Hey everybody! Are you all still having TVD withdrawals? I am :/ I was stupid enough to look up spoilers for the next few episodes, and it sounds like they're going to be quite the rollercoaster! I'm not gonna tell you about them, cuz I know some people don't want to hear them, but its going to be great! Anyways, I hope you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this chapter! So here it is, chapter 13!

"Oh-oh my god", the girl stuttered, "You—you're the girl from the grill—the one that tried to help me."

Elena looked even more confused when the girl said that they had met at the grill. She was sure that she had never met this girl before. "Um, I think you have me confused with someone else…Sorry", Elena said, hoping the girl would walk away—but she didn't

"Oh, great. You tried to save my life and you don't even remember", the girl said, looking as if she was about to burst into tears, "Am I THAT un-memorable?" Stefan had no clue what was going on, but the pieces started to come together. He looked down at Elena, who was still looking as confused as ever, and realized that Peter must have erased the girl from her memory, also. Stefan was about to explain when the same realization came over Elena.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry! I, I don't really remember anything from that night", she said guiltily, and then went on; "Do you know what that man was? The one that attacked you?"

The girl nodded and replied shakily, "Vampire". Stefan looked surprised, and then noticed the bandage on the side of the girl's neck. Funny, he should have been able to smell the blood. But then he thought, 'Wait, she was attacked two nights ago. It's obviously been cleaned—which means I couldn't have smelled it.'

"Okay, well he erased my memory…" Elena tried to explain, "So I can't remember you, or him, or anything from that night. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm doing a little better. But I'm scared to go anywhere alone… I'm afraid he'll come back to get me…" the girl whimpered, and Elena looked pitiable for her. Stefan could recognize the look coming over her face before she could even speak. And when she did, Stefan knew exactly what she was going to say to the girl.

"How about you meet me here after school. We'll go over to my house, and I'll help you through everything", Elena suggested, and the girl quickly agreed as she ran off to class. Stefan looked down at Elena as they walked through the hallway.

He had never been more proud of Elena—the girl that had lost her parents and had been kidnapped and on the brink of death more times in the last month than most people had been in their entire lives. She had almost died last night, but instead of worrying about herself, she was worried about this girl that she didn't even remember. He smiled as he dropped her off at her first period class, and looked in to notice that her personal stalker seemed to be absent.

Elena left class as soon as the bell rang. She'd had to explain everything to Bonnie and Caroline during lunch, and Alaric had asked if she was okay. She had said yes, and the truth was that she was fine. Peter hadn't been at school that day, so she didn't have to worry about getting killed or anything else he decided to do to her.

After kissing Stefan goodbye and assuring him that she would be fine to go home, she walked to the door that she had agreed to meet the girl at. As soon as the girl walked up, Elena led her to her car. They got in, and she pulled out of the lot onto the road.

"So, what's your name?" Elena asked, embarrassed that she hadn't asked earlier.

"Aria, and you're Elena Gilbert—you're practically famous in Mystic Falls", she giggled. The two girls kept talking until they arrived at Elena's house. Elena introduced Aria to Jenna and Jeremy, and grabbed a snack. She sprinkled a bit of vervain in the drink just in case Aria needed to be able to resist Peter again, stirring it with a wooden spoon before leaving it on the plate with the snack.

The two girls then walked upstairs to Elena's room and sat on the rug in front of her bed, and they got to know each other a bit. Aria had moved to town three years ago from Georgia, and had no siblings. Her mom raised her, because her dad had abandoned them when she was born. She loved animals, and she had two dogs, a cat, and too many fish to count. She was a junior, and loved tennis and taking hikes in the woods behind her house. But eventually the two got down to business.

"So, do you know if he's come back since the night at the grill?" Elena asked Aria, watching to see any signs of compulsion. Stefan and Damon had been able to figure it out quickly, she just hoped she'd be able to also after everything she'd seen.

"No, he hasn't. He was just so scary….I would have remembered if he'd attacked me again, right?" Ariaasked, sounding uncertain.

"Well, that's the thing. Vampires are able to control human minds by compelling them…" Elena tried to explain, but quickly finished the sentence when Aria's eyes grew to the size of the teacup she was drinking from. "But if you have this herb called vervain, they can't. I, um, I put some into your tea when I was making it. Now he won't be able to compel you—if he didn't already."

"Oh, thanks", Aria replied, still looking worried from the new information she had just discovered.

"No problem, I'll give you some more before you leave. The vervain in the tea should last a day or two, but you can also get a locket and put some into it—that will work to keep him out of your head. That's what my locket's for", she said, showing the girl the necklace Stefan had given her at his first football game—the same one that Damon had killed Mr. Tanner at.

"Ok, I have a bracelet I can put it in", she said smiling, "I'm so glad that he didn't hurt you. When you passed out at the grill, I was so scared. Then… then I was at home. I don't remember anything in between."

"Actually…he followed me home that night", Elena muttered, "He attacked me, then wiped my memory of the entire night. I only remembered when I dreamt his attack two nights ago. He came to school and freaked me out, and then he tried to attack me last night, too. But Stefan and his brother saved me before he could kill me."

"But how did you heal so fast?" she exclaimed. Elena explained the powers of vampire blood, leaving out the fact that her boy friend, his brother, and her best friend were all vampires. Then Aria thought about exactly what Elena had said.

"HE WAS AT SCHOOL?" she screamed, absolutely terrified. Elena lifted up her untouched cup of tea, and started to stir some more sugar in with the spoon off the tray.

"Yes. He was in my last period class, and I didn't remember who he was until—". Elena tried to finish, but suddenly there was a hand on her and Aria's throats. Being unable to scream, she looked into her assaulter's face, and realized with terror that she had been wrong. She was definitely not going to be fine at home that night.

Hmmm :) who do you think their assaulter is? I hope you liked it, and remember! Feedback is love, so read and review :)

-kiki :)

ps: guess how many days until April 7th! 30 :/ well, hey. that's only one month, unlike the Christmas hiatus...Guess I can't complain too much :P