CHAPTER ONE | I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

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EVERYTHING IN THE VAMPIRE'S WORD HAD CHANGED FOREVER— AND IT WAS FOR THE BETTER. Bonnie had managed to bring Jeremy back before she put the veil back off, then headed off traveling. Elena and Caroline were preparing to start their first year at Whitmore college. Matt took Rebekah up on her offer to see the world, while Tyler was still away with a werewolf pack, despite being able to return home to Caroline after Klaus gave him his freedom.

Stefan remained unheard of. Nobody had any contact with him after he left at the beginning of summer. They all assumed that he needed to reconnect with himself after having his heart broken by Elena so many times. Evelyn did occasionally question whether his heart was broken beyond repair. everyone was questioned whether it was still beating.

Damon and Evelyn had been had practically been joined at the hip all summer long. Nobody really could blame them, either. It was the first time they had truly been themselves around each other without having to hide the way that they felt for one another out of fear their feelings were not reciprocated.

"Do you know how right this feels?" Damon whispered softly as he kissed the top of Evelyn's head. The brunette vampire was draped across his chest as they laid within his bed, engulfed in the comfort of each other. "Hell, I should've told you I loved you months ago."

Evelyn chuckled softly and lifted herself from his chest to look into Damon's eyes. "Yes, you should've. But, we can debate how much of an idiot you are later." She grinned and pressed her lips delicately against Damon's as she heard a chuckle leave his own. "We've got slightly more important things to be doing."

"Oh, yeah?" The Salvatore hummed as they parted a few inches from each other. "Like what, huh?"

"Oh, you know. Making up for all of the lost time." The Austin vampire chuckled as her lips crashed against Damon's once more. The two were completely lost in the feeling of each other— they loved every second of it.

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"There were issues at home." Jeremy began as he sat in front of Elena, reciting what he was going to say to his principal about his sudden reappearance. "Ever since I lost my parents, my aunt, I've been acting out. Drugs, drinking— I was looking for attention so I lit my house on fire and faked my own death."

"Really stress the drug thing," The doppelganger nodded to herself then pressed her hand against her forehead. "And I'd definitely say that the fire was an accident because there's crazy and then there's—well, me."

"Or I could just not go back, considering my school already had a memorial for me." Jeremy raised an eyebrow toward his sister, though she only folded her arms and looked back at him.

Before Elena could even respond to the remark made by her little brother, she heard a horn honk from outside while Evelyn and Damon strolled in and announced the arrival of the blonde. "Caroline just pulled up."

"I can't leave. I— I should stay and at least wait until Jeremy settles into school—" Elena continued to protest, but Damon rolled his eyebrows and cut her off.

"You're leaving. You're going to college. You're gonna drink cheap beer and you're gonna protest things you don't care about. And Evelyn and I are going to take care of your little brother. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about." Damon gave the doppelganger a sure nod, while Evelyn smiled.

Elena sighed heavily and then turned back to meet the gaze of her brother. "Okay. Well, at least Whitmore's only a few hours away. So, if there's anything you need Jer, just call me."

"Hey, see you on laundry day." Jeremy interrupted Elena's continuous rant and then pulled his sister in for a hug.

"Alright." Evelyn took a breathe and then opened the door widely for Elena's exit. "Off you go, Caroline's waiting."

"Thank you both for doing this. It means a lot." Elena smiled at Damon and then Evelyn before she headed out to Caroline's car with her suitcase.

Jeremy stood in the middle of the room staring at Evelyn and Damon who had quickly resumed, yet another make-out session. They were blissfully unaware that Jeremy was still in the room until they felt his eyes on them and they pulled away. "Yeah, no we're not doing this." Damon began as he glanced over to Jeremy. "Go to school."

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As Evelyn dropped an empty blood bag into the bin beside her bed, she lifted her head up with a raised eyebrow. She had heard a voice downstairs— a familiar voice, though she couldn't decide whether it was Elena or Katherine. The brunette immediately jumped up from the bed, and then hurried herself the staircase in the direction of the voice.

"Oh, my God," Evelyn muttered as she came face-to-face with a newly human Katherine Pierce. The doppelganger looked completely different— unhappy even. She looked feeble. "I never thought I'd see you human. You know what that means, right?"

"I don't follow." Katherine rolled her eyes in a bored tone as she tried her chest to brush out her tangled hair.

"I can kill you now." Evelyn attempted to lunge at Katherine, but Damon sped into the room and yanked her backward. "What— Damon!"

"No, no, no. I'm all for the idea of killing Katherine Pierce in cold blood. But, it would be rude of us not to appreciate this moment for just a little longer." Damon mused in the direction of the woman he loved and then turned to Katherine. "What're you doin' here?"

"It's been a long summer," Katherine croaked out and then headed over to the liquor. She poured herself a tumbler of bourbon and then chuckled after she took a sip. "You're gonna have to cut me off soon. My tolerance is a joke now. It's just so— glorious."

"Oh, believe me, honey. That is not the word I'd use." Evelyn smirked. She enjoyed knowing that Katherine clearly hated every moment of human life.

"You're miserable," Damon concluded.

"Please. I'm Katherine Pierce." Katherine scoffed with the tumbler of bourbon still in her grip. "I'm a survivor."

"Nope. What you are, though, is one hell of a liar." The brunette vampire laughed.

"Your hair is messed up. Your nails are chipped. You're a sad, miserable human being and you want one of us to turn you. So—" Damon bit on his wrist and held it up toward Katherine's mouth. "—Go ahead, drink up. Evelyn will kill you. You bite the mailman and you'll be a vampire again."

"I can't, okay?" Katherine reluctantly pushed his arm away and snapped back at him. "No one's ever taken the cure before. If I die, there's a good chance I may never wake up."

"Oh, because the world would be at a definite loss without the elusive Katherine Pierce." Evelyn rolled her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest. "If you aren't here for vampire blood, then what exactly are you here for?"

Before Katherine could even answer Evelyn's question, the phone rang behind her. The human twirled around and answered it before either of the vampires got a chance. "Salvatore Residence? Hello, Principle Webber. This is Elena."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"Oh, dear. We'll find him." Katherine turned on her heels to face Damon and Evelyn as soon as she hung up the phone. "So, Jeremy's been expelled. Elena will be cool with that, right?"

"When we get back here, you're going," Damon growled lowly toward the Petrova doppelganger and then nodded his head in the direction of the door. Evelyn grabbed her jacket and attempted to follow.

"Wait," Katherine called out and the two vampires stopped once more. "There's someone chasing me."

"Well, then, do what you always do and run, Katherine." Evelyn spat back in a careless manner. "It's never been hard for you before, right?"

"You don't understand, I have enemies everywhere. What happens when word gets out that I'm a human? I can't protect myself. I'm weak and I'm slow. Do you have any idea what it's like to run in heels? I have blisters. Can you both just please— help me?"

"Ugh," Evelyn grunted out and then turned to the Salvatore that stood behind her. "You go, find Jeremy. I'll keep an eye on Katherine."

"What? No, you'll kill me." Katherine immediately stated in a panicked tone with widened eyes. "No, Damon. Don't leave her with me."

"Either Eve babysits you, or you can find a rock to hide under." Damon gave the doppelganger a smirk and then pressed a kiss on his girlfriend's forehead. "I'll be back soon."

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Katherine had decided to go and take a bath— conveniently in Damon's bathtub, to irritate Evelyn. The Austin vampire remained seated downstairs with a tumbler of bourbon in one hand, and her phone in the other. She glanced up as she watched the door push open to reveal none other than Stefan Salvatore.

"Oh, my God." Evelyn breathed out immediately. She placed her bourbon and cellphone onto the coffee table and hurried over to Stefan. "Where the hell have you been, Stef?!"

The Salvatore threw his arms around Evelyn, who ran into his arms with a smile. "I wish everyone was this welcoming." The Salvatore chuckled softly. He paused for a moment, then tilted his head. "Katherine's bathing in my brother's bathtub? Doesn't that, uh— piss you off?"

"She wants it to." Evelyn rolled her eyes as turned around to grab her bourbon. "So, where have you been, Stefan?"

"Around." He responded vaguely with a shrug and then backed toward the staircase. "I'm gonna go see what a newly-human Katherine Pierce looks like."

"Uh, okay." Evelyn trailed off with a look of confusion on her face. She headed back over to the couch, but before she managed to drop herself down onto it, Damon and Jeremy burst through the doors.

"Where is he?" The Salvatore abruptly yelled toward Evelyn as she looked dumbfounded. "It's not Stefan, it's Silas, Eve. Now, Where is he?" Katherine ran straight down the staircase in a panicked state with a dressing gown wrapped around her body. She ran into Damon, who shoved her toward Jeremy. "Get her out of here. Don't tell us where you're going."

Jeremy grabbed hold of Katherine and hurried out of the Salvatore house just as Silas walked down the staircase. Evelyn's eyes widened as she stared at him. "So, you look like Stefan. That's not— That's weird, right?"

Silas rolled his eyes as he sauntered forward. "Get out of my way and give me Katherine."

"First drop the Stefan look." Damon retorted with narrow eyes upon the man who was appearing as his brother. "What?"

"There's no look to drop, Damon. You two are familiar with the term, doppelganger, right?"

"No way." Evelyn scoffed in disbelief as she looked between Damon and Silas. "No, I don't believe you."

A smirk swept across the immortal's lips as he leaned against the couch. "You say you don't believe me and yet both of your minds are spinning at the possibility.

"A— get out of our heads. B— I think I'd know if my little brother had an evil twin."

"Oh, we're not twins." Stefan's doppelganger shook his head and stepped closer to Damon before he dropped down in a seat. "See, I became truly immortal, nature retaliated by creating a version of me that was killable. It's called a shadow-self."

"Funny. I don't remember asking." Evelyn tilted her head with a scoff as she crossed her arms over her chest. "The cure's gone, anyway. So, why are you after KP?"

"I could tell you both. But, wouldn't it be so much more fun if it were a surprise?" Silas chuckled, then got up to his feet. "Damon, how well do you know your brother? Do you really think he would leave town for three months without so much as a phone call?"

Silence befell the couple and Evelyn immediately felt Damon tense up beside her. "Where's Stefan?" He asked in a low tone of voice, which usually led to violence.

"So, call the hunter— bring me Katherine and then I will tell you where your little brother is."

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