Alexandria Gilbert

by JChavz95

Vampires, witches, werewolves and doppelgangers, oh my! All Alexa Gilbert wanted was a quiet life, a free drink and to party the night away with her friends without being nagged by her twin sister Elena, but the arrival of the mysterious Salvatore brothers may just ruin those plans... Starts Season 1, Episode 1, Slowburn Damon/OC, Now on Season 4!

36. Crying Wolf

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: OMG this is the first properly new chapter in so long! Can't believe I have finally made it, so exciting :) Gonna warn you now though, this chapter gets a tiny bit dark, but not more than the show does. Enjoy!

XXX

I woke up in my bed, disappointingly sober. Despite my determination to not fall asleep, that was exactly what I ended up doing. Of course, I didn't end up falling asleep until about 5 in the morning but still. Even then, I still had nightmares. I had a feeling that no matter what I did, I would still have nightmares. I mean, I died, killed by a vampire, and was then brought back to life by a magic ring. That just ain't normal.

Even though I didn't have to get out of bed, I still dragged myself out of it. If I just continued lying there, then I would inevitably spend my entire time thinking about the incident from the other night. And I didn't want to think about the incident from the other night. So instead, I started to get myself ready for the historical society teaparty thing that was happening later this afternoon. I really didn't want to go but Aunt Jenna was making me. And it would keep my mind off of topics that were not to be thought about.

Instead of sleeping last night, I spent my time organising my wardrobe. I know, shock gasp horror. Alexa, organise her wardrobe? Impossible. But yes, that was what I did. The pile of clothes were all on hangers. Everything was organised into skirts, shorts, trousers, tops and dresses. I did also find a nearly full bottle of vodka which I had absolutely no idea was even in there. That quickly went into the box with all of the whiskeys. But yes, I, Alexandria Gilbert, now had an organised wardrobe. Let's just wait and see how long it stayed that way.

Once I had changed into a moderately suitable dress, I slowly made my way downstairs. I had a feeling that Ric had stayed over last night and it was always wise to be cautious when walking around the house when Ric stayed over. Let's just say that the chunky monkey incident was not the only awkward moment incident that has occurred.

"Hi Aunt Jenna," I greeted my auntie as I walked into the kitchen. "Hey Ric."

"Hi Alexa," Aunt Jenna smiled up at me from her place at the table. She was surrounded, and I mean surrounded, by text books. There were so many that I didn't even bother trying to count them. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Wasn't the best night's sleep that I've ever had," I answered as I marvelled at the massive understatement that I just made. "But it's nothing that a couple of mugs of coffee can't fix."

Speaking of coffee, I quickly made my way over to the coffee pot that I had privately dubbed as mine. Pouring some into a mug, I took a deep swig and sighed in relief as I felt the caffeine hit me. Oh god, that was just what I needed. Seriously, if I could get away with it, I would keep a coffee machine in my room for nights like last night. But unfortunately, I knew that I would never be allowed to do that.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jenna and Ric exchange glances.

"Alexa," Ric started cautiously. "Don't you think that maybe you should slow down on the coffee?"

I paused my-sip and considered that. That was a good point as I'm sure that drinking the amount of coffee that I do couldn't be good for me. But on the other hand, I wase substituting it for what I really wanted. Which Ric did know. But my aunt didn't. And, if I had anything to say about it, she never would. She's only just stopped doubting her capability of being our guardian, she didn't need a reason to start again.

"I don't really drink it anywhere else," I said, which was nearly the truth. If I was able to pinch some, I drank Damon's good coffee at the Boarding House. Although, I'm sure that Damon deliberately let me have some sometimes. Normally after a particularly rough night.

"Well, as long as you're sure," Aunt Jenna looked dubious but accepted what I was saying.

"I am," I put on my confident face. "Besides, Ellie always makes sure that I don't drink too much."

That appeared to reassure her. After giving me a warm smile, auntie went back to working on her theses. Shrugging, I poured myself another mug of coffee before going over and sitting next to her. I peered over the mess of books to look her notebook and the edge of her laptop screen.

"What have you got left to do?" I asked, leaning back and curing myself into a ball around the warm mug.

"I've just got to add more references, write a conclusion and do a final read through," she told me, ticking something off on her notebook.

"Wow, so not that much then," I sounded impressed.

While Elena and I had been involved in all of the vampire, werewolf and witch drama, our darling auntie had sat down and managed to write an entire thesis while also dealing with the supernatural bullshit. Without prompting. And while being a guardian to me, twinnie and Jeremy. Hell, the only reason why I was even passing the year was because Stefan and Ric refused to let me fail. What I had missed in class, they helped me catch up on.

We sat in a comfortable silence, me drinking coffee, Ric marking essays and Aunt Jenna working on her thesis. It was comfortable enough that I nearly dozed off once I had finished my coffee.

"Oh, Alexa?"

I jolted upright to see Aunt Jenna looking at me.

"Yeah?" I rubbed my eyes. Damn, almost fell asleep there. Couldn't do that. Especially not around auntie. Even if Elena had snitched on me and told Jenna about the second incident, Jenna didn't know how bad the nightmares actually were. Although, to be fair, no one actually knew how bad they were this time round.

"Don't forget that I want you to come with me to the Historical Society High Tea this afternoon," she said, collecting my coffee mug and standing up.

"No worries, I haven't forgotten," I shrugged before yawning and stretching. "Any particular reason as to why or do you just want to spend some time with your amazing niece?"

That made my aunt laugh and shake her head, "While I do always want to spend time with you, Alexa, I thought you might like to meet the writer the high tea is for."

"Oh?" I titled my head to the side, silently asking for more information. This was the first that I had heard about a writer in Mystic Falls. Then again, it's not like I've been in the best condition recently.

"He's writing a book about small town Virginia," she told me, ruffling my hair and causing me to pout.

"Ooh, that sounds interesting," I smiled and fixed my hair before noticing the unhappy look on Ric's face. Ok… why did I suddenly get the feeling that I didn't want to hear the rest of the conversation as I definitely wouldn't like. "What's his name?"

"Elijah," Aunt Jenna answered, completely oblivious to my silent horror. "Elijah Smith."

"Elijah?" I choked out. "Don't hear that name very often."

"No, but it suits him, he strikes me as an Elijah," auntie nodded. Well, she wasn't wrong, the name did suit him very well. If it was the Elijah that I was thinking of. Yes, I was perfectly content to live in the world of denial until there was undeniable proof.

"He was here a couple of nights ago," Aunt Jenna said, shutting down her laptop.

"He was?" I frowned, trying to remember when Elijah was in my house while also trying to hide my panic. "Where was I?"

"You were out with Tyler," Ric answered for her, giving me a meaningful look. "You also met his friend Jules."

Ah, so in other words, the night of the full moon. As that is the only time that I have ever met Jules. I nodded, "Well, that explains it. What was he doing here?"

"He was collecting your mom's files from the Historical Society," auntie answered before frowning. "Elena was home that night; didn't she tell you?"

"No, she must have forgotten," I bluffed, smiling at my aunt as she walked over to the sink.

I knew the exact reason as to why Ellie didn't tell me. That was the night that she made her stupid deal with Elijah. Which I had to hear about from someone else. But I had no idea where she had done her stupid deal, which I really should have thought about before now. After all, she had been magically sealed in the house that night so how was she meant to make a deal with an Original vampire. And she hadn't even bothered to tell Jenna that he was an Original vampire. The one who was ultimately responsible for us being abducted not that long ago.

The moment auntie's back was turned, I leant over the table and whispered, "Please tell me that she is talking about a different Elijah. That it's not who I think it is. Oh, tell me that an Original vampire has not been invited into my home."

I got a grim look in return, "I wish I could."

"So let me get this straight, Elijah the Original is pretending to be a writer and has gained access to our home. He's charmed my aunt and the Historical Society which is probably for some plot that we have no information about."

Alaric paused for thought before nodding, "That sounds about right."

Groaning, I let my head drop to the table, "Why did I bother getting up this morning?"

Oh yeah, that's right, because it was either nightmares or this. And somehow I would still rather deal with this than the nightmares of my death.

"Because it was either this or the nightmares," Ric said quietly, causing me to shoot upright.

"You know?" I asked as my aunt left the room, presumably to start getting ready for the high tea, whatever that is.

Ric gave me a look that made me feel stupid, "Of course I know, Alexa. You're not always as quiet as you want to be when you have a nightmare. And besides, I've died too."

Of course. I mean, it's not like I forgot that Ric had died and been brought back by the magic ring. But he was always so composed, even after he woke up. I just assumed that I was just reacting badly to the whole experience.

"How did you get rid of them?" I asked, perhaps a little too eagerly as I got a knowing look from the adult.

Ric opened his mouth to answer but paused when Aunt Jenna walked back into the room. I knew the he hated burdening her with all this stuff, especially when it came to the deaths. So while he did confide in her, he also tried to protect her too.

"Hey, we're just going out for a bit, we'll be back soon," Ric told auntie as he stood up. We? As in me too? Oh, ok then. I hastily stood up too and tried not to look like I had no idea as to what Ric was doing.

"Ok," Aunt Jenna smiled, giving her boyfriend a quick kiss on the lips. "Where are you off to?"

Ric glanced back at me before answering, "Alexa wants to go and see Damon, so I offered to take her."

I gaped in outrage. How dare he use that as an excuse to leave. I don't even want to go and see Damon… ok, that's a lie. But still, that doesn't mean that he's allowed to use it as an excuse to leave.

"Ok, I'll see you later," auntie smiled, giving me a hug before we left. And she accepted it. Was I really that transparent in wanting to see him? Were my feelings for him really that obvious? Well, apparently so.

So, in an act of petty revenge, I gave Ric a look and prepared to throw my sister under the bus, "Is Elena around yet or is she still at Caroline's?"

Jenna exchanged a look with Ric before replying, "She hasn't come home yet, why?"

I shrugged innocently, "Oh, only because I thought that you would want to talk to her about the fact that Elijah is an Original vampire. Cos, y'know, she never told you." At the furious look that formed on my aunt's face, I smiled sharply and turned on my heel to leave, throwing a "Laterz" over my shoulder.

Behind me, I could hear Jenna asking Ric what I meant and his sighed out answer. A part of me felt slightly guilty for throwing my sister under the bus. But I couldn't bring myself to regret it. For one thing, my aunt deserved to know that an Original vampire was now able to enter the house as he pleased. And for another thing, she might be able to get through my sister's thick skull that making deals with Original vampires was a very bad thing to do.

I lurked outside, by Ric's car, until he emerged from the house, tiredly rubbing his face. Okay, I did feel guilty for making him deal with that. But I wasn't exactly thinking straight there. And I did kind of hope that most of Jenna's anger would be directed at my idiot sister.

As Ric unlocked the car, he gave me one of his more teachery looks, "Did you have to do that?"

I shrugged sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I just, I got emotional and wasn't thinking. Cos, like, it's not cool that she didn't know. Especially since Elijah seems to be hanging around town."

Ric sighed, "You know that Elena will be furious with you when she finds out?"

"Furious is better than resigned," I replied simply.

I heard Ric sigh again before he pulled away from the curb and started the journey towards the Salvatore Boarding House. I stared out the window, watching as the houses faded into trees. The leaves flapped gently in the wind as they cast shadows on the road.

The shadows in the trees reminded me of the night of the carnival. The night that I met Katherine and had my first taste of death. And it reminded me of Ric's very clever little distraction earlier.

"You know, you never did answer my question," I remarked as casually as I could, staring out of the window, making sure that I didn't sound too desperate for answers.

The man next to me looked reluctant to answer, "I… didn't. Not exactly. I made sure to focus on something else and not think about what happened."

Well… that was exactly what I didn't want to hear. I was a champion at avoiding things but that was not working for me this time round. Even when I tried to pretend that my deaths never happened, something always inevitably reminded me. And apparently Ric could tell that from the look on my face.

"Sorry, I know it's not what you wanted to hear."

"No, it's ok," I shook my head and forced a smile. "I shouldn't have expected anything different. Besides, it's a good thing that I've got a convenient distraction in the form of a suicidal twin, eh?"

Ric winced as he pulled up outside the Boarding House, "Alexa…"

"Nah, it's cool, I either joke or cry," I hopped out of the car, almost trying to get away from the obvious concern in his voice. "And I've cried enough recently."

I near enough jogged to the front door and knocked on it. Well, more like banged on it. I could faintly hear Ric sigh behind me as he walked over. I think he wanted to comfort me in some way, but he knew that nothing he could say would change the fact that my twin seemed determined to die. Which I respected him for. As sometimes, hollow words of comfort just made things hurt even more.

As Damon opened the door, I placed a perky smile on my face, "I brought Ric to come see you."

"Well, that was nice of you," my Damon did that not quite a smile thing that he did in front of other people. It was weird that he only smiled properly in front of me. Hmmmm, I'll add that to the list of things to ponder when sleep was impossible.

"That's because I'm a lovely person," I smiled at him as I walked into the house. And, well, if I 'accidently' brushed up against him as I did so nobody would ever know.

"You may come inside," the vampire rolled his eyes, standing to the side to let Ric in.

"Thank you," I spun around so that I could look at the two men. I felt that familiar feeling of 'everything is going to be alright' settle into place as I focused on Damon. It was completely illogical as I knew that everything would not automatically be alright but at the same time, I loved it. I needed it. It made this horrible situation a little bit better. Of course, the fact that I was in love with him probably helped too.

"You're awfully perky this morning," Damon commented as he led us into the main room.

I shrugged, "Combination of a caffeine high and the determination not to break down before that high tea thing this afternoon. Cos hiding puffed up 'I just cried eyes' is a bitch."

"You're going to that?" he asked, walking over to the liquor table.

"Yup, Aunt Jenna is making me," I answered, Ric and I following him over. "She wants me to meet this new writer in town. Elijah Smith."

"Smith?" Damon snorted. "He's using Smith."

"Apparently so."

Hmmm, I wonder if he actually had a surname. You would think so. But then again, I didn't know how old he was, they might not have even had surnames then. Perhaps he's forgotten it. Or maybe he just didn't like it. God, Alexa, stop thinking about. You have more important things to think about.

Damon picked up a clothed bundle from the table, which unfortunately drew my attention to all of the alcohol that we were stood in front of. The inane thoughts about Elijah's real surname had managed to keep my mind off of it but now…

"So, John Gilbert gave me this to kill Elijah," my vampire's voice succeeded in drawing the majority of my attention towards him.

I watched as he unwrapped the clothe to reveal a silver dagger and a glass jar of… was that ash? What the hell? He draped the clothe over the top of the bottle scotch before placing the jar of ash next to it. I had to psychically restrain myself from reaching over. God Alexa, focus. I wrenched my thoughts away from the table in front of me to focus on what Damon was saying.

"He said that you have to dip the dagger in the remains of an old white ash tree that dates back to the Originals," he continued. "If there's any truth in that."

What a weird way of killing someone. Even an Original Vampire. I mean, what if you didn't have the ash, would the dagger still work? How did Uncle John even get a hold of this? Did I even want to know? Alexa, stop asking questions.

I think Damon must have noticed that I was having trouble focussing as he wrapped an arm around my waist and moved me away from the table of delicious alcohol. Which was good, as I no longer focussing on the alcohol. Unfortunately, Damon was just as distracting. But it was a better distraction, for me, anyway.

"So you think it's a setup?" Ric asked, following us over to the sofas.

You know, it's amazing how involved I can get in just being around Damon that I just block out everything else around me. It's not always so bad. But sometimes, when I just want to forget everything bad that is going on, I centre myself in him, with the consequence of ignoring my surroundings.

Damon passed him the dagger before settling down on the sofa. I nestled in beside him and rested my head against his chest. It felt almost natural to do that and, to be perfectly honest, it scared me a little bit. Because if others could see how I felt about him, did that mean that Damon could to? I didn't want that. Even if I couldn't be in a relationship with him, I didn't want to lose his friendship. He's been my rock recently and I would like to think that I've been supporting him too.

"It could be," Damon answered, not bothering to hide his dislike of my birth father. "Guy's a weasel. Wouldn't put anything past him."

Neither would I. I mean, I loved my uncle, he was family, but he hated vampires. He hated the Salvatore's. So why would he try and help to kill Elijah? It could be to help Elena, but then again, it might not be. Ugh, why did everything have to be so uncertain? It sucked. Pun not intended.

"So, what are you up to today, Mr Saltzman?" my Damon asked as his fingers lightly stroked my side. God, I loved how that felt. I could tell that Ric wanted to say something about the position that we were in, but I think that he could see that I was actually content for once. And he didn't want to ruin that.

"Well, Jenna and I were supposed to go to the lake house," he answered instead. "But then we got roped into helping out with the Historical Society high tea at the Lockwood's."

Which was why Ellie and Stefan were going instead. While she tried to pretend otherwise, I knew that she just wanted to get away from Uncle John. Besides, she needs some time away from the insanity that was Mystic Falls. Maybe while they were up there, Stefan could talk her out of her suicidal mindset. Since apparently I couldn't.

"Where's Elijah's the guest of honour," the vampire commented thoughtfully, getting that look on his face. It was the same look that meant that he was planning something. And that something normally ended with someone being dead. Apparently Ric recognised the look too.

"Tell me you're not gonna kill him at the tea party," he groaned, giving Damon one of his stern looks. Not that it actually worked on the vampire but I think that Ric hoped that one day it would. Well, Ric, I wish you the best of luck. But you know what they say about living in hope…

"No," Damon scoffed, looking at Ric as though he was an idiot. "That would be stupid."

Alaric merely gave him a sceptical look in return. It was almost as though that Damon sometimes forgot just how well we knew him.

"I just want to know his endgame before I kill him," my vampire smirked at Ric. "But I do think that it's time that Elijah and I officially met."

Hmm, yeah, I suppose that is a fair point. Because while they had crossed paths, they had never officially had a proper conversation with one another. It was just someone dying and then the other leaving. Even I've had more interaction with him. Although that was mostly threatening and compelling. So I wouldn't call that meeting a proper one, last night, on the other hand…

"I properly met him last night," I muttered, distracted by fingers tracing patterns on my side. It wasn't until the fingers froze and the body underneath me tensed that I realised what I had revealed.

"You did what?" Damon asked, his voice horribly flat. I could feel the stares of both the men in the room and inwardly cringed. Damnit Alexa, you should not have said that. Like really, really should not have said that.

"Yeah, I went out for a walk last night and he escorted me home," I told them, keeping my gaze fixed on the coffee table. I didn't tell them about my little breakdown or my fight with Tyler. They didn't need to know about. Nope, that was between me and Tyler. And it would remain between me and Tyler.

"And when were you going to tell me this?" the vampire asked, tapping his finger against my hip.

"I was gonna tell you, I promise," I protested earnestly. "I just… forgot…"

"You forgot?" Ric raised an eyebrow, sounding judgemental.

"I've had a lot on my mind recently," I crossed my arms and pouted.

"Ok, ok, we can accept that," Damon slipped his arms between mine and entwined his fingers with mine. "What did he want?"

I thought back to the conversation, "Not much, promised to do everything in his power to keep Elena alive and… oh, he told me that she had made keeping me safe one of the conditions of her deal. Like, if anything happened, then it would be a major dealbreaker. Not that he said that, but it was very much implied."

"Of course she would," Damon snorted, rolling his eyes.

"That's what I said."

Typical Elena. Typical protect the twin mentality. Not that I wouldn't do the same, but that's not the point. She was the one putting her life in danger, I wasn't. Ergo, she was the one being an idiot.

Ric placing the dagger on the coffee table caught my attention. I wonder… would killing Elijah with the dagger get Katherine out of the tomb, thereby fulfilling one of the terms of our deal. Well, only one way to find out….

XXX

I cautiously made my way down the stairs leading to the tomb. I didn't know why I was being so careful, it's not like Katherine could race out and kill me. But still, I had learnt to be careful when it came to my sister's doppelganger.

I had managed to give Ric and Damon the slip by telling them that I was going to go home and get ready for the tea party. They had seemed reluctant to let me go by myself but I had insisted that they carry on with their plotting. Well, that Damon carried on plotting and that Ric kept him in check.

The long walk here gave me plenty of opportunities to turn back. In fact, I almost managed to talk myself out of going several times. But I didn't. Because the fact of the matter was that I had made a deal and I was going to complete my end of it. Even if it killed me. Which it probably would. Damnit Alexa.

Oh thank god, they didn't put the rock back in front of the entrance. I hadn't thought of that. Would have been a bit screwed if they had put the rock back. Unless I got Katherine to push it out of the way… nah, she would probably try and squish me with it. The bitch.

Speaking of the vampire responsible for my first death, there was no sign of her. She knew that I was there, of that I was certain. Because there was no way that she wouldn't be able to hear my heartbeat and I wasn't exactly quiet. I was only human, after all.

"Katherine?" I called out, peering into the tomb. A part of me, the part that wanted to turn back, wanted her to not show up. But of course, she wouldn't be Katherine Pierce if she didn't try and make my life hell.

"Well, well, well, finally decided to come back, have you?" Katherine sneered, walking out of one of the chambers.

Hey, now that's just uncalled for. It's not like I've been deliberately avoiding her… Ok, I kind of have, in between getting killed, stopping Ellie from getting herself killed and getting over being killed. But what was the point of coming down here if I didn't have anything useful to offer? Exactly, there was no point.

"I've been busy recently," I frowned, twirling my ring around my finger. "I haven't really had the time to come down here. But don't worry, I'll complete my part of the deal."

"Oh? And what have you been up to?" the vampire crossed her arms and leant against the wall.

"Well, dying, for one thing," I answered without thinking. When I saw her perk up with interest, I quickly carried on talking, "And I've been brainstorming ways to get you out of here. Breaking a vampire's compulsion, an Original vampire's compulsion, isn't exactly something that I've had much practice with. I mean, breaking the spell was within my power to get done, but this bullshit? Nah, not something I know much about."

I could tell that Katerina wanted to push me on the whole me dying again topic, but amazingly, she resisted. I'm not sure why but, god, was I thankful.

"So have you found a way to get me out of here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Well, that was the magic question. While I had an idea, I had absolutely no clue as to whether or not it would work. In fact, I had only just come up with it so I haven't even had time to properly think about it. But hey ho, might as well suggest it.

"I think so," I answered cautiously, sticking my hand in the bag that I had brought with me. "Of course, I can't be completely sure but it's a start. Oh, and I've brought you a gift."

It was the bag that Ellie had brought on our previous visit to Katherine, when she decided that sacrificing herself was a good idea. Fortunately, she had left it at the Boarding House, supplies still inside. All it took was placing it near the door so I could grab it when making a quick exit.

The vampire's eyes lit up when I pulled out a blood bag. She really did look as though she needed it. I doubt that anyone had bothered to make sure that she had enough blood while she was trapped in here. If it wasn't for the fact that I wanted a proper answer, I probably wouldn't have either. After all, her last decent meal most likely came from my brother's neck. Which I still hadn't forgiven. And I probably never would.

I passed over the bloodbag and watched as Katherine immediately opened it. It took barely a sip before I started to see the change and she looked healthier. There was nothing that she could do about the dirt but at least she was looked a bit more like her bitchy self.

"Why would you give me this?" she asked suspiciously. Well, I suppose she had a right to be suspicious. I mean, it wasn't exactly a secret that I hated her. And I had threatened to kill her several times. And helped others try to kill her.

"As an incentive to be truthful," I shrugged, placing the bag on the floor. "Besides, I can't get answers from you if you're desiccating."

"And you trust me to be truthful?" the vampire asked, giving me a smirk.

"If you wanna get out of that tomb then you will be," I shrugged nonchalantly. It was amazing how carefree I could be about the vampire in front of me when I knew that she couldn't hurt me. With Katherine stuck in the tomb, she couldn't kill me again. And that was always my biggest fear when I was confronted by her. But right now I was safe. And that safety gave me a confidence that I hadn't felt in a while.

Katherine paused to consider that before nodding, "So what is this idea that you have?"

I let out a deep breath in preparation. I had no idea if what I was about to suggest would work but it was the first idea that I had thought of.

"Well, Elijah compelled you to stay in here, right? But because he is an Original, he's, like, impossible to kill. I mean, we got lucky once but that won't happen again, nuh uh no way. However, if one was to stab a silver dagger coated in white oak ash through his heart…"

I trailed off as Katherine shot upright, dropping the empty bloodbag to the floor. Wow, that was a positive reaction.

"I take it that's a good idea then?" I asked, mentally patting myself on the back.

"If you kill him with that dagger then his compulsion ends," Katherine clarified. "And I can get out of this disgusting hole."

"And that's one part of our bargain done," I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Right, ok, I'll get right on that."

First I needed to get the dagger and ash from Damon. And that was not going to be easy. Damn, that definitely was not going to be easy. And that isn't even taking into account the fact that I actually had to stab an Original vampire through the heart. God, what had I let myself in for?

But wait, I was forgetting something. This was the vampire that had sworn to protect my idiot sister. I couldn't just kill him. But I had to get Katherine out of the vampire. God, what do I do? No, I know what I've gotta do. Ellie comes first. She always comes first. Sorry Katherine.

My indecision must have showed as Katerina immediately frowned, "What's the matter, little twin?"

I hesitated before answering. She couldn't know that I was thinking of not doing it. Not only would I be breaking our deal, I would be severely pissing her off. And that was something that I really didn't want to do.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong, nope, nothing at all," I blurted out, faking a smile. Obviously, Katherine wasn't convinced. Hell, I wouldn't have been convinced. Come on Alexa, you used to be better than that.

"You better not be thinking about not doing it," she said, a hint of threat in her voice.

I bit my lip before saying, "It's just that he's promised to protect Elena. How am I supposed to kill the best person in town to protect my twin? I can't."

When Katherine stepped forward, baring her fangs, I stumbled backwards. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. My mind immediately flashed back to that night when she killed me. To a couple of nights ago. Oh god. Alexa, get a grip. Break down later.

"Look, we'll call it plan B, ok?" I squeaked, grabbing the bag and quickly moving back towards the stairs. "Give me a couple of days to try and think of something else. I'll do it if I can't. I promise."

"Two days, Alexa," Katherine threatened, moving further back into the tomb. "That's all you get."

I nodded before bolting up the stairs. I wasn't sure how long I ran for before I couldn't take another step. Collapsing to the ground, I tried to take a deep breath. Oh god, I couldn't breathe. No. No. No. Breathe, Alexa, breathe. You need to breathe.

I could feel my chest tightening and I began to truly panic. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Damnit Alexa, breathe. Head between the knees, that's what they say, isn't it? Or am I thinking of something else? Oh god. Right, count. Count and breathe. You can do this.

Hold breathe.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

And out.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

And in.

I carried on until my breathing was back to normal. Jesus, I was exhausted. I was dirty, sweaty, exhausted and stuck in the woods. There was no way that I could get home other than walk. Yeah, I could call someone but… I didn't want to bother anyone. There were more important things for them to think about than me.

I sat there for a while longer, enjoying the cool breeze against my clammy skin. It wasn't until I looked at my phone that I realised that I had to start moving now. After all, I had a stupid tea party to get ready for. And I wanted to get home before Ric. Not that I would now if he was at home yet or not. But I could hope.

XXX

Fortunately, I had managed to get home before dear Ric did. And I had managed to sneak inside without my darling aunt seeing me. Cause that would have been bad. If she had seen me then she would have immediately became suspicious. And there were no excuses that I could give that would appease her.

Taking a quick, hot shower, I tried to push away all thoughts of my encounter with Katherine. I knew that I couldn't get away with not thinking about the fact that putting that dagger in Elijah was the only way to get her out of the tomb. But I just needed to not think about it for now. I had to get through the tea party and then I could consider it. And just thinking about Katherine was enough to put me over the edge right now. That was something that I really didn't need.

Aunt Jenna had found this sweet little green dress for me to wear. Considering me attending this tea party was a bit short notice, she had managed to find something perfect for me. I only hoped that nothing happened to it… Great, now I've jinxed it. Godamnit Alexa.

Ric drove us to the Lockwood house which was, as always, the setting for the event of the week. Climbing out of the car, I looked up at the building and sighed. I knew that Ty wouldn't be home as he always tried to avoid these things unless forced to attend by his mother. Even though we had argued last night, I just couldn't help but want to see him. He was my brother. I loved him. And I hated it when we fought. Although he had every right to hate me after what I did. I just… I wanted to see him.

As I saw Aunt Jenna appear in the corner of my eye, I quickly swapped my morose look for a smile. It never ceased to amaze me how my fake smiles looked real. I mean, everyone one believed them to be real. Well, almost everyone. And while it was useful, I just… I sometimes wished that someone would call me out on it. Nah, they all had other things to worry about than little, unimportant me.

My auntie ushered me through the door while Ric followed at a slower pace. I glanced around the room, wondering if I really was the youngest person in the room. And I was. Much to my annoyance.

While my attention wandered, we were spotted by Mrs Lockwood and Mr Original Vampire himself. Which was just… wonderful. Really wonderful. Aunt Jenna tugged on my arm just before they reached us. Time to play nice, Alexa.

"Jenna," Mrs Lockwood greeted my aunt before turning to me. "Alexa, glad you could come."

"So am I, Mrs Lockwood," I smiled at her, seeing Ric give Elijah a suspicious look out of the corner of my eye.

"This is Elijah Smith, he's been using your mother's files to write his book," she introduced the man next to her. "Elijah, this is Alexandria Gilbert, from one of the town's founding families."

"Hello Elijah," I smiled politely and held out my hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Wow, I'm being introduced to someone who I've met several times and who I've seen kill people with his bare hands. Oh the wonderful life I lead in Mystic Falls.

"The pleasure's all mine," Elijah returned, taking my hand and kissing the knuckle.

Alright, alright, I just couldn't help the blush that formed on my cheeks. I wasn't at all attracted to him, nope my heart belonged to Damon and only to Damon. But there was something about Elijah that was easy to like. If we had met under different circumstances then I might have been willing to be friends with him… I dunno, everything was too complicated at the moment. Especially since I was actually considering killing him in order to free one of the vampires who killed me from a tomb. Wow, I don't think complicated was the word to describe it.

"I hope my mom's stuff has been useful," I said before the silence could become awkward.

"It has been," a flash of amusement crossed his eyes as he answered. "I'm very grateful to your family for allowing me to use them."

I could see why he was amused. I mean, we both knew that he was an Original vampire and that he definitely wasn't writing a book on small town Virginia. He only used the excuse of using my mom's files to get into the house. Which reminded me, I've gotta yell at Ellie when she gets back about that. I don't know if I'm madder about the fact that he was invited in or the fact that Elena knew and didn't tell me. Ah screw it, I'm madder about the fact that she didn't tell me. How could she not? That's pretty damn important information.

"Oh, it was nothing," Aunt Jenna smiled, obviously still enchanted with his manners and gentlemanly air even after finding out that he was a vampire. "They would probably still be in the cupboard if you hadn't of needed them."

Yeah, that was true. None of my siblings shared our mother's adoration for the Historical Society. We were willing to help out if she needed us to, but we weren't particularly interested in it. Especially since it mostly involved little tea parties like this and we were always too young to want to attend. Maybe if mom was still here, Ellie and I would have volunteered to do more. But I'll guess we'll never know now.

After a bit more casual chitchat, which I did not participate in, we drifted apart. Aunt Jenna and Mrs Lockwood went one way. I heard Mrs Lockwood ask something about my family's journals before they disappeared into the other room.

I retreated into the kitchen where I ran a cold glass of water. Even though all of the food around me looked delicious, I just couldn't face eating it. While I wasn't feeling nauseous, the thought of food just made me go nope. Holding the cold glass to my forehead, I willed myself to calm down. I knew exactly why I was on edge. Damnit, I knew that I shouldn't have seen Katherine before I came here. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. Served me right really, for thinking that I could confront her and be ok. Silly Alexa.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

A voice speaking behind me caused me to nearly drop my glass. Fortunately, I managed to not spill any on me. That would have been awkward. Turning, I saw Elijah standing behind me. From the curl of his lip, I could tell that he thought it amusing that he had startled me so much. I'm guessing that he had followed me in here. And I didn't even notice. Wow, good thing he had no intention of murdering me.

"Uh, I wasn't expecting to come either," I admitted, clutching the glass to my chest. "But Jenna wanted me to and I couldn't say no."

"Of course not," Elijah smiled tolerantly. "The adoration that you hold for your aunt is obvious."

I shrugged, "She's family."

"And family is important," he stated firmly. At my curious look, he added, "I would do anything for my family, Alexandria. Never forget that."

I smile briefly flashed across my face, "Guess that's something that we have in common."

Hell, I was willing to make a deal with Katherine Pierce, AKA a vampire who murdered me, in order to keep my twin alive. I would anything for those I loved. And I meant anything. Sometimes it scared me just how far I was willing to go to save them. But they deserved it.

I fidgeted uncomfortably in the silence that followed before blurting out, "Thank you."

At the Original's inquisitive look, I elaborated, "For saving my friends from the wolves. I can't put into words how much I appreciate it. I know you probably did it cause of the deal you made with Elena, but still. Thank you. And thank you for escorting me home last night. I know that it's something that's probably underneath someone as powerful as you, so I appreciate it."

Damnit Alexa, stop babbling. Breathe, idiot, breathe.

Elijah titled his head forward slightly, accepting my thanks, "You extend more gratitude for me saving your friends than you do for me helping you."

Ouch, that statement hit close to home.

Placing the glass into the sink, I cautiously edged past the vampire. I was hoping to make a quick exit but he followed me. Damn, probably should have expected that. Honestly Alexa.

I could feel his gaze against the side of my head, pressuring me to answer. Ok Alexa, think quickly. I shrugged uncomfortably, "No reason why. What you did for them was more than what you did for me. I mean, you saved them whereas you merely escorted me home. Doesn't really match."

Elijah didn't look satisfied, but he didn't push for me. The thought that he already knew me well enough to know that I wasn't sprouting the whole truth disturbed me slightly. I don't know how he knew.

Mrs Lockwood quickly whisked Elijah away from me. I tried not to look too pleased that I was no longer in the presence of the Original but judging by the look on Alaric's face, I did a poor job. He wandered over and we both watched Mrs Lockwood engage him in a conversation.

"What did he want?" Ric asked, placing hand on my shoulder and steering me in the direction of my aunt.

Uh… that's a good question. What did he want?

"He didn't really say," I answered, thinking back over the conversation.

"Hmm," the adult frowned, not looking happy at the answer.

"Couldn't have been something bad, though, right?" I asked, trying not to sound too anxious.

"Course not," he tried to reassure me. "He wouldn't have let Carol steer him away if it was."

"Alright," I nodded. I still wasn't completely convinced, but it was enough. Though at this time, I think paranoia was the way to go. After all, by always expecting something to happen, you are less likely to be snuck up on.

"Hey Alexa," Aunt Jenna smiled at me as Ric dropped me off next to her.

"Hi auntie," I smiled back. Ugh, I just wanted to go home. Or to go the Boarding House and snuggle with Damon

"I saw you with Elijah," she stated, looking curiously at me.

"Didn't really much of a choice," I sighed, as I played with my magic Gilbert ring. "He followed me into the kitchen. Probably to scare the shit out of me, cos he never really said anything about wanting something."

"Just be careful around him," Jenna warned, her parental side coming out to play. "Especially since we know what he is."

"Yeah, sorry for telling you like I did," I winced as I patted her shoulder in an apologetic way. "I was mad at Elena and should have thought about what I was doing."

Jenna sighed, "I'm just glad that I know that truth now. Even if you did blurt it out to get your sister into trouble."

"My bad."

I searched my mind for a different topic, as I saw my aunt gearing up to ask a difficult question. And I just knew that it would be related to the incident from a couple of nights ago or my sister's stupid suicidal attitude. And I knew that I would not be able to talk about either one of those. Not now and not ever.

Fortunately, before I had a chance to do that, the front door opened. In walked one of the few people who I wanted to see. I think the look of absolute delight on my face clued my aunt in on who just walked in.

I know that it had only been a couple of hours since I had last seen him but that wasn't the point. Being with him made me feel safe. And safe was exactly what I needed right now. Besides, I just loved being around him.

Damon's gaze caught mine and he immediately started walking towards us. And my smile grew. Damn Alexa, get a grip girl. I felt a nudge in my side and looked over at my aunt to see her smirking at me. I stuck my tongue out at her and rolled my eyes. Stop being mean, auntie.

As soon as my vampire was in reach, I stepped forward and flung my arms around him. I rested my forehead against his neck and breathed in his comforting scent. A couple of hours, Alexa, it's been a couple of hours. Damon's arms instantly wrapped around me in return and for the first time since I left his house, I felt myself relaxing. I just hoped that the instantly relaxing of my body wasn't obvious to my aunt. Oh who am I kidding? She was probably looking all smug behind me.

Even when it was getting past the socially acceptable length of time for a hug and I had to let go, I still kept an arm wrapped around his waist. And I snuggled into his side. Judging from the way that he, too, kept an arm around me, Damon understood that I just needed him right now. That was one of the things that I loved about him. Even though to him we were just friends, he always gave me the physical contact that I needed. He understood that I was a touchy feely person and didn't hold it against me.

"Damon, I didn't know that you were going to be here," Aunt Jenna remarked, watching as I clung onto the vampire like a barnacle.

"Just though I'd come and meet that writer who's got the council so enthralled," Damon shrugged, remembering to play along with Elijah's alias while we were surrounded by Historical Society members. Well, he wasn't lying. He was here to see Elijah. And I would be surprised about the council being enthralled by him but I've seen the way Mrs Lockwood looked at him. I've gotta say, I've known Mrs Lockwood since before I can remember and seeing her look like that at someone… let's just say mentally scarred. Like, for real.

"You heard about him, huh?" I could see the tension in her body seep away as she relaxed, realising that he was here as backup.

"Bit hard not to," my vampire did that little smirk thing that made my tummy flutter.

Aunt Jenna ran a hand through her hair and smiled, "Yeah, Mrs Lockwood hasn't exactly been subtle in her adoration of him."

"She isn't the only one," Damon said, drawing my attention to all of the historical society's ladies who kept glancing at the Original.

Not that I could blame them. I would too, if it weren't for the fact that the only man that I wanted to gaze at like that was stood next to me. Or rather, allowing me to cling onto him like there was no tomorrow.

"Well, it's not often that the historical society gets someone like Elijah to visit them," auntie smiled, still admiring the handsome vampire.

Yeah, I guess that was true.

"Speaking of, I think it's about time that I introduced myself," Damon fixed his gaze firmly upon the Original Vampire and that stubborn look that I adored appeared on his face.

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" I looked up at him, not relaxing my grip. I could tell that Damon knew that I would be going with him. Even if I did want to avoid Elijah, who seemed to know me far better than I was comfortable with, I wanted to be with Damon more. I needed that feeling of safety.

"See you later, Aunt Jenna," I smiled at my aunt before Damon led me over to where Mrs Lockwood and Elijah stood.

"You don't have to come with me," my vampire murmured, glancing down at me.

I slowly took a deep breath and clenched my fists. No, I did. I had to prove to myself that I was strong enough to voluntarily be around an Original vampire. Because, whether I liked it or not, he was involved in this bullshit. And not just because he had made a deal with my idiot twin.

"It's ok," I managed to look reassuring. "I'll be fine. Besides, someone has to keep you out of trouble."

That's it Alexa, just focus on Damon. He'll get you through this, even if he isn't entirely aware of it.

"Excuse me? You keep someone out of trouble," Damon raised an eyebrow. "You keep me out of trouble?"

Hey, why does he sound so sceptical when saying it like that? Is the idea of me keeping someone out of trouble so crazy? That's just rude.

"Why do you make that sound so farfetched?" I pouted, jabbing him in the stomach.

"Because, Alexa, it is," he smirked down at me before we came to a stop in front of our target. Damn, I didn't have time to retaliate. He planned that perfectly, I know he did. Not that I minded too much, as it took my mind off of who we were stood in front of.

"Damon," Mrs Lockwood smiled at Damon before glancing at me.

"I thought I'd bring Damon over to say hi to Elijah," I faked a smile as Damon kissed Mrs Lockwood on the cheek in greeting.

"It is a surprise to see him here," she smiled, although you could tell that she was delighted to see him. Even after everything, Mrs Lockwood was still far too fond of my vampire for my comfort. "Elijah, this is Damon Salvatore. His family is one of Mystic Falls' founding families."

Damon hummed beside me before giving the Original a challenging look, "Such a pleasure to meet you."

Elijah returned the challenged, sticking out his hand, "Oh no, the pleasure's all mine."

I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes as it became clear that they were trying to out squeeze each other. Well, Damon definitely was, not too sure about Elijah. Fortunately, Mrs Lockwood interrupted the idiocy before I could get myself involved in it.

"I'm sure you two will have a lot to talk about," she smiled obliviously as the vampires released their grip on the other. "But for now, I need to borrow Damon."

Damon's grip on me tightened briefly before he let go. I could feel his gaze on the top of my head as I internally panicked at the thought of once again being left alone with the Original vampire.

"Borrow away," I forced a smile on my face as I gestured behind me. "I've got to go speak to," my voice trailed off before I caught a glimpse of someone through the crowd, "Speak to Andie. She's friends with my aunt, so I promised I would say hi."

At some point during my rambling, I had started to back away, tottering slightly in my pumps. Luckily, Mrs Lockwood was too enamoured with Elijah to notice. So I took the opportunity to escape to the opposite side of the room.

Of course, I completely avoided Andie. I'm sure she was a lovely lady, but I really wasn't in the mood to socialise, especially with someone who was so obviously eying up my vampire the other day. But luckily for me, she was hanging around near the door to the study. I knew that it was off limits during these events, so no one would go in there. Which was perfect for me.

I slipped through the doors, making sure that no one noticed me. The lights were off and the sun wasn't in the right position to lighten up the room properly. But I didn't mind. The slight darkness helped the headache that I didn't know was forming. I knew what it was, it was a stress headache, one that was leftover from my encounter with Bitcherine.

I made my way over to the desk chair and sank down into the leather. I glanced down at the papers on the desk as I slipped off my pumps, my heart breaking as I caught a glimpse of my Tyler. I was desperate to see him again, to apologise for everything. But I had no idea as to where he was. And he hadn't answered any of the texts that I had sent.

The pain in my heart had me taking a deep breath and closing my eyes. I held it for a moment before slowing breathing out, fighting hard against the burning behind my eyes. There was no way that I would get away with crying, not here. I had to hold it in until I got home. Especially since I wasn't alone.

My eyes shot open and I saw Elijah watching me from beside the sofa, his head tilted to the side. I hadn't even heard him enter, let alone get halfway into the room. I could feel my heart beating as I fought to control my breathing.

"Elijah," I breathed out, trying to pretend that I was completely calm and in control. "Just can't stay away, huh?"

"I wasn't expecting to see you in here," he replied in his smooth voice, taking a step forward. "I do hope that nothing is bothering you."

"You mean, aside from a suicidal twin?" I snorted.

Elijah's lips twitched up in a smile, "Aside from that."

I returned the smile, albeit weakly, before movement behind the man caught my eye. I felt my body relax, even as Elijah raised his voice slightly, "What can I do for you, Damon?"

Damon's eyes were dark as he stared at the Original. His body was tense as he circled around the room, moving in my direction.

"I was hoping that we could have a word," he replied sharply, his tone giving nothing away.

The older vampire nodded slightly before asking, "Where's Elena?"

"Safe with Stefan," Damon replied, keeping it vague, as he reached my side and stood next to me. "They're laying low, you know, bit of a werewolf problem."

Bit of an understatement there, Damon. But I suppose it explained the situation.

"Oh, yes, I heard about that," Elijah kept that mysterious air about him, even as the sunlight shone on his face, plunging half of it into darkness.

Damon shifted slightly, moving my chair backwards so that he could sit on the desk in front of me. From his new position, I was completely hidden from Elijah's view.

"I'm sure you did, since it was your witch that saved the day," Damon's voice was a low growl, sounding the complete opposite of appreciative. Which was kind of rude but not unsurprising. His ego had been damaged, having to be saved by a witch. Especially one that worked for Elijah.

"You are welcome," Elijah's lips twitched up mockingly, sensing the younger vampire's frustration.

"Which only adds to my confusion on exactly why you're here," Damon's eyes narrowed as I peaked around him to look at Elijah. He reached back to push me back into hiding, but not before Elijah glanced down at me.

"Why don you just stay focussed on keeping Elena safe and leave the rest to me," following his order, Elijah turned to leave the room. I felt my heart slow down in relief as he went to leave. Even though he had been perfectly friendly, he still unnerved me.

Unfortunately, Damon did not share my thoughts.

One second he was in front of me, the next, he was blocking the exit. His eyes shone in the sunlight as he ground out, "Not good enough."

My body grew tense as I waited for Elijah's next move. I didn't know him well enough to know how he would react to Damon's challenge. I secretly hoped that he would just smile and leave. But I was sorely wrong.

My breath caught in my throat as Elijah grabbed my Damon by the throat and slammed him into the wall behind me. My body froze and it was like I was watching from outside my body. Damon grabbed Elijah by the throat but it was obvious that it didn't bother the older vampire in the slightest. He just rolled his eyes and grabbed Damon's hand. He easily pulled it away from his neck, terrifying me with his strength. I could hear the bones in my vampire's hand creak as Elijah squeezed, his cold eyes examining the pain on Damon's face as he groaned in pain.

The sound of Damon's pain slammed me back into my body. I shot up with a gasp, determined to help my vampire. But a strong hand landed on my shoulder and forced me back into the chair.

"Alexandria, stay there," Elijah's eyes flickered down to me before he returned his gaze to Damon, a disgusted curl on his lips. "You young vampires, so arrogant." He sighed and shook his head. "How dare you come in here and challenged me?"

Damon smirked weakly as he struggled against the older vampire's grip. He fingers tugged uselessly against Elijah's hand, "You can't kill me, man. It's not part of the deal."

"Please don't kill him," I added my voice to the discussion, hating how weak and pathetic it sounded.

"Silence," Elijah snapped out, shutting up both up. I froze in my seat as he reached backward, grabbing something off the desk. It took Damon's yell of pain to realise what had happened. There was a pencil sticking out of his neck. I blinked and looked again. Yeah, there was a pencil sticking out of his neck.

My stomach rolled as I saw the blood oozing out. My mind flashed back to the other night, to when it was my neck covered in blood. I took a deep breath in through my nose as I tried to centre myself in the moment.

Elijah stepped back, releasing his grip on Damon's neck. In a second, Damon fell forward, his legs pressing against mine as he collapsed on the desk. I reacted immediately, placing my hand on Damon's back as I pulled him closer. His hand was on his neck, covering the wound.

I leant forward, catching his gaze with mine as I gestured towards the pencil sticking out of his neck. Damon's eyes locked with mine, the trust in there making the breath catch in my throat. But his shaky nod pulled me out of it. He needed me to help me. And I would not let him down.

So, despite the grossness of the situation, I gripped the pencil tight and yanked it out. I immediately felt the nausea make itself know as the flow of blood increased. But I pushed it back, covering the rapidly healing hole with my hand, feeling Damon's settle over it.

As I tried to ignore the blood dripping down my arm, a white handkerchief appeared in front of me. I glanced up to see Elijah holding it out, his eyes dark and sharp. But I didn't care, all I could think about was helping Damon. So I snatched it from his grasp and held it against Damon's neck. The wound was healing but there was still some blood leaking from the hole.

"I'm an Original," Elijah spoke up, drawing our gaze. "Show a little respect." Damon's hand grabbed mine and squeezed it as he weakly moved to hide me with his body. "The moment you cease to be of use to me, you're dead, so you should do what I say. Keep Elena safe."

I could feel a cold grip around my heart at his words. No matter what, I was doomed to lose someone I loved. And Elijah was going to be responsible. But the question was, what did I do? Did I get Elijah out of the picture and risk losing my sister? Or did I let it all play out and risk losing Damon?

A hand on my cheek interrupted my spiralling thoughts. I glanced up to see Damon watching me carefully, his eyes warm and worried.

"You okay?" he asked softly, moving the chair back so that he could kneel in front of me.

"I should be asking you that," I smiled shakily, gesturing to the healed wound on his neck, steadily ignoring the blood covering my hands and utterly failing.

"It's fine," Damon waved away my concern. "It's all healed."

Well, at least that was something. But it was getting harder to ignore the blood on my hands. It was weird, but the thought of it being Damon's blood covering my hands made me want to throw up. It was one of those things, like, Damon was a vampire, he was so strong and powerful. The thought of him bleeding was just wrong.

Damon's own blood coated hands covered mine, forcing my gaze up. His mesmerising eyes stared deep into my own as he realised just how not okay I was and how much I needed to get rid of the sticky blood.

"Let's go get cleaned up," my vampire sighed, using his grip on my hands to ease me up. I was desperate for him to put his arms around me, but with the blood on both our hands, it would not have been a good idea. But I got a good compromise.

Using the back stairs, Damon quickly led me upstairs to the bathroom. He knew the way almost as well as I did. Which was surprising until I remembered that he had probably been coming here for years. And that didn't include the times that he had been here as a part of the secret council.

He quickly sat me down on the closed toilet before running a washcloth under the water. Silence hung in the air between us. It wasn't an awkward one, but it felt weird. If I was in a better frame of mind, then I would have broken it. But my head was feeling fuzzy, like my thoughts were running through sand.

I watched through blurry eyes as Damon knelt in front of me and gently cleaned off the blood. It would have been so much easier if I had just washed my hands at the sink, like Damon had done. But every moment was getting harder. It was as though my body was being weighed down. Whether it was the adrenaline fading away or the exhaustion finally catching up with me, I wasn't sure. But it sucked.

It took me a moment to realise that Damon was speaking. It wasn't anything important, just vague threats against Elijah and muttering about how his favourite black shirt was now soaked in blood. But it gave me something to focus on. The sound of his voice allowed me to relax, even if it did sound slightly scratchier than normal.

Once my hands were sufficiently cleaned, although nothing could save my perfectly painted nails, Damon grabbed my elbows and eased me to my feet. His arm wrapped around my waist as I leant into his side.

"Damon," I murmured, speaking for the first time in a while. "Can we go now?"

My vampire hummed in response, "We just need to go see Ric before we do."

I nodded slowly, relieved that I could go somewhere with Damon and just relax. Maybe even have a nap. Anything to stop the thoughts that were spinning around my head.

Finding Ric was a bit of a blur, the only thing that I remembered was Damon's grip on me. Even though his scent was tinged with the iron tang of blood, it helped me to relax. As we reached the main area, my gaze darted around the room, looking for the Original vampire. But luckily, he was nowhere to be seen. And before he could appear, Jenna and Ric found us.

The adults spoke above my head, their voices low, aware of the people around them.

"I'm taking Alexa back to mine," Damon told Jenna, adjusting his grip on me as I felt myself sway in my pumps.

Jenna's worried eyes looked me over before she grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, "Take Ric with you. He can pick me up later."

Ric opened his mouth to protest, clearing not happy with the idea of leaving Jenna here when there was an Original vampire lurking around, but Jenna held up her hand to interrupt him, "I'll be fine, Elijah won't do anything, especially with Elena's deal still in effect. Just focus on taking Alexa back to the Boarding House. Please."

It was Jenna's tired 'please' that persuaded him. Even though I had tried my hardest to keep quiet, everyone had still heard my nightmares. I hated that I had been disturbing people's sleep, but there was only so long that my aunt and her boyfriend would allow me to avoid sleep.

Ric nodded before giving my aunt a kiss goodbye. He led us outside and over to his car. While Ric and Damon spoke over my head, with Damon telling the history teacher about Elijah's latest exploits, I looked around the parked cars. I failed to see Damon's Camaro, which surprised me as he normally preferred driving to these events. But before my tired mind could come up with a way of asking why he didn't drive; Damon was helping me into the backseat of Ric's car. He quickly followed me in while Ric got in the front.

As Ric pulled away from the curb, I glanced back at the Lockwood Mansion, feeling eyes on me. My gaze connected with a set of calculating brown eyes. My breath caught in my throat as I stared back at Elijah. He was watching us with an amused smile on his face and I felt my body go cold. There was some kind of test here, I just knew it, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

It wasn't until Ric turned a corner and I lost sight of Elijah that I allowed myself to fall back against Damon's chest. My mind whirred for answers but I all I could think about was how fucked we were.

XXX

At some point during the drive, I had fallen asleep. I had no idea when or how long I had been asleep. I just remembered gasping awake in the Salvatore library.

I was lying on the sofa, my head in Damon's lap, and my favourite blanket covering me. My fingers curled into the denim of his jeans as I tried to control my breathing. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as the image of blood covered fangs failed to leave my mind.

I could feel worried eyes on me as gentle fingers ran through my hair, easing through the tangles. I pressed my eyes together and took in a deep breath. I knew the drill, just taking in deep breaths until I no longer needed to cry or throw up. But that didn't stop it from taking a few goes before I could properly breath in.

But I eventually managed it.

Once I was sure that I wouldn't start crying in front of Damon and Ric, I sat up and gave them both a shaky smile.

"I'm fine," I smiled shakily and was believed by no one.

Ric gave me one of his best 'don't bullshit me, kid' looks while Damon rolled his eyes. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and tugged me down, so that I was tucked under his arm, my cheek resting against his chest. It mimicked our position from this morning. But I didn't care. I just got myself settled and tugged my blanket up.

Ric took a sip of his bourbon as Damon sighed out, "Today was a bust," continuing a conversation that my abrupt waking up had clearly interrupted.

"Yeah," Ric groaned out in agreement as he rubbed his face. "How's the throat?"

"Sore," the vampire curled his lip as he rubbed at the spot on his neck. I patted the hand that was resting on my thigh, relieved that the wound had healed. But I did hate the fact that it still hurt. What was the point of super healing if it still hurt afterwards?

"Yeah," the history teacher nodded before downing his bourbon. "That Elijah's one scary dude, but with nice hair." I couldn't hide a snort at that, even if I did agree. Ric eyed Damon's empty glass. "Hey, you want another one?"

The vampire nodded his head and Ric stood up, grabbing the empty glass on his way to the magic booze table. I could smell the bourbon on Damon's breath and it set the itching under my skin on overdrive. But I kept quiet. I knew that Damon needed a drink after what he went through. I could ignore the itching, even if it was hard. I had survived this long without drinking. I just had to be a bit stronger for a bit longer.

Damon glanced down at me, a pensive look on his face, "He's gonna be hard to kill."

Ric agreed, "I'd think twice before I'd trust that dagger and ashes to do the job." I could hear him pouring the drinks behind us. "You're gonna need more info."

"I'm out of sources," Damon scoffed as he shook his head. It was at this point that I was tempted to pipe up and suggest that they speak to Katherine. But I knew that that would open a bucket of worms that I had no interest or desire to go through. As it was well known that I did not bring up Katherine unless it was strictly necessary. And I knew that neither one of them would trust what the bitch would have to say. Even if she would answer truthfully in order to ensure her release from her dusty prison. Of course, there was also the worry that if I did bring up the subject of Katherine, I could accidently blurt out that I had made a deal with her. And that would not end well for me.

"I could speak to Vanessa," Alaric offered as he passed Damon his refilled glass. "She might know something. Or know someone who does."

"Unlikely," Damon rolled his eyes as he pressed the glass to his forehead. "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Ric nodded and pulled out his phone, shooting off a quick text as I watched through blurry eyes. I could understand why they were so reluctant to take John's word for it. My uncle hadn't exactly proven himself trustworthy. And I was awake when Ric relayed John's bitchy little warning back at the tea party. He wanted his ring back and he figured that the best way to do that was to try and drive a wedge between Ric and Jenna. Of course, he couldn't go with his first plan as Jenna knew that truth about the supernatural bullshit that had infiltrated out world. So he resorted to saying that Ric wasn't allowed to sleep over anymore. Which was ridiculous as I would much rather have Ric in the house than John. Just because my relationship with him had improved didn't mean that I had forgiven him for everything. I was just a bit more willing to consider forgiving him.

"I'll mention it to Jenna, too," Ric added. "She's been trying to use the occult department contacts at the university to get any information that she can."

That, I didn't know. But it didn't surprise me. Jenna was as stubborn as Elena when it came to protecting her family. And while she couldn't physically do anything, she could use her research and university skills to our advantage. Maybe we should introduce her to Vanessa and they could double team it.

"Speaking of, I've got to go and pick Jenna up," the man groaned as he stood up, leaving his empty glass on the table. "Don't worry, I'll show myself out." As Damon grumbled out something unintelligible, Ric glanced over at me, "I'll tell Jenna that you'll be staying here for a bit longer."

"Thanks Ric," I twitched my hand up into a pathetic thumbs up.

The history teacher nodded before leaving the room. I put my head back down so that it was firmly settled against Damon's chest. I felt his chin brush against my hair as he curled himself around me a bit more. His warmth surrounded me as Damon lifted my legs so that they were resting over his. I was near enough sitting on his lap. And I loved it. For the first time all day, I felt truly content.

And of course, it wasn't to last.

There was a loud crash from the hallway, jolting both of us up. My legs slipped off of Damon's as he carefully stood up, keeping a hand on my shoulder. There was a final crash and it sounded like something had broken.

"Stay here," Damon whispered, giving my shoulder a quick squeeze before he quickly walked from the room. I watched him leave, twisting the blanket around my fingers in apprehension. I had no idea what had happened but I knew that it was bad. Everything was silent and all I could hear was my heart beating loudly in my chest. I so desperately wanted to go after Damon and see what had happened. But I was so scared. All I could think about was what happened last time I was here. Even though the rug had been replaced, I still knew exactly where I had died. It wasn't something that I could forget.

But before I could decide if I was actually brave enough to go investigate, the decision was taken out of my hands.

A loud groan echoed down the hall and I immediately knew who it belonged to. I shot to my feet at the sound of Damon's pain. Without even bothering to put my pumps back on, I raced to the hallway, desperation fuelling me. But when I got there, I froze.

In the middle of the hallway laid Alaric's body. His eyes were open and unmoving, a knife sticking out of his chest. He was dead. A strangled moan left my mouth as movement caught my eye. Damon was flinging himself around the hall, a strange man clinging to his back. I briefly caught sight of a syringe in the stranger's hand, the needle stuck deep into Damon's neck. It didn't take an idiot to know that it was vervain, especially with the way Damon was weakening.

My vampire finally collapsed to his knees, the vervain having taken it's toll, and the stranger released his grip. He removed the syringe from Damon's neck and whistled, "Whew! Damn, you're strong. It took the whole syringe."

I barely noticed the front door opening as my gaze was transfixed on Damon's face. His beautiful eyes were staring at me, silently pleading me to leave. But I was frozen in place, unable to abandon the man I loved.

"Grab that one," the first attacked said to the two newbies who had appeared. "He's dead."

As they knelt down to pick up Ric, a horribly familiar face walked in. Jules had a cruel smirk on her face as she rested a shotgun against her shoulder. She swung it down and aimed at my Damon. It was then that I made an incredibly stupid move.

A ragged "No!" erupted from deep within me as I stepped forward.

Everything moved in slow motion.

Damon's eyes widened as he tried to fight against the vervain taking over his body.

Jules spun around; the gun aimed in my direction.

Then there was excruciating pain.

The force of the shot had me on the ground. And I screamed. I screamed so loud that it hurt my throat. That it hurt my lungs. That it jolted the stake that was sticking out of my stomach. Even after I stopped screaming, I couldn't keep silent. Sobs slipped out of my mouth as I weakly grabbed at the stake impaling me. But before I could, two hands grabbed my wrists, squeezing cruelly.

Before I passed out, I heard Jules speak from above me, a savage edge to her voice, "Damon. Alexa. Nice to see you again."

It was a relief as darkness took me.

XXX

Damon's POV

It was the sound of gentle sobbing that drew me out of the darkness. My eyes flickered open, fighting against the vervain that was still in my body. It hadn't faded enough for me to escape and grip out the hearts of the werewolves who dared to invade my house.

I could feel the sharp scape of spikes every time I moved my head but I ignored them as I realised what was in front of me. Ric's body was laid out at the side. His eyes wide and unmoving. The knife had been removed from his body but I couldn't hear a heartbeat. Fear caught me for a moment before I saw the Gilbert ring on his finger. I didn't know how long I had been out for, but I hoped that my friend would wake up soon.

I let out a sigh of relief as I glanced to the side. Next to me was that little punk who had injected me in the first place. He had a sleazy smirk on his face as he held the ends of two chains in his hands. The chains led to the collar that was tied around my neck. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the spikes were attached to it. But I didn't put much thought into it. I was too busy wondering where my girl was. I saw them hurt her, before I passed out. The fuckers had the audacity to stake her, to hurt her. Alexa's scream still haunted me. I had never heard her sound so scared. The mere memory of it had my hands clenching around the armrests.

The punk was speaking but I tuned him out as I glanced around the room, looking for Alexa. It took everything in me to remain calm. I couldn't lose myself in my anger until I knew where she was. I couldn't risk them hurting her.

It was the sudden pain of the wooden stakes sliding into my neck that distracted me from my search. My gaze shot back at the punk and I bared my teeth at him, my fangs sliding out. Despite his bravado, the fucker stepped back, putting a bit more distance between us.

Even as I resisted the urge to rip out the punk's throat, Jules decided to make herself known. She stepped forward from her position on the stairs, a wicked smirk on her face.

"So I hear you have the moonstone."

She was soon joined by two other werewolves. But it was the body hanging between them that caught my attention. I couldn't see her face but I could recognise the spiky brown hair from anywhere. The green dress that she wore was soaked in blood and sweat. I could hear her sob with every breath. The fact that she was still awake didn't bode well. It meant that they hadn't let her pass out. That they had been hurting her before I woke up. And that thought ignited a fire in me.

"Oh if you only knew the irony of this moment right now," I chuckled cruelly, flexing my arms against the chains as Jules walked close, her cronies dragging my Alexa into the middle of the room. "Let me tell you how this is gonna go. You're gonna torture me, I don't talk, someone loses a heart. Last time, it was your boy, Mason."

I watched as the two werewolves dropped Alexa to the floor, jostling the stake in her stomach. More blood oozed out as she groaned fitfully, her eyes fluttering, threatening to roll back. Her hands were tied together in front of her. The rope had rubbed away the skin at her wrists, causing blood to well up there too. It dripped down her arms, staining her dress further. Even with how tight the rope was tied and how rough it was, I knew that it was only after a lot of struggling that the skin would be rubbed away like that. And that meant that they had been hurting her, even while I was unconscious. This was beyond getting the moonstone. This was revenge. And they hurt my girl, my Alexa, trying to get it.

"This time, it'll be you," Jules promised as she knelt down by my girl's side, resting her hand on the stake.

"You better hope that it is," I promised darkly, letting the veins under my eyes ripple as my fangs slid out. "Because if I survive this, then I will rip you all apart without thinking twice."

I could tell that I was unnerving the other werewolves in the room, even as Jules accepted the challenge in my words. She nodded at punk, who pulled on the chains, sending the spikes back into my neck.

I stared back at the bitch, refusing to give into the pain. The pain in my neck was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. Jules barked out another order at the punk, apparently called Stevie, telling him to send the spikes in deeper. But I refused to let her see the pain I was in. It wasn't until I felt new eyes on me that I removed my gaze from the female werewolf.

I glanced down and caught Alexa's gaze. Her green eyes shone with tears and pain. My heart broke at the silent begging in that gaze. She was scared, terrified. I silently promised her that I would save her. I would not let her die here, not again.

Another scream was ripped from her lips as Jules pressed down on the stake, causing Alexa to finally pass out.

XXX

Tyler's POV

I had no idea what I was doing. Everything had spun out of my control. It was such a mess. Brady had taken me out to the Gilbert's Lake House. How he had found out Elena was here, I didn't know. But he was determined to abduct her. They needed her to break the Sun and Moon curse. And I couldn't let that happen. It was the only reason as to why I was out here. To protect Elena.

I followed Brady through the woods, towards the warm light of the house. The door of the main cabin was opening, the light spilling out across the ground. But that wasn't Brady's destination. The other werewolf diverted to the side, where the outhouse was. I could hear movement from inside as I followed Brady to the doorway.

Stefan was inside, his back to us, picking up firewood. But as he crouched down on the ground, he froze. The vampire knew that we were here. My mind raced as I tried to work out what to do. I couldn't help him, not with Brady there. The other werewolf unnerved me. He was cold and calculating in a way that I rarely saw. He would kill everyone to get what he wanted.

Stefan stood up slowly, carefully moving around so that he was facing us. He opened his mouth to speak but he never got the chance. In a move that I wasn't expecting, Brady fired the gun in his hand. One that I didn't even know he had. Stefan collapsed to the ground, blood quickly staining his chest, groaning in pain.

I crept forward from my position in the doorway, eyes wide in shock as I stared down at the vampire. His green eyes stared up at me, suddenly reminding me so much of Alexa. My heart clenched at the thought of my pseudo sister. I regretted our fight from last night. I was just so angry at everything and I took it out on her. And that wasn't fair. The memory of the tears in her eyes still haunted me.

Brady's voice interrupted my staring, "Keep him down, if he moves," the other werewolf turned around and handed me the gun, a stake following after, "kill him."

I watched as Brady left, heading towards the house. As much as I wanted to immediately run over to help Stefan, I knew that I had to wait until it was clear. Until Stefan was able to help, I couldn't risk Brady finding out that I was betraying him.

"Tyler," Stefan ground out behind me. "The bullet, I need it out. It punctured my heart."

"Just give me a second," I murmured, holding out a hand. I scanned the area, making sure that Brady was out of sight. As soon as I was confident, I rushed over the vampire, dropping the stake and gun as I crouched down next to him.

I reached out and studied the vampire's bullet wound. Blood was oozing out but I could just about see the wood of the bullet.

"Do you need help getting it out?" I asked the vampire. Stefan shook his head, his fingers already digging into the wound. I grimaced and glanced away, feeling queasy. "They're after Elena. They want to use her to break the curse."

"Do they know that it'll kill her?" Stefan ground out as he finally pulled the bullet out.

"They don't care," I replied tersely as I watched Stefan climb to his feet. The vampire nodded sharply, a look of concentration on his face. I didn't even have time to ask him what he was up to before he disappeared from my sight.

I pushed myself to my feet before pausing. I glanced down at the gun and stake before shaking my head. I wouldn't need them now. Not with Stefan up and about. As I followed the vampire out into the night, I had only one thought.

Alexa, forgive me.

XXX

Damon's POV

Jules had quickly woken Alexa back up with a slap to the face. My girl groaned as I snarled at the werewolf. Jules smirked up at me as I rattled against the chains. She pressed down on stake for a moment, drawing a pain-filled cry from Alexa, before she stood up.

In the time that followed, the bitch alternated between setting her little punk Stevie on me with his torture porn collar and hurting Alexa. At some point during the hours we were captive, the stake had shifted slightly. I watched with worried eyes as my girl slowly choked on her own blood. It dribbled from the side of her mouth with each sob.

Realising that her favourite toy was close to breaking, Jules had turned her attention back to me. As she leant against the shotgun, I stared down at Alexa. Her eyes fluttered, her eyelashes dark against her pale skin. I could hear her heartbeat getting weaker and knew that I didn't have much time left in order to make my move. I was determined to escape before she had to suffer through another death.

Jules' voice droned on in the background, "You know what the great thing about buckshot is? It scatters through the body, maximum damage."

My gaze flickered back up to her as she pointed the shotgun at me. I knew that she would fire. If she didn't hesitate shooting my Alexa, then she definitely wouldn't hesitate shooting me. I dared her to with my eyes, hoping that some of the buckshot was weaken the chains holding me to the chair.

"Where's the moonstone?" Jules asked again, hoping to threaten me into replying. I just stared back at her.

"Get over it honey," I spat out, grinning sharply and viciously. "You're never gonna get it."

The werewolf rolled her eyes before shifting her aim. The shotgun was now pointed directly at Alexa's heart, "If I pull this trigger than that's it, your precious human is dead. Now, where is the moonstone?"

I bared my teeth, desperately thinking of an answer that would keep Alexa safe. But in the end, I didn't have to. Another voice rang out around the room.

"You looking for this?"

Everyone's gaze shot to the doorway.

Elijah leant against the frame, a dark look on his face as he glanced down at Alexa. The moonstone was in his hand, glinting in the lamplight. You could see all the werewolves in the room instantly hone in on the rock in the Original's hand.

The Original slowly walked down the stairs, twirling the moonstone in his hand. The tension in the room was thick, the silence broken only by Alexa's choking sobs. Elijah glanced at my girl one more time before he placed the moonstone on an end table. It sat innocently on the books there, keeping all eyes fixed upon it.

Elijah backed away, holding out his hands, "Go ahead, take it."

For a moment, everything froze, before the room exploded into movement.

One of the wolves sped forward, desperate to get his hands on the moonstone. But he didn't stand a chance. Elijah more than matched his speed and plunged his hand deep into the wolf's chest, grasping his heart and yanking it out. He pushed the werewolf's body onto the sofa, dropping the heart onto the floor in front of him. The other two stooge wolves exchanged glances before rushing forward. Elijah didn't even blink. He just extended his arms and ripped out their hearts.

While Elijah massacred the wolves, I kept my gaze on Alexa. Her eyes were open now, although it was clear that she was having trouble focussing. I quietly encouraged her to keep looking at me, telling her to stay strong, that I would help her soon.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elijah approach Stevie, who was crouching down with his jacket pulled up around his face. I felt a flash of pleasure as the wolf cowered in front of me. After all the sick pleasure that he took in Alexa's pain, I hoped that Elijah ripped him apart. The Original gripped his jacket, pulling him to his feet.

He looked down at him with an amused look, "What about you, sweetheart, hmm? You want to take a shot? Yes? No? Yes?" Stevie whimpered and shook his head, looking like he was going to piss himself. Elijah looked like he was enjoying the wolf's terror as he looked around the room. "Where's the girl?"

His words reminded me that there was one more wolf who deserved to die painfully, but I couldn't see her anywhere, "I don't know."

And that pissed me off. I really wanted to rip Jules apart. To make her hurt like she hurt Alexa. To make her scream like she made my girl scream.

"It doesn't really matter," Elijah brushed it off before he swiftly punched Stevie in the face. You could hear his neck snap as he body flopped down. I watched as the Original approached my girl, crouching down beside her. He placed his hand on her cheek, frowning as she moaned weakly. "I trust you will take care of her?"

"As soon as you get me out of these chains," I ground out, eager to end Alexa's pain and look after her.

Elijah nodded as he rose to his feet and made his way over. He gripped the chains, pulling them free with one smooth motion. There was a darkly amused look on his face as he glanced down, "So you realise that this is the third time that I've saved your life now?"

I didn't respond, already pulling off the chains and collar, eager to get over to Alexa. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elijah leave the room, moonstone in hand. But I didn't care. The second I was free; I was at Alexa's side.

"Hey," I whispered softly, placing my hand on her cheek. Her skin was clammy, covered in sweet and tears. Alexa's eyes fluttered open at my urging. I knew that she needed blood and fast but I had to do it properly. The last thing that I wanted to do was hurt her even more.

I started with the rope around her wrists, carefully undoing the knots. Alexa whimpered as I eased the rope away from the broken skin. But the moment her hands were free, she grabbed onto my arm.

"Okay baby," I murmured, preparing for the next move. "I'm so sorry, but this is going to hurt."

I gave her a moment to catch her breath before I pulled her body onto my lap. She let out a low groan, fresh tears falling, as I got her settled against my chest. With one quick move, I removed the stake from her stomach. Alexa's eyes rolled back dangerously but I quickly bit open my wrist and held it to her mouth.

It took far too long for the blood to start to work. It took a couple of minutes before she was strong enough to hold my wrist to her mouth. As she desperately sucked on my blood, I watched as her wounds started to heal. For the first time since I woke up, I was able to relax. Even though I was covered in blood, both Alexa's and my own, I was able to take a deep breath. I knew that I would have to deal with the dead wolves at some point, especially since Ric was yet to wake up. But the most important thing was the fact that Alexa was safe again. Her warm weight was settled against my chest, her heart beating strong again. I rested my cheek against her forehead, uncaring of the sweat, and breathed in her scent.

I kept my wrist at her mouth until I was content that everything had healed. Alexa's desperation had eased a while ago and I felt her nose wrinkle against my skin as she finally began to taste the iron tang of the blood that she had consumed.

I removed my wrist and stroked her cheek, tilting her head back. My girl was a mess. Her makeup was smudged with tears and sweat. Her hair sticking to her skin and tear tracks staining her face. Blood stained her mouth, both hers and my own. But she had never looked more beautiful. The life in her eyes had my heart easing. And I cursed it. I was utterly taken with her. This girl had captured my heart and I would never get it back. It was hers, forever and always.

"Damon," she whimpered, tears forming in her eyes as the horror of what she had just endured caught up with her. I pulled her close, resting my chin on her head as she buried her face in my neck. Her arms wrapped around my neck as she sobbed out her pain and fear.

I let her cry, knowing that she needed that release. I needed one too, but instead of indulging my anger and ripping apart the wolves bodies, I just clutched my girl tighter, enjoying the feel of her heartbeat. She was alive and that was all that mattered.

XXX

Alexa's POV

After I cried myself out, I still clung to Damon. Just the thought of moving away from him had me tensing up with fear. I knew that the wolves were gone. Damon had told me how Elijah had killed most of them, with only Jules escaping. But I was still scared. Despite the blood that I had consumed, the pain haunted my every move. It was seared into my brain, the bloodstains on my skin only reminding me of how close I came to death.

Eventually, though, I knew that I had to move. I couldn't spend the rest of my life in Damon's arms, no matter how much I wanted to. So I gently eased away from him, ignoring the trembling in my body. I glanced around, taking in the dead bodies surrounding us, my eyes lingering on Alaric's.

"Hey," Damon's hand cupped my cheek, urging me to look up at him. "I need to get rid of these bodies. Do you think you can look after Ric while I do so?"

I knew what he was doing. He was giving me something to occupy his mind. And I appreciated it. I knew that if I let my mind wander, even for a moment, then I was done for. I would break and it would not be pretty. Despite all of the crying that I had done earlier, I knew that there was more.

So I shuffled over to Ric's body, taking his hand in mine as I settled against the chair next to him. His skin was still cold and I worried. I had no idea as to how much time had passed since he was killed, but surely he should be waking up by now?

I silently fretted over Ric as Damon moved quickly to get rid of the bodies. I had no idea as to where he was dumping them and I didn't care enough to ask. The vicious part of me hoped that they rotted in a ditch for what they did. They tortured me and Damon for that fucking moonstone.

Time passed in a bit of a blur until Damon returned, his phone pressed to his ear as he set about returning the room to its original state. I watched with tired eyes as he spoke to Bonnie. Apparently her, Caroline and Jeremy had been on a mission of their own today, eager to get answers from Luka. I could hear bits of the conversation and it was enough to make me want to cry again.

Damon looked at me, eyes filled with pity, as he reiterated Bonnie's point, "So he planned to kill her all along."

I was close enough that I could hear Bonnie's reply, "Yeah. The sacrifice is a part of Elijah's plan."

"Got it loud and clear," Damon hung up the phone, still staring down at me. I looked up at him, biting my lip in an attempt not to burst into tears again. I had hoped that Elena's deal with Elijah would include saving her life. But deep down, I knew that that was a foolish hope. And now I had the proof to that.

"We'll stop it," he promised, crouching down in front of me. "We won't let her die."

I was about to reply but was rudely interrupted by Ric gasping awake between us. His sudden movement had me jolting backwards, crashing into the chair behind me. My heart raced as I fought the urge to run away. Damon quickly grabbed my hand to ground me, stopping me from spiraling into panic mode.

"Finally," he rolled his eyes at Ric, who pushed himself up onto his elbows. "You missed all the fun."

Ric glanced between us, noting the blood staining my dress and the tears on my face before looking straight at Damon, "What the fuck happened?"

XXX

Before he explained what happened to Ric, Damon ushered me upstairs to take a shower. He said something about the warm water being able to relax me. But I knew that he just wanted to vent about what happened to Ric. If I was there, then he would have to chose his words carefully, in order to prevent another breakdown on my part.

So I sat in his shower, watching as the red stained water disappeared down the drain. The water was probably too hot, turning my skin red as it poured down on me. But the pain helped me focus. Because my choice was clear now. I had to get Elijah out of the picture. As grateful as I was that he had saved me today, I had to use that dagger. He wasn't going to save my sister. He knew all along that she was going to die. So now he was an obstacle.

Despite the heat of the water, I shivered. How was I supposed to take him out? Even with the dagger, I had to get close to him. And he scared the shit out of me. So how was I supposed to do this?

I let out a sob, pretending that it was a sigh, as I turned the water off. The blood was gone now, washing away all the signs of my horrendous ordeal. But I knew that I wouldn't forget it. It would haunt my nightmares along with my experiences with death.

I borrowed one of Damon's t-shirts to sleep in. While I did still have clothes of my own here, left over when my previous sleepover at the Salvatore house, I craved the comfort that Damon's would bring. As soon as I slipped it over my head, I inhaled the familiar scent. I held the fabric to my nose, breathing in deep and feeling my body relax more than it did in the shower. I was so caught up in my thoughts, I almost missed the buzzing of my phone. In fact, I had almost forgotten that I had brought it upstairs with me.

I glanced at the caller ID, frowning sadly when I saw Tyler's name flash up on the screen.

"Hey," I answered softly, settling down on the bed.

"Alexa," Tyler's voice was strained but I could hear the misery buried within in. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't" I interrupted, wiping away the tears that had already started to fall. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who is sorry. So so sorry. I just hope you can forgive me one day."

"I already do," Ty whispered out. "I understand now. Which is why this is killing me."

An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach, "What do you mean?"

"I'm leaving town," Ty's words had me freezing in place. "I can't be here, not like this. Maybe one day I will return, but until I know how to cope with this, I can't stay here."

I desperately wanted to cry down the phone. He was leaving me. I was losing him. But I knew that I couldn't do that. I couldn't be that selfish. Tyler needed this. He needed to find out who he was now. And as much as it killed me, I knew that I had to let him go.

"I understand," I was proud of how much my voice didn't shake. "Look after yourself, Ty. And stay in touch."

I could hear in Tyler's voice just how much he appreciated me reacting like I did, "I will. Goodbye, Alex."

"Bye Ty."

As the dial tone sounded in my ear, I let the phone fall to the bed. I took a deep breath and released it, feeling my world crashing down around me. My only hope now was to stop the sacrifice. And to do that, I had to dagger an Original vampire.

My life was so fucked.

XXX

A/N: So many reviews, I love it! Thank you so much! I love reading them and they helped me get through a tough week! Please let me know what you think of the new content :) hope you enjoyed xoxo