DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT WHEN there's a vampire running around, attacking people and your only suspect might be dating your friend...or friend's friend? No? Well, that's how Charlie felt at the moment. She knew it wasn't her job to rid the town of the blood-sucking monsters, but she couldn't help but think if someone got hurt, she'd be at fault.

"Hey, mom," Charlie called, walking into the kitchen where her mother was cooking food for her social this afternoon. 

Carol smiled, "Hi, honey. What can I help you with?" Charlie couldn't help but notice the formality of it, but she suspected it was probably from being away for two and a half months. 

"What do you know about the Salvatores?" she questioned, trying to sound casual. "Any dark family secrets you happen to know about?" She leaned her elbows on the counter, looking up at her mom and popping a strawberry into her mouth.

The older Lockwood cleared her throat. "Well, um, they're a founding family, I know that. They're pretty much your normal Mystic Falls family. And, well, every family has its secrets." That's not suspicious.

Charlie knew about her family secret, and if the Salvatore secret was anything like the Lockwood one, Elena was in trouble.

Charlie nodded along with her. "Any suspicious activity?" she asked, biting down on her lip to stop herself from blurting out the question she really wanted to ask. Are they vampires?

"No," Carol answered. She furrowed her eyebrows for a second before turning to look at her daughter. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering, you know, investigation for Elena. Gotta make sure she's not dating a serial killer, and I figured you'd know more about the Salvatores than someone at school," Charlie explained. "Well, I gotta get to school. Thanks, mom."

"Anytime, sweetie," she said, and Charlie walked out the front door.

On her walk to school, the Lockwood had plenty of time to think about what her mom said. Every family has secrets. Could Carol know about the biggest secret in her own family? What would she do if she found out? Would she shun her daughter?

And on to the Salvatores. She wondered what their family secret was. Was it that Stefan Salvatore was a vampire? Were there more of them? She should ask Caroline. She could probably stalk Stefan again and find out some stuff.

Speaking of Caroline, the blonde said that she'd call her last night when she got home. Charlie checked her missed calls, but Caroline wasn't one of them.

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As Charlie arrived at school, she saw Vicki talking to Jeremy. The Gilbert boy looked annoyed, and Vicki walked off. 

The Lockwood girl approached Jeremy, sitting next to him as he brought a cigarette to his lips. "Trouble in paradise?" she asked, smirking at him. He held the cigarette out to her as a response, but she shook her head. "Nah, I told you I'm trying to stay clean."

"So why are you hanging around in the stoner pit?" he questioned curiously, and it was a good question, one that she had not thought about the answer.

But Charlie was quick on her feet.

"Well, you know, there's a founder's party coming up," she stated, and he nodded. "And we are hosting, and my mom is going to kill me if I don't have a date. So, I was wondering, if you would go with me, just to get my mother off my back."

Jeremy's lips turned up into a smug smile. "Are you asking me out?" he chuckled, raising his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes. "No. I just don't feel like facing the wrath of my mother, and the only way I might actually have fun at this stupid thing is by going with you." She shrugged, and looked at the floor.

Jeremy laughed, "So, I'm the only thing that brings you joy, I see how it is." 

"I swear to God, Gilbert. Shut up," she told him. "That not what I meant, and you know it. You know what? Forget I even asked. I'll just ask Matt or something-"

Cutting her off swiftly, Jeremy said, "No, no. I'll go with you." Charlie's head snapped up to look at him with a surprised expression on her face.

"Really?" she quizzed, hoping she didn't sound too excited. She didn't know why she was so excited. Maybe it was because she's getting to go to one of her mother's events with someone she doesn't despise.

He nodded, "Yeah, I'll go." 

"I'll see you there, then," she told him. She turned around to walk away before turning back, walking backwards. "Suit and tie, Gilbert. It's a fancy event. And do something with that hair." She then saluted him and kept walking, leaving a smiling boy watching her walk away.

She walked down the hallway, looking for her blonde best friend when she saw Bonnie walking the opposite way, towards her. She was looking in every classroom she passed, and she kept stopping people to talk to them.

"Hey, Bonnie," Charlie called, jogging up to her. When the older girl looked up, she continued. "Have you seen Caroline? She won't answer my calls."

Bonnie shook her head. "I've been looking for her. She's not in her first period class. This can't be good. You know Caroline has never been late in her life. Not even to school." Bonnie sighed, checking the classroom they just passed.

"She's probably just sick. When was the last time you saw her?" Charlie asked the girl, trying to call Caroline again. She didn't answer, so she simply sent her a text. She breathed out when she saw the string of texts that had been sent with no response.

Bonnie nodded, "Last night, at the comet party. You're right. She's probably just sick or hungover or something. I'll go by her house after school. You get to class. I'll text you if I hear from her." 

"Okay, let me know what you hear. I'll see you." She waved goodbye to Bonnie before going to her next class.

Now she was really worried about Caroline.

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Charlie was walking over to the football field because she was supposed to remind her brother that he needed to leave early because they're mom wanted to take them dress and suit shopping. The party wasn't until next week, but their mother always wanted to be prepared. 

She stopped in her tracks when she saw Stefan sitting on the bleachers, watching the practice. She decided that now was her time to get the guy alone and interrogate him. That sounded wrong; ask him a few questions. She looked around and saw the cheerleaders practicing, but they were out of her direct line of sight. So, that means that Elena couldn't see her talking to him. Well, he would probably tell her later, but she was safe for now.

She approached him, and his head turned when he heard the clang of footsteps on the metal steps of the bleachers. She gave a slight wave, in hopes of making her look less suspicious.

"Hey," she greeted, "Stefan, right?" She knew his name, but she didn't want to sound creepy. He gave a small nod in response. "Mind if I sit?" He moved his bag so she could sit down. "You thinking of trying out?"

"Um, yeah. Hoping it might help me fit in," he answered, looking down at his hand then back at the field where a bunch of sweaty boys were running around.

Charlie noticed the thing he was looking at on his hand. It was a ring, a rather...noticeable ring. "Nice ring," she commented, "Family heirloom?" She remembered her uncle telling her some legend about vampires using magical jewelry to be able to walk around in the daylight.

"Yeah, how do you know?" he chuckled, holding out his hand so they could get a clear look at the ring.

Charlie laughed, "You don't know how many pieces of giant, ugly jewelry my parents have given me and my brother over the years that were family heirlooms. No offense to your ring."

"None taken," he said, "Um, I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name." He tilted his head and smiled a welcoming smile.

"Charlotte Lockwood, but you can call me Charlie," she told him. "That's my brother down there, number one. Elena's my... well, I'm friends with Caroline." He nodded, seeming to understand the situation.

"Yeah, she told me about you. You were telling her to be careful around me."

Charlie laughed nervously. "Yeah, I was just concerned, you know? New, mysterious guy that we know nothing about, could be a murderer. You seem nice, though."

Stefan shook his head. "I promise I won't hurt her." He seemed genuine, but something was off. The fact that he didn't deny that he was a murderer was a little weird.

"Charlie!" They heard the voice of her brother yelling at her. "Get your ass down here. Mom's gonna kill me if you're late. I'm gonna stay, though. Will you cover for me?" Charlie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Why was he staying if he knew he was going to be buried by their mother?

"Well, I gotta go. It was nice talking to you." Stefan, nodded, and she stood up. Before she could leave, however, she saw Caroline with the cheerleaders, leading practice. She had a scarf wrapped around her neck, which could not be good if there was a vampire in town, but Stefan had been at school all day. She quickly took out her phone to text Bonnie, but Bonnie had already texted her.

Caroline's at cheer practice, and you'll never guess who dropped her off. She quickly texted back, who? She saw Bonnie stop cheering and pick up her phone. 

Damon Salvatore.

She walked quickly away at Stefan, not looking back, but she couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that she felt the entire time they were talking. A feeling of hatred. A feeling of anger.

The feeling of wanting to rip his head off.

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Charlie was exhausted.

There were two possible vampires in town; one is in a very toxic relationship with her best friend and feeding on her, and the other is dating her other friend. Elena might hate her, Stefan thinks she's weird, she just had to go shopping with her mom and brother for two hours, and worst of all, it was a full moon. Moral of the story, she wasn't going to the football game.

She told her mom and dad that she was going to the game and that she might stay at Caroline's before heading out the door. She had Tyler drop her off on the beginning of a trail into the woods before the game started it. She said she was just taking a walk to clear her head and that if it gets too late, she might camp out here. That explained her duffel bag. He just nodded, not questioning it and drove off.

Then she began her hike. She started on the path, and about thirty minutes in, she turned off the path and towards her destination. After about an hour, she came across what she was looking for. She had never been here before, but her uncle gave her specific directions on how to get there. 

It was the old Lockwood cellar. He said that he used it all the time when he lived in Mystic Falls, and it would definitely hold her. She climbed down the stairs, brushing cobwebs out of her way and closing the door behind her as she descended.

When she got down there, she sighed. Lovely, she thought, staring at the cold, empty cellar. She dropped the duffel bag, and opened it up to reveal as pile of chains. It was starting to get dark, so she needed to work fast. She linked the chains to spots on the wall before locking them around each of her limbs and her torso.

She was all chained up, and she just had one more thing to do. She took the shake that she had made before she left out of her bag. She had discovered that if you mix the wolfsbane with banana and strawberry, you couldn't taste it as much. It still hurt like hell, though. 

She took a deep breath before downing the shake. She could feel the liquid oozing down her throat, the pain spreading throughout her body. She cried out as she felt her whole body burn. It was starting.

It started with her legs before moving on to her arms, then her back. The final part was her head. She let out a scream that turned into a howl as her head transformed.

Left standing there, where she used to be lying, was a giant, panting wolf.