MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL

Vicki stared at the blood, all of her senses concentrating on the small amount of liquid spread across her hand. The voices in her head were telling her to lick it, telling her to wipe it and run away from Jeremy. The views of her brother, Aella, Damon, Tyler, and Stefan all telling her to do opposite things getting louder and louder and louder until she did what only instinct told her to do.

And so she tasted the blood.

"Vicki?"

Jeremy's voice was muffled by the voices until the blood on her hand was gone, and she looked away from her damp palm to the confused face of Jeremy then to the cut on his neck.

"Vicki? Are you okay?"

Vicki's eyes strayed from the bleeding cut as her eyes met Jeremy's, her eyes tearing up as she realized she had just made the biggest mistake of her life, "I'm sorry Jer."

Jeremy had never been so confused in his life, "For what Vick?"

Vicki took hold of the nape of his neck, stroking her thumb on the short hairs growing there, and as her hand tightened, she looked back into Jeremy's eyes, "For this." And her face quickly moved to his neck, and her lips sucked at the wound until nature took its course and her teeth took a bite.

"Vicki, what the hell?!" Jeremy panicked, and when he tried to pull away, her grip was too strong, "Oh, my god. No! Stop! Vicki! No! Ahhhhhhhh!"

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Damon had just entered to party when he saw a Bennett witch, just not the one he hoped to torture for a few days before slowly killing her. Bonnie was smiling as she watched everyone arrive her and something in Damon wanted to remove that smile, and so he walked up to her, and when she saw him Bonnie did not disappoint; the smile went first and then came that classic Bennett glare that he noticed all the Bennett witches had inherited.

"What do you want Damon?" Bonnie snarled, and Damon had to give her credit, she was a feisty one.

"Where's your miniature cousin?"

At the mention of her cousin, Bonnie seemed to grow with confidence, "Do yourself a favor, Damon, and don't ask me about Aella."

"Oh, Bonnie," he chuckled darkly. "So loyal."

She stepped forward trying to intimidate him, which was just hilarious to the vampire, "Just stay away from her."

He was about to play with her a little more when he saw her necklace, and instead frowned and the familiar piece, "Where'd you get that?"

Bonnie held the necklace tight to her body, "Nowhere."

Damon then remembered where he saw it last, "The Founder's Party. You know that's mine, don't you?"

Bonnie scowled at him, holding the necklace even tighter, "Not anymore."

Damon had to give her credit, she could give her cousin a run for her money with this attitude, "Funny. I'd like it back, please."

"I'm not giving it to you, it doesn't belong to you."

"Or I could just take it right now?" Damon was sick of the games and reached forward to grab it for her neck when the metal burnt his skin, and he pulled his hand away. Bonnie stared between his hand and her necklace before she ran away leaving Damon glaring after her.

He was just about to run after her when he heard screams and realized just who those screams belonged to.

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When Aella felt the pain in her neck so knew she was too late and pumped her legs faster than ever before, using her powers to forcefully open the doors, hearing Stefan running behind her as she reached the doors to the backlot and blew them wide open only to see and hear Jeremy screaming as Vicki drank his blood.

"Vicki no!" Aella cried and pushed her hand, so Vicki flew away from the boy and through the air into a school bus.

Aella ran over to a shocked Jeremy and stood in front of him just as Stefan and Damon sped in shocking Jeremy even more.

"I'm sorry," Vicki sobbed on the ground where she had landed. "I'm so sorry." But before she could apologize again, the smell of blood now leaking from Jeremy's wound was too much and she sped towards Jeremy and Aella and just as she reached them Damon broke a piece of wood from next to the dumpster and stabbed her in the heart.

"Noooooooo!" Stefan screamed as Vicki stood still before Aella's back, her eyes meeting Jeremy's who's had only widened more.

Aella turned at the sound of her boyfriend to see Vicki's face in shock, and a piece of wood pushed through her chest, "No." Aella shook her head as Vicki swayed and Aella took hold of her as Stefan angrily pushed Damon away and the two laid Vicki down. "No. Vicki hold on."

"I'm sorry," Vicki whispered as tears fell down her bleeding face. "I tried."

"I know," Aella nodded desperately, wiping Vicki's tears and the blood away with her hands. "You were so strong, I should have stayed with you."

Vicki just smiled sadly, "This was my decision, thank you for being here today."

Aella sobbed as the grey started riding up Vicki's face, "Of course, always... who cares about our past I would have always been there."

"Tell Matty I lo..." Vicki started but before she could finish the grey took over, and she fell stiff in Aella and Stefan's arms.

"Vicki?" Aella shook the girl hoping this was all a joke but she did not respond. "Vicki, don't do this to Matt." Aella shook her again as she sobbed out Vicki's name hoping she would respond with a sarcastic comment. "Vicki!"

But she didn't.

Stefan slowly lowered Vicki's body to the ground and took hold of Aella as she screamed the teenager's name, "She's gone."

"No," Aella shook her head as she sobbed. "We promised her she wouldn't be in pain. She can't have gone like this."

"I'm sorry," Stefan whispered into her hair.

Aella was about to call Vicki's name again when a soft voice called hers, "Aella?"

She stopped and stilled as she realized who had just witnessed everything, her heartbreaking at his whimper. She felt sick. Taking a deep breath, Aella pulled herself away from Stefan and turned to Jeremy who was staring down at Vicki's dead body.

Aella ignored Stefan's call and rushed to Jeremy who could only stare at the scene before him in shock as his hand held the bleeding wound on his neck.

"Let me see," Aella focused on Jeremy as she wiped her tears away, ignoring the blood already on her hands.

"She bit me," Jeremy sighed but did not move his hand.

Aella tried to move his hand, her own hands shaking as tears fell down her face, but it was stuck there, "Let me see Jer."

But Jeremy wasn't listening as he rambled, his own tears now gathering, "And you moved your hand, and she just flew."

"I know Jeremy," Aella squeezed her lips to hold back the tears, "I just need to see your neck."

"And then Stefan and Damon came out of nowhere," Jeremy's eyes moved from Aella to Stefan and Damon. "They came from nowhere."

Aella had to snap him out of this and in her harshest tone snapped his name, "Jeremy look at me and focus!"

Jeremy's eyes snapped to her's for a moment, and finally, he released the hand on his neck before his eyes rested on Vicki again as Aella took a ripped piece of her dress and pressed it into the wound. Jeremy whimpered at the pain and Aella focused on his injury when Jeremy whispered tearfully, "What the hell happened Aella?"

Aella didn't answer him for a moment, and she wiped the blood away until her tearful eyes met his own and whispered with a heavy heart, "Something I never wanted you to be a part of."

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As Aella moved Jeremy to sit on the floor and leaned against the school so she could see his wound easier, Stefan looked up at Damon, "Are you happy now?"

Damon didn't answer as his eyes glanced over to Aella and Jeremy before they focused on his brother, "I'll deal with this."

Stefan was about to nod when Aella sharp tone reached the two brothers, "No."

The two looked to her as she stepped away from Jeremy glaring at Damon, "I think you've done enough Damon."

Damon chuckled as his eyes moved from Aella's to Jeremy's, to Stefan's, all of their eyes filled with agony and despair. He was going to kill Stefan and his little Pixie tonight but this, this was so much better. With a final smirk, Damon sped away.

They all watched the space Damon had vacated for a few moments before Aella turned to Stefan, "We need to do this humanely."

Stefan nodded, glancing at Jeremy who was staring down at Vicki's body before looking back to Aella, "What do you have in mind?"

Aella bit her lip as she thought over what to do, looking down at Vicki she knew she had to do right by the teenage, something only a small amount of people had done her entire life, and Aella was not going to let her down. "We tell Matt that we saw her crying and heading to the woods, Matt will want to look for her, and we help him, we do everything we would usually do."

"And the body?" Stefan asked as he looked down at the stick through Vicki's chest. "Can't exactly explain that one."

Aella looked over at Jeremy, his eyes still staring at Vicki's body as he held the piece of Aella's dress to his throat, when she looked back at Stefan she sighed sadly, "We have to make it look like it was an accident, she was upset and running through the woods, tripped and fell onto a branch?"

Stefan could only agree, what else could they say, "So bizarre it's actually true, plus the Town Council will just be happy to have a vampire gone, they'll make sure the people believe it."

Aella laughed sarcastically, tears in her voice, "After all this is Mystic Falls," the laughter quickly turned to tears, and Stefan pulled her into his chest, "How the hell are we having this conversation right now Stefan?"

"I know," Stefan sympathized as he kissed her forehead.

"This shouldn't have happened to her," Aella finally cried out, and all Stefan could do was hold her close. "We could have done more."

Stefan pulled away and looked down at Aella, "You did all you could, and if Matt knew this was the end he would be happy to know she had you there at the end."

"Okay," Aella nodded wiping away her tears and stepping back to look down at Vicki. "Are you okay to deal with her?"

Stefan nodded and bent down and took hold of Vicki gently before standing back up with her, "I'll call you when it's done."

"Okay," Aella whispered with a nod and turned back to Jeremy as Stefan sped away. With a deep breath she made her way back over to Jeremy and got down on the floor opposite him, "I'm sorry you had to see this Jeremy."

Jeremy didn't say anything for a few moments, his eyes still rested on the spot Vicki's body had just been lying on, soon his red-rimmed eyes met Aella's own, "Is Vicki dead?"

Aella could only nod a few times before Jeremy nodded too and then he was quiet again. When he looked back to Aella, he took a deep breath before he questioned her again, "Why did she do-" he motioned to his neck wound "-this? Why did Damon do that to her? How did you do that to Vicki? How can Stefan and Damon do that? And Vic..."

Aella thought over his questions, how could she explain this to him without freaking him out even more? How could she let him into the supernatural world without him hating her or Stefan? But then she realized that this wasn't about her, this wasn't about Stefan, it was about Jeremy. He had unknowingly been dragged into the world of witches, vampires and other supernatural creatures roaming the world, and he now needed an explanation.

So Aella made herself comfortable and took Jeremy's free hand in hers, "What I'm about to share with you only a small percentage of people know about, and once you know the whole thing your life will never be the same again. Are you sure you want to know the whole truth."

Jeremy thought over her words, could he just ignore all of this and get on with his life pretending it was all a nightmare? But then he thought of Vicki as she sobbed in Aella's arms and he knew he could never get that image out of his mind without some explanation. And he knew what he needed to do, so with a nod to Aella he said, "I want to know."

And so Aella explained to Jeremy, just as she had done with Bonnie and Caroline, the world he was actually living in. There were tears, there was anger, and there was recognition as Aella revealed Stefan's history not only with Mystic Falls but also with Damon. There was also admiration as Aella explained her history with magic and his father, he smiles as she told him how his father had not only taken her into his home but taught her to protect herself and those around her.

MYSTIC FALLS WOODS

Stefan knew that Caroline was really in the thick of his, Aella's and his brother drama when he rang the blonde, and she picked up the phone, not with a 'Hello,' or with a 'Hi Stefan' but, "What happened? Is Aella okay?"

He had just found the right tree to make Aella's story for Vicki's death believable when he pulled out his cell phone to call Aella, and was instead inundated with multiple messages from Caroline and Bonnie.

"Aella's ok, but Vicki's dead," He told them unable to think of another way to explain that nights event. It all started so badly and then finally turned normal, but as always the normal didn't last.

There was silence on the other side of the phone until Bonnie, making herself known that she too was listening in asked, "How? Did she make the decis-"

"-she bit Jeremy" Stefan jumped in before she could finish her question. "And before Aella or I could help her Damon made a choice to kill her."

The silence on the end of the line was almost deafening, and Stefan could practically hear the fury coming from the two girls. Before either could show him that anger he carried on, "Aella's in the backlot with Jeremy, he saw the whole thing, can one or both of you be with her because this hit her harder than she thought." And before either could reply he hung up the phone and knelt down next to Vicki's body, moving her hair from her face, he sighed sadly, "I'm sorry we couldn't help you, Vicki."

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH

When Caroline and Bonnie found Aella and Jeremy she had just finished telling him a summary of the relationship between Stefan and Damon, and Jeremy's anger towards had only grown as Aella explained that when Vicki was bit in the woods it was Damon and it was Damon who had Vicki for the week she had been missing. Then they sat in silence, Aella giving Jeremy some time to process it all when Caroline and Bonnie turned the corner in the back lot of the school and found them. 

Aella didn't waste a second and ran into the arms of her cousin and best friend, she had no more tears to cry but needed the comfort of her loved ones. Bonnie held Aella close before Caroline pulled Aella into her arms and Bonnie's eyes moved from the best friends with a sad smile to Jeremy, who was staring out at night with a blank look on his face and the small smile fell from her face. 

She made her way over to the teenager and sat down next to him, "Are you okay?"

Jeremy didn't say anything at first which Bonnie understood until he looked to her with a sardonic grin, "I knew the candle thing was not a trick."

Bonnie was stuck at what her reaction could be, he was grinning, but it wasn't a humored grin and so chose to return his cynical smile, "Aella told you everything then."

Jeremy only nodded for a few moments looking down at the ground until he returned his gaze towards hers, "I just can't believe this world has been around all this time, and I never knew... I mean Aella is like another sister and I never even thought she was any different."

"Other than being Aella?" Bonnie smirked, her cousin was definitely unique in her own way, with or without magic. 

Jeremy couldn't help but snort and nod, Aella had helped him through so much in her own way, and he knew his life the past few years would be a 180' if it hadn't been for her. He looked past Bonnie at Aella who was still holding Caroline close. 

He nodded over to Aella at Bonnie, "How many times has this happened to her? She looks so..?"

Bonnie looked over her shoulder her cousin and frowned at her tight grip on Caroline and the paleness of her skin, even with the Halloween makeup on her face, turning back to Jeremy she answered his unfinished question, "Broken?"

"Yeah."

Bonnie's eyes filled with tears as she thought about what her cousin had been through in the past few years, she held her necklace tight against her body again, "That's because she is Jer. Even before Damon Salvatore stepped back into Mystic Falls... she just hid it far too well."

"I hate him." Jeremy scowled looking back to the floor. "For what he did to Vicki, to Aella, to Stefan... to me. Why can't he just leave?"

Bonnie didn't know how to explain Damon to herself, let alone anyone else and before she could tell Jeremy that a familiar voice answered that for her, "Because it's a lot easier to be angry at someone than it is to tell them you're hurt." 

Jeremy and Bonnie's head turned to Aella who now stood beside them, Caroline's hand in hers, Aella's eyes were a mix of red from her tears, and black from her eye makeup, the lines on her face proof from her tears, but her face was now dry of them. 

Aella held her hands out to Jeremy, and he took them allowing her to help him up, she wiped the wet his tears left behind, "You see Jer, when a human becomes a vampire their emotions are increased an infinite amount, and Damon's anger has been there for over 150 years. He doesn't know how not to hate."

"But that doesn't make it right," Jeremy scowled at her, but Aella knew his anger wasn't aimed at her.

"It doesn't," Aella furious shook her head. "But our focus is now on Vicki and Ma-" her voice broke as she thought about her friend and she cleared her throat "-and Matt. They are our focus right now, okay?"

Jeremy nodded immediately, it wasn't often Aella cried, and just that break in her voice was enough for him to do anything needed him to do. Aella looked to Bonnie, who had now stood with them, and Caroline, "Right?"

The two girls nodded, and Caroline asked, "So what do we do?" The blonde's mind had been on two things since Stefan had told them of Vicki's deaths; Aella and Matt. 

"We have to protect Vicki, Matt, and Stefan," Aella told them she looked to Jeremy, "which also includes Damon." 

Jeremy opened his mouth to complain, but Aella held her hand up, "I know Jer, not what any of us want to do, but to protect the ones we love also means protecting him." She took hold of Jeremy's hands and looked into his angry eyes, "But he will pay Jeremy, I promise."