Bonnie wasn't ready to give up on her vampire theory just yet, so she convinced Caroline to stay over at her place for a few days (since she had never invited either Salvatore into her house). Caroline was upset, but didn't seem to be very clear on what had happened at the Founder's Ball. She thought she recalled Damon biting her, but there were no further bite marks—in fact, the old ones had disappeared too. Caroline also realized she had holes in her memory. Bonnie considered sharing her speculations about vampires and the supernatural, but Caroline was clearly overwhelmed as it was.

Hoping for a more lighthearted conversation topic, Bonnie examined a necklace she'd found in Caroline's bag. The pendant was a large, amber-colored crystal that Bonnie had never seen Caroline wear. "What's this?"

"Damon gave it to me." Caroline frowned. "Or, he was going to give it to me. All I know is, it's mine now."

Bonnie scrutinized the crystal. It was hideous, and yet something felt…special, about it. Bonnie didn't know what it was, but she figured it was probably supernatural, which meant it was in Caroline's best interest to be parted from it. "You really want to hang on to something he gave you?" Bonnie said skeptically.

"Well I'm not giving it back," Caroline said huffily.

"Trade you," Bonnie offered, pulling off the necklace she'd been wearing. Belatedly, she realized it was the necklace Stefan had tried to give to Elena, and she wondered if Caroline should really be having that one either. But too late to take back the offer now.

"Ooh, thanks," Caroline said, perking up slightly. She put the necklace on. Bonnie stuffed the ugly crystal into her purse.

Meanwhile, Elena went through boxes of her parents' things in search of old family journals. Eventually, she found a journal by Johnathan Gilbert, written in 1864. His journal proved to be more informative than Elena would ever have expected—he wrote of a town plagued by vampires. According to Johnathan, the Founders' Council had been formed to fight the monsters. The twenty-seven "civilians" burned in the church had actually been twenty-seven vampires, rounded up through use of an herb called vervain and a special compass that Johnathan had invented. And one of the vampires had been a girl named Katherine Pierce, who had been living with Giuseppe Salvatore and had "corrupted" his two sons. Johnathan was rather vague on what that meant, but Elena guessed that Katherine must have turned the brothers. And both Katherine and a woman named Pearl had been able to walk in the sun, something that Giuseppe and Johnathan had never understood.

Although Elena and Bonnie were constantly on the lookout, both Salvatores seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth; Stefan didn't even come to school. At least, not until three days later, by which point Caroline had regained her composure and gone back to acting like her usual perky, bossy self. When she spotted Stefan, she marched up to him, Elena on her heels. "Stefan, where's Damon?" Caroline demanded. "He has some serious apologizing to do."

"He's gone, Caroline," Stefan replied.

"When's he coming back?"

"He's not coming back. I'm sorry." Stefan eyed Caroline's new necklace. "That necklace is a good look on you. You should wear it more often."

Caroline fingered the pendant, breaking into a small smile. "Thanks." She headed off to round up more volunteers for the Sexy Suds Car Wash.

Elena started to follow, but Stefan grabbed her wrist (not the one with the bracelet, she noticed). "Elena, wait. I just wanted you to know that Damon won't be hurting her again. I've made sure of it."

Elena frowned. "Is that why you've been missing for the past three days?"

"Uh, yeah," Stefan confirmed, somewhat sheepishly.

"What did you do, kill him and bury him in the woods?"

Stefan looked affronted. "Is that really what you think of me? Look, I know I was a bit too pushy before. I've apologized for that. But when have I ever actually hurt you, or your friends?"

Elena gave him a contemplative look. Now that she thought about it, he was right—he'd been a bit stalker-y at first, but apart from badmouthing his brother (for good reason, it seemed), he'd been perfectly nice. And he'd protected Jeremy from Tyler. Elena hadn't even been around when that fight started, so she doubted he'd done it to impress her.

"Okay," Elena relented. "Fine. I'll give you another chance—but only to be friends. Nothing more."

Stefan smiled, though somewhat wistfully. "Thank you."

Damon tried again to reach out to Caroline. To his frustration, it still didn't work. The vervain from the Founder's Ball should have passed out of her system by now; he suspected that Stefan had anticipated his escape plan and taken measures to protect Caroline. He groaned, trying and failing to think up another plan.

Vaguely, he became aware of Stefan standing at the bars, looking in at him. "I bet you're feeling pretty good about yourself, aren't you," Damon said weakly.

"Not particularly," Stefan replied.

"You won," Damon rasped. "You…got the bad guy. But don't think…that'll help you…with Elena…"

"She's already warming up to me again," Stefan responded, a slightly smug note in his voice.

"All I did was…tell her you had an ex," Damon pressed on. "The rest was…all her. If you keep lying, it'll…catch up to you. Including…lying to yourself…about what you are…"

"The beauty of you in there and me out here…is that I can walk away." Stefan did exactly that.

Damon sighed. He knew that all those deaths had been unnecessary, and that his desire to keep Stefan and Elena apart was entirely petty, but he didn't really want to ruin his brother's life. Ever since 1912, he had wanted to reconcile, but fate kept intervening to ensure that the only role he was allowed to play in Stefan's life was that of the villain. So he clung to the role, because it was better than nothing, and he desperately hoped that one day Stefan would understand how much Damon had really tried to help him over the years. From the looks of things, that day wouldn't come any time soon.

Bonnie gaped at Elena. "You told him what?"

"Maybe he isn't so bad," Elena defended. "He tried to warn me about Damon, after all. He protected Jeremy from Tyler, and he's gotten Damon away from Caroline."

"Uh-huh," Bonnie said skeptically. "Did your ancestor's journal say anything about 'good' vampires?"

"Well, Johnathan Gilbert thought they were all monsters," Elena admitted. "But he also wrote about this woman named Pearl that he was close to. His vampire compass thingy exposed her as a vampire and he had her rounded up with the others, but it doesn't say he actually saw her do anything bad. Even when she was exposed, she didn't try to attack him."

"That doesn't prove anything," Bonnie argued. "Besides, how can we be sure Stefan didn't have anything to do with all those 'animal attacks'?"

"Fine," Elena said, frustrated. "How about I keep him distracted at the car wash while you go to the boarding house and look for clues about what he's up to?"

"Oh, no, no, no," Bonnie objected, shaking her head. "If you go on 'distract Stefan' duty, even if he is a good guy he's gonna get the wrong idea. Besides, I'm the one who can light him on fire with my mind if need be. I'll distract him, you go."

When Stefan arrived at the car wash, Bonnie approached him. "So, I hear you and Elena have made peace."

Stefan smiled at her. "Yes, we have. I hope that peace can be extended to you, too."

"I might be persuaded," Bonnie said evasively. She picked up a bucket of soapy water and led Stefan over to a car. "So, if you want into my good graces, tell me about yourself. Who are you when you're not playing football or pining for Elena?"

"Well, let's see," Stefan replied, picking up a sponge and beginning to wipe down the car. "I'm an avid reader. A huge Fitzgerald fan, The Great Gatsby, his masterpiece. But I'm no snob. I love a good Grisham. I'm an excellent cook, if I do say so myself, Italian roots demand it. I think 'Seinfeld' is the best American television show for the past fifty years, but 'I Love Lucy' is all-time—"

"Uh, are you sure you wanna get soap in that?" Bonnie interrupted, noticing that he hadn't bothered to remove his ring.

"Oh, it's fine," Stefan shrugged.

"Interesting ring, where's it from?"

"It's the family crest from the Italian Renaissance, set in lapis lazuli."

"Neat." Bonnie hesitated, then narrowed her eyes. "So…you wanna tell me a little bit about Katherine?"

"She was…the most beautiful girl that I had ever met," Stefan admitted. "Yes, a lot like Elena. And she had this laugh. I mean, it was ridiculous. Her laugh made you laugh…"

Elena hung around the car wash for the first hour or so, knowing Caroline would murder her if she bailed altogether. But Bonnie seemed to be doing okay on Stefan duty, so Elena snuck away and drove out to the boarding house.

Once she arrived, she discovered the first sign of trouble. A blue Camaro was parked out front, and Elena was pretty sure that was Damon's car. Still, she didn't want to have come all this way for nothing, so she took a deep breath and walked up to the door. Second sign of trouble: it didn't open. She walked around the house until finally she found an unlocked French door in the back.

Inside the house, Elena tiptoed as quietly as she could, worried about running into Damon. She looked around for a staircase, figuring that Stefan's bedroom was probably upstairs and probably the best source of information. But before she could get there, she heard a noise from a different direction. It sounded like…coughing?

Elena followed the noise into the kitchen, down a set of stairs and into the cellar. Soon, she came to a heavily reinforced door with a barred window giving her a view into the room within. And inside the room was… "Damon?"

Damon weakly shifted his head to look at her. He looked incredibly ill, his skin grayish. "Katherine?" He clumsily stood up and staggered over to the door, grasping the bars. "Katherine, I'm so sorry, I tried to save you…I was so close…"

Elena cleared her throat. "Actually, I'm Elena."

Damon blinked. "Oh. Sorry, you just…really remind me of someone…"

"What happened to you?" Elena demanded, unable to help a twinge of sympathy.

"Why do you…care?" Damon rasped out. "Thought you…hated me now…"

"I thought I did," Elena admitted. "But…you really do love Katherine. How can someone capable of love be so cruel?" Subconsciously, she also reached up to the bars. Her bracelet brushed against Damon's hand, instantly burning him.

For a few moments, they both stared at the burn. Then, suddenly Damon ripped the bracelet off her wrist and flung it aside. He looked back up at Elena, his gaze boring into hers. "You're going to open this door, and then you're going to run for your life."

Elena's hand moved of its own accord, undoing the latch on the door. Right at that moment, a middle-aged man came running down the stairs. "No!" he cried, tugging desperately at the door to keep it closed. Elena didn't see what happened next, because now her legs were moving of their own volition. They carried her up the stairs and out of the cellar. There was a sickening snap behind her, but Elena couldn't stop. She ran out of the house, right past her car and down the road, all the way back to town.

Caroline had gotten distracted by some hot guy, and Tiki took advantage of Caroline's distraction to saddle Bonnie and Stefan with 'sweeper duty'. Irritated, Bonnie stared at a rivulet of soapy water, channeling all her rage at it. Tiki always thought she was better than everyone else, and Bonnie was sick of it. Sick of the rudeness, the bossiness, the smugness…

"Bonnie." Someone was shaking Bonnie's shoulders. Someone deathly. "Bonnie! Hey!"

Bonnie suddenly realized that there was a trail of fire leading from the spot where she was standing toward the nearest car, which was now engulfed. As soon as she noticed, the fire vanished. Stefan was holding her arms, looking concerned.

"What just happened?" Bonnie said dazedly.

"You were in some kind of trance," Stefan explained.

"Oh god, I…" Bonnie swallowed. "Did I…did anyone else see?"

"I don't think so," Stefan assured.

"Don't tell anybody, please," Bonnie begged.

"Your secret's safe with me, I promise," Stefan replied. Seeing his earnest expression, Bonnie finally let go of her grudge and believed him.

A little while later, Bonnie found Elena sitting on a bench, looking thoroughly winded. "Oh god, what happened to you?" Bonnie asked worriedly.

"Apparently…when Stefan said…that Damon was gone…he meant…locked in their dungeon…" Elena wheezed. "Who even…has a dungeon…in their house?"

"Oh god," Bonnie said, now even more worried. "Please tell me Damon's still in there."

"Nope," Elena confessed. "He took my…bracelet and…told me…to let him out…and…I did. Couldn't…help it…"

Bonnie looked at the parking lot and frowned. "Where's your car? Did you seriously run all the way back here?"

"Couldn't…help that either…" Elena coughed. "Oh god…I think he…killed that guy…"

"You're okay," Bonnie said reassuringly. She started to put an arm around her friend, then jerked away. "Sorry, I…my fire powers got out of control today. I don't wanna hurt you."

"Bad day…all around…" Elena wheezed ruefully.

Bonnie took a deep breath. "I think you were right about Stefan. I think he's a good guy. Maybe we should ask for his help with Damon."

"Go…for it…"

Unfortunately, Stefan was nowhere to be found. Bonnie eventually learned from Matt that Stefan had left. Elena and Bonnie decided to grab a bite to eat (all that running had made Elena famished), and then go looking for Stefan at the boarding house. Elena was nervous about going back there, but Bonnie reasoned that Elena needed her car anyway. And hopefully, Damon wouldn't have hung around his former prison.

Stefan's heart plummeted when he got home and saw Elena's car in the driveway. His sense of foreboding increased when he saw that the front door was open and a dead crow lay just inside. Cautiously, he entered the house. He didn't dare call out to Elena in case Damon was still home and didn't know Elena was there. Unfortunately, neither Damon nor Elena was anywhere to be found—but Zach was lying dead by the open door of the cell.

Stefan hadn't wanted it to come to this. Despite everything Damon had done, he didn't want to see his brother dead. But he was out of options. He grabbed a stake from another part of the cellar, barely registering the sounds of another car driving up. He raced upstairs, opened the door, and found himself face-to-face with Elena and Bonnie.

"We know what you are," Bonnie said without preamble.