Elena gasped awake and sat up. She looked around the room and found Toby leaning against one of the bed posts.

"What'd Stefan do to me?"

"He brought you back to the boarding house before you could cause any more trouble," Toby replied.

"So, you're grounding me… because I dropped Caroline on her thick head."

"No, because you fed on someone in public."

Elena stood up from the bed. "So? I was hungry."

She dropped the skirt to her cheer uniform and started untying her shirt.

Toby sighed. "You're really gonna keep stripping in front of me? That's real mature."

Elena pulled her top off. "I'm done cheering, so I'm gonna change. Besides, aren't you supposed to be my boyfriend? I can strip in front of you if I want."

"You've shut off all of your emotions and you're still calling me your boyfriend? Doesn't that seem a bit contradictory? Having a boyfriend insinuates feelings, which you don't have."

"You're right. Maybe we should break up, that way you won't have an excuse for wanting to hover over me and I can do whatever I want."

Elena put on a tank top and moved to wiggle a pair of jeans on.

"Yeah, not happening."

"What, breaking up?"

"No, me leaving you alone so you can do whatever you want."

"So, you don't care if we break up?"

"That's not what I said."

"Sure sounded like it." She picked up her phone and started texting somebody. "Why do you care what I do and who I kill?"

"Are you kidding? Is that a serious question? It's my fault you're like this. I was an idiot and I listened to Damon and now you're walking around acting like an entitled brat."

Elena started walking away, still texting and completely ignoring Toby.

"If I just let you go around killing people, not only will that draw attention and probably get you killed, when you turn it back on, because you will, that guilt will crush you. I know you, Elena."

Elena laughed at something on her phone. Toby frowned and reached over to snatch her phone from her in annoyance.

"Who are you texting?"

"Look at you. Your whole world revolves around me. Maybe you're the one that needs to turn it all off."

The door to the room creaked open and they looked over to see Veronica peeking her head in.

"Yeah, we have a problem. Somebody, I won't say who, invited the whole student body over for a party. They're downstairs."

Toby shot Elena a look of disbelief. "Unbelievable. Where's Stefan and Elowen?"

"Already downstairs. Elowen said something about calling Caroline and Josiah."

Elena shrugged. "You were trying to keep me from joining the party, so… I brought the party here."

"This isn't even your house!" Toby exclaimed in exasperation.

Elena smirked and walked off to leave the room. Veronica narrowed her eyes at her as she passed her on the way out.

"If I thought she was annoying before…" Veronica trailed off as she turned and disappeared as well, leaving Toby in the room alone.

xxxx

It was dark by the time Caroline and Josiah showed up.

"We got here as soon as we could," Josiah said as he came up to Stefan and Elowen. "This is insane."

"Yeah, it won't last." Stefan crossed his arms. "They'll either drink all the booze and get bored, or, uh, Damon will come home and kill everyone."

"We can't compel them to leave," Caroline said as she looked around the house. "The locals are all on vervain from the town water supply."

Josiah snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. "I could call my mom and aunt Eliana and me, them and Elowen could magically compel everyone to leave. Or, if you want this to be faster, you could call your mom and have her crash the party using her Sheriff status."

"Hm. Not bad ideas. I think I'll call my mom. What should we do until she gets here?"

"Pfft, I don't know." Stefan shrugged. "Enjoy the party, keep Elena from butchering Grove Hills' cheerleading squad." He took a swig from a bottle of alcohol he swiped before the teenagers got ahold of it.

Caroline sighed. "Great. Where is she?"

Elowen pointed across the room. "Where do you think?"

Caroline and Josiah followed her finger and found Elena dancing on a tabletop. She was laughing and had a bottle of alcohol in her hands.

Caroline smiled slightly. "I almost forgot what that looked like."

Josiah tilted his head. "What? Elena smiling?"

"No. Fun. I mean, look at her. Yes, this is all very bad, but doesn't she make you want to let go?"

"Uh, Care, I'm an ex alcoholic. If I let go, I become a major dick and I'll start a fight, or two, or three. And once I start, I can't stop."

Stefan hummed. "You're not alone. I unfortunately have this little problem where when I party too hard, I end up killing people."

Josiah pointed at Stefan and he pointed back at Josiah. Caroline rolled her eyes while Elowen laughed.

"First of all, you," she pointed at Josiah, "are fun enough as it is when you're sober, and you can enjoy a party without getting wasted. And you," she pointed at Stefan, "as your sober coach, I'm giving you the green light. You have Elowen to watch you, so you'll be fine."

Elowen shook her head endearingly. "Caroline, I don't drink. The last time I got drunk, I was in Atlanta with Damon and he told me I was a sap and acted like I was 6. How am I supposed to watch Stefan if he has to watch me?"

Caroline groaned. "Ugh! You guys aren't making this easy. Why can't you just be normal teenagers who steal their parents' liquor and replace it with water?"

"If I ever did that and got caught, I probably would've been beaten to death," Josiah pointed out casually. "I already got into a lot of trouble for skipping class, flunking every subject possible, and starting fights. The only thing I ever did successfully was sneak out to go to parties and the only reason I got away with that was because Elowen used to cover my ass."

"That's because if I didn't have your back, Luis would've done who knows what," Elowen replied. She shrugged and turned to Caroline. "You're talking to two teenagers who had their golden years stolen by an abusive father. What do you expect?"

"Okay, fine," Caroline gave in. "You two don't drink, you win, but only because you have a tragic backstory that allows you to get away with it." She suddenly looked around as she realized somebody was missing. "Where's Toby?"

Elowen shrugged. "Somewhere. He threw in the towel for today."

"What? He can't do that! Ugh! I did not peg him as the type to give up easily. Has he always been like this?"

"No, he was always insistent about things when it came to my problems when we were growing up. I just don't think he knows what to do. With me, it was easy, you know? My problems were so completely and utterly human, and he knew me like the back of his hand. This… this is different. It's a whole new ball game. He needs time to figure it out."

"Well, we don't have time! He needs to get his ass down here and help us fix this!"

Elowen sighed. "I don't know, Care… as someone who knows him as well as he knows me, I think he needs a little space right now. I mean, he listened to the worst possible person to listen to and now a huge problem is in his lap and he's a little freaked out. Not everyone's first reaction is to jump on top of things and do damage control. That's your thing."

Josiah and Stefan laughed and Caroline glared at them.

"Oh, shut up! Fine, I will allow Toby to wallow, for now, but if he so much as shows one single sign that he's trying to give up, I will drag him back kicking and screaming."

"And I have no doubt that you will." Elowen sighed and looked around the party. She held her hand out to Stefan. "Shall we?"

Stefan smiled and took her hand. "We shall."

Together, they walked over to the dance floor to dance, leaving Caroline and Josiah to their own devices.

xxxx

"Are you really gonna pout up here the whole party?" Veronica asked Toby. They were in her bedroom with Adriana. Toby had stolen a bottle of bourbon and him and Veronica were drinking it together. Currently, Toby was sprawled out on the bed while Veronica was lying on the wood flooring. Adriana was sitting at the desk in the room, trying her best to read a book despite the muffled music booming through the door.

"Yes," Toby replied. They'd already drank about half of the bottle and it was starting to hit Toby. He sat up and grabbed the bottle off of the nightstand to take another swig from it. Veronica sat up as well and held her hand out. He handed it off.

"I'm surprised you're not down there. I thought this was your scene."

Veronica snorted. "I don't party with high schoolers. Everyone is underage, which means I can't have fun to its full potential."

"I thought you didn't care if someone was a minor," Adriana commented, looking up from her book.

Veronica made a face. "What the hell gave you that idea? I'd prefer to stay out of jail. Is this because I flirted with Jeremy that one time? Because I didn't know he was 16. It's hard to distinguish older teenagers from young adults sometimes."

"Well, you certainly didn't care who it was in high school."

"Please, I didn't sleep with just anybody. I know it seemed that way to everyone else, but I only slept with people who were willing to pay me. How did you think I afforded all the things I did without having a job?"

"So… you were a hooker?" Toby asked.

Veronica paused. "Huh. Never thought about it like that."

Toby took the bottle back from Veronica after she had some and drank some more. He handed it out to Adriana.

"Want some?"

Veronica laughed. "She's never had a drink in her life. I love her, but she's a goody two shoes."

Adriana gaped. "I am not!"

"Adri, come on. You were a model student in high school. Never skipped class, never went to any parties, never snuck out, never got drunk, never did any drugs, except that one I'm happy about. Don't do drugs. You settled on the first guy who showed you any attention at all and I had to sleep with him to prove to you that it wasn't you he was interested in because you wouldn't listen to me and then you refused to date anyone else after that."

"Because I was afraid you were gonna turn around and sleep with them, too! Don't try and blame me for that."

"Oh, so you're gonna blame me? You were just using me as an excuse because the thought of dating scares you. I'm surprised you even stuck around when it came to Jeremy. You must've really liked him, especially since you were gonna sit there and wait around for him to turn 18. Don't you think that was a little creepy?"

Adriana slammed her book shut with a glare in Veronica's direction. "At least I was willing to let myself be vulnerable with him. When was the last time you did that? Aiden?"

A scowl crossed Veronica's face. "Shut up."

"What, I'm not allowed to talk about the guy who played you like you play everyone else?"

Veronica stood up. "I said, shut up!"

Toby looked between the two sisters worriedly. He had a feeling this was about to get ugly, but he was starting to get drunk and he wasn't sober enough to try and break it up.

"You know what? No! I'm not gonna cower away this time!" Adriana stood up as well. "You refuse to talk about him because he hurt you, and you know what? You deserved it!"

Veronica crossed the room and Toby found himself trying to scramble to get up.

"I deserved it? I deserved it?"

"Yes! Yes, you did!"

Toby had stumbled off the bed, but before he could push his way between the two of them, Veronica slapped Adriana across the face. Adriana's hand slowly came up to touch her cheek and her face was frozen into a stunned, wide eyed expression.

"Aiden almost destroyed me, Adriana! He had a bet with his friend's that he could get in my pants before the semester ended and I was stupid enough to fall for it! He was my first time! I trusted him, and then he turned around and broke up with me the next morning. I didn't know about the bet until I overheard him bragging about it to his little group of asshats a week later."

"I… I didn't… I didn't know," Adriana whispered after a beat of silence.

"Exactly! You didn't know! I hate talking about it because it makes me feel like an idiot, so I never told anybody, not even Angel, or even mom. He hurt me in more ways than one."

Toby finally strided over and grabbed onto Veronica's arms.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here. You're not drunk enough for this."

After the door closed behind them, Adriana slowly sunk back into her chair, her hand still cupping her stinging cheek. Her eyes flickered over to the bottle of bourbon that Toby had set on the nightstand. She got up and walked over to grab it. Hesitantly, she brought it up to her lips and took a swig. She swallowed it with a cough and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Toby was right. She wasn't drunk enough for this.

xxxx

Damon, Rebekah and Angel were still at the Grove Hills hospital. They were all standing in the parking lot while Damon fed on one of the nurses. Angel was glancing around nervously. He was scared that they were gonna get caught and Rebekah rolled her eyes at his behavior.

"Oh, calm down. If someone finds us, we'll just compel them. You've been taught how to compel somebody, haven't you?"

"Well… no," Angel awkwardly replied.

"What? Why not? Seriously, who's been teaching you how to be a vampire?"

"Stefan."

"Ugh. That explains a lot. He doesn't have you on that stupid animal diet, does he?"

"No. He suggested it, but Elowen and Caroline told him that he shouldn't baby me right off the bat."

"Well, thank god for them." Rebekah turned to Damon. "Nobody could ever mistake you for subtle."

He pulled away from the nurse's neck. "You have to take pride in your work." He placed his hands on the nurse's shoulders so he could compel her. "I want you to walk very slowly to your car. Off you go."

The nurse nodded robotically and she started to walk away.

"You know, I just don't see how this increases our odds any," Rekebah commented.

"I've been on the other side of a wolf bite." Damon licked at the blood still on his lips. "First, you get really sick. Then, you get really hungry. Since the sun's gone down, I'm imagining he's gonna be looking for his last supper. I just laid out a 3 course, 115 pound meal for him."

They all watched the nurse stumble towards her car. She placed her hand against her neck and pulled it back to stare at the blood on her fingers, but she didn't do anything about it. Instead, she made it to her car and started unlocking it. Several yards away, the vampire they were looking for appeared from behind a tree. Angel spotted him first. He lightly shook Damon's arm to get his attention and then pointed him out.

Damon sped across the way and pinned him against the tree. He drew his hand back as if to punch him, but stopped short when he saw his face.

"... Damon?" The vampire asked weakly.

"Will?"

"Hey, buddy." Will coughed lightly. His breathing was labored and uneven. He pulled the collar of his shirt away from his neck to show Damon his bite. "I think there's something wrong with me. I need help."

"Yeah, it's okay. I know what to do."

Within the blink of an eye, Damon plunged his hand into Will's chest and pulled his heart out. He dropped to the ground, dead, as Damon tossed his heart away.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Rebekah asked angrily when she caught up to Damon. Angel was right behind her and he stopped in his tracks at the sight of Will's body.

"He was too far gone," Damon said. "I put him out of his misery."

He turned and walked away, leaving Angel and Rebekah with the body.

xxxx

Alani slowly closed the door to one of the bedrooms upstairs in Klaus's mansion with a soft click. Hayley had had too much wine and passed out, so she made sure she made it to a bed first before she crashed. Once she knew Hayley was fine, she headed back down to the living room. She picked up her glass and walked over to the lit fireplace. She had just taken a sip when Klaus walked into the room.

"My sister informs me that your vampire assailant is dead, so you're safe and free to go. Or stay."

Alani turned around to face him as she finished off her drink. "I could possibly be persuaded to stay, but Hayley… I don't know. She'd want something in return."

"Let me guess, she'd want me to let Tyler go free."

"Bingo."

"Hm." Klaus walked further into the room. He gestured to her empty glass. "What number is that?"

"Oh, this?" Alani lifted the glass. "Drink number 4."

"And you're still standing? Impressive."

"Hayley did say I could drink her out from under the table."

"Fair point."

"Except, I'm pretty sure I'm tipsy enough to make bad decisions." She set the empty glass on the mantle and walked over to the table in the room. She pulled herself onto it and let her legs dangle off the edge.

Klaus hummed as he walked further into the room. "Are you tipsy enough to fully let loose and tell me more about your life?"

"Why are you so interested in my life?"

"Because I think you're intriguing. Is that so hard to believe?"

Alani contemplated this, then shrugged after a moment. "I suppose not, it's just that I've never had someone like you continuously poke and prod at my psyche. People aren't usually interested in me like that."

"And why not?"

"They're usually more interested in Hayley."

"Ah, I see. You have an inferiority complex."

"I do not," Alani immediately replied before Klaus could finish his sentence.

Klaus chuckled. "Really? Then why have you been letting her do all the talking? You've barely spoken a word all evening. The most I've gotten out of you tonight was when I had you alone in the art room."

"That doesn't mean I have an inferiority complex."

"If you say so."

"I don't have an inferiority complex!"

Klaus threw his hands up. "Alright, alright. You don't have an inferiority complex."

Alani huffed. "I'll make you a deal. Tell me about your family and I'll tell you about mine."

Klaus smirked and walked closer to her. "We'll have all the time in the world for that if you decide to stay. So, what's it gonna be, love? Going? Or staying?"

Alani watched as Klaus moved closer and came to stand in front of her. The way he was looking at her sent shivers down her spine. She swallowed.

"I don't know. You're the one who likes to be in control. Am I staying? Or am I going?"

Klaus nudged her legs apart with his knee and stood in between them. "Exactly what kind of bad decisions are you tipsy enough to make?" He asked huskily. One of his hands came up to brush against her cheek and Alani caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Bad ones."

Klaus's hands dropped down to her waist and he roughly tugged her to the edge of the table. Their faces were inches apart and they hovered there for a minute before Alani grabbed the back of Klaus's neck and brought his lips down to crash against hers. They kissed each other hungrily for a few minutes, then Alani pushed Klaus back to push his shirt up and over his head. Klaus brought her back in the second his shirt was discarded, but Alani leaned back again so she could pull her shirt off this time. Klaus pushed her down on the table, jumped on top of her and started kissing her neck as Alani gasped and moaned underneath him.

xxxx

Toby and Veronica were dancing and laughing together downstairs in the party. Veronica had easily found another bottle of alcohol and she knocked her head back to pour some in her mouth. She lifted the bottle and Toby repeated what she did so she could pour some into his mouth as well. Some dribbled down his chin and they laughed as he wiped it away with the back of his hand. Elena, who was still dancing on the table, looked over and saw the two of them together. She jumped down from the table and approached them.

"Look who finally joined the party," she said when she reached them.

Toby looked over at her. "Yeah. Why? Are you jealous or something?"

"No. That would imply emotions, and we've already established those are useless."

"So, you don't mind if I take your boyfriend out for a spin?" Veronica asked. "Because he's pretty fun. Maybe it was you who was draining him this whole time."

Elena clenched her jaw. "No. By all means, go ahead. It'll get him off my back."

Veronica shrugged airily and grabbed onto Toby's hand.

"Good. I'll get him to loosen up and then if I feel like, I'll give him back."

She pulled Toby away from the crowd, who stumbled slightly, but followed her anyway, leaving Elena to stand there by herself.

"For the record," Veronica mumbled into Toby's ear as she led him back upstairs. "I don't usually ask for permission. I just wanted to see if I could piss her off."

Back downstairs, Elowen and Stefan danced together. Elowen furrowed her eyebrows and looked around the party.

"That's weird," she thought out loud.

"What's weird?" Stefan asked, also looking around the party.

"Toby was just here. Where'd he go?"

"I don't know. There's a lot of people here. Maybe he's just lost in the crowd."

"Yeah. Maybe."

Elsewhere, Caroline and Josiah were having fun of their own. Caroline was laughing loudly at something Josiah had said and Josiah smiled widely at her in return.

"God! You're such an idiot," Caroline giggled.

"Yeah, but you love me for it."

"You're damn right I do."

Caroline leaned in to kiss Josiah, but she stopped short. Josiah furrowed his eyebrows.

"What? What is it?"

Caroline looked up and over at the front door. "My mom."

Caroline lightly pushed Josiah away and started fighting her way towards the door. Josiah quickly followed. Elena and Sheriff Forbes came into view. Elena had her hand on Liz's arm and Liz made a grab for her gun. Elena pinned her against the wall and Caroline quickly sped forward to push her off.

"Mom!"

"I'm fine," Liz reassured.

Caroline growled and tried to advance on Elena. Josiah grabbed her to hold her back.

"Caroline, calm down!"

Caroline easily pushed Josiah off of her with her vampire strength, but before she could reach Elena, Stefan came out of the crowd and grabbed her.

"I'm not gonna calm down!" She snarled as she struggled against Stefan. "I'm gonna wring her skinny little neck!"

While they were distracted, Elena sped out of the house. Elowen had finally caught up to Stefan just in time to see her bolt. She turned to him and Caroline.

"Okay, you two go after her. I'm gonna look for Toby," she instructed. "Jo, you're gonna stay with Sheriff Forbes."

Everyone nodded and then went their separate ways. Elowen had gotten on her tiptoes and started mentally asking herself how she was going to find Toby in this mess when her power kicked in. He was upstairs somewhere. She made her way towards the stairs and decided to check Veronica's room first. She knocked on the door, but got no response. She opened the door anyway and found Adriana passed out on the bed. She walked in the room and found an empty bottle of bourbon lying next to her. Elowen picked it up with a sigh and then set it back down. Since this was a dead end, she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. Elowen turned and continued down the hall to check Adriana and Angel's rooms when she passed by the bathroom. There was a thud noise from inside, followed by muffled giggling. Frowning, Elowen approached the door and opened it, only to stop in surprise.

Veronica was seated on the sink, her shirt off and her bra straps pushed down her shoulders, while Toby was positioned in between her legs, his shirt also missing. Their lips were locked in a messy makeout session, but Toby broke apart hastily when the sound of the door opening was heard. His hair was messy from Veronica's fingers running through it and his mouth was red from kissing her.

"Elowen!" Toby's eyes widened and he dove down for his shirt. He quickly put it on while Veronica simply sat on the sink nonchalantly, wiping the corners of her mouth with her thumb.

"This isn't what it looks like," Toby blabbed quickly. Elowen unfroze.

"I'm pretty sure this is exactly what it looks like, but we have bigger problems. Elena's gone."

"Ugh." Veronica jumped down from the sink and pulled her bra straps back up. "Does she always have to ruin everything?"

Elowen ignored her as she bent down to pick her shirt up and pull it on over her head. She looked at Toby.

"I don't care how drunk you are. Go help Stefan and Caroline look for her."

Toby nodded and avoided Elowen's eyes as he pushed past her and disappeared down the hall. Veronica was fixing her hair in the mirror and glanced at Elowen.

"Are you gonna go run to your friends now or what?"

Elowen shook her head. "No. You kept my secret, so I'll keep yours. What Toby does is none of my business."

"Hm. What's the deal with you two, anyway? Because he's clearly in love with you. I almost feel bad for Elena for being rebound girl."

Elowen sighed. "Toby and I grew up together in Atlanta. We dated briefly in middle school before he moved to North Carolina."

"Well, that explains a lot. Why North Carolina?"

"His mom got a business opportunity out in Raleigh. She was a professor at a community college in Atlanta and North Carolina State University offered her a higher paying position." Elowen paused and looked down the empty hall. "Damon's home."

"Man, your Know-It-All power thing is so cool. And can't your brother like, control fire and electricity or something?" Veronica pouted. "I wish I was a witch."

"It's not all it's chalked up to be." Elowen turned to leave the bathroom and Veronica followed, flicking the light off and closing the door. "By the way, your sister is passed out drunk in your room."

Veronica stopped. "She's what?"

Elowen kept walking and glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah. I found an empty bottle of bourbon next to her. She doesn't seem like the drinking type, so I figured I'd tell you so you could check on her."

Veronica nodded. "Okay, yeah. Um, if you see Angel down there, can you send him up, please?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

They went their separate ways, Veronica heading down the hall towards her room and Elowen, the opposite direction down the stairs. She ran into Angel on the way down.

"Oh, hey, Veronica needs you in her room," she told him as she passed him. "Something's up with Adriana, I think."

Angel's face immediately turned concerned. "What? Is she okay?"

Elowen shrugged. "I don't know. She had too much to drink and she crashed."

"Wait, Adriana? Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Angel glanced up the stairs worriedly. "Okay. I'll go check on her. Thanks."

Once Elowen made it downstairs, she saw that the party was clearing out, with Sheriff Forbes and Josiah directing everyone to the front door. She found Damon in the living room with a bottle of alcohol in his hands.

"God, there's still some left? I would've thought everything was gone."

Damon held up the bottle. "I confess, I took it from one of the drunk teenagers and they were too out of it to care. What's with the party?"

Elowen huffed. "Elena invited all of these people over without asking."

"And where is she?"

"I don't know. She bolted the second there was an opportunity. Stefan, Caroline and Toby are all looking for- Oh, there's Toby now."

As the last of the partygoers left the boarding house, Toby entered with a struggling Elena in his arms. Once they were in, Toby let go of her and she pushed him off of her.

"Let go of me!"

"Elena, you tried to kill Caroline!"

"What?"

Josiah had come over and heard the conversation. Sheriff Forbes had left to make sure the partygoers all got home safely, so it was just him. Toby glanced at him.

"Yeah, she was seconds away from driving a branch through her back when I found them."

Elena scoffed. "Whatever. I'm out of here."

Elena turned and started to leave. Toby sighed and started to follow her when his phone went off. It was a text from Matt.

Meet me at your house. Bring Caroline.

Toby frowned down at his phone. Elowen noticed his expression and she tilted her head.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"I don't know. I'm needed at my house. Uh… can you…?"

"Yeah, I got her. Go."

Damon groaned as Toby put his phone away and started to walk towards the front door.

"Oh, come on! You're gonna let him leave us with the less impressive version of Katherine?"

Toby ignored him. Stefan and Caroline came through the door just as Toby reached it.

"Oh, good." Toby looked at Caroline and nodded outside. "Matt wants us to meet him at my house."

Caroline furrowed her eyebrows. "What? Why?"

Toby shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't think something is wrong, do you?"

"I sure hope not. Come on. I'll drive."

"Wait, can I come?" Josiah asked quickly before they could leave. Toby turned back at him and shrugged.

"I don't see why not."

Josiah nodded and followed after him and Caroline.

Damon turned his attention onto Elowen once the front door closed behind them. "You. With me."

Elowen tilted her head. "Why?"

"Questions later. Let's go."

"That's okay, I'll just stay here and clean up by myself," Stefan spoke up jokingly as Damon grabbed Elowen's hand and started leading her towards the stairs. She looked over her shoulder and shot him an apologetic look. Stefan sighed once they were gone.

Upstairs in Veronica's room, Veronica and Angel were watching Adriana sleep, the both of them sitting on the edge of the bed. Veronica had been silent the entire time and it was making Angel worry. He'd already asked her why Adriana had been drinking in the first place and if something had happened, but she wouldn't answer him.

"We got into a fight," Veronica said finally in a quiet voice.

"About what?" Angel asked, his voice matching Veronica's as to not wake Adriana.

"Something stupid. She brought up Aiden."

Angel's eyes softened. He never knew what exactly had happened between her and Aiden, but he knew that Aiden had hurt her pretty bad. She refused to talk about it, despite the fact that there was a rumor going around about her being an 'easy lay' at school. He tried to be there for her, but she made it difficult and eventually he decided to just give her space. She was back to herself within a week or two, so Angel had let it go. Except now, he could see that whatever happened had cut her deeper than he initially thought, especially if it still bothered her after all these years.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Veronica started to shake her head, but she stopped. After a beat, she sighed.

"Aiden only asked me out because his friends bet him that he could sleep with me before the semester was over. He broke up with me the morning after."

Angel sighed. His hand came out to rub Veronica on the back. "Is that why you suddenly got really sexually active in freshman year?"

Veronica nodded. "I felt like if I did that, then I could take back what was taken from me, you know? If I just… slept with whoever I wanted to and proved that I was the one in charge of who I slept with, it would make it all better." She sighed. "Adriana said I deserved what he did to me. Obviously, she didn't know what really happened, but I got angry and I… slapped her."

Angel sighed loudly. "Ronnie…"

"I know, I know. You don't have to lecture me, but I was kind of drunk, and I still am, and I wasn't thinking properly."

"How much have you even had to drink?"

"Enough." Veronica reached over and picked up the empty bottle of bourbon. "She must've drank this to make herself feel better and since she's never drank before, it hit her all at once. Poor thing. She won't feel very well in the morning."

Angel took the bottle and set it down on the nightstand. "Let's just let her sleep. You can stay in her room tonight."

He started to stand up when Veronica spoke.

"Is it okay if I sleep with you for the night? Talking about Aiden… it brings back feelings I'd rather forget."

Without a word, Angel held out his hand for Veronica to take. Veronica took it and he helped her up. Together, they left the room.

Elsewhere, Damon made it to his bedroom with Elowen and groaned when he found Elena on his bed.

"Ugh. Get out."

Elena sat up. "No."

"Usually, I'd grab you by your ponytail and drag you out, but I have other things to worry about at the moment."

Damon walked over to his bed, crouched down and pulled a wooden chest out from underneath. Elowen watched him as he brought it over to one of the dressers in his room and set it on top. He opened the chest and started sifting through what was inside.

"What are you looking for?" Elowen asked as she walked over to him.

"I'll know it when I see it. Ah-ha!"

Damon pulled out a picture and showed it to Elowen. It was of Damon and a man she didn't recognize.

"Who is that?"

"Someone I used to know. Long story."

Damon snapped the wooden chest shut and put it back where it was. He walked back over to Elowen and patted her shoulder.

"Road trip time."

"Wait." Elowen glanced back at Elena. "We can't just leave her. I told Toby I'd watch her."

Elena rolled her eyes. "I don't need to be watched."

"You just tried to kill Caroline. That says otherwise."

"Whatever."

Damon huffed. "Don't tell me you're suggesting we bring her."

Elowen shrugged. "Do you have any better ideas?"

Damon shot a look of annoyance in Elena's direction. "Fine. Come on."

Elena sat on the edge of Damon's bed and crossed her arms. "I don't have to go anywhere with you."

"I was serious about dragging you from your ponytail. I'm older than you and stronger than you, little girl. Don't make me hurt you."

"I'd like to see you try."

Within the blink of an eye, Damon sped over to Elena and snapped her neck. Elowen sighed deeply.

"Did you really have to do that?"

Damon turned around to face her. "What? She was being bitchy and annoying. At least this way, she'll shut up." He bent over and threw her over his shoulder. "Now let's go."

xxxx

Toby, Caroline and Josiah all walked up to the open front door of the Lockwood mansion. Josiah walked in, but Toby and Caroline found that they couldn't get in. They both frowned and tried to enter again, but ran into the same problem. Josiah turned around when he realized they weren't behind him and furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's wrong?"

Toby shook his head. "I don't know. We can't get in."

"Matt?" Caroline called out after she gave up.

Matt emerged from one of the halls a second later.

"Matt, why can't we get inside?" She asked.

Matt glanced down at the paper in his hands, then looked back at Caroline and Toby. "Come in."

Slowly, they both entered the house. Josiah turned to Matt.

"What's going on?"

"Tyler sent me this package in the mail," Matt replied. He extended the paper towards Caroline and Toby. "This is for you."

Caroline carefully took the paper in her hands and started to read out loud.

"Dear Caroline, you're one of my closest friends. You stuck by my side when I triggered my curse, and I deeply appreciate it. Toby, I am so grateful I met you and got to experience what it was like to have a cousin and a family member who understood what I was going through and helped me in any way you possibly could. I know that as long as Klaus is alive, I can't come home. He won't stop trying to kill me, and you two won't stop trying to protect me, which means the only way to make sure you're safe is for me to go and never come back. I left Matt the deed to the house. Think of it as a safe house where Klaus can't get to you. Tyler."

Caroline finished reading the letter and flipped the paper over to see if there was anything on the back, but there was nothing.

"He's really not coming back, is he?" Josiah asked after a moment of silence.

Toby looked up from the letter and shook his head.

"No. He's not."

xxxx

Alani was sitting on the edge of Klaus's bed, putting her bra on. Klaus was lying behind her.

"Running away, little moon?"

Alani laughed and looked at him from over her shoulder. "Little moon? Does that make you big moon?"

Klaus smiled. "It seems like a fitting nickname, doesn't it? A werewolf who turns on a full moon."

"Why can't I be little wolf, then?"

"Because, that name has already gone to your friend Hayley."

Alani picked up her shirt, but slowly stopped and came to a halt. Klaus talking about moons made her think of the birthmark Hayley had on her shoulder. She turned to look back at Klaus.

"What do you know about birthmarks shaped like a crescent moon?"

"Why? Do you have one?"

"Hayley does. On the back of her shoulder."

Klaus sat up. "Show me."

They both got dressed and made their way towards the room Hayley was sleeping in. She was still knocked out on the bed when they entered. Alani sat on the bed next to her and gently took her awake.

"Hayley. Wake up. Hayley."

Hayley groaned in protest, but her eyes squinted open anyway.

"What?"

"Show Klaus your birthmark."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Hayley sat her and pulled her shirt down so her shoulder was exposed. Klaus walked over and turned Hayley to the side so he could see it better.

"I've seen this mark before," he said. "In my considerable lifetime, I've only seen it on a handful of others, all from the same bloodline. A werewolf clan that once thrived throughout much of what we now call Louisiana."

Hayley, suddenly wide awake and sober, turned to face Klaus. "Don't lie to me. Not about this."

"I wouldn't dare. Matters of family are sacred."

Hayley stood up from the bed and came to stand directly in front of Klaus.

"Tell me everything."

xxxx

Damon's phone started to vibrate while he was driving. Elowen was in the passenger's seat and Elena was laid out in the back, having yet to come back to life. Elowen reached over and answered it.

"What's up?"

"Where the hell are you and Damon?" Stefan's voice rang through the line.

"Out for a drive. Don't worry, Elena's with us. We're fine."

"Well, we got a little problem. Damon said blood was stolen from Grove Hills hospital and Sheriff Forbes said Mystic Falls hospital was wiped clean of their blood stock. She just called me and told me there's been reports of six other blood bank thefts all within 30 miles of Mystic Falls. Somebody's stockpiling blood. It wasn't Elena, and it's not us."

"Okay, who do you think it is then?"

"Silas. I think he followed us back from that island. He hasn't fed in 2,000 years, so he would need to gorge on blood. It explains the thefts."

"You know, I'm not really in the mood to scooby doo our way through the case of stolen blood supply," Damon spoke up. "So, why don't you hold down the fort until we get back, and we'll be in touch, brother." He reached over, grabbed his phone and hung up.

"He's gonna hate you for that."

"Bite me."

"That's your job. So, where are we going anyway?"

Damon reached up and pulled down the picture he'd found earlier from the visor.

"New York, the city that never sleeps."