three. friday night bites
Mystic Falls High School
Bonnie and Elena are just arriving, with the former's parked light blue Toyota Prius, outside of the main building of the public school as they are talking, "I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying take it slow."
The African-American girl felt slightly surprised when she heard of the news update about her best friend's new relationship with the new guy the previous night; Elena called her immediately when she returned back home from the Boarding House, who sounded certainly happy over the phone. Although happy and surprised that she gets to be the lucky one amongst the rest of other girls who was chosen to be a handsome guy's girlfriend, confusion takes over her subconscious when he would rather choose her instead of someone else much prettier than her — most likely, Minerva.
"You were the one who said to go for it." Elena reminded her with a look.
"Now I'm saying take it slow." Bonnie advised her persistently, even though she feels just as confused and surprised herself over the guy's lady-choice.
"Why the about-face?" The one-year-older brunette mentioned.
"It's not an about-face. You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field." Bonnie told her.
"Oh, because I'm so that girl. Seriously, what are you not saying?" Elena persisted stubbornly, knowing significantly well that that girl is so not her; she would consider herself as one of the most popular girls in school just because she's a reliable, trustworthy best friend to the queen bee herself.
Bonnie shakes her head as she avoids her best friend's gaze, "It's stupid."
The Gilbert girl stops in the middle of her forwarding tracks, "Bonnie..."
The Bennett girl stops in her tracks, with a frown, in pursuit of her, "What?"
Elena smiles at her with pure encouragement, "Spit it out."
"I accidentally touched Stefan. And I got a really bad feeling." Bonnie reported. Could it be the witch mojo again? It was a really bad sensation.
The seventeen-year-old junior raises her eyebrows, "Is that it? Bonnie."
Her paranoid best friend almost freaked out in alarm, "It was bad bad!" Now it seems that she's beginning to advise Elena like a protective parent would.
"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?" Elena brought up in wonder.
"You know what? I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend." Bonnie reported to her protectively.
"And I love you for it, I do. But I feel good. It's been a hard year, and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that." Elena nods in reassurance.
How can he not? He's a new boyfriend, who should be supporting her, encouraging her in every way, perhaps even better than the previous one — although she can't really say that her previous relationship with Matt Donovan is any worse; he supported her too, one who's always looking out for her, therefore she thinks that a part of her will always love her ex.
Speaking of her recently new boyfriend, Stefan just arrived as well, one who walks up to them, smiling, "Good morning, Elena. Good morning, Bonnie."
The one where it's hard for him to remain trying to get used to call his girlfriend by her actual name instead of the name of his identical ex-girlfriend would be an understatement. At some times, he could even convince himself that Elena Gilbert is actually Katherine Pierce, pretending to be a human and restarting a new life in her centuries-long immortal life, though Elena is too pure and honest to be true, as if she's a reincarnation.
Bonnie immediately excused herself, "Hey, um, I got to find Caroline or Minerva. Care's not answering her phone. So I'll see you guys later."
Elena called out as her best friend leaves them alone, "Bonnie, wait..."
Stefan predicted after he watches her go, "She doesn't like me very much." Not that he cares, since Bonnie truly reminds him of the late Emily Bennett, who was Katherine's handmaiden in 1864, who was also a powerful witch.
"She doesn't know you. She's my best friend. She's just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you." Elena nods in confirmation, smiling, "I have an idea. Here's what we're going to do. Are you free tonight?"
"Yes."
"Perfect. Dinner, my house. Eight o' clock. You, me and Bonnie. You two will spend some quality time and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished." His cute brunette lover shrugs with a proud smile.
Not too far from them, Matt and Tyler are throwing a football around as they are talking about Minerva, "...I mean, she practically rejected that guy."
The blonde quarterback scoffs, "You're giving yourself way too much credit."
"No, it's the truth. My girlfriend stays loyal to me even though I screwed up. Unlike you, who's over there right now with her new boyfriend." Tyler nods over towards Elena and Stefan, "Now, what are they doing? Oh, they're walking, walking, walking. Yep. Right into the sunset. Aren't you bothered?"
Matt sends a quick glance at his ex-girlfriend, "You're a dick." He shrugs it off as no big deal even though it still aches him to see that she has moved on.
"While you just stand there looking like one of those little yard trolls."
"Gnomes." Matt sends another quick glance at his ex, contemplating as if for the hundredth time in his teenage life on how could an intelligent girl like Minerva would even choose a douche-y jock to be her boyfriend — one who doesn't even know how to differentiate between gnomes and trolls; on another thought, he's never really that close with the queen bee anyway.
"Whatever. Same difference."
"Hey, what am I supposed to do, Ty? She made her choice."
"Let her know she made the wrong one." Tyler catches the football, smirking, mischievously and darts his gaze towards his target, "Little twerp trying to make a move on my girl. Well, let this teach that guy a lesson."
"What are you doing? Ty, don't. Ty, don't! Ty!" Matt watches as his best friend throws the ball at the new guy, who now has his back towards them.
Although, Stefan quickly turns around, catches the football with a smug smile for Tyler, who seems truly dumbfounded and surprised, along with Matt, for the quick reflex he just displayed. With a few steps back, he throws it back at Tyler, who catches it, truly remaining in surprise of the skilled reflex. Matt is also shocked of the amazing skill and Elena laughs, truly impressed by her new boyfriend's football skills. The new couple then walk inside of the public building as they proceed to speak in the busy hallway.
"That throw was insane. I didn't know you played football."
"I used to. It was a long time ago." With his brother, Damon, who's also the one knowledgeable person who taught him the simple game back in 1864.
"So why don't you try out for the team?" Elena suggested, smiling.
"Yeah, I don't think so." Not by the way those varsity jocks were talking about him earlier, as he remains indifferent about their envious behavior; from as how it seems that many guys around campus wants to consider themselves as lucky and honored to be around Minerva Devon's orbit.
"So you don't like football?" His naïve girlfriend guessed.
"No, I love football. I think it's a great sport. But in this case, I don't think football likes me. You saw Tyler over there, and we both know how Matt feels." Stefan mentioned, especially when it comes to the douche-y former.
The last thing Elena would want is to hurt Matt Donovan in any way possible, especially when it comes to her new relationship with the new guy.
"They don't know you. To them, you're mysterious loner guy. Wouldn't hurt to be part of. Make some friends." Elena advised him, nodding a little.
"Says the girl who spends her alone time writing in a cemetery."
"Hey, come on. There's more to me than just gloomy graveyard girl. There's a whole other Elena that you have yet to meet. She was into everything, very busy. Didn't Minerva tell you?" Elena decided to bring up.
"No, not really. And I look forward to meeting her, the 'other Elena'. And when will that be?" Stefan chose to avoid talking about Minerva right now since that other girl, however, reminds him a lot of his runaway ex-fiancé.
"Soon. She's working on it." The seventeen-year-old girl replied.
In the AP History classroom for senior-level later on, Minerva is writing numbers on a whole blank page of her notebook: '8', '14', and '22' many times, as if in a daze that she has nothing else to doodle about at this time.
"World war II ended in...Anyone got anything? Miss Juan? 1945."
Stefan, who is now sitting in the same front row with Minerva, receives a text from Elena, who's in another class lesson at this period — English Literature, to be precise, 'FYI...Our team sucks. They could use you ;)'. As he texts back, Minerva catches him not paying attention, 'Can't. I'm a loner'.
"Pearl Harbor. Miss Devon?" Tanner called out on his favourite student.
"Hmm?" Minerva looks up at him as if she just woke up from a trance.
"Pearl Harbor?"
"Um...December 7, 1941." Minerva answered correctly.
"Thank you, Miss Devon. Mister Salvatore? The fall of the Berlin wall."
"1989. I'm good with dates, Sir." Stefan told him as a matter of fact.
At that seemingly arrogant remark, Minerva looks back over at him with a frown and the new student looks over at her in return with a blank look.
"Are you? How good? Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act." Tanner begun.
Stefan is the only one who answered as the teacher's target, "1964."
"John F. Kennedy assassination."
"1963."
Minerva raises both of her thick dark eyebrows, truly impressed by his knowledgeable, excellent memory to remember any old historical dates. However, Stefan only mentioned that he's brilliant in history as a fact is because he genuinely wants to impress his ex-fiancé's identical genius.
"Martin Luther King."
"'68."
"Lincoln."
"1865."
Minerva, once again, looks back over at the new student who might have the opportunity to take her place as the genius in the History lesson. Not that she cares, though she remains truly impressed that someone can possibly beat her level of intelligence. Although it doesn't really concern her much when she reminds herself that she has a certified high IQ of 178.
"Roe versus Wade."
"1973."
"Brown versus Board."
"1954."
"The battle of Gettysburg."
"1863."
"Korean war."
"1950 to 1953."
"Ha! It ended in '52." William Tanner arrogantly smiles at him.
Minerva spoke up in her friend's defense, "Actually, Sir, it was '53."
Tanner looks over at her with a serious expression, that as if his favourite student is disagreeing with him, "Look it up, somebody. Quickly."
A young senior flips through his textbook quickly, "It was 19...53."
The whole class, besides the strict teacher, clap their hands for Stefan. He smiles warmly as he looks at Minerva, who is smiling proudly at him. Once the lesson is over, both Minerva and Stefan are walking side by side down the busy hallway which is filled with other students and many teachers.
"I have to admit, I'm impressed. How did you know all of that?"
"Years and years of crossword puzzles. It's a loner thing." Stefan claimed.
Later on at the busy football field, the Timberwolves team is practicing.
"Nice job! Nice job!" Tyler, as the school team captain, commented.
"Mister Donovan, is there anything you're good at? 'Cause it isn't History, and it sure as hell isn't defending the ball!" The male coach, who is also the strict History teacher, William Tanner told the youngest blonde Donovan.
He sighs tiredly at how much he's lacking in the game, "Yes, Coach."
"Now do it again!"
Stefan is sitting in the bleachers alone, watching the football team practice. The school cheerleaders are on the other side of the field, warming up, when Elena shows up and Bonnie notices her, "Oh, my God! You're here!"
"Yep. I can't be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were. Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight." Elena invited her with a smile of encouragement on her lovely face.
"I am?" Her best friend frowns when she senses something wrong.
"Mmhmm. You, me and Stefan. You have to give him a chance."
"Tonight's no good. Have you seen Caroline? Minerva and I texted her like a hundred times." Bonnie reminded her about their blonde best friend.
"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett! You're going to be there."
"Fine. I'll go."
"Good."
Stefan is now talking to Tanner at the field about joining the football team, just like he was suggested to, "Varsity trials were last spring, Mr. Salvatore."
"I wasn't here then, Sir." The new student stated as a reminder.
"And you're not here now, as far as I'm concerned." Tanner replied.
"Mister Tanner, I realize that you and I didn't get off to the best start, and I want to apologize for that. I've played football before. Wide receiver, mostly, and I'm pretty good." Stefan assured him, in order to impress only one girl.
"Well, I won't be asking you who won the super bowl in '71."
"'71 was the...Sorry. I...I understand that, Sir." Stefan nods a little.
"Just to see you get knocked on your ass. Borrow some gear. Go! Before I change my mind. Let's run it again!" The strict coach announced.
Matt mentioned in slight irritation, "First my girlfriend, now my team?"
Tyler scoffs, sensing his friend's obvious envy, "Dude, this is an opportunity. Football's a contact sport. Sometimes people get hurt. Whoo! Ha ha!"
At the cheerleader's practice, Caroline is still not in sight or anywhere around the restricted campus property while Minerva has already quit cheerleading in her own memorable junior year since she is now a respective senior-- one of the top ones, to be precise, and now she has to take her education seriously since this will be her final year in high school.
Bonnie mentioned once again in concern, "Seriously, where is Caroline?"
"I don't know. It's not like her. Try calling Minerva." Elena suggested.
"Okay."
Although, before Bonnie can even stand up, Caroline arrives in Damon's royal blue Camaro with the music heard playing loud from the radio. Both with their stylish sunglasses on, share a passionate kiss together shamelessly. Bonnie and Elena are watching them awkwardly and recognition, as if slightly envious of their best friend's handsome boyfriend.
Bonnie mentioned, "Oh my God. That must be the mystery guy from the Grill."
"That's not a mystery guy. That's Damon Salvatore." Elena stands up.
Her best friend stands up as well in pursuit now that their cheerleading captain has finally arrived, unreasonably late, "Salvatore, as in Stefan?"
Caroline gets out of the car and walks past them both, "I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind. Sorry I'm late, girls. I, uh, was busy. Alright, let's start with the double pike herkey hurdler, what do you say? And five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Elena, sweetie, why don't you just observe today? Okay? Keep going! Okay. Do it again from the top. And five, six, seven, eight." She nods along to the beat as she leads the entire squad.
Meanwhile, Stefan keeps doing a great job on the football field when amidst the game, he spots Minerva sitting at the bleachers alone, watching them practice with a proud smile on her face; Elena watches him, smiling proudly that he has agreed to her suggestion earlier, and doesn't notice Minerva.
Matt commented, "I hate to say it, but he's got skills."
"I think he needs a buddy pass." Tyler suggested mischievously, "Now."
"Really?"
"You don't get to walk on the field and act like you own the place after five minutes. Just hang one up there and I'll take care of the rest." Tyler spoke.
Stefan listens in to their conversation when Tanner announced, "Do it again."
"Alright, let's huddle up. Set, hut!" Tyler ordered as the team leader and throws the football, which hits Stefan hard and makes him fall on his back on the ground, amusing him, "Oh! Whoo! Welcome to the team, buddy."
The coach mentioned with slight satisfaction, "You going to live, Salvatore?"
"Yeah." For a hundred and sixty-some-odd years now.
"Walk it off, son."
Matt told the new guy with an apologetic tone, "Hey. That was my bad."
Stefan replied simply, nodding a little, "It's alright."
"Yeah."
"Alright." Tanner continues to instruct them as their strict coach.
Stefan's finger is actually broken, but he simply pops it back into place.
****
Gilbert Residence
Bonnie, Elena and Stefan are eating dinner together, awkwardly, in the dining room around the oak wooden dining table, the new guy being adjacent to them in the middle as the girls are sitting opposite each other.
Elena asked him, "Did Tanner give you a hard time today?"
"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right."
"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and--"
Bonnie interrupted her as she keeps her cautious, uncomfortable and extremely awkward gaze away from him, "Yeah, I heard."
"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Elena suggested, smiling.
"Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad." Her best friend simply stated.
"No, about the witches." The Gilbert girl earns her boyfriend's full attention at that, "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."
"Cool isn't the word I'd use." Bonnie fakes a smile at her compliment; more like freaks, since her grandmother is always talking about magic non-stop.
"Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s." Stefan told them.
One of them may possibly involve Emily Bennett.
She pointed out what her Grams said, "My family came by way of Salem."
"Really? Salem witches?" Stefan asked, truly impressed by this information.
"Yeah."
"I would say that's pretty cool." Stefan nods a little, in agreement.
"Really? Why?" Bonnie finally looks at him as she asked, genuinely curious.
"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity." The excellent new student defined as he maintains his curious gaze on her.
Bonnie has a small smile plastered on her face, "Yeah, they are."
Elena's smile only grows wider that the pair are finally getting along well when the doorbell rings for the second time tonight, which Elena wondered aloud of who it could be at this time before she answers the main front door; Caroline and Damon are there, standing on the front porch together.
"Surprise! Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert." The cheerful blonde is holding a big securely covered bowl in her two hands.
"Oh."
Damon piped in, "Hope you don't mind."
Stefan appears at the door as well, frowning, "What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for Elena to invite me in." His brother casually replied as his blonde girlfriend walks inside through the wide open front door to join her friends.
"Oh, yeah, you can--"
Stefan stopped her quickly, "No, no, no. He can't, uh...he can't stay. Can you, Damon?" He looks back over at his brother with a cautious expression.
"Get in here." Caroline told him with a quick glance at her friend's boyfriend.
"We're just...finishing up." Stefan claimed with the intention to make the new unwelcomed pair leave, in order to protect the girls from his brother.
"It's fine. Just come on in." Elena invited the oldest Salvatore politely.
Damon steps into the house, "You have a beautiful home, Elena."
"Thank you."
Once inside, they are all sitting together in the living room; with Elena and Stefan beside each other, while Caroline and Damon are sitting together adjacent to them, leaving Bonnie to be sitting not too far from Stefan also. This would be the time when she wishes Minerva would be present in order for her to feel less left out by the group of foursome couple at this moment.
Caroline spoke to the younger Salvatore, "I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it."
"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it." Damon advised.
"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."
Bonnie spoke up in her friend's defense, "I'll work with her. She'll get it."
"I guess we can put her in the back." The Forbes girl added on.
"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena." Damon said.
"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died. Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun." Caroline earns a scowl from her other best friend, "...And I say that with complete sensitivity."
Between Caroline Forbes and Minerva Devon, sometimes Bonnie doesn't know which one's worse. She used to think the latter is much worse, although when she remembers that Minerva is much more smarter than what meets the eye, she decides that Caroline is much more spoiled. Now that they have grown up, she decides not to think about it much, because what it does matter when in the end, all they need is each other.
Damon professed to the chestnut brunette Gilbert girl, "I'm sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."
Bonnie darts her cautious gaze over to Damon now, curious and concerned.
"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." Stefan told him warily.
"Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up. Mmm." Damon smiles in a mischievous manner.
Elena glances between both brothers, truly puzzled and curious by their reference; either do they mean Katherine or Rosie? Two of the ex-girlfriends.
Later on at the kitchen, the dinner is finally over. Damon hands Elena a glass, but drops it and quickly catches it, impressing her, "Nice save."
"I like you. You know how to laugh. And you make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a very long time." The young man reviewed.
"Earlier, did you mean...Rosaline?" Elena recalled in initial hesitation.
"Mmhmm. Rosie, for short." Damon smiles at her in a friendly manner.
"How did she die?" Elena asked out of genuine curiosity and sympathy.
"In a fire. Tragic fire." Her boyfriend's brother simply replied as a lie.
"Recently?"
"It seems like it was yesterday."
"What was she like?"
"She was beautiful. A lot like you in that department. She was also very intelligent and at times selfless and very kind, but really cute and adorable." Damon described even though he remembers the young woman very well, smiling as he used to remember how very kind Rosie Kartwright can be.
"So which one of you dated her first?" Elena continued.
"Cute girls aren't my type. That's more Stefan's. I prefer sexy and seductive ones. Nicely deduced though. Ask Stefan yourself. I'd quit cheerleading if I were you." Damon changed the subject of conversation immediately.
"Why do you say that?" The seventeen-year-old asked, a little offended.
"Oh, I saw you at practice. You looked miserable." Damon remarked.
Elena is now truly embarrassed as she asked next, "You saw that?"
"Am I wrong?"
"I used to love it. It was fun. Things are different this year. Everything that used to matter doesn't anymore." Elena told him, shaking her head a little.
Damon shrugs, "So don't let it. Quit, move on. Problem solved. Ta-da."
"Some things could matter again." Elena nods a little with a sense of affirmation; like her and Matt. Even though they broke up, that doesn't mean they get to be strangers. They were never strangers to begin with anyway since their mothers were even best friends when they were younger.
"Maybe. But...seems a little unrealistic to me." Damon commented.
Elena expressed her genuine sympathy for his loss of a friend, "I'm sorry. About Rosaline. I mean, Rosie. You lost her too." She nods a little.
He looks at her, as if speechless and surprised that she's entirely different from the girl who broke his heart one hundred and forty-five years ago.
Bonnie walks back into the kitchen, "Hey. Need some help?"
Damon replied instead of her best friend, "Sure, why not?"
Meanwhile, Caroline and Stefan are still in the living room together.
"Matt tries, but he's just having a really hard time. You have to understand that they were each other's first. You know, like, from the sandbox."
Stefan nods a little, smiling at her, "That's a really nice scarf."
"Mm. Thank you, it's new." Caroline replied with a smile in return.
"Can I see it? I mean, would you mind taking it off?" Stefan nears her in his own seat on the adjacent couch where his girlfriend used to sit on earlier.
"Oh, I can't."
The guy frowns in confusion, "Why not? You okay?"
Caroline seems truly confused, "Um...All I know is that I can't take it off."
Damon comes back to the room, "What are you two kids talking about?"
"I was just commenting on her scarf."
"Hmm. Hey, you know, um, Elena and Bonnie are finishing up the dishes. Why don't you go see if you can help?" Damon suggested for her.
Caroline scoffs at his suggestion, "Does it look like I do dishes?" She forces a laugh as her boyfriend's brother smiles at her once again, awkwardly.
"For me?" Damon added on.
"Hmm...I don't think so." His blonde girlfriend chuckles.
Damon compels her, "Go see if Elena needs help in the kitchen."
She stares up at his mesmerizing icy blue eyes, "You know what? I'm going to go see if Elena needs some help in the kitchen." She stands up.
"Great." Damon watches, pleased, as his girlfriend leaves to the kitchen.
Stefan spoke up in the oblivious human girl's defense, a victim of his brother, "They are people, Damon. She's not a puppet. She doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to."
"Sure she does. They all do. They're whatever I want them to be. They're mine for the taking." Damon spoke selfishly as he smiles sarcastically.
"Alright, you've had your fun. You used Caroline, you got to meet Elena, good for you. Now it's time for you to go." Stefan ordered him.
"That's not a problem. Because...I've been invited in, and I'll come back tomorrow night and the following night and I'll do with your little cheerleader whatever I want to do. Because that is what is normal to me."
The younger Salvatore shakes his head in denial of this displayed behavior, and a part of him actually feels relieved that he doesn't get to meet Minerva.
****
Mystic Falls High School, Football Field
It's night time now when people are tailgating and cheering for the Timberwolves team, guided by Tanner, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us!" Boos from the big crowd are heard, "But that is about to change." The boos turn to cheering, "We've got some great new talent tonight starting on the offense, and I'm going to tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these. Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore!"
Tyler scoffs, "This blows. He can't start the guy. He just got here."
"That have been waiting for us to put a check in the win column, I have only one thing to say to you...Your Timberwolves are hungry." Tanner continued.
Tyler walks up to Minerva, who sees him frowning, "Hey. What's wrong?"
Her moody boyfriend claimed simply as a quick lie, "Nothing."
"And the central high lions are what's for dinner!" Tanner cheered.
"Is that Jeremy?" Tyler sees the familiar fifteen-year-old from afar.
Minerva sends a quick glance at the youngest Gilbert, to be his target, "I swear, Tyler, if this is another one of your pathetic games--"
"Oh, what are you going to do, huh? Just stand back before you get hurt." Tyler charges up to her friend's brother, who's standing alone, "What do you care? Don't look so down, Gilbert. You can have Vicki when I'm done."
Minerva scoffs in disbelief of this displayed selfish behavior of her boyfriend, who doesn't even seem to function as a badge of fidelity anymore now. Jeremy strikes him and the two boys began to fight. Minerva looks on in horror and embarrassment while Vicki runs in to try and break them apart.
"Tyler, stop it! Tyler! Tyler, stop! Stop it! Stop, you're hurting him! Tyler! Tyler, stop! Tyler! Stop it! Tyler, stop!" The oldest Donovan girl cried out.
Stefan quickly comes in and grabs Tyler's wrist, "Hey, he's down! Enough!"
Tyler punches Stefan in the stomach, but sees that it has no effect on Stefan and he looks confused and afraid. Jeremy grabs a broken glass beer bottle and strikes at Tyler, who moves out of the way and he cuts Stefan's hand instead, causing Minerva to gasp as a reaction since she clearly sees it.
Elena quickly runs in when she finds out it's her brother, "Jeremy, no!"
"Tyler, knock it off! Stop!" Matt quickly comes over as well for his friend.
Minerva is completely aware that Stefan's right hand is bleeding.
"What the hell, Jeremy? Put your head up, you're bleeding." Elena said.
Jeremy backs himself away from his protective sister, "I'm fine!"
"Yeah, you smell fine." The seventeen-year-old girl told him in frustration.
"Just stop, okay?"
"Come on, man. Come on." Matt leads the boy away, safely, with Elena.
Minerva approaches Stefan in genuine concern, "Oh my God, your hand."
He closes his palm and puts his hand behind his back, "No, no, no, it's fine."
"Is it deep? How bad is it? Come on!" Minerva grabs his right hand and opens his palm, but she sees the scar is completely gone, truly confirming her suspicions as she feigns confusion, "What? But...But I saw it, it was..."
"He missed. It's not my blood. See? I'm fine." Stefan assured her.
"No, no, no. I...it was you. I saw it. The glass cut your hand. It was..."
"It's okay. I'm okay. It's almost kick-off time, alright? So, um, I'll, uh, I'll see you after the game." Stefan walks away from her to join the team.
Out on the football field, the cheerleaders are in the middle of practice.
Caroline announced as she approaches two of them, "Hey, Tiki, it's all wobbly. Can you stand straight, please? Could someone please help Tiki?"
Bonnie notices her caramel brunette best friend, "Hey! Where you been?"
Minerva begun in pure concern for the potential psychic/witch, "Can I ask you a question and you give me a really serious no-joke response? Please?"
"Of course. What is it?" Bonnie asked, expecting it to be about the fight.
"The bad mojo. When you touched Stefan and you had that reaction--"
"You know what, forget I said that. Elena's little dinner party plot totally won me over." Bonnie assured her instantly and shakes her head a little.
"No, Bonnie, I'm serious. What was it? Did you see something, or..."
"It wasn't clear like a picture." The Bennett girl pointed out.
"Yeah? Then wouldn't it be called weird when I tell you that today, I keep seeing the numbers eight, fourteen, twenty-two?" Minerva concluded.
"That is weird. When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me, and it was cold, and it..." Bonnie trailed off, searching for the right term to say.
"And what?"
"It was death. It's what I imagine death to be like." Bonnie said.
Meanwhile, Elena goes to her parked black Mazda when her boyfriend's brother shows up, shocking her, "You scared me. What are you doing here?"
"I'm hiding from Caroline." Damon whispered playfully.
"And why is that?" She whispered back to play along with him.
"I needed a break. She talks more than I can listen." Damon complained.
"That could be a sign." The Gilbert girl nods a little.
"Well, she's awfully young."
"Not much younger than you are."
"I don't see it going anywhere in the bigger picture. I think she'd drive me crazy."
"Caroline does have some really annoying traits, but we've been friends since the first grade and that means something to me." Elena nods.
"Duly noted. I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. That's not my intention." Damon claimed as he notices a new necklace around her neck.
"Yes, it is. Otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say." Elena pointed out in a very serious manner.
"You're right. I do have other intentions, but so do you."
"Really?"
"Mmhmm. I see 'em. You want me." Damon proclaimed smugly.
Elena scoffs in offense, "Excuse me?"
"I get to you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me. And right now...You want to kiss me." Damon smirks and leans down to kiss her on the lips when he earns a hard slap across his smug face instead.
"What the hell? I don't know what game you're trying to play with Stefan here, but I don't want to be part of it. And I don't know what happened in the past, but let's get one thing straight...I am not Katherine." Elena, with a scowl, storms away from him quickly out of hatred and disgust.
Later on, Matt approaches the younger Salvatore right outside of the boys' locker room around the school, "You going to be able to play?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm good."
"Uh, what you did back there...you had Jeremy's back." Matt reviewed.
"Ah, he's a messed-up kid. Somebody's got to look out for him."
"I know. This week at practice, I was a dick." The quarterback admitted.
Stefan shrugs, "Had your reasons." He's completely aware, from Minerva and Caroline mostly, that Matt Donovan is Elena's very first boyfriend.
"No excuse." Matt holds out his hand, Stefan shakes it, "Good luck tonight. We're lucky to have you." The football player then runs off alone.
Damon is in the dark corner where he claps for his brother, "Isn't that nice? Stefan joins a team, makes a friend. It's all so, 'rah, rah, go team, yeah!'"
Stefan shakes his head, "Not tonight. I'm done with you."
"Nice trick with Elena. Let me guess...vervain in the necklace? I admit, I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where'd you get it?" The older Salvatore questioned him suspiciously.
"Does it matter?"
"Guess I could just seduce her the old-fashioned way. Or I could just...eat her. Or I could just go straight to her little friend, Minerva." Damon thought.
"No. You're not going to hurt either of them, Damon." Stefan remarked.
"No?"
"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels, for her. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be." Stefan expressed.
"Who's pretending?"
"Then kill me." Stefan shrugs.
"Well, I'm...I'm tempted."
"No, you're not. You've had lifetimes to do it, and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After a hundred and forty-five years. Katherine is dead. And you hate me because you loved her, and you torture me because you still do. And that, my brother, is your humanity." Stefan pointed out the obvious right before Tanner comes out.
"Salvatore! What the hell? We've got a game to play!"
"If that's my humanity...then what's this?" Damon vamp-speeds over and viciously feeds on the coach's neck as he cries out in excruciating pain.
"No!" Stefan watches in pure horror as he drops dead on the ground.
Damon turns to his brother wickedly with fresh human blood dripping down his chin from his bloody mouth, "Anyone, any time, any place."
Inside the filled boys' locker room, Tyler complained impatiently, "Tanner's M.I.A. I think he had a little bit too much beer. Don't you think?"
"Don't talk to me right now, alright? I'm pissed at you." Matt snapped.
"What's your problem?"
"What's my-- you're my problem, alright? You're a bully. A freakin' twelve-year-old bully, man. And I'm sick of it. I mean, what was that about tonight? What's beating up the new guy going to prove? Or screwing with my sister or lying to your girlfriend or pummeling my girlfriend's kid brother." The youngest blonde Donovan listed out in pure frustration.
"Girlfriend? Look, I don't know how to tell you this, but she dumped your ass. My girlfriend, on the other hand, is cool with whatever the hell I'm doing." Out of quick reflex, he dodges his best friend's fist as it flies, away from his face, "Are you for real?! You want to hit me? I'm on your team."
"This was over the line. Even for you." Matt storms out of the room and discovers the lifeless body, purely horrified at the sight, "Somebody help!"
Once the police arrived later on, Minerva looks at the scene with horror and a torn expression as hot tears are forming in her big hazel eyes. She looks at the license plate 'BLDG 8', the immatriculation's car is 'FHT 14' and on the ground, the number 22, scaring her as she releases a shaky, nervous breath.
Stefan walks up to her, "Hey, I thought you already went home."
"What kind of animal could be doing all this? Why would it come out of the woods and attack someone in the middle of town?" She wondered aloud despite knowing the answer to her own questions; she's just not certain.
"I don't know. I don't know." Stefan lied, even though he truly feels bad and ashamed in doing so for the girl he's truly interested in.
"I was so sure that you cut your hand. I saw it." Minerva nods.
"I'm fine. I'm fine, okay? We're fine. That's what matters." Stefan embraces the traumatized girl into a warm hug once he sees that she is about to cry; having her in his arms really feels like he's embracing his long lost ex-fiancé, and he gently rubs her back for pure solace as she begins to cry out of fear.