Klefix?
I am now aware that Elena didn't feed Stefan her blood until after this episode so yeah the timeline is off. Oops. I claim creative license.
Disclaimer: Own nothing.
Falling Back Onto Old Habits
Elena was frantic. "Caroline? Caroline, what is it?" The blond girl had frozen in her tracks, eyes glazed over, clearly using her supernatural senses to listen on in something Elena couldn't hear yet.
"My mum..." the cheerleader whispered slowly. "She's killing them."
From where she was standing Elena could see her friend's hands shaking – her legs trembling on the spot, unable to move. She could kick Mason Lockwood's ass no problem but facing down her mother?
"We have to stop her!" Elena exclaimed, peering down the stairs into the blackness below. She grabbed Caroline's arm and urged her forward.
"No!" Caroline tore her arm from her friend's grasp, stumbling backward. "I can't Elena, she's gonna find out about me!" She looked over with teary eyes, holding a hand to her mouth. "Elena, please." She'd do anything not to have to go down there, not to have to look into her mother's eyes and see the disgust she knew would be waiting for a creature like her.
Both girls refused to back down, glaring at each other until a cough from behind them startled them to attention.
"Excuse me," the blond man said sarcastically, gaze lingering on Elena for a moment before pushing them both out of the way and proceeding casually down the stairs.
"What the hell?" Elena voiced, staring after him.
"He's a vampire," Caroline murmured, but I've never seen him before. She looked at Elena for a moment. "A friend of Stefan maybe?" For his sake she hoped not because everyone knew what had happened to Lexi.
Elena grabbed her arm again suddenly and began tugging her down the stairs frantically. "Whoever he is, you need to get your mum out of there!"
Realisation coming to her, Caroline left Elena in the dust, speeding down the stairs into the damp cellar under the old Lockwood Estate. Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the macabre scene. Damon and Stefan were unconscious on the ground, there were two of Mystic Falls' deputies strewn across the floor with their throats torn out and against the wall the newcomer had the sheriff by her throat.
"No!" Caroline yelled, rushing the stranger in an attempt to save her mother only to be thrown back into the wall, the rockery cracking ominously behind her. A little dazed but undeterred, she launched to her feet again, this time managing to get a hold on the vampire's arm and attempted to pull him away. He turned to her with an irritated look, not having moved an inch from her efforts. He was old.
She stood her ground stubbornly, glaring at the older man. "Let her go!"
"And why should I do that?" He asked sarcastically and behind her Caroline could hear Elena shuffle into the cellar cautiously.
"Because it's my mother," she glared, mouth forming a tight line. Liz had been stubbornly quiet, refusing to loose face to a vampire of all creatures but now she looked terrified, scared for Caroline's life in the dark about just how strong her little girl was.
Her eyes clashed darkly with turquoise for a moment before the stranger rolled his eyes and turned back to the Sheriff who was gesturing with her eyes for her daughter to run away.
When his eyes met hers he opened his mouth and began to speak hypnotically. "You will go home, you don't remember the events of the last half an hour, it never happened." With that he casually let the blonde woman go and she slumped forward into her daughter's grasp. She only remained there for a moment though before setting off at a fast pace toward the entrance and up the stairs.
Caroline seemed torn, not wanting to leave Elena with this stranger alone but wanting to follow her mother and make sure that she was in fact okay and the compulsion wasn't going to go wonky.
"Go," Elena motioned brushing her off as she went to kneel next to Damon and Stefan, "I'll be fine," she insisted from behind a curtain of brunette hair and Caroline only nodded before blurring up the stairs and after her mother.
The cellar fell silent once more but Elena was acutely aware of the stranger's gaze burning heatedly into her back as she tended to the two brothers, praying one of them would wake up soon and explain who this guy was.
"It's Elena, isn't it?" He spoke up from behind her and she shivered, taking note for the first time of his British accent. She turned to see him dragging one of the dead deputy's closer, looking up as he dumped it next to Damon, seeming to study her for a moment before going for the other one.
"Did you know Katherine?" She asked quietly, knowing this had to be reason he was staring at her so strangely. Vampire's did that, those of them that knew her look-a-like either assumed she was her or simply stared at her in wonderment.
The blonde man shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, replying, "doesn't everyone?" And Elena had to admit her had a good point. Katherine had done well in making a reputation for herself among other vampires. She wasn't sure whether it was just Stefan's circles but everyone seemed to have an opinion on her.
She was nudged out of her thoughts when Stefan groaned and rolled over, coughing, opening his eyes blearily. Damon stirred then too, sitting up much quicker than Stefan. In the blink of an eye he was on the deputy's throat, sinking his fangs in to revitalise himself. Elena scuttled backwards in shock, hand over her heart, breathing heavily.
"Crap, Damon!" The older Salvatore only smirked at her, mouth bloody before continuing to feed. It was then she noticed the new vampire cradling Stefan's head in his hands, bringing him ever closer to the other dead human's still bloody trachea.
"No!" She yelped, moving forward to stop him, gasping as hands on her hips pulled her back. Her hair whipped across her face as her head flew around to meet Damon's eyes.
"He needs blood Elena."
Her mouth turned into a thin line and she glared darkly at Damon. "He can't."
Damon rolled his eyes. "He needs human blood Elena, he'll be fine."
In the midst of their heating staring competition Stefan had managed to heave himself upright. He noticed Damon looking at him sharply and he knew that perhaps he'd caught on that his little brother wasn't just having a blood bag every now and then, because he'd recovered pretty well from a full dose of vervain into the bloodstream.
"I'm fine." He rasped, rubbing the back of his head, thankful for the supportive arm behind him holding his weight. Letting his fangs slip down he reached for the human, digging his teeth in sharply, moaning as the sweet taste hit his tongue. It was a little cold, but he was used to that by now and he'd do anything to get rid of the pounding headache that had suddenly descended on him.
Draining the former officer quickly, he dropped the body to the floor, looking up to catch Elena's silent horrified stare, blood still dripping from his lips.
"So much for taking care of it yourself," Klaus snipped from behind him and Stefan sighed.
"They caught us off guard." He murmured, bones cracking as he got to his feet. "But thanks," he finished sincerely, looking down at his old friend fondly.
"What happened to Liz?" Damon asked suddenly, looking around the room, seeming to have noticed that she hadn't joined her dead deputy's on the floor.
"He compelled her." Elena said softly, looking directly at Klaus across the room from where she stood next to Damon.
"Yeah," Damon began with snark, "speaking of, who is he?" He looked to his brother, arms crossed over his chest in question.
Stefan looked between the two of them debating what the best answer to give would be, especially when Klaus wasn't looking forthcoming with any brilliant ideas. "He's an old friend." He finally settled on, wondering whether he'd made the right choice when Damon's frown deepened.
"Huh." His brother replied quietly, looking between them as if assessing the credibility of his answer.
"That's right," Klaus spoke up suddenly, "old mates." He stepped forward, dusting off his hands. "And if you'll excuse us, we've got some catching up to do." And with that he took Stefan's arm and began dragging him forcibly out of the Lockwood dungeon and up into the waning daylight – not that the younger vampire put up much of a fight of course.
"So," the blonde dropped his arm when he considered them far enough out into the woods, "sorted out all those pesky memories yet ripper?"
Stefan couldn't help but let his eyes dart down to full pink lips, his tongue shooting out to lick his own. He had to physically shake himself for a second before looking up at the original, eyes narrowed. "Mostly, yeah."
"Good." Klaus replied, nodding his head before turning sharply to grip his shoulder, "then maybe you'd like to explain why you're so damn broody all the time."
Stefan sighed heavily. "Things can't just go back to the way they were Klaus," he murmured. "Things have changed...I've changed."
The blonde scoffed. "Not from where I'm standing. You still seem to have the same taste." He muttered spitefully, sending a loaded glance back the way they'd come.
Stefan's jaw dropped open. "You don't know what you're talking about." He couldn't help but glare at the original. They were close in the twenties, close enough that Stefan had shared with the older vampire the events of the last year of his time among the living including the entire saga involving him, Damon and Katherine Pierce.
Klaus was throwing the trust he'd shown in him back in his face and using it against him.
"When I first came to Mystic Falls and noticed you here I knew it was time – for you to remember, for things to go back to the way they used to be...but then I saw you with her." He chuckled a little to himself, "I thought you'd done something ridiculously moronic. It was like I was watching the story you told me in real time – you, Damon, Katherine – one big love triangle drama thrown around for all the world to see." The original frowned at him, "but then, then I noticed that Katherine seemed to be a little too happy all the time, a little too nice."
He circled Stefan, keeping him entranced in his retelling of events – the younger vampire fascinated that Klaus had been watching him, apparently for a while and he'd never had a clue.
"And then one day I was close enough to realise that she wasn't a vampire." His long strides stopped and he stood unmoving in front of Stefan. "A doppelgänger? Really Stefan?"
"So I was right, in a way. You were making the same stupid mistake you made years ago, you were just repeating it over." The blonde used both hands to shove him then and Stefan stumbled backwards a few steps, not expecting the move.
"She doesn't love you Stefan, not the real you."
Stefan's mouth was dry. What did you say to that? Something that had been spinning around your head for such a long time but you didn't have the courage to say out loud. Something that you knew was the truth but wanted so badly to believe otherwise.
"I know," he croaked out, closing his eyes. He felt a breath of air on his face and a hand brushing under his jaw. When he opened his eyes it was to clear ocean blues.
"Then leave it all behind." It was a double entendre. Leave it all behind and come with me. There was a space in his chest cavity that yearned for this. He felt such longing. This was the piece that had slipped through his grasp all these years – he'd missed something he never even knew he had in the first place.
"I can't," he choked out, closing his eyes as they burned. He bit down on his lip so it didn't tremble as he whispered, "I'm sorry."
And then he ran, flashing through the trees, darting in and out of the woodland in the direction of the boarding house, not bothering to look back because he could sense that he was alone.
Klaus didn't chase him.
So this Friday (Thursday night for you Americans ;)) is my BIRTHDAY! I think that because you all love me so much you should write klefan birthday themed one shots for me as birthday gifts!