It was sunset. I watched with an unwavering gaze as a fiery red orb of light slowly sank beneath the horizon, and threads of light lingered in the sky, mingling with the rolling clouds, dyeing the heavens first orange, then red, then dark blue, until all that was left of the sunset was a chalky mauve, and then that melted away in turn as Stygian darkness took over the sky. Sequin-silver stars like the glowing embers of a dying fire winked down at me, illuminating the atramentous curtain of sky, and then suddenly the clouds parted, and I found myself looking at a lustrous, argent disc casting brilliant rays of moonlight onto the dark grounds.
"Isn't it beautiful?" I sighed. "If only every night could be like this..." I let out a small smile and leaned forward, keeping my eyes on the sky.
"It can be, Clara." A voice hinted besides me, it sounding calm and slightly annoyed. I turned my head to look over at Damon, who was looking at me with a small smile around his lips. "We can run away."
I let out a soft chuckle, and shook my head. "We can't," I told him, pulling the small blanket closer to my body. "Do you not remember, Damon? We got caught before, and father had you thrown in jail for a couple of days."
"Oh, I remember," he laughed, leaning back. "He kept insulting me every moment he could. He only stopped when you came to visit."
"And then he would kick me out," I giggled, shaking my head. "If it weren't for Stefan and I, I think you would still be in jail."
Damon rolled his eyes and turned his head in my direction, raising his brows. "Are you sure it was just Stefan and you?"
"Who else would have begged Sheriff Forbes to let the loving Damon Salvatore out of jail?" I giggled once again, covering my smile slightly with the blanket. "I begged while Stefan said that you would behave. I'm sure this is in no way behaving, love."
"You're right," he agreed, leaning closer to me. "I promised I would behave, but I broke that promise a long time ago."
"Oh?" I arched a brow. "How did you break that promise, Damon? I've seen you behave so far."
He raised a finger and grinned. "So far," he repeated, "but that was only in the presence of others. When we're alone, I can't really... I can't behave."
I laughed once again and shook my head, pushing him away. He laughed and came closer, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me to him. His lips lingered on my neck, dipping small and careful kisses as I laughed and tried to push him away from me. He laughed as well. Our laughs echoed through the quarry, mingling with the chirping of the crickets, croaking of the frogs, and the waterfall.
Damon's laughter was the only thing I paid attention to. It was what made me smile, what made my skin become warm from the slightly wet dress and the cold breeze the night brought. That boy—no, man, was the one that made my stomach be filled with butterflies and my heart accelerate from its normal beat. If I said that I didn't love him, oh how I would be lying. I loved him. I loved him more than anything.
The chair I was sitting on was shaken harshly. I blinked several times as I focused back to the room instead of my thoughts. The first thing I saw was my reflection on the window, and next to me was the devil himself. Damon stood besides the chair, arms crossed and a slight glare as he looked down at me. I sighed and turned my head to him. "What?"
"You're coming with me," he said, but it sounded more like an order.
"Why?" I asked, laying the glass of alcohol on the table besides the chair. "Is there a reason why I need to go with you?"
"I don't trust you," he stated, tilting his head slightly to the side. He picked up the book on the table and opened it to the first page, and then his brows furrowed. "You read Chinese?"
I waved a hand and stood. "I've had time to learn other languages that are not English, French, or Latin, Damon. You name it, I speak it. Except Azerbaijani; that's a bit difficult."
"You always wanted to learn..." he muttered under his breath as he closed the book. He let out a long sigh and stood like he did when he brought me out of my daydream. He turned and picked up my sweater from the bed, throwing it at me. "Like I said, you're coming with me."
"I'll be down in a second," I sighed, pulling the sweater on.
"Now," Damon ordered, turning and walking to the door.
Once again, I sighed, then looked at my surroundings. The room was big and spacious; a large bed in the centre of the room with satin sheets, a few rows of shelves filled with dust-covered books, an empty wooden dresser with nothing on the drawers or on top. There was a chair by the window, leather, with a table and lamp besides it. It was the one I had turned and had it face the window. The table was decorated with a book and an empty glass that was filled with Damon's bourbon and blood concoction. In the other corner, there was a black grand piano that had a few specks of dust.
"Clara!" Damon's voice was like a song, its rhythm jolting me away from my train of thought yet once again.
I rolled my eyes and followed his voice downstairs, my hand gliding against the banister. Damon stood by the last step, arms crossed and the same glare in his eyes. "I thought I would have to go up there and drag you by force," he hissed.
Once again, I rolled my eyes. "Wouldn't you like that," I sang. I paid him no attention and strutted outside, crossing my arms as I waited for Damon. He walked outside a few seconds later, and made his way to a black car. With a sarcastic smile, he opened the passenger's door and pointed at it with his hand. I rolled my eyes—tended to do that a lot since I arrived at the Salvatore Boarding House—and got in.
We didn't speak as he drove. I glared, he glared, it was a glaring feast filled with unresolved feelings. My fingers tapped against my thigh as I leaned my head on the glass. It was cool against my temple, like the cold side of a pillow on a hot night.
"Stay in the car," Damon hissed as we stopped. I looked at the building, reading 'Emergency Room' over the double doors.
"Why are we at the hospital?" I asked, getting out of the car and crossing my arms. "Aw, are we here for our first date? Are you going to buy me dinner? You should have told earlier, I would have dressed better."
He sped in my direction and took a hold of my neck, pushing me against the car. I kept my arms crossed and stared at him, surprised at his sudden movement. Slowly, I uncrossed my arms as I kept my eyes on him. His ice blue eyes collided with mine, a glare mixed with something I couldn't decipher.
The fingers around my neck loosened slowly. His hand slid up my face, the back of his fingers brushing down my cheek ever so gently. It was as if he were pushing my fringe out of my eyes. "Why are you here?" he quietly asked, brows slightly creased together.
My heart was hammering against my chest, and I knew that he could hear it. I pushed his hand away and glared at his forehead; I didn't want to look into his eyes. "Didn't you make me come here?" I asked with an annoyed tone. "Do what you came here for, I'll stay put."
Damon took a step back and looked at me, a small smirk lifting up his lips. "That's a good girl," he cooed, walking away. I rolled my eyes and leaned against the car door. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I was trying not to focus on the numerous hearts that were beating wildly inside the building, the blood that pumped through their veins and arteries and teased my thirst.
A few hours ago, I had almost died by a fire. I was ravenous, but I couldn't feed. Somehow, I had promised Stefan—he called while he was on his way to somewhere—that I would feed on blood bags instead of my normal warm meal of 98.6 degrees.
I didn't know how much time passed, but Damon marched out with someone following him. "Car, now!" he hissed, pointing at the car. I rolled my eyes and got back in, ignoring the figure marching behind him. Immediately, I crossed my arms and leaned back on the seat.
"Now, where are we going?" I asked.
"We have a problem," he said, starting to drive. "An old friend decided to come back."
"Ooh, an old friend," I chuckled. "I like how you're referring to me."
"I wasn't talking about you," he pointed out, rolling his eyes. "Let's say no one likes this certain friend, Clara. Especially not you."
We stopped in front of a house, a car right behind Damon's. When the figure got out, I felt the veins under my eyes bulge under my skin. Damon immediately took a hold of my shoulders, pushing me back. "Down, girl," he said.
I glared at him and then back at the figure, who was staring at me with a frightened look. "So, you're telling me to calm down when Katherine Pierce is standing right in front of me?" I hissed. "Oh, that's on another level, Damon!"
Katherine began to shake her head and hands. "No, no!" she said, fright in her voice. "I'm not Katherine, I swear; my name's Elena Gilbert."
"Then why do you look like her?" I hissed from Damon's arm, who still held me back as I tried to lunge at the girl.
"That's..." she sighed. "That's a long story."
I stopped moving when I realised that she didn't have the same atmosphere Katherine emitted. She had this innocence to her, these brown doe-eyes that were filled with innocence and pain and wonder and curiosity. This girl, this Elena Gilbert, was in no way Katherine Pierce. She was the complete opposite. But, the reason of why she looked exactly like her was still a mystery to me.
"Now, can we get going?" Damon asked, annoyed, taking his hands away from my shoulders.
"Yeah, yeah," Elena breathed, running to the door. Damon and I followed behind her, me behind them because I had no idea what was happening. When she opened the door, she gasped. "Stefan!"
"Elena," Stefan groaned.
"W-what happened?" Elena asked, walking over to him.
"Katherine happened," Damon answered for him, looking around.
I let out a groan and closed my eyes, shaking my head. Elena stared at me strangely, but then marched upstairs. "Hey!" I stopped her. "I'm sorry, but I can't exactly come in." I pointed out with a soft smile.
She glanced to Stefan, asking him a silent question. He nodded with a small smile. Elena then looked back at me, and sighed. "You can come in..."
"Clara," I introduced myself. It came to me that I hadn't told her my name.
Elena nodded. "You can come in, Clara," she said. Then, she continued up the stairs.
I slowly took a step in, and smiled over at Stefan. He shook his head with a small smile, and then walked away. I followed Damon and Stefan to the kitchen, where Stefan began to pace around immediately.
"Did she say what she wanted?" Damon asked him, breaking the silence. It was obvious that he was talking about Katherine. Apparently, she had pretended to be Elena when Stefan was protecting the younger Gilbert sibling.
"No," Stefan sighed.
"Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance," Damon sighed
"She said she fooled one of us, at least," Stefan said, eyeing his brother. "What does that... What does that mean?"
"She pretended to be Elena too when I showed up earlier tonight," Damon mumbled, sounding quite annoyed. He glanced at me before he looked back at his brother. That was when Elena walked in, a sad look in her eyes.
"I told Jeremy," she said. "I can't lie to him anymore."
"Are you alright?" Stefan walked over to her.
"No, I'm not alright," she sighed. "I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone things would get better."
"I know," Stefan sighed. "We all did."
"Katherine was in this house, that means she was invited in," Elena continued, eyeing all of us. "What are we gonna do?"
"Move," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Very helpful, thank you," she said to me, rolling her eyes.
"Katherine wants you dead; there's zero you can do about it; you would be dead, but you're not," Damon cut in. "So, clearly she has other plans."
"Right," Stefan agreed, "and we need to find out what those other plans are and not provoke her in the process. What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?" He looked at his brother, an annoyed expression in his face.
Damon glanced at me for a few seconds, then he sighed, and looked back at his brother. "To risk another frown line encroaching on a very crowded forehead. We...kissed." I clenched my fingers around my arm, glaring at the ground instead of him. It was 1864 all over again, with Katherine ruining lives and Damon falling for her.
"And you thought it was me?" Elena asked in disbelief.
"What do you mean you kissed?" Stefan asked, almost in the same tone as Elena, only angrier.
"Well, you know. When two lips pucker and they go..." Damon puckered his lips and made kissing noises. Stefan rushed to him, but at the same time Damon rushed to stand next to Elena. "Don't be obvious, Stefan."
Stefan began to go to Damon again. I stepped in front of him and laid my hand on his chest, shaking my head. "Don't," I quietly said to him. "It's not the right time for you two to fight." Stefan stared at me, sighed, and then nodded.
"He kissed Katherine," Elena piped in, "not me." She stood and looked at Damon, almost disgusted. "I wouldn't do that. We don't have time for this, guys."
"Later," Stefan nodded, glaring at his brother. I eyed Damon, seeing him glare back at Stefan. He had changed; he was the complete opposite of the Damon I knew in 1864. This man standing in front of me was one that didn't care of the consequences.
"John must know something," Elena continued. "There must be a reason why Katherine tried to kill him."
"She's Katherine," I rolled my eyes. "She loves to play games and you're fooling yourself if you think you're going to find out what she's been up to before she wants you to know."
"No, actually Elena's right," Stefan agreed with the girl. "John could know something through Isobel. Your mother, she was in touch with Katherine so maybe we can go to the hospital and get him to talk."
"I've got a better idea," Damon piped.
"What's that?" Elena sounded annoyed.
"I'm just gonna ignore the bitch," he smirked. "See you."
I scoffed and rolled my eyes, crossing my arms and leaning against the table. "So, now you hate her?"
Damon shot me a glare and then turned, starting to walk away. He was stopped by Elena speaking. "Is that smart?" she asked.
"If Katherine thinks she's being ignored it will lure her out," he shrugged and smirked. "She'll make a move."
"Yeah? And then what?" Stefan glared at his brother.
"Stake her; rip her heart out, something poetic," he shrugged his shoulders. "We'll see."
"If this involves killing the bitch, count me in," I added with a smirk, straightening my posture and taking a stand next to Stefan.
Elena looked at me, brows furrowed and a curious expression in her eyes. "How do you know her?"
"Let's say I have a personal vendetta with her," I said, licking my lip. I glanced to Damon and let a smirk form around my lips. He stared at me, no emotion showing on his face. I continued to smirk, ignoring the anger that boiled through my veins.
The night passed by fast, and that was while I unpacked the few things I had brought and made the room my own. A few clothes in the closet and dresser, and a few other things on top of the dresser.
In the morning, Damon woke me up by throwing a cold glass of water on me and then demanded for me to wake up. According to him, we were going to Mayor Lockwood's funeral. A funeral meant dark clothing, which meant everything I had brought. I dressed myself in a simple black dress with black tights, a grey cardigan, and black ankle boots. My blonde hair fell over my shoulders with no apparent hairstyle, and my face was decorated with soft make-up. Damon waited for me with an annoyed look as I got dressed.
"Are you done?" he asked when I met him in the car. "Or do you still want more time?"
I ignored him and and got in the car, wondering where was the famous Lockwood mansion. My curiosity was soon answered when we arrived at the rather large house. I got out, and wrapped my arm around Damon's with a small smirk around my lips. He glared down at me.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.
"Don't you see?" I chuckled. "I'm undercover as your date. Don't want anyone that tried to kill me last night to see me."
Damon rolled his eyes and began to walk up the steps that lead to the entrance. There was a woman greeting those that walked in, a boy standing next to her. The woman was obviously he mayor's wife, the boy must have been his son.
"Damon," she breathed when we approached. "I'm glad you could make it."
"I'm sorry for your loss, Carol," Damon said, a frown on his face as he leaned to her and kissed her cheek. "I don't know how this could have happened."
She smiled softly and looked at me. "I'm sorry, I don't think I've seen you before."
I pulled my hand from my side and shook hers. "I'm Clara," I said with a small smile and a saddened expression. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Mrs. Lockwood. Mayor Lockwood was an incredible man." I was lying right through my teeth, and that made Damon squeeze my arm but also fake a small smile in my direction.
Mrs. Lockwood, or Carol, grinned and shook my head. "Please, call me Carol." She turned and pointed at the entrance of the house. "Please, come in."
Damon and I made our way in, but I stopped at the entrance and took a deep breath. When my foot passed, I smirked at Damon. He rolled his eyes and pulled me along, a fake sorrowful look in his eyes whenever he collided with another citizen of Mystic Falls. I could see right through the people that stuffed their mouths with the food; they were there just for their presence to be noted. They didn't care about the mayor's death, they were just there for the food and for Carol Lockwood to remember them when she became the mayor.
As Damon and I moved, someone cleared their throat behind us. We turned and were greeted by a woman with short blond hair and in a sheriff uniform. She was mostly looking at Damon, but closed her mouth when she saw me standing next to him.
"Clara," Damon began, a small smirk forming on his lips. "I think you should meet Sheriff Forbes. Liz, this is a very old friend of mine, Clara."
I stared at the woman as her name rang through my mind. Forbes, I thought. She's a Forbes! I smiled at her and extended my arm. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sheriff Forbes."
She grabbed my hand and nodded. Then, she turned to Damon. "I need to talk to you."
"Of course," he breathed, pulling away from me. "I'll be right back, okay, Sweetheart?" He leaned down to kiss my cheek, but simply pressed his cheek to mine and silently hissed, "Behave."
I smiled at him and then winked when Sheriff Forbes turned. He glared as he followed her, but his expression suddenly changed into one that matched everyone else's. It was obvious that he was playing a game with the founding families of Mystic Falls, and maybe that had to do with the infamous Council.
I walked around, a glass of champagne in hand as I looked at the numerous paintings and rooms they had all over the house. It was big and spacious, too big for a family of three. Maybe Mayor Lockwood and his wife loved lavished things; it could be clearly seen from the numerous expensive vases, paintings, and furniture that were scattered along the house.
"I saw you yesterday at the hospital." A voice said behind me. I turned to look at a girl with long dark hair. She was wearing a purple dress, which didn't match the atmosphere. "You were against Damon's car."
"I take it your friend of Damon?" I arched a brow. With a sigh, I finished my drink and laid the empty glass on the table next to me.
She scoffed and crossed her arms. "I'm in no way Damon's friend," she said. "But, I take it you are, which means you're also a vampire."
I chuckled and raised my hands as if I were surrendering. "You've got me," I smirked. "I'm a vampire. What happens now? You stake me?"
She continued to glare at me with her arms crossed. "I'm here to warn you to not try anything on my friends. You touch them, I kill you."
"Ooh, that must mean you're part of the Scooby gang as well," I pointed out. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I want Katherine dead just as much as everyone. I'm here to help, not to harm your friends."
She relaxed her position a bit, but still stood rigid. Then, she extended her hand. "I'm Bonnie Bennett," she introduced herself.
I tilted my head to side, my smirk widening into a smile. "Bonnie Bennett," I repeated. "You must be related to Emily Bennett... Hence, you must be a witch. So, if I touch your hand all that witch juju activates and you can probably read my intentions and what not." She stared at me for a couple of seconds, surprised.
"H-how..."
"I've met other witches," I explained. I let out a sigh and nodded. "Well, might as well get cuddly with the witches. I'm Clara Forbes, it's a pleasure to meet you Bonnie Bennett." I took her hand, watching her face go rigid the moment our skin touched.
"You're a Forbes?" she asked, her brows knitted. "Caroline's going to freak."
"Caroline?" I questioned, arching a brow. "Is that someone I'm supposed to know?"
"Caroline Forbes," Bonnie explained. "You don't know?"
I sighed and took a drink from a passing waiter, downing it in seconds. "Sweetheart, I thought my family became extinct after I died. Never thought my brother would settle down and have children." I took yet another drink from another passing waiter, sighing. "This Caroline Forbes, where is she?"
"Hospital," Bonnie answered with a nod. "She was in an accident." If she was telling me about this Caroline after she threatened to kill me, it was because she had seen my pure intentions when we shook hands.
"Is she alright?" I asked, tightening my grip around the glass.
She nodded. "Damon gave her some of his blood," she explained. "She was better this morning."
I let out a sigh and nodded to myself, relieved. Was that the reason why Damon went to the hospital last night? Was he saving this Caroline Forbes? I wanted to think that it was because she was my family, but I knew that it was because this girl was Elena Gilbert's friend.
"Excuse me." Bonnie brushed by me and followed someone. From what I saw, it was a man. I sighed and continued to walk around, only stopping when I came to see Stefan.
"You came?" He crossed his arms and looked at me teasingly.
"I was ordered to come," I sighed.
"Damon doesn't trust you," he stated with a nod. "I don't blame him."
"Oh, don't tell me that you don't trust me either," I groaned, rolling my eyes. "We haven't seen each other in over a hundred years and now I'm a villain? Come on, Stefan! I said I'd help you all protect Elena and help you get rid of Katherine. I want her dead just as much as everyone, maybe more." As a response, he simply shrugged his shoulders. I sighed and finished my fourth glass of champagne. "By the way, I met the witch. She's nice; she told me about my great-whatever niece. Thanks for telling me that I had family that was still alive, Stefan."
He didn't answer. Instead, he raised his finger as to listen to something. Then, he began to follow. I followed behind him, furrowing my brows as a door opened by itself. Inside, Bonnie was being held against the wall by Elena, or the person that looked exactly like her.
"Katherine," Stefan said, looking at her. I glared at her, ready to vamp out at any given moment, but was only stopped by the numerous people surrounding us.
"Stefan," she sweetly said to him. Her eyes drifted to me, and a smirk widened around her lips. "And Clara... Never thought I would see you again."
"Leave her alone," Stefan cut in, stepping in front of me. His words weren't exactly directed at me, they were also speaking about Bonnie.
Katherine continued to stare at Stefan for a few seconds. "Okay," she finally said, releasing Bonnie's neck. She walked out, brushing her finger through his chest and smirking at me. Bonnie looked at us in a shocked and frightened expression.
"Go after her," I told Stefan. "If I do, I'll kill her without thinking of anyone else. I'll stay with Bonnie."
"You sure?" Stefan quietly asked, furrowing his brows.
I stared into his green eyes, and forced a small smile so he'd believe me. "Do you want me to kill someone in this party?" He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed his mouth and nodded before following after Katherine. I sighed and looked back at Bonnie, laying a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"
She nodded, looking over my shoulder. "Yeah," she breathed. "I'm fine." She turned to look at me, brows knitted together. "Are you?"
I stared at her for a few seconds, and then did the same thing as I did to Stefan. "I'm fine," I told her with a forced smile. "Just fine..." I glanced behind me, seeing Katherine and Stefan walk out of a room. Katherine locked eyes with me, and once again smirked. If it weren't for the many people in the house, I would have gone after her. "You know what? I'm going to leave. I think I already paid my respects to Mayor Lockwood."
"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked, following behind me.
"Back to the Salvatore's abode," I said, strutting to the front door. "Drink my problems away." I turned my head to her and raised my pinky in the air. "I promise I won't feed on your friends or anyone in this city. I'll be a classy vampire and feed on a blood bag. Happy?" I let my arm fall back down to my side and walked out the door. I was stopped when I saw Elena and Damon talking in the corner.
"Where are you going?" Damon asked, his voice sounding broken.
I kept my eyes on him and allowed every feeling to wash over me. His ice blue eyes, the dark hair that seemed to be brushed by his fingers, the cheekbones of a Roman god. My heart hammered against my chest, the pain emitting all over my body. I would have teared up, but I couldn't. Because I told myself that I hated him, and I did, I would, because nothing would bring back the feelings I once had for him. There were absolutely no feeling of love inside me for him; there was just hate when I thought of him.
"I'm going back to the house," I responded, glancing over at Elena. "Be careful in there."
"What?" she asked, frowning.
"Elena!" Bonnie gasped when she ran out. That was when I turned and began to leave.
I somehow made my way back to the boarding house and grabbed myself one of Damon's drinks infused with blood. Without thinking, I made my way up the stairs and decided to snoop around. I took drinks from the bottle as I looked at the rooms. Most of them were empty bedrooms, except two. The biggest one belonged to Stefan; I could tell from the numerous books on the shelves and by the bed. Damon's room smelled of him: leather and blood and alcohol with a faint scent of cologne. When I walked in, I scoffed and made my way back to the room that I took as mine.
I took a seat in front of the piano and brushed my fingers against the black and white keys. Without thinking, I began to play a soft melody. As a child, my mother said that a musically gifted woman was one that was loved by everyone. Due to her love of music and my want to be loved by everyone, I was taught how to play the piano, the violin, and sing. Every Wednesday afternoon, my mother showed me off the other other ladies and their daughters. Sometimes, even my father would attend with some of his friends.
Someone entered the house, but I didn't bother to stop playing. A few moments later, someone else entered the house.
"Very brave of you to come here," I heard Damon's voice collide with the rhythm the piano emitted.
"I wanted to say goodbye," Katherine's voice rang. I missed a key, but quickly regained myself and continues to play. The rest of their conversation I ignored, but I catched here and there due to them being the only two people in the house other than me.
"My sweet, innocent Damon..." I heard Katherine say. A few seconds of silence passed, and then I heard the sound of kissing. I stopped played and stood from the piano, grabbing the bottle of alcohol and swallowing half. Maybe it was more.
"That's more like it," Katherine chuckled. I heard them slam against the wall, a shirt ripped open, even more kissing, and books being knocked off a table. Hearing it happen shouldn't have hurt because I hated them both, so why was I drowning the pain in my chest with bourbon?
"Okay, wait, brief pause," Damon said. "I have a question. Answer it and it's back to fireworks and rockets red glare. Answer it right and I'll forget the last one hundred and forty five years that I've spent missing you. I'll forget how much I loved you, I'll forget everything and we can start over. This could be our defining moment because we have the time. That's the beauty of eternity." It was silent for a few seconds. "I just need the truth, just once."
"Stop. I already know your question and its answer. The truth is..." Katherine took a deep breath. "I've never loved you. It was always Stefan."
I licked the inside of my lip and chuckled, taking yet another drink from the bottle. After finishing the bottle, I walked downstairs to see an upset Damon standing in the parlor. I smirked and laid the empty bottle on a table. "That must have hurt," I told him. "Hearing it from her mouth must have been surprising. But, it also wasn't. We all know how Stefan is the better brother. Is big brother upset now?"
Damon ignored what I said and made his way to the table, grabbing himself a drink. "I'm not upset. Upset is an emotion specific to those who care."
I continued to smirk. "Come on, Damon. That's a lie. You care." I circled the table and strutted to him, a foot in front of the other. "It's killing you on the inside because you care too much. Why don't you just turn it off and ignore everything?" I looked up at him, my tongue resting on the roof of my mouth. He downed the glass of bourbon and then served himself another, looking everywhere but me. "Because of her..." I uttered quietly. "You won't turn it off because you're still hung up on Katherine Pierce... Oh, but it's not just her, is it? It's sweet Elena Gilbert, and we don't want to disappoint Elena, now do we?" That was when he looked at me. I smirked wider and took a closer step to him. "Turn it off and save yourself from the pain, Damon. That's what I did when I turned." The hurt in his eyes caused happiness to surge through me. I wanted to hurt him even more. So, I stepped to him and laid a hand on his cheek. "You know it's always going to be Stefan instead of you... Always." I turned and strutted out of the room.
"Clara," he softly called, the hurt even more noticeable in his voice. "Where are you going now?"
I smiled. "I'm going out to dinner," I said. "I'm feeling a little hungry for B negative."