FOURTEEN

The doorbell rang, pulling me away from my sudden vanity so that I could answer it. Bonnie and Anna had arrived at the same time and both of them were trying to fill the silence as they waited for me. "I guess I should have explained," I said as I stepped aside to let them in.

"That would have been good," Anna said. She glanced at the spell book in Bonnie's hands. "Because that doesn't look promising."

We moved to the living room where I sat in the chairs while they took the couch. "In all honesty, this is a girl's night. Anna, you're going to turn Jeremy eventually, meaning you'll be in my life forever and ever. So, I figured we should get to know each other better because, let's face it, we'll need someone to hang out with other than the boys."

She grinned and I had to ignore the look on Bonnie's face that vaguely said she was jealous of that fact. "And the witch is for...?"

I had to remind myself that Anna was very old despite her appearance. "There is a spell in there to create rings. We could get to know each other and make a ring for Jeremy so you have it when the time comes."

Both of them had the same look of awe on their faces. "There are two people trying to kill you and you're worried about your brother having a ring when she turns him?" Bonnie questioned, making sure that she had it right.

I nodded. "Is that so wrong?"

They shook their heads. "No, but it's a little too selfless for my taste," Anna said as she sat back and propped her feet up on the coffee table. "Thank you for thinking of it though."

"Alright, let's get that out of the way and we can officially start our night after that."

"You want me to stay for that part?" Bonnie asked.

I looked at her in confusion. "Is that a problem?"

Anna took that as a cue to leave for a moment and Bonnie stared at me. "The whole point was to get to know Anna because you're going to be best friends right?" You're already replacing me. After all I've done-

"Bonnie, stop. That's crazy, I'm not replacing you. As long as you're alive-" I stopped short as realization hit her hard.

"Oh Elena. I didn't think of that," she said and put her hand over her face. "God that makes me sound like a bitch."

I smiled lightly as I moved to sit next to her. "No it doesn't. I should have explained that from the get go. You will always be my best friend."

She looked up at me and her reply died instantly as she stared at my eyes. "Elena?"

"What?" I asked even though I was pulling away from her.

"Your eyes. They're...different."

"Are they?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Don't even pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

I sighed as Anna came back into the room. She looked between the two of us and smiled. "Did you finally tell her about the wolf?"

Bonnie's eyes widened as she made the connection in her mind. "What about Tyler?"

"Oops," Anna muttered, but she was smirking.

"Tyler let me drink his blood," I said to Bonnie. To Anna, I asked, "Will that do anything to me?"

She pursed her lips and thought for a moment. "To normal vampires, it just enhances their senses even more for a little depending on the amount. However, you're not a normal vampire so for all I know, you could be howling at the full moon right alongside Tyler." I groaned and looked at the mirror in the hall. "For instance, the new color of your eyes has never happened to any vampire I know."

I stared at my eyes in astonishment at the fact that they were more yellow-green than brown. It had only been twenty minutes since Tyler left and the quick change was more than a little unsettling. I tore my gaze away and looked at the two of them. "We'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to make that ring."

There was a moment of pause before the other two nodded in agreement. "I don't suppose you have another ring laying around?" Bonnie asked.

I shook my head as I realized I hadn't exactly thought this through. "No."

Anna looked between us, looking as if she had something to say. I made the "well" gesture with my hand and she fished something out of her pocket. She held out her hand with her palm up and resting there was my family ring. It had been the original Gilbert ring and John had always been jealous because his brother had it. "I found it on your brother's desk one day and I was going to talk to Bonnie about creating one soon."

I was still looking at the ring because it had been in storage since their death. I took it from her and was immediately overwhelmed by images of the car accident that all of us had been in. I dropped the ring and took a step back, tears streaming down my face. "Elena?" Bonnie asked in concern as she stepped forward to comfort me and then stopped.

Anna's face was full of curiosity as she picked up the ring. "Looks like someone acquired a new power."

"What?"

I had forgotten no one knew about it but us and the fact that Anna knew what had happened meant she had met someone with this ability as well. I held up a hand signaling I needed a minute and went to the bathroom to cool down. When I was feeling better, I came back to the living room and looked at Bonnie. "Anna's right, I got another ability. When I touch things I can see the past."

"When?"

"Jeremy's graduation dinner. When I went upstairs to my room, I touched the bed and saw Jenna in it crying over my absence." I didn't want to relive my last sight so I didn't mention it. "I didn't want to say anything about it."

Bonnie nodded as if she understood and they let it drop. "So this is the ring you want to use?" she asked Anna.

"He wouldn't shut up about how it was a family heirloom that always went to the oldest male in the family," Anna said and smiled as we took our seats around the coffee table in the living room to help Bonnie set up. "Last time I saw it, it was on the hand of Johnathan Gilbert himself."

Bonnie was a little startled. "Did you know Emily too?"

Anna's smile faded as she remembered the witch. "I have nothing good to say about her," she said after a moment. "She was, after all, Katherine's little pet."

There was not another word spoken between any of us. My head was still going over the accident as though it had happened yesterday and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't flip that inner switch to shut it off. "Okay, let's begin," Bonnie announced, signaling for Anna and I to be quiet so she could concentrate.

We watched in awe as Bonnie's chant raised the ring off the table where it levitated in midair. It started spinning, gaining speed by the second. Just as it began to make me dizzy, it was surrounded by a blue-green light that faded to silver and then brightened to the point that Anna and I had to close our sensitive eyes. When I opened my eyes again, the ring was floating back down to the table where it rested with a soft clank. "That was incredible," Anna breathed and I nodded in agreement.

Anna pocketed the ring and then we helped Bonnie clean up. "Alright, now girl's night can officially begin," I said and turned on the TV to the first cheesy romance film I could find. God bless for Lifetime and Oxygen. For lack of planning, the night wasn't as awkward as I had thought it was going to be. Anna seemed to fit in as if we had grown up together. I think it had something to do with the fact that she grew up in the same town Bonnie in I had, age difference aside. I had a hard time believing that this was the same girl who had kidnapped me as leverage to get Damon to open the tomb. Then again, she only did it for her mother and in the same position, I would have done the same thing.

After a few hours of movies, talking, and munching on whatever snacks there were in the fridge, Bonnie yawned. "I should go. I have to work in the morning."

"I promised Jeremy I would be back," Anna said.

I walked them to the door and gave them both hugs. "We should do this again, but be more prepared."

"Maybe," Anna and Bonnie said in unison and then laughed as they waved goodbye. Anna took off with her speed and I watched Bonnie's car until it disappeared from sight.

Suddenly, the fact that I was alone in a house that anyone could enter sunk in and I found myself trembling. You're a vampire for crying out loud! My mind was yelling at me to snap out of it and I jumped at sound coming from the back porch. "Stefan?" I called out, hoping he had just returned from his hunt. I took a deep breath and forced myself to the back door and opened it carefully. There was nothing in the backyard. Nothing I could see.

I was about to close the door when I saw something move from the corner of my eye. I moved to the stairs and peered out into the darkness, trying to find whatever was out there. I tensed up as I felt flimsy cold metal around my neck. I looked down and saw my necklace. "I believe this is yours," came a familiar voice that would have stopped my heart cold.

I didn't move a muscle as he clasped the necklace and moved my hair so the chain was completely touching my neck. He moved to stand in front of me and it reminded me of a lion stalking his prey. I followed his every move with my eyes, terribly afraid of what he wanted. "Why are you here? What do you want?" I found myself asking. I wanted to run back into the house or scream, but it would do me no good.

"You took something that belonged to me," he said after a moment of staring intensely at me. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what in the world he was talking about. I didn't have anything of his. My eyes widened as I realized he meant Katherine. He inclined his head at my revelation, letting me know I had come to the right conclusion. "You took her from me twice."

"So kill me and get it over with," I snapped and before I could stop myself.

In an instant, I was between him and the exterior of the house. He had one hand around my throat just to show that he was stronger, but he wasn't strangling me. "She was my queen." For the first time I heard emotion in his voice. It was distant, but it was there. "I am not going to kill you Elena."

"Then what do you want?" I breathed. I was close to tears even though I was determined not to show any emotion.

He pulled away, giving me some "breathing room" and looked at me with amusement. "I have come to offer you a place at my side for all eternity."

That made me angry. I balled my fists at my side. "I am so sick of everyone making me their replacement Katherine!" I yelled, momentarily forgetting that he was probably as old as the earth.

My outburst seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever. His eyes hardened as he looked at me and his next words chilled me to the bone. "I will give you a week to reconsider. If you decline, I will settle for taking your king."

My whole body was on the verge of collapsing as his words sunk in and echoed through my mind. "No," I breathed. "You wouldn't."

He caught my chin in a strong grasp and his dark blue eyes bore into mine. "The decision is yours."

And just like that, he was gone. All the adrenaline that had been pumping through my body evaporated and I collapsed on the porch in front of the open door.