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Stefan sat in the Gilbert living roo politely hatever it was Aunt Judith was saying The older wo him here; you didn’t need to be a , and so Stefan was trying, too He wanted Elena to be happy

Elena Even when he wasn’t looking at her, he are of herpresence beat against his skin like sunlight against closed eyelids When he actually let himself turn to face her, it was a sweet shock to all his senses

He loved her so much He never saw her as Katherine any otten how irl In any case, there were so old hair and creamy skin, the same delicate features as Katherine, but there the reseht just now but normally a blue as dark as lapis lazuli, were neither timid nor childlike as Katherine’s had been On the contrary, they s to her soul, which shone like an eager flae had replaced Katherine’s gentle ghost in his heart

But her very strength erous He hadn’t been able to resist her last hen she’d offered hiht have died without it, but it had been far too soon for Elena’s own safety For the hundredth ti for the telltale signs of change Was that creahtly more remote?

They would have to be careful from now on He would have to be more careful Make sure to feed often, satisfy himself with aniet too strong Now that he thought of it, he was hungry right now The dry ache, the burning, was spreading along his upper jahispering through his veins and capillaries He should be out in the woods - senses alert to catch the slightest crackle of dry twigs,the tracery of pale blue veins in Elena’s throat

That slim throat turned as Elena looked at hiht? We can take Aunt Judith’s car," she said

"But you ought to stay for dinner first," said Aunt Judith quickly

"We can pick up so for her, Stefan thought He hih it did hi since lost any taste for it No, his appetites were ht And if they went to this party, it would reement to Elena

"If you want to," he said

She did want to; she was set on it He’d seen that froe"

She glanced through the doorway, to the eht They’re aled her lacy collar doisting her head to one side

Stefan stared, rained skin They were a very light, translucent burgundy color, like much-watered wine He set his teeth and forced his eyes away Looking er at that would drive him crazy

"That wasn’t what Iveil of her hair fell over thethem "Oh"

"Co into the room, conversations stopped Elena looked at the faces turned toward them, at the curious, furtive eyes and the wary expressions Not the kind of looks she was used to getting when she made an entrance

It was another student who’d opened the door for theht But Caroline was, seated on a bar stool, which showed off her legs to their best advantage She gave Elena a ht He laughed

Elena could feel her so painful, while a flush crept up toward her face Then a familiar voice came to her

"Elena, Stefan! Over here"

Gratefully, she spotted Bonnie sitting with Meredith and Ed Goff on a loveseat in the corner She and Stefan settled on a large ottoman opposite theain around the rooreement, no one mentioned the aardness of Elena and Stefan’s arrival Elena was deter was as usual

And Bonnie and Meredith were backing her "You look great," said Bonnie warmly "I just love that red sweater"

"She does look nice Doesn’t she, Ed?" said Meredith, and Ed, looking vaguely startled, agreed

"So your class was invited to this, too," Elena said to Meredith "I thought maybe it was just seventh period"

"I don’t know ifinvited is the word" replied Meredith dryly "Considering that participation is half our grade"

"Do you think he was serious about that? He couldn’t be serious," put in Ed

"Ray? Oh, Ray I don’t know, around somewhere, I suppose There’s a lot of people here"

That was true The Ra room was packed, and fro room, the front parlor, and probably the kitchen as well Elbows kept brushing Elena’s hair as people circulated behind her

"What did Saltz

"Alaric," Bonnie corrected pri nice He felt awful forexperience He didn’t know exactly how Mr Tanner died, and he hadn’t realized I was so sensitive Of course, he’s incredibly sensitive himself, so he understands what it’s like He’s an Aquarius"

"With ain pickup lines," said Meredith under her breath "Bonnie you don’t believe that garbage, do you? He’s a teacher; he shouldn’t be trying that out on students"

"He wasn’t trying anything out! He said exactly the sa to Tyler and Sue Carson He said we should forroup for each other or write an essay about that night to get our feelings out He said teenagers are all very iedy to have a lasting impact on our lives"

"Oh, brother," said Ed, and Stefan turned a laugh into a cough He wasn’t ah, and his question to Bonnie hadn’t been just idle curiosity Elena could tell; she could feel it radiating from him Stefan felt about Alaric Saltzman the way that most of the people in this room felt about Stefan Wary andas if the party was a spontaneous idea in our class," she said, responding unconsciously to Stefan’s unspoken words, "when obviously it had been planned"

"What’s even stranger is the idea that the school would hire a teacher without telling him how the previous teacher died," said Stefan "Everyone was talking about it; it must have been in the papers"

"But not all the details," said Bonnie firs the police still haven’t let out, because they think it ht help them catch the killer For instance," she dropped her voice, "do you knohat Mary said? Dr Feinberg was talking to the guy who did the autopsy, the medical examiner And he said that there was no blood left in the body at all Not a drop"

Elena felt an icy wind blow through her, as if she stood once again in the graveyard She couldn’t speak But Ed said, "Where’d it go?"

"Well, all over the floor, I suppose," said Bonnie cal That’s what the police are investigating now But it’s unusual for a corpse not to haveany blood left; usually there’s some that settles down on the underside of the body Post purple bruises What’s wrong?"

"Your incredible sensitivity has led voice "Could we possibly talk about so else?"

"You weren’t the one with blood all over you," Bonnie began, but Stefan interrupted her

"I don’t know," said Bonnie, and then she brightened "That’s right, Elena, you said you knew - "

"Shut up, Bonnie," said Elena desperately If there ever were a placenot to discuss this, it was in a crowded room surrounded by people who hated Stefan Bonnie’s eyes widened, and then she nodded, subsiding

Elena could not relax, though Stefan hadn’t killed Mr Tanner, and yet the same evidence that would lead to Damon could as easily lead to him Andwould lead to him, because no one but she and Stefan knew of Damon’s existence He was out there, so for his next victi for Stefan - or for her

"I’o see what kinds of refreshmentsAlaric has provided"

Stefan started to rise, but Elena waved him back down He wouldn’t have any use for potato chips and punch And she wanted to be alone for a few , to caliven her a false sense of security Leaving thelances and suddenly turned backs This tih the croith deliberate insolence, holding any eye she accidentally caught I’ht as well be brazen, too

She was hungry In the Raer foods that looked surprisingly good Elena took a paper plate and dropped a few carrot sticks on it, ignoring the people around the bleached oak table She wasn’t going to speak to theave her full attention to the refreshes and Ritz crackers, reaching in front of the up and down the whole array to see if there was anything she’deveryone’s attention, so her eyes She bit delicately down on a bread stick, holding it between her teeth like a pencil, and turned from the table