Ready for Chapter 5? It's a bit longer than the last ones. I hope that's ok!

Elena's POV

Jeremy, Alaric and I were laughing over our sad attempt at making fried chicken when a loud knock sounded on the door. I looked over at Alaric. Was he expecting someone? If he was, he didn't look too pleased as he made his way to the door.

He opened the door, and a dark figure stepped across the threshold. As he scanned the room, he caught my eye and held me gaze. His eyes were icy blue. I nearly choked on my dry, overcooked chicken. It was the Mystic Falls Grill guy! What was his name?

"Why thanks for inviting me in Ric," he said, smiling at Alaric. Or was it a smirk? He approached the kitchen, now looking at me. My heart pounded with every heavy step he took across the wooden floor. He definitely didn't look drunk now. I didn't know what to think or what he wanted from me. I hoped I wouldn't have to play the role of his long lost love again.

But I didn't. "Elena Gilbert," he said with emphasis on my last name. "I don't think we've formally met." I was too stunned to say anything.

"Gilbert," he continued. "What an interesting name. Where did it come from?"

Alaric stepped toward him. "Damon, I thought I told you…" he warned.

"I have no intention of acting the way I did the other night," Damon said, now looking more serious. "And for that, I apologize. I actually came here to explain." Ok, that wasn't necessary at all, but I couldn't help being a little curious.

"Good God, about time!" Alaric exclaimed.

"I know the other night I believed you to be a girl named Katherine. She was…is…I don't know…my thoughts are confusing…my first love. She left a long time ago, and I thought she came back for me. But she didn't. Now I am not sure what she is to me." He looked down.

Alaric jumped in. "Wait, so you knew this girl how many years…" he trailed off and looked knowingly at Damon. "And you hadn't told me a thing about her?"

"I didn't think it was necessary, sharing all of my past with you." Damon glanced up at me. "Now I have to. You took me by surprise," he said, directing his comments now to me.

I took the opportunity to shoot a question at him. "Why are you so interested in my name?"

I couldn't read his stare. "I have my reasons. I've been in this town long enough."

What does that mean? What do I have to do with this town? Never mind. I just hoped he didn't know about my situation back home. The fear in the pit of my stomach was growing; his eyes could be looking through me if I didn't know better. I looked over at Jeremy. He looked about ready to back me up against this prying stranger.

Damon might have seen my uneasiness building, because he quickly answered: "I am not going to hurt you. Like I said, I am sorry for harassing you the other night."

That wasn't the problem, since that little game was the only instance I could avert the shadow of my parents' death since it happened. That had nothing to do with me. This abnormal interest in my family did. "I don't want to talk about my family."

Alaric looked uncomfortable. He hadn't been able to get an answer out of me as to why we ran away and where was my family.

Damon's eyes softened. "I can understand that." He didn't clarify, but continued onto a new subject. "So have the people of Mystic Falls been treating you well like my good friend Alaric here?"

"Actually the people here have been pretty strange. Just my first day, people have been looking at me strangely. Kind of like you. Maybe it has something to do with Katherine."

He tensed up. "Who else knows about Katherine? Did anyone mention her to you?"

"Just this one guy. He seemed perplexed that I wasn't Katherine. He ran away before I could even catch his name."

His shoulders relaxed a bit. "Ah. You must have met my brother, Stefan."

That nervous guy? Related to Damon, who seemed to hold confidence in his words and body language, even with me and my brother that looked ready to sock him. "So you have a brother about my age?"

"You can say that." His eyes flickered to Alaric. Then back to me. "And you're sure no one else said anything about Katherine?"

He still seemed desperate to know any information about this girl. I couldn't mention much that would help. "I only mentioned it to one girl. She didn't know her though."

He was listening intently. "Who?" he asked sharply.

"This girl named Bonnie–"

"Bennett," he finished. It's almost like he knew what I was going to say before I said it. "Be careful with her."

"What right have you to tell me what to do?" I challenged.

He looked taken aback. "I…was just giving some advice. I hoped today we could get off to a better start. But believe me when I say, you can't trust anyone in this town on first instinct."

"You're right about that," I said, eyes locked on his.

He pretended to look insulted. "You don't mean me, do you? Alaric, she can trust me, right? When I'm not under the influence of course." He placed a hand on his heart. Alaric looked amused. "I promise in all moments of sobriety I will speak only the truth even if the truth hurts," Damon said.

I felt a jolt of amusement in my chest, but uncertainty still lingered. "So if I told you to reveal what you know about my parents?" I started.

"I know nothing about your parents. Unless you already consider this guy here one." Alaric flushed with embarrassment. "I am merely a Mystic Falls history buff. This guy here taught me well."

I couldn't help but releasing a giggle. One minute this guy was scaring the pants off of me, then he was acting like a complete idiot. Seeing that I was letting my guard down a bit, his smile widened.

Jeremy, however, broke the happy moment. "I can't believe this," he said, not even looking at me as he stormed off.

Jeremy's POV

Locking the bathroom door, I angrily dialed Vicki's number and tried to calm my heavy breathing. How could Elena let that sleazeball guy from the bar reel her in while I was forcibly separated for someone who was good for me?

"Hello? Hello?" Vicki was saying.

"Hey Vic sorry, my mind is racing right now." I repeated my feelings.

She sighed. "Listen, Jeremy. I can't say I know what she is thinking, but it's probably for the best that you're not here right now." This didn't sound much like her. She seemed withdrawn.

"What? How can you say that? I want to be with you."

"I know. Your old home, it really isn't the best place to be."

"Vickie? Did something happen? Are you ok?"

Her voice was withdrawn and I could already tell she wouldn't tell me anything. First Elena, now Vickie. The people I thought I could count on most.

"I'm fine now," she said quietly. I could hear a voice in the background. It could have been addressing her, but she didn't respond. But someone was listening. I had to talk to her alone.

"Can we meet somewhere? I'll run away. It's no problem for me."

I heard the voice again. It was a deep voice that was too low to comprehend any words over the phone line.

"I'll try. I'll call you when I can." Before I could respond, the line went dead.

I tried to gather my thoughts. Was she with another guy? Why would she lead me on all of this time to believe we would make it? I sank to the cold linoleum floor. My thoughts began to conflict with each other. Did I have to return home? I couldn't tell if Vickie wanted me there or not. But then there was Elena. My first reaction with her conversing with an older guy was anger. Back at home, she let so many guys seduce her then drop her without a trace of regret. I was angry at myself for not doing anything then. And now. I had to gather more courage to stop this from happening to her again. I may not be sure about my situation, but I knew Elena was sometimes too vulnerable to turn away a guy that boosted her self-confidence. The vulnerability only intensified when the guy left and her confidence plummeted. It was a continuous cycle. But this was supposed to be a fresh start. Elena deserved one, although I didn't want one myself. I guess we both couldn't get what we want from being here.

I knew what I had to do. First I had to apologize to Elena for storming off and nearly blowing up in front of her. I had to at least pretend to act rational. Maybe she would be rational too. We would be on good terms. Then I would spend more time with her. Consider it quality sibling time. More like me keeping her away from predatory males. I could start with this guy lurking in Alaric's apartment.

I slowly opened the door, looking out to see what he and my sister were now doing. He was gone though. Just Elena remained in the room. I let out my breath and walked over to her.

"Where'd they go?" I asked, hopefully inconspicuously.

"Damon went home. Alaric walked him out I guess." She looked at me carefully. "But don't worry about that. What is going on with you? What was that back there?"

I will worry about that. That man is no good. I couldn't say that outright. I couldn't let Elena suspect a thing unless he tried something lousy on her. I relied, "I forgot to call Vickie."

"You seemed angry." She raised an eyebrow.

"Angry at myself. For forgetting."

"You sure it's not at me? For the whole moving situation. It doesn't seem like you're adjusting well."

"Me? Not adjusting? Of course I am. The classes are neat. I was even thinking about looking for a job. To take up some free time and earn some money," I tried to sound convincing.

"We will need some money," Elena added, agreeing. "We have to give Alaric something for taking us in."

We chatted some more about possible jobs and school. Good. Avoiding the subject of this Damon guy and even Vicki was best for both of us. Elena and I had to stick together if we were going to make it in this town.

Bonnie's POV

I waited for Elena on the steps of the school as I have been doing the past couple of days. I thought it was funny how she and her brother got out before Mr. Saltzman they went in separate directions as if they've never even glanced at each other. She told me about her living situation and how awkward it was. She also mentioned that it was hard to trust him completely. I couldn't get her to elaborate on that without seeming pushy. I was curious, but I didn't want to step over any lines. She seemed like a nice enough girl.

Today, her brother followed her rather than splitting in a different direction without a word. He walked beside Elena looking far more comfortable than her. I noticed they had similar dark hair and mysterious brown eyes, but their similarities stopped there. He was kind of cute, with a warm smile while Elena was more reserved.

"You must be Bonnie," he said, smiling. "I'm Elena's brother Jeremy."

"Uh yeah I am," I said quietly. Elena actually talks about me with her brother. I wonder if she thinks I'm weird. Then he would think I'm weird…not that it mattered. What was I thinking? I searched my brain for something else to say, but I couldn't. My hands were slightly shaking like whenever I got nervous.

"I'm glad there's someone nice here that can show Elena around," he continued.

"I could show you around too if you want." There I said something. This time it just slipped out before I could consider if he would even want to.

"That would be great," he responded. "I'm actually looking around town for a job. You would know better places to look than me."

"No problem."

Elena looked at me pointedly. "We should get to class right?"

Jeremy nodded. "Sure you're right. See you at lunch?"

He was having lunch with us? That was strange, yet my heart leaped with excitement. What was wrong with me?

When he was gone, Elena whispered to me, "He's starting to actually communicate with people. That's not like him." She paused and considered the thought. "I mean I'm not upset that we're getting along. It's just all of a sudden."

It reminded me of myself, clinging to her side when she got a whiff of vampire. Jeremy must be doing it for other reasons, I told myself. Neither he nor Elena should know my secret or the darkness that casts a shadow over the town. It is unbeknown to most and should stay that way. I could help Elena and her brother without either knowing. I decided to seize the moment and subtly ask a question.

"When did he start acting differently?"

"Last night." That was when Damon Salvatore visited her. But she wouldn't elaborate any further. I held back a sigh and hoped I could dig something out later.

After a few days, people weren't treating her like the strange new girl anymore. She seemed less anxious every day. I was happy for her; dealing with being strange in this town was not enjoyable.

I tried to bring up why Damon Salvatore was visiting Mr. Saltzman's a few more times. Casually of course. Was did he want with her? Was he still bent up about the Katherine ordeal? How pathetic vampires can be, hypnotizing and being hypnotized so easily into falling in love.

"So have you managed to expand your horizons past me?" I said jokingly.

She smiled, but her face quickly returned to an unreadable expression.

"I met some people in town. I'm just not sure yet if they're worth being friends with." Yes, good girl! She locked eyes with me. "As long as I have one good friend, I don't need friends for the sake of having friends.

She trusted me. I left a dramatic pause in between before saying, "Oh you mean me?"

"Of course. You let me know who to watch out for." Her eyes twinkled. "Now come to class."

I stood there, pondering the innocence of what she just said. I caught the eye of Stefan Salvatore across the hall. I took off after Elena.

Stefan's POV

So my brother recruited me to look over the "witch" Bonnie Bennett at school. I told him I would have no part in it beyond that. Although, I didn't tell him that I would rip his throat out if he tried to do the same to her. Not that I would care about her particularly. Especially if she was a witch. I just didn't want to disrupt the peace. I actually enjoyed living in it when the supernatural creatures weren't creating bloodbaths and invoking panic within the townspeople.

Damon told me to attack her if she showed any "witchy powers." I told him I would just to get him off my back. But I knew what I had to do. I could certainly keep Bonnie away from Elena and the secret of Katherine, my brother and me.

All day I itched to carry out my plan, but Bonnie wouldn't leave Elena's side. I wasn't going to give away any more information. Damon and I already did that enough with the Katherine slip-up. Even at lunch, Elena joined Bonnie along with a guy. Maybe her brother? They looked similar. The guy distracted Bonnie. She really seemed to be into him, and this would have been the perfect time to strike if only Elena wasn't there. So I waited some more.

After school, I followed them out into the parking lot. I crossed my fingers that Elena wouldn't go with Bonnie. To my surprise, the guy from lunch got in the car with Bonnie and Elena waved and walked away. I wondered where Elena was going, but I had no time to follow her. Bonnie was already pulling out of the lot.

I cautiously followed them after another car. I noticed her pull into the gas station. I parked on the far side behind the pumps while she went to a spot near the store. The guy got out. This was my chance. Without wasting a second, I approached her car slowly. She must have seen me coming out of the car's rearview mirror, because she got out and faced me.

I planned out what I would say earlier and have been repeating it in my head. As I approached her, I focused my eyes on her pupils and tried to link her mind with mine. But that connection didn't happen. Before I could push my mind harder, a high pitched screech struck my head. It didn't stop. The sound, like a chorus of dying animals, bounced off my throbbing temple and drove through my head to the most vulnerable part of my brain. My vision became skewed and I saw Bonnie towering over me before everything went black.

That's the end for now! I hope my plot twist will tempt you to read more. So what do you think of Bonnie's defensive? Jeremy picking Elena's needs over Vicki? Will that continue? Next time, you'll find out what becomes of Stefan and Jeremy/Bonnie. Of course, Elena will get a surprise of her own…Stay tuned! (: