"I should be stronger than this. It's been long since I last attacked..."

   "Be patient with yourself," he said in a gentle tone. "How we're living, you have the strength for it."

   "It sickens me how much I yearn for a small taste of human blood. I miss enjoying the smell of fresh apples, or bread right out of the fire, not this."

   "Tell me, then, what can you smell now?"

   I closed my eyes and inhaled. "You... Leaves warmed by the sun, crushed grass, the wood burning in the chimney, blood."

   "If you're not going for the blood at this very moment, I think you can control yourself. I advice for you to drink vervain every now and then."

   "It burns."

   "It will make you stronger against it; it won't hurt as much if someone uses it against you. You will resist compulsion from my siblings."

   "What have I done to have that used against me?" I asked, frowning. "I haven't killed someone in weeka, and I've yet to destroy cities."

   "There are beings out there that just wish to harm us," the man said, giving me a soft smile. "They wish to kill us. I am telling you this because you deserve to live, from what I've seen. Don't you want to live? To fall in love? I hear that many women want that for themselves."

   "Why would I do that? Love is... Love is useless, it's pathetic. I do not wish to fall in love again."

   The Lockwood's were holding a masquerade ball, or something along those lines. I decided to go along with Stefan and Elena. Well, Stefan thought it'd be good if I came along in case Katherine saw that he and Elena weren't broken up, like she wanted them to be. I was the thing that came between them, the wall one could say. I sopped them from getting too close and showing affection in public.

   "Clara!" Stefan called out. I turned to see him and Damon, which made me a bit curious. Damon decided to stay back at the boarding house and have nothing to do with the Lockwood's since the wolf's bite would cause us vampires to die. He thought Stefan and I were stupid for coming along.

   "What's going on?" Elena asked, glancing from them to me.

   I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not sure... I'll be back." I laid a mask down and followed the pair. We stopped where there were no workers.

   "Bonnie saw Katherine kissing Mason," Stefan said as soon as we stopped. He crossed his arms and paced to the other side of the small place, and then Damon did the same.

   "Katherine's with Mason Lockwood?" Damon asked, making a face. 

   I recalled the conversation we—Stefan, her, and I—had in the Salvatore cells. She said she came back for Stefan, which made no sense. If she was with Mason, then why was she here for Stefan? Could she possibly be using him for something? Maybe she wasn't here for Stefan at all. Maybe she was here for what we all were searching for—the moonstone.

   "We missed it," Stefan sighed. "He got into town right after she did. It makes perfect sense."

   "I know, but Mason Lockwood?" Damon continued, almost as if he couldn't believe it. "Werewolf thing aside, the guy is a surfer. She's got to be using him. She has to be."

   "Using him for what though?" I looked at the two of them, raising brow.

   "Mason Lockwood is looking for a moonstone that allegedly can break the full moon werewolf curse," Damon informed. "Maybe Katherine wants it as well."

   "Why?" Stefan asked.

   "Well... No idea. That's the beauty of Katherine; she's always up to something."

   "So, how are we going to find the moonstone?" Stefan asked, looking at Damon and I.

   "Jeremy is getting it from Tyler," I said, giving him a small apologetic smile.

   He looked from me to his brother in disbelief. "Why would you involve Jeremy?" He walked past him and slapped him on the arm, continuing to walk away.

   Damon looked back at Stefan, his mouth slightly open. "He's playing Indiana Jones. He involved himself." He scoffed when Stefan paid him no attention. "Come on, we need to see if he was able to get it."

   "My favourite," I sighed. "Looking out for the Gilbert's. I don't know why I didn't come back to Mystic Falls earlier."

   We stood by a ledge and listened in to the conversation Jeremy was having with Tyler. It ended up in nothing since the boy gave the stone to his uncle, Mason. That made me groan, roll my eyes, and look at Damon. "We should find Bonnie, ask her whether she can touch Mason and see where he has it."

   "Yeah," Stefan nodded, looking at me. "That's a good idea. She was standing by the tables when I last saw her."

   "Let's go," Damon sighed, walking away. Stefan and I followed. Bonnie was standing by the tables, and groaned when she saw us. I took her by her arm and dragged her across the small yard, where there were barely any people.

   "What do you want?" she asked as she pulled her arm away from my hold.

   "A favour," Damon answered. 

   "Like that's gonna happen," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

   Damon sighed and rolled his eyes. "So predictable." He pointed at Stefan and I with his thumb. "That's why I brought them."

   "I know how you feel about helping us out, but since you're the one that linked Mason with Katherine, we finally have an opportunity to get an upper hand on both of them so, just hear us out," Stefan explained.

   "Pretty please," I added with a small smile.

   Bonnie eyed us, and then nodded. "I'm listening." That was when Stefan's phone began to ring, and I didn't have to look at the ID to know that it was Elena. 

   "I have to fill Elena in on what's going on," he said. He looked at Damon. "Can you play nice, please?" He then looked at me. "And can you make him play nice?"

   I waved a hand and looked back at Bonnie. "All you have to do is touch Mason Lockwood again to see if he gave Katherine the moonstone."

   "My visions don't work like that," she explained. "I don't get to ask questions."

   "How inconvenient," Damon rolled his eyes. "Although, let's talk about that little witchy-juju thing you do with me. You know, the fun one where my brain burst into flames? What is that?"

   "That's me giving you an aneurysm." she rolled her eyes. "Your blood vessels go pop, but you heal quickly; so, I do it over and over again."

   "Mmm," I nodded with a small smile, glancing at Damon. "I should go to you whenever I'm annoyed at him."

   Damon rolled his eyes and looked back at Bonnie. "Is it vampire specific?"

   "It'd work with anyone with a supernatural healing ability."

   "Good, good," Damon nodded. He looked down at me and smirked. "Good."

   "Damon, I'm not going to help you hurt him," Bonnie confessed. "Or anyone."

   "Mason Lockwood's a werewolf, Katherine's evil. They're bad guys," he explained. "Really? You're gonna play morality police with me right now? Let me put it to you another way; they're a threat to Elena. So you, witch, are gonna get over yourself and help us."

   "Yeah, he meant that with a please at the end," I added, forcing a smile and a small nod.

   "Absolutely," Damon smiled.

   The plan was set. We waited as Bonnie tricked Mason and then used her powers to give him an aneurysm. He fell to his knees, holding on to his head and groaned from the pain. I stepped in front of him, and kneed him in the nose as hard as I could. 

   "That's for outing us," I quietly spat as he fell back, unconscious. I took the keys from his hand and threw them to Bonnie, who hurried to turn on the car. While she did that, I helped Stefan and Damon put Mason in the trunk of his jeep. I looked around to see if anyone saw, and then got in. Stefan stayed behind, and the rest of us went back to the boarding house.

   Damon had Mason over his shoulder as we walked in. Immediately, he threw the man on a chair and began to throw a blanket over the carpet with Bonnie and I helping. According to him, he didn't want to have any blood on the carpet, and that made Bonnie roll her eyes and want to get out as soon as possible.

   "Here's his bag," Bonnie groaned, throwing a bag to a chair. "As requested."

   "Woah," Damon said as he opened it. "Look's like this guy's used to being tied up." I cringed when he pulled out the chains. They were the same chains that were around the truck the night Mason attacked Stefan, Caroline, and I. It wasn't my most favourite memory, so I decided to leave it in the 'let's forget' file.

   "What are you doing?" Damon's voice brought me back from my thoughts, only to see Bonnie with Mason's head between her hands. 

   "You're looking for a moonstone," she answered in a matter-of-fact tone, her eyes closed. "I'm trying to help you find it."

   "Oh, good, yeah," Damon nodded. "Find out if he gave it to Katherine, and find out where she is. And find out what they're gonna do with it once they get it." He began to tie Mason up with the chains.

   "Somewhere small. Dark," Bonnie muttered. "There's water."

   "Like a sewer?"

   "No, like a well? That can't be right... Yeah, its a well."

   "Why would it be in a well?" I wondered out loud, stepping closer to Mason. 

   "Why would it be in a well?" Damon repeated, the question directed to Bonnie instead of me. 

   She sighed. "I told you, I only get what I get."

   Mason grunted, and suddenly grabbed me by the neck. I gasped and took a hold of his hand, trying to push it away. My breath hitched, my hands squeezing his wrist for him to let go. Damon was in front of me then, pushing the hand away from my neck and me away from the man. He pulled me to him, and glared at Mason.

   "That's it!" Bonnie yelled. She raised her hands and began to leave "That's all I got."

   "Hey, Judgey!" Damon stopped her. She turned and looked at him. "Thank you." She nodded, and then continued to walk away. 

   That was when I realised I was still pressed against Damon. It was enough; I didn't need to be so close to him. I pulled away and ran a hand through my hair while I rested my other against my chest. My heart was hammering against my chest, just like it did every other time Damon touched me. It was a feeling that brought giddiness and distaste.

   "You okay?" Damon lowly asked, walking closer to me. He lifted up my chin with his fingers to look at my neck, and clicked his tongue. "If he squeezed a bit more, I think he would have broken your neck."

    "Thanks," I muttered, pushing his hand away. I didn't want to feel his touch, not anymore. It brought back unwanted feelings, feelings I wasn't supposed to feel. "I'm... I'm gonna go back to the Lockwood's. I told Elena I'd be back and help." I began to walk away.

   "Clara," he stopped me. He let out a small smile, so small that if it weren't for my vision I wouldn't have seen it. "Don't... Don't do anything reckless."

   I nodded and walked out. As soon as I stepped out the door, Stefan sent a text, telling me to meet him at the edge of the old Lockwood property. There was a well in the old property, and Bonnie thought the moonstone could be there. I sped over to to him, seeing him leaning against a tree with his arms crossed and a rather big flashlight in his hand.

   "I think we found it," he said. He motioned for me to follow, and I did. There was an old well in front of us, old and filled with dirty water.

   "What's going on?" The distinct voice of Elena Gilbert rang behind us.

   Stefan turned to look at her. "You shouldn't be here."

   "I know, but I am," she said, crossing her arms. "What is going on?"

   I rolled my eyes and looked back down the well. "Bonnie thinks the moonstone could be down there." I took a deep breath and pulled the lock off the iron grating. Stefan took the grating off the top of the well. He turned on the flashlight and looked down. When he jumped to the ledge, I took his hand and shook my head, pulling him off. "I'll go," I said, climbing on to the ledge with his help.

   "You sure?" he asked, handing me the flashlight.

   I nodded and looked back down. "I should do something for you all," I muttered, only for him to hear. It was so quiet that I knew Elena could hear me as well. "I came back, and you gave me a home and a few new friends that I think I should protect."

   "You're talking as if you're going to die," Stefan chuckled, leaning besides me. "It's just water, Clara. Water and dirt, and maybe the moonstone. You're not going to die."

   "I'm thanking you, okay?" I said, pushing him lightly with my shoulder. "You can't let me have a moment?" I looked back down at the well.

   "Hey," Elena's voice rang behind me. "Be careful."

   I looked back at her and nodded, smiling. Having someone care for you, even if you have known them for little time, made my heart flutter and smile. It felt nice, almost as if everything would be okay. With a deep breath, I jumped down the well. When I landed on the water, I groaned. I looked down at my arms to see vapour raising where the water splashed on. My hands, arms, legs, and chest began to burn. I pressed myself against the wall and began to shout in pain. "Stefan!" I tried to climb up the wall, my nails digging into the rock and scratching down.

   "Clara?" His voice came from above, full of worry.

   "STEFAN!" I yelled in pain, hissing out and crying.

    "Clara, what's happening?!" he yelled. "Clara, I'm coming down!"

   "Vervain!" I yelled out, shutting my eyes close and trying to ignore the pain. The pain was too much, it was unbearable. I screamed. "Oh, god! Help!" Blood poured down from the burns, decorating my skin in red. The red wasn't just the blood, it was the burns that the vervain caused. I cursed Mason and Katherine in my head while my mouth let out screams of pain.

   "Clara!" Elena and Stefan's voice echo through my ears. 

   I couldn't handle it anymore. The pain was too much, so I allowed the darkness and the water to swallow me. When I woke up, the sun was shinning down on me. Stefan was over me, his hands on my cheeks. His mouth moved, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. And then, I tasted something metallic on my lips. It was a sweet taste that I knew too well, blood. I licked it, and that brought my senses back.

   "Hey!" Stefan's voice rang through my ears. I sat up and began to cough, and then groaned when I felt the burns. "Clara!"

   "What..." I croaked. "Who pulled me out?"

   "I did," Elena said from my right. "You scared us, Clara."

   "Thanks," I told her, blinking several times. "That was... That was horrible." I looked down at my arms to the several burns. I was red all over, and probably looked like I had just been in an accident. The pain was a slight bit bearable, just a bit.

   "Here," Elena offered. I looked at her to see that she had cut her hand with a rock and was pushing it in my direction. "You need this, Clara." She must have been the one that brushed the blood on my lip.

    I pushed her hand away and looked to the other side, so I could ignore the blood. Caroline and Bonnie were there, staring at me. Caroline looked worried, while Bonnie looked curious. "I'm not going to drink from you, Elena," I stated, closing my eyes and trying to ignore the smell of the blood that began to engulf me.

   "You need it!" she pushed.

   "I'll drink a blood bag," I said, having Caroline help me up. "I'm not going to drink from you, Elena, and that's final."

   "Why not?" she asked, standing and laying her hands on her waist.

   "Because, I won't be able to stop," I hissed. "I lost a lot of energy because of that, and I'll need more than just a small drop of blood to feel better. You're... You're my friend, Elena, and I won't feed on you, okay?" She wasn't technically my friend. Elena was the person I was helping Damon and Stefan protect, and she somehow got me to care for her. Since I turned into a vampire, I decided that I shouldn't care for people. Coming back to Mystic Falls completely destroyed that.

   "I'm going to take her home," Caroline said, taking my hand to help me up. "I think she needs a good shower and a few bags of blood."

   "Please," I groaned, hissing when a wet spot on my shirt touched my chest. "I just need to get out of these clothes!" I stopped and looked at Elena. "The moonstone..."

   "I got it," she cut in, smiling softly. She pulled a stone from her back pocket. It was oval, with colours shining with the sunlight. "After you passed out and I pulled you out, I continued to look for it. I found it."

   "Aren't you a lifesaver," I grinned, and then groaned when the pain came back. 

   "Okay, you seriously need to feed. Like, now." Caroline insisted, pulling me up a bit more.

   "I'll be home soon," Stefan said, looking back at Elena. 

   Caroline sped back to the boarding house, immediately running in and sitting me down on my bed. I yelped when my wet shirt clung to my back, the vervain burning once again. Immediately, I stood and pulled off my clothes, throwing them across the room. When I looked at the full-bodied mirror in the corner, I saw my body covered in burns. My hair was messy and around my face, my hands were shaking behind me, and I looked as if I just skidded across asphalt.

   "What happened?" a deep voice joined my thoughts, the owner leaning against the doorway. I didn't have to look to know that it was Damon, I knew his voice too well. "Didn't I say not to do anything reckless?"

   I turned my head and glared, brushing past him and directing myself to the dresser to grab fresh clothes. "Trying to get the moonstone was reckless?" I asked. "By the way, your werewolf friend had the well filled with vervain." I pulled on a clean shirt and jeans, glancing at him every now and then.

   "Vervain?" he hummed. "Hmm, I don't think he trusted Katherine that much then." 

   "You think?" I hissed, snapping my head to him. "Look at me, Damon! I look like a cooked shrimp!"

   He raised his finger and pressed his lips in a tight smile. "Oh, you don't have to worry about him anymore. Wolf-boy is in his seat, but his heart may be across the room." He waved his hand as he spoke, almost as if it were amusing to him. And he did show amusement, especially in his eyes. It was the same amusement he used to have when he was human, but it somehow looked more wicked.

   "He's dead?" I asked, furrowing my brows. "Why did you kill him?"

   Damon laid back on the bed. "He annoyed me," he shrugged. "He loved Katherine, so I decided to give him mercy. You know, rip out his heart before she did. It was mercy killing."

   I scoffed. "Yeah, sure. Are you sure that you just weren't jealous?"

   "Please!" he scoffed. "Why would I be jealous?"

   "Because you love her as well," I informed, looking at him. It felt weird speaking to him about this. He was my ex-fiancé; he was the man that made my heart palpitate; he was Damon Salvatore. The atmosphere I created with my words wasn't a good one. In fact, it was awkward. 

   Damon cleared his throat and stood from my bed. He walked to me and pressed something to my chest. I grabbed it and looked down, seeing a blood bad. When I looked up, Damon was already looking down at me. I couldn't read his expression, and that annoyed me.

   "I don't," he softly said. "I don't love her, okay, Clara? I don't."

   "You did," I mumbled, swallowing hard. "You loved her, didn't you?"

   "Clara..."

   "No," I shook my head. "Damon, I need to know, okay? I've lived with this for over one hundred years. I've lived with this torture of knowing, of thinking, that you--that you loved her while you were with me, that you were kissing her while you were with me, that you were telling her that you loved her while you were with me. Damon, I-I need to know. I need to know because this feeling has been eating me away to the point where I just wanted to forget every piece of you." I breathed and wiped away the tears that decided to spill. "Did you? Did you love her? Were you with her while you were with me?"

   And I remembered well when I met him. It was so clear that he was the only one for me. I knew right away, as strange as it sounded. He was electric, and everybody knew who he was since he was a Salvator. When he walked into a room, every woman would suddenly speak in hush voices and giggle as they looked at him. He was this mix of a man who wanted the world and the man who had everything by his feet. And in a way, I understood him. And I loved him. I loved him.

   I loved him.

   And I still love him. Oh god, how I love him. I wasn't supposed to, but I did. And it felt like drinking vervain over and over again, your throat burning like fire and your insides feeling as if they were on the verge of melting. And this feeling wasn't supposed to be poetic or beautiful. He had shattered my heart.

   And finally, Damon answered my longing question. He sighed and nodded. "I... I was."

   I let out a sob and covered my mouth. Within seconds, I composed myself. I walked up to him, and instead of slapping him, I laid my hand on his cheek. I looked into his blue eyes, the ones that I had loved to stare into so much. To say that his eyes were blue was like saying that the sun was yellow. Sufficient but not accurate to capture the burning stare. His eyes shined so impossibly blue that I spent my childhood believing he had his own sky inside of him.

   Without thinking, I pulled him to me and pressed my lips to his. They were soft, but at the same time there was a roughness as our lips moulded together. The weirdest part was when our lips came into contact with each other, it sent shivers down my back. It wasn't a bad kind of shivers, they were good. It was the shivers that reminded me of the kisses we shared by the woods, stolen kisses in public eyes. It was the shivers I had longed for so long.

   I pulled away and pressed my forehead against his, closing my eyes. "When we were young our love was indistinguishable from lust," I sniffed.

   Then I went away, or died, and he was gone and I stopped to function as I had before. There was hole, an emptiness where he had been in my thoughts. Every single thing reminded me of him. He was part of my being, his love had seeped into my skin and rested in my bones. His love made me feel great and might, as if nothint in the world could stop us.

   I took a deep breath. "I had never understood marriage before, but all I wanted was to promise myself to you for the rest of my life. I wanted to wake up next to you for the rest of my life, to see your face when I open my eyes." I pulled away and looked back into his eyes. "I'm not sorry for loving you, Damon, but I am sorry for giving you a part of me."