You can't feel me, no
Like I feel you
I can't steal you, no
Like you stole me

Aria slowed her walking as she neared the Gilbert house. With her newly enhanced vision, she could clearly see into the front windows and spotted John sitting on the couch watching TV. It looked as if he was the only one at home, after all, it was a Friday night and Aria had remembered hearing Caroline mention something about a school dance. Regardless of everything she's heard, she felt slightly bad for John. His sister-in-law, his nephew and his own biological daughter hated his guts, only to name a few.

In Aria's mind, family was one of the most important things in life. She quickly shook the thought from her head before it could create a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and began to step forward. Aria didn't exactly have a family anymore, not after that night. Her only family had been her fiancé, and she refused to ever acknowledge his existence again after what he did to her; how he betrayed her.

Aria lifted her shaking hand and was about to knock on the large, wooden door before something stopped her. She was wrong: she did have a family. Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler, Jeremy, Stefan, Elena, Aunt Jenna, Damon.. they might not have known it, but in some strange way, they had all become a family. Maybe Aria was looking into it too much, but she knew that at some point, every single one of those people had done something to help her during her accident.

Now it was her turn.

She raised her now steady hand, and rasped on the door a few times. It took a few moments before John opened it and stared at the girl in front of him. "Can I help you?"

"Hi John," Aria said politely, "Is Elena home?"

"No. She's out." He mumbled and then slammed the door in her face.

"Well that was rude.." Aria frowned. She stood on the porch and thought; she wasn't quite sure as to where the school was located, even though she had grown quite accustomed to the layout of the town, and she really didn't want to see Damon again. Aria let out a sigh and knocked a few times more, only this time John didn't answer. She glanced around and then seated herself on the porch steps. She would have to wait.

"Aria?" Aria's eyes shot open, and then quickly closed with the blinding light of the sun. She hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep, nor had she known how long she had been out. She slowly opened her eyes once again and lifted them to the figure standing in front of her. Jenna towered over her, a confused look on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, Jenna.." Aria told her honestly as she fought back the all too familiar sting of blood lust burning her throat, "I really need to talk to Elena."

"If she's not here, she's probably with Stefan." She spoke as she pulled her keys out of her pocket, "Did John leave you out here all night?" Jenna didn't wait for an answer, "He's such a jerk, you know? Do you want to come in?"

"Yes, that would be great." Aria smiled, secretly hoping that those words would be enough to allow her through the barrier. She held her breath once she reached the door frame, and slowly tried to step inside. Relief washed over her as nothing obstructed her foot from entering the house. She stood awkwardly in the doorway as she watched Jenna rush around the large house. First she went into the kitchen, and then upstairs to see if anyone else was home, then back downstairs to check the answering machine.

"You have one new message. First viewed message: 'Hey Jenna, it's Alaric.. I'm really sorry about what happened and I think we need to talk. I heard you were back today so maybe you'd want to meet me at the Grill?' End of messages."

"Is it just me, or did Ric sound funny?" Jenna frowned, then picked up the phone and dialed a number. Aria was expecting to hear Alaric's voice on the other end of the receiver when she picked up Stefan's instead. She listened intently to the conversation but tensed up once she heard the panic in Stefan's voice.

"Don't meet up with Alaric, Jenna. Please. I'll explain everything. I'm coming right over."

"Doesn't anyone know how to say goodbye anymore?" Jenna asked, looking quite irritated. She then moved her gaze towards Aria, "Can I get you something to eat or drink? I'm not sure what we have but I'm sure we have something. You can help yourself; I need to make a phone call."

Aria nodded and made her way to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and peered inside: hot dogs, green onions, cucumbers, milk, carrots, ranch sauce, sour cream, tuna, mayo, some tomatoes and a half-eaten salad were the only things inside the quite large fridge. She then opened the cupboards and looked around, still finding nothing quite appetizing. What Aria really wanted right now was a blood bag, but that wasn't possible at the moment and there was no way in hell Aria would ever allow herself to hurt another human being.

"Tuna it is." She sighed to herself and began making sandwiches. Aria had made three sandwiches before Jenna returned from upstairs. She sat down across the island from her. "Want a sandwich?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice." Jenna smiled and took one. They both sat quietly before Jenna began to complain about the way everyone had been acting towards her lately. She continued on for a good while before the doorbell rang.

"That's probably Alaric." She told Aria, "Maybe you should wait for Elena upstairs."

"Didn't Stefan say not to call him?" Aria asked cautiously, remembering the strict panic in the man's voice.

"It's just Ric." Jenna shrugged it off, "He's harmless."

Aria nodded, not wanting to argue anymore than needed, and rose from her seat. She cleaned up the dishes as Jenna slowly made her way to the door. Once she had finished, she climbed the stairs and reached Elena's room, shutting the door behind her. She then placed herself at the window overlooking the front of the house in search of Stefan.

It hadn't been long before Aria spotted his car pull up in front of the house. He dashed out of the front seat, up the sidewalk and to the front door. Aria closed her eyes and focused as she began to listen to what was going on down below.

The three talked as they moved from the hallway to the kitchen. Aria could hear Alaric slicing vegetables against the wooden cutting board as Jenna sat down at the table. She instantly stiffened once she heard the word vampire escape from Alaric's lips. Everything after that happened so quickly. Aria swiftly stood and made her way down the staircase to see Stefan holding Alaric against the kitchen wall, a silver blade against his neck.

"What's going on?" Jenna shouted, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Jenna, get out of here!" He shouted at the terrified and confused woman. He then moved his gaze to Aria who had ascended from the stairs and was now standing in the foyer. "Aria, get her back to the house, now!"

Aria didn't question him. She quickly grabbed Jenna's arm and forcefully pulled her out the front door and down the steps to Stefan's car. She opened the passenger door and Jenna quickly got in. She then slid across the hood of the car and hopped into the driver's seat, quickly putting it in gear and driving off.

"What just happened?" Jenna asked after a few moments of Aria's speeding, "What was Ric talking about? What was wrong with Stefan's face?"