Sorry for the long wait! I know I said that my summer would be based around writing but I ended up in Wales, Liverpool, my Debs (or prom), I had exams and results and then I was moving out for college and immigrating. Basically it was hectic and the gist of this is that I no longer live in Ireland. I'm now based in England, BUT I have moved in with an old beta-reader of mine, so hopefully she will bully me into writing again. *fingers crossed*

Plot twist I've been wanting to bring in for ages finally appears in this chapter, hope it doesn't get too Mary-Sue, but I really want to keep the ball rolling on this one, but I'm over halfway through this story!

Thanks for reading and hanging on with that long wait.

Enjoy and review!

Skitz ;)

p.s I usually proofread this first but things are so hectic, I'd rather get it out there now.

Chapter 9 'Let's Blame Cordelia!'

The calls had finally stopped.

Along with emails, voicemails and texts.

It was always the same. I should have told you. I thought I was protecting you. I didn't want this to happen. Please call me back. I want to see you again.

But how could she?

What do you say to a guy you were starting the to like until he ended up being a vampire? Boy, that would make one hell of a Hallmark card.

Cliona was scared. She kept thinking back to all of those times she had been alone with Damon. There had been so many opportunities for him to kill her, but instead he had bought her a drink and maybe kissed her. There had been no hint of an urge to bite her. The again, he had always been mannerly and chivalrous….no modern man was like that. Modern men were more demanding and made no attempt to hide the fact they only had one thing on their mind.

The only thing keeping Cliona from having a mental breakdown, thanks to her conflicting thoughts ranging from 'he didn't hurt me then so he obviously never wanted to kill me in the first place, meaning his feeling for me are genuine' to 'Oh my God, he's a freaking vampire! What the fuck?!', was Cordelia's return.

That night, Cliona immediately called her friend back and ,thankfully, got a reply. Cordelia apologized more than she ever had. Usually she just brushed Cliona's furious scolding aside and went back to work, but this time Cordelia sounded as if she would have been on her knees in front of her friend if she had been there. She claimed to have had met some guy and gone to his house in the city for a while, unable to find her phone during that time and getting lost in the attention the guy was giving her, until she realised that he wasn't for her.

Cliona still didn't like the whole idea. First she was attacked by a guy and then Cordelia immediately jumped back in the the dating game. And the whole city story sounded as if she was being led astray way too easily. The best thing, which had actually brought a smug grin to Cliona's face, was the look on everyone's face, along with Jean's, when they saw Cliona walking through Mystic Falls on the way to shop with Cordelia beside her.

I lose the murderous witch rumor and gain a vampire, well that's ironic.

It was Monday, and a full week since Cordelia had returned and Cliona had stopped contacting Damon. A whole week to try to cry herself into oblivion, eat her weight in ice cream, and break a few plates. But during that week, she had begun to think, and had reached the idea that she should find Elena and talk to her. If Damon was vampire then Stefan must be too, plus that vampire woman looked just like her, so if anyone in Mystic Falls had answers it has her.

With Monday also being Cordelia's day to run the shop, Cliona was able to go to Elena's house, well that, and the fact that Cordelia had complained that she was tired of being monitored all the time and wanted time to grill some new staff members, which she had also been displeased with. The Irish woman couldn't complain there, although she was beginning to see a pattern here, as every time she was angry or upset with Cordelia, she always ended up hiring new staff without consulting her first.

Elena's house was big and solid looking, with it's perfectly rectangular shape and neatly cut lawn. It was very All American in Cliona's opinion. But as pretty as it was, she knew that the interior held dark secrets, and that they were the real reason she was there in the first place.

Walking up the garden path seemed to take a lifetime. The brunette kept looking around her, to see that the street was empty, wondering what people would think. Would they try to ask what the connection was? Would they know that it was because of the Salvatore brother? Did the town still think that her and Damon were an item, even though they'd only kissed in public once and gone on one real date? She hadn't considered these things before, they were beginning to make her want to turn back to her car and drive home, not just home but to the airport. She wanted to fly back home to Europe and retreat back to her village surrounded by fields that she had wanted to escape all of her life. Anywhere was better right now, in her opinion anyway.

She hadn't even thought about what her body was physically doing when she rang the doorbell, as her mind was still swarming with ideas of planes and disgusting plane food, boarding passes, security checks and the duty free.

"Hey Cliona, what can I do for you?" a happy voice said.

The woman standing on the porch immediately came out of her thoughts and looked at a bright eyed Elena, standing there holding the door open. Elena always looked so innocent, serious but innocent, kind of like Stefan, but he had a dark broodiness as if he'd seen things, and now, Cliona realised, he probably had. She couldn't help but look at Elena in shock, her mouth wide open, as Elena looked at her expectantly.

Reading her expression, Elena knew why Cliona was here. Stefan had told her after he had had to clean up Damon's mess after he took out his anger on the living room after Katherine had arrived on the scene. And then Elena remembered, Cliona had seen Katherine. Katherine, the doppelganger of Elena. She opened the door wider and motioned for Cliona to come in, still in the habit of not literally telling people to come in, in case they were vampire.

Both of the women went into the kitchen, Cliona sitting at the island, and Elena going to the fridge to get out two bottles of water, before joining her at the island and passing her a bottle.

"Stefan told me. I bet you've got a load of questions. I know I did" she began, sparing the other woman an awkward moment of try to phrase her question without seeming too scared or too bitchy.

"It scares me" came the simple reply. "Things were so light and easy going. I enjoyed myself, it was my form of escapism, and then I really began to like him, and now here I am, sitting in your house terrified that I'm going to have my throat ripped out. It's amazing how life can change in such a short space of time. This time last year I was in England saving up to come here, and now I'm scared of vampires, and what Cordelia is doing, and all of these rumors, and it's like I can't breath sometimes, like crying isn't even enough you know?"

"It gets better, trust me" Elena soothed, reaching over and placing her hand over Cliona's. "When I found out about Stefan I didn't want to leave the house. But I know he'd never hurt me. We love each other. He's always saving me."

"It makes sense now. Damon said Stefan had drinking problems, but it's not true is it. They're both vampires?"

"Well yeah, but it's a bit of an inside joke too because Stefan feeds on animal blood. He refuses to hurt any human, which Damon see's as a bit of a Vampire Vegetarian lifestyle"

"So he eats people?" Cliona's eyes widened, as she pictured Damon doing that, the Damon that had hugged her and joked with her, had been so caring towards her. She couldn't imagine him taking someones life.

"He drinks from bags, but if there's a really bad person he might….he doesn't do it that often. He'd never hurt you. Trust me. I know by the way he looks at you"

"This past week, I've been thinking of all of those chances he would have had when we were alone-"

"But he didn't! Because he won't let any harm come to you, like me and Stefan"

Cliona was expressionless. She just looked down at her unopened bottle of water in silence, trying to think of what to ask next but was beat to the punch when Elena spoke again. "During the 1800's Damon fought in the Civil War. Their dad was strict and wasn't happy when Damon dropped out of the army and returned home. They'd taken in a woman named Katherine Pearse and Stefan and her, started up this romance but once Damon returned…"

"There was a triangle?" Cliona offered.

"Yeah, anyway, to cut a long story short, she manipulated them, fed them her blood, got them killed, faked her death, and a while back, after over a century of searching, Damon found her alive and was heartbroken. She''s not nice, and she's in Mystic Falls again. Whatever you do, you've got to stay away from her"

"Katherine….is that the woman from that night?"

"Yeah, she looks like me, but that's because apparently we're related or something. I don't know….I don't even get it" Elena rubbed at her temple, with her elbow resting on the island, a small smile on her face. She really hoped that Cliona wouldn't run from all of this, she wanted Damon to have what she and Stefan had, plus he might even cool it down on the flirting.

"I don't know what to say"

"Call him"

"Then I really wouldn't know what to say. And if this Katherine is back then how can I tell the difference between her and you?"

"She's extremely dangerous. She might even target you because she feels Damon is her exclusive play toy, she's territorial like that. You should really talk to Damon, he'd know how to protect you, it'd be dangerous not to talk to him. My hair is usually straight, and she curls I always wear this silver necklace that Stefan gave me. That's how you can tell us apart. Katherine shouldn't be able to wear it because it's got vervain in it, which is this weird plant that's like vampire kryptonite. Bonnie got herbs from your shop but those things don't always tend to be reliable. You'd want to look into getting some vervain as soon as possible. Damon knows where to find it."

"You're really adamant that I call Damon aren't you?"

"I can't help it. He doesn't know it and not that many people know it, but he's really our go-to-guy"

"How many people know about this whole vampire thing? I do, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, my brother, the town council"

"The entire council?"

"Well I know that a few definitely do, I'm not so sure about the rest"

"Thanks Elena, for everything. I appreciate it."

"No problem, any time. Us girls gotta stick together" Elena said, following Cliona to the front door. She smiled reassuringly as Cliona turned to leave and got into her car, heading home.

Wait. Bonnie was a witch?

000

"You can't stay in doors forever! Didn't you have any fun while I was away?"

"I was busy taking over the shop and working because it's not like you were there to help!" snapped Cliona, rubbing her left temporal lobe as she felt a headache coming on. She didn't want to have Cordelia whining in her ear about how she never went out to have fun, because she knew that she'd just annoy her in going to the Grill, and that meant possibly running into Damon. She didn't want to be near people, they might, after all, turn out to be vampires.

"Oh come on! Just one drink! It'll be fun. I haven't been there in so long"

"Yeah, because you prefer a small town bar over a city nightclub anyday" Cliona replied with sarcasm.

"It'll get you out of this mood your in. I thought you'd be happy to see me"

The way she said it was heartbreaking, as if Cliona had let her down and killed a few puppies in the process. She half expected to see Cordelia's bottom lip quiver if she looked up at her. At least Cordelia knew how her disappearance had affected her best friend and business partner. The again, how was she to know that people would almost resurrect the Salem witch trials, just because she met a man and vanished with him?

"One drink"

000

Typical.

That was the word he used to describe the whole thing. This was just what happened, a part of the pattern in the tapestry that was his life. A pretty ugly damn tapestry too, he thought to himself as he grimaced at his drink resting in front of him, with his arms crossed.

This was just what happened everytime he found himself liking a woman. Things would be nice for a short while, and once it looked like everything would work out, bam, something bad happens, whether it be a vampire being poisoned with vervain and sent off to be killed, or a woman ending up finding out his darkest of secrets of coming face to face with a dangerous vampire.

The whole thing was beyond unfair.

It was just…..typical.

What made me think that I could actually have a normal relationship for once, he thought. Death always seemed to play some role in the whole thing, he thought. His patience was really wearing thin on the whole scenario. Stefan was still annoying him about the murders, the council were doing the same, only he couldn't break a chair in front of them without giving himself away. And to top that off Katherine kept wandering around the town, making the odd appearance to someone. Damon knew that even if this hadn't happened, he couldn't have spoken about it or vented to Cliona. He could use some mind control sure, but it wasn't the same. He would have always craved her honest opinions. But whether he could have told her or not, he still would have wanted to seek out her company. She had been his form of escapism and he wanted things to go back to that. He wanted to go to the Lockwood's Mansion and take her to the parties there.

Which was another thing the council had also been arguing about.

Carol had really taken running for mayor seriously. People had been hired to go out canvassing for the event, posters were everywhere, and she had even taken to giving lectures in schools and hospitals, talking about not wanting any reforms, and just wanting to protect everyone's kids, blah blah. It was all kind of bland for Damon's taste, to be quite honest.

He had just taken another sip, when he smelled it.

Her scent.

The door had opened, letting in a cool breeze, which carried her sweet scent across the bar. But there was something else too. Something with it.

Vampire.

He turned slightly and saw her, for the first time in a week. He'd tried calling and texting but she never answered. In the end, he'd realised that he needed to give her space, and he honestly didn't blame her if she didn't want to see him. He could kill her after all.

She hadn't changed much. She seemed a little bit more tired than usual, but she'd been tired before Katherine had showed up. That blonde was with her too. Now that had been one hell of a council meeting. Cecile had been gobsmacked, her mouth opening and closing like a fish with no words leaving her mouth. She had later reached the conclusion that Cordelia was either a clone, or had been resurrected from the dead, either way still claiming that Cliona was a witch.

If only she had paid attention to Bonnie, who came by to drop off her mail when it ended up at the wrong house. She would have gotten the fright of her life.

He could feel her glance at him, hear her heart speed up from across the room, her breathing becoming faster in pace. She didn't want to be around him, that very thought killing him. He scared her and he knew it. But as much as that was eating him up, another part of his brain was still stuck on the vampire scent. It was near her, around her, and it wasn't his….or Katherine's for that matter. What had she been doing in the past week?

When he went to look over at her again, she had moved to sit down at a small round glossy wooden table in the corner, where the lights were only dimly lighting. She already had a drink in front of her, water, while Cordelia sat next to her with a red wine.

After a week apart he couldn't help but drink in the sight of her. A long sleeved red top, black skinny jeans with boots. She'd painted her nails black and wasn't wearing as much make up as she normally did. Her hair was hanging down, looking as if it hadn't been brushed, and she seemed much more closed off than usual. He didn't blame her, she probably just wanted to run far away from him as possible.

He briefly wondered what Elena had said to her. Stefan had told him earlier that she had gone to Elena with questions. Damon began to feel the anger rising within him. Elena better not have scared her off or told her to stay away from him.

He wanted to protect her. She was in danger. He still hated himself for selfishly not giving her the vervain when he had the chance. He hadn't known that all of this would come about. Memories or her blood clouded his thoughts. That had been so long ago, almost like another lifetime. She had been drunk and he hadn't known that he would end up liking her the way he did. He would take it back if he could.

He had tried convincing himself that not being with her was for the best anyway. He was a vampire that would feed and she was a human, that would eventually age and die. She would find herself wanting a normal life with kids and a husband and grandkids, with all of that boring crap, while he'd always be young and going to big city parties, seeing the world,m watching everything grow and die and grow and die some more. He'd watch technology advance and replace itself constantly. He'd always be a witness to the cruel cycle of life and she wouldn't.

But he had become addicted to her presence. Even if she didn't speak a word, he still loved it. As scared as she was of him, and as angry as he was at life, he still found a small pleasure in knowing that they were both in the same room as each other, breathing in the same air.

He glanced over to her again and saw Cordelia hand her a white paper back book, which Cliona took from her without a word. She smiled a little, obviously pleased with the gift and went to open it. As she flicked through the pages, Cordelia had started chattering mindlessly, only pausing when Cliona winced and dropped the book to look down at her finger.

Damon smelled it before he saw it. He'd had it once before. It was something he would never forget.

Blood

Cordelia didn't say a word, and just remained stoic, staring at the drop of blood on her friend's finger. And that's when Damon saw it. It was a brief flash, but he knew he saw it. The veins underneath her eyes began to rise a little, her eyes darkening in the process, and then disappeared.

"You need a band aid" he heard her say quickly, before she grabbed Cliona's arm and dragged her out of the Grill, not in the direction of a bathroom or a first-aid kit. Damon got up out of his seat, straining his ears to hear what was going on, but quickly ditched the idea, too impatient, and tried to leave as quickly as humanly possible, so as not to attract attention.

He found them in the alley way, between the Grill and the clothes store. Cliona was on the ground, her head slightly lifted, leaning against a wall in her unconscious state. Cordelia was hunched over her, he could hear the low snarl in her chest.

"Oh no you don't bitch"

At vampiric speed, he launched himself at her, throwing her so she landed at the other end of the alleyway. She didn't stay down for long, but sensing the age that Damon was and his strength, she merely glared at him before disappearing into the night, probably to find someone else to drain.

000

It was beyond a throbbing feeling. It was worse than when you have a cold and you feel as if your brain is rattling around inside your head. It was as if her head had literally been cracked open. She didn't want to open her eyes, knowing that the light would hurt her eyes and make this headache worse.

The last thing that Cliona remembered was Cordelia taking her out to get a bandage for her finger, but that was it. She thought that they were heading to a pharmacy to buy a band-aid or some form of plaster, but then her memory just went black. Paired with this new pain in her head, she immediately realised that she must've taken a blow to the head.

Were they mugged?

Was Cordelia okay?

She stirred a little, finally taking in the soft cushions she could feel below her, wondering who had found her and where she was, but still refusing to open her eyes. She really hoped that her friend was okay, she had just gotten her back after all.

"Nice to know you're awake. I was beginning to think you might have a concussion. I'd have to wake you myself" came a familiar voice.

A guys voice.

Damon's voice?

That was when Cliona finally opened her eyes, happy to see that there was only the soft light of the fire. She sat up slowly, looking around and taking in the familiar surroundings of the Salvatore boarding house. The drapes were closed and the fire was crackling away. The usual glasses and bottles of liquor were behind the couch across from the fire, and everything was the exact same as it had been when she had been here last. The night with Katherine.

But for someone reason she couldn't hate the place, or even feel scared of it. She still felt safe here. It was where she had gone when she had basically been run out of her own house my Jean, afterall. It was where she had gotten to know Damon better, and a part of her knew that he would protect her, if push really came to shove. She remembered the look on his face when she had learned the truth, how crushed and worried he had been. Worried that he would lose her.

It was in that moment, by the fire in the boarding house, that Cliona finally realised, after months of knowing him, that she actually loved Damon Salvatore, vampire or not.

But she wasn't going to admit it to him now, of course. She still wanted answers about Cordelia.

"Where is she? Is she okay? Were we jumped?" she grumbled, trying to sit up and become more alert.

"That nutcase is the reason you're here" Damon replied, coming to sit beside her. Part of him was dying to be near her again, but he didn't want to scare her away, and so decided to try and keep his distance and make sure that he didn't brush against her.

Both of the sat near each other, wanting to brush against one another for the comfort, but they weren't going to say it. Both terrified of what might happen, they both remained clinging to the conversation on Cordelia.

"I don't know how to tell you this, some I'm just gonna come right out and say it" Damon began, looking over at Cliona, who looked back with wide green eyes, filled with fear of what he was about to say.

"You're friend is a vampire. She tried to attack you in that alley after you cut your hand. She smelled it and it drove her crazy. She's new to all of this and has no self restraint. So you're going to have to go home and don't invite her in. Vampire's can't enter a house that belongs to a human and you need to stay safe. We don't know what she's like yet. SHe could give up and try to be your friend again, or she could be hooked on the scent of your blood and try to kill you. Hedr humanity switch could be turned off and she won't think twice about killing you, if that's the case."

"But-"

"I know she's your friend. But you've got to stay safe. I'd never forgive myself if anything ever happened to you" Damon was becoming stern now, not noticing that he had leaned in closer as he said this.

"I was going to say that the deeds to the house is in both of our names, meaning the house is hers too. Wouldn't she be able to get in then?"

"Damn it!" Damon shouted, standing up and going over to the fire. That was just his luck! Always coming up with a plan only for it to be dragged down like this! It always happened! He needed a new place for her and quick. She couldn't stay at the boarding house because vampires could enter, she couldn't go to Elena's because Katherine had been invited into that house and he really didn't want to take his chances on that one. He could always ask a Council member? The only one that would say yes would be Ryan, and he didn't want Ryan getting his paws on her. Maybe Elena's friends would have room. Caroline's mother was on the Council, and Bonnie was a watch that could fight against vampires. He'd have to look into that with Elena, immediately.

Turning around, Cliona could see that he had finally calmed down as he looked at her, "You can stay here tonight but tomorrow I'm getting you somewhere safe. I meant what I said, I don't want anything bad to happen to you"

"I believe you."

Silence filled the room, both people lost in their own thoughts, unable to think of what to say, unable to even speak for that matter.

It wasn't fair on Cliona. She had come here wanting to start a new life and all that had happened was her being kicked out of her own house, witchcraft rumors, missing friends, vampire friends, vampire guys she liked, and now she was being run out of her house again. Life just sucked sometimes.

Damon had been thinking about moving Cliona back and forth between Caroline, who could fend off Cordelia and most likely had vervaine, and Bonnie, who could probably cast a protection spell and give a vampire a seizure or something.

"This blows. I just wanted to open a shop and have a quiet life."

"I'm sorry for dragging you into all of this"

"It's not your fault. I chose to move here. It's my fault."

"You shouldn't blame yourself"

"I didn't even want to come to the States. Let's just blame Cordelia."

"Okay, let's blame Cordelia"

"And with that blame game finally over, I'm tired and I'd really like to go to sleep. It's a pretty strenuous day when you get knocked out and almost killed by your best friend. We can sort everything out in the morning. I'll still have to manage the shop in the mo-...huh"

"What?"

"Cordelia hasn't been doing the day shift because , I assume, she's a vampire."

"Yeah?"

"Then explain you're walking around in the day then?"

"Magic ring"

Cliona rolled her eyes, "Of course. Vampire are real so magic must be too. I really just need to take this stuff as it comes and not be so surprised. But seriously, I'm going to bed. I'm wrecked after a long day full of supernatural stuff" she said as she stood up.

"I know the feeling. It doesn't get any better than this" Damon replied sarcastically.

"Goodnight Damon." Cliona said, before walking over and giving his a light kiss on the cheek, shocking the vampire. "Thank you for saving my tonight"

"My pleasure, m'lady" he replied, giving her his smug half grin.

With that, Cliona turned around and headed up the stairs, still remembering the house like the back of her hand as she took the familiar route the the bedroom she had occupied during Jean's stay in her house. Well could leave, Cordelia could disappear into the city again and eat people, and everyone else could just leave her alone, because even though the idea of vampires still scared her, she knew that Damon would always want to keep her safe, and that she still loved him really. Getting to stay in his house was just a bonus.

For such a horrible week, it had finally ended on a good note, finally proving to Cliona that every cloud has a silver lining.

Dun dun duunnn. And there you have it! She's a vampire, Elena's a small character, Damon and Cliona still like each other and Katherine has yet to appear again. In fairness, I'd brace myself for a tough week if I knew I'd get Damon Salvatore out of it.

Until next time!

Skitz ;)

By the way, I can be found on Facebook, (link on my profile) and Tumblr, at 'princessofinsanity'.A