So sorry for the update that took months! But the summer is here and I fully intend on getting into the swing of things. I'm sorry for how bad this chapter is but I'm rusty and I basically had to mentally squeeze my brain for this! It's basically a filler but now everything will kick off. I've got it all planned out, trust me.

Yeah we can be heroes, just for one day ~David Bowie

A week after Jean and Cecile had met for dinner, the town had become accustomed to whispering about the owners of The Riot Next Door, although by now the locals had taken to just calling it The Riot. Cordelia hadn't been seen anywhere and Jean had taken to paying people to post missing flyers everywhere.

Cecile had been delighted with the doubt and suspicion she had placed within the town. Katherine had made an appearance again, but this time it was to talk to Elena. And Cliona had moved back into her own house. Jean had gone to a hotel for the remainder of her stay and Cliona felt that she needed some space. Well that was her excuse; really she just wanted to lock herself away in her room without feeling awkward. She still tended to the store and had put together a list of people to interview to work at the store, but at the end of the day she just wanted to go home and lock herself away. Some nights she cried and one night in particular she had taken to breaking a vase in anger. She was pissed off at Cordelia. How could she just leave like that and be so reckless? They were meant to be in this together and now Cliona was on foreign ground with no one else.

Damon had witnessed this. He had taken to spying on her at night. He hadn't approached her properly yet, believing she just needed some space, unless you count the first night she cried in her sleep. He had sat beside her in bed that night and stroked her hair.

Today he was going to visit her in the shop. She'd had a week and if he had to shake her, he would. He wouldn't admit it but he missed having her in the house, hearing her breathing and her heartbeat as she slept, pouring out an extra coffee, looking forward to a night of the two of them cooking. He missed her company. And it was because of this very reason that he had told himself that he would invite her out for the night, to get her mind off of things for a while.

"I don't think she'd be worker material...I don't know...and Rachel didn't know what inventory was and I can't be training anyone at the moment. What's your friends name, that guy...he comes into the shop sometimes...erm...he buys stuff? Chimp? Monkey?"

"Chim?"

"Yeah. He buys stuff, he'd get the employee discount and first choice on stuff, he's in here every day anyway and he could use the money. Who knows, maybe I could work some of my sobering magic on him too"

"I'll ask him if you want. Hey, it's almost six, do you mind if I..."

"Go and take Lucy out. Enjoy yourself"

Kyle smiled in her direction even though she was sitting with her back facing him. She had a chair pulled up to the counter and was sitting on the outer part of the counter. Kyle stood by the door, torn between staying with her, or obeying and going out. He knew that she was putting on a front when he was around. "Just go kid" he heard her say. And without a second thought, he left the store, sounding the bells over the door.

It had been far too long. Cordelia should have called by now and Cliona was beyond scared. She wasn't just fearing the worst; she was wondering where that would land her. If Cordelia was dead, how would Cliona manage on her own? This was usually the part where Cliona would mentally slap herself. She didn't want to jinx her friend; she wanted her to have a fighting chance if she were being holed up in some basement somewhere. The idea of Cordelia torn and dirty, chained up in the basement of a house, located in the middle of nowhere turned Cliona's stomach.

She didn't want to think about it, yet all she should do was think about it. Her thoughts were interrupted when the bells jingled over the door again. "Kyle, I thought I told you to just go" Cliona tried not to snap, still keeping her back to the door.

"It's a good thing my name isn't Kyle then, isn't it?" A voice said right beside her ear.

Cliona jumped with the shock and whipped her head around to be face to face with the man she hadn't seen in a week. Honestly, she had thought that he would have gotten sick of her after seeing her everyday. After that she had decided to call, but then didn't know what to say to him, after that she had just been putting off, afraid he might say something to her for not calling her in the first place. Her mind was just a complete and utter mess right now.

"I'm sorry I didn't call" she blurted.

"I know, but you can't hide away forever. The world needs to see that pretty face or else it will stop, and I don't know about you but I like things moving along, it ensures that there will be people in the bar to serve me and help me get drunk whenever I want" Damon grinned, trying to lighten the mood. Cliona looked at the floor and allowed for a small, yet sad, smile. Damon placed his hand underneath her chin to bring her gaze to meet his. They were both silent for a moment, just looking at each other, both of them expecting Damon to say something.

"Come on. We're going out tonight and I'm not taking no for an answer" he said, pulling away and bringing Cliona's arm with him, linking it with his own, once she stood up. "I don't care if you have books to tend to or inventory. We're going and that's it"

Damon had won the argument and Cliona hadn't tried to do any last minute things at the shop, but it had only been on the condition that she got to get some things from the house and change. She had only changed into a pair of black jeans and one of her fancy tops but it still felt good to change. She changed her bag too and got a few things together before going outside and getting into Damon's car. Under any other circumstances, she would have insisted on meeting him there and going in her own car, ever the independent woman. But she was too mentally drained to start any kind of conflict right now. She was only really going along with this because she felt guilty for not calling and didn't want to lose someone else.

"She'll turn up you know" Damon said, breaking the awkward silence in the car. "People disappear all the time around here and then they come back, only to leave again because they've gotten a taste for the big city they were originally found in"

Cliona didn't know whether that made her feel better, or worse.

Cordelia wouldn't choose her over a big city would she? No. She'd take her with her. She had to.

"She would have called"

"You said she's done this before. Maybe she's just having a lot of fun and hasn't noticed her phone is gone, or has and is trying to get back right now" Damon knew that the woman was probably dead but he didn't want to say that to Cliona, let alone explain how he even knew this.

"She's never been gone this long. Jean isn't making this any easier, they all stare now. They think I've killed her and hid her body in the woods or something. I even wondered if there'd be a connection with that animal killing in the woods"

Damon could feel his heart leap in his chest when she said this, but didn't say anything.

"But then I remembered" Cliona continued, "She doesn't go camping. She hates the outdoors and if there's something she hates more than mud, it's her shoes being destroyed. She wouldn't go near the woods and she doesn't hitch hike in rural places. She gets cabs and lifts from other people"

"Her cell probably died or was dropped at a disco or stolen. You know how these things go"

"There are pay phones everywhere"

Damon held back a huff of anger. She was making this too damn difficult. There was just so much that he could take. He didn't mind lying to her if it was for her own good, but she was really beginning to push it.

"Look, you need a night off. And we're going to go somewhere to take your mind off of it" Damon said, trying to keep his tone optimistic, as he parked the car and got out, waiting for Cliona to do the same. He didn't like her acting this way. It just wasn't her. If she was herself, he'd have opened her door for her, and be a gentleman just as he was raised to be, but she had gotten so submissive that he wanted to see her do something herself. She was really after changing, and he could only hope that this wouldn't last long.

The pair walked across the street, the sun finally after setting and all of the streetlights shining own on the pavement. They continued to walk down the street in silence, until they came to a building that Cliona had yet to enter since she arrived in Mystic Falls, which had even shocked her herself.

"The cinema?"

"I think that we need some escapism here. Besides, who doesn't love the movies?" Damon shrugged a shoulder with a look on his face as if to say 'duh it's obvious', as he opened the door and held it for Cliona to pass through first.

The Mystic Falls theatre was smaller than Cliona had expected. Since she had come to America everything had bigger, bringing her to the conclusion that the movie theatre should have been just as big, so it had obviously come as a shock to her when she entered and saw that the room was no bigger than her own shop. Well, the lobby was anyway.

Once the popcorn and tickets were gotten, the couple began to walk towards the screening room. "I can't believe you're taking me to see a thriller that got horrible reviews"

"Well we can criticize it together and focus our energy into complaining about it. I think you'd enjoy that. People love to bitch about things" Damon replied, an arrogant smirk on his face. He took some popcorn into his mouth before opening up the screening door for Cliona, just as he had down at the entrance to the building, the smile never leaving his face the entire time.

Once they were seated at the very back, Cliona let her popcorn down and reached for her purse to check her phone and made sure that it was turned off. It was the first time she had turned it off since Cordelia had gone missing and she felt a little guilty for turning it off, but Damon was right. She needed a night for herself. She thought of all of the people that would be talking about how horrible she was for going to the movies when her friend was missing, but they'd be talking about her anyway, whether she went and did it or not. People were already complaining because she was working. She had felt so alone for the last week, but at least she had Damon today.

That thought had made her realise what she had been missing. If she had called him earlier, she wouldn't feel so bad or alone. She regretted not calling him even more, and decided right then that no matter what, she'd call him.

Looking to her left and seeing the man himself, she smiled when he looked back at her. "Thank you" she told him, the sincerity clear in her voice.

"No problem"

Cliona reached over and kissed him on the cheek, "I mean it. You're right. I shouldn't lock myself away, especially now. Can't have people thinking they can walk all over me now, can I?"

Damon smirked in response, seeing the old Cliona coming back to the surface. It was a relief to him. He'd originally thought that bringing her back to her old ways would take some time. He didn't know when the next Council meeting was, but he did know that he would verbally abuse Cecile. Jeremy hadn't got it this hard when he'd killed Vicky, when he knew what was going on anyway.

"I'm going to get through this. I'm going to face everyone. I'm going to stop drinking for a while. I'm going to focus on the shop and on you and I'm not going to let anyone stop me"

Damon was flattered, stunned even, with what she had said. Focus on him, that was something he'd never heard before. His parents had never even said it. He had always grown up being told to be considerate and to think of others, especially Stefan. What came out of his mouth was completely different to what his inner dialogue was saying.

"Stop drinking?"

"I think that I've been doing it too much since I got here. I don't want to give everyone another excuse to talk about me, and I need a clear head. Drinking will only depress me, and I don't need that right now. In saying that, you don't have to follow my decision and stop too. You can do whatever you want. I don't believe in forcing people to do things they aren't too crazy about"

"Women like you are rare. If you were Elena, I bet Stefan would be quitting too. But they're not fun and none of them drink anyway" Damon pointed out, his eyes looking everywhere but his face was turned in Cliona's direction. "Although I bet he'd feel that it's the right thing to do and do it as a gesture of support, but he's the golden boy"

"Still your brother though, no words will ever change that"

"No don't talk about yours that often. You've mentioned in passing that you have one, but you have yet to indulge me"

"Nothing to tell really. He likes to act like an idiot and I don't talk to my family all that much. And trust me; it isn't the distance or the Atlantic Ocean" Cliona replied, just as the lights began to dim and the projector behind them was switched on. The usual copyright advertisements and phone notices began to play, silencing everyone in the room.

Cliona pulled her bag to her again and pulled out a glass bottle the size of her hand. With a proud smile, she took off the cork of the Captain Morgan's and poured some of it into her coke. Damon watched her, a playful smile and wide eyes on his face. "Naughty"

"Yeah well, seeing as I'm gonna go sober soon, I may as well enjoy my last night"

"I like the way you think Miss Murphy"

The cinema had been a great idea, she had to admit it. It was like something from those stupid films Cordelia had forced her to watch when they were teenagers, where the guy puts his arm around the girl's shoulders, although her own version included Damon telling a guy to shut up in the middle of the movie and another woman getting up to run out to get sick as she was pregnant.

Regardless, she had still enjoyed herself.

Once they got inside the blue car, she put her bag down by her feet like she usually did, and rolled down the window. The weather had been unnaturally good lately and the heat had been bothering her, as if Cordelia's disappearance hadn't been bad enough.

"I still can't believe he didn't know that it was him all along. How do you even forget killing someone?" she asked, her mind still focused the film that they had just seen. It had definitely taken her by surprise but once she had learned that it involved an asylum, she had been hooked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"When you're crazy you forget stuff. You're mind works differently. Maybe he just had an overly active dose of PTSD and it progressed into a short term memory." Damon replied, glad that her mind was finally on something else. He could only hope that she could be like this tomorrow.

"If I was crazy and I knew I was, I'd probably kill as many of the people I hate as possible."

"Why?"

"Because I could plead insanity and get away with it. I could be as gruesome as I want, and I'm still going to be locked up either way, regardless if I killed them or not"

"That's one way to look at it I guess" Apart from Katherine, this had been the first woman he'd ever come across that was calm with the idea of death and would gladly admit to wanting to murder someone. Bonnie would try to give him an aneurysm, Elena would give out to him, and Caroline would end up complaining about the fact that her nail had been broken. All three of them would try to avoid the conversation, but Cliona was honest about it. It was quiet refreshing to say the least.

"Well if you ever kill someone, I'll hide you so don't worry"

"Wouldn't you worry that I'd try and make you my next victim?"

"I'm a big boy, I think I can handle myself" Damon smirked over to Cliona, beginning to enjoy her antics.

"Honest question. If I couldn't take my hands off of you, I can only guess how my knife would feel"

"A knife? Please, that is so 80's"

"I like the classic knife"

"Yeah, if you're like a 3 foot tall red haired possessed doll"

"Say what you will about Chuckie, but I liked his taste in women"

"She basically killed him!"

"But she kicked ass and put Barbie to shame. Plus she got what she wanted in the end and protected her children. See! She had a redeeming quality! She wasn't a cold hearted bitch. If she was she would have left her kids to die"

"Well, I like class but I also like guns and improvising"

"Like using rats to eat away your victim?"

"Oh God, who have I got in my car?" Damon teased her, enjoying their humorous yet morbid conversation. They were both laughing when he pulled up outside of his house. The lights were on, which illuminated the front garden. "You wanna come in for a while? I've got water for you to drink"

"Okay" Cliona giggled, before removing her seatbelt, picking up her bag and getting out of the car.

The house hadn't changed in the week since she'd been here, she noticed. But then again, why should it? She had stayed here out of goodwill, not to change the owner's views on the world or the decor. The fire was already lighting, as it always seemed to and they seemed to be the only ones here. Cliona had sometimes wondered if Stefan had always been gone because she had been there, but turning up on a spur of the moment decision had helped her come to the conclusion that perhaps he was just never here anyway. If he was always with Elena, Cliona wondered how she felt about him constantly being there. People's relationships were different, but Cliona liked her independence and her space to breath.

Cliona had ended up staying for almost three hours, just talking and laughing. She didn't want to go home. She didn't want to have to face that cold and empty house she now had all to herself. It meant that she'd have to face reality and come back to planet Earth and that notion wasn't attractive to her at all. She wanted to stay here, just as she had when Jean had been around and annoyed Cordelia. Cliona had toyed with the idea that her friend would have disappeared because of her mother, but she also knew that she would have let her in on her plan, or at least left her some indication as to her whereabouts. Now Jean was here, Cordelia wasn't, and Cliona's life was going to hell.

"You shouldn't worry as much. I know it's hard but things happen for a reason. All you can do is anticipate the worst so when you get your answers you'll either be relieved that they aren't that bad, or be prepared for bad news." Damon said after a long silence, which Cliona had spent gazing into the flames.

"She's just been there for me, you know? She's helped me with my own personal problems. I've always vented to her and I came here and started a business with the intention of doing it with her. I can't do this on my own. If she never comes back, I'm left with this burden that can ruin me. Birthdays, Christmas, if she's dead we're going to miss her for all of these things. I can't...I just...it's so..." Cliona couldn't finish what she was saying. Her voice felt as if it was closing in on herself and she was beginning to find it difficult to breath. She could feel her eyes warming up and her air supply shortening. It wasn't long before her body was being wracked by sobs, which she couldn't control.

Damon didn't hesitate in trying to hold her. "Hey, hey. These things will work out. There are people out there looking for her. Someone will recognise her or at least give you some piece of information."

"The last time I saw her, I barely spoke to her because of her mother. I told you, she's poison. She's a demon and won't stop until everyone around her is miserable. I could've done more or said more, but I just walked away so I could avoid her mother. Who does that?!"

Cliona wiped furiously at her face, trying to dry her tears and to stop crying.

"I'm sorry for ruining the night"

"No. You didn't ruin it. You're entitled to be like this. If you weren't, you'd just be proving everyone else right in thinking that you're an evil witch that wants to kill everyone that's nice to her"

"Where did I get you out of?"

"A bar, I believe"

Cliona giggled at the sarcasm. She smiled at him, genuinely happy that she had him here with her. She didn't think she'd be able to if he wasn't. She reached in and gently placed her lips on his. She lingered for a second before she pulled away, their noses almost touching. "Thank you. For everything...for just existing"

Damon didn't know what to say in response, so he settled for doing the next best thing and closed the gap again, kissing her. He put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him, needing to feel her near him. He could feel as she placed one of her hands in his hair, her other hand going to his chest.

When they both pulled away, neither of them could hide the stupid smiles on their faces. Things were finally looking up. Damon had found a girl he felt could keep up with him, and that he could ever feel this way for again. Something he'd never thought he would find with anyone else after Katherine. Cliona was just happy that she had met a man like him, and that it was someone who was there for her during her hour of need.

"I need to get back. I've got a big day tomorrow. I've got a new worker bee and I've got a lot of people to throw dirty looks at" she smiled.

"I'll drive you"

"No. It's fine. We're not that far from the centre of town. And I'd enjoy the walk to a taxi place. Don't worry about me. Stop by tomorrow though?"

"Of course, we can't have all of those employees mutinying you now can we?"

"I don't run a ship Damon...and you know that's not a word"

"But if you did, I'd be first mate" he said, pulling her closer to him again. "Right?"

"I don't know, with your cooking abilities...I may need someone in the galley" Cliona teased, pulling away and standing up, straightening her top in the process. "I'll see you in the morning"

She walked over to the front door with Damon following close behind. She opened the door and stood out on the porch. There was a cool breeze in the air, which she couldn't help with enjoy. Damon held the door open and looked down at her. She was about a head smaller than him, which he found adorable. She looked up at him, about to say something until she was cut off when he leaned down and kissed her again.

"I promise to stop by the shop in the morning. If your new worker tries anything you can just threaten him by using me" he smirked.

"See you tomorrow" she said one last time, before walking away, not wanting the situation to become awkward over who would leave first. She was exhausted but happy. She didn't want to feel selfish for that. Cordelia's being missing was a horrible thing and it still brought tears to her eyes, but just because she was gone it didn't mean that the world would stop and everyone along with it. If she never came back, Cliona would still be expected to pick up where she left off and move on, she was just ensuring that it wouldn't be that difficult if it came to that. It wasn't selfish to want to be happy.

She was almost all the way down the drive when she saw something on the ground, underneath the hedges. It looked like a bag, a dark coloured one. With curiosity daring her to move forward, she slowly took a step in the direction of the hedges and bended down, picking up the object. It took her a few minutes to figure out what it was.

A blood bag.

Why would there be a blood bag in Damon's front garden? Maybe someone just dumped it there as a joke. But how would they get their hands on it? Maybe it was a fake. People in the town seemed to have a thing for costumes and stuff. It wouldn't be too impossible to find a fake bag of blood, she was sure.

She had thought that it had been some form of handbag when she had first spotted it. She laughed to herself, before looking down and realising something.

Hang on a minute.

Damon had just closed the door, a smile on his face as he leaned against the wood. He expected that tomorrow would be even better than the night he had just had.

"Aw how cute. A human...turning into the favourite brother now are we?" purred a familiar voice.

"What are you doing back here Katherine? Elena didn't want anything to do with you and neither do I. Why bother?"

"But I'm having so much fun" she pouted, as Damon turned around to face her.

"What? Killing people and kidnapping blonde women? Yeah I bet its fun"

Katherine dropped the act, looking more annoyed now. She placed a hand on her hip and began to speak again "Alright, firstly, yes killing people is fun. We're vampires, it's what we do. Secondly, I haven't gotten any blondes. You know me, I like them tall dark and handsome. You used to be fun"

"I know" Damon smiled sarcastically, "But that was only before I realised how much of a conniving bitch you really are"

"You're supposed to kill, and feed. You're a vampire for Christ's sake! Act like it! Stop getting cosy with the food!"

Damon expected her to keep looking at him with anger on her face, but by the end of the sentence he had noticed her beginning to smile again, spotting something over his shoulder. He looked behind himself, trying to find out what it was she was smiling at. What he saw made him freeze.

Damon had looked over to see something he didn't want to. Standing at the door and staring at him with a shocked expression on her face, was Cliona. She had a frown of disbelief on her face, obviously having difficulty trying to process everything she had just heard.

"I just..." she began.

"Cliona, I can explain" Damon began trying to take a step closer to her. She jerked back, her hands raised in front of her, defensively.

"I just...came for my bag. I forgot it"

Damon sighed, knowing that the first woman he'd cared for in a long time had just been lost to him. He could only hope that she wouldn't say a word to anyone, he didn't want her to have to die. He knew that he'd have difficulty trying to do it himself, but he also knew that Katherine wouldn't. In fact, she'd take great pleasure in it. Any chance to hurt him pleased her.

He went back to the couch, ignoring the proud looking Katherine, and picked up Cliona's bag, before going back to give it to her, slowly. As she gingerly took the bag from him, the look on her face was more of hurt and betrayal than fear, which was even worse. He could have dealt with her fearing for her life because of what he was, but the look of betrayal killed him. He knew that she had had trust issues, and the moment he had broken that barrier, he had hurt her, whether he had felt he was protecting her or not.

She left without a word that night, leaving Damon alone with the woman that had hurt him the same way, all those years ago.

Supposed to kill, and feed

Cliona didn't know what to say. In fact she couldn't say anything. The entire way home, all she could do was put one foot in front of the other as her mind went into over drive. Kill and feed. She would have brushed it off and said that Elena was just being crazy. Perhaps she had split personality disorder. But Damon had called her Katherine.

Cliona remembered that he had said he'd studied psychology. Maybe that's why Damon had called her Katherine. Perhaps that was what you were meant to do and go along with it. But they had both been so serious.

She couldn't deny it.

You're a vampire for Christ's sake Stop getting cosy with the food

That's all she was to him, she thought as she stepped over the threshold to her own house, not bothering to get a taxi in the end. She was food. She was a piece of bacon being waved in front of a hungry dog. She couldn't bring herself to say that word, either. It wasn't something that you could easily believe. She still liked her mental illness theory.

Maybe she was the ill one. What if she was like that guy in the movie?

She looked at her bag. He's touched it. This bag was the reason she knew everything, if she hadn't forgot it she would still be in the dark. She opened it and pulled out her phone, switching it on in case anyone tried to call with news on Cordelia. She should never have gone out with him. She shouldn't have felt any feelings towards him. He should have told her, no matter how bizarre. She had been selfish. She needed to find Cordelia, not fraternize with the supernatural. She glanced down at the bag again, before throwing it away.

It flew into the air and hit the wall opposite her, the contents spilling out onto the floor and rolling around, like a game of marbles. They ended up scattered everywhere, just like her thoughts.

She could feel her legs give out from under her, her tears coming back. She had begun to shake violently, when she heard her phone buzz in her hand. She looked down, drying her tears as she did so, to see the last thing she would have expected today.

One Missed Call: Cordelia

And there you have it! She's gone and she's back and Cliona is basically one big mess over her, not so independent is she? I honestly never saw the end of season 3 but thankfully I'm not following the show anymore. And True Blood is back so...that shall be fun. I may end up writing for that. Once again, my Facebook is on my page and feel free to follow me on twitter at JonieLuvsBolony.
I hope you liked the new cover for this story!
Review! And I'll just go and get started on Chapter 9
Skitz ;)