Chapter Fifty: Smells Like Teen Spirit
Elena is wide awake when her alarm goes off. She looks at the clock and sees that it's 5 AM. Getting out of bed, she sees her reflection in the mirror and look at the bite mark on her neck. She gets out her make up to cover it up.
When she's finished she leaves her room and sees Alaric, who looks a bit hung-over. "Good morning." She greets but he just groans.
In the woods, Elena is training on one of Alaric's mannequins.
He shows her how to stake a vampire with a sleeve and two stakes in it. "So the pressure of your punch ejects the stakes."
"Easy enough." She tries but the stakes stay in the sleeve. "That's weird." She tries again but it doesn't work. "Must be jammed or something."
He shakes his head. "You're not strong enough. Better start lifting some weights, put some meat on your bones."
She rolls her eyes. "Thanks for not sugar-coating it."
He takes something out of his bag and shows it to her. "You know what this is?"
"A vervain grenade. I've used one before."
"Then you know the element of surprise is your only advantage when it comes to a vampire." He pulls the pin out of a grenade and tosses it to Elena. "Surprise."
"Oh my god." She throws it in the air and the grenade explodes. She glares at him. "This isn't a joke to me, Ric."
"You think I'm joking? Vampires will take whatever they want. They will hurt whoever they want. And they'll do it without remorse. It's their nature."
"You don't have to use pronouns. You can say Stefan."
He sighs. "Look, I get why you're here. Stefan hurt you. You don't want it to happen again."
"But you think that I'm crazy. To believe that I can protect myself from a vampire who's flipped the switch on his humanity."
"I think you found a way to get out of bed this morning. And that makes you the strongest person I know. I think that you can do pretty much anything." He gives her the sleeve with the stakes and she puts it back on.
Elena, Caroline and Bonnie are in front of the school. Elena has a scarf around her neck.
"Here we are." Caroline says. "Senior year."
"Anyone else think it should feel slightly more empowering?" Bonnie asks.
"Okay. So prank night was a bust. But we are accepting it, and we are moving on."
"You're right. I mean, why should I let the fact that my boyfriend is seeing the ghost of his dead girlfriends hinder this experience?"
"Yes! And why should I let the fact that my boyfriend was turned into a hybrid put a damper on an otherwise fabulous day."
"Today's our anniversary." Elena speaks. "Technically, Stefan and I met on the first day of school last year."
They look at her. "Yeah. You win." Caroline nods.
"Are you sure you want to be here?" Bonnie asks.
Elena sighs. "I have to be here. I have to put it behind me. New year. New life." She starts to walk towards the school.
Caroline and Bonnie look at each other and follow Elena.
"Where's Trinity?" Bonnie asks. "I thought you said that she was ok?"
"She's in a candy coma." Elena tells them. "She broke up with Katherine and buried her grief by stuffing herself sick."
"I thought she ended things with Katherine before the summer?" Caroline asks.
"She tried…and then Katherine told her that she loved her." Caroline and Bonnie look at her in shock. "Then she followed her to Chicago, told her that she's going to wait for her forever, and that she was wrong in thinking that Stefan was her true love."
"And how much of that was the truth?"
"Depending on what Damon told me? All of it." She says. "He told me that she looked hurt when she was with him. Now she's hell bent on killing Klaus so she can stop running and they can be together."
"Katherine? Katherine Pierce; the bitch who tried to have us all killed, actually cares about someone other than herself?"
"That was my reaction."
At the boarding house, Damon walks down the stairs and sees two dead girls on the floor. He walks into the living room and sees Stefan playing twister with a few girls around him.
Stefan flicks the spinner. "Uh-oh. Alexandra, left hand, please."
"Hey, the two brunettes on the staircase owe me a Persian rug." Damon tells him.
"You mean, they owe us a Persian rug? It's my house, too, brother. Ooh! Would you like a spin?"
"So this is what Klaus had in mind when he compelled you to protect Elena?"
"These ladies are helping me be all that I can be." Stefan smirks. They hear someone knock on the door. Damon opens it and Rebekah walks in, her hands filled with shopping bags.
"Where's Stefan?" She asks.
Damon looks at her. "Who the hell are you?"
"He left me here. My brother actually left me here."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Your tone implies that I'm actually supposed to care." Stefan says.
"You're Klaus's sister?" Damon asks.
She turns to him. "Rebekah. Pleasure, I'm sure." She turns back to Stefan. "Which one's my room?"
"You're not staying here." Stefan tells her.
She then looks at Damon but he doesn't say anything. "Rude. Both of you. I'll see to it myself." She walks up the stairs.
Stefan and Damon watch her go. "So I guess she's staying here."
Rebekah walks into one of the rooms and sees Trinity come out the bathroom, clad only in a bra and pants.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Trinity asks.
Rebekah looks at her. "You live here too? Don't you ever leave Stefan's side?"
Trinity puts on a shirt. "I just got finished spending months with your psycho brother, I didn't want to spend my first night back alone."
"So you'll be leaving then."
"No…I'll be staying." She says. "Why?"
"I want this room."
"It's a boarding house, find another. As you can see, this one is already occupied."
"Why is everyone so mean?"
"Well when you demand things from people you don't know, it tends to rub them the wrong way. Try asking politely, you might get different results."
Rebekah sits on the bed. "I'm not leaving."
Trinity looks at her. "Well I'm not leaving."
"I don't like to share."
"And I don't like people taking what's mine." Trinity closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before opening them. "Look, the way I see it; you've been in a box for the last 90 years and your brother abandoned you after a few days." Rebekah glares at her but Trinity holds her hand up. "Let me finish." She puts her hand down. "You have no idea how the world works today; are you sure that the first thing you want to do is offend the one person who's actually been nice to you since you woke up?"
Rebekah is silent for a moment. "Fine." She sighs. "Explain how things work."
"I think our first order of business should be finding you your own room."
Trinity walks down the stairs. "Really Stefan? You were a lot cleaner with your emotions." She says seeing the bodies.
He looks at her. "Are you here to lecture me? 'Oh Stefan, this isn't you. You need help. I promise to stay by your side.'"
"Actually, no." She says. "I was with you this summer. I saw everything, I know what you're capable of. I did promise to stay by your side and I'm going to keep that promise."
"Oh great." He rolls his eyes.
"I'm just saying that when all this is over and for whatever reason your emotions snap back on, I'll still be here. You're my best friend and whether you're crazy ripper Stefan or broody martyr Stefan, I got your back."
He flashes over to her and pins her to the wall. "And why would you do that?"
She looks at him. "You may have lost your emotions, but I didn't." She shifts her nails into claws and drives them into his stomach. He groans and releases her. "But don't make the mistake of thinking that I'm weak. I care about you, but I will kick your ass if you come at me again." She pushes him away.
He holds his stomach and looks at her, a glint of respect in his eyes.
They don't notice Damon at the top of the stairs.
Bonnie is at her locker when Jeremy walks up to her. "So, what? It's not cool to talk to juniors anymore?" He asks.
She looks at him. "Hey. Happy first day."
"You're mad?"
"I'm not mad. I'm resigned to the fact I'm sharing space in our relationship with Anna and Vicki."
"I haven't talked to Vicki in a while."
"That's not the point, Jeremy."
"I know that. I know. Ok? But I had to see Anna again, Bonnie. She had information that Damon needed."
"I get it, Jeremy. But put yourself in my shoes. You loved both of them. And you guys didn't break up. They died. And you keep letting them back in."
"You think I want any of this?"
"I, um…I think you have the power to decide whether or not you see them. Remember that. Ok?" She walks away.
Matt parks his truck. Vicki appears next to him. "You were always so much better at being a part of this than I was." She says. He jumps and looks at her, surprised. "Sorry."
"You can't just keep appearing like this. Freaks me out." He tells her.
"I'm a ghost. It's all I got. And I couldn't appear if you weren't thinking about me."
"Well, I was just thinking about our first day last year. I was worried about running into Elena and you said…"
"Suck it up, be a man, and show her what she's missing."
"Yeah. Instead, she met a vampire."
"You ok, Matty? You seem unhappy."
"Yeah, I just, life stuff. You know, with you gone and mom not around, it's…a lot to deal with alone. I'm glad I get to talk to you, though. I miss you."
"I miss you, too. What if I told you there was a way that you could help me come back?"
"What do you mean come back?"
Tyler knocks on the window and Vicki disappears. "Donovan!" He calls. "What are you doing? Come on, man. Let's go!" Matt gets out of his truck. "You talking to yourself?"
"What's got you in such a good mood?"
"We're seniors, man. Life is good."
Katherine has a mouse in her hands and waves it above Mikael, who is still asleep. "Come on, Mikael, breakfast." Her phone rings. "Mm, yummy. Mikael, wake up!" She sees that it's Damon and answers it. "What?"
"What? What do you mean, 'what'? I've been calling you for 2 days."
"Odd, that's exactly how long I've been ignoring you."
"Jeremy Gilbert told me that you found Mikael."
"Sort of. He's a little bit out of commission. He won't eat. And I've tried everything…gravediggers, mourners, mice, rats, bats. He's just not interested."
"Well, try harder. We need him to kill Klaus so I can de-rippefy Stefan before he destroys my house."
"Fine. I'll give it another shot." She looks through the doors and sees a man in the cemetery.
Elena's phone rings and she answers; it's Damon. "Hey. Are you checking up on me? Because I'm fine." She tells him.
"Yeah. So…you might not want to come here for a while. We have a new housemate. Barbie Klaus."
"Rebekah? She's living with you now? Why?"
"She's stranded. Apparently Klaus left her in the dust after I name-dropped Mikael."
"What about Stefan? What is he up to?"
"Oh, you know Stefan. Journaling, reading, shaping his hair."
"Come on, Damon. I can handle it. What?"
"Is that the bell? Oh…Ring! Ring! Don't want to be late." He hangs up.
Caroline puts a flyer for the bonfire on the wall.
Elena walks up. "I forgot about the bonfire."
"You have to go. It's our first spirit squad event. And it sets the bar for the whole year."
"Relax, Caroline. I'll be there."
"Thank you. It's just that…"
Tyler arrives and kisses Caroline. Elena looks at his shirt and sees something red. "Happy first day!" He smiles.
"Is that blood?" Elena asks.
Caroline's eyes widen when she sees is shirt. "Oh my god!" She grabs Tyler and Elena follows them. She pulls him into a restroom.
"What's going on?!" He asks.
She turns to look at him. "Vampire 101; don't wear your breakfast to school!"
Elena checks out the stalls to make sure no one is there.
"Chill out. It was just a blood bag." He tells her.
"From where?"
"Rebekah hooked me up."
"Rebekah? And what are you even talking to her for?"
"Klaus told her to keep a watch on me. Protect his new asset." He smiles.
"His what? Why are you amused by this?"
"I'm his first successful hybrid, Caroline. Don't you think that's the tiniest bit awesome?"
"Oh, wow! I cannot believe you just said that."
Elena looks at them. "So, I'm going to go. Good luck." She leaves the restroom only to walk into Stefan.
"Hello, Elena." He greets.
"What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean? I'm going back to school. Go Timberwolves!"
"What? Why?"
"Klaus wants me to keep an eye on you. I'm just doing what I'm told."
"I'm going to be late for class." She tries to leave but he stops her.
"Oh, class is this way."
"Let go of me, Stefan."
"Elena, do you think I want to be a senior for the 100th time? No. But if I don't have a choice in the matter, then neither do you."
"I said let go of me."
Alaric walks up to them. "Let her go." He says. Stefan pushes him against the locker.
"Stefan, stop it!" Elena yells.
"You're not gonna want to get in my way. Okay Ric?" He lets go of him. "I will see you both in history." He leaves.
"Welcome to high school." Trinity says, walking towards the office with Rebekah. "Believe me when I tell you that this is something you'll only want to do once."
"Why?"
"If you have a good experience; let's say that you join the cheerleading squad and other committees for school functions, you'll have a nice time. But if you fade into the background the days will pass you by and you'll be counting the days until it's over."
"Is that what you're doing?"
"It's what I used to do. I'm smart enough to test out, but then I'd have nothing left to do with my day. But ever since I got involved with all this vampire business, I've been counting the days that I stay alive."
"If it's so dangerous, why don't you just leave?"
"Stefan is the first person I've told about me. He is the first vampire I ever met. He's my best friend and even though he's acting like a dick right now, I still love him. I would only leave if he was coming with me."
Rebekah looks at her. "What did Stefan do to get your complete and utter devotion?"
Trinity pauses. "He cared about me. When you go your whole life feeling alone and disconnected, and then suddenly someone notices you…cares about you…you don't pass that up." She sighs. "Well, enough of my sob story; we need to get you your class schedule."
"What is there to learn?"
"I'll help you catch up on the basics." They continue down the hallway. "Were you the one who packed my candy?"
Rebekah rolls her eyes. "I didn't see the need in leaving it all to waste."
"Thank you." Trinity smiles.
Alaric and Elena are in his classroom.
"What the hell is he doing here?" He asks.
"Klaus compelled him to watch over me. Apparently I'm one of Klaus's assets now that my blood is the only way to create a hybrid." She explains.
"Now he's a bodyguard?"
"I don't know what he is. But he's definitely not Stefan." She sighs. The school bell rings. "Look, his being here is not good for any of us. We have to do something."
The students enter the classroom. Elena goes to her chair. Caroline sits next to her and a guy sits on the other side but Stefan enters and goes toward him.
He glares at the boy. "You're in my seat." The boy quickly gets up and Stefan sits down, smiling at Elena. Caroline looks at him.
Alaric addresses the class. "Welcome back, seniors. Let's turn our brains back on, starting with this country's original founders…the Native Americans."
Rebekah and Trinity enter the classroom. "What about the Vikings?" She asks as she and Trinity take their seats. Tyler, Caroline and Elena look at them.
"There's no evidence that Viking explorers actually settled in the United States. Who are you?" Alaric asks.
"My name's Rebekah. I'm new. And history's my favorite subject."
Matt walks to the stoner pit.
Vicki appears. "You have got no business in the stoner pit."
"Figured you'd feel comfortable here." He tells her.
She smiles. "Touché."
"So what do you mean that I can help you come back?"
"Right now, I can only come back when you're thinking of me. But there is a way that I can be free of that."
"How?"
"I know this sounds crazy but I have help from the other side."
"The other side?"
Jeremy walks up but doesn't see Vicki. "Dude, what are you doing over here?" He asks.
Matt looks at him. "I could ask you the same question."
"Just looking for my stoner lab partner. All right, see you around." He leaves.
Matt looks at Vicki. "Can he not see you anymore?"
Jeremy is in the restrooms with Anna. "He was talking to Vicki right out there in the open."
She looks at him. "How?"
"When he died and came back, he must have started seeing her. She said that she could come back, that she had help on the other side."
"Help? What kind of help?"
"Who's helping you?" Matt asks.
"The witch I've been talking to says that there's a ritual. She can do magic from my side to push me over to yours." Vicki tells him.
"Is it even possible? Could she come back?" Jeremy asks.
Anna shrugs. "I guess if she had a stronger foothold."
"Like an anchor?"
"Exactly. Right now, I'm tethered to you. My only access point to your side is through you. But if she were to get a stronger foothold."
"I'll be able to come and go as I please…" Vicki trails off. "When I want, where I want. I won't have to rely on you."
"But you'll still be a ghost, Vicki." Matt says.
She rolls her eyes. "In a town full of vampires, werewolves, and witches, I'll fit right in."
"Seriously. You're going to make jokes about this?"
"Matt! Relax. No one else will be able to see me."
"She's bad news, Jeremy. There's nothing but darkness around her."
He shakes his head. "This is Vicki we're talking about. All right? She's not a bad person."
"You can't upset the balance of nature without a price. If she's using a witch's energy from the other side, you don't know what price she's going to pay." Anna tells him.
"I can be a part of this life again, Matt. Instead of being on the other side all alone. You won't have to be alone anymore either." Vicki cries.
He sighs. "What do I have to do?"
The football team and the cheerleaders are at practice.
"Has anybody seen Dana?" A cheerleader asks.
Rebekah arrives. "Sounds like you have an opening on the squad."
Caroline looks at her. "What are you doing?" Rebekah begins stretching. "Hey. Hey. You can't just come here and infiltrate all of our lives."
Rebekah stands up. "I'm only interested in yours. Your spunk, your popularity." She looks at Tyler. "Maybe even your boyfriend."
Tyler is practicing with the football team.
"It's not the ballet, ladies. Let's move! Let's move!" The coach orders.
Tyler stops. "I think we're done here, coach."
"Did you have a mental breakdown, Lockwood? Get back in line."
"I have a better idea." Tyler walks over to him. "Shut the hell up so we can go get drunk at the bonfire." He compels him. "Shut the hell up so we can go get drunk at the bonfire."
The coach looks at the team. "Hit the showers, gentlemen."
Caroline rejoins Tyler. "Try to be a little more subtle, Tyler." She tells him.
He looks at her. "Coming from the queen of subtlety? Relax. I'm in total control."
"Then why are you acting like this?"
"Drop it, Caroline. I'm fine. I've never been better. Klaus has given me this…gift."
"What?!" They hear some boys on the team talk about Rebekah. Tyler and Caroline turn their head. Rebekah makes impressive gymnastic moves and ends with a split. She looks at Caroline with a smile. "My god!" Caroline groans.
Tyler smiles. "Damn, girl's got moves."
Elena is running on the track when Stefan catches up to her. "Look at you being all fit. Hey, you going to the bonfire tonight? Sounds like fun, right?"
"Seriously, Stefan, leave me alone." She turns around but he still follows her.
"You think I'm annoying now? Wait till homecoming. Hey, who you bringing, by the way? I don't want to be weird."
A guy accidentally bumps into Elena. "I'm sorry"
Stefan pushes him. "Watch it, dick!"
Elena looks at Stefan. "Who are you?!"
"I'm the guy who's been assigned to protect a human blood bag. I mean, no offense or anything." She shakes her head and walks away. "What?!" He calls after her.
Rebekah walks into the music room and sees Trinity. "There you are." She says, walking closer.
Trinity looks up from the piano. "Here I am." She says. "How's your first day of high school?"
Rebekah lifts herself onto the piano. "I joined the cheerleading squad and I'm going to the bonfire tonight."
Trinity nods. "You've officially started the high school experience."
"What's next?"
"Homecoming."
"What's that?"
"For guys; it's about the football game, for girls; it's about the dance. For a week the school has events and activities for the students to participate it, then the guys have their football game…hopefully they win, and after that; there's a dance. Everyone dresses up, gets drunk, and has fun."
"When does that happen?"
"A few weeks from now."
Rebekah pauses in thought. "I'd like to go to that."
Trinity shrugs. "Feel free."
Rebekah looks at her. "You're not going?"
Trinity shakes her head. "It was never really my thing." She presses a few keys on the piano.
"Play me something."
"Nah. I'm not that good."
"Then why are you in here?" She asks.
"I like music."
"How? The stuff I've heard so far has been horrible."
"Making the jump from jazz to club music is a hard thing to do. You have to work your way up to that."
Rebekah rolls her eyes. "More to learn?"
"I'll have to take you through the generations of music. Elvis, the Beatles…there's a lot you need to catch up on."
"So let this be lesson one. Play me something."
Trinity thinks for a minute before she begins playing. She soon begins to sing.
When I find myself in time of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Rebekah watches as she sings.
Katherine is holding the body of the man above Mikael so the blood can Fall in his mouth.
He wakes up and his face becomes normal again. "No! Get it away!"
"You need blood."
"Get it away from me!"
She throws the body aside. "Happy?"
"Thank you." He sighs.
She looks at him. "I remember you. Chicago, 1920s. You were looking for Klaus." He closes his eyes again. "You're not so scary for a…badass vampire; vampire hunter."
Elena is lifting weights on a bench.
Damon arrives. "What? Are you going to bench press a vampire?"
"Do you actually know what's happening right now? Stefan called me a human blood bag. He's a completely different person." She struggles when he begins to press on the weights. "Unh! What are you doing?"
"Helping you out."
"Damon!"
"Come on, Buffy!"
"Stop it!" He stops and she stands up. "Like one obnoxious Salvatore isn't bad enough." She says sitting down.
"You called. I'm here. What's your plan, oh warrior princess?"
"I want to lock Stefan up, at least until this Mikael guy comes, kills Klaus, and the compulsion breaks."
"Compulsion or not, Stefan's high on human blood, Ok? A lot of it."
"You've gotten him off of it before."
"This is different. It's not a stint in rehab, Elena. His humanity's gone. Light's out. No one's home."
"Then do it for me, Damon. Every single time I look at him, I feel like I'm going to break. And I'm not going to give him that satisfaction." She gets up. He takes her hand and puts it on his chest. "What are you doing?"
"Feel that? It's a sternum. Solid plate of bone." He takes her in his arms and puts his fingers on her back. "Right here, just below the ribcage, next to the spine, that's your way to a vampire's heart." He removes his fingers. "I'll do whatever it is you need me to do, Elena." She looks at him. "No one going to hurt you. Especially not my brother."
Trinity walks into her house and sneezes at the amount of dust in the air. "Great." She sighs. She goes into a cupboard and pulls out cleaning supplies.
Alaric, Damon, Elena and Caroline are in a classroom.
"I'll lure Stefan away from the bonfire. Then when he's distracted…" Elena trails off.
"I'll shoot him." Alaric says.
"Can't Bonnie just ju-ju him or something?" Damon asks.
"I'm trying to keep Bonnie out of this. I don't trust that Stefan won't hurt her." Elena says. "Caroline, are you covered?
"Yes! I will make sure that the old Forbes jail cell is prepped and ready. Why isn't Trinity here?"
"She's a little less than concerned about him right now. I heard the whole speech earlier. 'You're my best friend and I don't care if you ruthlessly kill people' and all that jazz." Damon says. "On another note; we're forgetting a key player here. Rebekah? Wherever Stefan goes, the blond ponytail tends to follow."
"Which is why it's your job to keep her away." Elena tells him.
"How?! She's an original. Last time I checked, we're out of daggers."
"So then preoccupy her with your charm."
"Might have better luck finding the dagger." Alaric comments.
Damon looks at him. "Are you ever not going to be mad at me for a day?"
"Doubtful."
Tyler arrives. "Sorry I'm late. What's going on?"
"We need you to raid your mom's vervain supply. Enough to keep Stefan down for a while." Elena says.
"You can't do that to Stefan."
"Why not?" Caroline asks.
Elena nods. "Trust me, Tyler; it's in his best interest."
"Yeah, but it's not in Klaus's."
They look at him. "But Klaus is the bad guy, Tyler. You know, why are you acting like some freaky, hybrid, slave minion?" Caroline asks.
"Uh-oh." Damon groans.
"What?" Alaric asks.
"Klaus made me who I am, Caroline. I owe him everything." Tyler explains.
"Oh, boy." Damon says.
Caroline looks at him. "Ok, can we cool it on the commentary, please."
"What is going on?" Elena asks. Damon takes a vervain dart.
"I'm just going to go." Tyler turns to leave but Damon flashes over and stabs the vervain dart into his neck. Tyler falls to the ground.
"What are you doing?!" Caroline yells.
"He's been sired." Damon says.
"What?" Alaric asks.
"Sired. He feels loyal to Klaus because Klaus's blood created him."
"Loyal how?" Elena asks.
"He'll seek acceptance from his master. It's really rare. But maybe not so much in hybrids."
Caroline looks at Tyler's unconscious body. "So how do I fix him?"
"Get a new boyfriend."
Rebekah is at the bonfire trying to pour herself some beer.
Stefan walks over. "You all right there?"
"I thought Tyler would be here." She sighs.
"You're into Tyler now? That's kind of fickle."
"When you're willing to give me the time of day again, then we'll talk. Until then, a girl has needs."
"I'm well aware of that. I just thought that you were hoping for Trinity to fulfill them." He smirks as she looks at him in confusion.
Elena walks up. "Excuse me." She pours herself some beer.
"Elena, hi." Stefan greets. "What are you doing?"
"I'm having fun, Stefan. You have a problem with that?" She chugs her beer.
"All right, take it easy. We both know you're kind of a lightweight."
"Uh-huh. Really? You think I'm going to let a blood addict tell me how to drink?" She walks away.
Rebekah looks at Stefan.
Matt and Vicki are in the garage, candles surrounding them. Matt takes a picture and puts it in front of the candles. He takes a knife from his pocket and cuts his hand, holding it above the picture.
"Concentrate on me, Matty." She says.
"This is too weird."
"Just focus. This is a good thing." She watches as his blood drips onto the picture. "Now say you accept me."
"I accept you."
Wind begins to blow and the fire of the candles grow higher. Smoke begins to rise from the pictures. Everything calms down and the door closes. Matt steps back, afraid. He trips and falls into Vicki, who catches him. "Did you just…?"
"I felt that." He says. She touches his face. "I feel that, too."
"It worked. Oh!" She hugs him. "I'm here, Matty!"
At the high school, Bonnie and Jeremy are in the hallway.
"Did you talk to Anna about this?" Bonnie asks.
"She's on the other side, Bonnie. Ok. I thought she might know something." He says.
"About what? I thought they were all alone over there."
"Somehow Vicki's been communicating with some super strong witch."
"If there's another witch involved, don't you think you should have come to me before you went to Anna?"
Anna appears next to Jeremy. "Tell her not to be upset. I was just trying to help."
"Not now, Anna." He says.
Bonnie looks at him. "She's here?"
"She's just trying to help."
"I can't…I can't deal with this right now."
"Bonnie!"
"Matt's trying to resurrect his dead sister. I think I'll go deal with that instead." She walks away.
Vicki touches the candles. "Ah, I can feel this. I can feel everything."
"The witch didn't mention this part?" He asks.
"Makes sense." She shrugs. "Our deal was that she'd help me do what I need to do."
"What are you talking about? What deal, Vic?"
"Well, if I want to stay here, I have to help her restore the balance. Klaus' hybrids can't be allowed to survive."
"You can't kill Tyler, Vicki."
"Not Tyler, Matt. It's Elena who's the key to creating the hybrids."
"What? Vicki, no!"
She hits him, knocking him out. "I'm sorry, Matty. But I want to stay."
Students hold up a guy doing a keg stand. Everyone chants 'drink' including Elena, who's laughing. She shares a look with Stefan and raises her cup before drinking. Stefan drinks too.
Rebekah sits alone, trying to eat a marshmallow when Damon walks up to her. "What? No friends your own age?" She asks.
"Like you can talk."
"Is this supposed to be fun? I've been through 10 of these."
"No, you're just looking at it all wrong. This is a little rough on the outside." He takes the burn out of the marshmallow. "But the inside…yum." He feeds it to her, sucking his fingers when she's finished.
"Mmm. It's good."
"Yep."
Elena watches them when Stefan walks up to her. "What's that look?"
She sighs. "What look?"
"My brother's got his flirt on, and you're jealous."
"I'm not jealous."
"It's all right. Be jealous by all means. I'm sure Damon will be thrilled."
"I'm not jealous, Stefan."
"All right. That's my mistake."
"Whatever. I'm out of here." She walks away.
Bonnie is on the phone with Matt. "Matt! Matt, slow down. What happened?"
"I messed up, Bonnie."
"What? How? Where is she?"
A guy is sitting on a car, smoking. He puts down the joint and leaves. Vicki arrives, looks around her and takes the joint.
Damon gives Rebekah a s'more. "Can't believe you've never had one of these before."
"Well, I've been in a casket for 90 years."
"That's no excuse."
She bites into it, eating. "Why are you being so nice to me? You hate me. You should be mean."
"Well, I could be mean if that's what you're into."
She looks at him. "You're distracting me. Why?"
"Just trying to be a good housemate."
"There's never a fair fight between us, Damon. Remember that." She stabs him with a wooden stick and leaves. He groans, sits down and removes it.
At the Lockwood mansion, Tyler wakes up and sees Caroline. "What the hell? How did I get home?"
"I brought you here." She tells him. "You were being a d-bag."
"What is your problem today?"
"My problem is you've been sired. Do you even know what that means? It means that you put Klaus' needs first. He is your master now."
He shakes his head. "I'm not anyone's pet, Caroline. He doesn't control me."
"Well, something's got to be controlling you. Because I don't know why else you'd be acting like the old you."
"The old me?"
"Yeah. The old you. The pre-werewolf you. You know, the obnoxious you that I would never be friends with." She goes to leave but he stops her.
"Whoa! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm sorry. I don't want to be that guy. I hated that guy."
"You're a vampire now, Tyler. Everything about your personality is heightened. So you have to be careful."
"I will. I promise. Just…don't hate me. Everything I like about me is you." He kisses her.
Trinity sighs as she looks at her, now clean house. She looks at the clock and sees that there is still time for the bonfire. She goes upstairs to change.
Elena is lying on the bleachers, looking at the sky. Stefan arrives and she rambles drunkenly. "I used to know every constellation. How did I forget them all?"
"You're drunk. You need to go home."
She gets up. "Fine. Uh…let me find my car."
"You're joking, right?"
"Uh-oh. It's the fun police. I thought that ripper Stefan was supposed to be the life of the party."
"Well, all right, I'm driving you home. Come on." He says but she climbs over the ramp. "What are you, five? Get down."
"Why? Are you afraid that I'm going to…" She almost falls. "Oh. Ha. That was close. Klaus would not be happy with you."
He rolls his eyes. "You're hilarious."
"Look, Stefan, no hands." She removes her hands but almost falls. Stefan's not amused anymore. She laughs but finally falls. She screams but Stefan flashes to catch her. "I knew you'd catch me." They look at each other. He releases her and Alaric arrives and shoots him with darts. Stefan falls to the ground, unconscious.
Alaric looks at Elena. "You ok?"
"Yeah. I'm…fine."
"You look, uh…not sober."
"The plan worked. That's all that matters. Let's just get him out of here."
Elena opens Alaric's trunk. He puts Stefan in it. Elena goes in the car. Vicki, who's smoking looks at them. She looks at the ground and takes a hit of the joint.
Matt and Bonnie are in a classroom.
"I'm so sorry." He says. "I didn't think she'd do something like this. I trusted her.
"You need to tell me exactly what you did to let Vicki out. So I know exactly how to send her back."
Alaric closes the trunk and sees a gas can on the ground. "I see all the geniuses came out to the bonfire tonight."
Vicki throws the joint to the ground, lighting a fire the quickly heads towards Alaric's car; Elena and Stefan still inside it.
Alaric sees the fire and tries to open the door. "Elena! Elena! Open the door!"
She tries but it won't open. "I can't! It won't open! What the hell?"
Vicki appears in the car next to Elena, who can't see her. "I'm sorry, Elena."
Alaric rushes to another car to find something. He find a lacrosse stick and tries to break the door with it but it doesn't work. Elena tries to break it with her feet but it doesn't work either. The fire grows stronger.
"Alaric!" Trinity calls as she runs up to him. "What's happening?" She looks at the fire.
"Elena and Stefan are inside!" He says. "They're stuck."
Matt light a candle and Bonnie looks at a grimoire. "I found a spell that can block whatever magic is helping Vicki." She says.
"What do I do?"
"Give me your hand." She grabs his hand cuts his palm with a knife.
Trinity closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before stepping into the fire and grabbing onto the trunk door. The metal groans as she tries to pull the door from the vehicle. "Ahh!" She screams as the flames lick her higher and higher up her legs.
Elena sees Trinity in the window. "Trinity!" She coughs. "Stefan!" Elena shakes him.
Stefan wakes up and begins to kick the truck with his feet.
Trinity falls back as she pulls the door off the car.
Bonnie casts a spell.
Elena grabs Stefan and tries to get him out the car.
Alaric helps Trinity pat out the fire on her legs. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll heal." She groans.
Vicki appears in the classroom with Bonnie and Matt. "What is she doing?"
"Fixing my mistake." He tells her.
"Make her stop."
"Bonnie…"
"The spell is working, Matt. She's still here because of you." She continues the spell.
Matt looks at Vicki. "Matt, please." She pleads.
He shakes his head. "I can't let you hurt anyone, Vicki."
"I won't. I'll stop. Just, please, don't make me go."
"I have to. This is wrong. You shouldn't be here."
"I'm sorry. I just didn't want to be alone anymore."
"Neither did I. But I have to let you go." He looks at Bonnie, who's still doing the spell before looking back at Vicki. "Goodbye, Vic." She disappears. "She's gone."
Alaric helps Elena to get out. "Hurry up before it blows!"
"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!" She tugs hard at Stefan; Trinity comes up and helps her. They rush away from the car and it explodes.
Stefan helps Trinity onto her bed. "I thought your emotions were gone." She says. "Why are you helping me?"
"Believe it or not; you're the only person who doesn't whine about me not having them. You just rolled with it." He shrugs. "Plus you're kind of use to it by now. Seeing me kill all those people this summer might've desensitized you."
"Yeah…" She drags the word out. "What do you really want?"
He looks at her. "Why didn't Klaus's compulsion work on you? Did you fight it? Did you hide vervain?"
She sighs. "I don't know why it didn't work. It's probably my Quickening. Just another step on my trip to hell." She lies down. "If that's all, you're free to leave."
"Great." He gets up. "See ya later bestie." He slaps her on the leg, making her cringe in pain and leaves.
"Dick!" She yells after him.
Elena and Damon are in his bedroom. She has a burn on her cheek. He takes out a tube of cream.
"Give it to me. I can do it." She reaches for it but he holds it away.
"No, let me."
"Damon, come on."
"Elena, you almost got barbecued. The least I can do is apply first aid." He applies the cream on her wound with a swab.
"You played your part of the plan really well tonight."
"Oh, yeah?"
"You had Rebekah drooling all over you and your marshmallows."
"Yeah, before she skewered me. I thought you were too drunk to notice."
"I was faking most of it."
"So was I." They look at each other.
Alaric arrives. "Ready to get going, Elena?"
Damon looks at him. "Great work tonight, Ric. Sorry about the car, man. Bummer."
Elena looks at Damon before leaving with Alaric.
Caroline puts on her dress.
Tyler is naked and puts a sheet around his waist. "You're always running out on me."
"You have to earn the overnighter."
"I consider that a challenge."
She laughs and puts on her jacket. "Bye."
"Bye." He kisses her and she leaves. Suddenly Rebekah appears. "What are you doing here?"
"I have something for you."
"What?"
"A little present." She leaves and reappears with a girl who has a wound on her neck.
"You should go."
"You sure? I think my brother would want his hybrid to indulge in everything life has to offer." She bites the girl's wrist.
Tyler flashes over to the girl and bites her neck.
Katherine is lighting candles in the mausoleum.
Mikael wakes up. "I apologize for my outburst. It would have made more sense had you known that I've been denying myself human blood for as long as I can remember. Why is it that you awoke me?"
"I thought you might know how to kill Klaus. But something tells me that I've been sorely misinformed." She says.
"Would you mind helping me with these? I can assure you there's no way I can kill Klaus from beneath them."
"Does that you mean you do know how to kill him?"
"I can kill Klaus. And I will." He tells her. She breaks his chains. "Thank you."
"A little blood will grease those muscles up real quick. Just saying."
"I don't feed on living things."
"Then what do you eat?"
He lunges forwards and bites her.
Alaric and Elena are about to leave the boarding house.
"It's ok if you want to be friends with Damon again." She tells him.
"I don't."
"I think he kind of misses you."
Stefan comes out of the living room. "Well you got me tonight. Definitely wasn't expecting that."
Alaric looks at him. "That was the point."
"Yeah. You know, you can hate it all you want, but Elena needs me. I'll always protect her. I think you're both better off having me around." They go towards the door. "Elena, wait. You could have let me die in that fire tonight. Why didn't you?"
"Because I still have hope."
"After everything I've done, you…you still think I'll be able to find my humanity again."
"Yes, I do. I know who you really are better than anyone, Stefan. And I'm not giving up."
"Elena, do you have any idea how pathetic that makes you?"
"No, Stefan, it makes me strong." She drives two stakes through his body with the sleeve. She takes off the sleeve and gives it to Alaric. He looks at Stefan, smiles and closes the door.
At the Gilbert house, Jeremy leaves a message to Bonnie. "Bonnie, come on. Stop dodging my calls. Don't you think we should at least talk about this?" He hangs up and sits on his bed.
Anna appears. "I shouldn't be here."
"No kidding." He sighs.
"No, I mean, I shouldn't be here, Jeremy. Why are you thinking about me when you're calling her?"
"I didn't think I was. Look, I don't know. Ok. I don't know what I'm doing, Anna. The problem is I don't think I can stop thinking about you."
"I can't stop thinking about you, either." She sits down next to him.
"What are we going to do?" He asks. She raises her hand. He touches it and looks surprised. He takes her hand. "Do you…feel this?"
"What's going on? I can feel you. How can I feel you?"
Damon is removing the rug when somebody breaks a vase. "Keep it up, Stefan." He picks up the pieces of the vase. Suddenly, he is hit hard and falls to the floor. He opens his eyes and sees Mason.
"This is going to be fun." Mason smiles.
Trinity, wrapped in a towel wraps her hand around the bathroom door, pulling it off its hinges. She looks between her hand and the door. She walks into her room and reaches for her wardrobe door, pulling it off its hinges as well. "What the hell?"
