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Lost in the Vampire Diaries	By : esm3rald Category: S through Z > Vampire Diaries Views: 9806 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries(books or TV show) or any of its characters. I do not make money by writing this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
Here's the new chapter. I'm so sorry for the wait but I've been rather busy lately and it's difficult to keep up with all my stories. And this chapter, I don't why, has been pretty difficult to write. Anyway, I hope you are satisfied with it. Like always, phrases taken directly from the script of episode 1x04. Enjoy!
Oh, I was thinking, would you like to see Elena/Enzo together? From Season5 and on of course. Because Elena is going to break up with Stefan in season4 like in the show and since Damon is not available, I have to pair her up with somebody and I thought of Enzo. What do you think? Or would you like her to stay with Stefan?
I made a video about Damon and Claire - or as I imagined Claire looks like -. It's on Youtube, it's called 'Damon Salvatore/Claire Forbes - State of Seduction'. I'd really like if you'd checked it out because I spent a lot of time creating it.
Chapter 4
TRUST AND MISTRUST
"Under investigation, lies a bitter heart

Let the poison sink it, let it leave its mark

There used to be a likeness, used to be a spark

Broken communication, let it go too far"
(Bad Intentions - Digital Daggers)
Elena woke up suddenly, hearing a noise coming from outside her room. She got out of bed to check if there was someone in the house besides her aunt and brother. She looked around herself, trying to find the origin of the noise. "Hello? Jeremy? Hello?" she called out but nobody answered her. The hall was shrouded in darkness so she tried to turn on the lights but the power seemed to be out. She suddenly heard the sound of the TV that was apparently on. "This is Logan Fell coming to you live from the streets of Mystic Falls with breaking news of another deadly animal attack". She made her way downstairs until she reached the living room. She noticed another person there, sitting on the couch, the only visible thing was the back of her blonde head. "Claire? Is that you? What are you doing here?" No answer. She circumvented the sofa to looked at her face to face, breathing deeply to calm her nerves. She was scared of what she was going to find. Claire had her eyes closed, almost like she was sleeping but her neck had a deep, gashing wound and her clothes were bloodstained. Elena screamed, rooted to the spot. "The wild animal terrorizing the citizens of Mystic Falls has claimed another victim, local high school student Elena Gilbert. Police are certain that forensic evidence will confirm that this is the same animal responsible for recent attacks." She heard coming from the TV. She turned around to see her photo smiling back at her from the screen. She got away from the couch and started to leave the room when she heard a voice from behind her."You know what's coming next." It was Damon, his face monstrous. Elena screamed and tried to run away from him. She tried to open the front door to leave the house but Damon was too fast. He slammed it shut with force. Elena tried to run up the stairs but Damon was on her in a second. He grabbed her from behind and bit her neck.
Stefan woke up with a gasp at the nightmare to find Damon looking at him from the end of the bed.
"Bad dream?" He asked, smirk firmly in place. "Do you know how easy it was to get into your head just now? You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field." Then with a mocking grin he added. "Football reference. Too soon."
Stefan stood up from the bed and threw the paper knife he had on his desk directly to Damon's chest. Damon seemed to barely notice the pain, looking at the knife embedded in his chest like it was a mere annoyance before pulling it out and looking at it curiously.
"All right, I deserved that." He said with a shrug. "But I just wanted to let you know, they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing coach Tanner and all those people."
Stefan looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?" 'What animal? He is the animal responsible' Stefan thought with a grimace.
"Haven't you heard? It was a mountain lion. Really big one." He answered sarcastically "It attacked a hunter this morning. It's all over the news. 'Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls'." He finished with a smirk.
"Why would you cover your tracks?" Stefan asked, even more confused than before.

A strange look passed over Damon's face for a second before he went back to smirking. "It's a form of apology for a promise I didn't keep." He answered cryptically before adding "And I've decided to stay a while. I'm just having way too much fun here with you and Elena and Claire."
"You can't touch Elena now. And stay away from Claire. You have already hurt her enough."
"I don't think Claire would agree with you. And regarding Elena...well, the vervain keeps me out of her head sure. But maybe that's not my target." He said while walking towards the door. "Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style, my charm and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift." He finished sarcastically.
Before leaving the room, Damon stabbed him with the paper knife he had still in his hand. Stefan fell to the floor with a gasp, trying to breathe through the pain. "This is John Varvatos, dude. Dick move." He commented before finally leaving the room.
Stefan removed the knife from his chest before starting to write in his diary. 'The real animal is still out there, waiting for me, challenging me to fight back, to stop him. But how do I stop a monster without becoming one myself?' He needed to find a way to stop Damon, and soon, because Elena and everyone else in Mystic Falls was in danger.

Claire and Bonnie entered the Grill while talking about the founder's party of that evening.
"So, you're taking Damon to the founder's party? I thought you two were just friends." Bonnie asked her while they sat at one of the tables.
"And we are. But Damon wanted to go. I don't know why, and he asked me if I could be his date. That's it. Nothing more than that." Claire invented on the moment. She certainly couldn't explain the real reason why she was going with Damon at the party or why Damon really wanted to go.
"Hum, are you sure there's nothing more between you two?" Bonnie asked with a smirk.
"Yes, Bonnie. I'm sure." Claire answered while glaring at her persistence.
"Okay, okay. But what about me? Who am I supposed to go with then?" Bonnie asked with a slightly plaintive tone.
"Go with Elena." Claire answered with a shrug.
"She's asking Stefan." Bonnie said like she was supposed to know that already.
"Right, of course she is." Claire said while rolling her eyes. "Ok then, ask Matt maybe? Or some other guy at school. Or go by yourself, I don't know."
"Gee, thanks. And what about your mom? Is she ok with you bringing Damon?" Bonnie asked with a pointed look.
"She doesn't know, of course. And why should I care anyway? She can't tell who I can or can't be friends with. "
"I don't think your mom would see it like that. He's older sexy danger guy."
"Older sexy danger guy?" Claire asked while raising her eyebrow and grinning amused at Bonnie. "Is that an official witch twitter tweet?"
Bonnie grimaced at that "No more witch jokes, ok? That whole Mr. Tanner prediction thing has me freaked."
Claire sobered instantly at that, realizing that Bonnie's newfound powers weren't something easy for her to deal with. "Ok, I'm sorry. And Damon's not dangerous." Claire lied. "He just has a lot of issues with his brother." 'Understatement of the century' "You know, like major, deep-rooted drama."
"Like...?" Bonnie asked curiously.
Claire cursed her big mouth, realizing she had said too much already. "I shouldn't say anything. It's not actually my business. Forget I said anything, okay?"
"Claire Forbes, when have you ever kept a secret in your life?" Bonnie asked with a smile.
'You'd be surprised' Claire thought with a grimace but decided to tell Bonnie something about Damon without actually revealing too much about him. When the time would come for Bonnie to find out what Damon and Stefan really were, she needed to understand that Stefan wasn't really better than Damon. That the 'good brother, bad brother' dynamic thing wasn't actually true, no matter how much Stefan wanted to believe or make everyone believe otherwise. "Ok. But you can't tell Elena." She warned in the end.
"Fine, now tell me." Bonnie agreed immediately.
"Well, Damon and Stefan some years ago were in love with the same girl. Katherine. But Damon was the one who actually dated her first. Damon alone wasn't enough for Katherine though. She wanted both of them. Stefan knew that Damon was in love with Katherine but he didn't care. He just wanted her for himself so he simply let himself be seduced by her. They were best friends once, you know? Then Katherine came and everything was ruined. Now, I'm not saying that Katherine wasn't at fault because of course she was. She played with the both of them. She was selfish and manipulative. But Damon and Stefan were the ones who let her played her games. Damon was completely in love with her. He still is. And he actually accepted the fact that Katherine was at the same time with his brother because he loved her so much. But Stefan, he was never really in love with her. He wanted her sure, but that's it. And he knew what Katherine meant to Damon but he didn't think about that. He was only thinking about himself and what he wanted. But then Katherine died and Damon is still mourning her, even now. He can't stop loving her. While Stefan...he didn't need a lot of time to get over her death. Stefan just destroyed his and Damon's relationship because he was selfish and simply took what he wanted."

Claire heard the window of her bedroom being opened and knew who it was without the need to turn around. After all, there was only one person who entered into her room from the window.
"Go away Damon. I don't want to talk to you." She said without looking at him. She was looking through her wardrobe to find an appropriate dress for the founders party, the one she was supposed to go with Damon to.
"No yellow. Jaundice." Was Damon's only answer while coming closer to her. He was obviously referring to the dresses he could see inside her wardrobe. She could feel his breath on her cheek, he was so close. "Go for the blue. It will bring out your eyes."
She turned around to glare at him. "I'll wear whatever I want If you don't mind. I just need Mrs Lockwood to let you in right? That's the only thing I'll do. Then you're on your own. I don't actually consider you my escort for the night so I don't need to match your tux." She finished sarcastically.
"Still angry with me, are you?" Damon asked her with a puppy look that Claire found adorable, even if she would never tell him that.
"Are you surprised? You killed Mr Tanner!" She shouted at him.
"Oh, come on, you didn't even like the guy. Nobody did actually, for what I can understand." Damon tried to defend himself in his twisted way.
"That's not the point. A couple of words from Stefan were enough to make you snap. You can't go around killing people every time your brother pisses you off."
"You saw that hum?" Damon asked her with a penetrating look.
Claire deflated a little at that, her anger partially disappearing. "I know that what Stefan said made you lose control and I understand why. He tried to use what you feel for Katherine to manipulate you into doing what he wanted. And the idea of him - the person you consider responsible for what happened to her - talking about her so nonchalantly, almost smugly...I understand" She finished a little awkwardly. Damon was looking at her with an intense expression on his face that almost made her blush. He was like he was seeing her for the first time. He seemed almost...touched by what she had just said. Like he wasn't used to people understanding his actions and motives. And maybe it was exactly like that.
Claire couldn't let him think he was out of the hook yet though. He needed to understand that what he had done was not okay. He couldn't keep going around killing the citizens of Mystic Falls and she couldn't keep lying to everybody and cover for him. "But that doesn't mean that I condone your actions Damon. You promised me that you wouldn't kill anybody else."
"Actually, I promised that I would try." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Claire glared at him before continuing. "Yes, well, I can't keep lying to everybody and cover for you. I know that I put myself in this position, I get it but...every time Bonnie or Elena talk about the attacks I just...make up excuses because I know exactly who's responsible. I mean, you almost killed Matt's sister, Elena's ex-boyfriend. Trust me both Elena and Bonnie have questions and now that Elena's dating Stefan...it's even worse. And I'm forced to lie, over and over again. And you're making things even more difficult for me by going around killing people. And maybe I'm selfish, maybe I'm a horrible person because I care more about the fact that your actions are affecting me than the fact that people are dead but, I can't help it. I hate lying to my best friends. Please, can you just...reign in your anger and try to ignore Stefan's digs? Please! You are perfectly able to control yourself when it comes to bloodlust but where emotions are in the way..." She let the last sentence hang over them, allowing him to make his own conclusions about it.
Damon sighed before nodding. "Okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost control like I did. It certainly didn't help with my desire to not let the people of Mystic Falls know that I'm a vampire...But Stefan has the ability to push my buttons like no one else."
Claire smiled at that. "I know. Stefan is very irritating. I still can't see what Elena sees in him. He's the most boring vampire ever. Except when he's high on human blood. Then he's just crazy."
"You know about that?" Damon asked surprised.
"I saw some things. Just flashes but...it was enough." Claire wondered once again at her ability to lie so easily and naturally. She didn't exactly like to lie but...it was her only choice at the moment. She wondered if she would ever be able to return home and even if she actually wanted to. Life here was hard but it was also intense in a good way. Going back to her life as 'Little Miss Blonde Perfect' after everything she had lived through would be like trying to wear a pair of shoes that didn't fit anymore. It wouldn't work, she knew that.
"So, are you going with the blue then?" Damon asked her, obviously as a way to ease the tension in the room.
"Yes, but only because I like it better." Claire answered with an impudent smirk. Damon smiled back at her and the argument of a few minutes ago seemed to be forgotten.
"Good. Because if I'm going to be your date..." Damon started with a smirk but Claire interrupted. "Ah, ah, I wouldn't exactly say date. Like I said, I'm just going to get you an invite in the Lockwood mansion. I don't expect you to dance with me or anything. And it just so happens that my mother would be there and she is a very proud gun owner."
"So? If she shoots me, I won't die." Damon said with a shrug.
"Sure. And that would be completely unsuspicious right?" Claire replied back sarcastically. "Anyway, I have to get ready. Are you going to stay here?"
"Yup. My brother is at home, probably plotting against me. I much prefer to stay here. The view is so much better" Damon replied before winking at her.
Claire rolled her eyes and smiled at the same time, basically her typical reaction to Damon's flirty comments.
"Whatever." She looked around herself for a second before spotting the book she was looking for. "Here" She said with a smirk while throwing 'New Moon' at him. "Entertain yourself. I'll be in the bathroom."
"What is this crap?" Damon asked, looking at the book in his hands like it was radioactive.
"What? It's a book about vampires, I thought you might like it." She answered with a mocking grin.
"Vampires that sparkle." Damon said with a note of disgust in his voice. "I miss Anne Rice. She was so on it."
"Well, they're pretty." Claire answered while shrugging her shoulders, like that was enough reason for her to appreciate the book. With that said, she finally entered the bathroom.
After a long shower she finally got to wear the blue dress she actually wanted to wear since the first moment she had seen it in the wardrobe. It was a blue, satin, strapless dress with lines of encrusted jewels starting from the waist to her right hip, almost forming a fan, that reached her mid-thigh. Unfortunately she wasn't able to close the zip entirely, only till mid-back. She needed to ask Damon for help.
As soon as she got out of the bathroom, she noticed Damon actually reading the book she had given him.
"What's so special about this Bella girl? Edward's so whipped." Damon asked her without looking away from the book, obviously having heard the bathroom door being opened.
"Everybody is whipped when they're in love." She answered with a shrug. Damon raised his gaze from the book at that, widening his eyes when he saw what she was wearing. Claire suppressed a grin of satisfaction at seeing his reaction and continued answering his question. "And Bella loves Edward for exactly what he is. She accepts him, monster and all, because she knows that he's a much better man that even he thinks he is. She believes in him." Damon looked at her intently at those words, even going so far as tilting his head to one side to study her. Claire - suddenly feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze - broke the silence with the reason she had gotten out of the bathroom in the first place. "Would you mind helping me with the zip, I can't make it go further up than this." Damon seemed to snap out of his contemplations at that and got up. Claire turned around, standing in front of the big mirror, Damon's reflection appearing a moment later on its surface. She felt the skin of his hand on her naked back and couldn't suppress a shiver. She closed her eyes for a second, to savor the sensation of having him this close. She knew that nothing could ever happen between her and Damon, not because she didn't want to but because she knew it wouldn't have the same meaning for him as it would have for her. Damon was destined to fall in love with Elena and she didn't think there was anything she could do to change that. She was simply trying to be his friend, nothing more, because she knew Damon needed that more than anything else right now.
She opened her eyes again and met Damon's through the mirror. Damon was looking at her, not with the smirk she was expecting he was sporting but with the same intense gaze as before.
Claire wanted to break the silence so she asked the first thing that came to her mind. "Aren't you supposed to get ready too?" Her voice was a little breathless but she tried to ignore it.
Damon looked at her for a second more before smiling at her. "Yep. You're right. I should go. I'll be back in an hour to come pick you up, okay?"
"Sure." Claire smiled back at him, trying not to think about what had just happened. Falling in love with Damon Salvatore was so not a good idea. It would bring her only heartbreak in the end.

Bonnie and Elena were in Elena's room, the both of them getting ready for the founders party of that evening.
"Delicate flower vs. Naughty vixen." Bonnie said, showing her two different nail polish colors.
"Tough call. Can we mix them?" Elena said with a smile. Bonnie looked at her, surprised by her cheerfulness. It had been such a long time since she had seen her smiling.
"Look at you, getting all pretty for your date. You seem happy-Ish."
Elena shrugged her shoulders. "I am...ish. Tonight's going to be a good night. But don't let that stop you from telling me whatever it is you wanted to tell me as soon as you walked in the door." Elena sent her a pointed look and Bonnie sighed, Claire's words running around in her head on a loop.
"What if I tell you in the morning? I don't want to ruin the night." She tried to stall but Elena wasn't hearing it.
"Bonnie, out with it."
"Ok, but it has to go in the vault, because Claire will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed. Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back story."
Elena immediately looked skeptical at that. "Uh-Huh."
"Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Katherine?" Bonnie asked to introduce the topic.
Elena looked a little confused at the question but answered anyway. "I know that they both dated her and that's why they have issues."
"Yeah, they both dated her, but apparently Damon had started dating her first. He was completely in love with her. But Katherine was selfish and decided that she wanted both of them so she turned her attentions towards Stefan. Stefan knew that Katherine and Damon were together but he didn't care. Since he wanted her for himself, he simply let himself be seduced, not caring that Damon was in love with her. But the fact is that Stefan never really loved Katherine, that he wanted her but that he didn't love her, not like Damon did anyway. And that is proved by the fact that a little after Katherine's death, Stefan had already moved on with his life, not really caring that Katherine was dead, while Damon still mourns her and loves her still. It's the reason why Damon is always goading Stefan about Katherine, because Damon can't accept the fact that Stefan can go on like nothing ever happened."
Elena looked upset at what she had just heard but not exactly convinced. "That sounds like one person's side of the story, meaning Damon's."
"I just wanted you to know." Bonnie said, a little apologetically but not really. Elena needed to know.
Elena shook her head, like to drive away negative thoughts and said "Anyway, his past relationships are none of my business."
"Unless he's a selfish liar that only cares about himself. That is your business."
"Stefan is none of those things." Elena replied but she didn't sound completely convinced of her own words.
"Yeah? How do you know?"

Damon entered into his brother's room, searching for a shirt to wear at the Founders' party. Then he remembered that he needed a tie too, probably. "Do they still wear ties at this thing?" He asked Stefan, while searching for a blue one, to match Claire's dress.
"Why are you even going?" His brother asked him, pouring himself a drink.
Damon smirked while looking at his reflection in the mirror. "It's only fitting. We were at the very first one, remember?"
"I think it's better if we don't draw attention to ourselves." Damon tried really hard not to roll his eyes at Stefan's preaching. Instead he smirked and said "So you should stay here. I'll see to it Elena has a good time." He said, just to rile Stefan up. Then looking at Stefan drinking a large gulp of the bourbon inside the glass he had in hand Damon added "My goodness, I've driven you to drink."
"Can't seem to rid myself of you." Stefan answered, in an almost careless tone. "What else am I supposed to do, besides go about living my life?"
"Go about living my life. " Damon repeated with a shake of his head. "See, therein lies your eternal struggle. You're dead, dude. Get over it." Then he turned around with a dark blue tie resting against his chest "What do you think?"
Stefan didn't answer. Damon ignored his silence and picked a grey shirt from Stefan's wardrobe. He looked once again at his reflection, satisfied at his appearance. "It's cool not growing old. I like being the eternal stud."
Stefan almost snorted at that "Yes, being a 150-Year-Old teenager has been the height of my happiness."
Damon turned around to look at Stefan surprised. "You cracked a funny, Stefan. And thinking that Claire actually finds you boring." He said with a smirk. "I should have a drink to celebrate." He added then, walking towards Stefan's desk where a bottle of bourbon seemed to be waiting just for him.
"How long are you going to keep using Claire like this?" Stefan asked him, judgment evident in his tone.
Damon almost smirked at the question. If only Stefan knew that Claire was basically his partner in crime. "For how long as I see fit, Stefan. Claire's company is far from unpleasant. Why should I renounce to have fun with her?" He turned around back again and was about to pour himself a drink when he noticed Katherine's photo on Stefan's desk. "1864. You and Katherine were the perfect couple." He said with fake fondness "It was hell watching you dance with her."
"My happiness was short-lived, as you well know." Stefan answered like he was the only one who had lost her.
"I remember. I left the party early, I was waiting for her. The night you dropped her off, I was waiting just inside. You were such a gentleman, gave her a kiss on the cheek. And what she really wanted was..." He didn't finish his sentence, instead raising the glass in the air in a toast. "Oh, well. Here's to history repeating itself, huh?" He was about to drink when he smelled the vervain in the glass and poured the spiked bourbon on the floor. "I admire your effort, Stefan. Pouring yourself a drink then spiking the bottle with vervain. I'm not some drunk sorority chick. You can't roofie me. But I can't help but feel a little used. I thought we were having a moment. I have to go to the party angry now. Who knows what I'll do?" Then with a look at his watch, he said "Oh, look at the time. I have to go pick Claire up. See you at the party." He said, turning around and leaving the room.

Damon parked in front of Claire's home and went to knock on the door. Claire opened a few minutes later, and Damon was once again greeted with the image of her encased in a skin-tight mini-dress and her bare legs going on for miles. "Don't you look particularly hot today?" He asked rhetorically with a smirk.
Claire, like he was expecting, just rolled her eyes at him before answering. "Hum, you don't look bad yourself. It's a shame you're such an asshole." She answered with a smirk of her own.
Damon was once again surprised at the fact that Claire seemed perfectly comfortable in his presence, even knowing exactly what he was and what he could do to her if he wanted. Not that she had given him any reason to hurt her. He had no reason to want her dead, actually he was starting to trust her, strange as it seemed. It was almost like they were...friends. Damon wasn't used to having friends of course but he thought that that was the kind of relationship the two of them had.
"Ready to go?" He asked her, trying to dispel those thoughts from his mind.
"Yep. Let's go." Claire retrieved her handbag from the table near the entrance hall and together they climbed in the car directed towards the Lockwood Mansion.
Claire stood in front of the entrance, Damon near her with an hand against her back. Mrs Lockwood immediately greeted her and Claire waited patiently for her to invite them inside. "Claire! You look absolutely beautiful." Mrs Lockwood said and Clare smiled at her before introducing Damon to her.
"Thank you, Mrs Lockwood. This is my date Damon Salvatore."
Mrs Lockwood looked at Damon with interest plain in her eyes and Claire suppressed a grin. "Oh, well, come on in."
Damon smirked once he realized the barrier that kept him out was down. "Lovely to meet you." He said once inside towards Mrs Lockwood, putting on the charm. "I've been looking forward to this party for quite a while."
Claire smirked at the double meaning in Damon's words. Mrs Lockwood, that had no idea the real reason why Damon had been waiting for the party, looked pleased at his words. "Well, enjoy."
Damon looked towards Claire at that. "Let's get a drink."
"Champagne maybe?" She asked a little mischievously.
"Oh, look at that. It seems I'm corrupting you." Damon said with a smirk.
"Oh please, I don't need you to be corrupted, I'm perfectly capable of doing it on my own...you haven't seen my wild side yet..." She whispered conspiratorially.
"Oh, I can't wait to see it then." Damon whispered back. Claire smiled at him before noting Liz Forbes looking at her and Damon disapprovingly. "Wait here." She said before going talking to her.
"Wearing your uniform at this party too? Don't you think it's just a bit much?" She asked, maybe a little scathingly.
"I'm working, honey." Liz answered back. "Who's the date you just tried to sneak past me?"
"Just a friend." Claire said with a nonchalant shrug.
"He's a little old for you, don't you think?" Liz said with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh sure, because otherwise you'd approve." She answered with a teasing smirk. Claire turned around when she noticed Stefan and Elena arriving at the party but was brought back to attention once again by Liz' question directed towards her.
"Where's your dad?" Claire panicked a little at the question because she had no idea, before strangely remembering the answer. "Memphis."
"Good." Liz said with a nod but Claire continued "With Steven." Liz's face fell at that and Claire felt pity for her.
She noticed Elena and Stefan leaving the entrance hall and going in the exposition room where all the founders family's artifacts were placed to be exposed to the public. Claire left Liz's side and reached Damon's. Together they followed Elena and Stefan into the room and noticed Elena reading the registry with the name of the first founding families' members.
"'The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration' Wow, look, it's the original guest registry." Elena was saying to Stefan. "Look at all these familiar names—Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood. Is that Damon Salvatore? And, Stefan Salvatore?" She asked bewildered.
"The original Salvatore brothers." Damon interjected smoothly, coming closer to Elena. "Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually."
"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past." Stefan immediately said to stop Damon from adding anything more.
Elena turned towards Stefan with a smile. "It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family."
"Well, I'm bored." Claire said with a teasing grin. "I would really love to dance. But someone here" And with that she turned towards Damon with a wink. "won't dance with me." Damon looked surprised at her words since he hadn't refused to dance with her nor had he had the time to ask her. Claire looked at Damon and tried to convene with her eyes the message to trust her. Damon nodded slightly with a shrug before turning towards Stefan and Elena with a fake sheepish look.
"Can I borrow your date Elena?" Claire asked with a smirk. "After all, you were the one who said that I needed to get to know Stefan better. What perfect occasion that this one right?" "Oh, uh..." Elena seemed incapable to find words, surprised by Claire's strange request.
"I don't really dance." Stefan said reluctantly.
"Oh, sure he does." Damon contradicted Stefan with a smirk. "You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all."
"You wouldn't mind, would you, Elena?" Claire asked with puppy dog eyes.
Elena appeared reluctant, then resigned. She turned towards Stefan. "It's up to Stefan."
"Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer." She said, taking Stefan's arm in hers almost dragging him out of the room. Claire grimaced at the idea of dancing with Stefan and thought that Damon definitely owned her a favor for having given him the possibility of talking with Elena alone.

Damon watched his brother leaving the room with Claire and almost shook his head in bewilderment. How did she know that he wanted to talk with Elena? But of course...she had visions, that was how she knew. Spending time with Claire was almost like walking around with a seer. Except that the idea of her and Stefan spending time together didn't sit too well with him. And the reason, even if he was loathe to admit it, was that he was afraid Stefan would be able to turn her against him. He was starting to trust Claire, he almost considered her a friend, he didn't want to end up betrayed by someone he trusted once again. Especially not because of his brother. He wouldn't allow it.
He tried to dispel those thoughts from his head and turned his attention towards Elena. "I want to apologize to you for being such a world-class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you. There's no excuse. My therapist says I'm... acting out, trying to punish Stefan." He said, surprising even himself with his almost-honesty.
"For what?" Elena asked, her curiosity plain on her face.
Damon sighed "It's all in the past. I don't even want to bring it up. Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers." And with that he made his way towards the miniature model of the church where in 1846 the vampires were supposed to burn if Emily Bennet hadn't saved them by entrapping them in a tomb underneath it.

"Damon told you to ask me to dance. Didn't he?" Stefan asked her with certainty in his voice while they two of them kept spinning around the ballroom. Claire smirked without being noticed before looking at him with an expression of fake-confusion on her face. "Now why would he do that?"
They stopped dancing for a few seconds when one of the waiters passed near them, tray in hand.
"Would you like one?" Stefan asked her, offering a glass of champagne to her and taking one for himself.
"Thank you." Claire smiled sweetly at him before taking a sip from her glass, all the while looking around for Liz in the crowd. Better for Liz not to see her drinking, she was still underage after all. She didn't notice the strange aftertaste of the champagne, she just chalked it up as being a cheap brand.

"The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town. Until the war. There was a battle here..." Damon continued explaining but Elena interrupted him. "The battle of Willow Creek"
"Right" Damon looked at her a little strangely. He didn't think Elena was the 'studious' type.
Elena smiled at him a little sheepishly, probably realizing what he was thinking. "We talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside."
Damon smirked at that. "What the history books left out was the people that were killed. They weren't there by accident. They were believed to be union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive." He stopped for a second, his gaze becoming blank in recollection. "Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them, they were shot. Murdered in cold blood."
Elena looked both saddened and intrigued by the story. "Who was in the church that they wanted to save?"
"A woman" Damon immediately answered before adding "I guess. Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?" He noticed Elena looking at him intensely for a few seconds and mentally smirked, certain he had impressed her.
Elena seemed to snap out of her daze and said "Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. I just... I hope you two can work it out."
Damon almost shook his head at her naiveté but merely replied with "I hope so, too"
They decided to join Stefan and Claire again, since both of them were a little uneasy at the idea of those two spending time with each other. Damon didn't really think Claire would start to suddenly like Stefan since it was pretty obvious that she was wholly unimpressed by him, but better be safe than sorry and all that. And Elena would never admit it aloud but her and Claire had been rivals when it came to boys since they had started puberty, maybe even before that and she certainly wasn't oblivious to the fact that Claire was very desired by the male sex, she didn't want to risk her boyfriend falling prey of Claire's charm like so many before him had done, even if it would be unintentionally done on Claire's part since Elena knew very well that Claire did not like Stefan in that sense or at all, actually.
"What'd we miss?" Damon asked, reaching Claire's side and putting his arm around her waist almost possessively. Claire looked at him surprised at his gesture but she didn't comment.
"We were just chatting." Stefan answered for the both of them. "Drink, Damon?" He offered his brother and Claire noticed a strange look passing through Damon's eyes before he put an easy smile on his face "No, thanks, I'll pass."
"Stefan, do you have another dance in you?" Elena asked with a flirtatious smile.
Stefan smiled back at her. "Absolutely." He took Elena's hand in his and brought her to the dance floor.
Damon looked at the two of them dancing for a few seconds before turning his attention towards her. "So, did you have fun dancing with Stefan?"
Claire grimaced at that. "Fun? It was like dancing with a tree. Actually a tree moves more." Damon smirked, satisfied at her response.
"Well, let me remedy that." Claire looked at him surprised. "Come on, dance with me." Claire smiled at him before accepting his hand. Claire felt Damon's hands on her waist and shivered just a little. Then noticed Damon spying on Elena and Stefan's conversation and hit him lightly on his arm.
"Now I understand the sudden desire to dance with me." She whispered in his ear.
Damon winked at her before answering, whispering back. "Nothing says I can't have fun dancing with you and spy on my little brother at the same time." Claire rolled her eyes but smiled at him, amused.

"I hope Damon didn't drive you too crazy." Stefan interrupted the silence, after a few minutes of dancing in each other's arms.
Elena smiled at him "No, actually, he was on good behavior. He even apologized and explained why he is the way he is. And it all goes back to Katherine."
"Hmm." Stefan merely said in reply, a little worried by Elena's expression. It almost seemed like Elena was taking a liking to Damon, god forbid!
"So tell me about her. What happened?" Elena asked, her face curious. Stefan grimaced a little at her question. Katherine was not a topic he wanted to discuss with Elena, or anyone for that matter.
"It's not something I like to talk about."
Elena almost huffed at his reply. "I get that. I do. I just want you to know that you can. I mean, I burden you with all of my drama, and I want you to do the same." She pleaded slightly.
"I know. Thank you."
Elena looked almost irritated at his response. "The truth is, Stefan... I don't really know that much about you, and I'd really love it if you would open up to me." Stefan stopped dancing at her words and Elena followed suit. He looked her dead in the eye and said "Damon said something, didn't he? He likes to play games and cause trouble, Elena."
Elena sighed "This isn't about Damon, it's about me trying to get to know you. Look, you're the mystery guy, and I like that. But with mystery comes secrets, and this thing with Katherine..."
"Let it go." Stefan interrupted her, almost harshly "I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, then, say something about yourself. Anything. Otherwise, I'm left with nothing but what other people tell me." Elena tried again.
Stefan glared at her. "Don't you see what Damon has done here? He's trying to get you to turn against me."
Elena glared right back "Well, then I guess it's working." And with that, she walked away, leaving Stefan alone on the dance floor. Damon, that had followed the scene, looked first at Stefan and then at Claire. He knew that he didn't do anything this time to cause trouble between the 'happy couple' but he had a suspicious about who did. Claire looked at him with an eyebrow raised, her expression half-satisfied and half-pained.

Claire looked at the scene between Stefan and Elena with guilt, because she knew that what had just happened was somehow her fault. She had promised herself not to interfere between them but she had done just that.
She couldn't help it though. She hated the fact that Stefan kept lying to Elena and she especially hated the fact that Stefan was trying to put all the blame on his brother's shoulders. She knew very well that Damon was not a saint, nor was he blameless in all of this, but Stefan was as much at fault as Damon was. Claire remembered some things from the show, enough to know that Stefan was always trying to convince Elena of Damon's evilness.
And he had succeed, because Elena had always believed that Stefan was a better person than Damon. Stefan had always told Elena just enough to paint himself in the best light, for example leaving out completely his past as a ripper and telling Elena that he drank animal blood because he didn't want to hurt anyone, when the truth was that he couldn't control himself if he drank human blood.
Stefan had manipulated Elena from the beginning, and since Damon was too noble to say anything different, Stefan was free to spread his lies to anyone who would listen. Not anymore though, not with her there. If Elena wanted to be with Stefan, Claire wouldn't stop her, but she wanted her friend to have all the facts before deciding to be with him and not finding out things as they happened like what had happened in the show.
Claire could feel Damon's eyes on her, a question in his eyes and looked back at him, saying "Come on, let's get inside." Damon nodded back at her before following her lead. Once having passed the entrance, Claire got up the stairs, Damon following behind her. Once they reached the room where Emily Bennet's crystal was, they stopped and closed the door. Damon started searching for the necklace and Claire kept a close eye on the door, to make sure they would not be disturbed.
"Would you like to tell me what was that scene back there between Stefan and Elena and what that had to do with you, or would you like me to guess?" Damon asked her with a careless tone, almost like he was talking about the weather.
Claire sighed a little before telling Damon what she had told Bonnie about his and Stefan's history with Katherine.
"Why would you do that? I thought you wanted to protect Elena..." Damon didn't seem particularly upset by the fact that she had told someone else his private affairs.
"That's why I did it, because I want to protect Elena. I knew that If I had told Bonnie, she would have told Elena everything about it. I wanted to make sure Elena knows as much as possible about Stefan and since I can't trust Stefan to tell her the truth, or the whole truth at least, not just the parts more convenient to him, I have to do it myself" She noticed that her voice had turned cold and that Damon was looking at her intrigued.
"Ah, here it is, your manipulative side making an appearance once again..." Damon said with a smirk.
"Once again? When I've ever been manipulative?" Claire asked, confused.
"Oh, I don't know...maybe the very first time we talked..." At her surprised face, Damon almost rolled his eyes. "Do you really think I didn't notice? You tried to manipulate me into not kill you. I let you have your way because I was intrigued. Like I already told you, not everyone has the courage to negotiate with a vampire".
Claire smiled at that. "I should have known"
Damon turned serious then before saying "As much as I am fluttered by your portrait of me, don't delude yourself into thinking that I am some kind of romantic hero, because I'm not. I'm the villain of the story" His tone had turned cold, defensive almost.
"I think you don't give yourself enough credit" Claire replied without batting an eyelash "Not everyone loves the way you do. Actually it's almost unheard of. I mean, you loved Katherine for 150 years, you still love her. If that's not the very definition of devotion, I don't know what is..."
Damon shook his head at her but he didn't reply. Claire looked at him almost sadly, knowing what Damon was thinking in that moment, without him needing to say anything. Damon had spent so much time wearing his 'bad brother' mask that he had ended up believing it was his real self. But Claire knew the truth and she had every intention of convincing him of this too, no matter how long it would take. But now was not the time, they needed to go back to the party before anyone noticed their absence.

Claire was standing in front of the marble sink in the ground floor bathroom of the Lockwood's mansion, reapplying her makeup when she noticed Elena making her way inside.
"Hey" She said with an awkward smile at her best friend. Elena tried to smile back but her smile looked more like a grimace. "So how are things with Stefan?"
"Great. Just great" She replied with a happy tone that was obviously fake.
"Really? Cause it didn't seem that way from where I was looking..."
Elena sighed before confessing "We had an argument"
"About what?" Claire asked, turning her attention completely towards her.
"About his secretiveness. I mean, I practically know nothing about him and he doesn't seem to want to remedy that" Elena was obviously frustrated because of that.
"Look Elena, I'm sorry. About what I said to Bonnie. I didn't really want to cause trouble between you two. But Bonnie asked and..."
Elena shook her head at her. "It's not your fault. I mean, I don't really believe what Damon told you, not all of it at least. And not because I believe Damon is a liar but because I think it's more Katherine's fault that anything else. I think Katherine put the two of them against each other, and now the both of them think it's the other fault."
Claire sighed at Elena's simplistic way of seeing things. "Katherine was a manipulative bitch...from what I've heard. And I'm sure that part of what happened is her fault. But you can't really believe that everything that has happened between Damon and Stefan is completely her fault. I mean, Katherine didn't certainly force Damon..or Stefan, to be with her. They chose to be with her. Knowing that the other was with her at the same time. I mean, we're not talking about a girl who has been first with one brother and then the other. We're talking about someone who has being with the two of them at the same time...separately of course" She grimaced at the thought of the Salvatore brothers in a threesome with Katherine. "What I'm saying is, they both knew what they were getting themselves into. But the difference is that Damon really loved Katherine and he would have done anything for her, but Stefan? He risked everything for what? I don't understand. He ruined his relationship with his brother for a girl he wasn't even really in love with..."
Elena looked upset at her words but she tried to defend Stefan anyway "What makes you say that he didn't really love her?"
"There are things I cannot tell you. But trust me when I say that what Stefan felt for Katherine was not love"

Elena couldn't stop thinking about what Claire had told her. Part of her wanted to dismiss what she had heard but the other part couldn't help but believe it.
"Hey" Elena was brought back to the present by Stefan's voice.
"Hey" Elena replied back with an awkward smile.
"Listen, I wanted to apologize. I didn't mean to snap at you. But you have to believe me when I said that Damon would like nothing more than to separate us"
"Why are you talking about Damon again? Damon has nothing to do with this. This is about us. About you not opening up to me" Elena almost ended up shouting the last words, her frustration apparent.

Stefan looked pained at this "Elena, please. I... I don't expect you to understand"
Elena raised her arms in a sign of surrender "I don't understand anything, Stefan. So why don't you just clear it up for me?"
"Look, there are things that you don't know, ok? Things that I want to tell you, but I can't. And I may never be able to. And I just need you to trust me"
Elena looked at him, disappointed, hurt and angry at the same time "Trust is earned. I can't just magically hand it over".

Claire cursed silently while looking at her bleeding arm. She had never been clumsy, she was a cheerleader for god's sake, so why this had happened to her?
"Claire? Are you okay? Why do I smell blood?" Damon appeared behind her and Claire almost screamed at his sudden appearance. She turned around to look at him.
"Yeah, I just...I tripped and scratched my arm over a rock. It's these stupid high heels. Nothing to worry about"
She noticed Damon's face started to change while looking at the blood spilling from her arm and she looked around herself to make sure nobody was nearby. "Are you hungry Damon? When was the last time you ate?"
"I had a blood bag before coming to the party..." Damon replied absentmindedly, his attention still riveted to her arm.
Claire sighed before offering her bleeding arm to him. Damon looked at her surprised before accepting her offer. She felt his fangs piercing her skin and suppressed a wince. A few seconds later the pain disappeared when he started sucking her blood with his lips. She didn't even have the time to enjoy the experience that Damon was crushing on the floor, moaning in pain.
"Damon?" Claire asked, scared and having no idea what was happening. "Oh my God! Damon? Are you okay? What just happened?" She asked him, kneeling at his side.
"Vervain" Damon whispered, his voice pained.
"What? How's possible? I haven't drunk any vervain..."
"You know, I couldn't spike your drink... So I spiked hers" Stefan said, appearing from the shadows, his voice smug.
Claire felt enraged at that. She got up in a swift move and use all her weight to crush against Stefan's chest in a way to hurt him but to no avail. She started punching his chest with all her strength but it was like throwing punches against a wall, painful and pointless. Stefan had frozen for a few seconds in surprise at her attack but now he was trying to get her off himself. He captured her arms in his hands and pushed her away with strength. Claire knocked the back of her head against the hard ground and started to feel lightheaded.
She heard Damon saying her name and touching her forehead with one hand but she couldn't focus.
"What the hell Stefan? You are willing to hurt Claire just to get rid of me?" Damon said, his voice was still weak because of the vervain but his rage was palpable.
"I didn't want to hurt her. I just meant to get her off me" Stefan sounded guilty but Claire noticed that he hadn't actually apologized.
She felt her eyelids grew heavy and a few seconds later she finally succumbed to darkness.

Claire woke up at Elena's voice calling her name. She rubbed her head with one hand, trying to soothe the pain. She had a splitting headache, thanks to Stefan and since Damon was nowhere to be seen, Stefan was probably responsible for Damon's disappearance too.

"Claire? There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. " Elena said, appearing from behind her. When she noticed her still on the floor, she asked concerned "Are you ok?"
"Yeah. I'm fine" Claire said automatically but she was definitely not fine, she was worried for Damon, she knew exactly what Stefan had in mind for his brother.
"Claire, what happened?" Elena asked again. this time more forcefully.
"I'm fine" Claire answered once again.
"No, you're not fine. You're shaking. Claire—What—"
"I'm fine!" Claire finally shouted back at her before she suddenly burst into crying.
"Claire, come here, come here." Elena said soothingly, hugging her. Claire let herself be hugged but she didn't feel particularly reassured. If only she had remembered before what was going to happen, she could have stopped it. It was all her fault.

Stefan looked at Damon inside the cell he had just locked him into and nodded to himself. He was sorry that it had come to this, but it was the only way to stop Damon from hurting anyone else and to protect Elena.
"I did what I had to do..." He started writing in his diary "To protect Elena, to protect everyone. Yes, Damon, the headline reads 'Deadly beast captured. All is well in Mystic Falls'".

Bonnie wondered where Elena and Claire were. She hadn't seen them inside so now she was trying to find them outside the mansion. While walking through the enormous garden of the Lockwood Mansion, she noticed something shining on the grass. She came closer to investigate and realized that it was an amber necklace that somehow called to her. It was almost like she felt it belonged to her. Of course that was absurd but she couldn't help herself from reaching for it.
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Lost in the Vampire Diaries