A/N: Okay guys, pay attention, this is important! Kinda lol Here's a little reminder that Maya got kidnapped two times in the span of a single week (I know, poor girl, right). One time that turned out to be a date with Katherine, and a second time that turned out to be an actual kidnapping. When that second time happened, Katherine tried to call Maya's phone several times (because she was not allowed inside the house and that lobby looked reaaally bloody) in hopes that she would pick up and be alive. There! Now you're all set to read this new chapter ;P

I also wanted to say that now that life has gone back to being a bit more normal (just a bit), I have less time to write, so your reviews and support really do wonders to my motivation! It's amazing what a little love can do, amirite? :O

Anyway, check your inbox (you might have a message from me there), and more importantly, do not forget to have fun too during these weird ass times! (Safely, of course ;))

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. This is a work of fiction written for entertainment purposes, but the original characters and original storylines.

The last two days had been as smothering as I had imagined. The entire gang had taken shifts to watch over me, Elena being the most overprotective of them all. Despite my effort to make them understand that "no physical activities" didn't mean being on bed rest, they had kept me neatly tucked between the sheets of my temporary bedroom without me having a word to say about it. Katherine had coincidentally decided to move into the Salvatores' mansion without their consent, but mainly stayed away from the nest my friends had arranged for me. Taking advantage of the open door though, she would pass by from time to time to glance at me.

After waiting for everyone in the house to be asleep, I sneaked out of my bedroom and tiptoed down the hallway. I was hoping that she would still be awake, and based on the dim light filtering through her door, she was. For a moment I stood in front of it, rubbing my hands nervously on the PJs shorts I was wearing, not sure that it was such a good idea after all. I was about to turn on my heels and go back to my room when a muffled voice coming from inside stopped me.

"Come in."

I pinched my lips together to prevent myself from cursing out loud. Of course she would know that I was standing there. Damn it. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself and pushed her door open. She was laying on her bed in a black silk gown, heavy curls framing her face.

Closing the book she was reading in one swift move of her hand, she looked up at me.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Katherine murmured, getting up gracefully to strut toward me.

The silk fabric slid on her body with each of her steps, revealing that she was naked underneath.

"Do you like what you see?" Her amused yet pleased tone startled me out of my staring.

I swallowed to get rid of the sudden dryness in my mouth. "Yes…"

She raised an eyebrow, making me realize what I had just said. My first instinct was to rush and correct my statement, but I instead cleared my throat and composed myself again.

"I mean, yes, I'm supposed to be in bed, but I keep telling everyone I'm perfectly fine. Not my fault if they don't want to hear it. "

"Is that so?" A little smirk stretched the corner of her lips. "And coming in my bedroom is your little act of rebellion?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at her words. "No. But I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh? And what do you want to talk about?" she asked, her eyes slowly trailing down my body as she spoke. I did my best to ignore it.

"Damon gave me my phone back."

Her head snapped up to find my eyes, obviously confused by my choice of topic. "Hmm?"

"It says an unknown ID tried to call me three days ago. Any idea who that could be?"

A sparkle of mischief flashed through her eyes before she replaced it with a perfect imitation of innocence.

"How would I know?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I should call back the mysterious stranger to figure it out?"

"That would wake up the entire house and make our whispering so far quite pointless, don't you think?"

A knowing smile rose on my lips.

"If you had my number all along, why bother pretending not to have it and writing me all those notes?"

She shrugged coquettishly, causing her gown to glide off one of her shoulders.

"Because it was fun. And you can hardly ignore a message hanging from your doorknob, now, can't you?"

"Good point," I humored her as she tilted her head in a playful manner.

"Was that the reason why you sneaked in my bedroom in the middle of the night?"

"No, that's not why I'm here..."

"Oh!" She feigned genuine surprise before a suggestive expression graced her features. She took a step closer to me and softly traced the length of my arm with the tip of her finger. "Well, I don't mind your friends eavesdropping on our hot naked bodies colliding in one unforgettable night of passion," she whispered huskily, looking up at me through her eyelashes, "it could even be quite thrilling—but are you sure you want them to find out about us like that?"

"Ugh, you're such- damn it! Why would you put that kind of image in my head?!" I growled and closed my eyes in sheer frustration to stop a series of highly disturbing images from entering my mind.

She giggled, obviously enjoying herself. I glared at her but decided to ignore her taunt and circle back to the reason I was even in her room in the first place.

"Not sure you deserve it anymore, but I actually came here to thank you."

"What?" The shock plastered on her face made it easy to know that I had completely taken her aback.

"You heard me," I teased. "It was important for me that my kidnapper stay alive, and you didn't kill him, so I wanted to say thank you."

"Yes well, no need for that because I should've ripped that little bastard's heart out. You're going to regret I didn't do it, sooner or later," she gritted out, crossing her arms over her chest, her lips pursed in irritation.

I tried but failed to restrain a small smile. Her regret to let him go was probably due to not so well-intentioned ulterior motives on her part, but I was sure that what angered her the most was the fact that she had in fact listened to me.

"I also wanted to thank you for coming to my rescue...again." I looked her straight in the eye and carefully watched her reaction. The sudden tension in her body didn't escape me, but she quickly concealed it with a mischievous smile.

"Glad you mentioned it. We need to stop that disappearing/rescuing thing, it's getting boring."

I couldn't help a chuckle at her sassy comment, but quickly sobered up. If she thought I was going to let her wriggle her way out of this situation, she couldn't be more wrong.

"I'm serious, Katherine." I paused to make her realize that I indeed was. "It wasn't a fluke, this time. You didn't just happen to be on the right road at the right moment. You actually decided to go after him to find me. And you didn't have to."

A troubled glint filled her eyes, revealing how uncomfortable my words made her. She shrugged, a small pout on her lips.

"It's fine. I didn't even break a nail. No need to throw me a parade..."

"Well, I don't know about a parade, but since you did something good for a change, and there's someone willing to thank you for it, you should just shut up and take it. So thank you Kat-"

"Ugh, enough, stop it!" she snapped, cutting me off sharply.

I forced a startled expression on my face and expectantly stared at her. She scowled at me before breaking eye contact, and walked toward her dresser. I waited patiently to hear what she was going to say next, careful to keep a confused expression. When the silence stretched on too long, I spoke again.

"Katherine, I don't understand. Why-"

"There's something you should know," she blurted out, cutting me off again. She fumbled with a jewelry box absentmindedly, cautiously avoiding looking in my direction. "I...may have lured him to you…"

"May have?" I was genuinely surprised, this time, that she would even vaguely admit her responsibility in all of this, even if that was what I was after.

A frown of complete frustration creased her forehead as every single of her muscles tensed.

"Having second thoughts about thanking me now, aren't we? You should, because I did lure him to you!"

She whipped her head around to shot me a burning glare, obviously ready for a fight. I remained quiet, staring at her for a while before a small smile stretched my lips.

"I know."

Her anger disappeared instantly, her jaw dropping open in surprise.

"You know?" I could see the cogs turning in her head as she tried to decipher how it was possible, becoming more confused with every passing second. "How? Did Damon tell you?"

"No. But my kidnapper mentioned a witch in the area, looking for information about my kind. Considering there are only a few people knowing about me, and you're one of them... I just added your relentless curiosity and that little spell you had a witch cast on me to what he told me to figure it out. You showing up to rescue me just confirmed my theory."

She stood, frozen, for what seemed like an eternity, all kind of emotions passing through her eyes. Perplexity. Respect. Amusement, and finally, something looking like sadness that she quickly dispelled by focusing her attention on the dresser again.

"Then, why thanking me?"

"Well... You're Katherine Pierce." She glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. "You're known to do whatever you want, without a care in the world for the consequences of your actions. Yet, you came to rescue me. You didn't have to. Though you're also known for your manipulation and evil schemes, so you probably only did it because you needed me alive and kicking, and in your possession..."

"When exactly do you get to the point where you tell why you thanked me? Not that I'm always thrilled to hear about my numerous qualities," she interrupted dryly, but the hint of playfulness was back in her eyes.

"What I mean is, you let him walk away alive. Considering your opinion on the matter, it was a really bad move if your only motive was to keep me safe and sound to serve a secret purpose. He 's an obstacle to your plan at best, so you had no reason whatsoever not to kill him." I locked my gaze on hers, a lopsided smile on my lips. "Except to respect my wish...to please me."

"And that deserves a thank you?"

"Yes. It does."

"Maybe I just did it to win brownie points and finally sleep with you," she purred mischievously.

"Admitting you have some responsibility in my kidnapping would've been enough for that."

"You don't say. If only I knew..."

"But you'll still have to take me on a second date." I raised an eyebrow and gave her a pointed look.

I thought she would jump at the opportunity to point out that I had suggested I might be willing to have sex with her, but she narrowed her eyes instead.

"How comes you're not furious at me?"

"Are you going to keep investigating on me?"

"I never make the same mistake twice." She flashed me a cunning smirk and casually crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't get me wrong. I will know what you are exactly. But I'll just get my information from you... I'm sure you'll reveal a lot about yourself again next time you decide to frolic in the forest."

"You wish." I gave her a smirk of my own and mirrored her posture. "So! About that second date?"

"You're actually serious…"

"I don't see who could take a date with you as a tasteful joke, honestly. No offense."

"Taken." She raised a shoulder, mock hurt plastered on her face, before staring at me for a while with evident suspicion. "You're really not mad at me for causing this whole mess?"

"He would've found me sooner or later, trust me. At least this way, you knew where to look for me. And you rescued me, so..." I shrugged.

She looked dumbstruck by my reaction, and witnessing that face on Katherine was priceless. But it didn't take long for her to compose herself again.

"Well, I was here first. If he wants you, he'll have to wait in line."

She used the sarcastic comment as a way-out from the unsettling feeling this discussion was obviously causing her, but I wasn't done with having a bit of fun at her expense. After all, I was entitled to have my little revenge on her for scheming behind my back.

"Oh, by the way… I heard you were the one who gave me blood."

"But of course, your kind has to be allergic to it. Way to make me look heroic..." She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Damon told me you were quite worried about me."

Her eyes darted up to meet mine briefly, but she pretended that I hadn't said anything worthy of an answer.

"He also said you coddled me while I was unconscious..."

"And I'm going to remind him that helping me setting up one date doesn't make us best girlfriends. This one never learned to shut the fuck up," she growled. "Maybe I should break a few of his bones to make it stick in his thick head."

I laughed at her mood swing.

"You should be careful... People are going to start believing you have a conscience."

"Shouldn't it be a heart?"

"I wouldn't go that far..."

She lowered her eyelids to slits and glared at me, but I could see the smile she was trying to hide.

"When is the Scooby gang setting you free?"

"Tomorrow morning." Finally, I thought to myself. "Why?"

"I'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon, at your house. And you better be there, this time." She shot me a pointed glare.

"I have a rule to never get kidnapped more than twice a week."

"Good."