A life in the shadows

51

"Kol, Finn." Siobhan grinned. Matteo had dropped her off at the Grill, to give her some space with her brothers. He had never seen her so happy. He walked out of the room a minute later and decided to spend time with his own brothers.

"Matt!" He was ambushed by Katherine.
"Katherine." He groaned and walked a little faster.
"What are you talking about? I'm Elena."
"Sure. Of course you are." He rolled his eyes.
"How do you know? Every time- not once do you fall for my Elena act. And here I thought, I perfected it."
"You have. And maybe it'll fool, just about everyone else, but there's one difference. Elena's not acting. She really is good."
"I'm sorry. Okay?" She moved in front of him, forcing him to stop. "I'm really truly sorry. When we were together, before I came to Mystic Falls and everything- I was happy. I forgot about running from Klaus, and Elijah. I felt like I was human, again. You would've liked me when I was human."
"That's the thing, Katherine. I liked you when you were you. I loved you. As a vampire. But you're the one who destroyed us, and any hope for us."
"I've loved very few men. Truly loved in all my five hundred years of living. But you- you're the one I've loved most, at the top of my list. I was drawn to Stefan, maybe it was a doppelgänger thing, Elena seems to think he's a catch too, and Damon- I cared for him. I didn't love him. I cared for him, and I liked the attention he gave me. It was wrong, really wrong. But I really, truly loved you. And when you told me you wanted me to be your wife, I was even happier, but I heard Klaus was coming. I couldn't let you get tangled in my past. You were always too good for this world. I hoped you'd be at peace in death."
"So you decided to kill me?"
"If Klaus came and he found out about you, he would have not only killed you in the most gruesome way ever, but he would have killed anyone connected to you. I was just trying to protect you."
"Too little, too late, Katherine. I moved on. To the woman I love. And it's time you did too. You didn't just hurt me, you hurt my brothers. And that is the worst thing you ever did, because my brothers? They were all I had and you toyed with them. In fact, if I remember correctly, you once compelled me to believe I was ill so that you could have Damon and Stefan fight for who should take you to the founder's ball."
"I know. And it was stupid of me, but I'm not giving up on you Matteo. I love you. You were the best thing in my life."
"I'm sorry, Katherine, but I'm getting married. And I stopped loving you a long time ago. You really should move on. Maybe the next one'll be the one. You'll know what not to do."
"You are the one. You always will be. I'll always be trying, because I'm not a quitter." Matteo looked down at his phone as it chimed with a text.
Hey, babe. Everything okay? You're going through so many emotions you're giving me whiplash.
Matteo chuckled quietly as he typed a reply.
I'm not going through that many. Got ambushed by Katherine. I'll be fine, don't worry. You just hang with your brothers. I love you, xxx.
He put his phone away. "Thing is, Katherine, you can keep trying, keep on fighting but I'm in love with Siobhan. So you can fight as many battles as you want, but it doesn't change the fact that you lost the war. What we had, back when I was human, before you met my brothers? That was great while it lasted, but it's over between us. It has been for a while." Matteo sidestepped her and walked away. Katherine watched him, upset. It wasn't like Katherine to be pining after the guy, unless his last name was Salvatore. She loved Matteo, but she couldn't help but be drawn in by Stefan.

"So what do you think of your future mother-in-law?" Damon asked as soon as Matteo walked into the room.
"We don't really like her."
"Why not?"
"Just trust me. She tried to kill Siobhan and the ancestors of my friends, basically attempting genocide. Because of her, Siobhan ended up in a death like trance, where she was dead but her body was alive."
"But Siobhan's alive."
"Yes, no thanks to her. Siobhan only managed to halfway survive because Esther's spell didn't work out properly."
"Woah."
"Look, Damon. Don't trust her. Don't even try talking to her. All she's good at is betraying those anywhere near her. Her husband, her kids..."
"I get it."
"Good. So, where's Stefan?"
"Why?"
"We're going to hang." Damon's phone chimes with a text. He took his phone out and laughed, before trying to stop himself, remembering he was with his older brother.
"Who's texting you to make you laugh like that?" Matteo asked in a teasing tone. Damon averted his eyes from his brother and was silent. "Oh." It dawned on Matteo as he walked over to get some scotch out.
"She's not a kid, Matt." He said.
"I know."
"She's free to make her own choices."
"I know."
"She's not a kid." He repeated.
"I know."
"That's all you're going to say?"
"What else can I say, Damon? I can't stop you. She's just- she's been the closest I've had to a daughter. I know I can't bubble wrap her away from the world- and I wouldn't want to totally do that. I also don't want to see her in a situation where she might get hurt. Maybe one day, you'll get it. And you know what, maybe I am overreacting. But I've watched her grow up. I'm not saying you'll hurt her. I'm not, D. I just don't like the idea of you two. I'm being overprotective."
"I won't hurt her."
"I trust you, Damon. I do. But sometimes things happen that we can't help."