. "What do you want?"

"You weren't at school this morning, and I know how much you hate to miss it. Something is obviously wrong. I just want to talk," she explained.

"About Klaus?"

"Yes."

"Then no."

Rebekah pressed her lips together. "That was horrible, what my brother did." When I didn't comment, Rebekah continued. "But deep down, his heart was in the right place."

"Are you actually going to defend what he did?" I asked, my eyes widening in disbelief. Rebekah shook her head.

"No. There's no way to justify what Nik did. I'm here to try and convince you to let him explain."

"I don't want to hear it."

"He was just scared, Riley." I crossed my arms and looked away from Rebekah.

She sighed and removed her hand from the door. "You can't push him away forever, you know. Believe me, I've tried."

I frowned. If there was one thing I had learned about Klaus, it was that didn't give up; Rebekah was right. She shot me a small smile. "Give it a thought, okay?"

Before I could reply, she turned around and sped off. I leaned my head against the open door, closing my eyes with a sigh.

I waited only a few minutes after Rebekah left before I too left the house. With all the unexpected visitors, I hadn't found the time to really clear my head, so I knew I needed to be long gone from the house before Aunt Liz came home after her shift.

But once I left the house, I didn't know where to go. Even if I knew Aunt Liz would stay away all day, I couldn't stay in the house; I couldn't handle being in an enclosed space. Another downside: everyone knew exactly where I was when I stayed home. I walked outside and stood where the sidewalks intersected. I looked down the street and saw the woods. The woods. The woods would be a great place to hide until I calm down. It would provide fresh air but let me stay far away from humans.

Using supernatural speed, I ran into the woods. I ran and ran until I was far enough in the woods that I could no longer sense any humans around. I wanted the isolation, but I also wanted to remove as much of the temptation as possible. But when I was alone and isolated, I realized how overwhelmed I really was. My feelings went from furious beyond reason to guilt and shame that weighed down on me. From the logical part of my brain, I saw myself begin to panic. My feelings came in confusing tidal waves and I wondered what was happening. I felt like I couldn't breathe, like something was suffocating me. My breath came out in short, sharp gasps and I began to tremble.

My mind was racing with all these thoughts and doubts. I was oscillating between bloodlust and shaky control. Or rather, I was fighting strongly against the bloodlust. I felt like my brain would explode from the constant switching. I grabbed my head and I fell to my knees, suddenly nauseous and dizzy. Tears came to my eyes. Was I going to pass out?

Too much. It was too much. I couldn't handle this. I felt all alone, like I was covered in a blanket of darkness. Tears streamed down my face and I sat on the forest floor and brought my knees up against my chest. I put my arms around my legs, hugging them to me. I felt more alone than ever before. And lost. How had I strayed so far from the control I had established? And so quickly.

I was crying and I felt so cold. "No." My head was spinning. "Make it stop…" I moaned, feeling like I couldn't take this one moment longer.

And then it did stop; I felt a warmth come over me. It took me a few moments to realize that two strong arms were wrapped around me. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a black shirt. I didn't have to look up; I just knew who it was.

I felt his calm, steady breath against my hair and instead of squirming away from his touch, I actually leaned into it, embracing it. I gave in. I leaned against his chest and held onto his arm as if it was keeping me in place.

We just sat there — Klaus's arms around me, while I held onto his arm and rested against his chest as we sat in the middle of the forest — for a long time. I don't know how much time passed. But I did know that my head stopped spinning. And I didn't feel nauseous anymore. I felt… safe. I actually felt safe. Everything was quiet, peaceful; I couldn't hear my rambling thoughts anymore.

As I thought about it, though, my head started spinning again. "No, no…" I moaned again and held my head. Here we go again.

"Just breathe." He finally spoke. A whisper. And the sound sent a shiver down my back. He gently rubbed small circles on my back with his one hand while I tightened my grip around the one that rested against my waist.

"Breathe, Riley," he whispered and I had to smile. It was an odd time, but I noticed how he was possibly the only person who used my full name.

"I've never felt like this before. Not even when I first turned," I finally built up the courage to speak.

"You are weak, Riley," There it was again, my full name on his lips. "You are too young to start an idiotic diet like Stefan Salvatore."

"But I drink blood bags; it's not like I'm abstaining from human blood completely."

"Yes, but you're not feeding off something living, something with a pulse."

I gulped. "I don't know what that means." I wasn't expecting him to respond; I think I said it more to distract myself from the fact that I hadn't felt that much at peace as I did at this particular moment. Being held by Klaus.

But he spoke anyway. "Your body is still getting used to its new senses. Everything is overwhelming right now and the less you feed, the more vulnerable you are."

"I refuse to start drinking from humans."

I felt, more than heard, his soft chuckle. "It wouldn't hurt, every once in a while."

I gritted my teeth. "No."

He surprised me by resting his chin on the top of my head and whispered, "I know."

We were quiet for a few moments before he whispered again. "You are not a monster, Riley; you are simply a vampire." He calmed the biggest fear I had, my unspoken fear. "You are too good to be a monster. You are strong, but sometimes your control can slip. You just have to breathe until the bloodlust passes."

"Breathe…"

"Close your eyes, Riley, and focus on my breathing. Ignore everything else, all the sounds, the thoughts, everything. Just focus only on my breathing, sweetheart."

And as soon as I did, the bloodlust disappeared. My head stopped spinning. Everything disappeared.

I felt in control again.

"What are you even doing here?" I asked. We had been sitting in silence for quite some time, me listening to his breathing.

"I was checking on you. To make sure you were all right."

I glared, even though he couldn't see my face. How is he able to answer a question and yet give me no information at all?

"No. How did you know where I was? How did you find me in the woods?"

"I came by your home to make sure you were okay," he moved his head to look at me, giving me a look. "Even if you did slam the door on me last night." I actually laughed at that, along with him. "It's my fault you're feeling so out of control. I've been keeping watch over you since the…" he trailed off.

"Incident?" I provided.

"Since the incident," he smiled. "When you didn't leave for school at your usual time, and when you didn't go with Caroline, I popped in. After you asked me to leave, I stuck around. To make sure you were feeling okay. I didn't like how we left things this morning. When you headed for the woods, I simply followed you."

I thought about that. "Why do you always say things that have been hovering between being flattered and creeped out?"

He gave no response, but simply smirked.