The drive to the Lockwood mansion from the Gilbert house was very short for Emily. It only took her about ten minutes before she spotted the brightly lit estate that was filled with people, loud music, and entertainment. Emily guessed that the reason for the short drive was because every resident of Mystic Falls was all here instead of on the roads.

It took the Gilbert girl an extra three minutes of driving around before she finally found a parking spot in the sea of vehicles that surrounded the large estate. Once Emily pulled the keys out of the ignition, she closed her green eyes as she tried to calm her mind. She knew this event was going to be very different from all the other ones. A lot of things could happen tonight; good and bad. Emily just hoped that no one will get hurt in the process.

"I can do this," Emily whispered to herself before she grabbed her black clutch bag from the passenger seat and exited her car. She leaned against the black door once she closed and locked it as she took a deep breath before she finally nodded her head as she was ready. She then began to make her way up to the Lockwood mansion with confidence as she believed everything would go as planned.

The darling child of Mystic Falls gave each passing resident a polite smile and a small hello as she moved through the large crowd. She was surprised and relieved how successful the Masquerade Ball was already doing. However, Emily still wanted to find Mrs. Lockwood right away. She wanted to let the mayor know that she was here and willing to help with whatever needed her attention. Emily knew how important this event was to the Lockwood family, so she didn't want the older woman to have to worry too much. Plus, it also helped Emily forget about the hidden agenda that was going to take place tonight.

"Well, if it isn't Ms. Emmie Gilbert," a loud but familiar voice instantly called out from the right side of the aforementioned girl as soon as she entered the Lockwood mansion.

Emily swallowed thickly as the voice was so similar to the one of the deceased werewolf. Just the thought of Mason made the Gilbert girl's chest tighten as his death was still very fresh in her mind. However, Emily knew she couldn't let it show she was mourning for someone that everyone thought was alive. So, the brunette girl took another deep breath, in less than fifteen minutes, before she placed a smile on her face and turned towards her right, where she saw the owner of the voice, Tyler Lockwood, and her blonde friend, Matt Donovan.

"Actually, her name is Ms. Perfect," Matt corrected once Emily was standing in front of him and Tyler with the name he called her by when he was at the Gilbert house earlier.

"Oh, really?" Tyler questioned teasingly as he crossed his suit covered arms over his thin red tie while he stared at the brunette girl in amusement.

Emily rolled her eyes at the two boys that she calls her best friends before she countered, "actually, it's kiss-my-ass-Matthew." The brunette girl's expression then turned into a grin when she looked down at Tyler's and Matt's similar suits and ties. "Well, don't my boys look quite snazzy," Emily complimented.

Tyler shook his head with a chuckle before he brought the Gilbert girl into a tight hug and commented, "you don't look too bad yourself, Emmie."

"Thanks, Ty," Emily praised with a small giggle as she hugged her brunette friend before she mentioned once their embrace was broken, "it feels like I haven't seen you in forever." Emily couldn't even remember the last time she and Tyler just hanged out. There always tends to be something that comes up and needs her attention in the supernatural filled town before she could relax and have a normal and boring day.

Tyler nodded his head as he agreed, "yeah, it seems like that."

"So, where's your date, Ms. Perfect?" Matt drunkenly questioned Emily as soon as the last word fell out of Tyler's mouth in an obnoxiously loud voice while a large smirk lifted on his red flushed face.

Emily rolled her eyes and stated, "I don't need a date." However, in reality, that was the last thing on the brunette's mind with everything that has been going on lately. "Besides, I have my two favorite boys," Emily told both Matt and Tyler with a cheeky grin.

"I'm surprised Mason isn't your date," the Donovan teenager commented easily before he explained with a shrug, "you guys are always inseparable when he's here."

Emily's whole body instantly went rigid as soon as Matt mentioned Mason's name. She felt like everything in the room just stopped moving. This is what Emily has been dreading, that someone would ask her or say something about Mason or his absence. However, before Emily could come up with a quick lie, the deceased werewolf's nephew answered for her.

"He's not even here," Tyler responded to the blonde's question. He rolled his brown eyes as he added with obvious annoyance ringing throughout his voice, "Mason skipped town again." Tyler huffed out an irritated sigh before he mumbled, "no surprise there."

Emily bit down on her bottom lip as she listened to the distaste in Tyler's voice for Mason. She wanted so badly to tell her best friend the truth about his uncle, but she knew she couldn't. No one was supposed to know what really happened to Mason.

However, while on the edge of what she should do and what she wants to do, Emily thought back to what Mason told her before she left the Salvatore boarding house on that dreadful night. She had promised the older man that she would protect Tyler from this life. So, if that meant Emily had to lie to her best friend, no matter how bad she hated to do it, then she would. If it kept Tyler safe from the supernatural world, then she would lie as many times as she could to protect him and fulfill Mason's last dying wish.

"You know Mason," Emily began as she waved her hand carelessly, "he's always traveling the world and staying close to the ocean." She chuckled lightly before she added to convince her best friend, "before you know it, we'll be seeing him in a couple of years. Just like we always do."

Tyler silently nodded his head before he agreed, "yeah, you're right." He should have known Mason would just up and leave again. Tyler remembered that his father use to always complain about his brother never staying in one place. "So, did you do all this?" The Lockwood teenager questioned Emily after a short moment of silence while he looked around his decorative home.

Emily couldn't help but let a small sigh of relief escape her mouth. She had at least one person, or two if she was counting the tipsy Matthew Donovan, to accept that Mason wouldn't be in Mystic Falls for a while. Emily was glad that she didn't have to worry about having this conversation with her best friend anymore as Tyler was the person she was most worried about having to deceive.

Emily rolled her green eyes playfully at the Lockwood teenager as she could finally relax again before she slapped Tyler's shoulder and stated, "you know this was all your mom's doing."

"Ooh," the blonde teenager cooed before Matt questioned Emily teasingly, "is Ms. Perfect being modest?"

"Stop bothering my favorite girl," a loud and commanding voice exclaimed as soon as the words flew out of the tipsy blonde's mouth, along with the sound of a pair of heels clanking against the marble floors of the large estate.

"Mrs. Lockwood," Emily greeted the woman once she was standing in front of her, Tyler, and Matt. She gave the mayor a polite smile and complimented, "you look beautiful."

The Lockwood woman pulled the young brunette girl into a tight hug as she praised, "you look gorgeous, my dear." She gave Emily a bright smile once she pulled away from their hug before she spread her arms out and questioned, "doesn't everything look so perfect?" Mrs. Lockwood shook her head and told the Gilbert girl, "I can't believe how well you handled this!"

"I told you," Tyler whispered to Emily as a small smirk reached his smug lips.

Emily discreetly bumped her hip harshly into Tyler's before she focused back onto the woman in front of her as she stated sweetly, "it was all thanks to you, Mrs. Lockwood."

The brunette woman chuckled lightly before she said, "I will not take all of the credit." She shook her head with a proud smile on her face as she complimented Emily, "you did wonderfully."

The Gilbert girl bowed her head slightly and praised with a grin, "well, thank you, Mrs. Lockwood," before she requested, "if there's a problem anytime tonight, please let me know and I'll fix it." Emily wanted to be busy as much as she could, like she had promised Stefan she would be. Plus, it kept her mind from going into overdrive with wondering what was going on with the supernatural beings around the Lockwood mansion.

Mrs. Lockwood gave the brunette girl a beaming smile before she declared, "everything is going far better than I could ever imagine." She raised her point finger in the air as she added, "but on the off chance something does happen, I will find you." Mrs. Lockwood then waved her right hand and told Emily, "now go have fun. You deserve it."

"Yes, ma'am," Emily promised with a small smile as she decided to listen to the mayor. However, the brunette girl only took about three steps because she heard Mrs. Lockwood's loud and commanding voice once more.

"Not so fast, boys," Mrs. Lockwood reprimanded her son and his blonde friend, who tried to follow after the Gilbert girl. "You still need to move the chairs up from the basement," she ordered before she swiftly twirled her body around and began to strut down the long marble hallway. "Let's go," Mrs. Lockwood hollered without turning when she couldn't hear the footsteps of Matt and Tyler.

"Have fun," Emily grinned at her two friends as she waved them a goodbye before she watched the two teenagers slowly follow after the mayor with slumped shoulders. Emily shook her head with a small chuckle when she couldn't see Matt and Tyler anymore before she made her way through the side glass door, where she saw many more people out on the bright green lawn.

The Gilbert girl had barely began to greet the many residents of Mystic Falls as she slowly moved through the party before she felt a light tap on her bare shoulder. Emily turned around at the touch and noticed it was Dr. Gregory Davis who was trying to get her attention. The brunette girl recognized the older man as the Chief of Surgery at Mystic Falls Hospital.

"Hello, Dr. Davis," the Gilbert girl uttered with a polite smile once the blonde woman she had been speaking with walked away.

"Good evening, Ms. Gilbert," the doctor greeted the young girl with a nod of his head. He then glanced around the party before he informed the brunette, "I was told you're in charge of this event."

Emily chuckled lightly as she waved her hand before she told the doctor, "it has mostly been Mrs. Lockwood." Emily couldn't believe she was already having this conversation again. Why did everyone think she did all this?

"Really?" Dr. Davis wondered as his gray eyebrows rose before he explained, "well, she was the one that told me of the excellent work you did for this event. In fact, she raved about all the work you have done for our community."

Emily couldn't help the light blush that instantly rose to her cheeks. She should have known Mrs. Lockwood would have talked her up to people, especially the surgeon when almost everyone knows of Emily's dream of wanting to be a doctor.

Emily nodded her head silently before she told the older man, "she isn't wrong. I've worked very closely with her to help better our town." The brunette girl couldn't help but to be curious to where this conversation would go. The only time she had ever talked with Dr. Davis was when she used to go to the hospital with her father as a little girl, so he could perform surgeries.

"She also told me how you hope to be a cardiothoracic surgeon," Dr. Davis mentioned. "I have silently watched you grow your entire life thanks to Grayson always bragging," the doctor stated with a chuckle before he continued, "the work you have done for our community is far more than anyone could ever do at the young age of seventeen. The organization has noticed you as one of the few students in Mystic Falls that would change the world as we know it." The older man gave Emily a large grin as he told her, "you have a bright future and it would be my pleasure to welcome you to ALOS once you are graduated, Ms. Gilbert."

Emily's green eyes slightly widened in surprise. She was shocked that the Chief of Surgery wanted her to be involved with America's Leadership Of Surgeons. Emily had always dreamed to be involved with the organization that does so many things across the world. They help college students that want to be in the surgery field, and most importantly, they are involved with the best research labs and hospitals that wish to cure diseases and help better the world. Emily quickly shook the doctor's hand and praised excitedly, "it would be an honor, sir."

Dr. Davis gave the young girl another smile and stated, "we would be lucky to have you." He then placed his aged hand on her shoulder and told Emily honestly, "Miranda and Grayson would have been so proud of you."

Emily stood frozen in her spot as she watched the Chief of Surgery walk away from her without another word. "Holy crap," she mumbled to herself while she stared at nothing in particular. Emily couldn't believe the organization that only allowed twelve applicants a year wanted her once she graduated high school.

Even though two years was like light years away in Mystic Falls, Emily couldn't help but still feel happy and proud of herself. This has always been her one true dream. However, Emily knew her future and ALOS wasn't guaranteed for her since the man Darina warned her about was supposed to be coming for her. She still had to make it out alive first.

"Why do you look like you are about to explode from excitement?" A voice suddenly spoke from right beside Emily, which caused the brunette to jump as she didn't even hear anyone come up to her while she was completely lost in her thoughts.

Emily swiftly twirled to the right and noticed that the loud voice belonged to her friend and fellow cheerleader, Cheryl Blossom. Emily grinned as she told the teenager, "I just got accepted to join ALOS." Even with all the supernatural mess that surrounds Emily like Katherine, tomb vampires, her vampire mother, Niklaus, a sacrifice, Emily knew she still needed to enjoy the simplest and human things in life.

"No way!" Cheryl yelped. She immediately pulled the brunette girl into a hug as she exclaimed, "oh, my God! I'm so happy for you!"

Emily giggled lightly and praised, "thanks." She shook her head as she stated, "I feel like I'm dreaming." The Gilbert girl couldn't help but feel like a normal person at the moment. Before the town was ever introduced to the supernatural world, joining ALOS was all Emily had ever wished for. It now felt childish compared to the things she goes through on a daily basis with vampires, werewolves, and witches. But Emily was going to savor the happiness she was feeling for as long as she could until the next supernatural tragedy strikes.

Cheryl chuckled before she uttered with a bright smile, "nope. It's just your dream coming true." The two girls both giggled and hugged once more before they locked their arms together and began to slowly walk through the party.

"I heard what happened to your aunt," Cheryl announced after a couple of silent minutes had passed between them. She took a quick glance over at the brunette girl with her brows furrowed before she added, "I'm so sorry."

Emily nodded her head as she gave her friend a small smile and stated, "thank you. She's feeling much better since she got home."

"I'm glad," Cheryl commented as she squeezed Emily's arm. "Speaking of patients coming home from the hospital," Cheryl began as she gave the brunette girl a smirk, "I have a surprise for you."

Emily looked over at her friend with furrowed brows as she didn't understand what Cheryl was talking about. However, when the Gilbert girl noticed that Cheryl was staring at something, Emily followed the cheerleader's gaze and was surprised when she saw the other Blossom twin only a few feet away. "Jason!" She gasped, "Oh, my God!"

"Surprise!" Cheryl yelped before she quickly dragged the Gilbert girl with her as she rushed to her twin brother's side.

Emily pulled the tall boy into a tight hug as soon as she was in front of him. She couldn't remember the last time she had even seen the Blossom teenager outside of school. "You look so much better," Emily complimented. She had heard the gossip around town that Jason looked horrible when they had pulled him from the lake.

"I'm glad you finally find me attractive," Jason joked smugly.

Emily rolled her green eyes at the Blossom teenager before she questioned with a beaming smile, "so? How are you feeling? What are you even doing here?" She furrowed her brows as she added, "shouldn't you be at home resting?"

Jason chuckled lightly before he answered, "I feel much better. I don't need anymore medical attention." He then gently placed his point finger between the brunette's furrowed brows with a grin before he explained, "and to answer your other two questions, Cheryl told me how you were planning on stopping by, so I couldn't pass the chance in getting out of bed and seeing my second favorite girl."

Emily playfully pushed Jason's hand away from her face before she nodded her head and told the male Blossom twin, "I was going to stop by this morning, but I had so much going on." She waved her hand carelessly as she added, "you know how busy I can be."

Jason snickered as his eyes stayed connected with Emily's green ones before he spoke softly, "yeah, I do know."

"Hey, JJ," Cheryl uttered as she gained her brother's attention while a wide smirk began to shine on her bright red lips before she wondered, "did you know our amazing Emily over here is still single?"

"Cheryl," Emily told her friend in a warning tone. She knew what her fellow cheerleader was doing. When Emily was growing up with the Blossom twins, Cheryl would always try to set her up with Jason. At the time, Emily didn't mind. But once they got into the ninth grade and their families began to have problems with each other, it put a damper on the friendship between the Gilbert and Blossom twins. Which also caused Emily to not want to push what she and Jason could have had together.

"Oh, what? What was that?" Cheryl exclaimed as she looked around the party with furrowed brows before she turned back to her brother and friend. "I think I heard my name being called," she uttered with a cheeky grin. Cheryl then began to walk backwards with a smirk on her face as she told them, "maybe you guys should, I don't know, dance instead of standing around like weirdos," before she twirled her body around as she walked through the crowd of people and left Emily and Jason alone.

The Gilbert girl shook her head with a small chuckle as she watched in amusement as Cheryl quickly walked away. It was obvious what she was doing. It was a very known fact that Jason Blossom held a heavy crush for the Gilbert girl. However, Emily only ever saw him as a friend after everything went down between their families. Plus, Emily had moved on from that giggling girl that liked to go to parties and enjoy boys. Now she had a family, friends, and a town to protect.

"I think my sister is trying to set us up," Jason told Emily once he had faced the brunette girl instead of watching his sister disappear into the sea of people.

Emily tilted her head up so she could look at the tall teenager before she agreed with the nod of her head, "I think you're right." She rose an eyebrow and wondered, "so, are you up for some dancing?" Emily smirked as she challenged, "or are you too scared that you'll fall on your ass?" There was no point for Emily to just stand around, so why not dance? She did promise she would be busy during the whole Katherine plan.

"Oh, you are so on, Gilbert," Jason grinned as he grabbed the brunette's wrist and swiftly twirled her around until they were chest to chest with each other before they slowly began to dance to the soft classical music.

"I see you haven't lost your magical touch," Emily teased as her left hand rested on Jason's shoulder and her other hand was linked with her dancing partner's. Jason would always tell her as a joke when they were younger that he could move so well because he was gifted by the strong and magical, dancing God.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Jason told the Gilbert girl as he gripped Emily's right hand tightly in his own and twirled her underneath his arm before he dipped her lowly.

Emily couldn't help but giggle as she and her childhood friend continued to dance closely with laughter and memories being shared every couple of minutes. It was nice for Emily to just spend time with someone who was like her; human. She also enjoyed that she didn't have to worry and talk about the supernatural world when the person she was with had no clue about it.

However, while Jason was in the middle of reminding Emily of the time they kissed at one of the many decade dances their school always held, a familiar but tense voice interrupted the Blossom teenager's story.

"May I cut in?" The youngest Salvatore questioned as he shot the red headed human boy a fierce glare.

Emily looked over at her dancing partner, who was frowning in the vampire's direction, before she squeezed his shoulder to get his attention. Once Jason's disappointed eyes were on her, Emily gave him a soft smile and stated, "I'll see you later," before she placed her left hand into Stefan's awaiting cold one.

The Gilbert girl's fingertips had barely touched the vampire's before Stefan possessively pulled her close to his body and began to walk away from the human boy to find a quiet space. Once Stefan found the perfect spot that wasn't surrounded by people, he twirled Emily underneath his arm like Jason had done but more smoothly, before he pulled her into his chest and began to slowly dance to the soft music.

Emily chuckled lightly at the fast movement before she wrapped her arms tightly around Stefan's neck as she stared directly into his familiar and calming green eyes. "Hi," she whispered softly.

"Hi," the brunette vampire whispered right back as his mouth was only centimeters away from the human girl's.

The Gilbert girl and the Salvatore vampire then continued to dance in a comfortable silence without any words needed to be spoken. It felt like they were the only people in the world as Emily's warm body was pressed against Stefan's cold one. It was like they fitted together. They were opposites, but they completed each other perfectly.

Emily couldn't help but take back her previous thought as Stefan held her closely. It didn't matter how many times she could go back in time and change past events, she would always pick to be in danger with Stefan than to be safe in a human life with Jason or anyone else. It just felt like home when she's with Stefan.

Emily quickly shook her head mentally as her feelings for the youngest Salvatore kept taking over her brain. She couldn't think like that towards her sister's boyfriend. "So, did you need something that you had to pull me away from Jason?" Emily wondered as she immediately slammed the door on her rambling thoughts.

Stefan avoided Emily's curious green eyes for a moment before he looked back at her and told Emily truthfully, "I just didn't like how close he was to you." Stefan had decided after his talk with Bonnie, that he was going to finally tell the Gilbert girl about his true feelings. He just didn't know exactly how to confess them to Emily when he was nervous of her answer.

Emily rose her right eyebrow as she joked with a quiet chuckle, "what? Were you jealous?"

"Maybe," Stefan answered without a single hesitation as he kept his green eyes locked directly with Emily's sparkling irises.

The Gilbert girl couldn't help but freeze in her spot at the vampire's answer as she had only been joking around. She was shocked that he would just flat out say that. Emily didn't even know how to respond to her sister's boyfriend and the person she was feeling things for. "So, how's the plan going?" Emily questioned as she pushed her confused feelings aside.

"It's going," Stefan responded discreetly. He didn't want to talk about what was going on with his ex girlfriend, Katherine. At least not right now when they haven't even spotted her yet. He would rather just enjoy having Emily in his arms with no regrets about his feelings for her for the first time. "How are you doing?" Stefan wondered gently as he changed the topic.

Emily grinned as she remembered, "actually, amazing despite with everything going on. I got accepted to join ALOS," before she commented with furrowed brows, "I'm not sure if I told you about it. But it's an organization tha-"

"That helps future surgeons," Stefan continued for Emily as a soft smile made its way onto his face. "You mentioned it once," he answered the confused look that the human girl was sporting. He then squeezed her waist before he stated truthfully, "I'm so proud of you, Emmie."

Emily's cheeks turned bright red as she muttered quietly, "thanks." She chuckled lightly before she commented, "I can't believe they want me."

"I can," Stefan stated immediately. He shook his head softly and explained, "you are so smart that it's crazy. You could be a rocket scientist and still make it look like kindergarten work."

"Yeah, right," Emily mumbled and rolled her eyes dismissively as she tried to ignore the warm sensation on her cheeks.

The vampire chuckled softly at the human girl's bashfulness, but didn't say anything. Instead, they just continued to silently dance perfectly with each other before Stefan wondered after a moment, "so, how are you doing with the plan? I never got to ask how you were feeling."

Emily shrugged her shoulders lightly as they slowly moved to the soft music before she muttered, "I'm fine, I guess. I'm just a little nervous that someone will end up getting hurt by the end of the night." That was what was mostly on Emily's mind. She knew their plan was dangerous and it could end up badly for anyone. The not helping out part didn't really help either as she couldn't protect her friends and siblings.

Stefan stopped moving immediately when he heard the worry in Emily's voice before he placed his right hand lightly onto Emily's cheek and promised strongly, "I won't let anything happen to you."

Emily looked up and connected her green eyes with Stefan's as she felt like she was stuck in a trance. She silently nodded her head before she subconsciously moved even closer to the vampire. "I know," Emily whispered as their lips were only a breath away from each other.

"Well, don't you guys look cozy," an amused voice suddenly spoke up from behind the human girl and the Salvatore vampire, which instantly ruined the moment they were having.

Emily quickly took a step away from Stefan and turned around to face the voice, where she noticed her doppelganger's smirking sister. "Katherine," Emily greeted the older vampire with an emotionless voice. The Gilbert girl didn't want to be anywhere near Katherine when she was the reason Jenna spent the night in the hospital.

Katherine's amused smirk instantly turned into a real smile as she laid her brown eyes on the girl that looked just like her sister. "You look stunning, Emmie," Katherine complimented as she lightly touched the small brown hairs that were falling out of the Gilbert girl's bun.

A half second had barely passed between the time Katherine's finger touched the human girl before Emily was standing behind Stefan. The Salvatore vampire wasn't going to allow his ex girlfriend anywhere near Emily. He made a promise to keep her safe and he didn't plan on breaking it. Stefan then fully turned his body to the Gilbert girl as he hid her from Katherine's eyes before he cradled her face gently between his large hands and commanded, "go find Damon."

Emily glanced between the serious Stefan and the grinning Katherine before she finally nodded her head and swiftly jogged away from the vampires. Emily knew today was the day she definitely didn't want to be involved in any of Katherine's mind games or even her talks that had to do with Darina. It wouldn't be safe to be around Katherine when Emily's friends and siblings were planning on killing the older vampire.

Apparently, Emily's luck was running out since she couldn't find the oldest Salvatore anywhere as she looked through the sea of people for over ten minutes. She would settle for anyone at this point. Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, just somebody that she could tell them what was happening.

It seemed like the old childhood myth of vampires not liking the sun was true at the moment, because Emily couldn't find any of the supernatural beings. The Gilbert girl huffed out an irritated sigh before she decided she would check the inside of the Lockwood mansion for them. However, as soon as Emily turned the corner in a hurry to enter the estate, she instantly slammed into a body.

"Emily! What's wrong?" Two worried and familiar voices hollered at the human girl at the exact same time.

The Gilbert girl sighed in relief when she looked up and saw that she had ran into her twin sister and the Bennett witch. "Thank God," Emily mumbled before she quickly explained, "Katherine's here! She's with Stefan."

At the mention of her evil doppelganger, Elena swiftly pulled her sister into a bone crushing hug. She didn't even know Emily was here already. If she would have known, Elena wouldn't have been roaming around the party with Bonnie. The Gilbert vampire pulled away from her twin sister after a moment before she began to search Emily's body carefully and questioned hurriedly, "did she hurt you?" If Katherine had harmed her sister, Elena would forget about the plan. No one touches her twin sister and gets away with it.

Emily pushed her sister's hands away from her body as she assured the vampire, "no, no. I left as soon as she arrived."

The Gilbert vampire let a loud breath of relief flow out of her mouth before she looked over at Bonnie and ordered, "stay with Emily." She then looked back at her twin sister once the Bennett witch nodded her head in agreement and begged, "please be careful," and laid a quick kiss on the top of Emily's hair before she took off in a run into the Lockwood mansion to begin their plan.

Emily pushed the loose brown hairs behind her ears as she mumbled, "I was supposed to stay out of this mess." The Gilbert girl never realized just how hard it was to stay out of the supernatural world. However, it seems to just find her.

Bonnie gave the brunette girl a small sad smile before she held her right hand out and ordered, "come with me."

Emily rose an eyebrow at the Bennett witch as she wondered, "where would we go?" There wasn't exactly a place to hide when Emily was apparently running the event along with all the supernatural beings surrounding the mansion.

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders lightly before she stated simply, "let's get some ice cream."

"Right now?" Emily questioned in disbelief as her green eyes widened. They couldn't possibly just sit around and do nothing, right?

Bonnie rolled her eyes before she explained to the brunette girl, "come on, Em. I did my job in the plan and you aren't even allowed to be involved, so why not just get some ice cream and relax for once?"

Emily stared into her friend's caramel irises for a moment before she finally nodded her head. She then linked her fingers with Bonnie's before she pulled the Bennett witch towards the kitchen of the large Lockwood mansion. "We can hide out in here," Emily told Bonnie as they walked through the swinging white doors. "The chefs won't mind that the darling child makes sure everything is running perfectly back here," she joked before she and Bonnie each grabbed a small bowl of ice cream that was supposed to be consumed later on in the night.

The Gilbert girl and the Bennett witch then moved towards a small corner in the crowded kitchen once they had their desserts in hand before they relaxed and talked about random things they hadn't talked about since the supernatural world took over their human ones. They chatted about the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy, Emily's early acceptance into ALOS, their newest cheer routine, and everything and anything in between.

Emily figured that she could lower her high guard since she was connected at the hip with the Bennett witch. She had faith that she would be protected in Bonnie's hands. Emily just hoped the vampires and her brother would be successful in taking care of Katherine or Mystic Falls would never be safe like it used to be.


In the silent hallways of the downstairs west wing of the Lockwood mansion that was off limits for the Masquerade Ball was the blonde vampire, Caroline Forbes, as she read a text message from the youngest Gilbert sibling that said, 'YOUR TURN.'

The blonde vampire bit down on her bottom lip nervously before she slipped her cell phone into her red clutch bag. She closed her blue eyes as she took a deep breath before she slowly continued to walk down the hallways as she waited for the vampire, who had turned her, so she could start her part of the plan.

It only took Caroline about two minutes of walking through the large estate as she acted like she was looking at the different paintings before her face was suddenly pushed against the closest wall by a very strong force.

"What are Stefan and Damon up to?" Katherine growled into the blonde's ear as she placed pressure onto Caroline's right arm that she had securely trapped behind the young vampire's back so she wouldn't be able to move.

Caroline whined in pain from the tight submission hold she was currently in before she hurriedly whispered, "what do you mean?"

"I've got Jeremy Gilbert luring me out to the lake," Katherine explained tensely before she asked once more in a fierce growl, "what's going on?"

"I-I-I don't know," Caroline stuttered as she tried to shrug her shoulders while her whole body was caught between a hard wall and the angry vampire. She swallowed thickly before she mumbled quietly, "nothing."

Katherine didn't bother saying anything to Caroline's answer, instead she slowly began to release the blonde vampire, which caused Caroline to breathe out a small sigh of relief as she thought she was safe from Katherine's wrath. But unluckily for the blonde vampire, Katherine was far from done as she swiftly turned Caroline around and slammed her back into the wall while Katherine squeezed her fingers around the young vampire's throat.

"Don't lie to me, Caroline," Katherine commanded in a snarl before she interrogated, "they're up to something, what is it?"

"I-" Caroline began to speak, but nothing else would come out of her mouth since she was still trying to level her heavy and erratic breathing.

Katherine's patience was growing thin as she didn't have time for Caroline's games. She was the one that played games and she definitely wasn't going to allow it to be turned around on her. Instead, Katherine squeezed the young vampire's throat once again but with more of her strength, which caused her to hear the small crackling of Caroline's neck.

"Wait! No, okay!" Caroline quickly yelped as she felt pain takeover her whole body once again. She tried to take a deep breath but Katherine's fingers was cutting off her throat, so Caroline whispered as best as she could in a strained voice, "they're trying to kill you."

Katherine rolled her brown eyes and muttered, "I figured as much." She released the blonde's throat before she questioned, "where's the moonstone?"

Caroline took a big gasp of air once she could finally breathe without the long fingers of Katherine blocking her airway. She then moved her blue eyes towards the ground in false disappointment as she confessed lowly, "Bonnie has it."

"And where's Bonnie right now?" Katherine questioned confidently as she knew she had Caroline right where she wanted her. She knew the annoying blonde would tell her whatever she wanted to hear if she didn't want to end up on the floor with a broken neck.

Caroline stared into Katherine's brown eyes for a moment before she exclaimed angrily as she spoke the three words slowly, "I don't know."

However, that wasn't the answer Katherine was looking for because not even a second later, she had the blonde vampire against the wall once again as she held Caroline in the air by just her throat.

"Okay!" Caroline hurriedly shrieked as she didn't want to go through Katherine's torture again. "She's upstairs! She's upstairs!" The blonde quickly told the brunette vampire.

Katherine swiftly let Caroline fall to the ground when she finally got her answer. "Good girl," she praised with a smirk. The older vampire then rolled her eyes when she saw Caroline was still on the floor whining about her throat. "Chop, chop," Katherine commanded as she snapped her fingers before she swiftly grabbed the blonde vampire's wrist and pulled her up before she yanked her towards the staircase.

"Why do you keep dragging me into this?" Caroline cried out as she tried to pull her arm away from Katherine's strong grasp once they had reached the second floor of the mansion, "I don't want any part of this!"

"Shut up!" Katherine growled into Caroline's ear before she let go of the blonde's red arm. Instead, she pulled on Caroline's perfectly curled blonde hair so she wouldn't fight her as much. The two vampires then slowly began to walk down a hallway with multiple doors before Katherine asked the crying Caroline, "which room is it?"

Caroline held onto Katherine's wrist tightly so the older vampire wouldn't pull too hard on her hair before she glanced between the three entrances. She pointed her head to the far right as she mumbled, "it's that one."

Katherine looked over at Caroline for a moment to make sure she wasn't lying before she released the blonde vampire completely and charged through the double doors like she owned the place. However, when Katherine looked around the room, she couldn't see or hear the Bennett witch anywhere. The brunette vampire swiftly turned around and faced Caroline, who was standing outside of the room, as she questioned impatiently, "where is she?"

Caroline didn't respond to Katherine immediately as her face was buried into her hands while she sobbed and cried before it suddenly turned into laughing and giggling. She then finally looked up at Katherine with a bright grin as she exclaimed proudly, "I did it! I really didn't think I'd be able to fool you but I did it!"

Katherine looked at the blonde vampire in confusion as she listened to her boasting before Katherine used her vamp speed to run and attack Caroline. However, she was soon stopped by an invisible line before she could even touch another single hair on Caroline's head. Katherine released a heavy breath once she stopped fighting the invisible line and mumbled, "what the -"

But as Katherine stared at Caroline's bright smile, she soon realized that this was their plan all along; to get her trapped in the room with no place to go. The older vampire sighed loudly before she questioned out loud while she kept her eyes glued on the smirking Caroline, "Stefan?"

The aforementioned Salvatore slowly walked out from his hiding spot that was behind a tall dresser so the two vampires could finally see him. "Hello, Katherine," Stefan greeted his ex girlfriend in an easy and calm voice.

"Elena," Katherine deadpanned in annoyance when she also spotted her dull doppelganger as she walked into the room with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Goodbye, Katherine," Caroline told the older vampire in an amused tone. She waited until the brunette looked over at her before she waved her hand with a smirk before she turned around and began to walk away with a pep in her step as she knew their plan was going perfectly.

Katherine rolled her eyes at the exiting blonde before she turned around to face Stefan and Elena, where she finally noticed the wooden stake in her ex boyfriend's hand. Katherine chuckled as she moved closer to Stefan and ignored her doppelganger completely before she wondered, "you don't really think that you can kill me with that now, do you?"

Stefan glanced down at the wooden weapon in his right hand with a small shrug before he told Katherine simply, "no." He lifted his head so his eyes were glued onto something over Katherine's shoulder before he added, "but he can."

Katherine quickly became alarmed at Stefan's words as she thought it was only the three of them. However, when she went to turn around to attack the wildcard in the room, she suddenly felt pain take over her lower body as a wooden stake pierced through her black dress, her tan skin, and finally settled in her spine.


Meanwhile, in the backyard of the brightly lit Lockwood mansion sat Emily, Bonnie, and Jeremy on a medium sized marble bench as they amusingly watched all of the now drunk residents of Mystic Falls dance all over the makeshift dance floor. It was something that the three of them plus Caroline and Elena used to do when they would come to social events when they were younger and got too bored.

"Look!" Jeremy suddenly exclaimed as he interrupted their calm silence. He shook his head with a chuckle as he pointed towards the left corner of the dance floor, "look at Mrs. Johnson go!"

"Oh, God," Bonnie giggled as she finally spotted who Jeremy was pointing at and saw the older woman dancing drunkenly. The Bennett witch glanced over at Emily with a smirk and stated, "see, this is why you shouldn't drink." She pointed her finger to the crowd and added, "you will turn into the lady that thinks she has to dance when she's drunk."

Emily rolled her green eyes playfully as she told her friend, "please, I have more control than that." The Gilbert girl would rather stop drinking than to become that type of drunk. Emily opened her mouth with a teasing grin as she planned on defending her alcohol habits, but that was quickly forgotten as the brunette girl suddenly felt an agonizing pain shoot up her back.

"OW!" Emily yelped as she swiftly doubled over from the pain and placed her now shaky hands onto her bare knees.

"Emily!" Bonnie shouted at the same time as Jeremy swiftly jumped out of his seat and moved in front of his sister before he questioned worriedly, "what's going on?"

The Gilbert girl couldn't even connect any letters into words as the only sound that would leave her wide opened mouth was a cry. She had never felt pain like this in her entire life, not even when she broke her arm in third grade from doing a cartwheel. It felt like something was lodged into her back. However, when Emily tried to pull whatever was in her back out, all she could feel was something wet and sticky.

"What's happening!?" Jeremy quickly questioned as he tried to figure out what was wrong with his oldest sister. But he was coming up short and helpless as he couldn't find the cause of her pain.

Emily took a shaky deep breath after three minutes of uncontrolled torture as she could now only feel a dull pain. She slowly brought her wet hand to her face when she could finally move and saw bright red blood dripping down her fingers. The human girl didn't understand what was happening to her. It didn't make sense.

Emily looked up at her worried brother with a small nod as she hid her hand and tried to assure him that she was fine. But that was quickly thrown out of the window when she felt the same agonizing pain on her left arm. Emily cried out even louder as she felt the pain all over again before her sore body toppled onto the spiky green grass.

"Jeremy, it's Katherine!" Bonnie exclaimed as she was the first one to realize what was happening. "Emily's linked to Katherine," the Bennett witch hurriedly told the youngest Gilbert as she helped the injured girl lean against the bench. Bonnie then quickly turned and faced Jeremy as she ordered, "get them to stop! Now," before she focused all her attention on Emily.

Jeremy quickly rushed through the crowd of people as soon as his brain processed what Bonnie had said. He ignored all of the angry shouts he got from the people he pushed out of his way. Jeremy didn't care in the slightest. He only cared about stopping the torture his human sister was in.

The Gilbert boy dashed up the stairs once he reached the empty part of the mansion and skipped two or three steps at a time before he swiftly threw the double doors open to the room that held the four vampires.

"Stop!" Jeremy yelled as soon as he was in the large room and saw both Stefan and Elena holding Katherine on the ground while Damon stood above her with a wooden stake in his hand. "You're hurting Emily!" He hurriedly shouted as he grew scared for his sister's life, "everything you're doing to her is hurting Emily!"

Katherine smirked when all three vampires froze in their spots in shock. She lightly pushed Elena and Stefan off of her before she jumped up from the ivory carpet. She dusted the nonexistent dirt from her black dress before Katherine questioned in amusement, "you think you three are the only ones with a witch on your side?" She shook her head and stated with a grin, "wrong and something tells me my witch is better than your witch."

The Gilbert vampire growled at the easiness in her doppelganger's voice before she rushed towards the door, but of course was stopped by the invisible line that they used to trap Katherine. "I need to check on my sister!" Elena cried out. She had to help Emily. Elena knew her sister had to be in a lot of pain after what they did to Katherine. She felt guilty that she didn't just stay with her twin sister. Instead, her hatred for her doppelganger got in the way.

"Lena," Damon whispered into the Gilbert's ear as he brought her into his chest. "She'll be fine," he promised as he tried to calm down the crying Elena even though he was worried himself for the human girl.

"Jeremy, go check on Emily," Stefan commanded as he moved closer to the door before he was stopped by the invisible line like the rest of the vampires, "make sure she's okay. Go!"

Katherine ripped a wooden stake from the wall once the youngest Gilbert left their presence before she trailed the weapon down her hand as she slowly walked around the room. "I do feel bad about hurting Emily," Katherine stated with a pout. She shot her annoying doppelganger a glare as she added, "I wish it was you instead of sweet Emmie." Katherine then pushed pressure onto the weapon so it would pierce her hand as she commented, "because this would have been so much more satisfying."


"DAMMIT!" Emily shouted before a small whimper escaped her mouth as she pulled her hand towards her tear eyed face and saw a bloody slice in the middle of her palm. Emily had thought the pain was over when she hadn't felt anything in over ten minutes. However, the pain was back and it was much worse.

"Bonnie, it hurts," Emily gasped as sobs and cries continued to leave her sore body while she held the Bennett witch's hand in a death grip with her good one. She just wanted it all to stop. It was becoming too much for the human girl to handle.

Bonnie stared at the green eyed girl with a sad look as she didn't know what to do. She had never seen Emily or anyone in so much pain before. It also didn't help that her witch powers couldn't even help her friend. "I can't break the spell, Emmie," Bonnie told the crying girl before she apologized, "I'm so sorry."

The Bennett witch brought the hurting girl closer to her body as she tried to comfort Emily before she suddenly popped her head up. "I can take away some of the pain," Bonnie quickly suggested as she thought of a way she could help her friend. She brought her hand up to Emily's pale white face as she asked desperately, "okay?"

Emily looked up at her friend instead of watching her constantly bleeding wounds before she slowly nodded her head. She tried to keep her movements to a minimum so she could keep breathing and not pass out from the agonizing pain.

The Gilbert girl couldn't take the chance of her passing out as she was scared she would never wake up again. Emily had to stay strong. She still had people that needed her. So, Emily sucked up the pain and whispered through clenched teeth, "okay." The brunette girl then leaned her sweaty forehead against Bonnie's purple sweater as she prayed the pain would stop soon.

"Alright," Bonnie whispered to herself before she quickly wiped the tears from her brown eyes. She took a deep breath to clear her mind before she squeezed Emily's hand and began to chant a spell so she could ease the Gilbert girl's pain, "ascinda, mulaf, hinto, ascinda..."


Katherine twirled the wooden stake that was soaked in her blood between her fingers as she hummed a small tune before she faced the three distressed vampires with a wide smirk on her lips. She loved torturing her two ex playthings and her annoying doppelganger. Katherine then placed the thin wooden stake on the center of her stomach before she uttered, "tell dear Emmie that I'm sorry about this."

Katherine didn't lie when she had said she felt bad about what she was doing. Well, she didn't feel bad about killing that human girl outside earlier or that her doppelganger was going crazy being stuck in the room. No, she felt bad for causing the human Gilbert, Emily, any harm. Katherine had saw the brunette girl like her own sister since the moment she laid eyes on Emily and her protectiveness and her selflessness. It was like Darina was still alive.

"Wait!" Elena quickly yelped before Katherine could stab herself and cause her twin sister anymore pain. Even though the Gilbert vampire wanted to attack her doppelganger for hurting Emily, she knew that it had to wait or she would be harming her sister too and that was the last thing Elena wanted to do.

Katherine smirked as that was exactly what she wanted to hear. She knew Emily's twin sister nor the Salvatore brothers would allow her to hurt the Gilbert girl anymore. Katherine was sorta glad about that since she wanted to help Emily, not hurt her. However, Katherine would do whatever was necessary to get her way.

The older vampire silently sauntered over to the red velvet couch as slowly as she could and took a seat before she crossed her left leg over her right knee while she threw her arms over the back of the comfortable furniture. Katherine wanted to watch the vampires sweat over her next move. She enjoyed the panicked looks and the helplessness in the expressions of the Salvatore's and Elena. "So, how about that moonstone?" Katherine finally spoke as she questioned with a confident smirk shining all over her face.


It was another long seven minutes of agony for the Gilbert girl as the Bennett witch continued to chant a spell to help ease her pain. Bonnie did take some of her pain but Emily could still feel it; like a dull stabbing. The multiple large opened wounds didn't really help when she could feel the cold air slapping against them. However, the pain was more bearable now.

The youngest Gilbert sibling swiftly came to a fast stop when he finally reached his sister and the Bennett witch again. He sighed in relief when he saw Emily was still sitting up and breathing. "Are you okay?" Jeremy questioned as he lightly rubbed his sister's right shoulder.

Emily nodded her head once with a tight lipped smile. No matter how badly she gets hurt, Emily will always put a smile on her face and assure everyone that she's okay. The Gilbert girl just didn't like when people worried about her. That was her job. "How are they?" Emily asked her brother once she could finally speak through the pain.

Emily was worried about the vampires with Katherine, especially her twin sister. She knew how Elena felt about the older vampire and she didn't want Elena to do anything stupid right now when she's stuck with her doppelganger. Emily also was worried about what Katherine would do to Stefan and Damon, even though she still isn't the oldest Salvatore's biggest fan. Emily knew how erratic Damon is when it comes to Katherine and Emily felt uncomfortable with Stefan being locked in with his ex girlfriend for some reason - but she quickly pushed that last thought away.

Jeremy glanced back at the Lockwood mansion before he faced his sister and responded discreetly as he didn't want to worry Emily, "they're stuck in there with her. But yeah, they're fine." He then looked over at the chanting Bennett witch and told her, "you were right," before Jeremy explained, "Katherine had a witch link Emily with her."

"Perfect," Emily mumbled sarcastically under her breath. The wounds from Katherine was a real pain in her ass. Emily just tried to have a normal night and to stay out of the way. But here she was, stuck in the very middle.

A few silent minutes passed by with only Bonnie's low chanting before the Bennett witch suddenly popped her head up as she recalled something. "The girl I saw," she muttered to herself before she stated in a louder voice, "the one inside!" Bonnie swiftly jumped up from her crouched position in front of the Gilbert girl and told Jeremy, "stay with Emily and keep pressure on her wound!"

"Where are you going?" Jeremy hurriedly questioned the Bennett witch in confusion as he watched Bonnie quickly stand up from the grass.

"There's another witch here!" Bonnie exclaimed as she began to walk backwards. "I'm gonna find her!" The Bennett witch promised before she turned around and began to rush through all of the residents to find the witch she had noticed earlier tonight.

Jeremy didn't bother giving the running Bonnie a response as there was no point when she was already gone and they didn't have time to stop when his sister's life was in the unknown witch's hands. Instead, Jeremy moved to his knees and sat in front of Emily before he pressed his hands onto the open wound on his sister's left middle rib. "It's okay," Jeremy whispered to his sister before something caught his eye.

It was the black and silver ring that uncle John had gave Jeremy before he left town. But not just any type of ring, no, it was the ring that would bring a person who wore it back to life if they were to die by a supernatural being. Jeremy hurriedly pulled the ring off of his finger and held it in front of Emily's pain stricken face. This was his only way in knowing Emily would still be here in the morning as he wasn't sure Bonnie would be able to find the witch in time.

Emily slowly shook her head when she saw the familiar ring that her biological father and history teacher along with her brother wears to protect their human lives. She took a deep breath as the pain she had felt was starting to come back all at once since Bonnie wasn't chanting the spell anymore. "No," Emily mumbled through clenched teeth as she denied the ring. She would never take the one thing that kept her baby brother alive in the supernatural filled town.

"Take it," Jeremy begged as he kept the ring in front of Emily's green glazed over eyes. However, when he saw his sister shaking her head once again, Jeremy stated strongly, "you need this more than I do, Emmie." He wasn't going to allow Emily to just die on him when he could do something about it. "Please, take it," Jeremy pleaded desperately. He didn't care if giving Emily the ring would put him in grave danger. He just wanted to know with complete certainty that he was going to be able to fight over the first cup of coffee tomorrow morning with his oldest sister.

Emily wrapped her shaky fingers around Jeremy's equally shaky wrist and stared into his sad brown eyes before she stated truthfully, "I don't care what happens to me, Jer. I just need you to be safe." That was the only thing Emily had ever cared about her entire life; that her family would be okay. "So, put the damn ring back on your finger, Jeremy," Emily ordered as she fought through the pain.

Emily knew her commanding voice was all Jeremy needed as she watched him slowly put the Gilbert ring back on. The brunette girl grabbed her brother's hand tightly in her own once Jeremy looked back at her with a worried look before she tried to relax against the marble bench.

The truth was, Emily was scared out of her mind as the pain kept getting worse. But she wasn't scared for herself. No, Emily was scared for Jeremy and Elena. The human girl couldn't care less about the pain, even though it was still bothering her. Emily would rather take all of the heat from Katherine's torture if it meant her siblings was safe from the older vampire's wrath.


Katherine bounced her left leg up and down over her right one with a smirk glued on her lips as she watched the turmoil that adored the faces of the other vampires in the room. She thrived and enjoyed the pain that was caused by her doing. It was like her very own hobby.

"The three of us together just like old times," Katherine stated as her voice was the first one to speak since the Salvatore's ignored her when she had asked for the moonstone. Katherine rolled her eyes as she added dully to her statement, "plus my boring doppelganger."

Katherine's amused brown eyes moved over to the vampire who had obsessed over her for centuries as she introduced her bored companions to cause some trouble and entertainment until her witch arrives, "the brother who loved me too much." She then moved her eyes to Stefan as she continued, "the one that didn't love me enough," before she settled on Elena, "and the wrong sister."

"Which means you are the evil slut vampire who only loved herself," the oldest Salvatore added to Katherine's speech as his back was faced to the aforementioned vampire while his arms were securely wrapped around Elena's body. The Gilbert vampire was still trembling from worrying about Emily, so Damon was trying to convince her that nothing was going to happen to her sister.

Katherine twitched her head to the side as she stared at Damon's backside for a moment while she thought before she wondered curiously, "what happened to you, Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite."

Damon turned his body around and faced his ex girlfriend as his right arm moved to the silent Elena's neck and shoulder before he told Katherine with a smirk, "oh, that Damon died a long time ago."

Elena looked up from Damon's shoulder and glared at him. She had to disagree with the oldest Salvatore's statement. Damon was always sweet and kind to her. Even when she was still with Stefan, but had ignored his advances at the time. Damon made her feel something totally different from any other relationship, more special and real.

Damon looked down at the vampire in his arms with a cheeky grin as he whispered into her ear, "not for you, babe," before he laid a light kiss on the top of Elena's brown hair.

Katherine shot Damon a smirk as she ignored their couple moment and stated, "good. He was a bore."

"Oh, why don't you two stop antagonizing each other," Stefan mumbled with a heavy sigh while he looked in Katherine's direction. He was tired of listening to the ex lovers bicker with each other. It also didn't help when his mind was swimming with worry for Emily. He wanted, no needed, to check on her and make sure she's okay. Stefan felt guilty that he couldn't be there for her and heal her wounds. He just wanted this horrible night to end already.

Katherine moved her brown eyes over to Stefan as she asked the question she had apparently been asking the whole state of Virginia all night, "where is the moonstone?" She was tired of not getting the answer she wanted.

The Gilbert vampire moved away from burying her head into Damon's chest as she turned around and faced her doppelganger. "What do you want with it?" Elena questioned as she couldn't help herself. She didn't understand why Katherine was so stuck on finding the moonstone when the white rock was used to break the werewolf curse.

Katherine rolled her eyes as that still wasn't the answer she wanted. Instead, Katherine decided she would play with her toys. She had nothing better to do, so why not stir up some trouble? Katherine twitched her head to the side as she stared at the youngest Salvatore before she wondered with a smirk, "did you know your brother over there tried to kiss sweet little Emmie?"

The two pair of identical brown eyes and the one pair of green eyes instantly moved over to Damon as soon as Katherine uttered the sole name that everyone cared and loved for, Emily Gilbert. While Katherine's brown irises held nothing but amusement, Elena and Stefan definitely didn't think it was funny. They were both confused and angry at the new information.

Damon rolled his eyes as he ignored his brother's angry glare and looked directly at Katherine before he stated, "wow. That was really desperate, even for you." He then finally looked over at Stefan and down at the confused Elena as he explained with a shrug of his shoulders, "besides, we didn't. I was drunk."

Elena definitely was going to have a talk with Damon about him almost kissing her twin sister. She didn't understand why Damon nor Emily never told her about it, even if they didn't actually kiss. They still should have told her.

The Gilbert vampire just wanted to get out of this room already. She was tired of listening to her doppelganger's voice. Elena crossed her arms over her chest as she pleaded in a bored tone, "just stop, Katherine. We aren't falling for your tricks."

Katherine twitched her head to the side as she stared directly at the uncomfortable Elena. She rose an eyebrow as she wondered, "so, it doesn't bother you that Stefan is in love with your sister? Even when he was still with you?"

"Oh, stop it," Stefan commanded with a heavy sigh. Katherine's voice was starting to get on his nerves the longer they stayed in here. Stefan just wanted to focus on Emily right now. But, of course, he couldn't since he was locked in a room with his brother and two of his ex girlfriends.

"Or what?" Katherine challenged, "you'll hurt me?" She shook her head as she slowly stood up from the red couch before she moved closely to the green eyed vampire. "Come on, Stefan," Katherine taunted, "everything I feel, Emily feels. So, go ahead."

Katherine then moved her eyes over to Damon as she came up with an idea. "Or better yet, kiss me, Damon," the older vampire commanded as a smirk covered her red lips. She slowly walked over to the blue eyed vampire as she wondered, "don't you want to know what it feels like?" She tsked as she added teasingly, "you know a drunk mind speaks a sober heart."

"My sister isn't you, Katherine," Elena growled as she was completely done with her doppelganger's constant games. She just wanted to check on her twin sister. That was the only thought on her mind; to make sure Emily's okay.

"Or you, right?" Katherine questioned. She smirked at the Gilbert vampire as she added, "I mean, you did the same thing I did." Katherine shrugged her shoulders and stated, "I'm not ashamed of playing my games. You, however, gave up too easily and won't even admit that played with their poor hearts."

"You know, this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused," Stefan spoke after the room grew silent once Elena had stormed out of their area thanks to Katherine's taunting and went into a smaller room. "Why a werewolf?" He questioned, "the moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all vampires, so what's in it for you?" Stefan didn't understand why Katherine would want to help the werewolves when they are the enemy of her species.

Katherine only gave the curious Salvatore a small grin as an answer. She wasn't going to tell them about her need for the moonstone. No, that would ruin one of the reasons for her coming back to Mystic Falls.

"Sorry about your pet wolf," Damon told Katherine once he realized his ex wasn't going to answer his brother's question. He shrugged his shoulders with a smirk as he added, "probably should have kept him on a tighter leash."

Katherine clenched her jaw tightly before she swiftly faced Damon and exclaimed, "I'll have to remember that for next time." She glanced at both brothers as she added with a hard glare, "he's not the only wolf in town."

Stefan and Damon instantly looked at each other with a worried gaze as soon as Katherine mentioned the last wolf in Mystic Falls. They knew exactly who she was talking about.

Tyler Lockwood.


"Do you remember that one time when mom and dad took us to that zoo all the way in Atlanta?" Emily questioned in a small whisper to her brother as the two Gilbert siblings sat on the spiky grass.

They had been sitting against the marble bench ever since Bonnie left to find some witch she saw earlier. The first fifteen minutes had been filled with Emily's moaning and groaning from her opened wounds, but now she could barely feel her brother's hand pressed against the bloody slices on her body. Emily wasn't really sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Jeremy glanced down at his sister's green eyes with his brows furrowed at the mention of their childhood. He then shook his head and mumbled, "we are not doing this, Emmie. We are not going to reminisce about the good times before you croak on me."

Emily rolled her eyes before she gently placed her pale white hand on top of Jeremy's with a small smile. "I'm not giving you my death speech," she promised before the brunette girl explained, "it's just never me and you anymore. It's always vampire this werewolf that. I don't want you to forget about the happy moments." Emily softly bumped her good shoulder into her brother's with a tiny smirk as she added, "besides, my death speech would be so much more badass. You would be crying on the floor."

Jeremy chuckled lightly before he joked in a mumble, "I'll definitely be skipping your death speech then." He sighed heavy after a moment of silence before he finally agreed with his sister, "alright, fine. But if you decide to croak on me when you said you wouldn't, then I'll kill you myself."

Emily gave her brother a grin before she held out her pinky finger and said, "I promise."

Jeremy rolled his brown eyes before he locked his pinky finger with his sister's. He then laid Emily's head on his shoulder before he finally answered her question, "so, which time are you talking about? We went to the Atlanta zoo a couple of times. Are you talking about the time we acted like we were going to push Elena into the water with the alligators?"

Emily nodded her head as she laughed hysterically before she stopped a second later as she groaned. Apparently the pain was still there. Emily guessed that was a good thing. It meant she wasn't dying yet. "Dammit, that hurt," she mumbled before she took a deep breath to ease the pain.

Emily waved her hand carelessly as she tried to push Jeremy's fingers away from checking on her large side wound. "I'm fine. I'm fine," she promised. "But, yes," Emily stated before she chuckled more softly this time, "Lena is still scared of the water till this day."

Jeremy relaxed next to his sister once he was sure that no new wound was popping up. It was just the same ones that wouldn't stop bleeding, which still worried him. "We're horrible siblings," Jeremy joked with a small chuckle as he remembered the crying Elena when they went to the zoo with their parents when he was seven years old and his sister's were nine.

Emily shrugged her shoulders gently before she muttered, "debatable." The two siblings then sat in a peaceful silence before the brunette girl looked up at her brother and confessed softly, "I love you, Jer." Emily felt like she never said it enough to her siblings. She always wanted them to know she loves them when life isn't always guaranteed in Mystic Falls.

Jeremy kissed the top of his sister's head and whispered against her brown hair, "love you too, sis." He then glanced down at the wounds that he could see; the ones on her left arm, middle rib, and left hand before he questioned worriedly, "how are you feeling?" He knew it wasn't good that she was still bleeding as the time kept on passing by.

"I feel better," Emily lied. She didn't want her brother to worry too much about her. But Emily could still feel her warm blood dripping down her back, side, and arm. She shrugged her healthy shoulder as she concluded, "I guess they stopped trying to kill Katherine for now."

Jeremy didn't believe his sister for a second. He knew she was lying about the pain. Jeremy could see it on her face. But he figured she was trying to make him feel better, so Jeremy didn't bother commenting on it. Instead, Jeremy stood up from the ground and wiped the grass from his black pants before he carefully grabbed a hold of Emily's good arm.

"Come on," Jeremy ordered softly. "We should wrap these wounds up before they get any worse," he told his sister before he slowly helped her off of the hard ground. Jeremy didn't know how long it was going to take for Bonnie to find the witch and end the spell, so he decided to do the one thing he could think of. He just hoped treating the wounds will stop the heavy blood flow.


"Dammit!" Damon complained for the third time in less than fifteen minutes. "Where's that witch?" He questioned in a grumble to no one in particular. He was tired and annoyed of being stuck in a room with the bitch devil herself.

"We could play charades," Katherine suggested with a smirk as she slowly walked around the room. She was enjoying being stuck with her ex playthings and her doppelganger far more than she intended. They just kept falling right into her traps.

Stefan pointed his finger over at the grinning Katherine as he stated, "you bargained the moonstone." While his brother and their ex had bickered back and forth, Stefan had been busy thinking about why Katherine would want the moonstone so badly when it wouldn't help her.

Damon sluggishly took a seat next to Elena, who had joined the rest of the vampires after Katherine's taunting, on one of the many couches in the room. He threw his arm over Elena's shoulder and brought her into his chest before he questioned his brother boredly, "what are you mumbling about over there?"

Stefan ignored his brother as he began to explain his theory on why Katherine would need the moonstone, "you struck a deal with George Lockwood." Stefan remembered the conversation he and Katherine had in the Salvatore basement, so he just put two and two together. "He helped you fake your death," Stefan uttered as he continued, "you told me that you gave George something that he needed." Stefan twitched his head to the side as he stared at Katherine before wondering, "it was the moonstone, wasn't it?"

"Good for you, Stefan," Katherine praised with a smirk before she elaborated what happened that night, "and it would have worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." She glared over at the relaxed Damon before she continued, "thanks to you." Katherine rolled her brown eyes and uttered, "by the way, have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"

Damon raised his crystal glass of bourbon as he toasted the older vampire and stated with a smirk, "you and me both, honey."

"Why do you need it back?" Stefan questioned as he wanted to keep these answers coming. He knew if he stopped now, then Katherine would close herself off and they would never get the real answer about Katherine's involvement with the moonstone.

Katherine turned her body fully towards Stefan instead of glaring at Damon and acted like she was thinking over the question before she stated with a bright grin, "I love you in a suit." She smirked when she saw the deflated expression on Stefan's face when he didn't get his answer. Katherine then slowly moved closer to the green eyed vampire as she muttered seductively, "so dashing."

Stefan ignored Katherine's advances and her way of avoiding the question as he continued his interrogation, "what were you doing with it in the first place?"

"She's not going to tell you anything," Elena mumbled as she picked the pale pink fingernail polish off of her nails. She wished her doppelganger would just stop talking as Elena was scared and worried about Emily. Elena just wanted to check on her sister already. She didn't like not being able to help Emily when she's in obvious pain because of what they did to Katherine.

The room grew silent for a couple of minutes as it seemed like Stefan listened to Elena's suggestion before the aforementioned Salvatore spoke up once again. He pointed his finger at Katherine as he took a guess, "unless it wasn't yours to begin with." Stefan nodded his head when he noticed Katherine was avoiding his gaze which meant he was right. "In 1864, you faked your death," Stefan stated the obvious before questioning, "who were you running from, Katherine?"

The older vampire ignored Stefan's questioning once more as she changed the subject. "In 1987, you were in Chicago," Katherine recalled as she decided to bring up old memories like Stefan had done. She rolled her eyes as she added irritably, "at a concert of all places with that wench, Lexi."

Katherine giggled when she noticed the shocked look on Stefan's face and the saddened expression on Damon's. She ignored Damon's pathetic look, instead, she enjoyed that she finally caught Stefan off guard as she hoped he would stop asking all these questions.

Katherine smirked brightly and exclaimed, "oh, come on, Stefan. Don't look so surprised." She trailed her long fingernails down the front of Stefan's suit as she explained to him sweetly, "of course I checked in on you over the years."

However, when Katherine noticed the disbelief look on Stefan's face, she decided to explain what she remembered from that memory so he would believe her, "you were standing in the front row dancing all night." She then moved her red lips by Stefan's ear and whispered, "you were watching Bon Jovi and I was watching you."

Stefan growled as he shoved Katherine off of him and took a few steps away from her. He knew she was just trying to make him fall for her games. But that wasn't going to happen. No old memory was going to make him ever feel that way for her again. "Who were you running from, Katherine?" Stefan questioned once more but with a stronger voice. He was done playing her games.

Katherine once again ignored Stefan's constant interrogation. She wasn't going to give him what he wanted, no matter how many annoying questions he asks her. Even though it was starting to push her buttons. But she knew she had more self control than the irritated Salvatore. She could play these games all day and better. Katherine placed her right hand back onto Stefan's chest while her ruby red lips mouthed, 'I love you.'

Stefan snarled at his ex girlfriend before he pushed her shoulder and walked passed her. He wasn't interested in Katherine's flirting. He stopped wanting that a long time ago. He just wanted to know the truth; the real reason for Katherine's need for the moonstone. But he knew Katherine wasn't going to tell him, so he decided to focus his mind on Emily instead of wasting his breath on Katherine.

The older vampire pouted as she watched Stefan walk away from her and towards the other side of the room. She had enjoyed pushing and teasing him. Katherine truly believed she could get Stefan to fall for her again just like she did in 1864. But Katherine only shrugged her shoulders for now as she knew she would have a lifetime to do so once she got her hands on the moonstone.

The large room grew silent once again as no one uttered a single word. However, Katherine was quickly growing bored being in here with nothing to do with the three vampires. She huffed out a sigh and quietly moved over to the ivory curtains that hid the party that was going on outside. "We're missing all the fun," Katherine complained as she watched all the smiling people. She wished she could be down there dancing, drinking, and causing trouble. But no, she's stuck in this stupid room thanks to the annoying Bonnie Bennett.

The three other vampires didn't even flinch at Katherine's voice as they were done listening to anything she had to say. Instead, the oldest Salvatore stood up from his spot next to Elena and walked over to the small wooden table that held a bottle of bourbon.

"Ooh, I'll have one of those," Katherine beamed as she heard the sound of the amber liquid sloshing into the crystal glass. If she couldn't drink and dance, then she was at least going to do one of those things until her witch came to release her from the room.

Damon took a quick glance over at Katherine with an eye roll before he turned back to the alcohol. "Right away, Miss Katherine," the blue eyed Salvatore uttered as he imitated a young servant's voice before he poured another glass of bourbon for the bitch devil herself.

Katherine grinned as she watched Damon pour her a drink. She loved how easily he got angry. It caused her so much joy seeing and hearing Damon's irritation because of her. Katherine slowly moved to stand behind Damon once he held her drink in the air before she swiped her glass of bourbon over his shoulder with a sneer, "thank you."

Katherine brought the glass up to her nose and smelled the aroma before she shrugged her shoulders and took a small gulp of the bourbon. It would have to do. It wasn't the best she had ever drank over the years. However, as Katherine lowered the glass from her red lips, she was soon blindsided as a body rammed her harshly into the wall before she saw an angry Damon Salvatore standing in front of her with a wooden stake in hand.

"Damon! No!" The silent Elena Gilbert cried out before she vamp sped over to Damon and tried to pull him off of her doppelganger. If it was any other time, Elena would have enjoyed watching Katherine being harmed but she knew her twin sister would be feeling the exact same thing and Elena didn't want that.

"No, no! Damon, don't!" Stefan shouted at the same time as Elena did and joined her as he tried to pull his brother away from Katherine. Stefan didn't want anymore harm to be put on Emily, especially when he didn't even know how she was right now. He couldn't let Damon hurt Katherine for Emily's sake.

"Yes, Damon, please," Katherine pleaded with a wide grin covering her red lips. Now this is entertainment, the older vampire thought to herself as she enjoyed the way Damon was losing control because of her.

"Damon, no!" Elena begged as tears began to slip through her brown eyes, "if you do this, you will be hurting my sister!" She then placed her hand over Damon's unbeating heart as she tried to get him to stop. Elena would hate herself if they caused Emily anymore pain when they knew they were doing it.

The angry Salvatore's body instantly relaxed under Elena's touch but he still kept his hard glare on Katherine. "The second the spell is lifted," Damon growled as he held the wooden weapon high above his head before he added fiercely, "I'm gonna drive a stake right through your heart."

Katherine shook her head softly as she stared into Damon's blue eyes before she moaned, "God, you're hot." She then trailed her long fingernails down the front of Damon's white button up shirt as she wondered with a smirk, "when did you get so hot?"

The newly turned vampire couldn't help but let out a growl when she heard what her doppelganger said to Damon. "Watch it, Katherine or I'll be the one with the stake once my sister is safe," Elena threatened. She was still trying to get used to her heightened emotions since becoming a vampire but it was still hard when every word out of Katherine's mouth angered her.

Katherine easily pushed both Stefan and Damon off of her like they were light as a feather before she turned to face her annoying doppelganger. "Oh, poor Elena," Katherine pouted falsely before she imitated Elena's loud and high voice, "I think everything is about me." The older vampire rolled her eyes and snarled, "newsflash, it's not and you better watch your mouth or I will kill you where you stand."

Elena's emotions were going into overdrive as she worried about her sister plus all of the teasing and pushing Katherine has done. However, before Elena could say anything or get the chance of getting her neck snapped, there was suddenly a new and unfamiliar voice that called throughout the large room.

"Katherine," the dark skinned woman, Lucy, called out as she took a small step into the room filled with the tense vampires. She held the milky white rock or the moonstone in the air with a grin as she informed Katherine, "the spell on this room has been broken. You're free to leave."

Katherine sighed in relief, "thank God." She couldn't be anymore glad to finally get out of this room. She felt like she's been in here for days. Katherine swiftly made a beeline through the irritated and annoyed vampires, which she proudly caused, before she stood directly in front of her witch with her hand out.

"When I hand this over," Lucy began as she glanced down at the moonstone before she stared into Katherine's brown eyes and concluded, "my debt to you is over."

"Done," Katherine agreed as she couldn't wait to have the moonstone in her possession again. It was just one step closer to her freedom.

"I owe you nothing," Lucy continued as she wanted to be sure she would finally be free of Katherine. She was tired of being the vampire's lap dog for years. She was exhausted from taking orders from someone, a vampire no less.

"I said done," Katherine snapped in annoyance. She was getting irritated with all these questions being asked when she and the witch had already gone through this. "Give it," Katherine commanded.

"I wouldn't do that," Damon told Lucy in a warning tone. He didn't care if she was a witch, Damon wasn't going to let Katherine leave with the moonstone after everything they been through tonight. This was just supposed to be about killing Katherine, but now they were in jeopardy of losing the bitch devil and the moonstone.

But unluckily for Damon, the witch didn't even flinch at his threat. She was used to that when she has worked with Katherine for years. Instead, Lucy silently placed the moonstone into Katherine's eager opened palm.

Katherine smirked excitedly as soon as she felt the smooth and cold surface of the moonstone in her possession once again. This was what all the trouble in Mystic Falls was about. Katherine couldn't help but feel happy as she knew she was close to not having to run all the time. She would soon be able to live her life how she wanted.

However, as Katherine slowly closed her fingers around the moonstone, all at once she felt her breathing stop completely. It was like her insides just stopped working. Katherine quickly glanced up at the witch with her eyes widened before Katherine realized Lucy was the cause of her pain when she noticed the glare on the witch's face.

"You should have told me another witch was involved," Lucy exclaimed as she looked down at the panicked vampire. "She's a Bennett witch, Katherine," she stated before she added with a bitter smile, "but I'm sure you already knew that."

Lucy waited and watched until Katherine was down on her knees before she turned around with a proud smile on her face as she was ready to leave this town and get back to her life. However, before Lucy could get too far, she was soon stopped by Katherine's doppelganger's scared voice, "wait! My sister!"

"You're hurting Emily!" Stefan shouted in a panic as he watched Katherine choke and groan as she rolled around on the ground. Stefan didn't want Emily to feel what the older vampire was feeling as he could tell Katherine was in a lot of pain.

"Emily's fine," Lucy assured the other vampires with a soft smile while she watched little by little as Katherine stopped fighting. "The spell is broken," Lucy stated, "and she'll heal quickly."

Lucy took one last look at the vampire who controlled her life for years before she looked over at the obvious sister of the human girl and apologized, "I'm sorry for my involvement in hurting your sister." She gave the three vampires a quick smile before she swiftly left them alone with Katherine. Lucy was happy and excited that she could stop looking over her shoulder in fear for her life and finally go back home.

Damon smirked as he glanced over at Elena and Stefan before he looked down at the passed out vampire. "Well, it looks like you're going right where you belong, Kitty Kat," the oldest Salvatore uttered as he clapped his hands loudly. He was going to enjoy every second in putting Katherine into the tomb where she should have been for years.


The human and newly healed Emily Gilbert slowly stepped out of the almost empty Lockwood mansion with her brother's arm securely wrapped around her waist as he helped her walk. Emily was feeling much better now. She had stopped feeling the torturous pain when her brother had began to wrap up all of her wounds. It was like Emily could finally breathe again.

"Jer, I'm okay," Emily told her brother with a chuckle as he kept glancing over at her while they walked down the grassy hill. Emily knew she looked like hell with a pair of Tyler's black sweatpants, Mystic Falls Timberwolves hoodie, and her hair pointed in every direction, but Emily felt normal; like nothing even happened.

"Are you sure?" Jeremy questioned worriedly as he looked down at her wrapped body with furrowed brows, "you aren't still bleeding, right?"

"Yes, mom," Emily joked before she moved away from Jeremy's arms and stood up straight on her own. "See?" She exclaimed before she twirled her body around. "I'm fine," Emily promised with a grin.

Jeremy rolled his eyes as he mumbled, "alright, stop showing off." Even though the Gilbert boy looked like he was annoyed, Jeremy couldn't be anymore grateful that his sister was safe and not in anymore pain. He hated having to watch his strong sister fall apart like that.

"Emily!" A voice suddenly shouted once the two Gilbert siblings had continued to walk away from the Lockwood mansion. Emily and Jeremy both turned around at the yelling and saw the Bennett witch jogging to catch up with them.

"How are you? You're healing, right?" Bonnie quickly questioned as she looked around Emily's body once she was in front of the siblings. Lucy, her cousin she didn't know she had, explained that the human girl would start healing once the spell was lifted.

The Gilbert girl didn't respond to Bonnie's questions, instead she pulled her friend into a tight hug. "Thank you," Emily praised breathlessly. She was pretty sure that they would be mourning her right now if Bonnie didn't help heal her wounds earlier.

"So, you're okay?" Bonnie questioned as she needed assurance that the Gilbert girl wasn't in anymore pain after everything that happened tonight.

Emily shook her head with a chuckle before she exclaimed, "yes, Bonnie. I'm all good." She knew her friend was worried about her. But Emily didn't need that. She was the one that was supposed to be worried about everyone.

A loud breath of relief escaped Bonnie's mouth as she could tell Emily was going to be fine. She pulled the human girl into a tight hug as she whispered, "I'm so glad you're okay." Bonnie had been so scared and nervous that she wouldn't have been quick enough to find the other witch.

"You and me both," Emily giggled before a heavy yawn left her lungs. She glanced between her brother and friend as she announced, "I think I'm going to head home." Emily then looked down at Tyler's large outfit on her body before mumbling, "I'm literally covered in blood, sweat, and tears."

"Do you want me to drive your car home?" Jeremy questioned with furrowed brows. He didn't really like the idea of Emily driving on the roads right now in her condition as he could tell she wasn't exactly at one hundred percent yet.

Emily quickly shook her head and waved her hand carelessly before she assured her brother, "no, no. I'll be fine." She shrugged her shoulders as she added, "besides, it's not that far away."

Jeremy stared at his sister for a moment before he nodded his head. "Alright, fine," he muttered before he ordered, "but you better be home when I get there."

Emily grinned at her brother before she pulled him into a hug. "I'll be on the couch with Jenna and a big tub of ice cream," she promised. She then pulled Bonnie into another hug and praised, "thank you so much, Bon Bon."

Bonnie gave the brunette girl a smile before she quickly called out, "drive carefully," while she watched the healthy Emily slowly walk away from her and Jeremy. Like the youngest Gilbert, Bonnie was still worried about the green eyed girl as she went through a lot of trauma today.

"I will!" Emily yelled to her worried brother and friend along with, "I love you," before she turned her body fully around and began to make her way to the makeshift parking lot.

The exhaustion must have been something the spell couldn't fix because Emily was beginning to feel the tiredness rush through her body like a speeding train. Emily's whole body was sore and on fire. But Emily knew she could at least hold it together until she got back to the Gilbert house.

The Gilbert girl felt like she had been walking for hours as she tried to find her black Honda. She remembered she had parked it a little bit passed the Lockwood lake. It took three more very slow minutes of dragging her body before Emily finally reached the aforementioned water source. The brunette girl stood there for a moment as she caught her breath and looked down at the dark water. However, Emily's peaceful and calm silence was soon interrupted by the familiar swishing of a vampire.

Emily had barely enough time to turn around at the unknown vampire before she felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around her body. "God, you scared me," the vampire whispered softly into Emily's ear.

The Gilbert girl smiled against the vampire's chest as she recognized right away that it was Stefan Salvatore. "I'm okay," she whispered right back as she knew he must have been worried about her, which made Emily's stomach flutter instantly.

Stefan pulled away from the human girl after a few minutes of holding her before he grabbed her face gently between his hands. "Really?" Stefan questioned as his green eyes furrowed deeply, "you're not in any pain?"

Emily shook her head with a grin, "nope." She took a step back before she held her arms out and stated proudly, "I'm good as new." Emily couldn't help but feel much happier and healthier in Stefan's presence. It was like all the exhaustion just left her body as soon as Stefan was close to her.

Stefan didn't say anything to the brunette girl. Instead, he just stared into Emily's green eyes as he still couldn't believe that she was standing and walking right now after everything they did to Katherine. Stefan brought his lips down to Emily's forehead before he finally spoke in a whisper, "I don't know what I would've done if you weren't okay."

Emily slowly moved her empty hand to lightly graze Stefan's fingers with her own as she assured him, "I'm okay, Stef." Emily couldn't help but want to feel Stefan's body against hers. It was like she was suddenly starving for his touch. Emily didn't know if it was from her near death experience or her feelings she kept having for him, but she didn't want it to stop.

Stefan nodded his head silently as he knew Emily was going to be okay and that she was now safe from the wrath of Katherine since Damon and Elena was dealing with the aforementioned vampire. He felt like he could finally breathe again knowing that she wasn't in any pain.

Stefan glanced down at his and Emily's fingers that were gently touching before he slowly linked them together in a tight hold. Stefan knew he needed to take his chance now to finally tell Emily how he feels about her. There was no Katherine to interrupt them again or any problem that needed their attention. It was just them; Stefan Salvatore and Emily Gilbert.

The vampire gently pushed the human girl's messy brown hair behind her left ear before he settled his hand on her warm cheek. "I need to tell you something," Stefan uttered as he stared directly into his favorite pair of eyes. He swallowed thickly before he added, "something important."

Emily tilted her head up as she gently nodded with her brows furrowed. The brunette girl didn't understand why Stefan looked so nervous to tell her something. He was never nervous around her, so why now? "Uh... yeah, of course," Emily told the vampire curiously.

Stefan took a deep breath before he stated, "alright. Firstly, I need to tell you something else before I tell you the important thing." He then rubbed the back of his neck nervously with an awkward chuckle at his confused statement before he ripped the band-aid right off, "Elena and I broke up."

Emily's green eyes instantly widened in shock as soon as the words came out of Stefan's mouth. "Oh, my God!" She gasped. "W-When? What happened? Are you okay?" Emily quickly interrogated as questions flew through her mind. She didn't understand why she was hearing this from Stefan and not her twin sister or why it even happened. She thought everything was fine.

"Um, it was right before the volunteer picnic," Stefan mumbled as he grew more nervous as the conversation went on.

Emily frowned as she thought back to that day. She should have known something was wrong as she remembered Elena would avoid talking about Stefan and the younger Salvatore became more touchy with her after that day. "What happened?" Emily questioned as she crossed her arms over her chest, "and why didn't my sister tell me?" She couldn't believe she was just now finding out about something so big.

"Well..." Stefan trailed off before he told the Gilbert girl, "it happened right after Elena turned. She started to feel differently for Damon." He shrugged his shoulders before he continued, "and I realized I wasn't in love with her anymore." Stefan took a deep breath before he explained, "Elena and I decided that I should be the one to tell you since I have something to confess to you." The vampire then grabbed Emily's hand and rubbed it softly as he began, "I realized that I'm in lo-"

However, before Stefan could finally confess his true feelings to the brunette girl, they were soon interrupted by Emily's cell phone ringing in her black clutch purse. "Sorry," Emily quickly apologized before she took a step away from Stefan and pulled out her cell phone.

Emily glanced down at her device to see who was calling before she looked back up at Stefan with a small smile. "It's Elena," she stated, "I should probably take this." Emily then rose an eyebrow as she wondered, "can we finish this conversation later? Maybe you can come by in an hour?"

Stefan's green eyes swarmed with disappointment as he didn't get the chance to tell Emily what he had been craving to do for months. But he still gave the Gilbert girl a small nod and a tiny smile. "Yeah, of course," Stefan stated before he leaned down and left a lingering kiss on the top of Emily's head. "I'll see you soon, Emmie," Stefan promised before he vamp sped away from the human girl.

Emily shook her head with her brows furrowed once she was standing alone. She definitely wasn't going to let this conversation go; not with Stefan nor her sister. Emily wanted to know the whole story plus whatever Stefan was so nervous tell her about.

"Hey, Lena," Emily greeted as she answered her cell phone just as it reached the last ring.

"Finally!" Elena exclaimed as she had been waiting nervously for her sister to answer her call. "How are you feeling? You're not in any pain, right?" She questioned after she took a deep breath of relief once she heard Emily's calm voice.

Emily chuckled lightly before she told Elena, "I'm fine. I'm just about to head home." She rose an eyebrow to herself before she wondered, "where are you?"

"Damon and I are dealing with Katherine," Elena explained with a heavy sigh as she stood outside the tomb while Damon was inside with her doppelganger. Elena was really starting to wish that she had checked on her twin sister first. She needed to see with her own eyes that Emily was okay or she wasn't going to be able to relax anytime soon.

"Speaking of Damon, you and I need to have a little chat, Missy," Emily exclaimed as she recalled what Stefan had just told her. She wasn't going to allow Elena to get away without a scolding about not telling Emily about her breakup with Stefan and apparently her new relationship with Damon.

"Uh... should I be worried?" Elena asked awkwardly.

Emily shrugged her shoulders to herself before she stated, "possibly." The Gilbert girl was only joking around as she pushed Elena's buttons. Emily really just wanted to have a sister to sister chat about the things she was obviously out of the loop in.

Elena groaned loudly before she mumbled, "fine. I'll be home soon."

Emily grinned and uttered, "good." The Gilbert girl's smile brightened when she could finally see her black Honda. "I'm at my car now, so I'll see you soon," Emily told her sister before she quickly added, "oh! Pick up some more ice cream. I think we're almost out."

Elena shook her head with a chuckle. She didn't know how Emily does it. How she could go back to her bubbly self after basically being attacked for over an hour. There was no one like Emily Gilbert that was for sure. "I'll pick up some chocolate ice cream," Elena promised before she ordered, "drive carefully on the roads and send me a text when you're safe."

Emily rolled her eyes at how worried her sister and everyone else has been about her. She didn't like when everyone got worried, that was her job. But Emily would let it slide for tonight. "I promise, Lena," Emily stated before she said a quick goodbye to her sister and ended the call.

The Gilbert girl placed her cell phone back into her clutch bag before she stretched her sore body as she reached her car. Emily's body was aching all over the place. She really hoped Alaric still had some bourbon left because she definitely was going to need it.

Emily let a heavy sigh leave her mouth as she heard the multiple popping of her limbs before she reached back into her clutch bag for her car keys. However, the brunette girl frowned when she couldn't feel or hear them. "Ugh," Emily groaned, "come on."

After a long two minutes, Emily finally found what she was looking for. "Ha!" Emily cheered to herself before she went to place the keys into the hole to unlock her car. However, that was not what happened. One moment Emily was looking into her reflection in her window and the next she saw a tall figure standing behind her with a Masquerade mask before everything instantly turned dark and she was knocked unconscious.

The man in the black hood grinned excitedly as he looked down at the passed out human girl in his arms. He then glanced around the party for anyone watching him before he easily tossed the girl over his shoulder and quickly placed her into the back of his SUV. The man knew he was going to be getting a big reward in the form of him finally turning into a vampire for bagging the much needed human Petrova doppelganger.