Cecilia and Jack were in the living room when Elena came downstairs.

"Jeremy's got his sketch pad out," Elena stated happily.

Cecilia was surprised, "Good for him."

Jack nodded.

Jenna asked, "You're kidding?"

"Nope," replied Elena. "But don't say a word. The minute we encourage him, he'll put it away."

"Psychology major," Jenna said. "Check that!"

Cecilia asked, "What was up with last night, anyway? You were going to leave, but then didn't."

"Oh, I talked to Rob," Jenna said. "He said that Dylan was doing okay." She looked at Elena who looked at her phone. "You and Stefan? Update?"

Elena was buttoning up her jacket. "He knows how I feel and where I stand and I know where he stands, but it doesn't matter. He's leaving, moving away."

Jenna asked, "Where is he going?"

"I've stopped asking questions. The answers get scary," Elena responded.

Jenna and Elena left the house.

Dylan was surprisingly discharged from the hospital rather quickly. He had been in there for the weekend but was released.

His friends had gotten used to him dropping off the face of the planet apparently, so they didn't seemed concerned when he stopped responding to them for three days. He got the occasional 'are you there' messages, but that was about it. He was honestly surprised that he managed to somehow convince his dad to keep this ordeal between the two of them. His dad seemed like he really didn't like the idea but Rob eventually agreed to it, as long as Dylan stops wearing long sleeves around the apartment. He agreed to it.

However, he should've known that there was more to it than a simple, 'don't wear long sleeves' condition.

Now his dad was talking about mental hospitals. His dad was at the table on his laptop, most likely looking up mental hospitals.

"I'm not going to the whack shack," Dylan told him as he tried to get ready for school.

"Yes, you are," Rob told him. "You cut your arms open. That's not normal." He paused, "I didn't it mean it like that."

"Okay, but I'm not going to get locked up in the nuthouse," Dylan told him.

"This isn't up for discussion," Rob replied. He looked weary and Dylan was already tired and he just woke up forty minutes ago.

Dylan brushed his teeth, used mouthwash, and finally had an idea. "How about this? No mental hospitals, but I'll talk to a therapist. Give me four months and if it happens again, I'll allow you to send me to the nut shack."

Rob seemed to mull it over and Dylan face-planted the couch. He was so tired.

"As much as I would allow you to stay home, because considering that in just three months, you're looking at summer school," Rob stated.

Dylan groaned.

"But I'll give you four months of therapy. If that fails, you're going to a mental hospital," Rob said.

Dylan nodded. "Also I need a ride to school." He was pretty sure Jack left to pick up Cecilia and Dylan doubted that Alex would even pick him up considering that he dumped Alex. After that whole shit-show with Alex...yeah, he wouldn't want to pick Dylan up either after that either.

Dylan got dropped off at the high school a little too early. He considered sleeping in, but then decided no. Ricky was hanging out with his other friends, while Cecilia, Jack, and Alex weren't there yet. He didn't want to hang out with Alex because of the whole breaking up with him.

He went to Lockwood and sat down at the table that Lockwood was next to.

Lockwood gave him a strange look.

"My dad is looking into therapists for me to see," Dylan told him.

Lockwood seemed oddly pleased, "That's good."

"I cut a little too deeply on both arms and regretted it. So, he took to me to the hospital," Dylan said. He showed Lockwood the bandages on his arms. Lockwood looked at him like he was an idiot. Maybe he was...whatever.

Lockwood looked around the campus. "Where the hell is Matt?"

Dylan didn't care, "I don't know why you're asking me."

Lockwood at Dylan and then tossed a basketball right at his face.

Dylan fumbled it like an absolute fucking idiot, before keeping a hold of it. "What the hell was that for?"

"You suck at catch," Lockwood told him.

"You threw it at my face," Dylan accused.

"Well, I don't want to sit around and contemplate the afterlife like you," Lockwood replied.

"Yet you're still here aren't you?" Dylan retorted with a pointed glare.

Lockwood glowered, because he knew that Dylan had a point.

Alex really didn't look happy at the sight of Dylan and Lockwood together, Cecilia noticed. To be fair, she didn't know when, how, or why Dylan and Lockwood became friends, although Dylan looked miserable.

Alex asked, "Does he seem paler to you?"

"And he looks more tired," Jack pointed out.

Cecilia asked, "Do you think it has something to do with him disappearing over the weekend again?"

Elena and Bonnie came up to them.

Elena asked, "Since when is Dylan friends with Tyler?"

Cecilia shrugged, "I don't know."

Matt and Caroline were at a classroom.

Elena asked, "Did I miss something?"

Cecilia didn't get what Elena was getting at. "They're friends? They're allowed to hang out together?"

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah. They are. They're just...hanging out."

Elena asked, "Kind of weird, don't you think?"

"No," Alex replied. "They're allowed to hang out with each other."

"They're going to get together," Jack stated.

"I like her skirt and leggings combo, though." Cecilia said, "Very cute." She looked at Elena.

"She needs someone nice like him, as opposed to a homicidal vampire like Damon," Bonnie stated.

Cecilia looked at Elena and took off her scarf. Elena looked offended, "Hey, Celia."

"This scarf doesn't go good with your outfit," Cecilia pointed out. "It was kind of bugging me."

"I told you," Bonnie told Elena.

Elena gave her and Cecilia both a dirty look and continued down the hallway with Elena.

Cecilia asked, "So, the career fair? Are any of you going?"

"My parents are making me go," Alex replied. "They'll think that I'll find a suitable job. They're even making Sam go to it to make sure that I actually go to it." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm going because Cecilia's going," Jack stated.

"No surprise there," Alex replied. "You two practically share a brain." Cecilia and Jack gave him matching offended looks. "I stand by what I said."

After school, Matt and Tyler were playing basketball. Croft went home, probably to listen to emo music or whatever he listens too, Tyler guessed. Maybe listen to Papa Roach's Last Resort while cutting his arms or something. Tyler didn't care what the Croft boy did; Croft's business was his business. However, he had a bone to pick with Matt.

Tyler asked, "So, what's up with you and Forbes?"

"Nothing's up," Matt replied.

An unlikely story, Tyler reasoned. He saw how close Forbes and Matt were. There was something there. Besides, Matt didn't even hung out with him anyway.

"I saw you two in the hall today. Don't even try to deny it, bro. You're tapping that," Tyler said.

"No, it's not like that," Matt replied.

"Never is," Tyler replied. "Until you become 'we' people," Tyler replied. Those people annoyed the hell out of him. Especially when it came down to Cecilia Gilbert and Jack Winters. Those two were even worse. Especially during the sixth grade. He tried to befriend Jack, but he just glowered and glared, then Cecilia went up, said 'hi' to him and then they were practically inseparable.

It was pretty obvious she was screwing him. Although he saw Gilbert and Adams over there, except Adams and Croft were apparently dating...So, she was screwing the entire band then, except for Rosenberg, considering how he was looking at some girl named Luna Cohen, who was looking back at him with that sickening look Stefan Salvatore gave Elena Gilbert.

Gilberts were bad news.

Tyler scored a basket.

Matt asked, "'We' people?"

"Yeah." Tyler mocked, "'We can't make it to the party'; 'We'll never miss a game'; "'we don't like the color red."

"We hung out, like twice," Matt replied. He scored a basket.

Tyler pointed out, "Like I said, 'we.'"

Matt looked at him and then said, "What about you and Dylan? Since when were you two best friends? I saw you two hanging out."

"We're not friends," Tyler replied. They weren't. "I can't stand his brooding emo thing he's got going on." Matt looked at him. "I don't know. He's...calming."

Matt looked incredulous, "Calming?"

"I don't know. Like everything sometimes gets so loud and I get angry, then when he's around, everything goes on mute and the anger lessens," Tyler tried to explained. "Oh, god, does that sound gay?"

Matt nodded, "A little."

Jack stood at a warehouse, holding a compass that he was sure that it was supposed to go Jeremy. He was on the phone with Damon. Damon had come to him, because there was a vampire around and Damon needed to know where the vampire was at. Jack had said 'warehouse' because Damon gave him a dark look because there were a few warehouses around. So, now he had to track down the vampire using a compass that he was sure really belonged to the Gilberts once he looked at it. His phone rang and he looked at it. It was Damon.

Damon demanded, "Did you find the right warehouse yet?"

"Yeah, I'm at the right warehouse," Jack responded feeling irritated at Damon's "you're a stupid human" tone. "It's pointing in the direction of the warehouse. I know it's the correct one." He looked at the warehouse and went to the door, because he might as well look in it.

"You should go back home or go to your little part-time job at the bookstore," Damon stated.

Jack looked at him, "Maybe I want to stake a vampire."

One blink later, Damon was glaring down at him, "Go home."

"I can't be compelled because I'm a Seer," Jack stated.

"I'm not compelling you. I'd rather not have your little friend try to drive a stake through my heart because you got hurt by a newbie vampire on my watch," Damon stated.

"Fine," Jack grumbled. "But I'm keeping this compass because it belonged to Jeremy."

"No," replied Damon, taking the compass from Jack and going inside the warehouse.

Caroline and Matt were talking to each other again, Cecilia noticed. She went to a booth and took a veterinary pamphlet.

A girl asked, "You're quitting music?"

"No," Cecilia replied. "I'm just looking into other options." She knew that Jack's other career option was being a veterinarian. She knew that Jack would live in Salem, Massachusetts if someone went with him.

Caroline came up to Cecilia, "Why is Matt still madly in love with Elena?"

Cecilia looked at the blond girl and looked at Matt and Elena who were talking to each other.

"I don't know," Cecilia replied. "But I know she's over him." Caroline still seemed upset. "You deserve better than Matt. You don't deserve to be a rebound." She paused, "Although if you want to date Matt, then that's your choice." Caroline gave her a small smile. "By the way, where did you get that skirt? It's cute."

Caroline told her the store and went on her way.

Cecilia went to a next booth and took a pamphlet without even looking at it.

Jack came up to her.

"Here, I got you a veterinarian pamphlet," Cecilia told him, handing it to him.

"Thanks," Jack grumbled.

Cecilia looked at him, "Where were you?"

"At a warehouse," Jack said. "Damon had me track down a vampire that killed a female jogger."

Cecilia nodded, "Oh."

Aunt Jenna came up to them, "Hide me."

Cecilia asked, "Why?"

"The scum Fell has landed," Aunt Jenna replied.

"Oh god," Cecilia replied, disgusted. She went over to Elena and Stefan.

"—if you're gonna leave, then just go," Elena was saying to Stefan.

"Logan's here," Cecilia told Elena. "Make sure that they don't intercept."

Stefan was confused, "Wait, Logan Fell?"

"Yeah," Cecilia replied. It dawned on her over that whole 'invite me in' creepy bullshit he spewed at Jenna and something Jack said about a vampire. "Oh."

Stefan went in the hall.

Elena seemed confused and went after Stefan.

Cecilia grabbed her arm and hissed at her, "Logan's a vampire. He was trying to get Aunt Jenna to let him inside our home, but she closed the door on him. Jack was trying to track him down for Damon, who I guessed failed at staking him."

Elena was going to drag Cecilia back in the classroom but Logan came at them.

"Elena, Cecilia, hi," Logan replied with fake cheerfulness. "Where's your aunt?"

Elena rolled her eyes and went back in the classroom to get Jack, who was trying to keep Jenna from going into the hall.

Cecilia managed to get to them, "Fell is in the hall."

Jenna nodded.

Alex wasn't surprised that Dylan was standing with Lockwood at a booth. Dylan seemed to notice and managed to move around Lockwood to essentially hide on the other side of Lockwood.

Lockwood looked annoyed while at it, because apparently Dylan annoyed him. It made no sense why Lockwood latched onto him so readily.

Although Dylan did say that he and Lockwood looked for the thing that attacked Vicki at the back-to-school party Cecilia attended. After that...why did Lockwood latch onto him?

It just made no sense. Then Lockwood moved into the hall and dragging Dylan by his upper arm. Alex made to follow them and almost crashed into Sam.

"Hey, you should get at least four pamphlets and then we can get the hell out of here as quickly as possible," Sam stated. He looked like he didn't want to be there either.

Alex moved to where Dylan and Lockwood went.

It looked like Jeremy ended up meeting up with them. Dylan and Jeremy greeted each other with somewhat friendly terms, before Jeremy started in on Lockwood, trying to be friendly as well. At least Lockwood had let go of Dylan's upper arm, like he was done dragging Dylan around like he was luggage.

"Go be friends with one of the many other guys that she screwed, there is no shortage of them," Lockwood snarled.

"Jeremy was just trying to be friendly to you," Dylan told Lockwood. "No need to be an asshole to him."

However, Jeremy pushed Lockwood into a locker.

Alex sighed because why the hell not.

Mayor Lockwood and Alaric came over to break it up, although Mayor Lockwood nearly elbowed Dylan in the face in his haste to separate the two.

"All right, work it out, tough guy," Alaric said.

Mayor Lockwood had a hold of his son. The mayor looked at Jeremy, "You two; follow me" He made Lockwood turn around and Jeremy started following him.

Lockwood had made a hand motion like he wanted to take his – luggage – uh, Dylan with him as he was about to turn the corner.

"Excuse me, Mayor," Alaric said. The three turned to look at him. "Where are you taking them?"

"I'm gonna talk to them," Lockwood stated. "All fights should end in handshakes, don't you think?" He turned to Tyler and Jeremy. "Come on." They continued down the hallway, although Dylan practically flattened himself against the wall as the three went to leave the school.

Alaric zeroed in on Dylan, "And you, how's your paper coming along? Did you figure out a topic yet?"

"Oh, I'm doing in on this Norwegian black metal band called Mayhem. They formed in 1984. Apparently they influenced the black metal genre," Dylan explained. "Two of their members died; one...uh...killed himself and his band mate went to buy a camera and then took pictures of the scene instead of calling the cops like a normal person. A photo of his dead leaked online because it was used for a bootlegged album, I don't think he meant for it to be used a bootlegged album cover, but he got murdered by another band mate. So I guess they lived up to their name Mayhem."

Alaric stared at Dylan and Dylan just stared back.

"Also, I don't think they're going to talk out their issues, I think the mayor is going to make Jeremy and Lockwood fight each other," Dylan stated.

Alaric nodded, "I think so too." He walked away and Alex went to Dylan.

Alex asked, "Can I talk to you?"

Dylan looked at him and grimaced, "No." He made to walk away, so Alex grabbed his arm, and he felt Dylan flinch and heard the blond give a hiss of pain.

Alex didn't grab his arm in a death grip; at least he was sure of that.

Dylan shook Alex's hand off.

"I didn't even grab you that hard," Alex defended himself.

"You might as well have rip my goddamn arm out," Dylan replied, before leaving.

Alex needed to be careful, unless Mayor Douchebag caught wind of this, and make him and Dylan fight it out in the parking lot, like he was running some kind of teenage fight club. Maybe Mayor Douchewood was?

"Christ, what was that all about?"

Alex almost jumped at that. He had forgotten that Sam was there the entire time. HE started explaining, "Well, Jeremy and Lockwood banged the same girl—"

"Not them," Sam said. "I meant what the hell was that with you and Dylan?"

Dylan had said, "Sometimes I wonder why you even dated me in the first place even though you don't like me the way I like you. Was I some sort of experiment to you?"

Alex was confused, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm breaking up with you," replied Dylan.

That was the start of the argument before Dylan, again, said 'I'm dumping you! Get out!'

Alex moved down the hallway with Sam following, although he darted in a few classrooms to the exit.

They left the school and got in Sam's car.

It was silent on the ride home and Alex looked at the pamphlets that Sam grabbed for him.

Sam messed with the radio while the waited for the car to warm up, so he asked, "So, what happened between you and Dylan? Did he make a move on Cecilia or something?"

"No, nothing like that," Alex replied. He took a deep breath, "Dylan dumped me."

Sam stood messing with the radio. He was confused, "What?"

"A few days ago," Alex replied. "He dumped me."

Sam was very confused, because he had walked in on Alex and Cecilia making out. If Cecilia was a beard for Alex, then why the hell was he making out with her? "What the hell, Alex? Why would you lead that poor girl on like that?"

"It's not like that," Alex replied, ready to get the hell out of here. "Cecilia, Dylan, and I are a triad. The three of us are dating each other, well, Dylan dumped me, so it's more of an arrow pointing up, I guess."

Sam was looking at him in a weird way, before he blinked and nodded, "All right. Whatever worked for you three, I suppose."

"Apparently it didn't work for me and Dylan," Alex replied.

Sam looked at him, like he didn't believe Alex.

Alex hated that. He hated how Sam knew him so well when they never got along as children. But then again, whose fault was that? It was their mother's fault for comparing Alex to Sam who criticized Alex to at times. Besides, it wasn't Alex's fault that Sam's friends liked him better either.

"One minute, we were watching TV and then he just snapped and yelled at me. Accused me of using him as some sort of experiment and the lack of affection, because I kissed him only once in the entirety of our relationship," Alex told him.

Sam gave him a sharp look, "What the hell, Alex? That's an awful thing to do to him. Why did you do that?"

"I...I guess I was scared of liking another guy that I just shoved my own boyfriend to side because I was afraid of admitting it," Alex replied. "I don't even know. He was the first guy I ever liked." Well, to be fair, he had a crush on Brendan Fraser which until he didn't realize until he started liking Dylan. "And now he hates me."

"I don't think he hates you," Sam replied. "I think he's upset and has other things on his mind."

"Yeah, like hanging out with Lockwood," Alex replied bitterly.

"If Dylan wants to talk to you, he will," Sam replied. "Don't force him into talking when he doesn't want to."

Alex wasn't happy with that idea, but he had to admit, Sam had a point. This was going to make band meetings real freaking awkward. It was why he wanted to talk to Dylan to try and patch things up.

"Love stinks. Love stink. Yeah, yeah."

"Yeah, you got that right J. Geils Band," Alex muttered.