"Here." Damon gave Caroline a glass of blood to calm her nerves. She gladly accepted it, "I'm still shaking." She then took a sip as Stefan walked into the room.
"What happened?" He asked. Caroline sighed and Damon urged her, "Go on, tell him. You're going to love this." "I saw Katherine today." She admitted, this peaked Stefan's interest and he questioned, "Where?" She answered, "At the Grill. I just stopped to gawk and stalk Matt."
"Skip the teen drama. Get to it." Damon told her. Caroline then went on, "Then, I had to pretend to use the bathroom even though I didn't have to go because I'm a doofus. She then pretended to be Erin again, but I knew Erin was at home. I tried to leave but she was faster, and she wanted to give you two a message."
"What was the message?" Stefan asked her. "She wants the moonstone or else she will rip the town apart till it rains blood." Caroline said. "Tell him the rest of it." Damon spoke, and Caroline continued, "Tonight at the masquerade ball."
"She wants to do it in public, killing Mason threw her off guard." Stefan concluded. "She's running scared. What she did to Jenna was desperate, she was out of tricks." Damon stated. "We can't underestimate her, we have to play this smarter than her." Stefan said.
"Can't we just give it the moonstone to her so she'll leave?" Caroline pleaded. "No." Damon stated and added, "Katherine's not getting dick. I've had it. I'm gonna go to the Masquerade Ball, and I'm gonna kill her. Tonight." Stefan shook his head, "You're not gonna kill her."
Damon pointed at his little brother and snapped, "Don't give me that goody goody crap." "You're not gonna kill her." Stefan argued. "Oh really?" Damon asked. "Because I am." Stefan told him, making a Cheshire grin form on the older vampire's face.
It was a group effort bringing Aunt Jenna home from the hospital. Thankfully, Matt helped all of us get her back home. "Easy," He guided Jenna through the door with Jeremy while Elena and I were in back of them.
"Jeremy stop fussing, I'm fine." Jenna told him. "Jenna, the doctor said you have to take it easy." I said, and she rolled her eyes over my smothering behavior. "Yeah, you don't want to rip your stitches, hemorrhage, and die alright." Jeremy spoke sarcastically.
"The only thing I'll die of is embarrassment. I walked into a knife, how does someone even do that?" Jenna complained, which made Jeremy and I look at Elena. She was the one who came up with that lame excuse. "It was a freak accident." She squeaked.
"It happens." Jeremy added. "Yeah, I've done it like 20 times at the Grill. Okay, I'm being nice." Matt assured her, which made me smile. I missed Matt, we used to be as close as Stefan and I before Elena broke up with him and my parents died.
We all helped lower Jenna onto the couch, and Matt asked, "What should I do with this?" Elena grabbed it from him, and we walked into the kitchen. Jeremy followed us, "So what are we gonna do?" "Make lunch." I replied casually. Today was a no vampire day, we were going to stay home and hang out with Jenna.
"No, about Katherine." Jeremy said, and both I and Elena looked at him. "We're not going to do anything Jeremy." Elena spoke. "She tried to kill Jenna, we can't let her get away with that." Jeremy argued.
"Yes we can. If it means we're safe, then we can." I told my little brother, and Elena nodded her head, agreeing with me. "What if she tries something else?" Jeremy questioned us. "She won't." Elena stated. "Katherine hurt Jenna because I was friends with Stefan. I stopped talking to him and being friends with him, it's over, she wins. The end." I added.
"You're being naïve and you know it. Both of you." Jeremy stated, and I couldn't argue. He grabbed his jacket off the chair and put it on. "Where are you going?" Elena asked. "Out. I'll be back." And with that, he went out the door.
Bonnie showed up at the Salvatore Boarding House to find Caroline. "I got Stefan's message." She stated. "Great, you brought the grimore. Thank you." Stefan said, and Bonnie looked around. "What's going on?" She asked.
Jeremy then came up beside her and told, "We're gonna kill Katherine." Bonnie gave them all a 'WHAT!?' look and Stefan said, "I can explain… We're gonna kill Katherine."
"Now this works with compressed air, the trigger mechanism's here. You got two of these in different sizes. Now, for you, I recommend this. Fits nicely under a jacket sleeve, here's the trigger. And when you're ready." Alaric showed off his "toys" as he liked to call them, while everyone watched with wide eyes.
"You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire, so." He added. After the short little rendezvous, Bonnie talked to Stefan in the hallway. "I know you love Erin and want to be with her, but it's too risky, too many people could get hurt." Bonnie spoke.
"Look, I want to be with Erin, yes, but it's more than that. What Katherine did to Jenna, it crossed the line, and she has to be stopped before it happens again." Stefan told her, and Bonnie shook her head, "I don't know, Stefan."
"Look, Katherine knows me. She knows that I'm not gonna try something in a crowd full of innocent people, so that gives me an edge, the element of surprise." Stefan said, and Bonnie looked at the group assembled in the living room.
"I could do a spell to trap her, like the tomb spell." Bonnie offered. "Right, we can isolate her away from the others. Please Bonnie." He begged, and she finally said. "Fine, okay."
"You know, you're welcome to hang out. Alaric's coming over; it's gonna be pizza and bad tv, just like the old days." I told Matt, with a smile on my face. "I would love to, but I'm going to the Masquerade party at the Lockwoods. Aren't you two?" He asked us, and Elena answered.
"No, not with what's going on between us and Stefan." "I gotta go, there's something I gotta do." Matt informed us, and we nodded. "What?" Elena asked, and he vaguely answered. "Just something, I can't talk about it, but I've gotta go."
"Ok, well have fun." I said to him, he really needed to let loose. "Yeah, in a suit." He replied. I laughed and Elena spoke, "You look good in a suit." I snapped my head to Elena and widened my eyes a little, what was that flirty little comment? Go Elena!
"Won't Stefan be worried, though?" He asked. "I don't think so, there's so much about me and Stefan that will never work. It's for the best, though." Elena said sadly, but I knew that she was trying to move on.
Matt hugged me and smiled before turning to Elena, "You know I'm here for you always." He said sincerely, and I wondered what the future would hold for them.
"You sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" Alaric asked the group. "No, I need you to stay with Erin and Elena, we don't want them to know about this." Stefan declined. "Okay, well I'll make sure they don't leave my sight." Alaric assured him.
Jeremy then pitched in and told him, "Just watch out, those two together are very mischievous. Erin is the ring leader in that relationship, so know that you can trust Elena to tell the truth." Stefan looked around the room as Alaric nodded.
"Alright, if anybody wants to back out, I'll understand." Stefan offered. "Yeah, cold feet. Speak now, I don't want this going wrong, if someone chickens out. Caroline." Damon spoke. "I won't. She killed me, fair is fair. As long as there are no werewolves running around." Caroline said.
"Oh, I took care of Mason." Damon assured them, smirking. "As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn." Jeremy stated. Bonnie looked hesitant, so Stefan asked, "Bonnie, you with us?" Everyone looked at her, and she nodded, "As long as no one else gets hurt." "Except for Katherine. Tonight Katherine gets a stake through her heart." Damon said.
Katherine and Lucy sauntered up the steps of the Lockwood Mansion. Katherine plucked fruit off of a plate and started to gnaw on it. She then saw Matt, "Elena?" "Matt? You look dashing." She replied, pretending to be one of her doppelgängers.
"I thought you said you weren't coming." He said, but Katherine shook her head, "I couldn't miss it." "Where's Erin?" Matt asked her. "She wanted to stay home, wasn't really in the mood to party." Katherine lied, but then decided to change the subject. "You really are hot in a suit, I would love to just- okay, here's the deal. Do you know what you have to do?"
"I'm gonna get Tyler Lockwood really drunk, and I'm gonna start a fight with him and beat him until he snaps." Matt answered robotically. "And then?" Katherine questioned. "I won't stop until he kills me." Matt stated. "God you're hot, now go away." Katherine ordered.
Damon walked down the steps to meet his younger brother, "You see her?" "Nope. You sure you can do this?" Stefan asked. Damon scoffed, "Who are you talking to?" Stefan shrugged, "Well, I had the chance to kill her and I hesitated."
"Well that's the fork in the road between you and me my friend, I don't hesitate." Damon pointed out. "You spent 145 years loving her, it could happen." Stefan argued. "I won't hesitate." Damon countered. Stefan just nodded and said, "Okay."
Bonnie and Jeremy made their way upstairs to one of the rooms. "This room could work." Jeremy offered, and Bonnie agreed, "It's perfect." Jeremy unloaded the weapons while Bonnie opened her grimorie. "Is that the spell book I read about in my family's old journal?" He asked. She nodded and explained, "It's my ancestor Emily's. The spell I'm doing here is similar to the one that sealed the vampires into the tomb."
"Can you do all the stuff that's in there?" Jeremy questioned the witch. "It takes practice. I worked on some small spells, spells that only do good. I don't want to know too much. I don't particularly enjoy any of this, in case you haven't noticed." Bonnie replied.
"You're 100% witch, that is so cool." Jeremy exclaimed. "It's anything but cool. Did your family journals tell you what happened to Emily, or what about my Grams? It never ends well for people like me." She agrued.
"Well, if you feel that way, why help?" He asked. "Because I don't want anyone else getting hurt. And I don't know how to stay out of it."
"I feel like an invalid." Jenna complained as I handed her the mug. "That's because you are an invalid." I joked, grabbing a slice of pizza. "Where's Jeremy? Isn't he hungry?" Elena asked. "He already left for the Lockwood party." Jenna told us.
"He went to that?" I asked. "Well, I'm glad. He needs to have more fun, lose some of that emo thing." Jenna said, and then Elena and I got up as I saw Alaric in the kitchen. "What's going on?" I questioned him. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"We haven't heard from anyone all day, it's like everyone's been avoiding us, and now Jeremy is supposedly at the party. He hates stuff like that, and he only goes to see how drunk Erin gets." Elena explained, and I was offended at the last part. "Hey!" I squeaked, but she only nudged me.
"I don't know what to tell you, Elena." Alaric said, and then his phone rang and he snatched it away from us. This got my curiosity peaked. "So, you won't mind if we head out, try to meet up with everyone." I spoke, starting to walk away, but he stopped me. "Wait, wait, wait." He repeated.
"What are you hiding, Ric?" I demanded, putting on my bitchy face. "Stefan asked me to keep an eye on you two just in case Katherine showed up while he was at the party." He sighed, giving up the information. "So Stefan's at the party too. He would never go to that party for himself; he did that stuff for me." Elena calculated, and I agreed with her, something was definitely going down tonight.
"Just let this one go, okay girls?" Alaric told us, No way in hell that was happening!
"We need to tell Stefan and Damon that the room is ready." Bonnie spoke, but stopped when she felt something. "Do you feel that?" She asked Jeremy. "What's the matter, you cold?" Jeremy replied. "No," Bonnie said and looked around. The feeling brought her over to a woman.
"Excuse me, do I know you?" Bonnie asked. "No, I'm a plus one. I know no one, great party though." Lucy smiled and walked away. "You okay?" Jeremy asked. "I just got a weird vibe from her, that's all. Let's go find Damon." She ordered.
Stefan spotted Katherine walked down the steps, and then she appeared behind him. "Dance with me." She suggested, and Stefan pretended to think about it for a second before saying, "No." Katherine then picked up another strawberry from a plate. "Fine, tell me who I should kill. Him? Oh, she looks delicious."
Stefan offered her his arm and the pair made their way to the dance floor. They started dancing and Katherine smirked, "It's a beautiful night." "Why the charade?" Stefan asked, and Katherine changed the subject. "How's Jenna? I surely didn't expect her to survive that, lucky girl, clumsy. How does one stab oneself?"
"Katherine, I don't want anyone to get hurt tonight." Stefan told her. "Give me the moonstone and nobody will." She bargained. "Well, see I don't have the moonstone on me, so you and I will have to go get it together." Stefan breathed. "I have a better plan, you fetch it, and I will stay here and try not to kill anyone in the meantime." Katherine countered.
"My way, or you don't get it." Stefan stated, but then Amy Bradley strode up to them. "Stefan, I can't find Matt. Oh my god, Elena, you look so pretty. I love that dress, you look gorg." Amy complimented. Katherine then proceed to pretend to be Elena and smiled, "Thank you, I love your necklace. Here it's twisted, let me."
Katherine then used her vampire strength to shatter Amy's spine, "Paralyzed from the waist down, and dead. The moonstone, Stefan. Tick Tock."
Elena and I both knew that Alaric was keeping us away from the party, so we decided to sneak out. Since Jeremy probably tipped Alaric off on our sneaking out strategies, we decided to use a different tactic. Elena. "Hey guys, we're gonna go to bed. Good night." Elena told them, and I grabbed the keys while she opened and closed the door quietly.
"The body's in the trunk for now." Stefan informed his older brother. Damon shrugged, "We'll dump the body when we get back." "This is exactly what I didn't want, Damon." Stefan said, and Damon replied nonchalantly, "It was collateral damage, Stefan." "Yeah, and that's why we need to call it off." Stefan argued.
"What? Who's hesitating now? Hey, don't do this to me. This woman ruined our lives, she destroyed us. Tonight it ends. We can do this together, I got your back." Damon told his brother who nodded. "Alright, fine."
Elena and I hid by the bushes, waiting to see any of our friends come out. Jeremy then walked by, and I grabbed him. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded with Elena at my side. Bonnie then came over and saw us, and I ordered them to explain everything. "You're trying to kill her here?" Elena asked. "We saw an opportunity and knew we had to take it." Jeremy tried to reason with us.
"Okay, please stop with the 'we'. Are you guys crazy? You're gonna get yourselves killed!" Elena exclaimed. "We know what we're doing, Elena." Bonnie argued, and I just let them all go at it. "And how am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because of us?" Elena questioned them.
"It's not just you anymore, Elena. She's messed with all of us, she has to be stopped." Jeremy stated. I huffed, and gave them a hesitant look.
"Why are you bringing me into this? I don't want any part of it!" Caroline cried as she was being dragged by the hair. "Shut up." Katherine snapped and walked into the room. "Where is she?" Katherine asked, and was greeted by silence. She turned to look at a smiling Caroline. "I did it. I didn't think that I would be able to fool you, but I did it." Caroline boasted.
Katherine rushed to attack at her, but a barrier blocked her from getting to her. "What the- Stefan." Katherine figured it out. "Hello Katherine." He greeted her. Caroline smiled and taunted, "Goodbye Katherine."
Katherine looked at the stake in Stefan's hand and said, "You don't really think you can kill me with that now do you?" Stefan shook his head and saw Damon holding a crossbow and pointed, "No, but he can." Damon fired the bow at Katherine, and it hit her straight in the back.
Suddenly, I could feel a huge pain in my back. I screamed and fell, and I could see Elena did the same. "Erin! Elena!" Jeremy and Bonnie yelled. I held my back as Jeremy kept me standing upright while Elena was hunched over on the ground. Next, pain shot through my arm, and blood seeped through my shirt.
"What's going on?" Jeremy asked. "Jeremy, it's Katherine. They're linked to Katherine. Get them to stop, now!" Bonnie demanded. Jeremy took my hand and we ran through the Lockwood Mansion. We stopped when we saw Stefan holding Katherine on the floor, and Damon was about to stake her.
"Stop! You're hurting Erin and Elena! Everything you're doing to her is hurting Erin and Elena!" Jeremy yelled, and everyone in the room looked at me as I slumped against my brother. Katherine then got up and brushed herself off, "You think you two are the only ones with a witch on your side? Wrong. Something tells me that my witch is better then you're witch."
"Jeremy, go check on Elena, make sure she's okay." I told my brother. Jeremy shook his head and argued, "No, I'm not leaving you." Damon then pitched in and stated, "She'll be fine in here, go check on Elena." Jeremy then reluctantly left, but not before trying to give me his ring. "No, Jere. You need it. Now, go."
I stepped into the spelled room, and immediately, Damon sped over to check on me. "Let's all make sure poor Elena's okay. Just a little bit more pressure and…" She ran the stake over and hand and I yelled out in pain as a wound appeared on my hand.
Stefan slapped the stake out of her hand. Damon then bit into his wrist and offered it to me. I shook my head and slumped against him as Katherine pointed the stake at her stomach and said, "This is gonna hurt." "Wait!" Damon yelled, and Katherine smirked. "So, how about that moonstone."
Katherine sat on the couch, and I thought it was weird how much she looked like Elena and me. I sat in the chair, staring at her. Stefan was pacing, and Damon was testing the barrier. "The three of us together just like old times, well except for Erin. The brother who loved me too much, and the one who didn't love me enough." She said.
"And the evil slut vampire who only loved herself." Damon stated, and I chuckled a little bit. "What happened to you, Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite." Katherine said. "Oh, that Damon died a long time ago." Damon smirked. "Good, he was a bore." I rolled my eyes, "Would you two stop antagonizing each other. You're like Damon with Elena."
Katherine whipped her gaze to me, "Thank you, my doppelgänger for getting me back on track. So, where's the moonstone?" "What do you want with it?" Stefan countered. "Erin, do you enjoy having both of them worship at your altar? I know I did." She said to me, and I got up, even though I was in an immense amount of pain, but it started to lessen.
Damon stopped me from doing anything, but I just stated, "When the spell is lifted, I really hope they kill you." Katherine smirked and sauntered up to me, "So fearless. Maybe you are different from me after all, but maybe you're not. You remind me too much of myself."
"That was really desperate Katherine, don't you think that we can see right through you?" Stefan taunted. Katherine then turned to Stefan and asked, "So, it doesn't bother you that Damon is in love with your best friend, and the fact that she may even love him too?"
Stefan shook his head and said, "Stop it." "Or what, you'll hurt me? C'mon Stefan, everything that I feel, Erin and Elena feel, so go ahead. Or better yet, kiss me Damon. Erin will feel that too." She attempted to goad them, and I just rolled my eyes at her games.
"You know, this whole Mason thing has me confused, why a werewolf? The moonstone would help them break a curse that would destroy all vampires, so what's in that for you?" I asked her, wanting to get some answers. She was about to say something, but then Damon cut her off. "Sorry about your pet wolf, probably should have kept him on a tighter leash."
"I'll have to remember that for next time, he's not the only wolf in town." Katherine said, and I snapped my head to look at her. "Tyler." She smirked and winked at me.
"Dammit, where's that witch?" Damon asked, impatient. He then looked at me and asked, "You okay? Because I can give you some blood." I shook my head and said, "I'm fine, I think Bonnie did something." "We could play charades." Katherine suggested.
"You bargained the moonstone." Stefan stated, out of the blue. "What are you mumbling about over there?" Damon questioned him. "When you struck a deal with George Lockwood to help you fake your death, you told me you gave him something he wanted. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?" Stefan deciphered.
"Good for you, Stefan. Two plus Two. It would have worked, except people found out I wasn't in the tomb. Thank to you, by the way, have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?" Katherine asked. "You and me both honey." Damon replied and sipped his drink.
"Why do you need it back?" Stefan asked, and Katherine answered, "I love you in a suit, so dashing." I was proud of Stefan for standing his ground. "What were you doing with it in the first place?" He asked. Damon rolled his eyes and said, "You're wasting your breath, Stefan."
I calculated everything in my mind before stating, "Unless it wasn't yours to begin with. In 1864, you faked your death. Who were you running from, Katherine?" They all looked at me with surprised looks, and I could tell that Stefan was proud of me.
Katherine then turned to Stefan, "In 1987 you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places with that wench Lexi. C'mon Stefan, don't look so surprised, of course I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi, and I was watching you." After she said that, I whispered in Damon's ear, "Creepy." He smiled and nudged me.
"Who were you running from?" Stefan asked her again, and she just mouthed 'I love you". A little while later, Stefan and Damon stood next to each other silently as I poured myself a drink. "We're missing the party." Katherine complained and I agreed. She then saw me sipping my drink and said, "I'll have one of those."
I rolled my eyes and mocked, "Right away Miss Katherine." When she went to take the drink from my hand, I let it go, and watched it smash on the ground. I knew what Katherine would do next, it was so predictable. She grabbed my neck and shoved me against the wall. The brothers tried to get her off of me, but she wouldn't budge.
"No, no don't." They both said, and I smirked at Katherine, "Yes, Kat please." She looked confused and I stated, "You need me around, I don't know what for, but you do. We're linked, honey, so if you kill me now, you'll kill not only Elena but yourself as well. I know how you operate, Kat, you'll always look out for number one. That's why you haven't killed me yet, huh?"
My doppleganger scowled and let me go. I smirked at her, and walked away from her, brushing her shoulder. Just then, a woman came up into the room with the moonstone, "Katherine. The spell on this room has been broken, you're free to leave." "Thank God." Katherine replied. "When I hand this over. My debt to you is paid." She stated. "Done." Katherine said, and was about to take the moonstone before the witch stopped her, "I owe you nothing." "I said done, give it."
Damon tried to stop her, but the witch plopped the moonstone into Katherine's hand. Suddenly, Katherine started choking, and all eyes were on me, "Wait, Erin-" Stefan started, but Lucy interjected, "The spell has been broken, she'll heal quickly Bonnie cast a spell. I apologize for my involvement." She then turned on her heel and left. I sighed, "I'm gonna go check on Elena. Bit of advice, put the bitch in the tomb." I then walked away and found Elena.
We stood by the lake in the back of the Lockwood estate, and Stefan walked up to us. "I'm fine. Bonnie took away the pain, and I think I'm healing." Elena offered and I added, "Me too." Stefan nodded and looked at us, concerned, "I know, but you both should at least see a doctor." "We will, but I'm just gonna wait in the car, Erin." Elena said, and waved to Stefan awkwardly.
I could tell that Elena was still a little unnerved by the break up, and I didn't blame her. "Did Damon take care of Katherine?" I asked, hopeful. He nodded and smiled, "I was so worried about you, but I am so proud of the way you stood up to her and figured everything out." He cupped my face, and I stopped him, "Stefan, I-" I took his hands off of my face and he stated, "Katherine being gone doesn't change anything for you, does it?"
"I want to be friends again, Stefan, you know that, but first I need to wake up and know that the people I love are safe. I need to feel safe. Do you understand?" I explained to him, and he nodded. I just sighed and walked away from my friend, different emotions rising to the surface.
Katherine woke up in a strange place with the moonstone next to her. She tried to get out, but something prevented her from doing so. She stopped fighting when she saw Damon emerge from a door, "Hello Katherine." "Where am I?" She asked. "Where you should have been all along. I thought you would have learned your lesson by now, messing with a Bennett witch." He stated, and she shook her head, "You should have killed me." Damon could hear the fear in her voice.
"Death would have been too kind." He sneered, grabbing the door. "No, no, Damon don't. You need me Erin and Elena are in danger." She pleaded. He stopped and asked, "From who?" When there was no reply, he stated, "You're lying, you're always lying" Almost shutting the door completely, Katherine begged, "Why do you think I haven't killed her? One of them is my doppelgänger, they need to be protected."
"Then I'll protect her, while you rot in hell." Damon told her as he shut the door. She kept pleading and yelled, "You need me!"
I was on the phone with Jeremy, making my way towards the car. Elena was supposed to be waiting for me in the car as well, so I tried to hurry. "Don't worry, Jer, Elena and I have got the car. Tell Bonnie that whatever she did, I'm starting to feel better. Yeah, you can drive her home, I'm just gonna go straight to bed. Okay." I then hung up, but I could feel a presence behind me.
I turned around to see a person in a creepy mask, and as he put a hand over my mouth, everything went black.