Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries isn't mine. Though I do have a secret plan to change that and make Damon my very own… *cackles evilly*

A/N: Since I got so many awesome reviews for the last chapter, I decided to update a day early. Thanks for taking to time to review, everyone! :D


Chapter Six

Damon was alone in the branches of a tree near the Gilbert home, thinking very hard.

He'd done what had to be done, kissing Elena. He'd dutifully silenced the suspicious neighbors, and kept Tyler Lockwood's condition from being discovered by anyone outside their little club. But kissing Elena had awakened some unsettling feelings deep inside him. Feelings he hadn't experienced in years.

Memories of her lips on his, her breath gusting against his face and mingling with his, lay heavy on his mind. Her hands had tentatively touched his skin, legs taking on a mind of their own as they wrapped around him. She had been hesitant, but that only increased her allure.

Yeah, Elena was definitely a good kisser. A borderline great one, in fact. But that wasn't the only reason for Damon's growing attraction to her. Every time he thought of her, something out of the ordinary blossomed inside his chest. It wasn't the usual blood hunger he felt when around most beautiful women. Sure, he felt some temptations to taste her sweet blood, but it was more than that. He wanted to hold her to him and keep her safe from harm, fight off Katherine and whoever else cared to harm her. Hell, he'd even fight off Stefan if he had to. If Stefan were even around right now.

He'd never felt this way before, not even around Katherine.

Growling something unflattering under his breath, Damon shifted his weight on the branch, sending several small flakes of bark fluttering to the ground.

His mind was drifting towards ancient memories now, memories of Katherine. How he'd felt that first time their eyes had met, when they'd first made love. He'd thought he'd died and gone to heaven, that there couldn't be a more beautiful and loving woman. Even after finding out that she was a vampire, he'd still utterly adored her. Though his memories seemed oddly foggy after that point. Stefan had always insisted she'd compelled them both, and he was starting to think his little brother had been right.

He rubbed his temple with one hand, trying to rub the depressing thoughts from his brain. He didn't need to think about Katherine right then, or ever. She had betrayed him, and was more than likely torturing Stefan right now, as she had been for five years. She didn't deserve his love, or even his lust.

Though someone else does, a small voice deep inside him whispered tantalizingly, followed by a mental image of Elena.

Scowling darkly, Damon leapt out of the tree, landing on the ground with a muted thud. He swiftly ran in the direction of the forest, intending to get a quick snack and replenish his strength.

He didn't notice the dark-haired figure watching him from the side of Elena's house.


About ten minutes after the incident in the woods, Elena pulled up into her driveway, Matt's car right behind her. She checked her rearview mirror, then set the parking brake and climbed out. Matt, Caroline, and Tyler all piled out of the other car. Tyler was freshly dressed in some clothes borrowed from Matt, though his skin still looked a little gray.

Elena hadn't wanted to leave Tyler alone in the woods after what he had experienced, and had suggested that they all come over. Matt and Caroline had readily agreed, apparently having had similar worries about what to do with Tyler.

"How're you doing?" she said kindly, as the other three approached.

Tyler shrugged awkwardly, grimacing in pain. "Could be worse."

"I don't know, man. It seemed pretty rough to me." Matt gently clapped his friend on the shoulder, showing no obvious revulsion, even though he'd just discovered Tyler's werewolf heritage.

"Let's head in and get a quick bite to eat," Elena said. "Maybe some aspirin."

Tyler nodded once, then the four of them went inside.

Rolling her aching neck, Elena felt an overwhelming surge of relief to be home. She'd survived yet another crazy experience, and made it back alive. Even such a small feat was worth celebrating in this town.

Caroline tugged off her sweater, carefully hanging it on the wooden banister of the staircase. "So, um, what do werewolves tend to eat? Like, raw meat and stuff?"

"Not a chance, 'specially not when I'm in human form," Tyler said, rubbing the back of a hand over his eyes. "Anything would be fine. I'm starving."

"Help yourself to anything in there," Elena said.

"Thanks," Tyler said, then allowed himself to be guided towards the kitchen by Matt.

"Jere? You home?" Elena called up the stairs, not really expecting an answer. But much to her surprise, he appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing a worn t-shirt and pajama bottoms. "Oh. Hi, Jere. I didn't wake you, did I?" After he had shaken his head, she continued uncertainly, "I just wanted to let you know that I've got some people over..."

He nodded again, then mentioned bleakly, "I was wondering why my room was open. I closed the door before I left earlier."

"Um…you know Franklin Haddix, right? He works for Mayor Lockwood? He was over for some kind of routine security search or something," she said, highly conscious of Caroline's silent presence at her side. "Nothing to worry about."

The Jeremy of old would have questioned her continuously about the unexpected visitor, wanting to know what exactly they'd done while they were there. This Jeremy simply said, "Oh," and wandered back to his room.

Elena sighed heavily, leaning against the staircase banister and covering her face with one hand. She couldn't help feeling a rush of overwhelming sadness at how much her brother had changed the past few years. He wasn't himself at all.

Caroline touched her arm. "I'm sorry, Elena. I know this is really hard on you," she murmured.

"You don't know the half of it," Elena said, voice muffled thanks to her hand. "Ever since Jenna died, Jeremy's been a completely different person. We hardly talk anymore, and when we do, it's to have conversations like that one." She removed her hand and sighed again.

Nodding, Caroline changed the subject. "I know this is totally off subject, and maybe even more depressing, but have you heard from Bonnie lately? I've been trying to keep at least a minimal contact with her, but she hasn't called me back for a long time."

Elena shrugged uncomfortably. "I haven't really talked with Bonnie for years. She could have skipped town for all I know."

Caroline smiled tightly. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm just really worried about her."

"Yeah. Me, too."

Matt chose that moment to peer around the corner leading towards the kitchen. "Elena? Have you got any bread? I was going to make Tyler a sandwich, but there's not any in the bread container."

"Right, sorry. There's probably some in the freezer." Elena hurried into the kitchen and found some bread, which she put in the microwave to defrost. Turning around again, she saw Tyler sitting at the table, head in his hands. "Want some aspirin? It'll probably help," she said.

"Sure. Aspirin'd be great."

Elena hurried to the downstairs bathroom, flicking on the light, and rummaged around in the cabinet. She couldn't find any sign of the usual bottle of aspirin, and went to tell the others as much. "I'll just check upstairs. There's probably some in the other bathroom," she said.

"Okay." Caroline was distracted, pulling the bread from the microwave. She then noticed Matt attempting to use a spoon to scoop some mayo from a jar. "Matt! No, no, no! Haven't you learned anything in all the years of your life, or is it blocked out by male incompetence? You can't use a spoon to put mayonnaise on a sandwich!"

Elena smiled slightly, then headed for the stairs. Even though Caroline was genuinely irritated, Elena was glad for the distraction from her problems, however small. Not to mention the distraction from her unsettling feelings for Damon. She still had no idea what to think about that situation.

Straightening her shoulders, she marched up the remaining stairs and headed for the bathroom. She paused outside Jeremy's door, which was firmly closed. A faint light leaked under the door, along with soft rock music. She continued on, to her bedroom.

It was completely dark. She reached for the light switch, and a warm light flooded the room at her touch. She surveyed the shadows near the edges of her room, frowning as a strange chill swept over her bare arms. The hairs stood straight up, and she shuddered violently. A quick glance at the ceiling fan revealed that it was turned off, and she also noted that the window was firmly closed. There was no real cause for her sudden chilliness, except an attack of her overactive imagination.

"You survive five years in this town, then you go crazy by imagining things," she said, frowning at herself. Sweeping one more gaze around the room, she walked over to the bathroom that adjoined her room with Jeremy's. The door to his room was shut, leaving the bathroom in total darkness.

She fumbled for the switch, then flicked it into the upright position. An unbelievably weird feeling growing steadily stronger deep inside her, she turned around to the medicine cabinet.

And came face-to-face with an identical copy of herself.

Her lips parted in shock; she didn't know whether to scream or to faint, but she didn't want to be left alone with the century-old bitch. But before she could make a move, Katherine moved forward and grabbed her throat with one hand.

Elena's eyes bulged with horror, and for a minute she almost blacked out. Then she realized that Katherine's fingers hadn't yet closed around the skin of her neck; they were merely placed there to ensure her motionless.

Several seconds of silence passed, and they stared at each other.

Now that her panic had passed, Elena saw that Katherine didn't look exactly like her anymore, not like she had five years ago. Katherine lacked the scar at her temple, and of course appeared several years younger than her human counterpart. Her immaculately-curled hair was lustrous, falling perfectly into place each and every time she moved. Plus, there were her eyes. They held a cold, murderous glint that Elena could never mimic, no matter how hard she tried.

She took a shallow breath, very conscious of the icy fingers around her throat. "What do you want?" she croaked, not bothering to raise her voice above a whisper. She didn't want Jeremy to walk in, to get hurt. Like Jenna.

"I already have everything I want," Katherine said smoothly, as though they were discussing the weather. "A town under my control, darling Stefan in my grasp. Though he isn't as cooperative as he could be. And he's looking a bit pasty."

Elena bit her lip to keep from saying anything she'd regret. "Why are you here?" she said, defining each word so even a dense person could understand.

Katherine smiled callously. "You don't want to catch up with me, reminisce about old time's sake?"

"Just tell me." Then a horrifying thought struck her, and her heart nearly stopped. "Did you…did you kill him?" she bleated.

The beautiful vampire looked momentarily confused, then laughed quietly. "Oh, you mean Stefan. Don't give up hope; he's still alive. Though I don't know why I bother. He's very boring. Unlike…Damon."

Elena went still, barely even breathing.

"That struck a nerve, didn't it? Some good times we've had together, Damon and I. I think he was always my favorite of the two. I like a little…danger in my man."

Swallowing hard, Elena tried to keep her breathing steady. She concentrated on inhaling and exhaling with the same rhythm, trying her best not to give anything away. The last thing she needed was for Katherine to know that Damon had been there.

"So, care to share?"

"Share what?"

"Where Damon is hiding out, of course."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Katherine tilted her head to one side, staring at her prey with an almost curious expression. Then, before Elena could even blink, she whipped her around towards the bathroom cabinet. Elena's body slammed into the wood with an earthshaking thud, a metal knob digging into her back. Her sneakers dangled several feet above the floor, waving wildly as they tried to find purchase.

"Want to change your story yet?" Katherine said sweetly.

Elena could barely breathe, and clearly felt her face getting red. She tried to say something, but it came out in a series of harsh gasps.

Loosening her grip only slightly, just enough to keep Elena pressed to the cabinet, Katherine leaned closer. "What was that?"

"Go to hell, you bitch," Elena managed to choke out, getting extreme satisfaction from the way Katherine's face went white with rage.

Katherine abruptly dropped her; Elena fell to the tile, landing in a crumpled heap. She touched her throat with one hand, bracing herself against the floor with the other, as she gasped for air.

"Now listen up, and listen good. I know Damon's been panting around you, Elena, and I know what you two are undoubtedly planning to do." Katherine moved down, so that her and Elena's faces were only inches apart. The skin beneath her eyes cracked alarmingly, and sharp fangs were visible among her other teeth. "Rescue Stefan. Well, that's not going to happen. So get that thought out of your pretty little head."

She grabbed Elena's shirt with one fist, and hauled her back to her feet. She brutally shoved her descendant against the cabinet doors again, eyes glittering with cold fury. "Stay away if you know what's good for you. Because I won't hesitate to kill your precious Stefan; he means nothing to me. Nothing. I could extinguish his measly existence in a heartbeat. And if Damon even thinks about coming back to the mansion, I'll do the same to him. Don't think I won't. I'll make sure he dies the most painful death possible. And that goes for all your little friends downstairs, too."

With that, Katherine was gone. She vanished, presumably back to the Salvatore mansion.

Elena stared at the place where the vampire had been standing, legs shaking. Then she slowly slid down the cabinet doors to sit on the floor.

Katherine knew.


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