16. The House Guest

Aria gasped and opened her eyes in shock, looking around confused when she realised she was near a lake, a very beautiful lake.

"This was our favorite place to come whenever we wanted to be alone" Kol said, walking over to a confused Aria, "Whenever we wanted some time alone, away from prying eyes, we always used to come here".

"How are you showing me this?" Aria asked confused.

"Honestly? I have no idea" Kol confessed, "The last time we met in that dark room, I remember wishing we had met here instead, and looks like my wish came through".

"So you just thought about this place, and now we are here?" Aria asked.

"Pretty much" Kol replied, "It's the perfect place to talk about whatever's bothering you".

"I don't know what you're talking about" Aria said, sitting down on the grass and staring at the beautiful lake infront of her, she figured why this was her and Kol's favorite place, it was so peaceful and beautiful.

"You can't lie me to Ariana, I always know" Kol said, sitting next to Aria.

"Great, another vampire who can read me like a open book" Aria mumbled, throwing stones into the lake, "If I tell you what's bothering me, then you will hate me".

"I can never hate you" Kol said.

"Even if I tell you my so called friends daggered your brother Elijah, and I couldn't stop them" Aria said.

"What?" Kol asked confused.

Aria sighed, she knew there was no point in hiding what happened from Kol, specially when it seemed that he knew whenever she was lying, so Aria went on to tell Kol how despite her warning them, three of her friends daggered Elijah behind her back, and made it so that Aria couldn't remove the dagger.

"You realise your a witch too, right?" Kol asked, "You could always do a spell that overwrites your friends spell".

"I can't, I'm not strong enough" Aria said, slightly ashamed.

Kol smiled, "Oh you have no idea how wrong you are, you are the strongest witch there is, not only are you the first Connor witch but right now, you're also the last, you have so much power running through you, which if you don't learn to control, it could lead you to a horrible disaster".

"You say this, but I haven't felt powerful, even with magic, I feel so useless" Aria said, "Every time I'm in trouble Damon has to save me cause I am not strong enough to save myself, even now, Damon and Caroline, my best friend, they are doing everything in their power to save me from the sacrifice, but I am not doing anything, because I can't do anything, even though I so want to live".

"Sacrifice?" Kol asked confused.

"Yeah, the sun and moon curse, the one Klaus wants to break" Aria informed.

Kol looked at Aria and opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it, this wasn't the right time to tell her.

"Klaus can't break the curse without a doppelganger" Kol said, "And after he killed all of Katherine's family, there is no chance of a doppelganger appearing again".

"Except, there is" Aria said, confused as to how Kol knew so much about Klaus and Katherine's past, "Her name is Elena Gilbert, and she is my best friend, I think".

Kol looked at Aria in shock, "You're friends with a Petrova doppelganger?".

"Yeah" Aria said, confused with Kol's reaction.

"Ariana you need to stay away from her, a Petrova doppelganger and a Connor witch can never be friends" Kol said, panic shown clearly on his face.

"What?" Aria asked confused.

"There's a lot of prophecies when it comes it Connor witches, one of them being that a Petrova doppelganger and a Connor witch can never be friends, it's written that the Petrova doppelganger will always push a Connor witch to her death" Kol revealed, shocking Aria, "And before you go defending your friend, no matter how good she is, she will eventually betray you, if you don't stay away from her, she will be the cause of your death".

Aria gasped and sat up in Damon's bed, Kol's words still ringing in her head, Aria was extremely confused about whether she should believe him or not.

***

"What is she doing here?" Elena snapped, pacing up and down in Stefan's room.

Damon and Aria were currently in Stefan's room, glaring at a smug Katherine Pierce who was wearing Elena's clothes, wanting to mess with Stefan, which she did succeed in, as for a second Stefan had mistaken Elena for Katherine, and Katherine for Elena.

Aria didn't want to be here, being in the same room as Katherine made Aria very angry, she hadn't forgotten what she did to her parents, when she was trapped in the tomb Aria was happy that she was getting punished but now she's no longer trapped, Aria wanted to kill her.

"When you guys killed Elijah it broke the compulsion, freed the bitch from the tomb" Damon said, glaring at not only Katherine but also Stefan and Elena.

"See what you guys did" Aria snapped, anger shown clearly in her eyes, "Because of you both, the bitch who killed my parents is free, hope you guys are happy with yourself".

"Aria--".

"I don't want to hear it Stefan" Aria snapped, "We are not longer on speaking terms, so you can keep your half ass apology to yourself".

"You're not going to speak to us because of Elijah?" Elena snapped, having enough of Aria's anger, "The guy you just met?".

"I didn't just meet him Elena, I've known him since--".

Before Aria could reveal anything, Damon quickly grabbed Aria's hand, preventing her from talking any further. Aria looked at Damon in confusion, who gestured towards a confused Katherine, who wanted to know why Aria was so protective of Elijah, Aria sighed and stopped herself from saying anything else, knowing Katherine finding out her connection to the Originals would not end well for anyone.

"It doesn't matter" Stefan said, diverting the topic, catching on to why Damon stopped Aria, "What I want to know is that how is it possible for her to come out of the tomb?".

"He's an Original" Katherine said, "They have all sorts of special skills".

"I don't want you here, get her out of here" Elena ordered Stefan, making Aria frown, ever since her talk with Kol, for some reason, Elena no longer seemed like a good person to her.

"You need me Elena, you all do" Katherine said.

Aria glared at Katherine and suddenly Katherine was on the floor clutching her head in pain, "Do not even for a second think we need your sorry ass, we don't need you, you need us, that's why your still here and not running away like you always do".

"We all want the same thing" Katherine snapped, standing up and glaring at Aria, "Klaus dead, yet here you all are running around like chickens with their heads cut off".

"Who said I want Klaus dead?" Aria asked, confusing Katherine, "Before if my so called best friend didn't betray me, then maybe I would've wanted Klaus dead to save her life, but now I no longer care, I'm not helping them kill Klaus, I'm going save myself while not caring about what happens to Elena, also I might just knock you out now, trap you in a room and when Klaus comes, I'll hand you over to him myself".

"You wouldn't" Katherine said, looking at Aria apprehensively, while Stefan and Elena looked at her in shock, and Damon smirked, finally glad Aria was putting herself first.

"Try me Katherine" Aria said, a dangerous undertone in her voice.

"Okay, now that it's clear we don't need you, get out" Damon ordered, lacing his fingers with Aria, realising she was slowly losing her calm.

Katherine glared at the couple infront of her, "Fine, then I'll just go to the Grill and have some lunch, maybe Aunt Jenna's free for a bite".

Elena and Aria both glared at Katherine, if it wasn't for Damon's touch, Aria would have lost control and killed Katherine already.

***

Damon and Aria were back in Damon's room, since Aria had some time before she had to leave for school.

"So are you going to tell me why you're in such a bad mood today?" Damon asked, laying next to Aria on his bed.

"No, not really" Aria whispered, staring up at the ceiling with no emotion on her face.

"Ria, I thought we don't hide anything from each other" Damon said, worried for his girlfriend.

Aria sighed and sat up, "We don't, and I'm not hiding this from you because I want to, I just don't want you to go kill Elena".

"What did Katherine 2.0 do now?" Damon asked, his hatred for Elena increasing each day.

Aria sighed, "She didn't do anything, it's just something that Kol told me".

"What did he tell you?" Damon asked curiously.

"If I tell you, do you promise not to go and attack Elena?" Aria asked.

"It's that bad?" Damon asked.

"Yeah" Aria whispered.

"Tell me what Kol said Aria" Damon said, not promising anything, and Aria knew she couldn't force him to promise something he didn't want to.

"I told Kol about the sun and moon curse and how my best friend, well my ex best friend now, she is a Petrova doppelganger" Aria explained, "When Kol found out, he was shocked and told me that there is a lot of prophecies relating to the Connor witches, one of them being that a Connor witch and a Petrova doppelganger can never be friends, he said it's written that, no matter how nice the Petrova is, she will lead the Connor witch to her death and ever since I woke up, I've been thinking about it, at first I didn't believe, we are talking about Elena here, my best friend, but then I started thinking, Elena did try to hand me to Klaus, guaranteed she was also handing herself, but at the same she was pushing me towards my death, and then there was Katherine and Natalie".

"Katherine led Natalie to her death" Damon whispered.

"Yeah" Aria said, "And now I can't look at Elena or even be nice to her, without thinking that I might die because of her".

Aria didn't even realise she had started crying, she realised it when Damon wiped her tears.

"Hey, don't cry Ria" Damon said, bringing Aria into his embrace, "I'm not going tell you that Kol is lying, because I don't think he is Ria, but I will tell you that I won't let anything happen to you, I don't care how much Stefan loves Elena, I'm losing you because of her, I will kill her before the thought of hurting you even crosses her mind".

"I can't be her friend anymore Damon, I just can't" Aria cried, "Does that make me a bad person? Am I bad person for abandoning my childhood best friend?".

"No Ria, you're not a bad person, you're finally thinking about yourself, that doesn't make you a bad person, it makes you strong" Damon said, "And let's be honest, if Elena's parents hadn't adopted you, you and Elena would not have been classified as best friends, your real best friend is Caroline, you don't need Elena".

Aria tightened her hold on Damon, his words bringing immense peace to her, "I love you".

"And I love you" Damon said, kissing Aria's head.

***

After Aria had left for school, Damon went down to the basement where Elijah was placed, he knew he couldn't take the dagger out due to Bonnie's spell, but he had an idea, he knew if the dagger didn't stay in Elijah's heart, he would wake up, so he wondered if he could burn the dagger, he needed Elijah awake, he needed the elixir Kol made for Aria, and only Elijah knew it's location.

"Ooh, burning flesh" Katherine said, entering the basement and seeing Damon trying to burn the dagger, "If you're trying to get the dagger you're wasting time, he's indestructible" Katherine informed, not realising that Damon wasn't trying to burn Elijah, he was trying to burn the dagger.

"Him and the dagger" Damon mumbled, "How do you know so much about Original vampires?".

"Spend 500 years running from one" Katherine replied.

"So when Stefan told you about his plan to kill Elijah, why didn't you warn him that he'd die if he used the dagger on him?" Damon asked, "I thought you loved him".

"Oh, there's so many rules, it's all very confusing" Katherine replied, but Damon could tell she was lying.

"Did you know Stefan would die?" Damon asked shocked.

"Did Elijah tell you his plan?" Katherine asked, dodging Damon's question, "Did he have a dagger to kill Klaus with?".

"Why are you still here?" Damon asked.

"Because you haven't forcibly removed me" Katherine said.

Damon paused and stared at Katherine, "Why did you kill Aria's parents? Why have you been going around all these years trying make sure the Connor bloodline is extinct?".

Katherine sighed, she needed to gain Damon's trust somehow, and if it was by telling him why she was killing Connor witches, then so be it, "When I had encountered the Original family, they all used to speak about this girl, her name was Ariana Connor, and she was their humanity, but their mother had killed her, then I found out that Kol, the wildest of the Originals, the Original who was in love with Ariana, he did a spell that would make it that one thousand years later Ariana would return, she would return to complete her and Kol's incomplete love story", Damon curled his hands into a fist, he knew all this, but it doesn't mean it didn't make him less angry knowing that Aria was destined to be with someone that wasn't him, "As you know, after I escaped from Klaus, he killed my family, so I wanted revenge, I decided I will make the Connor bloodline extinct, I would make it that the Original's humanity never returns to them".

"You didn't kill Natalie because she was in love with me, you killed her because of your stupid revenge against the Originals" Damon realised, glaring at Katherine.

"Bingo" Katherine said, "And my revenge would have been completed but Natalie forgot to mention she had a sister, who had continued the Connor bloodline, when I found out that there was two more Connor witches alive, I came back to Mystic Falls, to end them once and for all".

"You thought Aria's Mom and Dad were the two Connor witches" Damon realised, "You didn't realise that it was actually Aria and her Mom that were witches, instead you ended up killing someone from your family, Lucas, Aria's father, he was your descendent".

"When I realised it was too late" Katherine said, "And now the Original's humanity has returned, I did all that for nothing".

"What?" Damon asked pretending to be oblivious.

Katherine scoffed, "Do you think I'm an idiot Damon? I know Aria is Ariana Connor, Isobel told me that when she had first met Elena and Aria, and I've seen how much she cares of Elijah, why do you think I haven't killed her yet, it's not just because she's the last Connor witch alive, but because she is my true bargaining chip against Klaus, if I give Klaus Elena there's a small chance he would free me, but if I give him Aria, there's a hundred percent chance he would free me".

"Why would Klaus give you your freedom for Aria?" Damon asked confused.

"Oh you don't know?" Katherine mocked, "Klaus was Ariana's best friend, he is the brother of Kol and Elijah, he is Klaus Mikaelson".

***

"It was bad, you know, John planted all these seeds about Isobel and now Jenna knows I'm lying" Alaric told Elena and Aria.

When Aria had arrived at school, Alaric had told her to come to his classroom, reaching there she saw Elena also there, and as much as Aria wanted nothing to do with Elena, she couldn't leave a clearly distressed Alaric alone, who Caroline had told had tried stopping Elena, Stefan and Bonnie from daggering Elijah.

"John's gonna end up dead on the floor if he's not careful" Elena said, feeling extreme hatred for her biological father.

"Yeah, well, easier said then done" Alaric said, showing the girls where his Gilbert ring used to be, "I gave him back his ring, so--".

"I can make you a new one" Aria said.

"What?" Alaric asked confused.

"Look, I know the spell Emily used to make that ring, I can make you another one" Aria said.

"Aria you don't have to do that" Alaric said, his heart warming with how much the Connor witch cared for him.

"Of course I do" Aria said, "You're the last father figure I have left, I can't let you get harmed and specially not because of John Gilbert, just give me a few days, I will make you another ring, screw John's second hand ring".

"Thank you" Alaric said, grateful for the witch, "Also, Jenna keeps asking about Isobel, you know, was she murdered? Why haven't they found the body? I mean, how much longer can she stay in the dark?".

"Then I think it's time to get her out of the dark" Aria said.

"What? Aria, no--".

"Do you not see what's happening Elena?" Aria snapped, "Alaric can't be with Jenna and not tell her the truth, it's not fair, and Matt and Caroline are in the same position, we are hiding things from the people we care about because we don't want them hurt, but them being the dark, is putting them in much more danger".

"I just, I thought that we'd hold off until after we've dealt with Klaus" Elena said.

"Yeah?" Aria asked, "What if by then Alaric and Jenna's relationship crumbles? Are you willing to take the responsibility for that? Because let me tell you, I'm not", Aria turned to Alaric, "Look Ric, if you want my advice tell Jenna the truth, she deserves to know, if she finds out from someone else she's going to be extremely hurt, look how hurt she was when she found out about John being Elena's father from John and not Elena, don't let that repeat itself, tell her the truth yourself".

After stating her argument, Aria left the classroom, leaving behind confused Alaric and Elena.

"She still hasn't forgiven you, has she?" Alaric asked, having seen Aria's cold behaviour towards Elena.

Elena sighed, "No she hasn't, and I don't think she's planning on forgiving me anytime soon".

"Well, you did dagger someone she cares about and you out of all people should know how Aria gets when someone she cares about gets hurt" Alaric said, also leaving the room.

After Alaric left, Elena stood there, confused, in her mind she didn't do anything wrong by daggering Elijah, Aria had wanted her to start fighting and that's what she was doing, but she never wanted to lose her best friend, Elena sighed, she didn't know what to do anymore, she didn't know how to fix things with Aria, she didn't even know if she could.

***

"Wait, Klaus is also a Mikaelson?" Caroline asked shocked, "And Aria was his best friend in her pervious life?".

"Yeap" Damon replied.

After school both Aria and Caroline decided they wanted to have a sleepover at Caroline's because after Aria told Caroline about the Petrova Connor prophecy, Caroline refused to let Aria go anywhere near Katherine or Elena, so that's why they were currently sitting on Caroline's bed, talking to Damon on the phone, who was filling them on what Katherine had told him.

"And Katherine has been going around killing Connor witches because she didn't want Aria to be reborn?" Caroline asked.

"Yeap" Damon repeated.

"So I was right, my parents died because of me" Aria whispered, but both the vampires heard her, "My Dad wasn't even a Connor witch, yet he ended up dying because Katherine didn't want me to be born".

"Hey, none of that" Caroline said, "You are not to blame yourself, this is not your fault, the Petrova bloodline is just pure evil, this is Katherine's doing, not yours, don't you dare blame yourself".

"But Care, maybe if I wasn't born, then my parents would still be alive today" Aria cried.

"Aria, did you not hear what Damon said?" Caroline asked, "Katherine was going to kill the whole Connor bloodline, whether you were born or not, I don't know about your Dad but your Mom was going to die either way, but she instead died protecting the best person I know".

"But--".

"Blondie is right Ria" Damon said, "None of this is your fault, stop thinking like that, right now you and Blondie need to have your girly sleepover, stop worrying about Klaus, or Katherine and Elena, braid Blondie's hair and have pillow fights and other things girls do at a sleepover, you need to relax, and who better do with then your actual best friend".

Both Aria and Caroline looked at each other and smiled, Damon wasn't wrong, they were really each other's actual best friends, each other's rock.

"What are you going to do without me?" Aria asked curiously, as this is the first night in weeks Damon and Aria will spend apart.

"Well see, that's a hard question, without you I can't function properly, Blondie's lucky I gave you to her for tonight, usually I don't share" Damon joked, trying to life Aria's mood, which worked as she let out a laugh.

"Hey!" Caroline said, "She's my best friend first".

"Can't hear you Barbie" Damon teased, "Anyways, the Martin witches told Stefan how Elijah never had a weapon to kill Klaus, but he believed if a witch could channel enough power, they could kill him".

"Like power from site where hundreds of witches got massacred?" Aria asked, Jenna having informed her that Elijah was looking for that.

"Yeap" Damon replied, "So while you're having your sleepover, I'm going to find that place before Stefan does".

"What are you going to do if you find it?" Caroline asked.

"Depends" Damon replied.

"On what?" Caroline asked.

"If Katherine's right, and Aria was Klaus's best friend in her pervious life, then like Elijah, maybe Klaus will protect her and make sure she doesn't die, if he does that the I will do nothing about that place and leave all of to Stefan, he can save his girlfriend himself" Damon explained.

"And if Klaus is planning to kill me?" Aria asked.

"Then Bonnie Bennet is going to channel all the witches power and kill Klaus" Damon replied, "Either way, Aria lives".

"But one of the ways, Elena dies" Aria whispered.

"Sucks for her" Damon said, not caring at all about Elena.

"Aria you can not be feeling guilty for Elena, did you forget the part where she is destined to lead you to your death?" Caroline asked.

"Of course I haven't" Aria replied, "But at the same time, I haven't forgotten everything she did for me".

Caroline scoffed, "What exactly did she do for you? Don't answer that I will tell you, nothing, Elena did nothing for you, her parents took you in, not Elena, despite seeing how much Damon makes you happy, she refuses to let you both be together, she has judged your every move, not once has she put you first, so why are you putting her first?".

"But Care--".

"No Aria" Caroline snapped, "I'm not hearing it, I've had it with Elena's bullshit, no more, it's time you put yourself before Elena, you are way more important then her and you need to start realising that".

Aria sighed, "Okay but what if I promise you both I won't risk my life for Elena's, but if there is something I can do to save her life, without putting myself at risk of course, I'll try my best to do it".

"No" Damon and Caroline said simultaneously.

"We are not risking anything Ria" Damon said, "Don't even try to save Elena, Bonnie and Stefan are doing that, it's not like we are leaving her alone to die, she has people who will save her, stop feeling guilty".

"But--".

"Nope, not listening" Damon interrupted, "Blondie, talk some sense into her, I'll call you both later, love you Ria".

"Yeah, love you to" Aria mumbled, slightly grumpy, making both Caroline and Damon laugh.

"So, Chinese or pizza?" Caroline asked.

Aria sighed, she knew this was Caroline's way of telling her that the conversation was over, "Obviously pizza".

"Right, duh" Caroline said, grabbing her phone, "How dare I forget about Aria Connor's unhealthy obsession with pizza?".

Aria laughed and pushed Caroline making her laugh as well.

Caroline unlocked her phone to call the pizza place when her eyes landed on her wallpaper, that had a photo of her and Matt on the Founder's Day parade.

Aria sighed seeing her best friend's mood drop drastically, so she grabbed her phone off of her, "On second thought, didn't you mention something about a live band at the Grill?".

"Yeap" Caroline replied.

"Then why don't you and me go dancing at the Grill, I could really use some fun right now" Aria said, but in reality this wasn't for her, it was to cheer Caroline up, and maybe play a little bit of matchmaking between Matt and Caroline.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at Aria, knowing all to well what she was doing, "Fine, but if we see Matt there, we run the other way, clear?".

"Yes sir" Aria said, giving Caroline a mock salute, making her laugh at her friends stupid antics.

***

Caroline and Aria entered the Grill both laughing at the stupid joke Aria had just said, Caroline grabbed Aria's hand and both the girls went towards the dance floor.

"Oh they are good!" Aria yelled over the music.

"Yes they are!" Caroline yelled, "Now come on, dance me with Connor!".

"Gladly Forbes!" Aria yelled back, spinning Caroline around.

Both the girls laughed and started dancing with each other, both trying to forget everything that was happening around them, both just wanting one night where they could be normal teenagers girls, who do normal teenage stuff.

Unknown to Aria and Caroline, Bonnie and Elena were also at the Grill and were watching their two best friends have fun without them.

"Do you think we have lost them forever?" Bonnie asked Elena, seeing how much the two girls were having fun without them.

"I hope not, but I really don't know" Elena admitted.

While Aria and Caroline were dancing, Caroline accidently bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry" Caroline looked up at the person, and was shocked seeing Matt, she was not prepared to face him yet, "Hey Matt".

Matt ignored Caroline and simple walked away from her.

"Well, that was awkward" Aria commented, "Care, he wants you to make the first move this time".

"Yeah, but I can't Aria" Caroline snapped.

"What the hell not?" Aria asked, "Caroline, you always talk about how much you care about him to me, you just need to tell him the same thing".

"Yeah, but I am still keeping so many secrets" Caroline said.

"Look, we are trying to protect the people we love by keeping them out of the loop but I think that's how we are hurting them, not protecting them" Aria said, "If you want to tell him everything, then I won't stop you, just go get your man Care Bear".

Caroline let Aria's words sink in, she then looked towards the stage, where the live band had just finished a song, she took her jacket off and handed it to Aria.

"You're not stripping to get Matt's attention, are you?" Aria asked confused.

"Nope" Caroline replied simply.

Before Aria could ask anymore question, Caroline had run off to the stage.

"Hey, everybody" Caroline said into the microphone, "Let's hear it for the band, aren't they awesome?", Aria started clapping and cheerly loudly, not for the band but for her best friend, knowing all to well what she was about to do and Aria was all for it.

"So there's this guy" Caroline said, "And, uh, he told me to tell him how I feel about him, like it's so easy", Aria turned to Matt to see him looking towards Caroline with a shocked expression on her face, he was not expecting this, "Um, you know just because I talk a lot doesn't mean I always know what I'm actually talking about", Caroline look towards Aria, she was feeling nervous and she needed her best friend, Aria smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up, that was all the assurance Caroline needed to continue, "Like now, I'm feeling loopy and I don't really know how to express myself".

The lead singer of the band, walked over to Caroline to take the mike off of her, but Caroline quickly took the mike back, making Aria laugh, "I can sing".

"Yes you can!" Aria yelled, making Caroline laugh.

"Thanks Aria" Caroline said, "You know what, I'm gonna sing".

"Come on, off the stage" The lead singer said.

"You are gonna let me live out my rockstar fantasies and you are going to be my back up" Caroline compelled, making sure no one could hear her, but Aria, Bonnie and Elena realised what she was doing, once again Aria was amazed with the power Caroline Forbes holds.

"What will it be?", Caroline quickly whispered the song she wanted to sing to the singer's ear.

Caroline looked towards Matt and started singing Eternal Flame, making everyone around her cheer loudly, but the loudest was Aria, who was sure she was going to lose her voice by tomorrow but she didn't care, she need to support her best friend.

"She's good" A random lady told Aria.

"She's the best" Aria replied, feeling so proud of her best friend.

Aria looked towards Matt, who also turned to her, she nodded at him, telling him to go up to Caroline.

Matt took a deep breath and went on stage to Caroline and pulled her into a kiss.

"Yes!" Aria cheered, "Get it Care!".

Both Matt and Caroline laughed into the kiss when they heard Aria, Matt dipped Caroline down then brought her back up and pulled her into another kiss.

***

After her performance Aria had ended up losing Caroline, she figured she was somewhere with Matt, so not wanting to disturb them Aria decided to leave but before leaving she decided to quickly use the bathroom, Aria walked towards the bathroom and went to open the door but Bonnie quickly came out.

"I wouldn't go in there" Bonnie said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Why not?" Aria asked confused.

"Matt and Caroline are in there" Bonnie said, hoping Aria would catch on, which she did.

"Of course they are making out in the bathroom" Aria said chuckling.

"They're happy" Bonnie said, smiling.

"I know" Aria said, she went to walk away, when Bonnie grabbed her wrist.

"Have I lost my witch partner forever?" Bonnie asked, slightly scared of Aria's answer.

Aria sighed, "Bonnie, this isn't the first time you've gone behind my back, whenever Elena tells you to do something, you always do it without thinking about the consequence, do you think I like being on odds with the only other witch I know? Cause I don't, but I can't just stand there while you listen to everything Elena says while completely ignoring me, it hurts Bonnie, it hurts a lot".

"Aria I know going behind your back to dagger Elijah was wrong, but we didn't think you would be so affected" Bonnie said, looking extremely guilty.

"See that's the thing Bonnie, none of you came to me and tried to understand my connection to Elijah, none of you cared, and do you know how much that hurt?" Aria asked, "I've always put you and Elena before me, but what's the gotten me? It led me to being betrayed by both of you over and over again, I don't know if you've lost me forever, but you have lost me for now, I can't be around you and Elena right now, specially not Elena".

Bonnie sighed, "Okay, I understand, just know I do care about you, and I'm sorry I haven't been able to show it, but I promise I'll do better".

Before Aria could say anything, her phone started ringing, Aria took her phone out of her pocket and realised Damon was calling her.

"Um, I have to take this, I'll see you around Bonnie" Aria said.

"Yeah" Bonnie whispered, watching Aria walk away from her with a sad expression on her face.

After making sure there was a fair distance between her and Bonnie, Aria answered her phone, "Miss me already?".

"Luka Martin tried to remove the dagger from Elijah, but the spell Bonnie did on the dagger ended up killing him and now Jonas is coming after you and Elena, please tell me your at Caroline's and not out on the streets" Damon said, getting straight to the point.

"Damon, me and Caroline are at the Grill" Aria answered, slightly scared.

"Dammit Ria" Damon said, worried out of his mind, "Just stay there and stay hidden, I'm on my way, don't let Jonas get to you".

"Okay" Aria said, hanging up and looking around for Jonas, who she saw enter the Grill.

Seeing Jonas, Aria knew she had to find Elena, he wasn't just after her, he was also after Elena, and as much as Aria wanted to, she couldn't save her life and risk Elena's, that just wasn't her.

***

"Elena!" Aria yelled, running over to Elena, who was standing near the bar.

"Aria, what's wrong?" Elena asked confused, she thought Aria was mad at her.

"Come on Elena, we need to get out of here, Luka Martin is dead and his father wants us as revenge" Aria said, grabbing Elena's hand, "We need to get out of here, now!".

Both Elena and Aria ran away from the bar, when suddenly all the lights started exploding, it didn't take a genius to know this was the doing of Jonas Martin.

***

Elena, Aria and Stefan, who had also joined the girls, ran into the bathroom where Caroline was.

"Hey" Caroline said, shocked seeing Aria with Stefan and Elena.

"Care, we have a problem" Aria said, slightly out of breath.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked, suddenly worried seeing her best friend's panicked state.

"Jonas is here and he's after Elena and Aria" Stefan revealed.

"Oh my god" Caroline said, not caring about Elena but worried for Aria.

"We have a plan but I need to get Elena and Aria out of here" Stefan said.

"Well, what can I do?" Caroline asked, she would do anything to keep her best friend safe.

***

Elena, Aria and Stefan ran out of the bathroom, and towards Jonas Martin.

"Dr. Martin!" Aria yelled, gaining Jonas's attention, "We are really sorry about Luka, trust me none of us wanted this to happen and I can never express to you how sorry I am, if you want we can help you get your daughter back from Klaus".

"Only Elijah can do that" Jonas snapped.

"You don't need Elijah" Elena said.

Hearing Elena, Jonas got even more angry and lit the bar on fire, Stefan quickly grabbed Elena and Aria and pulled them back.

Aria glared at Jonas and suddenly Jonas started yelling and he fell to the floor in pain, Caroline then came and restrained him while Stefan took Aria and Elena out.

***

Stefan, Aria and Elena entered the Gilbert household, where Bonnie and Jeremy were waiting for them, Aria was slightly worried as Damon had still not come.

"Thank god" Bonnie said, happy seeing her two best friends unharmed.

"I wouldn't be happy just yet Bon" Aria said, looking around the house in worry.

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked.

"He'll explain" Elena said, gesturing to Stefan, while her and Aria went upstairs.

"When did you guys get home?" Stefan asked.

"A few minutes ago" Bonnie answered.

"Did you check the house?" Stefan asked.

"And why would we check the house?" Jeremy asked confused.

Aria and Elena climbed up the stairs and into their shared bathroom, both girls really exhausted from all the running and hiding.

Aria turned the tap on and splashed water on face, she looked back up at the mirror and gasped seeing Jonas standing behind her and Elena.

Both the girls tried to run but Jonas grabbed their arm, but before he could realise, Elena, who was really Katherine, bit him.

"You didn't have to kill him!" Aria yelled, just as Bonnie and Stefan entered.

"You're welcome" Katherine said.

Aria ignored Katherine's smug look and her and Bonnie kneeled down next to Jonas, Aria sighed and went to close his eyes when suddenly he woke up and placed his hands over Bonnie and Aria's head, causing both the girls to scream.

Stefan quickly snapped Jonas's neck, freeing Bonnie and Aria, while Bonnie was fine, Aria had passed out.

"Aria!" Bonnie and Stefan yelled, running over to the unconscious witch.

***

"What the hell happened to her?" Damon asked, entering the Gilbert house and seeing an unconscious Aria on the couch, making him extremely worried.

"We don't know" Stefan admitted, also worried for the young witch, "Jonas did something to her and Bonnie, to Bonnie he gave her powers back, but we don't know what he did to Aria".

Damon kneeled infront of a unconscious Aria, "You better wake up Ria, I swear to god, if you don't wake up, I will burn this town to the ground".

***

Aria gasped and looked at her surroundings in confusion, she was back at the same lake where Kol and her had their conversation.

"Aria".

Aria turned around hearing someone call her name, she was fully excepting Kol, but to her shock it was Jonas Martin.

"Dr. Martin" Aria whispered shocked, "I thought you were dead".

"I am" Jonas replied, "But before I go, I needed you to know".

"Know what?" Aria asked confused.

"Your connection to Klaus" Jonas said, pointing behind Aria.

Aria looked behind her to see a guy with long blonde hair, walking over to her and Kol's favorite spot, from his clothing and hair Aria could tell this was around the time she knew Kol.

"I knew you would be here", Aria saw her, or Ariana, walk over to the blonde haired guy and sit next to him.

"Not in the mood Ari" The blonde replied, throwing rocks into the lake and from his expression Aria would tell he was upset over something.

"Come on Nik, I know your father's words hurt you, but you shouldn't take them to heart, you are nothing like he says you are, you are so much more" Ariana said.

"I'm not" Nik replied, "Father is right, I am nothing but a coward, who is too scared to take a stand for himself".

"You're not a coward Niklaus Mikaelson" Ariana said, "You have the right to be scared of your father, he scares all of us, even me".

Niklaus scoffed, "I find it hard to believe the great Ariana Connor is scared of anyone".

"I might not show it, but truth is I also have deep and scary fears" Ariana admitted.

"Such as?" Niklaus asked curiously.

"Losing people" Ariana said, looking out at the lake, "I'm so scared that one day I'm going to lose all of you, just the thought of it scares me so much, I don't know what I will do if it actually happens".

"You are not going to lose us Ari" Niklaus said, "Specially not me, you are my best friend, the girl who I can share my thoughts and feelings with without fearing any judgement, you know me better then anyone else, instead I fear that one day you will realise how right father is and will end up leaving me".

"Don't talk rubbish Nik" Ariana said, "I will never leave you, and say one day I do, don't panic, because Ariana Connor will always find her way back to the Mikaelsons".

"Promise?" Niklaus asked, holding his hand out.

Ariana smiled, "Promise".

Aria gasped and opened her eyes in shock.

"Ria" Damon said, running over to a shocked Aria, "Please tell me you're okay".

"I saw" Aria whispered.

"Saw what?" Elena asked confused.

"I saw me and Klaus" Aria revealed, shocking everyone, "I saw how much I mean to him".

***

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