★·'¯'·★

Back at the Boarding House, Ana walked straight past Damon as she rushed through the door, eager to touch up on her makeup and redo her hairstyle. If this was going to be her last party, it was going to be epic.

"Hey, A. What's going on? Where ya been? We've been preparing for Klaus while you've been doing godknowswhat." Damon complained, watching Ana as she slowed down her pace and turned to notice Damon led on the couch.

"Uh... I went for a walk. Needed to clear my head 'n all." Ana replied, running a hand through her dark hair.

Damon scrunched his face, looking at Ana with a cynical gaze. "Please tell me you weren't thinking of the stupid hybrid again? I thought we spoke about this. Come on. You're deserve better than him and you know it."

"And I thought we agreed that we weren't going to discuss loyalties again." Ana hissed. "If you had even a speck of a brain, you'd realise that I'm not dumb enough to rat you all out. And, as for whether I deserve Klaus... we were made for each other. It's the truth. And honestly? I don't care if you agree with me or not, just keep your mouth shut."

At that, Damon just nodded. By the faraway look in his eyes, Ana could tell that he was deep in thought. She couldn't care less though - her relationship with Klaus was her own business, not his.

Taking his silence as a sign to go, Ana continued "Now, I'm going to go finish my Audrey Hepburn outfit. You can either mope down here or go dress yourself in something a little more... presentable. I really couldn't care, to be honest with you. Goodbye, Damon."

★·'¯'·★

Stood in Stefan's room with the door locked shut, Damon looked at the rest of the scooby gang, minus Alaric who was probably getting ready for the dance too. His eyebrows were tightly knitted with arms that were so crossed that his veins were starting to show. Veins that were only filled with cold blood.

"May I ask why you called us here? We don't exactly have time to hang around and chat with the dance being in an hour. Please don't tell me this is another meeting about making morning raves a thing? I already told you I don't like dancing." Stefan complained, his hands in his pockets as he looked at Damon with the most unimpressed expression.

"Sorry, brother, if I'm interrupting your time to choose a 60s outfit, even though you'll probably just wear your shirt and jeans." Damon huffed irritably, rolling his eyes before letting his face relax into a more serious expression. "No, I'm here about Ana. I... I think we need to do something to get her back on our side. The last thing we need is the hybrid brainwashing her against us. God knows we don't need Ana spilling all our secrets."

Elena scoffed. "Okay, stop treating Ana like a snitch. I know we haven't had the best relationship lately, but that doesn't mean I want you messing with her. She really likes Klaus, Damon. Like, a lot. And I think... I think she deserves to be happy for once. I want no part in your scheming, okay?"

With that, Elena headed to the door, making sure to close it once she left.

Bonnie and Stefan exchanged a glance, both thinking deeply. Sure, Stefan hated the thought of Ana running back to the hybrid but he wasn't exactly ready to play the bad guy yet. Bonnie, however, had other plans.

"I think I know a way we can prevent her from going to him." Bonnie said suddenly, putting a finger on her chin in thought. "But I'm not sure you're going to like it."

"Honestly, I'll take any plan I can get. That damn hybrid has screwed up so much already, the last thing I need is for him to break up the group." Damon muttered before turning to Stefan with narrowed eyes. "Now, are you in?"

★·'¯'·★

After searching the rest of the house for Ana, Damon realised she must be outside. Slightly lucky for them, because it wouldn't have been difficult for her to use her vampire hearing to hear their plan upstairs.

She was in the garden at the back of the house, with her back to Damon. Her charcoal hair was tied up in a bun, with a few loose strands blowing in the soft breeze. Like usual, her arms were crossed over the black dress that cascaded down her body. Ana was giving off a soft sort of aura, like she was waiting to meet someone special. Damon already knew who that was and he was willing to do absolutely anything to keep him away. Anything.

At the slight sound of Damon's shoes crunching on the grass, Ana whipped her head around. Her lips were stained with shining, crimson lipstick on and she'd made an effort to do the same eyeliner as Audrey, if not slightly smudged. However, it was the same old Ana. After looking at Damon with a soft smile, she turned back to looking at the flowers in silence.

"You look... beautiful." Damon told Ana with a smile, walking forward and standing next to her. He admired the view with a distant air, his lips remaining pursed. "Makes me think I should've made a little more effort."

"More effort than a leather jacket and jeans? That would be a miracle." Ana laughed slightly, uncrossing her arms and resting them at her side. "You look fine, it's only a high school dance anyway. I just wanted to look nice for... Um..."

"Klaus. Right." Damon said shortly, turning to Ana with a frown. "Look, I... Okay, this is hard for me to say but I think I'm sorry."

Ana raised an eyebrow. "You think? If you're not ready to apologise, just say--"

"No. I mean... I am sorry. I shouldn't have interfered with your relationship with Klaus, I realise that now. That was wrong of me. We good?" Damon cringed at having to apologise, his ego shrinking as quickly as it grew.

"Wow, that was very mature of you Damon. I'm impressed." Ana smiled, nodding her head happily. "But seriously, thanks for apologising. It's nice to know you finally understand how important Klaus is to me. And, look, just because I'll probably be reunited with Klaus again doesn't mean I'll forget you guys. After all, you were the ones who made this happen - who brought me here. Thank you, Damon Salvatore."

Damon smiled, hesitating slightly before opening his arms to Ana and saying "C'mere, bring it in. And... don't tell Stefan I did this - please."

With a wide smile, Ana ran into Damon's arms. It was a warm embrace, one that let Ana know he'd always be there for her, through thick and thin.

But Damon didn't share that same feeling. His stomach was knotted, his hands were sweaty and he couldn't help the feeling of dread that washed over him. He was undeniably torn. His head was telling him one thing but his heart was telling him another. No, I need to do this he thought She'll thank me for this in the end. I know she will.

And with that final thought, Damon swiftly whipped a vervain syringe from his pocket with trembling hands and went to stab it straight into Ana's neck. One problem. Ana is five times his age, therefore five times his strength.

Within seconds Ana had grabbed hold of Damon's arm and recognised the syringe. The sight revolted her and she couldn't help the way her voice broke when she choked out "Damon? How... How could you? I thought... You...!"

"Ana, you can't go back to Klaus. He's evil and he'll mess everything up for you, I know he will. We... we're the good guys." Damon pleaded, his eyes wide as he tried to ignore the empty feeling brewing inside. "Just let us help you. Please."

"Good guys?! Seriously?! How many good guys try to vervain their friend." Ana's voice raised as she got angrier, unable to contain the betrayal she felt - even looking into Damon's eyes felt like a knife to the stomach. "I... I can't--"

Recognising a moment of weakness in the way Ana's face dropped, Damon acted quickly to twist his arm in Ana's grip and stab the syringe right into her back.

Eyes fully wide at the sudden pain of having a needle through her back, Ana yelped out. As Damon pushed the syringe in more, Ana managed to choke out "I thought you were better than this, Dame... guess... not..."

A grimace etched on his face, Damon scooped the now-unconscious Ana into his arms and walked into the boarding house.

He still had her scream on a loop in his head, ripping through his mind like a tsunami.

And somewhere inside, he knew the truth.

Damon knew Ana Petrova would never forgive him for this.

It was Augustine all over again, except now he was the villain.

★·'¯'·★

Welp, I'm sorry.

I promise it'll get better.

Maybe.

Also, apologies if I haven't touched on the blood curse - hopefully when I go back and do edits I can include it more. However, right now I wanna focus on everything coming together with the Scooby Gang and Klaus and how Ana fits into everything.

Either way, there's only around two/three chapters left!

Stay tuned!

MikaelsonMonday :)