You're Gonna Get Burned

"Elena, can you hear me?" A vaguely familiar voice swam about Elena, engulfing her in a warm feeling of comfort. She was numb, every inch of her being feeling utterly heavy, as though someone were pinning her down. She could not bring herself to respond to this voice, though she was conscious enough to process it. The nape of her slender neck throbbed, the dull pain spreading across the surface of her skin like a disease. It had been quite some time since she was last bitten, and so she had forgotten just how painful it truly was.

Though she didn't wish to put Damon through not knowing if she was going to make it or not. Elena wanted him to know that she was fine, at least for the moment. If she didn't get medical attention, however, it could be a different story. The 21st century doppelganger elicited a soft groan, pain evident in the small noise that she was able to make. An immediate reaction had occurred beside her, Damon's hand entrapping her own and squeezing just enough to ensure his presence. "It's going to be okay, Elena," the eldest Salvatore brother told her reassuringly, "You'll be alright."

Katherine Pierce prowled around the armchair which Stefan sat brooding in, her curls framing her porcelain features as she tilted her cranium whilst observing the handsome vampire. He had been sitting there for quite some time, staring at this warlock across the room from him. It was the key to bringing Elena home, and he knew that, but he was conflicted to say the least. Katherine had brought him to the location of the portal for reasons unknown, and had been incredibly alluring the entirety of the time. It had to be him that she was after. What other reasons for her actions would justify them?

Stefan, while his eyes were trained on the dying warlock, had also managed to catch a glimpse of the grimoire which he had used prior to Katherine's removal of it. It provided an image of a kneeling being - undoubtedly a witch - who seemed to be drained of something which connected to the image of a portal. While he sat, he configured an explanation. Perhaps that his magic was what was keeping the portal cloaked, but something else was keeping it active. Either way, he didn't have long to consider it, as the lithe doppelganger sat down on the arm of his chair, her digits running through his hero hair soothingly.

"Come on, Stefan. You know Elena doesn't want you, don't you?" Katherine's palm traces across his jaw and down to his chin, tilting his head up to face her. "Even when she was home, the tension between her and Damon was just... too strong."

The Salvatore tensed upon hearing her words, knowing well that what she said was true, though he refused to accept it. Elena provided him with a love he had never truly experienced before. To lose that to his brother... that's the one thing he wasn't sure he could handle. "She would never do that. That's not who she is."

An airy laughter slips off Katherine's tongue as she played with his hair. "But it is. Damon even confirmed that they've spent all two weeks of her absence together." She paused just long enough to slide ever so gracefully into his lap, an obviously fake sympathetic expression plastered on her face. "They're basically inseparable."

Brows knitting together in slight frustration, Stefan jerked his chin out of the doppelgangers hold. "Our father didn't care as much about my brother as he did me. I went everywhere with him, to all the important meetings, the trips, everything, while Damon was allowed to run about freely. If Elena spends all her time with him, it's only because he's available."

"Now do you really believe that, Stefan?" Her dark tresses hid the two as she follows him, her own features approaching his. "You can see it, can't you? She's enthralled by him... just as I was."

"Stop this, Katherine." The youngest Salvatore attempts to stand up from his seated position, only to be pushed back down by the strong palm of his long ago lover. Katherine looms over him, a devilish smirk painting across her crimson tiers.

The female's hand remained plastered to Stefan's chest to prevent him from moving, her strength too much of a match for the much younger vampire. "Oh, but why? We've just gotten started, lover."

Elena's eyes fluttered open, her vision blurring for the slightest moment before being able to focus in on her surroundings. It was bright, sunlight streaming through the open windows of the Draut house. She must have been out for the rest of the night. Though as she pressed up to a seated position, other recognizable features appeared before her. It took her a great length of time to sort out the faces, perhaps still a little out of it.

It was undoubtedly the family who had housed her, their features becoming clearer in her memory. They lay sleeping, Rachel's blonde tresses draping over her brother's legs as she lay passed out in his lap. The others neck craned to rest upon the edge of the chair which his mother slept in. Elena elicited a soft sigh, rubbing her eyes in order to wake herself up more.

Then she realized something she should have long before. The pain was gone. Every inch of the heat which had consumed her not eight hours before had vanished into thin air, as if it had never even been there. The brunette felt at her neck, her digits sliding over nothing but her own smooth olive skin. Confusion took over her being, gaze flitting back and forth from each of the people before her. Rachel, Jacob, Mrs. Draut, and Damon, who sit passed out on the opposite end of the couch... one of them had done this. One of them was a vampire, Elena was sure of it.

"Elena?" A groggy voice spoke up from across the room, one she hadn't heard in a few weeks. It was Rachel, who pushed herself up from Jacob's lap in order to fully awaken herself. Her curly locks were mangled from sleep, dark rims framing her eyes, and her cheeks were fairly pale from sleep. "Are you alright?"

The doppelganger shook her head, her palm remaining on the side of her neck which had been impaled by the sharp teeth of a supernatural. She swung her feet over the side of the couch, removing her feet from Damon's lap. "What happened to it? What did you do?"

A low sigh escaped the girls tiers, her own digits combing through her hair prior to shaking her brother awake. Rachel climbed to her feet, dusting off her ivory gown. "Look, Elena. There's something we ought to tell you. I suppose now that you having deliberately saved Mr. Salvatore from such a death, you must know what is out there."

Jacob groaned, obviously annoyed at the fact that his sister had awoken him. But nevertheless, he came to, seemingly even more awake than any normal being would be if they had just awoken. He shot Rachel a threatening glare, though shifted his gaze to Elena with somewhat of regret, who know what for.

"Some time ago Jacob and I had ourselves turned." Rachel begun, her brows knitting together as if she felt sorrowful that she decided to do so. "The danger of the outdoors had become too extreme. Even stepping outside in broad daylight was life threatening."

Her brother took over then, sensing her discontent. "We did it to protect our mother. We can't risk loosing anyone else. It was all we could think of, because at times, even our own home isn't safe."

Elena's fists curled around the edge of the cushions, frightened by the idea that she had been homing with vampires for two weeks. Anything could have happened. But then again, they had been nothing but kind to her, and all they really wanted to do was protect their mother. It was apparent that they were no Katherine Pierce, and hopefully they would never be. "Do you-"

"Kill people?" Jacob interrupted, anything but subtle with his answer. "Of course not. We aren't bad people, Elena."

Rachel's palm soothingly found her brother's shoulder prior to redirecting her attention to Elena. "We feed from animals in the surrounding area. The others don't approve, and have even tried to force us to drink from the citizens." She paused, horror temporarily reflecting in her hues as if she were reliving the experience. "We're stronger than that."

A moment of pure silence settled over the three, each one shifting their attention from one to the other. It was a fairly uncomfortable silence, though at that moment Elena couldn't decide exactly what to do about the situation. Of course, the idea of vampires was anything but new to her, and she could handle herself enough to know what precautions to take just in case something bad were to happen. The one thing that got to her, though, was the fact that these people could turn out to be someone other than who she thought them to be. Not that they already weren't, having told her that they were in fact undead, but personality wise. Kindness wise. What if they ended up to be much crueler than she had originally thought?

Jacob ruffled his locks, drowsiness reappearing on his chiseled features. "Now... are we done? I wasn't quite ready to wake up."

The female opposite of Elena nodded without a word, permitting her brother to travel up the stairs to his bedroom. She then turned back to the doppelganger, somewhat of a pleading look taking over her exquisite facade. "Please, Elena. Please just trust us. We were never going to harm you, I promise." Rachel then too disappeared up to her bedroom, leaving Elena with Damon and Mrs. Draut, who were both sleeping soundly.

Elena stood up from the couch, her digits running through her loose tresses as she began slowly pacing back and forth. There wasn't much she could do about this situation other than sit back and stay out of their way. There was no doubt that they were kind people, but could she trust them? Could she just go about her life pretending that nothing was wrong? No. No, she wanted to get the hell out of there. Not that she didn't want that before, but now that she had made this discovery... she couldn't take it. This was not her home.

Springing into action, Elena grabbed a cloak from the closet and made her way towards the door. If she was going to get home, she couldn't sit around and wait for the others to figure it out. The brunette hastily returned to the stables, where the palomino she had ridden before was still tacked up. She mounted and rode off down the road, fully intent on finding the help which she desperately needed. She was going to go and find the one person who could undo this spell. Emily Bennett.

"The power source is here." Bonnie pointed on the map which Damon had supplied her with, examining it closely. They had left perhaps a half an hour ago to bring Elena back, supposedly on their way to Iowa according to Bonnie. Each were itching to fix this mess, missing their friend terribly. And on top of that, she was injured. There wasn't any time left for them to waste now. "All we have to do is get in there, kill her... or him, and get Elena. Shouldn't be too hard."

The other lifted his shoulder in a shrug as he considered her statement. "Depends on who's waiting for us."

It was never easy to get past Katherine's maniacal mannerisms, especially when it came to Elena. Let's face it. They aren't exactly the wonder twins. If Katherine truly wanted Elena gone, she would have just killed her. Which meant that she needed her for something... saving her for later. For what? Damon wasn't sure. But it couldn't be good. For any of them.

Out of nowhere, the Salvatore was pulled from reality, thrown directly into a blurry world of wood and candles, old tapestries and worn rugs. Sounds were echoed, like a distant call to him. Strange people rushed about in a motion so slow, panic on their vaguely familiar facades. There was one - a curly haired soldier - who stood rather still at the threshold of the home, brawny arms crossed over his chest as his icy gaze focused on the end of the road. The echos of voices engulfed Damon in a haunting manner, his heart dropping at the words. "She's gone?" "She took the horse." "...tracks follow the path through the woods."

Damon stood in the corner observing the affair, his breath being caught in his throat as he ventures through this new memory. Elena had fled? Why? Had she not gotten his message? He watched as his younger, human self turns back towards the frantic family, his own features stoic whilst also portraying a hint of fear for the maiden who had run. His voice was distant, but his words were clear. "I'm going after her."

"Damon!" Bonnie's voice broke through the barrier that was his memory, ripping him from the scene just in time to see the front of the car run off the road and collide with the rocks aligning the highway. Everything slowed down as the vampire unbuckled himself and Bonnie in a flash and sped out of the car, heat swelling up all around them. A cry escaped the Bennett witch as flames lapped at her mocha skin. Though before he himself got a chance to yell out in reaction to his own burns, they were fifty feet away from the scene, both collapsing on the ground in agony. Only seconds later, Damon's car ignited into an explosion that would have no doubt killed them both.

Wasting no time tending to his own wounds, the eldest Salvatore crawled over to Bonnie, who lay writhing on the ground in pain. Her skin was brutally burnt, blisters already forming along her arms and neck. Bonnie couldn't contain the soft whimpers that escaped her as she shook, her frightened hues finding Damon as he made his way over to her. Lifting his wrist to his mouth, the vampire punctured his healing skin with his brilliant white fangs to draw blood. He adjusted Bonnie's positioning so she could get better access whilst offering her his wrist.

The witch took hold of Damon's wrist, pulling it down closer to her and enveloping his wound with her lips. She drank ravenously, the pain of her burns eating her alive. As she drank the thick plasma from his bloodstream, her own wounds began gradually healing, heat and agony being ever-so-slowly removed from her body. Damon pulled his arm away from her, sitting back and mentally cursing himself for having done such a thing. Not that he could have controlled it, but nevertheless, it was his fault that this had happened.

"Are you alright?" He inquired, his brows furrowing in worry as he looked upon the girl still lying on the unfamiliar ground.

A groan escaped her, though she nods in response as she presses herself up into a sitting position. Her wounds had healed on the surface, though she was most likely still healing beneath her skin. Bonnie shifted her gaze towards the raven-haired vampire, confusion setting onto her face. "What happened?"

It was apparent that Bonnie knew what caused Damon to run off the road, so all that was missing now in her knowledge is what happened within this new memory. They hadn't much time to talk either, because people were beginning to pull over and sirens were heard in the distance. Any moment now police would be upon them with questions. "Elena left. I think she went to find her own way home."

"Didn't you tell her that we were coming?" Bonnie asked with slight curiosity, her hand sliding into Damon's as he helps her to her feet.

"I'm betting she hasn't seen it." He shrugged nonchalantly, his gaze scanning the surrounding area. People were being to make their way towards them, worry written all over their foreign faces. Gesturing over his shoulder, Damon slowly began making his way in the opposite direction. "We better go. I'll compel us a ride at the next exit."

A/N

So... that happened. I hope you all enjoyed. I tried to make this chapter more engaging, though it probably isn't as much as I hoped. Feel free to review. Tell me anything you might like to see or any suggestions!

~ Charlotte