Hello, friends, and welcome to chapter 7 of The Vampire Diaries: Blood and Fate! This chapter, titled "All is Well in Mystic Falls" mainly follows episode 5 of the original show. And fun fact, "You're Undead to Me" was actually the first episode of TVD that I've ever seen! It wasn't until months later that I actually saw the first four episodes XD

Anyway, this chapter has a little bit of interaction with quite a few of the characters, from Damon, to Stefan, to Bonnie, to Caroline... Mostly it focuses on Vivian trying to get her hands on the crystal Damon took at the Founders Party. Will she get it? You'll just have to wait and see.

I don't know when my next update will be. Hopefully soon, but I am heading back to college for my Sophomore year this weekend, so life is about to get a little bit busier! And by that, I mean A LOT busier. So we'll see what happens. I'll make time eventually :)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I will be back whenever the spirit calls me!

Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

All is Well in Mystic Falls

Dear Diary,

It's been days now since Stefan and I filled Damon up with vervain and locked him downstairs in the basement. It won't be long now until he begins to desiccate—his veins rub together like sandpaper, while his throat screams for the taste of blood and his body shuts down. I shudder just thinking about it.

So from now on, Damon won't be able to hurt anyone else. "All is well in Mystic Falls," as Stefan might say. But unlike him, I refuse to live under the illusion that I'm doing anything noble here by letting this continue. In fact, what we are doing is probably downright selfish and cruel. But what do I care? In this world, you can't afford to wait around for someone to kill you. You have to protect yourself.

"What do you want, Viv…?" Damon's voice slurred as he lay limply in his cell. "Not really—" cough, "In the mood for idol chit-chat."

I moved away from the door and leaned my back against the far wall. "Well, I was just wondering—since at this point you may not be seeing daylight any time soon—if you'd be interested in enlightening me a little bit."

"Oh, really?" I heard a faint smile in his tone. "About what?"

"About why you came to Mystic Falls," I said. "Clearly you enjoy tormenting Stefan—causing havoc—making people fear you. But it has to be more than just that. There must be some other motive. So what might that be?"

He laughed weakly. "Keep—wondering. A little mystery's good for ya."

I folded my arms across my chest. "So you plan on taking it to the grave, huh? What's the point? It's not like it really matters anymore, anyway."

"If it doesn't matter… why—are you asking?"

With a smile, I murmured, "Hm… curiosity, I guess." Then, after a short pause I added, "You took something from the Lockwood's at the Founder's Party. A crystal."

"Ah, you heard about that, huh?"

"Where is it?"

"Hell if I know."

I stepped forward and looked in at him as he lay with his head back, his eyes closed. "So you don't have it, then."

"No."

"And I don't suppose you would tell me what it does?"

"Nope."

Nothing less than I expected. But his sealed lips had me frustrated all the same. If he didn't have the crystal, then where was it? Did he leave it somewhere on the Lockwood property? Or maybe Caroline had it? At the same time, I couldn't eliminate the possibility that Damon was lying about its whereabouts—but that wasn't the vibe I received when we spoke. In any case, I had to find some method of getting my hands on it, especially if it had some kind of magic around it Damon hadn't mentioned. I didn't want to risk the crystal ending up in the wrong hands if it turned out to be dangerous.

I headed up the stairs two at a time, on a mission to grab some blood and then head out to find an artifact I had never seen before. Super.

On my way through the kitchen, I ran into Zach. Snatching a blood bag out of the refrigerator and popping the top with my teeth, I said, "'Sup, Uncle."

Zach's eyes were as scrutinizing as usual. "Were you downstairs?"

"Sure was," I said, squeezing the blood bag out into a mug so that I could heat it up in the microwave. Cold blood tasted gross.

"You really shouldn't be down there," he said. "Damon's too dangerous."

I scoffed. "You're telling me, Zach. Damon is not going to hurt me, nor am I going to team up with him to try to hurt anyone else. I think—the only one who needs to worry about personal safety here is you. So, if I were in your position—I would take your own advice." After the microwave beeped I pulled the warm mug out and grabbed an empty water bottle to make my drink portable.

"Where are you headed in such a hurry?" Zach asked.

"Out for a little run," I replied, taking a swig of my drink. "Ah, that's much better. Okay, so, looks like you'll be alone for a while today. I recommend either getting out of the house or—something. Don't do anything stupid. And stay out of the basement."

"Thanks… don't think I need a patronizing lecture about how to live in my own home."

I looked up when I heard his slightly irritated tone, and then showed my teeth with an intentionally fake smile. "Right… well, tell me that again once you've gotten yourself killed. None of my business. But seriously. Stay away from Damon. I can't guarantee your safety if I'm not around. Just be careful."

His expression changed slightly, perhaps because he realized at that point that I wasn't just being a bitch and actually didn't want him to get himself killed. I tended to have a real issue with people thinking I was heartless all the time. By now, I couldn't help figuring it was a problem with the way I presented myself. Maybe I didn't look like the caring type. Not that I gave much thought to anyone's image of me. People were free to think whatever they wanted. I knew myself well enough.

But finally, Zach gave me a curt nod with his arms crossed. "I will be."

"Great," I said, capping my bottle before hurrying out of the kitchen. "See you later!"

I headed over to the Lockwood Residence first, hoping maybe the crystal was still somewhere on the property. The main problems here were: one, that the Lockwoods owned such a huge estate; and two, that I obviously couldn't be seen by anyone.

Just a random girl wandering around some stranger's property… not like that looked shady or anything.

So when I arrived at the house I first snuck over to the spot where Damon had nearly drained Caroline a few nights ago. I sifted my hands through the grass in hope that the crystal might be here. If Damon had dropped it, there was a high possibility. But there were also a dozen other things that could have happened since I was here last. Someone could have mowed the lawn, or come out here and found it against all the odds. It could have ended up somewhere else entirely. Even for a vampire, finding a needle in a haystack was not an easy task.

After exhausting all my options outside, I decided to sneak back into the house and take a quick search in that room where Damon and Caroline had found the crystal to begin with. However, after checking all the drawers and across the floor, I still came out empty-handed.

I'm becoming more and more convinced it's not here… Maybe I'd fair differently with another source…

I left the Lockwood mansion undetected and took a walk down by Mystic Falls High School, where there were still very few students outside because classes were still in session. However, if my watch was correct, it wouldn't be much longer before the final bell rang. So all I had to do was take a few strolls around the block and they would start coming out eventually. I had to catch Caroline if I wanted to get my information.

Unfortunately, when the day ended and I saw Caroline walk out of the school like a fashion model wannabe, I was disappointed to find that she was surrounded by the small group of girls. Which meant that I couldn't get near her without looking suspicious and having to compel all of them in public. The safer option would be to wait until she was alone—but if she made it home I couldn't enter because I hadn't been invited in yet. And my chance would be gone.

So, instead of taking the risk and diving in headfirst, I stood back and listened to her talk, however eye-roll worthy she sounded.

"Yeah, so don't forget to stop by the fundraiser tomorrow. Make sure not to wear anything you wouldn't be okay with getting wet—oh, and… I'm sure I can trust you ladies to know what you can pull off. Right? Right."

"What are you doing here?"

I tensed in surprise, and then turned around to see Stefan behind me. I hadn't even noticed him come up. "Oh. Stefan. You startled me."

"Why are you spying on Caroline?" he asked, skepticism plain in his eyes. I knew quite well that he trusted me wholeheartedly, but at certain times I got the feeling he worried about my mental impulse control and my ability to be civil to people I didn't like.

While I watched Caroline start down the street with her friends, I asked, "What's tomorrow? A fundraiser or something?"

"A carwash," Stefan replied. "I guess. It's hard to be in the loop when you've been absent from school for days, but, um… Yeah, I think it's the uh, Sexy Suds Carwash or something."

"Sexy?" I murmured with a smirk. "So, what, is the trick to just wear as little clothing as possible?"

"Maybe."

"Are you going?"

"If I can get on Elena's good side by tomorrow, possibly."

I nodded slowly. This would be perfect if I executed it correctly. "Okay. Then I'll just come and say you invited me."

His eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion. "Why—I'm still not sure I understand what's going on."

As I fell into step with him on the sidewalk, I said, "I'm looking for something of Damon's. A crystal." Before Stefan had to waste his time asking questions, I briefly explained, "At the Founder's Party Damon took a crystal from the Lockwoods. I have no idea what it looks like, but I'm currently trying to narrow in on its whereabouts so I can get it."

"Wait, wait—a crystal? What for?"

I shrugged. "What do I know? Damon wouldn't tell me. But he clearly doesn't have it. Which is why I'm looking for it. It could be the very ticket to revealing why he came back to Mystic Falls."

"Okay," Stefan seemed hesitant. "And you didn't mention this earlier because…"

I almost expected myself to be embarrassed, but instead I just lifted and dropped my hands indifferently. "I told you not to let me forget. You know I'm easily overwhelmed. In any case, I'm looking for it now. So I plan on talking to Caroline tomorrow at the fundraiser."

"Hm, I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

See what I mean? I could already sense the dread in his tone. "Cool off, Stef," I said abruptly, to push his mind off the subject. "I'm not going to do anything to her. I just plan on asking her nicely if she knows where the crystal is and if she has it, I will ask her nicely if she will give it to me."

"You mean you plan on compelling her to hand it over."

I bit my cheek and sighed indifferently. Here we go… "If you want to use that nasty term—"

"There's no other term for it, Vivian," Stefan replied, a little bit of an edge in his voice. "Don't you think Caroline has had enough?"

With a scoff, I said, "If you have a better plan, I'll be glad to hear it. Look." I stepped in front of him with a swift motion and placed my hands firmly on his shoulders. "I know you don't like this, Stefan. I totally respect that. But sometimes—it just has to be done, okay? I promise you—I will talk to Caroline about the crystal, compel her to forget, and that will be it. I am not going to lay a single finger on her. And you know that if I say I won't, that means I won't. End of story. Right?"

He hesitated. "Right. Vivian—okay. Yes. I know, I believe you won't hurt her. I just—after everything with Damon I just want to get on with my life and do everything I can to protect Elena."

"I know that." I nodded. "And I'm going to help you. But I need to get that crystal first so I can find out why it was so important to Damon." He nodded as well in agreement and I patted his shoulders again. "Okay, so… tomorrow, I'll handle Caroline. You just focus on your girl, and we can go back to living our dull, boring, pretend human lives. Sound cool?"

He wasn't a huge fan of my last sentence and tilted his head back while he rolled his eyes slightly. But instead of scolding me or giving me grief about it, he simply responded, "Right."

Stefan was in a pretty good mood when he came home later that night after cooking dinner for Elena. It seemed that after a little time and Stefan bombarding her with as much about himself as he could safely tell her, Elena finally forgave him.

And thank god. Stefan had been acting like such a zombie for the past few days.

The next morning I struggled deciding what I wanted to wear. Stefan said Caroline called it the Sexy Suds Carwash… which meant I probably had to wear something considered "sexy" in order to meet the approval of my peers. I had to blend in if I wanted to do this the right way, and it would draw too much unwanted attention if I wore a regular old pair of jeans and T-shirt. Maybe if I just threw on some shorts and a tank I would be okay. After all, I wasn't exactly out to please anyone.

And so, I got myself dressed and put my hair up so it wouldn't get all scraggly from the water, and then headed down to the car wash. I gave Stefan a twenty-minute head-start because I wanted him to get in as much bonding time with Elena in without my interference. I worried that if I was showing up with him all the time, it would be a turn off. Couples needed time to be couples. Normal. Even if one of them was a blood-sucking creature of the night.

The sky was clear today, and when I first arrived I had to squint a little due to the reflection of the sun off the wet pavement and all the newly clean cars. Quite a few people had shown up to this shindig. And everyone definitely took the "sexy suds" part seriously. There were girls walking around in bikinis and boys walking around in nothing but trunks. Of course, a hot day like this was perfect for it.

Upon walking past one of the cars, I noticed Stefan and waved. He smiled and lifted up a soapy hand and cloth to wave back, while Elena turned around and did the same. I searched around within the crowd of teenagers for a few moments looking for Caroline, but I ended up running into someone else instead.

"Hey," I said when she saw me.

Bonnie's smile was nervous, and by the way her heart skipped a beat I could tell she wanted nothing more than to run. "Oh… um… I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Stefan invited me," I explained automatically, and she nodded slowly while glancing over toward Stefan and Elena.

"Oh. Right. Cool."

I smiled, hoping to ease up some of her tension. "So—when do I start?"

She pursed her lips slightly and scanned the area quickly. "Uh, I think you'll probably have to talk to Caroline. Oh—there she is. She can be kind of a control freak though, so don't get her riled up."

My smile turned into a little bit of a smirk as I rested my gaze on the tall blonde girl. "No promises."

I began walking toward her, and my smirk only grew wider as I heard Bonnie's low mumble from behind me, "Your funeral." I even found myself chuckling by the time I was close enough to get Caroline's attention.

"Yoohoo, Caroline," I called, causing her to stop and look up when she heard me.

Oddly enough, her eyes lit up and she flashed a toothy smile. "Oh, it's you! Great, I was looking for some extra help around here! Oh…" Her face fell just a little when she glanced down at the rest of me. "Sweetie… is that really what you're wearing?"

I looked down at myself and frowned. "Shorts and a tank-top? Yeah."

She rolled her eyes and huffed. "God, you're as bad as Stefan and Elena. Apparently, no one knows what 'sexy' means. Oh well… I guess you can make it work. You should really let your hair down, though. You'd get so much more attention from the guys. Just sayin'. Anyway…" She pointed. "You can start anywhere you want. Soap and rags are—well—wherever. I'm pretty busy. But I'm sure someone can help you."

Once she was finally done chattering, I nodded and said, "Sure. Thanks, but I just have one more question."

"What?"

I stepped forward and looked her closely in the eye. "Did Damon Salvatore give you anything recently? A crystal, perhaps?"

"That big, gaudy orange thing? Yeah."

What? You're kidding.

"You have it?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Where is it?"

"At my house."

At that point, barely able to contain how lucky I felt right about now, I smiled at her. "Okay, Caroline. Listen closely. After you go home today, I want you to get that crystal and meet me tonight at 7 p.m. for dinner at the Grill. Between now and then you will not say anything about me or the crystal to anyone. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

I gave her a thumbs-up. "Great. Carry on." Then, still smiling at her sweetly before turning away, I left her standing in the lot and went to go find myself a rag and a car to wash. At the moment, it seemed that Bonnie was alone so I made my way back over to her, showing my teeth in discomfort.

"Made it," I said, referring to Caroline. "She didn't even give me a problem."

"Probably because we have a problem," Bonnie said, "With people slacking."

"Ah," I said, thinking she was finished only to hear her whisper, "And being little bitches," under her breath as she scrubbed the hood of a tan Lumina. It was much too low for any human ears to pick it up, so I pretended not to notice.

"Anyway," I segued gently into another topic. "How's it coming? Need any of my car-washing expertise?"

She glanced up at me with a twinkle in her eyes and finally managed to let out a chuckle. "I didn't know it was that complex a trade."

With a shrug, I said, "I'm sure someone must be an expert. You'd be surprised at the skill it takes to do certain things." I dunked my rag in a bucket of soapy water and began scrubbing one of the windows.

In reply, Bonnie simply tilted her head in agreement and smiled. She worked in silence for a moment, but then raised a curious eyebrow at me. "So… were you really invited? Or did you just come to spy on Stefan and Elena?"

I opened my mouth in mock surprise. "Me? Spy on Stefan and his new girlfriend? That's absurd."

"I'm starting to wonder if it's gone past cute and straight to creepy, actually," she replied, although her tone was playful.

I laughed out loud, remembering her comment from a few days ago, and shook my head. "Does it seem creepy to you? No—he really did say I could come. I wanted to help out today. Get outside and enjoy the sun. Plus, other than you guys I don't really have many friends in Mystic Falls yet, so…" I gave a tiny, closed-lipped smile.

"Right—I wasn't thinking of that. I didn't mean to pick on you…"

I waved my hand dismissively. "Nah, it's fine. No offense taken. I do look out for him a lot. You could say—Damon and I kind of became parental figures for him after their mom and dad passed away. Sometimes I do forget that he's not a kid anymore."

"Damon…" She said the name as if just hearing it disturbed her, and then lowered her voice. "Uh… did you—know about what he did? To Caroline, I mean?"

I paused, not having expected her to ask about that little incident. But then again, maybe I should have known better than to mention Damon in the first place. "Yes, I am quite aware," I allowed. "But—he's gone now. So I don't think he'll be a problem, anymore."

Frankly, for all the times I internally made fun of Stefan for stumbling over the lies he fed to Elena, it was every bit as difficult to come up with suitable answers for Bonnie. I couldn't exactly give specifics. And for that matter, I didn't want her getting the wrong idea and thinking Stefan and I banded together and murdered him or something. I couldn't imagine that one going over well.

Bonnie didn't seem entirely comfortable with my answer, but she simply responded with a quiet "oh" and didn't press the issue farther. If she had, I might have had to compel her, an option to which I felt disinclined to resort in her case.

Guess it's because you actually like her.

Yes, despite the fact that she was a witch who could undoubtedly become a frightening adversary in the future if she found out that I was a vampire, I actually liked Bonnie Bennett and enjoyed her company. She was so bubbly and sweet and innocent—in fact, she reminded me a little bit of my former self. Took me back to when I was just a young human girl.

Now I was a 150-year-old trapped in a 19-year-old body. Which, the more I thought about it, the more that didn't seem like such a bad deal. I mean, I didn't have to deal with old age or illness. I was forever kicking and I didn't even have to worry about creeps because I was stronger than all of them. But even I couldn't deny that it got lonely at times.

So, although my reason for coming was already taken care of, now that I was here I knew I couldn't easily slip away and I ended up spending my afternoon washing cars with Bonnie. When it came to her, it seemed like each time we met she became tense, but relaxed over time as I got her talking. It felt oddly natural making jokes and laughing with Bonnie, as if I'd known her far longer than just a few weeks. And the time passed quickly even though we were performing manual labor under the hot sun.

"You doing all right?" I asked as she stopped briefly to rub her forehead.

Brushing her hair back slightly, she said, "Oh, yeah. It's just hot out. I think—I think I'm gonna get a water. I'll get you one too, okay?"

She turned and started walking away before I had the chance to decline, so I decided to just let it go and accept the drink. After a moment she returned with two bottles, one for herself and one for me, which she held out silently.

"Thanks," I murmured, opening the bottle as I watched Bonnie guzzle hers.

"Ah, that's better," she sighed, leaning against the car beside us. "Hey, did you put on any sunscreen today? You look like you'd burn really easily."

Ha ha. You have no idea.

"Actually, I put a little on this morning," I replied. "You're right, though, this pale skin reddens up fast. I look like a lobster." I laughed, even though I knew I was feeding her false information. Whether or not I wore sunscreen said nothing for my health and I hadn't turned into a lobster since probably 1875 or '76. But I couldn't tell her I didn't burn. Anyone with pale skin like mine would without fail. And although I technically did burn, it obviously wasn't in the way she was referring to.

"Hey." We both turned to where a taller girl in a bikini top stood, two brooms in her hands. "Sweeper duty."

"What?" Bonnie asked, sounding as confused as I felt.

"We need to clean the pavement," the girl said, a mildly smug expression on her face.

I scoffed. "At a car wash?"

"Obviously the pavement's clean," Bonnie agreed.

"But not dry."

Bonnie raised her eyebrows, her stance a natural message of defiance. "And we're doing this, why?"

The girl stepped forward and handed us the brooms in a nonchalant fashion. "Caroline bailed. Which leaves me in charge." She smiled. "Fabulous."

I gave her a dirty look as she walked away, but I had my mind mainly focused on Caroline. Glancing around and realizing she was no longer present, it occurred to me that I hadn't even noticed her absence. But where could she have gone? Especially if she was in charge, she really didn't seem like the type of girl to abandon her post. She was definitely more the type who liked to be in control.

I didn't get much time to worry about Princess Blondie, however, as I noticed that the pavement in front of me had started smoking. I flinched backward when it ignited into a small flame and turned toward Bonnie, who was staring at the flame but appeared to be in her own little world.

"Bonnie," I said, in an effort to get her attention. The flame spread quickly, lighting a car on fire a few yards away. "Bonnie." I put a hand on her shoulder as people nearby began screaming in panic. "Hey, Bonnie!"

Even more swiftly than it started, the fire died down and disappeared, leaving the blue car mostly unscathed with only some smoke rising from the bottom. Bonnie looked at me with wide eyes as I dropped my hand. "Are you all right?"

"I…" The hesitation was clear in her voice and she turned back to rest her gaze on the car she'd nearly torched, watching people recover from the frightening sight. "Did I do that?"

"It looks that way."

Suddenly we were eye to eye, and it was only then that I realized we were about the same height. "Did anyone see?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure everyone saw—"

"No—I mean, did they see me?"

"Oh… No, I don't think so."

She nodded carefully. "You won't tell anyone, right? Will you?"

I could see just by watching her that her new powers had her spooked. Apparently, up until recently she didn't even remotely believe her grandmother's claims that she was a witch. But now—I imagined it was becoming harder and harder for her to deny it.

I shook my head. "No—no, of course not. Your secret's safe with me."

Bonnie released a tiny, humorless laugh. "This stuff—keeps happening to me and you act like it's no big deal. I really don't understand."

I tossed my hands up. "So you're possibly turning into a fire-starter witchy person. Happens to the best of us. In any case, I don't judge." Then, more softly, I murmured, "I think it's okay to be scared. And it's okay if you don't want to talk about it, or whatever. But if you decide you need me for anything, I'm around. That's a perk of having me as your friend. I got your back. 'Kay?"

While she appeared almost bewildered at first, Bonnie granted me a small smile and nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Vivian. Now, um… I suppose we should probably get back to work before Tiki comes over to bitch at us again."

"If she does I'll just have to bitch right back," I said, causing her to laugh despite her obvious emotional turmoil. "So Caroline left? Any idea where she might have gone?"

Bonnie shook her head as she swept the pavement with disinterest. "No. And I'm surprised. It isn't really like her to take off."

Just that moment, Stefan walked over to us with a slight look of distress in his eyes. "Hey, have either of you seen Elena?"

Bonnie frowned. "Did she leave, too?"

"I don't know," he replied. "She just—sort of disappeared."

I glanced up at the sky for a moment. It was already late in the day and the sun was starting to go down. The fundraiser would probably be closing up soon as well. I was eager to find Caroline and Stefan was eager to find Elena, but I couldn't exactly ditch Bonnie and leave her to finish up by herself.

"I have to finish up here," I said, "But give me a call if you find her. I'll catch up with you in a little bit."

Stefan nodded at me and then left with a little extra spring in his step, as if something about Elena's disappearance had him worried. Granted, it did seem a little mysterious that she would simply take off without telling him anything.

I glanced at my watch. A little less than two hours until I had to meet Caroline at the Grill. I was still counting on the fact that she would be there as I ordered her to, but I still found myself rushing through the rest of the work so that I could get going as soon as possible.

"You'll be okay getting home and everything, right?" I asked Bonnie.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said. "Uh—you didn't want a ride, did you?"

The last thing I wanted to do was answer more questions and stall myself further, but I remained patient in an effort to look fairly normal for Bonnie. "No, actually, I think I'm good tonight. But thanks. I'll give you a call later this week, okay?"

And with that, I left, walking as quickly as I could without appearing frantic until I reached an area where no one would see me. I used my vamp-speed the rest of the way, but instead of heading straight to the Grill, I decided to use what extra time I had to stop at home. I wasn't sure what compelled me to do it, but I knew something wasn't right the instant I stepped through the door. It was too quiet.

The first place I thought to go was the basement, where I witnessed perhaps the most disturbing snapshot I had seen in ages.

"Zach," I breathed, darting across the room and bending down to place my hand on the new corpse's chest. He hadn't been dead for long. A couple hours at the most. But to top it off, Damon's cell door sat wide open, and Damon himself was nowhere to be found. Someone had opened the door for him.

"Zach, you idiot," I whispered, a weight settling in on my chest as I observed his broken neck. Fighting to compose myself, I stood up and pulled out my phone, which I used to dial Stefan's number.

"Hello?" His voice sounded even, unsuspecting, which told me he still had no idea about Damon's escape.

I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. "Stefan. Did you find Elena?"

"No, I'm not sure where she could be. She didn't answer my call, either. Why? What's wrong?"

"Sorry to have to put a pause to your search, but I think you should come home. Now."

"What happened?"

With a sigh, I glanced at Zach's body and pinched the furrow of my brow, unable to accurately describe to Stefan the depth of my frustration in this moment. And I could hardly imagine Stefan's reaction once he realized Zach was dead. So instead of jumping into a full-blown explanation right away, I gave him the simplest answer I could muster: "Damon happened."