The doorbell rang.
Instantly, Stefan sat straight up and shuffled to his feet, a bright, hopeful smile curling on his dry lips. He glanced over at the clock: 7 am. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, and he hadn't slept at all. How could he? He'd spent the past hours listening to whatever music he could find–it turned out that he was a fan of Bon Jovi—and envisioning exactly what Katherine would look like. When he had called and explained his situation to Katherine, he distinctly remembered the sound of her voice; it had been dark, sultry, inviting… and oddly familiar. He imagined a slender face and wide lips, big, blue eyes and maybe auburn hair that landed at her hips, flaring out at the bottoms like individual flames. Whoever Katherine was, he was well aware of one thing from his journal entries; this girl was beautiful and cosmic and powerful enough to shake the earth.
The polar opposite of Elena Gilbert.
And he was ready.
Stefan quickly ran his hands along his shirt, smoothing it out. As he ran down the stairs, he pushed his fingers through his hair to give it enough volume. Apparently, girls liked volume. Or, at least, Elena liked volume.
He caught himself and tried to stop thinking about her.
Stefan stopped fixing his hair.
Nervously, Stefan placed his hand on the doorknob, preparing himself for whatever was on the other side. As Elena had told him earlier that day, he was about to jump off of the figurative cliff.
And so, before he could change his mind, Stefan opened the door and…
Elena was standing there?
His jaw nearly hit the floor as he looked her over. She was flat out sexy, leaning against the doorway like she owned the place, like she owned him. Dressed in a tight, black top and even tighter jeans, she was… breathtaking. Her eyes were burning into his –she was completely eye-level now, thanks to the stiletto heels she was wearing—and Stefan had to remind himself to breathe. He had to suppress a smirk of his own as he looked her over once more. She had changed her mind. She'd gotten dressed up at seven in the morning and there was no doubt in his mind that it was for him.
Stefan stuttered a few times before he could get a single word out, and when he did, all that he managed to say was, "Wow. Elena. You look…"
She smirked, and he had to restrain himself from staring at her lips. "Can I come in, Stefan?"
Practically drooling, he nodded, stepping aside for her to enter. He heard her heels click across the threshold and watched her enter, completely enthralled by her poise. "Hey," he finally said. "About what happened today—"
She cut him off by placing a finger to his lips. "Shhh." He complied, and she started leaning closer, and his temperature rose about tenfold. His mind was foggy; she'd never had this kind of effect on him before. He was almost taken off guard. The air in the room with Elena was usually less thick… it wasn't worse or better than what was happening right now… just different. He then remembered who he'd been waiting for moments ago, and the realization crashed over him in a moment of clarity.
Right before her sultry lips met his, Stefan whispered, unsure but defiant, "You're not Elena."
Surprised but never one to lose her smooth composure, Katherine took a step back and laughed, her eyes still glued to his. "Even when you can't remember anything, you can still recognize me, Stefan." She smirked, running her long, slender fingers through her luscious, curly hair. A surge of disappointment rushed through Stefan at her confirmation. Was he really expecting Elena to show up and choose him over his brother? He should have been angry at Katherine for her deception, but for some odd reason, he was too spellbound by her appearance to care. Her brown eyes shone with faux innocence, giving him a strange rush. "I'm Katherine." Even the way she said her name made his body quake with want.
Overwhelmed by her, Stefan swallowed. "I'm… uh… Stefan."
She laughed again, making her way even closer to him with a confident sway in her hips, a sway that Elena hadn't quite mastered. "I know." She grinned, a smile that was all red lips and white teeth. Katherine slowly placed her palm over Stefan's beating heart, her eyelids heavy as she concentrated on her movement. "We've met."
He swallowed nervously, looking down at Katherine's hand. "I know. I'm—"
"You're human?"
Stefan nodded quickly. "I am."
She finally raised her gaze to meet his again, and a sense of intimidation flooded through Stefan's body. It finally dawned on him just how powerful this woman before him was, how experienced… "It's like 1864 all over again," she observed with a smirk. "We're going to have so much fun together."
"Slow down! Wait, let me get this straight." Caroline was sitting at a picnic table, waving her hands back and forth like a lunatic. Her blue eyes were glimmering from the sunlight and also from the exciting information her best friend had just given her. "He kissed you, you freaked out and broke up with Damon and…"
Elena sighed and clasped her fingers together, staring down at them. "I'm going to tell him everything. I want to make things right. I love him, Caroline." Elena smiled to herself at the thought of reuniting with Stefan after their mini-eternity apart.
Caroline let out a squeal that hardly sounded human, jumping up and down a little bit to exemplify her joy. "It's about time you got your head straight! But I mean he just kissed you? Like it was nothing?"
Elena smiled modestly and nodded.
"That is the sweetest thing ever!" Then, the blond grew serious. "When you tell him about everything that happened though, he might need some time."
Sighing, Elena looked down. "I know. I just have to hope that eventually we'll find our way back to each other. And if we don't, we don't, I guess."
Caroline rolled her eyes, dramatically hitting the table. "That will not happen. He loves you more than anything! He's your epic love."
"Loved. He loved me more than anything." Elena bit her lip, her chest suddenly feeling heavier. "I don't know if he'll ever love me the way he used to." And, damn, did the truth in those words hurt. Because she knew, just like she knew that the sky was blue, that the "epic love" that was once Stefan and Elena would never be the same.
But none of that mattered now. Even if he couldn't love her, she would love him. She'd love him enough for the both of them.
"Speaking of Stefan," Elena said, looking behind her at the parking lot, hoping to spot his red Porsche, "Have you seen him today? I was hoping I'd talk to him."
Caroline sighed. "Nope. I don't think he showed up."
The strangest sense of apprehension and dread filled Elena's entire body.
Katherine stretched out on the leather couch that rested in the middle of the Salvatore mansion's parlor. Had it always been this comfy? She grinned to herself contently and watched as Stefan poured her a glass of bourbon. Poor thing, his hands were shaking like crazy. He nearly missed the glass!
When he approached her and handed her the glass, Katherine brushed her fingers against his for a moment too long. She took note of the way his lips quickly parted so he could let out the breath he'd been holding. She smirked to herself, loving the effect she had on him. It had been a long time since Stefan had looked at her like that, and by a long time, she meant over a century. And she was enjoying every minute of it. "So," she said casually. "Now you know why I look like Elena. I've answered your questions. Time for me to do the asking. Why did you call me?"
Stefan took a seat in the chair farthest away from her, averting his gaze. "I read about you in one of my journals. And I had this dr—I've been feeling like something, maybe someone, was missing." He bit his lip. "It's hopeless, I know, but, um, I was kind of hoping that it was you."
Katherine raised her eyebrows. This day had just gotten much more interesting. Not only was Stefan vulnerable and lacking memories, but he also wanted to rekindle his old flame with her? Now that was definitely something she was capable of doing. Sitting up, she eyed him, her gaze intense. "You were acting awfully intimate when you thought I was Elena."
Stefan shook his head, forcing a sad smile. "Something happened with her, but whatever it was, it's over. She's a friend. I think maybe whatever I felt for her was…"
He trailed off when Katherine began to saunter over to him. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders and licked her lips slowly, in that enticing way where he had no other choice but to watch. "Because of me? Whatever you felt for her was because she looks like me."
Katherine noticed the way Stefan's chest expanded, the way his eyes got a little wider. "Yeah, maybe…" As he spoke, she pulled herself onto his lap, her thighs on both sides of his hips. He gasped, and she simply smiled, caressing his timid and unsure face.
"Well, Stefan," Katherine began, trailing her nails against the inside of his forearm with just enough pressure to make his eyelids a bit heavier in relaxation. "I have to say, you and I have not been getting along recently. In fact, when we last left off, you said you hated me."
Craving Katherine's fiery contact and aching to feel something other than whatever it was he felt for Elena, Stefan breathed out, "Maybe I lied."
She leaned closer, and he knew that she was teasing now. "Maybe you didn't."
Stefan clenched his jaw; this woman's body was a weapon and she knew it. Katherine was alluring and consuming and the most irrational part of him wanted to lose himself in all of it. If Katherine Pierce's body was fire, then maybe he'd endure the burns. He wanted to feel the burn of her kiss, feel it just like he'd felt in his dream.
"I don't feel hate towards you now," he responded steadily.
Katherine leaned so close that he could feel her tempting, hot breath tickling his lips. "What do you feel, Stefan?" She was playing with him, seeing just how far he would go, and he hated how much control she had over him. And when she closed her eyes, Stefan closed his and waited for the wildfire to erupt.
She kissed him, and it was definitely not lacking in passion and lust. Stefan reached up and gripped her face roughly, trying to pull her closer. In this moment, he was a drowning man, so close to reaching the surface of the water. And although he was well aware of the immense heat radiating through every nerve, Stefan's mind and heart were elsewhere. No matter how roughly his lips collided with Katherine's, how close he held her or how heated the moment got, the sense of love from his dream… it was not there. In his dream, the girl had given him a quick rush replete with passion, love, lust, accomplishment, pride, and acceptance. Kissing Katherine felt like a cheap cop-out.
Stop thinking, he thought to himself, and he pulled Katherine a little closer, briefly distracted by the heat of her body against his. Desire surged between them. Maybe if he kissed her hard enough, held her close enough, the intensity of their moment would distract him. Maybe, just maybe, the love he so desperately craved would eventually surface. Although giving into the heat was easy, he couldn't shake the emptiness inside of his chest. Stefan finally realized that he was digging for a treasure that was nowhere to be found.
When Katherine had first walked into his life again, Stefan was not experiencing love. He had been experiencing delusional teenage lust. So, finally, he pulled away, breathless and dissatisfied.
The chiming of the doorbell echoed through the house, snapping them both out of the panting haze they were both in. Stefan turned his head to the door.
"Let them ring," Katherine turned his head back around and went in for another steamy kiss. Suddenly feeling tired and dirty, Stefan gently pushed her away and made his way to the door.
With a small sigh, Stefan opened the main doors and was met with Elena's soft brown eyes. A sense of happiness rushed through his veins at the sight of her, and his heart started to beat again.
This was what Elena was supposed to look like. She was dressed in flaring blue jeans and converse and a long-sleeve t-shirt… and she was beautiful. She didn't need stilettos or heavy makeup; she just needed to be Elena. And suddenly, for the first time all day, he felt good, all because Elena Gilbert, the real Elena Gilbert, was standing on his doorstep. They exchanged gentle smiles, but Stefan was puzzled when her gentle demeanor soon changed. Her expression transformed into something much more tense when she stared at his chest, so Stefan looked down too. Dear god, Katherine had ripped the top of his shirt open. His hair was a mess too…
"Elena," he pleaded, not quite sure exactly how to tell her about what he'd been up to all day.
She looked at him, waiting for an explanation. Just as Stefan opened his mouth to speak, someone else interrupted him.
"Hello, Elena." Behind him, Katherine stood smugly with cat-like poise, looking just as messy as him. She smirked proudly, placing a possessive hand on Stefan's shoulder.
Elena looked between the two of them, anger and jealousy bubbling deep in the pit of her stomach. Stefan wanted to step out to her and say something comforting, but Katherine's strong hold was keeping him in place. He was sick with guilt. He said Elena's name again, but she was not looking at him. Her seething eyes were set on her doppelganger.
"Katherine," she hissed out.
Elena was not going to let Katherine storm into town and ruin everything again.
AN: Let the cat fight begin! What on earth will happen now? I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I don't think it's my best update, but nonetheless I hope you all liked it and will continue reading. I can promise next chapter there will be lots of Stelena. So please review letting me know what you thought and if you want me to update again. Every review means so much to me and inspires me more than you can imagine. Let me know what you loved/what you hated/what you want to see.
How will Katherine being in Mystic Falls affect Elena? How will it affect Stefan? Will Elena still tell Stefan about their past, or will she keep it hidden for a little while longer? Will Stefan EVER find out that Elena is the girl he's looking for... or does he already know? Review and stay tuned for more!
Thank you all! Please review! Xoxo
Sara :)
