A/N: A new chapter so soon? Aren't you lucky? ;) Thank you so much for the reviews and the welcome backs, guys! They warmed up my little writer's heart. I hope you're up for a little treat, because I have a feeling you're going to enjoy this one. Consider it an early Christmas present... ;) 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.

Katherine's POV

Two days. I had been kicking my own ass to finally leave this crappy little town for two days. To pack my things up and not let anything interrupt my plan to leave for greener pastures this time. And yet here I was, in my hotel room, mulling over Maya's stubbornness to deny me. I had saved her for the second time but for some indecipherable reasons, she kept refusing to go on a date with me.

Halting my pacing, I stomped my high-heel on the hardwood floor in frustration. I should just go to her house and snap her neck. Problem solved, and I could move on with my life. The fact that she was so convinced I wouldn't be able to open up and be vulnerable in front of someone was driving me to want to do it, just to prove her wrong. Every single one of my instincts was screaming at me not to, but that misplaced pride kept urging me was annoying the hell out of me. Opening up, sharing, being vulnerable- that wasn't me. So why was I even racking my brains with the possibility of doing it?

Out of anger, I threw the book that hadn't been able to distract me from these thoughts on the bed and grabbed my keys. I needed a drink.

The first thing I saw when I pushed the Grill door open was Damon's back. The guy should really set up a camp bed in the back of the building to save himself the trouble of going back to the Salvatore mansion.

His presence irritated me at first, but maybe he was just the distraction I needed. I made my way to the bar and sat gracefully on the barstool next to him.

"Hello Damon."

"And she's still here..." he drawled dryly."Did you come to put on another show, hoping that this time Maya would actually be jealous? She's not around, so you can go back to your plan of leaving town. Like now."

"Aw, did I bruise your little ego by not kissing you for you?" I raised a finger to notify the boy ogling me to poor me a drink.

Damon turned on his seat to face me and flashed me a cocky smirk."So you did do it to make her jealous..." I froze for a split second and side-glanced at him coldly.

"And it worked," I sing-songed, moving on from my slip-up, perfectly aware that covering it up with a lie would be pointless with someone like Damon.

"Really? Because it didn't sound like you got any this weekend while Maya was in your room. In your bed. All alone." The bastard was enjoying this conversation way too much.

"No need to be rude, Damon."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said in mock-dismay, pressing a hand over his heart. "Silly me. Here I thought the whole purpose of you being in town was to have sex with her."

"Don't be so smug. Just because she can ignore you being in love with her, doesn't mean you're not an idiot." I grabbed the glass the waiter had put down in front of me and took a sip of bourbon as I watched with delight Damon's jaw clench tightly.

"How did you find her?" he abruptly asked, changing the subject.

"You mean when she decided to play forest ranger?"

"Yes."

I looked him straight in the eye and arched an eyebrow. "Would you believe me if I said that she just miraculously popped into my rearview mirror?"

"No."

"Well, I'm afraid I don't have answers to that question then."

"Let's see if you finally have an answer to this one... What are you still doing here, Katherine?" He leaned closer to examine my face, trying to figure out what I was up to.

"That's the million dollar question everybody wants to know it seems." Including me, I thought to myself bitterly but covered it up with a playful tone.

He narrowed his eyes, his features hardening."I don't know your end game yet, Katherine, but let me tell you this. Even if I have to lock Maya in a basement and be hated by her for the rest of her life, I will not let you sleep with her as long as I am convinced that you're trying to hurt her."

"What about being so sure she doesn't want to have sex with me anyway?" I teased, before finishing my glass in one gulp.

He gave me a sly grin."I'll protect her from herself too if she ever loses her mind enough to sleep with the devil."

"Well, I guess you don't have to worry about that anymore, since she flatly refuses to go on a date with me," I stated in a light tone before realizing what I had just let escaped. Finding a way to finally break down Maya's defenses was apparently tainting my thoughts and softening my otherwise sharp insight. I bit back a growl and cursed at my recklessness.

From his completely dumbstruck face, I knew Damon hadn't missed a word. I raised a finger for the waiter to pour me another drink, buying myself time to compose an indifferent exterior again.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked in a demanding tone.

"Long story."

"We're vampires. I have eternity."

"Unless I kill you right here and now." I batted my lashes seductively to contrast my threatening tone. As expected, Damon got the message.

"Try me," he dared, holding my gaze without blinking. It amused me enough to humor him.

"What makes you think I want to chit-chat about it with you?"

"Well, for starters you're still here and not stalking Maya somewhere." He waved the hand holding his glass around for effect. "You're obviously looking for company, and I don't see any friend sitting here with you to chit-chat. So I guess you're stuck with me." He flashed me an arrogant grin, and I lowered my eyelids to slits as a warning to not push his luck too far if he wanted to stay on my good side.

I pondered my options but quickly realized that telling him about the date deal wouldn't cause me any harm. At worst, he would try to convince Maya not to date me, which was pointless since she was pretty determined not to already. At best, he would let slip something that could help me with my little predicament. Turning to the side and crossing my legs slowly, I leaned an elbow on the counter.

"Okay girl, let's talk," I teased, earning myself a petty glare from Damon. I chuckled and spun my glass, thinking of a way to sum up two months of conversation with Maya. "Let's say that her excuse for refusing to have sex with me has something to do with..." I trailed off and wiggled my fingers in the air to stress the ridiculousness of it before adding, "...needing more than just being attracted to a stunning body."

He snorted at my explanation. "Yeah right. I'm sure she used that word to describe you." He gave me a condescending look and swallowed some of his bourbon. "You realize it was her polite way of simply telling you that she'll never sleep with a psychotic bitch, right?"

"And what was her polite excuse to deny you after what I'm sure was yet another embarrassing declaration of love? Oh, no!" I flattened a hand in front of him, faking childish enthusiasm. "Don't tell me...I'm sure I can guess! She told you that you'd be her first choice if she was straight. Am I right?" I couldn't help the giggle bubbling up my throat as I watched every single of his features turn hard, his lips pursed with resentment.

"Fuck you, Katherine."

"I believe you've done that a few times already."

"Who's being rude now?" he spat, before taking a mouthful of alcohol. Arching an eyebrow,I challenged him with a sly smirk. He glared back while obviously debating on continuing our little fight or swallowing his pride. He chose the latter option.

"And how did this clever argument of hers lead to dating, exactly?"

I toyed with the edge of my glass as I went through my memories, trying to remember how the whole date negotiation had started.

"I'm not quite sure myself," I admitted thoughtfully. "But since she pretended to need more than just physical attraction, I tried to trick her into spending time with me under the pretext of getting to know me better." I was about to continue my little exposé when Damon cut me off.

"Wait. Now you're admitting that you use tricks on her? Since when did you stop pretending that you're not a crazy manipulative bitch?" If I wasn't amused that my bluntness seemed to unsettle him, I would have broken one or two of his bones for his words.

"Oh please. As if you were handing your true self on a plate to the many lonesome tipsy girls you fucked." I gave him a pointed look. "Everybody uses tricks to seduce. That's how this game is played."

His face suddenly turned serious. "Maya is not a lonely drunk girl." The devotion he showed for her was almost cute.

"If she was, I wouldn't have gone for her in the first place." Pushing some of my curls over my shoulder, I straightened myself up to show off my seductive assets as a message to Damon that the skilled hunter that I was never chased insipid preys. Something flashed through his eyes for a second, and despite the fact that he tried to cover it up by taking a sip of his bourbon, I didn't miss the smile on his lips.

"What?" I snapped, annoyed by that glint in his gaze.

"Nothing." He put down his glass on the counter and focused on me again. "I still don't see how you two dating fits with this story."

"Hmm. After a few one-on-ones, I brought up my little proposal again, judging that I had more than enough granted her wish to know me better. She refused, obviously." I rolled my eyes at the reminder of her damn stubbornness. "She wasn't convinced by our conversations. I believe she said something like...'what people do during a date is what is actually called getting to know someone better. All this flirting has nothing to do with that.' She also seems quite certain that I'd never be able to open up, even the slightest bit. And well...you know me. Always up for a challenge." I flashed him a devilish smirk and rocked my foot a few times seductively between his legs. He remained cold to my teasing, scrutinizing my features instead. After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke.

"So let me get this straight. You tricked her into spending more time with you so she can get to know you, and this whole little game ended up with you wanting her to date you?" His eyebrows were raised so high they had almost disappeared into his hairline. "I never pictured you as the girlfriend type, Katherine," he added, grinning broadly.

"Don't try to put a twisted meaning into my words, Damon." I glared at him as a warning. "The end game is still to have sex with her, and only that."

"Are you sure, really? Because you put a damn lot of effort into getting something you could have easily with pretty much any other girl...or guy."

"Well, that's the thing actually. Maya is-"

"A very special girl. That's what you were going to say, isn't it?" he cut me off before laughing openly at me and shaking his head in disbelief. He then looked at me like he had me all figured out. I clenched my jaw and leaned forward to pierce him with my eyes.

"I would advise you to mark my words," I drawled icily. "This is not you getting revenge on the past or a fucking fairytale. I am not interested in dating her for romantic purpose and you better not dare spread a different story."

"You're working pretty hard to convince me that you don't care, you know..." He held my gaze, and I suddenly felt an itchy desire to wipe his knowing smirk off his face. "I'd say you like her," he added boldly and I saw red.

My hand dashed over the counter to snatch a cocktail umbrella before burying it into his femoral artery. He gritted his teeth, a low groan escaping him. I slid down the barstool and stood so close to him that my breath fanned his lips.

"I do not like her." As I stared deep into his eyes, I made sure to terrify even the most hidden part of his soul. "Don't forget who I am, Damon." I finally broke eye contact and sauntered around him to get out of this hellhole.

Before I could, he grabbed my arm tightly and pulled me backwards to make me face him. I was ready to thwart every blow or threat he would hurl at me, but he didn't even open his mouth. Instead, his cerulean eyes were open wide, studying my face frantically as all kinds of emotions passed through them. I knew that look all too well and always hated it. It never failed to throw me off my game.

"Sit." It wasn't a suggestion but his voice was gentle. He let go of my arm and turned around to catch the waiter's attention. "Another round, please."