The Birthday

On the outskirts of Clarksville, Tennessee, a woman steps out of her house, trying to find her dog in the dark.

"Rudy. Rudy!" The blond woman shouts, trying to find her dog, but there seems to be no sign, and she whistles, but still nothing. "Come on. It's too hot to make me come looking for you." She reaches down to get one of her dog's toys and turns around to face Klaus, spooking the girl.

"I am so sorry," Klaus apologises in the worst fake American accent ever, nearly making Lorilei laugh as she stands beside him in her black pantsuit. "We didn't mean to scare you."

"Can I help you?" Samara asks the couple.

"Yeah, our car ran out of gas a couple of miles back, and I feel like we've been walking forever. We tried looking for a gas station, but you're the first place we could find. Do you mind if we use your phone?" Lorilei lies and seems to relax the girl a little, though she has a bad feeling looking at the couple.

"Don't either of you have a cell phone?" She asks, looking a little sceptical.

"Heh. Yeah. Battery died," Klaus tells her, taking his phone from his back pocket.

"I accidentally smashed mine," Lorilei adds, getting out her old phone which she had actually broken. "Look, I promise we're not serial killers. We just want to use your phone."

"Sure," Samara agrees, turning back towards the house.

"So… We can come in?" Klaus questions, taking a step forward.

"No. I'll get the phone, and I'll bring it out to you," The blond girl replies, turning to face the couple.

"I thought you country folks were supposed to be more trusting," He remarks, stepping towards her.

"I'm from Florida," The blond teen snarks back.

"Well, that explains it," Lorilei muses as Klaus approaches and wraps his hand around Samara's neck.

"Now, show me a little Southern hospitality… Sweetpea," The Hybrid compels her.

"Sweetpea?" The Siphon questions, looking at him.

"What? I was trying it out," He defends himself, and they walk into the house once Samara gives Klaus permission.

"I bet you a hundred dollars that dog ran off to a house with air conditioning," Keisha jokes as she walks around the kitchen, putting the leftover food into a container. She looks over to see Samara being held hostage by Klaus and Lorilei as they step into the kitchen. "What's going on?"

"Please don't be alarmed. We were told Ray Sutton lives here," Klaus informs her.

"He's almost never here. He's on the road, mostly," The woman argues, wanting to keep her and Samara safe.

"But I expect he makes it home… Once a month," Lorilei reasons, seeing the blond teen flinch a little, but doesn't receive a verbal answer from either of them.

"That's what we thought. Where is he now?" Klaus demands, looking between them, and again they don't answer. "If I have to make you tell me, it's going to be infinitely more painful for you." He smiles at them, but it's not a kind smile more threatening, and Keisha tries to make a run for it, heading for the front door, but Stefan is there blocking her exit. Klaus drags Samara to the front door, with Lorilei tagging along. "I love it when they run."

"I bet you do," Lorilei muses, unable to stop herself and her yawn.

"He's in Tulley. It's near the border. A bar called Southern Comfort. It's off Highway 41," Keisha reveals his location.

"Thank you, my dear. Now…" Klaus says and looks at Samara. "May my friend come in your home?"

"Yes," Samara answers, allowing Stefan to enter the house.

"...Kills this one quickly," He orders, pushing the blond teen towards the RipperRipper, and looks at the frightened Keisha. "Make that one suffer. We'll be in the car."

"Please don't, please…" Samara begs, but Stefan doesn't listen, biting into her neck, and the women scream as Lorilei and Klaus walk outside.

"God, they really like to scream…" Lorilei groans as they walk away. "He better have moved the car closer. I really need a nap."

The following day, Elena wakes in her bed at home in Mystic Falls; she looks at her alarm clock and sees the time, deciding to get up. She opens her curtains, seeing the lovely day, though it doesn't reflect her mood and gets changed before coming out of her room to see Jenna walking into Jeremy's room and opening the curtain, which wakes the teen up. "Ugh, early. Bad," Jeremy groans as he wakes up.

"It's not early. You're late for work. Matt just called," Jenna informs him as she removes some of his clothes from the floor.

"Well, maybe they'll fire me," He jokes a little, having a rather strange summer so far.

"Aim high," She jokes back as she walks out of the room, heading downstairs behind Elena, who is on the phone with Caroline.

"What are you doing?" Elena asks her best friend.

"Just shopping for the party you're trying to bail out on," Caroline replies as she walks through the town square with her handful of shopping bags.

"I never said yes in the first place," She argues, walking into the kitchen to see Alaric trying to make some coffee as he was sleeping on the couch again the night before.

"You were never going to, which is why I planned it anyway. And my mom wants you to call her. John got another lead," The blond Vampire informs her best friend.

"Did they find something?" The doppelganger questions, taking her mug of coffee as Jeremy races out the door heading for work.

"An animal attack in Memphis. It's the third one this week in Tennessee," Caroline answers.

"And you're sure it's a Vampire?" Elena inquires, watching the tension between Alaric and Jenna as they move around the kitchen.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that it's Klaus," The blond teen argues, not wanting her friend to have false hope.

"Doesn't mean it's not. I'll call her," The doppelganger replies.

"Well, call on her cell," Caroline informs her.

"Tell her thank you for her help," Elena replies, moving into the living room and sitting on the couch.

"All right, well, I've got to go. I'll see you in a bit," Caroline says, and the brunette jumps, hearing a loud slam as the front door shuts.

"Oh, Caroline, wait. Just…keep tonight small. Please," She warns her best friend.

"Wear something pretty," The blond Vampire says, ending the call and hanging up. Elena gets up from the couch and walks into the kitchen with her empty mug to see Alaric alone.

"Was that, uh, Stefan news?" Alaric questions, trying to avoid the awkwardness after his argument with Jenna.

"Could be more Klaus victims," Elena reasons.

"Are you certain Stefan's still with him?" He asks her.

"Easy to be certain when the alternative is that he's dead. Are you sure you and Jenna are okay? What happened?" She asks, knowing it was Jenna that stormed out of the house.

"Yeah, yeah. We're good. Just some things on her chest. Don't worry about it," The History teacher assures her.

"Because you spent half the summer on the couch. If you need your own bedroom…" The doppelganger offers, feeling bad for him.

"And sleep in your dead parents' room or your uncle's room.…" Alaric cringes at the thought.

"Right," Elena agrees, gives him the mug of coffee sitting on the side,e and walks to the front door.

"Hey, Elena… Happy Birthday," He says, giving her a tense smile.

"Thanks," She replies, heading for the Salvatore house.

Damon lies in his tub while Andie gets ready for work, and he pours himself the last of the champagne. "We are out of champagne," The older Salvatore announces, watching his fake girlfriend as she puts on her makeup.

"Huh. No, you are out of champagne, 'cause I don't drink in the morning," Andie replies with a smirk.

"Well, would you be a dear and…" Damon requests.

"I think you can probably get it yourself. I'm not your slave," She argues, and he hears Elena's car driving up toward the house and decides to get out of the bath without a towel. "I mean, you're dripping… a little."

"Mm-hmm," He hums, walking out of his room completely naked as Elena walks through the front door into the living room, looking at her phone when Damon enters the room. "Mornin'."

"Hey, I was going…." Elena says and turns around, facing the Vampire, seeing him entirely naked. "Ohh!" She swivels around, blushing at seeing his naked form. "You heard me. You knew that I was here."

"You know, you should learn to know. What if I was… indecent?" The older Salvatore jokes as the doppelganger grabs a towel and covers her eyes, throwing it to him, and he takes it, wrapping it around his waist. Elena takes her hand away from her face, seeing that he's covered himself up and takes a piece of paper from her shorts pocket.

"John gave Sheriff Forbes another location to check. Memphis," Elena informs him.

"Another dead end, you mean?" Damon retorts, taking the note.

"You don't know that," She argues, having faith she'll find Stefan.

"You're right, Elena. This could be the one," He taunts her, walking towards her. "After almost two months, this could be the clue that tells us Stefan's alive and well and living in Graceland."

"Fine. I'll go by myself," The doppelganger replies, trying to leave, but Damon speeds in front of her, stopping her.

"And let Klaus know that you're tracking him? He thinks you're dead. Let's keep it that way," The older Salvatore warns her, wanting to keep her safe.

"It's a new lead, Damon. We haven't had one in a while," Elena argues, wanting to find Stefan.

"Okay. I'll check it out. If I find anything, I'll call you," Damon promises her.

"But…" She says, and he leaves without a word, going up to his bedroom, opening the closet door, revealing it's full of boxes and a map pinned to the wall.

"He moved on to Tennessee," He announces to his fake girlfriend.

"That Florida victim you had me look into had family in Tennessee," Andie comments, looking over his shoulder.

"Which one, the Pensacola guy?" The Vampire questions, looking at her.

"Uh-huh," She confirms.

"You up for a road trip?" Damon asks her, smirking.

"Ha. No can do. I have got to go to work, but I can see if I can get you an address," The news reporter offers, and he pecks her on the lips in thanks. "See you at the party."

"Get me that address," He tells her as she walks away, and he gets dressed before calling Alaric.

Lorilei walks out of the bathroom of their hotel room, brushing her teeth after having thrown up as Klaus packs away their things. "I think it was that chicken stir fry last night," Lorilei groans as she returns to the bathroom, needing to get out of the hotel as they're heading for the bar called Southern Comfort that Ray apparently will be at. Lorilei walks back out, seeming tense about something and pacing around the room, making Klaus anxious. "What's the problem?" The Hybrid asks her, looking up from packing the last things into their bags.

"I want to call the twins, but I can't bring myself to do it," She explains, and the Hybrid swipes her phone from the bed, using his enhanced speed and dials the number, giving it back to her. "What the hell!" The Siphon hangs up the phone quickly as she can. "Why would you do that?!"

"Because I hate to see you like this. Where's the confident woman I met. You never shy away from telling me what you think. Which is refreshing but sometimes annoying. But that's what I like about you." Klaus confesses, and she looks at him in a new light and can't help the soft smile that graces her face.

"You like me?" She questions teasingly, and he sighs, giving her a look. "I like you too," She pecks him on the cheek and grabs her dark green coat before taking her bag. "Let's go make you some Hybrids!"

"You are something else," He smirks, following after her, admiring her physique in the tight black jeans and top.

Jeremy works in the back of the Mystic Grill, putting stuff away while he face-times with Bonnie. "Ooh. You need to come home. It's boring around here without you," He tells her, missing his girlfriend.

"You think you're bored? My dad's side of the family is like wet paint that never dries. He's the Grill treating you?" She asks, needing some gossip to get through her boring relatives get together

"Well, it's teaching me the value of a mundane human experience," Jeremy jokes.

"A summer job is good for you. You needed some normal in your life," Bonnie reminds him, and the back room lights flicker. "What was that?"

"Nothing. Look, I, uh, I got to get back to work. I'll talk to you soon, okay?" He tries ending the call.

"Wait, wait, Jeremy. Is everything okay with you?" She asks him, growing worried.

"Yeah, yeah, normal and mundane. Come home soon, okay?" The youngest Gilbert says, ending the call; the lights flicker again, but he is face to face with Vicki when the light comes back. "Vicki." In a flash, she disappears, and he takes his phone off the side when Anna appears behind him, about to touch him when Matt bursts into the room.

"I need you to switch sections with me," Matt begs the younger teen.

"Why?" Jeremy asks him, and Alexis walks into the backroom carrying some plates.

"Caroline and Tyler just sat in mine," He tells them.

"So?" Alexis questions, putting the plates down.

"So I don't feel like waiting on my ex-girlfriend," The blond quarterback snaps.

"I'll take it for you, Matt," She tells him.

"Thanks," Matt sighs as she walks outside to see Caroline and Tyler sitting on one of the tables outside the Grill.

"Something's up with your mother," Caroline reasons as she puts her bag down.

"Like what?" Tyler questions, slumping in his seat.

"When I was over yesterday, she just kept eyeing me," She tells him, and Alexis walks over with her pad.

"Hi, guys," Alexis greets them.

"Did Matt make you switch sections?" The blond Vampire interrogates the McKnight Witch, who doesn't answer and looks at Tyler. "He thinks we're dating."

"So does my mother," Tyler adds with a smirk.

"What?!" Caroline exclaims, looking at him.

"We're together all the time. It's not a leap," The Werewolf reasons with hidden meaning.

"It's crazy," She quickly denies.

"Right?" The Werewolf fakely agrees, and Alexis looks between them.

"So what can I get you?" Alexis asks them, making them look at her, and Jeremy smirks, looking at the blond McKnight, having come out to clean up tables.

The Werewolf Hunting trio pull up out the front of the bar and get out when Lorilei's phone rings; she gets out her mobile to see Maddox calling her. "You go in. I need to take this," The McKnight Siphon tells the Vampires.

"Are you sure?" Klaus asks her, and she nods.

"Yeah. It's probably important," Lorilei tells him and answers the call as he walks inside with Stefan. "Hey, Maddie. What's up?" There isn't an answer. "Maddox? You call me to just ignore me. Are you insane?" Still, there isn't an answer. "Hello?"

"Thank you," A voice says, which makes the Siphon stiffen in place.

"Edward?" Lorilei gasps and goes to hang up.

"We're sorry!" The twins yell, making the older McKnight stop, putting the phone back to her ear.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," She reassures them.

"Please come home soon," Alexis requests.

"I will. I promise," The Siphone vows and hears something, turning around. "I've got to go. Have a good summer."

"You too," The twins reply and end the call; Lorilei walks into the bar, unaware that John Gilbert is watching from his car.

"What's up, Ray?" The barman greets the man walking behind Lorilei as they enter the bar.

"Hey, Red. Can I get a beer?" Ray requests, standing at the bar, and Klaus walks over, joining Lorilei, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Ray? Ray Sutton?" Klaus questions eagerly, having waited over a month to find a Werewolf pack Lorilei approved of turning as a test.

"Who wants to know?" He asks, taking his beer bottle off the side.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. We started in Florida, Pensacola. I met a young chap there who you worked with you before you moved to Memphis. Now your old boss directed me to two lovely young women. And they led me here," The Hybrid informs him, leaving out some things best kept secret.

"I think I'll be going," The Werewolf tries moving away, but Klaus stops him.

"Not so fast, mate. You only just got here. Now your type are very hard to come by, even if you know someone." Klaus comments, and Ray tries leaving again, but Stefan stops him.

"I wouldn't do that," Stefan warns him, pushing him back.

"Vampires," Ray mutters, looking between them and lands on Lorilei.

"Witch," She announces with a grin, simplifying it for the ignorant Werewolf.

"You're swifty swift, Ray. Yes, my friend here is a Vampire. He's compelled everyone in the bar, so don't look to them for any help. And yes, she is a special type of Witch, who led us to you. I, however… I'm something else. A different kind of monster. I've got some Vampire, I've got some wolf." Klaus explains.

"A… what?" Ray questions, looking at him as if he's crazy.

"A Hybrid. I'm both. You see, I want to create more of me. Now, you being the first Werewolf I've come across in many a moon, pun intended, Ray, heh, I need you to direct me to your pack. So… Where can I find them, Ray?" He demands, lying a little to scare the wolf.

"You can't compel me. It won't work," The Werewolf reminds the Hybrid and Stefan comes up with an idea and looks at the bartender.

"I need a scotch on the rocks, please," Stefan orders, removing a little bag from his pocket. "Ahem. Tell you what, Ray. We're going to play a little drinking game. Something I like to call truth or wolfsbane." He takes some aconite from the bag and shows it to the Werewolf, who flinches a little at the dried flower.

"Oh, this is going to be fun, Ray," Klaus beams.

"Not for you of couse," Lorilei adds.

Alaric and Damon arrive at the house in Tennessee where Stefan, Klaus and Lorilei were the night before, they park in front and climb out, walking toward the house when the Vampire's phone rings, but he doesn't answer, declining the call. "Elena? I don't know why you just don't come clean and tell her where we are," Alaric argues as they look around the too-quiet house.

"'Cause Andie said this was a half-lead, and I don't want to get her hopes up," Damon reminds him.

"Yeah, well, they're all half-leads, and I don't want to get, and I'm your accomplice. What do you want me to say to her? I'm practically living there at the moment, but things with Jenna have just been plain awkward." He rebuts, growing tired of sleeping on the couch.

"Still sleeping on the couch?" The Vampire questions, looking at his best friend.

"You know, I keep waiting for Jenna to kick me out or start a massive fight, but she doesn't. I don't know why. It's not like we haven't been fighting," The history teacher tells him as they look around. "It's quiet."

"Yeah. Too quiet," Damon agrees, and they enter the house, seeing that the Vampire can enter the house and walk towards the living room to find the dead bodies of the two girls sitting on the couch.

"Vampire for sure," Alaric muses, looking at the dead bodies.

"Stefan, for sure," He corrects him, walking into the room.

"How do you know?" The human questions, cringing at the scene in front of him,

"It's his signature. There is a reason they called him the RipperRipper. He feeds so hard he blacks out, rips them apart, but then when he's done, he feels remorse. It's the damnedest thing. He puts the bodies back together," The older Salvatore explains, tapping the blond girl with his feet, and her head falls off, rolling to the floor. "Definitely, Stefan."

Elena, Tyler and Caroline prepare for the Salvatore house party, ensuring they have enough food and drink. "I feel like I have to fight Damon every time we get a lead on Stefan," Elena explains as she sets up the table for drinks.

"Maybe he doesn't want to find him," Tyler jumps in as he lifts the heavy cases of beer.

"Tyler!" Caroline scolds him.

"What? He's into you. Isn't he?" He reasons, looking at the blond with a shrug.

"The only reason Stefan left with Klaus was so that he could save Damon's life. I mean, trust me, Damon wants to find him," Elena tells them, still feeling a little guilty about kissing Damon that night.

"But you kissed him, probably screwed with his head," Tyler says, and the doppelganger looks at him in surprise, then at Caroline.

"Tyler!" Caroline exclaims and looks at her best friend. "I'm sorry."

"I… don't worry about it. Look, yes, I kissed him, but it was a… It was a goodbye kiss. I thought he was going to die," Elena reasons, trying to not feel so guilty and looks at her phone, hoping the older Salvatore will call her about the new lead. "Oh. I just missed a call from Bonnie. I'll be right back," She excuses herself, walking out of the room, and Caroline stares at the Werewolf.

"Just because I tell you things doesn't mean you're allowed to know them!" The Vampire warns him.

"Sorry. I've got to run if I'm going to change and pick up Sophie in time," Tyler announces, dropping the last beer box.

"Wait, you're bringing a date? Slutty Sophie, is your date?" Caroline questions in shock.

"Hey, it's been kind of slow in that department. And… I am horny all the time now," The young wolf tells her.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode. It's, um, a Vampire thing. You know, I feel like our emotions are heightened, and we're on overdrive," She explains, giving him a look.

"It's a Werewolf thing, too. It's like I can't turn it off," The young wolf agrees, both looking at each other awkwardly tense.

"Well, I hope you get lucky tonight," The blond Vampire says, inwardly cringing at herself.

"I'll see you later," Tyler says, leaving.

"Yeah. See you later," Caroline mutters all alone.

Damon pours gasoline over the girls' dead bodies, trying to get rid of the evidence of Vampires. "What are you doing?" Alaric asks, watching his friend.

"Covering their tracks. Clearly, they have no interest in staying in the dark. But I do," Damon explains and the history teacher steps on something, making the floor creak. "Hang on." He moves the rug, taking it off the floor to see a secret trapdoor, and the Vampire rips it open, seeing chains tied to the wall. "Well, what do you know? Werewolves." He quickly closes it and gets his lighter, setting the bodies on fire before pushing Alaric out and heading back to Mystic Falls.

A bleeding Ray Sutton is tied to the wall in front of the darts board with numerous darts around him as Stefan stirs a dart in a glass full of wolfsbane, then throws it at the Werewolf, hitting him in the shoulder and making him scream out in pain as Klaus and Lorilei watches them, smiling.

"Ray, you can end this right now. Just tell me where your pack gathers for the full moon," Stefan demands, growing tired of torturing the wolf.

"I can't," Ray declines, sticking to the code.

"I know, I know. You live by a code and all that. But see, he's not going to let me stop until you tell me, and I do whatever he says. That's the way it goes around here," The Vampire tells him, and a girl walks over to the Hybrid and the Siphon at the bar. Lorilei orders another drink as the girl looks fearful of the couple, and Stefan turns to listen, using his Vampire hearing.

"Hello, Mr Klaus, Miss Lorilei. I have some information for you. He told me to tell you that he saw that guy's brother Damon at the farmhouse," The girl informs them.

"Well, thank you, Claudine. You just tell your friends to keep up the good work with the neighbourhood watch, huh?" Klaus teases her, and Lorelei gets out some cash from inside her green coat, and she takes the money before running out, and Stefan strolls over to them.

"My brother's still on our trail?" Stefan questions.

"He's getting closer. I'm going to have to deal with that," He informs the RipperRipper.

"No, no, no. Let me handle it," The younger Salvatore offers, wanting to protect his older brother.

"Why should we let you leave?" Lorilei wonders, looking at the Vampire.

"'Cause you know I'll come back," Stefan assures the couple.

"Do we?" Klaus questions.

"You saved my brother's life. I'm in your service," He vows.

"Oh, that almost sounds so tedious and indentured. Aren't you even having the least bit of fun?" The Hybrid taunts him.

"I'll make sure that my brother doesn't bother us anymore," The Ripper promises, and the couple agrees, letting him leave, and Lorilei waits till he's definitely gone, getting out her phone.

"Yellow Maddie," Lorilei greets her college best friend.

"How's Werewolf Hunting?" Maddox asks her.

"I need a favour. Damon seems to be getting too close for Klaus' comfort. Can you keep an eye on him?" She requests, looking at the Hybrid, who rolls his eyes at her.

"Sure. I heard the twins were going to a party tonight at the Salvatore house," He mentions, and Lorilei frowns.

"Who's going?" The Siphon demands, getting up from her seat and moving away from the bar.

"So sweet how protective you are of the twins," The Warlock teases her.

"Shut up! Just make sure that someone has eyes on the twins and Damon Salvatore. Are we clear!" Lorilei snaps and hangs up the phone. "Now, let's find the location of your pack." She turns toward the pinned-up Werewolf and steps in front, holding her hand. "If you don't tell us, I'll make the next few seconds very painful."

"What are you going to do?" Ray whimpers and she grabs his hand, making him cry out as she painfully siphons.

"This!" She hisses. "I've met a few Werewolves in my time. I also wrote a book on your history," This gets peaks Klaus' attention, making him look at her. "I probably know more than most. See, you were created with magic. Meaning I can siphon you. So want to tell us where your pack is or this gets even more painful."

Elena stands in Stefan's bedroom as she prepares for the party, and Damon walks in, seeing the doppelganger. "Don't worry, I'm not going to lose it. At least not before the cake," She assures them.

"It's your party. You can cry if you want to," Damon tells her, looking at a photo of Stefan and Elena. "Ah, Stefan. Such a packrat. I got you something. I know I promised not to buy you anything, so don't worry, I didn't pay for it."

"You stole it?" Elena asks, frowning.

"No. Found it," The older Salvatore assures her and takes out a box, opening it to show the vervain necklace that Stefan gave her.

"My necklace. I though I'd never see it again," The doppelganger beams, looking at the piece of jewellery.

"Alaric found it in his loft. I figured you'd be happy to get it back," The older Salvatore muses, admiring her smile.

"I am happy. Thank you," Elena says, looking at the Vampire.

"You're welcome," Damon smiles back at her.

"Can you…" She requests, holding out the necklace.

"Ah, absolutely," He tells her and helps place the jewellery around her neck, offering her his arm. "Shall we?" She takes his arms wordlessly, and he leads them downstairs to see the house packed with teenagers. The pair walk through the house with people everywhere wishing Elena Happy Birthday, and two girls pass with a bottle of bourbon, making Damon stop them. "Ooh, hey, hey, hey. You don't want that. You want the cheap young stuff over by the cheap young people," He compels them, taking the bottle, and the girls walk away.

"You like? Don't answer that," Caroline asks her best friend, walking over.

"This is "keeping it small"? What are you drinking?" Elena questions, looking at the large crowd of teenagers; the blond Vampire smiles anyway and offers her arm, which the doppelganger takes, blending into the crowd.

In the library, Jeremy sits fixing a spliff, and Matt walks over, joining him on the couch. "Where did you get that?" Matt questions, and Edward walks through, trying to escape his sister for a second.

"Uh, Henry from the kitchen sold me a dime," Jeremy replies, and the blond quarterback takes the blunt, lighting it.

"So, what's got you on your spiral downward? I'm sure it's a lot more interesting to know," Edward comments, sitting down, joining them.

"You do not want to know," Jeremy tells them.

"How bad can it be? I already know everything else. Go for it," Matt encourages the younger Gilbert.

"You know I died, right? And Bonnie used magic to bring me back to life," He explains, and Edward chokes on his beer.

"Yeah, Elena told me," The blond quarterback shrugs it off.

"The thing is, ever since I came back, I've been seeing… things," Jeremy confesses, and the male McKnight looks at him in worry.

"What kind of things?" Edward asks her.

"Just… things I shouldn't be seeing," He explains vaguely.

"What's Bonnie say about it?" Matt questions.

"No, I haven't told her. I haven't told anybody. It's just messing with my head, is all. You know, I just need to chill out. So… this," Jeremy replies, grabbing the spliff and taking a drag as Matt smiles.

"Yeah," He agrees and gets up as Elena and Caroline walk into the room, seeming a little tipsy.

"Oh, the stoner den. Buzz kill," The blond Vampire mutters and the high-as-a-kite Matt walks over to them.

"Hey, guys," Matt greets them.

"Matt, hey," Elena greets him back, and he kisses her on the cheek, making her feel a little uncomfortable and confused.

"Happy Birthday," He says.

"Thank you," She replies, and he walks away.

"He hates me. His hatred of me has driven him to drugs," Caroline groans, looking at her ex-boyfriend.

"He doesn't hate you. He hates that he's not with you," Elena comforts her and spots Jeremy with Edward smoking a spliff. "Is that my brother? And Lorilei's brother?" She gives the blond Vampire her glass and stomps over to the boys while outside, Alaric and Damon stand away from the party's business.

"I am every parent's worst nightmare. I'm the chaperone teacher from hell," Alaric groans as he looks through the doors.

"I love high school parties," Damon remarks with a smirk.

"Isn't Andie supposed to be coming?" He asks his friend.

"10:00 broadcast. She'll be here in a little bit," The older Salvatore replies, and Elena storms over to them. "Hello, birthday girl."

"Drink," Elena demands, taking the Vampire's glass of scotch and gulping it down quickly before looking at the history teacher. "Jeremy's smoking again."

"Is his stash any good?" Damon asks jokingly, and she stares him down.

"You're an ass," She glares at him and looks back at Alaric. "Talk to him, please. He looks up to you." She thrusts the drink into the Vampire's chest, making it spill over him, and she storms away.

"You're screwed," He remarks, looking at his best friend as he wipes down his scotch-soaked shirt.

"Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh… bye… uh-huh," Andie says into her phone as she walks around the broadcasting studio. "Okay, I… I'm the last person here again. Dave, I'm working, please. Can we do this in the A.M.? I have a party I have to get to, and you have got to get a life. Okay, all right, bye, bye, bye." She hangs up the phone and walks onto the stage when a spotlight turns on her face, making it impossible to see. "Hello? Not cool, my retinas are burning." She steps to the side to escape the light, but the spotlight follows her. "Okay, seriously? What… What the hell are you doing?"

The spotlight turns off, making the studio extremely eerie and dark. "Hello? Hello?" Andie runs for the exit door but trips over some of the wires, falling on the floor, and the spotlight turns on again as a man steps in front of the light. The news reporter gets to her feet and runs for the door, but Stefan gets in front of her, stopping her escape. "Oh, hi. Oh, Stefan. Oh my God. Oh my God. What are you doing here? We have been looking everywhere for you! Stefan…" She watches in horror as his face changes, making her step back in fear and can't help but scream.

Back at the party, Tyler dances with his date, Sophie, as Caroline watches them drinking away her sorrows, and Matt stumbles over to her. "Since when are they a thing?" The blond quarterback questions, looking at his best friend as he dances closely with the blond teen.

"I thought you were ignoring me," Caroline snaps, watching the room.

"I'm not ignoring you," Matt tells her.

"Well, you've only said five words to me all summer, and those were four of them," She retorts, still slightly annoyed at his juvenile behaviour.

"Maybe because every time I've seen you, you've been with him," He replies.

"Cause he's my friend. Which is what I thought you were," The blond Vampire snides at him.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be, like, mortal enemies?" The blond human wonders. "I mean, isn't that how it works in the Vampire-Werewolf universe?"

"Matt, shh!" Caroline warns him, not liking his loud voice around all the nosy teens. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I don't know. I'm, uh… I'm out of it, I guess. Sorry," Matt apologises, still a little high and walks away, but she's not alone for long as Tyler walks over, having been watching the blonds and pulls his date with him.

"What was that about?" Tyler asks her.

"Nothing," Caroline answers shortly.

"Great party, Caroline," Sophie complements the fellow blond.

"Thanks," She says through her teeth. "Now leave it," She compels her, making the slutty blond walk away.

"What the hell?" Tyler snaps at her, watching his date leave, and Luka walks past them, searching for Damon and finds him still outside with Alaric when his phone goes off.

"Andie wants me to pick her up," Damon announces.

"Your fake, compelled girlfriend wants you to be a chivalrous boyfriend?" Alaric questions, looking at his best friend.

"Well, it's a complicated dynamic. Hold the fort down, will you?" He teases the history teacher.

"You mean the fort full of my drunk history students?" The human retorts, gesturing to the house full of drunken students.

"Drink more. You'll feel less weird," The older Salvatore jokes, needing to leave, and Luka gets out his phone to text Lorilei about Damon's disappearance. Elena walks into Damon's bedroom, needing to take a breather and finds she's not alone.

"This room's off-limits," Caroline announces, alerting the brunette to her presence.

"Caroline?" Elena calls, seeing the blond Vampire drinking from a blood bag.

"Sorry. I just needed to take a beat," The perky Vampire says, making the brunette smile. "Are you hiding?"

"I was just looking for Damon," The doppelganger admits.

"Well, he'd better be here somewhere, because we haven't even done the cake yet." The blond teen warns her best friend.

"I think I'm going to pass on the whole cake thing," Elena informs her, feeling a little guilty.

"No! No way, no! It's your Birthday. No, it's the dawn of a new day, and you can't get on with your life until you've made a wish and blown out the candles," Caroline tells her, trying to keep some normalcy in their otherwise supernatural life.

"Is that what you all want me to do, just get on with my life?" She questions, hating to spend the day without Stefan.

"No. Maybe. I just don't think anyone wants to see you like this," The Vampire argues.

"I'm not going to give up on finding Stefan, Caroline," Elena snaps.

"Of course not. And you shouldn't," Caroline agrees. "But you have to admit that you're kind of just letting your life pass you by. And isn't Stefan the one who wanted to make sure that you live it?"

"You want me to make a wish? I just want to know that he's alive. That's it. That's my wish," She reveals and goes towards the door but sees the closet open a fraction.

"I'm sorry, hey, I'm just drunk and dumb tonight. You know," The perky blond excuses herself as the brunette opens the closet door, seeing the map that tracks Klaus, Lorilei and Stefan. "What are you doing?" Caroline walks over and sees everything Damon's been hiding from Elena. "What's all that?"

"It's Klaus. Damon's been tracking him without me," Elena mutters, looking over all the notes and pieces of paper.

"Why wouldn't he just tell you?" She wonders, frowning.

"I don't know," The brunette sighs, feeling despair.

Damon arrives at the WPKW9 building to pick up his fake girlfriend, unaware she's being held captive. "Andie…" He calls out to him, and his phone rings, answering. "Party central."

"Where are you?" Elena demands on the other line.

"I'm by the… punch bowl," The older Salvatore lies.

"Don't do that, Damon, don't lie to me. I saw your closet," She snaps, getting angry.

"Oh, oh, gotta go… gotta go break up beer pong," Damon fibs, wanting to end the call.

"Wait, Damon…" Elena says, but he hangs up, entering the stage room Andie was in earlier when she was captured and finds her purse on the floor.

"Stefan," He gasps, turning around to see his lost brother standing before him.

"Hello, brother," Stefan greets him back.

"You don't write. You don't call," The older brother jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

"Need you to stop following me. Causing some problems," The younger Salvatore warns him.

"With who, Klaus? I'm supposed to care what he thinks?" Damon dismisses, not caring about the big bad Hybrid.

"What you're supposed to do… is let me go," The Ripper tells him, wanting to keep his brother face from Klaus and Lorilei.

"Saw your latest artwork in Tennessee. Walking a fine line there, my friend. Keep that up, and there will be no saving you," He comments, ignoring his younger brother.

"See, the thing is, I don't need any saving. I just want you to let me go," Stefan tells him.

"Oh, I got a birthday girl at home, who's not going to let me do that," The snarky Vampire replies, thinking of Elena.

"You know, maybe I haven't made my point. Hey, Andie, you still there?" He calls out, looking over his shoulder, and Damon follows, seeing Andie standing on the catwalk's edge, looming over the stage.

"Andie?" Damon gasps in shock.

"Damon? I can't move, Damon. He told me I can't move," Andie shudders.

"No, no, no, it's okay, Andie, stay calm. Not cool, brother," He fumes, looking back at his younger brother.

"Oh, come on. It's a little bit cool, huh?" Stefan teases him. "Hey, Andie. You can move now."

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Damon shouts as Andie moves a little, falling to the floor, Damon tries to save her, but Stefan pushes him against the wall as the news reporter hits the hard floor, the force of the fall snapping her neck.

"I said… Let me go," The younger Salvatore reminds him, and the older Salvatore pushes him back, rushing to Andie's dead body, and Stefan disappears, hoping his point has been made.

Alexis helps get her brother into her car as Jeremy sits in the passenger seat, and Matt sits in the back with her brother. "What are you doin'?" Jeremy asks the blond quarterback as he buckles himself in.

"I can't find my truck," Matt confesses, making Edward giggle.

"That's probably a sign you shouldn't be driving it," Edward jokes, earning a slap from his twin sister.

"You're more stoned than I am," He retorts, seeing how much of a mess the older twin is now.

"Is everyone buckled in?" Alexis asks, looking at the three males.

"Yep," They answer, and she turns on the headlights, spooking Jeremy as he sees Vicki standing in front of them.

"Ahh! What the… Vicki?!" Jeremy exclaims, making the others jump.

"Help me," Vicki begs before disappearing.

"What'd you just say?" Matt asks, looking at the youngest Gilbert.

"Nothin'," Jeremy denies.

"Did you just say "Vicki", as in my sister Vicki?" The blond quarterback questions.

"What? No, no. I, uh, I didn't say anything," He falters, and Alexis looks at Jeremy in worry but turns the car on, and Anna appears in front of the vehicle. "No…"

"What's wrong?" Alexis asks, growing worried about him.

"You know what, maybe we should just walk," Jeremy suggests, and Alexis locks the door.

"I'm fine. I'm taking you and my extremely stoned brother," She tells them and drives off, dropping off Matt and Jeremy at the Gilbert house before taking her brother home. Back at the Salvatore house, a drunk tries walking through the crowd.

"Excuse me. Excuse me," Caroline groans, passing through the group and growing frustrated; she lifts a guy by his neck so she can pass, and Tyler stops her.

"Hey! What is your problem?! You're pissed that I brought someone?" Tyler explodes, growing angry at the blond Vampire.

"Why would I be pissed? You brought a date. You're dating. That's… awesome," She replies, still upset.

"Okay, should I not be dating?" He questions, getting even more frustrated.

"Hey, you're horny all the time, right? I mean, a guy has needs," The Vampire retorts, hinting at her anger.

"'Cause if I shouldn't be dating, all you've got to do is say something. If you don't say something, then I'm going to keep dating," The young wolf warns her.

"What should I say?" Caroline challenges, unsure what she should say.

"Don't do that, Caroline! I've already been there once with you, okay, and you said no. You shut me down. I'm not going back there again unless you make it crystal clear that you…." Tyler argues, and she impulsively kisses him. "Let's get out of here," He quickly takes her hand, leading her out of the house, passing Damon, who makes it back, and the blond gives him the empty bottle.

"Hey! You missed the cake," She scolds him and walks out with Tyler, heading for his house, which is closer. Damon walks up to his room to find Elena still there, looking at the closet full of things he's been hiding from her.

"What? What are you doing here?" Damon asks her, wanting the day to end after having to leave his fake dead girlfriend at the tv studio for the police to find.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?" Elena demands answers.

"Can we not do this right now? I'm having a really bad night," He tells her, wanting to end the argument.

"All summer, every single time I came to you with a lead, you made me feel like an idiot for having hope," She snaps at him, getting angry at all his lies.

"You were an idiot. We both were," The older Salvatore replies, thinking of tonight.

"Tell me what you know, Damon," The doppelganger orders.

"I know you need to get back to your party, Elena," Damon tells her.

"We're supposed to be in this together. Why didn't you tell me you've been tracking Klaus' victims?" Elena snaps, thinking she knows everything.

"Because they're not Klaus' victims, Elena; they're Stefan's!" He shouts, shocking her.

"What?" She asks, looking at him in disbelief.

"He's left a trail of body parts up and down on the eastern seaboard," The Vampire replies angrily.

"No. You're wrong," The brunette girl denies, thinking he's wrong about her boyfriend in the hands of the Hybrid.

"I've seen it happen before. He's flipped the switch, full-blown RipperRipper," Damon informs her, seeing how upset she is, but he needs her to know.

"Stop it, Damon," Elena begs him.

"No, you stop it, Elena! Stop looking for him," He warns her. "Stop waiting for him to come home. Just stop! Stefan is gone, and he's not coming back. Not in your lifetime." He yells and leaves her with that, making the doppelganger break into tears, and she touches her necklace in sorrow, thinking about her missing boyfriend.

Jenna smiles as she watches Jeremy and Matt consume ice cream and sit in the kitchen after Alexis drops them off. "All right, I should probably go before Elena comes home and sees what a bad example I am," The blond quarterback jokes, looking at the strawberry blond.

"You sure you can walk?" Jeremy asks him.

"We'll see. Can I take the ice cream with me?" Matt inquires, looking at the half-eaten tub.

"Sure," Jenna allows him, and he takes it, starting to leave, but stops. "What happened in the car, man?"

"Nothing," Jeremy lies, not wanting to talk about it in front of his aunt, who doesn't know he died and came back to life.

"Come on, man. You said, "Vicki". All right, you said my sister's name. Why? You said you were seeing things?" Matt questions, making Jenna stop her cleaning.

"I've been seeing her," He cringes, hearing his aunt drop a spoon.

"I mean, I think I see her all the time, too," The blond quarterback replies, dismissing the supernatural. "It's 'cause I miss her so much, though. You know, like, I want to see her, so I do. Look, I know we've got our hands full with all that supernatural stuff in this town, but… Ghosts."

"Like I said, my head's all messed up," Jeremy dismisses, and Matt smiles before leaving.

"Ghosts?" Jenna shrieks, and her nephew turns around, looking guilty.

Klaus moves Ray onto the unoccupied pool table as Lorilei watches from the bar. "Okay, it's a three-step process, right? This is step one. I want you to drink from my wrist." The Hybrid explains.

"I already told you where to find the pack. What more do you want from me?" Ray asks, whimpering a little.

"Have you been listening to what I've been saying, Ray? I have great plans for you," Klaus tells him, cutting into his wrists before moving it in front of the Werewolf, forcing him to drink his blood. "You'll thank me for it later, heh."

"Will he?" Lorilei mutters, and Stefan walks back into the bar.

"What are you going to do now?" Ray asks, looking at the Hybrid.

"It's time for step two, Ray," Klaus announces, snapping the Werewolf's neck, and then looks at Stefan. "You're back."

"Did you doubt me?" Stefan counters, looking at the dead body of Ray Sutton.

"Not for a second. I knew you'd pass the test. You still care for your brother, for your old life," He replies, and Lorilei rolls her eyes.

"You liar," She grumbles, feeling a little nauseous again.

"I don't care about anything anymore," Stefan assures the Hybrid.

"You put on a good show, Stefan. I almost believe you. Let's hope, for your brother's sake, he does. You never stop caring about family, do you? But every time you feed, the blood makes it easier to let go," Klaus retorts and looks at Lorilei as she texts on her phone, probably worrying about the twins.

Elena comes home from the party and finds Alaric packing the rest of his things after he and Jenna break up. "What are you doing?" Elena asks.

"Ahh. I'm not going to stay here anymore," Alaric informs her, trying to be gentle with the birthday girl.

"What? Why?" She asks, walking over to him.

"I'm not a role model. You know, I drink too much, I say the wrong things, I encourage bad behaviour as Jenna likes to remind me. At school I can pull it together, but in my own life. The way things are with me and Jenna at the moment, it's just I'm really not any good to anybody right now. I'm sorry, Elena," He tells her, seeing how upset she is and walks out the door with his bags.

"Bye!" Jenna shouts from her bedroom, and Elena walks upstairs, seeing Jenna in tears

Tyler and Caroline return to the Lockwood mansion, kissing each other passionately as they take their clothes off, moving towards the bed. The blond in just her underwear pushes the young Werewolf onto the bed, jumping on him and continuing their makeout.

Damon drunkenly walks into Stefan's bedroom, tearing his things apart, knocking down books and trashing the room angrily at his brother for killing his fake girlfriend and in grief at possibly losing him forever. He grabs the guitar but doesn't break it and holds it for a second.

Stefan walks out of the bar after Klaus and Lorilei leave to put Ray in the back of the car and takes out his new phone, dialling a number he knows by heart.

Elena walks into her bedroom, finds a drawing from Jeremy lying on her chest of drawers for her Birthday and gets ready for bed when her phone vibrates, but she doesn't notice immediately but notices and answers the unknown number. "Hello? Hello? Hello?" Elena says, but there's no answer, and she feels it's Stefan as there's no answer. "Stefan? Stefan, if this is you… You'll be okay. You can survive this. Whatever you do, I love you, Stefan. Hold on to that. Never let that go," Elena assures her boyfriend, who doesn't say anything as he tries to hold onto the tears welling up in his eyes.

Tyler lies asleep in his bed as Caroline puts on her dress and takes her shoes, not wanting to wake anyone and goes downstairs, trying to sneak out, but Carol intercepts her, surprising the blond Vampire. "Mrs Lookwood. Hi," She greets the Mayor, feeling awkward facing the mother as she tries to sneak out of the house after having sex with her son.

"Leaving so soon?" Carol questions, looking at the blond teen suspiciously.

"I… I didn't mean to be so… I mean, we were just… I'm going to just… Get my purse. Okay," Caroline says awkwardly, embarrassed about being caught by Tyler's mom and goes to grab her purse off the side table, but it burns her skin. The Vampire yelps, flinching away, alerting Carol, who raises her gun, shooting her various times in the chest, making the blond fall to the floor, unconscious.