The amount of pressure in my head was more than I could handle at the moment. Not only did it feel like needles were piercing my brain, but it felt as if my brain would literally explode from the pressure. I searched my mind for the cause of this pain and it all led to one image: a bottle of bourbon. I mentally scolded myself for drinking that much. Suddenly, the smell of coffee was wafting under my nose. I hesitantly opened my eyes to see Elena holding a cup of coffee out to me. A warm smile was playing on her lips. It wasn't an intimate smile, but a smile that she used to give me…when we were friends. My focus on the type of smile was quickly averted when it clicked in that she was here. A sense of relief washed over me, something I'd grown accustomed to whenever Elena was around. She ran her fingers through her hair, brushing the hair out of her face and took a seat on the coffee table. I slouched up the couch, the room spinning with very move I made. I swallowed hard and soon enough, I was vertical even if it killed me.
"How are you feeling?" she whispered, placing the cup of hot coffee in my waiting hands. I smiled weakly before taking a sip, allowing the liquid to warm my cold body and ease my headache slightly.
"Like there's a giant elephant standing on my head…" I croaked. I rubbed my eyes and squeezed the bridge of my nose, trying to relieve the pressure before I spoke.
"Did you spend the night?" I asked quietly.
Elena smiled weakly, "I didn't wanna leave you alone…you were…really drunk," she said with a shy smile before bringing the cup to her lips. "I brought you home and you immediately crashed on the couch."
"You didn't have to stay with me…" I reminded her.
"I know," she whispered, flashing me another warm smile. The massive headache I was harbouring lessened with her smile. The effect of her was purely psychological, but I couldn't help but bask in the glory of it.
I mentally shook my head and stood up, placing the cup of coffee on the end table. "Thanks for the charity, but I can take care of myself…" I mumbled before heading upstairs to take a shower. Elena's eyebrows furrowed in a tight line out of confusion and worry.
"Wait, what?" she asked out of confusion. I was halfway up the stairs but I turned to face her.
"Never mind…thanks for the coffee," I saluted her briefly before reaching my bedroom.
…
I let the warm water soak through my skin, relieving my tense muscles and letting the events of yesterday roll off down the drain. I took a deep breath and shut off the water. Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and opened the door to my bedroom. A part of me was hoping to find Elena somewhere in the house, but as I listened closely, I could hear no heartbeat within a few miles. I ran my fingers through my now wet hair and headed over to my large armoire.
After getting dressed with my signature black t-shirt, dark wash jeans and black boots, I headed downstairs to the basement to grab a blood bag. I let the blood soak down my throat, relieving the stench of the night before and letting it satiate my hunger. The house was quiet until I heard the front door open. I immediately rushed up the stairs, hoping to find Elena. A part of me did, unfortunately this version of her was dressed up in black. Her hair was curled in large ringlets and she was wearing tall boots. The smirk on her face was unmistakeable.
"Katherine…" I breathed. She walked closer, her long legs supporting the weight of her slender and seductive body. She ran her finger over my chest and inhaled deeply.
"It is so…so good to see you," she said. I grabbed her wrist and pinned it to her side before turning and taking a seat on the couch.
"Wish I could say the same," I said. She rolled her eyes and made her way over to the parlour, pouring herself a drink.
"I'd ask you if you want one, but I think you had enough…" she mustered, a smile playing on her lips. I stood up immediately and turned to face her.
"How do you know about that?" I asked, grabbing the drink from her hands and placing it on the end table.
"I hear things," she said before shrugging and revealing her resolve. "Plus you weren't exactly inconspicuous…" she teased. A low growl erupted from the back of my throat. "I was a few minutes from the Grill having dinner in the forest when Stefan came out of the wood work, exclaiming that his brother was a drunk and his former flame was practically being a nurse…"
"Where is he?" I asked. My stomach felt a little unsettled not knowing where Stefan was. Whether it was because he was my little brother or because he was after the woman I loved, that was anyone's guess. But I still needed to talk to him…I needed to see him. Katherine took a deep breath out of annoyance and spoke.
"He's been staying at a hotel. After he went to see my dull as a dishrag doppelganger, he checked in and called me…I came to town, you got drunk, Elena left and now I'm here…" she explained, ticking off the events with her perfectly manicured fingers. Suddenly, her index finger lifted in the air as a sign of a light bulb. "But of course, who could forget the kiss between your precious Elena and Stefan?" she teased. She walked around me as if I was some sort of statute and she was admiring me. She stopped abruptly behind me. "How does that make you feel?" she whispered in a teasing manner in my ear.
Without time to react reasonably, my hands were around her throat – pinning her slender body up against the wall. She smirked again.
"Damon, I like it rough too…all you had to do was ask," she said, playing with the buttons on my shirt. I growled and released my grip on her. Everything was piling up. I was just getting around to being with Elena and then Saint Stefan pops back into town and now Katherine. What was next? I thought to myself. I pondered that and shuddered that question away, not wanting to know the answer.
"Why are you here?" I said with clenched teeth. She cocked her eyebrow seductively and stepped forward.
"I was bored," she said simply with a light shrug of her shoulders. I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest.
"You came back to good ol' Mystic Falls because you're bored?" I clarified.
"Yup," she said, enunciating the P. Katherine turned on her heels and took a seat on the armchair closest to the fireplace and gazed into it as she spoke. "Stefan and I were in Mexico…I came back one afternoon from a hunt and he was gone. No note, no phone call…just vanished," she said.
"Get used to it, honey – that seems to be Stefan's go to move" I scoffed.
"Apparently he had something else on his mind for him to forget his diary," Katherine explained as grabbed a flat, leather-bound book from her trench coat pocket. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"What is he, a 9 year old girl?" I muttered to myself, hesitantly taking a seat on the coffee table to face Katherine.
"You always said you wanted a sister…" Katherine retorted before continuing. She opened a page from the diary. "According to this entry," she pointed to a fairly recent one "he came back for Elena…"
"Yeah well, I knew that…" I said to myself.
"Yeah well what you don't know is that Stefan is a completely different person now. He's braver, darker…" she looked off into the distance as if picturing him "and sexier…" she added as an afterthought before averting her gaze back to me.
"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked.
"Because if you care about Elena as much as you say you do, then you'd probably wanna know that Elena won't around for you to get your shit together…" she scolded.
"You're giving me relationship advice? Well how ironic is this…"
Katherine stood up quickly and crossed the room until she was standing in front of the front door. "He's changed…he's changed into the kind of person that gets what he wants – at all costs…" she said.
"Oh and Damon?" she added. I gritted my teeth and turned to her.
"Yes Miss. Katherine?" I said sarcastically.
She smirked. "Stefan's turned into the male version of me… think about that kind of person going after the one you love," she whispered before heading out the door.
"I think about it every day…" I whispered to myself as the familiar feeling of defeat washed over me.
In case anyone's confused, Stefan came to town without Katherine but when he realized the severity of Elena's relationship with Damon, he called Katherine. Stefan has been keeping tabs on Elena since he got back to town and Katherine just got back to Mystic Falls the night before. I hope you guys liked this chapter! Thank you so much everyone for all the amazing reviews! Keep reading and keep reviewing! Love you all (: