Dark Reunion

it, but we can't.'

'It's all wrong,' Meredith went on, as if she hadn't heard. 'Here we are out in the sunlight, graduating, and there she is under that—stone.'

'I know, I know,' Bonnie said in a soothing tone. 'Meredith, you're getting yourself all upset. Why don't you try to think about something else? Look, after you go out to dinner with your parents, do you want to go to Raymond's party? Even if we're not invited, we can crash it.'

'No!' Meredith said with startling vehemence. 'I don't want to go to any party. How can you even think of that, Bonnie? How can you be so shallow?'

'Well, we've got to do something …'

'I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm going up to the cemetery after dinner. I'm going to put this on Elena's grave. She's the one who deserves it.' Meredith's knuckles were white as she shook the tassel in her hand.

'Meredith, don't be an idiot. You can't go up there, especially at night. That's crazy. Matt would say the same thing.'

'Well, I'm not asking Matt. I'm not asking anybody. I'm going by myself.'

'You can't. God, Meredith, I always thought you had some brains—'

'And I always thought you had some sensitivity. But obviously you don't even want to think about Elena. Or is it just because you want her old boyfriend for yourself?'

Bonnie slapped her.

It was a good hard slap, with plenty of energy behind it. Meredith drew in a sharp breath, one hand to her reddening cheek. Everyone around them was staring.

'That's it for you, Bonnie McCullough,' Meredith said after a moment, in a voice of deadly quiet. 'I don't ever want to speak to you again.' She turned on her heel and walked away:

'Never would be too soon for me!' Bonnie shouted at her retreating back.

Eyes were hastily averted as Bonnie looked around her. But there was no question that she and Meredith had been the center of attention for several minutes past. Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face and walked over to Matt, who had lost the recruiter.

'How was that?' she murmured.

'Good.'

'Do you think the slap was too much? We didn't really plan that; I was just sort of going with the moment. Maybe it was too obvious…'

'It was fine, just fine.' Matt was looking preoccupied. Not that dull, apathetic, turned-in look of the last few months, but distinctly abstracted.

'What is it? Something wrong with the plan?' Bonnie said.

'No, no. Listen, Bonnie, I've been thinking. You were the one to discover Mr. Tanner's body in the Haunted House last Halloween, right?'

Bonnie was startled. She gave an involuntary shiver of distaste. 'Well, I was the first one to know he was dead, really dead, instead of just playing his scene. Why on earth do you want to talk about that now?'

'Because maybe you can answer this question. Could Mr. Tanner have got a knife in Damon?'

'What?'

'Well, could he?'

'I…' Bonnie blinked and frowned. Then she shrugged. 'I suppose so. Sure. It was a Druid sacrifice scene, remember, and the knife we used was a real knife. We talked about using a fake one, but since Mr. Tanner was going to be lying right there beside it, we figured it was safe enough. As a matter of fact…' Bonnie's frown deepened. 'I think when I found the body, the knife was in a different place from where we'd set it in the beginning. But then, some kid could have moved it. Matt, why are you asking?'

'Just something Damon said to me,' Matt said, staring off into the distance again. 'I wondered if it could be the truth.'

'Oh.' Bonnie waited for him to say more, but he didn't. 'Well,' she said finally, 'if it's all cleared up, can you come back to Earth, please? And don't you think you should maybe put your arm around me? Just to show you're on my side and there's no chance you're going to show up at Elena's grave tonight with Meredith?'

Matt snorted, but the faraway look disappeared from his eyes. For just a brief instant he put his arm around her and squeezed.

Deja vu, Meredith thought as she stood at the gate to the cemetery. The problem was, she couldn't remember exactly which of her previous experiences in the graveyard this night reminded her of. There had been so many.

In a way, it had all started here. It had been here that Elena had sworn not to rest until Stefan belonged to her. She'd made Bonnie and Meredith swear to help her, too—in blood. How suitable, Meredith thought now.

And it had been here that Tyler had assaulted Elena the night of the Homecoming dance. Stefan had come to the rescue, and that had been the beginning for them. This graveyard had seen a lot.

It had even seen the whole group of them file up the hill to the ruined church last December, looking for Katherine's lair. Seven of them had gone down into the crypt: Meredith herself, Bonnie, Matt, and Elena, with Stefan, Damon, and Alaric. But only six of them had come out all right. When they took Elena out of there, it was to bury her.

This graveyard had been the beginning, and the end as well. And maybe there would be another end tonight.

Meredith started walking.

I wish you were here now, Alaric, she thought. I could use your optimism and your savvy about the supernatural—and I wouldn't mind your muscles, either.

Elena's headstone was in the new cemetery, of course, where the grass was still tended and the graves marked with wreaths of flowers. The stone was very simple, almost plain looking, with a brief inscription. Meredith bent down and placed her bouquet of roses in front of it. Then, slowly, she added the red-and-black tassel from her cap. In this dim light, both colors looked the same, like dried blood. She knelt and folded her hands quietly. And she waited.

All around her the cemetery was still. It seemed to be waiting with her, breath held in anticipation. The rows of white stones stretched on either side of her, shining faintly. Meredith listened for any sound.

And then she heard one. Heavy footsteps.

With her head down, she stayed quiet, pretending she noticed nothing.

The footsteps sounded closer, not even bothering to be stealthy.

'Hi, Meredith.'

Meredith looked around quickly. 'Oh—Tyler,' she said. 'You scared me. I thought you were—never mind.'

'Yeah?' Tyler's lips skinned back in an unsettling grin. 'Well, I'm sorry you're disappointed. But it's me, just me and nobody else.'

'What are you doing here, Tyler? No good parties?'

'I could ask you the same question.' Tyler's eyes dropped to the headstone and the tassel and his face darkened. 'But I guess I already know the answer. You're here for her. Elena Gilbert, A Light in Darkness,' he read sarcastically.

'That's right,' Meredith said evenly. ' 'Elena' means light, you know. And she was certainly surrounded by darkness. It almost beat her, but she won in the end.'

'Maybe,' Tyler said, and worked his jaw meditatively, squinting. 'But you know, Meredith, it's a funny thing about darkness. There's always more of it waiting in the wings.'

'Like tonight,' Meredith said, looking up at the sky. It was clear and dotted with faint stars. 'It's very dark tonight, Tyler. But sooner or later the sun will come up.'

'Yeah, but the moon comes up first.' Tyler chuckled suddenly, as if at some joke only he could see. 'Hey, Meredith, you ever see the Smallwood family plot? Well, come on and I'll show you. It's not far.'

Just like he showed Elena, Meredith thought. In a way she was enjoying this verbal fencing, but she never lost sight of what she had come here for. Her cold fingers dipped into her jacket pocket and found the tiny sprig of