It's a beautiful day, as Stefan and I get out of our car on the side of the road and walk towards my car, me carrying two large containers.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuWZmG1iCj
"If they so much as even scratched the paint on my car…," I start.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCcIkU0Tc3
"Well, just be grateful Sheriff Forbes was able to track down the car after you let them, ah, you know—steal it from you," Stefan interrupts.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBJRD9w3Gm
"Remind me to send her some mini-muffins. Do we really need 10 gallons of gas, or are you making me just lug this around as punishment?" I say.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgCgTDy5Rg
"Well, they ditched your car after it ran out of fuel. You gotta fill it up. Got a hundred miles before we get to Willoughby."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcvSCf4GCk
"Yeah, well I don't remember that name from the list of places I got from New York."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPvjDbMnwE
"Oh, the list? The list they stole from right under your nose, after you let your guard down? They'll be there. Sheriff Forbes tracked down the car they stole after yours," Stefan amusingly says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO092bgjAwF
"Screw the muffins. I'll get her champagne—if Elena is wherever it may be," I say, as I fill my tank with gasoline.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiQ7SuamFI
He smiles.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazdfuz0JVY
"Willoughby. Creamed corn capital of Pennsylvania. They'll be there. Let's just hope we get to them before they get to the cure."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zya5KyOaO
"Ooh, silver lining: if Rebekah takes the cure, then she's mortal and we can just kill her right then and there."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXoDL0r0lVh
"Ooh, dark cloud: Elena stays a vampire forever. Look, why don't you just table the revenge fantasies for now, and just keep your eye on the prize. Find Katherine, get the cure, get out before you get your neck snapped—again."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5M9AUEtCF
"Believe me, I learned my lesson. Elena without humanity is a stone-cold bitch, and I won't trust her until we get the old Elena back."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQAluUMsMP
"Look at that. We're finally on the same page about something."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BAmNToUTS
"Look at that," I agree.
Later that day, we're walking along the street, still in search of Rebekah and Elena.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QAvBooCWx
"Something's not right. Katherine Pierce does not hold up in Hickstown, P-A.," I announce.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagL6w409ta
"Well, this is definitely the car they stole. We're in the right place," Stefan says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYu5fNbfaiS
"Points to them for their choice of vehicles," I say.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWDbKaH9lv
"So let me ask you something. What happens when we find Elena? How do we get her back to Mystic Falls? I mean, she's not exactly gonna go quietly, and she has an Original vampire as her bodyguard."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDcdoNK3Hd
"We do whatever we have to do. I don't care if we have to throw Rebekah under a school bus and wrap Elena up in a burlap sack. We do whatever we have to do."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFQMwqrtmD
"I'm serious."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhdsnj4IgN
"I am, too. I don't care what Elena wants right now. She's this close to going off the rails for good and that ain't happening. She's a pain enough as it is."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXhjTEnQT3
"So what happened to the guy who thought Elena should embrace being a vampire, let the chips fall where they may?" Stefan asks me.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEawlCPpLnl
"That guy got his neck snapped in New York and this guy is royally pissed off," I answer him, and start to walk away.
When we find them, they're sitting in a diner in a booth. Rebekah is seated next to Katherine, but Elena isn't there.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVFAuWXjs6
Stefan and I walk in and walk up to them.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXbjKtJeda
"Ladies, playing nice?" Stefan asks them.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2rgN8Swtg
I sit down in a bench across from them, amused, and Rebekah let's go of Katherine's hand.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPdrIt8dwu
"There goes the neighborhood," Katherine comments.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfeYPH09Jg
"I see you got Katherine already," I say, before telling Katherine, "You're losing your touch, evil one."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggdhAQNw3K
We all stare at one another.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡus6FIOMxh2
"Where's Elena?" Stefan asks Rebekah.
"So let me get this straight: I tell you where Elena is, you shove the cure down her throat, and then I end up in a box, right? I don't think so," Rebekah says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8AeRW48zW
"What about you over there, smiley? Do you know where she is?" I ask Katherine.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkhXg8sQwk
"I can give you a hint. Start by looking at the town morgue. She's probably dead."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQnbPLJ9L6
We wait for Katherine to elaborate, and after a moment, she does, saying, "She went to meet up with a friend of mine. You may know him—an Original brother, impeccable taste."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVOqX8pHzi
"Elijah," Rebekah realizes.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiASopbgXE
"Elijah's here?" I question.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FuBt9nISW
"Well, you sort of have to question Elijah's impeccable taste if he's friends with you," Stefan tells Katherine.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGtzmeDvLW
"Oh, when I say friend, I mean friend."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8Q7876NHM
Rebekah and I groan in disgust, figuring out what she's getting at. Katherine and Elijah are in love.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYf7q8985SE
"It probably took him about 10 seconds to realize that she wasn't me, at which point he probably yanked her heart right out of her chest," Katherine says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgE7Q3p0Xgf
"All right. Where are they?" Stefan asks her, but Katherine smiles and doesn't say anything, so Stefan says to Rebekah, "Rebekah, you do realize if something should happen to Elena, you have no chance of finding the cure, right?"390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qF6wqscGq
"Fine. They were supposed to meet at the gazebo by the park," Rebekah answers.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBARqeLSQs
"I'll go talk to Elijah," Stefan says, getting up from the bench.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWVG2lu6Wl
"You go deal with Elijah. Katherine will take us to the cure," Rebekah tells him.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVsZmCJRFX
"No, she won't. The cure is my one chance to win my freedom back from Klaus," Katherine interjects.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpo1QI0u0iv
"You're gonna break a deal with Klaus?" I ask her.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMttbj2B3CV
"No. She's gonna get Elijah to break the deal for her. That's why you need your little friend, isn't it? Some things never change, Katherine," Stefan says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgnofkyXIU
"Nope," I say.
"Fine," Katherine says, before saying to Rebekah, "Move. You have to follow me."
We follow Katherine to her place and stop just outside the door.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTe56PboMZ
I push Katherine inside and then tell her, "No sudden moves. No tricks either. No Katherine-ing."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0F0WL4PFV
She walks further into the house, while we look around.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsilv5SGsgg
"Wow. A quilt inside a fish aquarium. Who the hell are you?" I say.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmVjezdom6
"A very old lady with dreadful taste," Rebekah answers me.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBnk6Ny3Zt
Katherine has been removing things from a bookshelf and opens a hidden safe. She moves her hands around inside it.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyOXDygb8D
"It's gone. The cure, it was in the safe, but it's not there," she tells us.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz8YSAHBoT
I imitate a buzzer and then say, "Not falling for it. Where is it, Auntie Katherine?"390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7VwbFTDU1
"I swear it was in the safe," she insists.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0n3KFSzYn
"What, just like Elijah's really your boyfriend and this is really your life? And for all we know, this isn't even your house," Rebekah says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0ORwotRQ8
"Yeah, it doesn't look like the Katherine I know," I agree.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn09J8RRJWY
"Maybe you don't know Katherine at all. Did it ever occur to you that you have no idea who I really am?" Katherine says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7EMltvkv2
"Did it ever occur to you that you're not that deep? This whole small-town girl thing, we all know it's an act," I say.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2Os6g6MSt
"Where is the cure?" Rebekah asks her.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eYrXd9La2
Katherine looks at her with a hint of a smile and Rebekah vamp-speeds at her. I throw my arm out to stop her.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiJ5JwO8S8
"Whoa, whoa. Hang on. We need her alive. The cure's not here. You check upstairs. I'll check down. I got this," I tell Rebekah.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwTo83eWNq
Katherine smiles, while Rebekah walks away to go upstairs.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoee0qncGpa
"So if I was a paranoid, distrustful sociopath, where would I keep my most prized possession?" I say.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfv78EPauYs
"This should be fun," Katherine says, chuckling.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0m4wlLwxnz
I search the room. "Because I'd want it to be close, but not on me. Accessible but not obvious. I'd want to keep it safe, but not so safe that it'd be too difficult to grab and run."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrX8l0j0fr
I stop in front of the fish tank.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cNKEgB5Xp
"Well, that is a fancy little treasure chest—in a tank with no fish." Katherine doesn't say anything and I continue. "I think I'm gonna have to check that out."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2j3cy9sBqX
I stick my hand into the water, but it immediately burns my hand.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgYO1SemnE
"Aah! Gah! Vervain water. Looks like we have a winner."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pVw2ZEhcG
I pick up a large net to scoop out the chest. Before I can, Katherine vamp-speeds at me and shoves my head into the vervain water, holds me there for several seconds then throws me to the floor. I writhe in pain and Katherine gets the chest out. She runs to the door, but Rebekah appears in front of her.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm03zp7sSLx
"Give it to me, or you're dead."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSu75dFLhIg
"You're gonna kill me anyway. So what's more important to you, huh? Killing me or getting the cure?" Katherine says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1I0MooRl2
She holds up a small pill-shaped object and throws it into the air behind her. Rebekah runs to catch it, and Katherine dashes out the front door. I'm still on the floor, but my face is healing.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBOMSkI01e
"Look, Rebekah... Don't even think about it," I rasp.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20XMj0p0iD
Rebekah gets up, still in awe that she finally has the cure. My voice still sounds very raspy.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFVDPg5v8p
"Let's just talk about this, like the two rational vampires that we are. Rebekah?"390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzeWu0mPRd
"Oh, give it a rest. Me taking this cure is the best thing that'll ever happen to you," Rebekah says, as she stares at the object in her hand.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cmIASpO1d
"Don't do anything stupid," I try to reason.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtACWqlzXid
"Admit it. You don't want human-Elena running back to Stefan whilst you're left out in the cold again. Go on, Damon. Tell me why you want Elena to have the cure," she says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTrYSjSs6m
I don't say anything, still on the floor.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5I8nrzIzS
Rebekah smiles and says, "That's what I thought."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaDxlgtffq
Rebekah pops open the pill when Stefan arrives at the open front door. She tosses it back into her mouth.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItwTwjlaMc
"No!" Stefan yells.
Rebekah gasps for a few seconds and falls down onto the sofa.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEH7a7nVq8X
I rest my head on the floor.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrvtYRamNS
Rebekah is still unconscious on the sofa, as Stefan looks at the fish tank while talking to me. I've finally gotten to my feet and am drying myself off with a towel from the vervain.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLNLGZI2BH
"Did you even try to stop her?" Stefan asks me.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSadzp6Obz
"You forgot the part where I was bobbing for boxes in vervain water."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzxm81mcSy
"All you had to do was stall her, Damon."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfU2tiaZ0I
"Sorry. It's Rebekah. I didn't have a pony to distract her, Stefan."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRAuwTJE8h
"You let her take it, didn't you? You were never on my side. Now Elena will be a vampire for the rest of her life just like you wanted."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRalKITVLA1
Suddenly, Rebekah gasps, waking up.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3buj1jtvYY
She sits up, looking refreshed, her mouth open in wonder. I'm standing by a bookshelf and Stefan sits down on the coffee table opposite her.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU42fCYifAn
"How do you feel?" Stefan asks.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Kna9Pks1U
"I-- I feel good. I... I feel great. I feel alive," she answers, smiling.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKN4pFhkNQ
"Slight problem with being alive--I can kill you, you know," I comment to her.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaEdRHExUk
I throw a letter opener at her and she catches it with vamp speed. We all watch, as the cut on her hand heals. Rebekah gasps in horror, while Stefan sighs in relief.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4zxSd6Xso
"I'm still a vampire. The cure didn't work."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDu5XYOMdye
"It worked just like she wanted it to. The cure was a fake. It must've been a concentrated shot of vervain or something," Stefan says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPmmyUtZlx
Rebekah is still in shock, her mouth hanging open.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCJjnprXW5
"Katherine," I say with a slight admiration.
That night, Stefan and I walk down a sidewalk.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5qdf1rWXl
"All right, you're right. I let Rebekah take the cure." I stop and turn to face Stefan. "I thought for a second—I mean, literally just a second—If Rebekah takes this, then all my problems go away. And I couldn't think of one good reason to give it to Elena. And then Rebekah took it. And I realized how badly I screwed up," I admit.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rmLJyEAAu
"So what's your point, Damon?" Stefan asks me.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ985ivv5Dj
"My point is, I'm sorry, okay? I had a moment of weakness, Stefan. It's my thing. It's like you and I falling for the same girl. It's our thing," I say.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLRkNosgxo
"Was our thing. Look, we've been making the same mistakes for 150 years. We can judge Katherine all we want, but we keep repeating our own history just like she is. Nothing ever changes. It has to stop, Damon."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfucez8lubI
"What are you talking about?" I ask him.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1qHvNKXuF
"I'm done. I can't keep reliving my life like this. I owe Elena her shot at being normal again. Once we give her the cure, I'm getting her out of my life, and I'm getting a life of my own."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVa28yLiqEH
I nod and say, "Okay. Okay, let's just get the cure, and then we'll talk about you riding off into the sunset all by your lonesome."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5z2oNoHl2
"You still want to get the cure, even if it means you might lose her?" he asks me.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSDnB6zeWi
"It's a chance I'm willing to take, Stefan."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9oQtF6mAJ
"Well, I guess all we have to do is, uh, convince her."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcOMZA4fs5
He walks past me and we enter the same diner we had earlier, when Rebekah and Katherine had been there. Elena is sitting at a table by herself. Jolene, the waitress, sees us walk in.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWme7aUxqYZ
"Sit anywhere you'd like," Jolene greets us.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImPNQUkc52
We slide into the booth where Elena is seated at.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0ThmK7Pfp
"You all right?" Stefan asks her.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbZsUfqDya
Elena looks at us, but doesn't say anything.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjlrIKZ7PL
"What's up with the silent treatment? You're the one that texted us and wanted to meet up," I say.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyea5sixnBA
"You know I don't want the cure. You need to know that I never will and I'm done talking about it. So... will you accept that and let me be who I am, or not?" she says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJzKeKRxiU
Stefan and I exchange a look.
"Yeah...no," I answer her.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGfcMaHXYB
"Elena, this isn't you," Stefan says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKpdq24yju
"It is now. And you two really need to accept it. Because if you don't, there will be consequences."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEl5YqZgHV
Elena takes a sip from her mug and we look at each other again.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zUUqUo2hA
"Listen, I was in the exact same situation that you're in right now. My emotions were off. I wasn't me. And you refused to accept that. You didn't give up on me. You didn't stop until you pulled me back," Stefan says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgiVEnY8Lm
Elena sets down her mug. Jolene comes back.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBgpFM1Myl
"Let me just top that off for you," Jolene says.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZDxr2HfyP
Elena smiles and says, "Thanks."390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoN9VxRdMs0
Elena vamp-speeds up and snaps Jolene's neck. Her body falls to the floor as the pitcher of coffee shatters.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfpOKNy363
"Like I said, consequences. That's one body you're responsible for. If you keep trying to fix me, there'll be a second, a twentieth, and a hundredth. It's your choice," Elena tells us.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZv2sJD0i8R
She walks away and leaves the diner, as we look at the body.390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTirVfkyRT6
"Still ready to ride off into the sunset?" I ask my brother.
