[Episode 16 - There Goes the Neighbourhood]

I walk towards Stefan and Elena as he's speaking "-Have you thought any more about what you're going to do?" 

I lean against the lockers, smirking sarcastically "About what? Isobel, our vampire birth mother, who's related to my vampire ancestor Katherine, who screwed over your vampire brother? Nah...I haven't thought about it at all!"

"I'm sorry I brought it up"

I sigh and look down, "I'm sorry, that was very snarky. I could have... Killed him you know?" I murmur as I hug my sister from the side. She sighs too "It'd just be nice if we could get through one day without having to deal with any of it. No vampire mother or brother-"

"No vampires at all?" I ask cheekily. 

Elena rolls her eyes and smiles "No vampires but you Stefan... I just want to get us back to normal stuff like school and homework"

"-and there's the other thought: fun!" I smile at myself. I miss fun. I'd settle for something like ice-cream and Gossip Girl on the couch... Or a drink. 

There. I think I have a date with myself.

Stefan waggles his eyebrows in excitement "Ooh, that sounds good to me, when do we start?"

"We-" I motion to us 3 "-are not. But we-" now I motion to Elena and Stefan "-are. I have a date..." I smile wildly. Elena's eyes narrow and so do Stefan's.

"With whom?" my twin asks.

I wink behind my shoulder "Chuck Bass". Elena chuckles in relief but Stefan looks clueless "Who?"

I'll let him think it's a guy in my league and shout to Elena "Don't you tell him Sister!"

▹▹▹

Apparently, when Stefan meant 'fun', it meant a double date with Matt and Caroline. I know that's the perfect recipe for disaster and I told my twin, that it is so. She just waved it off with one of her positive comments.

It's evening and the bell rings just as Chuck tells Blair that he loves her. I rewind and pause the video and open the door.

I see Stefan standing there, smiling, flowers in his hands. A sigh almost fights its way out but I block it down. A part of me wants to imagine that the flowers are for me, not Elena, my sister.

But the other part of me wants to see both of them happy with each other, so much so that people will have to say "Stefan and Elena. Their love would never die". 

I've never felt so conflicted and angry at myself and sad at the same time. I plaster a small smile and call my sister down, she bounces down "You got me flowers!" She kisses him and he gives her a 'Stefan' smile - a half-smile with a slight twinkle hidden in there somewhere.

"I figured it's a date, why not do it right? I would have driven too but you're the one with the car"

"You know, you think that for someone who was around when the car was invented you would have one that you drive..." I point out with a smirk. 

The vampire just shakes his head "Oh, I just never drive it..."

"I know. But you should. Beauty" I fawn and Elena clears her throat "You know, it's not too late to cancel-"

"Why we would do that?" he asks with his brows furrowed. I sit on the table and take a bite out of one of the cookies from my bowl when Elena drones about how maybe they would never be meant for the normal part.

"Have you ever even been on a double date before?" I ask, trying to dissuade the couple from road to disaster. 

The vampire surprises us when he smiles smugly "Oh, absolutely. '72, Hef and the twins."

I choke on my bite for a second and my twin too, stares at him in surprise.

"What?"

"Yeah...playmates. I got Miss June..."

"Are you serious?" I catch my breath and shake my head, trying to hide the laughter bubbling out. I'm still laughing when they go out.

▹▹▹

An hour later, I'm looking for some vodka in the fridge when my phone rings, somewhere. I shut the door with a thud and a huff and go in search of it. On the way, I trip on my bag.

And the foot of the couch.

And air.

Somehow, I limp to the stove with a half-broken toe-nail, where I find it. I pick up the call and put it on speaker while gritting my teeth and carefully pulling the rest of the nail off.

"Hey Kat? Is that you?"

"What's wrong Care? Aren't you supposed to be sharing couple stories with Elena and Stefan by now?"

"That's what's happening now. Only, Elena and Matt are the ones doing all the talking! They're talking of-of homecoming and-an-and childhood memories! What do I do Kat!" she's freaking out. 

I hate to say I told you so... But turns out I can add foreseer to my list of doomsday jobs.

"Okay. Okay! Calm down! Just... Stay normal. Smile, try not to show your teeth and... I'll come by. Okay?" 

I have no idea how to deal with couple situations and now, I wish I had. Now I regret every time Tyler tried to set me up with his jock friends.

I stare at the fridge and the telly longingly. 

My poor Charles. 

And my poor unfound vodka. 

I pout and switch it off while I throw Stefan's watch into my purse and close the door when I step out in my heels.

I enter the Grill to be bombarded with shouts and talks and glasses clinking. I see Stefan's back and surprise surprise, I also see Damon... with Kelly Donovan and a very drunk Jenna. 

I sling my purse over my shoulder and roll up my sleeves. I walk to the table and see a very annoyed Caroline and Elena and Matt, laughing. Stefan's just still, probably smiling at his girlfriend's past. Being a vampire, he wants a normal life because he never had one, and he feels talking with your ex politely is the normal way.

However, Care and I know humans. You dump people for a reason and Elena's was that she wasn't feeling anything. But here she is, involuntarily showing that she did feel something. 

Assessing the current situation, I smile, faux excitement "Hey couples!" I wave and Matt motions me to sit.

I keep talking while I sit in the booth beside Caroline, squishing her towards Matt; she gladly obliges.

"So, ever known the time when Matt pranked Caroline on a dare?" Matt groans "I. Was. 12!" I chuckle but shoot a secret look to Stefan that he hopefully understands as 'get in the flow'.

"What?" Elena asks, confused. I laugh and forestall Matt "It was that camp excursion you didn't want to go to... Anyway, I'm on the phone with Matt when I ask him to prank Caroline..."

Trust me, Caroline did the right thing when she called me.

A while later, Caroline practically pushes Elena towards the restroom, giving me a warning of 'stay here'. I shrug and stand next to Stefan, playing pool until his girlfriend comes up.

"Is there anything you're not good at?" Matt asks when Stefan pockets another ball.

"Double dating. This is all kind of new to me..." I laugh and cover my mouth to keep it from spilling out. Stefan throws me a smirk "I usually keep to myself. I don't always fit in..."

"That's because you're that guy" Matt justifies.

"What guy?"

"The guy who seems like he has everything, so the people that don't, kind of run the other way..." I know the jock meant it in a superficial teenage way, but it actually strikes bull's-eye of Stefan's life.

"Is that what I seem like?"

"Pretty much" he shrugs, taking a sip of his soda.

"Hmm...What a dick!" Stefan murmurs playfully and I nudge him.

I walk towards the restroom when both the girls don't come out for a long time. But on the way, someone intervenes. He holds my arm tightly and I feel the wool press deep onto my skin "Katherine?"

I'll give her this much credit, though we share the same name, the way people say it while referring to her sends a very angry and chilling bump up my spine "I'm sorry... You must have the wrong perso-"

"Kat! I thought I told you to stay behind! Let's go..." Caroline pulls me away and I avoid looking in the direction of the man. If he knows the vampire bitch, then he's most likely to be a vampire. I let my blonde friend drag me till there and see Elena sulkily walking upto the pool table.

"Matt's cheating" Stefan announces and looks to me for confirmation. I smile hesitantly and shake my head.

"No need, I'm awesome!"

I snatch my phone out from my purse,pretending to text. I type into my memo and discreetly put it on the edge of the table near Stefan's cue, like I'm holding it against the wood.

That guy in the booth near the restroom just called me Katherine.

Stefan looks at me funnily as if to say 'but you're name is Katherine'. I shake my head and widen my eyes. Understanding dawns on the vampire and he looks around. But his gaze finds an empty table.

I go to the group of familiar adults sitting at the far end. I smack Damon hard on the head and he narrows his drunken eyes. I help Jenna sit properly on the stool 

"I'll call a cab? Or do you want me to take you home?" she doesn't answer, just lays her head on my clavicle. 

"Jenny" I shake her awake and she opens her eyes a bit to realise it's me, her niece.

"Kat?" 

"Cab? Or my car?"

"Cab..." she groans "Go enjoy with your friends okay? I'll take care of Kellyyyy" she sways as she stands up and I deposit her back onto the seat "Just take care of yourself okay? There. I've booked you a cab so I'll see you an hour or two later" she nods and tries to get her hands onto her shot glass. 

But I jump over the counter and give her a glass. Scott tries to protest but he stops when he sees me.

I pour water into another shot glass and hand it to my aunt, she even accepts it and gulps it down. I look to him "Do that from now on, she'll be fine. Sorry, I have something to do. Bye Scotty"

I leave the Grill to find a paranoid Elena. I assure her when Caroline and Matt get into the car and send her with Stefan as I follow them to the Boarding House.

▹▹▹

"So, you didn't recognise him, you haven't seen him before?" Stefan asks me over the phone as we drive. I reply in negative and suggest hopefully "Let's call it a night. OK? Send Matt and Caroline home?"

Elena sighs "No, the whole point of the night was to not have to deal with this stuff. We need to get through one night. One normal nigh-"

"This is a new vampire we're talking about. We could be putting them in danger... Elena, are you sure?" I know I can defend the group from a vampire but I choose to remain safer than sorry.

"No, I'm not sure, but I don't know what else to do. Look, if there's another vampire in town, he'll still be here tomorrow. We'll deal with it tomorrow..."

We all get out of our cars and Stefan leads us into the house, which is surprisingly clean. Caroline looks around "This is much better than watching Damon visit cougar town-" she looks to her boyfriend "No offence"

He shudders and moves on "Man I've always wanted to see what it looks like in this place..."

"Yeah, I guess it's a bit much..."

"Yeah, my entire house could fit in here. like twice"

"Feel like I've been here before. It's weird..." Caroline mutters and Elena, ever being the Queen of Subtle Topic Changes, "Do you guys want to watch a movie or something?"

Great idea Elena! Which movie, The Lion King? (No offense to the movie, it's a legend, but you just don't watch movies when you're on a double date. At least I think so)...

"Whoa! these are great!" Matt almost does what a girl might call swoon, when he sees the younger Salvatore's miniature car collection sitting on display.

"This is uh...a little hobby of mine..."

"I did the entire Mustang series when I was 9"

"You like cars?" Stefan questions and I snort "Understatement. The guy is really obsessed with classic cars" I throw in a hint. 

"Come with me." Stefan smiles and I squeal internally. The beauty isn't being caged anymore!

"Wait, how do you have this?" Matt questions as he takes in the Cherry red Porsche.

"Got passed down through the family"

"Why don't you...I mean...Why don't you drive it?" Matt asks, his voice an octave higher from fanboy mode. 

I chuckle quietly as Caroline finds a new insecurity - a classic car, the one true love of Matt Donovan.

"Well, it doesn't run. I mean, it's not that I could figure out." Stefan says while looking at me. He could look into it and he knows. So can I. I had all the time with my dad shooting and working under cars during our lakehouse vacations, so I'm more of the guy when it comes to me and Elena. But Stefan refuses to let his baby come near any spanner or inspecting eyes.

"Why would you keep a car that doesn't run?" Caroline asks, confused. I laugh and whisper loud enough "Be more of a girl right now Caroline". We all laugh, even Caroline.

"Hey, want to come take a look at this for me?" Stefan invites and Matt smiles wide. He looks to me as he shows off "Remember the old Camaro you're dad used to have?" I smile and nod, pointing out for Caroline to understand which one.

"I built and rebuilt that kind of engine 20 times..."

"Wow" Stefan says and I whistle. Caroline and Elena feel ignored but the former tries to intervene "I don't like sports cars; they're too hard to make out in..." My eyes widen as she hit a nostalgia nerve point. Matt, lies oblivious to the effects.

He looks to Elena "It wasn't that bad..."Caroline leaves the garage as soon as he says it. Elena runs after her and I do too, after I throw Matt a hard look.

"Caroline..." Elena mutters.

"I don't want to talk about it"

"You're being ridiculous-" she begins

"And insecure and stupid. But that doesn't change the fact that Matt's always gonna be in love with you and I'm always gonna be the back up!" Caroline throws her hands up in the air and I stand by her.

"You're not the back up..." I try to massage her arm in assurance.

"Yes I'm. I'm Matt's Elena back up; I'm Elena's Bonnie back up-"

"Now it's about me and Bonnie?" Elena questions and I stare at her. 

Why would she turn this around and make it about her? It's about Caroline and how Elena's always there in front of her. She feels insecure. She arranged a double date tonight to see that Matt has moved on from Elena, the Elena who broke up with him because she didn't feel anything.

"You don't get it Elena-" I try to remain as neutral as I can in my words.

"Why would she? She's everyone's first choice-" Her words are cut off by the sweet rumble of the red classic gliding out of the garage "Piece of cake!" Matt says out of the window and I sigh. Now is not the time to say that first...

"You know what? Why don't you guys go ahead and take it for a spin?" Stefan offers the couple and Caroline quickly gets into the vehicle. They speed off for a round or two before Stefan hugs Elena "You alright?"

"If it's not vampires, its girlfriends" she says.

I scoff. She was the one who wanted a human and normal experience. Well, an insecure girlfriend is as far a human experience that Elena can go through.

I go back to the Boarding House a while later and am followed by a surprisingly breezy Caroline and Matt. But now we face a very burning image that I'm sure none of us can unsee for a while. Damon pins a moaning Kelly to the wall of the parlour entrance as they kiss and nip at parts of each other's necks.

"Mom?!" an aghast Matt fumes confusedly and Caroline shouts "Damon?!"

Kelly withdraws hurriedly from the man she was about to take to bed. She has the grace to look embarrassed. She hurries out and Matt moves too, but he stops at the door, looking behind "Go. I'll take her home" I assure.

The next time I look towards the parlour, Damon's lying on the couch as he takes a sip from his glass. I roll my eyes and take Caroline and Elena outside, Stefan follows. 

I ask Caroline to hop in when she hesitates and shakes her head "I'll need to... Talk with Elena. Thanks for tonight" she doesn't try to hide the fact that she called me to the date and I smile at that. 

I get out of the car and hug her "See ya then. Sleep tight"

Elena and Stefan stand afar and I hear them talk goodnight to each other. Elena and Caroline hop into her car and my twin looks to me "You coming?"

"I... Will. Just need to deal with Damon" I give an excuse. As they drive off, I look to Stefan "I have something for you, it's in my purse inside. And we need to talk." I walk inside.

Damon is still in the last state I saw him and he looks sober. For now at least. I search for my purse when Damon speaks up "Don't look at me like that"

"Are you crazy?" Stefan grits out. I abandon the search and look to Damon, my back to the window. I cross my arms across my chest and the older vampire sighs and shifts between me and his brother."Save the lecture. Look-"

His words are interrupted when someone jumps in with a crash.

Not one someone, two someones.

Vampires.

The man I saw earlier stabs me in the stomach with a piece of broken glass but I kick him off me. Though it hurts, I jump up and pull up to see him targeting Damon now. I pull him off again and hold him against me, Damon kicks him off, sending a crack of bones through the room.

The second vampire, I see, is struggling onto Stefan, Damon and I look to each other.

And it's like we act in coordination. Damon works on pulling her up while I pick a chair with supernatural ease and crash out a leg.

I rush to the struggling duo and drive the piece of shattered wood right into her heart. Her body turns gray and I look across the room to see the man standing up with anger clear on his face. He looks between me and her, and vamps out a second later.

I take in sharp breaths of adrenaline as Damon mutters a 'dammmit', Stefan gets up and puts his hand on my torso. I withdraw sharply and then look down, relaxing. Stefan warily approaches me again and pulls out the piece of glass that juts out from me.

The wound burns and heals. I see Damon angrily pouring himself another drink and I rush to him, snatching the glass. I gulp it down and remove my jacket while plopping down on the couch.

Stefan's brows furrow "I remember them from 1864. They were in the tomb..."

Damon hands me another drink as he pats his brother "About that..."

We all stare at each other.

Nothing ends good when Damon is willing to explain himself.

▹▹▹

I tiptoe into the house and rush upstairs into my room. Sighing at the loss of another good dress, I change into pyjamas and venture out. I hear Elena talking to Stefan on the phone, so I leave her alone with a sigh. 

Jeremy is asleep and so is Jenna. Her shoes are still on but she's safe and home, where no vampire can enter. I remove her shoes and earrings and set her head gently on her pillow.

Damon's being very chatty today and he's again, got a big decision to make. Stefan told me not to tell my sister until tomorrow. Apparently, he's still going by the 'one human and normal day' plan.

I take some ice-cream from the freezer and settle down on the couch, flicking the TV to existence.

I have a town to protect from the released tomb vampires, to lock out whom I literally died. They're vindictive bitches now and are looking to come out of their lockdown imposed by Anna and her mother.

The world's getting worse.

But I'm gonna watch some Chuck Bass.