Chapter 2

Chicago

Elijah felt her arms wrap around his waist. He winced before straightening his back. "What were you doing in New Orleans, Katerina?"

"I was fixing things up with my blood supplier," she said, handing him a blood bag. "I know you hate it when I drink from humans, so I decided to try it your way for a while." A lie. Elijah took the blood bag from her and began to drink. What had she really doing in New Orleans? She took out her own blood bag and returned to where Elijah was standing on the balcony. "You owe me big time for this," she said jokingly. Pulling the cap of the blood bag, she inched it slowly until the stale syrup had touched her lips. After taking a few sips from the blood bag, she screwed the cap back on. Elijah had his half-filled blood bag perched on the balcony. He seemed deep in thought. "Drink," she complained. "I went through a lot of trouble to get you that." Another lie. "I even had to compel the airplane attendants to keep the bags in the refrigerator so that they wouldn't spoil." Another lie.

"I see," was Elijah's only reply. Katherine frowned, but then proceeded to survey the suite that he had rented for them. There was a piano in the living room, and a fireplace at the end. Expensive couches and rugs were littered around the room. There was one bedroom and one bathroom, and both were the size of an average school classroom. Katherine had to admit that Elijah had great taste when it came to picking the places that they would stay.

"I always wanted to play the piano," Katherine said, running her hands along the keys of the instrument. "I only know two songs, but after I trade the cure for my freedom, I guess I could learn how to play." Elijah gritted his teeth. Lies! The woman lied more than she breathed, and it upset him how spontaneous her tales flew from her mouth. What happened to his Katerina? Yes, he had to admit that a part of him still may love her. But she was making it extremely difficult for him to continue caring for her. Yes, they had kissed. And yes, she had admitted that she loved him. But how much of that was the truth? Or was it, in fact, all a lie?

"Katerina," Elijah said stiffly. "I think I would be easier if we were both honest with one another." He turned to face her. "Look at us, dancing around the truth. We both know that you're lying. So tell me, my dear. What do you intend to do with the cure once it is in your possession?" Katherine swallowed nervously. Damn. He knew.

"Sorry for lying," Katherine replied mischievously, quickly regaining her wits. "And I'm not going to tell you. Its my little secret." Elijah narrowed his eyes. "I'm on vervain," Katherine managed. "So don't bother compelling me." She swallowed hardly. The pair of them stood facing each other. She's scared of me, Elijah realized at last.

"I hadn't thought to consider that," he said flatly. "I have too much respect for you to do that." Katherine's position didn't waver. He turned and went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Katherine sighed and relaxed her posture, recalling what really happened in Chicago… and the events that led up to Will's untimely ending.

Will stumbled away from the truck stop, into the wilderness behind. The pain radiating from his neck was unbearable. Stopping to rest, he placed his hand on a tree to catch his breath. Putting pressure on his throbbing neck, he stumbled forward before falling onto the earth. He didn't know how long he lay there. All he knew was that he felt tired. And sick. And hungry. Fighting his drooping eyelids, Will made one last attempt to lift himself off the forest ground, but collapsed onto the mossy bed. He turned to look at the sky, and darkness swirled around him. Deciding to stay there and rest for a while, he succumbed to his desire to sleep. He then began to hallucinate.

Damon Salvatore hadn't returned to his bar for days. Every time the door opened, Will would look over in hope that the vampire had walked in. However, each time, he was disappointed. At first, Will's main problem was that his customer orders were pilling up, and he had no new IDs to work with. Unfortunately, Damon hadn't shown up with any IDs in a while. It had been a week since he had disappeared.

The door opened again and thudded shut. By now, Will had been accustomed to the disappointment, and refused to let his hopes rise again. He continued to wash the counters of his bar, while humming to the music coming from onstage. Feeling a new presence standing at the corner of the room in the dark, Will made his way over and took out a pen and paper. "Excuse me," he asked. "Would you like anything to drink?" The mysterious figure stepped out of the darkness, revealing a young woman with long, dark, curly hair.

"Actually, yes. Do you by any chance, have any red elixir in store?" The woman asked quietly. A vampire. The woman was a vampire. Will immediately stood up straighter. He motioned for her to follow him, and he led her to the back of his bar. The vampire continued to follow him into a storage room, where Will introduced her to one of his bartenders. He watched the woman carefully drink, impressed with her self control. Most vampires were messy when they fed. But the woman bit her lip, letting a drop of blood fall on her victim's wound. Immediately, the skin began to knit itself together. When the wound was fully healed, the vampire looked into the bartender's eyes. "You never met me, and you won't remember this night at all. Now go." Then she turned to Will. "My name is Katherine. Katherine Pierce." She held out her hand.

"I'm Will," Will replied, taking her hand. And so they struck a deal. Katherine served as Damon's replacement for two years, stealing IDs and helping Will make them for other vampires. And during those two years, Will began to fall in love with the 500 year old vampire. He loved to listen to her talk about the places she had been, the people she had met, and most of all, he loved it when she talked about herself.

Every night, he would ask her to turn him, and every day, she would say no. But one day, late at night when the bar had emptied, she said yes to his request. She would bestow her immortality to him, but for a price. She wanted to feed off of him, and Will consented. Will watched her beautiful face turn into something else entirely, and she drew her fangs. Will went numb, and he moaned as she continued to drink. After feeling satisfied with her meal, she drew back, and began to bite into her wrist. But Will stopped her, remembering something. There was something that he wanted to try while he was still human. Taking Katherine's face into his hands, he kissed her. And the vampire kissed him back.

Katherine, however, had an ulterior motive to caving in his demands. What Will didn't know was that the woman had been playing with his emotions for her own enjoyment. She loved the power she had over men. Katherine had decided that Will would make an excellent addition to her network of spies, but it just so happened that his price was immortality and sex. She was hesitant on the first demand, but was happy to oblige to the latter.

Will lifted her upon onto the bar counter, greedily kissing her with his lips, while undressing her with his hands. It only took a moment for the vampire to tear off his clothes and toss them aside. Katherine let him drink in her body, before kissing him again. She felt him pull her off the counter and push her against the wall roughly. But she was not satisfied yet.. He was painfully inexperienced, but Katherine enjoyed herself nonetheless. The two of them made love to each other for hours. And when they were both satisfied and sweaty, Katherine fed Will her blood and proceeded to snap his neck.

Will awoke to the smell of blood. He followed the scent, hallucinating about Katherine and Damon. Finally, he found the source of where the scent was coming from; a hospital nurse who had a gaping wound in her neck. The woman was limping to her car, blood spurting from the cut on her neck. As he stepped into the open to approach her, he was suddenly swept aside and pinned to a tree. Was it Damon Salvatore? He found himself caught in yet another hallucination. He hallucinated back to the time when he and Damon were still friends. "Buddy," he whispered weakly. "I think there's something wrong with me." He showed him his neck wound, and heard Damon mutter something incoherently. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his chest, and he felt Damon plunge his hand into his chest. He felt nothing else.

Katherine waited for Will to pick up his phone. However, Will was not the one to answer. "Hello?" She heard Damon ask. Katherine quickly hung up, smiling to herself. Will was dead. She was right that he wouldn't have survived his encounter with Damon. She turned around to admire her handiwork. Will's entire apartment was drenched in kerosene, a flammable liquid that burned well. However, something caught her eye in the corner of the living room. It was a satin box, and when she opened it, it revealed a sparkling ring. Katherine stared at it for several minutes. The ring was exquisitely beautiful, and undoubtedly must have cost a fortune. What was that feeling? The tugging at her heart grew stronger. Was that humanity? Pushing the doubt aside and tucking the ring into her pocket, she lit a match and tossed it onto the floor. Katherine felt no remorse as she walked out of the apartment. Hayley was dead. Will was dead. All her loose ends were tied up. If anything, her cruelness proved that she had pushed aside all feelings of her humanity, right? Now, she had to think about what she would do once she arrived in Chicago. There was the hunter, Gavin Vaughn, which she needed to find. And then there was Elijah. Somehow, she wasn't entirely convinced that the original was completely under her spell. But Katherine quickly nudged that thought aside. She had never failed to seduce a man. Will was proof of that. She would make Elijah fall head over heels in love with her, if he wasn't desperately in love with her already. She convinced herself that this time, there would be no twinge of regret standing in her way when she betrayed Elijah.

The tension in the room had been so consuming. Katherine was sure that he was going to kill her. As of now, the danger seemed less imminent, but it was still present nonetheless. Quickly taking the elevator to the lobby, she walked out into the street and immediately turned into a chocolate store on the corner.

"Two pounds of dark chocolate, please." Katherine asked. The vender raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything, noting her distress. Katherine grabbed the bags, paid, and nodded her thanks. Then she made her way outside and began to chew on the chocolate bars. What was she going to do? She still needed to find the hunter, Gavin, who was somewhere in Chicago. She also needed to fix things with Elijah, which was proving to be difficult. The man could see straight through her. To be honest, it was insulting. For hundreds of years, she had survived by thriving off the lust of men. But Elijah didn't even seem relatively attracted to her at all. What was she doing wrong? There was once a time when he may have loved her, but that was when she was Katerina, not Katherine. And back then, she didn't need to perform a show. Katerina was authentic. Every single part of her was real. Elijah had fallen in love with that girl. Now all Katherine had to do was become that girl again. But how? She needed to think.

While Katherine was off scheming, she was unaware of the presence following her. Elijah had chuckled when she came out of the chocolate store with all that chocolate. It wasn't surprising, though. Throughout his lifetime, he had realized that people who move from place to place, never really settling, needed something to hold on too. A lifeline of some sort. And now, he was pretty sure that he had discovered Katherine's lifeline; chocolate. It stunned him to see how much the woman could eat. The bags she held seemed to be filled with endless amounts of chocolate, and the woman seemed to be devouring them like it was nothing. He followed her as she walked across the city, making her way to a small tunnel. What was she doing? After watching her compel a man to let her ride with him, she climbed into the back of his truck.

"Can you just drive through the tunnel?" Katherine asked, placing the bags of chocolate on the seat beside her. She pointed to the tunnel on the left.

"Yeah, why?" The driver asked. It was an elderly man, who seemed to be in his early 70s. The man seemed kind enough, and there was a picture of his grandkids taped to the windshield. Katherine took an immediate liking to him.

"Have you ever read The Perks of Being a Wallflower?" She asked.

"Can't say I've heard of it."

"Ever since I've read it, I've been doing this to clear my mind."

"Doing what?" To answer his question, Katherine stood up and climbed onto the back of the truck. She spread out her arms and felt the wind blow through her hair as they drove through the tunnel. All her troubles were forgotten, and were pushed to the very corners of her mind. Katherine felt infinite, as the characters in the story had felt. When they reached the end of the tunnel, she said, "Let's do it again." Chuckling, the driver turned his truck around and went back into the tunnel for a second round.

Nearby, Elijah stood dumbfounded by this sudden change of events. One minute, the woman could not stop telling lies. The next, she was shedding the truths of her soul in this one, singular moment. He had never read Perks of being a Wallflower himself, but something told him that this journey through the tunnel had changed her. She went into the tunnel as Katherine. When she came out, he swore she had become someone different; Katerina.

Elijah wasn't in the hotel room when Katherine got back. Since she wasn't the least bit tired, she decided to try to play the piano. The only songs she knew were twinkle twinkle little star, and Mary had a little lamb. However, the moment her fingers touched the keys, it was clearly obvious that she had no musical talent whatsoever.

"What in the world is that horrible noise?" Elijah asked, covering his ears. Katherine gave him a dark look.

"That was my pathetic attempt at trying to play the piano." She tried again to play the first few notes of Mary had a little lamb again, but to no prevail. "Ugh! It's impossible." She slammed the piano a bit to hardly, and the piano broke in two. Sighing in frustration, she flipped the piano, causing it to crash into the wall. Elijah chuckled.

"I guess I'll have to pay for that," he remarked, smiling. Katherine stood there, gaping like a fish.

"Oh shit. I didn't mean to do that…" She picked up the broken pieces of the piano and looked at him hopelessly. "I'll pay you back. I swear."

"It's fine. Let's just go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

"You mean you're still helping me find the hunter?" Katherine asked She widened her eyes in surprise. What had changed in the time she was gone? Elijah was definitely going to leave her before when he discovered that she was false. What was he playing at? Whatever it was, she certainly wasn't going to give up anything. She was too smart for that, and he knew it. "I thought you weren't going to help me anymore." Elijah shrugged.

"I'll help you, Katerina. I gave you my word that I would help you. And no matter how secretive and difficult you will make this be, I never go back on my word." Katherine smiled. But this time, it was genuine. "And I would like to be friends if I must work with you," Elijah continued. Katherine took a few seconds to ponder his words.

"I guess," She replied. Then she looked down. "Honesty wouldn't hurt either," she murmured. "But I'm warning you now, don't expect much. Honesty isn't my thing."

"I understand. It took me a while to trust others. And trust must be earned." He paused. "I'll be honest with you if you promise to try and return the favor."

"I'll try. But no guarantees," She warned. It was quiet for a moment. "I guess we should go to bed," she said, breaking the silence. Her cheeks went red, suddenly aware of what she was suggesting. There was only one bedroom!

"It's fine, I'll take the couch," Elijah said. He took a blanket from the closet. "You can sleep in the bedroom." Katherine shook her head, taking the blanket from him.

"No. You paid for the room, so you get to sleep in the bed." She put the blanket down on the couch and put her hands on her hips. It was clear that she wasn't going to argue on this.

"If you insist."

"I do insist," Katherine countered. "Oh don't give me that look. Its' fine, honestly. You don't have to be a gentlemen all the time." Her face lit up. "You see what I did there? I was honest."

"That doesn't count," Elijah retorted, chuckling to himself. He made his way to the bedroom, pausing and turning back. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now leave! Or are you going to stay at watch my change?"

Later that night, Elijah climbed out of bed quietly and approached the sleeping vampire in the living room. She looked so peaceful and quiet, like a child. Elijah stroked her cheek softly, and then proceeded to carry her into the bedroom. "Goodnight, Katarina," he whispered softly. Tucking her in, he left the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Katherine's Diary: Entry 1

I'm going to go mad. I swear. I honestly don't know what to think of Elijah. Yesterday, I swear that he was about to tear my heart out. I mean what is that? He has this annoying habit of literally reaching inside someone's chest, and pulling out their heart. Not only is that probably painful, but its rude.

Today, I woke up in the bedroom. In the bedroom! Didn't I fall asleep on the couch last night? I vaguely remember someone picking me up and moving me. It was probably Elijah. Damn him and his honor. Why does he have to make it so hard for me to hate him? And the thing is, I need to hate him. How else is my plan going to work?

And I still have a lot to do. First, I need to find the hunter and hope that he hears me out before he kills me. No biggie. Maybe I should bring Elijah along. Or not. But then again he can't be killed, so its not like the hunter can cause some serious damage. If I did bring him along though, we'd be forced to talk to each other. I'd have no choice but to tell the truth because the man has a damn lie detector in his head. Oh, the choices. Should I let him come? The chances of me dying versus the chances of actually having an honest conversation with Mr. Fancy Pants. Why is my life so hard?

I need chocolate. I need to get out of this bed. But wait! I can hear him outside in the living room. I think I'll take a nap for a few hours…

Katherine's Diary: Entry 2

Who am I kidding? I can't wait him out. He's over a thousand years old! Hmm. That window suddenly looks like a very interesting escape route…Shit. He's coming.

Elijah stepped into the bedroom with a blood bag in hand. Katherine immediately winced when she saw it. But Elijah barely noticed. Katherine lay above the covers of the bed, leaving her body exposed in her skimpy nightgown. Almost nothing was left to the imagination, and Elijah found his eyes glued to her body.

"Do I have too?" She complained. "We're in a city jam packed full of delicious people?" She took the blood bag anyway and cringed before lower her neck to taste the stale liquid. Slowly but surely, the bag grew smaller and smaller until its contents were gone. "Ugh. It's disgusting." She handed Elijah the empty bag.

"Now was that so bad?" Elijah asked, ignoring her last comment. Katherine stuck out her tongue at him. Elijah tried to look away. But honestly, was the wall as interesting as the woman in front of him?

"Thanks," she murmured sheepishly. "Thanks for moving me to the bed."

"Your welcome. It was no big deal." Yes, the wall was definitely not as interesting.

"Yes, it was," Katherine insisted. "I told you. This is your room. You paid for it. I'm just a guest."

"Exactly. And a host must always provide for his guests." Katherine glared at Elijah, and his lips curved into a smile. She continued to glare at him for a few minutes, before whacking him with a pillow.

"Ugh! You're so annoying."

"Katerina, I know you love my bed, but I think it is time for me to kick you out." He received two more thwackings for his comment. "Hey! Hey! We have to find your hunter, remember?" She paused to think about it, and thwacked him one last time.

"Fine." Katherine got up from the bed and made her way to her suitcase, which remained untouched. She dragged her suitcase into the bathroom, and locked the door behind her. But soon, she realized that getting dressed was harder than she thought. Since when did she start having trouble dressing herself? Would she look better in a dark blue top or a dark green top? And then the forbidden question, which one would Elijah like? Elijah sighed loudly from behind the door, signaling her that she was taking a long time. Quickly throwing on the dark blue top with some black jeans and heels, she looked at herself in the mirror to examine her work. Wait. Did she look…fat in this top? A knock at the door broke her train of thought. Tossing all her clothes back into her suitcase, she opened the bathroom door and ran straight into Elijah. "Sorry," she murmured and weaseled past him, heading for the front door.

"Wait. I have a gift for you," Elijah said. He disappeared, and came back with a rectangular box wrapped in fancy paper. Katherine raised an eyebrow questioningly, but he just smiled and nodded for her to proceed. Sighing loudly, Katherine tore open the wrapping paper and threw off the lid of the box. She stared at it's contents for several minutes.

"Chocolate," Elijah said proudly. Her eyes were fixated on the chocolate. But then she turned to look up at him, and she didn't look happy. Instead, she glared at him furiously.

"That was private!" She yelled, throwing the box on the ground and shoving him. "What did you do? Follow me?" Elijah looked wildly confused.

"But I thought you-"

"Did you see me in the tunnel? Of course you did." She turned around and put a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes and murmuring incoherently to herself. "Damn. Damn. Damn. I should have known… Why can't you just leave me alone?" Elijah opened the front door, making Katherine turn around. His face was like stone.

"I gave you my word that I would help you. Until my task is done, I guess you're stuck with me. Now let's go," he said coldly. "We have to go find your hunter." Katherine swallowed angrily before hitting him with her shoulder as she walked out the door.

Katherine's Diary: Entry 3

I have to write this fast because Elijah's sitting right next to me in the car. No doubt he'll try to read every single word I'm writing because he's a SNEAKY LITTLE SPY. Okay. Maybe I might have overreacted a bit, but can you really blame me? That was private. PRIVATE. And now Mr. Fancy Pants beside me knows about the tunnel thingy and my chocolate obsession. But the chocolate he gave me was good, though. It was really good.

Sophie and Jane-Anne told me that Will's apartment had successfully been burnt to a crisp. Good. Now nothing can trace me back to New Orleans. They also told me where to find Gavin Vaughn, because they had a friend do a tracking spell. Honestly, I don't understand why they don't do it themselves. Who's Marcel anyway, and why are they so afraid of him? If I had the time, I could have killed him myself.

So I guess Elijah is coming with me to see Gavin. I didn't really have a choice though because Elijah insisted on coming with me anyway. It's ironic because although he's cross with me, he's still… protective? I don't know. But he's made it clear that he's here only because he's bound by his word. I should look on the bright side and take comfort that he takes his vows seriously. I should be safe, I think. But right now, I'm not sure who I should be more afraid of; Klaus, Gavin, or Elijah. Shit. He's slowing down the car.

"We're here," Elijah said. I look out the window and see that we have pulled up in front of a bar. Of course. "I'll circle around and look for a spot to park. Wait here." I nod quickly and get out of the car. After watching his car turn around the corner, I walk through the front doors of the bar. Like hell I'm waiting for him. Isn't he supposed to be helping me? I mean seriously. First he says he VOWS to help me, and then pushes me around like I'm a kid. MAKE UP YOU MIND!

Wait. I think I see Gavin. He's probably the creepy looking guy in the corner, right? Yea, I think that's him.

Vampire. There was a vampire in the bar. Although he was sitting away from he front door, he knew. He just knew. Gavin turned around and looked to see the new arrival, and saw a beautiful young woman around her early twenties. What a shame to have her human life ended so young! But Gavin was a kind man, so he would end her misery quickly. Taking a sip of his drink, he made sure that the vervain syringe was safely hidden away in his pocket. The vampire was twenty feet away. Fifteen feet. Ten feet. Suddenly, the woman was right in front of him. She flashed him a smile, and Gavin fought the urge to stab her right then and there. The vampire was lucky that there were still a few people in the bar.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Katherine." She held out her hand, and he reluctantly took it. Surprisingly, the vampire continued to hold his hand, and her eyes kept running up and down his arms. The tattoo, he realized. She's looking for the tattoo. However, like many others, she could not seem to find the tattoo. Disappointed, the vampire turned away, murmuring her apologies, and Gavin striked. Quickly stabbing her with the vervain syringe, he caught the vampire as she fell limp. Gavin dragged her to the back door of the bar, and propped the door open with a brick. The hunter then proceeded to drop the girl into the middle of an abandoned alleyway and turned to closed the back door. When he came back, the vampire was gone. Looking around wildly, he readied another vervain syringe. Suddenly, he was a few inches off the ground, pinned to the wall by a strong grip around his neck. Damn. The vampire was sneaky.

"Bitch," He croaked hoarsely. The hunter then proceeded to plunge his vervain syringe into her forearm. The vampire, Katherine, didn't even flinch. She smiled at him wickedly and without wavering, she pulled the syringe out of her arm, the arm she was using to choke him, and threw him on the floor. Not wasting a single moment, Gavin drew his gun and fired several shots. But the vampire was fast! She stepped aside using her supernatural speed to deflect two of the bullets that he fired. For the third bullet, she used her elbow and moved it sideways, redirecting the bullet to hit the wall. Her elbow was bleeding, but the wound healed quickly and she didn't seem to mind. Gavin quickly threw his empty gun down and pulled out a vervain grenade. Katherine quickly kicked the grenade out of his hand and into the air, where it exploded harmlessly.

"Stop!" she yelled. "I'm trying to help you." Gavin looked back and forth, scanning for an exit. "I know what the tattoos mean." That got his attention.

"What? You can't even see them. No one can."

"I can't see them, but others can," she insisted. "Look. If you give me a chance, I can explain. Please. I promise I won't hurt you." Gavin looked around nervously, settling his gaze on the figure behind her.

"What about him?" he asked. "Will he hurt me?"

Katherine's Diary: Entry 4

I think I'm grounded. Can Fancy Pants even do that? Plus it's entirely his fault. If he hadn't demanded me to wait for him, I probably would have waited for him anyway. Ok, that's a lie. But can't he learn not to treat me like I'm two or something?

"Elijah, stop treating me like a baby." I yanked my arm away from his grasp. I have to shake my wrist a few times because it fell asleep. Damn, he has a tough grip.

"I'll stop treating you like a baby when you start acting like an adult, Katarina." He shoved the unconscious hunter into the trunk of his car and motioned me to come. I shake my head.

"I'm walking," I say furiously. "I'm sick and tired of you always bossing me around and treating me like I'm just some spoiled little girl. I can take care of myself, Elijah. I've been doing it for 500 years." Elijah glared at me.

"Fine. Walk. But I'm trying to help you, can't you see? You just can't look past your stubbornness-"

"Stubbornness?" I exclaimed in outrage. Me? Stubborn? What a joke. "You're really one to talk," I say. "Weren't you crushing over Tatia for hundreds a years? I hear that you still haven't moved on…I may be stubborn, but at least I know when to give up." Elijah gets into his car and stares ahead. I bit my lip, nervously. "Look. I'm sorry. That was too far." But I'm not sure if he heard the last part because he drove off literally 70 miles over the speed limit.

Did I mention that the bar was 30 minutes away from the hotel? I didn't bring cash for a cab, and besides, I really needed time to collect my thoughts. When I finally got back to the hotel, I tried to apologize. I really did.

"Go to your room, Katarina," was his only reply. I was too tired to argue. But there he went again, didn't he? Bossing me around? Right? Right? So here I am, writing this in the bedroom. I'm still a little upset with Elijah, but I think I feel a little guiltier about what I said. And I think I have a bigger issue with the fact that I made him upset, then with the fact that I just may have ruined my entire plan to make Klaus human. Crap. This isn't a good sign. I'm entering my humanity complex again. Like with Will, I definitely didn't love him. But I still felt a twinge of sadness when I burnt down his apartment. What's happening to me? I'm going to betray Elijah. I have to. The only question is whether or not I'll regret it.

Anyway, Sophie and Jane-Anne gave me a call on my way back from the bar. They were warning me about Silas again (No surprise there). I was literally about to pretend that my phone was dying when they said something rather interesting.

"Katherine, seriously," Jane-Anne warned me through the phone. "If Silas gets his hands on the cure, he'll bring the veil down."

"Honestly guys, I don't care about some stupid piece of clothing-"

"It's not a piece of clothing, you idiot! The veil between the dead and the living." I tried to understand. I really did. But I honestly couldn't wrap my brain around the concept of imaginary veils and other shit like that. Besides, my mind was too occupied with the other things, such as my little fantasy about me and Elijah in a shower. My thumb was literally inching towards the 'end' button' when she said, "Don't you dare hang up on me Katherine Pierce!" I froze. What the hell? How the hell did they know that?

"I wasn't gonna hang up on you," I managed weakly. I heard snorts from the other side of the line.

"Look. There are three dimensions. One is for the living, and sometimes it includes the undead ahem vampires. Ahem." I smiled.

"Very subtle, guys. Very subtle."

"The other dimension, the third dimension, is for the dead. Like the actual dead. Like humans who have died. Not like dead people who have died and come alive-"

"Okay, I get it," I interrupted. "Now hurry up before I actually hang up on you guys."

"And the second dimension in the dimension in between. It's for all supernatural creatures that have died. It's different than the third dimension though because the third dimension is only for dead humans. And bloodsuckers like you are-" I stopped Jane-Anne right there.

"Are in the first dimension because technically we are not really dead. Now put your sister on the phone, or I swear I will raise Silas myself." Jane-Anne laughed and I heard shuffling as Sophie took the phone from her sister.

"Now what's this about some veil and these dimensions that your sister so kindly explained to me about?" I asked.

"Silas is a supernatural creature," Sophie explained. "When he dies, he'll enter the second dimension. But the woman he loves was human, and descended to the third dimension when she died."

"Qetsiyah created the second dimension, to keep Silas and said woman apart," Jane-Anne called. "When she died, she went to the second dimension because she was a witch. That's where Silas will go, and she wants to be with him because she loves him."

"And the veil…" I prompted.

"Well the veil separates the dimensions, and keeps Silas apart from his lover. If he comes back becomes someone was careless-" Sophie emphasized.

"Seriously?"

"Yup. Anyway, he'll try to bring down the veil between the second and first dimensions. All the dead supernaturals will enter the world of the living, and that wouldn't be pretty."

"No, It wouldn't," I agreed softly. "Look guys. I'll talk to you later." And so the rest of the walk from the bar to the hotel, I thought about what they had said. Could this second dimension exist in the first? Like right now? Could the dead see me walk through the streets of Chicago? That was a creepy thought. Suddenly, the cure and Silas didn't seem as appealing as it did a few minutes ago. I mean what if Will came looking for me? Or Mason Lockwood? I've had a lot of angry boyfriends. I mean boy toys. The idea of them watching me, and maybe even coming into the world of the living, is kinda scary.

But as long as I be careful, I should be fine, right?

"Gavin, you have a lot of cool toys. I'll give you that," Katherine said. She picked up a vervain grenade and examined it carefully. "But you have no idea how to actually defend yourself. I went slow on you, but another vampire could have easily just come behind you and snap your neck."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you done insulting me now?" The hunter asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Done? I've just gotten started!" Katherine had decided that Gavin needed to be trained before they sent him out into the field. He was completely incompetent though! "Now give me twenty push ups, and don't give me any attitude. You don't do exactly what I say, and I won't tell you what your tattoos mean. Got it?" Gavin glared at her.

"How can you tell me what it means if you can't even see it?" He accused.

"I don't have to read it to know what it means," She retorted. "Now do you want my help or not?" Gavin sighed loudly and begun to do his push ups. Meanwhile, Katherine's mind wandered. Where was Elijah? The Original had immediately disappeared into the bedroom once the hunter had arrived at the hotel.

"Lower. Bend your arms so they make a 90 degree angle," said a deep voice. Katherine turned around to see Elijah leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom. He turned and sneered at her. "I hardly understand how you expect this hunter to actually kill any vampires if he can't even do a proper push up."

"I guess I can start with killing you," Gavin muttered under his breath. He continued to do his push-ups, though he lowered his arms to a 90 degree angle, following Elijah's advice. The Original chuckled darkly.

"I take my statement back. The hunter certainly has…flare. Maybe, its his trainer." He glared at Katherine, and Katherine returned his favor.

"Oh and I guess you think that you're the one to do the job? Ha. You always think that you're the best in everything. Isn't that right?" Katherine sneered.

"That's because I am the best."

"Don't mind him," she said to Gavin. "Elijah's an elitist, just like his brother, Klaus. Isn't that right, Elijah?" Elijah remained quiet.

"Are you guys fighting?" Gavin asked stupidly.

"No," they both retorted.

"In the 1920s, Klaus was raging about diluted vampire blood lines and shit like that. I guess I'm pretty low on the scale, right Elijah?" Katherine continued. "Hmmm….there was Rose, and then Mary. Who sired Mary again?" Suddenly she was cornered against the wall.

"Stop!" Elijah shouted. "Stop it right now, young lady."

"You're not my parent," Katherine shouted back. "Remember? You're brother killed my parents." Elijah drew back his fist, and Katherine realized that she had gone too far. And then Elijah threw his punch…at the wall a few inches from her face. The wall exploded and Katherine coughed as she accidentally inhaled some of the plaster within the walls. The coughing made her start to tear, and soon enough, tears were streaming down her face. Elijah looked at his hands, speechless. Then, after taking a glance at her tear-streamed face, he was gone. There was faint breeze as he left, and he had moved faster than even Katherine's eyes could follow. "Give me twenty sit ups now," she said hoarsely.

"But are you-"

"Fifty. Now!" Gavin immediately turned in his back and began. Katherine made her way to the bathroom. When she looked into the mirror, she hardly even recognized herself. Her face was blotchy and swollen pink, and there was white plaster dust sprinkled in her hair and clothes. After changing clothes, she emerged from the bathroom and arrived in time to see Gavin complete his final sit up.

"Fifty," he panted.

"Liar. I counted. You did 38." Katherine forced a smile. "Its okay though. Lets teach you a little hand to hand combat."

"Okay," Gavin said softly. "But-" Katherine cut him off with a look. It was clear that the vampire didn't want to talk about it now.

"Put your hands up," She instructed. Gavin obeyed. "Now punch me." He hesitated. "Look. Other bloodsuckers aren't going to be as nice. Now punch me." He was fast, Katherine would give him that. But she was faster. Quickly side stepping his punch, she grabbed his arm, and twisted it up his back. The hunter cried out in pain. "Sorry," she apologized, releasing her grip on his arm. He stretched it out, glaring at her. "When fighting a supernatural who is stronger and faster than you, offensive attacks are rarely going to be much use. Fight defensively, but don't try to block. Blocking a punch will probably involve you breaking your arm. Side step like I just did now. It's hard to change the direction of a punch in midair. Now try to side step when I punch you."

"You'll start out slow, right?" He asked warily. "I don't want to get beat up again," the hunter said, holding up his injured arm. Katherine chuckled.

"Fine. I'll start slow." After the first few punches, Gavin got use to sidestepping. But she was only punching at a human speed. Speeding up her punches caused Gavin to focus more, and in turn, he got better and better.

"Faster," he growled. "Faster." Soon, he was dodging punches Katherine threw at him using her vampire speed.

"There's hope for you yet," she panted. She threw a halfhearted punch at the hunter lightly. Gavin then proceed to twist her arm behind her back; the exact same move that Katherine had done on him before. "You're good," she started. "But you don't know everything yet." Katherine bent down and tumbled, throwing Gavin over her shoulder and onto the floor. Suddenly, there was a wooden stake pointed at his throat. Katherine chuckled and helped him up. "Good try, though." Gavin smiled.

"Thanks, vampire-girl. I learned a lot today."

"You're welcome. Anytime. How about you come over on Monday and we continue?"

"Sounds good," Gavin replied. He opened the door to leave, revealing Elijah standing by the elevator. Gavin looked at Katherine, and she nodded.

"It's fine," she mouthed. "Go." Gavin hesitated, and then left quickly, taking the staircase to the left.

"It's a eighteen story walk to the bottom," Elijah chuckled softly as the stairwell door closed. Katherine approached him warily, her hands crossed around her chest.

"We're have you been?" She asked shortly.

"Walking around. But I brought you a present." He handed her another box of chocolates, the same brand as before. She raised an eyebrow, and began to smile. "I saw the other box I gave you was empty," Elijah said quietly. He came closer and brushed his hand against her cheek. "You have plaster in your hair, you know." Smiling he picked out a few pieces of the hard white material. Katherine couldn't help but stare, mesmerized by his face. He was a real mystery. Elijah always seemed proper and reformed. But Katherine could tell that there was something about him, buried deep within all those layers of formality. Who was he really?

Katherine's Diary: Entry 5

I honestly don't even know where to begin. After Gavin left, guess who appeared? Fancy Pants himself. And everything was going great. More than great, actually.

"Well you obviously know your way to a girl's heart," I remarked jokingly. I couldn't stop eating those damn chocolates! I swear that if I weren't a vampire, I'd literally be 700 pounds. And I'm not really afraid to admit it either. I mean besides drinking blood, eating is my hobby. God, I sound like a fat person. "Seriously, though. I eat my body weight in junk food."

"I've noticed," Elijah replied. I was utterly amazed at how he was able to keep his composure, especially since this afternoon. To him, it seemed like it had never happened. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want a play by play recall about our…fight. But some acknowledgement would be nice. Or an apology. Definitely an apology.

Okay so yes, it was partially my fault as well. Maybe I may have overreacted about the tunnel thingy and my chocolate obsession. And maybe I may have gone to far when I brought up the past. Tatia, Klaus, I literally pissed him off in everyway I possibly could. Okay, okay. I get it. I'm a terrible person. I mean think about it. Elijah has been trying hard to earn my trust, right? And I basically shoved his apologies and attempts up his ass.

Why am I even spending so much time thinking about this? I have more important things to think about. Like Silas. And the stupid veil. And the cure. Shit. Who am I kidding?

So anyway, we talked. That's literally it. Okay, maybe that's a lie. But we talked for a few hours, and it was nice. And I don't want to lie to you, dear diary, because then technically, I'd be lying to myself. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing…Anyway, here's what happened.

"Look, Katarina. I apologize for losing my temper at you before. It was uncalled for, and I deeply apologize for my actions." He looked down and straightened his suit nervously. I stared at him.

"Seriously? You're apologizing?"

"Yes." That was it. I started to laugh. And it probably wasn't very attractive either. There was plaster in my hair, and I was all sweaty from my workout with Gavin. Plus, I probably had chocolate in my teeth.

"You-" I was cut off by another fit of giggles. Finally, I managed to calm down enough to form coherent words. "You don't have to apologize. It's my fault! I went too far. Besides, the only damage you did was to the wall." Elijah clearly wasn't happy with my reply. What did he want? Perhaps he just expected me to accept the apology and rub it in his face or something. Thinking about that, it doesn't necessarily seem like a bad idea…

"I hovered," he muttered sheepishly. "Yes, I followed you, and you have every right to be angry. I intruded on a private moment-"

"Elijah? Stop it. Just stop it." I raised my hand to silence him. He opens his mouth to speak but I put a finger to his lips. "There. Is. Nothing. To. Apologize. For." And then I kissed him. But it was an accident, I swear. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! Immediately, I drew my face back and covered my mouth. "I didn't mean to," I muttered. "Sorry. I'll just leave now or something." He grabbed my arm.

"Katarina-" I didn't stay to hear the rest of what he said.

So there you have it. I'm a coward, right? But I have to stay away from him. If I develop feelings for this man, it'll make it THAT much harder to betray him. Right now, I need to focus on getting my freedom. That's what's important. Shit. I'll just keep telling myself that…

So yea, it was a bit long. But hopefully, you enjoyed it! All comments and suggestions are welcomed. And sorry for the varied writing style. I'm trying to jump into the plot as soon as possible to reach the action ! :)