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𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 - 𝐂𝐡. 13
"𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞, 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲.
𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝."

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      — ROLLING OVER IN BED, Skyler released a soft sigh. Behind her, the sun peeked through the curtains as it began to rise. She curled further into the soft fabric of the comforter and closed her eyes, wondering if she could get a couple more hours of sleep. That's when she felt it. The distinct burning feeling of eyes on her. She tensed as she lay there, feeling all too vulnerable. She stayed like that for a moment, unsure if it was all in her head, but when she continued to feel as though someone was watching, she opened her eyes and got up, ready for a fight. She looked around her room with narrowed eyes and balled-up fists, however, she found no one there. She stood and went to her balcony to look over the edge in search of anyone in the surrounding area. Still nobody. Am I being paranoid? She thought, she thought but still felt uneasy.

With the knowledge that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now, she tensely made her way to her closet to change. Once that was done, she searched around once more, but there was still nobody there. She tried to brush it off, assuming she was being paranoid, because after all being in Mystic Falls did have a strange effect on her and her brothers, her entire family. Still, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling as she went about her day.

To preoccupy herself, she grabbed a book from the shelves. One of her favorites of classic literature. It had been read to her several times by Kol during private late nights together, and she'd read it on her own even more times. Reading it was habit at this point, a ritual she used to calm herself if nothing else. And so, she sat down and slipped into the familiar world of literature.

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      THE floor creaked under the weight of his feet as she hid under the bed, her heart tight in her chest. She couldn't breathe and then—

KNOCK, KNOCK!!

Skyler jumped, her eyes flew from the pages of the thriller to her bedroom door as Damon opened it, one hand holding a mug with the distinct smell of coffee while his other hand covered his eyes, "Are you decent?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes. Setting the book aside, she stood, "Yes, Damon."

"Good." He took his hand away from his eyes and continued, "I'm not looking to see any of your bits today." He scrunched his nose up in disgust. He shook his head, changing the subject. "Coffee for you, sister dear. I heard you up before the rooster crowed this morning."

Skyler groaned and took the coffee happily. "I didn't get much sleep." She admitted, taking a long sip of the coffee, "I couldn't shake this feeling that I was being watched."

"Well, the council did just try to murder us. I think we're allowed some paranoia." Damon said sarcastically.

She shook her head, "It wasn't that. It was..." she sighed, "I don't know. Why are you up so early?"

Straightening up, Damon got to the real reason he was here, "Stefan woke me up. Elena's at the hospital."

She groaned in exasperation, "Elena, of course."

He gave her a questioning look, "Why don't you like Elena?" He asked like he couldn't possibly understand why.

She arched a brow, "Are you serious?" She questioned incredulously, "She's just like Katherine, Damon, the woman who broke my brothers' hearts and got us all killed. The similarities aren't all in the looks either."

"She's not like Katherine." He denied. "I like her."

She scoffed, "What, you like being reminded of your ex every day? Besides you're biased, you loved Katherine."

"I wasn't in love with Katherine." Damon told her sternly, faltering when Skyler gave him a cold look, "I'm not in love with Elena." He resolved his response.

"Maybe not, but you were in love, hell maybe you still are," she paused to mutter 'I don't know why,' before continuing, "with the person who looks just like her."

Damon huffed, not bothering to even think for a moment before he responded, "Well you were in love with H-"

"Don't you dare say his name." Skyler glared at him, her expression chilled to a coldness Damon had never seen on her face, "You don't deserve to. Not after everything."

He sighed, "You were in love with him, doesn't mean you're going to fall for his ancestors if they look like him." Skyler huffed, Hadrian's ancestors looked nothing like him, and she knew the difference between the real person and a clone, unlike her brothers. Even so, she had moved on from Hadrian a long time ago. Her brothers never moved on from Katherine.

"Yeah, because I have a-" she stopped herself from saying husband just in time, "a life, Damon. Your whole life has been in this damned town. I got out, I made my own life. One you and Stefan weren't a part of."

Damon huffed indignantly, "Trust me, I've had a life outside of this town."

"No. You haven't." She shook her head sternly, "You haven't met people who mattered, who changed you, made you better, or even people who broke your heart, hurt you."

He shook his head in disbelief, he didn't understand. "Why does any of that matter?"

She glared at him, "Because, Damon. You don't have a life outside of this town and never have." She sighed, combing a hand through her hair as she tried to reign in her anger. "A life outside of this town does exist, Day."

"Do you even want one?" She asked suddenly, "Do you even want to move on from this town, from Katherine? Do you really want to be stuck here for the rest of our eternal existence, Damon? Don't you want more?" He didn't respond, and finally, she had enough, "Please just get out, but... think about it, okay, Day?" He still didn't respond, but he did turn and leave. She sighed and closed the door behind him. Skyler turned away, the uneasy feeling from before returned full force, but in her anger, she brushed it off entirely. That is until she couldn't anymore.

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     SKYLER held her mug of coffee while she stood on her balcony, peering over the edge at the surrounding area which consisted of trees. Her empty hand held onto the railing, as though any moment she would be pushed and go falling. Maybe that was the paranoia talking, but she couldn't let go. It was safe to say she still felt uneasy. Finishing her coffee, she headed back inside and ran downstairs, where she grabbed a glass of bourbon, Damon's drink of choice, and returned to her room. She sighed as she made her way out to the balcony only to pause at the doorway, her hand tightened around the glass.

"Oh! Hey, Skyler. Damon let me in, I'm looking for Stefan?" The woman at the end of her balcony said with a smile. Skyler gawked, she may not like Elena but she knew enough about her to know the difference between her and Katherine— and she knew even more about Katherine, things her brothers didn't even know about, so even with Katherine trying her best to be Elena she could see right through it.

"Katherine." She stated her grip on the glass loosened.

Katherine's face faltered, the smile fell and formed into a smirk. "I always knew you were the most observant Salvatore."

"Why are you here?" She asked tensely, setting the glass down nearby.

"I told you already." Katherine stepped forward, "I'm looking for Stefan."

Skyler's eyes narrowed and formed into a death glare as she pushed forward and reached for Katherine, she held her hands around the elder vampire's throat as Katherine fought back. Without being able to use the extra strength she gained when she completed the bond with Kol, Katherine managed to overthrow Skyler and slammed her into a wall. "Nice try." She snarled.

"I'm not done yet." Skyler told her with a glare, she gained the upper hand, slamming Katherine into the opposite wall, "I should rip your heart out with my teeth for what you've done." She snarled, the anger of centuries returning all at once.

"You wouldn't kill me." Katherine grinned rather smugly, she had the deep urge to wipe that smile right off the bitch's face. "You can't."

The sound that escaped her throat could only be described as a growl similar to that of a wolf, "You may still have my brothers wrapped around your finger, Katherine, but not me."

"You can't kill me. Because that would break both your brothers' hearts all over again." Katherine stated confidently. The smug grin still hadn't left her face and it angered Skyler the longer it stayed there.

"That may have been so a hundred years ago, but none of us are the same anymore, Katerina." Skyler snarled, grasping Katherine's neck with one hand in a show of strength. She was done playing games. At this moment, the plan did not even cross her mind. She wanted Katherine dead.

Skyler watched happily as her words made Katherine falter, confusion in her eyes, "How-"

"You haven't figured it out yet, have you? Where I was when I disappeared for so long." She laughed, the grip she had on Katherine's neck tightened, "Of course, you haven't, you've been too focused on my brothers. You've always underestimated me, Kitty. I think it's about time that ended."

The door opened suddenly, but her grip on Katherine's neck never faltered even as Stefan, Damon, and Elena all rushed into her room. Finally, her hand released Katherine's neck and she pushed her towards the balcony. Katherine stumbled before she disappeared into the wind. She was the one who got away yet again, but finally, Skyler had won.

"Why did you let her go?" Elena asked with wide eyes.

Skyler looked at them with a coldness her brothers had never seen before as she told them in a dark, sadistic tone, "Making her run scared is worse than killing her here and now, trust me." She let out a breath and went to grab her glass of bourbon from where she placed it only to find that it had fallen during the fight, the glass broken on the floor and the liquid spilled around it.

Stefan stepped forward after a moment of taking his twin sister in, "She hurt you." He pointed out.

Skyler looked at herself, only now noticing the injuries from Katherine. She winced, not in pain but in guilt because she was sure that Kol had felt it which meant she would have to explain it all to him later. "It'll heal." She shrugged it off and huffed, "I need a drink."

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    "DID she say what she wanted?" Damon asked Stefan as they stood around the living room, Skyler was behind Damon with a drink in her hand.

Stefan shook his head, "No."

"Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance." Damon huffed before he looked back at Skyler in question, "Skyler?"

She shook her head, "She was looking for Stefan, that's all I know. That and she spilled my bloody drink." She huffed and held onto her new drink tighter.

"Chill, warrior princess." Damon told her, "Why'd you let her go anyway?"

Skyler sighed, "I couldn't fight her with all of you there. She's smart, she would just hurt one of you to get me away. That's why I made her run instead." She explained it was only half a lie. The hidden truth is that she liked making Katherine run in the same way she made Skyler and her brothers run from their home, in the same way, Klaus made Katherine run long before that.

Stefan furrowed his brows in confused thought. He spoke up, "She said she fooled one of us at least." He told Damon, "What does - what does that mean?"

Damon looked away, "She pretended to be Elena too when I showed up earlier tonight."

Stefan frowned at that however before either twin could say anything about the response, and trust me Skyler had a lot to say, Elena walked downstairs. "I told Jeremy." She told them, "I can't lie to him anymore."

Skyler frowned, her eyebrows furrowed, "Wait, I'm sorry you told your human teenage brother that vampires exist?" She questioned, her eyes narrowed in on Elena, "Seriously?" she asked incredulously looking at her brothers.

"Are you alright?" Stefan asked Elena, ignoring his twin's words.

"Clearly not!" Skyler exclaimed.

"No, I'm not alright." Elena answered following Stefan in ignoring Skyler who huffed in response, "I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone, things would get better."

"This is Mystic Falls." Skyler deadpanned in the background while Stefan was busy playing the comforting boyfriend role and Damon played the broody silent jealous role.

Wait... were they even together? She couldn't keep up with all the drama.

"I know." Stefan said softly, "We all did."

Skyler raised her hand, "I didn't."

He turned to her and glared, "Quit eavesdropping."

"I'm a vampire! I can't just turn off my hearing!" She exclaimed, Stefan's glare intensified and she raised her hands in defeat, "Okay, okay." She said, stepping back to stand beside Damon, she glanced at him in disbelief, "You believe this?" She huffed.

Elena sighed as Stefan returned with all his attention on her, "Katherine was in this house." She stated, "That means she's been invited in. What are we going to do?"

"Move." Damon suggested as he sat down on the counter, Skyler readily nodded in agreement.

"Very helpful." Elena retorted sarcastically.

Skyler leaned against the counter beside Damon as she spoke, "Katherine wants you dead, There's nothing you can do about that, except run."

"You would be dead if she wanted you to be, but you're not. So clearly she has other plans." Damon told her.

"Hopefully those don't involve me." Skyler added. She wanted nothing to do with Katherine unless it was Katherine's death.

Stefan nodded, "Right, and we need to figure out what those other plans are and not provoke her in the process."

"But it's so much fun to provoke the Kitty." Skyler smirked dangerously.

Stefan shot her a stern look before he focused on Damon, "What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?"

Damon offered a mere shrug in response, "To risk another... frown line encroaching on a very crowded forehead... we... kissed."

"You kissed her?!" Skyler exclaimed in disbelieving outrage, "Seriously? Have you learned nothing?!"

"And you thought it was me?"

Stefan's eyes narrowed further at Elena's words, "What do you mean you kissed?"

"Well you know, when two lips pucker and they—" Stefan ran at Damon however he was faster, escaping him with ease. "Don't be obvious, Stefan."

Stefan went to run at him once more when Elena got between the two brothers and spoke, "Stefan, wait, he kissed Katherine, not me." She looked at the elder Salvatore, "I wouldn't do that."

Skyler scoffed in disbelief, "Isn't that what Katherine said in 1864?" She asked curiously, knowing. Stefan glared.

"We don't have time for this, guys." Elena stated and shot a glare at Skyler.

Stefan looked at Damon sternly, "Later."

"John must know something." Elena told them, trying to change the topic away from the dreaded kiss between Katherine and Damon as the brothers looked at each other stiffly, "There has to be a reason why Katherine killed him."

"She's Katherine." Skyler pointed out blankly now that the immediate danger of a catfight between brothers was gone. She didn't need to give Kol another heart attack or have him murder her brothers if they hurt her, she continued, "She doesn't need a reason."

"Exactly." Damon said in agreement as he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, "She loves to play games and you're fooling yourself if you think you're going to find out what she's up to before she wants you to."

Stefan glanced at them, "No, actually, Elena's right."

"Isn't she always?" Skyler grumbled which earned a brief pointed glare from Stefan.

"John could know something through Isobel." Stefan continued, Skyler nodded along as though she knew who they were talking about. He looked at Elena, "Your mother, she was in touch with Katherine, so maybe we can go to the hospital. And talk."

"I've got a better idea." Damon told them smugly.

Elena at least pretended to be curious as she asked, "What's that?"

"I'm just going to ignore the bitch." He said confidently with a smirk.

"Here here!" Skyler exclaimed in agreement, her hand raised for dramatic effect.

Damon let out a snort before he told the rest, "See ya."

"Is that smart?" Elena questioned worriedly.

He sighed in response and explained, "If Katherine thinks she's being ignored, it'll lure her out. She'll make a move."

"She can't live without all the attention on her. If we don't give her what she wants, she'll show herself." Skyler added though the idea of ignoring Katherine without reason did seem fun to her.

"Yeah? Then what?" Stefan asked, clearly not having much belief in their plan.

"Stake her, rip her head off." Damon stated easily.

"Rip her throat out with my teeth." She shrugged casually which earned a disturbed look from Elena. "Or her heart, if we can find it."

"Something poetic." Damon agreed, "We'll see." He added before making his exit.

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      "WELL, the cats out of the bag." Skyler told Kol as he answered the phone, he made a noise of intrigue.

"What do you mean, darling gem?"

"Katherine's made her official return." She explained, "She tricked Damon into thinking it was Elena, and they kissed. And... she came after me too."

Skyler didn't have to see him to know that he tensed then, "What?" He asked sternly.

"She didn't trick me like she did my brothers. I'm done falling for her games." She told him, "In fact, I made her run with her tail between her legs this time. I won."

"Of course." Kol said as if he had no doubt, pride shown in his voice, she smiled, "I assume you have a plan?"

"I personally wanted to ignore the bitch, but of course, my brothers want to protect the little copycat." She leaned against her dresser and rolled her eyes as she continued, "I'm sure they've got a plan I'll be dragged into." She grimaced as she took a sip of the glass of bourbon she had grabbed on her way upstairs. No longer in front of her brothers, she couldn't hide her distaste for the drink. It was her father's drink of choice and burned just as much as the scars from his cigarettes on her wrists. She sighed and told Kol, "I hate this town."

"Me too, my love." He agreed easily, a truthfulness in his voice reserved only for her.

"Any objections to me killing your brother for making me come here?" She asked sarcastically as she set down the glass of bourbon with a glare and reached for a bag of blood instead. On the other end, Kol chuckled, making no objections. She took that as a win, even if she couldn't find it in herself to even try to kill Klaus.

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    ONCE she was done talking with Kol, Skyler made her way downstairs to find something better to drink. She was searching the bar for anything besides bourbon when her phone began to ring, a glance at the screen told her it was Stefan. She resisted the urge to groan as she accepted the call.

She didn't get the chance to greet her twin before he spoke in a rushed yet serious tone, "We have a problem."

"Well hello to you too." She hummed, eyeing the liquor in the bar, "Don't we always?" She asked indifferently as she grabbed the tequila off the shelf.

"I'm serious, Skyler." Stefan told her sternly, "Katherine showed up and threatened Bonnie."

Skyler grabbed a glass as she asked, "The witch? Why should I care about that?" She poured the tequila as Stefan sighed in disappointment.

"Just... get over here... please, Sky."

Skyler looked at her fresh glass of tequila and sighed, "Fine." She hung up and downed the glass before slamming it on the bar and disappearing.

So much for a quiet night.

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