"Here we are; home sweet home."

Damon pulled into the driveway of an absolutely huge house, and Elena's eyes widened. "You live here?"

"Yep. Just me and Caroline."

He shut off the engine and Elena turned to him. "Is Caroline your girlfriend?"

"No, she's just my friend," He got out and walked over to her side, opening her door. "Are you alright to walk on your own?"

"I think so…"

She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out, giving him a smile as he led her up to the huge oak door and inside. Elena was ogling in awe at the vastness of the house when a feminine voice called from overhead. "Damon? Is that you?"

"Yeah!" he called up to her, and Elena immediately heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Oh, thank God! I was so worried that some hunter had gotten you…" Caroline trailed off when she got to the foot of the stairs and saw Elena, looking confused, and Damon shaking his head at her rapidly.

"Hunter?" Elena asked, turning to look at Damon. "What's a hunter?

Damon bit his lip. "A hunter is… well, they are…"

"She doesn't know?"

Elena turned to Caroline again. "I don't know what?"

She heard Damon heave a sigh. "She might as well know; I'm going to have to compel her to forget what she saw, anyway…"

Elena whirled in confusion. "Compel me…?"

"Elena… Caroline and I are both vampires."

Elena's eyes widened and she took a step back. "You're… you're what…?"

"That man who attacked you? Jack? He was a vampire, too. But he's what we like to refer to as… well, a psychopath. Not all of us enjoy torturing innocent teenage girls."

Elena couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No… no, it isn't possible…"

"Jack is actually the one who turned me into a vampire." Caroline said, biting her lip. "He found me walking home from my boyfriend's house one night, and he attacked me. He seemed to be in the kind of mood where he thought it would be fun to force me to turn."

"I found her, drinking from her little boyfriend, Matt…"

Caroline hastily wiped away a tear. "I don't like remembering it."

Elena was still shaking his head. "I don't believe it… vampires don't exist…"

"Well, we do. This town happens to be crawling with the highest vampire population in America."

Elena was starting to cry. "You're crazy! This is awful…"

Caroline's eyes widened. "Oh, don't cry!"

She rushed forward and grabbed Elena, hugging her. She looked at Damon. "Who is she?"

"She's Elena Gilbert, and she is very, very lost."

Elena sniffled. "You can't be vampires…"

"Do you want me to prove it?" Caroline asked.

"What?" Elena asked, pulling away from her.

"Care…" Damon cautioned.

"Oh, can it, Damon. Look, if I'm a vampire, than if I hurt myself, I'll heal insanely fast. I'll show you."

"Hurt yourself…?"

Caroline walked away, and came back with a knife. Elena gasped when she sliced her hand with it. "What are you doing…!"

"Look." Caroline said, walking forward and showing Elena her hand. Elena watched in shock as the wound rapidly healed itself. "Oh, my gosh…"

She met the blonde girl's eyes. "You really are a vampire."

Caroline smiled and nodded.

Elena took a step back toward the door. "Are you going to hurt me? Are you going to attack me like that man did…?"

"No." Damon assured her as he led her into the living room and sat her down. Caroline sat beside her and patted her shoulder comfortingly. "We're not like Jack. We drink from blood bags instead. Damon has been helping me control my urges… I've only been a vampire for about a year."

Elena nodded, and Caroline beamed. "Oh, it's so nice to finally have another girl to talk to! I haven't seen any of my friends since… since I changed. It sucks. I have to stay in her 24/7 and it's just so boring…"

"Don't complain, Carebear." Damon said as he pulled out his cellphone. He turned to Elena. "Is there someone I can call to have come pick you up?"

Caroline frowned. "Aw, Damon; can't she stay the night? It's super late; no one would want to come pick her up right now."

Damon glanced at the clock, a bit surprised to see it was eleven thirty. "Oh… I guess you're right."

Caroline clapped excitedly. "Yay! Come on; you can sleep in my room…!"

Caroline had pulled her up by her hand and was starting to pull her away when Damon cleared his throat. "Care… that might not be such a good idea."

She frowned. "Why not?"

"She's human, Caroline. Like it or not, the urges are still pretty powerful for you… the last thing we need is for you to eat her in her sleep."

Elena's eyes widened in horror, and Caroline quickly turned. "I would never…!"

"Oh, we know, Caroline. But it's better to be safe than sorry."

Caroline heaved a sigh. "Fine, dad," she glanced at Elena's wet clothing. "Jeez, you're soaked. How did you manage that?"

"Um… an old lady pushed me into a fountain, and then I woke up here."

Caroline blinked. "No, really. How did you…?"

"She's telling the truth, Caroline," Damon said, "Or, at least, that's what she told me, too."

Caroline sighed. "Whatever. Let's go get you something to wear."

VvvvV

After Caroline had given Elena a pink cardigan and jeans to wear, Damon showed her to one of the many guest rooms.

"It might be a bit dusty; we don't have guests very often."

Elena smiled at him. "No, it's fine… thank you again, by the way. For saving my life."

Damon grinned as he lounged against the doorframe. "Don't mention it. Honestly, I've wanted to drive a stake through Jack's heart for years, but I've never been able to catch him off guard. So, really, it should be me thanking you."

Elena smiled as she sat on the bed. "Well, it was my pleasure to be bait in your vampire slaying."

Damon chuckled. "Do you need anything? Water, food, some other human necessity…?"

Elena giggled. "No, I'm fine. Thank you."

He smiled. "Goodnight, Elena."

She cautiously returned his smile, seeming to be thinking. "You don't sleep in a coffin, do you?"

He laughed. "I was waiting for you to ask me that."

"Well? Do you?"

He chuckled again. "No. No, I sleep in a bed, just like anyone else."

She nodded. "Good to know."

He laughed again and turned to go. "Goodnight, Elena."

She smiled. "Goodnight."

He shut her door and she moved to change into the pajamas Caroline had lent her; a silky dusty rose pair of shorts with a matching tank top. Crawling into bed, Elena turned off the bedside lamp and glanced out the window. Sitting in the darkness of a vampire's house, she couldn't help but wonder if Stefan was planning on rescuing her…

VvvvV

Jeremy was anxiously pacing around in the kitchen. It was past midnight and Elena hadn't come home. He hadn't been able to find that Stefan guy at his house earlier, so he had come home, assuming he would be dropping Elena off soon.

But he hadn't. Now, Jeremy was worried crazy about his older sister; it wasn't like her to not call him if she was going to be late. Obviously he had assumed the worst; Stefan had turned into some kind of sex crazed monster and taken his sister captive somewhere, and she couldn't call him for help. He was about to call the police when he heard a knock on the door. "Elena?" he called hopefully, running to it and swinging it open.

It was Stefan Edwards.

"Where the hell is my sister?" Jeremy yelled at him furiously.

"I was going to ask you the same thing; she didn't show up for our date."

Jeremy frowned. "What are you talking about? She left hours ago!"

"And I waited for hours, but she never showed up. I thought maybe she changed her mind and just didn't come."

Jeremy shook his head in confusion. "How did you get this address?"

"It's a small town. So… Elena isn't here?"

"No, she's not."

Jeremy ran a hand through his hair. "This isn't like her. Something had to have happened while she was on her way to the Café."

Stefan looked just as worried as Jeremy. "What could happen to her in a town this small?"

Jeremy shook his head. "I have no idea," he grabbed his jacket off the rack by the door and headed out, shutting it behind him. "But I'm going to find out."

He started down the steps, and turned back around. "Are you going to come help me?"

"Oh! Yes, of course." Stefan said, and quickly followed after him.