two. the night of the comet
Mystic Falls High School, AP History Classroom
Minerva and Stefan are looking at each other from their respectively personal selected seats in between two rows while their teacher lectures, "Originally discovered nearly five centuries ago, it hasn't been over Mystic Falls in over a hundred and forty-five years. Now, the comet will be its brightest right after dusk during tomorrow's celebration. Are we bothering you, Mr. Salvatore? Ms. Devon?"
Minerva and Stefan dropped their flirty gazes and the school bell rings loudly. The seniors packed their essential stationaries before they leave the classroom to join the now-packed main hallway of the school building by other seniors, juniors, sophomores, freshmen and even teachers. Minerva and Stefan are walking side by side down the hallway as they speak.
"So you said I should bring 'Wuthering Heights' by Ellis Bell?" Stefan recalled what she requested for the other day.
"So did you?" Minerva asked, expecting a yes.
"Um...I did, but it slipped my mind because Elena wanted to read it first. I lent it to her earlier this morning. I should've told you. Sorry." Stefan said.
"Oh. You know, I can't believe she didn't use her real name." Minerva spoke.
Stefan explained it to her, "All the Bronte sisters used pseudonyms. It was the time. Female writers weren't very accepted then."
"Where did you get it anyway?" Minerva asked.
"Uh, it was passed down. Through the family." Stefan replied.
"I see." Minerva nods once. Or he kept it with him all this time.
"I have lots of books. Once you read it, go ahead. Keep it." Stefan told her.
Minerva looks up at him, "Oh, really?"
"Mmhmm."
"Okay...thanks."
Down in the busy adjacent hallway of the school building for juniors, Bonnie, Caroline and Elena are walking side by side as they are talking.
"I'm confused. Are you psychic or clairvoyant?" Caroline asked.
Elena shrugs, "Probably both." She and the blonde laughed cheerfully.
"Technically, Grams says I'm a witch. My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kind of tuned out. Crazy family, yes. Witches? I don't think so." Bonnie denied the entire thing from her grandmother.
Caroline and Elena can't believe what Bonnie's grandmother said anyway.
"Yeah, well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night." Caroline reminded her as she nudges Bonnie's side playfully.
"What guy?" Elena asked as she looks at the blonde.
"Some new, sexy, mysterious guy from the Grill." Caroline briefly listed out.
"We didn't see him, you did. Why didn't you just talk to him?" Bonnie asked.
Caroline replied with a sheepish smile, "I don't know. I was drunk."
Right outside of the main school building, an overly concerned Jeremy walks up to Tyler, who is with the rest of the girls from junior year as him.
"Hey, Tyler. Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt. I was just wondering how Vicki's doing, since you guys are so close. Is she okay?" Jeremy brought up even though he tried to visit her very earlier this morning at the local hospital; though the nurse won't allow him since visiting hours begins at nine sharp.
"She's fine. Now get out of here." Tyler spat.
"How bad is she? Do they know what attacked her? Is she going to make a full recovery? Was she happy to see you? What room number was she in?"
Tyler becomes fully annoyed at this point, "I'm going to kick your ass."
"Yeah, you keep saying that, but when are you actually going to do it? Huh? 'Cause I vote for right here and right now." Jeremy shoves the older guy.
Tyler snarled in irritation, "Walk away, Gilbert. It's your final warning."
"No, this is your final warning, dick. I'm sick of watching you play Vicki and Minerva. If you hurt either one of them one more time, I swear to God, I will kill you." Jeremy storms away; he meant his own deserving threatening words for the sake of his love and how much he truly cares for the Donovan girl and the decent respect he has for his sister's friendship with Minerva.
"Damn, that was like a death threat." Tyler scoffs in disbelief, unafraid by the underaged boy's ultimatum, and turns to the three junior girls beside him, "Did you hear that? Speaking of, have either of you seen Minerva?"
Meanwhile, the concerned Matt, Minerva and Elena are talking about Vicki outside on the lawn as well, though they are distant from where Tyler is.
"They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection, but she should be able to come home tomorrow. Hopefully." Matt reported.
Minerva nods in understanding, "Mmhmm."
Elena reviewed, "That's good news."
"Yeah."
"Don't forget to tell Kelly." Minerva reminded him, just in case.
"Oh yeah. Did you get in touch with your mom?" Elena asked him.
Matt responded, "Called and left a message. She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so...we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home."
"Hmm. Vicki's lucky that she's okay." His ex-girlfriend commented.
Stefan is sitting on a distant picnic table, facing away from them, revealing that he has been listening to their entire conversation with vamp-hearing.
"I know, and now there's talk of some missing campers." Matt reported.
Minerva frowns in concern at the news she's been listening to nowadays also, "Weird. Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?"
"She said it was a vampire." Matt told them.
One who doesn't want to look like a deer caught in headlights for being one, Minerva gulps once and scoffs it off as something ridiculous, "What?"
"Yeah, she wakes up last night and mutters 'vampire' and then passes out."
Elena gives an expected look towards her best friend, "Okay, that is weird."
"I think she was drunk." Her blonde ex-boyfriend concluded.
"She must be, thanks to her new boyfriend." Minerva hinted.
Elena breathes out a tired sigh, "Oh yeah. Speaking of the boyfriend. He's obviously cheating on you, Mins, with other juniors now even."
"Yeah. For a Mayor's kid, he can be quite a dick." Matt added, "I mean, I can kick his ass for you if you want-- he even played my sister, but I don't really feel like it's necessary in taking a trip to the ER any time soon."
Both Elena and Minerva laughed out of joy when Matt sees Stefan.
"So, Mins, what's up with you and the new guy?" Matt brought up.
"Yeah, Mins, spill the beans. It's not like you can't cheat either. Your so-called 'boyfriend' deserves it and you can dump him any time you want." Elena said as she playfully nudges her best friend's side and giggles.
Minerva claimed in her own defense, "I would, but the last thing I want is another one of his horrible tantrums when he don't get what he wants."
Matt piped in, "You know, I'm...I'm actually going to go back to the hospital. I want to be there when Vicki wakes up, get the real story about last night."
"Okay. Send her my regards." Minerva told him with a kind smile.
"Yeah, me too. See you tomorrow." Elena simply waves at him as he leaves.
Minerva looks back to the distant table to see that Stefan has disappeared.
****
Mystic Grill Restaurant
Bonnie, Caroline, Elena and Minerva are sitting at a round table for four people outside of the local restaurant that they usually go to after school.
"Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there were lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity." Bonnie spoke once again, much to the rest of her friends' boredom and disbelief.
"Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens. So then what?" Caroline turns to their caramel brown haired friend.
Elena looks up in remembrance, "Oh yeah. You and Stefan, huh?"
Minerva scoffs in pure denial, "There is no 'me and Stefan'."
Elena breathes out a sigh and shares a look with Caroline before the former predicted, "She's still defending that good-for-nothing boyfriend of hers."
"Hmm. When will the fateful day come once she does dump him?" Caroline played along, which earns herself and Elena a playful look from Bonnie.
"'She' is sitting next to you, so I would gladly appreciate you to not speak about me in third person." Minerva fakes a smile at Caroline and Elena.
"Fine. So then nothing?" Elena returned to the topic.
"Yeah. You and Stefan talked all night? There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?" Caroline asked their best friend desperately.
Minerva scoffs, "Unlike some people, I'm not that desperate, Care."
"Okay. So they didn't go there." Elena concluded with a nod.
Caroline shakes her head, "Seriously? Not even a handshake? I mean, Minerva, we are your friends. Okay? You are supposed to share the smut."
"We just talked for hours." Minerva simply told them.
Caroline pressed even more, "Okay, what is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already! Okay, it's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex!"
"Profound." Elena sarcastically commented before she looks at Minerva in a playful, teasing way and she gets up from her seat.
Bonnie mentioned as she looks up at her, "Where are you going?"
"Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up listening to Minerva defend her so-called 'boyfriend' and I'll begin talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying what I was going to do." Elena smiles at the caramel brunette before she leaves all by herself.
****
Mystic Falls Hospital
Matt is soundly sleeping on a chair by the window in his sister's respective room in the ward. Vicki wakes up after she freaked out earlier, somewhat like a maniac, until Stefan sneakily came in and compelled her to remember that it was an ordinary wild animal that attacked her in the woods that specific night. She throws a gelatin container at her brother and he stirs.
"What the..."
"Finally you're awake."
Matt sits up properly to see her looking much better, relieved by her better composure, "Hey. How are you feeling? You look better. Thank God. I was so worried before. You really had me freaked out with all that screaming."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Vicki asked in utter confusion.
"You don't remember?" Matt asked, a little confused as well.
"I feel fine." Vicki simply told him, having no memory of her being awake.
"Good, good. Doctor said you could come home tomorrow. Vick, what attacked you in the woods?" Matt tried again to question her this time.
Vicki hesitates as she answered, "An animal. What else could it have been?"
Matt is about to reply when Jeremy suddenly arrives, coming into the private room of his close friend, "Hey. How do you feel?"
"I'm okay." Vicki replied.
Matt stands up to leave, "I...I'm going to...I'm going to go grab a coffee. Hey, Jer." He walks out of his sister's room alone to reach the vending machine.
Vicki looks up at the youngest Gilbert, "Why are you here?"
"I just wanted to see how you were doing." Jeremy simply responded.
Vicki mentioned about her brother, "Did you see that look on Matt's face? That was suspicion. I don't want people to find out about us, Jeremy."
"Well, you got to get over that." Jeremy advised her.
"Tyler is finally showing some interest. And I told you, he already broke up with Minerva Devon. No one likes that chick, let's be honest." Vicki spoke.
"I like her. She's hot, and smart. But I know she don't go for a friend's brother. And you have to get over that too. Do you see Mr. Concerned? Tyler? Are you under there? No. He's too busy flirting his ass off with other girls."
Vicki giggles, "It's not cool for people to know. Okay? I'm older than you, and Matt and Elena would freak. For sure."
Jeremy assured her, "No one's going to suspect anything. Why wouldn't I check on you? I mean, I'm the one who found you...second."
"Second?" Vicki repeated in pure confusion.
"Well, believe it or not, Minerva found you first. Yeah, and I carried you out of the woods." Jeremy reported with a warm, genuine smile.
"She did?" Vicki asked in disbelief and Jeremy nods; throughout her youth with Minerva Devon, she usually has the mindset that the revered queen bee has never considered to ever have an interest in her broken family — the Donovans, "Huh. Wow. Um...can you tell her I said thank you?"
"Yeah, sure, I'll tell my sister for you." Jeremy replied.
****
Salvatore Boarding House
Elena just arrived all by herself, where she parked her Mazda at the open driveway, and goes to the front door and knocks; it opens and she comes in.
"Stefan? Stefan?" She steps into the foyer of the mansion and looks around in awe right before a familiar crow suddenly flies into the house. Elena jerks in surprise as she turns around and Damon is standing there, "I...I'm sorry for barging in. The door was...open." She sees that the door is now closed.
"You must be Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."
"He didn't tell me he had a brother." Elena stated.
"Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second." Damon leads by her side into the huge living room.
"Wow. This is your living room?" Elena asked in continuous awe.
"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste. I see why my brother's so smitten with your friend. It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him." Damon referred to one of his brother's ex-girlfriends throughout the years.
"The last one?" Elena looks up at him, starting to feel upset for Minerva.
"Yeah. Katherine, was it? Or was it Rosie, his girlfriend? Oh, they haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet. Him and her." Damon concluded.
"Nope. My friend, Minerva, can be really secretive too, so..."
Damon makes a look on his handsome face, "Oops. Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell her because he didn't want her to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end."
"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end." Elena labeled.
"I'm a fatalist. Hello, Stefan." Damon didn't even turn around in his brother's sudden presence from upstairs, now standing in the foyer.
Stefan keeps his serious gaze on his mischievous brother in suspicion, "Elena. I didn't know you were coming over."
Elena turns to the younger Salvatore, "I know. I should have called, I just..."
"Oh, don't be silly. You're welcome any time. Isn't she, Stefan? And so does your little friend, Minerva. You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies. But...I have to warn you. He wasn't always such a looker." Damon playfully told her, who smiles back at him.
"Thank you for stopping by, Elena. Nice to see you." Stefan excused her.
"Yeah, I should probably go. It was nice to meet you, Damon."
"Great meeting you too, Elena." Damon grabs her right hand and kisses the top of it with his icy blue eyes on her the entire time.
Stefan is blocking Elena's way as he stares at Damon. She has to slowly mention his name twice before Stefan finally moves; Elena leaves.
Damon reviewed, "Great gal. Whoo. This one looks like Katherine, but I see you're not really interested in her. Why? She's got spunk. Is it because you're hoping for another chance with Rosie? That must be it. But you, on the other hand, look pooped. Did you over-exert yourself today? Let me guess...hospital." He scoffs in ridicule of his brother cleaning up his mess.
"Someone had to clean up your mess." Stefan mentioned.
"Well, were you successful? Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember, if you don't feed properly, none of those little tricks work right."
"How long was Elena here?" Stefan asked in a demanding tone.
"Were you worried, Stefan? Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past and that's why you need your sweet, little Minerva? Isn't that why you play your little game, 'I'm a high school human'?" Damon teased him.
"I'm not playing any game." Stefan stated.
"Of course you are. We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it." Damon spoke casually.
"What kind of game are you playing, Damon?" Stefan questioned.
Damon smirks playfully, "Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"
****
Mystic Falls Town Square
Bonnie and Elena are handing out multiple pamphlets for the town locals after the latter just informed Minerva about her unannounced visit at the Salvatores' earlier; more specifically, the one about what Damon told her.
"Tonight, night of the comet! Would you like a program?" Bonnie turns to her best friend, who does the same, "Tyler didn't call her back, huh?"
"Or text. She don't do that with Stefan either. But I realized they never even exchanged that stuff. I mean, Tyler don't do that anymore, not with her. They've never gotten to the texting part." Elena gossiped nosily.
"That's an important milestone in any relationship." Bonnie stated.
"Isn't it? The timing is wrong, anyway. Especially when she still labels Tyler as her boyfriend." Elena reviewed with a shrug.
"When is it ever right?" Bonnie asked.
"I don't think she's ready, Bonnie." Elena predicted.
Bonnie scoffs, "Who is? Especially when you have a boyfriend like Tyler."
"At least she puts herself out there. As a friend." Elena mentioned.
"Is that what you're calling it?" Bonnie questioned.
"What do you mean?" Elena turns to her.
"All I'm hearing is reasons why she can't." Bonnie concluded.
Not too far from them, their blonde best friend — Caroline — sees Damon from afar and starts to approach him. When she gets closer, he's gone.
****
Salvatore Boarding House
Zach questioned his distant uncle in great concern at the bedroom upstairs, "What is Damon doing here? Why did he come home?"
"'Cause I came home. He wants to make my life miserable. That's how he enjoys his." Stefan responded in mini frustration; how he remembers the bitter memory like it was only yesterday when they first turned into what they are today and it was when his own brother promised him an eternity of misery — although it was already almost half a century ago.
"Well, he's putting us all at risk. This girl in the hospital could talk." Zach warned him, as a great reminder, in more concern and anxiety.
"She won't. I took care of her." Stefan admitted.
"You're sure?"
Stefan replied, "I'm not sure, Zach. I don't know how well it worked. I'm not as strong as Damon."
"So what happens if it doesn't work?" Zach asked.
"I don't know. I'll deal with it."
Zach brought up, "Is she worth it? Uncle Stefan, this girl you came back for?"
****
Mystic Grill Restaurant
Jeremy approaches the brunette waitress, "Vicki, what are you doing here?"
"Fighting with Robert about my schedule. You'd think getting ripped up by a rabid animal would merit an extra sick day." Vicki complained in annoyance.
He scoffs in disbelief at her horrible manager, "Are you feeling okay?"
Vicki replied simply, "I hurt."
"Well, the doctor gave you something, right?"
"The kid stuff. Nothing with an 'o' in it. I think they were on to me."
They both laughed and Jeremy gives her a few pills like a drug dealer should, even though he's underage, "Here. Knock yourself out, literally."
Vicki smiles at him, "Thanks, Jer."
"So you going to, uh, watch the comet later?" Jeremy mentioned.
"I hadn't really thought about it. But I could be talked into it. I'll meet you out there in a few." Vicki is suddenly approached by Tyler himself.
"Hey, Vick. How you feeling?"
"Like you care." Vicki immediately walks away from him.
Tyler catches Jeremy looking at him in a mocking manner and snapped at him in pure annoyance with a scowl, "What are you lookin' at, Gilbert?"
****
Mystic Falls Town Square, The Night of the Comet
It's now right after dusk when the invited residents are gathering around together in the dark with only burning candles while waiting for the comet.
Caroline told her friends, "Hey, I got some candles."
Minerva comes over and is given one by the blonde, "Hi."
"Hey." Elena lights the caramel brunette's candle.
"Thank you." Minerva smiles at her.
"You're welcome." Elena turns to speak with Matt, who is beside her.
Minerva lights someone else's candle before she looks up and sees Stefan, who smiles at her, "Thank you. Hi."
"Hi."
Stefan looks up at the pitch black sky, "You know, that comet...it's been traveling across space for thousands of years. All alone."
"Yeah, I know. Bonnie says it's a harbinger of evil. What do you think?" Minerva looks up at the sky as well, patiently waiting for the mystical comet.
"I think it's just a ball of...snow and ice, trapped on a path that it can't escape. And once every a hundred and forty-five years, it gets to come home. Can you, tell Elena I'm sorry about yesterday? I wasn't myself." Stefan looks back at her in a serious manner, "She, came to--"
"Your house unannounced, yeah, she told me. But you seem to spend a lot of time apologizing. Why is that?" Minerva questioned suspiciously.
"Well, I have a lot to apologize for. Yesterday, that wasn't about her, okay?" Stefan professed, "I hope you can tell her that, just in case."
"Hmm. You didn't tell me that you had a brother." Minerva brought up, the magical amnesia wiped all the memories in her life prior to being a vampire.
"We're not close. It's, uh...it's complicated." Stefan told her.
Minerva nods a little, "Mmhmm. Said he told her about two of your exes."
"What?" Stefan frowns, beginning to worry about what his brother said.
"Yeah. Rosie, was it? Or Katherine?" Minerva listed out on purpose, having no idea that she has completely forgotten the two familiar girls.
"What did he say?"
"That one of them broke your heart." Minerva shrugs.
"That was a long time ago." Stefan assured her.
Minerva scoffs, "When you lose someone, it stays with you, always reminding you of how easy it is to get hurt."
"Minerva..."
"It's okay, Stefan. I get it. You have no idea how much I get it. Can't things ever get complicated, right? Too complicated to even contemplate dating at this point. It's okay. We met, and we talked, and it was epic, but...then the sun came up and reality set in. So..." Minerva blows out her candle and walks away; she made a choice to turn him down, that she has to do it.
She can't cheat on her own boyfriend, despite how horrible he's treating her. It's just not her to sneak behind her boyfriend's back to have an affair. She knows that she's better than that, she's better than to be a fool.
****
Mystic Grill Restaurant
Minerva is in the bathroom, washing her hands with soap at the sink. Once she twisted the faucet off, she hears a loud feminine scream from outside and immediately rushes out to find that all her friends and everyone else in the restaurant are alright. Jeremy approaches the big table filled with the juniors from watching the comet earlier, with one of them being his sister.
"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?"
Tyler snapped in pure annoyance for him, "You're her stalker. You tell us."
"I can't find her." Jeremy pointed out as a problem, concerning him.
"She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced." Tyler mocked him to trigger the boy's insecurity.
Elena spoke up in defense of her brother, "What's with the pill pusher?"
"Ask him." Tyler referred to the youngest Gilbert, who snapped back.
"You want to do this right now?" He sends a quick glance at his sister.
Elena asked her brother instantly, "Are you dealing?"
"She's never going to go for you." Tyler snarled.
"She already did. Over and over and over again." Jeremy revealed.
Tyler scoffs in disbelief and looks away from him, "Yeah, right."
Caroline almost freaked out in surprise, "Oh my God. You slept with Vicki Donovan? I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?"
"There's no way." Tyler denied it.
"And I didn't even have to force her into it." Jeremy added.
Matt spoke up in disgust, "What the hell is he talking about, Ty?"
"Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk." Tyler told him.
"You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" Matt decided in concern, remaining on point on what's important now.
"Oh yeah, and guess who else is missing." Tyler said in frustration.
Caroline releases a sigh, "Your girlfriend? I think she already went home."
"Yeah. Said she wasn't feeling very well. I wonder why." Bonnie mentioned sarcastically as she keeps her gaze on Tyler before she turns back to Matt in a genuinely sympathetic manner for his sister, "We'll check the back."
"I'll check the square." Matt said.
Jeremy piped in, "I'll come with you."
Though Elena beats her brother from going anywhere, "Oh, no, no, no. You are coming with me. So that's your game now, dealing?"
"I'm not dealing." Jeremy denied.
"Look, I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jer. It's clearly having no impact."
"You and Jenna, between the two of you. Enough already!"
"We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it or to rehab where you'll sit in group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me." Elena listed out the alternatives; honestly, of course she wants her brother to speak to her.
"I vote for none of the above." Jeremy walks away from her.
****
Mystic Falls Road
Matt is in the middle of searching for his sister when he sees Stefan, "Hey."
"Hey."
"Have you seen my sister?" He frowns, hoping for a yes from the new guy.
Stefan simply replied, "No, sorry." Vicki Donovan is missing again? Where did she run off to this time? Or maybe, someone-- a vampire took her.
"I can't find her. She's missing." Matt reported in great concern, truly desperate to find her, as long as she's alive, being the only family he has since their mother has been absent, and along with their own father.
"I'll keep an eye out for her." Stefan starts to walk away to search.
"Hey. I saw you at the hospital yesterday." Matt brought up suspiciously, the previous day when he quickly called the doctor for his panicking sister.
Stefan keeps his cool as he asked him, "Did you?"
"What were you doing there?" Matt questioned suspiciously.
"Visiting."
"Visiting? You know, Elena and Minerva, they've known each other for a long time. They're best friends for as long as I can remember. But we look out for each other. And we'll always look out for each other." Matt told him.
Because a part of him will always love Elena Gilbert, for being an extremely loyal friend amongst their small circle, and Stefan knows that, because him and Rosie Kartwright had the exact same relationship since they were kids. They will always look out for each other, being the Founding families of the small town. It seems as if the whole town is a family for being so miniscule.
Stefan hears a scream nearby, followed by Damon and Vicki's voices, "Excuse me." He walks away and sees the pair on a distant roof of a building, which he jumps on to rescue the missing girl, crying for help.
"Shh, I'm not going to drop you." Damon turns to his alarmed brother with feigned amusement, "Not bad. Have you been eating bunnies?"
"Let her go." Stefan demanded.
"Shh. Really? Okay." Damon pulls his victim to the edge of the roof, and she cries out louder before the oldest Salvatore throws her to Stefan, "Relax."
"What's happening?" Vicki asked them in extreme fear and confusion.
"I don't need her to be dead, but...you might." Damon spoke to her once again in a demanding but casual tone, "What attacked you the other night?"
Vicki replied through mind compulsion, "I don't know. An animal."
"Are you sure about that? Think. Think about it. Think really hard. What attacked you?" Damon questioned her once again for the truth.
"A vampire." Vicki remembers with a serious frown, breaking through magic.
"Who did this to you?"
"You did!"
"Wrong!"
Stefan spoke up through his brother's wicked lie, "Don't."
"It was Stefan." Damon claimed wickedly, enjoying taunting his brother.
"Don't."
"Come here." Damon grabs the human girl on both sides of her head and compels her, "Stefan Salvatore did this to you."
Vicki repeated in a monotone voice, "Stefan Salvatore did this to me."
"He's a vampire. A vicious, murderous monster." Damon proclaimed.
Stefan begins to plead, "Please, Damon. Please don't do this."
"If you couldn't fix it before, I don't know what you can do now." Damon pulls off Vicki's bandage on her neck and throws her to Stefan as she cries out in pain, "Ugh! Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak. A couple of vampire parlor tricks is nothing compared to the power that you could have, that you now need. But you can change that. Human blood gives you that."
"No!" Vicki cried out.
"You have two choices. You can feed and make her forget. Or you can let her run, screaming 'vampire' through the town square." Damon listed out.
Stefan scoffs, "That's what this is about? You want to expose me?"
"No! I want you to remember who you are!" Damon told him.
"Why? So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again? You know what, let her go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart, because at least I'll be free of you."
Damon feigns a shocked expression, "Huh. Wow. Come here, sweetheart."
"No!"
"It's okay." Damon whispers something into her ear and she becomes fine.
"What happened? Where am I? Oh, I ripped my stitches open. Ugh..." The eighteen-year-old girl covers her bleeding neck with her hand.
Stefan asked her with a frown of concern, "You okay?"
"I took some pills, man. I'm good." Vicki leaves without another word.
Damon watches her leave, "It's good to be home. Think I might stay a while. This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think?"
"What are you up to, Damon?" Stefan questioned.
"That's for me to know and for you to...dot dot dot. Give Minerva my best."
****
Mystic Grill Restaurant
Matt helps his sister with the bandage back on her still-profusely bleeding, severe neck when Stefan comes back from the rooftop building to check on her, "She said you found her wandering around."
"Yeah."
"So, um, thanks." Matt awkwardly said, feeling like he owes him now.
Meanwhile, Caroline and Bonnie are seated at another small table for two, talking and commenting about what happened to Vicki Donovan.
The blonde complained, "Ugh, it's just so much drama. Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores? It's so annoying."
"Yeah."
Stefan comes over to their table, "Excuse me. Hi."
Bonnie replied simply with a friendly smile, "Hi."
"Um, have you guys seen Minerva?" Stefan asked, hoping for a yes.
Bonnie responded, "I think she went home. Look, she's in a complicated relationship with her boyfriend right now and I'm just going to say this for everyone's benefit, but it's better if you just...stay friends. Okay?"
Not okay.
Stefan stares at her and nods in understanding, "Yeah, okay. Can you just, give me Elena's cell number then? I'm lending my book to her, so..."
"Oh yeah, totally. I'm going to give you Elena's cell number and her email. She is big on texting." Bonnie scribbles them on a small piece of paper.
"Thank you."
Bonnie touches Stefan's hand and has a vision, which makes her suddenly jerk her hand back and look up at him in fright, "What happened to you?"
Stefan and Caroline look at her in pure confusion before the former asked with a frown of concern at the sudden impolite question, "You okay?"
Bonnie forces a nervous laugh at her own behavior, "That's so rude. I'm sorry. Excuse me." She stands up and quickly walks away from them.
"Yeah, she kind of wigs out. It's like her thing." Caroline told him, smiling.
****
Salvatore Boarding House
Elena rings the bell of the old mansion and Stefan answers the front door, "Hi."
"Hey. I got your message." Elena mentioned, smiling awkwardly.
"Yeah. Would you like to come in?" Stefan invited her warmly.
"The comet's actually this way." Elena goes out and Stefan follows her until they're at the front driveway, "Sorry for barging in. Especially after earlier."
"No, no. I'm glad you're here. The way we left things...I didn't like it." Stefan told her. He didn't think he would actually care since he's confused at this moment on when it comes to the resemblance between Minerva and Rosie.
"See, the thing is, I got home tonight planning on doing what I always do: write in my diary, like I have been since my mom gave me one when I was ten. It's where I get everything out, everything I'm feeling. It all goes in this little book that I hide on the second shelf behind this really hideous ceramic mermaid. But then I realized that I'd just be writing things that I should probably be telling my friends, and now...you." Elena expressed it all out.
Stefan Salvatore, being her new crush and new friend.
"What would you write?" Stefan asked as he stares at her, the girl who exactly looks like Katherine, another one of his ex-girlfriend.
"I would write...'Dear diary, today I convinced myself it was okay to give up. Don't take risks. Stick with the status quo. No drama, now is just not the time. But my reasons aren't reasons, they're excuses. All I'm doing is hiding from the truth, and the truth is that...' I'm scared, Stefan. I'm scared that if I let myself be happy for even one moment that...the world's just going to come crashing down, and I...don't know if I can survive that." Elena said.
Stefan, with a somewhat guilty look, responded, "Do you want to know what I would write? 'I met a girl. We talked. It was epic. But then the sun came up and reality set in. Well, this is reality. Right here'." He leans in to kiss her and she reciprocates, revealing to have felt deep feelings for him since the first time she met him; though he's actually imagining the one exact face that he 'fell in love' with a very long time ago named Katherine.