A/N: Ready for a lot of Katherine, a little bit of Maya and for the shit to hit the fan? :D
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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 would have flashed them all a triumphant smirk, maybe even given them an "I told you so" if Maya's refusal to eat bacon wasn't confirming what I had first thought. She was acting friendly with me because she wasn't herself just yet.
"Maya...why don't you eat your bacon?" Elena asked softly like she was talking to a five year old. Maya shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know. I guess I'm not that hungry...thanks for the eggs, Katherine." She put down the plate on the coffee table and stood up.
"No problem," I answered absent-mindedly, curious to see what was going to happen next.
"Sorry for worrying you so much, guys. I'm just going to crash in my bed now."
"Wait!" Elena shouted urgently. Seeing the surprise on Maya's face, she recomposed herself quickly and took a gentle tone. "You're tired. Why don't you stay here? You could go to bed right away..."
"Thanks, but I want to go home."
"Elena's right, Maya. You're at home here, and you wouldn't be alone," Caroline interceded. I saw a flash of irritation passing through Maya's eyes and wondered who had caused it. Caroline or Elena?
"No. I want to go home," she repeated stubbornly, her tone cutting the debate short.
"Come on, it wouldn't be the first time...Elena is just worried about you. Indulge her," Damon insisted in a joking tone, obviously trying to make her come around to the idea. She shot him a dark glare and then turned her head toward me.
"You said that I could leave if I ate something. I ate something," she stated, pointing to the plate on the table. I was satisfied to find out that she was still relying on me somehow, but I was going to have to turn her down.
"I did. But I'm not even a guest here," I answered casually. She made a face that clearly screamed betrayal and it made me feel slightly...guilty. I frowned before brushing it off. I wasn't going to bother with something so insignificant.
"Look. I know I scared you all today, and we'll talk about it tomorrow, I promise, but right now, I'm going home," she declared, trying to keep her anger at bay. She walked toward the door and Bonnie tried to grab her by her arm to make her stay. Maya immediately jumped to the side, dodging her friend's hand.
"Don't touch me!" she barked, before looking at every single person in the room. "I don't know what's going on with you guys, but I'm out of here!" And with those words, she rushed into the lobby and slammed the door open, only to meet an invisible wall.
"What the...hell. " Her head whipped around to stare daggers at Bonnie.
"It was just to protect you!" the witch hastened to clarify. "You weren't your usual self, and we didn't want you to escape again and be alone God knows where, that's all." She gave her friend an apologetic smile, silently begging her to understand. Maya seemed to struggle with conflicting feelings for a moment before stepping a little away from the invisible wall.
"Okay. I get that...but now you can lift the spell." Bonnie quickly glanced at me before looking back at her friend. I could practically see the gears in her brain working urgently to find a solution.
"Bonnie?" Maya called out in a demanding voice, gesturing toward the door.
"Yes. Well, the thing is..." the witch trailed off, uncomfortable. Stefan came to her rescue.
"We believe you're not exactly yourself just yet. That's why we would like you to stay here for tonight. To avoid losing you again..." Despite his gentle and understanding tone, Maya snapped.
"So, what? You're going to keep me prisoner, even though all I want is to go home?" Her question was met by heavy silence. She looked at her friends, one by one, disbelief and hurt showing on her face. "You're supposed to be my friends!"
"We are," Stefan spoke again. "That's exactly why—"
"Let me get out of here!" Maya yelled, hitting the invisible wall with her fist, causing it to vibrate. Something inside her was still obviously making it unbearable for her to be trapped. She was incapable of seeing that her friends were doing the right thing. Which was making her dangerous, even though none of her Scooby gang seemed to be aware of it.
"Maya, please..." Bonnie urged in a calming voice.
"No!" She turned on her heels swiftly to face her friend. "You don't have a say in this! It's all your fault! You're the one who wanted me to practice my abilities! You're the one who pushed me to release my true power!" she screamed, resentment twisting her features. "Trust me Maya, nothing is going to happen. Everything's fine. I'll protect you..." she ranted on, mocking the witch. "Bullshit! If it wasn't for Katherine, I'd still be lost somewhere! And now you want to call the shots on what's best for me? I don't think so!" She stomped in a threatening manner to stop in front of Bonnie. "Remove the fucking spell!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Stefan stepped in, placing himself between Maya and the guilty, distressed witch. What an idiot. I couldn't help the smirk on my lips, certain that he was just going to make things worse. "No need to lose our temper. She's your friend, and I'm sure she tried to help you the best she could," he continued softly. "From what Bonnie told us, you trained with her a lot, so that means you trusted her, right? It was just an incident, but everything's fine now..."
"Get out of my way, Stefan," Maya warned through gritted teeth.
"Come on...we're all trying to be good friends here and make sure you're okay."
"Oh, please! You? A good friend?" she laughed humorlessly. I was pretty sure we were about to witness a slaughter. I looked around and realized that they were too shocked about their friend's attitude to actually do anything about it. Except Damon. He glanced at me and I could tell that he knew what was about to happen too.
"The diplomatic and ever wise Salvatore! The moral compass of our group. The good one...reminding me that it's not very nice to yell at my friends," Maya added in a condescending tone, giving him a fake smile. "Well, tell me Stefan...are my bad manners better or worse than ripping off people's heads out of blood lust?"
Elena gasped in disbelief, but Stefan just clenched his jaw, taking the blows silently.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Caroline shouted angrily.
"Oh! You're right...poor thing, he can't help it," she granted, the sweetness of her voice laced with venom.
I was honestly surprised to see Maya so vicious with one of her friends. Even during our most heated fights, she had never used such low blows with me. She obviously had unresolved issues with her little gang. Combined with her animal instincts lingering under the surface and the feeling of being trapped, it was clearly making her go right for the neck.
"What about what you did to your brother, then? You know, the bad one." Maya looked like a predator on the verge of a massacre. "Turning him into a vampire against his will because you were too scared to spend eternity alone. Just to steal the love of his life all over again..."
I would admit that her current state was making her frighteningly efficient. In two little sentences, she had managed to hit three of her friends where it hurt the most, making my presence in the room awkward in the process. She stepped even closer to her prey, burning holes into his skull.
"How does that make you the better person, Stefan? In what world does it make you the one to know what's best for me?"
Surprisingly, Caroline was the one to get up on her high horse.
"That's enough! I don't know what's wrong with you, Maya, but you can't talk to them like that!"
"Stay out of this, Caroline," she growled, not averting her eyes from Stefan's.
"No! First, for some crazy reason, you trust that psychotic bitch," she shouted, pointing at me. The thought of breaking her little judgmental finger crossed my mind, but I was too curious to see how Maya would react to that. "Then, you throw me across the entire room and now, you hurt the same people who are trying to help you!"
Maya slowly turned her head toward Caroline and looked at her this time.
"So, you're the good guys because you're trying to help me, but she's a psychotic bitch when she's the only one who actually helped so far?" Maya drawled coolly. Not the passionate defensive argument I had expected, but considering the uncomfortable silence that followed her question, that would do the trick. I squinted slightly when I noticed black rims had started to appear again around her irises. There were tiny golden jots in her eyes. I glanced at Damon, and from the way he was scrutinizing Maya's face, I knew he had seen it too.
"Like I said, stay out of this," she articulated warningly, walking toward Caroline in an intimidating way. Elena grabbed her elbow quickly.
"Stop it, Maya." Her voice was gentle but firm. Maya's head whipped around to stare at her. "I know you don't like being trapped. I didn't like it either when Bonnie cast that exact same spell on me." I raised an eyebrow, surprised to learn that the witch had cast an isolation spell on her human friend. My opinion of her went up slightly for it. Too bad she had decided to lift that one at some point.
"But she did it now for the same reason she did it then," Elena continued. "Because we all love each other and want to do anything possible to make sure that every one of us is safe." Maya stood still and silent, boring into Elena's eyes, and for a moment, I thought she had managed to calm her down. When she turned away from Caroline in a deliberately slow move to face her, I knew how wrong I was.
"You're really going to do this?" Her voice was quiet, but I could sense her anger from across the room as well as Elena's sudden tension.
"Do what?" she asked, confused and wary.
"What you always do..." she answered, a sad smile on her lips but her features hard. "Coaxing me with sweet words. Making me believe that I mean the world to you. Pulling the strings you know will affect me, disregarding my feelings..." She stepped forward to stop in front of Elena and straightened herself up, oozing power. "Are you going to do that after what happened? Tell me, Elena...would you dare do it in front of him?" she asked with cold rage. I saw a flash of hurt and guilt passing on my double's face, but everyone else seemed puzzled by Maya's words. Except Damon, once more. I truly wondered what had happened between the two girls while I was away. But I knew I had been right about one thing. Elena indeed had feelings for her best friend.
"You mean the world to me, don't you even dare doubt it!" Elena screamed eagerly. "Despite what you're implying, I love you, and you can threaten me or insult me all you want, but I'll do everything I can to protect you! Even from yourself!"
"Oh but you lost that privilege when you showed how little our friendship meant to you!" Maya yelled, invading her personal space dangerously. Gold was glowing in her eyes now, and I looked at Damon. He returned my gaze, silently agreeing that something needed to be done before bronze eyes replaced the icy blue ones again. I pointed to the back of the room with my chin, and he nodded discreetly. He stepped out from behind the armchair and walked toward Maya.
"Hey there, mind tuning it down a notch? I'm getting tired of this fuss," he declared, perfectly personifying the dick that he was. As expected, Maya gave him her full attention. And her anger. I pushed away from the wall, circling the room quietly to place myself behind her. I needed to be stealthy or else she would spot me in a blink of an eye. Damon had to keep distracting her. She had already proven that supernatural speed wasn't enough to catch her; we needed to blindside her.
"What? Why don't you help me get out of here? You're supposed to be different from them!" Maya spat out, gesturing furiously toward her friends.
"Because you're acting like a bitch. And you're the one who told me that I shouldn't indulge in bitches anymore," he answered dryly. I shot him a dark glare and noticed out of the corner of my eye that Elena did the same. "Never thought you'd join that gang, though." He flashed Maya a condescending smirk, purposely fueling her wrath, and she instantly rushed toward him. His smile faltered and he glanced intently at me. I dashed across the room, wrapping my arms tightly around her chest. I managed to trap her efficiently, but she did something I hadn't expected. She jumped backwards with so much force that we both crashed into the coffee table, my back breaking wood and glass before hitting the ground. She immediately fought the hold I had on her, thrashing herself from side to side, and the scene seemed all too familiar to me.
"Maya! Maya, it's me." I tightened my grip even more and glued my lips to her ear from behind. "Shhh, calm down...you know I won't hurt you," I whispered soothingly, just for her to hear. "I also know you don't want to hurt any of your friends. So I want you to bring back your usual self, okay?" She squirmed for a few more seconds before relaxing in my arms. They were all watching us with wide eyes and dropped jaws. I shot them a deadly glare. If they weren't going to be any help, I would rather be alone with Maya. Fortunately, she was far less gone than the first time. The real her was just beneath the surface. I waited, giving her time to come back, and when I felt her chest rising up and down, matching my even, slow breathing, I spoke again.
"I'm going to release you now...I want you to stay calm, okay? Everything is fine." I loosened my grip slowly and finally opened my arms. She slid on the side and in one swift move, she stood up behind me. I rose up, turning around to face her.
"I want to go home," she mumbled, her arms tightly crossed over her chest, fidgeting on her feet restlessly. I looked over my shoulder to find that Bonnie was staring intently at me. I gave her a quick nod.
"I'll take care of her," I said, putting as much sincerity in my tone as I could manage, fully aware of how little they trusted me. If not at all. They exchanged tense looks, obviously not happy with this option, but I knew they would come around. It was clear that the isolation spell would only make things worse now, even for them. They eventually gave a slight nod to Bonnie.
"You better," she warned, staring at me intensely before closing her eyes. While she was chanting, I placed myself between Maya and the front door.
"It's lifted," the witch murmured uneasily.
"Okay. Come on, Maya, let's go." I opened the door and focused all my attention on her. I didn't need to tell her twice as she rushed toward the door without another look to her friends. She walked behind me on the walkway, hot on my heels but turned to the right when we reached the sidewalk.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Home," she answered, a surly and stubborn expression on her face.
"I don't think so." I raised an eyebrow and looked at her expectantly. She frowned, upset and obviously confused. "You really thought I was going to let you go inside a house I can't enter? I said I'd watch out for you."
"Yes, well, let's not pretend you're a woman of your word...anyway, I won't say anything." She was trying to dodge the situation, clearly impatient to leave all this mess behind.
"Maya, I'm deadly serious. You're not going home. Besides, it's not really about you being at your place, is it? You just want to be alone. Am I wrong?" I asked in a light tone. She glanced up at me, chewing her bottom lip nervously.
"No," she finally admitted.
"Then, get in the car. I'm taking you to my place." I walked to grab the handle of the driver's door when I noticed she was scowling at me. I cocked my hip and stuck a hand on it in exasperation.
"What now?"
"If I go to your place, I won't be alone either. Not to mention that I know for a fact that there's only one bed in your room," she replied dryly. "I'm in no mood to play one of your games, Katherine."
I was about to give her a cold, snarky comment for her ungratefulness when I realized how vulnerable she looked despite her efforts to hide it. She seemed lost and exhausted.
"You'll be alone. And even if it's a shame, you'll be sleeping alone too. Now get in the car."
She looked hesitant for a few seconds but finally complied.
When we arrived at the bed and breakfast, Mrs. Flower greeted me cheerfully.
"Miss Katherine, you're back! I'm so glad you changed your mind...and I see you brought the delightful girl with you." She gave Maya a kind smile. "You look better than the last time I saw you, dear. That warms up an old lady's heart."
Maya fidgeted uneasily and side-glanced at me, confused. She had no idea why Mrs. Flower was acting so friendly with her. I bit back an amused smile, remembering that she had been unconscious during most of her encounters with the landlady.
"Would you be an angel and give me my room key?" I demanded in a distinguished tone, cutting the reunion short.
"Sure thing, dear! Here, have a pleasant stay."
Maya followed me upstairs, seeming to mull over the information my conversation with Mrs. Flower had given her. I opened the bedroom door and came in.
"The bed sheets have been changed, obviously. You have fresh towels in the bathroom and you can use the room service to order whatever you want. I don't have a spare pair of sexy underwear to lend you this time, though. Sorry." I flashed her a mischievous grin. She glared at me as an answer.
"Where is your stuff?" she asked absent-mindedly, scanning the room around her.
"In my car."
She turned around, suspicion evident on her face.
"How did you end up in the middle of that road you found me on?"
"It doesn't matter. What does matter, on the other hand, is for you to know that you're not allowed to leave this bed and breakfast until further notice. If you try to escape by any of the doors or windows, I'll catch you, drag you back here and ask the judgy witch to cast another isolation spell on you. Understand?" She sighed and nodded slightly. "Oh, and if you think you can fool me and flee, I believe I've already proven that I can capture you, no matter how wild you're being..."
She averted her eyes and slid her hands in her back pockets nervously.
"What?" I asked, curious.
"Nothing. It's just...I remember being in the middle of the road. Then I remember you chasing me, and the ride back home. I also remember most of what happened after we arrived in Mystic Falls, but the rest is kind of blurry." I realized then that she didn't remember the collision, or any of the things I had said to her. How awfully convenient for me.
"I'm sure it will come back to your mind in due time. Now, go to sleep and do not leave the building."
"Really?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "You're really going to leave me alone in here? No knocking me out or tying me up to the bedpost?"
"Is that a proposition? I can do it if you want me to," I purred playfully. A small smile appeared on her lips but didn't quite reach her eyes. She looked drained. Empty. I dropped the seductive act and walked toward the door.
"Good night, Maya." I grabbed the handle to close the door behind me.
"Katherine?"
I turned around, an amused smirk on my lips. "Yes? Let me guess. You changed your mind about sleeping alone?" I just couldn't help myself.
"No," she answered with a real smile this time, before frowning, hesitant. "Can I...borrow your phone, please?"
I sure hadn't expected that request. "Want to apologize to your friends already?" I teased.
"Something like that..." she mumbled, uncomfortable. I stared at her for a few seconds, pondering over giving her my phone or not. I finally decided that she was in no state to decrypt the code I was using for my datebook and directory.
"Fine. You can leave it on the nightstand when you're done. I'll get it back later."
She thanked me when I handed it to her before coming out of the room.
Maya's POV
I hadn't expected her to agree to giving me her phone. For someone like Katherine, her phone was an undeniable asset. But then again, I hadn't expected any of the things this day had thrown at me. So much had happened that it felt like a month had gone by. I was exhausted. Lost and confused about the sensations I had felt in the forest—about how my abilities went crazy. My thoughts were so scrambled and incoherent that my brain couldn't deal with any of them. There was only one thing I knew I needed to do.
I removed my pants and realized that I was still barefoot. After checking the soles of my feet for injuries and surprisingly finding none, I tossed my tank top and underwear on a chair and went into the bathroom. The image the mirror sent back at me wasn't really a surprise. I looked like hell. My skin was paler than usual and covered in dirt. I had dark bags under my eyes, and my hair was tangled with leaves and twigs. The inside of my arm and the matching side of my chest and hipbone were tinted with shades of brown and yellow, the remains of giant bruises almost healed. I frowned, incapable of remembering what had caused them.
After a scalding hot and relaxing shower, I reluctantly put my tank top and underwear back on. Sliding under the covers, I sighed in delight at the softness of the mattress and pillows, but I still needed to do that one thing before drifting off to sleep. I stretched out a lazy arm to grab Katherine's phone on the nightstand and pressed on the browser icon. I typed what I was looking for: the Duke University website. I tapped the link and scrolled to find the information I wanted. After going through a few pages, I finally pressed on the e-mail address I was interested in and typed my message. I reread it three times before sending it, hoping that she would agree to meet me. If she was still into supernatural creatures, she would take the bait.