Chapter Ten

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your comments to Chapter Nine! I haven't had a chance to respond, and I'm just running out the door (literally!) so I'll be gone for the next few days, but I wanted to get this up and share with you guys! Thanks so much for reading, and expect a new chapter when I return!

"When this plan fails and Anna is done ripping off our limbs, I'd like everyone who is still alive to remember that I was against this."

Elena looked over as Damon finished loading the vervain dart into the gun, snapping it shut and locking it in place. His tone was light, but under his mask she could see the grim look in his eyes. Damon was worried.

"It's going to be fine," Stefan told him, frowning. "As soon as any of us sees her, we'll shoot her with the vervain darts, load her into the trunk, and bring her back to the house."

"Do you ever get tired of being so optimistic all the time?" Damon asked, looking over at him.

"Do you ever get tired of being so negative all the time?" Stefan returned evenly.

"Not really," Damon drawled, slamming the trunk of Alaric's car shut. "It's where all the good lines are."

"Remember to shoot to subdue," Alaric reminded, even as he came out of the house with his gym bag, which Elena had seen him packing full of extra guns and darts. "Not to kill."

Damon made a face at him. "Are you really on board with this?" he asked him.

Alaric looked over at Jeremy. Elena followed his gaze, taking in Jeremy's pleading, desperate look, and looked back at the teacher, who let out a sigh and returned his attention to Damon. "Not to kill," he reminded, giving Damon a light push on the chest toward the car.

"Easy for you to say. Not all of us have the luxury of a ring that makes us the perfect vampire playtoy. Some of us actually die when we…" Damon paused, as if searching for another word, then seemed to give up. "Die." He paused again and looked at Jeremy and Stefan as if realizing what he had said. "Except us." He looked back at Ric and slid into the passenger seat. "But mostly you."

"Well, if Anna does kill us, you can rest in peace with the knowledge that tomorrow I'll be really sore and have a massive headache to remember the ordeal by," Alaric returned.

Damon made a face at him. "My soul will be pitying you from hell."

"I'll take some aspirin."

Elena stepped forward and hugged Jeremy tightly, clasping her hands firmly around him. She knew with the others there that it was unlikely anything bad would happen to him, but he was still her brother, and she couldn't help but worry… Especially after what Anna had done to Damon the last time they had seen her.

"Be careful," Elena pleaded quietly.

"It's going to be fine, Elena," Jeremy reassured her, pulling back to smile at her. "It's Anna. I know she's in there."

She was at a loss for words when he climbed into the back seat of the car. She looked over at Stefan, the last one still out of the car, and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her tightly in his embrace, kissing her lightly when he finally pulled away. She tried to ignore how strange it felt; how foreign and uncomfortable, especially with Damon right there.

"Be careful," she pleaded.

"You, too. Don't open the door for anyone. One of us will come to get you." Stefan lightly stroked her cheek. "Katherine is ruthless. She'll stop at nothing to—"

"Is this going to take much longer?" Elena broke away, looking down at Damon through his rolled-down window, annoyed at being interrupted. He looked flippant and irritated, but she could still see the concern in his blue eyes… Concern, and something deeper. Something that made her heart ache and her stomach churn. "Getting out there before dark is probably safest for Ric."

"It's ten," Stefan reminded, frowning at him.

Damon made a rolling gesture with his hand. "And we still have to find her. Subdue her. Not let her kill us." He turned to Alaric. "Do we really need him? We can leave him, right?"

"Go," Elena urged Stefan, giving him another quick hug. "Be careful."

"I love you," he returned. She tried to return the sentiment, but to her horror, it stuck in her throat. He climbed into the backseat, behind Damon.

She stared at him through the window, her eyes unable to resist looking over at Damon in the front seat. His face was unreadable, but she was sure there was some pain in there—and then it was gone.

She expected some light, sarcastic remark to fall from his lips, but nothing did. He just gazed at her, and even though Stefan was just in the backseat, right behind him, likely staring right at her, she couldn't look away from him. Her breath felt shallow and unsteady, her knees feeling strangely weak as she gazed down at him. The image of his bleeding, dying body flickered back in her mind, and suddenly it was all she could do to stop herself from throwing her arms around him, begging him to shoot to kill.

And then the car was driving away, breaking the moment.

And she was alone on the curb outside of Alaric's house.

At the knock on the door, Elena joyfully ran up to it, hesitating a mere second before she threw open the door. Slowly, she peeked through the peephole, her heart falling into her stomach when she saw the girl standing on the front porch.

"Come on, Elena," Katherine sighed, sounding bored. "I can hear you breathing. You don't have to invite me in." She grinned impishly. "Unless you want to, of course."

"Go to hell," Elena shot back at her, through the wood.

Katherine's grin deepened. "Hello, Elena," she greeted. "I saw my boys leave you all alone. Such a pity about Anna, isn't it? But it gives us a much-needed chance to chat—just us girls."

Elena's blood ran cold. "What do you know about Anna?" she asked uneasily.

Katherine suddenly scowled. "Are we really going to have this conversation through the door?" she demanded. "This is so rude. You could at least open the door."

"No."

Katherine let out an irritated sigh. "I know that the spell works. And that the spell used to bring Anna back wasn't the right one." She smiled coyly. "Now would you like to talk?"

Elena felt her stomach twist, overwhelmed by hatetred of this girl. Katherine had done this. Katherine was responsible for Anna being this… monster. The spell really did work? Then why? Why was Katherine doing this? What kind of life could she have lead that would turn her into such an evil… creature? "What were you like, when you were alive?" Elena asked.

Katherine pulled back, frowning, and then laughed. "Coquettish. Insolent. Bratty. I never wanted to play by the other's rules. I wanted to make my own."

"Did you want to be a vampire?"

Katherine bared her teeth in a smile. "More than anyone you'll ever meet." Elena watched as she reached a hand out to the door. "Come on, Elena… Let's talk. We have two very lovely boys in common that we should discuss."

Elena shook her head, even though Katherine couldn't see her. "You're just going to try to kill me," Elena declared. "Forget it."

Katherine sighed. "If I'd wanted to kill you, I would have done it the second the boys drove away. Come on, Elena, this is getting tiring."

There was no way she was opening that door. "If you want to talk, talk," she ordered. "But I'm not opening the door."

Katherine stared at the peep hole. It felt like she was staring right into Elena's soul. Her eyes were dark and endless, cold and empty. Elena shivered just looking into them. "Jenna's not doing very well, is she?" Katherine asked, so suddenly Elena felt her heart squeeze. "She's taking John's death pretty hard."

Elena almost ripped the door open. "You?" she asked, hearing the strain in her voice. "You're responsible for Jenna…"

"Zombing out?" Katherine finished helpfully. She flashed a smile. "I never said that."

Elena fell against the door. "But… she's… wearing… vervain…"

"Oh, that pesky bracelet? I took it. When she was in the shower, of all places." Katherine giggled. "I guess you forgot to mention that she shouldn't take it off when she was in there?"

Jenna… god… Jenna… This whole time… Elena forced down the tears she felt forming. "What do you want with me?" she demanded, her voice shaking.

Katherine's voice was hard. "I want to know which one you like better. Damon or Stefan. And don't automatically answer Stefan, or I'll have Jenna slit her wrists before you're able to get home to stop her."

She was crazy. She was really, truly crazy. Slowly, Elena opened the door, facing Katherine for the first time since she had knocked on the door. The girl really was her doppleganger—evil and all. She was dressed in head-to-toe black, black shirt, black leggings, black boots.

She looked dangerous. And beautiful. And nothing like Elena, and exactly like her.

"Why?" Elena asked, staring into the dark, cold eyes. "Why do you care, Katherine? You left them for 150 years. Why do you suddenly care, now?"

Katherine was suddenly there, standing only inches away from her, separated only by the barrier of the greeting she had not received. Elena could feel her breath on her lips as Katherine addressed her. "They are mine, Elena," Katherine told her quietly, her voice hard. "I will not let you take them."

Elena swallowed hard. "I've already taken them," she returned, surprised at how hard her voice was. "They're not yours anymore."

Katherine regarded her for a moment, her eyes emotionless. "You can't answer me, can you?" she asked softly. "You can't choose—not anymore than I could." She shook her head without letting her eyes leave Elena's. "I pity you. You think you've chosen Stefan, but everything in you cries for Damon."

Elena's jaw clenched. "I bet you know all about that, don't you? At least I did choose, Katherine. I didn't lead both of them on, thinking they'd spend eternity with you."

Katherine smiled. "We'll still be in our triangle, Elena. Long after you're dead." She ran a finger along the invisible barrier between them. "You may think Stefan has chosen you, too… But you should ask him about the time when we were together. I think what you discover may… alarm… you."

Elena's heart squeezed, but she forced herself to stay calm. Katherine was just trying to bait her into doing something stupid, like walking out of the house, or lunging for her. "Stefan told me everything," she returned flatly. "He told me that you two went out and that he thought you were me. You can't trick me, Katherine. I trust Stefan. That's something you and he could never share."

Katherine threw back her head and laughed.

Elena felt indignation surge through her, her cheeks flaming in anger and humiliation. It wasn't a funny comment—and Katherine acting like she knew something Elena didn't was almost enough to make Elena wish for a vervain dart.

"Are you basing your theory on me being with both Stefan and Damon?" she asked, still giggling. "He knew, Elena. He knew, and he didn't care. He wanted to be with me that much. Both of them wanted me to choose them. They would have done anything." She shook her head. "Both my boys knew."

Elena felt her anger grow. "Why are you here, Katherine?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

Katherine studied her. "I just wanted to talk." She smiled prettily. "That was all. Have a nice day, Elena."

As Katherine turned and started down Alaric's porch, Elena had the bad feeling that she'd just walked into some strange trap Katherine had set.