author's notes: you guys' comments on the past few chapters have been absolutely FAB! thank you so much to all of you. i hope you all like the new chapter, i had a blast writing it. please read & review! -- i added some pictures to my profile for visuals on Amelia -- setting: right after 1x14, goes AU from there.

disclaimer: fic•tion [fíksh'n]: literary works of imagination

MALUM DISCORDIAE (apple of discord)

chapter 7: let's play pretend

He follows her downstairs in silence. He knows she expects him to, to follow, to obey, to have waited for her all these years. He knows that maybe he should feel insulted to be taken for granted like that, but it's no different from how he treats people around him. He must have gotten that from her too. Katherine stops in the living room, and stands in the middle of the room. He figures she's waiting for him to say something. But what is there to say after everything that's happened?

"I've been looking for you," he says still, because he's not one for awkward silences. And he needs to know. He needs to know why she didn't come looking for him, why she left him to die, why she's back now. Is it just to save his brother? Is he still sharing her with his brother?

"I heard," she answers, and looks around the room disinterested.

He wants to ask her how she can be so callous, seem so unfeeling towards him now, but he can't make the words come out. He could tell her, but it would make him a hypocrite. They're alike, he realises that now, but he doesn't remember if it's always been like this. Maybe she just made him into this. "How long?" he asks, keeping his head high, and straightens his shoulders. How long ago did she hear? When did she decide that he wasn't worth her trouble?

Katherine looks at him, at the once-human man she'd known all those years ago. He's trying to tell her something, make her read between the lines, but that's not why she came here. She didn't come here to be taught any lessons about life. There's only one way to deal with Damon. "Oh, darling, don't despair." Katherine makes her way towards Damon. "I'm here now." She throws her arms around his neck and pulls him closer. Damon doesn't object. "That's all that matters."

Damon casts down his eyes, but his hands move down around Katherine's waist. "I spend the past century and a half..." he starts, but Katherine puts a finger to his lips. His eyes find hers, truthfully, for the first time that night. The thought that he'd been staring into Amelia's eyes in a similar way not half an hour ago doesn't reach his conscious mind.

"Shhh," Katherine silences him wordlessly, pulling away her finger from his lips. "Don't talk," she says, settling her body closely against his. "I've missed you," Katherine whispers, not breaking away from his gaze. His mind draws a blank; he can't think when she's this close. He doesn't think about how she's probably manipulating him, simply because when she looks at him like this, his mind clouds over, and there's only her. And Katherine knows that.

He feels desperation enveloping him from every possible side, clutching around his heart tightly, just the way he remembers it. He suddenly feels what it's like to be human again, to feel so hopelessly in love with Katherine. He remembers what it was like in her arms, how powerful she made him feel despite being the stronger one. And it's desperation that makes him lean in, makes him close what little distance there's still left between them, take her face in his hands, and capture her lips with his own.

He kisses her like he hasn't seen her in forever; he makes every second count. He savours the feel of her hands clutching at his shirt, her tongue gaining entry in his mouth, the taste of her. Everything. He remembers this, he's missed this. "I've missed you," he whispers against Katherine's lips, and kisses her again, deeply, dragging her down on the sofa with him.

Amelia is on the landing when she sees them, in the middle of the living room, holding onto each other for dear life. She's helping Bonnie down the stairs; she'd left Elena to recover upstairs with Stefan, but she thought it best that Bonnie recovered in her own room for the time being. Elena and Stefan will probably enjoy some time to themselves once they both wake up again.

Bonnie looks up at Amelia, who takes in a shuddery breath before continuing down the hallway. She wonders what Amelia is thinking, what she feels when she sees Damon with Katherine like that. It's clear that Amelia cares for Damon, but does she love him? It seems unlikely; Amelia must know about Damon's feelings for Katherine. "You don't mind?" she asks still, hoping that what little words she manages to utter come across with the right meaning.

"It's his life," Amelia answers in short.

"The life you gave him," Bonnie insists, while Amelia helps her sit down on her bed. Her head feels like it's going to explode, just like last time she drank vampire blood. She hopes she won't be doing that again in the near future. Or ever.

Amelia doesn't even try to answer Bonnie's statement. It's true that she's the one that turned Damon, but he was never hers. Never completely. She's always had to share him with Katherine, even though she was never around up until now. All that she knows for sure, is that she can't stay in this house if Katherine decides to stay as well.

He's staring at himself; a reflection in a wall made up entirely of mirrors.

At first he thinks it's Elena that's dancing circles in the middle of the room, flying, a red ribbon in her hand that she makes float around her like magic. A closer look makes him realise it's Katherine; he could tell them apart anywhere. He wonders what she's doing here, with him.

Her reflection doubles suddenly, but it's different somehow. "Elena?" he asks, and takes a step towards the mirror wall, frowning. "What are you doing in there?" Katherine's reflection isn't her own; it's Elena, trapped behind the glass of the mirror.

"Stefan!" she shouts, but her voice is but a whisper on his side. "Help me!"

He walks over to her, his hands on the glass barrier between them, Elena's hands reflecting his. He looks at Katherine over his shoulder. "What did you do to her?" he asks.

Katherine stops dancing, and puts her hands behind her back like a child that has misbehaved. "It wasn't me," she shakes her head, pouting. "It's you that chose to see her in me." He doesn't know what it means, at all, nor does he care to find out. Elena is screaming, disappearing right in front of him.

Stefan awakes in a start, but doesn't move when his eyes open. The sunlight pours in through the windows, and there's a warm hand on his chest. He glances to his left, and there she is, Elena, sleeping silently next to him. Safe. He turns on his side, and kisses her hand gently, hoping it won't wake her up, but the slight movement of the bed and the rustle of the sheets make her open her eyes. He feels sorry for a second, but then she smiles at him immediately.

"Hey you," she says, and rubs her sleep-shot eyes. It looks like she got her first good night sleep in days. He knows the same goes for him.

"Hey," he smiles softly, and leans in to kiss her. Elena's hand curls around his neck, and he moves his to her waistline to pull her closer. He hasn't felt this good in days.

"I thought I'd lost you," Elena mutters against his lips, but then she's kissing him again, and he can't help but kiss her back. Even though she hasn't been away from him a single moment, he's missed her like mad. There's something he thinks he should know, but all that blurs into nothingness when he's with Elena.

"I'm not going anywhere," he says when he gets the chance to breathe, "Never."

"What do you say we get you in the shower." Elena touches a finger to his nose teasingly.

"Only if you join me," he whispers against her skin, and Elena chuckles loudly. It's one of the most beautiful sounds he's heard in a long time. Suddenly, he hears the exact same laughter coming from downstairs. He knows it then; it's Katherine's blood that saved him. She's here, in the house, undoubtedly being entertained by his brother. He's not sure what to think about that. Damon had just gotten out of his own pity-spell. He doesn't like the idea of Katherine and Elena in the same house either.

"Is that Damon and..." Elena sits up in the bed, listening to the mumble of voices coming from downstairs as well. She looks back at Stefan, and he nods at her. Katherine. That bitch actually had the nerve to hurt her. Elena catches eye of the necklace Katherine had torn from her neck the night before. She gets up and snatches it from the ground. "It's broken," she says, making her way back to the bed, lying down in Stefan's arms.

"We'll get it fixed," he says, hugging Elena close to him. He can't believe Katherine did what she did. He's grateful that she deemed him worthy of rescue, but she had no right to do that to Elena, hurt her the way she did. He'd gotten over her a long time ago, unlike Damon, and he won't stand for this anymore.

"What happens now?" Elena asks softly, looking up at him expectantly. Will Damon leave? Will they finally be rid of him? She'd always thought the idea of Damon leaving would relieve her, but all she feels is sorrow. How does Amelia – how has she ever – fit into all of this? It's then that she realises: Amelia hasn't. She's never been around Stefan or Damon with Katherine physically present as well.

"We take a shower," Stefan answers. Elena chuckles again. "And then I'll talk to Damon."

Half an hour later, Stefan and Elena come down from his room, fresh and showered, and set on having breakfast together. He hears Amelia opening and closing drawers in her room. He goes to her to thank her for looking out for Elena and Bonnie, while really she didn't have to. When he reaches the room, Elena in tow, Amelia is running to and fro to gather her things together.

"Mel, what are you...?" he starts, but he realises all too well what Amelia is doing. He can't remember a time when she stayed with them this long. "You're leaving," he adds softly, leaning against the doorframe. Elena joins him in the door, surprised to see Amelia packing her bag.

"I..." Amelia wants to tell him that she can't stay. That she can't be in a house where Katherine now roams as well, and that she can't stand to see Damon under her spell. But she doesn't say it, because Stefan knows exactly what she's not allowing herself to utter. "My work here is done," she says instead, and zips her suitcase shut.

"I'm going to miss you," Stefan says as she makes her way towards the bedroom door. Damon has never seen her as a mother; he only called her that to get under her skin or tease her, but Stefan, he's always seen her as a parent. He'd be nowhere in this world if it hadn't been for Amelia guiding him all those years ago. "Promise me it won't be another sixty years until I see you again?"

"Promise," Amelia smiles softly, and hugs Stefan tightly. She'll miss him too, more then he will ever know. Then she turns to Elena. "You take care of my boys now," she says. "And call me whenever either give you trouble?"

Elena wants to ask her to stay, but she knows that might be too much to ask of Amelia. She knows she cares for Damon, but could it be that she actually loves him? That seeing him with Katherine is too much for her to handle? "No problem," she smiles broadly, and hugs Amelia as well. She thinks that she might have found a friend for life in Amelia. Or something like it.

Amelia hates to leave like this, without making sure that Elena will be safe, or if Katherine's intentions are on the up-and-up, but being around her is suffocating. She hasn't allowed herself to be ruled by her emotions in such a long time, because that meant heartache and suffering for all parties involved, but Damon, damn him, he has this way of getting under her skin, making her wish there truly was nothing human left inside of her.

The devil herself is waiting for her on the landing, blocking her path downstairs. "Leaving so soon?" Katherine asks, tilting her head, keeping up the thin sheet of pretence. Something inside of Amelia sets ablaze, her heart perhaps, but she knows she can't give into it. "And here I was hoping we could catch up."

Amelia sighs, and casts down her eyes. She can be the bigger person here; she has to, or she might yet rip Katherine's throat out. She can't, Damon was never hers, and he loves Katherine. She's known love in many forms in her lifetime, but each was precious in its own way. She's not going to take that away from Damon, not when he maybe, just maybe, has a chance to be happy. While it lasts. "There's no competition here, Katherine," Amelia says softly.

Is there really, Katherine wonders, as she lets Amelia pass her on the landing, dumbfounded at the older vampire seemingly accepting defeat. She must love Damon very much indeed, for her to walk away like this. She admires that about Amelia, but at the same time she's glad to be rid of her. The sooner she gets out of town, the better.

Amelia knows there's only one thing left for her to do: say goodbye to Damon. They've never been particularly good at it; in fact, they've mostly avoided it over the years. Damon is waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs; she can't read his expression. She'd think to see him happier than ever, since he has Katherine back and all.

She halts in front of him, and they share a silent moment. He wants to tell her not to go, but he knows he can't stand to have both Katherine and Amelia around at the same time. She wants to tell him something far more profound, but then she's not sure it's what he needs to hear right now. "Can you do one thing for me?" Amelia asks, and looks up at Katherine, who is still standing atop the stairs. She doesn't care what she hears or doesn't hear. Amelia is pretty sure even Stefan and Elena can hear them. "Keep her away from Stefan and Elena."

"You could have compelled her." Damon raises an eyebrow. He tells her that, instead of one simple word: stay. If Amelia stayed she could watch over Stefan and Elena herself. She could become part of their albeit strange family, if that's what they are. Amelia doesn't say anything; she knows she could have compelled Katherine, but the spell wouldn't last very long. Not long enough at all. "So you're really leaving," Damon says when Amelia doesn't speak, arms crossed over his chest. "Running away? Or other places to be?"

"A very strong need to not be here," Amelia says, and makes her way towards the door. This is not a matter she will settle on. If she stays, she will lose control. "You should consider leaving as well. It's only a matter of time before people start noticing there are two Katherines walking around."

"You're being selfish," Damon says, eyes darkening. Stefan hears the words his brother speaks; he doesn't understand why suddenly he's trying to get Amelia to stay. Because that's what he's doing when he calls her selfish; Damon is trying to pick a fight, that's what he does best, hoping it will make Amelia put aside her pride and stay. But for whose sake?

Amelia sniggers, and halts in her tracks. She doesn't turn to face him. "Yes, Damon. I am. I think I've earned the right to be." She doesn't understand why he's trying to pick a fight all of a sudden, why he suddenly seems to care. He has his Katherine back. What does she matter now? "I don't want to be here, so I'm leaving. I was thinking Italy, hear it's nice this time of year."

She reaches for the door, and opens it, but then Damon is behind her, violently slamming the door shut in front of her. She feels his chest connecting with her back. Amelia closes her eyes. "What is your problem with Katherine?" he asks, Amelia's eyes snapping open again, and she frowns to herself. She doesn't understand his question. Is it that he can't stand the idea of her hating Katherine? Or is it something else?

"Does it matter?" Amelia asks, shaking her head, trapped between the door and Damon's body. "You have her back. She'll go back to lying to you and breaking your heart." If he thinks he can get away with telling her exactly what's on his mind, she doesn't see why she couldn't do the same. "It's always the same old song, Damon." She tells him this in a straight voice, the only way she knows how. Katherine hasn't changed, none of them really do, they just become enhancements of their once human selves.

"You don't know her," Damon's face falls. He didn't mean for this to turn so serious; if he'd known Amelia would give him the truth so blatantly he never would have tried to say goodbye. He never would have tried to make her stay. Because this is it, his way of saying goodbye; she must know he can't give it to her any straighter. He doesn't want them to part on these terms; he wants to make sure that one day she does return to him.

"She left you to die. I'm the one who brought you back," Amelia says strongly. She's the one that found him in that field, the one that never left, the one that stayed and taught him almost everything he knows today. But she knows she has no right to say these things; Damon was never hers. "Do you..." tears shoot in her eyes, but she tries to control them, "Do you remember the first thing you did when you woke up?"

Damon casts down his eyes. They always come back to this. He knows he owes her his immortal life. In a way, he owes her Katherine. "I thanked you."

Amelia turns around then, looking Damon in the eye. "And you ran for the church," Amelia adds solemnly. It's always been Katherine.

It's only then that he sees the tears in her eyes, reflected now in his own. "I love her." He frowns.

"You love the idea of her," Amelia says strongly, pushing him aside. Damon's back hits the wall, rattling the door in its hinges. "The ideal little life she set up all those years ago for the both of you. And oh yes, your brother." Damon's eyes set ablaze at the mention of Stefan. No, he won't hear this from her too. "That's not love, Damon. That's greed."

Damon tries to push Amelia off him, but she keeps him at arm's length. His struggle is in vain. "And what were you when you turned me?" he asks instead, muscles flexing as he continues to fight Amelia's hold on him. He won't take this, he can't take this. She has no right to tell him these things.

Amelia hesitates to answer, but seeing how they were suddenly sharing now, why should she spare him? "Foolish," she says, and feels how Damon instantly stops struggling. It breaks her heart to know her words can affect him like this, but she has to get this out. Katherine hadn't deserved him when she met him, nor Stefan, but she deserves Damon now.

"What are you..." Damon clears his throat, suddenly uncomfortable being this close to Amelia. Upstairs, Elena looks at Stefan strongly, and a frown forms between her eyebrows. What does Amelia mean, foolish? "What are you saying?" Damon shakes his head.

Amelia doesn't take her eyes off him. Maybe it's best she just tells him, save them both heartache and further suffering. Maybe it's best to make this a clean break. Be the monster he is, to give him the life he thinks he wants. She'd be truly selfish if she didn't allow him at least the try. "If I had known you as a human, as the human she made you into, I never would have turned you," she says gravely. Damon's eyes are fixed on hers. He doesn't notice how Katherine has slowly made her way down the stairs. "Everything inside of you that is untrustworthy, depraved, and evil, she put there."

Amelia nods her head towards Katherine, behind Damon now, and Damon looks at her over his shoulder. "Katherine created a monster, and I gave it eternal life," Amelia finishes. She takes a step back, and grabs her bag. She opens the door, Damon remaining stiffly in place. So that's what it all boils down to; Amelia hates him too. He's not a man that can be loved, that can be trusted, that is in any way redeemable.

All of it is out now, everything's she's never told him, everything she's always regretted doing. Damon is just another mistake she once made. Yet he's the one mistake she would make over and over again if she were to get the chance to go back in time, go back to that field. Damon is the best mistake she ever made. Amelia doesn't linger another moment; she leaves Damon a broken man in the hallway, and runs for her car.

Damon stares after her, tears in his eyes that won't escape, because she's told him everything he's always had to hear. Good for her, he thinks, if she manages to get away from all this, remain unaffected by her past, then good for her. Maybe they can both find some peace now. "That's it?" Stefan appears next to him out of nowhere; Elena told him to talk to Damon. "You're just going to let her go?"

"You heard her," Damon says, taking in a deep breath, and slaps a hand down on his brother's shoulder. Stefan can see through it easily enough, just like Elena and Katherine can. "She wants nothing to do with me. What can you do?" Damon shrugs, and slowly makes his way to the kitchen. He needs a drink badly.

"He still doesn't see," Katherine's voice sounds from behind Stefan. She doesn't touch him; she knows that if she wants to make her way back into Stefan's heart she'll have to do it differently than with Damon. For now, he can have his Elena. "He never will, you know, not even if it stares him in the face." The fact that Amelia had turned Damon comes as a surprise, but it's nothing she can't work around. "It'll always be too late."

Stefan doesn't move. "And whose fault is that?" he sneers.

"Ouch," Katherine smiles, surprised to hear the words coming from Stefan. He was always the gentler soul. "So you actually grew some teeth in the past hundred years. I have to admit, I'm impressed." And she does like a challenge. "I'm less impressed by your choice in women. Not very variable, is it?" She looks towards Elena, still at the top of the stairs. Elena only stares at her hard for a few moments, before making her way back up to Stefan's room.

Stefan reacts on instinct. He turns, and pushes Katherine back against the same wall Amelia had pushed Damon against. He knows she lets him; his strength could never rival hers. "You go near her, and I swear to God, I will drive a stake through your heart without blinking."

Katherine believes him.

if you can, please let me know what you think!