A/N: So the last chapter was insane and ended abruptly. I just had to keep writing.

Edit: I wrote that AN above like five days ago… it was right after I posted chapter 10. I planned to get this up as soon as possible and somehow managed to write half and then abandon it for a really long time. And if you can't tell from the first few paragraphs, I was in a very strange frame of mind, like I am today. Everything just feels so wrong today, and I don't know why. It was dark this morning at like seven and there was snow and it was just weird…

I also updated less fics than I thought I would over vacation. Darn.

Edit 2: (I'll stop soon I promise) I just wanted to dedicate this super-long chapter to laugh4life, who has been my beta for this story ever since my old one left. She's an amazing writer (go read her VD fics, they're incredible!) and somehow manages to put up with all my typos, strange ways of phrasing things, ridiculous grammatical errors., and all my panic PM's from NaNoWriMo. So… go over and check out her stories, maybe even leave a review (they are appreciated, you know).

Thanks for beta-ing my story :)

And now onto the story (I promise there will be no more neurotic AN's)

Elena's POV

I was surrounded by black and the iron tang of blood, like pennies. Were pennies iron? No, they were copper… I felt giddy. Someone in the distance giggled madly, echoing like pieces of broken glass raining from the sky in flashes of red, like blood. Blood and pennies. Blood and pennies and laughter.

Was I going insane?

Slowly there was a floor beneath me, damp and rough like concrete. There was a distinct smell of mildew. I tried to open my eyes but they were too heavy to move, like the rest of my body was. My legs weren't even there anymore. I couldn't feel them, anyway.

"Elena?"

That voice… I had heard it when I was slipping away on the lawn, when Mason was after us. The events of the night before flashed past my eyelids like a sped-up movie. Lexi had been bitten, and Damon said that a werewolf bite was fatal to a vampire. How could I let that happen? I should have told them who Mason was before running off and calling Damon. Then Stefan and Lexi could have dealt with Mason somehow so he wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Elena, are you awake? I heard you laughing." So the giggles had been me. I wanted desperately to say something but it was too dark and warm wherever I was. It was like drowning calmly.

A patient sigh—or an impatient one—echoed somewhere above my head. "You have to wake up soon. There's a lot of things we have to figure out. Like how Mason was perfectly fine with a full moon above and why Isobel's here—I saw her, and I guess Alaric did too."

I found I could move my hand and batted at thin air. It felt like my hands were wrapped in that funny packing stuff with the little bubbles that popped. What was it called? My joints could barely move.

"Hey… hey, can you hear me?"

I focused on the voice, Damon's voice, and let it bring me back to the surface. Suddenly I jolted upward, eyes wide open, gasping for breath. "Damon!"

"Hey." He was next to me, taking hold of my shivering form and hugging me. "It's just me, Elena. You're safe, I promise."

I clung onto him. "What about the others?"

"Besides Lexi?" he asked. I winced. "Fine. You were a mess when I found you."

I pulled away and drank in his face, his icy blue eyes that were so beautiful and psychotic at the same time. "What happened?"

He gestured to my leg, now wrapped in gauze and taped meticulously. "Mason got your leg, and you managed to escape with Stefan's help. You cut your hands badly too. I think it was when you climbed through the window."

I realized my hands were also heavily bandaged. Clearly imagining bubble wrap—that was what it was called!—wasn't completely from my insane mind. "Oh… yeah. Will Lexi be okay?"

Damon wouldn't look at me. "No. The only cure doesn't exist yet."

"What?"

"She needs the blood of a hybrid, half vampire and half werewolf. Sadly for Lexi, such a thing doesn't exist yet, and never should."

"Why not?" I said tearfully. "I don't want Lexi to die. She's Stefan's best friend, Damon, how many other friends do you think he has? He doesn't have anyone but her."

He shook his head. "There's nothing you can do. In fact, you should probably lay low. Stay at home if you can; vampires with werewolf bites become insane or hallucinate and attack humans because of the hunger. Besides, she might think you were Katherine and try to kill you for screwing with Stefan's head."

I said, "So what? Stefan will need me, and I want to try and get to know Lexi before she's gone." It's the least I can do, considering that this is all my fault.

"No." said Damon firmly. "Stay home with Jenna. You might want to tell her about vampires and werewolves, now that I think of it."

"Why?" I could never see a reason why I would want to bring Jenna into such a terrifying world.

He shrugged. "How you going to explain the werewolf bite and shredded hands?"

"Wolf attack?"

"And how did you get rescued?"

I smiled. "My knight in shining armor came and saved me. Or paramedics, either one."

"Oh, really?" he said, but I saw a playful glint in his eyes. "Why didn't the hospital call her and tell her what happened?"

"You're impossible!" I moaned, opting for insults rather than the answer I didn't have. "You're just…. Annoying! And you're incorrigible and stubborn and immature—well, sometimes—and you have that weird mysterious thing going on and you follow me around everywhere—"

Very suddenly my lips met his and I squeaked in surprise. I could feel my face turning cherry red. Yes, I had thought about kissing Damon before, but I had never thought it would actually happen. I could barely process the sensation of his lips against my, very warm and not dead, or the one hand trailing through my hair as the other stayed at my waist. Before I could do a thing Damon jerked away like he'd been electrocuted.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Yeah." I said. "That's okay. I should have stopped you."

"I shouldn't have—you know—in the first place." He said. He looked mortified and regretful. "I know we can't ever be together."

"What?" that took me by surprise. "Then why did you kiss me?"

"Because you're adorable." He said. "You're sitting on my bed in the middle of nowhere with a major leg wound—"

"—major leg wound?—"

"—and you're going on about how I'm incorrigible while you should be freaking out." He finished. "I felt like I should kiss you." He noticed the smile creeping across my face. "But I shouldn't have."

"Oh." I finally managed. "I guess we should just forget it and try to figure out what we should be doing now? Like going to see Lexi?"

"No." he said. He got up and knelt down next to a soggy cardboard box, rummaging through the contents. "Besides, how can you get there if you can't walk and I can't take you?"

"Why can't you take me?" I persisted.

"Stefan will see me." He said, handing me a bottle of water. "Drink up, I can't have you passing out."

I obeyed. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Sometime in the morning, but it's early." He said. "How about I take you home? I can't let Jenna actually see me—unless she can keep a secret—but I could drive you."

"She can, and you have a car?" I asked, absently crinkling the water bottle.

"I do now."

"Meaning?"

He grinned. "I may have stolen Mason's to get you out with jarring your leg too much. I figured running wouldn't be a good idea, and it would leave blood everywhere. Mason might have tracked you out of instinct or hunger."

"That is disgusting." I said. "He would have eaten me?"

Damon came over and offered me a hand. "Not so much 'eaten' as ripped you to pieces."

"Oh joy." I managed to stand by clutching onto Damon's arm and awkwardly hobbling along as he walked slower than a turtle. "This is harder than expected."

"Does your leg hurt?" he asked immediately. "We can stop for a minute, if you want."

"No, I'm fine." I said quickly. "I meant that it's slow."

He swung me into his arms too fast I thought I was falling for a second and screamed. Then I was clinging to his neck and gasping while he laughed at me. "Sorry."

"It's fine." I mumbled, curling into him. "You're awfully warm for someone who's dead, you know."

"I know." He kissed the top of my head, so quickly I couldn't react. I didn't want to, anyway. It was innocent, right? I still loved Stefan.

When we reached Mason's car—which in my opinion looked like a giant black tank that was probably bulletproof—Damon let me lay down in the back and curl into a tiny ball. I was still sleepy, but he told me not to fall asleep if I could help it.

"Why not?" I complained, pulling a worn blanket around my shoulders.

He shrugged. "You might have a concussion. I doubt it, though."

"I what?"

"You might have gotten a concussion when you fell through the window, but it wasn't very far."

I snorted. "Yes, because that makes everything okay."

"It's fine." He said. "You woke up faster than I thought you would, so I'm sure you're fine. You just can't sleep for a while so I can make sure you're fine."

I shot him a baleful look and pulled the blanket around me even tighter. "I hate you."

"Sure you do." His tone was playful, teasing. I hadn't seen him like this a lot.

"I do!"

"Keep it up, it'll only keep you awake." He said.

"Don't make fun of me, mister." I said. "I'll throw something at you if you do."

He laughed. "First of all, I'm driving, so we'd crash; second of all, you don't have anything to throw."

I slid out of under the blanket and began to ball it up in my fist. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

The rest of the ride involved a fight that I lost very, very badly. Even while he was fending me off Damon still managed to drive in a perfectly straight line, which was even more annoying than when he was making fun of me for getting stuck between the passenger seat and the driver's seat. When we reached home he had to help me out.

"And why are car fights a bad idea?" he asked me as we made our slow way to the door.

"They're not safe, and probably illegal." I pouted. "You just wait, I'll get you eventually."

"Oh, you will?"

"Yes, I will." I let go of him and leaned heavily on the door. "Can you get the key from under that flowerpot?"

"Sure." He retrieved the shiny silver key and handed it over.

I paused mid-click in the lock and sighed. "I don't want to tell her."

"You have to." He insisted. "I'll even stay if you want, for proof. I trust that she won't tell Stefan."

"She'll be scared." I said weakly. I knew in all honesty it was the best thing I could do for Jenna, but I didn't want her to be afraid. I was already in so deep, but there was a chance for her to think everything was okay. I wanted her to have that innocence.

He sighed. "She'll have to deal with it, Elena. She has to know."

"Fine." I finished unblocking the door and started limping in. "But don't you dare say anything, I don't want you to scare her with your weirdness."

Jenna was seated at the counter, talking to Jeremy. When she saw me her eyes flew open and she rushed over. "Elena!"

"Hey, Jenna." I gasped out during her rib-crushing hug. When she pulled away I smiled ruefully.

"What happened to you?" she asked, taking I my leg, my hands, and the bruises I could feel all over my face and arms. "And who is this?"

"Damon." He said with a brief wave.

"Damon who?"

"Just Damon." He knew he couldn't say he was a Salvatore.

Jenna gave him her signature "you've-got-the-bad-boy-look-and-I-don't-trust-you" tense smile and nod. "Elena, did he hurt you?"

"No, of course not!" I exclaimed. "There was an incident at Stefan's… see, there was a wolf, and—"

"A wolf?" Jenna was incredulous. "Sure there was. Did Stefan hurt you?"

"No, he didn't!" I said. "But there's something I have to tell you…"

Katherine's POV

Laying low was starting to get boring.

Mason had come to see me after his attempt to kill Stefan and Lexi—I had sent him because I figured a werewolf bite would help speed up the process of being able to manipulate Stefan—but I sent him away. He was still so clingy, even after nearly eight months. Instead of telling him I'd never been interested I told him that I was busy. He didn't mention anything else, aside from his encounter with Elena. He ended up leaving, saying I could find him at the Lockwoods.

Now I was shadowing the place, trying to decide if I should be worried. He had been texting me for the last half hour, asking if I had the moonstone and if he could see it. Even worse, Isobel had been calling me constantly. My phones buzzed in my pocket almost immediately after I thought of her, and I frustrated wrench it out.

"What!"

"Katherine, you need to calm down." Said Isobel in that annoyingly disinterested voice. "I just wanted you to know that Elijah will be coming down here soon. You need to get a witch as fast as you possibly can."

I groaned. "Why can't he get his own damn witch? The only around here is that Bennett girl, and I'm sure she's on vervain. Besides, it's not like her family owes me anymore."

"What about that leverage you said you would get?"

"Stefan and Lexi?" I snorted. "As far as Mason could tell they got away without a scratch. He couldn't remember much, just that when he woke he had a few broken ribs and singed hair."

Isobel sighed gustily. In the background I could just barely the sound of a man's voice, but nothing else. "That's unfortunate."

"It is." I replied.

"So… how did the stuff I gave you work for Mason?"

"Oh, that." I said. "He said he didn't turn until five minutes before the moon crested, and that he wasn't even in pain until two minutes before that. He snuck to the bathroom and changed there."

"And he still failed." Her icy tone even had me a bit unnerved.

I got up from my hiding place at the edge of Lockwood territory and started to make my way to the back. "He did, but I'm sure he could still be useful. I just have to convince him that I'm using the moonstone for his good and not mine. He keeps asking for it."

"You have to get rid of him."

"No, I don't." I insisted. "I can't, anyway. He's been jumpy enough as it is, and he's on so much vervain it hurts just to kiss him. The stuff practically radiates from his skin, not to mention his mouth—"

"I really don't want to hear the torrid details of your romance with him. Just snap his neck." Isobel offered casually. "That would only take about two seconds."

"But we need a werewolf for Elijah!" I said. "And there is no way I can find another one, not with having to get Bonnie as well."

I heard the faint click of high heels. Isobel had to be back at her current house, probably with several humans as entertainment. Of course, I couldn't be one to judge considering the things I'd done. "You have to do something."

I wanted more than anything to slam the phone against the stone was I was currently hiding behind. "No, Isobel, I can't. Elijah will kill me if he gets here and he doesn't have a werewolf."

"Aren't all the Lockwood werewolves?" asked Isobel.

"No, they haven't changed the whole time I've been here…" It suddenly occurred to me what she was saying. "Oh."

"It'll be easy." Isobel assured me. "Just make one of them trigger the curse, and you'll have your new wolf."

"And Mason?"

"Kill him. Make it quick."

I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "Fine. I have to go."

I didn't wait for a reply, slamming my phone back in my pocket. First I had to have Tyler trigger his curse; he seemed like the best choice. He was young and stupid so he would never see it coming.

I saw him through one of the windows and crouched lower, behind a bush. "There you are… now who should I have you kill? It should be poetic."

I had seen the way he had looked at Caroline before, but I knew that wouldn't work. That left a wide array of friends, none of which he cared much about. I knew it didn't really matter who he killed, but I did want to send another message to Stefan. I may not have gotten him, but I would get to Elena. It would be easy.

Suddenly I had an image in my head; Elena, at home, smiling and laughing at the TV with her head in the lap of a brown-haired boy that had the Gilbert look about him.

"Perfect."

Elena's POV

Jenna took it better than I had thought… at least until Damon changed his face to show her it was true. That was when she screamed and ran to her bedroom, where she locked herself inside. I sat outside and pleaded and begged for her to come out. Eventually Damon helped me open the door by breaking the lock, so I could go inside.

Now she was huddled on her bed, crying. I sat there and held her, rocking back and forth and trying so hard not to break down in tears too. "It's okay, Jenna, it's okay, I promise. I promise." I mumbled, wanting for it to be true.

Jenna shook her head. "The stories your mom used to tell me, they were all true. I can't believe it. And now you're the one that's in danger." Her huge brown eyes were dripping with tears and mascara tracked down her face. Strawberry blond strands framed her face, making her look like a child. It only made me remember how vulnerable Jenna would be, no matter how strong she appeared to be on the outside.

I hugged her closer. "I'll be fine Jenna. I promise I will."

"You're in danger. Damon said so."

And he's going to get what he deserves soon enough, I thought angrily. He had jumped in a couple times when I had tried to make everything seem less scary, pointing out that as Katherine's doppelganger I was in a lot of danger all of the time. "No I'm not."

She just kept shaking her head and sobbing in my arms. Why did she have to deal with all of this? It wasn't fair. "Please don't cry, Jenna, everything is okay." I pleaded, tears welling in my eyes.

There was a noise and I saw Damon hanging in the doorway. He was obviously upset by how badly Jenna was taking the news. It made me feel a little better.

"Need anything?" he mouthed. I shook my head and he nodded in reply and left.

All I could do was hope Jenna would be okay.

Damon's POV

It broke my heart to see Elena holding Jenna like she was child, begging her not to cry, but I knew it was for the best. I had to protect Jenna, and that meant making sure she was aware of how eerily good Katherine was pretending to be Elena; it had gotten her killed in the world I was from. Besides, she had recovered from the shock last time. She could do it again.

Downstairs Jeremy was lounging on the couch. While Elena had been explaining what was going on he hadn't seemed the least bit surprised. I still couldn't figure out what it meant, but I knew he had found out somehow. If I was right he had probably read Elena's journal like last time and was playing dumb so I'd leave him alone.

I came closer and saw the sketch he was working on. It was the same girl as in the other ones, but still unidentifiable. "Who's that?"

"Huh?" he was blurring the edges of the girl's face with an eraser. "Oh, her? Just a friend."

"I'd say she's a very good-looking friend." I said. "I think I might have seen her before somewhere."

"You couldn't." Jeremy said, never looking up from the sketch. "She's new in town. She's supposed to be coming over later."

"Really?" I kept getting the strangest feeling when I saw her, and it bothered me that I couldn't remember who she was. "That's good."

"Sure." Jeremy got up, leaving the half-finished drawing on the coffee table. "Do you know if Jenna's going to be okay?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. You seem fine, though, maybe you can convince her it will be."

"Maybe." He said. The doorbell rang. "I should get that."

I settled back on the couch, determined to wait it out until Elena came downstairs or until Stefan showed up, if he ever would. I was sure he would stay with Lexi until she was gone so I would be safe for the day.

Then Jeremy came back in. The so-called friend was with him, but she had her back turned to me. Black curls hung down her back and her voice was familiar.

"Hey, this is Damon." Jeremy said. The girl turned around and I saw two suddenly recognizable brown, almond-shaped eyes and a flawless smile. "He's a friend of Elena's, I guess."

She nodded. "Hi. I'm Anna."

"Hi, Anna." I said. "It's nice to meet you."

This was beyond a disaster, and I knew it. All I could think of was getting everyone in the house out, or finding some excuse to get rid of Anna.

She kept pretending like she didn't know who I was and went with Jeremy to "talk" in his room. As soon as they disappeared I sprinted up the stairs—human speed, not vampire speed—and stopped outside Jenna's bedroom door.

Elena's POV

It took a while, but Jenna stopped crying. She looked a little sheepish at having broken down so easily, but I told her it would be okay no matter what and that I didn't care. I was about to take her back downstairs when Damon showed up in the doorway. "Elena, we should talk right now."

"Is Jeremy okay?" I asked. He had seemed fine when I explained everything, but you could never tell with teenage boys.

"He's perfectly fine. Just hanging out with his friend, Anna." He sounded tense.

Jenna smiled. "Anna's here? I've met her before, she's really friendly. A little antisocial, but I think she's good for Jeremy."

"I'm sure she is." He said tersely. "Elena, can we just go talk for a minute?"

I glanced at Jenna, who nodded. Damon dragged me by the arm to my bedroom, locking the door when we were in. "What?" I asked. "Is it Stefan, or Lexi? I still want to go see her, by the way, and you can't stop me."

"It's Anna." He said. "I know her from before I was turned, she's a daughter of a friend of Katherine's."

I couldn't even act surprised. "Of course she is, because why would anyone in this family have a normal friend?"

"I think it's how Jeremy already knew about vampires." Said Damon. He sat down on the bed next to me. "I don't know what she wants, but from past experience I'd say she's trying to get her mother back."

"Why?"

"Wouldn't you do the same for your mom?" he asked. I nodded. "Exactly. There's no ulterior motive, she just wants her mom back. The only bad part is all the other evil tomb vamps that will get out."

"Always a problem." I agreed. "So, what do we do?"

"Nothing." He shushed me before I could start yelling. "I know it doesn't seem like the best idea, but there's too much to deal with already."

"Fine." I said. "Will Jeremy be safe with her?"

"Are you safe with me?" he countered.

I frowned. "That's a stupid question; of course I am."

"She loves him. He'll been fine." Said Damon. He sounded sure, and I decided to believe him.

I said, "Good. So what now?"

"I don't know. How about I apologize to Jenna for scaring her?" he suggested. I grinned. "I thought that would make you feel better."

"And then you'll take me to go see Lexi." I stated calmly.

His eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "I will?"

"Or I'll go by myself." I threatened. "And then if he's too busy with Lexi you might as well escort me to the charity event at the Lockwoods later today."

"It's a plan." He got up and offered me an arm. "All we need is a pair of crutches for you, and un-mangled clothes for me." He gestured to the slightly torn shirt. "Getting you out was harder than expected."

I smiled softly and took his arm. "Sounds good."

It took a while to get to the boardinghouse because of the stop we had to make at Damon's place, but eventually we got there.

"If anything bad happens, scream for help." He told me. "I don't know if Stefan's even back there yet."

I nodded. "I promise."

I made my slow but steady way up the driveway—Damon had stolen a pair of crutches from the hospital for me—and knocked on the door. There was a long pause before Stefan opened the door.

"Elena?" he gasped. He took in all my injuries and then drew me into a tight hug. I could hear his rough breathes and knew he was crying. I was too. "I thought you got away, ahead of us, but then you were gone."

"I know."

"What happened?" he asked, pulling away to he could look at me but not letting go. "Did you get away after us or before us?"

"After." I said. "I… I guess it was a miracle. I passed out, and then I woke up near my house. I managed to get to a hospital." Stefan winced. "I'm fine. I also told Jenna about everything. She deserved to know."

"That's good." Stefan said. He helped me inside before he finally let me go. "I would have gone to find you, but—"

"Lexi." I said. "Is she okay?"

He nodded. I was surprised. "But I thought that werewolf bites were fatal."

"Apparently not." He said, leading me upstairs. "She was burning up for hours, but then she got better. It was like she had the flu."

I wanted to believe him, but I knew Damon wouldn't lie to me. Maybe he had gotten his facts wrong. I hoped that he had, because I was sure it would brighten his day to know Lexi wouldn't die. She didn't mean much to him, but Stefan did.

Lexi was propped up in Stefan's bed. She was deadly pale, but smiling as brightly as ever. "Elena. Glad you finally turned up."

"Yeah, me too." I said. Her happiness was infectious. "I thought I was wolf chow for a minute there."

"Speaking of Mason," began Stefan, "We seriously need to do something about him."

"Later." I said, shooing him aside and climbing into the bed with Lexi, who laughed at his serious Stefan face. "It's not like he can turn again, not until next month."

"She's right." Lexi said. I slid under the covers until my face was covered up to my nose and batted my eyelashes at Stefan. Lexi continued, "Come on, Stefan. We can't find out what he's up to if he's dead."

"Yeah, Stefan." I chimed in. He glared. "We can't."

A rare smile broke over his face. "You two are ridiculous. I won't do anything for now, if you insist."

"We win!" Lexi cheered. "One point for girls!"

Stefan shrugged. "Oh well. Elena, about today's charity event—"

"You should stay here." I interrupted. "Don't worry about it, I'll go with Jeremy and Jenna."

"You sure?" he looked immensely relieved.

"Positive." I said. "It's no big deal, anyway. The Lockwoods host so many parties I lose track."

"They do."

After wishing Lexi my best I went back to Damon's car. He was hiding in the back, and I had to drive out of sight of the boardinghouse before he would take the wheel again.

"Just a precaution." He assured me. "I'm not letting you drive anymore with that bad leg."

"Thank goodness." I sighed. "So, off to the party?"

"Off to the party we go."

Katherine's POV

I snuck into the back of the Lockwood house and made sure to keep out of everyone's way. I didn't do a thing until I saw Jeremy and Jenna show up. I had to shadow Jeremy for nearly an hour, thanks to his date. I recognized her; she was Pearl's daughter. I pitied her for falling for Jeremy since he was about to die, but there was nothing I could do.

As soon as he was alone I pulled him aside, trying my best to be Elena.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You seem worried."

"Um… I…" I stammered. "I gave you some sort of bracelet with vervain, didn't I?"

"Yeah." He said, holding up his wrist. "I'm still wearing it. Why?"

"Vervain has this expiration date, sort of." I hedged nervously. "I just need to replace it."

"Fine."

I took the bracelet gingerly, dropping it to the floor. "That's better." I hissed. "I need you to do something for me." His eyes glazed over, proof that Elena hadn't been putting vervain in his food or drinks. "I need you to go pick a fight with Tyler. Just go at him and keep beating him until he kills you."

"I'm going to pick a fight with Tyler. I won't stop until he kills me." Jeremy repeated dully.

"Perfect." I cooed. "Now go away."

All I had to do was wait.

Elena's POV

The charity event was mind-numbingly dull. Jeremy spent all his time talking to Anna, though at one point he had disappeared somewhere. I was on the porch watching as he and Anna laughed and talked about some joke that I couldn't hear. Next to me, Damon was watching for any sign of Stefan.

"He won't come." I told him for the hundredth time. "He's staying with Lexi, who, by the way, is fine."

"She isn't," he insisted. He had been at this for an hour. "I know she seems fine now, but she won't be. Someone I knew got bitten and after a while they got 'better' but it went south quickly enough."

"I don't believe that." I said. "You're just a pessimist."

He wouldn't look at me. "If I were you I'd lay off the insults, considering what happened last time."

"Fine." I huffed. "I'll be quiet and let you brood in silence."

I turned back to where Jeremy was only to see him staring at someone like he wanted to make them spontaneously combust. Another close look showed that it was Tyler. "Not again."

"What?" Damon asked, grudging but worried.

"Annoying teenage rivalries." I said, motioning to Jeremy and Tyler. Tyler had just disappeared into another room and Jeremy was hot on his trail. "I should go stop him."

It was harder to find them than I thought, and I was about to give up when I heard shouting and banging from upstairs. "Jeremy? Jeremy?"

I charged up the all too familiar spiral staircase that I had gone down in the Miss Mystic Falls competition and raced down the hallway. I was ducking into random rooms, knocking things over. I heard a slamming noise, like someone's head colliding with the floor. "Jeremy!"

Out of nowhere Mason came flying around a corner. I screamed and flattened against the wall. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, he's going to kill me! He ignored me completely and headed up yet another flight of stairs. Did he know what the noises were?

I followed reluctantly. Sure enough, the sounded got louder as I followed, and he stopped at a door. Still pretending I didn't exist, he slammed his shoulders into it and broke.

All the air rushed out of my lungs when I saw what was inside. Jeremy was covered in blood but doggedly fighting Tyler like his life depended on it. "Jeremy, stop it!" I yelled. Mason was circling them, trying to find a way to get them apart.

Deaf to all sounds, Jeremy struggled in Tyler's grip and managed to break away, punching Tyler in the face as he fell. Tyler was outraged—he'd always had an awful temper. I could barely breathe when I saw him grab some heavy statue from a nearby by desk and raise it above his head—

It cracked soundly against Mason's head as he jumped in the way and tried to shove Tyler aside. Jeremy recoiled at the sound and blinked. The glazed look in his eyes vanished. "What?"

Mason was on the floor, bleeding, Tyler was begging him to get up, Jeremy wasn't moving either. There was so much blood, from Jeremy and Mason. I did the only thing I could: I opened my mouth and screamed for Damon.

I knew he would come.

A/N: 5,532 words! Yes!