Possibly the most beautiful man she'd ever seen was waiting for her in one of the private rooms. He was leaning back on the tacky heart shaped sofa, blue eyes so electric they made her pause in the doorway.

"Hello," Gianna said in the soft, sultry voice she usually only saved for the club. "You called for me?"

The man didn't respond, only continued to stare at her with so much emotion. Was that triumph in his gaze? It wasn't until that she pulled the curtains that separated them from the room shut that he seemed to snap out of whatever daze he'd been and turned to her with the most brilliant smile.

"I'm Damon."

The name seemed fitting somehow. And the fact that he was more handsome than her usual clients made the smile on her face less fabricated. "Ruby." She sauntered over to him and draped herself over his lap. "So what is it that you want, handsome?"

Again, he got that strange look. His eyes darkened. "I-" the words caught in his throat when she started to trail a line of almost kisses along his jawline, working her way down to his neck.

"I know you want me." The stack of cash he'd left with Bunny, who was waitressing tonight, was evidence enough. Gianna leaned in to whisper seductively in his ear. "And guess what? I want you too."

"You want me?" For some reason, that caused Damon to snort, almost in disbelief.

"You don't believe me?" Her voice was pouty, and she tilted her head, letting her eyes roam over him appreciatively.

Just when she was about to lean in again, he drew back with a harsh, self deprecating laugh. "Yeah, well. I haven't had the best luck lately." He went back to gazing at her, assessing every feature. It made her feel insecure, having someone like Damon with the most soul penetrating eyes was unnerving at best.

His upper lip suddenly twitched up in the most gorgeous half smile. "But my luck's about to change."

Like her job required her to do, she smirked back. Sometimes, clients liked to talk about themselves. About their wives, their jobs, how unfair the universe was. She's heard it all, and after a while, she'd lost most sympathy. Some men only wanted someone to talk at, not with.

"Yeah?" she said. "How's that?"

He shifted his attention to her lips, still smiling like he'd solved world hunger. "I got you, didn't I?"

"Repeat it back, please." Her entire world was collapsing. Everything-no matter how little-she'd thought she knew about herself was wrong. "Please, because I don't understand how I can have a sister and-and-"

"I know it's confusing," Damon, the handsome and ever informative bastard, soothingly. "And I get that you have lots of questions. That's why I'm here."

The hysterical urge to laugh overwhelmed Gianna, as it often did in the wrong situations. But this time she resisted. Instead, she settled on tugging at her hair. A goddamn sister. That's what he was saying. That was what the picture he'd showed her on his phone proved. She had a fucking twin.

After twenty-two years of a lonely and miserable existence, she had someone who might've been related by blood out there somewhere.

"You're here to answer my questions." Gianna hoped her voice wasn't shaky as she felt. "Why are you here? Where is she? My sister."

"She's back at Mystic Falls, her hometown," Damon said. "It's in Virginia. I'd like you come with me, Gia-" Yeah, she'd shared her name with him when it became apparent he knew who she was. Again, hysteria rose in her. "-she's going to be so excited to meet you. You two look just alike." He seemed to share her excitement. "I'm here to bring you to her."

"Really?" A sliver of anticipation rushed her. And Gianna forced herself to swallow it back down. "Doesn't she have family? How did she grow up? My case file never said anything about a twin."

"She grew up in a very happy home. Two parents and a brother-not your brother. We just found out she's adopted and I did some digging around until I found you. It's a miracle that we did."

Selfishly, Gianna envied Elena. While Gianna was growing up and suffering through the foster system, her identical self had a picturesque life. She should be happy for her.

"And her family's okay with me coming to meet her?" There was no question about them meeting now. If there was any chance at a life outside of New York, she'd take it.

"Trust me. They all will be thanking me later."

The money Damon had given her was more than what she made in a week, so she'd no quarrels rushing off home and calling her other job to beg for time off. For the first time in her life, she'd claimed emergency family matters as an excuse.

Damon was waiting for her downstairs in his fancy car, leaning in what she could describe as smugness pouring out of him. He grinned brilliantly when she came to view with her duffel bag clutched in her hands.

"This might possibly the most impulsive risk I've ever taken," Gianna admitted with a shaky breath. Where was the hardened woman who fought off creepers every day? "You could've just photoshopped the pictures," she said, half jokingly.

With a heavy eye roll, Damon took her bag. "Why would I bother? No offense, sweetheart, but you're broke." He said it was revelation. As if she didn't already agonize about it every day. "And you could go a little easier with the eye makeup."

Yes, she was obsessed with winged eyeliner. But it was part of her routine at the club. Exotic. Goddess. And it made her wide eyes that usually looked innocent downright sinful.

"And you could go a bit easier with the eyebrow plucking," she said helpfully, smirking a bit. She'd worked with enough people to know the shape of his was too precise.

Damon's eyes widened. "I do not-"

"Tell that to your poor brows," she mockingly soothed. "Ever hear that thing about if you pluck them too much, they'll never grow back?"

Caught off guard, and maybe now a bit irritated with embarrassment, he shoved her duffel in the trunk with extra force. Something about 'get in the fucking car' was said.

"Okay," Gianna said to Damon, holding out his phone to him to point out the people. "Jeremy's the younger brother. Jenna's the aunt. Alaric is…"

Damon spared a glance at the screen and focused back on the road. "Jenna's boy toy and personal friend to yours truly."

"And who is this?" She showed him a picture of Elena-she still wasn't over the surrealness of looking at her twin in all the images-smiling alongside an equally handsome man with deep green eyes and sandy hair.

"That-" Damon's brows furrowed. "-is my darling brother, Stefan."

"He's your brother?" There was almost no resemblance between the two of them. Stefan looked like the light to Damon's dark. Every feature about them contrasted. "Good family genes."

"Thanks?"

"It was a compliment." She didn't shift her focus from the phone, but she noticed Damon's hands curling tightly around the steering wheel. His knuckles were white. God, he was a moody man. At first he'd been aloof, then happy, and now angry.

"Everything okay?" she asked carefully.

"Of course," he replied too quickly. "Everything's fine. Why do you ask?"

Gianna reached out and touched his hand, simply pointing to fingers. Damon made a grunting sound and released his death grip, reapplying it more gently.

An hour later, they passed a Welcome to Mystic Falls sign, and Gianna could've sworn her heart jumped out of her chest. And when Damon pulled up to a suburban two story white house, her breath caught in her throat.

Without asking if she was ready, Damon got out of the car and made his way to the house. She followed him and clenched her hands behind her back as he knocked on the door. He turned and smiled at her. Somehow, the smile was mocking.

"-where have you been? Stefan's been-" Even though she'd seen pictures of Elena, Gianna was struck by her when the other girl opened the door.

Elena's scowl disappeared when she noticed Gianna. It took a second for recognition to dawn on her features before her expression froze. "K-"

Damon spoke pointendly, "Elena, this is Gianna. Gianna, meet Elena." He took a step back, smiling like the cat who caught the canary. "Congrats! I found your sister."

Elena stared at Gianna for a good minute, eyes wide in surprise. "S-sister?" her voice rose an octave.

"Yes," Damon said cheerfully. "Isn't that great? I know, I know. Long lost sister. It's a big grand surprise. Damon, you shouldn't have-" he mimicked an awful version of Elena's voice. "But I did. So here we go. Gianna, come on in. Let's have some coffee, share childhood stories, you know, get to know each other."

Frozen, Elena breathed out shakily. "Long lost sister," she repeated in disbelief. "What-how?"

"After that business with your mom, I did some digging around and found her." Damon made to go inside the house, brushing closely to Elena as he did. He stopped for a second to whisper in her ear. "You're welcome." and moved on, leaving Gianna and Elena alone.

No matter how obnoxious he was, his absence left a certain tension in the air. So much that Gianna had to breathe out a laugh. "Wow." She gestured between them. "I can't believe you...we…"

"It's unbelievable," Elena agreed, her voice tight. She shifted uncomfortably. "I can't believe that you exist." her lips twitched up in a hesitant smile. "Where did Damon find you again?"

The lightness in Gianna faded a bit. "New York." She tucked her hands in her pockets deeper. "I hope that we didn't cross a line. Damon gave the impression that you knew about me. And I couldn't believe I had a sister. I had to see you."

In a manner unnervingly similar to Damon, Elena stared at her with unreadable emotion for a moment. "Say," she eventually said, "It might rain soon. Would you like to…" she stepped back and pointed inside her home.

Happy that she hadn't been turned away. She smiled at Elena. "Yes. thank you." and she passed by her sister, the breath that Elena let out showed Gianna wasn't the only one relieved.

"Umm…" Elena looked around almost nervously. "Would you like something to drink? Tea or coffee?"

"Tea is fine."

Elena went in the kitchen. Damon was nowhere to be found. Gianna lingered in the hallway for a few moments before curiosity got the best of her and she set to exploring. Immediately, her eyes were drawn to the array of picture frames hanging on the wall. A pang went through her heart at the happy family. Middle school graduations, birthdays, holidays, happy, and smiley faces. Gianna never had that. Again, she found herself clenching her jaw against the sudden lump in her throat.

How could it be that they'd had such opposite lives? How could life had thrown them so far away from each other?

The thought of growing up in a small town made her snort internally. Gianna had bounced around so many school that she never thought to count. No foster family wanted to keep her, along with the trouble she always brought along. The innocent face and doe eyes of her only worked for the first few weeks. Nevermind the number of times she'd been suspended from school. It was the same thing Rob reminded her of every time they disagreed, usually followed by him-

"Here." Elena handed her a cup of tea with a small smile, Damon at her heels. Her eyes followed along where Genevieve was looking. "Oh, that's my family." She pointed to each person as she introduced them. Gianna held her tongue from telling her Damon had already done the same thing, but Elena was actually speaking to her, her tone fond.

Of course, the fondness wasn't for Genevieve, but for her real family. But she could pretend for now it was meant for her.

Finally, Elena reached a photo of her and two other girls in cheerleading uniforms. "Those are my best friends, Caroline and Bonnie. Though I quit cheerleading not too long after that picture was taken."

"How long ago was that?"

"Almost a year ago. After...after the accident." Elena suddenly jerked forward, and Gianna caught her glaring at Damon before confusion set in.

"Wait-" Her-their-birthday was a couple months away. She was turning twenty three in two months. "I thought you said the accident happened a few months ago."

Elena's brows furrowed. "It did."

The uniform had the initial of the Mystic Falls high school on it. And Elena looked young in the picture. She should know, they had the same exact face. Youthfulness made her cheeks slightly more rounded than now. Gianna had only shed those chubby cheeks around sixteen, along with the last good foster mother she had.

Damon suddenly stepped in. "What she means-" He sent Elena one of their unreadable looks. "-is that the accident happened recently. The picture was taken years ago. Back in high school."

Elena looked like she was going to speak but she held silent at Damon's expression. The entire interaction was over in a few seconds, but Genevieve observed it all.

God, she was paranoid. She had a right to be, after everything she'd been through. And her gut feeling was telling her off these people.

With her falling quiet, awkward silence filled the air, which Elena broke after a few moments. "So, where are you staying?"

Hard knots filled her stomach. How naive was she to come to a strange town without arranging a place to day at? How could she even have gotten in the car with Damon? It was uncharacteristic of her to be so blindly trusting.

"Haven't thought that far yet," she answered Elena.

"Why don't you stay here then?" Damon interjected. He smiled charmingly. Gianna wondered if people actually fell for him after seeing that expression.

"I can't-"

"You can stay in my parents' room," Elena offered. Something was off about her voice, the way she bit her lip. She added more quietly, "They would've liked to see you."

Gianna's heart stuttered in her chest. For once, she was grateful she had never really gotten to know her real parents. Elena's pain and grief were visible now that there was no way she could turn her down.

And also, for the first time in her life, she ignored her instincts and plastered on a smile. "I'd like that. Thank you."