Stefan rushed back to the boarding house, biting his lip. He had obviously felt something beyond words for Riley, the girl he had only met about twenty minutes ago.

I'm just hungry, he told himself repeatedly. I was sensing her blood. That's it.

After a little while, Stefan convinced himself that that was all he was feeling, though his footsteps remained clumsy and his hands were shaky. He slowly entered the boarding house. An eerie silence filled the place as Stefan walked in. He listened closely for anyone and heard a sharp intake of breath coming from upstairs.

"Anyone here?" he called, looking around. A few moments later, Elena and Damon emerged, staring at Stefan. Damon's expression was completely unreadable and Elena had a look of anger and frustration on her face as she glared at Damon. Her cheeks were flushed, dark hair slightly disheveled. Stefan raised a brow in suspicion, feeling a pang of jealousy when he realized all of Elena's concentration was on his brother.

"Hello Stefan," Damon said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Stefan simply nodded as his eyes scanned over Elena, head to toe. He noticed the way she continued to shift her weight between feet, the way she impatiently tapped her fingers against the sides of her thighs.

"Hey," he said, sounding a little upset as he looked at the two of them. "You guys are obviously in the middle of something. Didn't mean to interrupt." Stefan took a deep breath and started walking upstairs when Elena finally seemed to realize he was in the room, an alert expression showing on her face.

"No… you didn't interrupt anything. Damon was just being an ass, as usual," Elena mumbled, taking Stefan's hand and squeezing tight, casting another quick glare at Damon. "Let's go upstairs, Stefan."

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Stefan just prayed it wasn't sexual tension filling the room as he headed upstairs, not looking back at Elena once, knowing he'd only see her staring at his brother for some unknown reason.

"Are you okay, Stefan?" she asked once they got into his room, acting as if nothing had happened downstairs. "You seem kind of tense."

"I'm just hungry," he responded instantly, trying to block out the images of Riley as they began to flood in. "Hey… why were you here today with Damon? You could have called me…,"

Elena shook her head, biting her lip. She didn't know what to say. Could she really tell him what had happened when he looked at her with such a concerned and insecure expression? Quickly, Elena wrapped her arms around Stefan's neck, pulling him in for a molten kiss. She knew that when Stefan's hunger was strong, so were his desires. So, she used it as a –very successful- distraction.

Stefan kissed back immediately, wrapping his arms around her tightly, every other thought forgotten as he gave in to the comfort Elena's lips always brought.

Well, almost every thought.

…

Riley walked through the town square the next morning, a slight smile playing on her lips. Everything so far was going well in Mystic Falls. She knew it wouldn't be long before she had Stefan Salvatore wrapped around her finger, and her mission would be completed.

Designer sunglasses covered her green eyes as she strutted along the sidewalk, curly amber hair lazily blowing behind her. Skinny jeans hugged Riley's legs, exemplifying every curve. She wore a black vest over a white camisole, that confident smirk never leaving her red lips.

"Well look who it is," a bitter voice behind Riley said. She turned around, only to meet Jules's bird-like stare.

Riley cringed at the sight of Jules as the images from the previous day filled her mind. Upon first arriving, Riley had gotten into a violent fight with Jules over something ridiculous neither of them could remember. That fight had resulted in Jules nicking Riley in the neck with a knife; the wound that had caused Stefan to rush out of the grill.

"Hello Jules," Riley greeted coldly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Look, let's skip the greetings, shall we?" Jules said, face indifferent. "I know about you… more than you think. So, I'd just like to give you a warning not to get on my bad side, because I have certain information that I can tell certain people."

Riley raised an eyebrow, glaring. "What do you know?"

Jules shrugged and suddenly turned her attention to someone beyond Riley, faking a smile. Riley turned to see who Jules was looking at and saw him.

Stefan.

He was talking on his cell phone, smiling to himself during the entire conversation. Occasionally he would bite his lip, his expression becoming sinfully dark.

As she watched Stefan, the strangest feeling rushed through Riley, and she hated it. It was jealousy, without a doubt. Why would this be bothering her? Eventually Stefan lifted his gaze and was met with Riley's, and time seemed to freeze. He quickly mumbled something into his phone and hung up, putting it back into his pocket, eyes never leaving hers.

Jules smirked and waved Stefan over, still faking a smile. He looked at Jules with confusion but stepped over to them, eyes falling back on Riley. She faintly grinned at him.

"Hey," Stefan said quietly, directing it to her.

"You're stupid for trusting her, you know?" Jules implied, breaking their sudden connection. "You barely know her and yet here you are, gazing at her like you're both in some episode of… The Young and the Restless! It's kind of disgusting. And, you're being stupid."

Stefan raised a brow and glanced in Jules's direction. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me you have no clue!" Jules snapped. "You keep staring at her… It's creepy. I'm just saying it's a mistake to trust her. She knows things you don't, Stefan. You should listen to me sometime." And with that, she stormed away angrily, leaving him and Riley alone.

"Jules doesn't know what she's talking about," she said nonchalantly, looking up at Stefan, hoping to see no suspicion on his face.

"Oh, I know. Jules is just… well, Jules," he chuckled, his expression still oblivious, causing a sudden wave of guilt to course through Riley as she looked at him. "Besides, I feel that I can trust you over her."

His hazel eyes met hers and Riley felt as if she was falling. She was about to open her mouth and scream no right then and there, and tell him that he shouldn't be there, trusting her. But she kept her lips sealed, and just looked at Stefan. Why did she feel such a connection to this man she had met only a night ago?

"Yes," Riley agreed, stepping away from him hurriedly, surprised by the strange tugging in her heart she had just felt. She started to walk down the street slowly and he followed right next to her, keeping up at a perfect pace.

"So when were you here last?" Stefan asked politely, trying to create small talk. His nerves were gnawing him from the inside out. He didn't know what to say to her, yet the moment wasn't awkward. They shared a perfectly comfortable silence before she started to speak.

"About a year ago," Riley answered simply, burying her hands in her pockets. She didn't say anything else, not wanting to be overwhelmed with the haunting memories of Mark, the man who took her heart to the grave with him. She took a shaky breath and looked down at her feet. It was then that she noticed her and Stefan were walking perfectly in sync. A slow smile crept on Riley's lips as she made note of it.

Stefan noticed the smug smile form on Riley's face and couldn't help but smile himself. He chuckled a bit as he turned to face her. "What?"

"Nothing." Riley still couldn't wipe that smile from her face as she looked up at Stefan, noticing the grin on his face also. She didn't know why he was smiling, and wished she knew what he was thinking. Was he thinking of her?

…

Stefan wondered if Riley was thinking of him. That smile on her face was contagious, and he found his body rushing with a sudden heat. If he was a human he would have been blushing furiously for no apparent reason, no doubt. She just had that affect on him.

He didn't know what it was with Riley, but that amber colored hair, combined with her gorgeous porcelain face, with those green eyes burning through her sunglasses… it was almost too much for him. He felt like a captive in her beauty, lost in it, unable to find a way out. Though in all honesty, he didn't want a way out.

Eventually, both of their steps slowed–at the same time, of course- and they turned to face each other, caught up in the heat of this strange moment. Those distantly smug grins were still on their faces.

"What are you thinking?" Riley asked shakily, her eyes falling on his lips. She had the sudden temptation to lift her hand up, to hold the side of his face, and run her trembling fingers through his hair. She absently licked her lips.

"What?" Stefan heard Riley's voice singing through his ears, though he couldn't interpret them. His mind was hazed over, his attention fully on her, overtaken with a strange desire the moment he saw her lick her lips. He didn't even notice when he started to lean closer to Riley. It all just felt so natural.

She was completely lost in it too. Her heart sped up the moment she saw that look in Stefan's eyes, the way his posture changed, the way his bottom lip started to tremble ever so slightly in anticipation. She found herself leaning closer also, eyes slowly closing. The moment felt perfectly surreal. Everything else was forgotten.

Suddenly, when their foreheads just started to touch, Riley was brought back into reality. She immediately jumped back, shocked and disgusted with herself. She was shaking. She was confused. She was furious.

Finally Stefan opened his eyes also, staring at Riley with just as much confusion. The moment their eyes met, that strange spark rushed through them both again.

They looked away immediately.

.

.

.

A/N: There's the chapter! I hope you all enjoyed! Please leave a review! I know where to take this story thanks to the RP so please tell me if you want me to continue! Each comment means so much to me… Good or bad! I look forward to every single one :)

Thanks for reading!

-Sara