***
[𝙶𝙸𝙻𝙱𝙴𝚁𝚃 𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴]

I WAS AT ELENA'S house to help her get ready for the parade. Jenna had called me and made it an official S.O.S. She was having trouble with the dress, so I came over and helped her with it. The dress was a light yellow, it was beautiful. Jenna was typing the corset as I slipped her skirt over her, tying it in the back and trying not to mess Jenna up with the corset. Once I finished that, I put Elena's necklace on her, as she spoke. "Ouch, this dress hurts," Elena commented.

"Suck it in, baby," Jenna replied since she knew Elena didn't have a choice in the matter. Damon had said I should dress up just for fun since he wanted to see me in a dress like that, but I dismissed the idea immediately. I wasn't Corinthia.

***
[𝙾𝚄𝚃𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙳𝙴]

Everybody was preparing for the Founders Day Parade, and Carol Lockwood was supervising the whole disaster. Yelling at boys who weren't on the float, at the guys who didn't put the chairs on the float, and to the girls that were supposed to be on the float. Basically what I'm saying is: This is a hot mess. I was standing with Stefan, sort of moral support, when Damon arrived. Great, from moral support to peacekeeper in just a few minutes.

"Look at you, all retro," Damon spoke as he approached us. He was in a black button-up shirt and was sort of killing it, to be honest. I was just in a floral sleeveless blouse, the color of it burgundy. I wore black leggings with it since it went down to my mid-thigh.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked as he didn't look at Damon and continued walking.

"Why wouldn't I be here?" Damon questioned, before answering the question, "Bonnie deactivated the Gilbert invention, Isobel is gone and it's Founders' Day! I'm here to eat cotton candy and steal your girl." He hit Stefan's shoulder and I chuckled. They were getting closer.

"Don't start with me, Damon," Stefan stated simply, as I watched them converse.

"Oh, you think that I mean Elena? The girl I'm stealing is this one," Damon replied, gently taking me by the waist and pulling me over beside him.

I gasped as he pulled me over, not being able to restrain myself from yelling out, "Hey!" He kept his arm around me as he smirked as Stefan.

"Yeah, you definitely sold me on that whole 'Leave-Elena-Alone-I'm-Insecure speech. Really enjoying that," Damon laughed. "Especially since you did it for nothing."

"As long as you heard it," Stefan replied, "Just want to make sure you don't try anything sneaky, Damon." He shot Damon a look.

"What?" Damon asked as Stefan began to walk. He took my arm to follow him, as Damon followed us and grabbed my other arm, "You have no sense of humor, Stefan."

"Actually I have no sense of 'Damon humor'," Stefan responded with, as he continued to walk and dragged me along with him.

"'Damon humor'..." Damon muttered as he stood there for a moment taking it in. Then he followed us once more, "Hey look, I get it, I get it. I'm the better, hotter, superior choice and you're scared, now that Corinthia is out of the picture and Elena is in it, that I'm gonna turn all my attention to Elena. But don't worry, I see Elena as a good friend, Stefan. And Elena isn't Katherine, so you won't have to worry about that, either. I don't have any pent up vengeance to unleash on her just yet."

"You're right, she's not Katherine. But Charlotte isn't Corinthia either, Damon," Stefan fired back, causing my mouth to drop.

I grabbed Stefan by the shoulders, then pulled him in for a hug. "That is... The nicest thing you have ever said to me, Stef... Thank you," I said softly, genuinely. This whole time I've been waiting for someone, just one person to tell me I'm not Corinthia. To tell me I'm Charlotte. That I'm not defined by my doppelgänger. I thought that it would be Damon, but it was Stefan. It was always Stefan.

Elena was walking, and Damon and I saw her first since Stefan was turned around. I saw her in her dress already, but it didn't hurt to see her again. She looked gorgeous, dressed in a yellow gown with a green ribbon around her waist. Her hair was curled with a red flower in it, and I realized she looked strikingly like Katherine. She was beautiful.

***

Damon and I were together after Stefan and Elena got on the float, and Damon gently tapped my arm and motioned to Bonnie, "Let's go talk to witch-bitch. I need to thank her."

"A few things: One, she hates you. Two, you called her witch-bitch right before you said you wanted to apologize, sort of contradicting don't you think? And three, I don't think she wants to talk."

Damon gave me a look, "Just come on, Charlotte." He took my hand and led me to Bonnie, but I refused to go. "You don't want to go? Fine." I just sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Damon, I don't want to get caught up in your mess. Especially since I'm friends with Bonnie. At least for now," I said to him, giving him a look.

He just sighed and shook his head, "Okay, but I still think staying with me is your best option." He smirked and then spoke again, "Go ahead and head to the Grill then. I'll join you in a minute after I tell Bonnie what I need to." He gestured off towards the Grill and I nodded, starting on my way to the restaurant alone.

***
[𝙼𝚈𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙲 𝙶𝚁𝙸𝙻𝙻]

Damon and I were standing in the Grill, scoping out the place for people we knew or people we could play games with. We were bored out of our minds and Damon already reached his alcohol limit I gave him the moment he stepped in: one drink. I looked when I saw Damon looking at the door, and Elena walked in with her normal clothes on. "I like you better like this. The period look, it... Didn't suit you," Damon said to Elena, once she got close to us.

"Is that an insult?" Elena asked him.

"Actually Elena, it is a compliment of the highest order," Damon explained since she wasn't Katherine or anything.

"Look, I know Stefan is worried about our... Friendship," Elena started.

"Did he mention something to you too?" Damon asked quickly.

"No, did he mention something to you?" Elena asked him suspiciously.

I nodded to her with an innocent smile as Damon put his hand on my head to stop me from nodding, "No," He responded a little too quickly, "Nothing worth repeating."

"Okay... Don't make me regret being your friend, okay?" Elena asked softly, as Damon seemed a bit hurt by that. He just nodded, as Elena looked over and saw Jeremy sitting alone. I watched her walk off as Damon and I turned to watch them.

"I don't believe that we can't fix this. I lied, I was wrong. But you're my brother, Jer, and I love you, and I have to fix it. So just tell me, what can I do?" Elena asked since Damon and I was listening in on the conversation.

"You can go to hell, Elena," Jeremy said rudely, as he got up and left. Damon and I watched after him as I looked at Elena, who seemed more than hurt. That was her brother... I couldn't imagine Stefan ever doing that to me. I would cry and cry and cry. It would hurt me so much, and I'm proud of Elena for staying so strong. I know this hurts her.

I walked over to her, "Hey, Elena... Are you okay? Jer was being a bit harsh there. It's not your fault, I just want you to remember that. You were trying to protect him. And you did protect him."

"But did I, Char?" Elena asked, looking over at me. "I just made it worse. But he was harsh, and it does hurt," she admitted softly.

I sighed and embraced her, "Elena, you are so strong. You're more than your brother's hurtful words, okay? You were helping him, and he'll realize that later when it's too late for him to apologize."

Elena embraced me back, "It's never too late for my brother, Charlotte. And it will never be too late for you, or Stefan. You are my best friend, and I'll always forgive you just like I would my brother."

***
[𝙾𝚄𝚃𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙳𝙴]

Elena and I found John at the building where they rounded up the vampires after they had lit it on fire. "Where is Damon?" Elena asked John.

"With the rest of them, where he should be. It's over for Damon," John explained.

"You're crazy!" Elena yelled at John.

"Why? Because I'm doing what should have been done a hundred and forty-five years ago? This is the right thing, Elena," John tried to persuade.

I looked at the building and John looked at me. "Go ahead, you won't make it out. It'll save me the trouble of killing you myself. I should've known you were one of them," John sneered.

I looked over at Elena, "You know this building better than I do. Is there any other way inside?"

Elena nodded, "The utility door. It's around the side." I nodded and ran toward the building, watching as Elena tried to follow but John stopped her. I had to keep going. I had to save Damon.

I ran towards the door, but Bonnie stopped me from going any farther. "Hey, you can't go in there!" She yelled as I opened the door anyway. "The fire will take you out."

"He's important to me, Bonnie! And I don't know why!" I yelled out to her, as I ran into the building. I tried to open the door, but the doorknob was too hot and it burned my hand. I screamed out in pain as I heard Elena walk to the door and call out my name.

"Elena, you can't go in there!" Bonnie yelled at her, giving her the same warning she gave me.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry I lied to you," Bonnie apologized, reciting a spell. I heard her chant it, "Ex spiritum intacullum, in terrum incendium, fes matos salvis adisdum!" Elena protested, but Bonnie still recited the spell. I tried to open the door again, and the doorknob didn't burn my hand! The spell was to help me! The fire was too large to walk in, but suddenly the flames diminished and were small enough for me to speed into the room and find Damon.

"Damon! Hurry up!" I called him before I used all my strength to pick Damon up, speeding out of the basement with him. I made it outside with him as Damon muttered something along the lines of "Thank you, Little Flame." I chuckled with a smile and shook my head, "That name is a little ironic due to our situation don't you think?" We were both coughing as I got Damon outside with Elena and Bonnie, Stefan finally showing up.

"Oh my god!" Elena said softly, helping Damon and I. Stefan raced over and went to Damon as I walked over to Bonnie.

"Thank you, Bon, for what you did," I said softly.

"I did it for you and Elena. Not for—" Bonnie started.

"Damon, I know. You hate Damon, it's sort of your thing." We both chuckled, and I embraced her. Lots of embraces today, and it made me very happy.

***
[𝚂𝙰𝙻𝚅𝙰𝚃𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝙱𝙾𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚂𝙴]

After the night I just had, I spent the rest of the night sleeping in my warm, safe bed. Oblivious to everything. What I didn't know though, was what happened while I was asleep...

[3RD POV]
As Elena was standing outside on the phone... Katherine Pierce was inside the house pretending to be Elena. Katherine was having a little chat with John, when she took the knife she was using to cut food, to slice off John's finger. And this was only the beginning of the mayhem and havoc that Katherine would wreak on Mystic Falls.. Especially when she sees "Corinthia" is still alive. However, it's even more surprising when she finds it's Charlotte, the vampire she turned all those years ago..