A/N: Hey guys! It's time for a chapter update!

Please review, and no flaming please.

I don't own The Vampire Diaries. All characters (except for Grace) are owned by author L.J. Smith.

Enjoy xx

CURSE OF THE SUN AND MOON

"The moon is my sun, the night is my day. Blood is my life, and you are my prey." ~Unknown Author.

I'm going to wait a few more minutes, then I'm going to be busting skulls. The four of us (and Henrik) had been on the road towards Duke University for about an hour so far, and already the atmosphere in the car was extremely tense.

All of it radiating between Damon and Elena.

Before we set off on this road trip; Damon and I were subjected to a rather sickening display of affection performed by Elena on Stefan, whereupon she had attempted to suck the lips off the poor guy's face; in an attempt to make Damon jealous.

In the end, I solved the problem (and prevented Damon's wrath) by leaning on Alaric's car horn; scaring them apart and feigning innocence that I was at all to blame; much to Damon's amusement and appreciation. Since then, Alaric and I were both dealing with the consequences of that, and we were both feeling extremely uncomfortable. Eventually, Damon spins round in his seat to look at Elena.

"How are you two doing back there?" He asked, trying to strike up a conversation. Elena pointedly ignored Damon's question.

I sighed.

"Great. This is a good book." I replied, holding up a novel I had brought along with me for the long car ride, so that he could see the cover. Damon gave me a pained smile, before trying again with Elena. Henrik, was fast asleep; snoring a little, and blissfully oblivious to the smothering tension in the car.

"You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly." Damon pointed out to Elena, who finally flicked her eyes towards him, but still refused to answer.

"Don't think she's pretending." Alaric interjected. "You did kill her brother." He reminded him. Damon sat back in his seat, staring out of the window.

"There is a huge asterisk next to that statement: he came back to life." Damon reminded both Elena and Alaric. I winced at his words. Did he seriously think that that made everything okay?

Elena glared at him.

"Yeah, thanks to a ring that you didn't know he was wearing." Elena responded snidely. Damon frowned, looking like he was getting a little irritated with Elena's refusal to let bygones be bygones, or at least make a truce for the duration of our little investigation trip.

"Why are you so sure I didn't know?" Damon wanted to know. Elena looked at him accusingly.

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"You're lying." Elena didn't believe him. I wanted to strangle the both of them. This entire conversation wasn't getting them anywhere. If anything it was only getting them increasingly volatile. I could see Damon getting angrier and angrier.

"Elena, I saw the ring!" Damon insisted. "It's a big tacky thing. Kinda hard to miss." I glanced up from my book, and glared at the both of them.

"Do I need to separate you two?" I inquired, casually. Damon gave me a look.

"Really? You're gonna talk down to us like children?" He grumbled.

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't acting like children." I retorted.

"I agree." Alaric piped up, and I smiled gratefully at him. Damon raised an eyebrow.

"E tu?" Alaric made a point of ignoring him, deciding to focus on driving instead. It was then that I realised we had arrived at Duke University. Thank god! I thought with relief. The second after Alaric found a parking spot, and killed the engine; Elena was up and out of her seat, in an effort to get away from Damon, who was a close second, but moving to get away from her.

Alaric and I watched them go before exchanging bemused looks between us.

"Not really helping their cause." I commented, sighing and shaking my head in exasperation. Alaric gave me a weak smile in agreement before getting out of the car, and striding over to where Damon and Elena were waiting, still pointedly ignoring each other. "Henrik, we're here." I spoke to him, loud enough not to draw attention towards myself for talking to 'thin air'. He grumbled in his sleep.

"Ten more minutes, Mother." He mumbled, and rolled over to face away from me. I resisted the urge to squeal at how adorable he looked and sounded.

"I'm not your mum, Henrik. But if you wanna stay here and sleep some more I won't disturb you." I told him, wishing that I could touch him so I could both squeeze him in a hug and kiss his cheek. I got out of the car, and pulled my purse onto my shoulder.

"Everything alright?" Alaric asked me, with mild concern. I clearly had taken a lot longer to get out of his car than I originally thought.

"Yeah, absolutely. Just thought I had dropped my phone." I lied easily. I fell into step in between Damon and Elena, thus creating a barrier between them; just for the sake of peace for the rest of this trip. Alaric didn't look like he believed me, but decided to drop the subject.

"So Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore." Alaric explained, acting as tour guide for us as we followed him towards Isobel's office. Inside, we found a girl a little older than me sitting at a desk, thumbing through some papers. She must've been a Graduate student assisting Isobel once-upon-a-time. She looked up after Alaric knocked on the office door, alerting her to our arrival. "Excuse me, hi. I'm Alaric Saltzman, I called earlier." Alaric introduced himself to her.

She smiled politely at both him and me.

"Yes, of course. I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant, comparative folklore." She introduced herself, but then faltered noticeably when Elena stepped in, rubbernecking curiously. Damon came in and made a point of coming over and standing beside me, as far away from Elena as possible.

I rolled my eyes.

"Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys." Vanessa told Alaric, who followed her gaze over to Damon and Elena.

"Oh, these are my friends Elena, Damon and Grace." He explained, pointing to each of us in introduction. "I hope this isn't too much of an imposition." He asked, slightly concerned. Vanessa pasted on a very false looking smile. I frowned suspiciously.

"Oh please, Isobel's office is right through there." Vanessa indicated towards a nearby door across the room. "Isobel was one of my first professors. I'm a Grad student." She explained, confirming my assumption. Her face immediately became solemn. "She was brilliant, and one of the reasons I went into folklore." Vanessa went to retrieve the keys, then paused frowning and looking at Alaric hopefully. "Uh, I have to ask – has there been any news?" The three of us maintained poker-faces as Alaric shook his head, looking grave.

"No, I'm afraid not." He replied. Vanessa seemed to visibly deflate at his news.

"It's this way." Vanessa opens Isobel's office door, and we followed her inside. "I'll grab the light. Feel free to look around. It's fascinating isn't it?" Vanessa stated, before calmly leaving the room. I made a face at the piles and piles of papers, books, tomes and other miscellaneous items strewn around the office.

Fascinating wasn't quite the word I'd use to describe this particular subject.

"Where'd she go?" Damon called out, voicing the same thought we all did.

Suddenly, Vanessa comes back with a crossbow and shoots an arrow at Elena. Damon manages to intercept the arrow by shoving Elena into my arms, out of the projectile's path and receiving the arrow in his back. He grunted in pain and falls to the floor, just as Alaric launches himself at Vanessa and pushes her against the wall, restraining her.

"Jeez!" I glared at Vanessa before crouching beside Damon. "Hang on, Damon. I'll pull it out." I promised him and grabbed the arrow. But Damon's blood was making it hard to get a good grip enough to pull it free.

"Just pull the damn thing out. It hurts!" Damon grunted. I finally manage to get a grip on the arrow and gently pulled it out. Damon stands up straight and shakes himself while grimacing a little. He glares furiously at a visibly frightened Vanessa, still being restrained by Alaric from across the room. "That bitch is dead." Damon growled, and made a beeline towards her. But Elena stood right in his path.

"You're not gonna kill her." Elena told him, firmly. Damon grabbed her by the shoulders, obviously intending on pushing her aside.

"Watch me." He retorted, defiantly. But Elena got out of his grip.

"You touch her and I swear I will never speak to you again." Elena threatened him.

Damon sneered at her.

"What makes you think that has any power over me?" He snapped. "Because I took an arrow in the back for you? You're severely overestimating yourself, because I would've done the exact same thing for Grace." He stated, harshly. I narrowed my eyes at him. Don't bring me into this! Elena crossed her arms over her chest as she continued to glare at Damon.

"Right. I forgot that I was speaking to a psychotic mind who snaps and kills people impulsively." Damon winced at her words, but otherwise didn't show any other sign that Elena's words had visibly affected him. She sighed, and took a step back to let him passed, calling his bluff. "Fine, go ahead, do whatever you want." She said. Damon's eyes narrowed.

"You're trying to manipulate me." He argued. Elena offered him a nasty little smile.

"If by 'manipulate' you mean 'tell the truth', then okay. I'm guilty." She retorted. That was it, I had had enough, and if the expression I saw on Alaric's face spoke volumes, it was clear he had reached his limit as well.

"Alright. Back to your corners! Enough of this petty bullshit!" I raged. "I swear you two are going to make me go prematurely grey, at 22!" Elena merely gives Damon one last scathing look before she turns and leaves the room. I turned and gave Damon a 'what the hell' look that he ignored and promptly followed after Elena. I quickly followed, aiming to re-establish harmony as fast as possible, for both my sanity and poor Alaric's as he was the one who was going to be driving us back to Mystic Falls.

In the other room, we found Alaric standing with Vanessa who was still staring at both Elena and Damon, looking completely spooked. She starts to stand up, but Alaric pushes her back down into her seat. Right! Time to get to the bottom of this entire situation.

"Please! I freaked out okay?" Vanessa attempted to plead her case. "You would've have done the same thing." She insisted.

"Really? See I kinda like to ask questions first, then shoot to kill later." I retorted, glaring down at her. Vanessa frowned at me defensively.

"But it's not possible!" She insisted. "Katherine Pierce can't be alive, and Damon Salvatore died in 1864. Okay? I read Isobel's research." I glanced at Alaric who shrugged. Everything Vanessa said was plausible, but it still wasn't an excuse to start randomly firing off weapons. Alaric gestured toward Elena and Damon.

"Well, then you should know just how possible this actually is." He told her. Elena sighed and came over to Vanessa.

"I'm Elena Gilbert; Isobel's daughter and a descendant of Katherine Pierce." She introduced herself, smiling politely. Elena gestured vaguely in Damon's direction. "And that is Damon Salvatore who you just shot." Vanessa locked eyes on Damon, who gave her a patronizing smile.

"I'd be extra nice to me right now." He said. I smacked him on the arm. He ignored me. Elena rolled her eyes, before addressing Vanessa once again.

"Look, we need your help okay? We need to see all of Isobel's research. Anything related to Mystic Falls." She asked, politely. Vanessa studied Elena warily before she nodded and got to her feet. She disappeared into another room, presumably the same room she had stashed the crossbow – thankfully not taking it with her – and returned not carrying yet another weapon to kill us all with, but holding a large box which she gives to Elena.

"This box checks Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in April 1864." Vanessa explained to Elena, who immediately opened the box to see what was inside. Intrigued, I came over and started pulling things out of the box. I was curious about any information I could find about Mystic Falls, since it had been a part of my history since Gráinne's arrival over a thousand years before.

"Is that all there is about her?" Elena asked, curiously. Vanessa nodded.

"All that I'm aware of." She confirmed. I found some vervain at the bottom of the box and glanced over at Damon, warily. When he was in this kind of mood, he was extremely unpredictable; so it didn't hurt to give Vanessa some extra protection against him and other vampires. Namely Isobel if she ever decided to come back to Duke.

"Here, take this." I said, pressing the purple flower into Vanessa's hand. Damon was in the other room, making himself useful and searching for the relevant information, but I noticed that he was glancing over at us, smirking. Vanessa looked skeptically at the vervain I had given her, and then at Damon. I could practically hear the cogs clicking around in her head.

"Does vervain really work?" Vanessa asked Elena and me, doubtfully.

"Nope, not at all." Damon called out from the other room, making Vanessa jump in surprise. She frowned.

"Can he hear us?"

"No, that would be creepy." Damon said, cheerfully. Obviously enjoying stirring the pot and making Vanessa uncomfortable. I rolled my eyes.

"Can he read minds too?" Vanessa looked a bit freaked. I opened my mouth to reply, but Damon beat me to it.

"You know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask." Damon told her, smirking. I sighed heavily.

"Knock it off, Damon." I said, still sorting through the contents of the box. Damon came into the room, and clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Lighten up, Grace. You're no fun at all." He teased. I cracked a small smile, as Elena eyed both him and me with scorn.

"No, that he can't do." Elena reassured Vanessa. "But he is very capable of being a first rate jackass." She told her. I glanced up to see Vanessa immediately put the vervain in her pocket, and then saw Damon smiling; obviously not at all fazed by Elena's description of him. It took a while for any of us to find anything of relevance towards werewolves, vampires or any supernatural entities. Elena was showing signs of irritation and frustration.

"Any luck?" Damon inquired to everybody in general.

But I knew that he was mostly directing the question towards Elena, obviously intending on the question to act as a verbal ceasefire. Thankfully, Elena had cooled down somewhat. She was still very cold towards Damon, but looked like she was at least willing to act civil. She shook her head at Damon's question.

"There's nothing in here about Katherine that we don't already know." Elena reported, frustrated.

"Nothing here." I replied. Damon grunted in reply, and I glanced over at him. He had an innocent smile on his face, and I rolled my eyes; silently hoping that he wasn't about to spoil the pleasant atmosphere by firing off something to rile up Elena.

"Ah, man, you know, it's a bummer we're not friends anymore because I could tell you what I know." Damon sing-songed at Elena, who looked up at him with irritation. I deflated visibly. So much for peace and quiet.

"Now who's manipulating who?" Elena retorted.

"Guys, seriously. Give it a rest." I spoke out, sharply and impatiently.

I had reached the end of my tether and I was starting to develop a tension headache. Both Damon and Elena fell silent, and I glanced up to see Damon looking at me apologetically. I raised an eyebrow at him trying to translate to him that what he had been doing for the past few hours was NOT alright. I think I need to pull him aside and privately state to him, that if he wanted Elena as much as he claimed; then he was aggressively going the wrong way about it.

"Hey guys, check this out." Alaric called out, sounding very relieved about something. Elena, Damon and I immediately dropped what we were doing and came over to where Alaric and Vanessa were pouring over a very old looking book. Vanessa looked up at us, looking pleased with what she had found.

"There is no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls, but here are some records of some of the lesser-known legends." She told us. "Everything from Scandinavian skin-walkers to the Maréchal de Retz." Uh, what? Vanessa passed over the book and laid it down on the table so we all had access to it.

"Curse of the Sun and Moon?" I read, sounding skeptical. Alaric read over my shoulder.

"It looks Native American." He observed. But Vanessa shook her head.

"Actually, it's Aztec." She corrected him. "It's basically a description of the origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia." I shook my head as I continued studying the page. Something didn't ring true about the information Vanessa was telling us. Stories about the Aztecs being terrorized by both vampires and werewolves that stretched across the countryside and made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed both entities. Taking away the sun for vampires, and condemning werewolves to turn into beasts during each full moon.

"Can they control the transformation?" Damon asked, referring to werewolves. Hell no… I thought, as Vanessa shook her head.

"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse." She told him, matter-of-factly. I instantly started visualizing Henrik's ripped and torn body so clearly in my head; the result of a werewolf losing control. "Werewolves will attack humans, but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice: vampires." I felt somebody touch my arm, and I flinched pulling away from the grip.

"Grace, are you alright? You've gone pale." It was Elena, looking at me with concern. I saw Damon with the same amount of concern reflected on his face as well. I shook my head and turned away, covering my face with my hands. "Tell me." Elena insisted, gently.

"Henrik…" I whimpered, and Elena's eyes widened in recognition.

"Oh God. Grace, I'm so sorry. I should've remembered." Elena apologized. Damon looked confused.

"Who's Henrik?" He demanded. Elena glanced up at him.

"He's a friend of Grace's. He was mauled to death by a werewolf." Elena reminded him. Damon's eyes widened.

"I guess that answers my question also." He muttered. Both Alaric and Vanessa looked shocked.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Vanessa said. I nodded absently.

"But, if werewolves were hunting vampires, I would know about it." Damon protested. I gave him a look, as did Vanessa.

"Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive." Vanessa explained. "Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them almost to extinction." Elena frowned with confusion.

"Why would they do that?" She asked.

"To protect themselves." Vanessa replied, succinctly. "Legends tell us that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires." It got so silent in that room, you could've heard a pin drop.

"Oh..." Damon said, as the rest of us looked very, very concerned. We had two suspected werewolves waiting for us back in Mystic Falls. By the fact that the four of us were exchanging stricken looks with each other, it was almost certainly clear: Damon and Stefan at least, were screwed.

Having found what we believed we needed, it was time to head back to Mystic Falls. However there was something bugging me about that 'Sun and Moon curse'. I glanced around to see what everybody else was doing. Alaric and Vanessa were deep in discussion; presumably talking about Isobel, if the solemn expression on Alaric's face had any meaning. Damon was browsing through some old tomes and books that lined the shelves all around us; all while surreptitiously glancing at Elena with a questioning expression on his face. And Elena was on the phone with Stefan reporting back their findings; including the 'Sun and Moon Curse', detailing all the important facts.

"You're thinking hard about something." I looked up to see Damon standing in front of me, holding an old thick book under his arm. The word 'PETROVA' was stenciled on the front in a gothic block print. I frowned. Why did that sound so familiar? "Uh, Grace? I'd appreciate it if you didn't ignore me. It's getting a little tiresome." Damon urged, and I glanced up into his ice blue eyes and focused.

"What? Oh, sorry Damon. It wasn't intentional." I explained, before eying the book containing the 'Sun and Moon Curse' information.

"If it were anybody else, I wouldn't believe them." I assumed he meant Elena in this instance. "But because it's you, I'll let it slide." Damon told me. I smirked. "But seriously, what's bugging you?" He asked, leaning next to me on the cluttered table we were surrounding. I let out an uneasy sigh.

"It's the 'Sun and Moon Curse'." I admitted. "My gut reaction is telling me that there's more to it than what's written there." I explained. Damon frowned. "Seriously? Despite how dubious it sounds, it seems fairly legit." He argued.

I nodded in agreement.

"I know. That's what's bugging me about it." I told him.

"Care to share?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Can't share what I'm not sure of just yet. I just need more time with the text to be sure." I eyed Vanessa. "But I'm positive 'shoot first, ask questions never' won't let me take the book with me." Damon sniggered at my less than flattering nickname for Vanessa.

"I believe I might be rubbing off on you." He teased. I narrowed my eyes playfully at Damon.

"Don't let it get to your head." I chided him. "How is your back by the way?" I asked him, fingering the hole caused by the bolt that had been left behind. There was traces of Damon's blood still staining his smoky grey button down shirt. Damon scowled, probably mourning the loss of one of his shirts.

"All healed. But if you want to continue touching me, keep going I don't mind." He leered. I immediately stabbed him with my fingernail. "Ow!" He yelped, and I smiled sweetly at him, retracting my finger. Damon glanced over at both Elena and Vanessa who were now talking together while Elena was searching through a box. "Have you got your phone on you?" He asked, his tone serious.

I unzipped my purse and pulled it free.

"Yeah, why?" I asked, frowning in confusion.

"Does it have a camera?"

"Of course." I replied, promptly. Damon wrapped his arm around my shoulder and steered me towards the book.

"Document whatever information you need. I'll distract her." Damon said, indicating towards Vanessa. Alaric had mysteriously stepped out of the room momentarily, as there was no sight or sound of him in the room. "Oh! And can you hold onto this for a sec?" Damon asked, pushing the Petrova book into my hands.

"Uh, okay?" I watched him swagger casually over to Elena and Vanessa, and using the opportunity presented to me; I immediately started flipping through the pages to find the correct ones, and started snapping pictures. I couldn't help but eavesdrop on the trio's conversation though.

"Hey, have you done any research on doppelgängers?" Elena asked Vanessa.

"Well, the word means a lot of different things to different cultures." Vanessa said. "But typically, a doppelgänger is a living, breathing double of oneself." Vanessa sounded like a living, breathing, walking encyclopedia.

"Did Isobel have anything that explained the link between me and Katherine?" Elena asked. I glanced up from documenting the pictures we saw earlier in the book to see Vanessa shake her head. Damon was discreetly hovering nearby, expertly shielding me from view of Vanessa. I smiled and continued taking pictures.

"That's all she had on Katherine, unfortunately, but I can tell you that doppelgängers usually torment the people they look like, trying to undo their lives." Vanessa explained. "It's not exactly uplifting." I gave an unladylike snort. Tell us something we don't know.

"Just … I want to know why we look alike." Elena pleaded. Damon chose this opportunity to insert himself into the conversation.

"Head scratcher, isn't it?" Elena threw him a withering glare.

"Do you know something, or are you just being yourself?" She asked him, bluntly. Damon didn't react, instead he just offered her a pleasant smile.

"Well, if I know anything, I'm not gonna tell you. At least not with that attitude." He said. Elena gave him a sarcastic smile.

"That's good, Damon. And this is coming from someone who wants to be my friend, but you know what?" Damon raised an eyebrow. "Friends don't manipulate friends, they help each other." I froze when I realised that was exactly what Damon was doing … for me. I instantly felt a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I looked up to see Damon smiling knowingly at me, and he winked.

So Damon saw me as friend, huh? I think I can live with that.

"Thank you." I mouthed at him, and he nodded graciously before striding off somewhere else; taking the Petrova book with him, while I put my phone back in my purse; having gotten what I needed from the book.

"I trust you're not gonna say anything about this to anyone?" I waited by the doorway for Alaric while he questioned Vanessa, who shook her head firmly.

"Or else Damon will kill me in my sleep?" Alaric looked surprised. "Yeah, he gave me the 411. But if you need anything, you can call." Vanessa offered him the option. Alaric smiled.

"Hopefully I won't have to." He responded.

"But if you do…" Vanessa trailed off. Alaric looked like he needed to set Vanessa straight about something. My guess was it had something to do with Isobel.

"Listen. You don't want to get caught up in this." He told her. Vanessa looked confused. "Really, it'll take over and will keep you from being able to live your life." I surprised myself. It was the first time I was actually spot on about my suspicions.

Vanessa bit her bottom lip.

"Isobel's disappearance … is it related to her research?" Vanessa reluctantly asked. Alaric clarified.

"Isobel became her research. She wanted to become a vampire and she got her wish." He told her. Vanessa looked dismayed then saddened. Damon sidled up to me.

"Ready to go?" He asked, looking a little impatient. I grinned, part of me enjoying his misery. Elena must be getting on his nerves.

"Almost. Just waiting for Alaric to finish up here." I explained. Damon grunted, but didn't attempt to hasten Alaric along. I noticed that Damon was still holding the Petrova book under his arm. I studied it curiously.

"Why do you have that book anyway?" I asked. Damon handed me the book to examine.

"It's the information Elena was looking for." He explained, nonchalantly. I cocked an eyebrow.

"And you haven't given this to her because…?" Damon takes back the book and holds underneath his arm again.

"I'm using it as a white flag in our fight." He explained. I nodded.

"I see. So you think this will stop Elena from being pissed off at you?" I asked, slouching slightly against the doorframe of Isobel's office and resting my foot casually on it as well.

"Not a chance. But I'm hoping it will get to her trust that I'm not the enemy she believes me to be." He explained. I shrugged.

"It can't hurt." I admitted. Alaric comes up to us.

"Okay, let's go." He declared, and Damon made a 'finally!' expression and moved to follow him. I moved too, but gently grabbed Damon's arm wanting to voice a question that I had been trying to find the right moment to ask him.

"What's up?" Damon asked, falling into step beside me. I thought back to how the tea tasted; and to how nice Damon was treating me.

I couldn't help it; I needed to know what he was up to.

"What did you mix in with my tea this morning?" I asked him, bracing myself for the answer and hoping I didn't have to slug him.

"My blood." Damon replied, without hesitation. I blinked. That wasn't what I was expecting to hear.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"For protection." He said, reacting like the answer should've been obvious.

"But I was practically sloshing with the stuff when I went to bed last night." I told him, confused.

Damon sighed. "Do you know the properties of a vampire's blood?" He asked.

"Only that it heals. Is there more to it?" I questioned him.

"It does more than just heal wounds." Damon explained. "It's the main component used with creating a vampire." I nodded, following so far.

"Everybody knows that." I told him, matter-of-factly. Damon smirked.

"Really? Now this I gotta hear. How do you create a vampire?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest. I frowned at him, wondering if this was a trick question. We were about halfway towards Alaric's car at this point. I could see Elena standing at the car, attempting to get inside.

"Uh, you feed on the person to the brink of death. Then you feed them your blood, and the person falls into a death-like coma for an unspecified length of time. When they wake up, they are a newborn vampire." I replied. Damon chuckled in amusement causing me to frown at his reaction. "Is that right?"

"Close, but no cigar." He said. "What you just described to me is Hollywood's version. Our method is a little different." Damon explained.

"So how do you turn a human into a vampire then?" I challenged him. Damon's eyes glittered sinisterly. I took an uncertain step back.

"We feed them our blood. You got that part right. But instead of falling into a 'death-like coma'—" Damon used air quotes for emphasis, and mocking it at the same time. "We either snap the person's neck or kill them in some other way." My eyes widen in horror. "But in some cases, humans with vampire blood in their system usually die in other ways. Stupid, idiotic ways." He looked irritated for some reason.

"And then you're a vampire?" I asked, hoping my voice didn't shake. Damon shook his head.

"Not quite. At that point when you regain consciousness; you're in what is known as transition. This is when you have a choice." He explained.

"Choice?"

"Yep. Complete the transition, or die within 24 hours forever." Damon said. I nodded.

"And if one chooses to 'complete the transition', what happens then?" I asked, intrigued despite how horrifying it sounded.

"To complete the transition, the secret ingredient is warm, fresh human blood straight from the vein." He said, sounding less than enthusiastic about the topic, despite how gung ho he had been at the beginning of the explanation. I wisely chose not to comment.

"And that's what you've done to me. Without my permission, I might add." I stated, sounding slightly irritated. Damon shook his head.

"Relax. The amount I put into your tea isn't enough to transition you into a vampire. It was only enough to perk you up this morning." He reassured me, escorting me towards the car. "It should be out of your system within 24 hours if you don't do anything stupid." He added. That rang a bell.

"So that's why you told me that back in the alleyway at the carnival." I said. Damon nodded.

"That's right. You catch on quick." He stated dryly, but then stopped and stood in front of me, a completely sober expression on his face. "But I still think it's a good idea for you to consume vampire blood regularly. Just in case." He suggested. I grinned.

"Damon Salvatore. Are you worried about my safety?" I teased, hugging his arm and purposefully trying to make him uncomfortable. It was payback for doing something without my permission. Damon quickly pulled away, looking uncomfortable. "Come back with me to my apartment. I gotta tell you something." I asked him, seriously.

He smirked lecherously. "Oh, really?"

I smacked him.

"Don't be disgusting. I'm actually trying to be honest with you. The least you could do is be serious for once." I scolded him. Damon raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay. I'll be there." He promised. I smiled.

"Good." Damon broke away from me and wondered over to Elena who was still trying to open the car door. He reached over.

"Here. Allow me." He opens the door. Elena just looks at him blanking him out. Damon sighed. "You're not gonna be able to hate me forever." He reminded her.

"Can we just go?" Elena responded, then stopped when Damon passed her the Petrova Book. She blinked down at it in surprise.

"You didn't dig deep enough." Damon told her. Elena looks at him suspiciously.

"'Petrova'. I saw this on a shelf." She told him, looking confused. Damon leaned against the car.

"Katherine originally came from Europe. 'Petrova' was her real name. Katerina Petrova, to be exact." He explained. Elena looked surprised.

"How did you know that?" She asked.

"They probably talked, Elena. That's what couples do when they're in a relationship. You of all people should know that." I reminded her, as I slid into the car beside a wide-awake Henrik who was looking a little confused. I smiled at him in greeting.

"What did you find?" He asked. I leant in closer to whisper in his ear.

"I'll tell you in a minute." I told him, indicating to Elena and Damon.

"That. And also back when, I saw it engraved on an old heirloom." Damon was saying to Elena, adding on to my statement. He gave her a 'let's be serious, here' look. "Men snoop too, you know." He stated. "Let me know what you find, I'm very curious myself." Elena turned to slide in next to me, but Damon blocked her path. "You have every right to hate me, I understand. But you hated me before and we became friends. It would suck if that were gone forever." He told her, sounding very sincere with his words. "So, is it? Have I lost you forever?" I silently rooted for Damon, hoping that Elena wouldn't be a bitch and deny him what he needed.

"Thank you for the book, Damon." Elena replied, and got into the car. I stared at her, aghast. Elena frowned at me with confusion. "What?" She asked quietly, before opening the Petrova Book and started reading.

I didn't answer, I just shook my head and turned away.

"Wow. That was cold. What happened in there while I was asleep?" Henrik wanted to know. I pulled out my phone and started texting.

It's a long story, Henrik. I'll tell you later on. There's something I need to show you as well. I texted him, and gestured to him with my head to read it. He nodded, and let his eyes wonder over to Damon, who was looking a combination of miserable and angry.

A/N: Right then. Please enjoy!

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TTFN xx