** A/N ** I hope you, like me, were shouting "Go on, Jeremy!" at the screen during his rant against Elena. This story is now coming to a close, this is the penultimate chapter.

CHAPTER 08 - It's About Us Now

"What have you made him think? What have you done to him?"

As I turned to Stefan, who was utterly stunned by her questions, he asked her in return, "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to him!"

In a malicious voice, unlike her, she said, "Just because I chose Damon, does not give you any right or excuse to simply replace me with my brother! It's sick, it's wrong and you shouldn't hurt him by lying to him and telling him that you actually care, or love, him because you don't! You just think you do!"

I was astonished by what she was saying. Did she honestly think so much of herself? And she had the gall to give Stefan hell for replacing her with a sibling! What did she think that she had done?

Stefan, hurt by her comments, retreated because he knew if he said what he was thinking, which was undoubtedly the same thing which was going through my mind, he would hurt her and it wasn't in Stefan's nature to hurt anybody.

It took all of my control not to give in to the vampire rage that was dying to be released and be unleashed upon Elena, but having unleashed a different powerful feeling on Stefan only hours earlier, I could stifle my anger. "Elena, how dare you! How dare you say that to Stefan! You stand there with Damon and say to Stefan how wrong and twisted it is to take another sibling as his lover, when you've done exactly that! Not only that, you know you're just following in Katherine's footsteps. Her blood must course through your veins more than you thought. You're a heartless bitch, you know," I did not care that it hurt her deeply to hear this, someone needed to make her hear reason and I knew it could only be me, "I can't believe you were even with Stefan now. What you've just said to him shows you don't even know him let alone understand him! I doubt he can even hurt someone accidentally. You've managed to hurt everyone, you've split the town, isolated Caroline and Klaus…What's more, it is you who has no right to tell me or Stefan that what we feel for each other is not real and that it's wrong."

In that second, I felt all the anger, frustration and fury at Elena accompanied with all the love, respect and need I felt for Stefan cry out within me for an outlet. So, without warning, I grasped Stefan with both hands around his broad shoulders and brought him to me and kissed him with a brutal, bestial need for closeness.

Stefan and I for what seemed an eternity were locked together and we probably would have ended up in his bedroom together again, had Damon not had enough of our excessive PDA and cleared his throat loudly. When we pulled away from each other, Damon spoke for the first time with his typical, cheeky grin spread across his face, "Well, brother, it seems I really didn't know you after all." Stefan rolled his eyes but shot his older brother a quick grateful look that he hadn't, unlike my sister, decided to have it out with him over this.

I looked back at Elena and she looked sullen and saddened by what she had just witnessed between Stefan and Damon, almost envious of the brotherly love they displayed, when any sense of familial love we had once had no longer existed between us. I knew that any reconciliation could only follow her acknowledging her part in the tragedies that had swept Mystic Falls since she more or less invited trouble to come and take up residence at the Gilbert home. I also knew that it would be naïve and foolish of me to expect the girl who had always been the centre of attention and the object of everyone's affections to comprehend how she had caused the rift between us, not my sudden need and craving for respect, acknowledgement by someone other than Klaus and Caroline and actually, just love.

I glided over to Elena, who took a frightened step backwards into Damon's side; always needing his protection…I looked her in the eyes and quietly whispered, "We're done, you and me, Elena. I'm not leaving Mystic Falls, but this is a final goodbye, but you should be used to those by now." I softly pressed my lips to her cheek in a brother's farewell kiss to his would-be estranged sister and then walked back to Stefan and took his hand, asking in a hopeful, nasal voice, "Come with me?"

Stefan smiled, "Wherever you go…"

With the words barely out of his mouth, I pressed my lips to his softly and whispered in his ear, in my usual, sarcastic lilt, "Well, we're only going to the Mikaelson's!"

Damon looked up at us having heard where we were bound and said, "Jer?"

"Yeah?"

"What exactly did you do to Vampire Barbie?"

I knew that even though Damon highly disapproved of Caroline's acceptance of Klaus and his moral reforms and her siding with him over Elena, he still cared sincerely for the blonde vampire, as her creator, he was naturally bound to her as his blood ran through her veins and although he would have concealed his true emotions from Elena, would have been sorely grieved had I murdered her.

Elena's countenance did shift from distraught to vexed swiftly at Damon's concern for Caroline's wellbeing, but it was her issue that she could not forgive her former best friend for falling in love with forbidden fruit as it were, which again was no less than she herself had done with Damon.

"Why don't you just call her and ask, Damon? Neither she nor Klaus deserve your disapproval or aversion for being together, just as neither Stefan nor I deserve it."

While Elena showed her disgust, Damon on the other hand, nodded slightly in agreement, "I might give her a call – sometime…" he winked.

I nodded in the understanding that he would call Caroline because he, unlike Elena, could see that she did need some support from her friends, who had previously shunned her and he could give her that and they could reconcile whether Elena liked it or not. I laughed to myself as I thought it a funny thing that Damon might have learnt something about his girlfriend and her attitudes and flaws through my exposing them in the way that I had and through Stefan and my new relationship.

Stefan and I headed for the door heading back to the Mikaelson mansion, when just before we stepped out together into the world as a couple, I looked back at Elena and said, "Elena," she looked at me, "It's not about you anymore."

Soon enough, Stefan and I were stood on the porch of the Mikaelson home and had just rung the old fashioned doorbell. While we were waiting for Klaus or Caroline to answer the door, I saw a curtain on the second floor move; almost sure I saw Caroline's face disappear behind the rich purple velvet. The door was then pulled ajar revealing Klaus looking stressed at seeing me back so soon after he had told me not to return until I had gained control of my vampire urges.

He said, smiling at Stefan, "Stefan, glad to see you," he then turned to scrutinise me, "Jeremy…" he said warily.

I understood his caution in trusting me to enter his home, which housed Caroline, his most prized possession, which I had come perilously close to taking away from him forever. Reassuringly I said, "Klaus, I am sorry for everything I did last night. I know it's only been about twenty four hours and you wouldn't have expected me to change and be under total control that quickly, but," I glanced fleetingly at Stefan, gaining his silent permission before I outed us to Klaus, and Caroline who was presumably eavesdropping from another room in the huge house and when I saw he freely gave me leave to confess all, I continued, "something happened and I have changed."

Klaus analysed my posture, my expression, my manner and spent a lengthy moment inspecting my eyes before relaxing and smiling his familiar smile, invited Stefan and I into the house.

As soon as I entered, I saw a very pale and wan Caroline, dressed plainly in a loose top and sweats, standing at the top of the stairs, clutching the bannister tensely. I gulped noisily, nervous of her, full of worry that she might hate me or run from my presence in her own home. My fears were misplaced, as true to her own nature of forgiveness and second chances, she walked slowly down the stairs until she came to a halt centimetres from my face, utterly expressionless. Then, without fear or apprehension, she smiled relieved and enveloped me in a hug, which left me winded and shocked, but I warmly put my arms round her and squeezed her tight.

Klaus and Stefan exchanged a smirk at Caroline's returned vivacity and how the both of us brightened at the show of her compassion in spite of the personal and grievous injury to herself. Suddenly, Caroline released herself from my arms, and enquired, "So, what's the news? I'm dying to know!"

All of us chuckled at that and as old friends would, the three of us went through to the luxurious drawing room of the Mikaelson mansion and sat down while I, with a little hesitant help from Stefan, told Caroline and Klaus the story of what had happened since I had left their home the night before. We stayed up late, talking into the night, particularly on the subject of what Stefan and I were going to do now. Klaus courteously insisted that we stay at the mansion for the time being; at least until we knew what we were going to do, but the offer of a place to stay was always there as long as we needed it.

Caroline and Klaus went upstairs to bed in the early hours of the morning, just as the sun was rising and a new day, where all was fresh and unsullied, was dawning, but not before advising us not to return to my old room here just yet, as it was still in the same state it had been in when I left it. So, Stefan and I remained on the lavish sofa that was more comfortable than any bed I had been used to before I stayed at the Mikaelson's, and we continued to talk until we were worn out and had nothing left to say, and so we easily and naturally fell asleep in each other's arms and I had agreeable dreams for yet another night…