A/N: Haunted is one of my favourite episodes so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you again to BeCheezi96 my most faithful reviewer. I owe you heaps and can always count on your replies. It means a lot. This chapter is dedicated to you. Enjoy.

UPDATE: This chapter has been re-written as of the 21st of October 2014.

Stefan roped us in to finding Vicki, so unfortunately I wasn't home for more than a minute before he was dragging me out through the woods, tracking her scent (pot and cheap body spray) carefully. She wasn't trying to mask her path from us, we found her fairly easily. She was in a car park in the down town area, straddling that hot Lockwood kid.

Damon appeared beside her, tearing her off the poor boy with ease. She stumbled back, tipping her head back and snarling at him warningly. I moved to Tyler, pressing a hand to his chest and pushing him back several steps as he tried to flee. His heart was hammering inside his chest, and I grinned wolfishly, flashing my naturally long canines.

"What's going on here Stefan?" he asked, panicked as he looked between us all confusedly. "What's wrong with her?"

"Shut it," I snapped, keeping an eye on Vicki, making sure she didn't try and run. All I wanted to do was draw myself a nice hot bath and watch bad sci-fi, but instead I was standing in a parking lot in the middle of the night, making sure a baby vampire didn't kill an asshole.

"You, don't talk," Damon commanded, leaving Vicki in Stefan's barely capable hands and strolling over to us.

"Screw you dude," Tyler spat back, fists clenching at his sides.

"Dude, really? Dude?"

"Cassie, don't," Stefan called as my grin turned predatory, already imagining what his blood might taste like.

"Oh come on, let her have her fun. Who's gonna miss this idiot?" Damon asked, clapping me on the shoulder with encouragement. Tyler grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, pulling him into his personal space and glowering at him in what I supposed was meant to be menacing, but was really just sort of pathetic. He brought his fist back and punched him square in the face. Damon's head didn't even snap back, he just stood there, stock still as he pondered the kid's audacity.

"Don't you hurt him!" Vicki cried as I stepped forwards, flashing him my fangs. Damon moved back, ushering me forward and watching with glee as I shot an arm out, wrapping my strong hand around his throat. He pawed at my arm, confused when he couldn't push me off of him. I smirked with pleasure, watching him wheeze and gasp for breath. "Don't!"

I huffed, rolling my eyes before schooling my features, looking him dead in the eyes. "Forget what you saw here tonight. None of us were here," I compelled him, reluctantly letting go of his throat and stepping back. "Bye now."

I waved as Damon grabbed him by the collar and effortlessly threw him over his own car, sending him crashing into the ground.

And in the blink of an eye, we were gone.

I lounged about on the desk, swinging my feet in boredom as I idly tossed a tennis ball in the air, catching it when it fell back down to me. Stefan and Vicki sat in the leather chairs, having a serious talk while Damon read the newspaper distractedly.

"I don't understand why I have to stay cooped up here. Why can't I just go home?" Vicki complained.

"Because you're changing Vicki," Stefan answered slighting condescendingly, I rolled my eyes at his tone. "And it's not something you wanna do alone."

"There's nothing about that Logan guy I killed in here, not a word," Damon grumbled.

I chuckled, rolling my eyes as I spoke, "Someone's covering it up."

"Yes they are."

"What is that?" Vicki asked, referring to the compass he was toying with in his free hand.

"This is a very special, very old compass," he began, glancing away from the paper to examine it closely.

"What was Logan Fell doing with it?" I asked, suspicious.

"Aren't you curious?" he questioned Stefan.

"Well if you're both so worried someone's on to you, why don't you just leave town?" he replied simply. I rolled my eyes, tossing the ball so hard it smacked into the ceiling, leaving a small dent. I pressed my lips together, chortling quietly as I threw it up again.

"We should all be worried," Damon countered, peeking over the paper at his brother,

"Hey, um, I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?" Vicki interrupted timidly, toying with her hands.

Stefan stood up and grabbed a cup of animal blood from the desk to his right, handing it over to her. "Here," he offered.

She took it cautiously, peering down at the liquid with a grimace. "What is it?" she asked, scrunching her nose up at the smell.

"It's what you're craving."

"Ha, don't lie to the girl," Damon scoffed, flipping to the next page of the paper.

"I thought you were better than that Stefan," I smirked, tossing the ball at him. He caught it easily, sending me a sour look and throwing it back.

"It's so not what you're craving, but it'll do it a pinch."

"Right Stef? You are the expert on that sort of thing," I added, wagging my eyebrows at him. He frowned in my direction, obviously not appreciating my comment.

"What is it?" Vicki asked again.

"Yeah. What is it? Skunk? Saint Barnard? Bambi?" Damon teased, eyes widening theatrically.

"Go on, give it a try," Stefan coxed, not even bothering to glance at him.

"Oh God, Stefan," I cried, slamming the ball down on the table and swinging up so I was sitting straight, glaring at him. "You can't be serious."

"She's new. She needs people blood. She can't sustain on that stuff," Damon also giving up on the paper and putting it aside.

"Yeah, why can't I have people blood?" she asked eagerly, eyes sparking brightly. I snickered at her eagerness, nodding at Stefan smugly.

"Because it's wrong to prey on innocent people Vicki," he explained slowly, like her was talking to a child.

"Don't patronise her," I snapped, crossing my arms and shooting him a lethal look.

"You don't have to kill to feed," Damon said helpfully, steeping his hands and leaning forward over the desk I was perched on.

"Yeah, just find someone really tasty and then erase their memory afterwards," I told her with a grin, shrugging simply.

"It's so easy," Damon finished, smirking. Vicki laughed with glee. I could tell she'd do well as a vampire, she was already excited about the hunt, the thought of blood.

"No, no, no, there's no guarantee that you can control yourself. It takes years to learn that, okay? You could easily kill somebody, then you have to carry that with you for the rest of your life. Which, if I haven't made clear, is eternity."

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock," I grumbled, leaning back on my arms and staring at him irritably. "Come on Stefan. Get over yourself. You're not all knowing. You're not Buddha!"

"Yeah, don't listen to him. He walks on a moral plane way out of our eye line. We say," D began. "Snatch, eat, erase." We grinned wolfishly at her, all bright eyes at teeth.

"Hey, look at me," Stefan interjected, demanding her attention. "We choose our own path. Our values and our actions. They define who we are."

"Oh God!" I sighed. "It's hopeless." Stefan would never get that stick out of his ass. I wish he''d loosen up, if only a little.

Damon laughed mockingly, "We're out of here."

He stood to his feet, grasping my hand and tugging me off the table. I bounced to his side, smiling up at him happily, ignoring a frowning Stefan. I waved with a smirk over my shoulder, "Come find us when you get sick of Saint Stefan," I told her heartily, clicking my tongue as Damon pulled me out of the room. We hesitated to talk, not wanting Stefan to overhear anything we had to say. As we slipped on our jackets there was a knock at the door. I shrugged, hopping over to it and pulling it open, blinking in surprise at Elena. Damon wandered up beside me, watching her with a smirk.

"Is Stefan here?" she asked curtly, looking passed us for any sign of her favourite brother.

"Yep," we said together, tilting our heads and staring at her, waiting for her to crack.

"Where is he?" she questioned tiredly, crossing her arms.

"And good morning to you, little miss, 'I'm on a mission'," Damon quipped humorously.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" I added with a toothy grin.

"How can you both be so arrogant and glib after everything that you've done?" she asked spat, looking over us in disgust. I flinched back over-dramatically and put a hand to my undead heart.

"And how can you be so brave and stupid to call two vampires arrogant and glib?" he countered, levelling her with a deadly glare.

"If either of you wanted me dead, I'd be dead," she huffed. My teeth ground together, I wasn't appreciating the whole high-and-mighty routine. What, she thought she was better than us? Because she was human and we weren't? The nerve.

"Without a doubt," I replied cheerily, keeping a happy go-lucky grin on my features, not wanting her to know how irritated I was with her.

"And I'm not," she responded smugly.

"Yet," we answered in sync once again, narrowing our eyes at her as our lips twitched up.

She took a deep breath, probably to stop herself from saying something she'd regret. I wished she would let herself go and give me a reason to turn her into dust. "Where is Stefan?"

"He's upstairs," I replied, gesturing towards the stairs behind us.

"Singing the rain in Spain," Damon added. I grinned amusedly, bumping him with my shoulder in acknowledgement of his comment. "Knock yourself out."

He swung an arm around my shoulder, pulling my through the doorway and passed a miffed Elena. I winked at her as I passed and her scowl deepened. We walked down the drive to where he'd haphazardly parked his car on a patch of dying grass. I jumped over the door, grinning obnoxiously at his eye roll and waiting as he walked around the baby blue car, opening the driver's side door and sliding in. We didn't speak as he started the car, it rumbling pleasantly beneath us as we drove towards the centre of town, and the Grill.

Every time I saw Elena I thought of Katherine, I couldn't help it. They were nothing alike, but sometimes she'd make a face, like the scowl she'd just pulled, that made her look like the spitting image of the only person I had ever considered a sister. Damon took the scenic route to the Grill, and as I watched the forest fly and revelled in the feeling on the wind in my hair, I thought back to the first time I'd met Katherine Pierce.

Mystic Falls 1864

"Cassandra, come down and meet our guest," Giuseppe's voice sounded from behind my door. I stood up from the book I was sketching in and smoothed the green folds of my dress as I wandered over to the door. I flung it open with a smile, nodding at him happily.

"Of course Giuseppe. Thank you for reminding me," I said gratefully, toying with the end of my long, russet hair and following him away from my room and down the long, winding staircase of our home.

"Here she is, miss Pierce, our darling Cassandra Miller."

"Hello, lovely to meet you," I smiled at her as we both curtsied politely.

"You also," she replied, blinking up at me with large caramel eyes. My lips twitched up as I looked at her, she was simply enchanting, making me look terrible in comparison.

"Why don't you two ladies go for a walk around the gardens to get to know each other, I'm sure you will be great friends," Giuseppe suggested, obviously eager to be done with such matters and back to work.

"What a fantastic idea Mr. Salvatore," Katherine replied, grinning brightly, delicate olive hands folded serenely in front of her.

We headed out the door Giuseppe held open for us, nodding our thanks as we passed him, making our way into the beautiful gardens of the Salvatore estate; one of my favourite places to be.

"How did you come to live here, Cassandra?" she questioned as we walked amongst the wonderfully smelling flowers. I glanced behind us at our handmaidens who walked feet away from us silently. I smiled at Juliet, my own handmaiden, and Katherine's, whose name I didn't know.

"Oh, my Mother and Father passed away quite a few years ago. My father was friends with Mr. Salvatore and he took me in when they passed," I answered honestly, smoothing my skirts self-consciously as I watched her own beautiful lilac ones shimmer in the sunlight.

"You didn't have any siblings?" she asked, watching me closely.

I looked away, unable to meet her perfect gaze. I almost didn't feel worthy, like she was of noble blood. Perhaps she was, and we just didn't know her yet. Her eyes looked old, old and wise. "No," I told her, shrugging and tugging at the folds of my skirts idly. "Just me, Miss Pierce."

"Please, there is no need to be so formal. I would like for us to be friends," Katherine smiled, watching me carefully. I felt she was assessing my every move, but it didn't make me uncomfortable. In fact, it was nice to have somebody pay attention to me for once.

"I would like to be friends also," I replied eagerly, my grin nearly splitting my face. "I don't have many."

"Do you enjoy it here?" she asked me after a companionable silence.

"Yes, very much. I am very close with Damon and Stefan Salvatore, Giuseppe's sons."

"That's nice," she told me, grasping my hand and squeezing it reassuringly. "I'm glad you have such lovely people in your life, though I know nobody can replace a parent." I opened my mouth to ask what had happened to hers, but the look on her gorgeous face stopped me. She broke out into a smile after a short pause. "I like Stefan, though I have yet to meet Damon," she said thoughtfully, tapping her chin.

"He's wonderful," I admitted brightly, happy for the topic change. "He's my closest friend in the whole world."

She smiled and ushered me on, asking me more and more questions about my life with the Salvatore family. I wondered why she was curious, but it was nice to have somebody so interested in what I had to say. So often I was looked down on, being an orphan and a ward, and I had so few lady friends. Talking with Katherine made me feel like I mattered, and that was more than I could have ever hoped for.

Present

"I miss her," I told Damon, sliding onto the barstool beside him and gesturing to the pretty bartender for two bourbons.

"Hm?" he asked vaguely, tapping away at his phone. Sometimes I loathed twenty-first century technology. Things were so much simpler back when we didn't have mobile phones and ipods controlling our lives. "Who?"

"Katherine," I said, making his head instantly snap up. He put his phone down, his full attention on me. "Sometimes it just hits me... how much I miss her."

His expression softened and he threw an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in to him tightly. His embrace gave me comfort and strength as I leaned my head against his collarbone, both of us thinking about that one girl. The bartender passed us, placing two drinks on the bar in front of us, but we barely paid her any mind, focused on our thoughts. "We're getting her back," he said after a long, silent moment, letting me go and picking up his drink. I sat up reluctantly, sipping at my own glass. "This time next month, we'll all be together," he told me, grinning happily. My lips twitched and I nodded, trying to keep positive.

"No, but remember Sage when she did that thing-"

"And the officer said those things-"

"And then the coast guard got involved-"

We broke into hysterical laughs, leaning against each other for support as we wandered up into Damon's room, set on putting on a movie and kicking back for the rest of the day. We paused when we noticed Vicki lounging on the bed, arms supporting her head as she stared into space.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, pulling off his jacket and tossing it over the back of his desk chair.

"Just contemplating the next hundred years," she retorted, sitting up slowly and observing us with a careful eye. "Why did you do it?" she asked after a moment as he sat down next to her. I hopped into a leather chair in the corner, crossing my legs on the seat and folding my arms in my lap as I listened.

"We were bored," Damon replied bluntly.

"You did this to me out of boredom?" she asked angrily, looking between us exasperatedly.

"It's one of the pitfalls of eternity," he said, shrugging carelessly.

"There is only so much you can do before you begin to repeat everything," I explained, rolling my neck and wincing as it cracked.

She sat up. "Now I'm bored! And all I can think about is blood, I just want some blood. I can't think about anything else. What is that about?"

"That'll ease up," he laughed.

"Eventually," I added, winking at her exaggeratedly.

"You've just been cooped up all day," Damon told her.

I caught on to what he was doing and was out of the chair before she could blink, holding out a hand to help her up. "Let's go," I said, grinning wolfishly.

"Where?" she inquired carefully, eyeing my hand like it was going to bite her.

"Well your life was pathetic, your after-life doesn't have to be," he responded playfully as she put her hand in mine. I tugged her to her feet with ease, smiling as she overbalanced and nearly toppled over. Damon caught her before she could fall, grabbing her hand with his left and winding his right arm around my own, pulling us both out of the door and down the main staircase.

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked tightly as we strolled towards the front door.

"Where the hell does it look like we're going Stefan?" I asked condescendingly, raising my eyebrows at her.

"She's been cooped up in the house all day, she's not Anne Frank," Damon joked. I cackled from beside him, nodding over my shoulder.

"No no no," Stefan mumbled, stepping in front of us and slamming the door as he tried to open it. "Hey, hey. Now is not the time for this," he hissed, glaring between us.

"We've gotta teach her at some point, Stefan," I said simply, watching as he frowned at my logic.

"Yeah, we've gotta show her what it's all about," Damon added, nodding at me.

"She could hurt someone," Stefan reasoned, clearly grasping at straws.

"So little faith," I drawled, eyeing him irritably.

Damon chortled, rolling his eyes at his brother. "We're not taking her to Disney Land. We're going to the front yard."

"This is a bad idea, Damon," Stefan seethed, eyes blazing.

"She's a vampire Stefan," he retorted as we ambled out to the yard, moving to the centre where the grass was thickest. "She should know the perks."

"Like what?" she asked, sounding interested as Damon let go of our arms, stepping back so we stood on either side of her. Damon smirked, nodding at me before disappearing. He and I quickly switched places with a practised ease that came with a century of time spent together. "Wow! Where'd he go?" she asked looking around as we grinned amusedly.

He tapped her shoulder and she spun around, all sharp movements and flinches.

"Whoa! How did you do that?"

We swapped again, making her freeze and swivel around, looking for me. I whistled, getting her attention. She laughed as she spun around and laid eyes on us, seeing we'd switched places once again.

"Come on Vicki," he started. "Have a go, live a little!"

"No pun intended," I added, chuckling. Damon grinned proudly at his remark, crossing his arms and watching her closely. "Just push off with as much strength as you can. It should come naturally to you," I told her encouragingly, clapping my hands once and smiling at her. She nodded, taking a deep breath before launching herself into the tree line, immediately disappearing.

We were all silent for a moment, staring after her awkwardly. I had a feeling she wasn't coming back.

"Uh, our bad," Damon muttered softly, clearing his throat and scratching his temple thoughtfully.

"Well done," Stefan spat, glaring at us ferociously. "We have to find her. Now!"

"Fine, fine," Damon drawled, waving him off, silently telling him to calm down. "You go to her house, Cassie can go check the school and I will go this way and head to the Grill," he said, gesturing towards the woods she'd just disappeared into.

"No need to freak out," I told him calmly, slipping my phone from my pocket to check the time. "She'd a newly turned vampire," I said, shrugging. "She can't be too hard to find."

I immediately regretted saying that.

I wandered into the school, hands tucked into my pockets as I searched for any sign of Vicki. I wasn't able to sniff her out, the clashing scents from the drugs, alcohol and sweaty teenagers was masking her scent. I turned a corner, nearly smacking into somebody head on. I recognised the Mayor's son and immediately widened my eyes, a seductive smirk winding onto my lips. Damon and I had talked about this, we had to get close to anyone on the council, and while Damon would charm the Mayor's wife, I could easily charm his hormonal son.

"I know you," I told him, flashing a grin.

"Yeah, Cassandra. Right?" he asked, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"Just Cassie," I corrected.

"Wow, great costume," he said, gesturing to my attire. I frowned for a moment, looking down at my leather pants and red corset top, raising an eyebrow. "Rocky Horror or something, right?" he asked with a smile.

I decided to go with it, but taking note that he said my normal every day clothes made me look like I was dressing up for Halloween. "Or something," I replied before obviously eyeing him up and down. "You too. Nice abs," I smirked, poking him in his smooth stomach. My eyebrows raised at how firm he felt, and something primal swelled within me. I took a deep breath, lips twitching at the thought of having him.

"Let's go somewhere... quieter," I said with a smirk, one hand sliding up his torso to clamp around his shoulder.

I led him over to a secluded corner, dragging him closer to me. He was speaking, but I was barely listening to what he was saying. I couldn't bite him, his family would recognise the marks and be suspicious of a bandage. He probably had vervain in his system too, so compelling him was out of the question.

He talked a lot, mentioning how his father was the mayor no doubt to try and impress me. It irritated me, but I kept a polite smile on my face, pressing my body into his and running a hand down his neck. I nodded intently, agreeing with whatever he was saying. I was just about to go in for a kiss to really get him on side when an arm snaked around my waist.

"Cass," Damon said, tugging me away from the boy and closer to his side. I opened my eyes, gaze shifting to Damon with a scowl.

"Damon," I said irritably, glaring at him. Tyler cleared his throat awkwardly, looking between us pointedly. "Tyler, this is my..." I began, trailing off when I realised brother probably wasn't the best term I could use in this situation. "This is Damon. Damon, you know Tyler."

"Yeah, goodbye," Damon snapped, glowering at the younger boy. Tyler opened his mouth, frowning with confusion, but Damon had tugged me away before he could say anything.

"Hey," I protested, ripping my arm from his grasp and moving along beside him of my own accord. "What the hell was that? It was your plan for me to get close to the Mayor's kid, remember?"

"We have more important things to be doing, Cassie," he replied, rolling his eyes. I crossed my arms and glared at the back of his head agitatedly.

"Like what?" I asked, watching him carefully.

"Right now?" he clarified, pressing a hand to the small of my back and pushing me away from a group of nosey seniors. "We have to find Stefan."

I sighed, my eyes automatically scanning the crowd. "Well I don't know about Stefan," I said, nudging my chin in the direction of a familiar little witch. "But I found somebody else of use to us."

Damon spun around, eyes flashing instantly to a bored looking Bonnie. "Come on," he said, taking my hand in his and pulling me towards the girl. "So where'd Caroline run off to?" he asked her lightly, connected hands swinging between us.

"Do yourselves a favour. Don't ask me about Caroline," she snapped, one hand holding her drink, the other curling into a fist.

"Touchy," I teased, wagging my eyebrows at her playfully.

"Oh Bonnie," Damon sighed mockingly, fixing her with a pathetic look. "So loyal."

"Just stay away from her," she restated, dark eyes glaring at us with ferocity.

"Why?" I asked, tilting my head and watching her reaction. "We're great friends, you know," I told her, not even lying to her about this specific detail. Caroline Forbes was an annoying, whiny little tart, but she was endearing and secretly had a heart of gold. I respected her, she managed to somehow be spineless while actually having a spine.

"Where'd you get that?" Damon asked suddenly, gesturing to the necklace she was wearing. My heart leapt into my throat as I saw the familiar crystal hanging from around her neck. I kept my face carefully schooled, not letting my eyes widen even a fraction in response.

"From a friend," she replied defensively.

"Oh really now?" I asked, one delicate eyebrow raising.

"Caroline," he said. "You know that's ours, don't you?"

"Not any more," she responded, crossing her arms over her body and tilting her chin up, as though it would give her strength.

"Funny," he bit out, levelling her with my favourite glare. He clicked impatiently and held his hand out, waving his fingers at her. "We'd like it back please."

"I'm not giving it to you," she dead panned.

"Oh, you so don't wanna do that," I warned, my polite smirk fading into a frown.

"I'll give it to Caroline and she can give it to you if she feels like it," she decided, shrugging her shoulders.

"Or, we could just take it now," he said, arm snapping out and hand wrapping around the crystal, preparing to yank it from around her neck. He grunted in pain, his hand suddenly smoking. I grabbed his wrist in alarm, tugging it back and away from the poisoned crystal. I took his hand in both of mine, gazing at the ugly burns streaked across his palm.

I glanced up at Bonnie, whose expression clearly showed how little she had to do with what had just happened. She looked more freaked out than Damon, clutching at the stone and turning on her heels, rushing in the other direction as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself. I watched her go, contemplating going after her, but Damon gave a hiss of pain when I jerked his hand, and my attention immediately switched to him. "Are you okay?" I asked, watching closely as the burns slowly but surely started to scab over and heal.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he growled, tugging his hand from my grasp and examining it carefully. "No thanks to Bennett's witchy juju."

"Rude," I muttered, glancing in the direction Bonnie had taken off in. "Come on," I said, grabbing Damon's arm distractedly and tugging him in the direction of the party. "We've got a Salvatore to find."

We passed the drink table, and I poured myself a cup of punch as we acted casual, strolling through the dancing teens and keeping an eye out for our baby bro. Damon pulled his phone out of his pocket where it had been buzzing incessantly. He peered at the caller ID, a smirk pulling at the edges of his lips as he pressed the green button and brought it to his ear.

"What?" he asked, acting like we hadn't just been searching everywhere for him.

"I need your help."

If his tone wasn't enough to wipe to smirks off our faces, then his words were. Stefan didn't just admit he needed help, especially now our help. Something told me I wasn't going to get to enjoy the rest of the party.

We stared down at a dead Vicki and an injured, sobbing Elena. I smelt the blood before I saw it, my gums tingling and my throat burning in response. I clenched my teeth shut, straining my jaw as I worked to ignore the savage hunger rearing it's ugly head inside of me. "You should go," Damon told the surviving teen, looking down at the scene with a frown.

"We've got this," I added, crossing my arms and peering at the corpse. Getting her out of here without anyone seeing would be tricky, but we'd faced harder problems.

"You did this," she spat, clamouring to her feet and struggling to balance. "This is your fault."

"You confuse us for people with remorse," he said, sending her a flat stare. She scoffed with rage, shoving Damon in the chest with all her strength. He didn't so much as flinch, standing tall and unmoving with ease. Her anger grew and she turned to me, pulling a hand back and thrusting it forwards, trying to land a slap on my face. Damon's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist before she could land a hit, his face arranged into pure fury. "You don't touch her," he snarled, roughly letting go of her limb and watching as she stumbled back a few steps.

"None of this matters to us, Elena," I told her after a long pause, tilting my head at her and watching her reaction closely.

"None of it."

"People die around you. How could it not matter? It matters and you both know it!" she cried, a tear escaping her eye and travelling down her cheek. Damon rolled his eyes, and she cried out as she pulled her hand back and slapped him. He let his head snap to the side, more to appease her than for any other reason. I couldn't stop the hiss that escaped my throat, glaring at her in rage.

I growled deep in my chest. The anger mixed with my hunger was not working in her favour. I felt my fangs slide out a tiny bit, and the veins around my eyes run black. Damon saw my face change and spoke seriously. "You need to leave." She narrowed her eyes at him, about to refuse when she caught sight of my black and red eyes. "Your wounds are bleeding and you. Need. To. Leave."

I could tell it was hard for her to do so, but with one final, devastated look down at Vicki's body she turned on her heel and rushed away, slamming the door open with all her might and disappearing through.

Once she was gone, Damon dropped into a crouch, looking over the corpse tiredly. "Keys," I said to him, and he dug them out of his pocket, tossing them up and watching me snatch them out of the air with ease. "I'll bring the car around."

"Do you feel bad?" I asked, patting down the last of the fresh soil with the back of my shovel before standing straight and throwing it onto my shoulder. I looked up at Damon, who had mirrored the action.

"No," he scoffed, tipping his head back and rolling his eyes. "Of course not. She got herself killed, I had nothing to do with it."

"You're awfully defensive-"

"I'm just the right amount of defensive."

"Whatever," I replied, rolling my eyes back at him and turning on my heel, strolling back through the dense forest, towards the car. "You know, it's okay to admit you feel a little guilty," I said as we made our way through the trees, ducking low hanging branches and effortlessly jumping over logs.

"I don't feel guilty," he denied.

I stopped watching as he slowly realised I wasn't beside him and paused himself, turning back curiously. "How long have we been friends, Damon?"

"A hundred and sixty years, give or take."

"And after that long," I began, making my way over to him so I stood in front of him, head tilted back so I could meet his eyes. "Don't you think I deserve a little honesty?"

He pursed his lips, raising his head to stare over the top of my own, gazing into the distance. I watched him, analysing every blink, every bob of his Adams apple when he swallowed. I could tell he was considering my words, but was struggling with deciding how to continue. I sighed, shaking my head to myself and reaching out with my free hand, grasping it in my own and intertwining our fingers. I stepped forward, pulling him along by our joined hands. It was silent on our walk back to the car, but I could practically hear him thinking as hard as he was.

"In retrospect," he said as we deposited the shovels in the back of the car, sliding into the front. "Turning her wasn't my most brilliant idea ever."

My lips twitched, knowing it was as good as I was going to get.