The Night of the Comet

[A boy and a girl, in a tent, in a forest.]

GIRL: Hey. Did you hear that?

BOY: Hear what? GIRL: I heard thunder. BOY: There's no thunder. GIRL: Are you sure? Because if it rains, then we won't be able to see the comet. BOY: It's not gonna rain. Listen, i... Got you a little something. It's back in the car. Don't you move. GIRL: Stay dry. BOY: It's not gonna rain.

She hears a noise.

GIRL: I knew it! I told you it was gonna rain!

The boy disappeared. She hears a noise and watches blood on the tent. She runs at the car.

GIRL: Open! No! Please!

Someone kills her.

[Elena's bedroom. / Stefan's bedroom.]

ELENA: Dear diary, this morning is... different. There is change. I can sense it, feel it. STEFAN: I'm awake. For the first time in a long time, I feel completely and undeniably wide awake. ELENA: For once, I don't regret the day before it begins. STEFAN: I welcome the day...

STEFAN/ELENA: Because I know...

STEFAN: I will see her again.

ELENA: I will see him again. For the first time in a long time, I feel good.

Elena goes out of her bedroom.

JENNA: Do I look adult? As in respectfully parental? ELENA: Depends where you're going. JENNA: Jeremy's parent-teacher conference. Hair up or down? ELENA: Sexy stewardess. Boozy housewife. JENNA: Up it is. You're feisty today. ELENA: I feel good, which is rare. So I've decided to go with it. Fly free, walk on sunshine, and all that stuff. Where is Jeremy? JENNA: He left early. Something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse. There is no wood shop, is there? ELENA: No. JENNA: Yeah.

[At the hospital. Vicki's bedroom.]

NURSE: You can't be in here, hon. Visiting hours don't start till 9:00. JEREMY: I just... How is she? NURSE: She's lost a lot of blood. JEREMY: Yeah, but she's gonna be OK, right? NURSE: She needs her rest. So you come back later. Come on.

[History's class.]

TANNER: Originally discovered nearly 5 centuries ago, it hasn't been over Mystic Falls in over 145 years. Now, the comet will be its brightest right after dusk during tomorrow's celebration. Are we bothering you, Mr. Salvatore? Ms. Gilbert?

[In the corridor.]

STEFAN: I brought it. Told you. ELENA: "Wuthering Heights" by Ellis Bell. You know, I can't believe she didn't use her real name. STEFAN: All the Bronte sisters used pseudonyms. It was the time. Female writers weren't very accepted then. ELENA: Where did you get it? STEFAN: Uh, it was passed down. Through the family. ELENA: Ah. STEFAN: I have lots of books. Go ahead. Keep it. ELENA: Oh, no. I... But I would like to read it again. I promise I'll give it back. STEFAN: OK.

CAROLINE: I'm confused. Are you psychic or clairvoyant? BONNIE: Technically, grams says I'm a witch. My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something.Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned out. Crazy family, yes. Witches? I don't think so. CAROLINE: Yeah, well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night. BONNIE: I didn't see him, you did. Why didn't you just talk to him? CAROLINE: I don't know. I was drunk.

[Jeremy is going to see Tyler and his friends.]

JEREMY: Hey, Tyler. Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt. I was just wondering how Vicki's doing, since you guys are so close. Is she ok? TYLER: She's fine. Now get out of here. JEREMY: How bad is she? Do they know what attacked her? Is she going to make a full recovery? Was she happy to see you? What room number was she in?

TYLER: I'm going to kick your ass. JEREMY: Yeah, you keep saying that, but when are you actually going to do it? Huh? 'Cause I vote for right here and right now.

TYLER''': Walk away, Gilbert. It's your final warning. JEREMY: No, this is your final warning, dick. I'm sick of watching you play Vicki. You hurt him one more time, I swear to God, I will kill you. '''

TYLER: Damn, that was like a death threat. Did you hear that?

[Matt and Elena talk about Vicki. Stefan sits on a table and listens to the conversation. ]

MATT: They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection, but she should be able to come home tomorrow. ELENA: That's good news. MATT: Yeah. ELENA: Did you get in touch with your mom? MATT: Called and left a message. She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so... we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home. ELENA: Vicki's lucky that she's ok. MATT: I know, and now there's talk of some missing campers. ELENA: Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her? MATT: She said it was a vampire. ELENA: What? MATT: Yeah, she wakes up last night and mutters "vampire" and then passes out. ELENA: OK, that is weird. MATT: I think she was drunk. So what's up with you and the new guy? ELENA: Matt, the last thing that I want to do is hurt you. MATT: You know, I'm... I'm actually gonna go back to the hospital. I want to be there when Vickie wakes up, get the real story about last night. ELENA: OK.

Stefan disappeared.

[Jenna with Mr Tanner.]

TANNER: As Jeremy's teacher, I'm concerned. All right? It's the third day of school and he's skipped six of his classes. JENNA: Mr. Tanner, are you aware that Jeremy and Elena's parents died? TANNER: Four months ago, a great loss. Car accident. Wickery bridge, if I remember correctly. And you're related to the family how? The, uh, mother's kid sister? JENNA: Younger sister. TANNER: Right. JENNA: Yes. Six classes? Are you sure? I mean, that's kind of hard to do. TANNER: Not when you're on drugs. It's his attempt at coping, Ms. Summers. And the signs are there. He's moody, withdrawn, argumentative, hungover. Are there any other relatives in the picture? JENNA: I'm their sole guardian. TANNER: Uh-huh. Could there be? JENNA: What are you suggesting, exactly? TANNER: It's an impossible job, isn't it, raising two teens? JENNA: It's been tough, but, no, it's not. TANNER: Wrong answer. It is an extremely impossible job, and anything less and you're not doing it properly.

[Matt at the hospital.]

MATT: Whoa! Vick. Vicki, hey. Vick, it's Matt. Hey, what's wrong? VICKI: No! No! Get off! No! No! No!

Matt is going to search doctors. Stefan enters.

STEFAN: It was an animal that attacked you. It came out of the night and jumped you. You blacked out. It's all you remember. VICKI: It's all I remember. STEFAN: An animal attacked you. You blacked out. It's all you remember. It's all I remember.

MATT: Nurse! I need help! It's my sister. NURSE: She seems fine.

Vicki is sleeping. Matt believes to see Stefan, he follows him but doesn't find him.

[The girls sit outside.]

BONNIE: Well, I was talking to grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity. CAROLINE: Yeah, and then you poured grams another shot and she told you about the aliens. So then what? ELENA: So then nothing. CAROLINE: You and Stefan talked all night? There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind? ELENA: Nope. We didn't go there. CAROLINE: Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena, we are your friends. Ok? You are supposed to share the smut. ELENA: We just talked for hours. CAROLINE: OK, what is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already! Ok, it's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex. ELENA: Profound. BONNIE: Where are you going? ELENA: Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do.

[Elena's house.]

JENNA: I picked up dinner. Tacos. I had an urge for guacamole. JEREMY: No, I'm good, thanks. JENNA: Eat anyway. It's a ruse. I want to talk. Hey, you! Come. Sit. Back in school, freshman year, I could eat my weight in nachos, with extra cheese. It was my munchie food whenever I got stoned. JEREMY: You get high? JENNA: Did. Past tense. But, yeah. Loved it. Anything to get a little distraction from life... reality. And it worked. For a while. Never lasts, though. Hey, I'm not saying I wouldn't love to rail back and kick it, but with a thesis looming and a waistline expanding...

Jeremy is going.

[Matt is sleeping on a chair. Vicki is woken. She throws a gelatin container at Matt.]

MATT: What the... VICKI: Finally you're awake. MATT: Hey. How are you feeling? You look better. I was worried before. You really had me freaked out with all that screaming. VICKI: Wait, what are you talking about? MATT: You don't remember? VICKI: I feel fine. MATT: Good, good. Doctor said you could come home tomorrow. Vick, what attacked you in the woods? VICKI: An animal. What else could it have been?

Jeremy arrives. JEREMY: Hey. How do you feel? VICKI: I'm OK. MATT: I... I'm gonna... I'm gonna go grab a coffee. Hey, Jer. VICKI: Why are you here? JEREMY: I just wanted to see how you were doing. VICKI: Did you see that look on Matt's face? That was suspicion. I don't want people to find out about us, Jeremy. JEREMY: Well, you gotta get over that. VICKI: Tyler is finally showing some interest. JEREMY: You have to get over that, too. Do you see Mr. Concerned? Tyler? Are you under there? No. VICKI: It's not cool for people to know. OK? I'm older than you, and Matt and Elena would freak. JEREMY: No one's going to suspect anything. Why wouldn't I check on you? I mean, I'm the one who found you. VICKI: You are? JEREMY: Yeah, I carried you out of the woods. VICKI: Thank you. JEREMY: Yeah, you're welcome.

[Elena arrives to Stefan's house. The door is open, she enters.]

ELENA: Stefan? Stefan?

Damon suddenly appears in front of her.

ELENA: I... I'm sorry for barging in. The door was... Open. DAMON: You must be Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother. ELENA: He didn't tell me he had a brother. DAMON: Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second. ELENA: Wow. This is your living room? DAMON: Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste. I see why my brother's so smitten. It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him. ELENA: The last one? DAMON: Yeah. Katherine, his girlfriend? Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet. ELENA: Nope. DAMON: Oops. Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end. ELENA: You say it like every relationship is doomed to end. DAMON: I'm a fatalist. Hello, Stefan. STEFAN: Elena. I didn't know you were coming over. ELENA: I know. I should have called, I just... DAMON: Oh, don't be silly. You're welcome any time. Isn't she, Stefan? You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies. But... I have to warn you. He wasn't always such a looker. STEFAN: Thank you for stopping by, Elena. Nice to see you. ELENA: Yeah, I should probably go. It was nice to meet you, Damon. DAMON: Great meeting you, too, Elena. ELENA: Stefan? Stefan?

Elena leaves the house.

DAMON: Great gal. Whoo. She's got spunk. You, on the other hand, look pooped. Did you over-exert yourself today? Let me guess... hospital. STEFAN: Someone had to clean up your mess. DAMON: Well, were you successful? Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember, if you don't feed properly, none of those little tricks work right. STEFAN: How long was Elena here? DAMON: Were you worried, Stefan? Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past? Isn't that why you play your little game, "I'm a high school human"? STEFAN: I'm not playing any game. DAMON: Of course you are. We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it. STEFAN: What kind of game are you playing... Damon? DAMON: Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?

[Elena's house.]

ELENA: He's on the rebound and has raging family issues. JENNA: Well, at least it's an ex-girlfriend. Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues. Or amphetamine issues. Jeremy? Jeremy, where were you? JEREMY: More stoner stories? Look, Jenna, I get it, you were cool. And so that's... that's cool. JENNA: Oh, no, no, no!

Jenna throws an apple on Jeremy.

JEREMY: Ow! Why? Why... why did you do that? JENNA: Listen up! Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion. JEREMY: Parental authority, I like it. Sleep tight.

[Vicki at the hospital. Matt is sleeping. She's going to the bathroom. She believes to see Damon. ]

VICKI: Matt. Mattie?

It's not Matt but Damon. In fact, it's just a nightmare.

[In the street of Mystic Fall. Bonnie and Elena distribute The night of the comet's program.]

BONNIE: Tonight, night of the comet. ELENA: Would you like a program? BONNIE: He didn't call, huh? ELENA: Or text. But I realized we never even exchanged that stuff. We've never gotten to the texting part. BONNIE: That's an important milestone in any relationship. ELENA: Isn't it? The timing is wrong, anyway. BONNIE: When is it ever right? ELENA: I'm not ready, Bonnie. BONNIE: Who is? ELENA: At least I put myself out there. BONNIE: Is that what you're calling it? ELENA: What do you mean? BONNIE: All I'm hearing is reasons why you can't.

Caroline believes to see Damon but when she approaches there is anybody.

[Stefan's house.]

ZACH: What is Damon doing here? Why did he come home? STEFAN: 'Cause I came home. He wants to make my life miserable. That's how he enjoys his. ZACH: Well, he's putting us all at risk. This girl in the hospital could talk. STEFAN: She won't. I took care of her. ZACH: You're sure? STEFAN: I'm not sure, Zach. I don't know how well it worked. I'm not as strong as Damon. ZACH: So what happens if it doesn't work? STEFAN: I don't know. I'll deal with it. ZACH: Is she worth it? Uncle Stefan, this girl you came back for.

[At the Grill.]

JEREMY: Vicki, what are you doing here? VICKI: Fighting with Robert about my schedule. You'd think getting ripped up by a rabid animal would merit an extra sick day. JEREMY: Are you feeling ok? VICKI: I hurt. JEREMY: Well, the doctor gave you something, right? VICKI: The kid stuff. Nothing with an "o" in it. I think they were onto me. JEREMY: Here. Knock yourself out, literally. VICKI: Thanks, Jer. JEREMY: So you gonna, uh, watch the comet later? VICKI: I hadn't really thought about it. But I could be talked into it. I'll meet you out there in a few. TYLER: Hey, Vick. How you feeling? VICKI: Like you care. TYLER: What are you lookin' at, Gilbert?

[Behind the Grill.]

CAROLINE: Hey, I got some candles. ELENA: Hi. Hey. MATT: Hey. ELENA: Thank you. MATT: You're welcome. STEFAN: Thank you. STEFAN: Hi. ELENA: Hi. STEFAN: You know, that comet... it's been traveling across space for thousands of years. All alone. ELENA: Yeah, Bonnie says it's a harbinger of evil. STEFAN: I think it's just a ball of... snow and ice, trapped on a path that it can't escape. And once every 145 years, it gets to come home. I'm sorry about yesterday. I wasn't myself. ELENA: You seem to spend a lot of time apologizing. STEFAN: Well, I have a lot to apologize for. Yesterday, that wasn't about you, ok? ELENA: You didn't tell me that you had a brother. STEFAN: We're not close. It's, uh... it's complicated. ELENA: Always. He told me about your ex, Katherine. STEFAN: What did he say? ELENA: That she broke your heart. STEFAN: That was a long time ago. ELENA: When you lose someone, it stays with you, always reminding you of how easy it is to get hurt. STEFAN: Elena... ELENA: It's OK, Stefan. I get it. You have no idea how much I get it. Complicated brother? Check. Complicated ex? Check. Too complicated to even contemplate dating, double check. It's OK. We met, and we talked, and it was epic, but... then the sun came up and reality set in so...

She's going.

[At the Grill. Vicki sees Damon.]

VICKI: I know you. DAMON: Well, that's unfortunate. VICKI: Um... I don't... I don't know how, but... your face. Excuse me. Sorry.

She's going at the toilets. In the mirror, she sees Damon. She shout.

JEREMY: Hey, has anyone seen Vickie? TYLER: You're her stalker. You tell us. JEREMY: I can't find her. TYLER: She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced. ELENA: What's with the pill pusher? TYLER: Ask him. JEREMY: You wanna do this right now? ELENA: Are you dealing? TYLER: She's never gonna go for you. JEREMY: She already did. Over and over and over again. TYLER: Yeah, right. CAROLINE: You slept with Vickie Donovan? I mean, Vickie Donovan slept with you? TYLER: There's no way. JEREMY: And I didn't even have to force her into it. MATT: What the hell is he talking about, Todd? TYLER: Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk. MATT: You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister? BONNIE: We'll check the back. MATT: I'll check the square. JEREMY: I'll come with you. ELENA: Oh, no, no, no. You are coming with me. So that's your game now, dealing? JEREMY: I'm not dealing. ELENA: Look, I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jer. It's really having no impact. JEREMY: You and Jenna, between the two of you... ELENA: We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it or to rehab where you'll sit in group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me. JEREMY: I vote for none of the above.

In the street.

MATT: Hey. STEFAN: Hey. MATT: Have you seen my sister? STEFAN: No, sorry. MATT: I can't find her. She's missing. STEFAN: I'll keep an eye out for her. MATT: Hey. I saw you at the hospital yesterday. STEFAN: Did you? MATT: What were you doing there? STEFAN: Visiting. MATT: Visiting? You know, Elena and I, we've known each other for a long time. We might not be together right now, but I look out for her. And I'll always look out for her.

Stefan hears voices coming from the roof.

DAMON: You really have to stop screaming. VICKI: No, please, stop. Don't... Shh. I got you.

STEFAN: Excuse me.

Stefan sees Damon and Vicki. He jumps on the roof.

VICKI: No! No! DAMON: I gotta do it. I'm not gonna drop you. Not bad. Have you been eating bunnies? STEFAN: Let her go. DAMON: Shh. really? OK. VICKI: No! No, no, no! DAMON: Ugh! Relax. VICKI: What's happening? DAMON: I don't need her to be dead, but... you might. What attacked you the other night? VICKI: I don't know. An animal. DAMON: Are you sure about that? Think. Think about it. Think really hard. What attacked you? VICKI: A vampire. DAMON: Who did this to you? VICKI: You did! DAMON: Wrong! STEFAN: Don't. DAMON: It was Stefan. STEFAN: Don't. DAMON: Come here. Stefan Salvatore did this to you. VICKI: Stefan Salvatore did this to me. DAMON: He's a vampire. A vicious, murderous monster. STEFAN: Please, Damon. Please don't do this. DAMON: If you couldn't fix it before, I don't know what you can do now. VICKI: Aah! DAMON: Ugh! Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak. A couple of vampire parlor tricks is nothing compared to the power that you cod have, that you now need. But you can change that. Human blood gives you that. VICKI: No! DAMON: You have two choices. You can feed and make her forget. Or you can let her run, screaming "vampire" through the town square. STEFAN: That's what this is about? You want to expose me? DAMON: No! I want you to remember who you are! STEFAN: Why? So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again? You know what, let her go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart, because at least I'll be free of you. DAMON: Huh. Huh. Wow. Come here, sweetheart. VICKI: No! DAMON: It's OK. VICKI: What happened? Where am I? Oh, I ripped my stitches open. Ah... STEFAN: You OK? VICKI: I took some pills, man. I'm good. DAMON: It's good to be home. Think I might stay a while. This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think? STEFAN: What are you up to, Damon? DAMON: That's for me to know and for you to... dot dot dot. Give Elena my best.

[At the Grill.]

MATT: She said you found her wandering around. STEFAN: Yeah. MATT: So, um, thanks.

CAROLINE: Ugh, it's just so much drama. Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores? BONNIE: Yeah. STEFAN: Excuse me. hi. BONNIE: Hi. STEFAN: Um, have you guys seen Elena? BONNIE: I think she went home. I'm gonna give you Elena's cell number and her email. She is big on texting, and you can tell her... "I said so". STEFAN: Thank you.

The hands contact and Bonnie has a vision.

STEFAN: You OK? BONNIE: What happened to you? That's so rude. I'm sorry. Excuse me. CAROLINE: Yeah, she kind of wigs out. It's like her thing.

[Elena's house. Jeremy's bedroom.]

ELENA: Jer? JENNA: No, it's me, the hypocrite patrol.

ELENA: What are you doing? JENNA: I've become my worst nightmare. The authority figure who has to violate a 15-year-old's privacy. Jackpot. I see the hiding places vent gotten any more creative.

ELENA: What brought this on?

JENNA: Your ass-hat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday. ELENA: You got tannered. Been there.

JENNA: "Discover the impossible, Ms. Summers." Got it. Thanks. Like I didn't know I was screwing up. ELENA: You're not screwing up, aunt Jenna. JENNA: Yes, I am. You know why? Because I'm not her. She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you. I can't do it. I'm gonna say or do the wrong thing, and he's gonna get worse, and it's gonna be my fault. It's impossible. ELENA: This is just the fear talking. You're a little scared, that's all. We all are. I have to go do something. But are you going to be ok?

[At the Grill. Vicki and Tyler are kissing, Jeremy watches the scene.]

[Caroline on the car park. She hears noises.]

CAROLINE: Oh... whoo. DAMON: Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. CAROLINE: No, it's fine. Um... I was hoping I'd see you again. DAMON: I know. CAROLINE: Cocky much? DAMON: Very much.

[Stefan's house.]

STEFAN: Hi. ELENA: Hey. STEFAN: Would you like to come in?

ELENA: The comet's actually this way. Sorry for barging in. Especially after earlier. STEFAN: No, no. I'm glad you're here. The way we left things... I didn't like it. ELENA: See, the thing is, I got home tonight planning on doing what I always do, write in my diary, like I have been since my mom gave me one when I was 10. It's where I get everything out, everything I'm feeling. It all goes in this little book that I hide on the second shelf behind this really hideous ceramic mermaid. But then I realized that I'd just be writing things that I should probably be telling you. STEFAN: What would you write?

ELENA: I would write... "Dear diary, today I convinced myself it was ok to give up. Don't take risks. Stick with the status quo. No drama, now is just not the time. But my reasons aren't reasons, they're excuses. All I'm doing is hiding from the truth, and the truth is that..." I'm scared, Stefan. I'm scared that if I let myself be happy for even one moment that... the world's just going to come crashing down, and I... I don't know if I can survive that. STEFAN: Do you want to know what I would write? "I met a girl. We talked. It was epic. But then the sun came up and reality set in. Well, this is reality.Right here."

They kiss each other.

[Damon and Caroline are having sex. Damon bites her.]

CAROLINE: Aah!