A/N: Sorry for the late update guys, but you know how things go! Thanksgiving, exams, Christmas craziness... Anyway, thank yoouuu for following, favoriting and for your amazing reviews! I know that a lot of you, Kathya's fans, want them to be a couple already... but there are so many things to come for Maya! There will be more Bonnie, more Damon, some secrets revealed, new dramas and of course, more Malena and Kathya moments! So buckle up guys, because this is going to be a long ride! But I promise you will not regret it... :)

Happy reading and please, leave a review! (:

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.

MAYA'S POV

I closed the front door behind me and leaned against it. I couldn't believe Katherine would simply take care of me and then let me go that easily. I figured that she probably thought it would redeem her for what she did to me, but unfortunately for her, it wasn't going to be that easy. Why had she been the one to find me outside the school, anyway? The idea that she had possibly witnessed my creepy eyes made me worried, and very uncomfortable. I knew for a fact that she had to have noticed some of the unusual reactions I hadn't possibly been able to restrain. The pep talk she served me in the car just proved that. I slid my free hand over my face and sighed heavily in frustration. I wasn't in a state to be concerned about that right now. For the moment, I was just relieved that my senses were slowly going back to normal. Normal for me, at least.

The flashing base of my house phone caught my eye suddenly. I probably had ton of voicemails from Elena, Caroline, Damon and the whole gang. I knew I needed to call them. They were probably worried to death. But I wanted to take a shower first. I was stinking, but most of all I just wanted to get rid of her scent and step out of what was obviously her underwear. The thought of her seeing me half naked, or even naked for all I knew, made me dig my nails deep into my palms and growl lowly.

I dragged myself upstairs and had already begun to pick out some clothes from my closet when I heard my front door opening. Tensing, I immediately stuffed one of the stakes I had put on my dresser in the back of my pants. I walked to the stairs cautiously, but instantly relaxed when I heard the voices. I took a deep breath and went tiredly downstairs.

"Oh my god, you're alive!" Caroline sighed loudly in relief. Elena took the few steps between me and the landing and threw herself in my arms, hugging me tightly. Bonnie and Damon were looking at me with concern in their eyes.

"I'm fine," I said softly, putting my hand on Elena's back. "I'm sorry that I worried you." Caroline wasted no time before bombarding me with questions.

"What happened? Where were you? What was that yesterday at school?"

"Care…" Bonnie chided her gently.

"What?" Caroline shot back, offended. Elena had finally untangled herself from my arms and was searching my face to make sure that I was okay.

"I just got back..." I told them. I peeked at the group from over Elena's shoulder. "How did you know I was here?"

"Damon told us," Elena answered quietly. I shot him a surprised glance. He remained silent but I could see from his expression that there was someone else to blame. Katherine. She had probably called him. Damon couldn't possibly have known otherwise and didn't have any reason to stay quiet if she wasn't involved.

"I'm going to tell you everything, I promise- but I need to take a shower first…" I gave my friends what I hoped was a soothing smile.

"You're right. You kind of stink," Elena teased gently, but I could see the worry in her eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" Her sad puppy eyes made me want to hug her again and never let go.

"I am. And I will be even better after my shower," I joked. I turned around and started to head upstairs.

"Where are you going, creep?" I looked behind me at Caroline's accusation, and saw Damon at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm going to make sure that she doesn't collapse again and crack her skull open, nosey," Damon shot back. Caroline was about to throw him another snarky comment when Elena raised her hands to make them stop.

"I'll go," she declared. She turned toward me and gave me a smile, ready to follow me up. I swallowed the lump in my throat and climbed toward the landing. When we got to my bedroom, I rushed to get out of my clothes. I wanted to escape from this uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible. I kicked off my shoes, removed my top, and grabbed my clean clothes from the dresser before walking towards the bathroom.

"You have a new bra?" Elena asked conversationally. It wasn't the first time that she had seen me in a bra, but the fact that she could tell it was new was quite baffling to me. If that wasn't bad enough already, the fact that she had caught me in Katherine's lingerie made it even worse. I was mortified, and I could feel my face reddening dangerously. It was a good thing that I had my back to her.

"I'm sorry," she giggled awkwardly. "That's absolutely not what is important right now." She smiled at me and I was relieved that she was dropping it. I cleared my throat, trying to brush off my discomfort.

"So how are we doing this?"

"Leave the door open. I'll stand right behind it while you're showering. Just tell me if you need anything or if you aren't feeling well, okay?" I gave her a firm nod to appease her worry and stepped into the bathroom, leaving the door cracked open behind me.

I stood in the part of the bathroom she couldn't possibly see without popping her head through the door and took off my pants. I unhooked the bra urgently and stepped out of the panties just as quickly. I tossed them into the basket like they were burning my fingers. Finally, I unwrapped my wrist and put the bandage next to the sink. Flipping the nozzle of the shower, I adjusted the water temperature to the hotter it would go. I wanted the bathroom to be as foggy as possible. I knew that if she caught sight of me naked, it would probably just make her shy and look away. But the thought of her seeing me in the shower was making me feel a whole different level of embarrassment, mostly because I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to hide the inappropriate fantasies it would cause to show on my face. That was a situation I would very much like to avoid. Once I was sure the steam was thick enough, I stepped under the spray and began to shampoo my hair.

Every now and then, Elena called out to me to ask if I was "still alive in there". After the fifth time, I knew I was pushing my luck a little too far and reluctantly turned the water off before stepping out of the shower. Despite the time constraints, I meticulously dried my skin and hair, and scrupulously wrapped my hand again to draw it out as long as possible. I wasn't looking forward to the thousands of questions my friends would undoubtedly ask me, but I knew that having to answer them would be even worse. When I finally pulled the bathroom door open to leave, Elena was standing so closely behind it that I almost stumbled on her. She stood there, gazing softly at me with her big doe eyes.

"You don't have any desire to tell all of us what happened right now, do you?" A sense of understanding passed between us, and I knew that she was there for me. Where my actions and emotions were concerned, she was reading me like an open book. I shrugged apologetically and sighed.

"It's just that…" I trailed off. "I apparently spent twenty four hours sleeping and yet, I'm still exhausted! All I want to do right now is jump inside my bed." I sent a pleading look towards my mattress.

"Tell you what…" she said smoothly. "You brace yourself and tell us everything, and I'll put you into bed myself to make sure that you get your fill of sleep. How does that sound?" She squeezed my arm in reassurance, an amused smile on her face.

"Like a good plan," I answered with a pout. She giggled and leaned closer to place a quick kiss upon my cheek. But when she grabbed my hand to take me downstairs, I stayed frozen in my spot. We had already hugged, stroked, rubbed, cuddled, and hell- even slept in the same bed many times; but kiss? That was definitely a first, and it made me feel incredibly odd. Her gesture didn't make any sense. It would be an understatement to say that it wasn't the first time she had ever feared for my life. So, why was she getting so effusive all of a sudden?

"Come on Maya," she chuckled and pulled on my arm, taking my resistance for bad will. I snapped myself out of my haze and followed her obediently downstairs.

Elena went to the kitchen to gather Caroline and Bonnie while I rushed to the living room to snatch Damon by his elbow and drag him to the opposite side of the room. He let me lead him, but did so with raised eyebrows.

"She called you, didn't she?" I asked him in a whisper to avoid Caroline from eavesdropping on our conversation.

"Yes, she did." He spoke with the same sound level, but had an exaggerated, conspiratorial expression on his face. "Looks like she's worried about you…" he murmured, a mocking smirk on his lips.

"Yeah right," I snarled quietly. "Like she would take care of someone just because she's concerned about their well-being…"

"It would definitely be a surprise, I must say. But if she has an agenda, locking you down in a basement to make sure you stay alive and healthy would be a lot more her style…" he mumbled, more to himself than to me. We exchanged a troubled glance before Elena, Caroline and Bonnie entered the living room.

"I brought you back your life," Caroline announced proudly, handing me my bag. It contained my school stuff, but most importantly my keys and my phone.

"Thanks!" I was grateful, feeling almost like she was giving me my identity back.

"So! Where were you?" she continued, sitting down next to Elena on the couch. Bonnie was in the armchair in front of the one I was standing next to, and Damon stood right behind me. I mentally prepared myself for the conversation about to unfold and took a seat in the only armchair available.

"I was in Katherine's hotel room."

"What?" Caroline shot back, her voice coming out incredibly high in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right?" Bonnie asked lowly. The three of them were gawking at me with incredulous eyes, but Elena's were also… upset?

"I wish I was, believe me, but I didn't have much of a choice." The words tasted bitter on my tongue. "I collapsed on the ground and the next thing I knew, I was wakening up this morning… in an unfamiliar room with Katherine." I almost said half naked, but it was too humiliating for me to admit it out loud.

"And just where in the room was she, precisely, when you woke up?" Caroline asked, squinting in suspicion.

"Caroline!" Elena chided her.

"What?! Can you really blame me if I want to know what, exactly, the shEvil did to one of my best friends?" Obviously, it was a good thing I had decided not to mention the almost nude part.

"She was on the opposite side of the room- with her clothes on," I informed her, a look of understanding on my face.

"What happened then? She just tucked you into bed and watched over you for an entire day?" Caroline made an "I don't believe you" face, dropping her arms theatrically on the couch while she waited for an explanation.

"Which part of 'I was unconscious the whole time' don't you get, Caroline? I have no idea!" I exclaimed, irritated. "Why was she the one to find me anyway? Where were you guys?" The three of them exchanged a guilty look.

"Elena had already left to go after you, and Mr. Montgomery ordered us to sit back down," Bonnie started to explain, braving the lion's den- so to speak.

"We shouldn't have listened to him." Caroline sighed in annoyance, obviously regretting her decision.

"We couldn't have known what would happen…" Bonnie mumbled apologetically.

"I ran after you…" Elena said quietly. "But when you passed the corner, I lost track of where you went. I searched for you in the restrooms, thinking that you were sick. I looked in the nurse's office, and then in every hallway. You were nowhere to be found," she continued, her eyebrows knit in distress. "I finally went outside to search you, but you weren't there either. I'm so sorry!" She was tense, running her fingers anxiously through her hair before finally looking down at the floor. I remembered then that I had gone at abnormal speed when I had run out of the school. She couldn't possibly have been able to follow me.

"It's okay," I said softly, giving her a contrite look. "I'm not thrilled to have spent so much time in the same room as Katherine, but I'm fine, so... I'm not angry at any of you." I gave a genuine smile to prove my point. The room remained awkwardly silent for a couple of moments.

"About Katherine…" Bonnie started hesitantly. "She just waited for you to wake up and gave you a ride home? She let you go just… like that?" She was half amazed and half suspicious.

"Pretty much… but she made me eat breakfast first," I answered dryly. Shocked expressions broke out on Elena, Caroline and Bonnie's faces.

"Awhh, how motherly of her… it's cute." Damon's mocking comment earned him several angry gazes. "What?" he snapped, glaring at them in annoyance. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you think the food was poisoned! She's a vampire, and a pretty deadly one. There are dozens of fun ways to kill people when you're a vampire. I can assure you she didn't pick poison." He flashed a cruel smirk at the assembly.

"There's nothing fun about killing people Damon," Bonnie drawled, her voice dripping with warning.

"Yeah, you get the point…" he dodged, dismissing the conversation by waving his fingers carelessly in the air.

"Well, if it had been poisoned, I would be dead by now. And since I'm not…" I trailed off, trying to lighten the tension between those two.

"Speaking of breakfast… how do you know that you indeed passed out and that she didn't just compel you?" Caroline asked abruptly.

"What?" This was getting ridiculous.

"Caroline's right, Maya. You obviously didn't take your morning dose of vervain today, and from the way you looked yesterday when you arrived at school, it's not unlikely that you forgot to take it then as well…" Elena remarked softly.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Damon declared, weaving around my armchair and sitting down on the coffee table in front of me.

"You're going to compel her?" Elena asked warily.

"Yep! Ready?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me playfully. I gave him a quick nod, knowing already that it wasn't going to work.

Our little army had had me sipping vervain since the very first day I had learned about the existence of the supernatural world, and I had accepted it without question. Until the day I had witnessed Damon compelling Jeremy after Anna's death. The way he had behaved in that moment reminded me of a strange encounter that had happened two months before. I was at the Grill, and some guy who I would later learn to be Anna's minion had walked right up to me to ask me if I knew Bonnie. When I told him that I did, he invaded my personal space, looked me straight in the eye, and demanded that I call her. I had written him off as a creep back then and hadn't paid much attention to it until that night in Jeremy's room.

Soon after, Caroline began to practice her new vampire abilities and I had decided to try a little experiment. I wasn't proud of it, but I had stopped drinking vervain a week before and manipulated her into compelling me. I had asked her how we could be sure that the plant was efficient against vampires, and Caroline reacted exactly as I had planned. She tried to compel me, only too happy to get a chance to use her new powers. She failed. Since then, I hadn't had a single drop of vervain.

Damon leaned his face close to mine and stared deeply into my eyes, preparing to compel me.

"What color is your underwear?" His forwardness made me smirk, but the couch cushions that were hurled at him- not to mention the slap on the arm Elena gave him- broke down my defenses, and I laughed openly.

"What?" he growled in annoyance. "I'm not going to ask her what she had for lunch! Stop interrupting me," he ordered, turning his head to shot them a warning look. He stared back at me and tried compelling me again.

"What happened to your hand?" he questioned, seriously this time. I frowned.

"That's your question?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in surprise. "I already told you that, Damon!" I waved my bandaged hand in front of me for emphasis. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Yep, she's still on vervain."

"So… what was that yesterday morning? You looked like you were in a lot of pain," Caroline said carefully. She looked upset, and I felt guilty for worrying them.

"I had a migraine…" They looked doubtful, but before they could say anything, I continued. "A major migraine. The stabbing pain in my eyes was so strong that I couldn't handle the light, and the voice of Mr. Montgomery was just hammering inside my head. The hurt was too much. It made me really nauseous."

"If light and sounds were painful, it was a tremendous idea for you to go outside," Damon sneered with a sarcastic smirk.

"You think?" I asked lightly, pretending to genuinely consider the jab. "I can tell you I will not make that mistake twice." His smile dropped instantly.

"So when you went outside, it just made everything even worse, and then you fainted?" Bonnie asked, obviously interested.

"Unfortunately yes…" I sighed. Elena got up then and stood in front of me, making me flinch slightly in surprise.

"That's it, I'm taking you to the hospital," she ordered, her arms folded against her chest. She looked unmovable.

"What?" I was bewildered. Where was this coming from?

"This is serious, Maya. You didn't just have a headache; you had a migraine that caused you to collapse." Elena shook her head, a grave expression on her face. "You could have something serious!"

"I don't need to go to the hospital…" I kept my voice stern, leaving no room for debate.

"Elena is right, Maya. You can't take it lightly," Caroline interfered.

"I will not take no for an ans-"

"I already went to a hospital, OK? This has happened to me before!" I snapped, cutting Elena off. My outburst shocked them a little, leaving them silent for a moment.

"When?" Elena finally whispered.

"After my parents' funeral," I answered quietly, pretending to reposition myself on the armchair to avoid the pity and sadness in their eyes. "My uncle thought it was a physical reaction to my shock, but when the fever didn't go down, he took me to the hospital." I was reluctant to tell them this. I hated bringing back those memories.

"What did they find?" Elena asked, an encouraging smile on her lips.

"That's why I told you I didn't need to go to the hospital. They found nothing," I protested. "They made me run so many tests that I was glowing with radiations at night." I was trying to lighten the conversation, but Damon was the only one amused by my comment. He gave me a supportive wink. "They didn't notice anything suspicious except for the fact that the parts of my brain connected to my senses were more active than usual- but they assured us that those symptoms were consistent with a migraine. The only thing they really did was take care of my fever by cooling down my body."

"That's all?" Caroline exclaimed incredulously. "They didn't give you any medication?"

"No. They just advised me that I stay in a dark and quiet room to ease my brain and sleep as much as my body needed. That's all." They still looked dubious despite my thorough account but I didn't let it get me flustered. "And it was actually accurate. Look, I know you're worried and that it was pretty spectacular- but it was just a migraine. A very unpleasant one for me, but still just a migraine. It happens to me sometimes. It's not a big deal…" I gave a placating smile, willing them to trust what I had learned from my previous experience. But I could tell from their eyes that they were uncertain about what to do with me.

"Okay. I'm going to keep my word and get you into bed, but I'll watch over you for the rest of the day, and tomorrow, too." Elena put her hands on her hips, a look in her eyes daring me to disagree.

"You don't have to-"

"And I'll take the next shift!" Bonnie cut me off, looking at me with determination that was a little too intense for my taste. "We'll watch over you until we're sure you're OK." Damon spoke up before I could protest.

"The nurses are right, stubborn ass. Better that someone stays with you in case your concussion starts to bleed out."

"I don't have a concussion!" I exclaimed, wanting to wipe his smug smirk off his face.

"You could have hit your head badly when you passed out. And how could you possibly know that you didn't, smarty pants?" His complacency was going full throttle now.
'Because Katherine said she caught my head before it hit the ground,' I thought to myself. But then again, why should I believe her? She could have arrived after I fell. The fact that she had been there at all was already suspicious in and of itself. I sighed in defeat.

"Fine," I mumbled, standing up to follow Elena in the direction of the stairs. I turned around before I took the first step. "I'm really sorry I worried you guys," I said sincerely, looking each of them straight in the eye.

"It's okay… now be a good girl and let us take care of you, OK?" I could see the smile tugging at Caroline's lips, even though she was trying to look strict. I chuckled at her inability to remain serious for longer than a minute and then watched all of them with reluctant gratitude.

"Okay."