A/N – Hi guys! I am so sorry I've been AWOL for a while, but I've had exams etc and muse-losing :(

Thank you so so so so so much for the reviews, it really means a lot to me! And thank you for just reading this – it's always a lovely surprise to see the number of hits and know that people out there take the time out to read what I write!

Oh, and please hold on till the end – I have a favour I need to ask you all!

I will shut up now. Enjoy!

"You must be Damon!" Katherine exclaimed sweetly as she danced over to us. I could feel anger boiling up in me and I ground out, "Yes he is. Now excuse us," through gritted teeth and tugged on Damon's hand. But he didn't budge. I turned to face him and saw he was wearing a similar expression to Stefan when he met Little Miss Pierce: eyes startlingly wide and wonderstruck, with his jaw dropped a mile. He let go of my hand and reached for Katherine's gloved one, kissing it and murmuring, "Incantato."

I couldn't believe this – my nightmare was coming true!

Katherine, the little bit- I'm a lady, I'm a lady, I don't swear – ducked her stupid glossy head as if blushing, but I could see that her cheeks did not flush – as mine most certainly did when Damon flirted with me. But that means he's…he's…flirting with her. With her.

I lost it then.

"Damon," I snapped, and when he still did not acknowledge me, I stamped on his foot. I might be small, but I can put a lot of force into injuring someone, it seems, because he yelped instantly.

"AARRGGHH! What the fuck was that fo-." He stopped mid-sentence when he saw me. And whether it was out of guilt, or terror at my expression, he hastily retreated to the staircase mumbling, "I need to…" The rest of his excuse was lost, although I highly doubt it had even formed in his head.

"Do you think he's alright? I do hope so – it would be awful if there was something terribly wrong, wouldn't it?" asked Katherine – as if she actually cared! I bet she was just planning to…I don't know what, but I'm positive it involved ruining mine and Damon's happiness. Let her try, I scoffed, he loves me, she's just a pretty face – I have personality – a likeable personality – and that's more than can be said for her!

"Alicia?" she said, touching my arm, "You do think Damon will be fine, don't you?" I hated her fake concern, I really did.

"He is just fine. Perfectly fine. So don't meddle where you're not wanted," I spat, and turned on my heel to storm out of the Salvatore's mansion.

As I was halfway to the door, I realised I'd have to face countless busy bodying people who would want to know why I looked like I could murder someone. So I attempted to rearrange my features into something less furious-looking.

I stared down at my scarlet silk dress and wondered if it was a little too…over the top, suggestive, attention-seeking. But that was the point, I reminded myself, to make Damon notice you.

Sighing, I bit my lip and twisted to look at my reflection from another angle. Still just as figure-hugging and red, I thought bitterly. I piled my hair on top of my head and arranged a few strands so they framed my face. Grimacing once more, I turned and yanked on some black heels – I might as well do the 'temptress' thing the whole way, and wearing innocent ballet slippers would ruin the entire thing.

I stalked down the staircase and past my mother and sister, ignoring their shocked expressions.

"Alicia, you look…" Mother began.

"Thanks," I said shortly, not wanting to hear the end of her sentence. I made my way to the front door and almost escaped, but Arianna caught my wrist and whispered, "Is this for-"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you want to-" The concern filling her eyes became evident in her voice and I felt a pang of guilt for making her worry.

"Honestly? No. I'm not. But it's the only way he'll notice me, so…so be it."

"Alright. I know you like him a lot, but don't sacrifice your dignity for him. He shouldn't be driving you to these extremes. Remember that you are special, and never let anyone else make you think otherwise." I could only nod, a lump in my throat rising too quickly. She squeezed my hand and followed me into the carriage.

It took less than a minute of scanning the crowd to pick out Damon's raven hair, and I hurried towards him as fast as I possibly could, ignoring the murmurs that trailed behind me.

When I reached him, I tapped him on the shoulder and said a little breathlessly, "Hi."

"Oh, hi Allie, you look nice…" His eyes took in my appearance almost greedily, but suddenly his attention was captured by something else as he mumbled, "I better go say hello to Katherine."

"But you live with her – you can say hello anytime!" I said, nonplussed – and irritated. But he was already striding off to the girl looking all very innocent in a pure white dress. The opposite of whorish little me.

"M-m-miss DiGrazio, you look…stunning!" I recognised that dopey voice. It was the doting idiot I'd danced with at the last Salvatore ball. Run away, run away, get the hell out of here!

"May I have this dance?" NO, NO, NO YOU MAY NOT! But his hand had already grabbed mine, and pulled me in to the waltz position before I could escape.

"I haven't seen you at any dances lately, Miss Alicia, have you been feeling alright?" The poor boy actually sounded concerned. Maybe he wasn't so bad… What was his name?

"I've been fine. Just…busy…" Yeah, busy moping about how Damon spends all his time with Katherine.

"Busy?" the nosy git enquired. Okay, okay, 'git' is a bit harsh, but I'm not in the best of moods here.

"Yeah… I…um…I've been…embroidering a…a…tapestry." Hopefully this made me sound like a sap and he'd never want to see me again. Unfortunately, he seemed genuinely interested.

"Embroidery? I did not realise you had such a passion for needlework. May I one day see this masterpiece?" he said, his hazel eyes actually lighting up.

"Erm…'masterpiece' isn't quite the right word…it's more of a…learning experience…" Next time I lie, I better come up with a more convincing one that won't get me sucked into sewing a damned tapestry.

"Did you not learn the art of embroidery at finishing school?" Why didn't I see that coming?

"Um… Oh there's Stefan, I need to go ask him about the…uh…colours…" Another lie, but he can't argue with that, right? I yanked my sweating hand out of his clammy one and clattered over to Stefan in my clunky heels.

"But the song hasn't finished yet!" the boy called forlornly, but I ignored him, perhaps insensitively, and carried on across the ballroom.

As I reached Stefan, I noticed he was frowning at his champagne glass – deep in thought, maybe?

"Stefan! Stefan, hi!" I gasped, slightly out of breath from my speedy escape. He merely raised his head slowly to look at me directly. His forest eyes burned with sorrow, but there was a spark of excitement lurking behind the moroseness.

"You look…er…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, let's not get into that. How are you? The big day's what…a month away?"

"Mmm," he replied non-committedly, "Have you seen Katherine?"

"Yes." His eyes lit up. "She's with Damon." His face fell. I couldn't stand how she'd caught my two best friends under her spell. "You don't actually like her, do you? I mean, she's so fake and simpery and sickly sweet and-"

"'Simpery' is not a word. But she's not like that! She's interesting and caring and fun and sweet-"

"Like I said, sickly sweet."

"Stop it! You're just jealous that she's more of an eligible lady than you."

I was dumbfounded. Stefan said that. Stefan of all people. If even anyone said that, it would hurt, but Stefan…

"Ouch," I said, carefully lacing my voice with sarcasm to try and disguise the hurt I was feeling. "If I didn't know better – and as I'm not an 'eligible lady', then maybe I don't – I'd say you loved her. A fact I'm sure Carlotta would be interested in, to say the least."

"Maybe I do." No! He wasn't supposed to say that. I need to say something that will unsettle him…

"Oh look, there's Carlotta. I think I'll go and say hi. Oh and she's with your father too, this should be interesting." I turned to see his reaction, but he already had his arms around the little sorceress, twirling her round the dancefloor.

Even more fury was building up inside me and I was sorely tempted to punch the confectionary swan perched on the table at the end of the ballroom. However, it would bring unnecessary attention to me, and I had been given dirty looks all night. Instead, I decided to go outside to get some fresh air.

When I could no longer hear the music and laughter from the party, I flung myself down on the field and pounded the grass with my fists. The blasted lump in my throat had reappeared and despite my best efforts, I couldn't force it away. Finally, I gave in and let the tears fall, my body shaking with sobs.

I hated Katherine so much for stealing Stefan and Damon. Other than Arrie, they were the only reason I could bear this superficial life. I hated Stefan for saying Katherine was more of a lady than I was because one of the things he'd constantly said he loved about me was that I wasn't like that, I wasn't prim and proper. I hated Damon for spending so much time with her and not noticing me. I hated him for making me fall in love with him way too fast, for turning me into a sobbing wreck. But most of all I hated myself for letting them get to me, for taking down my walls and allowing them to hurt me. I hated the fact that I cared too much and I hated the fact I was weak. So weak that the sight of her with either of them made me want to throw up. So weak that I cried when I saw my friends happy with her. Who was she to make me so jealous? Who were the Salvatore brothers to discard me when someone better came along? But is she better than me? I didn't steal anyone's friends. But other than be overly nice and pretend to care, what has she actually done wrong?

I moaned and hit the ground again, feeling my head was about to explode.

After lying there for so long my body ached, I got up and attempted to brush the mud off my dress, and started to wander back to the mansion, thinking I'd go and sit in the carriage till Mother and Arianna returned. But then I heard some high pitched giggles and a much lower chuckle and my bête noire came into sight. Damon and Katherine were disgustingly close, their hands roaming all over each other. I could feel the bile rising in my throat and I bolted, not wanting them to hear the sounds of me emptying my stomach.

I didn't get as far away as I'd hoped, but they didn't seem to have noticed, if their continuous moans were anything to go by.

Heaving myself up again, I carried on running, despite the fact the world was spinning and I had no idea where I was.

"Will she be alright?" A familiar voice asked, but it sounded far away.

"Arianna, dear, I'm sure she'll be okay. She's always been a strong girl." That was my father! I blinked slowly and when his bespectacled face loomed over mine, I threw my arms around him and sobbed. I felt like I hadn't seen him in years! He was always away, or locked up in his study working.

"Alicia, honey, it's okay, you're okay, you're safe."

"Daddy," was all I managed to choke out.

"Shh." He lay me back down on the pillow and stroked my hair.

"Wha…what happened?" Everything seemed fuzzy, but at the same time, too bright.

"You collapsed outside Giuseppe's party and hit your head. Do you think you had too much champagne?" he asked soothingly. At the mention of Giuseppe Salvatore, the events of that night came flooding back, and although I knew for a fact I had no champagne, I mumbled, "Yeah, maybe," not wanting to think about Damon's betrayal.

The door burst open, and my mother came in, looking more flustered than usual. "Marco, have you seen this?" she said, thrusting a newspaper at him. Catching sight of me, she exclaimed, "Oh Alicia, you're awake, we were so worried!" I smiled weakly at her, and I was too drained to make a big deal out of what she said, otherwise I would have cried. She cared about me! I guess what they said was true: 'there's an 'end' in friend, but not in family'.

My attention was drawn back to Daddy's grave expression and I was suddenly itching to see the paper.

"What is it?" I enquired, reaching for the article. He folded it and tucked it under his arm so it was completely out of my reach.

"It's Carlotta," he said serenely, "She…she passed."

"She passed? Passed what? To who? Oh…" It suddenly dawned on me. I never liked her particularly, but still...

My parents left the room after kissing me on the forehead but my lovely sister stayed and rubbed circles on my hand.

"Arrie I want to see that article. Can you get it for me?"

She frowned, then said, "Are you sure you want to read it?" I nodded. "Alright, I'll try."

Less than five minutes later, she returned, newspaper in hand. "He didn't make much of an effort to hide it," she smiled weakly and handed 'La Quotidiano Posta' to me.

Socialite Found Dead In Woods

Late last night, beautiful socialite Carlotta Marino (17) was found unconscious in the woods near to her Florence home. After extensive medical treatment, it appeared that Miss Marino would not wake and so the doctors took to examining her wounds more closely. The attack seemed to be that of a wild animal – a wolf or rabid dog – and the police are on a hunt for the murderous monster. In the meantime, all that can be done is pray for the lost girl and her grieving family – not to mention, fiancé Stefan Salvatore – and be very cautious not to venture outside in the dark.

A/N - I'm not going to make any promises about the next update because if anything, I've proved my unreliability :( But I will try to write it in the next few days as I am on holiday.

But I do have one teeny favour to ask of you:

I have a Harry Potter trilogy planned out in way more detail than I usually plan things, but the problem is, I can't for the life of me think of a title for the first part. It is set in the 1940s, so in Tom Riddle's era.

The summary:

When world renowned musician Selena Lovett loses her parents, she enrols at Hogwarts, only to find life's not as easy as she thought it would be. Crazy fans, gorgeous boys and obnoxious prefects - it's a whirlwind!

If you can think of a title (ideally a phrase or song/movie title about a moon) or better summary or want to know more about it (without me telling you the whole plot) please PM me and I will be more than happy to chat to you about it!

I have a different name for Selena in case people thought I was copying Selena Gomez or Anya Violetta's character Selene (from the awesome Witchcraft By A Picture - if you haven't already, READ IT!) The other name is Catherine Vegas. So I would also be very grateful if you could tell me which name you like best, either through PM or through the poll on my profile or in a review.

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

Love Beth xxx 8D