Damon turned to look from Mrs. Flowers then at a trembling Elena.

"Damon." She whispered. "I think I'm seeing things.."

Dear diary,

Stefan is still missing and I'm tired of worrying about everything. About him and about the people out there so I did something to myself diary. I dyed my hair. At least that would decrease my chances of getting spotted right? Bonnie says I look different and I think I do. Well, slightly but Damon says hair dyes don't work on vampires. He could have told me that earlier before I actually bought it, let alone used it.

Love, xo Elena

"I swear Bonnie, I saw what I saw." Elena spoke into the phone as she pulled her sunglasses over her eyes and walked into Starbucks that morning. Many would have thought that all Vampires drank was blood but Elena did read somewhere that caffeine and tannin was good for the Vampire immune system. In other words, it made the body calmer so that it would get startled and wounded easily upon sudden contact. Plus, the addition of honey in tea made wound healing faster. The first time she told Stefan about it, he nodded politely at her and she thought she had achieved success in discovering something new. It wasn't later when she told Damon about it and he had laughed at her and called the facts nothing but plain bull.

Still, even in the human world Elena had been a fan of organic and health related facts which Matt wouldn't believe so it made no difference to want to feel satisfied with something similar in the vampire world. Bull or no bull, she believed it.

"Bonnie, you're my best friend and I'm going to be honest with you." Elena muttered and ordered a black for Damon and an Iced Mocha for herself. She was never a fan of strong caffeine other than having them in her Iced blended drinks.

Elena bit her lip.

"When Damon got bitten I didn't do anything. Like, my whole body was frozen." Elena spoke and paid the barista when she placed her order. "But the inside of me was screaming. Even when he had just insulted me five minutes ago."

Elena slipped her bag down her hand to carry both cups of coffee then pressed her cell phone against her ear with her shoulder.

"I don't know Bonnie." Elena went on and pushed the door open with her back. "It was like seeing him in anguish made it hurtful but then I wasn't doing anything to stop it either. Like I didn't mind seeing him die..." Elena paused and squealed when she felt the cold sensation on her body. She looked down at her spilled Iced Blended than up at the klutz who had banged in to her.

The girl was slightly shorter than her with creamy, pale skin. Her perfectly round eyes were electric sapphire blue and they stood out from her creamy skin. Her well-brushed, wavy blonde hair fell perfectly over her sharp shoulder blades and collar bone. However, she looked foreign in her ancient Renaissance robe which was rare to find in Fells Church now days.

The weird thing was, the girl looked exactly...like Elena.

Elena's lips stood parted as she watched the girl push the door open and was on the verge of entering when she turned and beamed at Elena. Elena frowned and turned around.

It couldn't be her, she was... dead.

"Sweet dreams..." The voice cooed and Elena's pupils dilated as she swung around to look at the girl. Like a mad psychopath, Elena raced into the shop and scanned the room, ignoring the confused faces being thrown her way. Katherine was gone.

Elena checked both men and women's bathroom but she was out of sight.

It couldn't be. Elena thought. I killed Katherine. She's dead. She died several times. It's impossible.

"Elena?" Elena didn't realise that Bonnie was still on the phone with her.

Trembling, she raised the phone and spoke.

"I've got to go."

"Where?" Bonnie demanded but Elena had already lost her focus.

"Damon."

Stefan stood there, arms crossed against his chest as he stared at the boarding house from a distance. She was in there, he sensed her, but he also sensed that she was not alone. Instead, she had that heartless mignon in there with him. No, let him rephrase that, she had gone to see that heartless mignon who had been there all night deep in thoughts.

Stefan sensed his deep aura and knew Damon was up to something but what was it? He watched him reside in that house for nearly two days straight now without going out to hunt. This wasn't like Damon at all. Stefan took a deep breath and watched Elena walk into the house. She had dyed her hair into a dark shade of brown and Stefan didn't know why. In his opinion, she looked a lot more beautiful with that natural platinum blonde hair but then again, she was always beautiful in his eyes.

At first, Stefan kept watch of her to see how she was doing. The first few nights were rough. Stefan forced himself to watch Elena cry herself to sleep or sometimes even talk on the phone with Bonnie or Meredith. He couldn't fathom her thoughts but he could hear their conversation well enough to link all the sentences up together to form a story. She was heartbroken and crushed. She called for him at night but all he could do was sit and wait.

He couldn't go up to her and he didn't know why either. A part of him loved her a lot. A part of him wanted to cradle her in his arms like last time but then, Katherine came into the picture. After giving her blood, Katherine was starting to build strength. She wasn't as strong as she was but she definitely as stronger. With a dose of Stefan's blood, Katherine was able to smile, laugh and move her hands but she still couldn't walk. Stefan couldn't comprehend why and neither could she but then it struck him that she needed those three bloods to regain power.

Of course, he wasn't sure he could tell her that just yet. He had to be careful.

Stefan watched Elena enter the room. She stood still for a while at the door, not approaching the mignon and for a moment he was glad. He was glad that Elena still had some sense in her. It drew him to the desire of wanting to just walk towards her. After all, Katherine was nothing but useless underneath the church but then.. he couldn't. He couldn't promise himself happiness with Elena while Damon was around. He knew that the boys Elena fell for were like Damon. Charming, Exquisite and very outspoken. Damon fitted in well with the modern crowd, the crowd Elena was from.

Why couldn't she just see that? Why couldn't she just accept the fact that somewhere deep down she did have feelings for Damon and that he made life less boring for her?

Stefan! Something yelled inside of him and Stefan shook his head out of his incredulous thoughts.

What was he thinking? Of course he wouldn't let Damon and Elena be.

Never.

"Damon...."

That voice cooed in his ear again and Damon felt her soft, lingering touch on his face. Her milky, smooth hands caressed his face and Damon felt the warmth gush through his blood like a fireplace during winter. His eyes were closed but he could feel her silky, blonde hair on his chest as she rested her head on his chest. He reached his hand out to touch it and felt it. It was real. It felt real.

Katherine giggled her usual girly giggle and touched his lips with her slender fingers before leaning down to kiss it. She ran his fingers through his hair then nuzzled her nose against his. His subtle chuckle made her blush but she pulled away. Damon couldn't see her. He couldn't feel her anymore. He reached out for her but she wasn't there. Her melodious voice still echoed in his ear and he searched like a groping blind man.

"Katherine?" He called out like a lost puppy. "Katherine, my love?" Her giggles grew louder and louder and Damon felt perspiration trickle down his sideburns. "Katherine?"

Then he saw her. She led him down a cellar with nothing but old tombs and dust. It looked like an old, ancient room with silvery cobwebs hanging from the corners of the ceiling. Something trickled onto his face and Damon looked up to see a white, silvery liquid. It was thick and viscous like the saliva of a tarantula but it definitely did not smell like one.

"Katherine?" He called out again and slowly saw her emerge, this time, with someone else in her arm. Damon strained his eyes to see in the dark light and noticed the man.

Stefan.

"Stefan?" He breathed out but Katherine held his hands and handed it to Stefan.

"I love the both of you." Her voice chanted as she pulled both Stefan and Damon closer to her. "and we're going to live happily every after, the three of us..."

The three of us.

That phrase echoed in Damon's ear as he watched the scenes fade away. Her subtle, harmless voice looped in his head, growing louder and louder every moment.

Happily... ever.... after....

"Damon!"

Damon shot his eyes open.

"Narcoleptic much?" Elena groaned and Damon peered around, still dazed from his dream.

Dream. That's right. It was just a dream.

"You're always sleeping whenever I come around." Elena's grip on his shoulders were released when she hopped off the bed and took a seat on the sofa.

"What have been doing anyway?"

Damon pulled himself up and wiped his sweaty face, glad that the tarantula spit was gone.

"I haven't fed in two days Elena." He muttered and grimaced at the sudden back ache.

"Since when do you starve yourself?" She began to grow wary.

Damon stood up and stretched. "Since I figured I could lose a pound or two."

The apprehension in Elena ebbed away when she saw that the old Damon was back.

"Well would coffee help put off the starvation for a while?" Elena asked, holding out the cup of black coffee she had bought for him.

"You know drinking coffee in starvation mode is just like drinking alcohol with an empty stomach."He pointed out , indirectly turning the coffee down then yawned. "I'm going to need to feed to get me fully awake."

Elena sighed and watched as he walked towards the mirror and ruffled his tousled, bed hair.

"Damon I saw Katherine..."

Damon froze and Elena saw his face change through his reflection on the mirror. It was stern like he was trying hard not to show any signs of emotion but Elena knew it hit him like a fist in the face.

"You're crazy Elena." He spoke after a few minutes of silent then crossed his arms across his chest and chuckled. "You know now I really think you miss Stefan."

"Damon I'm not lying." She stood up and approached him. "I was right about Mrs. Flowers and I know I'm right about Katherine."

"You were wrong about me." He crossed his arms across his chest and gave her a brief nod as though mocking her.

"Maybe it's a sign Damon." He faltered after being speechless for several minutes. She watched Damon let out another aggravated groan. She was nuts.

"No wonder Stefan couldn't stand you." He muttered under his breath, forgetting that Elena had already adopted the sharp hearing senses of a vampire.

"What did you say?" He heard her snap than in an instance, she was standing right in front of him with her teeth gritted to show her perfectly white fangs. When Damon clearly ignored her, Elena felt her blood boiled and she gripped the collars of his shirt.

Damon looked at Elena, first with a confused expression then broke into an awry smile at her cute attempt to flash her bravado.

"You mean no wonder no one can stand you." She hissed and heard his shirt tore when one of her sharp nails cut through them. "You selfish, arrogant jerk." She knifed him with her words and while Damon remained amused, Elena simply felt herself burn brighter with rage. She was on the verge to open her mouth when a sharp, brittle breeze blackened the house. The first tiny explosive sound of the burnt out light bulbs made Elena choke on her own saliva as she gradually released Damon.

Before anyone could say a word, another sharp breeze caused every open door and window to slam shut and the howling sound of werewolves in a ritual haunted the boarding house. She heard Damon mutter 'wind' and his fast reflexes saved him from an unplugged table lamp.

Elena trembled as mist asphyxiated every mirror and glass in the room. Her heart stopped beating when she heard that familiar, raucous voice that had haunted her merely days before her wedding day. That same voice that wished her sweet dreams now echoed the room. She couldn't make out his words but they sounded like a curse, like a threat. It was like a cacophony, except worse.

Then she heard him yell.
Stefan yelled and when his yell ceased, everything else ceased along.

The room was bright and clean again, leaving no evidence of what had happened. Elena caught Damon standing there as speechless as she was.

"Damon." She croaked and looked up at him. "You heard it, didn't you?" She felt her eyes burn. "You heard Stefan yell."

He didn't reply and stared blankly at her.

"Damon!" She felt tears well in her eyes. "Damon, we need to save Stefan. We need to find him!" Her voice trembled like a lost girl on the prairie but he remained unvoiced. Elena couldn't believe it. She stared at Damon in disbelief and shouted again but then it struck her.

He was growing paler and paler.

Whiter and whiter. Ashen and ashen. His colour, fading and fading.

"D..d..?" She stuttered then her eyes fell onto a shining piece of metal pierced at his neck. He wasn't staked but...

Elena reached for the metal. It was silver and not just any ordinary silver blade. The blade was melting and the more it melted, the more he grew paler like the mercury-silver blade.

He was poisoned.


Sorry if the previous chapter was confusing!

But yeah, after reading this I thought you should know that Elena is 'seeing things' as she told Damon.

So yeah.... :D

Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews and comments. You guys seriously inspire me to write :D

R&R much appreciated.

Thank you!