When Stefan mentioned that he memorized words by doing crossword puzzles, Ron couldn't help but laugh. But he didn't have time to listen to their couple's chatter — he had a date with Caroline to catch.
He jogged to their meeting spot by the school gate, where Caroline was already waiting. After a few minutes of affection, they headed to the field together; Caroline had cheer practice, so Ron left her there and went on his way.
Today, he didn't wander aimlessly. Instead, he drove straight to Damon's house — not to fight, but to gather intel. After all, his understanding of this world was still limited. And if anyone could give him useful information, it would be a vampire who'd lived for decades, maybe centuries.
"Damon, you home?" Ron called out, knocking on the door.
"What do you want?" Damon opened it, glanced at him, then turned and walked back inside without another word.
"I came to see if you were throwing another party. If I happened to find a few party girls around with bite marks, I figured I'd get to keep my promise from yesterday," Ron said casually, stepping inside after him.
"What are you exactly?" Damon asked, slumping onto the sofa with a glass of bourbon. "Your speed yesterday was like a vampire's, but you're clearly not one. So what's your deal?"
(Note: In this world, vampires can't enter a home with living humans unless invited — yet Ron had just walked in. Another reason Damon was curious.)
"I told you — I'm human. But yeah, this ability of mine does resemble yours a bit."
Ron drew the silver dagger from his belt and sliced open his palm. The cut, about the size of his hand, sealed shut in seconds — before he even put the dagger away.
"I'm human," Ron repeated, noticing Damon's widening eyes. "See? No pain, no problem."
"Human? Not buying it," Damon said flatly. "Witches can use magic, sure, but what you did looked more like something supernatural. Don't forget — vampires were once human too. Bourbon?"
"Why not?" Ron said, downing the first glass in one gulp. He slammed it down on the table, shattering it into large shards. Then, with a faint glow from the Horse Sigil, he reassembled the pieces into a perfect glass again. "Now, another round."
(He wasn't trying to act cool — he simply couldn't crush such a thick glass barehanded. The Horse Sigil, however, could mend broken objects — just like in Jackie Chan Adventures.)
"Nice trick," Damon said, pretending indifference as he poured another drink.
"So," he asked again, "what are you?"
"I told you — human," Ron replied with a faint smirk.
"Maybe. But for now, just know this — you're alive because I'm letting you be," Ron said, setting his glass down with deliberate calm. "Try something stupid again, and I'll find a way to kill you. Don't test me."
Just then, the door opened. "Ron?" Stefan stood there, visibly surprised to see him sitting comfortably in his house.
"Oh hey, Stefan. Just stopped by to check on your brother — and remind him to behave," Ron said casually.
At that moment, Zach Salvatore came out of one of the rooms.
"Zach, you're home too?" Ron asked, raising a brow.
"Yes, and you are...?" Zach had been observing for a while and, hearing Stefan's tone, realized there was no need to pretend to be their "uncle."
"He's a classmate of mine," Stefan explained, sitting down beside Damon.
Ron squinted at Zach, then suddenly stood up and walked toward him. "Wait — you're human? Are you being controlled by them?"
He reached out and placed a hand on Zach's shoulder, activating the Horse Sigil again to check for traces of mind control.
Nothing.
Interesting. Ron had wanted to test if the Sigil could dispel vampire compulsion — it was supposed to, theoretically. He hadn't had a test subject before, but a human in a vampire household? The odds were high. Yet Zach wasn't under control at all.
"Zach's family. He knows what we are," Stefan explained.
"Then he also knows your brother's been killing people, huh?" Ron's tone turned sharp as his gaze locked on Zach. "And you just stand by and watch that happen? Forget it — you're just human. You couldn't stop him even if you wanted to. One look from Damon and you'd slit your own throat."
Ron sighed and turned away. "Anyway, I've got to run — need to change before dinner at Elena's. Caroline says it's a 'girls' night' turned dinner party, and Bonnie doesn't like you much, so Elena's trying to smooth things out. Should be fun."
He smirked. "Stefan, take my advice — try not to mess it up. It's her friends' gathering, after all. Though honestly, you going back to school? Don't tell me that's not just an excuse to get close to Elena. I've seen how hard you fight your bloodlust there. Not exactly the best environment for you. Anyway, see you tonight."
Ron waved lazily and walked out.
Back home, he didn't see Sarah anywhere — the kitchen was empty too. Probably out running errands, he guessed. Still, she hadn't made lunch, which was unusual. Shrugging it off, Ron went out to eat, then returned to change clothes.
Caroline messaged him to pick her up for grocery shopping, since he was cooking tonight — and with his appetite, that meant enough food for seven or eight people.
By the time they arrived at Elena's place, it was still early.
As soon as they entered, the girls sent Ron to relax in the living room while the three of them — Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie — went into the kitchen to prep dinner.
Normally, Caroline wouldn't touch kitchen work, but since most of the meal was for Ron, she couldn't just sit back and watch the others handle it.
Inside the kitchen, Bonnie was talking animatedly.
"You two, listen — last night I was watching Channel 90, and right when the ad break started, I saw this weird commercial. A boy and a girl sitting on a bench — he flies to Paris, then flies back, they take a picture together. I swear, it just popped in out of nowhere!"
"Please, Bonnie," Elena said, rolling her eyes. "That ad's been on repeat for weeks."
"Yeah, I've seen it too," Caroline said skeptically.
"Fine, but how do you explain this? Today in math class, I kept seeing the numbers 81422 everywhere. Over and over. Isn't that creepy?" Bonnie insisted.
"Maybe we should buy a lottery ticket," Elena joked.
Caroline laughed. "You know what? Maybe we actually should — just to test it."