The next morning, the group stood in the school parking lot. Margret looked around. She knew she was being silly, but the fact that the Originals were back freaked her out a little. "Looking for your boyfriend?" Melody asked.

"At least she's dating within the same year." Amy said. "Rob's a senior now. It might be the last time the five of us will be together. I mean, for all I know, once he heads off to college…"

"Hey, you have nothing to worry about." Rob told her. She jumped, startled for a moment, then relaxed when she saw him. "No matter what happens, you're the only girl I have eyes for." Amy blushed and got on her toes to kiss him.

"Cheer up, guys." Melody said. "Sure, some of our family members might be leaving at the end of the year, but right now, things are just starting. And besides, they're family. They'll always come back."

"Melody brings up a good point." Alex said as he and Jeremy caught up to the group.

"How are you holding up this morning?" Jeremy asked his twin.

"I'm okay." Margret told him. "How are you?"

"Well, I woke up with a slight headache. You can thank Damon for that." Jeremy said. "Otherwise, I'm fine."

"Good to know." Margret said, not even wanting to know what he did this time.

"I'm going to go catch up with Bonnie." Jeremy said. He headed inside.

"Well, ready to face junior year?" Alex asked Margret.

"Are you kidding? We are going to seriously kick butt now that we're officially part of the cheer squad." Margret said. "We got the real uniforms a couple weeks ago."

"Is it okay if I walk you to your first class?" Alex asked her.

"I'd like that." Margret said.

As they headed down the hallway, they saw Jeremy talking with Bonnie. She walked away from him. "Whoa. What was all that about?" Alex asked.

"I don't know." Margret said. "I'm going to talk to him. I'll meet you in class, okay?" Alex nodded and walked away. She walked over to her brother. "Did you do something to make her angry?"

"I don't know. She's been dodging my calls." Jeremy said. "Ever since I told her about seeing Vicki and Anna…"

"Wait, I thought they were…"

"They are."

"Then how…" Margret pulled him aside as a group passed by. "Are you seeing ghosts?"

"I've been seeing them all summer. It's just those two, though." Jeremy said. "And now Bonnie seems to be angry with all this."

"Well, Anna is your ex and you never got a chance to see her again. What did you think would happen?" Margret asked.

"Anna helped us find something that could help with the Original problem." Jeremy said. "She said I could decide whether or not I see them."

"Well, that's probably true." Margret told him. "If what I know about spirits is true, is that they usually only appear to people who call them or think of them. At least I think that's how it works, the reality's so complicated."

"You're telling me!" Jeremy said.

"When did you first see them anyway?" Margret asked.

"The night I was shot." He told her.

"I wonder if it happened because you were so close to death. People who've had near-death experiences sometimes get powers like seeing ghosts or auras." Margret explained.

"Now you tell me."

"You didn't ask, and you also didn't say anything about it to anyone." Margret pointed out. Just then, the bell rang. "Late on the first day, not good!" They both ran to get to their classes.

During the next break, she and the others met Amy in the hallway. "Hey, guys. You have any plans for tonight?" Amy asked.

"They're still doing the bonfire this year?" Melody asked, looking at the flyer. "After all the trouble last time?"

"It'll be different this year. Everyone's sticking in groups for safety." Rob said. "I've already heard from Caroline and the others about it."

"Well, I'll definitely be there." The group looked at Margret.

"Really? You're coming, Margie?" Amy asked.

"Yeah. I've learned a lot over the last year and I still don't like the woods, but there are worse things to go through." Margret said.

"If you get nervous, we'll be with you." Alex told her.

"Thanks, Alex."

"Now if only cheerleading practice was that easy." Melody said.

That afternoon, the girls were at cheerleading practice. Alex was on the other half of the field with the football team. They were stretching. "Has anybody seen Dana?" Someone asked.

Caroline looked uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" Margret asked.

"She's…she's in the hospital. Won't get out for weeks." Caroline told the group. She exchanged a glance with Margret that let her know that Dana wouldn't be returning to the team.

"Sounds like you have an opening on the squad." An unfamiliar voice with a British accent spoke up. The girls turned and noticed a fairly tall, blonde girl had joined their group. The girls watched her while Caroline spoke to her.

"Have either of you seen that girl before?" Amy asked. They both shook their heads.

"She must be new around here." Melody said. "I wonder where she transferred from."

"Something seems off about her." Margret said as she joined the other girls.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"You know what, never mind." Margret said. "I'm probably just paranoid." The new girl gave her a weird feeling though. "Let's just try to make her feel comfortable here, for now."

Alex came over to Margret a few minutes later. "Hey, I thought practice just started."

"That's what I thought too. Coach just dismissed us." Alex said.

"What? Why would he…" Then Margret saw Tyler and Caroline arguing. Elena told her that Klaus turned him into a hybrid before they left for school. That meant he had vampire powers now.

"I know, it's weird. But at least I can take a break before tonight." Alex shrugged.

"Whoa, check out the new girl!" They heard Amy say. They both turned and saw the blonde from before doing some impressive gymnastics moves.

"Wow. She's got moves." Alex said, looking impressed. Margret glared at him, then walked back over to her team.

"That was amazing. How'd you learn those moves?" Melody was asking her as Margret approached.

"I'm a fast learner, I guess." The blonde said. "I've spent a couple nights watching videos of simple routines like that."

"Simple? We've had to take years of practice to get good at moves like that." Amy said.

"Like I said, I learn fast."

"Well, it looks like your part of team now." Margret said, trying to stay friendly and polite. "Just try not to step on Care's toes. She's kinda the captain."

"I'll try not to." The blonde said. "Can't promise anything, though."

"I like your shirt." Amy said. "It really brings out your eyes."

"Thank you."

"I'm Amy, by the way. Care's cousin. These are my friends, Melody and Margret."

"Nice to meet you all."

"What about you, new girl? Got a name?" Margret asked as the blonde turned to leave.

"Rebekah."

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Rebekah." Melody said. "But Margret and I have to go, get ready for the bonfire tonight."

"I'll see you there, then." She said as they walked away.

Margret sat down on the bench and noticed she had a text message from Elena.

-Meet us in the classroom before the bonfire, we've got a situation.

Margret put her phone in her bag, then headed to the locker room to shower and change clothes. "So, how's everything with Elena?" Melody asked her.

"Oh, you know. The usual senior year anxiety." Margret said. "She's worried about us."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. My parents have become overprotective, and even Rob's more jumpy than usual." Melody said. "At least I have my DJ-ing as a small job."

"Yeah, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat." Margret said. "I don't know how we're going to get through this if she keeps worrying every ten seconds."

"I know." Melody said. "I started working on new songs I can't finish just to avoid talking to my family."

"Anyway, I should go. I promised I'd meet with Elena before the bonfire."

"See you there." Melody said.

About ten minutes later, Margret entered Ric's classroom. Elena, Damon, and Alaric were already there. "Sorry I'm late." Margret turned and saw Caroline behind her.

"Actually, you're just in time." Elena said. "So, we need a plan to put Stefan down for a while. At least until Klaus' compulsion on him breaks. There's no telling what he'll do without his humanity."

"I know. And since we're on the subject, is there any way we can kick that Original blonde bitch out of our lives?" Caroline said.

"Whoa! Back up!" Margret looked surprised. "Rebekah's an Original vampire?"

"Apparently." Damon said. He turned to Elena. "I thought you told them everything."

"We were in a rush this morning, and thanks to the blood loss, I may have left out a couple details." Elena said.

"Can we please focus here? We need to come up with a plan." Alaric pointed out.

"I know, but still…" Margret was still surprised.

"I know it's a shock, but it's true." Caroline told her. "And it feels like Rebekah's interested in taking over our lives."

"I don't know. I think there's more to her than that." Margret said. "If she's only here because she's out for revenge or on "doppelganger watch" or whatever, why would she join the cheerleading squad?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't trust her."

"Well, you know what they say, keep your enemies closer." Margret said.

"Okay, I think I have an idea." Elena said. They spent the next hour going the plan.

"So, is everyone clear on what we have to do?" Damon asked.

"I'll lure Stefan away from the bonfire." Elena said. "Then when he's distracted..."

"I'll shoot him." Alaric finished.

"Can't Bonnie just ju-ju him or something?" Damon asked.

"I'm trying to keep Bonnie out of this. I don't trust that Stefan won't hurt her." Elena said. "Margret, be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep my group from getting too close to you guys." Margret said. "Our junior year's going to be hard enough, if they get involved now..."

"You're really brave to keep them out of it, Margret." Alaric said.

"Caroline, are you covered?" Elena asked.

"Yes! I will make sure that the old Forbes jail cell is prepped and ready."

"We're forgetting a key player here." Damon said. "Rebekah? Wherever Stefan goes, the blond ponytail tends to follow."

"Which is why it's your job to keep her away." Elena told him.

"How?! She's an Original. Last time I checked, we're out of daggers."

"So then preoccupy her with your charm."

"Might have better luck finding the dagger." Alaric said. Margret closed her eyes and pinched the bridge between her nose and forehead. She was getting really sick of everyone fighting.

"Are ever not going to be mad at me for a day?"

"Doubtful."

That's when Tyler arrived. "Sorry I'm late. What's going on?"

"We need you to raid your mom's vervain supply. Enough to keep Stefan down for a while." Elena told him.

"You can't do that to Stefan." Tyler said.

"Why not?" Caroline asked.

"Trust me, Tyler, it's in his best interest." Elena explained.

"Yeah. It's not in Klaus's." Margret looked at him, wondering what was going on.

"But Klaus is the bad guy, Tyler." Caroline said. "You know, why are you acting like some freaky, hybrid, slave minion?" She asked, sounding more furious with every word.

"Uh oh." Margret turned to Damon and raised an eyebrow.

"You know something, don't you?" He nodded.

"Let's just say it's not good."

"Klaus made me who I am, Caroline. I owe him everything." Tyler said.

"Even after what he put my sister through the other night?" Margret snapped, turning her attention to him. "Do you even care that she almost died?"

"But she didn't." He pointed out.

"Okay, what is going on?" Elena asked.

"You know what, screw this. I'm outta here." Tyler turned to leave. Then Damon rushed forward and plunged a vervain dart into him, knocking him out.

"What are you doing?!" Caroline asked, running to her unconscious boyfriend on the ground.

"He's been sired." Damon said.

"What?"

"Sired. He feels loyal to Klaus because Klaus's blood created him." Damon explained.

"Loyal how?" Elena asked.

"He'll seek acceptance from his master. It's really rare. But maybe not so much in hybrids."

"So how do I fix him?" Caroline asked.

"Get a new boyfriend."

"Is this really the time to crack jokes like that?" Margret asked. "Never mind. I'm going." She got up and walked to the classroom door.

"Hey," She felt a hand on her arm. She turned around, facing Damon. "I know you're worried about everyone."

"I am just so tired of fighting everyone all the time." Margret sighed. "It's only going to get harder, isn't it?"

"Probably. But the important thing is not to give up on the people we still believe in." Margret smiled.

That night, Margret made it to the bonfire. "Hey, guys."

"You made it!" Amy said.

"I said I would. Doesn't make this place any less creepy, though."

"Hey, isn't that Rebekah over there?" Melody asked. The girls turned and saw her talking with someone.

"She is so lucky. She could probably get any guy she wanted, even if they were taken." Amy said.

"Hey, there's not much we can do about it." Melody said. "And besides, I know my brother wouldn't go for her."

"What makes you say that?"

"Let's just say he doesn't like blondes." Melody told her. "We've all got a type." Margret nodded.

"Hey, there you are." Alex said, walking over to them. "Rob and I saved you a place near one of the fire pits."

"Thanks."

A few minutes later, the five of them were seated around a fire. They talked about how their first day of classes went. "Yeah, it was weird." Rob said. "This new transfer student showed up."

"Let me guess, she was blonde?" Melody asked.

"How did you know?"

"Cause she forced her way into the cheerleading squad." Amy said. "But I will admit, she does have some killer moves."

"Yeah, that's true." Melody said. "Heck, she could take my spot on the dance team any day."

"I wouldn't go that far." Margret said. "You're the best dancer and musician that I know."

"Thanks."

"Still, it's weird that she transferred for her senior year of high school, isn't it?" Alex pointed out.

"I don't know, maybe there was a delay with her old school's exchange program or something." Margret said. She sighed. Even she didn't believe that.

"Any of you want anything?" Rob asked.

"No thanks. I am staying sober." Amy said. The others declined as well.

Margret hoped that she'd be able to keep her friends safe from everything. Taking hold of her charm bracelet, she whispered a few words that she'd found written on one of her books. The thing was, she wasn't the one who'd written them.

"Check it out." Melody said. Margret broke her concentration and turned to where the girls were looking. "Looks like Damon's moving onto the new girl."

"Should we warn her about him?" Amy asked.

"It couldn't…" Melody began.

"No, actually, I think she'll be okay." Margret said. "Rebekah's much stronger than she looks. She can handle herself if he tries anything with her."

"I guess you're right." Amy said. "Still, it seems weird."

"Have you met Damon?" Melody asked. "He's not exactly what I'd call normal." Margret laughed. If only she knew the truth.

"True, but he did help get your Uncle Bill out of town after he hurt your cousin." Alex pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess I kind of respect him a little." Amy admitted. "I don't know if I trust him, though."

"Trust me, he's the type who'd do anything to keep this town safe." Margret said. "If it came down to it, he'd put his life on the line for any one of you."

"Can we not talk about this? It's bad enough there are men at war overseas." Alex said.

"You never told us that your father…"

"It's not my father. I have a cousin serving time over there." Alex said. "He was sent in a couple weeks ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Margret asked. "I would've understood if you didn't want to hang out because of that."

"I didn't want to talk about it." Alex said. "Besides, it's not like we're close. The news just came as a shock."

"That explains why you skipped movie night." Amy said.

"Amy, we all ended up leaving anyway. No one wants to watch a movie about war." Melody pointed out. "I stick with musical comedies."

"Yeah, we know." Alex said.

"You're telling me. I would've probably strangled you if you made us watch that one in the mall at our sleepover the other night." Margret said.

"No kidding. I think I have all those songs memorized now." Amy said.

"I can't help that it's my favorite one." Melody said. "At least it was better than one of those Disney ones or Hairspray."

"The love plotline wasn't even resolved." Amy pointed out. "The main couple get into a fight, then they sing a duet together and somehow make up, but still…"

"Okay, I'll admit that was one of it's weak points." Melody said.

"The last time I saw it, I had I'm A Survivor stuck in my head for a month." Margret said.

They spent the next hour talking about their favorite movies and musicals. Margret found herself feeling more relaxed than she had been in months. "Margret." She turned to Alex. "Are you going to answer that?" She didn't get it, then she realized her cell phone was ringing.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Margret said, she picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, Margret." She heard her legal guardian say. "You still at the bonfire?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Margret asked.

"Well, something's happened." Alaric said. "We're all okay, but…look, we'll explain when you get home, okay?"

"Sure." Margret told him. She hung up.

"Everything okay?" Melody asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Margret told her. "Just…family stuff."

"So, I didn't know you played, too." Amy was telling Rob.

"Well, yeah. When we were kids, we were always taking turns playing our dad's old acoustic guitar." Rob said. "When I got older, I was more interested in sports, but I still play guitar sometimes."

"My brother's the one who taught me how to play." Melody told the others. "It's what inspired my love for music."

"I always wondered who taught you to play so good." Alex said. He turned to Rob. "It was really cool of you to teach her that."

"That was nothing. When we were kids, we formed a small band in our garage with a few of the other neighbor kids." Rob said.

"I remember that. You invited the three of us to listen one day." Amy said.

"Those were some awesome times." Margret said.

"Well, we may have changed, but our being friends never will." Alex pointed out. Margret smiled, feeling his fingers lace with hers. Rob put his arm around Amy's shoulder and took Melody's hand with his free one.

By the time Margret got home, she felt good about overcoming her fear of the forest. She really did have the greatest friends. She entered the living room and found Alaric. "Hey, Ric."

"Hey, you guys make it okay tonight?"

"Yeah, we stayed on the far side of the woods, far from Rebekah and whoever else was there." Margret told him. "So, what happened?"

"Someone tried to blow up my car with Elena inside it."

"What?"

"I'm fine." Her sister said. She hadn't noticed Elena was sitting on the couch when she entered. She looked a little worse for the wear, but okay. "We all made it out okay."

"How the heck did it happen?" Margret asked.

"I don't know." Alaric said. "One minute I'm outside the car, the next thing I know it's on fire."

"And I didn't see anyone else near the car before or after it was set on fire." Elena said. "I think it may have been a ghost."

Margret groaned. "Even when she's gone, she haunts us." They looked at her. "Vicki's the only person I can think of that would do something so stupid."

"Well, we're not going to have to worry about her anymore." Jeremy said, entering the room. "Bonnie just helped Matt send her away."

"Well, I've had enough excitement for one day." Margret said. "I'm going to bed."

After she had changed into her pajamas and freshened up in the bathroom, she heard a noise in her bedroom. When she got in there, it was just as empty as it had been when she left it. She had just sat down on the bed when she heard it again. She quickly reached under bed for a spray bottle.

"There's no need for that." She heard a voice say. She relaxed and set the bottle next to her night stand.

"You know, if you're going to keep doing these midnight visits, you could give a little more warning." Margret said.

"Can't help that I pop in when I feel like it" Damon said. Margret got under the covers.

"Well, it's been one very weird day." Margret said.

"You're telling me. My brother has no humanity, and I had to pretend to be interested in Klaus' sister."

Margret let out a small laugh. "Yeah, can't beat your sister almost getting fried by a ghost."

"How are you handling all this, anyway?" Damon asked, sitting near her.

"I'm a little worried about Rebekah." Margret said. "She seems nice, but I am tired of not knowing who to trust when it comes to all this."

"I know what you mean." Damon said. "At least we can still trust each other, at least."

"With everything going on around here lately, I think you're the only vampire I trust." Margret told him.

"Probably not the smartest move." He pointed out

"Hey, we both need all the friends we can get. Especially when we're going through this mess."

"You really think we'll be able to bring my brother back to his old, annoying self?" Margret smiled.

"I know we will. If anyone could bring him back, it'd be you and my sister." She yawned, covering her mouth.

"You should get some sleep. If the next few days are anything like this one, you're going need it."

"No kidding." Margret said. Damon got up to leave. "Will you stay until I fall asleep?"

"Sure." He said, smiling. He sat down on the window seat, keeping an eye on her. He really cared about Margret. She was like a little sister to him.

It was a little messed up she was pulled into this, but he knew she could manage her friends and that if anything happened to any of the Gilbert kids, anyone who threatened them would pay big time. He knew she was fully asleep when he heard her breathing relax. He quietly left the house without anyone seeing him.