A/N: Work has been hectic lately and I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Thank you for taking a bit of your time to post a review; it means a lot to me. Gosh! I can't believe I took almost 1.5 months to churn this out. I'm going on holiday early next month, so this chapter might be the last one of the whole year… From here onwards changes everything. One event will set off a series of ripples that cannot be undone. Enjoy reading~ R&R if you can.
Important note: if there are italicized underlined words, it just means an inner voice of the character being voiced out.
Katherine steps out of the shower and wraps a clean bath towel around her body, leaving a wet trail of footprints and Elena trembling in the corner in her wake. Humming to herself, she takes her time to change into a new outfit and then stops by her dresser to grab a turtleneck, a clean pair of panties, and pair of black pants along the way to the bathroom. She places the folded clothes on the bathroom counter and pulls the towel off the metal rack, before stepping back into the glass shower stall. Elena hadn't moved from the spot where Katherine had left her not a moment before. She could easily see Elena's clit protruding from its protective hood as the younger girl presses her knees against her breasts, exposing her slick, swollen cunt for anyone to see. Her thigh muscles contract and twitch helplessly with each ragged breath she takes.
Crouching down, she silently bundles Elena tightly with the towel and helps her out. Her hand rubs soothing circles onto her younger doppelganger's back until Elena begins coughing up the water she had accidentally inhaled.
"Take it easy. Just breathe, Elena." Katherine mutters, one hand still gripping onto the younger girl's side firmly. Her doppelganger sways on the spot as her chest rises and fluctuates slowly with each breath.
"Yeah. No thanks to you," Elena mumbles under her breath as her fingers fumble at the edge of the counter clumsily, latching on and pulling herself towards it. She stares into half-fogged mirror and meets Elena's reflection staring at her. She swallows and gulps unnecessary air as her eyes roam downwards.
"I meant what I said back there," Elena says solemnly and holds her gaze.
"I know," Katherine quietly answers and nods at the folded clothes. "Get dressed quickly. It's only ten in the morning and Damon's already getting on my nerves."
Elena rolls her eyes muttering, "Bossy. If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you were itching for another round."
Katherine's eyes narrow into crimson slits when Elena drops the towel, revealing her nakedness. Her traitorous body betrays her, reacting automatically; she growls as her clothed body presses firmly against Elena's nude back while her hands glide down the smooth, toned arms and latch immediately onto her doppelganger's hips. In one smooth motion, her tongue darts out of her blood-stained lips to swipe across two recently closed puncture wounds on the girl's shoulder.
Katherine sighs and puckers her lips at the tiny area where shoulder meets neck. She sucks harder at the bare skin upon hearing Elena's tiny whine forming at the base of her throat as she throws her head back, resting against Katherine's right shoulder.
"It would be unwise of you to tempt me, Elena," she warns, nipping at the younger girl's left shoulder with blunt teeth.
"I don't care," Elena hisses and drags each word for further emphasis. "Bite me. Drink from me. I know you crave it."
It takes all her willpower to resist Elena's intoxicating scent wafting into her nostrils, her heart beating excruciatingly loud in her ears, or the way her taut muscles flexed as Elena rolls her shoulders languidly. She fails to stop her hands from moving in sync to the beat of the doppelganger's maddening pulse just vibrating against the tips of her fingers. Katherine flutters her eyelids shut and a throaty moan erupts from her clenched throat when Elena grinds her naked hips against her clothed body.
She could easily take Elena again, bend her over the bathroom counter top and ravish her, right here without blinking. The younger girl; still naked with her hot, moist pussy dripping in wanton desire. Maybe she could even sneak another taste in. She could prop one leg up and run her tongue up and down that delicious, delicate slit, catching the tiny trickle of juice running down Elena's inner thigh. She could easily imagine herself going down that downward spiral of lust, giving into her sexual urges. And then what? She still has to deal with a restless Damon who is probably pacing the long stretch of hallway that connected the foyer, living parlor, and the kitchen together.
She breathes through her mouth and exhales through her nose, forcing her thoughts away from Elena's incessant and excessive hip grinding. She ponders how best to spend her day, her next meal which will not be another blood bag, on which brother to tease and toy for her own entertainment, her plans to put into motion; or just basically anything that didn't remind her of Elena.
Composing herself internally, Katherine schools her expression into an icy glare at the reflection of Elena's wide smirk and orders in a tone that quells any argument, "Get dressed." She then abruptly spins on her heels and storms out of the room.
She only had to wait for a few minutes until Elena emerged from the bathroom, dressed in the outfit Katherine had given her. Her towel-dried hair was tied up in a ponytail while her fingers fiddle with the neckline of the turtleneck, masking the bites from any peering eyes.
Satisfied with Elena's appearance, Katherine opens the bedroom door and silently gestures Elena out of the room. She follows a couple of paces behind her doppelganger who has begun jogging down the stairs noisily. With the racket Elena makes, she is hardly surprised when Damon appears at the foot of the stairs and yanks Elena roughly towards him. His expression scrunches in confusion and a tinge of displeasure forms, his lower lip curling downward. Like an animal, he sniffs the top of Elena's head and begins to interrogate her doppelganger who immediately stiffens in his grip.
"Why do you two smell the same? She smells like you. You smell like her. What's going on?"
She meets Elena's wide and unblinking doe-eyes head on with an expressionless look. She slinks down the remaining steps and locks eyes with Damon's dark inquisitive stare.
"We've been sharing clothes, Damon. After all, we're the same size. It also saves me the trouble of shopping since you won't lend me your credit card."
Katherine purrs at the end of the sentence and moves behind him. Her hands smooth away any invisible creases on his black T-shirt shoulder to sleeve. Her right hand slides down from the cotton material to his forearm and continues until she reaches the tight grip on Elena's arm. Her lithe fingers make quick work in loosening his grip-like hold, before replacing with her own and intertwining his fingers with hers.
She whispers a string of provocative words in her native tongue into his ear. A triumphant smirk forms on her lips as Katherine marvels at how easy it is to play him like a fiddle. His body rumbles and shivers in nervous anticipation. Katherine takes it as a positive response. She doesn't need to stand in front of him to know he has his eyes closed. Whatever she demands, he would give her everything, including his heart, soul, body, and mind.
Her fingers dance and skip across the bare expanse of his pale skin, teasing him. It was a distraction and it was one that had always worked wonderfully. She needed to get her doppelganger out safely. For her plan to work, she needed Elena Gilbert alive and breathing.
Her doppelganger turns around and Katherine arches a sophisticated brow and tilts her head towards the door, before glaring pointedly at Elena. She watches the younger girl gulps and nervously nods at her in a silent thanks. She rolls her eyes again, at the sound of Elena's noisy footsteps reverberating throughout the house. Her eyelids shut in exasperation until the front door closes with a gentle click.
Katherine huffs and releases Damon, before heading to the living room. She grabs an empty tumbler from the tray and pours herself some scotch. Scowling into the drink, Katherine berates herself internally to teach her graceless, loud, and clumsy doppelganger how to walk silently. It was the very least she could do, before handing her over to Klaus.
So lost into her thoughts, she fails to hear Damon coming up from behind. There's a slight detection of distrust in his voice. "What game are you playing with the Gilbert girl?"
Katherine tilts her glass and watches the dark amber liquid swirl and slosh around. She doesn't say anything, but knowing Damon, she knows he's expecting an answer. She turns and moves behind an armchair, letting her hand trail along the top of the plush texture.
"We had a sleepover, Damon." replies Katherine, collapsing dramatically into the loveseat next to the armchair. "I believe this is what the young modern generation call it these days, when you have someone spend the night over."
"You've never been much of a cuddler until she burst down my front door," Damon states as he begins to counts down from his hand. "You hate wearing her clothes. That was why you spent three thousand dollars going on a shopping spree with MY credit card in New York. Remember that little impromptu trip where you left me in the hotel room without even a note?"
He continues talking and ticking off each finger while she takes; - what she hopes was, - a nonchalant sip of her scotch. By the third statement rattling off his clipped tone, she had already tuned out at the mention of "hating this prejudiced town." He was supposed to be the oblivious brother, the brother who is and still madly in love with her. Did I lock up the wrong brother?
Katherine slants her head slightly to the left as she studies his stiff posture, peering over her drink. There it is, the tiny emotion, she was searching for, peeks out from his defensive posture and she watches it reflect, again, on his lips in a strained effort to plaster the smile on. She interrupts him on the fourth accusation with a blinding wide, devious smile. "Are you jealous, Damon, over my human twin?"
"What?! No, of course not," exclaims Damon before he throws out his hands into the air. "Okay. Fine. Maybe just a bit. Why are we still in Mystic Falls? We could go anywhere. There's nothing here-"
"She fascinates me," Katherine interrupts and upon Damon's strange expression, she quickly backtracks. "I'm not saying we stay here indefinitely. When I've learnt everything there is to know, we'll leave. Together."
On the road…
Just what had possessed her to unashamedly drop her towel and of all things, provoke Katherine into fucking her again? Her brain racked itself for a reasonable thread of thought as she drove back home. This wasn't her. It's lust. It has to be… or maybe Katherine had compelled her somewhere during the night, which didn't make any sense. She couldn't remember being this impulsive, or understand where this odd behavior is coming from. An unfiltered thought rises from the abyss of her mind as she begins to cruise slowly into the driveway. All of this unnatural behavior could be stemming from a crush, her inner conscious suggests. Her foot jams the brake pedal so abruptly that her upper body jolts against the snug security of the seat belt.
Oh no. No. No. No. I'm not crushing on Katherine. There's nothing going on between us. Whatever happened was just a one-time thing.
Three times now and counting.
Shut up. We were horny. It won't happen again. It's just lust.
Stop denying it.
So lost in battling an internal argument with herself, Elena jerks up in her seat at a flash of blond as the passenger car door suddenly slams shut. She blinks confusedly at Jenna snapping her fingers at her and speaking to her at a very rapid pace.
"Great! You're finally back. Shift back to reverse now! I need butter, mascarpone cheese, and some other stuff. I have a list! Elena! Are you listening?"
"Uhh... What?"
"I need you to drive me to the supermarket now. I was thinking of trying out that recipe I dog-marked in one of Miranda's old baking books since the house was suddenly all quiet and peaceful. You kids aren't causing any trouble that I'm aware of. John is busy with secret important council meetings. Ric isn't answering my calls. He's probably just busy marking papers. Anyway, I completely underestimated the measuring amounts so the dessert came out looking weird, so I tried to do a fresh batch but it turns out I don't have enough ingredients."
Her right hand shifts the gear stick from park to reverse before her groggy brain catches up to Jenna's rapid rambling pace. She shifts nervously in the seat, her hands gripping the steering wheel more tightly than necessary. It's not Jenna's fault; she doesn't know, Elena scolds herself and breathes a sigh of relief when Jenna just continues rambling.
"How is it that when I need a car to get to places, they're never within range? John took his car and left early in the morning, after dropping Jeremy at his friend's house. You stayed over at Bonnie's with my car. By the way, I received a call from the mechanic saying that we can pick up your car in a couple of days."
Bonnie's? But I was at the Salvatores'… unless Katherine.
Elena grins wistfully at the thought of the vampire covering for her, her iron grip loosening a little on the steering wheel and the faintest pink returns to her knuckles. The moment she parks the SUV in the closest empty parking lot to the supermarket, Jenna unbuckles her seat belt and fishes out a folded piece of yellow paper from her handbag. She tears it in half and hands it over to Elena.
"I'll be somewhere in the baking aisle. Come find me when you're done," Jenna states, before shutting the passenger door and striding briskly into the store. Elena takes one glance and notices the list is rather short. She just needs to grab a couple of items in the fresh produce section before heading towards the dairy section to grab three sticks of butter.
The fresh smell of produce lingers in the air as she crosses the threshold. A peaceful silence surrounds Elena as she picks up a black basket and tears off a piece of produce bag from the rolled up pins located nearby. She takes her time picking each assorted fruit before dropping them into the respective produce bags. The basket is half full by the time she makes it to the dairy section. Her head moves with the soft pop music that echoed throughout the supermarket and there's a slight bounce in her walk. She was in such a good mood until it all came crashing down. Standing just a few feet away from her was him staring pensively at the vast assortment of fresh meat.
Her whole body freezes on the spot in the middle of the main walkway as though her feet are trapped and bound by vines coiling around her ankles, rooting her in place. She could feel invisible hands squeezing her throat, robbing her of precious oxygen and thus choking her in broad daylight. Unwanted memories swim back from the deep entrenches to the forefront, clouding her current thoughts. His back was facing towards her but she could recognize his messy bed hair sticking haphazardly in all angles with his usual jacket and laid back attire. The butcher attending to him noticed her standing there awkwardly and begins to beckon her over with a friendly wave.
"What can I get for you, Miss?"
Maybe it was his body straightening up from its hunched position or the friendly, confused butcher calling out to her repeatedly that finally forces her frozen feet to move. She does a complete 180 turn; her eyes darting around for somewhere to hide as her walk turns into a brisk frantic jog. She needs to get out. Now.
Jenna's brow furrows as she glances up from the frozen container of sealed chicken packaging to find her niece moving towards her like there was a hurricane chasing her.
"Elena, sweetie. What's wrong?"
The question spills from her lips quicker than her sight taking in the way Elena's fingers are gripped tightly onto the handle of the grocery basket. Her hazel eyes dart wildly around Jenna and her whole body trembles so violently that Jenna has to use both of her hands to pry the basket handle away from Elena, so she could place it inside her trolley.
She pulls the younger girl into a hug in an attempt to calm her down while using her words to reassure Elena. Elena goes still as a statue and it's not the reaction Jenna was hoping for. She tries again, "Elena?"
"H-he… He's here," Elena whispers and whimpers quietly. "I- I can't."
Somehow she manages to coax Elena about his whereabouts and then leaves her trolley and the younger girl parked against a shelf of canned goods. Jenna knows she shouldn't leave Elena alone but her curiosity was at the peak of its fullest potential. Elena had refused to tell her his name, only that he was in the meat section. She takes quick, long strides towards the area, hoping that the bastard hadn't left yet. When she did find him, she would confront him right there in the eyes of the public, damn the consequences.
Her feet skid to a stop at the nearly empty section save for some people lingering around, not paying her any attention. Her heart raced with each shallow breath as though she just ran a marathon.
Where is he? Where is that bastard who dared harm Elena?!
Jenna scans each shopper discreetly while trying to appear normal. It was definitely not the elderly couple bickering to each other in the far end of the aisle. It could not be the middle-aged man talking loudly on his phone either. She knows him to be one of the local firefighters who had five daughters and three dogs. It just leaves this guy standing just a few feet away, with his back facing her. A grey hood rests above his crumpled Oxford blue jacket, paired with denim jeans and black boots. She can't help feeling that she knows him just from the back of his silhouette.
"Ric?"
He half-turns with his adorably confused smile plastered on, and Jenna breathes a sigh of relief. It can't be him. The kids were quite taken with him.
Damn it! That jackass must have left. Fuck!
"Jenna. What a surprise. I thought you went back to Duke."
She shakes her head and replies, "It's kinda hard when you don't have a car, and I have to take care of the kids anyways."
"Oh yeah. Right. Listen, Jenna. I was thinking… if maybe you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night… at The Grill, if you're free?" He finishes uncertainly and then shoves his hands deep into his pockets.
Her breath catches, and it's not because she's swooning in her head, but because she caught sight of the butcher waving the sealed packaged ham around to get Ric's attention. It was what was scrawled messily on the package that sets her heart hammering frantically against her ribcage. Her palm itches and burns hot with the knowing realization settling into the pit of her stomach and stirring in her chest.
It all makes sense now. It was never a symbol. It wasn't even something S. Elena couldn't say it out loud because voicing out his name was probably ten times worse. How could she be so blind to what was standing right in front of her? She had been carving his initials onto her palm - A.S.
Her plans to confront the son of a bitch and give him a piece of her mind suddenly fled her mind, whooshing through a secret backdoor. Her brain feels so full of static like an old television set that has lost its signal. She doesn't hear his words bouncing off and around her. Part of her wants to scream, yell, or slap him right there and then. The other part just wants to jam her fingers into her ears, shut her eyes, and pretend that this is just a nightmare.
Spinning abruptly, she leaves Ric behind calling out to her as she walks away. Without stopping to check the prices or any ongoing promotions, she grabs the first three sticks of butter and heads back to the aisle where she had left her trolley and Elena. Without a word, she guides the half-filled trolley to the checkout line. Elena practically glues to her side until they're both in the SUV all buckled in. All of a sudden, Jenna turns in her seat and blurts out shakily, her eyes are red-rimmed from the knowledge.
"It was Alaric all along, wasn't it? My boyfriend did that to you. God, you must really hate me. I'm so so terribly sorry, Elena. I have such horrible taste in men."