Damon's POV

"Hey, partner!" John Gilbert popped as soon as I'd open the door. I groaned.

"What?" I snapped. I had no patience for any of the damn Gilberts right now, especially one hellbent on getting me exposed as the arrogant, bloodsucking douche-bag I really was. Well, all the he really needed to expose was the bloodsucking part, but..

"You haven't returned any of my calls," he said, walking straight into the house.

"Most people take that as a hint." The door slammed shut just after my words.

John Gilbert was widely known as a total asshole with no respect for privacy and completely dedicated to staking vampires one at a time. His hairline had receded somewhat over his flat whatever-the-hell-color-they-were-eyes, and he was either frowning, sneering or smirking. Right now he was frowning, and I eyed his lack of hair falling sexily over his forehead like mine did, enjoying the fact that that meant he was getting older. He'd die one, day, but sadly 'one day' was not soon enough. Damn his little undead ring.

"When do we start looking for vampires?" He looked around the room appraisingly but sternly, the slightest hint of dull humor in his voice.

"Why the act, John?" I pleaded, "You obviously don't care about catching vampires. You're here talking to me." The act with Forbes and Carol was bad enough, I didn't want him lying playfully at me in my own house... boarding house. Whatever.

"Actually," he turned back to me, "I care very much."

"What does Isobel say about that, considering that she is one." I waved my hand through the air thoughtfully.

"Isobel and I," his voice was tougher, now, like drying chewed up gum. Ew. "share a mutual interest." I made a little 'hmm' sound like I was actually listening as intently as is probably seemed. "The original Jonathan Gilbert had an invention that was stolen by a vampire.That vampire was then burned alive in Fells Church, or so Jonathan thought, and the invention was lost forever. But then, the vampires weren't killed, were they?"

I would continue this conversation thinking of this mysterious device and also of Katherine. The way John said it, it seemed an obstacle and a relief that the vampires weren't incinerated but entombed, due to the 'invention' being okay, but the vamps roaming free with the main goal of the murder of the founding families, including Elena's. You think that the fire not killing the vampires was an inconvienience to you, John? I thought, I spent a century and a half searching for a girl who hadn't even been in the tomb, and hadn't given a damn over losing me. Find a better problem to worry over.

I had plenty of my own problems.

Briana's POV

I already knew everything I was hearing from that dickwad, John. Leaning near the crack of space in between the edge of the window and the curtain, I witnessed Damon smile tightly, and his eyes narrow. After John made some stupid threat to expose him, he said he was done with the games. John made the threat again, to take his secret to the council this time. Damon said he'd kill every last one of them, cut off John's hand, pull off his Lapis undead ring and kill him. There was a reason I liked Damon so much.

I grinned when John walked out, disgruntled and irritated, his thin lips in a frustrated scowl, thinking about the Gilbert Device. It hurts vamps, and occasionally werewolves, but not me. I'd seen it tested. I got a drink at seemingly the only gathering spot in town, compelling the waitress into handing it over free and went back to the farm, thinking about the Miss Mystic Falls pageant I was heading to soon. It sounded interesting. Something dramatic always happened at a beauty pageant.

* * * * *

Posing as one of the gushing young mothers of Amber whats-her-name, I heard Jenna and Elena joking over her clueless aunt burning Elena's hair off, I saw John secretly and conspicuously tryto con information about the Gilbert journals and Anna out of Jeremy and stopped when I heard Damon talking to Elena in the dressing room.

"Hey, you can't be back here," said the Katherine-clone in an exasperated tone. She fiddled with her gorgeous dress hanging limply in her arms.

"We need to talk." So Damon had donned his 'serious tone'. Sexy.

"Does it have to be right now?" Yes, honey, it did. Damon was one to do what he wanted and not wait for anyone who fell behind. The stunning man in a sleek tux walked around a bit to the edge of the room, looking undecisive from what I could tell through the crack in the door.

"Normally, I would have a completely different outlook, but.." I zoned out. This was obviously going to be about Stefan's blood problem. A moment later, I heard him say it out loud.

"He has a fridge full of stolen blood contraband..."

"Excuse me," someone murmered behind me. Speak of the devil! Stefan was staring at me suspiciously, wondering why I was at the door of the dressing room Damon and Elena were in, even though no men were supposed to be. Wow, that sounded inappropriate.

"Oh!" I said bubbily, smiling like some proud mother, "I was just looking for Amber."

"I think she's getting some air," he said quietly, darkly.

"Thanks. Go on in!"

I opened the door to a tense looking pair of supernaturals, a doppleganger and a vamp. Damon nearly had a seizure when he saw me but, whiile Stefan and Elena locked eyes, I held a finger to my lips and hissed a miniscule shush. He looked reluctant, but nodded for some reason or another. We'll talk later he mouthed. I nodded and left Stefan to questioning Elena and Angelface over what's going on.

Well, recently? A lot of stuff has been going on. The problem is taking care of it all.

Downstairs, I noticed Jeremy and Anna tensely arguing over what was less fair, 'wanting my blood to date another girl' or 'wanting my blood to sate your rotting undead mother'. I'd say the latter was worse. Soon, while I was sitting on a slick black stool mixing a drink with a thin coffee straw, Damon joined me with a sigh.

"Sooo, what're you doing here, Anne? Or is it Briana, now? I saw it on the door of your.. lovely abode." He was so freaking smooth, I wanted to slap him and smooch him all at once. Wait- when had I started saying something as stupid as smooch?

"Briana," I said, "How's your chest. Did I leave a scar?" I knew I wouldn't, because he healed perfectly, as the undead would, but it was fun to rub it in and see Damon's smile turn to a sneer.

"Funny. Answer my first question." I moaned softly and rolled my eyes, noticing John observe Jeremy and his tomb-leech, Stefan enter the restroom and heard the faint tinkle of glass shattering. Amber walked in, starled at seeing Stefan there, and they walked out the front door unnoticed. This was bad, and someone was going to snap. Not that I would tell Damon this.

"I'm here for reasons you wouldn't quite understand yet." I looked at him with a sugary expression. "Ah, you're lips, they make me want to kiss you a third time. You always return my kisses, assuming you remember the first time. You remember my name, that's good. Do you want to kiss me, Damon Salvatore?" He frowned, but seemed to appreciate the statement nevertheless.

"Don't distract me."

"You're distracting me just by looking at me, Angelface." I gravitated forwards, hoping I'd get off easily. I needed to observe, know what everyone was doing. In this world, knowledge kept me alive, and it kept me on a higher notice than any one else. If you knew about me, that was, which very few people did. They started calling off the names of the contestants.

"Tina Fell, escorted by Whitford..." blah, blah, blah.

"We can talk later, Angelface, but I have a feeling that Elena's going to be needing a new escort. You better get over there." He flipped around, noticing that Stefan was missing, and when he turned back, I caressed his face gently, my fingertips lingering on his cheek. "I've seen a lot of men since I've been alive, human and vamp, but you rank with the hottest.' I don't know why I couldn't stop obsessing over his good looks. I was usually much more collected.

"Yeah," he said absentmindedly, looking at me heatedly, and went off to sweep Elena off to the patio to dance.

Supposedly, there is an intimacy in a near-touch. I never believed it until I saw Damon and Elena do it. His endless gaze on her was intimate, even when the whispered over the whereabouts of Stefan, but mainly when they danced gracefully. I sighed at how lovingly he looked at her, a hidden emotion that Elena never noticed, but in those few dance steps, I could see a faint link of emotion between the two, something I hadn't seen through a couple, especially me, in centuries. Something echoed in the pit of my stomach and I cringed. I ran off to find Stefan before he killed that girl, knowing full well what that feeling was. For some reason, it was jealousy. How odd.

* * * * *

Stefan had just caught the Amber girl, my 'daughter', when I found him.

"I thought you told me to run!" she wailed. He muttered something and but her, the sound of drinking obvious under the shrieks. I fell from the trees and landed on his back, wrenching him from the poor teen. She fell to the ground, clutching her neck, scarlet blood seeping through her fingers. The smell was moderately pleasant.

"You idiot. You were the perfect Edward Cullen, but you just had to kidnap some innocent girl-" I was straddling him, pinning his arms to the ground and he yelled, growled, hissed. Cry baby.

"Get off!"

"Stefan!"

"No!"

There were a million cries splitting the air, and I turned to see Damon looking at me in horror, Elena and Bonnie shielded behind him. I puckered my lips, curious about the witchy Bennett girl. Witches were always a study of mine.

"Oh, goodie," I said, slamming Stefan's head on the leaves and brush in an attempt to stop his menacing shouts, "Stefan was just having a breakdown." I made it sound like he'd just had a cup of tea. I wish. Amber was still whimpering by the oak tree a few feet away.

"Who're you!" said Elena. I raised my hand and sharply thwacked him over the head, and he went still. His girlfriend gasped.

"He'll be fine. I recommend you hit 'em up with some vervain to keep him down, then put him somewhere... stable." I stood up and curtsied to them. "I did a damn good deed today, wouldn't you say, Angelface?" Elena and Bonnie looked from Damon to me and back a few more times, utterly confused. The doppleganger stared at my lovely red hair, looking as if she were putting the pieces together. Damon must've described my looks. Hopefully, he did it in some sort of awe, considering how effing sexy I was.

"You're the new vampire!" she said, obviously not trusting me around her snapped boyfriend.

"Yep, honey. The name's Briana, for now. Pleased to meet you." She swallowed and Damon grabbed Stefan around the middle, heaving him towards the car. He was gone and back in five seconds. "I'll talk to you another time."

"Wait, Briana-"

But I was gone.