Alexandria Gilbert

by JChavz95

Vampires, witches, werewolves and doppelgangers, oh my! All Alexa Gilbert wanted was a quiet life, a free drink and to party the night away with her friends without being nagged by her twin sister Elena, but the arrival of the mysterious Salvatore brothers may just ruin those plans... Starts Season 1, Episode 1, Slowburn Damon/OC, Now on Season 5!

94. Monster's Ball

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: I am loving season 5 right now lol Amnesiac Stefan is actually adorable and his interactions with Alexa are so fun to write! I hope I'm doing a good job at keeping Alexa believable and realistic, especially after everything that she has been through. Right now, season 5 is proving to be a good season for her, when it comes to development, although she goes through some horrible stuff ;) This episode in the show annoyed me at times, so I have fixed that haha because fanfiction is there to fix things, and I am trying to fix a lot of things! And I loved the little joke that I make her with dress ;) PS the Dalexa smut just won't stop writing itself ;)

XXX

"You know," I mumbled into my pillow as Damon kissed the bare skin of my shoulder. "There are other ways of stopping me from following my sister to Whitmore."

"I know," my boyfriend smirked against my skin as his fingers drew patterns on my thigh, his thumb occasionally brushing the sensitive skin just above my core. "But are you complaining?"

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't hide the hitch in my breath as his finger reached out to brush against my clit. And I could practically feel the smugness oozing from the vampire behind me. He slotted his thigh between mine, opening up my legs, giving him better access. I bit my lip to hide my groan as two of those clever fingers dipped inside of me, teasing me, carefully avoiding that magical spot. The heel of his hand hovered just above my clit, brushing against it with the lightest of pressures, waiting for me to beg for more.

I was determined to be stubborn, to stop him from getting his way too soon, but then his free hand came around, fingers lightly pinching my nipple. It was a game that we had played many times before and yet, it was one that I had never actually won. Damon's levels of self-control were envious. And I was nowhere near achieving those levels.

Especially when he started sucking on that sensitive spot just beneath my ear. I reached down to grip his wrist, screwing my eyes shut as I ignored that slow building of pleasure. It was nowhere near enough, but I could feel it heating up my body. I was doing such a good job of keeping my composure, of course, we shall ignore the heavy breathing, when Damon's fangs scraped against that sensitive spot that he had been lavishing with attention.

"Oh fuck me," I whimpered, my hips jolting forward. Damon was kind enough not to move his hand and the sudden pressure against my clit had my breath hitching.

"Ask me nicely and I will," my boyfriend purred and I had absolutely no shame in giving in. Despite my attempts to keep my voice quiet, I knew that I sounded so fucking indecent when I begged for more. Damon's lips curled up into a smug, satisfied smirk as he gave me exactly what I needed.

I whimpered out his name as those two fingers stopped teasing me, finally brushing against that spot that had me seeing stars. I knew that I had to be quiet, as amnesiac Stefan was still learning how to control his vampire hearing, but that went out of the window as Damon used all of his knowledge of my body to push me to the edge of pleasure. All I could do was hold on, gripping his wrists tightly, as the heel of his heel pressed against my clit, those fingers continuously pressing against that special spot.

But once he got me there, he didn't let me drop over the edge. Damon just continued sucking and biting on that sensitive spot on my neck, refusing to give me the pressure that I needed to fall into oblivion. I could feel my body shaking as my mind went hazy with pleasure. I don't know what it was that persuaded my boyfriend to show mercy on me, but eventually he bit into my neck and the sharp pain from his fangs threw me over the edge into pleasurable oblivion.

I knew that I had completely failed in keeping quiet, judging from the very satisfied look on Damon's face as he rolled me onto my back. The shithead. But I couldn't bring myself to care, not when my legs were still trembling. His lips were still stained with my blood as he rested his elbow on my other side, so that his chest was pressed against mine. I couldn't stop myself from pressing my thighs together, seeking some subtle friction, as his skin brushed against my sensitive nipples.

I rolled my eyes before reaching up to tangle my fingers into his hair, pulling him down for a kiss, muttering against his lips, "You are the absolute worst."

"Hm, but you love it," my boyfriend smirked before sucking my bottom lip into his mouth. I reached up to grip his bicep while tightening my grip on his hair. He devoured my mouth and I could taste my blood on his tongue.

As I gave his hair another tug, Damon gripped my hip before rolling us over, so that I was settled on his chest. I could feel his cock prodding at my sensitive entrance. I let out a hiss before slowly pushing back. I didn't even bother hiding my moan at the feeling of being filled. My still sensitive body grew hot as he dragged against me, every inch pressing against that magical spot.

Damon's arms wrapped around me, holding me close to his chest, as I rocked my hips back and forth. The short and sharp movements meant that there was continuous pressure against that spot that me whimpering into Damon's neck. His fingers dug into my back as we both chased our high. I clung onto his shoulders as I felt my face changed, my fangs scraping against his neck.

I didn't need the prompting of his fingers tangling into my hair to sink my fangs into his skin. My groan was muffled by the sweet taste of his blood. I greedily drank away as Damon twisted his hips just right. I knew that I was digging my fingers into his skin but as the strength of my orgasm washed away all rational though, I didn't care.

Damon's fingers dug into my ass as he kept me moving, his grip growing tighter and tighter, before he buried his face into my hair, groaning out my name. I carefully eased my fangs out of his skin before licking away the remaining blood. I hummed out my satisfaction, nipping Damon's jaw as he adjusted his grip, one hand resting on my ass, the other on my back.

"I've changed my mind; you can keep doing this to stop me from going to Whitmore."

The deep throatiness of Damon's laugh had me shivering in delight.

XXX

After Damon finally let me leave our bed, although not without an extra round of sex, I sauntered into the kitchen, feeling very satisfied. Although the raised eyebrow on Stefan's face had me pausing and pouting, "Stop looking at me like that."

"You're loud," he retorted, taking a judgemental sip of his coffee. He pushed the newspaper to the side but I could see his journal lurking beneath it. I knew that the other vampire had continued writing down everything that had happened in his journal. Because we had absolutely no idea if he would remember this time when we got his memories back. I wished that he did, because despite everything, it had been good for us. Even though he didn't remember a lot of the issues from the past year, thanks to his humanityless period and mine, we were clearing the air. And he was so adorable like this, I didn't want it to all be stuck in my memories.

"Blame Damon," I rolled my eyes as the oldest in the building walked in, giving me a wink. I narrowed my eyes at him before sashaying over to Stefan. I jumped up onto the dining table and sat down next to him. Keeping eye contact with my boyfriend, I smirked, "But what can I do to make it up to you, since you are my favourite Salvatore."

Damon matched my challenge with a raised eyebrow before reaching up to grab his good coffee from its new hiding spot. He had taken to keeping it on the top shelf of the cupboard on the right to the window. He probably realised that there was no point hiding anymore, since he could never resist me when I asked for it. I could feel my eyebrow twitch as the corner of his lip curled up into a smirk. He better not be thinking about denying me good coffee. Cos then things would get ugly.

Stefan glanced between us before rolling his eyes, "You two are the worst."

"Aw, don't be like that, Stef," I prodded his shoulder, giving him my best pitiful look. "I tried to be quiet."

"That's even worse," the younger Salvatore scrunched up his nose before grabbing my hand as I continued to prod him. "Why did Damon never soundproof his room?"

"Because he gets an ego kick out of people hearing me scream his name," I snorted, shaking my head. "He's a shithead like that."

"He can also deny you the good coffee," Damon gave me a look, one that had me biting my lip. Damn, he knew what that look did to me. He never played fair. And I hated that I loved it.

"You wouldn't do that," I beamed, adjusting my legs so that my dress revealed a little bit more thigh. I could play dirty too. And it took all of my effort to keep my innocent smile on my face as his gaze immediately shot to the revealed skin. "You love me too much."

"You're lucky that I do," my boyfriend rolled his eyes before passing me a mug of the good coffee. He sat down on the chair next to me, placing me between him and his brother. As I smiled happily into my coffee, he looked over at Stefan. "Do you need to feed again? I can take you out before going with Alexa to check in on Elena."

"I'm fine with blood bags this morning," Stefan replied, looking at the hand that Damon had placed on my knee. "Maybe after the ball later."

"Are you still okay to go to that?" I asked, trying to keep my voice soft. I didn't want Stef to get worried about being around a large group of humans. But I also didn't want him to struggle. It was hard, finding that happy medium. Especially since he was still learning moderation. Oh, the lessons were going well. But I knew that he still struggled. It was natural.

"As if Caroline is giving me a choice," the younger Salvatore snorted, a teasing look on his face. I hid a giggle behind my coffee. It was nice to know that some things never changed. Including Caroline bullying our adorable amnesiac into attending a ball for a college that he didn't even attend.

"Just let me know if you need me to make any excuses for you," I offered before glancing over at my boyfriend. "Same for you. I know you don't like going there."

"Well, someone has to keep you out of trouble," Damon rolled his eyes at me.

I gave him an offended pout before muttering, "I really don't get into as much trouble as you claim."

"Ally," my boyfriend gave me a stern look. "What was the last dance that you attended where you didn't get hurt or in danger?"

"Prom," I immediately retorted before wincing. "Fuck, probably not my best example."

"You made a deal with Silas," Damon tapped my forehead. "You nearly got vervained by Stefan and turned April Young into a vampire."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Still getting into trouble."

"So you really can't remember the last dance that you attended where nothing bad happened?" Stefan interrupted us, looking over at me with wide eyes.

"Uh, let's see," I ticked off each dance that I remembered. "The 50s decade dance, Els and I were attacked by vampires and I got a concussion. Then there was the Miss Mystic Falls dance when Caroline won, I didn't get into trouble then?"

"You got far too close to an off the rails Stefan," Damon very unhelpfully pointed out and I grumbled.

"Fine. The Masquerade ball, okay, Katherine threatened to snap my neck again and hurt Elena. Then we got abducted. Fuck. The 60 decade dance was shitshow cos Klaus thought it would be fun to possess Ric," I paused before pointing a finger at my boyfriend. "The events the next day do not count towards this one." I waited until he agreed before continuing, gracefully ignoring Stefan's continuously widening eyes. "Hang on, does my birthday count as a dance? Cos soz, hon, you kinda got me into trouble for that one, by abducting me from my own party and compelling me to jump from the clocktower. Although it did get me and Damon to stop being idiots and finally kiss, so I'm not holding it against you. Nothing went wrong at Homecoming?"

"Klaus threatened me via you," my boyfriend shrugged and I narrowed my eyes at him. "And you were far too involved when it came to Mikael."

"I feel like you're rigging this game against me," I muttered before shooting back. "The Mikaelson Ball."

"I got my neck snapped," Damon countered and I was just about to celebrate my victory by saying that it wasn't me getting hurt, when he added, "And Kol developed his habit of leering at you."

"Yeah, that part sucked," I rolled my eyes. "But that shouldn't really count."

"Tough."

"This is really beginning to look bad for me," I pouted before the other two vampires gestured for me to continue, one gleeful and the curious. "Where was I? Oh, the 20s decade dance. Yeah, I'll give you that one. Esther decided to fuck with my head and then I killed her. The fraternity dance when we first visited Whitmore?"

"Got you judged and berated by Bonnie and Elena," the enjoyment on Damon's face had me shifting so that I was looking more at Stefan.

"I feel like this is becoming more of a why I don't enjoy dances rather than how I got into trouble at them," I sighed, looking for sympathy from the younger Salvatore. But he just stared at me with wide eyes. "I don't think there are many left that I actually attended. There was last year's Miss Mystic Falls, when Jeremy staked me in the leg cos he was being controlled by his Hunter instincts. And then there was Prom, which we've already covered." I paused for a moment before groaning, "Holy shit, my dance record is fucking tragic."

"I feel like you should be making excuses not to attend," Stefan frowned, placing his hand on my shoulder and I couldn't stop myself from laughing.

"You know what, Stef, you might actually be right."

XXX

Despite me insisting that he didn't need to come with me, Damon drove me to Whitmore to check in on Elena. Normally I wouldn't have needed to drive all the way to college to see how she was, but my twin had developed an annoying habit over the past few days of not picking up her phone when I called her. And I couldn't help but wonder if she blamed me for Bonnie's death. Because yes, while the witch died to bring her back to life, it was only because of my humanityless self being a foul bitch to her. Ugh, I really hoped that my sister didn't blame me, but I wouldn't be mad at her if she did.

"You know, I was really hoping that I could avoid coming here for a little while longer," Damon muttered, looking at the buildings around us with disgust as he pulled into the visitors carpark. I knew that he hated coming here, which was why I told him that he didn't need to come. But because he was an overprotective sweetheart, he insisted on accompanying me. So I rewarded him by keeping my hand indecently high on his thigh during the drive.

I knew that he knew what I was doing, from the raised eyebrow, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just rested his hand over mine. Because while it wasn't enough to calm his worries over his mysterious past at Whitmore college, it was enough to reassure him that I was right there. And I wasn't going anywhere.

"I know, baby," I sighed, staring at the laughing students walking around. It felt far too normal here and I didn't like it. There was at least one mystery hidden on this campus. And while I only knew the details for the one that involved my sister's roommate, it was enough to make me want to drag her away from this damn place, never to return. "Hopefully this will be the last time for a long while." Damon gave me a look and I winced, "Yeah, okay, as long as Elena is attending school here, I won't be able to totally avoid it. But I've compelled her some bodyguards and once I've brought Bonnie back to life, then I can check in on her when she comes back home."

"You're making it sound far too easy," my boyfriend shook his head as I climbed out of the car before walking around to his door. He rolled down the window, letting me rest my arms on the door, giving him the perfect view of my cleavage. I just about hid my smile as he took the bait, giving my boobs an admiring look.

"If you're a good boy, I'll give you a reward on the way home," I purred, reaching out to stroke his cheek. Damon gave me a look, but I could see that he was enjoying my teasing, before grabbing my hand, pressing a kiss to my palm.

"Okay, okay," my boyfriend shook his head at me, his body relaxing, before climbing out of the car. I stepped to the side, letting him out, before immediately shuffling closer once the door was closed. Damon took the hint and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side. And I could feel his body relax further. I knew that it helped eased his worries, if I was pressed close to him, and I would do anything to help him. Not that being pressed up against him was a bad thing lol. In fact, I was more than happy to be wrapped up in his arms. "Let's go find your sister."

"Caroline said that she likes to hang around in one of the gardens," I glanced around, hoping to recognise something from my previous stay here. "The one near Whitmore house? She wasn't being very coherent at the time." I wrinkled my nose as we both knew exactly why the blonde was being less than helpful in that moment in time. And I would be teasing her over it. She got far too much enjoyment teasing me over my relationship with Damon, it was only fair that I returned the favour now that her boy was back.

It was only thanks to the tracker app that I had secretly reinstalled on Elena's phone that I was able to track down my sister. Only to see the mysterious and unnerving Dr Maxfield standing next to her. I paused to narrow my eyes before muttering, "He's the one who forged the death certificate."

Damon glanced over at him, an interested gleam in his eye, "Really now? I'll have to keep that in mind."

"You can go threaten him if you want," I offered as my twin smiled up at the doctor. Why was she being so friendly with him? If anything, the foolish girl should be avoiding him. But nope, she being all buddy buddy with the death certificate forging doctor. "Right after I drag that idiot twin of mine away from him."

"Play nice, Ally," my boyfriend muttered into my hair but I could hear the smile in his voice. "We can threaten him together, later. It doesn't need to be now."

"I guess he is voluntarily walking away," I conceded with a sigh before pulling out my phone. "But that won't save him for long." I pressed dial on my sister's number before mumbling, "Let's see if she picks up this time."

"Alexa, I'm sure Elena isn't screening your calls," Damon tried to comfort me before wincing when my dumbass sister pressed decline. "Okay, maybe she is. Why is Elena not answering your calls?"

"Because I get the really nasty feeling that she secretly blames me for Bonnie dying," I gave my best attempt at a smile before wincing as my boyfriend gave me a 'don't bullshit me look'. "Yeah, it's shit. But I'm hoping that it isn't deliberate."

"I'll be having words with her if it is," my boyfriend muttered and I rolled my eyes. I knew that he wouldn't say anything directly to Elena. But he would snitch on her to Jenna, who definitely would say something. I just had to work out if I intervened, or if I indulged my boyfriend's overprotective feelings. Hm, no, I would decide once I had spoken to my sister. Hopefully it was just a misunderstanding.

I tugged Damon forward, coming to a stop next to Ellie. She hadn't realised that we were there, instead staring down at her journal. I glanced down at the words written before clearing my throat, "Well, that was rude."

"Alexa," she jolted in her seat, quickly closing her journal before giving me an uneasy smile. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Well, I wouldn't be here if someone had actually answered my calls," I raised an eyebrow, completely failing in softening my tone when Elena winced.

"I'm sorry, I've been… busy," well, my twin had now decided that lying to my face was a good idea. Super. That was fun. FML. I knew where this all came from, and it wasn't just the fact that I had managed to kill our best friend. I had spent all of the summer convincing her that everything was fine, while hiding the fact that Stefan and Bonnie were MIA. And now we knew that Bonnie had been dead the whole time and Stefan was drowning in a safe. Even I would hate me after that.

"Looks like it," I muttered before clearing my throat. "Are you going to that costume party thing later? Cos I wasn't really planning on going and I don't even have an outfit. But if you go, I'll ask Care and Tyler to keep an eye out for you."

"I don't think you've got much of a choice," Ellie shrugged, a smile now on her face. It didn't feel completely natural, but it was better than before. "Caroline has organised you some outfits."

"FML, I was just teasing Stefan about that," I rolled my eyes. "On a scale of one to ten, how wrathful will she be if I just don't turn up?"

"You really want to take that risk?" my sister reached out to poke my shoulder before standing up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "She's arranged for your dress to be delivered to the dorm while yours will be with Stefan, Damon. I've got to get to class, I'll see you later."

I watched her go before pouting, "Why does everyone hate me?"

XXX

We were halfway home, driving down the backroads that led to the Salvatore Boarding House, when I finally let out my sigh and reaching over, covering one of Damon's hands with my own. His grip on the steering wheel was tight and I knew why. He was not impressed with the idea of going to the costume ball later. And he knew that I was not brave enough to risk Caroline's wrath for missing it.

"Day, pull over," I gave his hand a squeeze as he glanced over at me, a questioning look on his face. "You're stressed. Let me do something about it."

"I've got one idea," my boyfriend muttered but he did as requested, pulling over onto the side of the road. Not a single car had passed us during our drive, so I knew that I was safe to do whatever I wanted.

"Something that doesn't involve burning down the whole college," I rolled my eyes, adjusting in my seat as he turned the engine off. "Now, hands on the steering wheel and try to turn that adorable brain off."

Before Damon could ask what I was up to, I reached over and unzipped his jeans. The sudden intake of breath had me biting my lip to hide my smile. I knew for a fact that my boyfriend was not expecting me to do this. Which was part of the reason why I wanted to. I knew that it would take his mind off of everything, even for a moment. And he deserved all the peaceful moments that he got.

I nipped his jaw as my fingers slowly stroked up his cock before circling the tip. Damon's eyes closed as his head thumped back against the headrest as I kept my touch gentle. And I couldn't stop my lips from curling up into a smirk. Damn, it was such a powerful feeling, having Damon Salvatore give up all control to me.

I continued with the gentle grip for a little while longer, until he ground out my name, knuckles turning white with the strength of his grip on the wheel. It was only his love for his car that stopped him from actually breaking it.

Deciding to take pity on him, I leant down to lick his tip, feeling so very proud of myself when Damon swore. Such a fucking amazing feeling. I slowly wrapped my lips around him, lavishing the head of his cock with attention. I could tell that he was itching to tangle his fingers in my hair, to get me to suck more of his cock into my mouth, from the way the muscles in his arms flexed. But he showed a remarkable amount of restraint and I was determined to break that.

So after flicking my tongue against his slit, I slowly bobbed my head up and down, drawing more of him into my mouth with each movement. Each time I came back to the top, I gave a harder suck to the top of his cock. Damon's thighs were tensed as he fought to keep his composure. But I knew that I was close to breaking it and fuck me, I wanted to break it so bad.

The next time I bobbed my head down, I went all the way down to the base before swallowing. Damon muttered out a succinct "fuck" before his fingers were tangling themselves in my hair. And I couldn't stop the smirk from forming as I finally broke that impressive composure. I let him control the speed after that, while I tormented him by flicking my tongue against his tip whenever I got the opportunity.

It didn't take long for him to cum after he broke, chasing his orgasm without regret, moaning out my name when he got there. Once he caught his breath, I pressed a kiss to his tip before sitting back, a smug smile on my face, "Feeling better?"

"Get over here," he muttered instead, grabbing my hips and lifting me onto his lap. Lips immediately attacked my neck as fingers disappeared beneath my dress. I just about registered the sound of ripping as my boyfriend bit that sensitive spot beneath my ear, before the tattered remains of my panties landed on the passenger seat.

I could feel every inch of his cock against me and not even biting my lip could hide my whimper at the feeling. It was Damon's turn to smirk as his thumb brushed against my clit. He kept his attention on that sensitive nub, setting my body alight with burning pleasure, as he left a ring of hickies along my neck.

When I couldn't take it anymore, my body trembling with pleasure but not getting what it needed, I reached up and tugged on my boyfriend's hair, "Day, please."

"I thought you wanted to play games," he purred in my ear before taking pity on me. He lifted my hips, lining up my entrance with his cock, before slowly lowering me. The moan that I let out was practically pornographic, but thanks to the teasing on my clit, my body was so sensitive that sensitive was an understatement.

Damon practically oozed smugness as my eyes rolled back, but I couldn't bring myself to care, not when he was filling me so completely. The denim of his jeans was rough against my thighs, but I barely noticed as he lifted me up again, every inch of his cock dragging against that magical spot. He took advantage of my arched back to mouth at my nipples through the thin fabric of my dress, enough but not quite enough.

His mouth and fingers were everywhere except where I needed them. The slow movements of his cock had me whimpering as the pleasure built, burning inside of me. It spread across my body, consuming everything until all I could think about was the feel of his body against mine. It wasn't until I was chanting his name, unable to say anything else, that Damon let me fall over that edge. His fangs sank into my boob, just above my exposed nipple, and I came hard. It probably wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say that I saw stars.

My boyfriend followed me over that edge into pleasure filled oblivion not long after, human teeth replacing his vampire ones as he bit my boob. I just weakly grabbed his shoulders, riding out my high. It wasn't until Damon pressed a soft kiss to my lips that I realised just how fucked up my clothes were. I glanced down at the huge rip in my dress, ignoring the smug look on Damon's face, before sighing, "Do you know if I still have spare clothes in the trunk?"

XXX

After I had provided some very effective stress relief, Damon had taken us home, muttering something about a plan. I was just lucky that Stefan was not in the parlour when we arrived, because I had discovered that I did not have any spare clothes in the trunk. I had to resort to just holding the tattered remains on my dress closed with my hands while my boyfriend lightly stroked the soft skin of my inner thighs. And he was rude enough to disappear when we returned home, doing nothing about the faint stirrings of pleasure that were starting to form at his touch.

"Well, I don't appreciate that," I muttered, staring at his back as he walked towards the library, before I flounced up the stairs. "Guess I'll have to scratch this itch all by myself."

I knew that I was being petty, as my boyfriend's plan was definitely Bonnie related. But I hated being left high and dry, especially when my body was still humming from our previous fucking. I knew that it wouldn't take long to make me cum again, not when the lace of my bra brushing against my erect nipples had my thighs clenching together.

I had just made it back up to our room, hands gripping the tattered remains of my dress, when a strong body settled behind me. Damon moved my hands out of the way, ripping my dress off himself, while he murmured into my ear, his breath brushing against the sensitive skin, "You are far too spoiled."

"Well, why don't you do something to punish me?" I attempted to sound coy but failed completely when my breath hitched as he ripped my bra off as well.

"Oh baby," Damon purred, one hand coming up to grip my neck, titling my head to the side, while the other pressed against my stomach, fingers stroking that soft skin just above my core. "You won't like that game."

"That's what you think," I gasped as his fangs scraped against my skin.

I can safely say that it was definitely a game that I enjoyed. One that I enjoyed so much that I was practically oozing smugness as I stretched out on the couch in the sun room, mug of blood in hand. There was so much smugness that my brother paused as he walked into the room before pointing at me and turning to Ric, "I'm not dealing with her while she is like this."

"Oh grow up," I smirked, leaning forward to nudge a second mug over to Ric. The Enhanced Original gave me a look, one that was dancing with amusement, before grabbing the mug and sitting down next to me. I moved my feet out of the way before resting them on his lap. While my brother continued to make disgusted noises, for absolutely no reason, might I add, I asked, "What's Jenna up to today?"

"The girls took her out for brunch," Ric shrugged, looking a lot more relaxed after drinking some of the kindly offered blood. "And Matt is looking after Zoe for us."

"He's a good babysitter," I couldn't hide the wicked look on my face as I glanced over at the pouting kid by the door. "He did manage to keep Jer alive, despite the kid's best attempts to get into trouble."

"I'm not playing with you, Alexa," Jeremy narrowed his eyes at me just as my boyfriend walked in. Damon glanced between us before rolling his eyes.

"And that is why I invited Ric along," he shook his head before walking over to sit on the arm of the couch near my head, resting a hand on my shoulder. The feel of his skin against mine had me smiling into my drink. Damn, I really needed to get a grip.

"What did you want to speak to me about?" Jer asked, pointedly not looking at me and keeping his gaze focused on the older vampire.

"Well, I've been thinking of solutions for our Bonnie problem," Damon started, sounding like he was in full on plan mode. And fuck me, it was hot. Nope, don't think about that, Alexa. You need to stay focused. "So, as we know, Bonnie brought Elena back to life and died in the process. May she rest in peace."

As my boyfriend glanced to the side, my brother decided to be a little shit and pointed to one of the chairs opposite us, "She's actually right over there."

"Whatever," Damon rolled his eyes. "Look. The whole point is, I just happen to know of a supernatural being who just happens to want to die, and in the spirit of nature needing balance and life for a life and all that stuff, I just think it would be a huge waste of a perfectly good death."

"What are you talking about?" Jer frowned as I let out a gasp, sitting up and turning around to look at my vampire.

"Holy shit. You said that I couldn't do this, so why do you get to?"

"Because I don't have that kind of history with him," my boyfriend reached out to tap my nose, smirking at my pout.

I slumped back into the sofa cushions, crossing my arms, as Ric sighed heavily, "Are you seriously proposing that we work with Silas?"

"From the beginning, Silas' whole bad-guy plan was to kill himself, pass on to where he was gonna pass on to, and reunite with his dead girlfriend, Amara," Damon shrugged. "I want to use his death to bring Bonnie back to life."

"I mean, the dick is powerful, it could work," I tapped my lip as I thought. "And he has previously claimed to be able to bring people back from the dead."

"How do you even know if this will work?" Jeremy frowned, crossing his arms.

"To die, he has to be mortal," my boyfriend looked less than impressed as my brother looked to poke holes in his plan. And it took all of my effort not to laugh. It always did amuse me when Jer did that to others. "If he's mortal, then he's a witch, and if he dies as a witch, then he's stuck on the Other Side forever."

"He's already tried to bring down the veil to the Other Side," the kid pointed out. "He failed."

"That's cos he's a huge failure," I snorted, unable to help myself. Ragging on Silas was a new hobby that I had discovered and it was one that amused me greatly. Even if it did earn me an eye roll from the two men next to me.

Fortunately for me, Damon was soon distracted as it became clear that my brother was listening to the ghost in the room. He snapped his fingers, bringing Jeremy's attention back to him, "She knows that I can't hear her, right?"

"She thinks that Silas wants to destroy the Other Side completely," the kid said, still looking at Bonnie's location, slowly repeating her words. "Powerful spells are bound by something even more powerful, like the moon or a comet or a doppelganger. The Other Side was made 2,000 years ago and it still exists. Bonnie thinks that Qetsiyah must have bound it something that could exist jut as long."

"So, back to my original question," Damon stared hard at Jeremy, as I exchanged a glance with Ric. "Let's say that Silas destroys the Other Side, cures himself, becomes a witch. Is it supernaturally possible that he can do a spell that swaps her life for his life once he kills himself?"

Everything was silent as we waited for Bonnie's reply. I could feel the tension growing as the silence ticked on, but surprisingly, it wasn't me who broke it. Instead, it was my boyfriend, who demanded, "What'd she say? Tell us."

Jer paused for a moment before nodding, "She's in."

XXX

"I would just like to point out, that if this goes to shit and blows up in our faces, that you were the one who originally said 'no making deals with insane immortals'," I snorted as we sat down at the bar in the Grill. I could practically sense Damon rolling his eyes at me as I charmed the bartender into giving us a bottle of bourbon.

"You're never going to let this go, are you?" my boyfriend sighed, shaking his head as I generously filled up his glass before nudging it over. He rested his hand on mine for a moment, giving it a squeeze before downing half the drink.

"You said that I wasn't allowed to make any deals with insane immortals to bring Bonnie back," I knew that I was doing a pretty poor job in hiding my enjoyment as I teased him. But it was worth it when he tugged his barstool closer to mine, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "And yet, here you are, making a deal-"

"With an insane immortal, you've said," Damon sighed wearily, interrupting me, but I could feel the smile that he was hiding in my hair. "You know, I also explicitly said that you weren't to accompany me to this meeting."

"Yep and then you failed to stop me from getting into the car, so I decided to test your theory that I'm spoiled. So far, I'm not really sure if I'm winning or not."

"The fact that you are here, baby, definitely indicates that you are spoiled."

"Well, then it's your fault for letting me get my own way all the time," I smirked, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Hm, maybe I should no to you more often."

"If you do that, then I get to play more games," I purred, leaning in for a kiss before we were interrupted by an unwelcome voice.

"Alexa, Damon," Silas smirked, sitting down next to me. I curled my lip up in disgust as I turned to look at him. The dick looked the same as before, the same smug smirk on his lips, a face identical to Stefan's. "Always a pleasure."

"Ugh, I'd forgotten just how annoying your mere presence was," I grumbled, shifting closer to Damon as I wrinkled my nose. "I'm suddenly regretting tagging along."

"Too late to back out now, Ally," Damon shook his head, looking like he was seriously tempted to shift me behind him. I was tempted to let him, but I also refused to show any weakness when it came to the insane immortal behind me. "You took your time getting here."

"I've been busy," the immortal shrugged, stealing my drink. I narrowed my eyes, but kept my mouth shut. Annoyingly, we actually needed his help, which meant that I had to play nice. At least for now. "So, why did you call me?"

"Same reason why you answered," my boyfriend replied, shifting his arm to my waist, pulling me closer to him. My back was pressed against his chest, and that strong grip was how I knew how much he hated me being here. But he was too much of a cutie to send me away, especially when he knew that I needed to be involved. I had to be there to help save Bonnie, even if it meant speaking to fucking Silas. "You need help, and we're gonna help you."

"What makes you think that I need help?" Silas raised an eyebrow, gesturing for me to pass him the bottle. I hesitated for a moment, before I could see the smirk tugging at his lips. That had me shoving the bottle over with a bit more force than was necessary.

"Well, for starters, you're still here," Damon rolled his eyes. "As in, why do you suck so badly at killing yourself?"

"Cos he's a loser," I muttered out-loud without meaning too, before wincing as Damon gave my hip a warning squeeze. "My bad, soz, Silas, you are totally not a loser."

"Such a way with words," the immortal looked like he was enjoying this far too much. "There is a reason why I haven't completed my plan."

"Is it cos you don't have Katherine yet?" I asked, unable to help myself. Not even when my boyfriend muttered my name into my hair. "Cos she's human now, you really shouldn't be having Klaus level performance issues when it comes to finding her. She's so weak and pathetic like this, it would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragic."

Somehow, Silas found it in himself to ignore my attitude, which was annoyingly impressive, "Before I can take the cure, I need to get rid of the Other Side, otherwise it will all be for nothing."

"So get rid of it then," Damon frowned as we remembered Bonnie's words. Was our beautiful Bennett witch about to be proved right? Cos damn, my girl was impressive. It took skills to be correct from beyond the grave. "What are you waiting for?"

"I need to find a mystical anchor," the immortal looked annoyed for the first time as he sipped from my stolen glass. "That's what binds her spell to the Other Side. I want to destroy it. Qetsiyah, or Tessa, or whatever the hell she's calling herself these days, she wants to protect. So, she's the only person that knows where the anchor is hidden, but fortunately, she will be at the Whitmore Historical Ball this evening."

"Really? That feels a bit random," I tapped my nails against the bar before Damon nudged his glass over to me. I glanced up at him, only to pout at the disapproving raised eyebrow. But at least he was letting me have his drink to stop myself from saying something else stupid.

"I thought that you said that you lost all of your psychic powers," my boyfriend countered as I slyly pulled the bottle back over to me, filling up the glass that I had quickly emptied.

"Oh, I did," Silas' fingers brushed against mine as I put the bottle down. His touch had me shivering in disgust and I quickly shot him a dirty look as he lips curled up into a smirk. "But I still have my incredible powers of observation, and I observed her buying a Cleopatra costume today."

"So you're a creepy stalker too," I mumbled into my drink as Damon set out exactly why we were bothering each other. Since it was my boyfriend's plan, I decided to let him take over this part. Of course, I was also less likely to get myself into trouble with my big mouth. Which was becoming a serious concern, because FML something about Silas just made want to mouth off. It was the same with Klaus, and with Katherine. I think I just don't like it when people fucked with my loved ones.

I glanced up when Silas took the bottle from me, seeing Damon raise an eyebrow, "So, we have a deal."

"Well, we have half a deal," the immortal shrugged, kindly filling up my glass and I narrowed my eyes at him. That was too nice a move, what was he up to? "I'm resurrecting some witch with my death, but we have yet to discuss how you're helping me."

"Well, you've yet to tell us what you want," my boyfriend countered with a smirk, looking far too relaxed for the situation. It was enviable. I had to get him to teach me that.

"Oh, it's fairly simple, actually. I want you to kill your brother."

XXX

"Oh, Stefan?" I called as we walked back into the Boarding House. "Where is my favourite Salvatore?"

I smirked over my shoulder at Damon as he rolled his eyes, "You know, I'm not always going to play along when you do that."

"Yes, you will," I giggled, twirling around to beam up at him. "Because no matter what, you will never let your brother be my favourite."

"Damn you," my boyfriend muttered, grabbing my wrist and pulling me in for a kiss. I smiled against his lips as I reached up to cup his face. "One day I will prove you wrong."

"No, you won't."

Fortunately, before Damon could accept my challenge and I wasn't one hundred percent sure that he would let me enjoy it, we were interrupted by Stefan. The younger Salvatore let out a groan, "Did you call me in here just to torment me with that?"

"Oops, sorry, Stef," I snickered, turning around in Damon's arms. My boyfriend wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder. "There was actually something that we wanted to discuss with you. Um, and I don't know how much you're going to like it."

"I've heard a lot of things that I don't like recently," Stefan shrugged, moving to sit on the couch by the drinks table. "So what is one more thing?"

"Uh, how are you so adorable?" I whined before slouching over to sit next to him. "I really wish that I didn't need to ask this. Okay, let me start by saying that you can absolutely say no. And we will have no issues with that. In fact, we would have issues if you said yes without thinking it through. Because holy crap I feel like such a shitty person by asking you this."

"Ally, breathe," Damon tapped the top of my head before walking round to the drinks table. "You're going to confuse him."

"I just don't want him to feel obligated to say yes," I pouted, accepting the offered drink. I sipped at it before passing it over to the vampire next to me.

Stefan took it, watching me with curious eyes, before offering, "We could always add some blood to this, it could help make this go smoother."

I couldn't stop my giggle, especially as Damon grumbled in disgust under his breath, before groaning, "Aw no, you're being adorable again." I shifted so that I could pout up at Damon as he poured another drink for me. "Day, he's being adorable again. How am I supposed to ask him to do this?"

"Let me do it," my boyfriend rolled his eyes before moving to sit next to me. I shuffled over to give him some room, my knee brushing against Stefan's. I glanced between the two brothers before nodding. I knew that I would only get tongue-tied and that wouldn't help anything. So I settled back against Damon's chest before stretching my legs out over Stefan's lap. The younger brother glanced down at me and I tried to give him my best comforting smile. "Do you remember us mentioning our dear friend Bonnie?"

"The one who died?" Stefan frowned as I winced into my drink. Damon placed a reassuring hand on my thigh before nodding.

"Well, we have come up with an ingenious plan to bring her back. But there is a little snag because it involves working with Silas."

"The Silas that caused me to get my brain fried?" the vampire opposite me raised an eyebrow and I sighed.

"I know, Stef, it isn't ideal," I patted his knee with my foot. "But there are a limited amount of people who are capable of bringing someone back from the dead. Unfortunately, my favourite, most talented person is the one we are trying to bring back. It's shit. And it only gets worse."

"We need Silas to die so his death can bring Bonnie back. Unfortunately, he just won't die, not until he's completed his grand plan to destroy the Other Side."

When Stefan frowned and opened his mouth, I held up a hand, "It gets a lot more complicated. Apparently there is some kind of anchor that he needs to destroy but he doesn't know where it is. Only Tessa knows where it is. But he can't get that information from her cos, you know, she hates his fucking guts."

"And where do I come in?" Stef asked and I sighed.

"This is the part that I really don't like," I mumbled before Damon took over again.

"In order to find out where the anchor is, Silas needs his powers back. And the only way that he can do that is if you are in the land of the dead. He wants us to snap your neck so he can get into Tessa's mind at the costume party tonight and find the anchor."

As Stefan's eyes tripled in size, I quickly sat up, resting my hand on his, "Look, you can say no. There is absolutely no shame in that. It is a shitty thing to ask and I really, really wish that we didn't have to. But…. I don't know how else we can bring Bonnie back."

The other vampire glanced between us, those sweet green eyes staring intently, and I bit my lip to stop myself from just opening my mouth and taking it all back. Because I owed it to Bonnie to find a way to bring her back. But I honestly didn't know if I could hurt Stefan to do it. God, this was such a shit situation.

Which was why I was surprised when Stefan nodded, relaxing back into his seat, "I'll do it."

"Stef, are you sure?" I asked softly, glancing over my shoulder at Damon. My boyfriend was looking at his brother was an impressed and admiring look. "You don't have to say yes just cos we are asking. You are allowed to say no."

"I know," Stefan's smile was sweet and I bit my lip to keep in my coo. "But she's my friend, even if I don't remember and…" there was the kindest look on his face as he reached forward to grab my hand. "I heard you crying, when you found out the news. I want to help you get your friend back."

"Oh Stef," Damon was kind enough to take my drink as I lurched forward, pulling the other vampire into a hug. His arms immediately wrapped around me as I couldn't stop myself. "Why are you so sweet? You're the most precious person on the planet."

"Uh, Damon?" Stefan winced as I squeezed him harder, pressing his face against my shoulder as I buried mine in his hair. "A hand?"

"She'll stop eventually," my boyfriend smirked, relaxing back in his seat and stealing my drink. "You just need to give her a bit of time."

Stef sighed but patted my back as I continued to mutter about how he was the sweetest man alive.

XXX

After Damon eventually pried me off of his brother, Caroline stopped by to collect me on her way to Whitmore. The blonde had been visiting her mom, having cleared her afternoon of classes to have some mommy-daughter time. And the sneaky little thing had decided that by dragging me back to Whitmore, she would make sure that I would be attending the stupid costume ball. It was a clever move, even if I didn't appreciate it. Of course, I would have had to attend anyway, thanks to Silas' little plan revolving around him being near Tessa. And I was not going to let him be on my sister's campus without being there myself.

Of course, I told her just how much I didn't appreciate her sneakiness as she drove us towards the college. But my cruel friend just laughed at me. If it wasn't for the fact that Damon was actually pretty relaxed about me going to Whitmore without him, I would have put up more of a fight. But since he was meeting me there later and he was able to carry out a sneaky little plan, he just gave me a wink before disappearing to get his brother a blood bag.

"You know, I am surprised that Damon didn't put up more of a fight to stop me from stealing you," Caroline laughed as she manhandled me into her dorm room. Elena looked up from her bed, giving me a friendly wave, looking a lot more relaxed than she did earlier.

I smiled back at her before rolling my eyes at the blonde, "Well, not only does he get to wind me up, he knows that you always find something to make me look good. And he's never going to give up that opportunity. So, my dear Caroline, what have you found for me this time?"

"I feel like you're taking advantage of my skills," my friend shook her head but that didn't stop her from grabbing the box on the desk. "I should really charge you for my services."

"Hm, but you love me too much to do that," I wiggled my eyebrows, sniggering as she lightly smacked my shoulder. "And just think of the awful things that I would pick out myself. The horror!"

"You would pick something horrible, just to prove a point," the blonde snorted, passing me a short, silk dress. "Go put this on, without your bra."

I gingerly took the white fabric, raising a cautious eyebrow, "Uh, Care, I do hope that there is more to this outfit. Cos I know I like to show off for Damon, but this is taking it a bit too far…"

"Oh relax," Caroline rolled her eyes at me, giving me a shooing motion before placing a box down next to Ellie. "Of course there is more. Even I know that Damon wouldn't let you out of the room if you were wearing just that. And I actually want you to attend tonight."

I grumbled but did as requested, slinking off to the bathroom. I had a very nasty feeling as to why I was being asked to forgo a bra. But not even Caroline Forbes would be that mean, right?

Actually no, she was that mean. I walked out of the bathroom, tugging the short dress further down my thighs, only to pause when she held up a corset, a bright smile on her face. I narrowed my eyes at her before pointing, "Is this revenge for not dressing up at your Miss Mystic Falls parade?"

"Alexa," Caroline laughed lightly, grabbed my arm and pulling me forward. It was probably a good thing that she did, cos I was seriously considering locking myself in the bathroom to avoid putting the corset on. "Would I do that?"

"Yes," I snorted before full on laughing when my sister's voice joined in. She had been content to look at her own outfit, but apparently the little sneak couldn't resist an opportunity to wind up our blonde friend.

Of course, Care got her revenge when she started tightening the corset strings. I knew that I was being dramatic in my reactions, but considering she had chosen to put me in a corset without my permission, I was going to be as dramatic as possible.

"Oh my god," I wheezed, deliberately ignoring how the corset was making my boobs look good. "Is this your way of secretly telling me that you hate me?"

"Stop being so dramatic," the blonde rolled her eyes as she quickly finished off the strings. "You can breathe perfectly well and you know it."

"Killjoy," I muttered, slouching over to poke my sister's shoulder, glancing into her box. "Do you have one of these deathtraps? Or is this joy reserved only for me?"

"Sorry, Alexa, just for you," Elena gave me a cheeky smile and I rolled my eyes at her. Well, at least she wasn't avoiding me anymore. I would take being teased over that any day of the week.

"Boo," I pouted before Caroline decided that it was time to manhandle me again. She dragged me back over to the mirror before picking up the emerald green dress. I dutifully held still as she helped me put it on, the fabric heavier than I was expecting it to be. While Care helped smooth down the thick skirt, adjusting the black lace that added dimensions, I couldn't help but frown. "Care, hon, why do I recognise this dress?"

My friend adjusted the straps on my shoulders before giving me the cheekiest smile that I had ever seen from her, "Well, that's because you've seen it before."

My frowned grew deeper as I stared at the dress. It didn't help that my twin gasped loudly before practically cackling. How did she know what it was? FML, it was really bugging me. I knew that this dress was familiar. When I couldn't work it out, I pouted and turned around, giving my friend a pitiful look, "Caroline, stop teasing me."

"You would have seen it in a certain movie staring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise…" Caroline's grin grew as I let out a gasp of my own.

"You sneaky little monkey!" I turned back around to look at the dress again in the mirror. "This is the dress that the woman that Claudia turns wears! I cannot believe you've put me in a dress from 'Interview With the Vampire'!" But despite my shout, I couldn't stop myself from laughing. It was pretty fucking funny really. I was wearing a dress from a vampire movie. Oh dang, I was definitely going to enjoy myself with this. "Where did you even get it from?"

"I have my sources," Caroline giggled as she got out her makeup, ready to help me complete my look. "Do you like it?"

"I mean, my boobs look amazing," I gave her a wink in the mirror. "I have to say, Care, you've really outdone yourself this time. I am very impressed." The relieved look in the blonde's eyes had me smiling, "Now, let's finish making me look hot."

XXX

I hung out with Caroline and Elena until I received a text from my boyfriend, letting me know that he and Stefan had arrived. My adorably overprotective sweetheart was busy doing his usual lap of campus, making sure that nothing obviously dodgy was happening, and had sent Stefan down to the ball. So I excused myself, making sure not to mention that I was going to see the younger Salvatore, and made my way to party central.

It didn't take long for me to find Stefan and I shook my head when I did so. The adorable amnesiac was by the bar, charming the female bartender into giving him a drink. Of course, I wasn't one to be left out, so I quickly made my way over, resting my hand on Stefan's shoulder. The other vampire glanced over at me, giving me a smile before requesting a drink for me too.

"Thanks, Stef," I pressed a kiss to his cheek, quickly wiping away the lipstick stain that I left behind. "How you doing?"

"I'm alright," he shrugged, glancing at my dress. "Caroline certainly made an effort with you."

"Caroline acts like I'm her doll at times," I rolled my eyes, although I did absolutely nothing to hide the fondness in my voice. "She went easy on you though. Although I don't know who you are supposed to be lol."

"Uh, she said James Dean?" the frown on his face was adorable and I cleared my throat to stop myself from cooing. Damn, why did amnesiac Stefan tug at my heartstrings? It was so unfair. But I couldn't quite bring myself to care. Stefan had been through so much shit; it was only fair that he was so adorable that I wanted to wrap him in cotton wool. Fuck, and that has just reminded me what we were planning on doing tonight. Goddamnit, this sucked.

"I definitely know who that is," I nodded, trying to act as relaxed as possible. I didn't want to stress the other vampire out before we carried out our plan. That wouldn't be fair of me and damn, I would do everything that I could to make it as easy as possible for Stefan.

I got a teasing eyeroll in return, "Sure you do, Alexa."

"Rude," I sniffed before confiscating his drink and downing half of it. I couldn't hide my snort at his pout before nudging over my untouched drink. "Damn, you must have gotten away with everything when you were a kid, with those adorable eyes."

"You keep calling me adorable," Stefan accepted the offered drink before pouting again. "I'm not adorable."

"You are totally adorable," I laughed, looking around to see if Damon had arrived. While he hadn't Caroline and Tyler had. They were dancing in the middle of the room, laughing softly. "The only person more adorable than you is Jeremy. And that's only because I remember when he was tiny and his hair flopped into his eyes. It was the cutest shit. Of course, he doesn't seem to agree."

"Do you tease him as much as you tease me?" the other vampire poked my shoulder, but I could see him relaxing. While we both knew what would happen later in the evening, at least I could make him feel better now.

"More," I sniggered, spotting Jamie in the crowd, dancing with an unfamiliar blonde. I was surprised that he had come along, considering he wasn't studying here. But then I saw Caroline's satisfied nod. Damn, that girl really did like bullying people into attending parties. She didn't even organise this one. I would have considered putting together an intervention, but it was quite hilarious. "It's all his fault. He gives me the best reactions, if he just played it cool, I would have backed off."

"I highly doubt that," Stefan muttered into his drink and I pouted.

"Rude," I poked his cheek in return before summoning the bartender to fill up my drink. It was a male one this time and I internally laughed at Stefan's disappointment. My adorable amnesiac definitely had game and it was hilarious. Maybe once he had control of his hunger, I would take him out and find him someone to have fun with.

After charming the bartender into filling up my glass, I turned around to face the room. It was filling up quickly, full of laughing students and faculty and donors. The number of people that were packed into the hall was quickly growing, as was the heat. But it was more than that. If you lost concentration, then you could hear the heartbeats echoing around us. It was enough to make me twitch and I knew that I should have fed before I came here. Damn, I was really getting bad at remembering to do that. Hopefully I would get an opportunity to raid Caroline's fridge upstairs

But that wasn't my biggest worry.

I glanced over at the vampire next to me as he started tapping his ring against his glass. But it was the frown lines that had me sighing and resting my hand over his, "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm, uh, still getting used to this," Stefan admitted with a wince, tearing his gaze away from the crowd to look at me.

"Aw, you poor thing," I grabbed his hand before tugging him towards the alcove at the side of the room. There was a very convenient bench there, one that I pushed Stefan down onto before standing next to him. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders before tucking him into my side. "This part is difficult. Even for me, and I've been doing this for quite a few months. Did you feed before you got here?"

"Yeah, Damon made sure that I got plenty to eat," the other vampire nodded, relaxing against me. "I think that is the only reason why I'm still in control."

"You've got to give yourself some more credit, Stef. You've been doing so well and really embracing everything, that's why you are in control. But I can grab you a bottle of booze if you think that will help?"

"Well, it won't hurt," Stefan shrugged, glancing up at me with a hint of cheekiness.

XXX

I left Stefan with Caroline and Tyler when I spied Damon making his entrance. Of course, that was after I got him thoroughly sloshed. But since he was entertaining the other two, I didn't feel bad in leaving him there. Especially since I would be able to keep an eye on him through the crowd.

I couldn't stop myself from raising an admiring eyebrow as I got a proper look at my boyfriend's outfit. Caroline had done well. She had done very well. He was wearing tight black trousers, hugging that delicious ass and giving me a perfect view. An olden style white top, one that could have definitely come from that damn movie, revealed his collarbones and the top of his chest, contrasting deliciously with his dark hair.

"Well, hello handsome," I purred, stepping up to his side. Damon immediately turned around, a warm smile on his face as he glanced me up and down. Of course, his gaze remained on my boobs for longer than was socially acceptable. Not that I cared, but the hungry look in those delicious eyes made me shiver. I reached out to gently stroke his collarbones as he rested his hands on my hips.

"How am I supposed to concentrate tonight when you are looking like this?" my boyfriend murmured, his gaze definitely not on my face. I couldn't hide my smirk as I cupped his face, pulling him in for a kiss.

"Well, just think, if everything goes to plan, then you know what your reward is for doing so well," I whispered against his lips. Unfortunately, before Damon could say something that would have me dragging him out of the room to a private spot, my sister walked in. Hm, maybe that should have been fortunately, because we did have a plan to carry out. Elena glanced over at us before stepping closer, "Hey, Els."

"Alexa, Damon," she nodded as I shifted slightly, wrapping one arm around Damon's shoulders. He wrapped one arm around my waist, pulling me into his side.

"Lady Anne Boleyn," I nodded, it was an impressive look and my sister looked amazing. Caroline certainly did well tonight. "How come you don't have to wear a corset with that?"

"Because I've already paid my dues," my twin smirked, but it was obvious that she was distracted. Her gaze scanned the crowd, looking for someone in particular. I had no idea who and damn, I wanted to know.

"I knew that that was the reason," I narrowed my eyes in the direction of my blonde friend for a moment before refocusing on my sister. "Alright, who are you looking for?"

"Just someone," my sister muttered, moving to step away but I grabbed wrist, tugging her back.

"Elena, what's wrong?" I frowned. "I'm not letting go until you actually speak to me."

"Bonnie died three months ago, Alexa," Elena sighed and I winced. Damn, we were back to this. Things were going so well upstairs. I had kind of hoped that she was over whatever it was that was ticking around her brain. But apparently not. "And what was I doing? I was having fun, enjoying my summer, making plans for my future. A future that Bonnie will never have."

I didn't quite know what to say to that. I mean, at least she wasn't blaming me? But her guilt wasn't helping anything. God, I hoped the plan worked tonight. I needed it to work, so I could save Bonnie. And help my sister.

Fortunately, Damon was around to pipe up with a, "Ah, guilt. Don't know it but I've heard that it can be a real bitch."

Damn, that should have been unfortunately. I sighed, shaking my head, "Not helpful, Day."

I didn't call him out on the rest of his bullshit there. Cos he definitely felt guilty about a lot of shit. He just didn't admit to anyone. Well, anyone that wasn't me.

"I know it's not my fault that Bonnie died, even if it was bringing me back," Ellie's voice was soft as she refused to look at us. "But it is my fault for not figuring it out sooner."

Ah damnit, why did this girl continue to break my heart? I knew that I shouldn't have let her come back to Whitmore by herself. She had been here for days, stewing over her guilt and I hadn't been able to reassure her. Because I knew that she wasn't telling the truth when she said that she knew that it wasn't her fault.

"Ellie, you shouldn't feel guilty for being happy," I tried to keep my voice gentle as I exchanged a glance with my boyfriend. "There was no way that you could have known. Jeremy had us all fooled."

"I should have figured it out," my sweet stubborn sister shook her head. "You knew that something was wrong."

"Well, it's only cos she wasn't replying to me," I muttered. "And to be honest, a part of me thought it was because she was mad at me, cos of what I did during my bitchy period."

Elena's expression softened slightly before she spotted someone on the other side of the hall, "I know that it's not the same, but I'm not gonna let Megan's death fall through the cracks too."

We followed her gaze to see her looking at a boy that looked very sad. He had blonde hair and a sweet face. But his whole aura just screamed depressed and I couldn't help but wonder who he was.

"You making friends, Els?"

"It's Megan's hometown friend, i.e. the latest person of interest in the Whitmore mystery," my twin replied before walking away. "I'll be right back."

I sighed as I watched her approach the sad boy, "I really do feel like I should be getting involved in that."

"One problem at a time, Ally. You can deal with Elena's mystery after we've dealt with Silas and brought Bonnie back."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Ugh, let's just get this over with."

XXX

It took another hour for Tessa to arrive. During that time, I alternated between dancing with Tyler and drinking with Damon. He had appropriated a bottle from the bar and was lurking in the corner where he had a good view of all the entrances. While I drank with him, I kept an eye on my sister. After speaking to the sad boy, she spent the rest of her time either laughing with Caroline or speaking to the friends that she had started to make. I was pleased for her, that she was settling in well. My twin deserved to enjoy her college experience and damn, I really wanted to do everything that I could to make sure that she did.

When the ancient witch did arrive, she did so in style. Tessa walked down the stairs, dressed as Cleopatra, and looking pretty damn hot. I could practically sense the power coming from her as she walked into the room, her head held high. This was one powerful witch. And we had to be careful when it came to messing with her. Because she had proved that she was slightly unstable, thanks to her frying Stef's brain, and we didn't know what her limits where.

Stefan was back by the bar in the middle of the room and it was clear that he was her target. It was painfully obvious. As was the look of vicious longing that flashed across her face. Maybe Silas was right when he said that she still loved him. But she was fighting it. And poor Stefan was stuck in the middle of it all.

I crept forward, Damon a comforting presence at my back, as Tessa stood next to our adorable amnesiac, aiming for casual, "Where I come from, open bar meant ceramic jugs of Phoenician wine."

Stefan rolled his eyes as he sounded less than interested. Well, I guess that answered the question as to whether he recognised the insane witch's face. Was that a good thing? At least it meant that he didn't remember the pain of the spell.

Tessa looked slightly put out as she frowned slightly, "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

Adorable drunk Stefan muttered, "No offence, but actually, I have no idea who a lot of people are."

I barely hid my snort behind a cough, but that didn't stop Damon from rolling his eyes at me. I winced and pouted up at him. It wasn't my fault that sassy Stefan was hilarious.

The witch nodded, taking a deep breath, before stepping close to the amnesiac, "Tessa, formally known as Qetsiyah."

"The girl who wiped my memories," the younger Salvatore finally looked away from his drink to face the ancient witch. He glanced her up and down, kindly ignoring her intense interest in him.

"Nothing personal," Tessa's smile was surprisingly coy as she glanced down. "Little ex-boyfriend drama." I glanced up at Damon when he nodded and we walked forward. That was enough Stefan time for Tessa. She didn't deserve more, not after she hurt him like she did. "Let me make it up to you. Buy you an 'I'm sorry' drink?"

Damon placed his hand on his brother's shoulder while I forced myself between my adorable amnesiac and the witch. My boyfriend rolled his eyes and snorted, "More like an 'I'm sorry' keg."

While Damon took Stefan out of the room to somewhere private, I stayed behind. This was the first time that I had met the infamous Qetsiyah. On one hand, I was impressed. Now that I was even closer to her, I could definitely sense the power coming from her. It would have been overwhelming, if I wasn't used to powerful witches. My girl Bonnie was a lot more impressive.

"So, Qetsiyah," I raised an eyebrow. "Why are you bothering Stefan again? Haven't you done enough damage?"

"Maybe I feel bad," Tessa frowned, looking like she was caught off guard by my words, before narrowing her eyes. "So you are the doppelganger's twin sister."

"Alexa, if you even care," I shrugged, picking up Stefan's abandoned drink. I sipped at it, keeping eye contact, as I felt weirdly confident. Was I getting too cocky? Almost definitely. But I knew that the witch wouldn't hurt me, not in a crowded room, and especially not if she wanted Stefan to forgive her for frying his brain. "I'd much rather you use my name rather than the 'doppelganger's twin sister'. That shit gets old. I am more than my relation to Elena."

The witch nodded, realising what my little dig referred to, "You remember what I told Damon."

"Yeah, your insane little belief that I will die if the doppelgangers get together," I snorted, shaking my head. "It's total bullshit, by the way. And I have the proof to back that up. What I really didn't appreciate, was how you got into my boyfriend's head. How you tried to manipulate him into abandoning his brother. That was a dick move."

"I was doing what needed to be done," Tessa stood up straighter and I raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "I needed Stefan, because of his connection to Silas. That hasn't changed. But… I might have gone a bit too far."

"Just a smidge," I rolled my eyes. "Look, stay away from Stefan. You've hurt him enough and I refuse to let him go through any more pain." I shuffled closer, cursing myself in my head as I did so. Honestly, I was definitely become as stupidly reckless as my sister. And I knew that I would one day regret this. "I think you'll find that I can get pretty creative when it comes to protecting my friends."

I gave her a sharp smile before turning and walking away. Inside my head, I was throttling myself. What was wrong with me? Why did I always mouth off to people stronger than me? Goddamnit, hopefully Damon didn't hear any of that. Because I definitely wouldn't enjoy the game that followed.

XXX

I arrived in the private back room just in time to see Stefan settle down onto one of the leather chairs by the fireplace. He looked uncomfortable and my heart went out to him, because now that Tessa was here, it was only a matter of time before Silas arrived too. And that meant that it would be time for his timeout.

"Hey, Stef, you okay?" I asked, keeping my voice soft as I approached him. "There is still time to back out."

"No, I'm fine," Stefan took a deep breath before giving me a determined nod. He slipped his daylight ring off of his finger before reaching out and putting it into my hand, his fingers brushing against my palm. "I can do this. Did Tessa say anything after we left?"

"Nah, not really," I shrugged, pointedly not looking at my boyfriend. Since he was staying quiet, I was going to assume that he hadn't listened in to my foolishness with Tessa. Which was a huge fucking relief. "I just did a bit of posturing, telling her how dare she hurt you. That kind of thing. She was mainly a bit put out that you had been dragged away."

The younger Salvatore nodded, going to say something, before glancing behind me. His eyes widened dramatically and I spun around with a gasp. Only to roll my eyes, even as I placed a hand over my heart. Silas smirked at me before looking at Stefan, "Hello, me."

"Ugh, I was really hoping that I would have a bit more time befor you showed up," I grumbled, taking a step away from the immortal. I knew that I was being obvious, but I didn't care. The further away from Silas that I got, the happier I was. Because I couldn't help but remember the last time that I was around him. The dick broke my collarbone. He used his annoying powers to manipulate my twin into hurting me before wanting to kill me. And my boyfriend. Yeah, I was more than happy to not be anywhere near him.

"You really weren't kidding," the vampire behind me muttered as Silas gestured for Damon to pass him the leather jacket in his hand. My boyfriend looked less than impressed but he did pass over the jacket. "Oh wow."

"Don't worry, Stef," I snarked, crossing my arms. "You're a lot more handsome than he is."

"Alexa, as charming as always," Silas' smirk was slightly strained and I couldn't hide my smugness. That's what he got for asking what he was. I couldn't do anything to stop the magic from working like it did. But I could annoy the fuck out of the immortal.

Fortunately, before I could say something to get myself into trouble, Stefan asked with a curious frown, "I know Damon and Alexa explained it, but why do you need me dead?"

"Well," the immortal rolled his eyes, looking like explaining it all was beneath him. "Tessa's spell mentally linked us. I lost my psychic abilities. And you lost your memories."

"And breaking Stefan's neck will sever the link?" Damon asked, walking over to his brother. He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder before taking a deep breath.

"Well, why don't you give it a go and I'll prove it."

I couldn't hide my wince as Damon broke Stefan's neck. The sound turned my stomach and I hated myself for agreeing to this, for allowing Stefan to agree to it. We should have found another way. A way that didn't involve my adorable amnesiac Stefan getting hurt.

While my boyfriend got his brother settled as comfortably as possible on the seat, Silas stepped closer to me, holding out his hand, "If you would be so kind."

"If it didn't belong to Stefan, I would be shoving it up your ass," I grumbled, dropping Stefan's daylight ring onto his palm. "And even then, I'm still tempted."

"I've missed your creative mind," the immortal leered, slipping the ring on his finger before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I froze at his touch, wanting to shove him away, but I couldn't move my body. Well fuck, I guess at least we knew that he was telling the truth about needing to put Stef on a timeout. "Oh relax, Damon." I glanced up to see my boyfriend staring hard at the hand that was tracing the bare skin of my arm, a dark look in his eyes. "I can read your mind, I'll let go of her in a moment. I needed to get your attention somehow."

"Touching me was not necessary," I glared up at Silas. "So fuck off."

The immortal didn't fuck off. Instead, he just looked at Damon, "So, I'm going to go cozy up to the witch and sift through her mind, figure out where she's hiding the anchor, and all you two need to do, is keep Stefan dead. I don't think even you could screw that up."

"I've never screwed anything up," I snorted, not even bothering to control my thoughts on about how much he disgusted me and how much I wanted him to crawl back into the ground and die. "I think you'll find that you were the one who fucked up our arrangements last time."

Silas squeezed my arm and I gritted my teeth as I felt my bones creak. FML, why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?

My boyfriend narrowed his eyes at the immortal as he clenched his fists. I knew that he was itching to race forward and pull me away from Silas. But with the immortal now having his annoying little abilities back, we both knew that he could stop him. So instead, he spat out, "Isn't Tessa going to be slightly suspicious when the man whose brain she just fried is all of a sudden showing interest in her?"

"Of all the men here, Tessa went straight for Stefan," Silas smirked. "This face won her heart before. See, a woman never forgets her first love, no matter how badly it ended."

XXX

The moment that Silas released me to go carry out his sneaky little plan, Damon pulled me into his arms. He gave the door a dark look before squeezing me tighter against him. I wasn't complaining. I just curled my fingers into his shirt before burying my face in his neck and muttering, "I really do hate that man."

"You aren't the only one," my boyfriend gave the door another glare before shifting us to sit down on the chair opposite Stefan. He sat down, immediately settling me onto his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his settled around my hips, tucking me further against him. There was practically no space between us, but that didn't stop me from clutching my boyfriend closer.

"You know what's even more annoying?" I grumbled, resting my cheek against his temple. "I can't even kill him, cos that's what he wants. And the thought of giving him what he wants makes me itchy." I paused before groaning, "Ugh, but we're going to have to give him what he wants so we can get Bonnie back. This is so shit, I am nowhere near drunk enough for any of this. I knew that I should have brought Stefan's bottle with me."

"Well, after tonight, I'm hoping that you won't have to deal with him," Damon sighed, gently taking my hand, thumb stroking my palm, his touch soft and reassuring and giving me something to focus on that wasn't the unconscious vampire opposite us. "As long as he doesn't insist otherwise, I can take over all Silas interactions."

"He's a creep," I snorted. "Of course he's going to want me there. And I won't even be able to cuss him out in my head. You know, his shoulder twitches every time I call him a failure in my head. Not gonna lie, it is kinda fun."

"That explains so much," my boyfriend rolled his eyes before tapping my nose. "Going forward, you are definitely going to be left out of any Silas interactions. I don't care how much you pout."

"I might actually let you win that one," I pressed a kiss to his cheek before my gaze flickered over to the vampire opposite us. Stefan's face was relaxed as it rested against the back of the chair. "Because I don't know if I can look at Silas going forward and not remember what he made us do to Stefan. I hate that we had to do this to him. It's so not fair."

"I know, Ally," Damon followed my gaze, looking at his brother with regret. I knew that he hated this as much as I did. Especially since he was the one who actually had to do the neck breaking. God, I hated that he was the one to do it, but I wasn't strong enough. The thought of hurting Stefan, sweet amnesiac Stefan, who had been through so much, just made me feel sick. And that meant that my boyfriend had to be the strong one and hurt his brother. "Just remember that Stefan agreed to it. He made this choice himself; we didn't force him into it."

"I dunno, it just feels like he said yes because that was what was expected," I shook my head, still staring at the younger Salvatore. "Once this is over and we have Bonnie back, and his memories back, I'm going to find out what his most favourite thing in the world is and get it for him. And then I'm going to take him on holiday and treat him to the most relaxing time ever. And he isn't going to worry about anything."

"You're going to be unbearable, aren't you?" my boyfriend's lips quirked up into a smirk before he gently grasped my chin, turning me to face him. "But okay, we'll buy Stefan anything he wants and take him on the most relaxing holiday and you can coo over him as much as you want. But for now, I just want you to relax and take a deep breath. There's nothing that we can do right now, but if you play nice, I'll see if I can find a way for you to be the one to put Silas out if his misery."

"Hm, while it would be giving the ass what he wants, it would be very satisfying to be the one to kill him," I mused dramatically, before nuzzling his cheek. "Okay, I'll behave and stay calm. And hopefully Silas can do what he needs to before Stefan wakes up. Considering how arrogant he is, you'd have thought that he would have better game."

"Well, Tessa is rightfully paranoid, so he's going to have to work for it."

"It's even funnier cos amnesiac Stefan was definitely going to get into her panties if she wanted him to. The fact that Silas is having to work for it, while pretending to be amnesiac Stefan, is actually hilarious."

"See, there are positives to focus on here," my boyfriend shook his head at me, a smile tugging at his lips as he grasped my chin again, this time pulling me in for a kiss. I reached up to cup his face with one hand, while the other tangled in his hair. I hummed against his lips as he kept it slow, moving his hand to my neck, thumb resting on my jawbone, stroking it for a moment. He gently nipped my lip before his hand stroked down my arm, resting over the place where Silas' hand had lingered. My boyfriend stroked the skin there, removing the memory of Silas' touch from my skin, and I relaxed against him.

"Thank you," I breathed out, opening my eyes to give him a sweet smile. Even though Silas hadn't actually hurt me, I didn't like the thought of him touching me. And focusing on the touch of my boyfriend instead of the memory of the insane immortal's was enough to make me feel a lot better.

"Any time, baby," Damon pressed another kiss to my lips before resting his forehead against mine.

XXX

Things were quiet after that.

Music from the ball played in the background, covering the murmuring of voices from the other room. It was peaceful, sitting here with my boyfriend. He kept his arms wrapped around me, head resting against mine, as he kept an eye on his brother. I just kept my eyes closed, content to take five minutes where I didn't need to worry about someone. Because I knew that Damon would do the worrying for me. He would keep an eye on Stefan, he would keep an ear out for Elena. And I could take a few minutes to reset and relax.

It was… it was a nice feeling. Ever since my twin started college, it felt like it had been non-stop. Actually no, it felt like it had been non-stop since Miami. If it wasn't my bitchy self searching for a way to bring Ellie back to life, we were searching for Bonnie and Stefan, or I was helping my sister investigate the mystery of Whitmore and Megan. And that doesn't include the Silas bullshit that was scattered amongst it all.

It felt nice, just sitting here, relaxing against my boyfriend, and not thinking about everything that needed to be done. And damn, I was going to enjoy it for as long as it lasted. Because I knew that this wouldn't last for long. Something was going to happen to ruin it all and the god knows when my next moment of peace would be. They were far too rare for my liking.

As was proven when Stefan let out a low groan. I pulled back, exchanging a glance with Damon before sighing. We hadn't heard from Silas yet, which meant that he hadn't gotten the required knowledge from Tessa's head. And that fucking sucked because it meant that we had to hurt Stefan again. Even though I really didn't want to. But I owed it to Bonnie to bring her back and this was the best way to do it. Well, it was the only way that I knew how to do it. Because bringing people back to life was not a skill that most witches knew.

"Silas is such a fucking failure," I grumbled as I carefully stood up, Damon easing me up with a strong grip on my hips, making sure that I didn't get caught on the bottom of my dress. "Why couldn't he have put his skills where his mouth is and just get what we needed already?"

"Because life is not that easy," my boyfriend sighed, moving to crouch in front of his brother. We watched as Stefan slowly blinked his eyes open, a confused frown on his face as he glanced around. But when he looked at us, a look of understanding flashed across his face before he slowly pushed himself up. Damon reached out to help him, easing him higher onto the chair. "Hey, Stef, how you doing?"

"Well, that was not fun," the younger Salvatore groaned, one hand to reaching up to rub his neck. "I can see why you were so reluctant to ask me to do this."

"Yeah, getting your neck snapped is not fun," I sighed, shuffling forward to sit on the arm of his chair. From the frequency that it happened, you would assume that snapping someone's neck wasn't a big deal. But hardly anyone talked about the pain that followed. The soreness in the muscles, the way that they remained tense for a long time after. "Um, so Silas hasn't told us if he has got the information that he needs from Tessa. And cos of that, we're assuming that he, uh, hasn't."

"Which means that you need to break my neck again," Stefan nodded once before wincing, hand rubbing at his neck again. I winced in sympathy before reaching out. I gently removed his hand before rubbing the sore muscles.

"You can say no," Damon offered, resting a hand on his brother's knee. "If Silas has failed, then we can try again. Who knows, maybe you can charm what we need out of her."

"Stef would have a much better chance that Silas would," I couldn't stop myself from snorting before closing my eyes. I really had to do something about my habit of automatically insulting Silas. I had seen how much trouble it had gotten me into with Klaus, I couldn't repeat that pattern. Especially since Silas could actually read my mind. Well, he could and knowing my luck, he would find a way to do so again.

"No, it's okay," the younger Salvatore grabbed my hands, giving me a sweet smile. "I knew what I was getting myself into. I want to keep helping."

"Aw, Stef," I bit my lip to hide a coo before just grabbing him and pulling him in for a hug. "You are the cutest person on the planet. And I love you so much for doing this."

"Thanks, Alexa," Stefan smiled at me before nodding at his brother. "Let's do this."

Damon sighed before standing up. He took a deep breath before quickly doing the deed. I hid my wince in Stefan's hair as his body slumped against me. I whispered an apology before shifting him so that his head rested on my lap. Running my fingers through his hair, I glanced up at my boyfriend as he placed a hand on my shoulder. That regretful look that I hated so much was back in his eyes as he looked down at his brother.

"When we kill Silas," I murmured, holding Stefan close. "We are going to find the most painful way to do so and then we will make it extra painful."

"Bold of you to assume that he will let us be the ones to kill him," my boyfriend's lips quirked up into a smirk.

"Bold of you to assume that I'll give him a choice," I glanced up at him, continuing to run my fingers through the other vampire's hair. Damon laughed at that, shaking his head before pulling out his phone.

"You know what, Ally, I'll hold him down for you and let you have your fun."

"Love you too, Day."

XXX

After Damon had told Silas to hurry his dumb ass up, he held out his hand to me. I glanced up from where I had been looking down at Stefan's sleeping face. I raised an eyebrow and my boyfriend gave me a very charming smile, "I've been remiss in my boyfriend duties. I have the most gorgeous girl in front of me and I haven't asked her for a dance all night."

"Charmer," I rolled my eyes, trying and failing to hide the smile forming on my face. I carefully rested Stefan's body against the chair, making sure that his neck was in as comfortable a position as possible, before turning to face Damon. He still had his hand out and this time, I didn't even try to hide my smile as I accepted it.

The smile on his face turned sweet as he tugged me into the middle of the room, before twirling me into his arms. And I hated myself for the giggle that I let out before wrapping my arms around his neck. My boyfriend's hands settled on my hips as we swayed to the music that was playing outside. Despite the unconscious vampire by the empty fireplace, it was actually nice, dancing like this with Damon. I was able to hold my body as close to him as I wanted, without worrying about societal decency.

"You are adorable when there is no one else around," I laughed softly, fingers stroking the back of his neck. His grip on my hips tightened slightly before moving to wrap around them instead. He pulled me closer to his body, his gaze staying fixed on mine, not even dipping down to get a good view of my boobs.

"It's only for you, Ally," he murmured, lips brushing against my forehead. And I couldn't stop the blush that formed. I loved it when he got all sweet. It didn't happen often, especially with his words, but when it did? Damn, it just warmed my heart. Especially since he only showed this side to me. It was an honour that I would never take for granted. Damon Salvatore was an adorable cutie with a heart of gold and a secret sweet side. And damn it all, he was mine. Only mine.

"Is it bad that I like that you only show that side to me?" I sighed quietly, looking up at him through my lashes. "Because it feels like a very selfish thing to think."

"It's not bad at all, baby," he shook his head. "It just shows that what we have is special."

"So special that you nearly got me to turn my humanity on before I was ready, without even trying to. I… I still think about our time away from home. Especially those weeks down in Miami. And I hate myself for this, but sometimes, I wish we could go back there. I know that I had my humanity off and that I was not a pleasant person, but I had never felt so peaceful."

"You weren't that bad down in Miami," my boyfriend hummed as I rested my head against his shoulder. "The only people that you killed were some punk werewolves who tried to kill us first."

"Still, after everything that I did, I feel like I'm just insulting everyone by longing for those days. Even if I wasn't at my worst during that time."

"They don't have to know, Alexa. Just like they don't know what really happened during our adventures out of town. And you shouldn't feel obligated to tell them."

"You're so sweet for that," I pressed a kiss to his jaw. "And I love you so much. One day, I'll be able to properly put into words just how much you mean to me."

"I already know, baby. You aren't exactly subtle with your emotions."

"I can't help that I want people to know that you are mine, Damon," I snorted, moving back to cup his face. "My humanityless self and I agree on that. You are all mine and I will never let you go. And I'll rip apart anyone who tries to take you from me."

"You're adorable when you get like this," Damon carefully shook his head, making sure not to dislodge my hands. "But you don't need to worry. No one will ever take me away from you."

"Thank you, it's… I know that you won't ever leave me, but it's nice to hear it sometimes. With the insanity of our lives, it's just reassuring to know that you won't let the latest Big Bad take you away from me. Especially since you piss them off just as much as I do."

"That isn't possible, Alexa," my boyfriend rolled his eyes at me, a teasing look in those silverly depths. "You have a much bigger mouth than I do."

"Rude," I muttered before pouting. "I just get so annoyed when they hurt my loved ones and insult me. So why should I let them have an easy time of it?"

"Because that's how you get hurt. And then I feel the need to do reckless things to avenge you."

"People have picked up on your overprotective habits," I laughed, shaking my head as my boyfriend pressed a kiss to my palm. "Do you have any idea just how much Elena and Caroline tease me over it? If it wasn't so adorable and if it didn't make me feel all tingly, then I definitely would have put a stop to it."

"Hm, no you wouldn't have," Damon smirked, twirling me out before pulling me back into his arms. His hand came up to cup my cheek as he kissed me deeply. I clung onto his shoulders, twisting my fingers in his white shirt. His other hand pressed against the small of my back, holding me close to him.

When he pulled back, kissing my cheek, I breathed out, "Cheater."

"You love it."

And fuck me, I couldn't even begin to deny it.

XXX

I was still in Damon's arms when Stefan woke up. We weren't even dancing by this point, but I didn't care. It was nice, just being held by my boyfriend like that. His arms were wrapped around me, holding me close to his body, while I had mine wrapped around his waist. One hand stroked the bare skin of my neck, keeping my head tucked under his chin, while the other pressed against my lower back.

I had slipped off my pumps by this point. I knew that I wouldn't be returning to the party, not now. I would either be taking the younger Salvatore back home or I would be speaking to Silas to find out if the plan was successful. It depended on which on my boyfriend felt more comfortable with. If I was being honest, I fully expected Damon to send me to wait in the car with Stefan, instead of letting me anywhere near the insane immortal. But I didn't mind too much. Time away from Silas was something that I would never complain about.

I opened my eyes when I heard Stefan's low groan, shifting my head slightly so that I could look at him. The younger Salvatore had the most adorable frown on his face as he reached up to rub his neck. Damon sighed into my hair, giving me a final squeeze, before letting me go so that he could approach his brother. As he crouched down, resting a hand on his knee, I settled down on the arm of the chair.

The other vampire looked between us and the pain in those green depths had my heart clenching. I reached out, gently running my fingers through his hair before encouraging him to lean against me. Stefan didn't need any more encouragement as he curled forward, resting his head on my lap. I exchanged a helpless glance with Damon as Stefan muttered, "Please don't do it again."

"I don't suppose you've heard from Silas," I sighed, as I gently rubbed at Stefan's neck, doing my best to ease his discomfort. I knew how sore those muscles could get after having your neck snapped and I had only suffered it twice. Possibly three, I never did work out what Vaughn did to me. Poor Stef had had his neck snapped twice in a row, without the opportunity to recover.

"No," my boyfriend shook his head, looking less than impressed with the bothersome immortal. "He's gone radio silent."

I closed my eyes for a moment before cursing the dick under my breath. The one time he had actually had to be useful and he failed, like the failure that he was. When Stefan repeated his plea, curling his fingers into the fabric of my dress, I sighed, "You know what, fuck Silas. He's had more than enough time to get the information that he needed. He doesn't get to hurt Stefan anymore."

"I'll let you tell him that, Ally," Damon's lips quirked up into a small smile before he focused on his brother. "Stefan, do you need to feed? Caroline has some blood bags up in her dorm room, we can get them for you."

"It'll help with the pain," I added, keeping my voice soft, when the other vampire hesitated. After thinking for a moment longer, Stefan nodded.

My boyfriend gave his brother's knee a squeeze before standing up. He glanced between us, "You two stay here, I'll be right back. If Silas makes a reappearance, message me. He won't have his annoying little mind control powers now."

"We'll be fine," I shook my head at his worry, but I knew that the whole situation had made him uncomfortable. We were supposed to be looking after amnesiac Stefan, not snapping his neck. It just wasn't fair. And I would be telling Silas just how much I didn't appreciate it the next time that I saw him.

Damon didn't look convinced but he disappeared from the room to get the blood bags. I stared at the doorway for a moment longer before looking back down at Stefan. He had closed his eyes, content to relax against me. The trust that he showed in me to look after him while he was so vulnerable had my breath catching in my throat. And I swore that I wouldn't let anything hurt amnesiac Stefan again. I would do everything that I could to protect him.

We sat in silence while we waited for Damon to return. I continued rubbing the tense muscles in Stefan's neck while he relaxed against me. It wasn't until the door opened again that I glanced up. But it wasn't my boyfriend who entered. It wasn't even Silas. No, it was Harry fucking Nolan.

He glanced between me and the dozing vampire on my lap before raising an eyebrow, piercing me with those fucking unnerving eyes, "Alexa?"

"He's got a headache," I quickly answered, keeping my voice soft as I curled my fingers around Stefan's shoulder, holding him closer to me. "His brother's gone to bring the car closer so that we can take him home."

"Have you been in here all evening?" the Nolan uncle asked and my fingers shook as I ran them through Stefan's hair. I tried to keep him asleep, so that he wouldn't draw Harry's attention. That was the last thing that the poor guy needed. Especially with the older man pushing for an answer to a question that I really didn't want to answer.

"A good chunk of it," I answered evasively, giving my best charming smile. But from the way that Harry's eyebrow twitched, he didn't believe me.

"It's just that Justin saw your friend earlier, speaking to a woman dressed as Cleopatra, but then he saw him in here with you and your boyfriend not long after."

"Stefan's a busy little social bee," I knew that my smile had turned strained, but there was nothing that I could do. Apparently these Nolan's were a bit more observant than I had hoped. Well, if I was being honest, I had hoped that they had fucked off out of town by now. But instead, they had relocated to fucking Whitmore college. God, this was not good news. "He likes to dance with all the ladies and nap in-between."

Yeah, Harry Nolan definitely didn't believe me.

Fuck.

XXX

I had just finishing explaining to Damon our encounter with the vampire hunter when Tyler walked into the room. He glanced at my boyfriend's less than impressed expression, Stefan sucking on a blood bag, before looking at me, "Alexa, I fucked up. I need to speak to you."

"Oh Ty," I sighed, shaking my head. "Okay, come on, let's talk." I stood up and took a step forward before Damon grabbed my arm. He glanced between me and the hybrid before shaking his head.

"Don't go too far, we don't know if the hunter is still nearby."

"I'll be fine," I couldn't help but smile at his overprotective worrying, cupping his face before giving him a quick kiss. "He still thinks that I'm human, at most, he'll suspect that I'm being compelled. But don't worry, I'll stay within screaming distance."

Damon nodded, giving me another kiss, before releasing my arm. As he turned his attention back to Stefan, I walked over to Tyler. I didn't bother putting my pumps back on and instead grabbed the skirt of my dress, lifting it slightly so that I didn't trip over it. My adopted dumbass brother led the way, directing us to a nearby corridor, one that was empty of people.

"Okay, Tyler, what happened?" I asked, wrapping my arm around one of his. "You don't normally seek me out to tell me that you fucked up. Normally I have to find you first."

"I was talking to Caroline," he shook his head, sounding frustrated. "And I… I told her that the only reason why we're still together is because Klaus granted me permission to return home to her. That I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for his 'generosity'. He killed my mom, Alexa, and he's just going to get away with it."

"Oh," I breathed out, closing my eyes. I knew that it had bothered Tyler, the way that he was allowed to return home because the Original Hybrid had granted it. It was probably the reason why he had been hiding out in the Appalachian Mountains. Because he didn't want to confront that fact. But now he had to. And it had come out in the worst possible way. "Okay, here's what we are going to do." I turned around, gently cupping his face. "You are going to go to Caroline and tell her everything that is going on in that head of yours."

"What do you mean?" Ty frowned, gently grasping my elbows.

"Ty, I remember your drunken phone calls, even if you don't. So you are going to tell her everything that you told me."

"Are you going to make me say it now?" my adopted bro asked softly, looking at me with those big brown eyes. Dammnit, why did all of my siblings have those same damn eyes that made me want to break everything to make them feel better.

"Are you going to be able to say it to Care if you don't say it now?" I raised an eyebrow, tapping his nose. When he shook his head, I sighed, "I don't want you to have to relive that misery more than once, Ty. But you need to be honest with Caroline. For both your sakes."

Tyler nodded before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, "When Klaus killed my mom, it was my fault. He only hurt her because he couldn't hurt me. Because he found her first. He killed my pack because Hayley betrayed us. I lost almost everyone that night and I was barely holding it together. And then…"

"Then he forced you to leave town and leave your support network," I continued for him, my voice so painfully quiet as I wiped away a tear that fell. Ty opened his eyes to look at me as another one fell.

"I don't know what to do, Alex," he whispered before pulling me into a hug, burying his face against my shoulder. I could feel his tears against my skin and sighed, curling my fingers into his hair and holding him close. "I was supposed to learn how to deal with all of my grief and my guilt all by myself. But I couldn't. I've been running away from it ever since and I don't know how to stop."

"Just tell her that, Ty. Caroline isn't some heartless monster; she'll understand if you tell her the truth. If you tell her how you really feel. You don't have to protect her from it. She loves you, let her help you."

"I guess I just don't want her to see me as weak."

"If anyone is allowed to see you as weak, then it's your girlfriend, dumb-dumb," I kept my teasing gentle. "Even if you aren't ready to come to college yet, at least go home. Then you two can visit each other at weekends and spend the holidays together. You still have a family here, don't forget that."

Tyler nodded before pulling back, wiping away his tears. I generously ignored them, gently flicking his forehead. He rolled his eyes at me, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze, "Thank you, Alex. I, uh, I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here for me to talk to."

"Something stupid, most likely," I pressed a kiss to his cheek. "But you don't need to worry about that, I'll always be around for you to talk to. Even over the phone. You'll never get rid of me, Ty, even if you try to."

"Damn, I guess I'll have to keep trying," he shook his head, looking a lot more confident than he did before. "I'm going to go speak to Caroline. Um, if I have trouble, do you think I can call you and get you to say it for me?"

"You really are emotionally constipated," I snorted, rolling my eyes. "But yes, if you have trouble getting the words out, then just give me a call."

"Thanks, Alex," Tyler pulled me in for one last hug before giving a determined nod. I watched him leave before shaking my head. I loved that boy but damn, he was a hot mess at times. Once he left my sight, I turned to make my way back to my Salvatore brothers. But as I passed one of the empty rooms, I paused and sighed.

"Well, fuck."

XXX

I pulled my phone out the pocket that Caroline had arranged to be sewn on, before calling my boyfriend, "Yeah, you're gonna wanna see this."

"Where are you?" Damon frowned, ushering Stefan forward. I could hear the younger Salvatore asking what was happening in the background.

"Just a few rooms away," I sighed, staring down at the desiccated body at my feet. When my boyfriend muttered that he wouldn't be long, I hung up the call and tucked my phone away again. Shaking my head, I crouched down and gingerly picked up Silas' hand. While I would much rather have gone through life not touching him, I had to get Stefan's ring back. Once I had pulled it off, I dropped it down, uncaring of the sound it made when it hit the floor. Clenching the daylight ring in my fist, I took a few steps back, crossing my arms. "I knew you were a failure."

The moment that Damon arrived, he was resting a hand on my back. He looked down at the body with an unimpressed look as Stefan stood on my other side.

"Is that Silas?" the younger Salvatore muttered, looking down at his doppelganger with a frown.

"Yep," I nodded before unclenching my fist and holding up my hand. Stefan glanced down at his ring before giving me a grateful smile and picking it up. I made sure that he had put it on before looking up at my boyfriend. "He's even more of a failure than I thought he was."

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting this," Damon rolled his eyes, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Was anyone else here?"

"Nope, Tessa, because it has to have been Tessa, was long since gone," I replied, before snickering. "I have to admit, it is impressed that he got fucked up twice, in the same way, by the same woman."

"So, we have to wake him up now, right?" Stefan asked, shifting so that he didn't need to look down at the body below us. I knew that it must have been unnerving, seeing your own face, desiccated like that. So I couldn't blame him for not wanting to look at it.

"Unfortunately," I grimaced. "Because we need the asshole to die to bring back Bonnie. But I don't actually want to help him. Ugh, such a conundrum."

"Assuming that he found out what he needed before Tessa had her way with him, we might be able to kill two birds with one stone," my boyfriend muttered, looking down at the body with a considering expression. But before I could get him to elaborate, we were joined by my sister.

"I've been looking for you," Ellie said before freezing when she saw what we were staring at and gasping, "Oh my god. Is that Silas?"

"Yep, the one and only douchebag asshole," I rolled my eyes before looking past my boyfriend to glance my twin up and down. "Is everything okay?"

"It can wait," she muttered before shaking her head. "What the hell is going on? Why is Silas here?"

"We had a plan and then Silas proved just how much of a loser he was," I shrugged, still looking at her. There was a reason why Elena was looking for us. And I got the feeling that it wasn't going to be good. Damn, that's another issue to add to the list. "Are you sure that you're okay? If something else is happening, then you need to tell us."

"It can wait till we get home, Lexa," my sister gave me a tired smile, shaking her head and gesturing down the immortal. "Since he's like this, I'm guessing that Silas isn't a problem anymore. Which is a good thing, right?"

"Actually, no, it's a very, very bad thing," Damon sighed, nudging the body with his foot.

When Elena frowned and went to ask for more information, I held up my hand, "I'll explain it all on the way home. But for now, let's just get out of these dresses and leave this damn place." After Ellie nodded, I glanced up at my boyfriend, "Do you need any help carrying the body to the car?"

"We got this," he replied, giving me a squeeze before I stepped away and over to my sister.

"Awesome," I sighed before looking at my twin. "Let's hope that Caroline and Tyler haven't taken over your dorm room, otherwise I will have to wear this fucking corset home. And that will not be fun."

"You're being dramatic again, Alexa," my sister shook her head at me as she followed me from the room. "It isn't that bad."

"It really is," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. "I'm convinced that she tightened it more than she normally would, cos I'm a vampire and she can get away with it."

"Well, why don't you confront her over it?" Ellie laughed and I snorted.

"I'm not that brave," I went to say more but my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from our blonde friend, 'thank you'. Huh, guess Tyler actually managed to tell her what he was feeling. Thank god. At least that was one issue that I could cross off the list. Wait a minute. Oh no. If they had cleared the air, then that meant that the dorm room was not a safe place to go. "Ah fuck. I'm going to have to wear this damn thing home now."

"Are Caroline and Tyler…" my sister's voice trailed off as she couldn't put into words what our friends were up to.

"Unfortunately," I sighed, wrapping my arm around Ellie's shoulders and changing our direction. Luckily, we hadn't wandered too far away from the main hall where the ball was being held. "I don't suppose there's a way for you to loosen these corset strings without me taking the dress off?"

"Sorry, Lexa, I don't think so," Elena laughed, shaking her head as we walked in the direction of the car park and Damon's Camaro.

"Yeah, I figured."

XXX

After my boyfriend helped me out of my dress and we somehow didn't get distracted, Elena told us why she was searching for us. I sat down on the couch next to her while Silas' body took up the other couch in the parlour. Damon poured us drinks while Stefan sat on the coffee table, his back to his doppelganger.

"So Professor Blondie knows about Alexa and Caroline being vampires?" Damon scoffed, passing out drinks before moving around to sit on the arm next to me. I leant back against his leg as I snorted.

"Of course he does," I muttered into my bourbon. "Because why wouldn't he?"

"I don't know if he knows about Caroline, but he definitely suspects you, Alexa, and I get the feeling that he suspects something about me too," my sister sighed, resting her drink on her knee. "He said that if I don't drop out of school and stop Alexa from visiting, then the wrong people are gonna start asking the right questions."

"Ugh, that's not good," my boyfriend gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "What are you gonna do?"

"She's gonna drop out and we're going to forget that that fucking place exists," I gave my twin my best pitiful look, only to be ignored. I knew that I wasn't going to get my way, but it was worth a go. Maybe once Bonnie was back in the land of the living, I could persuade my sister to abandon Whitmore for Richmond college. It would make life a lot easier for me if she wasn't there.

"I don't know," Ellie shook her head. "But all I do know is that finding out the truth about Megan isn't gonna bring Bonnie back."

"Yeah, well, neither is a desiccated Silas in our living room," Damon gave the body a dirty look.

"Hm, but he looks so good like that," I pouted, swapping my empty glass for Ellie's full one.

My boyfriend tapped me on the head as my twin also looked at the body, slowly saying, "So, the only way for Silas to trade his life for Bonnie's is if he's a witch, but the only way to become a witch is to have the cure."

"Which means that we need to have Katherine, my other least favourite person," I tapped my nails against my glass. "Bonnie's lucky that she's worth it."

Luckily, before I could say something else that would get me scolded, there was a knock at the door. I glanced at it before frowning. That frown only deepened at the gleeful look on Damon's face. He stood up, placing his drink to the side, "Now, who could that be?"

"There is no fucking way that it is who I think it," I gasped, sitting up and staring at the doorway. Damon gave me a wink before opening the door. And guess who sauntered in. Katherine fucking Pierce.

"What's so urgent? I'm on the run," she sneered, looking as bitchy as usual. "Don't exactly have time for a pit stop." She paused mid-step as she saw Silas' body stretched out on the couch. "Or maybe I do." I slowly stood up as the former vampire approached the body, ushering Stefan and Elena away from her. I knew that she wasn't a threat, but I wasn't going to take any chances with my precious two. "Maybe I have all the time in the world. Katherine Pierce eludes death yet again," she let out a laugh as Damon placed a couple of empty blood donation bags on the corner table. "And you lot finally did something right for once. How does it feel?"

"Thrilling," my boyfriend gave her a hard look and the bitch hesitated, sensing his intentions.

"Damon, you can't be serious," she actually looked scared as she stumbled back a couple of steps, her ankles shaking in her heels. "He needs all of my blood. He'll kill me."

"And he needs the cure to become a witch," Damon shrugged as I stepped forward. I could feel his gaze on me as I approach my former tormenter.

"Oh this is just perfect," I laughed and I knew that it was an ugly sound from the way Katherine winced. She said my name, sounding so desperate as she begged for her life. I followed her as she back away, content to let her panic. "Does this remind you of a little scenario from a few months back?" I sped forward to cup her face, my grip tight. The woman reached up to grab my wrists, squeezing with all her human strength, but it didn't bother me. "You remember the one, right? When you ripped into my sister's neck and held her down against Silas? Where you let him bleed her dry before snapping her neck?"

"Alexa, please," Katherine whimpered and I went silent. I stared at her as she looked at me with so much fear. Katherine Pierce, trembling in her heels before me. "I don't want to die."

"Elena didn't want to die either," I stroked her cheek with my thumb. "But you didn't care. You just killed her. And now I have the opportunity to kill you the same way." I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment. "But you know what? I'm better than you. Because for some reason, I am going to show you mercy." I glanced over my shoulder at Damon. "Baby, pass me one of those blood bags. Katherine is going to make a donation to the greater good and do something decent for once in her life."

"You aren't going to kill me?" the former vampire whispered as I forced her down into a chair. I stepped back to let Damon get up the blood bag.

"For some reason, no, I'm not," I sighed, shaking my head as my sister wrapped her arms around me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Stefan giving me a soft smile. "Silas can get his blood via a bag and he will get as much as I am willing to give him."

God, I just hoped that I didn't regret showing Katherine Pierce mercy.

XXX

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, my lovelies! They make me so happy and help with keeping my inspiration going! So please keep them coming :) I enjoyed this chapter, I hope you all did too! It gave Alexa the opportunity to confront some of her demons and I just love writing her interactions with Silas! Next chapter will be up in a couple of weeks, or when I finish the next one in my backlog, whichever comes first lol Until next time, I hope you enjoyed xoxo