Hey, sweet friends sorry about the wait for an update. More will be coming soon! As always enjoy!
1x01 Friday Night Bites
Caroline wakes up. Her pillow is covered with blood. She turns and sees Damon Salvatore sleeping in her bed. Flashes of last night flood over her. What the hell have I gotten myself into? She asks herself. I have to get out of here. She gets up and tries to leave the room, but Damon wakes up too, flashes in front of her.
"Good morning" Damon says to Caroline who by now has realized how much trouble she is in.
"Please... Don't. I won't tell anyone, just let me go. "Caroline cries. Begging Damon to let her go seemed like the only alternative right now.
"Don't do that. Ah, ah, ah." Damon askes her now realizing his personal blonde blood bag isn't going to comply with his demands. He can't have Stefan and Claire find out about this, not yet especially since his sister has become buddy- buddy with the blonde cheerleader.
"No! No! No! Get away from me! No! Get the hell away from me!" Caroline yells back at him as she tries to push past him, and leave her room.
"This could have gone a completely different way." Damon says to her pushing her back and his vampire face flashes as he starts to bite her neck. As the blood begins to leave her system, Caroline's resistance fades.
[Front of the school.]
Bonnie is walking into school with Elena. Bonnie says to Elena concerned till by the vision of death she had when she touched her friend's love interest. "I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying take it slow."
"Take what slow?" Claire Salvatore askes as she walks up to her new friends. She flashes a smile at Bonnie and Elena concerned that the baby witch may reveal Stefan's secret and expose them all.
"This thing with Stefan. Bonnie is worried we are moving too fast, even though she was the one who said to go for it." Elena explained to the brunette
Bonnie turned to Elena "No offense to Stefan, Claire, but now I'm saying take it slow."
"No offense taken Bon. Elena, she might be right. I like you and Stefan together don't get me wrong, but you and Stefan have both lost a lot in your lives. Taking your relationship slow could be the best thing for the both of you." Claire replied, if she could put some distance between Stefan and Elena maybe she could keep both of them from inevitably escalating Damon's tantrums and causing the lives of a multitude of people.
"Hey, I thought you were on board, Claire? Is this about the bad vibe you got from Stefan, Bonnie?" Elena asked her pals confused at the sudden reticence to her relationship with Claire's twin.
"I'm on board girl, just cautious." Claire retorted back at the Gilbert girl, trying to allay her confusion.
Bonnie smiled "It's not about a feeling or a face. You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field." She did still have that lingering feeling that Stefan was bad news, but she knew Elena wouldn't find that a compelling reason to leave the new kid alone. She knew how stubborn and willful her best friend could be when she set her mind to things.
"Umm, have you met Elena, Bonnie? That is not her style at all." Claire said rolling her eyes. "That's more of Katherine's forte." She thought to herself. She hoped that Bonnie had some other excuse to give to Elena. It wasn't that she didn't think her brother and Elena would be a good match, she knew that Damon would inevitably blow it to smithereens over Katherine and many people, most likely her new found friends, would pay the price.
"Thanks, Claire." Elena smiled at Claire. The brunette for not knowing her for a long time, knew her character well. She understood wanting to protect your family from hurt and harm especially with her current problems with Jeremy. She found Claire's loyalty and bond with her twin enviable and admirable. Turning to her childhood best friend and current source of confusion, she said "Oh, because I'm so that girl. Seriously, what are you not saying?".
Bonnie shook her head in frustration. "It's stupid." She was hesitant to reveal her instincts about Stefan especially in the presence of his twin. No matter what her instincts said about the green eyed, brown haired Salvatore girl, no one liked to hear negative things about their family
"Bonnie..." Elena said.
"What?" Bonnie replied back.
Claire and Elena said simultaneously, "Spit it out." Claire knew that though Bonnie knew nothing about the supernatural world, her latent witch instincts would automatically register a vampire as a potential danger.
Bonnie looked at her friends, and said "I accidentally touched Stefan. And got a really bad feeling."
"Is that it? Bonnie?" Elena asked her friend.
"It was bad bad!" Bonnie defended.
Claire looked at the pair, "Hey, pretending this is real for a hot minute, how bad of a feeling are we talking about?"
Elena grimaced at Claire. This was ridiculous and probably tied back to the witch nonsense Bonnie's grandmother always spewed. It wasn't that she didn't trust her friend, it was that Stefan was the first thing in her life that started to make sense again, and she wasn't going to question that without some reasonable evidence. "Is the whole witch mojo thing again?
Bonnie threw up her friends and decided the best way to end this conversation that was heading nowhere was to shut it down. "You know what? I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend, Sorry Claire"
"And I love you for it, I do. But I feel good. It's been a hard year, and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that." Elena replied
"Stefan's a good guy, Bonnie. Let's just see what happens." Claire tried to reassure her friend. Stefan wasn't the immediate problem in her life right now, no that spot belonged to her pain in the ass, homicidal older sibling. As much as she was worried that Stefan could go off the rails, she was more worried that Damon could push him off and then the town would become a burial ground. She was liking being normal for once, and wasn't going to give Damon the chance to ruin it.
Vicki Dononvan walked up to Jeremy Gilbert. She knew that things were tense between them, but she really did have a soft spot for the younger Gilbert. He had been through a lot, they shared that. "I rock. I scored 2 tickets to the Posers Saturday night. They're playing at the Rat. "
Jeremy rolled his eyes. He didn't understand why Vicki would try this hard if she still wanted to be with that ass Tyler Lockwood. "You and Tyler have fun."
"Don't be like that. Come on. I want you to go. It will be fun, and you know it. "Vicki replied gently.
Jeremy scoffed at her "You're not worried everyone's going to know you're screwing the stoner geek? Oh, wait... everyone already knows."
"Yeah. But it's not like that anymore, so now we can be friends and just hang." Vicki replied trying to make peace between the two of them.
Jeremy was having none of that. He was hurting and angry, but what else was new. "Tell me something, was it the drugs? Were you sleeping with me because of the drugs? "
Vicki threw up her hands in frustration because another person in her life saw her as trash. "Screw you."
"No, if there's another reason, please, I'm all ears." Jeremy fired back tired of the same old same old crap with Vicki. He really liked her, but it was like she didn't even see him for who he was. Jeremy then stomped away.
"Good morning, Elena. Good morning, Bonnie. Good morning Clarissa." Stefan said walking up to the trio of girls, teasing his sister was one of his heathier past times.
Claire rolled her eyes at her brother who definitely knew how much she hated to be called by her first name. There was only two people who called her by her first name, her abusive dick of a father, and her overly formal friend whose obsession with suits put Barney Stinson to shame. "Stefan Salvatore, my name is Claire, not Clarissa anymore"
Bonnie and Elena laughed at the twin's exchange. Finally Stefan has delivered some perfect blackmail to tease their new friend with. Claire shot a look a Bonnie that seemed to communicate that they should leave and let the new couple talk things out.
"Hey, um, I gotta find Caroline. She's not answering her phone. So I'll see you guys later. Claire, how about you come with me?" Bonnie awkwardly phrased. She just wanted to get away from Stefan, there was something about him that she couldn't trust.
"Of course, Bon let's go find our AWOL blonde. Have fun guys! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Claire teased the blushing couple as Bonnie grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the pair.
"Bonnie, wait..." Elena said to her rapidly leaving friend.
Stefan smiled wryly "She doesn't like me very much. And yet she seems to love my sister imagine that." Claire always had a knack for making immediate lifelong friends especially with witches, but with her gifts that was to be expected he supposed.
"She doesn't know you. She's my best friend. She's just looking out for me like Claire does for you. But when she does, she will love you. "Elena replied trying to reassure Stefan. She needed something to bring Stefan and Bonnie together, so that she could show Bonnie how perfect Stefan was, and how happy Stefan made her.
From a short distance, Tyler Lockwood and Matt Donovan looked on at the pair. Tyler motioned towards the town's newest rumored couple. "Look... there's Elena and her new boyfriend. Now, what are they doing? Oh, they're walking, walking, walking. Yep. Right into the sunset."
"You're a dick. " Matt replied irritated at his friend for pointing out his ex and her new love interest.
"While you just stand there looking like one of those little yard trolls. " Tyler said
Matt rolled his eyes at his best friend. "Gnomes, Ty. They are called gnomes."
Elena's face lit up with the perfect idea. "Here's what we're going to do. Are you free tonight?" She asked Stefan trying to contain her excitement.
Stefan smiled gently, "Yes."
"Perfect. Dinner, my house. 8:00. You, me, and Bonnie. You two will spend some quality time and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished. Bring Claire along too, she makes a great buffer, and she seems like she's always in your corner." Elena said
"Hey, what am I supposed to do, Ty? She made her choice." Matt answered frustrated.
Tyler retorted back, " Let her know she made the wrong one."
"What are you doing? Ty, don't. Ty, don't! Ty! Don't!" Matt yelled at Tyler who Tyler threw the ball on Stefan, but Stefan catches it with an impressive amount of speed. He throws the ball to Tyler who moves back under the shock.
"That throw was insane. I didn't know you played football." Elena said amazed
Stefan shrugged, "I used to. It was a long time ago." He did actually play football in the past, both of the twins had a love of sports though Claire's tended to be soccer. He wondered if she would try out for the Mystic Falls team, it would give her a sense of purpose, something to belong to.
"So why don't you try out for the team?" asked Elena curious as to why Stefan had been hiding his ninja football skills and not using them to impress her and the rest of the high school. That is what other guys in her small town would have done, but she had the feeling that neither of the twins were like anyone else she had ever met.
"Yeah, I don't think so. " Stefan said back
"So you don't like football?" Elena asked even more curious then before.
Stefan pointed to Tyler and Matt who were still overlooking their conversation with glares. "No, I love football. I think it's a great sport. But in this case, I don't think football likes me. You saw Tyler over there, and we both know how Matt feels. "
"They don't know you. To them, you're mysterious loner guy. Wouldn't hurt to be part of. Make some friends. "Elena said trying to help Stefan adjust.
"Says the girl who spends her alone time writing in a cemetery." Stefan retorted back.
"Hey, come on. There's more to me than just gloomy graveyard girl. There's a whole other Elena that you have yet to meet. She was into everything, very busy." Elena said encouragingly
Stefan smiled gently, "Well, I look forward to meeting her. And when will that be?"
"Soon. She's working on it." Elena said smiling.
[In History's class. Bonnie is writing numbers on her book. "8", "14", "22".]
"World war II ended in... Anyone got anything? Miss Juan? 1945. "Mr. Tanner questions the class.
"Psst. Fyi... Our team sucks. They could use you. "Elena whispers to Stefan
"Come on Stef, it could be fun." Claire prompts her brother trying to encourage him to do more normal teenage stuff.
"Can't." Stefan smirked back.
"Pearl Harbor." Tanner said again.
Stefan smiled, "I'm a loner."
"Careful, Stefan all of that smiling, your face might break." Claire said singsong. It was nice to see her brother genuinely smile so much again. She couldn't remember the last he had been so happy and stable without the presence of Lexi.
"Miss Gilbert?" Tanner asks Elena who now just has heard that Tanner has been talking.
Elena looked up at Tanner sheepishly, "Hmm?"
"Pearl Harbor?" he asked again
"Um... " She stammered.
Stefan and Claire replied at the same time "December 7, 1941."
"Thank you, Miss Gilbert. " Tanner replied to the twins sarcastically.
Claire barely contained her eye roll, "You are more than welcome, Mr. Tanner." She snarked back matching Tanner's sarcasm. She hated it when people chose to pick on people and be cruel for no reason, and Tanner was already on her bad side. "Maybe compel him to be less of a douche?" she thought to herself
Stefan had a more diplomatic approach, and simply said, "Anytime."
Tanner studied the Salvatore siblings and decided to test their knowledge. Very well. The fall of the Berlin wall."
Stefan and Claire responded "1989."
"We're good with dates, sir." Stefan told the history teacher.
"Our family put a strong emphasis on history as part of our education and life experience." Claire revealed to the teacher. Her words held a double meaning. Giuseppe Salvatore was indeed a huge historian and made each of his children's education paramount, but the siblings lived through most of what Tanner would teach them.
"Are you? How good? Keep it to the year. Rotate Stefan and then Clarissa. Civil Rights Act. "Tanner told the duo intending on giving them lengthy detentions for interrupting his class if they failed.
"1964. "Stefan replied
Tanner asked, "John F. Kennedy assassination. "
"1963. "Claire replied back. This was a futile exercise for Tanner, little did he know it. Stefan and her could rattle off where they were and exactly what they were doing the moment that each of these things happened. Perks of having vampire blood, she supposed.
Tanner asked "Martin Luther King."
"'68. "Stefan fired back.
"Lincoln. " Tanner continuing.
Claire replied without even breaking a sweat, "1865."
Tanner asked, "Roe vs. Wade. "
"1973." Stefan replied
Tanner asked "Brown vs. Board. "
"1954. "Claire replied
Tanner "The battle of Gettysburg. "
Stefan said "1863." Claire beamed at her brother that was probably the easiest out of all of them.
Tanner turned to Claire and asked, "Korean War?"
"The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953. " Claire told Tanner. She was hoping Tanner would finally realize that the pair actually knew what they were doing and end this.
"Ha! It ended in '52." Tanner exclaimed
"Uh, actually, sir, it was '53. " Stefan retorted defending his sister.
Tanner pointed at a student in the class, "You, look it up, somebody. Quickly."
"It was 19... 53." The student called out.
Claire smirked that was for calling me Clarissa. Claire -1, Tanner - 0
Elena looked at the siblings in astonishment, "How did you two know all of that?"
"Years and years of crossword puzzles. It's a loner thing. Claire is an avid reader, and walking source of useless trivia knowledge." Stefan replied
"Hey", Claire said playfully whacking her brother, "It looks like my useless trivia is not all that useless after all, bro."
[The Soccer field. Stefan looks the team. Elena is with the cheerleaders. Claire is with her friends. Elena looks miserable.]
MATT: Nice job! Nice job!
Tanner yelled at the quarterback, "Mr. Lockwood, is there anything you're good at? Cause it isn't history, and it sure as hell isn't defending the ball!"
TYLER: Yes, coach.
TANNER: Now do it again!
BONNIE: Oh, my God! You're here!
Elena hugged her friend, "Yep. I can't be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were. Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight, and you too Claire?"
"I am?" Bonnie asked.
"We are?" Claire turned to the brunette questioning. She suspected Elena would cook up something to get Bonnie on board the Stelena train.
"Mm-hmm. You, me and the twins. You have to give him a chance. "Elena told Bonnie trying to convince her to go along with this
Bonnie shook her head. "Tonight's no good. Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times."
"And we looked everywhere imaginable for her, and we saw zip. Translation, it's pretty worrying." Claire added. She was starting to get really worried for the young Forbes girl especially with Damon in town, and wanting to hurt Stefan and Claire. Caroline would definitely be an effective target to use against the twins, but She hadn't seen hide, nor hair of her eldest brother since their confrontation.
"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett. You're going to be there. " Elena declared to her friends
Bonnie sighed, "Fine. I'll go."
"Good. Claire?" Elena asked the other girl.
Claire smiled "I think my social calendar can be free for this matchmaking endeavor".
"Good, it's a date" Elena exclaimed, Claire and Bonnie gave her a look. "A friend date." Elena said sheepishly
"Varsity trials were last spring, Mr. Salvatore." Tanner said to the golden haired history wonder boy.
Stefan replied, "I wasn't here then, sir. "
Tanner scoffed, "And you're not here now, as far as I'm concerned."
Stefan looked sheepish, "Mr. Tanner, I realize that you and I didn't get off to the best start, and I want to apologize for that. I've played football before. Wide receiver, mostly, and I'm pretty good. "
"Well, I won't be asking you who won the super bowl in '71." Said Tanner
"'71 was the... Sorry. I... I understand that, sir. "Stefan replied apologetically
Tanner sighed, "Just to see you get knocked on your ass. Borrow some gear. Go! Before I change my mind. Let's run it again!"
"First my girlfriend, now the team?" Matt said frustrated
Tyler laughed, "Dude, this is an opportunity. Football's a contact sport. Sometimes people get hurt. And that would be such a great talking point for me with Claire. Whoo! Ha ha!"
"What about I beat the hell out of your brother seems like a pickup line?" Matt asked his friend in sheer disbelief.
"Seriously, where is Caroline?" Bonnie said worriedly.
Elena shook her head "I don't know. It's not like her. Try her again."
Caroline arrives in Damon's car. Claire fills with barely contained fury. She warned her brother to stay away from Elena and her friends. This serves as a confirmation that Damon has been screwing with the blonde against her threat.
"Uh..." Elena stammered.
Bonnie said, "Oh, my God. That must be the mystery guy from the grill. "
"That's not a mystery guy. That's Damon Salvatore. "Elena said
Bonnie asked "Wait, Salvatore, as in Stefan?" If Stefan gave me the creeps by touching him, she thought to herself, this guy is mega creepy.
"As in my older ass of brother, not cool Care. There is a definite reason we don't talk about him" Claire said trying to subtlety warn her friends.
"I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind." Caroline said to Elena, ignoring Claire's comments about Damon.
"How unfortunate for you." Claire muttered under her breath as she began to plot heinous ways to kick her brother's ass and put him in his place
"Sorry I'm late, girls. I, uh, was busy." Caroline said greeting her team. At this Claire rolled her eyes, and thought to herself, "busy, huh most likely being drained of blood and stripped of your free will by your supposed Romeo."
"All right, let's start with the double pike herkey hurdler, what do you say? And 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Elena, sweetie, why don't you just observe with Claire today? Ok? Keep going! Ok. Do it again from the top. And 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8." Caroline said as she continued to bark out orders to her squad mates.
Matt called out, "Blue lady! Blue lady! Set, hut! Go! Come on, Tyler, cover it! Let's do it."
"Get it. " Tanner yelled.
Matt yelled to the team, "Line up!" turning to Tyler, he said "I hate to say it, but he's got skills."
"I think he needs a buddy pass." Tyler said
Matt gave him a disbelieving look. "Really? You don't get to walk on the field and act like you own the place after 5 minutes. "
"Just hang one up there and I'll take care of the rest." Tyler promised his friend.
"Do it again." Tanner said
"All right, let's huddle up. Set, hut!" Matt said as he called out the play to the team.
Tyler yelled, "Oh! Whoo! Welcome to the team, buddy."
"You gonna live, Salvatore?" Coach Tanner asked his newest player.
Stefan shrugged it off, "Yeah."
Tanner called, "Walk it off, son."
"Hey. That was my bad." Matt said kindly to Stefan
"It's all right." Stefan replied back.
Tanner, "All right. Everybody hit the showers." Tyler, Matt and the rest of the team hit the showers. After practice ended and clean up was done, the twins headed home to get ready for Elena's dinner.
[Stefan's bedroom.]
Stefan peeks his head in and spots his brother, and yells to his sister "Claire, Damon's here."
"His majesty decided to grace us with his presence. How fortunate for us." Claire sarcastically said rolling her eyes at her older brother who was currently sprawled out on Stefan's bed reading one of his journals. "Damon, you know that those are supposed to be private and Damon free, it's in the front inscription: journal of Stefan Salvatore."
Damon turned to his siblings, "How were tryouts? Did you make the team? Very Emerson, the way you reveal your soul with so many... Adjectives. "
"What are you doing here?" Stefan said rolling his eyes. It was very Damon like to invade his privacy and then torment him with his journals.
Damon looked at the twins, "I've come to apologize. I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching, and... I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us. You're my little brother and sister, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life, then I want that for you. Maybe I can do it, too. That I can learn to be a non-living living person. Maybe there's hope for both of us. "
Claire laughed, "Yes, Damon and pigs fly, you haven't spent the last century and so tormenting your only living family. You wanting peace between us is absolute and utter bullshit. You used to be such a better liar"
"You know, it doesn't have to be this way, Damon. " Stefan told his brother noticing the mounting tension between his siblings and knowing it wouldn't end well. Both of them had extremely hot tempers and their fights often were monumentally destructive. They couldn't afford to exposed, not now and certainly not here.
Damon laughed mockingly "Of course it doesn't. I saw Elena today, btw. That means "by the way." She was at cheerleading practice. She looked so perky in her little short shorts. Just... simmer down, I didn't even go near her. I've got my own cheerleader now."
"Oh, I know all about that. In fact I think I specifically said to leave Elena's friends the hell alone." Claire said angrily getting ready to hit him with all kinds of waves of pain. Stefan pushed in between his siblings.
Damon smirked at his sister, "It's like a little Care Bear getting angry, how cute. Ooh, that reminds me... I gotta run. I have a date. Sweaty palms. Wish me luck. "With that Damon flashed away.
"Stefan, don't even get in between Damon and I again. If he hurts someone because I didn't stop him…"
"Clary, we will stop him."
[Elena's kitchen.]
Claire and the girls are getting ready for the friend dinner. Claire had left immediately after Damon's outburst determined to get ahead of this and protect her friends, and Elena had mentioned that she could use the help. Claire suspected that Elena just need someone who had enough dirt on Stefan and who could tell it in an endearing way.
"Bon, telling me what's been going on. Why are you so spooked?" Claire gently asks her friend. Bonnie's presence and source of magical energy has a calming effect on the Salvatore girl. Magic calms magic as Emily had once told her.
Bonnie looks at her friends, "You explain it then. Last night, I'm watching Nine-o, a commercial breaks come on and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial. And sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture."
"Oh, come on. That commercial's on a constant loop." Elena said not for a second believing in witchy nonsense.
"Or pretty good instinct after marathons of 90210." Claire teases." Oh, Elena", Claire thinks to herself, "You are going to have a rude awakening if witches and magic seem preposterous to you now."
Bonnie tells the pair frustrated, " Fine. Well, how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers. 3 numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that? "
"Honestly pretty weird." Claire answers encouragingly. As soon as Bonnie accepts her magical nature than Claire can fulfill her promise and help her as well as protect her and the town.
"Maybe we should play the lottery. Have you talked to your grams?" Elena questions.
Bonnie scoffs, "She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?"
"I don't want to be a witch." Elena said back.
Claire smiles, "Being a witch wouldn't be that bad. "She tells her friends trying to reassure Bonnie that witchy gifts were indeed that a gift. She thinks to herself, "In fact just being a witch would make my life a lot more normal". She inwardly reminds herself to go and talk to Sheila Bennet, maybe she can give Claire some answers.
"And putting it in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody. " Bonnie told the pair.
"What else do we need, Lena?" Claire asked her friend trying to change the subject in a non-awkward way.
Elena said "I think we are good. Oh, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?"
"Little drawer on your left." Bonnie says motioning toward the appropriate drawer. Elena grabs the serving spoons.
Elena smiles sheepishly "Ok, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times."
"Yeah, that's it." Claire says sarcastically. They then hear the doorbell. "Lena, that's probably Stefan, you want to do the honors or should I?" She teases the brunette knowing full well that Elena is going to jump at the chance to greet Stefan.
"I got it Claire. Ok, he's here. Don't be nervous. Just be your normal loving self." Elena tells Bonnie and motions for Claire to come with her. Bonnie stays alone in the kitchen.
"Birthday candles." Bonnie says as she opens a drawer and finds the candles.
[Elena's living room.]
"Did Tanner give you a hard time today? " Elena asks Stefan concerned.
Stefan shrugs, "Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right."
"Good job, bro." Claire teases from one of the arm chairs in the living room. Stefan is sitting on the coach with Elena and Bonnie.
"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and... "Elena says excitedly
"Yeah, I heard." Bonnie said.
"Why don't you tell Stefan and Claire about your family?" Elena asked her best friend gently.
Bonnie grimaced. Her personal family life wasn't something she liked to talk much about. "Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad. Hmm."
"No, about the witches. Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches." Elena said.
"That's pretty cool." Claire replied pretending she didn't know all about Bonnie's witch roots. She knew the Bennet bloodline better than anyone else alive or undead sort of technically.
Bonnie frowned "Cool isn't the word I'd use, Claire." She didn't buy much into the reality of her family witch lore. It was rather embarrassing how her grandmother kept trying to force it on her.
Stefan threw a light smile at the witch to be, "Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s. "
"I may or may not have given him a four and a half hour lecture on our move here to pass the time." Claire said with a smile.
"My family came by way of Salem. " Bonnie said to the pair.
Stefan questioned, "Really? Salem witches?" He actually hadn't known that Emily and the Bennet's were descendent from Salem witches. Seemed like Claire had left that little factoid out.
"Yeah." Bonnie replied waiting for the pair's reaction to her history. Claire smiled at her knowing that the Bennet couldn't possible tell her anything she didn't know.
"I would say that's pretty cool. " Stefan said back to Bonnie.
Bonnie scrunched her nose in disbelief, "Really? Why?".
"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity." Stefan replied to Bonnie trying to ally her fears about him. Across the room, he spotted Claire beam at his words.
"They seemed pretty badass as well." Claire interjects sensing a moment to encourage Bonnie to have a positive view of her heritage and witches in general. Not all witches were like the Bennet bloodline, good, noble and self-sacrificing everything Claire was sworn to protect as long as they remained worthy.
Bonnie smiles, "Yeah, they are."
They group hears the doorbell ringing, again. "Oh, no this can't be good." Claire thought to herself.
"I wonder who that could be." Elena says confused because they hadn't invited anyone else to this get together.
"Surprise! Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert." The perky blonde said carrying a tray of homemade brownies.
"We?" Claire asked suspiciously hoping Caroline had brought Tyler, Matt or anyone else besides her raven haired, trouble making brother.
"Oh." Elena said moving out of the way as Caroline walks into the house and Damon continues to linger just outside of the door.
Damon smirks at his sister and says to Elena, "Hope you don't mind." He loves this moment, the opportunity to irritate Claire and drive a wedge between Elena and the wonder twins.
"What are you doing here?" Stefan says already irritated.
"Yeah, Damon, what the hell are you doing here? This doesn't seem like your scene. "Claire asked her brother angrily. What about leaving Elena's friends alone did Damon not get? She hated this feeling of helplessness, she couldn't use any of her powers without ruining her and her brother's low profile, and the worst thing about it all was that Damon smugly knew it.
"Aww, missed you too Claire-Bear. I'm waiting for Elena to invite me in." Damon retorted back at his siblings
"Oh, yeah, you can... "Elena started to say before Stefan cut her off.
Stefan stopped her and said, "No, no, no. He can't, uh... he can't stay. Can you, Damon?"
"Yeah, Damon. I think you supposed to be busy somewhere far, far away." Claire said her voice dripping with distain as a final warning. She knew that inviting Damon into Elena's house was possible the worst idea since the invention of crocs as footwear.
"Get in here." Caroline said, waving at Damon to come in.
"We're just... finishing up." Stefan said
"Yeah, Lena." Claire said her eyes almost pleading the brunette not to do this.
Elena waved the twins off, sensing the tension in the air and not wanting to cause more friction. "It's fine. Just come on in, Damon."
Damon grinned, "You have a beautiful home, Elena." As he walked in the house, he smirked at his brother and sister knowing that their resistance was futile at this moment.
"Thank you." Elena says politely to the Salvatore intruder ushering him into the living room where the rest of the group is casually hanging out.
"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be ceiling. But good for you. Go for it." Caroline says encouragingly to Stefan
"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it." Damon says almost mockingly to Stefan and the group. At this Claire rolls her eyes for what feels like the fiftieth time that day.
"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines. Claire, I definitely want to see you step it up as well." Caroline tells the pair.
Bonnie glares at Caroline. "I'll work with them. They'll get it. "
Caroline shrugged. "I guess we can put them in the back. "
Damon said much to Claire's dismay. "You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena. Now, you sis, cheerleading is perfect for you. I always knew you were a cheerleader in the making"
Claire narrowed her eyes at her pest of a brother, "My, my have things not changed at all. You are still the same annoying person with the astonishing lack of emotional range higher than rock." She turned to Elena, "You do whatever you need to do." Elena smiles at the brunette thankful for the support.
"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died. Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun. And I say that with complete sensitivity." Caroline blabs out.
Claire glared at the blonde, "Yes, Caroline that was dripping with sensitivity."
"I'm sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan, Claire and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die." Damon says almost woefully.
Claire rolls her eyes, knowing that Damon is mostly responsible for the deaths of most of their friends and biological relatives. "Damon, this is not the time or the place." She tells her brother curtly glowering at him.
Stefan puts a calming hand on his sister's shoulder silently begging her not to lose her temper now and here. "We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." He says to Damon and the rest of the group piping the curiosity of Elena and crew.
Damon shrugs his shoulders, "Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up. Mmm. "
"Jackass." Claire murmurs under her breath which is caught by Stefan and Damon's vampire hearing.
[At the grill.]
"Don't do that. Not while I'm working. I'll see you later. " said Vicki
Tyler said "I'll be right back."
"She's my sister and I love her, but sometimes she can really make you work for it." Replied Matt
Jeremy mocked trying to dig at Tyler, "I find it pretty easy," Tyler went to hit Jeremy ready to pummel him into dust, but Jeremy wasn't phased "All right, I get it. Hitting me to impress her. That's... That's real nice." Jeremy taunted him.
Tyler scoffed, "I don't need to impress her. I already won. Now you're dead."
"Am I? Because it seems like I'm standing here waiting for you to man up. Besides I thought you had ditched Vicki to pursue the Salvatore girl." Jeremy taunted.
Matt pulled Tyler back, and stepped in front of the pair, "Ty, don't!"
"The next time I see you, Gilbert..." Lockwood warned before waking away.
"No, next time I see you. " Jeremy promised before doing the same, only in an opposite direction.
"What are you doin', Vick?" asked Matt concerned.
[Elena's kitchen.]
"One more." Damon said washing the last of the dishes. Elena starts to drop the one that she is washing, and Damon catches it quickly. From the living room, Claire listens for any sign that Elena may need protection from Damon. Stefan motions to his sister to intervene if necessary, but not to provoke Damon.
"Oh, thank you. Nice save." Thanked Elena
"I like you. You know how to laugh. And you make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a very long time. Besides Claire seems to really like you as well, and she is one tough cookie to impress." Damon smiled at his brother's Katherine look alike trying to charm her.
"Earlier, did you mean... Katherine?' asked Elena curiously. Stefan was so mysterious and so closed about his past, and Claire though she had revealed quite a bit about her life, Elena could tell she was hiding secrets as Katherine seemed like an off limits topic for the twins.
Damon smirked, "Mm-hmm." He could tell that Claire was listening, and he knew that Katherine was one of her least favorite topics. In fact, dredging up the Katherine situation might finally put a wedge between the inseparable Salvatore twins.
"How did she die?" Elena asked trying to contain her curiosity. She knew that she should wait for Stefan and Claire to open up to her about their past, and that Damon was on bad terms with the twins and would probably try to sabotage, but she couldn't keep herself from asking.
Damon frowned looking sad, "In a fire. Tragic fire."
Elena asked, "recently?'
"Well, it seems like it was yesterday." Damon replied
Elena questioned, "What was she like?"
"She was beautiful. A lot like you in that department. She was just very complicated and selfish and at times not very kind, but very sexy and seductive." Damon said with an almost fond look. "Claire was her best friend, partner in crime. They were almost like sisters."
"So which one of you dated her first?" Elena continued.
Damon smirked, this girl certainly had Katherine's smarts, "Nicely deduced. Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine."
"And Claire, what would Claire say?" Elena asked wondering how kindhearted, sarcastic Claire had ended up on such bad terms with her eldest brother.
"I'd quit cheerleading if I were you." Damon replied deflecting the subject. Truth be told, he didn't much like to talk about his strained relationship with Claire with other people.
"Why do you say that?" Elena asked knowing this was becoming like twenty questions, but Damon was offering information unlike the twins.
"Oh, I saw you at practice. You looked miserable." Damon said
Elena shifted uncomfortably, "You saw that?" she asked surprised.
"Uh-huh. Damon said.
Elena sighed, "I used to love it. It was fun. Things are different this year. Everything that used to matter doesn't anymore."
Damon said, "So don't let it. Quit, move on. Problem solved. Ta-da."
"Some things could matter again. Plus Claire and Bonnie would kill me if I ditched them." Said Elena
"Maybe. But... seems a little unrealistic to me. Claire will understand despite all of our issues, she is one of the most understand and loyal people I know." Damon told her. He could sense that Claire was still listening, and despite his plans, he still loved his sister.
"I'm sorry. About Katherine. You lost her, too." Elena said gently to the older Salvatore surprised at his kind words for Claire, it was astonishing in light of all of the tension between them.
Bonnie then walked in the kitchen and asked the pair, "Hey. Need some help?"
Damon said, "Sure, why not?"
[Elena's living room.]
Meanwhile in the living room, Claire, Stefan and Caroline were talking about the Matt situation. Claire looked suspiciously at Caroline's scarf as it seemed out of place in her ensemble. She gestured to Stefan, who nodded.
Caroline said, "Matt tries, but he's just having a really hard time. You have to understand that they were each other's first. You know, like, from the sandbox."
"That's really sweet in a way." Claire said. Connections to the past, lifelong friends were great touch stones. They were people who knew the best and worst of you, and still loved you anyways. "Hey, Caroline, where did you get that scarf?" Claire asked her friend gently.
Stefan then said, "That's a really nice scarf."
Caroline looked at the two and blushed, "Mm. Thank you, it's new."
Stefan motioned toward it, "Can I see it? I mean, would you mind taking it off?"
Caroline shook her head, "Oh, I can't."
"Why not?" Stefan asked the blonde.
"You ok?" Claire asked concerned knowing that most likely the scarf hide a nasty bite mark, and Caroline had been compelled to keep the scarf on to cover it up by Damon. She could tell that Care could project a pretty confident exterior, but inside was insecure and hurting. Claire felt a strong sense of protective instinct toward the younger blonde, that she usually only felt towards family and the Bennet bloodline. She knew what it was like to have people treat you as less or think of you as shallow.
Caroline refused saying, "Um... All I know is that I can't take it off." The compulsion kept her from remembering the horrific nightmarish things Damon had done to her.
Speaking of the devil, Damon chose that exact moment to waltz back into the room. He knew that if Claire saw visual confirmation of her suspicion, his ass would be kicked into next year, and that would really interfere with his plans. "What are you two kids talking about?"
Claire shot him a glare, "I was just commenting on her scarf, I want to pick up one for myself."
Damon chuckled, muttering under his breath "Sure, nice save baby sis." He then turned to Caroline and said, "Hmm. Hey, you know, um, Elena and Bonnie are finishing up the dishes. Why don't you go see if you can help?"
Caroline shot him a disbelieving look, "Does it look like I do dishes?"
"And Care, and I are having such a lovely conversation, Damon." Interjected Claire. If she could keep the blonde here, she might be able to get to the gist of Damon's action and remove Caroline from harm.
Damon shot a pleading look at the blonde, ignoring his sister, "For me?"
Caroline scoffed, "Hmm... I don't think so."
"Go see if Elena needs help in the kitchen." Damon ordered the blonde smirking at the judging looks his siblings sent his way.
Caroline smiled brightly, "You know what? I'm gonna go see if Elena needs some help in the kitchen."
Damon waved her off disinterested, "Great. "
"They are people, Damon. " Stefan said to his brother.
"She's not a puppet. She doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to. "Claire argued getting in Damon's face a little bit and jerking away when Stefan pulled her back.
"Sure she does. They all do. They're whatever I want them to be. They're mine for the taking. Actually I dare you to try and stop me" Damon smirked back at his brother.
"Free will isn't a joke, Damon or do you forget how that felt when someone screwed with yours?" Claire challenged her brother. He wanted to bring up Katherine, well it was past time to deal honestly with everything the Petrova had done.
"All right, you've had your fun. You used Caroline, you got to me and Elena, and you pissed off Claire, good for you. Now it's time for you to go. "Stefan said to his brother trying to get him to leave. He knew that Claire's control of her temper had limits and Damon was on her last nerve.
Damon laughs mockingly, "That's not a problem. Because... I've been invited in, and I'll come back tomorrow night and the following night and I'll do with your little cheerleader whatever I want to do. Because that is what is normal to me. "Claire glares at her brother having enough of his game to last a life time.
"Yeah, your normal sucks brother." Claire waves her hand and Damon clutches his pain from the pain. "You see that I'm turning the blood into your body into vervain. Hurts like a bitch doesn't it, Damon. Maybe you'll take leaving my friends alone seriously." She lets up briefly and says "Now, get the hell out of Elena's house.
"We both know I'm not the real threat to your friends Clary Fairy, "Damon said before he flashed away.
[Elena's bedroom.]
Elena smiled at Stefan, "Tonight wasn't so bad. I had fun."
Stefan scoffed, "Hmm. That makes one of us."
"Come on. Your brother isn't as bad as you and Claire make him out to be... " Elena said. Stefan kisses her. When he removes his shirt, he turns into Damon. Elena screams. She wakes up, to find that it was only a nightmare. Outside, there was a crow at the window.
[Stefan's bedroom. He is writing on his diaries.]
Stefan says to himself, "There must be a shred of humanity left inside my brother. Somewhere. I keep hoping. But how do I make him see it? And how do I protect her?"
[Claire's bedroom, she is fiddling around with her guitar.]
"Between keeping Elena and the gang from Damon's murderous angsty rages, keeping Stefan sober and on the wagon, it's getting to be too much. There is too much history, too many secrets, why did I think that coming back here was a good thing to do? How do I help my brothers find their way back to each other?" Claire muses.
[Later. The Soccer game.]
Elena walks up to Stefan, "Ooh. Look at you. You look hot in your jersey. "
Stefan takes one look at Elena sans her cheer uniform, and asks, "What happened? No more cheerleader?"
Elena smiles, "I quit. I'm a quitter. Claire probably pissed that I ditched her."
"Claire gets it, believe me. And no, hey, you're not a quitter. You suffered a great loss. You're not the same person. You should be looking ahead. You should be starting over. Ok? I hope you don't think this is too soon or too weird, but... I, uh, I wanted you to have this." He reassures her as he offers her a locket that he has stuffed with vervain for her protection. It will keep her semi-safe from Damon as he and Claire find a more permanent way to get peace.
"Oh, my God, it's beautiful." Elena said
"It's something that I've had forever, and, uh, I've never wanted to give it to anyone until now. I'd very much like it if you'd wear it for me, for... good luck. "Stefan tells her. Truth be told, the locket symbolizes a bright light from one of his darkest times.
Elena sniffs at the locket catching an unfamiliar scent, "Is that rose that I smell?"
"No, it's, uh... it's an herb. It's nice, huh?" Stefan said
"I love it. Thank you." Elena replies
"And, uh, I wanted to thank you for pushing me to try out for the team. It feels really good." Stefan tells her. And he isn't lying, it's nice to have something in his life that feels real, that feels normal.
Elena beams at him, "We're a pair. I quit, you start."
Stefan smiles back at her happily, "Right. We're a work in progress. We'll figure it out." Elena kisses him.
Caroline comes up to the happy pair, and says annoyed "And you're not in uniform because..."
[Later.]
Tanner lectures his players, hoping to hype them up for the big game. "Wait, wait, wait, Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us! But that is about to change. We've got some great new talent tonight starting on the offensive line, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these."
Tyler take one look at Stefan all geared up, "This blows. He can't start the guy. He just got here."
"That have been waiting for us to put a check in the win column, I have only one thing to say to you... Your Timberwolves are hungry." Tanner continues.
Vicki comes up to her boyfriend, "Hey, you. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Tyler says back still annoyed over the Jeremy incident earlier at the grill.
"And the central high lions are what's for dinner!" Tanner finishes excitedly.
Tyler questions angrily spotting Jeremy, " Is that Jeremy?"
"Wait, no! Ty! No." Vicki calls to a very pissed off Lockwood. Jeremy looks crestfallen at her words.
"Oh, what do you care? Don't look so down. You can have her when I'm done." Jeremy strikes him. The two boys begin to fight.
Vicki yells, "Tyler, stop it! Tyler! Tyler, stop! Stop it! Stop, you're hurting him! Tyler! Tyler, stop! Tyler! Stop it! Tyler, stop!" As she tries to pull Tyler off of Jeremy.
Stefan pulls Tyler off of Jeremy as Claire stopping cheering and looks at the ongoing brawl, "Hey, he's down! Enough!"
Elena cries, "Jeremy, no!"
Matt furious at his friend's words about his sister decks him as well.
"What the hell, Jeremy? Put your head up, you're bleeding." Elena says to her brother trying to figure out what the hell had set off the tension between the pair in their most recent brawl.
"I'm fine!" Jeremy says pushing his sister away.
Elena scoffs, "Yeah, you smell fine."
"Just stop, ok?" Jeremy says frustrated at his sister continued pushing.
Matt motions to the younger Gilbert, pulling him away, "Come on, man. Come on."
"Oh, my God, your hand." Elena says concerned about the deep cut Stefan has on his hand.
Stefan tries to shrug her off, "No, no, no, it's fine."
"Is it deep? How bad is it? Come on!" Elena says grabbing her boyfriend's hand, but his Stefan's hand has stopped bleeding. Not even a scar is left, almost like it never even happened. "But... I saw it, it was..." Elena stammers confused.
"He missed. It's not my blood. See? I'm fine." Stefan replies trying to avoid more questions he can't give answers to.
Elena confused continued, "No, no, no. I... I saw it. The glass cut your hand. It was..."
"It's ok. I'm ok. It's almost kick-off time, all right? So, um, I'll, uh, I'll see you after the game." Stefan says as he heads back over her team, failing to assuage Elena's suspicions.
"Hey, Tiki, it's all wobbly. Can you stand straight, please? Could someone please help Tiki?" Caroline says as she barks out orders to her cheerleaders.
"Elena" Claire says at the arrival of her friend.
Bonnie smiles at the brunette as well, "Hey! Where you been?"
Elena looks at her friends, "Can I ask you a question and you give me a really serious no-joke response?"
"Of course. What is it?" Bonnie asks her concerned.
"The bad mojo. When you touched Stefan and you had that reaction..." Elena trailed off
Bonnie shook her head dismissively, "You know what, forget I said that. Your little dinner party plot totally won me over. "
Elena wouldn't let this go, "No, Bonnie, seriously. What was it? Did you see something, Or... "
"Yeah, what was up with that? You never finished that story, Bon." Claire prodded knowing exactly what Bonnie has seen because it was what she used to see as well.
Bonnie looked cautiously at the Salvatore girl. "It wasn't clear like a picture. Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about... 8, 14, 22. "
"Yeah?" Elena asked curiously.
"When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me, and it was cold, and it..." Bonnie stopped trying to figure out how to tell her best friend and Stefan's twin that the bad feeling was more than just a simple one.
Elena prompted, "And what?"
"It was death. It's what I imagine death to be like." Bonnie replied. Elena then walked away from the pair, and Claire stayed with Bonnie knowing that the Bennet girl was going to need her help as she continued to discover who she was. She owed Emily that much and more. Besides this normal thing is actually pretty fun, I hope it lasts longer than I think it will.
Elena goes to her car. Outside of it lurks the one and only, Damon Salvatore. Elena inwardly groans, trying to shake off the fear that the raven haired man had caused. "You scared me. What are you doing here?" She asks bravely
Damon grimaces, "I'm hiding from Caroline."
Elena rolls her eyes at him, "And why is that?" She is starting to realize why Claire does it so much in the presence of her older brother.
Damon says, "I needed a break. She talks more than I can listen."
"That could be a sign." Elena answers.
"Well, she's awfully young." Damon trails.
"Not much younger than you are." Elena counter, irritated that Damon was now trashing her friend.
"I don't see it going anywhere in the bigger picture. I think she'd drive me crazy." Damon replies back
Elena is now full on pissed. "Caroline does have some really annoying traits, but we've been friends since the first grade and that means something to me. "
Damon smirks, "Duly noted. I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. That's not my intention."
Elena scoffs back, "Yes, it is. Otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say. I'm starting to see why you and Claire have issues."
Damon throws up his hands, pretending to give up. "You're right. I do have other intentions, but so do you."
"Really?" the Gilbert girl asks in disbelief.
"Mm-hmm. I see 'em. You want me. "
"Excuse me?" she says
"I get you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me. And right now... You want to kiss me. " Damon says trying to compel her. She strikes him.
"What the hell? I don't know what game you're trying to play with Stefan here, but I don't want to be part of it. And I don't know what happened in the past, but let's get one thing straight... I am not Katherine. " Elena says as she gets in her car and drives away.
[Later.]
"You gonna be able to play?" Matt says to Stefan.
Claire done cheering walks over to the pair. "Hey, boys." The boys nod at the brunette. She sends a look to Stefan to indicate that he will have to fill her in on the scuffle that went down earlier.
"Oh, yeah, I'm good." Stefan says reassuring Donovan.
"Uh, what you did back there... you had Jeremy's back. " Matt replies.
"Yeah, that's Stef, a real standup guy, defender of all younger siblings." Claire teases.
Stefan smiles at his sister, and turns to Matt, "Ah, he's a messed-up kid. Somebody's gotta look out for him."
"I know. This week at practice I was a dick." Matt says.
"It's all good. You had your reasons." Stefan replies
"No excuse. Good luck tonight. We're lucky to have you." Matt says and then walks away heading back towards the action.
Damon walks up to his siblings irritated after his confrontation with Elena, knowing that Stefan or Claire has interfered with his ability to compel the Katherine look alike. "Isn't that nice? Stefan joins a team, makes a friend. It's all so, "rah, rah, go team, yeah!"
Stefan tries to walk away, "Not tonight. I'm done with you."
"Nice trick with Elena. Let me guess... vervain in the necklace? I admit, I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where'd you get it?"
"Damon." Claire growls at him knowing not knowing that Stefan gave Elena vervain, but silently thanking him for his foresight. "Does it matter?" She challenged her brother hoping to divert Damon's wrath from her twin that wasn't up to full strength due to his bunny diet.
"Guess I could just seduce her the old-fashioned way. Or I could just... eat her." Damon threatened.
"No. You're not gonna hurt her, Damon." Stefan replied.
"No? Why because Claire might hurt my feelings?" Damon said mockingly, openly challenging his sister.
Stefan shook his head, "Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for her. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be." Claire shakes her head at Stefan knowing that this won't end well for them or anyone still left around them. Damon doesn't respond well to emotional, past fueled taunts about his humanity.
Damon scoffs, "Who's pretending?"
"Most likely you, Damon." Claire says
"Then kill me." Stefan says. He then motions to Claire, "Kill the both of us, just get it over with. " Knowing full well that Damon couldn't kill her sister, not even if he wanted too.
Damon smirks, "Well, I'm... I'm tempted."
Stefan glares at him, "No, you're not. You've had lifetimes to do it, and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. Claire, she is still alive standing her. And there you are. You're still haunting us. After 145 years. Katherine is dead. And you hate us because you loved her, and you torture us because you still do. And that, my brother, is your humanity."
Tanner walks up to the siblings yelling "Salvatore! What the hell? We've got a game to play!"
Damon smirks seeing an opportunity to put his siblings in their place. "If that's my humanity... then what's this?" He flashes quickly and bites Tanner quickly draining all of the blood from his body.
"No!" Claire yells as she and Stefan watch in horror as Tanner drops like a husk dead.
Damon grins, "Anyone, anytime, any place."
"Game on." Claire says as Damon flashes away.
[In the locker room.]
"Tanner's M.I.A. I think he had a little bit too much beer. " Tyler says to his friend
Matt glares at him, "Don't talk to me right now, all right? I'm pissed at you."
"What's your problem?" Tyler questions.
"What's my... You're my problem, all right? You're a bully. A freakin' 12-year-old bully, man. And I'm sick of it. I mean, what was that about tonight? What's beating up the new guy going to prove? Or screwing with my sister or pummeling my girlfriend's kid brother? Or trying to hook up with the new girl?" Matt yells back at him.
Tyler looks at him in disbelief, "Girlfriend? Look, I don't know how to tell you this, but she dumped your ass. Are you for real?! You want to hit me? I'm on your team."
"This was over the line. Even for you." Matt storms away and discovers Tanner's body. "Somebody help!" He yells and the police are the called. Bonnie looks at the scene. She sees a pennons "BLDG 8", the police car is "FHT 14" and on the ground, the number 22. Bonnie is afraid.
[The Soccer field. Jeremy is sitting on the floor.]
"It wasn't just for the drugs" Vicki says gently.
[The cars park.]
"What kind of animal could be doing all this? Why would it come out of the woods and attack someone in the middle of town?" Elena asks.
"I don't know. I don't know." Stefan replies.
"I was so sure that you cut your hand. I saw it." Elena says
"I'm gonna be fine. I'm gonna be fine, ok? We're fine. That's what matters." Stefan reassures.
[Stefan's bedroom. He's writing in his diary.]
"I thought there was hope that somewhere deep inside, something in Damon was still human, normal. But I was wrong. There's nothing human left in Damon. No good, no kindness. No love. Only a monster who must be stopped." Stefan says to himself
[Claire is in her bedroom.]
"There is a war coming and tonight was the first battle. This is going to get ugly." She says to herself. She then pulls out her phone and types to an unknown number. "Protecting Elena is proving to more difficult than I thought, I wish you were here."
[Damon is in Elena's bedroom. He looks at her.]