PART 1

CHAPTER 17

Hey Rosetta!/ Red Song

SYML/ Where's my love (Acoustic Version)

When Stefan entered the Salvatore Boarding House, music filtered through his ears. A sultry tone played as Rosabella danced in the center of the space. She was dressed only in a shirt, Damon's by the dark and most likely insanely expensive material. Her legs were bare save for the calf-length grey socks she wore, also Damon's by the size of it. Damon was broad shoulders and was wide-hipped, which meant that his clothing was too big for Rose, around the waist area at least. Rose's above-average bust caused the material to stretch and draw tighter before falling to rest above fleshy thighs.

Rose had her eyes closed, she was lost in the music, moving slowly, making calculated movements with her hands and arms. With how she remained in one place, there was something majestic and alluring about her.

Stefan's eyes shifted across the space, frowning when he came across Damon, seated on the stairs his eyes fixed on Rose and unmoving. Blood remained on his mouth, and when Stefan looked back at Rose, she had noticeable bite marks on her neck, arms, and thighs, those disappearing underneath the shirt.

Both dream Rose and Damon paid no attention to Stefan as he moved about. They needed a way to get rose to turn on her humanity. Damon had doubted their usual methods would work. So far Rosabella seemed to be the exception to many of their rules. The one advantage they had was that Rose was not aware that vampires could enter the dreams of others. Which meant that she wouldn't have her guard up.

Dream Damon moved and Rose paused in her dancing to face his brother. Damon wound his arms around Rose, almost protectively. Stefan watched the pair, white heat filling his body. Anger, pain, jealousy…longing. For whom he wasn't sure. Watching the way Damon cradled Rose made him long for the kind older brother he had known when they were human. The one that did everything he could to protect Stefan from their father.

Damon moved again, this time, cupping the back of Rose's neck and tilting her head. The raven-haired girl's head fell back limply, surrendering herself to the older vampire and her sire. As Damon drank from Rose, Stefan once again felt those emotions.

He really couldn't figure out what the nature of Damon and Rose's relationship was. At times, they seemed more siblings than Stefan and Damon had been in decades. And at other times, they appeared as two lovers.

Stefan wouldn't be surprised if they had slept together, it was what he expected from Damon. But there was a deeper part of him that hoped with all he had, that Rose and Damon hadn't crossed that line.

That he wouldn't lose her to him.

Stefan wondered as he watched them if this was how Damon had felt when he had stolen Katherine.

Damon entered Rose's dreams this time.

Stefan had confirmed that Rose had no defenses against them entering her dreams. While Stefan was strong enough to enter, it would be more of a challenge for him to change things or to interact with others.

Damon willed the dream version of himself away and took its place next to Rose. They were on the roof of the house, the full moon shining bright in the sky with the stars for company. Rose was wrapped in a blanket, her grey eyes reflected silver in the light of the moon. Damon wrapped his arms around her, his heart aching at the weight of her body on him. "Rose, you need to turn your emotions back on." He spoke into the silent night.

Rose shifted, fitting her head into his neck. "This is you? Isn't it? The real you." Damon only nodded in reply. Rose expelled a harsh breath. "I feel like I'm floating. No… Maybe sinking..." She trailed off. "I can't turn it back on. It's like the switch that was there just disappeared." Damon felt a wet sensation against his skin. The elder vampire realized that Rose was crying. He gripped her tighter as she spoke through her tears. "I wish I never flipped that switch. I just… I hurt you… and I couldn't deal with it. I love you so much, Damon. I never meant to hurt you! I'm so sorry!"

Damon pulled back, cupping her face. He placed a kiss on her head, "You have nothing to be sorry for… I'm the one that did this to you. But Rose, I need you to turn it back on. Once I leave this dream, I need you to turn it back on."

Rose took in the details of Damon's face and the words leaving him. "Do you understand me? Turn it back on!" She nodded frantically, clutching Damon's arms in a bruising grip. Suddenly Damon was gone, and she was no longer sitting in the house.

Rose stood in empty black, seeing nothing. She began walking aimlessly willing herself to turn her emotions back on. She had gone her whole life without feeling anything. Then after becoming a vampire, she had gotten the tiniest taste of what it was to love others, to feel the love others had for her.

She had a brother and a sister who had relied on her their entire lives. A budding forbidden love, and a person so important to her that there was no word to describe what he was to her. Rose had a life now; one she had thrown away recklessly.

She wanted it back. It had only begun after all.

The darkness she had been fighting suddenly began to fade and Rose opened her heavy eyes. She took a deep breath sitting up. Looking around, Rose noted that she was in Damon's room. While she felt physically fine, the memories of her short time without emotions came flooding back. It was only for a few hours but the empty feeling that flipping the switch brought, was one that she didn't want to experience again.

To Rose, the world seemed brighter than it had before. She could almost physically feel that she was more open to emotion now. As if there had been a wall in her mind, which was now broken down.

The noise reached her enhanced senses. Rose heard the cries, and she stood from the bed following the sound. When the trail ended at Stefan's room, the raven-haired girl stood in his doorway. The older vampire sat at the end of his bed, his hands clutched in his hair crouched over and body shaking with his cries.

Stefan must not have heard her approaching because he only moved once she stood in front of him, her arms wrapped around his head. Rose said nothing when Stefan wrapped his arms around her waist pressing his face into her stomach, his cries becoming harsher as she offered him comfort.

Rose didn't know how long they stayed like that, but eventually, Stefan's cries stopped and his grip on her loosened, but his hands remained there even when she took a step back to stare into his forest green eyes. "You got your humanity back?" He spoke, voice hoarse from his cries.

Stefan's eyes widened at the gentle smile Rose gave him. "Yeah…" She whispered, "What happened Stefan?" She asked. He swallowed, letting his hands fall to his lap. Rose took a seat next to him on the bed, waiting for Stefan to speak.

"After Damon left your dream, you didn't wake up. It's been a few days." Stefan glanced at Rose before focusing on his bedroom floors. "Emily and Damon had a deal. She was supposed to help him unseal the tomb where Katherine was buried… but she backed out." Rose's brow furrowed when Stefan mentioned Katherine. She had known that the woman was alive and that Damon had some kind of plan to bring her back. Though she had no knowledge of a tomb, a deal, or an Emily.

She didn't say this to Stefan though, who she assumed thought Rose already knew. "Emily possessed Bonnie, her descendant, and destroyed the necklace Damon needed. He attacked Bonnie and… then…"

Rose sighed, leaning back on her hands. "Is she dead?" Stefan shook his head. "No, I gave her my blood. But… Elena and I… I'm leaving Mystic Falls. So is Damon." This time when Stefan looked at Rose, he made eye contact with her.

He expected to see hurt in the grey orbs. After all, he had just told Rose her sire had planned to leave. Rose gave Stefan another gentle smile, this time it was tinged with sadness. "I'm sorry about you and Elena." She placed a hand on his back for a moment before standing up.

"If we're leaving, I should pack some things." Stefan's mouth fell open in shock, but before he could speak another voice interrupted.

"Rose."

Damon had her in his arms before she could say anything. He didn't care that his brother was there, privy to the tender care he had for Rose.

Stefan sat dumbfounded, watching his brother hug Rose to himself tight enough to hurt. Stefan felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him when he spotted tears running down Damon's pale skin.

Stefan thought that Damon had loved Katherine the most. But seeing this now, he knew that was no longer true. The most important person to Damon was Rose. She stood above him and Katherine. Stefan was certain. The blind loyalty he thought only Rose had, was reciprocated by his brother.

Stefan was sure that Damon would protect Rose with his life.

And kill for her.