TWELVE

Damon stood up swiftly, pulling me to my feet at the same time but placing himself in front of me. I wiped his blood off my lips with the back of my hand, my head buzzing with the effects of my improved senses. Damon was watching her every move, waiting for some sort of attack. She tsked him as she nudged the body with her foot so it was laying face-up on the grass. "I would have expected this from Stefan, but not from you," she said, gesturing to me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, ignoring her statement.

"Saving your life," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You're welcome by the way."

He narrowed his eyes, "You didn't save my life."

She rolled her eyes and reached down to grab something from beside the body. She tossed it to him and he saw two wooden bullets still in the chamber. "She may have given you blood, but I killed the hunter."

I straightened in alarm as I tried to see who the man was but his face was turned towards Katherine. "It's not Alaric," Damon said softly to me, as if reading my thoughts.

I let out a sigh of relief as he dropped the gun and looked at Katherine again. "What are you doing here?"

She pouted. "I would have thought that you of all people would be happy to see me."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why would I be happy to see you after I found out that you have over a hundred years to find me and tell me you weren't in the tomb?"

Her face hardened. "I had my reasons."

"Lucky for you, you have an eternity to explain yourself," he said casually.

"You're the one who's been watching us?" I asked, finding my voice.

She glanced my direction as if she had forgotten I was there. "I have better things to do with my time than stalk you. You're not that interesting," she said, examining her nails.

"Then why are you here?" I asked.

She returned her gaze to Damon who hadn't relaxed an ounce of his tension since we had stood. "Pearl got a message to me when she came out of the tomb. She said you didn't want to know where I was," she said and pouted. I couldn't tell if she was pretending to be hurt or if she actually was.

"What did she say?" he asked.

Her lip curled and I thanked my lucky stars that we didn't have the same voice. Hers was more like a child's and she whined more than anyone I knew. "Now you're interested?" she asked, balling her fists.

"Katherine," he said, as if his patience was about to reach its limit.

In the blink of an eye, it looked like she had stomped her foot. I wasn't sure if I had imagined it or not. "Fine," she said harshly and crossed her arms. "She said the tomb was open and the vampires were out. She kept sending me updates, saying some attacked you and Stefan. They're very lucky you killed them before I got here. Then I got the note saying that John Gilbert was in town and going after the vampires as head of that damn Council," he said with a snarl at the last bit. "What I didn't expect to find was you with her." She looked at me then and the pure hatred in her eyes made me take a half-step back.

"We were just-" I started.

She snorted. "Yes, it was very clear what you were doing."

"Elena?" came another voice, making us all look in that direction. It was Stefan, standing a little bit away from us.

"Stefan," I breathed and wondered how long had he been standing there and why hadn't anyone noticed. It left me feeling very uneasy.

His eyes were glued to Katherine as he slowly walked to us and slid his hand in mine. "You're back."

She looked at our hands intertwined and then back up to Damon. She had a sly smile on her face. "Some things never change."

Stefan tightened his grip as he looked from her to Damon. "I'm taking her home," he said and started to pull me away.

"You're not even going to say hello?" Katherine called after us, that anger back in her voice. She was one of those girls who demanded the spotlight and when it wasn't shining on her, she did anything to get it.

He stopped and turned back to her. "Hello," he said and then led me to my car. I threw one last glance over my shoulder and saw Damon, torn between going after me and staying with Katherine. I told myself he was better off with her; that she had always been his first choice. Even then, it sounded like a lie.

"How did you know where we were?" I asked as he drove to his house.

"I was feeding and I heard people talking. When I was done feeding I realized who it was," he said, looking straight ahead. I didn't want to ask exactly when he came to listen to us, I was afraid that he had seen Damon and I before the hunter had shot him in the back. I studied Stefan as we drove in silence. There was something different about him and I had been too preoccupied with Damon to notice it since he came back. Whatever it was, it wasn't making me feel safe.

"Are you okay?" I asked when he had parked. "Now that she's back."

He shrugged, "Yes, I loved her, but when I found out that she was seeing Damon too, I realized that I would never be good enough for her. She would choose him in the end."

"But she didn't."

He looked at me. "She didn't have time to choose," was all he said before he got out and I followed him up to his room.

I shut the door behind me and crossed my arms over my chest. "So what does this mean for us? Are you going to end things with me so that you can wait for her to decide and then if she picks Damon you'll consider me an option again?"

His eyes widened and he shook his head in confusion. "Elena, that's not what I want at all. Where did that come from?" he asked, taking a few steps closer to me.

Because that's what Damon is doing, I thought bitterly and was startled by that feeling. "I don't know."

He cupped my face and smiled down at me. "I don't want her anymore. We were never a good match and it's not something in my life that I would like to revisit. I've already found the one I want to be with forever."

Forever. That word hung in the air. "Stefan-"

He cut me off as I focused his gaze on my lips and throat. "What happened to you?" he asked, tipping my head to the side.

I tensed, expecting him to lose control at any moment, but he didn't. "Damon was shot with wooden bullets before Katherine killed the hunter," I explained mentally relieved that he hadn't seen anything before Katherine arrived. "He lost a lot of blood," I said quietly, letting him connect the dots.

He only nodded and wiped a few flakes of blood from my lips, Katherine's ring on his finger caught the light from the window, making me close my sensitive eyes momentarily. He pulled me to him and stroked my hair. "Thank you for saving him," he whispered.

I tightened my hold on him, the reality of the situation setting in. "Her being here isn't good," I breathed.

I felt him shake his head. "No, it's not."

Since that night I had seen little of Damon and none of Katherine. It was for the best considering I didn't know what to say to him and I really didn't want to know anything about Katherine. It was now Monday and I promised Matt that Stefan and I would hang out with him, Caroline, and Bonnie at the Grill. Stefan had come to my house after school. As we were walking to the door, Jenna was coming out. "Oh, hey," she said. "I'm running late, but will you be home for dinner?"

"No, we're going to the Grill," I answered.

"Okay, have fun, be safe," she said and dashed off to her car.

"She must be running late," I said as we went inside and sat down on the couch to watch a movie to pass the time.

A few hours later, we met the others at the Grill. I knew Caroline was still not happy about the fact that I didn't show up the last time, but that was only because she held grudges forever. Matt, on the other hand, had forgiven me. Bonnie waved us over to the pool table they were at. "Glad you made it," she said as she hugged me.

"I'm glad you invited me again," I replied looking at Caroline. "I'm really sorry about that."

"You're here now aren't you?" she said, her way of forgiving me for the moment. Matt grinned and mouthed his thanks.

"Have you eaten yet?" Matt asked as Caroline and Bonnie finished the game that they had already started.

"No, we were going to grab something here."

"Good, us too. As soon as they're finished, we'll get a table."

I shook my head as I laughed. "You know that you're allowed to go home on your day off? Or at the very least spend it outside the restaurant."

He grinned as Caroline shouted in excitement, making us all jump. "I won!"

"That's a first," Bonnie said winking at Matt. "Let's eat."

The evening was going by smoothly and it felt just like old times. We had eaten and played a few games before my reality check came. I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket and fished it out as I watched Stefan take aim. I was sitting at the table with Bonnie since Caroline and Matt were playing on a team. My heart skipped a beat as I saw a message from Damon displayed on the screen. What are you doing?

At the Grill with friends. Why?

His reply took a few seconds longer than normal. I'm at the motel a few blocks away. Room 24. I need you to come here as soon as possible.

Seriously? No way am I- I stopped in the middle of the message as another one came though. I deleted my reply and opened the new message.

It's important. I wouldn't ask you here if it weren't.

I stared at the new message for a few seconds before I responded. I'll be there in an hour or so.

"Elena?" Bonnie asked in a low voice.

"Bathroom?" I asked as I put my phone in my pocket. She nodded and we excused ourselves. Caroline was a little hurt that she was invited to join us, but I couldn't worry about it at the moment. I turned on the faucets when I saw no one else was in the bathroom and talked in a low voice. "I have to tell you something."

"I'm not going to like this much am I?" she asked, keeping her voice low as well.

I told her what had happened Wednesday night. All of it, even the kiss with Damon. I ended with the fact that I didn't trust Stefan anymore and there was definitely something he wasn't telling me. "I keep asking where he went for those few days he was gone, but he just shakes his head and changes the subject."

"I'm still confused as to why Katherine's back."

"Me too. It scares me that she hasn't been seen around town. She's not the type to lay low," I said.

"Are you going to see Damon then?"

I nodded. "For him to want to meet out of earshot from anyone else means something is definitely wrong. I'm telling you all of this so that you know. I'm asking you to not trust anything unless it comes from me or Damon."

She narrowed her eyes. "You don't trust Stefan?"

"I want to, but there's something off about him."

She nodded and put her hand on my shoulder. "Does he know anything about you and Damon?"

I shook my head, but kept my eyes on the floor. "No, but if he does, he's keeping it to himself."

"Come on, we'll finish up and then you can get out of here," she said as she shut off the faucets and we returned.

Caroline was putting on her coat when we came back. "I think we've all played enough for one night. Ready?" Matt asked Bonnie.

"Elena's going to give me a ride home. We have to discuss prom," she said and I shot her a look. I wasn't even thinking about that right now.

She shrugged and Caroline scowled. She had never liked the fact that Bonnie and I had always been closer as friends. I did feel bad for her and one day, I would explain everything to her just like I was going to explain to Matt. "Thanks for inviting us," I said as they left.

"I'll drop Stefan off first, then we can talk," I said and led them out to my car. Stefan generously gave up the front seat for Bonnie. I was tense the whole ride to his house with him behind me. I hated myself for feeling this way around him for no justifiable reason other than the hairs at the back of my neck standing up.

I left the car with Bonnie still in the passenger seat as I said good-bye to Stefan at his door. "Tonight was good. It felt normal," he said as he put his arms around me. "Are you alright? You've been acting strange, almost jumpy, all day."

I nodded and smiled up at him. "It just dawned on me this morning that senior year is almost over and it's way different than I had ever imagined it would be."

He kissed me briefly before pulling away. "You never imagined vampires in your senior year?" he teased.

I smiled and shook my head. "Night Stefan."

"Night."

When I got back to the car, I drove to Bonnie's. "Do you want me to go with you to see Damon?"

"Thank you, but no. I'll be fine. I'll call you later if that's alright or I can tell you tomorrow."

"Call me if it's of dire importance. If not I can wait until tomorrow," she said as I pulled into her driveway.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked before she got out.

"Sure."

"You hate Damon for obvious reasons, but you didn't get angry when I told you about...about us. Why?"

"It's the way you talk about him. Sure, he's dangerous and a monster in his own way, but if someone like you can trust him, then there must be something good in there. Deep, deep down. That doesn't mean I'm going to warm up to him any time soon though."

"Understandable."

"Be careful," she said and I waited until she was safely inside before I headed to the motel and parked on the backside of the building so that my car wasn't visible from the road.

I barely knocked on the door before it opened and Damon pulled me inside, locking the door behind him. "Alright, I'm here. What's going on?"

"Sheriff Forbes informed me that they've been calling hunters to track us. The fact that she told means your uncle hasn't told her about Stefan and I yet. I suspect it's because other plans for us."

"So did you ever find out why Katherine came back?" I asked.

He hesitated; something he never did. My heart fluttered, knowing I was not going to like the answer one bit. "She says it's Pearl and I asked her about yesterday. She confirms writing to her, but she never said anything about bringing Katherine to town. Even she understands that's not a good idea."

"Well, you've been with her since she came back, has she said anything?" I asked, trying to keep my emotions in check.

He took a step forward and reached for my hand. "She avoids the question with some dramatic overreaction every time."

"And?"

"Has Stefan ever mentioned where he was for that week he was gone?"

"No," I breathed to both answer the question he said and in protest to his unspoken one. "Why would Stefan bring Katherine back?" My heart was beating a mile a minute. "It makes no sense."

"How did he find you in the graveyard?"

"He said he was feeding," I said, wracking my brain for anything I had missed.

"Elena," he said softly and cupped my face. "Let's face it; Stefan knows. He knows everything."

A/N: I've never written Katherine's character before so let me know how you felt about it please :) everything will be explained in the next couple chapter I promise.