A/N: Yes, I know. You thought you'd never see the day but look! A new chapter! Thank you to every single one of you that kept showing their love and their support to this story even when I was M.I.A. It means the world, you have no idea

And thank you so much to jkp1291 for jumping on this crazy train and agreeing to beta my babbling!

Now, Maya is about to face the Scooby Gang, and I believe she has a thing or two to apologize for...ahem. Happy 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.

Saying that I didn't sleep well would be putting it mildly. I had tossed and turned all night, restless and anxious about facing my friends today at school.

The mere sight of Caroline, Elena and Bonnie standing next to their lockers tied my stomach in knots. I took a deep breath to brace myself and walked towards them. Bonnie was the first to notice me and immediately turned the other way to disappear down one of the hallways. I just had time to glimpse sadness on Elena's face before she too avoided my gaze and walked away with slumped shoulders. My heart sunk at their reactions. I turned to search for Caroline and finally met a friendly face.

There was a glint of embarrassment in her eyes, but the smile she flashed me was honest and bright. Despite being confused by her attitude, I could have kissed her for not ignoring me.

"Hi," I murmured meekly.

"Hi!"

"So...you're not mad at me?" I mumbled, walking on eggshells.

"Oh, I'm furious at you."

"Oh." I frowned, thrown slightly that her words didn't match her attitude. "Then why-"

"Am I talking to you?" she cut me off. "Because despite the fact that you lied to me—again," she paused to scowl at me before continuing, "you didn't hurt my feelings like you did with everyone else's. It feels a bit like I got a special treatment, so I'm returning the favor and I thought you might need a friend. You know, considering..." She didn't finish her sentence and instead pointed over her shoulder with her thumb to the place where Elena and Bonnie had been standing a few minutes ago.

"I'm not sure what I did to deserve a friend like you..."

"Me neither."

"I'm sorry about lying to you, Caroline. I just-"

"Thought I wouldn't understand?" she cut me off once more. "That I wouldn't know what it feels like to think you're a freak? To think that you're an outsider all of the sudden, and that your best friends will never be able to get that?" She arched an eyebrow and stared at me.

"Actually, I only realized yesterday that you might understand that perfectly," I admitted, a shy smile on my lips.

"Oh come on, we're all freaks! Every single one of us! I get that you could have feared our reaction about you being gay, but about you being a supernatural creature? It's just another day in freaking Mystic Falls!" She raised her arms up in exasperation. "Hell, sometimes it even feels like the only human beings left in town are Matt and Elena, especially since Jeremy left town." I chuckled at her accurate description of our lives.

"I know...but I've had to hide my powers my entire life," I said, serious again. "And a couple of unfortunate experiences taught me as well that I needed to hide my homosexuality to survive. So sharing and trusting people don't exactly come naturally to me."

She sighed heavily and gave me a pitying look. "I'm well aware of that. But we've been friends for more than two years now! It's about time you realize we're not going anywhere, no matter if you're gay, or a supernatural whatever."

"I'm a slow learner," I replied sheepishly. "And I'm not so sure the friends-forever-no-matter-what clause still applies right now..."

She bit her bottom lip and waved her hand around as if she was pushing the thought of Elena and Bonnie away. "They're not mad at you, they're just hurt. If you talk to them, I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Well anyway, I'm really sorry Care."

"Keep your apologies. You're going to need a whole bag of those today," she joked cheekily, trying to lighten up my mood.

We started walking together to our first class when suddenly, out of the blue, she punched me on the shoulder.

"Ouch!" I glared at her while rubbing my skin to soothe the pain. "What was that for?"

"On second thought, that was for lying to me and making me fly to the opposite side of Elena's living room! You had it coming."

I was about to shoot back a witty comment, but her words triggered a memory. "You did mention something like that already..." When she turned her head to give me a bewildered look, I clarified. "What you just said about me throwing you across the room?"

She stopped, a deep frown on her face. "Wait. You don't remember?"

"No." I stroked the back of my neck in discomfort. "I'm not exactly an expert in the animalistic version of myself—obviously—but it seems that I'm not...conscious of the things I do when I become..." I trailed off, at a loss for words to describe myself in that particular state.

"A panther with freaking scary eyes?" she offered.

"Panther? Really?" I raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"You didn't see yourself moving around, girl, otherwise you'd come up with even more animal comparisons! Like lioness or creepy snake..." She dramatically faked a shudder. "The way you knocked Katherine against the coffee table was totally badass by the way." She flashed me a bright and proud grin. "It almost offsets the fact that you seemed to trust that bitch."

"I...wait, what?" I stared at Caroline with wide eyes. "I threw Katherine through Elena's coffee table?"

"Well, technically you tried to free yourself from her hold, so you jumped backwards and fell with her on the coffee table. I can tell you that none of us expected that move! Not even Katherine. You don't remember that either?" I shook my head slowly, feeling like I had blacked out drunk and someone was informing me that I had killed three guys the night before.

"Too bad. That was definitely a moment to remember!" she continued enthusiastically, before her face became suspicious. "What about trusting her?"

"I do remember that, unfortunately...but I can't even begin to understand why my alter ego decided to trust her. It's beyond me," I admitted, trying desperately to just forget about that fact.

She scrutinized my face in silence, eventually giving me a sympathetic look. "Don't worry about that." She tucked her arm around mine and pulled me toward the classroom. "Focus on making up with our friends, and everything will be fine." She winked at me joyfully to cheer me up, but I wasn't nearly as confident as she was about being able to fix things.

I tried to catch Elena at lunch but when I saw Stefan walking towards her, I turned on my heels and ran in the opposite direction—only to bump into Bonnie.

She stepped away to get her personal space back and shot me a dark glare.

"Hi. Sorry," I hastened to say with a hesitant smile on my lips. She ignored my greeting and proceeded to bypass me. I quickly grabbed her elbow as she walked past and pulled her towards me.

"Bonnie, please. Can we talk?" She glanced quickly between my hand on her arm and my eyes, clearly debating between blowing me off or going with me.

"Fine," she finally sighed. "Let's go over there."

I followed her to the restroom and closed the door behind me.

"Are we alone?" she asked in a rather icy voice.

"Yes, we are." It was surprisingly nice and comforting to know that she trusted my powers enough to rely on them. I wasn't used to it. Having to hide my abilities since I was a kid had made me use them unconsciously over the years. I never thought they could be useful to someone else-not in an everyday life kind of way. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard her clear her throat and realized she was staring at me expectantly.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. I should have never said those horrible things to you." I stepped closer to her so she could see in my eyes how truthful I was."I was terrified about what had happened in the woods, and was completely lost about who it made me. I looked for someone to blame to avoid facing that nothing was making sense anymore...I'm truly sorry. You didn't deserve a word I said." I paused, trying to read her face, but the only thing she was throwing back at me was a harsh frown. "It was even more unfair of me to lash out at you since you also must have been scared to death when I disappeared."

Suddenly, her severe mask cracked and she punched me in the arm.

"Ouch! What the hell...?" I instantly raised a hand to rub my already bruised shoulder. "What is it with punching me today? Can't you just yell at me?"

"I was so fucking scared, Maya!" she yelled, granting my wish. "Do you have any idea what I went through when you stopped answering me and just vanished into thin air?" She clenched her fists into tight balls. "I was the only one who knew about you! And I couldn't run after you...not with a chance of catching you anyway. I had no idea what to do!" she exclaimed, her breathing becoming shallow. "I needed help, so I dropped the bomb on all of them! I saw it, Maya...I saw the disappointment and betrayal on their faces. And I knew they were blaming me for your disappearance, but I couldn't care less. I didn't care, because I was terrified that something had happened to you!"

I grabbed both of her arms firmly to make her stop and closed the distance between us. "It's okay, Bonnie. I'm fine. Nothing bad happened to me." I locked my eyes on hers to make my words sink in. "You have nothing to be blamed for. I'm the one they're disappointed in. You did everything you could."

"But...but I said I'd protect you! I failed, I-"

"You did exactly what you were supposed to do. You found help, and that's the reason I made it back home. What happened in the woods would've happened, whether or not you were there with me. And I'm really glad you were." I smiled reassuringly and slowly let go of her arms. "I wouldn't change a single one of our training sessions, or how we handled things. I trust you with my life, Bonnie. That hasn't changed." A stream of different emotions flashed in her eyes but at least I had managed to calm her down.

"So you're not mad at me...for telling them?"

"What? Of course not!" I used a firm tone to clear any doubt from her mind. "I still have conflicted feelings about what I am, but I'm actually kind of relieved that everybody finally knows the truth." She stayed quiet for a while, and eventually nodded in understanding, a warm smile gracing her lips.

"Come here." She gestured for me to come closer and opened her arms. I didn't hesitate and hugged her gratefully.

"I'm sorry for the horrible things I said and also for scaring you, Bonnie."

"And I'm sorry that they found out this way..." We both sighed in unison and giggled because of it, letting go of all the tension.

"Aren't you worried that I could misinterpret your hug, Miss. Gay Manual?"

"Shut up." She pulled away from the hug and slapped my arm playfully.

"I'm proud of you," I said teasingly.

She laughed and made her way out of the restrooms. "So, who's next on your list of apologies for the day?"

"Elena and Stefan," I mumbled awkwardly.

"Yikes...good luck with that." And with those words, she disappeared down the hallway.

"Thank you so much, Bonnie! Very helpful!" I shouted for her to hear before going back to brooding, not looking forward to the talk I would have to have with those two.

It had been impossible for me to approach Elena all day. Every time I had tried to talk to her, Stefan had been right around the corner. The silver lining of it, was that it probably meant I didn't rip their relationship to shreds during my bitchy blackout—unless they kept nagging each other to argue about it. Either way I needed to see her to be sure, once and for all.

The only moment I knew we could talk freely was during gym class. Being as shy and self-conscious as she was, I was certain that Elena would fiddle around—like she always did—so she could be alone to change. I sneaked into the locker room quietly, trying to figure out if I was right. All I could hear was a single heartbeat, and from the sweet perfume I could smell, I instantly knew it was her.

I walked to the row she was in and watched as she finished tying up her sneakers. She straightened herself up and jumped in surprise.

"Maya? God, you scared me!" She held a hand above her chest to calm her pounding heart down and exhaled heavily.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to..." I chuckled slightly, grateful to be able to start this conversation in a relatively light atmosphere. "Can we talk?"

She glanced up and gazed at me with intensity. A few seconds passed before she eventually nodded in agreement. I bypassed the bench to stand closer to her and as I opened my mouth to begin apologizing, something really unexpected happened.

Her doe eyes and soft features, her warm presence—her entire being hit me like a train at full speed. It felt like I hadn't seen her, really seen her in ages. The hole her absence had caused inside me—that I tried desperately to ignore—was now suddenly flooded with overwhelming feelings. I felt an irrepressible urge to take her in my arms and never let go. I somehow managed to control myself, swallowing carefully instead.

"Would...would it be okay if we forget about everything for a second and that I just...hug you?" My throat was so dry that my voice came out hoarse.

From the shock written all over her face, it was clear that she hadn't expected that request. She looked frantically into my eyes, trying to decipher if I was messing with her. When she finally realized that I was serious, she didn't even hesitate for a split second.

She took a determined step forward and engulfed me into a tight hug. I tightened it even more by locking my arms around her waist and lifting her up slightly so she could wrap her arms more comfortably around my neck. She pressed her cheek and lips against the skin of my throat, and I took a deep greedy breath to inhale the scent that was so typically hers.

"I missed you so much," I breathed out, feeling my heart tighten inside my chest.

I slid an arm up her back to clench a hand around the back of her head, afraid that she would vanish into thin air. She pushed up on her tiptoes to make every single inch of space between us disappear.

"I thought I had lost you forever," she sobbed softly.

We stayed entangled for a long time, trying to convey the many overwhelming emotions we both felt through the hug, hanging on each other's body as if our lives depended on it. Finally, slowly, we both loosened our grip only to find ourselves face to face, merely inches apart.

I didn't dare to breathe, too aware of the fact that the air would fan her lips, while she struggled to keep her eyes away from my mouth. I was feeling an irresistible pull towards her, causing me to want nothing more than to kiss her. I glanced up to look into her shiny gaze and instinctively knew she was feeling the same thing. And just like that, reality crashed back down around us. The kiss in my living room, the fight, the guilt. Stefan. Katherine.

I let go of her and took a step back. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and crossed her arms around her chest awkwardly.

"Hi," I murmured softly.

"Hi." A shy smile graced her lips. I could tell that she was as happy as I was that we were talking to each other again.

"I'm sorry," we both said at the same time.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows in perplexity. "What are you sorry for?"

"You first," she answered a little too quickly. When her attitude made it clear that she wouldn't talk before I did, I gathered my thoughts. How did I tell my best friend that I had no idea what to apologize for?

"I'm...I don't exactly remember what happened last Saturday." I paused to give her time to react but she only frowned deeply, obviously unsettled by my confession. "I know that I said terrible things to Stefan, but it's kind of fuzzy," I continued sheepishly. "I also recall talking to you but I have absolutely no idea what I said. I assume I hurt your feelings from your behavior this morning but I...I don't know if I said anything about us—about the kiss. Did I reveal anything...that jeopardized your relationship with Stefan?" I held my breath, terrified to find out the damages I had done.

She stared at me intently, her gaze laced with both skepticism and worry. "You don't remember? How is that possible?"

"I apparently have...blackouts when I become… you know," I trailed off, waving a hand before my eyes as a reference to my supernatural state.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"So you don't remember any of the things you said?"

"Well, I remember yelling at Bonnie and Caroline, and then beginning to lash out at Stefan. But the next thing I remember after that, is me standing next to a broken coffee table...I'm really sorry about that, by the way. Caroline told me I was the one who broke it."

"Don't worry about that," she dismissed, her eyes still firmly locked on mine.

I fidgeted on the balls of my feet, my throat tightening with nervousness. "Did I...did I ruin everything?"

"Apparently, no one really understood what you were talking about. But, Stefan is really perceptive." She adverted her eyes to look at the ground.

I swallowed carefully, reluctant to voice my next question. "So, he knows?"

"No."

"What did you say to him?" I asked gently, knowing that she was feeling guilty about lying to him.

"That your coming out blurred some lines in our relationship, but that there was nothing to be worried about. That we just still needed to sort some things out."

A pang of hurt tightened in my chest, and I realized that a part of me still hoped that at least she would come clean to Stefan about her feelings for me and take some time alone to decide who she wanted to be with. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind, because a bigger part of me was genuinely happy that I hadn't broken Stefan's heart.

"So you two are fine?" I sighed in relief. If I didn't know her so well, I would have missed the flash of hurt that went through her eyes. There was no logical reason for it, unless she was upset that I wasn't actually trying to jeopardize her relationship with Stefan. The idea was unsettling.

"Yes, we are," she answered, a halfhearted smile on her lips. She grabbed her clothes and shoved them in her locker.

"Elena? Can you tell me now what I said exactly...so I know what I need to apologize for?" I used a light tone to ease up the tension that had appeared for a reason I didn't want to dwell on.

She closed her locker door and turned around to face me again. "It doesn't matter. You were right."

My eyebrows disappeared into my hairline. I was at complete lost as to what she was referring exactly."Uh...about what?"

"About everything. I had no right to barge into your home and kiss you like I did. Even though I hadn't meant to at the moment, I realized afterwards that I was playing with your feelings and I'm really, truly sorry for that, Maya." She leaned closer to me and chewed her bottom lip nervously. "I shouldn't have told you what I feel for you. You were right to say that I was the only one needing to deal with it. And that's what I'm going to do."

She took another step forward to stand, determined, right in front of me. "You were also right to point out that it wouldn't be fair for you to just wait and suffer while I make up my mind, so I won't ask you to do that. I want you to go on with your life. And as far as I'm concerned, I'll just hope that if I end up picking you over Stefan, you'll still be available and willing to accept me." She gave me an insecure smile, revealing how hard it was for her to tell me all of that. "I'm so sorry Maya..." She hesitated for a second before adding, "do you think that for now, you can still be...my best friend?"

A tender grin rose on my lips despite myself. I nodded slightly. "I'm sorry too, Elena. I shouldn't have lied to you about my powers."

"I know." She took her time to scrutinize my features, one by one, and raised a hand to touch my cheek, running her fingertips delicately across my skin. "I just wish you hadn't felt the need to go through that all by yourself."

The fact that she knew me so well overwhelmed me. I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips to press a kiss inside her palm. "Thank you...for being so understanding." I pushed her hand back towards her and let go of it gently. "But you can't do that if we're supposed to be just friends."

"I know."