Hey! Sun here, along with Apocalyptic! Bringing you, in our seasonal spirit, the next chapter! Imagine that... So kind of our school to have conveniently put a two week break in a time without much writer's block. :D Thank you school!

Anyway, thank you ever so much for all your reviews! We love 'em! You guys rock!

S.W.

Burning in the fire. Flaking in the flame. Melting in the sun's blaze. Charring in a hot crematorium. Branches alight to rid the world of the scent of the bunny blood that has been spent.

Vicki was dead. Jeremy stared at her lifeless form, nearly imagining that she was still alive. She had been painted to look good in her open-casket funeral, and looked even more beautiful than she had in life.

The last thing she had said to him... how he wanted to screw and screw with her. He wasn't sure whether she had meant her body or mind, but either way he found his throat closing up and eyes burning fiercely. If he had known it was the last time he would see her... Why hadn't he visited her in the hospital? Visitors outside of family weren't allowed, but he could have snuck in.

Tyler, who had been standing at the back of the church looking awkward, now approached the casket. Jeremy felt his anger towards his peer growing. In Vicki's last moments, Tyler had been trying to get into her pants. Jeremy couldn't help but think that this was his fault.

Tyler grew closer and it did not at all help to have him standing right next to the enraged teen, pretending that he cared.

"Man, I can't believe she's gone..." Running a hand through his hair, the jock looked blankly down at the unmoving form of the girl that he had now lost forever.

It took all Jeremy had not to shove him and ask him why he bothered to pretend. Was it for his reputation? The youngest Gilbert felt sick inside. He clenched his fists at his side. He wanted so badly to punch Tyler.

But now wasn't the time. Not here, in front of Vicki's corpse. Vicki's corpse. He took a deep breath, choking on repressed tears. He quickly turned, hitting his shoulder hard against Tyler's as he made his way to the door.

For once, Tyler didn't respond aggressively. Instead, he stared passively at the girl in the coffin.

B.G.

Elena sat in The Grill with Bonnie and Caroline. They were chatting about the usual things... Bonnie, trying to share the interesting tales her grandmother had told her, was rudely interrupted by Caroline who asked Elena about Stefan.

"I'm not really sure what to think right now. He's just so hard to communicate with..."

"So you guys haven't even kissed yet?"

"Um... no." Elena looked at Caroline with uncertainty in her eyes. "I don't even know if I feel that way about him. He did just move here."

"Well, I'm just saying, if I had him things would have progressed a lot more by now."

"Do you ever text him? Texting is the key to relationships. Especially when they're just starting," Bonnie informed.

"We never exchanged information." Elena sighed. "I think we missed that. I don't know, it's complicated..."

"Do you want to hear my advice?" asked Caroline.

"Not really," Bonnie muttered.

Caroline ignored this. "You're a girl. He's a guy. Boy plus girl... equals sex."

"Caroline!" Elena exclaimed, blushing. "I told you, we haven't even kissed!"

"But he wants to kiss you," Caroline said, knowingly. "The way he stares at you? Like you're a scrumptious dessert?"

Elena opened her mouth to retaliate, only to be cut off by Bonnie. "Caroline has a point. You can't just stay on the sidelines forever. If you want something, sometimes you have to go and get it."

Tilting her head, Elena was taken aback by a sudden revelation. An icy gaze flashed across her mind, and she shot to her feet. "You know what? You're right."

"About what?" questioned her blonde friend.

"If I want something, I shouldn't hold back." She felt a surge of confidence overflow her. She knew what she wanted. She had tried to deny it, but now that she actually acknowledged it, she couldn't push it out of her mind. And, somehow, she couldn't find it in her to feel guilty.

S.W.

Stefan entered The Grill, scanning the room for the familiar brunette that he was beginning to think of as "his girlfriend". Instead, he found her two friends chatting away excitedly at a table. An extra tray, emptied minus a couple of fries, sat next to them, suggesting the presence of the one he was looking for earlier. Perhaps she's in the bathroom? he thought hopefully.

Approaching them, he awkwardly put his hands on the vacant third chair. "Hey, is Elena here?"

"No... actually she just left." Bonnie and Caroline exchanged confused glances.

"Oh." Disappointment laced his voice. "Well, thanks anyway." He was about to turn and leave when Bonnie's voice stopped him.

"Wait. I want to give you," she said searching through her purse and pulling out a paper which she quickly scribbled on, "Elena's number and email. You can text her any time if you want to talk to her, or plan anything... she loves to text, and you can tell her I said so."

He reached over to accept the small piece of paper, hand brushing with Bonnie's. She froze, eyes opening wide and staring blankly for moments that seemed to be eternity. "What's wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?"

She seemed to snap back to reality upon hearing Stefan's words of puzzlement. "Oh... I'm sorry. I'm just gonna go." Picking up her things, Bonnie was out of there faster than one of the bunnies that Stefan hunted. At the thought of blood, Stefan glanced at Caroline's neck. He turned and retreated, almost as fast as Bonnie had, leaving Caroline alone at an empty table, wondering what had happened.

"Ok. Bye?" she spoke to the empty air, as if to make herself feel better.

B.G.

Damon sipped from a cup of blood and wine, reclining on a sofa in the large living room. Things hadn't been going quite as planned. Yes, his master plan was going fine, but a certain girl was proving to be quite the distraction.

And it wasn't just the fact that Elena Gilbert was identical to Katherine (although that was definitely a big part of it). Whenever they touched... He had never experienced such a sensation before. The slightest brush of skin against skin and he found his insides churning with desire. He just had to avoid her.

Yes, messing with her would be the perfect way to anger Stefan, but he couldn't risk it. Not when she could so easily erase the goal he was so close to accomplishing clean from his mind.

"Damon?"

He couldn't help the groan that escaped him. No. He had finally found his resolve, only for this...

Damn that girl. She needs to die. He wished it was as simple as killing any other victim. Sadly, such was not the case.

"Hello?"

How could he possibly ignore her? No, how could he possibly acknowledge her? That was what he should be thinking.

Then warm brown eyes were on his, and he could only curse the hold she somehow had over him. "Elena. What are you doing here?"

"The door was unlocked, so I thought it would be alright to come in. You did say I could stop by any time?" It was more of a question and Damon could tell. She was standing there in front of him, whatever resolve bringing her here slowly crumbling with her uncertainty of the situation.

"Yeah, welcome back to the lovely Salvatore Boarding House," he said with a smirk in his voice, trying to keep his cool. "Stefan's not here right now though, so maybe you should stop by again later?"

"I didn't come here to visit Stefan."

"You... didn't?" There was a hesitation in Damon's voice as he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "So then, you came all the way here to see me?" He threw on a signature smirk, but it faded as she nodded.

"Yep. It seems silly now, but Bonnie and Caroline were talking about wanting things and how they don't always come to you..." she rambled on for a moment, trying to get the right words out. Damon simply watched her, a brow raised. "And so, I decided that I'd come to you because... Well, you're what I want," she finished in a single breath, face heating up with the passing seconds.

Damon just stared at her in utter disbelief. No way! This is not happening. She's supposed to like Stefan! Normally, he'd take advantage of Stefan's love interest declaring she wanted him. But, in this case, he couldn't put on a cocky smirk and make it into a game to torment his brother.

Why? Because she was his love interest, too. He blinked, as this realization set in. Looking up at her, he couldn't keep back a question that bothered him. "Stefan didn't put you up to this, did he?" Not like that was the best question. She could even be compelled, for all he knew. He could just imagine Stefan's taunting. He'd probably say something like, 'What, you thought she'd really go for you?'

"Stefan has nothing to do with this," she said, even as the blush remained.

He stood up, looking into her eyes. He had to know. Eyes dilating and voice deepening a few octaves, he said, "Did Stefan put you up to this?"

He was taken aback at the anger suddenly flashing in brown depths. "I told you, he didn't."

So Stefan had vervain on her somewhere, probably through some form of jewelery. He couldn't spot the source, but that didn't really mean much.

Which meant that she was telling him the truth. Without conscious thought, he found himself pulling her into an embrace. When her arms slowly rose to return the hold, the tingles of before seemed to be nothing but a mere touch. It felt as if she had reached into his very soul- did that mean he had one, after all?- and he wanted nothing more than to stay this way forever.

A sudden feeling of coldness washed over him, as Elena's small form was pulled from him. Reality slammed into him, and he found anger and confusion filled eyes staring at him. Hurt was apparent in those familiar eyes and it took Damon a second or two to realize that his brother was now standing between them. He must have come in and caught them hugging. If he had known any of that which they had just shared, Stefan would have been more than just angry at the time.

"Stefan?" Elena's voice was weak.

The younger Salvatore seemed to be throwing daggers at his brother using only his eyes. Damon was surprised; Stefan had become scary.

"Elena, are you wearing that necklace I gave you?"

"Um..." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of jewelry. Damon recognized the muffled scent of vervain as he searched the air for it. "I have it with me."

Stefan relaxed, if only slightly, just to tense back up again as it seemed realization hit him. Damon would have smirked at a time like this, but the lingering feeling of Elena returning his embrace prevented his mind from even considering acting on it.

Damon was amused at the veins appearing below reddening eyes. Surprisingly, the sudden vamping out seemed to be in reaction to his revelation of Elena's willingness in prior events.

"Elena. You should leave," said Stefan, voice husky with lust for a kill. For two kills, if Damon was reading his brother correctly.

"I..."

"Now."

She opened her mouth, shut it, and opened it again. What could she possibly say? "Right."

She had barely turned before Damon's voice washed over her like a caress. "How did you get here?"

"I, um... walked."

Ignoring Stefan's worsening state, Damon continued, "It's late. I'll drive you home."

She glanced at Stefan, who had his back to her. She seemed to cringe at how he didn't even reprimand her. Damon knew the truth, though. Stefan wanted to say something to her. He just didn't want her to see his veiny, red-eyed face. "Uh... yeah. I'd appreciate that."

S.W.

Matt paced his room. Now that Vicki was gone, possibilities seemed to be jumping out of things that could potentially harm those he cared for. The first and foremost thing was Stefan Salvatore.

Exiting his house, Matt started towards the school. Everything about the new kid seemed off. It was as if, the moment he had been at the school, Elena had been the only thing he cared about. Never did he try to occupy his time with anything other than her. He didn't even want to get any guy friends to hang out and chat with. It was... abnormal.

Then there was that time at the hospital. No visitors other than immediate family had been allowed, yet he had caught Stefan exiting his sister's room shortly before she died. What if he had done something? Maybe a vampire really had attacked her...? Now he was sounding like some mourning lunatic trying to find logic where there wasn't any.

In any case, he found his feet carrying him to the office of the school. It was empty, being lunch break for the few faculty that were still there over the weekend. Without realizing what he was doing, Matt went to the file cabinets that held student information. He opened the one labeled M-Z and peered inside.

Sifting through the files, reading over the names, before he could stop himself, Matt pulled out the one labeled Salvatore, Stefan. He opened it, shocked to find nothing but a page with said Salvatore's name at the top of it. Why was it blank? He couldn't help but wonder...

This was not at all clearing his suspicion. Maybe Stefan really was the "vampire" that had attacked Vicki? Matt shook the idea from his mind, wondering where it had come from... he really needed to get out of there and to keep his mind from his sister's death. It had not been Stefan's fault... had it?

B.G.

Sun: Don't worry Stefan, Elena really does love your brother, she could be your sister in law! :D (Lol, if only...)

Apocalyptic: For a second I thought you were gonna give a major spoiler, lolz. This chapter was... different. But fun. Kinda. Sorta. Definitely. Mayb-

Sun: Anyway, I know what she thinks now. Well not really? ((Gives sis a confused look))... But I wanna know what you think! So go ahead. You know the temptation is so strong. Press the button and feel your life being complete... Review. :D See you next time!

Disclaimer: We do not own The Vampire Diaries, however much we love to play with the characters. If we did own them, Stefan and Damon would be a lot closer. But that's another story entirely. (quite literally, if we ever decide to put it down on paper. Which is quite tempting.)