The next morning, Elena caught Bonnie fully up to speed. Bonnie couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea of Damon having a soft spot for Elena. "Didn't he try to kill you?"
"No, I just misunderstood. He was trying to get me out of there before he lost control."
"Or maybe that's what he wants you to think. Vampires can mess with your head, can't they?"
"So why give the bracelet back?" Elena retorted. "Stefan tested it. It definitely still works."
Bonnie sighed. "Okay. So, he murders Coach Tanner, murders his great-great-whatever nephew, kills several campers, feeds on our friend, and you want to save him? How do you not hate him?!"
"I don't know!" Elena cried, frustrated. "One minute I think he's a total monster, and then he goes and acts like the guy I thought I knew again. I just…it's all so confusing. I think he could be a good guy if he really tried to be, it's just that no one has given him a reason to try."
Bonnie's eyes widened. "Oh god. You're falling for him, aren't you?"
"I…" Elena broke off, the denial dying on the tip of her tongue. "I haven't forgotten the things he's done," she said quietly. "But I just can't shake the feeling that there's more to him than that."
"Yep," Bonnie sighed. "My best friend is in love with a serial killer. Wonderful."
Stefan was surprised but pleased when Lexi turned up in his house. With everything that had been going on, he'd forgotten that his birthday was coming up. He and Lexi began catching up on everything that had happened since his last birthday, and Lexi tried to convince him to come with her to New York. "Come on, let's go!" she urged. "I mean, what's keeping you here?"
"A girl," Stefan admitted.
"Oh?" Lexi raised her eyebrows, picked up his daguerreotype of Katherine and waved it with a flourish. "Well, let's hope she's better than the last girl you got all sprung over."
Stefan stood up and snatched the picture away. "She is better, and that's the whole point. Katherine destroyed Damon. I think Elena might just be his salvation."
Lexi flopped on the bed and groaned. "You're still trying to save him? Remind me how many people died the last time you gave him a chance?"
"I haven't forgotten," Stefan said wearily. "But I had Damon locked in the cellar for four days without blood or his daylight ring. Then Elena came along, and while Damon did compel her to free him, he also followed it up by compelling her to run away. His only potential source of vervain-free human blood until sundown, and he let her go without so much as a nibble."
Lexi sat up and stared at him. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Damon? The same Damon who left me to burn on a rooftop?"
"I wouldn't have believed it either if he hadn't returned her vervain bracelet with the vervain intact."
"Huh." Lexi frowned. "I really hope for Elena's sake that you're right. Speaking of, where is Damon?"
Stefan shrugged. "No idea. Haven't seen him for a couple days."
Sheriff Forbes questioned Jeremy, Matt, Stefan and Elena about Vicki's disappearance. Thankfully, she seemed convinced that Vicki had left town. Afterwards, Stefan waited outside. When Elena emerged, he approached her. "You okay?"
"I don't think the Sheriff suspected anything," Elena replied. "Jeremy had no memory at all, all he knew was what Damon made him know."
"Thank you," Stefan said quietly.
"I can't do this," Elena muttered. "Every time I look at Matt or Jeremy, all I can think is that Vicki's never gonna come back and it's all Damon's fault. And I…I don't want to be part of this world, but at the same time…" She sighed. "I don't know. I don't know what I want. What has Damon been up to?"
Stefan frowned. "I…don't know. I haven't seen him since he left your house the other night."
"You think he's off on another killing spree?" Elena asked worriedly.
"A week ago, I probably would have said yes, but now…I honestly don't know."
Damon had a very full schedule. First, he got Charlotte settled in a motel near the edge of town. Next, he returned to the boarding house to box up some vervain, and discovered that Lexi had come for Stefan's birthday. Well, he had more important things to do than ruin her fun with Stefan, so she could do whatever she liked so long as she didn't try to lecture him about Charlotte again. After that, he went to the Sheriff's office to deliver the vervain and prod for more information. The next part of the plan hit a bit of a snag—Caroline seemed like the best choice for a party organizer, but she couldn't be compelled any more. Damon settled for compelling a couple other cheerleaders to give her the idea to hold a party at the Grill. Thankfully, she took to the idea with enthusiasm. Now he just needed to give Charlotte her instructions, and the stage would be set.
That night, Elena and Bonnie arrived at the party together. Bonnie quickly spotted Damon at the bar with a redheaded woman. "Well, look who's back…and not alone," she observed. "This can't be good." She stormed off in Damon's direction, followed by Elena.
"Whoa, Bonnie, wait…" Elena pleaded, but Bonnie ignored her and marched right up to Damon.
"So, is this what happens when we give vervain to your plaything? You just find another?"
"Damon, what's she talking about?" the woman demanded, pouting.
"Hush," Damon snapped. He turned to Bonnie. "Give me that crystal and I'll stop looking for 'playthings'."
The redhead's eyes widened and she tried to snatch the crystal off of Bonnie's neck, only for it to burn her the same way it had burned Damon. She frowned and tried again.
"Damn it," Damon muttered in frustration. "Charlotte, stop."
"But I thought you said that crystal was very important to you," Charlotte protested, though she did stop.
"It…oh, just go drink somewhere else," Damon commanded, sounding annoyed. Charlotte got up and obeyed, looking slightly upset.
Bonnie watched her, frowning. "I thought you needed eye contact to compel people."
"I didn't compel her. And one day, you will give me that crystal."
"What's so important about it, anyway?" Elena cut in, trying to defuse the situation before they could come to blows…or worse.
"It belonged to my ancestor Emily, which means it's not yours," Bonnie said, glaring at Damon.
"And she used it to cast a spell for me, which makes it mine," Damon retorted.
"You know what? Let's go find Caroline," Elena said with false cheer, slinging an arm around Bonnie and steering her friend away. Bonnie shot another glare over her shoulder.
With some difficulty, Lexi managed to drag Stefan out to the party. Once they'd gotten a good game of pool going, Lexi headed toward the bar for tequila and accidentally bumped into a pair of girls. She opened her mouth to apologize, only to freeze as she recognized one of them. "Oh my god! How…uh…wha…"
The girl-who-should-be-dead gave Lexi a wary look. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you're a friend of either Stefan or Damon."
Lexi took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and slapped her. "You bitch."
The other girl quickly stepped between the pair. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, this is Elena Gilbert. One hundred per cent human. She is not Katherine Pierce."
"Elena?" Lexi repeated in astonishment. Elena winced, rubbing her bruised cheek. Her bruised cheek, which wasn't healing…meaning she really was human. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. You just…wow."
"Just how much do I look like this Katherine girl?" Elena muttered, grimacing.
"You-you could be her twin," Lexi stammered. "This is freaky. I'm just…gonna go talk to Stefan now…" She hurried away.
Moments later, Caroline came up to Elena and Bonnie. "What the heck was that?" she demanded, frowning at Lexi.
Elena and Bonnie shared a look, then Elena turned back to the blonde. "Nothing, Caroline, it's fine. She thought I was somebody she knew, but she was wrong."
Caroline put her hands on her hips. "Stop doing that!"
"Stop doing what?" Bonnie said, bewildered.
"Stop doing your secret looks and shutting me out! What is going on with you two?!"
"Nothing, Caroline, I swear!" Elena insisted.
Caroline turned to Bonnie. "And since when do you wear Damon's crystal? What is the big deal with that thing?"
"I-I just like the way it looks!" Bonnie lied.
"Bonnie Bennett, I know your style," Caroline said flatly. "You never wear junk like that."
"Well, now I do!"
"I talked her into it," Elena chimed in. "She totally hated it, but then I told her how it really brings out her eyes…"
"Ugh. Why are you both such liars?" Caroline stormed toward the bar, determined to get as drunk as possible. Drunk enough to forget that she'd become the third wheel in what was supposed to be an even three-way friendship.
"So…I suppose I should have warned you about Elena," Stefan said awkwardly, having overheard the unfortunate incident.
"Yeah, you should've," Lexi agreed. "Are you out of your freaking mind?"
"She's not Katherine," Stefan assured. "I've made absolutely sure of that."
"Then they're related, cause they could be twins," Lexi retorted.
"The resemblance stops at their faces," Stefan insisted. "Elena is…Elena is warm, and kind, and caring, and selfless…"
"…and you're in love with her, aren't you," Lexi finished.
Stefan sighed. "Doesn't matter. The moment she found out about Katherine, she swore off dating me. Took weeks just to get her to talk to me again. And by the time she did…I've realized Damon needs her more than I do."
Lexi rolled her eyes. "Of course. Damon needs her. Just like…" She broke off, frowning as she saw another familiar face entering through a side door. "Oh, and let me guess—that isn't the vampire who was hanging off of Damon's arm back in the '40s. That's another human he needs."
"Wait. What?" Stefan followed her gaze, frowning. "Huh. If that's another freaky human lookalike, this is the first I'm hearing of it. I haven't seen her in town before."
"Well, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this," Lexi growled, stalking away to intercept the redhead. "Hello. It's…Charlotte, right?"
Charlotte abruptly turned and walked in a different direction. "Damon said I'm not supposed to go anywhere near you."
"You know, you don't have to do what Damon says," Lexi persisted, knowing it was probably futile.
"I want to. Leave me alone."
"All right, all right." Lexi sighed and went to the bar to get some shots, compelling the bartender to ignore her lack of ID.
Meanwhile, Elena decided to try talking to Damon alone, to see if she could get more out of him that way. "Hey."
"Hey…" Damon trailed off as he caught sight of the bruise on her face, and his expression darkened with anger. "What happened to you?"
"Huh? Oh. Katherine-related misunderstanding. Do you know that girl with Stefan?"
Damon narrowed his eyes in Lexi's direction. "Her name's Lexi. She's Stefan's oldest friend, and the reason he's so insufferably righteous. Supposedly, she lives by a code of never hurting humans, except to feed and heal them afterwards. Apparently, she's a hypocrite."
"Hey, in her defense, she thought I was a vampire."
Damon frowned. "She never even met Katherine."
"Really?" Elena said in surprise. "Then why would she think I was Katherine?"
"Don't know." Damon pushed aside his stool and stormed over to Lexi, trailed by Elena. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I could ask the same of you," Lexi retorted. "Thought you left Charlotte in New Orleans."
"Wait, you know Charlotte?" Elena cut in, confused.
Lexi glanced in Charlotte's direction. "What, he hasn't told you? Charlotte was his girlfriend back in the '40s. But when she got too clingy, he killed twelve innocent people just to try and get rid of her—and look, here she is again. Make up your mind, Damon, do you want her or not?"
For a moment, Elena thought Damon looked uncomfortable, but then his glare returned. "My relationship with Charlotte is none of your business. What I want to know is what made you go off on Elena here. What happened to not attacking humans?"
"I thought she was Katherine." Lexi winced and looked at Elena. "Sorry about that."
"And why would you think that?" Damon challenged. "How would you even know they look alike?"
Lexi shrugged. "Your brother has a picture. I've seen it."
Damon opened his mouth, closed it again, then resumed glaring. "So you thought she was Katherine, and you decided that was a good enough reason to attack her?"
Lexi rolled her eyes. "I know how you feel, but Katherine really hurt your brother, and I'd love the chance to pay her back for that."
Damon's scowl deepened. "Well, Elena is not Katherine, so back off."
"It's fine," Elena cut in. "It was just a misunderstanding. She's not going to attack me again, right, Lexi?"
"Right," Lexi agreed. Damon shot one last glare at her, then stalked over to Charlotte. Lexi raised her eyebrows at Elena. "I think you just managed to incite a protective rage in him. That's a new one."
Elena swallowed. "Twelve innocent people?"
"Yeah." Lexi grimaced. "Look, Stefan thinks you're good for Damon, and maybe you are, but be careful. He's been known to pretend to care, just so he can rip your heart out for his own twisted amusement."
"Is that what he did to you?" Elena asked warily.
Lexi's eyebrows shot up. "Points for perceptivity. Yeah, he did, and I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."
Elena swallowed again, trying to sort out her thoughts. "And Charlotte…she's a vampire?"
"Yes. I don't know the whole story, but I'm pretty sure Damon turned her."
"Oh." Elena fidgeted nervously, wondering if she was in danger of Damon trying to turn her.
Lexi sighed again. "You know what? I should be the last person to judge anyone for trying to restore a vampire's humanity. I've done the same for Stefan, more than once. Hell, it's how we met. And if you really can save Damon, I'll be the first to congratulate you. I just…don't want you to get hurt."
Elena gave Lexi a weak smile. "Thanks."
Ten minutes later, Sheriff Forbes entered the Grill with a frightened girl. Shaking, the girl pointed in Damon and Charlotte's direction. Stefan and Lexi watched in surprise and horror as the Sheriff injected Charlotte with vervain and hauled her away. Concerned, Stefan and Lexi snuck their way past the police, followed the sounds of fighting and arrived just in time to see Damon drive a stake into Charlotte's heart. Charlotte looked utterly betrayed, but the Sheriff didn't seem to notice. She thanked Damon for saving her life, and he brushed it off as a combination of adrenaline and luck.
"Why the hell did he do that?" Lexi muttered quietly, baffled and furious.
"He set her up," Stefan realized. "He knew the town was hunting for vampires, so he gave them one."
Lexi turned to Stefan. "You sure you want Elena anywhere near him?" she said skeptically.
"At the moment? No." Stefan marched back inside.
Inside the Grill, Elena was shooting pool with Tyler and Bonnie, trying to take her mind off of Damon. Just as she was succeeding, Damon came up behind her. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked quietly, ignoring the death glare Bonnie was sending his way.
"Uh…sure," Elena replied warily. She followed Damon over to a secluded corner of the restaurant.
"I killed Charlotte," Damon said bluntly.
Elena gaped. "What?!"
"The town council was hunting for vampires, and they weren't going to stop until they had one," Damon explained. "Better her than me or Stefan."
"W-why are you telling me this?" Elena stammered out, reeling.
Damon glanced toward the door, where Stefan and Lexi were re-entering the restaurant. "Because I wanted you to hear it from me."
Elena frowned. "The other day, when you said there was one person who'd cared for you and it ended badly…were you talking about Lexi?"
Damon looked surprised. "No. Stefan sent Lexi to me back in the '70s when I had my emotions switched off. Stefan thought she could restore my humanity, like she'd repeatedly done for him. Didn't work so well with me. Pretty sure she hates me now, after the stunt I pulled to get her off my back."
"Your…emotions were switched off? What?"
Damon dismissively waved a hand. "Vampires can do that. Shut out pain, guilt, shame, all of that. Means you stop caring. About everything."
"But…your emotions aren't off now," Elena ventured warily.
"…no," Damon admitted.
"Why turn them off in the first place?"
"Because of what happened to the one friend I did make since I turned. It's a long and ugly story that I'd rather not relive."
Elena swallowed. "But you're capable of caring now, and you set up and murdered that girl who was clearly crazy for you."
Damon sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not the good guy?"
Elena put her hands on her hips. "You know, I asked you a question, that day I found you in the cellar. And you never answered. How can someone capable of love be so cruel?"
Damon gave her a long, unreadable look. "I hope for your sake that you never suffer enough to learn the answer to that question." With that, he walked away.
Elena stayed where she was, pondering what he'd said. She had suffered—she'd lost her parents, after all. And so had Jeremy, and as a result he'd started cutting class and doing drugs. And once Jeremy's pain had been taken away—by Damon—he'd turned his life back around. Elena might not know Damon's whole life story, but she was pretty sure it was far more miserable than hers and Jeremy's. So what difference could it make if he had something good in his life?
Eventually, Stefan's voice jolted her out of her thoughts. "What did Damon want?"
"He wanted to be the one to tell me what he did to Charlotte," Elena informed him.
"He actually told you?" Stefan repeated, surprised.
"He set her up and murdered her to get people to stop looking for vampires. Did I miss anything?"
"Uh, no, that pretty much sums it up." Stefan glanced in Damon's direction, slightly baffled. "Why would he tell you?"
"I'm…not sure," Elena admitted. "He keeps wanting to tell me his side of the story, then he tells me off for thinking there's good in him…"
Stefan frowned. "You know, I don't think even he knows what he wants from you. He's not used to caring what people think."
"The thing is, I get it," Elena said quietly. "I don't like it, but I get it. If someone were threatening me and Jeremy, I'd do whatever it took to protect my brother."
"Damon doesn't look out for anybody but himself," Stefan scoffed.
Elena shook her head. "He said, and I quote, 'better her than me or Stefan'. Not just 'better her than me'. Better her than him or you. I don't think he even realized he said it, but he as good as admitted he cares about you."
Stefan opened and closed his mouth, clearly unsure what to make of that. "You really are making a difference," he murmured at last. "Thank you." He returned to Lexi.
Elena returned to the pool table, where Bonnie and Tyler were still playing. "What was that about?" Bonnie muttered quietly while Tyler lined up a shot.
"That was…Damon being Damon," Elena replied, not sure how to explain it in a way that wouldn't make Bonnie hate Damon even more.
Lexi had packed up her things in preparation for her trip to New York, but there was one more thing she needed to do. She walked into Damon's room. "Answer me one question, Damon: do you care about Elena?"
"There is a tradition called knocking that is considered polite in most civilized societies," Damon replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Don't avoid the question. Do you care about her?"
Damon was silent for a long time. "I'm not going to leave her to burn on a rooftop," he said at last. "She's safe from me."
"She'd better be," Lexi said warningly. "Because if you hurt her, physically or emotionally, I will come back here and end you."
Damon frowned. "Why do you care? You barely know her."
"I care because she cares about you. Don't mess it up again." Lexi turned around and left, hoping that this time, Stefan really would get his brother back.