The Camaro weaved through the moderate traffic, his still scented shirt in the passenger seat. The whole drive found Damon nervous.

What if she was still in the city? It was a pretty big city, could he find her? Did he want to find her? How ugly would it all be?

Normally, these thoughts would have kept him up the night before, but he was fast asleep, if only because her scent was so immediatly next to him. It was reassuring on levels he hadn't known in over a hundred years. And, well, it had done a lot for him. He wasn't as standoff-ish or jittery. Who knew it was sleep that was keeping him away from a modicum of peace?

As he drove, he tried to think of ways he could find her. The downside of Katherine Pierce is that when she didn't want to be found, you didn't find her. She was mysterious like that.

Not that far from her motel, said mysterious woman was at a diner enjoying breakfast. Well, human breakfast. Her real morning meal had been some overly rude guy who had made several unwanted advances. She had made sure to remove his prying fingers before turning him into a breakfast smoothie. It was her eternal luck, or maybe curse, that led the grossest of guys to hit on her. One day, she'd figure out why, but that was a task for a different time.

She flipped a page in the book she was reading as she waited for her French Toast and scrambled eggs. She had always been partial to horror novels and Robert Bloch's Psycho was no exception. Though, even the finely tuned noir/pulp stylings could distract her from the scent that was suddenly on her. It wasn't cinnamon, syrup and cheese, it was the annoying scent of self-righteousness. It was like a bad perfume. So much so that Katherine scrunched her nose up as she slid the bookmark in and closed her book.

"Hello, Lexi," Katherine sighed, looking up.

"Katerina,"

"It's Katherine," She corrected. "Besides killing my appetite, what do you want?"

Lexi rolled her eyes as she sat down. "Still a bitch after all these years, huh?"

"I wear it well," Katherine shrugged. "Unlike you and those jeans. Did you have to get a whole high school football team to help you squeeze into them?"

The other Vamp narrowed her gaze. Maybe disturbing Katherine this early in the morning wasn't a good idea. "Still playing stalker with Damon?"

"Still playing Nun with Stefan?" Katherine asked, genuinely not caring about the answer.

"I get it, Katherine. He's the long-lost boytoy," Lexi said. "But that doesn't mean you can turn him into a Yo-Yo."

"You know nothing," Katherine growled out before she could think. She'd be damned if anyone was going to tell her how she felt about Damon. Boytoy? That was way off. And insutling. "Nothing. So shut up and get out."

Lexi cocked an eyebrow, trying to get a read on Katherine. "Watch the tone, little girl."

"I am older and I am a lot stronger," Katherine said, by now angry but masking it decently well. The she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "What do you want, Lexi?"

"I want you to leave and leave Damon be," The blonde said.

"Watch me not give a damn," Katherine countered, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure there are plenty of Vampries out there who might actually want your advice. You know, the dense ones."

"Always so defensive, Katherine," Lexi shrugged. "It's almost as bad as your obsession with your playthings. Stefan is lucky he got away."

"Got away to what?" Katherine asked. "A life of repressed urges and self-hatred? At least Damon smiles."

"What would you know about that?" Lexi asked. "You just watch from the wings."

This tipped her hand. By saying as much, Katherine quickly figured out that Lexi hadn't been in the bar a night ago for the whole hat on head ceremony. "So what if I do? Is that a problem?"

"Remember Tulsa? Remember Amarillo?" Lexi pointed out. "He's only getting more violent."

"Did you follow me all the way to Nashville, and all the way to this charmingly cliche diner just to tell me that you think he needs to eat bunnies?" Katherine asked.

"No," Lexi said. "But you need to do something. Not just let him wander after you for the rest of time."

"Well," Katherine shrugged. "If it keeps him busy, what's the harm?"

Lexi rolled her eyes and half stormed into the restroom. As soon as the door closed, Katherine was in front of her. She had only gotten faster with age.

"Boo," Katherine smirked, slamming Lexi against the wall like a paper plate. "Okay, that was a very fun little girl bonding time," She said, hand wrapping around the blonde's throat. "Do it again and your organs will wind up nailed to a wall. Do not ever tell me how to feel about him again." Katherine growled fiercely, sitcking a hand into Lexi's chest and snapping a rib or two like toothpicks. The older Vamp yanked her hand out and dropped the other to the floor.

It was a very effective way to communicate without having to talk, Katherine thought as she went for the bathroom door. She turned to smile at Lexi. "Did I do good?" Katherine asked, giving the blonde the middle finger as she left.