"MAY I SPEAK with my daughter, please?" Carol Lockwood asked Liz, standing at the doorway of the Forbes' house. She had heard from Tyler that Charlie was staying there. She had a duffel bag over one shoulder, which was very unusual for the woman because she usually had people carry her luggage, and her luggage was usually very fancy suitcases, not an old duffel bag with holes in it.

The sheriff nodded, "Yeah, come in." She opened the door wider so that the mayor's wife could step inside. She then called to the girls. "Charlie, you have a guest. Caroline, can you come help me with something?"

"Yeah, sure," the blonde girl called back, glancing questioningly at Charlie who just shrugged. Caroline left and Carol walked into the room.

Charlie stood up quickly. "Mom, hi," she greeted.

"Hello, Lottie. I brought you some more of your clothes and things like your toothbrush and hairbrush," the woman smiled, but the smile faltered when she saw the mattress on the floor and the belongings strewn across the floor. She sighed, "Please come home, Charlotte. I can talk to your father-"

"Mom, I'm not coming home. Da—Richard made his choice. He said what he needed to say, and I'm supporting his wishes. Liz said I could stay here until I found somewhere more permanent, and then, when I turn sixteen, I can get myself a place," the teenager explained. She felt weird calling him 'dad,' so she just stuck to his name.

Carol sighed, giving up reluctantly, "Well, here are your things." She handed over the duffel bag, and Charlie took it. They both stood there awkwardly before Carol cleared her throat. "I should be going. We're hosting a tea party in a few hours. I have to get my hair done." 

Charlie nodded silently. Carol turned to leave, but her daughter stopped him before he could. "Mom." The woman turned around to look at her. "I love you."

Carol seemed taken aback by the words, for she could not remember the last time that anyone at all had said, 'I love you' to her. After a moment of hesitation, she replied. "I love you too, sweetie."

"I'll see you soon." The Lockwood woman nodded and continued her path out of the room. Charlie heard the front door close, and Caroline entered the room again so that they could resume their conversation.

"So, Matt kissed me."

☾⌑❄⌑☽

"You want me to what?" Charlie asked Stefan. They were standing in front of the school. Stefan had texted her—she had no idea how he got her number—saying that it was an emergency and to meet her there in ten minutes.

Stefan sighed, "I want you to interrogate Dr. Saltzman with me and steal the Gilbert journal."

"Well, from the sound of that plan of yours, it sounds like you want me to attack Dr. Saltzman with you. I know he's a strong, grown man, but you're a big boy, Stefan. You're a vampire with magical powers, so I think you can take him," the brunette told him.

The Salvatore rolled his eyes. "I figured having someone else could grab the journal while I distracted him. You're small, and you're the only one that knows about me other than Elena and Bonnie. I'm not putting either of them in danger because I love Elena and she likes Bonnie."

Charlie's mouth dropped, and she scoffed. "That was both very insulting and very shocking. The fact that you think that no one would care if died, is totally offensive. On the other hand, I don't think I have ever heard you say so many words at once."

"Are you going to help me or not?" he asked, irritated by all of the talking. 

The Lockwood shook her head in disbelief. He had just insulted her and now he was asking if she would help him. "You've got some nerve thinking that I'm gonna help you after that comment."

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to say. "Please," he pleaded.

"Stefan, I think that you are overestimating me. You see these?" She wiggled her arms like a bird. "These, my not so dear not friend, are noodle arms. They are not very useful in a fight, especially if this guy is who you say he is. I stand no chance against some...whatever you think Ric is."

"You don't have to fight. I'll do the finding if it's needed. You just need to stand there. By the way, you did a great job interrogating me. I was shaking in my boots," Stefan smirked.

Charlie ran a hand through her hair. "Fine. To be honest, anything's better than being at the Forbes' house. They're trying to make me feel at home, but it's just making me feel more guilty for imposing on them."

Stefan nodded and beckoned for her to follow him into the school. They walked past the gym and down the hallway. It was weird seeing the school so empty. Usually, it was filled with students screaming at the top of their lungs to hear each other, which just added to the noise that they were trying to yell over. So, it was an endless cycle.

"Do you want to be good cop or bad cop?" Charlie whispered, and Stefan sent her a glare telling her to shut up. "Okay, bad cop, geez."

Suddenly, a yell came from the teacher's room. "Hello?" The sudden noise caused the teenage girl to jump back into the lockers which resulted in a loud clang echoing the halls. Stefan quickly sped her behind a wall and put his finger to his lips as a sign to be quiet. "Hello? Someone there."

Ric was out of his classroom now, and Charlie could tell that the vampire in front of her was listening closely. She strained her ears too, trying to listen in without looking suspicious to Stefan.

Dr. Saltzman walked swiftly to the teacher's lounge and the two teenagers heard a locker open and close before some clicking noises that sounded like something being assembled and then a gun cocking. Charlie's eyes widened, but Stefan took advantage of this time and sped them into the man's classroom.

A few seconds later, the teacher walked in after them. A giant gun-looking thing was held in front of his face and he was looking through some sort of scope. A soon as he saw them, he shot, and a stake flew out of the gun.

Stefan caught it when it was a centimeter away from piercing Charlie's forehead.

"I hate you, Stefan," Charlie choked out, blinking to make sure that she was alive or that it hadn't been a horrible dream. "I hate you. I hate you, and I wish you were dead or gone or suffering. Whatever you want, just not here."

"I just saved your life," Stefan scoffed, looking from her to the sharp piece of wood in his hand. "And that was very aggressive. Maybe tone it down a bit."

The Lockwood stared at him in anger and shock. "My life wouldn't need saving if you hadn't dragged me in here to interrogate our teacher who we now know is a freaking psychopath with a wooden stake gun! You hear that, Stefan? Wooden stake gun. A gun that shoots wooden stakes. That's not something you just happen to have with you in case you come across a vampire while grading papers. It's not even legal to have that in a school. At least, I'm assuming it's not. There's not technically anything in the rules saying that he can't have a freaking wooden stake gun!"

Her rant had distracted both of them from the fact that the man on the other side of the room was loading another stake into his gun. He was about to fire when Stefan sped behind him. When Alaric spun around, Stefan grabbed his gun from him.

"You shouldn't have done that," the Salvatore told him before kicking him and sending him flying into a couple of desks. The teacher quickly got up, backing into one of the tables. 

"Have a seat. We would like to speak to you about something." Both of the males looked at Charlie in confusion when she spoke. She shrugged, "I've never been the good cop before."

Ric seemed hesitant, but Stefan continued gesturing for him to sit down. So, eventually, he did. "What is this, compressed air? Did you make it yourself? Who are you?" He paused after each question, taking a step toward the man, but Dr. Saltzman refused to answer any of the questions. "I'm not going to hurt you...unless you try that again."

Stefan tossed the gun to Charlie in the corner who panicked, but she caught it nonetheless. "Stefan, I really don't think I should be holding this."

"Who are you?" Stefan quizzed again, ignoring the brunette in the corner. She rolled her eyes, wondering why the hell she was even there if he was just going to pretend she wasn't.

Alaric sighed before answering, "I'm a teacher."

"Yeah, because all teachers keep wooden stake guns in their locker," Charlie muttered sarcastically, and Stefan gave her a look. She raised her hand in surrender. "Shutting up now."

The Salvatore leaned back from his position on the desk and turned back to the man he just attacked. "Are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

"I'm also a historian," he added, glancing between Stefan and Charlie who was examining the stake gun. "And while researching Virginia, I—made a few discoveries about your town."

Stefan concluded, "So, you show up like Van Helsing. Come on, tell me the truth."

"My wife was a parapsychologist. She spent her life researching paranormal activity in this area. It was her work that led me here," Alaric answered after a small chuckle. Charlie narrowed her eyes in doubt at this.

"Where's your wife?" Stefan asked soon after Dr. Saltzman finished his sentence, also questioning his story. Something just seemed off about it.

Alaric sighed, "Dead. A vampire killed her." Okay, Stefan. Maybe move away from that subject for now.

Stefan seemed to read her mind because he changed the subject. "Where's the Gilbert journal?" What was so important about this stupid journal? Johnathan Gilbert, like most men at the time, was probably just a sexist asshole that didn't care about anything but himself. So, why was everyone so interested in it?

"What do you want with it?" Alaric questioned, and Charlie turned to Stefan for the answer.

The vampire dodged the question, asking, once again. "Where is it?" Charlie began looking around for it, checking the drawers of the desk and file cabinet, but it was just some papers and a wooden stake here and there.

"It's on my desk," the teacher told him, and the Lockwood furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She shifted her gaze the desk that she must have looked at a hundred time during the conversation, but there was still nothing on there.

Stefan was confused as well. "No, it's not," he argued.

Dr. Saltzman slowly turned to look at the table lit only by a lamp to find the book missing. He looked back at the Salvatore. "It was on my desk."

Both of them jumped up when they heard a click and a wooden stake flew past them, barely missing Stefan's ear, and landed in the wall. They looked back at Charlie, who was staring between the gun and the wall in shock

"Yeah, that's gonna leave a mark. But get some spackle and a poster, and it'll be good as new."

☾⌑❄⌑☽

"How long have you been aware of me?" Stefan asked. They  had moved past the stake in the wall and back into the interrogation, but Charlie was still working on fixing up the hole. She was currently exercising the idea of taping paper over it.

Alaric watched her for a moment, wincing as the paper fell through the hole, before shaking his head and replying, "I learned just recently. What about your brother?"

"You met Damon," Stefan deduced.

Ric nodded, looking particularly unfazed as he told them, "Who do you think killed my wife." His voice cracked slightly, and the tape fell from Charlie's fingers as she turned around to look at the man in pity. 

"You sure it was Damon?" Stefan sighed. Charlie could see that every time Damon did something bad, Stefan was in denial for a moment, like it wasn't his brother that did that. It was like the five stages of grief every time the oldest Salvatore sibling killed someone, only not because someone died. It was because Damon did it.

The teacher nodded, "I witnessed it." Man, that sucks. It must be traumatizing watching  someone you love die. No wonder he keep wooden stake guns in his locker. If that happened to Charlie, she would want to be prepared all of the time too.

"If you're here for revenge," Stefan informed him after a deep breath, "this is going to end very badly for you." Charlie wasn't sure if it was a threat or a warning. It really depended on what mood he was in—protective Stefan or nice Stefan.

"I just want to find out what happened to my wife," the other male explained.

Charlie nodded in understanding, giving up on her attempt to fix the wall, but Stefan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I thought you just said that Damon—"

"Yeah," Ric cut him off and exhaled. "I saw him draining the life out of her. He must have heard me coming. He just...disappeared. So did her body. They never found her."

"Damon can never know why you're here. He'll kill you without blinking," Stefan told him, and Charlie nodded in agreement. If Damon found out that Alaric was trying to kill him, he would not be very happy.

Dr. Saltzman seemed unbothered by this statement. The guy was pretty cocky, even for someone that had an entire weapons arsenal in his locker in the teacher's lounge. "I can take care of myself."

"No, you can't," Stefan scoffed, "I can help you if you let me."

"And please, for the love of God, do not hurt Jenna."

☾⌑❄⌑☽

Stefan and Charlie exited the school together, and Dr. Saltzman stayed behind to finish his job of grading papers. They did not, however, leave empty handed. The teacher had conveniently made a copy of the journal, and he was kind enough to lend it to them after some convincing on Stefan's part.

"Hey, Stefan," Charlie wondered aloud, and the boy turned to her, waiting for what she was going to say next. "I was literally no help in the interview. If anything, I slowed down the process, so why the hell did you bring me? You seemed to have had it handled yourself."

Stefan sighed, "You sympathized with him. In my experience, it's better to have someone that understands what they're going through because it makes them want to answer the questions. As you said, I was the bad cop. You were the good cop."

"So, you've done this before?" Charlie didn't know why she was surprised. Stefan just didn't seem like the interrogative type. He seemed more like the person being interrogated.

Stefan nodded and exhaled, asking himself if he really meant what he said next. "So, I heard you mention feeling guilty about living with Caroline and her mom, so if you need a place to stay, I've got plenty of room. You'd have to put up with Damon, but you won't have to sleep on the floor."

"Thanks," Charlie beamed, "I might take you up on that offer if things get so bad that I consider dealing with Damon."

"Why'd you get kicked out anyway?" the vampire asked curiously. Elena had told him that she was staying on Caroline's floor, but she said that Bonnie wouldn't tell her why or if she was ever going back. Well, the second part, she didn't know.

The Lockwood seemed surprised that he didn't know. "No one told you? I figured Caroline would've told the entire school now that I don't care about people knowing. I'm dating JJ, and my dad's an asshole."

"Oh," Stefan said simply, looking down at his feet. Charlie thought about the fact that during the time he was human, she probably would've been burned at the stake and accused of being a witch. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine. It's not like I expected anything else." 

Stefan looked at her in pity, causing her to look at the ground in embarrassment, before offering, "Well, the Gilberts are having some sort of dinner party tonight, and I'm sure they'd be happy to have you if you want to come."

"No, I'm good," Charlie told him, shaking her head. "I've got some homework I need to catch up on. Call me if you need anything."

Without another word, she walked off in the direction of her house, and she heard Stefan climb into his car behind her. To be honest, she did want to go to the Gilbert house. She didn't want to be alone, but she was already feeling guilty enough with everything with her housing situation. So, she decided against it.

She had almost reached the house of Forbes when she received a call from Stefan. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but answered. 

"Miss me already?" she greeted, smirking slightly, but her face fell when she heard the Salvatore's somewhat serious tone.

He explained, "I think I know who took Johnathan Gilbert's journal. I need you to meet Damon and Jeremy at the Grill. I don't trust Damon alone with him."

"Wait, slow down," Charlie stopped him, trying to keep up with what he was saying to her. That was a lot of information to comprehend. "Who do you think took it?"

"Some girl that Jeremy's been hanging out with," Stefan answered, and Charlie's face fell. Was this the girl that helped Jeremy with his history assignment? The one that kept acting like she and him were dating?

She nodded, even though she knew Stefan couldn't see her. "I'll get there as soon as I can."

☾⌑❄⌑☽

Anna rounded the corner of the wall and approached Jeremy in the game section of the restaurant. "You just couldn't live without me, huh?" she asked as Damon and Charlie watched closely from a table nearby.

"Well, I kinda miss my daily dose of cute stalker chick," the Gilbert beamed, and the Lockwood across the room rolled her eyes. 

Anna chuckled, "Oh, funny."

"Let's play," Jeremy told her, and the two supernaturals turned to look at each other. One held a look of recognition on his face while the other seemed bitter and discouraged. I bet you can't guess which one is which.

Damon sighed and took a sip from his bourbon. Before he went to the bar, he asked if she wanted anything, but she had respectfully declined. She regretted that decision now. "I know her."

"What?" Charlie quizzed, looking in confusion at the Salvatore man. These vampires seriously needed to work on their talking skills.

"I recognize her," he explained, "She was one of the vampires with Katherine back in 1864. Her mom and Katherine were BFFs. Her mom's name was Pearl, I think."

The werewolf groaned at his slight vagueness, "Well, what's she doing here? And what does she want with the Gilbert journal?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," he told her. He paused when he saw the look on her face as she watched the two teenagers playing pool. "That must suck," he noted, and once again, Charlie was irritated with his lack of description.

"What?" she asked in hopes of clarification.

Damon shrugged, "You know, being in love with someone who's interested in someone else. I know how it feels, trust me. I once a young, naive teenager like yourself."

"First of all, what's with the old man talk? You sound like my grandfather," she informed. "Second of all, I am not in love with Jeremy. He's just a friend, and I'm concerned for him. Besides, I have a girlfriend."

This piqued his interest. "Oh, who?"

"Why do you care? I'm not letting her get mixed up in all this, and she is never going anywhere near you," she told him harshly.

"Why, I'm offended," he said, placing his hand over his heart as if he had just been insulted. "You think so low of me, and yet, you do not know me at all."

"And we're back to the old man talk."

☾⌑❄⌑☽

After the very painful game hour with Anna that involved Damon drinking a lot and asking embarrassing questions, the female vampire had to go home and deal with something, and Damon disappeared abruptly afterwards. Deciding just to let him go, Charlie approached Jeremy.

"It seems as if we've both been abandoned," Charlie stated, leaning against one of the pillars with her jacket folded in her hands. 

Jeremy nodded, "Yeah, Damon was kind of my ride home." Not what I meant, but okay. 

"Walk me home?" Charlie suggested, feeling pathetic as soon as she said it. She had a girlfriend that would drive into Mystic Falls to pick her up and drive her home, and here Charlie was, asking another person to walk her home.

The Gilbert smiled slightly. "Sure," he answered. They exited the Grill and began walking down the street. "So, why are all of you guys so suddenly interested in an old journal that was written by some drunk or lunatic."

"Oh," Charlie shrugged, trying her best to be nonchalant. "Something you didn't know about me is that I am a huge history nerd. Stefan and I are in this study group thing. It's pretty cool." She was joking, but she also hoped he would leave the question alone.

Jeremy smirked, "Of course." Charlie breathed out a sigh of relief. "So, what do you think of Anna?"

"Oh, I don't really know. I haven't actually spoken to her or had a conversation with her," Charlie replied after a moment's hesitation. She was kind of surprised by the question out of nowhere.

Jeremy acknowledged that. "I'm pretty sure you'll like her. She's cool like us."

"I'm cool?" Charlie mused, a smug smile appearing on her face, and Jeremy's face got pink and he looked down at his feet so he wouldn't meet her eyes. Desperate to relieve the tension, she continued, "I am pretty cool, aren't I?"

As they approached the house, Charlie could tell that she was subconsciously moving slower to prolong their walk. They stopped at the driveway, and the Lockwood looked from the door and back to Jeremy.

"Well, I better get back. Anna's probably waiting for me," Jeremy told her, and she practically choked on air.

She sputtered out, "Anna?"

"Yeah, Anna. You remember her? Brown hair, short, you saw her, like, ten minutes ago," Jeremy explained jokingly, but Charlie was too shocked to ask.

After she had found out that Anna was a vampire, she had assumed that that meant that he and Anna would stop hanging out. Then, she realized that he didn't know she was a vampire. He just thought she was some cute, creepy girl.

Before walking quickly into the house wordlessly, Charlie exhaled. "Okay, well, have fun."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

sorry, the last part is a bit rushed. it's late, and i'm tired. i can barely think, but i wanted to get this chapter out before i went to bed. what do you think about charlie kinda bonding with the salvatores? there's no jj in this one, sorry, but there is some jeremy.

love, lena