At home, Stefan, Damon and I were in the parlor talking.

"She's the calmest desiccating vampire I've ever seen," Damon told us. "I remember when you starved me down there for three days, I would've wept at your feet for an orange peel."

"Look, she's not gonna beg for blood," Stefan told us. "Begging means desperation, emotion. She's still in no-humanity zone."

"How hungry does she have to be before we can torture some feelings back into her?" Damon asked.

"A lot hungrier than she is now, apparently," Stefan told him.

"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" I asked.

Katherine entered the room. "Maybe I can provide a little excitement."

"Katherine," Stefan said.

"The one and only... sort of," Katherine told us. "So, when's the 'Welcome Home' party?"

Katherine proceeded to pour herself a drink.

"Wow, look who went and got bold," I told her sarcastically. "Last time I checked, Klaus was plotting your eternal demise."

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore, because your boyfriend is gone," Katherine told me.

"A, he is not my boyfriend," I told her. "B, what do you mean he's gone?"

"Let's just say that werewolf girl, Hayley, turned out to be just the thing we needed to get Klaus out of our lives," Katherine told us. "For good."

Katherine smiled.

**** 

I sat in the living room, looking at the voicemail on my phone.

It was from Klaus.

I sighed, playing it. "Kaylin. I'm standing in one of my favorite places in the world, surrounded by food, music, art, culture, and all I can think about is how much I want to share it with to you. Maybe one day you'll let me."

End of message.

Stefan stood at the doorway, leaning against it, crossing his arms. "Anything interesting?"

I hung up, clearing my throat. "Nope." I stood, walking past him. "Ready for this?"

"No," Stefan answered.

"Too bad," I told him.

In the basement, Elena was in bad shape.

Damon had gone in there.  "You look terrible."

"I'm hungry," Elena told him weakly. "Not that you care."

"But I do," Damon told her. "That's the whole point. I do care, you don't care. It's about time for that to change."

 Damon offered her a blood bag.

Elena's eyes widened, reaching for it hungrily. She began to drink it, moaning with pleasure, but soon she tasted something unsavory and began to spit up the blood. "Vervain?"

"How does that make you feel?" Damon asked. "Hurt because I'd betray you? Angry because I'd cause you pain? Or scared, because you know it's gonna get a lot worse?"

 Elena rushed toward the door, stopping when she saw us, nodding. "You guys wanna play games? Go ahead. Let's see who breaks first. Me... or you."

I smirked, walking further into the room.

Stefan closed the heavy door behind us.