Waking up to the warm rays from the Californian sun, Elena rolled over to feel that the other side of the bed was vacant. She frowned when she realised Stefan must have woken up and left before she could catch him. What did she expect? That she would be woken up to Stefan kissing her neck? No, that was not going to happen, Elena thought. Deciding to wander downstairs, Elena felt the cool wooden floor under the pads of her feet. Stefan was sat at the dining table sipping from a blood bag, and yet again he was shirtless. Elena had to bite her lip to stop her urges for Stefan. With his humanity or not, she couldn't deny the physical attraction she still felt towards him. She eyed his abs and remembered the countless times, she had run her tongue along them.
"Like what you see?" Stefan quipped and smirked at her.
"No, I was just looking at you and pinching myself to make sure this wasn't some kind of nightmare." Elena said over her shoulder whilst walking over to the kitchen, Stefan watching her the whole way.
Whilst putting together a bowl of cereal at the kitchen island, Elena heard a whoosh and in the blink of an eye, Stefan had her pinned against the island. Her back was pressed against his chest and both of his hands were either side of her gripping the island.
"Come on Elena. You can call this a nightmare all you want, but we both know you're enjoying this. It's okay that you're still attracted to me, even with no emotions I still have the desire for you. Months of craving, longing and pining for each other. Wouldn't you agree that here and now is the perfect time for us to put and end to it?" Stefan whispered, ghosting his lips along the shell of her ear. It took everything Elena had to try and supress her moan, and somehow, she still failed, and it made Stefan start pressing light kisses to her neck.
"Stefan, no I don't think…" Elena tried to say but was cut off by her own body's desires after he started sucking on her neck. She threw her head back on his shoulder and exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding as he continued his assault on her neck. This was so wrong, but it felt so right, Elena thought. She knew if she gave into him now, then that was how it was going to be for the whole time they spent here with his humanity turned off. Taking control of her rationality, Elena turned in his arms and pushed him off. "Stop, I'm not doing this with you whilst your humanity is off."
"Suit yourself. Eat your breakfast and go get changed we're going out." Stefan said sternly.
Annoyed at his commanding demeanour but also unwilling to cross him, Elena followed his orders.
Walking down the stairs dressed in a white tank and a pair of cut off denim shorts, Elena looked at Stefan, who was waiting for her at the door, drinking yet another blood bag. She followed as he got into car. They started driving towards the city and Elena started to find it hard to stop herself from getting excited.
"How much blood do you drink each day now?" She asked breaking the silence.
"You shouldn't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to." Stefan replied nonchalantly.
"Just tell me." Elena said with annoyance.
"Well, I've already had two blood bags and it's only 11 am. I'll probably find an easy target to feed off whilst we're out and then I'll have another two blood bags when we get home. Truth is Elena, I just feed when I want."
"So, does that mean you're in control?" Elena asked shocked at they way he seemed to have a routine. He just chuckled and shook his head at her question.
"Nope. Being a ripper, means that once I start drinking, I can't stop until it's gone. I can't just have one sip of a blood bag, I have to drink it dry. I can't have just one sip from a human, I have to take every last drop from their body." Stefan explained.
"So, that means you're just gonna go out and kill someone today right in front of me?" She asked in disbelief.
"Probably. You need to understand that I don't care Elena. I don't care about the people I've killed or the people I will continue to kill, and I don't care about how that makes you feel or how you feel towards me."
"Yes, you do." Elena replied laughing incredulously. In response, Stefan just sighed and shook his head.
They ended up driving along the coast, and Elena had to wonder where he was taking her. She had seen this place in movies and TV shows, but that didn't quite compare to the real thing, especially when she saw Santa Monica Pier.
"Are we going to the pier and the beach?" Elena asked Stefan praying he didn't say no.
"Yes. I figured that I should find at least something to keep you entertained, otherwise you would spend every five minutes annoying the life out of me." Stefan said coolly.
"You're right I would." Elena replied flashing a grin at him. "We're totally going on the rides."
"Nooooo, you are going on the rides and I will find a bite to eat." Stefan responded putting emphasis on 'bite'.
"Whatever." Elena said with sarcasm.
After pulling into the parking lot, Stefan and Elena walked up the pier over to where the rides are. Deciding to be bold, Elena grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the ticket booth and requested two tickets for the Ferris wheel.
"What are you doing?" Stefan asked clearly not amused, but secretly enjoying her confidence.
"Just because I didn't originally plan on coming here doesn't mean that I can't make the most of it. Now, you and I are gonna go on the ride and I'm gonna have fun whilst you pretend to be some sort of big bad vampire." Elena commanded and started dragging Stefan to the ride entrance.
"You know you're really sexy when you take charge." Stefan said leaning into her ear. She just shrugged him off, determined to get on the ride.
Climbing into the carriage, Elena sat on the bench opposite to the one Stefan was seated on. Faking sadness, Stefan put his hand to his chest and looked at her directly in the eye.
"Ouch, Gilbert I'm offended. Why won't you sit next to me?" Stefan asked dramatically as the wheel began to move and carry them upwards.
"Like I said, I want to have fun and sitting next to you won't achieve that." Elena retorted and pulled a face at him.
"That's a lie. I think the real reason why you won't sit next to me is because of what happened the last time we were on a Ferris wheel together." Stefan said.
-Flashback—
After waking her up just before dawn, Stefan took Elena back to the carnival that the school had hosted.
"Stefan, what are we doing here? We're gonna get caught."
"Well I compelled the guard to go on break, so I could kiss my girlfriend at the top of the Ferris wheel." Stefan said with a smile.
"Stefan." Elena said with uncertainty as the Ferris wheel lit up.
"We have to take these moments, Elena. What Katherine did to Caroline could just be the beginning and then there's things with Tyler's family we don't even understand yet and there's always the D-word. But, I came back to this town to start a life with you. We can't forget to live it." Stefan said reasoning with Elena and making her smile whilst grabbing his hand that was caressing her cheek.
"But, Stefan, how are we gonna get to the top?" Elena asked.
"I guess you'll just have to hold on tight". Stefan answered smiling at her.
He whooshed her to the top of the Ferris wheel and they both started laughing as the chair was swinging back and forth.
"What?" Elena asked through a laugh as Stefan gazed at her in awe.
"It's just so nice to see you laugh". Stefan replied.
Then they both leaned in and their lips met in a sweet earnest kiss. It wasn't a kiss fuelled by desire, it was simply a kiss that conveyed all of their love and emotion to each other.
-End of flashback—
Elena bowed her head and frowned after remembering their kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel and how much Stefan cared, but she couldn't cry and come across weak to him, so she brushed the comment off and looked at the view.
"The view, it's beautiful." Elena said as she gazed across the horizon.
"Yeah, it is". Stefan replied as he stared at her. Shit! He thought as he realised his cold façade was faltering. Internally, Stefan decided he needed to find blood and fast too, so he could take his mind off of painful past memories with Elena. There was no way he was letting his humanity back in.
After spending a few more hours at the pier and walking along the beach, Stefan decided he wanted to go somewhere else. So, they got in his car and ended up at a nearby bar.
"Do you want something to eat?" Stefan asked her as they got seated.
"Erm, yeah". Elena said, a little confused at why he was bothering to cater to her needs.
Without asking what she wanted, Stefan walked over to the bar and began ordering, making Elena roll her eyes. He came back with a glass full of blood and a coke for her.
"You didn't even ask me what I wanted and where did you get the blood from?" She asked clearly pissed off at him.
"Oh my god, will you ever stop asking questions? If you must know I kindly asked the barmaid to deposit some of her blood into a glass for me." Stefan said exasperatedly.
"By asked kindly, you mean compelled?" Elena asked yet again, by now she knew what she was doing, and she wanted to piss him off.
"Yes." Stefan huffed.
They were interrupted by the waitress, who brought over Elena's food.
"Double cheeseburger with no pickle and a side of fries?" The blonde waitress asked, and Stefan nodded. Elena watched as the waitress slid her hand down Stefan's arm. "Can I get you anything else?" She asked Stefan flirtatiously. For some stupid reason, Elena couldn't even begin to explain to herself why this made her so jealous, but it did.
"Hmmmm, yes. I want you to take this glass over to the girl behind the bar, and I want you to tell her to fill it with her blood and then bring it back to me." Stefan droned looking into her eyes compelling her.
"Sure thing." She replied robotically and walked off to complete his request.
"What?" Stefan asked as Elena looked at him disgust. However, she didn't know if she was disgusted by the compulsion and blood or the flirting. In response to Stefan she just shook her head.
"You remembered." Elena stated matter of factly.
"I remembered what?" Stefan asked.
"You remembered my favourite meal."
"Just because I have no emotions doesn't mean I don't remember things. In fact, I remember everything, Elena, I just feel nothing towards it. I remember every date, dance, kiss and every detail about you. Oh, and all of the amazing sex we had and the way you would scream my name just as I…" Stefan mused but was cut off by Elena.
"Oh god, okay I get it! You remember everything, congratulations." Elena exclaimed and tried to hide her bright red blushing face. This made Stefan chuckle.
If this was the way things were going to go, Elena knew she had a long trip ahead of her.