Chapter Two
"Sara?" I exclaimed, "is that really you?"
"Hey, Elena."
"Whoa, wait a second," Damon interrupted. "Someone fill me in here."
"I'm Sara," she said, walking towards us, "Elena's cousin."
"I haven't seen you in forever!" I ignored Damon and Stefan's confusion, "what are you doing here?"
"Visiting," she answered simply, "or rather staying. I'm going to be here for a couple of months."
"Why?" Stefan spoke up.
"My parents, they're traveling to Europe for a couple of months. Dad's trying to get this promotion with which we would move to England for a couple of years."
I couldn't believe it. When I was younger, Sara and her family would come up to the lake with us. They lived in South Carolina at the time. Even though I'm a few years older than Sara, she had always been really mature, and we got along well.
"Elena?"
"Hmm, what?" I managed dumbly. "Jenna sent me to find you. We'd better head back," Sara said quietly. I nodded, not moving. I needed to talk to Stefan. "I'll just meet you back home." She turned and disappeared into the darkness.
"So that's Sara?" Damon muttered.
"That's Sara."
"Your cousin?" Stefan asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"She seems so familiar," he whispered now, "I swear I've met her."
"Thank you!" Damon yelled "I didn't want to say anything, but yeah, totally!"
"She's not a vampire."
"You don't know that," I really wanted to punch Damon.
"Yes, I do. It's Sara! I've known her forever."
The next morning, as I lay in bed. I couldn't help but think about what Damon and Stefan had said. I knew she wasn't a vampire, but looking back, Sara was always different. She seemed to be hiding something. Something inside me, though, screamed that she wasn't a vampire. She couldn't be. There was no way. I was so deep in thought I didn't hear the light tapping at the door.
"Uh, sorry," Sara started to pull the door shut when I stopped her.
"Wait!"
"What?" She looked around frantically.
"What do you need?" I asked sitting up.
"God, you gave me a heart attack. My flat iron broke, Jenna said you might have one I could use."
"Oh, sure." I hopped out of bed, walked into the bathroom and pulled open the bottom drawer. "This is my old one, it works fine. It's not broken or anything. I just got a new one that's better." For the first time, I looked right at her. Her azure blue eyes gleamed back at me. "Your eyes, they're so blue."
"The iron is fine!" She smiled ignoring my comment, "thanks."
"Sara," she paused in the doorway.
"Yeah?"
"I've missed you. It feels like it's been a long time."
"I know, it seems weird doesn't it?" She had no idea.
"Definitely," the door clicked and I was alone. It felt like I hadn't seen Sara in a long time, and I remember the last time we went to the lake. It was over a year ago now, probably closer to two years, and Sara seemed to look the same. As if she hadn't changed.
I ripped my phone off the charger, and paced as it booted up.
"Stefan? It's me, Elena."
"Hey-"
"I've got to talk to you, not over the phone."
"Okay," he murmured "when?"
"Can you meet me?"
"Why don't you just come over," Stefan said.
"Okay, I'll be right there," I snapped the phone shut, grabbed my keys and ran out the door.
"So she has cool eyes?" Damon laughed "seriously, that's it?"
"No, you don't get it. It was weird, they were too blue. Impossibly blue. And I got this, this feeling."
"A feeling?" Stefan peered at me. "Yeah! A good feeling, like," I paused "I don't know. It was like nothing bad would ever happen again. Like I'm safe."
Stefan and Damon shared a look.
"What?"
Stefan sighed before answering, "we don't know. I think we should just keep our eyes open, and see what happens."
"I think there's something she's not telling us."
"Any you're just going to accuse her? Elena, you have no proof."
"We could just stake her," Damon said from the corner "then see what happens."
"You are not staking her!" I yelled.
"Whoa, chill, it was just an idea." He put his palms up defensively.
"I want to know, and I'm going to figure it out. Whether you help me," I looked towards Stefan, "or not."
"What if she's just a mortal, Elena?" Stefan asked, placing a hand on my shoulder, "then she'll think you're crazy. Can we please just drop it, and then, see what happens."
"Fine."
"Come on," Damon faked his excitement, "its party time!" Stefan and I stared at him questioningly. "Mrs. Lockwood's birthday or something."
I took Stefan's hand as we walked out the door and into the night.
"Thanks for coming," the three words the Lockwood's seemed to utter the most. With all the parties, carnivals, dances and other events they threw, I swear I'd hardly ever heard them say anything else.
"Do you think Katherine is going to be here?" I asked Stefan.
"It's hard to say."
"Please," Damon muttered "she'll be here."
"Hey Elena!" Caroline rushed towards me, Bonnie in tow "the real party's in the back." She took my arm and pulled me out the back door. Damon disappeared in his own direction and Stefan followed, scanning the crowd for Katherine.
I did the same, but my eyes fell on the soft blonde hair that belonged to Sara. She was standing off the dance floor talking to Matt. She saw me looking and immediately waved. Matt turned and did the same, nodding to Stefan.
"I'll be right back," I pushed through the crowd, heading towards them, when I heard it, a scream which was soon joined by other screams. Then I saw her, Katherine, her face dripping with blood.
"Oh, Elena," she was in my face instantly.
"You're making a scene," I growled.
She ignored this, "Tell Stefan and Damon that I could snap your neck like a twig, and unless they want to risk it, they need to stop immediately.
I looked to Stefan, who heard everything she said and was standing at least twenty feet away. He had a pained look on his face, his eyes soft as ever.
"I like this." She said, just then two other men, who I assumed were vampires threw Damon and Stefan to the ground and injected something into their arms - vervaine. "No one can help you now."
People were staring, eyes wide, mouths gaping, "please don't do this," I begged.
"Are you going to cry?" She pouted, sarcastically "that's-"
"You are such a bitch!" Katherine was interrupted.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Sara said.
"Sara Gilbert, long time, no see," Katherine's fingers dug into my arm.
"Leave."
"Make me."
"Don't think I won't."
I watched as Katherine's jaw clenched "Fine. You win this time, Guardian." Damon and Stefan started in shock, as did everyone else. "This isn't over."
"You haven't changed a bit," Sara growled.
"Do you want to fight me?" Katherine asked "because I have no problem snapping your little head off."
"You couldn't if you tried," Sara replied smoothly "you know that."
Katherine's hand lashed towards Sara's throat, but before it even got close, Sara had grabbed it, and used the momentum that Katherine had to slam her into the brick. Katherine moaned out in pain.
"Vampires," Sara breathed "you all think you're so tough, like you're the best, you own the place. Well let's get something straight, no matter how cliché it sounds, good always triumphs over evil. And even though we support the vampires that chose to fight against those like you, your conceded minds are all the same. I'm here, Katherine, and it's my job to make sure Elena's safe. So bring it on, honey. I've got more than one fight to pick with you." And with that Sara released her grip on Katherine, and backed away.
Katherine took one last look at me, and disappeared into the darkness.
"Well, that was fun." Sara laughed.
"What the hell is going on?"
A/N: Please review! Thank you for all the positive feedback from chapter one!
