"Elena?" Kevin, intending to use the Rabbit Talisman to dash straight to Caroline's house, opened the door only to find Elena standing there. Worse, his superpowers were now directly witnessed by her.
"Kevin?" Elena had originally come looking for Stefan, having found old news reports about him not aging and noticing other oddities in his daily life, intending to confirm his identity. She hadn't even knocked yet and was startled by Kevin suddenly appearing.
"Elena? What are you doing here?" Stefan, hearing Elena's voice, also came out immediately.
"What... what are you all?" Elena cried, her eyes widening at the sight of the two bodies lying on the floor through the open door, and she stumbled backwards in terror.
"I have things to do right now, so I have to go. Stefan, you explain everything clearly," Kevin said. Seeing the situation, he knew Stefan couldn't hide the truth anymore. Since he hadn't driven over, he just activated the Rabbit Talisman and whooshed away.
"Caroline, are you home right now? Okay, good. Wait for me at home; I'm coming over to find you. There are some things we need to talk about when I see you," Kevin said, calling Caroline while he was running.
"Caroline!" It didn't take long for Kevin to reach Caroline's building. Since Caroline lived with her mother, it wouldn't have been right for him to have a key directly, and besides, their relationship was still a bit uncertain, so Kevin could only knock on the door and have Caroline open it.
"Kevin, what's wrong?" Caroline asked, leading Kevin into her room.
"I'll tell you slowly. Don't be scared," Kevin said, sitting down on Caroline's bed.
"Don't be scared? Kevin, what on earth happened?" Caroline asked, walking over and sitting down beside Kevin.
Kevin looked at Caroline and told her everything about Damon's escape and Sarah's impending transformation into a vampire.
"And Elena probably knows Stefan is a vampire by now too. Let's go discuss things together tomorrow. Even though Damon hasn't been invited into your house, I feel it's better for you to stay by my side during this time," Kevin said, seeing Caroline's frightened expression and pulling her into a hug, wanting to give her a sense of security.
"Okay," Caroline replied, unsure what else to do at this point, and agreed to Kevin's arrangements.
"Stefan, how's Elena?" Kevin called Stefan, also wanting to arrange a meeting with him the next day to discuss how to deal with Damon.
"Elena just found out I'm a vampire and is very scared. We've arranged to meet tomorrow; I'll explain everything to her then," Stefan told Kevin, his tone clearly weary.
"Okay, I'll bring Caroline with me tomorrow. If the two of them are together, it might be a bit better for them," Kevin said comfortingly to Stefan.
"Okay, thanks a lot, Kevin. See you tomorrow then."
Stefan gave Kevin the address and time, thanked him, and then hung up, continuing to watch over Elena from downstairs at her house. Kevin, on the other hand, held Caroline and slept soundly.
"Let's sit and wait for them to arrive," Kevin said, leading Caroline to the place they had agreed to meet the previous day and sitting down.
"Caroline? What are you doing here?" Elena asked, surprised to see Caroline as well when she arrived. After all, the things they needed to discuss today weren't suitable for just anyone to hear.
"Hey Elena, I came with Kevin," Caroline said, pointing at Kevin.
"Elena, it's okay. Caroline roughly knows everything already. Stefan will tell you what you want to know later," Kevin told Elena.
"Sorry I'm late," Stefan said, arriving at that moment. Seeing everyone was there, he took a seat.
"You said you would explain everything. That's why I asked you to meet me here. When I search 'vampire' on the internet, all I get is fiction. What's it like in the real world?" Elena asked Stefan directly.
"I can tell you anything you want to know," Stefan replied sincerely.
"I know you can eat garlic?" Elena asked.
"Yes," Stefan answered.
"And for some reason, sunlight doesn't harm you either?" Elena continued.
"My brother and I are protected by our rings," Stefan replied.
"So, that means Damon can't move around in the sunlight now, right?" Kevin interjected directly. Because Stefan, afraid Damon would die too easily at Kevin's hands, had concealed many details. If Elena hadn't brought this up, Kevin still wouldn't have known.
"Yes," Stefan said, glancing at Kevin.
"I don't mean to interrupt your conversation, but I've tried crosses, silver items, and holy water before, and none of them worked on you. So, what exactly are the conditions for killing a vampire?" Kevin pressed Stefan.
"A wooden stake through the heart, or beheading, will kill a vampire," Stefan said, looking at Elena before finally answering Kevin.
"And vervain is a powerful counter to vampires. Besides the harm caused by directly injecting it into Damon's body like last time, humans can also drink it or wear it close to their skin to avoid vampire mind control," Stefan said, pointing to the necklace Elena was wearing as he spoke.
"Do you have more vervain? I'd like to get some for Caroline to carry," Kevin asked Stefan.
"Yes, I'll bring you some later," Stefan replied.
"Come on, let's go somewhere. If you have any more questions on the way, I'll answer them," Stefan said to the group.
Since Kevin hadn't driven, everyone got into Elena's car and headed towards the place Stefan indicated. When they arrived, they saw it was the ruins of an old, dilapidated estate.
"Why did we come here?" Elena asked, looking at Stefan who had already gotten out of the car.
"I wanted to show you something," Stefan said to Elena, his "you" clearly implying that Kevin and Caroline were just tagging along.
"Out here in the desolate countryside?" Elena asked, looking around.
"This... this wasn't always desolate countryside. This used to be my home," Stefan told Elena.
Subsequently, Stefan took Elena on a tour of his former home, and Elena learned that Stefan had lived for over a century. Stefan also told Elena about his feud with Damon, a complex web of love and hate that had originated entirely because of a woman named Katherine. He also promised Elena he would hide nothing more from her.
"Is that Damon's ring?" Elena asked, watching as Stefan spoke and then retrieved a cloth-wrapped bundle containing a ring and a necklace from under a stone.
"I took them from him. But I have to give them back," Stefan nodded in reply.
"No, don't! Stefan, you should keep it hidden," Elena said immediately upon hearing he intended to return the ring to Damon.
"Elena, if I don't give it back to him, he will retaliate in the only way he knows how," Stefan said, refusing Elena's plea.
"What way is that?" Elena asked, not understanding.
"By hurting you," Stefan said, looking deeply into Elena's eyes.
"Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt your romantic moment," Kevin interjected, finding Stefan's dramatic flair a bit much to bear. "But with me around, isn't it more likely that he'd be the one afraid to show his face in front of me?" Kevin really didn't want Damon, who had provoked him three or four times already, to get what he wanted. And frankly, Damon was easier to find without his ring.
"I'm sorry, Kevin, but I don't want to risk anything that could possibly harm Elena," Stefan apologized to Kevin.
"I really don't want to contradict you, Stefan. Perhaps a large part of your reasoning is Elena. But isn't there also a part that's for Damon? Aren't you just afraid that if Damon remains in Mystic Falls without his ring, he'll sooner or later be hunted down by me?" Kevin said, looking intently at Stefan.