Maribel arrived alone to the Costume Ball.

Wes hadn't had the decency to text her back with enough time for her to plan how they would be arriving to the ball, be it together, separate, or whether they'd even be meeting up prior to have a nice dinner. She drove herself there and shuffled forward in one of her mother's dresses from the fifties, accurate with something Rosalind Franklin would have worn.

She wasn't sure where to go or what to do without a date by her side. She made idle chit chat with a few students she recognized, slowly getting closer and closer to the table where all the beverages were set out.

"Fancy meeting you here."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," she said, turning to face Damon. "What the hell are you wearing?"

He gestured to his shirt. "I guess a science geek wouldn't recognize this, huh? I'm Henry the Eighth."

"Weird," she said. "Leave me alone."

"Your sister was my substitute drinking buddy when Ric died, and now she's gone, so you're up to take her spot, Beli."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

He continued to follow her. Finally she just burst out, "How's Stefan?"

"He's great," said Damon, suddenly not looking very chatty.

She raised a brow. "Let me guess, lots of tension back home with your girlfriend trying to help him get his memories back. She's probably worrying a lot about him... It might have been wiser to follow my advice and just sedate him."

Damon smiled cheekily. "You are just full of opinions, aren't you?"

"And you are full of yourself. And of air, it seems, not a single brilliant thought in your brain. How do you even survive without more than a couple brain cells?"

"As always, begging me to kill you, Beli," he said, snatching her drink away from her and drawing a sip instead of getting his own.

"No wonder Meredith hated you," she said, asking the bartender for another drink.

He didn't respond, and when she turned back, she realized why. Elena was off to the side speaking with Aaron, a small smile on her face.

"Who's that?" muttered Damon.

"A student," she said simply. "She's in college now, she's allowed to make friends. Seriously, at this point, just enroll here if you want to make it known that she's your girlfriend. Or, maybe, you can actually learn to take advice and sedate Stefanuntil he heals so you don't have a little green eyed monster taking over you. The jealous act isn't cute. Like, I get it, it's probably weird, which is why brothers shouldn't date each other's exes, but I digress... your problems would be easily solved if you did what I recommended so Stefan can remember that he and Elena have long since been over."

"How would you feel about sedating someone who's not Stefan?"

She raised a brow. "How did this turn into me sedating someone? That's not what I said."

"No, but you know how to do it. Do you have anything in your lab that can take down a witch?"

She hesitated. "Look, I already told Caroline I don't want to be involved..."

"Just answer my question."

"I assume regular barbiturates would work on a witch, since they're basically mortals. There's no guarantee, since I don't study the supernatural like Meredith did, but I can get you the injection."

"I don't just need the injection. I need you to be the one injecting it."

"You can't be serious! What part of me not wanting to be involved in this doesn't make sense to you?"

"Let me explain things to you plain and simple, Baby Fell. You're involved because your boyfriend is behind why that Jesse kid disappeared. You're involved because you know science and we need science. And you're involved because you were really digging that guy that looked like Stefan (who wasn't Stefan). Elena and Caroline would love you forever if you helped them bring Bonnie Bennett back to life."

She blinked. "Bonnie Bennett is dead?"

"Yeah, the idiot gave her life to bring Jeremy back. I mean, seriously, what kind of person does that? Just get me two injections of the barbie curates—"

"Barbiturates."

"—yeah, whatever, and meet me back here. When Bonnie's back, we'll crack the case of the murdered roommate and the missing lab assistant and we'll be out of your hair."

"I'm guessing if I don't comply, you'll force me to anyway."

"Look at you," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "You definitely have more than a few brain cells."

"You are such an asshole," she said. "Fine..." she trailed off when she saw Elena had moved over to Wes, who was apparently present at the ball and wearing a suit.

For a moment, she understood Damon's jealousy. She wasn't proud to admit that she was jealous, but she definitely felt it. "On second thought," she muttered, "come with me. I don't want to have to struggle to find you when I come back."

It seemed seeing Elena dancing with Wes peeved him enough to accept. She walked quickly to her lab, grabbing two pentobarbital injections and handing them to the vampire to keep safe.

"So, tell me what I need to do," she said as they walked back.

"There's a witch named Tessa who's got the hots for my brother," said Damon. "All you need to know is that the guy that's gonna be dancing with her is not Stefan. You just have to pretend to be interested, butt in, sedate the witch, and that's that."

"Wait, wait," she said. "What's the other injection for, then?"

"That one is in case she wakes up sooner than expected."

"Damon, I don't know how I feel about sedating her. I'm human, she could just kill me."

"Then hand it to not-Stefan discreetly and let him do it. Either way, you're the delivery surface. She won't know who you are, it's better that way. I have to keep actual-Stefan with his neck snapped so this works."

"Do I get any more context about why this is necessary?"

"Long story short, we need to find a thing called an 'anchor' so not-Stefan will help us resurrect Bonnie."

"Do I get to find out not-Stefan's name?"

"Nah. You might accidentally call him that and ruin the plan."

She glared at him. "Fine. You owe me for this."

"How about I repay you by not killing you?"

"You can repay me by never popping up around me ever again."

"No promises, Beli."

"Stop calling me that."

He smirked. "If it makes you mad, I'll keep doing it."

"Fine. Then I love the nickname Beli."

"Great! I'll keep using it."

"You are such an ass. I can't believe Meredith ever considered you a friend."

"She did? Flattering."

She kept out of Wes's sight once they re-entered the ball. Damon left to check on Stefan, meaning she was entirely alone when it came to finding not-Stefan and the witch he was apparently dancing with.

She went to get another drink, careful to keep her injection concealed from view. At last, she spotted him in a leather jacket, dancing with a woman who appeared to have come as Cleopatra.

"Stefan," she said casually when she passed by, reaching out to shake his hand. "Nice to see you again."

As soon as he took her hand, she shook her sleeve, letting the injection fall into his palm. She turned around to face the woman he was with, concealing his hand from view so he could adjust it as needed. "Oh, wow," she said, genuinely stunned at how nice the witch's outfit was. "You look beautiful!"

"Thank you," said the witch. "Um... what are you dressed as?"

"Rosalind Franklin," she said. "She studied DNA in the fifties and helped the entire scientific community discover that it was double stranded."

The woman clearly had no idea what she was talking about. "And you know Stefan how—?"

"Same hometown," she said. "My sister used to be a doctor—"

Not-Stefan swiped out his hand, injecting the woman right in her neck before she could react further. Maribel was quick to catch her before she could fall, and was left with no choice but to help not-Stefan lead her to another room, the two holding onto her as if she was just very drunk.

"What now?" she asked when they entered the room where Damon and actual-Stefan waited (though actual-Stefan was temporarily dead in an armchair).

"Now," said not-Stefan, "I search her vulnerable mind for the location of the anchor. I told you," he winked at Damon, "I have a soft spot for brunettes. What's your name?"

"Maribel," she said simply. "You?"

"Silas." He reached out to take her hand, kissing the back of it. "I may return to the dance afterward. Will I see you there?"

"Depends," she replied. "Can you get to me before some other guy takes me home tonight?"

"In that case you should wait nearby. This won't take long. I'm saving my strength for other things."

Damon rolled his eyes, grimacing as if this was foreign to him. He walked forward, practically shooing Maribel out of the room.

"So, my guess is that he's available?" she asked before he could slam the door in her face.

He smiled in the most creepy way possible. "All yours. But it's a limited-time offer, so you should make your move soon. Goodbye."

She rolled her eyes when he closed the door.

This time, she went directly for Wes. He had just finished speaking with Aaron, who didn't seem to be happy about whatever the man had just been telling him.

"Hey," she said, crossing her arms. "You could have texted back."

"I got caught up in lab," said Wes. "Figured I'd find you here."

"You haven't actively been searching. What were you telling Elena?"

"Nothing of relevance. Care to dance?"

"You really need to stop tormenting that poor girl. She's been through enough."

"What else can you tell me about her?"

"I'm not giving you information about her. She's a girl who's suffered enough for ten lifetimes, and you harassing her is only making it worse. What really happened to Jesse, Wes?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Jesse is gone and you were the last person to see him. I know you had something to do with it."

"You clearly drank too much, Maribel, you don't know what you're saying."

"That's it," she said, shaking her head. "You know what? I don't want you using me to get information about an innocent freshman and I don't want you hiding things from me. I know better than anyone how cover-ups have to work in a vampire world but whatever your involvement is with this, it's getting really weird. I just don't feel safe with you anymore. I expect you to give back the keys to my apartment. I don't want us being anything other than colleagues. I'll help in your classes and in your research if you need me but this is over, Wes."

He grabbed her arm tightly before she could walk away from him. "You're treading on dangerous ground, Maribel. You have me wondering if you're a sympathizer like your sister." He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I know Elena Gilbert and Caroline Forbes are vampires."

She whispered right back, "And I know for a fact they didn't kill Megan King. I know for a fact these girls are good and wouldn't hurt a soul, especially not their roommate. You leave them alone. You're right about my connections, I have them and if you try to hurt them, I will make sure you regret it. They are practically children, Wes. Consider that."

"They stop being innocent the minute they become vampires," he said. "They're a plague that needs to be exterminated. Someone needs to make sure they're gone."

"And you're going to be that person?" she asked. "I'm giving you one more chance, Wes. What happened to Jesse?"

"Question me again and I'll make sure to remind the Whitmore council what kind of family you come from. Leave, right now, Maribel."

She laughed darkly. "I may have called you 'daddy' but you are not my father and you don't tell me what to do."

"You'll listen unless you want to fall with them," he warned. "Stick to your own research in your own lab. And don't be associating with that kind of trash. Next thing, they'll turn you or compel you and... well... not even I'll be able to save you at that point."

She ripped her hand away from him. "Take your savior and god complexes and shove them right up your ass you narcissistic piece of shit."

She made the drive to Mystic Falls, having in mind to visit her family cabin for the weekend. Though, as she neared the mountains, she took a different path, ending up at the Salvatore House instead. Judging by the fact Damon's car was parked out front, they were back from the ball.

"Maribel," said Elena, surprised when she knocked at the door. "What happened?"

"Wes apparently knows you're vampires," she said.

"Yeah, he told me that Caroline and I need to leave. And I heard he told Aaron to stay away from me."

"This is so weird," said Maribel, rubbing her forehead. "And he won't tell me what happened to Jesse, either. He definitely knows more about what happened to Megan but I don't know just how much. If he had actual proof it was you or Caroline, he wouldn't have told you to leave, he would have found a way to take you down. Which makes me think he knows exactly who killed her."

"But from what I'm gathering, he hates vampires," said Elena, furrowing her eyebrows. "Wouldn't that imply he's working with one?"

"That's the thing," muttered Maribel. "I don't know. Look, is ah... Silas around?"

Elena smirked slightly. "You came to see Silas?"

"Well, I just dumped my friends-with-benefits and I'm wanting to cash in on that limited-time offer Damon mentioned. Revenge sex, we'll call it."

"You're in luck," said Elena. "He's in a good mood."

Silas emerged from the kitchen just as Elena led her into the living room. "Maribel," he said, looking her up and down. "Here for me, I take it?"

"Yeah," she said. "Want to get out of here?"

"And where would we go?"

"My family cabin. Not too far from here. I was there a few days ago so there is food, it's clean, and it's... secluded."

"Don't need to tell me twice," said Silas, putting an arm around her and letting her lead him to her car.

She supposed she should have been more careful about trusting him, allowing him into her home and into her bed. But she found she didn't really care. The thrill was too much for her to pass up. It kept things interesting.

"I take it you don't know anything about me," said Silas when she unlocked the door and led him in.

"Nope," she said, unbuttoning her dress. "And I don't really care to."

"Well, I'm a witch. Finally mortal again. I get to die tomorrow. Might as well go out with a bang."

"Hmm. Well, I'm not dying, but I do need a good bang." She lifted her hands when she felt the fabric moving on its own. He flicked his fingers from behind her, allowing the dress to slide off by itself.

"Much better," said Silas. "Your turn to do the same to me."

"Well, I'm not a witch, so this is going to take a bit longer." She reached over to remove his leather jacket, then slid his shirt over his head, grabbing his belt buckle to draw him in for a kiss.

She realized having sex with a supernatural creature was insanely exciting. Just the sort of thing that she needed to fulfill her adventurous needs. If Silas weren't so intent on dying the next day, she might have made the effort to stick around and see how many more times she could enjoy him.

"This has got to be the best sex I've ever had," she panted when he planted her on top of him, laying back casually but rotating his wrist to give her the sensation of him kissing and touching the most sensitive places in her body.

"I am good, aren't I?" he said smugly.

"Shut up and keep doing whatever you're doing, fuck."

"I said I had a soft spot for brunettes but I didn't say I take orders from them." He lifted his pointed finger, and she moaned when she received the sensation of a hand around her throat, pressing on the sides and making her feel lightheaded.

"I reiterate," she said dreamily, "keep doing whatever you're doing."

She brought him back to the Boarding House the next morning. Damon was the one who opened the door this time, cringing at the sight of the hickies left behind on Maribel's neck and chest.

"That looks like he shot you several times with a paintball gun," said Damon as Silas brushed past him.

She shrugged. "Maybe the ones up there do. You should see the ones he left on my ass."

He groaned, repulsed. "Get out of here."

"Are you judging me, Damon Salvatore?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm free to do whatever I want, and I have fun like that, so what's the problem? Meredith told me you flirt with everyone and try to fuck everything that moves, so you're in no position to judge."

"Trust me," he said, "I'm not judging the fact you have sex with people, I'm judging the fact you had sex with him. I don't get the Stefan appeal."

"Well, that's not Stefan, remember? He's like Stefan, who is cute, but he's so much less of a good boy. I like it."

He snorted. "Yeah, your professor guy must be the total opposite of a good boy. I bet he doesn't wear goggles in the lab. Scandalous. I heard you called it quits."

"I did. He's lying about a lot of stuff and it's just getting to be really weird and wrong. I don't want to be with someone like that. We were only sleeping together but still, I don't feel safe."

"It's for the best, trust me. Though, I am required to tell you that Caroline and Katherine are questioning him right now. Probably bleeding him of vervain to fix the whole thing."

She made a face. "Who's Katherine?"

"The one that killed Jeremy."

"Ah. Yes, Meredith did mention that. Is that the one that looks exactly like Elena?"

"Yep. So you'll be able to go back to your little professor soon enough."

"Well, I don't want to anymore. If Silas didn't have an expiration date, I might go for him long-term."

Damon groaned. "Get out of my house you disgusting little brat."

"Maybe this will finally teach you to stay away from me," she said cheerfully. "Bye bye, Damon."

"Go away, Beli."

For the first time in a good while, she felt calm. Meredith was thrilled to learn that she had broken things off with Wes, though she was concerned about what secrets were potentially being kept. In other good news, she was informed that Bonnie Bennett was back to life. It seemed all had gone well for the Mystic Falls group.

Whatever Caroline and Katherine had done to Wes had clearly worked. When she saw him at their next lecture, he addressed her as flatly as she expected considering their arrangement was over, but had been very casual when Caroline sat in class, even allowing her to answer a question he posed during lecture. He obviously had no recollection that he'd ever thought she and Elena were vampires.

"Maribel!"

She was stunned when she looked up from her lab bench and saw Jesse running in. "Jesse," she exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

"I need to talk, it's important," he said breathlessly. "Dr. Maxfield, he did something to me. I need to see Caroline."

"Okay," she said, packing up her things quickly. "Let's go."

Caroline was not happy when they walked in and she realized what exactly was wrong with Jesse.

"Who the hell turned you into a vampire?" she demanded.

"Dr. Maxfield," he said. "I remember you telling me to forget what happened at Remembrance Day. I remember you gave me your blood. I went to Dr. Maxfield because I couldn't remember some stuff and I was worried. He found out I had vampire blood in me and he killed me. It's been torture these past few days. I was in a cell all day, and at night, he would take me out and do experiments on me."

"Experiments?" said Maribel. "What kind of experiments?"

"I don't know. He would starve me and then inject me with some weird blood. What am I supposed to tell my parents? They left me all of these messages. They're wondering where the hell I am."

Caroline tried to figure out what to do. At last, she decided, "You're going to call them and tell them that you lost your phone, but you're okay. Where's Wes now?"

"I locked him in his lab after I attacked him. Honestly, the whole escape was kind of a blur. I wasn't exactly in my right mind."

"Well, you're new, and you're hungry."

"Not for long!" came Elena's voice as she entered the room. "Here's our stash. How are you doing, Jesse?"

He blinked at her. "Our stash? You're a vampire, too?" He pointed at Maribel. "Are you—?"

"Human," she said. "But in-the-know. Long story, we'll get around to it."

"First rule of being a vampire," said Elena, offering him a blood bag, "is realizing how awesome you are. It's not a bad thing."

"One question," said Maribel. "What are we gonna do about Aaron? He's been worried sick."

"I'll compel him to forget his worries," said Caroline. "He'll just be happy his roommate is back. Okay. First important thing you need to know, Jesse, is that our blood can heal people. Maribel, can we—?"

"You know what? Sure." She offered up her arm.

Caroline dug her nail in hard enough to slice open her skin near the wrist. Maribel winced in pain. "Now, give her your blood," she told Jesse. "Like this—" she grabbed his arm, biting into it, then offered it to Maribel, who drew a small sip.

Jesse's eyes widened as he watched the wound heal. "Holy crap. That is insane."

The blonde smiled, and looked at her friend. "You want to teach him about compulsion?"

"Sure," said Elena. "Just one question. What are we going to do about Wes?"

"Leave that to me," said Maribel.

"I'll have Damon go and help you," said Elena. "Just in case Wes tries to hurt you."

Maribel opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it. "Fine. He can meet me down there."