.

Cynthia woke up with a gasp. Her pillow was back underneath her and there was no one in sight. She hopped out of bed and hurried out into the hallway. A nurse came over to her.

"Where is everyone?"

"It's the middle of the night, honey." The nurse told her.

"It is? Oh… Where's my brother?"

"He left a couple hours ago. Your friend Jeremy Gilbert, your uncle and Elena Gilbert stopped by but no one has been here since." She explained.

"Yeah, but she said her name was Katherine…. I'm starving. Can I get something to eat?" Cynthia suddenly noticed how hungry she was.

"Breakfast is at seven. Back to bed." The nurse started gently steering her back towards her room.

"Wait, no, something happened. Something really weird!" Cynthia told her. The nurse rolled her eyes.

"You're acting as weird as that Forbes girl."

"Caroline?" Cynthia stopped in her doorway to her room and looked back at the nurse.

"Mmhmm… She's in that room. Friend of yours?" The nurse pointed with her pen towards the room across the hall.

"Yeah."

"Well, you can visit her tomorrow if the doctor says you're up to it. Now get back to bed." The nurse watched her get back into bed before she shut the door and left. Cynthia counted to twenty in her head and then got out of bed and walked out of the room. She quickly went over to Caroline's room and pushed the door open. Caroline quickly hid something behind her back as the door opened. Cynthia came into the room and shut the door behind her.

"Caroline… has anything weird happened?" Cynthia asked nervously. Caroline seemed relieved she asked that question.

"Elena stopped by a few minutes ago… or maybe it was more than that… and she said her name was Katherine and then… then I swear she killed me but… it was just a dream right?" Caroline asked. Cynthia swallowed hard.

"The same thing happened to me." Caroline shoved something under her pillow and opened her arms. Cynthia sat down on her bed and let Caroline hug her.

"And I'm starving…" Cynthia complained. Caroline nodded against her shoulder.

"And are you craving…?" Caroline trailed off, pulling away and wondering if she should even say the world. Cynthia suddenly put her finger on her craving.

"Blood." They said at the same time. Caroline slowly pulled a half empty blood bag out from under her pillow.

"Here." Cynthia eagerly drank from it. Caroline put her hand in her mouth and felt her gums.

"My gums hurt." She moaned. Cynthia reached up to feel her own gums.

"Mine too…"

"What's happening to us?" Caroline asked, hugging Cynthia again. Cynthia just shook her head.

"Vampires… That's the only word that comes to mind." Cynthia told her. Caroline pulled away to look at her.

"No one knows. Okay? We keep this between us." She was looking as terrified as Cynthia felt. Cynthia nodded.

"I have to get my back to my room." Cynthia whispered.

"Okay. Stay close."

"I will."

"You are going to forget everything that happened tonight, everything you saw. You went to the party, you got drunk, you passed out. Vicki is fine, she went out of town, but you don't know where. Now, you're going to go to sleep, okay?"

Cynthia woke up and looked around. Damon had compelled her at some point. She lied back against her pillows and started crying.

Elena and Stefan came to see her the next morning. Cynthia was covered in blankets, back facing the window that had the curtains draw.

"Hey…" Stefan greeted her hesitantly. She looked up.

"Hey." She returned. Elena, not liking the awkwardness of this conversation, went over to the window.

"Why don't you let some sun in? You're acting like a vampire." Elena said. Haha, so funny, Cynthia thought sarcastically.

"No! I like it black, like my soul." Cynthia moaned. Elena gave her a confused look but didn't open the curtains.

"How are you doing?" Stefan asked, pulling up a chair next to her bed and sitting down on it.

"Fine. The stupid doctors won't release me until the morning though." Cynthia told him, pulling a pillow over her face.

"You're such a morning person." Stefan joked. She laughed slightly from under the pillow before throwing it at him. He dodged it and picked it up from the floor.

"I'm still mad at you." She told him. Elena silently slipped from the room to let them talk.

"I'm sorry."

"I know. I'm not really mad at you. I'm weird today." Cynthia told him. She didn't want to say that she was actually a vampire today. She didn't want him to know. She was scared. What would they do? Shove a stake in her heart? Abandon her? How was she going to keep this from her family? She didn't want to find out. Just the thought of all this made her start crying.

"Whoa, hey, you're okay." Stefan sat down on the bed and hugged her. She hugged him back and then wiped her eyes.

"You should go. I'm tired." She lied. He nodded once.

"Okay. I'll see you when you get out." He got up and left. Cynthia flopped against her bed again, crying into her pillow.

After dark that night, Cynthia got up and went to the stack of clothes Tyler had dropped off for her. She got dressed in a sleeveless grey top, faded jeans and grey flats. She started to grab her bracelet, but it burned her fingers. She cursed under her breath. Vervain… Right, she thought, nodding to herself. She quickly dropped it into her black shoulder bag, shaking out her hand to get rid of the pain. She put on the rest of her jewelry, which consisted of the chain necklace Tyler gave her with the 'C' on it and the chain necklace with a silver heart that Jeremy had given her. Once she was done, she shouldered her bag and hurried across the hall to Caroline's room. Caroline had a nurse against the wall and blood dripping down her chin. Cynthia quickly shut the door.

"Caroline!" She hissed.

"I'm sorry, okay? She saw me drinking out a blood bag and I don't know what to do!" Caroline cried. Cynthia put her finger to her lips to tell her to be quiet. She dropped her bag and went over to the nurse. How does Stefan do that compulsion thing? She asked herself. She looked directly into the nurses eyes.

"You can't tell anyone." She said slowly, hoping it would work. The nurse nodded once.

"I can't tell anyone." She repeated.

"Whoa! How'd you do that?" Caroline asked.

"I honestly didn't know that would work…. You try, look into her eyes." Caroline took Cynthia's place in front of the nurse and stared her in the eyes.

"You'll do anything I say?"

"I'll do anything you say."

"Good, because I'm starving!" Caroline bit into her neck and drank hungrily. Cynthia saw the blood and hungry bubbled up inside her. Caroline must have noticed. She stepped back and motioned to Cynthia. Cynthia darted forward in a blur and drank from the nurse as well. Then she pulled back and wiped her mouth.

"We need to go before morning." She reminded Caroline. Caroline nodded.

"Let me just get dressed. Can you stop her from bleeding?"

A few minutes later, the nurse was sitting on Caroline's bed, a bandage on her neck, while Caroline, who was now dressed, stood with Cynthia as they called their moms.

"Hey, mom. Well, the doctor said I'm good and he signed me out. Just wanted to let you know. Bye." Cynthia ended her message and tucked her phone back into her bag. Caroline went over to the nurse.

"Okay, now what's the story?" She asked, staring into her eyes again.

"My husband likes to get kinky."

"Seriously, Caroline?" Cynthia asked. Caroline shrugged.

"It's a good of a story as any." She said in her defense. She looked back at the nurse again.

"Yes, good. Okay, so I'm gonna take off. I'm the committee chair for the carnival and I'm worried it's a complete disaster. I mean, god bless Elena, she does not understand the word fabulous." Caroline shouldered her purse before going on.

"Once again I am so sorry and if you could just forget that I bit you that would be great because I'm going to…"

"Forget what?" The nurse asked, compulsion taking over.

"I don't know how that works, but it's brilliant." Caroline and Cynthia hurried out of the hospital.

"Okay, so you are coming to the carnival with me." Caroline told her.

"Why?"

"Because we're connected now. Besides, I don't trust myself there alone."

"Okay. Let's go." They linked arms and hurried towards the school.

At the school, Caroline went inside while Cynthia tried to avoid anyone she knew. Someone caught her arm. She whirled around.

"Hey, I thought you weren't getting released until the morning." Tyler told her, frowning.

"Oh, yeah, well, they changed their minds. I'm a good as new!" She announced, forcing a smile onto her face.

"You could have called me. I would have picked you up." He told her. She folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. Caroline and I walked together." She assured him, taking a tiny step away from him. She could hear his heart pounding, blood rushing through his veins… No! This is Tyler, you can't hurt him, she told herself firmly.

"Are you okay?" He asked, reaching out to touch her arm. She stepped away from him and kept backing away.

"I'm fine. Totally fine. Gotta go." She turned and hurried in the other direction. Once she was away from people, she started crying. Caroline rushed over to her.

"Hey, Cynthia, what happened?" Caroline wrapped her arms around her comfortingly.

"Tyler… I… I could heart his heart pounding, the blood rushing through him, but… I can't hurt him, Caroline, but I want to!" She sobbed. Caroline hugged her tighter.

"We'll get through this. The two of us. Together." She assured Cynthia, though her voice sounded a little doubtful.

"Are you girls alright?" Caroline and Cynthia looked up at the man came towards them. He had a bloody nose and lip, obviously having gotten into a fight.

"I'm so sorry." Caroline whispered. She darted forward and bit into his neck. Cynthia darted forward and pulled Caroline off him.

"Stop, you're going to kill him!" She warned. Caroline swallowed hard and nodded fast, trying to stop herself from crying at what just happened. Then Cynthia smelled the blood.

"I… I'm sorry." She apologized to the man before drinking from him.

"Cynthia! Cynthia, you're going to kill him!" Caroline's voice was in the back of Cynthia's mind. Cynthia let him go as he died and suddenly felt pain rush through her body. She screamed, falling to her knees. Caroline rushed over to her.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" She demanded. Damon darted up just in time to see Cynthia's eyes turned yellow, not like a usual vampire's. She screamed in pain again and fell all the way to the ground, sobbing and shaking in pain. Damon walked over to them. Caroline stood up.

"What are you going to do?" She asked fearfully.

"The only thing I can do. I'm gonna kill you."

"No! Please don't! I don't want to die!" Caroline cried, backing away.

"Yeah, but you're already dead." Damon grabbed a stake and raised it. Suddenly Cynthia grabbed his wrist and shoved him back into a trailer. He groaned.

"How are you that strong?" He asked, rolling over onto his stomach and painfully getting to his feet.

"Caroline, Cynthia?" Stefan and Elena hurried over to them. Caroline backed away from Elena.

"Get away from me! You killed me!"

"No, no, no, Caroline! That wasn't me! You know that! That was Katherine!" Elena tried to tell her.

"Then why did she look like you?! Why did she do this to us?!" Caroline cried, moving closer to Cynthia.

"Stefan, we've got to get them inside." Stefan nodded in agreement.

"Its okay, come with me." Stefan started to lead them towards the school but Damon rushed at Cynthia. Stefan started to intercept him, but Cynthia grabbed his wrist again and shoved him against the trailed. She held him by the throat. He struggled to get free and was shocked when she was so much stronger than him that he couldn't.

"Uh… Stefan…Help..." He choked out. Cynthia's eyes changed and her fangs extended again. She threw him to the concrete. Stefan and Elena saw her not-so-vampire face. Elena gasped, backing away. Stefan hesitated but then ran over to her, grabbing her by the arms.

"Hey, it's okay." He tried to reassure her. Out of instinct, she shoved him back onto the concrete too. He looked up at her in surprise. Her face slowly turned back to normal.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" She backed away from them. Stefan got to his feet.

"It's okay. It's-." He didn't get to finish before she turned and darted in the other direction. Stefan started to go after her but Damon caught his arm.

"Take care of her." He nodded his head towards Caroline, who was sobbing as Bonnie slowly backed away from her. Elena was trying to comfort her, but it wasn't working.

"I'll go after Cynthia." Damon added. Stefan glared at him.

"If you hurt her-."

"I think it's very obvious I can't, Stefan! I don't know how or why Xena Warrior Lockwood got so much strength and a wonky vampire face, but it's obvious she can handle vampires like us. I'll get her and bring her back to the boarding house before she kills anyone else." Damon darted off after her.

Cynthia was crying as she came to a stop in the woods. She collapsed against a tree, hugging her knees to her chest and trying to calm herself down. Damon darted up behind her. She jumped up and whirled around, ready to defend herself again. He held up his hands to show he wasn't carrying a stake.

"Hey, hey, no need for this to get bloodier than it already has." He told her. She darted forward and threw him into a tree. There was a sharp crack as the tree broke at the trunk and fell over. Damon painfully sat up, looked at it and then looked back at her.

"Well that was uncalled for." He said dryly. She looked at him, at the tree and then over her shoulder. He groaned.

"Don't-." He started. She turned and darted off again. He cussed under his breath as he pushed himself to his feet. He darted after her. He caught up to her as she stopped running again. They were at the edge of town, by the 'Welcome to MysticFalls' sign.

"Look, I've never seen a vampire like you before… But I think we both know I can't hurt you. Come back to the boarding house with me and we'll figure this out, okay?" He asked.

"Stay away from me!" She growled. Just then, Stefan darted up.

"Caroline?" Cynthia asked.

"She's okay. I'll check on her later." He assured her. He walked over to her. Unlike with Damon, she didn't back away.

"Listen, I know you're scared. I understand that. But you can't keep running." He whispered. She glanced at the 'Welcome to MysticFalls' sign and then back at Stefan.

"What am I going to do, Stefan? My mom is on the council that hunts vampires… my brother can't know about this… I… I'm scared." She sobbed.

"I know, I know. But we'll figure it out, okay?" She nodded slowly. Stefan turned to Damon.

"Take her to the boarding house. I'll make sure Caroline gets home okay." Damon nodded. Stefan darted off. Damon went over to her and offered her his hand.

"Come on." She took his hand and they darted to the boarding house. Damon led her inside and into the living room. Jeremy was sitting on the couch, holding a stake.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked, going to pour himself some scotch.

"You don't lock your front door." Jeremy told him. But he was looking at Cynthia. She turned away, perfectly aware of how she must look. There was blood on her face and her shirt, her eyes were red from crying.

"I wouldn't. I laced it with Vervain." Jeremy warned as Damon started to take a drink.

"Why would you do that?"

"So I could stake you." Jeremy dropped the stake on the floor.

"You came here to kill me?"

"It's only fair. You killed me first."

"What?" Cynthia demanded, looking up at Damon. He smirked. Jeremy went over to Cynthia and pulled her aside.

"What happened? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. She shook her head.

"I'm a vampire… But there's something different… I'm stronger than I should be… And…" She trailed off, crying again. Jeremy hugged her tightly.

"We'll figure out what to do."

A/N As you can see, she's a hybrid now. I'll go deeper into that throughout the season.