'where are you'

'ON MY WAY'

It was an hour ago when he received that text from her, one of many assuring him she'd be there soon. Stefan sat in the foyer of the Salvatore boarding house, perched on the arm of a couch as he tapped his heel rapidly against the floor. The fireplace flickered in the background, casting a dark shadow on his chiseled face. He was simply staring at the bright light of his phone screen, still looking at the same message as he had for the last sixty minutes. It was the last one she'd sent him.

An hour later and Quinn Fabray was still missing in action.

Damon, Rachel, and Puck were scattered across the room as well. They were biting nails, wandering aimlessly, and anxiously waiting for some sign of the blonde. This whole plan depended upon the item Quinn was meant to secure. The Wickery Bridge sign. Which just happened to be made of white oak, the one element that could effectively destroy an original vampire. Stefan had been opposed to the idea at first, but in the end he knew Damon's argument to be true. The originals would never think twice about a blonde cheerleader with a piece of wood in her back seat. She could have easily said it was being temporarily removed for remodeling; she was a girl who was quick enough to think of something if needed. Being the least conspicuous person available and having volunteered to help, Quinn was now out fulfilling the mission.

They still hadn't heard anything from her though, and Stefan hadn't felt so genuinely scared in a long time. When his life was in danger, it didn't matter. He was capable of recovering. Truly, it was no big deal for him to get a stake in the shoulder or wherever else. Even when Damon was in trouble, he knew without a doubt his brother was strong enough to always come out safe. When Quinn was out there however, doing something that would piss off an original vampire if they found out, she wouldn't be able to physically defend herself with words or her beauty. She was in danger and alone… well not completely unaccompanied.

Stefan had asked a favor of Tyler Lockwood. He despised having to go to someone who had such a strong connection and romantic history, with Quinn. Because of that though he knew the wolf would protect her at any cost if it came down to it. Her life was more important than male pride and possessiveness, to both of them.

'where is she?'

'she left forever ago dude'

He groaned. Now he was regretting ever going to the guy, because clearly Tyler was not helping the situation. A deathly silence fell over the room after Stefan's phone alert went off. No one was making a single noise because they were all afraid. They all knew something was wrong, that Quinn was not okay. Yet not one person wanted to say it aloud, in fear that doing so would make it true. It was the kind of silence saved for funerals. Someone was dead, but no one would want to speak of it. It made the reality of that person's death hit that much harder when announced out loud. And right now no one wanted to admit the inevitability of Quinn being hurt… captured… becoming the dead body at the funeral that no one wanted to bring up.

When the front door flew open, it was unavoidable any longer. The truth of the situation had come bolting into the house, and silence wouldn't hold it back.

With vampires speed Damon and Stefan were in the hall, eyes met with a thick head of blonde. It was just the wrong blonde.

"Caroline?" Damon asked, dazed by her sudden presence.

Stefan could barely feel anything as he stared at her tear-stained face, clothes all askew. The girl had clearly run all the way here. Something she wouldn't have done unless it was an emergency… one that she needed to tell the brothers face to face. Rachel and Puck came out behind them with panic-stricken expressions. Another silent understanding passed between the four of them as to why the blonde vampire was now here. And Stefan couldn't even breathe.

"It's Quinn… it was a car accident," she gasped out, face rigid as she tried to keep from sobbing. "A car slammed into the side of her, b-by the time I got there… she was already being taken to the hospital. Rebekah was there! An-And—"

She was unable to continue, and Rachel rushed past the men to envelop Caroline in a tight hug. Her back was slightly shaking. Behind Stefan he could hear a crash. Puck must have thrown a glass object, maybe a vase. Damon had his eyes closed, mouth in a thin line as he turned away. He and Quinn had never been the best of friends, arguing about trivial things more often than not, but it was obvious right now that he cared. Stefan however wasn't even moving. The world around him was quiet, his vision unclear. The only thing he was aware of was Quinn. The blonde girl that crept up on him and stole his heart, a prom queen, a cheerleader who had so much more to her than what met the eye. A teenager who had her whole life ahead of her, but she had to go and get herself caught up in vampire drama. And now? That life might have been stolen because of Stefan. All because he allowed her to go out there and sacrifice herself for his own goal of destroying Klaus.

"Caroline," he began in a low voice, eyes blankly staring forward at her face hidden in Rachel's neck. "Is she…"

With a hearty sniffle she lifted her head to look at him. Her expression couldn't give him a straight answer, and he was slowly losing restraint at not fully understanding what had happened.

"You can't save her Stefan."

Hearing that statement, he was finally feeling something again. Anger, disbelief, agony, and the urge to go out and kill someone. Something he'd been fighting since Klaus brought it out in him. With Quinn it was usually easier to keep that instinct at bay. He didn't have her by his side though. What he did have next to him was a wall, one he easily rammed his fist through, causing the girls to jump. He had to get away from the crowd. Speeding upstairs he threw the door of his bedroom open and closed, almost severing it from its hinges. He felt like he was about to explode from emotion. It had been there downstairs, just bubbling in the pit of his stomach, and Caroline's information was the ingredient needed to make him burst. How could he have been so foolish? Quinn may have been one of the strongest humans he knew, but she was still that… human. No matter how confident she had been that she could handle an original vampire, she couldn't. This was proof. Rebekah hadn't even needed to use vampire tactics. She resorted to making it look like an accident, which it very obviously wasn't. How it happened didn't matter though. Nothing mattered except the fact that Quinn couldn't be saved. Stefan now had to deal with another girl he loved being stolen from him. Even this time around as a vampire, he was helpless. She was gone.

As he grabbed an empty glass from his desktop and threw it across the room, watching as the glass shattered into a thousand pieces against the wall and went flying in every direction, the sheer volume of the noise almost disguised the ringing in his pocket. Ignoring the moisture pooling in the corners of his eyes he ripped his phone from his pocket, prepared to crush that too until he saw the name on the screen. If his heart were beating, it would have stopped. Despite the shock building up in his system from the last hour, he was curious… hopeful. He clicked read.

'hey stefan, im on my way'

'quinn?'

a/n: i made a gif of stefan's reaction to the car crash and it twisted and turned into this fic. i only have it planned to be a one shot, but if enough people are freaking out about quinn's fate i'll make it a two parter. reviews are appreciated. c: