I do not own Vampire Diaries

As Caroline is walking towards her car, she suddenly hears something and stops. She shook it off, it was probably nothing as she walks to her car before accidentally dropping her keys, she huffs as she picks them up but as she stands up, Damon is right in front of her and she jumps in shock.

"Oh...whoa." Caroline said her heart beating faster at the sight of him, she didn't think he'd come to her.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." Damon said to her, despite the fact that it was his intention.

"No, it's fine. Um...I was hoping to see you again." Caroline said looking up into his gorgeous eyes.

"I know." Damon smirked at her.

"Cocky much?" Caroline asked a little taken aback at his attitude.

"Very much." Damon said as his smirk got wider.

[At Salvatore Boarding House]

Elena had driven all the way here and steeled herself for what she knew she had to do as she rings the bell. Stefan opens the door, only to see Elena on the other side.

"Hi." Stefan said happy to see her despite what happened before.

"Hey." Elena said as she wondered where to start.

"Would you like to come in?" Stefan asked her as he opened the door to make more space for her to come through but she shook her head at him.

"The comet's actually this way." Elena said as she walked outside on the porch as Stefan follows her.

"Sorry for barging in. Especially after earlier." Elena said referring to how she had basically broken up with him before they could even get together.

"No, no. I'm glad you're here. The way we left things...I didn't like it." Stefan said hoping she'd come here because she changed her mind.

"See, the thing is, I got home tonight planning on doing what I always do, write in my diary, like I have been since my mom gave me one when I was 10. It's where I get everything out, everything I'm feeling. It all goes in this little book that I hide on the second shelf behind this really hideous ceramic mermaid. But then I realized that I'd just be writing things that I should probably be telling you." Elena said to him as she prepared to tell him the truth.

"What would you write?" Stefan asked her curious.

"I would write...'Dear diary, today I convinced myself it was ok to give up. Don't take risks. Stick with the status quo. No drama, now is just not the time. But my reasons aren't reasons, they're excuses. All I'm doing is hiding from the truth, and the truth is that...' I'm scared, Stefan. I'm scared that if I let myself be happy for even one moment that...the world's just going to come crashing down, and I...don't know if I can survive that." Elena said to him with a slight break in her voice, she couldn't tell him everything but she told him enough. The reason for it was because what happened had been her fault, if she hadn't ditched family night and gone to that party, her parents wouldn't have been in that car and they would still be here so why should she be happy when it was her fault that her family had lost so much.

"Do you want to know what I would write? I met a girl. We talked. It was epic. But then the sun came up and reality set in. Well, this is reality. Right here." Stefan said to her and for some reason when she looked in his eyes all her worries faded away until it was just them and they both leaned in and kissed for the first time.

[At Forbes Residence]

Damon and Caroline were fooling around until all of a sudden, Damon's face transforms, the white of his eyes go blood red as his fangs elongate and he bites her.

"Aah!" Caroline screamed out in agony at the unexpected bite.

[In the morning]

Caroline wakes up groggily until her eyes widened as she shoot up in bed, her pillow was covered with blood, she reaches for her neck where the pain was emanating from and when she pulls them away, she saw the blood on her fingertips. She turns in fear to see Damon sleeping next to her in her bed and she slowly gets up and tries to leave the room but the floor creaks on her way out and her heart started to beat faster in her fear. She turns only to see that he was still asleep, she walks the rest of the way to the door but as she turns the doorknob, the noise caused her to close her eyes, as she breathes shakily turning around only to see the bed empty.

"Good morning." The voice came from next to her and she turns around to see his face as she backs away from him.

"Please...Don't!" She pleads as she grabs the lamp from her bedside table.

"Don't do that. Ah, ah, ah, ah." Damon says as he shakes his head at her stupidity but she hits him with it anyway, it didn't do anything obviously, well, besides pissing him off.

Caroline looks shocked when the lamp broke when it made contact with him and she immediately jumps across the bed as she screams, "No! No! No! Get away from me! No!"

Caroline threw something she picked from her desk at him before trying to escape but he grabs her and throws her back on the bed as she screams. She picked up the nearest thing which happened to be the pillow covered in blood and threw it at him.

"This could have gone a completely different way." Damon said to her before her smelled the blood from the pillow and his face begins to change as he attacks her again, "Aaah!"

[At Mystic Falls High School]

"I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying take it slow." Bonnie said as she remembered what she had felt after touching Stefan yesterday.

"You were the one who said to go for it." Elena said confused.

"Now I'm saying take it slow." Bonnie said, she didn't know to explain to her friend what she had felt, it would sound ridiculous.

"Why the about-face?" Elena asked her.

"It's not an about-face. You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field." Bonnie said though she knew Elena would never do that.

"Oh, because I'm so that girl. Seriously, what are you not saying?" Elena asked her friend wondering what had changed her mind.

"It's stupid." Bonnie said but what she felt couldn't seem to leave her alone, there was something off about Stefan.

"Bonnie..." Elena sighed as she turned to face her friend.

"What?" Bonnie asks her.

"Spit it out." Elena said bluntly.

"I accidentally touched Stefan. And I got a really bad feeling." Bonnie said truthfully.

"Is that it? Bonnie." Elena said as she looked at her friend, she had changed her mind because she had a bad feeling? Seriously?

"It was bad bad!" Bonnie tried to explain.

"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?" Elena asked her friend in disbelief.

"You know what? I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend." Bonnie said to her but it was more than that, what she had felt when she touched Stefan sent a shiver up her spine, it wasn't natural.

"And I love you for it, I do. But I feel good. It's been a hard year, and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that." Elena said earnestly.

[Behind the school.]

"I rock. I scored 2 tickets to the Posers Saturday night. They're playing at the Rat." Vicki said triumphantly.

"You and Tyler have fun." Jeremy said bitterly.

"Don't be like that. Come on. I want you to go." Vicki said to him sincerely.

"You're not worried everyone's going to know you're screwing the stoner geek? Oh, wait...everyone already knows." Jeremy said.

"Yeah. But it's not like that anymore, so now we can be friends and just hang." Vicki said to him hoping he'd say yes, she'd rather have him in her life as a friend that nothing at all.

"Tell me something, was it the drugs? Were you sleeping with me because of the drugs?" Jeremy asked her feeling hurt.

"Screw you." Vicky said to him not knowing how to answer that, because to be honest she hadn't, but she couldn't tell him that, she was with Tyler now.

"No, if there's another reason, please, I'm all ears." Jeremy said hoping that there was but she turned around and left him standing there to watch after her longingly.

"Good morning, Elena. Good morning, Bonnie." Stefan said as he walked up to Elena and Bonnie.

"Hey, um, I gotta find Caroline. She's not answering her phone. So I'll see you guys later." Bonnie quickly leaves feeling uncomfortable around him after what she felt.

"Bonnie, wait..." Elena tried to say but she had already walked off.

"She doesn't like me very much." Stefan said as he saw her walk away, he didn't know why because she seemed fine with him the other day at the grill but now she really wanted to get away from him. It was confusing because she wouldn't have given him Elena's phone number if she didn't like him in the first place.

"She doesn't know you. She's my best friend. She's just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you." Elena said to him confidently though she was slightly doubtful, Bonnie could be very stubborn.

Matt and Tyler were on a different part of the field throwing a football around as they watched Stefan and Elena chatting.

"Look...there's Elena and her new boyfriend. Now, what are they doing? Oh, they're walking, walking, walking. Yep. Right into the sunset." Tyler taunted his friend.

"You're a dick." Matt said annoyed at his friend's callous remark.

"While you just stand there looking like one of those little yard trolls." Tyler said mockingly.

"Gnomes." Matt corrected.

"Here's what we're going to do. Are you free tonight?" Elena asked Stefan.

"I plan to check on Anastasia after school but then yes I'll be free." Stefan replied.

"Why do you need to check on her?" Elena asked him a little resentfully.

"She got hurt last night and I just want to make sure she's okay." Stefan briefly explained.

"Oh, well I suppose that's okay. Dinner, my house. 8:00. You, me, and Bonnie. You two will spend some quality time and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished." Elena said hopefully, despite the slight aggravation that Anastasia was yet again stealing her time with Stefan.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do, Ty? She made her choice." Matt said defeatedly.

"Let her know she made the wrong one." Tyler said as he catches the ball and turns to face Stefan.

"What are you doing? Ty, don't. Ty, don't! Ty!" Matt shouted at him.

Tyler ignores him and throws the ball at Stefan, who has his back towards him but he didn't expect Stefan to quickly turn around, catch the ball, and then throw it back to him with such force that he stumbled back slightly, he was admittedly shocked and from Matt's face, it was clear he was too. Elena couldn't help but laugh at that, she had no idea Stefan had such good aim.

[Inside the school.]

"That throw was insane. I didn't know you played football." Elena said to him with a smile on her face.

"I used to. It was a long time ago." Stefan said as he remembered the good times where he and his brother got along, football had been one of the games they had loved to play.

"So why don't you try out for the team?" Elena asked confused that he hadn't tried already if he was so good at it.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Stefan said, his vampire nature would give him an unfair advantage.

"So you don't like football?" Elena asked thinking that that must be the reason, though it was weird considering how good he seemed to be at it.

"No, I love football. I think it's a great sport. But in this case, I don't think football likes me. You saw Tyler over there, and we both know how Matt feels." Stefan said thinking of an excuse, he couldn't actually say what the real truth was.

"They don't know you. To them, you're mysterious loner guy. Wouldn't hurt to be part of. Make some friends." Elena said reassuringly.

"Says the girl who spends her alone time writing in a cemetery." Stefan teased.

"Hey, come on. There's more to me than just gloomy graveyard girl. There's a whole other Elena that you have yet to meet. She was into everything, very busy." Elena said nostalgically about the girl she used to be.

"Well, I look forward to meeting her. And when will that be?" Stefan asked her hopeful that she'll open up to him more and show him the girl she really was, not the one shrouded in grief.

"Soon. She's working on it." Elena said as she looked into his eyes, she didn't tell him that the main reason she was, was because of him.

During history class, Bonnie was busy scribbling numbers on her book, it was the same numbers that hadn't left her head for a while, "8", "14", "22".

"World war II ended in... Anyone got anything? Miss Juan? 1945." Mr Tanner said to the class sternly and the students could see he was a little more worked up than usual, well those who were actually paying attention.

"Psst. FYI...Our team sucks. They could use you." Elena whispered to Stefan not even bothering to pay attention to the lesson, Mr Tanner was a class A jerk anyway.

"Can't." Stefan whispered back to her.

"Pearl Harbor." Mr Tanner said as he looked around spotting the new kid and Miss Gilbert talking in the middle of his class and he immediately zeroed in on them.

"I'm a loner." Stefan said, he knew he didn't get along well with others because they were only teenagers and he was 163, it was a major age difference but not only that, their minds as well, whilst they worried about homework and school, he had other things on his mind, things they couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"Miss Gilbert?" Mr Tanner picked on her.

"Hmm?" Elena asked him not having heard what he said.

"Pearl Harbor?" Mr Tanner asked again annoyed, he was already irritated with what happened the other day, he finally had her but no that woman had to ruin everything. He couldn't seem to control himself around her, he just wanted her, she was stunningly gorgeous after all.

"Um..." Elena said cluelessly.

"December 7, 1941." Stefan saved her.

"Thank you, Miss Gilbert." Mr Tanner said as he looked at the kid furious at the interruption.

"Anytime." Stefan said cheekily.

"Very well. The fall of the Berlin wall." Mr Tanner said to the class.

"1989. I'm good with dates, sir." Stefan said, he was there for every one of them after all.

"Are you? How good? Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act." Mr Tanner tested, he wanted to break that kid's cocky attitude, it was beginning to grate on his nerves.

"1964." Stefan answered immediately.

"John F. Kennedy assassination."

"1963."

"Martin Luther King."

"'68."

"Lincoln."

"1865."

"Roe vs. Wade."

"1973."

"Brown vs. Board."

"1954."

"The battle of Gettysburg."

"1863."

"Korean war."

"1950 to 1953."

"Ha! It ended in '52." Mr Tanner exclaimed triumphantly.

"Uh, actually, sir, it was '53." Stefan said a little shocked at the teacher's lack of knowledge.

"Look it up, somebody. Quickly." Mr Tanner snapped at the children around him.

"It was 19...53." A student said and Mr Tanner cleared his throat embarrassed though thankfully the bell rang so the students vacated the classroom.

[In the hallway.]

"How did you know all of that?" Elena asked him shocked, though impressed.

"Years and years of crossword puzzles. It's a loner thing." Stefan came up with an excuse.

[Football field]

"Nice job! Nice job!" Matt shouted at the team.

"Mr. Lockwood, is there anything you're good at? 'Cause it isn't history, and it sure as hell isn't defending the ball!" Tanner shouted at the teen annoyed at his inability to do something so simple.

"Yes, coach." Tyler said slightly embarrassed.

"Now do it again!" Tanner shouted.

Stefan was sitting in the bleachers, watching the football team practice whilst the cheerleaders were on the other side of the field warming up just as Elena shows up.

"Oh, my God! You're here!" Bonnie said as she stopped doing her stretches to look at her friend.

"Yep. I can't be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were. Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight." Elena invited her hoping her plan would work, she couldn't have the boy she likes and her best friend disliking each other, that would be the worst.

"I am?" Bonnie asked her.

"Mm-hmm. You, me and Stefan. You have to give him a chance." Elena pleaded as she saw the drop of her friend's face.

"Tonight's no good. Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times." Bonnie said trying to change the subject though she was actually wondering where Caroline was, she was never late to cheerleading practice.

"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett! You're going to be there." Elena said firmly.

"Fine. I'll go." Bonnie sighed defeated, she didn't think a dinner was going to change her mind but she'd it for her friend.

"Good." Elena smiled pleased.