"What?" Stefan asked, shocked.

"I know what you are." Elena repeated then she frowned. "Did I just sound like Bella Swan?"

"How?" Stefan looked at her.

"Little things that when put together just made sense and of course the old man from the grill yesterday came to talk to me." Elena shrugged.

"And you're not scared of me?" Stefan asked hopefully.

"Should I be?" Elena looked at him seriously.

"NO!" Stefan exclaimed. "I would never hurt you."

"Then the only thing I'm going to say is that all those so-called animal attacks." Elena raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "You could have been a bit more discreet."

"Those animal attacks were Damon's doing." Stefan defended himself. "I don't drink human blood."

"Then can you tell him to be a little more discreet?" Elena smiled at him. "And what do you drink then, if not human blood?"

"You don't care that he's killed people?" Stefan couldn't really wrap his head around that. "And I choose to survive by drinking animal blood."

"Not really, no." Elena shrugged. "He has to eat, doesn't he? I can't go around judging him or you based on human laws and rules, because you aren't human, it wouldn't be fair."

"You can't tell anyone about this." Stefan half begged half told her.

"If I feel it would be safer for Jeremy, aunt Jenna and Caroline to know about vampires, I will tell them, but I promise to tell you if I do choose to tell them." Elena smiled the she realized she had met him at the door and turned to walk out. "Oh, sorry, you were on your way somewhere."

Stefan vamp-sped in front of her before she could get in her car. "Can we meet up for breakfast tomorrow? I can tell you everything then."

"First of; that was really cool." Elena looked at him with big eyes, sparkling with happiness and wonder. "Second; yeah sure, breakfast sounds good, but you are paying."

Stefan smiled in wonder at her. "Sure, I'll pay."

XOXOXOX

Elena and Stefan were sitting at the coffee place, Elena having ordered a hot chocolate and a freshly baked cupcake while Stefan only ordered regular black coffee.

"So, you said you would explain everything." Elena looked at Stefan as they waited for their order. "When you google 'vampires' you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?"

"Ask away about what you want to know and I'll answer what I can." Stefan smiled in encouragement.

"Well, I know you eat garlic." Elena smirked. "And sunlight's not an issue, obviously."

"Hi, here are your drinks and your cupcake." A waitress put down their order and smiled when Elena thanked her for it.

"We have rings or other jewelry to protect us, spelled by a witch." Stefan said as soon as the waitress was gone.

"Crucifixes and holy ground?" Elena took a slow sip of her hot chocolate.

"Decorative and we did meet in a graveyard." Stefan reminded her with a smile.

"Oh right." Elena blushed. "Holy water?"

"Drinkable." Stefan looked shocked at the groan Elena gave.

"That's just great." Elena groaned. "That is one great vampire joke that won't work anymore."

"Vampire joke?" Stefan asked.

"The joke goes: You always hear about vampires in Europe but never in Africa, but then I remember why, they blessed the rains down in Africa." Elena giggled at the bad joke. "Anyway, mirrors?"

"That's a myth." Stefan chuckled at the vampire joke but didn't mention it. "I don't really know where that came from actually."

"So, you drink animal blood?" Elena smirked at him. "You're a vegetarian?"

"Huh?" Stefan shook his head. "Animal blood keeps me alive, but not as strong as Damon. He can be very powerful."

"You haven't read Twilight, huh?" Elena asked, then she looked at him curious. "Why did Damon hurt Amanda?"

"He was feeding on her." Stefan explained. "He was able to take away her memories of ever being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have."

"Huh, so you don't have to kill when you feed." Elena hummed to herself, not noticing the way Stefan shifted uncomfortably. "Are there any other vampires in Mystic Falls, beside you and Damon?"

"Not anymore." Stefan shrugged. "There was a time when this town was...very much aware of vampires, and it didn't end well for anybody."

"Okay, it's not like I'm going to run around screaming 'Vampire!' if that is what you are worried about." Elena reassured him. "But as I said yesterday, if I feel that my family is safer by knowing? I won't hesitate to tell them."

"Can I show you something?" Stefan asked slowly and when Elena agreed they went to her car.

XOXOXOX

Elena had been driving through the woods for a while when Stefan told her to stop in the middle of nowhere. "What are we doing here?"

"I want to show you something." Stefan got out of the car and Elena followed.

"This almost feels like the beginning of a horror movie and either you are a serial killer and I'm about to die or an axe murderer is going to come out of nowhere and kill us both." Elena chuckled.

Stefan laughed, knowing she wasn't scared of him and that just made him fall for her more. "This used to be my home."

"It looks very...nature inspired?" Elena giggled.

"Yeah, nature has taken over this place after all these years." Stefan smiled at her.

"How long have you...?" Elena trailed of, not wanting to be rude.

"I've been 17 years old since 1864." Stefan told her.

"Well, now I know what I'm getting you for Christmas." Elena said and at Stefan look she continued. "A walker and a cane, old man."

"Thanks." Stefan laughed. "I said I was going to tell you everything and I'm not holding anything back. Half a century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family's home. Damon and I... We were both born here, the Salvatore brothers, best friends."

Elena could almost see the flash back from the show in her head, it was kind of weird.

"So, your ex, Kathrine, was from your human life?" Elena asked. "Damon made it seem like it was very resent."

"Damon was trying to make you think that I was still heartbroken." Stefan explained. "He thought we were dating and that I was happy with you and he wanted to ruin it."

"Just because you loved the same woman 145 years ago?" Elena looked incredulous.

"She wasn't just any girl." Stefan sighed and continued with his story. "In the end she chose me. I escorted her to the ball at the original Lockwood mansion."

"Where you signed the registry." Elena nodded.

"I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted." Stefan looked ashamed. "I didn't even care if I hurt him, I only knew that I wanted her."

"So, he was upset." Elena nodded in understanding.

"That's the thing about Damon." Stefan sighed again. "He doesn't get mad; he just gets even. What Damon wants; Damon usually gets. I didn't know it at the time, but...turns out that night...Katrine was with him too."

"Trollop!" Elena hissed.

Stefan softly continued telling her his story, "She could control my mind, and Damon's. she compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted all of us to be together, forever."

"Kinky." Elena muttered, at Stefan's look she smiled. "Sorry."

"Didn't work out that way, but... Damon and I, looks like we're stuck with each other... like it or not." Stefan shrugged sadly and bent down to pull something out of an old ruin.

"Is that Damon's ring?" Elena asked while tilting her head to the side.

"I took it from him, but I have to give it back." Stefan stood back up again.

"Why did you take it in the first place?" Elena wanted to know.

"Because I didn't want him to kill more people if he ever got out." Stefan explained softly.

"Stefan, you and Damon are vampires." Elena looked at Stefan seriously. "That means that humans are your food source just like animals are the food source for humans."

"I need to give it back anyway." Stefan said ignoring most, if not all, of Elena just said. "If I don't, he'll retaliate in the only way he knows he can hurt me."

"And how is that?" Elena murmured.

"By hurting you." Stefan looked at her.

"Stefan..." Elena sighed sadly.

"I know and I respect that you don't feel the same about me." Stefan reassured. "But you are such an amazing person that I can't just not love you. And I promise that I won't force my feelings on you and I hope we can keep being friends."

"Of course, we're going to keep being friends, you numpty." Elena punched him lightly in the shoulder, then to change the, uncomfortable, subject she asked. "The mind control thing that you said Kathrine used, have you ever done that to me?"

"No. The necklace I gave Caroline and the armband I gave you contains an herb called vervain." Stefan nodded towards her armband. "It protects you from being compelled. I wanted to protect you from Damon's influence, but I also wanted to protect you from me. Don't take it off and you'll know that you were free to make your own choice."

"Thank you." Elena smiled at him and started to walk towards the car. "Let's go home, it's getting late."

XOXOXOX

The first thing Elena heard when she walked through the door to her house was Matt saying. "Damn, Vicki."

"What's going on?" She asked as she walked into the kitchen where Jeremy, Vicki and Matt were.

"She's really messed up." Matt told Elena and Stefan.

"Elena, back up." Stefan moved forward and grabbed Vicki's face. "Vicki, look at me, focus. You're going to be fine, everything is going to be fine." Then Stefan turned towards Jeremy and Matt. "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds, she's gonna be okay."

"You know what's wrong with her." Elena said when Jeremy and Matt were gone.

"She's in transition." Stefan told her softly.

"Vampire?" Elena asked quietly.

"Damon must have gotten to her." Stefan explained. "She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet."

"And how does she do that?" Elena wanted to know.

"She has to feed on human blood." Stefan looked at her.

"And if she doesn't?" Elena sighed.

"She'll die." Stefan huffed sadly, running a hand through his hair. "She may only have a few hours."

"Is Jeremy and Matt safe with her?" Elena challenged, because if he had sent her little brother up there and he was in danger there would be hell to pay.

"It's okay." Stefan reassured. "She doesn't know what's happening to her yet. Right now, she doesn't remember anything, a part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make a choice."

"Then go up there and tell her and if she wants to complete the transition, she can have some of my blood." Elena declared, but before she or Stefan could move Vicki rushed out of the front door and disappeared with Matt hot on her heels.

"I can track her." Stefan murmured quietly to Elena and she nodded for him to go.

"Come on Jeremy, let's go inside and wait if Vicki decides to come back." Elena grabbed her little brothers' arm.

Jeremy and Elena had been sitting at the dinner table waiting for news for a while when Elena smiled at her brother. "Jeremy why don't you go up and try calling Vicki, she might not want to answer her brother but she might want to talk to you."

Elena was about to follow her brother upstairs when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to see Damon standing there.

"By the way you are looking at me, I guess Stefan finally fessed up." Damon smirked, then he frowned and said quietly to himself. "But you are not scared of me."

"Yeah he did." Elena nodded. "And I have only two things to say about that; next time you go on a feeding spree, be a bit more discreet and as long as you don't hurt my family or closest friends, I don't really care who you eat or kill."

"Wait, so you don't have a problem with me killing people, but that I wasn't discreet enough?" Damon asked with an adorable confused look on his face.

"Basically, yeah." Elena smiled. "As I told Stefan; you're a vampire, killing people is what you do."

"Well then, I promise to be more discreet next time I kill some people." Damon smirked at her. "Is Stefan here?"

"Nope, he's out searching for Vicki." Elena looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What's with the look?" Damon asked. "Girl's going to thank me for what I did to her."

"Did you thank Kathrine?" Elena asked softly and then continued. "And did you really have to turn Vicki, of all people?"

"Eh, I was bored." Damon shrugged with a half smirk.

"Okay then." As Elena laughed, she didn't see the adorably confused look Damon was giving her.

"Tell my brother I'm looking for him." Damon told her as he turned to leave. "Oh, and a tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house."

A couple of hours later Elena stood at the stairs up to her house waiting on Stefan who had recently called to tell her he was on his way back. As Stefan came walking up to her, she gasped. "You're bleeding!"

"No, no it's okay, it's already healed." Stefan smiled at her concern, then he turned sad. "I couldn't stop her, I tried."

"So, Vicki Donovan is a vampire, huh." Elena mumbled.

"I'll take care of it; I'll find her and I will show her that she can live like I do." Stefan told her softly. "I will make sure that she does not hurt anybody, Elena, I promise."

"Hmmm." Elena hummed noncommittedly, thinking that she really needed to have a talk with Stefan about the whole 'She doesn't really care about who dies as long as it's not her family or close friends' thing. That might make her selfish or something but whatever, if she started to care about everybody then she would just give herself a gastric ulcer or something.

"I need to go to sleep, this day has been a lot." Elena smiled. "But I'll come over tomorrow to talk."

"Good night, Elena." Stefan smiled at her and walked away.

Elena walked into the house and really didn't feel like being alone so she made her way to Jeremys room and crawled into his bed.

"You okay, Lena?" Jeremy asked in a sleep addled voice.

"Yeah, just didn't want to be alone." Elena murmured back.

Jeremy tightened his arms around her and kissed her head as they both fell asleep after a very emotional day.

XOXOXOX

The next morning when she woke up, Elena gently detangled herself from her brother and made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. After her short, but relaxing, shower she walked into her room and over to the closet.

She choose to were white, skinny jeans, a black, three quarter sleeved, off the shoulder crop top, black ankle booths and one of Jeremys flannel shirts. Today she decided to forgo makeup and jewelry, except that vervain armband that Stefan had given her.

Around fifteen minutes later, Elena walked in to the kitchen she saw Jenna sitting at the kitchen island and drinking coffee. Elena smiled brightly at her, "Good Morning."

"There is nothing 'good' about this morning." Jenna grumbled into her mug.

"Okay?" Elena chuckled.

"I have a test in like three hours and I spent most of my night studying and I'm probably going to either fall asleep during the test or I'm going to fail." Jenna moaned as she put her head on the table.

"You're going to do grate!" Elena beamed. "You are not going to fall asleep and when you get home, I promise that you can fall into bed and not get up until tomorrow. Isn't that right Jeremy?"

"Oh, absolutely." Jeremy, who had just walked into the kitchen, agreed whole heartedly, then he whispered to Elena. "What did I just agree to?"

"That she would do well on her test today." Elena whispered back, then louder she asked Jeremy. "Why are you up so early?"

"Oh, I'm going to the police station, they're organizing a search party for Vicki." Jeremy explained.

"I will agree to you skipping school today, Jeremy." Jenna smiled at him. "But you have to go tomorrow, okay?"

"Aunt Jenna?" Jeremy asked slowly and at Jenna's nod he beamed at her and said, "You're awesome."

"I know." Jenna smirked. "Well, I should get going so I don't have to stress on the way to the test."

"Good luck!" Elena and Jeremy chorused.

XOXOXOX

After breakfast Elena made her way to the boarding house to see how Vicki was doing. She rang the doorbell and smiled at Damon who opened the door.

"Is Stefan here?" Elena asked.

"Good morning to you to Miss. 'I'm on a mission'." Damon smirked at her.

"Oh sorry. Good morning Mr. 'Arrogant and glib'." Elena sassed back with a smirk.

"You are either brave or stupid for calling a vampire arrogant and glib." Damon chuckled.

"Eh..." Elena shrugged and giggled. "It's probably a bit of both to be honest."

"You really aren't scared of me." Damon looked adorably confused again.

"Damon, you are a vampire, if you wanted me dead, I would be dead." Elena smiled kindly at him.

"Yes." Damon was back to smirking.

"Where is Stefan?" Elena asked.

"He's somewhere around here singing 'The rain in Spain'." Damon gestured for her to come in. "Knock yourself out."

"Stefan?" Elena called out as she closed the door and walked down the hall.

"In here!" Stefan called from the kitchen.

"Hi." Elena smiled as she sat down at the kitchen table with Stefan.

"Hey." Stefan smiled back.

"Where's Vicki?" Elena asked slowly.

"She's upstairs." Stefan told her. "I'm working with her but it's going to take time. She's a very volatile and impulsive personality and she's a drug user, I mean, all that's going to play part in how she responds to this."

"So, she's a vampire with issues?" Elena sighed, this was going to be oh so fun, note the sarcasm. "I'm thinking about telling Jeremy about vampires, I think he might be able to help Vicki. But he won't be allowed near her before she has complete control and there is no chance of her hurting him."

"I'm going to keep her here with me until I know that she's safe." Stefan reassured her.

"And how long is that?" Elena wondered.

"Yeah, how long is that?" Vicki piped up from where she entered.

"Hey Vicki, how's unlife treating you?" Elena asked and wanted to slap herself, that was such a stupid question.

"You're kidding right?" Vicki just looked at her.

Luckily for Elena her phone rang and she hurried to answer as she walked out of the room.

"Hey Caroline."

"Do you have a costume for tonight?" Caroline asked.

"Huh? Oh, crap!" Elena groaned. "I totally forgot about that."

"Well, lucky for you I didn't." Caroline laughed. "I got you a costume and I left it at your house."

"Caroline, you are a goddess among mortals." Elena breathed out.

"I love you too." Caroline giggled and hung up the phone.

Elena made her way back into the kitchen just as Stefan was telling Vicki about coffee. "Coffee is our friend, it's the caffeine. It circulates through our veins and it warms our body so we're not so cold to the touch."

"What if I want to drink human blood?" Vicki asked with a pout.

"You're going to learn to live with that urge and fight it on a daily basis, one day at a time." Stefan said it like they had had this conversation before.