(CHAPTER THIRTEEN :
DETOUR)

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SINCE STEFAN WAS CAUGHT up in his own problems, I didn't want to overstay my welcome when he'd already helped me more than I imagined. He offered to compel me a plane ticket because I didn't have a ride back anymore and it would've been quicker, but when I saw Damon's blue Camaro in the garage, I couldn't help myself. With a little convincing, Stefan gave me the keys and I was heading back to New Orleans. If the roads were clear, I hoped it would be a direct journey where I'd only stop for gas, minus the quick detour I had in mind. Parking the car, I threw a blanket from the back over the urn with my ashes to keep it out of sight and stepped out the car, coffee in hand, before heading towards Whitmore College's administration office.

Whitmore College was not too far outside of Mystic Falls, acting as the college of choice for most Mystic Falls homebodies. Whilst I would've guessed Elena Gilbert wanted to get as far away from Mystic Falls as possible, I was there when she got her acceptance letter and knew this was where the three girls intended to go. Correction, two — my brain was still processing Damon wasn't the only loss, Bonnie was gone too. I never even applied, college wasn't for me since I'd done it before. Plus, I had every intention of making more time for Kol once I was cured and graduated.

"Hi!" I perked up, channeling all the faux cheeriness I could muster. Still, the woman had the desk didn't glance up from what she was typing. "This might be a strange request, but I haven't seen my little sister in forever and I was wondering if I could get her dorm number to surprise her?" Giving her my best puppy dog eyes, I over-exaggerated my request.

Tilting her glasses down to her nose, the woman finally looked up. "You're family?" She interpreted, a bored expression overtaking her features.

"Yes. Her name is Elena Gilbert." I informed her, tapping my fingers against the desk impatiently. "That's E-L-E-N-A." I spelled out after a beat, wondering what was taking the woman so long — and wondering if I'd really be able to obtain my ex friend's dorm number through good old fashioned manipulation. More and more, I was missing my compulsion.

"Ah, I see. Your sister is in 20—" The woman began, talking at the pace of a snail as she squinted at the electronic device in front of her.

Someone clearing their throat cut her off, forcing me to repress a growl. "Elena Gilbert doesn't have a sister." Turning around, I was shocked to find Alaric Salztman was the person interrupting me. Stefan had mentioned he was back — as a vampire, no less — but it was peculiar to come face to face with him when he was clueless to who I really was.

In knowing he was faster and stronger than me, I made a split second decision, my eyes flickering between Alaric, the woman and my coffee cup. Before either of the two could blink, I had turned the computer screen around and memorised the dorm number, breaking out into a run and throwing the remaining contents of my coffee at Alaric. That served as enough of a distraction for me to run towards Branford Hall without an interrogation from the recently resurrected vampire.

"Sorry, Ric." I muttered under my breath, repressing my laughter. Yes, I was definitely feeling more like myself.

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According to the woman's computer screen, Elena was in dorm 207. I rapped my knuckles against the door, hoping she wasn't in class yet — I'd deliberately left early in the morning for this reason. Soon enough, the door swung open to reveal Elena. On first glance, she hadn't changed much, except for styling her hair differently. However, when I looked closer, I noticed the girl's smile didn't reach eyes as she opened the door, seemingly expecting someone else.

"Hi?" Elena welcomed, the inflection in her voice making it sound more like a question than she intended.

"Why are you looking at me like I'm a door to door salesmen trying to sell you a toaster oven?" Quirking an eyebrow, I was taken aback by how posture became rigid at my arrival. I hadn't done anything to suggest she should be tense around me, making me think back to how Stefan mentioned the witch's herbs were making her angrier. Elena stopped taking them when she forgot about loving Damon, but they seemed to have a lasting effect. Or, maybe she changed a lot more than her appearance gave away — I died almost two years ago, a lot could have happened in that time.

Elena flashed me that fake smile again. "Sorry, I was expecting my b—Liam." She corrected herself, unsure of her relationship status and more looking for a good time whilst she was in college. "Do we have a class together?" Squinting, it was obvious she was trying to place my face and wanted to know why I was at her door.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Not since 2011, no." I replied wryly. "It's Lottie . . . Hatton. Long story short, a witch put me in a different body before the Other Side collapsed." I explained, not wanting to beat around the bush when I was on a time crunch and needed to be back in New Orleans to face my demons — or, fallen angels — soon.

Recognition flooded her eyes, like she understood what type of magic I could be talking about. "I—I've got to get to class." Her mouth dried up and she tossed her bag over her shoulder, rushing past me.

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It was about two hours before Elena came back to the dorm, yelping at the sight of me sat on her bed. In return, I gave her a mocking wave. Although I was already here longer than I intended, I wasn't going to leave just because Elena didn't want to speak with me. There was no sugar coating things anymore.

"I thought you would have gone . . . Home." She frowned. "Where is home now? Do you live in Mystic Falls? What about that poor girl you're possessing?" The brunette pinned me with her judgemental little eyes.

Refusing to flounder under her stare, I flashed her an innocent smile. "New Orleans nowadays. And I wouldn't worry about her, she's always whining in the back of my mind." I looked Elena up and down. "It makes me all nostalgic, it's almost like I'm still friends with you." It was a low blow, but I couldn't pretend that everything was fine between the two of us. All my ill feelings towards Elena Gilbert violently swished around in my stomach and it knocked me sick. She knocked me sick.

"You know the Originals live there, right?" She was concerned.

"I do," my voice wavered, "they're my . . . friends. Allies. At least, Klaus is." Even saying it out loud sounded absurd, but he had saved me and I couldn't hold his compulsion against him any longer. Not after meeting Rosalie. I understood why he was wary of me now — the girl who made Kol love again. He'd long erased any debt he owed me since I tried to kill him too. I nearly succeeded when I pushed his desiccated body to its doom.

"They're monsters!" It felt like something Elena said on instinct, not because it was true. There was no fight to it this time, like she already knew it would only be a rerun of a conversation we shared one too many times before.

I crossed my arms. "Well, they haven't tried to stake me yet, so they're one up on you."

"Is that why you came here?" She didn't try to hide her disbelief. "Do you want revenge? Because that's pathetic, Lottie. Bonnie might be dead and you know that stake wasn't meant for you." Elena was visibly tired and it was clear to me recent events had been wearing her down — no matter how much she wanted to be the fun, party girl for Caroline.

I stood up, walking closer to her until our chests were touching. "I don't want revenge. You see, I'm trying to get on board with this whole new age thing," I placed air quotes around it, "so this is me rising above it. I'm not here to draw blood," I dragged a nail down the side of her cheek, "or maybe I am. Not much though, I promise."

"Just get it over with. Whatever you're going to do, do it now because I won't have you hurting any of my friends. It was my plan that got you killed, nobody else's." She was pacing the length of the room, frenzied.

I rolled my eyes at her melodrama. "Thank me when you win an Academy Award for playing the martyr 24/7 and I'll call it even." I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little satisfaction in thinking she'd always be watching her back, waiting for me to do something, but I was over it. I had made me peace with us having grown apart. Our priorities were too different for us to ever be friends.

Elena shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry if I don't trust you're all wide eyed innocence when you came to me after stealing another girl's body." She snapped.

"If only you were sorry for other things. You know, like killing me." I bit back before taking a deep breath. "Look, I didn't come here to argue with you. I came here to talk some sense into you."

The girl was taken aback by this. "Talk some sense into me? You've been dead for two years." Her eyebrows furrowed, genuinely confused as to what could have brought me to her.

"First, let me be clear, we aren't friends. Our friendship stopped the minute you couldn't put my feelings above your juvenile need for the cure, which you didn't even use, clearly." I pointed at her daylight ring. Still a vampire then. And from the sweep of the room earlier too, she had blood bags. "But, Damon is my friend. So, I'm here to tell you that you can rewire your brain all you want to forget him, but your heart never stops. Take it from someone who has been there." Closing my eyes, I tried to think what would make her remember him. I remembered Kol slowly because Rebekah was daggered, so short of daggering Alaric . . . I was out of options.

"Damon?" A dazed mist passed over her eyes and they looked glassy. "What's this got to do with him? I hate him." There was a rehearsed nature to her words and it made me shiver.

"Do you?" I questioned. "Because I don't think you do and I'm not going to dance around you feelings like Caroline or Stefan. You love Damon and you hate that you do because you know it should be Stefan — he's safe and good — but instead you . . . want a love that consumes you. You want passion and adventure, and even a little danger." I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to remember what Damon told the half drunk girl that night we first arrived into town. I'd watched from a tree by the woods. "Think about it, Elena. You danced with him at Miss Mystic Falls, something happened between the two of you when we met up Denver, I could tell, and you were sired to him. If you hate him so much, explain all that to me." I was becoming a little hysterical now because I owed it to Damon to make him remember. It disgusted me she refused to honour his memory.

Stumbling, Elena was processing everything I said, blinking fast. "No, it's always been Stefan. Damon is rude — he hurt Caroline and Jeremy and a whole other list of people." She struggled to get the words out because I'd given her all the pieces and they weren't fitting together.

"Stop focusing on the bad things. Name one good thing that Damon Salvatore did." I told her.

Clutching her head, she found her way towards the bed. "My head is pounding — I can't!" She yelled.

I recalled the pain of the memories was so intense that I ended up snapping my own neck when I remembered Kol. "You have to." I thought of all the weapons I had on my person, all the weapons I had to keep because of what Esther forced me to become. "Because if you don't, I'll carve out your pretty little heart right now and send it Damon's doorstep in Hell. Wherever he ended up, I'll find him and give him your heart because you sure as hell don't deserve his." To add credit to my threat, I pulled a dagger from my boot and advanced on her.

She bared her fangs at me. "I don't want to hurt you, Lottie."

"I know I said I was going to rise above it, but I think I'd quite like to hurt you unless you give me a reason not to." I held up the blade. Vampires ran fast, but she'd be running towards me — the only way was forward, so my dagger would reach her faster. "Name one good thing Damon Salvatore did." Narrowing my eyes, I pushed for an answer.

"I don't know! He helped me look for Stefan that one Summer. He never gave up, not even when I thought he would."

I scoffed. "That's it? You'd be dead without him."

"I'm already dead!" Elena screamed. "And I hate every second of it. All I know is death and being a vampire means everyone I love will die around me when I won't. As if enough people haven't already. I'll forever be consumed by bloodlust. I'll never have children or have the picket fence life I wanted because I shoved the cure down Katherine's throat." She was breathless, everything tumbling out at once.

"Sounds like I'm not the one who wanted revenge on anybody then." In a split second decision, I tossed her the dagger and she caught it with her reflexes. "If you hate it so much, end it."

Elena frowned. "What?"

"End it. There's no shame in it, I almost did. I begged for it even." I informed her, talking as casually as one would about the weather. "Or, you can put that dagger down right now, find Alaric and demand he give you back your memories because then you might find something to live for." I paused. "People act like loving someone so much you'd die for them is some great, romantic act — I died for someone I loved and I can tell you it isn't. Loving someone so much you'd live for them, that's a great, romantic act. I'm still working on  it though."

Holding the dagger in her hand, Elena contemplated what I said for an uncomfortably long moment. "If I loved him so much, why I would want to forget him?" Tears glistened in her brown eyes.

"Because forgetting him was easier and nobody ever tells eighteen year olds love isn't meant to be easy." I said softly.

Regaining her composure, Elena nodded. "Thank you. Really."

"Don't mention it. Really." I mimicked her words. "People might start to think I've gone soft and I have a reputation to uphold." I whispered before slinking out of her dorm room. Once again, I could only hope I'd done right by Damon Salvatore like he always had for me — he didn't give up on me when I died and I could only do the same.

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A.N: I don't want to rehash everything I've already said but please check my wall for a full explanation of any further plans with this book. This chapter had been partly prewritten, but not edited or checked for errors yet because I'm posting as much as I can right now and will return to revise it in the morning. I'm hoping to wrap this up to put a conclusive end to Kottie very soon. Thank you for the support.