The Girl With A Past ((Completed))

Ripper

"Do you recognize this man?" Samuel asked the girl. Sam studied her closely, checking for signs of recognition. He did notice the tiniest flash of something in her tired brown eyes, but it was gone too quickly for Sam to distinguish what it was. His eyes narrowed as she handed the paper back to Samuel.

"No, why?" She asked, giving no sign that she knew anything of him.

"His name is Stefan Salvatore, and we believe he is the one who murdered those 7 people." Samuel answered, stuffing the paper back in his jacket pocket.

"Wait, I-I thought those were animal attacks...?" Elena said. "And why are you asking me? What do I have to do with this?"

Sam exchanged a glance with Samuel before Sam replied, "Well, we have an eyewitness who specifically says he saw Stefan Salvatore at the scene of at least two of the murders."

Elena just sat there patiently, looking expectantly at the two hunters. "Okay? Again, what does this have to do with me?"

"I don't know. Maybe because the eyewitness is Damon Salvatore, Stefan Salvatore's brother. And also your boyfriend." Sam answered harshly. "So forgive me if I find it hard to believe that you didn't recognize your boyfriend's brother."

Elena shrugged, annoyance making her eyes glimmer. "Bad picture. Or maybe it's just because I've never actually met Damon's brother. Damon's told me about him, but that's all I know of him. Stories."

Sam was about to say something else, but Samuel cleared his throat. Elena turned her attention to him, ignoring Sam, who was glaring at her. "We're sorry. We just want to find out as much as we can before someone else gets killed." He apologized, shooting a quick glare at Sam. Sam ignored him. "Mrs. Gilbert, do you think you could tell us where Damon Salvatore is staying? He's our eyewitness, but we can't seem to find him anywhere."

Elena thought for a second. "Did you try his house?" Samuel nodded. "Then he's probably at his lake house. Here, I'll write down the address for you."

Sam watched as she stood up, grabbing a pen and writing something on a sticky note. Sam just narrowed his eyes at her. He couldn't figure out what it was, but something about this girl made his skin crawl. She was hiding something.

((Elena))

Elena blinked out of her daze when she realized that Dean was talking to her. "Hm?"

"I said, so you lied." Dean repeated himself.

Elena looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course I lied. Do you honestly think I would give up two of the only people I ever cared about?" She asked him, being careful not to raise her voice.

Elena resumed the memory.

-

Elena quickly wrote down a fake address, only one number off from the real address of her lake house, just so she would have an excuse if they came back asking why she gave them an invalid address. When she handed the sticky note to the older man, Elena put her hands in her back pockets, staying standing. "So is that all?" She asked, trying so hard not to show her fear.

The bald guy nodded, gesturing for the big one to follow him. "Yes, thank you for your time, and," he leaned forward so that he could speak quietly while the tall agent walked toward the door, "sorry about my partner. He's kind of... working through some things right now."

Elena smiled, putting as much fake emotion into it as she possibly could, before opening the front door and escorting them out. Before they got very far, the tall agent turned, handing a small slip of paper to Elena. She took it, realizing it was a business card.

"If you have any questions, or something else comes to your mind, call me." He told her. "My name is Sam." He added, smirking at her before joining his partner and driving away.

As soon as they were gone, Elena ran inside and closed the door, leaning her back against. She tried her best to control her breathing, fear threatening to overcome her. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to figure out what to do. What was going on with Stefan? Had he really killed all those people? Elena had read about the 'animal attacks' in the paper. The victims had been drained of all blood, certain limbs ripped off, only to be put back together for when the cops found them. Elena knew what it meant, but she never wanted to believe it was true. Why would Stefan become the Ripper again? What happened?

Elena took a deep breath, deciding what to do next.

-

"What the hell Damon?" Elena shouted as soon as she stepped into the Salvatore manor. Damon actually seemed surprised.

He closed the door slowly, and made his way over to Elena. "You seem upset."

"What's going on with Stefan? Why would you present yourself as an eyewitness to his murders? Why is he killing people?" Elena demanded quickly, not sure how to pace herself at the moment.

Damon put his hands on her shoulders. "Woah, Elena, slow down." Damon soothed her, and Elena took a deep breath. "What are you talking about? Don't you know what's going on?" He asked, genuinely confused.

Elena cocked her head, confusion outweighing her fear and anger. "What do you mean?"

Damon sighed, sitting Elena down and pouring her a drink. "Stefan's a Ripper again." He confessed as he sat down next to Elena.

"I kind of figured that. But why?" Elena asked, not acknowledging the tears she felt burning the backs of her eyes.

"Because you left him." Damon answered sympathetically.

"W-What?"

"You left him for me and he lost it. He loved you so much. He couldn't take it, so he turned his emotions off, and he went full blown Ripper..."

Elena felt a few tears fall from her eyes, but she did nothing. "You mean he killed those people because of me?"

"No, Elena, he killed those people because of himself." Damon tried to reassure her but Elena wouldn't listen.

She shook his hand off of her arm. "Why would you go to the cops and present yourself as a witness?" Elena demanded.

Damon looked genuinely confused. "What? No, I-I told Liz; she said she'd take care of it like she always does."

"Then why did two FBI agents show up at my door telling me about Stefan killing seven people and how you showed up as a witness?"

Damon looked away, thoughts flowing through his eyes. Finally, he just sighed. "I don't know. But maybe they can stop him..." He muttered.

Elena couldn't help feeling betrayed. "What do you mean 'stop him'? That's not their job, Damon, that's your job! He's your brother!"
"Yeah, and I'm also half the reason he's doing this anyway! I can't stop him; he won't listen to me!" Damon retorted.

"So you're just going to give up on him? Have him thrown in a cell? How long do you think that'll hold him?"

"Elena..." Damon muttered bringing his head up to her cheek. But Elena pushed him away. She stood up off the couch, running her hands through her hair. She paced for a few moments before Damon stood up with her. "It's going to be okay." He insisted

Elena stopped pacing, glaring at Damon with anger and disbelief. She shook her head, pushing past him and walking to the door. "Where are you going?" Damon called after her.

Elena pulled the door open forcefully, but stopped to turn back to Damon and say, "I'm going after Stefan," and then Elena walked out the door, making sure to slam it behind her.