CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED

I woke up happy. I woke up warm. I woke up loved. Stefan and I lied in his bed, snuggled up, as he woke me up with a sweet kiss on the cheek. I smiled through my tired but happy haze, as I wound his arms tighter around me, feeling safe. "Good morning." I said, almost awake.

"I could get used to this." Stefan commented, as he kissed my head. I giggled.

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads." A voice sounded from the end of Stefan's bed. Startled, I reacted on instinct, and so did Stefan. Since I was only dressed in a bra and panties, I pulled the bed sheet over me, Stefan doing the same to himself. When Stefan realized it was just Damon, he glared at his brother.

"What are you doing?" Stefan questioned him.

I gaped at Damon, as he smirked, "Oh, stop being all smutty." What the hell was he doing in Stefan's bedroom... while I was still here! Good thing the blankets were covering me. Stefan further reached out, to make sure that his white sheet didn't allow Damon to see anything below my head and neck.

"Seriously, get out of here!" Stefan exclaimed to Damon.

"If I see something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a dollar at it." Damon wiggled his eyebrows, as I rolled my eyes. "Now listen, we have some important things to discuss."

"Couldn't we save it 'till later?" Stefan asked him, still irritated that his older brother had ruined his "happy time". I knew how he felt.

Oh, yeah. We were going to help him get Katherine back. Scratch that. We were going to pretend to help him get her back. I still felt a bit guilty about that fact, I didn't want to lie. Again.

"Well, we have lots to do, now that we're friends and working toward a common goal." Damon smirked, "Also," he shrugged, "I couldn't miss out on all the fun, now could I?" His eyebrows wiggled suggestively. The creepy part was that he looked at me throughout the entire sentence.

Stefan narrowed his eyes and threw a pillow at him, "Get out."

"Okay, okay," Damon got off of Stefan's bed, and started to walk backwards to the door, his palms raised in surrender. Stefan and I were exchanging looks, when Damon pointed a finger at me. He had stopped moving, his eyes trained on mine. "Ariana Gilbert, you're on journal duty. In order to open the tomb we need to find the journal to get the grimoire to undo the spells."

I sighed, "Alright, fine."

"You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do." Stefan argued, looking at me.

"It's okay. I'll look for it later." I said. Whatever my ancestor seemed to know about, everyone wanted that information. I sighed. One step at a time. First, find the journal. Second, find out what to do with the journal.

Damon smiled, "Good."

"How do we know that this journal will hold the location of the grimoire?" Stefan asked. I had no idea what grimoire really was. Only that it had something to do with witches. "We're really going to take the word of this vampire? He seemed like a bit of a dimwit."

I so did not want to be reminded of the death of yet another vampire. Vicki, Lexi, Logan... who knows? The next person to die could be Stefan, or Damon. "What is a grimoire?" I asked.

"It's a witch's cookbook." Damon answered. So it did have something to do with witches. Cookbook? I was slow.

Stefan further explained Damon's meaning, "Every spell that a witch casts is unique unto itself, so every witch would document their work." I nodded, understandingly.

"Yeah." Damon abbreviated, "Cookbook."

"What about our mystery vampire?" Stefan questioned, "Dimwit obviously wasn't working alone, so whoever's out there know who we are."

Great. More vampires, and they're out to get the Salvatore brothers. Please, let them be safe...

"Exactly." Damon said, "I don't like that disadvantage, so," He clapped his hands together, "Chop, chop." He started walking backwards again, "You know, I really like this whole menage a threesome team thing. It's got a bit of a kink to it." Neither Stefan or I said anything to that as Damon chuckled. "Don't screw it up." He said in a sing-song voice. Damon was right about to disappear from my line of eyesight, when he smirked at me, "By the way, Ariana, nice bra." Then he ducked his head, right before Stefan's other pillow, whom Stefan also threw, could reach his brother.

I looked down, and realized that the sheet had slid down while I was talking, distracted. The black and read lace from my bra showing entirely. I shook my head in embarrassment, as Stefan tried to apologize to me.

"Ignore him." I said to Stefan, as I leaned in to kiss him. Stefan momentarily seemed to forget the whole situation with Damon, as he pulled the sheet over our heads, obscuring us from anyone else who may have been lurking in the shadows. He kissed me passionately, filled with lust and undeniable love.

I would worry about everything later. The whole journal thing and the Salvatore brothers' history.

I let myself be carefree, and just enjoyed the moment. For, I knew, the whole issue with the tomb, Katherine, journals, and grimoires, were about to become a big part of my life. A part, which I did not want beginning.

Stefan and I searched through my old family boxes, finding photos, drawings, sketches, and artifacts from a long time ago. I was trying to find the Gilbert journal. Stefan sat at the breakfast bar, wile I dug through another old box. The whole time was spent thinking about Damon and how the more I thought about him, the guiltier I felt. We were lying to him.

The guilt kept tugging on me, until I finally asked Stefan, "Do you think that Damon believes we are trying to help him?"

Stefan looked at me, and replied, "I don't think Damon knows what to believe. Trust isn't something that comes naturally to him."

I never thought that Damon was a monster. I've always seen him as someone who could be good. He'd been kind to me before, and the only reason he chose to hide it, was because he believed that he was bad. But that's not what I believed. He did all this for Katherine. And... I kind of admired that. "Stefan..." I hesitantly started, "...I really believe that everything Damon has done, every move he's made, he's done for love. It may seem twisted, and sad, but... it's sort of... sweet." I smiled a bit.

Stefan's gaze turned serious as he moved closer to me. He took a seat across from me, and said sternly, "Ariana. You have to understand, that there are other ways to get what you want. You don't have to kill people. Damon has no regard for human life. He enjoys inflicting pain on others. For 145 years, every single time that I have let my guard down and let Damon back into my life, he's done something to make me regret that. I'm not going to make that mistake again."

I had stopped searching through my box once Stefan started explaining his thoughts to me. Maybe, he was right. Perhaps the only reason Damon was kind to me, well directly, was because I looked like Katherine. I've seen him kill. It wasn't exactly an experience I wanted to relive. But, everyone deserves a chance. And like Stefan said, he'd let Damon in multiple times, each one giving bad results. I sighed, and looked down idly at my pale-ish fingers.

"If Damon were to open that tomb, and get Katherine back...?" I didn't finish my question.

"I think no matter what Damon promises, a lot of people will die." Stefan stated as a fact. I sighed again. Though I wanted Damon to be happy with the one he loved, even if it was with someone who looked exactly like me, - creepy - I couldn't just stand back and let a bunch of people get killed.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. I had to help Stefan. Sorry Damon, but he cannot hurt someone else, not again. I looked at my box again, and picked up an old wooden photo frame. Stefan stood up and peered over my shoulder at the guy in the picture. It was a photo from the shoulders up, of a man with a beard, and wearing a hat. After examining it, Stefan said:

"That's Jonathan Gilbert."

So, this was my ancestor. Truthfully, he looked innocent, yet ancient at the same time. Weird, but familiar. Creepy, but safe. I was puzzled for a second as I opened the wooden box further. There was some sort of device, and even Stefan seemed to be confused as his eyebrows furrowed.

Jeremy suddenly entered, and propped himself up onto the kitchen counter. "What are you guys doing?" He asked curiously.

"Just going through some old family stuff." I half-lied, not about to go babble to him about vampires and witches and tombs. "Dad had this old journal from years ago. I'm just looking for it." Not a lie either.

"Jonathan Gilbert's journal?" Jeremy asked.

I turned my head fully towards him. What did he know about it? "Yeah. Do you know where it is?"

"I gave it to Mr. Saltzman." Jeremy responded, proudly. "He wanted to see it."

Stefan and I exchanged looks. Why did my History teacher want to see an old journal? Well, I guess it was technically "History", but, why would he want it? More questions kept popping up. At least Jeremy seemed content. He was still smiling on the kitchen counter, oblivious to the problem here.

Elena entered shortly after that. "Hey sis, hey sis's BF." She greeted Stefan and I, as she stopped right in front of me. She pointed at me, and smirked, "You, my dear sister, are going to go out with me tonight."

Since when? What the heck brought this on? "Uh... where?" I asked, feeling awkward.

"Where else?" She said, rolling her eyes as if it was obvious. "The Grill. Eight o'clock."

"Is there a reason to this... outing?" I asked, choosing my words carefully.

A glint flashed in her eyes, then it disappeared, "No reason. Just bonding." She tried shrugging nonchalantly, but I knew she was hiding something.

Whatever it was, now I was curious. "Sure,"

"Great!" She said cheerfully, as she ran back up the stairs. I looked at Stefan and Jeremy in question.

"She seems a bit different these days." Jeremy commented. "You better watch out."

I gave a little huff of laughter, and shook my head. Yeah, I better. Elena was definitely acting out of character... what was she planning? Ah well. Guess I'll find out tonight. First thing's first: Find that damn journal.

I was confused as I walked towards the kitchen. I heard Jenna and some other guy laughing. "Hello, Ariana." I heard the guy say as I entered the room. The sight shocked me. Jenna sat on one of the counters, drinking wine, as Damon smirked at me from where he was, cutting tomatoes on the granite island counter. So weird. He seemed so... normal. Jenna was smiling, drunk, and obviously attracted. Great.

"Hey." Jenna asked, "Where have you been? We're cooking dinner."

I could see that. More like; Damon was cooking dinner. What was he doing here?

The next question answered my thoughts. Damon asked me, "Is Stefan with you?"

Ah, he wanted to talk about the journal. "He'll be here soon." I told him. Stefan wanted to see if we could continue to search for the journal. But now that Damon was here, how were we supposed to do that? Truthfully, I didn't want to be working against Damon. I was afraid of what would happen when he would find out.

I leaned against the counter Jenna was sitting on, as I waited for Stefan to arrive. Damon kept sneaking glances at me, and smirked every time he'd catch my eyes looking at him.

I decided to help out with dinner, since apparently Damon was the "main cook" for the evening. I was crossing paths with Damon, about to place a stack of plates on the dining room table, when Damon brushed against me deliberately. "Whoa. Mmm." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I continued to place the plates on the dinner table. He was such an ass. I smiled, annoyed, and said to him, "Don't do that."

"Do what?" He played innocent.

"You know what." I rolled my eyes again. "You'll have plenty of times to do that once Katherine's back." If she gets out of the tomb, but I don't add that. Damon, who was originally stirring the pot of water, boiling on the stove, stopped. After a few awkward moments of him being completely still, he cleared his throat, and went back to stirring.

What was that about? He asked me, "Speaking of Stefan, where is he? He's missing family night, which I am enjoying immensely, now that you're here."

I couldn't see his face, since his back was to me, but I could almost hear his smirk. That's the Damon I knew. I walked back into the kitchen, gathering up the silver utensils.

Damon turned around and looked at me, and changed the subject, "Is it real?"

I gave him a confused look.

He elaborated, "This renewed sense of brotherhood." Tearing his gaze away from me for a few seconds, he took the sauce spoon out of the bigger pot, and tasted the spaghetti sauce. "Can I trust him?" He was talking about Stefan.

My heart gave a little thump, which I had no doubt he could hear. I really did hate - and suck at - lying. I looked at him as boldly as I could, stating, "Of course you can trust him." I had to keep Stefan's secret, but even I could hear the way my voice wavered in that lie. It didn't exactly help that I turned away just a second later, making me seem guilty. Which I was.

I took the napkins off the counter, and avoiding his gaze, walked back to the dinner table. Still fearful that he'd find out, I turned around, and jumped a little. Damon was standing only two inches away from me. Staring into my eyes, he repeated, "Can I trust him? I want you to answer me. Honestly."

He looked so sincere, almost like a different person. No trace of humor left in his eyes. He was choosing to trust me, so it seemed unfair that I was keeping secrets from him. But, I couldn't betray Stefan. People could not end up hurt. I was conflicted, between trusting Stefan's judgement on his brother, and trusting mine. Since Stefan had been his brother for 145 years, it was probably better to go along with what he knew. It was hard though, to think clearly, as Damon's piercing ice blue eyes stared at me, as if looking into my soul.

I knew this was my one chance to make him less suspicious of me and Stefan, so I settled for a one-word lie. It was easier for me:

"Yes."

"There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone." Damon said to me, leaning against one of the counters.

"I think that there was a time when Stefan trusted you more than anyone as well." I said to him. Whatever had happened between the brothers, it broke their trust. Hopefully, they could recover it.

Damon smirked, "Well, I couldn't trust him after his betrayal." He shrugged.

After a few seconds, I said, "Maybe if you learn to trust him... he can learn to trust you." I let him ponder over that as I took out a bowl from the cabinet. Opening the fridge, I grabbed the plastic container filled with blueberries, and poured it into the big ceramic bowl.

Damon decided to just change the subject. "I just want her back. I'm sure you can understand that."

Of course I did. He loved her. I would want Stefan back if he were to somehow get locked in a tomb. I just didn't want a bunch of people getting hurt either. Love did strange things to people. "I know that you love her," I said, "And that you want to free her. So yes, I understand you'd do anything for her."

I gave him a little smile and walked past Damon to place the bowl of blueberries on the table. Damon was right behind me, when he half-whispered, "Then you understand what I will do if anyone gets in my way. Make sure you tell Stefan that."

I didn't have time to respond, as he had already walked away before I could turn around. Shivers went down my spine, and I tried to get my breathing under control. Was that a threat? Great. Who knew what Damon had going on in his head. Again, love did strange things to people. Or, in this case, vampires. What's worse was they had heightened sense: double love = double strange.

Damon sat on the couch in the living room, with Jeremy next to him. Their eyes were glued to the TV screen, playing video games. They were having a conversation which i couldn't hear over the sound of game explosions and gun shots.

Jenna stood in front of me in the kitchen, trying to help prepare dinner. She wobbled from one side to the other, in a drunken haze. Her cheeks were puffy, and she leaned in to whisper, "He is ridiculously hot!"

I knew who she meant: Damon. And yeah, she's right, he was hot. But, I knew that Damon could easily overhear us from the living room. So I put a finger to my smiling lips, and whispered, "Shh!" Jenna was only a couple of years older than me, still in college. Her age was closer to Damon's from when he was turned. It wouldn't bother me, if it weren't for the fact that he was a vampire in love with another vampire who looked exactly like me. Oh, yeah, and I was dating his brother. That'd be a really awkward situation if Jenna were to ever get interested in Damon. I smirked, "He can also be an ass."

I knew that Damon would hear that as well. Though Damon had his moments, he really did act like a jerk at times. Maybe not to me, but definitely others. The whole killing thing, yeah, not exactly a turn on. Well...it might be for other vampires.

Jenna smiled at my comment. Searching through another old box, I tried looking for information about my birth parents. I wanted to know if they were still around, and maybe, perhaps, find them. They can never replace mom and dad, but, they were still family.

"What are you doing with all this stuff?" Jenna asked me, finally focusing a bit.

"I thought there might be something about my birth parents." So far though, nothing.

"Have you told Jeremy or Elena?" She asked, pitching her voice low.

I shook my head. I felt like guilt just kept building up, from everything. "I will tell them. I'm just... looking for a better time." Oh, who was I kidding? When would there ever be a time? Yeah, that's what I thought; never.

Closing the box filled with nothing about my birth parents, I heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it." I said to Jenna, "It's Stefan."

I walked over to the front door, and out of the corner of my eye, saw Damon follow me, getting up from the couch he was sitting on. Jeremy gave an annoyed "dude", while I continued to the front door. How was Stefan and I supposed to discuss the journal with Damon here? I opened the door, and Stefan's face lit up when he saw me. I gave him a look, and he finally noticed Damon there. His corner of his mouth turned downwards. He was confused as to why Damon was in my house. I kinda was too, though it must have some kind of link to opening the tomb.

"Well?" Damon raised his eyebrows expectantly. Stefan gave me the same look back.

Stefan explained Damon how someone had taken the journal. I guess Mr. Saltzman didn't have it anymore. I wondered who did.

"Who took it?" Damon asked. The three of us stood on my front porch, facing each other in a sort of triangle.

"I don't know." Stefan replied honestly.

"You know what, it's that teacher." Damon said, "There's something really off about him."

No Damon, leave him out of this. I wanted to say to him. I didn't think anything was wrong about Mr. Saltzman. He seemed like a good person, though, looks could be deceiving.

"No, he doesn't know anything." Stefan said quickly, and I gave him a grateful look. "Somebody got to it right before me."

"Who else knew it was there?" Damon asked, exasperated. Wait, I knew who else knew: Jeremy.

Stefan involuntarily looked through on of the front windows, into the living room where Jeremy was playing video games; bad move. Damon caught his line of gaze, and promptly walked back into my house.

"Damon!" I called, frustrated. I didn't want Jeremy involved. It only complicated things. I was trying to protect him from this. Because, guess what? Ignorance is bliss. You don't realize how much you want out, until you're already in. Stefan and I could only follow Damon into the house, as he went to interrogate my brother.

"So..." Damon started, trying to be casual by sitting on the arm of the couch Jeremy sat on. Stefan and I remained standing. "I heard you found a really old journal from back in the day. Who else did you show it to?"

"Huh?" Jeremy replied blankly, still playing his video game.

"Don't ask questions, just spill." Damon ordered him. I rolled my eyes at his persistence.

"You're kidding me, right?" Jeremy laughed as if not believing a word Damon was saying. For what reason, I did not know.

I sighed. We weren't going to get anywhere with this. And anyways, Damon probably wasn't going to stop asking questions until he got the answer. "Jer, did you happen to tell anyone else about Jonathan Gilbert's journal?" I tried asking politely.

"Why is everybody so obsessed with that thing?" He asked, not looking at me.

"Just tell us who you told." Damon commanded.

"Just that girl Anna." Jeremy responded indifferently. Anna? Pretty name, but, who was she?

"The hot, weird one?" Damon questioned. Now, how did Damon know about this girl, and not me? His sister. Maybe it's guy stuff, who knew.

"Yeah." Jeremy said.

"Wait, who is Anna?" Stefan asked. I wanted to know the exact same thing, just as confused as him.

"That's what I want to find out." Damon grimaced. I guess we all wanted to know who this mystery girl was. Was she a vampire? If she was, she better not hurt Jeremy. He seemed oblivious to the tense air, as he continued to click his controllers and shoot other people. Virtually, of course.

My phone rang then, and after muttering an "Excuse me," to the Salvatore brothers and Jeremy, I walked up the stairs. The caller ID read: Bonnie

Oh, my, gosh! I was such a bad friend. With everything going on, including tombs, vampires, me being adopted, I had forgotten that Bonnie had a date with Ben today. He had graduated from our high school before, and to most girls, he was hot. Maybe Bonnie could finally have the boyfriend she'd always wanted.

"How's it going at the Grill, Bonnie?" I asked her, putting my phone to my ear, smirking.

"It's going great." I knew she was smiling. "He's a perfect gentleman."

"Gentleman, huh?" I teased her. Bonnie was the type of girl to party. Much like Caroline and I in that department. We were the trio, always throwing parties and getting invited to ones. Things were much simpler back then... I wished that I could rewind time. Didn't we all.

"I know!" Bonnie laughed, frustrated, "Boring, huh? I just want to grab him and lay one on him."

"Why don't you do it, then." I told her. "The point to life is taking risks. Otherwise, there'd be no purpose for living."

"Geez. How old are you again?" Bonnie teasingly asked me.

I shrugged, "I'm either five years old or five thousand years old."

"No kidding." We both laughed. It felt nice. Just to laugh and tease with my best friend. I wanted to reach into my receiver and give her a gigantic hug. It was easy to forget all my complications and problems when talking with her. At least her life was smooth. Well, as smooth as it could be with being a witch, and all.

"But seriously Bonnie," I said, "You're a powerful witch goddess. Make him feel like you're way too good for him. Which, I believe, is true."

Bonnie laughed again. "Okay. Thanks, Ariana. I'll text you later with all the details, but... you probably won't want them."

I laughed. "Do whatever you wish to do. I'll see you later."

"Bye,"

"Bye," I hung up, smiling.

Placing the phone back into my pocket, I heard footsteps from out in the hallway. I turned around, just as Stefan walked into my room. "Damon left to track down Jeremy's friend Anna, see if there was anything there." Stefan explained.

Oh, so maybe if Damon found this journal before we did, he could go and open the tomb. Which, I knew is something I shouldn't have be supporting, but... I couldn't help the overwhelming guilt that pervaded me the more I thought about it. About how we were lying to him. I knew that if he were to open that tomb, and get Katherine back, people may be hurt. But maybe, just maybe... Stefan was wrong. Maybe Damon and Katherine would be happy together, and all this killing would finally end. I wanted to believe Damon, so much. But somehow... I found that hard to believe.

Stefan then pulled out a stack of paper, text printed on it like class assignment papers. "Don't worry. I've got a copy of the journal." He said. My stomach sunk. So much for relieving guilt.

"How did you get it?" I asked around the tightening of my throat.

"Well, Mr. Saltzman made a copy and was kind enough to loan it to me." Stefan replied.

I raised my eyebrows at him. Mr. Saltzman? Giving a student the copy of my ancestor's journal. Highly unlikely.

"Fine," Stefan admitted, "That wasn't exactly what happened, but I got it,"

I gave out a little chuckle. Stress clouded my thoughts right now, so laughing seemed like a pretty good option. Great, now needed to help Stefan search for this grimoire that I did, yet didn't, want to find. My jumble of thoughts kept confusing me. It was a wonder I was still standing.

Stefan and I sat on my window couch/seat. We scanned the copies of the journal, trying to find any indication of where the whereabouts of the grimoire were. The handwriting was in cursive. Beautiful, but at times, hard to read. It felt kinda wrong to be reading someone's private journal, but, people's lives could be at stake.

I then found something. It was a part where my ancestor wrote about Emily. It read:

The Fell family believed it should be I, not them, who protected the witch's spell book. But I feared she would haunt me from the hereafter. They mocked my fear, but it was Giuseppe Salvatore who removed my fear. He told me he would protect the secret of the spell book. He said he would carry it to his grave.

That confused me. What did it mean? Giuseppe Salvatore must've been Stefan and Damon's dad, but the passage... it didn't make sense to me.

"Stefan," I said, "I think I found something." I handed the paper to Stefan, as he took it and meticulously analyzed the page.

"It was Giuseppe Salvatore who removed my fear. He told me he would protect the secret of the spell book. He said he would carry it to his grave." Stefan read that section of the writing aloud. His brows furrowed as he went into deep concentration. After a minute, I got scared that he would never come back to the present. It was silly, but at the time, I felt like I was under a lot of pressure.

"Stefan." I said softly. A look of dawning apprehension covered his features, as he turned to look at me.

"I know where it is." He said. I looked at him impressed. Wow, he must have remembered something. But... that meant that now Stefan would find the journal, and Damon wouldn't. I should be totally for this, but... I couldn't say that I supported it one hundred percent. I felt like I was betraying Damon's trust, and in a way, I was. I lied to him, and kept things from him. It felt horrible and... scary.

Suddenly, my phone beeped. I pulled it out of my back pocket, and realized that I had a text from Elena. Shit, I totally forgot about our "hangout". She was going to kill me. The text read:

What the hell, Ariana?! It's already 8:15. Get to the Grill, now!

Aw, geez. I sighed, I guess I had to go meet up with her, still a bit wary of why she wanted to meet up with me. It was... weird. It was nice...but, just way too unusual and out of character.

But, wait. Maybe if I met up with Elena, I wouldn't have to help out with the journal thing. It was selfish of me, but I didn't want to have to choose sides. I had no idea what I really wanted to do. Trust Stefan, or Damon. The answer should have been obvious, but lately, I didn't seem to be able to read between the lines.

"Stefan." I said, "I am so sorry to ditch you, but... my sister just sent me a text. Remember this morning when she asked me to meet her at the Grill?"

Stefan nodded his head, and immediately said, "Yes. You should go. I never wanted to get you caught up in all this in the first place. You'll be safer there."

I bit my lip. "Are you sure?" Now, I really felt bad about leaving Stefan. God, decisions sucked.

"Yes." Stefan put the paper down, and looked straight into my eyes. He placed the palms of his hands on either side of my face, and leaned forward. The electricity zapped between us before our lips even touched. I melted in the warmth, as he kissed me slowly and passionately. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead on mine, and closed his eyes, trying to slow his breathing. I mirrored him. "I want you to go," he whispered, "I don't want you to be involved in this darkness. Go spend time with your family."

"Thank you, Stefan." I said.

He shook his head, "There's nothing to thank me for."

I arrived to the Mystic Grill, hearing shouts, laughter, chatter, and the clinking of glasses and pool balls. It was very much alive. I spotted Elena almost immediately. She sat at the bar, eating a big plate of french fries. When I sat down beside her, she gave me a glare.

"Well aren't you..." She checked her phone, "...twenty-five minutes late."

"I'm sorry. I was talking with Stefan." I explained to her.

Her eyes lit up, and she gave me a knowing grin. "Oh, so, he held you up, huh?" She winked.

I rolled my eyes. "Anyway," I started, "What did you want to talk about?"

She shrugged, "I don't know." She spun her head, to look at me, "Oooh, let's play a game."

"A game?" I questioned, "Okay... what do you want to play. Pool?" Elena didn't usually play pool. I mean, she would, but she'd get mad every time she lost.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes as if I was stupid for not getting what she was talking about. "No," She said, popping another fry in her mouth.

Scanning the Grill, her eyes stopped on a guy facing away from us. I didn't recognize him; probably just passing by this small town. He was at least a few years older, and he turned around to high-five the other guy playing pool with him. He had dark hair and eyes. Very handsome. Maybe not Stefan or Damon hot, but, for human standards, very hot.

Elena smirked, and looked back towards me. "Let's see who can get him to kiss one of us first."

"Elena, no!" I said, shocked, "I'm with Stefan. And anyways, what's the point to this game?"

"The point," she said, "Is to show other people that I can get a guy to like me and find me attractive."

I rolled my eyes, "Elena, you are attractive."

"You're only saying that because I look like you." She stated, and gulped down a glass of diet coke a bartender had placed in front of her. "And about Stefan, he doesn't ever have to find out." I looked at her, unconvinced. "Please?" she gave me her puppy dog eyes. Though, they looked more like cat eyes.

I sighed. I couldn't deny my sister anything. "Fine," I succumbed. If it made her happy, then... I'd play along. I just hope that Stefan nor anyone else wouldn't find out. Or, I was screwed. I was sounding like such a slut. Just this one time. One time.

Elena and I were able were able to convince the guys to play pool with us. It wasn't that hard, all we did was bat our eyelashes, and they agreed. They were very nice, and you could tell, popular. The dark haired guy, whom Elena had looked at, was called John. The other guy, whom was handsome too, had blonde hair. His name was Mike. They were both twenty-four years old. Seven years older than us. But, we didn't give out much information.

They had come from North Carolina, and were going to pass through Mystic Falls to visit their friends in Washington, D.C. They flirted with us, while Elena full-on flirted with them. It kinda made them uncomfortable, but they kept smiling. They won easily, since no offense to Elena, but she barely plays, and most of the time, her cue stick didn't connect with the ball solidly.

After the pool game, Mike had to leave early, saying that he had to get up tomorrow to visit someone else before going with John to their friends.

After about an hour, John offered to take us somewhere. I was hesitant at first, but Elena lit up like a bonfire and said "yes". She went to the bathroom, and so John and I exited the Grill, going to get his car, alone. We talked about simple things, laughed, told jokes, and... I was actually having a lot of fun. I forgot about Elena's little "game".

Until of course, he pushed me up against a wall. We were at the back of The Mystic Grill's building, and my back hit the wall as John pulled himself closer to me. Before I could even be confused or protest, his lips descended on mine. At first, I was too shocked to respond. I could taste the alcohol on his soft lips. But then, I finally came to my senses, and tried pushing him off. He didn't seem to like that. He wrapped one of him arms on my hip, and his other hand was placed on the side of my head, forcing me to kiss him. I struggled uselessly, his grip was like steel. I gasped, and he took advantage of that by deepening the kiss.

Shit, what was I gonna do? I was freaking out. Why did Elena have to involve me into this mess. I thought John was a good guy, what the hell was he doing?

Suddenly, his lips left mine. I took in a deep breath and immediately stumbled away when his grip loosened. John dropped to the floor, unconscious. I looked to my left, and was surprised at who my savior was: Elena. She was breathing as heavily as I was. She then shook her head, and came out of her daze. Her hands were in fists. Obviously, she had punched him in the head or something. Damn, I didn't know my sister could throw a punch. I mean, she couldn't even really play pool.

She rushed into me, and gave me a hug. I hugged her back, tears almost falling from my eyes. Relief replaced my fear; I was fine.

"Are you okay?" Elena said, frantically, "God, I am so sorry, I didn't expect...this!" She gestured to the passed out body.

"It's okay," I assured her, "Next time, just make sure you think through your 'games'." She nodded, eyes wide.

"I'm so sorry." She apologized again, and took my hand, "Come on. Let's get you home."

"What about John?" I automatically asked. I always looked for the well being of others. Always.

"Are you serious right now?" She asked me in disbelief. "Who cares? He was a dick. He'll be perfectly fucking fine. Let's go!"

She tugged on my arm again. "Elena," I asked, "How did you get here?"

"I walked," she answered, "But you took your car, right?"

"Yeah," I answered. Digging into my jean pocket, I took out my car keys. "Here," I handed them to Elena.

"What are you doing?" She asked, curling her fingers around the metal and plastic.

"Take my car." I said, "I - I need time to... cool off and relax."

She nodded, actually understandingly. "Okay. Be careful, alright?"

I nodded, and smiled. Elena seemed to be concerned. Maybe, she was learning to be kind and caring. That was good. "I will." I assured her, "Meet you at home."

"Okay." She agreed. I was about to turn toward the direction of our house, when Elena called back, "Oh, and by the way, Ariana."

"Yeah?"

"You won." She said with a smirk, spun around, and headed to my car.

I walked through the cold on my way to the house. My fingers kept clutching my jacket, and pulling it tighter around me. I shivered, but it wasn't from the cold. That guy had really scared me. For a moment, I thought... I sighed. Things just weren't working out for me. At least Elena seemed okay. She looked genuinely concerned about me. But, with Elena, you never know. I need to learn how to throw a punch, like her. Maybe Stefan would teach me... Great, now I felt guilty again. The best way to deal with this, was to forget everything that happened tonight. Anyways, John would be gone by tomorrow. I didn't have to ever see him again.

I was almost to my house, just passing by the dark woods, when someone appeared in front of me. Damon.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite Gilbert." Damon greeted stepping closer to me. I stopped walking.

"Geez, Damon, you scared me," I said, taking a steadying breath, "And, I can't say that you're my favorite Salvatore."

"Ouch," Damon smirked and dramatically out a hand to his chest, "You wound me."

I shook my head, and was able to actually smile. I could forget about tonight. I would. "So," I said, "Is there a reason you're here? Did you want to talk about something?"

"Yes. Would you mind taking a little trip with me?" Damon asked.

I raised my eyebrows, "I don't know. The last time you took me to Georgia."

"Well, we're just going into the woods." He said, and leaned closer, whispering, "I think I may have found the grimoire."

My heart skipped a beat. That meant, that Damon could release Katherine from the tomb. Whether that was good or bad... I had no idea. My mind was all over the place. "Then..." I said, "Should we tell Stefan?" If we were to, Stefan wouldn't let Damon get the grimoire. He was set on not letting Katherine out of the tomb. While Damon, wanted her free. I didn't know whose side i was on. Damon had convinced me that nobody would be hurt, while Stefan stated that a lot of people would die. Which was the truth?

Damon shook his head, and answered, "For the time being, I'm not trusting my brother. So, you coming?"

I shrugged. I was kinda curious, yet afraid at the same time. "Sure."

Damon walked along side me in the dark woods, the only thing keeping me from panicking. He told me that the grimoire was in his dad's grave. Very creepy. Wait... grave.

...carry it to his grave.

Yes. When Jonathan Gilbert had wrote that Giuseppe Salvatore was going to take the spell book to his grave. I was confused at first, but now it made sense. He literally meant, "carry to his grave". I shuddered thinking about it.

"You cold?" Damon asked me.

"No, I'm fine." I smiled at him.

Damon's gaze turned hard as he looked back in front of us. At first, I saw nothing. Then, I saw a flicker of light. The orange and yellow illuminating the pitch black forest. Once we got closer, I saw what had made Damon angry. Stefan was next to a grave, with a shovel in hand. His father's grave had been completely dug up, the soil piled next to it. In his hands, was an old, withered book. Could it have been the grimoire? Stefan really did know where the spell book was; in his father's grave. That must have been hard for him to dig up. But, I didn't have very long to dwell on that fact.

"Well, what do you know?" Damon said, his lips curled up in a snarl. Stefan's eyes snapped up to us. They landed on Damon for a second, and then shifted to me. A flash of fear crossed his features, as he saw me standing next to Damon.

I knew Damon wouldn't hurt me. But, after realizing that Stefan had found the journal, I wasn't so sure anymore. I was with Stefan this entire time, I'd know everything he knew. Damon was starting to figure that out.

"This is an interesting turn of events." Damon said again, just as cynically. His eyes briefly flashed to mine, as he started to catch on. I wasn't surprised that Stefan was here, because I knew that he knew where the grimoire was. And, I guess, since there wasn't enough surprise on my face, Damon knew that I knew. Way too many "knew's".

Damon's eyes shifted back to Stefan, when Stefan said, "I can't let you bring her back. I'm sorry." He was still looking tense, not liking the fact that I had arrived with Damon.

"So am I." Damon said, "For thinking for even a second that I could trust you."

"Oh. You're not capable of trust." Stefan retorted, "The fact that you're here means that you read the journal and you were planning on doing this yourself." I sighed, they were fighting again.

"Of course I was going to do this by myself, because the only one I can count on is me!" Damon's voice rose in anger and rage. "You made sure of that many years ago, Stefan." Then, his eyes shifted to me, and I prepared myself for his anger too. Though he seemed to be a bit gentler. It still scared me, and he was only a few feet away. "But you...you had me fooled. I thought I could trust you. But instead, it turns out that you were working with Stefan this entire time, and lying to me!"

I winced, feeling ashamed and guilty. Damon's look of betrayal cut deep into me. I felt like he had just ripped a part of me, exposing everything to the outside. "Damon, I'm sorry, I-"

I what? What was I supposed to say? Everything he'd just said was true. I lied to him, I was working with Stefan, I had made him trust me. I was on the brink of tears. Stefan looked like he was about to go up to Damon and rip his head off. I shook my head when Damon looked away, silently telling Stefan not to do anything stupid.

"So what are you going to do now?" Damon asked Stefan, "Because if you try to destroy that thing," He pointed to the old spell book in Stefan's hands, "I'll rip her heart out." It didn't take a genius to know he was talking about me. Even though we all knew he was lying, I couldn't help the jolt of fear that passed through me.

"You won't kill her," Stefan stated obviously.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Damon nod once, as if agreeing with Stefan. But I second later, he disappeared from my peripheral vision. I had no time to be confused, when I felt hands grab my hips. I tried getting out of Damon's hold, but his grip was even stronger than steel. "I can do one better." Damon said, to a scared looking Stefan. He was afraid as to what his brother would do. So was I. This was one of those rare moments where I actually thought Damon may... hurt me.

I heard a biting sound, and then Damon's bloody wrist was pressed against my mouth. I struggled as the blood traveled down my throat. No. He was going to turn me into a vampire.

"Give me the book, Stefan, or I'm snapping her neck." Damon ordered to Stefan boldly. H sounded like he really meant it. Would he have really done it? "And you and I will have a vampire girlfriend."

"Let her go first." Stefan said, looking as if he might break down at any moment. He looked so scared for me, and it broke my heart.

Damon's wrist was no longer on my mouth, and I gasped for air. I must've drank like a pint of blood or something. Shamefully, I admit it did taste good. But right now, I felt really buzzed. Like fire and electricity were joining together to make me feel all jittery. I was suddenly very aware of Damon's hands on me. One of his arms were wrapped in above my chest and across my shoulders, securing me to him. His other arm, was in mid-air, making gestures. "That book!" He ordered.

"I'm not going to give this to you until she is standing next to me, safe." Stefan told him.

"Problem is, I no longer trust that you'll give it back!" Damon shouted from next to me. Betrayal still lingered in his voice.

"You just did the one thing that ensures that I will." Stefan promised. It would have been sweet, if not for the little tiny fact that Damon could snap my neck right now, and I'd be a member of the undead. I didn't want to become a vampire. To be surrounded by that darkness, it scared me. "Okay."

Stefan's eyes were filled with terror, as he kept his gaze on us. He slowly bent down to place the withered book on the ground. Coming back up, he reached across like he wanted to take me into his arms. But, he was at least thirty feet away from Damon and I. I felt Damon's grip tighten a bit, and his lips touched my hair, as if he was giving me a kiss.

After a few seconds, I was almost convinced that he wouldn't let me go, as if, he didn't want to let me go. But slowly, he pulled his arms away. I stumbled away from him, and Stefan met me in the middle. He pulled me into his arms, and stroked my hair. That movement always made me feel secure. I looked back at Damon, terrified. He gave me a look that could only be described as longing. I was confused at why that was the look he gave me, but, at the time, I couldn't concentrate on anything. I forced myself to focus on Stefan, as he vampire sped me back to my house.

Once I had calmed down a bit, Stefan and I sat on the bed in my room. "It was just a small amount of blood." He said, "It should pass out of your system by tomorrow."

I didn't need to add the part about it feeling like Damon had fed me the entire aquarium, or something.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked me, for like the thousandth time.

"I'm fine." I said, for like the thousandth time. "Just a bit jittery."

Stefan nodded, as if expecting the answer. He rubbed my back as we hugged.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, worried. He seemed kinda of distracted.

"Damon was right." He said, as I looked at him confused, "This is, uh... this is my fault."

Stefan told me the story about how after he had told his father about Katherine being a vampire, they captured her. He said that it was his fault that Katherine had died, and he felt guilty for it.

"I put my faith in my father, but Damon put his faith in me, and I destroyed that." Stefan said, sadly, "This is my fault."

I reached up, processing the story, as I touched Stefan's face. "Stefan," I said, "Sometimes, people trust others who can't be trusted. But, sometimes you have to risk things, to learn from them. You didn't do anything wrong. Remember that."

Stefan placed his hands on my hips, and whispered, "Okay, thank you." He leaned in, and kissed me. When we parted, he said, "I'm going to get you something to drink."

"Okay, thanks." I said. He nodded, and I lied down on the bed. I thought that I wouldn't have to deal with anymore drama today. Damn it, again, I was wrong.

3rd person POV:

Stefan vampire sped to Ariana's room, once he heard Jeremy say "Anna". He realized who she was; Pearl's daughter from back in 1864. And now, she had been invited into the house. Overwhelming fear took over Stefan as he entered the bedroom.

"Ariana!" He called out into the empty room. She was nowhere in sight. But, her bedroom windows were open, the curtains blowing from the slight wind. Stefan felt a rush of emotions, and had the greatest desire to go rip someone's head off. Damn it. Where was she? He had to find her. The love of his life. The love of everyone's life, even Damon's. Stefan needed her safe. He needed to get her back, before it was too late.

So, I changed this episode up a bit, with that whole part involving Elena and the "game". Can't wait to upload the next chapter. Did you like the change? Hate it? You tell me in the reviews. Thanks you!

-Spiralcloud