Damon had given Katherine to Silas as if she were a simple piece of cake. Silas fed from her, making him become human, and a witch, once again. It was annoying seeing him flaunt around, snapping his fingers and admiring the magic that appeared. He didn't admire, but he did seem to be a bit surprised when the magic appeared. He would then look at me and say, "I'm a natural at magic, sweetheart." He would study me, arms on his waists and eyes scanning from the top of my heat to my feet.

   "Stop," I said, pulling my jacket closer to me and crossing my arms.

   Silas let out a chuckle. "It's not like I haven't seen it all, Clara." He straightened himself and grinned, looking over at the big boarding house that stood in front of us. "Isn't this home, Clara?"

   I shrugged my shoulders as a response. "I don't know," I said, glancing over at the boarding house. It had been a few days since I last stepped foot in that house, and it felt strange. The last time I was in the house was the morning where Elena and I spoke about love over coffee. 

   "You said it was," Silas said, raising a brow with the same grin on his lips. "Well, you didn't say it. I saw it on your mind."

   "Get out of my head," I said with a sigh, rubbing my temples with the tips of my fingers. 

   "Now, why would I do that?" he asked, the grin lowering into a smirk. He closed into me, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "It's so fun and riveting, seeing and hearing how much you hate yourself."

   "Stop," I hummed, glancing away from him and pulling away from his touch. It was different, filled with distaste and a slight itch. Silas' touch felt like the taste of black licorice, disgusting and weird. But, then thing was, that I allowed him to touch me. I wanted him to touch me, just so I could forget the disgusted feeling I felt inside of me.

   Silas chuckled. "Ah, there it is," he hummed. "That self-hate that is so wonderfully playing in your head like a record player." He grabbed my arm and began to pull me to the door, a full-on wide grin on his face. He burst through the front door with the grin widening a bit. "Greetings!" he called. As he entered the room, he pulled back the curtains with his magic. "Good morning, frenemies!" He stopped and looked at his work, then to Damon and Elena on the couch. "Ah. You know, I'm only a few hours into my old life as a witch, but somehow, the sun feels warmer." He walked to the window, letting the sun hit his face. "Probably because I'm not cursed with having to outlive it anymore."

   "What's with the home invasion, Silas?" Damon asked. 

   Silas turned to him. "Well, Damon, after two thousand years of a miserable existence, I finally get to die."

   There was a thought in my head, floating around every single time I took a glance at Silas. I could bite him, drink from him, become mortal and live as a human. And, if I died, then I died. But, the thought of drinking from Silas and becoming mortal played in my head. The problem was that if I tried, he wouldn't hesitate to kill me. I wanted to die, but there was a part of me that was so desperately terrified of death.

   "We all know that Tessa was a real vengeful bitch," Silas said. He glanced at Elena. "Your doppelganger, Amara died at her hands, but today, after two thousand years, Amara and I will finally reunite."

   Damon stood from the couch. "Alright, skip the mushy part. Look. My girl here is just trying to have a good day, and there are promises that she's expecting you to keep."

   "Oh, you don't think that I keep my promises?" Silas asked, a playful smile around his lips.

   "No," I mumbled, crossing my arms. 

   "You said that now that you're a witch again, you would bring Bonnie back from the Other Side," Elena said.

   Silas nodded. "I did and I can."

   "And you promised Damon you would do that if he helped you."

   "Yeah."

   "But, you're kinda evil," Elena said as she crossed her arms. "No offence."

   "None taken," Silas said as he shrugged his shoulders. 

   "So," Elena continued, "I'm just trying to figure out how I can trust that one of your last acts in the world will be to bring my best friend back."

   "Do you want me to pinky swear?" Silas sarcastically asked. He held out his pinky, smirking at her. 

   "She's trying to have a good day," Damon said, stepping in. "Just tell her how it's going to go down?"

   "I just want to destroy the Other Side so I don't get stuck in that pit of purgatory when I finally do kill myself," Silas said, glancing from Damon to Elena. "Before I do that, I'll bring Bonnie back. And being the amazing and incredible and all-powerful witch I am, I can totally do both things. I just have to find the anchor first and destroy it."

   "The anchor?" Elena questioned.

   "You know, the object used to bind a spell?" Silas said, looking at her with an amused and annoyed expression. "I thought your witch friend would have explained all of this to you. Anyway, Tessa bound an object to the Other Side. Destroy it, spell broken, no more supernatural limbo; you get your friend back and I get my true love back."

   "Great," Damon nodded. "Where is it?"

   "New Jersey."

   "New Jersey?" Damon repeated. "The supernatural other-world is bound by an object in Snooki's backyard?"

   "It's in a stockyard," Silas said, "and it's being shopped out. So. We really need to..." He trailed off and let a small smile appear around him. "Hello, hunter. Banner day for you, huh? Didn't you and the Bennett witch used to..." He clicked his tongue suggestively and whistled.

   "Leave him alone," I said, glancing back at Jeremy. He carried a crossbow, the bow pointing right at Silas. 

   "It's okay, Jer," Elena said to her brother. "We all want the same thing today. Silas dead, Bonnie alive."

   "Yeah," Silas nodded, looking unconvinced.

   "AKA, put the damn crossbow down, Pocahontas," Damon said to Jeremy, rolling his eyes. 

   "We're supposed to believe that he's going to bring Bonnie back to life out of the goodness of his heart?" Jeremy snapped, glaring at the witch that stood in front of him.

   "You know, guys, I'm feeling really ganged up on right now. 'Kay? I would hate to lose my temper and do something..." Silas raised his hand, and fire shot from his fingers, "crazy." He let out a quiet laugh. "Ah, man, I really do love being a witch again. I feel like I'm constantly reinventing myself. I'm like supernatural Madonna, don't you think?"

   "More like 2007 Britney," I mumbled, crossing my arms. Someone chuckled, I didn't know who.

   Silas rolled his eyes. "All right, we gotta get going." He turned to Jeremy. "You grab a crowbar, or four from the garage."

   "What for?" Jeremy asked. 

   "Does it matte?" Silas turned to Elena, then glanced back at me. "You two are not going. Men only."

   Elena scoffed. "Are you serious?" She turned to Damon. "He's not serious."

   Damon shook his head. "No, he's not serious."

   "Actually," Silas stepped in, "I'm one hundred percent serious. She's a freaky carbon-copy of my one true love, Amara. You can understand why I don't want to stare at her impostor face all day."

   "That makes no sense," Damon said as he made a face, glancing over at me with knowing eyes before glancing back at the ex-immortal. 

   "It would make complete sense if you were ever in love with somebody who looked exactly like her," Silas retorted. 

   "This is ridiculous," Elena groaned. "We're bringing my best friend back from the dead. I'm going."

   Silas was visibly annoyed by her. He raised his hand, summoning an arrow from Jeremy's set. He then sent the arrow flying into Elena's leg, piercing her skin. She sunk to the ground as she tightly grasped it, letting out a few breaths filled with pain. Silas glared down at her, a ghost of a smirk around his lips. "The next one goes in the heart," he said. "Now, hurry up. I only have until sundown before Tessa tries to stop me." He turned and walked out the door, shutting it with a wave of his hand.

   I stood still, staring at the ground with my lips slightly pursed and eyes filled with tiredness. I hadn't exactly slept in the past few days, ever since the morning Elena and I had coffee in the kitchen. If I did sleep, it was less than six hours. I rubbed my pointer finger over my thumb, a nervous tick I had somehow developed. When I glanced up from the ground, I noticed that Damon and Elena were both staring at me with curiosity, both on the floor as the former held the arrow in his hand. He dropped it on the floor and clapped his hands together, as if he were getting rid of dirt.

   "Elena, can I talk to Clara? Alone." He gave her a look of reassurance, signalling her to leave the room with his chin. Elena sighed, but nodded. She grabbed Jeremy and walked out of the room, telling the boy to be careful with Silas. Once out of the room, Damon turned to me. His hands rested on his waist, his eyes were hard as he stared at me, and I felt as if I were getting scolded.

   "Where the hell were you?" he asked. "You've been missing for like a week."

   I let out a soft sigh and shook my head as I ran my hand down the back of my neck. "Damon, I'm tired," I said, quietly. "I'm gonna go to bed." I brushed past him, my arms crossed as I pulled my sweater close to me. 

   He scoffed. "Of course you're tired, you were sleeping with Silas for the past few days."

   I stopped, sighed, and turned to him. I shrugged my shoulders and nodded, giving him a small and tight smile. "Yeah, I was," I nodded. "So?"

   "So?" he scoffed. He moved closer to me, standing just a few inches. His eyes raked me up and down, then they softened. "Clara, what's wrong?"

   "Nothing," I mumbled, shrugging my shoulders. "Nothing's wrong."

   Before I could walk away again, he grabbed me by the hand. It wasn't a rough touch, but it did made me stand rigid. "Clara," he said, softly, like he had done so many times before. "Something's wrong, I know. I know you, remember?" He sighed and pulled his hand away from mine. "You don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But, stop it, okay?"

   "Stop what?"

   "What you're doing." It was softer this time, his voice. "If you don't remember, I'm the king of self-hate." A small smile escaped my lips. He smiled, too. "There's that smile." He took a deep breath and nodded. "Take a shower, Clara, you stink."

   "Shut up," I mumbled, but with a smile. I headed to the stairs, but stopped and turned back to him. "Stay safe."

   "Aw," he sarcastically said, laying a hand over his chest. "You're telling me to stay safe."

   "Because I know that Silas is able to kick your ass," I said as I went up the stairs.

   Damon chuckled. "There's the Clara I know."

   As soon as I got to my bedroom, I stopped and stared at it. It was just how I left it, so neat and pretty as if it was some kind of model room for a magazine. Ever since Stefan went missing during the summer, I had barely stepped into my bedroom. Mostly, I spent my nights in cheap motels or beds that belonged to others. What was the use of sleeping in my own bed when it brought so many unwanted memories?

   I hurried to the shower, where I let the hot water burn my skin. I scrubbed my skin until I felt like it would break, as if one more movement between my skin and the sponge would cause my skin to break open. But, even then, I leaned my head against the wall an let the water fall over me. There was a part of me that felt weak, and that was the biggest part of me. Another part of me, the smallest one, felt anger. I was angry at everything, at everyone, but mostly myself. That small part of me was angry because I was weak, useless, stupid, and because I was an absolute mess. 

   After my shower, I sat on my bed with my legs pulled up to my chest and my eyes shifted to the dancing curtains. From the distance, I could hear dogs howling, cars honking, the wind brushing through leaves. I sighed and picked up my phone from besides me, a photo of Stefan and I appearing on the screen. His arm was draped over my shoulders, a big grin on his lips. I brushed my thumb over the picture, remembering the day. It was after I had returned from Puerto Rico, the morning after we had slept together. That day, we mostly spent it kissing, on the bed, just the two of us without worrying about anything or anyone else. It was that moment where I had felt most human, as if it was the most human thing I could feel and do. 

   "Clara..." It was a soft voice coming from the doorway. I glanced up to see Elena standing there with a hand behind her back, staring at me with eyed filled with pity. "I was wondering if... Here." She pulled her hand from her back and pushed a blood bag towards me. "I thought you might be hungry."

   Without knowing, I grabbed the blood bag, ripped it open with my teeth, and swallowed it whole. Once I was finished, I ran the back of my hand over my mouth. I glanced at Elena and nodded. "Thank you," I said, quietly. "I hadn't drank anything for a week."

   "Yeah," she nodded, still staring at me. "Where were you, Clara? Damon was worried about you."

   I swallowed hard and sat back down on the bed, pulling my legs up. What was the point of keeping it a secret if Damon was bound to tell her? So, I decided to tell her myself. I took a deep breath and tapped my fingers against my arm. "I was with Silas," I said with a hard swallow.

   "Wait." Elena took a seat on the bed and stared at me. "You were with Silas? This whole time?"

   I nodded. "I was with him the whole time," I repeated with a nod, my voice breaking a bit.

   She let out a scoff. "You were with Silas," she repeated, her tone filled with disbelief. "What the hell, Clara? Caroline has been trying to call you; do you know what happened between her and Tyler?"

   "I know everything that has happened," I snapped at her as I stood from the bed. "I read every text and heard every voicemail she left me."

   "Then why didn't you pick up?" Elena asked, standing as well. She glared at me as she crossed her arms, as she decided to judge me.

   I scoffed and shook my head. "Honestly, Elena, who the hell do you think you are?" I asked as I picked up my phone from the bed, then looked back at her. "I was in a pretty rough spot because the man that I love doesn't remember, because I've felt like shit for the past three months, because all I had to do was sit and drink while you had sex with my ex-fiancé." I threw my hands to the side and shrugged my shoulders. "Really, Elena, ask me again why didn't I pick up." When she said nothing, I nodded and marched out of my room.

   "Where are you going now?" she asked as she followed me out the room. "Back to Silas?"

   "Yeah!" I called out. I stopped at the bottom step and looked up at her. "You know, sex with him isn't that bad, that's why I'm going back." I rolled my eyes. "He's with Damon and Jeremy on a road trip to New Jersey, remember? I'm going to save the boy that I love, because he doesn't remember anything and honestly, I think Tessa is bad company. Call me if you're in a life or death situation, if something happens to Damon or Jeremy, or if Caroline needs me. Other than that, leave me the hell alone."

   I marched out of the house with my phone held tightly in my hand. Once outside, a few feet away from the boarding house, I glanced down at me phone and took a deep breath. I took several deep breaths and decided to dial Stefan's phone number. It rang once, twice, four times and then it stopped. 

   "Stefan's phone," a feminine voice answered.

   I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Tessa," I said, remembering her voice. "Where's Stefan?"

   "He's here," she said. "Well, not here here. He hopped in the shower. Between us girls, he works up quite the sweat, but I guess you know that. May I leave him a message?"

   The anger in me grew, along with a bit of something I knew quite too well—jealousy. I took a deep breath through my nose and tightly smiled. "Yeah, remind him you're a crazy bitch."

   "I would," she breathed, a smile evident on her voice, "but I think that's maybe his type."

   I hung up the phone and glared at nothing. I was jealous over this, over a simple conversation I had with Tessa when maybe nothing had happened between her and Stefan. But, he had no memories. He was a brand new Stefan with his emotions and personality erased into a blank canvas.

   I took a deep breath to control my anger, then nodded. The only way I could save him, and control my ever-growing jealousy, was to save him, or at least make him see that Tessa wasn't the safest person to be around. I marched towards one of Damon's car and took it to the cabin we first found Stefan. I stopped outside and stared at the building for a couple of minutes, debating whether it was a good idea or not. After hesitating for another few minutes, I decided to go through with it because I was already there. I got out of the car and knocked on the door with my fist.

   Tessa opened the door and rolled her eyes. "Well, if it isn't Stefan's fated love."

   "Where is he?" I asked her as I crossed my arms. 

   "Come on in," she said as she stepped to the side. "Who am I to stand in the way of destiny?" She bared a smile on her face. I hesitated, but walked in as I stared at her with confusion. Why would she let me walk in without a fight?

   "Clara," a well-known voice said. I turned my head to see Stefan standing there with furrowed brows. "Clara, you shouldn't have walked through that door."

   I immediately walked over to him. I was going to hug him, but stopped myself and took a step back when I was too close to him. "I'm so sorry," I quietly said as I looked into his eyes. "Damon shouldn't have done what he did to you. I wouldn't have let him if I knew..."

   "Sure you would've," he cut me off. "You have this annoying tendency to do things he tells you."

   "I'm no shrink, but I think it's called co-dependence," Tessa said from behind us.

   I rolled my eyes, and looked back at Stefan. "Look, I get that you're upset with us over pretty much everything, but..." I swallowed hard. "Do you really think that sleeping with Tessa is gonna solve anything?"

   Stefan stared at me with confusion. "Who said I was sleeping with Tessa?"

   I turned back to look at Tessa, who held a playful smile on her lips. "I'm so bad with messages," she laughed. She looked down at Stefan's phone with the same smile. "Oh, look! Clara called. She's wondering why you're here. I may have embellished for effect."

   "Okay," I breathed, shaking my head. I turned to look back at Stefan with a tight smile, a pained one. "I just came by to make sure you're okay," I quietly told him. "You know, to make sure that she hadn't done some fatal attraction spell on you. Now that I know you're okay, I'm just... I'm gonna go." I stared at him as I took a few steps back, then turned to make my way to the front door. When I tried to leave, I bumped into an invisible wall. I raised my hands and hit the air, but they hit something solid but not there.

   "Yeah," Stefan breathed from behind me. "You really shouldn't have come inside."

   I groaned. "What the hell, Tessa?"

   "Oh, it wasn't me," she said as she circled the room with a bored expression. "You can blame your sex buddy."

   "Sex buddy?" Stefan questioned, glancing from the witch to me. "Silas?"

   I flushed a bright red, but turned to Tessa with a glare. "You want me to believe he would do this?"

   She chuckled. "He wants the anchor, he's gonna do whatever he can to get it." She stopped talking and turned towards me. "Silas is trying to get the anchor, isn't he? Who's helping him?"

   "Damon," I sighed and crossed my arms. "He has Damon and Jeremy with him."

   "Perfect," she said as she looked down at the phone in her hand. After a few seconds, she pushed the phone to her ear. I heard Damon's voice answer from the other side, who thought it was his brother for a few seconds. Tessa immediately got to the point, telling him to kill Silas at that moment. Damon told him that the immortal would do so himself, but Tessa commanded him to kill him then. Slowly, she turned to me with a small smirk playing at her lips. "Did I mention that I lured your ex here to me?" she playfully asked. "I used the oldest trick in the book—jealousy of Stefan! Thought you should know."

   I rolled my eyes from her, but suddenly stopped when I felt every inch of my body in pain. It was just like the pain that Helen Otto had caused me when Bonnie brought down the veil from the Other Side. There was just a hint of the pain that was worse. I sank to the ground as I screamed, holding on to myself as if it would cause the pain to stop. 

   "Tessa!" I heard Stefan yell over my screams. A pair of arms went around me, pulling me to the owner's chest. Even as I was pressed to his chest, the pain was still there.

   "Is that something more important than Clara?" I heard Tessa hiss. "Because Silas put a spell on this house and bound it to the sun, which means we're trapped until sundown, which means you have until then to kill Silas or I kill Clara. With a face like Helen's, it might be cathartic. Bye now."

   The pain had subsided into a numbness that I had known quite well. Stefan helped me to the couch, where he let me turn into a small ball by the corner and stare at nothing For the first few seconds, he stared at me with a hint of the same eyes that used to stare at me when they held memories. But, they soon left when he turned to look back at Tessa. She spoke of how the food had become an amazement since she was last a live. Especially, she seemed to be fond of pineapple on pizza. She glanced at me and smiled, making fun of the fact that I was both scared and pained. When she took a step towards me, I cringed.

   "Look," Stefan spoke, taking a step in front of me. "Why don't we forget about the pizza? What do you say I make something?"

   Tessa took her attention away from me and smiled at him. "Okay. Roasted duck?"

   "Wait," Stefan stopped. "Do you have a duck."

   "No," she responded. "But maybe I can lure one inside. I got Clara in, how much smarter can a duck be?" They giggled.

   I glanced at them, mostly at Stefan, as they worked around the small kitchen. Stefan did most of the cooking, moving around like an expert while answering whatever Tessa shot at him. She, on the other hand, stood idle by his side with her eyes glued to him. I wondered if she saw Stefan or whether she saw Silas instead. She loved him, and Stefan looked exactly like him, so, I wondered.

   It came to the point where I couldn't take it anymore, so I looked over at him. "Okay, I get it," I softly said, making him stop and turn his head towards me. "You hate me. You might not have memories, Stefan, but I do. Tessa is not someone you would normally like."

   "That's not very nice," she said, "especially considering I've allowed you to remain alive until sundown." She looked around the room, especially towards the windows. "Ah, almost sundown." She strutted away, humming about the phone.

   "Clara, don't say a word," I heard Stefan quietly say. I glanced over at him, seeing him still working on whatever he was cooking. "I've got this. I know you think I hate you, but I don't. I won't let her hurt you, I promise."

   I looked down at my hands as I tried to stop the smile from forming around my lips. It was the same Stefan I had known, the one that was so caring, the hero. For a moment, it felt as if his memories had returned. 

   Tessa had began to speak to Damon on the phone, asking about whether Silas was dead. Then, she began to speak about some group that called themselves the Travellers—they sounded like a travelling circus—and how they would probably prevent him from killing Silas. When she hung up the phone, I was surprised to see Stefan speed towards her and stab her with one of the kitchen knives.

   "Clara, run!" he yelled.

   I sped out of the house and to the car. Stefan was a few seconds behind me, and got in the passengers seat. I reversed as fast as I could, then sped away from the house before Tessa could make a spell to stop us. Once on the main road, I let out a breath that I had been holding on for too long. I glanced over at Stefan. 

   "It's weird," I softly said. "Even with no memory, you're still you."

   He looked over at me. "Well, Tessa was gonna kill you, and you don't seem like you deserve that, so I was just going on instinct, that's all."

   "That's what I'm saying," I smiled. "Your instincts are to be the good guy, to protect those you love, so thank you for--for being you."

   "You don't need to thank me," he said. "I think I would have protected you when if if I had my memories."

   There was an awkward silence between us, which caused me to pull on the dead skin of my bottom lip and pull the skin from the inside of my lip in nervousness. This silence was rare, strange, and it would have never occurred if I weren't such an idiot and if Stefan still had his memories. I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on the steering wheel.

   "Hey, Clara, can I ask you something?" Stefan suddenly said. 

   I glanced at him and nodded. "Yeah, sure."

   "So, I've been wondering, what were we before I lost my memories?" he asked. "Damon tried to tell me that we were a thing, but we also weren't, but... What were we?"

   I sucked in a breath between my teeth. "We were a work in progress," I said as I glanced at him. "We were nothing, but at the same time we were on our way to become something, I think. Until, you left."

   "I left," he repeated with a nod.

   I nodded. "You saved from a ghost—long story—and then manipulated my dreams so that we were back in the past. I was going to tell you something, but you stopped me and told me to tell you when I wake up. When I woke up, you left. I thought it was to take Silas' body away, but it was also because you wanted to leave Mystic Falls."

   "Why?"

   I shrugged my shoulders as a response. "I don't honestly know."

   "And what were you going to tell me?" he asked, quieter this time. 

   I stopped the car in front of the boarding house and stared straight ahead, afraid to look over at him. My fingers tightened on the steering wheel for a few seconds. I bit the corner of my top lip, turned off the car, and looked over at him. A small smile formed on my lips, and I didn't know if it was because it hurt or because I needed to say it with a smile. 

   "I was going to tell you that I love you," I said. I stared at him for a couple of seconds, then got off the car. I walked around and went to the front door, walking in with the same smile on my lips. Once inside, I turned to him. "Well, goodnight."

   Stefan stared at me. "Um, yeah, goodnight."

   As he walked up the stairs, my smile faltered and disappeared. I sighed and turned around to walk to the living room. Standing right in front of the fireplace stood Elena and Damon, both talking in quiet voices. They turned to me when I walked in, both with wide eyes and surprised faces. 

   "What?" I asked glancing between the two. "What's wrong?"

   "Uh..." Elena scratched the back of her head.

   Damon sighed. "Clara, I think you should come with me." He motioned me to follow him with his head. We walked towards the cellar, where I heard a muffled voice. When I heard that, I began to move slower and afraid. Along with the voice, I heard a strong heartbeat. 

   "What's that?" I asked quietly. "Damon, what's that?"

   "Clara, meet Crazy Pants," he said, stopping in front of a cell. "Crazy Pants, meet Clara."

   I slowly moved to the cell and peeked inside, then stopped. Inside sat a dead-ringer for both Katherine and Elena. She was dressed in a dirty purple gown, her eyes wide and hazed as she glanced around and mumbled to herself. It took me a few seconds to realise that the person that was so terrified inside of that cell was Amara.

   "Amara..." I uttered quietly.

   Her big eyes went moved towards me, and she screamed. "You're dead! You're dead! You're dead!" she repeated. "You're dead, Helen! I watched you die!"

   I took a step back and glanced at Damon. "Why is she here?"

   "She's the anchor," he said, glancing back at her with a sigh.

   I blinked several times, shook my head, and turned to him again. "Wait. What?"

   "The anchor isn't a thing, it's a person," he revealed. "Tessa's one crazy bitch."

   "She's the anchor," I repeated with disbelief in my voice. "Wow. Okay, um..."

   "Yeah," Damon breathed, nodding. He motioned me to follow him up the stairs, leaving behind the screaming Amara.