Disclaimer: I Don't own anything, blah, blah, blah. I hope the nice people at CW don't sue me nor does the author of the series, LJ Smith pull an Anne Rice.
"I'm surprised you agreed to meet me today."
"Well, I couldn't turn down an opportunity to catch up with an old friend," Elena smiles but her tone is monotonous. She carefully drops in two spoonfuls of artificial sweetener into the black coffee and stirs. She licks the spoon clean slowly, her tongue being burned by the heat emanating from the spoon. Sweetness coats the metallic taste of the spoon, just like every other thing in her life. Because under every perfectly sweet surface, there is a cold, hard surface.
"I could hardly call "us" just friends," Stefan laughs, his tone remaining light.
"There is no "us" anymore, Stefan" Elena declares, her voice icy. She feels like she's slipped back into that old ice queen attitude. Delicately holding her coffee cup, she takes a sip, letting the scalding liquid burn her throat. It's a rare day when the Mystic Bar & Grill is eerily quiet.
Stefan tries to look at her in the eye but Elena makes sure they don't make any eye contact. Stefan isn't even sure where Elena is staring off to because large sunglasses frame her face.
"It's pretty light inside. You should take your glasses off," Stefan suggests. Elena sits up stiffly and folds her arm.
"I'm fine, thanks," Elena says, brushing the topic off. She protectively hides her wrists into the folds of her arms. "So how are you?" Elena asks casually.
"I'm great. How about you? You look great, by the way." Stefan watches as Elena's lips curl into a smile that looks more like a smirk.
"Really? Thanks," Elena takes another sip of her coffee. They sit in the silence for a few minutes with the only sounds being Elena's breathing and her occasional sipping.
Stefan leans across the table and gently tilts her head towards him. Elena tries to look away but Stefan steadily keeps his hand cupped on her cheek. He observes her face and feels heat rushing to her cheeks. Her face feels unusually puffy under his hand and he studies her face carefully. Her large sunglasses cover up most her face but he notices every tiny detail.
From afar Elena's skin looks flawless but looking closely, Stefan notices tiny scratches meticulously covered with makeup. His fingers run across her lips. Although covered in a coat of red lipstick, he feels how chapped they are and lets his thumb brush over her lower lip, where he feels a cut.
Elena abruptly stands up, the legs of the chair scraping across the floor. She grabs her bag and stalks towards the exit. Stefan rushes after her. He grabs her by the arm and Elena whips around to face him.
"What do you want from me?" Elena demands.
"The truth," Stefan replies. He feels her attempt to break free from his grip but he doesn't let her go. His nostrils flare slightly as he smells blood. His fingertips feel wet and he releases her arm to find a circle of blood darkening her shirt. He quickly wipes away the blood from his hand on his jeans and Elena curses.
"What's wrong with you?" Elena hisses. "Way to re-open the wound," Elena snaps.
Stefan's eyes grow wide and without wasting a second, he yanks Elena's sunglasses off her face. Elena's mouth drops in shock and she finds her hand slapping Stefan's face. Hard. Elena grabs her sunglasses and shoves them on her face but Stefan has seen the damage. Stefan then proceeds to grab Elena's wrist and shoves the sleeve of her shirt up her arm. The damage is worse than he expected. Stefan blinks in realization.
Elena wears sunglasses to hide the tears and a smile to hide the pain. Her long sleeves conceal the parade of bruises and cuts that decorate her arm and wrist while a scarf hides the bite marks. "What has he done to you?"
A waiter politely approaches them. "Is everything alright?" he asks cautiously, glancing at Stefan who is glaring.
Elena readjusts her sunglasses and flips her hair bitchily. "Everything's fine. I was just leaving," Elena declares. "Nice seeing you, Stefan." Elena pushes her way outside where Stefan watches her quickly drive away.
A/N: Just a little Elena/Damon and Elena/Stefan one-shot. The implied Damon/Elena was very dark and abusive but you know, Damon's just a dark and abusive guy. The implied Stefan/Elena was just him caring for his ex-girlfriend... Review, please so I know what you thought of this random little thing.