THREE

We had stayed up the entire night putting both rooms back together the best we could. It was around seven in the morning when we collapsed on the couch having found no blood in the freezer downstairs. We were both hungry and I knew I would have to feed before I went to see Matt. "It's not like we need to sleep," Damon argued as he watched me pace in front of the fireplace.

"I still don't see why we can't just go to a blood bank."

"While you are having lunch, I will restock the fridge. We don't have time for that right now and you know it."

I stood still and looked at him, sighing heavily as I realized he was right. And he smirked. "Fine. Where?"

He got up and extended his hand. "Now is a good time to teach you how to use your compulsion."

I hesitated before I took his hand and the next thing I knew, we were running through the woods and stopped at a small town like Mystic Falls. "Where are we?"

He shrugged, "Far enough away from Mystic Falls no one will recognize you." I shot him a look and he pulled me close. "They won't recognize you. They might recognize her."

"That is really starting to irritate me."

"The good news is you have an eternity to get over it," he said and ran ahead of me before I could smack him in a playful way.

We were still in the middle of nowhere even though it was a little more populated. It was early enough that no one was really around and there was only one or two stores marking the entrance to the town. "Now what?"

He pointed to a convenience store. "Go in there and tell the cashier that your car broke down. Either ask them to call you some help or see if they'll come take a look at it."

"And where do you think you're going?"

He inclined his head towards the woods we had just came out of. "Bring him this way and I'll show you what to do next."

I nodded and headed into the store. There was a typical Southern boy behind the counter. He had blonde hair in a crew cut and nothing but overalls on. Everything about him said ex-military and it made me hesitate for a second. Before I could back out of the store, he spotted me and smiled. "Hello Miss. What can I do for you?" he asked as he pulled on an oversized flannel shirt.

"My car broke down on my way through town and my phone's dead." Even I didn't believe my story, but he seemed to buy it.

He looked around and flicked a switch. "I'll come take a look at it."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Why not? We don't get many outsiders here unless they live in the state. Where were you headed?"

"Richmond. I was in Mystic Falls for a few days on business," I lied as he followed me out towards the woods.

"Business there?" Now he was regretting his decision to help me.

Without wanting to hear them, his thoughts floated across my mind and I felt my jaw drop at the vivid images I got from him. All he could think about was what I looked like naked and I had barely taken two more steps before I reached up and slapped him. My fangs had lengthened and I was angry on top of hungry; not a good combination. Before I could stop myself, I had him shoved against a tree and I was drinking. The blood exploded in my mouth and I could feel myself getting stronger and stronger. His life essence diminished rapidly and just when I thought I wouldn't be able to let go, Damon pulled me from him and the man dropped to the ground with a thud. I shuddered as I looked at Damon. "Give him a minute to regain consciousness," was all he said.

"How long will that be?" I asked, ignoring my bloody chin for the moment.

The man started groaning and Damon gestured to him. "Right about now."

"Yes, thank you," I said dryly and forced him into a sitting position. "How exactly does this work?"

"Look him in the eye and tell him what you want him to have seen instead of what really happened."

I looked into his eyes and felt the instant he seemed to be awaiting my commands. "You never saw either of us. You were running after a thief and you got hit over the head and passed out. Do you understand?"

He nodded and got to his feet before automatically walking back to the store. Damon pulled me to my feet and kissed me in order to lap up the excess blood. Had I not been a little buzzed on the fresh blood, I would have been a little revolted by the action. "That was amazing."

"I wonder if I can do that by planting a suggestion in their minds with my powers."

He licked his lips at that. "Next time."

I nodded, knowing there would, in fact, be a next time. "Alright, now we need to get you a victim," I said and then paled at my choice of words.

He planted a kiss on my forehead. "You'll get used to it. You're still new."

I pulled away from him. "You're not bothered are you? That's it's taking me some time to get adjusted to this? I know you're all about the thrill of the hunt, but-"

"Elena," he said, cutting me off by pressing two fingers over my lips. "I would be bothered if you were pulling a Stefan. However, you're drinking human blood regularly from blood bags. You're working you're way up to hunting and as long as you're making the effort, I don't care what you do. You're not trying to change me either and that is why I love you."

I tried to hold back my smile and failed. "You make it very hard to hate you."

"I'm aware," he responded and took my hand. The next thing I knew, we were in a different town repeating the scenario we had just been in to get Damon fed and he let me do the compulsion again. I had to admit, I liked the feeling of being in control and it scared me.

At quarter to two, I walked up to the Grill and hesitated before going inside. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, the place had a decent crowd and even through all the people, I could still see Stefan sitting in the booth by the kitchen as if he were standing right in front of me. He stiffened when he saw me and I was torn between going to say hello or turning around and leaving. He seemed to sense that I was leaning towards the latter and was standing next to me before I could move. "You're back," was all he said.

"I didn't know you were still in town."

"Off and on."

"Where have you been staying?" I asked.

"Sometimes the boarding house, sometimes the motel," he answered and I stared at him, waiting for more of an explanation, but it never came. "What brings you back?"

"Jeremy's graduation on Thursday."

He nodded and was going to say something when I we both noticed Bonnie coming out of the bathroom and headed to the booth where Stefan had been sitting. I narrowed my eyes and saw half empty plates on both sides of the table. She looked around for him and when she spotted us, I saw her fear, embarrassment, and guilt wash over her face clearly. Stefan shifted uncomfortably as Bonnie approached us and gave me a weary hug. Her mental guards were up and she couldn't look me in the eye. "When did you come back?"

"Yesterday. I'm supposed to meet Matt for lunch," I said, looking between the two of them, wondering who was going to break first and tell me what was going on. When it looked like neither of them was going to say anything I nodded and walked away from both of them to see Matt who was coming out of the back rooms.

"Hey, I'm almost-" he stopped when he saw Bonnie and Stefan arguing as quietly as they could, but I could still hear them. I tuned them out as I looked at Matt.

"You knew?" I asked and pushed away from the bar.

"Elena..." he was searching for the best way to say it. "It wasn't my place to tell you."

I clamped my mouth shut, knowing he was right and I had to respect him for it. Then I thought Caroline must not have known because I would have been the first one she told. "Fine, but as soon as you're done, we're going somewhere else to catch up," I said stiffly and sat down at the bar even though minors weren't allowed. When I finally worked up the courage to turn around, Bonnie and Stefan were gone and I sighed with relief.

"Ready?" Matt asked as he came back out again in a fresh shirt.

"Yes," I replied and we headed outside. There was a bistro on the opposite side of town and Matt drove us there even though it was a twenty minute walk. Had we walked, we would have had nothing to talk about over lunch. "How's Caroline?" I asked after we placed our orders.

"She's good. We both went to the same college. Right now she's visiting her dad. I know she would have loved to see you."

He talked a little bit about school before he started probing me about Europe and what I had seen there. I told him everything I had seen and promised him that as soon as Jenna returned my camera, I would show him the photos. I didn't tell him about the incident in Dublin or the dreams, but I told him pretty much everything else. "One of these days, I'll have you and Caroline come out and travel with us."

He bit his lip and said nothing even though we both knew it would never happen. "How does it feel to be back?"

"Awkward," I answered as I paid the bill and we walked back to the car. My reply was mostly based on what I had seen in the Grill and he seemed to pick up on that.

He reached for my hand and squeezed it lightly. "Just wait until they talk to you."

I hugged him and stepped back after a few moments. "I know. Thanks for lunch."

"Why are you thanking me? You paid."

I laughed. "Actually, Damon did, but thank you making me have lunch with you. I'll see you around okay."

"Where are you going?"

"Tyler's. Out of everyone, he won't call me, but I need to see how he's doing. I'll make sure I see you before I leave," I assured him and waited until he was driving off before I made my way to Tyler's house.

I knocked on the door and when Tyler answered, he looked around on the inside of the house before coming to stand outside with me. "What are you doing here?"

"You're not going to invite me in?"

"My father's on the council," he said flatly and I thanked my lucky stars that Tyler had answered the door. Granted the council didn't know about Damon, Stefan, or me, but the thought alone made me shiver.

"Okay, fair enough. Want to go for a walk?" I asked.

He glanced back at the house before nodding. "Sure."

"How are things?" I asked as we walked around the block of expensive houses.

"Much easier then I thought it would be," he said and his smile seemed kind of wolfish. "You wouldn't believe how much easier it is to pick up chicks with this kind of reputation."

"What reputation?" I asked, mildly curious.

"Great stamina."

His response made me pause and I nodded. "I think I could have gone eternity without knowing that."

He grinned and nudged me. "How's Damon?"

"Same as always."

He nodded. "How was Europe?"

I looked at him. "How did you know we were in Europe?"

"Alaric mentioned it. He came to check on me a few times when I went to use the boarding house," he answered, sparking my memory.

"Speaking of, have you been there lately?"

He shook his head after a moment of thoughtful silence. "No, why?"

"We came back last night and both Stefan's room and Damon's room were trashed," I said and explained about the picture I found. We had circled the block and were back at his house. "Would you do me a favor and keep an ear out for anything unusual?"

He nodded. "Sure. How long will you be in town?"

I shrugged. "Not sure yet. You have my number right?"

"If not, I'll get it from Matt. Glad you're back. Even if it is for a short time," he said and he gave me one of the hugs boys give one another. Hands grasped in between chests and one arm across the shoulders.

"Thanks. Glad to see you've adjusted," I said and shook my head with laughter as he disappeared inside the house. With that, I took off back to the boarding house hoping that it would only be Damon there.

a/n: I realized I have no idea how old Jeremy is supposed to be so I made him a year younger than Elena (in case you didn't catch that) :) just thought I should let you know. And as for the Bonnie/Stefan pairing...not quite sure where that's going as of yet.