a/n: please do not be mad after you read this chapter, there are reasons behind it that will be revealed later :) let me know what you think about it either way. I have decided that I'm probably going to do a fourth installment because I came up with an amazing idea that I just couldn't pass up, but I'm not done with this one yet so don't worry! Thanks to all of you who review or add me to your alerts! It has been my motivation to update so frequently. :)

THIRTEEN

I stared at the phone on my nightstand, contemplating whether or not to make the call. "You have enough powers don't you think?" Damon asked as he came out of the bathroom.

"What?" I asked as I tried to hold back my comment about him getting all dolled up to go on his "date" with Alaric and John.

He glared at me, knowing I wanted to say something. "Are you trying to get the phone to move like a telekinetic?"

"Maybe."

He held up a finger at me. "Do not say it," he said, referring to his "date."

"But you look so cute," I said and gave a fake scream as he tackled me onto the bed. "I don't want to mess up your outfit."

His response was to nip at my neck and I shuddered as pleasure coursed through me. A reminder that I hadn't eaten all day. "This was your doing," he whispered as he traced my ear with his tongue.

"You could have said no," I said and slid out from underneath him. "You should have friends other than me so I can get some peace and quiet."

He pretended to look hurt. "And what are you going to do while I'm gone?"

"I'm working up the nerve to have Anna and Bonnie over."

His brow rose with playful curiosity. "Maybe I will stay home."

I laughed and hit him on the shoulder. The necklace around his neck moved against his skin and I pulled it out. "Do you mind if I keep this here tonight?" I asked.

"Why?"

I was careful not to touch the ring as I took it off of him. "My locket is gone and if Klaus does have it, I don't want him to be able to track you. Plus, this belonged to Katherine so I might be able to find some answers from it."

He nodded carefully and checked his watch. "I'm going to be late." I opened my mouth to say something and he put his hand over it. "Shut up."

I kissed his fingers and we both got up. "Have fun," I said in a sing-song voice.

He muttered something in Italian and then moved to the door. "Be careful," he warned and then was gone.

I smiled and picked up my phone to call Anna. If she was going to be in Jeremy's life, I would have to get to know her on a more friendly level. Besides, if she was going to turn him, he would need a ring and I was going to make sure he had one. It was the only thing I could do for him. She answered on the third ring. "Elena?"

"Hi Anna. Are you busy?"

My enhanced hearing could hear Jeremy in the background and my nose wrinkled as I shoved the mental pictures away. "Sort of," she said wearily, knowing full well I could hear what was going on.

"Well, when you're done, could you come over?"

She paused. "Why?" Her voice had that tone of someone trying to hide the fact that they were concerned. I was glad she was trying to keep Jeremy out of it just in case it was something bad.

"Would you believe me if I said some sort of girl's night?"

Her laugh made me pull the phone from my ear. When I didn't say anything, she cleared her throat. "Oh, you're serious. Um, give me a half hour?"

It was my turn to clear my throat and she mumbled an apology. "A simple 'I'll call you later' would have been enough. Bye," I said and hung up, glad the conversation had ended on a good note. Now to call Bonnie. She answered quickly. "Hi."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Would you mind coming over?"

"I'm almost done with my shift. I'll be over after that?"

"Sounds good. Oh, could you bring your spell book?"

She laughed lightly. "I should just assume when you call, I should have it handy."

"That's not what I meant," I said, suddenly feeling horrible.

"It's okay Elena. Really," she said with a positive note in her voice as she tried to reassure me. "Be there soon," she added and hung up.

I put my phone in my pocket and headed downstairs. Tyler and Stefan were playing a video game. I sat down on the chair closest to Tyler because the chair near Stefan could only be reached by walking in front of them. Vampire or not, my chances against the both of them would not be good if I did that. "How long have you been playing?" I asked.

"About the time we woke up," Stefan answered without breaking concentration. Boys.

"Have either one of you eaten?"

Tyler hit the pause button angrily and turned towards me. "Why do women always insist on talking while we play?"

I smirked as I stood up, holding out my arms as a mock surrender. "I'm sorry I interrupted your alone time."

He threw a pillow at me. "Not cool Gilbert, not cool," he muttered as he went back to playing the game.

"What I meant to say was that the two of you have thirty minutes to finish up and get out."

They looked at me with the same expression and it caused their avatar to die and end the game for the moment. "I live here," Stefan said defensively.

I nodded, "I understand, but I need a girl's night. Bonnie and Anna are already coming over and I don't want any males in the house."

Tyler's face matched Damon's perfectly. "Maybe a male in the middle is exactly what you need," he said suggestively.

I gave him a sideways glance and shook my head. "If I didn't let Damon stay, why would I let you?"

He nodded in defeat. "Touche."

"Thank you both," I said as I brought them both a beer.

"How are you feeling?" Stefan asked as he put up his controller and let Tyler play solo.

"Better," I answered after a moment to think.

"You look a little pale," he stated after giving me a once over. And he wondered why I avoided him.

"I think I need fresh blood to heal whatever damage was done. The bagged stuff is definitely not helping."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Tyler was growling at the fact we were talking over him so we got up and went to the formal living room by the front door. "My skull cracked. I know because I heard it and I felt it. The amount of blood I had healed it, but there's still something wrong. I can feel the tension in my head every now and then."

"Does Damon know?"

I nodded carefully. I was pretty sure I had mentioned this to him. It had only been three days since the incident. Plenty of time to talk. On the other hand, we had spent plenty of time not talking... I cleared my throat and nodded firmly. "Yes, of course he knows."

"I could go hunting with you," he offered and then took a chug of his beer to make it seem casual instead of awkward.

I shook my head and smiled. "I need human blood Stefan, not animal blood."

"I know," he said tightly.

"And I'm not going to do that to you. It would be like dangling a drink in front of a recovering alcoholic."

He stepped forward and I straightened up. I had no idea what his intentions were and I was spared from ever having to find out thanks to Tyler. "I'm done. You can come back now," he called and I practically ran from to the living room. "Where is Damon anyway?"

"John and Alaric wanted to get drinks and they wanted him to come along," I said, not trying to hold back my smile.

Before he could stop himself, Tyler mused, "Your father, your mother's husband, and your boyfriend all hanging out together. Must be weird."

I glared at him and he straightened up. "Why thank you Tyler. I had not realized that before," I said dryly.

He flashed me a grin. "My bad."

"So, we're agreed, you're both going to disappear when the girls get here?" I asked, getting directly to the point.

Stefan finished his beer and tossed it into the trash. He grabbed his jacket from near the door and nodded. "I need to feed," he said and then was gone.

"And you?" I asked Tyler.

"I guess I could call Matt. By the way, he's really mad at you. You should talk to him."

"I know," I sighed and sank back into the couch. He was watching me intently and I stared at him in return. "What?"

"Stefan's right, you do look a little pale."

I grinned, "Well-"

"Pale-r," he corrected himself.

"I'll feed with Anna. It can be our bonding moment."

He looked thoughtful and his thoughts were pictures of different scenarios with Anna and I bonding; each of them involving a kiss at one point or another. I threw a pillow at him and he snapped out of his fantasy. "Sorry," he muttered even though he clearly wasn't. He rubbed his hands on his knees and sat on the edge of the couch. "Okay, I know it's a little dangerous out there for you right now, but why don't you take some of my blood for now until Damon can take you hunting?"

"No," I said flatly and got up.

"I took some of yours, it would only be fair to let you have some. Right?"

I shook my head. "Thank you, but no. I fed from Bonnie and Matt and I'm done feeding off of my friends," I said as I remembered how it felt for Matt when I fed from him and it hadn't fair to him. Tyler was very outgoing and while in bloodlust, I couldn't control my basic instincts. Taking blood from Tyler would be the equivalent of inviting him upstairs.

"I can put it in a glass," he suggested and I looked at him with curiosity. I had to mentally shake myself to remind myself that I was the mind reader here.

I shook my head firmly. "Damon would smell you on me."

"So?" he asked in a real inquiry. "You drink blood all the time from the bags and when you do go hunting. Why should this be any different?"

I sighed in frustration. "Why are you dead set on this?"

"Curiosity?" he said although it came out as more of question as if he weren't sure about it himself.

I mulled it over, weighing the pros and cons of what he was offering. On one hand, it would be practice without the risk of death because I cared about him. And I was starving since I had been upstairs for the better part of the day. Then there was the fact that bloodlust brought out desire and since that was my only con, I nodded reluctantly. "Fine," I muttered and he came to stand before me. "On one condition."

"Yes?"

"No touching."

He actually pouted and the distant image of a puppy caught chewing the furniture popped into my head. "That takes all the fun out of it."

I nodded as I tried to contain my smile. "Those are my terms."

"Alright, alright," he said and grinned. "Where do you want me?"

I shook my head. "You're incorrigible," I muttered and in the blink of an eye, I had him between me and the wall near the stairs. Thankfully, he wasn't that much taller than me so it didn't take much effort to sink my fangs into his throat. He groaned from the first pull of blood I took into my mouth and I almost moaned myself at the taste of fresh blood. The fact that it had the distinct flavor that represented a supernatural being made it that much more potent. I felt his hands slide up my sides and then down until they ran over my rear. Unfortunately blood at my disposal was more tempting than I had anticipated and try as I might, I couldn't pull away.

"Elena," he said in a strangled voice as his groping touch became a struggle to get away from me.

His voice cut through my desire to finish him and I pulled my fangs out of his skin. My tongue ran over the marks and they healed almost instantly. "Sorry," I muttered as I moved to pull away. Before I could, he cupped my face and pressed his lips to roughly to mine. Apparently my fear about the desire interfering with intuition was for nothing because I pushed him away and slapped him hard.

Maybe a little too hard because his nose was bleeding. I was going to apologize, but he turned to me, rubbing his jaw with a smug, satisfied look on his face. "Totally worth it."

"Get out," I growled, but I was laughing on the inside. I went to the half bath in the back hallway to clean myself up and did a double take when I saw myself in the mirror. My normal dark brown eyes were now tinted yellow-green and had a wild edge that wasn't there before. "Fantastic," I muttered to myself as I shook my head and wiped away the remnants of Tyler's blood from my skin.