[Stefan's POV]
"Oh God!" She muttered under her breath, "Is it true?"
"Yes, it's true." I casually wipe the blood off my lip.
"Are you kidding me?! So… you're one of them?"
"Yes, I am. So is Damon… And Caroline! She's doing an amazing job…"
"Caroline's a vampire?!"
"Yeah. I need to get you home."
It's been nearly two months since she found out about our town, Mystic Falls, and all the supernaturals creeping around right under my very nose. She still couldn't seem to shake the news, curling up against a pillow at my esteemed house, with me by her side.
"And… To separate fact from fiction, you drink blood?"
"There is so much to clarify…" I chuckle, stroking her hair, "But you're tired and confused. I can tell you everything, just not now." I yawn and stretch. She gives me one of the most quizzical looks I've received in my lifetime, and believe me, that's excruciatingly long. 160-ish years, in fact, and counting.
"It's midday, Stefan!" She straightens her posture, "And I can't be with you if you don't be honest with me. I need to know!" She gives me death glares, and I know that I am not sitting well. "Is this another vampire thing?" She tosses her head.
"Oh, Elena. I will reveal. You just need patience… And trust!" I grab a glass from the countertop and fill it with water, drinking with satisfaction.
"Ok…" She stands up, "Look. If you're not committed, then I'll find your brother. He seems to be keen." Her smile goes sexy, but just for a moment, because she's using it against me. She doesn't have faith, but trusts in a reckless lunatic? I find that hard to believe. And as much as he's my brother, he wouldn't go to such lengths for a girl. Actually, he would. I reflect on my misadventures with Katherine. I thought that all my cards were placed properly, until he came along. He didn't do much, he only coerced me to turn, thinking that it would be a brother bonding opportunity, which happened to be an eternal misery. Good one, Damon! You're really making it count...
"Wait!" I jump up and yell ferociously, making her gasp, spinning around on the spot. I blow out the air in my cheeks and she comes a little closer. "Damon's on the dark side. You do not want to be in a relationship with him."
"I'm intrigued…" She says, and we both go back to square one.
I don't blabber about everything because one, it's too much for her to handle. She's still a human. And two, if I splurge about anything, in particular, my methods versus Damon's, she might resort to him, because it's what's meant to be done. I'm straying away from that, because I know my own capabilities. Same thing goes for my limits. I can't let that happen. I can't let him happen. So, I tell her about all the myths that totally aren't true, like the garlic situation. Garlic doesn't affect me, or Damon, so we'll eat as much as we want. Fiestas can't stop us! But on the downside, we will burn to a crisp in the sun. I show her my ring, which is now identified as a daylight ring.
"It's a family heirloom. Admire its beauty." I smirk, holding out my hand in family pride.
"Daylight ring?" She smiles, amused, touching the beautiful rimmed surface and stunning design. "That's rubbish."
And I prove it to her. Taking it off and putting it on the table, I stick my hand in the sun, watching it burst bright red, almost into flames, shrivelling and coiling up until it's too much for me to bear. I wince and pull it out.
"See!" I groan, shaking for relief, "Not rubbish!"
"Cool. Very cool. Now, were those acts of speed over the past months another talent?"
"Yup." I zoom around the room at will. She's amazed, and so she should be. Damon won't impress her like I do, and I'm already fantasising over genuine possibilities with her, filled with self confidence and an attitude that was brighter than ever. She looks at me dead in the eye, unfazed by the unknown. Unfazed by the mysticality of it all. That's what makes her amazing. She's able to understand and cope, through and through, picking up the incidents like pebbles, showing no fear.
"This isn't bad…" She yawns. "But wait! Since I'm human… Does that mean?" Shock has taken over. She's leaning into me, trembling.
"It's ok. I don't bite. Shh, shh…" I go on like a relentless mother. I keep staring at her neck, and the temptation levels rise rapidly. I fidget, holding back. Holding back for her. I don't know what to do with myself.
"You don't bite?" She speaks in a muffled whisper, watching my eyes bulge and my face scrunching up, dark black veins popping up under my eyes. She screams for her life, and runs. I've stuffed up real good, haven't I? So I fall back to doing the thing I do best most times. Brooding. I grab the bourbon in the kitchen cupboards and pour several shot glasses, something Damon prefers to do, but I couldn't help myself. We'd been together for a solid three months and no matter how hard I tried, there was always a part of her already swaying in his favour. I bet you he had no desire for a life with her, a future. Only the desire for her to be the next toy in his box. So, I drank and drank and drank, until all I could do was unleash my cravings. I sped out of the house unnoticed, cautious to act normal but ready for those innocent citizens.
[Elena's POV]
How did I know that's what he was? He looked so… vicious. So… Untamable. I don't know why, but that scares the hell out of me. Those malicious looking veins, the wrinkled skin, the loss of happiness. It's the last one. I'm sure I could deal with it in time, but right now, I'm a human. I shouldn't be involved with vampires…
"What's wrong?" I hear a voice call. It's drunken and ecstatic at the same time. I look up to see him perching above the stairwell, alcohol in hand. Damon.
"Nothing. Don't talk while you're drunk. You don't know what you'll say." I ascend the stairs, watching his shoulders rise and fall with tainted breaths.
"Oh, no Elena!" He says as I move closer, "I do it all the time, and no one cares what I say… I better tell you my story, so you don't think I'm a lunatic. Wait…" I sat next to him and his eyes grew wide, but it wasn't like Stefan at all. He's not going for my neck. His mind is crazy, and that's a damn fact. He starts kissing me again, thinking I'm Katherine. I tell him otherwise. It's Elena. Elena Gilbert. That random girl you found with Stefan. Katherine is nonexistent.
"What do you mean?" He pauses on the flirting, moving back slowly as to give me personal space, not for his own, "She's out there somewhere."
"Then find her!" I say, "If she still loves you, find her. Don't even think about sticking around me." The last part comes out harsh, and Damon's body shudders. I've stung him with emotion, other than lust, and I'm filled with the biggest sense of achievement. "But… That story about you… Go on and tell it."
He fiddles with himself for a moment, before returning to reality.
"Ok…" He breathes in and out, holding his left hand in front of his face, "This is Katherine!" He does the childish movements with his knuckles reading 'this' and his palm has a miniscule ink drawing of the girl. He decides to continue with the game, which hasn't given me any insight whatsoever, "Katherine says, "Hi." Katherine sets fire to a church full of vampires and is trapped in that very church…"
"What kind of nonsense is this?!"
"I haven't finished!" He glares, "Katherine possibly dies..." He claps his hand to portray the death. "We're praying for Katherine to remain alive." He highlights this one, eyes wide and emphatic, "Otherwise, I'll miss her, and she will die!" He puts a finger in front of his throat, pretending to slice his neck off. "Got it?"
"What does any of this have to do with you?"
"My girlfriend. But, she also turned Stefan, who then forced me to turn when I didn't want to, making us live eternally, blah, blah, blah…"
"Turning?"
"It's a precise art." He stands with his hands raised at his head, "A vampire feeds you their blood…" I shiver. He doesn't like seeing me shiver, evidently, because his voice grows softer and whittles down, "Look, you'll get used to it, Elena, but yeah, feeds you their blood. The human has to transition. They have 24 hours to feed on another human or they die. No one wants to die such a tragic death." He leans back against the timber balustrade, drinking some more. "But I see why you're scared--"
I interrupt him, "Well, I'm staying human." I say, loud and proud.
He scoffs playfully, eyes emblazoned with competition. "Good luck with that!" He gets up, humming to himself as he taps his way downstairs. I overhear their conversation, but without fully understanding.
"You've buttered her up." Stefan sighs.
"Show me where Katherine is, and I'll go back to her. My true love. This girl is just a…"
"Wait!" Stefan exclaims, and the brothers begin in a game of rapid whispering. They keep pointing at me, Stefan waving his hands around.
"Are you kidding me?" Damon says with emphasis. He's clenching the bottle of bourbon so hard it could break in his bare hands. "She's a--?!" I can't hear the last word, because they are trying to make sense of each other.
"I need to get out of here…" I mutter aloud, taking caution so as not to disturb them. They are too absorbed in their new discovery anyway. They're cute, but this vampire situation involves too much trouble for my liking. Why don't I find a human boyfriend? I mean, yes, but Matt. I don't want to go back to him, for now at least. He can most certainly do better. I see my way out without a dash of interest and that's it. Out of the vampire scandalism.