Somewhere in Tennessee, a dark skinned woman opened the door and walked out of the house, whistling.
"Rudy! Rudy. Come on! It's too hot to make me come looking for you."
She bent down to pick up a dog toy that was lying on the grass. When she got up again and turned around, a blond man was suddenly standing in front of her, startling her.
" I'm so sorry," he apologized in a British accent. "I didn't mean to scare you."
The woman looked at him suspiciously.
"Can I help you?"
He laughed nervously.
"Yeah, my car hmm, my car ran out of gas a couple of miles back. Eh I feel like I've been walking forever yours is the first house I come to so I was just hoping I could use your phone?"
The woman frowned.
"Don't you have a cell phone?"
" Huh, yeah..." He pulled a phone from his pocket and held it up. "Battery died. Look, I promise I'm not a serial killer I just wanna use your phone."
She continued to observe him suspiciously for a few more seconds before she sighed.
"Sure."
He looked at her, excitement gleaming in his blue-green eyes.
"Soo, I can come in?"
She shook her head.
"No, I'll get the phone and I'll bring it out to you."
Annoyance hushed over his face.
"I thought you country folks were supposed to be more trusting."
"I'm from Florida."
"Well, that explains it." He suddenly grabbed her by her throat and looked deep into her eyes, pupils dilating. "Now show me a little southern hospitality, sweet pea."
Inside the house, another woman was currently busy frying food.
"I bet you a hundred dollars that dog ran off to a house with air conditioning."
She turned around and watched with wide eyes as her companion entered the kitchen, or better was dragged in by a stranger who held her by the nape of her neck. Tears were streaming down her face.
"What's going on?"
"Please don't be alarmed," the man said. "I was told Ray Sutton lives here."
"He's almost never here," the woman from the kitchen replied. "He's on the road mostly."
The man frowned.
"But I expect he makes it home, once a month. That's what I thought. Where is he now?" She didn't answer. His face grew hard, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "If I have to make you tell me it's going to be infinitely more painful for you. Hmm." A wicked smile tucked on his lips.
The woman ran to the front door, trying to flee, but as she opened the door another man was standing in front of her. She screamed in fear. The blond man followed with the other woman still in his grasp.
"I love it when they run!" he said, still smiling.
"He's in Toll," the woman in his grasp said, voice and body shaking as she cried. "It's near the border. A bar called Southern Comfort. It's on Highway 41."
The man smiled at her and softly touched her hair.
"Thank you my love. Now, may my friend come in?"
"Yes."
The other man walked through the door and the woman's companion looked at him wide-eyed, utterly terrified. The blond man released his captive and pushed her into the other man's arms.
"Kill this one quickly," he ordered, eyes turning to the other woman. "And make that one suffer. I'll be in the car."
He walked out of the front door with an uncanny smile on his face.
"Please don't!" the first woman begged, looking at the other man. He just stared at her emotionless before his face transformed and he bit into her neck. The screams of terror that followed could be heard from miles away.
It was the morning of Elena Gilbert's eighteenth birthday and the teenager was currently on the phone with Caroline while she walked down the stairs into the kitchen.
"What are you doing?" she asked her friend.
"Just shopping for the party you're trying to bail out on," Caroline replied nonchalantly.
Elena groaned inwardly. She wasn't in the mood for partying. Not with Stefan still out there.
"I never said yes in the first place."
"You were never going to which is why I planned it anyway. And my mom wants you to call her."
"Did she find something?" Elena asked, a hopeful tone in her voice.
"An animal attack in Memphis. It's the third one this week in Tennessee."
Elena stepped into the kitchen where Jenna was currently making coffee.
"And you're sure it's a vampire?"
Jenna looked at her and the two exchanged a short glance.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean that it's Klaus," Caroline reminded her.
"Doesn't mean it's not," Elena contered, gently pushing Jenna out of the way. "I'll call her."
"Well call her on her cell."
"Tell her thank you for her help."
"All right," Caroline said. "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you in a bit."
"Oh, Caroline wait, just...keep tonight small. Please?" Elena begged her friend.
"Wear something pretty," was all Caroline replied before hanging up.
Elena sighed and shook her head. Jenna looked at her from across the kitchen counter.
"Was that uh...Stefan news?"
Elena shrugged.
"Could be more Klaus victims."
"You certain Stefan's still with him?" Jenna asked.
"Easy to be certain when the alternative is that he's dead," Elena said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Then she looked at her aunt.
"The next time you're meeting Elijah and Marianne, can you ask them again if they know anything? Please?"
Jenna raised her eyebrow at her niece.
"I thought we're not going to mention her name anymore?"
Elena sighed.
"Look. Do I like that you're still hanging out with the person who betrayed us all? No. But you're going to do it anyways so might as well use the opportunity when it presents itself."
"Well, you're not going to get any information, Elena. Neither Elijah nor Marianne will tell anyone where Klaus and Stefan are. We already had that topic."
Elena opened her mouth to say something but Jenna interrupted her. "No, Elena. I don't want to argue with you on your birthday and I won't spy on or abandon my best friend just because you're mad at her for betraying you when you all betrayed her first. End of discussion."
She sighed and then gave Elena a soft smile before pulling her into a hug.
"Happy Birthday, by the way."
At the Salvatore Boarding House, Damon was taking a bath while his newest fling, a brunette lady named Mia he had met at the Grill one night, stood in front of the mirror, doing her makeup. Damon grabbed the champagne bottle, wanting to refill his glass, but noticed that it was empty. He scowled.
"We're out of champagne."
Mia looked at him through the mirror.
"Huh. No you are out of champagne; I don't drink in the morning," she commented.
Damon held the bottle in her direction.
"Well would you be a dear and walk-"
Mia interrupted him before he could finish the sentence.
"I think you can probably get it yourself. I'm not your slave."
Damon scowled slightly before he got out of the bathtub, water dripping from his naked body to the floor. Mia raised her eyebrows.
"I mean you're dripping a little."
"Mm hm."
He walked out of the bathroom. The front door of the Boarding House opened and Elena walked in. He walked up behind her, still utterly naked.
"Good morning," he greeted her.
"Hey, I was gonna-" Elena started, turning around and immediately stopping as she noticed that Damon wore no clothes at all. He smirked at her.
"Oh!" She quickly turned around, face red as a tomato. "You heard me! You knew that I was here."
"Yeah, you should learn to knock," Damon contered. "What if I was...indecent?"
Elena grabbed a towel with one hand, her other covered her eyes as she turned around to throw it at him. Damon caught it and put it around his waist. She peeked between her fingers, making sure he was covered up before removing her hand from her eyes.
"Sheriff Forbes gave us another location to check," she told him, pulling a note from her pocket. "Memphis."
"Another dead-end you mean."
She scowled at him.
"You don't know that."
Damon walked closer to her.
"You're right, Elena. This could be the one. After almost two months this could be the one clue that tells that Stefan is alive and well and living in Graceland."
Elena rolled her eyes at him and took the note back.
"Fine, I'll go by myself."
She walked away but before she could leave the room, Damon had vamp sped in front of her, snatching the note out of her hand.
"Right, and let Klaus know you're tracking him. As if this will go well."
She gave him a pleading look.
"It's a new lead Damon; we haven't had one in a while."
"You know, if you'd allow me to lock sunshine into the basement for a night-"
"Forget it," she interrupted him. "You're not torturing Stefan's whereabouts out of her. We don't need you pissing off Elijah. One Original is enough to worry about."
He sighed.
"Okay, I'll check it out. If I find anything I'll call you."
"But-"
Damon left the room, leaving a dumbfounded doppelgänger behind. He walked into his room and opened his closet door, revealing a map with tons of pins and notes. He added the new note to it.
"They moved on to Tennessee."
Mia walked out of the bathroom, frowning.
"Huh, that fluttered victim you had me looking into had family in Tennessee."
He turned towards her.
"Which one? Pensacola?"
She nodded.
"Aha."
"Up for a road trip?"
She smiled as she walked up to him.
"Ha, no can do, I've got to work." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "But I can see if I can get you an address."
They exchanged a short kiss before they separated.
"See you at the party," she said, walking out of the room.
"Get me that address," Damon called after her.
"Okay, It's official. The whole town hates me," I groaned after I had read the text message Carol Lockwood had just sent me.
Elijah looked up from the book he was reading.
"What happened."
I grimaced as I walked up to him.
"Remember how I told you that people constantly complain about me and my apparently lacking qualifications?" He nodded, eyes narrowing slightly. "Well, guess what? Carol hired a second archivist so people would shut up. Some hotshot historian from New Orleans. He's going to arrive in a few days. She assured me he wouldn't replace me but I doubt she wants to pay two archivists in the long run." I sighed. "I guess I should start looking for a new job."
Elijah looked at me.
"I believe you might be worrying about nothing, elskan," he said. "I have the impression that the Mayor values you and your work too much to release you from your job. The fact that she hired a second archivist so people would stop complaining about you supports my theory."
I smiled softly at him.
"Maybe you're right and I do worry about nothing. It actually would be quite nice to have some assistance in the archive. And I mean professional assistance. Not a bunch of High School students who were clearly forced by their parents to take this summer job and rather want to be anywhere else than at the archive."
I walked over to him and sat down on the armrest of the armchair he was currently sitting in, curiously glancing into his book. It was old with lots of mysterious drawings. Instead of letters, the text was written in ancient looking runes - viking if I wasn't mistaken. I raised my eyebrow.
"What are you reading?"
"Mother's Grimoire," he answered. "Well, one of them. I am trying to figure out the origins of our mysterious light friends and the power of your blood."
"Well, and did you find anything?"
He shook his head.
"Sadly no. Not a single word about mystical blood with the ability to resurrect humans."
I shrugged my shoulders and then looked at him.
"I mean, are we really surprised about that? None of Klaus' or Maddox' witch contacts had an answer. The only people who know won't tell us. We're running in circles here."
I let out a frustrated sigh. We had been looking for answers for two months now without any success. No witch, no book, no Grimoire, no Internet research had given us any leads so far. This and the fact that Klaus had been gone for just as long started to drain on my nerves. Thanks to Stefan's absence things had been quiet in Mystic Falls since the night the dead witches tried to kill me. Damon was too busy tracking down his brother to start any trouble, though he managed to find an Andie-replacement to further distract himself from his very obvious feelings for Elena. Said distraction turned out to be one of Andie's crew members, much to Andie's annoyance. She wasn't overly fond of having Damon lurking around the studio and abusing and using yet another innocent woman who had hopelessly fallen in love with him. At the beginning, Andie had laced Mia's coffee at work with vervain to protect her from compulsion and being fed on but it hadn't taken Damon long to figure it out and told her to bring her own coffee to work and not to leave it out of her sight. Though ever since then Mia had stopped wearing scarves so at least he didn't feed on her anymore. I still felt bad for the poor woman, I knew being in love with a person you couldn't have sucked but at one point Damon would have to learn to deal with his feelings in a more healthy way. I sighed again. As much as I appreciated the quietness I missed Klaus and hoped he would find this werewolf pack soon so he could return.
At the Southern Comfort Bar, a brown-haired man walked in and straight to the bar.
"What's up Ray?" the bartender greeted him.
The man nodded at him.
"Hey Red, get me a beer."
Another man appeared on his right, looking at him.
"Ray? Ray Sutton?"
Ray turned around to look at the blond stranger.
"Who wants to know?"
The other man smiled at him uncannily.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," he informed the werewolf. "We started in Florida, Pensacola. I met a young chap there who you used to work with before you moved to Memphis, now he directed me to two lovely young women. And they led me here, to you."
"I think I'll be going," Ray muttered, trying to leave, but the blond man stopped him.
"Not so fast mate. You only just got here, now your type are very hard to come by."
Ray tried to flee the other way but bumped into a chest. In front of him stood another stranger, arms crossed.
"I wouldn't do that," he said, pushing Ray back to the counter.
"Vampires," Ray growled dangerously.
The blond man grinned.
"You're swifty swift Ray! Yes! My friend here is a vampire. He compelled everybody in the bar so don't look to them for any help." He took a step closer to the werewolf. "I however, I'm something else, a different kind of monster. I've got some vampire, I've got some wolf."
Ray looked at him in confusion.
"You what?"
"A hybrid Ray," Klaus explained. "I'm both. You see I want to create more of me. Now you being the first werewolf that I've come across in many a moon - pun intended, Ray - I need you to direct me to your pack. So, where can I find them, Ray?"
Ray swallowed hard before he shook his head.
"You can't compel me, it won't work."
Klaus shot Stefan a quick look and nodded at him. Stefan turned around and took something out of his back pocket. Then he turned to the bartender.
"Can you bring out the darts please?" He looked to the werewolf. "Tell you what Ray, We're gonna play a little drinking game, something I like to call truth or wolfsbane."
He took the pouch with wolfsbane he had pulled from his back pocket, opened it and poured it in his hands, crushing it with his fingers. The werewolf gulped. Klaus looked at Ray with a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun, Ray."
Damon and Alaric pulled up in front of a big country house in Memphis, Tennessee. As they walked to the door, Damon's phone started ringing. He pulled it out to check the caller ID. Then he put it back in his pocket, ignoring it. Alaric shot him a questioning look.
"Elena?" As Damon grimaced, he shook his head. "I don't know why you just don't come clean and tell her where we are."
"Because Mia said this was a half lead and I don't want to get her hopes up," Damon explained.
"Yeah, well they're all half leads, and I'm your accomplice. What do you want me to say to her?"
They stopped in front of the steps leading up to the porch. Alaric listened in for a moment before turning to his friend.
"It's quiet."
Damon nodded.
"Yeah. Too quiet."
They walked up the front porch. Damon stepped one foot over the threshold to test if the owner was still alive. As he felt no resistance, he walked through entirely.
"Oh yeah."
Alaric followed him inside, closing the door behind him. The two of them looked around. There were bloody hand prints on the wall. As they walked into the living room they found the bodies of two women sitting on the couch, almost as if they were still alive if it weren't for the empty expression in their eyes. Alaric scrunched up his nose.
"Ugh. Vampire for sure."
"Stefan, for sure," Damon corrected him with a grim expression on his face.
Alaric raised his eyebrow at him.
"How do you know?"
"It's his signature; there's a reason they call him the ripper. Feeds so hard he blacks out and rips them apart, but then when he's done, he feels remorse. It's the damndest thing." Damon wobbled the knee of one of the women with his foot. "He put the bodies back together."
The women's head fell to the floor due to the movement.
"Back together?" Alaric asked, a horrified expression on his face.
Damon nodded.
"Definitely Stefan."
A few minutes later Damon had retrieved a tank of gasoline from his car and was emptying it all around the living room.
"What are you doing?" Alaric asked him.
"Covering their tracks," Damon replied nonchalantly. "Clearly they have no interest in staying in the dark, but I do."
As Alaric moved out of the way, the floor creaked. They exchanged suspicious looks.
"Hang on," Damon said, placing the tank of gasoline on the floor before he flipped a corner of the rug, revealing a hidden trap door. He opened it and both men looked into the secret chamber full of chains. "Well, what do you know? Werewolves."
They closed the door again before Damon lit a match and threw it on the floor, lightning up the whole living room.
Back at the Southern Comfort Bar, Ray was chained to the wall, darts covering his body. He was shaking from head to toe, his face distorted in pain. Stefan was sitting at the table across from him, stirring a glass of wolfsbane with the tip of a dart. He took it out and threw it at the werewolf, who screamed in pain as he was hit by it. All the other compelled patrons were sitting at their tables, as if nothing happened.
"Ray, you can end this right now," Stefan said to the werewolf. "Just tell me where your pack gathers for the full moon."
Ray shook his head.
"I can't."
Stefan sighed.
"I know, I know. You live by code and all that, but see he's not gonna let me stop until you tell me. And I do whatever he says so, that's the way it goes around here."
Klaus was sitting at the bar, feet resting on the counter as he scrolled through the pictures of Erin and Estelle on their summer camping trip with their friend's family his mate had just sent him. He stopped at a picture of the twins in front of a lake, proudly holding up the big fish they had caught. A genuine smile tucked at his lips as he felt fatherly pride swelling up in him. Something he hadn't felt for over a thousand years. A part of him was shocked and terrified at how quickly the two little girls had grown on him. Caring for them meant another weakness that could be exploited. He couldn't afford to be weak. At the same time he was afraid. Afraid of failing them like his father had failed him, like he had already failed his own daughter. After everything he had done over the last thousand years, all the people he had killed, could he truly be a good father to them? Was a monster like him even capable of being a good father figure? On the other hand, he knew that it was already too late to turn back. His wolf had already accepted them as his pups. If they were to be separated from him...well, it wouldn't end well.
He was abruptly torn out of his thoughts when a woman approached him.
"Hello Mister Klaus. I have some more information for you."
Stefan, who had heard her speaking, walked closer, eavesdropping.
"You told me to tell you if I saw anything," the woman continued. "I saw the guys spotted Damon at the farm house."
Klaus turned to her.
"Well, thank you Claudine. You'll just tell your friends to keep up the good work or they're gonna watch her."
The woman left and Stefan walked over to Klaus.
"My brother still on our trail?" he asked, cautiously.
"He's getting closer," Klaus replied, sighing. "I'm gonna have to deal with that."
Stefan grabbed his arm as Klaus was about to stand up.
"No, no, no! Let me handle it."
Klaus looked at him suspiciously.
"Why should I let you leave?"
"Cause, you'll know I'll come back."
Klaus raised his eyebrow at him.
"Do I?"
"You saved my brother's life," Stefan replied, lowering his head slightly. "I'm at your service."
The hybrid grimaced.
"Ah, you sound so tedious and indentured. Aren't you even having the least bit of fun?"
He pointed at Ray with a big smile on his face.
Instead of answering his questions, Stefan walked toward the door.
"I'll make sure that my brother doesn't bother us any more."
Elena was standing in front of the mirror in Stefan's room at the Boarding House, getting ready for the party Caroline had organized for her. Damon suddenly appeared behind her, leaning against the door frame.
"Don't worry I'm not gonna lose it," Elena assured him. "At least not before the cake."
He shrugged at her.
"It's your party, you can cry if you want to." He started walking up to her but stopped as he saw a picture of Stefan and Elena on a table. He picked it up. "Ah, Stefan. Such a pack rat." He put it back down and looked at Elena.
"I got you something," he said. "I know I promised not to buy you anything so don't worry. I didn't pay for it."
Elena turned around to face him.
"You stole it?"
He shook his head and gave her a slightly offended look.
"No!" He held up a small box. "Found it."
He opened the box and Elena stared at the content wide-eyed.
"My necklace," she whispered. "I thought I'd never see it again."
"Alaric found it in his loft, thought you'd be happy to have it back."
"I am happy," Elena replied, looking at the vampire. "Thank you."
He gave her a soft smile.
"You're welcome."
"Can you?"
Elena pointed at the necklace.
"Absolutely," he answered, before she turned around and pulled up her hair.
He took the necklace out of the box and stepped behind her, putting the necklace around her neck. After he had closed it, Elena turned it around. Damon offered her his arm.
"Shall we?"
She took it and they walked out of Stefan's room and down the stairs, where the party was already underway. As they passed some of the girls standing in the hallway, they turned around and smiled at her.
"Hey Elena! Happy Birthday!"
Elena returned the smile.
"Thanks."
They proceeded to walk into the living room, where the bulk of the horde was camping. As a girl passed them with a bottle in hand, Damon stopped her and snatched the bottle.
"Oh, hey, hey, hey, hey. You don't want that." He looked deep into her eyes, compelling her. "You want the cheap young stuff over by the cheap young people."
As the girl walked away, Caroline joined them.
"You like?" she asked Elena. "Don't answer that."
Elena gave her an indignant look.
"This is keeping it small?" Her eyes wandered to Caroline's drink. "What are we drinking?"
Caroline smiled at her and they walked away, arm in arm.
In a small corner of the living room, hidden away from his aunt's prying eyes, Jeremy was sitting on a couch, rolling a joint. Matt joined him.
"Where did you get that?"
"Henry from the kitchen sold me a dime," Jeremy answered.
Matt took the joint and lit it before looking back at Jeremy.
"So, what's got you on your spiral downward? Sure it's a lot more interesting than mine."
Jeremy sighed.
"You do not wanna know."
Matt shrugged, taking a blow.
"How bad can it be? I already know everything else." He offered his joint to Jeremy. "Go for it."
Jeremy took it and then hesitated for a moment before leaning closer to Matt.
"You know I died right?" he started. "And Marianne's blood somehow brought me back to life?"
Matt nodded.
"Yeah, Elena told me."
"The thing is, ever since I came back I've been seeing...things."
Matt frowned.
"What kind of things?"
"Just, things I shouldn't be seeing."
Matt raised his eyebrow.
"What's Bonnie or Marianne say about it?"
Jeremy leaned back on the couch.
"Nah, I haven't told them. I haven't told anybody. Just messing with my head is all. I just need to chill out, so this."
He held up the joint before taking a blow. Matt got up. In that moment Caroline and Elena entered the room. Caroline's face fell.
"Oh...the Stoner den. Buzzkill."
Matt walked up to them.
"Hey guys."
"Matt, hey!" Elena greeted him back.
He kissed her on the cheek.
"Happy Birthday."
"Thank you."
Then he left. Caroline let out a heavy sigh.
"He hates me. His hatred of me has driven him to drugs!"
"He doesn't hate you," Elena assured her. "He hates that he's not with you." Her eyes narrowed at Jeremy on the couch, still pulling on his joint. "Is that my brother?"
She handed her drink to Caroline before she walked off.
Outside of the Boarding House Damon and Alaric were standing together.
"I am every parent's worst nightmare," Alaric grumbled, watching the group of teenagers dancing and drinking nearby. "I am the chaperone teacher from hell."
"I love high school parties," Damon commented, whipping up and down to the rhythm of the music.
Alaric looked through the crowd.
"Aren't Mia and Jenna supposed to be coming?"
"Jenna's already there," Damon replied. "Saw her earlier in the hallway. I think she's trying to avoid you. And as for Mia...Ten o'clock broadcast. Should be here in a little bit."
One moment later, Elena walked out of the front door.
"Hello Birthday Girl!" Damon greeted her.
"Drink!" she demanded before snatching Damon's glass. "Jeremy's smoking again."
She took a sip.
"Is his stash any good?" Damon asked, amused.
Elena glared at him.
"You're an ass." She turned to Alaric, a pleading look on her face. "Talk to him, please. He looks up to you."
She handed the glass back to Damon before going back inside. Damon looked at his friend.
"You're screwed."
Alaric groaned before downing his glass.
Mia was talking on the phone as she walked through the studio. Everyone else had already left.
"Yeah, Uh huh. Uh huh. Uh huh. Okay, I, I am the last person here again."
The lights went off as she continued speaking on the phone.
"Days of work, please can we do this in the a.m.? I have a party I have to get to, and you gotta get a life! Okay, all right. Bye, bye."
She hung up and walked into studio three to grab her bag. As she turned around to leave, the spotlight suddenly turned on, pointing at her.
"Hello?" she asked, holding her hand over her eyes. "Not cool. My retinas are burning."
She tried to walk out of the light but the spotlight was following her movements.
"Okay, Okay. Seriously who'd...? What the hell are you doing?"
No answer. The light went off again.
Mia frowned.
"Hello? Hello?"
Panic gripped her and she started running towards the exit, when she stumbled over a wire. The spotlight went on again and suddenly a person was standing in front of her, right in the light. She stood up and tried to run, but the familiar looking man was blocking her way. She stared at him in fear.
"Who the hell are y-. Wait." Recognition flashed across her face. "I've seen you before. On pictures. You're Stefan, Damon's brother. We have been looking everywhere for you!"
He didn't answer.
"Stefan?"
Stefan's face began to transform and Mia started to scream.
Back at Elena's party Caroline was watching Tyler dancing with one of their class mates, Sophie, while she was sipping from a bottle. Matt joined her, following her gaze.
"Since when are they a thing?"
Caroline looked at him sharply.
"I thought you were ignoring me?"
"I'm not ignoring you."
She scoffed.
"You only said five words to me all summer, and those were four of them."
Matt glared at her.
"Maybe because every time I've seen you, you've been with him."
He nodded at Tyler.
"Because he's my friend! Which is what I thought you were."
Matt raised his eyebrow at her.
"Aren't you guys supposed to be like mortal enemies? I mean isn't that how it works in vampire werewolf universe?"
"Matt, shhhh!" Caroline glared at him. "What is wrong with you?"
Matt sighed.
"I don't know. I'm out of it...I guess." Tyler started to make his way toward them. "Sorry."
Then he walked away.
"What was that about?" Tyler asked, as he reached Caroline.
"Nothing," Caroline hissed, exasperated.
Sophie joined them.
"Great party Caroline!"
Caroline gave her a fake smile.
"Thanks." Then she leaned closer to her, pupils dilating. "Now leave."
The compelled teenager immediately walked off. Tyler glared at Caroline.
"What the hell?!"
But Caroline had already vanished into the crowd.
Damon and Alaric were still sitting outside.
"Mia wants me to pick her up," Damon told him after he had read the text message she just sent him.
Alaric raised his eyebrow at him, looking amused.
"Your fake, compelled girlfriend wants you to be a chivalrous boyfriend?"
Damon shrugged.
"Well, it's a complicated dynamic."
"Yeah."
"Well, hold the fort down, will ya?"
"You mean the fort full of my drunk history students?"
Damon patted his friend's shoulder.
"Drink more, you will feel less weird."
Then he jumped down the porch and left.
Inside the house, Elena opened the door to Damon's room.
"This room's off limits!" she heard Caroline's voice coming from the bathroom as she entered.
Elena walked into the bathroom, seeing Caroline sitting on the closed toilet, sipping on a blood bag.
"Caroline?"
Caroline looked at her apathetically.
"Sorry. I just needed to take a beat." She stood up and walked toward Elena. " Are you hiding?"
"I was just looking for Damon," Elena replied.
"Well, he better be here somewhere because we haven't even done the cake yet."
Elena grimaced.
"I think I'm gonna pass on the whole cake thing."
Caroline shook her head energetically.
"What? no, no way, no! It's your birthday! You know it's the dawn of a new day and, you can't get on with your life until you have made a wish and blown out the candles."
Elena looked at her.
"Is that what you all want me to do? Just get on with my life?"
"No...Maybe...I just don't think anyone wants to see you like this."
"I'm not gonna give up on finding Stefan, Caroline," Elena told her, determination in her voice.
Caroline's eyes softened.
"Of course not. And you shouldn't, but you have to admit that you kinda just letting your life pass you by. And isn't Stefan the one who wanted to make sure that you lived it?"
"You want me to make a wish? I just wanna know that he's alive. That's it! That's my wish," Elena said starting to walk a way. But then her eyes fell on Damon's slightly opened closet door and she walked to it opening it.
" I'm sorry, okay. I'm just drunk and dumb tonight," Caroline said and stopped as she looked at Elena and the the opened closet door. "Wait, what are you doing?"
The girls stared at the notes, maps and articles that Damon had collected, all of them leads to Klaus and Stefan.
"What's all that?" Caroline asked.
"It's Klaus," Elena answered. "Damon's been tracking him without me."
Caroline frowned.
"Why wouldn't he just tell you?"
"I don't know."
Meanwhile, Damon had arrived at the empty studio, looking for Mia.
"Mia?"
Suddenly his phone started to ring, Elena's name on the caller ID. He picked it up.
"Party Central."
"Where are you?!" Elena asked angrily on the other end of the line.
"Umm, by the...punch bowl," he lied.
"Don't do that Damon, don't lie to me! I saw your closet."
He cursed inwardly.
"Oh...Oh, I gotta, gotta go break up beer pong."
"Wait, Da-"
Before she could finish the sentence, Damon had hung up on her.
Damon walked into studio three as he continued his search for Mia. He spotted her bag on the floor and picked it up. As he turned around, a familiar figure was standing a few meters in front of him.
"Stefan."
"Hello brother," Stefan greeted him coldly.
Damon walked closer.
"You don't write, you don't call."
"Need you to stop following me. Causing some problems."
Damon raised his eyebrow at him.
"With who? Klaus? Are we supposed to care with he thinks?"
Stefan stepped closer as well.
"What you're supposed to do is let me go."
"Saw your latest artwork in Tennessee," Damon told him. "Walking a fine line there my friend. Keep that up and there will be no saving you."
Stefan gave him an uncanny smile.
"See the thing is, uh, I don't need any saving. I just want you to let me go."
Damon shook his head.
"Nah, I got a birthday girl at home that's not gonna let me do that."
Stefan nodded slightly.
"You know, maybe I haven't made my point. Hey, Mia you still there?"
Damon frowned.
"Mia? How do you know Mia?"
He looked up and saw Mia standing on the ledge of the rafter, her whole body shaking in fear.
"Damon? I can't move Damon. He told me that I can't move."
"No, no, no, it's okay, Mia. Stay calm." He glared at Stefan. "Not cool brother!"
"Aw, come on! A little bit cool. Huh? Hey, Mia. You can move now."
Damon's eyes grew wide in panic.
"No! No, no, no, no, no NO!"
Stefan pushed him out of the way against a wall so he couldn't catch Mia as she walked toward the edge and fell to the ground, cracking her neck.
"I said let me go!" Stefan told him one last time before he let his brother go and disappeared. Damon ran over to Mia but it was too late. She was dead.
Jeremy was on his way to his car when he spotted Matt standing at the parking lot in front of the Boarding House, looking lost.
"What are you doing?" Jeremy asked him.
"I can't find my truck."
Jeremy gave him an amused look.
"That's probably a sign you shouldn't be driving it. Need a ride?"
Matt snorted.
"You're more stoned than I am."
Jeremy opened the door of his car and got in. As he looked up he gasped in shock. Vicki Donovan was sitting in the passenger seat, looking directly at him.
"What the...Vicki?!"
She gave him a pleading, desperate look.
"Help me."
She disappeared the moment Matt opened the passenger door and climbed into the car.
He looked at Jeremy strangely.
"Hey. What'd you just say?"
"Nothing," Jeremy quickly replied.
"Did you just say "Vicki", as in my sister Vicki?"
"What? No, no. I, uh, I didn't say anything."
Matt looked at him suspiciously but didn't say anything. Jeremy started the engine and turned the headlights on. Suddenly he saw Anna standing right in front of the car. He gasped.
"No..."
Matt looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
After Jeremy had calmed down his rapidly beating heart, he turned the headlights and the engine off again.
"You know what, maybe we should just walk."
Inside the Boarding House, Caroline was stumbling across the dance floor, slightly drunk.
Tyler walked toward her, arms crossed.
"Hey! What is your problem?! You're pissed that I brought someone?"
She looked at him.
"Why would I be pissed? You brought a date. You're dating. That's...awesome."
"Okay, should I not be dating?"
"Hey, you're horny all the time, right? I mean, a guy has needs."
She tried to walk past him but he grabbed her arm.
"'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."
Caroline looked at him, dumbfounded.
"What would I say?"
Tyler sighed in frustration.
"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-"
Suddenly Caroline took a step closer and kissed him, successfully silencing him. He was startled at first but then proceeded to kiss her back. When they separated again, both teenagers were panting heavily, staring at each other.
"Let's get out of here." Tyler said.
Caroline nodded.
"Uh huh."
He took her hand they made their way towards the door. As they walked past Damon Caroline stopped and pressed her bottle in his hands.
"Hey! You missed the cake."
Then she and Tyler left. Damon started after them, dumbfounded before placing the bottle on one of the tables and walking to his room. As he opened the door, he found Elena inside, holding up a bunch of newspaper cuttings.
He groaned.
"What? What are you doing here?"
She turned around to face him, looking at him accusingly.
"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?"
He sighed.
"Can we not do this right now? I'm having a really bad night."
"All summer, every single time I came to you with a lead, you made me feel like an idiot for having hope."
"You were an idiot. We both were."
Elena stepped closer, glaring at him.
"Tell me what you know, Damon."
He glared back.
"I know you need to get back to your party, Elena."
"We're supposed to be in this together. Why didn't you tell me that you've been tracking Klaus' victims?"
"Because they're not Klaus' victims, Elena, they're Stefan's!"
Elena stared at him in shock.
"What?"
"He's left a trail of body parts up and down the eastern seaboard."
She shook her head, not wanting to believe what he said.
"No, you're wrong."
"I've seen it happen before. He's flipped the switch. Full-blown ripper."
"Stop it, Damon," Elena told him, tears forming in her eyes.
"No, you stop, Elena! Stop looking for him. Stop waiting for him to come home. Just stop! Stefan is gone and he's not coming back. Not in your lifetime."
As soon as those word had left his mouth, he regretted it. He shouldn't be so hard to her. But he didn't know what else to say so he kept quiet. Elena looked at him indignantly before she stormed out of the room, tears streaming down her face.
At the Gilbert Residence, Matt and Jeremy were sitting in the kitchen, eating ice cream. Matt placed down his spoon.
"All right, I should probably go before Elena and your aunt come home and see what a bad example I am."
"You sure you can walk?" Jeremy asked him.
He shrugged.
"We'll see. Can I take the ice cream with me?"
Jeremy nodded and Matt took the ice cream and walked toward the front door before he suddenly stopped and turned back around.
"What happened in the car, man?"
Jeremy blinked at him.
"Nothing."
"Come on, man. You said, "Vicki". All right, you said my sister's name. Why? You said you were seeing things?"
Jeremy hesitated for a moment before he whispered, "I've been seeing her."
Matt gave him a knowing look.
"I mean, I think I see her all the time, too. It's 'cause I miss her so much, though. You know, like, I want to see her so I do." He sighed. "Look, I know we've got our hands full with all the supernatural stuff in this town, but...ghosts?"
Jeremy shrugged.
"Like I said, my head's all messed up."
At the Southern Comfort Bar, Ray was lying on a pool table, completely done after he had been tortured all evening.
Klaus was standing at the counter, biting into his wrist and filling a glass with his blood. When he was finished he took the glass and walked to the werewolf.
"Okay, it's a three step process, Ray. This is step one. I want you to drink my blood."
"I already told you where to find the pack," Ray said. "What more do you want from me?"
"Have you been listening to a word I've been saying, Ray? I have great plans for you," Klaus replied before grabbing his chin and forcing the blood down his throat.
"You'll thank me for it later, huh. There we go, attaboy!"
Stefan arrived the moment Ray had emptied the glass, The werewolf looked at the hybrid fearfully.
"What are you going to do now?"
"It's time for step two, Ray," Klaus answered before twisting his neck, killing him.
He turned around to Stefan.
"You're back."
"Did you doubt me?"
Klaus smiled at him.
"Not for a second. I knew you'd pass the test. You still care for your brother, for your old life."
Stefan shook his head.
"Nah, I don't care about anything anymore."
Klaus gave him an amused look.
"That's what I've been telling myself for over a thousand years yet one never stops caring about family, right? You put on a good show Stefan. I almost believe you. Let's hope, for your brother's sake, he does."
Here we are, Season Three. I know, Marianne was barely present in this chapter but she's currently enjoying a calm, almost normal summer and the entire Scooby Gang is mad at her right now for not revealing Stefan's location or Klaus' plans so of course they wouldn't invite her to the party. Next chapter we're going to meet the twins again because guess where the Gallaghers took them camping? I only say werewolf mountain.