Back up in Jeremy's room, he was with Vicki. "I feel that Tyler doesn't appreciate me. I've really tried to like him, but I just can't get over you for some reason."

"Even though you know my secret now?" Jeremy asked.

"What secret?" Vicki asked. He looked at her. Did that bump to the head do brain damage? "I still don't see why Elena dumped my brother."

"It was too dangerous for her to be around him. Same reason we broke up." Jeremy pointed out.

"Are you seeing someone else?"

"No." Jeremy said. It was the truth.

"My life is just one big mess." Vicki admitted, sitting down on the bed. "Matt has it so much easier than me."

"Hey, I used to feel the same about Elena." Jeremy told her.

"Really?"

"Until this happened to us, I never saw what everyone else saw in her." Jeremy admitted.

"This I've got to hear."

"After our parents died, in that month, we became closer. I finally saw her for who she was." Jeremy told her.

"Which was what?" Vicki asked.

"I saw how strong she was. Her compassion for others. It all got magnified once…" Jeremy cut off, not wanting to get into the rest of it. "Look, you can't tell anyone about this. There are people in this town that would hurt us if they knew."

"Can I go home now?"

"Well, it should be save now. The vampire blood should be out of your system."

"What does that even mean?" Vicki asked. She stood up, but almost fell. If Jeremy hadn't caught her, she'd be on the ground.

"Guess you should still be more careful. I forget that it effects people differently sometimes."

"Can I just go now?"

"Only if you let me help you." Jeremy said. "I'll help take you home. Getting downstairs won't be easy for you right now."

"Okay." Vicki said.

"I'll be right there with you in case you fall."

Back at the cemetery, Elena was pacing. "Is it true that you guys can, uh, compel humans?" Stefan asked.

"Yes, most vampires can." Elena told him. "That's why we gave those bracelets to our friends and family. There's vervain in them. It's not only used against us, but it can protect you from being compelled."

"So why did you give them to us?"

"Because you were the first person who understood that I'm different." Elena told him. "And because you're my friend. And as much as I don't like your brother, he doesn't seem like a bad guy. I don't like controlling people, much less the ones I care about. We also gave them to everyone to protect them from us." She added.

Back at her house, Jeremy had helped Vicki down the steps. He had called his sister and Matt for help. Matt arrived first. "Is she okay?" He asked.

"She's a little unsteady." Jeremy told him.

"Vicki, are you alright?"

"Fine. Just a little tired." Vicki admitted.

"What's the last thing you remember before coming here?" Matt asked.

"I don't know. I remember fainting, then nothing. Next thing I knew, I was here. Jer was watching me."

"We'll help get you home." Matt offered.

"Wait, what's that?" She asked. A news report was on. Jeremy unmuted the TV.

"3 bodies were found dead in what is believed to be a drug deal gone awry." The reporter was saying. "The bodies have yet to be identified. They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls cemetery."

"I was there last night." Vicki said.

"What happened, Vic?" Matt asked her.

"I don't…I can't…" She looked over at Jeremy, who looked nervous. Then the realization came to her.

"Vic, are you okay?" Jeremy asked.

"Dude, you're shaking." Matt said.

"I'm fine. This just has me a little worried for her." Jeremy told him. It wasn't entirely a lie. He was concerned for Vicki's safety. Vicki, however, was looking at Jeremy in fear.

"Vicki?" Matt asked. Of course, at that moment, Elena and Stefan showed up.

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"She's really messed up." Matt explained. Elena looked at Vicki and realized what was going on. She looked at her brother for a moment.

"Stefan, stay back." She warned him. "Vicki, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you. Could you two watch after her for a moment? There's something I need to do." The group watched as Elena pulled Stefan into the kitchen with her.

"You know what's wrong with her, don't you?" Stefan asked.

"I do." Elena admitted. "She has vampire blood in her system."

"What?"

"Jeremy must've done it to heal her." Elena explained. "One of the few positive things is we can use our blood to heal others. However, because she's usually unstable due to drugs, it must be effecting her."

"What can we do to help?" Stefan asked.

"All we can do is wait for it to pass out of her system." Elena told him.

"How long will that take?"

"About twenty-four hours. But I'm worried she may have found out."

"You said you guys didn't hurt others." Stefan pointed out.

"We don't, but she doesn't have a vervain bracelet." Elena told him. "She might become more unstable."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Elena said. "I really don't know. I just hope she doesn't tell anyone. If not, we'll have to make her forget."

In the other room, Vicki looked at Jeremy. "Last night. I remember." She said.

"I promise you're going to be okay." Jeremy said.

"I'm so out of here!" Vicki ran out the room and out the front door.

"Vicki!" Matt called after her, but she didn't hear him, she just ran. Elena and Stefan had rejoined them at that moment.

"She panicked. She knows." Jeremy told Elena.

"I'm going to look for her. Call me if you find her." Matt said. He left the house.

"I'm going to try to find her, too." Elena said. "You're not the only one who blew it, Jer."

"Go for it. I'll wait here." He told her.

A few hours later, Stefan was in the living room with him. "I hope they're all okay." Jeremy said.

"I'm sure Matt would call when he found her."

"This is my fault. I did this to her."

"Hey, we all make mistakes." Stefan pointed out.

"Why didn't you go out looking with them?" Jeremy asked.

"I searched for about half an hour with Matt, then realized I had no idea where she'd go." He told him. Then the doorbell rang. They went to the front door to find Damon.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"You can stop pretending." Damon told him. "I know everything."

"Jeremy, get back." Stefan warned.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt him." Damon explained. "If I were going to kill him, I would've done it by now. I'm here to warn you. The council is out looking for vampires. Where's your sister?"

"Elena." Jeremy realized. "She's still looking for Vicki."

"That messed up druggie girl?" Damon asked. Jeremy glared at him.

"Enough." Stefan said. "This is getting us nowhere."

"You might want to go find her." Damon told them. "If that girl's with your sister, let's just say she's not the only one who will get hurt." He left them. The guys looked at each other.

"I think I know where they are." Jeremy said.

"Be careful. Elena would hate you if you died." Stefan told him. Jeremy nodded and headed out the door.

At the cemetery, Elena found Vicki. "Vicki?" Vicki looked at her and backed away. "Are you okay?"

"I remember last night. It was him, wasn't it?" She asked.

"He didn't mean it." Elena told her. "He never would've done it if he hadn't lost control."

"He said he wouldn't hurt me. That you guys don't like hurting people."

"It's true. I'm sorry about what you saw the other night." Slowly, Vicki stood up.

"I think I can get home by myself now." Vicki told her. "Relax, I won't tell anyone."

Before Elena could say anything, she was on the ground. Vicki turned and saw somebody with a gun. She got in front of Elena, but he didn't lower it. Suddenly, the guy fell to the ground, dead. "Jeremy?"

Jeremy appeared after he fell and went over to Elena. "Back up." He told Vicki. She moved away from her. Jeremy carefully pulled the bullet out of his sister. "Wooden. We were right. They are hunting vampires."

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Vicki.

"Yeah, just a little shaken." Vicki said.

"I'll make sure you get home safe." Jeremy told her. "Just don't take off like that again." Vicki nodded and the two walked off.

When Elena got back home, she was surprised to see Stefan still waiting. "You're hurt." He said, noticing her arm.

"It'll be okay. We heal fast." Elena told him. "Vicki's okay. Jer's walking her home."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"I trust him." Elena said. "I also trust her to keep our secret. She tried to save me back there. Though I do regret that she's going to have to cover while Matt's around."

"That's always the hard part, keeping everything covered." Stefan admitted.

"I'm sorry you had to find out about all this." Elena told him. She seemed a little sad. "Maybe we shouldn't hang out as much as before."

"I know you won't hurt me, Elena."

"It's not that. It's just, maybe it's safer that way." Elena pointed out. "Your brother hates our kind, remember? But we'll still be friends, just not as close." She went inside the house, leaving him staring after her long after she'd disappeared inside.

In her room, Elena finished writing in her diary, but still couldn't get to sleep. She wondered why it bothered her that she wouldn't be spending as much time with Stefan. She thought of her old life and fell asleep.