You know, I find it ironic how its summer now, and winter/autumn in Mystic Falls hahaha. There is a lot of things happening in this chapter (you know since I want Stelena over and done with), but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Carry on my friends and don't forget to review, or else the villain will come and get you. Hahaha just kidding. Read on, my friends/unicorns. Read on:

The chilled autumn breeze fluttered through my window, causing goose bumps to rise on my cold skin. I awoke with a start and practically ran to my window, closing it shut. In the instant, the white curtains stopped dancing and rested calmly against the window pain. Within moments, my room began to heat up to a normal, comfortable temperature. No longer feeling tired from last night's sleep, I sat on my bed and quickly glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It was 9:30 in the morning.

It was then I caught sight of my little green diary sitting next the lamp. Remembering the promise I made to write in my diary, I reached over and picked it up. I untied to knot around it, grabbed the pen I used to write and began my new entry. When I was finished, I read it over again and was surprised to find it was…drier than my other earlier entries. All I wrote about were vampires and Damon and Stefan. It lacked my own opinion and emotion. That's the problem with knowing all this stuff: it becomes all you talk about, all you think about and all you worry about. I prayed that it wouldn't cause my writing career to go down the toilet. After closing my diary and making my bed, I got up and walked downstairs.

My house was extremely silent, the grey autumn light spilling in through all the windows. Jeremy was still snoring away in his bedroom (yes, that's how loud he was. The door was closed and I could hear him plainly). I peered into the living room and spotted Jenna was passed out on the couch, the TV remote in her hand. I smiled, shaking my head. Realizing how hungry I was, I walked back to the kitchen and began to prepare my breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs.

I had just placed the bread in the toaster when I heard a tired groan come from the living room. My tired aunt clumsily made her way to the kitchen, stumbling with exhaustion. With one eye half-closed, she pulled a chair from the table in the kitchen and sat down. After letting out an enormous yawn, Jenna managed to open both her and focus on me.

"Morning, sleepy head," I smiled at her. Jenna lifted both corners of her mouth in a small grin.

"Oh God, I am beat! Watching TV sure sucks the life outta you," Jenna said, stretching her arms out. "Normally, I'm the one making breakfast on a Saturday morning."

I laughed, placing two more bread slices to be toasted. I pulled out a plate, slid some scrambled eggs onto it and served it to my tired aunt. At the sight of the meal, her face light up and all the exhaustion visible was gone. I added the two slices of toast to her plate, which she began to wolf down.

"So, what are you going to do today?" She asked through a mouthful of egg.

"I don't really know…"

"You gonna hang out with that beau of yours, Stefan?" Jenna teased. She got up and walked to the refrigerator, helping herself to a glass of orange juice. I laughed, trying not to choke on my breakfast.

"No, I mean we hung out yesterday and I don't want to be that clingy type of girlfriend all guys dreaded," I explained. Jenna nodded and brought the cup to her lip, taking a large sip. When she finished, she let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"So…how about we have a movie night?" Jenna suggested, stuffing the last piece of toast down her throat. "You know, order a pizza, rent some movies and gorge ourselves sick with popcorn."

"With Jeremy?" I asked, already thinking up a list of reasons why and how that would be awkward.

"Jeremy? Oh no, not him. He can go do whatever boys do. It's ladies night only," Jenna said, placing her plate and cups into the sink. She leaned back against it, crossing her arms over her chest. "So, when do we start this Ladies' night?"

"Well, how about later at, like, four or five. I have some homework to do, so I was going to head over to the library and get it done," I said, remembering the brutal History essay I had due on Monday. Jenna looked at me, a grinning crossing her face.

"Good idea…I've taught you well," Jenna said, turning to wash the dishes. I laughed with her.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a very important call to make," I said, slipping out of the kitchen. Jenna smirked at me and continued to wash the dishes. I turned away and started up the stairs. "Don't worry I won't tell Jeremy-"

"Tell Jeremy what?" In my rush to get to my room and call Stefan, I accidently bumped into my little brother, who being the tall, stronger one, almost knocked me down the stairs. I looked up, surprised. I opened my mouth to explain, when Jenna peered out of the kitchen.

"To tell you about ladies' night and how you're not invited," She said, whipping back around the corner to resume her dish-washing. Jeremy looked quizzically at me and shook his head, laughing. I chuckled back at him and hurried up to my room. I fell down on my bed, full from this morning breakfast. I sighed and walked over to my drawer, were I picked up my phone. Carrying it back to bed, I dialed Stefan's number and held it to my ear.

After about three rings, someone on the other end picked up.

"Hey there, Princess. How was your morning?" A voice cooed on the other line. I felt a nasty glare form on my face, my lips pursing together in disapproval.

"Damon! Get off Stefan's phone," I hissed, feeling tempted to hang up. But I knew if I did, I would call back later and Damon would probably pick up again and annoy the hell out of me.

"You know, a normal person usually replies to such greetings with 'I'm doing fine, how about you.' Then again, I take it you're not a normal person," Damon teased. I let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Where is Stefan? Get off the phone so I can talk to him, please?" I urged. Damon paused for a moment.

"Why do you people keep forgetting who's oldest? Moi! So that means I can do whatever I want, include talk to my little brother's girlfriend," He said, raising his voice at the last part. I heard the sound of footsteps in the background followed by a familiar voice. "Speak of the devil!"

"Damon, give me the phone," I heard Stefan insist calmly. Damon murmured a respond followed by, "Damon, as much as I would like to kill you, I won't because Elena is on the other end, hearing everything. So just give it to me and go."

"You guys are no fun. You suck. Stefan's brooding personality is catching like influenza," Damon snorted in defeated. I heard him pass the phone to Stefan, much to my relief.

"Hey, Elena," Stefan said into the speaker.

"Much better. I feel pleased to talk to you rather that Damon's," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"As do I, Elena. I spend every day waiting to hear your voice instead of my brother's," Stefan replied. I could almost see the smile on his face grow at the other end.

"Ugh, you guys make me sick!" I heard Damon shout in the background sarcastically. It was followed by the sound of glass clinking together, which I assumed to be Damon pouring himself a drink.

"Hold on," Stefan said. After about five minutes passed, he started talking again. "Sorry, I had to leave the room. Damon was being obnoxious as usual. So, how are you?"

"I'm doing great. I'm going to have a ladies' night later with Jenna," I said, clicking a pen I'd found on the carpeted floor of my room. Stefan chuckled.

"And what will you be doing at this ladies' night? No, wait let me guess: pillow fights?" Stefan guessed. I laughed.

"Nooo…."

"Spying on the neighborhood boys?"

"Ha-ha, nope. We are going to watch movies and gorge ourselves sick with pizza and popcorn," I explained, doodling designs on the last page of my diary with the pen.

"Hmm, very interesting night it seems you'll be having tonight," Stefan observed. "I hope it goes well for you."

"Thank you very much Stefan. So what are you going to be doing today?" I asked, curious to hear how Stefan will spend the day, with Damon constantly trying to ruin whatever plans he had.

"Well, I'll probably spend the day trying to figure out more information about this new, eh, vampire we have in Mystic Falls," Stefan replied, his voice suddenly solemn.

"Are you sure this is a vampire we are talking about?" I asked, trying to squash the possibility that another one of these beasts may be trying to wreak havoc in our city.

"I'm sure. What else could it be? The behavior is obviously similar to a ripper, as well as the victims being completely drained of blood," Stefan explained. I groaned, falling back into my pillow. "What's wrong?"

"I just don't want to have to deal with this all the time, y'know? I don't want to have to live in fear that another vampire might be trying to kill you!" I said, my voice quivering.

"I know and it sucks. What can you do though? It is what it is. Thankfully, the vampire seems to want nothing with you," Stefan said, trying to reason with me.

"Yeah, I guess. I just hope it stays that way," I said. "Well, I just wanted to see how you were after yesterday's date. I have to go to the library and finish some homework."

"Yeah and I have to find out more about the attacks. That and try to avoid Damon, since he's being more insufferable than ever," Stefan said with an annoyed sigh. I smiled shyly to myself.

"Well, I wish you good luck with that. Got to go, bye," I hung up on the phone with Stefan and fell back on my bed, wishing I could live with Stefan in my dreams forever. Suddenly, the door slowly creaked open.

"Hey, what happened to the library-going?" Jenna asked, poking her head around the door. She had on her face a minty-green mask. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail and she was holding two cucumber slices in her hand. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"What's on your face?" I asked, tilting my head quizzically. Jenna looked down at her hand and then started chuckling.

"It's an avocado mask and the cucumbers are for my eyes. Sorry, this is part of my weekend morning routine. Gonna have to get used to that," She said, giving me a light smile. "So are you going to go to the library?"

"Yeah, I'll be going in a minute," I said, drawing out the words slowly. Jenna nodded and closed the door behind her. I smiled to myself, shaking my head. Wow, I thought. I couldn't help but wonder if that's something my mom used to do. Funny, she hadn't passed long ago, yet I can barely remember the simplest things she used to do. I shook my head, determined to get rid of the possibility I might be forgetting.

I grabbed my bad heavy with homework and books and set it down next to my bed. Walking over to my closet, I pulled out my outfit for the day: dark jeans, my signature black sneakers and a long-sleeved blue V-neck pulled over a white tank top. Quickly, I ran a brush through my hair and applied just the tiniest bit of makeup on my face. I grabbed my heavy, dark blue coat and pulled it on, along with a nice scarf. It was starting to get extremely cold as the autumn season began to fade, slowly slipping into a fierce winter that would most assuredly come upon us. I slung the bag diagonally across my torso and headed out.

"Hey, where are you going?" Jeremy asked as I passed the kitchen on my way out. He was sitting at the counter, stuffing corn flakes and milk in his mouth.

"To the library," I answered shortly, closing the door behind me. As I walked of my warm house I ended up being hit in the face with a shock of cold, frosty air. Typical weather for late November. Unfortunately, it made walking to places like the Mystic Falls Grill and the local library a much harder journey than normal. My hands, stuffed deep into my pockets, were already frozen by the time I reached the library. Much to my satisfaction, the library was warmer than it was outside.

Being the only library in Mystic Falls, our library was extremely large due to it being so full of rich history. Four floors of every single type of book you could imagine. It used to be the highlight of my day coming here to pick up a new vampire story. Unfortunately, after all that's happened in my life lately, I haven't had much appetite for a paranormal romance novel. I headed up to the second floor and began to my search for books on the Civil War. One of the many assignments I had to do this weekend was an essay on the causes of the Civil War.

I walked over to the non-fiction section of the second floor and began searching. I busily ran my finer along the row of old, weathered and tattered spins, my eyes looking out for something to help me with this darned essay.

In fact, I was so busy looking for stuff I could use for my homework, I never even got the slightest feeling I was being watched.

I continued running my finger along the shelves, looking and looking. It wasn't until I reached the end of that shelf, that I noticed someone had been studying me a few bookshelves down. Trying to ignore the nasty feeling in my gut, I walked down the opposite aisle, looking for a new section to begin my hunt for research, when I spotted that same sinister-looking someone standing in the corner, looking at me.

It was a very tall, thin man, dressed in black pants, old leather combat boots, and a long black jacket. The hood was pulled over his head, obscuring his face from view. My heart began to beat in what I assumed to be fear; my palms beginning to instantaneously sweat. The man lifted his head slightly, revealing thin, blue lips pressed together in an almost perfect line surround by pale skin. I squinted slightly and tilted my head a little to the right, catching sight of suspicious red lines that dribbled down from the corners of his mouth. Blood.

I caught my breath in shock, my eyes widening to an enormous size. But in the blink of an eye, literally, the man was gone. Completely disappeared. It took me a moment to register what had just happened. I shook my head. This was all in my head. It must have been a shadow or something. It was all in my head.

A bit shaken up by now, I realized it would be better just to have someone point out where the history books were. Practically running from that area, I made my way towards the second floor's front desk and asked for assistance.

"Are you okay?" The old, white-haired woman asked, peeking at me from beneath her flowered glasses. I smiled nervously, nodding my head. The old woman stared at me doubtfully for a moment, and then lifted the corners of her mouth in a wrinkled smile. "Okay, come this way. The books are over here."

I followed her over to the opposite side of the second floor. She walked me over to a section labeled "History" and pointed out the Civil War books. I gave her my gratitude and she left me to hunt in peace. I found quite a few books on the causes of the war and after finding a spot to sit down, I pulled out my notebook and began to busily take notes, writing down points I would use for my essay.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was about three in the afternoon when I finished devouring the books. I'd managed to fill four pages and a half of research. Now all that was left was to go home and type it all out neatly on my laptop. I packed up my stuff and put back the books. I walked down the stairs, peeked out at the glass wall on the landing. The day transformed dramatically. The early, morning sky was like silver. Now all it reminded me of was the sidewalk, turned to a dirty, dark grey from being walked on constantly. Stuffing my hands in my pocket, I braced myself for the cold as I trudged out of the library. Seeing nowhere else to go, I decided to go for a stroll around town, until it was time to go home to Jenna and my living room.

As I walked around, citizens busily carried on with their lives. They were hidden so deeply in their coats and hats that people I happened to know very well were almost unrecognizable. I'd wandered away from the downtown Mystic Falls and was skirting the outside of the woods when I ran into that same sinister someone from the library. He'd just appeared, standing still, like a stone statue in my path. The hood was pulled up, so I still had no view of this being's face. As much as I wanted to run, I knew I couldn't, my feet helplessly rooted to the spot.

"Hello, Elena," The entity whispered hoarsely, his voice threatening to crack. My face distorted with horror at the realization that he knew my name.

"How do you know my name?" I asked, my voice quivering with fear. The being stepped towards me slowly, the sound of twigs and leaves crushed under his feet. The being chuckled, a noise so horrible and scratchy, I resisted bringing my hands up to my ears to block the sound out.

"I've been here a while, Elena. I know everybody," He answered simply. He continued walking towards me, never once revealing his face. I felt myself tremble horribly, my heard racing so fast it was bound to break. "Don't even think about running."

"What do you want from me?" I asked. The being ignored me.

"Just stay still," He said. I watched his hooded face, trying to see past the black material and visualize what his face looked like. What did he want with me? Could he be…the ripper Stefan talked about? It would explain the strange behavior, the blood dribbling down his lips, the unnaturally pale skin. The way he moved so quickly, at the blink of an eye.

I never saw the hit coming. I never saw him raise his balled up fist and bring it up across my head, hitting me with such incredible force I felt my knees buckle instantly. I crumpled to the floor, my head throbbing so painfully and horribly. It was all I could I could do to stop screaming out in pain. All I saw were black dots growing, dancing across my vision. He bent down and picked up my now limp body, throwing me over his shoulder like a sack.

I managed to catch the briefest glimpse of his face before completely black out. He was certainly handsome before being sired, young with extremely pale skin, like fresh snow. Gold blond hair fell messily over his forehead and his beautiful eyes shone like pure silver. I could see fangs peeking out under his top lip. The ugliness that came with being a vampire was present with him, making him a dangerous creature.

Long moments later and I felt myself being pulled back to consciousness. I sat up, letting out a gasp of shock. It took me a moment of calm to register where I was. I looked around and realized I had been lying, unconscious, on the cold ground of the woods. Brittle, frail leaves stuck to my hair and jacket. Thin, old twigs were crushed under the weight of my once limp body. My head throbbed painfully and my vision became blurry for a long, aching moment. I closed my eyes and rubbed the burning spot, waiting until the pain ceased, for now.

After I felt stable enough, I got to my feet, struggling to keep balance. Despite it being only the afternoon, the grey sky of the day made the woods look terrifying, like it did at night. I looked around, trying to recollect my thoughts without going into absolute panic. I walked a few feet, trying to get my feet to move at a quicker pace. That was when I heard the horrible sound, like a very, very pissed off animal growling. I looked around, but all I saw were trees. Hundreds upon hundreds of thin trees that all looked the same. My heart began to quicken, threatening to thump through my chest. I began to run, trying to find a familiar path that would get me out of these horrible woods.

He suddenly appeared in my path, the one who had brutally knocked me out and kidnapped me. He stretched out his arms with lightning speed and pushed against my chest, knocking me back several few. The force of the push was so powerful, I had left a trail dug deep into the earth, shredding through leaves. I looked back him and he let a sardonic chuckle. He walked towards me, hissing and snarling, showing off two unusually large, pointed white fangs. I screamed and began to crawl back on all fours, struggling to get away.

I grabbed a nearby rock and hurled it at him, hoping to delay him long enough to get away. Unfortunately, being a vampire, he caught the rock in time. I watched in horror as he broke the rock by tightening it in his grip, disintegrating it to dust. He got to me with blurred speed and wrapping his hand around my neck, lifting me off the ground with ease.

"Do that again, and I'll tear you to pieces just like I did to those other idiots," He hissed, his fangs so close to my face. I let out a choked gasp.

"You're the vampire. Three, uh, people," I said, choking out the words. My hands grabbed at his hands, struggling to pry his strong fingers off my throat.

"Very good, Elena. You're actually smart," He hissed, the hood still on his head. "But that was just hunger, the very thirst for blood like yours. I'm capable of much more damage than that."

"Why?" I choked out. He narrowed his bloodshot eyes at me.

"It's all part of the plan," He said. He slammed me down on the ground, releasing his grip around my throat.

I looked back up and found that his hood had fallen off, revealing his face which had turned into the monstrosity I recognized with Stefan and his blood lust attacks. The purple-green veins grew and pulsated around his red-rimmed eyes. His eyes dilated and focused on my exposed, naked neck. He walked towards me and in a blurred motion, threw himself on me.

He began to beat me over and over again. His fingernails had grown to razor sharp claws which he used to rake bloody rows down my cheeks. My face felt swollen and mangled, a job well done by rippers. I just hoped he wouldn't rip my limps off. At the realization that that might be his next move, I let out a blood-curdling scream, hoping someone nearby could help me.

"Shut up," He growled, pinning my shoulders down to the ground. The beating and clawing at my face had stopped. Focusing his attention again to my neck, he began to lower his fangs down to my neck. I panicked and let out another scream, loud enough to snap my vocal cords.

Just as he was about to possibly rip my throat out, another blurred motion appeared and knocked him off of me. It felt as though an enormous weight had been lifted off my chest. I lifted my head and narrowed my eyes at the new thing that had saved me from total mutilation. I caught a glimpse of light brown hair that contrasted against my intruder's gold locks. My savior grabbed hold of the ripper's neck and pinned him against the truck of a big tree with incredible power.

"What did you do to her?" A familiar voice shouted, boiling over with anger. Stefan. I sighed a breath of relief, a smile of gratitude stretching across my face.

"It worked, ha-ha. You showed up to save your girl," The ripper choked out, smiling as though he'd won.

"What do you want with her?" Stefan demanded.

"Tell me!" The vampire suddenly shouted, sounding very excited. "Tell me how you do it?"

"What did you want with Elena?" Stefan asked, sounded extremely confused.

"TELL. ME. NOW!" The ripper exploded in rage and broke past Stefan's grip. He started again, becoming a blurred bullet shooting toward me. He was a mere few feet away from me and had lunged for my throat when he was suddenly knocked away from me by a different vampire. Damon. Stefan went after the slowed-down ripper and chased him deeper into the woods out of view.

"Ugh, that newbie is such a dick," He said about the ripper. Then he turned to me, staring amusingly with those brilliant eyes of his. "Another moment later and you, my friend, would have been chopped up into vampire sushi."

"It's not funny," I said, annoyed at him. Damon held out his cool, pale hand and helped me to my feet. I bent down and dusted myself off, smoothing my hair down. I looked down to find myself still holding Damon's hand. Before I could react, somewhere in the very near distance, we heard a distinct growl. The ripper!

"Well, time to go," Damon said. He swooped me off my feet and carried me in his strong arms, bridal style. "Hold your breath."

I did as he told me to and with that, Damon took off out of the woods, running like there was no tomorrow. In the blur of it all, it was hard to keep up with every twist and turn Damon made trying to get us out of the woods. I eventually lost track and simply closed my eyes, concentrating on the frosty air that bit my cheeks and the feeling of Damon being so close to me. I don't know why, but lately I've felt the strangest urge to see him, however much he annoyed me. But he and Stefan had saved me and that's all that mattered. I gritted my teeth and leaned my head against his chest. I could almost feel him smirking at my gesture of comfort in his arms.

But I didn't care. I was safe with him…for now.

Eventually, we reached the edge of the woods. Damon slowed down and walked to his car, parked on the outskirts of the woods. He kept up a fast pace and I struggled, peeked through his arm to see if Stefan followed behind us. He didn't.

I felt myself tremble, though I didn't know if it was out of fear for Stefan's life or because it was cold outside. Damon reached his car and gently put me down on the ground. I was shocked to see myself stumble for balance. Damon laughed. It was a rich, deep sound that always seemed to please me. I liked hearing it because Damon rarely laughed or smile. The most he could come up with was a big smirk that always irked me.

"It takes a while to get used to that," He explained, opening the back door. He grabbed my wrist and helped ease me into the car. I was shocked to feel how cold his hand was on my wrist, making the veins churn hotly. He smirked at me and I felt myself respond with a small smile. Just as Damon closed the door, Stefan appeared, speeding out of the woods. I felt myself relax instantly into the back seat.

"What took you so long? We were about to leave," Damon said from his side of the car. He walked around it to meet Stefan, who was gasping for air, his hands on his knees. "Who was that guy, anyways?"

"His name is Declan. I think I met him once, a long time ago before my arrival to Mystic Falls," Stefan explained, catching his breath. Damon shook his head, his lips pursed together in disapproval.

"What did you do to him this time, brother? Why did he go after Princess?" Damon asked, leaning against the car window, his arms across his chest. Stefan sighed, frustrated at Damon's use of my pet name.

"I didn't do anything to him. But I do know he didn't want to kill Elena, he was just using her as bait to get me to come to him. I got him to fess up to me," Stefan said, eyeing me through the window.

"What did he want?" Damon asked, sounding genuinely worried for the first time since I'd met him.

"I don't know. We'll talk later because we have to get Elena home. Her aunt must be worried," Stefan said, pushing past Damon to reach the car. Damon walked around to his side of the car and opened the door. He started the car and began the short drive home. Stefan turned around in his seat to look at me.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" He asked, peering at me with his eyes. I shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm okay, I guess. I'm really scared," I said, feeling myself tremble.

"I wouldn't blame you," Damon muttered under his breath, but Stefan didn't seem to hear him. Stefan nodded hesitantly at me and turned back around. Damon pulled into the my house's driveway. I got out, with Stefan's hand slipping around my shoulders and Damon trailing behind him. Stefan was about to knock on the door when it opened, revealing a terrified and angry Jenna behind it.

"Elena! Oh my God what happened to you! You're face! Oh my God," She began shrieking. Jeremy appeared behind her, his eyes wide in shock.

"I'm okay," I insisted, trying to cover my nasty wounds, Stefan shielding me from view. Damon grabbed my aunt and guided her to the kitchen. She continued trying to shout out to me.

"Elena, what happened!" She continued shrieking, flailing to get away from Damon, who now guarded her closely, never allowing her to walk out of the kitchen

"I'll fell and hurt myself," I replied, avoiding her accusing gaze.

"NO, you don't get those injuries by falling! You don't!" She screamed, sounding more frightened than ever. Damon grabbed my aunt's shoulders and looked deep into her eyes, smiling.

"Elena fell. She got fell and hit her head and scraped her cheeks. She fell. Now, you will relax, Stefan will take care of her," He said, drawing out the words slowly. My aunt looked at Damon quizzically, saying nothing for a moment. Then she nodded slowly, repeating his words. Oh my God. Damon mind-compelled my aunt. Before I could go and attack Damon, I took a moment to realize Damon just saved me from a lot of explaining I would have had to do.

Stefan walked me upstairs and Jeremy went back to the video game in the living room. I reached my room and sat on my bed. Stefan got a wet cloth and began to wipe the blood from the rows Declan had raked into my face. He brought the cloth to my lips, which I assumed was bleeding as well. He went downstairs and returned with a pack of ice he pressed against my temple where I'd been knocked unconscious.

"You going to be okay tonight?" He asked, focusing on the ice pack on my head. I nodded.

"I'll be okay. I promise," I said, looking in his eyes. "Why did Declan come after me?"

"Well, for one, you weren't wearing the vervain, making it easier for Declan to get closer to you," Stefan said, his eyes falling on my naked neck. "You were never suppose to take that off!"

"I know, I just forgot to put it back on," I explained, looking at the jewelry box that could have saved my life. Stefan continued with his theory.

"And Declan wasn't really after you. He was using to you a bait to make me come to him," Stefan said, cleaning my face with the rag.

"What does he want?"

"We don't know yet. But as long as Declan is out there, until we find out what he wants, I can't be with you, Elena. You were almost killed tonight," He said, smoothing my hair with his cool hand. I started to protest, but he put a finger to my lip, shutting me up. "I'm the one Declan wants. Until he is stopped, I can't be with you. I don't want you getting anymore hurt than you are."

"Please, Stefan," I said, my voice cracking. "Don't. Just don't say that."

"I have to, Elena," He said firmly. He stood up, the bloody cloth in his hand. "I'm doing this for your safety. I can't risk you getting hurt anymore. Goodbye, Elena."

I stared at him, trying to forget the sinful words he spoke. Stefan bent down and pressed his lips against my forehead in a quick kiss. I tried to grab hold of him, but he shrugged off my grip. Without looked back, he walked over to the door and closed it behind him.

"Stefan?" I squeaked, hoping he would come back. That door never opened again. Tears in my eyes, I grabbed my stuffed teddy bear-the one Mom got me-and threw it against my mirror in rage. I brought my knees up and hugged them closely to my body, burying my face in them. Tears rolled down my cheeks, stinging the wounds. Using the last bit of force I had left, I changed into pajamas, brushed my teeth and fell on my bed. Now, I was really crying. I know what Stefan was doing. I know it was for my safety. But what use was it if all it did was hurt me even more than before.

The wounds felt numb compared the pain in my heart.

There you have it! Chapter two is up! Now I know you Stelena fans out there must be crying, but Damon is just meant to be with Elena. Sorry, folks. A lot of things happened and it was a heck of a long chapter to write. So please please please review and tell me what you think so far! More Delena in the next chapter(since this is a Delena story) and several hints at Declan's intention might be revealed. But to find out, you will have to review and wait for Chapter numero tres! Gracias!