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" I want to know exactly who's responsible for killing my husband." Carol Lockwood told Damon and Sheriff Forbes.
" I'm looking into it but you have to be straight. Is there any reason Richard was affected by the vampire device?" Liz asked her.
"Are you implying that he was one of them?" Carol exclaimed.
" No, no one's implying that" Damon reassured her.
"Your deputies screwed up, plain and simple which makes you responsible" Carol snapped at Liz.
"Carol" Damon said calmly.
"Your husband is the one who helped John Gilbert execute his idiot plan in the first place" Liz shot back.
"Liz" Damon said.
"Someone got my husband killed" Carol sneered.
" We're all in edge here. You've suffer a great loss, the whole town has. We have to stick together okay? Trust each other, we're gonna get through this" Damon piped in.
Carol just looked at him and without saying a word went to greet a guest. Damon's mind wandered to Dia. He still hadn't heard a thing from her. Maybe Katherine had something to do with it. He wasn't sure. He watched Carol with her guest becoming quite curious as to who he was.
"Who's the guy with Carol?" Damon asked Liz.
"It's the mayor's younger brother, Mason Lockwood" Liz replied.
"Is he in the council? Like John Gilbert when he rolled in?" Damon asked.
" He's nothing like John. For one, he's not an ass. He's not a believer either. He wants nothing to do with the council. He's too preoccupied finding the perfect wave" Liz said. "I'm surprised Dia hasn't come to see Caroline. To be honest I haven't seen her since Founder's Day. Is everything alright?"
"Dia had a family emergency back in New York. Her aunt got into a car accident. She was fine, but Dia felt like she needed to go up there just to be sure" Damon explained. "I really haven't been able to talk to her that much, but I left her a message on her phone about Caroline."
"Thank you for telling her" Liz told him. "I know that she and Caroline have become quite close."
"They are the best of buddies indeed" Damon smiled.
"I better go see if Carol needs any help with anything" Liz said.
"See you" Damon said watching her walked away.
Elena stood standing outside the hospital waiting for Stefan to come out from talking with John. Once he came out, he and Elena began to walk away from the building.
" Hey, I just have to swing by home to pick up Jenna and Jeremy so we can go to the Lockwood's'. How did you leave him there, John?" Elena asked him.
"I.." Stefan stopped. "I asked him to leave town."
"Asked?" Elena frowned. "You threatened him, didn't you?"
"Yeah I threatened him" Stefan admitted.
"Good. I want him gone, Stefan. I know that I shouldn't feel that way but I don't want someone like that in my life, or Jeremy's life" Elena said.
"I know" Stefan said. He put his arms around her and hugged her.
"So what now?" Elena asked pulling away.
"Now…I need to go find Damon" Stefan replied.
"Please Stefan, don't fight with him" Elena begged.
"No Elena, he tried to kiss you. I'm not okay with that" Stefan said.
"That's not the problem, Katherine is. She's already messing with both of your heads and Damon is not stable when it comes to her. The last thing we need is to make things worse. Besides right now we need to focus on finding out why she's here and we need find out what happened to Dia. We need to think about how this is going to affect Dia. Who knows how she's going to take it" Elena told him.
"You're right" Stefan replied.
Damon found Bonnie at the Lockwood's mansion.
"Did you know the Gilbert device affected Tyler Lockwood?" she asked him.
"Well, I know mayor did" Damon replied.
"Don't you want to know why?" Bonnie asked curiously.
"Yes Bonnie, I would love to know why. A non-vampire was tortured by the vampire torture device that you let John Gilbert use against us. Speaking of your guilt how is Caroline?" Damon smirked.
"Much better" Bonnie said.
"You're welcome" Damon told her.
"No you're welcome" Bonnie glared.
"Why am I welcome?" Damon frowned.
"You live to see another day" Bonnie smirked.
" No good deal goes unpunished with you, doesn't?" Damon replied.
"Doesn't undue the bad. I know what you are Damon, you might have Elena and the sheriff and everybody else fooled but not me. One wrong move and I'm gonna take you out" Bonnie said icily.
"Now you need to stop with the witches' brood. You're starting to believe your own press" Damon rolled his eyes.
Bonnie just stared into his eyes. Damon suddenly grabbed his head in pain and cried out.
"I'm sorry, you were saying?" Bonnie smirked walking away.
Damon looked up and groaned. He looked around and saw someone staring at him. He had to do a double take, but he realized who it was. Ella. She motioned him to follow her outside. Damon frowned, but followed her to the backyard.
"Well look who decided to pay a little visit" Damon said.
"Where is she?" Ella demanded.
"Yeah about that" Damon began. "I don't know. She's disappeared. Her car is gone, she left her phone I have no clue where to look."
"What happened before she went missing?" Ella glared at him. "Did John Gilbert use the device?"
"Yeah, but…" Damon stopped. "How do you know about that?"
Ella just stared at him. She didn't answer him.
"You know I think I should be the one asking questions here" Damon growled. "I know nothing about you."
"I'm none of your concern just as you are none of mine" Ella snapped. "My only concern is for Dia."
"Why do you care so much about her?" Damon snarled.
"It's my job to protect her" Ella shot back.
"Well you're doing a great job" Damon said sarcastically. "You have no idea where she is."
"And you think you've done any better?" Ella replied.
"You've gotten feisty since the last time we met" Damon smirked.
"A lot of improvements have been made since the last time we met" she glared.
"Who exactly are you?" Damon demanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know" Ella smirked.
"You know I'm a vampire and I could kill you in a second" Damon sneered.
"I'd like to see you take your best shot" Ella replied icily. Damon sped toward her. Ella put her hand on his shoulder and Damon began to burn in the sunlight. He cried out in pain.
"Don't test me" Ella spoke taking her hand off. Damon gasped and fell to the ground.
"Why did the device affect her?" he asked.
"Dia is special. She's like nothing you've ever come across and because she is so special she is in danger. People will come after her." Ella replied.
"Who's coming after her?" Damon looked at Ella.
"You'll find out soon enough" Ella replied. "In the meantime, I suggest you look a little bit harder for her. If she ends up dead I will drive a stake through your heart and I won't even blink."
Katherine had Bonnie pushed up against the wall. It was getting harder for her to fool people. Bonnie figured out it was her and not Elena. Katherine's face changed as Bonnie opened the door with her powers.
Katherine looked at the other guests. "Nice" she said.
Stefan peered in and looked at them. "Katherine."
"Stefan" Katherine sounded pleased.
"Leave her alone" Stefan instructed.
"Okay" Katherine shrugged and released Bonnie. Katherine walked out of the room with Stefan following.
"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked.
" After the way you treated me last night, I thought that a public place would be less violent" Katherine replied.
You're taking this a little far don't you think? Elena could walk in at any moment" Stefan told her.
" But that's part of the fun Stefan. Damon's here, somewhere, I've been avoiding him" Katherine looked around the room.
Matt walked up to them and spoke.
"Hey guys."
"Hey Matt. I heard that Caroline is doing much better. Her recovery was practically miraculous, you must be so relieved" Katherine replied.
"I am. Thanks Elena" Matt replied walking away.
"Oh! His eyes are so blue!" Katherine smiled.
"You need to leave now" Stefan told her.
" You're hurting my feelings Stefan. Damon was much happier to see me but he thought I was your girlfriend so..." Stefan cut her off.
"Katherine, I'm not doing this with you"
"Okay, how about we don't have a couple's fight in front of all of your friends? Walk with me" she smiled.
"Just tell me what you're doing here" Stefan sighed.
"Maybe I missed you. Is that an acceptable reason?" Katherine pouted.
"What game are you playing?" Stefan asked.
"Why, you want to play with me?" Katherine smirked.
"I don't know, how can I play if I don't know the rules?" Stefan told her.
"No rules Stefan. Don't you remember? No rules" Katherine replied.
Katherine smiled and walked away indicating for Stefan to follow. Stefan sighed and walked passed her ignoring her request to hold hands.
Elena along with Jenna and Jeremy arrive at the mansion.
"Looks like the whole town has turned out" Jenna commented.
"Yeah, well he is" Elena stopped. "He was the mayor."
"Why are they doing this for the funeral?" Jeremy asked.
"That's what people do. The Lockwood's were here for us when we went through this. It'll be quick; you drop off the food and pay respects and go" Jenna replied.
"In and out? It sounds like a plan" Jeremy smile.
Elena looked around and saw Damon. "You guys go ahead, I'll be right there okay?" She walked over toward Damon.
"Hey, how are you doing?" she asked him.
"Great Elena. Walking on sunshine, thanks for asking" he replied sarcastically.
"Damon" Elena said.
"Elena" Damon replied mockingly.
" We should be able to talk about this. Damon, we're close enough now. I really want to know how you are doing" Elena told him.
" I kissed you; I thought you kissed me back ... Doppelganger hijinks ensued ... How do you think I'm doing?" Damon looked at her.
"I think you're hurt" Elena said.
"No, I don't get hurt, Elena" Damon rolled his eyes.
"No, you don't admit that you get hurt. You get angry and cover that up and then you do something stupid" Elena shot back.
"You're scared. You think Katherine is gonna send me off the deep end don't you? I don't need her for that" Damon told her.
"You're scared too Damon" Elena said. "You're scared for Dia. If Katherine doesn't send you off the deep end, not knowing where Dia is will."
"Will that be before or Ella drives a stake through my heart" Damon lowered his voice.
"Ella was here?" Elena frowned.
"Yeah and she's gotten spunky. She has no clue where Dia is and if Dia shows up dead it's my head on a silver platter and personally I would love to keep my head" Damon said.
"We'll find her Damon" Elena comforted him. "She'll be fine. Dia can take care of herself."
Damon just shook his head and began to leave, but stopped.
"You know...why this is such a surprise that I would kiss you?" he asked.
"That's not a surprise. I'm surprised that you thought I would kiss you back. Especially given your relationship with one of my best friends" Elena glared.
"Now I'm hurt" Damon pouted.
Bonnie came running up to the two of them.
"Elena!" she called out.
"Bonnie what happened?" Elena asked.
"So tell me" Katherine said walking with Stefan. "How attached is Damon to his Lydia look alike?"
"You know about Dia?" Stefan asked.
"Well she does look like Lydia" Katherine said. "Hopefully she's nicer than what Lydia was. I never understood why she didn't like me."
"I can think of a few reasons" Stefan replied. "Actually Dia's gone missing. You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?"
"What would I do with a gypsy?" Katherine smirked.
"I don't know" Stefan said. "You tell me."
"I don't know anything about Damon's precious gypsy" Katherine replied.
"Why don't I believe that" Stefan asked.
"Believe what you want" Katherine smiled. "The Lockwood's have a lot more land than they used to. These actions from the tomb vampires built them quite a fortune."
"Yeah, why did you want them dead? You're the one who turned most of them" Stefan replied.
"There's nothing more annoying than revengeful vampire Stefan. Just ask John Gilbert" Katherine sighed.
"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Stefan looked at her.
"But you have. You're stronger; meaner; sexy" she smiled.
"Don't flirt with me Katherine. I'm not Damon; I haven't spent one hundred and forty five years obsessed with you" Stefan told her.
"Yeah, based on your choice of women I'd say otherwise! Although I'll admit it does bother me that you're falling in love with someone else" Katherine told him.
" I was never in love with you, Katherine. You compelled me so none of my feelings were real" Stefan protested.
"Believe what you want Stefan but I know the truth and deep down so do you" Katherine said.
"The truth? Well the truth is, you're the same lying, selfish, manipulative bitch that you've always been. So, whatever it is that brought you here, why don't you just get down with it and leave town? Because if you don't, I will hunt you down and I will rip your heart out" Stefan threatened.
"You want to know why I'm here Stefan?" Katherine asked." I came back for you."
"Well the problem, Katherine, is that I hate you" Stefan looked at her.
Katherine glared at him and picked up an iron stem and stabbed him.
"You hate me huh? That sound like the beginning of a love story Stefan, not the end of one" Katherine sneered removing the iron before speeding off.
Elena and Stefan sat on the bench in the backyard while Elena tended to Stefan's wound.
"You gonna be okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, it will heal" Stefan replied.
"That's not what I meant" Elena looked at him.
"I was trying to figure her out. I was playing along and let her get to me" Stefan said.
Damon came walking up to the pair.
"I tried to track her but she's gone" he told them. He looked at Stefan's wound.
"Ouch, cover up Fabio" Damon smirked. " You have a crazy ex on the loose."
Stefan pulled his shirt down and rolled his eyes.
Damon looked at Elena. "You better watch out, looks like Katherine is trying to steal your guy."
"It's not what's happening" Stefan said sternly.
"Isn't it? I mean it's only fair since I went after your girl" Damon smirked.
"And how will your girl feel about that?" Stefan glared.
" I'm going to go check on Jenna and Jeremy. Let me know when you guys are done" Elena sighed and got up and left.
"So what's going be uh? Fight to the death?" Damon pretended to playfully punch Stefan." Go ahead, make your threat, stake your claim."
"I'm not going to fight you" Stefan told him.
"Why? I'd fight me" Damon replied.
"Katherine is going to try to play us against each other, you do know that right?" Stefan looked at him.
" Brother, don't you worry, our bond is unbreakable" Damon mocked him.
"We need to stay united against her. So yes, as much as I would like to kill you, I'm not gonna fight you" Stefan told him.
"I kissed Elena" Damon frowned at him.
" Because you feel something for her, because you actually care and I'm not gonna let Katherine coming here and destroy that part of you that is finally, after all of this time, willing to feel something. She will try to break you, she will try to break us and how we respond to that will define us. It's our choice. So no, I'm not gonna fight you" Stefan replied. He began to leave but stopped.
"I think Katherine knows something about Dia" Stefan looked at him. "So if you want to fight someone I suggest fighting for Dia."
Damon walked into the living room of the boarding house later that night and stopped.
"Very brave of you to come here" he said. He turned and saw Katherine sitting on the couch.
"I wanted to say goodbye" Katherine replied.
"Leaving so soon?" Damon glared at her.
"I know when I'm not wanted" Katherine said.
" Don't pout; it's not attractive in a woman at your age" Damon glared taking a sip of his drink.
"Ouch" she laughed. Damon turned to leave the room, but came face to face with Katherine.
"What, no goodbye kiss?" she smirked.
"What if I kill you instead? What are you doing here?" Damon asked her.
"Nostalgia, curiosity, etc" she replied.
"I like better the enigmatic Katherine. What are you up to?" Damon sneered.
"Trust me Damon, when I'm up to something you'll know it. Come on, kiss me or kill me. Which will it be Damon? We both know that you're only capable of one" she whispered leaning toward him. Katherine tried to kiss him, but Damon turned around to walk away. Katherine sped in front on him and slammed him to the ground.
"My sweet innocent Damon" Katherine breathed. Damon sighed and strangled her and turned her over so that he was on top of her. They stared at each other before crashing her lips against hers. He moved to her neck before she slammed him up against a wall and ripped open his shirt and ran her hands up his chest. Damon kissed her again leaning her against a table. They continued to kiss. Damon stopped much causing Katherine to become confused.
"Okay brief pause" he said. "I have a question." Katherine sighed.
" Answer it and its back to fireworks and rockets wire glare. Answer it right and I'll forget the last one hundred and forty five years that I spent missing you. I'll forget how much I loved you, I'll forget everything and we could start over. This could be our defining moment 'cause we have the time, it's the beauty of eternity" he said. Damon touched her face and her hair.
"I just need the truth, just once."
"Stop" she told him. "I already know the question and its answer. The truth is… I've never loved you, it was always Stefan." She looked at him before leaving. She stopped and turned to him.
"Clearly you must not be that attached to Dia" she said. "So I might as well tell you what became of her. Obviously it won't phase you that much."
"Where is she?" Damon sneered.
"She's dead Damon" Katherine replied.
"You lie" Damon growled.
"Really? Then how come I have this?" Katherine held up Dia's locket. "She's dead, accept it." She laid the locket on a table and left the house.
Elena walked out of her bathroom into her bedroom. She saw Damon sitting on her bed and jumped.
"Oh god, you scared me" Elena told him.
" I'm just doing my part, the neighborhood watch" Damon said gloomy
"Thanks for looking out for us, for me" Elena looked at him.
"That's me, the trusted bodyguard, calm in crisis" Damon. Elena looked at him.
"You've been drinking?" Elena gasped. Damon indicated that he had,
"And you're upset, that's not a good combination" Elena said concerned.
"No I'm not upset. Upset is an emotion specific to those who care" he replied.
"Come on Damon. That's a lie, you care" Elena said softly.
"You're surprised that I thought you would kiss me back? You can't imagine that I believe you would want to?" he looked at her.
"Damon…" Elena said.
"No, all we've been doing here means something. You are the liar Elena. There is something going on between the two of us and you know it" he got up and walked toward her. "And you're lying to me, you're lying to Stefan and most of all you're lying to yourself. I can prove it."
"No" Elena protested but was cut off by Damon's lips crashing against hers.
"Damon don't! What's wrong with you" she exclaimed pulling away.
"Am I lying about this?" he said.
"Stop, you're better than this, come on!" Elena told him.
"That's where you're wrong" Damon leaned in to kiss her again.
" No, no Damon. I care about you. Listen to me, I care about you. I do but...I love Stefan, it's always going to be Stefan." Elena told him.
Damon just stared hurt at her.
"Think about what you're doing. Think about Dia" Elena exclaimed.
"Dia's dead" Damon whispered. "Katherine killed her."
Elena stared at him in shocked.
"Elena, what's going on in here?" Jeremy asked in the doorway.
"Nothing Jeremy, its okay, just go back to bed" Elena said getting out of Damon's grip.
"No it's not okay Elena" Damon looked at Jeremy then at Elena. "He wants to be a vampire." Damon pushed Jeremy up against the wall.
"No Damon stop it!" Elena pleaded.
Damon began to choke Jeremy. "You want to turn off the pain? It's the easiest thing in the world. The part of you that cares just goes away, all you have to do is flip the switch and snap." He snapped Jeremy's neck and he fell to the ground.
"No!" Elena screamed.
She rushed over to Jeremy and began to sob. Damon only just looked at her and left quietly. Elena continued to sob and suddenly noticed John's ring on Jeremy's finger.
Elena still was clinging to Jeremy when Stefan arrived.
"He saw the ring that's why he did it, he knew" Stefan told her.
"He didn't see the ring" Elena replied.
"It's Katherine. She got on his skin; she undid everything that was good about him" Stefan replied.
"There's nothing good about him. Stefan, not anymore. He just decided what he wants. He just don't want to feel, he wants to be hated, it's just easier that way. He got his wish" Elena sobbed. "Dia's dead Stefan and he didn't even flinch when he told me. I don't even think he ever really cared about him and she didn't deserve that."
Damon walked into the boarding house. He went to the living room and picked up his glass. He threw it angrily at the fireplace. He looked over at Dia's locket just sitting on the table.
"I hate him, Stefan" Elena cried out.
"I know" he said. He kissed her shoulder. Jeremy gasped and began to move.
"Stefan, is he okay?" Elena asked
Stefan looked at Jeremy. "He's okay!"
"He killed me! Damon killed me!" Jeremy exclaimed.
Elena embraced Jeremy and smiled. "Oh god!"
Damon stared at the flames in the fireplace. Everything he cared about was gone. He heard a loud thud from behind him and turned around. There was something in front of the door. He went out to investigate. When he walked out of the living room, he got a closer look. It was a body and not just any body, but Dia's body.
"Dia!" he sped over to her. She had bite marks all over her and was cover in blood. He scooped her up in his arms and bit his wrist and shoved it into her mouth. He pulled his wrist away looking for any sign of movement. He heard a slight cough.
"Dia, it's Damon can you hear me" he exclaimed.
"Katherine" she whispered before slipping back into unconsciousness.
Alright here you have it. I apologize for the slight mix up in the beginning of the first chapter with reposting a previous chapter. Lack of sleep is the only reason behind that. I have to say I was so shocked at the response to the first chapter. 38 story alerts and 15 reviews. Now that might not seem much to a lot of you, but it completely blew me away. I'm so glad you all enjoyed it. Hope this chapter was worth the wait. It took a while. Longest chapter I have ever written. I hope to get the next chapter up tonight, but I'm not going to make any promises. So read and review! Especially review, I love hearing from you all!