Stefan woke with a start in his room. He had a weird dream about dancing with Katherine at the spring formal three years ago. What made it weird was that Elena was also there, which made no sense, since he didn't know her back then.

A few minutes later, he spotted Elena outside. He opened the door, surprised to see her there that early. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just had a bad dream." Stefan said. "Come in and I'll tell you about it." Elena walked into the house. The instant she did, though, Stefan pulled out a stake and stabbed her in the stomach.

"How'd you know it was me?" She asked him.

"Because Elena had plans this morning." Stefan told her. "And your little dream tipped me off." Elena had told him that vampires could get into others dreams and change things. He looked down and noticed he was still wearing the vervain bracelet Elena gave him.

Katherine pulled the stake out and knocked him to the ground. "Are we really going to do this again? I could rip you to shreds and to my nails at the same time."

"What are you even doing here, Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"I came to see you."

"What are you doing back in town?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Get out of here."

"I think I'll stay here, I mean you just let me in." Stefan knew she was right, but wasn't going to let her take control of the situation.

"If you even try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you."

At the Grill, Elena was going through the book Jeremy gave her. Then she saw Damon. "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to see if you'd found anything."

"So far, all I saw was her family tree, but nothing that apparently relates back to me." Elena told him. "And a birthdate, but that's not much to go on." She sighed and closed the book, putting it in her bag.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at Jenna's barbecue." He told her.

"How'd you know about that?" Elena asked him.

"You invited us last week." Damon pointed out. "Plus, Mason's going to be there. I figured we could get some information about him, see if he's a threat."

"I don't know, Damon. It seems kinda risky." Elena said.

"Yeah, but we need to make sure." Elena knew he was right.

Back in the house, Katherine was reading a journal. "You know that's private, right?" Stefan asked, interrupting her.

"I know. Sorry. I just curious about what you'd been up to." Katherine said. "So, I heard about your little werewolf encounter."

"What do you know about werewolves?" Stefan asked her.

"It's best to stay clear of them during a full moon." Katherine said. "Seriously, their bite can kill."

"How do you know about them?" Stefan asked.

"Remember the spring formal?" Katherine asked him. "Before I left town?"

"Yeah." Stefan said, wishing he didn't.

"Well, it turns out, that Lockwood kid had a cousin at our school." Katherine said. "He wasn't a werewolf, but he was aware that he had the genes for it."

"So, all the Lockwoods are werewolves?" Stefan asked.

"No, the gene runs in the Lockwood family." Katherine corrected. "They're not all werewolves."

"How many are there?"

"I don't know." Katherine said. "I've known a couple of them, but that was before I'd turned."

"So, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"It's a long, complicated story." Katherine told him.

"We've got nothing but time." He pointed out. She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to win this one.

Elena was in the kitchen, helping Jenna set up. "Thanks for letting me invite Caroline. She could use a day of distraction." She'd heard Caroline and Matt broke up and wanted to help get her mind off it.

"I still don't know why Damon's coming."

"Alaric called the shots on that one." Elena said. "It wouldn't kill you to be nice to him."

"Hey, guys." Mason showed up.

"And I'm out of here." Elena said, heading outside. She'd invited Stefan, but he hadn't shown up. She took out her phone and called him, but got his voice mail. "Hey. Just checking in. Did you get my message about Jenna's barbecue? Call me when you can." She hung up.

Just then, Caroline came outside. "Is that Stefan?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's been running late." Elena told her. "I wonder if I should be worried."

"I'm sure he's fine." Caroline said. "He is a hunter you know."

"In training." Elena pointed out.

"I don't see how you do this." Caroline said. "It's horrible just fighting the urge for blood every minute of every day."

"Yeah, it's kind of tricky." Elena admitted. "But as long as we're not hurting people…"

"I get it." Caroline said. "I'm actually surprised you're still together. I almost hurt Matt the other night, that's why we broke up." Elena looked at her.

Back in the Boarding House, Katherine had found herself tied up to a chair in the basement. The ropes had vervain on them. "Seriously? Was this necessary?" She asked.

"Well, I wanted to make sure you weren't going to try anything." Stefan told her.

"You're wearing vervain. It's not like I can compel you." Katherine pointed out.

"I know, I just don't trust you."

"Okay, I have a question, how can you handle having a girlfriend that's a vampire?" Katherine asked.

"We've already been over this, she's just as much a person as anyone else I've met."

"Well, I'll admit it bothers me a little that you've moved on."

"You disappeared, remember?" Stefan pointed out.

"I wanted to tell you, but Emily said it'd be better if I didn't." Katherine explained. "I was going to when you brought me home that night."

Flashback:

Stefan was walking Katherine home after the dance. "I had a really good time, Stefan."

"Even though that girl tore your dress." He indicated to a small rip in the skirt.

"It's nothing, when you're used to sewing your own gowns." Katherine told him.

"We've been friends a long time," He said. "and I know you might only see me as a friend, but I think I'm falling in love with you."

"There's a lot about my family you don't know about." Katherine said. Before either one could say anything else, the door opened. "Emily." Katherine turned to Stefan. "I guess I'll see you around." She seemed kind of sad.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked.

"I will be." She told him. "A good night's sleep should do it." She went inside.

"You were going to tell him, weren't you?" Emily asked once she was inside.

"I can't, Emily." Katherine said. "If I tell any of them, they'll try to find me. I can't have that happen." She went up to her room. She pulled out a paper and started writing a letter. End flashback.

"I wrote a letter, but something happened before I could send it. I carried it on me all these years." She reached into her sweater's pocket, then looked stunned. Stefan knew something was wrong. "It must've fallen out in the tomb. That's the last place I took it out."

"If you go there, you're trapped."

"I know, ironic, isn't it?" Katherine told him.

Back at the party, the group was playing Pictionary. "Ballerina." Jenna guessed.

"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!" That was Caroline.

"Uh, no." Damon said.

"Dances with the wolves" Everyone turned to stare at Mason.

"Right."

"How is that a wolf?" Jenna asked as he left the room.

"No idea." Elena said. "He's not very good at drawing, is he?" Everyone agreed and she left to join him. "Well, apart from this weird vibe," She began. "Mason seems pretty normal. What do you think?"

"Yeah, but he still went after Care the other night." Damon said.

"There has to be a reason for it." Elena pointed out. "We should keep an eye on him." Jenna entered the kitchen.

"So this is where you've gone to. Having a good time?"

"Yes, thanks for inviting me."

"I didn't have much choice." Jenna pointed out.

"I know what you must think of me."

"No, you don't." Jenna said. "I've met guys like you before and it never ended well."

"What is that?" Damon asked, noticing the set of knifes.

"It's my mother's silver set." Jenna said. Elena looked at Damon.

"Don't even think about it." She whispered. "Last thing we want to do is piss him off." He nodded.

Back in the Salvatore's basement. Katherine was still tied up. "I know you think I'm a total bitch because of everything."

"You could've at least called us when you got back."

"No, I really couldn't have, Stefan." Katherine pointed out. "The second I set foot back in this town, those vampires grabbed me and threw me into the tomb."

"If you had told us…"

"If I'd told you, you'd be dead right now. And I don't mean vampire dead." Katherine said. "Anyway, when I was in the tomb, I met a vampire named Pearl. She told me how naïve she'd been years ago and that the founders had wrongfully locked her up."

"Pearl. Anna's mother?" Stefan asked.

"Sounds right." Katherine said. "When I explained what was going on, she helped me escape by giving me vampire blood."

Flashback: Katherine is in the tomb. She's just woken up on the ground. Pearl helped her up. "Get up, quickly."

"What happened to me?" Katherine asked her.

"I gave you my blood. It should give you enough time to escape." Pearl told her. Katherine's eyes widened as she realized what was going on.

"But, what if I can't…"

"I know you'll do whatever it takes to survive." Pearl told her. "Now, go. I've compelled the guards and a friend of yours is outside. He'll help you."

"Thank you, you'll never know how grateful I am for this." Katherine said, hugging her.

"I've been on the run myself. Hurry, before they get suspicious." End flashback.

"You knew she was going to turn you, didn't she?" Stefan asked her.

"As far as we both knew, it was the only way for me to escape the tomb." Katherine said.

"Even though you knew she'd be trapped there?"

"There was no way she could've escaped." Katherine pointed out. "By forcing me into that position, it was the only way out. Besides, I'm the one who got Anna into town, since I owed her mother for this."

In the kitchen, Damon ran into Mason. "Okay, what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've been watching you all day and you've been looking at me as though I'm a suspect in a murder case." Mason told him.

"You know I'm on the Council, right?"

"Great, so you're a believer. Of course you are." Mason said. "I should've known you'd discover my little secret."

"Why'd you go after Elena the other day?" Damon asked him.

"Look, I'm not out to hurt anyone. The other night, I couldn't chain myself down in time." Mason told him. "I don't have control once I shift." Elena was listening from the next room.

"You seem like a good guy, but you know what'll happen if you can't control it next time."

"I just came in to town to help my family." Mason said. "And I'm usually good at keeping myself chained down during the full moon." Elena walked into the room then.

"So, you know about us?" Elena asked, surprising both of them.

"I suspected." He told her. "But I've known you since you were like five and I know none of you would let anything happen to Tyler."

"I thought werewolves hated vampires." Damon said. Elena glared at him.

"Yeah, most of us have a thing against them." Mason said. "But I think all that rivalry is a load of crap."

"So, I guess we're all on the same side." Elena said. "I should go check on Caroline. I'm really worried about her." She walked out of the kitchen.

A few minutes later, she'd left Stefan another message. Now she was really getting worried. "Would I be the worst friend in the world if i abandon you and went to Stefan's?" She asked Caroline, who'd finished doing her nails.

"You want to leave?" Caroline asked.

"It's just that he hasn't calling me back and I'm starting to have this bad feeling." Elena told her.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Elena." Caroline said. Elena knew something was up, but decided to go along with it.

"Look, I just want to make sure nothing's happened." Elena told her.

"Fine, but I'll drive." Caroline said after a moment.

"Thanks, Caroline." Elena said. While she wasn't looking, Caroline deflated one of the tires.

"So, you met George while you were transitioning?" Stefan asked. They were still in the basement.

"He was going through some changes, too." Katherine said. "He helped me escape the tomb and leave town, took down any other vampire that got in our way."

"You said you knew you had to escape." Stefan said, starting to put the clues together. "But from what? Was something after you? Is that why you didn't want us to know?"

"We all have a past." Katherine said. "A few weeks after the formal, something happened with my family. And I knew that if anyone in town found out, I'd be dead before I even had a chance to run."

"So that day we saw you…" Stefan began.

"I was on my way to some safe house a few states away." Katherine told him. "But I had to pass through town to get to it. And then i was ambushed by those vampires and taken to the tomb."

"This whole time I thought you ditched us because you had moved on." Stefan said, getting angry. "But you were on the run from something the whole time when we could've helped you."

"No one could've helped me, Stefan." Katherine said. "Even Emily couldn't." She turned away from him as best as she could, though she was still tied down with vervain ropes.

The girls were in Caroline's car. "Thanks for doing this." Elena said.

"It's no problem." Caroline said. "I'm sure you two will manage to beat the impossible." Suddenly, the tire exploded. The car came to an abrupt stop.

"Are you kidding me?" Elena said, feeling frustrated.

"I'll call a tow truck." Caroline said.

Back at her house, everyone was leaving. "I should get going." Mason said. "I told Tyler I'd be back at eight."

"I should go, too." Alaric said. "I've got papers to grade." Damon noticed him and Jenna exchange a look.

"Same here." He added. "I've got a lot of paperwork to fill out." The guys all left and took off in different directions.

"Hey, Damon." He turned around and faced Mason. "I'm trusting you with my secret."

"You have nothing to worry about. I won't tell anyone." Damon said.

"When he makes that kind of promise, he always keeps it." Alaric added. They looked at him. "Sorry, I'm going." He left.

"Look, I don't trust you, but I don't think you're a bad guy, either." Damon said.

"The feeling's mutual." Mason told him. "So, I guess we're okay."

"Guess so." They shook hands, then left.

Back on the road, Elena and Caroline were waiting for the tow truck. "Are you sure the tow's coming?" Elena asked.

"I know, it's weird. They said they'd be here by now." Caroline said.

"You know what, this is ridiculous." Elena said. "We could just run over there."

"Wait, I can't just leave my car here." Caroline said.

"We can come back for it." She pointed out. Caroline gave her a look. "I'm sorry, but I'm really worried about Stefan."

"What's the rush?" Caroline asked. "Why are you rushing to get to a relationship that'll never work?"

"I know you're upset about Matt…"

"It's not about Matt." Caroline said. "He's human, you're a vampire. He's going to grow up and you're going to remain exactly the same as you are now."

"Why are you being like this?" Elena snapped. Caroline was really getting on her nerves by bringing up her insecurities about her own vampire issues. It's not like she hadn't thought about those problems, but she didn't want to think about it right now.

Just then, the tow truck came up. "Okay, you know what, I'm outta here." Elena said, still feeling hurt by Caroline. Before Caroline could say anything, she'd sped off.

In the basement of the boarding house, Katherine was still tied down.

"Okay, so if you ran to protect us, why come back now?" Stefan asked.

"It's complicated." She told him.

"Try me."

"Stefan, there are some things about the supernatural you still don't get." Katherine said. "Things that I can't even begin to explain to you, but you need to stay away from Elena."

"I'm not staying away from her just cause she's a vampire and you're jealous."

"Look, if you don't break up with her, I will kill her and everyone she loves." Katherine said.

"You know, I didn't want to do this, but if you don't stop talking…" Stefan pulled a stake out of his boot. "I won't hesitate to kill you." Katherine seemed to be surprised, then she quickly broke the vervain ropes.

Stefan noticed several red marks on her arms where the sleeves of her sweater weren't covered. "I've been learning how to break free from vervain-soaked traps for months." She told him, trying not to wince in pain.

"So why break out now?"

"You were the one asking all the questions." Katherine pointed out. "Figured I'd go along with it." Then she heard footsteps. She pushed Stefan into the wall and walked out of the room.

Upstairs, Elena was in the living room. "Stefan?" She called. Then she got the feeling someone was behind her. She turned around and was surprised to see Katherine behind her. What shocked her was how similar they looked.

"You must be Elena." Elena stared at her for a long moment before speaking.

"How in the world do we look alike?" She asked. Katherine looked at her and got closer. Suddenly, Elena grabbed her wrist and flipped her to the ground.

"I'm not here to fight you." Katherine told her, getting back to her feet.

"Elena?" Elena turned around and noticed Stefan in the room. When she glanced back, Katherine was gone. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but that was weird." Elena said. "Are you okay?"

"Not really." The two of them embraced.

"Something's up with Care."

"Well, there's only one way to find out if what you're thinking is true."

"I thought the bond broke."

"This isn't about the bond, I've just gotten good at reading my girlfriend."

At the Grill, Elena noticed Caroline sitting all by herself. She walked over to her. "Hey."

"Elena, I'm glad you're here." Caroline said. "I'm so sorry about everything I said. I don't know why I said those things."

"It's okay, Caroline. Most of them were true." Elena said. "It's just hard to hear, especially since I'm still not used to these changes."

"So, you're not mad?" Caroline asked. Elena noticed a flash of guilt in her eyes.

"You were just trying to look out for me." She lied.

"I really am sorry about this, Elena." Caroline said.

"It's okay." Elena said. She headed over to where Stefan was sitting.

"Everything okay with you two?"

"Yeah. Which is more than I can say about you and your ex." Elena pointed out.

"She threatened you, you know." Stefan told her.

"If she was going to hurt me, she would have. I mean, she was right in front of me."

"You only caught her off guard." Stefan pointed out. "It doesn't matter if you're human or vampire, you're still not safe from her."

"I'm not afraid of Katherine, Stefan."

"You should be."

"Why? Because she's trying to break us up?"

"She'd do whatever it takes to make us and our friends miserable if we don't."

"What are you saying?" Elena asked. "You think we should do what she says? She'll still keep torturing us anyway. She's a total bully, don't you think we should stand up to her?"

"She could go on a killing spree if we don't listen to her." He pointed out.

"I know she's dangerous, but everyday we're together, it's also dangerous." Elena added. "Wait, she wants us to fight and get between us."

"She already has." They looked at each other for a moment. Then Elena got up and walked out of the Grill.

Outside, Damon was leaving the Grill. "Bad day?" He looked up and noticed Katherine leaning against the wall.

"Now it's worse. I heard you were still here."

"Are you jealous that I spent the day with your brother?" Katherine asked him.

"Nothing to be jealous of, considering you don't care about anyone but yourself." Damon pointed out.

"You're in a mood. What's up?"

"Spent the day investigating the nature of werewolves." Damon said. "Apparently, their personality effects if they're actually a threat or not."

"Yeah, but even being friends with a wolf can be dangerous." Katherine said. "Especially if you're a vampire."

"What do you know about werewolves?" Damon asked.

"I've known a few." Katherine said. "But you should be careful Damon, they're pretty strong."

"Thanks for the tip. You know, for someone who pretends not to care, you sure do a good job of it." He told her.

"I never stopped caring, but I can't let you in right now." Katherine told him. "It just isn't the right time." She walked away.

Elena walked back into her bedroom. She couldn't help but think about the fight she had with Stefan. She hoped it was convincing enough. She was surprised that Stefan had even snuck into her room with a rope latter. She went to the window and quickly stuffed it in her closet.

"You okay?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, but you need to be more careful." She said, shutting her closet. "I hated that fight."

"So did I." Stefan said. They embraced each other.

"We were right about Caroline. Katherine got to her." Elena said.

"I feel bad she's using our friend to do her dirty work. As long as she believes we're fighting though, we should be okay." Stefan told her.

"I can't believe she's doing this." Elena said.

"Well, Katherine can be manipulative, but I have this feeling that she might not be our only enemy." Stefan said. "But we better watch our backs around her." Elena nodded.

"We're in this together, right?" She pointed out. They kissed and fell on top of the bed. They both knew that the road in front of them would be difficult, but as long as they remained a team, they could face anything, even Katherine.

N/A: I wonder how long their truce with Mason will last and what's going on with Katherine? I'll have the next chapter up, hopefully in a week.