I haven't written anything in years, in fact I'd rather given it up. However after last week's episode this wouldn't stop wanting to be written.
So try not to judge too harshly, this is my first attempt in a few years. And please review if you feel so inclined.
Hope you enjoy.
Lasting Flame
The pencil flies across the page without him even noticing now. Her blonde curls, which once took so long to visualise and make real in charcoal, now flow from his hands as easily as taking a breath. Even as conversation takes place with his mouth, his hands and mind draw images and fantasies. Of course it's safer this way. Not to actually think about her. Not to linger on her angry features when he offered her the world, or the feel of her in his arms as they danced, or the little noises of protest she makes when he confuses her. Not to think of her full of light. Her beauty is ingrained on his eyelids, but that's not all that captivates him now. Loyalty and friendship are embodied in her; she is like a horse to the rest of the world's humanity and he wonders how he judged the world before there was her to compare to.
A thousand years seems nothing now, not now there is her to wait for. Wait until she realises, that he can be someone else, someone who has been gone since his transformation.
Pursuing her seems like fun. And he hasn't felt that in a while. Everything is a means to an end. He isn't even sure what it has all been for. But chasing her after she has insulted him creates a challenge. She can't be seduced by him, and that's why he likes her. And when she chooses to feel it, he'll take her anywhere she wants.
A dare. That's all it takes and she's sitting down. He knows that a hint of danger to her proud nature will result in what he wants. And for once, all he wants is to talk. They have thousands of years to be together, so their story can begin slowly. He wants this to last, not burn out like the quick flame of the busboy or the werewolf. So when he says he wants to talk about her, it's not a line, said by thousands of others. He wants, no needs, to know her dreams; so that one day, he can be there with her as she realises them.
But love is a vampire's greatest weakness. He has seen it many a time in his long and hard lifetime. So when she betrays him, he feels like he should have known. But even as he shakes her for the answers he needs, her voice confuses him. He is unsure whether the pain in his heart is the ghostly piercing of a dagger, or the sharp stab of love. She is let go, without a scratch. Later he will tell himself that there was no time to punish her, but he knows that is untrue. After all he has done to hurt her, how could he do anything to harm her now?
It is him that must be punished. He must purge her from his mind. Love is a weakness.
Blonde hair curls. Smiles blacken. The parchment disintegrates and he persuades himself his feelings are doing the same. Fire is purifying him and he has his sister back for company. He needs nothing else. There is a danger to his life again, and he has something to aim for. This interlude in Mystic Falls is done, and will be easily forgotten.
Until, months later, he looks down at his notebook and sees her piercing gaze.