After Damon had shown him Elijah's dagger he went upstairs into his room and absently sat down on his bed.
He had already known that Elena wasn't his anymore. It was true what he had told her, that he had lost her as soon as he had been given the cure for Damon.
Bu still, there must have been a tiny bit of hope left in him, because now that she had told him about the kiss he felt different.
He felt empty.
Hopeless.
And at the same time he felt that nothing mattered anymore.
He still wanted revenge on Klaus, yes, but right now he couldn't be bothered with it. He didn't want to think about anything anymore.
He noticed how his feelings were trying to push trough the barrier which he had built up so well over the last few months. It had cracked under Elena's guilty expression. Angrily he jumped up from the bed and grabbed a bottle of liquor from his desk.
This was exactly what he needed now to forget and to drown his feelings.
To make them shut up. This and blood. Fresh blood.
He casually walked into the Mystic Grill, a slight grin on his face. He had downed the bottle of bourbon and felt slightly tipsy.
This was much better. He could feel how the cracks on his wall were closing. His mask was back intact.
But the alcohol wasn't enough yet. He let his gaze wander through the crowd of people who were standing at the bar.
He soon spotted a dark haired woman who was standing alone in a corner.
"Hey beautiful, why so alone?", he asked from behind, causing her to jump a little.
She turned around and was clearly pleased by the good looks of the stranger.
"Maybe, I was just waiting for you", she replied.
A half-grin appeared on his face, he wouldn't even have to compel her, so much he could already tell.
After ten minutes and another glass of bourbon he walked Cassy out of the bar and guided her to a dark, secluded spot near the parking lot.
He started kissing her, rough and fast.
She obviously didn't mind as she grabbed his ass and pressed his body against hers.
"You like it rough, huh?" she whispered.
In a second he had her up against a wall and started kissing her neck.
"Ah Cassy, you smell so good.."
"Thank you", she breathed,"It's my favorite fragrance".
He backed away from her neck and looked her in the eyes. She had dark brown eyes, like Elena.
Hell, she looked a damn lot like Elena.
"I wasn't talking about your perfume.."
she shot him a confused glance.
Memories of him and Elena making out came to his mind. He remembered their first time together.
When she had told him not to hide from him, when he had lead her up to his bedroom...
No, he couldn't allow for these memories to come back!
In a flash he was at her neck, piercing effortlessly through her skin with his elongated teeth. He was desperately sucking the blood out of her system, drowning all the memories until all he felt was the rich substance in his mouth and rushing through his veins, heightening his senses, shutting off his feelings. After a few moments she stopped moving, stopped trying to shove him off of her. She became limp in his arms and when every drop of blood was gone he threw her away.
He was high from the blood, when he walked back to the grill and in need of more.
He opened the door when a blonde woman ran smack into him.
"Oh, hey, take it slow," he said with a grin when he caught her wrists to prevent her from falling. Maybe this one could be his next snack.
But the arrogant grin was whipped from his face when he saw who was there in his arms.
Caroline, Vampire Barbie, Forbes.
She couldn't have been more surprised. And unlike Stefan it took her more than just a second to get her face back in check.
"Stefan? I.. what are you doing here?"
"Long time no see, Caroline".
He let go of her arms and she took a step back.
She realized that it was the first time since his return that she was actually face to face with him.
She wasn't even sure if they had exchanged as much as a word since last summer.
God how she had missed him in those long days and weeks when he had been away.
But the person who was standing in front of her now wasn't the same anymore.
"Stefan. Hi."
She didn't really know what to say. She had heard enough from Elena to know that nothing but rude and cold words came from his lips these days.
And yet she felt happy to see him.
He hadn't seen her for months, and her presence stirred something inside of him.
Again memories came to his mind, but it were good memories, such that didn't hurt if you thought of them.
Though that was not entirely true. He felt a little guilty for leaving her, for giving up on their friendship.
"Caroline"
They stared at each other for a moment before she tried to walk past him and out into the night.
He let her walk a few meters before he caught up with her in vampire speed and grabbed her arm.
"Hey wait... why are you leaving so fast? Don't you wanna catch up?"
"God Stefan, what if someone saw this!", she hissed, referring to his supernatural speed.
He just flashed her a careless smile and shrugged.
"You really don't care about anything anymore..." she whispered.
His face was so different from how it used to be. It had become a hard and emotionless mask, the face of a dead man.
Of someone who had lost everything and didn't have a single thing left.
And at the same time he wore this idiotic grin that was supposed to make you feel pathetic and silly.
She saw all this - but she was the one who saw beyond it.
When their eyes met for a moment she could read everything in them. His immense pain, the loss of the love of his life, how broken he was and how desperately he tried to hide all this and push it away.
"I'm a vampire, why would I care about anything. It's not in my nature", he smirked at her and now even his eyes matched his arrogant tone.
"I feel sorry for you Stefan Salvatore. If this is what you think then there's nothing left for you in this world.."
"Oh come on, since when did you get so overly dramatic - oh wait I forgot, you've always been Mystic Falls drama queen, my bad."
"Fuck you!", she slapped him across the face and kicked him against his shin.
He knew exactly what to say to make her feel insecure.
She couldn't believe how much he had changed, it was different to experience it yourself. He rubbed his cheek.
"Ah you don't like to hear the truth, do you".
"I'm done with you Stefan! Leave me the hell alone!"
She pushed him back with all the force she could muster and he flew a few meters backwards and landed on the hood of a black sports car.
Without a glance back she walked towards her car, when she suddenly saw something sparkle out of the corner of her eye.
She turned around and saw where it came from. It was from a silver charm on a bracelet on the arm of a young woman who was lying on the floor, a bloody wound on her neck. She didn't need to ask to know who had done it.
A shiver ran down her spine, who was this guy that she once thought she knew so well!
He scrambled back to his feet. His back still hurt a little from the hard contact with the metal. He stared after her, she had her arms crossed over her chest and was walking towards her silver car.
She had changed while he had been away. Something Katherine had told him once crossed his mind:
"You have changed. You're stronger, meaner, sexy."
Oh yes, this was very true about the new Caroline. He was sure she'd see him again very soon.
This is something I wrote after watching 3x12. It's just a one shot so far, tell me if you want me to write more.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this :)