***

ELENA AND I entered Stefan's room together. I had let her inside, and she was looking for him. I said we could try his bedroom since he's always in there. But I didn't know for sure he'd be there. I actually wanted to talk to him about Trudie, maybe warn him, but we soon found there was no Stefan there. "Stefan," Elena called; no answer.

"Better. Me," Damon replied, walking out of the bathroom shirtless. He had a beautiful v-line, as well as a nice set of abs, but I couldn't say anything about it.

"You look, um..." Elena started.

Damon finished for her, "Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?" He walked across the room and closed the space between him and Elena and she pushed him back once he got uncomfortably close.

"Wrecked. You look wrecked," Elena finished.

"No reason why. Do you know that I am one of Mystic Falls' most eligible bachelors?" Damon said, making a weird kissy face as he turned, the face was made because he must have been thinking.

"Huh," Elena said simply.

"Yep," Damon explained.

"How are you doing?" Elena questioned.

"Never better. Yep," Damon put on a button-up black shirt, "What can I do for you? I'm a barrel of favors today. It's my newfound purpose—how can I help people?"

"I'm just meeting Stefan. We're going to the fundraiser," Elena explained.

"Her and Stefan, Damon. I didn't hear your name anywhere in that sentence," I remarked since Damon obviously didn't know boundaries. "Where is Stefan, anyway? I had to tell him something."

Damon rolled his eyes, "I didn't hear your name anywhere either, Charlotte. And I'm not sure, but I'll gladly take a message."

"Um... I think it can wait," I replied, not trusting Damon enough with what I was going to tell Stefan.

Damon tried to button his shirt, but failed. He turned around, looking at me. "Help a guy out, will you? Can't get this." He tried once more to button his shirt and I just sighed and made my over to him, grabbing the front of his shirt and began to button it up for him.

"So I found out who my birth mother is," Elena said with a smile, leaning against a table.

"Eccch. Who cares?" Damon replied, and I sent him a look. I contemplated hitting him, but not in front of Elena. I turned to Elena and she looked hurt, so Damon explained what he meant, "She left you. She sucks." Damon was really adorable when he wanted to be, and right now, he was.

Once I finished, Damon turned around. The two exchanged odd glances for just a moment, Damon smiling at her. She looked over when she heard footsteps, and I peered over Damon's shoulder to see Stefan.

"Stefan. There you are," Elena and I both said with a smile in unison, as we both walked over to Stefan. We gave each other a little look upon realizing we had talked in unison. It almost said 'great minds think alike'. Which they do. Stefan smiled at us, as Damon put his jacket on.

"Uhh. I need a bigger jacket. Wow. You know, an occasional sorority girl might, um, you know, help fill you out a little bit," Damon said to Stefan, and I sent the man a look. He just threw the jacket onto Stefan's bed, shrugged at me, and left the room.

"He's fine," Elena said simply.

"He's Damon," Stefan and I both said again in unison, this time the two of us giving each other the look Elena and I had given each other moments before. "Man, I am on a roll today," I said with a grin, shaking my head.

"Maybe this heartache will be good for him. It'll remind him that he has one, even if it doesn't beat," Elena said harshly.

"Yeah, sure. We can hope," I muttered under my breath, which Stefan had caught but Elena didn't.

"Won't hold my breath," Stefan said to her, but he was looking at me. He knew something. I don't know what it is yet, but he knows something. I sent him a furrowed brown look and he only turned his gaze back to Elena. She had smiled at him and laughed. Man aren't they sick of love yet? All this mushy gushy stuff is making me uncomfortable.

"So I went to see Trudie Peterson," Elena explained, as Stefan's face turned from a smile to a frown quickly. He was not happy. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't plan it," Elena said, "But I had Charlotte there with me just in case."

Now Stefan's hard gaze turned to me. Great, thanks, Elena. Rat me out too, why don't you? "How was it?" Stefan decided to just ask, sincere.

I was about to explain everything about her knowledge to him, but Elena had beat me to it, "She has vervain. She knows about vampire stuff, and it can't be a coincidence."

"It isn't. This is Alaric's wife," Stefan explained, taking out a picture of Alaric's wife Isobel that Ric must have given him. He handed it to Elena and Elena looked at me, me looking over her shoulder. Yep, that was her. Isobel Flemming.

"This is her. This is Isobel. He gave this to you?" Elena questioned, looking up at Stefan.

"Everything he knows about vampires, he learned from her. He believes that she was killed by one," Stefan explained, and I nodded. It all made sense... More sense than what I thought at least, but let's not listen to my theories.

"Oh, my god," Elena simply said.

"Listen, Elena, there's a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you, but I need you to hold off a little while before you talk to him," Stefan said to her.

"Why?" Elena questioned, upset that he'd ask that of her. She had finally found her mother and could know more about her, but he was essentially asking her to put her mother-finding to a halt.

"I know that it's a lot to ask of you, but will you do that for me?" Stefan asked her sincerely. Elena nodded in agreement and I sighed, crossing my arms. I wasn't interested in the bachelor raffle, so instead, I chose to go take a nap in the bed. I wasn't like Stefan and Damon and Elena. I couldn't deal with the drama always, or even stay awake for it. Even as a vampire, I feel the need to rest and just remind myself that this is real life.

***

I woke up hours later, walking downstairs to grab a glass of water. I heard a conversation between Stefan and Damon, it was around the middle of it because I didn't know what they were talking about: "Like you've been handling Katherine?" Stefan had said that, and that was a low blow.

"I'm handling it fine. That means that she's somewhere else and I can kill her later, or if she's already dead, I don't even have to get revenge. You know what? Isobel came to me. She found me. And if she's related to Elena, that means she's related to Katherine. Maybe Katherine sent her to me, to tease me," Damon wondered cockily. I walked inside the room at that and saw Ric on the ground, dead.

"Damon... Damon what the hell did you do?! You called this the cursed job, but it's because you're the one killing everyone who takes it!" I yelled at him. First Tanner, now Ric. How many more history teachers is he going to kill?

"Charlotte, shush. Damon, Stop it," Stefan ordered harshly. He's never had to take a tone like that with me before, except for when guys were involved. Stefan really didn't like me dating anyone, and I don't know why. It's like he knows who I'm going to end up with or something because so far he hasn't approved of any guy I've brought home. But since he used that tone, I obeyed. "You don't have to keep looking," Stefan added.

"Can't be a coincidence Isobel sought me out. Uh-uh. Can't," Damon took one last sip of his drink before he pointed to Alaric, "I'm assuming you two'll take care of this." Damon stood up and left the room, and Stefan exhaustedly sat down by Alaric's body, who I had yet to truly meet, and I took a seat where Damon had been sitting.

Suddenly, Stefan and I both saw Alaric's fingers began to move since we were studying his body.  Stefan furrowed his brows as he leaned over Alaric. Then suddenly, Alaric came back to life. She started coughing and panting heavily as he sat up.

"What happened? What's going on?" Alaric asked, looking around the room.

"You were just... Did Damon turn you?" Stefan asked softly.

"He had to have... There's just no way this could possibly happen.." I said softly, looking at Stefan.

"No. I - I went for him and then he, uh-- he stabbed me," Alaric explained. But again, there was no way that happened.

"No, no, no. You must have vampire blood in your system. Somebody slipped it to you," Stefan explained, thinking he was in denial.

"No. It's, uh, it's something else," Alaric explained.

"Then how?" Stefan asked him.

"I, uh..." Alaric looked down at a large blue ring that was on his right hand. "Isobel.." Alaric muttered softly, as he fidgeted with the ring on his finger and looked up at us, "This ring protected me."

"That's impossible," Stefan denied, shaking his head.

"I know," Alaric just replied, breathlessly. My eyes widened as I looked at Stefan, who gave me a very surprised look. He was in absolute disbelief.