Forever; The Devil's Angel

“What? Are you crazy? Are you seriously thinking that pretending to be Mia is a good thing?” Katherine asked through her clenched teeth.

“Why not, Katherine?” She argued, irritated by her tone, “They’re friends with her and obviously she’s not here in town. How are they supposed to know?” She shifted on her feet. “If they think, I’m Mia, they’ll trust me without a question and we’ll slowly get all the information we need about her and in the run, I could have fun. It’s a win-win.”

Katherine cocked her head as she thought about it, “I-I don’t think it’s a good idea,” she knitted her eyebrows together.

“Come on. How many times did you pretend to be Elena and fooled them?” Maya argued.

“That was different.”

“Different how?” She took a step forward as she raised her voice.

“I knew everything about Elena, Maya. What she liked, disliked, interests, the way she talked and the damn way she was. Plus, it was for a little time. But…What do you know about Mia?” She challenged Maya, raising her eyebrows at her.

“Nothing. You know nothing about her,” Katherine answered her own question, “You can’t play that game. We have more to lose than to gain by that.”

Maya was getting annoyed at her tone. She had put her trust in Katherine so may ties before and she trusted her to make all the choices for her. She knew that with Katherine, they’ll succeed and be fine but Katherine’s belief in her or a lack of one pissed her off.

She crossed her arms on her chest as she straightened herself. It was not that Katherine was the only smart person. Maya could prove that. She could carry that out and prove to Katherine that she was an asset. After all, she could just be as stubborn as Katherine herself.

“I can play that game just fine,” Maya said as she stared at Katherine, “And I will,” she said with a pure determination as she stalked off to find Damon. Of course, she could do it, she knew that. Katherine gaped at her openly. Maya had never been like that or talked to her that way and it was a weird first for her.
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"I was wondering how your eyes looked like," she said as she came to stand beside him.

Damon looked over to the girl with the mask beside him. She had a rigid but a lean and voluptuous figure with her wavy brown hair arranged in a beautiful bun at the top of her head. "Hmm, and what do you see?" He asked her with a smirk.

"Hmm," she smiled coyly at him as she picked a strawberry from the dish and put it to her lips and bit into it. She licked her lips to clear off the juice, "Wouldn't you like to know?" she raised her perfectly arched eyebrow.

Damon snatched his eyes from her lips to look into her eyes that were the only visible thing with the exception of her sinful lips. Brown...the same haunting, delicious brown. He snapped his eyes away. He needed to stop that. An extremely sexy girl was clearly interested and he was still thinking about the thing that just didn't make any sense.

Controlling his thoughts, he tried to forget everything disturbing about his life for a little time as he decided to enjoy the night. He leaned slowly towards her, "I don't need reassurances, darling. I know who I am," he whispered in her ears and felt her shiver. That was good, he mused.

Maya cleared her throat as she leaned back. What the hell? She had never expected herself to give that kind of response. She was good at this kind of thing. She always had the retort on the tip of her tongue but this time, with him, it was too different, too new. She blinked twice as she turned towards the waiter that was passing by and took a drink.

Damon smirked at her as she took a slow sip of it and took a deep breath. "Who drinks that shit?" Damon asked as he raised his eyebrow at her, watching her carefully. Maya looked at him and narrowed her eyes at him, "What's wrong with this drink?" she asked, glad that she didn't sound as nervous as she felt.

"Here," Damon turned around to hold a drink of his choice and handed it to her, "Drink this and you'll remember me forever," he smirked.

Maya laughed out loud and the sound was so similar yet so different. He smiled tightly reigning in all the thoughts he didn't want to think. They were useless. "It's not a magical elixir to make me fall for your charms now, is it?" she asked once her laugh subsided.

Damon chuckled as he thought about his failed attempts at magic. He couldn't perform and carry a simple spell he wanted so much. He doubted he would ever do a love spell to charm a woman. "I wish," he said looking into her eyes. They were not clear like he always saw but held some coldness, taking away the melted brown to a glassy one and he was grateful for the change he saw.

Maya smiled as she took a sip. It was warm and a little sour and bitter but she loved the feel of it in her mouth, "It is good," she said as she looked at him, "Thank you," she smiled and somehow it felt good when he returned the smile.

"Sure thing," he said as he glanced over at the dance floor and Maya followed his eyes, "What about a dance?" Damon asked, "After you finish with the drink," he smirked, "It's also another unforgettable piece of me," he added with a wink.

Maya was unsure how to proceed. She wanted to dance but she didn't want it too and she also had a plan in her mind but everything crumbled under his stare. It was enrapturing and almost magical. She had never been this effected except maybe with...Enrique. She wanted to turn around and run away but at the same time she wanted to jump on him.

"I'm sure it will be," she put down the drink and put her hand in his as he led her to the dance floor. Taking her by her waist, he felt the shock of familiarity once again but he ignored it as he pulled her close and they swayed gracefully with each other. He had to let go of Mia, whoever she was. He had to move on.

Damon tried to lose himself in the dance, in the movement of life but the feeling of unease grew with every step he took.

"Are you ok?" Maya asked as he closed his eyes and frowned. It looked like something was bothering him or maybe he wasn't feeling well. She knew he was vampire, he shouldn't get sick but she wasn't sure.

Damon nodded but said nothing. Slowly the song came to an end and Maya pulled him away from the dance floor as she led him to an open area. "What happened? You, uh. You don't like fine," she asked concerned.

Damon rubbed his temples with his forefinger and thumb and sighed. "I'm fine," he looked over at her, "I'm sorry about that...I don't know. I don't know what happened..."

"It's ok," Maya cut him off as she extended her arms to untie his mask, "You need fresh air, that's all," she said as she pulled off his mask. He had high cut cheekbones and angular nose with piercing blue eyes, his hair ruffled giving him the perfect look. He was absolutely gorgeous. No wonder Katherine couldn't decide among them. His brother had to be just as handsome as he was.

Damon looked at her as she stared at him with rapt attention, her eyes twinkling with awe. Everything about her seemed familiar but it was the same thing he saw everywhere so, he decided it was a mental lapse that his brain had imprinted the haunting image onto someone else to give him some peace, that he was hallucinating and seeing what he wanted to see instead of what was.

He slowly raised his hand to touch her face letting the soft, creamy texture torture his fingertips. Miangelo. The word kept running through his mind as he cupped her cheek, the mask she wore acting as a barrier between his hand and her skin. Maya's eyes flickered to his lips as she leaned into his touch. She wanted to stop him when his hand went at the back of her head to untie the mask.

She wasn't ready for it. What would he say? What would she tell him? Who she wanted to be? Mia or Maya? She felt the knot open and she drew in a shaky breath. Yes, she wanted to stop him but nothing formed on her tongue, no word got out.

The mask hit the ground with a soft thud as Damon gaped at her. His heart started to pound in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins, blurring everything but her. Mia. Mia. Miangelo. He could hear his own beat loud in his ears drowning all the other voices, all the other screams as he screamed and collapsed on the ground, clutching himself to save himself from splitting open.

No air. He couldn't breathe. Heart was beating so fast, pumping blood so hard, he could hear the buzz as it traveled through his body. Goosebumps covered every inch of his skin as the images started to burn in his mind, colliding with him, assaulting him.

He could hear Stefan and Elena screaming his name but the other voices were dominating his head. His own voice, determined and powerful as he chanted the spell. He could feel the heat from the fire, the molten lava flowing within him. He twitched and gasped loudly as he heard her voice with so much clarity as if she was standing beside him.

"Please. I-I can't." He could hear the pain in her voice. “Please. I want to know. I can handle it, I know. Please," Mia was pleading.

“I know. It should surprise me, make me question the world,” she lifted her face again to look into his eyes, “but it doesn't. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Ok…” Mia dragged the word, “so vampires, witches and werewolves. What’s next in line, demons and angels?” she said mockingly.

“You’ll ruin me if you keep saying that,” he smirked at her.

A sob wrecked her body, “Where were you, Damon?” Mia asked, her voice strained from crying.

Damon screamed again, his voice laced with burning pain, his head was exploding as he clutched his hair and clenched shut his eyes, trying to endure the pain. He wanted out. He couldn’t see these images. They hurt too much. It was alright without them. He could live without that part of his life.

“Stay,” she requested, looking up at him again. “Please. Stay.”

He wanted to tell her he was here. He will always be there with her even without remembering her, he knew he was stuck with her, never moving forward. He drew in a shaky breath. No, he could do this, she wanted him to stay. He needed to know, he needed to see.

“Who knew you could be so…philosophical?” she sniffed. “Told ya, you’ll ruin me,” he smirked and winked at her. She laughed, “Now, that’s more like it.”

“Damon! Stop! You’re hurting her,” she screamed.

No, no. I’m the one hurting. I have been hurting all this time and now…he wanted to tell her but despite the closeness of her voice, he knew she wasn’t really there but God, how he wished for it?

“You’re my friend, Damon. You’re the one who help me and the one I trust, who listens to me and my everyday drama, the one who cares and is always there for me. You’re the one I rely on, Damon. That’s you,” she tried again to make him see it, “not this…killing murd…”

"She's a Markowitz."

"I don't want to be an angel, Damon," Mia whispered. Angel...she was an angel. His angel.

“No, no. Damon,” she took a step forward, I wasn’t trying to change you. I just didn’t want to…you know think of yourself as a…” she was saying but Damon cut her off, “Monster?” he continued for her, “Because that’s what I am. You can’t change my basic nature."

"The dreams...they scare me." The fear in her voice tugged at his heart.

“You are,” Damon whispered, “You are perfect, angel.”

“I saw Maya in dream,” she said. “She’s the one who killed me, a…year ago.”

"There's more than one cure," Rebekah's voice seeped through.

"The angel dies after she completes her task. Mia will too." Damon flinched as the image ripped a part of him. The memory so real, so painful. He screamed in denial. They couldn't take her, not his Mia.

“And I care about you,” Mia said softly, touching his face. He could feel the touch, revel in the feel of her, her scent hitting him with so much force, for a moment he couldn’t think.

“I just...for a moment, I thought...I lost her,” Damon admitted to his brother, which was rare for him as he saw Mia's unconscious form, the fire was still crackling but all that mattered was her.

“You had to?” she hissed as she took a step forward, her body rigid, her shoulders tensed. “What does that mean? Didn’t you had your fill of murders for this week?” she almost screamed the words at him.

“I had to save you…” he said, matching her tone. “It was you or it was her.” She was mad at him. The fire, the way he snapped Claire's neck. She loved her. Mia loved her and he killed her guardian.

“I did it because I love you," he screamed the words, trying to make her understand. And loved her he did. It was the only thing he was sure of in that moment. How could he forget her if he loved her so damn much? He opened his eyes to see Stefan crouched in front of him.

“Damon, you need to breathe,” he said and Elena nodded in agreement. His eyes fell upon the girl who had her eyes locked at him but was retreating, slowly taking steps back. He wanted to stop her but the pain hit him again as he doubled over, the images returning again.

"It hurts," Damon gasped and tried to breathe, "It hurts so damn much," he hissed. "What's wrong with him?" he heard Elena ask in her panicked voice.

“She didn’t chose me,” Enrique said, “though I wish it wasn’t so,” he shrugged, “She chose you. You’re the one who unlocked her powers."

"I love you, Damon," she whispered, breathing hard as she pulled back from him. He could still taste her, feel her. "Always have."

"Between you and this," he raised the blood bag, "You're so much more tempting."

"Nope. No way. You're not leaving my side," he said with finality in his tone.

He couldn’t let her go. He never did. She was the only good thing about him and he wasn’t ready to let her go. He wondered if he ever will be?

“I’m too selfish to let you go,” he said running his thumb below her eyes, “But I can’t live with the fact that you’re no more, Mia. I want you to live. It’s not just dying,” he argued, “It’s the fact that you’ll be cursed.”

"No running away," he said sternly but she heard the playfulness in his voice. He was happy, at ease and peace. He was in love, selfless, true love.

"A beauty to reverse the evil, reigning the purity by old one, losing to flame all cherished, righting the wrong done." The prophecy repeated itself over and over, reminding him of what he lost as his hands gripped his shirt at his chest to stop its plummeting beat.

"You will have to accept to be an angel forever...and take over Ariel's place. Permanently...as angel," Samantha delivered but Damon waited for the deathblow that was to come, "Leaving everything here as it is."

“You’re the devil’s angel."

"I need you to link me with Mia," he stated to Bonnie.

"Mia! Mia! Stop, Mia!" Stefan was shouting.

"He's linked to you," Bonnie explained again, "You really need to stop the bleeding."

“Damon! Damon! Don't, please, don't. Please, please, please. Don't go," she sobbed, "Please,” he could hear her screaming pleas, the desperation in her voice, "Love you. I love...I love you, Damon. Please." He felt her on his chest and he wanted to reach out for her but couldn't move, the wetness on his shirt told her she was crying. He never liked her crying.

"It isn’t about me…or you. It’s so much bigger than both of us, Mia.”

“I love you, Damon.” she promised, "I will always chose you."

"Angel," he choked out. He could feel life draining out of him but he just wanted to see her face one last time, touch her for the last time, to tell her that everything would be fine.

The pain subsided, the fire extinguished, the burns healed. Everything clicked into his mind like a perfect picture joining all the pieces he felt lacking, filling all the voids with words and images, with beauty and perfection as he felt oddly whole after a long time. The only thing that lacked now was her actual presence.

"Damon? Are you ok?" Elena asked. Her brows were knitted together, her eyes wet from unshed tears as she held his hand. Damon glanced at Stefan who was watching him with sympathy, pain and guilt. He let out a sigh as his eyes searched for the girl he danced with but she was nowhere to be seen. He closed his eyes as he recalled her, the small differences he saw and noticed.

"Where's..." He paused to fill his lungs with oxygen, "Where's Mia?"