A/N - Thank you for the reviews so far! Please keep reviewing, it helps to know what people think of the story. Also, a huge thanks to everyone that Favourited and Followed!
Morning light filtered gently through the old lace curtains and into the room where two men lay sleeping. The two twin beds covers were rumpled where they had been thrown around in restless fits of dreams as the night had progressed.
Having been used to a memory foam mattress from his bed back in the Bunker, Dean tossed and turned a good few times before sleep finally claimed him.
Sam, on the other hand, still suffering from nightmares and a hell damaged soul, drifted off easily but slept, deeply disturbed by flashing images of fire and stomach turning laughter.
The tinkling sounds of cups and plates could be heard, even through the closed door, from the kitchen where Matt was making his breakfast in his pyjamas.
Dean and Sam hadn't roused from their slumbers yet, but as the clock hands flicked and juddered their way to 8:30, the oldest brother began to stretch and yawn in a way that made his t-shirt ride up to reveal toned expanses of muscle. The pyjamas that they'd been given to wear were slightly on the small side for Dean, and Sam had had to go out and buy a pair of much longer trousers, opting to go shirtless to save money.
The sun was weak in the sky, but growing stronger every second as it climbed higher and higher as time passed. Dean rolled onto his side and swung his legs out over the side, leaving them dangling for a few moments, before pushing up and to his feet where he swayed tiredly.
Looking across at his brother, Dean smiled at the peaceful expression that rested on his face, the older Winchester knew of his brother's nightmares - how could he not - but last night seemed at least a mild one, if he could look like that in the morning.
Dean wasn't sure what time Matt had arrived at his house the night before, as both Sam and Dean had gone to bed not too long after their encounter with the grumpy angel. He had come back slightly after that to tell them their bedding and clothing arrangements, but left again to see friends. They hadn't properly had time to discuss what was happening, changing universe didn't exactly leave you bright eyed and bushy-tailed, so they'd slept at the earliest possible time, knowing that they were going to need to face this world head-on. For that they were going to need their strength.
Padding across the room in bare feet, Dean used the cold of the wooden floor to jolt himself awake further as he walked to the curtains. It was still very early in the morning, but the sun had intensified to an almost blinding degree when Dean threw open the curtains and let the light stream in.
It was Sam's turn to groan and roll this time, trying to shy away from the sun that chased away the shadows surrounding him. Dean laughed softly and picked up a pillow from his vacated bed, which he then tossed at Sam's retreating form.
It bounced off of his head and landed with a bump on the floor.
"Rise and shine, Sammy!" He sang, forcing the Kansas twang more strongly into his voice which deepened the tone. It was a phrase that he'd used before and employed often when attempting to get Sam out of bed in the mornings on the road and watched with satisfaction as Sam peeked through his hair at Dean.
It was no use, Sam's head fell back on the pillow almost instantly and he kicked the covers a little more to make them agreeable. Dean stood with a raised eyebrow until Sam gave a little sigh of annoyance and pulled himself into a sitting position. He knew Dean would stare at him until he became uncomfortable and was forced to concede to Dean's will. It was a tactic that he had begun very early on in Sam's life.
"What's the time?" He asked groggily, allowing his voice to adjust to being used again after it's long hiatus.
The clock ticked next to his head but he didn't look at it, he simply waited for Dean to offer an explanation to the rude awakening.
"8:37," His brother smiled, moving to the door and opening it. He peered into the hallway and picked a door that looked most likely to lead to a bathroom.
Sam watched him leave and decided that now was the best time to get up and throw some clothes on - the only ones they had were the ones from yesterday - while Dean was out of the room. He picked at the items of clothing that lay abandoned on top of an oak dresser opposite the beds, and found his, moving Dean's into a neat, folded pile in the mean time.
It didn't take long for Sam to pull on the clothes, deciding that he really, really needed to get clean clothes out of the Impala. It wasn't a nice feeling, knowing that you were wearing the same underwear as the previous day.
Dean didn't bother knocking as he came back into the room and Sam was thankful for a second that he hadn't taken any longer getting changed but he folded his pyjama trousers and lay them on the pillow neatly.
"We need to get some things from Baby today," Dean stated, running his tongue over his teeth with an uncomfortable expression, "I need my toothbrush."
"Agreed." Sam muttered, choosing not to elaborate on what he would like to get. Dean would come to the same conclusion when he put on his clothes.
The giant man made his way out of the room to allow Dean some time to change and, running his hands through his long locks, he made his way to the kitchen, following the noise of a spoon clinking in a bowl.
When he got there, Sam found Matt sitting at the table in his kitchen, looking like he was contemplating the existence of his cereal. As if it was a surprise to him that it was actually there.
"Morning," Sam greeted him as he pulled out a chair to sit down with him. Matt jumped violently and looked up suddenly before smiling and rubbing his face with one hand.
"Sorry, not paying attention this morning. Was the room okay?" The blonde lifted a spoonful to his mouth.
"Yeah, it was fine. It was really decent of you to let us stay here, man," Sam admitted, trying to decide whether he wanted breakfast or not. Matt looked up at him and seemed to remember that Sam didn't know where anything was.
"If you want something to eat, the toaster is over there," He gestured with his spoon at a metal cuboid in the corner of one kitchen counter, "Bread is in the freezer - that's the bottom of that cupboard there - and cereal is in those Tupperware boxes, the bowls in the cupboard above,"
Sam followed his gesturing but shook his head when Matt turned to see what he wanted.
"I'm not hungry, thanks. Dean might be though, but we don't want to impose and cause you any more hassle than we already have,"
"Don't worry about it, it's gotten lonely in this town without any hu-" Matt shoved some cereal into his mouth to prevent himself from finishing the sentence. Sam gave him a strange look that the blonde pretended not to have seen.
"What are you two going to do today?" Matt changed the subject.
"Explore more of the town," Dean said, entering the room dressed in the same shirt as the day before as well. Sam glanced at him, he had wanted to do some research on the town before they saw much more of it. Get some lore on the history of the area.
"Cool, well this morning I'm meeting some friends, so you know, just do whatever. If you're out all day then I'll be home sometime this afternoon, probably about five, and I'll let you back in. Do you mind not coming here in the day? I mean, I can't really just give you a key, I've only just met you and you've stayed here one night," More gesturing with his spoon.
The boys nodded, accepting his explanation.
"Do you have wi-fi? Or know of anywhere that does?" Sam asked, he would have to do some research at some point, even if not just yet.
"I don't have wi-fi, but the Grill has some for free. You're welcome to use that,"
"Thanks!"
Soon after, Matt left and Dean sat for breakfast, groaning at the lack of ones with chocolate in.
The Salvatore Boarding House loomed up in front of Matt as he drove up the driveway for, what was probably, the hundredth time in the last three weeks. Elena was driving them all insane and causing Matt to have to spend uncomfortable amounts of hours plotting with his friends. He hated plotting!
In the window, and from the amount of cars, Matt could see that Caroline and Bonnie had arrived before him and were standing in the grand living room.
Parking the car, Matt stepped onto the tarmac and trod his way into the house, not bothering to knock when he got to the door. He had achieved the privilege of being able to walk straight inside when his best friend had begun to murder people - he would have preferred to have a sane Elena and still have to knock, but it hadn't worked out like that.
"Matt," Stefan greeted him when he came into view around the archway leading to the lounge. Caroline and Bonnie smiled at him, but their smiles were forced and slightly pained. The reaction was not about him, Matt knew that, but he wished that Elena could be back with emotions so that he wouldn't have to see that expression covering his friend's faces.
It wasn't only Elena that made Caroline and Bonnie react that way, of course, there was Silas too, but she was a factor that made everything so much worse. They all needed her at times like this.
"We all agree on the decision, of what we're going to do to Elena, right?" It was Stefan again that spoke, the two girls remained silent, watching for Matt's answer.
"If you're talking about what we said we were going to do, then yeah. I sort of agree. I disagree that it's an ethical thing to do to a friend, but yes, do it," Matt admitted defeat. he had been against what they were planning to do to, or should he say for, Elena.
"She's not our friend anymore, Matt. The Elena that we know is dead right now. We'll get her back, but not until we get rid of the bitch that inhabits her body," Caroline piped up, folding her arms across her denim jacket and shrugging.
Bonnie nodded alongside, shooting Matt a sympathetic look.
"You know what I think, Stefan. It's the only solution. If you can do it, Elena can." The witch spoke, addressing only Stefan.
"Where's Damon?" Matt asked, noticing the absence of the disruptive vampire for the first time. In fact, he hadn't seen him in a while...
"He's keeping an eye on those two Winchester's," Stefan offered as explanation and Matt sighed. Of course, they weren't just going to let him have two humans around without surveillance, after all, they could hurt him or something. Because everyone knew that humans were the 'real' threat in Mystic Falls.
"Fine." He let it go for now, "So does everyone know what they're doing about Elena?"
The other three in the room nodded in agreement.
"Right," Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "Let's go catch us a vampire."
