CHAOS RISING

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THERE WAS A WELCOME DEGREE OF COMFORT THAT came to Dinah with being able to just hop on her bike and go and see her friends. As much as Selena and her friends had done an amazing job at making her feel welcome and accepted, it was different from the friends that she'd grown up with. And even if she hadn't known Stefan as long or if prior to everything going down in Mystic Falls she had only really seen Jeremy as her friend's kid brother, they still knew. Knew not only about magic and the supernatural, but everything that she'd gone through because they had been there with her.

Her friends had managed to rent a decent-sized apartment in downtown Beacon Hills. They said that the place was really nice and Caroline had the time of her life getting to furnish it. Thinking of the excitement on her friend's face made Dinah smile as she approached the front door of the building that google maps said was the right one.

After checking the address once more against the text and the number on the building in front of her, Dinah hopped off her bike and chained it up to the bike rack near the door and then walked up to the buzzer panel next to the door, looking for the right name.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Elena, I'm, uh, here. Can you buzz me up or whatever?"

"Sure!"

There was a buzzing sound from the panel and then Dinah heard the lock click open and she hurried over to open the door before it locked again. She quickly looked around the lobby once she was inside and she was sure that the door was closed behind her. On the wall she was facing but more to her left was the elevator.

Dinah pressed the call button for the elevator and then stood just a bit in front of the doors, bouncing on her heels as she watched the floor number slowly click closer to one. After a few moments of waiting, the doors finally dinged and opened and Dinah stepped inside and hit the button for the eighth floor and the doors started to close.

"Hold the elevator!"

She immediately darted forward and threw her hand in front of the closing door, causing it to stop and start opening again. On the other side of the door was a man that was older than her by a few years at least with dark hair and green eyes. He was... well, very hot. In the kind of way that Damon had always tried and failed to be. Dinah quickly averted her eyes as a light blush arose and she stepped further to the opposite side of the elevator.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem."

"Oh, we're going to the same floor."

"So it seems," Dinah agreed. "I'm just, uh, visiting some friends."

"The new tenants?" he asked.

"I guess so."

Dinah kept her eyes down as the elevator slowly trudged upwards. She couldn't help the strange vibe that she was getting off of him. It wasn't bad in any way, she didn't feel like she was in any danger or he was evil or anything like that, but she just couldn't place what exactly she was getting off of him.

Finally, they reached the right floor and Dinah had to force herself not to rush the doors as soon as they opened. She let the stranger get off first and then she got off, pausing for a moment to get her bearings and she watched as he went to the door nearly across from the elevator.

"Have a nice night, Dinah," he said, then disappeared inside the apartment.

And just like that, what little of her bearings that she had collected slipped right through her fingers and scattered across the entire hallway. How did this man know her name?

"Dinah!"

"Ah!" she screamed, jumping as someone called her name.

Turning her attention away from the door and to where the voice had come from, Dinah saw that it was Caroline standing in a doorway next to the elevators. She was looking at her in confusion, most likely due to her outburst, and Dinah took a deep breath.

"Sorry, you spooked me. Hi."

"Come in!" Caroline said, holding out a hand for her.

Smiling again, Dinah took the few steps she needed to reach Caroline and let the vampire take her hand, pulling her into the apartment.

They entered into an open plan living room, dining room and kitchen. Bonnie, Elena, Stefan and Damon were on various sofas and chairs in the living room area, while Jeremy was sat on the kitchen island, the sound of the microwave working coming from behind him.

"What do you think of our place?" Bonnie asked.

"Wow," Dinah said.

"That's exactly what we said after Caroline finished furnishing it all."

"You did an amazing job, Care," Dinah told her.

"Aw, thank you."

"Did you have a hard time getting here?" Bonnie asked. "Were the directions clear?"

Dinah followed after Caroline as she walked away from the door and sat down. Caroline next to Stefan and Dinah on the last free chair.

"Oh yeah, it was pretty easy. Nice ride, too," she assured them. "How did you guys find this place anyway, I thought for sure you would get a house or something."

"I thought an apartment would be a good place to start," Caroline said.

"Plus the rent wasn't insane," Stefan added.

"Wait a minute," Dinah said, trying not to laugh. "You guys are actually paying rent?"

"I hate it here," Damon said.

"Why didn't you just compel the landlord?"

"Because he's so nice!" Caroline interrupted. "And, not to mention, so, so hot."

"Seems you really lucked out."

"He has the dreamiest green eyes and he's always wearing this sexy leather jacket and—"

"Here we go again," Bonnie said.

Caroline turned towards Bonnie and gasped, an offended look on her face. Dinah got the distinct sense that they'd had this conversation more than once already as Jeremy came over from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn and sat down between Bonnie and Elena.

"As if you don't agree with me!"

"Yeah, but we don't have to talk about it all the time."

"Caroline is always 'coincidentally' going out into the hallway to see him every time she hears his door open," Elena said.

"Elena!"

"He's the one who lives across the hall?" Dinah asked, her smile falling.

"Yeah, why?"

"I, uh, met him in the elevator. Definitely hot," she said, shaking her weird feeling off.

"He's been really kind so far," Stefan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why the hell couldn't I compel him?" Damon suddenly exclaimed.

Elena rolled her eyes. "He could just be on vervain."

"He's not on vervain, I would've smelled it," Damon said. "He's something else."

"This is a normal town Damon," Dinah said.

"Yeah, because normal towns have crows attack an English class," Caroline countered.

"That's the weirdest thing that's happened here," Dinah insisted. "When I tell you Selena complains about how boring this town is, it's not even funny. Half of our phone calls used to be her complaining about how bored she was. That was her main selling point when I was moving here."

"Did you know that there has been an increase in animal attacks and there was even a serial killer in this town over the last nine months?" Jeremy pointed out.

"Something's weird about this town, Spitfire," Damon told her, causing Dinah to roll her eyes at the old nickname.

"Most towns don't have a rise in animal attacks and a serial killer in less than a year," Bonnie said.

"You know what happened in Mystic Falls after our rise in animal attacks?" Elena asked.

"Vampires," Caroline said in a mock-whisper, gesturing to herself, Stefan and Damon.

"And I hate to say it, but your cousin's friend Scott did smell really weird," Stefan said.

Everyone turned and looked at Stefan with a confused expression.

"What? He did."

"Why were you smelling him?" Dinah asked.

"It wasn't on purpose," Stefan said.

"I smelled something weird too, but I don't know what it was," Caroline said.

"Do you really think my aunt wouldn't have warned me if there was supernatural stuff going on in this town?" she questioned her friends.

"She could just not know," Elena suggested.

"A witch knows, Elena," Dinah pointed out. "We tend to get dragged into these things. Exhibit A: Mystic Falls."

"Yeah, she's got a point there, guys," Bonnie agreed.

"Who's side are you on Bonnie Bennett?" Caroline asked.

"The side of the facts."

"Maybe she just didn't want to tell you yet," Jeremy suggested.

"It's been months. She would have fessed up by now."

A beat of silence passed between the group and a thought occurred to Dinah, making her smirk and turn to Caroline.

"Speaking of my aunt. She was not pleased that I'd invited a vampire—" She looked at Stefan. "—into the house. So, Care, you wanna come over and study?"

"Can I come over?" Damon asked.

"Absolutely not. You are not getting invited into my house again. Not making that mistake twice."

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AFTER A NICE EVENING HANGING OUT WITH her friends, Dinah returned home and went right up to her room. As she was coming in, her aunt and uncle informed her that Selena was out with Scott and Stiles at some birthday party so Dinah made a mental note to tell her cousin about the funny stuff that had happened while they were apart the next time she saw her.

Feeling exhausted from a full day out while the curse was still making her feel sick, Dinah decided to treat herself a little. She took a nice bath, the steam from the hot water clearing her nose for a little while and easing the aches she felt. Once she was in some pajamas, she made herself some tea and then got into bed to spend the rest of the night.

Night fell and her aunt and uncle poked their heads into her room to tell her that they were going to sleep. She bid them goodnight and then turned back to the book that she was reading. Eventually, close to eleven thirty, she started feeling sleepy and decided to put her book aside and call it for the night.

She didn't sleep all the best anymore, her perpetually sick state making getting a good, full night's rest nearly impossible. So it was of little surprise to her when she started drifting towards consciousness after having fallen asleep. What was a surprise, though, was her phone buzzing from the nightstand.

Pulling herself up a little in bed, she looked over at her window to see that it was still dark outside. Who the hell was calling her in the middle of the night?

Hoping that it might be Stefan to tell her he was outside — they'd had a habit for most of the time they'd been friends of sneaking out or into each other's homes to spend time together — she grabbed her phone and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. When she looked down at the screen, she was disappointed to see that it was not, in fact, Stefan. Instead, it was Stiles. Now she was even more confused.

"What do you want, Stiles?"

"I'm so glad you answered my call."

"What do you want from me at..." Dinah trailed off, finally looking at her alarm clock, "at one in the morning?"

"Who says I want anything," he replied.

"I do."

"You really are a Barnes, Dinah."

"I'm so glad that you remember my last name."

Stiles sighed. There was a pause and Dinah could hear a female voice in the distance. It was hard to hear due to the low tone and also because it was over the phone, but she distinctly caught the word werewolf.

"Was that Selena?"

"She's asleep in the back seat," Stiles explained in a hushed voice. "I'll be at your house in about five minutes. Could you meet me at the door so I can carry her inside?"

"Can you even carry her?"

"I can," Stiles replied. "I may look skinny, but I'm stronger than I look."

"Uh-huh," Dinah said, disbelieving. "So I'll meet you at the front door in five."

"Yes ma'am," Stiles replied. "See you in five."

With a sigh that turned into a groan, she put her phone down and pushed herself up in bed. She went over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of fuzzy socks, pulling them onto her feet before she grabbed the hoodie that was laying in a crumpled pile in front of it and pulled it on over her head before she finally headed for the door.

Dinah waited there for a few minutes before she heard the sound of a car pulling into the end of the driveway. She opened the door and saw the now-familiar blue jeep parked haphazardly over the sidewalk and Stiles in the driver's seat. He got out and went around to the back, opening the door and leaning inside. A moment later, he stepped back and she saw a fast asleep Selena in his arms, her head nestled against his chest.

"Let's go, Stilinski," Dinah called out in a hushed voice. "If my aunt and uncle catch you here at this hour, I don't think you'll be welcome anymore."

Stiles let out a laugh as he finished walking up to the front door.

"Can you open the door?"

"Nah," Dinah replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm impressed that you can carry her."

"So is everyone else."

Dinah opened the front door, holding it open for him. "Get inside and stay quiet, we don't want to wake up my aunt and uncle." Once he was inside, she pulled the door shut before leading the way up the stairs. "And follow me."

The two — along with Selena who was still fast asleep — finished walking up the stairs before walking into Selena's room. Stiles waited as Dinah pulled back the sheets from Selena's bed, and once the bed was ready, he placed his girlfriend down. Before she could adjust herself and accidentally dirty the sheets, Stiles took Selena's shoes off and put them in the bottom of her closet. Dinah watched with a smile on her face as he walked over to her bed, pulled the blankets over her and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Night, Selena."

"Night," she mumbled, unconsciously turning to face her window.

With a smile on his face, Stiles left the room, following Dinah back down to the front door.

"Thanks, Dinah."

"Get home safe, Stiles."

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THE NEXT MORNING, DINAH WAS UP EARLY AS USUAL. She dressed and was nearly ready when she was surprised by a knock on her bedroom door and her cousin's voice calling from the other side.

"Hey Di, you almost ready?"

"Be out in a minute!" Dinah called back to her.

Quickly shuffling through her nightstand, Dinah finally found the small pack of tissues that she'd been looking for and dropping it in her bag, she finally opened the door to find Selena all dressed on the other side.

"Morning."

"Morning," Selena greeted, smiling despite the early hour. "Do you mind if we go in earlier today?"

"Of course not," Dinah replied. "Why do you need to go in early?"

"Harris asked for me to start tutoring Stiles in the mornings because he's a pain in the ass," Selena explained. "He wants to make everyone miserable."

Dinah shrugged, that sounded about right with everything she knew about Harris. "Okay."

They walked downstairs together, only stopping to grab something to eat from the kitchen. Once they had finished their breakfasts, the two of them made their way out to Selena's car, putting their bags in the backseat before climbing into the front seats. Selena adjusted her mirrors and after making sure they were in the right spots and that Dinah was buckled in, Selena switched the gears of the car and began their drive to school.

"So, how was the party last night?" Dinah asked.

Selena let out a small laugh. "It was fun... the end of it's a little blurry, but I made it home safe, so that's all that matters."

Dinah couldn't help the smile that crept up on her face at the memory of Stiles bringing Selena in last night. Not only had watching Stiles somehow manage to carry Selena with what seemed like no effort despite how lanky he was been amusing, but it had been nice to see just how much Stiles cared about Selena with how he'd taken care of her. She didn't get to see that side of their relationship all that often despite how much time they'd all spent together as a group over the summer.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Selena asked.

"Do you remember getting home?"

"Not really. I remember calling Stiles Captain Buzzkill and getting in Roscoe, but that's about it." Dinah laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Stiles carried you home after you fell asleep in his car," Dinah explained. "It was really funny watching him carry you."

Selena's cheeks instantly started turning red and that only made Dinah laugh a little bit more. But she was also really thankful that her cousin had managed to find such a great guy.

"He's stronger than he looks." Selena smiled, keeping her gaze on the road in front of her.

Before either of them could say anything more, Dinah's phone buzzed in her hand and she dug it out to see a text from Stefan that made her roll her eyes.

stef

did you actually remember all your books today?

dinah
hey, there is no fault in prioritizing enjoyable books
sure are missing the salvatore library tho

stef
y

ou aren't the only one

"Are you texting Stefan?" Selena asked, a teasing smile on her face.

"Maybe," Dinah replied, smiling despite the blush now creeping onto her cheeks.

"He's single, right?"

Dinah shot Selena a confused look. "Yeah, why?"

"Well if he wasn't, I'd have to tell his girlfriend that he's so obviously into you."

Dinah scoffed even as more colour rose in her cheeks.

"You're crazy."

"No, I'm not," Selena corrected. "I'm observant. He didn't take his eyes off of you during dinner."

Selena smiled as she turned the car into the parking lot and started heading for a parking spot. She was referring, of course, to dinner the other night when Stefan had checked in on her. Selena drove to the front of the lot and found an open spot to pull into.

"You can't tell me that I'm wrong," Selena continued.

Dinah simply rolled her eyes as she reached into the backseat to grab her backpack. She ignored her cousin's statement as Selena grabbed her own bag.

"You know I'm right, don't deny it."

"I can and I will. He's not into me."

"And I'm single."

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WHILE SELENA HURRIED OFF TO DO HER TUTORING, Dinah went to her locker. She put her bag inside and switched out the books that she'd need for the morning. Just as she had taken out her books, Stefan appeared suddenly, leaning against the locker next to hers, already with all of his things.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

"You're here early," he noted. "That's not like you."

"Oh haha," she said, rolling her eyes. "Selena said something about needing to tutor Stiles. It was either come early or walk, so..."

"So early it was."

"Exactly."

"You could have asked me for a ride, you know."

"Like my aunt would let me leave the house with you," Dinah pointed out.

"I liked your Uncle Steven," he said. "He seemed..."

"Not crazy?" Dinah suggested.

"More mellow," Stefan said. "And your aunt isn't crazy."

"She wanted to kill you because you're a vampire, Stef," she reminded him. "She thought my mom was crazy for letting me be friends with vampires."

"Do you blame her for not liking vampires? We've kinda got a reputation."

"It was still a bit extreme."

"Your cousin also doesn't know about all of this stuff. Your aunt just wants to keep it that way."

"She's not the only one," Dinah agreed with a sigh as she shut her locker. "I swear, if Damon tells her anything, I'm gonna—"

"He won't."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Well, no, I never am with Damon. But he's too preoccupied with our landlord to cause trouble with Selena."

"You know I hate to give Damon credit for anything, but I am a little... not suspicious of him, but I swear I've seen him somewhere before and he knew my name."

"He knew your name?"

"Yeah, he told me to have a good night when I came to visit you guys. Then he just disappeared into his loft. And I just got this... feeling off of him in the elevator."

"Feeling?" Stefan asked, looking around. "A witchy feeling?"

"I think so."

"Strange."

"Don't tell him I'm giving him credit for his suspicions."

"I promise."

They started heading towards the classroom, walking at a leisurely pace. They hadn't gotten very far when Caroline came into view ahead of them, looking confused and slightly concerned about something.

"What's up, Care?" Dinah asked.

"Our landlord is here."

"What?"

"Yeah, he's in an empty classroom with Selena and her friends."

"What?"

"Excuse me?" Dinah questioned. "What is he— what are they talking about?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping on them!"

"That doesn't mean you didn't hear them, Caroline."

"What did they say?"

"They were talking about how one girl's mom died."

"Allison's, yeah," Dinah said.

"And then our landlord said something about an honour code killing her and someone looking for Scott," Caroline explained.

Dinah's brow furrowed, looking between her two friends in confusion. None of this was making any sense.

"How does Selena know our landlord?" Caroline asked.

"I... I have no idea," she said. "I really don't."

"Are they still there?" Stefan asked. Caroline nodded. "Go and see if you can find anything else out."

Caroline nodded again and started heading back down the hallway from the way she'd come. Dinah gave Stefan a confused look and he put an arm around her back to urge her to keep walking towards their classroom.

"This doesn't make any sense," she said.

"No, it doesn't."

"Shouldn't we do something about it?"

"All we have to do right now is go to class. We can question your cousin after school."

Groaning at the suggestion of being responsible, Dinah nevertheless allowed Stefan to continue leading her towards their first-period classroom.

When they got to the classroom. she saw that Selena, Scott and Stiles were already in the classroom and had found seats. There was an empty seat next to Selena so Dinah headed towards that one with Stefan sliding into the seat behind Dinah.

"How was tutoring Stiles this morning?" Dinah asked Selena.

Stiles turned towards them, looking a little bit confused. Before Selena could answer, Coach Finstock slammed a book on his desk at the front of the room and their attention was drawn there.

"The stock market is based on two principles," Coach began, walking around to stand in front of his desk. "What are they?"

Scott raised his hand.

"Yes, McCall, you can go to the bathroom," Coach said dismissively, causing Scott to drop his hand to the desk. "Anybody else?"

"Uh, no, Coach— I know the answer," Scott replied with a shrug.

The entire class listened as Coach laughed at Scott's statement, obviously not believing that the boy knew the answer. When he saw the look on Scott's face, he realized that he might be wrong.

"Oh, you're serious."

"Yes," Scott said, letting a small smile onto his face. "Risk and reward."

"Wow! Who are you? And what have you done with McCall?" Coach exclaimed, walking up to Scott's desk. He stopped, beaming with pride as Scott smiled back at him. "Don't answer that! I like you better! I like you better!"

Coach then stepped away from Scott's desk, backed up and began to talk once more. "Does anybody have a quarter? A quarter."

Stiles leaned back as he rummaged through his pockets. Selena smiled, running her fingers up the back of his head and into the longer parts of his hair as if she was trying to distract him. Stiles let out a laugh, pulling something out of his pocket.

"Yep!"

Just as he said that, the item flew out of his hand, revealing that it was not a quarter.

Dinah's amused expression at watching Selena seemingly try to distract Stiles in front of their teacher dropped from her face, turning almost immediately into a glare.

Why did Stiles have a condom?

Coach looked down at the condom and shrugged before picking it up.

"Stilinski, I think you, uh..." Coach held out the condom to Stiles, eyes darting back to Selena as well, both of their faces bright red. "You dropped this."

Dinah knew that it was unfair to use her powers on people that didn't have healing abilities, but the urge to give Stiles an aneurysm at that moment was more than strong.

"And congratulations." The whole class laughed.

Stefan placed a hand on her shoulder. "You need to calm down. You've got the aneurysm look on your face."

"Do you want an aneurysm?"

"Dinah..."

"Stefan..."

"He's human, you know you can't."

"Yes, I know. I don't have to use my powers to kill him."

"You can't kill him, Dinah."

"Watch me."

"Risk and reward!" Coach moved to stand in front of his desk. "Put the quarter in the mug, win the reward!" He picked up his mug and placed it on the floor. "Okay, watch Coach."

He blew on the quarter before bouncing it off the floor, the entire class watching in anticipation as it landed in the mug. The class applauded, thankfully drawing the attention away from the embarrassment that occurred not even two minutes before.

"That's how you do it!" He then tossed the quarter to another student. "Okay, Danny... Risk, Reward?"

Danny glanced at the quarter. "What's the reward?"

"You don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow," Coach replied, glancing around the class.

"Coach, it's not a pop quiz if you tell us about it..."

Finstock's expression dropped. "Danny, you know, I really expect more from you at this point. Really."

He took the quarter from Danny and handed it to his next victim, Scott.

"McCall! Risk. Reward." He looked at Scott, watching as he examined the quarter. "The risk: if you don't put that quarter in the mug, you have to take the pop— the, the quiz. And-and you have to write an essay! Risk— more work. Reward— no work at all. Or, choose not to play."

"But isn't this just chance?" Scott asked, drawing her attention away from Stefan.

"No! You know your abilities, your coordination, your focus, past experience," Coach explained, momentarily pausing for dramatic effect. "All factors affecting the outcome."

"So, what's it gonna be, McCall? More work, no work, or choose not to play?" Coach asked.

Scott put the coin down on his textbook.

"No play." Coach looked around the classroom at the other students. "Okay, who's next? Who wants the quarter?"

Stiles drummed his hands on his desk enthusiastically, a cheeky smile on his face as he stood up despite the daggers that Dinah was still glaring through his skull.

"There ya go!" Stiles made his way to the front of the classroom. "There's a gamblin' man! Come on! Step up, step up!"

As Stiles readied himself to take the shot, eyes were drawn away from him as the classroom door opened. Sheriff Stilinski stood at the door with a deputy by his side, a remorseful look on his face.

"Stiles," he said.

The boy didn't tear his gaze from the mug on the floor, too focused on getting a chance to not have to do work the next day.

"Yeah, Coach, I got it—"

"Stiles."

He finally looked up, catching sight of his father and lowering the quarter. The Sheriff turned to look towards Selena and Scott.

"Selena, Scott," Noah sighed, "come on, we've got to talk. Bring your things."

The two started hurriedly packing up their things into their bags and kept their heads down as they followed after the Sheriff into the hallway. Dinah turned to look at Stefan with a confused expression, but he only shrugged.

What the hell was going on?

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AFTER SCHOOL WAS FINALLY OUT, DINAH INVITED Caroline to come over and study. They gathered their stuff and walked up to the front door, Dinah going in ahead of her friend. She cast a cursory look around the house before she turned back to Caroline, who was stuck waiting on the outside of the doorway.

"Well, Care, would you like to come into my home?" she asked.

"I would be honoured," Caroline agreed with a smile.

The blonde came into the home and Dinah began with the brief tour, showing her where everything was. She came to an abrupt stop, however, when she came into the kitchen and found her Uncle Steven standing there with a mug of coffee and watching her with an amused expression.

"Hey, Uncle Steven..." Dinah said. "How, uh, how long have you been home?"

"Long enough to hear you inviting your friend into the house," he said, glancing at Caroline.

"Well, that's not weird, you know, it's just manners—"

"Dinah, honey, do you think I was born yesterday?"

"Of course, I don't, Uncle Steven, that wouldn't make any sense seeing as I, your niece, am seventeen years old."

Steven gave her a look for that one. "Even if I wasn't smart enough to realize that your friend was a vampire, do you really think I wouldn't have seen you inviting one into my home?"

"I—" Dinah stopped, not having an argument for that one. Her uncle's magic manifested most often in prophetic dreams. He was a hard man to surprise. "You got me there. But Care won't hurt anybody and we're just going to study."

"I know. I believe you."

"Right... see you at dinner, then."

Dinah turned and grabbed Caroline's arm, tugging her upstairs with her until they were in her room and the door was closed behind them.

For the next couple of hours, the two girls actually did manage to get a decent amount of studying done. When she heard her aunt come home, she didn't go down and introduce her to Caroline, instead wanting to give her aunt a little bit of peace when she got home. Ambushing her with another vampire as soon as she got home probably wouldn't help her mood over dinner again.

Unfortunately, dinner came faster than expected and Dinah and Caroline made their way back downstairs. Lucy was in the kitchen with Steven when they came in.

"Aunt Lucy, this is my friend Caroline. Uncle Steven said she could stay for dinner."

"Hi, Miss Barnes," Caroline said.

"Oh, nice to meet you, dear," Lucy said. "I hope that this friend isn't like your other one."

"Well..."

"Dinah."

"Yes, Aunt Lucy?"

"Another vampire?"

"Yes, Aunt Lucy."

She turned to look at Steven. "You allowed this?"

"Honey," Steven said, wrapping an arm around his wife. "It's fine. Do you really think Dinah would put us in danger? That her judgement is that bad?"

"Yeah, I have great judgement when it comes to people. A witch's feeling and all that." Dinah paused, surveying her aunt's expression. "Besides, it's not like I'd have any right to be a little upset or anything because there definitely isn't anything about this town that you haven't told me about. Warned me about after everything that happened in Mystic Falls."

Though Dinah watched her aunt's expression carefully, it barely flickered. But there was one thing that could very easily have not been an answer. Lucy's eye twitched, the only falter in her expression. But it was enough, given everything else. There was something that they weren't telling her.

"So, what are we having for dinner?"

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an. and another chapter down! How are we feeling, folks?