Katherine.

Rage was boiling inside, and she wasn't successful at taming it. Nobody denied her. Ever. So what was wrong with this Salvatore family? Stefan, she could understand. He has a nice human substitute who just happen to look like her. Petrova's blood runs in that girl's veins, for fuck's sake. Younger Salvatore even has a taste of it here and there. If she was in his shoes, she too wouldn't give up a free meal from someone who wears a face of a person she was in love with.

But what in the hell was Damon doing? It's so obvious he's in love with her. He's still broken and hurt and hers, and no little stupid human (!) girl can change that. Even if he does see her in Elena. She can't allow him to slip away from her.

Only he already did. He never denied her. Not even when he claimed to hate her and was ready to kill, all it took was one lust filled gaze and he was questioning the possibilities. If it wasn't for Stefan, they would have ended up fucking right on that couch in the room they got her trapped. And now, when she was all ready for him… It was unbelievable. Simply impossible.

Maybe Elijah compelled him. Yeah, right. If it was so, she wouldn't be here in the first place. The Original is dead, lying in the basement of one certain brunette hottie with clear blue eyes. It has to be something else.

That Elena girl is to blame. It's all her fault. She lost her boys to that dramatic teenager. One thought about this made her mad with anger. How dare that little girl steal away her favourite playthings?

Not that she needed Stefan that much. Truth be told, he never was the reason she came back to Mystic Falls. Sure, she felt something for him, and yes, it was more than what she felt for his elder brother, but it wasn't really love. She honestly can't even give a clear answer about why she chose Damon's death over his. Most likely she just knew that Damon was strong enough to pull it through. He was always a smart one, that arrogant asshole. He changed so much since the last time she had seen him.145 years would do that to a man. Vampire. Whatever.

He's wiser now. Not so naïve and innocent as he was back then. And so beautifully damaged, broken and flawlessly flawed in so many ways. She's proud that he is her masterpiece. At least he's not as boring. He's different, and she's delighted every time they start bickering, because Damon is officially the first to keep up with her and sometimes even to come out on top. Not that she'd ever let him know that. Now she actually enjoys his company more than Stefan's. Stefan can be quite clueless sometimes. She found it endearing. Now she finds it annoying.

But Damon. Oh, her poor Damon. He's been hurt by love so many times, and still he manages to love with all his broken heart. Now that a moment of pure anger is gone and rage is tamed, she sees the truth. That fool loves Elena. She felt her anger rise up, but she pressed it down. Not the time for that. She has to keep calm and have a clear head, because she plans on getting Damon back. That bastard is not allowed to be anyone's but hers. She'll make sure of that. She'll teach him a lesson and then she'll break his heart all over again, only this time beyond repair.

However, Katherine Pierce was a clever woman, else she wouldn't have made it so far with a psychotic Original looking for her all over the world and even further. And as she went to sleep with the thought of teaching Damon a lesson, she hoped as hell that it wouldn't be her heart that would be in pieces.

Damon.

They had a place of witch massacre and a powerful Bennett on their side. He would say that their chances were not that bad. It was actually better that he expected. They had a great shot at saving Elena and defeating Klaus.

…

He was doing a piss poor job at pretending that an almost kiss with Kat didn't happen.

Of course, he is proud with himself at handling this the perfect way. It's not everyday you fool Katherine Pierce into thinking you don't want her. But man, did he want her. He missed her scent, and the way his hands slid smoothly over her flawless skin. He missed her taunting and sexy, low voice that was enough for him to get painfully hard and ready at one point in his life. He could control his body now.

But not his mind, apparently.

He felt rage inside him rising up. Katherine just strode in his life and turned his world upside down all over again. She had no right, dammit!

Okay, he seriously needed to stop sounding like a drama queen.

But it was really distracting with her back. And what was making it worse? He changed. And now that he was a completely different person, they were a perfect pair. He's broken and unstable and slightly insane, and she's messed up and crazy and scared, always scared, and she's masking it, hiding behind her craziness and games, just like he hides his hurt soul behind sarcasm and not caring. And, well, he actually doesn't care about many things, he's not as sensitive inside as Elena made him out to be. And Kat actually does enjoy her games and craziness, and she will never completely change and stop doing things she does. Just like he won't be whole, won't completely give up on being dangerous and twisted. They can't change, because they pretended so much they actually became what they are now. That's how they operate. He's taken aback with that realization, and then he's simply scared, because he doesn't want to be anything like Katherine but he is. She created him. Every action in the past was done because of her. Every decision he's made was made thinking about her. She's in his system, and he's not sure he'll ever be able to get her out. First love, just like first hate, is hard to forget. He's not sure what Katherine is to him out of two. Maybe she's something third, something that goes beyond everything and anything known to a man.

He couldn't go down that path again. He matured, changed, became a person he doesn't hate anymore, and he doesn't want to smash a mirror when he takes a shower every morning. He can't throw it all away only because Katherine decided to play once more. He won't let her rule his life and play with him as she pleased. With that decision firmly made, he closed a journal and went to get ready to sleep.

But Damon Salvatore wasn't stupid, at least not anymore. And now that he finally knew himself, he couldn't help but wonder: what if he still wasn't strong enough?