Title: Midnight Visit

Disclaimer: I do not own TVD, or any of its fabulous characters.

This is AU guys. Everything up till "The Return" has happened, but after that my story veers off into another direction. This may be a little confusing at first, but all will be revealed throughout the story. I'm very new to writing fanfiction, so constructive criticisms are welcome but please no flames. Enjoy, and please review

Elena has a secret, a secret that caused her to leave Mystic Falls for over two years. Now she's back, and Damon wants answers.

Midnight Visit

Ch. 1

Her breath leaves her lifeless body in stilted puffs of frigid air. She doesn't really need to breath, but it makes her feel just a little bit more human to see actual air leave her animated corpse. Summer used to be her favorite season; after all it enabled her freedom from long school days. Now her favorite season is winter, because it enables her delusions of humanity. While prowling outside the house she grew up in, Elena dances along the border of light and dark, the product of porch lights and starless nights. And she has never felt more like the creature of darkness that she has become. It doesn't matter that her change was against her will; Elena is now a sin-infused vessel of death. She watches Jeremy and Jenna move throughout what used to be her kitchen. After two years they're finally starting to smile, even laugh again. She hates herself for being even the tiniest bit resentful about that. But being a vampire has changed her, made it more difficult to maintain her goodness. And she has been so very lonely the past couple of years, admittedly that is by her own choice. Jeremy and Jenna had left the kitchen and now all she can hear is their heartbeats. Since there's no way they could see or hear her, Elena figures its safe to get closer, maybe even peer into Jeremy's window. She can imagine him lounging against his soft cushioned chair with headphones blasting, and a video game flashing across his T.V. screen illuminating his face. Grinning at the image in her mind, Elena starts toward the house, no longer thinking about the consequences, only focused on seeing her baby brother again. So focused was she that Elena almost missed the smell of him. The female vampire froze. She's successfully avoided him for over two years now, but apparently her time of evasion was up. She had been foolish to come here. But the yearning to see her family was too strong, her resolve too weak. But still, she should have prepared herself better for this. Closing her eyes for a second, Elena tried to fortify herself for what she's about to face. Swiftly, like pulling off a band aid, Elena spins around and looks Damon in the eyes for the first time in two in-a-half years.