Logan Fell walks down the sidewalk and gained the attention of a late night jogger.
"Hey, you're that guys from the news, Logan Fell. I watch you every night. Well, I used to. You've been missing from my tv."
"I took some time off," he replied.
"I noticed. I'm Daphne," she introduced, sticking her hand out. Logan politely shook it, smiling down at her.
"Hey, you know something, Daphne?"
"What?"
Veins start to appear around Logan's eyes and he goes in to bite Daphne's neck, who screams.
Elowen woke up with a gasp. Logan Fell was supposed to be dead. She quickly kicked the covers off of her and rushed to get dressed.
When she pulled up to the boarding house, Sheriff Forbes was just leaving. Elowen jumped out of her car, ran to the front door and pounded on it. Stefan opened and tried to close it again when he saw who it was. She put her foot in the way.
"Wait! I know you're leaving and I've accepted that, but that's not why I'm here!" She pushed her way through the door. "Logan Fell is a vampire."
"What?"
"I told you it wasn't me!"
The two brothers answered at the same time. Elowen shook her head, confused. "Wait, you already knew?"
"We knew there was another vampire in town but we didn't know who," Stefan elaborated. "Thanks for telling us." He held the door open farther. She gave him a look that easily read, 'You're joking, right?' Stefan sighed in defeat and closed the door.
"Do you have any idea where he is?" Stefan asked.
"Unfortunately, no. I have no idea how to find him."
"Fortunately, I do. With this," Damon tossed something at Elowen. She caught it and looked down at it.
"And what's 'this'? It just looks like…. That compass you took from Logan."
"Open it."
Elowen did as she was told and watched as the pointer went insane, going between Stefan and Damon. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Does this…."
"Point in the direction of vampires? Yes. The downside is I need you to find Logan for me. I cause too much interference."
"No," Stefan intervened. "She's not getting involved."
"First of all, you don't make decisions for me. Second, I'm already involved. You wouldn't even know about Logan if it weren't for me. I'm not just gonna turn my back on it now. And third, who else is going to use the compass?" Elowen held it up to make her point. "I get it, Stefan. You're leaving, you don't wanna be in my life anymore, blah blah blah. Have it your way. But you can stop me from doing this, so don't even try, alright?"
Damon made a sizzling sound from behind them. "Feisty. I like it." He threw his hands up when both Elowen and Stefan turned to glare at him.
"Go to school. Find Jo and tell him what's going on. You can help him keep an eye on things," Elowen ordered. She turned and headed for the door. When nobody moved, she called over her shoulder. "Well? You comin'?"
"You're the boss." Damon followed her out the door and to her car.
"So, wanna tell me why you're seemingly okay with Stefan just leaving town?" Damon asked when they pulled out of the driveway.
"I'm not talking about this with you."
"Oh, c'mon. You know all about my love life. It's only fair that I get to know about yours."
Elowen huffed, but kept her eyes on the road. "If Stefan wants to run from his problems, I'm not gonna stop him."
Damon noticed her clenched jaw and how hard she was holding the steering wheel. "You're upset," he stated.
"Yes, I'm upset! Is that what you wanted to hear?" She raised her voice, taking Damon off guard. She abruptly pulled the car over and got out, slamming the door behind her. Damon followed suit. "He thinks he can just up and leave without another word! Not even a proper goodbye. You saw how he just tried to shut me out earlier. I don't like being kicked to the curb."
"Maybe I should drive," Damon suggested. She was angry and who knew what would happen if she stayed behind the wheel.
"Whatever."
Elowen was still quietly boiling to herself as she walked alone, following where the compass was taking her. Damon was a safe enough distance away to where it wouldn't cause problems but could still follow her. After walking for who knows how long, she came to a stop in front of an old warehouse. Damon sped up next to her, scaring her. He took the compass from her and stored it in his pocket.
"Okay. You can go now."
"You better not be serious."
"No. Just thought I'd give it a try."
"Ass." Elowen pushed by him and opened the door, holding it open. "After you."
It turned out to be a good idea that Damon went first because Logan jumped out the first chance he got and shot him multiple times with wooden bullets. Elowen thrust her hand out and quickly cast the incapacitation spell. Since Logan was still new, the spell effected him more than usual. He screamed in pain and fell to the floor.
Unfortunately, he didn't drop the gun. He blindly aimed it in Elowen's general direction and fired before anyone could react. The bullet hit her in the shoulder, breaking the spell. Elowen cried out, falling to her knees from the force of the bullet.
Logan sped over to her and aimed the gun at her face.
"What the hell are you?"
"None of your damn business." She ripped off the necklace Stefan had given her and slammed it against Logan's face. His skin burned on contact with the vervain, distracting him enough for Damon to pull his legs out from underneath him. Finally, the gun dropped from his grip and Elowen dove for it. When she aimed it at Logan, he laughed at her.
"You don't have it in you," he taunted.
Elowen tilted her head. "Oh really?" She pulled the trigger and shot him various times in the chest and legs. "Doesn't feel so nice, does it?" She spat when Logan groaned in pain.
"Check mate." Damon glanced at Elowen from his spot on the ground. "Nice work."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Her other hand was putting pressure on her shoulder where the bullet had hit her after she safely tucked away the necklace in her pocket. "You mind?"
"Help me and I'll do anything you want."
She crouched down and allowed Damon to pull the wooden bullet from her shoulder. She tried her hardest not to scream, but still let out a cry of pain as Damon dug his fingers into her shoulder. When he got it out, he bit into his hand and offered it to her.
"It bothers me that I keep having to drink your blood." She grabbed his hand took a big gulp, judging that that would be enough for a small wound like a bullet hole.
"You know you secretly like it," he flirted with a smug smirk.
"No I don't." Elowen forcefully removed the first bullet from his chest to prove a point. Damon hissed, glaring at her.
"This did not go how I planned it to," Logan said, pushing himself up. Elowen immediately grabbed the gun and pointed it at him again. He quickly put his hands up in surrender. "Don't worry. I wasn't really going to hurt you. I just want to ask a couple of questions." When Elowen quirked an eyebrow at him, he sighed. "Alright, maybe I was. Sue me."
Elowen set the gun down and continued pulling the bullets out of Damon, ignoring Logan.
"Me first. Who turned you?" Damon cut in.
"How should I know?" Logan pried a bullet out of his own chest, wincing. "Last thing I remember is, I'm about to stake your brother and then you grabbed me. That's it! Until I wake up behind a used car dealership on highway 4. Someone buried me."
"Well, you were dead," Elowen pointed out, earning a glare from Logan.
"It happens. Ow!" Damon looked down at the bullet that Elowen had just taken out of his leg. "Damn it."
"You bit me. It had to be you," Logan accused.
"For someone who made it his life mission to rid the world of vampires, you really don't know a lot about them, do you?" Elowen asked rhetorically. Logan clenched his jaw.
"You have to have vampire blood in your system when you die," Damon informed. "I didn't do that. Some other vampire found you, gave you their blood." He yelled with his mouth closed when Elowen removed another bullet.
"Stop whining. I've almost got them all."
"Stop whining? You didn't hear me telling you to stop being a crybaby when I pulled a bullet out of you."
"Touche."
"Who then?" Logan asked, putting the attention back on him.
"How should we know?" Elowen shot back.
"You've got quite the mouth," he deadpanned.
"So I've been told."
"Look, it's not like the welcome wagon was waiting with a bundt cake and a handbook," Logan quipped. "It's been a learn as you go process. You know, one minute, I'm a small town on the rise news guy and the next thing I know, I can't get into my house because my foot won't go through the door!"
Elowen snorted at this. Logan pulled another bullet from his chest, glowering at her. "First thing I'm gonna do when I get all these out of me is eat you."
"Oh no, I'm so scared," she sarcastically sneered, tossing the bullet she just pulled from Damon's leg in Logan's direction.
"Speaking of that," Damon piped up. "Cops only found one body."
"I left one. I was tired. But I've been hiding the rest of the bodies. They're right back there." Logan nodded in the direction of the bodies. Elowen and Damon both looked. Her stomach churned slightly at the sight of all the lifeless people.
"They're just piling up!"
Elowen had to tear her eyes away and take a deep breath. The night of Tanner's death flashed through her head and she had to shake it away. Quickly, she yanked the last bullet from Damon's body and offered him her wrist. When he looked at her, confused, she sighed.
"You healed me so it's only fair that I heal you."
Damon grabbed her arm and Elowen closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the pain to come, but it never did. She looked down in awe.
"When you reach my age, you learn a couple of tricks." He reached up at closed her jaw, winking. Elowen made a face of disgust and turned away. Thankfully, the vampire blood that was already in her system quickly healed the bite on her arm. "Now, are we just gonna sit here or are you gonna tell me who turned you?"
Jeremy and Josiah wandered around the career fair at school. Stefan had informed him what was going on and he offered to stick by Jeremy to make sure he was safe. Josiah told him that he had it under control.
"You should find my mom," he had said. "We kinda ditched her. She could use the company."
That was a while ago.
Now, the two boys approached the art table that was set up. To their surprise, Tyler Lockwood was looking through the book of submitted drawings. He looked up, noticed the both of them and sighed.
"What do you want?"
"What, we're not allowed to stand near you?"
Jeremy bit back a smile at Josiah, clearing his throat to cover up his laugh. "I think he's just surprised to see you here. Art implies culture and culture implies, well, not you."
Tyler rolled his eyes. "Go to hell." He walked off, leaving them alone. Jeremy shook his head and glanced down at the picture Tyler stopped on, noticing his name signed at the bottom.
"Tyler draws?" He asked.
"Apparently," Josiah replied.
"Why am I so overly emotional? All I can think about is my ex-girlfriend. I wanna be with her and bite her and stuff."
"You probably love her," Damon replied. Elowen tilted her head to the side, curious. Is that what it felt like for every vampire who fell in love? "Anything you felt before will be magnified now. You're gonna have to learn to control that."
"What about walking in the sun?"
Elowen immediately stood and pulled Damon up with her. "Well, will ya look at that? It's time to go. Come on."
"Wait!" Logan tried to crawl over to them. "Please, you have to tell me."
"See, you won't tell us who turned you so we don't have to tell you anything. Buh-bye." Damon grabbed Elowen and sped her out of the warehouse and back to where he parked her car.
"I hate when you do that." Elowen shuddered. "Let's just get out of here."
"And leave Logan?" Damon questioned.
"We found him. Right now, that's enough for me."
"You're still mad," he guessed.
"Wow! Really?" She turned on Damon. "Your stupid brother made me fall in love with him and now he's leaving! How would you feel about that?!" She yelled. It took her a second to realize what she said. Damon raised his eyebrows at her.
"Guess we figured out what you're really upset about."
Elowen stood there, shocked at this revelation. Did she…. Really love Stefan?
"Are you getting in or not?" Damon's voice broke her from her thoughts. He was in the driver's seat and the car was already on. "Both of our clothes are ruined. I'm not heading to the school looking like this."
Without a word, Elowen climbed into the passenger's seat.
Back at the boarding house, Elowen removed her shirt and threw it at Damon. "I'm lucky I didn't like that shirt."
Her shirt had hit Damon straight in the face. He peeled it off and threw it in the parlor.
"Where are you going?" He asked, watching as she disappeared up the stairs.
"Stefan's room. Unless you want to loan me one of your shirts?"
"Not really."
"Thought so."
She ventured through the halls and came to a stop just outside Stefan's room. She slowly stepped in and had to stop her thoughts from going anywhere they didn't need to. She was here for a shirt and nothing else.
Elowen quickly found his dresser and pulled a random shirt out. It was a plain blue flannel. She didn't really care what she picked, she just wanted a shirt and out of his room. She threw it on and left. She found Damon's room and heard him talking on the phone.
"No. I'm not okay. We were ambushed and shot at." There was a pause as Stefan responded. "Oh, she's fine. Took a bullet to the shoulder, but I gave her my blood."
Elowen couldn't help but smile. He still wanted to make sure she was okay. The shirt was halfway buttoned up now, but she stopped to lean against the wall and listen in on the conversation.
"I'm vengeful. Nobody shoots me and gets away with it. I will say, your girlfriend was kinda hot acting all tough. You sure you wanna leave?" Damon rolled his eyes at Stefan's reply. "Whatever. Your loss. Now we've just gotta find him. You're kidding me. What the hell is he doing there? Well, we'll be right there." Damon hung up and tossed his phone on the table. "You can come in now."
Elowen sheepishly peered around the corner and walked into the room. Damon took one look at her attire. He nodded in approval. "I can see what my brother sees in you. If you ever get tired of him…." He smirked.
Elowen rolled her eyes and finished buttoning up the flannel. "Right, because you had no idea why he liked me until you saw me without a shirt on. How noble of you."
"Stopped being noble once it went out of fashion."
"Were you trying to convince him to stay?" She asked after a beat of silence. Damon had just pulled a fresh shirt on and sighed. He walked towards her and stopped when he was in front of her.
"Yes," he told her honestly.
"Why?"
"Because I just lost the love of my life forever. I won't let that happen to you."
Elowen blinked, taken aback. Damon walked around her and left the room.
"Let's go, little witch! Or else I'm leaving without you."
"What do you mean my daughter got shot?" Esmeralda questioned Stefan, her voice louder than it should've been. Stefan quickly shushed her when other spectators glanced worriedly in their direction. She didn't look happy about it, but she quieted down.
"She's fine. It was only minor and Damon took care of it."
"Right, Damon. Because he's suddenly the good guy now."
"Esme- Ms. Ramirez," Stefan quickly corrected himself at her glare. "Elowen is safe. That's all that should matter, right?"
Esmeralda sighed, though worry was still seeping from her. "I guess you're right. I hope she shows up soon because I'm starting to panic."
"You mean you weren't panicking before?" Stefan awkwardly took a step back at her second glare. "I take that back. Look, right now our focus is on Logan. Don't even think about Damon. Elowen can handle herself."
"Oh, I'm well aware. She's my daughter after all."
"Esmeralda! Hey." Alaric approached the young mother. He glanced at Stefan and slightly tilted his head. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met. I'm Alaric Saltzman, the new history teacher."
"So you're the one everyone is talking about." Stefan and Alaric shook hands. "I'm Stefan. I wasn't in class earlier today. I recently lost a friend and I couldn't bring myself to attend."
"Ah, don't sweat it, kid. I understand." He turned back towards Esmeralda. "Y'know, I was hoping I'd see you tonight."
"Were you now?"
Sensing that his presence was no longer needed, Stefan cleared his throat. "I'm gonna, um, meet Elowen outside."
On the other side of the school, Jeremy decided to approach Tyler while Josiah was in the bathroom.
"I didn't know you drew."
"It's an elective."
"Really? Because I never see you in art class. It's good stuff, though. You like graphics? Cause uh, that's kind of my thing."
"Whoa, whoa," Tyler stopped trying to walk away and faced Jeremy. "What are you doing?"
"Well, it's just something else we have in common."
"And what's the other thing? Vicki? Let's hang out because we dated the same chick?" Tyler shook his head. "Look, she took off because she's no better than her mother. Go find someone else to swap stories with. There's no shortage of her flings."
It was obvious that Tyler was only saying these things because he was hurt she'd up and left without a goodbye, but that didn't stop Jeremy from shoving him against the lockers. Naturally, it started a fight. Josiah came out of the bathroom and ran over at the sight. Alaric and Mayor Lockwood accompanied him in breaking them apart.
"You two, follow me," ordered the Mayor, grabbing both Tyler and Jeremy.
"Sir, where are you taking them?" Josiah asked, worried. He never really liked Mayor Lockwood.
"Just gonna talk to em, son," Mayor Lockwood replied. "All fights should end in handshakes, don't you think?"
Josiah tried to follow, but Alaric put a hand on his shoulder. "I got this, alright?"
Josiah nodded and hung back, allowing Alaric to trail behind them instead. He hoped Jeremy was okay.
Elowen and Damon had just arrived at the school just as Stefan rushed outside to look around for them. He spotted her car and ran over.
"Logan has Caroline," he said breathlessly. Elowen was immediately on alert.
"What? We have to go save her-"
"No," Stefan pulled her back. "Damon and I will take care of it. Stay here," he told her. He turned to Damon, who nodded. The two took off a second later.
"Josiah," she realized. She ran into the school in search of her brother. When she found him, she grabbed hold of him. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She asked frantically.
"What? Ellie, I'm fine." He pried her hands off of his face. "What's going on?"
"You mean you don't know?"
"Know what?"
"Logan took Caroline."
"He what?" Josiah tried to push Elowen off of him, but she did her best to hold him back.
"Joey, listen! It's okay, she's gonna be okay. Stefan and Damon are already on their way to get her back."
"This is my fault." He pushed his hair back, frustrated. "She told me she was heading home and I offered to wait with her but she said she was fine. I should've waited! I shouldn't have left her alone knowing that Logan was out there!"
"Hey, hey, look at me." She grabbed onto his arms. "You had no way of knowing, okay? You were busy with Jeremy. You can't keep an eye on two different people at once. Don't blame yourself."
"Jeremy," Josiah gasped, looking around. He sighed in relief when he spotted Alaric leading him inside. "He's okay. Thank god."
"Go," she nodded her head in Jeremy's direction. "I'll be fine."
Elowen waited outside the school, sitting down against the wall. She was tapping her fingers on the ground, getting more and more antsy as the minutes ticked by. Finally, she saw Stefan walking up the steps and scrambled to her feet.
"Is she okay?"
"She's fine," he reassured. "I took her home. She doesn't know what happened, only that Logan attacked her. She fell asleep just before I left."
"Thank god," she breathed in relief. "I'll let Josiah know. He'll be glad to hear she's okay."
They stood there for a moment in awkward silence.
"Let me give you a ride home," Elowen spoke up. "It's the least I can do, considering you're gonna be gone by tomorrow."
"Uh, yeah, alright. Thanks."
Josiah had made sure Elena and Jeremy made it safely to their car before heading back towards the school to find his mom. He spotted Tyler sitting on a bench a little ways away. He sighed. Jeremy told him what had happened when Mayor Lockwood dragged them outside. He'd always known there was something off about him. He decided to carefully approach Tyler.
"What do you want?" Tyler snapped when he noticed Josiah. He got off of the bench and tried to intimidate him, but Josiah wasn't gonna back down.
"Jeremy filled me in. I just… I don't know." He shrugged. "If you ever need someone to talk to who can relate, I guess you can come find me."
Tyler swung and punched Josiah in the face, who recoiled from the blow. Anger flared through him but he stood his ground. Don't do it, he's not worth it, he told himself. His hand held his nose, which was gushing blood. "What the hell, man?"
"I don't need your pity."
"I'm not giving you pity! Trust me, I'm the last person you'll expect that from. God, I was just trying to tell you that I get it! My "dad" was the same way. Why do you think he isn't in the picture?"
Tyler stepped back, his mouth open in slight shock. Josiah shook his head and started to back away.
"Nevermind. Just forget about it."
Elowen and Stefan sat in the car in complete silence. She'd shut off the vehicle a long while ago but neither of them had made a move.
"I don't know if you think you have to leave because you're 'protecting' me or you're leaving because you feel as if you're the one who brought all this death to Mystic Falls. I'm a witch, Stefan," she stated blankly. "Supernatural shit is gonna follow me my entire life; yours, too. There's no escape from it. Second, none of what happened was your fault. It was all Damon's. Don't let him drive you out of town because of something he did."
"If I go, Damon goes," Stefan said. "This town needs to be rid of him."
"So that's it. You're just gonna leave."
"I'm sorry."
Stefan left the car and for a minute, Elowen was just gonna let him walk into the house and out of her life. At the last second, she hurried to unbuckle her seatbelt and nearly fell out of the car.
"I love you."
The words spilled from her mouth and she panted, suddenly nervous about his reaction. Stefan stopped in his spot. He stood there for a moment and Elowen wasn't sure what to think. He finally turned around and all it took was one look before he was running back towards her. He grabbed her face and pressed a passionate kiss to her lips. Both of them were pouring their every emotion into this kiss, trying to communicate everything they've been feeling for one another in one go. When they pulled apart, Stefan wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in for a tight embrace.
"I love you, too."
Alaric was determined to find out where this Logan Fell character was hiding out at. He'd overheard what Esmeralda and Stefan had been talking about back at the school and he just knew that he had to get rid of him. He was a man on a mission.
"Who the hell are you?" Logan asked when he revealed himself. It really wasn't as hard as he thought, trying to find him. Currently, Ric stood in front of his path.
"That's not very important right now," he shrugged. "What is important is that you've hurt a lot of people. Including Esmeralda Ramirez's daughter."
"Oh, I see what this is about." Logan laughed, realization dawning on him. "You're here to 'defend her honor' or some bullshit like that, right? Trying to get into her good graces? Stand up to the guy who shot her daughter and it'll score you dinner. I must say, solid plan."
"Esmeralda and her kids are good people. They don't deserve someone like you screwing with their lives. I'm here to make sure you won't anymore."
"Look at you, trying to sound all brave," Logan mocked. "Nice try, buddy, but you don't scare me. Why don't you just punch me or something?"
"I'm not a violent person by design."
"Well, you're not a very smart one, either."
"How's that?" Alaric tilted his head, feigning curiosity. Logan turned his back on Ric, hiding his face. Seeing his opportunity, Alaric slowly drew the hidden stake from his sleeve, gripping onto it.
"'Cause you have no idea who you're talkin' to." Logan, with his fangs out, hissed and lunged at Alaric, who was ready with his weapon. He quickly staked Logan, pushing it through his heart and lowering him to the ground as his skin started to turn grey. For a moment, Alaric looked down in shock as Logan's now permanently dead body. He did it. He really did it!
Looking around, Alaric quickly turned and fled the scene. His work here was done. Logan couldn't hurt Esmeralda or her kids anymore and that's all that mattered to him.