The next morning, I woke up at five thirty because I had gone to bed at eight and I usually slept around eight hours so sleeping ten, was long. I got dressed and walked towards the balcony, looking down at our living room, hoping no one was home, especially not Damon, I was still mad at him. Or Stefan. Maybe Elijah'd be here and I could talk to him about what's going on, which I'm probably not allowed to know. I heard two voices talking, Rebeckah's and Elijah's. I couldn't see them so they must've been standing under the balcony. Trying not to breath too hard or make a sound, I caught some of what they were saying.
''…come for her, I can feel...'' Rebeckah started talking lower, too low for me to hear but I didn't give up. This time, Elijah spoke.
''I know, I have the same….'' He paused for a minute and sighed.
''…don't know….If only Elena…of herself.'' My name? What did I have to do with anything? Maybe he had found out about last Friday, when Caroline had come to sleep and we had been home alone. Or Rebeckah told him about the wolf in the woods. This was either way not good.
''Why are you up, it is five thirty in the morning.'' Damon said, looking on his watch. I pretended I didn't hear him and looked ahead of me, my arms leaning on the bar.
Why didn't vampires sleep, it would've been much more handy now. He sighed.
''So you're mad?'' He asked. Of course was I mad, and now, I was twice as mad because he had betrayed my position to Elijah and Rebeckah. As soon as they paid attention to their surroundings, they must've heard my heart beating and immediately stopped talking. They came in my view, away from the balcony.
''Elena? Why are you up so early?'' I rolled my eyes.
''What were you talking about? '' I asked them, arms crossed, trying to look mad. Rebeckah and Elijah looked at each other.
''What did you hear?'' Rebeckah asked. I focused my eyes on Elijah, letting him notice I trusted him and expected him to tell the truth.
''What were you talking about?'' I asked once again, ignoring Rebeckah.
''Elena, ''Elijah started and I knew what he was going to say, that it was none of my business, that I didn't need to worry.
''I want to know. It was about me, wasn't it? '' I interrupted him. Damon was leaning against the door behind me, probably enjoying the spectacle. Stefan and Klaus weren't home yet because if they were, they would've been up here already. I knew they weren't going to tell me but I was sick of it , sick of being left out, sick of being the different one. When no one spoke, tears fell down my cheeks. I went back to my room and wanted to lock the door but I didn't have the key. I sat down on my bed, legs curled up, my head between my arms. ''Let her have some time for herself.'' I heard Rebeckah say. I fell back asleep within a couple of minutes and dreamed about the wolf, I dreamed of me and him as a normal couple with a normal family.

I ignored everyone for two days but soon gave up. I didn't like fighting with my siblings but I hadn't forgiven them yet, last week hadn't been easy and no one had apologized for what they had done. Our routine was back as it was, without any sleepovers or guests. I also hadn't seen the wolf anymore which might have been good, if I didn't miss him so much. I often went back to the tree, sitting there for a couple of minutes, but Elijah had even become more protective, I couldn't go out in our yard without telling one of the vampires who stood by the window and watched the whole time. It was weird but I got used to it. The week passed by, without any words said about the conversation between Elijah and Rebeckah. I also didn't ask. If they wanted to keep it a secret, fine. But I could play the same game, I wasn't going to tell anything anymore. The next school week was even more boring than the last one and I was tired of getting lectures about things I already knew. There weren't much things I hadn't learned already on previous schools, I took almost every advanced class, had straight A's but never did anything. Life was easy, in a certain kind of way. The bell rang, it was Friday and Jenna had been thrilled to go to our double but not actually double date. At Eight 'o clock, I saw my chance when only Stefan was home with a girl in his bedroom. I sneaked out, ran to Jenna's car waiting for me at the end of our street and got in, glad I escaped. Ten minutes later, we arrived. I was curious who Matt would bring with him, I didn't know many people from our school. We walked in and I saw Matt sitting with his back to us, next to him a guy with black raven hair.
''How do I look?'' Jenna nervously asked.
''Could be better.'' I said.
''Shit!'' she started to panic.
''It was just a joke, Jenna. You look fabulous.'' I assured her. We walked towards Matt and his friend but when we faced them, my mouth dropped.
''Hi, I'm Jake. You must be Elena.'' the wolf said. I looked at Matt and then back to the guy from my garden. ''Hi.'' Jenna said because I was speechless. I had hoped to see him again but hadn't expected to, especially not this soon. We sat down, all my questions going through my head again.
''So Jake. Are you in our school?'' I asked, after finding my voice back.
''No, I'm not. I know Matt from practice, we do martial arts together. '' He smiled and his perfect white teeth showed. Show off, I thought.
"I'll get us some drinks,'' Jake said.
''What do you guys want?'' he asked. After everyone had ordered, he left the table and went to the bar.
''What's going on, Elena? You're acting weird.'' Jenna told me. I looked at her, then at Matt and saw he was confused too.
''I'm going to help him with the drinks.'' I announced before leaving the table. I wanted to talk about last Sunday.
''Who are you?'' I asked when I had taken a seat next to him at the bar while we were waiting for our order to come.
''I'm Jake.'' He said while winking.
''I know your name, you just told me but, where do you come from? What were you doing in my backyard? And '' but I stopped. I couldn't ask him about the killing part, I just couldn't. Especially not here. He must've noticed I was doubting but thankfully, didn't go deeper on it.
''I was told to go there.'' He said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
''By who?'' I asked, suddenly noticing how close we were, his hand almost touching mine, his knee already touching mine so I moved a little bit but did it subtle.
''One of our pack leaders. We get these weird tasks every now and then, it's part of the training. '' I narrowed my eyes.
''So someone told you to climb a tree in someone's backyard?'' I asked, disbelief filling my voice.
''Yes. Well, it wasn't asked like that but…they gave me an address and told me to observe and rapport. So I did. ''
''They gave you our address?'' I asked, finding this a little weird. ''Yeah, it's always another address. It's just part of the training to be able to spy and all that.'' He shrugged.
''Why do you tell me this?''
''You asked.'' I blinked. Honesty wasn't something I was used to.
''Matt and Jenna are staring at us.'' I turned around.
''Why?'' I asked.
''Because we're still sitting here, with the drinks.'' I turned back at the bar and hadn't noticed the drinks.
''Oh. We should''
''Yeah.'' We took the drinks to the table and sat down silently. I wanted to ask more questions but it should wait. Matt nor Jenna asked us to explain why we had been gone so long so no words were said about it. The rest of the evening was actually fun, I was glad it didn't fulfill my expectations. At eleven, Elijah stormed through the door and got mad at one of the waiters. Me and Jenna were the only ones who could see him because we faced the door. The guys noticed our attention moved to something behind them so they turned their heads. Jake's eyes widened, mine too. I immediately ducked behind the table. Matt, Jenna and Jake gave me a weird look. I told him the raging guy couldn't see me here, I also mentioned I didn't want to go in further details. Jake suddenly stood up, his fists balled. I couldn't see what was happening so I moved a little until my eyes were only visible above the table. Elijah had moved, and so had the waiter. They were heading outside, both full of anger. I stood up, ready to go after them but Jake was ahead of me. I told Matt and Jenna to stay there, but they wouldn't listen. I sighed. I tried to explain it was nothing, they needn't worry. They weren't convinced yet so I promised I'd explain it later but that they needed to trust me for now. This was something they could live with and said they would stay here, waiting for us. I nodded and went after Jake. As I opened the door, a cold breeze came out and I rubbed my arms. I had forgotten my jacket inside. I was standing on the parking lot and saw Jake getting closer to an alley. I ran to catch up with him and to get warmer. He gestured to come closer but walking, not running. I obeyed and when I stood next to him, I started to wonder why he was here.

''He'', Jake said pointing to the waiter fighting , '' is one of the wolves of my pack.'' He whispered so low I almost hadn't heard him.
''The other one,'' I said while looking at him, ''is my brother.'' We both were confused, not knowing what was going on. Elijah and the wolf started fighting, it was obvious Elijah was mad about something the wolf had done but it looked like he didn't know what he had done wrong. It was all I could make up about the fight. After Elijah had thrown the wolf against the wall, I pushed Jake down. He wanted to go and help the tall guy. It was none of our business , now I sounded like Elijah, and he probably couldn't handle a vampire. We kept put, watching them throw a few more punches at each other until Elijah got a phone call and the fight ended. We stood too far away to hear what he was saying.
''He hates violence, '' I told Jake, standing up for my brother who looked cruel.
''He always gets mad at my siblings if they fight or hurt someone. I don't get why he would hurt him.'' I stood up to leave, I didn't want to watch this anymore. To my surprise, Jake followed. We walked past the door of the Mystic Grill, looked for a spot out of view to sit and sat down. I put my elbows on my knees and sighed.
''Your brother, you say he is a vampire. Is he a newborn?'' Jake asked. I shook my head.
''We're the originals.''
''The first vampires?'' He asked.
''So you've heard about us. '' I smiled. I couldn't sit, I needed something to do. I stood up and started walking around in little circles while I explained our history. The whole story long he sat silently on the pavement. ''What are you thinking?'' I asked, getting dizzy from the circles. I sat back down, next to him. He turned his head towards me.
''That you're very special. '' His face was serious, so was mine. I didn't know how to react so I looked away. Coward, I thought. Suddenly, I remembered what we were doing here. I took my phone and was surprised. On the screne stood I had ten missed calls, five from Elijah, three from Rebeckah and two from Damon. Shit. They must've noticed I went away. I didn't feel like calling them back because they would know for sure I went away. So I just texted Jenna everything was okay, and we'd be back inside soon.
''Matt, is he'' I asked. ''No he is not a wolf. We really only do martial arts together.'' Jake smiled. I smiled too. ''I wonder why Marcus was fighting with your brother. ''
''Yeah me too.'' So Marcus was his name. I needed to remember, c'mon, Elena I told myself.
''Maybe you can ask him about it?'' I tried.
''I was planning to. Aren't you going to ask your brother? '' ''If I wanted to be killed by him, yes I would. '' I looked up. The sky was empty, not a single star was shining. ''I'm not supposed to go outside alone, without any of my siblings. I wasn't even supposed to go outside at all. '' ''Yet here you are.'' I laughed and told him about Stefan, the relationship I had with him and how I got away. I also told him about everyone else, what they were like, what they liked, what they hated, I told him things I had never told anyone. Things I couldn't tell anyone. It felt good to say it all out loud, to tell someone all my frustrations about them. The best part was, he understood. He knew how it was not to be able to say everything you wanted to say, to be extra careful with everything you did or said.
''Here you are!'' Jenna and Matt came out, holding our jackets.
''You texted me half an hour ago you'd be back in soon. I tried to call you, texted you but you didn't answer.'' I looked at my cellphone, saw one missed call and two messages. I raised my eyebrow.
''You must've been so worried, you send me at least two messages! '' I said, looking from Jenna to Matt and back. Jake knew what I was going at.
''Yeah, Matt. It was awful being alone with a girl, wasn't it?'' We both started laughing when we saw their faces going red in one second.
''Shit, it is already eleven thirty? I need to get back home.'' I announced and took my jacket from Jenna. I looked at my cell, ten new messages. I didn't even bother opening them.
''I'll walk if you'd like to stay, it's not that far. ''
''Or I can drive you home, I'm here by car too. '' Jake offered. I smiled, thankful I didn't have to walk because if Elijah found out, he'd be furious. Jenna said she'd take Matt home. After saying goodbye, they went back inside.
''Thanks.'' I said.
''For what? I haven't brought you home yet.'' Jake replied. He winked and I rolled my eyes. He knew damn well why I thanked him. We walked towards a black range rover.
''So you're rich and have a good taste for cars. '' He laughed.
''Guess I don't have to tell you my address.'' I joked.
''Nope, I remember. Fourth tree on the right, second branch.'' We both started laughing, it felt nice. While he was driving we talked and I had been long it since I had such a good time. I was even sad when he pulled over, a street away as I had asked.
''See you soon.'' I hope, I added in my mind. He nodded.
''Hey, '' he said when I pulled the door of the car open.
''I lost my number, can I have yours?'' He winked and even though the joke was lame, it was cute. I gave him my number, hoped he'd send me a message this evening already, god was I greedy. He drove off and I went back to our yard. Stefan immediately ran into me but instead of scolding at me, he gave me a hug. I was too amazed to hug back. It didn't last long though. He soon let me loose, threw me over his shoulder and ran inside. Once in the house, he locked the door with all its locks, which were many.
''Context?'' I asked.
''You!'' Stefan said, his voice full of anger and something else I had never heard with him, concern.
''Where have you been? Everybody is looking for you.'' He said. He paced around the kitchen island, clenching and unclenching his fists over and over again. I didn't know what to say.
''What do you mean everybody is looking for me?'' I was sure Elijah had been doing something else the past hour, I had seen him. I looked around, nobody appeared to be home but Stefan.
''Don't dare to move. '' Stefan commanded. I held my hands up like the police always asked if they caught you. Not that I had ever been caught at anything, I was the good kind of people. Stefan called someone, telling him or her I was safe and home. After the call, he texted a few other people. I assumed my siblings. I looked at my cellphone again, fifteen new messages now. ''Why didn't you answer any of them?'' Stefan asked, still trembling from anger. I knew I needed to be careful with what I said. ''I hadn't seen them until now.'' ''Bullshit! You're a liar, Elena. '' ''Can I go to my room?'' I asked. ''I said you needed to,'' but he stopped talking in the middle of his sentence. ''Stay.'' He ordered, as if I was a dog, and went downstairs, to the basement. To be a little rebellious, I set a little step to the side. ''I said stay. Why can't you ever listen?'' He growled and took my arms, dragging me to one of the pillars that held the house. I hadn't noticed the rope in his hands until he tied them around me and the pillar. ''Are you serious? '' I asked, not liking where this was going.
''You've just proven my point. If I turn around you'll be gone again. This is the only way I am sure to know you stay.''
''This is definitely child abuse.'' My arms started to get hurt from being pulled back. The rope was making cuts on my wrists, which didn't help either. I slowly slid down, hoping a sitting position would feel better and I was right. It was much better. A second later, Elijah got in, put his phone down on our kitchen island and looked at me with the glimmer in his eyes from earlier when he had been fighting still in his eyes. For the first time in my life, I was scared of him. Maybe Caroline was right, they were killers.