So, here I am with a new chapter, and some news: as I'm moving right now, I won't have internet for much longer. It's going to take two or three weeks to get it set up in the new house, and I have NO idea if there is an internet café anywhere nearby. BUT, I'm going to write in the meantime, so I guess I'll have at least two or three chapters ready when I'm back online! Now… a huge thanks to my beta AVECIA, she's awesome! AND, to all of you people who read and review this story, thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about TVD, I just mess with them for fun!

On with it!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

A few hours after the unfortunate incident with Bonnie, everyone finally had calmed down a bit. Sure, Elena was still a vampire, and Damon still human, but at least they knew how to… get rid of the problem again. It seemed that, even though Bonnie hadn't consciously done anything with the bracelet, her honest, and good-natured wishes had been enough to weave a complicated spell into said item of jewellery. Now, as both and Elena had wanted this change – even though they hadn't meant what they had said quite this literately – they just had to wish for everything to return back to the way it was and everything would be back to normal again. Well, as normal as anything could get in Mystic Falls, at least.

They couldn't change back right now though. Because of some strange sun, moon or star constellations (Damon and Elena both had opted to not listen too closely to Bonnies descriptions… it was just plain boring) they couldn't do this until the waning moon phase – because according to Bonnie, the waning moon was for banishing magic.

So now they were trapped like this, for about another ten days. The witch had looked as though she was about to be sick, as she realized that for the time being, her other best friend was stuck being a vampire – as if one undead best friend wasn't enough already. She hadn't so much as wasted a thought on Damon; well, she had, but not the sympathetic kind. She had been rather thrilled to learn that he was completely human right now. Feelings (guilt) and everything.

Elena had grown tired of the bickering between her friends rather quickly, and had roped her brother into going home with her. She would have gone alone, usually, but she needed him to invite her in. Also, she wanted him there in case she had the stupid idea to munch on Jenna. Jeremy, at least, was somewhat safe from her, as long as he was wearing the Gilbert ring. Also, she had him go get a few vervain darts from Alaric, just to be on the safe side.

Her brother was sitting on the passenger's seat in her car now, eying her suspiciously, all the while trying to hide the fact he was doing it. It wasn't that he was afraid of her, he just didn't know what to expect from her. Would she start to act like Damon? One never knew how magic messed with everything; and as Elena had Damon's… vampiric side now, who knew what else she got along the way?

Or – and that was even worse – would she find that stupid little switch, shut off her feelings and turn into a second Katherine? He shuddered at that thought, and sent a quick prayer up that that wouldn't happen. He would be able to live with a newfound love for Bourbon, sarcasm and loud music, but another murderous queen bitch? Nope, not interested.

But apart from storming into the parlor and baring her fangs, snarling for them to tone down, she had acted mostly like her normal self.

They arrived home fast enough, and after he had invited her in, she quickly disappeared into her room, closing and locking it (and the adjoining bathroom door) behind her.

First things first: she closed her curtains so no sunbeams could get in, and took off Damon's ring. Taking a silver necklace from her jewellery case (taking off the old pendant), she put the ring onto it, before securing it around her neck. Cautiously she pulled the curtains open again, and as she edged her fingers into the sunlight she found it didn't burn her. Relieved at this, she grinned and went to her bed, taking her diary from the bedside table before making herself comfortable. Just as she opened it and wanted to start writing, she thought of something better… she hadn't been to visit her parents in quite some time, and right now she was safer than she had been in so long… true, Klaus (or some little helper, whatever) could still come and get her, but right now she wasn't in danger of getting sacrificed. Actually, if Katherine was to be believed, her friends and family were in far more danger at the moment, then she was herself.

So she packed the diary and a pen into a bag, opened her window and – after taking a deep breath – leapt out of it running as fast as she could. She knew from experience that anybody who wasn't supernatural wouldn't have seen her, because human eyes just weren't made to follow movements that fast.

In no time at all she arrived at the cemetery and slowed down. She wouldn't rush her way there, so she opened the gates, and slowly wandered between the headstones and tombs until she had reached her destination. For a moment she just stood there, closed her eyes, and listened to and felt her surroundings. She had done this since she first came here – not just after the death of her parents, but even as a child, as she came here to find a little peace in her usually loud and hectic life. Before the accident, she had been a totally different person… cheerleader, queen bee in high school. Always at parties, always surrounded by handsome boys (and let's face it, they really had been just boys – no man in sight) that had wanted her and beautiful girls that had envied her. And she had basked in all that. But even back then, she had needed a little alone-time. With her eyes closed, she had been able to enjoy the peace around there; the only sounds to be heard were the rushing of the wind through the trees, and the chirping of birds. Sometimes she could hear some small animal or the other fleeing into the underbrush, but other than that, nothing.

It was nearly the same now just… not. There were still no disturbing noises, only now that she could hear so much better, she noticed a few other things, too. Like the rushing of the river, the hollow sound the water made, echoing under Wickery Bridge. Or a little farther away, someone was tending to the flowers on another grave. And the woods seemed to be bustling with life.

But it wasn't disturbing in the least, not at all. It just showed how much life there was around her, everywhere. So she sat down, cross-legged, elbows on her thighs and head propped in her hands. She sat like this for nearly ten minutes, trying to bring a little order into her thoughts, before she gave her parents a little summary of her day – starting with Elijah, making her remember what Damon had wanted her to forget, and ending with her decision to come here.

"So… now you know. I kind of… died today, without actually getting killed, or having an accident or… well, anything. But don't worry, I'm okay. Really okay. I even kind of like it like this. I mean, I know I can't just stay like this because, first: that would mean that Damon would stay human, and I don't think he would like that. Second: it's way too dangerous for the others. I mean, Katherine told me what Klaus did to her family when she turned. I don't want the same thing happening to Jeremy and Jenna… or anyone else that matters to me. But I guess as long as I'm stuck like this – at least ten days still – I can just… lean back and enjoy the ride or something like that…"

She drifted off then, just staring ahead, her thoughts on overdrive. She came here to be near to her past; to her parents, and to the girl she had once been. Here in the quiet peace of the cemetery, she could think about everything, be whomever she wanted to be. So she let her mind wander, and reenacted the whole day in her mind. Her conversation with Elijah, and how angry she had been at Damon. Though, now that everything had settled down again, she realized that she wasn't only angry, but hurt too. She had felt betrayed – worse than when she had discovered that she was an exact replica of Katherine, worse than when Stefan was back on human blood, and had been lying to her about it. And even though it shamed her to recognize it, even to herself, it was even worse than when Damon had snapped Jeremy's neck. Because she knew, what he had done to Jeremy had been because he was drunk and hurt, and because he had wanted to hurt her in turn. Also, it had been a split-second decision but… as he came to her to tell her that… that he loved her, that he was in love with her…that had been planned. He brought the necklace back, he told her, and he erased it again. And he had been sober, and nobody had attacked him – at least emotionally – before that. So it had been all him, and that realization had just hurt so bad, it was unlike everything else since she learned that her parents had died. And all because Damon was… well, Damon. With Stefan she would have been just angry, if he had messed with her memory. But Damon had never once lied to her, not about anything. So she had trusted him beyond what was probably healthy. She trusted him more than Stefan, no matter if that made her a bad girlfriend or not.

From the moment she knew about vampires, she had also known what he was capable of. He had never tried to deceive her, and over time, she learned to appreciate his honesty, even if it had hurt sometimes. And then he went and betrayed that trust.

Shaking her head, she tried to steer her head away from this train of thought, because it just made her angry again, and she knew for a fact that that might not be the best thing at the moment. Who knew what she would do, now that she had a craving for blood and the hunt, and was way stronger than a human? So she thought of something else.

Like the moment Damon had seen that she was keeping her distance to the sun, coming in the windows. She had seen it on his face – the exact moment he realized that the sun would burn her. There was no hesitation at all, as he just took his ring off and threw it in her direction. He did that, without knowing if he really was safe from the sun, and despite the fact she had attacked him not a minute earlier. Hell, he had still been bleeding, red seeping through the dishtowel pressed to his throat. And still he had been concerned for her.

That thought brought a smile to her face, because she had been reminded why she had this unshakable trust in this man. Because no matter how much he tried to make everyone believe he was a monster, that was far from the truth… well, most of the time, anyway. She had no illusions about what he could do, if he wanted to… or what he had done in the past.

Frustrated she pushed herself back to her feet. She had thought that a visit there would help in calming her down, but her thoughts were running in circles. She should worry about Klaus, or if she would be able to keep a leash on her cravings and… well, there were probably other things too, but for some reason it was only Damon on her mind.

With a final look and a soft smile at the tombstone, she left the cemetery, and slowly made her way back home. Halfway there, she remembered that she had wanted to write about her day and rolled her eyes at herself. That was just typical; Damon had always been able to completely distract her from everything – and now he even managed to do so without actually being anywhere near her.

Well… on the other hand, he had probably never been this close to her. She hadn't told anyone earlier, but something else had happened, despite this strange change.

Thing is: there where two different sets of memories in her head now. Of course there was her own life, but… there were other things too. Like, she remembered getting shot, and dying. And there was the scene of some Bar or the other in her head, only the people wore old-fashioned clothes, and the music played in the background was Jazz. That in itself wouldn't have been strange but as she exited the Bar (or, not really she, but the person from which point of view she was experiencing it – Damon) there were really old cars out there and the newspaper on a stand nearby read the date of February 23. Year, 1925. After a few blocks of walking, she went around the corner and surprised a couple in a really heavy make-out session. The man was soon compelled and sent on his way, and a few minutes later the woman was on the ground, bloodless and with eyes staring sightless into the sky. They weren't the only unfamiliar memories, but they were the ones that scared her the most.

So /in addition to his immortality, she had also received a few of Damons memories.

She groaned as she snapped back to reality and ran the rest of the way home. Suddenly all she wanted to do was get into bed and hide out under her covers.

What a mess. And even though she tried not to think of Damon anymore today, the last thought before she fell asleep later that night was, I wonder how Damon is doing right now.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Right so, I know this chapter was a little boring, but I had to… well, ease Elena into being a vampire, I guess. The next chapter will be totally Damon-centric, but still in the same, boring category, because I have to do the same "easing" for him as well…. Anyways, please let me know what you think about this chapter (besides it being boring, that is) – just click on the little button below and leave me a few words. Reviews are love, people!

So long,

Zora