★·'¯'·★

"Audrey Hepburn? Really?"

Damon gave his Ana a once over, his forehead creasing slightly at the sight of her frail body. She'd been without blood for quite a few weeks now and Ana only seemed to be getting worse. She didn't even look alive, not really. Her skin was more grey than neutral and there were faint veins crawling up her arm.

"Why not, huh?" Ana put a hand on her hip, a light smirk playing on her lips. "I mean, I wasn't really around much in that period, so it's pretty difficult to decide who else to dress as. Augustine and all. You know, sometimes I wonder what Enzo's up to...?"

"Who cares, right?" Damon shrugged, averting his gaze from Ana's. "That guy was an idiot anyway."

Ana turned and gave Damon a hard look, pausing doing her hair to frown at him. "Says the one who left him there - and me, for that matter. I may have forgiven you a long time ago, but it doesn't mean I've forgotten about how awful the experience was. It's probably why my body's coping a little better with this stupid hex. I mean, in some ways the blood rations have made me more tolerant."

"That's it, look on the positives." Damon forced a smile. He would never forget Augustine too, especially the years that followed once he escaped. The endless nights of drinking away the pain, the guilt - fighting to forget the faces of Ana and Enzo as they watched him leave.

Without another word, he turned to the mirror to fix his bow tie, doing a terrible job at tying it. He kept fumbling with the loose bits and by the time he'd sorted them out, he'd ripped the tie off in a frustrated rage, letting out a grunt under his breath.

"Can't do your tie?" Ana asked from across the room, dabbing the last bit of lipstick on her lip before slowly making her way over to where Damon was stood by the mirror. "Here, let me help. And before you ask, I only know how to do one of these because I worked in a bar in the early 1990s, after getting out of Augustine obviously, and they made us wear these ridiculous bow ties. Those were the times."

As Ana reminisced her years of vampirism, Damon handed her the bow tie and stood up straight to make it easier. "Don't act so morbid, tonight will be fine. I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks Dame." Ana smiled to herself, feeling a heavy feeling in her heart as she realised what she was about to confess. "Y'know, even though we had that little fling ages ago, I... it just..."

"You don't love me? I understand, I do. You're great Ana, sometimes far too good for me." Damon admitted, staring back at the mirror instead of the dark-haired Petrova fiddling with his tie. He paused in thought before continuing "I did love you once, I want you to know that. When we were cell mates. But... but things change. People change. I'll always be here for you, no matter what, but... well, I think I love someone else. And if I'm completely honest, I think you're in love with someone else too."

Once Ana finished Damon's tie she stepped back, not meeting his eyes. "Well, that's something to discuss for another time, right? Anyway, I should probably get downstairs. Bonnie said she's got some sort of subduing spell to help with the hunger or something, so I-"

"Be honest, Ana. Do you still love Klaus?" Damon asked, gripping Ana's wrist and turning her around, preventing her from leaving. "I... I need to know. If we go into this to defeat Klaus and save Elena, then I need to know where your loyalties lie."

"What is it with you all and saving Elena?! Have you forgotten that I've saved her before too? That I've put my life on the line so she can keep her mortal one? I've seen it Damon - she doesn't want to be saved." Ana hissed back, trying to rip her arm from Damon's grasp but struggling to. "As for my loyalties, well... I don't think I need to prove myself to anyone, do I? I don't appreciate being questioned like this, Damon. I've done plenty for you and your 'scooby gang', so it's clear where your loyalties lie."

After Ana spoke the last line, Damon let go of her wrist abruptly and stared past her, gritting his teeth. However, Ana didn't hesitate to storm out of the room down to the living area, where the rest of the 'scooby gang' were waiting to confirm the plan.

★·'¯'·★

(A/N: Okay, yes she got dressed a little early compared to the gang, but I preferred the events in this order. Don't worry, I know that in the episode they get dressed after they get a plan together.)

Ana raised a cynical eyebrow at Bonnie and Elena, crossing her arms as she led across the couch. "Let me get this straight. Niklaus has compelled students in your school to tell you things like 'save him the last dance', and you're scared? He's just playing with you, trying to intimidate you. And let me tell you, that is clearly not very hard to do."

"Yes, but aren't you seeing the bigger picture? It means he'll definitely be there tonight." Bonnie explained, her eyes lit with tension. "I suspected he'd come, but I never actually thought he'd be this quick to get here."

Damon, who had been walking circles around the room whilst the others discussed plans, abruptly announced "Then it's simple. We go to the dance and we find him."

"Really? How are you going to do that? We don't even know what he looks like." Stefan stated, definitely not impressed with the situation.

"Ana does." Damon remarked, though his smirk faltered when he saw the death glare Ana shot at him. "And, well... something tells me he's not going to be sixteen and pimply."

Shrugging, Ana added "Or he might not even go. Have you guys considered that this might just be his way of teasing you? I mean, you're making assumptions about him before you've even met him."

"You speak about him like he's a teddy bear, not an original hybrid. I'm sorry to disappoint but, from what Katherine told us, he's deadly and I'm not willing to chance Elena's life to find out." Bonnie told Ana, looking at her with an almost harsh look for even suggesting that they don't fight back.

Before Damon could say anything else, there was a soft knock at the door and Alaric walked through. Damon looked pretty relieved, adding "There you are."

"Sorry I'm late." Alaric announced, closing the door behind him.

Once he turned, however, his gaze seemed to linger on Ana for longer than usual. He was clearly taking in her ill state and it made Ana feel slightly uncomfortable. His lips parted at the sight of the dark-haired vampire, his hazel eyes darkening ever so slightly.

"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move." Damon interrupted Alaric's intense stare at Ana with his own urgent tone.

Her arms crossed, Elena stared at everyone in the room with something of an impatient glare. "Okay, so we find him and then what, hmm? What's our plan of attack."

"Me." Bonnie interjected. "I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If Ana can find him, I can kill him."

At this, Alaric's gaze shifted to Ana, who was shifting on the couch. With a frown, Ana added "Wait, since when did we agree that I was going to be the one sending him to his deathbed? Can't you use your witchy powers to sense him?"

"It's not that easy. He might be cloaked or he might sense me coming. It needs to be you, Ana." Bonnie stated, clearly not noticing how bothered Ana was about being part of the plan.

"I mean, you don't even know if you can take him down yet. It's not an easy task." Alaric interrupted, fiddling with the woven band on one of his left fingers. "I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around. I'm sure Ana can vouch for that, right?"

Ana knitted her brows at Alaric curiously. Something was off, she could tell. He was acting... familiar? Shaking her head at the thought, Ana just replied "I wouldn't exactly call him the baddest... not with me, anyway. He was always compassionate, understanding." Ana smiled to herself and Alaric had to resist the urge to smile along with her.

"Well, would someone understanding do... this!" Damon sped behind Bonnie to attack her, but she used her magic to push him away, like he was a mere fly. He ended up on the floor in a heap.

Chuckling, Ana smirked at the sight of Damon on the floor, whilst Stefan added "Well, I was impressed."

"It doesn't matter if he's an original." Bonnie told them all with a fiery gaze. "I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him, Elena. I know I can."

At the mention of killing Niklaus, Ana frowned once more and started to rise from the couch. "Um, I might go on a walk or something. Y'know, stretch my legs. Since my hunger's been subdued I'm not as much of a threat, so it should be safe."

Watching Ana slowly make her way to the door, Alaric quickly fumbled to get to the door as well. "You know what, I should be going too. I should probably make preparations for the dance tonight, right? Get some stakes together and... uh, stuff. Speak later."

And then both 'Alaric' and Ana left the Boarding House, one after another.

★·'¯'·★

Oh my gosh guys they met! And loyalties are starting to emerge...

Sorry for the lack of updates, it took me a while to draft this one up and make sure that the scene made sense.

Stay safe,

MikaelsonMonday x