Author's Note: I hope you all will enjoy this chapter. I had some fun writing it. Thank you for all of the reviews for the last chapter. I read them all. A big thanks to my beta, for cleaning this all up for me. Also, I opened an Ask account, my profile has the link. If you have questions for me, or anything of the sort, that's the place to reach me. I can't promise I will answer every question, but as long as they're not too personal or too over the top, I shall. Last bit…probably not surprising to many of you, but seeing as I don't have much time to update this story super regularly, I definitely don't have time to stay caught up on TV shows. So if you all could please not post spoilers about TVD, that'd be great. And to give you an idea of how far behind I stay on some things, I haven't even started the newest season of Justified, which is already over, and it's one of my favorite shows.

Chapter 12

I see your fear creeping around you
First love, then hate, then love, no, wait
Your confusion, it's gonna kill me

For the second night in a row, Damon found himself lying in the middle of the dark road, staring up at the sky, waiting for the first car to drive by.

"Isn't this a bit unoriginal?" Damon turned at the sound of Katherine's voice next to him. Her pose mimicked his, only difference being the cool and composed smile on her face.

"If it's not broke…" he mumbled.

"Want some company?" she questioned, her voice filled with faux sugary sweetness.

"If I did, I would have asked," he replied back, the same tone ringing through his voice.

A car began to pull up in the distance and Katherine nearly giggled in delight beside him. "Ooh, looks like we have company." She was gone before he could even think of a response, leaving him alone on the cold, dark road.

There went his night.

The car came to an abrupt stop ten feet away from him, and he heard the driver rush out a moment later. "Oh my god, sir, are you okay?" A woman who appeared to be in her early twenties asked in a panic. "Do you need me to call for help?"

With a sigh, he sat up and looked at her. She had long blonde hair that cascaded down her back, and he could see her sparkling green eyes thanks to the headlights from her car. She had no idea what she'd just gotten herself into. "I'm sorry."

"Oh god, really?" he heard Katherine ask. She sauntered out onto the road, and he could practically feel the force at which she was rolling her eyes. "Apologizing?"

The girl spun around, fear coming off of her in waves. "What's going on?"

Katherine appeared in front of the woman, compelling her. "Just stand there and look pretty." She then groaned and turned to Damon again. "I'm sorry? I taught you better than that."

"She was about to come face-to-face with you, I thought it warranted an apology."

"That hurts, Damon," she pouted. "When did you get so mean?"

"I don't know, maybe it was around the time my brother turned me against my will." He hopped to his feet and brushed off his dirty pants. "No, wait, that wasn't it. I think it was the time I realized I'd spent decades trying to figure out a way to get you out of the tomb, only to be unsuccessful every time. No, crap, that's still not it. Wait," he snapped his fingers, "It was that time I finally got into the tomb after 150 years, only to find out you had never been there, and better than that, you never cared enough to try and find me, so I could be in the loop. Yeah, that's definitely it."

"Oh, boo hoo," Katherine mocked him. "Poor little Damon got his heart broken."

"Your empathy overwhelms me."

Katherine simply rolled her eyes again and began to circle their frozen victim. "So come on, what are we gonna do? We can't stand here all night."

"You've already ruined how I like to hunt," he complained, waving his hand flippantly in the air. "The fun is gone now."

"That's not true, and you know it." The smile that graced Katherine's face was danger personified, and he could only begin to imagine the scenarios she had pouring through her head. "How about instead of me teaching you, you show me what you've learned after all these years?"

"Despite how I started out on this path, I like hunting alone."

"So improvise," Katherine snapped. "I want to have fun, Damon. Show me some." Her outburst couldn't have been more dramatic if she had stomped her feet on the ground like a petulant child.

"And how can I do that, Katherine?" he questioned, moving closer to what was now likely to be their prey for the night. "How can I show you any bit of fun you haven't already had ten times over?"

"Because I've never seen it with you." Katherine draped one of her arms over the frightened victim's shoulder while she rested her chin on the other. She ran a perfectly manicured nail over the girl's throat. "Look at that blood pumping furiously just beneath the surface. Come on, Damon. Let's have some fun."

"You want some fun?" At the end of his rope, Damon ripped the girl from Katherine's grasp. He looked deeply into her eyes and said, "Run." In an instant the girl took off into the woods, running for her life. "Whoever finds her gets to keep her."

Katherine's eyes lit up at the prospect of a chase, easy as it may be. "You're on."


Elena was curled up beneath the heavy blankets on her bed, unready to face the day ahead just yet. She hadn't seen or heard from Damon since the night he came to her room and then compelled her not to follow him when he left. She'd made more than a sane amount of calls to him since, but they all remained unanswered. She hadn't found the energy to go out to the boarding house just yet, unsure of if she really wanted to deal with what would await her.

A part of her was beyond furious and wanted to see his face so she could slap it as hard as possible. Yet, another part of her was simply hurt. They were two unbearably strong emotions, and neither one had yet won the war, and she was opting to stay in until one of them did.

He'd done the one thing he knew she would absolutely hate. He knew she hated compulsion, that she'd trusted him not to do that to her. He did it anyway. He went and compelled her to get off his back. He didn't want to deal with her, and for the past two days, he hadn't had to.

Not going to Damon though, didn't exactly mean she was spending her days weeping in her bedroom. No, she was left plenty busy with a furious aunt, who felt betrayed by everyone around her. Jenna was the one who was supposed to protect her and Jeremy, but instead of letting her, they kept her out of the loop on life and death situations for months. Now, it was all coming to fruition, and she was not ready to accept any of it.

"You know, at least when I was depressed, I made it slightly entertaining?"

Elena pushed her blankets away at the sound of her brother's voice. She twisted her neck to look at him standing in the doorway of her bathroom. "If you call stealing your sister's pain meds entertaining, I guess. Besides, I'm not depressed."

"Sure about that?" he challenged. "Cause I'm certain your bed would feel otherwise right now. You've barely even left it to eat in two days."

"It's comfortable."

"It's starting to smell."

She blindly reached beside her and grabbed onto the nearest pillow she could get her hands on. With as much strength as she could muster, she tossed it in his direction. "Shut up."

It came flying back at her a few moments later, but Jeremy had considerable better effort, and it hit her hard in the face. "I'll shut up when you get up."

Frustrated, she pushed the pillow off of her and angrily sat up. "What, Jeremy? What do you want me to do?"

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself."

"That's a mean thing to say to someone who saw her husband die in front of her a few months ago."

For the first time since he found out, Elena actually spoke of the elephant in the room. The whole family was in on the secret now, Jenna, Jeremy, and Alaric. They knew the truth, but she hadn't exactly been that forthcoming with too many details. Where could she have even begun? They knew that Damon died and she and Stefan went through with a spell that sent her back in time to try and fix everything. What they didn't know was that she was dead in the future, nor had they known how Damon died. Well, that wasn't so much the case anymore.

Jeremy's face notably softened at Elena's words and he came to her bed. "You watched him die?"

She looked away, unable to see the pity or pain or whatever that would show in his eyes once he knew what happened. "Yeah, I did."

"How?"

She focused her gaze on the tree outside her window, finding it easier to look at than her brother. "Long story short, we were kidnapped and left with one daylight ring. Only one of us got to live. I was the lucky winner or loser, depending on how you look at it."

"He died to save you," Jeremy said softly.

"Such a martyr, that one, right?" she asked sarcastically. "Leave it to Damon to spend two hundred years making everyone feel correct in their assumption that he's the bad guy, only to turn around and die for someone."

"Doesn't sound possible."

"I wish it wasn't." And oh, how she did. If he'd let her die he could have gone on into his eternity with Stefan. Did he really think that this wasn't going to happen? She had no one left in the future. He still had his brother. He had a chance, but instead of taking it, he left her alone. "It is though, and I'm here. So…"

"Life sucks?" Jeremy finished for her.

The quip managed to pull a small smile from her. "Yeah, it kind of does." She quickly followed with, "Don't get me wrong, words can't describe how happy I am to be back in a time where so many of you are still alive, but my love life, it definitely sucks."

"You and Damon, in some other time dimension, got married. I still can't believe it."

"Neither can he," she gave a half-assed attempt at Damon's sarcastic humor.

"Yeah, he's a little out of it."

"What?" she demanded with surprise. "How do you know how he is?"

"I saw him at The Grill the other night," Jeremy explained with a shrug.

"With Ric?" If Jeremy had seen Damon with Ric, then that might mean he knew what Damon meant when he said that it blew up in his face. Going to Ric obviously hadn't had the results she'd hoped for, but maybe Jeremy could put it into perspective for her, and she could figure out how to fix it.

"Something like that," he hedged. "Damon was only there for about ten minutes before he and Ric got into a fight and Ric stormed out."

"What did they fight about?"

"Um," Jeremy mumbled, averting his eyes. "Your name may have been brought up once or twice."

She racked her memory, trying to remember what Damon had told her about going to Ric. When he first came to her room he said that Jenna had called Ric, furious. So if he was with Ric when Jenna called, and they both fought about Elena, it was reasonable to believe that Ric was blaming Damon for what had happened.

"And what happened after Ric left?" She had to know more. She had to know what happened to make Jeremy think Damon was out of it.

Jeremy wandered over to her bed and sat down on the edge. "He stayed a bit longer, drank more than any human could have and still been able to walk. I don't really know what to tell you. He just didn't look like Damon. We all know he drinks a lot, but he doesn't tend to drink alone in a bar."

"He left alone?"

"Yeah, completely alone. I was kind of surprised." Without thought, Elena's hand shot out and slapped Jeremy's chest. "Ow," he hissed. "I didn't know you two were together or anything. I thought you were still doing your weird little dance or whatever."

"How does Anna put up with you?"

"You'll have to ask her." He playfully retaliated her hit, by shoving her shoulders. "And speaking of, I need to go meet her."

"Great," Elena mumbled, "My freaky brother has a better love life than I do."

Jeremy smiled gleefully and shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say, my girl has good taste. Also, I'd like to forever have a love life better than yours. In fact, if you can just have no love life for the rest of ever, that would be great."

She winked at him, a smile on her face. "I'll get right on that." In the span of a few minutes, her brother had managed to pull her out of her funk more than she'd been able to herself in the past two days. She didn't exactly feel good, but things didn't feel quite so horrible now.

"One last thing." He stopped at the bathroom door and turned back around to look at her. "In the very likely chance that you don't fulfill my wish to be celibate forever, stop with this mopey, heartbroken thing. This won't work on Damon, something I'm sure you already know. To quote Anna, he likes his women with the bark and bite."

With his parting bit of advice, her brother left her alone in her room once again. His final words began to sink in, awakening a part of her mind she'd shut down over the past few days. She did know what she'd been doing wasn't Damon's cup of tea. It would get her nowhere. Sitting in her bed for days wouldn't do anything for her. In fact, it would probably only serve to push him further away. It made her look weak. Damon didn't like his women weak.

He certainly liked being needed by his women. He liked the feeling that came with saving her if need be, but he liked her using her resourceful side too. He liked it when she got herself out of problems, or helped him get them both out of sticky situations. He wanted her to have a backbone and to show it.

He wanted her to be the girl who wanted a love that consumed her, passion, adventure, and a little danger. That was exactly what she was going to be.


From the comfort of the couch, Damon listened as his brother came through the front door, closing the door far harder than necessary. One hundred and sixty three years old, yet his brother still didn't know how to treat things well. People, oh, they must be treated with the utmost respect. Houses, furniture, antique items, who cared? Little shit.

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking?" Stefan's annoying voice pulled him from his internal monologue running down all the ways Stefan still acted like a five-year-old who still needed his mommy to clean up after him. Well, in their case, his servant.

"Isn't it a little early to be judging? By the way, you're grounded."

Stefan rolled his eyes and stepped further into the living room. "Excuse me?"

"It's one in the afternoon, young man. By my count, you didn't come home last night."

"How would you know? Aren't you a little busy running around with Katherine these days?"

So Stefan was paying attention to the world around him. Nice to know. Now, he needed to know what else was going on with his brother. Granted, Stefan wasn't high on his list of people he liked right now. Okay, so he didn't have a list of people he liked right now, but that was beside the point. They were still brothers, and he still needed to know if Stefan was falling off the deep end.

"We're having a little fun. What I want to know is what kind of fun you're having. Why weren't you home last night?"

"Because I have a life. Why are you spending so much time with Katherine? I thought you hated her."

"Oh, I still do, trust me. Doesn't mean she isn't good for a little fun. Right now, thanks to you and Elena, I could use some of that."

"Is that all she's good for?"

Feeling challenged, Damon rose to his feet, no longer content to stay seated for the remainder of the conversation. "What is this? The Spanish Inquisition?"

"Only if you feel you have something to hide. Do you?" He hated it when Stefan tried to turn the tables and act like the older brother in the situation. He couldn't simply answer the question. He had to try to prove they were both hiding things, and that it was his duty to get his scary older brother back in line.

"Between the two of us, I'm not the traitorous brother right now. I'd watch my mouth if I were you."

"Are we still stuck on that?"

"You lying to me for months? Yeah, we're still stuck on that! You lied to me!"

"Alright, I get it, I fucked up!"

"You think?" And this was now one of his weaknesses. He couldn't accept the apology. He had to dig a little deeper. There was the fact he didn't think Stefan was apologizing cause he really felt bad, but even if Stefan did feel bad, forgiveness wouldn't be won easily.

"And it's done. How long are you going to keep punishing me for it?"

"As long as I want to."

"Right, of course, an eternity of misery and all that. I guess this will just be more of the same then?" As it usually happened with their fights, Stefan had to bring up his swearing to give his brother an eternity of misery. Crazy thing was that if Stefan could rub two brain cells together every once and a while, it would have been obvious that it was said in the heat of the moment. Sure, he made life hard for his brother, but it wasn't necessarily because he wanted Stefan to live an eternity of misery. Most of it was because he was an asshole, and the rest of it was because he was doing it for his brother's own good.

"You should have told me. You know it. I know it. Yet, you still can't face up to it, but please, by all means, keep spiraling. That's just what else I need on my plate."

Stefan's back stiffened at the accusation, and Damon knew he'd hit a nerve. They were good at that, probably better than Katherine even. If there was one thing they knew how to do, it was get under the other's skin. "That's what you think I'm doing, spiraling?"

"Aren't you? Lying to me so you could place unnecessary blame on Elena, bringing Katherine back into our lives, and now staying out all night. Isn't that what you're doing?"

It was another thing they both knew. He was spiraling, but neither were at the place to meet in the middle yet. It was selfish and immature, sure, but it was what it was. They were at odds, once again, and only when everything went to hell would they come together. It's the way it had been since they turned, and Damon didn't know when the cycle would end. He didn't know if it ever would.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, brother. It means a lot." Stefan threw up his arms and started to walk to the stairs.

"Give me a reason to think otherwise, and I will."

"Go fuck yourself."

With a sigh, he watched Stefan disappear up the stairs, probably going to scribble in his journal about how life was so unfair. He could join the club. Life had been plenty unfair to both of them.

His phone broke through the silence, and before he even looked at the screen, he already had a pretty good idea of who it would be. As Katherine's name flashed up at him, he found himself correct in his assumption. Fancy, her calling right as he was musing about life being unfair. It was like she'd had a bat signal go off.

"Yes, mother," he answered.

"What are you doing tonight?" Katherine asked, skipping right by the pleasantries.

"Baking cookies? I don't know. I've barely even digested last night's hunt."

"Let's go out."

"Didn't we just do that the past two nights?"

"I want to do something else."

"Whatever, I don't care," he groaned. "Text me something later."

He didn't wait for a response before he ended the call and threw his phone on the couch. He hadn't exactly planned on doing much of anything besides drinking in his house tonight, but after the argument with Stefan, a little more hunting probably couldn't hurt. Keeping an eye on his crazy ex probably wouldn't hurt either. Lord knew what she'd get up to if left to her own devices. That was probably how he ended up a vampire to begin with.

Before he could even begin to get lost in that train of thought, he heard a knock at the front door. When the hell did he get so popular?

Based on the solid fact that the person was knocking on his front door instead of doing a surprise attack he knew it couldn't be anyone who meant any harm, so he called out, "Come in." Besides, if it was someone who wanted to kill him, it might make him feel like all was normal in the world again. That would be nice.

A moment later, the front door opened and Alaric poked his head inside. Great, it was the history professor. Just who he didn't want to see. He now actually kind of wished it would have been someone who wanted to kill him. That would be better than whatever was bound to come from this conversation.

"Shouldn't you check to see who's at the door first?" Alaric asked.

"My parents died over a century ago. I think it's a little late for the stranger danger talk." He went and grabbed his glass of bourbon from the coffee table, feeling a need for another pick-me-up coming on. "What brings you here?"

With a slight hesitation in his step, Alaric fully came into the living room. "I wanted to talk about the other night."

One of the worst nights of his life? Just what he needed.

"Why is that?"

"Jenna filled me in on everything going on."

"And?" Could Ric not just get on with it already?

"She told me about Elena – and you – in the future," he finally got out, with far more pauses than necessary.

"You mean, Elena not being the Elena we know, and an Elena from a lot of years from now?"

Ric awkwardly cleared his throat. "Yeah, that. So I wanted to say I was sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"Everyone else does. Why shouldn't you?"

"I messed up. I'm really sorry."

"I think Elena and Stefan are looking into starting some little club or something about that. Maybe they'll let you join? I don't know if you'll meet the membership requirements, cause you didn't spend the last several months screwing me over, but they might make an exception for you. Stefan's upstairs if you want me to go put in a quick word for you."

"Damon, come on," Alaric pleaded, "I'm really sorry, okay?"

"No, don't worry about it," Damon assured him, though he was sure his voice only did the exact opposite. It didn't hold the sincerity or honesty it should. It just sounded hollow, much like everything else he'd said since Alaric showed up ten minutes ago. "I'm the guy who makes a mess of everything, right? Why would you ever think otherwise?"

"Because I'm supposed to be your friend. I shouldn't have said what I said the other night."

Now Alaric's voice – that was the real deal. His held all the proper elements. His drinking buddy was genuinely apologetic for his actions the other night, but he wasn't moving Damon the way he probably meant to.

The front door slammed open, interrupting Alaric's attempt to smooth things out between the two of them. Elena came storming into the house, fire burning in her eyes. Her attention was so focused on Damon, she breezed straight past Ric, and he suspected she hadn't even realized he was in the house.

He knew what was coming, and instead of stopping her, he let it happen, wanting to see where it all would lead. Her purse flew out of her hand as her right arm rounded back, picking up steam as she wound it forward, and in mere seconds her fist collided with his face with more power than he thought she had, but his head didn't budge. It was a fact that didn't seem to faze her in the slightest.

"Don't you ever compel me again!" she shouted. "You get to be mad at me, but you do not get to control me. Do you hear me?"

"I think half the town does, sweetheart."

"And don't you call me sweetheart!" she snapped.

"How'd you put the pieces together this fast?"

"You knew I'd figure it out. And if you didn't want me to, you would have compelled me to forget you even came over. So either you made a mistake or you wanted me to know. I'm going with the latter."

"Give the girl a prize."

"Don't even pull this shit with me. You think I don't know what you're doing? I'm willing to bet you spent the better part of your nights lying in the middle of a deserted road, waiting for the first car to come by. Am I right?"

He gave her a taunting smirk. "I guess you do know me."

"I do," she insisted. "And if you compel me one more time, so help me, I will make sure you'll never have sex again for the rest of your undead life. Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

"Okay, things," Ric cleared his throat, "things make a lot more sense now."

Elena's head comically swiveled around in surprise. "Ric?!" she shrieked.

"Hi."

"Don't you dare tell Jenna about this," she demanded, quickly recovering from her shock. "Don't you tell her anything."

Damon poked his head over her shoulder. "Isn't that how you all got yourselves into this mess to begin with?"

"Shut up!" Elena snapped. "I'm not talking to you right now."

"Is she not supposed to know you're seeing Damon?"

"She's not supposed to know about this, him coming over, or him compelling me – none of it."

"Throwing out a lot of demands today, aren't we?" Damon asked.

Elena turned back to face him, a coy smirk on her face. She'd pulled that same look more times than he could count over these past few months, and it only hit him right now why he thought it had been so familiar. It was his. She was doing his smirk. And it's the one he plastered on his face right before he was about to make someone regret – the bottles of bourbon she just broke.

It was the smirk he pulled right before he was about to make someone regret whatever they'd done to make him mad.

Apparently, it worked the same way for Elena, and her way of getting him below the belt was to flip his bar cart while he was too distracted with her face to realize what was actually happening. He got played by a move right out of his own playbook.

He knew he would regret the display of emotion he was about to emit, but he didn't have the self-restraint to keep it from happening just yet. His eyes took in the saddest sight he'd seen in too many years to remember – ten bottles of his favorite bourbon were now broken and soaking through the five-hundred-year-old rug right before his eyes. Not only had she gotten his alcohol, she'd gotten his rug, and in a few minutes, his hardwood floors too. That was cold.

So, with a pitch to his voice he liked to forget existed, he screamed, "What the hell did you do that for?!"

"For compelling me," she spat.

"Then why did you punch me?"

"For compelling me! I punched you out of anger, your alcohol," she pointed at the broken glass and liquor covering the floor, "That was to hit you below the belt."

"It would have been better to literally hit me below the belt!"

"That would be too kind." She angrily shoved at his chest. "Jesus, what is wrong with you?"

"I don't even know where to start." Elena's eyes flared at his continued amusement to her anger. She didn't appreciate it when she wasn't taken seriously.

"You just think you're so funny and that I'm stupid enough to not see what this really is. You're pissed at me, and I get that. You think that anger is too emotional though, that you look better if you're a detached and sarcastic asshole. Newsflash, you just look like a detached and sarcastic asshole, and it doesn't look half as good as you think it does."

"Oh my god," he exclaimed. "People don't think highly of me? What ever will I do?"

She shoved at his chest again, and then moved to grab her purse, which she'd thrown on the floor before she hit him. "Grow the hell up! That's what you can do." She spun around on her heel, head held high, and began what she probably figured was her dignified march out of his house. "Bye, Alaric."

The history teacher comically turned his head as she passed and watched as she stormed out. He remained frozen for several moments, before turning back to Damon. "I think I owe you a bigger apology."


"Here, put this on."

Elena looked up from her phone just in time to see one of her dresses coming straight toward her face. Unlike her vampire self, her reflexes weren't quite quick enough to catch it before it nailed her. Annoyed, she pulled it from her face and groaned. "What is with people and throwing things at my head today?"

Caroline poked her head out from Elena's closet. "What?"

"Nothing," she sighed. "Why exactly am I supposed to put this on though? I like what I'm wearing right now."

"Cause your jeans and t-shirt have no business where we're going."

In an instant, Elena was off her bed and standing in front of her closet. "And where exactly are we going, Caroline?"

"A new club just opened in the next town over."

"And why are we going?"

"Cause you obviously need some cheering up, and back before Miss Mystic Falls when you told me you had fallen for Damon, what did I tell you?" Caroline prompted.

Elena sighed as she thought back to that conversation in this very bedroom only a few months ago. "You told me that you'd help me when he breaks my heart."

"And I'd hate to say I told you so, but…" Caroline let the words hang in the air.

"Gee, thanks," she mumbled.

"No problem, that's what I'm here for. So put on that dress, and I'll do your makeup for you. We're going to have a fun night out."

Though the idea sounded appealing, the rational, adult part of her had her thinking a little differently. In her head, she was married and had no desire to spend her evening pretending to like boys barely old enough to drink. She was also tired. She'd put on a good face when she confronted Damon, and was able to let out some real anger, which had been nice, but it still didn't mean she was back to normal.

She missed Damon. She wanted to work things out and truly talk to him. None of that was possible at the moment though, something she knew she needed to accept. For that reason, and for that reason alone, she'd try. "So what is this new club? How'd you hear about it?"

Caroline's blue eyes looked toward the ceiling as she, undoubtedly, tried to remember just who she'd heard the news from. With as many people a day Caroline talked to, it could be anyone. Finally, the blonde shrugged and said, "I can't remember. I just know it's the hottest new place and we have to go tonight."

"And why tonight?"

"Cause we have to," Caroline scoffed, finally at wits end with at all the questions. "So get dressed!"


The music pulsated through Elena's body as she stepped into the crowded club, and she couldn't help but wonder what she'd gotten herself into. It was gonna be a long night.

"Let's find some cute boys to buy us drinks," Caroline said as she grabbed her arm and began to pull her through the mass of people.

"And how will we get home?" she asked, but it proved to be futile. The noise was far too loud for Caroline to hear her.

The question did have merit though. How were they going to get home if they started drinking? Maybe she could get Caroline distracted long enough to get the bartender to put water in her drinks or something. Someone would have to get them home at the end of the night, and Caroline probably wasn't going to be an option.

All she could do as she let Caroline drag her through the crowd was take in the hoard of dancing people around her. Several looked more intoxicated than they probably should be, but that was the point of a club, after all. So she really shouldn't judge. They were having fun and trying to meet someone new, something Caroline was definitely trying to facilitate for them tonight.

It would all be well and good if she wanted that, but she didn't. She didn't want to meet new guys, or make out with them. She didn't want to try and pretend that she wasn't thinking about Damon and what he might be doing tonight. She didn't want to meet anyone new, then have to figure out a way to get herself out of it. She didn't want any of it, yet here she was. For some unknown reason, she'd let her friend drag her here, and now she'd have to spend her time playing pretend until she could talk Caroline into going home.

While she was pondering her dilemma of the night, she'd apparently missed Caroline finding her first pick of the night. The blonde was standing at the bar, her hand on some guy's shoulder, laughing at whatever it was he was saying. "Elena," she called out, reaching out to get her closer, "This is Riley and his friend Jake. They go to Virginia Tech."

"Hi." She did her best to smile politely and appear interested, but she felt it fell totally flat. This was so not her scene anymore.

It was that precise attitude that made her a crappy person to spend a Saturday night with, something she could tell was grating on Caroline's last nerve as the night began to wear on. They soon lost Riley and Jake after they'd realized only one of them would possibly get lucky by the end of the night. Since neither of them apparently wanted to be wingmen, they bailed, leaving Caroline to find yet another pair of college guys to try and get her claws into.

They went round and round on that carousel a few times before Caroline finally snapped after Elena had scared off the eighth guy of the night. "What is your problem?"

"I told you I didn't want to come out tonight," she tried to defend herself.

"But do you have to look like your cat just died?" Caroline whined. "I'm running out of cute boys to try and make out with."

"We both know any of these boys are going to want to do far more than just make out with you."

"That still doesn't mean I can't have a little fun, and you should be too. Come on, loosen up a little."

"I can loosen up without letting some strange guy feel me up." She didn't want to make out with guys she didn't know. She wanted to make out with Damon.

"Well, while you're being a Debbie Downer, I'm going to go get another drink. I'll find you later."

Caroline stormed off, and a part of Elena told her she should follow her friend, but it probably wouldn't lead to much good. Caroline wanted to have fun, and she obviously wasn't helping her friend in that department. She was being a Debbie Downer, just like Caroline said. Maybe it would do them both some good if Caroline could flirt with a few guys by herself, and after a little time, Elena could find her and beg to go home.

"You're too pretty to be standing alone in a bar." An unfamiliar voice sounded from beside her, and she looked up to find the owner of it. He was tall, blonde, and looked old enough to probably be reaching the end of his college years. All in all, he was cute enough and within an acceptable age distance, but he wasn't Damon, and that would be the deciding factor. He never stood a chance.

"Not even my looks can hide my personality," she told him flippantly. Why even bother with being nice?

"And what's your personality?"

"Too much for you to handle." She could eat that boy for breakfast, even as a human. He would never have what it took to stand up to her in the way she needed. No one could. No one, except the one man who didn't want anything to do with her.

"That can't be true," he tried flattery now, but it would never work. "You look too nice to be high maintenance. I can spot those girls a mile away, they all…"

Through the crowd, Elena's eyes fell on a familiar mop of black hair. Whatever words the guy beside her was saying faded away as she stepped closer to get a better look. She saw an all too familiar back, one she'd run her nails down on more occasions than she could count. She recognized the sway of his hips as he danced with no abandon. For as controlled as he always tried to be, the man certainly knew how to move his hips, and he actually enjoyed it. The man was a dancing machine when given the opportunity.

She watched, a mix of amusement and confusion flowing through her brain. She didn't understand why he was here, or how they'd both ended up here on the same night without meaning to, but she was happy to see him. He was probably more than a few drinks in by now, and by his dancing she figured she might face a slightly less resistant Damon than normal. Then again, he also wanted space. She would be right to give him that. He probably needed it. The pull was so strong though, and the urge to go to him tugged at her insides. She wanted to see his eyes, touch him, feel him. She wanted him.

The decision was almost made up in her mind when she saw two arms slide around his waist – two female arms. The sight kept her stuck to her spot, unable to look away, and unable to go to him. He turned to the beat of the music then and his partner came with him, stuck to him like glue. As the moved to the rhythm Elena finally got a good look at her. He wasn't dancing with just any girl. He was dancing with Katherine.

In horror, she could do nothing but watch as Katherine's mouth found Damon's and he let it. Their dancing never stopped as they kissed in the middle of the dance floor, lost in each other among the masses. Katherine's hips grinded against him, and his hands easily found her backside in encouragement.

It was horrible and excruciating, and she could not turn away, not until Damon's mouth finally parted from her doppelganger's. His head was heavy as he turned to the side, coming back to reality, but then his eyes found her across the way. She watched the realization dawn on his face, and before he could make a move, she fled.

She ran straight to the nearest exit, unable to be in that place for a moment longer. She could not really have just seen that. It wasn't real. She did not see Damon kissing Katherine. She did not see him enjoying it. It didn't happen.

Moments after she escaped into the back alley, she heard the door slam open again. "Elena!" Damon's voice called out.

"Go away, Damon," she shouted over her shoulder.

"You weren't supposed to see that." He said it like it would somehow make the entire situation better. It wouldn't.

"Obviously!"

"Would you wait a minute?" His hand caught her arm, and twisted her around to face him. "It's not what you think."

"Don't even pull that line on me," she snapped at him as she ripped her arm from his grasp. "It was exactly what it looked like, and you're wasting both of our time coming out here, acting like you give a damn."

He seemed to accept her argument and took a step back from her, giving her space. "What are you doing here?"

"I was told I needed a night out. I don't think I'll be taking that advice again any time soon."

"Elena, I," he started, but it was obvious he had no idea where he intended to take his words. He probably didn't even really know why he was out here.

"Katherine?!" she exploded, unable to hold it in. "You seriously have to be here with her? I knew this would happen, but god, why did it have to be her?"

Seeing Damon kissing any random woman would obviously hurt, but she could handle it if it was anyone but Katherine. Her history with her predecessor ran far too deep to not affect her. Then there was Damon's history with her. It was too much. Why couldn't it have been some college girl he'd never remember?

"It's not what you think."

"I know," she sighed, "You told me." Her hand went to her forehead, a habit of hers when she was stressed. "Why her?" she questioned, more emotion in her voice than she would have liked.

"Same reason as anybody else, I guess," he softly told her, an air of disinterest in his voice. Only a few moments ago, he was racing out here to try and do, she didn't even know what. Yet, now, he couldn't care less?

"Go back inside, Damon," she told him, frustrated with whatever he was trying to accomplish.

Bypassing her suggestion, he asked, "How'd you even get in?"

"How can you be making out with Katherine?" she demanded. If he could change the subject, she could definitely change it back. In Damon's mind, both her and Katherine had betrayed him. So why could he be here with Katherine, when he so obviously didn't want to be with her. "You can barely even look at me, yet you have no problem practically having sex with her in the middle of the dance floor."

"We were not practically having sex," he shot at her. "Things with her are different than they are with you and me."

"Cause I lied to you for a few months and she only lied to you for 150 years?"

"Don't do that. You don't get to play victim in this. You don't get to be mad."

Her body stiffened at his words. "Don't tell me what I'm allowed to feel. I get to be upset about this. I get to be upset about all of it. You compelled me, and now you're making out with Katherine, two things you knew would hurt me. I get to be upset that I love you and you want nothing to do with me. We both get to be hurt. It's not a one way street."

"Get off your high horse," Damon snapped.

"What, you think I'm being morally superior to you?" she questioned. "Although, not like I'd have to try hard, would I? You aren't exactly attempting to live your life with the best morals."

"No, I'm not," he agreed. "It's something you should probably try to wrap your head around. I'm not going to be the upstanding guy, and you can spout your bullshit all day, about how I won't change much and you don't want me to, but we both know it's a lie. All you want to do is change me."

"Is that what Katherine's telling you?" She moved closer to him now, trying to really get a clear look in his eyes to try and see what was going on underneath the surface.

"Katherine has nothing to do with this," he insisted.

"Now who's spouting bullshit?" she countered with. "You're letting her manipulate you. I don't know why I'm surprised though, you can't listen to anyone, at least, not anyone who gives a damn about you."

"Cause I don't need to," he shouted.

Having been in arguments like this with Damon more times than she could count, she knew there was no ground to be gained or lost tonight. All they would do is fight in circles, and sometimes, she believed that's what Damon wanted. When he was having problems with someone he cared about, but didn't know how he would really deal with it, this was a good compromise. If he was fighting with the person, it gave him a chance to be around the person without actually working toward forgiveness.

That left her to be the one to pull the plug on the argument. She'd run this same circle far too many times to be able to go around as many times as he probably could tonight. She didn't have the energy.

With a sigh and slow nod of her head, she said, "Keep telling yourself that, Damon. While you're doing that, I'm going to go home. Call me when you actually want to talk." She punctuated her words by stepping around Damon so she could go back into the club and find Caroline. It was time to go home.

"What makes you so sure that I'll want to talk."

At the door, she stopped and looked at him, "You followed me out here, didn't you?"