CHAPTER ONE
Stefan didn't know if it was the scent that threw him off or the fact that this scent was radiating off the beautiful Elena Gilbert. Her shimmering blonde hair looked lovely with the sunlight hitting it at this exact angle, making it look radiant, a halo of gold cascading from her head down past her shoulders. She caught him looking at her and gave him a small smirk before looking back to Mr. Prescott, the pudgy college professor. Stefan himself found the man incredibly ignorant with his smart attitude but Elena liked him well enough so he stayed in the class. Not that he needed it of course.
He sighs now and glances out the window. There is a bird perched on a tree branch outside with its feathers ruffled in a soft blue and Stefan cocked his head to the side. The bird imitated his action and Stefan felt himself smirking now. The bird flew away, its stuttering heart beat audible to his sensitive hearing. He frowned now and before he could stop himself he wondered, not for the first time, where his brother was.
This was a reoccurring thought to him throughout the centuries but he had never had this thought as many times in a year, like he had this one. It was strange for him to have this strange need to care for his older brother. In a way, it was as if he had always cared but now that he could accept it, not only to himself but to his brother as well, it was as if it flowed out of him uncontrollably.
But that might have something to do with his Elena Gilbert more than anything.
Elena was upset that Damon was telling them of his whereabouts and even more so that he hadn't bothered with a phone call to at least reassure them that he was alive and well. Stefan himself didn't take it personally but Elena certainly did. "But we're his family" was her response to every reason he gave for him not calling. And with Damon, there were a lot of reasons. The main, Stefan supposed was because Damon just wasn't used to the idea of having people worry about him. Even less so with the idea of having to call once a year for some mindless chitchat― it just wasn't Damon.
And Stefan reminded Elena that they might not be his favorite people right now. Damon had left in a good way but Stefan knew his brother well and he knew how famous he was for holding a grudge.
But whenever Stefan tried to mention this to Elena she wouldn't have it. She would go into defensive mode and go off about how Damon has proved himself to be kind and non-spiteful about her decision to spend the remainder of her days with Stefan instead of Damon. Stefan himself hoped that she was right but even now he would have these horrific nightmares that always started the same but ended differently.
It would be dark. Stefan would be inside the manor, the new house that he and Elena had just purchased, but even before this it would just be a different home. He would be holding a bright flashlight because for some reason his vampire senses were drowsy and unclear and he couldn't see past the thick darkness. And it was quiet. Too quiet. He would usually have to climb some staircase and go down a narrow hallway, a hallway with old portraits of his family, like those which used to hang in his childhood home. The wallpaper was always different patterns but always the same blue… a lapis lazuli color. And he would always turn left because he was left handed and people who think they are choosing a random side usually choose the side they are dominant to, usually referring to which hand they write with.
The room itself is always empty, besides the empty bed with a single white sheet cover. Stefan always looks underneath the bed, the flashlight sweeping through the bottom, as if he is looking for something, or expecting someone to be there. But he finds nothing― until he stands and Damon is suddenly beside him and Elena is tied to the bed. Sometimes she is bleeding, blood gushing from her neck but sometimes the blood is dry and the only thing visible is the bite marks. It's a terrible thing to see his love like that, and even worse to see Damon do that to her. Sometimes Stefan has to watch as he drinks her dry and sometimes Damon even makes Stefan do it. Those are the worst.
Suddenly everyone is moving around him and Stefan snaps back to reality. He rises swiftly and grabs his books, moving towards the door where Elena was waiting. She's smiling at him, looking rather amused. "And what were you daydreaming about? And why were you late to class?"
"I had to fix the upstairs bathroom remember." Stefan says as they walk side by side. Stefan takes Elena's book and she looks at him underneath her lashes and kisses his cheek. She walks a little faster than him but reaches for his hand all the same. He squeezes her hand "And as for the daydreaming― let's just say it was more of a day-mare."
Elena rolls her eyes at him, like she always does. "Have you been drinking before bed again?"
"That has nothing to do with it." Stefan frowns.
"Don't pout." Elena says and Stefan sighs, smiling slightly. She grins back at him and suddenly that scent hits him again and he wrinkles his nose. "Is that a new perfume or something?"
"Or something." Elena's grin widens. "Bonnie gave it to me. She said it would attract positivity and kindness."
"The only thing you're going to attract is a skunk."
"Hey!" Elena playfully smacks him and he laughs at her fake-hurt face. But after a few steps, her face sobers up and she surprises him by asking, "Have you heard anything from Detective Bullock?"
Stefan winces "Yes. But you won't like it."
"Oh no," Elena's face falls and Stefan nods gravely. "Who was it this time? Another homeless person? Or was it someone new. Like an innocent three year old."
"Another young man. This one was said to be around the age of nineteen. They haven't been able to identify the body. He was cut up pretty bad." Stefan can feel Elena shiver beside him and he stops walking. "Don't worry love. They'll find this guy before he reaches us."
"And if they don't, I guess we'll just have to stop him ourselves." Elena said in her determined voice and Stefan nodded but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.
They continued walking in silence. Stefan didn't even notice the little blue bird flying slightly behind them. Not too close but close enough that if he had looked up, he probably would have noticed its midnight black eyes never leaving him.
