AN: Finally, the next chapter of Elena's anger, but I'm afraid I'm gonna leave all you Damon&Elena lovers hanging a little bit more… Since I left Damon and Elena deeply gazing into each other's eyes, and went to sneak a peek in Stefan's room… What happened there managed to surprise even me! I hope you're still liking this story though!
Remember that Stefan is still under the misapprehension that it was Damon who came on to Elena while she was pretending to be Katherine…
Stefan was sitting on his bed, wearing only his jeans, his face buried in his hands. He rubbed his eyes. How had it come to this? Here he was, hiding out in his own room… Hiding from his brother, hiding from Katherine and most of all, hiding from his own girlfriend…
He was hiding from Elena because he was afraid to face her. He feared the disillusionment he would see in her eyes after the kiss that had been so much more than a kiss… the kiss that had betrayed him… that had told Elena all about his repressed feelings for Katherine… It was a betrayal he felt in his heart… a betrayal that had allowed his brother to slip past Elena's defenses at last…
He was also hiding from Elena because he was scared of himself if he were to face her now … scared of what he might do if … no, when he got angry … because vampires were nothing if not territorial, and she had definitely crossed a line… with his own brother, his depraved older brother… Anger at Elena's infidelity bubbled beneath the surface, even if what had happened wasn't so much her own fault as it must be Damon's … for seducing Elena when she was vulnerable…
It was what he'd been afraid of for quite some time now… ever since he'd known about Damon's true feelings for her… He had been expecting Damon to try and put the moves on Elena, and now Katherine's ploy had made it so easy for Damon to offer consolation to his devastated girlfriend like a good brother would, and then to take it further!
Only his motives weren't that honorable, were they? Stefan knew that Damon had wanted Elena for himself for a long time now, and it seemed she had finally given in to him… Well, it wasn't that mindboggling, really… Damon had always been a lady-killer, capable of smooth-talking his way into the affections of any woman he chose (ironically, apart from Katherine, the only woman he had ever really wanted before Elena…)!
So where did that leave him and Elena? What did it mean for their relationship? Could she ever forgive him? Could he ever forgive her? Did he even want to?
He groaned and rubbed his eyes again. Why did they feel as if tears were burning behind them? He hadn't cried in as long as he could remember…
A slight sound at the door made him look up. He realized he should have gone to the woods, because he really didn't feel like he could face anybody right now. Katherine poked her head in, and quickly followed with the rest of her. Or was it Elena again? Stefan eyed her warily.
"Which one are you?" He asked, just to be on the safe side. He wasn't going to be played for a fool again!
Katherine pursed her lips, "Please, Stefan! Can't you tell? It's me, the one who loves you more than you deserve…"
Stefan frowned, and said, "Katherine!"
Katherine smiled slightly, eyeing his bare chest with barely concealed desire, "Right on the first try, my love. Now why would you expect Elena? I've a feeling that she might still be somewhat angry with you…"
Stefan shrugged, and Katherine's eyes avidly watched the muscles rippling under his tattooed skin. He had quite a well-built body for a seventeen-year old, she mused, and almost missed Stefan saying resignedly, "That's exactly why I was expecting her. I know her. She's going to want to talk to me about all of this…"
Katherine was silent for a moment. Then a look of compassion snuck into her eyes, and she said quietly, "I don't think you should expect Elena to be looking for you at the moment…"
"What do you mean?" Stefan asked, a hint of premonition sneaking up on him.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Katherine didn't know why she wanted to spare Stefan's feelings when she should be rubbing his nose in! It was just that when she'd come in he'd been looking so lost, so dejected, that she wanted to go easy on him…
Stefan looked determined and slightly angry, "Yes! If you know something, you might as well tell me. Isn't that what you came to do anyway? Rub my nose in?"
Unconsciously, he repeated her own thoughts, and she decided to tell him, because she didn't think he saw the whole picture yet. "Okay then, but don't stake the messenger! Elena is otherwise occupied at the moment… she's consoling herself with Damon…"
Stefan jumped up and made for the door, "Damon! What's he doing now? I should think he has done enough already!"
Katherine stopped Stefan from rushing out by putting a hand against his chest, but Stefan pushed back hard, snarling, "Let me go, Katherine! Even if Elena and I are on the outs for the moment, I still owe it to her to protect her from Damon's unwanted advances!"
Katherine effectively blocked Stefan's exit by standing in front of the door. Impatiently she told him, "That's where you're wrong, Stefan! The way I saw it, she didn't need any protection because the advances weren't exactly unwanted… unless it was on Damon's side, since it was Elena who was trying her best to seduce him…"
Stefan slammed Katherine against the door. "You're lying, Katherine! Elena would never do that!"
Katherine allowed Stefan to push her up against the door, his elbow on her throat. That look of compassion was in her eyes again, although it was mixed with a little contempt this time … for Elena? Or for him?
Katherine sighed and said, "Stefan, how can you be so blind? Didn't you notice that your girlfriend has been falling in love with your brother right under your nose?"
"You're wrong! She doesn't love him! He might love her but she's always just wanted to be his friend!" Stefan said desperately.
Katherine shook her head, "Oh, my poor delusional Stefan! I accused Elena of clinging to you as her security blanket, but now there's you too! You really want to tell me that you never noticed those lingering looks they keep casting at each other when they think no one's watching?"
"No…" Stefan's arm slowly slid away from Katherine's throat, and he let her slide down. "Damon is in love with her, I know that. I know that's why he stays … because he wants to save her!"
Katherine stayed where she was, right in front of Stefan. She took his head between her hands when he tried to turn away from her, and said softly, "Just like she wants to save him, Stefan! And not just his life… although I know she did that too several times, even if you don't. She wants to really save him, make him a better man!"
Stefan pulled away from Katherine abruptly. He groaned as if in agony, and slammed his fist into the wall. Hard. Little bits of plaster rained down on Katherine's head, and stuck in her hair.
Deep down, Stefan knew that Katherine was right… Elena was in love with his brother… Elena was making out with his brother right now… He'd been so sure that it would never be Elena who would initiate something like that; that it would always be Damon. It was just not like her… But things were different if she really was in love with Damon…
Admittedly he had been all too aware of her growing attraction for Damon, but he didn't think she'd ever acknowledge those feelings to herself. He had been expecting Damon to try and seduce Elena, but Damon hadn't even had to do that, had he? Because Elena had come to him all by herself… and in the end it was all Stefan's own fault! He had made just one fatal mistake… one single kiss bestowed on the wrong girl! And he knew exactly where to place the blame for that…
He turned back towards Katherine, fangs descending and veins popping out underneath his eyes. The fully extended fangs gave him a slight lisp when he growled at Katherine, "This is all your fault! If you hadn't put her up to that stupid game of pretending to be you, this would never have happened! You're going to pay for this!"
Katherine's eyes widened for a second, but then she smiled victoriously, and said in a low voice, "Oh, yes, Stefan! You should definitely make me pay! I can take it… and we both know where it's going to end!" She cast a furtive look at the bed…
AN: So, I think you can all see quite clearly what's going to go down here… but Katherine and Stefan didn't feel like waiting for me to leave! So here's my question: I actually wrote the sequel to this scene, but it will mean bumping up the rating of this story to M… Do you want it or not? Please let me know… ;)