Invisible Control

by LittleHandGernade

::Complete:: Addie Gilbert loathes the supernatural world her sister Elena brings into their life and wants nothing to do with it. She doesn't want anything to do with anyone, really. Compelled, Addie is told to take control of her life and now she is. But how do you make someone realize you're right in front of them when you're invisible?

26. Chapter 29

Addie steered clear of Damon in body and mostly mind for the next two and a half weeks following their date. Staying busy with school, track, homework, and music and sleeping during the very little time she had left was working very well on keeping her mind off of him. Track practice had doubled since the season was about to start leaving her with 4 hours of running and a bit of weight training on days she had gym and 2 hours the days she didn't. Her body still hadn't gotten use to the new routine and every movement was a burning ache. If being tired physically wasn't enough, she had been pushing herself to stay up until three in the morning to work on her music. The songs weren't coming as easy as usual; nothing was catchy enough or if it was, the recording and mixing of it was simple. She couldn't come up with that perfect piece that showed off enough of her skills without being over the top and still had appealing lyrics.

Finally descending from the attic, she quietly got ready for bed in the bathroom like every other night. Coming back into her room, she thought she saw a shadow but she was seeing a lot of those lately; one of the hazards of not getting enough sleep. Crawling into bed she groggily reached out for a the form of a lump. Closing her fingers around Loki the wolf, she frowned and felt around again for a pillow. Scowling, she squashed the pillow into a better shape and shoved it under her head. Stupid stuffed animal; she didn't know why she kept the thing on her bed. She didn't want to think about Damon in the wee hours of early morning.

Ever since their date, she couldn't help but keep thinking about the one thing that was preventing her from turning to him like everything was ok and perfect. She just couldn't get over the fact that he had slept with Rose. It's wasn't that he just had sex with her though; he had the nerve to do that and then just hours later tell her she was everything for him. How could she believe him when he had just had sex with another girl? Yet, she was ok not believing she was everything for him. That idea made her almost as uncomfortable as him sleeping with Rose. But that was just Damon; he just had indiscriminatory, emotionless sex. Addie believed him when he said it was just sex with Rose but it still really hurt that he had slept with her to begin with. She logically knew she had no right to be upset with him, like she had told him, but she was. It didn't make sense and she couldn't explain it but even though he hadn't done anything wrong, she still felt like there wasn't something completely ok with him having sex with Rose.

Huffing in frustration, she turned to the other side. What she really needed was someone else's perspective. She couldn't talk to Bonnie as she already made her decision on Damon; he was bad and that was that. Addie should just stay away from him. The person who she really wanted to talk about Damon with was her sister. Elena also saw the good in Damon; she loved him. Of course, that could make her biased but Addie'd hope that Elena loved her little sister more and would make her discussion on what was best for her and least likely to hurt her. However, talking to Elena was out of the question because all week she had be cracking snide, snarky jokes about Addie and Damon being together. Addie didn't bother to correct her; she knew her sister was just jealous.

It was the feeling of Damon shaking at Addie's shoulder, clamping his hand over her mouth that made her eyelids begin to flutter in the first stages of waking up. Feeling someone muting her, Addi was suddenly wide awake her eyes flying open in panic. She held back a gag as the scent of alcohol assaulted her. Turning her head, she saw Damon, a finger pressed to her lips, telling her to be quiet. He must have seen the confusion and fear in her eyes. Had he been the shadow she kept seeing in her room so late at night?

"Be silent," he uttered, slowly removing his hand from her mouth. "Someone is in the house."

Addie felt a tightening in her chest. "Why are you in my room? Why would you tell me that?" she hissed almost inaudible. "What am I supposed to do about it?"

Damon frowned, "I, uh, I just thought you should know. You definitely shouldn't do anything; you could get hurt."

Hearing a suspicious noise from the bathroom, Addie slipped out of bed and tiptoed light towards the door. Damon grabbed at her elbow, shaking his head.

"Do not go in there, Addison," he ordered, pulling her away from the door.

She yanked her arm from him and scowled, "I have an intruder and Dracula the Creepy, Cowardly Count inside my house. If the vampire isn't going to do anything the petite, teenage girl is. Seriously, what are you doing here?"

"It's a witch," Damon growled, pulling at her arm again. "He's strong. I didn't even notice him until he was upstairs. He'd have me on the floor before I could do anything," he snapped defensively, his words slightly slurring together.

Shaking him off again she snarled, "How long have you actually been here?! I don't care who or what it is. It could be Klaus for all I care. The point is that they're in my house with my sleeping, defenseless family."

"And how are you going to protect yourself?" he challenged.

Sighing, Addie stalked back to her bed and lift the mattress. She pulled out a sword and sheath set. Unsheathing the katana and dropping the scabbard on her bed, she turned to Damon with raised eyebrows. "Defensive enough?" she muttered, heading back towards the bathroom.

"Who the… What… Why the hell do you sleep with a sword under your mattress?" Damon asked, completely confounded.

She shrugged, hand on the doorknob, "I took a year of iaido when I was eleven. It was basically learning a bunch of samurai killing moves. I sleep with it under my mattress because, hello! I live in a world where people break into my house. It's not like it's a live blade; only the top two inches are sharp. "

Slowly, Addie opened the bathroom door, ignoring anything else Damon may have to say. By the glow of the night light, she could see that no one was there but using the sword, she lifted the shower curtain to check behind it. Cautiously, still light on her feet, she crept towards Elena's room; she didn't usually keep the door to bathroom open. Light from the hallway flooded her sister's room, which was empty except of Elena curled up fast asleep. Frowning, Addie moved towards the hallway, the sword held defensively in front of her. Not seeing anything in the landing area, she made for Jeremy's room. Peering through the crack in his door she could see he was safe in bed. A creak behind her had her spinning on her heel in an instant, the tip of the sword just mere inches from the bare, hairy chest of the man behind her.

Alaric cleared his throat uncomfortably, awkwardly lowering the bowl of ice cream he was holding in front of his boxers, "Addie."

"I heard something," she tried to explain, seeing his eyes flash to the katana in her hand. She flicked her wrist so the tip pointed away from him but she could still quickly regain an offensive or defensive stance if needed. Her eyes were flickering everywhere, too concerned about who was in the house to be embarrassed.

She heard Alaric chuckle nervously and spied Jenna coming up the stairs dressed in Alaric's shirt Jenna pulled at the shirt self-consciously, "That was us. I'm sorry.'

"We didn't think anyone else was up," said Alaric apologetically.

Jenna laughed awkwardly, "But here you are."

"We were just… um… Chunky Monkey?" Alaric offered, holding out the bowl of ice cream.

Addie shook her head, "No, no thanks. I'm not very hungry."

"Well," Alaric chuckled uncomfortably, "I'm naked. So I'm gonna go."

Alaric passed by Addie and into Jenna's bedroom, shutting the door behind him. She debated whether or not she wanted to scope out the downstairs for the mystery intruder. Alaric and Jenna were just down there and they were fine. In fact, all of them seemed safe and fine. Damon was drunk; he probably just overreacted to hearing her aunt and Alaric. Nodding to herself, she turned back towards to Elena's room to get back to her own.

"I'm really, really sorry," Jenna apologized, as Addie reached her sister's doorway.

"It's ok, Jenna," she smiled uncomfortably, "don't worry about it."

Jenna crossed her arms in front of her and nodded towards the sword, "I can't help but worry. Nightmares, still?"

"No, they've stopped," Addie said quickly before shrugging, "I've had a few. It's not that crazy to be worried about my family's safety, considering the accident."

"I don't think you're crazy," her aunt said gently "but going ninja is a little extreme."

Addie's eyes began to water and her lower lip began to tremble, "I know. I normally have it under control, I swear. I was just having this dream and I woke up to a noise…. I got scared and overreacted."

After a minute of assessing Addie, Jenna nodded, "Ok. You promise me you'll let me know if the nightmares get worse? If the panic and anxiety start to come back?"

"Of course, Jenna. It's probably just because I've stopped taking the anti-anxiety medication to help me sleep," Addie shrugged dismissively. She should have come up with a better cover story; the last thing she needed was Jenna assessing every bit of her emotional state when she was really completely fine.

"Maybe you should go back to taking it. It might help with the nightmares," suggested Jenna before turning into her room.

That was it; she had enough of Damon's nonsense. She was going to demand why the hell he had shown up shit-faced in her room and just exactly how many times he had done that before. It was beyond on creepy. Addie was well aware of Damon's obsessive tendencies, which was one of her reluctant reasons about getting involved with him but this… this was a new extreme. However, when she got back to her room, he was already gone. That drunken idiot. She didn't know what he thought he was doing but before she climbed back into bed, she made sure her window was latched closed.

Damon, Damon, Damon! All she could think about was that arrogant, smug vampire. She sighed, daring to look at the clock. 4:38. She'd only gotten an hour and a half of sleep before Damon had woken her. If she didn't fall back to sleep, it would be likely that she would fall asleep in English or math again. On her back, she looked up at the little plastic stars on her ceiling. Somewhere around 6:15, she finally drifted back off to sleep.

---

Hearing a knock from downstairs, Addie scowled and blindly snatched a shirt and a pair of Converse out of her closet. She would just have to deal with not matching today. Already she was going to have to rely on Elena taking her to school since she missed the bus. It took Jeremy banging on her door this morning for her to wake up; her alarm, which was still going off, had apparently woken him up twenty minutes early.

Brown Jimmy Hendrix t-shirt and and lemondrop yellow Converse. Color coordinating was not in her cards for the day. She grabbed her backpack, which she had thankfully had the foresight to pack the night before.

Addie raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time. "I need an ETA, Elena. I missed the bus and need a ride," she called, uncertain of where in the house her sister was.

"School's on hold," Elena answered from the kitchen.

Addie groaned, seeing Damon and Stefan in the kitchen with her sister. "No, no, no, no!" she whined, joining them. "No vampire crap! I have a math test. Or maybe it's Latin. Either way, I have test I need to go fail."

"I think you mean pass," corrected Stefan.

She shook her head, her lips pursing, "Considering I can't even remember what class it is in, I'm undoubtedly going to fail. I didn't study for a test in either. I only remembered I had a test today as I was brushing my teeth."

Elena turned to her and gave her a knowing look, "Damon and Stefan have had a very busy morning. They went to go see Katherine."

She sighed in resignation, dropping her backpack on the counter. "I'm gonna need someone to forge me a doctor's note or something. And I'm going to need coffee, lots and lots of coffee," she grumbled, going to the coffee maker; it had become her new best friend over the past couple of weeks. Finding it empty and not reset only further irritated her.

"Back on topic: Katherine said she'd give us the moonstone and disappear from Mystic Falls for forever," informed Damon.

Her foot tapped against the floor impatiently, as she glared at the coffee maker willing it to go faster. "You're an idiot if you believe her," she mumbled to herself, not in the mood to filter her thoughts before speaking.

"Of course I don't believe her. I'm not you," Damon sneered at her. He turned back to Elena and continued, "But we do want the moonstone."

"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break," Stefan told Elena.

"No spell, no doppelganger sacrifice. Ergo, you live," smirked Damon.

Addie rolled her eyes. This conversation was going to get them nowhere. Admittedly, it would be interesting to see Damon and Stefan react to her sister. One of the few things Addie told Elena about the date was Damon's suicidal plan involving the moonstone.

"How do you destroy it?" Elena questioned, playing along.

"By releasing it from the moonstone," Stefan said simple.

Addie joined them around the counter, cradling a steaming mug of coffee. She had an actual question she hadn't considered before, "How do you guys even know this is gonna work?"

Damon tilted his head, looking at her as if the answer was obvious, "Because we have a crafty witch on our side."

"That's no-"

Elena cut her off, scoffing, "You discussed it with Bonnie?"

"She agreed to do anything she could to help us," confirmed Stefan with a shrug.

"It's Katherine who has the moonstone," her sister emphasized. "She's not gonna give it to you."

Addie scoffed, glaring at Damon, "It's not fair to draw people into your stupid plans when they don't know what's at stake!"

"You really want to discuss what's fair with me, right now?" Damon growled quietly so Elena wouldn't hear. His normally lively, bright blue eyes were narrowed and dark, almost dangerous looking.

"Is that a threat?"

Damon rolled his eyes, "Of course not but I do think I deserve some answers."

"We're gonna get it from her," Stefan reassured Elena, ignoring the fight that was too quiet for Elena to make out..

Addie raised her eyebrows at the devilish look in Damon's eyes when he spoke up, tuning back into the conversation, "Well, what he means to say is, we will pry it from her cold dead hand if we have to."

"Bonnie just need to find a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for her to put it back up."

"Wow," Addie drawled, shaking her head, her eyes never leaving Damon, "I mean, it sounds like you have every step of this plan figured out. However, it still ranks where it did the first time you suggested it."

Damon rolled his beautiful blue eyes again, "No, it doesn't. And we do have it all figured out because we are awesome."

"Except for one thing," interrupted Elena. "I don't want you to do it."

Addie smirked at the jaw dropping expression on Damon's face. She moved closer to clap him on the shoulder, "Yeah, like I said, every step figured out."

He frowned, brushing her hand off him.

Stefan looked at Elena, befuddled, "What are you talking about? Elena, we don't have a choice."

"What about Klaus?" she pointed out

Stefan shrugged, "We'll find him right after we get the moonstone."

"Is that before or after he kills everyone that I care about, including the three of you?" Elena snapped at him.

"Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life."

She nodded, "I know. Everybody keeps saying that."

Addie watched the confused look pass between Damon and Stefan. Damon turned to her and raised a questioning eyebrow. "What?" she groaned, caving when Stefan gave her a doe-eyed look.

"That's exactly my question," provoked Damon.

"Well, I think she's upset about the same thing I was the first time you mentioned this suicidal plan. The big, bloody massacre," Addie replied slowly, pretending she had to think about it.

Stefan shook his head, "How else are we supposed to save her life?"

Addie turned her head to Damon, "I don't know. Apparently, neither does your brother since it took him two and a half weeks to come up with the exact same plan. It's alright though because Damon promised everything is going to be ok,"

"Come on, Addie," Elena called from the front door, her bag over her shoulder.

"Finally," she muttered, snatching her backpack off the counter.

"You agree that their plan is completely screwed up?" checked Elena, once they were settled in the car.

"Yep," sighed Addie, "I told you it was when I told it to you about it. Why? What are you thinking?"

Elena bit her lip anxiously, "You're a person of reason and logic, right?"

Addie frowned, "Usually. You just passed the turn for school."

"We're not going to school. It's Sunday," Elena informed her, rolling her eyes.

"Very funny. It's Monday. I know the days of the week and the order they go in. Yesterday was Sunday," Addie scowled, annoyed that her sister hadn't turned around to head back to school.

Elena shook her head, "Yesterday was Saturday. Check your phone if you don't believe me. I'm telling you it's Sunday. You've been spending way too much time up in the attic if you're losing track of days."

"I've been hit with a wave of inspiration for new music. My muse will not rest until I have composed all that floats through my mind," Addie lied in a theatrical voice. She wished it was true. Pulling her phone from her backpack she swore under her breath. There was nothing more annoying then when she was wrong and Elena was right. "Why the hell didn't anyone tell me it was Sunday? How the hell is it 10:00? I swear my alarm clock said 8:00 when Jeremy woke me up. And where the hell is Jeremy that he had to wake up at 8:20 on a Sunday"

Elena lips twitched, "It was amusing watching you spaz out; I know that's why I didn't tell you. I'm guessing the same is true for Damon and Stefan. Your clock must be wrong or you're going crazy and can't tell time. It makes sense since you somehow added in a full 24 hours into your life. Seriously, how could you think it was Monday? I have no idea where Jeremy could be; he's weird like that - always in mysterious places. I swear I'm the only normal one of us."

Of course she was the normal one; she was Saint Elena. Addie had to admit she was a bit crazy but losing track of time so badly? She was way more sleep deprived than she had been thinking.

"Yes, you're perfect. Where are we going? Why did you let me think we were going to school?"

"I… I've been thinking about this a lot, Addie. I need you to come with me on this; I hate to ask it of you but I need someone supporting me on this," her sister stumbled out quickly.

"Before I decide whether I support you or not, and I probably don't since you tricked me into the car and I'm mad, please tell me what the hell you're doing," Addie demanded, trying to keep her voice light.

Elena turned towards the Salvatore boarding house, "Klaus is going to come. You heard Katherine. You know that if we go through with their plan, at least you, Jeremy, Jenna, Stefan, Damon and Bonnie die. If we go to Klaus…"

"No," Addie uttered in horror, realizing what her sister meant, "you can't do that, Elena. Jeremy and I almost lost you in the crash; we can't actually lose you."

Elena glanced over at her sister, giving her a pleading look, "You are the one person who might possibly understand this, Ad. It's one versus a minimum of six. It's pure numbers, plain and simple. I know you would be doing the exact same thing if you were in my situation. Please let's not fight for once. Agree with me and let us face this together, as sisters."

"Wow. Touching, emotional speech to get me to support you heading to your death," Addie scowled. "If you want my support, you're going to have to act like you. I'm not going to stand by if this turn your into an emotional sap."

"But you will stand by?" asked Elena hopefully.

Addie nodded reluctantly, "You're right; I mean it's awful but it's…. Yeah, when you turn it into numbers, it's best to give Klaus what he wants. However, the moonstone is locked in a tomb so he's still going to be pissed and kill everyone. You shouldn't hand yourself over if he's just going to do that."

Elena frowned at her sister parking in the Salvatore driveway, "You know, if you used that argument yesterday, it might have worked. Today, I know the boys will get the moonstone out. You just have to keep them from destroying it until Klaus comes for it. With me gone, they won't have a reason to hold on to it."

"You're really serious about this," Addie whispered to herself, getting out of the car and following her sister towards the house. "What are we doing here? We just left Stefan and Damon at our house."

Elena shrugged, opening the door, "I'm not looking for them. We've pretty much established that they're useless. Rose is our best lead to Klaus."

"I've awoken in some twilight zone where you're borrowing part of my personality this morning," Addie muttered in disbelief, closing the door behind her.

"It's not nice to leave a girl naked so early in the morning," came a teasing, English-accented voice.

Addie caught the sight of Rose coming down the stairs, tying a dark purple, silk robe around herself. Flushing with embarrassment, Addie quickly turned around. She felt that morning's coffee try and fight its way back up. Her eyes squeezed shut, fighting against the burning prickling sensation. She was having more than just a little bit of trouble comprehending that Damon had continued to sleep with her! When he was spouting all that crap about feeling guilty, Addie couldn't believe she had actually been stupid enough to believe him. But of course he had continued to sleep with her. He had someone throwing herself at him living under his roof. Damon was obviously going to take advantage of that. It didn't matter to him that he claimed to care so much for Addie; he still slept with her! On a very regular, repetitive basis it seemed.

In the background she heard Rose and Elena continue to converse.

"Whoa," Rose froze as she realized it Addie and Elena who had just walked in. "Sorry, I thought you were,,,"

Elena nodded looking away, "I, uh, sorry, I…"

"There's no one else here," the vampire provided helpfully, figuring they were looking for Stefan or Damon.

"Actually," sighed Addie, not turning around, "we came to talk to you."

Rose smiled awkwardly, "Then I should probably get dressed."

Elena watched Rose ascend the stairs before grabbing her sister by the arm and dragging her into the living room. "What the hell was that?" Elena hissed.

"I'm guessing exactly what it looked like, another one of Damon's conquests," shrugged Addie with a deep breath, trying her best to appear unbothered.

Her sister scoffed, "Yeah, I got that part! The part I don't get is why is he sleeping with her? I know you're new to relationships but you should know that you don't let your boyfriend sleep with other women! You should be freaking out!"

Addie nodded, "And I would be if Damon and I were actually in a relationship."

"What? I thought you said the date went great. Either way, he's seeing you, meaning he shouldn't be having sex with her," Elena explained slowly as if it was a difficult concept to follow.

Addie grabbed her older sister's shoulders and looked at her seriously, "I know. That's why we're not seeing each other. The date was great but I haven't talked to Damon since then because I was trying to sort out how I felt about him sleeping with her the first time. He said he felt guilty about that but now I'm kind of doubting that considering he's continued sleeping with her."

"So you haven't talked to Damon in two and a half weeks? All that time you've been up in the attic you've actually been working on your music and not cuddling up in what has the potential to be a very awesome love nest?" questioned Elena.

"No, I haven't talked to him. Yes, I've really been working on my music. Why would I turn my studio into a love nest?" Addie huffed. She didn't want to keep talking about Damon; it was making her feel sick.

Elena rolled her eyes, "Because it's the perfect place for you two to hide. It's soundproof, there's the window he could get in and out and no one, especially Jenna would ever interrupt you if you were working on your music. Do you know how many times he slept with Rose before you stopped talking to him?"

"Once but what does that matter?"

"You might have made a really big mistake not talking to him for so long. What if he actually was sorry but he turned to her because you rejected him? You know how well he takes rejection!" Elena scolded.

Addie shook her head in disbelief, "You're defending him? He was basically seeing me and yet he slept with her. You just said he shouldn't have done that!"

"And I stand by that," Elena sighed, "but completely ignoring him was a bit harsh. Tell me, you at least explained to him why you were going to ignore him."

"I told him what he did kind of hurt. I figured the rest was pretty easy to figure out," Addie muttered.

Elena scoffed, sitting on the couch, "Oh my God, Addie. Guys are not that smart! Damon is definitely not that smart; it took him 145 years to figure out Katherine is an evil bitch."

"If he has a hard time figuring it out,,. well,.. Damn it!" she said stomping her foot in frustration, "He hurt me, Elena. I mean, it's more complicated than you know. Either way, I'm upset with him."

"He really did hurt you," Elena understood as she pulled at her sister's hand to make her sit next to her. "I didn't think you were that serious about him."

Addie shrugged, biting at her lip, "Neither did I but I don't know…."

Elena frowned, wrapping her arms around her baby sister, "Are you going to be ok working with her?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I mean I'd rather not be around the woman the guy I like is sleeping with but this isn't about is about helping my sister do the stupidest, most selfless and courageous thing and God, I am a horrible person for agreeing to do this."

Elena hushed her and rubbed at her back soothingly, "No. You're the only person respecting my wishes and actually helping me to do something to protective the people I love against Klaus."

"I'm helping my sister to her death to save the skin of everyone else I care about. I should be finding a way to save you," mumbled Addie.

"No," repeated Elena firmer, pulling away from her sister. "We've been down that road. There is no way to save everybody. You're doing the right thing."

Addie took a staggering breath, re-grounding herself in the moment. No distractions of Damon. No melancholy over Elena's plan. It was the only logical idea when push came to shove. "Alright. We want to get to Slater to draw Klaus out and let him have you, right?"

Elena nodded, "Today, before Stefan and Damon can get in the way."'

"God. Ok," she agreed, ranking her fingers through her dark purple hair. "Just for the record, I'm taking the money Mom and Dad left to you and using it to foot what will be very expensive and extensive therapy bills, I'm gonna need a lot of help after this."

"I did say I was sorry for asking you to do this," Elena said apologetically.

Addie made a noncommittal grunt of acknowledgement to Elena as she watched Rose walk into the living room, looking perfectly poised and collected.

She smiled at them, "I don't imagine I'm a favorite for either one of you so I doubt this is a social call. What exactly do you want?"

Addie could read Rose assessing them. suspicious of their intentions. Perhaps she was bias against the woman for sleeping with Damon or for kidnapping her sister but she didn't trust her. "We want to finish what you and Damon started," she said quickly, before her sister could respond. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Elena giving her a puzzled look. As inconspicuous as possible, she bumped the heel of her foot against Elena's just hard enough for her to get the idea of following along.

Rose frowned at her, "I don't know what you mean."

"I've talked with Damon, heard his version of the story. You and him got some answers but you gave up before you got them all from Slater," Addie improvised frostily, calling on some of Damon's and Katherine's traits to sound as confident and self-assured as possible. Hanging around bad had to be good for something.

"Because somebody blew up a coffee shop with us in it," remarked Rose defensively.

She raised a shoulder and scrunched up her face in disinterest, "Minor set back. Elena and I aren't running from a little shattered glass. There's more to learn. We just have to keep questioning."

The vampire turned to Elena, "I like you better; you're less snarky. Why are you coming to me with this?"

Elena looked at her sister's cool, laid back posture; arms casually crossed in front of her, comfortably reclined in the old couch, one knee over the other, her foot bouncing impatiently. There was no way Addie was so certain of herself but she must have had a good reason for doing it, She seemed to have a smug satisfaction in that Rose had turned to Elena. Elena decided to do as her sister, hoping Addie wasn't going to do something stupid. "Because you owe me," she pointed out coolly. "One word from me and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping me."

Rose smirked, "Or maybe it's because you know that they wouldn't want you doing this and their moonstone caper gives you guys a chance to sneak away."

"Nope," Addie quipped, "it's not that. We don't need their permission but we unfortunately need someone who knows how to reach Slater. As you can imagine, Damon isn't really up for playing ball. That leaves us with you. Their little plan with the moonstone gives you the chance to help us without Damon noticing, because you know he wouldn't be happy about you helping."

"What makes you think I'll go along with this?" Rose challenged, her eyes narrowed at Addie. She didn't like the girl; she was a bit… complicated but Rose could see how Damon would fall for her. Addie would definitely test his limits.

"Well, I don't know that you will," Addie admitted, "but I do know a witch who can make a daylight ring and is willing to do whatever it takes to help my sister." She smirked, seeing she had Rose's full attention, "All it takes for you to walk in the sun is the right deal."

---

Addie scowled at the several computer screens that mocked her, flashing "Incorrect Password" in bright red for the hundredth time. None of the regular system override codes were working. The late Slater had his information locked up tighter than Addie's limited hacking skills could rifled through the stacks of paper scattered around the elaborate system, hoping beyond all possibility that he had actually written down his password.

They had arrived at Slater's apartment to find him completely useless, being staked in the chest. Based on all the information on hundreds of vampires just on the papers, it wasn't hard to imagine someone killing him for knowing too much. Especially if that someone was Klaus or worked for him. They'd also found his overly dramatic human girlfriend, who was only dating him so he would turn her. Elena and Rose were currently consoling her with tea. Why anyone would want to turn into a vampire, Addie couldn't understand.

She gave up; she wasn't going to find anything in this mess of papers. Slater wouldn't have been stupid enough to leave his password lying around anyways. Addie got up and walked over to the seated area. In her frustrated state, she tried for as much compassion as possible but as she wasn't very good at it when she liked someone and was in a good mood, it was obvious her people skills were lacking. "Do you know Slater's computer password?"

Alice looked at her like she had grown a fourth head, "Are you seriously asking me that right now? I just saw my boyfriend with a stake through his heart."

Addie nodded, trying to be sympathetic but still wanting the information on Klaus, " I understand that. Do you know his password?"

"Who do you think you are?" Alice spat at her in disgust, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder and taking a sip of tea.

Biting back a noise of frustration she looked around the room for inspiration on the password. Eventually her eyes settled on Rose. She'd just use the same tactic she'd been using all day: manipulation. For a moment she hesitated, wondering whether Damon and Katherine had really influenced her or if she was just a bit deceitful by nature. Addie would be the first to admit that she hadn't always played nice with her sister. "What if I could get Rose to turn you?" she proposed to Alice. This definitely gained her the woman's attention and a disdainful look from the vampire. "Would you show us the files then?"

Addie couldn't help but feel a little pleased with herself as Alice set down her teacup and haughtily walked over to the impressive computer system and sat behind it, keying in the password. Alice clicked away at it for a few minutes before saying, "Someone's been here. The hard drive's completely wiped out."

"Yeah, probably by whoever killed him," responded Rose bitterly

Addie looked at Elena who suddenly looked even more tense and was rubbing a hand over her face, turning away from everyone.

"Lucky for you," Alice said smugly, "Slater was paranoid. Everything's backed up on a remote server."

When Rose turned to speak to her, Addie felt an irrational wave of hatred and jealousy, "You know that she's not going anywhere near my blood, right?"

"I know," Addie bit back, "but that doesn't mean she does." Addie casually walked past her and over to Alice, peering at the computer screen.

"Kristen Stewart," the woman scoffed, "God, was he obvious."

Mildly overwhelmed and impressed, Addie took in all the information presented. "So these are all lead to vampires," she muttered.

Alice nodded, continuing to pull up more files, "Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me."

A shudder of disgust rippled through Addie as Rose spoke from right behind her, "What about that one? Cody Weber. They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah."

"I could call him," Alice suggested.

From the other side of her, Elena held out a phone to Alice, "Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus. The doppelganger is alive and she's ready to surrender."

Addie pushed past Rose as she exclaimed, "What?!"

"Oh, my God!" Alice squealed. "I knew I recognized you!"

"Get him the message, please," sighed Elena, following Addie out of the room. She wanted a few minutes alone with her little sister; Elena could see she the cracks in the tough exterior she was putting up starting. Elena and Addie had never been close but she knew she was asking way more than was fair to have her sister stand by and watch while she did this. She couldn't say for sure that she would have stood by and supported Addie if the situation was reversed. Though, the more she looked at it the less she approved of the way her sister did almost anything, even if it was more efficient and effective. Her and Addie were just too different too get along but she was still her little sister and she was still suppose to watch out for her and protect her. Elena was putting her in harms ways by inviting Klaus to be in the same room as her but Addie didn't care; she was still here. Seeing Addie continually run her fingers through her hair she made to say something but she caught Rose come into the room.

"What are you doing?" the vampire demanded.

Her mask of calm confidence back in place Addie responded coolly, "We're getting Klaus' attention."

Rose shook her head, "If Klaus knows that Elena's alive, he will find her and he will kill her." When the sisters merely shared a look with each other, Rose finally understood what was going on. "Which is exactly what you've wanted all along," she scoffed.

"It's either me or my family," respond Elena defensively.

"So this whole charade is some suicide mission so that you could sacrifice yourself and save everyone else?"

"Not entirely," quipped Addie. "It's only a partial suicide mission; there is every intent that I walk away and make sure you get your daylight ring. Gilberts always hold their end of deals."

Alice entered the room, a big grin on her and directed her attention to Elena, "Cody is on his way and he really wants to meet you."

---

Elena walked back towards the sitting area, sipping a glass of water. At the computer station, Addie swiveled in the chair to face her sister, a piece of paper in her hand. "Did you know -" Addie cut off abruptly, looking up from the information she held, her face draining of color.

"Did I know what?" Elena asked curiously, interested by the sickened look on her sister's face. "What is it?"

Addie shook her head slowly, "I swear I fucking hate vampires. You can't trust the whole lot of them."

Damon cleared his throat from directly behind Elena, making her jump and turn around. "What are you doing here?" he growled.

"Research," Addie called, from her place by the monitors, holding up the papers in her hands. "This guy Slater knew way more than he ever told you. You would make a really crappy investigative journalist, you know."

"Bullshit, Addie."

"What are you doing here?" Elena snapped, not pleased with him talking to her baby sister like that.

Addie rolled her eyes, before glaring at Rose, who had entered the room, "Isn't it obvious? We have a Judas in our midst. One guess as to who. And here's a hint: I find his presence a hindrance at this point in our process."

Turning around, Elena gaped at Rose in disbelief, "You called him?"

"I'm sorry, Elena, Addie," Rose said meekly.

"You said that you understood," Elena cried.

"She lied," Damon and Addie said simultaneously.

Elena went to turn back to Damon but he had already stalked over to Addie and pulled her to her feet by a firm grip on her upper arm.

Addie scowled, clawing at Damon, "Get your hand off of me!"

At that moment Alice walked in the room and gave a shrill squeal of excitement, "Damon Salvatore!"

Damon turned to Ros and said in exasperation, "Get rid of her."

"No way!" Alice beamed, still starstruck as Rose grabbed hold of her arm and led her from the room.

"Back to you letting go of me," Addie snarled, again trying to escape his grip."

"Come on," he growled, dragging her with him back to Elena. "We're leaving."

Elena shook her head and helped Addie pry Damon off of her, "No."

"I said we're leaving," Damon enunciated, his voice low and threatening.

"We're not going with you," Addie said firmly.

"Uh-uh," sneered Damon, shaking a finger at her, "You two do not get to make decisions anymore."

Elena scoffed, "When have I ever made a decision? You and Stefan do that for me. Now this, this is my decision."

"Who's gonna save your life while you're out making decisions?" he barked.

Addie frowned thoughtfully, "You know, you were right earlier.I definitely overrated his intelligence.."

Damon glowered at Addie, "I am so pissed off at you right now, Addison. I would not press my luck if I were you."

Elena quickly stepped in front of her baby sister, "Let's get one thing straight before this continues; you do not threaten my sister, ever. I don't care how angry you are. You hurt here and you will die, whether I'm alive or not."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Oh, stop with the dramatics."

"I'm not quite done. You aren't listening to me, Damon. I don't want to be saved, not if it means Klaus kills every single person that I love."

He took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm down but it didn't help. Eventually, he ground out, "Get your asses out the door before I throw you both over my shoulder and carry you out myself."

When Elena didn't move Damon grabbed at her wrist. After a brief struggle she was able to break free from his hold.

"Don't -" Addie started warningly when she saw her sister's hand clench into a fist at her side. It was too late though. Elena had already thrown the punch at Damon. He caught her fist in his hand with ease, making Elena gasp in shock.

"Don't ever do that again," he hissed before releasing her fist and walking away.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Addie snapped at her sister. "You can't land a punch on me! Why the hell would you think you could land one on Damon?!"

Elena shook her head, "He just… he… You can't tell me you don't want to hit him."

"Of course I do but I'm not stupid enough to try and do it when he's already on the offensive! You wait until his guard is down and then you get him," Addie explained.

"You wouldn't get the chance," Damon snipped bitterly over his shoulder, riffling through the papers Addie had been looking at.

"Really? Because the last I check I staked you twice and got one really good smack in…. Your silence is so telling."

Elena rolled her eyes, "You tell me not to punch a vampire but it's ok for you to provoke a volatile pissed of vampire."

Addie shrugged, "I've decided that if he wanted me dead I would be dead by now."

"I wouldn't get too comfortable with that idea," Damon said in a sing-song voice.

Elena frowned at her sister, "Do you have a plan about what to do next?"

"I'm working on it," Addie scowled, watching Rose and Damon having a close, hushed conversation near the complex computer system. Getting an idea, she motioned for Elena to follow her to the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, Addie turned on the faucet. "Damon's going to kill Cody when he shows up. That's a given and there's nothing we can do about it. We need another lead to Klaus. I need to get back onto that computer and see if there were any other people Slater communicated with about Elijah or Klaus. Problem is that-"

Damon appeared, turning of the tap. Crossing his arms over his chest he raised a curious eyebrow, "You two wouldn't be in here I don't know… scheming, would you? Because that would be very, very stupid of you. Oh, don't give me that look, Addie. I taught you to run the water; you knew it wouldn't work."

"Actually," she smirked, slipping around him, "it worked perfectly." Feeling Damon's eyes on her, Addie made her way to the computer, determined to not let him intimidate her. The files on the computer were so extensive and completely unorganized. She decided to use a search with the parameters of "Klaus" and "Elijah". It was just a matter of letting the computer run through a gazillion files. She turned the chair back towards the living room and saw Rose and Elena sitting but no sign of Damon.

A set of double doors opened and Damon walked out, a determined look on his face. "Time to go. Alice is soundly sleeping and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day."

Everyone's heads whipped to the front doors as they burst open and three men walked into the apartment. Elena and Rose stood up but Addie stayed seated, keeping one eye on the new arrivals and another on the computer, which had so far turned up zero results.

"We're here to meet the doppelganger," said the one on the far left. Addie guessed that he was Cody.

Elena began to walk forward, "Thank you for coming."

With a bored look Damon held up an arm in front of Elena and pushed her back, whispering, "I will break your arm." Damon turned back to Cody, "There's nothing here for you."

Addie jumped up in shock as the man in the middle, who was standing slightly further back, suddenly dropped to the floor, dead. Behind where he stood was a young man in well tailored suit and perfect looking sandy brown hair. He looked like he belonged behind some fancy dance in a big corporate office. At vampire speed he moved in between the other two vampires in the doorway, looking from one to the other. Addie heard Rose gasp and saw a blur move past her. The new vampire looked at Elena and Damon before settling on giving Addie an intrigued look.

"I killed you. You were dead," Damon said in astonishment.

"For centuries now," the man replied boredly. He turned and looked at Cody and casually asked "Who are you?"

Cody look slightly flabbergasted and angry that the man had the nerve to question who he was after he had just killed his friend for no reason. "Who are you?"

"I'm Elijah," the poised vampire answered politely.

Cody seemed to shrink in on himself, "We were gonna bring her to you. For Klaus. She's the doppelganger. I don't know how she exists, but she does. Klaus will want to see her."

"Does anyone else know that you're here?" asked Elijah, remaining cool and detached.

"No," Cody shrugged.

Elijah's smile was charming and pleasant, "Well, then you have been incredibly helpful."

Suddenly, Elijah plunged his arms into the two vampire's chest cavity through their back. One gave a grunt as Elijah ripped their hearts out. The two fell to the floor, dead, and Elijah dropped their hearts on their backs. Damon took up a defensive position, ready to fight but in a flash the Original vampire was gone.

"Yes, he's very terrifying. Totally lives up to the hype," jested Addie into long, tense silence.

"You should be terrified," Damon sneered. "He was dead, staked to a wall and is now ripping out hearts. Not to mention it's extremely suspicious that he just up and left!"

"Or I can take this whole fucked up situation with vampires and consider every encounter where someone I care about doesn't die a victory. I'm going to live in that little delusional world of reality because the alternate is just too depressing," she snapped back.

Damon rolled his crystal blue eyes, "Whatever you say. Can we leave now? You've been busted. You're goons to Klaus have been killed. And Elijah didn't want Elena. I'd say your plan was a complete failure."

---

Addie couldn't help but feel like she was being dragged to timeout as Damon marched her and Elena to the front door. It had been a very awkward, silent ride back. She kept meeting Damon's gaze in the rear view mirror; a mixture of anger, hurt and confusion filled his eyes. She just wanted to escape him as soon as possible. Looking at him made her feel like she had been punched in the stomach.

Elena sighed and turned towards him as they reached the front door, "Thank you for bring us home."

Impatiently, Addie tugged at the locked door. Elena had the house key; hers was back in her in her backpack at the boarding house.

"Well, your ride left you. I didn't want to leave you stranded," Damon shrugged.

"She was just scared. She didn't mean to run."

Addie's head snapped up at this, "You know, I don't get why you keep defending her. Of course she meant to run! She's been doing it for 500 years. First, you give her a pass on kidnapping you and handing you over to Elijah and now, again?!"

Elena studied her sister; was she jealous? Or was it that she was simply not a fan of Rose? It'd just be safest to change the topic. "I can't believe Elijah's alive. Why do you think he killed those two vampires?"

"I would never have to work a day in my life if I had a dollar for every time an evil, dick vampire surprised me. Can you cut the small talk and unlock the door? Feel free to carry on with Damon once I'm at least ten feet or a closed door away," snipped Addie, feeling very uncomfortable.

Huffing, Elena fished her keys out of her purse and fiddle with the lock, muttering to her sister, "I get that you're angry and hurt but you need to chill out."

"Shut up," Addie scowled and made to push past Elena once the door was opened but Damon grabbed at her elbow, forcing her to turn around.

"What you two did today was incredibly stupid," lectured Damon.

Addie snatched her arm, "Actually, the only stupid thing was getting caught." Jeremy came in the doorway, his face grim and tried to reach for her arm as she passed him but she saw it coming and was able to dodge him. "I don't care what it is," she snapped at him, storming up the stairs. "I am done for today."

---

When the sick feeling Addie had from being around Damon didn't fade an hour after she left him on the porch, she gave up working on homework and couldn't find the energy to go up to the attic and work on any music projects. Though it was just after nine o'clock, she curled up in bed, still fully dressed. She was just starting to drift off to sleep when there was a tapping at her window. It could only be one person and it was just so much easier to ignore the tapping than to face him. After what felt like fifteen minutes of the incessant knocking she caved.

Throwing open her curtains and roughly yanking up the blinds, she scowled at Damon, perched in a tree branch outside her window. He held up her backpack as peace offering, giving her a small smile. Reluctantly, she unlocked and opened the window just enough to grab her bag and made to close it again. Damon was stronger and quicker, keeping it open.

"Please, Addie. You can't keep ignoring me," he insisted, frowning.

She took out her books from her bag that she should have attended today and switched them for the ones she would need tomorrow. "You underestimate me," Addie called over her shoulder, "I went five months without talking to Elena and I live with her."

Damon rolled his eyes, "I don't doubt your stubbornness. I think you proved that again today."

"I don't need a lecture. Dangerous, irresponsible, ectera, ectera,"she muttered, climbing back into bed.

"Can I come in?" asked Damon.

Addie scoffed, "You're actually asking? What's changed? You never bothered to before."

"Eh, well, I'm not entirely convinced you don't have a stake under your pillow," he shrugged, climbing in the window."Besides, we were always on better terms before."

"I didn't say you could come in," she snapped. "And what about last night? When a witch was here? Why were you just in my room? While I was asleep?"

Damon walked over to her dresser and plucked from the mirror frame the picture from their date and turned towards her. "You haven't tossed or destroyed this," he mused.

"Wow. How astute of you to notice the obvious. I guess you just don't understand subtlety," Addie said snarky.

"Silence is not subtlety. It wasn't that hard to figure out that you were upset with me. If you gave me some subtle clue about why, I totally missed it. But the fact that you still have this," he indicated the picture, "tells me that there is still hope; that whatever I did hasn't made you hate me." Damon put the picture back and sat on the edge of the bed.

Addie shoved her knee into his back, "Get off my bed."

Scoffing, he raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Seriously, Addie?"

She nodded, "Yes, if you expect me to talk to you, yes. If you stay on the bed then you just have to reach out and touch me. When you do that I don't exactly think straight."

Grimacing, he got up to go and sit against her closet door, "Let's keep a running count of my mistakes in this conversation for the sake of amusement. First mistake is giving up that huge advantage."

"You don't deserve any advantages," she muttered, sneaking her arm out from under the blanket just long enough to switch on her lava lamp to see him better.

"Well, you're not going to be much help, are you?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that when Elena said you were hurt and angry earlier, I was, am the cause."

Addie had to think about whether or not she wanted to answer him. She didn't; he would expect more answers and she wasn't sure she want to give them to him.

"Your silence is deafening but I'm going to take it to mean yes," he said lightly. "This leaves me with the same thing I've been trying to figure out for the last two and half weeks: what did I do wrong to trigger the silent treatment? It started right after the date so it must have been something I did then. I made more than a few mistakes on that date but which one was so awful, is the question."

She pulled the blankets around her tighter, "Wasn't something you did on the date."

Damon rubbed at his temple, thinking hard, "That leaves me with my entire history, Addie. I mean if it is something from the past, at least tell me what triggered you into being pissed off enough to completely ignore me."

"It was when you asked about an us. It's pretty much why I said 'I didn't know.' I thought about it more because I thought you deserved a real answer and decided I wasn't nearly as upset as I should have been," Addie admitted.

He leaned his head back against the closet door and groaned, "I have made you upset so many times that the scope is hardly narrowed down."

Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair uncomfortably, "Alright, I'm tired. I don't want to be at this all night. I'll practically hand the answer to you. Today only made things ten times worse. I literally feel ill being around you."

"Today? I did a lot that would have pissed you off today," reflected Damon. "Undermining your decision to help your sister with her suicide mission? I mean, it's not a repeat but I could have undermined you before. Actually, if it's that, I'm not sorry. I am really angry with you for doing that; you put yourself in danger, not to mention Elena. You may act like you hate her but you would be a complete and total wreck if you lost her. Which is why I promised to find a way to make sure she stayed safe."

"Second mistake. It's not smart to push at my buttons if you're trying for some sort of apology. You certain you want to start a fight over today? I'm letting everything you did today pass because, really, the bitch called you; I know you couldn't resist showing up and trying to get me out of a situation if you felt I was in danger. However, I can easily become very pissed off about you not respecting my wishes and what not if you really want to argue about this," Addie spat.

His eyes narrowed at her in frustration; he wanted to impress upon her the stupidity of what she did today but he also wanted to get back on her good side. He couldn't pick, so he'd work on the latter but keep the former as an option. "What do you mean you're letting what I did today pass? You said today only made things ten times worse."

Addie ground her teeth together; she wasn't giving that up.

Damon frowned at her silence. If she wasn't mad about today, how could he have made things worse. Hurt and angry. Not initially upset enough. Made worse today but not by anything he did. As the pieces started to fall into place, he realized how stupid he was; no girl was that cool if emotions were involved. He shook his head, not believing he'd been so dense, "You're this pissed about me having sex with Rose?"

"And again and again and again and again," she sneered, pulling the blankets over her head and around her face.

"We aren't dating, Addie. Hell, you weren't even talking to me. I'm taking this straight from what you said: it's none of your business. You can't be mad at me for continuing to fuck her once you started shutting me out," Damon snapped.

"That was one hell of a performance when you said you felt guilty. You deserve an Oscar," seethed Addie.

He rolled his eyes, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his arms on them, "I did feel guilty the first time. I haven't felt guilty since then. It has strictly been extremely drunk, angry, lonely fucking, not even sex. You know want to know why I don't? Because I don't even care that I'm doing it; most of the time I don't even remember or particularly enjoy it. You go off and give me the silent treatment with no explanation for over a week, after pretty much telling me you don't want to be with me. What am I supposed to think besides anything between us, sorry you and me because you didn't want an us, being over? If you had said you needed space or time to think about things or basically anything, I wouldn't have been with her again! Why? Because I knew it hurt you the first time I slept with her. Of course, I didn't know how bad because you didn't communicate with me. I would never want to hurt you again. But in my mind, everything's over. You're not going to care about what I do so why should I? So I'd drink myself stupid, which would just make me feel lonely and angry at you but that's better than being sober and knowing you deserve so much better and feeling like a selfish dick for not caring and still wanting you. Then I end up fucking Rose just to get out my anger. After that I wind up alone, in my bed, staring at your side and thinking about how awful it is that it's not your side anymore. It's stupid but my bed ends up feeling too big for just me and I end up on the couch. Or there were the really, really bad nights where I would end up here because I'm terrified that I will never see you again, otherwise."

"That's creepy, Damon. No, that's beyond creepy; it's obsessive," Addie replied sternly, still trying to process everything else he said.

Damon rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly and mumbled, "Yes, well, you've always said I have an obsessive nature."

"Yeah," she drawled, "that doesn't mean I'm comfortable being the object of your obsession."

"I'm not… I'm only slightly obsessed with you and I can't help it because I care about you," he sighed.

Addie frowned, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars, "I want you to leave."

"What?" Damon asked blankly, certain he heard her wrong.

"I don't want to hear a bunch of excuses about why you slept with Rose. Nothing you say is going to make it hurt any less. Looking at you still puts awful images in my head. You're going to keep hooking up with her because you're you and I just… I can't be around you," Addie explained.

Damon bit back a smirk, "You could stop me from sleeping with her if you really cared."

She looked at him in confusion, "What?"

"If me fucking another girl really bothered you, you would stop me," he said slowly.

Addie shook her head, "You do what you want. No one could make you do anything."

Damon rolled his eyes; she was nearly as thick as him. "You could."

She stared at him for a minute, uncertain she wanted to voice her thought. If it was true, that was bad. If it wasn't true, he'd probably be pissed. "Are you - do you," she stammered, "are you emotionally blackmailing me into a relationship with you?"

He was quick to deny, "Of course not!"

"So, if I just said that I didn't want you sleeping with her anymore you would stop?" Addie questioned, confused.

"I'm not sleeping with her; that suggest some level of caring. And no," he scoffed, "I like you, Ads, but I'm not whipped."

She shrugged, annoyed with his game, "I don't know what you mean and I don't feel like playing the guessing game."

"If you wanted me to stop you'd just need to tell me that I haven't ruined everything I had with and that eventually there can be an 'us.' I know it's a mistake saying this, especially now but I'm starting to feel like I being strung along," remarked Damon, feeling defenseless.

"Yep," Addie remarked flatly, "mistake three and four. Saying there can eventually be an 'us' is essentially blackmailing me into an eventual relationship."

Damon rolled his neck along his shoulders; he'd been tense ever since he heard Addie planned on being in the same room as Klaus. "There are so many things I want to say to you but now… now is not the time."

"Just say them. You've already dug a hole," she replied boredly.

He snorted bitterly, "Yeah but there's a difference between digging a pit and digging a hole I can climb out of."

"Mmm...I'd rather deal with one big mess then several little mess. Besides, I've pretty much already made up my mind," muttered Addie, pulling the blankets down to her waist, getting hot.

"Well, can't you just tell me then? This a bit tedious," he sighed.

She rolled her eyes, "Mistake five: calling your discussion with someone tedious when you're trying to get back into their good graces."

Damon shook his head, "Nuh-uh, that's where you're wrong. I'm done trying; I'm not trying unless I know there is something worth trying for. After 145 years, I did learn something.

Addie shot up into a seated position, struck speechless. For several minutes she stared at Damon, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Y-y-you did not just compare me to Katherine." He opened his mouth but she cut him off, "I would think very, very carefully about how you want to answer that. The wrong answer would be beyond a mistake. Beyond stupid, Damon."

He licked at his lips nervously before nodding slowly, "I did, I did just compare you to her. She knew I was trying to get into that tomb. She let me believe for 145 years that she was in there. She let me have hope only to crush me. I care about you and would die for you but I'm not going to let you crush me. I'm not going to try to impress you and keep hoping for a chance with you when I have no shot. You've made up your mind; you have to tell me. You don't tell me and I'm going to have to be done with you because I can't believe you to be any better Katherine. I won't go through that kind of pain again."

Addie buried her face in her hands. She wasn't sure if she was more pissed at him for daring to compare her to Katherine or herself because he was kind of right. Well, if she was already like the wicked witch she might as well go for one last thing she wanted. "My mind is pretty much made up. Tell me the things you want to say but don't think now is the right time and I'll tell you."

"Why would I be stupid enough to tell you things that could possibly change your mind for the worse?" asked Damon tiredly, resting his cheek on his needs, looking at her.

"Because it would be wrong to start something when you're already burying or hiding problems or doubts? Plus, you don't know; you could be changing my mind for the better," she suggested.

"Alright. I suppose I can't say or do anything stupider than comparing you to Katherine so why not? For my next mistake I have to ask if all of this is about something more. From Monday night to Saturday you were over the fact that I had slept with Rose. Saturday… well, things kind of changed between us. We had a good date. We started kissing again; we had stopped because you weren't ready. It's an intimate thing for you. Come Sunday, I don't exist. Was it really because of what I did or is it just a convenient excuse because things were getting too serious?" Damon said gently, afraid of the answer.

Addie swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat. "That's a whole new level of arrogant," she muttered.

He nodded, "It might be. It might just be me searching for an explanation where I don't have to blame myself. Either way, you didn't answer."

"Whatever answer gives you the most comfort. It doesn't change my mind," she mumbled.

Hesitantly, Damon began to stand up.

Addie shook head and sternly said, "No, no, Damon. You stay right there."

He walked over to the door and flicked on the light. "You're going to look me in the eye if you're going to tell me you've be stringing me along or that I've completely ruined everything and there is no hope," he stated, going and sitting next to her on the bed.

"Can you go back across the room? I can still look you in the eye from here to there," she quipped.

"Nope. I'm not making it that easy for you."

Addie scowled, scooting a few inches away from him, "Don't you have stuff you to say?"

"No,' he sighed, "not anymore. None of it matters. You're not going to give me answers so I don't see the point in bothering."

Wrenching the blankets in her hands she whispered, "It was getting too serious. It was for your own good, me cutting you out."

Damon took a slow, deep breath, trying not to jump straight to anger, "Elaborate."

"I will never be able to give you what you want. It's best to bow out now before anymore emotions get involved and it becomes more complicated," Addie sighed.

He bit at his lip, still trying to keep calm, "I want you. How can you not give me you?"

"You want a relationship, Damon. I can't do a relationship! It freaks me out just having a drawer of clothes at your place. To worry about someone else's happiness above my own? I'm selfish; I don't want to do that! Always trying to be the girl you expect, that you think I am? I can't always be that. I don't want to be that! I'm still growing up and trying to figure out who I am. I can completely change into someone you don't like. Not to mention that I don't know how to be in a relationship," she rambled, running her fingers through her hair.

"You don't have to know! Yeah, you're gonna grow but the fundamentals of who you are already in place and they make someone I l-like. I don't expect you to be anyone but you, whoever you feel that is. To be honest, I never know what to expect from you! Today?! I'm still trying to understand that. My happiness is just being with you. You can be as selfish as you want. And it's just a drawer of clothes, Ads, not a marriage proposal. You can give me a relationship. So why won't you?" Damon countered back fiercely, trying to understand her.

"Do you remember when you first met Elena? She told you that you spoke like every relationship was doomed to end?" Addie prompted.

Damon ran a hand over his face; that was actually going to come back and bite and him in the ass? "And I said I was a fatalist," he recollected. "But Addie-"

She held up a hand to stop him, "We would end, Damon. You know it. Even if we were perfect for each other, we would eventually end. It's easiest and cleanest if we never get involved."

"So, for the rest of your life you're going to deny yourself any chance at romantic happiness with everyone? Because it is always going to eventually end," Damon challenged.

Addie shrugged, "It's an option."

"I'm being serious."

"Everyone else has the possibility of a peaceful parting at the end of a lifetime. You and me… if we got together it would be like triggering a time-bomb, waiting for it to explode, even if we were the perfect couple. It would be a messy end no matter what," she maintained, tiptoeing around her point.

Damon crooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face until their eyes met, "We wouldn't have to explode. I would hate it but we could part peacefully."

Addie dropped her eyes from his, her cheeks slightly coloring, "Maybe you could do that but I would never be comfortable."

"That is ridiculous," Damon said slowly, tenderly, brushing the back of his knuckles against her cheek.

She pulled away, shaking her head, "No, no. What is ridiculous is this entire conversation."

"No, it's not," he insisted. "You're sticking with no because you're afraid of getting hurt, right?"

"I guess, yeah," she mumbled meekly.

Damon nodded, hating where his mind was headed, "What if it was clear from the very beginning that we wouldn't end fighting over that? We might break up over something normal, like any other couple but if we're great together, we don't have to ruin everything with a nasty end and could part as friends."

Addie frowned, "How would that even work?"

"A timer, a relationship timer. From the beginning we both know when it's going to end if we work out. There's no weird period where you start thinking about leaving and I start hinting at forever. The whole time we just cherish each day we have together because we know exactly how long we have," he explained, wanting to take back the words as they kept tumbling out. He didn't want a damn clock on his relationship!

"That's like… that's a terminally ill relationship! That can't possibly be healthy," she scoffed, not believing his proposition.

Damon pursed his lips in consideration, "It is. It might even be smart. You don't worry about a really nasty fight that would just end with both of us being hurt. Why fight and argue in general when you're on such a limited time? Each day is precious. Yes, it ends but I'd rather have a defined period of bliss with you to remember for eternity than never getting a chance to be with you."

"You're actually serious?"

"Yeah," he answered, surprising himself.

Thinking hard, she watched the lava bubble in the lamp. "We couldn't actually do that…. I mean, it's insane. Could we do that?"

"We can, Addie. Say until 40, that's just over 25 years," Damon answered hesitantly.

She shook her head, "I can't. What if I change my mind and do want kids someday?"

"Fine. Twenty years," he huffed.

"I break up with you at 35, then it's two years finding a potential husband, two years dating, a year engagement and then pregnant at 40. I don't think biology is on my side with that," calculated Addie.

Damon groaned, "You don't believe in marriage! Why is there this magical husband involved now?"

"Well, when a mommy and a daddy love ea-"

"You don't need a husband to get pregnant. You don't even need a guy," he scowled.

Addie laughed, "Are you jealous?"

Damon shrugged, "You've been jealous."

"Yeah but you're jealous of a future guy who may or may not happen after we've broken up," she giggled.

"It not funny," he growled. "And it's not because he's your husband; I'll be jealous of any guy."

Addie rolled her eyes, "What happened to parting mutually as friends?"

"That doesn't mean I'm going to be over you," muttered Damon. He broke the silence before it got too awkward, "How long will biology give me? Since future you has gone crazy and wants two completely huge, life altering things that you detest the idea of now."

She sighed impatiently, "I want to keep the option of kids open. I'm not going to raise a child without a father, Damon."

He shuddered violently, a horrible image running through his mind. What the hell was wrong with him today?

"What is your problem?" Addie demanded, her eyebrows furrowing.

Damon raised an eyebrow at her, "What? The idea of being a parent doesn't make you shudder in terror?"

"Metaphorically, yes. Literally? No. I don't let myself think about it that long. It flashes so quickly through my brain that my nervous system doesn't get a chance to respond," she grinned cheekily.

He frowned at her, "And yet we are ending our relationship so you can possibly have them."

"Future Addie might not find it so terrifying," she said, raising her shoulders helplessly.

"Fine. Future Addie will simply have to take Future Damon as a lover because the kids make her so stressed and her husband just doesn't know how to relax her," smirked Damon, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"No," she stressed, "cheating is bad."

"Fine! Divorce the husband; he's a workaholic and bad in bed, anyways," he grumbled.

She laughed, "Then it's back to being a single parent. Why did I marry him to begin with?"

Damon sighed, resting his head on her shoulder, "Fine! Alright! Future Damon will step in and help with the kids if he gets to keep Future Addie as his lover."

Addie laughed even harder, "Yeah, right. You're crazy if you think I'd let you around my children."

"Why is that so crazy?" he asked defensively.

"Well, you are crazy and a bad influence. Besides, do you even have a paternal bone in your body?" snickered Addie, grabbing the hand in his lap.

He nodded against her shoulder, "I haven't thought about it since I was human but it's still in me. It's one of my ribs. There was a time when I was supposed to get married, inherit the family business, and pop out a few rugrats."

Tracing random patterns on the palm of his hand, she whispered, "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was a long time ago. I'd take this over being human any day," he lied. "So how long do I get you?"

"Fifteen years," she sighed.

Damon looked up at her sadly, "Seriously? That's nothing, Ads."

"Thirty five is the upper limit for a safe pregnancy," mumbled Addie, "Besides, fifteen from the day I turn fifteen. So, we'll have been together half my life and a little more."

"I hate it," he muttered, "but if that's the best I can get, I'll take it."

She shook her head in disbelief, "Are we actually doing this?"

Damon grinned, resting his forehead against hers, "I'm serious. I know we might not last the whole fifteen years but I want this. I want you."

Addie pulled away from him, frowning, "I'm still upset with you."

He shrugged, "I am sorry for hurting you. I can't do anything about the past except apologize. I promise, as long as we are together for the next fifteen years, you are the only person I'll be sleeping with. If you want to spend time continuing to be mad at me, that's your choice but the clock is ticking."

"You're going to use that everytime I'm mad at you, aren't you?"

"It's the truth," Damon smirked.

She scowled at him before asking, "Have you showered, deloused and brushed your teeth since you were last with her?"

Confused, he nodded. Addie grinned, wrapping her hand around his neck and pulling him to her. Damon stopped just before their lips connected

"Still mad at me?" he murmured.

"No," Addie sighed, "we don't have time for that."

Damon grinned, cupping her cheek, "Are we in a relationship?"

"I think so," she whispered back, smiling nervously.

He gently pressed his lips to hers. "I have so many things I should be worrying about right now but I am too happy to care," Damon chuckled, kissing her again.

She pushed at his shoulder lightly, getting him to pull back. "What things?" asked Addie suspiciously.

"Where should I begin?" he muttered, getting up and turning off the life. He kicked off his shoes and crawled onto the bed. Damon tugged at the back of Addie's shirt until she laid down next to him. Smirking, he pulled her tight to his chest, "Much better. You and your siblings were just full of bad ideas today. Jeremy didn't want Bonnie to try taking down the spell on the tomb so we could get in for the moonstone. Judgey whipped up some fairy dust to freeze Katherine for a few seconds and your brother pinched some of it. Then he went and stupidly used it. He manage to throw the moonstone out of the tomb but Katherine turned him into her new toy. My brother went in to throw yours out. Now, Stefan's stuck in the tomb and I have to keep Elena away from there. She's not too happy with me; kept beating at my chest because I had to shove her against the wall to keep from running in the tomb."

Addie sighed, slipping an arm around Damon's waist, "Any way I could get you to, I don't know, not shove my sister against a wall... or anything else… actually, how about all girls? I'm sorry about Stefan."

He tugged at her hair playfully, "It wasn't like that."

"I know," she mumbled into his chest, "but I'm still not fond of it. It's Elena; I don't exactly trust her with you."

"You don't have to worry about her; I'm not interested. And I won't be shoving any other girls against anything," he reassured her. "I am also pretty worried that Elijah is apparently un-killable and is obviously up to something. The world would make much more sense if he would have went for Elena today. I'm glad he didn't because I couldn't have taken him but evil, unstoppable vampire acting fishy is bad.

"Is it possible that Elijah is not aligned with Klaus? He killed the vampires meant to take Elena to him," Addie mused, rubbing at his back.

Damon shrugged, "I don't know what to think. I do know you placed yourself in a room with four deadly vampires though."

Gritting her teeth, Addie tried to wiggle out of his grasp but he just held her tighter, "I don't need a lecture, Damon. I am aware that what I did was dangerous. It wasn't about me; Elena didn't face it alone."

"Elena never would have convinced Rose to take her up there. That was your clever little skulduggery and manipulation. If you were putting it to wiser use, I'd be impressed. Really, Ads, you gotta help me understand. What the hell were you thinking?" Damon sighed warily, stroking her hair.

Pulling his shirt halfway up his stomach, Addie placed her hand flat against his abdominal, smiling when they twitched. She let her hand travel up under the fine, black cotton and settle over his heart, beating strong and steady. "Does your heart beat slower than a human's?" she wondered, counting the beats.

He rolled his eyes; he'd play along but she was mistaken if she thought he was going to quit asking. "It's beating slower because you're in my arms. I'm calm for the first time in over two weeks." Capturing the hand stroking at his chest, Damon murmured huskily into her ear, "Admit it; you're just with me for my body."

"I'll admit that I do take a certain joy from… exploring you," she smirked, skimming her free hand along the bare skin exposed at his back.

Damon was taken aback; he had expected her to blush and tell him to shut up or something. He contemplated for a few moments on how to progress. He definitely didn't want things to go too far, heat of the moment or planned, but he also didn't want Addie to feel like he wasn't interested or rejecting her. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he brought her up the bed until her head rested next to his on the pillow. "Are you serious about this, Ads? About us in a relationship? I'm talking about in the here and now. I mean, are you certain you want this? It's ok if you're not. I just need to know," Damon questioned gently, brushing a lock of purple hair behind her ear.

Addie ran her hand through her hair, shaking slightly, "I'm scared. There's a lot that could go wrong. I'm having to trust you, which we both once said I would be stupid to do. I don't know what I'm doing. The only thing I'm certain of is that i simply feel better when I'm with you and the idea of you with anyone else makes me insanely jealous. A relationship means being together more which means feeling better more and it keeps you from others, taking care of the jealousy issue. It seems like a logical choice."

"You can't do this by logic, Ads. You need to do what feels right. What do you want to do? Not what do you think you should do," he pushed.

"I don't like dealing with my feelings. You know how difficult feelings can be," she mumbled.

Damon nodded and explained slowly, "Yes, we are two people who don't handle our emotions very well. It will make for a volatile relationship. I need you to try really hard and see if there are any feelings of passion, desire, care, determination and attraction inside you directed towards me."

Addie patted his cheek condescendingly and spoke in a sugary sweet voice, "You are so stupid. You're a smart ass even when asking me to figure out how I feel about you. That's not wise, Damon."

Pinching her cheek lightly, he matched her tone, "You are so adorable. You think you can reprimand me and I'll be scared straight. That's very cute, Ads." He let go of her cheek and added smugly, "We both know you wouldn't like me if I was nice; you would get far too bored."

"You do realize we get along by being mean to each other? How is that suppose to make for a good relationship?" she huffed.

"Mmm," he thought, pulling her closer at the waist, brushing his lips against her, "well, for me it's ok because I know you don't mean anything by it. I know you're just teasing me and at the end of the day you don't devalue me but respect me."

"You are very good at that," Addie murmured against his lip.

"What? This?" he smirked, giving her a long, slow kiss.

She shook her head as they broke apart, "No, you're quite bad at that. You're good at making me being mean sound so nice."

"That's not mean. That's just plain slander," remarked Damon, scandalized.

Addie looked at him as if he was a puppy with a broken leg, "It must be so hard to be so sure of yourself and find out that you're wrong."

"Oh, I don't have to be sure of myself. Remember 'oh… mmm…. ahhhhh….'" he mimicked her moaning softly.

Her face felt like it was on fire. Reaching behind her, Addie grabbed a pillow and shoved it in Damon's face, sending him into fits of laughter. "You are a dick," she growled, burying her face in the pillow they shared.

"Sorry but you walked right into that one," he choked out, still laughing.

"Shut. Up," barked Addie, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Damon grinned and lightly tugged at her waist, wanting her closer to him again, "I think I just found the key to winning arguments."

"Embarrassing me? Not smart!" she snapped, still hiding her face.

He frowned, lifting the hair that fell around her face. The moonlight from the open window was just enough that he could see her cheek was bright red. Damon buried his face next to hers, pressing kisses to the corner of her lips. Addie tried to turn her head away but couldn't from how she was laying. Sighing, he pulled back, "Ads, I was just teasing you. There's nothing for you to be embarrassed about."

She scowled, turning onto her stomach and away from him.

"Addie," whined Damon, poking her in the sides. She tried to resist squirming in response, not wanting to play his game. "You know, I can get really annoying if you keep ignoring me," he warned,

"What do you want, Damon?"

"We were actually in the middle of a very real conversation that we kind of need to finish," he pointed out reluctantly. "Remember trying to figure out if you're certain about this? About if you want me?"

"I remember," Addie grumbled, rolling back to face him. "Can I just want the you that's not a dick?"

Damon cupped her cheek and lightly kissed her, "I swear I'm sorry. I didn't know you would get that embarrassed. I took it too far. I messed up. But I'm going to mess up over and over again. And each time I'm going to be sorry because I don't mean to do anything to hurt you. I'm afraid I'm a package deal, dick part included."

She bit back a smile, patting him on the chest, "That is the kind of information I should know. I was under the impression you were the Ken doll package."

"Ouch, Ads! First my kissing skills and now completely emasculating me? You are breaking my ego," he gawked.

Addie shrugged, "In my defense, I'm not personally acquainted with that part of you so my impression could have been correct, for all I knew."

He scoffed, "You maybe not be personally acquainted but you've met in passing. You're familiar enough to be aware of its very prominent existence."

"Well, if you say so but I really don't recall the encounter. Must not have been a very impressive," she mused.

"This witty banter thing was so much easier when you used to just become too embarrassed to respond to any sexual innuendos I made," Damon recalled fondly.

Running a hand over his chest, Addie nodded in agreement, "I'm sure it was. However, when everything you say is sexual it begins to lose effect after a while."

"You're the one who made that last comment sexual... Damn it, Addie! You did that on purpose. You changed the topic," accused Damon, brushing her hand off him in annoyance. "Can't you just answer the question? I can take a no."

"It's not that I don't want to answer your question or that I don't already know my answer and am uncertain about it. It's just that if I say it out loud everything changes," Addie confessed. "I understand that the whole point is for things to change but I was really happy with the way things were before."

It was a completely valid concern in Damon's opinion. Things would shift but he wanted that so badly. He wanted to be closer to Addie; to know her better, to be able to share more of himself with her. All that would take time though. He did his best to comfort her about the idea. "I was too. Everything doesn't have to change all at once. There are no rules we have to live by. Our relationship can slowly evolve at a rate that we are both comfortable with. "

"I don't want to be with you just because it seems like the logical decision. Being with you seems to be almost magnetic. We have all these fall outs but something always pulls me back to you. There are things you have done that I felt I would never forgive you for but I have. I've tried to hate you so many times but I only end up feeling more drawn to you. I am certain I care about you as more than a friend. If we both feel that way then we do owe it to ourselves to explore it and see if there is something deeper there. It's just that if we don't connect or if we only end up hurting each other, well, I'm afraid of losing how we are. I am certain that I want something more with you, Damon. I just terrified of it all going sour," Addie tried to explain, still trying to make sense of how she felt.

Damon caught her by surprise, pressing his lips firmly against hers. Once she got over the initial shock, Addie began to kiss him back. With a light pressure against her shoulder, he encouraged her from her side to her back. Hovering over her, Damon rested his weight on his elbows, cupping her cheek gently. Feeling one hand at his neck and the other on his back, he sighed softly, deepening the kiss. Over several minutes, he tried to convey everything he couldn't figure out a way to say through the one other way he knew of expressing himself. Damon tried to coax a vocal reaction from her but couldn't. Moving to pepper kisses along her jaw, stopping briefly at her earlobe to nibble at it, he made his way to the more sensitive area of her neck, hoping for a better response. Pulling the tender flesh between his lips, occasionally his teeth nip at it, he worked his way down her neck. While he could hear the catches in Addie's breath, sense her pulse start to race under his lips, feel her hands clutching at him tighter beneath his shirt and her nails scratching just a bit harder, he still couldn't get the reaction he was looking for. Growing frustrated he moved to the other side of her throat. Skipping where her internal jugular vein and carotid artery met, he gave the left side of her neck the same as the right. Damon smirked, her breathing was fast, shaky and shallow and a hand had found its way to back of his head, holding him to her. Going back to where he had passed, he bit at her, not hard enough to hurt her but it certainly wasn't like the light, little nips he had been doing. He held back a groan as her nails dug pleasurably into his back and she tugged at his hair. This was not right; she was the one who should have been moaning, not him. Then he smelled it: blood.

Quickly, he pulled away from Addie, afraid that he had lost control. But no, it didn't look like she was bleeding and he definitely didn't taste any blood. Damon fought her with ease, raising his head despite her trying to pull him back to her neck. Studying her face, he saw that she had drawn her bottom lip between her teeth. His thumb rested against the skin just below her lip and pulled down gently, encouraging her to stop biting at it. Addie did, nervously licking at her lips, feeling Damon staring at her.

"You're staring. It's uncomfortable," mumbled Addie, her eyes closed.

Damon swiped the pad of his thumb across her lip gently, feeling marginally better when it came away blood free. She had gotten what little there was and it wasn't still bleeding. "You bit your lip. You were bleeding," he muttered.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't-"

"It didn't bother me. Why, though? Why were you biting your lip?" he questioned blankly.

Addie's brows furrowed, her eyes still closed. She couldn't just tell him; that would be almost as awkward as this. She shrugged, "Just because. You're still staring. Stop; it's weird. "

"I'm not staring at you. You'd know that if you'd look at me. What's wrong? Did you not enjoy it?" Damon pressed in concern.

She opened her eyes so she could take his face between her hands. Softly, Addie kissed him. "Of course I did," she whispered, dropping her hands, one on his neck, the other at his shoulder.

Damon shook his head, frowning at her, "No, something was wrong the whole time we were kissing. You were unusually quiet. Wait. Is this about that stupid joke I made early?"

Blushing, Addie turned her head away from him, confirming his theory.

Sighing, Damon slid a hand under her cheek and brought her to look at him again. "It was just a stupid joke, Ads. You don't need to be embarrassed or feel like you need to hold back. In fact," he murmured, dropping a slow, firm kiss to her, "I like hearing you." Damon smirked at her, "You know my ego; I enjoy knowing I'm doing the right thing and pleasing you."

"Really?" she whispered, her cheeks still red.

"Of course," he answered before kissing her again.

When Damon pulled away, Addie nodded, "Ok. But what was that kiss for? Where did it come from?"

He moved himself from over her to onto his side. A goofy grin spread across his face but he ignored it. Damon was happy; he wasn't going to hide that from her. "You said just what I needed to hear. You're serious about this, about giving you and me a chance," he answered simply.

Addie's lips twitched upwards as she rolled to face him. Grabbing the front of his shirt she pressed her lips to his fervently. Draping an arm around her waist he pulled her closer. Slightly less vigorous, he kissed her back. He'd had his kiss; he would let her be the aggressor this time. He was sure there would be plenty of kiss to come where they'd battle for control.

She pushed at his shoulder, wanting him on his back. Damon let his hand travel down her back, the cure of her butt and to the back of her thigh. Lifting her leg, he hooked it over his own before wrapping his arm tight around her waist. Rolling onto his back, he brought her with him. Pulling her knees underneath her, Addie settled her weight across his hip. He scooted her up until she was across the bottom of his stomach; it wasn't an issue now but if she continued kissing him like that so enthusiastically, her being so low over him would have potentially been very awkward.

Damon tilted his head back, allowing her easier access as she began to kiss along his jaw. Her lips barely skimmed along his neck at a painstakingly slow rate up and down both sides. He was focused on wanting Addie on his neck that he failed to noticed she had shifted so she was over his hips again. When she arrived back at his lips kissing him softly, he pulled her gently away, his hand lost in the locks at the back of her head.

"It's not nice to tease, Addison," growled Damon, the sternness diminished by his labored breathing.

"No but it's fun," she murmured against his lips, smirking.

Suddenly, surprising him, she pulled away to bite sharply at his neck just below his ear. His groan was long and deep as he tried to mind how tight his grip in her hair and her waist was, not wanting to hurt her. Her mouth was hot against his cool skin, alighting a fire in his veins that flowed through his entire body. The pressure of her teeth was just enough to send a shiver down his spine; she probably thought she would hurt him . He was so focused on the pleasure he was receiving at his neck that it was until she need his cooperation did he become aware of her trying to get his shirt off. It was only then that he remember why he had asked her if she was certain about them.

"Wait, stop," Damon uttered reluctantly, pulling the black cotton from her hands and down. Noticing her weight was centered over where the hem of his shirt lay but much lower he got slightly annoyed. One wrong shift from either one of them and she'd be brushing against his erection. He was fairly certain he wouldn't have the self control to have this conversation if that happened. When she looked at him confused, he smiled gently and rolled them onto their sides. Swiftly, Damon removed her leg from over his and put at least six inches between all body parts.

"What's wrong?" Addie hesitated, echoing his words of earlier.

Damon heard the nervousness and uncertainty in her voice, causing a tightening in his chest. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong," he said quickly, "but we need to talk before something does go wrong." He could see the confused look on her face from the moonlight filtering in through the window. Damon tucked the long bangs falling in her eyes behind her ear, letting his touch linger before deciding it would be best if they discussed this not touching at all. He sighed, "We have to talk boundaries, Addie. Physical boundaries."

Flushing, she nodded and mumbled, "Probably a good idea."

"Right," he sighed again, dragging a hand over his face, "well, my first rule is going to have to be that everyone's hands stay above the the belt. Uh, shirts stay on."

"That's regression," objected Addie. "I've seen you shirtless plenty of time. I've slept with you shirtless. You're going to start sleeping in a shirt, too? I mean the only reason you sleep in anything is because I'm there."

He scratched at his chest, his shirt suddenly itchy and restricting. She had a point and he really didn't want to sleep in one; they were so uncomfortable. He conceded, "Alright, my shirt can come off but yours is staying on."

She rolled her eyes, "You've seen me in a bikini, Damon. I've compared and it's actually less material than a bra."

"Yeah, that's staying on too."

Addie shook her head insistently, "Not if we start regularly sleeping together. I'm not wearing a bra to bed. I don't know if you've tried it but it's not comfortable."

"I can honestly say that I have never tried. I guess we won't be having many sleepovers," he shrugged.

"You're being a little extreme," Addie decided. "My shirt would be on. And it's not like anyone is expecting you to cope a feel.

Damon scowled, "Fine. Your bra can come off for solely the purpose of sleep. Your shirt is always on."

Addie started laughing hysterically.

He frowned and raise a questioning eyebrow, "What is so hilarious?"

"You," she gasped out between fits of giggles. "I mean this conversation," continued Addie once she caught her breath. "I just had to convince you, Casanova himself, into being ok with me removing my clothing. This whole thing is just so messed up."

Damon rolled his eyes, "This isn't a joke, Addie. I'm serious about not wanting to mess things up with you. Us going too far would mess things up. Clear boundaries and limits are defined so nothing that we aren't ready for accidentally happens."

"Whatever happened to 'just say no?' Things start happening that you aren't comfortable with you just stop it, Damon. I - God, this is so backwards! I wouldn't want to push you into doing anything you wouldn't be ok with," snickered Addie, unable to keep a straight face.

"I know. I wouldn't do anything if either one of us was even slightly uncomfortable about it. Problem is that things can feel ok and right in the heat of the moment but you look back on it and realize it was a complete mistake," Damon attempted to explain. "I don't know about you but I would have a problem with that."

Finally regaining her composure, she nodded in agreement, seeing that this was important to him. "Ok, yeah. I can see how boundaries would help with that. I wouldn't want either of us to do something we would regret."

"Glad we could come to agreement. The next rule should be obvious but pants, shorts, underwear - they all stay on, in place," he added thoughtfully.

"How would they move if all hands are above the belt?" she pointed out.

Damon was silent for a moment, thinking, "You'd be surprised at how creative you can become. While we're in the area, I should awkwardly add no, uh. genital-to-genital contact."

"How would that happen if pants, shorts, and underwear are in place?" she grinned.

"You know what I mean."

"Ohh, you mean no grinding," smirked Addie, enjoying the light blush she could see on him.

"Well, that's not exactly - yeah, no grinding," Damon said. "Anything you want to add?"

She shook her head slowly, "No, no. I think you covered everything."

Damon nodded, "Ok. So, um, we're good?"

Leaning in, she kissed him gently. "We're ok," she smiled.

"Ok isn't 'good.' We should be starting on good," Damon frowned.

Addie continued to smiled but her voice tightened, "If you want to start now, then ok is as good as it's going to get."

"Ok. Can you explain why we have to start at ok?" he pushed.

She shrugged, "You really don't want to discuss this. Fast and dirty version: I heard your reasons but it doesn't change the fact that you've been sleeping with Rose. I get why you did it but I'm still a little bothered. It will take a little bit for me to get over it and there's nothing you can do about it"

'Understandable. You get that I'm going to be a little bothered until I figure out your reasoning for going on a kamikaze mission with your sister. I mean, I still have to worry about you doing it again as long as I don't know why because it means I can't help," Damon replied coolly.

Addie snorted bitterly, "That's exactly why I did it. You can't help, Damon. This problem with Klaus and Elena, you can't do anything. You despell the moonstone and at least you, Stefan, Bonnie, Jenna, Jeremy and me all die. He slaughtered Katherine's entire family for turning into a vampire. Another doppelganger can and has come along. The moonstone is irreplaceable. Think how bad he's going to flip out, Damon. It's not an option. Don't say you'll just kill him after you despell it and before he finds out because in case you haven't noticed he's an Original, like Elijah. Remember Elijah, the vampire you staked to a wall who is very much a living corpse?

"Elena wanted to offer herself up to Klaus. She thought it made more sense for her to die and save everyone else than for everyone else to die saving her. She turned it into numbers and logic; six versus one. It was the logical choice. I mean, yes I was delivering my sister to her death but she was going to do it with or without me. I didn't want to go, Damon, but she asked me to. Elena was going to sacrifice herself to save the rest of our family and our friends; I couldn't tell her no!"

Tears were streaming down Addie's face by the time she finished, having only paused to breath when absolutely necessary. Damon hushed her, rolling onto his back and pulling her into his side. He felt his shirt dampen as she cried onto his shoulder. Holding her tight, he waited for her to calm down. What he was going to say, Damon had no clue. He had been thinking ever since their date for a way to save Elena without despelling the moonstone and the only answer he had come up with was to kill Klaus before he could get to her. However, based on Elijah and the rumors surrounding Klaus, that plan didn't seem like it was going to work. One very desperate plan had crossed his mind for a fleeting moment. Addie and Elena would never forgive him for it. Plus, he wasn't sure if Addie would prefer Elena to die compared to her becoming a vampire.

"I promised you that I wouldn't let your sister die, Addie. I'm not going to let it happen. I can help but you just have to give me more time to come up with a better idea. There has to be an answer out there, I just need time to find it. Elena handing herself over to Klaus isn't the solution. I get that it made logical sense to you but I can't have you guys doing that. You're going to get both of you killed; I can't take that. We will come up with something to save her," Damon insisted.

How was she supposed to tell him that she didn't believe a word he said? Addie was certain that it was a hopeless situation but Damon sounded so sure. She knew that he wanted to save Elena for her but this problem was beyond his his skills. But she wanted to make him happy; she didn't want him worrying about her. Reluctantly, she nodded against his chest, "Ok, Damon. I won't run off with Elena on a suicide mission. But I'm not going to stop supporting her until we figure something out. She feels like everyone is against her when she's just trying to do what she thinks is right and save them."

"Ok," he sighed, "but not taking actions to support her. Please, Addie. You've already lost your parents. You didn't take that very well. Can you really handle your sister sacrificing herself to save you?"

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A/N: Yes, they are finally officially together! (Disclaimer: If the author writes something it does not mean the author agrees with.) All of you are wonderful for sticking it out this far - we've passed 200k words! Thank you guys so much for your reviews, follows and favorites. How do you guys decide if you leave a review or not? I have a high follow/favorite count but my reviews don't really reflect that. I've got all the smart, silent readers! I love y'all!