A/N: Hello lovelies! I hate starting on a bad note, but there is something I would like to discuss.

First of all I would like to thank sweetsweetsacrifice for being my one and only reviewer. It was really disheartening to see how high my story traffic was and only getting one review. I don't want to be one of those authors that asks for reviews etc, but the truth is the more feedback I get the more I write, so if you don't review then you're only losing out yourself. I hope I don't sound horrible because I don't want to come across that way, but no author likes spending lots of their free time on a peice of work and then getting no response, because then it begins to seem pointless. I understand that it wasn't one of my best chapters, but feedback can always be negative as long as it's done in a tasteful way.

On a lighter note, as a token of appreciation to sweetsweetsacrifice, this chapter is dedicated to her. Thank you for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.

Damon's pov:

Life. God's most precious gift. Beautiful in a trillion different ways, meant to be treasured and cherished. Well, God obviously never met me.

There's this extreme rush you get when you hold someones fate in your hands; it's truly exilerating. But only for a second. Then, the guilt starts to set in, and you frown as you realise that you've probably just killed someones child, sibling, friend. Well, Stefan does. I'm actually the complete opposite.

Vicki Donavon is dead. Scientifically, at least. Soon enough she'll be up and around, draining people dry, and I'll be there to watch the fallout. See the look on Stefan, Brooke and Elena's faces - especially Stefan's. He asked for it. Perhaps he shouldn't have locked me up in the basement, starved me of my need for blood and stolen my daylight ring. Maybe then things would have turned out differently. Nah, I still would have done it.

"What happened? We were dancing and then-" Vicki gurgled and I cut her off.

"I killed you." She shook her head and stared at me as if I'd just told her that there was a unicorn behind her with some weed. Which in her mind, I wouldn't be surprised if there was.

"What?"

"You're dead. Don't worry, you're not the only one." She stared at me incredulously.

"I'm dead? Are you on drugs or something?" I rolled my eyes at her, an action I find myself doing a lot in her presence. She's so stupid.

"Take a look in the mirror sweetheart. Anyway, yes, you have now joined the living dead so stop making a big deal out of it. Long story short, you drank my blood, I killed you and now you have to feed to complete the process, otherwise you won't be getting your platinum membership card."

"You're just wasted. Agh." She groaned as she picked herself up off the floor.

"Trust me, it's probably best if you're not out there all on your own." I sped in front of her as she moved to leave, causing her to fall back slightly.

"You're about to go Godzilla on everyones ass." She swayed to the side and tried to keep her balance.

"Look, today has been pretty awesome and all, but I just wanna go home."

"You're already completely out of it. You're craving blood and until you get it you're going to be very dangerous so you need to be careful." I said as I put fake sincerity into my tone. I definitely picked a winner here. She's going to drive everyone nuts. She grabbed her head as if she was having the worst hangover ever, when I remembered that drug addicts are the worst people to turn. All vampires are addicted to blood, obviously, so it's so much more amplified when a druggie is in transition. Even better.

"Move!" She shoved past me and I smirked.

"See, you're already starting to crumble and fall apart."

"I'm going home now." She said in an malicious tone that was nowhere near up to par with mine, but was still pretty impressive. I held up my hands in a mock surrender, but she didn't seem to take any notice.

"Okay! Fine, I was only trying to help you. Actually, you know what? You should definitely go, it's probably the best idea you've ever had in your entire life, which is honestly a little pathetic but better late than never. In fact, another great idea would be to go and stop by your boyfriend Jeremy's house, see if you two can sort out your differences." She paused for a moment, and I knew she was going to run with my idea. Perfect.

"Yeah, whatever." She waved me off but I had to get something else in there.

"Tell Brooke I said hello, and if you see Stefan tell him I'm expecting his call." My lips curled upwards into a smirk. Damon Salvatore's back in the game.

Brooke's pov:

Just Keep running as fast as you can.

The words were on a loop in my head, pushing me to go further, even though I was completely out of breath. It hadn't occured to me when I left the boarding house that sprinting through the forest wasn't a good idea. I just needed to get out of there as fast as I could. Flashes of Vicki lying there... with that... bite, just made me want to throw up again.

I gasped and my feet stopped moving. I left her there, all alone - with him. Shame rose up from the bottom of my stomach, and I forced myself to think of anything other than that. I don't think being sick again is a wise plan, especially since there's nothing left in my digestive system to puke up.

"Brooke?" A scream tore it's way through my throat but was muffled as someone from behind me used their hand to cease the sound. I thrashed around in the person's arms as I tried to escape from their hold, but it was unbreakable. It's him. What if he's decided I'm not aloud to leave?

"Shh, Brooke, calm down, It's me. Stefan." I halted. Stefan. He let go of me once he was satisfied that I wasn't going to try to run away, and when he did I rotated and callopsed into his waiting arms. I felt him stroke the back of my head as I began to let everything go, and just let it all out. He tried whispering soothing words like 'it was going to be okay', but I knew differently.

It's not okay. It will never be okay.

That was when I realised. Stefan, is Damon's brother. Damon is a vampire, hence Stefan must be too. The thought brought me back to this newfound reality, and I broke free from his gentle grasp.

"You're one too. You're a vampire, just like him." I pointed at him shakily as my chest heaved up and down heavily. Stefan quickly shook his head and moved a step forward, to which I stepped two backwards. He held up his hands and I thought about screaming for the hills.

"I promise that I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me, I'm not like Damon, Brooke." I scrunched up my nose as the tears carried on falling.

"You're his brother, how can you not be like him? All of those people who have been killed. It was you two, wasn't it?"

"No! No I'm not, Damon's the one who kills people and manipulates them, I don't do that! I'd never dream of doing that Brooke. None of those deaths were caused by me, they were all Damon's doing. Please, you need to trust me." I stared into his eyes and noticed him step forward once more, but this time I didn't move away. I kept my guard up though. How do I know that I can trust him? How am I supposed to believe him?

"What reason have you given me to trust you? How do I know that you're telling me the truth? Nothing makes sense anymore!" I yelled as I held my head in my hands, desperately trying to figure things out. Everything's different now. It's as if my entire life has just exploded into tiny peices, and I have no idea how I'm meant to put them back together again. My dad was right, about all of this. I felt Stefan pry my hands away from my face, and he lifted my head so that my eyes would lock onto his.

"I'll tell you as much as I can. Don't worry, you're not the only one in this." My face obviously showed my confusion, as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Elena reacted in pretty much the same way." My eyes bugged out of my head. Elena knows? She must be so terrified. Another tear rolled down my cheek at the thought.

"How about we walk back to your house so you can see her, and I'll tell you everything about vampires?" I stared at him for a few moments, unsure on how to respond. Sure, I want answers, no, I need answers... but can I trust him? What if he's like Damon and he's just lying about it? What if he's not? What if he's genuinely telling the truth? I nodded hesitantly and a comforting smile presented itself on his features. I however, did not return it.

"Come on, it's this way." He motioned for me to walk along side of him as he managed to find a route that took us out of the woods and onto a road, one of which I was thankful for. I doubt he'll try to attack me in public, so this place should be safe.

"Okay, first I'll start off with the more physical side. We can run extremely fast, completely unoticeable to the naked human eye. If you pay close attention when we're not running so fast, you'll probably see a blurred figure speeding past you, or feel a gust of wind sweep by you." I nodded so he knew that I understood.

"Our strength is like steel. No human could ever beat us in a fight, but there are ways around humans hurting us. We can hear things from a long way away, for instance, the family in there are watching Ratatouille." I gaped at him as he pointed to a house down the street.

"That's... Impressive." I commented, unable to think of any other words to describe that. He laughed at my reaction.

"And before you ask, I love garlic, holy water is drinkable, crucifixes are decorative, mirrors are a myth and yes, vampires do need to be invited into your house." My eyes involuntarily flashed to the blaring Sun, before returning back to his.

"Sunlight is obviously not an issue either then." He cringed slightly.

"It is, but there are a few vampires like myself and Damon who have rings to protect us." He raised his hand to show me the huge ring he sported twenty-four-seven, which brought me back to my morning with Damon, and how he impatiently rang Stefan asking him for his ring back. That's why he was going so ape shit over it.

"That explains why he wants it back so badly. He's been calling you. Where is it?"

"I know, I've got it right here in my pocket. Soon enough I'm going to have to give it back." My steps screeched to a halt as I began to wildly object. Why should he have it back, he doesn't deserve it!

"No Stefan, you can't give it him back! Then he'll get away with everything! He'll only hurt more people. You haven't seen him Stefan, he's out for blood and revenge." Stefan nodded guiltily.

"I know he is, but that's all my doing. I'm the reason he's so pissed, and if I don't give him back his ring, he'll hurt me the only way he knows how. By hurting Elena. And you." I opened my mouth to say something, but decided against it. He's a vampire. So why does he care so much? Aren't they meant to be cold, detatched, bloodthirsty monsters? Like Damon?

"Damon mentioned something about mind control." I murmered, trying to forget about Damon and find out more about their species. Damon, the guy I thought was hilarious and ridicuously hot, is actaully a killer. And we all thought Jenna was the worst for getting involved with the bad guys. Go figure.

"Yes. It's called compulsion, it can do lots of things and puts us at a great advantage. We can maniplate you into doing anything we want, we can influence your actions and put thoughts into your head, mess with your memories. Mine is nowhere near as good as Damon's though." That sounds horrible. We can basically be whatever they want us to be, and they can control us and take away our free will. We started walking again.

"What do you mean that yours isn't as good? Why?"

"This is what makes me different to Damon. Our feeding habits aren't the same. He, like most vampires feed on human blood. They take pleasure in draining someone dry and because that's the way our food chain works, it makes them grow stronger. I on the other hand drink from animals, so I guess you could call me a vegetarian of sorts. It doesn't make me as strong as him but it means I can survive, and at least my concious is clear." It took me quite a while to process his words. That's quite admirable. Maybe he is different from his brother. Maybe I can trust him. But maybe he's just lying and I'm buying it. I'm so confused...

"What else is there? Damon said something about how I was protected."

"Yeah, you are. You see your necklace, the one I gave you? You could smell a herb inside of it. It's called Vervain, and it's toxic to vampires. We can't touch it, injest it, and as long as you're wearing it or ingesting it then you're safe from mind control. And I know I probably shouldn't tell you this, but a stake to the heart is how we die." I nodded slowly and let out a sigh. I thought I was ready for all of this. I wanted to know the truth and I still do, it's just a lot to take in. It's not every day you find out that what goes bump in the night is actually real.

"How old are you?" I blurted out. Damon said something about immortality too. Stefan looked stunned for a moment or two before he finally replied.

"I'm one hundred and sixty-one years old." My throat became dry at his admission. Right. That's... Normal.

"I was frozen at the age of seventeen in eighteen-sixty-four." I cleared my throat, attempting to regain some saliva and before I could stop myself the words flew straight out of my lips.

"What about Damon?" I internally cursed at myself. Why do you care? Stefan's eyes narrowed slightly as he sent me an unreadable look.

"Damon was turned at the same time. He's frozen at twenty-four." I nodded, and to get the spotlight away from me I tried to ask him another question.

"How did you... Become a vampire?" I asked hesitantly, hoping that he didn't think I was becoming too confident like Damon did. Stefan may be ticking all of the boxes that say he's trustworthy, but he's still one of them, and I don't really know what they're capable of. We may have spent the past ten minutes talking about it, but I've never experienced it. Good thing too, wouldn't want to faint or throw up again.

"It's a long story. You remember the girl we've been talking about a lot in the last couple of weeks?"

"You mean Katherine?"

"Yeah. It started in eighteen-sixty-three. That's when we first met her, and it's when the two of us fell in love with her. Or so we thought. Our father had offered her a place at the boarding house after her parents died, and for me it was love at first sight. She was beautiful, like an angel. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one interested in her..."

"So was Damon." I filled in the gap as he paused; He nodded.

"Yes. Time started to pass and somehow both of us were infatuated with her. There was just something about her that stood out, she had this laugh that was so infectious that you had to laugh. It was unreal. Eventually mine and Damon's relationship started to break down. The two of us used to be inseperable, nothing could come between us. But as we both found out about who she truly was, she compelled the two of us to love her and to not tell anyone about what she really was. She wanted us all to be together forever. Didn't really turn out as she'd hoped though."

"I'm guessing that there's more to this story." My assumption was right.

"At the time there were lots of vampires in Mystic Falls, and people were starting to find out. The original founding families got together and decided that they needed to put a stop to the supernatural infestation, and a plan was concocted. They were going to drug them with Vervain and burn them in a church." I noticed that we were only a few streets away from Jenna's house, but I wasn't really paying attention to that. I was totally immersed in the tale he was telling me. That must be the civilians Damon said were burned alive. Not exactly civilians, were they?

"Meanwhile, without mine or Damon's knowledge Katherine had been feeding us her blood, compelling us to drink and forget. But the night finally came for the founders to take action, and before any of us knew it, all of the vampires had been killed, along with me and Damon. We woke up the next day, in transition."

"Wow." I breathed. We'd just made it back to the house and we were both stood outside. I had no idea what to say. Stefan thankfully took the lead.

"I know it's hard to trust me right now. I know you're probably going out of your mind as the panic and confusion take you over. But I want you to know that I'm here. If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to pick up the phone." Even though I knew I shouldn't, I felt my heart clench at his words.

"If it helps, I trust you more than Damon." We both shared a little laugh, and I raised an eyebrow at him as he turned to leave.

"Aren't you coming in? I'm sure your girlfriend wants to see you." I smiled teasingly, but it dropped when Stefan's features grew harder.

"I don't think she's my girlfriend anymore." I stood there, completely silent. What can you actually say to that? I was snapped out of dilemma when I noticed Stefan grow confused and then worried. He walked past me and into the house, and I was hot on his heels. What's up with hi-

I stopped breathing as I took in the sight. Matt was helping Jeremy get up off the floor and Elena was stood there, looking flustered. But what really startled me was the other person in the room.

Vicki.

The last time I saw her, she was passed out on a sofa with two holes in her neck. How did she get here? It was then that I noticed she was practically ripping her own hair out. My hand darted out to grab Stefan's arm.

"Stefan, the last time I saw her she was with Damon." He took one look at me before he walked straight over to Vicki and told Elena to back up when she moved towards her. Stefan lifted his hand to hold her face and told her to focus, saying that she was going to be fine, whilst I and all the others watched on. What is going on? Stefan seems really worried. My eyes swept over her form and I noticed that her bite mark had disappeared. What the hell? Suddenly, a pair of arms flew around my body and latched onto me tightly.

"It's so good to see you. Where have you been? I was so worried." Elena. She whispered in my ear frantically and as we pulled back I could see tears in her eyes, making me want to cry too. I pulled her back into a hug and stroked her hair much like Stefan had done to me earlier. I've had my turn to break down, but Elena needs me right now and I won't let her down. She's so upset, I wish I could take the pain away from her but we can't get everything we wish for, that much is evident now.

"I'll tell you later. I'm so sorry I worried you, I can expla-"

"Guys take her up to bed and shut the blinds, she's going to be okay." Mine and Elena's little moment was interrupted by Stefan's panicked voice, and we broke apart just in time to see Matt and Jeremy rushing her up the stairs.

"You know what's wrong with her." Elena stated rather than questioned and Stefan came closer to us, speaking no louder than a whisper.

"Brooke, what state was she in when you left the boarding house?" Elena gasped and covered her mouth as I tried to think of the nicest way possible to describe how Vicki looked, even though there wasn't a nice way to describe it.

"She was passed out and she'd been... bitten."

"You know?" Elena breathed and I nodded painfully. I wish I didn't, I'd give anything to have this knowledge taken away from me. I'd give anything to be told it was a lie. But it's not. It's reality.

"She's transitioning." My whole world stopped spinning. I was beginning to think that things couldn't get any worse, but as always I'm proven wrong. I shouldn't have left her, I could have stopped this.

"Transitioning into what?" Elena asked in a small voice, and this time I replied to her.

"A vampire." I reached out to hold her hand as a sign of comfort.

"What?"

"We were both at the boarding house and Vicki had bite marks. She was in really bad shape, and I left her. Damon gave me an opportunity to leave, and I left her there. Oh God. He could've done it to me." I whispered, albeit the last part slightly selfishly, but I didn't care. I'm just glad he let me leave. Elena shook her head.

"I would have killed him if he did." She sounded deadly serious, and I knew she meant it, but I also know that she wouldn't stand a chance against him.

"She hasn't completed her transformation yet guys." Stefan returned our attention to him, and Elena spoke in a worried tone of voice.

"Well, how does she do that?" Stefan stared at us with deep regret in his eyes. He never told me this part of the story.

"She has to feed on human blood." Elena and I both tightened our grip on each others hands. That's why.

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then she'll die."

"I don't know what time her transition started so she may only have a few hours." Elena was busy pacing around the room whilst I was sat on the arm of the couch, tapping my foot on the floor at an irregular pace.

"She's upstairs with him right now." She spat as she referred to Jeremy, causing my tapping to stop. What if she tries to hurt him? I felt my legs kick into gear and I stood up, running for the stairs but gasped when Stefan appeared in front of me and grabbed a hold of my arms. Him and his brother really need to stop doing that.

"No Brooke, he's fine, she doesn't know what's happening to her yet so he's fine." I let out a breath I didn't even realise I'd been holding in and allowed him to walk me back into the living room where Elena was still pacing.

"So when is she going to know?"

"Right now she doesn't remember anything, a part of her is still human. The longer she's in transition for the more the memories will start to come back, but the clock's ticking and we don't know how long she has left." This time I was the one who paced around the room as Elena sat down, and I fisted handfulls of my hair, tugging at the seams gently.

"And as the memories return she'll know she has to make the choice." I muttered and Stefan nodded in conformation. I briefly began to think about what I'd do in this situation. Would I turn into one of them? Live forever as a vampire? No. Because there's a chance that I'd be like Damon - Heartless.

"The same choice you made?" I closed my eyes to block out the thoughts that Elena's question created, but they were as clear as a summers day. Damon isn't surprising. Of course he'd choose to kill someone so he could be one of them. But Stefan? It made the small amount of trust he'd earned diminish.

"Vicki!" All of our heads snapped to the right at the sound of Matt's scream, and we all followed him out onto the front garden.

"She was fine and then she just freaked out!" My heart thumped uncontrollably in my chest. She's gone.

"I'm going to go and look for her, call me if you hear anything!" Matt jumped into his car and drove off, whilst Stefan creeped closer to me and Elena.

"I can track her." Without missing a beat the two of us both screamed at him at the same time.

"Go!" He took of running at a human pace, and I looked up into the sky. It was turning black, meaning that Damon wouldn't be trapped in the boarding house anymore. And he could come and find us.

"Get inside guys. I don't like being out when it's getting dark. Who knows what's out there." Jeremy sent me a weird look, but Elena understood me completely. Despite knowing that he can already get in our house, I feel safer in there. At least it eases my concious a little bit.

"You finished?" I nodded, looking down at my full plate of food. I couldn't stomach any of it. Elena and I still haven't had the chance to talk about things, since Jeremy's been stuck to us like superglue. We both silently agreed not to drag him into this, especially since he's worried about where his girlfriend is. We know exactly where she is - said girlfriend is turning into a vampire.

"Maybe we should check in with Matt." Elena scoffed and handed my plate to him whilst I sat there, today's events beginning to really sink in. Today, I've found out what Damon Salvatore is really like. I've found out what the real deal is behind the Salvatore brothers mysterious facade.

It kills me to say this, and to quote Damon Salvatore of all people, but maybe some secrets are meant to be what they are - secrets. Untold, and left alone. At least that way there wouldn't be this throbbing in my chest.

"He'll call when he finds her." I was brought back to the conversation when Elena's snappy tone interrupted my thought pattern. I'm not the only one in this situation, so is Elena and she's dealing with this better than I am. And I call myself an adult...

"Well what are we supposed to do?"

"Wait, we wait. We're supposed to wait."

"And stay indoors, at all costs. No-one leaves this house." Elena nodded in agreement while Jeremy stared at the two of us dumb-founded. I rose from my seat and grabbed a tumbler out of the cupboard, pouring myself a glass of water and leaning against the sink. Jeremy finally stopped staring at the two of us like we were animals that had escaped from the zoo and caught my eyes with his.

"I don't know what's happening to her." I do. She's turning into a vampire. I ripped my eyes away from his, unable to look him dead in the eye without letting something slip. This is so unfair. His parents just died and now his girlfriend might too? I dropped my glass into the sink causing it to make a loud clanging noise, ignored the stares of my two younger cousins and whizzed out of the kitchen and into my bedroom, barely taking notice of the sound of the doorbell ringing.

I went into my personal bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, only to be greeted with a dreadful sight. I looked so run down. My make-up was smeared and my clothes were dirty. Why hasn't anyone said anything? It's because of Vicki, they most likely haven't noticed. Thank God. I splashed some water onto my face and wiped off my mascara lines, before throwing on some clean jeans and a clean tank-top, before falling onto my bed and gazing at the ceiling. When did life get so messed up? Oh yeah, that's right. When I met Damon.

"Brooke, what is going on with you and Elena?" My heart skipped a beat and I shot up at the sound of Jeremy's voice. For a moment there I thought that he was Damon.

"You could knock first you know, you scared me." I leaned back down and ran my hands over my face, trying to think of something normal, something happy. Anything other than Damon freaking Salvatore.

"Answer my question Brooke! I have enough trouble worrying about Vicki, let alone what's going on with the two of you!" That's right. And that's why you can't be involved in this Jere, why you can't know or ever find out.

"Nothing's going on." I spoke in a strong tone of voice, actually surprising myself. I've always been a terrible liar.

"Oh really? Well then, why are you two communicating with your minds? It's like you're having a secret conversation. I know something is going on Brooke, don't think I forgot about how you looked when you came home earlier, not even mentioning where you'd been last night. And to top it all off, Elena just ordered me to go upstairs when Damon came knocking on our do-" He didn't even have time to finish his sentence as my body shot off of the bed and onto the landing.

"You got the whole life story, huh?" His velvety voice made it's way to my ears, and without a second thought I traipsed down the stairs. Well not so much as traipsed, more like ungracefully legged it. The first thing I did was make my way over to Elena and I moved to stand in front of her.

"Don't you dare go near her." He smirked and began to move towards me, and I felt Elena grab my hand and pull my backwards with her.

"Why? What are you going to do? I think we've already established who's in control here Brooke, and it's definitely not you." I swallowed as he leaned close to my face, mere breaths away from me... and my neck. I could feel the blood rushing there, and I knew he could hear it, most likely smell it too. He could drain me if he wanted to, or worse - Turn me.

It didn't take him very long to notice either. Blue orbs shot down to my neck and he licked his lips, whilst I could barely supress the urge to curl my lips back in disgust. I flinched as he lifted his hand to delicately stroke my pulse point, and found myself able to breathe again when he leaned back and proceded to walk to the door. I hope it hits him on the way out.

"Oh, tip for later you two: Be careful who you invite in the house." Since I can't seem to catch a break, the door didn't hit him on the way out, and Elena and I were left stood there, both of us petrified. I span around and we threw our arms around each other. I don't know how long we hugged for, but I heard Jeremy stroll down the stairs with his eyebrow raised.

"Oh yeah, of course nothing's going on."

Stefan's pov:

Everything is just falling apart, and I have no idea how I'm meant to put the peices back together.

None of this would have happened if I hadn't returned to Mystic Falls; no-one's lives would be destroyed if I'd just stayed away. No. I'm not going to blame myself for this. Sure, part of it is my fault, but the real person behind this is Damon. It's been this way for years, me cleaning up his messes. I thought I'd gotten away from him, the last fifteen years have actually been enjoyable without his presence. But I'm here yet again, trying to fix the people he's broken - starting with Vicki.

"Vicki." I spoke in what I hoped was a soft and gentle tone, but if anything made her cry even more. And I thought I'd always been good at comforting people. Then again, how do you comfort someone in this situation? You can't. It's impossible.

"Memories are coming back to me. What he is, what he told me, and I remember you. You were there at the hospital and at the rooftop." Her shoulders rocked and she brought her legs close to her chest as she swayed back and forth, whilst I moved towards her. I can't imagine what's going through her mind right now. It was easier for me. But I wasn't the same person back then; I was like Damon.

"I'm so sorry. Damon had no right to do this to you." She inhaled air that she no longer needed.

"He said that I'm supposed to feed. But I don't want to."

"The problem is, you're starting to fade quickly. And then it'll all just be over if you don't. I don't want to push you into doing anything and I promise that the decision is completely up to you. But if you don't..."

"Then I'll be dead." She choked, her sobs echoing through the forest. I cautiously sat down next to her and held her hand in my own. She looked me in the eye with this wild, animalistic glint.

"I don't want this!"

"I know. It's going to be okay, you're going to be okay, I can help you."

"But is it better? Will I be better?" My silence said it all. No, not really. It'll never really be better.

"I just... I want to go home! Will you take me home, please?" My heart tore into two at the sound of her whimpers, and I nodded, unable to refuse her request. I stood up and offered her my hand, only to hear a gunshot echo through the forest - and feel it tear through my skin. Groaning at the impact my hand reached up to rip it out, only to feel another strike me and my legs buckled, forcing my body to the ground. Blood began seeping out of my chest, and out of the corner of my eye I saw my attacker. Is that... Logan Fell?

I rolled onto my back, coughing up blood as I did so. My breath caught as I saw him raise a stake into the air. This is how it ends. Why now? Why now when I've finally found a place to be happy? A person to love and a person to call my friend. Why?

"No!" Another vampire ripped the stake out of his hands and drove his fangs into his neck, dropping him to the floor as he disposed of him. Damon. I screamed in agony as I felt him rip out the wooden bullets, but sighed in relief as my wounds began to heal. I never thought I'd ever say this, but I'm thankful Damon was here. He just saved my life.

"It's wooden bullets, they know." They question was on the tip of my tongue, dying to be let out. Damon already knew though, as he wiped his mouth free of blood and smirked.

"If anyone gets to kill you it's going to be me. Haven't you figured that out yet, little brother? My ring." He held his hand out and I threw it at him, watching as he lazily smirked.

"No, Vicki!" My scream cut through the air like a knife as she drank from Logan's corpse, looking at me shamefully. She was gone within seconds, leaving my tortured self and my satisfied brother alone.

"Oops. You're lucky I turned her. I did contemplate doing so to Brooke." My anger flared up darkly from inside.

"Then why didn't you?" His smug, self absorbed smirk drifted away, and before I could question it he was by Logan, picking up something off the ground. Footsteps from the distance were getting closer rapidly, and I felt my shirt being tugged by Damon until I stood up and the two of us were out of there, delving deeper into the forest so that they wouldn't find us.

"You haven't answered my question, Damon." I held my chest tightly as I willed the pain to stop, but I was at no such look. I'm going to have to feed first, and there's no way that I'm doing that in front of Damon. He'd get a kick out of it.

"I have an answer Stefan. But you don't deserve to hear it. Come on old man, the boarding house is this way." He pointed in the opposite direction to the way I was heading, and I shook my head.

"I'm going to see Elena." He laughed and clapped his hands together in a mocking motion.

"Ah, at the Gilbert household. I was there only a few minutes ago, and trust me those girls are riled up! They were so rude to me." Without a second thought I pushed him into a tree and growled at him with as much darkness as I could muster.

"I don't want you near that house or any of it's residents, especially Elena!" He just scoffed and punched me in the exact place where one of the bullets had been fired into me. I fell to the ground once again, mumbling a series of curses as the pain intensified.

"You sound like Brooke, no wonder the two of you are friends. Oh wait, you aren't anymore, are you? And you're not dating Elena either. Bummer." He grinned and I managed to pick myself up off the floor.

"How can you go from being so nice one moment, like saving my life, to such a jackass the next, like you are now?"

"Why do you say that in such a surprised tone? You should know by now brother that I'm only out for myself. I don't feel, and that's not changing any time soon, so just suck it up and deal with it. I'm off anyway, going to go and find myself some sex deprived young woman for dinner. Don't wait up." He was gone before I had the chance to question him any further, and I slammed my fist against the tree I'd thrown him into. There's something different about him, I know it. Why won't he just admit it? He's starting to care, and he knows it too.

Brooke's pov:

"Brooke, what happens if she does feed?" We were sat on the porch, waiting to hear any news about Vicki and hoping that Damon wouldn't show up again.

"Then she'll... be a vampire." I did nothing to change the grim tone of my voice. I'm not going to hide anything from Elena, she's in this too. I stared at her out of the corner of my eye, her facial expression showing that she was thinking similar thoughts to me. I took her hand and squeezed it gently, before standing up and brushing a peice of hair out of her eyes.

"I'm going to go and have a shower if that's okay with you. I need to try and wash this day away." She nodded and sent me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes before I walked into the house and retreated to my bathroom, taking some comfort in the feel of the water drowning away the past twenty-four hours.

It was only there for a second, but that second was beautiful. For just one second, today felt like it had never happened, like it was all just some terrible nightmare that I was waiting to wake up from. But then reality set in, and I realised that it wasn't just a nightmare. This is my life now. Living in fear of what's really out there, having no idea if it's going to come for you, hunt you down and rip you open - Literally.

Yes, the shower did bring me a moment of warmth. But now that it's gone, I feel even worse than I did before. Changing back into my clothes I walked back down the stairs, in search of something to drink - Something alcoholic specifically. It probably isn't the best idea to be drinking this late at night, but I know that tonight will be restless. Sleep will not come easy, if at all.

"I can't be with you Stefan. I'm sorry. I just can't." Elena's heart-broken voice reached my ears, stopping my quest to the kitchen. I swallowed as I tried to keep my own tears at bay when she opened the door and leaned against it heavily, her glassy eyes locking onto my own. I caught her before she could slide down to the floor and she latched onto me as if I was the only thing she had left in the world, which at the moment was most likely true. Her pained crys tore through me, almost sending my own tears over the edge.

The alcohol could wait. Elena needs me now.

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