FAMILY TIES

Ariana woke up in her room upon hearing a noise. Confused, she threw the covers off of her and walked out of her room.

"Jeremy? Hello?" She asked as she descended the stairs. She walked barefoot across the hardwood floor an into the living room. She flicked the light switch on the wall, but the ceiling chandelier refused to turn on. Then, she heard someone talking, and she peered her head around the wall, to see that the television was on. Strange? The light was out, but the TV worked?

Logan Fell was reporting something on the news channel. "This is Logan Fell coming to you live from the streets of Mystic Falls with a breaking news of another deadly animal attack. The wild animal terrorizing the citizens of Mystic Falls has claimed another victim, local high school student; Ariana Gilbert." Ariana's face appeared on the TV screen, a smiling photo. Ariana looked at the screen, shocked. "Police are certain that forensic evidence will confirm that this is the same animal responsible for recent attacks."

"You know what's coming next," A voice from behind Ariana said. She slowly turned around. It was Damon.

Ariana ran away, towards the front door. But once she opened it, Damon was there again. She slammed it shut and backed away. Just when she was about to reach the stairs, suddenly, Damon grabbed her, and sunk his fangs into her neck, tasting the sweet blood. Ariana screamed.

"Ah!" Stefan woke up in his own bedroom with a fright. Sweat poured down his face, soaking his shirt. It was all just a dream. Ariana was alright, surely.

"Bad dream?" Damon was sitting by one of the tables in Stefan's room, smirking. He got up, and said, "Do you know how easy it was to get into your head right now? You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field." Stefan just continued to glare at him. "Football reference. Too soon."

Stefan took the letter opener from his bedside table, and flung it at Damon. Damon barely flinched as it penetrated his abdomen. He simply pulled it out, and started to play with the knife.

"All right," Damon admitted, "I deserved that. But I just wanted to let you know, they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing coach Tanner and all those people."

Stefan's angry gaze turned confused, "What are you talking about?"

"It was a mountain lion," Damon smirked, "Really big one." His arms opened up to show length. "It attacked a hunter this morning. It's all over the news 'Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls'."

Stefan glared and asked, "Why would you cover your tracks?" He wasn't sure that he wanted to know the answer.

"I've decided to stay a while," Damon said. Stefan instantly tensed. "And I'm just having way too much fun here with you and Ariana."

"Can't touch her now. She knows about us." Even though that's what Stefan said, he knew that Damon could do whatever he wanted to do.

"Well," Damon smirked, "Something tells me she doesn't judge someone by what they are."

"You're right." Stefan said. "She doesn't. But if you start going around town and killing people. She will judge."

Damon's eye twitched, but other than that, his smirk didn't change. "Yeah, well, believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion." Damon said, referring to the vervain. "Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style and my charm, and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift."

Stefan stood up and walked towards Damon. "Ariana's not like that." He said.

Damon shrugged, "She's only human." Then, before Stefan could reply, Damon took the same now blood stained letter opener, and stabbed Stefan in the stomach. Stefan crouched over in pain. Because Stefan only drank animal blood, he was weaker than his brother, by a lot. Damon then gestured to his black shirt, "This is John Varvatos, dude. Dick move." He said, as if he actually cared.

Ariana POV:

I came down the stairs of my house, dressed in jeans, black boots, and a purple cardigan. Damn. Yesterday was... I can't even begin to explain how messed up my life was becoming. I had already checked Elena and Jeremy's room, and was moving towards Jenna's when I heard her voice from the living room. "Scum ball. Scum bucket."

"Hey, Aunt Jenna," I smiled at her. She was okay. No sign of Damon. "Who are you talking to?"

"Him," she pointed to the TV. The news was on. He was talking about an "animal attack". My stomach dropped. This was no animal attack. Jenna continued, "Also known as Logan 'Scum' Fell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?"

Wow. Jenna had moved away from the news guy. I mean, he wasn't that much older than me. He had dark hair and eyes, he had a cute look to him. "He's cute. So what happened?" I asked.

"Oh," she turned to me, "he is not cute. There's nothing cute about him. He's a cheating, lying, manipulator."

I laughed. Nope, Jenna's still the same fun loving aunt. Oh, if only our life was normal, everything just keeps getting more complicated.

Then, Elena came down the stairs, carrying a box. "Here," she said, as she dumped the box into my hands, "I got this from the safe deposit box yesterday. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood she would loan it to the founder's council for their heritage display."

"And you're giving it to me, because...?" I asked her.

"What?" She shrugged. "I'm not going to the Tyler's house. Everyone's pissed at me. Besides, you're the one with the car."

I sighed, and succumbed, "Fine. I still think you should apologize to Bonnie and Caroline."

"Nah,"

I sighed again. Then I spotted something. "Look, Aunt Jenna, it's great-great-grandma Mary's wedding ring." I held up a beautiful vintage white gold diamond ring.

"It's beautiful," Jenna commented. Finally, my brother came into the living room.

"How much do you think that stuff is worth?" Jeremy asked me, "You know, like on eBay."

"We're not going to sell it." I said to him sternly. It was all we had left of our parents. "We're loaning it to the Lockwoods for safe keeping."

"Tyler?" Jeremy questioned, "Why the hell would you do that?"

"It's for history, not Tyler." I told him.

That's when I remembered the Founder's party. Shoot. Should I ask Stefan? Would it be too inappropriate? It was strange. I wasn't scared of Stefan, not one bit. I trusted him. He was nice and mature. As long as he still wanted me, I'd always want him. No matter if he was human, a vampire, or whatever other creature, I'd still want to be with Stefan.

I was placing the wooden box down on the counter by the kitchen, when the doorbell rang. Who could that be? I thought.

"Got it." I called out to my family. I opened the door, to see Stefan standing there, changing the weight from foot to foot every now and then. "Hi," I said.

"Hey," he still looked uncomfortable, so I opened the door wider. "You're welcome to come in."

He looked surprised. "You're okay with it?" He asked.

"I'm okay with it." I smiled, just to help ease his mind. He smiled at me too, and said,

"Alright,"

After he came in, I decided to bring him to my room. I needed to talk to him about... things. "Follow me." I told him.

I knew he was questioning what I was going to go the whole way up the stairs. Once we entered my bedroom, I turned towards him, and said, "We need to talk."

It must have sounded terrible. "we need to talk" is not exactly something you want to hear from anyone. "Go ahead." He said. I couldn't read his emotions. His face was completely guarded, as if he expected the worst.

"Stefan," I started, "I don't care that you're a vampire." His eyes lit up, and he smiled probably the biggest smile I've ever seen from him. I continued, "I think that you're amazing. I've never met anyone like you. You're gentle and kind, even though you're a ...well... you know. And... I want to be with you, if you're willing to be with me."

He just stared at me for a few seconds, not saying anything.

Then, I started to feel awkward. I said, "I mean, if you don't want to-"

I got cut off, as I felt his lips on mine. I missed it. His touch, scent, just his every being. He pulled away for a second, and asked, "You mean it?"

"Yes," I answered. Then he smiled again, his eyes dancing. I giggled as he vampire sped us onto the bed and attacked my lips again. I felt the soft bed under me, as he hovered above, pressing his body onto mine. Passion flooded me, and I moaned as he deepened the kiss. His fangs, or whatever, were the last thing on my mind. Actually, I could barely even think, my mind was getting consumed by Stefan's kisses.

Suddenly, I couldn't feel Stefan anymore. He had pulled away. When I opened my eyes, I could see that he was sitting up, and looking away from me. "Stefan," I asked, panting, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied quickly, "It will go away in a sec."

I realized what he was talking about: his bloodlust. I sat up, and touched his face from behind. "Ariana..." he trailed off.

"You don't have to hide from me," I said. I wasn't scared.

At first, he resisted. But he eventually let me turn his head around so that I could see his face. His pupil and irises were pitch black, and the whites of his eyes were completely red. Blue-purple veins were protruding on the skin below his eyes. I could see white fangs from where his lips were slightly parted. He looked like a demon, an actual vampire. But his expression was not one of a monster. He was showing great restraint to not accidentally hurt me. I gave him a kiss, feeling his sharp fangs brush against my lips for an instant. When I pulled back, his face was back to normal.

"See," I said, "You're in control."

"It's hard to restrain myself when I'm around you," He admitted sheepishly.

"I trust you," I said, and he smiled. "So," I changed the subject, "Would you mind taking me to the Founder's party tomorrow night?"

"Wow, they still have those?" He said, and I nodded, "I would be honored to accompany you, Miss Gilbert."

I giggled and said, "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Salvatore."

Maybe things wouldn't turn out as bad as I thought they would... But of course, that never seemed to be the case...

The next day, the doorbell rang again. Jeremy got up to answer it.

I heard the guy outside say, "I'm here for my mom. I was supposed to pick up a box of stuff."

It was Tyler. I picked up the box from the counter, and walked towards the open door. "Here it is," I told him as I placed the box into his open arms. "Please, be careful."

"Yeah," Jeremy said rudely, "Be careful with it, dick."

"Jeremy!" I scolded him. He just glared once at Tyler, then went deeper into our house. I turned back to Tyler. "Tell your mom I'll see her tonight."

"I will. Thanks, Gilbert." He smiled.

"Bye," I did a little wave, then I closed the door.

There was about one hour until the party was supposed to start. Elena had decided not to go for she had no one to go with. I'd pair her up with Bonnie, but they still weren't talking to each other. Bonnie was in my room with me. She was trying on her different perfumes that she had brought with her.

"Delicate flower," she said to me, "vs. Naughty Vixen."

"Ooh," I smiled, "What are you going for?"

"I'm not sure yet," she answered. I was wearing a strapless burgundy dress, which ended halfway up my thigh, showing off my long legs. There were a few strewn-in silver beads on the middle of the dress's bust. I wore matching silver earrings, a bracelet, my vervain necklace, and a ring. On my feet were strap three-inch black heels.

I went to the mirror in my room, and was trying to figure out what I should do with my hair. "Look at you," Bonnie smiled my way, "getting all pretty for your date. You seem happy-ish."

"I am...ish." I answered. Stefan was making me happy. The only thing that I was "kinda" bummed about, was the fact that his vampire brother was going around town murdering people. Add that to my struggling brother and sister, and it can make your life even more screwed up. "Hey, Bonnie," I called out, "What do you suggest I do with my hair."

"Nothing, it's perfect."

I rolled my eyes. "I want to do something a little different, any suggestions?"

"Here," she said. She dug around her purse for a few seconds before she pulled out something silver. "Come here."

I smiled and walked over to her. She reached up, and clipped the silver thing into my hair. "There, take a look," she said.

Walking back towards my mirror, I saw that she had used a little silver butterfly clip to push back some of my hair away from my face, and show off my dangling earring. "Thanks, Bonnie. I'll give it back to you later."

"Oh," Bonnie shook her head and hand, "It's fine, keep it. I've got loads of hair clips."

"Thanks, Bon, love ya."

"Love ya more," she said, and we both laughed. Gosh, did I ever say how much I loved Bonnie. She was such a good person, and a great friend.

3rd person POV:

"I think it's better if we don't draw attention to ourselves." Stefan said. The brothers were in the boarding house's parlor, and Stefan was trying to convince Damon not to go to the Founder's Party. He didn't want his brother anywhere near Ariana.

"So you should stay here," Damon said as he smirked, "I'll see to it Ariana has a good time."

Stefan sighed and started towards one of the alcohol bottles, pouring himself a drink.

"My goodness," Damon mocked, "I've driven you to drink."

"Can't seem to rid myself of you." Was Stefan's comeback, "What else am I supposed to do, besides go about living my life?"

"Go about living my life." Damon laughed, "See, therein lies your eternal struggle. You're dead, dude. Get over it." Then he wrapped the tie, and secured it around his neck. "What do you think?" He asked Stefan.

Ariana POV:

Bonnie was putting on her makeup, when my phone rang. Picking it up from my nightstand, I pressed the green button, and was surprised when I heard Tyler's mom on the phone.

"Hi, Mrs Lockwood." I said. Bonnie gave me a look of confusion.

"Hi, Ariana," She answered. "I just wanted to call because there doesn't seem to be a pocket watch in the box you gave to Tyler. I'm worried that I may have lost it."

What? But I saw it. "Oh, really? 'Cause I saw it. Let me check."

She said. "Alright, just make sure to bring it."

"I will." I said.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Bye." I said.

"Bye." She hung up. After placing my phone back on the nightstand, Bonnie asked, "What's wrong."

I think I had a pretty good idea to who had the pocket watch."Jeremy." I said to Bonnie. I then entered Jeremy's room to see him listening to music. He was sitting in his chair, looking at his computer screen, when I over to him, and nudged him.

"What now?" Jeremy groaned, slipping his headphones off.

"Do you have the pocket watch?" I asked him.

"What are you talking about. What watch?" He pretended to play dumb.

"You know." I said, "The one from mom's box. Mrs. Lockwood just called me. She can't find it, and she thinks she may have lost it."

"Maybe she did," Jeremy said. "Maybe Tyler took it."

I sighed. Why did boys always have some sort of stupid rivalry? "Why do you want it so bad?" I asked him.

"Because it's supposed to be mine." He said gruffly, then got up and picked something out from behind his computer. It was the watch. He handed it to me. It was cool to the touch, and a bronze color. "Dad said it goes to the firstborn son. His father gave it to him, and now what?"

Jeremy looked so sad. What he was saying was the truth. It was supposed to be his, so I said, "Fine." I gave it back to him, and he looked at me in surprise. Shit, I was going to have to make an excuse to tell Mrs Lockwood. Damn it. "You can have it okay?" Then I winked, "Just... don't tell anybody."

Then with a huge smile, Jeremy pounced into me, crushing me in a bear hug. I was so elated to see him like this. It had been a long time since he's acted this happy towards me. "Thanks, sis."

"Okay..." I could hardly breathe, let alone say anything, "I think you're... crushing me."

"Whoops," He said as he let me go, but he was still smiling. That's when he finally seemed to notice what I was wearing, and he raised his eyebrows, "Are you becoming a prostitute or something?"

I gave him a playful push and said, "Shut up Jeremy, mind your own business. I'm going to the Founder's Party."

"Whatever, just don't let too many guys touch you," he said, and my jaw dropped open, "Or I'm gonna have to beat them up."

"Well," I said, tying to change the super awkward subject, "If I don't go now, I'm gonna be late. So I'll see you later."

"Bye, sis,"

"Bye," I closed his bedroom door.

I was feeling good. At least my brother was on speaking terms with me.

Bonnie and Jenna left before me, because I told the m that Stefan would be picking me up. As far as they'd known, Stefan and I were never apart. Nobody really knew about vampires except for me. Well, at least, that's what I thought.

When I went to answer the door, I saw Stefan on the other side, but he looked distracted. "Hey, Stefan." I greeted.

His eyes widened once he saw what I was wearing. "You look beautiful." He said, awed, "As always."

I smiled, "Thank you." I took in his suit and tie, then said, "You look dashing, as always."

He smiled, and held out his hand, and I took it, feeling the warmth.

When Stefan and I reached the Lockwood Mansion, I could see that he was still tense. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, a bit too quickly, "I'm fine."

I asked hesitantly, "Is it about your brother?" I knew how bad Damon could be, I hoped he hadn't hurt someone else.

He looked at me surprised, but said, "Don't worry about it." He caressed one of my hands in both of his, and placed a kiss on my hand. I smiled.

"Okay, when you're ready to tell me, you can." I said to him. I just hope that it wasn't anything bad. But what's "bad" was very vague.

He smiled, "Thank you."

We then walked, hand in hand, to the main entrance of the mansion. But before we entered the house, Stefan stopped. I looked at him questionably, then I remembered. Vampires couldn't get into a privately owned property without first being invited in.\

Good thing Tyler's dad showed up just then. "Hi," I said to him, "Mayor Lockwood."

"Hey." He said, "Hey, guys, come on in."

Stefan and I stepped through the threshold. Victory. "Thank you." Stefan said to the mayor. He nodded back.

When we walked a bit further into the mansion, Stefan gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek. I smiled.

3rd person POV:

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Damon was jealous of Stefan being with Ariana. He watched Stefan kiss her with narrowed eyes.

He had come with Caroline, but she was only his distraction, a puppet. Damon actually found the blonde quite annoying, but it was an excuse to be around Ariana more, even if she was afraid of him.

How could she forgive Stefan so easily? Damon thought. Yeah, Ariana really wasn't one to judge other people by what they were or where they came from. It was all about the way people acted, or what their intentions were. Damon sighed. No wonder Ariana was back with Stefan, at least the younger brother wasn't killing anyone... yet.

Ariana POV:

Stefan and I entered the "History" section of the Lockwood Mansion. There were all sorts of information, pictures, and artifacts. They ranged from info about balls, to pictures of famous founders, to girls' hair pins.

I was looking at one section in particular: wedding rings. My parents' wedding rings were right below the clear glass, sparkling like stars.

"Your parents?" Stefan asked from behind me.

"Yeah," I answered, "There's a lot of history here." Then turned around, and looked into Stefan's eyes. I smirked and said, "I wonder if you're here in this history section."

Stefan raised his arm, and said, "Follow me," I giggled and weaved my own arm through his. We stopped after walking a few meters, and he turned me towards a piece of old, worn, paper hanging on the wall.

I read it: "'The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration'." I scanned through the names. There were the 'Forbes', the 'Lockwood's, and-

"Oh look," I pointed to two familiar names, and smiled at Stefan. "Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Aren't you a bit too old for me?" I teased him.

"Much," he smiled back. He placed his hands on my hips. He was about to kiss me, when a voice rang out.

"Are we interrupting?" My blood ran cold, and Stefan's grip on me tightened. I looked over his shoulder to see Damon and Caroline walking towards us. Stefan turned around, so that he was facing his brother, and I was half-obsecured from the two. Though Damon was smirking, his eyes were narrowed at Stefan. Caroline just stood there, radiant and giddy.

No. What was Damon doing here... with Caroline?! He better have not been hurting her, or else... or else... I don't know. What could I do? I was scared. And it wasn't just for myself, it was for my best friend. Either Damon was compelling her, or Caroline was really just oblivious. But I found that hard to believe. Even Caroline was smart enough not to let a guy boss her around, no matter how hot he was. Because Caroline was not like that, she was independent, and she didn't usually act like this. No. He was definitely compelling her.

Oh, Caroline, what have you gotten yourself into. At least I had chosen the right brother. Now, I had to deal with my best friend getting it up with a serial killer. Awesome.

Damon just smirked at me, as if he could read my thoughts. I continued to stare at him.

Caroline was the first to approach us. She looked to Stefan and said, "I'm bored. I want to dance, and Damon won't dance with me." Wow. She was going to steal my date, and leave me with the psychotic brother. Yeah, thanks. Though, deep down, I knew this was Damon's doing.

Fine, whatever, screw it.

Stefan was about to turn her down, but I spoke up first. "Yeah. Stefan if you want to dance with her, you can."

Stefan gave me a look that implied that he didn't want to dance with her. Well, technically, his look implied that he didn't want to leave me alone with Damon.

"It's fine." I told him. I couldn't be afraid of Damon forever. Since, well, he was immortal. "I'll be okay."

I could tell that Stefan really didn't want to leave me, so I gave him a look that said "trust me". I nodded slightly, and with a wary look at Damon, left to the dance floor with Caroline.

I tried not to let my fear show as I met Damon's eyes with my own. He smirked, and said, "Nice dress."

"Thank you." I replied, stiffly.

"I want to apologize to you for being a world-class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you. There's no excuse." He said.

At first, I was surprised. He actually apologized. But, it didn't exactly seem very sincere with the way he was smirking, like he was plotting something dangerous.

And I had totally forgotten bout the almost-kiss. Good thing I was wearing my vervain necklace, or else... I don't even wanna know what would happen. Would he have bitten me?

I took a deep breath, and said, "I accept your apology," He looked at me, surprised too. "But that doesn't excuse you for all the things you've done. And Caroline, she's my best friend, so please," I took a step closer to him, "Please don't hurt her."

His face was blank, before he said, "What's the point. What does being good ever prove."

"It proves that you're a good person." I said. I had to believe that Damon could be better. I had to.

"But I'm not." Damon said, "I'm not Stefan. I do what I want. Feed when and on whoever I want. I have no humanity."

"Yes, you do." I argued, "Everybody has good in them. I've heard you talk, you care about things even when you pretend that you don't. Even though you did kill Mr. Tanner... you said 'sorry' afterwards. A monster wouldn't do that."

He didn't say anything. His smile was gone. He was looking at me as if he was trying to figure me out.

I continued. "Is there a reason you're back in Mystic Falls? Are you looking for someone?" He jerked his head up, when I said that. Then it must be it. He was trying to find someone. "I'm sure it's not necessary to kill people in order to do it."

"Ariana..." he finally spoke, "I am looking for someone." His eyes hardened. "But I'm a vampire. And humans are our prey. If you're not careful, you could be next."

I knew he was lying. Something told me that he wouldn't hurt me. "If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead." I said to him.

He smirked, and said, changing the subject. "Let's go see what Stefan and Caroline are doing."

I sighed, and said, "Just remember Damon. It's never too late to choose to be good."

Damon and I approached Stefan and Caroline from where they were, by a side table. "What'd we miss?" Damon smirked at Stefan.

"We were just chatting. Drink, Damon?" Stefan offered a glass of champagne to Damon.

"No thanks, I'll pass." Damon declined. They were staring at each other again, as if they wanted to rip each other's heads off. Shaking my head, I broke the testosterone.

"Stefan, would you like to dance?" I asked him.

"Absolutely," he said. He took my hands, smiling, as we walked towards the dance floor. I placed my hands on his shoulders, and his were on my waist. We swayed side to side, staring at each other silently. We didn't need words to communicate. I decided that I'd worry about Damon later. I truly believed that Damon was not bad, he just needed to find something to be good for.

I already knew Caroline was not the one for him. It was obvious he was just using her... poor Caroline. But perhaps, someone else could bring him out of his life of darkness...

3rd person POV:

Caroline and Damon were standing next to each other, watching Stefan and Ariana dance. One was glaring, the other was smiling pleasantly. Guess who was doing which. It's pretty obvious.

"They look so cute together." Caroline commented.

"Don't talk," Damon said, "Please."

Damon was silently fuming. Ariana had gotten under his skin, but not in a bad way. She had opened up his humanity, if only for a second. And Damon had liked it. But he also hated himself for feeling that way, and it wasn't even towards Katherine.

Oh, no. Damon Salvatore was starting to fall for someone, and it wasn't his "true love" whom he thought he had truly been in love with.

Ariana POV:

We were still dancing, when Stefan whispered, "He didn't do anything, did he?"

"No," I said, "He was on good behavior. You know, I think if you'd give him a chance, he'd be willing to become good."

Stefan just shook his head, "I have given him chances, multiple ones. But he never changes."

"Did he tell you why he came back to Mystic Falls in the first place?" I asked Stefan.

He scrunched his eyebrows together, "No, did he tell you?" He asked in disbelief.

"Well," I replied, "He didn't tell me exactly who, but I think that he's looking for someone. Would you have any idea who it could be?"

"No clue," Stefan responded. I sighed. I caught Damon's gaze from across the room. He was staring at me, expressionless. I tentatively smiled back, silently telling him that I truly thought that he could change, and become a better person.

Once the dance was over, I said to Stefan, "I'll be right back, I just need to find Mrs. Lockwood. It's to explain to her about my family history."

"Okay," Stefan said, "I'll see you later." He gave me a kiss.

"Bye," I turned around, and walked away. I couldn't help feeling that both Damon and Stefan were plotting something, even though they were both had different objectives.

3rd person POV:

Damon and Stefan watched the beautiful young girl walk away. They stared at each other blankly, then looked away.

Ariana POV:

I finally found Mrs. Lockwood, she was in the huge dining room. "Ariana, honey, there you are," She smiled once she saw me, and started to walk towards me. "I notice that the watch still isn't in the collection."

I usually didn't lie, but, in this case, I had to. I put on my best fake innocent voice, and said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood, I couldn't find it. I guess it's still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere."

"I see." I don't think she bought it. "Well, please let me know if you do find it."

"Okay." I smiled.

3rd person POV:

Damon went up the stairs, and found a crystal. It was a bronze colored necklace owned by Katherine, with a huge diamond-shaped topaz crystal in the middle.

This necklace was the only way Damon could get Katherine back. He was certain she still loved him, and if that was the case, then he didn't have to worry about his feelings for Ariana.

Ariana POV:

After the confrontation with Tyler's mom, I headed to the powder room. I needed a place to just relax and let loose of my stress. And anyways, it was probably the nicest and grandest bathroom I'd ever seen.

In there, I found Caroline putting some lipstick on. So much for peace and serenity. "Hey," I said to her.

"Hey, Ariana." She said back. I hoped she was okay. The whole thing with Damon would eventually crush her.

Then, I noticed something on her neck. I couldn't see well through the fishnet sweater, but it was obvious that there was something on her neck. It was peeking out under her scarf. Bite marks. "Um," I said, distractedly, "I need to g-go find someone."

"Are you okay?" She asked me, staring at my reflection in the mirror with a confused look.

"Yep," I lied, "I'm perfectly fine." I quickly walked out of the powder room.

Damon was hurting her. No, worse, he was feeding on her. He must've been using compulsion to make her not say anything. Oh, god, what do I do?

I spotted Damon once I got outside. He was walking in my direction, so I stepped in front of him, successfully stopping him. "You are hurting her." I accused him.

"Who?"

"Caroline. I saw the bite marks, Damon," I said as realization covered his features. Then, his jaw tightened, and he said:

"Where's Caroline?"

"No," I told him sternly, "You can't keep using her this way. It's wrong." I reached over, and grasped his arm. "Please, Damon. She's my best friend."

He met my gaze steadily, then looked away and said, "Sorry, Ariana." Pulling away, he walked past me. I felt tears flood my eyes. He couldn't keep hurting people. I had to stop him, but how?

3rd person POV:

Damon hadn't wanted to upset Ariana, but it was necessary for what he wanted to do. He couldn't be with Ariana, because he knew that she was too good for him. He didn't deserve her. But Katherine, she would be willing to be with him, at least, that's what he thought.

Ariana POV:

"Stefan," I called out to my boyfriend who was gazing at the lake, "It's Damon. He's been feeding off Caroline."

He tilted his head down shamefully.

"You knew?" I asked him. He didn't tell me? I was Caroline's best friend, and Stefan didn't tell me that Damon was drinking from her?

"I couldn't tell you," Stefan tried to persuade me, "You were having a good time. I couldn't just drop something like this on you."

I respected that he was trying to make me happy, but when it came down to the people I cared about, there were no exceptions. "What are we going to do?" I asked him, on the brink of tears, "He can't keep using her like this, it's wrong. And the hard part about it is that... I don't want to hurt Damon also."

"I know," Stefan said softly. He gently touched my arm, "You're very caring, and that's why I love you," I looked up to him, and smiled. Did he just say that he loved me?! "But, I think, in this case, Damon needs to be put down, just for a while."

I didn't want to agree with it, but I had no choice. It was either to somehow get Damon to stay away, or have more people die. "Okay," I agreed, dispassionately, "What do we do?"

"I'm on it."

3rd person POV:

Damon was pissed that Caroline had allowed Ariana to see the bite marks on her. He started dragging Caroline towards the middle of the patch of grass by the lake. She suddenly, pulled away and said, "Look, it's not my fault. Ariana accidentally saw it while I was fixing my make up. I didn't mean to let her them. I didn't even know that she had saw them until I realized that my scarf was messed up."

Damon went behind Caroline, and wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes.

"You make me crazy, you know that?" Damon was playing around with her, "It's okay. I forgive you."

"I swear I didn't say-" Caroline said, but Damon cut her off.

"Shh, shh, shh. It's okay." Then his tone changed, "Unfortunately... I am so over you now." Then, he bit her. Caroline gasped and fell, but then, Damon fell to the ground as well. There was vervain in Caroline's blood. "What the hell?" Damon coughed, weak.

"You know, I couldn't spike your drink... So I spiked hers." Stefan's voice came over to them, and Damon glared at his brother.

Ariana POV:

I was looking everywhere for Caroline. Where was she? Please, tell me Damon didn't do anything to her. I walked back outside, and saw a figure in the darkness. She was tall, blonde and-

"Caroline!" I called out to her. "Are you okay?" I stopped right in front of her. She looked so scared. "Did something happen?"

"I'm fine," she repeated shakily. Actually, her entire body was shaking. That's when I saw the blood that was soaking into her white cardigan, painting it red. Damon must had bit her again.

Then, Caroline started to cry. "Caroline, come here," I hugged her as she cried on my shoulder. She must have been delusional; not knowing where she was. She started to hyperventilate, so I rubbed her back, trying to sooth her.

I found Caroline, so now the question was: Where the hell was Damon?

3rd person POV:

Stefan and Zach looked through the cellar window at Damon in pity. Damon would stay in there, until Stefan knew for sure that Ariana would be protected. But there was something strange about Damon when it came to Ariana. Damon was more human around her, more caring. Stefan thought that it was just because of her resemblance to Katherine. But was that really the case?

"I did what I had to do," Stefan said to Damon, "To protect Ariana, to protect everyone. Yes, Damon, the heading reads 'Deadly beast captured. All is well in Mystic Falls'."

Damon groaned. Damn it. He thought. How was he supposed to get Katherine out of the tomb now? Would he ever see Ariana again?

He was hoping that he'd know the answers soon. Or he was screwed.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

-Spiralcloud