I'm actually not going to rant for once. I fucking hate VD and I won't waste my breath or my word count on it. Julie Plec is a hack and I'll leave it at that. Fake ass writer. My clipped fingernail writes characters better than she does.

Chapter 25 – How To Be A RipperBreaker

"Room service."

Opening the steel door that creaked so loudly I cringed, I slipped my body into the old cellar that sat beneath the Salvatore Boardinghouse. A small lightbulb dangled by a few corroding wires, casting a dim glow into the already eerie prison. Shivering from the draft that slithered into the room, I closed the door behind me and sealed myself in with a vampire whose mood would be up for determination.

"You know, it was always you who was chained and gagged in my imagination." Stefan's weakened voice groaned as I made my presence known. He sat helplessly in a metal chair welded to a floor that was in desperate need of sweeping. Shackles and cuffs bound his legs and arms to the chair in order to prevent him from escaping. Houdini himself wouldn't have been able to get out of the room. "But this works too."

Patting him on his head, my fingers trailing through the lush strands of his hair, I gave Stefan a grin so chastising, Gin Ichimaru would've been unsettled. "Still fantasizing about me are we, Oh Ripper One?"

Rule number one – taunt him.

"Guilty." Sweat gripped his skin, refusing to move even an inch. Fingernail marks clawed into the arms of the chair as if Stefan foolishly tried to pry himself out. I hated seeing him like this – caged like a rabid animal. "Have we been returning the favor?"

"Not at all."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" he said incredulously, a half cough half laugh following. "You wanted me before any of this happened and didn't do anything because I was with Elena. Now that I'm not-"

"I still won't be doing anything because you're out of your mind." I waved off the dust cascading in the room like snowflakes. "I don't have relationships with vampires who are CooCoo for Cocoa Puffs."

"And I don't have relationships with neurotic messes who are so insecure they can barely cope in public." Ouch, that was a good one. And by the grim smile on his face, I think Stefan knew he got me. "But alas, here I stand, well... sit, willingly and ready to fuck you hard whenever you ask."

This was gonna be a bit harder than what I expected. The monkey's fist knot in my stomach let me know that.

I removed my jacket because of how hot and stuffy it was in the room. I even ignored the other overtly sexual comments Stefan made as I took it off too. "You haven't eaten in three days, you must be hungry."

That's how long it'd been since I last saw Stefan. Three days ago. Damon too for that matter. I still needed to talk to him about what transpired between him and Elena after I left. Not that I was being nosy or anything, I just wanted to know what her decision was.

"And you're here to alleviate all of that? Back for round two, I see. And so soon."

"I only did that to trick you," I smacked my lips and it echoed a lot louder than what I thought it would've.

"I'm sure that was part of it, but it's undeniable that you wanted it." He wasn't buying into my words. Hell, there was part of me that doubted myself too. "I'd be able to tell if you were faking, sweetheart. Some things you just can't slip past a vampire. So tell me, as your first, how did I do in popping your cherry."

Ugh, I didn't have to explain myself to him or listen to his bullshit. Maybe I did want it, maybe there was a part of me that even loved the fact that Stefan wanted me in such a primal way, but he needed help and that was all I cared about. Not the stupid love squares, not my ego, the only thing I cared about was making sure Stefan came out of this with his humanity intact.

Reaching into my purse, I pulled out a blood bag for the starving vampire. "Here. Animal blood only."

Moving the only body part he could, Stefan jerked his head away as I tried to feed him."You think I'm going to eat that after having tasted you? I'd rather starve."

Prideful imbecile.

He didn't even know what I had to do to get this squirrel blood either!

"So that's a no to the animal blood." I tossed the blood to the floor. I'd be leaving it there after I left too. Just as something to endlessly taunt him and drive him to feel some kind of emotion. "Fine, I'll give you a vial of human blood."

"Under the pretenses that..."

Rule number two – bait him.

"You answer all my questions. Truthfully."

"Sounds dangerous. Fine. But I want a vial per question."

"Deal," I said quickly before he went and changed his wishy-washy mind. He didn't know what he just himself into. "What's your favorite sex position?"

"Let me out, bend over, and I'll show you."

"I was joking. Sheesh."

"You asked."

Filthy Stefan. When he was back to his normal self I was gonna fuck with him about this.

Placing my hands onto his clammy ones, I centered myself. Every feeling, sensation, and thought that belonged to me perished as I channeled as much of Stefan's energy as I could. I wanted to feel everything he felt. I wanted to get inside his cloudy head and poke around in there. That way I could know if he were lying or not. This type of thing required consent and had he refused, none of this would've been possible.

"Were you really going to kill all those people if Damon and I didn't find you in the school?"

"Yes," he said without any hesitation.

He wasn't lying. That night he was hoping we didn't find him so he could kill everyone. Matt, Tyler, Bonnie, Elena, everyone. He'd cooled off since then though. Starvation made him want something to drink and he didn't care who it was.

"Do you think Damon likes Elena?"

"No."

Lie. He knew that Damon loved her.

"Do you think Damon likes me?"

"No."

Lie. He thought that Damon loved me too. Whatever.

"Do you like me?"

"Yes."

"Enough to be in a relationship with me?"

"Yes."

"More than Elena?"

"Yes."

I tried not to let my emotions sweep over me as Stefan told nothing but the truth, I had to keep a clear mind, but how was I supposed to react to finally being wanted wholeheartedly? There was no more Elena as far as Stefan was concerned and he was over her and he had been for a long ass time. Not only that, but he'd been putting his feelings over me at bay for just as long. He wasn't feeding me bullshit when he told me he was moving on.

I ripped away all the wings of the butterflies in my stomach and continued on. I didn't want to, but it was for his own good.

"How did Elena cheating on you make you feel?"

Stefan tried to snatch himself from me even though we both knew he wasn't going anywhere. Heat spiked in his temperature and I could barely see his eyes and the turned to slits. "I'm not answering that."

He was angry. Good. At least I was getting something.

"We made a deal."

"I thought these were yes or no questions," he said, deliberately trying to escape a question that he dreaded answering. Him answering meant opening himself up. Opening himself up meant turning his humanity back on.

And his desperation for blood was ultimately going to make him do it whether he wanted to or not.

"Fine. Did Elena's betrayal hurt you?"

"Yes."

"Badly?"

"What the fuck do you want from me? Of course it hurt me badly."

"Enough to make you turn your humanity off?"

"Enough to make me wish I'd just let her drown three years ago."

His chest heaved and caved from his panting. His bit down on his lips to prevent anymore confessions from tumbling out. The look in his eyes was no longer that cold and apathetic glaze he held onto as of lately. No, his sage eyes were singed with fear, hurt, and an unfathomable amount of remorse. He hated what he was putting himself through, but couldn't bear facing everything that'd happened to him.

"Is there a part of you that wants your humanity back on?"

"I'm done, I want my blood." Trying to get ahold of himself, Stefan pretended as if he were still the same man I'd first talked to.

"Answer the question and you'll get them," I promised.

"Yes, there is a part of me that wants to turn my humanity back on."

"But you don't want to because that means confronting everything." Removing my hands from his, they found a new place against his cheeks. I'd found out all I needed to know, there wasn't a reason for me to continue to infiltrate his mind. "Listen to me, don't let what Elena did dictate who you are. You're fine and we'll get through this together. I promise.

"Whatever you say, Dr. Phil," he sighed and I hoped my words resonated. "Can I have my blood now?"

If he didn't want to listen to me then, then he'd surely listen now.

"No."

Rule number three – Break him.

"No?"

"I'm not giving you shit. You're going to rot in here until you man up."

That was the plan anyway. Why would he be so stupid to think I'd give him human blood? Hello, he had an addiction to it? I already had to do it once, it wasn't going to happen again.

Again, he tried breaking free of his shackles. Only this time it was out of extreme rage. He wanted to fuck me up right about now. From the growling, to his protruding fangs, Ripper Stefan was maaaaaad.

Which would turn into angst when he was all alone and had nothing to do but reflect on everything.

And angst led to confronting your demons.

"I am going to drink from your slut of a sister as you watch. You think you can save someone? You can't even save your fucking family. You're a worthless-"

"Awww, look at all those feels," I cooed like he was a cute newborn. "Did I wupset the wipper?"

More insults and swears poured out of his mouth and I loved every single one of them. He was going to get better and I'd say he'd be getting better soon.

I left Stefan screaming after me, begging me to stay and give him something to eat.

Hmm... I wonder what was going to happen between the two of us after his humanity was back on?

For once things were looking up.

C . B . D

A very meh chapter to me. Didn't like how I described Lea being able to feel what Stefan felt, but I'm not going to be able to edit or write for a little bit and I don't want to take too long to update.

I like Stefan when he's roaming free and being malevolent, I don't know how things are gonna go when and if he turns his humanity back on.

Question: Should Stefan turn his humanity back on?

Next Chapter: I don't know. Y'all can tell me what y'all want if you wanna.