When Jeremy and Lucy arrived at Lucy's house, he walked her to the door, and then turned around to head out. "Goodnight," he said to her.

"Just a minute," she told him. "Can you come in? I want to thank you for what you did for me."

"I-I have to go," he stammered. "I promised my aunt I'd be back by eleven and it's ten-fifty-five right now."

Lucy smiled knowingly. "That's not really why you have to go, is it? No one who's as cool as your aunt seems to be would make you go home this early."

"Actually, she's trying to be more responsible," Jeremy countered. "And it's Sunday, so I have school tomorrow."

"You seem so tense," Lucy told him, taking his hand and guiding him into the living room. The minute she touched him, he loosened up and lost all resolve to leave the house. "Why don't you relax a minute? We can have a little chat."

"All right," he said, sitting down on the couch. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well," she said, "I watched you all night and let me tell you something. I've been with quite a few men and frankly you fascinate me."

"I do?" he asked. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

She laughed. "It's a good thing, silly." She stood up. "Where are my manners?" she asked. "Are you hungry?" she looked back at Jeremy. "Can I get you anything?"

"Sure," he said.

"What are you in the mood for?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Something sweet, maybe."

She smiled. "That doesn't surprise me." She left for the kitchen and Jeremy heard her rifling around in the cupboards. "I've got cookies," she called. "And I just bought a few bags of candy from the store. They were having one of those 3 for $3 deals and I just couldn't resist. And ice cream. I've got that too."

Jeremy thought a moment. "Bring out all the cookies please," he yelled back.

"You got it," she answered, coming back a few minutes later lugging a cardboard box that was filled to the brim with bags and boxes of cookies: Oreos, Milanos, and Chips Ahoy were just the beginning.

Jeremy grabbed a bag and tore it open. "I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever met a woman with as big a sweet tooth as you."

Lucy smiled. "My father owned a candy store so I grew up around sweets and I guess I just never grew out of them." She watched in amusement as he finished his second bag of cookies and moved on to a third.

"Aren't you going to have any?" he asked, gesturing at the box.

She shook her head. "Not right now, no. But I'll be eating later, don't you worry about me. Do you need any milk?"

He nodded. "Sure, why not?"

As soon as she got up to get it, Jeremy's phone rang. "Hello?" he said.

"Jeremy, where are you?" It was Jenna's voice on the other end of the line. "You were supposed to be home ten minutes ago!"

"I ran into Lucy at the Grill and she was a little drunk so she asked me to take her home," he replied. "And then she wanted to thank me."

There was an exasperated sigh. "Tell her 'you're welcome' and get your butt home. You have school tomorrow, remember? And that math test that you promised you wouldn't flunk."

"All right, all right," he replied. "I'll head out in just a minute."

Just as he said this, Lucy entered the room. "Who are you talking to?" she asked.

"My aunt," Jeremy said. "She wants me to go home now."

"Well here," Lucy said. "Let me have your phone and I'll see if I can't convince her to be reasonable."

Jeremy handed it over, eager to see what Lucy was going to say.

Lucy put the phone up to her ear. "Hello? Jenna?"

"Hi! Jenna said in surprise. "I didn't expect you to be on the other end of the line."

"Well, I just wanted to apologize for keeping Jeremy out past his curfew on a Sunday night, but could he stay just a little bit longer? We're having a snack and he's not quite done yet."

"All right," Jenna said. "He can finish it. But as soon as he's send him straight home, would you please?"

"Of course," Lucy told her. "Thank you so much, Jenna. Goodbye." She closed the phone and handed it back to Jeremy.

He was grinning. "That was good," he said. "I didn't think it would convince her at all, but it did."

Lucy grinned. "Well I have my ways. Now why don't you drink your milk?"

"All right," he said, gulping it down. He set the glass down on the table. "Are you sure you don't want anything?" he asked her.

"Well, now that you mention it, I am a little hungry," she told him.

"Well what can I give you?" he asked.

Lucy leaned forward, and as she put her lips on his neck, she could feel him relax. She wasn't going to have any difficulties. She began giving him little kisses and then, finally, her fangs came down, and she bit, drinking deeply from him. After she was done, she let him go and he flopped back against the chair. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Sure," he said, sounding dazed.

"Now, you aren't going to remember this, are you?" she told him. Her voice had become forceful and commanding.

"No," he said mechanically.

"If anyone asks," Lucy continued, "you say that we had a wonderful evening together and that we can't wait to do it again."

"Yes," he said.

"All right." She cleared her throat. "I promised your aunt that once we were finished, I'd send you home." She took his hand and pulled him up from the couch and leading him to the door. "Do you need me to walk with you?" she asked.

"No, no. I'll be fine."

"Okay." She watched him go and then shut the door behind him. She'd made a good choice; that was for sure.

When the door opened, Jenna and Elena started. They were both sitting at the kitchen table, with coffee cups in hand. As Jeremy entered the kitchen, they began peppering him with questions about how things went.

"It was great," he said. "We had a wonderful evening together and can't wait to do it again. Now I'm really tired, so I'm going upstairs to sleep."

"Goodnight," Jenna said.

"Don't forget to set your alarm!" Elena called after him. As soon as he was gone, they sat back down at the table. "Does he seem a bit off to you?" Elena asked.

"A little maybe, but it's probably nothing to worry about. His first time with an older woman had to have been a little intimidating. From the looks of things, she wore him out."

"I guess," Elena replied. She finished what was in her coffee cup and looked at the clock. "I think I'm going to call it a night too," she said.

"All right, see you in the morning." Jenna gave her a hug and Elena went to her bedroom for the night.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked when she found Selina at her locker the next day. "It seems like there's something wrong. Do you want to talk about it, or should I mind my own business?"

Selina grabbed some books and slammed the locker door shut. "Damon and I are having a fight," she said. "He won't admit that what he did with the vervain was wrong and I won't speak to him until he does."

"I admit that was a little low," Elena said. "But he had good intentions."

Selina scoffed. "That's what he says."

"Oh, come on!" Elena said. "No offense or anything, but I really think you're being petty right now. You love him." She took Selina's hand that had the engagement ring on it and held it up. "See? That's why you're still wearing this and haven't stomped it into the dirt yet."

Selina looked at it. "That doesn't prove anything."

"All right," Elena said. "Say you don't love him."

She watched as Selina looked at her balefully but said nothing. "You can't say it, can you?" Elena asked.

Selina shook her head, and the two of them began walking toward the history classroom. "I can't, and it's really annoying!"

"Come on," Elena told her. "You spent a hundred and forty-five years waiting for him to come back to you. Now he is and the two of you are engaged. Are you so proud that you're willing to throw that all away?"

"No," Selina huffed. "I guess not. I'll tell him I'm sorry when I get back tonight."

"Good for you," Elena said as they sat down.

"Yeah, whatever," Selina told her.

"By the way," Elena said, "my brother was at Lucy's house last night after he brought her back from the Grill because she was too wasted to go home by herself, and when we saw him again, he was acting really strange."

"Strange how?" Selina asked.

"Well," Elena replied, "he was very pale, he had this blank expression on his face and when he talked, his voice was mechanical, no expression whatsoever."

"Did you get a look at his neck?" Selina asked.

Elena's eyes widened. "You think Lucy fed off him?"

"Well," Selina answered, "since I haven't seen your brother, I can't be sure, but it sounds like a definite possibility."

Just then, Alaric entered the room. "All right everybody, today, instead of me giving a long-winded lecture that no one is going to listen to, we have a guest speaker from the state historical society to give a talk about Mystic Falls way back when. And I want all of you to be nice to her." He motioned out the door, and to Selina and Elena's surprise, Lucy entered the room.

"Hello, everyone!" she said brightly. "Are you all ready to be turned on by history?"

Selina passed Elena another note: From the looks on the boys' faces when Lucy entered the room, that won't be a problem.

Elena read it and tried not to snort.

Lucy began to talk and was interrupted by the door opening.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone." Stefan entered the room and headed for the empty chair next to Elena. When he was seated, he looked up at the front of the room and his eyes widened when he saw Lucy standing near the chalkboard. "What's she doing here?" he whispered to Elena.

"She's helping us get 'turned on' by history," Selina supplied. "And Elena says that her brother was at Lucy's house last night and came back acting really weird. I'm thinking that maybe she fed off him."

Stefan looked at Elena. "Don't worry. We'll find your brother after class and get a handle on the situation."

Elena nodded and the three of them stayed quiet, listening to Lucy lecture.

After Lucy finished talking and class was let out, Stefan, Selina and Elena were surprised to find Jeremy standing outside the classroom door holding a big bouquet of red roses.

"When did you get those?" Elena asked her brother.

"I snuck out during study hall," he said. "Do you think Lucy will like them?"

"Sure," Elena replied, talking to distract him while Selina and Stefan discreetly looked him over. "What woman doesn't like getting flowers?" She looked at Stefan and Selina who were mouthing that it was okay to let him go. "Why don't you go in there and give them to her before she leaves?"

"All right," Jeremy said. "Wish me luck!" Elena smiled at him and he disappeared into the classroom, shutting the door behind him.

"So what's the verdict?" Elena asked as soon as he was gone.

"He's definitely been bitten," Selina told her. "I'm sorry."

"I don't understand how this could happen," Elena said. "Lucy started out so nice!"

"Well, she's grieving," Stefan said. "Don't forget about the police officer. Lucy was the one who got him too."

"But he was killed!" Elena exclaimed. "We have to get Jeremy away from her right now, before she kills him too!"

"Don't worry, we'll handle it," Selina told her. "I'll just meet Lucy somewhere, we'll have a couple of drinks, and I'll convince her to leave your brother alone. She listens to me."

"Actually that's not going to happen. I made her promise to leave you alone." Stefan told Selina.

"What?!" Selina exclaimed. "What did you do that for?"

"Because Mystic Falls doesn't need anymore dead police officers," Stefan said through his teeth.

"Great," Selina sighed. "First your brother and now you. I appreciate the two of you trying to keep me safe and everything, but all you're really doing is sticking yourself in where you don't belong." She looked up at the clock. "I've got to go to my next class. I'll see you at home."

And she stalked off in the direction of the art wing, leaving Stefan and Elena standing alone.

The first thing Selina did when she got back to the boarding house was look for Damon. She found him in the living room, staring into the empty fireplace. "What's up, stranger?" she asked.

He turned around. "Oh, you're talking to me again. Isn't that wonderful?" he said sarcastically.

Selina ignored him and came up next to him. "I came to say I'm sorry for the way I acted, but if you're going to be like that, it can wait."

"No." he stood up "Why the change of heart?"

"Well," Selina answered, "Elena and I were talking and she made me realize that we've gone through way too much to throw out our relationship because of one fight. She also said that I was being petty and told me that if I was really mad at you and wanting to end things, I'd be able to say I didn't love you with conviction. I tried really hard, but I just couldn't."

"Really?" Damon said, grinning slyly. "I'll have to thank her sometime."

"And there's another thing: Lucy's after Elena's brother and Elena needs all the help she can get. I figure now isn't the time to be wasting our energies fighting when more important things need to be dealt with."

"Lucy is after Elena's brother?" Damon asked.

"Yep," Selina said. "Elena told Stefan and me that Jeremy brought Lucy home from the Grill because she was too drunk to go on her own and when he got back home, he was very pale, his eyes were glassy, and he was talking really funny. And then when Stefan and I checked him out today, he definitely had bite marks on his neck. He also brought Lucy roses."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Puppy love. How quaint."

"So," Selina told him. "Now that I've poured out all my heart and soul, is there anything you'd like to say to me?"

"Yes," Damon replied, taking her hand. "I'm sorry for incapacitating you with vervain when there were other ways that would have been less traumatizing for you."

Selina nodded. "All right. And I'm sorry I called you a male chauvinist freak."

He laughed a little. "I forgive you. Have you eaten yet today?"

"No," Selina said as the two of them left the house. "I was hoping you'd ask."

Jeremy met Lucy again a few nights later because she needed help moving furniture so she could paint the living room. After they'd moved the couches, they decided to take a break. Lucy got him some lemonade and watched him drink it.

"Aren't you going to get anything for yourself?" he asked.

"Later," Lucy smiled and began running her fingers through his hair. "You know, you have really nice hair," she commented. "I like it longer like this."

"Thanks," he said, beginning to relax again. She didn't waste time. She bit him and he shuddered. She was so involved with drinking from him that she forgot she'd left the basement door open. She didn't hear Tyler drag himself up the stairs with the little strength he had. And she didn't notice that he witnessed the whole thing.