Chapter 11

"She's in my head, Damon. All the time she's here." I said, sitting at a table in the Mystic Grill. Damon sat across from me with a concerned look on her face.

"How did it happen?" He asked.

"It's part of being a doppelgänger. Katherine had Taita in her head for her entire life."

"Her whole life? It'll never stop?"

"Not until I die."

"What happens then?"

"I suppose I'll be stuck in between worlds until a new doppelgänger is born...which will be never."

"Oh God, Elena. I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I killed her." He put his head in his hands.

He's got that right, it is all his fault.

Shut up.

You really had to tell Damon, didn't you?

Yes, I did.

Will you tell Stefan as well?

I'll...cross that bridge when I come to it.

"You couldn't have known, Damon." I said, placing a hand lightly on his arm. "None of us could. She kept it a secret for her entire life."

For good reason.

"I was impulsive." He said. "I didn't think."

"Neither did I. It's my fault there's a dead girl outside. It's my fault we...kissed. I'm sorry." I could have sworn I saw Damon blush.

"Why is it so important to keep it a secret, Elena? Why didn't you ask for Stefan's help?" I looked down at my hands, feeling guilty all over again.

"I was...am...scared of how he'll react. Katherine in my head? He'll never trust me again. Besides, he was just so blissfully happy about me trying his diet. I didn't want to ruin that."

"I take it bunny blood isn't hitting the spot?"

"I was hungry enough to pretend to be Katherine and kill an innocent girl."

"Regardless, he should know, Elena."

"No. He can't. Please, Damon. If you tell him...he'll hate me."

"You don't know that."

"I do. He hates Katherine. He can't love and hate me at the same time."

"You're still separate people, Elena. You're not Katherine."

"I was ten minutes ago."

Stop talking about me like I'm not here.

Are we ever going to become one person?

I don't know. Taita eventually became more of a conscience to me. A raving mad conscience.

She went away?

Oh no. Not by a long shot. She was always there, always commenting.

"That's different." Damon continued.

"How?"

"You..."

"You fell for it, didn't you?"

"Yes but-"

"Then that's what we have to do. Stefan can't know the truth. He has to believe that Katherine is really back. Along with Jeremy and Bonnie and everyone else."

"And how are you going to control yourself if you ditch Stefan's diet."

"You'll teach me, of course."

"I don't like this." Damon whispered as he got to his knees, and tried to look as haggard as possible. We were standing at the entrance to the Boarding House.

"Neither do I, but there's no other option. He has to believe you."

"I'm not an actor, Elena."

"Am I?"

"No, but-" He stopped short as I ignored him and hammered on the door. After several tense seconds it opened, revealing Stefan. Seeing us, his expression immediately became serious.

"Elena? What happened." I gave him my best Katherine-smirk, and replied,

"Ask him." I nodded at Damon.

"What?"

"Stefan..." Damon rasped, "It's not...Elena. K-Katherine. She didn't die."

"Damon? What are you talking about? You killed her!"

"I know, I know. She...she survived."

"Aren't you going to let us in, Stefan?" I said. "It's rude to keep guests waiting outside."

"You're not coming in, Katherine." He said flatly, disgust evident in his face.

"So impolite." I ignored him, barging past into the Boarding House. He stumbled back easily.

His diet really does make him weak.

Stefan gave me a sour look and quickly helped Damon in after me, laying him down on a couch. Damon gave a weak cough.

"What did she do?" Stefan asked, pretending I didn't exist.

"Ambushed me. Pretended to be Elena after Jeremy and Bonnie kidnapped her."

"Jeremy and Bonnie?"

"Also known as Bonnie and Clyde." I piped up from examining the bookshelf. "Elena has a lovely brother and best friend." Stefan acted as though hadn't spoken.

"Why would they kidnap Elena?"

"Something about a spell." Damon said. "Wanting to 'fix' her. Apparently Bonnie found a spell which would stop a vampire from needing to drink human blood."

"But...that's impossible."

"You're right there, Stefan." I said. "You're lucky they took me instead of your girlfriend. She'd be dead now if I hadn't stepped in."

"How do you know that?"

"A witch tried to do the same thing to me years before I came to Mystic Falls. Emily had to step in, which is why Bonnie knew about the spell in the first place."

"You're lying."

"Am I? Ask Damon, he saw Bonnie and Clyde make off with me once they'd injected me with vervain right on your doorstep. Where were you when your girlfriend was captured?" I said accusingly. Stefan's lips pursed in guilt.

"She's right." Damon said softly. "They smuggled her to Bonnie's Grams' house where I couldn't get in."

"What happened next?" Stefan turned to me. I shrugged.

"I tried to warn them, they didn't listen. I was forced to reveal myself before breaking free. When I saw Damon I made him help me lure a girl behind the Grill before I killed her. Damon got angry, tried to fight me and...well." I nodded at Damon, who was lying on the couch holding his side and wheezing lightly.

"She knows where Elena is." He said.

"Where?"

"She won't tell."

"She's safe." I added. "So long as you don't give me any trouble."
"What do you want now?" Stefan said irritably.

"A safety measure. I took her once, I can do it again. If you or Damon try anything again, you'll never see her again. Am I right, Damon?" He put on a suitably angry expression and replied through gritted teeth.

"Yes."

"Fine," Stefan said. "I'll leave you alone. But I want her back. Now."

How sweet. He's so protective of you.

Jealous?

I don't need protection, so no.

"You'll get her back tonight." I said. "I really must be going, Stefan. Remember our deal." He didn't reply, so I grinned, blew him a kiss and left.

"You let her live?" Stefan shouted at Damon almost as soon as Katherine had left the house.

"Let her live? No, I killed her, but once again she managed to survive." Damon heard the anger in his own voice. How dare Stefan accuse him like this.

"Vampires don't just get up and leave once they've been burnt, Damon. Which means you didn't finish the job."

"Finish the job?" He asked incredulously. "I finished perfectly well. She was as burnt as a marshmallow. Don't you get it? This was all part of Katherine's plan. She wanted us to think she was dead."

Elena's plan to be precise.

"And thanks to you, Damon, it worked."

"You fell for it same as everyone else, Stefan, so brush that chip off your shoulder right now. I need to freshen up." Damon spat back. Without waiting for a reply, he rose and hurried up the stairs. Ignoring his own room, however, he opened the door to Elena's, and shut it quietly behind him.

Clothes, clothes. Where does she keep her clothes.

He searched for a minute before finding a damp set in the laundry basket. They smelt faintly of alcohol, but would have to suffice. Damon carried them to the window, and promptly tossed them out.

Stefan was still fuming when he saw Damon return, clean and in fresh clothes.

"Still being unreasonable, Stefan?" He asked, smirking.

"Shut up, Damon." Stefan was about to say more when the door burst open and Elena burst in, looking frightened and dishevelled.

"Elena!" Stefan gasped, rushing to hug her. He embraced her, catching the scent of alcohol on her. "What happened." He asked.

"K-Katherine." She gasped, without returning the hug. "She's alive, Stefan. She's alive!"

"We know, she already came here." He said.

"What? Why?"

"To make a deal. She threatened to hurt you if we try to kill her again."

Damon looked on with the faintest of smiles as he saw Stefan almost in tears at seeing Elena 'safe and sound' again.

"To make a deal. She threatened to hurt you if we try to kill her again." Stefan said, while attempting to suffocate Elena.

"Don't worry, Elena." Damon said. "We're not going to listen to her. That bitch is in for it."

"What?" Stefan hissed, releasing Elena to turn and glare at Damon. "Are you a complete imbecile, Damon? Of course we're going to listen to her."

"No, Stefan." Elena said. "Damon's right, we can't let her get away with this. I'll be fine. We can't let Katherine control us anymore."

Right on cue.

"Elena, no." Stefan said firmly. "I'm decided on this. No one is touching Katherine. I won't risk her hurting you."

"Don't be an idiot Stefan-"

"Shut up, Damon."

"Stefan-"

"I'm sorry Elena, but she's too dangerous. If she managed to cheat death, imagine what else she might be able to do." Elena stared angrily at him for a moment before lowering her head.

"Fine." She muttered.

"I'm sorry, Stefan." Damon said. "But caution is for the weak. I'm going to kill her."

"Damon, I swear-"

"Please, Damon." Elena cut Stefan off. "Don't do it. Stefan's right. She's too dangerous. She can still harm us. She can still harm me." Damon made a great show of letting his resolve fade.

"If...if that's what you want, Elena."'

"It is Damon."

Of course it is. It's what you planned from the second you walked in.

Stefan looked at me, love clear in his eyes.

"It's for the best, Elena."

"I...I know." He hugged me again, and this time I returned it. Damon was standing several feet behind Stefan. He gave me a smirk. The plan had worked perfectly. I grinned back.

"Thank you." I mouthed silently.