The twins entered their house and left their backpacks in the living room. Josie collapsed on the couch, exhausted both emotionally and physically.

Lizzie went to grab 2 blood bags from the fridge and returned to her sister, handing her a blood bag and laid down with her head on her sister's lap.

"We need a plan," Josie said, after she sipped from the blood bag.

Lizzie hummed in agreement.

"We should name what we're doing," Lizzie commented.

"Like what?" Josie asked.

Lizzie paused as she thought for a moment.

"We're planning to rescue Uncle Kai, right?" Lizzie asked, making sure.

Josie nodded, "Yeah, he saved us, dying in the process - we owe him."

"Ok, so let's call that Operation Prison Break."

Josie laughed, "Prison break?"

"Yes! I mean, we're rescuing him from a 'prison' world, so its a prison break and I don't want to use his actual name in it," Lizzie defended.

"Ok, sure. What about the Mikaelsons?"

Lizzie looked up at her sister. "Klaus will be Operation Killer Puppy. Elijah will be Operation Noble Suit. Kol will be Operation Rejected Psycho. Rebekah will be Operation Hopeless Lover. Freya will be Operation Sleeping Beauty. And Finn will be Operation Lost and Found," She suggested, with a grin.

"Wait, why is the one for Uncle Kai the only one based on what we're actually doing? Also I'm confused by the names," Josie ordered, looking confused.

Lizzie shrugged. "I wanted to name one of them Prison Break. Besides after that the operation will become Operation Serial Uncle because he's a serial killer, so yeah..." She said.

"Anyways, the reason for the Mikaelson's names is because Klaus is part wolf and part Vampire, so Killer puppy. Elijah always wears a suit and is known as the noble Original," Lizzie started.

"Kol is seen as the most psycho Original and Hope said that he felt like a reject in his family, so ta-da," Lizzie said with jazz hands.

"Then Rebekah is always trying to find love but never really found it until that vampire Marcel. And Freya keeps getting put to sleep by her crazy aunt. And finally, Finn is lost at the moment but we will help him find himself by finding Sage or at least love," Lizzie explained.

"Huh, I guess it works for now," Josie shrugged. "What about their parents and Aunt?"

"Hmm, Mikael can be Operation Terrible Dad, or should that go to Joshua Parker? Eh how about Joshua Parker is Operation Dead Dad because I'm most likely going to kill him after Uncle Kai becomes Coven Leader," Lizzie said.

Josie nodded. "You won't be alone in that," She agreed.

"Yay! Twin killing spree!" Lizzie cheered.

Josie rolled her eyes. "It's one person, that's not a killing spree," She pointed out, amused.

"Gemini Coven," Lizzie said simply.

"Okaaay, maybe it will be a killing spree," Josie said.

Lizzie grinned. "Anyways, Esther will be Operation Mama Original, and that's self-explanatory. While Dahlia will be Operation Rumpelstiltskin because she likes to steal firstborns," She finished.

Josie snorted in amusement. "Alright, that's good for now. We'll need to write these down you know."

"Hey! I have more though," Lizzie said, sitting up.

Josie got up and grabbed a paper and a pencil.

"Then, write them down. We'll go over them later."

Lizzie immediately got to writing.

Missions:

Operation Prison Break/Serial Uncle - Uncle Kai

Operation Killer Puppy - Klaus

Operation Noble Suit - Elijah

Operation Rejected Psycho - Kol

Operation Hopeless Lover - Rebekah

Operation Sleeping Beauty - Freya

Operation Lost and Found - Finn

Operation Terrible Dad - Mikael

Operation Dead Dad - Joshua Parker

Operation Mama Original - Esther

Operation Rumpelstiltskin -Dahlia

Operation Survivor Clone - Katherine

Operation Southern Ripper - Stefan

Operation Civil Jackass - Damon

Operation Mother-Daughter - Anna and Pearl

Operation Bubbly Mom - Caroline/Mom

Operation Badass Witch - Bonnie

Operation Baby Gilbert - Jeremy

Operation Grandma Sheriff - Liz Forbes

Operation Augustine Vamp - Enzo

"Lizzie...that's a lot," Josie said.

"Yeah well, a lot happened, besides there is so much more-" Lizzie cut off as Josie took the pencil from her hand.

"We have school tomorrow, it's time to go to bed," Josie said and began to drag Lizzie to their room.

<><><>

The next day, the twins got ready for school. Lizzie threw on a blue top with dark jeans and her leather jacket and black ankle boots. While Josie was wearing a yellow top with light blue jeans with holes in them and black tennis shoes and her denim jacket.

They left the house, quickly and rushed to school as they were running late. When they arrived they went to their first class and met up with Stefan.

When it was time for lunch, Josie spotted Jeremy Gilbert off to the side, alone. She considered him silently.

Josie glanced at Lizzie and Stefan. "I need to go do something, I'll meet you guys in history."

Lizzie looked at Josie confused, but nodded.

Stefan and Lizzie walked away.

Josie walked over to where she saw Jeremy sitting against a tree and approached him hesitantly.

"Hey," She called out softly.

Jeremy's head shot in her direction, startled. "Hi?" He greeted, confused.

Josie pursed her lips, "Can I sit?" She asked, nodding to the spot next to him.

He looked at the area, surprised.

"Uh, sure?"

"Thanks," Josie said, sitting next to him.

"You're Jeremy, right? Jeremy Gilbert?" Josie asked.

"Yeah," He said.

He paused as he considered something.

"Why are you talking to me? Did my sister send you or something?" He asked, voice full of hostility.

Josie snorted. "First of all, I would have to be friends with her for that to even happen, which I'm not. Second of all, why would your sister send me to talk to you?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I'm a druggie and she wants me to grow up," Jeremy sneered.

Josie was quiet.

"Four months ago, my sister and I saw our parents murdered in front of us," Josie said, finally.

He tensed in surprise beside her. He turned his head slightly, showing he was listening.

"And it was like time froze, but in the end, the world keeps on moving, even if you don't."

"What? Is this your attempt to tell me to stop doing drugs?" Jeremy asked. But his voice wasn't as mean as before.

"No," Josie said, shaking her head. "It's your way of coping - of blocking out the pain. I have no place to tell you not to do that."

Jeremy looked at his hands, "You'd be the first to say that," He muttered.

"The world is full of judgemental people, who believe they have a right to have an opinion about other people's lives," Josie said, twirling the daylight ring on her finger. She didn't actually need it. It was more for appearance sake.

Jeremy snorted. "You got that right," He agreed.

Josie glanced at him, "Have people been telling you that eventually, the pain goes away?" Josie asked, knowingly.

Jeremy looked at her sharply. "Are you disagreeing?" He asked.

"Mm-hmm," Josie nodded. "The people that say that, don't truly know what it's like to lose someone. That's not the way it works."

"Then how does it work?" Jeremy asked, almost desperately.

Josie smiled sadly. "The pain never goes away, but it does get better with time. Eventually, it will no longer feel like a crushing weight on your chest, trying to suffocate you. One day you will look back and remember the good times you had with your parents. It will still hurt - the memories will always hurt, but it won't be so bad," Josie whispered.

"Is that what it's like for you?" Jeremy asked, voice slightly hoarse.

"No, not yet," Josie said, shaking her head.

"Then, how-" Jeremy started to ask.

"My friend Hope," Josie interrupted. "She lost her parents and uncle a few years back, all within a short period of time and when my parents died, that was what she told me and my sister. And I hope she's right."

"So do I," Jeremy whispered, agreeing.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Jeremy spoke up again.

"My sister doesn't understand," Jeremy said. "She constantly tells me the way I'm coping is wrong, when all she does is right in her diary, visit their graves, and ignore that it ever happened."

Josie sighed. "Your sister is grieving, I'm not saying she's right in saying your way of coping is wrong, it's not. She doesn't have a right to tell you how to grieve but I think that's part of her way of grieving."

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked, looking at her confused.

"Focusing on you, avoiding her pain, blocking it out by keeping busy. It's not an effective method, but it's the one she is using," Josie explained. "Also, I think she's afraid."

Jeremy narrowed his eyes. "Of what?" He questioned.

"Of losing you," Josie said simply.

Jeremy froze at that.

"You both just lost your parents, and now she's terrified of losing you as well. So, she's being overprotective and watching you every move because she doesn't want to take the chance that something happens to you," Josie continued.

"How do you know that?" Jeremy asked.

Josie pulled one of her knees to her chest and wrapped an arm around it. "Because it's me," She said, softly.

"What?" Jeremy asked, surprised.

Josie looked over meeting his eyes. "My sister is all I have left and whenever she leaves to go somewhere without me..." Josie trailed off, looking away.

Jeremy nudged her with his arm.

"What happens?"

Josie swallowed. "I sometimes get panic attacks," She admitted.

His eyes widened.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Josie licked her lips. "It's been happening less and less but every once in a while it happens and it sucks."

"I- uh-I'm sorry," Jeremy said, looking down. He looked up sharply as an idea came to him. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and quickly wrote something down.

Josie stared at him in confusion.

"Here," He said, handing her the paper.

Josie looked down, eyes widening when she saw the phone number.

"Call me," He said. Josie looked at him uncertainly and he explained, "If you're having a panic attack, call me and I'll come."

Josie felt a lump form in her throat. "Thank you," She whispered. "But why?"

"Because everyone needs a friend," Jeremy shrugged and stood up. "Thanks for the talk. You gave me a lot to think about."

"Your welcome, thanks for listening," Josie said, standing up as well.

"See you around," Jeremy said, giving a grateful smile.

He walked towards the school and entered, pausing for a moment at the doors to glance back at her.

Josie nodded, smiling. And he sent one last wave before entering the school.

<><><>

Meanwhile with Lizzie, Stefan was looking at Lizzie in confusion.

"What's Josie doing?" He asked.

Lizzie shrugged. "I don't know, I'll ask her later."

Stefan nodded before he looked at the books in his hands. "I need to go put these in my locker. I'll be back in a moment."

"Uh-huh," Lizzie responded, looking through her backpack. "I'll be at the bleachers."

Stefan nodded and walked back into the school.

Lizzie zipped up her bag and threw it on. She looked towards Josie, pausing when she saw her next to Jeremy.

Huh, She guessed 'Operation Save Baby Gilbert' was a go.

Lizzie shrugged and continued on to the bleachers.

When she reached them, she tossed her backpack onto them and took a seat, pulling out her phone. Just when she was about to strategize for 'Operation Prison Break', she heard footsteps.

She looked up to see Tyler Lockwood strutting towards her like a peacock, with his sidekick Matt Donavan.

Oh, this gonna be fun.

"Lizzie, right?" He asked, 'charmingly'.

Cue her throwing up mentally. Lizzie narrowed her eyes. "Maybe, what do you want?"

He smirked. "Weell, as I'm sure you are aware, I'm the mayor's son," He said, with an arrogant look.

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell, sorry," Lizzie said, shrugging. And Matt snorted, amused.

He paused, surprised. "Well, I heard you've been hanging around Stefan Salvatore. And let's be real, Salvatore is a bore, I'm sure that I could rock your world a whole lot better than he could," He said, most likely trying to be sexy, which was a complete fail.

Lizzie tensed. "Ok, first of all, I'm not sleeping with him and if I were, I could guarantee that he's a hell of a lot better than you in that department. I mean, honestly, could you even get it up?" Lizzie said, mockingly.

Tyler's face darkened and Matt was looking frantically between them.

"Dude, I think we should go," Matt urged Tyler.

"Yeah, man, you're right. This slut isn't worth it. Maybe her twin will be easier," He spat.

Lizzie went completely still, then reacted.

A second later, Tyler was on the ground, with Lizzie pinning him to the ground, punching his face. Lizzie could hear shouts and felt people try and pull her off but she was too strong.

However, suddenly she felt strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her off of Tyler. Lizzie tried to fight them, but they were too strong.

Then the scent of woods and old cologne filled her nose.

Stefan.

She relaxed and allowed him to pull her away. He grabbed her bag and dragged them into the school, ignoring the eyes following them.

He led them to her locker and leaned against quietly.

Lizzie hesitantly looked up, meeting his eyes.

Surprisingly they weren't full of anger. However, they were full of disappointment, which was far worse.

Especially from a man, who happened to be her step-father.

"I'm sorry," Lizzie apologized. "I-I just—he said he was going to go after Josie, and basically called her easy. And I just snapped."

His eyes softened. "You could have killed him," he pointed out.

"I know," Lizzie leaned against the locker and slid down them. "Sometimes I really hate being Bipolar."

Stefan froze.

"You're Bipolar?" He asked. He had a look of realization on his face. He sat down next to her against the locker. "That makes more sense."

"You think I'm crazy too," Lizzie whispered.

"No," Stefan said, shaking his head. "You can't control your brain chemistry, that's not your fault."

Lizzie smiled sadly. "One of my best friends used to say that," She whispered.

"What happened to them?" He asked.

"MG died in the battle that killed my parents, and caused us to turn into Heretics," Lizzie said, looking down. "He was in love with me."

Stefan turned to look at her in surprise.

"But I never gave him a chance," Lizzie finished, voice full of pain.

"Why?" Stefan asked, softly.

"Because I was afraid," Lizzie admitted.

"Of what?" Stefan prodded.

Lizzie was quiet for a moment. "MG was always there for me when I needed him, and I was afraid that if I gave him a chance and..." She trailed off.

"And if it didn't work out, you would lose him completely." Stefan finished in understanding.

"I was a coward," Lizzie whispered.

"No, you weren't," Stefan disagreed.

Lizzie shook her head. "But I was," She disagreed. "And now, I'll never know what could have been."

"MG was your best friend, right?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah," Lizzie said.

"Would he want you to wonder about what if's?" Stefan inquired.

"No, he would tell me that it was okay, and to keep moving," Lizzie said. She gave Stefan a smile. "Thanks."

Stefan bumped her shoulder with his.

"Anytime."

Stefan pushed himself to his feet, then offered Lizzie a hand. Lizzie took it and he pulled her to her feet.

Stefan smiled, warmly, "Ju-"

"Stefan!" a voice shouted from down the hall.

And they both turned to see Elena walking towards them.

"Oh, great. It's her," Lizzie muttered under her breath.

Stefan gave her a look. "Play nice," was all he could say before Elena was right in front of them.

"Hi," Elena breathed out.

Lizzie rolled her eyes and turned to her locker, opening it.

"Elena," Stefan greeted politely. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Elena blushed. "Um, I was wondering if you would want to hang out at the grill tomorrow," She said, twirling a strand of her hair.

"Uhhh," Stefan said, looking at Lizzie for an out, but she was pretending to be occupied with her locker.

What? She wasn't getting in the middle of that shit.

Stefan sighed. "Look, Elena?" He said, trying not to cause a fight.

"Yeah?" She asked, hopefully.

"I'm sure you're a sweet girl, but you and I? It's not going to happen. Sorry," Stefan tried to let down, gently.

"Oh..." Elena said, looking surprised that she was rejected.

'Probably used to boys falling down at her feet', Lizzie thought, highly amused.

"No, um, I understand. You're not ready for a relationship. No, I get that. Thank you for being honest," She said, putting on a brave face and walking away.

The second she was out of sight, Lizzie shut her locker turning to Stefan with an outraged look on her face.

"You're not ready for a relationship?" She repeated, in disbelief. "How the hell did she turn you, rejecting her, into that?"

Stefan was also looking in the direction Elena went, speechless.

"I...have no idea," Stefan looked at Lizzie.

"Is she seriously that narcissistic?" Lizzie exclaimed. "I mean, I'm a narcissist but damn."

Stefan nodded, slowly in agreement.

"What's going on?" Josie asked from behind them. And they both turned to look at her before exchanging a look.

Instantly, Lizzie began to explain what happened as they walked to their history class.

The three of them entered the class and took their seats.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the three new students that skipped on their first day of school," Mr. Tanner.

Lizzie narrowed her eyes, ready for a fight when she felt someone nudge her chair. She looked back at Stefan, who was sitting behind her, shaking his head.

Lizzie took a deep breath and counted to ten. Slowly, she relaxed in her seat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Josie, who was sitting next to her, give her a proud look.

Lizzie smiled.

The class continued on. And the teacher began his lesson on the Battle of Willow Creek.

"How many casualties resulted in the battle?" Mr. Tanner asked the class.

Mr. Tanner looked at Bonnie.

"Ms. Bennett?"

"Um...a lot?" Bonnie said, uncertain. "I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett," Mr. Tanner said, annoyed.

He turned to Matt. "Mr. Donavan. Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?" He asked.

Lizzie and Josie both tried not to laugh.

"It's okay, Mr. Tanner. I'm cool with it," Matt responded. And the class laughed.

Mr. Tanner looked at Elena, next.

"Hmm. Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?" He asked. Did he just call everyone by their last names yet called the doppelgänger by her first?

"I'm sorry," She said, shaking her head. "I-I don't know"

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break," He said, like the prick he was.

Lizzie tensed as did Josie.

"Hey, asshole. Her parents died. That's not something that you just get over," Lizzie said, practically snarling.

He looked at her in surprise.

Josie nodded and backed her twin. "Yeah, you may be a cold-hearted bastard but that doesn't mean she is," She said with a glare.

All around them, the class started whispering and a student in the back whistled.

Elena was looking at the twins, grateful. They gave her a nod.

They looked back to see Stefan grinning at them proudly.

Mr. Tanner narrowed his eyes in anger. "Since you two are so vocal, perhaps, one of you, knows the answer," He asked, looking between Lizzie and Josie. His eyes full of triumph, clearly thinking he won.

The twins exchanged a look before looking at the teacher.

"346 Casualties," They said in unison.

Mr. Tanner's eyes widened in surprise.

Josie leaned forward, resting her elbows on the dest. "Unless you're counting local civilians," She said, smirking.

Mr. Tanner frowned. "There were no civilian casualties."

"Actually," Stefan interrupted. "There were."

Mr. Tanner's eyes zero in on Stefan "And you are?"

"Stefan Salvatore," He replied.

Mr. Tanner raised his eyebrows. "Salvatore? Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

"Distant," Stefan replied, shortly.

And the twins started laughing under their breath. They could practically feel Stefan's eye-roll at their reactions.

"Hmm, well you're wrong about there being civilian casualties," Mr. Tanner, refusing to back down.

"Yes, there were," Stefan repeated. "There were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss."

Mr. Tanner looked down in irritation and the twins exchanged victorious looks.

A smirk appeared on Stefan's face.

"The founder's archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts," Stefan said.

Lizzie and Josie burst out laughing.

When the class was over, the three went to their lockers.

"That was amazing," Lizzie complimented Stefan.

"It was," Josie agreed.

"Hey!" A voice called from behind them.

They look to see Caroline walking up to them with a sign-up sheet.

"Here's the sign-up sheet for cheer," Caroline said. "You're still joining, right?"

"They are," Stefan answered for them.

Caroline handed them the sheet and the twins quickly signed up, and gave it back to her.

"Great! You guys are definitely coming to the party at the falls today, right?" Caroline asked.

Lizzie grinned. "We'll be there. All of us."

Both Stefan and Josie nodded in agreement. Caroline clapped her hands excitedly.

"I'll see you there!" She rushed away to go deal with something.

The three exchanged looks and started laughing for no reason.