The three of us - Elena, Bonnie, and I - spent the day learning of the creatures we'd only read about in fairy tales.
"Lapis lazuli is the only gem that can prevent vampires from burning in the sunlight unless they're Originals," Bonnie explained. No wonder Katherine had jewelry with those gems. She had so much, she even gave some to Damon and I. "Grams says that Katherine was conniving and manipulative."
"How did Grams survive all this time," Elena asked, "if she was alive in the 1860's?"
"Witches who don't use their power much tend to age much slower," Bonnie replied. "While with Katherine, Grams used a lot of her power. Otherwise, she'd look about forty or fifty. At the time she went under the alias of "Emily Bennett"."
To prove all of this was real, Bonnie showed us some spells and performed them. She even let us read her grimoires. Those were books based on her family's history and certain spells for certain things.
Bonnie went home later that evening. She'd said that performing spells had made her tired and she needed sleep. Jeremy went with her, and that meant that I was left alone with Elena.
"What'd you do today?" she asked casually as she did the few dishes that were in her sink.
"Not much," I said. "I went grocery shopping with Damon today."
"Did you have fun?" she said.
"You would know," I mumbled but spoke louder. "You were there, weren't you?"
"No…" her answer sounded like a question. "I went to the store with Jeremy earlier for new shoes, but I didn't go grocery shopping."
"Elena," I started. "I saw you there. You were with Damon in the flower store."
She turned around to look at me seriously, "Stefan, I haven't had contact with Damon since that day at the river with you."
"I saw you, Elena!" I exclaimed. She should've really just dropped the act.
"You saw somebody who looked like me, then," she defended, "because, Stefan, I wasn't at the flower store. I didn't even know this town had a flower store!"
"It doesn't," I replied. "We went to Katrina's Gifts out of town."
"Then you definitely didn't see me there," she replied. "I've been here all day with Jeremy. The only time I wasn't was when we went to get him new tennis shoes."
"I'm telling you that I saw you!" I began. "It was you - the same hair, body frame, face, and eyes!"
"Same jealousy, too?" she asked.
"Excuse me?"
"You seem pretty defensive," she observed. "It wasn't me. But if it was, why do you care? Is it because you're jealous or something?"
"No!" I defended my pride like the "Little Brother" Damon claimed I was.
"Do you even understand how immature that just sounded?" she said blandly as if she rolled her eyes. "I'll ask you again: are you jealous?"
"I can't be something that I have no right to be."
"It doesn't mean you don't take claim to it."
"I'm not jealous, Elena," I said. Her name rolled off of my tongue. The endorphins in my brain caused a euphoric feeling all over my body.
"Then you wouldn't care if I were to go pay him a visit, then," she said casually as she went to the doorway and began to don her shoes.
"Whatever, Elena," I said. "I'm calling Caroline. Maybe she won't argue with me about everything."
"Yes, Stefan," she said with her back to me. "Go to your girlfriend so she can comfort you. It's seems to be what you're good at."
"What the hell are you talking about, Elena?" I said as I approached her from behind with my arms folded across my chest.
"I saw you in the Square today!" she yelled as she turned around and faced me. Her eyes burned with fury.
"Yeah," I said. "I agreed to hang out with her today…as friends! That's how I found out about all of this in the first place!"
"Friends don't give other friends fresh roses, Stefan!" she yelled into my face. Her breath smelled of mint and her eyes went from up-front fury to on-the-verge-of-tears.
"It wasn't like that," I told her. "Damon had extra roses and I decided to give the pink one to her. Caroline knows that pink is a friendship color."
"Then where's mine?" her eyes portrayed an emotion I couldn't decipher.
"Elena, I don't consider you a friend," I said softly, and she burst out in tears.
What did I do? What did I say wrong?
I contemplated what I just said.
Wait…
"No, Elena!" I said before she bolted. "That's not what I meant."
I grabbed her shoulders.
"Then what do you mean, Stefan?" she yelled between sobs.
"You're so much more to me than that," I said as I let any guard down.
"Yeah, I'm Katherine to you!" she cried. Her arms flailed in a futile attempt to get away. I pulled her close into a tight-gripped hug.
"No, Elena," I answered.
"It's true, Stefan," she wept. "You only stayed here because of Katherine. That's all I am to you."
"Elena," I began, "with all due respect - don't tell me what I do and don't feel about you, because you're way off."
Her eyes were furious again as she pulled back to look me in the eyes.
"How dare you?" she yelled as she slapped me on my chest. "Let me go, Stefan! I am sick of these games."
That was it. The fury and passion in Elena's eyes were too much to bear, and instead of wading the water in the river of which I was in over my head, I was now drowning in it. I took her by the waist and gently pressed her up against the kitchen wall.
"I'm sick of them, too," I agreed.
Then my lips crushed against hers.
I'd caught her in mid-scream. She was surprised and abruptly silent all at once.
I kissed her for just a second, and it was all I could take to pull away before my actions turned into an assault crime. I tore myself from her and stared at her just a few seconds more before I began to make my departure.
As I rounded the corner Elena caught my hand. I turned back to her. Her eyes were pleading.
"What was that for?" she asked in a whisper.
"I-uh, I-" I stumbled for words… "I don't know."
"You do know, Stefan," she said quietly. "Please tell me."
"Elena," I breathed her name, "I don't know what I feel. It's a mixed emotion that sends me on a roller coaster. I feel guilt because Katherine is gone and I just kissed her twin. I feel terrible-like a traitor-because I wanted to do it. I feel like a total dick because I've been spending too much time on the case and not enough being your friend. I loathe myself for all of it. I feel like a liar."
"For kissing me?" she asked, though it sounded like a statement.
"No," I smiled slightly. "Quite the opposite. I hate that I don't regret kissing you one bit when I should, and I feel like a liar because I truly am jealous. I also don't deserve to be that, either."
"What?" she whispered with huge eyes. Her hand never let mine go.
"I'm sorry, Elena," I told her as earnestly as I could.
"Stefan," she said my name breathlessly…and then she laughed.
"What's so funny?" I asked defensively.
"This is just a mess," she said through breaths, and then she abruptly stopped and looked me in the eyes. "But what the hell? It's not like it matters if it gets any messier now."
She took the hand she was holding and wrapped it around her waist as she slammed her body into me and molded her lips against mine. Her sweet breath was on my face and her tongue was in my mouth.
My mind told me it was wrong, but her sweet sensations quickly subdued any conscious thought I had as I let my bodily instincts take over.
My hands were shaking as I wound them through her hair - her soft, sweet, clean, delectable hair. Her body crushed against mine as I was now the one against the wall. Her lithe, mischievous fingers trailed under my shirt and up my chest. I knew I should've stopped her, but I didn't want to, and my big head wasn't doing the thinking anymore.
"Stefan," she mumbled my name between kisses when she needed to breathe. I trailed my hands from her neck to her shoulders, down her back, over her ass, and to the backs of her thighs where I picked her up. Each leg of hers wrapped around either side of my waist and I continued to kiss her as I made my way up the stairs. We made it clear to the top before I realized that I'd never been to her room before, and so I didn't know where it was.
I stopped to let her take a breath before kissing me again, "First door on the left."
I smiled as my lips went back to hers and I quickly made my way through that door.
My mind didn't take in the room's surroundings. All that was noted was that it smelled like her - her citrus hair, her sweet female musk perfume, and her arousal. Well, maybe it was my own, but I didn't much care.
I threw her onto the bed. She easily removed my shirt. Her sweet voice laughed and she smiled at me, "I'm yours, Stefan."
Those three little words sent my body to a complete halt. Was I really just about to take her for my own? I couldn't do that to her - not until I knew that I wanted her and only her…until I knew that Katherine had nothing to do with this.
"I don't know, Elena," I said hesitantly.
"Please?" she drew out the word and begged with her big doe eyes.
I began to withdraw from being atop of her.
"You didn't hesitate like this with Katherine, did you?" she asked with an angry, seductive face - a face that made me mad. Didn't she realize that she shouldn't bring up another woman's name at a time like this? Especially, Katherine's!
I gave her a sinister smile and tugged at the zipper on her jeans, "You're not Katherine."
"And don't you forget it," she whispered in my ear.
Her hands worked efficiently on my own and eventually we were only wearing our birthday suits. Her pure beauty extended beyond words, and all I could to was stare and hope I could hold it in until she was fully satisfied.
My lips crushed down on hers again as we made good use of her bed.