Meanwhile, at the opposite side of the grill, the guys were hanging out. "Guys, I have to get back to work." Vicki told them. "I'll see you later."

"Okay."

"She's my sister and I know how she feels about you." Matt was telling Jeremy. "But maybe you should go easy on her, you know?"

"It's best to just if I just give her some time. It won't work between us." Jeremy told him. Tyler sat next to him. "Even if it did, she's kinda unstable, no offense."

"Yeah, but she seemed happier around you." Tyler said. "Call me crazy all you want, but it doesn't feel right going out with her."

"Look, she deserves someone who will make her happy. Someone who won't hurt her." Jeremy explained.

"Look man, I'm going to be straight up. She gets the message, she's just not over you." Tyler told him. Jeremy didn't say anything, just got up and left.

Back at Elena's table, things were kinda awkward. "So, you two are dating now?" Damon asked. Elena blushed.

"No, we're just friends." She told him. "We agreed to take things slow."

"I haven't seen my brother this happy in a while, Elena."

"So, what happened with his ex?" Elena asked. She glanced around the table. Bonnie was reading and Caroline was busy talking with Stefan.

"She went missing. Left without a single word." Damon explained. "But that was about three years ago, maybe less."

"What was she like?" Elena asked. "I mean, I know she wasn't very nice, but…"

"She was very beautiful, but had this really bad mean streak. She could be really seductive when she wanted to be."

"So you dated her, too." Elena realized.

"Wow, beautiful and smart." Damon said. "You might want to ask Stefan about other details, though." Then he added, "So, were you thinking of quitting the squad before?"

"How did you know that?"

"Well, after we lost our parents, it wasn't easy." He told her. "I almost left college to help my brother out."

"He never talks about it much." Elena said. "But I realized how important it was for me to live. My parents wouldn't have wanted me to give it up just because they're…gone."

"That's an interesting outlook on life."

"Well, when you're faced with loss, you do your best to work it out."

"That's true, though they say it's a thin line between life and death." Elena stared at him.

"Sorry I asked about…"

"It's fine. Who cares if she's been missing without a call in a few years?"

"Matt tries, but he's just having a really hard time. You have to understand that they were each other's first. You know, like, from the sandbox." Caroline said.

"That's a beautiful necklace you're wearing." Stefan told her.

"It was a gift from Elena." Caroline explained. "Before the accident."

"What's that on your wrist?" He asked her. He had noticed Bonnie wearing a similar bracelet.

"Oh, yeah. She also made this friendship bracelet." Caroline told him. She looked a little sad.

"You okay?"

"Sometimes I miss the old Elena." Caroline told him. "It's hard to see her act like she's okay with things sometimes."

"Sometimes it's the only way people can cope with loss." Damon told her.

"And by people he means himself." Stefan said.

"Right, because I spend most of my time brooding and writing in my journal."

"Damon!"

"What? They have a right to know."

"And it just got awkward." Bonnie said.

"Come on, let's go." Elena said. The girls headed home. Upstairs in her room, Elena glanced over at the table. She opened one of the drawers and found the extra set of bracelets she'd made in case there weren't enough. She sighed. It was hard for her to be around them, especially if they weren't protected.

The next day, Elena met Stefan after practice. "Wow. That's a great look on you." Elena told him.

"So, what, you're like my personal cheerleader?" He asked.

"You could sort of say that." Elena looked toward the field.

"You okay? You seem worried about something." Stefan told her. "Is it about the other night?"

"No." Elena said. It came out harsher than she'd intended. "I wanted to give you this before the upcoming game." She handed him one of the bracelets.

"A friendship bracelet?"

"You can think of it as a good luck charm." Elena told him. "With you on the team, it looked like you needed it."

"Hang on, there's two of them." Stefan pointed out.

"It's for Damon." Elena explained. "I figured if he's going to be around, we might as well try to include him in the group."

"Thank you." Stefan told her. "For everything. If it weren't for you, I probably never would've tried out."

"If you hadn't showed up that night, I might have given up at starting over." She confessed.

"Well, we'll find a way to deal with it together." Stefan said.

"It's all we can do." Elena replied. She kissed him on the cheek.

Later on, the football team was meeting. "I can't believe that he's even here."

"You okay?" Vicki asked him. "You seem really tense."

"Just a little stress." Tyler told her. "You're friend made it." Vicki turned and noticed Jeremy.

"Wait, Ty." Vicki said. "I don't know if I can do this friend thing with him."

"Look, we both care about you, Vic." Tyler told her. "Relax, I'll try to keep my anger under control, okay?"

"Tyler, is it true what he said?" Vicki asked him. "Do you really like me?" He looked toward him.

"Yeah, but you're not over him. And I wouldn't take advantage of someone vulnerable, like you are right now." Tyler told her. Vicki got up to leave.

"I better go. I came here mostly cause Matt's on the team."

"Wow, who knew that one of our best players had a soft side?" Stefan asked as soon as she was gone.

"He doesn't really show it often." Matt told him. Tyler looked at him. "Hey, it's cool. I know you're into her."

"Hey, guys?" They glanced over to find Elena. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the game?"

"She's right." Matt said. "Tanner's going to kill us if we're not with the others." The guys headed toward the locker room, while Elena started walking back to the other cheerleaders. Stefan heard her wince and turned around. She was on the ground, holding her knee.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"I'm fine." Elena said. She tried to get to her feet, but he stopped her.

"Are you sure? You didn't fall off the pyramid or something, did you?" Elena stood up as if nothing had happened to her. "You probably shouldn't…"

"It's okay. I'm fine." Elena told him.

"It looked like you were hurt for a second." Stefan told her.

"I'm okay. It's cheerleading, you know? Don't you have to catch up to the team?" Elena pointed out. "I'll see you later."

"Where were you?" Caroline asked. "We're having a little trouble with our formation, so if you could stand in the second row near Bonnie and Caitlin, we'll be set."

"Talking with the football players again?" Bonnie asked her.

"Can you tell me something?" Elena asked. "And I need you to be honest with me, because I'm scared about a few things."

"Of course. What is it?"

"The other day, you were trying to avoid me." Elena said. "What happened?"

"Look, it's nothing." Bonnie told her. "You've proven to me that you're still the same Elena, although somewhat stronger."

"Really, I need to know." Elena said. "You were scared of me or something."

"It's hard to explain. I got this weird vibe when I grabbed your arm." Bonnie told her. "It felt cold."

"And?"

"It was what I imagined death would feel like." Elena stared at her in shock. It had confirmed what she had feared, her best friend's powers were developing.

"I'm going to sit this one out, okay?" Elena told her. After changing back into regular clothes, she headed toward her car. Damon was waiting for her. "What are you doing here?"

"Hiding from Caroline. She would not stop talking about how you decided to ditch the team tonight." He explained.

"Look, I'm probably just nervous. I have been out of practice." Elena told him.

"She can be really annoying. If she weren't the daughter of the sheriff, I'd probably kill her."

"Look, I know Caroline can be a little annoying, but she's been my friend since the first grade." Elena told him. "Besides, she's had my back after I lost my parents."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Damon said. "And I notice how you always get tense around me, so I'll go."

"Look, I really like your brother, but you seem to make everyone nervous. I can't deal with this right now." Elena turned to leave.

"Speaking of which, what is up with these bracelets?" Elena froze and turned around.

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked.

"My brother said that you gave these…" He held up his wrist to show he was wearing it. "To all of your friends."

"They're just friendship bracelets." Elena protested.

"Then why do they have vervain in them? Is it because of what happened in the woods that night? You want to protect them from whatever's out there?" It took everything in Elena not to rush over and throw him into the wall. She calmly walked toward him.

"Look, I don't know what you're problem is and why you keep making us feel uncomfortable. And I don't know what happened with you guys in the past, but I am not like her, whoever she is." She walked away from him, angry at him for questioning her.

After the game, the guys met outside. "Hey, you did good tonight."

"Thanks." Stefan said.

"Look, about earlier…I know he's a jerk, but he has a good heart." Matt told him.

"You mean Tyler? Yeah, my brother's the same way." Stefan said.

"I know I've kinda been a jerk at practice this week, too." Matt admitted.

"Hey, I get it. But you're a good friend." Stefan pointed out. "And an awesome quarterback."

"Still, we probably would've died without you tonight. We're lucky to have you on this team." Matt looked at his phone for the time. "I better go. Vicki's going to be waiting."

No sooner than Matt left, Stefan found Damon waiting for him. "Okay, man. There is something seriously up with your girlfriend."

"Not now, Damon. Can't we give it a rest for one night?" He asked.

"The bracelets Elena gave us? I examined them earlier. They have vervain in them."

"So what?" Stefan asked.

"I think she knows more about what's going on in town than she's telling us."

"Leave her alone, Damon." Stefan told him. "In fact, just leave everyone alone."

"Why?"

"Because you're really getting everyone nervous and worked up, not to mention they're afraid of you. So if you'd stop playing detective twenty-four seven and coming up with these crazy theories, maybe they'd let you in more."

"You've read the journals. You know they're real."

"Not the point right now." Stefan told him.

"Then what is the point, Stefan?"

"Look, I know you still miss her." Stefan told him. "I think that you haven't quite gotten over her yet, Damon. You're still in love with her, aren't you? But she's gone now, and you're still upset over what happened."

"Shut up!" Damon snapped at him. "You think you know everything, but you don't. I'd keep an eye on your girlfriend if I were you." The two of them began to walk off in separate directions. All of a sudden, there was a scream. They both ran back to find Tanner lying on the ground, dead.

"Oh my god." Stefan said.

"Do you believe it now?" Damon asked. Stefan shot him a look that said, can we stop arguing for five minutes and get some help? Then he pulled out his phone and called an ambulance. Stefan sent out a message to everyone on his contact list.

"It's weird." Tyler said. "Tanner said he wanted to talk after the game, but he wasn't there."

"That isn't like him at all." Matt said. "I wonder where he is."

"No one liked him much, but…" Suddenly, their phones went off.

"Look, I know you like Vicki that you're not sure of things. But Jeremy's one of my friends, too. Maybe you need to learn to control your anger more and she wouldn't be so scared of you."

"Hey, it's from the new guy."

"It sounds really urgent. He found Tanner."

No less than a second later, Matt and Tyler were over nearby. And they weren't alone, the entire team plus the cheerleaders as well as other students. The police were there and so was Tanner. Or rather, Tanner's body. "Oh my god!" Matt said.

Bonnie noticed the numbers around the area. The same ones she'd had visions about. She wanted to run. Damon was busy telling the police what happened.

"How did this happen?" Vicki asked. Jeremy stood next to her and looked at Elena. She looked back at him. They both knew this would be a problem.

"Why would someone do this?" Elena asked. "It doesn't make any sense."

"I know, Elena."

"I'm scared, Stefan. I don't know if I can handle this if it happens again."

"You're going to be okay. Are you sure you can get home alright?" Stefan asked her.

"Yeah, I'll call you when I get home, though." Elena told him. "I better get Jeremy." It didn't take long for her to find him. The two of them rode home in silence. Then they went upstairs.

"Should we talk about this?" Jeremy asked.

"Maybe tomorrow." Elena told him.