A/N: All of you guys are giving me lots of love and reviews, and I wanted to thank you for that with this new chapter! I have a feeling that a lot of you are going to be really happy about it... ;D

Also, quick reminder: this story is going to be rated M soon...now onto the reading! ;)

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 was walking reluctantly toward school on yet another Monday morning, preparing myself to face a new emotionally draining week, when I felt that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I had learned to recognize all too well. A wide smile grew on my lips as the image of who was causing this sensation popped into my head. When I noticed the involuntary reaction of my body, the blood in my veins froze instantly. Was I happy to see her? The thought made me both stunned and upset. I quickly dispelled the grin off my mouth and tried my best to put on an expressionless face.

"Hello beautiful," she purred, showing up out of nowhere and sidling up next to me.

"Hello Katherine," I greeted back in a tone slightly too enthusiastic for my taste. She stopped for a split second before closing the distance between us to walk backwards in front of me. While her eyes roamed over my face attentively, I noticed pleasure and curiosity shining in them.

"This is the first time you have ever greeted me back…" she whispered a bit suspiciously. "I think it's even the first time that you've called me by my name." A rascal grin rose on her lips.

"So?" I tried my best to keep myself from matching her grin.

"So, you're happy to see me…meaning you missed me," she sing-songed seductively, ending her words with a mischievous giggle.

"Don't flatter yourself. I was just being polite." I gave her a fake annoyed glance. "I didn't think you were coming back to town," I commented innocently, trying to change the subject.

"Well, what can I say…?" She sighed resignedly for theatrical effect. "It seems that I can't stay away from you for too long." She devoured my silhouette with a predatory smile on her lips, making me feel exposed and dramatically human. After a few seconds, she finally snapped herself out of her obvious licentious haze and adopted a contrasted genuine tone to ask, "So, what did I miss while I was out of town?"

"Hmm…nothing." I was trying to buy myself time to readjust to her change of moods, between heavily ambiguous to weirdly casual. "You know Mystic Falls…just another boring little town."

"There's nothing boring about Mystic Falls. Or regular, for that matter… how did your coming-out go?" she asked bluntly, a smug smirk at the corner of her mouth.

"I wouldn't know…since I didn't do it," I lied brazenly. I knew where she was going with her question, and there was no way in hell I was going to give her satisfaction.

"Oh Maya," she purred in a patronizing tone. "I'm barely in town for five minutes and you're already lying to me…"

"Am I?" I shot her a haughty but amused look.

"It would've been stupid of you not to have taken advantage of my absence to reveal your homosexuality, knowing that I was fully aware of your little secret. And since you're anything but stupid…" she trailed off, slowing down her pace to gradually close the distance between us. "You also seem to forget that I have eyes and ears everywhere around here." Damn it. How could I've missed this Machiavellian woman for even a second?

"Oh, right…your supposedly little spies," I mocked cockily. "If you're so well-informed, why even bother to ask?"

"I don't necessarily get all the tiny details…" She shrugged a shoulder carelessly. "Not to mention it's much more interesting and fun to make people talk about it. The way they choose to relate the story says a lot about them…" There was an impish glint in her eyes. I glared at her defiantly and stepped aside to bypass her.

"No? You don't want to play?" She turned on her heels fluidly and matched my pace to walk by my side again. "Okay, I'll guess then," she announced playfully. "No need to mention Damon since he already knew." She pretended to think about it thoroughly. "Caroline probably reacted to it as the drama queen that she is…getting up on her high horse before falling into your arms. I bet it didn't take her more than five minutes to start asking inappropriate questions about your love life," she commented with an amused smirk. I restrained myself just in time to snort at her choice of words. Inappropriate was practically the definition of Katherine's character.

"Stefan, as usual, played his diplomatic and wise role, telling you that he accepts you just as you are," she continued in a surprisingly mocking tone. "Bonnie, on the other hand, had most likely responded to it in the exact opposite way…all uptight and judgmental." She gave me a knowing side-glance. So far, her lucidity on my friends was quite frightening, but accurate, even though I kept myself from giving her any sign of confirmation or denial.

"And as for little, boring Elena…" she drawled her name slowly, clearly hitting me to fill the blank.

"Really? You can't predict how Elena would have reacted?" I emphasized the words a little to notify her that all of this guessing was just speculation. "And to think I thought boring went hand in hand with predictable…"

"Hmm…look who's back in the game," she purred, a devilish smirk curling up the corner of her mouth. "Come on, tell me…what was Saint Gilbert's reaction?" she asked again, decreasing her pace as we approached the high school entrance.

"I wouldn't know." I turned on my heels to watch her while walking backwards toward the school. "Like I said…I didn't come out of the closet." I turned around again to hide the amused grin growing on my lips. She didn't say anything else but the glint I saw in her eye before facing the high school doors convinced me that she wasn't done with this conversation just yet.

The rest of the day went as predicted-a perfect mix of tension, awkwardness and frustration. I could feel that lately, my anger toward Elena had gradually reduced, but I was still upset. Considering this, I was grateful that I was the only one of our little gang to be on the parking lot after my basketball practice, because I felt Katherine's presence as soon as I pushed the doors open.

If one of them found out that Katherine was back, they would freak out. They would start making decisions again, like protecting me or invading my personal space without even asking if I had an opinion on the matter. They would be on war footing, and consequently, breaking the usual rules of privacy…meaning that the respect they all showed toward Elena's and mine's stubborn refusal to talk about what was going on between us would go up in smoke in seconds.

I thought that, for once, and regardless of the presence of a powerful and dangerous vampire lurking at the edge of the trees bordering the parking lot, the odds were in my favor. But I soon realized how badly mistaken I was when I felt an all-too-familiar presence to my left, a few feet away behind me. I knew that even if the leaves' shadows were masking Katherine's upper body efficiently, her tight black jeans and high heels short boots were too recognizable for someone who had already crossed her path. And from the way I saw Elena's body suddenly freeze out of the corner of my eye, I was now certain that my theory was correct. I couldn't help myself from turning my head in her direction. Despite the distance between us, I could tell from the way she was looking at me that she was scared and indubitably worried. Her body language was screaming that she wanted to rush toward me, but she anxiously awaited a tacit agreement from my part. But I couldn't possibly give it to her. Not with Katherine listening and watching our every move. I knew that if Elena and I gave her the slightest clue on what was going on between us, she would make the past week look like a picnic. I broke eye contact with Elena and pretended to casually go about my business, fishing carelessly for my phone in my back pocket.

"Please, do not interfere. I'll be fine. Don't worry... " I typed the message as expressionless and nonchalant as I could be right now, and sent Elena the first text on my behalf since our huge clash. I directed my attention to the street ahead of me, feigning inattention to Elena or Katherine, but in reality, I was carefully following Elena's every move to see if she was going to respect my wish. For as long as she stayed in my field of vision, she didn't seem to make a move in mine or Katherine's direction, and when I heard the ignition of an engine behind me, I knew she had decided to play along. At least for now…

In the meantime, Katherine had pushed herself off the tree she had been leaning on and was swaying her way toward me.

"My, my…trouble in paradise?" she sing-songed in a distinguished tone, a cruel smirk plastered on her face. "Some things did happen when I was gone…" Apparently, she had seen right through my little act, but I was seeing right through hers and I wasn't going to play her game this time.

"You really thought she wasn't going to tell me about your little visit?" I shot back bitterly.

"Actually, I wasn't sure she would have the guts to talk about it." Her eyes roamed slowly from my toes to my head, before finally meeting my gaze. "But the real surprise here is that you're the one who seems to be mad at her." She tilted her head to one side, inquisition shining in her eyes. Note to self: Take acting classes.

"I can only think of two reasons why it's not the other way around… First, she's admitted to herself and to you that she has feelings for you- and even though that would be definitely be a surprise, still for obscure reasons, you feel...betrayed? But the anger coming along with it would mean that you rejected her at some point, throwing away your chance to finally be with her, and I don't see that happening in a billion years," she explained in a know-it-all tone. "Which leaves us with the second option...she made perfectly clear to you that she has no interest in you romantically, and that it's always going to be Stefan. And instead of feeling sorry for your broken heart, you chose anger…" She looked confident in her reasoning. "Quite predictable from both of you." Her allegations about Elena's behavior and my own reactions were infuriating me. Probably because even if she had it all wrong, it was still a very touchy subject for me. It made me snap.

"Whether it's for one of these reasons or another, it's none of your business." I felt my legs taking slow and deliberate steps toward her of their own accord. "You leave Elena alone. You're not going to involve her in one of your sickening schemes again, or even touch a single hair on her head," I growled dangerously, closing the distance between us, my body bending forward in a threatening way. "Because if you do, I swear that I will kill you, even if it means I'll have to die to succeed!" I shouted, staring deeply into her eyes. "Elena is way off limits, do you hear me?" I was completely crazy to threaten one of the strongest and unpredictable vampires I ever met, but as astonishing as it was for me, Katherine seemed to take my threat very seriously, considering the way she positioned her body in a defensive posture, a troubled glint shining in her eyes. Was it possible that I was able to impress the fearless Katherine Pierce? She had recomposed her usual cocky self before I could answer the question.

"Loud and clear." Her tone was cold and detached. She crossed her arms against her chest nonchalantly. "There are a lot more interesting subjects to focus on, anyway…" she added a bit mischievously, pacing playfully in front of me. I knew it was her way to more or less agree without losing face, so I did my best to cool down.

"I'm sure there are, but you'll have to discuss them without me." I checked the clock on my phone, realizing that I was expected somewhere else.

"Somewhere you need to be?" she asked knowingly. "I'll walk you there, then…"

"No thanks." I started to rush into the opposite direction.

"Why not?" A childish pout appeared on her lips. "I'd barely been out of the picture before you found yourself another date?"

"It has been a month, and I don't consider a study session as a date," I answered over my shoulder, increasing my pace. "Or my life would be even more pathetic that it already is," I thought to myself.

"Since you obviously counted the days until my return, you could at least enjoy my delightful company on your way there," she offered smugly, appearing right next to me.

"What do you think is going to happen when they notice you're back in town?" I asked, purposely ignoring her teasing. She hummed and nodded slightly in understanding. "And I'm not in the mood to play mediator right now."

"I've noticed that," she replied sarcastically, clearly referring to my earlier outburst. "Fine, I'll get out of your hair. But I'll see you later…" She gave me a suggestive look before disappearing.

I was in too much of a hurry to worry about her innuendos. I headed straight to Bonnie's house, even though our secret spot in the woods was not even close to it. I wanted to make the study session excuse credible in Katherine's eyes if she had decided to follow me.

She had probably witnessed my creepy eyes already, learned from her witch that I was immune to magic, and was almost certainly having a reasonable doubt about my senses, so the last thing I needed was for her to spy on my little practice sessions with Bonnie.

I went around Bonnie's home once I arrived on her doorstep and hid in her backyard for a while. If Katherine was lurking around, she would hopefully think that I had gone inside. It also allowed me to focus and discreetly spot her presence if she was indeed in the area. As it seemed that I was alone, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket again and sent a text to Bonnie.

"Sorry, basketball practice took longer than expected. I'm leaving now; I'll be there in 15 minutes." Hopefully, it would do the trick and spare me further explanations about my lateness. I made sure once more that Katherine wasn't around, then sneaked out of Bonnie's backyard to meet her in the woods.

The exercise meeting with Bonnie went smoothly, and no unwanted visitor had been detected. I stayed very alert on my way back home to avoid stumbling on Katherine in the opposite part of the town of where I suggested I would be. But I soon realized that it was stupid of me to worry about that since she was, of course, waiting for me on my porch.

"You know what I really, really didn't miss while you were gone?" I stomped my feet nonchalantly on every step leading to my porch, and stopped at a safe distance away from her, crossing my arms over my chest. "You stalking me."

"I'm not a stalker. I'm just everywhere, all of the time." She playfully looked up at me through her eyelashes.

"Well, you have to stop doing that!" I requested strongly, my pitch getting higher. "It's creepy…" She titled her head to one side and studied my face carefully.

"You openly lied to me, today…threatened me so I would stay away of my dull doppelganger, ditched me on a sidewalk, and now you want to control my comings and goings?" She rose up from my bench gracefully and placed herself right in front of me. "Any more rules you would like to share with me?" she asked lightly, but the coldness of her undertone was unmistakable.

Damon and Stefan had warned us too many times already. Katherine Pierce was living by one rule and one rule only: No rules. So I knew that if I tried to simply channel her behavior by imposing some rules, I would just wake up the untamed beast.

"None of what you mentioned are rules, except for that non-negotiable one," I started wearily, referring to our earlier discussion about Elena. "As for the stalking policy, it's not a rule. It's called decency." I flashed her a teasing smirk.

"Decency, huh? In that case, there's an easy way to reach an agreement. If I had your phone number, I could give you a call before barging in…" she stated devilishly. "Or even better, you could invite me in."

"Nice try." I was actually surprised that she hadn't already stolen my number from Damon's phone-or mine, for that matter. "I guess you're going to have to find another way…"

"You're the one having a problem with that, dear. I'm perfectly fine with the way things are."

"What happened to you liking a little bit of challenge?" I purposely dared her. From the way she stared intently into my eyes with a knowing smirk on her lips, I knew that my little game hadn't gone unnoticed.

"So if I manage to communicate with you somehow without stalking you, you agree to go on a date with me?" Her face was radiating with cockiness and self-satisfaction. Damn it! She was good.

"It would definitely not be a date," I stated strongly, turning slightly to take a few slow steps away from her and toward my door.

"In my book, agreeing on place and time to meet is called a date…"

"It's called a meeting." I gave her a fake irritated glance. Suddenly, my attention was drawn away from her as I felt the presence of another unpredictable vampire coming our way. I looked cautiously into Katherine's eyes to figure if she had felt him too. If I didn't know what I was looking for, I would have missed the tiny glint that barely flashed in her orbs.

"Semantics," she dodged, before swaying her way down my steps unhurriedly.

"Well, well, well…" he sing-songed, standing arrogantly in the middle of my front walkway.

"Hello Damon," Katherine drawled seductively.

"The bitch is back."

"Damon," I called out warningly. The last thing I wanted was for those two to start tearing each other's limbs apart on my lawn.

"You really don't know when you're not wanted, do you?" he continued dryly, not even acknowledging my presence.

"What tells you that I'm not wanted?" she simpered, bouncing slightly on her heels in front of him, before walking toward the street. "Good night, Maya," she added silkily, waving her fingers over her shoulder before disappearing. I glared harshly at Damon and turned around to push my front door open. I dropped my bag in the hallway and quickly threw my jacket on the console.

"What are you doing here, Damon?" I finally asked once I was sure Katherine was out of earshot.

"Well, someone's grumpy today," he said in an amused tone, closing the door behind him. "Is it because the she-devil is in Mystic Falls again, or is it because I interrupted your lovely bonding time?"

"She called you, didn't she?" I didn't even bother answering his taunt.

"Katherine?" He snorted scornfully. "If she had, I wouldn't even have-"

"Elena." I cut him off more sternly that I intended.

"Of course she did." He raised his arms at his sides in a matter-of-fact way, and walked nonchalantly toward me. "Despite whatever is going on between you two, she's worried about you. She's your best friend; you know you'll have to talk to her eventually, right?" he commented a bit teasingly, but when he noticed how quickly I broke eye contact with him and how I tensed at his words, I could tell that I had him concerned enough so he was about to finally start asking questions.

"I know," I answered quickly before he could voice his interrogation. "Did she tell anyone else?"

"Not that I'm aware of…"

"Good."

"Are we trying to protect your favorite sociopath, now?" He eyed me carefully.

"Oh come on, Damon…at least try to be a little bit more subtle," I snapped impatiently. "This has nothing to do with Katherine. Well…not entirely." I walked toward the living room and let myself crash heavily on the couch. "If everyone knows that she's back in town, they're going to start making plans again to protect me and kill her. Meaning Katherine will come after one of us, or all of us to protect herself, and guess who will be caught in the middle?"

"You?"

"Things are already complicated enough right now. No need to add more to it." I pinched the ridge of my nose tiredly.

"Okay," he said softly after a while. "But since I'm in on the secret…if you decide you want to stake the bitch, you call me, okay?" A smile rose on my lips at his way of telling me that he was there for me, if I needed him.

"Yes. Thank you. "