#stefan: so elen-

[lady-corrine]

[fandoms--fluff]

Stormed

Part 4 

Salvatore little sister x Damon Salvatore x Stefan Salvatore

Warnings: Swearing, death/murder

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Jeremy opened the door a bunch of hybrids came crashing through the house, starting to attack everyone.

Damon, enraged started to rip all the hybrids that are attacking him, hearts out, then throwing them right next to the limp bodies. Katherine and Elena coincidentally fighting next to each other made all the hybrids confused as which one of them were Elena.

“Which one of you is Elen-” one of the hybrids started but Jeremy attacked him and decapitated him before he could say the rest of his sentence. 

“That was quite rude, I have a way better personality and better looking than her” Katherine said before slamming one of the hybrids into the railing. Elena just glared at her before moving to an opposite spot of the room.

While they were fighting off the last few hybrids you had no idea what was going on downstairs since Tyler and Caroline’s room was on the other side of the house and the door was closed. That was until a hybrid got past all of them and followed the sound of your voice to the room. He crashed into the room and you screamed, frightened and backed away until you hit the headboard of the bed.

You still had your light brown teddy bear tight in your grasp and hugged up to your chin. The guy vampire sped towards you and stabbed a shot full of vervain on your shoulder. You fell slump against the headboard and he picked you up, speeding out of the house without anyone seeing or hearing anything.  

By the time all the hybrids were dead, some of the furniture was flipped over. Immediately Damon sped upstairs and searched all the rooms that you could’ve been in, including tearing apart the fort you built and tripped on one of the blankets. 

“Fuck!” He swore and got back up then went downstairs to everyone else. “y/n’s gone” He informed. 

“One of Klaus’s hybrids must of gone upstairs and taken her while we weren’t paying any attention. 

“Well we would have heard her screaming right?” Caroline asked, worried. 

Damon clenched his fists, trying to push back his anger. “She was in your guys’ room” Damon said, motioning towards Caroline and Tyler.

“How do you know she was in there?” Elena questioned.

“I saw three of her stuffed animals scattered on their bed and the sheets were scattered as if she were trying to back away from someone coming towards her.”

“So what are we going to do? How are we supposed to get her back without Klaus killing all of us, cause he will with no hesitation. And that’s coming from someone that’s been running from him for hundreds of years” Katherine said, pouring herself a drink then downed it. 

“What about Elijah, would he know where Klaus might be?” Jeremy asked.

“I’ll see if there’s anything that he knows” Elena said getting her phone that was laying on the ground, phoning Elijah. 

After the first three rings he picked up, “Why does he always pick up when you phone but never when I phone him” Damon complained, not noticing Elena put her phone on speaker. 

‘Because every single time you phoned me it was always something stupid or just to piss me off’ Elijah said, making Damon freeze.

“Fair enough” Damon shrugged then put on a serious facial expression.

“So your brother’s hybrids came and attacked us we killed them all obviously then plot twist one of them got away, went upstairs and kidnapped y/n” Katherine said, trying to imitate Elena.

‘I know that was you speaking Katerina, your vocabulary is very different from Elena’s. Oh and also who is y/n?’ He asked, confused.

“She’s our four-year-old sister - well older but, you know- whatever” Stefan said, panicking about where you were. 

‘I’ll see what I can do, I’ll make sure to contact you as soon as I find out anything’ Elijah sighed.

“Okay, thank you so much, bye” Elena said. “Alright, bye” he hanged up and he looked towards his brother.

“What did you do Niklaus?” Elijah said, rage laced in his voice.

[steely-eyedmissileman]

The Vampire Diaries, Ep. 2x08

Rose

what is this doctor who in two thousand and five??? (fun fact: i am watching doctor who as i type this.)

we begin this episode in a random field on an entirely too nice day. i've been around the block a few times: weather this good means something bad is going to happen.

oh yeah, elena got kidnapped. forgot about that one, a bit. the guy in the car elena didn't come from refuses to be out in the light. he's a vampire without a daywalking ring.

meanwhile, jeremy has realized elena never came home last night. caroline has done a very good job covering for tyler, but damon insists that she not tell tyler about her. he has the ability to kill vampires, so it's important that he not know about them. i'd argue that tyler doesn't want to kill caroline right now and it would be better to trust him and ensure that that remains the case. damon instinctively distrusts everyone, but there can be a better world. once again, tyler deserves all the information so he can make his own decisions.

why don't we ever see ht at school anymore? i miss him. jeremy and stefan have figured out that elena went missing last night.

we see where elena is being held, and the vibes on this place are colossally bad.

is this guy gonna be hot? i can't handle another hot man. i also can't handle another white man. i can barely keep track of the ones we've already got. he's a vampire. this girl that he's with has interesting hair. it's still a bad vibe here.

damon and stefan are going to rescue elena. bonnie and jeremy are going to hang out and try to help from a distance. jeremy really wanted to go rescue elena, but he would only be a liability. the brothers got weapons from ht, though we don't see him.

caroline did a good job of covering to tyler. i'm very proud of her. i don't think he believes her, through no fault of her own. tyler's just too damn suspicious.

who is elijah? he sounds ominous.

bonnie's going to do a tracking spell. she needs jeremy's blood and he cuts himself on the palm again. because everyone on this show seems to think that that's the best way to draw blood even though it's fucking not! the map is exciting, though. greensboro?! winston-salem?! i love winston-salem! historical winston-salem is so lovely! bonnie gets a nosebleed doing the tracking spell.

damon has big crazy eyes these days. he's obviously going with stefan to save elena because 'it's elena.'

caroline is gaslight gatekeep girlbossing it up.

stefan is trying to get damon to talk about his feelings for elena. they have one of the funniest conversations i've ever heard about it. damon: 'can we not do the whole road trip bonding thing? the cliche of it all makes me itch.' stefan: 'oh, come on damon. we both know that you being in this car has absolutely nothing to do with me anyway.' damon: 'the elephant in the room lets out a mighty roar.' stefan: 'well, it doesn't have to be an elephant. let's talk about it.' damon: 'there's nothing to talk about.' stefan: 'that's not true. i'm sure there is. just get it out. i mean, are you in this car because you want to help your little brother save the girl that he loves? or is it because you love her too? hmm? i mean come on, express yourself. i happen to like road trip bonding.' damon: 'keep it up, stefan. i can step out of helping as easily as i stepped in.' stefan: 'no, you see that's the beauty of it. you can't.'

meanwhile, bonnie and jeremy are going to send a message to elena. jeremy reveals that the gilberts just keep a random candle in their bathroom. bonnie doesn't say anything audible when she casts the spell, which is disappointing because i wanted to judge the fake latin. bonnie passes out because she's doing too much magic.

meanwhile, the vampires are refusing to tell elena why they kidnapped her. until she knows too much. now they are relatively open with the information. they mention 'the originals,' which i happen to know is the name of a spin off of this very show. we also learn that elena is 'a petrova doppelgänger. you're the key to breaking the curse... the moonstone breaks the curse. the sacrifice is what breaks it... in order to break the curse you're the one who has to die.'

tyler thinks that caroline is also a werewolf. she then freaks out and vamps out a bit. 'i'm not a werewolf, okay.' she laughs so much. i love caroline.

katherine is the first petrova doppelgänger, apparently.

bonnie's mom left and her dad doesn't want to acknowledge her powers. if jeremy and bonnie kiss, i am going to be so upset. they're bonding over being emo.

stefan reveals to damon that he's been drinking human blood. damon asks, 'elena know you're drinking blood?' stefan replies, 'i'm drinking hers.' damon then fondly remembers stefan in his first days of being a vampire. 'what happened to that guy? he was a hoot.'

i feel like these two new vampires are going to die. elijah is british. how is there working electricity in this house? elijah is zooming around the room. he has to smell elena to confirm her identity. he could be more normal.

damon and stefan have another nice conversation outside the house. damon: 'are you sure you want to do this?' stefan: 'yeah, i'm certain i want to do it.' damon: 'because if we go in that house, we may not come back out.' stefan: 'alright, then i won't come out.' damon: 'so noble, stefan.' stefan: 'i can't think of a better reason to die, but if you want to stay here, i'll totally understand.' damon, of course, follows him into the house.

inside, elijah slaps the vampire man's head off. he takes elena's vervain necklace off to get her to reveal the moonstone's location. elijah gets shot through the hand. he's not european; he's just weird. he made a big fuck off stake by breaking the hangers off a coat stand. elena throws a vervain grenade, which is super exciting! damon stakes elijah. hell yeah, damon! elijah is dead.

damon's face lights up because elena looks so happy to see him. but she's looking at stefan behind him, and damon's little face falls.

stefan apologizes for forcing damon to turn into a vampire. stefan: 'i'm sorry... for being the guy who made you turn 145 years ago... i've never said it out loud. i guess i just need to say it and you need to hear it. i'm sorry. what i did was selfish. i didn't want to be alone. i guess i just needed my brother.' it's such an important moment for them. i hope it brings a new peace to their relationship.

caroline and tyler are bonding. 'how can you be a vampire?' 'how can you be a werewolf?' these two are going to get together? tyler's scared about his new identity, which is super fair.

rose reveals herself to stefan because she knew lexie. she reveals that elijah wants elena for klaus.

damon goes to elena's room to give her back her necklace. first, though, he confesses his love and kisses her on the forehead (not her lips, thank god). he cries, and then he erases her memory and returns her necklace

elijah's not fucking dead. fuck

[we-pay-for-everything]

The whole Augustine vampire storyline is in heavy competition with the Travelers storyline for most absurd plotline in TVD so far. Those two are leading the race, but let’s not forget the whole Silas thing in season 4 or the Silas, Qetsiyah and Amara thing in season 5 (although that at least provided an explanation for the Other Side and the doppelgangers). 

Back to the Augustine vampires, why was Damon one? I swear they just wanted to make him look bad. Turns out Damon was still killing off Whitmores in the present day, as he was dating Elena! How convenient! We already knew he was a terrible person, but why in the world would the dude pass up on a day with Elena just to kill some random person? In the name of revenge? Isn’t that a bit of a stretch? He was a prisoner decades ago, and ever since he met Elena and reunited with Stefan his M.O has been different. He mostly kills people that get in his way and rarely actually seeks them out. He also “respects” Elena enough to generally try not to kill people, which is why he kills people only when it serves a greater good (ie. to save Elena in some way) or when he’s under emotional duress. I don’t want to defend the guy, but the idea that he’d go on a road trip after getting together with Elena just to kill off a distant relative of the people who tortured him decades ago is something Damon would not do. That’s something he’d do out of boredom, maybe, but not when he had Elena. 

It’s like this season is once again doubling down on the idea that Damon is bad for Elena. But I don’t see the point? We’ve known that for ages. Back in season 3, when Damon and Elena grew close, he still killed Alaric to prove a point. Elena knows he’s impulsive, cruel, etc. and that love won’t change him. I think that’s the point here: love won’t change Damon and Elena needs to know that. But Elena does know that? Or she knew that... I don’t know why the show turned her into someone who deludes herself into thinking Damon will change. But I guess that’s why Damon is getting this storyline. After a “magical” summer with Elena, where he behaved, Elena is forced to face the fact that Damon never changed and never will. 

But, still, it begs the question: what is the point of driving a wedge between Damon and Elena? It only makes sense if the writers were thinking of getting Elena back together with Stefan. Otherwise, they’re just making Delena, their main ship, look bad, and, more importantly, make Elena, their hero, look bad. Elena is still supposed to be the heroine, but they keep painting her in a bad light because of Damon. I just don’t get it? Why would they turn their heroine into an enabler? What’s the end goal? Make her less likable? Give her a redemption story? Show how people get roped into doing bad things by those they love? I really don’t get it. Unless the whole point is to have Elena run back into Stefan’s arms - which does not happen - then it’s all pointless. They’re just ruining their main characters for no reason, Damon included. He used to be predictably unpredictable. When he killed people, it usually made sense. For example, he killed Lexi because he wanted to hurt his brother. However, in season 4, it was revealed that he killed Lexi because she reminded him of the time his humanity was off. What a load of bullshit. If they were trying to make him look better, they failed. They should’ve let bygones be bygones instead of coming up with an absurd excuse like that. In trying to make Damon a slightly better person for Elena, they kind of made him worse. He’s less sympathetic now, and even more selfish than he used to be. Like, he’s better in some ways, but his behavior is even more unhinged, because, one day, he’s being nice, the next it’s revealed he murdered a baby. They made him into an even bigger asshole in order to, I assume, redeem his character in some way. What was the plan? Make him look bad, then redeem him? Because that didn’t pan out. Was the plan to make Elena hate him? Make Elena the person who would love an incorregible monster? (She already was). I don’t get it. The writers truly lost the plot.

[zalrb]

Would you like Stefan and Elene to be without humanity at the same time? If so, how do you imagine it? Honestly, I'd like to see them like that. This could take Stelena's position even further as they set a high bar when it comes to chemistry.

I've been asked this a lot in the past and was even asked to write a ff about it but I refused because I was like, why would their humanities be off at the same time? lmao, it's just so against the narrative of stelena for me that I'm like I don't care for that because is the appeal that they both have their humanities off and would do terrible things together or is the appeal that they'd just be vampiric together because if it's just about them being vampiric together then there are other things I would rather see like them blood-sharing or them having a sex scene where they just let go and get that to visceral place.

[hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis]

Caught In Between 20. One More Loss

Summary: Athena Dumont has finally found a place to call home after many years of foster homes and traveling. She had finally tamed her supernatural side and just wanted to live a normal teenage life. She quickly discovers that there is nothing normal about her hometown, Mystic Falls and gets sucked right back into the supernatural world.

Post Date: 09.29.20

Word count: 2k

Based off: 03x20 “Do Not Go Gentle”

Masterlist

CIB Masterlist

It was the night of the decade dance and as much as I didn’t want to go. I knew I needed something to distract me. As soon as I woke up, I got a text from Caroline asking me to help with finishing touches for the dance. Again, another thing to distract me. Plus I think Caroline would kill me if I didn’t help. I get ready and head over to the school.

“So Alaric is trying to pull himself together. Why is that a bad thing?” Caroline asks Elena as she makes her rounds.

“Just I wish there was something I could do. Where do you want me to hang this thing?” Elena asks picking up a small chandelier.

“You know what?” Caroline takes the chandelier from Elena. “If Rebekah wanted to hang this monstrosity, she should have shown up to do it herself. Just no,” Caroline hands the chandelier to a girl. “What are you doing?” Caroline asks Matt and Jeremy as you and Elena sort the drinks.  “You can’t just hang them. They’re supposed to trickle down,” Carline says as Matt mocks her. “Look at them all bromancey,” Caroline says as she watches the boys hang the stars.

“Yeah, I asked Matt to help Jeremy readjust. He got him his old job back at the Grill,” Elena explains.

“That was nice of him,” I say still organizing the snack table with Elena.

“Mm-hmm. Jeremy’s got a lot on his mind. The whole thing with Alaric has got him really stressed out,” Elena says.

“You sure it had nothing to do with witnessing you and Damon getting hot and heavy in a skeevy motel?” Caroline asks as I raise my eyebrows in agreement.

“I didn’t tell you guys that so you could torture me with it,” Elena says.

“Ah, what are friends for?” I ask as we laugh together.

“So who are you two bringing to the dance?” Caroline asks.

“What do you mean?” Elena asks throwing a black boa over her shoulders.

“I thought us three and Bonnie were going as girl dates,” I add.

“Bonnie has a date,” Caroline says.

“What?” Elena asks just as confused as I am.

“Jamie called and wanted to see her, so she asked him,” Caroline explains. “So here’s a thought. Why don’t you ask Stefan, Elena? And Athena, ask Klaus?” Caroline suggests.

“You’re joking right?” I ask back in a more serious tone.

“Yes I’m kidding, but you could always ask Jeremy or Matt as like a friend date,” Caroline chuckles.

“I don’t know. I’m fine on my own,” I respond.

“Well, if not I’d be glad to be your honorary date,” Caroline says.

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks,” I respond.

“Well whatever you choose, I want you to have fun. Elena?” Caroline says shifting her eyes to Elena.

“I--I can’t ask him on a date. I just made out with his brother,” Elena says making her voice quieter.

“All the more reason. Like you’re supposed to be figuring out what you want. That’s what Stefan wanted you to do, right?” Caroline asks.

“Yeah, but--” Elena starts.

“But nothing. I’ve watched ‘The Bachelor’ Ok, fair is fair. It is Stefan’s turn,” Caroline says.

“Yeah, and you’re not biased or anything,” Elena says clearly knowing Caroline is on team Stefan.

“I’m sorry, but Stefan is your epic love. And I’m not going down without a fight,” Caroline says.

“I’m on team Stefan with Caroline. Stefan deserves a chance,” I say. We spend a few more hours on the finishing touches before we all make it home.

I spent the last few hours before the dance sketching on the, great quality might I add, sketchbook Klaus gave me. Once the time came I got dressed in a red and black 1920s inspired dress. Even though I came to the dance alone, I was prepared to have a good time. I walk into the gym with lively 20s music playing and students dancing.

Caroline notices me standing off on my own and to no surprise, she comes over, “Come on, just because you don’t have a date doesn’t mean you can’t have fun,” She says.

“I don’t care and neither does Tyler. Come on,” She pulls me in to dance with them. Soon enough the music slows down and I let Caroline and Tyler have their moment together.  I stand off to the side watching them and the other couples dance. But soon enough I see Klaus walk-up in an all-white suit.

“Where have you been, mate?” Klaus asks making his way to Tyler and Caroline.

“I just got back in town,” Tyler responds as I make my way to them.

“That’s funny. I don’t recall giving you permission to leave in the first place,” Klaus says. 

“Now if you don’t mind. I’d like a dance with my date,” Klaus says.

“She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to,” Caroline answers for me.

“She’s not your plaything too,” Tyler says as well, stepping in front of me.

“You two shouldn’t mind as you have eachother,” Klaus says.

“Why do you always have to prove you’re the alpha male?” Caroline asks annoyed.

“I don’t have to prove anything, love. I am the alpha male. Come on, let me have one dance with her. I won’t bite,” Klaus responds, holding out his hand for me to take.

“I’ll be fine Caroline,” I say and move towards Klaus. I take his hand and he pulls me further into the crowd, slowly spinning me before he slips his arm around my waist and starts to slow dance with me. 

“You would have loved the 1920s, Athena. Girls were reckless, sexy, fun,” Klaus says into my ear. “They literally used to dance until they dropped,” He says as he sways me quickly to the right, turning me around. 

“Ha, are you referring to when I literally blacked out that one time?” I ask, remembering the parties we used to attend.

“Maybe. I’m leaving town tomorrow. I want you to come with me. I want to show you what the world has to offer, I know you want to travel,” Klaus says as our eyes meet. 

“You know I can’t,” I say looking into his eyes. I notice his face fall flat before it shifts into an unhappy look.

“You will one day. You can’t keep fighting it. I know you want to see the world, and I know you’ll want to with me,” Klaus says before storming off. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to get a handle on what just happened.

“You ok?” Caroline asks coming up to me.

“Yeh, I’m--I’m fine. It’s just the closer we get, the more I feel the pull. It’s getting really hard to fight it,” I respond. 

A few minutes later I find myself being dragged out of the gym by Damon, “Wha--what the hell?” I ask as he pulls me.

“Esther put a boundary spell on the school. Bonnie is working on breaking it,” He explains.

“And I have to be dragged into this why?” I ask.

“Because we want to make sure everyone is accounted for,” Damon states.

“Klaus wants to make sure I’m safe. That’s it, huh,” I say stopping myself and him as well.

“No, we--” Damon starts as he tries to pull me.

“I know it’s Klaus. You guys want to kill him so what’s the point in keeping track of me if I’m just gonna die with him?” I ask.

“You know what. We’re not getting into this. We need Bonnie to break the spell so we can find Elena,” Damon says and walks away.

“Well, if you opened with that. I would’ve been more than willing to tag along,” I say following him. We make our way into a classroom where Bonnie is chanting something in front of lit candles.

“She does this all the time, right?” Jamie asks.

“What’s taking so long? All boundary spells have a loophole,” Klaus says before anyone can answer Jamie’s question.

“People are walking right out of the dance, past the barrier,” Matt says bursting in.

“Well, if Matt and I can leave, we could stop Esther ourselves. We just gotta find out where she is,” Jeremy responds.

“Suicide, Jeremy,” Stefan responds. 

Klaus quickly moves to hold Jamie by the throat, “Suicide would be disappointing me. Now work your magic, witch, or I’ll start killing people you fancy,” Klaus says with haste in his voice.

“Let him go,” Bonnie demands.

“Not until you get us out of here,” Klaus responds.

“Ah, don’t be stupid, Klaus. Bonnie doesn’t give a damn about us. The only reason she’s helping right now is to save Athena, Caroline, and Tyler. If you start killing the people she cares about, she’ll tell us all to go to hell,” Stefa states. Not soon after Klaus reluctantly lets go of Jamie.

Clearly because breaking the boundary spell wasn’t working, we decided to go with Jeremy’s plan instead. As I didn’t want to stress Bonnie any more than she already is, I make my way to the gym, where Tyler and Caroline were.

“Hey, how are you guys holding up?” I ask.

“We’re fine, you?” Caroline asks back.

“I’m fine too. I just hope Elena is ok,” I respond.

“Athen, I need to tell you something,” Tyler says from the bleachers.

“What’s up?” I ask.

Tyler looks around cautiously before speaking again, “I broke the sire bond,” He whispers.

“You did how?” I whisper back. But before Tyler could speak a word, Stefan comes strolling in.

“They’re at the old cemetery. Jeremy and Matt are headed there right now,” Stefan explains.

“You let them go? They’re gonna get themselves killed,” Caroline says.

“We didn’t have a choice, Caroline, We’re useless right now stuck in here,” Stefan quickly responds before turning away with a stressed position.

“Hey, she’ll be fine,” I say from the bleachers.

“Elene always manages to find her way through this stuff,” Caroline adds.

“Yeah, well, I’m just as worried about what Esther’s up to. SHe led Klaus here for a reason. If she succeeds in whatever she’s doing--” Stefan says.

“Klaus could get killed… and Athena and I die along with him,” Tyler interrupts.

“No one’s gonna die, ok? Bonnie’s still looking for a way around the boundary spell. It’s not too late,” Stefan responds before walking off.

“So, best-case scenario, Bonnie gets us out of here, Klaus hauls ass to Timbuktu, and we’re home free,” Caroline says making way to Tyler and me on the bleachers.

“Or we let Esther come and kill him,” Tyler states.

“That’s not a best-case scenario. That’s not even a remotely acceptable scenario,” Caroline responds.

“It would be an option if we knew he wasn’t the one who turned your bloodline,” I say.

“Exactly, you’d be safe. At least he’d be gone,” Tyler adds.

“How could you say that? Both of you?” Caroline asks back.

“Because I’m angry. Because I hate him. He hurt me more times than I can count,” I respond before walking out of the gym.

“How’s the breaking boundary spell going?” I ask making my way into the classroom, Bonnie was in.

“Esther’s still fighting me,” She responds before chanting again. Soon enough Bonnie stops chanting and looks of confusion fill her face.

“What happened?” I ask.

“She stopped fighting me,” Bonnie responds.

“So, that means the boundary spell is broken then?” I ask.

“Yeh, I’ll-- umm go let everyone else know,” She says walking off. 

A few minutes later Bonnie and I get a text from Damon to meet him at the cemetery. Once we got there the whole gang was standing outside of the tomb Alaric was in. We all knew he wasn’t going through with the transition and so we used this time to give him the send off he deserved. We watched as he disappeared back into the tomb before all heading off on our own ways.

I head back to the Salvatore house and get ready to settle into bed. No longer wanting to think of all the pain the Mikaelson family has done to us, I just lie in bed and try to fall asleep.

A/N: Again just a small but important filler. I hope you guys enjoyed this part.

🏷: @tristanacarry​ | @commentaryfanfic​ | @april-14-blog​ |  @simonsbluee​ | @awkwardspontaneity​ | @keiko0​

[honestgrins]

Slasher || Klaroween

There's a killer on the loose, and Caroline really needs better friends. (For Klaroween Bingo: "Let's walk through the graveyard at midnight, she said, what could go wrong, she said.")

"Thanks for driving me home, 'Lena," Caroline said, letting herself into the house. "It's a literal lifesaver since the mechanic won't let me pick up my car until daylight tomorrow. Stupid town curfew. Do you have plans for tonight? My mom has been super strict about the curfew, too, so she's been stocking up on food to keep me here. We can have a movie marathon…"

Checking her phone, Elena shrugged. "Sure, Stefan told me he and Damon got caught up in something and didn't want me to hang out tonight."

A little miffed at being a consolation prize, Caroline faked a smile. "Great! What do you want to watch?"

They bickered over options while they gathered chips and sweets, eventually settling on the couch to watch a Harry Potter marathon. Only an hour in, though, a news alert took over the screen. The anchorman's face looked grim.

"The serial slasher has once again struck Mystic Falls."

Caroline's gaze felt frozen on the TV, blindly reaching for the remote to turn up the volume as they cut to a field reporter.

"Another body was found in Mystic Falls tonight," the reporter said, her hair whipping in the wind. "Though still unidentified, the woman's remains were discovered by a pair of boys on the grounds of the old Fell's Church just north of town. Police refused to name the young men as they are minors, but Sheriff Forbes did disclose they were attempting to stage a Halloween prank in the abandoned ruins when they found the victim. Multiple sources believe this to be the work of the same killer that took the lives of Vicki Donovan, Sheila Bennett, and KVGN's own Andie Starr. It has been a week since authorities established a town curfew to protect the public, and when contacted for comment, Mayor Lockwood encouraged all residents to take extra safety precautions."

"Oh my god," Elena whispered. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she pressed a hand to her mouth in horror. She looked over to Caroline. "I don't think we should stay here by ourselves."

Frowning, Caroline couldn't look away from her mother's face as the reporter interviewed her. "Where else would we go? The house is locked up and we have guns. My mom will come home as soon as she can. We're as safe as we could be with a crazy murderer on the loose."

But Elena shook her head, frantic. "I want to go to Stefan's."

"That's clear across town!"

Elena shrugged, already reaching for her discarded purse to rifle for her keys. "I don't care, the boarding house is-"

Caroline raised her fingers point by point. "Creepy, isolated, a bajillion years old with who knows how many secret entrances for killers to get in," she listed. "Oh! And Damon is the worst, so no."

With an offended sniff, Elena stood anyway. For reasons Caroline didn't want to examine too closely, her friend always had a peculiar soft spot for Stefan's older brother. Having grown out of an ill-conceived crush over him herself, she was happy to recite his worst qualities on demand, but they'd long since stopped working on Elena. All the bad vibes he gave off did nothing to harden the girl's all too open heart against him. "I'm worried about them."

Her eyes rolled so hard Caroline thought she might have finally damaged them permanently. Seriously, Stefan had to be blind to miss the signs - and deaf, because Caroline had definitely pointed them out on several occasions. Still, she shoved herself off the couch to race Elena toward the front door. "You can't go by yourself."

"Then let's go." Elena plowed past her, pointing her key fob at the car sitting outside, only to frown when nothing happened. Caroline tried to keep her in the house, but she just kept walking. "The locks aren't working," she said, annoyed when Caroline seemed hesitant to follow.

Caroline gave a half-hearted shrug. "Maybe it's a sign we should stay here."

Sending a snotty look over the car, Elena manually unlocked her door. "Or maybe it's a sign I need a new battery for the keys. I'm going. Are you coming with me or not?"

Torn, Caroline glanced behind her and wondered if Elena would wait for her to grab one of the pistols from the safe. Her mom hadn't taken her to the range for nothing, and she had a really bad feeling in her gut. "Give me a sec-"

"Now, Caroline!" Elena snapped as she lowered herself into the driver's seat.

Caroline groaned, only taking the time to lock the door before running to the car, glad to at least have her phone with her. Elena reached across to unlock the passenger side so she could clamber inside, quickly locking it back. Annoyed and on edge, her bad feeling had only grown worse since leaving the house. "What are you waiting for? Start the car!"

As she turned the key in the ignition, over and over, Elena's breath started coming in shorter pants. "It's not working. Something's wrong."

Her gut twisted, and Caroline felt a spike of adrenaline as she forced herself out of the car. "We're going back inside."

"No!" Once Elena made it back onto solid ground, she started walking in the opposite direction from the house. "I need to make sure they're okay, even it means I have to run there myself."

"Hello, call them like a normal person!"

But Elena refused to listen and kept going. For a long moment, Caroline considered letting her go. At best, she would just be a nervous wreck until she heard from Elena or Stefan that she made it safely to the boarding house. At worst, her friend would be caught and killed by the serial- "I'm coming with you," she bit out as she chased her down the road. "I swear, if you get me murdered, I'm going to haunt you."

And so they traipsed around the ring of town, avoiding patrol cars and jumping at every noise. Caroline muttered at every decision Elena made along the way, her hair standing on end out of nerves when they crossed underneath the wrought-iron gate of the cemetery. "Let's walk through the graveyard at midnight, she said. What could go wrong, she said. You're nuts, you know that?"

"You're paranoid," Elena countered as they picked their way around headstones and crumbling memorials. "It's peaceful here."

"Yep, such a peaceful place to die." Leaves rustled, and Caroline's head whipped toward the sound. "Did you hear that?"

With a helpless shrug, Elena pushed on. "We're almost there, just-"

A twig snapped behind them. Barely holding back a shriek, Caroline shoved them both into a nearby crypt to hide in the shadows. Sure enough, footsteps weren't far behind. Slowly bending down, she picked up a hefty rock and waited. When the gravel crunched around the corner of the crypt, she raised her arm and jumped out - though a hand firmly took hold of her wrist before she could bring the rock down on the stranger's head.

"Caroline!"

Oh, not a stranger. "Klaus?!" Caroline clenched the rock, not quite willing to drop the handy weapon despite the familiar, incredulous face of her ex-boyfriend. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Klaus looked up to the see her tight fist, brow furrowing. "The dog ran away, I promised Henrik I'd find him." Glancing over to Elena, his expression hardened. It seemed he hadn't quite forgiven that it was her interference that led to Caroline breaking up with him. "What are you all doing here?"

Elena scoffed and continued walking. "That's none of your business. Come on, Caroline."

But Caroline hesitated, her hand lowering until she could safely drop the rock. "I'm sorry about Wolf. Still, there's some crazy killer on the loose. You shouldn't be out here."

"I could say the same for you, sweetheart. Let me guess, this begins and ends with Elena?"

Rolling her eyes, Caroline turned and headed after her friend. "Shut up," she spat as she stormed away.

So what if she cared what her friends thought? If she didn't give weight to their opinions, then she had no business calling them friends. When Elena pointed out that Caroline was spending a lot more time with Klaus, then, that she was considering changing her college plans after a decade of it being written in stone, she took the warning to heart. She didn't want to lose herself for some boy - if only it didn't mean losing Klaus instead. There was a deep longing that she fought down as she went about her life, ignoring his attempts to talk to her at every chance.

"No, I'm tired of shutting up," Klaus groaned, his heavy steps falling behind her as he followed. "Caroline, please. At least let me say my piece."

"What?" she asked, though she didn't break stride.

Sighing, Klaus seemed intent on keeping pace with her. "I don't know why you let Elena come between us, and I'm not sure I'm prepared to hear the exact words said against me. What I do know is that some part of you must have agreed, because the Caroline I l-" He cut himself off, and Caroline's breath caught at what he might have said. "Well, you're far too stubborn to let anyone tell you what to do."

The vicious retort she'd been keeping on the tip of her tongue died at the hint of reverence in his tone. She did always love how much he seemed to see her when others failed.

"Is that why you're defying your mother's curfew?" he continued, none the wiser as to her sudden doubts. "Hardly a smart decision, love."

"Shut up," she said again as she threw an elbow into his side. "You're out here, too."

Klaus shrugged. "At least Henrik will appreciate that I tried to find Wolf. Can you say the same for Elena?"

"Care!"

They hadn't noticed Elena slipping away from them as they argued through the woods, and Caroline's heart dropped at her pained cry. Almost automatically, her hand reached for Klaus as she ran forward, his fingers lacing tightly in hers as well. Breaking through the tree line, they found Elena sobbing on her knees. Caroline felt sure she'd found another body, perhaps Stefan was strewn across the lawn in a bloody mess. Maybe the killer had found her instead, and it'd be Elena getting carved up with them serving as unfortunate witnesses and next victims.

Caroline felt blindsided, then, when Elena's face appeared etched in shadows as blue and red lights flared too bright in the darkness, bouncing off the bricks of the Salvatore boarding house.

Police cars swarmed the driveway, their lights flashing. Deputies that were like a second family to her looked too grim, some disgusted. Caroline stared open-mouthed as her mother led Damon through the front door with his hands cuffed behind his back, her stony face damning when she tucked him into her car.

Liz caught her eye over the roof and called out to one of her officers before coming their way. "You're supposed to be at home," she told Caroline sternly, her brow furrowing as she looked down to where Klaus was still holding her hand.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, her voice frantic and choked by tears. "I don't- Where-"

With a deep and regretful sigh, Liz knelt down to meet Elena at eye level. "Stefan is okay," she assured. "A little beat up, but nothing an ice pack can't help."

Caroline blinked, wondering at the implications. "Did he do it? Damon?"

"Officially, I'm not at liberty to discuss an open investigation." But Liz pressed her lips together as she stood, reaching up to cradle Caroline's cheek. "I'll have one of my deputies take you all home. We can talk in the morning."

She didn't quite manage to let go of Klaus's hand until they were at his house, and even then, she didn't want to. "If you want some help looking for Wolf tomorrow-"

Klaus ran a tired hand through his hair. "Caroline, you don't have to-"

"I know," she said, silently hoping he wouldn't make her say it. "I'll see you tomorrow."

His lips quirked up in a small grin as he nodded. The deputy drove away before he made it inside, but Caroline looked back to make sure. Elena was still crying on the seat next to her, staring at the window. "Are you okay?"

"No," Elena answered miserably. Caroline pulled her into a hug, happy to remind her that Stefan was fine and life could get back to normal without the murder mystery hanging over the town. "I can't believe they arrested him, he must be so scared."

Cringing, Caroline pulled away in horror. "You can't be serious." If anything, Damon being the slasher made too much sense and she had little doubt he enjoyed every minute of the infamy. "He could have killed your boyfriend tonight!"

"He wouldn't do that." Elena's teary voice had turned fierce. "Stefan confronted him after Vicki died, and Damon didn't kill him then, even when he threatened to go to the police."

Caroline blinked. "Stefan knew? You knew?" And to think, she almost followed Elena right into the lion's den. She gulped at how close she might have been to dying; Damon probably didn't mind the others, but his secret wouldn't have been safe with her.

Suddenly, Elena looked scared and ready to cry again. "No, no! That's not what I meant. You can't tell- Caroline, you can't tell anyone!"

Eyes sliding to the deputy that was obviously listening to their every word, Caroline's expression turned incredulous as she stared at Elena's wide eyes. "Seriously?!"

She cuddled up on the couch, lifting Klaus's arm to make herself more comfortable as they watched the news. "Today, the district attorney announced that only Damon Salvatore would face charges linked to the serial slasher case. As the main suspect for the brutal killings of four women, Salvatore is likely the more prominent target for the state despite both his younger brother and the brother's girlfriend possessing some knowledge of his crimes."

"I can't believe Stefan didn't do anything," Klaus sighed. He once believed the world of his friend.

Caroline pressed a kiss into his shoulder. "I can't believe Elena is actually visiting Damon in jail," she scoffed. "Actually, yeah, I can."

Shrugging, Klaus tightened his hold to kiss her forehead. "At least she's proven her judgment isn't worth holding in high esteem," he pointed out. "Personally, I'm glad you don't listen to her anymore."

"Shut up," Caroline answered with a roll of her eyes - even if she agreed with him, privately.

Read and review: AO3 and FFnet

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Hey, @andrealein , so sorry for the delay. Thank you for the tag nevertheless.

I love this. This feels like answering a friendship book.

1. You may call me: Elen, or Ely. 

2. I live with: the Queen, Tussi the cat. 

3. Countries i’d like to travel around: Japan (the whole of it), some parts of Scotland, Denmark, Costa Rica, the whole of Spain stretching toward France (I really would love to see Provençe) and then Italy (the southern parts close to the Mediterranean Sea), Thailand, Myanmar, some parts of China (but I am not sure if I would as I hate their government). 

4. Some good scents: Patchouli, lavender (all the time), tasty fresh orange peel, baby’s scent, Tussi’s smell, roasted coffee in the morning and freshly baked pain au chocolat

5. When I made this blog: I am thinking why I have come back. I deleted my old one I created in 2009 last year. Then six months later I returned. Everyone wanted to forget that Sherlock BBC season 4 exist.

6. Some favorite things about winter: fluffy socks, one-day old snow, boots, homemade punch, and the smell of fresh Christmas trees. 

7. Some favorite drinks: green Jasmin tea, oolong, caffe latte, pineapple juice.

8. Some current celebrity crushes: Richard Madden and Lily James. (And no, I haven’t seen Cinderella yet. Thinking if I should.) Riz Ahmed. Keeley Hawes.

9. I was raised on: blood, sweat, tears 

10. Song I was recently reminded that I love: Stand by R.E.M. The band thought it was a dumb song.

11. Play at my funeral: I actually have created a Spotify playlist, but it is not yet complete. So far, I only have two songs in there. 

12. Some of my tribes: I don’t have any. I refuse to be part of any tribe. I despise cliques. I despise anything that constitutes something like grouping.  

13. Have a book I’m currently reading instead: Trying to finish Stefan Zweig’s The World of Yesterday and starting Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet 

13. Rec a fic: I think everybody knows that @engazed is a genius who can create a whole darn universe. So if you aren’t reading The Grating Roar, you should do it now. Also @calaisreno is fast becoming a fave. Their fiction “Half-Life of Love” took me by surprise.

14. How I keep my hair: Chin-length with fringe. Easy, no fuss.

15. What have you planned for christmas or halloween: Both holidays are over, but during Christmas, we try to spend it with my in-law. As for Halloween, I stay at home, watch creepy movies, and prepare for the cemetery trek the next day.

I tag the ff people @perpetuallyvex , @martin-modman , @twomenofnote , @a-isabelthings , @shelleysprometheus , @alihahdnaid and others who may see this. Only if you want.

[fallenidol-453]

31 Days of Unedited Writing: Days thirteen-21

Mix of original fiction (3 separate universes) and fanfiction (Pokemon, Fire Emblem: Awakening). The FE:A excerpts all feature the same OC.

Fun fact: most of these samples are from 2014.

Day thirteen, Fanfiction (Pokemon, my series of Nuzlockes. I think this excerpt took place during my first Black 2 playthrough, though I tweaked the plot a bit.)

Brendan felt claustrophobic inside this cramped control room. He was sweating in his borrowed Plasma uniform as he scanned the cameras that lined the interior and exterior of the frigate they were stationed in. Celio wasn’t doing much better. His hands shook as he tapped a few buttons under the watchful, irritated gaze of Brendan’s Mandibuzz.

A low whine emanated from Celio’s right, and he absently stroked a worried Porygon-Z’s head.

“Don’t worry buddy,” he muttered. “I’ll make sure Morticia doesn’t eat you. Right, Brendan?”

Brendan snorted. “She doesn’t want to be in here, but she doesn’t want to be in her pokéball either. Can’t do anything about it. Sorry.”

Day 14, Fanfiction (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

“Inigo isn’t bothering me,” Sorcha admitted. She was grateful for the topic change. “He just wanted to make me smile, but his obvious attempts at flirting didn’t work on me. I value him more as a friend and comrade.”

“Did you accept his apology for the strawberries though?” Cordelia inquired. “He wouldn’t stop crying for hours after you had that ghastly reaction to them.”

All four women cringed, Sorcha the most.

“I did, don’t worry,” Sorcha replied. She let out a small laugh. “I didn’t know I was that badly allergic to them at the time, and he didn’t know either. It’s all water under the bridge now… although I will admit, they were the best crop I had ever seen.”

Day 15, Original Fiction (Code Name: Grisaverse)

Lukasz had been gone for a solid month and Rowena was ready to drown Davaros in his latest potion batch if he didn’t stop bleating about it.

“You told me he’d been gone for two months once without incident!” she shouted one night. “A month isn’t even that bad in comparison!”

“He hasn’t sent anything— anything! —in two weeks! No scrap of paper, no spell-bird. Something happened to him in Grisandel, and I’m leaving tomorrow at first light to go see what’s going on.”

He got up from his saggy armchair and Rowena jumped out of her loveseat to physically block him from the stairs.

“I’m not going outside!” Davaros exclaimed. “I said I’m leaving at first light!”

“He’s probably delayed by the weather!” Rowena exclaimed back. “Remember the spell-bird a few days after he left? He said a weather-witch predicted—”

A popping noise interrupted her. At her feet was a fat roll of parchment tied with black ribbon. She let Davaros pick it up and read its contents. Instead of joy, he looked like he was attempting to solve a particularly difficult logic puzzle.

“It says it’s from Luc but this… this isn’t his handwriting.” he finally said a few minutes later.

Rowena snatched the message from his hands and read it herself. She knew Lukasz couldn’t write or spell very well, but under Davaros’s nightly tutoring he was slowly improving. The notes Luc sent while traveling was very short, written in halting sentences and misspelled town names. The message that had just arrived was… not that. Whoever wrote it had clearly been taught to read and write from a very young age and used words that Lukasz likely hadn’t encountered in his lessons yet.

Day 16, Fanfiction (Pokemon, same series as the first excerpt but set during the Sevii Islands post-game quest)

“I watched your battles against the Elite Four when they were airing on TV,” Celio quipped in an attempt to start up another conversation about five minutes later. “You were really great out there.”

“…Thanks,” she replied a few minutes later in a subdued voice. “I can’t assume my Champion position though, not yet.”

“Why not?”

“I have to have six pokémon. I lost Elen during the battle with Agatha… and I’ve come here to get a new party member,” she replied. She rested her chin on the back of Dylan’s head, a forlorn expression on her face. “Can we not talk about this?”

“Sorry for bringing it up,” Celio said sincerely. Leaf’s mouth curved into a strange half smile, half frown, and said nothing in return for the rest of the way.

Day 17, Fanfiction (Fire Emblem: Awakening. Set during the first Future Past DLC)

He didn’t get a chance to finish as Sorcha yanked him toward her, just as the sickly green sheen of the Mire spell bubbled and disappeared where he’d been standing before.

“I have to talk to him,” Sorcha whispered against his chest. “If our Morgan and this Morgan are the same, he might recognize me.”

“And if he doesn’t recognize you? What if he cuts you down just like he’s trying to do to the girls in the cells?”

Sorcha looked up at him a few moments later, and she bitterly cursed the look of utter calm on his face in her head. He was right, there was a valid chance that this Morgan wouldn’t recognize her. Her emotions were clouding her judgment and already frayed nerves. She made herself take a deep breath, but she couldn’t help but jump when someone—the Cynthia in her cell, probably—screamed and someone else shouted warnings about yet another wave of Risen.

“I’m going to talk to him anyway,” she said firmly. She glanced at him with a new look of resolve. “I know you don’t want me to, but someone has to end this and I’m not going to let anyone decide for me.”

Day 18, Fanfiction (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

She saw him look out upon the field of battle, and for a moment she dared to lock eyes with him—

—and then her knees buckled, unable to suppress a groan as her head suddenly began throbbing with intense pain. Her vision wavered as she fell to the ground with a cry and held her head, gasping and choking on the smoke and heat.

The longest few seconds of her life passed, and she felt the headache subside slightly. There was a familiar relief as she felt magic restore her strength, but it wasn't enough to take all of the pain away. She felt sick to her stomach now.

"Sorcha."

She looked sideways. Lissa was gone and Libra was by her side. His priest robes were spattered with blood and smoke residue, his axe hanging from his belt. His long blonde hair stuck to his sweaty face.

"I'm fine—I can still fight—"

"You're not in condition to fight," Libra interrupted sternly. "You need to see a healer at once. There's only so much I can do out here."

Day 19, Original Fiction, code name Zombies and Mutants (one of the OLDEST excerpts I have for my ocs Stefan and Ash)

Ash pounded down the staircase, breathing heavily as he scrambled to stop and grip the handrail. His eyes burned from the exposure to light, of taking in every small detail the world had to offer, plus the bright sunlight, and magnifying it by a hundredfold. Forcing himself to sit down on a random stair, he pushed his sunglasses up as he covered his eyes.

The temporary darkness helped ease the burning, if only by a little bit. A tiny sliver of dim light escaped through a space between his two fingers. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling slowly, he removed his hands and readjusted his sunglasses.

Footsteps descended toward him. It was easy to identify them; this certain noise belonged to the commander of those patrolling the outside. A wave of nausea hit him as he stood up and turned around, but he refused to let his heaving stomach win. Not this time.

“You dropped this,” Axel muttered. Ash looked up and saw his rifle in the other man’s hands. He walked up a step, but Axel stepped back two stairs and held the rifle close to him.

“Are you afraid I’m going to take it and shoot everyone?” Ash asked.

Day 20. Original Fiction, code name Crown Quartet, code name Ghost’s Crown

“Where are we going to be fake lovebirds this time?” Ariyos asked as Annika grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the archives. “We’ve pretended to woo each other in the gardens, the throne room...”

“The arena!” Annika exclaimed happily. She slowed her walking and put her hand into the crook of Ariyos’s elbow as they exited the library. “The twin generals are doing drills with their troops. I’m hoping I see the musician my sister was gossiping about last week.”

“What musician?”

“He was part of a troupe father hired for Eba’s birthday celebrations last year, but he was left behind when the troupe returned to Veltan. Eba snatched him up and made him her personal musician,” Annika explained. Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “She recently told me he started getting anonymous love letters, and she’s been translating them for him. You’re not going to believe who’s the author.”

“Who?” Ariyos asked, equally quietly.

“One of the generals we’ll be watching.”

Day 21, Original Fiction, code name Crown Quartet, code name Gryphon’s Crown

Ninety-five. Ninety-six. Ninety-seven. Amaranth’s legs burned.

“Um.”

“Yes, Kilain?” she replied.

“You know what your mother said about using your brother while exercising.”

“Thank you!” Caius squawked from his position slung across his sister’s shoulders. “Put me down, Amaranth!”

[zalrb]

Hi, I have this question, if it was already, I'm sorry. Namely, I have met with comments like "Elena did not deserve Stefan so that's why I'm not for Stelena" or even Stelena fans wrote that she did not deserve him. Honestly speaking, I am interested in your opinion because in my opinion Stefan deserved as the only one Elene and Elena as the only one deserved Stefan I do not mention Lexi because it is obvious that she deserved him. If, according to Stefan's people, she deserved much more, then they should want him to be with Elena because it was the best for him. He had two of the most important women in his life, Elene and Lexi, who always helped him, and he lost both of them to Damon.

OK but like I do answer this question in my posts about Stelena in general, clearly I think that they both deserve each other, all you have to do is go to my master list, pick a post, and it will explain that.

[zalrb]

SE Preview

The beginnings of this fic have been in my drafts for a while and I just decided to add to it and make it a preview since I get so many asks about how I’d write Elena leaving Stefan for Damon, so I’ve put two scenes here that aren’t back to back scenes but scenes that will be in the fic so you can get the gist.

“I don’t get why I can’t do it on command, I did it yesterday.”

“Because you smelled blood,” said Stefan. “It was purely instinct, purely impulse. You don’t know how to do anything yet so you’re just reacting but all you need is time to figure out how everything works. Think about it like taking your first steps.

Elena laughed. “So I’m a baby now, is that it?”

Stefan pressed his lips to her ear. “Exactly,” he whispered and Elena’s eyes rolled to the back of her head.

“Alright,” said Stefan, returning to his serious voice. “It’s like the starting line of a race.”

Elena sighed.

“So you just push off with every ounce of strength that you have, OK?”

“I was a cheerleader, I sucked at track!”

“Just concentrate, ‘kay?”

Stefan put his hands on her waist and Elena immediately forgot about what she was supposed to be doing, all she could think about, all she could feel was his hands on her body. How did he expect her to concentrate when he was touching her like that? His grip was firm but sometimes his finger moved, brushing against her sweater and chills erupted all over body, and everything in her wanted his mouth on her. Everywhere on her.

She shook her head, smiling.“I can’t, all I keep thinking about is your hands on my body.”

“Oh OK.” Stefan let go of her waist and took a step back.

“No no no no.” Elena was surprised by the violent desperation of her reaction.  as she reached behind her and put his hands back around her waist. “I didn’t say to take them off...”

“Mmm.”

“It feels good.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded.

“What does it feel like?” said Stefan, skating his hand up and down her arm.

Elena heard it, the mischief, the huskiness in his voice, the drop in the tenor. He knew exactly what he was doing, exactly how to drive her crazy.

“It feels like you’re touching every nerve of my body.”

His hand stroked hers, caressing her face. His lips pressed against her ear, his breath causing her to shiver. “Everything is heightened...”

Elena’s heart was racing, her breathing was shallow --- this was torture.

“...touch...”

Stefan pressed his lips to her neck. No, this was torture. The best kind of torture. Everything in her ached for him in a way that would surely drive her crazy if she didn’t get him.

His hand. On her stomach. Over her pants. Her hand on his. His teeth grazed her neck and she felt it deep in her ache, and she almost felt herself release right then. No, she couldn’t do this anymore. She was going to die.

Elena turned around and the second she did, Stefan picked her up and smashed her against a tree, the trunk cracking from the force. Everything was quick and urgent and riotous. His clothes. She hated his clothes, the inconvenience of them, she never thought she could hate a shirt with such passion. Off. Pants. Off. Everything stripped, bare. Skin on skin. Her lips, his tongue, gasps, moans, cries of ecstasy.

Life would be amazing if they could stay like this, buried in each other, breathless and urgent and just in the moment. She wouldn’t let him come up for air, she wouldn’t let him breathe, let herself breathe, she just wanted this. Constantly. Nonstop. They’d never leave these woods. They’d stay here forever. God yes, forever. Of this. Of limitless desire, limitless passion, they’d never tire, never let up, just pure, utter, sheer sensation... ... ...

Elena didn’t know how long they’d been in the woods, how much time had passed, when things changed, when their movements got softer, slower. When they took a moment to gaze into each other’s eyes, to trace patterns on one another’s skin, when they went deeper than wild abandon and connected on a spiritual level she didn’t know existed before now. It was transcendental, it was nothing short of miraculous. She’d never before experienced this kind of intimacy. He brought out everything in her, saw her, and it brought back history, memory, of them, of him, of her. Together, entwined. Ecstasy, yes, and love. So much love. She was herself again, herself as she was now, herself as she was then, together beneath Stefan’s gaze, he loved her, then and now, always, she could see it in his eyes, feel it in his motions, hear it in his breathing,and it inspired her with an emotion so intense, it brought tears to her eyes, it was overwhelming, how he made her feel, it was so much, much too much.

--------

When they reached the boarding house, Elena was still coming down from the blood high, her head buzzed, her eyes fluttering slightly, the frenzy still hadn’t left her system, she was wired, she was powerful, she was still too caught up in the moment to think about how she felt, think about her life, think about anything.

Stefan was silent for a few moments, lips pressed together, and when he spoke his voice was careful but stern

“Elena, I get that you want to use your abilities, I get that you want to do what comes natural but the risk of people seeing ---”

“So just compel them to forget! Compel them to obey!” She laughed like was half-drunk, stumbling slightly into the living room. “Is walking always this painful for you?”

“You get used to it.”

“Why?” she asked, her eyes bright. “Why get used to anything with this kind of power in your body?”

Stefan blinked. “Because if we don’t, people can get hurt.”

Elena nodded her head, sighing. “You mean like tonight.”

Stefan didn’t say anything right away. “You would’ve killed her if Caroline hadn’t stopped you and Damon, you understand that right?”

There was a slight pang in Elena’s chest. Shame. Her buzz was ebbing. No, no. She had to hold onto it.

“I don’t want to talk about this with you.” She turned to walk away but Stefan was already in front of her when she faced the other direction.

“Stefan,” she said, clenching her teeth.

“Why don’t you talk about it?”

“Like you want to hear,” she snapped.

“Want to hear what?” he challenged. “Huh? That it felt good? Draining her?”

“Stop it.”

“That’s what you don’t want me to hear, right? Or is that not what you want to say?”

Elena threw her hands up in the air. “Yes, it felt good!”

Stefan nodded his head, his eyes blazing. “Yeah?”

“YES,” said Elen. “It felt AMAZING.”

“The rush when your fangs pierce skin?”“

“NEVER FELT ANYTHING LIKE IT.”

Elena jutted her face into Stefan’s as they yelled at each other. There was anger and defiance and … heat and desire and love and guilt, it was all just too confusing, he made her feel too many things!

“And when the blood hits your tongue?”

“It’s like my entire body comes alive!”

“The thrill of the hunt, of the chase, the fear.”

“INCREDIBLE.”

“AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT ALL STOPS?”

Elena paused.

“How do you feel right now?”said Stefan, his voice lowered but his tone harsh.

She gritted her teeth. “I feel like...” she could feel the tears brimming her eyes. “I feel like I should take off this daylight ring and walk into the sun. I feel disgusting. I feel terrible.”

Stefan held onto her arms, his expression earnest. “Because you know what you did isn’t right.”

Elena wrenched out of his hold, she couldn’t bear for him to touch her.“Only because I’m letting myself feel that way!”

“What’s the alternative, Elena? Hmm? Look, I know it’s difficult, I know it feels unbearable. We’ve all been there. This is what it feels like when you first turn, you just have to get past it and learn how to adapt.”

Elena shook her head. “All I’ve done is learn how to get past tragedy and adapt to new circumstances. I’m tired of doing that. Why can’t I just enjoy this feeling inside of me? Why can’t everyday just be like that day on your bike?” She stared at him and felt herself overcome yet again. “And now you’re looking at me like - like - I’m broken or something, like - like I’m a toy you need to fix!”

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows. “I’m looking at you like you’re a reflection of me before Lexi found me! You think I don’t know, Elena? I told you about the time in my life when I had thought everything about this was a gift, when I reveled in parts of vampirism that...” Stefan cut himself off, lowering his head. “Look, I made choices during that time. Choices that will haunt me forever. Literally forever.”

She knew that. It was just easier for her to think of him as looking at her like she was something that needed to be fixed, it made what she was about to do a little bit easier even though she hated herself for it.

“Everyday can be like that day on my bike,” said Stefan. “But you know what you were doing wasn’t the same and what you felt tonight wasn’t what you felt that day.”

“And this is why I fed with Damon because I knew

Stefan got still.  Elena had a desperate urge to tell him to forget it, that she didn’t mean it, but she forced herself to stay firm.

“So, is that what this is all about then? Damon.”

“No.”

Dejection hollowed out Stefan’s expression. “Don’t spare my feelings now, Elena, let’s be honest with each other.”

“Fine, Stefan. Am I attracted to Damon? Yes. Do I care about him in a way I never thought I would? Yes. But it has never mattered because it has never changed me loving you.”

“Then why did you bring him up? Why did you feed with him tonight?”

“Because--”

“You want him,” said Stefan. 

“I---”

“Well, you just said you were attracted to him.”

“It’s not about wanting

him.”

“Then what is it about?”

“It’s about wanting what he can give me!” she screamed. “What you can’t give me even if you tried!”

“Which is what, Elena?”

“Oblivion! I just want to forget, Stefan! I don’t want to think about the animals I feed on, I don’t want to think about Alaric being gone or Jenna or my parents, I don’t want to think about how many times I’ve nearly died or the fact that I’m a vampire! I just, I want it all to go away, I want it all to stop and it can’t stop with you because I love you and that makes me feel everything! Every good thing, every bad thing, everything else in between. And I can’t handle that right now, I can’t handle everything that comes with loving you! I - I - I can’t---”

“Be with me?”

Elena felt a hole open within her, it was going to tear her apart, leaving him, but she also knew that soon, it wouldn’t matter because she was leaving all feeling, all history, all conscience, to be consumed.