Hello, my lovey readers. I finished writing this story so there will be new chapters every week for the next five weeks. And we finally get to see Stefan's love interest. On with the show…
Chapter 11: Until There was You
The day after the owner of the inn had been found dead, in her chair, in her tiny office, everyone was quieter than usual. Some of them had decided to stay in the front room while others headed upstairs to sleep. Stefan had been one of the people who had stayed up all night and was paying for it now. His head ached and he could not find his Aspirin in his luggage. Looking around the room, he spotted the bottle, sitting on top of Damon's nightstand.
"Damon, did you take my Aspirin?" Stefan called to his older brother who had been singing loudly in the shower.
"Huh?" Damon asked, coming out of the shower in a towel that barely stayed together on his hips. "Did you say something, Stef?" Damon asked, moving across the room to grab his clothes. Dropping the towel, Damon began to dress while Stefan stared at the ceiling.
"Did you take my Aspirin?" Stefan asked through clenched teeth.
Damon took a long moment before he replied. "Yeah. I had a killer hangover and I have to be at my best for a little breakfast get together with Elena and the Mikaelson's that Caroline orchestrated. She expects all of us to show up," Damon told Stefan, tapping him on the shoulder. "While we're out, you should buy me some more Aspirin, 'cause you're out, buddy."
Stefan felt the urge to kill his older brother when Caroline poked her head inside the room. "Hey, guys. We're ready to go whenever you are," she told them.
"I was planning on taking a shower," Stefan told her, hooking a thumb toward the bathroom when Hayley appeared beside Caroline.
"What's taking so long?" Hayley asked them. "I need coffee, like yesterday," she looked from one of her brothers to the other one.
"Come on, Stef. You've got no one to impress. Let's get out of here," Damon grabbed Stefan by the shoulders and propelled him out the room, ignoring the younger Salvatore's protests.
"Whose car are we taking?" Rebekah Mikaelson could be heard saying.
"I have more room in my mine," a tall, honey blonde haired woman told them.
"I call shot-gun!" Kol yelled.
"You do every single time, brother," Elijah sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, his irritation apparent until he saw Hayley. "Ah, there you are," he greeted her with a kiss and Caroline made a gagging noise while Damon joined her. Kol decided to add his own retching sounds.
"Enough!" Elijah yelled at them, causing Stefan's head to throb.
"Good morning, Stefan!" Katherine cried in his ear, kissing him on the cheek. "Are you ready to go?"
"You're not coming!" Damon shouted at Katherine while Stefan pressed his hands over his ears. Elena came out in the hall and she began to argue with Damon. Stefan felt happy he could not hear them.
After a couple of minutes, the group began to head downstairs. Everyone could not stop talking and Stefan wished he had his iPod with him on his way down the stairs. "I think I forgot something," he told them.
Turning around, Stefan ran back into the inn, which was now so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Literally. He entered his shared room with Damon and picked up Damon's iPod because he could not find his. Closing the door behind him, Stefan hurried back down the hallway, with his head down when he nearly ran into the girl who had been with the Mikaelson family. "Excuse me," Stefan said.
The woman smiled at him. "That's better than what your brother offered as an apology last night," she told him, folding her arms over her chest.
"Damon can be a bit of an ass," Stefan retorted with a smile.
The woman laughed. "I take that as an understatement." Her posture relaxed as she looked down the hall and then back at Stefan. "I don't think it's been this quiet since I arrived, late yesterday evening," she told him.
Stefan nodded. "It's usually pretty crazy here with my family and the Mikaelsons everywhere," he told her.
The woman smirked before extending a hand. "Freya Mikaelson," she said and Stefan shook his head. He should have known.
"So are you the older or younger sibling?" Stefan asked.
Freya smiled. "I'm the oldest but most people say that I look like I'm the same age as Niklaus," she told him.
"You do look really young," Stefan told her.
"Thank you. You're sweet," Freya murmured. "Well, I have to get down the hall and collect my keys before Kol hotwires my jeep, again. It was good to meet you…"
"Stefan Salvatore," Stefan said, remembering that he hadn't offered his name and feeling foolish.
"I suppose we'll see each other when we get to the diner," Freya remarked before heading down the hall.
Stefan could not stop smiling on his way out of the inn, all thoughts of painkillers far from his mind, until Damon slammed his hand on his car horn. "Get your ass in this car!" Damon shouted and Stefan sighed heavily. Getting into the car, he found the reason why Damon was in such a foul mood. Katherine sat with a smirk in the back of Damon's car while Elena sat in the passenger seat.
"Where's Care and Hayley?" Stefan asked.
Damon rolled his eyes and started the engine. "They decided to get a ride with the Mikaelsons. Something about more leg room. I think they didn't want to be stuck in the car with that." He pointed at Katherine with his thumb. She grinned.
"There were only two options and I don't really know the other people that well. Unlike your sisters. It seems that Caroline was getting to know Klaus Mikaelson really well last night," she said, leaning in between Damon and Elena. "If you get what I mean," she added.
"Katherine, shut up," Elena ordered her sister who fell back into her seat.
"So, Stefan, have you heard from the waitress yet?" Katherine asked, placing a hand on his leg and Stefan moved it back to her own leg while she pouted.
"No. Not really but we just met," Stefan told her while Katherine rolled her eyes.
"Some girls just don't know how to go in for the kill. Like Elena, who I heard was seen asleep on a couch in downstairs with Damon. Oh, how cute! Gag me!" Katherine stuck her finger down her throat.
"With pleasure," Damon snarled.
"Damon!" Elena protested.
"Elena!" Damon snapped back, turning to widen his eyes at her with a smirk.
"Eyes on the road!" Stefan yelled at this brother.
"Jesus!" Damon cried, swerving around a packed SUV. "That was close."
"Maybe I should take the wheel. I know how to drive almost any stick shift," Katherine told them and Damon sneered at her in the rearview mirror while Stefan felt another, longer-lasting headache, coming on.
"Oh, please, just get us there is one piece," Stefan moaned.
Katherine peered at him. "Are you okay, Stefan? Would you like me to massage your temples?" She didn't give him the opportunity to protest before she yanked his head into her lap and began to rub. "How does that feel? Nice, right?"
"It probably feels like a snake slithering over his skin," Damon replied for his brother before braking suddenly, sending Stefan's head into Elena's seat.
"Ouch," Stefan moaned, clutching his head as he got out of the car.
"Oh, Stefan, let me kiss it and make it all better!" Katherine cried when Damon grabbed her and set her down beside her sister, giving Stefan the opportunity to run into the diner. When he entered, he got a sense of déjà vu but he couldn't remember why until a pair of hands closed over his eyes.
"Guess who?" a voice sang in his ear.
"Liv!" Stefan replied with a smile.
Liv grinned when he turned to look down at her. "Twice in one week, I must be a very lucky girl or you're stalking me," she teased with a grin.
"He's not stalking you," Katherine snarled, coming to stand beside Stefan and looping her arm through his.
Stefan's eyes widened when Liv's hardened. "Oh, good, you, again," she sighed. "Well, you can take a seat… wherever, and I'll get you some menus." Wasting no time, Liv stalked off and Stefan deflated.
"Who is the hot chick?" Damon asked, throwing an arm around Stefan's shoulders and yanking him away from Katherine's grasp.
"She's a waitress. Just in case you didn't notice the, oh, so, obvious, as usual, Damon," Katherine snarked from behind them. "Or did you think that was a Halloween costume? And the only woman you're supposed to be calling hot is 'lena. Or me, because, well, I am."
"Maybe in your dreams," Damon snarled. "Okay. We need to move these tables," he moved to help Kol shove tables together so they were in one, big group.
Stefan found himself sitting across from Freya Mikaelson who smirked back at him. When Katherine plopped down next to him, Stefan wished he could find a hiding place. Damon sat to his right with Elena beside him. Klaus and Rebekah flanked their older sister with Marcel to Rebekah's left. Caroline sat to Klaus' right and Kol came to sit beside Katherine to her left. Hayley and Elijah found seats beside Elena's and Caroline's right sides.
Liv came over with five glasses of water and then paused when she took in the many people sitting at the tables. "I'm going to have to get more of these," she said.
"Take your time!" Katherine called after her.
"Stop being such a bitch," Damon snarled at Katherine.
"Don't call my sister a bitch, Damon!" Elena snapped at him with a frown. "Even if she is one."
Katherine smirked when Liv set a glass of water in front of her. "Sorry, Livie. It looks like this will be one party you won't be crashing," the brunette said as she flung an arm around Stefan.
Liv just rolled her eyes before taking down their orders. "I will have extra bacon with waffles and a cup of coffee with extra creamer," Kol told her.
"Kol, that's not good for your heart," Freya protested.
"Having so many gorgeous ladies around me is not good for my heart either," Kol retorted before turning to smile up at Liv who shook her head at him.
"Scrambled eggs with toast and a glass of O. J.," Klaus ordered.
"Cereal with skim milk, thank you," Freya told Liv.
Caroline skipped ordering yet in favor of talking to Klaus. Damon's hand shot up. "I'll take a blueberry pancakes with whip cream made into a smiley face with a side of bacon and a glass of milk."
"I'll have the same," Elena said with smile at Damon.
Marcel ordered a short stack with sausage, a side of yogurt and a glass of milk. Rebekah ordered the yogurt and fresh fruit with a blueberry muffin. Elijah ordered toast with an order of eggs over easy, hash browns, a side of bacon and a glass of milk while Freya rolled her eyes. Hayley ordered a bowl of fruit with toast, yogurt, bacon and a glass of milk. Caroline finally made up her mind and asked for buttermilk pancakes with a bowl of fruit.
"And what can I get you?" Liv asked Stefan.
Stefan looked down at his menu. "I'll get what Caroline asked for, with bacon, and a cup of black coffee. Thanks." He nodded toward his sister so Liv would know who he meant and then handed over his menu and he tried not to scream when Katherine placed her hand on his knee. Why is it that some people did not get that friends, did not mean friends with benefits?
"Okay," Liv smiled and then walked behind the counter. When she came back out, she had taken off her apron and was headed toward the front door.
"Hey, where's our food?" Katherine yelled at her.
"It's cooking and my shift ended. Have a nice life," Liv called back, waving.
"Wait!" Kol nearly fell on his face running after the waitress who was trying to leave. "Going so soon!" he shouted after her.
Freya grinned, looking at something through the windows. Stefan turned to see Liv walking, toward a car across the parking lot, and Kol chasing her down, his arms waving frantically. They couldn't tell what the two were saying to each other but Liv waved toward the building and Kol kept waving his arms around. After a couple of minutes, Kol and Liv returned. "She decided to have breakfast with us anyway," Kol told them gleefully, pulling out the last seat, to his left while Katherine snorted her derision.
"Figures," Katherine muttered.
"What was that?" Liv asked, leaning over Kol who seemed pleased that she was so close to him.
"I said that figures," Katherine snapped while Damon began to grin.
"What is your problem?" Liv asked Katherine. "What? Do you have a problem with people who don't get every damned thing they want in life, princess?"
"You little!" Katherine got up and Liv got up, too.
Damon began to rub his hands together. "My money is on the blonde," he said.
"What is going on here?" a voice cried and Stefan's head whipped upward to see a wary looking brunette with icy blue eyes coming around the counter. "Is there a problem?" she demanded, looking at them all and then she just stood there while Stefan continued to stare at her in shock.
"Mom?" Stefan said quietly.
"Mother!" Damon cried out, looking like someone had punched him.
"Now that is a blast from the past," Katherine said with a grin. "Hey, Mrs. Salvatore. How is life on the run with… what was his name… Julian? Did he bail on you?"
"Shut up, Katherine," Elena snapped at her sister.
"Hey, I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking," Katherine muttered loudly when Stefan jerked her back into her seat.
"I'll go check on your order," Lily said, looking dazed as she went back behind the counter.
"Lily never said she had kids," Liv told them.
Damon's expression closed off. "Maybe that's because she forgot about us when she was so busily taking everything in our father's vault and running off with her boyfriend."
"That's probably it. I know if I had you for a kid, I would have split," Katherine announced, earning a glare from Stefan. "Sorry, but it's true. Damon is not someone that any woman could deal with for too long before up and running."
"Screw you, Katherine!" Damon yelled. Getting to his feet, he walked out of the diner. Stefan got up along with Elena, Caroline and Hayley. The four of them followed Damon out to the parking lot where he kicked a tire rim of his car and screamed in pain. "Damn it!"
"Damon!" Elena yelled, going to grab him before he fell over. Stefan helped Elena so that Damon could sit on the hood of his car.
"What the hell is that?" Damon asked, gesturing to the diner. "We don't see her in forever, and then, poof, there she is, like freakin' Santa Claus, only not as welcome. What next? Hayley's real parents will show up? Caroline's dad will turn out to be straight? Oh, what other kinds of miracles can be bestowed on us?" he asked the sky before letting out a growl. "This is bullshit!" "Damon, don't you at least want to hear her side of things?" Stefan asked his brother who shook his head.
"What side could she have? She abandoned us for some guy, Stef. That's all I need to know." Damon shook his head. "I'm going back to the inn."
"What about your food?" Elena protested. "The smiley face pancakes?"
"Do I look like I'm in the mood for happy-go-lucky food to you, Elena?" Damon snapped harshly. "I'm going." He slid off the hood and got into the car.
"I'm coming with you," Elena shouted.
"No, you're not," Damon shouted back when Elena opened the passenger side door and slid inside the car.
Stefan and Hayley took a step back when Damon gunned the engine and took off. Stefan ran a hand through his hair. Looking back, he found Freya Mikaelson watching him before she flushed and turned back to her sister.
Re-entering the diner, Stefan found that Katherine had taken Elena's old seat and was flirting with Klaus while Caroline glared at her, twirling her un-used fork between her fingers. Liv seemed to be engrossed in a conversation about Voodoo with Kol.
Looking at his plate, Stefan found that his pancakes were smiling back at him. He got to his feet and excused himself before he walked up to the counter. "Excuse me," he called to his mother who turned to him with a shy smile.
"Hello, Stefan, what can I do for you?" Lily asked.
"Could I get the check?" Stefan replied curtly.
Lily's face drained of color. "Right. Yes. Of course," she replied. "Will there be anything else, sir?"
"Yes, could I get a couple of containers and glasses for my brother and his girlfriend, they left early," Stefan told her.
"That was Damon's girlfriend?" Lily asked while ringing up the order. She glanced up at Stefan.
"Yes," Stefan nodded. "Her name is Elena," he added.
"Elena. What a lovely name for a lovely girl. Are they happy?" she asked.
Stefan wanted to tell her to ask Damon herself but he kept his mouth shut. "They are. Finally. Damon's had trouble in the past but I think he's trying to be happy now."
"That's very good and the other people, they're your friends?" she asked, glancing at the group.
"Yes and no. The blonde, over there. That's Caroline. Dad married her mom. And the brunette who's laughing, that's Hayley, they adopted her when we were young. They're my sisters," Stefan stated. "They're my family."
Lily's jaw set when Stefan took the bill. "Are you happy, Stefan?"
"I try to be," Stefan told her. Walking back to the table, he sat down and ate, trying to concentrate on the conversations and the fact that Liv offered him and anyone else who needed one, a ride back to the inn. Scratching out his cell number and the name and address of the inn, Stefan pulled out a hundred dollar bill and placed it under a plate before heading up to pay. "Here," he said to Lily. She looked at the back of the bill and read it before looking at him with a smile as he paid. "It was good to see you, mom."
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing. J
Peace,
Jessica