Chapter 1: Shades of red
Elena turned on her feet and walked up the stairs. She was sure that Stefan had accepted her terms but he sure as **** didnt like it. Damon on the other hand accepted it period.
Stupid,...why did he even have to try killing Elijah ? Now everything was harder, One potentially in the future pissed off original laying dead in the basement, AND Klaus coming whenever.
Elena having had enough for one day, took her bags and drove home, leaving the salvatore brothers to them selves.
Damon feeling good about Elijahs death went up the stairs to his bedroom.
"That can`t be " Damon rounded the corner and there she was naked from top to toe in HIS shower. Wishfull thinking however did`n`t make him second guess who his bathtub guest was...Kathrine
" Do you have a bath robe?" Her eyes were filled with joy and playfullness. Not hiding anything that was given to her by nature.
Damon wakeing up from his shock, tightened his fists and became rigid with anger
"Well do you have that robe ?" Kathrine lifting one eyebrow
"What the hell are you doing here? You sceeming little ***** using me to get out !" "You are NOT staying here,- get dressed and get the hell out of my house before i wake up Elijah just so he can put you back in the tomb !"
Kathrine had already stepped out off the shower absolutely unshy reaching for a towel.
" Ohh but sweet, sweet Damon you know that wont happen, he`ll kill you first" turning her lips into a teasing arrogant smile.
" Besides you still need my help i promised you, remember?"
" I don`t need your help, so get out Kathrine! "
He turned to walk out the door again, when he heard her stand right behind him.
Damon turned to look at her, wet hair and a towel wrapped round the middle of her body. Had he not known her, despised her, loathed her, he would certainly have found her beautiful. But knowledge make`s wise and in an instant he had her backed up against the wall, one hand round her neck 10 inches of the ground.
" YOU don`t get to play like that this is my house, therefore my rules"
" I`m quite hungry Damon, didnt Elena have a younger brother ?" Arrogantly hanging there
"Kathrine don`t"
His voice with just a hint of panic , and Kat heard it, she could smell him trying to figure out how to negotiate his way out of this one.
" Just let me stay, i`ll play nice , and i wont kill anyone"
He let her go, starring her in the eyes.
" How about i just kill you now"
" No can do Damon, then you cant have the information i have on Klaus and Mystic falls"
Defeated Damon made his way down stairs and found Stefan in front of the fire.
" Maybe killing Elijah was a bad idea" Cause we just got ourselves a pain in the ass houseguest, it appeares"
He said getting himself a drink and sitting down in the nearest chair.
Stefan looking rather surprised and puzzled, was just about to ask what was going on. When he heard something coming from the top of the stairs and as if she was called uppon Katrhine came waltzing down the stairs rather pleased with her self.
" Hello Stefan, did you miss me"
Stefan felt something tug at his heartstrings, but he assumed it was worry over Elena suddenly having to deal with her doppelganger once again, and of course Elena would be mad when she found out Kathrine was free. So he desided not to react too much, and in that way not let Kathrine have her fun.
Elena put on some jeans and got ready to go out the door...today they were all planning together, no more martyrs no more ego trips and first and foremost no more lies from them, well actually thinking about it, Elena could`nt come up with a lie from Damon. And all that stuff in the Gilbert diaries, Damon NOT bad ?. Knowing she had to ask some questions she hurried out the door , and stod in front of the Salvatore house some 15 minutes later.
She found Damon standing in the hallway looking up the stairs, irritated expression on his face. He turned his eyes on her teasingly.
" So are you ready to have some fun ? "
Elena felt something wrong instantly, he looked wrong in some way no lies!!
" Whats going on Damon ? just tell me now "
He took one step closer to her still looking into her eyes now just a bit more serious.
"Kathrine is here"
"She`s what?"
"She came last night after we killed Elijah, appears compulsions wear off when the vampire who did it dies. She just didn`t like telling the truth when I asked her."
Elena was frozen in place scared and well,... pissed of really.
Damon took 3 moore steps and put his hands on her shoulders, levelling his head with hers.
"She is playing nice right now and if she tries anything i WILL have a stake through her heart before you can count to ten, besides, she claims to have information we need. I have to try and get it if there is anything important. "
Elena suddenly had all these feelings inside mixed and twisted, upside down. Complicated, -friends, not friends, friends again and so on, Right now he was close and a sence of calm fell over her. She closed her eyes and nodded, saying okay.
Damon heard her heartrate slow down and let go of her. He had learned to over rule those feelings, ignore them, but she stil made his nonbeating heart twitch, in his soul anyway. Best to go get a drink, so he turned to walk down into the livingroom. Elena followed, thinking she might talk to Damon now, undesturbed.
He heard her follow and turned on her knowing Elena wouldnt be able to react fast enough, and stop outside his personal space. She managed to stop just before she would`ve bumped into him.
" Did you want to ask me something Elena?"
He had his crooked smile on as his eyes dug their way down in hers.
Elena blushed slightly and found that words were a little hard to find, something reached her way down inside her heart and he smelled sooo good, then he backed away.
The fogg lifted from her head and the questions came back to her.
" I read the diaries and Stefan told me about his past...the diary gave me the imression that there was only one vampire here after the fire and that he went crazy killing everybody. Stefan said it was him and it was a bad time for him, why did you leave?"
"Why do you ask Elena , what is it you wanna hear?"
Partially hurt and partially irritated with the blame he heard in her voice. He turned away looking allmost through the flames going back in time.
Elena realising that he took the blame on him even when it was`n`t for him to recieve. She went to him and layed a hand on his arm.
"Damon i dont blame you ! I just want to hear the story from you to"
He turned and looked at her.
" I left because i couldn`t help him, he was dragging me down just as fast as he could drink women. "
She flinched at his last words but stayed at his side looking him in the eyes.
Could it really be?... He`ve so far since she met him and she always hated his way of vamping out, killing. He wasn`t like this when he first turned, and he wasn`t like that now. Something in her changed and she felt a need to stand there with him watching the wood burn silently in the fireplace.
" Im sorry Damon "
He nodded once and emtied his glass .
"Whats going on here " Stefan came down the stairs with Kathrine on his tail. Looking just like Elena, straight hair the same type of clothes and a big smile on her face.
" Hi Elena, that`s funny, i have that outfit too, wanna see "
" Hello Kathrine, Elena said chin up and defiance in her voice. Stefan hurried to Elenas side and gave her a quick kiss.
" Kathrine is going to help us find out,who Klaus is, and how we kill him"
"Well that`s just great and you dont know if we can trust her"
Stefan shot a glance at Damon and then shrugged his shoulders.
Kathrine sat down in the black leather sofa, crossed her legs and smiled at Elena saying "off course you can Elena"
They all started searching in old books, diaries whatever they could get their hans on. But nothing seemed to surface and give them any help. Kathrine was searching the internet in hopes of a hint but still nothing.
Damon turned to Stefan
" Not that im a huge fan of the idea but we could take the dagger from the creepy one downstairs?" Letting the words linger in the room for a few seconds. He was met by 3 NO es
" That`s the last option"
Stefan followed Elena to the door, it was already to late and aunt Jenna would not let it slip that easely this time..
Elena frowning her forehead looking very worried .
" Stefan i dont like her being here with you, what if she tries something?"
"I love you and Kathrine cant change that, i will se you in the morning"
He gently kissed her and gave her a squeeze goodbye-
Next morning she came to the house early finding the front door wide open and she entered very alert.
Upstairs Damon was reading journals, again coming up empty. Thinking to himself that maybe they were searching in the wrong places. Maybe the originals left their mark on other histories than the vampires.
He heard a cry of pain from downstairs, and he knew that he had to hurry, it was the sound of Elena hurting . Superspeeding down the stairs he was in the hallway not a second later, taking in the scenery before him.
The two doppelgangers identicaly dressed. One pinned up against the wall by Stefan, trying to breathe. The other standing scared in the corner crying. Stefan had his fangs out and was growling.
5 seconds had passed and then Damon reacted, he could never confuse the two so he physically removed Stefans arm.
" Stefan let her go !" Firmness in his voice
Stefan refusing to do so and putting his arm back up against the girls neck.
" Kathrine is playing her damn games, shes messing with my head"
Damon gets in between the girl and Stefan pointing at the other doppelganger.
" You might wanna talk to her about it and stop hurting Elena"
Disbelief in his eyes he looks at Elena now sitting on the floor holding her neck and coughing.
Stefan was frozen in place, not moving one inch. Flashes of fear, regret, anger and deep sorrow was in his eyes.
Katrine looked at the three in front of her and started yawning.
" Well i guess its time to take my beauty nap, you all have fun "
With that she left the room.
Stefan rushed to Elena wanting to pick her up from the ground. Thinking to him self that he SHOULD have known the difference, -but he didnt, and now Elena was hurt.
"Stefan don`t ! , just don`t, "
She pushed his armes away while getting up her self. Then she gave Stefan one last glance and strode of into the kitchen.
How could he see Kathrine in ME, Thoughts were going through Elenas head as she poured her self a glass of water . Mostly she felt betrayed and unseen.
Damon stood leaning against the wall in the far side of the kitchen.
"Are you okay ?" Pausing before he goes on...
"Kathrine still loves Stefan you know"
"Damon i dont know what to feel about that i dont know anything right now"
Elena turned to look at him with a sudden puzzled expression on her face.
"Damon ? , how come you could tell the diffirence ?"
" Aww thats just something i do" Smiling his crooked smile again, and tilting the head to one side.
She walkes over to him and looks him straight in the eyes, seriousness written all over her face.
"Please - how did you know"
He took a deep breath and said:
" Elena,... its not that difficult knowing the diffirence between a yellow and a red rose, the yellow one is plain and there are hardly any nuances to it but the red rose (pausing) has all the shades of red you can imagine, and its only hard to tell the diffirence if you`re color-blind.
Damon turned on his feet and let Elena stand there completely taken aback.