The storm was still raging on outside when Elena finally got home, it took her longer than usual because she was fighting the temptation to turn around and go back to help, the only thing keeping her from doing so, being that little voice in her head.

Only..... now that she was home, what was she supposed to do? Go back to normal by continuing her evening routine? How could she after everything she had learned that day? More than anything, she didn't want to just carry on as usual. But what could she possibly do?

She had no information sources. No idea about anything. Though sitting around, doing nothing made her feel pretty lousy and useless. So with nothing to do, she simply got ready for bed and settled down, feeling stupid.

Meanwhile, Mason and Tyler were shifting through the books, in complete silence. Tyler didn't say a word and Mason knew better than to talk a lot when he was in a mood. He could barely concentrate on the books, he felt like such an idiot. But what was he supposed to do?

There was no safe way for them to be together... Was there?

Usually when it came to taking risks, he was always jumping at the chance, but gambling with her life was a definite No. He was truly stumped on what to do. Feeling defeated already, he just continued to skim through the book in front of him.

******
Laying awake, unable to sleep, Elena was getting more and more agitated as the minutes ticked by. Eventually she couldn't stand it anymore, swinging back the covers, she made her way to the bathroom to rinse her face before going back to her room.

For a moment she just stood staring into the mirror on top of the dresser. Finally unable to hold back her anger, she raised her fist, gripped tightly until her knuckles were white and finally released it, letting her fist collide with the mirror, causing the glass to smash and scatter into a billion pieces across the room. So caught up in her anger, she barely felt the sting of her cut and bloody knuckles. Though it was very uncharacteristic of her, it felt good. And she needed it.

Still not satisfied, she reached across the dresser, and sent everything on top crashing to the floor. But she still wasn't done. Grabbing her journal from the floor, she tore the whole thing apart, until there was nothing but shreds left of the little book that meant so much to her. She wasn't feeling like herself at all.

All the energy that allowed her to lose it like that, was fading away, suddenly she lost her balance, falling back onto the bed. Bringing her feet up, she slowly rested her head on her pillow and curled up, hoping to fall asleep as tears escaped her eyes and roller down her cheeks, but still not able to. Never in her life had she felt completely and utterly useless.

*******
Reaching the front porch of the Lockwood house, Tyler stopped as he was hit with the image of her face that morning when she had thrown the phone at him. Unable to get the image out of his head, he knew there was no way he could end the day without making things right. On the walk home he'd had time to clear his head and it was then that he realised that it didn't matter if they were together or apart. It was dangerous either way.

Turning around he raced off the estate and down the street. Now the only thing left to do was to get her to forgive him.

******
After being let in by Jenna, Tyler made his way up the stairs. Approaching Elena's room, he was left utterly speechless by what he saw.

Glass lay on the floor, glimmering in the dim light of the bedside lamp. Among the glass were all the things that were usually on top of the dresser, and shreds of paper and bound leather were everywhere.

"What the hell happened in here?" He asked, absolutely stunned. "Elena look.... I know I made a mistake... Uh two mistakes... Biggest mistakes I've ever made in my life. There are no excuses. But I can promise that I will never make them again." He explained.

Stepping through the doorway he continued, "Elena... Please. I know you're mad. I also know that you can hear me." He sighed stepping closer. "Please?" He asked calmly.

"What do you want?" She asked coldly.

"I just wanna talk." He said simply.

"So talk!" She snapped.

"I decided to walk home tonight and it helped me to clear my head. I got to my front porch when I realized something.... I realized that it doesn't matter whether we're together or not, it's dangerous either way. But that's no reason to sit out and run away and give up because of fear." He explained as clearly as he could, placing himself on the bed next to her feet.

"The way you gave up on me!!" She snapped in a snarky tone, then added, "Twice!" She emphasized, before continuing, "How do I know that it won't happen?" She asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, trying to make direct eye contact despite her avoidance.

"Of course." She replied.

"Well... Then you have nothing to worry about." He reassured.

Shuffling up, she gave him a slightly helpless smile."I'm trusting you. So don't you dare break it again." She warned him sincerely.

"I won't." He replied.

"Good." She concluded, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.

"Now... What the hell happened to this room?" He asked curiously as they settled down.

"Oh. That. I uh... Had a moment earlier." She explained trying to understate it as much as possible.

"You punched the mirror!" He said absolutely astounded."Okay, let me see." He added, with puppy eyes.

"Huh?" She said acting as if she had no idea what he was referring to.

"The knuckles. How bad are they?" He asked more clearly."Show me. Please?" He insisted.

Slowly she revealed her knuckles, which were, by now, very bloody and bruised.

"Christ! Elena!" He said in complete shock.

"Does it hurt?"He asked, curiously.

"Only a little."She responded.

Noticing the serious look on his face, she wondered what he was thinking."What's the matter?"She asked, hoping for a proper answer.

"There's just one thing that's freaking me out right now." He replied with a horrible realisation."That journal was bound leather. How hard was it to tear that apart?" He asked.

"Not hard at all, infact it was... Wait... Tyler, what are you thinking?"She insisted.

"No human could tear that apart Elena. I think those powers are beginning to show."He explained and would have continued, had she not interrupted.

"No! Tyler! Stop! Don't say that... I can't even think about that... Because honestly it scares me."She responded snappy.

"I'm sorry."He sighed. "I didn't mean to upset you... Though I seem to be on a roll for that today. Okay I won't bring it up again unless necessary."He apologized quickly.

"Look, I know you think that there's nothing I can do... Like I'm not... Strong enough to fight or learn control but I can... I may be.."she began, but stopped when he interrupted.

"Elena I have never thought that. Okay, I know you can fight. What makes you think that I..you know?"He asked defensively.

"Nothing in particular it's just.. The way you talked to me earlier, the way someone would speak to a child about general safety, you made me feel so useless. Like you were saying that I couldn't fight because I didn't know how. It's not anything you did but that's the truth." She explained.

"I was trying to keep you safe. It never occurred to me that I was... I'm sorry, I don't know what else I can say."He responded quickly.

"I know. Okay, it's not your fault, it's just how I felt. So, next time something dangerous comes up just... Let me help. Please."She reasoned, half pleadingly.

"Okay." He said simply."But how about right now, forget about the kitsune war and just lay here for a while." He suggested, to which she smiled in agreement.