Friday Night Bites

"I keep hoping there's some humanity left in my brother. But how do I make him see it? I can't even see it myself. But I know there's some good left in him. There has to be." Alison wrote down in her diary. She knew Damon was up to something, and knowing him, it was something big. But how could she stop him? It's been 15 years since she last saw him. There were two options. Either he left and everyone was safe or he stayed and she had a chance to make things right with both him and Stefan. But that meant everyone, including her friends, was in danger. If only she could find goodness in Damon. Maybe he'd finally be willing to feel something again.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she heard Pam ask.

"Nothing important. I gotta go, though. I'm meeting Elena and Bonnie. I'll see you in English class." she said, embraced the blonde woman quickly, grabbed her bag and left.


Alison, Elena and Bonnie were walking towards the high school. "I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying take it slow." Bonnie said.

Elena frowned at Bonnie's words. "You were the one who said to go for it."

"Now I'm saying take it slow."

"Why the about-face?" Ali asked.

"It's not an about-face. You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field." Bonnie explained.

Elena looked at her suspiciously. "Oh, because I'm so that girl. Seriously, what are you not saying?"

"It's stupid."

"Bonnie..." Elena began.

"What"

"Spit it out." Ali finished.

"I accidentally touched Stefan. And I got a really bad feeling."

"Is that it? Bonnie."

"It was bad bad!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?"

"You know what? I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend."

"And I love you for it, I do. But I feel good. It's been a hard year, and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that."

"Hey, I say go for it. Look, I know Stefan's not perfect, but he seems like a great guy. And when you're with him, you're happy and you smile. Which is something I haven't seen in a while. So this is me encouraging my best friend to give this relationship a shot. I have a feeling you won't regret it." Alison told Elena.

"And what if your wrong?" Bonnie asked worriedly.

"And what if I'm not? Look, Lena, you guys met me a year ago. You didn't know me at all. But you chose to trust me. You chose to be my friends. So, what I'm saying is, trust Stefan. Like you said, he's already a big part of your life." Ali smiled.

"I love you, you know that?" Elena grinned at her. "I love both of you. I know you're both looking out for me. Thank you."

Just then, Stefan walked up to the three girls. "Good morning, Elena. Good morning, Alison, Bonnie."

"Hey, um, I gotta find Caroline. She's not answering her phone. So I'll see you guys later." Bonnie quickly walked away.

"Bonnie, wait.."

"She doesn't like me very much." Stefan stated.

"She doesn't know you. She's my best friend. She's just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you." Elena told Stefan. "Here's what we're going to do. Are you free tonight?"

"Yes."

"Ali?" she turned to Alison.

Ali sighed, knowing Elena was planning something. "Depends."

"I'll take that as a yes. Perfect. Dinner, my house. 8:00. You two, me, and Bonnie. Stefan will spend some quality time with Bonnie and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished."

"Do I even have a say in this?" Alison asked. She sighed. "Fine, fine. But only because I love you. And because of the food." she laughed.

Alison heard something strange. She knew Stefan had heard it too. It was Matt and Tyler. "What are you doing? Ty, don't. Ty, don't! Ty!" Matt shouted. Tyler threw a ball at Stefan. Stefan quickly turned around and caught it. Matt and Tyler were shocked. Alison and Elena laughed.

Alison said goodbye to Elena and Stefan and walked to her locker. She saw Stefan approach her. "Hey."

"Hey.." she smiled shyly. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me for what?" Alison was confused.

"For what you said about me, earlier, to Elena."

"You were not supposed to hear that." she laughed awkwardly.

"Thank you." he smiled.

She smiled back. "Anytime."


In history class. Everyone was in their own world. Bonnie was writing numbers 8, 14 and 22 in her notebook, Elena and Stefan were talking quietly while Alison was doodling in her sketchbook.

"Pearl Harbor. Miss Gilbert? Pearl Harbor?" Tanner asked Elena, who glanced away from Stefan.

"Um..."

"December 7, 1941." Stefan and Alison said at the same time.

"Thank you, Miss Gilbert." Tanner said sarcastically.

"Anytime." Alison smiled.

"Very well. The fall of the Berlin wall."

"1989." they both said.

"I'm good with dates, sir." Stefan explained.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good too." Alison said.

"Are you? How good? Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act." Tanner challenged.

"1964."

"John F. Kennedy assassination."

"1963.

"Martin Luther King.

"1968."

"Lincoln."

"1865."

"Roe vs. Wade."

"1973."

"Brown vs. Board."

"1954."

"The battle of Gettysburg."

"1863."

"Korean war."

"1950 to 1953."

"Ha! It ended in '52." Tanner smirked, thinking that he had won.

"Uh, actually, sir, it was '53." Stefan corrected him.

"Look it up, somebody. Quickly." Tanner said sharply.

"It was 19...53."a student said.


The cheerleaders were on one side of the field warming up. Elena showed up in front of Bonnie and Alison, who were stretching.

"Oh, my God! You're here!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Yep. I can't be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were. Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight."

"I am?" Bonnie questioned.

"Mm-hmm. You, me, Elena and Stefan. You have to give him a chance." Ali said.

"Tonight's no good. Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times!" Bonnie changed the subject.

Alison frowned "Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett!"

"You're going to be there." Elena stated.

"Fine. I'll go." Bonnie gave in.

"Good."

"Seriously, where is Caroline?" Alison wondered.

"I don't know. It's not like her." Elena pointed out.

"I'll try her again." Bonnie whispered.

Caroline arrived in Damon's car. She kissed him. Alison and Elena noticed. Bonnie looked up from her phone. "Oh, my God. That must be the mystery guy from the Grill."

"Wait, what mystery guys?" Alison was shocked. She couldn't believe Damon would dare hurt Caroline.

"That's not a mystery guy. That's Damon Salvatore." Elena told Bonnie.

"Salvatore, as in Stefan?!" Bonnie's eyes widened.

"I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind." Caroline whispered to Elena. "Sorry I'm late, girls. I, uh, was busy. All right, let's start with the double pike herkie hurdler, what do you say? And 5, 6, 7, 8..." Caroline and Alison lead the practice since they were co-captains.

The girls started practicing. Elena, however, had a little trouble with the routine. Caroline noticed and stopped her. "Elena, sweetie, why don't you just observe today? Ok? Keep going!

"Ok. Do it again from the top. And 5, 6, 7, 8..." Alison started the routine again. She loved cheerleading. It was fun and it made her feel alive. She felt bad for Elena, but she understood that her friend just needed more time. She couldn't help but worry about Caroline. Her best friend. And Alison would do anything to protect Caroline. She just hoped Damon knew that.


After practice, Alison got a text from Damon. He wanted to talk to her at the Boarding House. 'Well this can't be good.' she thought. She walked into Stefan's room and found him talking to their older brother.

"How were tryouts? Did you make the team? Very Emerson, the way you reveal your soul with so many...adjectives." Damon mocked, holding Stefan's diary in his hand.

Stefan took the diary. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to apologize. I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching, and...I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us. You're my little brother and my little sister, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life, then I want that for you. Maybe I can do it, too. That I can learn to be a non-living living person. Maybe there's hope for all three of us." Damon tried to keep a straight face but failed and he burst out laughing.

"You know, it doesn't have to be this way, Damon." Alison said.

"Of course it doesn't. I saw Elena today, BTW. That means "by the way." She was at cheerleading practice. She looked so perky in her little short shorts." he laughed seeing Stefan's face. "Simmer down, I didn't even go near her. I've got my own cheerleader now. Ooh, that reminds me...I gotta run. I have a date. Sweaty palms. Wish me luck."


Elena and Bonnie were preparing dinner in the kitchen. "You explain it. Last night, I'm watching Nine-o, a commercial breaks come on and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial. And sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture."

"Oh, come on. That commercial's on a constant loop." Elena laughed.

"Fine. Well, how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers. 3 numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?"

"Maybe we should play the lottery." Ali joked. "Have you talked to your Grams?"

Bonnie sighed. "She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?" she asked Ali.

"I don't want to be a witch." Alison shook her head. If only her friends knew she was a vampire...

Elena poured the to-go food into a bowl. "And putting it in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody." Bonnie pointed out.

"Okay, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?"

"Middle drawer on your left." Bonnie tried. Alison found the spoons in that exact drawer.

Elena shrugged it off. "Okay, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times."

"Yeah, that's it." Bonnie said sarcastically. The doorbell rang. "Okay, he's here. Don't be nervous. Just be your normal loving self." Elena left to open the door.

"Birthday candles." Bonnie whispered. She opened the drawer and birthday candles were there. Alison was watching. She knew a lot about Bonnie's family. "Impressive."

Later, Elena, Stefan, Bonnie and Alison were eating together in the dining room.

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked Stefan.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right."

"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and..."

"Yeah, I heard." Bonnie replied coldly.

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Alison said to Bonnie, trying to make conversation.

"Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad."

"No, about the witches. Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."

"Cool isn't the word I'd use."

"Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s." Stefan said.

"My family came by way of Salem."

"Really? Salem witches?"

"Yeah."

"I would say that's pretty cool." Stefan smiled.

"Really? Why?"

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."

"Yeah, they are." The doorbell rang again. "I wonder who that could be." Elena got up to answer the door. Damon and Caroline were there.

"Surprise! Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert." Caroline grinned.

"Oh."

"Hope you don't mind."

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked as he and Ali joined them.

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in." Damon smirked.

"Oh, yeah, you can..." Elena began, but Stefan interrupted her. "No, no, no. He can't, uh...he can't stay. Can you, Damon?"

"Get in here." Caroline urged Damon.

"We're just...finishing up." Alison whispered.

"It's fine. Just come on in." Elena nodded at Damon.

"You have a beautiful home, Elena." Damon complimented.

"Thank you."


"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it." Caroline was rambling.

"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it." Damon said.

"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."

"I'll work with her. She'll get it." Alison said.

"I guess we can put her in the back." Caroline suggested.

"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena." Damon commented.

"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died. Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun." Caroline said. "And I say that with complete sensitivity."

"I'm sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." Stefan stopped him

"Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up." Damon said. Alison rolled her eyes. Damon looked at the sister no one knew he had. "Hey Alison, you've had quite a hard life as well, haven't you? Both parents dead?"

Alison glared at him. "Yeah. They died when I was a kid. Been living with my aunt ever since." she lied, but Damon and Stefan knew the truth.

"Pamela Salvatore, right? God, it's so weird. We're distant relatives and we never even knew. Your aunt seems.. Nice." he smirked. She glared at him once again. Oh, if looks could kill...


"Matt tries, but he's just having a really hard time. You have to understand that they were each other's first. You know, like, from the sandbox." Caroline said. It was just Alison, Stefan and Caroline now. Damon, Elena and Bonnie were in the kitchen.

"That's a really nice scarf." Stefan told the blonde.

"Mm. Thank you, it's new."

"Hey, Care, do you mind if I try it on?" Alison asked.

"Oh, I can't take it off, sorry."

"Why not? You okay?" Stefan asked.

"Um...All I know is that I can't take it off."

"What are you three kids talking about?" Damon walked in.

"I was just commenting on her scarf." Stefan said.

"Hmm. Hey, you know, um, Elena and Bonnie are finishing up the dishes. Why don't you go see if you can help?" Damon looked at Caroline.

"Does it look like I do dishes?" Caroline laughed.

"For me?"

"Hmm...I don't think so."

"Go see if Elena needs help in the kitchen." he compelled her.

"You know what? I'm gonna go see if Elena needs some help in the kitchen."

"Great." he smiled and Caroline left.

"They are people, Damon. She's not a puppet. She doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to." Stefan told his older brother.

"Sure she does. They all do. They're whatever I want them to be. They're mine for the taking."

"All right, you've had your fun. You used Caroline, you got to meet Elena, good for you. Now it's time for you to go." Alison snapped.

Damon smirked. "That's not a problem. Because...I've been invited in, and I'll come back tomorrow night and the following night and I'll do with your little cheerleader whatever I want to do. Because that is what is normal to me."

"Damon." Alison warned.

"Hey, does your "aunt" even know that you're a vampire?"

"Yes, she does. But you will stay away from her or so help me..."


Tomorrow, everyone was on the field, practicing. Alison was walking to the school with Caroline. She saw Stefan give Elena a necklace. She knew that the necklace had vervain in it. That way, Damon wouldn't be able to compel Elena. Caroline and Ali walked over to Elena.

"And you're not in uniform because..." Caroline raised her eyebrows.

The night came, and so did the big game. Everybody was cheering.

"Wait. Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us! But that is about to change. We've got some great new talent tonight starting on the offense, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these. Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore!" Tanner shouted. Everybody cheered. Alison was happy for Stefan."Tyler, stop it! Tyler!

"Tyler, stop! Stop it! Stop, you're hurting him! Tyler! Tyler, stop! Tyler! Stop it! Tyler, stop!" Vicki Donovan's scream was heard as she was trying to get Tyler to stop hitting Jeremy. Everybody ran to them Stefan grabbed Tyler. "Hey, he's down! Enough!" Tyler punched Stefan, but he couldn't hurt him. Jeremy grabbed a broken glass bottle and stroke at Tyler, who moved out of the way and he cut Stefan's hand instead.

"Jeremy, no!" Elena yelled. She was trying to calm her brother down while Alison was checking if Stefan was alright.

"Oh, my God, your hand." Elena gasped when she saw him. Stefan closed his palm and put his hand behind his back. "No, no, no, it's fine."

"Is it deep? How bad is it? Come on!"

Elena grabbed his hand and opened his palm, but she saw the scar was completely gone.

"But...I saw it, it was..."

"He missed. It's not my blood. See? I'm fine." Stefan reassured her.

"Hey, Elena, he's fine." Alison soothed.

"No, no, no. I...I saw it. The glass cut your hand. It was..."

"It's okay. I'm okay." Stefan said.

Tyler attacked Jeremy again. "Tyler, knock it off! Stop!" but Tyler didn't stop. Instead, he grabbed another sharp piece of glass and lunged at Jeremy.

Alison noticed. "No, Tyler, don't!" she got in front of Jeremy and Tyler stabbed her in the stomach. She groaned loudly in pain. Elena and Stefan ran towards her.

"Ali, oh my God!" Elena screamed as Alison leaned on Stefan for support. She pulled the glass out and threw it on the ground.

"Alison?" Tyler whispered. "Oh my God, no, no, no."

"It's fine." Alison said. "I'm fine. It was just a scratch. I'm okay, Elena. Tyler, he.. He missed, I'm fine. It's just a cut. I'm gonna go clean myself up." she said, hugged Elena quickly and went back inside.

"Your hand..." Elena whispered to Stefan.

"I'm okay. It's almost kick-off time, all right? So, um, I'll, uh, I'll see you after the game."


"Hey, Tiki, it's all wobbly. Can you stand straight, please? Could someone please help Tiki?" Caroline shouted. The cheerleaders were getting ready.

"Hey! Where you been?" Bonnie asked Elena. Alison was a few feet away from them, "cleaning up her wound."

"Can I ask you a question and you give me a really serious no-joke response?" Elena asked.

"Of course. What is it?"

"The bad mojo. When you touched Stefan and you had that reaction..."

"You know what, forget I said that. Your little dinner party plot totally won me over." Bonnie smiled.

Elena shook her head. "No, Bonnie, seriously. What was it? Did you see something, or...?"

"It wasn't clear like a picture. Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about...8, 14, 22."

"Yeah?" Elena urged her to continue.

"When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me, and it was cold, and it..." Bonnie took a deep breath.

"And what?"

"It was death. It's what I imagine death to be like." Bonnie whispered.

Alison had heard everything. She closed her eyes and sighed. Bonnie had hugged her thousands of times, but something like that never happened. It was different, though. Bonnie trusted Alison. She didn't trust Stefan.


"Isn't that nice? Stefan joins a team, makes a friend. It's all so, "rah, rah, go team, yeah!" Damon laughed. Alison and Stefan were standing across form him behind the school.

"Not tonight. I'm done with you." Stefan shook his head.

"Nice trick with Elena. Let me guess... Vervain in the necklace? I admit, I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where'd you get it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Guess I could just seduce her the old-fashioned way. Or I could just...eat her."

"No. You're not gonna hurt her, Damon." Alison threatened him.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "No? Why not?"

"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for her. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be." Stefan said.

The eldest Salvatore shook his head and laughed. "Who's pretending?"

"Then kill me." Alison stood in front of him. "Kill me."

"Well, I'm...I'm tempted." Damon smirked.

Stefan shook his head. "No, you're not. You've had lifetimes to do it, to kill both of us and yet, here we are. We're still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting us. Both of us. After so many years. Katherine is dead. And you hate us because you loved her, and you torture us because you still do. And that, my brother, is your humanity."

Tanner ran towards them. "Salvatore! What the hell? We've got a game to play!"

"If that's my humanity..." Damon whispered. "Then what's this?" he attacked Tanner and drained him of blood. "Anyone, anytime, any place."


After a long day, she grabbed her diary and collapsed on her bed. "I thought that there was something good left in Damon. That I could help him. That he could feel something again. But I was wrong. There is nothing human left in Damon. He won't stop until he gets what he wants. And I know he never really wanted me in his life, but I know my brother. I can't let him hurt anyone else. I need to stop him. Before anyone else gets hurt. Before Stefan gets hurt."