A/N: So, I'm thinking that people liked this fic…and I shall continue despite the fact that it's NaNoWriMo month and I have a ton of other stuff I should be doing. Oh well.

Keep in mind I have no real plotline for this in my head, which is usually how I start writing fanfics…you've been warned. These chapters will all be very short and pass large amounts of time very quickly, because there won't be much action in season one's timeline. After al, Damon's not there to cause trouble and release tomb vampires.

Also, in this chapter I guessed at why Elena needed pain medication after the car crash…is there a real reason that was mentioned on the show? All I remember is Vicki stealing her pain medication and Jeremy saying it was for after the car crash…

After what seemed like an eternity of nothingness I found myself shrouded in a bright light, and I hit the ground hard. Stunned and winded, I could only tell with my hearing that it was somewhere in the woods, and I could hear talking far away. It sounded like…Zach. I had forgotten that Zach would still be here, just like Vicki and Tanner.

"Are you sure about this?" I heard Zach say to someone.

"Yes." A pause. "I have to know her."

That was definitely Stefan. He sounded so different from the Stefan that had been haunting everyone for the past few weeks. If I had my way he would never have to leave with Klaus, because I would never be there to insult Jules or Mason. I also wouldn't kill Mason, which might make things between Tyler and Vampire Barbie a little less romantic, but that meant nothing compared to what I could do.

I focused on where I was rather than what the two were saying. I appeared to be a few miles away from the boardinghouse, in the exact same spot I had been over a year ago when I first returned to Mystic Falls. Drawn by the same force I had felt last time, I headed for the school, shadowing Stefan.

Elena looked…different. Not in a "she-was-obviously-a-year-younger" kind of different, but the kind where she had suffered loss, just not loss of monumental proportions. Around her were all the people she loved, and right no one had died at my hands or at the hands of someone I had led into town.

She was laughing halfheartedly at something Bonnie had said, reminding me of the note that would burst into flames if I didn't deliver it. I spent about twenty minutes dodging students nervously, not wanting Elena to see me. If this plan worked out, she would never have to know I existed beyond Stefan mentioning me. I highly doubted that would happen if I never showed up at the boardinghouse.

Finally Bonnie was alone, seated at a bench on school grounds. I strode up to her, glancing around every other second.

"Bonnie." It wasn't a question, because I did know her.

She was surprised and apparently pleased by what she saw. "Oh…hi? Are you another new student?"

"Nope." I pulled the letter out of my pocket. "I'm supposed to give this to you."

"Who's it from?"

"Someone very close to you." Was all I could manage, seeing as Elena was walking out of the building, head down as she tucked a book in her backpack. I sped off before she could see me.

It felt so anti-me, hiding from Elena when a few months ago I would have taken this situation as a way to win her back. Of course, I did still want her, but I knew I would be taking a risk if I tried anything.

I spent the rest of the day searching for a place to call home. There was no way Stefan would ever believe me if I told him what was going on, and he wouldn't be any more inclined to help than he had been when I showed up the first time. That meant I couldn't stay in the boardinghouse.

Eventually I found an old foreclosure that was close enough to keep an eye on Elena and Stefan while making sure all her little friends were secure too. It was going to be a full-time job.

Except that after a few days I found that it really wasn't. All I did was shadow Elena. She and Stefan hung out together, Bonnie started to realize her full, witch-y potential with help from her letter, she recognized Stefan for who he was, and Elena found out one night when she cut her hand with a knife and then saw his face. It barely seemed different from what I had witnessed, except that Vicki was still okay. I wasn't there to hurt her, so she was the same drug addict that she had been before, except now I had noticed she was dragging Jeremy farther and farther into her drug-induced haze surrounding her world.

That was the first thing I fixed. One night Jeremy was headed home when I hijacked him, pulling him into an alley and pressing him to the wall. Luckily, I couldn't smell vervain on him anywhere while he struggled against me.

"You are going to get it together." I commanded, compelling him. "You are going to get your grades up, work hard, and stop being such an ass to everyone around you. You're also going to stop using drugs and stay away from Vicki. You've decided that it's not what you want anymore, and that if she really wants you she'll stop the drugs and pull her weight for once. Matt shouldn't suffer because of her. His Mom is already bad enough."

Jeremy nodded. "It's time to stop with all the drugs." He agreed, zombie-esque. "Vicki needs to stop, too, or I can't be with her."

"You won't remember me or this conversation. You remember a man trying to steal your backpack, but you got away. That's why you've had this sudden change of heart."

"I remember nothing but the man trying to steal my backpack." He said.

I watched his eyes for a minute to make sure he was really compelled and then shoved him roughly out of the alley, watching as he raced down the street. I absently wondered who was even stupid even to be out this late. With vampires around it was like taking a walk through Sunnydale…though it wasn't that bad here.

I beat Jeremy home, watching as he greeted a worried Elena and an angry but worried Jenna.

"Where were you?" Jenna demanded, glaring at him despite the smile of relief that was trying to make itself seen on her lips. "It's past twelve o'clock, Jeremy, and you're supposed to be home at eleven!"

"You could have gotten hurt!" Elena added. "Don't you care anymore?"

"Don't you care?" she had asked earlier that day, fuming at him as she stormed into his room. "You're high again, I can tell! You have to stop!"

Jeremy, who was in fact very high and slightly drunk, laughed. "Whatever, Elena."

"I mean it, Jeremy!" she shouted, tears welling in her eyes. I had wanted to slam through the window and give him what he was asking for, but I knew I couldn't. "You're going to get in so much trouble…you're already in so much trouble!"

"So?" Jeremy asked, turning in his chair to face her. "So what, Elena? Why do you care about me? Your life is perfect, with your perfect boyfriend and grades and friends. It's like you don't even care that Mom and Dad are still gone."

Elena's face fell immediately. "You know what? I do care. I care so much that even though I'm starting to feel better I still cry myself to sleep at night. Sometimes my chest hurts so badly I can't breathe! Remember this?" she lifted her shirt halfway, revealing a scar that traced across her left ribcage. "It still hurts, Jeremy, all the time! It makes me think of how all this is my fault, and it hurts so badly that I wish I could die!"

Jeremy sat there, stunned. He didn't even say a word as she ran out of the room sobbing and locked herself in her bedroom.

I could see she was afraid the same thing would happen again.

Jeremy was less startled by the onslaught in his compelled frame of mind. "Well…someone jumped me on the way home, and I had to wrestle my backpack away from him. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been out so late."

"I don't want to hear any excuses…! Wait, you're sorry? Are you hurt?" Jenna said, jumbling everything that came out of her mouth together. "Did he steal anything from you?"

Elena merely wrapped Jeremy in a tight embrace. "I can't lose you." She whispered. "Please, Jeremy…" I knew she was talking about earlier that day, when she had told Jeremy that she needed him to stay away from drugs. He had brushed her aside, telling her that he would do whatever he wanted.

"Hey…" Jeremy whispered back, stroking her hair soothingly. "It's okay. You're right, Elena. I'm fine, Aunt Jenna." The last part was added at full volume as Jenna gave up her "parental control" front and hugged him from behind, still asking if he was hurt.

"You sure?" Jenna asked. Elena hadn't said a word since Jeremy telling her she was right, just held onto him like a lifeline.

Jeremy nodded. "I'm sure. And…no more drugs. I want to get back to school and my friends."

"Really?" Jenna said. Her eyes glinted suspiciously. "You're not just making this up so we leave you alone?"

"No." said Jeremy. I could hear the sincerity in his voice. "I'm tired of wasting my life. I just want…I just want to be okay again, like before…"

It was then that Elena started crying like there was no tomorrow and blessing the guy that had knocked sense into Jeremy's head by mugging him, at which point he pretended to be insulted and playfully shoved her on the couch. A pillow fight, more crying, and lots of hugging ensued.

Personally, it was so much better than repairing the damage left by changing Vicki. As I prepared to go home, I looked through the window one last time. Elena was asleep on the couch, head in Jeremy's lap, feet on Jenna's. A smile traced up her face faintly as Jeremy and Jenna tried their best to be quiet.

She made it all worth it, I thought. I had to remember that this was for her.