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𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 - 𝐂𝐡. 14
"𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧."

┗━━━ ━━━┛

— THE DOORS BLEW OPEN TO REVEAL KATHERINE with her hand around Bonnie's neck, the young witch pinned against the wall. "Katherine." Stefan called.

"Oh look," Katherine drawled with a smirk, "it's the twins."

Skyler and Stefan stood side by side, their expressions matched as their distaste for Katherine pulled them together into a unified front. "Oh look," Skyler replied mockingly, "it's the bitch."

"Leave her alone." Stefan demanded sternly.

Katherine grinned dangerously, "Okay." She said before she pushed Bonnie away by the neck and walked out the door, her fingers trailed Stefan's collar seductively as she walked past.

Bonnie gave Stefan a look as Skyler muttered, "I hate that little pest." Her twin shot a look in her direction but notably didn't argue against her as he followed after Katherine. With a groan, Skyler followed.

"After the way you two treated me last night," Katherine began, knowing that they would follow which annoyed Skyler to no end, she never wanted to be seen as predictable in Katherine's eyes. Not again. "I thought that a public date would be less violent."

"Taking this a little too far, don't you think?" Stefan asked her sternly, "Elena could walk in at any moment."

Katherine hummed in acknowledgment, "But that's part of the fun, Stefan." She teased.

"The fun is killing you." Skyler retorted lowly, so only the vampires in the room could hear.

Katherine looked at her and pointedly ignored her words as she continued, "Damon's here, somewhere." She told them, "I've been avoiding him." She admitted.

"Hey guys." Matt, one of Stefan's human friends, greeted as he walked up to them at the buffet.

Katherine immediately fell into the mask of Elena with too much ease for Skyler's liking. She greeted Matt happily, "Hey Matt." The human was oblivious to the dangerous glint in her eyes as she continued, "I uh heard that Caroline was doing much better." Matt nodded, "Her recovery was practically miraculous, you must be so relieved."

"I am. Thanks, Elena." He responded with a kind smile before he walked away.

Katherine let out a groan once he was out of earshot. "His eyes are so blue."

"You need to leave, now." Stefan told her, in a demanding tone.

"You're hurting my feelings, Stefan." Katherine responded teasingly, "Damon was much happier to see me. Then again, he thought I was your girlfriend."

"Huh, and here I thought you were just a bitch." Skyler snarked before plucking a cherry into her mouth.

Stefan ignored her remark as he shot Katherine a warning look, "Katherine, I'm not doing this with you."

"Okay, how about we don't have a couples fight in front of all your friends." Katherine smirked rather smugly. Skyler was once again faced with the urge to wipe that smug smirk off her face.

She scoffed, her arms crossed. "Honey, you were never a couple. He was your toy."

"Walk with me?" Katherine asked ignoring Skyler's words. She glanced at her and then added, "Alone?"

Stefan didn't give up as easily anymore, and instead told her, "Just tell me what you're doing here."

"Maybe I missed you." She responded, "Is that an acceptable reason?"

Skyler voiced her disagreement before her twin could respond as she tensed, "No." she snapped, stepping slightly in front of her brother to put distance between Stefan and Katherine.

Stefan glanced at her but didn't argue against her actions. "What game are you playing?"

"Why, you want to play with me?" Katherine asked with a grin. Moving closer to Stefan, she subtly moved his sister out of the way as Skyler scoffed.

"I don't know. How can I play with you if I don't know the rules?" Stefan asked cautiously.

"I for one am sick of playing games." Skyler glared, crossing her arms.

Despite the death glare Skyler sent to her, Katherine's gaze never strayed from Stefan even as she acknowledged her, "Good thing nobody invited you then." She snapped at Skyler who was proud of the way she was visibly getting under the elder vampire's skin now. Katherine focused on Stefan again, "No rules, Stefan. Don't you remember? No rules." She smirked and walked away.

Skyler's jaw clenched, her eyes never strayed from Katherine's retreating figure as she asked her twin, "Can I kill her yet?"

"No." Stefan replied sternly, his eyes were on Katherine as she looked back, waiting for him. "Not yet." He told her lowly before he followed after Katherine who offered her hand, however rather than taking her offered hand, he pushed past it like it wasn't even there at all.

Skyler smirked, grabbing a glass of punch and downing it in one go. She was tired of Katherine's games and all too ready for this cat-and-mouse game to end, hopefully with the cat's head on a stick.

Walking away, she decided it was time to find her other brother, along with the doppelgänger.

"BROTHER. Elena." Skyler called as she walked towards Damon and Elena who stood on the porch having just finished a conversation that she couldn't find it in herself to be even the slightest bit interested in as her eyes narrowed in focus. "Katherine's here."

"She's here?" Elena questioned, confusion and shock spreading on her face.

"Elena!" Bonnie called visibly shaken as she approached the group, walking right past the vampires to get to her friend.

Elena looked at the young witch in concern, "Bonnie, what happened?"

ೃ⁀➷

ELENA sat beside Stefan on a bench outside as she cleaned the wound left by Katherine, beside the bench Skyler paced angrily.

The doppelgänger glanced over at her and sighed, "Can you stop pacing?"

"No." She responded through gritted teeth.

"Skyler, relax." Stefan told her though his own anger could be heard in his voice.

Elena shook her head and looked at Stefan, "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, it'll heal." He told her quietly.

"That's not what I meant." She responded sternly.

Stefan sighed, "I was trying to figure her out." He told them, "I was playing along, I let her get to me."

"Yeah, no shit." Skyler commented, offering her usual role as the peanut gallery.

Stefan glanced at her and gave her a pointed look, "She was getting to you too." He pointed out, "I know you, Sky. Whether you let her see it or not, she got to you just as much as she did me."

Skyler ran a hand through her hair and said, "I just—" She groaned, pausing, "How could you let this happen?! How could you let her get to you, stab you, and run? Again?!"

"I was playing along." He stated firmly.

"You were going on a suicide mission." She snapped and began to pace again, "Because it's Katherine! We all know how much she hurt you last time, and Damon too — I mean she got all of us killed, and you — you're just letting her do it again, I don't get it."

"You didn't fall in love with her." Stefan snapped in return though his voice was never raised. He never raised his voice, even when she did. He made a promise long ago to never raise his voice at her even when they fought, and so far he's only gone against that once.

Skyler paused to look at him in disbelief as Elena looked down, feeling out of place. Luckily, the conversation ended there as Damon approached, "We tried to track her." He told them unbeknownst to the previous argument between his younger siblings, "But she's gone."

He glanced at Stefan and smirked, "Ooh, cover-up, Fabio." He said and turned around.

"Grow up, Damon." Skyler snapped heatedly as Stefan pulled his shirt down, having just released it was still pulled up from when Elena had been cleaning his wound.

Damon only rolled his eyes and looked at Elena, "We got a crazy ex on the loose. Better watch out, looks like Katherine's trying to steal your guy." He teased.

"That's not what's happening." Stefan told him sternly and looked down.

"Isn't it? I mean, it's only fair since I... went after your girl." He responded.

Skyler glared at the two, "It's not what's happening." She said sternly, "Katherine's playing games. She doesn't care about any of us, it's all part of her game." Her glare fell to the ground as she muttered, "Like always."

"I'm gonna go check on Jenna and Jeremy." Elena told them as she stood up, "Let me know when you guys are done."

Damon watched her leave, ensuring she was out of earshot before he looked at Stefan and spoke, "So what's it going to be, huh?" He positioned himself into a mock fighting pose, "Fight to the death? Go ahead, make your threats, stake your claim." He said, tossing a half-hearted punch at Stefan's shoulder.

Skyler rolled her eyes and scrunched her nose up, "Please no. I am not watching a pissing match between you two again."

Stefan stared at his brother incredulously, "I'm not going to fight you."

"Why?" Damon complained, losing the fighting stance, "I'd fight me."

"Katherine's going to try to play us against each other." Stefan told him seriously. "Just like last time." Skyler pointed out as Stefan sent Damon a stern look, "You do know that, right?"

"Brother don't you worry. Our bond is unbreakable." Damon told him smugly.

Skyler crossed her arms and huffed, "More like nonexistent."

"We all need to stay united against her." He said, sending his twin a pointed look before he focused on Damon once more, "So yes, as much as I'd like to kill you, I'm not going to fight you."

With that said, he began to walk away when Damon decided to be an idiot, like always, and called after him, "I kissed Elena."

"Because you feel something for her." Stefan responded knowingly as he turned back. "Because you actually care. And I'm not going to let Katherine come here and destroy that part of you that has finally, after all this time, willing to feel something."

"He wants to feel something all right." Skyler said sarcastically, faltering under Stefan's harsh glare, "Sorry humors my coping mechanism." She shot a charming smile his way as he refocused on Damon.

"She'll try to break you. She'll try to break all of us. And how we respond to that will define us." Stefan continued even as Damon avoided eye contact, "It's our choice."

"So, no, I'm not going to fight you." He told him, "or you." He added looking at Skyler. Stefan shook his head and walked away, leaving his siblings to their thoughts.

"Shit." Skyler said cutting through the silence after a moment, "The wise Stefan strikes again." She laughed humorlessly and ran a hand through her hair.

"He's right you know." Damon told her, glancing at her but never holding eye contact. He couldn't break right now and something told her he would if he looked either Stefan or her in the eyes.

She went quiet, and nodded, "Yeah, I know."

ೃ⁀➷

LATER, Skyler ended up at the Gilbert household with Stefan after Damon killed Jeremy, Elena's little brother, and disappeared.

"He saw the ring. That's why he did it. He knew." Stefan tried to reason as he stood beside his twin in Elena's bedroom while the doppelgänger held her brother's body in her arms.

Elena shook her head, "He didn't see the ring."

"It's Katherine." He said this time, insistent that his brother wouldn't kill without reason, that he wouldn't hurt Elena. Skyler... she wasn't so sure. Really, she wasn't sure of anything right now. "She got under his skin," he continued, "she undid everything that was good about him."

"There's nothing good about him." Elena cried, tears streamed down her face as she continued, "Stefan, not anymore. He's decided what he wants." She inhaled a deep shaky breath, "He doesn't want to feel. He wants to be hated, it's easier that way."

Skyler shrunk, going still. The feeling described all too familiar. When she met Kol, she was a shell of herself, a ripper without emotion. That was different than this, she knew. Damon didn't switch off his emotions, he just didn't want to feel them. She had been there too. She had pushed everyone away, even her family, until all that was left was Kol. At the time, she tried pushing him away too, she was hurt and she didn't want to be. She didn't want to feel at all. She didn't want anyone to try to understand, least of all Kol who truly did understand. She wanted to be hated so she didn't have to try to feel. She wanted it because it was easier, but she had Kol. He pulled her back even though she didn't want it, and held her until feeling wasn't so scary and all she could do was feel loved.

"He got his wish." Elena continued with a s sob, "I hate him, Stefan."

"I know." Stefan replied softly, because it was all he could do. He knew how it felt too, he couldn't deny feeling that before, but he couldn't tell Elena that. Not now. He went to her side and comforted her as Skyler stood by the door, feeling out of place and vulnerable. She tried to distance herself from her brothers during this entire plan she had, however she couldn't. Not when the past has returned. Not when it's repeating itself all over again, and they're all at the center of it.

"I have to go." Skyler said abruptly as she pushed herself away from the wall.

Stefan turned to her with a questioning look, "Where?"

"To find our brother." Her eyes narrowed and continued, "Damon wants to be hated? Fine. Done. I've always hated him." She shrugged, because you could hate someone and love them at the same time. "But I'm not letting him think he's not loved too. I'm not letting him push everyone away and stop feeling. Or we really will lose him."

Without another word, she turned, the determination in every step leaving no room for argument. Behind her, Jeremy let out a large gasp and with the help of the Gilbert ring he wore, came back to life suddenly in a panicked daze. Skyler didn't falter, closing the door behind her she walked out of the house and left them all behind to go and find Damon before they lost him for good.

The sound of glass breaking welcomed Skyler as she entered the Salvatore boarding house. The fire flamed and jumped brightly in the fireplace as it grew with the alcohol that was thrown in.

"Here to kill me?" Damon asked bitterly, not daring to even turn in her direction as he stood in the foyer beside the fireplace, awaiting his expected doom.

"No." Skyler refused, "I'm here to talk." She ventured further into the room, approaching her brother but not invading his space. Not yet.

"I thought I made it clear I'm done talking." He bit harshly, staring into the flames.

Skyler stood behind him, watching him rather than the flames that lured her attention. "You didn't kill him, you know." She told him casually, "Kid's tough."

"I drained him." Damon responded coldly, "Watched the life leave him. Trust me, he's dead."

She shook her head insistently, she saw as much as heard that Jeremy was alive once more, "He was dead." She corrected herself, "He's not anymore."

He turned to her finally, confusion in his gaze, "That's impossible." He stated. She smirked triumphantly upon earning his gaze. In his eyes were tears left not shed and hidden to all those who didn't know where to look.

"Like someone looking exactly like Katherine is impossible?" She questioned rhetorically with an eyebrow raised, "Clearly, the Gilbert's don't follow the rules."

Damon swallowed thickly, his jaw clenched as he brought his shields up again. He wouldn't dare be seen as weak even in front of his own sister. "What are you doing here Skyler?" As he waited for her response, he studied her, searching for answers. He found none.

"To talk." She repeated what she had told him before.

Damon scowled angrily, "Well we talked. Now leave."

Skyler chuckled darkly in response, crossing her arms as she channeled her inner Elijah and Klaus, the powers of which she would need both when faced against one stubborn brother with the urge to not feel and be left alone in his numbness. When she spoke, her voice was firm and never wavered, ensuring her words left no room for arguments as they came out scarily calm and steady, "Sit."

ೃ⁀➷

SKYLER was lounging in her room while messaging Kol when she heard Stefan get home. Her eyes widened and she sat up, swinging her legs over the side of her bed. "Crap." She muttered, setting her phone down. She made her way downstairs in fear that Stefan may kill Damon or vice versa with tensions high with Katherine around.

"I'm not hungry." Stefan told Damon as she rounded the corner, "Just ate."

"Aren't you worried that one day all the forest animals are gonna band together and fight back?" Damon teased, Skyler snorted and grabbed a bag of blood, steadily avoiding the bourbon Damon had out.

"I mean surely they talk." She commented casually, "Gossip about the scary Bambi killer in town."

Stefan shook his head and looked at Damon, "I'm just happy that's a, uh-" he pointed to the glass in his hand, "blood bag and not a sorority girl supplying your dinner."

Damon looked at him, almost studying him before he spoke, "I like this." He told him, "You walking on egg shells around me because you think I'm gonna explode. It's offensive." He leaned over the chair, staring at his brother with a raised brow, "Is Elena worried too?"

Skyler coughed in surprise as she leaned against the nearby wall, blood spilled down her lips. Her tongue darted out to grab it as she watched the scene unfold. This is her free entertainment, leave her alone. Stefan quirked a brow at Damon in challenge, "Have you heard from Katherine?"

Damon faltered causing Skyler to take a closer look at him, suspicions rising. Katherine was always a way to get under his skin, but usually he only reacted like this when Stefan was on to something... interesting.

He stayed quiet for a moment before he composed himself and spoke up, changing the topic drastically, "I think the Lockwoods have a family secret." He told Stefan, "Because the Gilbert device affected them, vervain didn't, so they're not vampires. They're something else."

Skyler arched a brow curiously. All this time and they haven't even come across werewolves? She supposed it made sense, werewolves and vampires are natural enemies so they typically strayed from each other but she thought they would've heard of them at least. "Is this your new obsession?" Stefan asked, his brows raised as he looked at his brother.

"Oh, you'd rather some unknown supernatural element running rampant in our town, fine, I'll drop it." He conceded with ease.

"Our town?" Skyler mouthed, shaking her head in disbelief. She downed the last of her blood bag and threw it into the trash can without so much as a glance in its direction as she pushed herself off the wall and spoke up, "He's right you know," She told Stefan, "that family does have a secret. But the Lockwoods' dirty little secrets will have to wait until we drag the kitty out of town."

"We haven't seen the last of Katherine." Stefan agreed and looked at Damon, "You do know that right?" He crossed his arms and continued, "We have no idea what she's up to."

"What she has planned for us or this town." Skyler added in a casual tone with an undertone of tense curiosity. She didn't like Katherine, she never had. What she liked even less was herself and her brothers being in the middle of Katherine's plans. Luckily, even with all the pretending she was doing for her own plan, Skyler didn't have to worry about pretending to like Katherine. Everyone knows she hates her.

"Sure we do." Damon responded easily, "She came to profess her undying, eternal love for you, so I'm gonna let you deal with her 'cause you know I have more important things to do like..." he trailed off, narrowing his eyes at Stefan, he allowed the suspense to rise before he finished, "explode."

Stefan let out a slight huff as Damon stood and walked away, calling over his shoulder happily, "Cheers!" Stefan shook his head in disbelief.

"Well I would say you can get Katherine and I'll keep an eye on him but..." she trailed off, pouring a glass of tequila, she looked at Stefan, her eyes narrowed dangerously, "I want to be the one to kill that lying bitch." She growled lowly, her words not a threat but rather a promise. One she had all the intentions of keeping.

She downed the glass in one go and slammed it onto the counter before she walked away before Stefan could say a word.

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