A/N

I got about 1000 words into this chapter and decided I didn't like it, so I've been trying repeatedly to start over and try again. For a while, I've been trying to find a good time to try writing this way, and this is probably the best chance I'll have for a while, at least until season 4 events. Font in italics is the actual events, and the things in regular text will be a sort of commentary. The way it's written is everyone telling stories about where they were and what they were doing and everyone else putting in their comments, kind of in a How-I-Met-Your-Mother-esque way. Let's see how this goes!

This will never be right with me,
And now you're trying desperately,
But I'm tongue-tied and terrified of what I'd say.
- Mayday Parade, I'd Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About

A bowl of chips was set in the middle of the coffee table as Jared took his seat on the couch, looking around the room with a sigh. Stefan and Elena were on the opposite side of the room of Damon which meant something had gone down between the three of them. His spot was directly between Lilith and Caroline as more of a barrier than anything else so they didn't commit any sort of murder. Ziela meanwhile had comfortably settled on the floor in reach of the chip bowl.

"So, I had an interesting morning." It was difficult enough for the vampire to keep his voice calm without the elder Salvatore's glare in his direction. Now wasn't the time for him to cave and let him win. "It started when I went downstairs to make breakfast…

The kitchen smelled like pancake batter and something so sickeningly sweet that it couldn't be anything but syrup. Small bowls of toppings were scattered around the counter, containing everything from blueberries and strawberries to chocolate chips, along with three canisters of whipped cream he'd found in the back of the stash of dessert supplies on Stefan's shelf in the fridge–

"That's where you keep getting them from!" Damon interrupted with a frown. "I thought I said no whipped cream in the house!"

The six other people in the room looked on at him in various degrees of confusion and worry for his mental state for a moment. Finally, Jared opened his mouth to resume his tale, shaking his head in annoyance at the interruption. "Anyway, after I made pancakes…

He took the stairs two at a time, in a strangely good mood after the events of the night before and all of Kol's immature if not completely and wholly reckless antics. The Original was the second youngest sibling in his family, but that didn't mean he had to act like he was all the time. What he'd done to invoke Damon's wrath the night before was low, even for him.

It took a few moments for Jared to absorb what he was seeing when he opened the elder Salvatore brother's bedroom door as his thoughts dissipated, and he immediately wished he could erase the image from his mind. The two bodies in the bed were a tangle of limbs and sheets and an unexpected blonde head of hair as a pillow flew in the ancient vampire's direction just fast enough that he was barely able to duck out of the way. "Jared!" Rebekah's voice made him scurry out of the room, closing the door as he shook his head to try and eradicate the scarring images from his mind.

He'd only known the Salvatore family for a short time, but without trying, Damon was already more of a parental figure in his life than Kol or any of the other Originals had ever been–

"Thanks, man."

"Damon, I'm trying to tell the story." The Salvatore in question shrugged and grabbed a chip from the bowl on the table, gesturing for him to continue. "Anyway, as I was saying…

Damon was already more of a parental figure in his life than Kol or any of the other Originals had ever been, Stefan was like the brother he'd always wanted and finally got, and having two younger sister figures to look out for while he couldn't be with Tia–

"We're under the werewolf on your list?" the twin beside him asked with a tone of faux disappointment, shaking her head. "Thanks, Jared."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, waiting to see if anyone else would speak up before he spoke again. "Whatever, I'll skip my own commentary. The point is, it was very mentally and emotionally scarring for me to see Damon sans clothing, okay? I'm hoping I never have to see it again."

Stefan shook his head as he leaned against the back of the chair his doppelganger quasi-girlfriend was occupying, arching a brow in the direction of the couch. "Wait, Lilith, where were you last night? You disappeared after going upstairs and you didn't get home until after I got out of bed today."

The former dhampir's cheeks would have been bright pink if her blood still flowed through her veins and she wished immediately that she could melt into the leather of the couch. "Well…

The couple had just settled on the couch, Niklaus on one end with his sketchpad in hand and Lilith on the other wearing nothing more than one of his T-shirts and a pair of shorts they'd borrowed from Rebekah's wardrobe, when Kol practically slid across the hardwood floor to stand directly in front of them. "Well, would you look who it is? The couple of the evening," the younger Original's lips curled up into a wide grin as he looked at the pair. "According to Elijah, there's quite a bit that could have happened last night."–

"Wait, did you have sex with Klaus last night?"

Caroline spoke up for the first time as she craned her neck to look around Jared between them, the look in her eyes more than a little judgmental. Six pairs of eyes were locked on Lilith and all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and escape the situation completely. All they would do was judge her for her decision and she couldn't take that kind of judgment – not from the people she considered her family. "No, I didn't have sex with him last night." It wasn't a lie; they hadn't done anything remotely inappropriate the night before, not like they'd done in the past.

"She specified." Of course it would be Ziela who called her out. In situations like these, her sister was the one person she couldn't trust to keep her mouth shut. "They didn't have sex last night."

The six pairs of eyes never moved from their point of focus, and the tension in the air only grew thicker with the extended silence. Worst of all was the fact that none of their gazes held an ounce of sympathy or understanding – only judgment and a faint hint of surprise. She could practically read their minds. She was supposed to be the level-headed one, Elena was thinking. For how high and mighty she acts, you'd think she'd have some decency, were Caroline's icy thoughts. I thought we shared everything, were the words she detected from Ziela with a sharp cut of what felt like betrayal. I saw what was growing between them, but I never thought she'd ever act on it; for once, Stefan was the kindest person in the room. She could leak secrets to him, and tell him all of our plans, Jared was thinking coldly. And here I thought our similarities ended with our looks. Somehow, the vibe she got from her father was the worst. If they were so alike that they let their emotions control them, would she be doomed to spend eternity alone?

Of all of the guys she'd thought could make her happy, Klaus was at the bottom of the list, but somehow the one that surpassed all others. With him, it was easy to forget that they were on opposite sides of a war; it was easy to just be herself without worrying about being judged because he'd done so much worse; it was easy to forget about the past because the future seemed so bright without anyone else in it.

"Go ahead. I know you all want to say something." The young vampire's voice shook as she willed herself to sink slowly into the couch cushion. If there was anything she didn't want to know, it was everyone's opinion about her budding relationship with the enemy.

Of course, what she wanted didn't stop Caroline from being Caroline. "You bitch."

"Caroline-!"

"Nothing you say will change what she did, Damon!" The blonde rose to her feet and crossed her arms, not giving anyone the chance to stop her before she started in on what was to be one of her longer speeches. "Klaus is the enemy! He's not Nik, and you certainly can't just sleep around with everyone you meet because they're good looking. How do you know he's not just using you to get information about the rest of us? He's manipulative and insane and he's tried to kill every one of us!"

She couldn't be allowed to go on any longer if everyone wanted to get out of there alive, and there came a point in everyone's life when they just couldn't take anymore. For Lilith, it came much later than it likely should have. "Funny, since he's nicer to me than you are! All you've done since I got back is complain about what I've done and how I should have more control. Newsflash, blondie, I can't change what I did! If you find some way to change the past, please let me know, but that doesn't mean you get to shame me for every little thing I do! What if it had been you there the other night when Ric was dying? If it was you in my situation, would you really have let him die so you wouldn't get any blood on your precious manicured hands? I guarantee you would have made the same decision I did. Killing him is what saved him and, you know what? The only time I've gotten any sleep since then was last night, with Nik. So, you tell me, who's really the enemy here? Klaus, the one person who's actually helped me since I've gotten back that I don't have any blood relation to, or you, the person who makes me feel so guilty that I think before I breathe so I don't get judged and have every single one of my intentions analyzed? I put up with you for far too long, Caroline, and I'm more than done with it."

The silence that followed her words seemed deafening and thick, making it nearly impossible to breathe as Lilith rose quickly to her feet, saying nothing as she ascended the stairs. If she sat through any more of the judgment and cold looks, she'd lose her mind. All she wanted was to go back to the Originals' mansion and curl up in the big bed that had become her safe haven, but that was the first place they'd look.

Everything was still packed from when she'd planned her escape before – all she had to do was leave. She'd travel the entire world if she needed to in order to get away from the cold looks and questioning stares from everyone downstairs. It was stupid that she needed to get away, but the place everyone assumed was still her home hadn't been her home since she'd left the first time, and spending more time in the same place wouldn't change that. Her jacket was donned in seconds and she barely even jumped when a voice sounded behind her.

"You're leaving."

It wasn't a question, but she addressed her father's words directly, turning around to face him as she sat down on the bed. "This isn't my home anymore. I'm not sure it ever was. I don't want to stay here if all I'm going to get is weird looks because I actually have feelings for Nik, and unlike you, I actually act on what I feel. Every time I put one toe out of place, Caroline's way too quick to point it out to everyone. Did you see Ziela tonight? Even when we were fighting before, she never would have said that. I can't stay here and be judged every time I decide I don't want to go exactly according to Caroline's master plan. Goodbye."

With that, the curtains fluttered as she made her escape out the window, leaving him alone.

*LIT*

Darkness shrouded her every movement as she crept through the shrubs around the Mikaelson mansion, her bag with the essential items and nothing more hidden behind the Grill blocks away. She was no more than a shadow with her night-black hair, her old white denim jacket traded for dark leather, black jeans and a pair of flats – almost a sort of demonic version of Peter Pan with only her eyes showing in the night.

She stood out against the white walls of the building, careful to not be within anyone's line of sight as she gazed through the first floor window. Niklaus looked troubled, but the fact that a certain blonde witch's hand was on his arm made Lilith slink back.

This was the only goodbye she'd get – a stolen look as he moved on from her without any second thought or glance in her direction. If it was that easy for him to move past their temporary relationship, she could make it just as easy for herself. All it took was the slightest bit of focus to close off part of her mind, locking away all the emotions that had been getting in the way since she'd returned after their summer of adventure. Jealousy, pain, anger, regret, guilt, sorrow, joy, elation, and that strange sense of longing that stirred in her belly whenever she caught a glimpse of the Original hybrid – all gone.

It was different than the last time she'd turned it off. It was final, and she never planned on flipping the switch back on.

*LIT*

One Month Later

As hard as it was for Elena to transition into a vampire, there was someone who had lost much more than their humanity that night when Rebekah ran the truck off the bridge. Alaric's alter-ego had taken over for days before that, and Damon hadn't been in any shape to fight after Lilith had left, let alone after a stake had been driven into his other daughter's heart by the person he'd considered his best friend. Despite the vampire blood in her system, Ziela didn't return to life like her sister did. A stake to the heart was fatal to a vampire, and apparently it was one of the few things that could kill a dhampir as well.

Jared had been gone for a week, following his compass to try and find Lilith before she could receive the news of both her sister and Klaus any other way. If the reason for her leaving was her hidden feelings for the hybrid, then it would be best if she learned about the white oak stake and its abilities from someone she knew than through the vampire grapevine.

Meanwhile, Damon had barely left his room since he'd helped save Elena, Stefan, and Rebekah from Pastor Young, and the newly turned doppelganger was going to make sure he wasn't slowly desiccating away in there, no matter how much he fought against social interaction. "Go away."

She hadn't even knocked before his muffled protest sounded through the locked door, but that didn't stop her from leaning against the wall and trying to talk to him. "You can't spend forever in there, Damon. You have to come out some time." No response. "Please? Just talk to us. Jared will be able to find her-"

The door opened before she could finish her sentence, her surprise making it impossible to speak. "Go. Away. I don't want to talk about it, Elena, and I'm sure I've told you that enough in the past week. Leave me alone."

Elena felt the wall shake from the sheer force of Damon closing the door and she took a deep breath before heading back for the stairs. She may have lost her humanity, but at least she had everyone around her to lean on; he'd lost everyone but her and Stefan, and neither of them could possibly understand what kind of pain he was going through. "One of these days, Damon, you're going to lose us too with how you're pushing us away."

A/N

For the record, this is not how I originally saw the chapter going. I was going to have Evil!aric kill Z, but that wasn't supposed to be for a while. My on-a-whim decision to send Lilith away from Mystic Falls affected the storyline a lot, but I don't regret it because now I can actually focus on some storyline I've wanted to do for a while. The next chapter will take place around 4x02/4x03 or maybe later, but I definitely want to have her back for Miss Mystic. Because I have plans.

I WANT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS.

Lilith is gone and emotionless.
Ziela is dead.
Elena is a vampire.
Damon is miserable.
Jared has a new job.
Nik is probably wondering why his calls aren't being returned.

What do you think will happen next? How do you think Ziela's death will affect emotionless!Lilith? How do you think Lilith's lack of emotion will affect Damon?

I don't own Vampire Diaries in any way, shape or form. If I did, Damon and Elena would have gotten together much sooner and Malijah would be canon.

Peace, Love, and Kilith.