I had decidedly not gone straight to Elena and Stefan, but back to the Salvatore house. I hadn't been there much since that day. Mostly just to get clothes and bits and pieces when I needed them. I hadn't slept here at all. Even last night in my drunken state I had flopped down on the couch and nodded off, not wanting to go back to our bed. My bed. Alone. The same bed I used to share with Elena.

She and Stefan didn't come around here either. They had moved out into a little cozy unit themselves. I think they had thought they were doing the right thing, by giving me this house. But now it was just a large, cold, empty building.

I had been pretty drunk by the time I had stumbled in to the couch. I knew I should have gone straight to Elena and Stefan and warn them of that girl, but I had been too sober to want to see them again. So I had found a liquor store, and I drank it. I still couldn't face them though and had dragged myself back to the only place I could think of. Something told me in the back of my head that they were safe tonight anyways. That the girl wasn't going after them tonight. I hoped.

I knew I had to go see them. I let my mind wander to thoughts of sending a text so I wouldn't have to see them. It would be petty and say something like "Met girl last night. She wants to kill you two. Run humans." But I decided against it, dragging myself up the stairs to have a shower, surprised the water and electricity were still connected.

I had slumped around the house, getting dressed and looking through the cupboard for over an hour. I was procrastinating, and I knew it.

Finally, I sighed, picking up the keys to my car and heading out.

I took the long way to their house. And when I say long I mean they lived 10 minutes away and it took me half an hour to get there.

I pulled up against the curb 2 houses down. I could imagine their confusion seeing me pull up in their drive way and I wasn't in the mood for them to burst out of the house firing questions at me. Walking silently, I crossed their perfectly cut lawn. It was a typical suburban looking house. Small enough to look warm and cozy, but large enough for a family one day.

My heart ached as the house reminded me of a vision Stefan had given me when I was going to become human for Elena.

I peered through the window. Past the lounge I could see into the kitchen where Elena and Stefan were eating breakfast. They were smiling and talking to each other, they looked happy. It made me sick.

I knew I could listen in to what they were saying, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Every cell in my body wanted me to turn and walk away. To save myself the hurt and go find a bottle to ease the pain. Instead I walked towards the door.

I didn't knock I just twisted the handle and the door opened. I was a little surprised. Yes it was a nice neighbourhood. And yes the crime rate had gone down since all the vampires had either moved or become human. But they were human now, with human problems like burglars and god knows what else, with no real way to defend their weak bodies.

I could hear them chatting away, with their poorer senses now they didn't hear me come in.

I took a second to clear my mind and try to turn my emotions off for the billionth time, but they didn't budge. So I just took a deep breath and tried to push them deep down, holding my head up high as I walked into the kitchen.

Stefan's POV

"So what time do you think you'll be home tonight?" I asked Elena, taking a bite of my toast.

"My shift ends at 6 and I'm not on overtime tonight, so unless there's an emergency I should be home on time" she smiled, I could feel her foot touching mine under the table.

"Well in that case I'll cook something nice up for tonight instead of left overs" I told her, my mind beginning to buzz with ideas.

"You should have been a chef. When we brought those ID documents for you we should have put culinary school on them" she smiled.

"I'm happy at the moment working as a mechanic, but you never know, maybe in the future. I have my whole life in front of me. I'm only 18 you know" I chuckled and she grinned. She opened her mouth to say something but then the smile dropped from her face.

"You know, I find it a little funny that with your new found humanity you decided to work as a mechanic. Especially since cars weren't exactly around when you could drive" I heard a voice from behind me and my heart sunk.

I turned around and sure enough, there was Damon standing in my house. This was the first time he had been to my hell. This was the first time I had actually seen him in months. I didn't know what to say to him and when I opened my mouth all that came out was "I was always a better driver than you though" and for a split second his face softened before it was hard again.

"That's because you drive like a grandma" he said, pulling up a chair and taking the other piece of toast off my plate. He sniffed it before putting it back down again.

"What are you doing here Damon?" Elena asked, getting right to the point and I saw his body tense.

"I'm delivering a message from a crazy girl I met last night" he replied, not looking at her, but playing with the toast, ripping it apart.

"What does a girl you met last night have to do with us?" I asked. He looked well enough considering I had been assuming the worst. He wore jeans and a black shirt and looked like he had washed this morning. Although he did appear a little hung over, it was the best I could have hoped for.

"Well crazy girl filled me full of wooden bullets" he said, his eyes flicked up and he looked at me.

"A hunter?" Elena asked, looking my way.

"Not just any hunter. A vampire vampire hunter" he explained.

"A vampire vampire hunter? What are you talking about?" I asked leaning forward.

"As in a vampire who hunts other vampires. She babbled on about being some kind of bounty hunter and there was a price on all our heads, but she had some person vendetta blah blah blah" he said waving his hand.

My mind began to race. This was the first threat that we had heard of after we had become human again.

"What else?" Elena asked, her big eyes looked at me worriedly and I was sure I was looking back at her the same way.

"Nothing. By the time I had gotten the bullets out she had taken off. I assume going to do some more evil bidding or plan some. Either way, I have warned you and what you do now is up to you. I'm not staying here" he shrugged, getting up.

I stood up, reaching out to grab him and make him stay to tell us more but suddenly there was a crash. All three of us stopped and looked at the object that had just been thrown through our window. It was a small ball covered in a hundred wooden spikes.

And then it exploded.