A/N: Get the tissues people...

LOCKWOOD MANSION

Tyler had been silent for a good few minutes until he shook his head with a disbelieving laugh, "No. No way my uncle is a werewolf."

"Yeah," Aella nodded unconvincingly. "That's just what one internet page said; we know the internet has some freaky shit on it. It's not that."

Tyler agreed, but his nodding slowed as he focused on Aella, "Yet at the same time, I'm currently sat next to a witch..."

"...and I am dating a vampire," Aella softly finished for him, her mouth becoming dry.

"What are we going to do?" Tyler asked Aella desperately.

Aella could only shrug, "I think in this case, we turn to the expert, Stiles Stilinski, and ignore the problem until it goes away."

Tyler groaned heavily as he rubbed his face, "Aella, you cannot quote Teen Wolf in this situation."

"Awww, c'mon, Ty," Aella nudged him with a pout. "Don't be a sourwolf." When Tyler glared at her, she smiled awkwardly at him, "Too soon?"

Tyler looked at her in disbelief, "Ya think?" He stood up and began pacing the room, "We've basically just figured out my uncle is a werewolf, and if what he's written there means anything, and from what you've been seeing, I'm pretty sure I'm one too." He turned to Aella despairingly, "I don't want to be a werewolf, Aella. I just want to be a regular teenage boy, worrying if I'm gonna graduate high school, not about turning into a monster at night."

Aella felt awful for Tyler, her eyes going back to the book where Mason had written his thoughts and feelings when they focused on the memory card. She pulled the small piece of plastic out and waved it at Tyler, "Hey?" When he focused on her, she continued, "We could be jumping wayyyyy ahead of ourselves, Mason could be talking about a new fad all the people in Florida are doing. I mean, Ty, those people are nuts! Did you know, every year thousands of 'em stand at the state line and toss dead fish into Alabama... Mason could have been up to anything."

Tyler wasn't convinced but hesitantly nodded and sat down next to her. He took the memory card from her and pushed it into the slot on his laptop. As they waited for the card to load, Tyler glanced over at her, "You don't believe any of that shit you just said to me... do you?"

"Not a thing," Aella shrugged helplessly, and when the folder opened on the screen, she nudged him to click the only file on the memory card. Taking a deep breath, Tyler double-clicked the file, and the two watched as Mason appeared on the screen.

"It's September 15 -- two hours from the first full moon since I triggered the curse."

Tyler and Aella shared a sad glance with each other at his words, and it was Aella who said the words they'd both been internally thinking out loud. "He recorded his first transformation."

Tyler bit his lip as he nodded, "Looks like." He sped up the video and pointed at the screen as it ran through, "That's him doing the bolts for the carabiners."

Aella picked up the book, finger skimming to where Mason wrote about the hooks. When Tyler let the video run, he looked at Aella, "Is that where he drinks the wolf poison?"

Aella looked at the screen and watched with a heavy heart as Mason drank the liquid poison to him, trying all he could do to force the liquid down. "'I diluted wolfsbane with water to weaken myself,'" Aella read aloud from Mason's journal again. "'but I could barely get it down without puking. It felt like I was drinking battery acid.'"

Tyler couldn't handle watching his uncle poison himself and sped the video up again when Tyler stopped it at the 9pm point. The two could only stare in horror as Mason screamed in agony and shouted for help that would not come.

"Oh, Mayo," Aella tearfully murmured into her hands. Yet Tyler continued watching, and as the hours sped by, Aella looked to him in horror, "How long is it?"

"We're three hours in," Tyler shakily told her as the video sped on as they watched Mason continue his fight with the pain, with no breaks and no sign of it stopping. "Four hours. Five hours." In fear for himself and sympathy for his uncle, Tyler asked no one, "How long does this last?"

Suddenly Mason's body began to contort in unusual ways. Before he knocked the camera over, Aella caught a glimpse at the yellow eyes that she'd seen in her visions. Tyler slammed the laptop shut and began pacing again as he looked at Aella, "I can't-I can't do that. Aella, whatever that was, I can't go through that."

Aella quickly rose up and ran over to him, pulling him into a firm hug, "We'll deal with it together, Tyler. I promise. Whatever happens, we'll deal with it together." Tyler held onto her with all his might, the struggles and screams of his uncle embedded in his mind. After a while, Aella slowly pulled away, "We should get this back to the cellar before Mason realizes it's gone."

Aella moved to the laptop and removed the card, sticking it back in the book as Tyler pulled out his phone to distract himself. Only then did he see all the missed calls and texts that he realized he'd left his phone on silent. He turned to Aella to ask if she wanted to go to the swimming hole when her own phone rang. As she looked at the screen, a playful smile appeared on her face as she answered, "So... how long did it take before Jenna snapped at Damon?"

Tyler frowned at the witch's question, but when Aella's smile left her face, and she held her hand to her heart, he knew something wasn't right.

"But Stefan and Caroline are in the woods?"

At her quiet tone, Tyler stepped towards Aella when she suddenly ran to one of the windows in his room and stared out at the darkening sky. "No." She quietly whispered. Aella hung up her phone and turned to Tyler in panic. "It's a full moon."

Tyler's eyes widened, "Mason."

"Not only that," Aella began tapping at her phone in a rush. "Elena just told me they found something about werewolves..." She held the phone up to her ear as she looked at Tyler. "A werewolf bite can kill a vampire."

"And Caroline and Stefan are out there now," Tyler suddenly realized why Aella was so panicked. Suddenly his phone dinged, and he chillingly remembered about Aimee. "Aella?" The brunette looked at him while she desperately waited for Stefan to answer. "Aimee Bradley's having a party at the Watering Hole." Aella's eyes widened. The water hole was less than half a mile from the cellar Mason was probably locking himself up in at that very minute. If he broke free, he could attack the party or head for the two vampires that were near.

Tyler suddenly ran out of the room just as Stefan finally answered; Aella felt an overwhelming feeling of relief, and sudden disbelief as Stefan jokingly answered, "Hi Glinda."

MYSTIC FALLS WOODS

Stefan nudged Caroline as they sat on a fallen tree, the blonde drying her red eyes, "Hey, I saw that. You compelled her."

Caroline scoffed, "Yeah, you were right about my emotions taking control of my new senses." She glanced at him, "I want to say she deserved it, but..."

"But, nobody deserves to have their mind messed with for shallow reasons," Stefan finished for her. He knew she understood that better than anyone after the Damon and Nurse debacle. Caroline groaned aloud as she ruffled her hair. Stefan smirked, "I told you this wasn't gonna be easy."

"Yeah, well, I might as well have stayed dead," Caroline moaned into her hands. "My entire personality is killing me."

Stefan snorted and stood up. He offered her his hand, "You know Aella would just find some way to bring you back just to kill you herself for thinking it."

Caroline grasped his hand, and as he pulled her up, she smirked at him, "Oh, shut up."

Stefan opened his mouth to reply when his phone rang, "Speak of the devil..." Caroline rolled her eyes as he answered, "Hi Glinda."

"Stefan you two have to go! You both have to go now!"

The two vampire's frowned at the urgency in Aella's tone, all unaware of Aimee Bradley leading Carter Fisher to a quiet place and her feeling lucky when she sees the Lockwood Cellar she'd read of recently.

"We think Mason is a werewolf, and his bite is lethal to all vampires! You have to get away now!"

"What?" Stefan chuckled without amusement. "Ael-"

"-Stefan, this isn't a joke. You gotta leave. Now!"

Stefan wasted no time taking hold of Caroline's hand and running both of them out of the woods. Disastrously, Stefan ended the call with Aella as they began running, missing her final warning:

"Don't go near the Lockwood Cellar or the Watering Hole. Stay away!"

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Mason ran half-manacled through the woods and, feeling the wolf in himself desperate to escape, stopped and tried to chain himself to a tree. His hands shake as he looks to the moon and feels her powers, her curse, sends more pain as he screams for it to stop. But he knew that will never happen, just as he knew the tree won't be able to stop him either. He ran toward his car in a mad rush and entered it, screaming as the worst drew closer. Slamming the door shut, his screams reverberated around the car as his bones begin reforming and his new appearance emerged.

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"Stefan!" Caroline pulled with all her might to stop the vampire from running. "Everyone's still at the Watering Hole."

Head darting around, trying to hear anything coming their way, Stefan's forehead creased as he came to a decision, "Okay. You get out of her, I'll run to the Watering Hole."

"Are you kidding?!" Caroline struck him on the arm. "Aella would kill me." She shook her head, "We both go, and we can watch each other's back."

Stefan knew all too well the stubbornness of Caroline. He warned her, "If anything happens to you, Aella will never forgive me."

Caroline sadly raised her chin at him, "You too."

The decision was made. The two vampires turned on the spot and began running towards the Watering Hole, unaware they were now running towards the danger.

LOCKWOOD MANSION

Aella paced in Tyler's room, ringing him, Stefan, and Caroline. Yet all were not answering. With a loud groan, Aella ran from Tyler's room and out of the Lockwood Mansion into the woods; saving her loved ones was the only thing in her mind.

MYSTIC FALLS WOODS

Tyler ran as fast as he could, using all his knowledge of the woods to get him to the Watering Hole as quickly as possible. When he heard the laughter in the air and the glowing amber of the fire in the distance, he pushed himself even harder as he emerged from the trees.

"Get outta here!" He screamed as loud as he could, which caused all the partying teens to look at him in confusion. Then he added the magic words, "Cops are coming!"

As if they had been horses at the gates awaiting the shot to go, the teens picked up what or who was closest and ran in every direction except the one Tyler had come from. The only other person to stay besides Tyler stepped up to his friend, his casted arm resting over his front as he stared down Tyler, "The cops won't come out for this."

Tyler swallowed heavily, knowing that Matt knew everything, "They will if bodies are found."

Matt paled as he whispered, "Vampires?"

Tyler shook his head as he looked away from his closest friend, "Werewolves."

"Wha-?" Matt sputtered out, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You have to go," Tyler pushed him in the direction others had run. "You can't be here; it's not safe."

Matt stood for only a few seconds before sense returned to him, and with a heavy sigh, he turned and ran in the direction others had gone. Tyler sadly watched him run until he could see him no more; as his eyes darted around the abandoned area, he turned to return back to the house when a spine-chilling howl echoed around him.

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"Owooooooooooooo!"

Stefan and Caroline froze as the howl reverberated around the forest. Caroline went to take a step forward when Stefan halted her, his entire form frozen as he sensed what she could not.

When Stefan's eyes turned to her, she knew what he was about to say, "We need to get out of these woods now. We need to leave. You're gonna run, and I'm right behind you. You need to run as fast as you can. Do you understand me?"

Shakily, Caroline nodded. Just as Stefan opened his mouth to shout, 'Go,' another form darted out of the trees, breathing heavily. Tyler.

"What the hell are you guys still doing here?"

Stefan's eyes widened, "Tyler?" When he realized the boy was alone, he frantically asked, "Where's Aella?"

"She's at my-"

Suddenly Mason, in his werewolf form, jumped out of the trees; Caroline was able to push Tyler out of the way as Mason landed heavily on her. As she tried with all her might to avoid coming in contact with his mouth, Stefan rushed forward and began hitting the wolf as hard as he could.

Tyler began breathing heavily; he just knew that the wolf was too strong for only Stefan, and Caroline wouldn't be able to hold his uncle back. Jumping up, knowing this was a beyond stupid idea, Tyler landed in the gaze of the wolf and shouted with all his might, "No!"

The wolf froze, and as it's gaze landed on Tyler, Tyler believed he could see the sadness in his uncle's eyes. With a short whine, the wolf jumped off Caroline and rushed back into the woods.

Adrenaline empty, Tyler fell to the ground next to Caroline, the blonde breathing heavily as she realized Tyler had just saved her life, her new vampire life. "Thanks."

Tyler only waved at her, his eyes focused on the glowing moon in the sky, "Don't mention it."

LOCKWOOD MANSION

"Of all the stupid, careless things to do..." Aella paced in front of Caroline, Stefan, and Tyler. The three sat on the couch in Tyler's room as she paced in front of them. She stopped and pointed at Tyler, "You! The powerless human decided to run into danger." Aella then turned her anger on the two vampires, "And you two! You hear you can be killed, and your first thought is to run towards the killing animal?" She began to rub her temples, the growing migraine stopping her from lecturing the three anymore, and she waved at the door. "Unfortunately, stupidity is not a crime, so you're free to go."

The three seemed to share a glance before they all mumbled out:

"Sorry, A."

"Sorry, Aella."

"Sorry, Babe."

Aella nodded. When she looked at them with a tearful pout, they all felt even worse, "I just can't handle anyone else dying right now."

Stefan immediately stood and embraced her, wiping away the tears softly falling down her face. Tyler and Caroline shared sad gazes as they watched their usually strong friend fall apart in her boyfriend's arms.

"I'm sorry," Stefan whispered to her as he began kissing her tears away.

"I know," Aella whispered in his chest. "I know you are. I just..."

Stefan pulled back a little and smiled down at her, "You just...?"

Pouting heavily, Aella looked up at Stefan before glancing at Tyler and Caroline, "I got total FOMO."

Caroline rolled her eyes as she stood and ran over to her best friend and embraced her, "Awww, A! Next time we run towards the danger, we'll call you first."

Pout still on her face, Aella rested her head back on Stefan's chest as she looked at her best, "You better."

Tyler smirked at the dramatic witch from his seat, "Yeah, I'll text first."

Aella pointed at him, "No takebacks!"

It was quiet as Stefan held Aella and Caroline, who embraced each other intensely, when Aella looked up at the two of them with a glint in her eyes, "So I had an idea..."

The two vampires let her go as they and the teenage boy in the room all rolled their eyes and said simultaneously, "Oh no."

Aella's not-so-innocent eyes darted between them all, "I swear... It's a good one this time."

DONOVAN HOUSEHOLD

Matt angrily entered his home, slamming the door shut in anger he'd never felt before. First vampires and now werewolves?! As his eyes glanced at the bags that rested on the couch, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and called a particular number.

GILBERT HOUSEHOLD

Sheila smiled tearfully as she watched her granddaughter laugh in Stefan's arms as Caroline acted out something in front of the two of them. She had missed Aella with all her heart, but it eased some of her pain to see her surrounded by love.

As she rang the doorbell, she breathed a little easier when she saw Aella jump up and be the one to declare she would be the one to answer. Her granddaughter opened the door with a flourish and a bright smile, which pained Sheila's heart as it drooped at the sight of her.

"Grams?"

Sheila breathed in Aella's voice. It had been too long since she'd heard it without the hurt that reverted in her mind at their last meeting. "Hello, my Darling."

Aella bit her lip, "Do you want to come in?"

Sheila tearfully shook her head, "I don't think I'd want to leave if I came in." Looking down at her feet, she took a deep breath to calm herself before looking back at her granddaughter. "Oh, my sweet, sweet, girl. How I've messed things up... but it's the failures we learn from that make us a better person."

Aella shifted on the spot, "Grams, are you okay?"

Sheila didn't answer. Instead, she took a step forward, and her hand shook as it reached out to caress her granddaughter's cheek, "You remind me so much of your mother; you get your humor and joy from your father, but your mother... Your mother, you get her passion, her strength, and her compassion." Aella was confused but allowed her grandmother to continue; she had missed her. Sheila chuckled suddenly, "Did you know the first time your father introduced us, she didn't question our different skin tones; she just asked if I could show her how I made my Sweet Tea recipe because your father refused to. All the questions and all the down-the-nose glares I'd received for adopting a white child, it took me completely off guard. She simply accepted that I'd felt a bond with Calvin that I'd only felt with my Abbie, but I could see in her eyes that she knew it was more than that. Only after the two of them had revealed their secret abilities to each other that I told her, the bond I felt with Calvin was a magical one. Still, it was only after we had traced back his birth parent's ancestry that we discovered he was related to us via Emily and her long-lost brother, Solomon. Solomon's line had been lost to us when the two were separated after Mystic Falls. It was just pure luck that I saw Calvin with the other orphaned children during one of my charity book events... pure luck."

While Aella was happy to hear anything about her parents, her confusion grew, and Sheila saw that. "You're probably wondering why I'm talking about this..." Sheila looked away to her car where Bonnie sat when her gaze returned to Aella; her eyes were full of tears, "I was wrong, Aella. I was so, so, very wrong. For so many years, I have battled hate, whether it be for my skin color, the color of my son's skin, or the magic that fills my very veins. I always thought I would battle that hate, no matter the circumstances - if they could come for me being born with a different colored skin, they could come for others about their choices, and that was not right."

"Like the anti-war sit-in Stefan met you at," Aella smiled softly, proud of her grandmother.

"Oh I did more than that, Baby," Sheila rolled her eyes playfully. "If someone was being oppressed, I was out there with my signs fighting against it. I marched with my mother in Washington when I was just a child, proudly behind Martin Luther King. I marched the rights for men to love men, women to love women, humans to love whoever they wanted. I marched for women's rights, and when more war came, I marched against it too. I have told you and your cousin story after story of fighting for what is right and fighting for love..." Sheila paused as she pointed at her granddaughter. "Yet when you did just that, I lectured you, I told you it was wrong. I became the people I fought against for so long. Even worse, I enabled your cousin to do the same."

Suddenly it all made sense to Aella. Her grandmother was apologizing. Her own tears filling her eyes, Aella waved off Sheila's apology, "Gram's it's okay."

But Sheila was firm as she shook her head, "No, Baby. It's not. I put you in a place where I unconsciously made you have to choose a side, and I am so proud you chose to go with what was right."

"Grams..." Aella tearfully smiled. "Come in so we can talk where it's more comfortable."

Sheila only smiled, "Not yet, Aella." She dabbed away her tears as she finally confessed, "I've decided to get away for a little while, and your cousin is coming with me."

Aella's heart dropped to her stomach, "No." Stepping forward, she looked to Sheila's car and saw Bonnie sitting in the passenger seat looking pointedly away from her. Aella's voice broke as she looked to her grandmother, "No."

Sheila wasted no time pulling her granddaughter into a tight embrace, "This is nothing you have done, my beautiful, beautiful, girl. This is so we can have clear minds as we reflect on our mistakes, learn from them and grow from them. Our hatred towards vampires is clouded, and to be able to see things clearly, we need to be away for a while."

"Don't leave me, Grams," Aella desperately whispered into Sheila's shoulder. "Don't you leave me too."

Sheila pulled her away and looked down at Aella with a proud smile, "Leave you? Oh, Baby, I will never leave you. God will have to send every angel down from Heaven and force them to take me with them before I choose to leave you." Wiping away Aella's tears, she kissed her forehead gently. "Just think of this as vacation... and when we return, I swear to you, you will never have to make another choice between me and what's right."

Eventually, Aella nodded, her eyes darting to Sheila's car, "Can I say goodbye to her?"

Sheila smiled tightly, "She's feeling quite ashamed of her actions. I think it'd be best if I told her you said goodbye."

Sadly Aella understood, "Tell her..." She paused as she reflected on the last few months. "Tell her that no matter what happened, we're family, and family will always be there."

Proudly Sheila nodded, "I will." She pulled Aella into a tight hug, "You take care of yourself."

Aella held onto her tight as she nodded into her shoulder, "I will. I promise."

When Sheila pulled away, she handed Aella a letter, "It's for Jenna. Tell her I'm sorry for not being able to say this in person."

As the tears began falling from her bright green eyes, Aella took the letter and whispered to her Grandmother, "I love you, Grams."

Taking pride in the strength of her granddaughter, Sheila stepped back, "And I love you, Aella Grace Bennett.

Aella held strong as she watched Sheila retreat to her car before driving away without looking back, but as the taillights of the car left her sight, a sob tore through Aella's lips. And as her legs gave way, she wasn't surprised she was caught in Stefan's arms before they hit the floor or the smell of Caroline's perfume as she gathered her close. In the open doorway, Aella sobbed as one part of her biological family left her, but was overcome as her chosen family was there to love and comfort her through her heartbreak.

They were all unaware the hits would just keep reigning on them that night.

DONOVAN HOUSEHOLD

"Are you sure, man?" Jeremy asked for what seemed the twentieth time as Matt threw his bags into his truck.

Matt sadly smiled at Jeremy; Anna stood next to him as she looked over at him, concerned, "Couldn't be more sure."

He'd gone to the Water Hole that afternoon to get away from it all; when Tyler had run towards them, somehow Matt knew it was due to the world he was now a part of. As the word werewolf slipped from his best friend's mouth, he just knew then that he wasn't ready for this world.

Once his bags were secure, he approached the two and handed Anna his keys, "Two keys for the front doors, two for the back, and a key for the garage."

Anna took them with a grateful smile, "Thanks, Matt. And thank you for trusting me."

Matt looked down at his feet, shrugging, "To be honest, you're helping me out a lot more than I am you."

"Still," Anna shrugged. "I appreciate it."

Matt nodded, "If you send over the money on the date we agreed, all bills will come out of my account, and if anyone calls about it, just give them my cell number."

"I will," Anna nodded before she jumped on Matt, hugging him. Matt tensed for a minute before he relaxed in the hold. When she pulled away, Anna turned away from the boys and began walking back to the car to give the two of them some space.

It was quiet between Matt and Jeremy at first, before Jeremy asked for one final time, "You sure?"

Matt laughed as he playfully hit Jeremy's arm, "Yeah, man. I'm sure."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jeremy squinted up at the blonde, "If you need anything, call me."

"I will," Matt smiled. "Sam goes for you if anything happens or you just need to talk... I'm here."

It was an awkward silence between the two before Jeremy did just as his girlfriend had done minutes ago and jumped towards Matt. The two teens smiled on each other's shoulder before Jeremy stepped back and began walking back to the car, hands in pocket, "Take care, Matt."

Matt twirled his keys around his finger, "You too, Bro." He waited until Jeremy and Anna drove away before giving his home one good stare before he jumped in his truck and left Mystic Falls.

GILBERT HOUSEHOLD

Alaric turned off his truck and sighed heavily, "Home."

Jenna groaned as she stretched out in the front seat, which Damon had offered her for the way home. "Home," She sighed happily.

The two got out of the truck, ignoring Elena and Damon. They had been deceptively quiet as Elena intently read the book Damon had found for her. Jenna wrapped her arms around Ric's neck as they met in front of his truck and pressed her lips against his. As they pulled away, Jenna held him close, "I know today couldn't have been easy."

Ric kissed her forehead as she pulled away, "Thank you for being there."

Taking his hand in hers, Jenna kissed his knuckles, "I'm proud of you."

With a squeeze of her fingers, Ric stepped towards the house, pulling Jenna along with him. It was remarkably quiet as the two entered the home. Yet as they walked into the living room and found Aella and Caroline crying while Anna and Stefan tried to comfort them, and a sad Jeremy sat on the ground before them, Jenna realized something had happened while they were gone.

Rushing towards the two girls, she pulled them into her arms, "What happened?"

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Slowly following Ric and Jenna, unaware of the crying fest in the Gilbert home, Damon smirked down at Elena as she carefully held the Petrova book in her hands. "Road trips work well for us."

Elena stared down at her feet as they walked towards her home, "This doesn't mean that things are back to the way they used to be, Damon."

"Oh come on!" Damon nudged her, "You know I chipped a little bit off of your wall of hatred."

As they reached the porch, Elena climbed the steps before turning and looking down at Damon unemotionally, "I need to know the truth. When you broke Jeremy's neck, did you know that he was wearing the ring?"

Damon's teasing smile fell from his face at her question, the question Pixie told him he would have to answer truthfully when Elena asked him again. So, with a tight smile, he answered honestly, "No. No, I didn't. Katherine really pissed me off, and I snapped and...I got lucky with the ring. I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't wearing it. Elena, I'm sorry.

Elena quietly stared down at him, he had finally told her the truth, but she wasn't sure if she really wanted to hear the words escape his lips. At that moment, she finally came to a decision that she had been troubling herself with all day. She shared it with him, "Thank you for being honest with me, and the answer to your question about our friendship is yes. You have lost me forever."

Her words hit Damon like a bullet, yet he didn't let them show as he smirked up at her, "But you knew that already, didn't you? You used me today."

Elena cooly shrugged; she had seen the hurt he tried to disguise. Still, she wouldn't be swayed with that, "You had information about Katherine that I needed to know."

"I thought friends don't manipulate friends," Damon smiled tightly as he pointed at her with a mirthless laugh. "You know, you and Katherine have a lot more in common than just your looks."

Elena watched him walk away, sadly wishing he would look back at her, but he didn't. With a heavy sigh, she entered her home, knowing that what she had done was right. When Katherine was near, Damon was dangerous, and she had to protect herself and her loved ones.

Walking towards the living room, she did not expect everyone to be there as Jenna held Aella and Caroline close as they cried on her shoulder.

"What happened?" Elena asked the room.

All eyes turned towards her. It was Jeremy who answered why Caroline was upset, "Matt left."

Yet it was Stefan's answer as to why Aella was crying that hurt the most, "Sheila and Bonnie left too. Sheila said goodbye before they left."

Elena didn't accept their words for a few moments. Matt had left. Sheila and Bonnie had left. Bonnie had left and hadn't said goodbye to her, her best friend. Her person. Slowly Elena fell to the floor, unable to feel anything except the feeling that she had been left again. When Aella's arms encircled her, she finally let a tear fall before she began crying into her shoulder; the tears she shed she did not know who they were for. For Damon and her emotionless words? For Matt and his harsh new reality? For Bonnie and her downward spiral that Elena hadn't helped with. Or herself, the person she was becoming to not recognize more and more each day.