1x7

Tyler just got out of his football practice. He calls out to one of his friends as he heads out to his car. "See you bro!" Tyler gets in his car.

Vicki spots him and heads toward him, "Hi Ty!" she muttered softly.

Tyler does a double take, "Whoa Vicky? Everyone's looking for you." He inquired concerned. He does have some genuine feelings for the girl. He's not a complete and utter asshole like everyone thinks.

She nods, "I know. Can I get in?" she asks. Blood lust starting to creep back in. She both loves and hates the boy in front of her. He used her, abused her, and then threw her away like her was garbage for the newest skank in town.

Tyler looked concerned, "What's wrong Vic?"

Vicki shuddered, "I'm so cold.' She said weakly

Tyler panicked, "Are you on drugs. Everyone thinks you're off on a bender."

Vicki shook her head, "I wish. T"

"What happened in those woods, Vicki? Those kids that were killed, what did you see?" He asked her concernedly. The police were looking into this, and Vicki was the only survivor. Vicki had always hung out with the wrong sorts of people, but murder didn't seem to be something he though her capable of.

"I'm so scared." She stuttered in a scared and quiet voice. Each moment was a struggle for her. The pull of her instinct to feed was as strong as her desire as a human to escape the misery of her life through pills. Her emotions too felt all over the place, like she was coming down from a bad high.

Tyler tried to gather her close to comfort her in seemingly rare moment of tenderness. "Come here. It's okay. I'll take you home."

Vicki shook her head, "I can't control it." She cried

"Control what?" Tyler asked confused

Vicki's black veins popped out from around her eyes, "I am so hungry, Ty. And it won't go away." She whined

Tyler started to take a step back confused, "What are you on? What drugs did you take?" He asked suddenly worried that she might be on something life threatening.

Vicki continued, "I want it. I am so hungry, Ty."

"Okay, look, I'll get you something to eat. Just sit back. Look, let me just get you home, Vicki. Okay, what is wrong with you?" Tyler yells confused and annoyed by his actions.

Vicki leans in and bites Tyler

He struggles against her, "Aah! Let go of me!"

Stefan pulls Vicki away from Tyler, while Claire steps in front of the jock protectively. He may be a douche, but he was still someone worth saving.

Tyler glances back and forth between the Salvatore siblings, "What's going on here, Stefan? What's wrong with her, Claire? I've seen her pretty messed up, but never this bad."

Damon pulled him away from his sister protectively, "You don't talk especially not to her."

"Screw you, dude." Tyler retorted.

Damon scoffed, "Dude, really? dude". He turns to Claire, "These are the tools that you keep company with, one of your precious friends that is so untouchable?" He couldn't believe that his sister thought these kinds of people were worth the energy she put forth to breathe near them, let alone actually befriend them. To Damon, these arrogant humans were better served as walking happy meals than actually beings worth living.

"Damon don't do this. Walk away from him now." Claire warned. Tyler may be a bit of a jackass, but underneath his macho and egotistical persona, she saw someone she could relate to, someone damaged by a cruel father. As crazy as it seemed, she saw parts of old and new Damon through Tyler. Her brief interactions with the Lockwood parents, as well as her heart to hearts with Tyler, had confirmed her theory that her old fiancée, George Lockwood, had passed his aggressive and abusive tendencies down the line.

Damon rolls his eyes, "Oh come on. Who's going to miss this idiot?" Tyler hits Damon in a rage of anger.

"Come on Clairy, can I kill him?" Damon jeered at his sister.

Vicki began to cry and tries to push Damon away from Tyler. "Ooh! Don't you hurt him."

"No." Claire retorts flatly annoyed by her brother's antics. She knew that Damon was simply pulling these antics because he thought it would get under her skin. Her best bet in this scenario was to act nonchalant and hopefully that would prevent further violence and bloodshed.

Damon takes Tyler by the neck. "Just a little bit? Like a teeny, tiny jab in the shoulder."

Vicki rushes at Damon, but Claire uses her magic to pull her back, "Vicki, let me handle him. He's got over a hundred years on you. You can't stop him. You'll just get Tyler hurt."

Damon pleased at Claire's sign of loyalty toward him, releases Tyler. Turning to look him in the eyes and compel him. He says, "Forget what you saw here tonight. None of us were here. You walk away from this because of her." He gestures toward his sister.

"Damon, just let him go." Claire pled.

"This one time, handle it." Damon replied before flashing away.

"Claire, what are you doing here?" Tyler asks dazed and confused.

"Just out for a stroll, why don't I take you home?" Claire replied.

Matt Cellphone rings. "Yeah?" He answers.

Vicki cries, "Matty?"

Matt calls, "Vicky, where are you? Are you okay?"

Vicki muttered weakly, "Yeah. I'm okay."

"Tell me where you are, and I'll come to get you." He continued concerned.

Vicki shook her head, "No. Matty, I just need some time to figure things out. Just know that I am okay, okay? Please don't worry about me." She just stops the conversation.

Vicki glares at the Salvatore trio, "I don't understand why I have to stay cooped up here. Why can't I just go home?" She whines.

Stefan shook his head, "Because you're changing, Vicky, and it's not something you want to do alone. "

"And you might try to drain your brother's blood like a human juice box so it's best if you crash here for a while. I like Mattie Blue Eyes too much to have him dying tragically young." Claire quipped. Stefan shot her a look of annoyance, while Damon chuckled at her words.

Damon glanced through the town paper, "There's nothing' about that Logan guy I killed in here. Not a word. Someone's covering it up."

"Founders Council, I'm sure Damon. They didn't just go underground because it looked like they had irradiated the vampire population. The vervain that Zach was growing in the cellar more than suggests an active town council." Claire replied. Their first concern should be figuring out who was on the town council and what they knew about vampires. If she knew Damon at all, she suspected that he was already in the process of cozying up to the founding families to learn about the council.

Vicki asked curiously pointing to an old compass, "What is that?"

Damon's eyes light up, "This is a very special, very old compass. What was Logan Fell doing with it? Aren't you curious? "

Claire looked interested at Damon's words, "You think it could be one of Jonathan Gilbert's inventions?' She asked Damon concerned. Jonathan Gilbert was a notorious inventor during the twin's human life and partially beyond. Emily had mentioned that she had spelled some of Jonathan's inventions to protect the town against Katherine and her friends. Emily had refused to tell her which devices that she had spelled, instead telling her that she was pretty sure that only vampires would be affected by it.

Stefan scoffed, "Well, if you're so worried that somebody's onto you, why don't you just leave town, Damon?"

"Now, why he would do a crazy thing like that when he could just torment us for all eternity." Claire quipped.

Damon retorted, "We should be all worried. "Damon turned to Claire, "Can I ask you a dumb question?"

Claire smiled at her brother, "Better than anyone else I know, Damon."

Damon smirked playfully at his sister, "Can you tell if it's been spelled?"

Claire nodded, and Damon passed the compass to her. Claire held the device in her palm, she could feel the familiar Bennet magic running through the compass. It was actually fairly easily to for a witch to determine if an object had been charmed by magic, one touch and the residual magic from the enchantment spell would wash over like a light rain. Some objects were so powerful and required such deep stores of magic, that the object would leave a memory of the witch casting the spell. "This is definitely Emily Bennet's work." She said as she opened the compass. She looked down at the device, instead of pointing north, the compass needle batted from side to side, pointing first a Damon, then Vicki, and then finally Stefan. The needle then moved weakly in her direction before starting the cycle again. Claire's face turned ashen at her discovery.

"Do you know what it does?" Stefan asked sharply

Claire rolled her eyes at Stefan's words and glared at him as if to say "Duh, Stefan, you're dumber than a pile of unscented hand soaps." An insult that Claire was quite fond of using toward her brothers. "We need to destroy it." She said meeting Damon's worried face.

"That bad huh?" Damon asked seriously concerned. Claire was rarely worried over the small things; this compass must truly be more than it appeared to be.

Claire nodded, "It's charmed to point towards vampires. This device could get us all killed if it fell into the wrong hands." She found the compass's reaction to her quite interesting. It could detect her vampirism, but only slightly. It was evident that Emily had tried to protect her, even before her transformation.

Vicki waved her hands, annoyed that the siblings had temporarily forgotten her existence, "Hey, I am still here people, um, I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"

Claire placed the compass in her pocket, intending on holding on to it for safe keeping. The safest hands for a dangerous tool like this were their own. Turning to Vicki, "Yeah, I'd rather be pecked to death by a flock of hummingbirds than be part of this animal blood training. It seems to Twilight for my tastes."

Stefan looked puzzled, "Here?" he asked the Donovan girl. He then grabbed her a glass of red looking liquid and passed it to her.

Vicki smelled it and then frowned. "What is it?" she asked displeased.

Stefan continued, "It's what you're craving."

Claire snorted at her twin's words, "Hardly." She mumbled under her breath.

Damon chuckled, "Heh. Don't lie to the girl. It's so not what you're craving, but it'll do in a pinch, right, Stef?"

Vicki continued to ask confused at the unfamiliar and unappetizing smell, "What is it?"

Damon mocked, "Yeah, what is it? Is it a skunk? Saint Bernard? Bambi?"

Stefan continued gently, "Go on. Give it a try."

Damon shook his head, "She's new. She needs people blood. She can't sustain on that stuff."

"Yeah, why can't I have people blood?" Vicki requested annoyed at the refusal to give her what she knew that her instincts were screaming for.

Damon nodded, "Yeah."

Stefan grimaced, "Because it's wrong to prey on innocent people, Vicki."

Damon continued, "You don't have to kill to feed. Just find someone really tasty and then erase their memory after wards. It's so easy."

"No, no, no. There's no guarantee that you can control yourself, okay? It takes years to learn that. You could easily kill somebody, and then you have to carry that with you for the rest of your life, which, if I haven't made clear, is eternity. "Stefan protested.

Damon shook his head, "Don't listen to him. He walks on a moral plane way out of our eye line. I say snatch, eat, erase."

"Damon does have a bit of a point Stefan. The bunny diet is not a suitable method for teach impulse control." Claire added much to Stefan's chagrin. Stefan's plan by definition was absolutely stupid, trying to deprive a newbie vampire from blood, especially a former addict was a recipe to bring fire, brimstone and blood raining down on their heads.

"Now that's what I'm talking about, brother sister team up!" Damon said smirking before reaching his hand inviting Claire to high five him. She rolled her eyes unamused at his antics. "Too soon?" Damon quipped.

Stefan looked deeply at Vicki, "Hey, look at me. We choose our own path. Our values and our actions, they define who we are."

Damon smirked, "Okay, deeply philosophical talk is being. It's sure to inspire the world and change history and blah, blah, blah. I am out of here."

"Me too, this is getting a little too hypocritical for my tastes, I have to go… iron my cat, … or find some official witch training duties to get done." Claire said rolling her eyes at Stefan.

Vicky gulped down the rest and asked, "Can I have some more?"

Damon goes downstairs with Claire at his heels on the way out, the doorbell rings.

Claire opens the door and smiles at her friend, "Hi Elena, I'm sorry. I can't stay to chat, I have to go meet Bonnie."

Elena waved off her friend happily, "Is Stefan here?" she asked turning to the other Salvatore.

"Yep!" he replied shortly

Elena scoffed, "Where is he?"

Damon smirked, "And good morning to you, little miss " I'm on a mission"."

Elena rolled her eyes, "How can you be so arrogant and glib after everything that you've done?"

Damon mocked, "And how can you be so brave and stupid to call a vampire glib and arrogant?"

Elena retorted. "If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead."

Damon quipped back, "True, yes, you would be dead."

"But I'm not." Elena replied

Damon scoffed, "You know there is over seven billion people in the world, and you're overreacting because I happened to kill a few of them."

Elena rolled her eyes, "But..." she protested.

Damon continued, "Over. Seven. Billion. People. Now quit your complaining and go find Stefan. He's upstairs singing "The Rain in Spain". Knock yourself out."

Damon gets out, Elena shut the door.

Elena calls, "Stefan? Stefan?"

Stefan responds giving Elena a slight smile, "Yes."

"Where is Vicky?" Elena inquired as she looked around the room for signs of the auburn haired, Donovan girl.

"She's upstairs." Stefan replied briskly.

Elena asked, "What happens now? Because my brother is out there searching for her with the rest of the town. What do I tell him?"

Stefan continues, "I'm working with her, but it's going to take time. She's a very volatile and impulsive personality. She's a drug user. I mean, all that's going to play a part in how she responds to this."

Elena asked, "So, she's a vampire with issues? What am I supposed to do? Because I'm lying to everyone that I care about. What's going to happen to her?"

Stefan responded, "We're going to keep her here with me until I know that she's safe. Besides, Claire is doing her version of helping too."

"How long is that?" Vicki asked appearing into view suddenly.

Stefan turned to her, "We can talk about that later." He said.

Elena smiled gently, "Hey, Vicki, how are you?"

Vicki rolled her eyes, "How am I? You're kidding, right?"

[Sheila's House]

Bonnie looked at her curious, "Was our family burned in the witch trials?"

Grams shook her head, "No, the girls that were persecuted in Salem were entirely innocent. You have to have more than ignorance to trap a real witch."

Claire chuckled lightly Bennet witches were a particularly fierce and formidable brand of witches. It was truly an honor to look out for them.

Bonnie turned to Claire who was sitting next to her oddly quiet, and asked, "What's your role in all of this, Claire?"

Claire shot a look at Sheila Bennet asking for silent permission. Sheila nodded to her. "My name is Clarissa Giuliana Salvatore, and I am a vampire."

Fear flooded Bonnie's face, "A vampire" she stammered.

Claire reached out laying her hand on top of Bonnie's, making skin to skin contact with the younger Bennet. A warm, happy sensation flooded the young potential witch. "Do you feel that?"

Bonnie nodded, "It feels like family, like I can trust you."

Sheila nodded at her granddaughter, "Claire isn't just any vampire. She's special."

Bonnie turned back to Claire urging her to continue. The brunette smiled, "I'm part witch and part vampire. I'm a hybrid, the only pure hybrid. My witch side was preserved by magic due to one of your ancestors." There were other kinds of vampire witch hybrids called heretics. Heretics had once been witches with only the power to siphon magic, not harness magic of their very own. Once a siphoned became a vampire, they could channel the magic that made them a vampire into a limitless supply of magic.

"What does that have to do with my family?" Bonnie continued confused as to how someone could be both dead and still connected to nature.

"Emily Bennet was one of my dearest friends. She was the one to first teach me about magic. When I became what I am, Emily asked that I make a promise to always look out for her descendants, to guide and protect them." Claire said softly. Her loyalty to her dear friend was evident even to this day.

"She is our family guardian." Sheila answered

Bonnie looked confused, "How did we end up in Mystic Falls?"

Grams continued, "Our family fled Salem in 1692 and relocated here. Our ancestors lived in secrecy for over a hundred years. It's important that we still do."

Bonnie smiled, "Well Grams, everybody knows you're a witch."

Grams laughed, "They also know it's absurd, can't be true. I'm just a kooky lady that teaches occult at the university. No one really believes. They just poke fun. And let 'em. Just don't let 'em know the truth."

"Where's the witchcraft? I mean, you've been talking history for 2 days. I want to get to the fun part." Bonnie said.

Grams shook her head, "It's not meant to be fun. It's real and it's serious, and you must understand it before you practice it. Aren't you late for school? Claire, will you take her?"

[At the School]

Caroline held out two bags, one to Claire and the other to Bonnie. "I have got your costume. It's all here. Claire, I got you one too!"

Bonnie opened the bag, "Seriously?" She said as she looked at the witch costume.

Claire held back a snicker as she opened her bag, "Look, Bon, we match. We can be coven sisters" She teased the Bennet girl fondly

Caroline smiled, "Come on. Can someone please be excited that it's Halloween? I just want to have fun, you know, just some silly, fluffy, Damon free fun."

Bonnie held out a necklace, "Hey, isn't this the one you got from Damon?"

Claire stared at the necklace, immediately recognizing it as her friend Emily Bennett's. Emily Bennett had been the one who had instructed Claire in the ways of magic. She had been her mentor and friend. She was also responsible for the preservation of her witch side due to some obscure prophecy that Emily had refused to tell her. Apparently, Claire was destined for great things, whatever that meant.

Caroline shrugged, "Yep. Wear it. Toss it. I don't care. I just want it gone. Hey, have you seen Elena? Do we know what she's wearing?"

"I was mediating family drama, the last couple of days. I honestly don't know." Claire replied. She shot Bonnie a glance that told her not to mention that Claire had met with Sheila Bennett. Somethings were on the list of need to know right now, and Caroline knowing about the supernatural would only put her in more danger.

"I was with Grams all weekend. I haven't talked to her. Maybe she's with Stefan." Bonnie added.

Caroline scoffed, "Riding to his castle on his white horse."

Bonnie scoffed, "Don't be bitter. It provokes wrinkles."

"Besides, you can do so much better than my brothers, trust me. My brothers are like the sun." Claire added reassuringly.

"Beautiful?" Caroline cooed.

Claire laughed, "No, I can't stand to look at either of them." She quipped.

[At Salvatore's Home.]

Stefan continued to educate the newbie vampire, "Coffee is our friend. It's the caffeine. It circulates through our veins, and it warms our body so we're not cold to the touch."

"That can help you blend in, and the ability to blend is your ability to survive, especially in this town." Claire added, much to Stefan's clear chagrin.

"Well, what if I want to drink human blood?" Vicki asked.

Stefan continued, "You're going to have to learn to live with that urge and fight it on a daily basis one day at time."

"Yeah, because that method breeds a ton of well-behaved vampires." Claire scoffed, she didn't see teaching the bunny method as a successful plan for any newbie vampire let alone with substance abuse issues and emotional baggage like Vicki Donovan. This was truly a recipe for disaster, and she would be happy to stick a stake into Vicki's heart as soon as she proved untrustworthy.

"Could you quit judging me, and actually be helpful for two seconds Claire." Stefan snapped.

Claire rolled her eyes, "It's just what I do, Stefan. It's a personal hobby of mine. Besides, it's blood, not nuclear waste, chill out at least a little bit."

"There is a process to this, Vicki, to learning control. It takes time, time and the support of others." Stefan continued as he ignored his sister's quips. He grew weary of her continuous judgement of his ripper past, of her continued interference in his life as his sober companion.

Vicky groaned, "Oh god! Don't start with that whole 12 steps thing. School counselor has been down that road, and it doesn't work for me."

Stefan shook his head, "It can work. It's your choice, Vicki."

Vicki asked, "So you've never tasted human blood?"

Stefan shook his head, "Not in a long time."

Vicki asked, "How long?"

"Years and years. I'm not proud of my past behavior." Stefan replied

'Understatement of the year." Claire quipped.

Vicki turned to the Salvatore girl, "And you?"

Claire smiled softly, "It wasn't easy, but it only took me a few weeks to sort out the madness and gain control over my bloodlust."

"Do these sketchy feelings ever go away? It's like I have a massive hangover. This daylight thing is a bitch. I need more blood. Where's your bathroom? I have to pee. Why do I have to pee? I thought I was dead." Vicki continued in a haze. She was starting to trust Claire more than her brothers. She was boldly honest and gave no promises that everything would suddenly be magically better.

Stefan turned to Claire, and said awkwardly, "I'm going to, uh...I'm going to get her some more. All right. I'll be quick."

Claire nodded to her brother, "I'll stay here, keep an eye on things."

Vicki offered Claire a slight smile, "False alarm. My body's feeling really funky. It's a good funk, but it's weird."

At this point, Elena had walked into the room. She spotting Vicki pulling out her phone said, "Hmm, who are you calling?"

Vicki said sharply, "Jeremy."

Elena replied, "Vicki, you can't see Jeremy anymore."

"Not a good move, Elena." Claire replied sharply. She knew that the Gilbert girl was starting to provoke an on edge and freshly turned vampire which was a recipe for Elena's carotid to get ripped out of her body. Actually, that might be an understatement. Claire had never seen such a potentially unstable newly turned vampire, and she had her brother's issues to compare.

Vicki scoffed, "Oh come on don't you start. I'm going to see whoever I want to see."

Elena continued, unbothered by Claire's words of warning and uncaring of Vicki's signs of aggression, "Even though you could hurt him?"

Vicki shook her head, disgusted at Elena's cruel and unfeeling words, "I would never hurt Jeremy."

"I know you think that, but I can't take the risk. You're going to have to let Jeremy go now." Elena said harshly.

Vicky rolled her eyes in frustration, "Oh Really? And how long have you been preparing a "you're not good enough " speech? I'm presuming it predates the whole vampire thing".

Elena continued defensively, "All I am saying is Jeremy is not getting involved in any of this. I mean it, Vicki."

Vicki's grew dark, and she nearly growled at the Gilbert girl, "Or what? Let's get one thing straight, you, perky little bitch. You had my brother whipped for 15 years. 15 years and then you dumped him. When I look at you that is all I see, just so you know. And I'm going to see Jeremy whenever I want to see Jeremy, because I have some fun new toys to play with, and I won't think twice about ripping your little head off. You got it?" She finished pinning Elena to the wall.

Claire started to chant, her magic forcing Vicki off of Elena, and pinning her to the wall, "Back off. Go upstairs" She ground out

Elena's coughing. Elena wheezed out, "She threatened me."

Claire pulled from her magic and began to heal her friend's injuries. "That was to be expected Elena. You threatened her first. I'm not excusing her actions, but her emotions are all out of whack and you just threatened the one thing that she values and views as stability: Jeremy. You are fortunate that I was here to intervene, when you clearly spoke before you had a chance to think about whether or not that would be the smart thing to say to a newly turned, homicidal vampire."

"Don't you dare blame her for this." Stefan retorted.

"Did you actually listen to what I said Stefan?" Claire argued back frustrated.

"Guys, breathe," Elena said placing herself between the two squabbling Salvatore siblings, "Will Vicki be okay?" she asked.

Stefan nodded, "She's on edge. Imagine every sense in your body operating at super speed. I mean, she's uncomfortable in her own skin. And then when you throw in her other issues..."

"Basically, she's a walking time bomb, now with super speed and strength." Claire added sarcastically.

"If you are not going to be helpful Claire, do us all a favor, and shut the hell up." Stefan retorted back angrily. He was angry that Claire had let Vicki hurt Elena, and then later blamed Elena for the incident.

"I am being helpful, Stefan. I just saved your clueless girlfriend from getting her throat ripped out, a thank you would be an appropriate gesture." Claire yelled back irritated at her brother's actions.

"Yes, thank you for being the least helpful person in the damn universe." Stefan spat back hatefully at his sister.

"Whatever Stefan, all I know, is that one of us is right, and the other one is you, so do with that what you will." Claire quipped back angrily.

"Clarissa, I swear if you don't shut up, you will end up in the cell that Damon vacated." Stefan yelled back.

"I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain how irritatingly stupid you are, but you and I are going to have a conversation sometime very soon, and I guarantee it won't be one you enjoy Stefan. Now back down, or I start spilling some juicy secrets to the curious. I am damn sure Elena would love to hear about your trip to Monterrey, those migrant camps, it's a story to die for." Claire spat out

"Enough, you two! Focus on the situation at hand. You two can kill each other later! How long before it settles? Hours? Days? Weeks?" Elena shouted at the siblings, annoyed at the bickering.

Stefan shrugged, "There's no rule book."

"Every vamp is different." Claire said sharply.

Elena turned to Stefan, "Well, how long before you learned to control it?"

"Who's saying he did." Claire muttered under her breath. Elena missed her words, but Stefan sure didn't.

Stefan hesitated, "A while, But I didn't have anybody helping me. I had to do it on my own. The thing is it's hard to resist certain people especially when you're new, it's difficult to separate your feelings. Love, lust, anger, desire...it can all blur into one urge, hunger."

Elena shook her head, "What does that mean?"

Stefan continued, "It means that Jeremy can't see her, not now. She might not be able to resist him, and she could hurt him."

Elena shrugged, "Or worse."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves Elena. We have all hands-on deck, and I'm here to make sure everything and everyone stays stable." Claire said

Stefan continued, "I'm not going to let anybody get hurt."

Elena said, "I need to get going."

Stefan replied, "Elena..."

Elena shook her head, "Please Stefan. There's only so much I can take." With that Elena left, the irate and increasingly hostile siblings.

"Stefan, your mere existence gives me a headache, go mope pathetically somewhere, anywhere else." Claire scoffed.

[Gilbert House]

Jeremy spoke into the phone, "You got to call me, Vic. I don't get it. What's going on with you? Just...just call me please. "

Elena spotting her brother in the living room, said "Hey. So, um, do you wanna hang out tonight? We could go to the, uh, Halloween thing at school. Could be fun."

Jeremy shrugged, "Cool. Sure. Sounds uh... sounds fun. Can't wait."

Elena continued, "I know you're upset about Vicki. I heard she call Matt. But you can't be with her. She needs to get better. The best thing you can do for her is let her go."

"What does that even mean, "let her go"? Oh, okay, sure. Since we're such experts on letting people go, right?" Jeremy asked.

Elena said, "I know you may not see it, but trust me Jer. It's for the best."

Jeremy groaned, "Look, for month after mom and dad died, I felt like crap, like "nothing really even mattered" crap. Now all of a sudden, I get these moments and things started to feel just a little bit better, and Vicky was in every single of 'em. So, you may not see it, but trust me. Keeping me away from her is not for the best."

Vicky and Jeremy exchange some messages.

[Halloween Party.]

Tyler said, "Cider for the ladies. It's a Lockwood special."

Bonnie shook her head, "No way. Last year I was hung over until Thanksgiving."

Caroline smirked, "Lightweight. I am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with."

Tyler smirked, "Sounds like a plan. How about you, Claire?"

"Count me in for a drink Lockwood." Claire said with a wink.

[The Grill]

Mayor Lockwood looked annoyed, turning to his wife, he said sternly, "How many martinis have you had?"

Woman scoffed, "Oh. Don't start with me."

Man rolled his eyes, "Can we go now? We're late for the Halloween party. Let's go."

"So, go ahead. I'd like to finish my drink." She replied.

Damon quipped, "Let me guess. Daisy Buchanan. I love a good "Gatsby" look."

Woman smiled, "I've met you before. Aren't you Caroline Forbes' boyfriend?"

Damon shook his head, "Ah, she had a schoolgirl crush on me but...It was cute, but I had to let her down easy."

Woman asked, "It's Damon, right?"

Damon smirked, "Ah, you remember?"

Woman nodded, "Well, you have a face that's hard to forget. What's your last name Damon?"

Damon replied, "Salvatore."

"Really, Salvatore?" Carol Lockwood asked curiously, "Are you any relation to Zach? I also met a Claire Salvatore the other day, what a delightful and impressive young woman, do you know her?"

Damon smiled at the mention of his sister. It was smart of her to start befriending members of what he suspected was the town council," Claire is my talented and lovely sister, and Zach's my uncle. How do you know Zach?" he asked trying to compel her.

Woman asked, "Are you okay?"

Damon nodded, "Yeah. I think there's something in my eye."

Woman smiled, "Well, I know Zach from the Founder's council. You know the Salvatores were one of this town's original settlers."

Damon nodded, "Yes, they were. I wasn't aware that Zach was a member. I just recently moved back home and haven't really had a chance to meet many of his friends."

Woman continued, "Well, will you tell him to return my calls? I've left several messages."

Damon replied, "Zach went out of town for a bit. But if it's about the Vervain..." he continued.

Woman asked, "You know about the Vervain?"

Damon scoffed, "Well, I'm a Salvatore. Of course, I do."

Woman replied, "Of course."

Damon smirked, "Hmm. Cheers."

[At the party the music is playing.]

Matt smiled, "You went with the last year's costume too, huh?" They exchanged glances at their matching doctor and nurse couples costume.

Elena smiled, "Yeah. I didn't know that I was coming till an hour."

Matt shrugged, "Me neither. And you're going as...you."

Elena rolled her eyes, "He's not talking to me right now. We got onto fight."

Matt nodded, "Yeah, I got into it with Vicki too, when she got home. I'm trying not to smother her tonight, but part of me didn't want to let her out of my sight."

Elena asked, "She's here?"

Matt nodded, "Yeah, you can't miss her. She's a vampire."

Elena questioned anxiously, "Where did Jeremy go?"

Matt replied shocked by her anxious tone, "Elena what's the matter?"

Elena continued, "I... I've got to find him."

Vicki ran into Stefan.

Vicki scoffed annoyedly, "What, you're following me now?"

Stefan shrugged, "You didn't really give me a much of choice."

Vicki nodded, "You let me out of here."

Stefan warned, "You shouldn't be here Vicki. Crowds like this, it makes it even harder for you to keep yourself under control."

Vicki scoffed, "I'm fine."

Stefan asked, "Really?"

Vicki nodded, "Mm Hmm."

Stefan continued, "No headache? Your stomach's not screaming at you? You're not feeling lightheaded or anxious or cranky like if someone looks at you the wrong way you could just rip their head off? Do you want to know what that's called? it's called hunger and it's only going to get worse and worse every minute that you pretend like it's not controlling you."

[The Grill]

Damon asked, "So you need vervain?"

The woman nodded, "Yes. my husband and I only have left what his parents left him, and Zach had promised that he could supply us with more."

Damon smirked, "Well, I talk to him all the time, so why don't I just ask him? Mmm. How much do you need? I mean, how many people, you think?"

"Well, there's our children, of course." She continued

Damon added, "Of course."

"And, um, friends, family, and everyone on the council." She finished.

"The council?" Damon asked.

Woman nodded, "Zach knows how many. But I am so late. My husband is not going to be happy with me."

Damon quipped playfully, "Well, are you happy with your husband?"

Woman smiled, "You're flirting with me."

Damon nodded, "You flirted with me first. Let me escort you to the school. It's not safe out there alone. I mean, I've seen 10 vampires tonight."

Woman laughed, "Well, if only the real ones were as easy to find."

Damon asked, "How's that search going'?"

Woman retorted back, "Oh, we had the founder's party, and anyone who arrived during the day was eliminated as a suspect."

"Gotcha, makes sense." Damon replied

Woman responded, "And all the rest were just dead ends, so mmm mmm, I got to go..."

[Back to the party.]

Recorded screams. Creature roars.

Jeremy jumped, "Whoa. Vic, you scared the hell out of me."

Vicki laughed, "Sorry. I'm sorry."

[Bonnie, Claire and Damon are talking at the party.]

Damon said looking around, "So where...where'd Caroline run off to?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Do yourself a favor, Damon, and don't ask me about Caroline." She said annoyed at Damon's continual presence. There was something off about him, something that made her hesitant and wary.

Damon scoffed, "Oh, Bonnie. So loyal."

"D, I thought we'd agreed that you were going to stay far, far away from Caroline." Claire hissed at her brother. She was incredibly tense at the fact that Damon seemed to be taking an interest in her young Bennett charge.

Bonnie continued, unafraid of the vampire threatening her, "Just stay away from her."

Damon looked down to her necklace, "Where'd you get that?" he asked curiously.

Bonnie replied, "From a friend."

Claire had immediately recognized it as Emily's talisman. "It's so lovely and antique. I think that you should keep it close."

Damon smirked, "You got it from Caroline. You know that's mine, don't you?"

"Hmm I don't remember you possessing such a trinket. It doesn't make your eyes pop." Claire said smugly

Bonnie shook her head, "Not anymore."

Damon pretended to crack up in laughter, "Funny. I'd like it back, please."

Bonnie refused, "I'm not giving it to you. I'll give it to Caroline, and she can give it to you if she feels like it."

Damon mocked, "Or I could just take it right now." Damon goes to grab it from off of Bonnie's neck, but it shocks him.

"Leave Damon. Leave me, Bonnie and Caroline alone." Claire said. Her tone then dropped low so only Damon could hear, "unless you want a painful little magic show." She looked down to see twenty texts and ten missed calls from Stefan, the latest text read, "Vicki emergency, come quick."

Music playing, growls, recorded screams.

"Jeremy." Elena gasped.

[Back to behind the bus.]

Jeremy said softly, "I was so worried about you."

Vicki smiled, "I'm fine now, but...I got to leave."

"Wh... what? Where?" he asked confused at Vicki's words. He couldn't imagine why she just had to pack up and leave Mystic Fall, leave her brother and leave him.

Vicki continued, "I got to get out of here, j. I just...I can't live at home with Matt. He just doesn't get it."

Jeremy shook his head, "No, you can't. You can't just leave."

Vicki begged, "Come with me. If you come with me, we can be together forever." They began to kiss passionately.

Jeremy continued, "Okay. Yeah. Ow. You're taking that costume a little too far. What? what is it? Vicky! Vicky, what the hell?! Oh, my god. No! stop!"

Claire yanked Vicki away from Jeremy and said, "Juliet, could you stop snacking on your Romeo, it really kills the young star-crossed lovers' vibes you got going on."

Vicki enraged by Claire's intervention started to charge the brunette.

Claire noticed Elena and Stefan arriving on the scene. She gestured to the bleeding Gilbert boy and said, "Get him to safety. I can handle this." She turned back to the Donovan girl, "Vicki, you have to calm yourself. Find your center, a touchstone that will keep you human."

"I don't need your self-help mantras. Give me what I want, or I'll tear through all your little friends starting with Bonnie and Tyler." Vicki scoffed back trying to get past Claire to Jeremy, Elena and Stefan who had not listen to Claire and left.

Claire didn't even blink before staking the girl, "Yeah, nope, not going to happen. I'm sorry, but no one threatens what is mine and lives." She had learned that from Eli, to never let those who threatened yours walk away unscathed. Besides she couldn't protect Elena forever, but here in this moment, she could without risking anything or anyone she loved, and so she would.

"Vicki! No! Aah!" Jeremy screamed.

Elena cried, "Vicky, no!" as Vicki's body turned a nasty grey color as Claire stabbed her with a stake ending her immortal existence.

"Vicki!" Jeremy cried, tears rolling down his face.

Stefan urged, "Go. get inside. Go!"

Jeremy sobbed, "Vicki. Vicki. Vicki. Vicki."

"Get him out of here." Elena said

Damon's phone rings. Damon answered sharply, "What?"

Stefan responded, "We need your help."

[At Gram's place.]

Grams looked at the clearly upset girl in front of her, "What happened to you?" she asked worried about her granddaughter.

Bonnie shook her head confused and still shaken, "I did something. I don't know. It came from my necklace."

Grams looked down at the heirloom in almost wonder, "Where'd you get that?

Bonnie shrugged, "It's part of my costume. It's a piece of junk."

Grams scoffed, "That piece of junk belonged to one of the most powerful witches of our family. Let me show you. There she is. Emily Bennett, your great-great-great-great-grandmother. And there's your necklace. You need to talk to Claire Salvatore again."

"What does Claire have to do with any of this necklace?" Bonnie asked confused.

"Everything, she had and has everything to do with all of this. She knows Emily better than anyone else. She's a walking encyclopedia on witch history and traditions, particularly those of our family." Sheila replied.

[Elena's crying, and Damon came.]

Damon said to the still clearly devasted Gilbert girl, "You should go. I got this."

Elena spat out, "You did this. This is your fault."

Damon replied, "Technically, Claire dusted Vicki, not me."

"She had to because you chose to turn her into a vampire, Damon, on a whim. She threatened my brother and my friends, does any of this even matter to you?" Elena cried.

Damon shook his head, "Keep your morals away from me, Gilbert. You confuse me for someone with remorse. None of this matter to me, None of it. I'd do it all over again, and not even blink as I snapped Vicki's neck." There were only two things that Damon truly cared about at this point in his life: his beloved sister Claire and his departed girlfriend Katherine Pierce. He was putting in motion plans to have both of the back at his side, where they belonged.

"People die around you. How could it not matter? It matters, and you know it." Elena stated emphatically.

Damon scoffed, "You need to leave. Your wounds are bleeding, and you need to leave. "

Claire walks away, and she meets Matt.

Matt smiles brightly at seeing her, "Claire! Hey, have you seen...Whoa? wh... what happened?"

Claire scoffs, "Nothing. some idiot with some fake blood got me. I'm going to go home and shower."

Matt continued, "I... I can't find Vicky. She totally bailed on me."

Claire shrugged, "I don't know where she is."

Matt continued deflated, "Is this what I'm in for, a lifetime of worrying about her?"

"You're a good brother, Matt. I would know, because right now I don't have one. I would give anything for my brothers to be half as concerned about me as you always are about Vicki." Claire replied softly.

Outside, Stefan's sitting on the porch.

Elena asked, "Are you okay?"

Stefan replied, "I, uh...I wanted to help her. But instead, uh...How's he doing'?" he asked referring to Jeremy.

"He's a mess. I don't want him going through this again. He's just a kid." Elena muttered.

Stefan questioned, "Elena, what can I do? I... What can I do to help? I'll do anything."

Elena asked, "Can you make him forget?"

Stefan stuttered, "Elena..."

Elena pled, "Stefan, please. I don't know how he'll ever get past this. I just want him to forget everything that happened."

Stefan shook his head, "If I did it, there's no guarantee that it would work...Because of who I am, Because of how I live. I don't have the ability to do it right."

Damon nodded, "I can do it. If this is what you want...I'll do it."

Elena responded, "It's what I want."

Damon asked, "What do you want him to know?"

Elena replied, "I want you to tell him that Vicky left town and she's not coming back, that he shouldn't look for her or worry about her. He's going to miss her, but he knows it's for the best. Part of me wishes that I could forget, too...Forget meeting you, finding out what you are and everything that's happened since."

Stefan replied, "If that's what you want."

Elena said, "Yes, it is. Because I don't want it to be like this. I don't winna feel like this. But I can't. With everything that's happened...I can't lose the way I feel about you."

[Salvatore House]

"How do we keep getting into these situations." Claire asked Elijah exhaustedly.

Elijah chuckled, "Decades of friendship, and I still don't know."

"Eli, Damon's up to something. I think that he's trying to open the tomb under the church if so than the Gilbert girl is at risk. I may need help controlling all of this craziness."

"Clarissa, I have the utmost confidence in your ability to control your brother's more stupid and homicidal tendencies and protect the doppelgänger. He's trying to free Katerina correct?" Elijah replied.

"You seriously believe that she's in that tomb?" Claire quipped

"One can hope that the bitch is locked away for all eternity, but I doubt we are going to be that lucky. What's the current plan?" Elijah asked fondly

"My plan was to follow your plan! But at this point, my options are A) knit a scarf, or B) commit homicide." Claire replied.

"Do what you must Clarissa, just know that the doppelgänger is needed for leverage. Try not to let your loyalties become too entangled." Elijah returned

"I know where my loyalties lie. I know where my loyalties lie." She said softly as if trying to convince herself. It was through Elijah that she even knew the scant details she did about her time in Chicago in the twenties. He had told her about how she had been engaged to his brother, a vicious vampire gangster who was responsible for the murders countless others including Elijah's own siblings. How he had encouraged and befriended Stefan, and they had committed many heinous acts as a duo. How finally, he had erased parts of her memory leaving a dark haze of her time in the twenties in his wake, abandoned her, and murdered his sister to cover up his misdeeds. After all that he had done for her over the decades, her utmost loyalty should lie with her best friend.