uys are taking it slow and all, but…" Bonnie began as she and Elena walked toward the school.

"Hey, I don't want to just rush into things, okay?" Elena pointed out. "You have no idea what it's like for your entire world to just change overnight."

"Why don't you play the field?"

"Really, Bonnie?"

"Hey, Elena." Bonnie reached out to grab her arm. Elena stiffened. "Whoa, you feeling okay?"

"I feel fine. It's just a little cold out here." Elena told her.

"I can't shake this bad feeling now."

"Does this have something to do with you're Grams stories?" Elena asked.

"No, I'm just trying to be a good friend. I'm just a little worried about you." Elena knew that all too well. Bonnie had been concerned about her ever since her parents death. Even if she didn't know her secret yet, she was still trying to support her.

"You don't need to be. No matter what happens, I'm still me." Elena told her. "Besides, I'm starting to feel like everything is starting to go back to normal. I think it might have to do with Stefan."

"Hey." Jeremy turned and saw Vicki. "I got two concert tickets."

"I'm sure you two will have fun together." Jeremy told her.

"No, Jer, I want you to come with me." Vicki told him, as if he was oblivious.

"Look, Vicki, you know it's over between us." Jeremy pointed out. "Everyone knows, so why don't you go with you're boyfriend?"

"Well, I wanted to give this friendship thing a try." Vicki said.

"I don't mean to offend you, but are you high right now?" Jeremy asked. Vicki looked shocked at him. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."

"Of course not." Vicki replied as she walked away.

"Seriously, I can't go out with you, Vicki." Jeremy said. "I would, but I can't."

Stefan came over to the girls. "Hey, Elena. Bonnie."

"Hey, I'm going to find Caroline." Bonnie said. "She hasn't answered all morning. I'll see you two later."

"Bonnie…" Elena began, then she shook her head, realizing it'd probably be better to let her go.

"What was that all about?" Stefan asked.

"I think she was trying to get away from me." Elena admitted. "She's my best friend, but I think she's scared of what's going on with me. It has nothing to do with you, I swear."

"So what's up with those two? Are they dating or not?" Tyler asked.

"They're just friends." Matt said.

"Really? They sure seem close."

"Elena said she wasn't looking for a boyfriend right now." Matt told him.

"I've got it. The three of us should head out together." Elena said. She wasn't sure it would be a good idea to be around the house. "Maybe then she'll stop being so worried about me."

"Look, they are just friends and I trust Elena." Matt told him.

"Yeah, and I think that…" Tyler gasped as the football went flying out of his hand. He looked at his hand. He didn't even realize he'd thrown it until now. "Aw, man!"

"Look out!" Elena said. Stefan turned around only to be hit by the football in the stomach. Tyler and Matt began to run over.

"Sorry about that, man."

Stefan got up and threw it back to them. The guys stared at him in shock. Elena looked impressed. "You play football?"

"Used to be on the team back at my old school." He told her.

"Why don't you try out here?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. They don't seem like they'd want me around here."

"What happened was an accident." Elena said. "Tyler wouldn't do that on purpose. And while Matt still hasn't gotten over things, he's not totally heartless. What better way to fit in than joining the team?"

"Coming from the girl who writes in the cemetery …"

"You were there, too, loner guy." She pointed out. "Besides, I am…or was on the cheerleading squad. I'll have to see when that audition was again. I've been distracted lately."

"Guess I could give it a try." Stefan said, smiling.

"You know, this is the first time I think I've seen you smile." Elena told him.

"It's kind of hard not to around you." He said. After school was over, they both headed to the field. "Easy, man!" Matt said.

"Sorry. I'm just a little out of it today." Tyler told him.

"Hey, you made it." Bonnie said.

"Well, of course. I can't just put my life on hold." Elena told her. "Hopefully I'll get better at it this time around. By the way, can you meet us at the Grill tonight?"

"Us?"

"You, me, and Stefan." Elena said. "Look, I know that I've been distant and it's a good way for all of us to spend time together."

"I don't know, Elena." Bonnie said.

"Come on, Bonnie. We're best friends." Elena pointed out.

"Alright, but I'm still concerned about you."

"Thanks." Elena said. She turned and heard the coach of the team arguing with Stefan.

"I'm sorry, football tryouts were last spring."

"I wasn't here then, sir."

"Give me a minute." Elena told her. She walked over to them. Bonnie watched her. A few minutes later, she walked back over to Bonnie.

"What did you say to make him change his mind?" Bonnie asked.

"Just told him about this morning, that's all." Elena told her. She didn't want to add the fact she may have compelled him by accident.

"Anyway, where's Caroline?"

"I have no idea. She'd never miss practice." Elena said. Suddenly, she noticed her with a guy who looked kind of familiar. She got out of the car and rushed over to the girls.

"So that's the guy she must've been talking with." Bonnie said. "She mentioned one of her mom's friends."

"That's Damon. He's Stefan's brother." Elena told her.

"Hey, girls." Caroline said. "Sorry I'm late. I was being questioned again." Elena hoped that nobody saw her tense up. "Okay, let's get started, shall we?" She lead them through the routine. Elena was keeping up pretty well for a change. "Wow, you've been practicing."

"I've had some free time." Elena told her.

The guys were running football drills. "I hate to say it, but he's got skills." Matt said.

"I think he needs a buddy pass." Tyler said.

"Really?" Matt said. "You don't get to walk on the field and act like you own the place after 5 minutes."

"Dude, I'm kidding, okay?" Tyler said. "Well, mostly."

"Guess we have new receiver." Matt told him. They met with Stefan on the field.

"Welcome to the team, buddy." Tyler told him.

"Thanks."

"Hey. Great job out there." Matt said.

"It's no big deal." They headed inside.

At the Boarding House, Stefan was surprised to find Damon waiting for him. "Hey, how'd tryouts go?"

"I made the team." He told him. "Why are you here so early?"

"I wanted to apologize for the other day." Damon told him. "I didn't know she was unstable. I thought that she would've recovered more quickly than she did."

"You know, you can drop this whole good cop, bad cop thing anytime, right?" Stefan pointed out.

"I noticed you're girlfriend during practice today." Damon told him. "She's pretty good at it." Stefan was looking at him, wondering when he'd been there. As if he'd read his thoughts, he added, "I had to drop that Caroline girl off. She overslept and the shrieff asked me to because she was busy at work."

At the Grill, the girls were talking. "It was so weird. Last night while I was watching Supernatural, I've started predicting commercials."

"They're all kinda predictable, Bonnie." Elena pointed out. She realized that her powers were starting to come in fully.

"I've been obsessed with numbers. I don't understand what it means." Bonnie told her.

"Maybe you should talk to your Grams." Elena suggested.

"She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch." Bonnie pointed out. "I don't want to be a witch." Elena felt bad for her. She knew how it felt. "Do you want to be a witch?" Bonnie asked her.

"I don't want to be a witch." Elena said. I don't want to be a vampire, either, she thought to herself.

"Hey." Stefan arrived to meet with them.

"Hey. How'd practice go?" Elena asked.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right." He told her.

"Bonnie, you should have seen what happened." Elena said.

"I heard." Bonnie told her. She felt nervous for some reason.

Elena had an idea that would hopefully break the tension. "Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?"

"Well, my parents are divorced. No mom. Live with my dad." She admitted.

"I meant the witch thing." Elena told her.

"I don't know, it seems more like a family issue." Bonnie said. "My Grams says that we're descended from a line of witches."

"Really?" Stefan asked. "I heard about a group of witches that came into town during the Civil War."

"My family came by way of Salem." Bonnie explained.

"Now that's cool."

"You really think so?" Bonnie asked.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity." Stefan said. When they were staring at him, he explained, "We both studied about the supernatural at home."

"Surprisingly, that information's accurate." Bonnie said. Elena was still nervous. She wondered if they were also part of the founder's council.

"Hi, guys!" Everyone looked up in shock as they were joined by Caroline and Damon. "I heard you guys were getting together and thought you forgot about me."

"How could we forget about you, Caroline?" Elena asked.

"Clearly she's got low self-esteem. Her mother's concerned about it." Damon whispered to the others.

"I heard that, jerk!" Caroline said.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked.

"Just figured I'd stop by." For some reason, Elena felt even more nervous now that Damon was around.

"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team." Caroline started talking. "Elena told me how good you were."

"He's one of the best." Damon explained. "At his old school, he was very committed to football. Then again, he also had everyone's support. A good team supports each other, you know?"

CAROLINE: Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines.

"Elena's improved a lot since last year." Caroline went on. "Despite not going to cheer camp with the rest of us, you've almost nailed today's routine.

"Well, I've been teaching her." Bonnie told her. "I felt bad about going without her, so I figured I'd at least get her caught up."

"Maybe we'll end up co-captains!" Caroline said.

"Sounds like you're quite the cheerleader." Damon said. "But I've also noticed some hesitation."

"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died." Caroline explained. "She's still a little shaken by it sometimes, but she doesn't let it stop her from living." If she only knew the irony, Elena thought.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose your parents." Damon told her. "Stefan and I lost ours, too. That's how I became his guardian."

"We don't need to talk about this now, Damon." Stefan said, trying to change the subject. Elena leaned back into her chair and sighed. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.