hey it's good to be back home again

[somanyadjectives]

[It's been a while since Stefan has been back in Mystic Falls, but he wasn't going to miss the twins graduation. He knew that coming home was going to be complicated. He was bringing his girlfriend to meet people. He was bracing himself for Damon's judgement about him dating a vampire slayer the entire ride from the airport.

What he hadn't expected, was getting ambushed at a gas station while filling up his car by a hunter.

According to Damon, there haven't been hunters in Mystic Falls in years. They knew that the school would be a beacon, but they also took precautions for that to protect the kids. Most hunters understood that they were trying to reduce deaths, rather than concentrate them. This isn't to say that Mystic Falls is perfect, but they're doing better than they used to.

Stefan doesn't kill him. He's caught off guard enough that he doesn't immediately go for the kill, and Buffy catches the hunter off guard enough that the guy decides to retreat and regroup rather than push his luck against a slayer and a vampire. This isn't, unfortunately, before he manages to plug Stefan with a few wooden bullets. And those hurt like a mother.]

Gotta love coming home.

[He groans as he sinks back against the car, trying to keep an eye on their surroundings, before glancing down at the bleeding holes in his shirt.]

I liked this shirt.

Comments

[cholesterol]

( An altercation. Awful long way to go for an altercation - but something smells like it's more than that for her. Dean will help either way. Sammy will wait by the car. If he was paying attention, he probably saw Dean pull the badge and get led away. )

Frame by frame.

( He slows down the footage.

Her friend - one of them - either pulls up in the rental car or gets out to go inside. Dean watches as the guy stretches his legs. Someone he doesn't recognize. Both, really, but, hey, the world doesn't revolve around Dean and he hasn't been around to know who she knows.

Someone approaches, a grainy white male with sleeves rolled up. Just the way he comes at him, cell phone in hand, Dean can tell this guy doesn't have good intentions. It's too friendly. He can guess what's about to happen. The altercation is clear -- except for the speed of -- that must be her friend.

The blonde returns, and enters the ring. He's impressed with what she brings to the table.

And then the guy is shot and runs.

Dean pauses the feed. )

You weren't kidding.

[braveandstupid]

Nope.

[Watching Stefan get shot is never any easier, even now, even knowing that he's okay and safe back in Mystic Falls. But she doesn't have what she came for yet, so she leans forward to try and get a closer look.]

Can you see if the guy got into a car or something?

[cholesterol]

( Switching cameras, he scans the angles. )

If your guy got into a car, a camera didn't capture it. ( Which is when he'll pause the feed again and look up at her. ) And your friend crawled into his backseat with - his friend. ( Who could fight, he saw at least. ) Shot. You calling this an altercation, is... it's more than that. Looks like a hit.

( Like her friend was the target. )

[braveandstupid]

[Look, she didn't realize how bad it was. She saw Stefan after the fact.]

An attempted one. He's fine, I saw him last night.

[So the guy ... missed. Totally. That's what happened.]

[cholesterol]

In the hospital?

( He doesn't watch the rest of the footage where Stefan and Buffy get back out of the car and drive off. )

Did you recognize the guy?

[braveandstupid]

[She shakes her head. He wasn't one of the Founding Families. And he wasn't one of the hunters that have come through in the past - likely because most of them are dead.]

No. I didn't.

[She's going to ignore the mention of the hospital.]

Are you sure there isn't another angle?

[cholesterol]

The only other angle we have is the front. But, they were on the side and he ran toward the street. It's possible another camera got him.

( One not here. In another store. That they'd have to check. )

Not that I haven't been enjoying the reunion. You need to give me more if you want to help. Your friend looks like a target.

[braveandstupid]

I need to give you more if I want to help? With my friend's situation.

[She squints at that phrasing so much.]

No offense, Dean, but this is my problem and I can handle it. Thank you for this, but I can handle it from here.

[cholesterol]

( He could've put that better. He rolls away from the screen and stands. )

Try the mechanic or the nail salon.

( She's right, this isn't his fight. He put his hat in the ring because he recognized her. )

Hell of a coincidence, running into you.

( He replays their night in his mind, the one when he'd met her outside that party and discussed what else is out there. )

[braveandstupid]

Yeah, I guess it is.

[She knows they should probably have a conversation, but they probably shouldn't have it in the security center of a roadside convenience store.]

Are you just passing through?

[cholesterol]

Stopping for a few days. We have a job this weekend in Mystic Falls. Sammy's outside.

( What she knows about his job, he's not sure of. Was Sam there that week or had he already gone off to Stanford. He thinks it was right after. Or, before.

But.

What are the chances he's here with his brother, here to prevent something massive at the Salvatore school. Say what you want about vampires and witches, kids with no choice in the matter need a place, too. Dean would put every one of them down if he ever found out the school wasn't on the up and up, but Jack assured him and Cas that they're the real deal.

He even decided to stay and actually matriculate. Not just to be undercover.

Which brings him to why he's here. )

Your friend. He human?

[braveandstupid]

[She straightens slightly, the question already putting her on the defensive. But at the same time, she's not really sure she wants to answer that question.]

Why does it matter?

[It might as well be a "yes," but she wants to know why it matters to Dean.]

[cholesterol]

Because, anybody within sniffing distance of someone or something supernatural could be in danger. Guessing that doesn't include doppelganger.

( There. His cards are down. Well. Some of them. )

[braveandstupid]

[Well, she's within sniffing distance of a lot of supernatural folks, so:]

Why? What's happening?

[cholesterol]

( A sigh. )

Not here. Come on.

( He leaves the back room, leading Elena through the convenience store. He gives a wave to the clerk and holds the front door open for her. )

[braveandstupid]

[Elena follows, letting him take the lead before passing through the door in front of him. Her eyes scan the parking lot out of habit, until they fall on the old Chevy Impala. Some things never change.

Sam glances up and sees them from where he's waiting, brows furrowing in confusion.

Elena waves. Sam waves back.]

Sam got ... really tall.

[cholesterol]

Yeah. He's like a beanpole. Shot up like a weed and never stopped. Thought about removing all ceilings for him, but he suffers.

( His brother is his favorite subject, so Elena just ran head first into this. )

[braveandstupid]

[She shakes her head before making her way closer, offering Sam a small smile.]

Hey, Sam.

[Sam nods, before glancing between the two of them. "Hey, E ... lena?" Elena smiles.]

Yes. I'm Elena.

[cholesterol]

Not Katherine.

( Boy, if Dean even knew how much of a thing that was. )

Elena was inside trying to get a look at security footage. Her friend and friend's friend were attacked yesterday.

[braveandstupid]

[She glances over her shoulder to make sure the attendant isn't around before she drops her voice.]

He's a vampire. Dean mentioned that there was something happening where supernatural people are in trouble?

[cholesterol]

( The attendant is back inside behind the counter. As for anybody else around them, selective hearing exists for a reason. )

Knew it. ( He says that to himself, under his breath. But, he'll be helpful now. )

They're being hunted down. Tracked. All over, but this weekend. We think they'll be here.

[braveandstupid]

[Sam nods. "They've been building up to this for a while. We think they might be targeting ..."

The horror on Elena's face says she's already jumping to the conclusion that Sam is about to say:]

The school.

[She glances between the two of them.]

How many hunters?

[cholesterol]

Other than the one?

( Yes, Dean. Other than the one. )

We don't know how many are here. We know there were over a hundred. Spent a year knocking that down by half. But, the fearmonger running things is good at recruitment. We shut two cells down. Mob mentality hasn't stopped.

[braveandstupid]

[Elena nods because that is so not a good sign, but they can handle it. They can manage. They just have to call a few friends.]

I have to go. But thank you, for the information.

[She'd say something about grabbing a drink if they're going to be in Mystic Falls a while, but there's too much urgency to just move.

And with that, she's going to head back to her car and grab her phone. First, she texts Jeremy to ask if he and Tyler can head back to town as soon as they could. Then she props her phone in the mount and calls Damon.

It probably should be Stefan, but she's too used to Damon being the one she calls for trouble.]

[unforgivably]

( Damon's at the Grill during off hours unloading product and overseeing inventory. But, he always takes Elena's calls.

Stepping out back, he sits on the top step. )

Salvatore's Redheaded Stepchildren.