At school, everyone was setting up for the carnival. Melody tried to move a box of items, but it was too heavy for her. "Need a hand, sis?" She turned around and Rob helped her carry it.

"Thanks. You know, I'm surprised you're helping. I thought you'd be with Amy."

"Nah, Amy decided she needed some time alone. That's why she's sitting this one out." Rob told her as they walked down the hall.

"That's weird. She usually loves the school fair."

"Well, considering all that's happened lately, not to mention Caroline's recovery, I think she needs a little break." Rob said.

"You're not planning on dumping her, are you?"

"Of course not. That would be so lame." Rob said. "Besides, she's pretty awesome."

"You really are in love with her, aren't you?" Melody asked.

"Just don't tell anyone."

"You're secret's safe with me, brother." Melody said.

"God, how do they keep up with all this?" Alex asked. Melody and Rob set the box down and looked around.

"Alex? Where are you?"

"Right here." They heard someone say. They found him under the tent that hadn't been set up yet.

"What are you doing under there?" Melody asked as they helped get him out.

"I was helping the guys set up, when this thing collapsed on me." Alex said.

"Alex..." They turned around and found Bonnie. "Why don't you take a break? I'll find the guys who were on tent duty."

"Hey." Melody said. "You know, we could use a hand putting up the prizes."

"Actually, there's something else I have to do." Alex said. "I'll see you guys later, okay?" He walked off.

"What's up with him?"

"He's probably just tired." Rob told her.

"Anyway, have you seen Margie anywhere?"

"I think she was helping her twin with something." Rob said.

Inside, Margret was with Jeremy and Stefan. He handed Jeremy something. "It's the same as the bracelet Elena gave you."

"It protects me from compulsion." Jeremy said.

"Vervain is toxic to vampires." Stefan explained.

"Like poison?"

"Yeah, it's very poisonous. It keeps them out of your head."

"So, you were the one who put it in this bracelet, weren't you?" Margret asked, holding up her wrist. "I never take it off."

"Yeah. I wanted to make sure you and your sister would be safe in case he tried anything."

"But why vervain?" Jeremy asked.

"Don't know, certain natural herbs and roots and other elements are just harmful to vampires."

"Like a stake to the heart?"

"Right but it has to be wood."

"And fire, right?" Margret asked. "It's just as dangerous to you guys as it is to us humans." She remembered Uncle John tried to use it to kill all the vampires, including Damon.

"Right."

"You're pretty confident in yourself telling me all the different ways I could kill you." Jeremy said.

"Jeremy, if I thought you wanted to kill me we will be having a much different conversation." Stefan told him.

"Yeah, Damon is the one that deserves it."

"I want you to forget about Damon, all right? He's a hundred times stronger than you and right now he's not stable. You got to try to move forward." Stefan said.

"I was killed by a vampire and brought back by a magic ring. How do you move forward from that?" Jeremy asked.

"Hey, you weren't the one who found you dead in our sister's room." Margret said. "Look, I'm not too happy with him right now either, but we can't stop living just cause of the supernatural. No offense, Stef."

"None taken." Elena walked over to the group then. "Hello, Elena."

"Hey, do you…" Elena began.

"Yeah, yeah, I set up the golden fish toss all through hundred golden fish." Jeremy told her. "It's gonna be epic!" He left the group then. Elena seemed kind of stunned.

"He's gonna be alright, he's just been through a little bit of a whole deal." Stefan told them.

"Yeah, no kidding." Margret said. "I'll talk with him."

"How are you handling all this?" Elena asked.

"It's a little weird, but I'm adjusting." Margret said. "I'll see you later." She took off after Jeremy.

"Hey!" Jeremy turned around and saw Margret head over. "You know, this isn't easy for us, either, Jer. I want to forget about what happened as much as you do."

"Well, not much we can do about it, unless you wanna ask them to erase our memories." Jeremy said.

"Look, can we just have get through a normal night without having to deal with this?" Margret asked him. "I know it's hard, but if we don't at least try to move past this, then what is the point of us setting this thing up?"

"I'll see you later." Jeremy left, leaving her completely stunned.

"Hey, Margie." She turned around. Alex was leaning against the lockers.

"Hi, Alex. What's up?" He walked over to her.

"Are you going to this school fair tonight?"

"I don't see why I wouldn't." Margret said. "Considering all the trouble we've been through helping the juniors set it up. Besides, Amy could use some cheering up."

"She still concerned about Care?"

"I don't think she likes the idea of her in the hospital." Margret said. "I don't blame her."

"I was wondering if you'd like to go with me." Alex said. Margret looked at him and realized he was nervous.

"Wait, are you asking me out?"

"No. Yes. Well, kind of."

"I'm in." Margret said. "I'll meet you outside tonight. Okay?"

"Okay." Alex told her. "See you there." He walked away. Margret found herself watching him go.

"Margret?" She turned around. "We need help setting up the prize booth."

"I'll be right there, Rob."

Meanwhile, Amy and Matt were at the hospital. Amy was headed to Care's room. "Hey, you didn't have to drive me here."

"Well, you're not the only one who's visiting her." Matt pointed out. "Besides, it seems like she could use the company."

They arrived at Caroline's room. Amy went in first. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"A little tired, but I'm okay, I think." Caroline told her. "How'd you get here, anyway? My mom's at work all day."

"You're boyfriend offered a ride." Amy told her. A few seconds later, Matt walked in, carrying a tray of hospital food.

"Your mom said you're not eating."

"It's gross."

"It's the hospital food, it's supposed to be gross."

"No kidding. I came in here when I broke my leg that one time." Amy said. "And they say that stuff's supposed to make people feel better?" She shuddered. Caroline laughed.

"She also said you're getting released tomorrow morning." Matt told her.

"Morning? I need to get out tonight." Caroline told them. She knew she'd burn to a crisp if she got out in the sunlight. For some reason she didn't understand, she was becoming a vampire.

"No, the carnival is going to happen without you Caroline. I know it's hard for your neurotic control freak personality to process but Bonnie and Elena have it."

"I'm not neurotic." Caroline said.

"Yeah, you are, but it's cute so..." Matt began.

"Hey, would you back off?" Amy said. "My cousin might be a little high strung, but she's no neurotic."

"Look, it's not about the carnival okay? It's just that this place is just really depressing." Caroline told them.

"It's because you're sitting in the dark." Matt said. He started to open the curtains.

"No, don't!" Caroline protested. Matt opened the curtains, but she pressed herself against the opposite wall of the room to keep the light off her.

"What the hell?"

"Just close it please."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Close it!" Matt shut the curtains instantly.

"I'll just come back later okay?" He left the room.

"Uh, Care, did the nurses give you anything?" Amy asked.

"Amy, I'm not high. While I may be feeling better, it's like something else is going on with me that I can't exactly explain."

"Okay, I'll see if I can do something about getting you out of here early." Amy said. "Trust me, I hate this place as much as you do." She left the room.

"You okay?" Matt asked as she entered the hallway.

"That was weird, even for Caroline." Amy said. "Let's just go."

Margret was at home, trying to figure out to wear. She was having trouble deciding which jacket would go with the neon green shirt and jeans she was wearing. She looked at her options as she had them on the bed. "Go with the denim one." She heard a voice say. "Trust me, it goes with everything."

She turned around and saw Damon sitting by her window. "How long have you been there?" She asked. Then another thought occurred. "Have you been watching me the whole time?"

"No. Jeez, I have some decency, you know."

"Yeah, decent enough to kill my twin brother." Margret said.

"I see you're still angry about that."

"He's family. What do you expect?" Margret asked, running her hairbrush through her hair one last time.

"I get it, Margie. If it makes you feel any better, I'm glad he isn't dead." Damon told her.

"I'm still trying to get used to this vampire thing. I mean, I've believed in spirits and witches, but this is all still new to me." Margret said.

"I heard you had a date."

"It's nothing, really." Margret told him. "He's just a really close friend of mine. We've known each other forever." She realized what she said. "I mean…"

"I get it. He sounds like a great person."

"It's like, since our parents died, he and my closest friends are the only ones who've understood me." Margret said. The doorbell rang then. She was confused, since she thought she'd be meeting Alex there. She turned around to find Damon gone.

She walked over to her bed and picked up her white jacket and put it on. As she headed out, she looked in the mirror and noticed that the colors clashed. She took it off, then looked at the denim jacket.

At the fair, the rest of the group was already waiting. "Anyone seen Amy?" Melody asked.

"I think she's staying with Sheriff Forbes." Rob explained. "She said Care was acting weird at the hospital and wanted to make sure she got home safe."

"Weird how? Weird for regular people or weird for Caroline?" Alex asked.

"She was just really nervous, didn't want to be around sunlight." Rob explained.

"Well, she is still recovering. Maybe the light hurts her eyes or something." Melody said.

"You'd make a good doctor someday." Alex said.

"Thanks, but you know music's my passion." Melody said.

"You know, I think they set up a Rock Band thing around here somewhere." Rob said. "There's no way you can beat me this time."

"Bring it on, big bro." Melody said. They left the area.

"Hey." Alex turned around. Margret had arrived.

"You look great, Margret."

"Thanks." Margret said. "You wanna check out the ring toss?"

"Sounds good to me." They left.

A few minutes later, Melody had once again proven she could beat her brother at a music game. "How did you do that? It was on the advanced setting!"

"Well, I've had practice writing and playing music the past sixteen years of my life." Melody pointed out. "Once in a while, though, I like to practice to be sure I've still got my edge."

"Well, I promised I'd meet Tyler by the arm wrestling area. Wanna come?"

"And deal with a bunch of guys who will probably just hit on me with lame arm puns? No thank you." Melody said.

"Suit yourself."

"Hey." Melody turned around and saw a girl from one of her classes. "Do you really play your own music?"

"Yeah, It took a while to get good at it, too." Melody said.

"Would you mind playing something?"

"Well, I left my instruments at home." Melody said. "Maybe another time."

"My friend's got a guitar." The girl said.

"Are you sure that's okay with her? I wouldn't want to…"

"It's no big deal. I'll be right back." Melody watched her leave, wondering how she got stuck in this situation.

"I had no idea you could throw like that." Margret said as she and Alex walked into the hallway.

"It takes practice. Besides, all those hours playing sports paid off."

"You were always good at it." Margret trailed off when she saw her brother and Damon struggling. "I'll be right back."

"Okay."

By the time she got over to them, Jeremy had left. "What are you doing? Are you insane?"

"He threatened to out us."

"To be fair, you did kill him." Margret pointed out. "He's pretty angry about it. Now, I'm all for keeping secrets, but you two are going to have to work this out without killing each other. Again." She added. "What the heck are you doing here, anyway?"

"I'm kinda on a case." He explained. "I better go now." He left. She watched him, then headed back to where she left Alex.

At the arm wrestling tent, Rob noticed Tyler and Mason. "Excuse me." Someone bumped into him by accident. He turned around and noticed Stefan.

"Hey. I didn't know you were into this."

"I'm not, really. What about you?"

"I just think it's weird that Mason's back in town. The guy's been gone for five years." Rob told him. "Hasn't dropped in since we were twelve."

"Really? What else do you know?" He turned around and saw that Damon had shown up.

"Other than the fact that he's pretty much been travelling near the coast and surfing, not much." Rob told them. "I just get the impression he's not just here to help his family get over their loss."

"That's the feeling I was getting, too." Damon said.

"And I think you're both being paranoid." Stefan told them.

"Maybe." Rob said. "Though even with my girlfriend being worried about her cousin, it doesn't change how weird it is that he shows up completely out of the blue five years later."

"Any volunteers?" Mason asked.

"He'll do it." Damon pushed Stefan forward. Stefan gave him a what-the-heck-are-you-doing look.

"Go on, man." Rob told him. Everyone watched the guys arm wrestle. Stefan lost. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"You didn't put in any effort at all." Damon said.

"Yeah, actually, I did."

"Come with me." Rob watched as they left the tent, wondering what the heck that was about. A few minutes later, he left the tent and saw Caroline with Matt. She ended up running away from him.

"Whoa. What happened here?" Rob asked.

"I have no idea." Matt said. "We were talking, then she pushed me away."

"Was that Caroline?" Melody asked.

"Yeah. Something is up with her."

Alex and Margret were heading over to the others. "I cannot believe you almost didn't get on the ferris wheel." Alex said.

"I've never liked heights."

"Really? You didn't seem acrophobic back there."

"Probably because I was too busy looking at the night sky. Plus, you were holding me the whole time." She blushed, remembering the way he had his arm around her shoulders.

"You know, I wouldn't mind going back there again." Alex said.

"Can we take a raincheck on that?" Margret asked. "Looks like something serious is going on." She'd noticed the others talking with Matt.

"She's obviously pissed at me for something but for what, no clue."

"What happened?" Bonnie asked.

"She freaked out and she's been like that all day. Cool one minute and crazy and neurotic next."

"She almost died, it's must be messing with her head. Plus, she's Caroline." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, I'm used to the insecurity and all that. This is who she is, love it or hate it but this seemed I don't know...different. I can't explain it."

"Maybe the experience changed her." Margret said. She had a feeling she knew what was happening.

"Are you alright?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I've gotta find Care!" Margret told him. Bonnie ran after her.

Margret noticed Caroline with Damon. She got there the same time as Stefan and Elena. "Are you insane?" She asked. "Caroline's our friend and vamp or human, you can't hurt her."

"Yeah, cause he respected me as a human." Caroline pointed out.

"We have to get her inside." Elena said.

"It's okay Caroline, come with me." Stefan took her shoulders.

"Whatever happens, it's on you." Damon said. At that moment, Bonnie finally caught up to them.

"Caroline?" Bonnie asked. "Oh, no. It can't be." She touched her hand.

"Bonnie?"

"It's okay." Margret told Bonnie. "She's just really scared right now. She never meant to hurt anyone."

"I understand that."

"It's still Caroline, you know." Margret said. "I know it's weird, but she's still herself, even though she's been through this."

"How could this have happened?" Bonnie asked.

"Katherine." Elena said. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Margret headed back over to Alex. "Hey."

"How's Caroline?"

"She's okay, she's just in shock. Stefan's with her." Margret told him.

"Good to know."

"I think I'm going to head home now." Margret said. "If you need a ride…"

"Sure." Alex said.

After she got home, she was with Elena. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just wish things were normal sometimes, you know?"

"I know." Margret said. "But no matter what happens, we can get through it." Elena hugged her.

"I believe that too, Margie." She told her. "So, how'd it go with Alex?"

"How did you find out about that?"