L/N Residence: 

The next morning after Tanner's discovered animal attack, Y/N has been left in a sourer mood than normal. With no coach, that means no football, and with all of the rapid animal attacks, Mystic Falls High finding a new one could prove very difficult, especially if they're now killing people in the middle of town. However, that doesn't stop him from consuming his breakfast in massive and quick bites. It could warrant enough worry that he could throw up anytime soon. 

"You're up early." Y/N hears his father comment as he walks downstairs to see him at the kitchen. He also notices all of the stuff he's added to his plate, but decides to speak nothing of it. "Couldn't sleep?" He guesses the obvious. 

"That's one way of putting it." Y/N mutters as he continues eating, applying some hot sauce to he eggs on his plate. "Not only is my reason for genuinely liking school gone, but Tyler had to go and press my buttons again....." He complains to him, sighing as he shakes his head. "And then there's the animal, which I keep fucking hearing about..."

"Well, hear no more." The then tells him as he drops a newspaper onto the kitchen island. Y/N squints as he takes it and the biggest headline a look over. 'Deadly Beast Captured, all is well in Mystic Falls.' "Looks like town will finally get back to normal." 

"Yeah, assuming that its reputation hasn't already been tarped." Y/N grumbles as he sets the newspaper down, before chuckling to himself. "Listen to me, caring about the town's rep, I think I've turned into you." He remarks with a smirk, causing his father to blink.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know." Y/N replies with a knowing look, to which the pair share a brief chuckle. "Anyway, I should probably get going, some of the guys want to talk about the Lockwood's Founders Party at the grill." He shares with him. Seems the Lockwoods decided to host their party on a weekend, so before then, the day will include mostly chilling and shopping for clothes. grabbing some shoes and (type of jacket) jacket before heading out. "I'll see you when I see you." 

His dad nods, before remembering something. "Hey, wait!" He calls over to him, causing Y/N to stop and turn around. "If you don't mind, can you help me make sure I got everything? The Lockwood family wants very piece of ancient Mystic Falls me and your mother has."

"Ah, right, I forget you guys were also founders." Y/N recalls with a small point, clicking his tongue. "Sure, why not? The Timberwolves are pretty much going to be there all day, anyway." He accepts with a shrug, to which his father smiles gratefully as he goes to find his keys. 

"Great, follow me." 

As his dad then brings him into the attic, the duo work together to grab all boxes that hold Mystic Fall antiques inside and bring them over to the first floor, where they plan to bring them over to Mr. L/N's van. It doesn't take as much time as expected, thanks to a lot of them being labeled as important. 

While grabbing the last one, Y/N finds this box in particular to be a little heavy. "Dang, what's in this one? A cannon ball?" He quips to himself before deciding to use his legs to get this one up....

*Thud*

The sudden tap on the circle-shaped window causes Y/N to glance towards it with a brow, where it then continues has a silhouette of a bird continues pressing its beak on the glass. "Goodness gracious..." He mutters as he steps over to open the window and shoo it away. "Hey! Get on! Get!" He order as he uses his hand to scare it away, only for it to just lay itself on the chimney stack instead. "Weird ass bird...." He shrugs as he then closes the window, leaving the bird to do stupid things. 

The crow caws back to its owner, planning to report his findings....

_____________________________________________

Mystic Grill:

Later that day, Y/N went to the hang out at the Grill as planned. More specifically, a few of the singles on the team decided to meet up and discuss how they'll try their best to not look so much, as it was jokingly said. Really, it's just a random excuse for some to eat, and for others to possibly pregame a bit before the time comes. 

"It's stupid, why do I always get pulled back from something fun because my mom 'needs more hands' but when the founders party comes along, I have to go 'for the sake of family' or however the heck she put it?" One of the guys rants for two minutes as him, Matt, Y/N, and some other dude sit on a table.  

"It's the Lockwoods...." The other player responds with a small shrug. "What do you expect?"

"Man screw the Lockwoods, there's no darn way that Tyler's old man actually won that office legitly."

"Are you guys seriously forgetting about how our season is completely ruined now?" Y/N questions the two while he munches on a sandwich he ordered, his eyes appearing at least a little impressed by how nonchalant they seem about it. "Or is it that just me?"

"Well, yeah, obviously, that sucks balls." The other player assures him that they share his sentiment with a look. "But hey, the animal is gone right? Coaches have to come back now that the..... the...."

"Mountain Lion." 

"Mountain Lion is dead, right?"

"Actually, I heard we pretty much forfeited the season." The student that was ranting regrettably informs them with a bumped out look. "The beast's gone, but who wants to join the town that allowed an animal to be the next Jeffery Dahmer in a single week?"

"That sucks."

"Yeah, it does." Y/N agreeingly mutters as he glances down with a bitter expression. The four of them all sit in silence for a moment before Mat finally continues the conversation.

"I think I'm just gonna hang back." Matt tells the others with a small shrug, idly sipping his coke that resides in a glass cup as he does his best to steer the topic back to the original one. "My mom's still out of town, despite everything that happened to Vicki, so I know I need to keep looking for a part-time job." 

"Was that translation for, 'I didn't get invited'?" Y/N asks in a teasing manner while he continues his plan to eat up everything on his plate.  Matt turns to give him an unamused look as he waits for him to answer. 

"No, it means that I need to make sure me and my sister don't lose the house." Matt sarcastically replies to which Y/N gives him a look. "Okay, yes, and I didn't get invited...." 

"Kidding..." Y/N assures him with a small chuckle. "Seriously man, I know what it's like to be the only person in the house." He mentions to him with a semi-serious look. "I don't really wanna go, either, but....."

"But Caroline will be there?" The player that was ranting earlier brings up with a teasing brow. "Dude, he's whipped." He tells other guy with a tap on the shoulder, prompting them both to chuckle as Y/N rolls his eyes. 

"Okay, am I just gonna be defined by the party at the falls for the rest of my darn life?" Y/N acidly questions as he looks at them as if he's staring at a munch of eight-year-old boys. "I'm going because my parents are part of the founder's club.... and I know I will be aloud to drink their champagne, and no one will stop me." He tells them both with a prideful smirk. 

"Seriously?" The player questions with a surprised look, causing to him as he looks down, consideringly. "Hmm..... maybe I should go...." 

"It'll be worth it." Y/N tells him with a grin as he takes another big bite of his sandwich. The conversation hits an abrupt pause, however, when someone approaches their table with a small march. 

"Look it is!" A man slightly older than the rest of them suddenly exclaims as he approaches the table, getting everyone's attention. "Y/N L/N, I've been looking for you everywhere." He tells the targeted teen as he stands himself awfully close to where he's sitting. 

"Jeff?" Y/N eventually recognizes, raising a confused brow at his presence. "What are you doing here?" He asks him the obvious question, remember that things didn't end too well when he suddenly dipped from school. 

"It's a public restaurant, Y/N." Jeff mentions as he glances around in a small gesture. "Literally anyone can be in here."

"Right...." Y/N slowly nods, sharing a weird look with the others. "Well, this table isn't so public, especially when it comes to drop-outs." He then remarks with a fixed smile. The guy always gave him a bad vibe, and in the case of today, that hasn't changed. "So, if you don't mind-"

"I actually do mine, smart guy." Jeff cuts him off with a no-longer friendly expression, putting his hands on the table. "Your arrogant ass of a father trashed my old man's truck, and I suspect he convinced the judge personally to get him out of paying the damages he deserved." He tells him with a menacing stare. 

Y/N sighs as he realizes that he's been forced into hot water. "That wasn't me, Jeff, what am I supposed to do?" He asks him with a blank expression on his face. Matt at the other guys start feeling more uncomfortable as the conversation plays out. "I'm sorry for what happened, really, but I can't fix it, okay?" 

"Of course you can, with your money." Jeff responds, giving him a look that showing he's being serious. "Someone in your family's is gonna pay for the truck, whether they like it or not." He tells him with a hard glare. "So, you can give me twenty-five grand, or I can drag you outside and beat it out of you." 

"You really think you can play around with me like that?" Y/N questions him with a now rebellious look, ready to fight back if this guy thinks he can really drag a football player around like a ragdoll. 

"I can do anything, smug boy." Jeff claims with a small hint of cockiness, too focused on him to notice Matt standing up and circling around the table. "I'm not scared of a spoiled rich boy who's only skill in life is to beg to daddy." 

"You're not doing anything." Matt chimes in with a glare of his own as he takes a step towards him. "Now leave him alone." He demands, only for a couple guys from another table to suddenly stand up and side with the man, threatening to rough up Matt if he gets too close. 

"Despite what you Timberwolves probably believe, I actually have friends of my own." Jeff remarks as he points his thumb back at them, before turning back to Y/N. "And if I don't get some kind of compensation soon, I will fuck, you, up." He says as he leans closer it, before suddenly pulling out a knife. "You got that, L/N?"

"Hey!" Matt grabs Jeff and tries pulling him away, prompting the dude to take a swipe at him with his blade. Thankfully, it misses, but that doesn't stop him from suddenly getting a glass cup to the forehead, curtesy of Y/N.

"OW! YOU SON OF A-"

"Hey, that's enough!" The Grill's manager steps in, marching towards the group that's getting close to actually brawling. "All of you, out of here or I'm getting the police!" He then demands with a point, causing Y/N and Jeff to only be able to share a hate-ridden glare as the criminals begrudgedly leave.

"You're dead, L/N." Jeff threatens the guy, pointing at him before they eventually go through the doors. 

"Yeah, whatever..." Y/N mutters with a scoff, glancing at the manager who's still staring at them with his arms crossed, waiting for them to leave. "Let's go, fellas." He reluctantly advises with a mental sigh as they all stand up to leave. 

"That was probably the most entertaining thing I've seen." One of the guys comment with a small laugh. "No doubt better than anything that's gonna happen at the founder's party." 

As the four of them then leave the restaurant, Y/N walks over to Matt when he takes a moment to collect himself. "Hey, you okay?" He asks him with worriment, knowing that he was very close to seeing Jesus a few minutes okay. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you involved." 

"No, no, it's okay." Matt assures him with a nod, letting him know that he'd do it again. "When they threaten one of us, they threaten all of us, right?" He quips with a small smile, tapping his friend on the arm. 

"Yeah..." Y/N agreeingly replies with a thankful smirk, watching Matt leave as he goes to do whatever he plans for the weekend. It is a good thing that Jeff missed, he wouldn't want to have Matt's shirt ruined because of him. 

Oh man, that reminds him, he needs a get a suit for the party....

_____________________________

On The Road in Mystic Falls: 

After buying himself a slightly expensive suit to show off, or at least make himself feel like he'll fit in at the Lockwood's mansion, his eye found himself drawn to a random ice cream truck that had planted itself on the side of the road while he was maintain his cardio by walking himself back to the house. Not exactly because it was hot, but because he had grown a sweet tooth at the sight of it, not sure why, to be honest. 

After getting a (favorite flavor), he finds a random bench to sit on while he idly tastes his frozen treat, knowing that he currently has all the time in the world for today, since the founder's party will be tommorow. His mind eventually trails back to the encounter with Jeff at the bar, wondering if the guy will actually live up to his promise on getting his family's money, no matter what low blow he'll have to deal to take it. Sounds like something he needs to have a private chat with his father about, if he wants to know which side he should be taking. 

While continuing his thing, he notices Bonnie Bennet, Elena and Caroline's friend, walking past him. "Hey Bonnie." Hey casually greets her as she goes on her merry way. He seems to have broken her out of a big train of thought as she was walking, though Y/N thinks nothing of it. 

"Hey, Y/N." Bonnie greets back as she continues walking, only for Y/N to pause as he remembers something from Friday. 

"Hey, how's Caroline doing?" Y/N suddenly asks her, loudly enough for her to hear him. This question from nowhere causes Bonnie to stop as he turns to her, curious about where it came from. 

"She's good, still dating that Damon guy as usual." Bonnie answers with a somewhat fixed expression. Ah, that's right, Damon Salvatore. He probably tried hiding it, but he eventually flew over Y/N's radar after Tyler mentioned him and when he dropped Caroline off that one time. He eventually recognized him as the guy he talked to earlier when he visited the Salvatore's mansion in an attempt to talk to Stefan ."Why?" She then asks him, seemingly wondering about his interest in her specifically. 

"Just curious is all." Y/N simply answers with what appears to be a innocent shrug at first glance. "I'm sure the guys have spilled about that one time she..... rejected me, you know?" He then mentions as a small explanation. 

"Oh, right." Bonnie replies with a 'duh' hand gesture, letting out a chuckle at herself. "Yeah, of course you would be worried." She admits, knowing that they've been trying to sort of remain as friends ever since. Y/N squints as she notices how into space she seems to be. 

"She's been acting strange to you too, isn't she?" Y/N correctly guesses, giving Bonnie a knowing look when she blinks at him. "Welp, glad I'm not the only one." He remarks as he stands himself back on his two feet while continuing to lick his ice cream. "I thought I was just getting suspicious for no reason again." 

"Well..." Bonnie draws out, only to sigh as she admits it as well. "What happened with you?"

"Nothing much, I just asked her about her scarf this one time, and how she suddenly had one on wherever she went." Y/N explains with a small shrug. "Then she told me something about how she only 'knew' that she couldn't take it off, like she was being brainwashed or something...." He then shares with her, making a odd face. "That sounds weird to you too, right?"  

"Well, if you remember it that way...." Bonnie quips as he glances down, seemingly thinking it over. "Well, to me, it's just that Damon.... Elena told me about this one time that he tried kissing her despite still dating Caroline." She then tells him, to which Y/N reacts properly. He really tried doing that? If that doesn't scream player, what does? "He's pretty much just... just..."

"Older, sexy, danger guy?" Y/N finishes with a knowing smirk, causing Bonnie to smile.

"Yes, that." She confirms before sighing as her expression drops to worriment again. "And she just takes it, despite how many times we try raising the red flag, she always choses him over us." She finishes as he crosses her arms. 

"Well, as a guy, I would usually say that's just a con of your friend having a date." Y/N quips as he moves his lip a little. "But in this case..... I probably wouldn't like it either." He admits with a tilt of his head. Scarfs since dating and her boyfriend trying to kiss other girls? It doesn't sound like a happy ending down the line for Caroline. 

"Yeah...." Bonnie nods as she mentally sighs, still looking down as she the thoughts of concern for her friend start rattling her brain. "Well, I should keep heading to the Grill, Caroline said she had something to speak with me about the founder's party." She then mentions, to which Y/N understandably nods. 

"Welp, don't let me keep you." Y/N says with a smile. "And call me if danger guy gets more danger-y." He advises with a humorous smirk as Bonnie snorts. 

"I'll keep that in mind, sir." Bonnie playfully quips before going back to her destination. "Bye."

"Yup." Y/N replies as he now proceeds to leave her be. He then realizes that he's finished his desert, prompting him to then start munching up the cone. Once finished with that, he then grabs his recently bought suit and continues on his way home. 

Hopefully he doesn't run into another snack break.

________________________________________________

L/N Residence: 

Y/N hasn't mentioned it yet, but each walk/run takes a while, thanks to the house they have that's practically a mini mansion having placed itself in the woods where other expensive housing resides. However, that doesn't bother Y/N in the slightest, he welcomes the cardio any chance he gets, even if the season got shot and buried. 

He opens the door and finds the place empty, only to hear the garage door loudly opening from a lot way away. That clues him in as he steps back out and makes his way over there, finding his dad hoisting the boxes filled with antique stuff and loading them into the back of his van. "You need help?" Y/N asks him, getting his attention. 

"Oh, uh.... sure, if you want to." His father accepts with a mental nod. If his son wants to help, who is he to stop him? Y/N then starts taking some boxes as well, silently moving them over to strategically place them in the truck that allows much more room. "Something on your mind?" He then asks him, causing Y/N to raise a brow at him. "You usually keep a respected distance from me, in spite of our.... talks." 

"Right..." Y/N recalls with a small nod. "Well, I gave it some thought, and I think I'm gonna go to the founder's party." He then tells his father, who gives him a mildly surprised look. "I need a moment to escape from real life."

"I thought your friends would be your escape?" His father brings up with a curious look, wondering what happened that changed his mind. If only he knew.... 

"Well, unlike whatever hang out location I could come up with, there's free drinks and food." Y/N mentions with a small shrug, as if that's what won him over. "And I heard about the champagne." 

"You are not drinking the champagne."

 "Why not? I'm eighteen."

"Still not old enough, and you know that would mean I'd have to drive you home." His father tells him. "And I know you wouldn't like that." He then knowingly remarks with a smirk, causing Y/N to chuckle only a little bit.

"Lame...."

"I know." His father quips with the smirk still on his face. The two keep the process going, before Y/N mentally decides that it's time for him to actually discuss the main thing on his mind right now. 

"Hey, do you know a guy named Jeff Warren?" Y/N then abruptly asks his father, causing him to turn to him with a perplexed look. "He said that you and his father got into a car crash.... and that it was your fault." He hesitantly then adds, giving him a blank look. "Can you please be honest and tell me if it was?" 

His father takes a minute to recall what he's talking about, before letting out a sigh, confirming the moment at the very least to not be made up. "Well, it depends on the perspective I guess..." He says with a mixed feeling in his gut. "The guy you're talking about tried making a turn as if he didn't know I was there.....  I got a good lawyer, he didn't." He easily explains in two sentences. "That's.... pretty much it." 

"You make it sound like you were in the clear even thought you just told me that it depends on the perspective." 

"That's because I truly believe he didn't see me when he made that turn." His dad admits, showing a bit of why he feels conflicted with the way it all went down. "Also, it was right after I got the call about your coach's death at the stadium, so..... maybe I was driving so perfect myself." 

"And the guy who's job depended on his truck had to pay for the damages." Y/N correctly concludes with a mind that puts the last bits and pieces together. "That's why they're so pissed?" 

"Something like that..." His father mutters as he glances down, rolling his lip. "Why are you asking me about this?" He then queries him, curiously, to which Y/N rolls it over a bit before deciding to keep that part to himself.

"Nothing." Y/N tells him with a shake of his head, now walking back to the house. His dad squints as he watches him leave, getting a bad feeling all of a sudden. 

And he has every right to have it.

Once back inside the house, Y/N immediately makes his way inside his room where he grabs his freshly bought suit that was laying on the bed, now taking it over and hanging it in his closet where it can be easily identifiable. He'll have plenty of time to adjust it and such tomorrow, so he'll just leave it in it's bag for the same reason of it being easily spotted. 

He then pulls out his phone and gives Caroline Forbes's cell a ring while he walks back downstairs. "Come on, you always pick up...." He mutters, only to be disappointed when it goes to voicemail. Y/N sighs before deciding to leave a message.  "Hey Car, um..... nothing important, but I was hoping if you could call back so we could talk later, part of me wants to know about that Damon guy. Call it a..... a man's curiosity, bye." He says before hanging it up, blowing out some air as he personally doesn't like having Caroline actually avoid the phone calls she's getting from her friends. She's a massive extrovert, so she would never be caught leaving a person she knows on voice mail multiple times in a row. 

As he tucks his phone in his pocket, he hears a sudden round of tapping on the kitchen window when he walks inside. He looks over and sees what might be that same crow looming over, watching him from the other side. "Um.... can I help you?" Y/N awkwardly asks him before quickly shaking his head. "Eh, don't talk to birds, Y/N. What have they ever done for you besides poop on your car?" He mutters grabbing a croissant and taking a bite out of it. 

Birds, man.....

________________________

Donovan Residence: Evening

As the sun falls around Mystic Falls, bars not intended, Matt takes his house's trash out, lifting two bags with one hand each. As mentioned, he isn't going to be going to the founder's party due to not being invited, except for his sister of course, who got lucky with Tyler Lockwood, the dick. 

He eventually marches towards the front yard where he dumps them both into the trash bin, which he then wheels over to the side of the road where the garbage truck can pick it up sooner or later. Now, he'll finally get to be one with his bed. 

However, right as he begins to turn around, a car going much faster than the speed limit advises comes up and screeches as it makes its stop. Matt turns towards it, getting a bad feeling as he gets slightly blinded by the headlights and takes a step back. 

Four then hop out of the big car, with three of them quickly charging towards Matt with one swinging a golf club into the guy's face. The guy can only let out a groan as he falls down onto the grass, where they then begin to kick him and bash their mediocre weapons against him harder. 

The feeling of the entire sequence feels like hell with Matt getting a itty-bitty stronger amount of pain with each bruise getting stomped on and crashed with each strike, which makes them open up to allow more sensitivity to sink in. 

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" The big shot then chimes in, and the thugs all finally stop beating poor Matt up. Coughing up a rough storm, the jock slowly turns himself on his back, and sees Jeff Warren standing above him. "Make sure to give Y/N my regards, because what we just did to you? I'm doing to him." He tells his recent victim who's face has been stained with red and purple, along with open cuts.

"Please....." Matt stutters out in a weak voice. "Don't-"

Before he can finish, Jack gives him one final kick to the face.

__________________________________

L/N Residence: The Next Day

Tomorrow comes, and the founders party is planned to last a very long time, like, an entire CW TD show long. So the two men in the mansion are now pretty much preparing themselves physically for the day and night ahead, a little freshening up, that sort of thing. Y/N puts on the suit that he bought, styles his hair make it look at least a little less messy, and sprays himself with cologne for the sake of why not?

"Did you make sure you get everything?" Y/N hears his father ask from across the hall, probably working on himself as well for the sake of keeping the formal attire apparent. He's also asked him for what feels like the dozenth time today. He really wants to make sure those items get to the Lockwood mansion does he? 

"Yes, I promise you, I put them in the van as well." Y/N assures him again with an amused mental sigh. Once he finishes making himself spell good, he then puts all of that bathroom stuff back in the cabinet where he found them. 

"Good, good." Mr. L/N replies with a nod as he steps out into the hallway. "I keep asking because Mrs. Lockwood has called me at least three times for items that were on the list. First it was this, then it was that, makes me wonder why she insisted on taking them all in the first place if she can't keep track." 

"Yeah, well... I'm glad it's all working out for her." Y/N comments, though his father can easily detect the sass coming from miles away. As Y/N marches down the hallway and staircase, he follows him, carrying that parental instinct. 

"Y/N, what's wrong?" His dad asks him, despite Y/N no doubt trying to hide his feelings or whatever he heck's been going on with him lately. "You're making it more obvious by the day, and I don't like it." 

"It's nothing, just teenager-related problems."

"Yeah, see, I would believe it to be that, or you being mad at me again, but unless it's the latter, I'm pretty sure you're hiding something that happened at the Grill yesterday." His father tells him, causing Y/N to sigh as he hesitantly turns around to see the knowing look on his face. "I'm not wasting four months to start throwing you aside again." 

"Look, I appreciate the whole, 'trying to bond' thing, dad, I really do." Y/N tells him as he gestures between the two of them. "But..... I don't think you'd really want to hear what I have to say." 

"Probably not." Dad admits, though his expression still indicates that he feels like he needs to know regardless. Y/N stares back at him until he realizes that he's actually serious about not giving up on it, and lets out a sigh. 

"Jeff..... was the one who harassed me at the Grill." Y/N finally reveals as he does his best to remain at looking him in the eye. "He's mad about his dad's truck, and.... he's threatening to hurt people if I, your son, don't pay for the damages he feels we owe him." 

"Are you being serious?" His father asks him with a squint, to which Y/N nods. "Y/N, geez, I..... why didn't you tell me this?" 

"Because it's my problem, not yours." Y/N responds with a serious expression. "And to be honest, I thought I scared him off at first, when I fought back with a literal glass cup to the face." He then tells him, only to glance down in disappointment at how easy he foolishly assumed it to be.

"Thought?" His dad asks him with a brow, getting a bad feeling with those choice of words. Y/N takes a deep breath as he tells him the next, most angry-filling part of the whole story. Something that just happened last night.

"Matt's in the hospital." He then tells him, causing his father to blink upon hearing it. "I picked up the house phone when it rang, and got the news, and...." He shrugs, knowing that he can fill the blanks in pretty easily there. "I know it's stupid, but-"

"You didn't trust me?" His father guesses, giving Y/N a look. When the boy glances off to the side, not saying a word, it speaks enough volumes for him to understand. Mr. Father sighs as he holds his mouth with one hand, trying to figure out what they are going to do now. "I'm going to call the police, okay?"

"They won't be able to prove that it was him..." Y/N mutters, which causes the man to look at him confused. 

"I thought you just said that he engaged in a brawl with you in a public place." 

"Matt's knocked out cold, he won't be able to identify that it was Jeff." Y/N explains to his father, showing just how high the stakes are. "I mean, I would tell them too, but by the time Matt wakes up and they find a connection to that and then, I'll be turned into roadkill." He then says, his eyes finally showing the emotion he's truly feeling..... fear. 

His father then takes a deep breath before speaking again. "You should stay home."

"I don't want to."

"Y/N-"

"Staying home alone is exactly what Jeff wants me to do." Y/N cuts him off with a very stubborn tone of voice. "I'm all down for telling the cops, but.... I'm going, it'll be easier for me." He says, and his father takes a long while to consider it before deciding to let him have his way this time. 

"I'll be driving you from and to home." He states, making it very clear that it's non-negotiable for Y/N. "No exceptions." He adds before walking outside, Y/N slowly nodding as he then eventually follows. 

"Can I visit Matt before we go?" He asks really quickly, and his dad pauses before turning around giving him a nod.

"Of course."

__________________________________

Lockwood Mansion:

As mentioned, Y/N and his dad drives to the Lockwood mansion, even though Y/N wasn't planning to do another run in these dress shoes he had to wear. After parking, Y/N easily notices not only the bar at the front lawn, but also the massive line that goes down the little walkway to the front door. So, of course, the two join the line before someone comes in and makes it one person longer. It doesn't seem to take a long time, from what his eye can catch from where he's standing, it's pretty much a simple procedure of exchanging a small greeting before you get invited inside. 

While in said line, Y/N spots Jeremy's infamous crush in a yellow dress, which prompts him to tap his dad on the shoulder really quick. "Can you give me a quick second? Need to talk to a friend." He requests from him, and although his father shows a bit of hesitance, he nods. Y/N gives him a quick thanks before walking around to where the girl is. 

"Hey, Vicki." He greets her as he approaches her, eventually getting the girl's attention. She snaps out of whatever zone she was in and acknowledges his sudden appearance. 

"Hey, Y/N...." Vicki greets back in a somewhat dry tone, which Y/N finds perfectly understandable in her case.  Her brother just got roughed up some random people for what feels like no reason. It makes him kind of glad that she doesn't know, else he would probably feel the stoner's wrath a bit. 

"How's Matt?" He asks the inevitable question part of him tells that Vicki saw coming. She makes a face towards the bright sky before answering. 

"Not as bad as it looks, doctors said that he'll be awake in at least a couple days." Vicki shares with him, to which Y/N nods thankfully, grateful to hear that he didn't receive too much damage. "Assholes just left him there in front yard, and I...." She exhales roughly. "I don't even know why, which isn't helping all that much." 

"Cops will figure it out anyway. Worst case scenario is that they guys were actually smart and brought ski-masks with them." Y/N mentions as a way to hint that the person who did it will eventually get their comeuppance, one way or another. He may have had his reasons, but going after a man's brother just shows that you're no better than the person you believe is an animal. "Best case scenario.... pretty much every tiny detail that I can think of." 

"You left out the part where Matt goes into a coma."

"Okay, I know you're the worried sister and all, but can you pretend to at least be a little optimistic? I'm getting devoured inside enough as it is-"

"Vicki!" Another voice abruptly calls out, and the two turn to see Tyler flanking around the line towards her. "Y/N." He also acknowledges, the two sharing a blank look of still on-going aggression. 

"Tyler."

The boyfriend then softly grabs his girlfriend's hand. "Hey, let's go this way." Tyler advises as he tries guiding Vicki towards the other side of the house. Needless to say, this confuses the girl a tiny bit. 

"Why?"

"Line's too long. We can go around back." Tyler quickly explains, pointing towards the desired path. "Come on, party's in the back." He encourages as he leads her over there, with Vicki showing a somewhat mixed reaction in her eyes. As he watches them leave, Y/N glances at Tyler's parents then back at the couple, putting two and two together.

He's afraid...... afraid of his parents opinions. 

Y/N then joins back up with his father as they progress further and further into the line. They eventually meat the mayor and his wife themselves, and the two exchange a small greeting before they let themselves into the beginning of the party. "Alright, we're inside." Y/N starts as he turns towards his dad. "Now, you don't have to Batman watch over me."

"You gonna be okay?" His father once again asks him. "After hearing what happened to Matt?" He then specifies, knowing the guilt of feeling you failed someone personally. And once again, Y/N nods. 

"Yeah." Y/N confirms as he taps him on the shoulder. "You go talk up the other folk...." He advises, before glancing at two people who have caught his eye the moment he walked in.... Damon Salvatore and Caroline Forbes, together. "I'm gonna go find my friends." He tells him, turning around before his old man can ask any other questions. 

As soon as he gets a fair amount of distance, the blond girl seems to notice him instantly. "Y/N!" She acknowledges, seemingly excited to see him after a couple days. "I had heard your family got invited, but I didn't think you'd show up." 

"Well, I guess there's just a different side of me you don't know yet." Y/N remarks as the two share a friendly smile, before he asks the obvious question that's on his mind. "Anyway, I've been calling and texting you all weekend, and you haven't been replying." 

"Oh, right..." Caroline nervously replies, glancing down as her smile drops to a look of something that looks like sheepishness and confusion. "I was, um.... I was busy." She then drops this excuse, causing Y/N to raise a brow at her.

"Busy?" 

"Yeah, with me." The man next to him chimes in as he wraps an arm around her shoulder with a massive smirk on his face. "Damon." He then introduces himself, almost looking like they haven't met each other before. He then offers a hand to shake, while Y/N continues scanning his expression. 

"Y/N..." Y/N returns the favor, shaking his hand as he seems to notice that he really is acting like they are just meeting for the first time. For something as small as that exchange at the boarding house, it's probably nothing, but this guy..... something gives Y/N a feeling like he does, but is purposefully not showing it. 

Damon then leans into Caroline's ear. "Go get me another drink." He then requests, and after a second or so, she does it without question. Y/N squints while turning back to the guy, who then seemingly drops the act. "Okay, you can drop the polite act."

Y/N blinks. "What?" 

"You're giving me a face." Damon notes, giving him a knowing expression. Y/N guesses that he probably was, but just innocently shrugs, regardless. 

"What face?" 

"The 'I already don't like you and are waiting for you to hurt someone I like so I can have an excuse to confront you' face." Damon explains, showcasing that he isn't an idiot on teenager's emotions. "What is it this time? Is she your female best friend? Your crush?" He thinks a bit before guessing the third one. "Friends with benefits that you want to turn into an actual relationship?" 

"Funny, but actually, she's the girl who rejected me for another guy, and I still slightly care for." Y/N responds, giving Damon a passive aggressive look, to which Damon hums at, interested. "Also known as.... hurt her in any way, and I will drag you across the parking lot." He sarcastically with brazen eyes. 

"Ooh, you're dangerous, kid." Damon jokingly comments, obviously not as intimidated as Y/N tried to be. "But I'll give you points for a decent threat fueled by protectiveness." He adds, and Y/N sassily chuckles with a fixed smile, before the two of them notice Stefan and Elena walking in, arm to arm. "Ah, look at my brother, a week in, and he's already won the heart of another beautiful girl." 

"Another?" Y/N queries as he raises a brow.

"Oh, that's a long story." Damon replies as he literally waves it off. "Long story short, she took a girl I really liked from me, and then made the aftermath of it all much more salt rubbing than needed." He cryptically says, before putting a fixed expression not-so-subtly holding bitterness inside. "Like I said, long story.

"Stefan never mentioned he had a brother." Y/N points out as he redirects the attention back him. "I guess you two don't really get along." He guesses, judging by the way their living situation is. 

"Like all siblings do." Damon quips with a mental shrug. "He wants things one way, I want it another one, and as part of being older, I'm the one who always stands out on top." He summarizes with a somewhat prideful tone. 

"Every time?"

"Every time." Damon confirms with a smirk, before once again moving the conversation to a different topic. "You know, I heard about what happened with your friend and the coach of the football team." He then mentions, her facial expression showing one of what looks like sympathy. "Tough break." 

"I'll find another extracurricular to do." Y/N responds with a fixed face of calmness, not very convinced by the friendly show he's putting on. In fact, every about him has a hard time feeling genuine. His cocky behavior all feels one note, or like it's some kind of mask he permanently has one to disguise his real self. It's one of multiple red flags Y/N's noticed. "World's not over." 

"Fair point." Damon replies with a shrug, before Caroline comes back with the drink in hand. "Ah, thank you, my sweet." He says with a big smile as the two share a small peck on the lips, with Y/N awkwardly watching "See you later in the party?" He hopes as the two walk elsewhere, leaving Y/N to have his finally confirmed opinion about the guy. The bad, the bad, and the very bad.

Only question is, will Damon once again debunk it like his brother did?

_________________________________

Lockwood Mansion: Evening 

A couple hours later, night falls onto the town as the actual party starts to begin. With Y/N talking, eating, and drinking the alcohol when his father isn't looking. On top of that, there's also all of the antique stuff which is now on display for everyone to see. Every single piece of Mystic Falls history is up for review. Thanks to one chaotic time a hundred years ago, Mystic Falls is like the America's small-town celebrity, which explains all of the constant events that go on around here. 

While ambling around, Y/N surprisingly found himself starting at all of the items on display in the, well, display room. Besides the boastful amount of Lockwood stuff, there's also the other additions that have been added for who knows how long. On loan of the Gilberts, on loan of the Salvatores, on loan of this, and on loan of that. Eventually, he finds himself starting at his parents' stuff, one object catching his attention. 

It's this very thin cylinder, with a bunch of what feels like wires or something connected to it from multiple sides. Y/N can't help but feel attracted to it, probably because it looks like a century mad scientist created the first doom bot in history. Guess they really do exist...

"Getting to know your heritage?" A voice chimes in from behind him, and Y/N briefly glances to see Stefan walking up next to him, observing the object as well with his own eyes. "I understand the feeling."

"I guess, except I'm not actually a L/N." Y/N replies with a small shrug and normal expression, as if seemingly used to the fact that he feels like he doesn't fit here. Stefan blinks curiously at this sentence.

"But they took you in?"

"Because I was their last chance, the last heir, stuff like that." Y/N explains as he keeps his eyes on the ancient thing-y in the room, just now noticing the weird markings on it. "And I think my dad's figured out that I know it, and is trying to, well.... you know, bond." 

"Could be worse..." Stefan comments as if he personally knows that to be true, before noticing Elena walking into the display room as well. He then politely excuses himself as he goes back to his date, leaving Y/N to continue his sight, aka item, seeing. 

As he continues looking around, he spots the original guest registry. The one that happened right before the confederates came in and gave them a new kind of sermon. Heh, they actually still have it looking clean. Let's see, Sheriff William Forbes, Major Jacob Lockwood, and..... 

"What the..." Y/N utters as he squints his eyes upon reading the next set of names, which the two people next to him hear. 

"What is it?" He hears Elena asking him as Stefan anxiously follows with an overly blank expression. 

"Stefan Salvatore and Damon Salvatore." Y/N reads out-loud, pointing at the names of the registry. "Is that not weird to you?" He questions with a brow, right as he notices Stefan puts his hands in his pockets, looking rather weird the second he mentions those names. 

"The original Salvatore brothers." Someone else suddenly slides into the conversation, and the three of them turn around to see Damon and Caroline approach them with a charismatic smile. "Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually." 

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past." Stefan quickly interjects, which doesn't go unnoticed by a few people. 

"If history was boring, we wouldn't be talking about Adolf Hitler killing jews a thousand times, wouldn't we?" Y/N sarcastically remarks with a small chuckle, before noticing the tense air between Stefan and Damon as they glance at him at back at each other. "I'mma go, and uh.... get another drink." He advises to himself as he leaves the four to do..... whatever. 

Yup, those brothers do not get along. 

Taking his experience outside, Y/N sneaks a grab of a champagne glass as he idly walks around, observing the dancers in the crowd. Since it's formal, the music's a little calm for Y/N's tastes, and he doesn't have a date with him, even if he wanted to. He's declared that he's not gonna have anymore fling dates starting the end of summer break, mostly for the sake of lowering his ego down a bit. 

While casually sipping, he notices Bonnie sitting alone at a table, slowly nodding to himself as the night's feeling is currently mutual. Right when he's about to turn away, however, he quickly spots the candle on her table suddenly lighting up, without any lighter whatsoever in sight. Y/N blinks in surprise as he finds himself staring longer than expected.

"Nice trick." Y/N quips besides, causing her to mentally jump as she quickly blows out the fire. "Is that part of your, uh...." He sits down, trying to remember the term. "What did Caroline call it? psychic thingy?" 

"My grandpa called it a Witch, and it's um..... it's only gotten weirder." Bonnie replies with a somewhat conflicted expression on her face. "Ever since school started back up, I keep getting weird things happening to me." 

"Hmm, I can feel that." Y/N comments with a slow nod, letting Bonnie know that he's empathetic to her case. "When the comet happened, I had suddenly gotten this thing that made me.... throw up what too much food than I imagined." He mentions, surprised at how weird it was. "Then I keep getting these weird dreams about.... people dying by some monster you find in horror movies." He then shares with her. "People say it's just my response to the rapid animal, but.... I don't know." 

"Is it as bad as seeing numbers that appear right as the scene of an actual person's death?" Bonnie remarks with a slightly haunted look, causing Y/N to raise a brow.

"Probably not...." Y/N admits as he then glances back around the crowd, before seeing Damon and Stefan back at the formal dance floor. He lets out a sigh upon seeing them, which goes easily noticed by Bonnie.

"What is it?"

"Stefan's brother...." Y/N points at the guy he's currently got a problem with, shaking his head. "Ever since he started dating Caroline, the girl's been acting all weird, and when I tried talking to him, it didn't help my feelings one bit." He explains as he rolls his lips around a little bit. Bonnie slowly nods, though glancing down with slightly different feelings. 

"It's not really just him, though." Bonnie comments, to which Y/N gives her an inquisitive look that silently asks what she means by that. "This girl they both dated, she chose Damon, and it drove Stefan mad. So.... he did horrible things to try and break them up." She tells him, which definitely catches Y/N's attention. "He manipulated her, he filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked.... and she turned against Damon." 

"Really?" Y/N utters, squinting his eyes at her. "And who told you this?" He then questions her, to which Bonnie shifts in her seat as she answers.

"Caroline did, and... I guess-"

"And who told Caroline?" Y/N abruptly questions, giving her a look. Bonnie then nervously glances off to the side, which helps prove his point. "Exactly." He comments with a nod. "Look, Stefan literally saved my skin at one point. Even if I didn't like him back then either, I've learned that unless you've seen someone's actions, you shouldn't take a side." 

"But-"

"We don't know what happened back then, Bonnie." Y/N does it again. "Stefan and Damon could both be nice people who have a poor way of showing, or maybe they're both secret sons of Lex Luthor or something." He states with a fairly certain tone of voice. He's learned his lesson back when football was still a thing at their school. "But, I think we should-" 

"Hey, Y/N!" Caroline excited comes up to the table, holding multiple glasses in one hand. "I scored us some more champagne, to here's the rebellion of American law." She tells them with a quip as she sets two of them down for both Y/N and Bonnie, perks with the glasses being so thin. 

"Ah, the party's secret superhero." Y/N quips with a chuckle as he takes one. Right as he's about to sip it, however, his eye manages to spot something very off with her skin. Right below her scarf, Y/N swears he can see a tint of.... purple, on a visible part of the collarbone. "What is that?" He then interrogates, causing the girls to look and see that he's pointing at the blonde's neck.

"Oh, it's um...." Caroline realizes what he's referring to, and begins stuttering her words. "It's.... i-it's nothing-" She tries answering, but Y/N can detect the yellow emotion from a mile away and immediately stands up to rip the skirt off. 

Y/N and Bonnie both see obvious and brutal bite marks on her neck. 

"Hey!" Caroline exclaims, quickly trying to put the scarf back on. Meanwhile, Bonnie gasps at the sight she just saw. "Do you mind? Who the heck thought you to mess with a girl's outfit?" She angrily remarks, however, there's no way she's getting out of this one. 

"Where the heck did you get those?!" Y/N immediately questions with a serious look on his face, letting it be clear that he's not accepting a non-answer this time. "Is that why you've been wearing these things?" 

"I-I...." Caroline once again stutters, seemingly having a problem with trying to figure out what she's supposed to say. However, Y/N glances back at Damon, and the shape of the bites, quickly putting two and two together. 

"Y/N?" Bonnie nervously says his name before the guy begins marching over to the older Salvatore brother. "Y/N, wait!" She tries calling out to him, but the guy's already too far determined she anxiously follows for the potential scene that's about to go down. 

At one point, Damon finally notices Y/N approaching him with a dark expression on his face. "Hello, Caroline's ex, may I help-" He tries being quirky again, only to get a massive shove from Y/N, causing him to take a couple steps back. "Hey, what-" 

"What the fuck did you do to Caroline?!" Y/N seethingly interrogates, the rough contact already does enough to slowly erupt a small scene on the dance floor. 

"What the heck's your problem?" Damon questions with a look, looking at him as if he's the maniac in this situation. 

"Don't start bullshitting me, you think no one was gonna see those marks?" Y/N gets in Damon's face, pointing back at Caroline in a way that lets the guy know that the cat's out of the bag. "Is this how you get your kicks, you abusive bastard?" He then asks him in a hostile tone of voice, causing Damon to take a step closer.

"I think you should mind your own business." Damon advises with an obvious glare, shoving him back with one hand.

"Well, too late, now it is my business." 

"Hey!" Elena calls out, causing Y/N to glance around and see that everyone's now noticed the confrontation going on right now. "What the heck's going on?" She questions them both as she marches over. 

"This piece of crap has left bruises all over Caroline's body." Y/N angrily responds, before turning back to return the glare at Damon. "And now he's gonna get it." 

"What?!"

"Don't listen to him." Damon shouts back as he puts mental daggers into Y/N's eyes. "Your friend's low tempered and coming to conclusions."

"Fuck you!" Y/N yells as he shoves Damon again, only for Bonnie to quickly step in before the guy can possibly retaliate. 

"Y/N, Y/N, not here." She strongly advises as the moment now becomes public. Tyler, Vicki, and even Stefan has come over to see it for themselves. "We can't cause a scene like this." She says as Y/N looks at her conflicted while Damon holds a secretly cocky smirk on his face. 

"You stay away from Caroline!" He demands, pointing threateningly at Damon as he reluctantly walks away with Bonnie cautiously holding him back. "She is not your plaything!" 

"Oh, so much fire!" Damon quips as he knows he's won thanks to Y/N having made an aggressive fool of himself. "Makes me wonder how your biological parents are if they raised you like that." He then adds.

 Causing Y/N to turn right back around.....

His eyes glowing.....

And sock him square in the face. 

The crunch sound that follows as Damon shockingly falls onto a food table, scattering everything that was one it, causes everyone to gasp as Y/N sees red. He looks like he's thinking of following it up, but Stefan quickly manages to stand in his way before he can. "Y/N, stop!" Bonnie yells as she frantically pulls him back. 

"You, little-!" Damon growls, only to be pushed back by Stefan. 

"Damon, don't!" Stefan warns, seemingly trying to remind him of something. However, upon seeing his face, he spots a trail of blood leaking down his brother's nose, causing him look back at Y/N as he angrily walks away and no doubt out of the party. 

"A bit hypocritical, don't you think?" Tyler remarks with a blank look to Y/N as he walks past him. 

"Not now, Tyler." Bonnie criticizes with a look as they both leave, now no longer in the proper mood for this formal gathering.

Meanwhile, Damon seems to notice his small injury as well, as cleans some of it with his hand. "What the...." Damon utters while his nose begins healing itself, just as confused. 

He.... that kid hurt him. 

But how? 

___________________________

After they finally leave the mansion's grounds, Y/N softly breaks way from Bonnie's hands, checking his knuckles after that hard punch. Surprisingly, they seem fine, all things considered. "So much for not taking sides...." Y/N mutters as he then lets out a small sigh, having finally calmed down a least a little bit.

"Yeah, but..... you were right." Bonnie comments with a somewhat sheepish look, causing Y/N to around, back towards her. "I clearly planted doubt when I shouldn't have, towards the wrong guy, no less."

"It's fine, we can just get the police involved anyway, now that we know." Y/N responds with an assuring look, since the proof of what Damon's done isn't going to be leaving or can be removed any time soon. He then sees his father leaving the house, which gives him the cue that he's now heard about what happened. "I gotta go, guess I'll see you tomorrow." He tells her before walking away to awkwardly meet up with his old man.

"I had a feeling you'd leave right away." His dad comments as he approaches him, glad that he managed to find him again quickly at this hour. 

"Look, I-"

"You don't have to explain, let's just go." His father tells him before he can try and go on for four minutes, guiding him over to his van where he plans to leave early. Y/N nods, giving him a grateful look as the two formally make their exit. 

Guess all Timberwolves have a tendency to punch first, ask questions later. 

______________________________________________

Mystic Falls Hospital: 

As respectfully requested, Y/N's father quickly drops him off at the hospital real quick so he can check on Matt's condition before heading back home. It's clear that the guy also wants to make sure he doesn't miss something, so Y/N encourages him to head back since he can just get a taxi or something for the rest of the trip. He isn't going to be stupid enough to try and walk back home, he knows there's marks on his back from other problems that he's currently having aside from Damon. 

He then heads up and sees Matt, still asleep and still in rough shape from having the drive-by he became a victim of. Y/N feels angry the more he looks at him, because he knows that the only reason Jeff did this was because he wanted to make an example out of him, to tell Y/N that he'll get the same, or maybe worse if he didn't pay up. Gosh, what is he gonna do? 

Once he finds himself back outside, Y/N goes to find a phone so he can call himself a taxi like he said he would. However, before he can reach the phone, he hears a car beep twice, its headlights flashing at him, causing him to squint his eyes and hold up a hand to block out the intense light. 

Then, a group of four step out of the car, and Y/N quickly realizes who it is. Jeff Warren, and his three friends here to enforce their debt. "Hello there, Y/N." The man says with a massive smirk as he and his guys step in front of the car, and their target. "I see you've been visiting your friend. Does that mean you've been encouraged to get my money?"

"It's the day of the founder's party, my dad practically needed me to go." Y/N replies with a half-lie, knowing that Jeff meant that as in he wanted it now, and now later. Else, he wouldn't be kind of confessing it to him, would he? "But you best believe I got the message." 

"Amazing, now where is it?" Jeff then questions with a look, taking a menacing step closer. Y/N nervously chuckles as the reality of how screwed he is sets in even further. 

"Well.... I don't have it on me at the moment." Y/N hesitantly tells them as he keeps counting how many there are. "But I can easily get it, I'll be free to do whatever tomorrow, so..." 

"Y/N, my guy, you had two days to get it, you had plenty of time." Jeff reminds him with a dirty look, his boys gripping the weapons they have tighter in their grip. "But hey, if that's not an option, I'll happily accept payment in.... what do you call it...?" He puts a finger to his chin. "Deserved karma." 

"Except I didn't drive the vehicle that broke the truck, Jeff."  Y/N mentions with a semi-pleading look, trying to find a window to run for his life towards, with the parking lot's design, it isn't looking too good for him. "Come on, you can't blame me for-" 

"Shut it, smart boy." Jeff interrupts as he pulls his switchblade again, giving him a threatening point. "You have all that crap in your house, but can't afford one scent of doing your own dirty work, you money-grubbing turd." He criticizes with a glare. "Guess I need to show you how it's really like." 

"Jeff, wait-"

Y/N can only get two words out before he's slice in the stomach. He let outs a groan as he puts a hand on where his inner shirt's been ripped, the pain causing him to collapse onto the ground for a bit as Jeff cleans the blood off the tip. "You don't even planned on giving it, did you? You already told the cops." He assumes as his buddies nervously watch while Y/N lays there, wincing very hard. "Guess I should change plans...."

"Hold on, Jeff." One of the thugs chimes in. "What about the money? We can't collect from him if he's-" 

"Shut up!" Jeff barks at him before turning back to Y/N, who's trying to stand back up so he can plead his case. "I change my mind, this is much more satisfying." 

"Jeff..." Y/N holds up a hand, but Jeff ignores his plea deal and rams him into the phone booth. His knife getting awfully close to his face. "Please.... I don't wanna die......" He finds himself begging, but Jeff remains with his cold stare.

"I don't care."

Jeff suddenly stabs Y/N with his knife..... which impales his jugular. Y/N then begins to gag, gripping onto Jeff's jacket as if it would hopefully save him. "Not so tough are you? Guess Football isn't all it's made out to be."

"Fuck..... you...." Y/N manages to get out, spitting some blood into his face. Then, he decides to do one final act as small revenge. He uses the last of his strength to lean over and bite Jeff's ear. 

"ARGH!" Jeff yells in extreme pain, shoving himself off of Y/N. That proves to make it even worse, as he then gets a chuck of his right ear ripped off, thanks to the jock's teeth. "YOU CRAZY MOTHER-" He swears out, feeling the intense pain as he grabs onto his ear and realizes that part of it is missing. 

"Jeff?" A thug quavers, however, it isn't about his ear. Jeff seems him pointing over, and turns back to Y/N....

And sees him standing up. 

"What the-" 

Before he can process it, Y/N punches him right in the jaw, causing him to fall to the ground with a hard thud. The other thugs look in complete shock as Y/N's eyes begin to glow once again, with Jeff spitting out his broken, bloody teeth onto the concrete. The guy seems to have not been affected at all from being stabbed in a major organ, in fact, it's like he wasn't stabbed in the first place. 

One the thugs panics and quickly grabs their tire iron and charges at Y/N with it. The guy easily sees this, however, and sidesteps out of the way, causing him to miss and hit the phone booth and smash the glass instead. Some of the glass that shatters cuts the dude's hand, and he cries out the second he feels the hissing pain. He drops to the ground so he can wallop in his misery. 

The other two thugs then look at Y/N, his unnatural eyeballs scares them off, and too afraid to fight despite their weapons, they both take off, leaving the others to fend for themselves. Y/N then cranks his neck as he turns to Jeff, who stands up and angrily tries to throw a punch towards his nose. However, Y/N turns around time, and he catches it before countering with one of his own. Jeff falls onto the concrete again as Y/N looks down at him.

Rage back in his mind, Y/N kicks Jeff in the elbow, causing him to scream on impact. "Wait, WAIT!" Jeff holds up a hand, pleadingly, almost similar to the way the person over him did so earlier. "You win, okay? You win! I'm done! Please don't kill me...." Now it's him that's begging for his life, and Y/N tilts his head as he mentally decides what to do with him. 

"Stay away from me." Y/N demands with a hard growl. "Stay away from my family, or I will kill you." He promises with a hard look, to which Jeff quickly nods. 

"Okay! Okay....." Jeff quickly obeys, now completely terrified of him. Which is good, Y/N likes it.... because now he's the one in power of this situation. "Just please-" He begs some more until Y/N delivers a hard kick that sends his head backwards, knocking him out cold. 

Now, there's silence. 

Y/N turns back around, deciding that he'll just be walking home instead. He'll let whoever comes along to see these two on the ground. The thug, scared, stays there as he watches Y/N leave, looking like he just met a new kind of Jason Voorhees. 

After having got a good distance, Y/N makes a quick stop and walks over to a tree, where he sits down against it with a really disturbed look in his eye. After all, he didn't just bite off Jeff's ear.... he swallowed it, the whole chunk. 

"Oh gosh...." Y/N shudders, rubbing his hands along his face. He doesn't know what to feel right now, and it scares him. He should be scared, and he is, but he also feels.... strong, and.... conflicted, and.... deadly. 

With his eyes closed, he doesn't notice his shadow coming from the moon's light, once again, it changes shape. The visible spine, the larger limbs.... the deer skull and its antlers. It roars into the night, though still silent to other beings.

Another step has been taken. 

____________________________________________

Lockwood Mansion:  

Mr. L/N returns to the Lockwood mansion, knowing that despite what's going on with his son, he can't miss it tonight. Even if he wanted to stick close to him, this night's meeting holds a matter of great importance, and he has to be there for the sake of the town.  

"Raymond, there you are." Richard Lockwood, Mayor of Mystic Falls, acknowledges his return the second he comes through the front door. "We were worried that you forgot about tonight." He remarks with a small look. 

"I wouldn't dare, thank you for staying late." Raymond tells him with a grateful nod, trying to persist his loyalty to the council. "I hope the arsenal I delivered proves to the useful, Sheriff Forbes, I triple-checked to make sure it was there." 

"With the fear that those animals bring, it'll be reliving to know that we can return that fear in kind." Mrs. Forbes, the Sheriff, confirms with a professional nod. "However, that's not all of it." She then mentions as she turns to the Lockwoods. "Did you get the Gilbert watch?" 

"She claims it's packed away in her parents' things." Carol Lockwood, the wife of the Mayor, relays to her. However, her tone of voice indicates that she suspects it of actually being kept from them. A likely scenario given how Mr. Gilbert would've wanted it to be traded down to his son, instead of being given to them. His children probably kept that in mind.

"I can get it." Logan Fell, a famous reporter with charming looks, assures them as he sits down on a random chair. He seems fairly confident as his eyes show him already planning the way he's going to retrieve the valuable item. 

"Good, we're gonna need it." Sheriff Forbes states with a nod, causing everyone to nervously stare at her. 

"Are you sure?" Mayor Lockwood asks again for confirmation, referring to the claims surrounding the recent victims in the town. 

"Five bodies, all drained of blood." Sheriff Forbes points out, making it clear that there can be no doubt that Mystic Falls has gotten some unwelcomed visitors. "I'm certain." She says, and everyone shares a look, mentally accepting their new situation. 

"They've come back." Raymond accepts with a nod.

The Vampires.

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https://youtu.be/_DgngA3rMl0

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(A/N) Alright, here's the next episode. Gotta love the feeling of finishing each chapter, especially when you make them 100,000+ words long. I hope you guys are enjoying this series, as I've felt encouragement each time I know when it's time to write for a day. 

Anyway, plz vote and comment, any counts as feedback, and I'll see you in the next one.