A little over-schedule but it did come out to over 12,000 words instead, the longest chapter so far of the series. Enjoy!

Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | 6.3 - Transitioning into a Vampire

Damon was idly wandering around his brother's room as he waited for the dead teenager to wake up from her slumber. Just a few hours before snapping her neck, he had been giving her exactly what she had wanted, what she craved, and that was blood. His blood. Because of this, she would now turn into the same monster he was and had been for nearly a hundred and fifty years. She'll become the fourth vampire in Mystic Falls as of right now if she chooses to complete the transformation, that is.

As he waited for an amazingly long time; Damon made the stupid choice of testing out sunlight against his skin for the first time in years, without his ring attached to his finger. Let just say – it wasn't a trip through candy land. His hand sizzled like bacon on a skillet for the few seconds the stream of light hit the surface of his skin. He winced at the sensation he received. Because he's recently had a lot of warm blood running down his throat and to his stomach, it did heal within a manner of seconds.

It took him by surprise but finally a groan filtered through the air and hit his eardrums.

Damon shook his hand in the air as it healed while glancing over his shoulder to see the transitioning vampire begin to wake up. She was still sprawled out on the floor but her arms and legs were starting to stretch out, imitating a cat. Her eyes started to flutter open and she tiredly looked around at her surroundings in a confused manner. She was clearly unsure of what had happened and how she ended up lying on the cold wooden floor.

"What happened?" She mumbled to herself but to the other person in the room too. She noticed the man she had been dancing with over towards the corner. Her hands scrunched up by her eyes as she rubbed the corners. She tried to lift her upper body from the floorboards but for some reason, her entire body felt drained and heavy. It's almost as if she didn't have as much energy left in her like she usually did. Sometimes she felt like this after going on a day-long-plus bender but somehow, it didn't feel the same. "We were dancing, and then-"

Again, how did she end up on the floor?

She didn't remember lying down to sleep on it.

"-Then I killed you." Damon finished her sentence for her as she started to rub the back of her neck with her grimace on her lips. The way she moved was almost comical. It looked as though she were imitating someone who was drunk and high at the same time, times a hundred. Every time she tried to get up; she was finding it hard to even try and get her footing together so her body just simply fell to the floor.

Vicki either didn't hear him or clearly didn't believe him. She tried to close her eyes and squeeze them shut as the bright light from the bedroom window hit her. It felt painfully bright and annoying, more than usual after a fun night doing her usual, "What?" She finally squinted her eyes up at him as the words finally hit home. Had she heard him wrong or was she imagining something else?

"You're dead."

"I'm dead?" Vicki obviously didn't believe him because she audibly scoffed at the audacity of his assertion. She's not dead – how stupid could someone get? She was clearly awake and breathing and the unusual ache in her neck was proof enough that she could still feel her body working.

Damon confidently nodded and leaned himself against one of the side tables, "Yeah, well, let's not make a big deal out of it." He brushed off the seriousness of what was happening to her. She'll figure it out for sure later, whether she wants to believe it or not. She'll get to have fun making a choice on either becoming a vampire or dying as a measly human. He was honestly interested to know which road she'll pick, although, either way was better than what she used to be. A useless human with no life ahead of her. "You drank my blood, I killed you, and now you have to feed to complete the process."

After a few seconds of shaking her head; Vicki was finally able to gain enough strength to heave herself off the floor, with the help of Stefan's bed. "You're wasted," She groaned, feeling a banging sensation crawl into her skull, sensing that this guy was probably worse than she felt. Noticing her pants lying on the bed, she clumsily grabbed them and began stumbling towards the bedroom door. She didn't want to stay here another moment and quite frankly, she wanted to go home, jump into her bed and fall asleep for a couple of days.

Damon simply raised an eyebrow as she tried walking out of the bedroom, unimpressed. All he could see was a girl dragging her feel along, looking like hell, acting like a child who didn't want to get out of bed in the morning. "You don't want to be out there all alone." He pretended to look concerned but really, he couldn't care less. He, of course, couldn't follow her out anyway since his ring was still nowhere to be found.

He was slightly annoyed when he didn't receive a reply so when Vicki wasn't looking, he sped in front of her to block the access to the stairway. The action nearly made her collide into his bare chest. She didn't look surprised as she stumbled to a stop but was more irked and disoriented than anything.

"You're about to get REALLY freaky."

After taking a quick look over her shoulder to make sure him moving in front of her hadn't been a dream, she rolled her eyes in response, "Okay, look," She started, having more control on how her words formed as they left her mouth, "I had a really good time but right now I just want to go home." She could still barely open her eyes. They felt heavy, useless and everything still felt blinding. She craved to be in the dark or at the very least, she wished her sunglasses were on her face.

"You're gonna start craving blood," Damon warned her in a scolding manner, not moving out of the way, "And until you get it, you're gonna feel very out of it. You have to be careful." He only said that last part because he didn't really want to be pointed out to the townspeople that he was a vampire. He's spent a lot of energy keeping himself out of the limelight when it comes to the mysteriousness of the killings in this town. He was sure there were people around Mystic Falls that still knew of their kind.

And deep down, whether anyone knows it or not, he still thought about the other two vampires he knew. One of them being his brother. If anyone was going to kill them – it would be him. But, like Stefan had mentioned just before he murdered the History teacher, there was a reason why he hadn't done the deed and was still haunting even after 145 years.

Vicki still wasn't listening so she simply shoved him aside.

Damon didn't try to stop her this time. All he did was appear amused as she tried walking out of the room again. "See?" He gestured to her body even though she couldn't see that, "You're already starting to fall apart." He couldn't help but chuckle to his own amusement.

"I'm going home now." Vicki declared, curling the pants into her arms, deciding to wait until she survived the stairs to put them on. At least she'll be out of this guy's presence, he was too arrogant for his own good. He was like another Tyler Lockwood but with better fashion sense.

"Okay, fine." Damon lifted his hands up in a surrendering gesture, "I'm was just warning you." He went to turn around and let her go off but something suddenly came to mind, a plan almost. "Actually, you know what-? " He paused himself, looking back over to her retreating body. "You should go." Vicki's head rolled back over to him in a second, wondering why he was suddenly changing his attitude on her leaving after all. "In fact, if I were you, I would stop by your boyfriend Jeremy's house."

During their hours of fun together – the teenager had admitted to a lot of things.

One of them being how close she was to the littlest Gilbert – Olivia's brother.

"Yeah, whatever." Vicki rolled her eyes again, beginning to ignore him again when he had nothing interesting to say, "Bye."

As she started padding down the stairs slowly, gripping onto the handlebar attached to the wall to keep her body steady, she heard the vampire call something else to her.

"Tell Elena I said 'Hi' … and if you see that sister of hers or my brother, tell them to call me!"

…

In the middle of a forest; the Sheriff drove up to a man wearing items of clothing that are usually not worn while going on a hike. It was Logan Fell, still wearing his usual attire that he wore on a typical day. In his hand was the small, palm-sized pocket watch that held the solution to finding the demon hidden in the woods.

The police car's sirens blared until the vehicle came to a stop. The multiple strands of chatter coming from the dispatcher could easily be heard from outside the open windows. The three people meeting in the middle of nowhere were gathered down a dirty patch of road where no one travels down. It was also the best place to start looking for this creature of the night. There were a lot of hiding places someone could hide that would keep them out of the light.

The Sheriff and her deputy stepped out of the vehicle and made their way towards the news reporter, ready to get this show on the road. The Sheriff was the first to talk, informing Logan Fell on what had happened so far while he's been waiting for them to arrive. "I've got Stanley on the Moore Street entrance." She told him, holding a handgun in her hand with some wooden bullets she's had stashed away in her desk. For if ever this situation should come up. "The rest of us will cover the other access points. Call him or call me if that thing goes off." Gesturing to the pocket watch clutched in his hand.

"DON'T use the radio." She further instructed, "Cellphones only."

Logan nodded, understanding, "Got it."

"Here." The Sheriff carefully placed the firearm into his hands with the safety still on. "You've got 8 rounds. But remember – wood bullets won't kill him but it'll wound him enough for you to get close and stake him." They were going on the assumption that this vampire was a male instead of female. Logan glanced down at the gun and she wanted to make sure he was up to the task. "You sure you can handle this?"

His simple answer was switching the safety off the gun and looking more than ready for a hunt, "Of course I can."

The Deputy who knew full well what they were up against passed over a large stake.

"You ever staked a vampire before?"

Logan looked between them, his eyebrows raised, "Have you?"

…

"Who are you trying to call?"

Elena asked as she glanced over to her sister, seeing her make yet another call that no one seemed to be answering. They were currently walking back to the car since the sun was beginning to set. Unlike yesterday and this morning; Elena could positively say that some of the feelings she harbored then had considerably dimmed over the last few hours. She was still a bit unsure, who wouldn't be? But overall, she felt weirdly … okay.

Olivia sighed a little in frustration, pulling the phone away from her ear as the voicemail greeted her once again. "Stefan." She answered her sister, giving up on trying to call him again until a few minutes have passed. Maybe he just wasn't near his phone? Although, she couldn't imagine why because he would have heard it ring if so.

A little worry started to press in on her heart but she pushed it aside, for now, not wanting to think like that and imagine the worst. Stefan wasn't making it very easy on her, though, "He's not answering his phone."

…

"Where is she?"

Was the first thing Matt said as soon as Jeremy opened the front door and he pushed his way inside. He was standing there with worry riddling in his eyes. It was the same thing Jeremy felt, along with the hopelessness. Jeremy stepped aside as Matt brushed past. Jeremy had been the one to call him over but Vicki was also requesting that he come. She was currently stuffing her face with any food she could find. The fridge was practically bare now with just a few items left inside.

About an hour ago; Vicki had appeared on the Gilbert doorstep with sunglasses over her eyes and she looked either high or drunk - Jeremy couldn't tell. He thought it was likely a new drug she was trying to get high on but she was acting very differently from how her benders usually go. It was honestly starting to scare him a little and it was for her sake.

"Come this way." The younger Gilbert led Matt to where his sister was in the house. They went into the kitchen together and found the woman in question sitting on the floor with her back resting against the kitchen island. She was chugging down a soda until there was nothing left in the can. All around the tables, Matt could see empty packages and leftover food, all eaten. This was new, even for him, and he's had to deal with the aftermath of Vicki's addiction habits for years now.

He wished and prayed she would stop and get help but in the end, she never does. There have been hundreds of times when his sister has disappointed him but the worry was always overshadowing it, even now.

"What she on?" Matt didn't look over to Jeremy as he asked this question. His eyes never leaving his sister.

Jeremy could only give a helpless shrug, "I-I don't know." He was clueless; Vicki hadn't even given him a straight answer on what she had been taking. The only thing he remembered her having on her person were Elena's pills. It couldn't be those, though, he had already taken them away and left. She had been completely avoiding the conversation each time he inquired and deep down, it did annoy him a little bit.

Matt just gave him a small nod to acknowledge the answer. He couldn't blame Jeremy. It wasn't his fault Vicki was acting like this – if anything, the younger Donovan felt sorry for the kid for falling in love with his sister. He hated to say it but Vicki probably wasn't the best person to be hanging around with or even be in a relationship with.

Without another word to him; Matt bent down in front of his sister as she used a finger to rub just above her mouth, pushing into where her gums where. She had a cringe on her face with pain etching in. He could tell she was in pain just as he took the sunglasses off her, looking to see how she was really doing.

"Hey, Vic," He said in a soft quiet tone, one that someone would normally use on a small child to comfort them, "How you doin'?"

Vicki's hair coated half of her face as her neck rolled, "Not good, Mattie." She was breathing deeply, letting out small whimpers as shards of pain kept igniting beneath her gums. "I hurt." It was painful. It felt as though she should know why but the answer just doesn't seem to be coming to her for some reason.

Denial.

"Okay, where does it hurt?" Her brother asked, looking her up and down to see if there was any physical damage. He found none. It must be something he couldn't see with his own eyes. He noticed how she pushed her fingers around her mouth earlier so he could only assume it was something to do with that. He theory was proven right by her next declarations.

"My gums." She responded, feeling her eyes tear up as another shot of pain waved through her system, "My jaw hurts. My gum – there's something in my gums, and it hurts." Everything was loud too so her ears were starting to ring and there was a constant buzzing coming from somewhere that was incessantly annoying. Her brother's voice, even by how low it was, wasn't helping either.

"Okay, well-"

"No!" Vicki yelled when Matt went to touch her arm, flinching away from the contact. She felt herself start to cry just as she had done at the Boarding house when talking about how depressing her life was. "Just leave me alone."

Matt sometimes wondered if he was the oldest child in the family when it came to things like this. His sister was acting like the youngest and as much as it pained him to see her like this, it was becoming increasingly exasperating to have to be the one to take care of her all the time when it should clearly be the other way around. "Come on, Vic." He pleaded, not wanting her to make a scene. "Don't be like that. Let's get you home."

Vicki didn't move a muscle and instead started shouting at him. "Just turn it off!" She cried, bringing her hands to her ears as the noises continued getting louder and the room getting brighter.

"Turn what off?" Jeremy responded, confused and unsure on what to do at the same time. The same feelings he's felt since the moment he found his girlfriend standing on his doorstep.

"The talking, the chatter, just turn it off!" Matt stumbled back from where he crouched when his sister suddenly rose from her spot on the ground, waving her arms around in frustration. No one seemed to be doing anything to really help her – she didn't even know how someone could help her. She didn't even really know what was happening to herself, to begin with. There was a constant nagging in the back of her head that knew exactly what was happening but it just wasn't coming to her senses.

Vicki had intended to just walk out the front door and run off somewhere but suddenly she halted in the middle of the doorway connecting the living room to the kitchen. The TV was on and switched to the news channel. It was replaying the same report it had done for several hours now. To Matt and Jeremy, they couldn't hear what was actually being said by Logan Fell but Vicki could somehow hear every word. It helped for the boys to know what had happened because of the banners underneath the news reporter.

Jeremy was the first to walk forwards and turn up the volume so he and Matt could hear.

Vicki could only stand there and witness as a devastation was reported – from a place she remembered being last night. Tears began to stream down that face as the shadow of a dark man appeared in her vision with a familiar pain biting into her neck at the same time.

"Three bodies were found dead in what was believed to be a drug deal gone awry." Logan Fell said into a microphone, speaking into the camera, "The bodies have yet to be identified." A close-up of the bodies showed there were three people to be exact, all covered in sheets and ready to be bagged up and taken to the morgue. "They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls Cemetery.-"

Jeremy was staring at the TV screen in horror, remembering with great detail that he had been there last night – with Vicki. She had introduced him to three of her friends, the town druggies. That must be them, he thought with shock. "That's where we were last night." He voiced his thoughts, drifting the female into the conversation as her brother found out.

Matt looked at him with wide eyes before they rested on his sister, now wondering what could have happened to her. From what Jeremy had told him before and from what he knew himself, she was gone all night, alone. "What happened, Vic?" He asked with a deep concern in his tone.

Vicki didn't respond. All she could do was continue to silently cry as she watched the news report.

"-homicide and are currently looking for suspects. They're asking anyone with information-"

Matt didn't receive an answer from her and he shook his head, coming to a quick decision. "That's it, I'm calling the cops." Vicki must have been there last night judging by the way she was acting. Even though many of her moods could be dramatic, this was different. He could feel it.

"No, don't." Vicki caught his arm before he could even turn around. She didn't want the police involved, especially since she didn't really know what happened, to begin with. Her memories were starting to blur – there was something she was forgetting.

Jeremy, being the good boyfriend he thought he was, took a step forwards to try and lightly grab her arm, asking, "What happened after I left last night, Vick?" Before he could even touch her skin, he felt himself being propelled back into the living room sofa.

Matt's eyes widened with shock. Vicki had just pushed Jeremy, a pretty big guy for his age, back into a piece of furniture like he weighed nothing. "Jer, you okay?" He immediately went to help him up but was instantly waved away, the younger male insisting he was fine. Making sure Jeremy really was okay, he turned towards his sister, He wasn't a hundred percent sure of what to make of what he had seen and he wasn't even sure what he should be doing anymore.

No one in the living room realized it but during their confrontation, none of them heard two more people entering the house. Footsteps started making their way towards their direction.

Elena was the first to speak when she and her sister entered the room, hearing something much like an argument go on. "What is going on?" Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw Matt and Vicki standing there. Vicki, she understood because from what she could gather, she was currently her brother's girlfriend. But Matt? It surprised her a little more than the look of the room did.

As Elena went over to them, her sister suddenly halted just inside the room.

Olivia's eyes began flickering around the room with a frown on her lips and confusion in her eyes. She could only hear three normal heartbeats and one that stuttered like it was unsure whether it was supposed to be beating or not. There were clearly only four people in the room, including herself, and she remembered feeling that specific pounding heartbeat in herself not too long ago. Looking around with speculative eyes; there was food littered everywhere and it was mostly all eaten. It was like someone had been starving for years and they had finally been given the chance to eat something.

"She's really messed up." Matt's voice snapped the vampire away from continuing to survey the surroundings. Elena came and stood beside him, examining his sister on how she appeared to look. Vicki had old and new tear marks running down her face, her hair was a little matted like it hadn't been brushed in a day and her clothing hadn't changed from yesterday's. Overall, she also looked incredibly pale and anxious too.

Olivia zoned in on Vicki instead of how she did with the room, taking in all the differences of the teenager before piecing them together. Suddenly it felt as though a horrible sensation passed through her. A possible horrifying conclusion came to mind. The teenager was clearly distressed with everyone looking at her and the tears still streamed down her cheeks. Her head snapped in every direction, almost as if she was starting to hear multiple things in every direction.

She started moving towards Vicki, her eyes only on the oldest Donovan.

"Elena, Matt, back up," Olivia instructed them cautiously. Not giving them a chance to refute it, she moved in front of Vicki so it blocked their access to her. They both did as they were told but in utter confusion. They could only watch as Olivia took charge with a confidence they had never seen before.

"Vicki, look at me." She instructed softly as she rested her hand on the side of Vicki's head, getting the older girl to look towards her and only her. "Just focus on me." Vicki's eyes connected with hers and all of a sudden, those anxious feelings started to dim. There was almost a calm silence through the room within a matter of seconds. The three people behind her were breathing in normally and their hearts were of the normal range.

Vicki, however, had the same heart she heard just a few moments ago. When the young vampire touched her, she could feel underneath her palm just how cold Vicki's skin was. It was very cold – one she could make out to be like hers on a day she hadn't had any coffee. Inside her head, everything little detail started piecing together and the conclusion wasn't something she was entirely prepared for.

Oh, god… She whispered in her head, letting out a deep breath when the true realization came to her. She knew what was happening. She had been through it herself, even if it had been for only a few minutes before giving over to the lust. Vicki wasn't high, drunk, or even crazy.

Vicki Donovan was in transition to becoming a vampire.

As of this moment; she deeply wished Stefan was here beside her because she had no idea what to do. Even during the ride home, he still hadn't picked up the phone. An intense feeling inside felt as though Damon had something to do with it – from Stefan going missing to how Vicki was in the process of becoming a vampire.

The massacre on the news must have been him; the feast he was referring to last night over the phone. She hadn't heard the full report because she hadn't been listening to all of it. Although, a few snippets did register in her mind before it made her pay full attention.

"You're going to be fine, Vicki," Olivia reassured the muddled girl in front of her. It felt odd to do so given how they didn't really know each other. She also didn't harbor many nice feelings towards Vicki but given the circumstances, she pushed them all aside to focus on what was happening right now. "Everything's going to be fine." All she received in response was a small but tired nod. Olivia could only guess that Vicki's been in transition for a couple of hours. It's pretty lucky that Lexi had explained some of the transitioning process to her before leaving Chicago, otherwise, she really wouldn't know what to do.

Olivia never really had the chance to experience transitioning, much less having a choice.

Elena, Jeremy, and Matt were staring at Olivia in light amazement as she brought Vicki down from her high and calmed her down. Given by what the Gilbert sister was doing, she knew exactly what was going on and that made them even more intrigued.

Olivia turned towards the other three, mainly directing her attention towards Matt and Jeremy as she brought her hand back down to her side. "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds and turn off anything that may make a sound." She instructed them. Hating the fact that she was letting a potential vampire in the same room as two people she cared deeply for. She cursed at herself for even having to do this but from what she could tell, Vicki had no idea what was happening to her and as long as no one bleeds, everything should be fine … for now.

"She's going to be okay." She promised everyone as Matt instantly went to his sister's side, starting to do exactly what was being told. He went to Vicki's side and put an arm around her, directing her towards the stairs where they would go up to Jeremy's bedroom. She didn't try to stop them from taking her anywhere because right now, darkness and no noise sounded like heaven.

Jeremy followed behind but he did take one last glance towards Olivia before leaving out of sight.

Elena stayed where she was while her eyes were showing feelings of conflict and uncertainty. She didn't understand what had just happened at all. How did Olivia know exactly what to do? And what was wrong with Vicki?

Matt, Jeremy, and Vicki were soon out of sight and up the stairs.

Elena turned to her sister and asked the important and most relevant question in her mind.

"You know what's wrong with her?"

Olivia fiddled with the phone in her hand, pacing, wondering if she should try Stefan again or not. She probably shouldn't bother. He would have tried to call her back after the number of messages she's left over the past hour or so. "Yeah." She nodded, not really looking towards her sister right now. She needed to figure out what to do because she had no idea where to turn next. What does she do with Vicki? In transition, there were only two specific choices that would eventually hit – you turn, or you die.

Elena wasn't pleased when she didn't receive a proper answer to what was going on. Her sister seemed to be staring into space; her head was crooked towards the ceiling and her eyes flickered around the area where Jeremy's bedroom was. Her vampire hearing was allowing her to hear exactly what was being said and done in that room – she needed to keep her ears open just in case anything should happen. If worse comes to worse, Jeremy, Elena, and Matt were her first priorities. Vicki being in transition was an unpredictable occurrence on its own and she already knew how much of an addict the girl was. Getting just one drop of blood could set off a chain reaction.

"What is it?" Elena questioned, her voice leaving no room for a lie to return as an answer. Her question finally gave her the attention she wanted and the response she received wasn't very good news. It made her heart fall into her gut.

Olivia had to briefly lick her lips, pausing before having to regretfully inform her sister of her findings. "She's transitioning." She kept her voice down a little, moving a little closer. She wanted to make sure neither of the three occupants upstairs could overhear them.

Elena blinked. All the information her sister had spoken to her about had obviously gone flying out the window. "Transitioning into what?" She questioned dumbly.

"A vampire."

"What?..." The human brunette breathed as her eyes widened, not believing her ears to have heard right. Suddenly all the information she had been given earlier came back to her.

"Damon must have gotten to her." Olivia pondered her original thoughts out loud, wanting Elena to know what she was thinking. "But from what I can tell, she's new. The process isn't complete and she's only been in transition for a couple of hours."

Elena swallowed hard, "Complete as in …" She let her words die, her sister already knowing what was about to be asked. She felt her heart jump in fear when she realized where Vicki currently was – in their brother's bedroom. Matt and Jeremy were in the same room as someone who was in transition to become a vampire – a person who needed blood to complete the horrifying process.

Olivia nodded numbly, confirming the fears. She stopped pacing and leaned against the side of the island, her lower back resting on it.

"B-but what if she doesn't?" That part had never really come up during their conversation at the lake.

"She'll pass away, Lena." The vampire said sadly but there was a tinge of anger in her voice that was directing towards a certain raven headed vampire currently trapped inside what she could assume would be the Boarding house. The sun was nearly set so it's only a matter of time before he was free and on the prowl again. "There's probably only a few hours left."

"Jeremy and Matt are upstairs with her right now." A sense of panic reached into her vocal tone and she couldn't believe her sister wasn't feeling much the same.

"Vicki doesn't seem to understand what's happening to her." Olivia shook her head, double checking everything was alright judging by what she was hearing. There was some light talking and nothing seemed to indicate that anything was going wrong. "And I'm constantly listening. If anything happens, I'll be up there in a flash to end it immediately." There was promise driven in her tone and it did make Elena feel a little more at ease, but not by much.

"But when is she going to know?"

"Right now, she doesn't remember anything." Olivia could only watch as her sister began pacing in the living room with her hands on her hips – shaking her own head in disbelief. "A part of her is still human and resisting the change but slowly, the … deeper she gets into the transition, she'll have to make the choice whether she wants to or not." She remembered Stefan mentioning a night on a rooftop where Damon made Vicki a ploy to get him drinking human blood again, it hadn't worked. And who knows what Damon told Vicki before he killed and made her a transitioning vampire?

"The same choice you made…" Elena muttered under her breath, feeling the pressure start to cave in on her. Her voice didn't sound bitter and angry but more disappointed and horrified that this was even a choice. Deep down, she still felt the same conclusion of knowing what could have happened to her sister. She could have died. But, this was different. Someone else close to them was becoming a vampire and all because of the man she had a stupid crush on.

She didn't know what to feel anymore.

Olivia had to look down guiltily when her sister mentioned about the choice she had to make. She tried to not take it too personally as her mind went back to figuring out what to do.

…

Upstairs in the bedroom; Jeremy was slowly stroking a damp towel on the side of Vicki's face while looking straight into her eyes. He didn't understand what was happening to her but he was somewhat glad that his sister did – it just upset him that she hadn't come up and said what was actually wrong with her. There was a deep worry inside of him – one that had popped up from the moment he noticed the weird changes in his girlfriend.

Vicki was sat up curled up in his bed with the duvet covers hanging around her shoulders. The blinds and curtains were closed, as instructed, and all they could do was wait until some answers were provided.

Vicki could say she felt a lot better than she had been – everything was quiet and the darkness was making her eyes burn a lot less. The answers to the questions she had still hadn't been answered on what was happening to her, and why. She couldn't believe that Olivia Gilbert of all people knew what was happening, she seemed so calm about it and knew exactly what she needed but couldn't clearly say. It felt as though she also knew something about Olivia but her finger just couldn't quite place what it was.

"I'm sorry," She suddenly said out loud, feeling like a burden like she usually does. "I'm so much trouble."

Jeremy wasn't holding it against her because he just smiled a little, "Aw, you just – you need to just sleep it off, ok?" He leaned forwards and kissed her forehead, letting her fall into his arms to receive a warm hug. He suddenly felt how cold she was and instantly he brought her in a little closer to try and warm her body up faster. He didn't understand why her skin was so cold, though.

Vicki was leaning in closer to the hug with her nose and mouth resting in the crook of his neck. It wasn't too sudden but slowly, a small and deliciously incising smell started attracting her nostrils, activating a saliva response in her brain. She sniffed a little deeper as the scent grew stronger, a pumping noise starting to accumulate louder to go along with it. She could feel it – it was a lustful feeling, one she's never felt before in her life.

It was scaring her to the point where she had no idea what she was doing.

"N-No." She stuttered, rapidly shaking her head. She instinctually pushed Jeremy away for her, afraid of what she may do to him as something in her memories started to come back. A familiar sense of danger and fear.

She couldn't stay here – it wasn't safe.

For anyone.

…

Olivia had turned her hearing away for just a second but jumped a little when she heard someone rushing down the stairs. Both she and Elena quickly made their way towards the door when Matt called out his sister's name. The sound of the front door opened. As soon as the sisters arrived at the door just moments after Vicki had disappeared through the threshold – they were greeted by an empty street and no sign of Vicki.

Olivia looked down each way of the street as she came to a stop near the street pathway. She tried to see any sign of the missing girl but deep down she knew she wouldn't. She'd have to resort to the other way to find Vicki. But, that also meant leaving Elena and Jeremy alone. She wouldn't be back to protect them if Damon were to stop by while she was gone.

Jeremy gazed out from beside the front door, his face full of emotions. "She was fine," He insisted, confused yet again to what had happened. They really were fine. None of this was making any sense. "She just – she just freaked out."

Olivia let out a breath, realizing what must have happened. Vicki must be closer to the choice being made than she thought … this wasn't good. She couldn't let Vicki be on her own right now because she had no idea what the extent of the result would be. A lot of bad things could happen if Vicki found a drop of human blood – there would be no one to stop her like someone had done to her when she turned.

After Olivia turned; she could have slaughtered a lot of people just because of the lust for blood she felt. It was like she had no rational mind anymore and the real Olivia Gilbert had vanished into thin air. It took getting chained up and dried out a little to realize what had happened to her.

"I'm gonna go look for her." Matt declared, not willing to let his sister run away when she clearly needed some semblance of help. What Olivia had suggested had clearly helped in some manner but now he wasn't understanding what made Vicki just up and leave. "Call me if you hear anything!" He called over his shoulder, sprinting towards the truck that was perfectly parked on the side of the road. No one was going to stop him looking for his sister. She was the only family he really had left.

Olivia kept her eyes forwards but lowered her voice so only her sister could hear, "Lena, I can track her." She couldn't let Matt be the one who found Vicki and she doubted anyway that he would. She was going to have to take the risk that Damon wouldn't hurt her sibling. She desperately hoped she was making the right decision.

"Go." Elena instantly replied, nodding quickly.

Olivia slipped her phone into her sister's hands, "Keep trying Stefan and if he picks up, tell him what's happened." Normally she wouldn't have handed the device over just in case Elena needed to reach her but her phone was the only one with Stefan's cell phone number on it. Sniffing, she began trying to catch Vicki's scent and when she did, she started taking off down the opposite direction of where Matt was heading.

The last two Gilberts left behind could only watch as Matt drove off one way and Olivia started walking towards another. Jeremy was still standing where he was, his eyes gazing towards the sister that was walking away with a determined look on her face. She glanced once behind them before she too disappeared.

Elena could only uneasily watch. She was unsure of what was going to happen over the next couple of hours, let alone the next few days to say the least.

…

Night had finally fallen and the sun was all tucked away as Logan Fell continued his journey through the dark forest. The only sounds he could hear were the birds up in the trees and the slight clicking the pocket watch made. So far, he hasn't found a single vampire. The watch, so far, hadn't given him any indication that there was one somewhere hidden in this forest. The pin just kept twisting around in a circle and not stopping to a specific way. It was clear the magic was still working, though - whatever power seemed to be making this pocket watch do its job.

He jumped a little in his skin when the flutter of wings drew him out of his hunting state of mind. It was just a few birds taking off so he quickly got over it.

As he made a few more large steps a solid click suddenly caught his attention. His eyes drew back down to the watch. He was surprised, stunned, and even a little uneasy when he noticed the pin had stopped moving. It was simply pointed to the same path he had already been following.

Without thinking about it twice; he pulled out the cellphone he had stashed in his pocket.

He dialed a familiar number.

"Yeah?" The Sheriff's expectant voice greeted him after just the first ring.

Logan got straight to the point, "I think I got something." He told her, "It's pointing towards the old cemetery." The very same place the three bodies had been found earlier today. The fiend must be going back to the scene of the crime.

"I'm heading your way."

…

"Maybe we should check in with Matt?" Jeremy said anxiously, watching as his older sister just kept cleaning up the kitchen from the mess Vicki had made. She seemed to be doing everything possible to keep herself busy. He was just standing by the sink, not doing anything, his eyes making a sideways glance out the front window in hope that Vicki would just come right back.

Elena just shook her head, "He'll call when he finds her."

"And where the hell has Liv gone?" He questioned, following everything she did. It didn't make any sense to him and something had clearly ben exchanged between the two before his other sister disappeared along with Matt.

"She went to help Matt." Elena simply said, not saying anything about the tracking her sister had mentioned. Their brother could never know of the creature she had become. She didn't want him in danger of knowing that kind of information, she understood that and why her sister had kept that hidden from her too. It was just too much to handle on top of everything else.

Jeremy threw his arms up in the air, now frustrated, "Neither of them know Vicki like I do – I'm the one whose more likely to find her!"

"No." Elena told him in a hard tone, "We wait here – we're supposed to wait." There was no way in hell she was letting her little brother out of this house, especially now that it's dark outside. She glanced over to her brother's crestfallen face and her own softened, "She'll be fine Jer." Everything will be fine.

She went to pick up another pile of plates but something else promptly caught her attention instead – a doorbell ring.

Elena was the first one to the door in hopes that either Matt or Olivia had returned. Unexpectedly and much to her horror, it wasn't either of them or even Stefan. She felt Jeremy come up from behind her to see who it was. She suddenly wished now that her sister had never left to find Vicki after all.

It was Damon Salvatore standing at the front door.

He stood there unaffected when he noticed how wide her eyes went and how she tried to slam the door right in his face. He simply placed a hand on the door, stopping it from closing. He was here for one reason and one reason only. To get his ring back. He already knew Olivia had it with her so this was the best place to start locating the vampire. A twinkle of amusement did fill him when he realized just why the Katherine look-a-like was trying so hard to keep him out.

There was fear in her eyes.

Elena realized her strength would do nothing against a vampire as the door was forced open with inhuman strength. She stopped trying to push it shut and instead ordered her brother to do something. "Jeremy, go upstairs." She said, trying her hardest not to let her voice waver too much but the vampire in front of her just raised an eyebrow at the way she was acting.

Jeremy was unsure about leaving at first but he did follow his sister's wishes. As he went up the stairs, he could feel eyes watching him.

Damon's eyes had been following him until he was finally out of sight – leaving him and Elena now staring at each other. The vampire couldn't help but smirk because he could guess exactly why she's afraid of him. There would only be one reason this girl would be fearful of him.

"Well, would you look at that." Damon tilted his head, making the linings on his lips more pronounced. He slipped his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, "You're afraid of me. Olivia spilled the beans. Never thought she'd have the guts to do it, mind you." He was betting that Elena had already found out and the vampire had to finally fess up. "Good for her."

Elena tried to look strong while demanding at the same time, "Stay away from us."

"Oh, Elena." Damon pretending to be scolding her, "There's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for that sister of yours. May I come in?" He snorted after a brief pause, pretending to have remembered something from the top of his head, "Oh, wait. Of course, I can. I've been invited." He pushed passed the doorway and stepped into the house without any barriers holding him back.

He could already tell Olivia wasn't in the house so she must be out somewhere – he just needed to know where so he could easily track her. He noticed in the corner of his eye how Elena was acting – she was nervous and deep down, he could tell she was scared. It was a much different response that what he's usually receiving from her. It felt … odd and surprisingly … it even hurt a little.

"Don't worry, Elena." He said in a bored tone, rolling his eyes while pushing away the feeling. He wandered into the living room while his ears were still stretching out to see if his hearing can pick anything up that wanted to go unnoticed. He really doubted he'd find anything, though. "I'm not going to kill you – that wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So, I already know my brother doesn't have my ring because he's lying on my living room floor with a snapped neck. The only person who can have it is the one person my brother would trust to hide it in a very safe place away from my prying hands."

Elena swallowed hard as he spoke.

So … that's why Stefan hasn't been picking up his phone, his brother had killed him. Albeit, temporarily and vampires come back from what she remembered her sister saying. It's only a stake to the heart, fire, or decapitation that kills a vampire. A snapped neck is neither of those things – he's basically just in a forced sleep right now.

"So … where's Olivia?"

Damon voice and the way his eyes glimmered made it clear he was not going to be playing any games with her – he wanted straight answers and any that aren't, it wouldn't end well for anyone.

Elena suddenly gritted her teeth, remembering what Damon had done to make Olivia have to leave the house in the first place. "She's out looking for Vicki." Her tone was far from just being judgmental but it was angry too. She decided to also throw in a bit of hatred to cover the fact that fear was still swarming her.

Damon just rolled his eyes again with frustration - he should have known that. "Of course she is." He let out a deep sigh, knowing that she could be anywhere now. His best guess would be somewhere in the forest. Luckily, he had the ability to track Vicki since her scent was still lingering. He was more likely to find Olivia by tracking Vicki since there was still some human left in her. Tracking vampires didn't always work and if it does, usually there wasn't enough to trace.

…

It hadn't taken very long for Olivia to find Vicki but when she did, she was met with a girl sobbing her heart out beside a crypt in the Cemetery. She was sat down, her legs curled into her chest as the cries made her body shake. Olivia slowly moved forwards while staying calm and collected. She didn't want to spook the poor girl who was physically in distress

"Vicki," Olivia announced her presence, coming up from the right side just less than a meter away.

Vicki was startled by the voice but didn't appear to feel scared when she realized it was Olivia Gilbert. She could remember everything now, even the words Damon had spoken to Stefan that night. The raven haired vampire had called Olivia one too. The fact that Olivia was here right now was proving her thoughts to be right. There was no way someone could find her on a whim in just a short amount of time – she understood a vampire could have easily tracked her.

"I'm starting to remember things." Vicki finally revealed, her throat clogged up with tears as she choked through her speech. "What he is, what he said." The young Gilbert could only assume she was talking about Damon. "I-I remember them mentioning you. The hospital, the rooftop … it's all coming back to me." Back at the Falls, she was attacked by Damon – a vampire. Stefan had erased her memory and later, so did Damon. The same vampire who had turned her into … this.

Olivia moved in closer, looking extremely sympathetic because this decision should never be forced on anyone. Like it had been for the both of them. They were never given the choice on becoming a vampire or staying human. "I am so sorry that this happened to you," She expressed, "Damon had absolutely no right to do this to you."

Vicki could feel another wave of sobs working through her, "He said I need to feed." Her eyes were staring up pleadingly towards Olivia's, "What will happen if I don't?" Her words wavered with deep heavy breaths, fear lining deeper than it had been before. She could already feel herself slipping away and she was soo tired. Part of her knew exactly what was going to happen but her ears needed to hear it for themselves - from someone who knew what would actually happen to her.

She hadn't really cared for Olivia Gilbert in the past but the younger girl had never done anything to her to warrant any nastiness. They usually just kept out of each other's way. Overall, they were acquaintances and that was that. But, given the circumstances, she was glad Olivia had been the one to come and find her rather than Stefan or Damon. She didn't really like those two – Damon was the monster that turned her and Stefan was clearly a stranger. She needed someone she knew to help her through this.

"You'll fade quickly-" Olivia replied quietly after a moment's pause, not being able to help but feel her own eyes tear up, seeing this girl looking and feeling so torn up, "-And then … it'll just be over." She sat down beside Vicki on the top step of the crypt's entrance.

Vicki was smart enough to know what that meant – she could feel it beginning now.

"I'll be dead." Vicki blurted tearfully, working it out. Every part of her body started to shake, "I don't want this." She sobbed, craving for some comfort.

"I know," Olivia reached forwards and held onto Vicki's hand. Fingers held onto her with a desperate grip. "You're gonna be okay. We may not know each other well but I'll help you in any way that I can."

"Is it better?" Vicki asked, praying that it would because how she felt today was nothing she wanted to feel again. She could detect that same lust for blood like before with Jeremy. She couldn't risk his life or Matt's if she completed this process into a vampire. What would happen to her if she decided that option? "Will I be better?"

Olivia truly wanted to tell her that life would be better but that's just not how it worked. Her mouth opened for a moment as if to say something but nothing came out. She didn't know what to say. No, it's not likely to get better. Is what she probably should say but she didn't want to be a big influence on this decision.

Either way; Vicki's life would change completely. One of the options didn't even allow her to live anymore while the other would turn her into something not human anymore. She didn't want to be the reason for Vicki deciding to die. It was because of what Vicki's life consisted before that may her worry if Vicki would make it as a vampire. She was an addict and according to Lexi, it was dangerous for an addict to become a vampire.

They could quite easily get addicted to the taste of warm human blood and the next thing you know, there's a bloodbath in the next town.

When Vicki didn't receive a verbal answer, she already knew what that meant. No. Her eyes scrunched up as fear and sadness crashed over her, "I wanna go home." She pleaded emotionally, not wanting to be in the forest anymore. Her eyes locked onto Olivia again and hers were begging to see her brother one last time. "Will you take me home?"

Olivia had an understanding look on her face along with a small smile. It saddened her because she realized what Vicki had probably decided to do, "Ok." She held out a hand to help Vicki up as she got up from where she sat at the same time.

Through this, she hadn't listened to her surroundings because her focus had been completely on Vicki. She never noticed someone creeping up on them from the side, a human. The news reporter and her Aunt's fling - Logan Fell. There was something pointing towards Olivia and she never even realized it – a gun.

BANG.

Olivia's breath stuttered and her chest jerked as a sharp projectile hit her body, just a few inches away from her heart. Just by the initial impact – whatever it was hurt like hell. It was like a blinding pain that had been heated to a couple hundred degrees more than her usual body temperature.

She shakily glanced down at her chest and was suddenly painfully aware just how fast her blood was spilling from the wound. There had been a sound of a gunshot milliseconds before whatever it was had hit her. It must have been a bullet. She groaned, quickly feeling a loss of strength in her legs as each moment passed. Before she went down, she found herself staring into the eyes of someone she never thought she'd see shoot her, let alone wield a gun.

As a vampire; obviously, the bullet wound wouldn't kill her but that didn't make it any less painless. She's been shot … for the first time in her life, she has actually been shot.

Logan Fell had the handgun pointed towards Olivia with a determined look driven in his features. There was also guilt, shame, and a horrified surprise riddling in them too.

Vicki could only watch with wide and terrified eyes as Olivia glanced towards the sideline and notice who was standing there. She stumbled back into the brick wall behind her. She had no idea what to do, especially as the brunette's body fell to the ground with a distressing gasp leaving her lips. Olivia was breathing very deeply with her hand clutching at the wound. Her eyes began to widen as Logan Fell started moving towards her, now wielding a stake in his hand but with the handgun at the ready.

"Olivia Gilbert." Logan shook his head, kneeling beside her as his face turning hard to hide what he was really thinking right now. He knew she was the vampire because the pocket watch had been pinned directly on her. He couldn't believe it. This was the same girl that was the niece of the woman he cared deeply for. He didn't understand how she, of all people, could be a vampire. "I'm sorry it has to end this way." He began raising the stake, pinning the younger girl's body to the ground with his hand near her wound so she couldn't move as he ended her life.

"L-Logan, p-please." Olivia's voice shakily breathed with a plead deep in her eyes. She couldn't die, she needed help. She let out an agonized sound as Logan's hand pushed her body further into the ground. This time she couldn't stop the small tears from escaping her eyes and making their way towards the lining of her hair.

Vicki screamed out for him to stop as the piece of wood started sharply descending on Olivia but suddenly, another person came out of nowhere. This person grabbed Logan harshly away from the paralyzed vampire and this time, the human was the one to scream out in agony as something bit into his neck, ripping out his skin and draining his life force. He was silenced in less than a few seconds.

Damon dropped Logan's body to the ground with the guy's blood coating his lips and teeth. Ignoring the body, he bent down to Olivia's instead. His eyes went straight to the bullet wound in her chest. Ignoring her cry of pain, his fingers dug deeply into the hole to grab what had hit her in the first place. "Livia, just hold still." He told her sternly and he could see that she was trying to do just that when she realized what he was actually doing. He vaguely remembered when he first got shot after becoming a vampire, even as a human – it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

Especially being shot in the chest at close range.

Olivia felt herself give a relieved gasp when Damon finally ripped out his fingers and following them was the bullet that hit her. She could already feel her body trying to quickly repair itself even though her body was running on very little sustenance. With everything that's gone on, she hasn't been having as much blood as she usually got and that's not a very good thing.

"It's wood." Damon murmured with the bullet rolling between his two fingers. He was still crouching beside her body as she tried to deal with what had just happened. "They know."

"You saved me," Olivia stated out loud, her breath having small shakes within them. Her hand went back up to the wound, covering it up as it repaired itself. A vampire's pain tolerance was much better than a human's but it was still an intense feeling. She was staring up at Damon, still not having moved her body because part of her was afraid that if she did, the pain would increase. She remembered him calling her a nickname too, one she hasn't ever heard before. Livia.

The older vampire looked down at her with an unreadable expression. Part of him didn't understand why he had saved Olivia but the more logical and less evil side knew exactly why. It's the part of him he's tried so hard to contain – especially around his brother.

"Yeah, well, if anyone's going to kill you – it'll be me." He finally decided to respond with his usual smirk.

Just when she thought there was something good in him.

"You're a dick."

"I know." Damon nodded, not disagreeing, "Now, where's my ring." Giving her the same look he's been using quite a lot recently.

Olivia let out a small groan of discomfort as she reached into her back pocket to grab the piece of jewelry. When she retrieved it, she practically shoved it into his hands. She watched as Damon slipped the ring back onto his finger – looking delighted and most importantly, relieved.

Through all this; neither of them realized that Vicki had no longer been standing by the crypt and was now crouched beside the dead body of Logan Fell. Her face was dug into the wound pouring from his neck. The sudden slurps she made are what announced to the vampires what she was actually doing.

"No! Vicki!"

At the sound of Olivia's voice; Vicki looked up and running down the bottom side of her face was probably close to half a liter of blood. Her eyes flashed after noticing what her craving for the blood had ended up becoming. She gulped down the liquid she had just taken in, "I'm sorry." She breathed, now beginning to feel more powerful sensation coming from her gums as she stumbled up to her feet.

Olivia could only hopelessly stare as Vicki disappeared into the forest.

Damon made a small cringe but it wasn't because of guilt, "Oops." He ended up commenting.

If there was any time Olivia wanted to snap his neck again – this would gladly be the time.

She started trying to get herself up off the ground.

Damon was about to leave until he saw something shining in the grass right beside Logan Fell's body. He frowned, moving a little closer to see what it was. His curiously spiked when he noticed it was an old pocket watch that felt vaguely familiar. He grabbed it from the ground, intending to take it with him and investigate further as he slipped it into his jacket pocket. He made a little noise that sounded like 'huh' before he turned towards the vampire who was now shakily back on her feet. Her body was bending over so her hands were resting on her knees.

She must be drinking less human blood, Damon thought to himself, knowing that she should have been completely healed by now and out of pain. He noticed just how turned away her head was from the news reporters body. He knew then what the more important problem was, "You should feed." He noted, seeing an outline of black veins spreading from her eyes. "It's not like he'll feel it." He mentioned afterward with a carefree shrug, thinking that was the issue.

Olivia's teeth were gritted as a feeling an unbelievable pressure spread her gums because of how much her vampire side wanted to flash over to that body and drain him completely dry. She wanted to run away from the smell but it was like her feet couldn't move, they didn't want to. "No," She said with a painfully hard tone, "I'm not like that – I can't be like that." She was afraid that if she did it once it would become an addiction. You do it once, you're sure to do it again.

And this wasn't just anybody either – it was the person her Aunt cared for. How could she even look into her Aunt's eyes without feeling that guilt come rushing back? She couldn't do it – she wouldn't. It was bad enough that Logan died right in front of her eyes. She'll have to keep that a secret along with her vampire one.

The next thing Olivia knew after a sudden whoosh and a gust of wind was that she and Damon were now standing in another part of the forest, probably close to a mile away from where Logan's body had been. She could smell tiny whiffs but finally, she could feel herself start to breathe normally again. The smell of blood was nowhere near as strong as it had been. Finally, she felt like she could breathe again.

Moving her body up straighter when she felt the wound finally closing, barring some soreness, she looked to Damon with utter confusion in her eyes. He had basically saved her from committing one of her nightmares without even having to be begged.

"Why did you do that?" The Damon she had come to know, or at least felt like she knew, would have just left her standing there until she gave into the blood. He stood there without much of an expression on his face while his head only tilted at her as though he were surveying her.

Damon didn't give her a straight answer to her question, "You should get home." He told her. "Stefan's probably worried that something's happened to you." He stepped a little closer, "Keep in mind something, Olivia. My brother may not want to believe it right now but one day you must give in. It's the only way you'll feel in control of yourself."

Olivia was about to open her mouth to retort something back but when she blinked, she was suddenly standing all alone. It was like Damon had never been there in the first place.

…

Olivia knew she could have easily used her vampire speed to get back most of the way but she really didn't feel like it.

She had failed. She wasn't able to stop Vicki from turning into a vampire because the lust for blood had become too great. And now; Vicki was probably somewhere trying to figure out where to go next. If they don't get to her, it was only a matter of time until dead bodies started to pile up. If they're not careful – the people in town will start to think there was more than one vampire in Mystic Falls.

Clearly, they already knew one was already here.

The worst part of her was glad Logan hadn't survived just because if he did, not only she would be dead – but Stefan and Damon would be too. She didn't care too much for Damon but she really appreciated what he did for her back there in the forest. Though, with Logan dead, how was she supposed to even look at her Aunt again? She knew this man was dead and she witnessed his murder. He was killed by the very same creature she had become.

Thinking of Logan – she wondered what the hell he was doing? He was obviously on a mission to stop a vampire but … was he working alone? Were there others that knew of their existence and truly knew there was one roaming around town. Logan was a Fell, a founding family member. Did that mean the founding families were involved? Including the Gilberts? Well, her parents before they died anyway.

Without even knowing it, she started walking towards the front porch of the Gilbert home, her thoughts still taking away the attention from her surroundings.

"You're bleeding!" A female voice exclaimed.

Olivia blinked, her head snapping up to where the voice had come from. It was from her sister. She had been sitting on the bench alone just outside the front door. The vampire found herself standing in front of a worried sister, eyes staring down at the bloody marks on her shirt. She had been wearing a light blue top today with a cream jacket. When blood was added to the mix in either, it didn't look very appealing. The stains were clearly blood because there was also a rounded hole in the middle of her chest to go along with it. It was just below her heart where you could see just a bit of her cream bra showing.

Elena went to touch the area but Olivia quickly stopped her, grabbing her hands, not wanting her sister to be covered in the lasting blood that still hadn't dried. "I-I'm fine." She assured her sister, feeling herself come back to reality, "Really, I'm okay, I'm all healed, I swear."

"What happened?" The brunette demanded, wanting to know why her sister was bleeding in the first place.

Olivia bit her lip, trying to find a good way to put was she was about to say out there, "I couldn't stop her, Lena." She informed her sister. She didn't want Elena to know what Logan had done, that he had been the cause of the wound because he was dead so it didn't really matter anymore. She also didn't want to burden her sister anymore – enough was enough for one day. The information only affected her, Stefan, and Damon right now. "I really tried but …"

Elena stayed silent for a moment and was only able to stare, "What does that mean?" She needed clarification for what her twin was trying to tell her. She couldn't stop Vicki from turning? Or she couldn't stop her from dying?

"She fed." Olivia's voice turned sorrowful, "And then I lost her."

Elena let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding while a hand went up to her mouth. Vicki was a vampire … like her sister. Like Stefan … and Damon. She didn't realize it but her footing had taken a step back.

Everything was becoming a little too much.

"But I'll take care of it," Olivia quickly said afterward, "Stefan and I, we'll find her and show her that she can live like us. We'll make sure she will not hurt anyone. I promise you-"

"-What do we tell our brother?" Elena shook her head, not caring for what her sister had to say any more for right now, "Or Matt?!" Those were the two people closest to Vicki and in turn, closest to them. They could never know Vicki had turned into the same monster as her sister had.

Olivia knew this would be the hardest part.

"We'll have to come up with a story."

"You mean we'll come up with a lie," Elena emphasized on the last word with a hard tone, clearly not satisfied with the answer. It finally came to her on what was going to happen from now on. She'll have to lie to every single person she knew. She'd have to pretend she didn't know what had happened to Vicki, she'll have to lie to her own brother because Vicki had turned into a vampire, she'll even have to lie to Bonnie – the one person she literally talked about everything too. She'd have to keep so many secrets and all because she couldn't let go of the fact that her sister had been acting so weird lately.

This whole thing was becoming a lie after lie and a never-ending circuit.

She couldn't do it, she just couldn't do it right now.

It was just too much.

Elena had tears in her eyes as she shook her head, "I-I can't - I can't do this." Her voice came out just barely above a whisper. Gathering the strength and swallowing hard, she looked towards the sister whose face started to fall the moment she saw the expression, "I gave you today like you asked and I'll keep your secret." She promised, not going to back out on her word because this was her twin sister after all. "I understand you would never do anything to hurt me or anyone else but I just – I can't, I-I need time. I'm sorry, Liv."

Olivia couldn't even get her mouth to form words because she just stared at the girl in front of her as she ran into the house. She began to feel her own eyes start to wet when she realized that Elena hadn't been entirely okay with everything after all. Obviously, she hadn't expected her sister to be alright with everything in just one day but that reaction was worse that she had pictured after their talk at the lake. She had really thought they were getting somewhere but … evidently not.

Her bottom lip began to wobble and a single tear started making its way down the side of her cheek.

Her eyes hadn't left the closed front door even as a hand slipped into her own from the left side. She already knew who it was because that person slowly turned her around and pulled her body to his, bringing her in tightly to his chest. She couldn't stop it – she burst into heart-wrenching sobs. Everything from the past few days was finally catching up to her. Even what had happened in just a short period of time.

Stefan just pulled her in tighter when her grip did the same. He rested his chin on the top of her head as his shirt began getting wet. There was a tear in his own eye just because he hated seeing his girlfriend like this, so hurt and emotionally in pain. He knew he would do everything he could to make her feel better again but right now he could only hold her and hope to share the burden.