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Bonnie clutched the banana-nutShe just could not bring herself to knock on Matt’s door Instead, she turned big pleading brown eyes on Meredith and Elena

"Oh, Bonnie," Meredith els and the carton of orange juice she was carrying, and rapping loudly on the door

"I don’t knohat to say," Bonnie whispered back, agonized

Then the door opened, and Matt appeared, red-eyed and pale He seemed somehow smal er and more hunched into himself than Bonnie had ever seen hi nervous and launched herself into his ar the muffin in the process

"I’ down her face Matt held on to her tightly, bending over and burying his head in her shoulder "It’s okay," she said final y, desperately, patting the back of his head "I mean, no, it’s notof course it’s notbut we love you, we’re here"

"I couldn’t help hiainst Bonnie’s neck "I tried my best, but he died anyway"

Elena and Meredith joined the their arms around Matt fro his back "You did everything you could for him"

Matt pul ed out of their arestured around the room "Al this stuff is his," he said "His parents don’t feel like they’re ready to clear out his things yet, they told the police It’s kil ing ht about packing it up for his parents, but there’s a possibility that the police h his stuff"

Bonnie shuddered at the thought of what Christopher’s parentsto eat," Meredith said "I bet you haven’t eaten for ages Maybe it’l help you feel better" Al three girls fussed around, fixing the breakfast they’d brought for Matt, then convincing hi He drank soel, his head lowered "I was at the police station al night," he said

"I had to keep going over and over what happened"

"What did happen?" Bonnie asked tentatively

Matt sighed "I real y wish I knew I just saw so away from Christopher I wanted to chase him, but Chris needed my help And then he died I tried, but I couldn’t do anything" His forehead creased into a frown "The real y weird thing, though," he said slowly, "is that, even though I saw a person running away, the police think Christopher was attacked by some kind of animal He waspretty ripped up"

Elena and Meredith exchanged an alert glance "A vampire?" said Meredith "Or a olf,about that," Matt ad to notice, he finished his bagel, and Elena took advantage of his distraction to slip some fruit onto his plate

Bonnie wrapped her arms around herself "Why?" she asked "Why is it that, wherever we go, weird, scary things happen around us? I thought that once we left Fel ’s Church things would be different"

No one argued with her For a little while, they al sat quietly, and Bonnie felt as if they were huddling together, trying to protect the cold and horrible

Final y, Meredith reached out and took an orange slice off Matt’s plate "The first thing we need to do, then, is to investigate and try to figure out if these attacks and disappearances are supernatural" She chewed thoughtful y "As et Da And Stefan should knohat’s going on, too" She looked at Elena, her voice gentle "I’l talk to theed Bonnie could tel she was trying to keep her expression blank, but her lips were tre "Of course," she said after a s out anyway You kno paranoid they are"

"Not without reason," Meredith said dryly

Matt’s eyes et "Whatever happens, I need you to pro," he said "Please, be careful I can’t - let’s not lose anyone else, okay?" Bonnie snuggled closer to hi her hand on his

Meredith reached over and placed her hand over both of theirs, and Elena added hers to the pile "We’l take care of one another," Elena said

"A vow," said Bonnie, trying to smile "We’l alatch out for one another We’l make sure everyone is safe"

At that reement, she was sure they could do it

Meredith pivoted and stepped forward, swinging her staff down to strike at Saed the blow, then jabbed her own staff straight toward Meredith’s head Meredith blocked the blow, then thrust her staff at Saered backward and lost her footing

"Wow," she said, rubbing her col arbone and looking at Meredith with a mixture of resentment and appreciation

"That hurt, even with the padding I’ve never trained with anyone so strong before"

"Oh, Well," Meredith saidabsurdly pleased, "I practice a lot"