Barely A Memory

Chapter 11

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Mystic Grill's refurbished bar was quickly becoming Damon's new best friend. He chuckled to himself, shrugging as he downed his bourbon and ran his fingers across the smooth maple counter. Hey, he'd much preferred the white oak one, but for some odd reason, before the original family busted out of town, that section of Mystic Grill had "accidentally" caught fire.

Amused, Damon ordered another drink and placed it neatly on the spot to his left. "There you go, Rick," he muttered to no one. Just then, a quick, slender hand reached over and snatched the amber drink, taking his empty friend's place.

"How thoughtful. You got me a drink and everything... It's like you've been waiting for the last 145 years." She giggled, a smooth, sardonic sound that made Damon's jaw clench with anger. He didn't even need to look over in order to know what he'd end up seeing: long, curly hair, tight clothes, manicured nails and a bitchy attitude.

"Katherine," he hissed out. "What a... pleasant surprise." His smile was so big and so forced that his eyes hurt.

She rested her elbow on the table, taking a long sip of his –Alaric's- whiskey. "Don't squint. It's not a very becoming look on you, Damon." He dramatically laughed in response, finally meeting her fierce gaze with a glare—Well, he did that after doing a quick once over of her; no, Katherine hadn't changed at all.

"Why did you decide to drop by?" he asked bitterly. "Last I checked, you didn't want to be Klaus bait."

Katherine shrugged, as poised as ever. "He's gone for now. I was a little hesitant at first, but when Stefan called, I just knew that I couldn't resist any longer." Now that Damon's interest had been peaked, she seemed to be more interested in her nails than the conversation.

"He called you?"

"Yup," she replied curtly.

Trying to hide his frustration, Damon continued to question her. "Why?"

She quickly and hurriedly began to explain his journal entry, glazed over their heated reunion, and then began to get off topic to complaining about how much of a buzz kill Elena was and...

Damon was baffled. "So you just showed up because he called? That sounds a little out of character, hmm? Considering we both spent over a century waiting for you." She simply rolled her eyes, and he kept going. "There has to be another motive."

She sighed, avoiding his blue eyes. "My curiosity got the best of me. I mean, I'd heard the rumors about him, but when he called I really just wanted to see for myse—"

"What rumors?" he cut her off sharply.

After letting out an amused laugh, she downed her drink and began to stand up. "It's not a secret, Damon. A lot of vampires know about Stefan and how he turned Elena human. A lot of them are looking for him actually... Some are angry that they both got to be human, and some just want to know how he did it. But, hey, Stefan seems like an easy target with his memories and all so..."

Damon tensed. "Target? How do you know they're targeting him?"

Katherine let out a giggle, shrugging once again. "I guess you might want to keep me around then." She placed a slow hand on his shoulder as she leaned in close, sending hot shivers down his spine. "Remember, Damon, I'm on your side."

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Stefan was so shocked by Elena's lips against his that he didn't even have enough mentality to kiss back. It was short, chaste, and only lasted about a second... but his mind and his body were racing.

He was frozen. Stunned.

And when she pulled away and he saw the rejected look on her face, he tried to snap himself out of it, tried to make his lips move, but he was regretfully numb. Elena's eyes searched his own for any response, and when she got none, she took a step away, tucking her hair behind her ears and quickly looking around the room. There she had been, baring her soul, finally willing herself to get caught up in Stefan for just a moment, and now she felt like a complete fool. "I'm sorry," she muttered, keeping her eyes on the floor, trying to keep her thoughts clear. "I don't know why I did that. I guess I just thought that you—"