Author's Note:

Okay, I'll admit it. This chapter comes to a shocking close that even I didn't know was going to happen until my fingers wrote it. But i think it fits for Malina's character. But don't worry, the next few chapters - everything will change. Nothing ever stays the same in Mystic Falls for too long.

Also, there is more non-consensual talk and actions in this chapter, but this will be the final chapter dealing with that.

Hope you enjoy and please leave your thoughts!

Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end.
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.

Chapter Thirteen – Turn a New Leaf

"Good morning," Tyler chimed in my ear way too cheerfully. I peeked through one eye at him and he had a tray with two plates on top of it. I leaned up, tugging the straps of my dress up. He was sitting down on the edge of the bed beside me, placing the tray onto the bed. I looked down to find pancakes in the shapes of animals, "I made your favorite."

I grabbed a fork out of his hand and cut a piece of pancake off, which he already douched in syrup. I shoved the piece in my mouth, "You didn't have to do this. You did enough last night," I bit the inside of my bottom lip. I looked around the dark room, the sun still hadn't come up yet.

He shifted on the bed and pulled out his phone to check the time. "It would be 5 a.m., the sun rises in a couple of minutes. I thought we could watch it outside on your porch like we used to, you always loved that." I nodded my head excitedly so he stood up off of the bed and extended his hand for mine. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me to my feet.

A pile of clothes was laying on the bedside table and he picked it up and handed it to me. My favorite shirt that was his and a pair of black sweatpants, that were also his. I had a lot of his clothes lying around my room. He picked up the tray of food off of the bed and took a step backwards towards the door. "I'll meet you downstairs," I watched as he left the room.

I turned around and placed the clothes onto the bed before shimmying out of the dress. I pulled on the sweatpants and the T-shirt and grabbed a cardigan out of my closet. I found a pair of slippers in the bottom of my closet and slipped into them. I looked into my mirror, my mascara stained down my cheeks. I wiped my eyes and pulled my hair into a high ponytail.

I walked down the stairs and could see the colors of the sun illuminating the sky. A gust of cool air rushed past me and I shivered. "Ty, we should make hot chocolate with extra marshmallows." I stepped onto the bottom step and he walked outside of the kitchen with two mugs. I grinned widely, "You already made it."

He walked towards me and handed me a mug before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He squeezed my shoulders lightly, "What's a sunrise without hot cocoa?" He opened the door and I stepped onto the porch and walked over to the swinging bench and sat down on it.

He sat down beside me and pulled me against him and I curled up, nuzzling my face into his neck. He ran his fingers through my hair, but I pulled away abruptly. He pulled his eyebrows together and I stared at him. "I'm sorry, I just don't want to lead you on. I'm not ready for anything like this."

He grazed my cheek, "I know. Believe me, I know."

I walked through the doors of Mystic Falls High School, Tyler walking beside me. I noticed Matt standing at his locker and I walked over to him. "Matty," I shouted and he turned his head to look at me. He let out a relieved sigh and engulfed me in a tight and warm hug. He rubbed my back, squeezing me into his arms. "Hello to you too, Donovan," I chuckled.

He pulled away momentarily and stared at me, "You look like you're feeling a lot better than last night."

I glanced over my shoulder at Tyler, who placed his hand on my shoulder and rubbed his thumb against my skin. I gave him a small smile and turned back towards Matt, "I had good company last night. But thank you," I hugged him onc

e again. Pressing my chin into the crook of his neck and closing my eyes, "I really needed you there."

I heard sirens outside of the school and I pulled away from Matt and stared out the door. A police car pulled into the emergency parking and I saw Callie and Cashton climb out of the car. They waited as another car pulled in behind them and Sheriff Forbes walked towards them. Matt pulled his eyebrows together in confusion, "What do you think they're doing here?"

Someone grabbed my shoulder and yanked me around and I looked up to find Duke hovering over me. A few of the football players from last night were standing behind him with crossed arms. "Where the hell is Braeden?"

Tyler stepped forward, swatting the inside of his elbow which caused him to release my arm. "Hands off of her," He shouted in Duke's face. One of the football players stepped forward, shoving Tyler backwards. Matt held his hand out to catch him and Tyler's jaw clenched. "Do you really want to do this right now, man?"

Duke leaned down so he was eye level with Tyler, tilting his head to the side condescendingly. He had a smug smirk placed across his lips. "Just because you saved your little bitch last night, doesn't mean you can always be around to protect her."

One of the guys grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Tyler and Matt and held my arms behind my back. The hallway grew silent as all eyes landed on us, but no one joining in to stop any of the chaos. His fingers trailed down to my wrists and I breathed heavily through my nose.

Matt stepped forward, standing beside Tyler. "Leave her alone, Duke."

Duke chuckled, "Tell me what you did to Braeden and I'll consider it."

"Why don't you consider this?" Tyler punched Duke in the jaw and all hell broke loose. I stomped my heel down onto the boy's toes, who was holding me captive. He jolted his head forward and I butted my head backwards in a quick movement, striking him in the nose. He released me on the hard impact. Matt was holding another teammate back while Tyler and Duke continued fighting.

I felt two arms wrap around my waist and lift me off of my feet, but I started to panic immediately. The fear of lost control empowered my every move. I started to thrash against them, in an attempt to free myself. His fingers trailing far too closely to the zipper of my pants and I started to kick his shins. "Let go of me," I screamed, hysteria filling my voice.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sheriff Forbes sprinted over towards us and the football player dropped me onto my feet. "What is going on over here?" Callie grabbed Duke by the back of the shirt and pulled him off of Tyler. Tyler's lip was swollen and bleeding, but Duke's jaw was already bruising.

Matt stepped forward motioning his head towards Duke and his followers, "They started it."

Callie scoffed, "Likely story."

Cashton walked up beside me and grabbed my arm, but I jumped away from his touch. His eyes scanned my face, but I took a step to the side and diverted my eyes from him. He leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, sheepishly. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

Sheriff Forbes looked around at the crowd. She knew Tyler, Matt, and me, but these new guys – she had to know they were trouble. We were clearly attacked, five on three. "We're here to search for a missing person." She looked at Duke, "Did any of you know Braeden Longhorn?"

Duke snapped his dark brown eyes towards Tyler, smirking before refocusing his attention to me. "I don't know, you guys. Did you know him?" He pursed his lips together and jerked his head to the right side, narrowing his eyes on us.

I talked my way into having Cashton interview us about what happened last night. I begged Sheriff Forbes to allow Matt and Tyler to be interviewed with me. I just didn't want to be alone. Cashton sat behind the counselor's desk and placed his hands on the wood. "So, tell me what happened last night."

I looked up towards Matt and Tyler, hoping one of them would do the explaining. I really didn't want to talk about it. Matt cleared his throat, "We decided to go out and have a good time. We haven't had much normalcy in our lives for the past few months, we thought it would be nice. We surprised Elena and Malina. But things got out of hand while we were there."

Cashton was jotting things down in his notebook and Tyler was watching intently. He glanced up, locking his green eyes on mine. "So you and Elena went out with them. Did Braeden go out with you?" I nodded my head, "Then what happened?" No one answered, "Malina?"

My hand started to shake and I forced my eyes shut, "I was drugged. He was trying to take advantage of me and I was scared. I didn't know what else to do so I called Tyler. He found me, while Braeden was…" I trialed off and Tyler grabbed my hand. I let out a deep breath, "Tyler got there before anything could happen. He took me home right after that. We haven't seen him since."

"Matt," Cashton directed his attention towards the blonde. "Where were you when all of this was happening?"

He leaned forward in his seat, "I was with Tyler most of the night. We were talking about girls, you know how it is. But next thing we knew, Malina was missing. So we all started to look for her."

"All?" Cashton questioned.

Matt nodded, "Tyler, Caroline, Elena, Bonnie and me."

He wrote down all of the names, "And once you found Malina with Braeden. Where did you go next?"

"I drove the rest of the girls all to Caroline's house because they were staying there. We left at the same time as Tyler and Malina," He glanced towards me.

Cashton closed his notebook and leaned back in the chair, "Okay. Well thank you for all of your time. Hopefully we'll be able to close this case before it even starts. If you hear anything else about Braeden," He took out a card from his pocket and handed it to me, "You can call me. Or if you need anything, ever. Don't be shy."

I looked down at the card and smiled lightly, he stood up and walked out of the room. Tyler rolled his eyes, "Don't be shy. What a creep. He was so hitting on you, Malina. You didn't see us getting one of his cards."

I smacked his arm playfully, "He was not hitting on me. He's just being a good friend, looking out for me. He knows about some of our past, Tyler. He just wants me to be careful." I shrugged my shoulders, "That's all."

"You told him about us?" He sounded defensive.

I nodded my head slowly, "Well he was there for the Founder's Celebration. He brought me home that night and made sure I was okay until Matt could get there. He is just worried about me and he has every right to be."

He stood up angrily, walking into the center of the room. "Are you saying you're scared I could do that to you again?"

Matt shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "Guys."

"No!" I shouted and stood up to stand in front of Tyler. "What I'm saying is, I've been through a lot in the past few months. There's going to be things I don't like, touching, no control. I'm not scared of you, I'm scared of everyone. Okay?"

He shook his head, "Like that makes me feel better."

"This isn't about you," I stammered.

He scrunched his face up, "I know it's not. That's not what I meant. I'm sorry, okay? I get that I've hurt you badly in the past and I'm trying to make that up to you. I don't want you to feel threatened when you're around me though, either. I will never purposely hurt you, ever again."

Matt stood up, "Could you two just kiss and make up already?"

I sent him a glare, "Haha. Very funny, Donovan."

I knocked on the door of the Salvatore House, but the door was already slightly open. I pushed it fully open with my hand and walked into the house. The entire house sounded quiet, like no one was home. I turned the corner into the living room, but it was empty. "Hello?" I spoke loud enough so they'd hear me, "Anybody home?"

There was still no answer so I turned around towards the alcohol cabinet. Sadly, there was only bourbon. But I poured myself a glass and took a large gulp, I needed to be drunk after this day. I poured more into the glass before pouring some into a shot glass. I picked up the shot glass and shrugged my shoulders.

Yes, I was drinking alone.

No, I didn't care.

I lifted it into the air, "Bottoms up." I tipped all the alcohol into the back of my throat and swallowed hard. The alcohol burning its way down. I took another gulp of the bourbon before walking over to the radio and turning it on.

A preppy song came on that Elena must have been listening to when she was over here with Stefan last. I pulled my hair out of my ponytail and let it fall loose against my shoulders. I found another bottle of alcohol in the bottom of his cabinet. I pulled the bottle of scotch to my lips and tilted my head back, downing as much liquor as possible.

I heard the front door open and I turned the volume of the radio down as Stefan and Elena walked into the room. They both gave me weak smiles, knowing that I was still in a fragile state. But I hated it. I hated feeling like I was damaged. I waved my hand towards them, "Don't mind me. I needed booze and Damon has a wonderful supply of alcohol."

Elena laughed making her way towards me, "You feeling okay?"

I swatted my hand outwards, sarcastically. Am I okay? Does she not know me? I am the epitome of okay. "I'm fine!" I slurred, throwing back the rest of the glass of bourbon. "Just a minor fight with Tyler, Damon's still avoiding me, and on top of that all – Braeden is missing. What do you think happened to him? Mauled by bears? I hope he was mauled by bears."

Stefan stepped forward, taking my glass out of my hand. I pouted trying to reach for it but Elena grabbed my arm. "I think I should take you home. We don't want you to get into any more trouble, now do we, Malina?" I shook my head back and forth, obnoxiously. She turned to Stefan and whispered, "I'm sorry. I'll be right back."

I patted the top of her head and leaned my face against her cheek, "Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! I know my way home, you don't need to leave broody mc-broody-stein. I'm feeling great!" I shouted, extending my arms into the air.

She rolled her eyes, "You're trashed and it's not even four o'clock yet. I don't believe that you're fine."

I glanced towards the couch, "Could I just sleep it off? I don't want to go home."

She nodded her head, walking me carefully towards the couch. I flopped onto the cushions and for some reason, they felt so much more comfortable than usual. Elena laid a blanket on top of me and I buried my face into one of the cushions. They walked into the other room as I drifted to sleep.

Tyler kissed me aggressively, causing me to fall back against the mattress of Caroline's family cabin. It felt dirty, losing my virginity in someone else's house. I always imagined it differently, but we were finally alone. We had a bedroom to ourselves. He broke apart, "Are you sure you're ready? Because I totally understand if you want to wait."

I laughed lightly, "I am ready." He kept darting his brown eyes on mine, so I raised an eyebrow. "Are you ready? Because you seem way more skeptical than me. Because if you don't think you're ready than we can wait." He swallowed hard, "I just want it to be special."

He leaned forward, brushing his lips against mine. "All I know is that I've never wanted you this much in my entire life. Your lips, your neck," He kissed every part of me as he named them. I threw my head back against the sheets, "Your boobs. Your stomach, your," He was teasing me and it was definitely working.

"Okay, I get it!" I shouted, raising my head to look at him. I ran my fingers through his dark hair and he smiled. "I love you, Tyler." He pressed his lips to mine once again but my cellphone began to ring on the bureau. He dropped his head to my chest and let out an annoyed breath, "Seriously?"

He leaned over and grabbed my phone in his hand, "It's Aunt Jenna. Do you want to answer it?" He glanced towards me and I bit my bottom lip. I shook my head, "No. My parents just picked Elena up. They probably just want to make sure that I'm okay here. And I am more than okay."

He nodded his head placing the phone back on the bureau after rejecting the call, "I love you."

I shot awake, but I was no longer in the Salvatore Boarding House. I wasn't even sure of what was real anymore. Was I ever really there in the first place? But my pounding headache and swirling in my stomach validated any doubts I had. I rushed into my bathroom before throwing up into the toilet. Jeremy peeked his head through the door, "Ew. Rough day?"

I lifted my head to send a glare in his direction, "Rough life."

Once I felt better I stood up and walked back into my room. I lifted my jacket off of the ground, but Cashton's card fell out of my pocket. I picked it up and sat down on the edge of my bed, staring at it. I let out a short breath before pulling out my phone and dialing his number. He picked up on the third ring, "Cashton McKenna."

I stood up, "Hey. Crash, it's Malina. Malina Gilbert, you gave me your card earlier."

He laughed, "I remember. What can I help you with? Did you find any news on Braeden?"

I bit my bottom lip, "No. That's not why I called. More of a reason of would you be able to tell me any leads you have on him? I feel awful that he's missing and I really just want to help. So anything at all could help."

I picked up my journal in my hand before tossing it into my trashcan. There wasn't much of a reason to keep one anymore, I never wrote in it. The last thing I wrote was about Damon Salvatore. Bleh. I stared out my window, "I may have one lead. I wasn't going to press on it because I thought it would lead to a dead end, but if you want to check it out. There's this bar outside of town, near Whitmore College. Duke was telling me that someone gave them their card for the bar last night. Told them to check it out, but Duke thought it was a joke."

I let out a sigh, "I would go, but I have no way of getting there."

"I'm actually heading out there tonight, visiting a friend at college. If you want, I could take you there."

I was sitting at the bar alone. The place was a bust. It seemed like it was full of burnt out artist that never got anywhere in their careers. It smelled like cheap beer and cigarettes. But the bartender was being nice, beers on the house. Someone sat down beside me and I immediately tensed up. I watched sourly as Braeden took the empty seat beside me as an open invitation to sit in it. "So last night," He smirked and I rolled my eyes.

I snapped my head towards him. The jock was so insensitive, it bewildered me how he ever managed to get a girlfriend in the past. "Don't start with me, you prick."

He laughed, "Stop acting like you weren't getting into it. Just admit it," He leaned towards me, invading my personal space. I guess that was his thing, getting into places where he's unwelcomed. He smiled smugly, "You're just too scared that your friends will think you're a slut."

I wrapped my hand around my glass angrily, "I was drunk and you drugged me. You tried to take advantage of me," I hissed in his direction.

He shook his head, "You were flirting with you way before Duke put the roofies into your drink. You dug your own grave, little girl. You wanted to show me something, how could I resist? You were asking for it."

I slammed my hand onto the counter of the bar, gaining a few annoyed glances. "I was drunk! That doesn't mean that I was asking for it. But go ahead, blame the girl. Because that isn't stereotypical at all."

He placed his hand on my bare thigh, running his thumb against my skin. I was officially skeeved. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and he smiled, "Meet in in the bathroom and we can forget last night ever happened."

I grabbed his hand in mine and pried his touch away from me, "I am not some whore and I will not have sex with you."

He barked a rough laugh, taking a sip of my drink. I wanted to punch him, run and scream. He disgusted me and that thought of him being mauled by bears came back into my mind. "I'll just tell everyone that you did. Don't worry, I'll make it believable." He scanned his eyes over my body, "You seem like you're good in bed."

I tightened my jaw, "No one would believe you."

His lips turned into a sinister smirk that I wanted to slap off of his face. "It would be my word versus yours. Who do you think they'd believe? The slut or the charming football star. I'll give you a hint. It wouldn't be the girl who slept with her boyfriend's best friend."

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. He was right. I was a slut in the past, but I was trying to change. I blinked through my fogged vision, "It was a mistake."

He leaned forward, his lips brushing my ear and hot breath hitting my neck. His fingers clasped around my wrists. "You're a depressed teenager with alcohol abuse problems and would give it up to everyone. Now that Vicki Donovan left town, you're next in line for the town whore."

I sniffled, "I don't want to be a whore. I try so hard to be good, I swear." He wiped a tear from under my eye and stood up. He held out his hand for mine so I reluctantly took it. "Where are we going?"

He pulled me towards the bathroom and I immediately regretted feeling vulnerable around him. II didn't even let my friends know I was vulnerable. But he was so good at manipulating the truth out of me. He opened the door for me and motioned his head for me to walk in, "Just five minutes. Then your secret will be safe with me."

I swallowed hard, only five minutes. Give five minutes of your time and then you can go back to hating yourself. I turned to face him as I entered the bathroom door. He locked the door behind him and I let out a sigh, "Only five minutes."

He stalked towards me, closing the space between us and he kissed my lips roughly. He smelled like cigarettes, he'd obviously been in this bar for a while. He was probably watching me for hours before coming to me. He got down onto his knees and pulled my stockings down from underneath my leather skirt. My heart was pounding like crazy.

He kissed my inner thigh and I bit back tears. This was the last thing that I wanted. I wanted to feel safe with Tyler. I wanted his arms wrapped around my torso as we laid in my bed for what seemed like hours. "Where did you go last night?" He let out an annoyed groan at my attempt of light conversation. "Everyone in Mystic Falls thinks you're missing."

He leaned up too quickly and pushed my back against the wall by my throat. Fangs and black veins under his green eyes, the whole vampire works. He was a vampire and he was going to kill me. "I met someone at the bar and they taught me a whole new way of life. One where I can get anything I want. Where I can get you," His eyes dilated on mine. But something was different. I didn't want him. He snarled and tried it again, "I said I want you."

I brought my knee up to his groin, kneeing him in the balls. He fell forward, unable to catch his breath and I threw him onto the ground aggressively. Nice try, Braeden. "Little tip. Next time, actually go for a human." I picked up the plunger and he shot to his feet, getting ready to attack me. But I snapped the wood in half over my knee and he lunged towards me. I speared the stake through his heart and his body quickly began to desiccate. His gray, limp body fell onto the bathroom floor. I let out a shaky breath, I did it. I killed my first vampire, all on my own.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number immediately. He was the last person I wanted to talk to, but the only one who could help. I needed his help. "You've reached the phone of the egotistical vampire who you truly despise."

I smirked to myself, "Very accurate. But I need your help, Damon. I got myself into a bit of a," I kicked Braeden's lifeless corpse, "Vampire predicament."

He huffed out, "Where are you?"

"Right outside of Mystic Falls. A small bar on the edge of town. You've probably been here before, it seems like your forte. Dark and easy to lure innocent girls to their certain deaths." I was being cocky, but I knew he was enjoying the banter. "Please hurry," I pleaded. There was a knock on the door, "Be right out. Get here fast," I whispered before hanging up.

I opened the door, prepared to explain myself to the impatient drunk on the other side. But a familiar face smiled back, "You call, I come. And you're right," He walked into the bathroom fully, "I do know the place. Now what do we have here?" He kicked the corpse, like I previously had while rubbing his palms together. He found joy in this.

I crossed my arms, "He tried to attack me. His compulsion didn't work, but I don't have my necklace. He should have compelled me. Why didn't it work? More weird death side-affects?"

He stood up straight and looked into my eyes, "Where did you know him from?" His eyes dilated on mine, but then came the unwilling answer. I wasn't completely in control like I hoped, and it felt horrible.

I shrugged my shoulders easily before answering, "School. He's a dirt rat on the football team. A senior."

He nodded his head, looking towards the ground and kicking his leg one last time. "It seems that way."

I swallowed hard, "I want a normal life, Damon. Elena enjoys being caught between the two of you and the supernatural world we live in. But I don't. I want to keep our friends safe and in order to do that, I can't coexist in both worlds. So this is my farewell."

He nodded his head as he picked up Braeden's body. "Such sweet sorrow," He quoted Shakespeare which caused me to chuckle lightly. "I understand your decision and I admire it. This world…it's not one easily settled in."

I went to grab the handle of the bathroom door but paused, turning towards him. "Maybe his compulsion was just weak since he was a newbie vamp. But could I ask you something? Important." He took a cautious step forward, "Erase my memories. Just take it all away so I can be happy. Sever the ropes and set me free because I can't keep living like this. I can't be around you."

He swallowed hard, "Are you sure it's what you want? I get that we have a messy past, but you don't want to remember any of it?"

I shook my head deciding to be completely honest with him. I knew it would be the only way that he would go through with it. So I let out a long breath, "It hurts too much. Being around you, but not being with you. It's ripping me to shreds. I just want to forget it all. You're Stefan's hot brother, but that's all."

He narrowed his eyes on mine, "As you wish."