Review responses:

Only reviewer: Thank you, and we'll see more of Sarah's past as the story goes on, have no fear. And yeah, I agree, Caroline is noisy, but as you pointed out, that's Caroline. I'm just glade I captured that aspect about her. :) Don't worry, we'll get to Sarena someday. Until then I'll give you vampires jumping off roofs, because I too missed that in the later seasons of the show. And as for your previous review, sorry, probably not gonna find out this week. :(

Charmedbycharmed: Glad you enjoyed it, as that was my goal. I really wanted to do a scene like that were it put Sarah in a position we don't normally see her in. Plus high school gossip is always a good laugh. Just this time it was at Sarah's expense. Guess now she'll have to kill someone, wonder who?

Sorry! I know, I'm late again. Meant to have this up yesterday but stupid technical problems got in the way. Not for this but for something else I was working on for college. Anyway, problems aside, although this isn't one of my favourite episodes (Just an opinion, don't shoot me) I've been really looking forward to this one, as I have with most of the first Arc in season 2. So while we wait for Sarena to get their act together, we have Scarlett/Jeremy! Who I absolutely loved writing, particularly the cute little scenes that are coming up. Awe, I just love 'em. And then we have Sarah dealing with everything else; from a little detective work, to making sure the everyone else knows there place. A good lead up to next week, so enjoy!

Oh, and as for the Tenth chapter shout out, I did have another story in mind, but then I started reading this another story called, 'Spider-Man: A Different Web' by 'NoirValor'. It's about a Spiderman who ends up with Black Cat and the two fight alongside each other as superheroes. Very well written with a lot of heart in it, and a great arc structure that makes it so much easier to digest than other stories like it. A good time if your a Spiderman fan, even more so if you ship Spiderman/Black Cat like me! I highly recommend it. So there's my shout out for this milestone.

And thanks for all the reviews, favourite and follows since last time! You guys are the best!

Chapter 10: From One Predator to Another

"I can't believe Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf," Jeremy said, standing against the door frame that led from his room into the bathroom he and Elena shared. His sister was in the middle of getting ready for some public park building thing, applying light makeup as she stared at him through the mirror. And stood next to Elena with her back to the mirror was Scarlett, leaning against the counter.

She'd come in to talk to Elena about her betrayal some more, looking for advice on how to tell Jeremy. She just wanted to get it over with now, the guilt was becoming too much and she had a sneaking suspicion that if she didn't tell him sooner she might never tell him. It wasn't helping that he'd been suggesting they go out on a date, in public, where everyone would see them. Scarlett wasn't against the idea, but she hardly wanted to break his heart in front of half the town. It was just another excuse to put it off, so she'd gone to see Elena.

But after beating around the bush for five minutes while Elena got ready, Jeremy had arrived and then things went quiet, Elena made sure he was caught up on everything supernatural. Since she'd promised not to keep secrets from him anymore…well, at least secrets about the supernatural. Though Scarlett was dangerously poised on that fence between the supernatural and "normal". Sure cheating was normal…but doing it as a wolf. Thankfully though, Elena was giving Scarlett time to handle this in her own way. But every time they were along the past few days, she'd try and get Scarlett to go and talk to Jeremy. Her words usually did encourage Scarlett, up until she saw Jeremy. Then all that courage just slipped away and the cracks in her heart threatened to break the thing in two. And every time she chickened out.

"He's not a werewolf," Scarlett said, both Gilberts looking to her. "If he was, I'd know. Just like I knew with Mason."

"So he's not turned yet, like you?" Jeremy asked, for clarification. Scarlett nodded, offering him a smile for keeping up. That made him happy, knowing he was cementing the knowledge in his head. "Do we know if there's a reason for the change to happen?"

"A theory for me and Sarah is that it has to do with killing. But we're not one-hundred precent sure on that," Scarlett explained, her mind going back to when her first change happened. Right after she'd killed her uncle.

"And we're not even sure Tyler can become a werewolf," Elena added, looking at them both through the mirror. "We just know that Mason is." A look to Scarlett made the werewolf lower her gaze as Elena began to apply her lipstick. Thankfully Jeremy didn't notice, or if he did he didn't think that much of it. He was too caught up in the supernatural briefing they were having.

"It should be easy enough for us to find out," Jeremy said with a confident look to Scarlett.

It made her uneasy but she didn't want to say anything. Thankfully, Elena did. "There is no us, Jer. I said that I wouldn't keep things from you anymore. That doesn't mean that I want you involved in any of this."

"I'm already involved just by being in this family," Jeremy pointed out, holding up the Gilbert ring on his hand to show his point. "And my girlfriend's a werewolf on top of that. I'd have to actively try to not be involved in this." He smirked, seemingly pleased with himself. Scarlett wasn't sure how to feel about that. She liked him standing up for himself and being more confident. But did she really want him involved in the supernatural world? The ring would protect him but only when he wore it, and if John was any proof, it could easily be removed. She could see Elena looking at her for support but she remained silent. She really didn't want to be the type of girlfriend that took away Jeremy's choices. If he wanted to get involved then that was his choice, but he should be aware of the risks and dangers. Something he didn't seem to fully understand yet.

"This is dangerous, Jeremy. You have to stay out of it. You're not like Scarlett, you can't defend yourself," Elena explained in a level but clearly concerned tone.

"But you're just like me, and you don't even have a ring," Jeremy argued, wiggling his ring finger.

"I don't want to be involved in this. I'm getting dragged into it, Jer," Elena said, frowning as she turned to face him.

"And now so am I," Jeremy said simply, closing the matter. Elena looked like she contemplated arguing some more but then just sighed. She already had a lot to deal with, what with breaking up with Stefan and all. Maybe she just couldn't take arguing with Jeremy at the moment, and since there was no immediate threat, Supernatural wise, she just decided to put it off until a later date. She made her way back into her room, closing the door that lead from the bathroom to her bedroom, leaving Scarlett and Jeremy alone.

"I think you pissed her off," Scarlett said as she turned from the closed door back to Jeremy.

"Yeah," Jeremy sighed. He obviously didn't want to fight with his sister anymore. He'd forgiven her for lying and was visibly happy that they were talking again. He'd missed his sister, even if he wouldn't admit it. But he didn't want her blocking him out of what he felt he had the right to be involved in. It was his family legacy to kill vampires. He might not want to do that but he clearly still wanted to do something, and dating Scarlett made him even more determined to get involved. If anything just to help and support her. But Scarlett didn't deserve that support.

Jeremy quickly brightened up, lifting his head back up with a smile. "You ready to go?"

Scarlett couldn't find the strength to answer verbally, so she just nodded, plastering on a soft smile. She tried to force some excitement into her eyes, which wasn't terribly hard. She was excited to be going on a real proper date with Jeremy. They hadn't really done that since the carnival, and that ended up with them arguing and storming off. Not exactly the best first date in his history, but they were still together and happy to go on another date. Excluding the whole her lying to him thing anyway. But they needed a break from all the drama, even the drama he didn't know about.

Jeremy returned to his room, grabbed his backpack from his bed and then met Scarlett out in the hallway with a grin. "Let's go," he said, taking her head before they headed down the stairs. Scarlett smiled and happily followed, and for the first time in a while, there was no linger guilt over what she'd done. Maybe they could make leaving the drama behind a permanent thing, Scarlett thought hopefully.

Like with everyone of these Mystic Falls social events, Carol Lockwood had to make speech. As far as Sarah was concerned, it was just a park. A park that probably wouldn't even be used that much since it was on the outskirts of the town. But it was an excuse to get the community working together, to show that the Founding Families were just like everyone else and not as high and mighty as they claimed with their exclusive parties. Now even the common folk could join in, and get a free speech from Carol Lockwood. Honestly Sarah wanted nothing to do with this joke of an event. She was envious of Scarlett for getting out of it, and couldn't bad mouth it without upsetting Caroline since she was one of the people who helped organise the thing. But there had been one reason for her to show up.

Mason Lockwood. The werewolf that was causing her an awful lot of trouble. If she followed the string back though, she found it was actually Damon causing the trouble, no surprise there, but Mason wasn't helping. At Damon's get together barbecue he'd outed Scarlett to Damon which lead to her getting kicked out of her home. Not only that but he then got into a fight with Damon. Alright Damon attacked him first but he could have at least rolled over and just died. It would have made all their live easier, especially Scarlett's.

Sarah had wanted to kill him, but Stefan was on the peace route. And maybe it was a good idea to have another werewolf around, especially one with factual knowledge on werewolves and had been living with others, unlike Scarlett. It meant they could go to him if anything strange happened with Scarlett, though after what Sarah had heard from Scarlett, the suggestion of that idea might just land her a fresh werewolf bite. But with Stefan putting forward the same point, Sarah grudgingly conceded. Shame too, she'd been looking forward to killing someone. Katherine's lack of action was starting to put her on edge and if there were two things that made her feeling in control, it was compelling and killing. Maybe there was someone else she could drain dry before snapping their neck. Would anyone really notice if Carol Lockwood died?

A nudge from Stefan broke her daydreams of offing Carol Lockwood. She turned to him and followed the direction of his nod. Stood at the back of his car, unloading boxes, was Mason Lockwood. Just the man they wanted to see. Stefan began to walk first with Sarah following. In negotiation matters like this, it was best to let Stefan lead. If he wasn't available, then Sarah would lead. She could have a calm conversation but got worked up a lot easier than Stefan did and was far more likely to kill someone than him. She was still better than Damon though. He'd ask once and if he didn't get the answer he liked, he'd kill you. In fact, he might just kill you, forget the request.

Mason spotted them and brought out one last box before turning to face them as the two Salvatores stopped before him. "Stefan, right? And Sarah? The other Salvatores," Mason greeted. Not so warmly as Sarah noticed. Hardly surprising, but she'd be lying if she didn't find it a little personal.

"The nice one," Stefan said with a smile, referring to himself.

"And the one in the middle," Sarah introduced herself, arms folding as a smirk played at her lips.

"We're here to offer you an apology," Stefan explained.

"Not interested," Mason replied with a shake of the head. Oh, well, they tried, time to snap his neck, thought Sarah. It was times like this Sarah thought Stefan could read her mind because he shot her a taming look as his hand reach out to block her path. She glanced at him and huffed before both turned back to Mason who stared at them both. Alright, Sarah thought, one more chance.

"Look, my brother acted impulsively," Stefan began.

"You think?" Mason snapped.

"But if you and Damon keep at each other's throats, somebody innocent is going to get hurt and I don't want that. You have family here so I can't imagine you'd want that either. So what do you say we just quit the whole alpha male fighting thing and call a truce?" Stefan suggested hopefully.

Mason stared at him for a moment, his gaze flickering over to Sarah ever few seconds. His gaze then settled on Stefan as he pointed to him, "You know, I made that same offer to your brother. He turned it down, with a knife."

"Then you should have no trouble accepting the truce then," Sarah said with a smug little grin, as if he should be more than happy to agree since he'd made the offer before. If he was smart, he'd take their apology and the offer he'd originally been pitching and go on his way. If he was a stubborn alpha male idiot, he'd be offering himself up as Sarah's kill for the day. One Lockwood was as good as another, she supposed.

"We're not wanting any trouble. So can we please just agree that a mistake was made, and that we all want to move on," Stefan asked, a bit more friendly and pleading than Sarah. Trying to appeal to the alpha male inside Mason, the same alpha male that was likely to turn them down.

Mason's stare turned to glare, capturing them both at once. He grabbed a box from the stack by his car and said, "Tell your brother to watch his back," before walking off. He didn't get far though. Sarah grabbed his arm as he tried to pass, stopping him in his tracks, and there was no sign of Stefan stepping in to scorn her. No help was coming. Sarah shoved him back before them, her smug smile now more powerful and warning as Mason stubbled, struggling to keep on his feet and hold onto the box in his hands.

"He won't have to, because we'll be watching it for him," Sarah said before taking on a look of mock concern. "But who's going to watch your back Mason. Last I counted there was only one werewolf and three vampires."

"You might want to recount," Mason snarled, a hint of the wolf inside him. Sarah wasn't scared. She knew that Scarlett was the only one who could shift outside of the full moon and that was thanks to her necklace. Mason had no necklace or ring that allowed him that privilege. He didn't stand a chance against them.

"You referring to Scarlett?" Sarah asked. Mason smirked, thinking he had her on the ropes as he began to nod. Sarah began to chuckle, darkly, but Mason smirk remained firm. He obviously thought she was trying to downplay the situation, trying to seem tough. That's why he was caught off guard when Sarah sudden clamped her hand down on his shoulder and squeezed. He dropped the box and the thud of it muffled his initially groan of pain before he clenched down on his jaw to hold it in.

"Let me make this perfectly clear. I know what happened between you and her. I know she hates your guts because of it, so don't be expecting any help from her. Truth is the only reason you're still alive is because you might prove helpful down the line for her. Otherwise I'd kill you now for what you did to her," Sarah snarled lowly so no passers by could hear.

"I never forced her…" Mason began but Sarah shut him up with a press of the thumb against his shoulder, threatening to dislocate his arm.

"I know. But you've complicated her life, and I don't appreciate that. Now I'm sorry we've gotten off on the wrong foot here but I don't take any threat against my family lightly, and that includes Scarlett. You want to be the big bad wolf, that's fine. Just keep in mind you're not like Scarlett, you're only dangerous one night a month. The four of us are always dangerous." Again Sarah's grip tightened and Mason almost dropped to his knees, but was just managing to stay on his feet despite the pain. He could try and fight her off, but not without causing a scene. She had the superior strength and she was going to use it.

"So I'm going to make you a deal, as long as you don't come at us, we won't come at you. We'll keep Damon off your back since no one else will." She then suddenly jerked Mason towards her, her lips going for his ear as she snarled in a low whisper, "But harm anyone of my family, and I'll turn you into a wolf skinned rug. And I know Scarlett already told you this, but I'm making it doubly clear. Stay the hell away from her. You go near her again, and I'll personally consider that an open invitation to wolf season, specifically Lockwood wolves. You want to offer her help, you send someone else to talk to her, but not you, got it!"

Grudgingly Mason nodded before Sarah shoved him away. He stumbled a few steps before finding his feet, and then stood firm. Glaring back at her. The smug woman that had stood before him a moment ago was now replaced by her identical twin, who had a much darker, serious and deadly look on her face. His face might not have shown fear, but Sarah could see it creeping into his eyes. Just where she wanted it.

Having seen that she switched back to her smug face and held out her hand. He'd stared at her for a moment, before finally taking her hand, shaking it carefully as he watched her. Then doing the same with Stefan. "Enjoy your time in Mystic Falls, Mason," Sarah said. Mason didn't respond. Just picked up the box he dropped and walked off to find some work, or more likely to get away from the vampires. Sarah and Stefan both watched him walk off before they felt a presence behind them. An unmistakeable one.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked, his icy blue eyes moving between his siblings as he stood behind them.

"Negotiating peace on your behalf," Stefan answered with a glance back to his older brother.

"You'd have liked it," Sarah said with a smug smile over her shoulder.

Damon clearly didn't like it though, judging by his child like responses. Practically stomping his feet as he said, "But I don't want peace."

"Well consider it opposite day," Stefan said as he turned around to face his brother.

"Guys, come on, please tell me you don't seriously think a hand shake just solved our problem," Damon said as he looked between his siblings, as if they were a couple of gullible idiots.

"No, actually I think that the first chance Mason Lockwood gets, he's gonna drive a stake through your heart," Stefan said with an irritated smile. "Then through my heart, and then through our sister's heart, and all because you took it upon yourself to try and kill him. So thank you, because we don't have enough problems to deal with." If the irritation wasn't enough to make it obvious that Stefan was frustrated with Damon, the light slap to the face should have. Stefan then plastered on a smile before walking off, looking for something to keep him busy.

"Please tell me you agree with killing him?" Damon said as he stepped up to Sarah's side, folding his arms like she had, taking up a similar stance.

Sarah hummed and Damon turned to look at her with curious blue eyes. "Now see, this puts me in an awkward position. Because I do agree with you–"

"–Thank you," Damon said with a smug grin and a half bow.

"But since you're an idiot and you couldn't even murder him properly, I'm inclined yell at you. And since you threw Scarlett out the house, I'm basically eternally mad at you, so… I guess I'll just have to agree with Stefan for the time being." She knew that would irritate him, her agreeing with Stefan over him. And his glaring eyes that followed her as she sauntered off were certainly evidence of that.

"You're seriously still this up set about me kicking the dog out?" Damon called after her, but Sarah didn't respond. She wasn't going to let him get to her and ignoring him would only irritate him more. So it was a win, win, at least for now.

Ordering food may have been a bad idea, Scarlett thought in hindsight. She'd been stuffing her face since they sat down. Not that Jeremy seemed to mind, if anything he found it cute. Smiling away with his sketchbook out before him as he watched Scarlett chomp down burger after burger. She would have to thank the manager for their two for one burgers if you were under eighteen. They might be tiny enough to finish in two bites, but they were good. Although from the looks the staff were giving her, the offer might be revoked next time she popped in.

"You're not drawing me are you?" Scarlett asked with a frown as she peered towards Jeremy's sketchbook. He had it resting on his lap, risen up against the table and just out of Scarlett's sight. When she leaned over to try and get a peek, he pulled it back, blocking her view.

"No peeking," Jeremy teased, holding the book against his chest with a grin.

"Jeremy," Scarlett growled lowly. The threat didn't seem to register though as he smiled back.

"I promise, I'm not drawing you."

"Thank you," Scarlett said, sitting back down before finishing off the half eaten burger on her plate.

"At least I'm not drawing you with all that food on your face." Scarlett glowered at him from across the booth, sliding down as she wiped her face down with the back of her arm. Her look and child like pout only made him chuckle some more as he continued to draw. "Do you want some more?" Jeremy asked, looking up from his sketch. Scarlett shook her head. It was nice of him to offer, even if it was for the fourth time, but it reached a point were Scarlett had to say no. Her stomach might be bottomless but all that energy would need to be burned off later. She was planning to go for a run in wolf form and muck around with Jeremy, but she didn't want to have to really work out. She just wanted to play, and for today to be fun. That was all she wanted.

Which was why it was becoming really hard not to take it personal whenever Jeremy looked over at Tyler Lockwood. Sat on his own, typing away at his phone. "Is there something you'd like to tell me or are you just attracted to werewolves?" Scarlett asked once she was finished cleaning her face. Jeremy frowned in confusion before Scarlett jabbed her thumb in the direction of Tyler. Once Jeremy got it he shook his head, still grinning.

"No, it's just…don't you think we should talk to him?" Jeremy asked as he leaned over the table between them.

"I think this is supposed to be a date, and third wheels usually lead to bad dates," Scarlett pointed out.

"I thought you hated dates." Another glower was sent Jeremy's way. "Seriously, if anyone should talk to him it should be you."

"Well I don't want to talk to him, or any other Lockwood for that matter," Scarlett said firmly before grabbing her juice and downing what was left, as if it somehow helped make her point. She'd never been a fan of the Lockwoods before, and the business with Mason hadn't helped, but obviously Jeremy didn't know that. As far as he knew Scarlett had only had a few brief encounters with the man, nothing like what had actually transpired.

A fresh wave of shame and guilt washed over Scarlett, and as the juice slid down her throat, it was like the salty sea water. Burning her throat as penance for what she'd done. She should tell him. She had to tell him. But she couldn't do it to him here. It wasn't fair.

Fair for who? For for him? Or was it just another excuse to get out of telling him?

"I think it would be good for you to get to know some other werewolves," Jeremy suggested, snapping Scarlett from her guilt infected thoughts.

"Jeremy, I don't want to know Mason. I've been fine on my own so far, I don't need his help." The sudden serious and angry tone her voice took on seemed to startle Jeremy as he looked back at her with both confused and hurt eyes. She didn't want that, she didn't want to hurt him, that was the whole reason why she couldn't tell him about what had really happened. She back tracked, desperate to stop him from feeling hurt.

"And I've heard nothing but bad things about Tyler. And after spending even a little bit of time with his family, I can't image Mason's any better, werewolf or not." Scarlett sat back, folding her arms, hoping to end the argument and get back to their peaceful little date. But somehow she knew that ship had sailed.

"I know it must be scary, and intimidating. You don't know what other werewolves are like or how they're supposed to act. But that's why you should talk to Tyler, see if he can help you and maybe even Mason," Jeremy explained. He did have a point, much as Scarlett hated it, but she was still never talking to Mason Lockwood again. Not when she finally felt like she was moving on from what she'd done. That shout she'd had at him had done her more good than she thought.

"And you can walk away whenever you like, I'll make sure you can. But I really think this is the best thing for you." God this was killing her. He was trying so hard to help her, to try and make her comfortable when he couldn't even see what was making her so on edge. Despite that though, he still wanted to help and seeing Scarlett scared only made him want to help that much more. She had to tell him, now, it'd gone far enough, otherwise she'd risk breaking down in front of him and she couldn't have that. Time to grow up and accept responsibility.

"Jeremy…" Scarlett began to say, but the second she caught his doey brown eyes she was helpless. She couldn't hurt him, not after everything they'd been through, it wasn't fair, on either of them. Why should they both suffer because of one mistake. Scarlett was serving her penance with the guilt she felt, no sense in making things worse and hurting Jeremy in the process. Would it really hurt more if she kept it from him? It was going to hurt even if she told him, and wouldn't he be better off for not knowing, wouldn't they both?

He stared at her, waiting for her to continue. She had two options. Keep going, or take the one way out she could see, even if she hated it. "Alright," Scarlett sighed, letting her head dip backwards. Her eyes slammed shut, Jeremy probably mistaken it for grudging acceptance, when really it was Scarlett hiding the self hating look in her eyes. "Let's go and talk to him."

Jeremy smiled as he began to pack away his things into his backpack. He and Scarlett then slid from the booth and made their way over to the table Tyler was sat at all on his own. "Hey man, how have you been?" Jeremy asked as he sat down opposite Tyler with Scarlett taking a seat next to him, offering a half arsed greeting smile.

"Since when?" Tyler muttered without looking up from his phone. Strike one dipshit, Scarlett thought, holding back the urge to glare at the older boy.

"I don't know, I haven't seen you much since your father's funeral. I just figured maybe you'd want-"

"I'm fine, Gilbert," Tyler snapped, looking up with a glare.

"Clearly," Scarlett muttered, Tyler's glare then falling on her. She didn't waver, which startled him a little, meeting his gaze straight on and glaring right back at him. This loud mouth didn't intimidate her. He had nothing on her.

"It's okay, Scarlett," Jeremy said, taking her hand, and when he did she visibly relaxed a little. "Sorry to bother you." Tyler was lucky Jeremy was polite and nice. If it had been just her she'd have punched him for snapping at her, but with Jeremy around she was able to keep herself in check. It was also why when he stood up, pulling her along wit him, she willingly left, happy to have gotten that little chat over and done with.

But as they were walking away, Tyler called them back. "Wait, hold up." Scarlett rolled her eyes when Jeremy stopped and both turned around to see what Tyler had to say. The surprise was he genuinely sounded sincere when he said, "I'm sorry. Bad day, bad month."

"Try a bad life," Scarlett growled. She was surprised again when Tyler tilted his head, almost as if he was admitting fault and apologising for that. He was actually making an effort. Jeremy led her back over and oddly enough Scarlett found herself following without resistance, or even complaint. More evidence he was a good influence on her…she didn't like it.

"Listen, Gilbert, you were cool that day, at the wake. Thanks for that. I felt like kind of a freak show," Tyler explained.

"Yeah," Jeremy said, sharing a look with Scarlett before turning back to Tyler. "We know the feeling well. What are you doing here?"

Tyler held up his phone, gesturing to the screen. "Distracting myself." As he answered two girls approached the table, both cute, both a year ahead of Scarlett and Jeremy, if she was correct. Though she was usually wrong about these sorts of things, she didn't pay much attention to anyone else in school, other than her friends. Everyone else was just there. When she'd first been developing her sense of smell as a werewolf, she'd track scents to faces and then try and find them again. It would have worked better though had she been able to remember faces and names, but it did help her sense of smell even if her social skills continued to reach new lows.

"Hey, thanks for the text," the darker of the two girl's said with a grin to Tyler. "Where too?"

"My place. My mom's gone all day. Empty house, fully stocked bar," Tyler listed off.

"Margaritas?" the girl said eagerly.

"Sure," Tyler said, obviously not caring that much. He was getting what he wanted no matter what the girls drank. His distraction as he put it. Tyler then turned to Jeremy and Scarlett, leaning over as he asked, "You guys in?"

"Eh…?" was all Scarlett could get out, shocked to even be invited to a party. Most parties she was forced into going to because it was a school thing. She'd never actually been invited to anything before, certainly never something with such a small crowd. That was…intimate.

She looked to Jeremy, hoping he'd get them out of it, but he'd already made up his mind. He saw a chance to get some information, and mixed with his determination to prove himself she could see which way he was swinging. Personally she'd rather swing the other way, but from the sound of things it was just going to be the five of them, no Mason. Even so Scarlett still wanted to say no, but couldn't seem to find the word as she stared into Jeremy's pleading eyes.

Doing her best to keep the grudge from her voice, Scarlett turned back to Tyler and the girls. "Sure. Why not?" It was enough for Tyler who nodded before grabbing his jacket, leading the way out with the two high school girls eagerly following behind him. Jeremy and Scarlett brought up the rear. "If I happen to kill them all, promise you won't hold it against me," Scarlett muttered as she walked side by side with Jeremy, his arm around her waist as he chuckled.

"I would never hold anything against you," Jeremy said with a grin as they left the Grill.

Scarlett just wished that was true.

Whoever said painting was therapeutic had clearly never spent a day painting a newly built park. Then again, said person probably wasn't a vampire with heightened emotions, who was angry at her brothers, and was now watching her back, not only for multiple vampires attacks, but for a werewolf who wanted to get even. Sarah had been keeping an eye on everyone, watching them move around. The sheriff had been chatting with Mason but she hadn't been able to catch anything as they were parting ways when she noticed them. She'd mentioned that to Damon who said he'd take care of it, heading over to the sheriff while Sarah finished off the painting of a bench. Well, finished in the since that she grabbed two men and compelled them to finish it while she went to get herself a drink. Just a little one, and she'd heal up whoever she drank from, no need to cause a scene.

Unfortunately before she could pick out a target, Caroline nabbed her. Apparently the pretty blonde community spirt had seen her compelling off her work and wasn't happy about it. Sarah had grumbled for a bit but Caroline obviously wasn't taking no for an answer and fighting was just more effort than it was worth. Plus she could find out if Katherine had been in contact with Caroline lately, or if Caroline had been enjoying Katherine free pleasures like she had been for the last few days.

Sarah didn't get a chance to ask though because Caroline then grabbed Elena. Almost a strategic move, Sarah thought, and while Caroline was clearly bright, Sarah wasn't about to give her that much credit. More than likely it was to try and please Katherine, stay in her good books and keep an eye on Elena. In truth Sarah hadn't really give much thought to Caroline as of recently, at least in relation to Katherine. Since returning with Ronnie that had been Caroline's main topic of discussion with her. She really needed to check in with her about Katherine, make sure everything was okay and she wasn't suffering alone. Like she had back in the 1800s.

The three women then proceeded over to a sheltered platform covered in flowers. A storage area for the time being, the flowers were going to get moved, but the shelter still needed to be painted so that was what they were doing. Sharing a paint pot with Caroline, the two vampires set to work on one support beam while Elena took another on her own, crouching down as she started from the bottom. To no surprise Caroline was the first to start up a conversation, oddly enough about her mother, a topic Sarah hadn't heard much about. So she listened for the sake of gathering information, something that was always useful.

"So suddenly, she's in the running for Mother of the Year just when I'm trying to avoid her the most," Caroline grumbled as she slapped paint against the beam, running her brush up and down. Sarah had been listening without a word said for the previous seven minutes of Caroline bashing her mother, but it was obvious to her that Elena wasn't listening. Maybe this wasn't as rare an occurrence as Sarah thought and she'd just been lucky to miss out on it for as long as she did. "I mean, seriously, where was she before all this started? When I was organising all these events and she was too busy to go, why now that I can't risk being around her, she suddenly wants a deeper relationship." Caroline clearly still had a lot of steam to let off but she'd finally spotted Elena and her dazed gaze as she painted the same spot over and over.

"Sorry, Elena, I'm babbling." At the mention of her name Elena perked up, snapping from her trance like cycle and turning to face Caroline and Sarah, both of whom were watching her. "You don't want to hear all this, do you?"

"Oh, no, sorry," Elena apologised and she dipped her brush in the paint, picking and new spot and applying the coat. "Then what happened?" Sarah could tell it was half arsed, something Elena was just saying to keep the conversation moving despite what had been said before. Even so, Caroline seemed to run with it, any excuse to talk.

"Well, I was a bitch which is par for the course with us." Then there was an odd pause, as if she was mentally reminding herself of something and trying to get back on track. With a sidewards glance, Caroline asked, "How are things with you and Stefan? Has he said anything?"

That made Sarah frown. Caroline didn't catch it, her focus was Elena, and Sarah was on her other side. Even so Sarah made sure to wipe it off her face as quickly as she could, so Elena didn't catch it either. It wasn't totally unnatural. Having talked to Caroline before she was a vampire, even then she had a tendency to get wrapped up in her own drama. Especially when she talked which then led to rambling, and sometimes she did need to remind herself to ask about other people's lives and problems, even with her friends.

Even so, it didn't sit right with Sarah.

"No, not since the fight. He's been pushing me away because he thinks that Katherine might get jealous enough to hurt me," Elena explained before looking to Sarah. "Has he been saying anything?"

The question caught Sarah off guard a little and as such took her a minute to get herself together and respond. Not because she hadn't been expecting Elena to ask her about Stefan. But because of how little she seemed to care, just from the way her voice sounded. Now that Sarah really thought about it, surely Elena would have come to her awhile ago about this, if she really wanted to get back together with Stefan, which is what she claimed. Sure it might be weird going to your ex's sister and asking her for help, but Sarah had made it clear from day one if Elena wanted to know anything about her brothers then all she had to do was come to her.

"No. He's been pretty quiet on the subject," Sarah answered finally. Elena nodded and went back to work but Sarah continued to stare at her, contemplating her question. "Is that way you both broke up? Because of Katherine?"

"I guess," Elena answered half heartedly.

"Well, maybe it's for the best," Caroline said in naive support, catching Sarah's attention. "Katherine does seem pretty dangerous. Right, Sarah?" When Caroline turned to her, obviously expecting instant support, she only found Sarah staring back at her. A flutter of panic passed through those green eyes before Sarah then answered to Caroline's relief.

"Yeah, she's dangerous alright." Caroline's tense shoulders relaxed, but only a little. Something was definitely going on with her and Sarah was certain it had to do with Katherine. But she couldn't talk about it here and risk Elena catching wind. That wouldn't end well for Caroline and possibly even for herself.

"I know she's dangerous. That's why he's doing this, because he wants to protect me. It just feels like giving up is all," Elena mumbled silently. Again Sarah studied Elena. This wasn't right either. Caroline she could explain but the way Elena was reacting just felt like an effort. When your heart got broke it was never an effort to cry about it, it was an effort to keep it in, to keep your emotions in check. Elena was trying to force them out.

While Caroline continued to be supportive in her own strange way, Sarah looked out for Stefan, spotting him walking towards a work bench, his eyes on Elena as he passed. Whatever Elena was spouting off, it wasn't true. The looks Stefan was giving her wasn't of a man being forced to push his girlfriend away for her own protection. There'd be regret and pain in those eyes and he'd be avoiding Elena all together if it was to please Katherine. No. There was happiness in those eyes. That combined with Elena's broken heart act led to one very obvious conclusion. They'd never really broken up. And if Sarah could spot it, so could Katherine.

There was no denying Sarah had a knack for observation and stalking, more so than your average vampire, but Katherine was either on par or even more skilled than her. And had the added perk of being a purely evil manipulator. There was no way this pathetic show of broken hearts was going to work for her, even if it managed to fool Caroline. But she just wanted to tell Katherine what she wanted to hear. She wasn't going to dig any further after she found what she knew Katherine wanted.

As Sarah continued to observe both her brother and Elena, the two quickly caught each others' eyes and after that hardly let go. Elena continued to paint, but it was the same spots she'd already done. And Stefan was very slowly drawing lines on a piece of paper…for whatever reason. "Uh, oh. Longing looks are being exchanged," Caroline said with a warning look to Elena. The human girl looked up nervously, as if being caught. She shook it off though, standing up and dusting off her hands as she dropped her paint brush into her pot.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Elena declared.

"No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea," Caroline said but Elena was already halfway across the gap between them. With a sigh Caroline turned back to Sarah who was still painting away at her own leisurely pace. "Why didn't you help me stop her?" Caroline asked with an irritated look.

Sarah didn't care, her green eyes still on her brother and Elena. "Just wanted to confirm a theory," Sarah said to herself, though loud enough for Caroline to hear.

"What theory?" Caroline asked with a frown. Sarah's eyes briefly moved over to her, but she remained silent until her focus returned to Elena and Stefan. It was then Damon arrived, appearing beside Caroline as she turned back to watch the broken up couple.

"What's going on over there?" Damon asked, blue eyes also on the 'former' love birds.

"Don't worry about it," Caroline answered without so much as a glance.

Damon then grabbed Caroline, turning her to face him as he turned to her. That caught the corner of Sarah's eye, but her main focus was still on Stefan and Elena. She had to know the truth about what was going on so she could help them later on. At least with her help they might stand a chance of fooling Katherine. But if this joke of a fake break up continued without her intervention, it would only further aggravate Katherine and put them all in even more danger.

"Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?" Damon asked Caroline. Sarah had to admit it was nice to hear Damon apparently taking an interest in someone else's life, even if it was the sheriff's. Who Sarah cared little about. But obviously he'd gotten close to her otherwise he'd never of heard about the drama with Caroline. And he obviously cared about her to some degree otherwise he wouldn't be asking Caroline questions like this.

With a cold stare Caroline repeated herself. "Don't worry about it." She the stepped away from him, returning to the beam Sarah was still painting and picking up her brush. They both dipped their brushes back in the paint and started to apply it, but their focus was completely on Elena and Stefan with Damon standing right beside them.

"Do you still care about Katherine?" Elena asked. All three could hear her since they were all vampires with supernatural noisy ears.

Stefan looked up from his work, making a show of effort before turning to his 'ex-girlfriend'. "Don't do this. Please don't turn this into something that it's not," Stefan pleaded as he looked down at Elena.

"So this isn't up for discussion. That's what you're saying?" Elena asked, challenge in her voice.

Stefan sighed, again forced but a little less obvious. Sarah gave him props for that. "No, I'm saying that this isn't up for discussion right now because we have ears on us," Stefan explained before deliberately looking at the three eavesdropping vampires. All at once they turned away, Sarah and Caroline focusing on their painting while Damon looked over their shoulders as if he was critiquing their work.

"Okay, when?" Elena sighed as she turned back to Stefan.

"I don't know," Stefan said with a deflecting shrug as the three vampire looked back over to the arguing couple.

"I saw her, Stefan. It's like we're the same person. How could you hate her and be in love with me?" Elena asked as if she were that shallow, jealous and deranged. Now that, in Sarah's opinion, was pathetically grasping at straws. Elena had known about Katherine's identical face for months now and it'd never bothered her. She'd always been able to understand that she and Katherine were different people in the eyes of the Salvatores. And, if Stefan was the one to break up with her, and Elena so desperately wanted to get back together, then why was she picking a fight with him over this issue.

God, these two had a lot to learn.

"You're reaching. I'm not…I'm not Damon," Stefan said.

"How about we don't bring Damon into this right now?" Elena asked with a careless wave over to the vampires who they no longer seemed to care about. Even though all three were staring at them, as if watching a climax to a movie.

"You know, I can't… I can't do this anymore, Elena." And right there Sarah saw it, the pointed look in her brother's eye with a hidden and obvious meaning. Oh, god, Sarah groaned in her head. Please don't tell me they were stupid enough to assign love messages behind words that were meant to be hateful. This was the kind of crap Sarah had caught numerous high schoolers pulling over the years. Did these too really think that unless they dedicated to it, they could fool Katherine?

"Fine, Stefan…whatever," Elena said before walking off.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Sarah groaned, practically wanting to slap herself as Caroline and Damon looked over to her.

"What?" Caroline asked with dazed and confused frown.

"Never mind," Sarah brushed off with a wave. "Just go and comfort Elena. I need to have a word with my idiot brother."

"Well he's right here," Caroline said with a back hand to Damon's chest before she strode past him and after Elena.

"Watch it, Blonde," Damon warned after her, while Sarah smirked at Caroline's attitude. Damon waited until she was a suitable distance away then turned to see Stefan walking off to do some other task. With all the local vampire ears now away from them, Damon cosied up to his sister with his arms folded. "So you totally saw through that too, right?"

"Yep," Sarah said with a pop, dropping the brush into the paint pot. With a sigh, she moved her hands to her hips, shaking her head as she watched Stefan. "They're both complete idiots." She looked up at her blue eyed brother, seeing an agreeing smirk on his lips. And if Sarah knew one thing, it was that when she and Damon agreed on something, it was never a good sign.

Both Aimee and Sara shrieked as they skidding through the main hallway of the Lockwood house. Those were the two girls Scarlett and Jeremy had come back to Tyler's with. Was it odd one of them was called 'Sara'. Sure, but Scarlett didn't exactly see herself forming a lasting friends with either of these girls so it didn't feel like a problem to address. They were playing nice because it was just the five of them, but Scarlett knew come Monday neither of these girls would be saying 'hi' to her in the hallways.

That said, it wasn't quite as bad as Scarlett thought it was going to be. For starters, Tyler had alcohol, which he was more than happy to share. They'd had alcohol back at the Salvatore house but Scarlett had never bothered to ask for it. A, because Sarah probably wouldn't let her and B, because Damon probably didn't want her touching his drink. Good or bad.

So Tyler offered Jeremy and Scarlett and drink and they happily drank. Jeremy leaning against the piano while Scarlett sat on the stool, her feet up on the closed case. And while the two 'normal' girls danced away, clearly having a good time, Jeremy cracked jokes and Scarlett laugh. All while Tyler stood off to the side, leaning against one of the archways drinking quietly as he watched Aimee and Sara.

"Where's mine?" Aimee asked as she grinned at Tyler, eyeing his drink.

"Have at it," Tyler said with a grin of his own as he led Aimee into the next room to fetch her a drink.

"Remember when you used to talk to me like that?" Jeremy asked teasingly as Sara joined him and Scarlett around the piano.

"In your dreams," Scarlett said with a skeptical look, prompting Sara to laugh. "In reality you were chasing me around like a lost puppy for ages."

"That sounds adorable," Sara said with a giggle.

"Yeah, it was," Jeremy said, trying to sound tough, but his grin gave him away, even when it was hidden behind his glass. Another skeptical look from Scarlett made Sara burst out into laughter, before she made her way into the next room to get her own drink. But under the archway, she paused, noticing Jeremy's open bag. She looked back at the couple with a mischievous grin and then ran for Jeremy's bag. Seeing this Jeremy began to follow and Scarlett followed, leaving her untouched drink behind on the piano.

"Can I see?" Sara asked eagerly, holding Jeremy's sketch book in her hands.

"No, no, no way," Jeremy said quickly rushing over and taking his book back. Although disappointed, Sara handed the book back over. Scarlett stepped up to Jeremy's side, frowning a little at how over protective he was being of his work. True he didn't exactly like showing it off, but he'd let Scarlett and others see a few of the things he sketched from time to time. There was however, his privet stash of drawings that he had in his desk, and he never let anyone near those. Scarlett didn't mind, nor really care what the drawings where off. She understood you just needed to let some people have their secrets.

Much like her own secret about her and Mason.

Thankfully that thought was shoved aside when Aimee joined them, also wanting to see Jeremy's sketch book now. "I want to see."

"Yeah, let's see," Tyler agreed, making his way over with a lazy grin. "What's van Gogh got going on?" For a moment Jeremy looked at Tyler, then to Scarlett as if she knew what he was thinking. He was trying to get it across but Scarlett just wasn't getting it so he made the decision himself.

"Okay, yeah. Check it out," Jeremy said handing the book over to Sara who happily flicked through it. Although the first drawing caught them all by surprise, even Scarlett a little bit. It was the face of some kind of wild animal, clearly hungry and looking to kill, at least from Scarlett's angle.

Things were then cleared up a little by Sara when she said, "Ooh…scary, demon, wolf, thing." Scarlett looked to Jeremy who shrugged sheepishly. There would be a talk about this later, including his sister who Scarlett was sure would love to hear about how he was drawing mysterious wolves.

Scarlett remained silent though, since they had company and went back to looking at the sketch book as Sara turned the page. Yet another demonic looking wolf. This one had claw like hands and was obviously standing up. It resembled Scarlett more like she was when she shifted her features but remained in human form, but it had none of the features that could identify her. At least he wasn't a complete moron, Scarlett thought thankfully.

The one after that was a fully monstrous werewolf, like nothing Scarlett had ever turned into. It was more like something out of a movie or a video game. On both legs with its hands trailing the ground as a full moon shone overhead, its mouth so wide it could probably swallow a man whole. Scarlett couldn't imagine herself doing that, but even so it wasn't a pleasant thought. However the next page was at least a little better. It was just the outline of a normal wolf running past a tree. Quite nice actually, in Scarlett's opinion.

The one after that made her cheeks flush and the other girls awe. It was off Scarlett, looking over her shoulder. The page after that was of Scarlett laughing. The one after that was yet again of Scarlett, this time sitting beneath the moonlight. The sketch hadn't captured it all that well because it was just in black pencil, but Scarlett could tell Jeremy had tried to make her eyes glow, like they normally did when she tapped into her supernatural side. And the last one was from today, from when they were at the Grill and Scarlett had asked if Jeremy had been drawing her or not. Turned out he'd lied, he had drawn her. But it wasn't off her eating the sloppy food she'd loved. It was of her in the booth, from Jeremy's perspective, her head turned so most of her face was hidden behind her brunette locks, but even so she still looked marvellous.

All the sketches had caught her likeness so well. The embarrassment had quickly worn off the more she saw and she couldn't help but admire Jeremy just that little bit more for what he'd done. He was so sweet and had such talent. Knowing that was the last sketch, Scarlett leaned over and turned Jeremy's head slightly so that she could kiss him on the lips. Jeremy pulled away with a smile as the girls awed again. "You, Jeremy Gilbert, are far too sweet," Scarlett said, her hands resting on the side of his head as she smiled lovingly back at him.

"Thanks," Jeremy said with a surprised smile, while around the couple Aimee and Sara smiled away as if they were watching the ending to a romantic comedy. However, unlike them, Jeremy seemed to get distracted a lot quicker, his eyes moving over to Tyler suspiciously. "So, uh, Tyler, do you still draw?" Scarlett frowned at her boyfriend, but he just continued to look at Tyler. She turned seeing him snap from his trace like stare at Jeremy's sketch book.

He looked to Jeremy and although his lips started to move it took a second for his brain to catch up and give him some words to say. "A little, but not much." He seemed to stop, thinking for a moment before they adding, "You know, I've got something I'm actually working on. Come on, I'll show you."

"Yeah. Okay, sure," Jeremy said as Tyler gesture for him to head into the study which was across the hallway.

"Feel free to look around," Tyler said to the three ladies before following Jeremy into the study, closing the doors behind him.

"Come on, let's go and check out upstairs," Aimee said eagerly, taking Sara's hand before heading into the stars and dashing up to the next floor.

"You coming Scarlett?" Sara called back, her voice already vanishing as they reached the next floor.

"Just a sec," Scarlett called after them, going to get her drink when she heard a thud from the study. Her hearing focused instinctively and heard Tyler growling at Jeremy in sudden anger.

"What were those pictures about, huh?" snapped Tyler, the faint sounds of a struggle coming through.

Then Jeremy's tight and quiet reply of, "I can't….breathe…" That was all the excuse Scarlett needed. Dropping her glass back onto the piano, she ran towards the study. She then threw open the doors and charged in, finding Tyler holding Jeremy against the wall, hands around his throat. He was so caught up in his anger that he didn't even notice Scarlett entering.

"Answer me!" Tyler yelled into Jeremy's face. The idiot was so lost that he didn't even realise that Jeremy couldn't answer him, because he was choking him to death. There was a chance Jeremy would come back if killed by Tyler's hands, but since he might still be classified as a human and not supernatural, she wasn't even going to contemplate risking it.

She ran at Tyler, grabbing his shoulders and in one might heave she yanked him from Jeremy and set him sailing across the room. He landed against the couch before rolling onto the floor, knocking the coffee table over slightly as he did. "Are you alright?" Scarlett asked Jeremy, bending down as he sat back against the wall, taking in deep laboured breaths as he did. He nodded before his eyes widened and he pointed, unable to warn her verbally. Scarlett turned to find Tyler advancing on her, eyes wide in anger and fists at his side. He was practically foaming at the mouth.

"Tyler," Scarlett warned, raising to her feet. He did't stop and took a swing at her. Scarlett ducked, grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back before shoving him away. "Will you just stop and listen you idiot," Scarlett snapped as Tyler grabbed onto the couch to steady himself. He pushed off it, turning and swinging and Scarlett again. This time she blocked and throat punched him, just like Sarah had taught her. He staggered back, clutching his throat but still looked undeterred. He'd lost his mind, over come by anger. He charged again and this time Scarlett got ready to stop him once and for all.

"Tyler!" she said firmly. He kept coming. So she let her eyes glow, her voice turn to a growl and the rest came naturally. "Stop!" she roared and Tyler stumbled back, landing on his back with eyes wide and confused. Then they turned to horror as he stared up at Scarlett, scurrying back to the couch as her features returned to normal. She sighed, glancing to the door to make sure Aimee and Sara hadn't seen anything. If they had heard something, they were in no hurry to check on them, and after a second, Scarlett was positive they weren't coming down, for whatever reason. She looked back, double checking Jeremy was okay before kneeing down next to him. She let him hug her, silently thanking her for saving him before they both turned to look at Tyler, who just stared back at them. Clearly he was shocked over what had just gone down, but less so than a normal person. Which could only mean that Mason had told him about werewolves, even if he wasn't one himself. Or at least not yet anyway.