WHEN ANOTHER DOPPELGANGER SHOWED UP ON THEIR DOORSTEP THE NEXT DAY, Bella knew right away it wasn't a good sign. Not when the doppelganger casually admitted that she was just looking for a partner in crime. And especially not when her brother forced her to come with them to God knows where.

"Remind me again why I have to come along?" she finally spoke after almost an hour of just watching the road they took from the backseat.

Damon, who was in the driver's seat, took a glance at his sister through the rear-view mirror. "Because you tried to kill Elena last night," he answered simply, his eyes now on the road. "I don't trust you to be anywhere near her without me around."

"I didn't try to kill her," she explained, leaning forward to look at him. "If I really wanted to kill her, she would have been dead long ago."

"Then what do you call what happened last night?"

"I called it 'teaching her a lesson'."

"Lesson that could lead her to dead?" He let out a sardonic laugh, clearly not buying her excuse. "Yeah, good one."

Katherine, who had been watching the two siblings silently from the shotgun, finally voiced, "Oh, come on, Damon." Her gaze shifted from the raven-haired guy besides her to the blonde girl behind them, a lopsided smile on her face. "Don't be too hard on your little sister."

While Damon chose to just completely ignore her, Bella couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the doppelganger. It was really hard not to be suspicious to that woman since she couldn't remember the time where Katherine wasn't up to something.

"Isn't this nice?" Katherine said again, turning back to Damon and ignoring Bella's suspicious gaze, her face and tone somewhat cheerful. "Just three of us together." She suddenly pursed her lips in a pout and put on a sad face as she added, "Too bad Stefan couldn't be here."

Seeing Katherine trying to act cute, Bella wrinkled her nose in disgust. Folding her arms across her chest, she leaned back to her seat and turned to the rear-door glass, choosing to just watch the road outside once again.

"Back then... during my stay in your house, I used to picturing us together as a family," Katherine continued talking, deliberately not allowing silence to envelop them. "But Bella wasn't really in the picture. She used to give me a troublesome spoiled brat impression at the time." She turned to the girl she was talking about at the same time the girl turned back to her, a faint grin on her face. "No offense."

The youngest Salvatore returned the grin and sharply retorted, "Well, you always gave me a manipulative evil slut impression, which turned out to be an absolute fact."

Damon glanced at Katherine from the corner of his eyes, checking out her reaction. The smirk on his mouth showed that he completely agreed with what his sister had just said.

"You know, I was just about to say that our splendid time together in 1902 had changed my mind about you," Katherine countered back, her eyes narrowed sarcastically at the blonde. "But now I changed my mind again."

Bella just rolled her eyes, realizing that responding to Katherine was nothing more than a waste of time. She didn't know where they were going since Katherine hadn't told them, but she felt like it was a long way off. The last thing she wanted was to make that trip feel any longer than it really was by getting involved with a pointless confrontation.

After another few hours had passed, when night fell and there was nothing but a deserted road and trees around, Damon looked back at Katherine. "We've been driving around aimlessly for hours." He then repeated the same question he asked her earlier that day, "Where are we going?"

"Far enough away so that you two can't go running back," Katherine answered flatly, her eyes looking straight on the road.

Damon looked back at the road. "Not to worry. Mystic Falls and I are on a bit of a break."

His answer made Katherine turn back to him in an instant. "You and Mystic Falls, or you and Elena?" The woman then started to lean closer to him in a seductive manner.

"Let's just say Elena and I are having a bit of difference of opinion on how I should behave."

From the backseat, Bella frowned as she watched Katherine keep moving closer to her big brother. And Damon himself didn't seem to mind that. They wouldn't really make out right here, right now, in front of her, would they?

"Ooh, let me guess..." Katherine ran her hand across his chest and up to his jawline, she caressed her hand along his skin. "Elena wants you to be the hero... and you don't like playing pretend."

Damon glanced over at Katherine out of the corner of his eye, no more gaps between their faces. "Something like that."

Putting her fingers under his chin, Katherine turned his face to look at her. "Her loss," she muttered in a whisper voice.

And as they began to kiss hungrily, Bella gagged and made a noise of disgust. "Eyes on the road, please."

It didn't take long for the kiss to grow more heated and passionate. But then suddenly, Damon shoved Katherine back to her seat and casually looked back on the road.

Katherine panted a little and stared at him in confusion and disbelief. "What are you doing?"

"I thought I'd give it a shot," Damon answered smugly. "Truth is, you just don't do it for me anymore."

Bella couldn't help but smirk as she saw Katherine's pissed and offended face from the rear-view mirror. And she wasn't the only one who found it amusing, her brother also had his self-satisfied smirk on his face. Apparently, nothing could hurt Katherine's pride more than rejection.

Damon suddenly pulled off the car to the side of the road when there was a little stop. Before getting out of the car, he glanced at his sister through the rear-view mirror, signaling to her that it was time for them to find out what Katherine was up to.

Katherine quickly followed the older Salvatore out. She leaned her arm against the roof of the car and asked, "Why are we stopping?"

"I thought we might want to stretch our legs, take a break from the sexual tension," he answered and grinned, his eyes scanning their surroundings.

Bella climbed out from the back seat and leaned her back against the car door besides her brother, her arms folded across her chest.

"I'm tired of driving," he said again, turning to Katherine and raising the car keys in his hand at her direction. "It's your turn."

"Fine." Katherine walked around the car to grab the keys, but before she could, he threw them into the wooded area. "Hey!" She yelled and quickly turned towards the direction where the keys had gone, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.

"We're not going anywhere until you spill your guts," he demanded, leaning his back against the car door behind him and folding his arms across his chest just like his sister. This made Bella raise an eyebrow at him since as much as she wanted to know what Katherine was really up to, she didn't think throwing the car keys at night like this when they were out in the middle of nowhere was a good idea.

Katherine scoffed, "Fine." She groped her back pocket and pulled something out from there, a necklace. "Do you recognize this, hmm?" She held up the necklace besides her face. And while Damon let out a slight nod, Bella tilted her head to the side and looked at it in curious. "A little birdy told me that Klaus wants to get his hands on it."

"Why would Klaus want Elena's necklace?"

"Does it matter?" Katherine retorted, whether she didn't know about it or deliberately didn't want to tell them, Bella's bet was on the second one. "He wants it, and I have it. It's leverage, Damon. Always stay one step ahead of your enemy." Turning to the younger Salvatore, her grin reappeared as she spoke, "Isn't that right, Bell?"

Always stay one step ahead of your enemy was something Katherine taught her back then in the 1900s. And as much as Bella hated what that woman did to her at that time, she couldn't deny that it was that woman who taught her the most about how to survive. But, of course, she wouldn't just admit that in front of her.

Katherine then informed them that she found out something else when she stole that necklace from Bonnie. But before explaining further about what it was, she asked them first, "Are you willing to do whatever it takes to stop Klaus? No turning back?"

"I'm not turning back."

"Bella?"

"Do I really have a choice?"

"Good point." The Petrova girl smiled in satisfaction at her new allies, then walked towards the trunk of the car. "By the way, this isn't gonna win you any points at home." And when she opened the trunk, Damon and Bella rushed to her side to check what she was talking about, which turned out to be the unconscious Jeremy.

"Jeremy? Really?"

Meanwhile Damon picked up Jeremy's body from the trunk and moved it to the park's picnic table beside the car, Katherine explained the reason why she needed him. Apparently, Jeremy could make contact with the dead after Bonnie brought him back to life. He had been seeing the ghosts of his dead girlfriends all summer, which was a bit weird for Bella since that's exactly when he was trying to win her heart.

Not that Bella was jealous or anything, but she simply didn't understand one thing; why bothered with all the effort if he hadn't completely over his dead girlfriends? Wasn't that just a waste of time?

"What if I told you there was a way to kill Klaus?" Katherine said from the other table. She sat comfortably there, her legs crossed. Bella sat in the bench next to her, staring at the ground and listening. "And not Dagger dead. Dead dead."

"I'd say you were desperate and lying, or drunk," Damon replied mockingly. "Or desperate, lying and drunk."

"And I'd say you were running out of tricks," Bella chimed in, looking up from the ground. Turning her face to the woman next to her, she put on a cynical smile. "Because last I checked, that's exactly how you tricked me into walking on Klaus's trap."

"Okay, yes, I used the same valuable information to trick you back then," Katherine admitted and scoffed. "But that doesn't make it any less true. Do you remember my friend Pearl?"

"You mean the one that you betrayed and had to suffer 146 years stuck on the tomb?"

Damon grimaced at the judgmental tone in his sister's voice. "Hei, sis?" He looked over at her. "It's been a really long day. You might want to dial down the judgement a little."

"Thank you, Damon," the Petrova girl exclaimed and shot a victorious smile at Bella, to which the younger girl just rolled her eyes.

Katherine told them what she knew about that valuable information, which she apparently got from her friend Pearl. Pearl told her about the existence of a vampire who knew how to kill Klaus, but she wouldn't tell her any more since it was her leverage. Both Katherine and Damon then started bickering about what good would that information be if the two people who knew it, Pearl and her daughter Anna, were dead. Katherine was about to get to her point at the same time Jeremy woke up and finished her words, "To me. Back around to me."

Jeremy then started trying to concentrate on making contact with Anna, but after a while, he didn't succeed. Bella decided to wait on the other side of the car since Jeremy couldn't stop glancing nervously at her and that was probably why he couldn't make contact with Anna.

After another moment, Jeremy finally manages to make contact with Anna. But Anna refused to help them since none of them were on good terms with her. Bella was actually close friends with her back in the 1800s, but that all changed when they had a run-in in 1989. Long story short, Anna asked for her help regarding the girl's mother and offered to look out for her in return, but Bella flatly refused since she didn't want another person that she truly considered as a friend to die because of her, however Anna insisted and tried to make her change her mind so Bella had to go the hard way to prove her point, and that was the end of their friendship.

Bella rejoined them at the same time Katherine leaned closer to Damon and whispered something in his ear. And the next second, he walked towards the Gilbert boy. "Jeremy, I just want you to know, it's nothing personal." He grabbed him by the back of his neck and smashed his head into the bench table.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Jeremy yelled at him, shocked and in pain, his temple bleeding.

But Damon ignored him and grabbed the back of his neck for the second time. "Anna, I know you can hear me," he exclaimed to the air. "Tell us what you know. The sooner, the better for your little boyfriend here."

Bella could feel the begging look Jeremy was sending her, she walked closer to them. Standing next to her brother, she folded her arms across her chest and put on a poker face. When there was still no answer from Anna, Bella had a feeling that the girl was expecting her to be the one to save Jeremy, so she decided to do the opposite. Ignoring the glimmer of pity she had for him, she suggested to her brother, "I think you didn't hit him hard enough to motivate her."

Damon chuckled. "And here I thought you have a soft spot for him."

"Wait, what?" Katherine jumped out from the table and walked closer to them. "You and Jeremy?" she asked the younger girl in shock, then shook her head in disbelief. "I've never been so disappointed in you, Baby Bellz."

Bella scoffed, "And I'm supposed to care with that?"

"Enough, you two." Damon groaned. He tightened his grip on the back of Jeremy's head and once again talked to the air, "So how is it, Anna?"

Jeremy suddenly yelled out a name, "Mikael!" to which Damon finally let go of him.

"Mikael, is that his name?"

"Who's Mikael?"

"What's she saying?"

"Hello!"

Katherine and Damon continued to ask in turn. Bella might have been curious as well, but she found their impatience a little bit unreasonable since it was clear that Jeremy was listening to Anna's explanation the moment they asked the question.

"He's a vampire and a hunter, and you guys would be idiots to wake him," he spat out after getting a slap behind the back on his head from the impatience Damon. He then turned back to where 'Anna' was when he suddenly realized something. "What do you mean, wake him?"

Meanwhile Damon immediately left to the wooded area to find the car keys, Katherine sat back on the other bench. Bella stood still in her place, her hazel eyes accidentaly met his brown eyes again. Taking another look at his bleeding temple, she slit her own wrist with her sharp nail, causing it to bleed. Without saying anything, she pushed her bleeding wrist in front of his face. Instead to just drink from it, Jeremy just stared at her wrist and her face in turn, his mouth then opened as if he was trying to say something, but no words came out. This made her grunt as her wrist quickly healed again and she had to slid it for the second time.

"Fod God's sake, just drink it." She shoved her bleeding wrists to his mouth in annoyance, forcing him to drink her blood. "Stop making this wierd, your head looked messed-up."

By the time Damon came back with the keys in his hand, Jeremy's wound already healed. The oldest Salvatore then asked for his phone to Katherine, and when he checked it, he found out that Bonnie had been texting him. It turned out Klaus returned to Mystic Falls unannounced, which only meant Elena's life was in danger again. After giving the keys to his sister and told them to continue their search for Mikael without him, Damon left.

With the guide from Anna through Jeremy, the three of them left as well. Katherine was the one driving. Bella was sitting next to her, staring out the window in boredom. Jeremy was in the backseat, too busy talking to the invisible Anna that he didn't notice Katherine was watching him from the rear-view mirror.

"Honestly," Katherine finally spoke and looked over at Bella, "I don't get what you see in him."

Bella rolled her eyes and without turning her face, she retorted, "Just shut up, Katherine."

"Are you ever not going to be mad at me?"

"I don't see how that's possible."

"Oh, come on, you've got your revenge. What else do you want?"

There was a brief pause for a moment before Bella finally turned to her and asked through her gritted teeth, "Have you ever, even for a second, regretted what you did to me?"

Katherine scoffed and concluded, "So you want an apology."

"No, not really." Bella turned back to the window and mocked, "I don't even think you capable to make one."

Katherine stole another glance to the younger girl, and sighed. Bella could lie all she wanted but Katherine could easily see right through her. After all, they weren't so different. As much as they wanted to believe an apology was meaningless, in the end they still wanted to hear it.

"I've done a lot of horrible things to survive. And yes, I once regretted what I did to you." Her confession made Bella turn her face back to her. Katherine looked back at the younger girl too as she added, "But I was just looking out for myself. I will always look out for myself. You, of all people, should have understand that."

There was a part of Bella that just wanted to hate Katherine for what she did, but there was also another part of her that could understand why she did what she did. After all, she had been through the same shit as Katherine. If not them, who else would look out for themselves?

However, just like Katherine, Bella also could easily see right through her. All these sudden good deeds, starting from her actually deliver the cure to Damon, continued with her not even trying to get back at Bella, and now she was trying to get them to work together with her after years of choosing to work alone. There was no way it wasn't based on something.

"It's getting lonely out there, huh, Katherine?" Bella spoke up, her eyes staring blankly at the car dashboard. "That's why you've been trying to get on me and my brothers' good side. Because even though we manage to kill Klaus, you still don't have a home to come to." She finally turned back to the Petrova girl as she stated her final guess, "You want us to be your home."

The way Katherine's eyes turned down for a moment with her lips pursed into a flat line was enough to confirm Bella's guess. She swallowed hard, then turned to the younger girl as she genuinely asked, "Do you think it would be possible?"

Even Bella didn't know the answer. Katherine screwed up big time not only with her, but also with both her brothers. Even if someday she was ready to forgive her and give her another chance, she didn't know about her brothers.

"Let's see how long you can stay without screwing us over first."

BETWEEN FINDING MIKAEL AND HAVING STEFAN HOME WITHOUT HIS HUMANITY ON, Bella couldn't decide which was the real bad news. Although she also hated Klaus for the same reasons as the others, she never wanted anyone to find out the way to kill him. Because that also meant they found the way to kill an original, and it would not only put Klaus in danger, but the entire original family as well, and she didn't want that to happen. But apparently, as long as Klaus was alive, Stefan would never get his free will back. Klaus had compelled her brother to turn his humanity off and do exactly as the hybrid said. There was nothing worse than being strip from their free will. And she didn't want her brother to suffer like that for the rest of his life. Needless to say, she conflicted again.

"Finally. Took you long enough."

Bella really didn't expect to hear that British accented female voice that she hadn't heard for a long time, or to find a familiar face she hadn't seen in such a long time sitting on the lounge chair in the corner of her room.

"Rebekah?"

Without removing her blanket, Bella got up and sat on the bed. She stared at the other blonde with a frown on her forehead, unable to decide how to react to the unexpected surprise.

"The one and only," the other blonde answered and smiled smugly. She had her back leaned against the chair and her legs crossed. "Nik told me you'd be here, and that you already made amends for your Katherine situation."

Bella's frown grew. "That still doesn't explain why you're here in my room," she responded without the intention of being rude. She was just completely confused and still a little sleepy.

"It's the first day of school and I need a ride. Your brother is being rude so I'm not even going to ask him."

The answer made Bella chuckle in disbelief. Not really feeling like giving anyone a ride at the time, she replied, "You know... there's this thing called a cab that can give you a ride anywhere you want, and all you have to do is make one phone call."

"Why would I do that when I have you?"

"Um... because I'm not your private driver?"

"Well, I can always compel you to be one." Rebekah smirked mischievously when her eyes saw Bella's displeased face at the threat. "Or better, I'll just drag you to your car and if you don't want to start driving, I'd break your hands. The choice is yours, sweetie."

If only the original vampire wasn't ten times stronger than her, Bella would have taught that girl a lesson just for threaten her.

The youngest Salvatore groaned and pulled her blanket off. "Ugh, fine."

Rebekah smiled victoriously. And as Bella jumped out from the bed, she also got up from the chair. "I'll wait for you downstairs," she announced, and started walking towards the door. But then she stopped again when she suddenly remembered something. "And, oh, wear something pretty," the female original suggested, looking at the other girl over her shoulder. "You don't want to make a bad impression in our first day, do you?"

Bella's eyes widened in instant. "Wait, what do you mean 'our'?"

Rebekah might have already gone when she asked that, but she knew that the girl could still hear her. She also knew the answer even thought the girl didn't give her one.

She couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief. After all the problems she already had, now she had to deal with school too?

Bella was more than eager to refuse, but Rebekah made it clear that she wouldn't take 'no' as an answer. It was really annoying and kind of reminded her of someone.

Mystic Falls High School was basically not really far from the Salvatore Boarding House, so it only took a few minutes to get there. And when they got there, they found the school yard already crowded.

"There, I gave you a ride," the female Salvatore exclaimed as she stopped her car at the parking lot. She then looked over to the female original besides her who was checking her appearance in the rear-view mirror. "Can I go home now?"

"Not quite yet."

Bella grunted at the answer. "I still don't get why you need me to go to school with you."

"Well, isn't that obvious?" Rebekah replied, tilting her head to the side with a smirk on her face. "I need a sidekick. Your brother used to be a good sidekick for my brother, so I figured you would too."

"Right," Bella pretended to agree and forced a chuckle, "except that I don't do high school drama anymore."

"Funny, you think you have a choice," Rebekah responded flatly. Grabbing her bag, she then opened the car door and climbed out. "Come on, sweets. We're already late for our first class."

Great.

Everything was just great. Not only she was forced to attend school, but she also had to be someone's sidekick.

Was this some kind of karma or something?

It turned out that Rebekah had taken care of everything related to school administration, not only for herself, but also for Bella. All they needed to do now was attend classes according to their schedules.

The school bell rang just in time as they stepped their foot at the school building. Unlike Rebekah who seemed to really think it would be fun, Bella looked like she'd rather slit her own throat than be there.

And as school activites went on, Bella finally figured out why Rebekah was so excited about this. Apparently, the female original was trying to piss off Elena and friends with her presence. Bella actually already guessed that when she discovered that Rebekah had enrolled them as senior.

Between the attention they both got as the new studentㅡand an addition of special attention she got for sharing the same last name with Stefanㅡ, and the question-mark look that Caroline kept giving her since the first class, and the awkward encounter with Jeremy in the corridor, Bella was more than willing to trade anything just to get away from there. That was why she didn't waste any more time when she heard the last bell.

But Rebekah suddenly blocked her way in the corridor. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere far from this hell hole."

"Don't worry, sweatheart, you can do that later." The female original smiled mischievously as she added, "After the cheerleading practice."

"A what now?" the youngest Salvatore choke in disbelief. Rebekah just gave her a brief grin and intertwined their arms together. "No, no, no, no!" Bella quickly tried to pull her arm back as she felt Rebekah starting to pull her over to come along, but since the girl was stronger than her, the effort was useless. "I'm really not in the mood to play a blonde cheerleader again."

"Do you really have no school spirit?" Rebekah scoffed, and continued to drag the youngest Salvatore to come with her to the girls locker room to change. "Come on, it should be fun."

It was the third time she had been forced to do something she really didn't want to do that day. Add one more and she surely would explode.

Apparently, Caroline was Rebekah's target at the time. The female original said that Caroline's life had peeked an interest in her and indirectly declared a war between them. And seeing that, Bella just tried to get as far as possible from them.

Running away from that cheap drama turned out to be not that easy. It was proven when Caroline approached her in the locker room right after Rebekah had gone to the shower.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked in whisper voice, probably afraid that Rebekah would still hear them.

"Um... going to shower?"

"I mean, why are you hanging out with her?"

"What, I can't have another friend now?" Bella responded nonchalantly as she went to her own locker to get a towel and a body cleanser.

Caroline quickly followed her from behind. "Of course you can! But not the evil blood slut."

"You're a little too dramatic, don't you think?" Bella opened her locker and started rummaging through her bag.

"Oh, I'm too dramatic now?" Caroline retorted and let out a dry chuckle. "Well, let's see, my boyfriend was turned into a hybrid and has been acting really weird ever since," she began, her tone was dripping with sacrasm. "And the sister of the guy who turned him into a hybrid just showed up the next day and made it clear that she wanted to steal my high school life and also my boyfriend. Then you," she shot a disappointed gaze at Bella, "who were supposed to be my friend, just started hanging out with her and taking her side."

"I'm not taking anyone's side," Bella scoffed and closed back her locker after getting everything she needed. "And about your boyfriend, why can't you just try to take it as a love test?" she suggested, trying to be a good friend for once. "I mean, no matter what he is right now or how hard Rebekah's trying to steal him, if he really loves you, he would never leave you."

"So you're saying that I just have to be okay with all of this?" the Forbes girl concluded in disbelief. "That I just have to let her do whatever she wants including trying to steal my guy?"

Bella grimaced as Caroline just made it sound like a bad idea. But since she was too lazy to argue, she just replied, "Um, yes?"

"You're under her compulsion, aren't you?"

"I'm on vervain, Caroline."

"Good, because that means you can choose," Caroline remarked sharply. "You can choose to still be my friend, or hers."

"Wha...?"

Before Bella could say anything, the Forbes girl already stormed off from the room.

"Honestly, I don't see why you want to be her friend."

Bella wasn't even surprised to hear that British-accented voice coming from behind her after Caroline had disappeared from the sight. Turning around, she found Rebekah wrapped only in a towel, her blonde hair still wet. "Yeah, I don't see why anyone wants to be your friend either." She smiled sarcastically at the original. "Oh wait," she faked a gasp, "no one actually does."

"No need to be rude," Rebekah retorted, offended.

"Or what? You're gonna break my legs now?" Bella replied sharply, obviously losing her temper. Taking a step closer at the original vampire, she gave her a defiant look. "I've taken your shit for all day long, but enough is enough. I won't allow myself to be blackmailed anymore. So do whatever you want, I don't care." And just like that, she left Rebekah who seemed speechless.

Bella felt really stupid that she had to wait that long to say that. Though she had never let others treat her like that before. However, little did she knew Rebekah being ten times stronger than her wasn't the only reason why she let the girl did that to her. It was more because she realized she still owed the girl. But owed or not, she didn't want to be trampled all the time.

When she got home, she tried to calm herself down with a glass of bourbon. But just as she took a sip from her glass and settled herself at the couch, Stefan showed up on threshold of the living room.

"I thought you already left with your new bestie to the bonfire," the middle Salvatore said, his arms folded across his chest.

The younger girl scoffed. "Don't start with me, Stefan."

"What, you two fighting already?" He chuckled mockingly. "No wonder she looked so glum."

"Has it occurred to you that it might have something to do with the fact that you've been ignoring her?" she retorted, refusing to take the blame. "Since the only reason she was here, was you."

"Actually, she was here because she had nowhere else to go," he corrected, taking a step closer to his sister. "Her brother abandoned her, remember?" He then started shaking his head, his face filled with fake sympathy. "That poor little thing. No friends or family." His smirk appeared as he continued, "I bet you know exactly how that felt like, since that's basically how you lived for these past century, right?"

Stefan might have said that to insult both Rebekah and her, but instead of feeling insulted, she started feeling guilty.

Her brother was right, apparently. She knew exactly how it felt like to have no friends or family. Thinking about it now, that was probably the reason why Rebekah kept trying to mess with Elena and friends, and also kept dragging her along the way.

The girl was lonely. And all of the her bitchy attitude was no more than a mask to cover up the loneliness she was secretly feeling.

It wasn't hard to figure that part out since that was exactly what Bella had been doing all this time.

Feeling like she owed someone an apology, Bella hurriedly left to the stupid bonfire that everyone was talking about. And as she arrived there, she easily found Rebekah sitting all alone in front of the fire flame with a wooden stick in her hand stuck out to the fire, roasting a marshmallow.

Rebekah glanced up to Bella as she sat on the bench next to her. "What are you doing here?" the original asked. "I thought you hated this place."

Bella shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I also hate this town, but I'm still here, aren't I?"

Rebekah didn't give any response to that as her attention was diverted to the marshmallow. Finding it catching on fire, she pulled it out of the fire and gently blew it. For a moment, she just stared at it as if she was seeing it for the first time, in which was the case. "Are you waiting for something?" she finally asked again without taking her eyes off it.

Bella sighed and looked around for a moment. "I shouldn't have said what I said earlier," she murmured, her eyes staring at the fire. "It was wrong and I'm sorry." And she wasn't referring to the part where she said she wouldn't allow herself to be blackmailed, she was referring to the part where she mocked her for not having friend.

"And what made you suddenly change your mind?" the female original asked again and brought the marshmallow to her mouth, trying to eat it.

"Because I still owed you," the female Salvatore answered and looked back at her. An amused smile appeared on her face as she watched Rebekah's change of expression while tasting the marshmallow for the first time.

It was sad to think that the girl next to her was actually ten times older and supposed to be more experienced on anything than her. She probably also didn't live a happy life for these past years with all the running from the girl's brother, but at least she still got to enjoy it and not missing anything.

"When I was running from your brother, I sometimes had to attend school so I could blend in perfectly in the town where I was hiding." Bella didn't know why she suddenly felt like sharing that with her. "And I always ended up playing the same role over and over again, as the school queen bee." Her eyes wandered through the woods around them as she recalled back the memories. "I always had my own sidekick and minions, and it felt really good to be the one with power." She finally turned back to Rebekah who seemed to be listening intently to her story. "Let's just say I don't really like having the situation reverse, with me being the sidekick and all."

"So you want me to be the sidekick, huh?" The original vampire raised an eyebrow at her, her tone implied she didn't like the idea at all.

"No, no more sidekick things," Bella answered, shaking her blonde head. "Let's just be two normal friends."

Rebekah blinked and for a moment looked dumbfounded. It turned out the idea really surprised her. "What about Caroline?" she responded after overcoming her shock. "I heard she asked you to choose."

Bella might haven't known Caroline for that long, but she was pretty sure that the Fobres girl wasn't that serious when she told her that. The girl was probably just not used to the chaotic situation like now, with her boyfriend was turned into a hybrid and all.

"Don't worry, she'll come around."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's just what friend does." Bella winced as she realized she just sounded exactly like her old naive self. Trying to shake off the idea of her being that girl again, she refocused on the subject they were talking about. "Although, I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to pick a fight with her every time you saw her."

Rebekah prenteded to think about it for a second. "Only if you promise to teach me how to drive."

"Deal, but we're not using my car."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a limited edition car and I'm not risking it."

"Then, should we take your brother's instead?" the original suggested, her head tilted to the side with a smirk on her face.

"They wouldn't be pleased either if something happened to their car." A smirk then started to grow on Bella's face as she immediately got the idea. "But... who cares?"

Without them noticing, Damon had been watching from afar, making sure they were too busy with each other to notice the operation lock-Stefan-up was happening as they chatted.

SKIPPING TOWN WITH REBEKAH THE NEXT DAY TURNED OUT TO BE A RATHER GOOD IDEA. They both agreed that they needed a break from that small pony town, so they decided to do a little bonding trip. In just one day, they've done all the things they both loved including driving lesson, shopping trips, bad-talk about Elena, and murdering people. Needless to say, she almost forgot when the last time she had that much fun. And it looked like she wasn't the only one who felt that way as Rebekah quickly tried to make another plans for their next trip.

However, all the fun had to end as they returned home the next day. Carolineㅡeven in the state of being mad at herㅡwas more than willing to fill her in with all that happened while she was gone. Apparently, the town was invaded by the spirit of the dead. Caroline then started fussing about the kiss between Jeremy and his dead-girlfriend Anna that also happened that day, and how she really pissed at him for doing that to her. Bella knew the girl meant well, but it was kind of irrelevant since she and Jeremy weren't even a thing.

However, while busy babbling about how Jeremy shouldn't kiss Anna, Caroline accidentally blurted out about Stefan being locked up in the old Forbes jail cell by Elena with the help of Lexi. Therefore, Bella quickly decided to pay him a visit.

"Just the other day you were almost got barbecued after walking straight into your ex-girlfriend's trap," Bella muttered after opening the cell door. She leaned her shoulder against the frame of the door with her arms folded across her chest as she gave Stefan, who was chained up on the only chair in the cell, a mocking gaze. "Now here you are, chained up tight in this jail cell, alone and helpless." She then chuckled. "I thought Ripper Stefan would be smarter than this."

"Go away."

His response only made Bella want to mock him even more. "You know, it's still a mystery to me how you and Damon managed to survive this long with that little thing in your head you called brain."

"Right, because managed to escape from Klaus for a century has made you feel like the smartest person in the world," he scoffed. "By the way, how was that working out for you? Ever had a real life? Real friend?"

Even in a miserable situation, Ripper Stefan was still able to throw insult and smirk. Instead of made her feel offended, it kind of amused her.

"You know, Klaus told me that he had killed every single person you've been involved with," Stefan spoke again. "He also told me that he had wanted to kill me, 'cause he knew I was your brother, and the only reason he didn't do that was because he had heard about my reputation... and talent."

"And where did that reputation and talent get you now?" Bella insulted back. Her smirk grew as her brother just looked away and looked defeated. "Do you even have a plan to free yourself?"

"Even if I have, why would I tell you?"

"Cause I still haven't decided whether this vampire rehab things is a good idea or not." Straightening herself up, she stretched her hand out to the side, giving a signal for a random human girl she had secretly brought to come closer. "So maybe you could help me decide."

"What are you doing?" The Salvatore boy frowned as he watched his sister walked closer to him with the human stranger.

"Deliver you a breakfast," the younger girl answered casually. And when she was right in front of him, she brought the stranger's wrist to her mouth and bit it until it bled. The stranger didn't even give a reaction at that, her eyes completely blank.

Bella then brought the bloody wrist above her brother's head, causing him to look up with mouth open, trying to catch the drop of blood coming down from the wrist with his mouth.

After the blood passed through his throat, Stefan started gasping as he immediately wanted more. He needed more. He craved for more.

Finding the craving-for-blood look on his face, she playfully offered, "More?"

"Yes, please."

But instead of giving him more, his sister pushed the bloody wrist away from him. She then crouched in front of him to meet his gaze. "Answer me something first," she demanded. "How would you feel if I went after Elena?"

"Absolutely wouldn't be pleased," he quickly answered. "I was compelled to protect her, remember?"

"Right," Bella scoffed and rolled her eyes. She then tried again. "But what if I say I will let you finish her," She made a gesture with her hands to the girl next to her, "only if you give me your blessing to give Elena a good and proper beating? I guarantee it won't lead to her death."

He groaned. "What is it with you and your hatred for Elena?"

"Just answer my question."

"Yes, I give you my blessing."

A triumphant smile appeared on her face. "Good."

Stefan wasted no time at all when his sister brought the stranger's wrist to his mouth. With his teeth extended into razor-sharp fangs, the sclera of his eyes quickly turned blood-red, and dark veins appeared under his eyes. He dug his fangs into the stranger's wrist, sucking the blood out of her.

Too busy draining the blood of the poor stranger, the male Salvatore didn't even realize that his sister quietly took his ring off. Without taking her eyes off her brother, she smoothly put the ring in her back pocket.

"Maybe I do like this new Stefan better," she commented after the stranger fell to the ground, dead. She then broke all the chains that was holding back his movement.

Stefan gave his sister a question look as she straightened herself back up. She just shrugged nonchalantly as an answer. And in the split-second, just like she had expected, he sped up to the exit. But as soon as he stepped his foot outside, he hurriedly rushed back inside as his skin started to burn as the sunlight hit him.

"Leaving so soon?" she mocked from behind him. And when Stefan turned around, she took out the ring from her pocket and started playing it with her fingers. "Yeah, I don't think so."

Stefan quickly vamp-sped towards her, but before he could get to her, she already sped back up to the cell.

For a while, they 'played' run and catch all over the place. Bella, who always managed to get away, looked like she was enjoying it. While Stefan, whose involvement wasn't voluntary, looked furious.

"You don't know how much I loved my life without you around," Stefan growled as he stopped for a while. "Why can't you just stay missing?"

His words somehow made his sister let out a small chuckle. "You really need to try better if you want to hurt my feelings."

When he lunged at her again after that, she no longer tried to get away. Instead, she threw the ring in her hand into the sunlight that entered through the only vent in the cell.

After shooting his sister a death glare, he went to pick up his ring. But before he could pull his hand away from the sunlight, she had already stepped her foot on his hand, causing the skin on his hand to start burning, making him groan in pain and gave his little sister another death glare.

He tried to push her foot away with his other hand, but she was faster, before he managed to do it, she already kicked his other hand away with her other foot. It made his other hand swing back behind his body and land right on a stake that Lexi used to torture him yesterday that he didn't realize was there before.

He quickly grabbed the stake, and when he swung it to the air, Bella reflexively tried to take a step back, but before she could do it, he already grabbed her foot with his burning hand and pulled it until she fell to the ground. Without wasting any time, he climbed out on top of her and held up the stake in his hand as if he was about to use it to her.

"Do it," she challenged when his hand that was holding the stake just stopped in midair, no fear in her eyes. "Break your promise to never let anyone or anything hurt me." As silly as it might sound, she wanted to keep believing in that promise her brother made when they were little. "They are nothing more than just words, aren't they?"

He swallowed hard, and slowly, put the stake down. She could see a hint of guilt on his eyes before he quickly looked away and got up.

"Why are you even still here, Bella?" he asked, putting his ring back on his finger.

Bella quickly got up and instead of answering, she asked back, "Where else should I be, Stefan?"

"Anywhere but here," he answered as if it was obvious. "There's nothing for you here. Damon's too wrapped up with Elena, and I don't have time to play a good big brother. So why haven't you leave?"

It seemed that he didn't really expect an answer for that question since he just started to walk away, instead of waiting for her to answer.

"Because you are lost, Stefan."

Her answer made him stop walking, but he didn't turn around. For a while, he just stood still on the threshold of the cell with his back to her, waiting for her to continue, knowing that she wasn't finished.

After taking a deep breath, she finally continued, "I know I wasn't there for you when you were lost before, but I'm here now."

When he finally turned around, she was already right behind him. Then without a warning, she injected him with a vervain injection which had been secretly behind her sleeve since she came. "And you're not getting rid of me that easily," she whispered to his face before he fell to the ground.

Bella looked down to see her brother's unconscious face, then sighed. She wasn't lying when she said she was there to decide whether to support or against the idea of lock him up. On the one hand, when it came to people she cared about, she always hated it when someone took away their free will. Locking him up to force him turn his humanity on sounded like taking away his free will in her ears. But on the other hand, she knew the guy in front her right now wasn't the real him. He was lost and didn't know what he really wanted. And seeing him still unable to really harm her even when he was in his darkest place, she knew she owed him that much to pull him out of the darkness.

"I'm sorry, Stef," she apologised to the still unconscious Stefan who was now back chained up to the chair. She had indeed prepared everything including the new chain before coming there, knowing there was a posibility she would need it. "But as much as I like the I-don't-care-about-Elena you, I like my real brother better."

A/n: I know I've asked this before, but let me ask this again; which dynamic duo do you guys like after this chapter? With Rebekah, Katherine, or Caroline? And what do you think about her relationship with Stefan? Was their unbreakable bond shown?