AN: I Love you guys, I really do. And that's why here is another chapter for you. Thanks, thanks thanks for the reviews. They are amazing. Hope you will like this chapter. Here goes the story...
Chapter 27: A Little Talk With Katherine
It was the second time, I entered the Gilbert house during the barbecue party. Jenna saw me entering this time. And she obviously asked me where I was.
"Where were you?" asked Jenna. Ric was right behind her and he looked at me with calculating eyes. He could sense that something was off about me but he couldn't figure out what exactly.
"I just needed some fresh air Jenna." I replied to her casually but still she looked worriedly at me. But thankfully she didn't ask me any more question.
"Food is in the kitchen, please help yourself" said Jenna and I nodded to that even though I wasn't really in the mood of eating anything, I went to the kitchen silently. I saw Damon and Mason shaking their hands when I entered the room. Both of them looked at me as I walked inside. Mason had this guilty look gracing his face immediately but I smiled at him politely.
"Hi Mason, you having a good time?" I asked as I got myself a juice cane from the fridge.
"Yeah, I am having a good time." Mason replied and then he paused for a moment, struggling with words I guess.
"Listen Jacq, I am really sorry for hurting you at the night of the full moon. I have no control when I am a wolf." Mason apologized and I breathed out a laugh.
"Don't worry about it. I wasn't exactly expecting you to waggle your tail at me happily." I said with a mirthful smile and Mason also let out a chuckle at that however, Damon narrowed his eyes at me. I took a gulp from the cane satisfying my thirst.
"Besides, I knew already that werewolves don't have control on themselves once they turn. I knew the risks of facing you in your wolf form. I took the risk on my own. You have nothing to feel guilty about." I said with assured tone of voice. Damon and Mason exchanged looks that I didn't quite understand.
"I could have killed you. Why did you do it?" asked Mason with serious tone of voice and for the first time Damon didn't look hatefully at him. I on the other hand shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly at him.
"What can I say? I guess, I just love playing games with death. It's quite fun actually." I said and smirked thinking how true it was for me. Damon kept looking at me with a hard stare while Mason simply looked troubled about me. I understood that he was trying to figure me out. I like this, making people clueless about me.
"Enjoy the rest of the evening" saying that to Mason, I made my way to my room. I already decided that I will stop Damon from stabbing Mason. Hopefully then Mason wouldn't try to do anything to the Salvatore brothers. Then I would only have Damon to stop from hurting him. And I really hoped to succeed. I walked up to my window while still sipping a little from the juice cane. I noticed that my jeans were torn where I stabbed the bottle and a bit of blood has dried on the garment as well. I better get changed before someone notices it. I thought to myself. Thankfully the jeans were black in color. Therefore it wasn't visible. I just turned away from the window and came face to face with Damon's broad chest. I almost crashed into him actually. I looked up to see a pissed off look on his face. I frowned in confusion at Damon.
"What got you pissed off?" I inquired. I swear I would flip if this is about my forgiving Mason so easily. But what Damon actually asked, really startled me.
"How did you get hurt?" He asked glancing at my thigh. Of course he is a vampire. He would smell blood immediately. I sighed out heavily before speaking up again.
"Trust me Damon, you don't wanna know." I said but suddenly Damon grabbed my waist and put me on my study desk. He checked the blood soaked area carefully. The suddenly he grabbed a fist full of my jeans and tore it off from the supposedly wounded place to take a better look at it.
"Hey!" I protested right away but the damage was already done. I have no choice but to throw away the jeans now.
"It's already healed. Who healed it?" Damon asked with serious tone of voice.
"Bonnie." I replied calmly.
"Now tell me what happened?" Damon asked with such strong tone of voice as if he wanted to compel me. I knew he wouldn't let it go until I tell him about it.
"Fine, if you insist, I stabbed myself with a broken beer bottle. Then Bonnie found me and healed me. Then I came back home. End of story." I said with careless tone of voice. Damon furrowed his brows at first and then scowled at me dangerously.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You have been acting weird the entire day. What is it? Is it your time of the month or something?" asked Damon and I couldn't believe he seriously asked me that. I felt my cheeks getting heated up immediately. They must be turning bright red.
"Shut up Damon. I was just feeling angry at myself okay. But I am fine now. No need to brood over me." I snapped at Damon and he crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at me with anger. I didn't say anything but I was getting worried. Nothing good happens when Damon acts like an overprotective lover.
"You are officially under my suicidal watch now" stated Damon and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Come on, if I wanted to kill myself I would have stabbed my heart, not my leg." I said to defend myself. As an awkward silence consumed us, I looked down at my lap and noticed the state of my jeans.
"And you owe me a pair of jeans now since you so mercilessly ruined this one." I said to break up that silence. Damon sighed out heavily obviously trying to calm himself down.
"Why were you angry at yourself?" asked Damon and I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.
"Nothing worth repeating." I said but Damon wasn't satisfied with that answer.
"Look, I just had a moment with myself. It passed away okay. I am starting over now. I have a future to focus on." I said with seriousness in my voice this time. Damon stared at me for a while before nodding.
"I am gonna go downstairs now. Wouldn't want to miss the company of the wolf." Damon said while smirking smugly and that made me roll my eyes at him.
"Leave him alone Damon. Mason is not your enemy." I said but that went in one ear and out the other. Damon just smirked some more and left the room. I quickly got changed and got ready to save Mason from getting stabbed by Damon. It wasn't long before Mason got out of the house after bidding good bye to everyone. Damon tried to flatter Jenna but it didn't work much. She still thinks Damon is after Elena and didn't really like him for that. After Damon walked out of the house, I dashed out as well, ignoring Jenna's calls. Alaric must be wondering too where I was running off like that. I had to look around for a while before I found them, the werewolf and the vampire. Mason just got out of his jeep and Damon was approaching him. I ran up to Damon as if my life was depending on it.
"Damon." I called from behind him. Damon turned around hearing my voice. He frowned at me with confusion.
"What are you doing here?" He asked as I walked up closer to him.
"I know what you came here to do. I saw you taking the silver knife. Please Damon just leave him alone." I pleaded with Damon as if he is going to listen to that.
"You are going back home right now. This is none of your business" said Damon and I sighed out, feeling frustrated this time.
"Why are you so hell bent on killing him?" I was getting pissed off at his stubbornness.
"Because he tried to kill you." Damon hissed at me angrily. I sighed out rolling my eyes at him Damon.
"And which part of he wasn't under control don't you understand Damon. This is ridiculous. It was my fault that he attacked me. Don't punish him for that. And if I remember correctly Stefan also tried to kill me once. If Stefan deserves forgiveness in your book then so should Mason. And I want you to stay away from him." I said crossing my arms over my chest to look strong. Mason was watching our argument with an amused expression on his face. He wasn't even trying to escape knowing that Damon was there to kill him. Damon however narrowed his eyes at me and stepped close enough that he was invading my personal space.
"Listen to me carefully. He is a werewolf and a werewolf bite can kill a vampire. He is an enemy and I will get rid of him" stated Damon with determination in his voice. I was getting mad at him gradually. Why he always has to be so difficult?
"No, you won't. Can't you see it? He is not your enemy Damon. Otherwise, he would have managed a way to kill you the minute he came into this town. He is a good person Damon, don't do this? Don't start something that will bring nothing but problem for all of us." I said and hoped that he would understand me. But Damon just shrugged his shoulders at me.
"I don't care if he is a good person. I like killing good people" saying that Damon went over to Mason in a blink of an eye and stabbed the silver knife into his abdomen. Mason dropped on his knees as Damon walked up to his Jeep and opened the back shutter. I ran to Mason and helped him pull out the knife.
"I guess, it was the werewolves who started this silver myth then." I said and Mason nodded to that.
"Probably for moments like this." I breath out a chuckle hearing that.
"You okay?" I asked Mason with concern ignoring a very shocked looking Damon.
"Yeah, I am okay" said Mason while nodding his head. He then looked at Damon and smirked. "I was really looking forward to this last call. Now you made an enemy" said Mason and I groaned out.
"I can't believe this is happening." Again I said in my mind and inwardly shook my head at the situation.
"Did you already know that silver doesn't work on wolves?" Damon asked me angrily, feeling betrayed. Though I smirked at him.
"I wouldn't be just trying to talk you out of it if silver really did work on werewolves." I said to him with mirth in my voice. Damon glared at me dangerously, clenching his jaws tightly.
"Why?" He growled out. "Why the hell do you want to save him? What is he to you?" asked Damon and I seriously wanted to groan out loud. Not another jealousy issue. God, I am tired of them.
"I told you already, Mason is a good person and doesn't deserve to die. And I won't let you or anyone else kill him." I said that with nonchalant tone of voice. But I meant it seriously nevertheless. Somehow, it pushed the danger button of his nerves and Damon snapped instantly. He grabbed my arms in painful grips that threatened to break them in two and pulled me close to him forcefully.
"Why do you care about him so much? Are you in love with him too? Or is it just him and you lied to me." Damon was fuming with anger and I gaped at him not believing what I just heard him saying. But Damon really said it and meant it and it pissed me off to no limit. I tried to pull away from him but his grips tightened more. It would definitely leave bruises on my arms.
"I can't believe you said that. But you know what? You are right. Maybe I really should love him instead of you. At least I wouldn't have to put up with jealousy issues with him all the time." I snapped and Damon snarled at me angrily.
"You do not talk to me like that" said Damon and it was that voice again, that controlling voice. It was the voice of the vampire inside him. I didn't hear that voice for quite a few days. And I still didn't like it a bit and it sort of scared me this time. His eyes turned red and his vampire face was coming out. His hold on me became more excruciating. A little cry of pain escaped my throat. Mason got in between us quickly and tried to push Damon away from me.
"Let her go Damon." But he growled at Mason dangerously as he said that. But Mason used his full force and pushed Damon away from me. Finally freeing me of the painful grips. Mason was about to approach him again but I stopped him.
"No, Mason, you can't fight him. You are not strong enough. Just go away from here, please." Mason nodded then looked at my arms. Though my arms were sleeved at that moment but anyone could tell how must it look like underneath the covers, after having such painful grips on them.
"Come with me. You must be hurt" said Mason. I looked back at Damon. He was more concentrating on controlling himself rather than me. I nodded to Mason and started to walk away from there. I didn't need to look back to see Damon glaring at our way. And I was actually quite surprised that he didn't launch himself at Mason right then and there. Mason and I got into his jeep and he drove it up to the Lockwood mansion.
"I don't want to go in there now." I spoke up after remaining quiet the entire drive. He just nodded in understanding that I didn't want to face Tyler in such state.
"I will be right back" said Mason and I nodded to him. He left and got inside the house. I got out of the jeep and hopped up on the bonnet and sat there while waiting for Mason. He returned with some stuffs. I took off my jacket and uncovered my arms. Just as I thought, it did create quite nasty looking bruises on my arms. I was lucky to not have any broken bones actually.
"Is he always like this?" asked Mason obviously asking about Damon.
"Pretty much, once he snapped and almost killed my brother. I call him walking time bomb, no one really knows when he would explode." I said normally as if nothing happened between us just a while ago. Mason started attending to the wounds carefully.
"You don't sound hateful at all, especially after what he just did to you" said Mason and I shrugged my shoulders at that.
"Damon and his jealousy issues. I am kind of used to of it by now. Not that I like it but used to of it. Besides, I know he is going to regret it later and it's going to hurt him hundred times worse." We were silent for sometime after I said that.
"I wish Damon had accepted your offer of peace. Now you guys will be on killing each other mission. This didn't need to happen." I said sadly then I looked at him and Mason looked at me as well.
"I won't let you hurt him." I said out loud. "Neither will I let him hurt you. You can play around with each other all you want but when any of you will try to cross the line, I will be there to stop you because I want both of you safe and alive, not just one." I said and meant every word of it. Mason looked intensely at me for a moment.
"I know you love him. You have reasons to want him safe. But why do you want to save me? I don't get it" said Mason being really clueless about it. I sighed out heavily.
"I don't want to lie to you Mason. It's better not to explain anything at all. Just know that I need to keep you safe as well because you are good, and you deserve to live a happy life. I have to give you that life for the sake of my soul." I made a mistake once already, by letting Viki Donavon die. She didn't deserve to die but I did nothing to stop her death. If I let Mason die too, my eternal soul will be damned. And I would do everything within my power to stop it from happening. Mason just sighed out heavily. Obviously not understanding what I meant but he didn't push it further.
"You should stay out of it Jacq. It's best for you." Mason said and I nodded to that.
"I know. I never wanted any of this. But I can't turn my back on it now. We all have a part in this that we have to play." Mason nodded to that as I said it.
"I understand what you mean. But you are just a kid. You deserve a normal life" argued Mason.
"Well Harry Potter got sucked into the supernatural world at the age of eleven. I am older than that. I think I can handle it." I said enthusiastically that made Mason laugh. After a while I spoke up again.
"One more thing, before you get busy with scheming Damon's death plans. Think about Tyler at first. He only knows a bit and it's driving him crazy. And a Tyler on the edge can do all kind of stupid things in the world. Just be careful about him. I could have told him everything already but I didn't, because you are his family and he has a right to know about it from you, not from an outsider." I said and Mason let out a heavy sigh of helplessness.
"I don't want him involved." He stated.
"Neither did I. But since he witnessed you turning into a wolf, it will only increase his curiosity until he learns the full truth. And he will get further involved in it if he keeps searching for the truth on his own. And possibly get into a lot of trouble. Keeping him in the dark won't help him now." Mason looked at me with understanding expression but I needed to say more.
"Look, it's up to you what you are gonna do with Tyler. I just don't want him to get in trouble while looking for answers. So please, watch out for him." Mason nodded, understanding my concern for Tyler. Later he offered to drop me back home but I declined the offer politely. I needed to be alone for a while.
I was walking towards the Gilbert house in a slow pace. I didn't really want to go home yet. I didn't want to go anywhere for that matter. I just kept walking while being lost in my own thoughts. Elena and Katherine must have met already at the boarding house. I remembered their encounter vividly from the show. I hoped Mason would tell Tyler everything tonight. And I also wondered what Tyler is gonna choose this time. Is he going to choose to stay away from this supernatural world while living in it? Like he did in the show. Or is his decision gonna change this time? I realized that no matter what he decides to do I have to let Katherine turn him, otherwise he and Caroline would never get close. Then Caroline would just keep pinning over Matt and Tyler would just be lonely in his love life. Both of them will get more lonely once I am gone. Tyler more than Caroline. So call it match making or butting in someone's person life when I shouldn't but I am gonna bring Tyler and Caroline closer for sure. I wondered what would happen to them and everyone else once I will leave their world. Will they remember me? Or are they just going to forget about me? Will my memories be erased from their minds once I am gone? I am a non-existing character after all.
As I kept thinking about all these things, about leaving everyone behind, I suddenly felt like breaking down on my knees and cry out loud. I felt so empty from inside at the mere thought of it. As if someone took away a huge part of me and never going to return it back. Perhaps I shouldn't have got so emotionally attached with everyone. But then again this is my only chance of living happily before death comes for me. Better use this chance while I can. Suddenly I realized that I had no idea where I was going really. My feet got their own mind at that moment and they were taking me to nowhere. After walking for a while longer I spotted a figure not so far away from where I was standing. I recognized the person right away. Katherine Pierce. I had no idea that the path I was walking down would led me straight to Katherine. Why I came here of all the places in Mystic Falls? Why to her? To get killed? No, it didn't feel like I am in danger at the time. I wasn't getting any feeling like that that I should start running immediately and go far away from this place, away from her. It was quite strange really knowing that she could kill me in a blink of an eye, but still I didn't feel threatened or alarmed in her presence. Katherine however was looking up at the moon. A small smile playing on her lips as she touched them gently. She must be remembering her time with Stefan back in 1864. I did know as a matter of fact that this cruel heartless selfish vampire is actually really deeply in love with the younger Salvatore brother. And the love was radiating off of her face at that time.
I had no idea where the courage came from inside me, but I found myself slowly walking up to Katherine and I stopped right beside her. I knew very well that she was well aware of my presence by her. I wondered why she hasn't made a move yet. I should have been dead by now but she wasn't even looking at me. Maybe she was really in a good mood at the moment. I sighed out feeling relieved for god knows why and I looked up at the moon myself.
"The moon is very romantic tonight. Must be stirring up some beautiful memories." I said to Katherine in a low tone of voice which she obviously heard. Katherine looked at me this time but I kept looking at the sky instead.
"You are either very brave or very stupid to come here and stand with me" said Katherine which made me look at her. She was standing with crossed arms this time and trying to look scary as well.
"To be honest, I have no idea why I came here. My feet walked me here right up to you. But now that I am here, I am glad that I came." I said to her and Katherine frowned at me with confusion.
"And why is that?" asked the vampire with interest. I shrugged my shoulders carelessly.
"Because now I know something that no one else does." I said and Katherine gave me a hard stare before narrowing her eyes at me dangerously.
"And what would that be?" asked Katherine. It was my utmost surprise that she was actually talking to me and not trying to tear me apart in pieces. I took a deep breath before speaking up again.
"I know now that underneath all the layers of hardness, selfishness and cruelty of Katherine Pierce, it's just a lonely girl with nothing but memories to live with." I said fearlessly and we stared at each other for quite sometime. Then suddenly Katherine smiled at me, not smirk or one of her evil smiles but a simple smile. It lasted only for a moment though. Then she smirked at me again, hiding that smile quickly.
"Is that so? What's your story? I have a feeling you have one too" said Katherine and I was shocked that she didn't get mad at me for saying what I just said and she wasn't strangling me to death. Moreover she asked me about my life.
"It's worst than yours, I am a lonely girl with no memories to cherish. It sucks." I said and sighed out deeply. I didn't tell her that the memories I have of my life cause me nothing but guilt and pain. And I didn't have one single good memory for me. And I would be glad to get rid of them any ime because they bring me nothing but regression and remorse feelings. I thought Katherine would leave now or kill me but she did neither. We just stood there in complete silence and looked up at the moon again together this time.
"What do want most in your eternal life?" I asked Katherine and broke the silence between us in the process. And also I have no idea why I asked that to her. I just did and was surprised to receive an answer from her.
"Someone to love, perhaps a family too" replied Katherine. I just nodded to that and didn't say a word after that. However I knew that her answer wasn't completely genuine. There was one more thing that Katherine wanted more than anything else in this world. Even more than someone to love. And it was her freedom. But I kept my mouth shut about it.
"What do you want from your life?" Katherine asked with a casual careless tone of voice, not sounding serious at all. Perhaps she was thinking what could possibly a young teenager girl like me want from life other than a loving boyfriend and a few great best friends. But the answer I gave her, she really wasn't expecting that.
"I want nothing from my life." I said really meaning it. Katherine titled her head a little as she looked at me with a strong stare.
"So, you already have everything you want in your life." The vampire spoke with envy in her voice this time. It made me chuckle darkly to myself.
"Quite the opposite actually." I said which made Katherine frowned at me a little.
"Then it isn't believable that you don't want anything in your life." She stated strongly, with confidence.
"It's not something I want from my life Katherine, it's something that I want from my death. I want my soul to rest in peace when I die." Again I didn't know why the hell I said that to her and it surprised both of us. I was surprised because I told her something like that and Katherine was surprised hearing the answer. She looked at me seriously this time.
"Why would you want that?" Katherine asked because she realized how seriously I said that and how genuinely I meant it. I took in a deep breath, not sure what to say this time but then suddenly something came out of my mouth that I didn't even think about saying.
"Because for a human death is eternal, not life. And I don't want to feel any pain or endure any suffering in my eternity." After I said that we both kept staring at each other with calculating eyes. Katherine was trying to understand why I said what I just said and I tried to understand what she was thinking about me now. Suddenly I realized that it was quite late and I should be going back home or Jenna would be worried about me. I sighed out heavily to myself and said-
"It was nice meeting you Katherine. See you soon" saying that I started walking away from her. Katherine didn't tackle me down or snap my neck or anything. She simply let me walk away from her. I never thought meeting Katherine would be like this. But I am happy it happened this way. It was quite intense and I appreciated it. I surely wouldn't be happy if I had to die on the first encounter with her. However there was something that started to make me feel strange in a good way though. Because suddenly I started to realize that I was feeling a lot better. It was really a mystery actually. Maybe talking to Katherine and pouring a bit of my heart to her caused this good feeling. If so, then I would like to meet her again very soon. I did know for a matter of fact that we shall meet again and it would happen very soon.
AN: So, what do you guys think? I hope I get lots and lots of reviews. kisses and hugs.