I walked into History class and sat in my desk as Elena and Stefan both followed after me, doing the same. "Okay." Alaric started once he came into the class and shut the door behind him. "This week we're going to set aside our our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founder's day." He pointed out and set his bag on his desk. "Apparently, the community leaders feel that's more important than World War 11, but hey, what do I know?" Ric asked sarcastically before the classroom door opened, revealing Bonnie.

"Sorry I'm late." She apologized and gave him a small smile. I furrowed my eyebrows at her and sat up straight in confusion while she walked toward her desk.

"Looks like we will be at full occupancy today. Welcome home, Bonnie." Alaric nodded at her once she sat in her desk. I smiled at her and she smiled back only before her smile dropped once she looked at Stefan, making me raise an eyebrow. "Right, Founders day. What does it mean to have Founders day? Well, if you'll turn your attention to this, exquisite diorama over here that I spent all night—" Ric started once the bell rang for class. I slowly sighed and sat back in my desk, letting myself doze off.
~~~~

"Bonnie." I stated loudly as I walked after her, trying to catch her on the way to her car.

"Hey." She replied, looking back at me but looked away and continued to walk.

"I, uh—I tried to grab you after class but you'd already taken off." I pointed out in defeat before she turned to me finally. "How are you? How's your family?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at her.

"We're dealing. It's been hard." Bonnie answered, nodding back at me shortly.

"Well, everyone really missed you." I stated with a reassuring smile but she shrugged.

"Yeah, I just had so much to deal with after Grams' funeral, and honestly after you told me that the tomb's spell failed and the vampires got out—I just didn't really wanna come back." She admitted and I looked down in defeat.

"I hope you understand why I called. I just wanted you to know before you came home.." I countered and looked back up at her.

"I understand why. I just wish that I didn't.. Know." Bonnie informed quietly, only to look away from me and I slowly nodded at her.

"I know it's been really hard—" I started but was cut off as Caroline came running over to us.

"Bonnie! Bonnie, thank god you're home." Care stated in relief before she hugged her tightly and I smiled at the two once they pulled away. "I know we talked everyday but I missed you. How are you doing?" She asked in a rushed breath.

"Better—just better, you know? Just glad to be back and uh, try to keep myself busy." Bonnie answered with a smile, while holding her books close to her chest.

"Well, I can help with that. Major wardrobe confab needed ASAP. You need to help me pick the perfect dress for the Founder's court." Caroline stated in excitement and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Miss Mystic Falls?" I asked, taken aback as I remembered that was even a thing.

"They announced it today and um, Elena and I are both on it. Could you remind her?" Caroline asked, raising and eyebrow at me and I slowly nodded in response.

"Wow.. You guys signed up for that so long ago, I completely forgot about it." I admitted and watched Caroline quickly knit her eyebrows together.

"Wait, so do you think Elena will forget and drop out?" She asked in confusion, but part of her probably wished that would happen.

"She can't." I answered emotionlessly and looked away from her.

"No?" Care countered, trying to press it further but I folded my arms over my chest.

"Our mom was the one that wanted me to enter. Me being the oldest, it's sort of a tradition in the family.." I started, remembering the conversation I had with her about it. "But.. Elena volunteered for me, knowing I hate being the center of attention." I added and looked back at her to see her face drop slightly. "My mom really wanted one of us to compete.. Just for it to remain the legacy tradition." I stated quietly in defeat, only to look away from her again.
~~~

"Hey, I heard you're driving." I stated, looking at Ric who came inside once I opened the door.

"Yeah, I am." He agreed and I looked over his tux approvingly before I walked into the living room while he shut the door. "Hey, How is—how is, Stefan?" He asked from behind me and I turned back to him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising and eyebrow but he shrugged and put his hands in his pant pockets.

"You know, he just seems on edge." Alaric admitted and I slowly nodded in agreement, knowing what he meant.

"He went through a lot. From what I've gathered from Elena, he's been in bad shape for awhile. But he's bouncing back now." I stated in a somewhat reassuring tone but Ric stared back at me unconvinced before footsteps came from the hall.

"Alaric. Hey, buddy." John stated and nodded at him with a fake smile. I sighed a bit and gave Alaric a 'good luck' glance as I watched the scene uncomfortably. "What are you doing here?" John added, raising an eyebrow at the tux Ric was wearing.

"Well, I'm the uh, chauffeur." Alaric informed, making John raise an eyebrow in confusion as Jenna and Elena made their way down the stairs. Jenna wore a greyish-green above the knee dress, with a long coat while Elena wore sweats, since she would be getting ready at the Founder's Court.

"Oh, I thought I was driving." John stated and looked between all of us but Jenna smiled back.

"No need. We're going with Ric." Jenna pointed out and looked at Alaric with a grateful smirk and I smiled at the two.

"Are we ready?" Elena asked with a nervous breath and I nodded in agreement before grabbing my purse.

"Mm-Hmm. Jeremy can ride with you." Jenna stayed quickly toward John before we walked out of the house.
~~~

"Thanks for helping me." Elena said as she applied blush to her cheeks while I stood behind her and curled her hair.

"Don't thank me until you're sure your hair isn't going to burn off." I replied in amusement, making her chuckle.

"You know, I remember when mom and I were first applying for this.." Elena started and I looked at her through the mirror as she thought about the memory to herself. "She was so excited." She added, shaking her head softly and I smiled at her.

"So were you, if I remember right." I pointed out in reassurance and tilted my head at her as I curled another part of her hair.

"I was.. She just made it sound like so much fun—A lot has changed since then." Elena replied, sighing deeply in some defeat and I slowly nodded in agreement.

"You know, I hate to break it to you but it's a little late for cold feet." I admitted in a joking manner. "I mean, unless you had a twin who could easily take your spot without anyone even noticing." I added reassuringly, watching as she chuckled in response.

"I don't have cold feet—I just think I'd be enjoying this a lot more if mom were here." She informed quietly and I slowly nodded down at her.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing.. Your hair would have a better chance if she was." I countered sarcastically and rolled my eyes. Elena chuckled and I sighed in relief as I finished curling the last strand of hair.

"Okay, I should go put my dress on." Elena stated, getting up from the chair before pointing between me and the curling iron. "Be careful with that thing. Don't hurt anyone." She warned sarcastically and I laughed as she walked away. I turned the curling iron off and set it on the dresser in front of me before I walked out of the dressing room and into the hall. I was about to go find Jenna and join the party downstairs but someone quickly grabbed my arm from behind me. I furrowed my eyebrows, opening my mouth to protest before I was brought into an empty changing room and the door was closed behind us.

"Excuse you?" I asked in annoyance and quickly turned towards them only to raise an eyebrow at Damon who stood in front of me. I sighed in some relief and slowly rose an eyebrow as I looked him up and down, noticing his tux fit him pretty nicely.

"We need to talk." Damon stated in a serious tone, bringing me back to reality and away from my thoughts.

"Does it have to be now?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at his terrible timing as I gestured around us.

"Normally, I would have a completely different outlook on what I'm about to tell you, but since it can really inconvenience me—I'll squeal." Damon stated with a sigh and ignored my question completely.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the blatantly serious expression he was wearing.

"Stefan's still drinking human blood." He informed emotionlessly and I furrowed my eyebrows, taken aback.

"What?" I asked in a snappy tone and watched him look away from me in defeat.

"Yeah. A month ago I would have rejoiced but with the council back on the alert, it is not time for Stefan to be flying off of the handle." Damon warned as he took a step toward me.

"I know that Elena said he's been on edge but Stefan said that was normal." I stated, slowly pacing back and forth in front of him.

"He has a fridge full of stolen blood bank contraband in the house." Damon pointed out in annoyance and I looked at him in shock. "He has no idea what normal is. His whole existence isn't normal. Normal for a vampire is drinking human blood, but he spent all of this time fighting it when he should have been learning how to control it." He stated as he shook his head and I slowly nodded in agreement. "And now it's controlling him instead." Damon added, crossing his arms over his chest in defeat.

"I—I can't believe this. It's Stefan we're talking about here." I countered, chuckling nervously at the thought and Damon nodded back at me.

"Stefan on human blood, Ari. He'll do anything, He'll say anything, because he's not going to wanna stop." Damon stated in warning as he watched me. "Trust me." He added and I slowly looked away from him.

"I need to tell Elena. She was the one who fed him her blood in the first place. She'll think that this is her fault." I stated in defeat and looked back at him. "How can I trust him to be around her if he can't control himself, Damon?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows and watched Damon walk over to me again. "I—I don't trust him. I can't trust him." I stated, shaking my head at the thought and staring to pace again before Damon grabbed me, gently stopping me in front of him.

"I know.. I know." Damon stated reassuringly, running a thumb over my chin as a calming gesture. I stared at him in defeat before I slowly shook my head and pulled away from him.

-Time Skip-

I watched from the garden outside of the Lockwood's, as all of the Miss Mystic Falls contestants came out from the house. Each of them walked outside with their dates, and onto the platform that was placed on the lawn. "Ms. Elena Gilbert. Escorted by Stefan Salvatore." Mayor Lockwood introduced lastly and smiled at the crowd gathered around him as he did. Everyone inside applauded and I furrowed my eyebrows and scanned the inside crowd in confusion, not seeing Stefan standing at the bottom of the stairs, awaiting her. I watched as Elena started walking down the steps in a beautiful silk blue dress that fell elegantly over her. Her hair was curled, thanks to me, and she wore a blue clip in the back that matched her dress perfectly. I watched Elena scan the bottom of the stairs for Stefan and saw the look of both panic and embarrassment start to settle on her face. I furrowed my eyebrows and quickly looked at Damon who stood across from me outside. We made eye contact and without even having to ask, I watched him quickly move inside and position himself at the bottom of the stairs in Stefan's place. I watched him with a grateful smile and saw Elena giving him the same look once the two met before they made their way out toward the dance floor to meet the other contestants and their escorts.

"What is she doing with Damon?" Jenna asked quietly from beside me and I gave her a confused shrug.

"I have no idea." I replied, hiding a playful smirk once the instrumental music started playing, cueing the Mystic Court to start their dance. I watched as Damon and Elena stared at each other intensely and started moving around the floor in a circle, not touching each other as they followed the choreography they learned for this event. When Damon stood across from Elena alone again, he looked past her and at me and I could feel myself staring intently at him. Drawn to him.. The music picked up around us and the violin played over the rest of the chords, signifying that the couples finally join hands and start to glide across the floor. I watched in awe as Elena's dress swayed around her with her every step she took. The music slowed down again as the tempo died and I took a deep breath once I watched Damon and Elena part. And the whole time.. I couldn't help but wish it was me dancing with him.
~~~

Everyone applauded as Mayor Lockwood stepped up onto the platform in front of the Miss Mystic Falls contestants as well as the crowd, waiting to announce the winner. "Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." Mayor stated with a smile and everyone applauded in agreement toward the line of women. I smiled up at Caroline and Elena who stood next to each other, chuckling amongst themselves. "So, without further adieu—It is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls.." Mayor Lockwood stated, looking over the women before him before smiling widely. "Miss Caroline Forbes!" He said loudly and I jumped up in excitement and applauded her loudly, as did everyone around me.

"Go, Care!" I stated with a smile and she looked at everyone in shock before smiling widely and hugging Elena tightly. I watched and smiled up at as I watched the Mayor place a banner over her head. I felt someone shift themselves to they were standing beside me and I looked over my shoulder to see Tyler.

"Hey." I stated, looking over him in slight confusion but he only merely nodded back at me. Clearly, not making it seem like I was much of a significance.

"Do you wanna get out of here? This isn't much of my scene." Tyler stayed emotionlessly and I rose an eyebrow at his straightforwardness before looking back up at Caroline.

"Tyler, what's going on with you?" I asked, shaking my head at him in disbelief. "I mean, come on. First you cheat on me. Then you kiss me. Then, the next second you're making out with Kelly." I pointed out in disbelief and watched him quickly look away from me and clench his jaw.

"You're right." Tyler agreed emotionlessly and I furrowed my eyebrows at his sudden change of mood. "Forget I asked." He added with a scoff before he walked away from me, making me sigh in defeat.
~~~

I furrowed my eyebrows and met up with Damon in a somewhat vacant hallway, away from most of the people who were enjoying the party. "What is it? Did you find him?" I asked and he pulled us off to the side, away from any bystanders.

"There were signs of struggle in the upstairs bathroom. There was blood. And that Amber girls missing." Damon informed one a somewhat calm but cautious tone and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Oh, god—Would he hurt her? Do you think he would hurt her?" I asked in concern, knowing full well I was possibly jumping to conclusion. But also, possibly not.

"Let's just find him, okay? Let's get your coat, come on." Damon replied in reassurance as he took my hand and led us. We walked away from the party and toward the exit doors where our coats were hung up.

"What about, Elena?" I asked in some worry but he gave me a stern nod, not looking back at me to answer.

"I think it's best she stays out of this. For her and Stefan." Damon reassured and I slowly nodded in agreement before we made it to the front. I grabbed my coat and Damon helped me slide it on before the two of us walked outside. I felt my breath hitch in my throat once I felt the cold hair hit my skin. I looked around the parking lot, scanning it for any clues or any sigh of struggle like Damon had explained. I walked down the steps only to have Damon quickly grab my hand and stop me.

"Damon? Damon, what—" I started in confusion but watched him furrow his eyebrows and move in front of me, quickly pulling me behind him as we started running away from the party. I furrowed my eyebrows and ran after him, which didn't feel very good because HEELS. Damon and I ran toward the woods and I followed him blindly before I heard a curdling scream echo from the woods in front of us. Amber.. Damon and I ran quicker before two figures started to come into my view and I widened my eyes. Stefan stood in front of us, teeth sunken into Amber's neck completely while she tried to fight against him. "Stefan!" I yelled out in shock and watched him him quickly snap his head toward us. Amber fell on the ground with a groan and Stefan looked between Damon and I, fully shifted while blood covered his mouth and chin.

"Stefan? Come on. Get control of it. Come on." Damon warned in a calm voice as he, moved protectively in front of me. Damon slowly walked toward him and I furrowed my eyebrows in worry as Stefan stared at me in shock. "It's okay.. Breathe through it, man." Damon reassured, reaching a hand out to Stefan once he got close enough. Stefan growled back at him in response and grabbed Damon, throwing him across from him. I widened my eyes and watched Damon hit the trunk of a tree with a thud. Stefan growled and angrily moved closer to Damon who quickly vamped up.

"Stefan, stop it!" I stated loudly in warning but he didn't listen as he stalked toward Damon threateningly.

"Stefan!" Elena's voice yelled out from behind me. He snapped his head in her direction before he started to groan out in pain and clutch his head with his hands. I furrowed my eyebrows and turned around to see Bonnie who was narrowing her eyes down at him emotionlessly. I looked at Damon in concern but and he nodded back at me reassurance. I looked back down at Stefan and watched him slowly fall on his knees, groaning loudly as the pain started to get worse. I looked back at Bonnie with pleading eyes before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Stefan gasped and sighed loudly in relief once the pain stopped. I looked back at him as blood dripped from his mouth and watched as the realization of what he'd done, finally set in.

"It's okay.." Damon reassured as Stefan slowly shook his head, horrified of what he had just done. "Stefan." He added in defeat and shook his head at his brother. I watched Stefan with sorrow filled eyes as he looked at me and regret was the only thing I saw. His gaze fixed itself on Elena who slowly shook her head at him, completely taken aback at what she witnessed.. Silence fell among all of us as Stefan's eyes glazed over, bloodshot from the high of the blood. I took a step toward him in reassurance but he backed away from me and slowly shook his head in disbelief. I opened my mouth to speak but he quickly vamped away from us.
~~~~

"She doesn't remember what happened." Liz stated in disappointment as she walked over to Damon, Bonnie, Elena and I while a deputy knelt beside Amber from a few feet away.

"It's a good thing that the girls got here when they did. She lost a lot of blood." Damon pointed out as he gestured at the three of us and Liz looked us over.

"You didn't see anything?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows between us. Elena and I exchanged a look before we looked at Bonnie who remained silent from beside us.

"No. We just found her and then called Damon.. I didn't know who else to call." I stated in defeat, speaking up and watched Liz slowly nod.

"She going to be okay?" Bonnie asked quietly from behind me.

"Looks like it, yeah.. Why don't you girls get back to the party? Damon and I can take it from here." Liz stayed reassuringly toward the three of us and I slowly nodded in agreement.

"Okay." I whispered and gestured for the other two. I looked back at Damon who signed in relief and walked over to me. I opened my mouth to speak but he gently kissed my forehead reassuringly. He's never done that before.. I slowly pulled away from him and gave him a look of confusion but gave me a short nod and turned away from me. I sighed deeply and walked back to the party with Bonnie and Elena who remained silent for a few seconds.. only for it to end short.

"Bonnie, can we talk about this?" Elena asked in defeat and stopped, only to watch Bonnie walk in front of her.

"There's nothing to talk about." Bonnie replied, trying to ignore it and I furrowed my eyebrows at the two.

"Bonnie, please." Elena pressed in disappointment, making Bonnie quickly turn to look at her.

"I told you I wasn't going to make you choose between Stefan and I, Elena.. But I need to make the choice for myself." Bonnie informed, shaking her head at Elena who furrowed her eyebrows. "Please just leave me alone." She added, and quickly sighed as she walked away from us and toward her car.

"It'll be okay." I stated, trying to reassure Elena as I we started to walk back the party again but neither of us went back inside. The two of us just remained on the stairs, deep in our own thoughts.

"Oh, good. There you are. Jenna wanted me to get the car." Alaric stated in relief as he walked out of the mansion and down the steps. I stated back at him emotionlessly, only to look away. "What happened?" He asked, looking between us in some concern.

"I—It's Stefan." Elena answered in some defeat and looked between us, a knowing and disappointed look starting to settle on his face.

-Elena-

I watched in silence as Stefan stood in front of his mirror, thinking to himself before looking sideways at me. "You shouldn't be here." He stated emotionlessly and I slowly walked into his room.

"I know." I replied, eyeing him carefully as he walked away from the mirror and toward his bed.

"Now you know." Stefan stated in disgust at himself and I slowly shook my head.

"That wasn't you." I pointed out in reassurance and watched as he slowly walked around his room, pacing back and forth in front of me.

"Oh, that was absolutely me. I'm a monster. A predator. It's who I am, Elena." He stated as he he ran a hand over his forehead in frustration.

"That's what the blood makes you." I protested from where I stood in his doorway.

"The blood brings out what's inside of me and if you think any different, then you're an idiot." He snapped back harshly and I narrowed my eyes back at him, not giving in.

"I know isn't you, Stefan." I countered, trying to maintain my calmness but he scoffed in annoyance.

"This is me, Elena. I wanted to drain every ounce of blood out of that girl tonight." Stefan stated in annoyance as he turned to look at me, an anger in him that I haven't seen before.

"No." I replied, looking at him in disbelief but he rolled his eyes in response.

"It's who I am, Elena." He stated, angrily pointing at himself but I scoffed.

"No. No, You can't scare me off." I stated, shaking my head at his behavior and he looked back at me in disbelief as he paced back and forth, eyeing me while he did.

"Why would you risk it? Why would you come here?" Stefan asked, shaking his head in annoyance and I furrowed my eyebrows at his question.

"Because I did this. This is my fault. I'm the one who made you drink the blood." I admitted and watched him turn away from me, getting more frustrated.

"All you did was expose me to who I really am!" Stefan yelled out in protest and I clenched my jaw at his stubbornness.

"This isn't you." I argued, making him growl back at me and push some of his books off of his desk.

"Stop saying that!" He yelled and I furrowed my eyebrows at his behavior but I slowly moved toward him. "Don't come any closer to me." Stefan warned, turning away from me but I didn't listen.

"I'm not going to let this happen to you." I stated in reassurance as I shook my head but he sighed deeply, turning away from me.

"Stop." He warned in an aggressive tone as I continued to walked closer to him, defying him.

"Stefan, I'm not going to give up on you. I believe in you." I stated, giving him a small smile of encouragement but that only made him more angry and I widened my eyes.

"Stop! Stop, just stop saying that!" Stefan snapped back. He vamped towards me and grabbed me aggressively by my shoulders before he pushed me back against a wall. I gasped as he pounded his fist on the wall beside me angrily, staring at me with such anger. Stefan breathed heavily down on me, finally calming himself down enough to realize what he just did. I watched as he looked me over with such disbelief and regret, making his eyes glaze over. "I—I'm sorry." Stefan whispered, leaning his head down toward me and I slowly nodded.

"It's okay. It's okay.." I reassured him quietly and listened as he started sobbing into me and resting his head in the crook of my neck.

"I don't know what's happening to me." Stefan sobbed in defeat as he cried. I slowly nodded and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him closer to me so that I was hugging him.

"It's okay, Stefan.. It's okay." I stated in reassurance toward him. "Shh.. It's okay.." I repeated, distracting him as I slowly pulled a vervain syringe from my pocket. "You're gonna be okay." I whispered feeling my eyes glaze over at my words before I plunged the syringe into Stefan's back. I heard him groan, trying to fight against the vervain before he fell back and landed on the floor below me. I looked at the doorway and watched Damon and Mariana walk in and look down at Stefan in uncertainty.

"Sure you want to do this?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow from beside Mariana. I slowly ran a hand through my hair and let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding in.

"I'm sure." I answered, nodding in agreement. I looked at Mariana who gave me a reassuring smile before I looked back down at Stefan.
~~~

I watched Damon lock the cellar door before looking down at me. "There's no guarantee that this is going to work." He stated in some warning and I shook my head back at him.

"It has to." I whispered, staring at Stefan's back from where he was laying inside the cell. Damon and Mariana walked toward the stairs but she turned back to and rose an eyebrow.

"You coming?" Mari asked in a soft tone. I watched Stefan in silence for a few more seconds before I slowly nodded and followed after them.