Chapter Ten

Jeremy didn't let go of Ella, not even when they were safely in Alaric's classroom and Damon was nowhere in sight. He sat at the desk beside her, having moved it closer and kept one arm around her shoulders and the other leaned on the desk, her hand in his. Damon was with Elena and Stefan; they were keeping him away from Ella. Alaric, Bonnie and Caroline were with Jeremy and Ella in the History Classroom.

"So you're telling me that you had a dream about someone attacking you last night," Alaric said, trying to understand. "And tonight you met the man from your dream and its Damon?"

"Yes," Ella answered, her voice was muffled because her face was buried in her free arm.

"You've never seen him before?" Alaric pressed looking for any explanation.

"No, I've never seen him before in my life." Ella took a deep breath, not lifting her head from her arm. "Could you all please stop feeling so much? You're making me dizzy."

"What?" Alaric frowned.

"She has some empathic ability as well," Bonnie explained. "She is able to feel what the people around her feel."

A look of dawning suddenly came over Alaric's features, his eyes widened suddenly then he stared at Ella as if she was a ghost. The sudden silence and shift in Alaric's mood made Ella look up at him.

"What?" she demanded of her history teacher.

"I...I think I know what you are."

"What I am? What do you mean you know what I am? I'm not a what, I'm a person," Ella exclaimed, shrugging off Jeremy's hands and getting to her feet. She stood up with such a force that the desk she'd been sitting at nearly toppled over.

"I'm sorry," Alaric rushed. "I didn't mean to offend you. I just meant that I think I know why you can do what you're doing."

"Ok," Ella sighed, sitting back down. She wished that Jeremy would take her hand again; it seemed that his touched calmed her somewhat and helped her to focus. Without she felt like she was going to drown in a sea of emotions that weren't hers, but he didn't. He leaned back in his chair, putting some distance between them both.

"Well?" Caroline prodded when Alaric didn't continue.

"She's a Fae," Alaric answered.

"Like a fairy?" Jeremy asked, confused.

Alaric smiled and shook his head. "No, not a fairy they aren't real although some fairy lore are based on the Fae mythology."

"Wait," Bonnie interrupted. "She can't possibly be a Fae, I thought they were extinct. I read about it in Emily's Grimoire and a few of my Grams' books."

"A year ago would you have believed that Vampires and Werewolves existed?" Alaric countered. "Just because no one's come across one in a long time doesn't mean they're all gone. There was a lot about them in Isobel's old research."

"Ok, I am the only one who's completely lost here?" Jeremy piped up.

"No," Caroline and Ella said at the same time.

Alaric didn't get to explain however because at that moment they heard a commotion from the hallway. All of them moved toward the door but Alaric held up a hand.

"Bonnie, stay here with Ella and Jeremy," he instructed then nodded to Caroline to follow him. The two disappeared outside the door. They could hear angry voices and scuffling then the clang of something or someone being thrown into a row of lockers.

"What the hell's going on out there?" Jeremy demanded. He moved toward the door but Bonnie stopped them.

Ella didn't listen as the pair argued. Instead she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn't sure how she knew what she was doing but she focused on Caroline. She could feel her friend even though she was no longer in the room and she focused on that, on her friend and only her friend. Before she could register what was happening it was as if Ella was there with her, seeing everything that Caroline could see.

Damon had Stefan against the wall, Elena screaming at him to stop. Caroline was helping Alaric to his feet; he'd been what was tossed against the lockers. Damon seemed angry about something, but Ella couldn't understand what he was saying to Stefan. It was as if she was watching the scene through an old TV with a poor reception. She didn't need to hear him however; Ella knew exactly what it was that Damon wanted.

Opening her eyes, Ella was back in the history classroom. Things were different though, Ella was on the ground, cradled in Jeremy's arms with Bonnie and Jeremy looking down at her with concern. A wave of calm had spread over her again emanating from Jeremy's touch.

"Are you all right?" Bonnie asked just as Jeremy said. "What happened?"

Ella didn't answer either of them; instead she extracted herself from Jeremy's calming embrace and got to her feet. Bonnie tried to protest when Ella marched toward the door but the other girl ignored her. She hurried out into the hallway, stopping when she came across the fight.

"Enough!"

Her voice echoed up the hall and the other stopped in her tracks. Ella could feel everyone anger and it flowed through her like lava, giving her a confidence she wouldn't usually have. Everyone's gaze moved to her, surprise reflected in their eyes. Ella ignored them and looked at Damon.

"What do you want Damon?" she asked, the anger keeping her fear at bay.

"To talk," Damon said calmly. He moved toward Ella, his hands out as if approaching a startled animal. "I swear I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk."

Ella could sense his sincerity and she nodded. "All right."

"No!" Jeremy exclaimed. He stepped in front of Ella, putting his hand out to keep her back. "There's no way you're going to be alone with her."

Ella fought a smile; her heart was soaring over Jeremy's protectiveness for a fleeting moment she allowed herself to think that he might just like her too. Then she realised that it was probably more to do with his hatred of Damon than his attraction to her. There was no way that someone like Jeremy Gilbert would ever want to be with someone like her.

"It's all right Jeremy," she whispered, placing her hand on his arm.

Jeremy looked over his shoulder at her, confused by the sadness in her voice. "Ella you don't know him. He's dangerous, and after what you saw I can't believe you'd want to be anywhere near him."

"I know that he's telling the truth when he says that he won't hurt me. Plus in my dream we were in the cemetery, not the school. I'll be fine."

"You heard her, she knows I'm telling the truth," Damon smirked at the younger man.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jeremy asked. He dropped his arm and turned so that he was facing her. Ella could feel his concern and the fact that he wished she wouldn't go with Damon, but she also knew that she had to.

"I'm sure. I'll be fine I promise and you'll all be right outside if I need you, right?"

"Right," Jeremy nodded. He stepped away and allowed Damon to walk past him and follow Ella back into Alaric's classroom. The door closed behind them, leaving the others outside with nothing to do but worry and wait.

TBC...