[Hey everyone. Sorry this chapter took longer than usual, school etc have been really busy. I hope you enjoy it, and as always, reviews are much appreciated.] - Rubaiyat

Chapter 10

Even as the words left my mouth, I saw terror spread across Bonnie's face. She was dangerous. I had to get out of here.

Without hesitating a second, I sped out the door onto the porch, right into the arms of Damon. He'd been outside the whole time. Had he heard me? I searched his face. He was expressionless, apart from a slight look of surprise at my sudden appearance.

What were you thinking? How can you pretend to be me if I died?

I'm sorry, I panicked. It was this or tell the truth. I'll just say you survived, like in 1864.

That was a bit easier. No one actually saw me burn. Damon did this time.

"Damon..." I started, unsure of what to say.

"K-Katherine?" He was looking intensely at me, searching for a clue to my identity. "That's impossible. I killed you myself."

What do I do?

Be arrogant. And flirt.

Were it not for my current situation, I would have rolled my eyes at her.

"Looks like you didn't do a good enough job. Losing your touch, Damon?" I said, trying to smirk diabolically.

"You burnt to a crisp before my very eyes. You were definitely dead."

"You thought that back in 1864 as well, didn't you? Look how that turned out."

"How? How did you survive?"

"I don't play by your rules, Damon. I've been surviving for five hundred years. It takes a bit more than that to kill me." Suddenly Damon flashed to the picket fence in the garden and ripped out a pointed piece of wood.

Watch out!

Katherine warned me just in time. I ducked under Damon as he lunged to stab me with the stake, popping up behind him and grabbing him by the neck and forearm. The stake clattered to the floor.

"Too slow, sweetie." I whispered into his ear.

"You bitch!" He hissed back. I released him, and he stumbled forwards before spinning and fixing a hateful glare on me.

"Rash and impulsive, as always. If you'd succeeded, Damon, how would you find Elena? Only I know where she is." He paused for a moment, realising I was right.

"I'd have found a way." I laughed coldly at him, hoping it sounded realistic.

"Damon Salvatore, the man with no plan. Don't try it again. I can guarantee that if you kill me, you'll never find Elena."

"So what? I just do as you say until you feel like handing her back over?"

"Sounds good to me."

"I'm not going to let you manipulate me, Katherine. You strung me along for long enough." His voice was bitter. For an instant, I felt bad about treating him like this.

Don't falter. I never falter.

Right.

"That's just too bad Damon. What will Stefan say when he finds out you were too proud to try protect Elena?"

"Stefan can think what he wants."

"More importantly, what will Elena think when she hears you didn't try to save her?" He faltered.

Well played.

I grinned at the compliment.

"What do you want, Katherine?" Damon sighed, defeated.

"Follow me." I said, striding past him towards the road.

"Where are we going?"

"The Grill."

Damon didn't trust her one bit.

She's hiding something. Katherine always is. What does she want with the Grill?

"The Grill?" He asked Katherine.

"Didn't you hear me?" She replied. "Yes, the Grill. Hurry up." He caught up, and walked next to her. It pained him to have to follow like a puppy, but if it would save Elena...

"How did you do it, Katherine?" He asked, still mystified as to how she's managed to survive. After all, he'd lit the match himself.

"What can I say, Damon? You're no vampire-hunter." Damon glared at her. It was never easy getting answers out of Katherine.

"Will you at least tell me why we're going to the Grill?"

"Why else? I'm hungry." She gave him a predatory grin. "Playing the new vampire around Stefan has been fun, but his diet really is awful."

"So you'll kill a few people, make it look like Elena and I did it, and then wait for Stefan to find out?"

"I wasn't planning on it, but if that's what you want..."

"He won't believe it. Stefan would sooner accept you coming back to life than think Elena went with me behind his back and killed innocent people." For a moment her smugness was shaken. It looked almost like guilt, but Damon attributed it to Katherine realising her plan might not work.

"Could...could you believe Elena would do that?" The question surprised him.

"Me?"

"If you didn't know that it was actually...me, would you believe she'd do that?"

"Yes." Her eyebrows arched in surprise. "She's a vampire now, and she can't stand animal blood either. We all go off the rails sometimes."

"Yes...I suppose we do." Damon gave her a sideways glance. She was acting strangely.

The Grill sparsely populated when they arrived.

Thank God no one we know is here.

Explaining it wouldn't have been easy, especially if Katherine made him play along with her little game.

"We're here. Now what?" He said impatiently, worried about Elena.

"Pick someone." She said. "Someone tasty."

"Are you going to kill whoever I pick?"

"Do you want me to?"

"No."

"Then relax. Now choose."

Damon tapped a woman sitting alone at the bar softly on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," He said, before staring deeply into her eyes and saying, "Follow me."

He headed for the back exit, seeing Katherine waiting by the door already. Behind him, the brunette had abandoned her drink and was following him.

"Good choice." Katherine said outside in the alleyway. There was a fervour in her eyes Damon hadn't seen before. A chilling mixture of hunger and excitement. He turned to the girl, saying, "What's your name?"

"Dayle."

"This won't hurt, Dayle. You won't scream, and you won't remember anything when it's over." She nodded vaguely in understanding. Katherine approached her, staring into her distant eyes. She stroked her cheek lightly, until her hand drifted to the girl's neck, brushing a few strands of hair out of the way. Katherine's eyes darkened, and she leaned in close, smelling her neck. At last, she opened her mouth, piercing the flesh and almost shivering at the sensation as she drank the blood. Before Damon's eyes, Katherine gave in to the blood-lust, pulling Dayle closer and clutching more tightly to her.

"You promised not to kill her, Katherine." Damon whispered. She looked up, her eyes still a deep red with dark veins beneath them.

"There's room for two." She said, stroking the other side of Dayle's neck.

"No thanks."

"Don't make me ask twice, Damon." She showed her teeth, revealing the sharp fangs. He gritted his teeth. The scent of the fresh blood was filling his nostrils.

Just a small taste. For Elena.

He bit into the other side of her neck, relishing the taste of the blood. Beside him, Katherine was doing likewise. It was euphoric. Everything else faded. It was just him, the blood and Katherine. He hardly noticed as Dayle began to sag, slumping against the wall. The next second, the girl dropped, falling in the concrete floor, cutting their feast short. The feeling of power persisted. Damon's vision was spinning. He could still taste the blood. In front of him, Katherine was staring at him, her face smeared with blood. Damon felt frozen. He couldn't move. Wasn't sure he wanted to. Katherine took a small step towards him, her expression unreadable. He stared back, utterly transfixed. Slowly, she leant forward, letting her eyes close. He did the same, and felt her lips meet his. For a moment, the kiss was soft, unsure. He could taste the blood on her lips. The next moment however, she pushed harder, and Damon let himself be shove against the wall as their tongues fought wildly. He could feel her body pressed against his own, sandwiching him between her and the wall. He felt the passion. He felt the fire.

What the hell am I doing?

The thought floated vaguely through my consciousness. This was wrong. I shouldn't be drinking human blood. I shouldn't be standing beside a dead woman. And I certainly shouldn't be kissing Damon. My body didn't listen. I couldn't stop myself. My senses were still soaring after the blood. My heart was pounding against my chest at the kiss. It was so wrong, and yet felt so right.

I felt Damon tense up all of a sudden, and stopped kissing me. My heart sank, and the euphoria was shattered. The gravity of the situation came crashing down on me.

"I-I can't do this Katherine." Damon said, sounding shaken. The instant the words left his mouth, I knew what I had to do.

"D-Damon. I'm so...so sorry. I l-lied Damon. It's me, Elena." Tears were pouring down my face. "I lied to Bonnie and Jeremy. Katherine's dead." Disbelief was clear on his face. Disbelief and confusion.

"Elena?"

What are you doing?

I can't lie to him. I can't do this.

You can't tell him everything. Don't tell him about me.

I have to. I'm sorry.

"It's all so messed up, Damon."

"Come here." He hugged me gently. "It's alright. Tell me what happened."