Lucy's POV

I still had no idea how I was supposed to get back. By now, I was getting used to the routine of being a normal teenager again. I was wondering if there was a way back. Would there have to be some sort of lightning storm like there was last time? Maybe it would be helpful to start paying attention to the weather.

I wore a blue short-sleeved blouse and black slacks. Summer was sick this week, so I was watching alone. I turned on the TV to see what kind of adventure Faith and the others would face this week. I hoped that Klaus wouldn't come back to Mystic Falls, even though I knew he'd have to come back eventually.

I felt really bad about what had happened to Caroline. Our/her dad had decided that he could try to change her and did so by torturing her. Thankfully Sheriff Forbes, who I still had trouble remembering wasn't my mom, and Tyler rescued her.

Faith's POV

I had given up. I had accepted that Stefan wasn't going to come back until his ten years (or at least the writers decided to bring him to Mystic Falls) were up. It sucked but there was nothing that I could do about it. I just had to live with it until then.

I was doing my best to move on. I wore a black and white tee with a navy miniskirt with a pair of black lace shorts underneath with a gold coil bracelet and black heels. I was currently in the kitchen with Damon and Elena making chili.

"I can't believe that you're bringing chili to a potluck." Damon declared. "Everyone brings chili."

"It's an old family recipe." Elena pointed out. "It's also something that's easy to make, so back off."

"Yeah, we can't expect Elena to know how to cook." I quipped. "She's of Bulgarian descent and they make…actually I have no clue what they make."

"I knew your old family." Damon stated. I couldn't help but wonder how many Gilberts he knew. "They made sucky chili. Hey, Ric."

At that point, the teacher had walked into the room.

"What's up?" He responded.

"What time do you wanna go to the Lockwoods'?" Elena asked.

"Those Founder's Parties really aren't for me." He answered.

"But there's always something exciting that happens at one of them." I pointed out. "It should be entertaining."

"And you can eat Elena's awful chili." Damon added. At that, Elena giggled playfully. It looked like she might have been considering that she liked Damon. She couldn't exactly wait for Stefan because she didn't know when or if he was coming back. I didn't even know how long he would be gone. I had to admit that they looked great together, even though everything would change if Lucy came back.

"Why are you here, Damon?" Ric asked.

"I'm here because these two are in denial about how Stefan isn't coming back and I thought I should watch them, especially Faith to make sure that she doesn't turn off her humanity." Damon explained. I didn't even know how to do that.

"I'm not going to turn off my humanity just because Stefan's gone." I argued. "I still have plenty of people who love me. Also, we're not in denial."

"That's exactly what someone who's in denial would say." Damon pointed out.

"I'm not going to break either." Elena added. "Just because I spent all summer looking for someone who didn't want to be found doesn't mean that my world is going to end. I'm stronger than that."

"Why are you still wearing his necklace?" Damon asked.

"Because it has vervain in it." I pointed out before Damon made his exit.

It was at that time that I heard noises coming from Jeremy's room. It was like he was talking to someone. He had definitely been acting weird since he came back from the dead. He also could have just been on the phone.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Elena opened it to reveal Caroline, but I heard a second heartbeat behind. She was holding a crockpot and wearing her usual smile.

"I come bearing gifts." She declared as she held out the pot.

"Please tell me that's not chili." Elena remarked. Caroline frowned before the person behind her stepped out. It was Bonnie and she gave both of us hugs. Jeremy must have heard the girly screaming because he came downstairs and embraced his girlfriend. At that time, I decided to call Anna.

"Hey, you should come over here." I replied.

"I can't all of my clothes are in the washer." She stated.

"Just wear something of mine then." I suggested. "Get over here. I really want to kiss you and I can't do it through the phone no matter Soulja Boy says."

Soon she came over wearing my Washington Nationals jersey tee and black shorts with white polka dots with black knee socks and red sneakers.

"I feel kind of uncomfortable like this." She admitted.

"You look adorable and sexy too." I told her before I started to kiss her. I then heard Elena screaming from the kitchen and rushed over. She was no longer wearing her necklace. "What happened?"

"My necklace: it burned me." She explained. That didn't make any sense. I did see a burn mark on her so she was definitely telling the truth.

"Maybe it's a sign that you shouldn't be wearing it." Caroline opined. "When did you learn to cook anyway?"

"Faith and Damon helped me." Elena told them.

"Damon's helping you cook now?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, what's wrong with that?" Elena replied.

"Let me see the necklace." Bonnie suggested. Elena attempted to hand it over, but sparks emitted from it.

"I think this necklace is a talisman." Anna remarked.

"Why are we just finding this out now?" I questioned. The most plausible reason was that the writers decided to make it important when they had originally planned for it just to be a regular necklace. "I do think that it's a good idea not to wear it anymore. You can just start drinking vervain more like we do. It's probably better that way anyway because it's guaranteed to work."

I decided to go home with Anna and see what we were bringing to the potluck. My mom was a pretty good cook, so I didn't think that it would be chili. Of course, the main reason that I went home was that I wanted to have sex with Anna before we left. Even though I didn't like how Stefan was gone, I did like the quiet, even if it was just temporary.

"Maybe we should just skip the Lockwood party." Anna suggested as she stroked my hair.

"I really want to go." I responded. "All of our friends are going to be there. People aren't going to laugh at you just because you're dressed differently. I like whatever you wear, even though I like you like this most of all."

"Well we should probably make sure to get some of your mom's food as soon as we get there because I have a feeling that it won't last very long because it'll most likely be one of the only non-chili dishes." She remarked.

"Yeah, they probably just should have called it a chili cookout." I quipped. "So now it would probably be a good idea for us to get dressed."

"Do you wanna switch clothes with me?" She asked.

"No." I stated as I began to get dressed. "Are you telling me that you don't like baseball?"

"Yes, I love baseball, but I don't really like the Nationals, even though they're not terrible this year." She remarked. "Actually, they're still terrible, but they're not the worst team in the league for once."

After we ate, I went over with Bonnie, Caroline and Elena away from the crowd. We were trying to figure out what was up with the necklace.

"Okay, I have an identification spell that might be able to tell me what magic was used." Bonnie declared as she took Emily's grimoire out of her bag. "It's going to take a while so tell me if anyone's coming."

"So you're not switching Salvatores, are you?" Caroline asked her.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

"Focus." The blonde told her. "By that, I mean Damon because it's pretty obvious that you would never date Faith. As your friend, it worries me seeing the two of you together. So what is the deal?"

"There is no deal." Elena argued. "He's been just focused on finding Stefan as Faith and I have."

"That doesn't make him any less Damon." She pointed out.

"Caroline, I know that what he did to you was unforgivable, but do you think you can be a little less judgmental?" I requested. "There's nothing wrong with her being friends with Damon."

"Well Damon mostly cares about himself." Caroline remarked. "If my own father can't change me, no one is going to change Damon."

"Hey guys." Bonnie interrupted. I turned to see that the necklace was floating in midair.

"What are you doing?" Elena questioned.

"I'm not doing anything. It has its own music." Bonnie explained. Well that was different. It seemed kind of cheap to reveal that at this point.

I then headed to meet Anna. Damon was right about the chili. It seemed that everyone brought chili except for us. I couldn't help but wonder which tasted the best.

"So which one is the best?" I asked.

"I would say that it's a tie because they're all pretty much the same and equally terrible." She declared. "That is why you shouldn't follow hundred-year-old family recipes and spice things up a little."

"You know there's something that I wondered. Did you ever return to Mystic Falls before last year?" I questioned.

"I didn't want to come back because I thought it would only lead to bad memories." She explained as I heard Damon explaining to Ric that the Founder's Parties were really just fronts so the council could meet in the back. I had never thought of it that way, but it made a lot of sense. Wouldn't it be easier just for them to have weekly meetings?

The two of us then went inside and met up with Caroline and Elena.

"So did Stefan ever tell you where he got the necklace?" Caroline asked her.

"No and I never asked." The doppelganger replied. I couldn't help but wonder myself. "Hopefully Bonnie will be able to find something out about it."

We then walked through the house and Caroline froze.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's my dad." She replied. He was the same person who had tortured her. She immediately ran off and Elena and I headed for the door where we met Ric.

"Please tell me that it's tell to go." He remarked.

"Beyond, where's Damon?" Elena asked him.

"I don't know." He replied as we headed out the door.

"No, you can't leave yet." Damon remarked as we stepped outside.

"Where have you been?" I questioned.

"Managing Bill Forbes. It turns out that he's impervious to compulsion. He threatened to out me don't even get me started on the irony of that." Damon explained. "He wants to put vervain in the water supply."

"Maybe that's not such a bad idea." Elena opined. "It would help you control yourself."

"No, it's a terrible idea." I argued. "I need to be able to shower and wash my face. We need to find him."

"And kill him." Damon added.

"Damon, we're not killing Caroline's dad." I replied.

"You're fine having only one parent and she will be too." He reasoned. It was pretty messed-up logic.

"Damon, cut it out." Ric ordered. He then looked at the ring on Ric's finger and snapped his neck.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked him before he headed into the house. I did the most sensible thing that I could think. I followed him inside.

I wasn't entirely sure how I would win a fight with Damon, but I knew I had to. The fate of Caroline's dad depended on it. I found him biting into the man's neck. I did the sensible thing and pushed him off. At that time, Caroline raced in and gave him some blood.

"Get out of my way." Damon remarked.

"If you want to get to him, you have to go through me." I declared adamantly.

"You can't beat me." He stated. "I'm older than you."

"Well I'm smarter." I pointed out before I kicked him in the groin. While he was distracted, I decided to snap his neck.

The following day, I was in town square with Caroline, Anna and Elena doing some back-to-school shopping.

"I'm not going to say I told you so." Caroline remarked.

"Thanks." Elena replied.

"But I did tell you." She pointed out.

"Okay, you were right." Elena admitted. "But if Damon's going to be in my life…"

"No wait." Caroline interrupted. "It doesn't matter what he does. Damon's gotten under your skin."

"That's not true." Elena denied.

"Even I know it's true." I told her.

"Just admit it, Elena." Caroline urged in exasperation. It was kind of amusing. "You are attracted to him and all of his bad brother glory."

"No." Elena replied.

"Wait no you're not attracted to him or no you won't admit it?" Caroline asked angrily.

"I can't, Caroline." Elena shot back. 'If I admit it…if I even let the thought in for just a second, what does that say about me?"

"That you're human?" I guessed. They both looked at me. "Sorry."

"No she's right." Caroline replied. "You are human Elena. Anyway, that brings us to the next item on the agenda. As you know, tonight is Senior Prank Night."

"I didn't know that." I remarked.

"It's only because you two aren't seniors." She pointed out. "But why don't you guys come. It'll be nice to have some fun for a change."

"Sure, why not?" Anna declared.

Caroline then saw her dad and began to talk to him. I didn't think that I was going to get a thank you for saving his life, but I didn't really need one.

Afterwards, Anna and I went home. The house seemed to be empty.

"We're back." I declared. "Damon, Mom?"

"It looks like you need to see this." Anna explained as she showed me a piece of paper.

"Faith, went to find someone who can kill Klaus, be back tonight. Love Mom." I read.

So Peyton took Damon looking for Mikael instead of Katherine. Also Faith fought Damon and used her intelligence to beat him. Please don't forget to review.