DONOVAN HOUSEHOLD

When Matt heard a knock at his door for once in his life, he prayed it wasn't Caroline, or Aella, and even Elena. He let out a sigh of relief when he opened the door, and Jeremy stood there, his hands in his pockets, with an uncertain look upon his face.

As their eyes met, Jeremy smiled tensely at him, "Hey, Matt."

Matt knew the tone, the tone of guilt, and he winced at the young teen, "You too?"

Before Jeremy could answer, Matt left the door open and retreated back into his home. Jeremy took that as a reluctant invitation and followed the footballer into the living room. As he entered the room, his eyes widened at the two duffle bags packed pretty full as Matt added more items.

"You're leaving."

It wasn't a question, but Matt stilled for a moment before he added another pair of sneakers to his bag, "I need to be away from here."

Jeremy took a seat, his eyes wide, "You don't have to go, Matt."

Matt snorted, his attention on his bags, "My mom is not here, my sister is dead, and my friends are liars... I can't stay."

Jeremy ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "We didn't lie to you to just keep you in the dark; it was to protect you-"

Matt angrily turned on Jeremy, "-and was keeping Vicki a secret too?"

Knowing exactly what Matt was feeling, Jeremy answered truthfully and tearfully, "Yes. I've been in the exact same spot you are now, only it was 10 feet away as I watched Vicki die. And as angry as I was then, I know now that Aella not telling me was to keep me safe." Jeremy let out a harsh laugh, "Sometimes... I wish I never knew and could be a regular teenager again."

Matt's anger seemed to simmer a little at Jeremy's honesty, "But your sister didn't die, Jer. If it was Elena or Aella, you'd be just as angry, just as betrayed as I am now."

"You're right," Jeremy agreed. "I would." He ignored the bags for a moment, "Have you spoken to anyone about this?"

"Well, I thought about going to the Sheriff," Matt told him but then sighed heavily. "But, I got the feeling she wasn't gonna believe anything I said, so I changed my mind."

Jeremy grimaced, "Not really the best person to speak to about this."

Matt looked up and breathed through the anger, "The Sheriff knows too."

"How do you think all the attacks are labeled as animal attacks," Jeremy nodded heavily. "She's part of this secret council group that hates anything supernatural. The mayor was a part of it before he was killed. I think Mrs. Lockwood has taken his place now. Logan Fell was a part of it until he grew a conscience."

Matt looked back to Jeremy, "And Ty?"

The desperation in Matt's voice was heartbreaking, and though Jeremy wished he could lie about this, now was the time for the truth. "He found out when your hand was trapped under the cart for Founder's Day, Aella used her magic to lift it, and he saw."

Matt fell down on his couch and held his head in his hands, "I'm all alone." Although it was said in a whisper, Jeremy heard and opened his mouth to deny such a statement when Matt continued. "This is too much. All of this is just too much. I don't want to know this." He jumped up and returned to packing his bag - more hastily this time.

"Matt-"

"No, Jer," Matt cut Jeremy off. "I'm not going to change my mind. There's no one in this town I can trust. I just need to take some time and figure out what to do."

"What about school?" Jeremy asked anxiously. "What about this house?"

Matt shrugged carelessly, "School has been bugging me about taking a bit of time to reflect on what happened to Vick, they're cool with sending me coursework while I'm away. And this house..." Matt scoffed as he looked around, "Who gives a fuck."

Jeremy knew he wasn't going to be able to talk Matt out of this decision. Plus, with Elena and Jenna, the only ones who could talk some sense into Matt, out of town, he knew he needed to help somehow. Suddenly an idea came to his head, and he stood, "You need to go; I understand that." Matt looked at him curiously, wondering if this was a trick. "But I have an idea how you can at least have a home to return to when you're ready. Just don't leave yet."

Matt stared at him for a few minutes, and honestly, Jeremy thought he was going to tell him to fuck off too. Instead, Matt nodded, "You have an hour."

Nodding hastily in agreement, Jeremy ran to the door, "I'll be back before then, just... don't leave."

Matt watched his friend run from the house, a heaviness in his heart growing more and more.

ALARIC'S CAR

It seemed the silence was far too much for Damon as he turned and raised a brow at Elena and Jenna, "How are you doing back there? You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly."

Alaric let out a sarcastic laugh as the two ignored him, "I don't think they're pretending. You did kill Jeremy."

Damon groaned; why was everyone still bringing that up? He turned to Ric, "You know, there is a huge asterisk next to that statement: he came back to life."

Elena glared at him over her magazine, "Yeah, thanks to a ring that you didn't know he was wearing."

Damon turned back to the two women in the back, his eyes glancing at Jenna, who was glaring at the magazine she was reading. "Why are you so sure I didn't know?"

"Did you?" Elena raised a brow.

"Yes!" Damon exclaimed with aggravation.

Elena scowled at him before she returned to her magazine, "You're lying."

Damon raised his arms in exasperation, "Elena, I saw the ring! It's a big tacky thing. Hard to miss."

Jenna threw her magazine down again, and the trio missed Alaric looking down at his own ring at Damon's words. Jenna pointed her finger at Damon, "I don't care if you saw the ring or not, Damon. I held my nephew in my arms, the only piece I have left of my sister, and I thought he was dead." Damon swallowed heavily at the anger in Jenna's eyes as she continued., "I thought I would have to stand side by side with my niece and bury her brother less than a year after she buried her parents. Thankfully, that big tacky thing saved his life, and you will never understand what I felt in those minutes when I believed I was holding my dead nephew."

Calmly, Jenna picked up her magazine and began rereading it as the three passengers silently contemplated her words. Damon turned with an awkward cough, so he was facing forward while Elena watched her aunt with glossy eyes. Slowly she reached forward and squeezed Jenna's hand, and while Jenna didn't look at her, the squeeze back was felt.

LOCKWOOD PROPERTY

After too much walking for Aella, Tyler paused and pointed at many piled-up bricks; upon closer inspection, it was actually the old Lockwood cellar entrance. Tyler gestured at the ruins, "Here... it's the cellar that goes to our old property."

Aella walked around it, her nose crinkled, "Even I listened in history class about what these types of structures were used for."

Tyler smirked over at her, "Yeah, it's that exact reason why my mom refused to say anything about it." He changed his voice to a near-perfect Carol Lockwood impression, even holding his hands to his invisible pearls, "We don't talk about those kind of rooms."

Aella merely raised a brow, "It's quite freaky how much you sounded like her then."

Tyler only shrugged and climbed up the steps, pulling out a torch from his pocket, "Are you ready?"

"I dunno, Tyler," Aella frowned at the crumbling bricks. "I've seen enough Scooby-Doo episodes to know this is a terrible, horrible, incredibly foolish idea..." Tyler frowned at her words until a devious look appeared on her face. She ran up to stand next to him. "Let's go!"

Tyler shook his head with a chuckle and held out his hands with the torch, "Ladies first."

Aella shook her head with a smirk, "Such a wuss." With a shake of her hand, a small fire suddenly appeared and seemed to float above Aella's palm. Tyler's eyes widened at the action; he had no idea she could suddenly do that.

As she walked into the cellar, Tyler nervously followed, "Th-that's new, right?"

Aella smirked at him over her shoulder, "Pretty new. I'd not get too close, still learning how to control it."

Tyler's brows furrowed, "What do you mean 'control it?'"

Aella only shrugged innocently, "I have trouble putting it out... I completely ruined Stefan's bedspread the other day. He was not happy."

Tyler then took a very conscious step back as he followed Aella into the cellar.

DUKE UNIVERSITY

"Bones, bones and bones," Jenna looked around Isobel's office with a critical brow raised after Vanessa had let them in. "Looks like she's always had a fascination for dead things." Damon was humored by the statement as he glanced over at Jenna next to him. The guardian merely shrugged, "What? I call it as I see it."

Damon frowned when he recognized no light was coming on, "Where'd she go?"

Suddenly Vanessa appeared in the room with a crossbow in her hands and aimed the device at Elena. In complete shock, Jenna pointed at the assistance, "Crossbow! She's got a crossbow."

The assistant paid her no attention as she fired the arrow at Elena. A gush of wind brushed Jenna's hair in her eyes, and she quickly brushed it away, wincing and expecting to see her niece impaled by a wooden arrow. Instead, she was shocked to see Damon pierced instead as he protectively covered her niece with his own body.

With narrowed eyes, Jenna stomped towards Vanessa, who was being held by a stunned Alaric. As she reached the struggling research assistant, Jenna experienced great joy. She drew her arm back and punched the brunette beauty in the face, knocking her cleanout.

As the conscious occupants looked at her in shock, Jenna merely shrugged as she shook her hand, "Bitch tried to kill my niece, not on my watch."

LOCKWOOD CELLAR

Tyler turned on a flashlight as they entered the cellar and moved the beam of light around the room, keeping clear of Aella and her hand of fire. Aella's upper lip pulled up as she looked about the dirty room, eyes clearly noticing the number of chains about the room.

Aella crouched down next to a set of chains, "Did Mason tell you about this place?"

"Tried anything but tell me about this place," Tyler answered her, his eyes suddenly focused on the wall near where she crouched. "Look at this."

Aella's eyes followed the torch beam, and she shuffled closer to the wall as the beam settled on the distinct scratches in the wall. Tyler's finger's brushed them, "They're deep." He looked over at Aella, "Think you might see something if you touch these?"

Curious, Aella shrugged, "Maybe..." She shook her hand to extinguish the fire, but it only grew, causing Tyler to take a large step backward. With a nervous chuckle, Aella shrugged at him, "This happens sometimes." She shook her hand and winced as the flame jumped into her other hand.

Tyler looked at the two flames in each of Aella's hands, "That seems to be the opposite of what you were supposed to do."

"Ugh!" Aella groaned loudly. "This shit isn't exactly easy, Tyler." Standing up, she shook her hands again and swore aloud when sparks shot from the fire in random directions. Tyler cursed, letting her know one came close to him. "I'm sorry!" She grimaced over at him, "It's so easy to make, but not so easy to extinguish."

Tyler merely rolled his eyes, "We're so buying you flame retardant gloves when we leave here."

"I've just got to relax," Aella closed her eyes and shook her body except for her arms. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her frantic thoughts. But Aella being Aella, only waited a good five seconds before she opened one eye and was disappointed to see the fire's still there.

Tyler shook his head with his own large sigh, "That's not relaxing, Aella."

"I'm not a patient person, Tyler," Aella groaned, closing her eye again.

"Oh, really," Tyler mocked her, and she raised both middle fingers at him. Ignoring her, Tyler began to advise her, using his own experiences from the last few weeks to help calm her, "Just think of something that makes you happy... Stefan, or Caroline, or-"

"-Uncle Jesse," Aella interrupted him with a smirk. She hummed in appreciation of her favorite character as he appeared in her mind, "Oh yeah, Uncle Jesse."

Tyler rolled his eyes but shrugged each to their own. "I hope it's the early years of Uncle Jesse and not season eight, Uncle J; Dude was so whipped by then."

Aella smiled happily as she thought of Uncle Jesse, "Season one of Uncle Jesse wins every time."

Tyler felt a little disgusted at Aella's obsession with the 80's show, but when he saw the flames begin to grow smaller, he realized his advice was helping her. "What's your favorite episode of season one?"

"Um, hello?" Aella scoffed at the question, not feeling her flames becoming dimmer and dimmer. "Is that a trick question? Every episode of Full House is my favorite, duh."

If Tyler was mean, he would bring up Aunt Becky, who everyone knew Aella despised with a passion due to her relationship with Uncle Jesse. Luckily for Aella, Tyler knew they were on a time-sensitive mission, and when the flames were gone, he smiled at the witch, "They're gone, well done."

Aella slowly opened her eyes, and when she saw Tyler was correct, she let out a relieved breath and smiled at the athlete, "Thanks, Ty."

Tyler shrugged off her thanks, "Don't mention it." He pointed at the scratches, "No, let's use those freaky weird powers to see what the hell happened here."

Aella crouched by the scratches, "I'm not sure if I should be offended by that statement or proud."

"Well, considering we need your freaky weird powers?" Tyler thought aloud sarcastically. "Let's go with proud."

Taking a calming breath, Aella's hand brushed the scratches, and she was not surprised when she was pulled into a vision.

At first, she felt pain, a horrendous pain that seemed to envelop her entire being. Desperation was next, a feeling of misery and hopelessness, as was a strong desire to not harm anyone. But the worse..., the worse was the hunger to kill. She had felt a similar feeling when she experienced the pain of Harper as he fed for the first time in many years, but this was different. While Harper had to kill to survive, Aella could feel this person - these persons - struggling to find any control. Their bodies and minds were at war with each other. Before she was pushed out, she saw the eyes again, the same eyes she had seen when she had touched Mason and Tyler.

With a sharp gasp, Aella was pulled out of her vision and fell into Tyler's arms, gasping for breath as she tried to forget the emotions she had encountered. After a few moments, she began to feel normal again, and she was able to shakily look up at Tyler. "What did you see, Aella?"

She knew he would ask the question, but she felt sick as the feelings returned for a brief moment, and she shook her head, "Nothing pleasant, Tyler. Nothing pleasant at all."

DUKE UNIVERSITY

Elena's hands hovered over Damon's back as she tried to force herself to remove the arrow from his back.

"Pull it out," Damon demanded of her. "I can't reach it, Elena."

Grasping the opportunity to do some damage to the vampire, Jenna instead reached over and happily pulled the arrow from Damon's back before her niece could. As Damon muffled his screams, Elena looked to her aunt with disappointment. Jenna only shrugged, "He so had that coming."

Damon glared as the guardian walked away, "Sometimes I think it's her that's related to Pixie by blood and not you and Jeremy." He picked up the bloody arrow from the floor that Jenna had simply dropped it as she returned to glaring at the still knocked out Vanessa. "When she wakes up, that bitch is dead."

Elena looked pointedly at him, "You're not gonna kill her."

Damon smirked at her, "Watch me."

Elena's stare turned to a dark glare, "You touch her, and I swear I will never speak to you again."

Damon rolled his eyes, "What makes you think that has any power over me? Because I took an arrow in the back for you? You're severely overestimating yourself."

Elena scoffed, "Right. I forgot that I was speaking to a psychotic mind who snaps and kills people impulsively." She shrugged as she stood up, "Fine, go ahead, do whatever you want."

"You're trying to manipulate me," Damon scowled. His brother liked to do it quite often.

"If by 'manipulate' you mean 'tell the truth'? Okay, guilty," As she walked away, Damon's eyes followed her.

Just as Elena reached Alaric and Jenna, Vanessa's eyes opened as she let out a groan as she reached for her bloody nose, "Ugh, what happened?"

"Well, you tried to kill my niece," Jenna told her straight and leaned down towards the assistant, taking great pleasure when Vanessa flinched as she came close. "Not the best way to greet new people."

Vanessa held up her hands as she looked to Alaric, "Please! I freaked out, okay? Alright, you would have done the same thing; it's not possible! Katherine Pierce can't be alive, and Damon Salvatore died in 1864. Okay? I read Isobel's research."

"Well, then you should know just how possible this is," Ric merely shrugged.

Jenna whispered to her niece, "This is really beginning to feel like the worst kept secret ever."

Damon walked over to them as Elena stepped towards Vanessa, "I'm Elena Gilbert, Isobel's daughter and a descendant of Katherine Pierce. And this is Damon Salvatore, who you just shot."

Damon smiled menacing down at her, "I'd be extra nice to me right now."

Elena hit Damon without looking, "Look, we need your help, okay? We need to see all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls."

Vanessa glanced between them all hesitantly before she looked back at Alaric, "So this is all real. Isobel was right."

"Yes," Alaric nodded sadly. "And it cost her, her life and soul. Now, can we look at her research for real this time?"

Vanessa tentatively nodded, sitting up as she wiped her nose, "Just keep Rocky Balboa away from me?"

Jenna proudly nodded as she took a seat in one of the many chairs in the office, "I'll just be chilling here. I think my message has been received."

Elena rolled her eyes; Damon was right. Jenna was spending too much time with Aella... it was becoming quite uncanny how alike they were becoming.

LOCKWOOD CELLAR

"So, you saw the eyes again," Tyler stated rather than asked.

Aella took a big gulp of water that Tyler had thankfully brought, "Eyes, pain, desperation, lack of control. It was awful."

Tyler looked down at Aella as she sat on the cold stone floor, "And you're certain it wasn't a vampire?"

Aella nodded instantly. "I've felt a vampire at his weakest, it's a completely different feeling. One I can't describe."

Tyler nodded, pinching his lips between his fingers. Aella had been at this a hell of a lot longer than he had; he trusted her when she was this certain about these things. As he walked, his light bounced against the walls and floors. Aella watched the light jump about, the motion clearing her mind. When Tyler turned to begin his pacing again, Aella spotted the light bouncing off a different colored item and frowned, "What's that?"

"Huh?" Tyler looked down at her, but her focus was where she saw something.

"There," the witch pointed, her eyes now focusing on the hidden item. Instead of getting up, Aella crawled across the dirty floor to the corner, Ignoring Tyler's roll of the eyes at her action. As she pulled an item out of the corner, finding it was something covered in a white cloth, Tyler rushed over and knelt near her.

As Aella began unraveling the cloth, Tyler raised a brow, "What is it?"

His answer came as Aella removed the object from a cloth and handed it to him, "It's a book."

Tyler opened the book and instantly recognized the writing, even in the dim light, "It's Mason's."

Suddenly they heard a tumble of rocks near the entrance, and Tyler turned quickly, shining the light in that direction, "Who's there?" When no answer came, he looked down at Aella, "We've been here too long; we should go."

Aella nodded as she stood up, dusting off the dirt and cobwebs from her trousers, "Good idea. Plus, even your super-duper torch can barely make that writing look legible."

They left the cellar, book in hand, and retreated to Tyler's house. Tyler, forgetting he put his phone on silent, missed the texts from Aimee Bradley. He had told her earlier that day she could use the swimming hole on his property for a party he was sure he wouldn't be joining that night.

DONOVAN HOUSEHOLD

When Jeremy knocked on Matt's door for the second time that day, he wasn't alone this time. He took a deep breath as he glanced over at Anna, "I hope this goes well."

Anna's lip quirked, "For my own life, I hope so too."

Before Jeremy could assure her Matt wouldn't do anything to her, Matt opened the door and seemed surprised at who Jeremy had with him.

"Anna?" Matt questioned, yet he still opened the door wider. "You know all about this mess too?"

The couple entered the house, and Anna felt Matt let out a relieved breath when she was able to enter the house without an invitation. However, he'd either forgotten or simply didn't know that he'd already welcomed her in, and it was only one invitation that was needed for Anna to enter the house whenever she wanted.

"Hey, Matt," Anna awkwardly greeted him back as she followed Jeremy into the living room. She turned to Matt as he followed behind him, "I kinda am a part of this mess."

Matt stopped, and his eyes went wide, "What are you?"

Anna swallowed heavily, feeling his fear, "I'm a vampire too, Matt."

A snarl appeared on Matt's lips as he turned his stare to Jeremy, "You brought one of these monsters into my home."

Jeremy jumped in front of Anna as she looked down sadly. Unfortunately for her, the term monster was quite a norm for her to be called. Jeremy shook his head, "She's not a monster, she's not like Damon. She's good. She didn't want this; she just wants to be normal for once."

Matt seemed stunned as his mouth opened and closed, unable to speak from the shock that everyone did know this secret except him. Matt wearily sat down on the chair behind him and roughly ran his hands over his face, "It's like I know nothing anymore."

"Matt?" Anna hesitantly called on the teenage boy and stepped out from behind Jeremy. When she saw Matt reluctantly lower his hands to look at her, she began speaking to him. "I'm sorry about your sister, I wasn't here when that happened, but I do know a lot about Damon and being turned at such a young age..." She paused. Still, when she saw Matt's attention on her, she continued. "For one, as much as I hate Damon, the things he's been through would make Hannibal Lecter look sane. He's been manipulated for so many years by a woman-- a vampire, that even my mother, who had been around a long time, was scared for me to be near. Katherine Pierce ruined any good in Damon, and that manipulation is still embedded in his brain."

Matt looked like he was going to argue. Anna held up her hand which halted Matt's words, "It's not right what he's done, none of it. But... the Damon I knew that hurt your sister, and the Damon I know now-" she glanced at Jeremy sadly "-even after recent events, he's changed. I can see him trying to be a better person. This brings me onto the second thing: being a vampire may sound to some like an awesome thing, but being stuck in a 17-years-olds body is so not. I'm over 200-years-old, and I'm expected to act like someone without experience, without an idea of how the world works or what loss really is; but I have. I have watched everyone I ever cared about die. People like Jeremy, Aella, Elena, you, Stefan, and even Damon have become the first real family I've ever had. I'm now experiencing love-" Anna smiled up at Jeremy "-the true meaning of family and friendship, and what having a place to call home feels like. I'm still learning something new after all these years. This world is so hard, Matt," Anna smiled sadly at him. "I think I'd choose to go through puberty a million times over than have to live in a world that knows about the supernatural - than being a vampire. Your friends, your family tried to protect you from that because once you're in, you're in, and you are never out; it's impossible to do. And I'm pretty sure Vicki wouldn't want you to hate your friends because of a mistake one selfish vampire made."

Jeremy let out a shuddering breath as Anna finished talking and sat back, he had no idea she had felt like that, and it pained him that she did. He knew if there was anyone who could help Matt through this, it was Anna. Like him, she'd lost loved ones, been lied to, and knew about the vampire world - especially Damon, who Jeremy knew Matt was the angriest at. As much of a dick Damon was, especially after killing Jeremy only days before, the Vicki situation was complicated. It seemed they all had a hand in what happened with Vicki, Vicki herself included.

Matt's hands returned to his face, and he tried rubbing away the lack of sleep and feelings that were surging through him. He glanced back at the couple and smiled tentatively at Anna, "I appreciate you sharing that with me, and I understand, I really do. But you can't tell me that when you were going through all that shit, you didn't need some time to just process it all?"

Anna let out a humorless laugh, "I think you've handled everything very maturely... when I decided to process what happened with me, I killed an entire colony. Ever heard of Roanoke?"

Matt suddenly went pale, and his eyes widened at the very familiar name until Anna let out a giggle with Jeremy, her boyfriend, quick to tell Matt. "She's joking."

Matt let out an uncomfortable laugh, "I knew I should have listened in history class."

The mood seemed to shift to a more comfortable one as Jeremy took a seat next to Anna. "Look, Matt..." Jeremy sighed. "I don't want you to go, but I know better than most about letting someone grieve the way they want to. But I also know if you leave this house, it won't be here when you come back."

It was no secret in the Gilbert Household how Matt was struggling to pay his bills, even with all the work he was doing at the Mystic Grill. If he left town, the bank would jump on his house in a split second.

Matt blushed and rubbed his neck, knowing what Jeremy was telling him. Unfortunately, Matt didn't care; the house had just too many bad memories for him at that moment. Luckily for him, he had friends who knew once he had accepted everything and returned, the loss of his home, the loss of his final connection with his sister would be devastating.

"It's why I also brought Anna," Jeremy continued, unaware of Matt's thoughts. Matt focused on the two again, and Jeremy nodded for Anna to continue for him.

The vampire shuffled a little as she locked eyes with Matt, "I'm homeless." She shrugged awkwardly. "Fortunately for me, being a vampire for hundreds of years has allowed me to build quite a good amount of money. Unfortunately for me, because of the age I look, I'll never be able to own my own home unless I use compulsion. I'm against using that for my own benefit..." she blushed a little, "Unless it means compelling the school admin to I can attend school for the first time ever." Looking back on Matt, she could see him understanding what she was saying as he remained staring unblinkingly at her. "I can move in here and look after the place, feel not so much like a vagabond, drifting from one home to another. I'll pay all the bills and even some extra for you, so you have money while you take time to process things. So... what do you think?"

Matt blinked frantically as his mind processed her offer, "Y-you'd do that? F-for me?"

Anna smiled shakily at him, "You're my friend; of course I'd help you."

It was silent as Matt thought over her offer and her kind words. When he looked back at the two, his eyes were tearing a little, "Do you mind if I think it over?"

"No," Jeremy jumped up, shaking his head wildly as he pulled up Anna with him. He began pulling the vampire to the door as Matt watched on, knowing this was a big step for the athlete. "Take your time, we'll be at home if you need us."

Before Matt could say anything else, Jeremy had pulled Anna out of the house, and the door had slammed behind them. In a daze, Matt fell firmly into the chair and let out a deep breath. He had a lot to think about.