Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: This episode was always a favourite of mine and I do love Mason Lockwood. And we get more Jenna! Love me some Jenna. This chapter doesn't get any happier, but you do have some lovely bonding moments with Alexa's favourites. Hope you enjoy :)

XXX

Stefan's POV

I locked eyes with the beautiful brunet in front of me. It was the first Miss Mystic Falls ball and the first ball where I had the honour of dancing with the lovely Miss Katherine Pierce. My heart pounded as I stared down at her. Her beauty was as captivating now as it was the first time I had met her. And it always would be. Looking at Katherine was like looking into Heaven.

"Look who found his dancing shoes," Katherine smiled up at me, her eyes adoring and sweet as they connected with mine. My heart warmed at her compliment. Pleasing Katherine was my greatest aim these days. To see the warmth in her eyes directed at me was something that I craved every day. My lips twitched upwards in a return smile as I leant forward, my lips seeking hers.

"No touching, Mr Salvatore," the lady laughed, placing a finger on my lips and leaning backwards. "Those are the rules."

"I thought you didn't believe in rules," I raised an eyebrow, moving back into the 'proper' position, as her laugh warmed my heart. She was so carefree with her laughs, never allowing a tense situation to kill her laughter. With everything that was happening, with the war and the tense feeling in town, I needed her laughter.

It was then that I caught sight of my older brother Damon standing morosely in the other room. His gaze was fixed on us, completely ignoring of the young lady trying to catch his attention and soon giving up. A brief flicker of guilt flashed through me as I looked back at Katherine. But the sight of her completely eradicated my guilt and I felt pleased that she had chosen me to escort her.

"My brother is still upset that you chose me to escort you," I commented neutrally, seeking Katherine's reaction.

"Well, Damon needs to concede that his younger brother is a better dancer."

A warm feeling filled me as Katherine's gaze, full of love and pride, landed on me after she had briefly glanced at my brother.

"Looks like he found someone to occupy his time."

I frowned in confusion before looking behind me.

Alexa had joined Damon. Her arms were around his neck and his hands were on her hips. The girl beamed up at my brother, placing a gently kiss on his cheeky as he gazed down at her adoringly. Her

What? What was she doing here?

"Alexa," I murmured, taking a step forward. Almost as though she heard me, green eyes glanced in my direction as a mischievous smirk replaced the loving smile. She winked at me, a teasing look on her face, before my brother recaptured her attention. Damon wrapped his arm around Alexa's waist and steered her from the room.

"Stefan don't," Katherine warned as I moved to follow them. But I ignored her, moving quickly through the crowd. I had to know what Alexa was doing here. She should be safe at home, not here with Damon.

"Alexa!"

I opened the door and walked into... the Grill?

I glanced behind me, only to see the outside of the Grill. What?

The sound of Alexa giggling drew my attention to the pool table in the Grill. The girl stood there, pool cue in hand, grinning away like the crazy girl she was. She held the pool cue out and sing-songed, "It's your turn, darling."

I stepped forward, a smile forming on my lips. I went to talk when Damon stepped in front of me.

"Be prepared to lose," he smirked happily, getting a smirk in return. I had never seen such happiness on my brother's face, not even when he was with Katherine.

"Me? Lose? At this? Don't be ridiculous, my love. I'm-"

"Alexa the Awesome, I know."

Damon silenced Alexa's retort by pulling her into a deep kiss. She hummed happily and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

This can't be happening. Alexa can't be with Damon. He'll hurt her, just like he hurts everyone. He doesn't deserve her. And Alexa doesn't deserve to be hurt. She's already been hurt too much.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

I looked behind me to see Katherine, still dressed in her Miss Mystic Falls dress, walk up beside me. Her gaze was fixed on the two in front of us, a dark look in her eyes.

"Seeing two people be so in love with each, two people who don't deserve it."

But Alexa does deserve to be in love, just not with Damon. Not with someone who will hurt her.

We watched as Damon wrapped his arms around Alexa, distracting her as she tried to pot a ball. He pressed a kiss to her cheek before moving around to kiss the back of her neck. She giggled and lightly butted her head against his, declaring that he was a scoundrel for distracting her and that in a fair game, she would whoop his ass. My heart ached at the happiness on their faces. I wanted them to be happy but not with each other. Alexa deserved better than my brother.

"Now you know how I feel," Katherine sighed, placing her hand on my arm. "Don't fight it, Stefan. You loved me once. Loved me like those two love each other. You can love me like that again."

I looked at Katherine, only to see that we were back in the Lockwood mansion.

"I love you, Stefan. We'll be together again, I promise."

Katherine pressed her lips against mine.

I woke with a gasp, the dream flashing through my mind.

The thought of Damon and Alexa being together, it was just...

Damon deserved happiness, he really did, but Alexa was too good for him. She was a beautiful, clever, amazing girl who deserved better than this life. And I didn't want her to be hurt again.

She was too much of a younger sister to me for me to allow her to be hurt again.

XXX

Elena's POV

The noise in the Grill faded into the background as I flicked through the book that Damon had given Alexa. It was, oddly enough, the first book that had caught my sister's attention, because, she claimed, she liked the name. But then again, knowing Alexa, that's probably the truth. She just went with the random thoughts when they came to her and she often got lucky.

Movement out of the corner of my eye made me glance upwards. Only to see Damon Salvatore sitting next to me. I rolled my eyes as I looked back down at the book, jotting something down in my notebook. I resisted the urge to smile as I imagined how loud Lexa would have screamed if she was here. She had always been jumpy, but it had gotten worse since the supernatural entered our lives.

After a few minutes of sitting there with Damon just staring at me, I sighed and looked up.

"What do you want, Damon?" I asked, crossing my arms and placing them on the table.

"Where's your sister?" the vampire asked, completely ignoring my question as he glanced around the room.

I narrowed my eyes and replied, through gritted teeth, "She's at home, in bed, catching up on all the sleep she's missed."

"Why hasn't she been sleeping?"

Is that concern that I detect? Well, apparently Damon does care about my little sister. Good to know that he wasn't completely heartless.

"That's her business, not yours."

But she was still having nightmares. It's why she's gone on a cake making spree for the past few nights. It's her way of coping. But at least now I know. And I can help her catch up on all the sleep she's missed. Even if it is just by distracting Aunt Jenna so that she doesn't realise that Alexa's still in bed. Because she needed that sleep. She wouldn't be able to cope with her PTSD if she didn't. And I knew she had it. No one could survive dying without suffering. Some just hid it better. And it was my duty to help Alexa cope with hers.

In a clear dismissal, I stood up and packed away the book in the bag that I had brought it in. I'd found the book in my room when I woke up the morning after the Duke trip. I had a sneaky suspicion that it was Alexa who put it there. I knew that she wanted to know more about Katherine but she was scared to. Even the mention of the name had her flinching. I knew that she was scared of me at times. It was when I didn't announce my approach and it was the initial moment of fear. So I did my best to let her know when I was coming. I had to do everything I could to make this easier for my baby sister.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going home so that I can check on Alexa."

And make sure that she is still alseep and not having any bad dreams. The amount of nightmares had eased slightly, but they were still there.

"Ok," Damon shrugged although his eyes showed his concern. "See you at Jenna's barbecue."

Wait, what?

"How do you know about Jenna's barbecue?" I asked suspiciously, placing a hand on my hip.

"It was my idea," the vampire smirked proudly. "Jenna went to high school with Mason Lockwood and Alexa is best friends with his nephew, so I figured a social gathering would be a good way to get to know the guy. So I told Ric to tell Jenna and, well..."

"Does Jenna know that you're going to be there? Because she's not exactly a fan of yours."

And that was an understatement. She hated Damon. After what he did to Jeremy and it happening in front of Alexa, Damon was on her shit list until he made it up to her. And first, he had to make it up to Alexa.

The waitress then chose that moment to appear at the table and put down two boxes.

"Perfect, thank you," Damon briefly smiled at the girl, clearly taking absolutely no interest in her. Much to the girl's annoyance. "I'm hoping this peach cobbler for Jenna will pave the way."

"And what's in the second box?"

"I recall your twin once saying that she loved the apple pies that they sell here."

"What are you up to?"

"I'm gonna put some silver into Mason Lockwood and prove he is a werewolf. See you at the barbecue."

Right, now or never.

"Damon!" I called as the vampire went to leave.

"Yes?" he asked, turning around, eyebrow raised and a curious look on his face.

I took a deep breath, "Stay away from my twin."

Damon frowned in confusion, "What?"

"Stay away from her. Alexa's been hurt enough these past couple of weeks. These past couple of months. The last thing she needs is to be hurt again."

And if you stay away from her, there is a smaller chance that Katherine will hurt her again. I could keep her away from Stefan but Damon would need some extra convincing.

The thought that a few days ago, I almost lost my sister, permanently lost her, it still hadn't completely sunken in. I couldn't imagine life without my little twin sister. And I don't want to. I would do whatever it took to keep my sister alive and safe.

I was reluctant to let Alexa leave the house without vampire supervision. The only place that she could go on her own was the Lockwood house. Tyler and I had an understanding; we would both keep an eye on Alexa and keep her safe. Tyler was actually one of the few who I trusted with Alexa's safety. I knew that he would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Because he loved her almost as much as I did.

But Katherine best hope that she doesn't run into me anytime soon, because I will happily kill her for what she did to my Alexa. She dared to hurt, to kill, my twin.

And that is a transgression that is punishable by death.

XXX

Alexa's POV

I returned to the land of consciousness by rolling off of my bed. Ya know, I swear my bed has it out for me. It's a double bed for god sake; it shouldn't be this easy to fall off of it. And yet, I've been doing it almost twice a night recently. Maybe it was connected to my nightmares, that was my only guess.

I groaned weakly as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I knew that I hadn't been asleep for long. But I was hoping that it was longer than my previous attempt at sleep. I just needed to sleep for a little bit longer each time.

"Why?" I muttered into the soft duvet. "Why do you hate me, Mr Bed?"

I slowly, very very slowly, stretched my arm over the edge of the bed and grabbed a fistful of the blanket. Right, ho, Alexa, let's do some pulling.

I used my tired muscles and managed to pull myself half way up the bed. As I went to try again, I paused. Y'know, I don't need to sleep on my bed. I could just sleep right here. My carpet was soft enough, it would do.

Mmmm, here comfy.

I was almost asleep when the sound of my door opening disturbed me. There was a quiet laugh before a hand grabbed my arm and gently eased me all the way onto the bed.

A hand soothed through my hair as my twin asked, "What happened, Lexa?"

"Rolled out of bed," I mumbled as I felt Ellie lie down next to me.

"Nightmare? Or did you just forget how big your bed is?"

"My bed hates me and shrinks itself while I'm sleeping."

"Sure, Lexa, of course."

"Shush twin."

I slid my hand across the blanket, searching for Elena's hand. When I finally found, after some help from her, I entwined my fingers with hers and shuffled closer. Opening my eyes, I stared into my twin's. It was remarkable that the only obvious difference was the colour of our eyes. Hers a beautiful brown, mine a plain green.

"How did you sleep?"

"Well, I managed to sleep for more than two hours, so I have to say pretty well."

"Well, that's something, I suppose," my twin sighed before tapping my cast. "How is your arm?"

"I think it's completely healed," I stared at the drawings my two brothers had decorated my cast with. "It doesn't hurt anymore. But I'm gonna have to keep this stupid thing on for a bit longer."

"We could ask one of our vampire friends to compel a doctor into taking it off," Ellie offered softly as I flexed my fingers on the cast arm.

I shook my head, "It's more trouble than it's worth right now. Maybe later, once I've found a way to tell Jenna and Jeremy."

Ellie rubbed small circles on the back of my hand with her thumb as I rested my head against her shoulder. She switched her grip on my hand to her spare and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. I happily accepted the cuddle and closed my eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked into the silence.

I opened my eyes and frowned up at her in confusion.

"When it happened, why didn't you tell me when you got home? Or the next morning?" she elaborated softly, stroking my hair back from my face.

"Because I didn't want you to worry."

"But I was worried. You were barely sleeping and you weren't acting like yourself. Like the little sister I love."

"Ellie, you were worrying about Katherine being in town, about the fact that she has been invited into the house, about the fact Jer still hasn't completely forgiven you, about Katherine's infatuation with Stefan. You didn't need the extra hassle of worrying about me."

"Hey," my twin whispered, cupping the side of my face, making me look her in the eyes. "Worrying about you is never a hassle. You are my baby sister; you are my main priority."

"Y'know, sometimes, with all of this supernatural crap that goes on, I doubt it. I know it's wrong and I know that everything you said is true. But there's this little voice in the back of my head and, well..."

"Then I'll just have to keep on reminding you, Lexa."

I blinked back the tears that had started to form and smiled shakily at my twin. Damn, lack of sleep makes me really emotional. Goddamn it, I hated being so emotional. Especially in front of people. Even if it was my sister.

"Have you told Damon?"

I snorted softly and shook my head, "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm scared that he'll do something stupid and get himself killed."

I could feel my sister's gaze on me, studying my face.

"You care about him."

It wasn't a question; it was a statement. And I knew that I couldn't deny that. I did care for Damon. Even after what he did. And it wasn't just because I understood why he acted that way. Damon had been there for me through so many shitty times and I saw a side of him that others weren't allowed to.

"More than I should, considering everything that he's done."

"You'll forgive him for it."

I looked up from where I had been staring at mine and Elena's linked hands. My sister had a soft, understanding look on her face as she squeezed my hand.

"It's what you do, you love unconditionally."

"I never said that I love him," I protested weakly. I still wasn't ready to admit it to myself. And I knew that Ellie knew that. Admitting that I loved Damon, after fighting my crush on him for so long, was hard. Because I wasn't ready to do anything with it yet. I still mourned for Luke. And I didn't know if I was ready to move on yet. And Damon deserved someone who could love him completely. Especially after Katherine broke his heart yet again.

"Lexa, I know you better than anyone, and I can see that you love him. You're just not ready to admit it to yourself just yet."

XXX

Dressed in a denim shorts and purple tank top combo, I sat, well, I slumped, at the kitchen counter, watching my twin and my aunt prepare for the little barbecue shdang that was happening. I had offered my amazing services, but was promptly shut down. Apparently, I looked too tired to help with pouring things. Well, if they think that I'm bad when I'm tired, they should see me when I'm hammered. There's a reason why I always had a drinking buddy.

"Thanks for letting me invite Caroline," Elena smiled at Aunt Jenna as she picked at the chips she just poured out. "She could use a day of distraction."

A silent 'As does Alexa' hung in the air, spoken by none, thought by all.

"Well, she's not the plus one I'm worried about," Aunt Jenna replied before turning to look at me with a raised eyebrow. "Why is Damon coming?"

What? Why was she asking me?

"I dunno," I mumbled, shrugging my shoulders and resting my head in my hands. "I didn't invite him."

"He's coming because Alaric is a pity taker," Ellie cut in, saving me from any further questions. As Aunt Jenna frowned, she scolded, "Come on Jenna, be nice."

"I'll be nice when Damon apologises for what he did to Jeremy and for hurting Alexa like he did," Aunt Jenna retorted.

I knew that Jenna hadn't forgotten what happened. I heard her gasp awake at night sometimes. It was obvious that I wasn't the only one suffering with nightmares. So much shit had happened recently that I was surprised that more of us weren't. Jeremy slept soundly each night; his sleep undisturbed by what happened. I checked in on him at times, when sleep eluded me after a nightmare. I knew that Jenna did the same. A part of me yearned to tell her what disturbed my sleep, to get comfort from my aunt. But I couldn't burden her with that knowledge just yet. It was bad enough that she was worried over what happened to Jeremy. I couldn't add my death and return to that list. I knew that I would have to someday, probably someday soon, but I couldn't do it yet. I would let her recover from the Jeremy incident first.

"Good news!" Mason Lockwood declared, striding into the kitchen, a bottle and several shot glasses held up in the air. "I found the shot glasses!"

Ah, yes, I forgot to mention him. Mason arrived not long after I had managed to drag myself out of bed. Aunt Jenna had invited him to our little shdang. I had invited my Ty, but he hasn't yet replied to my invitation. Silly Ty.

"That would be my exit," Elena declared, shooting me a brief smile before leaving the room with the chips.

I sighed and crossed my arms on the counter before resting my head on them. Apparently my little lay-in had done nothing to help with my tiredness. Which sucked as I would need to keep my mask on for longer today. I couldn't get away with sneaking off for a breather like I normally did.

"You're here for 10 minutes and I'm already back under the bleachers at the pep rally," my auntie laughed at Mason who had walked up behind me. I felt his heat at my back and shifted slightly closer. I couldn't help but wonder if it was related to the werewolf thing. Tyler pumped out a lot of heat but not as much as Mason.

"Just like old times, huh?" Mason agreed, placing the three shot glasses on the counter in front of me. "Only this time I didn't swipe this bottle from my old man."

I watched in disinterest as the Lockwood poured the alcohol, tequila, to be exact, into the shot glasses. I knew that none of them were for me. Aunt Jenna still has no idea about my little alcohol issue and Mason had no idea either. No, the third glass was for Alaric who was doing… something. He was outside, that's all I know. Actually, he might be cooking. Yeah, that's right; Ric was cooking the food for the barbecue.

"Ooh, the expensive stuff!"

And there's Ric now.

"I like you already," my Ric smiled at my Mason. You should, he's an awesome guy. I approve of him. Even with his little disappearing act a couple of years back, Mason had been there for Ty and I. It was mostly through postcards and little trinkets being sent through the post. But it was something. And Mason had always extended the offer to join him down at the coast if we needed to. Sometimes I had been tempted to take him up on that offer. Especially with all the deaths that we had suffered.

"Just happy to be invited," Mason smiled back, his tanned cheeks reddening slightly. Awww Mason, is that a hint of shyness and bashfulness that I detect there? Awwww, bless you.

"Thank Ric," Aunt Jenna cut in, with a sweet smile at her boyfriend. "It was his idea."

"Really?"

Honestly Mason, no need to sound so surprised, Ric has loads of good ideas. Tut tut, so insulting.

"Yeah," Ric replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "You know, I thought it would be nice to meet some of Jenna's high school friends. Dig up a little dirt."

Mason shot a cheeky smirk at Jenna as she rolled her eyes. Mason would be one of the best people to give the dirt. He had known Jenna for years.

"And," Ric added, smiling at me. "You're good friends with our little Alexa, who needs cheering up."

"Well, I've got dirt. I've got lots of dirt," Mason laughed as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "And I'm also rather good at cheering up our resident crazy girl."

"I'm not crazy," I muttered, fighting a smile. While I knew the first reason Ric gave was total BS, I knew that the second reason was as truthful as can be. And I felt so… happy that Ric cared that much about me.

"I have no secrets," Aunt Jenna declared, placing a glass of water in front of me. "Only dirty shame."

I wrapped my hand around the cool glass as the adults picked up their shot glasses.

As they clinked their glasses together, drank and laughed, I turned my attention to the doorway. Someone, I'm gonna take a guess and say my darling twin, had just opened and closed the front door.

A smile tugged at my lips as Damon Salvatore walked through the doorway. I hadn't seen my Damon since my little confession the night we returned from Duke. I had been too… nervous to face him. I had absolutely no idea as to what his reaction to my words would be. And I couldn't cope with things being awkward between us right now.

He shot a small, genuine, smile at me before announcing his presence, "Hey."

"Damon," Aunt Jenna greeted coldly with a small glare before her gaze glanced over at me. Ooh, ouch. That wasn't very nice, Aunt Jenna.

"We were just doing shots," Alaric smiled at his buddy. "Let me give you a shot glass, buddy."

"Here, use mine."

Aunt Jenna down her shot and stalked out of the room, shoving her shot glass into Damon's chest. Well, she really doesn't like him. I mean, I couldn't blame her. But it made getting things back to normal a lot harder.

Ric sighed before following his girlfriend. Yeah, you go and be an awesome boyfriend, Ric.

"She doesn't like me very much," my Damon explained slowly to Mason as he walked over to us.

The vampire placed a warm hand on my back and I, subconsciously, leant into him. Well, at least I now know that things aren't gonna be awkward between us. The hand that was on my back moved so that Damon's arm was around my waist and I was pulled against a firm chest.

"We haven't met," Mason smiled at Damon as he glanced down at the arm the vampire had wrapped around me. "Mason Lockwood."

The Lockwood stuck out his hand.

"Oh sure," Damon returned, accepting the hand. "Damon Salvatore."

They quickly shook hands before letting go. A part of me wondered if they could sense what the other was through the touch. Or if there was some other way. Like scent or something.

Damon's hand rested on my hip as Mason said, "I know, I've heard great things about you."

Mason's eyes flickered down to me. Heh, yeah, I have kinda told my Lockwood senior all about Damon. In my defence, Tyler started it.

"Really?" Damon frowned slightly although his eyes had a soft look in them as he looked down at me. "That's weird 'cause I'm a dick."

Yeah, well, cough, I might not have told Mason that, cough, cough.

XXX

A hand brushed through my hair as I rested my head on my crossed arms. Mason and Damon had been talking over my head, exchanging sly innuendos, so I took the opportunity to get some rest in. I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep but at least I could close my eyes for a while. Before the testosterone in the room could get to explosive levels, Jenna had called Mason out for something. It was then that I became the sole focus of the vampire's attention.

"I've heard that you haven't been sleeping well."

I felt his warm breath on my cheek.

"Who told you that?" I sighed quietly, lifting my head and resting the side of it against Damon's chest. Damon stepped closer, allowing me to rest more of my weight against him.

"Your twin sister."

"Of course."

"Was she telling the truth?"

I didn't answer. How could I answer? If I said yes, then I would have to explain why. And I couldn't use the Jeremy excuse with him. The guilt would only fracture our friendship even more. And I couldn't tell him the truth. He would go and do something stupid. I couldn't risk him doing that. I couldn't risk losing him.

"Alexa, was Elena telling me the truth when she said that you weren't sleeping well?"

"Yeah, she was," I relented, unable to keep silent as I yearned for his comfort.

"Why haven't you been sleeping?"

Damon's hand rested on my side, his thumb gently stroking my hip. I didn't want to tell him. If I told him, he might end up doing something stupid. And that something stupid may end up getting him killed. But what could I say?

"Damon," I sighed and blinked my eyes open. I glanced up to see his captivating eyes staring down at me. I knew him well enough to see the worry in those icy depths.

What do I say?

Luckily, I was saved from answering by Ric appearing in the doorway.

"Food's ready," the history teacher announced, drawing both of our gazes to him. "Can you help bring the food in while I tell Elena and Caroline?"

"Sure," I smiled at him. "Anything to help."

Saved by the Ric.

XXX

Food time.

I had forced Damon into helping me bring the food in. Not that he minded, he spent the entire time pestering me to tell him why I haven't been sleeping well. But I held firm, I did not tell him. In fact, the only people who knew where Tyler and Elena. And for now, they would be the only people who knew.

I wanted to tell Damon. I really really did. But it would be best if he didn't know. If he didn't know, then perhaps I could pretend that it didn't happen. Tyler didn't talk about it; he knew that I didn't want to remember it. Ellie did her best to not talk about it. But I worried her and she couldn't help but mother me. It stopped her from worrying, so I let her.

When we actually got round to eating the food, I was sat between Damon and Mason.

My boys.

Damon knew better than to keep asking over dinner. Not only did he have Ellie keep glaring at him everytime he opened his beautiful mouth, he had Ric shaking his head when Aunt Jenna or Mason weren't looking. Ric didn't know what Damon was after, but he didn't want it to affect Jenna. Jenna was only being polite because she was the hostess and she could see that I was enjoying having Damon around. But if the vampire pushed too far, Jenna wouldn't hesitate in banishing him from the house.

After we ate, Mason and I were tasked with clearing the table. I didn't mind so much, it felt good to be helpful. Keeping my hands busy helped to keep my mind busy. And I desperately craved that right now.

"So," I asked as I collected all the plates, carefully balancing the stack while Mason grabbed the empty glasses. "Where's Ty-Ty then? He never replied to my text."

"He's... mad at me," Mason answered sheepishly with an apologetic look. "So he probably didn't come just so that he could avoid me."

"What did you do"? I asked, raising my eyebrow, a hint of a smirk on my face as I got the distraction my mind desperately needed.

"What makes you think that I did anything?" Mason retorted, pretending to be offended, but I could see his guilt in the blue of his eyes.

"Because I know you," I smirked as I placed the plates in the sink before shrieking slightly as he grabbed me around the middle and started tickling me. It was so unexpected that I didn't have time to think. But the sound of my laughter warmed my own heart. For a while I was scared that I wouldn't be able to laugh again. Trust it to be a Lockwood that proved me wrong and got me laughing.

"Do you take back your previous statement?"

"Never!"

"Well, I suppose that I'll just have to continue until you do."

"No! Stop!" I giggled, wriggling to escape his grip. "Aunt Jenna!"

"Mason, let Alexa go," Jenna called from the living room where she was pouring out fresh glasses over wine. "Alexa finish clearing the table."

The Lockwood stopped tickling but did not relinquish his hold on me. I relaxed into the warm body of my honorary uncle and tried to catch my breath. Mason used to do that to me so many times before he left. And I had missed it. With my only uncle being John, I never had that fun uncle to play with. So Mason made it his mission to do to me what he did to Tyler. And I adored him for it.

"I'm trying to clear it, Jenna, but a certain cheeky idiot won't let me."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Damon staring at us with a look of what appeared to be... jealousy on his face.

Why would he be jealous?

XXX

"Dress! Ballerina!"

"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!"

Now, before you start getting worried, we were playing Pictionary. See? Nothing to worry about. It was all perfectly normal.

It was Damon's turn to draw. He was drawing… well, we don't actually know yet. It was some sort of dog like creature with a tutu. Although from the theme of his pictures during the course of the game, I knew that it was some sort of innuendo aimed at Mason.

I was sitting on the arm of Mason's chair, my head resting against his, our arms linked. He had immediately picked me for his team when the Pictionary board came out. Which was weird as I had no artistic talent but I was one of the few people who weren't drunk or well on their way to it.

Damon had kept shooting us looks throughout the game. I don't know why, though. He had the unreadable look in his eyes and it was so frustrating.

"No, no," Damon answered the guesses, shaking his head, as he kept pointing at the picture.

"A dog!" Aunt Jenna called out from her place beside Ric. "Hound-dog! Ain't nothing but a hound dog!"

"Dances with wolves," Mason whispered in my ear as Jenna's guesses became more and more abstract.

The wonderful thing about Mason was that when I was on his team, he let me shout of the answers. Which was appreciated as I normally had no clue when it came to guessing the answer. I frowned at him before looking closely at the drawing.

"Ohhh, yeah," I realised with a roll of the eyes. Damon really hadn't been subtle with any of his drawings. They were all to do with wolves. But then again, he is under the impression that Mason is a werewolf. Silly Damon.

"Dances with wolves!" I called out over the noise of Caroline and Aunt Jenna's guesses.

The blonde, the aunt and history teacher all turned to look us. I smirked at them and stood up. It was time to top up my water and to grab an aspirin for the lack of sleep headache that had been plaguing me since we ate.

"Mason and Alexa win," Damon declared with that unreadable look in his eyes. "Again."

I blew a kiss at the group on the sofa and strode into the kitchen. As I left, I heard Aunt Jenna ask, "How is that a wolf?"

I sniggered quietly as I made my way over to my twin. There were two boxes on the counter in front of her, both with the Mystic Grill logo on them. I hadn't seen them earlier so my curiosity had been piqued.

"Oooh, what's in there?" I asked, walking over to her and resting my head against her shoulder.

"One peach cobbler and one apple pie," she answered as she handed me the aspirin and water that she had ready. My sister knew all too well about the headaches that I got when I didn't get enough sleep. And she had been doing her best to look after me since she found out about the nightmares.

My eyes grew wide, "Apple pie? Who-who-who brought apple pie?"

"Damon."

"Damon?"

"Apparently, you mentioned it to him once."

"He remembered," I stated softly, a small smile adorning my face. He actually remembered. It was only a passing comment, and he remembered. It was during his evil Damon phase, when he was invited into the house. I hadn't even properly told him; it was mainly Caroline. But I had sung the praises of the Grill's apple pie after that. Apparently he had paid attention.

"Aunt Jenna is getting tipsy," Damon sing-songed as he entered the room with an empty wine bottle in his hand.

"Then perhaps you should stop plying her with alcohol," I sing-songed back with a raised eyebrow.

When the vampire gave me a look, I stuck my tongue out at him. Childish, I know. But I hadn't felt this good in ages. And I was enjoying it. I knew that soon, the memory of what happened would be forced upon me again and it would be a challenge to even smile.

"I want her to like me," the vampire retorted although I could see a smile dancing in his eyes.

"I want her to like me," I mocked back, coughing back a laugh at the eye roll I got in return.

"How is operation Lockwood?" Ellie cut in before I could continue the childishness.

"He's my new BFF," Damon responded, walking up behind us and peering over my shoulder.

"So you've replaced Ric," I pouted up at him. "Poor Ric."

"Poor Ric indeed," Damon mock cooed in my ear, his breath tickling the back of my neck.

I elbowed him in the stomach as I felt my cheeks warm at his touch.

"There you are," Aunt Jenna giggled at Ellie as she entered the kitchen. "Isn't this fun?"

Fun? Sure, this is fun.

Actually, sarcasm aside, this is fun. I haven't felt like this is ages. I finally feel like me again. And I'm not sure if it's because of the fun party or because of Damon. But I wasn't complaining.

"Yes, thank you so much for inviting me," Damon smiled at my aunt, going for charming and failing.

"Did I have a choice?" Aunt Jenna asked snidely as she put a hand on her hip.

"I know what you must think about me," the vampire sighed, still trying to act all nice and charming.

"No, you don't," Jenna snapped, interrupting whatever little speech Damon had planned. "You've never dated you; I have dated many you's."

Ooh, burn.

"I'm a work in progress," my Damon shrugged, accepting her words.

I giggled.

A work in progress, hehe.

Only you, Damon, only you.

It was then that Ellie passed our aunt one of the fancy cake knives.

Fancy, fancy.

"These are fancy," Damon stated, his eyes lighting up at the sight of them.

"Thanks," Auntie J commented reluctantly. "My mother's silver set."

The vampire smirked at me before taking a knife from the box.

I rolled my eyes. What was he going to do with that? The silly silly vampy.

XXX

When Elena and Aunt Jenna left the room to join the others, Damon made his way over to me. That unreadable expression was back in his eyes, clashing with the smirk on his lips.

"Damon," I sighed, holding my hand up, guessing what his next words would be. "Please don't keep asking me why I haven't been sleeping."

"I wasn't going to."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"You don't wanna talk about it," Damon shrugged, leaning next to me, his arm brushing against my side. I gave him a thankful smile before my gaze flickered away, considering his words.

I stared at the apple pie on the table.

It was somehow a symbol of how sweet Damon could be. He knew I loved the apple pies. And he knew that I didn't want to talk about my recent sleeping issues.

"You know, you're not all bad," I smiled softly, glancing at the vampire beside me. I wished that he allowed others to see how sweet he could be. But I knew he wouldn't. Not yet. It was a defence mechanism for him. And he wasn't ready to trust the others yet. Not even Stefan.

Damon raised an eyebrow and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You're still a little shit of a vampire. But, you're not evil."

"You're the only person who thinks that."

"That's because I'm the only person that you show that side to."

He couldn't disagree with that.

XXX

Pie time. Pie time. Pie time.

"Mason," Damon smirked, placing the peach cobbler down in front of the Lockwood male. "Why don't you start us off?"

My face fell, "But... but... but I'm usually the one to start us off!"

This was... this was wrong. It's not supposed to happen like this! Everyone knew that I got to start desert time, especially since I normally made it. I mean, yeah I didn't this time, but that shouldn't matter.

Mason gave me an evil smirk as he pulled the cobbler towards him.

Evil! He's pure evil! I've been saying it for years! Stealing my desert rights! Thief! And Damon's enabling him. Nasty Damon. He knew exactly what he was doing.

I stuck my tongue out at the Lockwood before crossing my arms and pouting. Nasty peoples, likes them we do not. Get my revenge, I would.

I watched as Mason decided not to use the silver knife, but instead decided to use his bare, unwashed hands. Ugh, how gross. Why would he do that? I mean, who thinks that that is an acceptable thing to do?

"That's disgusting," I remarked casually, wrinkling my nose in distaste as I crossed my arms in disappointment.

Mason glanced up to see Ric watching him, obviously judging him. Yeah, Ric, I'm judging him too. He was making himself look bad. And me too actually. He was making me look bad. After all the good things I had said about him, he pulled a stunt like this.

"I apologize," Mason smiled sheepishly, wiping his hands on his napkin. "I'm an animal."

"Yeah, you are an animal," I snarked as Damon sat down beside me. I unconsciously turned in my chair so that I was leaning against his shoulder. Damon placed his hand on my knee as I pulled the cobbler over. With a stern look at Mason, I used the cake knife to pull out a slice and place it on my plate.

"So, Mason," Alaric started with an unreadable look, "You and Jenna never dated?"

Now, if I didn't know better, I would take a guess and say that our dear Ric sounded a tad jealous. Fortunately, I do know better and thus, I can confidently say that there was a smidge of jealousy in his tone. Which was adorable as it showed how much he cared for my aunt.

And, can I just say, I said thus. Isn't that such a fancy word? Alexa's growing up.

Mason smirked at my aunt as she walked towards the table, "She was always lost in Logan Fell land."

"My first mistake," Aunt Jenna nodded in acceptance. "Mason was a catch; he had girls lining up."

I bet he did. If he was anything like my Ty as a teenager, I can just imagine the cues he had. And how much he enjoyed it.

"Really? I always pegged you as a lone wolf," Damon remarked, looking at Mason. A small hint of a smirk danced on those lovely lips.

Wait, what?

"I'm sure I wasn't half the lady killer you were," Mason shot back with a raised eyebrow.

Oh lord.

That's it; I'm getting outta here before it gets worse. There was only so much innuendos that a girl could take.

I stood up from my chair, cobbler in hand, and said, "Farewell, adults, I shall see you in a few minutes."

After almost tripping over the chair behind me, I stalked out of the room, ignoring the sniggering coming from the so-called adults. I was so tempted to hide all the booze and cut them off.

But I walked into the living room to hear my twin say, "Would I be the worst friend in the world if I abandoned you and went to Stefan?"

"Really?" I asked with wide eyes and an overly pathetic pout. "I just got here. The least you could do is pretend to want to be around me for a few minutes." I faked sniffled and wiped away a pretend tear. "It really hurts a girl's feelings, ya know?"

Ellie gave me a look which made me smirk and wave. I offered her a bit of my cobbler and shrugged as she declined. I could see Caroline watching us with sharp eyes and wondered what was up. Caroline had been a bit off today, spending all of her time with Elena. I knew that I had been distracted with Mason and Damon, but that didn't normally stop her.

She rolled her eyes at me as Caroline frowned, "You want to leave?"

Yes, Caroline, I do believe that that is what she just said. Tut tut, start listening Care-Bear. Your hearing is better than ever dearie.

"It's just that he hasn't gotten back to me and I'm starting to get this bad feeling," Ellie explained to the blonde, twisting her hands in front of her. My twin knew that I understood why she wanted to leave. She knew that I supported her decision to leave. It's the twin bond.

She needed to make sure her Salvatore was alright. I knew that mine was.

"I don't think that that's a good idea," Caroline spoke slowly, her eyes darting around the room, almost as though she was nervous.

"Don't be ridiculous, Care," I cut in, pausing in my devouring of my cobbler slice. "Damon's got everything under control here. And Alexa the Awesome is here to make sure that everything's alright. There is nothing to worry about."

"Take it from me, there's nothing worse than a clingy girlfriend," the blonde vampire spoke, completely ignoring what I just said.

I growled softly as Ellie's face fell slightly.

"She's not being clingy, Caroline Forbes," I snapped, my lack of sleep making me a bit snappier than normal. I hated speaking to my friends like that and I knew that I would be begging Caroline for her forgiveness later.

God, what was with her today? Normally she would be pushing Elena out of the door by this point.

"I'm not being clingy," Ellie glared at Caroline, defending herself. "I'm just concerned. You understand that, right?"

"She better bloody understand," I muttered under my breath, knowing full well that the blonde vampire could hear me.

"How, about I drive you?" Care offered, sensing our anger towards her.

"Yeah, ok, that'll be great, thanks," Elena accepted the offer with a stern look. As Caroline walked out of the room, my twin turned to face me, "You coming?"

"Nah, I'll stay here, make sure the adults behave themselves."

God, I never thought that I would be saying that. What had they turned into? What had I turned into?

"You sure?" my twin asked, walking over to me and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah," I smile softly at her before pulling her into a hug.

"Go check on your Salvatore," I whispered in her ear, rubbing her back.

"I'll be home soon."

"Don't rush, take your time. I have Damon here to protect me."

XXX

"You're teasing me," I pouted as Damon waved the wine bottle in my face. I knew that he wouldn't let me have any. Despite his repeated teasing, he had been very good at helping me not drink. But that meant that he felt as though he had teasing rights.

"No I'm not," the dick vampire smirked at me as he topped up his glass.

"Yes, you are!"

"But it's fun."

"And you're a meanie."

"Meanie?"

"Hush."

"You cannot silence me, little girl," the Salvatore whispered in my ear, his hand stroking down my back. I giggled slightly as his breath tickled the back of my neck.

"I can try."

"And you would fail."

"Jenna just brought out 'Guitar Hero'," Mason declared with a laugh, walking into the kitchen. "So I reckon that it's time to mutiny."

I glanced up and smiled. The bonding between them all had been incredibly successful today. Jenna had even eased off on hating on Damon.

"Love a good game of 'Guitar Hero'," I smiled to myself. "I still need to force Tyler into a rematch."

"Well, I just happen to like 'Guitar Hero'," Damon said to Mason with a smirk. Yay! Damon likes 'Guitar Hero'! Maybe that means that he'll play with me! And I needed more people to play with me. "So you, my friend, are barking up with wrong tree."

Oh god, not these again.

Seriously guys?

Me and Tyler can do better than you two when we're absolutely smashed off our faces. And you two have had a lot more life experience then we have.

But apparently, Mason shared my feelings.

"Ok, enough with the innuendos," he groaned with a smile and roll of the eyes. "You win, you're hilarious."

"Thank you," Damon smirked victoriously, enjoying the Lockwood's concession. I couldn't help but giggle. The proud and smug way that he just said that. Oh Damon, that's why I love you.

... No! I didn't just say that! Ignore that! Never happened! Nuh huh.

"Come on man," the Lockwood sighed with a look. "You don't think that I know what this barbecue is about?"

Well, I think everyone kinda hoped that you didn't. Even Jenna. She wanted to ignore the fact that her old friend was a werewolf and I couldn't blame her. She had enough shit to deal with without having to acknowledge that Mason was a werewolf.

"How do you know about me?" the Salvatore shot back, dropping the nice act. "Your brother was completely clueless."

"It doesn't matter. I'm not your enemy, Damon."

Could you imagine if they were? Would that mean that I would have to chose between my Damon Salvatore and my Mason Lockwood? God, I honestly don't know who to choose. Mason was family, but Damon was… Damon. He was someone that I couldn't live without and the thought of having to do so made me feel sick.

"You tried to kill my brother," Damon coldly informed the other male before walking over to stand next to me, placing his hand on my back.

"That was a mistake," Mason spoke, trying to defend himself and sounding as though he genuinely meant it.

"Really?"

And there goes the eyebrow.

"There was confusion; I couldn't chain myself up in time. I have no control once I shift."

I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like. To be forced into losing control once a month. Not knowing if this is the night that you hurt or kill someone. To be chained up like a common animal. I just... couldn't imagine it.

"What, no obedience school?"

And there goes Damon trying to protect himself through humour. Or is he trying to change the subject? I can never tell anymore. All I know is that he makes me laugh. Even when he probably shouldn't.

"I'm serious. Let's not spark some age-old feud that doesn't apply to us. Especially when we both have people that we care about in town."

Words of wisdom, Mason Lockwood, words of wisdom. Don't follow the examples of the past, make a new example. Create the future.

"You expect me to believe that you are in Mystic Fall planting peach trees?"

Mason gave Damon a hard look at his, admittedly, stupid statement.

"I lost my brother; my nephew lost his father. Alexa's adopted older brother lost his father. I'm here for my family. Let's be above this."

Ya know, I think Mason only mentioned me in an attempt to get Damon to agree. No idea as to why I would make that happen. Silly Mason. So illogical.

The boys shook hands. Again. Before Mason left the room, calling Jenna's name. As soon as he left the room, my gaze shot to Damon. Come on Damon; let's not do something that you will regret.

Damon took a silver knife from the box before looking in the direction Mason left in.

Damnit Damon! That's not what I meant!

XXX

Home time for the non-Gilberts.

That meant Mason and Damon. Alaric had Gilbert rights as he was dating my Jenna and he was mine and Elena's step-dad. Not that we had properly discussed that. It was so weird to think that Ric was related to us through marriage. And we all knew that we would have to discuss it at some point but when the time was right. But would the time ever be right in the cursed town that was Mystic Falls?

"No more takers for drinks at the Grill?" Mason asked, arms out wide, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Actually, I'm meeting Tyler there, so if you could give me a lift?" I spoke up as I wrapped the cardigan that I had borrowed from Elena around me.

Mason grinned at me, "Course I can, Alexa."

"Thanks Mason," I smiled up at him as I tucked my phone into my pocket and stood next to the man.

"You two sure that you don't wanna come?" Mason looked between Ric and Jenna with an expectant look.

They shook their heads. I'm gonna take a guess and say that they're gonna be icky when I leave. At least they waited until all of their impressionable children were out the house.

"Uh, it's like I am with a bunch of adults here," Mason mock complained, looking disappointed. I beamed around happily, I'm an adult. "Actually, a bunch of adults and Alexa."

I pouted.

"I prefer the term 'Role Model'," Aunt Jenna laughed at Mason's expression. "Especially for that little nightmare next to you."

I looked behind me before looking at my evil aunt with a wounded look.

"Me?" I exclaimed, pointing at myself. "A nightmare? Never."

"Course not," Aunt Jenna agreed sarcastically. So I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Ok," Mason shrugged before shaking Ric's hand. "Well, thanks for having me."

"You're welcome," I piped up, feeling like I should act like a nightmare if I was going to be called one.

"It was awesome."

"Well, I am Alexa the Awesome, so it was guaranteed to be."

"Alexa, hush. Alaric, catch that game next week?"

"Yeah, I look forward to it," Ric replied with a genuine smile. I was glad that they got along. Ric needed more friends in town and Mason was a good one. And I did love that my boys were getting along.

"See you later," I smiled at my aunt before giving her a quick hug.

"You too, Ric," I hugged Ric too. The poor history teacher stood there for a moment before his arms wrapped around me. Awww, Rick gives the best hugs!

XXX

"We haven't really had a chance to talk," Mason commented as he drove us to the Grill. He was right. Most of the time, Tyler had been around when we saw each other. And I had been involved in the vampire drama, which included the being killed drama.

"Yeah, I know, life's just been... hectic, recently."

"Alexa?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know about the supernatural?"

"The tv programmed or the creatures that go bump in the night?"

"The second one."

"Yep."

"So, you know what Damon is?"

"Yep."

"And yet you fancy him anyway?"

I smiled wistfully and twisted my ring around my finger, "You can't control who you fall for."

But even if I could, I probably would have fallen for Damon anyway.

XXX

Elena's POV

I entered the Boarding House, several hours after I left my house. Caroline had done everything in her power to stop me from getting here. And I would think more on that later as I knew that something was wrong with my friend. But that could wait until I saw Stefan and made sure that he was alright.

"Hello?" I called, knowing that Stefan could hear me from anywhere in the house. Something Alexa had learnt from Damon. "Stefan?"

Huh, no sign of him. Wonder where he could be. I knew that he was home, so it was weird that he hadn't answered. And it made me worry even more than I had been.

I slowly walked down into the living room, looking around for any sign of my boyfriend.

"Stefan?"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, causing me to spin around. That age-old instinct of danger reared its head and I knew that it was vampire related. But it wasn't what I expected. Because as I turned around, I saw my own reflection in front of me.

"You must be Elena," Katherine smirked, looking me up and down with an interested gleam in her eye.

My heart pounded. She looked just like me. I just thought that Stefan and Damon were exaggerating. Even with the photo I had hoped that there was some small difference somewhere. But...

"How is this possible?" I asked, a slight hitch in my voice. "How do we look exactly alike?"

I didn't get an answer. Instead, Katherine closely examined me, looking from top to bottom. She stepped closer and took in a deep breath. I didn't know what she was looking for, whether it was just curiosity on how we looked identical. Without any of the key differences that I shared with Alexa.

As I watched the vampire watch me, the thought of what she did to my little twin formed in my head.

"You hurt my twin," I glared at Katherine, anger causing my heart to beat faster. I itched to attack her, to make her hurt like I had hurt when I found out what happened.

A small smirk appeared on Katherine's lips, "Ah yes, little Alexandria Gilbert, the non-identical twin. The unneeded one that I can play with."

The vampire reached out and ran a finger across my neck as she walked around behind me. Her gaze was sharp as her nail dug into my skin.

"Why did you do it?" I snapped, my voice shaking slightly as the veins beneath her eyes rippled.

"You're asking the wrong questions," she hissed in my ear.

But what are the right questions?

XXX

Alexa's POV

Tyler had met me at the Grill, a cola and bowl of fries already waiting for me. Mason had dropped me off outside, saying he had something to do. I let him go but I knew he was hiding from Tyler. While I hated to see the two of them fighting, I knew that as they lived together, the confrontation would happen sooner rather than later.

I smiled at my brother as I sat down next to him and pulled him into a hug. He had picked a booth which meant that I could sit next to him quite easily.

"Hey," I breathed into his shoulder.

"Hey, to you too."

"I missed you, today."

"Missed you too."

We pulled apart, but Ty kept an arm around my shoulder as I curled up against his side. During our hug, he had lifted me over his lap so that I was tucked into the corner of the booth. It was the little things like that that helped. It meant that my back was protected and that no one could sneak up on me.

"How was Duke?"

"It sucked."

"Really? What happened?"

I explained to him exactly what happened at Duke, what we learnt. I even told him what I said to Damon when we returned. I could tell Tyler anything about my 'relationship' with Damon. He knew what it was like to be a dick like Damon. So he knew how to help me sort out my feelings. God, I loved my brother.

"You really said that to him?"

"Yeah? Why? Is that bad?"

"No, Alex, it's good. I think that we're finally making progress."

"Making progress?"

"We're chipping away at your little wall of denial. Wall of 'I don't love Damon' denial."

"I don't love Damon," I muttered petulantly around a mouthful of fries. "And there is no wall of denial."

I crossed my arms and pouted. I hated being confronted by how I was in denial about my feelings. Tyler used to do it when I pretended that I didn't love Luke, back before we dated. And now it was happening again, but with Damon. At least Ty wasn't friends with him. Gave him less opportunities to properly wind me up with it.

"And you call me childish," Ty snorted into his drink, going for subtle but failing miserably.

"But you are childish."

"But you are childish."

"Hey! Don't mock me!"

"Don't mock me!"

"Meanie."

"Aww, you know I love ya, Alex."

"You better love me."

"I do."

"Of course you do, everyone loves Alexa the Awesome."

Tyler rolled his eyes, "I've been waiting for that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Every single conversation, Alex, in every single one, you bring up 'Alexa the Awesome'."

"Not true."

"True."

"Not true."

"True."

"Not tr- ooh, look! Stefan and Elena!"

I waved at my twin when she glanced over at me. She had a worried look on her face but it eased when she caught sight of me. I had texted her that I was meeting Ty at the Grill but I knew that she still worried. Katherine had really fucked her over too with her actions against me.

After she quickly gave me a once-over, she turned to talk to Caroline. Is it bad that I didn't even notice that she was in here?

When the two lovebirds sat down, I whispered to Ty, "Come on!"

He only had enough time to give me a confused frown before I was shoving him out of the booth and dragging him over to the bar where we could perfectly hear the conversation between my twin and her vampire. I could see Damon down the other end of the bar, doing the exact same thing that I was doing.

"I'm starving," Stefan started the conversation, looking through the menu.

Keep your fangs away from my twin.

"Well, spending the day with your jealous ex will do that to you," Ellie retorted sharply as she kept her gaze fixed on the menu. Ohhh, so that's where Stefan's been all day. I did actually start to wonder. I knew he had been invited to the barbeque and it was weird that he didn't show up. I decided to ignore the comment referring to the bitch who shall not be named. The last thing I needed today was to think about her.

"Listen, I know you're upset, but we have to take her seriously." Oh Stefan, I already do. "Today was all about the lengths she would go to."

Well, she's already snapped my neck and killed me, so I would hazard a guess and say that she would go pretty damn far. Whether she knew I would come back was something else. But I had the feeling that she didn't care either way.

"If she was going to hurt me, she would have. I was standing right in front of her."

Whoa! Hold the phone! My twin was in the same building as that psychotic bitch?! Stefan! What the hell! Why would you let her do that? Goddamnit, I'm gonna have to have words with that boy.

"You caught her off guard, Elena." Actually, I don't think Katherine can ever be caught off guard, she's too good. "It doesn't mean that you're safe."

I agree with Stefan. Just because you survived this time, doesn't mean that you're safe.

"I'm not afraid of her."

Stupid twin.

"Well, you should be."

Yeah, you damn well should be.

"If Katherine had her way, we'd be breaking up right now."

Don't let her get her way!

"If today taught me anything, it's that Katherine is used to getting her own way."

... Stefan, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?

"You're not actually suggesting that we should do what she says?"

See, Stefan, Ellie agrees with me.

"Listen, she's sadistic, ok?" No need to tell me Stefan. "She threatened you, she threatened your twin sister, she threatened everyone."

"Yeah, no, I get it. She's dangerous." A tad more than dangerous. Add a lot of 'very's'. "But every day that we are together, it's dangerous." Elena has a point there, Stefan. "Why are you giving her so much power over our relationship?"

Yeah, Stefan, why are you giving her so much power?

"This is the reality of our situation."

Who cares about reality?

"Well, reality sucks."

Hear, hear, twin.

"This is what she wants. She wants us to fight. She wants to get between us."

Thats a very good point, my dear twin.

"She already has, Elena."

... What?!

My twin stared at the vampire sadly for a few moments before rushing from the Grill.

Stefan, I swear to all that is holy, I will kill you for hurting my twin.

XXX

I was slowly making my way through the town center.

Tyler had been called home not long after Ellie had left. I didn't want to go anywhere near Stefan. So, after finishing my third cola of the evening, I decided that a nice little walk might help me lose some energy. And would make me tired enough that I could sleep for at least a couple of hours. I did enjoy walking home alone, especially at night. It was peaceful and I liked peaceful.

The only problem was, I wasn't alone.

"Katherine," I gasped, freezing mid step as she appeared in front of me.

"Hello Alexa," she smirked at me with a dangerous look in her eye. "Good to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same, but I really can't," I snapped, putting on a brave face. But my heart was thudding in my chest, my hands shook. I was fucking terrified. From the predatory gleam in her eye, I could tell that she could hear my frantic heartbeat. The hitch in my voice.

"Scared?" she asked, slowing walking closer. With every step she took, I took one back. In my head, I cursed myself for walking alone. I should have just asked Stefan for a ride home. It was too dangerous with Katherine around for me to be out and about on my own.

"Of you? Never!" I glared at her, but my voice shook, giving away my fear. The vampire had already killed me once, what's to stop her from doing it again? But this time, permanently. She wouldn't let me come back this time.

"Your frantic little heart gives you away, little twin."

"At least I have a heart!"

Why do I always have to open my big mouth and make the situation worse? I knew how dangerous she was and yet I allowed myself to run my mouth. Would I ever learn?

I had just enough time to spin around before a hand grabbed my throat and squeezed. Memories of my last encounter with Katherine flooded my mind and I struggled furiously, trying to get away. I choked, desperately gasping for breath. She was going to kill me; I just knew she was. Tears pricked at my eyes as she squeezed a little bit harder.

"Show a little bit of respect, child."

But before she could reach the neck snapping stage, another hand ripped hers away from my neck and a body pushed itself between us. I coughed violently as I clutched onto the back of Damon's shirt. My legs shook as he snapped at my killer and I had to hold back my sobs.

I had been saved.

Thank god for Damon Salvatore.

XXX

By the time Damon had taken me home, I had stopped shaking. But I wasn't back to Alexa normal. The encounter with Katherine had shook me. It was the first time that I had seen her since she snapped my neck. And while I thought that I was recovering, I was very wrong. I had just been kidding myself.

The vampire had decided to forgo the front door route, so he just went through the window. I was rather thankful for that. I have no idea as to how I would have explained everything to my family. I knew that I would have to say something to Jenna and Jeremy, and probably Ric too, sooner rather than later. But I was in no state to do it now.

Movement out of the corner of my eye showed that Damon was preparing to leave. My heart froze at the thought of him not being here, of being alone.

"No!" I cried out without thinking, making Damon pause. "Don't leave me. Please-please don't leave me."

I must have looked incredibly pathetic or something, because the vampire immediately agreed to stay. He carefully closed the window and toed off his shoes. I wrapped my arms around myself as Damon slowly approached the bed. He laid down next to me and held his arm out. I immediately took the hint and curled up at his side. I gripped his shirt and rested my head on his chest as his arm wrapped around me and pulled me closer.

As I breathed in his scent, I could help but think if I should tell him. I wanted to. But was it worth the risk? Was risking his life worth the comfort that I would receive from him? I knew that he would do anything to protect me and he couldn't protect me from what he didn't know.

Do I? Do I? Do I?

"Katherine killed me."

"What?" the confusion, anger and 'what the hell' in his tone made me curl closer to him. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Saying it was a lot harder than I thought. With Elena, it was after a nightmare and the words just fell out of my mouth. But this was a lot harder than I expected.

"The night of the carnival," I hesitated before forcing the rest of the words out of my mouth, "She snapped my neck and killed me."

"But how-"

"How am I still alive?"

I held up my hand, the one with the magic Gilbert ring on it. The ring that I loved and hated in equal measure. It was a gift and a curse.

"It was a gift from Uncle John. And it saved my life."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"About Katherine or the ring?"

"Katherine."

"Because I was scared that if I told you, you would do something stupid in an attempt to avenge me and get hurt in the process."

"You really think that I would do that?"

I nodded before yawning, "I know you, Damon. I know what you do when the people you care about get hurt. And the thought of losing you hurts too much."

Damon was silent for a moment before muttering, "I'm gonna kill her."

"No!" I grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I'm not worth it."

"Yes, you are."

I would have argued further, but a yawn interrupted me. The adrenaline leaving my body was causing me to crash. And with the lack of sleep from the previous nights combined with that, it was a fight to stay awake.

The vampire pulled me closer to him and tucked my head under his neck. He pulled my blanket up so that it covered my shoulders and wrapped his arm back around me. I took a deep breath, inhaling his familiar, comforting scent and relaxed for the first time in hours.

"Sleep. I'll protect you."

And I knew he would. He'll always protect me.

XXX

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, my lovelies, keep them coming! They are helping me fight through the writers block that has unfortunately taken hold :/ so please help! And if anyone has any requests, then I am always happy to hear :) and this is a friendly reminder that the poll is still open :) hope you enjoyed, my dears, and until next time xoxo