CHAPTER ONE / ACT ONE

It All Ends Here

Regardless of the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon, the bar was dark and crowded. Angelina sat at the bar, sipping a glass of whiskey and tapping her finger tensely against the counter. She was one glass away from being completely drunk.

"Hey Bree!" Raising her glass in the air, Angelina called out to the bartender. "Can I get a refill?"

"Honey, that's your 6th glass in the past thirty minutes." Bree exclaimed as she made her way over to the brunette.

"Considering the week I've had, I think I need way more than 6 glasses." Angelina brushed her chestnut strands of hair from her line of view, moaning dramatically. "Don't worry, I won't be driving home."

Bree laughed delicately whilst topping off her glass and left to complete the process of cleaning down the counters. The doppelgänger took a taste from the glass and gulped it down, wiping the leftover alcohol off her face.

"No, no, it can't be." She heard the bartender exclaim from the other side of the bar, grabbing her attention. She lifted her head up curiously to see a look of suprise plastered on Bree's face.

"Damon?"

Angelina's face froze as the name escaped the bartender's mouth. Her palms began to sweat and her lips pursed together in shock. She set her glass on the counter and creased her eyebrows, dumbfounded on whether it was the same Damon she knew. It couldn't have been. There were probably a million Damon's in the world, it wasn't possible.

Bree happily slipped over the counter while Angelina kept on staying there, examining on whether she should turn around.

"My honey pie." Bree chuckled.

Angelina's face scrunched the second she heard kissing noises coming from behind her. Hopefully, it wasn't the Damon she knew.

"Come on, have a seat!" Bree welcomed hospitably, but her attention quickly focused to another brunette standing close behind him. "Now, wait a minute-"

Her foreheads creased as she examined the girl, who seemed to be indistinguishable from Angelina, who was simply behind her under 5 minutes prior. She immediately turned around on her heel and advanced before Angelina, analyzing her provisions as well.

"Uh- yes?" Angelina asked, trying to keep her composure.

Bree pointed behind her and she promptly worried, scared of what she might see. She gradually turned her head around to see the last individual she needed to see. Damon Salvatore.

With a roll of her eyes she stood from her seat, accepting that she had been caught. Damon's eyes augmented as they met each other's look. His demeanor loaded up with shock and disarray. "No.."

"Katherine?"

"Come on Damon," Shr groaned as she threw her head back in defeat. "After all these years and you still can't tell us apart?"

"Angelina?" Damon's face shifted into a more puzzled look.

"Bingo."

"Wait wait wait- you're Angelina?" The other brunette spoke up from behind them, her face filled with shock.

Angelina's eyes fixed to the young lady remaining behind him. The split form of herself. Her doppelgänger. Her mouth dropped, though she tried her best to hide her surprise. She was fully aware of her doppelgänger. Where she resided, what her life resembled, and so on. However she was making an honest effort to avoid her for practically the rest of time.

"Oh god," Angelina groaned once more, smashing her face in the palms of her hands in frustration. "I'm not drunk enough for this."

"You're supposed to be in the tomb." The eldest Salvatore spoke as the three sat together at the bar. "Not in some bar in Georgia."

"I managed to escape before they could trap me." Angelina replied him bluntly, which technically wasn't a lie, though it wasn't the full story.

"What about Katherine?" He inquired, his facial expression turning more serious. "Did she escape with you?"

"Come on Damon." The doppelgänger rolled her eyes jokingly as she took another sip of her glass. "It's been over 100 years and you still have a thing for her?"

"Just answer the question." Damon demanded.

"No," She lied, blunt in her response. "She didn't."

A short delay washed across the two, and the pressure between them thickened. Back in 1864, the two were great friends, best friends even, and Angelina's wants were never to hurt Damon, yet she'd do whatever it took to protect her and her sister. She didn't want Damon ruining anything.

"So, you must be Elena." Angelina broke the tense silence and forwarded her attention over to her doppelgänger. "I'm Angelina."

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you.." Elena spoke hesitantly as she continued to stare at Angelina.

"What?" The doppelgänger scrunched her brows, becoming increasingly agitated as Elena continued to stare.

"It's just-" Elena snapped back into reality. "I only just found out recently that we looked exactly alike. It's not exactly the easiest thing to adjust to."

"Wait wait-" The vampire smirked devilishly, trying to suppress her laugh. "You didn't tell her we're identical to each other?"

"Yeah, here's the thing, you don't even seem surprised you look alike." Brushing her off, Damon's eyebrowss drew together.

"My life's full of surprises, Damon." Angelina's eyes flickered from his to the half empty glass of whiskey. "You learn to get used to it after a while."

"So you don't know why I look like you?" Elena asked, seemingly disappointed.

"Nope." She lied once more.

Elena sighed heavily, clearing her throat before raising from her stool. "I'll be right back." Abruptly, she exited the bar, leaving them in another period of awkward silence.

"So, how's Stefan?" Angelina inquired, staring down at her drink in an attempt to appear as if she didn't care for the answer.

"Come on, Lina." Damon began to mock her recent words. "It's been over 100 years and you still have a thing for him?"

"Oh, shut up."

"He's doing fine."

Angelina couldn't help but let a soft smile grace her lips at Damon's words.

As for Stefan, well, Angelina knew all too well the feelings swirling within him. Betrayal hung heavy in the air whenever their paths crossed. He saw her as nothing but a neurotic liar, a shadow of Katherine – and in some ways, he wasn't entirely wrong.

But back in 1864, there was something between them, something real. They were in love, deeply and truly. But now, with Stefan a vampire, he saw it all as a lie, a product of compulsion. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Their love was real, raw, and untainted. He loved her, and she loved him back without an ounce of compulsion.

"So what are you doing here?" Damon started up another conversation.

"What? Am I not allowed to be in bars?" She questioned while waving a glass around, on the edge of being drunk. "I assure you, I'm more than old enough."

"Why are you in Georgia?"

Tracing her index finger around the rim of her drink, Angelina swallowed hard as her eyes shifted from the glass then to him. "Believe it or not, I was actually on my way to Mystic Falls."

"What? Why?"

Angelina sighed heavily as she placed the glass of bourbon on the counter, contemplating if she should respond.

"Because I heard you were trying to open the tomb." She answered truthfully. "Word travels fast, especially around a reckless vampire like yourself. Didn't take long for me to find out what you were up to."

"Oh, so you do still keep up with us. I'm touched." He joked, pressing a hand to his chest. "Look, you're more than welcome to help but—"

"Damon, if you open that tomb, you're unleashing 27 bloodthirsty vampires." She cut him off. "Vampires that want revenge for what the founding families did to them. Which means you, and then eventually all of of Mystic Falls."

"You're asking to get killed."

"And why do you care?" His sarcastic grin dropped and his eyes darkened. "You haven't been around for all of 145 years and all of a sudden you're trying to help? I don't buy it."

"I'm not my sister, Damon. I don't have any deception behind my concerns. I'm just.. looking out for you." It wasn't all a lie, she did care. She didn't want him or Stefan to die. Though regardless, there still was a touch—or maybe a ton of deception.

"Relax, we're just getting her out and then leaving before any more can escape." He didn't all believe her, but he wasn't going to press her any further. Not now anyway.

Angelina bit her lip, feeling a pang of sympathy for her old friend. He was about to unleash a horde of vampires from the tomb, only to realize Katherine wasn't there. Dealing with an irritated Damon was nobody's idea of a good time.

"Katherine's gone, Damon," she said, her tone icy as she took a final sip of her bourbon. "It's been 145 years. Let it go."

Her words hit him like a slap in the face, catching him off guard. He knew how close Angelina and Katherine had been, how they stuck together through thick and thin. Seeing Angelina now, so cold and distant, it was like looking at a stranger.

"What? How could—She's your sister!" A look of disbelief washed over him and almost a hint of anger.

"Yes, and now she's dead." She spoke coldly, placing the glass down on the table and sprang up from her seat. "People die. Move on."

Damon sat there alone, his emotions swirling like a storm inside him as he watched her disappear into the bathroom. Shock, confusion, and a tinge of sadness painted his face.

Inside the restroom, she stood before the mirror, her hands gripping the sides of the sink as she stared at her reflection. She hated lying to her friend, but she'd do whatever it took to protect herself and her sister. The Salvatore brothers wouldn't stand in her way.

Sure, the vampires would wreak havoc in Mystic Falls, but they weren't exactly on friendly terms with her or her sister. It wouldn't take much for one of them to tip off Klaus Mikealson, and she'd worked too hard to keep him at bay.

Damon's ridiculous 145-year-old crush on her sister wasn't going to undo all her efforts to stay alive. She'd survive, even if it meant dealing with a guilty conscience.

At least, that's what she hoped.

AUTHORS NOTE
ok but im kinda proud of this chapter even tho it only shows half of the episode.