The Vampire Diaries – Every End Has A Start   von Asu91
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                        Kapitel 37: Closer to the Edge
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Hallo, meine Lieben! 

Für diejenigen, die ein wenig enttäuscht sind, dass es jetzt wieder Stelena
heißt und nicht Delena, denen möchte ich doch sehr mein kleines Trostpflaster
und Anzeichen ans Herz legen. Actet mal auf die kleinen Wörter "schuldig" und
"frustriert" ;)

Und es gibt noch etwas, das ich euch sagen muss. Mir ist vor kurzem aufgefallen,
dass ein Teil dieser Story sehr von der Realtät abweicht und deshalb keinen
Sinn macht. Elena ist noch nicht in der Oberstufe, also macht es keinen Sinn,
dass sie sich schon für Colleges bewirbt. Das macht man erst im letzten
Schuljahr. Aber ich habs geändert. Elena bewirbt sich für ein Sommerprogramm,
in dem sie ein paar Autorentricks lernt. Nur damit ihr Bescheid wisst und damit
alles der Richtigkeit entspricht. 

Und jetzt ohne weiteres blabla, viel Spaß!

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The rest of the weekend Elena spent mostly alone. Damon called the next morning
to check up on her but they didn't talk much. Stefan didn't so Damon had kept
his word. Elena didn't want to see or talk to any of them anyway. She still
hadn't made up her mind although her heart already had an answer. She was
missing Stefan terribly. But she couldn't just pretend that nothing had
happened. And so far she wasn't ready to forgive him.
The weekend was kind enough to pass though so that Elena's mind was all wrapped
up in school stuff. She had sworn to herself to become better. Hell, it was the
year before her senior year. She couldn't fail now. So she would gather all her
strength and resources to get back on track. And whatever it was, you may call
it Fate, was supporting her in that.
"Elena?"
Elena was just walking down the hallway when she heard someone call her name and
she turned around. Alaric Saltzman was standing outside his classroom, holding
the door open.
"Hey, Alaric," Elena greeted him.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure." They entered the classroom and Saltzman shut the door. "How you're
holding up?" Elena asked.
"I'm getting there, I think," he answered. "Though I'm still a little shocked.
You weren't there. It was a nasty sight."
"I'm so sorry, Alaric," Elena began.
"For what, Elena?"
"Well, it's actually my fault she killed them."
"No, it's not-"
"Yes, it is!" Elena insisted. "Look, you were gone for the weekend. You don't
know what happened."
"No, I don't. Tell me," he ordered.
"Katherine kidnapped me."
"What?! When?!"
"Friday night. No need to freak out though. Damon saved me. I'm fine," she
assured him. "The thing is I asked her why she killed them and she told me.
Apparently Mary and Frank shared something with us and she didn't like it. And
to stop them from telling us even more is why she killed them."
"That's insane," he said.
"I know. So, I'm sorry. We never should have visited them in the first place.
It's my fault-"
"Elena..." Saltzman took a step toward her. "You didn't know that this was going
to happen. None of us would have expected it." Elena was silent. "I'm just glad
you got out there all right. Isabol would never forgive me if I let her daughter
get hurt."
Elena forced a smile. "Probably..." She wasn't ready to tell him about Isabol's
grudge against her own daughter. She hadn't told anyone yet. She wanted to read
more in Isabol's journal before she did but she hadn't found the time and
courage to do so yet.
"So, was that what you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked the teacher.
"Oh no, that was only half of it," Saltzman said. "Actually I was just going to
have a meeting with the principal and your other teachers to talk about your
situation but it was cancelled. Apparently the principal is willing to give you
another chance and wait for a change in your attitude."
Elena's jaw dropped. "What? Oh my god, that's amazing! But how?"
"Not how, Elena. Who. I told him not to do it." Saltzman's face darkened.
"You mean Damon compelled the principal?"
"I think so, yeah," Saltzman said. "Because frankly you suspension was already
set. There's no other way."
"I see..." Elena replied. "Look, I... I know it's wrong and I told him like a
thousand times not to do it. But right now I just can't be mad at him for it.
You probably think I'm a bad person now."
"No," the teacher contradicted. "No, I'm not. I guess it's a fair exception. But
you've gotta work hard."
"I will," Elena promised. "I will work and study as hard as I can."
Saltzman smiled. "Good. You can go now."
"Thanks. Have a nice day, Alaric," Elena said and headed for the door.
"Oh, one last question," he added and made her stop. Elena turned around,
looking at him expectantly. "What about Katherine? Is she gone?"
"She left town the same night. But she swore to come back later."
"I see. Look out then, Elena."
She gave him a smile. "I will," she promised and left.
She walked further down the hallway and stopped by her locker. Then she took out
her cell phone and dialed Damon's number.
"Hey. What's up?"
"Hey. You're a life saver, you know that?" Elena said.
"I don't think that term really suites me. So what are you talking about?"
"You compelled the principal to give me another chance. Not that I approve of
your means, mind you," she scolded him.
"What? I really don't know what you're talking about, Elena."


Luckily she couldn't see his big grin right now.
"Oh, stop denying already. I told I'm not mad. I actually wanted to thank you."
"Oh, in that case, you're welcome," Damon said. He listened to Elena's chuckle
and added. "What are you doing? You want me to pick you up after school?"
"Oh no, it's okay. I was going to stop by the boarding house anyway. Is Stefan
in?"
"Not right now but he will be when you'll come."
"Good. I'm finally ready to talk to him. You don't mind me though, do you?"
"No, absolutely not. Go ahead, Elena."
"Good. So, um, can I do something for you? You know to return the favor?" she
offered.
"No, we're good, Elena," he replied.
"I'm serious. Think about it. I really owe you." Damon chuckled at her
enthusiasm. "So I gotta go now. See you later, Damon."
"See you later, honey," Damon said, grinning and hung up. He rested his arms
behind his head and smiled, completely pleased with himself.


After 7th period Anna packed her things and left the building to go home. She
usually walked back to the house her mother had bought for them. It was small
but big enough for two vampires to live in.

Anna was happy that their return to Mystic Falls had turned out so well. No one
had questioned them where they came from and why they had come to Mystic Falls
of all places and no one suspected them as anything else except polite, and of
course rich (Pearl and Anna had a bank account with the fortune they'd saved
back in 1864 including interest) civilians. They behaved completely humanly Anna
went to high school (Her ID said she was 16) and Pearl was about to open up a
shop, something that had always been her dream. And on top of that Anna had a
gorgeous boyfriend (Pearl didn't know of). All in all things were going great
and they were happy about it.

Suddenly someone horn's horn honked behind her and made her jump. Just when she
wanted to turn around to see who it was, a car with open roof caught up with her
and kept up with her walking speed. The driver, wearing sunglasses grinned at
her.
"Need a ride?" he asked smugly.
"Sure." She opened the door on the passenger's side and got in. "I guess someone
got his license."
Jeremy took of his sunglasses and smirked at her. "90 points."
"Congratulations."
Jeremy said thanks and put his sunglasses back on before pushing the gas pedal.
They drove silently through the town, just listening to the car radio – until
Anna had an idea.
"You know what we need? A song."
"A song," Jeremy repeated little enthusiastic.
"Yeah a song that always reminds you of us."
"Okay. So what music do you listen to?" he asked.
"Basically everything except country and grandparents' stuff."
"Me, too," he agreed. "Any song that comes to your mind?"
"Mmh, do you like One Republic?" she asked.
"Yeah. Do you know their new song? The one with Timbaland?"
"Marchin' on? I love that song!" Anna told him excitedly.
And suddenly said song started in the radio right that moment. They exchanged a
glance.
"I guess that's it, then," Jeremy said, grinning.
"I guess so," Anna agreed, grinning back.

There's so many wars we fought
There's so many things we're not
But with what we have
I promise that
We're marchin on
We're marchin on

The couple was so lost in the song as they sang along to the chorus that they
didn't notice who they were passing by. Pearl talking to Jenna immediately
recognized her daughter - and the boy she was with and she was shocked.


As announced earlier Elena went to the boarding house right after school was
over. She rang the bell and waited patiently for someone to answer the door. Two
seconds later Damon opened it with his trademark smirk on his face.
"Hey," she greeted him.
"You could've just come in, you know," he told her as he let her in.
"I know but I didn't want to startle anyone." Damon gave her a look. "Anyway is
Stefan back?"
"He's upstairs. I didn't tell him you're coming over," he added.
"Thanks," Elena replied, shaking her head amusedly and headed for the stairs.
"Hey." She turned around, looking at him questioningly. "I think I know
something for you to make up to me," he said, stalling time.
"Really?" she asked. "What is it?" Damon cocked his brow meaningfully. Elena
chuckled. "Forget it. See you later, Damon," she added and ascended the stairs.


"I'm home!" Anna called as she closed the front door behind her. The next moment
she jumped when her mother was suddenly standing in front of her. "Hey, Mom."
"We have to talk," Pearl said menacingly.
"Okay. What about?"
"Jeremy Gilbert?" Pearl came straight to the point and Anna swallowed hard. "I
knew he was Jenna's son but I didn't know he was a Gilbert!"
"Jenna is his aunt," Anna explained.
"Is he the reason you wanted to come back here?" Pearl demanded.
"Well, partly-"
"Are you out of your mind?" Pearl shouted. "How can you get involved with a
Gilbert after all what happened?"
"Jeremy isn't like his ancestor," Anna defended her boyfriend. "He's cool about
it. He likes it and he likes me."
Pearl stared at her. "What did you just say?"
"Jeremy knows," Anna admitted.
Suddenly Pearl raised her hand and slapped Anna hard. Her daughter stared at her
in shock. "We have to be careful, Anna! We aren't safe if someone like him knows
about our secret!" We should leave. Now."
"No!" Anna protested.
"And I want you to stop seeing Jeremy," Pearl ordered.
"That's not fair! Nothing's happened since he found out!" Anna reasoned. "And
there won't be anything happening later, either. I'm telling you, Jeremy will do
us no harm. Not as long as we don't kill anyone. Please, Mom. Let's stay here."
Pearl hesitated for a moment, contemplating her daughter's words, then she
sighed.
"Fine but you will stop seeing Jeremy."
"Why?" Anna demanded angrily.
"Because his uncle is in town and from I understand from the major he's the head
of the council," Pearl explained. "Please, Anna. I need to trust you. Promise me
you'll stay away from him."
Pearl was pleading with her. Anna knew that but she just couldn't fulfill her
request. She didn't know why. She just couldn't.
She looked apologetically at her. "I'm sorry, Mom, I can't. But you can trust me
with Jeremy. He's not gonna say anything to anyone, let alone to his uncle."
And with that she left. Pearl remained where she was and couldn't help but
worry.


Elena reached Stefan's bedroom and knocked. The door was immediately opened by
Stefan who looked like he was seeing a ghost.
"I heard your voice coming from downstairs but I didn't believe it at first. I
still can't believe you're here."
"Yes, I am, Stefan. Can we talk?"
"Yes, of course. Come in," he said and stepped aside so she could enter and
closed the door. "Have a seat."
"Thanks," Elena said and sat down on Stefan's bed.
Unsure whether he should sit down next to her or not Stefan kept standing in
front of her.
"So... how are you?" he asked.
"I'm fine, thanks."
"That's good."
"Yeah. Let's skip the small talk, okay?" Elena replied. "You know what I want to
talk about."
"Yeah, of course."
Elena ran her hands through her hair before she turned to look at Stefan again.
"Look, I don't know if you realized how much hurt me when you–"
"I did," Stefan interrupted her. "I'm so sorry about it, Elena. I swear if I'd
had enough strength to resist her I would have done it."
"It's just funny you know," Elena said sourly. "Damon couldn't resist her either
but at least he was being honest to me about it." Stefan hung his head. "You
know that wasn't the first time you lied to me, Stefan." He nodded sadly. Elena
sighed. "The thing is… I still love you, Stefan. And I want to start over."
"Me, too," Stefan agreed.
"But I need to trust you, Stefan. When Katherine comes back I'll need you by my
side."
"When she comes back?" Stefan repeated. "She's gone?"
"She left Friday night," she told him.
"How do you know?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Elena," Stefan urged her.
"Fine, I had an encounter with her, okay?"
"What? Why didn't you tell me? What happened? Did she hurt you?" Stefan demanded
concerned.
"I'm fine."
"I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to save you," Stefan said ashamed.
"I told you I'm fine. Damon saved me. But that's not the point, Stefan. Don't
you see what you're doing? The point is why you didn't do it. Because I couldn't
trust you."
"But you can trust Damon?" Stefan scoffed.
"Yes, in contrast to you I can." She sighed. "This is getting us nowhere. I
shouldn't have come." She wanted to get up and leave but Stefan stopped her.
"Wait! Don't go yet, please," begged. He sat down next to her and took her hands
in his, gazing intently at her. "I'm sorry I lied to you, Elena," he began.
"You're right. I should've told you about it. I didn't want to destroy our
relationship. I love you so much, Elena. I don't want to lose you over this
stupidity. I really hope you can forgive me." Him looking at her like a lost
puppy Elena couldn't stay cold. She sighed and put his arms around him. Relieved
Stefan hugged her tightly. "I'm really sorry, Elena."
"Hush, it's okay," she said. "Apology accepted."
He drew back and cupped her face. "Thank you," he whispered and kissed her
gently and Elena kissed him back.


Down in the parlor Damon poured himself another glass of bourbon. At some point
he'd lost track. All he knew was that he was absolutely drunk and he didn't care
at all. He rather welcomed the numbness because in this state he could get
things off his mind and off his chest by talking to himself about it after a
while and with a particular amount of alcohol in his system.
"Yay. The trouble is over. How peachy." He knocked the glass back. "Damon, would
you be mad at me if I forgave Stefan? No, of course not, Elena. Why would I?
Just go ahead. Back to your perfect, squirrel-eater. I don't mind at all."
He slumped on the couch, closing his eyes for a moment. And when he opened them
again he hurled his glass against the wall where it shattered and fell in pieces
to the ground.
He was frustrated. His brother was always the lucky one whereas he... Why did he
turn Katherine down again? Right... for Elena - who was perfectly happy without
him. Something was wrong.
Scoffing at his own foolishness Damon got up, grabbed his jacket and left. It
was perfectly obvious that no one missed him. So there wouldn't be anyone
missing him, either if he spent the night in a bar.


They sound of shattering glass startled Elena.
"Did you hear that?" she asked Stefan who nodded.
They got up and walked into the hallway.
"Damon?" Elena called downstairs. No answer.
She exchanged a worried look with Stefan before descending the stairs, followed
by him. They entered the parlor and spotted the shards on the carpet. Stefan
sighed.
"What's gotten into him again?"
Elena was silent. She couldn't help but feel guilty. Maybe her reconciliation
with Stefan bothered him more than he let on.


Jeremy entered his bedroom and closed the door. His uncle John had dropped by.
Now he didn't despise him or anything but at some point he had fled the scene
because Jena was nagging John again.
It took Jeremy a second to realize that he wasn't alone in the room. Anna was
sitting on his bed. Apparently she had been waiting for him to come upstairs.
"Hey," he said smiling.
"Hey, um, can we talk?" Anna came straight to the point.
That caught Jeremy off-guard. "Um, yeah, sure," he said and sat down on his
chair, facing her. "What about?"
"My mom wants me to stay away from you," she told him directly.
"Oh..." Jeremy obviously didn't know what to say. "Okay, um, why?"
"She's on alert since she found out about your uncle."
"Uncle John?" he asked confused. "What about him?"
"He's head of the Watchers' Council, did you know that?"
"He's what?" Jeremy gasped out. "Sorry, he added, quickly lowering his voice.
"No, I didn't. I swear, I didn't."
"It's okay, I believe you."
"So... do you think that's the reason came back?" Jeremy inquired. "To hunt down
vampires?"
"My mom and I wondered the same thing," she told him. "But we don't know. It's
likely since a lot vampire-related incidents happened here lately."
"I see..."
"So we have to be careful. I persuaded Mom to stay and see what happens but we
won't take any chances."
"No, of course not. I-" Jeremy began but Anna cut him off.
"Shht! Shut up," she hissed. "They're talking about us."
"Wait, you can hear that?" Jeremy asked puzzled and received short nod as an
answer. He got up and soundlessly opened the door to listen to the conversation
downstairs.
"So I saw Jeremy today. With a girl." That was John talking.
"So what?" Jeremy could hear his aunt ask barely interested.
"Is she new in town? I don't I ever saw her around before."
"That's because you are never around. But yes, she's new. She and her mother
Pearl recently moved here. Why do you ask?"
"Pearl you say?" John said pensively. "I'm just curious, that's all."
Jeremy turned around to Anna and stared at her with wide eyes. She too had a
shocked expression on her face and she got up to leave.
"Wait!" Jeremy hissed, closing the door as silently as possible and grabbed her
arm. "Wait, Anna!"
"I have to go! Let me go, Jeremy! You heard him! They're already onto us!" she
said frantically.
"But if you leave now it'll make him suspicious, don't you think?"
"So what? We'll be long gone before he finds out. We'll never come back and
he'll never find us." Jeremy hung his head. The prospect of losing Anna made him
sad. Without her he felt lonely but he did realize that her safety came first.
Anna didn't miss his mood swing of course. She cupped his face to make him look
at her.
"Look, he already knows my mom. I don't know who told him but he knows her name.
That means he's after her."
"I understand," Jeremy said. "But still I think you should try to find out what
he wants first."
"How are we supposed to find out?" she asked.
"Remember Jonathan Gilbert's journal?" he asked back. She nodded. "Jonathan
wrote it all down. Everything. He even mentioned your mother in there. I could
ask John if he read the journal. He could've gotten your mother's name out of
the journal."
"Okay," Anna agreed. "But be careful. And if you learn anything that makes you
think we're in danger you'll call me. And then we'll leave immediately."
"I will," Jeremy promised.
Anna gave him a small smile and kissed him gently.
"I see you tomorrow," she said when they pulled apart. "Good night."
"Good night."
She turned around and left through the open window. Jeremy opened his bedroom
door again, hoping to learn more from John but they had already changed the
subject.


Later that night after countless shots Damon was hardly conscious. He was
sitting at the counter of some bar, watching the delicious girls around him.
What would he give for... but he couldn't. The council was already on alert and
for his weekly amount of blood bags he almost had to cross the state line. It
was too risky.
He heard the door of the bar open and close but didn't bother to turn around and
find out who it was. He didn't care until that person took a seat next to him.
"I knew I'd find you here," Anna said, slightly disgusted.
Damon put on a drunken smirk.
"Sorry, Miss, but can I some ID, please?" the bartender said, eying her
suspiciously.
Anna stared deep into his eyes and compelled him. "Can you shut up and leave me
alone, please?"
"Yes, of course," the bartender said and continued washing the dishes.
"Oooh, someone's pissed. I'd better go," Damon said.
"Wait, I need you help."
Damon raised his brows. "I don't think I'll remember your request in the
morning."
"Oh, I'll make sure you will alright," Anna threatened him.
"Fine," Damon gave in. "It seems I've been a barrel of favors lately. So go
ahead and add yours to the list."
"Why didn't you tell us John Gilbert's onto us?" she demanded.
"Hold on a second here, I told your mother they were back on alert."
"That's not it. It seems like John is particularly after my mother," Anna
explained.
"How do you figure?"
"I overheard a conversation in the Gilbert household, okay? The point is he
knows her name so he seems to have some business with her."
"Aha. And your telling me this because..."
"Because I want you to find out what he wants from her."
"I don't think so," Damon refused and knocked back his glass of bourbon.
"Oh yes you will," Anna insisted. "It's basically your fault he's here."
"Yeah, my fault. Go figure."
"Because you threw your vamp parties here before!" Anna hissed angrily. "You
weren't exactly keeping a low profile."
"So what? John's not after me, right?"
"Damon!"
Damon groaned in frustration. "Okay, fine. I'll see what I can find out."
"Thanks," Anna said, got up and left without another word.
Damon started to wonder what made him agree to it when suddenly his cell phone
beeped. Lazily he looked at the display to see that he had received a text
message from Elena. Knowing it couldn't get any worse he opened and read it.
It only contained two simple words but together they meant so much.

I'm sorry.

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Damon der Retter des Tages^^ Ich weiß auch schon, wie Elena sich revanchieren
kann^^ 

Team Janna! Ich liebe dieses Pairing genauso wie Delena. Und ich denke wirklich,
dass Marchin On ihr Song ist, wenn ich daran denke, was ich für die beiden noch
so geplant hab...

Langsam wird es spannend, denn John stellt jetzt nicht nur mehr eine Gefahr für
Damon und Stefan dar, sondern auch für Pearl und Anna. Wie gesagt, werde ich
mich jetzt sehr an der Plotline der Serie orientieren. 

Bis zum nächsten Mal
eure Asu

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