A/N: So I wrote like a demon all day yesterday to bring you Bad Moon Rising and more importantly DAILY UPDATE! That being said I sincerely hope you enjoy my hard work! At the end is a summary of Memory Lane since we're skipping that episode. Do review and let me know things. I own nothing. Zilch.

Bad Moon Rising

"Don't go and leave me
And please don't drive me blind
I know we're broken
I know I broke it"

Ric's arrived at the house because we need to try and find information about the mysterious Lockwood's. "Elena mentioned you needed my help" damn but it's good to have that girl around, clearly I'm not the only one who comes running when she calls.

"We were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family" well now, that's not entirely accurate Stefan. What we are actually hoping is that Isobel can help shed some light, or her research more to the point.

"The lycanthrope" Ric replies when we ask about the 'mythical' research Isobel did on Mystic Falls. "Like...werewolves?" Elena establishes. Nope. "No way" Not possible. "I been on this planet a hundred and sixty-some odd years, never come across one" impossible. IF they existed; where the hell have they been hiding? You'd think it kinda difficult to disguise the fact that you transform into a massive beast.

Ric informs us that all of Isobel's research is still at Duke "so can we get access to it? We need to know what we're dealing with. If this wolf man thing is true I've seen enough movies to know it's not good." So please...some help here?

Going to Duke which means yay! Road trip with Elena...and Alaric but still; the last road trip worked our rather well for us. Maybe it can be our 'thing'.

Wow-ee she looks pissed.

"Sorry you can't come too Stef" well this should be fun. "Call me if you need anything" Stefan tells her "Oh I'll take really good care of her" I always do. And that is...unpleasant to watch.

O-kay enough with the kissing; time to leave please. In the car you go.

We've been driving in tension filled silence for what feels like hours now and I'm getting a little tired of it. Time to try and break the ice, I mean she can't hate me that much, she just saved my life for like the billionth time.

"How you doin' back there? You know this pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly" – "Ha. I don't think she's pretending" – well, first of all I didn't ask you Ric. And second of all I think you don't know Elena very well if that's what you believe. "You did kill her brother" uh-huh and then he came back to life! And if baby Gilbert can get over it then surely she can to!

"Thanks to a ring you didn't know he was wearing!" – "Why are you so sure I didn't know?" – "Did you?"- No – "Yes" – "You're lying" – Yes I am. "Elena I saw the ring. It's a big tacky thing, it's hard to miss" I did not see the ring. I wish I had, but I'm not going to tell her the truth now. Not with an audience. And that effectively ends the conversation until we arrive at Duke.

We meet Vanessa, Isobel's research assistant and she leads us to the office which is just crammed full of...stuff, god only knows what half of it is but something feels a little...off.

"Where'd she go?" Elena gasps and dear god she's got a fucking crossbow. Vanessa that is, not Elena. I don't even think I'm just...there and yep...there's an arrow in my back. Ouch. Much better in my back than Elena's heart though although it does fucking hurt. Elena helps me up but she's dithering over pulling the damn thing out.

"Pull it out. I can't reach it Elena" and I don't really relish the thought of walking around with an arrow in my back all day. "Just pull the damn thing out – it hurts" ouch. And thank you.

Phew. "That bitch is dead" – "Ah! You're not gonna kill her" are you serious right now? She just tried to kill you. Of course I'm going to fucking kill her. "You touch her and I swear I will never speak to you again" o-kay maybe I'm not gonna kill her then –"what makes you think that has any power over me?" but Christ it does, because I'm a damn fool. "Because I took an arrow in the back for you? You are severely over-estimating yourself." Nope, not even one little bit. I'd take an arrow in the back for this girl every single day for eternity if that's what needs to be done.

We get into a little spat and then she tells me to go ahead and do whatever I want but honestly I'm just glad she's talking to me, even if she is being a bitch about it, it's still better than nothing.

Elena explains who she is to Vanessa "and this is Damon Salvatore – who you just shot" – yeah – "I'd be extra nice to me right now" Elena explains why we're here and maybe now we can move past all the dramatics and find some actual answers.

I'm searching through piles of...junk mostly; when Elena gives Vanessa vervain "Does vervain really work?" she asks "Nope. Not at all" stupid damn plant. "Can he hear us?" – "No. That would be creepy" I stage whisper. "Can he read minds too?" unfortunately that I cannot do. "You know if you wanna see me naked all you have to do is ask" come on, that's totally what she's been thinking since the minute we got in this place. "No." Elena responds "That he can't do. But he is very capable of being a first rate jack-ass" well, I'm going to take that as progress. I've been called worse.

Hours pass and Elena's getting grumpy because she can't find any answers. "There's nothing in here about Katherine that we don't already know" – "Aw man, you know it's a bummer we're not friends anymore because I could tell you what I know" – "Hey guys. Check this out" Ric speaks up, maybe they've found something. Eventually.

They have. Information about werewolves and some curse or other; the 'curse of the sun and the moon'...how very original. Apparently it's an Aztec curse that was placed on wolves and vampire some six-hundred odd years ago making them slaves to the sun and the moon. Vanessa tells us that the wolves turn on the full moon and hunt vampires but apparently we've hunted them almost to extinction which I suppose would explain why I've never come across one.

Only in Mystic Falls; the supernatural beacon of the world. "Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires" oh well that's...not concerning at all. Elena has put the pieces together, Lockwood's, wolves, Stefan, Caroline, tonight's a full moon and...She's gone, rushing off to fill Stefan in on the details I suppose.

When she comes back she resumes her fruitless search for Katherine related answers. "Have you done any research on doppelgangers?" she asks Vanessa. "Typically a doppelganger is a living, breathing double of one's self...doppelgangers usually torment the people they look like, trying to undo their lives. It's not exactly uplifting" – "And more things we already know" Elena sounds so dejected. "I wanna know why we look alike" – yeah I can help with that. "Head-scratcher isn't it?" – "Do you know something or are you just being yourself?" um...both.

"...And this coming from someone who wants to be my friend. You know what? Friends don't manipulate friends. They help each other" oh I know that! I was just trying to get her to lighten up a bit. Girl has gotten way too serious since Katherine showed up.

"Can we just go?" yes but first...I give Elena the Petrova book. That's Katherine's history right there.

"Katherine originally came from Europe. Petrova was her real name. Katerina Petrova to be exact" yes Elena, men do in fact, snoop too. "Let me know what you find. Very curious myself" which is true, I am curious to know how they're linked but more importantly, it's an excuse to actually talk to Elena again. And I hate that we're back to that place where I need an excuse to speak to her.

"You have every right to hate me. I understand but you hated me before and we became friends. It would suck if that was gone forever. So...is it? Have I lost you forever?" god its hard being so...open and, I don't know but I am sort of scared of her answer.

"Thank you for the book Damon" well that's not an answer but I step aside to let her into the car. I guess no answer is better than the worst possible answer right? And it's time for another awkward car ride home I suppose.

I walk Elena to her door; the lack of an answer has been driving me nuts and I know I probably shouldn't push her but I just...I need to know.

"This doesn't mean that things are back to the way they used to be Damon" – "Oh come on, I know I chipped a little bit off your wall of hatred" – "I need to know the truth. When you broke Jeremy's neck, did you know he was wearing the ring?"

So she needs an answer and I need an answer but somehow I suddenly doubt either of us are going to hear the response we really want tonight. But I won't lie to her, not even for my greater good. I can't lie to Elena, I need it to be real, it's not even a choice.

"No. No I didn't. Katherine really pissed me off" which is the truth, but it's not what pushed me over the edge, it was Elena, her words, those same words, that broke me but I'll never tell her that "and I...I snapped then...I got lucky with the ring" so fucking lucky. "I don't know what I would've done if he wasn't wearing it" but I do know that I definitely wouldn't be standing here talking to you. Don't think I'd be standing anywhere.

"Elena. I'm sorry" so fucking sorry.

"Thank you for being honest with me. And the answer to your question, about our friendship, is yes. You have lost me forever" well I can't say I didn't expect that but god it hurts all the same. But being hurt is something I am very used to; I know how to cope with that, I know how to respond to that.

"But you knew that already didn't you? You used me today" – "You had information about Katherine that I needed" – "I thought friends didn't manipulate friends" your words Elena. Not mine.

"But you and Katherine have a lot more in common than just your looks" God I shouldn't have said that. If I'd thought about it for two fucking seconds I would have realised that she's just lashing out because she's angry. She's so like me it's ridiculous but I'm impulsive if nothing else and I'm sure right now she means what she said. Whatever we had, our 'something', is over and it's my fault. I broke it.

But at this very moment, as I walk away from her and leave her with my words that hurt her in the best way I know how to, it's in this moment that I finally accept the truth.

I am in love with Elena Gilbert.

The girl I have just lost 'forever'. Fortunately I'm all too well aware that forever can be a very fucking long time. And I will wait.

Dear Diary,
Today Damon, Ric and I went on a trip to Duke to look through Isobel's research for answers about Katherine and the werewolves while Stefan was helping Caroline adjust to her new life.

The research assistant, Vanessa, shot Damon in the back with an arrow. She was actually aiming for me but Damon leapt in front of me, I've never seen him move so quickly, there was just...no hesitation. Not even a second's thought, he was just...there. Saving me.

God this entire situation with Damon is just...screwed up. I'm not ready to go back to being friends with him, he told me the truth tonight, he told me that he didn't know Jer was wearing the Gilbert ring and he said he was sorry and I believe him. But I'm still angry with him; mostly I'm just disappointed in him though. He said that Katherine pissed him off and that's why he snapped...but he got pissed off at Katherine and he tried to break me. If Jeremy had really died...I'm not even going to begin to think about that.

So that's why I told him that he's lost me forever. I didn't even mean it, I don't mean it, but right now it's easier to not be his friend...I think. But I said it to hurt him, which was wrong of me, but...he hurt me first and then he just accused me of being just like Katherine which just hurt me again...and that's why it's so screwed up. I don't want to be trapped in a vicious cycle where we just keep hurting each other. I won't let it be like that.

So I'm just going to take a few Damon free days and try and sort through this...entire messy situation and then make things better. Somehow.
Elena

Memory Lane

Katherine threatens Caroline and uses her as a distraction so she can spend time alone with Stefan. Damon engineers a party at Elena's house in order to 'get to know' Mason Lockwood. Stefan injects Katherine with vervain and chains her up in the basement where he attempts to 'torture' information out of her. Katherine provides Stefan with details about the Lockwood's and what really happened in 1864. Katherine orchestrated the fire at the church because she was running from someone and she built up her tolerance to vervain after being poisoned by Stefan's blood on the night of the fire.
"Love. Hate. Such a fine line."
Elena leaves to track down Stefan and gets into a fight with Caroline. Mason offers Damon peace and he responds by trying to kill Mason which fails because silver heals wolves. Katherine threatens Elena's friends and family as a way to get Stefan to remove Elena from his life. Katherine attacks Stefan and Elena meets her doppelganger face to face for the first time.
Stefan and Elena realise that Katherine has gotten to Caroline and they stage a fight/break-up in front of her. Tyler confronts Mason and forces him into revealing how the curse is broken. Damon runs into Katherine outside the grill. "I don't do jealous. Not with you. Not anymore."