I had paced across almost every room in the house since I woke up, thoughts running across my head with each step that I took. Ever since Stefan killed Enzo in front of me, all I could think about was about Enzo's eyes as his heart was pulled from his chest. It was a recurring nightmare ever since I fell asleep, with me waking up every few hours and waking Stefan up as well. Damon was my best friend, probably one of the two people that would ever understand me, and I was keeping the secret that his other best friend was dead.

   "Clara, would you please stop pacing?" Damon asked, throwing an ice cube at me. "You're going to scruff this beautiful hardwood floor."

   "I'm just..." I trailed of as I tried to find something to say. "I'm just nervous about all of this."

   He nodded and threw an ice cube at the witch that was trying to do a spell. The witch was Luke, Liv Parker's twin brother. Liv was the witch that Bonnie was teaching magic to, but it turned out that she already knew magic and was just pretending because she wanted to get close to her, which would get her close to Elena. Protect the doppelgänger, Liv had said. Since Bonnie didn't have magic, and Liv didn't want to come to the house because of Enzo's attack on her at the Whitmore restaurant, the only witch that was left was Luke.

   Luke kept his eyes closed, but I could see the obvious annoyance in his face. "That's not helping," he said, giving a quick glare at the vampire.

   "Well, you've been failing for an hour," Damon said in an annoyed tone, "Wonder-Twin, so at this point, I can't imagine it's hurting." He threw yet another ice cube at the witch's chest.

   Stefan came in then, a raised brow as he glanced from Luke to Damon. He leaned against the table by the sofa and laid a hand on his waist. "Damon, I know you're out of a friend, but, uh, I'm not sure this guy's the best replacement," he said. "And you're also keeping Clara hostage?"

   "I don't think this guy's the best at anything," Damon said, "if his locator spell skills are any indication. And, for your information, Clara's here on her own free will."

   "Yeah," I nodded, walking over to them. "I'm just here because I felt sorry for poor Luke having ice thrown at him while you're bored, Damon."

   He rolled his eyes and turned to the witch. "Yo!" he called. "Where's your sister?"

   Luke stopped his spell, but kept his eyes closed. "She's tired of being almost murdered," he snapped, opening his eyes. "Look, I can find any person anywhere in the planet, okay? There's just something weird with your friend Enzo. I can't get a read."

   "Enzo?" I questioned, my body stiffing at the mention of his name. I glanced at Stefan, who had a serious expression on his face. He also stood slightly rigid, his arms crossed. 

   "Didn't he, uh, go to Cape Horn?" he asked, glancing at me quickly before he looked back at his brother. 

   "He flipped his humanity switch," Damon explained. "There should have been a body count all the way to the airport."

   "What if he didn't take a plane?" I stupidly asked, pursing my lips together and shrugging my shoulders.

   Damon looked at me strangely, confused. "Cape Horn is in Chile, Clara," he said. "I'm sure he'd want to take a plane."

   I nodded slowly, realising how stupid I sounded. "Right," I mumbled, pressing my lips together. If I kept talking, I was surely going to say something about Enzo being dead.

   "Well, why are you looking for him?" Stefan asked. He walked over to me and laid his hands on my shoulders, pulling me gently back to him. I laid my head on his stomach, laying a hand on top of his.

   "Gee, I don't know, Stefan," Damon sarcastically answered. "Vampire with no humanity who wants me dead for killing his girl. Hmm."

   "Well, maybe he hired a witch to block whatever Luke's doing," Stefan tried to reason. "Is that possible?"

   "A cloaking spell?" Luke questioned, brows furrowed as he stared down at the map in front of him. "I guess."

   "I guess that would mean that he doesn't want to be found," Stefan said, glancing back at his brother, "so, uh, why don't you just drop it?"

   The front door opened suddenly. Tyler Lockwood, who had been missing for a while, walked in with a worried expression. "We have a problem," he said, walking to take a seat in the sofa in front of Luke. He took several deep breaths and looked at us. "Markos turned Sloan into a vampire, had her drink doppelgänger blood, and after some chanting ritual thing, she turned human again."

   "He cured her?" Damon asked, a tone of disgust in his voice.

   "He cured her to death," Tyler explained. "The blood took away her vampirism but left her in the state that she was in just before she turned."

   "That state being dead," I mumbled, nodding. "Great."

   "So, it kills vampires," Luke said, as if he were trying to get it through his head. "What does the spell mean for the witches?"

   "No one cares," Damon said, turning back to Tyler. "Keep going."

   "The point is they feel if they can get rid of all magic they'll break some lame-ass curse," Tyler finished. 

   Damon took a big gulp of the bourbon he had been drinking. "Markos said they can't settle anywhere without evoking earthquakes or hell-fire, but they break that curse, and they just move right into Mystic Falls."

   I glanced back at Stefan with furrowed brows, realising something. "And they come for you and Elena today," I said, frowning. "As in now."

   "Oh, well," Damon said as he wiggled his brows. "Markos had a good week or two in the land of the living. Now, where is he so I can kill him?" He glared at Tyler, as if he were glaring at Markos himself.

   Tyler shrugged his shoulders. "No idea," he said. "They were moving camp when I got out."

   "Oh, good news." Damon turned to the witch in the room. "Our friend Luke here is an alleged genius at locator spells."

   Luke shook his head. "Travelers are always moving," he explained. "They're impossible to track. They'll find Stefan and Elena long before we can find them."

   "What about one of those locator spell blocker deals?" Damon asked, spreading his arms. He was angry and annoyed, and I noticed that it was at so many things. "Is that simple enough for you?"

   "Well, doppelgängers in the same place," Luke nodded, "yeah."

   "Perfect," Damon nodded. He turned to Tyler. "You avoid the entire Czech language, figure out how to find Markos."

   "How am I supposed to do that?" the hybrid questioned. 

   Damon shrugged. "Well, you have a Traveler inside of you," he said. "I mean, I have probably-misplaced faith that you'll figure it out." He then turned to Stefan and I. "Meanwhile, us three and our ex-girlfriend are gonna go on a little secret trip."

   "Sounds great," Stefan said, sarcasm clear in his voice.

   "Get packing." Damon walked out of the room, immediately gulping down the drink in his hand. 

   After packing a small bag of clothes, I was getting to leave with Stefan. I opened the door to the passenger's door, but before I could even get in I was pulled away. Damon had a hold in my arm and began to pull me back. I glanced back at Stefan with a confused expression, then looked back at Damon. "Okay, um, what are you doing?" I asked. 

   "You're coming with me," he simply said. He let go of my arm when we got to his car. 

   My eyes widened as I realised what he said. If I went with him in the car ride to Bill Forbes' cabin, I might tell him everything about Enzo. I quickly began to shake my head, a sarcastic laugh escaping my lips. "Oh, no, no, no! We already decided that I'm going with Stefan."

   "You're coming with me," Damon repeated as he made a face. "I don't want to be in the same car with Elena, so you're coming with me while Stefan goes and picks her up."

   I stood there for a couple of seconds, then sighed. "Fine," I said as I threw my bag in the back seat. "Let me just tell him."

   "It's not like he hasn't heard us," Damon said from the car. "Come on, Clara. Let's get going!"

   I flipped him off as I walked over to Stefan. He stood by the driver's seat, staring at me with an eyebrow raised and an amused smile around his lips. As soon as I stood in front of him, I leaned my forehead against his chest and let out a groan. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. 

   "You're going to survive a car ride with him," he said, laying a kiss on top of my head. "It won't be that bad."

   "Says the one that didn't mistake Cape Canaveral for Cape Horn," I sarcastically said, giving him a small and sarcastic smile. 

   He let out a chuckle and shook his head. "It's going to be fine," he said, laying his hands on my cheeks. "You can do this." He leaned in and kissed me. 

   Every time he kissed me, I felt like my breath was taken away. His kisses were soft and gentle, careful, full of warmth. It made my stomach be covered in butterflies, my fingers tingle, and a smile form around my lips as his lips were on mine. I pulled away from him and smiled, then laid another peck on his lips before completely pulling away. 

   Damon honked the horn several times. "Come on, lovebirds!" he yelled. "Let's get going!"

   "Yeah," I breathed, taking a step back from Stefan. "If we arrive a bit late, it's because I broke his neck."

   Other than being in the car with Damon, Luke was in the backseat. He awkwardly sat there and tapped his fingers against his thigh while the only sound in the car was the soft music coming from the radio. I didn't want to talk, because if I did I would say something about Enzo. Damon didn't talk, probably because he was deep in thought with the fact that he'd have to be trapped in a house with Elena. Luke was probably quiet because Damon and I were vampires, and it was obvious that he didn't like us because of that. His sister was almost killed by a vampire several times, he had an excuse to hate us.

   The only sound that was in the car, other than the radio, was Caroline's voice as she gave us directions to her father's cabin. She was there when we arrive, waving enthusiastically as I got out of the car. When I walked up to her, she quickly threw her arms around me for a tight hug. I hugged her back just as tight, probably because she hadn't picked up my calls for a few days and because I needed some reassurance that I wasn't such a bad person.

   "Being the great and wonderful great-niece that I am," she began as we walked in, "I think you and Stefan should share a room. Also, being the wonderful great-niece that I am, I would love not to hear anything happening." When we were in the living room, she stopped and her smile died down. "Okay, um, this is incredibly said."

   "What is?" I asked, raising a brow. "Caroline?"

   She looked around the cabin. "We didn't have to be invited in," she frowned. She shook her head, the smile appearing in her lips once again. "Okay, nevermind that. Come on, I'll show you to your room." As she walked up the stairs, I stood there with a frown.

   It was her father's cabin, the man that she saw die because he didn't want to complete the transition. Caroline was sad because the cabin belonged to her father, because we just walked in without having to be invited in. I glanced up at Caroline's figure, then followed behind her. As she walked, I could see her frowning. I noticed that Caroline and I were very familiar in the sense that the two of us hid our true feelings. 

   "And here it is!" she said as opened the door. It was a simple bedroom, with a bed in the centre, a nightstand in each side, and a dresser by the door that lead to the closet. It felt warm and inviting, which made me smile.

   I turned to Caroline and smiled softly. "Thanks," I said, hugging her gently. "Hey, you and I both know that Bill is in a better place."

   "I know," she said, taking in a deep breath. "But, I still miss him." She gave me a small smile and quickly pressed the corner of her eyes. "Whoa, there! Almost got me crying." She let out a laugh and shook her head. "Uh, I think I heard Elena and Stefan arrive. I'm gonna go help them bring in the groceries."

   "Groceries?" I asked as I watched her walk out of the room.

   "Well, there's nothing here," she said as she slapped her hands against her thighs. "This cabin is absolutely empty, Clara. So, while they were coming, I had them pick up a few things."

   "Four vampires, two doppelgängers, and one witch," I said with a sarcastic smile as I dropped my bag on the bed. "What can possibly go wrong?"

   She pointed at me with a playful smile. "There's a joke in there somewhere," she said. "But, knowing our terrible luck in life, something is bound to happen. I'm going to help them carry the things inside."

   "And you're coming with me," Damon said as he walked in the room. "Come on, help Luke and I set up."

   "It's because he wants to avoid Elena," I said as I walked up to him. "Come on, then, Damon. Let's help Luke set up." I gave him an innocent smile and patted him in the chest as I brushed past him. My smile immediately faded as the thought of Enzo immediately came into my mind. At that moment, it felt strange being in that room. Cold. I felt something brush my hair back, causing me to turn around quickly and see Damon standing behind me with a curious look in his eyes. 

   "You okay?" he asked, raising a brow.

   I passed a hand through my hair, trying to feel for a bug, but there was nothing there. "I'm fine," I said, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just go, okay?"

   We went to the back of the cabin, where Luke stood tall with his eyes closed and hands spread wide. He was chanting some spell, over and over again like he did when he was trying to do the locator spell for Enzo. All while I watched, I kept feeling something around me. It was a strange feeling, as if both being watched and touched. I kept thinking that it was the mosquitoes, or some other kind of bug.

   I walked back inside to the kitchen, seeing Caroline munching on maraschino cherries and writing down things on slips of papers. Damon brushed past me and went to make drinks, looking all huffed and with no emotion showing on his face. I decided to leave him alone and moved towards Caroline. 

   "What are you doing?" I asked, grabbing one of the cherries with one hand and a slip of paper with the other. "Area 51?"

   "Hey!" she called, grabbing the paper from my hand. 

   I picked up another slip. "J.F.K. Assassination?" I read, furrowing my brows. "Okay, what are you trying to do?"

   "You're ruining the game," she said as she grabbed the paper. 

   "What game?" Damon asked, taking a stand next to me. 

   "Charades," Caroline said with a nod. "Our theme is secrets that other people think they're getting away with."

   I straightened my posture and bit my bottom lip, quickly glancing away. It felt strange that she was saying those things, and it was obvious that she had seen that something was up. One of the reasons could be because I was acting strange, and Elena, and Stefan, too.

   "Well, Meryl Streep," Damon said with a tone of sarcasm, "I'd love to know how we're going to act out Watergate."

   Caroline quickly glanced at me and sighed. "Well, I'm sure team Stelena will figure it out."

   "A, you just implied I was on your team," Damon said as grabbed the cup with the cherries. "Two, you just gave me that judgy little hinty voice, so what am I missing? And three, what about Clara?"

   "It's probably nothing," she sighed. 

   Damon grabbed the pen from her hand. "Speak."

   Her eyes landed on me once again, making me feel uncomfortable. "Well," she began, "don't you think that Stefan and Elena have been a little... You know."

   "No," Damon said. "Clearly, I don't."

   "Secretive?" she finished. "I caught them being all hushed and whispery at the car this morning, and now they're getting firewood out of the shed together, which apparently takes twenty minutes."

   Damon stopped making whatever drink he was making and furrowed his brows. "Now that you mention it, Elena got all cagey when I brought up Enzo."

   "No, no," Caroline said. "I'm not talking about Enzo. I'm talking about Stefan and Elena."

   I let out a chuckle and grabbed one of the cherries from the cup. "How much have you had to drink, Care?"

   "Come on!" she sighed. "This whole thing about the doppelgängers being meant for each other?"

   At that moment, Stefan and Elena walked in. Stefan carried a bag with wood, while Elena stood slightly behind him.

   "Cocktails," she breathed. "Good call."

   "I'll, uh, go make a fire," Stefan said. He quickly walked up to me, gave me a quick kiss, then walked to the living room.

   "I'll help," Elena quickly said, clearing her throat.

   "Isn't that in any way suspicious?" Caroline said in a hush tone.

   Damon walked around the counter and grabbed the hat filled with charade ideas. "Let the games begin," he said in a hush tone.

   I let out a sarcastic laugh and shook my head. "Are you two listening to each other?" I asked. "Care, you're telling me that Stefan is cheating on me with Elena?" I turned to Damon. "And you, you think this is all true?"

   "Well, he did it once with Katherine, what makes you think he won't do it again?" he asked, anger clear in his features.

   I took a step back from his words taking me by sudden surprise. The thing about Damon was that he always said things, and you didn't know if he meant it or whether he just said them because he was angry. It was one of the things that I hated about him, one of the things that made me afraid.

   I pursed my lips and swallowed hard. "That's a lot coming you," I said, my voice breaking a bit. "Don't you remember, Damon?"

   "I remember," he said, quietly, angrily. He took a step forward, standing in front of me with hard eyes staring right into mine. "And I don't regret it."

   I nodded and walked away, immediately going upstairs to the bedroom Caroline had given me. It turned out that the bed was pretty soft, comfortable enough for me to hide my face between the pillows. It made me realise that a lot of the words that escaped Damon's mouth was because he was angry that he knew nothing about Enzo. A few seconds later, I felt someone lay next to me and wrap their arms around my waist. They kissed the back of my neck, letting out a soft chuckle. 

   "What's wrong?" Stefan asked, laying another kiss on my temple.

   I turned my head to look over at him. "This whole thing about keeping Enzo's death from Damon is too much," I mumbled. "I can't... I don't think it's a good idea."

   He sighed and nodded, pulling me closer to him. "If he knows, you know what'll happen."

   "I know," I sighed. "But, it feels horrible knowing that... Stefan, you killed Enzo because of me."

   "No, Clara, no." Stefan kissed my forehead. "It wasn't because of you, you know that. Enzo was going to kill a lot of people, including you and Elena and Damon. I wasn't just because of you, okay?" He leaned and kissed me, softly and gently, as if he wanted me to calm down.

   "For a man that's being hunted down by the Travelers, you sure are calm about it," I said.

   He pressed his forehead against mine and smiled. "Because I'm with you," he softly said. "Clara, I'm fine because I'm with you."

   "Romantic," I chuckled, feeling the butterflies all around my stomach. 

   "Yeah, well, I should be romantic," he said, giving me a loop-sided grin. "How about after all of this, you and I go on a small trip away from Mystic Falls?" He brushed a strand of hair away from my face. "Where to?"

   "Somewhere far, far from here," I breathed, closing my eyes. "Like, really far. How about somewhere in Europe?"

   Stefan let out a small laugh, but I could feel him nodding. He laid a kiss on my temple and let his lips linger there, just for several seconds. I opened my eyes and stared at him, feeling my heart skip a beat. There was a delight inside of me that happened every single time I was with him, as if everything and nothing was possible.

   There were three knocks on the door, and then a sigh. I turned my head to see Elena standing there with a tight smile on her lips. "So, we're playing charades," she said as she walked in. "Caroline and Damon versus Stefan and I."

   "Thank god," I breathed, sitting up. "I'm terrible at charades. Can I just keep score and drink?"

   She let out a laugh and nodded. "You can keep score and drink," she said. "Come on, you two." She turned and walked away. 

   "Let's go," Stefan said as he stood. "Let's play some charades." He grabbed me by the hands and pulled me out of the bed, grinning as I tried to pull myself back. "You said you were keeping score, Clara. You can't go back on that."

   "How about I just stay outside and keep a watch on Luke?" I said, arching a brow.

   "I know Damon got under your skin, but he has alot in his mind," he said as he laid his hands on my cheeks. "You're his best friend, I doubt he meant it."

   "Yeah," I sighed. "Yeah, maybe."

   I followed him downstairs and to the living room. There was a fire in the chimney, inviting to the cold atmosphere everyone seemed to have brought in. I sat in one of the chairs with one of the many drinks Damon had made and kept score in a piece of paper. Each time someone made a point, I made a tally-mark and congratulated them in the least snarkiest way I could muster. I avoided Damon's eyes, or his words, and paid attention to the rest. Elena mimed, pointing at her head. Each time Stefan said something she would shake her head to tell him that he was wrong. It came to the point where she made an X with her arms by her neck and stuck out her tongue, appearing dead. 

   "I don't know," Stefan said as he continued to try and guess. "Uh, skull."

   "Yes!" Elena cheered, jumping once. "Okay, um..." She began to point at her knee, then her ribs.

   "Skull," Stefan repeated. "Okay. Limb. Joint. Bone." She nodded and he clapped. "Bone, bone! Skull and bones!"

   "Yes!" Elena cheered, going up to him and giving him a high-five.

   I looked down at the piece of paper in my lap and created a tally mark on top of four others. "Skull and bones," I said. "Five-zero, guys." I glanced over at Caroline, avoiding Damon. "Come on, guys. You're losing."

   "Okay," Damon suddenly said, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Let's play a game called 'never have I ever', hmm?"

   "Oh, I don't think I'm drunk enough," Elena said with a soft chuckle.

   "Oh, come on!" Caroline suddenly insisted. "It'll be fun." She poured herself some alcohol, then filled my already empty glass with a nice smile. 

   "Come on," Damon repeated, the sarcastic tone clear in his voice. "It'll be fun."

   I glanced at Stefan and Elena, both holding an equal confused expression. The two glanced at me, and I shrugged my shoulders in equal confusion. I had no idea what Caroline and Damon were up to.

   "I'll go first," Caroline said. "Never have I ever died."

   Damon let out a scoff and raised his glass. "Cheers to that one."

   I took a drink of my glass and nodded, feeling my stomach do all kinds of flips. It wasn't the one that happened whenever Stefan kissed me, but one that told me that I was nervous and afraid and jumpy. I flexed my fingers and laid my glass on the table before looking back up at the weird game they were playing.

   "Ooh, okay, um," Stefan said. "Never have I ever been, um, possessed by my evil doppelgänger."

   "Elena," I said, glancing at her with a teasing smile.

   She let out a sigh and shook her head, taking a quick drink. "Okay, never have I ever been fooled by my evil doppelgänger while she was pretending to be me."

   "Low blow," Caroline said, shaking her head. 

   "But fair," I added as I grabbed my glass. I took a quick drink and wiped the corner of my lip with my hand, nodding.

   "Never have I ever kissed a Salvatore brother," Caroline said, slowly.

   Elena and I glanced at each other, and laughed. It was a soft laugh, not too amused or too drunk for a hearty laugh. I brought the drink to my lips, but before I could even take a sip, Caroline spoke again.

   "Today," she finished. Elena's smile suddenly faded as she stared at he best friend in disbelief. Caroline raised a brow. "So, are you gonna drink or—"

   "Are you implying something?" Elena asked.

   "Well, I'm gonna get another round," Stefan said as he pushed himself to stand. "Does anybody—"

   "Never have I ever lied about where Enzo is," Damon suddenly said. 

   At that moment, my heart skipped a beat. I swallowed hard and glanced around, seeing everyone do the same. The dark atmosphere turned darker, more awkward and strange. I slowly laid my glass on the table and pressed my fingers close to my lip, biting the inside of it as I avoided every eye that fell on me.

   "What's going on?" Caroline demanded, glancing around the room.

   "Nothing, obviously, because nobody's drinking," Stefan said.

   "I mean, clearly, you know the rules of the game, right, brother?" Damon questioned. "You lie, you drink."

   "Oh, no," Stefan nodded. "I understand the rules."

   "This just got weird," Elena breathed. "Well, I'm official buzzed, so I'm gonna go and get ready for bed." She stood and walked upstairs. 

   "I could certainly go for another round," Damon mused, drinking what he had left in his glass. 

   I stood and went to the kitchen, immediately taking a bottle of whiskey and pouring it in my glass. As I drank, I took a seat on the counter and closed my eyes. My heart kept beating wildly, the nerves causing me to open my eyes and stare at nothing. Damon knew about Enzo, he knew about him being dead. Why would he suddenly bring him up?

   A few minutes later, Stefan walked up to me with his brows furrowed. "So, Elena was drowned," he said, taking a stand in front of me. "Some invisible force."

   "What?" I asked, sitting up. "What do you mean some invisible force?"

   "Well, something," he disclosed. 

   "Something tried drowning her," I repeated, brows furrowed. "That's strange. I kept feeling something touching me. At first I thought it could be bugs, but... I don't think it is anymore."

   Stefan stared at me with a curious look. He then pulled is phone from his pocket and quickly dialled. Bonnie answered on the other side, sounding bored. She then sounded interested when Stefan asked if it was possible that someone on the Other Side could physically affect this plane.

   "Actually, yeah," Bonnie said. "My grams knocked a lamp right off my desk today. I doubt it's easy, but if someone were emotional enough..."

   "Enzo," I said, staring at Stefan with wide eyes. 

   "Enzo's dead?" Caroline asked as she walked into the room.

   "Yeah," Stefan said, quickly glancing down. "I, uh, killed him..."

   "So my powers of deduction really suck," she said, sounding surprised. She turned to me with furrowed brows. "Why didn't you say anything?"

   I jumped down from the counter and gave her a small smile. "It's complicated," I softly said. 

   "Enter the complication," Damon said as he walked in. "Enzo's dead. Stefan killed him. Elena told me." When I looked at him, I could see the pain, the betrayal, the anger. It was so clear that he was angry.

   "So, you didn't know either?" Caroline asked him.

   "Nope," Damon hissed. His voice was low, filled with the most anger I could see in a long time.

   "And their secret really was about Enzo," she realised, slowly nodding.

   "Yep."

   "You guys think we could, um, talk about this some other time?" Stefan jumped in.

   "By all means, brother. At your convenience."

   "Listen, the other side is falling apart," I said, crossing my arms. "I think that's allowing Enzo to mess with us."

   "Enzo! You in here?" Damon called, glancing around the room. "'Cause knock it off!"

   "It doesn't make any sense," Caroline said, crossing her arms. "If Enzo wanted to kill Elena, drowning her wouldn't have worked." She stopped and slightly tilted her head to the side. "Maybe he's just trying to scare us."

   We were all quiet, thinking. I bit the corner of my lip as I thought of why would Enzo drown Elena, and then it came to my mind. He was messing with us.

   "Drowning Elena was just a distraction," I said, glancing at the three people around me. "Enzo figured out a way to kill us all at once." Before anyone could say anything, I rushed to the front porch. The candles that used to be lit were turned over, the salt circles broken off and spread all around the wood.

   "Where's Luke?" Stefan asked. 

   "Who knows?" Damon said, annoyed. "We better find him before the Travelers find us."

   "So, let's split up," I nodded, turning to face the three of them. "Caroline, you and Elena go together. Stefan, you go with your brother."

   "And you?" Stefan asked, furrowing his brows. "You're not going alone."

   "What's the worse that'll happen to me?" I asked, raising a brow and making a face. 

   "You're not going alone," Stefan repeated, shaking his head. "We can't risk it."

   After grabbing our jackets, we all went our separate ways. Caroline and Elena went to the woods, and I was stuck with Damon and Stefan. I kept a tight hold of Stefan's hand as the hairs in my back stood, as I kept feeling a hand scratch down my arm or down my hair. Each time it happened, I pushed myself closer to Stefan.

   "You need to know why we lied to you," Stefan began, staring at his brother. 

   "Nope, I don't." Damon shook his head. 

   "Damon, come on," Stefan sighed.

   Suddenly, Damon spun around to face us. "Let's cut to the chase, Stefan," he snapped, "because I'm not in a hash-out-our differences kind of mood. Yes, I'm pissed that you killed Enzo. I'm even more pissed that you two lied to me about it. You know what, Stefan? If it was me and I was in your shoes, I would have done it, too, except I would have done it months ago. The fact that you took this long—"

   "It's my fault," I quickly said, stepping in. "Damon, Stefan killed Enzo because of me. Don't blame him, blame me. Don't hate your brother, Damon, hate me. It's my fault Enzo's dead; he was going to kill me and Stefan stopped him." I looked up at him and swallowed hard. "Blame me, Damon. Hate me."

   He stared down at me for a second, eyes hard. When Damon was angry, his blue eyes were a raging hurricane in the centre of the sea. They were hard, terrifying, but also a splendour to look at. I couldn't help but glance away from the sudden stare, swallowing hard. 

   "I'm sorry," I repeated. "I know Enzo is your best friend. I'm sorry."

   "Yes, Clara," he breathed, the anger evident in his tone, "he was my friend, which is why I, above anyone else, should have known that he was dead." His voice broke as he spoke. I felt the sting in my nose, the one that warned me that I was going to cry. Damon shook his head and looked away from me. "Let's just find this stupid witch."

   I looked up towards his retrieving figure, and I realised that he hated me. Damon hated me, and that was painful. I crossed my arms, as if I were trying to hold myself together. At that moment, I felt a strong hand grab onto my arm. When I looked towards it, there was nothing there, but the hold was strong, menacingly. It was Enzo's hold, because his hold was different. Although he was menacing, there was a certain care to his hold. Like he wanted to be specific and careful with how he killed. 

   "Hey, Stefan?" I softly called. "Remember that I told you that I thought it was Enzo messing with me, too?"

   "Yeah," he nodded, furrowing his brows. "Who else would it be?"

   I slowly looked up at him, my heart quickening. "Who else wants me dead?" I asked, my voice breaking. "There's another person on the Other Side that wants me dead, Stefan." I bit my bottom lip and swallowed hard, looking away from him. 

   Helen Otto. She was the other person that wanted me dead, the only one if Enzo was just messing with me. The last time the Other Side was weak, she had her chance to attack, and she did. I was tortured by her, broken, and I wanted to die at that moment. If it happened again now that the Other Side was falling apart, I would fight.

   "Nothing's going to happen to you, Clara," Stefan said, taking a hold of my hand. "Okay? Now, come on. Let's catch up to Damon."

   I nodded and walked besides him towards Damon. The eldest Salvatore brother continued to walk, hands in his pockets and eyes staring straight ahead. In the darkness, his eyes were the Arctic—frozen. His eyes were cold, a deep blue that reminded me of snow. I took notice that Damon's eyes were never warm.

   I stopped walking when I heard something behind me, a snapping branch. Damon and Stefan continued walking, quietly speaking to each other. When another branch broke, I moved a bit closer towards where it came from.

   "Come on, Enzo," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "That's enough, okay?" I glanced around, letting out a breath. "I'm already spooked here."

   A sudden sharp pain in my stomach made me groan out and double over. There was a branch coming through my stomach, slightly pointy, like a stake. I groaned out loud and pulled it out, my hand and the branch covered in my blood. 

   "Okay," I breathed as I looked around. "So, not Enzo." I held a hand over the wound and continued to look around. "Come on, Helen. Stop this." I wished I could have heard what she was saying, see her so I'd know where the hell she was. "It's over. It's been years, and you're dead, and nothing's gonna change that."

   I stopped moving when I heard Stefan and Damon groan, and the crackling of fire. I tried to speed to where I heard them, but another branch in the stomach caused me to stop and fall to my knees in pain. It was a bigger branch, pointier.

   "Let it go, Helen!" I groaned, trying to pull the branch from my stomach. "There is no use doing this."

   "Clara?" I looked up to see Damon walking over to me, blood on his shirt and a confused expression in his eyes. "What the hell?"

   "Remember my old friend Helen?" I groaned as I pulled the branch from my stomach. "She's back, and she obviously wants to have a little fun now that she's able to do so again." I stood and held my hand over my stomach, groaning with each step that I took towards him. 

   Damon rolled his eyes. "Don't be a big baby, Clara," he said, walking over to meet me half way.

   "Okay, well, how would you like to be stabbed—"

   It was as if every bit of pain I had been feeling had stopped, suddenly. It was as if time decided to slow down. A gasp escaped my mouth as soon as that small bit of freedom covered me. I glanced down and saw a branch sticking out from my chest. It was through the centre, slightly to the left, where my heart was supposed to be. 

   Slowly, I looked up towards Damon.

   "Clara!" he yelled, speeding over to me. Before I could fall, he caught me, pulling me to his chest. "No, no, no!"

   "I'm sorry," I breathed, feeling coldness creep over me. "I'm..."

   The next thing I knew, I was standing in the boarding house. Bonnie stood in front of me, along with Jeremy, Matt, and a chained up Tyler. 

   "B-Bonnie?" It felt cold, strange, like a dream. My voice sounded distant, as if I were trying to speak from underwater.

   She turned around, her eyes widening. "No..." she whispered, shaking her head. 

   "Bonnie?" Jeremy asked. "What's wrong?"

   "It's Clara," she said, swallowing hard. "She's... She's here."

   "Clara's dead?" Matt asked, pushing himself from the small mound. "She's..."

   "I'm dead," I repeated, focusing my vision on nothing. Those words felt strange leaving my lips. I knew I was dead, because I had died before, but I had come back as a vampire. This time, it felt strange because it was permanent. "I'm dead."

   "I'm sorry," Bonnie said, shaking her head. "Does..."

   "Damon," I said, looking up. "Tell him I'm sorry. Stefan, too. Tell them I'm sorry. And to Caroline." I took a step closer to her and took a deep breath, forcing the tears back. "So, how does this work?"

   "Just, grab my hand," she said as she pushed her hand in front of me. 

   "And then what?" I asked, starring down at her hand. 

   "You'll be on the Other Side," she simply said, giving me a small and painful smile. "I'm sorry, Clara."

   "Can I see other people over there?" I asked, still staring down at her hand. "Like, witches and vampires and werewolves? Or, is it just me?"

   She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure," she said. "Why?"

   "Because I have unfinished business," I said, my lip quivering into a snare. "I know this is going to hurt, and I'm sorry." I grabbed her hand. 

   The next thing I knew I was back in the woods, but it wasn't the woods. It was strange, and dark, a deadly hue to it. The Other Side was the exact same as the real world, but it was darker. It was as if I were seeing things through a thin curtain.

   "Come on, Helen," I breathed, glancing around me. "Let's get this over with." 

A/N: Obviously, this is not the end. But, I do have a question: who do you prefer Clara with? Damon or Stefan? Please comment why, because I want to know and because I want her with everyone, lol.