Stefan was annoyed he let himself be roped into... whatever this was. Clara seemed nice enough but he just didn't have time to play happy families with everything else going on. He showed her how to hunt a rabbit, how much longer was he required to stay out here with her?
"You don't like me very much do you?" Clara bravely asked surprising Stefan a bit,
"I don't really know you." Stefan said as a way to explain himself,
"Oh so you treat every new acquaintance with this much hostility?" But Clara wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy.
Stefan rolled his eyes feeling feed up, "Look I am sure you are a nice person but-"
"Well why do I get the impression you'd rather not spend the time to find out yourself?" Clara asked cutting him off,
Stefan admittedly didn't really have anything to say to that
Clara takes a deep breath and tries again to understand Stefan's issue with her, "Is this about Damon? Why are you so angry with him?" She asks, she's noticed the strain on there relationship and can't imagine what could have happened to cause it, they were once so close.
Stefan stopped walking and turned around to face her, "Look you have no idea who Damon is anymore... what he's done."
"Alright, so tell me." Clara said letting her arms flail a bit expressing how tired she was getting of these games.
Stefan shook his head not giving her anything, but she wasn't going to stop, she was going to keep trying, "Why, why won't you just tell me, tell me every horrible thing he has ever done. Chase me away if that is what you are so desperate to do."
Stefan looked torn not knowing how to respond...
"What, how bad is it? I know he has killed and I saw in person how merciless he can be. Has he hurt children?" Clara asked but she was terrified of the answer, when Stefan nodded she wanted to hurl up the bunny she had struggled to get down earlier,
"I'll admit that makes me feel sick. Have you hurt children?" She asks, Stefan seemed shocked by the question but swallowed and timidly nodded yes.
"Has he... has he ever forced himself on a woman." Clara held her breath not know how she would ever face her husband again if... if... she doesn't even want to think it, Stefan mercifully saves her from have to do so by explaining, "Not counting compulsion to take their fear away after seeing his face turn no I do not believe so."
Clara has never been so relived in her life, "Has he ever done something you yourself are not also guilty of?"
"No but its different I know how much of a monster I have been and I torture myself everyday with that knowledge and strive as hard as I can to be different, to be better. Damon he revels in his darkness." This is the most Stefan has said to her and she knows that means something.
Clara was silent for a bit collecting her thoughts, "That's what really bothers you about him isn't it?"
"What?" Stefan asks, and Clara goes on to explain,
"That Damon can be at peace with both sides of himself, the good and bad. That he isn't constantly fighting the darkest part of himself, that he doesn't live with this fear that he will lose control."
Stefan turns away from Clara and closes his eyes almost as if in pain.
Clara sees she's struck a nerve, "I'm sorry, that must be awful. I don't know you very well even if I was around you we where human I only know what Damon has told me but I know that he loves you."
Stefan scoffs at this, "Damon doesn't love anyone but himself."
Clara won't let Stefan get away with saying something like that so she reminds him, "Remember when you used to play hide and seek?"
Stefan was confused for a moment but then nodded not knowing where she could possibly be going with this.
"He would warn you every time to stay out of your father's study, make you swear to go no where near it. And yet every time you would go in. You might not have been completely aware back then but you must know what your father would do to Damon, how harsh and cruel he could be and yet Damon would always risk punishment to come find you and make sure you were never caught inside your fathers office. No matter what you two go through you must know if you were ever in danger Damon would still always come for you. I am not trying to justify his wrongdoings but surely someone capable of that is worth still having hope in."
Stefan thought about what Clara said. It was true Damon would get the worst of their father's temper and had as children tried to protect him from it but that Damon died a long time ago and he kind of felt bad for Clara thinking that Damon still existed and yet he was also a little jealous of her ability to naively see things in such a way.
A sound of a branch snapping caught Stefan's attention but it was too late him and Clara were quickly surrounded and captured.
Gilbert House:
Elena's phone is ringing. She notices it's Damon and ignores it. She hears a knock on the door and answers it. Damon enters.
"You're ignoring me." He says getting right to the point,
"The 6 missed calls? Sorry. My phone is dead." Elena says not finding Damon or his attitude the least bit charming anymore after everything he's done.
"Is Stefan here?" Damon asks ignoring Elena's sass
"No. Why? Something wrong?" Elena asks and Damon tells her, "He went out with Clara in the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone. I am starting to get worried."
The sincerity in Damon's eyes alerted Elena this might be serious and she immediately tried calling Stefan herself, "It's going straight to voice-mail. Where could he be?"
"You're not going to like what I'm thinking." He responds
"What?" Elena asks not following...
"I heard someone called you Katherine the other day... the only people I know who would confuse you for your ancient ancestor are some very old, very pissed off vampires."
Terror now surrounds Elena as she realizes the danger Stefan could be in.
