It's update time! So, here's chapter 7. I know you all just wanna jump ahead to where Delena finally meets officially, but I wanna do a proper build-up - if you've read some of my other stuff, you know I love a good build-up. So, I give you here chapter 7!

See you at the bottom!

Chapter 7:

I continued to watch Elena and Matt during the week. They didn't do anything couple-y in the school time. They didn't even hold hands. But Friday came a bit too soon for my liking. A part of me really didn't want to keep watching over her, when she went on the date. I felt more like staying at home, but knew I couldn't. I couldn't trust him to keep her safe.

No, I had to be there.

So, when Friday came, I made sure I was close to Elena all day. She didn't spend any time with Matt in school, that day. She was with the dark skinned witch all the time.

"What should I wear? I mean, I have no idea where he's taking me! What if I show up in a dress, and he's all casual? Or, what if I'm all casual and he's in a suit!"
I raised my eyebrow at Elena's distress. Was that seriously what she was nervous about? Dressing properly? Her heart was speeding as she talked, and Bonnie almost laughed at her. It wasn't funny, God damnit! Couldn't she just help her?

"Wear a skirt or something. Then you're not too formal and not too casual. It's perfect," Bonnie said, shrugging and putting her hand on Elena's hand. They were sitting at one of the outdoor tables, enjoying the sun shining down on them.

"Oh, that's a good idea! I hope he'll like it..." Elena said, blushing a bit, while her heart slowed down. Good girl, don't get a heart attack.

"Now, what are you going to do if he tries to kiss you?" Bonnie asked, a sly smile on her lips. I rolled my eyes once again and got more comfortable in the tree I was in. At least now I would know what to expect from that date. Did I mention I really don't want to be there?

"I think I'm going to let him. I mean, that's not too fast, is it? It's only our first date."
I stifled a laugh, thinking about the girls I'd brought home. No, a kiss on first date wasn't too fast. Not at all, actually. God, why did she worry so much? Couldn't she just go on the damn date, and do whatever she wanted to? It was not like she needed to please that boy.

"Elena, you and Matt have known each other since you were born! Frankly, the whole school is rooting for you two. I mean, the cheerleader and the football player. I so see you two grow old together and have kids and all that," Bonnie said, smiling at Elena. Wow, no pressure,Sabrina, no pressure!

I almost felt bad for Elena at that moment. Truth was, she was never going to grow old. She was probably never going to have kids either. She would either die or turn at the age of 24. She would never be able to have a long term relationship with a human. Not without turning him. And that would still mean no kids.

I felt like hitting something, or someone. Why did she of all persons have to have this curse? Why was she the one, destined to never live a full life, of all people? She deserved it! She was the one human on this planet, that actually deserved to live a full life. And of course, she couldn't. Her of all people.

I shook my head and focused on their conversation again. They were going on and on about the date and what would happen. Jesus, couldn't they talk about something else? Anything! I felt bad enough already. If I hadn't been turned by Katherine back in the days, Elena wouldn't have to die. If that bitch hadn't...

No, I couldn't think of that now. The past was in the past, and there was nothing to do about it. Even if I killed myself, Elena would still be a Singer. She would still die at the age of 24, and I couldn't let that happen. If she wanted to live, I would turn her. I would do anything for her.

The realization struck me harder than a ton of bricks. I would do anything for her. This little human girl. I would actually do anything she would ever ask me to. A human girl.

I needed a drink, and fast. But I couldn't leave Elena's side. I just couldn't. This would be an important day for her, and I needed to be there. I needed to make sure everything would be going alright between the two of them, and I needed to make sure she returned home safely. I needed to watch over her, 'cause whether she knew or not, she was mine. My Singer.

I sat outside Elena's window, in the tree, as she got ready. She didn't put on the skirt Bonnie had advised her to. Instead, she put on a pair of skinny jeans and a top. She looked good. That boy better praise his lucky stars. I made sure I was hidden completely by the leaves on the tree, as I saw Miranda enter the room.

"Are you ready for tonight?" she asked, as she sat down on the bed. Elena turned around and looked at her, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"I think so... Do I look okay? Do you think Matt will like this outfit?" she asked, turning slowly. Miranda smiled at her daughter, the love clear in her eyes.

"I think that Matt will like whatever you turn up in. You look great, honey." Miranda stood up from the bed and walked to stand next to her daughter, in front of the mirror. I was starting to actually see the resemblance between the two of them. They had the same brown eyes, and Elena's head was starting to have the same shape as her mothers. Their hair now had the exact same color, even though Elena's were much longer than her mother's.

Elena truly was Miranda's daughter. And she looked happy, standing there next to her mother, preparing for her first date. Happy and way too nervous. How on earth could she be nervous about going out with a boy like Matt? I mean, they'd been friends forever, and they probably wouldn't go any further. I hoped for his sake they didn't go any further. I wasn't sure I was going to live seeing him touching her and stuff like that. Actually, I wasn't sure I was going to let him live to do that. He shouldn't touch her like that.

"What if he doesn't like me like that? What if I got the whole thing wrong, and he just wants to have dinner... You know, as friends?" Elena looked at her mom, her big brown eyes filled with concern. I couldn't help but smile at her. She was so little and innocent. Did she really believe his "I like you a lot" speech was meant as friends? Of course not. He clearly wanted to be much more than her friend. How could she be so oblivious to that fact?

"Honey, Matt's been in love with you for years. It's been clear for everyone but you. Now, don't think anymore of that! You two will have a wonderful evening together," Miranda said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, as she smiled at her daughter. Elena bit her bottom lip, looking up at her mom with worried eyes. I felt my face soften at her expression. She was still just an innocent child. Was she really old enough to go out on a date? I had to follow her closely. I wasn't going to leave her alone with that boy for one single second.

The two of them talked for a little bit longer, this time just about boys, while Miranda helped Elena get ready. To me, she already looked pretty good, but of course she wanted to look special, when meeting up with the quarterback. Couldn't she see she could do such much better than the blonde douche? And most importantly, couldn't she see she could wait a lot of years before start dating? She was still just a small human girl, for Christ's sake!

When I saw the boy in question come walking down the streets, wearing a button up shirt and jeans, I had to contain myself. I felt like jumping down there and compel him to take good care of her, and to never touch her inappropriately, but that would be interfering. I'd promised I wouldn't interfere with Elena's life. Only if her life was in danger, and it wasn't. She was perfectly safe, for now. The boy didn't look like a serial killer, after all. And if he were, I'd kill him, before he'd as much as touch a hair on her head. I wouldn't let any kind of harm come her way.

Kelly's boy made his way to the door, and nervously smoothed his hair down, before ringing the bell and stepping back. I could hear his heartbeat from the tree. That kid was more nervous than she was!

Elena turned to her mother, inside her room, looking at her with a frightened look. Miranda just smiled back and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Go down to him, honey. Have a nice evening out," she said, smiling at her only daughter, and watching as she made her way down to the front door.

When she opened the door, her face was slightly pink from her blushing. He smiled at her, no doubt giving her his most innocent eyes. Oldest trick in the book.

"You look beautiful, Elena," he said, looking up and down her body. I rolled my eyes at him and moved a bit closer, wanting to be there in case Elena needed me.

She blushed even more, looking down and whispering a thank you, before stepping outside.

"Be back by 11, kids!" Grayson said, as the couple started making their way to the pavement. 11! Couldn't it be 10?! He better see her home properly!

"I'll make sure of it, Mr. Gilbert!" Matt said, waving to Elena's parents, as they made their way down the road.

I followed them in the shadows, keeping my eye at Elena the whole time. For now, everything looked pretty innocent. He wasn't touching her, and they were talking about school. He was obviously taking her to The Grill, which I could accept – I would linger around the bar, keeping an eye on them and drinking myself into a stupor at the same time. God knows I would need the alcohol tonight.

"How's football practice going?" Elena asked, fidgeting with her fingers in front of her body. She was obviously nervous, and pretty uncomfortable. It was the first time she was with Matt as more than friends – it would be weird if she wasn't nervous.

I wish I could make her see me, and tell her that she had absolutely nothing to be afraid of. That she should just relax, because I was there, and I was going to take care of her. But no. And she probably wasn't scared of Matt. Sure, her heart-rate was a bit higher than normally, but it wasn't fear. Fear was different – no, she was just nervous.

"The usual, you know. Tanner's taking his personal problems out on us as usual," Matt said, shrugging at her.

"Again? Have you guys thought about reporting it?" Elena looked up at him, suddenly forgetting to fidge with her fingers. Great, they were falling into normal conversation.

"No. We figured he didn't need an extra problem. He's like this sometimes, Lena, I don't know if it'll ever change. He just has these periods."

The conversation went on about school, as I followed them to The Grill. They at down in one of the booths, giving me a perfect view of them from the bar. Ordering my usual bourbon, I tuned in on their conversation, trying to find out what they were talking about.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

I looked at them, noticing that they were looking at their menu's, Elena's cheeks still flushed. At that moment, I really wish I had the ability to read minds. I really wanted to know what Elena was thinking, as she sat across the blond guy. I didn't need access to his brain, to know exactly what he was thinking about. I mean, Elena was good looking for a fourteen year old. She wasn't unlucky, like some fourteen year olds. And no doubt he was thinking about how great she would look without her clothes on.

A shame he wasn't going to see that sight. I wasn't going to let him, no matter what happened. I was here for her protection, not just against life threatening dangers, but also horny teenage boys.

"Whiskey for me, and bourbon for him." I looked to my side at the guy who'd sat down next to me. Before I'd turned my head, I'd felt his presence – he wasn't human. I instantly recognized him, though.

"Alaric Saltzman. Long time, no see," I said, accepting the bourbon from the bartender. Alaric smiled at me and sipped his whiskey. For some reason, he'd always preferred that over bourbon. Some people are just weird like that.

"Indeed, Salvatore. This is the last place on earth I figured you'd be. Care to tell me what the hell you're doing back here?" he asked, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I carefully made sure I wasn't looking anywhere near Elena when I shrugged and downed the bourbon. I was in great need for alcohol tonight.

"Nostalgia, I guess. Seeing my baby bro again and such," I said casually, turning to him with my signature smile, "the ladies."

He raised an eyebrow at me and drank from his whiskey. I've never really liked whiskey. Sure, it did the trick, but bourbon just tasted so much better.

"You do know I don't believe that, right?" he said, looking at me with a smile. I just smirked back and ordered another bourbon. The bartender let the bottle stand in front of me, probably figuring out I'd need it.

"What about yourself? Haven't seen you here in a long time," I said, wondering just what the hell he was doing here. We'd been drinking here a couple of decades ago, enjoying the women and stuff, but we'd disappeared as soon as the town had started noticing us. I'd kept away ever since then, until the whole Singer thing started. Now I was forced to stay here and keep an eye on little Miss Gilbert.

Speaking of her, I casually looked in her direction, relieved to see them sitting and talking, keeping away from each other and eating their food. So far, so good. If he kept his hands to himself there wouldn't be much need for me tonight.

"Oh, you know. Needed to go somewhere and decided to come back here. The world's starting to get kind of boring," he said, emptying the whiskey. I chuckled at him and took a swig from the bottle.

Alaric had been turned around the end of the 19th century, and we'd done a lot of traveling together, before we'd decided to split up. Apparently he'd been doing a lot of traveling since then, if he'd already started to find the world boring. He'd always been one for looking at old places, seeing new stuff and experiencing a lot.

"Aha. And you chose Mystic Falls of all places to go back to?" I said, raising an eyebrow at him, clearly catching onto his lie. There were probably a better reason for his return to Mystic Falls, but I wasn't exactly being honest with him either.

He shrugged at me, ordering another whiskey and quickly drinking it.

Conversation came pretty easy after that. We quickly fell into our old habits, talking about what we'd been doing for the past century and exchanging stories. I hadn't really realized just how much I'd missed him, until we started speaking again.

I have no idea for how long we'd been talking, when I felt Elena's heartbeat sped up. I quickly shot a look around The Grill, but the couple were no where to be found.

"Listen, Ric, it's been nice to catch up, but I really have got to go. See you around, okay?" I said, not bothering to wait for his answer. I left a couple of bills on the counter before rushing out of the bar, tracking down Elena and Matt.

Turned out they were walking home alone. He was getting closer to her as they walked, and she kept her eyes on the ground, making quiet conversation with him. She was obviously nervous. They were nearing the part of a date, where he would either kiss her or not – and of course she was nervous about that.

I kept on following them, making sure I stayed far enough behind them. His hand were getting closer to hers, and within long, they were entwined and he was pulling her closer to him.

I fought my hardest not to jump down there and push him away from her. I had to remind myself that he wasn't doing anything inappropriate. They were the same age and he was merely holding her hand. For now, he wasn't doing anything wrong. He just wasn't good enough for her. Not even close, actually.

As they made their way down the pavement, I couldn't help but try to figure out what had made Ric come back. We'd been the best of friends back then, but eventually we'd split up. And now he was back. He'd never really liked this city, when we'd visited it. I'd showed him, because it had become a home for me and Stefan, but he'd never fallen in love with it, the same way Stefan and I had done back then. And honestly, the city had lost some of it's charm when Stefan had found the connection between the evil slut vampire and the city. But now I was back and the city suddenly had a completely new reason for being great. Elena was here.

But that was no reason for Ric to return. I'd never told him about the whole Singer thing. I probably should have, since he was a vampire and could end up with a Singer, but I'd always seen it as nonsense. And now I was in this crappy situation, that I'd actually come to love. Crap.

"It's been a good night..."

My attention turned to Matt and Elena again, when I heard him say that. We'd arrived back at the Gilbert house, and they were standing at the porch now, fingers still entwined. I so didn't want to see this part of their date, but I had to keep an eye on him, and be ready to step in if he went overboard.

"It's been fantastic... I've really enjoyed being out with you," Elena said, looking at him with red cheeks. I rolled my eyes and kept the sarcastic comments down, as Matt stepped closer to her.

"Me too. I'd love to do it again some time," he said, slowly lowering his head to hers. She didn't pull away from him, but allowed him to press his lips to hers in a soft kiss.

Her first kiss.

I was actually witnessing her getting her first kiss. And from a douche like him!

I really wanted to tear my gaze away from them, but I couldn't. His arms went around her back, and she grabbed the folds of his jacket. I rolled my eyes at them and waited impatiently for them to break apart.

When they finally did, she looked flushed, but happy. I tried not to notice just how much our hearts were speeding. I so didn't need to feel that. This was bad enough.

"So, I guess I'll see you in school?" he said, sounding way too out of breath for a simple kiss. At least he hadn't tried to push her further than a kiss. For that, I was pretty grateful. I didn't want to jump in and push him away, and then have to erase both his and Elena's memories. I didn't want to compel Elena if I didn't have to.

But on the other hand, I couldn't be a part of her life, before she turned 24. Then I'd have to step in, tell her about the Singer thing and ask her to make her choice. Die or be damned for an eternity. And she would probably choose to die, and I'd have to watch her die. I wouldn't be able to keep away from her, even though it would be torture, sitting next to her and watch her take her last breath.

I had no idea how humans died, if they chose not to turn. I'd never seen it before, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Nobody had really been there to tell me everything about the myth, but something told me I'd see it one day. Surely Elena wouldn't want to become a vampire.

I'd watched her for a long time now, and I could see just how much she loved living. She was so full of life, and she tried to make the best of every day.

She would hate being a vampire. It would suffocate her, having to be a slave of her urges and to never grow old.

I should probably start preparing myself to lose her when she turned 24, and that would have to be okay. I would have to be okay with her choice.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and climbed into the tree outside of her window. It was closed now, and she was sitting on the bed with Miranda, without a doubt talking about her night. I whispered a goodnight to her, and then left her house, returning to the boarding house and my bed. I needed another drink.

It took me two months to pack my stuff, and then I was on my way again. I'd seen her at her first high school dance, where she and Matt had been crowned as king and queen, I'd seen her first cheer, I'd seen all of the stuff she'd done. The thought of her dying was scaring me. Maybe I should just leave and let her live until she turned 24. She would die, in whatever way the singer bond wanted her to die and some day, my heart would stop beating. Maybe that would be the best way.

Either way, I kissed her on the forehead, while she was sleeping, and told her a quiet goodbye. I wasn't sure if I was going to see her again, and if I did, she might be dying. I couldn't let her out of my mind, on the way to the airport. I'd changed over the past 14 years, more than I'd done since I was turned. She was changing me. And honestly, I wasn't sure if it was for the better.

So, there you have it! Please leave a review! It would mean the world to me, and you know it! Can't believe the amount of reviews I've recieved for this, it's amazing. I am sooo glad you like it! Thank you guys!