Caroline, who was deep cleaning the dorm room, answered her phone when it rang and saw that it was Stefan.

"I need a favor," Stefan said after Caroline picked up. "You know how Elowen broke up with Damon because she found out he was killing members of the Whitmore family behind her back?"

"Uh, yeah. She was surprisingly okay about it, but I'm sure she's upset on the inside, she just doesn't wanna say it yet. Why?"

"Well, I, uh… kinda convinced Damon he should try apologizing and make up with her."

"You what?" Caroline hissed. "That's the worst possible thing you could do! This isn't just some lover's spat over who ate the last cookie, Stefan! Elowen is rightfully pissed, and a simple 'I'm sorry' isn't going to fix a damn thing."

"That's why I need a favor. Damon's in a bit of a mood, and something tells me it's because Elowen isn't picking up her phone."

"And what do you want me to do? Elowen's not gonna listen to a word I have to say. She needs space, first of all, and second, she'll only be ready to reconsider her relationship with Damon after he proves himself to her, which doesn't happen overnight. Besides, aren't you a little eager to get Damon back into the picture after having the opportunity to have Elowen to yourself again?"

"Look, I get it, you've always preferred Elowen with me-"

Caroline snorted. "Uh, duh."

"... but you have to admit that Elowen's been good for Damon. She makes him happy and we all know that when Damon is happy…"

"He's not out there killing people, which I guess is a plus for mankind."

"Exactly."

"Even if I wanted to help, Elowen has class today, which is where she is right now. She's asked all of her professor's for extra credit since she's missed an abnormal amount of school, and it's only been three months. It doesn't help that Elena switched her schedule so early on and made her miss the first week of Music Theory. She should be lucky her instructor allowed her back into the class."

Stefan sighed. "Alright, well, get Veronica, and-"

"Oh, no, no. Veronica's not gonna help."

Stefan frowned. "Why not? I thought her and Elowen were friends now."

"Oh, they're totally friends, and that's why Veronica won't help. As her friend, she thinks it's in Elowen's best interest to cut Damon out of the picture, and she's not as nice as I am."

"Since when was she team me and Elowen?" Stefan asked, surprised. "I thought I was the one she pined after."

"She's been team Stelowen ever since Tessa wiped your memories. She got to see first hand what you two looked like when you were falling in love and she saw how much Elowen paid attention to you and you to her, and to her, that's what true love looked like, not what her and Damon had. Also, for the record, Veronica believes in girl code. Her and Elowen are friends, and you're Elowen's boyfriend, so you're off limits."

"Hold on. Team Stelowen?"

"Don't start."

"Okay, I won't. Veronica doesn't seem like the type to care whether or not someone's taken. Isn't she the one who slept with Adriana's boyfriend?"

"According to her, she was 'proving a point', not sleeping with him because she wanted to. I don't know, she has some twisted idea of it in her head. I think it's because Elowen is her only friend and she doesn't wanna screw it up. Look, I'll come back to Mystic Falls and try and help on your end, okay?"

"Okay, thanks."

"Yeah, whatever."

Caroline hung up and huffed. She tossed her phone onto her bed and set down the duster she had in her hand.

"Guess I'll finish cleaning later," she mumbled before grabbing her bag and heading for the door.

xxxx

Stefan and Damon were playing a round of pool at The Grill, where Stefan was trying to convince Damon to give Katherine's body over to Nadia.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Come on, Katherine is exactly where she always belonged. I'm not giving the body back. Quit giving me that damn pouty face."

"I'm not giving you the pouty face," Stefan replied. "This is my 'you're being a dick' face. Elowen hasn't called you back. It's making you completely miserable."

Damon poured himself a shot and drank it.

"Yeah, I'm completely miserable." He grabbed his pool stick that was leaning against the table. "It's your fault for telling me to get her back."

"No. You're miserable because you messed up the one good thing you had going for you knowing that if she found out what you were doing, she'd flip, yet you did it anyway. That's all you, buddy."

Damon scowled. "You're enjoying this a little bit too much."

Caroline came walking up to them at this moment.

"Who's winning?" She asked.

Damon frowned when he saw her. "Who invited you? Scram."

"I invited her," Stefan told him. "Caroline agreed to help you get Elowen back."

Damon shot Caroline a look. "You? You hate me! You once told me that calling me Satan was an insult to Satan."

Caroline smiled. "Well… nobody's perfect."

"Mm-hm." Damon looked at Stefan from over his shoulder. "So this is what it's come to? You bring me love advice from Prudy Trudy?"

Caroline gaped. "I can be unpredictable and incredibly reckless!"

"What's going on here? Are you guys babysitting me?"

Stefan shrugged. "We're just hanging out, chatting."

Damon scoffed. "I don't need this," he looked at Caroline, "and I don't need your help."

As Damon stormed off, Toby came up to them.

"Have either of you guys heard from Elena?" He asked worriedly.

Caroline frowned. "I thought she was with you?"

Toby shook his head. "She told me she was staying at the dorms."

Caroline and Stefan shot each other a look. Caroline quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Elena's number. The call went straight to voicemail. Caroline frowned and typed out a quick text.

"We'll find her," Stefan said as Caroline finished up. "I have to call Elowen. Excuse me."

He walked off to a more quiet corner and took his phone out of his pocket. Elowen answered after the third ring.

"Is this important?" She asked. "I'm sort of in between classes right now. I have Music History in 15 minutes, and then I have to double back across campus for extra credit for Composition 101."

"Oh. I can call back if you're too busy," Stefan replied.

"I've got 10 minutes tops to have this conversation, then I really need to go. What's up?"

"I just wanted to know if you were going to Tyler's welcome home party."

Elowen blew her bangs out of her hair and readjusted her bag on her shoulder.

"I don't know if I'll have time. I'm trying really hard to play catch up, you know? I don't want a repeat of high school. I'd actually like to take my studies seriously this time, and it would be a shame if Klaus's college money went to waste."

"You mean you can't even spare not even 5 minutes of your time for this?"

"I'm barely able to spare 5 minutes right now for this phone call."

"Okay, alright, I understand. I just thought that maybe you'd want a little break and have some fun, you know, after what happened between you and Damon."

There was a pause on the other line and for a second, Stefan worried if maybe that was the wrong thing to say. Elowen replied after a second.

"Well… I guess a fun distraction would be nice. School's already got me all kinds of wigged out."

Stefan chuckled. "Yeah, I can tell. So, I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah. Look, I really gotta go. The 10 minutes are up. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Elowen hung up and put her phone back in her pocket before setting off for her next class.

xxxx

Later that night, at Tyler's welcome home party, Elena came up to Veronica, who was pouring herself a drink. She felt a presence and when she looked over and saw who it was, Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Oh, it's you. Apparently you've been missing all day, but I didn't really care. Toby's around here somewhere. Go find him."

Katherine, in Elena's body, blinked dumbly for a brief second. She knew Veronica didn't really like Elena all that much, which was something they held in common, but for some reason she hadn't been expecting that kind of reaction. Then again, in the short time she'd known Veronica, she figured out that she had no filter, so clearly she'd have no problem being open about her distaste of Elena Gilbert. Katherine cleared her throat and smiled.

"Actually, I was looking for you."

Veronica took a sip of her drink and raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so? Why?"

"Well, you know, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot, and we're roommates now, so I figured that we should-"

Veronica huffed loudly and placed her free hand on Katherine's shoulder.

"Read my lips." Veronica leaned closer to Katherine and spoke slowly. "I don't like you. Okay?"

With a sarcastic smile, Veronica twirled around and left. Katherine watched her go, her lip curling in annoyance. This was harder than she thought it was going to be. She spotted Stefan from across the room and started making her way towards him.

"Hey!" She greeted with a smile.

Stefan looked up and saw who it was. "Elena. You're alive."

"Of course I'm alive."

Stefan tilted his head slightly as he looked at her. Him and Elena had never been particularly close, so her seeking him out seemed out of character. He imagined she'd be more interested in finding Toby or Caroline, yet here she was, standing in front of him instead. Katherine noticed his scrutinizing look and quickly changed the subject. She pointed to his drink.

"Wow, Stefan Salvatore is drinking beer from a cup. Do you want me to show you where Tyler keeps the bourbon?"

Stefan looked down at his drink and shook his head.

"No, I'm trying to keep off from the hard stuff. So, where have you been? Caroline and Toby were about to send out a search party for you."

Katherine sighed, shrugging. "Around… thinking… processing, trying to figure out some things about my relationship with Toby."

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows. "Is everything okay? Between you and Toby, I mean. You two have been kind of the picture perfect couple ever since you graduated."

"That's kind of the problem. We're too perfect, and it all seems too good to be true, especially knowing that Toby will never be 100% over Elowen. It's just got me- Sorry. This is probably a little weird for you."

"Uh, yeah, just a bit," Stefan said a little awkwardly, clearing his throat. "I think Caroline or Bonnie might be better suited for this conversation. Maybe even Elowen. I know you two kind of hate each other, but Toby is her best friend and she knows him better than anyone else."

"See, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about." Katherine shook her head. "Nevermind. How are you? You know, with the whole Katherine dying thing."

Stefan found it odd that she was asking about this, but decided to answer anyway. He shrugged.

"I'm okay."

"You knew her for like… 150 years. You're not even a little heartbroken? I mean, even I feel a little bit bad. Maybe we should give her like, a funeral, or something."

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows again and frowned. "A funeral?" He asked incredulously.

"Where is she buried? I should at least drop off flowers, or something."

Stefan shook his head. "I have no idea. Damon said he put her where she was always meant to be."

"Classic Damon."

Except this answered Katherine's question. Her body was in the tomb.

xxxx

Damon stood in the living room of the boarding house with Enzo, who so graciously let himself in. He'd dragged Aaron with him, who was lying unconscious on the couch.

"As much as I've enjoyed your quality bourbon, I feel confident our next drink will taste better with young Aaron's dying screams ringing in our ears, and your final act of revenge will bring us both closure and a new beginning," Enzo was saying with a smirk.

"I'm just curious, but do you ask all of your friends to prove their loyalty by killing someone over drinks?" Damon asked.

"His grandfather split our eyes open with a scalpel. You've taken it out on everyone else in the Whitmore family. I thought you'd want this."

Damon's flickered down towards Aaron. The first thing that immediately popped into his head was Elowen. If he wanted to make up with her, he needed to prove that he was worth it for her, that he was still redeemable, and letting Aaron go would contribute to that. It would be the first step in getting her back, and that's all Damon wanted at the moment. He looked back at Enzo.

"I can't. I'm not like that anymore."

Enzo raised an eyebrow, staring at Damon as if he didn't quite understand what he was trying to say. "Pardon?"

"My ex girlfriend-"

"Oh, don't tell me you've gone soft for some girl you'll forget about in a few years time. You and I both know that your first impulse when I presented him to you was to rip out his throat. Show me my old friend is still in there someplace. End this, for both of us."

Damon's phone started to ring and he answered it.

"Really bad timing, Blondie," he said into the line. "I'm dealing with a blast from the past."

"Then deal with it quickly and get your ass over to Tyler's," she replied. "Elowen is here."

"Hm."

"It looks like he's coming around," Enzo interrupted, looking over at Aaron, who was slowly starting to stand up. "It's time to come to a decision, Damon. Do you want to kill him, or shall I?"

Within the blink of an eye, Damon reached up and snapped Enzo's neck. He fell to the ground with a soft thump.

"I hate that line."

Aaron looked down at Enzo. "I didn't see that one coming."

Damon glanced at Aaron. "I can't kill you. Long story."

He walked over to Aaron, ripped off his vervain watch and started to compel him.

"Go back to college, pack up your entire life. There's one road that heads out of town. Take it north until you hit ice. Don't ever come back."

xxxx

Elowen entered Tyler's house and scanned the room. Veronica pushed her way through the crowd and stopped in front of her, handing out her cup.

"Here, you look like you need this more than I do."

Elowen reached out and took it.

"Thanks."

She lifted the cup to her lips and downed all of the contents. Veronica raised an eyebrow.

"That bad, huh?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Elle! There you are."

Elowen and Veronica turned and saw Caroline walking up to them.

"Oh, hey, Care." Elowen waved. "Sorry I didn't text you back. I was kind of busy earlier. What did you want to talk about?"

"I did a bad thing."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

Caroline frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're you. Duh. You don't make bad decisions."

"Well, this one was pretty bad."

"Okay, what happened?" Elowen asked.

"What would you say if I told you that when a certain awful person was in town, I ran into him in the woods and sort of kissed him? He was there and obviously wanted to kiss me, so I thought, 'we'll just make out', but then it felt really good to kiss him, so then I kind of totally had sex with him, but I swear, I didn't plan do to it," Caroline rambled. "Now I feel terrible."

Elowen and Veronica shared a look.

"And the person we're talking about is…?" Veronica asked, making a waving motion with her hand to signal to keep going.

Caroline chewed on her bottom lip, taking a moment to answer.

"... Klaus," she mumbled quietly at last.

Elowen's eyes widened in shock and Veronica's mouth dropped open.

"Whoa," Veronica blurted.

Elowen finally regained her composure and opened her mouth to say something.

"... so, you slept with Klaus," she stated. "Okay."

"Okay?" Caroline repeated. "Just okay? I slept with one of the most evil enemies we've ever faced and all you have to say is okay?"

Elowen shrugged. "You didn't judge me when I swapped spit with Kol, so I'm not going to judge you for sleeping with Klaus."

Caroline groaned in frustration. "Look, I just need you two to tell me what an awful person I am, because I am."

Veronica sighed, shaking her head. "Actually, you're one of the least awful people I know."

Caroline groaned. "No! No, I'm not! I am terrible, and shallow, and-"

Elowen put her hands on Caroline's shoulders. "Caroline, you can't help who you're attracted to. I fell in love with Damon, remember?"

Veronica smirked as a thought occurred to her. She crossed her arms.

"So, tell me, how was it? Was he any good?"

Caroline turned red. "Veronica!"

"Caroline," Veronica mimicked in a teasing tone. "Come on. He's a thousand year old vampire. He's got to have some tricks up his sleeve. At least tell me how sleeping with Klaus was compared to Josiah."

"I am so not answering that."

Elowen made a look of disgust. "Ew. That's my brother you're talking about."

Veronica's eyes flickered to something from over Caroline's shoulder and her smirk disappeared.

"Oh shit," she whispered, just barely loud enough for Elowen and Caroline to hear.

Elowen followed Veronica's line of sight and Caroline turned around, both of their eyes landing on Tyler, who was standing a few feet away, with a look of betrayal on his face. They all stood there in a shocked silence before Tyler finally shook his head, turned around, and left.

xxxx

Elena was wildly running through the woods, away from the tomb and back towards Tyler's house. She'd awoken to a woman she didn't know performing a spell over Katherine's body, and now she was trying to get to someone to tell them that Katherine had passengered herself into her body. She'd just broken through the woods and made it to Tyler's house when she saw Toby looking through the crowds of people that were outside.

"Toby!" She called out loudly, gaining his attention.

Toby looked over at the sound of his name and relief flooded his face when he saw her. He picked up his speed and met Elena halfway, who ran directly into Toby's arms.

"Thank god," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Where have you been all day?" Toby asked. "I've been worried sick."

Before Elena could respond, her eyes turned black for a brief second before going back to normal, indicating that the spell was done. Katherine pulled back from the hug and looked around confusedly for a moment before her eyes landed on Toby, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Did you hear me? Where have you been?" Toby repeated, searching Katherine's face.

"I just… I've been around, thinking," Katherine replied.

Toby frowned. "Thinking? About what?"

"Us."

"Us? Is everything okay?"

Katherine shook her head. "No. We need to talk."

"Nothing good happens when you start out a sentence with those words. Elena, what's wrong?"

Katherine sighed. "Like I said, I've been thinking, and…"

"And?"

"I don't think I can be with someone who's still hopelessly in love with his best friend."

Toby furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What? Elena, I thought we were over this. I love you."

"But you're still in love with her at the same time. Toby, I can't compete with that. I thought I would be okay with it, but it turns out that I'm not. I don't want to make you choose, because that wouldn't be fair to you, so I'm making the choice for you. I will never know you the way she knows you, and something tells me you'll never truly open yourself up to me. I'm done being second best."

Katherine reached up and touched the side of Toby's face.

"I'm sorry, Toby, but we're over."

Katherine turned around and smirked once her face was hidden from Toby. She started to walk off, Toby reaching out after her.

"Elena! Elena, wait."

Toby walked a couple of steps after her before stopping, watching her leave in disbelief and confusion.

xxxx

Elsewhere, Elowen exited Tyler's house and snuck off to a more quiet place in the backyard. She sighed and sat down on the steps of the gazebo, which was a couple of yards away from the loud party. She thought that maybe this would be a good distraction, but it turned out that she wasn't ready for this kind of thing yet.

Her situation with Damon was still fresh in her mind, and now that she wasn't nose deep in school and away from Mystic Falls, it was all she could think about, as much as she didn't want to.

"Wen."

Elowen looked up and saw Damon approaching her. Elowen stood up and shook her head, trying to walk past him.

"I don't have time for this, Damon," she said. "I've already said what I need to say."

Damon reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could leave.

"Then just listen. You said your piece, now let me say mine."

Elowen sighed, but turned back around to face him. She crossed her arms.

"Talk."

Damon took a deep breath.

"What I did, going behind your back to kill Aaron's aunt, was wrong. You've asked so little of me since we started dating. The bar was so low, yet I still screwed it up, and I'm sorry. You are literally the best person I've ever known and you are the best influence on me. I need you. You are the good, and I need a little good in my life, because without it, there's an awful lot of darkness."

Damon reached out and cupped Elowen's cheek, but she leaned away.

"That's a lot of pressure, Damon."

"I know." Damon wet his lips. "I let Aaron Whitmore go. Enzo, he showed up at the house with Aaron and told me to kill him, but I compelled him to leave and never come back, because I know it's what you would've wanted. I'm trying, Wen. I really am, and I'm sorry that I let you down. I'm so sorry."

Elowen was silent for a moment and Damon waited for her to say something. Finally, she opened her mouth.

"I know that you're trying, Damon, but sparing one person isn't going to make me run back into your arms like everything is okay. Aaron is one out of many, and you still have a long way to go. Look, I love that I make you a better person, and I love that I make you happy, but I don't want to be the only thing that you live for. I said it once before and I'll say it again. I don't want you to do it for me. I want you to do it for yourself. I don't want to worry about what's going to happen every time we get in a fight, or if we break up again, or who you're going to take it out on."

"What are you talking about?"

"One of the first fights we ever got in was about Marisol and who she was, and when I said I wanted to go to Elijah for answers, you killed him. The next time you got mad at me, it was when you thought I was siding with Klaus when he kidnapped me. You didn't trust me, and you called me all of these names behind my back. You said I was just like Katherine, and speaking of Katherine… I know what you did to her when she was weak and dying. You messed with her head and tortured her and made her miserable because you were angry about what I said and needed an outlet. People punch a punching bag when they need to let off steam. You chose to torment a dying girl."

"Katherine was hardly innocent."

"That's not the point. The point is, whenever I'm not there being your moral compass, when there's nothing you've deemed worth being good for, you just don't care. You have to want this, Damon. You have to want to be good. I get it. You don't want to have to live up to anyone's expectations, but you know what? I would rather you try and let me down than go around showing me that there's nothing worth saving. I managed to forgive Klaus, even after everything he put me through that summer, even after he taught me how to kill, because he showed me that deep down, he's just someone wants to be loved. Hell, I even managed to make a truce with Katherine of all people, even though she brought Luis back to life, because we came to a mutual understanding. I'm capable of forgiveness, I'm just not sure you deserve it. You have to prove it."

Elowen saw Stefan walking up from behind Damon before focusing back on Damon.

"Until you prove it, really prove it, I can't be with you. I'm sorry, Damon, but I can't be with the person you are right now, the person you choose to be, because it's obvious I'm not as strong of an influence as you think I am."

Elowen got on her tip toes and kissed Damon softly before pulling back.

"Goodbye," she whispered, then turned around and left.

xxxx

Caroline slowly crept into Josiah's room, looking around at her surroundings. Everything was still the same as it was the last time she had been here. Esmeralda hadn't packed any of his things up, so the room was completely untouched. His posters were still on the walls, as well as the first place science fair trophy that was on the dresser from 4th grade. She walked over to his desk, which was littered with different drawings that ranged from night skies, to winter snowflakes, to the Lilo & Stitch sketch that he drew when he asked Caroline what her favorite Disney movie was. She smiled when she saw it and reached over to pick it up. When she did, another paper fluttered to the ground. Caroline set down the drawing in her hand and bent down to pick up the one that fell. Her eyes started to water when she saw what it was.

It was Caroline in her prom dress, drawn perfectly down to the last detail. He'd asked her that night where she got the last minute dress after Elena stole hers, and she remembered telling him that he didn't want to know because she got it from Klaus. She knew how jealous Josiah had always been of him, and she didn't want to ruin her prom night. Ironically, it ended up getting ruined anyway by Silas, but she also remembered how she had to reassure him about Klaus because of the things Silas said to him when he posed as her, and felt a tear slip down her face. She set down the drawing and turned to face the room.

"Josiah?" She called out softly. "Are you here?"

Josiah appeared in front of her, gently running his thumb over her cheek, which he knew she couldn't feel.

"I'm right here, Care," he whispered. "I'm right here."

Caroline waited a few moments before she opened her mouth.

"You probably already know, but I slept with Klaus. I'm a horrible person, and thoughtless, and completely awful."

Josiah shook his head. "No, you're not. You're beautiful, and selfless, and so kind and caring, and I wish you could hear me. God, I wish you could hear me."

Caroline sniffled. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know that you've always been insecure when it comes to Klaus, and I always told you that you had nothing to worry about, but I guess I was lying to the both of us. If you were still alive, I never would've done anything. I would've continued to fight it, because I loved you. I loved you so much and I never would've betrayed you like that, but I feel absolutely terrible because the second you were gone, I jumped into bed with him. I didn't deserve you, Jo. You were too good for me, and I'm sorry that I couldn't give you what you deserved."

"No, no. Caroline, you gave me everything I could've ever wanted." Josiah cupped her face in both of his hands. "You were the love of my life. I heard you that day, when you said you were going to marry me, and you know what? I was planning on asking you after you graduated college. I had even been thinking about adopting with you. You always talked about wanting kids and how you were sad you could never give me any, but I loved you so much that I was willing to work around that. Elowen liked to talk about how she was going to have a little girl someday, so I figured we could have a boy, you know? Even out the playing field. Please stop crying."

Caroline let out a quiet sob and Josiah watched helplessly as she cried.

"I just… I wish you were here. I miss you so much."

"I miss you, too. I miss holding you. I wish you could feel me right now."

Caroline took a deep breath to try and stop her crying. She reached up and wiped at her tears.

"You have every right to be mad at me from the other side. I probably hurt you in one of the worst ways possible, and I know I said it already, but I'm sorry. I am so sorry."

"I'm not mad, Caroline. I'm not mad. I forgive you, okay? I forgive you."

Caroline stepped back and turned towards the closet. She pushed it open and looked at the untouched shirts inside. Carefully, she reached out and took one of his hoodies off of its hanger. She lifted it up to her nose and breathed in deep, the smell of Josiah's cologne filling up her senses. With a small hiccup from crying, Caroline wiggled out of her dress and pulled the hoodie over her head. It was big enough to reach her mid thigh. Wiping at her face again with the sleeves of the hoodie, Caroline walked over to Josiah's bed and pulled back the covers. She quietly settled herself onto the mattress and snuggled into the comforter, immediately feeling herself calming down as she imagined being wrapped in Josiah's arms. Little did she know, she was already enveloped in his arms, she just couldn't feel it.

Josiah buried his face in her hair, which smelled like strawberries, and sighed.

"Goodnight, Caroline."