Chapter 3: Dead twice

"Abba, why did you ask Stefan what his car was?" she bit into her sandwich. If you could call two slices of bread together a sandwich. "We've been in this century as long as he has."

The girl nudged him, causing him to almost choke on his bread.

"I got nervous, okay?" she complained, not wanting to talk about it. "I didn't expect to run into him so close. I had to play dead . Weren't you supposed to be already dead?"

He showed her his index and thumb fingers about to come together, and she couldn't help but smile. It was hard to keep track of how many times he had died and she had to resurrect him. But he never lost his sense of humor. Damon had killed him twice in the same week.

"I have to admit, the first time hurt less," he placed his hand on his chest, where there should have been a hole from his heart being ripped out. "It's a sensation I don't recommend, anyway. And very unnecessary."

"And why did you go after him again, and with a stake? What did you expect to happen? He's a vampire, and you're human."

"Why... did I go after him again?" he had to sit differently to look her in the eye, incredulous at what he had just heard. "Isn't it enough that he ripped my heart out just because his girlfriend was going to be sacrificed by a crazy vampire and he was pissed off? He didn't even know me!"

"She wasn't his girlfriend, I've already explained it to you twice," she rolled her eyes. "She's Stefan's girlfriend, his brother. They broke up, and eventually, they ended up together, it's a long story. But I fixed it. He's just upset because Stefan didn't prevent her from being taken for the ritual, and he has some... anger issues."

She knew them all too well. She had to witness them up close.

"I understand why you wanted to fix it. Although you could have had a werewolf bite him, or someone decapitate him, you know," she wiggled her fingers like snakes, mimicking something "magical." She raised an eyebrow, curious about what he would say next. "That way, he would get what he deserved."

"And don't you think it's punishment enough to live knowing that the woman he loves will always belong to his brother?"

"But he never knew he would end up with her, right? At most, he could feel the pain of her not choosing him. He doesn't even know he had a daughter."

"Not yet," he shrugged. "I'll have to deal with him when you want to go back and kill him again, and I have to prevent him from killing you. Don't you think at 118 years old, you're old enough to do that? This wasn't exactly my idea of not interfering in the lives of humans."

"Well, I think going back in time and erasing people's memories just so two people can have their happily ever after sounds like... interfering in the lives of humans."

"Oh, shut up, Jace," she growled, pushing him off the tree trunk they were sitting on. The boy rolled on the ground and lay on his back. "I didn't... fully interfere. I just did what I had to do."

Jace, with his head on the grass, sat up a bit, propping himself on his own elbows to look at her. He couldn't be that cynical.

"And why is this line of events better than the other one, huh?"

Abba bit her lower lip. She could give him so many reasons why Damon deserved to be staked that it would take more than three days. But if she did, she would only make Jace feel justified in doing it, and she couldn't allow that. Despite the monster she had seen him be, she still had hopes that he would let go of his resentment. From what she knew, he still hated everyone, and he had confirmed it himself; she had to resurrect Jace twice in just four days.

"Elena deserves... someone who doesn't go around ripping out the hearts of the first person they come across just because they're pissed off," she said.

"I see," he murmured. "You like Stefan better. And they didn't exactly know him as 'the peaceful one'," she wiggled his eyebrows, and he couldn't help but laugh when she looked at him with a shocked expression. "Come on, Abba. Haven't I been by your side all this time? I've seen the same things you have. We both know they called him 'The Ripper'."

"He regretted it," she looked away. "I already knew, but... I felt it. Earlier, when I looked into his eyes. I hardly had to cleanse his soul because it was already pure. Do you think it would be the same with his brother?"

"Honestly? I don't think even you could cleanse that thing's soul," she nodded; she agreed. "But... we'll never know anyway. Because you've never dared to get close to him."

"I don't need to do that," she grumbled, looking away. She didn't want to cry in front of him; she had never done it before, and she wasn't going to start now. "I saw enough the last time I encountered him."

Sometimes Stefan felt being a vampire wasn't a curse at all. When he was near Elena, he was glad his senses were heightened. He loved the way her straight hair fell over her ears. And the scent of her skin was a drug he could never tire of. The best part was that if she truly knew the power she had over him, she wouldn't try to use it against him. That's what he loved most about her.

He could be himself no matter what happened. With her, his heart was safe, well-guarded. Even in his dream, though they weren't together, it hadn't been entirely different.

He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts away, and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. He had already opened the door, as he needed a clear path when he used his other hand to cover her eyes. Just a few steps away, their friends were eagerly waiting for her to arrive so they could shout, "surprise." He had never run so fast to buy period costumes like he had an hour ago.

"It smells like... incense," she commented, and the boy chuckled behind her. "Strange incense."

He smiled. They had done a good job with the costumes because it felt as if her father were waiting for her, writing in his journal, as soon as she opened the door. At first, when he heard Bonnie say "themed party" and "1860," a chill ran down his spine from head to toe, but being with Elena, he knew nothing could go wrong. He had only asked one favor from his friends (which they didn't understand): not to curl his hair.

"Ready?" he whispered at the edge of her neck, and he felt her goosebumps. He smiled, pleased. "You can open your eyes now..."

As soon as she was free from Stefan's hands, her friends pounced on her, shouting surprise as if she didn't know anything. Everyone there knew that Caroline had most likely messed up, but they didn't care because she looked just as excited. Bonnie and Caroline took her to Stefan's room, where they had a dress for her as well.

He would get ready faster before she was done. His brother greeted him, raising his full whiskey glass in the air. He seemed bitter, sitting on the stairs to avoid the crowd in the living room. He didn't need to ask why he had that look. He could imagine it.

"Mr. Salvatore, you look like a beggar," he said, making Stefan roll his eyes. "Whose blood is that?"

Stefan looked at his shirt; he must have stained it when he picked up that guy from the road.

"Oh, this?" he shrugged it off. "It's nothing. There was a guy on the road who needed help."

"Oh, I see," he chuckled. "He wouldn't happen to have a stake stuck in his stomach, would he?"

His brother approached him with a mix of disbelief and anger in his eyes. He leaned over his head when he reached his side.

"You had nothing to do with that, right?"

"It was self-defense, I swear!" he showed him his palms. "He came after me after I killed him the first time by ripping out his heart, a long story. I ran into him this afternoon on my way home, turned into a vampire, can you believe it? He was coming with a stake to kill me."

"No, I can't believe he would do something like that," his brother replied sarcastically. "And the girl?"

"What... girl?"

"There was a girl with him, don't you know anything about that?"

He shrugged.

"When he attacked me, he was alone."

"Anyway, whatever. He still has a bit of time to find the house and come to kill you. We have a birthday to celebrate," he was joking, but his brother agreed, though he didn't say anything; his face was expressive enough on its own. "By the way... are you sure the guy was a vampire?"

"What else could he be?"

Stefan shook his head, downplaying it, and climbed the stairs two at a time. He was just surprised that, being a vampire, the hole in his stomach hadn't closed up after all that time. But he didn't want to think about it. It was clear that the fact he was a vampire and hadn't staked him in the heart was a cause for concern, but it wasn't something to think about now. All he wanted at that moment was to spend the night dancing with his beautiful girlfriend to some Bon Jovi song, or whatever they had chosen, and have a drink with the others. It felt like years since he had touched her, even though they had woken up together in the same bed that morning, naked. Although, to be honest, he wasn't in a hurry.

He passed by his room and noticed the door was open, so he took the opportunity to see what was happening inside. Bonnie was closing her corset, and Caroline was finishing putting the butterflies of the headpiece in her hair. On second thought, maybe he was a bit in a hurry for the celebration to end.

"Oh, Stefan!" Caroline startled him, finishing opening the door and catching him there, red-handed. "Why aren't you dressed yet? Do you want to keep her waiting or what?"

"Leave him alone, Caroline. He was probably just enjoying the view," she teased, making him smile.

Stefan smiled, not because he had seen that view, but because he had imagined it.

"I don't have to pretend I'm not crazy about her, do I?" he laughed, and it made her smile too. "I'll see you outside, sweetheart".