Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: This was one of my favourite chapters to write lol the Silas and Alexa interactions were just so fun! And then of course, our favourite horny idiots just couldn't keep their hands off of each other! This chapter has some lovely Dalexa time, Alexa being her usual self-destructive self and some family time. I genuinely can't put into words how much I enjoyed writing this chapter and I really hope that you enjoy it!

XXX

"You showed her mercy," Damon whispered into my hair in the early hours of the morning. We were back in our bed, curled up in each other's arms. Our siblings were asleep elsewhere in the Boarding House, Elena in a spare bed, Stefan in his own. We had left Silas downstairs with the second blood bag that Katherine had donated to feed and fuck off. The former vampire had quickly disappeared after we had taken the second bag, declaring that she was free and that we would never see her again. It was a lie, of course, Katherine couldn't leave us alone if her life depended on it.

"Ugh, don't remind me," I muttered into his chest, curling in closer, resting my leg over his hips. "I'm already regretting it."

"All those thoughts that you have in your mind, about being a monster, and you showed mercy to a woman who had hurt you so much."

"As I was talking and imagining killing her the way that she killed my sister, I realised that I had to be better than her," I whispered as my boyfriend's hand curled around the back of my neck, his thumb brushing the skin beneath my ear. "I couldn't let myself sink to the level of Katherine Pierce, even if the thought of hurting her felt so good. I came far to close during my humanityless period, I can't do it again."

"You were already better than her, Ally," Damon's fingers drew patterns on my thigh as I shifted to press my face against his neck. My hand rested over his heart as I let out a sigh. I felt Damon hesitate before his hand came up to cover mine. His thumb stroked the back of my hand as he said, "I've been talking to Stefan."

"Normally I would be thinking of something funny to say at that," I winced as I just sensed that this wouldn't go well for me. "But I get the feeling that you actually have something in mind here."

"He was telling me about your conversation the other day, how you hadn't fed from the vein since you turned your humanity back on," my boyfriend used his grip on my thigh to pull me closer against him.

"Stefan's a little snitch," I grumbled, wondering if there was a way for me to avoid this conversation. But I knew that Damon wouldn't let this go, not now that he was aware of it. He had been so determined to get me through this period after turning my humanity back on, to help me deal with the pain and the guilt after everything that I had done.

"He didn't do it on purpose," Damon smirked into my hair. "He accidentally admitted it last night when I offered to take us all out feeding. The poor guy was very apologetic."

"I guess I can forgive him."

"But the point still remains, Alexa, why won't you feed from people?"

"How can I, Damon?" I sighed heavily as I continued to hide my face against his neck. I knew that I would have to have this conversation eventually, but I was hoping that it would take a bit longer for him to notice. I was doing so well in hiding it. Of course, it probably helped that we hadn't actually gone anywhere to feed like we did before. There was more of a focus on having fun without setting my guilt issues on fire. "I hurt so many people. I… I killed people while feeding, because I didn't care enough to stop. Why should I get to feed on people after that? I don't deserve to."

"Alexa," Damon carefully rolled me onto my back, before resting on his elbow, looking down at me. He reached out to brush the hair from my eyes before gently grasping my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. "You can't think like that. What happened while your humanity was off doesn't count. Because you know who you truly are. And that is a person who can feed from the vein without hurting people."

"I don't know," I whispered, reaching up to trace the line of his lips. "Sometimes I feel like the monster that I tried so hard to be. There are moments where I have to remind myself to do the right thing and I can't help but feel like I am someone that people should be afraid of. I found out exactly what I am capable of. And I hate it."

"You need to remember that you were pushed to your limits during that time. Your twin sister was dead, you had to complete a mass sacrifice to bring her back, as well as unleashing hell upon our town. That can take its toll on anyone, let alone someone as compassionate as you."

"I wouldn't say that I'm a compassionate person."

"Alexa, I heard your conversation with Klaus, the night of your graduation. Despite everything, you accepted his olive branch and made peace with him. Only a compassionate person would do that."

"Maybe I was just trying to manipulate him," I muttered, unable to stop myself from being stubborn and accepting his kind words. I knew that I should, because he was speaking sense. There was no reason for me to deny myself human blood straight from the source. But my guilt never followed a logical pattern. And after those four months, there was a lot of guilt, with a lot of it following an illogical route.

"Were you?" Damon raised an eyebrow and I winced, looking away.

"No."

"Point proven," my boyfriend smirked before dipping his head down for a kiss. His free hand moved to curl into my hair, keeping my head still as his tongue pillaged my mouth. I moaned into the kiss, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him down against my body. I knew that he was right, that I shouldn't feel ashamed for what I did, that I had to move past it and accept that I couldn't change the past. But it was so hard. I couldn't stop remembering what I did while my humanity was on vacation and I knew that I would remember it for the rest of my existence. But maybe I could put my brain on pause for a moment and stop thinking about all of my mistakes.

As he tilted my head back, giving him perfect access to my neck, I gasped out, "Oh shush you," before shifting my legs so that I was able to wrap them around his hips, pulling him down against my body. I could feel his erection pressing against me and I squeezed him tighter. I knew that he wanted to make sure that I was okay and that I wasn't letting my guilt stop me from feeding from people, which could lead to some Stefan sized problems in the future, but I was keen to run away from my issues. And if I could do that by rubbing myself against him, then I would definitely fucking do that.

I knew that I was working from the way that he groaned against my neck, biting hard. And you know what? I felt absolutely no guilt when I sneaked my hand beneath his boxers, wrapping my hand around his cock. My thumb brushed against his slit and Damon muttered against my skin, "Alexandria, you can't run away from this conversation forever."

"Watch me."

I twisted my hand just right and my boyfriend's fangs scraped against my skin. My sharp intake of breath had Damon purring in satisfaction against my neck. And as determined as I was to run away from my guilt issues, I couldn't resist this opportunity. So I flipped us over, so that Damon was on his back and I hovered over him. He raised an eyebrow and I met his challenge. I moved down his body, kissing and sucking as I went, until my mouth was level with his cock. I knew exactly what he wanted, as his fingers curled into fists at his hips. And fuck me, if I was going to run from my issues, then I was going to do it in style.

So I nipped at his thigh before licking a line up his cock. I looked up at Damon through my lashes before wrapping my mouth around the head of his cock, flicking my tongue against his slit. He let out an indecently loud moan as his fingers tangled in my hair, his grip tight. I just closed my eyes as I took all his length in, not even giving him time to adjust. Damon groaned out my name as I swallowed, his grip on my hair tightening to the point of pain. But I didn't care. I just slowly moved my head up and down, keeping a consistent pressure. A part of me was tempted to tease, to keep my movements slow. But the desperation in Damon's voice had me sucking hard, wanting to bring him as much pleasure as possible. He was so good to me and I was going to return the favour.

My boyfriend broke when I dragged my tongue against his slit. He used the grip on my hair to drag me all the way down. I didn't care, I just swallowed him all the way down, keeping the sensation going until his voice cracked. It was only then that I sat up, pressing a kiss to the skin just above his cock as I did so. Damon stared up at me through lidded eyes before dragging me down for a kiss. I nipped at his bottom lip before dragging my hips down against his already hard cock. The pressure against my core had my breath hitching and my boyfriend's lips curled up into a smirk at the sound.

Using his speed, he took me over to the mirror and the chair that sat beside it. He sat down on it, his grip on my hips tight. I met his gaze in the mirror, my breath catching in my throat at the intensity in his eyes. I had to admit, I was getting my way. He was longer focused on discussing my guilt issues. And fuck me, I was definitely winning. His cock prodded at my entrance and I could feel myself getting even wetter for him.

Damon's lips curled up in a very smug smirk as he slowed lowered me down, my head dropping back against his shoulder at the stretch, eyes rolling at the feeling. Despite the tension in his body, he kept his movements slow. And fuck me, that control was envious. But in that moment, I just didn't care. All I cared about was the feel of his cock, thick and heavy, dragging against that spot that had me seeing stars.

I gasped out his name as he bottomed out, my thighs brushing against his as he whispered into my ear, "Forget about your guilt, Alexa. Turn off your brain and focus only on this."

His fingers dipped down to brush against the spot where our bodies met, my breath hitching at the feel of his fingers where my body stretched to accommodate him, before his thumb settled on my clit. The firm pressure had me moaning out his name, uncaring of who could hear, my only focus on the cock that dragged against that magic spot, the confident fingers playing my clit like a violin.

"Damon," I whimpered, reaching up to tangle my fingers in his hair. I met his gaze in the mirror as my boyfriend's face changed, fangs scrapping against that sensitive spot beneath my ear. His other hand came up to pinch my nipple, rolling it between his fingers. His hips kept up a steady pace, not quite giving me what I needed, keeping me hovering on that edge of pleasure filled oblivion. Even as his fingers tormented my nipples, keeping them erect, the sensitivity making me gasp. It wasn't until I moaned his name, my voice definitely far too loud, that he took pity on me.

I let out a high-pitched whine as he increased his speed, the grip on my hips tightening to the point where I bruised. I felt my face change, my fangs poking against my lips, just before Damon's fangs sank into my neck. My back arched, pushing his cock deeper into me, as I came, my entire body shaking. Damon soon followed me, growling "mine" against my skin. I gasped as his hips continued moving, prolonging the pleasure to the point of pain. But I didn't care. Not as he claimed my body as his.

XXX

I woke up to a 'seriously?!" text in the morning from my sister. But I didn't care. Not with the way that I woke up to Damon's cock slowly rocking inside of me. I let out a satisfied hum before pushing my hips back, breathing in deep as he brushed against that sensitive spot.

"And you call me insatiable," I murmured as my boyfriend's arms wrapped around my hips pulled me down against him. I was more than happy to grind down against him.

"How can I resist such a beauty," Damon murmured against my skin, his arm hooking around my thigh, pulling it up, and I gasped as I took him in deeper. And despite the fact that we had gone three fucking rounds last night, my body opened up for him without any issues. I curled my arm back around his neck, holding his body close as I chased my own release, not even bothering to keep my voice down as Damon's fingers brushed against my clit.

It was quick and it was dirty and my voice definitely sounded very pornographic as I moaned out his name as I came, my head slumping back against his. Damon's own orgasmic moan was muffled against my neck as he followed me over that edge to pleasurable oblivion, his grip on my hips tight as he held me against him.

I kept his body close to me as we both came down from our high. Not that my boyfriend cared, he just wrapped his arm around my waist, tucking my body against his, letting out a content hum as he nuzzled my neck, "What's going on in that brain on yours?"

"I was just wondering if we could get away with just spending the day in bed," I sighed, reaching down to cover his hand with mine. "Or if the usual bullshit would just invade our bedroom instead?"

"Unfortunately, baby," Damon's free hand brushed the hair from my face. "I don't think we could get away with hiding up here."

"Boo," I grumbled, closing my eyes. "What do I have to do to get a day of nakedness and sex?"

"Well, once Bonnie is back in the land and Stefan has his memories back, we'll lock our doors and turn off our phones and ignore the outside world."

"I'm going to hold you to that," I reached back to tap his forehead before reluctantly leaving his arms. "Now, I need coffee before I face our siblings. Because judging from my sister's bitchy text, we definitely weren't quiet last night." I rolled my eyes at the smug look on my boyfriend's face. "Your ego is getting me into a lot of trouble, dear."

"Hm, perhaps," Damon's smirk had me looking away because otherwise I would be pushing him back onto that bed. "But you love it."

"You're lucky that I do," I snorted, dodging in for a quick kiss before searching for some panties. "But I'm warning you now, if my twin gets bitchy, then I will throw you under the bus."

"Maybe if she hears other people having fun, then she might actually go and have some herself," my boyfriend's muttered words had me laughing into my hand. It was something that I had said myself, although I had said it directly to my twin. The fact that Damon thought the same was hilarious. Ellie, my sweet Els, did tend to get a bit of a stick up her ass if she went too long without getting some good loving. And the fact that she was single had apparently stopped her from seeking out that loving. Maybe once Bonnie was back, I would organise a girl's night out, hit the clubs, and get some serious itches scratched.

"I would literally do anything if you say that to her face," I sniggered, as we walked out of the bedroom, heading down to the kitchen. I knew that Elena was lurking in the parlour, probably with a snotty look on her face, so we took the back stairs down. Because I would definitely need to have some good coffee before I dealt with that.

"An intriguing proposal," Damon wiggled his eyebrows at me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Maybe if she makes a comment, you'll be lucky."

"Unfortunately for me, I don't think she'll say anything with you around," I pouted, as we walked into the kitchen. I was fully expecting Stefan to be in here, to give me one of the adorably judgemental looks that he had perfected. But luckily for me, I was able to avoid it. Although I did wonder where the local amnesiac was. Hopefully he was just sleeping in, taking advantage of the break in the insanity to catchup on some sleep. I knew that last night had taken it out of him, getting his neck snapped twice in a row.

My boyfriend laughed at my pitiful look before lifting me up onto the kitchen counter. He gave my nose a tap, quickly followed by a kiss, before putting the coffee pot on. He poured out the old coffee into a mug for my sister before gifting me some of his good coffee. It did make me cough back a laugh. I knew that he was precious about his coffee, but the fact that he wouldn't even give it to Ellie was hilarious. And while I knew that I should be a good sister and insist that she get some, the opportunity to wind her up was just too tempting.

And it was that reason alone that had me leaving the safety of the kitchen to go find my twin. She was exactly where I thought she was, sitting on one of the sofas in the parlour, her journal next to her. She glanced up as we entered, giving the arm that Damon had wrapped around my waist a dirty look, before shaking her head.

"I come with coffee?" I held out the mug before she could say anything. Ellie paused, considering the peace offering, before accepting it with a small smile. I beamed at her before Damon tugged me over to the other sofa. He sat down in the middle before pulling me down. I settled with my back to the fire, enjoying the warmth, before stretching my legs out over my boyfriend's lap. He immediately gave me what I wanted, his strong hands rubbing my calves.

We sat in silence for a while, content to drink our coffee, with Elena returning to her journal. I glanced over at her every now and then, but she looked surprisingly relaxed. I wasn't going to complain. It wasn't often that we got to properly relax and I was going to enjoy it for as long as possible.

It wasn't until my sister sighed and placed her journal to the side that I spoke up, "Hey Els, have you seen Stefan?"

"I think he's still in bed," Ellie replied. "He's probably enjoying the peace and quiet."

"It is remarkably calm," I narrowed my eyes slightly, glancing around. "It doesn't feel right."

"Well, I'm going to enjoy it," my sister snorted, shaking her head. "I actually like our lives when it's like this."

"But it is our life," Damon piped up with a cheeky smirk and I poked his thigh with my toe. "Which means that somebody's going to walk through that door and shatter it."

"I'm surprised that somebody hasn't already done so," I muttered while my twin groaned.

"Don't say that."

As my little shit of a boyfriend started counting down from ten, his fingers tapping my ankle with each number spoken, Ellie gave him a dirty look, "You've got to stop doing that."

"There's no stopping him, Els," I sighed, shaking my head. "All you have to do is find something to focus on when he is inevitably proved right and becomes unbearable."

"Like the fact that today is the day that we're going to bring Bonnie back?" Elena suggested and I paused before nodding.

"That works. We'll bring Bonnie back into the land of the living and that will make today an amazing," I closed my eyes for a moment, almost willing it into existence. "And I will happily give up a day in bed to bring our Bon back."

Unfortunately, life fucking hated me. Because the moment I finished speaking, just after Damon had reached two, the front door was flung open. I squeezed my eyes shut before muttering, "Fuck everything."

It got even worse when Silas' voice rang out, sounding far too happy, "Greetings!"

"Noooo," I moaned, opening my eyes as Damon muttered the final number in his countdown, looking as annoyed as I did. Of all the people to ruin our peace, why did it have to be him? I was hoping that the insane now mortal had fucked off for a while, to give us one day of peace before we had to kill him.

"Good morning, frenemies," the male doppelganger walked further into the room. He held up his hands, flicking his fingers and would you know, the fucking curtains shot open. Fuck me, he had his magic back. Well, I guess it proved that the cure had actually worked. But on the other hand, I just knew that this wouldn't be good. Elena sat up straighter, exchanging a glance with me while Damon carefully pushed my legs off of his lap, reaching out to pull me closer to him. "Ah. You know, I'm only a few hours into my old life as a witch, but somehow, the sun feels warmer." We all watched through cautious eyes as he walked over to the window, the sun warming his annoyingly handsome face. "Probably because I'm not cursed with having to outlive it anymore."

Good lord, did this man ever shut up? It was ridiculously annoying. Especially this early in the morning. On a day that was supposed to be peaceful. And not filled with the supernatural drama that plagued our lives.

Fortunately, before I could say anything that would get me into trouble, Damon sighed, "What's with the home invasion, Silas?"

"Well, Damon," the witch turned around to face us again. "After two thousand years of a miserable existence, I finally get to die."

"Oh goodie, so go die already."

XXX

"We all know that Tessa was a real vengeful bitch," Silas kindly ignored my muttered words to instead walk around to stand in front of us. He was still looking far too chipper for my liking but I somehow managed to keep my mouth shut about it. Now that the asshole was a witch, he was a lot more dangerous. And even I knew that I shouldn't fuck around with that. Of course, he then turned to point at my sister and my entire body tensed. If it wasn't for Damon's reassuring squeeze, I would have snapped at him. "Your doppelganger, Amara, died at her hands, but today, after two thousand years, Amara and I will finally reunite."

"Oh good, she can put up with you instead," I snorted, standing up to move so that I was between him and my twin. "And you can ruin her day instead of ruining mine."

Okay, I know, I failed in keeping my mouth shut. But his proximity to Elena was really putting me on edge and I never claimed to have a lot of self-control. Well, I had no self-control and I was really surprised that it hadn't gotten me into more troublesome situations.

When Silas' eye twitched, some of the chipperness fading away, Damon stood up. He quickly moved to rest a hand on my shoulder before rolling his eyes, drawing the witch's attention, "Alright, skip the mushy parts. Look. My girl and her sister are just trying to have a good day, and there are promises that we are all expecting you to keep."

"Oh, you don't think that I keep my promises?" Silas faked a look of shock and offence as he pointed at himself.

"Fuck no," I snorted, shaking my head. "You're an asshole."

I could practically feel the eye rolls from my boyfriend and sister as Elena moved to stand beside me. But I couldn't bring myself to care. Not when I saw the amused look in the witch's eyes. It really irked me, just how much amusement he got when I sassed him. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I actually missed him having his freaky mind powers. At least that way, I could keep cussing him out and the savagery of my mental comments definitely didn't amuse him. Especially since I wasn't able to get a proper cussing session going with the two overprotective darlings on either side of me.

"Look, you said that now you're a witch again, you would bring Bonnie back from the Other Side," Ellie spoke up before I could say something else. It was probably a good idea, if I was being honest. Not that I would admit it to her.

"I did and I can," Silas nodded and I wrapped my arm around my twin's shoulders, tucking her into my side. I knew that there was no way that I could persuade her to leave the room. But if she was close to me, where I could protect her, then I would be able to tolerate her being so close to the insane witch who was jointly responsible for her death all those months ago.

"And you promised Alexa and Damon that you would do that if they helped you," my sister continued.

"Which we did," I muttered while the witch nodded. "Even if it was distasteful."

"But you're kind of evil," Elena couldn't stop her wince before adding, "No offence."

"Uh, no full offence," I gave my sister a look, ignoring the one that Damon gave me. "He is actually evil and he can go fuck himself if he thinks that I won't say it to his face."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, Alexa," Silas smirked at me and I scrunched up my nose in annoyance. The least he could do was act offended, but no, he couldn't even do that. The asshole.

"So I'm just trying to figure out how we can trust that one of your last acts in the world will be to bring our best friend back," Ellie's face was hard as she finished speaking.

And in a move that shocked no one, Silas' reply was dripping with sarcasm, "Did you want me to pinky swear?"

He held out his little finger, ready to actually pinky swear that he would bring Bonnie back for us. It was a move that I didn't quite know what to do with. Did I complete the pinky swear? Because bad shit happened if you did break one of those. Maybe it would add to the odds that I would be able to bring my friend back to life today.

It wasn't until my fingers twitched that Damon spoke up, grabbing my hand. I knew that he had some issues when it came to me making deals with Silas. So the thought of me completing a pinky swear with the insane witch probably had him freaking out. After giving my hand a warning squeeze, he gave the male doppelganger a hard look, "They're just trying to have a good day. Just tell us how it's going to go down."

Silas let out a groan before playing along, "I just want to destroy the Other Side, so that I don't get stuck in a pit of a purgatory when I finally do kill myself. Before I do that, I'll bring Bonnie back. And being the amazing and incredibly and all-powerful witch that I am, I can totally do both things. I just have to find the anchor first and destroy it."

It took all of my effort not to snort at his words before my sister frowned, glancing at me and Damon, "The anchor?"

"It's the thing that Tessa used to bind her spell when she created the Other Side," I muttered quickly. "If it gets destroyed, then goodbye Other Side."

"But you don't know where it is?" Elena looked back at Silas.

"Oh I know now," the witch shrugged. "It's in New Jersey."

"New Jersey?" Damon scoffed before I could say anything. "The supernatural other-world is bound by an object in Snooki's backyard?"

"It's in a stockyard and it's being shipped out," Silas rolled his eyes. "So, we really need to…" movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention as he slowly trailed off. Jeremy stepped into the room, crossbow in hand and pointed directly at the witch opposite us. There was a hard look on the kid's face as he narrowed his eyes. "Hello, hunter." Fuck me, he didn't even look at Jeremy to know that he was here. I narrowed my own eyes as the former immortal shifted so that he could look at my brother. "Banner day for you, huh? Didn't you and the Bennett witch used to…" he clicked his tongue, a suggestive edge to his voice before he whistled.

"Oi, shut the fuck up," I snapped as Jer's grip on the crossbow tightened. "You don't get to talk to him."

While I focused on berating the asshole for daring to speak to my brother, especially about his dead lover, my sister just gave Jeremy a reassuring smile, "It's okay, Jer. We all want the same thing today. Silas dead, Bonnie alive."

Silas' unconvincing, "Yeah," had me glaring at him. He wasn't helping the situation and he knew that he wasn't helping, judging from the wink he gave me. The asshole. God, I really hoped that I would get the opportunity to kill him. It would just make my day.

When Jer didn't lower the crossbow, Damon groaned, "AKA, put the damn crossbow down, Pocahontas."

While my brother did slowly lower the crossbow, he also gave a fierce frown, "We're just supposed to believe that he's going to bring Bonnie back to life out of the goodness of his heart?"

"Well, I hope not," the former immortal scoffed, causing Jeremy to point the crossbow at his again. "I am kind of a monster."

"You're a full on asshole," I rolled my eyes as Jer approached, still keeping the weapon pointed at the witch.

"You know, guys, I'm feeling really ganged up on right now," Silas looked between us, noticing the distrustful faces and pointy arrows.

"Aw, bully for you," I pouted mockingly, narrowing my eyes. "I can make it worse if you want."

"That is an option," the witch shrugged, the hard edge causing Damon to give my hand a squeeze. "But I would hate to lose my temper and do something," he held up his hand and a second later, fire literally shot from his fingertips, "Crazy."

I pushed my sister back, forcing her closer to Jeremy and his crossbow, while my boyfriend released my hand. He slowly moved to stand in front of me, his fingers twitching as he prepared himself to push me away from the insane witch if necessary.

Happy that he had caused trouble, Silas laughed, extinguishing the flames on his fingers, "Ah man, I really love being a witch again. I feel like I'm constantly reinventing myself. I'm like a supernatural Madonna, don't you think?"

XXX

"Alright, we gotta get going," Silas clapped his hands together, a bright smile back on his face, as he glanced over at my brother. "You grab a crowbar, or three, from the garage."

"What for?" Jeremy grumbled, looking less than impressed with the witch's orders. Not that I could blame him. I would have been the same. Because fuck Silas. And fuck his orders.

"Does it matter?" the asshole scoffed before turning to look at me and Elena. "You two are not going. Men only."

"Are you serious?" my sister immediately snapped, before I could say anything, narrowing her eyes as she glared at the male doppelganger. "He's not serious."

But you know what the annoying thing was? I actually fucking agreed with him. Because my sister was not allowed to go with us. I couldn't stop our brother from coming, because he wouldn't risk missing the moment that Bonnie came back, but also because Silas had decided that he wanted him to tag along. But I could do something to protect my twin sister. Even if she did get mad at me.

"Maybe, maybe not, but he is right," I winced at the furious look that my twin gave me. "It's not safe for you, Els. It's bad enough that I'll be worrying about Jer. I can't worry about you too."

"Alexa, I'm coming," Ellie shook her head sharply before I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"No, you're not," despite the obvious anger that my sister was throwing in my direction, I was not going to back down. "Go spend the day with Jenna and Zoe, or mope around here. I don't care. You aren't coming with us."

"And what makes you think that you're coming?" Silas interrupted before I managed to talk my twin out of her anger. I turned around to face him, resting a hand on my hip.

"Because I am," I raised an eyebrow. "Look, I get that you have issues with my sister."

"You mean that fact that she's a freaky carbon-copy of my one true love, Amara. And I don't want to stare at her imposter face all day," the witch nodded and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, I was not going to phrase it like that, douchebag," I grumbled. "But I don't trust you not to fuck us over and fail to bring back Bonnie. So I'm coming to make sure that I actually get my friend back. You can just go fuck yourself if you think otherwise." I switched my glance to Jer while Elena went to slump down on the couch, a vicious glare still on her face, "Call Ric. Tell him to come here asap. I want some major backup with us if we're going to be following this asshole around."

"You aren't going," Silas' voice was hard as he stared down at me. I met his displeased glare with a narrowed gaze.

"Try and stop me," I crossed my arms, refusing to back down. I was not going to be left behind. Even if I fucking followed them in my own car, I was not going to let anything go wrong with the plan to bring back Bonnie. My friend was far too important and Silas could go suck it if he thought that he could stop me from going with them.

The former immortal definitely took my challenge seriously. He kept eye contact with me, annoyance clear in those green depths, before lifting his hand. His fingers twitched and my hip erupted in pain. But despite the arrow sticking out my hip, I kept eye contact with the asshole, managing to keep my visible reaction to just an eye twitch. Of course, my fingers were digging into my arms hard enough to leave bruises if I was still human, my nails leaving little groves in my skin.

Three voices, full of worry and panic, shouted out my name. Barely a second passed before gentle fingers were gripping my chin and I finally looked away from the asshole in front of me, switching my gaze to my boyfriend. He stared at me, thumb stroking my cheek, before he reached down to grab the arrow sticking out my hip. I couldn't hold in a hiss as he pulled it out, throwing it to the side.

"Are you okay?" he murmured, both hands moving to cup my face before he pressed a quick kiss to my lips.

"I will be," I sighed against his lips before looking back at Silas, my body already stitching itself back together. "Dick move, asshole. But it isn't going to stop me from coming."

The insane witch stared at me for a moment before a truly unnerving smirk formed on his face, "Oh what the hell, come along. It'll be entertaining."

A part of me was worried that he had suddenly changed his tune and it was a worry that Damon definitely shared from the way he tightened his grip on me for a moment. But I wasn't going to say anything. Not now that I had gotten my way. I could deal with whatever Silas threw at me. I just had to focus on what I was getting from him and the fact that he would soon be dead.

"That's what you think," I muttered before walking over to Jeremy, my boyfriend close behind me, a hand resting on my back. My hip twinged as I walked, despite it being fully healed. But the fucker had sent that arrow in deep and it was going to bother me for a while yet. "Did you call Ric?"

"He's on his way over, shouldn't be too long," my brother answered, staring at me with worried eyes. I gave him a quick smile, patting his cheek, while Damon checked to make sure that I had healed okay. I knew that he was already worrying about me, but there was no way that I would be left behind.

"Hurry up, you lot," Silas rolled his eyes at us before walking out the building. "I only have until sundown before Tessa tries to stop me."

XXX

The car journey was very fucking awkward.

Silas had insisted on driving, since he was the one who knew where this mysterious anchor was located. Damon had drawn the short straw and was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Although, to be fair, he was probably the only one who could, since I was not going to let Jeremy anywhere near the asshole and Damon felt the same about me. Well, Ric could have. But Ric didn't want to and I couldn't blame him.

I was sat in the middle of Jer and Ric, my arms crossed as I glared at the side of Silas' head. While it wasn't enough to make up for the fact that he shot me in the hip with a fucking arrow, it did help me feel better. Especially since I wasn't actually allowed to talk to him. Every time the former insane immortal took a pot shot at me, either Jer grabbed my hand or Ric gave me a warning look. It wasn't fair, I was getting verbally abused and I wasn't allowed to fight back. But I knew that they were all worried what the douchebag would do to me if I sassed him one too many times. Especially since he shot me. FML Silas really did ruin everything. The asshole.

The as fore mentioned asshole met my gaze in the mirror and his smirk had me narrowing my eyes, "So, Alexa, tell me, how does it feel? Knowing that you need me to bring your friend back, after you failed for so long."

That fucking douchebag. How dare he use Bonnie against me?! God, I really hated him. And I was not going to be talked out of retaliating this time. No, the asshole was going to get yelled at.

So even though I could feel Damon looking back at me, a warning look in his eyes, and even though Ric gave my knee a squeeze, I couldn't stop myself from snapping, "Well, you would know all about failure, asshole, since it's all that you do." His eyes met mine in the mirror and I couldn't hide my satisfaction as his eyebrow twitched. "And if you fail, like I one thousand percent expect you too, then I'll go find Tessa." I could sense the eye rolls from my companions, but that didn't stop me talking. The constant insults had gotten under my skin and now that I had snapped, there was no shutting me up. "I mean, she is the most powerful witch on the planet. And we'll all have a good laugh over you being such a loser before she brings Bonnie back for me."

Silas's gaze was sharp as he narrowed his eyes at me. But I didn't care. It felt good, getting under his skin, just like he got under mine. And even though I knew that I would get into trouble for my recklessness, it felt so worth it.

Well, it did, until he sneered, "I wonder if everyone would go to this much trouble and fight so hard for you, if you were in Bonnie's position." My hands clenched into my fists on my lap, my nails digging into my palms. "Especially after everything that you did while your humanity was off. Ooh, it does make you wonder."

A gentle hand grabbed one of my hands, easing my fist open and holding my hand. But I kept my narrowed gaze on the asshole witch, avoiding looking at my brother as I snapped, "To be frank, I don't care if they didn't. The only thing that I care about is their happiness. And that wouldn't change, even if I was dead. Dickface."

I tried to convince myself that I believed my words. That my loved ones would fight for me, even if it meant teaming up with insane assholes like Silas. Although, I would rather that they avoided people like Silas, even if it would bring me back. But a part of me, deep down, believed his words. That after everything that I had done, my family wouldn't fight me like this. And I couldn't blame them if that was the case. It was what I deserved.

"Well, it is a shame that I'll never get to find out," Silas shook his head, a mocking tone to his voice as he sighed.

"Yeah, cos you'll be dead and we'll all be jumping for joy!" my voice was far too loud, which was probably not a good thing, because I knew that I was about to say something else stupid and there was no way of knowing if those foolish words would be Silas' breaking point. So it was definitely a good thing when Ric spoke up.

The Enhanced Original sighed, giving my knee a gentle squeeze, before asking, "I don't suppose we can stop off somewhere for a few minutes?"

"Nope, I'm running on a very tight timeline today," the former immortal snorted, immediately shutting down that idea. Just as Ric went to ask why he was in such a rush; my brother squeezed my hand.

I tuned out the conversation next to me to look at Jeremy. He was staring at me with those big brown eyes, full of love and sincerity, and I cleared my throat, glancing down at our joined hands, as he said, "Lexa, you know that we would all fight for you, to bring you back if something happened, right?"

"Of course I know that, Jer," I tried to give the kid a reassuring smile but judging from the look on his face, I did a bad job. I sighed and shook my head, keeping my voice low. "Look, kiddo, trust me, I know that you would fight for me. Silas is just being a little bitch, trying to get into my head. And it isn't going to work."

"That's what you think, Alexa," the former immortal rudely interrupted my conversation with my brother and I rolled my eyes.

"Fuck off, asshole."

XXX

It was the buzzing of my phone that broke the silence. Somehow, Silas had managed to shut the fuck up and stop bothering everyone. I mean, he was still here but hey, at least he wasn't speaking.

I pulled it out of my pocket and rolled my eyes as I saw my sister's name. Oh lord, what trouble has she gotten herself in? Because there was no way that she was just calling for a chat. Not after the dirty look that she gave me before we left.

I answered her call with a sigh, "What's up, Els?"

"He's with Tessa," my twin immediately snapped, sounding so very frustrated that I just closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Who's with Tessa?" I asked before she could say anything else. Because I could just sense that she was building up for a rant. And I really didn't want to deal with that. Especially since I could just sense Silas' interest in my conversation. The fucker.

"Stefan is!"

"Wait, what?" I frowned, sitting up and opening my eyes again. I exchanged a glance with Damon, who had turned around in his seat to look at me, eyebrow raised. "Stefan is with Tessa?"

"She just called me with his phone, taunting me."

"What is he doing with her?" I scrunched up my nose in annoyance. Why was my sweet amnesiac Stefan with that annoying bitch? Ugh, honestly, I leave town for a few hours and everything goes to shit. Dammnit, I didn't have anyone back home that I could help me fix all of this. Caroline and Tyler were at Whitmore, probably getting busy, and weren't in the position to rush to Mystic Falls to go save the local amnesiac. The only other person capable was my sweet April Young and there was no way that I was going to send her to deal with fucking Tessa.

I could hear Ellie's hair swishing as she shook her head, "I don't know, she didn't say. She just said that they were having a great time together. I think… I think they slept together."

"Oh no," I groaned before using my best stern voice. "Elena Miranda Gilbert, you better not be thinking about doing anything stupid. Like letting your jealousy override what little sense you have left!"

"Alexa!" my sister hissed, sounding like she was going to do something stupid. "We can't just let him stay with her!"

"And I will deal with it. But Elena, I swear to God, if you go to that cabin, if you even think about leaving the Boarding House, I will lock you in that cellar and I won't even let Jenna guilt me into freeing you. Do you understand me?"

"I'm going," Elena, stupid Elena, hung up the call and I slowly pulled it away from my ear, staring down at it in shock.

"I'm going to fucking kill her," I murmured as Jeremy carefully eased the phone from my grip as it creaked slightly. I clenched my fist, before glancing at Ric. "I don't care what you and Jenna say, she's dead."

Unfortunately, before Ric could say something, and who knows, it could have calmed me down, everyone's most hated witch decided to speak up, "Someone really should be going to check on poor Stefan. That Tessa really is bad business."

"And yet, I would much rather be stuck in a car with her!" I snapped, debating whether it was worth trying to kick his chair. But Damon's hand settling on my knee stopped me. I glanced over at him, looking into his worried eyes, before taking a deep breath. My boyfriend gave my knee a gentle squeeze, his thumb brushing my skin, and I nodded.

Everything was silent for a moment, with only Damon's touch keeping me calm, when Silas opened his mouth again, "Knock, knock." I had to actually bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something. Goddamnit, I needed to get out of this car, even for a second. Because I was so close to saying something that I would definitely regret at some point. Unfortunately, Silas just wouldn't stop. "Knock, knock." He kept the joke going, when no one would play ball. "Who's there? The Mayor? The Mayor who?"

When the annoying witch kept gesturing for someone to take pity on him, Damon rolled his eyes, snapping, "Well, who?"

"No one!" the asshole smirked, meeting my gaze in the mirror. "That's the joke. No one's there because I killed the Mayor."

"You're a dick," Jeremy frowned as I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and clenching my fists. I just had to remind myself to keep my mouth shut. If I ignored him, then maybe he would shut up. Or burst into flames. Or choke on his own spit. I could hope.

"Okay, how about this one?" I could just sense Silas leering at me and I squeezed my eyes shut even more. "Knock, knock. Who's there? Alexa?" Oh no, this wasn't going to be good. This wasn't going to be good at all. Ah fuck. "Alexa who?" The asshole ignored my hiss for him to shut the fuck up, even as I hid my face in my hands. "Oh, the Alexa who made two separate deals with me to bring Elena back to life."

"You motherfucker," I spat as I felt Ric and Jeremy turn to face me. I just kept my eyes shut, not wanting to see the looks on their faces. I had done so well in keeping those deals secret, with only Damon knowing. But fuck Silas for dropping me in it. Fuck him for everything. Damon gave my knee a squeeze and I removed one hand from my face, using just the one hand to cover my eyes, and rested it over his. I knew that he was trying to comfort me, after the asshole former immortal opened his big fucking mouth. And as sweet as he was for it, there was no way that I was going to open my eyes and face the judgement on the faces of my family. Because there was no way that I was going to have that conversation with fucking Silas in the car.

XXX

Of course, I was not going to get my own way. Not with Silas in the car, with his big fucking mouth. A mouth that just wouldn't stop talking. I had two hands on my face again, my fingers digging into my skin, as I tried very hard to not throw myself out of the moving vehicle.

"Oh, I can tell that you all want to know more about Alexa's history with me," I didn't need to be looking to see that the asshole was smirking at me. If it wasn't for Damon's hand still on my knee, I would have just brought them up to my face and hidden my face in them. But I craved the comfort of my boyfriend's touch, even if it was just his hand.

"No, they don't," I muttered into my hands. I had the tiniest hope that they would shut the former immortal up. But of course, that just wasn't possible. Especially when that particular asshole seemed to be enjoying my misery far too much.

"Ah, Alexa, don't be like that," he laughed and I winced at the horrible sound. Yep, he was enjoying this far too much. And there was no way of shutting him up. "Won't it feel good? To reveal at least one of the secrets that is hiding in your head?"

"Not like this," I gave up and hunched over, resting my forehead against Damon's hand. I heard him sigh, the sound quiet, as he gently eased his hand out from under my head and instead rested it on top of it. His thumb brushed the skin behind my ear as I wrapped my arms around my head, keeping his hand exactly where it was.

"We first met at your prom, didn't we?" the faked wistful sigh had me tensing. "I do believe that you had just turned that April girl into a vampire as a distraction, so you could track me down. Oh, you were so keen to speak to me, to recruit me for your little plan to bring Elena back to life. Your mind was practically begging me to get involved, even with your humanity off. It was good for the ego."

"Just kill me now," I muttered into my thigh. "Seriously, put me out of my misery."

My boyfriend murmured my name, a warning tone in his voice at my words, before looking at the asshole witch, "Can't you just leave her alone?"

"She wanted to come along," Silas shrugged, before his hand reached back to brush against my head, his fingers touching my forehead. I flinched back so violently that I crashed into Ric. I glared at the former immortal, cursing my obvious weakness, while Ric wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders. "This is what she gets."

At Ric's urging, I relaxed back against him, even as I kept up my glare. Because it was better than looking at my brother. I couldn't bear to see the disappointment in his eyes. It would be too much. I hated that I had made deals with Silas, even if it was to bring Elena back. And there was nothing that I could do to make up for it. If I had my way, I would never have told them. But thanks to fucking Silas, I didn't have that choice now. So I took a deep breath, "Yes, we made a deal that night. I would help the jackass persuade Bonnie to lower the veil. In return, he agreed to bring Elena back to life permanently, not just in the confines of the expression triangle."

"You're leaving out my favourite part," Silas' smirk grew and I would have been tempted to either punch him or punch myself, but my brother grabbed my hand, curling his fingers around mine.

"Oh, you mean the part where you said that you would force me to turn my humanity back on before torturing and murdering my loved ones in front of me if I betrayed you?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "How on earth could I forget that?!" When he glared at me, I added, "How about my favourite part? Where if you betrayed me, I would raise the veil with you on this side and then kill Bonnie to prevent you from ever trying again."

"See, I don't think you would have killed the witch," the former immortal challenged me and I narrowed my eyes. "Because you needed her to bring Elena back to life."

"Well, I guess we'll never know," I snorted, shaking my head. But even I didn't believe my words. Because he was right, I needed Bonnie to bring Elena back. I never would have killed her. But it was my only trump card at the time.

I rolled my eyes as he winked at me before he opened his big mouth again, "Well, how about the second deal that you made with me?"

"Uh, I wouldn't actually call it a deal," I protested, while my brother gave my hand a squeeze. "More like, you threatened me and my sister, and I just kept my mouth shut."

"You agreed to keep your mouth shut, I'm counting it," Silas shrugged and my eye twitch. "Because you could have told Stefan and Damon that I was posing as Caroline. But you didn't and I managed to find Bonnie. All because of you. I do have to admit, I was impressed with your ability to keep your mouth shut."

"It's not an ability that you share," I muttered, my gaze flicking over to Damon. My boyfriend raised an eyebrow and I winced, mouthing an apology. It wasn't like I had deliberately kept that from him. But with Elena appearing and my humanity making its grand return, it just slipped my mind. He gave me a nod, one that I returned, before raising my voice, "You said that you would track Elena down and permanently kill her. And you said that while my humanity was forcing its way back in. Of course I was going to panic and keep my mouth shut."

"Even though it meant betraying your friends," the insane witch whistled, shaking his head. "That's cold."

"Well, considering it gave Bonnie the opportunity to wreck your annoying ass, it all worked out in the end!" I snapped. "Now if you could kindly shut the fuck up before I decide that ripping your tongue out is a good idea, that would be fan-fucking-tastic."

XXX

Silas didn't shut up. But thanks to the others, he didn't get as many opportunities to take pot shots at me. And luckily for him, because I was very close to just ripping something out of his body, Jeremy distracted me by playing games with me on his phone. It was easy tuning out the annoying asshole's voice when my brother smiled at me whenever he won. Of course, I was convinced that he was letting me win more than my fair share, especially since I was not as good at word games as he was.

It wasn't until we entered a warehouse distract that I allowed myself to focus on the outside world again. I could tell that we were close and that meant that I would be able to get out of the car. Which I was so looking forward to. As not only would I be able to stretch out my legs and aching hip, I would finally be able to get away from Silas. Being stuck in a car with him for, like, five hours was one of the most painful things that I had ever suffered. And considering I had been tortured multiple times and had gone through some gut-wrenching deaths, that was quite a statement.

It was a thought that my boyfriend definitely shared, as he muttered, "Thank god," when we pulled up outside a particular warehouse. It didn't look like anything special. But hey, if Silas thought that the anchor to the Other Side was here, then who was I to argue? Okay, I would be the first one to, but if it meant getting out the car, then I was going to keep my mouth shut for once.

I used Jeremy's door to scoot out of the car, unwilling to be anywhere near the former immortal. And if that meant that I was closer to Damon, well, it was a perfect coincidence. The moment that I was out of the car, my boyfriend pulled me into his arms. I went willingly, taking a deep breath as I closed my eyes, focusing only on the comfort that his arms and scent brought me. But I could tell that I had worried Damon, during the car journey, as his hand came up to cup the back of my head, pressing me against him. The arm that he had wrapped around my waist was on the tight side, but I didn't care. I just held onto him and tried not to listen to Silas's voice. I had no idea what he was saying and I didn't particularly want to know. All I wanted was for him to fuck off and die.

"Are you okay?" my boyfriend whispered into my hair while Ric kindly distracted the asshole that we were stuck with.

"I will be in a few hours once that dickhead is dead," I sighed. "Because he is really getting under my skin."

"I know, baby," Damon hummed sympathetically, before using his grip on my head to tilt it back, so that I could look him in the eye. "But you can get some space from him now."

"It'll have to do," I grumbled, reaching up to curl my fingers in the collar of his top. "Because I'm not allowed to kill him yet and that sucks."

"Patience, Alexa, you don't have long to wait now," he pressed a soft kiss to my lips before kissing my forehead.

"Thank god for that," I sighed, memorising the feel of his lips against my skin. Because it was then that Silas, the fucker, decided that he had left us alone for far too long. He leered at us from his place by the front of the car.

"How are you so calm, Alexa?" the asshole smirked and it was only the arm that Damon had wrapped around me that so stopped me from snapping. "Your twin sister is back at home, worrying about her doppelganger soul mate, potentially putting herself in danger to save him. And here you are, smooching your boyfriend."

I took a deep breath, clenching my fists before narrowing my eyes, "You know what, I'm really going to enjoy watching you die, fuckface."

Silas looked absolutely delighted by my words and I spat out another curse at him, while Damon rolled his eyes, tugging me closer before moving us forward, "It's called being secure in your decisions. I'm assuming you know a little bit about that by the way you wear your hair." I didn't even bother hiding my snort at that. "Please don't tell me that you believe in this doppelganger prophecy crap."

He kindly ignored my sniggered, "Burn," in favour of moving me further away from the asshole who had been tormenting me so much. Unfortunately, the asshole decided to follow us. Although I was pleased to note that he did actually sound offended by my boyfriend's words, "Crap? What do you mean 'crap'? Do you not notice the universe trying to mirror my love for Amara by bringing our doppelgangers together?"

Damon shook his head, "You do realise that by destroying the Other Side, that you are personally moving Heaven and Earth to be together. That's not fate, you idiot. That's you being a crazy person."

While Silas looked offended behind us, and it was a sight that I definitely enjoyed, my boyfriend chivvied me up the short staircase to one of the numerous warehouse doors. He stood still for a moment, listening for any signs of life inside the warehouse, before grabbing the handle. I couldn't help but admire the way his muscles flexed as he broke the doorhandle, throwing it to the side.

I took a deep breath, glancing over my shoulder to make sure that Ric and Jeremy were okay. The Enhanced Original was keeping my brother close, ready to protect him if anything happened. I mean, I was fairly certain that there was nothing dangerous in the warehouse. Damon wouldn't have let me in there if there was. But over the past few years, I had learnt that taking risks like that was foolish. So it was a relief that the kid was being kept safe.

Damon gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before leading me into the dimly lit warehouse, muttering, "Let's get this over with."

XXX

I quickly found a light switch, flicking it on so that we could properly see. The bulbs in the hanging lamps were weak, but when combined with the sunlight breaking through the murkiness of the glass, it was enough to give us a view of all the stacks of boxes and crates. Oh joy, this was not going to be fun. Like at all.

"Okay," my brother grumbled, holding the crowbar in his hand tightly. We all had one, ready to break open the crates to find this mysterious anchor. Ric had handed them out, having collected them from the trunk of the car before following us inside. The Enhanced Original had rolled his eyes at me, when I gave Silas a considering look while accepting mine. But he didn't say anything. He was probably just relieved that I had enough control to not immediately bash the annoying asshole's head in. "Where is this stupid anchor thing?"

"I have no idea," Silas shrugged, walking over to the crate closest to him. He acted oblivious to our disbelieving looks. I mean, he was the one who dragged us out to fucking New Jersey, insisting that he was working on a tight timeline. And he didn't know what we were fucking looking for.

"You can't be serious," I muttered, narrowing my eyes at the douche, my grip on the crowbar tightening slightly.

"What do you mean 'you have no idea'?" Damon snapped, placing a hand on my shoulder. He could probably sense my hand twitch as I urged to just smack the former immortal in the face.

"Give me some credit, man," the asshole rolled his eyes, turning around to face us. "I did psychically dive into Tessa's mind to see this specific warehouse."

"And yet, you failed cos you didn't find out where in this giant, fucking warehouse the anchor is," I crossed my arms, shuffling closer to Damon. I knew that he would keep me calm. And I really needed to remain calm. I was still tense from the car journey here, and I knew that it wouldn't take much for me to actually snap at the irritating being in front of us.

"Well, what does it look like?" Alaric sighed, exchanging a glance with my boyfriend. Damon had arm wrapped around my waist, keeping me tightly tucked into his side. The feel of his thumb brushing the bare skin of my hip was enough to keep me focused on our endgame. Which was bringing Bonnie back. And I was not going to fail my friend because I didn't keep my anger under control. Even if Silas was the most annoying person the planet. Not even fucking Katherine got under my skin like this. Goddamnit.

"Again, I have no idea," Silas looked as thrilled with us as we were with him. Good. I hoped he was miserable. The fucker deserved it. "Tessa created it after she locked me away in a tomb for two thousand years and left me to starve. Remember? Remote island, creepy hallucinations?"

"I'm willing to bet that you looked so much better all calcified and mouldy," I muttered under my breath, unable to help myself. Because I did not want to think back to that fucking island. Ugh, those were some of the worst days of my life. Not only was I tortured there, fuck you Vaughn, it was where Elena died. I knew that I would never be able to think back to that place without wanting to throw up and scream. And now, because of my least favourite person ever, that was exactly what I was doing. Thinking about that fucking island.

My boyfriend gave me a squeeze, probably guessing where my mind had gone, thanks to the tenseness in my body, before raising an eyebrow, "Wait, you don't know where it is or what it looks like?"

"He really is useless," I snorted quietly. Although not quietly enough, judging from the dirty look that I got from the asshole.

"It binds a spell to the supernatural hell dimension," Silas ground out, looking less than impressed. "It's not going to look like a freaking IKEA sink."

"You're a freaking IKEA sink," I rolled my eyes, before making a face. Well, that was definitely one of my weaker insults. Fuck, I needed to find my form again, because there was no way that I was going to let Silas win. The fuckface didn't deserve to.

Fortunately for me, the former immortal didn't hear my words over the sound of the crate opening. Because he definitely looked a lot more tense than he did outside. Maybe being so close to actually getting what he wanted, but being denied by a lack of knowledge, was getting to him. Good. I hope he got a proper headache over it.

While Jeremy and Ric moved in one direction, content to be as far away from Silas as possible, Damon gently tugged me in the other, leaving the witch to open boxes with a moody aura. I let my boyfriend move me, content to follow him away from Silas. Especially since I could still feel my tenseness from the journey here and the further away that I got from the asshole, the better I would feel.

Once we were a few shelves away, Damon gently rested me against the metal frame before cupping my face. I reached up to grip his wrists as his thumbs stroked my cheekbones. He stared down at me, his worry warring with his amusement, as he asked, "Judging from the class of your insults, I can tell that you aren't doing too good, Ally."

"I don't think even Klaus got under my skin like this," I sighed, scrunching up my nose in annoyance. "That fucker over there just seems to be able to wind me up and I hate it. And you know what sucks even more?" I waited until my boyfriend let out a questioning hum, giving me what I wanted. "I was the one who insisted on coming with you all. I could have been chilling at home, stopping Elena from being a fool. But no, I had to be a stubborn little bitch and force my way into tagging along."

"How is your hip?" Damon asked, the worry finally winning in his eyes as he removed one hand from my face, moving to check the fully healed wound. I debated not answering but the stern eyebrow had me shaking my head.

"Still a bit sore," I replied as my boyfriend tugged me into his arms, holding me tight against his chest. I just wrapped my arms around his hips, content to let him squeeze me. "Sitting in the same position for all that time didn't really help."

"If Silas isn't dead for the journey home, then I'll stick him in the trunk and you can stretch out on the front seat," Damon muttered into my hair, his fingers dipping beneath my shorts to stroke the hip that I got shot in.

"As much as I want him dead, that image is a nice one," I laughed slightly, tilting my head back. Damon rolled his eyes before giving me what I wanted, one hand coming up to cup the back of my head as he devoured my lips. I hummed happily as, for a moment, I forgot about all of my troubles, focusing on my boyfriend's lips and the firm grip that he had on my hips.

XXX

While my poor Damon was stuck in the same aisle as Silas, I lurked in a different one. I knew that Jeremy and Ric were breaking open crates further down the warehouse, doing the same as me, and avoiding the douchey former immortal. We were just lucky that my boyfriend had volunteered to stick near him, just in case he did something dodgy. Because dodgy fuckers did dodgy things.

I rolled my eyes as the witch just wouldn't shut up. If he wasn't lamenting over his lost love, Amara or whatever it was, then he was making pot shots at me again. I was surprised that Damon hadn't beaten him to death with the crowbar in his hand. My boyfriend was showing an impressive amount of restraint. It was a lot more than I was capable of showing. And I did love him for it.

I sighed as Silas snapped, his voice echoing around the warehouse, "Quit dawdling. We need to find this thing before the Travelers show up."

The who? The Travelers? Well, that was a new group of people, hadn't heard of them before. Or at least I didn't think that I had. God, I was so hard to keep track these days. There were so many annoying little groups that popped up just to piss me off.

"Why are they so interested in this anchor?" Damon asked and I could just sense him rolling his eyes. The fact that there was another group to be concerned about, one that was almost definitely a threat, was something that put him on edge. To be honest, it put me on edge. Because my precious baby brother was here and I refused to let him get hurt.

"They hate me for creating the immortality spell," the asshole answered, breaking open another crate. "And they know that the anchor's the only thing standing between me and my soul mate." Silas paused to smirk at my boyfriend. "Every story needs to have one thing that keeps getting in the way. Kind of like Alexa. She certainly gets in the way."

Fuck me. I really hated that man. Why wouldn't he just leave me alone? I wasn't even near him, but no, that wouldn't stop the dick from insulting me. Ugh, it's so annoying. I couldn't wait until he died.

"You know," Damon's voice was hard as he finally lost patience with the former immortal. "You might be an all-powerful witch, is that what you called it?" He waited for Silas to confirm before snapping, "But I will happily kill you if you keep that up."

"Oh, no, you won't," Silas shook his head, sounding far too smug. "Not until you bring your girlfriend's bestie back."

"Oh, I'm sure she will forgive me, especially since she can still plot with Tessa."

I didn't get a chance to hear more, as someone tapped me on the shoulder. I muttered a curse as I jumped, spinning around, crowbar held high. But Ric caught it before it could get anywhere near him, an amused look in his eyes.

"Not cool, Ric," I pouted, resting a hand over my heart. "Don't do that, not in this creepy place." I glanced around, expecting to see my brother. But the kid wasn't here. I frowned, before quickly asking, "Where's Jeremy?"

"Relax, Alexa," my guardian rested a gentle hand on my shoulder. "He's fine. He's… talking to Bonnie."

"Oh snap," I sniggered. "And you didn't want to hang around in case there was any weird kissing."

"I was giving him some privacy," Ric rolled his eyes at me before laughing. "My first urge wasn't to tease him."

"Damn, I need to work on corrupting you again," I smirked before making a poor effort at opening a crate, as the Enhanced Original's gaze flickered around my aisle, looking at all of the perfectly intact crates. When he looked back at me, eyebrow raised, I pouted, "Don't look at me like that, I will help. I just… I needed a few moments to myself first."

"And that's another reason why I came over here," Ric sighed. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I am perfectly fine, just like I always am," I gave him my best winning smile, only to grumble when he gave me his best 'don't bullshit me, kid' looks. "One day, that will work on you."

"I wouldn't hold your breath."

"Ugh, this is so unfair, there are far too many people who call me out on my bullshit. And I don't like it. Why won't any of you let me have it?"

"Because bottling up your emotions isn't healthy, Alexa."

"I find ways of releasing them," I wiggled my eyebrows and Ric tapped my head, a stern look on his face.

"You know, I will persuade Jenna that you moving back into the house is a good idea, if you don't behave."

"Boo," I pouted, moving to sit on the crate that I was supposed to be opening. "Fine. I feel so incredibly tense that I don't know if I want to bash in Silas' face or my own. Because that asshole won't stop insulting me, and I'm not even near him. I feel like I'm failing everyone by working with Silas again and I hate that he told you and Jer about that before I got the chance to. I'm worried that Elena is doing stupidness back home and there isn't anything that I can do to stop her. And my hip still aches from where Silas fucking shot me."

"Silas shot you?"

"Oh shit, did we forget to tell you about that?" I winced at the unimpressed look on his face. "My bad. He used his magic to shoot an arrow into my hip, when I refused to be left behind. Which I am now regretting, because I didn't realise that he would bully me like this. It's so not fair."

"I'm assuming that you're all healed up?" my aunt's boyfriend wrapped an arm around my shoulders, leaning against the crate that I was sitting on.

"Oh yeah, I'm all healed up, nothing to worry about. Trust me, Damon has made sure multiple times that it is fine."

Ric's muttered, "Of course he has," had me snorting into his shoulder.

XXX

It wasn't long after Ric returned to Jeremy that my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and immediately answered it when I saw the name on the screen, "Stefan? Oh thank god. Are you okay? I hope that bitch didn't hurt you."

I was wandering further into the warehouse, away from Silas, when a voice that definitely wasn't Stefan answered. I paused in shock as Tessa spoke, her voice tense, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

"Oops," I winced, tucking my crowbar in the back pocket of my shorts. "Sorry for calling you a bitch." I paused for a moment before frowning. "Actually, no I'm not. What are you doing with my adorable Stefan?"

"That isn't any of your business," the other insane witch bothering me smirked and I narrowed my eyes.

"Yes, it is."

"You need to focus on something else."

"Like what?" I rolled my eyes as I continued to walk, clenching my free hand into a fist as I imagined punching the bitch in the face.

"Well, since I'm occupied at the moment, I need you to go ahead and kill Silas for me."

"Uh, babes, I was already going to do that. It's the only thing keeping me going. Of course, he is under the impression that he gets to do the deed himself. But I'll let him live in delusion for a little while yet."

"You mean, after he destroys the Other Side?" Tessa snorted, her hair swishing as she shook her head. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen, plus I want him dead before he has the pleasure of finding the anchor."

"Yeah, that really doesn't work for me, Tessa."

"Kill him. Now," the witch's voice was hard and I narrowed my eyes. But before I could say anything else, a new voice spoke up. One that had my heart clenching in my chest.

"Lexa."

"Elena?" I gasped before snapping. "Why the fuck is my sister there, Tessa?!"

"Oh, did I forget to mention that I lured your sister here to me?" Tessa's smirk had me closing my eyes, taking a deep breath as I tried to remain calm and in control. "I used the oldest trick in the book – jealousy of Stefan! Thought you should know."

"You bitch," I spat, completely failing in remaining calm and in control. "As soon as I've killed Silas, I'm coming after you. And I'm going to make it hurt."

"Speaking of hurting people," the witch purred and a second later, a horribly familiar scream echoed down the phone. The sound of my sister's pain had me dropping to my knees. I squeezed my eyes shut as Stefan shouted out Ellie's name, his voice filled with panic.

"Please stop hurting her," I whispered down the phone, unable to speak any louder as I felt my chest growing tight. "Please. Please. Please. Please."

"You know what you need to do, Alexa."

"But I can't. As much as I want him dead, I can't do that yet. I need him to do something before he can die."

"Is that something more important than Elena?" Tessa scoffed as my twin's screams faded. I strained my hearing and I could just about hear her panting heavily, Stefan murmuring comforting words to her. "Because Silas put a spell on this house and bound it to the sun, which means that we're trapped here until sundown, which means that you have until then to kill Silas or I kill Elena. With a face like Amara's, it might be cathartic. Bye now."

She hung up the call but I remained frozen in place, still on my knees. Tessa had my sister. Tessa was going to kill my sister, unless I killed Silas. But if I killed him now, then he wouldn't bring back Bonnie. Oh god, I was once again in the position where I had to choose between my friend and my sister. Fuck. Why did this keep happening?

I could feel a scream building in my throat, but I couldn't let it out. I couldn't let the others, especially Silas, know what Tessa had said. Because then I would have to tell the truth. That despite my guilt over driving Bonnie to her death, I would still choose Elena's life over hers. I would risk not bringing her back if it meant keeping my twin alive.

I staggered to my feet, leaving my phone on the floor, and clenched my hands into fists. My nails dug into my skin and the tiny pinpricks of pain broke through the whirlwind in my mind. I knew what I had to do. Even if I hated myself for it. Fuck. I really hated myself for it. I was betraying Bonnie. My lovely Bonnie. And the thought made me feel sick.

A low groan escaped my throat as my chest hurt, as my mind hurt. Because I was betraying everyone by doing this. God. If they didn't hate me already, they would definitely hate me for this. I was barely aware of the tear that fell as I spun around, my fist aimed towards the metal frame of the shelves next to me. But before it could connect, a strong hand wrapped around mine, using it to pull me back. I slumped back against Damon's chest as he wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me against him.

"Ally, breathe," he murmured into my hair, carefully easing my arm back, holding it against my chest, his fist still wrapped around mine.

"Tessa has Elena," I wheezed, shaking my head. "She'll kill her unless we kill Silas now, before he finds the anchor. Oh god, why can't I breathe? Vampires aren't supposed to have panic attacks."

"It's in your head, baby," Damon sighed, carefully turning me around to face him. I curled my fingers in his top, pulling myself up to burying my face in his neck. One strong hand came up to hold grip the back of my neck, holding me in place while the other wrapped around me, a comforting weight that held me tight against his body. "You just need to breathe."

It took a few attempts, more than I was comfortable with, but eventually, the tightness in my chest eased. I ignored the few traitorous tears that had fallen, my boyfriend kindly doing the same, as I muttered into his skin, "Help me."

And my Damon, my sweet Damon, who would never deny me anything, agreed to.

XXX

Damon quickly took me outside, hoping that the fresh air would help me calm down, before summoning Ric and Jeremy to come meet us. While we waited for them to join us, I just clung onto my boyfriend. Not that Damon was willing to let me go. He just held me tight to him, one hand tangled in my hair, keeping my face pressed against his chest, while the other wrapped around my waist.

I focused only on breathing in his comforting scent and not the predicament that my twin was in. A predicament of her own making. And once she was safe and sound, I was going to yell at her so loud for allowing herself to get manipulated into walking into a trap. Because I told her not to go and even after she hung up in a huff, I had hoped that she had listened to me. But apparently the idiot girl hadn't. And now she was being used against me.

When our wanted companions joined us outside, Damon took over explaining what had happened. Which was probably a good thing, because I was a vibrating ball of worry and anger and panic and fear and fury. I could barely string together a sentence without cursing. And it was only my boyfriend's hands on my hips, his thumbs stroking the skin where my top and shorts didn't meet, that stopped me from doing something stupid. Like trying to punch a metal frame. Oh yes, he had expressed his displeasure over that particular move. And not even my most pitiful pout had gotten me out of a stern lecture.

The moment Damon finished explaining Tessa's bitchy little call, my brother shook his head, a desperate look in his eyes, "We can't kill Silas. He is the only one who can bring Bonnie back to life and he's not going to bring her back until right before he destroys the Other Side."

"Tessa doesn't even want him to find the anchor," I shook my head, my nails digging into my palms as I clenched my fists tight. "Let alone destroy it. She isn't going to wait, Jer. And I don't believe her when she says that we have until sundown. Not with the way she hurt Els so easily."

Jeremy winced at my words and I hated myself all over again. We had given the kid hope that he would see the girl he loved again. And now I was ripping it away from him. Fuck, I was such a bad sister. I was hurting my brother and I had failed to stop my sister from getting hurt. Maybe they would be better off if I wasn't around.

"You promised, Lexa," the kid looked at me with those big brown eyes and I could feel my chest growing tight again. "You promised us that we would see Bonnie again. That you would bring her back."

"I know, Jer," I couldn't quite hide the rasp in my voice and it had Damon tightening his grip on my hips, moving closer to me. "But how am I supposed to let Elena die? I'll… I'll find another way. Silas can't be the only one who can do this. It's just a swap. One dead person for one alive person. There has to be a witch somewhere on this planet who has enough of a death wish that they can do this." I wasn't even aware that my nails were digging into the skin above my heart until Ric murmured my name, a worried look on his face. I shook my head, words just spilling from my lips. "I need Ellie to stay alive. I did… oh god, I did so many bad things to bring her back, I fucking mutilated my soul to bring her back. If I let her die now, then what do I do? I would have ruined everything for nothing. Oh fuck."

I could practically sense Alaric and Damon exchanging a worried glance over my head as I hunched over. One of my boyfriend's hands came up, gently easing mine away from my chest. I closed my eyes, resting back against him, as he looked at my brother, "We'll find another way to bring Bonnie back, Jer. But right now, we need to focus on those in the land of the living, and keeping them there."

I glanced up in time to see the heartbroken look that flashed across the kid's face. And I couldn't stop myself from swearing, my voice cracking halfway through. Unable to witness my brother's pain, I shook my head before speeding back inside. Worried voices called my name but I didn't stop until I was back in the warehouse. I came to a stop several aisles away from the door, my heart squeezing in my chest. The building was silent, other than the faint sounds of crates being broken into. At least Silas was busy with his task and wasn't bothering me. Because I honestly didn't know how I would react.

I let out a low groan as my mind kept spinning. Elena was in danger. Stefan was also probably in danger. My brother's heart had been broken again. I was failing my best friend. Just like I was failing everyone else. God, when did this day get so fucked up?

Damon had confiscated my crowbar when we got outside, thinking that I would do something stupid with it. He was right. Although that didn't stop me from kicking the metal frame next to me. My sandals did absolutely fuck-all to protect to my feet and I had to bite my lip to hold back the pained noise as my toe erupted in agony. I glanced down to see it bent in a way that was definitely not normal and I cursed inside my head. That was so not good.

I went to crouch down, to push it back into place, before falling onto my ass as the pain skyrocketed. Unfortunately, I knew that I didn't have long before my body started healing and I couldn't let my bones heal in a fucked up way. But because life hated me, that just didn't happen.

Fuck everything.

XXX

I glanced up, my thumb hovering over my broken toe, as a man approached me. He had a sharp face, skin tanned and hair dark, but it was the look in his eyes that unnerved me. I knew that this man would kill me if given the chance. So despite the pain in my toe, that was definitely not healing in the correct way, I gripped the metal frame and used it to pull myself to my feet.

The man watched me before spitting out words in a language that I definitely didn't recognise. I shuffled forward, barely hiding a wince, before rolling my eyes, "Uh, am I supposed to recognise what you are saying?" Noise behind me had me glancing over my shoulder. A second man was approaching me, with the same tanned skin and dark hair. I muttered under my breath and I glanced between the two, "Fuck, breaking my toe seems like an even more stupid idea now." I raised my voice slightly as I turned so that I could see both of the strange men that were bothering me, "Uh, I don't suppose you wanna talk about this?"

They didn't want to talk about it. Well, not with me. Instead, they repeated the words that the first man had said, saying them over and over again. I frowned, scrunching up my nose as I looked between them. Did I do something now? Like running away or killing one of them? Or did I wait and see what they were up to? For all I knew, they were doing some kind of translation spell so that we could actually communicate.

Of course, I was horribly wrong. And I was proven to be horribly wrong when my ring stopped working. I couldn't hold in my cry of pain as the sunlight on my face started burning me. I held up a hand, covering my eyes, only for it get burned instead. I was frozen in shock for a moment before I sped forward, into the shade, the pain of my broken toe ignored in favour of stopping the burning.

"What the fuck?" I gasped as the creepy horrible man next to me turned around. I had no idea what he was planning next and I wasn't waiting around to find out. I reached out to grab his arm, pulling him forward, switching our positions so that I was pushing him against the wall. I made sure to keep my body out of the sunlight as I snatched the knife that was tucked into his belt. I stabbed him in the stomach as I glanced between him and his buddy. "Why would you do that? That was so rude. I don't even know you."

"You were going to ruin everything and kill Silas before we were ready," the other creepy man said, his accent thick in a way that reminded me of the bitch who stole Katherine.

"Oh shit, are you guys Travelers?" my eyes widened as I looked back at the man in front of me. "I thought you wanted Silas dead?"

I was so focused on my stabbing victim that I failed to notice his friend lifting his hand. Mr Dark Eyes glared down at me, not showing his pain, "We don't want him dead yet."

"Well, I don't care what you lot want," I muttered before the second traveller muttered something in that weird language. I was about to ask him what the fuck he was muttering when my head erupted in pain. I kept one hand on the knife while the other came up to press against the side of my head. I didn't even bother holding in my pained moan as I tried to do something to fight the pain, so that I could stop the horrible traveller man from hurting me.

But luckily for me, my boyfriend came to the rescue. He sped up behind the traveller, shoving his hand deep into the man's chest before ripping out his heart, a furious look on his face. I let out a relieved sigh as the pain stopped before looking up the man in front of me. He glared down at me, obviously pissed off that his buddy just got wrecked, and lifted up his foot. I immediately moved my damaged one back, squeaking out, "Don't you fucking dare," before removing the knife from his chest, only to stab him in the heart instead. The traveller reached up to grip my wrist as he died, eyes staring into mine. I continued to look down at him as his body dropped to the ground. I barely had the chance to let out a breath before Damon was by my side.

He cupped my face, anxious eyes scanning me for any injuries, before gently tugging me away from the body at my feet. I couldn't hide my wince as I put my weight on my foot, my broken toe letting out a protest. My broken toe which had definitely not healed properly. I didn't even need to look down at it to see that it was fucked.

Damon had definitely seen my wince as he looked me over with renewed effort. His eyes lingered on my face, which was still slightly red, before flickering down to look at my toe. He breathed in deep, closing his eyes for a moment, before muttering, "Alexa, what happened to your toe?"

"Would you believe me if I said that one of the Travelers broke it?" I knew that my voice sounded a tad too desperate and cursed. I wasn't going to convince him like that. Although I did suspect that my boyfriend wouldn't have believed me, even if I did play it perfectly.

"For fuck's sake, Ally," Damon shook his head and I winced at the disappointment in his voice. He carefully scooped me up into his arms before walking a few steps to the shelves. After placing me down on one of the crates, he crouched down in front of me, carefully examining my toe.

"I didn't want to scream and let Silas know that something was wrong, so I kicked the metal frame," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"You need to stop hurting yourself, baby," my boyfriend sighed before carefully easing off my sandal. I squeezed my eyes shut at the pain that followed while he gently grasped my ankle giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It didn't heal properly. I'm going to need to break it again to reset it."

"I figured," I breathed in deep, keeping my eyes closed. "I tried to fix it before the Travelers showed up, but I didn't manage to do it." I couldn't keep in my hiss as Damon gently grasped my broken toe. He murmured an apology, pressing a kiss to my knee, before breaking my toe again. My nails dug into the wood of the crate and I stopped caring about splinters. I bit my lip, keeping in as many noises as possible, because the last thing that I needed was for Damon to feel guilty about this. It was my fault that this happened, that he was put in the position where he had to hurt me, even if it was to help me.

My toe throbbed as it started healing correctly and I wasn't even aware that tears had fallen until soft hands gently brushed them away. I finally opened my eyes, glancing up to look at my boyfriend. He moved to cup my face before pressing a kiss to my forehead. I reached up to grip his wrists before mumbling, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt myself. I just…"

My words trailed off and I huffed in frustration as I failed to put into words just what led me to doing something so foolish. But luckily Damon, my perfect Damon, just eased my legs apart so that he could tug me closer, holding me close to his body as he tucked my head under his chin. I reached up to grip the back of his top as he sighed into my hair, "I know, Ally, I understand. Just next time, come talk to me before you do hurt yourself."

I whispered my agreement as he ran his fingers through my hair, holding me close, squeezing me tight. And I just clung on, ignoring my healing body as I focused only on my boyfriend's comforting touch.

XXX

It wasn't until my phone buzzed in my pocket that I opened my eyes again. Damon carefully eased it out of my back pocket before rolling his eyes at the name on the screen. I sighed as I saw Stefan's name flash up before I answered the call, "Leave me alone."

"Is he dead yet?" Tessa demanded, definitely not leaving me alone. I grumbled under my breath as we were joined by Ric and Jeremy. I saw my guardian's worried look before I closed my eyes again, pressing my head closer to my boyfriend's chest.

"There you two are," Damon rolled his eyes are the pair while I sighed down the phone at the other annoying witch in my life. "The Travelers have made their grand entrance and we need to be careful."

"Well?!"

"He isn't dead yet," I eventually replied, wrapping my fingers around Damon's belt as I tugged him closer. It was only his touch that kept me calm. Because fuck me, I was so close to just freaking out. And speaking to Tessa was not helping that. "I've been dealing with other problems, like fucking Travelers. They wanted to stop me from killing Silas. Which was so not cool and I didn't appreciate it."

Tessa was silent for a moment before musing, "They probably want his blood."

"Why would they want his blood?" I opened my eyes to tilt my head back, looking up at my boyfriend with a raised eyebrow. He was already staring down at me while the other two looked around, just in case any more Travelers decided to be sneaky shits.

"Silas drank the cure from Katherine. Now his blood is the cure."

"Well, that doesn't make any sense. Why would they want it if they aren't immortal? It sounds like they're just being bitches for the sake of it."

I could practically sense Tessa rolling her eyes as Damon eased me off the crate. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders before leading me back to the main corridor running down the side of the warehouse. I was content to let him direct me as needed while I focused on speaking to the bitch who had my sister and Stefan held hostage.

"Think about it, Alexa. The Travelers aren't fans of immortality. I had to bind the Other Side to something, something that would last forever, something that Silas couldn't destroy."

"I get you're trying to be mysterious, but I have been through far too much today to piece your clues together. So just tell me."

"Something a little closer to his heart. Two thousand years old, immortal. Indestructible. You can be a clever girl, when you want to be, Alexa. Figure it out."

I gave my phone a dirty look when the witch hung up on me, "Rude." I glanced up at my boyfriend, who looked like he was having some kind of epiphany. "I'm going to assume that you've worked out what she was talking about."

Damon looked reluctantly impressed as he shook his head, "Tessa may be insane, but she's a bona fide genius."

"Oh good, you did figure it out," I sighed, tucking my phone away as I rested my head against him. "Care to share it with the rest of us?"

"Come on, Ally, think about it," my boyfriend gently tapped my forehead as he glanced over at Alaric. "Two thousand years old, immortal, indestructible," he repeated the words that Tessa had said. "The anchor isn't a thing. It's a person."

It was then that it clicked for me and I let out a gasp, "No way. That sneaky little wench."

There was a proud look in Damon's eyes as he looked down at me, "She never killed Amara."

"She was always going to win," I hated to admit that I was impressed too. "Even if Silas took the cure and found the anchor, he wouldn't be able to destroy it. Damn, she wrecked him again." As I was speaking, I realised how bad that actually was for us. "Oh fuck, we were doomed from the get go."

"Silas would never be able to kill Amara," Alaric sighed, shaking his head. "And that means that he would never be able to bring Bonnie back."

"I feel so betrayed and he didn't even knowingly betray me," I muttered under my breath, scrunching up my nose in annoyance. "Okay, let's find Silas and Amara, God that feels like such a weird thing to say, and take them home. We can resume our plotting to bring Bonnie back tomorrow. I mean, who knows, she could be as suicidal as him, and they could off themselves together to bring our girl back."

"See, Alexa, silver linings," my boyfriend gave me a squeeze before looking at the other two. "You two search one end of the warehouse, we'll take the other half. By now, I expect Silas has found Amara. If he won't come back with us willingly, just knock him out."

"Wreck the fucker," I muttered under my breath while the other two agreed. Ric had a hand on Jeremy's shoulder as they walked away. And even though I knew that my brother was safe with the Enhanced Original, I couldn't help but clench my fist in worry. Travelers had already attacked us once, well, attacked me, I wouldn't put it past them to try their nonsense again.

I knew that my boyfriend had picked up on my worry, as he carefully turned me to face him, cupping my face, "He'll be fine, Alexa. Ric won't let anything bad happen to him. You're the one that we should be worrying about."

"I'm fine, no one needs to worry about me," I sighed, reaching up to grip his wrists. "Besides, I'm all healed up now."

"Are you?" Damon raised an eyebrow and I winced.

"Well, my toe is a little sore, but everything else is fine?"

"My adorable little trouble magnet," my boyfriend murmured against my lips, his thumb brushing against that special spot underneath my ear. "What am I going to do with you?"

XXX

When it was clear that Silas was no longer in the warehouse, we retreated outside. It was dark out, with a few streetlamps lighting up the area. And even though I was a fucking vampire now, I couldn't stop myself from huddling into my boyfriend's side as I glanced around at the darkness surrounding us. Because for all I knew, there were more Traveler's lurking around, ready to hurt me again. God. Fucking Travelers, they could go on my list of groups that I hated. Because fuck me, they were rude little bitches. And with their creepy magic, they were dangerous too. And wasn't that just wonderful. Ugh, hopefully they would fuck off now that Silas was missing. Because I did not want to deal with them anymore.

Damon just shook his head, probably sensing where my mind had gone, before tucking me under his arm, holding me close. I just wrapped my arm around his waist as I looked around. We had no idea where Silas and Amara were. Because he had definitely woken her up. We had seen the empty box and drained Traveler. We could only hope that they hadn't gotten far. Even with the blood, I was willing to bet that the girl was still fairly weakened from her ordeal. Because being calcified for as long as she had would take its toll on anyone, even an immortal being. Silas had to drain several hospitals worth of blood bags dry to be back at full strength. Poor Amara had only snacked on a single Traveler.

I let Damon led us as I strained my hearing, listening for any signs of life. On the other end of the warehouse, I could hear my brother and guardian talking, their voices low. But that was all that I heard for a moment. Until a voice that had my heart clenching pierced the darkness.

"Damon, do you hear that?" I breathed out as my eyes scanned the darkness, looking for the face to match the voice. Because while I knew that Amara was my sister's doppelganger, it just didn't click. Until now, Amara was just a name, muttered lovingly by Silas and hatefully by Tessa. But now she was real. Her voice was just like Ellie's, it sounded almost exactly the same.

"I hear her, but I don't hear Silas," my boyfriend replied, looking around with sharp eyes. "Come on, let's go get her. Even if Silas isn't around now, he will track her down."

I nodded, the pain in the voice breaking my heart in a way that only my sister could, "Let's go."

Damon led us through the darkness, following the frantic mutterings and shifting crates. I just continued glancing around, making sure that no Travelers or insane witches ambushed us. Because I was not going to take that chance. I had been fucked up enough today, I wasn't going to let it happen again. Because that shit got tiring.

I froze when I saw her. My twin's doppelganger was staggering around, a frantic look on her face as she looked around, hunching her body in on itself. Her hair was a mess, with some of her braids falling out, as the frizzy hair hung around her face. The girl clutched her bare arms, her pink sleeveless dress doing nothing to protect her from the cold of the evening. There was blood smeared around her mouth and I just knew where it came from. But that was an issue for later. When we were all home, safe and sound.

Amara spotted my boyfriend first, staring up at him with wide eyes, "Are you real?" Her voice, so full of pain and innocence, had me gasping. The girl turned her attention to me and I was surprised to see her face crumple as she threw herself forward. I caught her on instinct, clutching her close, as all my mind saw was her resemblance to my twin sister.

Her grip was slightly too tight, as her fingers dug into my back with desperation, her face buried against my neck. Tears dripped down against my skin as she whispered one word over and over, "Valeria."

I glanced up at Damon, a helpless look on my face as I patted Amara on the back. He shrugged at me, an equally helpless and surprised look on his face, and I sighed, "It's okay, Amara. It's okay."

"I'm sorry, sister, I'm so sorry," she continued to cry into my neck and I couldn't stop myself from giving her a reassuring squeeze. Logically, I knew that this wasn't my twin, I could see the differences between her and Amara. But at the same time, the pain in her voice set all of my protective instincts on fire. I held her close, carefully running my fingers through her tangled hair before looking back at Damon.

He raised an eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes, "I know. I know. These damn doppelgangers just do things to me. Let's just take her back home."

He nodded, resting a hand on my lower back, as he led us back towards the car. I trusted him to get us there safely, so I just focused on the still crying doppelgangers in my arms. Despite making walking awkward for her, she refused to move her face away from my neck. I couldn't quite understand what she saying at this point, but she clearly wasn't calming down. I sighed and paused to carefully lift her legs, wrapping my arm around her shoulders, so that I could pick her up. She returned to whispering that name again, Valeria, along with apologies. I could only assume that this Valeria girl had died while Amara was alive, judging from the desperation that she whispered those apologies. Those heartbreaking apologies. Like she had caused her sister to die. It was a guilt that resonated deep within me. And I clutched her closer.

It was that guilt, drowning in the pain, that had me murmuring into her hair, "Hush, Amara, it's okay. You don't need to cry anymore. It's okay. I'm here now."

XXX

When Ric and Jeremy returned to the car, they confirmed that there was no sign of Silas. I had suspected that he had run away, but I was surprised that he had ditched Amara, who he apparently loved so much. Although, judging from the warmth of the girl's skin, he probably didn't appreciate her sucking the cure from his body. So he ditched her, leaving her to stumble around, weak and terrified. God, I was so glad that we had found her and not the Travelers.

The two had frozen when they saw the girl in my arms. We were curled up together on the back seat, with every inch of Amara's body pressed up against me as she held me tight. She was no longer crying; her voice having gone quiet when I settled her in the car. But she refused to let me go. So I sat in the back seat, tucking her between the car door and my body. Damon had got me the blanket from the back and I had wrapped it around her, unable to watch the girl shiver from the cold.

"Is that Amara?" Jeremy breathed out as he climbed into the back seat, unable to take his eyes off of the doppelganger. She stared up at him with wide, fearful eyes, before looking at Ric as he sat in the passenger seat, looking over his shoulder at us. Her nails dug into my arm as she gripped it tight, glancing between the two, her breathing speeding up.

"Hey, it's okay," I gave her a soft smile, gently stroking her cheek. "They're real, I promise. Nothing to worry about with them." I continued to give her a reassuring look until Amara relaxed back against me. When she did, I looked at the other two, "Yeah, this is Amara. We found her outside, along and jittery."

"Is she okay?" my brother asked, his voice soft as he stared at our sister's lookalike. It was different to when we encountered Katherine. Because Amara had an innocence that the bitch never did. It was an innocence that set all of my protective instincts on high alert, desperate to protect this girl who had been through so much.

"I don't know," I sighed, shaking my head. "She's been through a lot and it has definitely affected her. But I don't know if she will calm down once she's had some sleep and she is somewhere safe."

"She certainly feels safe with you," Ric pointed out, looking at the way the doppelganger clung onto me. I carefully adjusted her so that her head was resting against my chest, her legs over my lap. The girl tightened her grip slightly as I moved her, almost like she was scared that I would leave her, before relaxing at the more comfortable position. I could feel her breathing against my skin as she rested her head under my chin.

"I think I remind her of her sister," I pulled the blanket up so that it was covering Amara's shoulder before resting my head against her hair. "She hasn't let go of me since she saw me."

My gaze flickered up to meet Damon's as he glanced over his shoulder at me. I knew that he wasn't impressed that another insane former immortal had latched onto me like this. But at least Amara was seeking comfort from a face that reminded her of a loved one, and wasn't bullying me like Silas did. I would take this any day of the week. But he wasn't going to force Amara away from me. The desperation on her face as he helped me move her into the car, as she had to leave my arms, had him sighing and shaking his head. Amara was innocent in a way that April Young had been, before my humanityless self had turned her into a vampire. I wasn't going to fail Amara, like I failed April.

My boyfriend gave me a small smile before turning to look at Ric, "Does Jenna have anyone who can stay at home with her and Jeremy tonight? Because I might need you to stay at the Boarding House. Just in case Silas or the Travelers come for Amara."

When my brother opened his mouth to insist that he help out, I gave him a stern look, "Jer, you're going back to Jenna's. I don't care if you pout, you'll be safer there." When he continued to pout, I used my trump card, "Besides, I would feel a lot happier if you were there to look after her and Zoe while Ric helps us."

The kid gave me a dirty look, because he knew that he couldn't argue against that, and I hid a smile in Amara's hair. The girl was a lot calmer now, almost on the verge of falling asleep, and I was determined to let her get some rest.

The Enhanced Original shook his head at us before looking back at Damon, "Andie is out of town but I'm sure Vanessa and Meredith can sleep over. I know they adore spending time with Zoe."

"Who doesn't?" I scoffed softly, glancing up to meet Ric's gaze. "She's the most adorable little bean ever. I would spend all of my time with her if I could."

Alaric sighed heavily, but I could see the amusement in his eyes, "You're going to spoil her when she's older, aren't you?"

"I spoil her now," I winked as Amara shifted in my arms, her grip relaxing slightly as she finally fell asleep. "I need to make sure that I'm her favourite cousin somehow."

"That's what I'm afraid of," my guardian shook his head and I didn't even bother hiding my smirk.

"It's what you get for having such a cute kid," I sniggered. "You don't need to worry too much, I'm very good at winning these competitions. It was so easy for me to become Jer's favourite sister. Winning over Zoe will be easy."

I ignored Jeremy's muttered, "You aren't my favourite anymore."

I knew the kid was just being dramatic. Because there was absolutely no way that Elena would let him get away with the shenanigans that I did. And my brother knew that. He was just moody that I wouldn't let him play protector at the Boarding House.

XXX

When we got home, I carefully picked up a sleeping Amara, tucking her in close. While Ric and Jeremy retreated to the parlour, Damon led me up to one of the spare rooms closest to our own. I was reluctant to leave her too far away and if she was close to where we slept, then I could help her if she woke up during the night. Because I knew that it would happen. Even if she was exhausted, there was no way that Amara would sleep through the night. To be honest, I was surprised that she had slept this long. Because her dreams would almost definitely be plagued by nightmares. Whether those nightmares would be about her experiences over the past two thousand years or her guilt over her sister's death, I didn't know. But I was determined to help the girl through them. She trusted me to look after her and I was not going to betray that trust.

After Damon pulled back the blanket, I carefully placed the sleeping girl down, moving to cover with the soft covers. Amara let out a whimper when I moved away, but I didn't go far. Instead, I sat down next to her, brushing her hair from her face. My touch must have soothed her, as she soon settled back down, the worry on her face easing away, leaving only a peaceful sleep. My heart clenched in my chest as it reminded me so much of Elena.

I couldn't hold in my sigh as I stared down at the sleeping doppelganger. It wasn't like Katherine, who was the exact opposite of my sister. No, this was different. Amara reminded me so much of Elena that it actually hurt. There was an innocence that they both shared. The two girls had been thrusted into this dangerous supernatural world, purely because of who they fell in love with. And they had suffered so much because of it. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair at all. Because why should the innocent suffer while the monsters of the world enjoyed their lives.

A gentle hand resting on my shoulder had me glancing up. Damon looked at me with soft eyes before he urged me to my feet. I gave the sleeping girl one final look before my boyfriend tugged me out of the room. He quietly closed the door before turning around to face me, cupping my face, his eyes scanning my face. He must have found something reassuring, as he relaxed slightly, his thumbs stroking my cheeks.

I reached up to grasp his biceps as he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," I sighed, my gaze flickering over the closed door. "She just reminds me so much of Ellie. And I know that she is the anchor to the Other Side, but… I don't know if I can let anyone hurt her. There has to be a way to bring Bonnie back that doesn't involve anything happening to Amara, right?"

"What is it with you and adopting tortured, lost souls right now?" Damon shook his head as one of his hands moved to tangle in my hair, pulling me close, while the other wrapped around my hips. I gripped the back of his top as I allowed myself to relax against him. Ric could keep an eye on Jer, and no one was getting to Amara with us in front of her door. Our siblings were on our way home. And for the first time all day, there was nothing to worry me.

"I don't think it would be as bad if she didn't look like Els," I muttered into his chest, closing my eyes as my boyfriend gently scratched at my scalp, the feeling making me relax further against his chest.

"Do you really believe that?" he asked, his other hand dipping beneath my top, his fingers settling under my shorts.

"No," I sighed as I allowed myself to focus only on his touch. "But what is the alternative? Accepting that I adopt these lost, tortured souls because it helps me deal with my guilt from taking so many lives while my humanity was off?"

"Ally, you've got to let go of that guilt," my boyfriend sighed into my hair.

"I don't know if I can," I admitted in a small voice, squeezing my eyes shut even more. "Because then what do I do? It's like what I told Stefan, I don't know who I am anymore, after turning my humanity off. I've seen myself at my worst and that terrifies me. What if I become like that again, if I let go of the guilt?"

Damon sighed heavily as he held me tight against him, his grip on my hip on the wrong side of tight. But I didn't care. I just pressed myself closer to him, until there was no space between us.

"Once we've saved Bonnie and found a way to restore Stefan's memories, I am going to take you out of town. And I will show you that you are a good person, Alexandria Gilbert. And that you don't need to fear what you are capable of. Would a bad person have gone out of their way to comfort Amara? Would they have worked with someone who hurt them to bring their friend back? Would they have fought so hard to protect and look after amnesiac Stefan?"

"I know what you're doing," I mumbled, unable to stop myself from being stubborn, unable to accept his kind words. "And it's not going to work."

"I'll find a way to make it work," the promise in my boyfriend's voice had me shivering. I knew that he would go to extreme measures to make me believe him. And while I would definitely enjoy those measures, I knew that he wouldn't let me win until I accepted his words.

"Damn you," I muttered, giving him a squeeze. "Fine. I'll let you do what you feel like you need to do."

"I love you, my stubborn, foolish girl."

I smiled against his chest as I whispered back, "I love you too, Day."

XXX

Eventually we made our way downstairs, still wrapped up in each other's arms. Ric and Jeremy were sat in the parlour, speaking in low voices. I gave them a quick scan, making sure that they were fine, before Damon tugged me over to the other sofa. He sat down first before pulling me down, tucking me into the corner of the couch. My legs rested on his lap as he kept an arm wrapped around my shoulders. I knew that I was practically sitting on his lap, but I didn't care. Not after the day that I had had.

Alaric passed over the bottle that they had been using and Damon took it, taking a sip before passing it over to me. I gave him a small smile before taking a deep swig. The burn had me closing my eyes, resting the cool glass against my head. It was just what I needed. Well, not exactly what I needed but I had to wait before I could get that.

We sat in silence, steadily making our way through the bottle, as we absorbed everything that had happened today. And there was a lot to absorb. With the biggest thing being our failure to bring back Bonnie. I had one aim for the day and I had completely and utterly failed. I couldn't even tease Silas about being a failure anymore, because I was just as bad. I knew that my boyfriend had guessed my thoughts, from the way he gave my thigh a gentle squeeze. But until we were alone, he wouldn't call me out on it. Especially in front of Jeremy.

The only noise was the crackling of the fire until we heard a car pulling up outside. I tensed for a moment before I heard my sister's voice. I relaxed back against the arm of the sofa, accepting the bottle back from Damon, just as our siblings walked in.

It was clear that they hadn't noticed us sitting in here, from the way they smiled at each other, and I sighed into the bottle. That was another issue. But not one that I was going to deal with tonight.

"Well, uh, have a good night," Stefan smiled at my sister, reaching out to rest a gentle hand on her shoulder.

I could see the blush on her cheeks at his touch, and she cleared her throat, "Yeah, it's weird. Even with no memory, you're still you."

"Well, Tessa was gonna kill you," the adorable amnesiac shrugged bashfully. "And you don't seem like you deserve that, so I was just going on instincts, that's all."

"Exactly," Ellie shuffled a step closer. "That's what I'm saying. Your instincts were always to protect me, so, thank you for… for just being you."

I couldn't help myself as I muttered, "He's not gonna be able to protect you from me throttling you for doing stupidness."

The two spun around with gasps while my boyfriend rolled his eyes at me. I gave him a pout before Stefan distracted me, "Alexa, I'm sorry. Tessa told me that she could give me by memories back, I never thought that she would lure Elena there too. I shouldn't have gone without telling someone."

"It's cool, Stef," I sighed, waving a hand. "You wanted your memories back; I can't be mad at you for that. But I can be mad at Ellie for allowing herself to be manipulated."

My sister winced at my hard look, "Can you be mad at me tomorrow? It's been a long day."

"You're telling me," I muttered bitterly, tapping my nails against the bottle that Damon had kindly let me keep. I shook my head, raising my voice. "I'm not going to berate you now. But I will be telling Jenna and I will tell her every gory detail. Understood?"

Ellie nodded while Stefan bid us goodnight. I watched the younger Salvatore leave while my sister slouched over to sit next to Jeremy. She gave the glass in his hand a look and he frowned, pulling it closer to him, "Ric and Alexa are allowing it. So you can't say anything."

It was Elena's turn to frown before Alaric sighed, "We couldn't bring Bonnie back today. So I gave the kid a pass."

"So you've had a successful day then," my sister glanced over at me as she settled down on the couch.

"Oh it's been fucking fantastic," I grumbled, glancing over at my boyfriend as he gently took the bottle from my hands. I couldn't stop myself from staring at him as he drank, biting my lip when he licked away a stray drop of bourbon, before getting distracted by my twin's words.

"I do wish that you would stop swearing in front of Jeremy," she sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh please, the kid has said a lot worse than I have," I snorted, taking the bottle back from Damon. "And considering our lives, a bit of bad language really isn't at the top of the list of bad things."

I was saved from Elena's next words, which almost definitely be a scolding, by Jeremy shaking his head, "No. No, I won't because it's not."

I exchanged a glance with Damon as he rolled his eyes, "What?"

Jer glanced over at us all before slouching back into the cushions, crossing his arms, "Bonnie's here. She wants us not to worry."

"Bonnie, I love you, but that is not going to happen," I snorted before taking a long drink. I sensed my twin glancing over at me before she sighed.

"We're gonna keep trying, Bonnie," she said softly. "Okay? It's not over. We've dealt with much worse."

"Well, Silas is MIA and out and about, which is pretty bad," my boyfriend shook his head, his fingers drawing patterns on my skin. "And Amara's been cured, which is even worse because now she's easy to kill, so the fate of the Other Side, where Bonnie currently resides, rests on a living, breathing human being that has imprinted on Alexa and one that we now need to protect."

Ellie frowned at that, sitting up straighter in her seat, "We need to protect?"

As she spoke, I heard a panicked gasp from upstairs. And it was one that I recognised. I quickly passed the bottle back to Damon before pushing myself up and speeding upstairs.

XXX

Amara was in my arms, huffing out panicked breaths against my skin, when the door opened again. The girl let out a whimper, shuffling closer, at the movement. I just gently hushed her as Elena and Damon walked in. While my boyfriend moved to stand by my side, resting a hand on my shoulder, Ellie froze at the end of the bed. She stared at the doppelganger in my arms, eyes examining her, before she turned to look at me.

I gave her a soft smile, as her wide-eyed look reminded me so much of Amara. God, these doppelgangers will be the end of me. If it wasn't Katherine trying to kill me, it was these two with their damn innocent stares, making me want to rip apart the world to protect them.

"Els, this is Amara," I kept my voice soft as I felt the girl in my arms shift slightly to look at my twin. She froze before her hands grabbed my arms. Her nails dug into my skin as she stared at the face identical to hers. "Amara, meet Elena, my twin sister."

Everything was silent for a moment before Amara fainted in my arms. I frowned and glanced down at her while Damon rolled his eyes, "Well, I wasn't expecting that."

"I wasn't expecting it either," I sighed, gently brushing her hair away from her unconscious face. "I guess if you aren't prepared for doppelganger hijinks, I can get to you. Especially after everything that she's been through."

"And she is the anchor to the Other Side?" Elena asked, gesturing to the other doppelganger. And you know what, I definitely saw a hint of jealousy in her expression. Which was fucking hilarious. Because it was like my twin was getting jealous of herself. I filed it away under my list of things to tease my sister over later, before nodding.

"Yeah, she is. Tessa used her at the anchor to fuck with Silas," I ran my fingers through Amara's hair, relaxing as her expression turned peaceful again. Hopefully she was just tired, and that was why she hadn't woken up yet. "She knew that he would never be able to hurt her. And so, he would be doomed to be alive as a witch, rotting away on the Other Side when he did die."

"Oh wow."

"Yep. This is one fucked up supernatural soap opera."

XXX

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, my lovelies, they really do keep me writing and I love reading them :) Please do keep them coming and to my lovely anons, thank you so much for reviewing each time! I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! And while Alexa adoring Amara wasn't planned, it just made sense, our girl and those doppelgangers, eh? As always, the next chapter will be posted when I add another to my backlog (I'm on chapter 100 and I genuinely cannot believe that I have made it that far!) Unit next time, I hope you enjoyed xoxo