AN: I think I'm going to start doing these because it's more personal and I can address things in the beginning. I want to thank each and every one of you for your support. It means the world to me. First off, I had some tests done and I do believe that I will be alright. If anything comes up I will warn you guys.

Second to my guest reviewer, I want to thank you so much for what you said in your review. I am really happy that you like the story, and I will do my best to explain more in my chapters. Trust me, there is reason to my madness (wink, wink). I think the ship name for Damon/Alex would be Dalex, at least that's what I have been calling them. Thanks again for your review and don't feel bad. We both got on the wrong foot, but I'm glad that we worked it out.

Alright, enough of my babbling!

Season 1 Episode 4 Family Ties

I pulled on a black t shirt very slowly. I was still achy from yesterday and my neck was killing me. I could barely move it. It felt as if I had slept on it wrong. It reminded me of how I felt when I woke up in the front yard. But I had slept in my bed so I didn't understand why I was so sore.

On top of all of this, I had the morning shift. Robert had the rest of the night cleared up for anyone who wanted to go to the founder's party, which was where everyone wanted to go. There is some kind of exhibit with heirlooms from the five founding families or something. I had never been to one, considering my bad history with said five founding families. But this year was different. I was going to force myself to go, and force myself to have fun. Who knows I might even find out something about my family history.

"Morning." Mom said when I arrived in the kitchen. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." I replied before I sat down. "Are you free tonight?"

"Yeah why?" She asked. She had that look in her hazel eyes that told me that she was suspicious. Usually if she was off she liked to relax, sit around, eat a pizza, and maybe watch a movie. But tonight was not like any other night. I just hoped she agreed.

"Well the founder's party is tonight." I said and pulled out an invitation. "It's Elena's but I was thinking that we could crash it."

"You want to crash the founder's party?" Mom asked sipping coffee from her mug like every morning. I nodded. "What has gotten into you?"

I shrugged. She sighed. I knew that this party would probably be hard for my mom. She didn't get out much and when she did it was met with stares and gossip. Like me, she wasn't one for the attention, especially when it was negative. But I hated that she spent her whole life raising me and she missed out on stuff. I wasn't going to let that happen anymore.

"I don't know baby." She said. "That scene is just not me, not anymore."

"It's not mine either." I admitted. "But we can't keep hiding mom. Just because John is an ass doesn't mean that we should have to pay for it."

"Hey. Don't talk like that." She ordered. "He may be an ass but he's an ass that gave me you."

I let her kiss my forehead. Sure if John hadn't of been so careless then I wouldn't be here. But then my mom wouldn't have had to struggle the way she did and she probably would have been happier. If I was the reason that mom couldn't live the life she deserved then I was going to do everything in my power to fix it.

"We don't even have anything to wear." Mom reminded me when she took her mug to the sink. I bit my bottom lip. "What?"

"I had Caroline do me a favor." I said and went to the hall closet. When I emerged mom set eyes on the two dress bags in my hand. "They are just a loan but they will do."

"You thought of everything didn't you?" She asked, hands on her hips. "What about dates? You can't show up to the founder's party without a date."

"I'll be your date." I replied. "Listen, this may be the lamest thing ever but… it's something we can do together. And you did say you wanted this year to be different."

Mom stared at me for a few seconds before she grinned. She then walked over and hugged me tight. I didn't know if this was a good idea or a bad one, but I didn't want to go through life by saying what if. Besides if the party is as bad as I thought it would be then we could leave. But I wasn't going to let my mother hide anymore. She was made to shine and by God she was going to.

"How did I get so lucky to have you?" She asked me. I shrugged again and she kissed my temple. "We better go to work."

"You're going to the founder's party?" Vicki asked me once it was mentioned. She was pissed because Tyler hadn't asked her yet, and then when she waited on his table with his parents he barely acknowledged her. I could have told her that Tyler was a jerk, but she wouldn't have listened anyway.

"Yeah." I replied. We were cleaning glasses together, the lunch rush not starting yet. I could see Jeremy sitting at the other end of the bar, watching Vicki's every move. I wanted to say something, but I knew that it would only start a fight.

"It doesn't seem like your thing." Vicki told me. "Not that you shouldn't go though."

"It's not my thing." I replied with a shrug. "But I'm trying something new."

Vicki nodded and stacked her last glass before she went to wait on tables. I finished my glasses when Caroline and Bonnie walked in. I grabbed a pad and pen and headed over to them. They were already in mid conversation.

"What about your mom? Is she okay with you bringing Damon?" Bonnie asked Caroline as they sat down. I thought about the night before and how Damon had left me in the parking lot. I still needed to find and talk to him about what had happened.

"And I'm supposed to care why?" Caroline asked, sounding like a bratty teenager.

"He's older sexy danger guy." Bonnie quipped. That was when I approached and they noticed me. "Hey Alex."

"Hey Lex." Caroline said before continuing with her conversation. "Older sexy danger guy? Is that an official witch twitter tweet?"

"No more witch jokes, okay? That whole Mr. Tanner prediction thing has me freaked." Bonnie said. I furrowed my brow and looked directly at her.

"Not to interrupt but…" I started. "What Tanner prediction thing?"

"You know how I was seeing numbers the other day?" She asked. I nodded. "When I got to where Tanner… died… I saw the same numbers on the building, license plate, and on a parking spot."

"Freaky." I replied. That was really weird. It was like an omen of some sort. Maybe Bonnie was psychic.

"Or a complete coincidence." Caroline added. Both Bonnie and I glared. "What? Bonnie can't be a witch is all I'm saying."

"You're right." Bonnie said. "I'm just freaked out."

"Don't be." I said. "It's going to be fine. Water ok?"

They said yes and I went to get their drinks. It was really weird that Bonnie had seen those numbers and then saw them where Tanner's dead body was. Bonnie couldn't be a witch. I continued to tell myself that but with all of the weird stuff happening I couldn't be so sure. Was all that I thought was impossible a lie? Could these things really be real? It wasn't likely but with all the stuff in Tanner's book about supernatural legends here I was starting to think that these things were possible.

Mom got home a little after my shift ended. She promised to help me with my hair and such. She had enjoyed what Caroline did to me the other day and she wanted to recreate it.

"I want to leave my hair down." I told her. She gave me a look. "It looks better down."

She shrugged and simply pinned my hair out of my face. I allowed her to put some make up on me, nothing heavy because I was still getting used to the stuff. After she finished with me I watched her do her own make up. I always thought my mother was beyond beautiful. She had much more style than I did, and when it came to doing make up she was a pro. She didn't have to wear it to be pretty, but she knew how to accent her features to make her look even lovelier.

"Are you sure about this?" Mom asked me once she pulled her last strand of hair up. "I wouldn't mind staying in. Ordering pizza. Watching a movie…"

"I'm sure." I told her. "It's going to be fun."

She nodded, then took her dress and went into the bathroom. I sighed. I wanted this to be fun, or at least bearable. I couldn't imagine the reaction of the town. It would be shocked probably, the fact that we weren't hiding in shame anymore would be a surprise. They would be shocked, gossip, but then in a month or two it would be old news. We wouldn't be so interesting after a while. Then everything would go back to normal. Maybe we could finally have a normal life.

"How does it look?" She asked when she emerged. She wore a coral colored dress, a nice contrast to her pale skin. It was also good with her fair colored hair and it made her eyes pop. It had thin straps and a tiny bodice. She looked beautiful, for a lack of better words.

"Awesome." I told her. She smiled and did a little turn. "Who knows maybe you will get a man tonight."

"I'm too old for that." Mom laughed. She then handed me my dress and pushed me toward the bathroom. "Go get dressed."

I rolled my eyes but did as she said. Caroline said that this color would do wonders for my skin tone and hair color, whatever that meant. It was a dark forest green with a heart shaped neckline that was modest enough for me. It had no straps, much to my dismay, but it had pockets so that was a plus. It came down to my knee and I paired it with some low black heels. When I looked in the mirror I smiled a bit. I looked nice, not as beautiful as my mom, but I didn't look like my usual frumpy self.

"Who is that beauty walking down the hall?" Mom asked once I emerged. "That's right it's my daughter."

"I'm alright." I replied with a shrug. She grabbed my shoulders and kind of shook me. Sometimes my mom got this look in her eye, one that told me that I shouldn't fight back. She was a determined woman and when she got that look I knew she meant business.

"You are beautiful Alexandra inside and out." She told me. "Don't you dare say anything different."

I nodded to her and she hugged me. Then we headed off to the Lockwoods. The mayor and his family had a beautiful mansion of a home. I couldn't imagine living in such a place. There were way too many rooms. I would get lost. Besides, it seemed such a waste, to have a small family with a larger than life home. I was content with my small home that I had to share everything with my mother. There was a line of people waiting to get into the party. Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood stood by the door welcoming their guests.

"One time I found this old year book in the library and found Carol. She had braces and had to wear head gear." Mom whispered to me while we waited in line. I snickered to myself thinking of the mayor's wife in headgear. It seemed like forever before we arrived to the front of the line. The look on both the Lockwoods faces was priceless.

"Lauren… what a surprise." Mrs. Lockwood said shocked but gave my mother a hug anyway. "It's been ages."

"Well you know how work and raising a child can be." Mom said once Mrs. Lockwood released her. I stood there awkwardly, shifting from one leg to another. Maybe this wasn't such a grand idea. I was already feeling my anxiety sink in as people stared at me.

"Oh yes I do." Mrs. Lockwood replied. "This must be Alexandra."

"Alex, Mrs. Lockwood." I said shaking her hand. "It's nice to see you."

"My how much you've grown." She said looking me over. I felt self-conscious as those eyes judged me, to see if I was worthy. "Last time I saw you, you were about this high."

She gestured to about her hips height and I smiled politely. The last time I had seen her was when Tyler had put sand down my shirt in kindergarten and she had to come to the principal's office. She had said that I was lying, just to get attention. She couldn't believe that her son would do such a thing, but I knew better. Her son was a prick.

"It is so nice of you to come." Mayor Lockwood said. I could tell that he wasn't actually as pleased as he said. He probably didn't want us lower class people stinking up his house. But he couldn't very well tell us to leave. That would be bad at the polls during reelection.

"Thank you for having us." Mom said and we walked inside. She leaned down to me when we were out of ear shot. "They are the fakest people I've ever met."

"But they have a nice house." I commented, looking around. It was very beautiful, nothing I would have imagined it to be like. It had nice furniture and expensive knick knacks of all sorts. I wondered if someone broke something if they had a spare. They obviously had the money to replace stuff.

"Yeah they do." She said. "Lucky bastards."

"Mom!" I said. She just shrugged and we continued throughout the house. We got a few looks, but mom would grab my arm and squeeze it, showing me that everything was ok. If she was going to take it in stride then so would I. I recognized many of the party goers, some from school and some from my time at the Grill. None of them spoke to me. A few people that mom knew talked to us and told me how big I had gotten. They remembered my mom being pregnant and still being in a cheer leading outfit.

"You never told me you were a cheerleader." I told her after the person from her high school left. Mom was glowing, I guessed that was from the flashback into her time in high school. She flipped her hair like a typical girl.

"Hell yeah I was." She replied. "Back then I was really peppy."

"You still cheered even when you were pregnant?" I asked. She nodded. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"I wasn't a flyer." She replied sipping her champagne. "Besides, after I got fat and got stretch marks the captain kicked me off."

"That's messed up." I told her honestly. That didn't seem fair to me at all. She shrugged.

"Yeah, but it made me realize that those girls weren't really my friends." She told me. "There were only a few who stuck around after the news got out. Those were my real friends."

I nodded. I didn't realize how much my mom went through when she decided to have me. She lost everything, and yet she holds no resentment toward me. She is still the loving, doting mother that she believed she could be back then. She could have aborted me, she could have given me up, but besides everything everyone told her she still raised me, and I believe she did a good job.

"Hey Alex." I heard behind me. I turned and Elena was coming toward us with Stefan in tow. I smiled and waved to her. I could feel mom clear her throat next to me. It was my turn then to squeeze her arm and reassure her.

"Hey Elena." I said once the brunette got to us. "Hey Stefan."

"Hello Alex." He replied, then he turned to my mother. "It's nice to see you again Ms. James."

"Please, Ms. James is my mother." Mom said. "Call me Lauren. Hello Elena."

"Hi Lauren." Elena said awkwardly. I could feel the uncomfortable awkwardness that was floating in the air. Elena and my mom had had very minimal interaction in all of the 17 years we had been alive. Under the circumstances, I could see how both parties would feel awkward. I didn't want there to be tension, my mom was important to me and Elena and I… well I didn't know what we were doing. The first awkward meeting was inevitable, I just wished that there was a way to break the tension.

"I love your dress." I said to Elena. It had a pattern and was sparkly. It suited her.

"Thanks!" Elena replied. "I love yours too."

"Thank you." I said. "Caroline actually supplied the dresses.

"Well she has good taste." Elena said and then looked at my mom. "You look amazing Lauren."

"Thank you Elena." Mom nodded with a smile. "So, what kind of Gilbert heirlooms are at this exhibit?"

"Nothing too special." Elena shrugged. "A jewelry box, a clock, and some other old stuff that was collecting dust."

Mom nodded. I knew that she wasn't all the interested in the Gilbert family, but she knew that they were a part of me and that I should know more about them. Maybe that was why she was ok with me hanging out with Elena. Maybe she wanted me to feel accepted by the family that never accepted her.

"Well hey, I'll leave you three alone." Mom said suddenly, then looking at me. "I'm going to go find the bar."

I caught her arm before she got too far away.

"You don't have to go." I told her in hushed tones. She shook her head.

"Go have fun with your friends." She said. "I'll be fine."

"You sure?" I asked her. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You sound like a parent." She told me. "Go on."

I smiled at her and released her arm. She then left me alone with Elena and Stefan. I hoped that she would find something to do. I didn't want to abandon her at this place especially with so many judgmental people in our midst. But she was a big girl and so was I. She would be fine just like I would be fine.

"Your mom is really cool." Elena said. "Especially under the circumstances…"

"She's great." I told Elena. Elena nodded, awkwardly looking away. "Hey Stefan thanks by the way. For taking me home last night."

"Not a problem." He said. "You feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just really sore." I told him. "I actually don't remember much…"

"Well I think you hit your head when you fell." Stefan told me. I nodded. I didn't want him to know that I was fishing for information, but I wasn't sure how good of a job I was doing at hiding it.

"It's weird though…" I said. "The last thing I remember was talking to Damon."

"Damon?" Elena asked. "Like Stefan's brother Damon?"

"Yeah." I answered. I could see a flash of something in Stefan's eyes that I didn't understand, but it was gone before I had a chance to think about it. "Then everything is blank."

"That's weird…" Elena said. Stefan nodded in agreement but didn't say anything. I wondered what Stefan was hiding, or if he was going to protect his brother. I wanted answers, but from the looks of it, I wasn't getting any from Stefan.

"Excuse me." Stefan said to us and he left before we could say anything. Elena opened her mouth but he was already gone. She turned back to me.

"What was that?" She asked. I shook my head and shrugged. Stefan knew something. And I wanted to know what that was.

Elena and I looked all over for Stefan. Together, we couldn't find him. So we separated. I searched forever and couldn't find him. I eventually did find my mom. She was exactly where she said she would be, drinking at the bar. Who I found next to her was not who I wanted to see.

"You are quite the charmer aren't you Mr. Salvatore?" I heard mom say louder than she needed to. She was getting drunk, and flirting with Damon Salvatore. It kind of made my stomach sick. Not that my mom couldn't flirt with who she wanted, but Damon was younger and the sicko had flirted with me first. Not only that, but he was sketchy and dating Caroline. I breathed in all the courage I could and stormed over to them.

"Mom." I said, getting get attention. She turned to look over her shoulder and grinned at me. Damon was seated beside her and sent a smirk my way. I wanted to slap it off his face.

"Hey baby!" Mom said excitedly. "Come meet-"

"Damon." I said, eyeing the man next to her. "We know each other."

"No way!" Mom called out. "Small world huh?"

"Alex, you never told me you had such a delightful mother." Damon said to me. I glared at him. He just winked.

"Oh stop it." Mom said. I could feel my insides tearing at themselves. My mom could flirt, date, and sleep with whoever she wanted to. Except Damon. I would not allow her to do that, especially after I myself had my own sex dream about him. Besides, I didn't trust him to be anywhere near my mother.

"Mom, maybe you should lay off the wine." I told her, scooting the glass away from her. She made a disappointed sound at me.

"You're not my mother." She told me, sounding like spoiled brat. I loved my mother, but sometimes I forgot that she was much younger than the other parents of people my age. She lost her teenage years raising me, and although she was a mother she was still young at heart.

"No, you're mine and you're supposed to drive tonight." I told her. Her face fell.

"Oh shit." She said. "Yeah you're right."

"Why don't I call you a cab? I can bring little Alex home." Damon offered. I felt my stomach lurch at the word little. My eyes widened and my heart speed picked up. I wanted anything other than being alone with Damon. The last time I was, I didn't even remember what happened. Although I wanted answers, I was too afraid to be completely alone with him. I didn't know what could happen.

"That's probably a good idea." Mom said and stood up. I stopped her though.

"I can drive. It's fine." I told her and she shook her head.

"You don't even have your license." She told me. "I'll come get the car tomorrow. You stay and have fun."

"I can go with you really." I told her. She shook her head again. Damon pulled out his phone and walked away so he could call the cab. I gripped my mom's arm.

"No, you stay." She ordered. "You need to stay and have fun."

"Mom I don't want to go anywhere with Damon." I told her honestly. She let out a laugh. "Mom I'm serious."

"From what I can tell he's a perfect gentleman." She said. "Besides he's really cute. I won't wait up."

"Mom!" I yelled at her. "I'm not interested in Damon."

"Well if you aren't I am." She said with a wink. I gagged.

"Seriously, you are drunk and grossing me out." I said. She rolled her eyes. That was when Damon came back over.

"Your chariot awaits malady." He said. Mom giggled and followed him outside. I felt like I was going to throw up. I wondered if I could just get Elena or Bonnie to take me home. I would even go with Caroline. I was just too terrified to be alone with Damon again.

When he returned, he came right up to me, his usual smirk on his face. I have never wanted to smack the expression off of someone's face so hard. Damon was handsome, he was sexy and he was charming, but there was something about him that was off. There was something off with both Salvatores.

"Your mom…" He began. "She's something."

"Why were you flirting with my mom?" I asked him out right. He chuckled. "Damon I'm serious."

"I wasn't flirting." He told me, still chuckling. "I was just having a conversation."

"While she is intoxicated and isn't thinking straight." I said, hands on my hips. "You could have talked her into anything and she wouldn't even have batted an eyelash."

"That's true." He told me, taking a sip of his scotch. "But I could do that without the alcohol. By the way do you take after her?"

"What do you mean?" I asked him, getting very annoyed.

"When you're drunk. Could I talk you into anything?" He asked with a wink. I gave him a look. Did he forget that he had a girlfriend? Caroline? Who was my friend? He was probably the biggest flirt I had ever met in my life. First my mom, and now me? He was on a roll.

"I don't drink." I told him. His mouth fell open like he didn't believe it. He then scooted his glass to me.

"Well, you should start." He said. "It's great."

"I don't think so." I shook my head and pushed the glass back to him. "I don't take drinks from strangers."

"I'm not a stranger." He said. "We've met before."

"But I don't know you." I told him. "I don't know anything about you."

He cocked his head to the side. I didn't really need to know about Damon, but I would be lying if I wasn't curious. He intrigued me just as much as he annoyed me. That was probably the most infuriating part. I was so fascinated by him and yet he was the one who caused me so much grief. I didn't trust him by any means, but maybe getting to know him would make me feel more at ease.

"What do you want to know?" He asked me. I was surprised that he was being that open. I thought about it for a second as I took a seat next to him. I tried not to let it get to me that we were pretty close to touching.

"What is up with you and Stefan?" I asked. "You don't seem to get along."

"We used to." He answered honestly. "But… let's say something came between us."

I thought about it for a second. What was the one thing that could come between two brothers that would tear them apart indefinitely?

"A girl huh?" I asked him. He seemed surprised, yet impressed that I had come up with the answer.

"Very clever Ms. Gilbert." He said and took another sip of his drink. "Yes, there was a girl. Katherine."

"And she was worth ruining your relationship with your brother?" I asked him. Something switched in Damon after my question. He turned from sarcastic and charming to dark and angry. Whatever happened between Damon, Katherine, and his brother could not have been good.

"I would do anything for her." Damon admitted. "I loved her."

"I get the feeling you still do." I said. I had never seen this side of Damon before, this bitter and broken part. Usually he did a good job of hiding it behind his mysterious and sexy exterior. But inside was something different.

"She's dead." He told me. I felt my heart shatter at the words. "Katherine is gone."

"Damon I'm so sorry." I said and reached forward without even thinking and gripped his arm. He looked down at my hand and then back up to my face. He grinned, his normal façade returning. He placed his hand on mine and I felt my heart skip a beat at the contact. I reared back and pulled my hand away. He seemed disappointed by the movement.

"I'll get Elena to drive me home." I told him before I stood up. He caught my arm. I turned around and he looked like he was going to say something but he didn't. He released my arm and I walked away.

Damon watched her go and felt a weird urge to follow her. He wasn't hungry, he had fed from Caroline earlier. No, it wasn't hunger. It was a different feeling, like he wanted to keep talking to her. Although she could get very angry with him, she was adorable when she was getting sassy, he found comfort in the fact that she listened to him talk about his relationship with Katherine and Stefan. He hadn't talked about it to anyone in a long time, but something about Alex made him want to open up. It was like she was willing to listen and he could finally let it out.

This wasn't about feeding off of her or compelling her. This was different, and Damon didn't know if he liked it or not.

"Damon." Caroline said behind him. Damon closed his eyes and breathed in deep. He had to mentally prepare himself for a conversation with Caroline. He turned and forced a smile.

"There you are." He said pleasantly. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Really?" She asked all excited. It was sad and slightly pathetic that she was so into him and he was eventually going to kill her. Caroline was pretty but very shallow and not too deep. She was nothing like Alex who had inner beauty along with her outer beauty. He could never understand what she was thinking, and it intrigued him so.

"Let's go look at the historical artifacts." He suggested and took her arm.

"I want to dance." Caroline whined. Damon rolled his eyes.

"I don't dance." He reminded her for the hundredth time tonight. He did dance, in fact he was a good dancer, but he wasn't in the mood. He had other things to do.

"Please." She begged. He simply ignored her and led her to the room where all the loaned antiques were being held. To his pure enjoyment both Stefan and Elena were in the room. Time for some fun.

I wandered around the house for a while, not finding anyone I really knew. I needed to find Elena or someone so I could find a ride home, or at least take Damon up on his offer. I did not want to walk tonight, even if that meant riding with Damon. Listening to his heart breaking story had changed something. No longer was Damon this creepy psycho, although I still didn't trust him, the idea that he had loved and lost changed my view of him a bit. I still didn't get the information I was looking for, but I figured he wouldn't have answered me anyway.

"Hello Alex." A voice said behind me. I turned and Stefan stood there with two glasses of champagne. "I want to apologize for my rash departure earlier."

"It's ok." I replied. "Is everything alright?"

"Of course." He said with a smile. "Would you like a drink?"

"I don't drink." I told him. He gave a curt nod and then looked like he was making a hard decision. Then he looked me in the eye.

"Take the drink." He said. I didn't hesitate to take it. I sipped, not really enjoying the taste, but for some reason I had to do it. "I saw you talking to Damon earlier."

"Yeah, he was flirting with my mom." I said and took another sip. "What a creep."

"Yeah Damon is pretty… creepy." Stefan responded. "Did you get any answers from him?"

"Actually no." I replied. "He did tell me about Katherine though. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." He said awkwardly. Then we fell into silence. I continued to drink the champagne until it was gone. I wondered how it would affect me later, but I guess it didn't matter since I wasn't driving.

"Where is Elena?" I asked him. His eyebrows furrowed.

"She's… upset with me." He admitted. "Damon is… he is causing problems."

"I don't doubt that." I replied. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"It's fine." He shrugged. "I can handle it."

"I'll find her for you." I told him. He smiled weakly and gave a nod. I placed the empty glass on a tray passing by and then went to find Elena. I eventually did find her, sitting with Bonnie on a nice couch eating ice cream

"Have an extra spoon?" I asked when I sat down next to Elena. "Everything ok?"

"No." Bonnie replied. "I'm a doubt planter."

"A what?" I asked. Elena swallowed a spoonful of ice cream.

"Stefan won't talk to me about his ex." Elena told me. "I don't know what that means."

"Maybe he doesn't want to talk about it yet." I suggested. "He did lose her."

"Yeah… the worst part is I said that I wouldn't do this, and then I went and did it." Elena replied. I nodded. The three of us sat there for a little while before Elena got up to go to the bathroom.

"So, is my favorite little witch enjoying the party?" I asked Bonnie. She glared at me.

"Not funny." She said.

"Sorry." I replied while still laughing lightly. The room was pretty much empty now, just me, Bonnie, and a young servant. That is until Mrs. Lockwood came in.

"Look around. What's missing? The flames, the candles." Mrs. Lockwood ordered. "Why aren't they lit? There's matches in the kitchen."

"Bitch." Bonnie commented once she was gone. Then Bonnie walked over to the table where all the unlit candles were. She set down her drink and stared at one candle.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" I asked her.

"I'm trying something." She said. After a few seconds of concentrating on the candle she stood up. Nothing happened. She shook her head and turned back to me, but then something creepy, borderline magical happened.

"Bonnie…" I caught her arm. She turned around and all the candles were lit. Every single candle in the room had lit a flame, out of nowhere. "How did…"

"It's nothing." Bonnie insisted while trying to get out of the room. I caught her arm again, but she wrenched it out of my grasp.

"Bonnie wait!" I called after her. She practically ran away from me. I stood there dumbfounded, hopelessly confused. How did Bonnie do that? It was not by coincidence that those candles lit themselves. Something Bonnie did triggered it. But a human couldn't do that… did that mean that Bonnie was a…

"Witch."

I looked all over for Bonnie but I was convinced that she left. She was nowhere to be found. So when I found Elena I was pretty relieved.

"Elena!" I said once I caught up to her. "Have you seen Bonnie?"

"No but have you seen Stefan?" She asked. I shook my head. "Caroline is in trouble."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Elena looked pretty shaken up.

"She has bruises and bite marks all over her body." She said. "It has to be Damon."

My eyes widened. Bite marks? Damon must have been into some freaky stuff if he was biting Caroline. My idea that he was abusing her was now back in my mind. I didn't feel bad for him anymore, not if he was hurting Caroline. I told Elena that I would help her search for both Stefan and Caroline.

I was coming up empty though, not finding them downstairs. I eventually ventured up the stairs and looking through rooms. I tried to open a few but most of the rooms were locked. I was about to give up hope when I heard voices coming from a room that was cracked.

"Did you get the Gilbert watch?" A female voice, I recognized as the Sheriff Caroline's mom, asked. I leaned as much as I could, the door being only cracked.

"She claims it's packed away in her parents' things." Mrs. Lockwood replied. What did they need with a watch? And why was it specifically a Gilbert watch?

"I can get it." A male voice that I couldn't place added. I couldn't lean far enough to see who it was.

"Good. We're going to need it." Sheriff Forbes said. What did they need it for?

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Lockwood asked.

"5 bodies all drained of blood? I'm certain." The Sheriff said. Bodies drained of blood… I thought they confirmed that those were animal attacks. They found a big mountain lion that morning. All the news channels were saying that this was all over. What would they need to investigate about these murders if they found the culprit? Unless… they didn't find the culprit.

"They've come back."