One of the joys of being a writer was kind of being able to govern your own work hours. As long as you got something done in time, who cared what he did and when? His laptop sat on the desk, waiting to be used. He'd spent two hours the night before, coming up with a paragraph more of his own novel. He couldn't complain. It was more than he'd written in a while. He'd submitted a shit article for the local paper, the job that kept a roof over his head. It was on the football game between the rival high schools of the county. The city's team had won. Of course. They always won. He hadn't even gone, but he revved up the dusty facebook page and stole highlights from the information there. That's why it was shit. Unreliable sources. But at least he'd came up with something. And false info or not, they'd publish it. They needed something to fill that space.

Some number made Stefan's phone buzz on the table by the bed. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. And it stopped. Oops. He'd call back. Later. When he got up. Whenever that was. He'd just barely gotten to sleep. Or at least he thought. What time was it? Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. God damn it. With a groan, he snatched it by the cord, letting it skid onto the sheets beside him. Who the hell was this at...two?

"Hello?" he found himself snapping a little.

"Geez. Maybe Groucho is a better name for you." It was Lexi. He hadn't heard from her since that night at the club. He'd almost wondered if she'd just forgotten about him. He certainly hadn't her. First buddy he'd had at a bar in a long while and it was a chick with a taste for the stage talent.

"Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? I'm calling to see if you wanted to go to Topless tonight."

"At two?"

"In the afternoon. Dude, are you alright? You sound like you just got hit over the head or something."

"Uhm. Yeah." The line was quiet a second. How in the hell had he slept until two?
"Yeah you got hit over the head or yeah to Topless?"

"What time, Lexi?" he went on. His first-awake mode wasn't one that could handle Lexi's...whatever it was.

"Eleven. For the good girls. I'm buying drinks. See you there!" And she hung up. He'd began to wonder if she'd gotten in trouble with her girl- if she had a girl – and gotten banned from the club. He hadn't seen her in the times he'd gone back to the Turve. It'd become a slightly regular thing in the past weeks. He spat out a paragraph or so and would hit a block. Stefan's slump was slowly becoming his downfall and he was really getting irritated that he couldn't bust out of it. It'd been two months nearly. After almost three years. And distracting himself had become his release. He'd slap the computer shut and head out to the club to go watch this one girl. It used to be all of them, but now it was her. He was sure this was some level of disturbing stalker, but he couldn't really help himself. He knew she didn't pay him any attention, but she had his the moment she walked onto the stage. She pranced with a sassy saunter and gave in to the music, like she didn't care she was fanning her most secretive parts for all of Virginia to see. She just went with it. Stefan had easily learned that she was one of Topless Turvy's biggest assets. Once a week she flew solo. She drew in quite a crowd, too. These crowds left people standing, and the ones who were lucky enough to nab a front seat- well, they were getting the bang for their buck. Front seats usually made a grab or slipped her a twenty. She hardly paid them any mind. She'd just collect the bills in a swing and tuck them where she could.

"She don't date clients," a heavy voice broke Stefan's focus. Behind the bar, a tender named Matt was filling a beer from the draft and eyeing him conspicuously.

"I don't expect her to."
"You're watching her awful close. And have been for a while." Matt cleaned off his hands, still keeping a close patrol on him. It was guys like this one that made him nervous for the girls. He didn't want them hurt. "I see you in here a lot."

"Distraction," Stefan shrugged, finishing off the shitty beer he'd ordered out of curiosity. It was definitely something he'd never try again.

"You and every guy in this joint, dude. What're you skipping out on?" Matt poured him a draft, setting it by Stefan's propped elbow.

"To be honest? Heartbreak."

"Ouch." Stefan nodded, laughing a little.

"Part of life."

"Damn, man. That's the pits."

"You move on. At some point." He shrugged, picking up the fresh draft and taking a much better swig from it. He watched as she let someone audibly pop the string of her panties, sending a chorus of whoops through the crowd. It made Stefan seethe a little. No one noticed the grimace on her face but him.

"Groucho!" Lexi skidded to a halt and planted herself on the stool beside him. Matt threw a smile at her.

"You want your wine, Lex? Marie's on." Finally. He knew her name. Or her stage name at least. Marie.

"Am I breathing, Matty?" Lexi grinned back. "I see you met Stefan."

"Yeah I did. Marie's best customer." Matt chuckled, setting the stem of red wine before the blonde.

"Dude, you don't know half of it." She leaned in like she was telling some juicy gossip, a smirkish grin on her face. "He's a writer." Matt's brows rose.

"A writer? Like you write books? I thought all you guys did was listen to classical and wear sweaters over your shoulders like some preppy nerds." Stefan laughed.

"Uh...no. Not all of us."

"He's a special kind of nerd. He's a boobie nerd." He cocked his head at Lexi. Matt almost guffawed.

"You're just like this pop gun, full of surprises." Stefan made a gun with his hand, imitating one.

"So, Stefan. Why is a guy like you in a place like this watching a girl like her do a dance like that? You should be off writing a bestseller. Or listening to Beethoven." Stefan shook his head.

"Yeah, Stefan. You don't come three times a week over writer's block," Lexie chimed in. Stefan frowned.

"How do you know I come so often?"

"Kammie. She asked if you were with me. She's kind of kept an eye on you." Lexi wrinkled her nose with a knowing smile. "She thinks you're cute."

"Kammie?" He rose a brow, slightly afraid of what that look on Lexi's face meant. And he should've been. Matt pointed the mug he was polishing towards the table where a dark-haired woman was sitting a man down. The same woman who sat him down the first night he met Lexi. He closed his eyes, gave a small head shake.

"Not my type." He shivered a little, remembering the cold grasp she had and how skeleton-like her hand was as she led him towards his table. She looked like a bag of bones. One shapr blow of the wond and she'd be gone. Matt and Lexi let out a hoopla of a laugh.

"She's everyone's type, gorgeous," she grinned. "Don't worry. I told her you were taken. By me. Hi, boyfriend." She waggled her fingers. "Anyways, keep talking." Stefan shook his head, laughed a bit, and continued.

"I'm here because I've had a little bit of trouble getting over my fiance, since you're wanting to know." Lexi blinked.

"Fiance?"

"Yes. Fiance. And she left me last minute-"

"Not as in at the altar?" Lexi looked at Stefan with this pouty look on her face, brows knitted.

"Yeah," Stefan said a bit icily. "Exactly."

"Yo, dude. That's what sucks," Matt said, sliding a pair of shots towards he and Lex. Matt was right. It did suck. Three solid years he'd been involved with one woman. In love with her so unconditionally. He'd bend over backwards to make her happy. Planned a wedding. Planned a life. And at the very last second she completely balked and left him standing there in front of a hundred people with a heart full of disappointment when those blonde curls didn't march down the aisle. He downed his shot. No more thinking about her.

"Come on." Lexi grabbed Stefan's coat sleeve and pulled him from the bar. "Follow me." She made a twisting path through the herd of men that were there, alcohol dominant over every stench that was there. He watched her blonde head bob in and out and around shoulders until she stopped at the door near the stage. As he caught up to her, he noticed her waving through the door at someone. He leaned a little to see just as Lexi slipped over the threshold, pulling him with her. Stefan wondered if he were really supposed to be back here. It felt odd to be behind the scenes. Or at least partially. Half a wardrobe hung on a coat rack by the exit to the stage. Lined above it were a menagerie of portraits of dancers in semi-decent clothing. Many of them he noticed from dances late night. Particularly the dance team that Marie was on.

"Oops!" Lexi caught something as it fell. No, not something. Someone. Stefan flashed over to help the girl up, picking up the shoe that she'd lost falling down the stairs.

"Too many spins on that pole." The girl held her head, groaning as she weakly stood on her feet. It was Marie, off her dance about ten minutes early. Lexi pulled the chair from the hallway, plopping her into it.

"Are you alright?" Stefan offered her the shoe, which was a ridiculously high heel.

"Will be," she mumbled, looking up to him. She blinked a second at, one, the fact that he was a male. Behind stage. During hours. And two, that he was so pretty. And what made her sick was that he was probably escorted for a dance. From her. That she hated to do, as rare as she did them. They tended to go a little farther then she wanted. But, money was money, and she had rent due next week. And she needed to compensate Jeanine for her hit earlier.

"Hey, Marie. You sure you're alright?" Marie sat up a little in her chair, the dizziness not really going away fast enough. She nodded instead, smiling at Lexi who was rubbing her arm consolingly.

"Yeah, I'm good." She turned her attention to Stefan, letting the bitterness she had to have with all of the Turve's customers take hold. "I don't do requests. Or dances. I just push them for the other girls. Pays the rent sometimes."

"He's with me. He's cool," Lex cut in, seeing the iciness the dancer had picked up. Marie stared Stefan down for a short moment. He couldn't help but notice how sleep deprived she looked. Her eyes were bloodshot and circles under those pretty eyes rivaled those of some old woman.

"You were something out there. New moves?" She chuckled a little at Lexi as she broke her gaze at him to see her, slipping the second heel from her foot and standing up.

"Mm. When you're up, you get as crafty as you can." She plucked a wrinkled up bill that was wedged against her bare hip, unraveling it to show that it was a hundred. She popped it with a grin. "Rent money!"

Stefan felt a bit odd. He was probably sitting where Lexi should. Curious. Wondering how Marie, or whatever her name was, was letting herself stoop to something like this. His eyes skimmed over Marie, from her curled up hair to the sleepy-looking brown eyes, bloodshot and barely able to stay open. He wondered how she was even standing.

"Alright, Lex." She didn't even acknowledge Stefan. He supposed he understood why. "I have to finish my shift and check on the girls in dances. See you on the floor?"

"Of course." Lexi gave a big smile and pecked Marie on the cheek as she left. Marie threw a last glance towards Stefan, a solemn expression on her face, but never said a word. What the hell struck him with her? She was just a stripper, just like any of the other women he's watched numerous times on that stage. But she just caught his attention for some reason.

"Yo, pretty boy. You alive in there?" A hand was flashing across his line of vision. Lexi. Forgot she was there.

"Uh..yeah, just-"

"Well uh-yeah, we just gotta go. I'm not really supposed to be this far back." She hooked an arm through his and pulled him towards the main floor. He wanted to talk to Marie. Or whatever her name was. She didn't look like a Marie. But it'd have to do for now. Either way, hell would probably freeze over before he'd ever get the opportunity.

"You're being all...pensive."

"I just- nothing." He sat back down at a table, scooting the glass that was already there away. Lexi frowned a little, sensing his complete mood shift. She reached over, handing him a fifty.

"Go put a smile on your face, Stef," she grinned at him. He just stared at the bill.

"Are you drunk?" he asked, sliding it back towards its owner.

"Slightly. I'm more fun that way." She laughed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Here at midnight and you're already getting out of your head. Bad girl, Lexi."

"Oh yeah?" she smirked, taking the chance and jumping up in front of him and bending over to wag her ass at him. "Punish me then, big boy." Stefan shook his head with a loud laugh, grabbing her hand and pulling her back upright.

"Okay, okay. Don't get me in trouble." Lexi beamed and bumped her hip with his playfully.

"Oh come on. What Andie don't know won't kill her."

"No, but it'll come back and bite me in the ass." She prodded him in the ribs as the approached the bar again. Matt was gone, and a new tender took his place. He sloshed out two shots of Patron without missing a beat.

"You're no fun. Leaving me frisky." She smiled teasingly as a drink was dropped into her hand. Damn she was some sort of personality around here. Stefan's attention however was back to the stage, searching for a certain brunette who was nowhere to be found.

"So you know Marie?" He decided to prod. Maybe Lexi was a loose lips when she was a bit tipsy.

"Mhm. For a while now. She's been working here as long as I've been coming." She held up two fingers to show the number of years. "She's fantastic. In many ways."

"Can you tell me something about her?" Lexi waved a hand.

"Why?"

"Just..curious is all." He shrugged. "She's different."

"Slow your roll, Creepy Pants." Lexi furrowed a blonde brow. "Don't make me regret taking you back there."

"I'm not trying to be be creepy. I'm just asking. She's something."

"Yeah, you and half of Virginia think the same thing, Stefan. She's pretty. She's naked. She's going to get your pants tight. Just throw her a bill and leave it at that." She downed the shot without a flinch. Stefan grumbled to himself, rolling his tiny glass between his forefinger and thumb.

"You've had, what? Four drinks now? And all those were pretty stout. Maybe you're just a little out of it."

"I get it. I'll shut up," he muttered. Lexi rolled her eyes. A broody-looking expression replaced the one of curiosity that was there just a few minutes ago. Obviously she'd pissed him off. She sighed.

"Look, I don't know a whole lot about her. I'm not telling you her real name. She'd end me. But I do know she's working hard all the time. She waitresses somewhere in town during the day, dances at night. I don't know how she's still standing.

"So you know her?"

Lexi nodded, a little skeptic with testing the waters with him. "I do know her. We have lunch every once in a while. She's really a nice girl. Haven't seen her in a few months, though. Just on stage." Stefan nodded slowly. Lexi couldn't help but watch him like a hawk. Did someone spike his drink? Or was he always just this weird? Stefan got to his feet and zipped his jacket. This whole situation was off and completely stupid. He was just grabbing. Lately this depression he was sunk into was really beginning to set in, and the only thing that took his mind away from one girl was a flock of naked other ones and a glass of Jim Beam. And now he was picking out a favorite. He was really getting pathetic.

When he got home, the alarm clock by the stand let out a single beep. Four in the morning. His laptop was open on the bed where he left it, the typing cursor waiting for him to continue his story. Which wasn't happening anytime soon. He didn't care that that cursor screamed at him with each blink. It wasn't just the computer waiting. It was the publishing company, knocking with each flash. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Where was that new story? That continuation of a series he loved so much and took on and was actually really making a living with. It was due in weeks and he was barely getting started. He slammed the thing shut with a groggy slap of his hand, pushing it away and falling back into the unmade mess of sheets. For the most part, that computer being shut took some of the pressure away. Out of sight wasn't out of mind, though. Slowly he began to doze off, away from all of this...shit. Which was all it was. Shit that he'd decided might as well be called his life. Sleep erased that, if only for a little while, but it was worth it to him if he didn't have to think. But tonight was different. Instead of just letting the alcohol push him into that lovely empty abyss of numb and unconsciousness, his mind decided to turn. It pulled out the worst thoughts from the deepest part of his brain, where he thought he'd shut them out.

"I love you, Stefan." Her voice rang so loud and clear, it was if she were there beside him. "But..." She was so perfect. Everything he'd ever dreamed. And she shattered him with two words.

"I can't."

The overwhelming smell of flowers- pink roses in fair recollection –invaded his nostrils. So fragrant, bright. Her favorite. They'd over-run the church that day.

He jumped out of that torture, the blatant ringing of his clock bringing him to. 12 noon.

"God damn it," he groaned, covering his eyes at the sunlight that spoked through the curtains. His head wasn't pounding, but by two he'd feel like hell. Or worse hell. But what else was new? This was just Stefan Salvatore's everyday life now. Ticking by achingly slow.