"ELENA KNOWS."

Charlie gasped in shock as she sprung out of bed, her heart beating a mile a minute. She looked up to see a figure standing at the end of her bed. She gasped again and immediately went into defense mode. She was about to move toward the figure when she stepped on the corner of her sheet. Next thing she knew, she was face to face with the floor. 

"Ugh," she groaned, standing up and cradling her head in her hand. Suddenly, her light turned on, illuminating the room. She moaned again because of the brightness and the person in her room. She rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the light.

She murmured, "What are you doing here, Stefan? It's the middle of the night. This is creepy." She walked closer to him so that she could slowly inch him closer and closer to the window. That way, maybe he'd get the hint and leave.

"Elena knows," the Salvatore brother responded. "What the hell did you tell her?"

"First of all, I don't like your attitude, Stefan. Keep your panties on. Second of all, I didn't tell her anything, but you know what? Maybe I should tell her that you're a creep that sneaks into girls' rooms at-" she checked her alarm clock, "-1:48 in the morning! Can't we just talk about this tomorrow?"

Stefan tilted his head, nodding towards the clock. "It's 1:48," he pointed out.

"So, it's already tomorrow." She brought her hands to her face and slowly slid them down, pulling her cheeks and eyes down too. 

The vampire held back a laugh before telling her, "Well, technically, we'll never reach tomorrow. It's a relative term, and-"

The girl took a deep breath, interrupting him. "Stefan, it is almost 2:00 in the morning, and vampire or not, I am this close to punching that pretty face of yours," Charlie said, bringing up to fingers and holding them very close to one another.

This caused Stefan to stop for a second. "You think my face is pretty?" he asked, smirking at the girl's comment.

"It won't be for much longer if you don't get to the point."

"What am I going to do?" he quizzed, changing the subject and sitting on the edge of her bed. The Lockwood girl rolled her eyes. Aren't vampires supposed to be, like, introverts with trust issues?  she thought. Why is Stefan being so weird?

Charlie sighed, "It's not my problem."

"You're the only other person who knows about my secret, and she's your friend!" he yelled, standing back up, and Charlie resumed her plans to push the vampire back out the window.

She scoffed, "Dude, she's your girlfriend. What do you want me to do about it?"

"You've known her longer!"

"She likes you more!"

"Which means you have less to lose," Stefan noted.

Charlie groaned for what felt like the thousandth time that night, or morning as Stefan repeatedly pointed out. "You think she's going to believe me? She'll probably think I'm trying to break you guys up or something."

"I'll buy you ice cream for your entire life," Stefan bargained with her. "Everyone loves ice cream. I'll even throw in a car, a house for god's sake."

The Lockwood girl shook her head. "I can buy my own ice cream. Stefan, why don't you just grow a pair and talk to your girlfriend about the fact that you spend your nights munching on her friends."

"First of all," the Salvatore started, "you have a lot of nerve telling a vampire to grow a pair. Second of all, I don't drink human blood. I drink animal blood."

Charlie gasped. "You eat bunnies? Somehow, that's worse than the thought of you draining humans of their blood. Poor Thumper. He's no match for you. No offense, Thumper. Love you, dude, but big bad vampire Stefan is coming for you."

"Okay, you've been no help, and now you're rambling. I've got a big conversation to have tomorrow. I'm leaving," Stefan said, moving towards the window slowly.

The younger girl whooped with joy, whisper-yelling, "Finally. Not gonna lie, man. This was weird. You're like a less hot version of Edward Cullen. Please don't tell me you sneak into Elena's room and watch her sleep." When he didn't answer, she gasped. "Oh, my God. You do."

And then he was gone.

☾⌑❄⌑☽

Charlie was sitting in the Grill, working on homework with the free service that the restaurant provided. Sure, she could work at home, but she didn't want to be interrupted by Tyler or her mother, and she wanted a burger. So, here she was.

She sat on a barstool at the very end of the bar. That way, her laptop charger could reach the outlet attached to the wall behind her. The only problem was that the charger might trip anyone who walked by, not paying attention. She just hoped that if someone did trip, it would be one of the football jerks or something, and she would laugh instead of feel sorry.

Although she was only four words into her essay that was due in two days, her mind couldn't help but wander. Was it weird that Stefan was so...insistent on asking for her help? Yes, it was. Vampires—as far as she'd heard—were loners. They trusted no one but themselves, so why was Stefan so open? Well, not open, but weirdly talkative.

To be fair to him, it's hard to keep that big of a secret from your friends. She knew what it was like. Maybe he just needed to talk to someone who already knew and didn't need an explanation. But wouldn't he ask how she figured it out? That's definitely something Charlie would be interested in if someone figured out her secret.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a yelp from behind her followed by a series of crashes and sounds of glass breaking. She twisted her head around as her charger swiftly came unplugged from both the wall and her laptop. The space behind her seemed empty until she looked down at the floor. 

A blonde girl was laying on the ground in front of her, scrambling to stand back up. Cups that were once full with various liquids were now strewn across the floor in pieces. The blonde, who was now crouched down in a squat, picking up the larger pieces of glass.

"Oh, my God," Charlie exclaimed, "I'm so sorry. Here, let me help you." She crouched down too alongside the blonde and carefully picked up the shards. 

The blonde looked up at her, and Charlie could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat. This might have been the most beautiful girl she's even seen. Her curly, golden hair was tied up in a bun with a few pieces falling down to frame her face that was dusted lightly with freckles. Her mouth twitched up in a smile, causing small dimples to form on her cheeks.

But the thing that stuck out to Charlie the most was her eyes. They were a strikingly bright blue, even bluer than Matt's. They were gorgeous, and the Lockwood girl felt like she could stare at them forever. 

The girl beamed at her and spoke, breaking Charlie's trance. "You don't have to do that. It was my fault. I should've been paying attention." The brunette shook her head. 

"No, it's no problem, and I probably should thought about the fact that someone would trip over it." As her gaze wandered, she spotted another glass. She reached for it and handed it to the very pretty girl. "Hey, this one made it through unscathed. Well, except for the chip right there, but no one pays attention to that."

The blonde chuckled and grabbed the cup from Charlie as they stood up. "Thanks," she told her, stepping over the smaller shards of glass that she would have to sweep up.

However, before she could turn around to grab the broom and the mop to clean up the mess, Charlie stopped her. "Um, I haven't seen you around here before, and I know pretty much everyone that lives here. Are you new in town?"

"My family actually just moved into an apartment just outside town. Thought I'd get a job here so maybe I could get to know some of the people I'd be going to school with," she answered. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, um, Charlotte Lockwood, but everyone calls me Charlie," the brunette girl responded. 

"I'm JJ Martin, but everyone calls me JJ," she told her. "Um, any chance you're related to the mayor?" JJ questioned curiously. 

Charlie nodded, "Yeah, he's my dad." Before JJ had the chance to respond, Charlie's phone chimed, signalling that a text just came through. It was from Jeremy.

SOS. My house. Now. 

The Lockwood took a deep breath before starting to pack up her things. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go. Sorry about the mess. If you ever need anything—a tour, a recommendation, a shoulder to cry on, feel free to call me."

"Um, I don't have your number," JJ pointed out just as Charlie was leaning down to grab her charger from off the ground.

The brown-haired girl mentally face-palmed herself, standing back up and digging a pen out of her bag. She then grabbed a napkin from the a table nearby and scribbled her number on it. "Here." She handed JJ the napkin, and picked up her stuff. "I'll see you around, JJ."

JJ watched with a smile as the girl rushed out of the restaurant.

Charlie turned her head so that no one could see the blush creeping onto her face.

☾⌑❄⌑☽

"What happened?" Charlie asked Jeremy as soon as he opened the door, pushing past him and into the house. Jeremy didn't have time to answer her before she spoke again, thinking of Stefan taking Elena to the woods without any supervision to explain everything to her. "Oh, no. Is Elena dead? She's dead, isn't she? I'm-" 

"No," Jeremy cut her off. "Elena's not dead. Nobody's dead. Do you just assume that when anyone texts you SOS?"

Charlie sighed, "Dude, if you don't get to the freaking point-"

"Vicki's here, and she's acting really weird," he told her, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the kitchen. "I called Matt. He's here, but I though you would want to know too."

Jeremy led her into the kitchen where Vicki was sitting on the floor, drinking a soda with a pile of food next to her. Matt was crouched down in front of her, taking the sunglasses off of her face so he could see her eyes. 

"Hey, Vic. How you doin'?" he asked, and she tilted her head away from the sun as soon as the shades left her face.

Vicki shook her head. "Not good, Mattie. I hurt," she breathed out, groaning as she said each word. 

"Ok, where's it hurt?" Matt questioned.

Vicki lifted up her hand and stuck her fingers in her mouth to massage her gums as she spoke. "My gums. My jaw hurts. My gum—there's something in my gums, and it hurts."

It was then that Charlie remembered something her Uncle Mason told her. When vampires are in transition, they'll act really weird. They'll feel pain in their mouth, and they will be extra sensitive to things like light and sound. They will also be very hungry, but nothing they eat will satisfy their hunger because it is blood that they really crave. 

It was kind of weird how much he knew about vampires. Most vampires didn't even know that werewolves existed.

Matt reached out a steady hand in order to comfort his sister. "Ok, well-"

"No. Just leave me alone," she pleaded, flinching away from his hand. 

The blonde boy sighed, "Come on, Vic. Don't be like that. Let's get you home."

"Just turn it off!" Vicki yelled, removing her fingers from her mouth as she screamed.

Jeremy stepped in. "Turn what off?" he asked, desperate to help her.

"The talking, the chatter, just turn it off," she answered, standing up and rushing over to where she could see the TV. The rest of the teenagers followed her into the living room.

Logan Fell was on the TV in front of what looked like a crime scene. A police car was next to him, and there was yellow tape everywhere. Charlie strained her ears to hear what he was saying, but Jeremy turned up the volume.

"Three bodies were found dead in what is believed to be a drug deal gone awry. The bodies have yet to be identified. They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls Cemetery." Charlie glanced over to a crying Vicki. If she was in transition—which Charlie wasn't totally sure of—she was probably really overwhelmed.

"That's where we were last night," Jeremy told them.

Matt turned to his sister. "What happened, Vic?" he asked as Logan continued to report the deaths. When she didn't answer, he said. "I'm calling the cops."

"No, don't," she protested.

Jeremy approached her as Charlie came up behind her and put a supportive hand on her shoulder. He questioned gently, "What happened after I left last night, Vick?"

Just as he said it, Vicki pushed him hard into the couch. The furniture slid, and Charlie heard glass breaking. Jeremy ended up on the floor, and she rushed to him. "Are you okay?" she quizzed, checking his body for injuries.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," he answered, pulling away from her which hurt, to be honest.

Matt gasped. "Damn, Vick."

Elena walked in after that, Stefan not far behind her. Charlie sighed in relief at the sight of them. One, Stefan didn't accidentally kill Elena. And two, Stefan would be able to help Vicki.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, and Stefan took a look around until his eyes found Charlie's. He immediately knew from the look in her eyes that it was something to do with vampires. 

Matt replied. "She's really messed up."

"Elena, back up," Stefan ordered, moving toward Vicki as everyone stepped back from the scared girl. He took her face in his hand and looked into her eyes. "Vicki, look at me. Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine." He then looked away. "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be okay."

Matt grabbed Vicki's shoulders and led her up the stairs as Jeremy followed. As soon as they were out of earshot, Charlie asked, "Is she...?"

She didn't need to finish the question before Stefan nodded. Elena looked back and forth between the two of them. "You guys know what's wrong with her?"

Stefan answered and Charlie nodded. "Yeah."

"What is it?"

"She's transitioning," Stefan said, stepping closer to Elena so that he was right in front of her.

Elena seemed shocked as she quizzed, "Transitioning to what?" She seemed like she already knew the answer. 

Charlie sighed. "A vampire."

"Wait, Charlie knows?" Elena gasped, stepping back from Stefan slightly. "And what?"

"I'll explain later, but Damon must have gotten to her. She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet," Stefan explained.

Elena nodded. "H-how does she do that?"

"She has to feed on human blood," Charlie told her, getting annoyed with how long Stefan was waiting. The guy really had a thing for dramatic effect. 

Elena breathed in, scared to ask her next question. "And what if she doesn't?" 

"She dies."

☾⌑❄⌑☽

"She may only have a few hours," Stefan informed Elena who was pacing around the kitchen. She kept rubbing her temples as she walked back and forth, asking Stefan and Charlie questions about the transition. Although, Charlie only knew the stuff that Mason had told her, and who knew what part of that stuff was true?

The Gilbert girl inhaled deeply before pointing out, "She's upstairs with him right now." She pointed at the ceiling as she spoke about Jeremy. Charlie would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little concerned as well. With Jeremy taking care of her, Vicki was bound to forget about resisting her urges. 

"It's okay," Charlie told her, but she wasn't so sure herself. "She doesn't know what's happening to herself yet." Stefan nodded along with what she was saying, confirming her statement. She breathed out a sigh in relief. 

"So when is she going to know?" Elena questioned, running a hand through her hair. 

Stefan sighed. "Right now, she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice."

Elena looked up at him. "The same choice you made?" she asked, and Charlie mentally rolled her eyes. Now is not the time, Elena. Y'all can talk about this later. 

Stefan was silent, and when Elena got now response, she cast a glare at her boyfriend and the Lockwood girl and stormed off calmly.

The moment was interrupted by Vicki sprinting down the stairs. She made her way towards the door as Matt called after her. She was out the door before any of them had the chance to react. Matt ran after her, Elena and Stefan not far behind. Charlie and Jeremy followed soon after. Once they reached the outside, she was nowhere to be found. It was like she disappeared. 

Jeremy groaned, explaining, "She was fine, and then she just—she just freaked out." Charlie covered her face in her hands, massaging her eyelids.

"I'm gonna go look for her," Matt told them, already moving toward the street. "Call me if you hear anything." He then ran off toward the direction he thought she went in.

Stefan leaned into Elena's ear, and Charlie strained hers so that she could hear what he was saying. "I can track her," he said, looking after Matt.

"Go."

---

Elena and Jeremy were cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen, having a little sibling moment or whatever while Charlie sat on the couch, plotting how she was going to kill Damon Salvatore. Well, maybe kill was a little extreme. He was a vampire after all, but she definitely wanted to make him pay.

It's not that she couldn't easily kill him. Just slip a little werewolf toxin in his drink. But she wasn't like that. She didn't think she could live with herself if she killed someone, not after Jenny at the beginning of the summer, no matter how horrible they were.

The doorbell rang, breaking her thoughts as she stood up to see who it was. Elena followed behind her along with Jeremy. Elena opened the door only to try to shove it closed again. Charlie was confused until she saw who was on the other side.

Speak of the devil.

Damon Salvatore pushed the door open, despite Elena's efforts to close it. "Jeremy, go upstairs," Elena ordered, and Jeremy nodded and began making his way to his room. Charlie was confused to how willing he was to just leave, but she had bigger things to worry about. 

"You're afraid of me," Damon noted as he observed Elena, glancing to the shorter girl beside before looking back. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess. Stefan finally fessed up." He then turned to Charlie. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. Damon Salvatore," he smiled, reaching out his hand for her to shake.

Before she could answer with a snarky remark, Elena cut her off. "Stay away from me," she told Damon.

"Hey, hey, hey, there's no need to be rude. I was just trying to introduce myself. I'm looking for Stefan. May I come in? Oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited." He then stepped into the threshold, and Charlie stayed ready to fight. She stood no chance against a vampire when it wasn't the full moon, but she could hold him off for long enough that Elena and Jeremy could get away.

He closed the door, and took a couple steps inside as the two girls watched him carefully. "We can cut to the chase if you want," he said. "I'm not gonna kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda, but I have this pretty little thing and a little brother upstairs I can play around with." Charlie clenched her fists as he spoke, not very far away from punching him. "So, where's Stefan?"

"He's out looking for Vicki," Elena replied slowly, glaring at the man in front of her.

Damon sighed. "Don't look at me with those judgey little eyes. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her."

He stepped closer and closer to Elena, and when he was finally inches away from her face, she asked. "Did you thank Katherine?" Charlie internally groaned. She didn't know exactly who Katherine was, but she could tell that she struck a cord in Damon. Now is not the time to be upsetting a vampire, Elena. Do you have a death wish? 

He stepped away from Elena and nodded. "Got the whole life story, huh?"

"I got enough," she responded, moving away from the staircase that she was leaning on. She looked like she was going to be sick, but she remained upright.

Damon smirked slightly. "Oh, I doubt that." He then turned around and headed toward the door. "Tell my brother I'm looking for him." He opened the door and stepped out before opening it back up the speak again. "Oh, tip for later. Be careful who you invite in the house."

He sent one more glance toward Charlie, and then he was gone. 

☾⌑❄⌑☽

Charlie left the Gilbert house a couple minutes after Damon's visit. She just wanted to go home and get to bed. She had had enough vampire drama for one day. With everything with Vicki and Stefan and Damon, she was just exhausted. 

Elena said that she would tell her what happened tomorrow and to get some sleep, but it was harder than she thought it would be. Instead of just crashing when she got home, she lied awake for what felt like forever. 

She finally got up and decided to occupy herself with writing or reading or something that might make her tired. She got out of her bed and made her way toward the light switch. She flipped the switch and turned around, and the she yelled.

Damon Salvatore was standing by her window.

"Oh, my God," the brunette gasped. When she finally got over the shock, she groaned. "Your family is creepy and weird and not very concerned about my lack of sleep or my mental health. How do you guys even know where my room is? I didn't even tell you my name."

Damon furrowed his eyebrows before speaking. "I have my ways, and I take it from your...outburst that you are not very excited to see me."

Charlie scoffed, "You think?"

"It's a shame," he sighed, "Most women are very excited to see me, especially when I sneak into their room at night."

The Lockwood girl scrunched her face up in disgust. She gagged as she answered, "Oh, that's gross. Why would you tell me that? I feel like I need to be cleansed. Can you get to the freaking point?"

Damon nodded. "I noticed something today," he explained, walking around her room, observing the pictures and posters pinned up on the walls.

"Ah, good for you. Now get out," Charlie ordered, motioning toward the window.

Damon turned toward her. "You are not scared of me," he pointed out, stepping closer and closer to her until he had her backed up against the wall. He was about a foot from her face when she took a breath.

"Great observation. You should take up science, or something that the only requirements are counting to ten without looking at your hands," Charlie had no idea what she was saying, but she just wanted him out.

Damon moved his face closer so that they were just inches apart. "You're not scared of me, which means you're either incredibly naive, or you don't think that I'm a threat to you. So, which is it?"

"Okay, I know I'm, like, irresistible, but can't you and your brother learn that some things can wait a couple hours to be discussed at a less creepy time," she responded. "Now go."

Damon exhaled deeply before stepping back. He made his way toward the window before turning back. "I will figure it out," he told her. 

She blinked and then he was gone.

Charlie groaned before turning the lights back off and climbing back into bed. She was definitely tired enough to go to sleep now. Just as she was drifting off, her phone buzzed on her bedside table.

She rolled over in her bed, staring at the phone, contemplating on whether or not she should look at it. Deciding that it might be Elena or something else important, she grabbed it. She looked at the text.

Hey, it's JJ from the Grill. I know it's late, but I was wondering if you would be up for giving me that tour tomorrow. Or some other time this week. Just let me know when you're free.

Despite the horrible day she just had, Charlie smiled at her phone.