AN: Well, this is my first fanfiction. Not sure what that means to you, but just wanted to put that out there. :) And please alert me of any spelling mistakes and whatnot. Currently a one-shot but will probably continue on with more chapters. It will probably also half follow the show, with my own plot twist.
Read and Review!
Disclaimer: Don't own Vampite Diaries. Wish I did, though :) It's a bloody good show.
It's been a month after he last saw Damon, but Stefan's not lost.
You can't be lost when you don't want to be found.
It's a classic two story white house, with paint chipping across the porch. A porch swing rocks back and forth as a brown haired girl rests on it. Then it swings erratically, as a new stranger appears on the porch. Inside the friendly looking home comes a terror filled scream, and a muffled gurgling.
As the dark haired girl jumps to her feet, the predator on the porch pounces, reaching for the girl's neck. Her agonized scream is almost like music to his ears. Then all too quickly it's over. Her pulse slows and she falls into a comatose state. She can't scream anymore, he notes almost disappointedly.
Klaus pats his shoulders comfortingly. "You are rusty, comrade. What happened to the Ripper?" he chides, amused. Remnants of his snack trickle down Stefan's chin and he doesn't bother to wipe it away. All he sees is the blood. But a flash of guilt. This girl, one of many, had a family. She had a life. She even had a boyfriend, one who stroked her hair softly, just as Stefan is doing now. Just as he did for Elena.
Klaus impatiently breaks into his brooding thoughts. "I thought we were through with the brooding, Ripper." Stefan's grip on the girl tightens, and then relaxes.
He let Elena go. She was safe from him, safe from Klaus. Damon would ensure that.
Klaus walks back into the quiet isolated house, probably to finish the girl's housemate, and calls over his shoulder, "Finish up your dinner. We're still a day away from the witches."
He gives a brilliant sadistic smile. "And tomorrow's a full moon."
Stefan nods, and unceremoniously drops the girl's broken body. He almost winces at the small whimper it elicits from her, but remembers he isn't supposed to.
He tries to ignore the sounds from inside, the shrieks and the sound of a losing struggle. Stefan withdraws into his thoughts, retreating to a place where he can simply think. Almost snidely he thinks about how the blood washed away most of his rational thought, only focusing in on the hunt. Sensing the dangerous area he is venturing into, he switches mindsets.
The witches. They have to help kill Klaus, Stefan thinks desperately. Klaus hasn't revealed his plan to Stefan yet, casually the brushing him off with a secretive small grin and, "Not yet, comrade. But soon."
Stefan only knows whatever Klaus is planning isn't good.
Stepping over the girl's body to follow Klaus inside, he can't resist one more bite. He dips one finger in the oozing red from her neck and licks it, reveling in the dark taste of the blood. He can still taste her fear. He steps away from the dying girl, disgusted with himself.
He remembers the taste of Elena's blood, so sweet and full of love. He wonders if Damon drinks her blood now, if Elena offers it to him. His fangs elongate once more as his eyes turn dark and bloodied. It isn't doing him any good, thinking of Elena. Especially since now he must keep her safe and hide her existence from Klaus. But he can't help it, the feelings come anyway. He knows what he must do to make the guilt and hurt and jealousy fade, only to become a minor problem in the haze of blood.
He rips into her arm with his teeth, wishing he hadn't overzealously gone for the neck first. Her screams aren't very loud. The whimpers are pathetic, and the animal in him is disgusted with the weak prey. But, he rationalizes, he must end it for her. A simple act of pity for the fatally wounded prey.
He can't deny the feeling of weightlessness the blood gives him— everything that matters fades away. She doesn't deserve to die, he distractedly thinks, hovering over her, fangs bared. So he will not kill her. The lie comes swift and easy.
But again, he can't resist testing his sharp canines on her skin, ripping and tearing into the girl. Her brown eyes flutter shut and her whimpers become even quieter. Then finally, as he rips into her neck once more, nothing.
Klaus opens the front door and licks his lips, blood of the girls roommate coloring his lips. "Tasty," he says, his eyes twinkling. His gaze falls on the girl and her shredded body. He sniffs, and then smiles his sly grin. "Full?" he asks, not minding the blood that was seeping across the white floorboards of the old house, coming awfully close to his expensive black boots.
Stefan nods and wipes his chin with the blanket on the rocking chair. The chair rocks back slightly, creaking on the old washed out floorboards of the porch. No one will ever rock in the chair again.
Stefan steps off the porch, a bloody footprint following him. Klaus speeds in front of him and holds a palm to his chest, stopping him. "Did you take care of your little... problem?"
Stefan gives him a confused, blank look.
Klaus's grin drops and his face becomes serious. "Your brother."
Stefan freezes, then relaxes. Sure, he had saved Damon's life (again), but that can't mean that he would keep searching for him, right? Even in his blood—high state he recognizes the lie. If Stefan still felt like he has a heart, he is sure it would stop beating.
"It's taken care of," he says coolly, not one hint of his inner turmoil clear in his voice. Klaus's smile returns, but there's a different bright spark in his eyes as he says, "Excellent."
He turns around, heading back into the darkness of the woods. Stefan stands frozen for a moment, thoughts on the girl, Damon, and Elena. As the blood drips down the chipped paint of the steps, he knows she won't be found until at least two days from now. The closest neighbors are at least a quarter of a mile away.
Damon. Elena. They have to stop looking for him. They have to know what he's decided to do. Flip the switch.
He'll succumb to the temptation, but he will get better. It's only for ten years, he thinks. It'll only feel like a moment. So he loses control for a moment. He bites what's left of the girl's neck and drinks a sip. To remind himself he still is somewhat in control, he stops. The struggle is already becoming difficult, but he stops. He must, if he is to convince them to give up. He dips his hand in the pool of blood from a particularly deep gash on her stomach. It's almost hard to believe that she's still bleeding, considering all the blood painting the previously white porch.
Only pausing a few times to either steal a few sips of the blood or re-submerge his hand for fresh writing ink, Stefan leisurely scrawls a haunting message on the white wall of the house. He takes so long that Klaus appears out of the woods, irritation marking his face.
When his cold gaze lands on the message written in blood on the wall, he says icily, "I thought the problem was taken care of."
Stefan can still feel the high the blood brings and the euphoria that follows. So he says, "Brothers are determined to help, aren't they?"
It's a low dig and he's not even sure it makes sense, but Stefan doesn't care. He only licks the blood still dripping on his fingers and smiles at Klaus.
Klaus stonily stares back before he breaks into another smile. "We're feeling quite better now, aren't we? Finally 'flipped the switch' ?"
Stefan only shrugs and walks down the steps. He brushes past Klaus with a certain confidence in his step and heads into the woods. As he starts to run, away from the bloody house, away from the dead girl and her wide, scared doe eyes, he feels free. The weight of Elena and Damon completely gone.
He can't worry about Elena's safety, or even begin to worry about his brother and his foolish determination to find him.
All he can think about is the hunger, the exhilarating predatory chase, the blood flowing freely from many bites, the tortured screams, the wide scared eyes, and the dead silence that always follows.
AN: Now just click that little button... Yep, the one that says review...