PLAN B

I could feel someone's eyes on me as I lay in my bed, the morning sun shining through the windows, making everything brighter and more alive. My eyes remained closed, though I knew whose eyes were on me, because he was the same person who spent the night in my bed.

"You're staring." I stated, not moving.

"It's hard to not gaze at such a beautiful face." Stefan said softly.

I cracked a smile, "That's so cheesy."

"No," His breath tickled my face as he leaned in to whisper in my ear, "It's true, and romantic."

Peering through one eye to look at him—he smiled at me in an interesting manner—I reached behind my head, grabbed my pillow, and placed it over my head, hiding my face from Stefan.

He made a disapproving grunt, and ripped the pillow away. Rolling on top of me, I giggled as he started to kiss me with passion. When I finally had to breathe, he moved on to place hot kisses on my neck, while I stated, "This is bad of us."

We were supposed to be "undercover" I guess. We had pretended to be in a fight, when really, we couldn't have been closer together. I didn't want Stefan to stop though; I loved the way he made me feel. I loved him.

"Yes, it is." He agreed, then kissed me again.

"If Katherine finds out..."

"Katherine who?" Stefan whispered, continuing to kiss me. Oh, screw it. My hands wrapped around his neck as his encircled me, bringing me tighter against him. The electricity buzzed with full power between us, and I didn't ever want to let go.

I rolled us so that I was on top, and reluctantly pulled away from him. "Okay, I, um, I need to be in the shower," I stated awkwardly.

"Love it, let's go!" Stefan's eyes shined brightly.

I giggled, "No, just me. I'm late. Elena and I are decorating at the Lockwood charity thing."

"Well, what do you know." Stefan said, like he just found out, "So am I."

I frowned a bit at that, remembering that day... Betrayal lingered in my thoughts, "You think that's really a good idea to be at their house today?" I whisper-asked, "Mason tried to kill you."

"Which is exactly why I'm going." He stated, "I don't trust Mason. I want to be there today to keep an eye on him."

"Okay," I succumbed, the fight leaving me. What was the point anyway? Stefan—hopefully—won't make the same mistake twice. I just didn't want a feud breaking out between the supernatural races. That wouldn't be good. And considering I cared about everyone who was involved, I'd hate to see someone hurt. "Just be careful."

"I will."

Turning, I picked up a needle I left last night from my nightstand and sat sat up. "But then we can't touch or talk." I told him, trying to keep the mood light, "And no lingering stares."

"No, none of that." Stefan agreed with a smile, rubbing his hands up and down my bare arms. It felt nice—took away the bad thoughts.

Though not all of them. "What do you think will happen if Katherine finds out that we're... not actually fighting?" I questioned him.

"She won't."

"But what if she does?" I continued softly and sadly.

"Then we'll figure out a way to kill her." Stefan stated like it was no big deal. His eyes turned soft as he said, "Look, I don't want you to worry about it, okay? We have it under control. She won't be making the rules anymore."

Really? Because it seemed to me she had everything under control. I got depressed thinking about the power she held over us.

Taking a deep breath, I showed Stefan the needle in my hand as he realized what I was about to do, a look of concern arriving on his features. I winced as I pricked my fingertips, watching the small dew of blood break the surface of my skin.

"Did it hurt?" Stefan questioned, worried.

I shook my head, "It's fine." I've been through worse, I thought. "It'll make you stronger." If this was the price to pay so that Stefan had a less likable chance of getting hurt, then I'd take the exchange times a million so that it could happen. I'd go through a million times the pain to ensure Stefan's safety.

Gently, he touched my hand and fingers, slowly raising it to his mouth. He sucked on my finger, and I saw his face change a bit as he tasted the blood. I could see how much it pained him to move my blood away from him, but he was able to do it, as he focused on me.

"I promise you, we're gonna get through this." He said, gazing into my eyes.

I looked at how green they were, and smiled, "I love you, Stefan."

"I love you, too." He smiled, caressing my face as he kissed me passionately.

3rd person POV:

Jeremy knocked on the Salvatore boarding house and waited until Damon finally opened the door.

"I need to talk to you." The young Gilbert stated.

"And why do I need to talk to you?" Damon retorted, snarky, as he tried to close the door on him.

Jeremy pushed it back open, annoyed, "Tyler Lockwood has to kill someone to activate his curse. He's not a werewolf yet."

"Wow, fascinating." Damon raised his eyebrows sarcastically, then dropped the act. "Not enough."

He attempted to close the door again, but Jeremy stopped him... again.

"But Mason Lockwood is." Jeremy continued in a rush, "And he's looking for a moonstone, a special rock connected to the werewolf legend. That'swhy he's here."

"A moonstone?" Damon questioned, now at least half interested.

"And I know where it is."

"And you're bringing me this why?"

"Do I need a reason?" Jeremy queried in an exclamation. "Look, I just want to help, okay?"

"What's your sister say about this little discovery?" Damon smirked, watching as Jeremy squirmed and looked to the ground guiltily. "Oh, you haven't told her, have you?" He continued, not surprised at all.

"Well, Elena has already stated her view of things pretty clearly." Jeremy said, "And Ariana... well, she says that I can make my own choices, but I know that deep down she doesn't want me involved in all this either." He tried stepping into the house, but Damon pushed him back once again.

"And you're a Gilbert and you just can't help yourself." Damon stated, "Wow. Your search for life's purpose is as obvious as it is tragic."

Jeremy suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Look, I just want Ariana safe. The more I help out, the less she has to, and I thought that's what you wanted." The young Gilbert saw as Damon dropped his smirk. "So are you going to let me in or not?"

Damon had an internal conflict, then decided to step aside, letting Jeremy enter as he closed the door behind him. Jeremy almost looked smug, knowing that he got to the older Salvatore.

Ariana POV:

Outside of the Lockwood Mansion, I saw Bonnie carrying a box full of candles. Elena had gone off to sort out the lighting decorations with Carol—for which my sister gave me the evil eye—while I was to help out with the candle sorting.

Smiling, I walked over to Bonnie, and stated, "Your here." After Caroline had turned into a vampire, we hadn't seen each other for a while because... well, she didn't see Caroline as her friend anymore, but as another supernatural killing creature. It didn't seem fair to me, but... I wasn't about to judge her on that choice.

"I'm here." She replied. I took some candles out of the box Bonnie was carrying, and arranged them on the tables around us.

I caught Bonnie glancing around the yard nervously, and said, "Caroline's not coming, I told you."

"Just making sure."

Giving her a sympathetic look, I suggested, "Caroline's your friend. You should go talk to her."

"Could you make it a little less obvious you're on her side?" Bonnie questioned defensively, trying to mask her hurt.

"There are no sides, Bonnie." I said, "Caroline has changed, but she's still caring... and actually, she seems happier than she was before she was turned."

"Oh, come on!" She exclaimed, "Since Caroline became a vampire, we barely see each other. So I don't even know how she's doing." Her voice softened a bit with emotion, "Losing Caroline was bad enough; I didn't think I'd lose you too."

I took a little breath of air, and looked at her softly, "You haven't lost me, Bonnie." I looked around, seeing if anyone was peering at us. They were too caught up in their own jobs, so I turned back to Bonnie, "Come with me."

"Where?" She questioned suspiciously.

"Not here." I stated, "Some place quiet. We have to talk."

I smiled weakly, and held my hand out. Bonnie still eyed me strangely, but placed her box onto the grass, sighed, gave me the same smiled, and took my hand. We scuttled away quickly, trying to be unnoticed by others.

Strolling slowly across the huge Lockwood lot, I explained to my best friend what had been happening lately. Katherine was threatening to kill all of us if Stefan and I didn't break up, which was why we were pretending to fight.

The subject made me anxious to talk about, since I was worried that Katherine may just pop out of nowhere like usual, and overhear us.

"I can't believe this." Bonnie stated, exasperated.

"It's a lot to take in, I know." I understood, "Katherine's doing everything that she can to drive me and Stefan apart, and I feel so bad that Caroline got trapped in the middle. I didn't think I was being a good friend because I wasn't aware of what had been happening to her."

We sat down on an old but beautiful bench, while Bonnie looked at me in question, "It wasn't your fault, Ariana. Katherine was manipulating everyone, but that's not why I feel so left out." Hurt seeped into her voice, "And it's not that you and Stefan are pretending to fight. It's that—" She shook her head, eyes wide, "—I didn't even know you guys were fighting at all."

My heart plunged into my stomach, "I'm sorry I kept things from you, but I didn't want to have to drag you back into this whole vampire mess. I didn't even have the time to tell you because we barely made contact with each other... and even then, I couldn't drop this on you."

"So that makes me the odd man out." She stated emotionlessly.

"No—no, Bonnie, of course not." I rushed. Why couldn't she see that I was just trying to protect her? "I didn't know whether you cared or not."

She gave me a disbelieving look, "Of course I care. Ariana, you're my best friend, I'm just not sure where we seem to stand anymore."

I fell silent for a moment, "I didn't mean to let this craziness with Caroline get in the way of our friendship. But she needs you too."

"Not yet, I just..." Bonnie looked conflicted, "...she's a vampire. I can't." She gave me a pleading look, "We're best friends, but... I don't think I'm ready to accept Caroline yet." She changed the subject, "We should go back."

She got up, and left back in the general direction of where we abandoned the box of candles. I sighed. I guessed that we were okay, but she wasn't fine with Caroline. How could I explain to Bonnie that Caroline was fine? Great, actually.

My blonde best friend seemed happy. Though her mother was locked up in the Salvatore basement, she seemed okay with it, as long as Liz would be returned safely back to her house, compelled, like none of it—trying to kill Stefan and Damon—had ever happened...

Bonnie would come around, I was sure of it. She was trying to hold her grudge, but she'd eventually break, and realize how well Caroline was doing.

3rd person POV:

Mason carried a box filled with different cloths to one of the wooden tables and saw Stefan behind one, setting up for the ball.

"Hey, Stefan." The werewolf greeted.

"Hey, Mason," Stefan said back, a fake smile plastered on his face.

After placing the box down onto the table, Mason finally realized why he was so confused. Ice pervaded through his body, as he looked at Stefan in fear. "Wasn't expecting you here. Or anywhere." He stated lightheartedly, looking at Stefan.

"Yeah, I had this little accident." Stefan said, as if having a typical conversation, "But I'm fine now."

"What did you do to Sheriff Forbes?" Mason asked, afraid for his friend.

"Oh, she's fine too," A glint shone in his eyes, "But from now on, you'll have to do your own dirty work."

"Not a problem." Mason clenched his jaw in frustration and briskly tried to leave. He accidentally ran into Bonnie, but still continued to take off as quickly as he could. "Excuse me."

Bonnie whipped her head to see Mason's retreating figure, and frowned at the visions that went through her mind. It was... Ariana. She was only in her lingerie as she kissed a half naked Mason, both enjoying themselves.

Stefan noticed the strange look pass on Bonnie's face, and walked over to her, "What's the matter? Are you okay?"

"When I touched him, I saw something." She stated vaguely.

"What do you mean? Like a vision."

"I saw Ariana."

"You saw Ariana?" Stefan questioned, now very interested.

"He was... kissing her." She said, still confused.

"No, Bonnie." Stefan thought about it, trying to suppress the sudden flash of anger and jealousy, "Ariana would kiss..." After considering it for a moment, he suddenly realized who the girl in Bonnie's visions really was. "You didn't see Ariana, you saw... Katherine."

Bonnie looked shocked, then her features melted into understanding as she tried to grasp the meaning of what was happening. Why would a vampire make out with a werewolf? What were they planning together?

Ariana POV:

Bonnie had left to put up some curtains inside the Lockwood mansion, while I helped Elena sort through the masks in the foyer. There was a masquerade ball coming up, and so we had to set up the decorations for the celebration.

"Hey, clueless, look." Elena nudged me, and jerked her head to her left. I looked up to see Stefan and Bonnie talking intently, confusion and seriousness covering their features. I sighed, what had happened now?

Elena and I looked up to see Damon walking towards us. Elena questioned him, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for my baby bro." He answered, then glanced between Elena and I, "Speaking of, would you tell yours to stop following me around?"

"What's going on?" I questioned in concern.

He flickered his eyes to something behind me, then stated, "Ask eager beaver."

He left, just as Jeremy arrived. Elena queried him, "Jeremy, what the hell is he making you do?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes, "He's not making me do anything. Damon and I—"

My sister cut him off, "Uh, no. No way. No, no, no, no. There is no 'Damon and you'. There's Damon and whoever Damon is using, and those people, they end up dead. Stay out of it."

I knew that Elena wanted to protect Jeremy, but didn't we have this conversation a couple days ago? Our brother could choose to do what he wanted, even if it wasn't in his best interest.

"Elena—"

Jeremy cut me off, "I don't really care what you want, Elena. It's because of you that I'm in this mess in the first place, so I'm sorry, but you really don't get to tell me what I'm gonna do."

Elena looked shocked as Jeremy turned his back on us and walked away. Feeling concerned and sorry for both of them, I followed him, and side-stepped in front of him.

"Jeremy, it's not her fault, okay?" I said to him, "It's mine. I brought you into the supernatural world, so blame me."

He fell silent for a few moments, and shifted his gaze before returning it to mine, "I don't blame you." He said softly, "And none of this is your fault, it's just that I want to help out, okay? You shouldn't have to go through everything by yourself. I can tell how stressed you are, and I wanna do something about it."

I smiled a bit, "Thank you for caring, Jeremy, but I'm fine."

His look implied that he knew I was lying, "Ariana, let's not pretend that your not going out of your mind with what's going on."

I blew out a loud breath, "Fine." I admitted, "I'm kinda losing it, but that's why I'm here at the Lockwoods, to help out and focus on something else besides all the supernatural drama." I softened my gaze, "Truthfully, I agree with Elena, and I wish you wouldn't get involved... but that's a decision you get to make."

"And I'm choosing to help." Jeremy stated. His assurance that he wouldn't get hurt didn't stop the fear from settling in me. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if anything happened to him.

3rd person POV:

"So, how are we gonna find this moonstone?" Stefan questioned Damon, after they filled each other in on Katherine, Mason, and the moonstone.

"Jeremy is getting it from Tyler." The older Salvatore answered.

"Why would you involve Jeremy?" Stefan questioned in anger, then strode passed Damon while slapping his arm with the back of his hand. As if Ariana didn't have enough to worry about, now she had to deal with her brother's safety.

Damon called to his brother, trying to redirect the blame, "He's playing Indiana Jones. He involved himself."

Stefan looked back, but just shook his head in disbelief. Damon scoffed. He knew that Ariana wouldn't be proud to learn about Jeremy's involvement in this business, but it was better for the younger Gilbert to be involved instead of Ariana. Damon didn't regret his decision.

Ariana POV:

Alright, so I'd offically lost everyone. I couldn't find anyone; Bonnie, Stefan, Damon, Elena, or Jeremy. Walking down the steps at the Lockwood Manor, I sat down on one of the steps to the side and pulled out my phone.

I texted Stefan: Is everything okay?

He replied: I'm with Bonnie and Damon. Fill you in later.

What? What were the three of them doing together? Ah, the frustration was getting to me. I impatiently waited for another text to appear, and when it didn't, I decided to just call him. It might've been important.

"Hey, what are you doing? You shouldn't be calling me." Stefan stated softly after answering the phone.

Right, we were still supposed to be "fighting". "I know, but I have no idea what's happening." I replied, "Damon and Jeremy are working together to do something, Elena's pissed at him and not talking to me, while Bonnie's with you as well. And I'm just here sorting out masquerade masks for Carol."

"Alright, I'm sorry, it's okay." He said, understandingly, "Hold on."

I could hear him walking away from the noise as he told me the situation. So, apparently, Katherine and Mason were working together to get this moonstone, which supposedly broke the curse placed on vampires and werewolves. His guess was that Katherine was using Mason to get to the stone. Whether it was to brake the curse or not was unknown.

Jeremy was supposed to be used to get the moonstone from Tyler, but now Mason had it. The next plan was to have Bonnie "accidentally" touch Mason and get a vision. If that wouldn't work, then they'd give him an aneurysm and... Damon would take it from there.

I wasn't entire sure that trusting Damon to do something was a good idea, but it was the best one we had right now. Whatever Katherine and Mason were planning could be dangerous. We had to know how to stop them.

Well, at least I found someone. When I got back to sorting through the stupid—but undeniably gorgeous—masquerade masks, Matt joined me, and we started to talk about everything that was going on. I excluded the supernatural parts, of course.

"So, where's Caroline?" Matt asked, "This is like her thing. I can't believe she's not here."

"She's taking care of her mom." I half-lied. "Liz got the flu."

Actually, she didn't get the flu. But Matt didn't know that. He didn't know that Caroline had her own mother under supervision so that when the vervain left Liz's system, she could compel her to forget about the past few days.

"That's terrible." Matt commented, "I hope she'll be okay." After a few seconds, he asked, "Is she seeing someone?"

"Matt, come on." I gave him a look that he just returned, "No, she's not."

He gave out a humorless laugh, "I guess I've still haven't changed."

"What do you mean?"

"When we were together I always questioned whether you were with someone else." He explained sheepishly, "I knew you weren't, but I let jealousy get in between our relationship, and it eventually ended it."

I looked at him sympathetically, "Matt, I didn't end our relationship because of you." He looked up, surprised, "I mean, you were the perfect boyfriend. Every girl in school wanted to be with you."

"Then why did you break up with me?" He queried, trying to sound curious although I detected a hint of despair.

I shook my head slightly, and sighed a bit, "I was going through a rough time, Matt." I said softly, "I needed time. I needed to be alone for a while." I hesitated, "And then I met Stefan... and I was happy. I felt alive again."

Matt clenched his jaw, but then gave me a half-smile. "I can't compete with Stefan." He smirked, "I have to admit, he's a good guy, and if he makes you happy—that's what I want for you, to be happy."

"Thank you, Matt." I said, grateful. "I hope you find happiness too."

"Yeah..." Matt murmured, not really finishing.

Carrying a box full of masks, I saw Stefan enter through the doorway. There he was. At the same, Tyler walked in from a different room.

"Anyone seen Mason?" He asked us.

I shook my head, while Stefan said, "He, uh, he took off." That was code for 'Damon had him'. "He said he wasn't sure when he'd be back."

"So weird," Tyler whispered, then took off. Stefan and I shared a look, and I felt sorry for Tyler. He shouldn't have to lose a family member. I knew the pain, and it was a terrible thing to go through.

Stefan's phone went off suddenly, presumably receiving a text. I started to walk towards him, but he shook his head—telling me not to get involved—and I stopped in my tracks. He walked away, and I sighed as I went back to sorting the masks.

"What going on between you two?" Matt questioned.

I shook my head, "Nothing." I muttered. After a few seconds, I made an arbitrary choice to go find Stefan. "I'll be right back."

Matt gave me a concerned nod, and I ran out of the mansion.

Passing through the green grass and leaves as I sprinted through the woods gave me a strange sense of deja vu. And again, like last time, I was trying to find a Salvatore brother.

Coming to a clearing, I saw... it was the well. Memories the seemed like from a past life flashed in my mind. It was a picture of Bonnie, Caroline, and me. We were seven, eight years old at most, with smiled plastered on our faces as we played tag by the abandoned well. Me and Caroline's mother would warn us to be careful, but we never really listened. Not that we were doing anything dangerous or daunting.

"What's going on?" I questioned Stefan, who tried to peer down at the well. I didn't know whether he could see something, but I couldn't. It was pitch black down there.

"You shouldn't be here." Stefan immediately answered, "It could be dangerous."

"I know." I stated, "But I am. I'm here to help. What's going on?"

Stefan gave up his fight, and explained, "Bonnie thinks the moonstone is down here." He reached over the opening of the well, and broke the lock off of the iron gating. Taking the gating off, he turned on the flashlight as we both tried to scan the contents of what was inside the stone structure.

I got nothing.

Stefan sighed and looked at me, before he jumped onto the edge of the well, handing me the flashlight. It was obvious to what he was about to do.

"Hey. Be careful." I warned him.

"I'll only be down there for a minute." He jumped down into the well as I held my breath. He was out of sight, covered in darkness. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the soft splash... but that sigh came too early.

Suddenly, Stefan screamed, "Ariana!"

Immediately tensing up, and yelled down in confusion, "Stefan?!"

"Ariana!" Pain and agony coated his words as he forced my name out of his mouth. What the hell was happening down there? My thoughts wandered over to the weirdest conclusions.

"Stefan, what's happening?!" I questioned again, panicked. "What's going on? Please." My breaths came quick and labored as I looked for something I could do to help.

"Vervain." He answered, and my heart stopped. Shoot. "Oh, God! Help!"

"Stefan! Stefan!" I realized that me screaming wouldn't do anything to help, and looked around the well for an answer to this dilemma. Dark grey chains were in a neat pile surrounded by yellowed grass, but when I tried to pick it up... I failed.

I wasn't strong enough.

The chains were much too heavy, and they stuck together, refusing to move.

"Ariana!" Startled, I turned around to see someone arrive right beside me. Fortunately, it was Caroline.

"Caroline, Stefan's down there and the chain is rusted." I explained in a hurry. She started to climb onto the edge of the stone, but I held out an arm, "No, no, no! You can't, it's filled with vervain." I freaked out, abhorring myself for not figuring out a solution. "We've got to get him out, now."

Caroline was trying to process what was happening as she whipped her head back and forth. I climbed onto the edge of the well as she finally got her bearings. Grabbing the rusted chains, I watched with a bit of envy as she easily took apart the metal, stretching it out like it was no big deal.

My best friend handed me a bit of the chain, and I took it, wrapping it around my body. It scraped the palm of my hands, but I didn't care as I hooked it around another piece of metal.

It was as secure as it was going to get.

"I got you, okay?" Caroline assured me.

I swallowed down the fear, and nodded, "Yeah."

Priority number one: get Stefan out.

Footsteps sounded from behind me, but I didn't have to turn my head as the person came into view. Bonnie was here. "What's going on?" She questioned us, taking in our worried looks and the heavy chain around me. She turned to Caroline, "You just took off in a blur."

"I heard Ariana screaming." Caroline replied, and gestured to me, "Help her, now!"

Bonnie didn't have time to argue or question the situation as she took my hand and more or less carried me so that I was dangling in mid-air above the seemingly bottomless well. Oh God, don't fall.

"Are you ready?" Caroline asked.

No. "Yeah."

She slowly gave me some slack on the chains and I was lowered into the darkness as it swallowed me up. It's just like rock-climbing, I thought to myself, I won't fall. I have to help Stefan.

He must've been in so much pain.

My thoughts were pulled away for a second as I fell. The chains weren't supporting me. I halted suddenly as the chains once again had a hold of me, and gasped as I realized I could've fell to my death, and Stefan could've still been stuck in the well.

"Sorry!" Caroline's voice echoed from above.

"It's okay, keep going." I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

I was lowered again, and I felt victorious when water soaked through my jeans. The feeling was very unpleasant, but it meant that I was at the bottom. The chains fell away from me, and I saw a figure laying in the water, face down. Reaching for Stefan, I turned over his body, not really looking at the damage.

He was unconscious, and I had to focus. So I forced myself to look away as I tied the chains around his body.

"Ariana, what's going on down there?" Caroline questioned.

"Pull him up!"

She didn't have to be asked twice. Stefan rose, and the water dripped back onto me as he was pulled up. I waited until I couldn't see him anymore before I got to work. Unstrapping the flashlight from the chain connected to my jeans, I turned it on, illuminating the dingy, opaque, water.

My clothes were starting to stick to me uncomfortably, and my entire being was soaked through.

"Ariana!" Caroline called, "Ready for you!"

"Hold on!" I shouted back, "I need to find the stone."

Groping around the narrow cylinder-like stone structure, I looked for the huge cracks in the wall; places that may have held the stone.

"Hurry!" Caroline warned.

A wooden box lay in one of the cracks, and I shone the flashlight at it. "I think I found it!" I called up to my friends. Reaching towards it, I shrieked when something black and grey slithered towards me. It traveled up my arm and across my body at I continued to scream. I shivered in fear.

Snakes.

I threw it off me, but another one replaced it. I had to get out of here, now. Backing up against the wall, I pulled the box towards me and tied the chain around me again. Caroline must've brought it back down.

"Ariana!" Her troubled voice startled me, "What's going on?"

"I got it." I said, "Okay, bring me up!"

The chains rose, and I along with them. Caroline reeled me up, and I sighed in relief when the sunlight once again hit me.

Bonnie helped me out of the well, and I saw Caroline move away. Oh right, the vervain, I was drenched in it.

Jumping off of the well, I dropped down next to Stefan, and my voice cracked at the side of him. He was practically still unconscious, but what scared me was his other conditions. Tears ran down my face, as I scrutinized his skin. His face was like a bloody mask. Cuts and wounds covered every inch of skin, as if acid had just been dumped on him.

"Oh, god!" I exclaimed with the voice I had left. My throat became tight, "Stefan!"

I cradled his head under my arm, and my best friends rushed to surround us.

"Stefan!" I tried to capture his attention, "Stefan."

It wasn't working. Grabbing a sharp nearby rock, I ran it across my own skin on my wrist in a jagged movement. I didn't even register the pain as I placed my blood on Stefan's lips. His beautiful green eyes finally opened, focusing on my face as he started to drink.

Relief flooded me, yet it only continued to make the tears leave my eyes, "I've got the stone, Stefan." I said, feeling slightly proud. I did something right today. If I hadn't of followed Stefan... he'd still be in that well, tortured, helpless. "Stefan, it's gonna be okay, everything's gonna be okay."

We could do this. We could win.

Stefan healed quickly after that and we all returned to our own households, he being the one to keep the moonstone. When we had finally opened the box, I saw how beautiful the stone was. It was a half-opaque, half-transparent palm sized gem which glittered when light touched it. No wonder it held mystical powers. Magic.

I filled Elena on everything that had happened today, and after our not so friendly bantering, I drove us home.

Alaric's eyes were on me as I entered our house, Elena behind me. He mouthed, "Are you okay?" to me, seeing our expressions.

I nodded, placing my fingers to my mouth, indicating for him not to disturb Jenna, who I knew was in the kitchen with him. Pointing up the stairs, he gave us a look of understanding, and Elena and I ascended the staircase.

I came back down to the kitchen a few minutes later for dinner, and asked Alaric, "Where is Jeremy?"

"Oh, he went straight to his room." He explained, "He said he wasn't hungry."

I gave him a grim smile, "Elena said the same thing." I picked up the plates and placed them down on the table, glancing to Jenna who was on the phone with someone. The conversation seemed deep and intense. "Who is she talking to?"

"I don't know." Alaric shrugged, whispering, "Everything go okay today?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "There were a few obstacles, but it's fine now."

He nodded, and I looked to Jenna who was walking towards me, the phone in her hand. "Ariana, it's for you." She stated, handing me the phone.

I gave a confused look and pressed it against my ear, speaking into the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ariana."

I froze. It was her voice. Looking at Alaric in alarm, he looked back at me in question. I turned away, needing to focus on what was happening. Why was Katherine calling me?

"Katherine."

She continued to speak in her smooth voice in a threatening way, "Did you enjoy your little rendezvous with Stefan this morning? I will always know, Ariana. I will always be one step ahead of you. When are you gonna figure that out? Do you know how easy it was to get inside of your house? To replace Aunt Jenna's vervain perfume, to convince her to stop drinking her special tea?"

I whipped my head back around to face Jenna, seeing her chopping up some vegetables with her knife. What was Katherine planning? Alaric kept wanting to know what was going on, but I held up a hand, signaling for him to wait.

"No." I breathed out into the receiver.

"Jenna's been my little spy for days now. But unlike you, Jenna actually listens to me. So when I suggested that the world would be a much better place if she were to just—"

The phone slipped out of my hand as the unimaginable happened. It clattered to the floor. "Jenna, no!" My warnings were useless. Jenna had been compelled. She held the huge knife in both her hands above her, and in the next second, it plunged into her stomach.

She fell to the floor.

"Jenna!" Alaric rushed over to her, "Jenna!"

I tried to recover from my shock as I knelt down next to Alaric, trying to see if Jenna was alright. I sob escaped through my lips, and tears flooded my eyes once more today.

This couldn't be happening. No. How could... how could Katherine... this was...

No thought seemed to be coherent. All I knew was that Jenna needed help, now.

I walked out of the waiting room at the hospital, relieved to learn that Jenna was alright; she was going to be fine. It still didn't stop the feeling of dread that entered me at the mere thought of her. This was my fault. Katherine acted this way because of me.

Jeremy and Elena got up from the chairs and walked to me, "Is she okay?" Jeremy questioned, worried.

"The doctors told Alaric that she got lucky." I blinked away the tears, "She's gonna make it. She's gonna be okay."

"Does she remember what happened?" Elena asked, trying not to seem shook up, although she obviously was.

"No, nothing." I replied. "It's all a part of Katherine's mind compulsion."

"Why would Katherine hurt Jenna?" Jeremy inquired.

"Because she's trying to send a message." My voice finally cracked, and I couldn't hold back the dam filled with tears in my eyes, "That she could get to anybody."

Turning away, not wanting to show Jeremy how weak I actually was, I felt two pairs of arms grab me. "Hey, hey, hey, come here." Jeremy and Elena both hugged me, trying to console me as I cried it out. Why couldn't I be stronger for them? Why did I break so easily? It didn't seem fair. "It's gonna be okay." He continued. "She's gonna pay, Ariana. I don't know how, but she's gonna pay."

"That bitch is going down." Elena added with venom.

Oh, I wished it was that easy. Truth was, we didn't really know what was going to happen. Whether we would even survive the next few weeks. Living day to day seemed like a blessing, and I could never take that for granted anymore.

I wasn't going to give up the fight... but how much did I really have left in me? I was angry, and exhausted, but most of all; worried. My friends and family were everything to me. Without them, I was an empty shell, lifeless, made out of nothing. They held me up by a thread.

That was my greatest weakness: I cared for so many people. And Katherine new how to exploit it. She gained power by feeding off others' weaknesses.

I couldn't let her continue. We had to stop her... somehow...

I tried to swallow back the fear, frustration, and anger that lay in my throat, but I couldn't. My tears refused to disappear, and I knew that I couldn't stall for much longer.

Walking into the Salvatore library, Stefan stood there, back turned to me, staring at the flames burning in the fireplace. When he turned to face me, I was surprised to see that he was in tears. His face was blotchy and red, but even then, he was gorgeous; handsome; beautiful. It only made what I was about to do harder.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"We were stupid." I stated, "Sneaking around, thinking that we weren't gonna get caught."

"I know."

"We did this." I continued. I did this. "Stefan, Jenna's in the hospital and Jeremy and Elena could be next." My voice broke. "All because we didn't—we didn't listen to her. Because—because we're together. Stefan..."

"I know what you're gonna say to me." Stefan closed his eyes as if in pain, tears leaving them.

I walked closer to him, so that I stood only a few inches away. "Then let me say it. I've been so selfish because I love you so much, and I know how much you love me." He nodded, looking away like he couldn't bear to hear the next words out of my mouth. "But it's over. Stefan, it has to be."

"Ariana, I..." He started.

"Don't, Stefan." I whispered brokenly, "Please." I reached up and caressed his face, forcing him to look into my eyes. By this time, both our faces were filled with tears, which only made me want to cry more. "It has to be."

Hesitating, I gave him one last kiss goodbye. Pulling away, I looked at the amount of pain he was in. He looked so broken, so bare; all his emotions were in plain view. It was like I had just murdered his world, and I hated myself. Complete and utter despair surrounded me, and I turned away, not trusting myself to not do something stupid.

I couldn't change my mind or turn back the clock. What I did was final. Maybe once all this was over, Stefan would forgive me. But for now, we had to be apart.

I walked down the hallway, clutching my stomach as if it would suddenly tear open and fall out. This pain was like none other. This excruciating feeling tore me from the inside out.

When I finally reached the front door and wrenched it open, a voice stopped me.

"Ariana." I turned to look at Damon. His gaze was soft and sympathetic, as he reached out towards me, as if wanting to console me. Taking in my state with sadness, he admitted truthfully, "It was my fault. I riled Katherine up. I—I wasn't thinking. I didn't think."

I really couldn't deal with another broken heart today. Stefan felt guilty, I felt guilty... now Damon. I couldn't... I wasn't capable of handling it. "It doesn't matter, Damon." I finally said before he could continue, "She won. Katherine won."

Hearing those words come out of my mouth hit me hard, and I decided I needed to leave. With one last longing look from Damon, I shut the door behind me.

What an emotional episode. Gosh, just watching it was enough to make me cry. It had the right amount of action and emotion. Thank you for your reviews, they're awesome and amazing as always!

-Spiralcloud