A/N: Oh my, I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update! I got hit by writer's block but your reviews always have a way of inspiring me to write and update faster... :) So thank you guys, for favoriting and following! And an even bigger thank you to those who give reviews!

Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. This is a work of fiction written for entertainment purposes, but the original characters and original storylines present in "My Paper Heart" are my own work.

I pushed the door of the Grill open and spotted the one I was looking for. While staring at his back, I suddenly realized how close we became lately.

For the last two years, we had been buddies... sort of. We began sharing respect and trust because of our history on the battle field. Enjoying our usual sparring matches on regular basis, but not much more than that. Maybe because we were both too proud to admit that we enjoyed each other's company. Maybe because our resemblance was much more than just a physical one. It was so odd for us that we hadn't been able to handle it other than by being on the defensive.

But Katherine's presence had changed that. Damon showed concern and had been very protective of me. It made me realize that I could count on him for something other than to just rip someone's heart out. I knew now that he was sensitive enough to me and my feelings to figure out that I was gay. And somehow, I was completely sure I could trust him with my secret.

He was also the only one I could really talk to about what was going on with Katherine. He was more pragmatic about it, and he didn't freak out every time the subject came. And I was very aware that, out of all of us, he was the one who knew her the best.

All of those things had changed my habits. Instead of calling Elena every time I was worried, pissed, or needed to take my mind off things, my first thought now was to call Damon.

Because he knew and understood things that she couldn't right now.

And the fact that I ran out of school and decided to look for him at the Grill to clear my head proved it even more.

He was seated by himself at the bar, probably enjoying his usual bourbon. The sight caused a memory of Alaric to flash through my mind. I couldn't handle the sadness of it, so I settled for sitting at one of the booths.

"Hi there," I said quietly into space. I knew he had felt me as soon as I pushed the door open. Probably even before. He put his drink down on the bar and turned his head hesitantly toward me, a raised eyebrow on his face.

"Care to join me?" I asked softly without looking at him, sliding into the booth seat.

While taking off my jacket, I looked up at him discreetly. He was crossing the dining room with two glasses in his hands. He stopped for a few seconds at the end of the table to give me his usual sarcastic smirk.

"You're alive! How unbelievable is that?" he threw at me in a mock cheerful tone, while sitting in front of me. I laughed at his sarcasm.

"No incident to report so far…" I shot back with humorously.

"Great. But that still doesn't mean it's a good idea," he said sternly with a wrinkled eyebrow.

"Never said it was…"

"Well… I guess it's enough good news to celebrate." He slid one of the glasses toward me across the table.

"I'm not going to drink that," I declared, looking at the bourdon inside the glass and up to Damon. He raised one of his eyebrows and gave me a knowing smirk.

"It's the middle of the afternoon, Damon!"

"I guess we'll have to order you a coke then…" he sighed dramatically, raising two fingers to call the waiter. We waited silently until the boy took my order and brought my drink back to me. I took a sip of my soda, and put it down carefully.

"She knows about me…" I almost whispered, my eyes locked on my glass. I hesitantly risked a glance up at Damon and saw that he was staring at me with a mixture of surprise and expectancy. I almost let it slip that I was talking about the gay part, not the other one but realized just in time that he wasn't supposed to know about the other one. And I hated it. I hated being so good at keeping things from the people I cared about. I hated that now that he knew about one of my secrets, I couldn't talk freely about everything with him. But even if I wanted to, I couldn't possibly. So I swallowed my frustration and specified to him what I meant.

"She knows I'm gay. And even though she decided to keep it a secret…" I trailed off in a tired voice.

"You better tell everyone before she does," he continued for me.

"Yes…" I said poorly, with distress in my eyes.

"Come on. I don't know what you're afraid of," he started with a gentle smile. "I'm sure they're going to be perfectly fine with it! The way I see it, you will even become Blondie's next project…" he continued with an amused grin at the corner of his mouth. I giggled at his comment about Caroline, knowing that it was definitely something that she could do.

"Experience taught me that you can never be completely sure, Damon…" I said quietly, playing unconsciously with the edge of my glass. "But it's not just that. How do you think they're going to react when they will realize that I lied to them for the past two years?"

"I would not want to be in your shoes, right now." Horror was shining in his eyes.

"Thanks for the pep talk," I shot back dryly.

"Don't worry!" he exclaimed in an exaggerated reassuring tone, raising the arm holding his glass around emphatically. "There will be shock, a little bit of anger, maybe some tears, and then you will all be back in the world of rainbows and lollipops in no time."

"I hope you're right but unfortunately for me, it's going to take longer than just the time to say it…" I replied with an annoyed look.

"Do you want me to be there when you tell them?" he asked, suddenly serious.

"Thanks…" I gave him a grateful smile. "But no. The last thing I need is for them to find out you knew before they did."

"Good point," he answered awkwardly. We both got lost in our thoughts for a couple of minutes... until I remembered something.

"What was that you said earlier?" I questioned suspiciously.

"You're going to have to be more specific…" He narrowed his eyes at me.

"The look you gave me about my refusal to drink bourbon," I specified sternly. He raised one of his eyebrows and gave me a knowing smirk. "Yes, that one exactly."

"I already saw you drink, you know…" he dodged smoothly, with a grin at the corner of his lips.

"Yes. Like pretty much everyone else! You're acting like I'm an alcoholic in denial!" I exclaimed, irritated. He laughed at my accusation.

"You're not. But we both know you could have drunk it in one gulp without choking. Afternoon or not…" he said in a know-it-all tone. I shot daggers at him with my eyes.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, sweetie… You really thought you could hide that you're a party girl from me?" he answered suggestively while waving his eyebrows at me. I instantly noticed the name he called me. It was not completely out of character of him to use this word, but it was the first time he used it with me. I decided to ignore it and to push it in the back of my mind. I was too upset right now to care.

"I'm a party girl? How could you possibly think that?" I asked, pinning my lower arms on the table in exasperation.

"Well, the most obvious will be that you would have to be blind to not notice it at that bonfire party… You turned a lot of boys horny on that night," he stated with piercing eyes and an amused smile. I let my forehead fall onto the table in despair.

"That night is never going to stop haunting me, is it?" I growled angrily. "I just needed to lash out and forget about everything on that night, Damon, that's all…" I mumbled quietly through my hands now covering my face, straitening myself up on my elbows.

"I believe you. But I actually think that the bonfire's Maya is the true raw version of you…" He pulled my hands away gently to look into my eyes.

"Which is a party girl, of course…"

"Well, not only, but yes," he answered with a cocky smirk. "Your way of handling drunk horny guys is pretty impressive, and shows you have a lot of practice. And you damn know to hold your booze! Not exactly the puking humiliating kind of girl, are you? Not to mention your remarkable dance skills…" he trailed off, waving his eyebrows and leaning closer to me. "So yep! Party girl." I looked at him intensely for a few seconds.

"I'm not that girl anymore, Damon…" I said tiredly, with a sad look in my eyes.

"You should," he shot back instantly, earnest in his voice. "It's not hard to figure out you buried her with your parents, but you should let her come back to life… Because I never saw you that happy and free other than during that night," he continued softly. I raised my chin quickly, emotions invading my eyes and finally gave him a poor smile.

"Plus!" he started in a sudden joyful tone, straitening himself up. "You're so damn sexy when you run wild…" he flashed a suggestive smirk at me.

And just like that, my irritation came back full blast. I rolled my eyes dramatically.

"Ugh! Is that a vampire thing? Analyzing people's behavior to know specifically if they're wild or good in the sack?" I drawled, wrinkling my brows in annoyance.

"Only the ones we're interested in," he shot back playfully. Again, I couldn't help but wonder what he meant exactly by "interested in" but kept my mouth shut about it. "Why? What did the bitch say?" he asked, amused. It was irritating that he instantly knew I was referring to Katherine.

"Nothing!" I said firmly. He laughed a little at my reaction but didn't push any further. A few minutes passed by before I found the strength to ask him what I had in mind.

"I know what happened between you and Katherine," I started hesitantly. "You and Stefan painted us a pretty precise and scary portrait of her, and I had been able to witness it the past two years… But there's something I don't understand," I added, my brows knit in confusion. "I'm aware that I hadn't known you for very long and that you were different… younger at that time, but it's really hard to believe that you could fall so hard for the monster you had portrayed. Both of you…" I held my breath, unsure of his reaction.

The expression on his face was painful to watch. I knew he hated remembering that period and gave him a contrite look. He stayed quiet for what seemed like hours to me.

"She had a couple of good sides too, I guess…" His voice came out a little raw. I gave him an encouraging smile.

"There were those moments when we were going for a walk in the country… She was asking about touchy subjects and listened with concern. She always tried to soothe my wounds like she actually cared," he related hesitantly, a sad small smile on his lips. He seemed to be immersed in his own memories for a while so I kept quiet and let him talk.

"She was adventurous… in a good way. And her smile and laugh were lighting up the room every time she walked in," he said with a real smile this time.

"She was distinguished- and breathtaking, for sure. Amazing in bed too," he added with a cocky smirk on his lips. "I sometimes believe that she did care about us both, but the truth is…" he trailed off, with an intense look in his eyes. "I don't think she ever really gave us a chance to get to know the real her…" Hurt flashed in his eyes for a second.

"You think there's something more beneath the cold-hearted bitchy surface?" I murmured softly, my voice a little hoarse.

"I'm sure there is… Why? Do you want to find out?" He scrutinized me with narrowed eyes.

"Never said that." I slightly lifted my gaze to meet his eyes, holding the stare.

"Good. Because I never said there will be something nice to find there," he pointed out in a warning tone.

"Thanks for answering…" I gave him a meaningful smile but quickly finished my soda before he could push it further and then put my jacket on. "Will you give me a ride home?"

"Sorry. I'm not done yet," he declared sarcastically, stirring the bourbon in his hand to illustrate his comment.

"Okay. Well, see you later then…" I said with a conniving smile on my lips. He winked at me as an answer.