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“Oh, I’ll be around,” he said, and bent his head to press his lips, lightly, against her cheek. Raising her hand to touch where he had kissed, Elena watched as Damon slid back into his car and drove away. A tendril of affection curled warmly inside her.
Once the black car had turned out of the high school parking lot, an excited babble of voices rose up behind Elena.
“Did you see that car?”
“There was a car? I was too busy looking at the guy.”
“No wonder Elena didn’t care about the new boy.”
Elena smirked a little. Then, turning, she came face to face with Matt. His lips were pursed tightly. Elena flinched. She had told him there wasn’t anyone else.
“Matt,” she said quickly, “it’s not what it looks like. When we talked, I didn’t …”
Tyler Smallwood and Dick Carter swaggered over. Tyler slapped Matt on the back, his big, red face openly amused. “So someone finally cracked the Ice Princess, huh? Too bad it wasn’t you, Honeycutt,” he said loudly. “You wasted a lot of time there.”
On Tyler’s other side, Dick Carter broke into rough laughter. His girlfriend, Vickie Bennett, clung to his arm and tittered uneasily.
Ignoring them, Elena reached out for Matt. “I wasn’t seeing Damon yet when we talked,” she said. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“It’s fine,” Matt said shortly, turning away from her and heading for the school doors.
“Matt—” Elena began. She tried to follow him, but Tyler blocked her path, taking a firm hold on her arm.
“Tell you what, gorgeous,” he said, baring his large white teeth in a smile. “Forget them both and come to Homecoming with me. We’ll show you a good time, won’t we, Dick? Vickie?”
Dick laughed, a big dumb har-de-har, and Elena squirmed away, pulling her arm out of Tyler’s hot grip. “Forget it,” she said briefly, but by the time she pushed past them, Matt was gone.
Tyler had always been a jerk, Elena thought dismissively. And then she felt her own eyes widen as what he had said hit her. Homecoming night.
Elena had been so angry that night. Angry at everyone: Stefan for snubbing her; Caroline for bringing Stefan to Homecoming; Bonnie and Meredith for thinking that perhaps she should give up on Stefan. And so she had drunk bourbon with Tyler and Dick and their friends, and gone with them to the cemetery.
Tyler had tried to rape Elena. Stefan had rescued her—that was the one moment that had torn down the barriers between them. It doesn’t matter, Elena thought, repressing a shudder. That wasn’t going to happen this time.
But Tyler and the others would probably still go to the cemetery. And Dick and Vickie had fooled around on Honoria Fell’s tomb. The tomb that hid the entrance to the catacombs in which Katherine was concealed. Offended, Katherine had tormented Vickie for months, nearly driving her over the edge of insanity.
Elena glanced back at Vickie, who was now crossing the parking lot toward the school, still arm in arm with Dick. Vickie’s pale brown hair flowed down her back as she tossed back her head to giggle up at Dick, her nose wrinkling as she laughed.
Elena had to try to protect her.
“Elena?” Bonnie’s voice jolted Elena out of her contemplation. She was staring across at Tyler, she realized, frozen. She shook her head quickly, as if to scatter the memories, and turned to her friend.
Meredith was beside Bonnie, looking at Tyler with an expression of disdain. “Don’t let him get to you, Elena,” she said. “He’s a creep.”
“But who was that guy, Elena?” Bonnie demanded, her eyes shining with curiosity. “He was so—and you—Is he what you’ve been acting so weird about?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Elena said absently, watching as Vickie twisted a lock of her pale brown hair around one finger.
“Oh, come on!” Bonnie groaned, tugging at Elena’s arm. “A beautiful guy like that? Tell me now!”
“I can’t,” Elena said, pulling away. “I promise I’ll tell you everything I can soon. But right now we have to go to class.” She would have to figure out something to tell them. Maybe she could pretend Damon was what he had told Aunt Judith, just a college student who Elena had happened to meet.
Bonnie huffed and rolled her eyes, but Meredith nodded. “Come on, then,” she said. “We’re going to be late.”
Elena followed her friends toward the school doors, but her steps slowed as she saw Stefan waiting just outside, his face as gray as a storm cloud.
“I have to talk to you,” he said, grabbing hold of her arm. Elena stared at him, and he let go, snatching his hand back. “Alone. Please.”
Elena hesitated, and Meredith eyed her carefully. “Do you want us to go ahead without you?” she asked, ignoring Stefan.
