The music was vibrating around the school, audible even from the parking lot, and everywhere people dressed in ridiculous costumes were running around squealing. Meaning, not much had changed since my time here. Well, except for the fashion trends.

"Always a town thing," I muttered as we passed a group of small kids undoubtedly dressed up as clique from some recent movie, their parents not too far away, gathered around a car to monitor with hawk-eyes.

"Community is important," Elena spoke, and I heard Mom's words echo in her voice even before my sister threw a sad smile over her shoulder to acknowledge the intentional recalling of the memory.

"Right. Always," I mumbled as we ducked inside the school, where the crowd was mainly dominated by teens with a drink in hand.

Not even two steps in, and some guy tried to grab my ass, only for his wrist to be seized by my hand and twisted around before I even thought twice about it.

"Parker!" my sister called from ahead of me, and I released the groaning guy with a shove, trying to shield the view of his broken wrist from her. "Not tonight. We've got bigger problems," was all she said, so clearly I'd blocked the sight well. As I moved to follow her, the guy and his friends raised their voices with angry protests after us, but I merely turned to give them a cold look and clench my hand into a fist, having them shut up instantly.

I'd barely even caught up to Elena's side when we were halted again, this time by Matt stepping into the way with a costume to match my sister's nurse one.

"You went with last year's costume too." He smiled at Elena, and I rolled my eyes. Matt was very cute, but why he kept torturing himself with those longing looks after they'd broken up was beyond me.

"Yeah, I didn't know I was coming till, like, half an hour ago," Elena said politely, but also gazed past Matt to try to spot our brother in the crowd further inside. At her nice ways and total indescretion at hiding her emotions, I could only roll my eyes again; seemed like a regular theme for the night.

"You look great too, Parks!" Matt added as he turned to me. "Glad you came."

"Thanks. I know." I flashed him a quick smile before getting straight to the point. "Have you seen Jer or Vicki?"

"Yeah, Vicki's here," Matt informed. "You can't miss her. She's a vampire." Elena's gaze immediately snapped back to Matt, as she almost seemed to start hyperventilating. JEEZ, she was unsmooth today! She grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my flesh.

"We need to find Jeremy! Now!" My sister practically shook, squeezing my arm tighter.

"Elena, what's the matter?" Matt inquired, his brows furrowed in confusion. I couldn't blame the poor guy, Elena's behavior was both clumsy and alarming.

"We gotta find him!" She dragged me with her, and I shrugged at the still confused Matt.

"You look good too, Kennedy!" I yelled at him and winked as I was hauled away. At least I saw a smile appear on his face before I was jerked around a corner. There, Elena finally released her tight hold of me, leaving a phantom mark of her hand on my skin. She was a lot stronger than she looked, actually, but who was I to judge such.

"Let's split up," my sister suggested, but it was more of a declaration as she had dived into the crowd and was gone before I'd even had a chance to open my mouth.

Without any other choice, I began pushing my way through the crowd as well. The flickering lights made it nearly impossible to see who was really under the costumes; so how the hell was I supposed to find Jeremy in these crowded hallways? As I moved through them, I couldn't help but pay attention to the decorations.

Efforts of scary ornament had been hung up or put on display on every locker or at every corner. Spiderweb was hanging down from the ceiling; mannequins dressed up as monsters placed a little here and there; neon lights illuminating everything to give it an eerie glow, especially the white clothing.

That was how I spotted Elena again – her white nurse outfit a stark contrast to all the darker costumes as it glowed brightly in the dark – making her way through the crowd by snatching down hoodies in an effort to find Jeremy.

Attempting to follow my sister under the flickering lights, I was momentarily distracted by a dude who laid on a table I passed, his chest used as a plate for snacks, which made it look like the people around him were eating his intestines. Stopping for a second to regard the odd sight, the guy smiled at me, inviting me to join them, but I only shrugged, made a disgusted noise and moved on.

Concentrating on this, however, made me lose sight of Elena. But, instead, I hit the jackpot and saw Stefan – of all people – quickly make his way through the crowd and towards a door the other end of the hallway. Just as fastly, I followed him by elbowing my way towards it as well, diving after him and through it before it slammed shut, only to find myself in the parking lot for the school's yellow busses.

"Go, get inside! GO!" Stefan yelled from somewhere ahead, but not to me.

Further up ahead, Elena grabbed Jeremy and began dragging him with her towards me, a hand placed at her side where her white costume revealed something red. Blood. Immediately, I saw the fear in their eyes, but I didn't have to wonder the cause of it for very much longer, since Vicky suddenly appeared from out of nowhere and pushed Jeremy.

He fell backwards, knocking over a barrel filled with wooden planks in the process, as Vicki instantly moved to grab my sister, her fangs coming out before she bit into Elena's neck and evoked a loud scream of fear and pain.

If the sight of those fangs or my brother knocked over hadn't been enough to set me in motion, that heartbreaking shout from my sister snapped a deep instinct within me and had me in motion.

Grabbing one of those scattered wooden planks – catching Stefan move towards us from the corner of my eye, but somehow, believe it or not, being faster than him – I drew Vicki away from my sister and jagged it into Vicki's back without a second thought, piercing it through her heart.

Gasping, she slowly gazed down at the sharp piece of wood sticking out from her chest, whimpering as her eyes found mine to look into them with fear and shock. Whatever compassion she'd hoped to find in her last moments as her skin began to turn grey, veins popping all over her body, was lost as I only gazed back with an empty glare, without remorse. The bitch had just tried to kill my sister, there was no forgiveness for that.

"Vicki! VICKI!" I heard my brother scream repeatedly somewhere behind me, and glancing over my shoulder revealed Stefan holding him back as he – sobbing loudly – tried to make his way over to the girl in my arms. But Vicki's skin had already fully turned grey, and she fell to the ground with a thud once I'd ripped the stake out of her.

Instantly, Elena moved from where she'd stood gaping – one hand at her bloody side and one at the wound on her neck – and grabbed Jeremy to hold him tightly. As they stood so, clinging onto each other for dear life, I looked at them both and their wild and equally shocked expressions thoroughly.

Jeremy; who seemed as if his whole world had just been torn apart in front of him. Elena; who gazed at me as if I was a stranger and a monster to match the one who laid dead at my feet.

But no matter the pain, I still didn't regret it; anyone who tried to hurt my family would suffer the consequences.

"Get him out of here," Stefan told Elena with a nod at the whimpering Jeremy, as I refused to turn away my gaze from either of my siblings.

After a moment of hesitation, Elena started dragging Jer with her, backwards and away from the scene. Away from me. When they had disappeared through the door that lead back into the building, I finally turned to Stefan.

"You know," he only stated. I nodded. "For how long?"

"Long enough." I spoke coolly.

The memory of my first encounter with a vampire resurfaced.

A dark bar, late at night. A drunk man had jumped me. The closest weapon had been a wooden spoon, which I'd grabbed without thinking – in the middle of panicking at his growls – and shoved into his chest. My aim was already good back then, and as he died before my horrified eyes, his skin turning grey and his face frozen, his fangs were still out for me to see, gleaming in the bad lightning from behind the bar with my blood shimmering on them.

It was in that very moment I had realized that there were things in this world logic couldn't explain. Stories I'd heard whispered amongst my parents and their friends were true. Crazy theories my uncle had presented me with not any scary tales for bedtime, but very real. So, I decided that I would find out everything I possibly could about them, and more. Which was exactly what I did.

Letting out a sigh, Stefan turned his gaze towards the door, his worry for Elena written all over his face. It was so utterly, utterly clear: he truly cared for her. And even though he was a bloodsucking vampire and as much of a monster as the rest of them – and me – I still spoke:

"Go." I told him; a little reluctance remaining, but hidden well. "She needs you more than me right now." Surveying my face for a moment, Stefan finally nodded respectfully and walked towards the door, but stopped with his hand resting on the handle.

"I'll send someone to clean this up," he turned to direct over his shoulder, but had gone inside before I could come with a dismissive protest.

It wasn't necessary, really. I already knew how to dispose of a body.

Gazing down at Vicki, this time an emotion actually stirred within me. Even though I'd never really liked her, I had still known her. More importantly, she had mattered to those who I cared about. That always made this bit harder; and maybe Stefan had known that.

Not many moments had passed when I heard someone approach me. I didn't even have to turn to know who it was.

"Great," I muttered as Damon stopped a few feet to my right. "He sent you."

"Rough night?" he spoke easily, tilting his head to the side to watch me. I just stared back at him, a dark, vile rage gushing through my body. I clenched my jaw in an attempt to keep some control over it.

"You don't know the half of it."

"Nice aim," he only commented after a viewing the body. Somehow, Damon's easy attitude towards all this was a hundred time worse than my siblings horrified reactions had been, setting my blood boiling.

"I don't need your help," I grunted. In turn, Damon raised a questioning brow.

"Oh, really? You know what, that doesn't matter. Stefan called me." He pointed down at Vicki. "My mess, I'll clean it up," he stated. I frowned.

"You did this?" He didn't even seem remorseful, just shrugging dismissively.

"Yes, I turned her. But it doesn't matter. However, what does is how you knew how to kill her," Damon teased, suddenly eyeing me with a newfound curiosity.

"That's none of your business," I spat. As much as I didn't want to leave, because it felt as if I would prove myself weaker than him by doing so – unable to take care of the situation on my own, which was far from the truth – I still felt an extreme tiredness creep into my bones, and I also needed to check on Jeremy and Elena. As if Damon had read my mind, he simply nodded.

"I think we better continue this conversation some other time. You should really go." He stared at me intensely, and a small part of me, buried deep inside, wanted to recoil by that look. But I refused to. Instead, I looked down at the grey corpse that had once been Vicki Donovan one last time, letting go of any little scrap of remorse I might have had left after my action.

"This isn't over," I claimed darkly and glared back up at him.

"Oh, I know. But to be continued… I look forward to it," Damon smirked.

Stiffly, I turned and left without a look back, even though every fiber of my body wanted to take out all of my anger on him and beat him into a bloody mess of bones. It was good thing that I didn't; starting a fight with a vampire was never smart without any weapons or backup or tricks up one's sleeve to help even the odds.

As I reached the parking lot located at the front of the high school, I spotted Stefan patiently waiting for me in the mess of still happily, partying teenagers.

"Are Jeremy and Elena–" I began.

"They drove home." Stefan eyed me cautiously. I had a hunch my anger was showing more than I wanted it to.

"Good." I nodded.

He moved to reply, but hesitated. "The fastest way there is, uh–"

"I know." I shrugged, once again damning myself for not owning a darn car. "Just get it over with."

Two arms grabbed me, and a strong rush of air later left me standing in front of my old house.

"Parker, about all this–" Stefan began as he released his grip on me.

"Relax, Stef." I waved off, too tired to have this kind of conversation right now. "I don't blame you for keeping the vampirism a secret. But I'm not so fond of the danger you're causing Elena either." He remained silent. "However," I continued. "I'm not gonna tell my sister who she can or cannot date. That's entirely up to her." Stefan nodded; as if agreeing and acknowledging what I was saying.

As if having been given a signal, Elena exited the house. The second she spotted me she stopped dead in her step, gawking. Not bearing to stick around and keep witnessing the hurt and confusion woven into her gaze, I brushed past her to enter the house, leaving her alone with Stefan.

Up the stairs and towards my brother's room I went, halting at the closed door for a breath.

If that previous look was one I would have to face from Elena from now one, then what kind of torture would I experience from my baby brother?

Inching the door open, quietly, I peeked a look inside the dark room, spotting Jeremy curled up on the bed with his arms tightly hugging his knees. Even in the dark, the sole light sneaking into the room what was cast from the room behind me, I saw his shoulders tremble. Heard the sobs.

My back hit the wall silently as my nails dug into my palms, lips pressed together into a thin line. A shaky gasp of breath was heard from inside the room, and I pinned my eyes shut to it. Tried to keep the sound from inching any further into my thawing heart.

With my fists curled into stones, using every ounce of my self-control to prevent myself from hitting a hole in the wall beside me, the faint sound of approaching footsteps caught my attention.

When I opened my eyes, Damon had just reached the top step of the staircase and stopped to watch me. Silently, I turned to close the door to Jer's room, before facing the blue eyes again.

"What do you want?" I questioned. That he'd been invited into this house and could come and go as he pleased around my vulnerable family – that he was a creature who needed to be invited in – was the last thing on my mind right now. I had way more things that spun my head.

"Your sister asked me to make Jeremy forget about tonight. About Vicki being a vampire," Damon spoke after another moment of just watching my features, as if reading something in the lines of my face I tried to keep buried very, very deep within. "To take away his pain." The words made me halt, made my whole body and mind turn still.

Elena. Elena wanted Jeremy to forget Vicki. To make him whole, erase this night and its horrificness from his mind.

I was at a loss of snippy retorts to tell the dark-haired male in front of me, too exhausted after this long night and all its revelations to really think. To even be upset at my sister for suggesting such a thing as tampering with someone's mind without their permission. So I simply said the only thing that came to mind, too tired to look it over and analyze it beforehand.

"Why are you telling me?"

Completely still, Damon intensely looked at me where I stood leaning against the wall – my sobbing brother who might be about to have his world change for the second time tonight a mere wall away.

"Because I don't do as Elena says," Damon said. That got my mind sparked, and I straightened. "This is your decision, too," he stated, eyes darting back and forth between mine. I met his stare head-on, not wavering from it for a second. He really meant that; would back away and leave my brother as he was if I so decided it, no matter if it went against my sister's wishes or not. No matter how much my brother might hurt from his memories; of Vicki; and of me.

"Do it," I spoke. Damon watched me for another second, then nodded, and went inside.

I didn't want to hear whatever he'd say, even if I probably should make sure it was true to the instructions my sister had given, but I just couldn't. So instead, I pushed myself off the wall and headed downstairs with my heels pattering against the steps, bursting outside through the front door with no intent of stopping.

Except my sister called out my name from behind, and my legs obeyed her will and halted.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked as she neared me, and slowly I turned back around to face her small figure, a blanket draped across her shoulders, as she headed towards me.

"I was…" I began, but didn't know how to go on. Where was I going, really? A very good question.

"Stay," she said. "Don't leave, not this time. It's time you stopped running to see what you've done. What your actions does. So stay." There was – to my surprise – no hostility to her words, only a will as clear as day.

I could just stare at her. My sister. Standing before me in her nurse costume, now bloody and ripped, with her arms crossed firmly over her chest. Her eyes piercing me to the spot.

Slowly, I nodded. "Okay. I'll stay."

"Good," Elena stated. Then, hesitating for a second with her gaze drifting back towards the house, she took a step forward and pulled me into a quick hug. "I don't forgive you," she whispered next to my ear. "I can't. At least not yet. But I do understand why you did what you did." She pulled away, still holding onto my arms. "Vicki was going to hurt us."

"Kill you," I corrected, firmly. "She was going to kill you, Elena." My sister let out a deep sigh.

"What a mess," she shook her head. "I don't know when, or if we'll ever recover from it," she said, and her words made my heart sink a bit. "But no matter what," Elena went on. "You're still my sister. Always."

In that moment, Damon emerged from inside the house and stepped onto the porch. Elena and I were both pulled out of our moment, and I quickly and silently cleared my throat from the reaction her declaration had created.

"It's done," Damon declared.

Instantly, Elena gave me one last look – which wasn't as heartbreaking as her previous one tonight had been – then went passed him and into the house without a word, granting Stefan still seated on the other side of the porch a quick glance. As I went to follow her, however, I briefly stopped in front of Damon.

"Thank you," I told him, and it took a lot to muster that up. It wasn't for what he'd done, mainly – since my feelings towards taking away Jeremy's pain like this were mixed – but because he'd asked me. Because he'd proven my image of him slightly wrong by inquiring about my opinion in something he could so easily have done blindly without a second thought. It meant a lot, and I made sure he knew it when I looked into his eyes then.

As he gazed back, eyeing my face as if he was taking in every inch of it, I couldn't help but feel he saw that. Finally, he simply nodded in response.

Leaving him and Stefan out there on the porch, I switched out the two brothers for my own two siblings. Just as I walked up the stairs and saw Elena and Jeremy sitting together on his bed, as Jer's gaze drifted from my sister to over her shoulder and onto me, I noticed the change.

His eyes seemed brighter, more innocent. As if nothing at all had happened to taint them. Taint him.

Despite this, as the night prolonged and we spent every moment of it on Jeremy's bed with his laptop and chips and just our mouths gabbing away for the first time in what felt like forever, Elena's eyes were still reddish around the edges and her makeup a bit mushy in the same area. However, I didn't comment on either that or any of the possible causes, most likely in the form of a certain familiar guy.

Instead, I tried to remain calm in those moments of just hanging out like any normal sister would with her younger siblings. Even with the day haunting Elena's eyes, and the absence of that same look from Jeremy's bothering my mind. But still, I couldn't help but wonder as my brother – as joking and happy as ever – imitated the detective we watched by creating a deep frown and blowing up his cheeks to look utterly ridiculous; what exactly had Damon told him?