A/N: So… I found all the comments about my muse needing to get back to work, and he/she did! (no, I have no clue if my muse is a boy or a girl. He/She won't tell me *pout*) Well, sorta, anyway. I want to update this fic weekly if possible. *crosses fingers* let's hope I can stay consistent.

Of course, next week is February vacation, so expect a lot of updates on a lot of different fics.

Also, in this story, Mason left before Elena was born so he doesn't know she exists.

Katherine's POV

The Lockwood house was a lot bigger than I remembered it. As I walked toward it, it seemed to mock me. What I was about to do could expose me to half the town—Stefan would be enough trouble—and Elena would start warning all her friends to watch out for me.

I stopped at the intricate glass doors and rapped on them. "Hello?"

A teenage boy, who I was sure was Tyler, opened the door. "Hey, Elena."

"Hey." I responded, trying to keep my voice light as I talked faster than normal. I had studied Elena enough to know she always sounded very cheerful. I liked being slow and seductive, while she was as dull as dishwater. "Tyler, could I talk to you for a minute?"

He seemed surprised, but nodded. "Sure, Elena, come on in."

"Thank you." A smirk traced my lips. Invited in.

He led me to what had to be the parlor and gestured for me to sit. I did, and waited as he poured some sort of sparkling water from a crystal container. If anything, the Lockwoods were at least ten times as rich as they had been when I'd known them. I nearly took a sip from my glass when I smelled vervain in it. Of course his mother would lace his drinks with vervain. When he looked away I let it pour into a flower vase behind me.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" asked Tyler. "I don't think you've ever come here just to talk."

"Oh… well, no, I guess not." I admitted. Would Elena be nervous about seeing Tyler? I always thought she and Tyler had something going on between each other, but I hadn't gotten enough time to ask around. "I just wanted to ask about something that was my parents'."

"One of the artifacts you loaned us a couple months ago?" he asked. "Why don't you just ask my mom about them?"

I shrugged, saying, "I didn't want to be a bother. It's just this stone, a round, clear one. I think it's called a moonstone."

"Whose was it?"

"My mom's." I hedged, playing the mom card. I batted my eyelashes at him but it went unnoticed. "She—um—she got it somewhere, with dad, I guess—it meant a lot to her—it never got returned, so I was wondering if—?"

"I'll go look." He said. He left his glass on the table and headed to a room that looked like someone's study. I kept my ears alert for any noises. If his parents came home they would be on to me because I was sure they would know the moonstone had been with their family for years. Of course, they had no idea what it was or what they were. They would merely think I was trying to steal it.

"Is this it?" Tyler asked, surprising me. He held up the moonstone in front of me. I took a sharp, quick breath. "What?"

"Oh, just memories…" Running through the woods, clutching it in my hands so I would be safe when I reached Rose's house, never letting go even when I turned and my family was dead… "It's nothing, Tyler, really. Thank you for finding it."

"Any time, Elena."

He showed me out and watched me go. I safely concluded that there was nothing between Elena and Tyler. That left Matt, with the gorgeous blue eyes. I seriously was considering going after him, but first thing first; I had to get some backup.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed a familiar number. "Hello?"

"Katherine?"

"Mason." I said, silky-sweet. "I found it."

"You really found it? How?"

I shook my head at his naïve belief. "It doesn't matter. I found it, and I need your help so that you can be free."

"I'll be there in a day."

Elena's POV

The drink in front of me was melting, little rivulets of water dripping down the soggy paper umbrella. I was stirring the drink with a straw, lazy and content, watching the juice splash the umbrella and make it droop even more.

"Elena?"

"Huh?" I glanced up at Bonnie. Caroline was mirroring her "you-are-so-dead-to-the-world-right-now" look.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

"No…" I said. It's not like much had changed. I did call Damon a lot more frequently than I did Stefan, but that didn't mean anything. It was just nice to talk to Damon. He always seemed to know just the right thing to say, or how to solve an apparently unsolvable problem.

Caroline groaned. "You look like you have a crush or something. You've been all gushy and weird and distracted the whole time we've been here."

"You have." Added Bonnie. "It's true."

"Well, I love Stefan, so I guess that's it." I said. The words came out a little harsher than I'd intended. "It's like we're falling in love all over again."

"Did you have sex with him?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline!"

"What?" she faked an innocent expression. "I was just asking. Why else would you be falling in love all over again?"

I glanced at Bonnie, who shrugged and said, "Well, are you and him—" she wiggled her eyebrows "—you know?"

"Since a while ago, you creeps." I admitted, blushing despite myself. "And that's not the point, anyway. I'm just really happy." That Damon's always there for me. I'm really happy about that because we're nothing but friends.

"You're happier than that." Caroline said accusingly. "C'mon, spill. What's going on?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, okay? Look, I'm going to go get another drink. I'll be back in a minute." I headed inside the Grill—Caroline, Bonnie, and I were all outside—and ordered another drink. I was about to take it back to my table when I felt two strong hands gently grab my waist. A rough chin tickled my shoulder, and I nearly said, "Stefan, you have a beard?" when I heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Hey…" he murmured. "Good to see you again." the man's voice was vaguely familiar, but laced with innuendo that made me shudder and twist away.

"Excuse me?" I said. "Who the hell are you?"

The man looked like Mayor Lockwood from a first glance. He was tilting his head, questioning me, like Tyler when something didn't go his way and he didn't know why. "What do you mean, Katherine?"

"Katherine?" Oh no, Katherine! I gulped. "I'm not Katherine, I'm Elena Gilbert. You must have made a mistake."

"Elena?" he asked. It wasn't that he knew me more as he was utterly confused. "What do you mean?"

"I have to go." I hurried away and slipped out back, pulling out my cell as I went. "Damon?"

"Yeah?" he sounded sleepy, but I would apologize later.

"Some man that looks very much like Mayor Lockwood tried to hit on me and called me Katherine."

There was a long silence, followed by a, "Damn."

"What?"

"I know the guy.

"Do you?"

"Yeah. He's the kind that just doesn't want to stay dead."