A/N: OMG this story won THREE awards in the TVD Awards by @Mellsbelly- I just want to take a moment to thank her for creating the awards, and to all those that nominated, and voted for An Elemental Difference. I am so proud. I hope you all like this new chapter which ends the episode Unpleasantville, and head into new territory.

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MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL

Elena and Damon stood at the punch table, watching it while Jeremy got some more cups, even though Elena could see plenty at the table. She watched Stefan laugh as Aella messed up the 50s line dance; they were the only two doing it, Aella's laughter echoing over the music.

"You really can't take them anywhere, can you?" Damon passively said from behind his cup.

Elena only shrugged, "They're cute."

Damon rolled his eyes, about the make a retort when Elena hit his arm as she noticed a very familiar body in his hoodie, "Damon, the back corner."

Damon looked in the corner, and before he could run off his hissed, "Get Stefan."

Elena turned to the crowd, only to notice Aella and Stefan gone. Elena frowned, had they seen the vampire too? She wandered the room looking for them when her cell rang, pulling it out, she felt a chill when she saw it was an unknown number and answered it, "Hello."

"Hello, Elena," Elena paused on the floor, terrified. "Here's what you're going to do." Elena looked around for the source of the call, but couldn't see anyone in a hoodie, or on a phone. "There's an exit door behind you. You have five seconds."

Elena gulped, "No."

"Or your brother dies."

Elena looked over at the punch bowl where Jeremy was back and serving the punch, and she saw the vampire standing near him, still on his phone with her.

"I can snap his neck so fast I bet there's not even a witness. Now, start walking."

Elena started backing up towards the door, "Don't you dare touch him."

"Keep walking. Through the door."

Elena calmly walked back across the floor, and watch the vampire start walking past Jeremy. Elena, worried her lip until he passes Jeremy without even touching him. Elena hung up her phone and ran out of the exit; she needed this vampire away from her family and towards wherever Damon, Stefan, and Aella were.

Elena ran down the corridor, looking behind her to see if he was following. She turned into another corridor and came to a set of doors, attempting to open the doors she realized they are chained shut. That's when she saw a shadow in the glass and screamed as she turned, only to hear the familiar laugh of her best friend.

"I'm not that scary am I?" Aella giggled, then looked around, "Where's Damon?"

"He called!" Elena exclaimed, tears starting to fall. Aella pulled her in for a hug. "He threatened Jeremy, so I ran, I couldn't find you and Stefan."

"I needed the bathroom," Aella muttered, holding Elena tight. "Stefan took me as a precaution."

Elena opened her eyes, only to see the vampire slowly walking towards them, she pulled away from Aella. She pointed at him, "He's there."

Without thought, Aella pulled Elena behind her, finally seeing the vampire for the first time without anything hiding his face, "Did you lose your hoodie?"

The vampire chuckled at her false bravado, "I thought someone else could use it as part of their costume." His eyes lit up, "He seemed quite compelled with it."

"And do we get to know the name of our stalker?" Aella scowled, now knowing he had compelled another student, she just hoped he wasn't injured.

"Noah," the vampire answered, licking his lips. "But there was only one that was my target, and she isn't a witch. So hand over the girl, and I'll let you go."

Elena whimpered in her back. With her non-dominant left hand, Aella reached back to squeeze Elena's, "Well it's nice to meet you, Noah," Aella nodded and quickly threw up her hand and pushed it towards Noah, watching him fly down the full corridor and into the lockers, "But first impressions just ain't my thing!"

She turned and pushed Elena down the opposite corridor, following after her, "Go! Go!"

Elena rushed down another corridor with Aella following after her, checking over her shoulder to make sure Noah wasn't following. Elena opened the door to the cafeteria. She ran across the room to open another set of doors as Aella grabbed the metal mop and placed it through the door handles to seal them in. She turned to Elena just as Elena shook the door, realizing they were locked.

Aella pulled back her hand to force the doors open when across the room, Noah flung open the set of double doors. Before Aella could raise her hand, he vamp-speeds towards Elena grabbing her by her hair and throwing her across a table.

"Elena!" Aella screamed, flinging a piled stacked of chairs over at Noah, knocking him into the wall while she checked on Elena, who was moaning but conscious. "Where the hell is Stefan and Damon!?"

She turned and stood when she saw Noah get up and wipe off the non-existent dirt from his clothes, "You're right; you really do suck at first impressions."

Aella's eyes met his, "Well, wait for the second." And before Noah could vamp-speed over to her pain shot through his mind and he fell to the floor screaming. Slowly she walked towards him, closing her fist and the pressure building as blood started leaking from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Aella gulped, she'd never gone further than this, her fist trembled as her eyes narrowed, ready to see what pushing more energy would do. She went to lift her left fist when she saw Elena out of the corner of her eye run towards Noah with the end of a wooden mop. Knowing Elena wouldn't be able to puncture anything with the mop being rounded, she turned to stop her best friend, her concentration breaking from Noah.

Aella pulled Elena around her again, and at that moment, she realized Noah had gone quiet, turning quickly, her hand raised a fraction when Noah sped in front of her and grabbed her wrists. Still, before he could squeeze them and break them, he was ripped away from her and tossed to the ground. Aella's legs felt like jelly as she fell into her boyfriend's arms, "Stefan."

Stefan held her close as Noah struggled to get up, but before he could go over to him, Aella punched him in the chest, with magical force, "Where the hell were you two?!"

Stefan saw Noah standing and pulled Aella behind him, who pulled Elena behind her, "Now's the really the time, honey."

Noah went running at Stefan when Damon sped in and pushed him into another wall, Damon looked to the couple and groaned, "Honey? Ugh, that's so Pleasantville." Damon walked over to Noah and grinned briefly at Aella, "You did a good job, Pixie." He pulled out a wooden stake and thrust it into the vampire's stomach, him falling back flat onto the ground, screaming. "Let's start with who you are?"

"His names, Noah," Aella waved from over Stefan's shoulder, as Elena continued to whimper in her shoulder. Stefan looked over at her in disbelief, causing Aella to shrug, "What? I like to know a guy's name before I squeeze his brain to death."

Damon smirked when Stefan only shook his head and turned back to him, and Noah, "So Noah," Damon pulled him up and sat him against the wall, ignoring his groans. "Nobody wants to kill you. We just wanna talk."

Stefan stepped closer, "You feel like talkin' with us?"

Noah spat at the brothers, "Screw you."

Aella grimaced down at Elena, "I hate spitters."

Seemed like her boyfriend did too as he sped over to Noah and Stefan dug the stake in deeper, Noah only groaning in pain, "Wrong answer. Why are you doing this?"

Noah smiled up at him, teeth covered from his own blood, "Because it's fun."

Stefan dug the stake in a little bit more as Aella stepped forward with Elena, "He said he specifically wanted Elena."

Stefan tilted his head, "What do you want with Elena?"

Noah had enough of the games, "She looks like Katherine."

The four of them all looked between each other at his answer, Damon glared down at him, "You knew Katherine?"

Noah laughed, "Oh. You thought you were the only ones." He gasped as his laughter shifted the stake, "You don't even remember me."

Damon leaned over towards Noah, "Tell me how to get in the tomb. Hmm?"

Aella and Stefan shared a look over the top of Elena's head.

"No."

Damon looked to Stefan and nodded, his brother leaning back down and drove the stake in deeper, Noah screaming out in pain, "The grimoire."

Damon's eyes widened at getting new answers, "Where is it?"

Stefan drove the stake in deeper, and Noah gasped and quickly spat out, "Check the journal. The journal. Jonathan's journal. Jonathan Gilbert's."

"What?" Aella whispered to herself. She had read that book back to front multiple times, and she had not seen anything about Emily's grimoire being stored somewhere.

"Who else is working with you?" Stefan asked.

They heard footsteps, and Damon glared down at the vampire, "Who else is there?"

Noah freaked out, knowing he had just betrayed Anna, "No. You're gonna have to kill me."

Damon looked at Aella, who turned to Stefan, with a roll of his eyes he nodded, removing the stake from Noah's stomach only to stake Noah in the heart. Elena gasped in shock, holding Aella tighter around the waist, taking comfort from Aella has she whispered, "It had to be done for us to be safe at home." Elena nodded, knowing she was right, but still felt pity for Noah as he fell to the floor and began to desiccate.

They heard a door open and saw Alaric coming through one of the door's windows. Stefan looked at Damon, "I did the dirty work, you do the cover-up."

Damon smirked and tapped Stefan on the shoulder as he passed him, "I am loving this teamwork, brother."

As he left towards Alaric, Aella suddenly felt an uneasy feeling again, and she turned to Stefan, "Can you take Elena to the car? She had a bit of a tumble. I better tell Jenna we're leaving."

Stefan nodded and took Elena from her. While they went right, Aella went left.

She heard voices, and stopped herself rounding the corner, and instead peaked to see how Damon was 'dealing' with her teacher, she pursed her lips when she saw he had Alaric against the lockers.

"Do you know what I am?"

Aella frowned at Damon's choice of words, but sighed silently when Ric just answered, "You're my student's brother."

"Is everything you're telling me the truth?"

"Yes."

"Then forget we had this conversation."

Damon walked away, and for some reason, Aella felt the need to stay, so she did. And instead of the teacher returning to his sane mind after being compelled and walking as nothing happened, instead, Alaric sighed shakily before looking down and uncurling his trembling fist.

Aella's eyes widened, because there in the hand of her favorite teacher, was a very specific herb she could instantly identify; Vervain.

Ric finally walked off in the direction Damon had gone towards the dance, while Aella let out a massive sigh.

What the hell was Alaric Saltzman doing with vervain?

And how the hell did he know how to fake being compelled?

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE

Stefan stroked Aella's hair as she slept in his bed, although she had known the vampire was dead, she still felt like she needed that night away from the house. He turned to grab his journal when he saw Damon standing in the doorway. He motioned with his finger to his lips for Damon to be quiet, pointedly looking at Aella. He gently got off the bed and followed Damon into his room.

"There's no way that idiot was working alone," Damon said as soon as Stefan walked in.

Stefan shrugged, "You are." Damon grimaced at him. "So the grimoire...That was Emily's, right? That's what you need to reverse the spell. When the founding families burned her, they took her things, and you were hoping that dad's journal would tell you where it is."

Damon poured himself a drink and smiled quickly over at Stefan, "Look at you, putting the pieces together. Good for you. I was half-right. Well, it's out there now. Let the games begin."

"My offer still stands."

Damon took a sip, "Yeah, with some hidden caveats, no doubt."

Stefan poured himself a glass, ignoring Damon's look of surprise, "No. Nothing hidden about it. No lies. No deception. I'm there when you open up that tomb, you and Katherine go, and the other 26 vampires die."

Damon raised his brow, "If I agree?"

Stefan raised his glass to Damon and toasted the two drinks together, "I'll help you."

Stefan raised the glass to his mouth, but stopped as Damon asked, "Why should I trust you?"

"Because I'm your brother."

The two brothers frowned at Stefan's words, hating that those words that used to be so full of trust were now the exact opposite. Something that Damon was quick to pull up, "No, that's not gonna cut it."

Stefan looked his brother in the eyes and finally told him the truth, "Because I want you gone."

Damon paused for a moment, thinking over those words, which cut more profound than he expected. He soon nodded in agreement, "Ok."

Stefan finally drank his whole glass in one, nodding at his brother, "Ok."

MYSTIC GRILL

Ben walked towards his car, smiling at the figure stood there waiting, just as he was about to try and sneak up on her, she quickly turned him and pushed him against the trunk of his own car.

"Dammit, Anna, just once would you let me win!"

Anna smirked up at him, "You love it."

Anna pushed Ben playfully as Ben straightens himself up, "Where's Noah?"

Anna scowled, "His obsession got the best of him, and so did the Salvatore brothers."

Ben frowned, "They killed him?"

Anna shrugged carelessly, "Tortured and staked."

Ben raised a brow at her, demeanor, "You're not very upset."

"I warned him, Ben, and he was just gonna screw everything up anyway." Anna again shrugged, she was kinda happy Noah was gone, even if he did blabber. "Let's be honest; he wasn't exactly an asset."

"Did you at least get the journal?"

Damn that stupid, Noah. Anna shook her head, "No, but I know where it is, and I'll get it."

Ben smiled down at her before pulling Anna in for a kiss. They pulled apart, and Anna questioned Ben, "How'd you do?"

Ben simply smirked as he unlocked his car and pressed the button for the trunk to open up, "Oh, the witch is totally crushing on me." The trunk opened, and there lay Bonnie, feet, hands bound with a gag around her mouth and a blindfold over her eyes. "You could say she just couldn't wait for our next date."

Anna smiled for the first time and pulled Ben down for a kiss in front of the unconscious Bonnie Bennett.