Chapter 32: Chapter 32

I watch from my spot on the steps as Jeremy and Matt help Jenna in, leading her over to the couch. I tune out of what there saying, not really caring that much. I…um… haven’t been doing well these past few days. I haven’t really talked to Damon since the night Jenna stabbed herself. I’ve actually been avoiding him. I’ve been avoiding everyone. I feel so guilty and stupid.

I look up startled as Jeremy takes a seat next to me, “Hey, Jer.” I greet, looking back down at the step.

“Hey, I think I know something that will get you out of this mood you have been in for days.” Jeremy smirks, but I see the worry in his eyes. Great, my little brother is worrying over me now.

“That’s not possible.” I shrug.

“Oh yeah it is.” Jeremy grins, leaning closer to whisper in my ear. “Don’t tell Elena about this but… we’re going to kill Katherine at the masquerade ball tonight. I’m going over to the boarding house now so if you want in on the action, I can give you a ride.”

I look up at Jeremy, with a questioning look. “How are you going to do that? She’s like a billion years old. It’s practically a suicide mission.” I sigh.

“Not if you have three vampires, a vampire hunter, a witch, and two humans.” Jeremy smirks again, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Should I worry that my little brother is so eager to kill someone. Nah…

This sparks my interest, causing me to smirk back at him. “What are we waiting for?” I will not be left out of this. I want to see Katherine, turn all grey and veiny. I so want to kick her dead ass. That sounds weird…Never mind.

I guess I’m not done playing her game yet because tonight I make the final move. And I really like to win.

————————————————-

I look at all the weapons laying in front of me, with an amused expression. “Do I even want to know why you have so many weapons? Or is it just a hunter thing? Like on Supernatural in Sam and Dean’s car.” I question to Ric, who looks up from the weapons.

“Super what?” he asks, with a dumbfounded expression.

“Nothing.” I say quickly not wanting to go fangirl in the middle of the living room. If I start to explain to him what it is, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop.

“Hey, Ari. Can we talk for a minute?” I choose to ignore him, and just look down at the weapons. I try to act interested so he’ll leave. “Come on Aria, I know you don’t care about the weapons.” Damon sighs.

I turn around, looking into his blue eyes that I refuse to get lost in right now. “What?”

Damon looks over at Alaric hesitantly and Ric gets the picture, picking up a stake and heading towards Caroline. “Why have you been ignoring me? I’ve called and texted. I’m worried about you Aria. Hell, Elena called me. That’s how worried she is.” Damon frowns.

“Great, at least you two talk now.” I smile coldly, trying to keep my expression neutral.

“Aria, you need to talk to me.” Damon insists.

“No I don’t, okay? I don’t need to talk to you, nor do I want to. So can you please leave me the hell alone?” I glare trying to walks away from him but he catches my arm.

“Is this because of what happened while you were drunk. Are you embarrassed?” he questions.

“Yes!” I yell and when everyone in the room looks over at us, I lower my voice. “Yes I am embarrassed Damon. I haven’t acted like that since my parents died. I tried to forget about my breakdown but looking at you…it doesn’t help. I’m trying to get my emotions under control so please, I beg you, just… give me some space.” I pull away from his grip heading over to Caroline. She looks at me with a worried expression, having heard my conversation with Damon. Ugh, vampires and their damn hearing abilities. “Haven’t you heard Care? Eavesdropping is rude.” I growl, causing her to look away guiltily. I’m being harsh but I’m not in a very good mood. It seems like I’m never in a good mood anymore.

I look up at Bonnie as she enters the room, my glare moving towards her. Why is she here? “What’s going on?” she asks Stefan, looking around the room.

“We’re going to kill Katherine.” Jeremy answers, walking past her. She looks at Jeremy dumbfounded then turns back to Stefan.

“I can explain.” he assures.

“Please.” Bonnie almost commands in that bitchy voice of hers.

Stefan looks at her for a moment, before shrugging slightly. “We’re gonna kill Katherine.” I laugh slightly at Bonnie’s face and Stefan’s explanation. See, even Stefan can be funny sometimes.

I vaguely hear Alaric talking to Stefan and Damon, I think he is talking about some stake gun thing to kill Katherine with. I’m worried about tonight though. Katherine is strong, she’s 500 years old and knows how to defend herself. Can Stefan and Damon really kill her? Will they be able to? I mean those boys were deeply in love with her and she turned them. Wouldn’t it be hard for you? If you had to shove a stake through your old lovers heart? I wouldn’t be able to do it but hopefully Damon and Stefan are stronger than me. They have to be.

————————————————

“You sure you guys don’t want me there tonight?” Ric clarifies, sounding uneasy.

“No, I need you to stay with Elena. I don’t want her to know about this.” Stefan explains, almost having trouble saying my sisters name. Elena broke up with him because of Katherine and the whole Jenna thing. So… I’m like the reason they broke up. Wonderful.

“Okay, I’ll make sure she doesn’t leave my sight.” Alaric nods, sounding more reassured then before.

“Alright, if anybody wants to back out, I’ll understand.” Stefan says, causing us all to look around at each other. The determined look on everyones faces, makes me smirk slightly.

“Yeah, cold feet speak now. I don’t want this going wrong because someone chickens out.” Damon sighs, looking over at Caroline. “Caroline?”

“I won’t. Look, she killed me, fair is fair. As long as there is no werewolves running around.” Caroline states, sending a pointed look towards Damon.

“Oh, I took care of Mason.” Damon smirks.

“As long as Tyler doesn’t kill anyone, he won’t turn.” Jeremy explains to Caroline.

“What about you Ari?” Damon asks, causing my head to snap towards him.

“You think I’m going to get cold feet? Seriously? The bitch almost killed my Aunt. Not to mention she killed my best friend, then started tormenting me. I want her dead.” I seethe, my hatred for Katherine rising up. Damon nods, convinced.

“Bonnie?” Stefan questions, looking at the very nervous Bonnie. “You with us?”

“Yes, but no one gets hurt.” Bonnie says, sneaking a not-so-subtle look at Damon.

Damon smirks back at her. “Except Katherine, tonight, Katherine gets a stake through her heart.”

———————————————-

I look around the room, trying to spot Katherine somewhere. I don’t like being here, knowing that she is here, probably pretending to be Elena. Damon and Stefan both told me that if I see her, I have to act like I think it’s Elena. I don’t want to give the plan away or anything.

“Would it be cliche of me, if I said you look ravishing tonight?” I turn around, and smile slightly at Damon. He looks very good in a suit, and the black mask suits him.

“Yes, it would be.” I smirk, looking into his blue eyes. The black in the mask really makes his blue eyes pop out. I on the other hand don’t look that extraordinary.  I’m just wearing a short, black, ruffly dress, with my curly hair tied back into into a nice ponytail. I’m not wearing a mask, I hate those things. (Pic of Aria’s dress on the side.)

“You know at a masquerade ball, you’re supposed to wear a mask.” Damon points out.

“Whatever.” I say lamely, rolling my eyes.

“Do you care for a dance?” Damon asks formally, holding out his arm for me to take.

I look at him, not knowing what I should do. “I’m supposed to be avoiding you.”

“Since when has Arianna Gilbert ever done what she is supposed to do?” Damon smirks, causing me to laugh.

“I guess you’re right.” I take his arm and let him lead me to the dance floor. I accidentally trip over some girls shoe, causing her to loose her balance and drop her drink. She glares at me, and I try to look apologetic.

Damon and I finally get to an open space, and he pulls me towards him, placing his hand on my lower back and holding the other one. I smile and wrap my arm around his waist. Dancing with Damon is always a pleasure, wether it’s drunk dancing or formal dancing. They’re all fun.

“I’m sorry about earlier, I didn’t really have a right to snap at you.” I apologize, looking down at Damon’s shoes.

“Don’t apologize, I would rather you snap at me than act like nothing is wrong.” Damon shrugs, seeming indifferent about the whole situation. Guess he had a change of mind. This morning he seemed pretty worried about the whole thing.

“Can we just act like that night never happened?” I ask with a slight pleading tone in my voice.

Damon stares at me with an unknown emotion in his eyes, “Of course.” he answers finally, seeming reluctant.

“Excuse me, Aria. Can I speak to you for a second?” I look over at her, trying to keep calm.

“Elena? I didn’t know you were coming tonight, you said you wanted to be with Jenna.” I stare at Katherine with a hard glint in my eyes but not a glare. She can’t catch on to me.

“Can you excuse us Damon?” Katherine asks, looking over at Damon. Damon looks at me for a split second before nodding his head, turning and heading off the dance floor.

“Is something wrong Lena?” I question, trying my best to sound concerned.

“Um…yeah, actually. I need the moonstone.” she states, trying her best not to sound demanding. Even if I didn’t know that Elena wasn’t coming, I would know this is Katherine. Elena would never want the moonstone.

“Oh yeah? Now why would you want the moonstone?” I smirk, knowing that I caught Katherine.

Katherine sighs, before dropping the innocent expression on her face. “Alright, you caught me. But you knew I would be here so, I don’t think it’s much of a surprise.”

“You’re right, it’s not a surprise but it’s not pleasant. Shouldn’t you be stalking Stefan?” I question, glaring at her.

“Why so harsh? I thought we were becoming friends.” Katherine pouts.

“Just go harass Stefan and leave me the hell alone!” I growl, pushing past her and heading off the dance floor. I walk all the way to the house and take a seat before I relax.

I almost just messed up the plan. My emotions almost got the best of me… damn it Aria. I guess it’s not a complete fail yet since the plan is still in motion. Katherine really couldn’t have believed that she could fool me twice as Elena. I’m not that stupid.

My phone buzzes and I look seeing a message from Elena. Uh oh…

where are you? and don’t lie to me!

Uh…should I lie to her? I probably should.

at D’s

I shrug and set the phone down not really caring that I lied. If I told Elena I was here, she would know something is up. I mean she probably already knows something is up but why confirm her suspicions. My phone buzzes again and I groan, thinking it’s Elena again. Why can’t she just spend the night with Ric and Jenna peacefully? But when I look at it, it’s a text from Caroline.

your turn, good luck.

I stare at the message for a second before taking a deep breath. If I ever need acting skills, it is right now. I can do this, I can trick Katherine. I stand up and straighten out my dress, trying to keep my hands from shaking. Ugh, stop being so nervous Aria. You’ve never been nervous about things like this before. Just act like it’s a game, it’ll be fine…hopefully.

I only make it a few steps towards the steps before I hear a whoosh and suddenly Katherine is holding me against the wall, with her hand wrapped around my throat. I gasp and look around the room but there is nobody around. We’re upstairs, the party is downstairs.

“What is your boyfriend and Stefan up to?” Katherine questions, loosening her grip on my throat slightly. Just enough so I can breathe…a little.

“What do you mean?” I gasp out, trying to act oblivious. It’s worth a shot, right?

“I’ve got Jeremy and Caroline, luring me out to the lake. What is going on?” Katherine demands, looking very pissed off. Interesting…I’ve never seen her loose her cool before.

“I don’t know, maybe they want to go skinny dipping with you.” I reply, glaring at her. Katherine glares back and bangs my head against the wall, causing me to cry out.

“Don’t be sarcastic with me Arianna. What is going on?!” Katherine seethes, lifting me a few inches off the ground. Okay, I really can’t breathe now.

“They’re trying to kill you.” I confess and Katherine drops me to the ground. I lean against the wall and rub my sore throat, trying to get my breathing steady. Ow, that really hurt.

“I figured as much. Now where is the moonstone?” Katherine asks.

“Bonnie has it.” I answer.

“Where is Bonnie?” Katherine says in a fake sweet tone. Oh, that is not annoying or anything.

“I. Don’t. Know.” I ground out causing Katherine to shove me back against the wall. I groan when my head hits the wall, I can already feel a bump starting to form. “She’s a few rooms down!” I cry, causing Katherine to drop me once again. I once again, have to try and catch my breath. “That is so not nice.” I glare as Katherine grabs my arm, dragging me with her down the hallway.

“Which room is it?” she questions, her grip on my arm becoming tighter.

“That one.” I gesture to the room, on our right side. Katherine throws open the doors and walks in, looking around the room for Bonnie.

“Where is she?” Katherine demands, not seeing Bonnie anywhere.

I laugh, like a good ol genuine laugh. One I haven’t done for too long. Katherine turns around, looking at me suspiciously. “You know I didn’t think that I could fool an old women like you. But who knew I was so damn awesome.” I smirk, looking at Katherine smugly. Katherine tries to rush at me but the spell Bonnie put up keeps her inside.

Katherine gives me a ‘I’m going to murder you’ look, that causes my smirk to grow. I pissed her off, I’m so damn proud of myself. “Stefan.” Katherine sighs, without turning around. Guess she can like feel him behind her. That is creepy.

“Hello Katherine.” Stefan greets, with fake politeness.

“Goodbye Katherine.” I say in a sing song voice, giving her a little wave. I give Stefan one last look before turning away from the room. I walk a feet down the hallway before I feel a terrible pain in my back. I scream and collapse to the ground. It feels like someone just stabbed me in the back, literally. Ugh God, it hurts like hell.

I soon feel another blinding pain in my arm, causing me to scream even louder. I bring my hand up to my arm and it comes away wet with blood. What the hell? I can’t reach behind me to feel my back but I’m pretty sure it would come away wet with blood also.

I hear footsteps running up the stairs and I muster all my strength, screaming out for help. The footsteps stop and I hold my breath, praying that whoever it is heard me. I let out a relived sigh as I hear the footsteps start again, this time coming towards me.

“Aria? Oh God…” I look up at Jeremy, having to squint to see him. It is a little hard to see anything past the pain. Jeremy lifts me up in his arms, and starts walking as quickly as possible towards Stefan, Damon, and Katherine. Why is he going that way?

Right as Jeremy gets there, Damon is about to stab Katherine in the heart with a stake. “Stop! Everything you’re doing to her is happening to Elena and Aria!” Damon immeaditly stops, his head snapping towards Jeremy. When he sees me in Jeremy’s arms, he speeds towards us but he gets stopped at the barrier.

“Give her to me.” Damon commands, and as gently as Jeremy can, he hands me over to Damon. I groan in pain when Damon accidentally wraps his arm around the wound on my arm.

“You think you guys are the only ones with a witch on your side? Wrong. And something tells me that my witch is better than your witch. Oh and Damon don’t bother giving her your blood. It won’t heal her, the spell has to be broken for her to heal.” Katherine smirks, getting up off the ground. She snatches the stake out of Stefan’s hands, with a smug look on her face.

“Jeremy go make sure Elena is okay.” Stefan commands and Jeremy nods, heading back to Elena. I didn’t even think about Elena, she must be in just as much pain as I am. I’m probably handling it better than her though. I hope that it’s opposite though. I would prefer for her not to be in pain.

I groan in pain and snuggle closer to Damon, wanting to feel safe. He wraps his arms around me tighter, which hurts my wounds, but I don’t complain. I feel safe in his arms, it lets me forget about some of the pain.

“Are you alright?” he asks, looking down at me with worried blue eyes. I shrug, not having the energy to talk. Everything hurts right now, and it’s all because of Katherine.

“Let’s all make sure poor Elena and Aria are okay.” Katherine sneers, holding the stake up. “Just a little more pressure.” Suddenly another gash opens up on my palm causing me to scream out in pain. My scream sounds like a pained wail, that I will be embarrassed about later.

“Aria? Aria?!” Damon questions looking really concerned. Stefan slaps the stake away from Katherine, sending a worried glance my way.

“Damon it hurts.” I cry, not being able to keep my tough act up any longer.

“I’m sorry Aria, I can’t heal you.” Damon whispers, his voice cracking slightly. I hate hearing the pain in his voice but I have enough pain of my own to deal with right now.

Katherine picks up another stake and holds it above her abdomen, “This is really going to hurt.”

Right as she is about to stab herself, Damon stops her. “Wait!” he glares, giving her a murderous look. Katherine smirks, and plops herself down on the sofa. Looking much too comfortable. “So, how about that moonstone?”

“Go to hell.” Damon growls, sliding down to the floor, holding me tightly in his arms. I wonder if I can die from this? I hope not… that would suck pretty badly.

“The three of us together, just like old times. Well…excluding Arianna of course.” Katherine looks at me, without the tinniest bit of remorse in her eyes. “The brother who loved me too much, and the brother who didn’t love me enough.”

“And the evil slut vampire, who only loved herself.” Damon seethes, still glaring at Katherine.

“What happened to you Damon? You use to be so sweet and polite.” Katherine states, oh if only I wasn’t in pain so I could slap the bitch. Can’t she just shut up.

“Oh, that Damon died a long time ago.” Damon smirks, not keeping the hatred off his face.

“Good he was a bore.” Katherine grins, giving Damon a suggestive look. Ugh, if only I could stake her myself right now.

“Why don’t you two stop antagonizing each other?” Stefan sighs, sounding slightly annoyed.

Katherine’s eyes roam over him, lazily. “Where is the moonstone?”

“What do you want with it?” Stefan questions, trying to get some info out of her.

“Does Elena enjoy having you worship at her alter? I know Aria loves the attention Damon gives her.” Katherine smirks.

“Bitch.” I whisper, hatred giving me energy. I see Damon smile slightly, and look down at me. I guess I was worrying him by not talking or making any sarcastic remarks.

“Wow, that was really desperate Katherine. You know that we can see right through you, right?” Stefan smirks back and I do a little happy dance inside. Stefan just smirked, that made some of my pain go away.

“Does it bother you that your brother is dating an exact look-a-like of your girlfriend?” Katherine asks, trying desperately to rile Stefan up. She’s not doing a very good job.

“Stop it.” Stefan sighs, sounding like he is scolding a child.

“Or what? You’ll hurt me? Everything that I feel Elena and Aria feels, so go ahead.” Katherine baits, wanting a rise out of Stefan.

“You know this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused. Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse, that can help them destroy all werewolves. So what’s in it for you?” Stefan questions, changing the subject.

“Sorry about your pet wolf, you should have kept him on a tighter leash.” Damon smirks, his grip on me loosening slightly. For some reason the pain isn’t as bad anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it still hurts like hell, but it’s better than before.

“I’ll remember that for next time, he’s not the only wolf in town.” Katherine says, spinning around to face Damon once again. Is she talking about Tyler? Tyler isn’t a wolf, he hasn’t killed anybody… right?

“Damn it, where is that witch?” Damon groans, starting to get impatient. The only one that could leave this room is me, and I’m in no shape to walk. I can’t even sit up.

“Ooo, we could play charades.” Katherine grins causing me and Damon to roll our eyes.

Stefan mumbles something that I can’t hear, and apparently Damon couldn’t either. “What are you mumbling about over there?” he asks his brother.

“When you struck a deal with George Lockwood to help you fake your death, you told me that you gave George something he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn’t it?” Go Stefan, at least he is making the best of his time.

“Good for you Stefan, two plus two, and it would have worked. Except people found out I wasn’t in the tomb. Thanks to you by the way.” Katherine sighs, glaring at Damon. “Have I mentioned, how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?”

“You and me both honey.” Damon glares back, not letting her get to him. Good for him.

“Why do you want it back?” Stefan asks, almost to himself. He is not giving up on this, he is going to find out what Katherine is up to.

“I love you in a suit, so dashing.” Katherine comments, trying to sound sexy. But I think that she is failing quite miserably.

“What were you doing with it in the first place?” Stefan whispers, trying to figure it out in his head.

“You’re wasting your breath Stefan.” Damon sighs, rolling his eyes.

“Unless it wasn’t yours to begin with. In 1864 you faked your death, who were you running from Katherine?” Stefan smirks, finally having figured out the big mystery.  Go Stef!

“In 1987 you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places. With that witch Lexi.” Katherine smiles, while Stefan just looks at her shocked.

“Oh that is not creepy or anything.” I mutter, regaining some strength.

“Oh don’t look so surprised Stefan, of course I checked in on you over the years.” Katherine shrugs, a small smile coming over her face. Like a genuine one, that I have never seen Katherine have before. “You were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi, and I was watching you.” That is not stalkerish or anything Katherine…

“Who were you running from?” Stefan repeats not letting Katherine’s creepiness faze him. Katherine just stares at him, mouthing some words to him. I can’t tell what from where I am sitting.

“Are you feeling any better?” Damon asks, shifting me in his lap so I am sitting up. I wince at the movement but don’t complain. I was sitting in one position for much too long.

“Kind of.” I shrug, not wanting to talk to much.

“You still look absolutely stunning, even with blood all over you.” Damon teases, with a suggestive look.

I laugh slightly, “I bet you like the blood.”

Damon smirks, doing the ET. “It smells delicious.”

“If I wasn’t in so much pain, I would punch you right now.” I say, glaring at him playfully. I’m thankful that he is trying to make me feel better because it is working.

“Katherine.” a voice calls from the door causing us all to look over at the women. Wow, she is tall. She’s really beautiful also. A perfect combination. I frown when I notice that she is holding the moonstone in her hand. “The spell in this room has been lifted. You’re free to go.” the women smirks, taking a few steps into the room.

“Ugh, thank God.” Katherine sighs, walking over to the lady.

“When I hand this over to you, my debt is paid.” the women says, glaring at Katherine.

“Done.” Katherine answers, not sparing a second.

“I owe you nothing.” the women repeats.

“I said done, now give it.” Katherine snaps, holding out her hand.

“I wouldn’t do that.” I argue, suddenly feeling perfectly fine. I even stand up, causing Damon to give me a surprised look.

The women looks at me for a second before placing it in Katherine’s hand. As soon as Katherine’s palm closes around it, she starts gasping for breath. “You should have told me there would be another witch involved. She’s a Bennet witch, Katherine! But I’m sure you knew that.” the women glares, as Katherine falls to her knees. Still not able to breathe.

“Wait, Elena and Aria.” Stefan exclaims, shooting me a troubled look. Whatever she is doing to Katherine, it isn’t affecting me.

“They’ll be fine, the spell is broken. They will heal quickly, Bonnie is with Elena.” the women answers, looking down at Katherine who is now sprawled across the floor. The women looks up at us, with an apologetic look in her eyes. “I apologize for my involvement.” she turns on her heel and heads out of the room. Not looking back or slowing her stride.

I look down at the now unconscious Katherine and can’t help the grin that comes to my face. We did it, we took down Katherine. Not in the way we wanted to but, we still did it.

Katherine is at our mercy now, and we’ll show her as much mercy as she showed us.

—————————————

“How are you feeling?” I ask Elena as we head back towards our car.

“Good, whatever Bonnie did, it helped. How about you? You look terrible.” Elena smiles, getting out her car keys.

“Ugh I know, I’m so pissed this dress is ruined. I actually liked this one. But yeah, I’m fine. Damon gave me some of his blood earlier to make sure I was completely healed.” I shrug, but shiver on the inside. I hate drinking Damon’s blood, it just feels weird.

“I’m still mad you lied to me earlier.” Elena scolds, which causes me to laugh for some reason.

“Oh come Lena, tonight was a win. Other than the extreme pain we went through of course.” I smirk but it fades when I sense someone behind me. I spin around and see some guy standing there in a clown mask. “Run Elena!” I yell, right as the guy slams his hand over my mouth.

“Aria!” she screams, as the guy smashes my head against the window of the car.

For a second all I feel is pain but I soon feel nothing.