Elena sat at the table, eating the food her love had so chivalrously bought for her. He had used real money, human money, such an unnecessary object for a vampire. Money, in truth, was worth nothing. Simple pieces of paper assigned to be a country's currency. The girl wanted to scoff at the idea, but in order to not disappoint Stefan she continued to eat.
"Why must we do this?" she asked politely.
"Do what?" Stefan replied, "Eat?"
"We are not human, Stefan," Elena whispered, trying to keep others from eavesdropping, "We have no need for this. There is no reason to be here right now. We could leave and find someone to eat."
"Elena, why are you talking like this?" he asked, his eyebrow raised quizzically, "You would never harm a human. We are doing this because I love you, and I want you to remember the times we had while human."
"It is too sentimental, Stefan," Elena responded, "Why can't you see I'm happier this way? I'm happier as a vampire than I have ever been before."
"Don't say that, Elena," Stefan told her, gripping his fork hard enough to make his knuckles whiten. "We are searching for a way to make you human."
"I do not want to be human, Stefan!"
"Elena-"
"I have to use the restroom, Stefan. I'll be back," Elena said as she stood quickly from the table, eager to escape the accusatory eyes of her love.
The girl rushed into the ladies' room, locking the door behind her. She winced; her mind told her to love him, that it was safe to love him. She tried to listen, oh how she tried, but it was too hard. Elena couldn't find what had been there once before. She could no longer escape the crushing feeling of being trapped when around him.
She wanted to feel the old flame, to feel the inferno in her heart that burned only for him. Whenever she tried to start the flame, it dissipated as quickly as she had created it. There was nothing for him. She felt nothing for him. It was almost as if she felt pity on him, a pity that could only be bestowed upon by one whom had once loved.
Her hands grasped the edge of the porcelain sink, trying to keep herself steady. What could she do? She could not walk away from him. He would assume she was seeing another man, when in truth she was not. The truth, she loved an Angel: Katherine.
There was no one in comparison to her Angel. No one could make her feel the way Katherine did. The flame she one felt for Stefan was nothing in resemblance of them. Stefan had made her feel safe, and it had been what she needed at that time. Elena no longer needed to feel safe.
The girl needed to feel afraid, she had stared fear in the eye and run, but this was different. Elena had willingly stared into the brown eyes of the dark temptress, and there was no returning to who she had once been. Her Angel radiated seduction and darkness with every movement she made, every breath she took. There was no denying the woman's beauty had entranced her, and taken hold of her.
Her eyes wandered into the mirror, staring at her own reflection. The sudden blur of the glass surprised her, and caused her to pull back in confusion. When she stared into the mirror once again she still saw her reflection, but also something else: a shadow over her right shoulder that haunted her with a seductive gaze.
The gasp that escaped her throat was inevitable as she turned to see nothing but the tiled wall behind her. She knew what she had seen, Katherine had been watching. Her Angel was always watching. Somehow the woman seemed to know everything, and be everywhere.
Elena's chest tightened. What would Katherine do? She knew the woman did not enjoy seeing her with Stefan, but it was inevitable. She feared what her friends and family would think if they ever knew about the beauty of her Angel. She feared what her Angel would do if she continued to see Stefan. What would become of him? Katherine had never shown Elena her rage, but by some means Elena knew the woman's rage would be deadly.
The girl jumped and fled to the corner as she heard the door of a bathroom stall open and close. She closed her eyes, dreading it would be her Angel, but also praying that she would appear.
"Elena?" she heard a voice call, but it was not the voice of her Angel. No, this voice was not divine enough to belong to the woman she both feared and desired.
The girl barely had the courage to open her eyes to see who was calling. She stared at the girl with blonde hair standing near the sinks. It could not have been her Angel, for her Angel was more beautiful, and certainly not blonde.
"Caroline," Elena managed to breathe out, fear possessing her body. Her breath rattled with each movement of her chest, and her hands shook out of anxiety.
The blonde knelt next to her friend. Elena trembled as the blonde put one arm around her shoulders and held her hands with her free one. The girl rested her head on her friend's shoulder.
"Elena," her friend said out of joy and concern, "Where in the world have you been hiding? I haven't seen you since… since you turned."
"I'm afraid," Elena admitted, her body still shivering with untold fear.
"Don't be afraid," Caroline comforted her friend, wondering what was wrong with the brunette in her arms. She wondered how the girl could be so afraid she was reduced to quivering in the bathroom.
The girl swallowed before speaking, "I used to dream an Angel would appear to me. Now I can sense her, and I know she is here. Here in this room she calls me softly. Somehow I know she's always here with me, somewhere inside, hiding."
"Elena, who is this Angel?" the blonde asked, desperate to get an answer from her fearful friend.
"She's here even now," Elena muttered, ignoring the question from the blonde.
Caroline stared at the brunette's hands, "Your hands, Elena, they're cold."
"All around me," Elena's eyes began to tear. She felt so much fear yet never dared to tell a soul. There was no one who could relieve her of the torment.
"Your face is white," Caroline noted, obviously concerned with Elena's condition.
"How can I not be?" Elena asked, letting the warm tear flow down her face. The heat of her pain gave her slight comfort, but there was not enough to stop the other tears from following the first.
"Elena," the blonde paused, "do you remember who turned you?"
"No," the girl said, but it was a lie, she could never forget.
She watched as her Angel tossed the man's body aside, her brown eyes staring into the girl's, filled with pure lust. Elena could not help but marvel at the woman's beauty. All vampires she'd seen were attractive, but this woman was so different. Everything about her screamed enticement and darkness, but it was impossible for Elena to look away.
The woman strolled towards her slowly. The girl felt her breath catch in her throat when she felt the woman's cold hand on the skin of her neck, caressing the artery that allowed life to flow through her body. She heard the woman's chuckle from behind her, but she dared not to look. She feared her Angel, but loved her in every moment, in every time, in every second.
"Tell me," the girl whispered to her Angel, "What is it like being a vampire?"
Her Angel walked to stand in front of her, a smirk etched on her perfect lips. Curiosity gleamed in her chocolate eyes.
"Night-time sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses," the woman whispered, standing with her face bare centimeters away from Elena's.
Elena considered what she was about to say. It would change her forever, literally. Was she sure this was what she wanted? What should she say?
"What if I were to become a vampire?" Elena asked timidly, curious and slightly afraid of the woman's reaction.
The woman reached a hand and stroked Elena's cheek gently. The temperature of her hands made the girl shiver, but Elena closed her eyes at the touch.
"Only then can you belong to me," her Angel whispered.
Elena opened her eyes and stared at the woman. For a moment she saw no seduction in her eyes. She saw the love she so desperately craved. The passion she secretly desired.
"Will you change me?" Elena asked, knowing her Angel would understand.
"Of course," the woman said, showing Elena a genuine smile formed out of love and affection.
Elena felt the dark temptress' hand leave her skin, and longed for another moment to be embraced by her Angel. Elena smiled, there would be so much she and her Angel could do. They would have eternity, but she realized there was one thing they had not done.
"Wait," the girl said, grabbing the woman's hand as she was bringing it up to her lips.
"Bite me," Elena said quickly, before the dark temptress could react, "Feed from me."
The woman raised an eyebrow curiously at her, but Elena made the offer more tempting by tilting her neck to the side, allowing her Angel more room to feed. The girl sharply inhaled her breath as she felt the cold lips of the dark temptress on her neck, caressing the spot above her artery with a kiss.
Elena involuntarily winced as she felt the sharp fangs pierced her skin, delving into the sensitive skin of her neck. A sigh escaped her lips as she felt the frigid lips of her seductress brushing against her neck, sucking the blood that welled from the wounds she had created. Her hand pressed against the nape of the woman's neck as she pulled her as close as was possible.
The pain had turned to pleasure, enveloping her senses and forcing her to stop breathing. The lust she continued to feel was unbearable. She thirsted for her Angel's blood and longed to be with her for an eternity. The girl willed for the dark temptress to continue to give her the pleasure, but the fangs retreated from her skin and she stared at the beauty.
Her Angel's mouth was covered in blood, her blood. The crimson liquid left a stream down to the woman's chin, but it created the seduction that had lured Elena so far past the point of sanity she could only wonder how the woman seemed to make everything look so beautiful.
"Come," her seductress whispered as she raked her nail against her neck, allowing blood to trickle down for he girl.
Elena was hesitant at first, but she placed her lips on top of the blood and began to drink. It was heavenly, angelic, and divine. The girl had never tasted something so magnificent. It was as if ambrosia was gushing down her throat and the girl rushed to taste every last bit of it.
"So eager to join me for eternity," the woman said, running her fingers through the girl's hair then pulling her away from the streaming wound.
The girl groaned in disappointment, but was silenced with a cold finger placed against her lips. She relished the touch of her Angel and was too lost in the pleasure to notice the dark temptress' hands moving to her neck.
It all ended with a loud snap.
"I need to go," Elena said, forcing herself back into reality, not wanting to drown herself in the pain of her memories.
She stood and walked out of the restroom before she could hear complaints from Caroline. Stefan was waiting for her outside the door, which she realized by bumping into him and staggering several feet back.
"I deduced you were ready to go, considering how long you were occupied in the restroom," Stefan said, his voice lacking disappointment or accusation.
Elena raised her eyebrow in confusion, "Yes, I'm ready to leave. I don't want to be here anymore."
"All right," he told her compassionately, "We can leave."
The girl nodded, following him out of the restaurant. She shivered at the thought of the memory. She hadn't told anyone, not even him. Elena had thought of the consequences. She wasn't ready to tell the others of her Angel. The pressures of her love were too unbearable for her to share them with anyone else. She wanted no harm to come to her friends, and was uncertain of what they would think of Katherine.
Stefan pulled her to the back of the restaurant using supernatural speed once they had exited. He held her shoulders with his hands forcefully under the dimmed light of a streetlamp. Elena was confused. Her love had never been so cryptic; she wondered what exactly he was doing.
"What are you-" Stefan cut her off by pressing his lips assertively against hers.
Elena stood in shock, wondering if she should return the kiss or simply deny it. She could feel eyes boring into her back, and for a split second the temperature seemed to drop. The girl knew Katherine was watching, but from where, she couldn't tell.
She finally pulled away, but his hands were still on her shoulders, holding her in place.
"Do you feel anything?" he asked angrily, his grip tightening on her shoulders. Stefan's nails were puncturing her skin.
"Stefan," she said quietly, "let go, you're hurting me."
"Do you feel anything?" he practically yelled at her, pushing his hand down on her shoulder until he heard a snap.
The girl attempted to hide the cry of pain she released, but it was too late. She pushed away from him and glanced at her bleeding shoulder. The joint was dislocated and her clavicle was broken, the bone jutting out of her skin.
Before Stefan could react to what he had done, she quickly ran away, back to the safety of her home. The door slammed shut behind her, nearly flying off the hinges as she sped to her room. She looked into the mirror on her wall, staring at the pale bone that projected from her skin.
The girl winced and cried out again as she was spun around. She expected to see Stefan, and had raised her arm to attack him, but was stopped by a cold hand holding her wrist. Elena stared into the twin brown eyes of her Angel, which were full of concern as she watched them scan her for other injuries, making sure she was all right.
Katherine's eyes quickly turned from anxiety to rage as she gently placed a hand on the girl's injury. Elena flinched and whimpered, sinking into the dark temptress' touch as she felt the cold fingers caressing her cheek. The fingers turned her head to stare at her Angel, whose eyes now burned with more rage than she had ever seen on anyone before.
"I do not like others defiling what is mine."