"What are you talking about, Damon?" Alison asked, now dressed in a pink nightgown and bathrobe.

"I heard them talking. I'm telling you, love, they're trying to kill someone." Damon said, wiping sleep from his face. Alison giggled behind her hand. Damon wanted to grin, but was too annoyed with her to smile at the moment.

"Alison, I'm serious. Don't go near them until I figure out what they want." He ordered her. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Do they even know you heard them?" She asked. He grinned innocently.

"Damon! What did you do?" She groaned. He looked away.

"I, uh, sneezed." Alison turned her head to one side.

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it. Nothing stupid. Really. Well, I snuck into their room." She gave him a look of scolding and he did grin then. Only Alison could keep him calm and actually make him feel guilty.

"That's not stupid?" She asked sarcastically. He shook his head.

"Not until I almost got caught." He said. She moaned with her hand over her face.

"Damon! One day, you will get us both killed." She said. He walked over to her bed and pulled her close.

"At least I would die happy." He said, kissing her neck. She smiled and took his hand.

"Look, I'll make a deal with you. I will be careful, if you will see if Stefan thinks you're being as stupid as I do."

"Deal." He said, kissing her hand.

"Deal." She said with a grin.

"For once, I agree with you Damon." Stefan said. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Thanks baby brother. That reassures me greatly." He said. It was nice to talk to his brother. Years of pretending he hated him had been torture for him, and he was grateful to be able to have a normal relationship with him.

"I'll see you tonight around six. Elena will be excited." Stefan said with a chuckle. Damon smiled.

"Great. See you then." He said and slid the closed phone into his pocket. He walked down the stairs of the cafeteria when He saw Rachel coming toward him. He sucked in a breath and turned to walk the other way. He saw what was on her mind. Rachel had been after him from day one. And if not for Alison, he would have had her in his own way. She had long wavy brown hair, and today wore a tight black dress and a purple scarf.

"Hello Damon." She said with a grin of white teeth flashed between blood red lips.

"Hi Rachel." He forced out, non-committal. She had him cornered though. She put one hand on the railing in front of them, blocking him onto the steps.

"How are you?" She asked, her voice dripping with false concern. It wasn't a secret that he and Alison were dating, and dating very seriously. He was the only one who knew she was alive still. He knew exactly why she was asking too.

"Oh, well you know. Not great. It's hard. Sitting in the same classes, walking where she did." He said with a shrug. She placed a hand on his cheek that he turned away from.

"Oh, Damon, I know what you need. Someone to help you through this." She told him, leaning into his face. He leaned back over the railing.

"I've always been one to handle my problems alone. Thanks." He said, trying to push past her.

"Come on, Damon. She's gone. You know, you're better suited for someone like me anyway." And Damon's blood turned to fire. He pushed her arm down and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Rachel? The girl. I Love. Just Died. Don't. Start with me. And even if she hadn't, you wouldn't be a possibility. Alison was sweet and pure. You only think of one thing: yourself." He let her go and turned to walk away. She looked shocked, but her face turned to a smirk as he walked away. He didn't care. He just kept walking.

Meanwhile, as all this was happening, Alison paced her bedroom floor, jaws aching and canines sharp. Her stomach growled, and her throat burned. She was thirsty, no hungry. Both? And it had been growing worse all day. She knew what she needed. She needed blood, but how to get it without killing someone, she has no idea. She was staring to lose a sense of herself, and as she watched the people walk by below, she thought about how easy it would be to get one of them alone, to drink them, drink them dry. But she couldn't. well, maybe just a sip. She thought. She slipped in the bathroom and did her best to change her appearance. Highlighting her hair with blue eyeshadow, just to change the color, she pulled it up into a bun, and pushed the lenses out of an old pair of reading glasses the previous renter had owned. She changed into an all-black outfit, and stepped out onto the balcony. She leapt over the side, and strode around to the front of the boarding house. A young man, probably 17 or 18 was on the side walk by himself. She walked over to him.

"Hello." She said. She sounded strange with her fangs exposed, but wasn't sure how to pull them in yet. He looked at her once, then shook his head and put on a flirty grin.

"Hi there. Can I help you?" He asked, leaning back onto his red truck. Grinned and looked up at him.

"Oh, no, I was just looking for someone to talk to. No one else is home right now, and I was lonely." She said. She felt horribly guilty for flirting with his guy when she had Damon, but she couldn't stop. She was too hungry and instincts had taken over. He smiled even bigger.

"Why don't we sit out back and talk some?" She suggested, holding her hand out toward the back yard. He nodded, seemingly unable to talk. She followed him to the back yard. They sat on the grass and began to talk. Alison was getting desperate though, and her jaws ached terribly. Finally, her moment came. The guy, now named Matt, was leaning in to her, when she grabbed him by the jaw and stared into his eyes.

"Hey! What are y-" he fell into a trance like state as she prepared herself for what she had to do. Gently, she turned his head and pressed her reddened lips to his neck, fangs exposed The tips were just barely touching when she heard Damon.

"Alison! Stop!" He yelled, running toward them. Her head whipped up, eyes wide, and she hissed. Then looked down at what she was doing, gasped, and dropped Matt in the ground.

Damon took her in his arms and led her away from the seemingly lifeless boy. Her shoulders shook with sobs.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She kept saying. He took her in his arms and laced his fingers in her hair.

"It' s okay. It's my fault. I should have let you drink before I went to class. I'm sorry. It's okay. You didn't hurt him. SHhh" He cradled her head in his hands, until he heard a grunt form the lifeless boy. She looked down at him and gasped.

"Matt?" He let go of Alison and rushed to help Matt up.

"How do I get myself into situations like these?" Matt groaned as he was lifted from the dirt.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked Matt.

"You know him?" Alison asked Damon.

"Who is that?" Matt asked Damon.

"All right, everybody, calm down." Damon said, putting his hands up in the air, "Now, let's just go inside and get this sorted out."

"Um, Damon?" Alison said quietly from behind exposed fangs.

"Oh. Right. That first. Matt? Will you gives us a few minutes? She's knew at this whole thing." Damon said. Matt Shrugged.

"Sure, I'm used to it by now. Pretty girl seems to like me, but is in love with the dark mysterious vampire, and if she doesn't feed will kill me. Story of my life." He said sarcastically as he turned around and headed back to his truck.

"So that was Elena's ex-boyfriend?" Alison asked in disbelief. She couldn't ever imagine her with anyone but Stefan.

"Yeah. And if he's here, that definitely means something's up." Damon said. He pulled his colar back, and Alison, too hungry to care about being gentle, plunged her fangs into his neck and gulped huge sips of blood. Damon winced a little at first, but relaxed and played with her long blonde hair while she drank. Minutes passed before Damon said anything.

"All right. That's enough." He told her, gently prying her off his neck. She resisted at first, but finally sat back and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. He seemed a little pale. She bit her lip.

"Did I do that?" She asked. He grinned.

"Only a little. I'm thirsty myself, but I can wait. We need to get back to Matt right now." He explained. They headed, hand in hand, back outside.

"Wait, what's happening?" Damon asked again.

"We're not really sure. It's like suddenly, this new guy Vlad, moves in. He's in his 50s or whatever, and looks like Dracula, and he's all superstitious. Vampire stuff. His jewelry store is covered in garlic flowers." Matt said. Damon rolled his eyes.

"I know." He said, "But THIS is why Meredith, Bonnie and I thought I should come warn you guys. He doesn't sell anything with Lapis Lazuli. Anything."

"Lazuli? So?" Alison asked.

"Lapis Lazuli is the one gem that can protect a vampire from sunlight. Otherwise, we're just ash. It's not exactly a popular superstition. Only vampires and vampire hunters know about it."

"Vampire hunters? What does that mean?" Matt asked. Damon blew out through his lips. Alison thought it was so cute when he got frustrated.

"It means: those who hunt vampires. Immortals who find our race an unclean one. Completely idiotic, of course, they just jealous because we can be rulers of the night and they can't." He turned to Alison, "Princes and princesses of dark shadow, to speak."

"All right, focus?" Matt said. Damon grinned evilly. He continued to Stare at Alison until she blushed.

"All right, Matt, so what else can you tell us?" She asked.

"Not much, except, he talks about his three nieces that are going to school here, and how much he loves teaching them to do the things he loved as a teenager. How proud he is of their accomplishments here." He shrugged. Damon looked at the clock.

"It's going to have to wait, Matt. Stefan and Elena will be here in a few minutes." Damon told him. Alison lit up. So did Matt, Alison noticed. Then he frowned.

"Maybe I should leave." Matt said. Alison opened her mouth to agree, but was cut off by Damon.

"Matt, if what you're saying is true, it could be really important right now. I think you should say." He suggested.

"Okay." Matt said, slightly distantly and gazed out the window with a look of pain across his face.