“Go ahead and take them to her and then come help us,” Meredith said firmly.
“Caroline will get over it,” Bonnie added, a smirk playing around the edges of her mouth.
Matt looked torn for a moment, and then his face firmed, his mind made up. “I’ll be back,” he said grimly, and marched off.
The three girls watched as he crossed the auditorium to where Caroline stood. At first, she smiled at Matt and accepted the cup of punch gracefully, as poised as a princess. Matt dipped his head to speak in her ear and, as she listened, Caroline’s expression grew more and more thunderous. She snapped something back at him, and Matt replied. Then Caroline, clearly incandescent with rage, reared back and slapped Matt hard across the face.
“Oh my God,” Bonnie breathed.
Matt swung around and hurried back to them. “I guess that’s that” was all he said. There was a red mark high on his cheekbone where Caroline had slapped him.
Elena slipped her hand into his big, warm one and squeezed, just for a second. “Thank you.” She didn’t deserve him; she knew that.
As she let go, Matt looked down at her, shaking his head slightly from side to side. “I don’t know why I do the things I do for you, Elena Gilbert,” he said, but a rueful smile was beginning to tug at the corners of his mouth.
“Somed
ay, I hope to return the favor,” Elena said, then turned to her other friends. “If we split up, we can search the school more quickly.” They pushed through the auditorium doors into the hall again. “But if you see Damon, just come get me, don’t try talking to him. He’s upset. If you see Stefan, try to get him to come back here.”
“So Stefan went after Damon?” Meredith asked, confused. “Why? Do they even know each other?”
“They’re brothers, but they don’t get along very well,” Elena told her.
She dug into the tiny lipstick-red purse she carried. It didn’t hold a lot—just essentials—but one thing in here might be crucial. “Here.” She pulled out the withered bunch of vervain, now looking more like a bunch of wilted, dead weeds than ever, and quickly divided it into four small portions, a few strands of vervain in each.
“Um, why are you giving us dead plants?” Bonnie asked, holding hers doubtfully between her thumb and forefinger, her nose wrinkling.
“They’re good luck,” Elena said, aware of how lame she sounded. “Damon’s very superstitious.”
They all stared at her but, with a shrug, Matt put his bunch into his suit jacket, and Meredith into her clutch. Bonnie, purseless, tucked them behind her ear.
They split up, Matt and Bonnie heading down the hall toward the cafeteria, Meredith and Elena going the other way toward the office. As they walked, Elena glanced into every dim classroom, checking for Damon or Stefan.
“Maybe you should just let Damon calm down on his own,” Meredith said hesitantly, but Elena shook her head.
“I have to find him.” The longer she and Meredith looked, the more urgently Elena felt that time was running out. She knew Damon was only getting angrier by the minute.
Unease spread inside Elena, the feeling that someone was watching her from the shadows. The skin on the back of her neck crawled. She stopped to listen.
In the distance, someone laughed, and quick footsteps ran down a nearby hallway. Probably just another student, someone ducking out of the dance. Elena took a deep breath and pushed open the next classroom door. No one.
“Do you really think—” Meredith began. She broke off as the fire alarm suddenly began to blare, a deafening screech. Despite herself, Elena jumped.
“Some kid always has to set it off and try to ruin everyone’s good time,” Meredith half shouted over the alarm, disgusted.
Elena shook her head. She could smell smoke, faint and faraway for now, but there. “I don’t think so,” she said. In the distance, she could hear frantic shouts, the principal’s voice rising over the loudspeakers, directing everyone out of the building.
It was a real fire, she was sure of it. She was also sure that Damon had started it. Elena looked around wildly, searching for some clue to his whereabouts.
“Over here,” she said, picking a direction and hurrying forward. They hadn’t looked in the theater yet, maybe Damon—or Stefan—was there.
The smoke grew thicker as they made their way deeper into the school. “Elena, stop!” Meredith called, her heels clicking against the floor as she ran after Elena.
“I’m sure he’s down here,” Elena called back. Damon would want to see the chaos he had created. She could picture him, flames reflected in his dark eyes.
Meredith caught up to her, grabbing hold of Elena’s arm with strong fingers. “It’s not safe,” she said. “We have to get out of here.”
Meredith dragged Elena around the corner, but they were faced with a searing wave of heat. Flames licked the ceiling, melting the lockers like they were made of candle wax. Both girls shrieked as the fire crackled and grew.