Title: Better Off Without Memories
Summary: Set during season 5 when Stefan has Amnesia. This story makes Stefan react more realistically to his brother shacking up with his ex-girlfriend which leads to him losing faith in them. He turns to Caroline for support because he trusts her, and it soon leads to more than friendship. Will their love last when Stefan gets his memories back and Elena realizes what a terrible mistake she has made? Read to find out!
Rating: T for now
Pairing: Steroline, Stelena, others to be decided
Warning: Delena bashing
Author's Note: This chapter will follow somewhat closely to the actual episode it was set in.
Chapter 1: Amnesia's Got Me Down
Welcome back, brother," Damon says.
"Stefan…" Elena says, her voice hitching, "We missed you." He looks at them confused.
"Uh, I'm sorry," Stefan scratches the back of his neck, "I… I have no idea who you people are." Elena's smile falls and she looks from Damon to Stefan in shock.
It's night-time and Stefan is reading a passage from his diary while Damon drives. "March 12, 1922. I blacked out for days. I woke up in a stranger's blood in places I don't recognize with women I don't remember," Stefan reads aloud.
"I feel alive again," Damon adds. Stefan scoffs.
"All right. I think I've read enough."
Damon furrows his eyebrows. "Nada?"
Stefan rolls his eyes. "I know nada means nothing. I know the day and the year. I know this car has a V-8 engine, and yet I am two journals deep, and I have absolutely no memory of who the hell I am," Stefan admits.
Damon sighs in frustration. "Brutal."
Stefan takes a sip from a blood bag. "And this is supposed to fill me up?"
"Well, yes and no. Technically yeah, because you're a vampire. Realistically no because you're, you know, you."
"Ahh, yes. The insatiable and blood-lusting vampire, Ripper of Monterrey."
"And we're only in the 1920s, baby."
"So, this Rebekah chick," Stefan enquires, "Is she still around?"
"Kind of… She left to New Orleans a while ago, but she's still alive, yes."
They fall into an uncomfortable silence and Stefan closes his eyes and tries to imagine the 1920s.
They arrive at a bar where people are toasting to someone's death. Stefan raises an eyebrow, "Is this town always so upbeat about dead people?"
"Well, in the theme of morbid town tradition, you go back to the 1820s when everyone was so paranoid about the cholera thing that they would occasionally bury a body a wee bit before its time."
Stefan groans in disgust. "So, we have a holiday dedicated to burying people alive?"
"Well, they were so paranoid that they would actually request to be buried with a string attached to a bell above ground, and then the whole family would hang around the grave for 24 hours in hopes of hearing the bell and that their loved one would come back, but now it's just really—it's really a kick-ass excuse to get hammered," Damon says with a smirk gracing his features.
They clink their glasses and as they are about to drink, Elena walks in. "And here I thought catching up on nearly two centuries would be a drag," Elena smiles at them brightly.
Stefan stares at her blankly. "Remind me of your name again."
Elena looks hurt but responds, "Elena."
"Elena. Right," Stefan pursues his lips together.
Elena shoots Damon a frustrated look. "You haven't told him about me?"
Damon looks away from her and replies, "Two hundred years is a long time." Elena shifts uncomfortably.
"Right. Well…" She pours a glass of alcohol down her throat.
Stefan is at the counter flirting with a cute waitress. Damon and Elena are sitting alone at the table. "So, Mr. So far, So Good, Mr. I Can Handle My Brother, Mr. I Know What I'm Doing," Elena remarks self-righteously.
"Hey, I never said I know what I'm doing," Damon interrupts. Elena ignores him and starts dialling on her phone.
"Who are you calling?" Damon asks. "Bonnie," Elena responds, "A witch did this to him. Maybe a witch can undo it."
He grabs her phone. "I've called her about ten times, and she hasn't called me back. Look, I say until she does, let's just let Stefan be Stefan, fun, carefree, drunk Stefan without a hundred years of vampire guilt on his shoulders."
They look over to see Stefan and the cute waitress have disappeared. Their eyes widen in realization.
"Don't scream," Stefan compels her, "Don't move. I don't want to hurt you. You seem really nice. It's not like I want to rip your head off, but I keep being told that if I have one taste, I won't be able to stop...and although the thought of killing you scares the hell out of me, this feeling of hunger that I have inside of me is just so much more powerful." Stefan is about to bite her when Damon speeds over and pulls him away. He compels the waitress to forget everything that just happened.
"Come on," Damon says, gesturing Stefan outside.
Damon, Stefan and Elena are walking through the cemetery when Stefan notices a tombstone. "What kind of a name is Honoria Fell?"
"Shh," Damon teases him, "You're kind of the one that killed her."
Stefan presses his lips together. "Oh."
They enter the Salvatore mausoleum. "Hindsight being 20/20, way too much temptation at the bar, so if this Ripper gene is biological, then we need to minimize human contact until we get your brain all witchy-wooed back to normal, so here it is," Damon says.
Stefan looks around. "So, this is the family crypt… Anybody here I didn't kill?"
"Well, we've covered our father, who art in hell. Uncle Zach, my bad. On the bright side, our mother died of consumption," Damon replies, ringing the bell with each family member he lists.
"Oh, good," Stefan responds.
Damon's phone vibrates. "I got to go see a man about a witch. Party on without me. Brother—for you," Damon says while putting the bottle of liquor down and handing the bell to Elena, "And this is for you." Damon leaves.
"Well… I uh, I certainly hope your family history was happier than mine." Elena laughs. "Well, let's see. In the last three years, I lost my adoptive parents, my birth parents, my aunt, our guardian Alaric and my brother Jeremy died, although he came back to life, so there's that."
"Wait… Jeremy that lives in our house?" Stefan asks confused.
"Yeah. After I had a breakdown and burned my house to the ground," Elena chuckles. Stefan smiles.
"What?" Elena asks, unable to stop the flutter she feels in her stomach.
"How do I not remember you? I mean, you're smart, you're pretty, you're funny. Obviously, you're the strongest woman in the world if you managed to figure out a way to get through all that," Stefan says in disbelief.
She smiles at him. "I surround myself with amazing people who help me through it. Like you. You're one of those people."
Stefan raises his eyebrow. "So, bonded by death? Please don't tell me that we met in a cemetery." Elena laughs.
"Wait… Really? We met in a cemetery?" She can't help but think back to that day.
"Well, no. Officially, we met somewhere else first, but, um, you want to see?" Elena asks excitedly.
"Yeah, sure," Stefan smiles.
Stefan is walking down an empty hall when Elena comes out of the men's bathroom and bumps into him. "Anything?" Elena asks hopefully.
"No, sorry," Stefan sighs. Then she realizes something.
"Actually, I think you were coming from that direction," Elena points behind her before continuing, "Because I remember looking that way, so maybe if we switch..."
"Sure," Stefan nods.
They try to switch directions but both times both step on the same spot, blocking each other. Elena takes Stefan by the shoulders and switch around. She lets go of Stefan's shoulders when she realizes she's touching him, and it brings back some memories for her.
"This is where we collided. Let's try again. Shall we?"
She starts walking towards the bathroom, but Stefan stops her by grabbing her arm. "Hey, Elena. As frustrating as it is for me not to have any memories, I really don't think that re-creating the time we met is magically gonna bring it all back," Stefan points out.
Elena sighs. "Yeah, I know. Right. I'm sorry. It's...It's just that seeing you like this is so...strange."
"I'm strange," Stefan laughs, "You were the one coming out of the men's bathroom. Do I even want to know why?"
Elena tilts her head to the side. "Let's just say I was having a pretty horrible first day… I want to show you something. Come on."
A few moments later they are standing outside of the school in front of the big Mystic Falls Timberwolves logo. "Close your eyes," Elena instructs.
"You close your eyes," Stefan quips. Elena smiles at him. "Come on, Stefan. Trust me." Stefan reluctantly agrees.
He closes his eyes until Elena calls out, "All right. You can open them. The view's great! Come on up." He sees her standing on the school's roof.
"How the hell do I get up there?" Stefan shouts. "Jump. Just push off with every ounce of strength that you have."
"Okay," Stefan replies before jumping. He now finds himself on the rooftop with Elena.
"All right. Well, I have to admit that was, uh, that was actually pretty amazing," Stefan admits.
"You're the one who whooshed me to the top of a Ferris wheel once before I was a vampire," Elena tells him.
"Right. You mean when we dated."
Elena shoots him a look of surprise. "I thought Damon hadn't gotten to that part."
Stefan chuckles. "I may have amnesia, but I'm not an idiot. I'm a hundred and sixty-four-year-old vampire who went back to high school, so I'm guessing that had something to do with you?"
Elena shifts uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah."
"And obviously we're not together anymore, so I have a feeling me ripping people's heads off might have been a little bit of a turn-off," Stefan scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.
Elena shakes her head. "Actually, no. You were the most compassionate person I'd ever met. You hated the idea of hurting anyone. The guilt would overwhelm you. You were always in control."
Stefan grimaces. "So, I bored you to death?"
Elena laughs. "No, Stefan, it wasn't you. It was me… Becoming a vampire changed me. Come on, I'll show you." She stands on the edge of the roof and falls back. Stefan watches her and smiles.
They get out of the car and walk along the riverbank near Wickery Bridge. "How is it cosmically possible to get into two accidents on the same bridge?" Stefan asks surprised.
Elena shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe it was fate drawing me back, saying that I cheated death the first time."
"But if I was there both times, then why didn't I save you both times?" Stefan asks confused.
"Because the second time you saved my best friend Matt because I asked you to."
"Ah. Got it. So, I'm an idiot." Elena shakes her head. "No. You were the perfect boyfriend. You valued what I wanted even if it wasn't what you agreed with." A silence falls between them.
"It's working, you know?" Stefan says. Elena looks surprised.
She asks hopefully, "You're remembering?"
He shakes his head. "No. I mean, this, whatever we're doing, the distracting, the sublimating, whatever you want to call it. The urge to feed has settled. I'm not, uh, hungry anymore. Whatever monster I was capable of being, I could see why I was different around you."
"You were never a monster," Elena insists.
"Elena, I saw my reflection in the mirror today. I was scared of me."
"Well, you never scared me. The first time I saw you for what you were, I touched your face like this," Elena says placing both her hands on his face, "And I told you not to hide."
She starts to remove her hands from his face, but he grabs her by the wrist. "Don't," Stefan says softly. He places her hand back on his face. He caresses her face and looks deeply into her eyes. He pulls her gently towards him and he leans in for a kiss.
"I'm with Damon," Elena blurts out. She moves her hands away from his face and he steps back.
"You're with my brother and neither of you thought that was something I should know?" Stefan asks angrily.
"We weren't hiding it from you. It's not that… I'm sorry, I just…" Elena tries to find the words to explain. She turns around.
"Unbelievable!" Stefan says in disbelief, "So, what was the reason you spent this entire time telling me about our epic love story that just wasn't good enough to last?"
"Stefan…" Elena says softly, "I'm sorry."
"And just like the hunger returns."
Elena turns around to face him only to realize he sped off.
Stefan is walking around among the people. He grabs a bottle of alcohol from a basket and keeps walking as he starts drinking. "Stefan?" Caroline calls out, the surprise in her voice is evident.
"Caroline Forbes, my best friend," Stefan says playfully. Caroline's eyes widen. "Wait, you recognize me?"
"Well, I've studied pictures. You're much hotter in person," Stefan grins. A faint blush appears on her cheeks.
"Sorry, I'm a little drunk," Stefan offers her a smile, hoping he hasn't crossed any boundaries. This is the first person that knows him and doesn't seem fake.
"Yeah, I can see that," Caroline teases him before she looks at him and asks in a worried tone, "Are you okay?"
He feels touched by how genuine her concern seems. "Well, if by okay you mean heavily spiralling into Ripper oblivion, then yes I'm just dandy," Stefan laughs humourlessly. Caroline's friend Jesse appears, and she compels him to go hide when Stefan makes a joke about ripping his arm off.
"Look. I know that you're hungry, but you don't do people, okay? It just…it doesn't end well."
"What about blood bags? Do you have any blood bags?"
"Yes, in the car. Come with me." Caroline turns around and starts walking to her car but Stefan speed-runs out of there.
Jesse is on the phone to Caroline when Stefan appears behind him and plunges his fangs into Jesse's neck. After drinking he lets go of Jesse. "There. That wasn't so bad, was it? I did it. I stopped," Stefan says.
"I don't know who you are man," Jesse begins but Stefan interrupts him. "Oh, I'm a Ripper. You know what that means? That means I literally can't stop feeding until I rip someone's head off. But look at us. We're working it out."
"Let me out of here, please," Jesse begs.
Stefan shakes his head. "I know I should let you out. I'm good, right? I'm compassionate. I live with this burning hunger inside of me that allows me to stay in control, but what do I have to show for it, huh?"
Jesse backs away from him. "I don't know you, man."
Stefan chuckles darkly. "Well, we're in the same boat… I don't really know me either. I have no memories because my brain was fried. My brother, who's been my brother for a hundred and sixty-some-odd years, stole my girlfriend, and my girlfriend let him, so you tell me... what's the point of being good?" Stefan sheds a tear.
Caroline runs in. "Stefan… This isn't you, okay? You might not remember, but I do. You are better than this. You are not this person."
"I…I'm sorry, I have to go," Stefan says. Caroline wants to follow after him, but she needs to heal and compel Jesse.
Stefan is at the Salvatore Boarding House by the fireplace, burning his diaries.
"Stefan," Elena sighs in relief, "There you are. We've been looking everywhere for you." Damon realizes what his brother is doing. "What are you doing there, brother?"
"Well, you know, just tying up a few odds and ends," Stefan shrugs.
"You sure you want to do that?" Damon asks.
"Well, I know what I don't want. I don't want to be the person in these journals anymore. I don't want to live in this house. I don't want my brother's advice. I don't want to hear how I supported you, Elena, and I definitely do not want to continue this conversation." He grabs a duffel bag and starts walking away.
"Stefan, wait," Elena calls out.
"Don't worry. I'm not gonna go on a Ripper binge. Besides, Caroline said she'd call me every hour to make sure I was okay and, uh...I actually do trust her." She flinches.
"But…" Elena whines.
Stefan pauses and turns around. "But what, Elena? You thought I would prefer to stay here and watch my ex-girlfriend shack up with my brother? Thanks, but no thanks." He walks out without sparing her another glance. Elena frowns.
"I think we just got dumped," Damon says.
"We need Bonnie. Why hasn't she called us back? It's so unlike her. He can't stay like this," Elena insists.
Damon sighs. "Elena, Bonnie can't help us."
"Did you talk to her? What did she say? There's got to be something that she can do. I mean, she'll figure it out. She always does."
He approaches her and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Bonnie's dead, Elena."
"What?" Elena asks shocked.
"She's dead," Damon says sadly, "I'm sorry."
Stefan is standing in the Salvatore Family Crypt and Caroline walks in. "Hey," Caroline says softly, "How are you feeling?"
"Hmm, I'm feeling better, which in my world means I haven't committed homicide since I last saw you," Stefan teases. He notices the sad expression grace her features and he wants to make it go away. "What's wrong?"
"It's Bonnie. My friend, our friend. She's dead," Caroline says sadly. He opens his mouth to ask what happened but it's like she reads his mind when she continues. "Please don't ask because then I'm going to have to try to come up with an answer, which means I'm gonna have to actually think about it, and then I'll start crying, and I'm afraid that I might not ever be able to stop." She sits on a stone bench, and he sits beside her.
"I'm sorry… I wish I could remember her," Stefan says softly.
"I don't know. Part of me just wishes that I could trade places with you because without all the memories, maybe it wouldn't hurt so damn much," Caroline looks away from him.
"It's okay," Stefan replies, trying to comfort her.
"It's not. I'm never gonna see her again, and I have no idea where Tyler is, and I just got so used to them being there all the time, and now what, I'm supposed to just learn to move on without them? How do I do that when all I have is this sadness and this anger and…" Caroline says.
"Me. You have me. Look. You were there for me last night. Sounds like you're always there for me." He places his hand on hers. "So let me be there for you, okay?" She nods and places her head on his shoulder.
Stefan watches silently from far away as they have a funeral for Bonnie. He wants to be there for Caroline, but he doesn't feel like he should be there when he doesn't even know who Bonnie is. So, he waits and watches. Damon, Elena, Caroline, Matt and Jeremy are all mourning Bonnie. He's about to leave when he sees Caroline's gaze on him. She sneaks away from the others.
"Stefan… you're here."
"I might not want to be around Damon and Elena, but I want to be here for you," Stefan replies.
"Thank you," Caroline breathes out. He embraces her and she calms down listening to the sound of his breathing.
"Do you maybe want to do something tonight?" Stefan asks hesitantly, "We could get some ice-cream and watch sad movies… Is that still the appropriate distraction?"
Caroline can't help but smile. "As much as I would love to do that, there's this ball I have to attend." She sighs. He looks disappointed.
"Do you want to come with me?" Caroline offers.
"Yeah, uh, sure, that would be great."
"Great," Caroline smiles brightly, "I'll sort out your costume don't worry."
She runs off hearing Stefan shout in the distance, "Wait costume? What costume? Caroline!"
Caroline and Stefan walk into the ball. "Wow, you really helped with all of this?" Stefan asks in awe of her.
"Helped… No, no, no, I almost singlehandedly organized this," Caroline smirks.
"Well Miss Forbes, colour me impressed." Caroline smiles at him.
"Did I mention that you're by far the hottest serial killer in here?" Stefan flirts with her. She blushes under his gaze.
"Well, considering the crowd, I'll take that compliment."
They go to the bar and have a drink. Stefan sets his empty glass down.
"Dance with me," Stefan grins, holding his hand out to Caroline, "I'm buzzed and on the verge of having a good time." Caroline bites her lip but places her hand in his and allows him to lead her on to the dancefloor.
Caroline's skin tingles under Stefan's fingertips. For someone who claimed not to enjoy dancing, he is amazing at it. He spins her around the dancefloor effortlessly. She feels his hot breath on her neck and lets out a whimper. She closes her eyes and takes in his scent. A few moments later, she realizes what she's doing. She pulls away from him.
"I-I have to go to the bathroom," Caroline says nervously before walking away. Stefan sighs in frustration, thinking he's done something wrong. He goes to get another drink at the bar.
A woman dressed as Cleopatra stands next to him. "Where I come from, open bar meant ceramic jugs of Phoenician wine." She chuckles. Stefan rolls his eyes but doesn't respond.
"You have no idea who I am, do you?" The woman narrows her eyes at him.
Stefan scoffs. "No offense, but actually, I have no idea who a lot of people are."
"Tessa, formerly known as Qetsiyah."
"The girl who wiped my memories," Stefan says, his eyes widening in realization.
"Nothing personal," Qetsiyah shrugs, "Little ex-boyfriend drama. Let me make it up to you. Buy you an "I'm sorry" drink?"
Before he can respond, Damon walks in and puts his hand on Stefan's shoulder. "More like an I'm sorry keg," Damon replies smarmily.
"Leave me alone, Damon," Stefan glares at him, "In fact… Both of you can fuck off." He gets up and starts to walk away.
Damon catches up to him. "Wait, it's Caroline… She needs help."
That gets Stefan's attention, and he nods. He follows Damon to another room, but there's no on inside. "What are we doing here?" Stefan asks.
"Well…" Damon trails off. Stefan turns around to leave the room when a man that looks exactly like him appears in front of him.
"Hello, me." Damon breaks Stefan's neck and Silas takes his leather jacket and puts it on.
Caroline leaves the bathroom after her mini-freak-out and sees Stefan on the dancefloor with another woman. "Of course, he just found someone else," Caroline groans, "We just here as friends." She sends him a quick text to tell him she's gone home and leaves very confused about why she feels so jealous about her amnesiac best friend dancing with some gorgeous woman.
Stefan wakes up and glares at his brother. "Breaking my neck and pumping me full of vervain… All we need is a Damon-sized rationalization."
"Oh, the new you sucks," Damon rolls his eyes.
"How would the old me deal with this? Barrel full of laughs?" Stefan says sarcastically.
"He'd know it wasn't about him," Damon quips.
"Oh, who's it about Damon, huh? About you? Your desperation to prove to Elena that you're a worthy boyfriend?" Stefan asks him. Damon flinches at the harshness in his brother's tone.
"I'm gonna get her best friend back, okay?" He breaks Stefan's neck again before sending Silas a text telling him to hurry up.
A while later, Stefan moves his hand but keeps his eyes closed. "You awake? Stefan?" Damon pats his face, "You alive again? Huh?"
He head-butts Damon away and breaks his neck. "How does it feel, brother?" Stefan smirks.
He walks into the room where Qetsiyah is showing concern for Silas who she thinks is Stefan. "Silas," Stefan breathes out, "That's Silas."
"No…" Silas groans. He punches Silas in the face and takes his daylight ring back.
"He's working with my brother. Everything he said to you was a lie," Stefan tells her before leaving the room.
Stefan knocks on Caroline's door. She opens it and rubs her eyes which are adjusting to the light. His mouth waters as he takes in the way her tank top fits to her body and the fact that her shorts are way too short. "Stefan…" Caroline blushes under his appreciative gaze, "What are you doing here?"
"I came to check on you… You left to go the bathroom and then I never saw you again. I tried to look for you," Stefan says nervously.
"Yeah," Caroline says bitterly, "You were trying really hard to look for me while dancing with the beautiful Pocahontas."
Stefan groans. "That wasn't me."
"I saw you, Stefan," Caroline rolls her eyes.
"Caroline, it wasn't me," Stefan says, looking into her eyes, "It was Silas."
"What?" Caroline asks shocked, "Then where were you?"
"Getting my neck snapped by my brother," Stefan says dryly.
"You know if it was anyone else, I'd be surprised, but it's Damon," Caroline rolls her eyes before moving away from the entrance and gesturing for him to come in. He enters the room and sits down on her bed. She hands him a blood bag and he shoots her a look of gratitude and starts sipping on it while listening to her rant about something.
"You're cute when you rant," Stefan says suddenly.
She blushes and looks away from him. "Stefan…"
He uses his hand to make her face him and cups her cheek. He looks at her lips and licks his lips. He moves slowly, giving her the opportunity to move away if she doesn't want to kiss him. He kisses her softly and she kisses him back. She moans when he bites on her bottom lip. He slips his tongue into her mouth, and they battle for dominance. Before it can go any further, her phone rings and it's Elena calling. She pushes him off.
"Stefan… We can't do this," Caroline says guiltily.
"I'm sorry…" Stefan says backing away from her. She turns away from him and answers the call.
"Look Elena, I'm a little busy right now," Caroline says quickly but Stefan has already left.
Stefan runs off, unsure where to go. He comes to the conclusion that he'd rather stay with a vengeful witch for the night than his brother and ex-girlfriend, so he shows up on Qetsiyah's doorstep. She smiles and takes him in.
The next morning Qetsiyah answers Stefan's phone. "Stefan's phone."
"Who's this?" Elena demands.
"Uncanny," Qetsiyah rolls her eyes, "Your doppelganger voice is exactly like Amara's… So whiny."
"Tessa," Elena says angrily, "Where's Stefan?"
"In the shower," Qetsiyah smirks, "He worked up quite the sweat. Can I take a message?"
"Yeah. Remind him you're a crazy bitch," Elena says bitterly.
"I would," Qetsiyah taunts, "But I think that's maybe his type."
She hangs up the call and calls Damon to whine to him. Silas reveals what they did to Stefan last night. She's annoyed with Damon and hangs up the phone before leaving the Boarding House.
Qetsiyah opens the door. "Well, if it isn't Stefan's fated love."
"Where is he?" Elena asks while barging in.
Stefan sighs. "You really shouldn't have come here."
Elena looks at him in disbelief. "Of course, I came Stefan and I'm really sorry… If I had known about the ball, I wouldn't have let Damon do what he did to you."
Stefan rolls his eyes. "Sure, you would've. You have this annoying tendency to do anything he tells you to do."
"I'm no shrink, but I think it's called co-dependence," Qetsiyah interjects.
Elena ignores both of their words. "Look. I get that you're upset with us for pretty much everything, but do you really think that sleeping with Tessa is gonna solve anything?"
Stefan raises his eyebrow. "Who said I was sleeping with Tessa?"
"Oops," Qetsiyah smirks, "My bad… I'm so bad with messages."
Elena sighs in relief. "Okay. I just came by to make sure she that hadn't done some, like, fatal attraction spell on you. Now that I know you're good, I'm gonna go." She tries to exit but is blocked by the force field.
Stefan shrugs, "I told you that you really shouldn't have come in here."
Some time later, after playing nice with Qetsiyah, Stefan notices the barrier is broken. He stabs her and mutters a quick 'sorry' before telling Elena to run. They both run off while she stares on angrily.
They walk into the Boarding House and Elena thanks him for saving her. He nods, barely acknowledging her. "Are you staying at home tonight?" Elena asks hopefully.
"If I had one then maybe I would," Stefan replies bitterly before leaving.
He stands outside Caroline's door trying to get the courage to knock. Just as he lifts his hand up, the door swings open to reveal Caroline. "Stefan," Caroline says softly, "I was just coming to see you."
"You were?" Stefan asks. She nods.
"Come on in," Caroline smiles at him.
He shifts uncomfortably. "I thought you might be mad at me for kissing you."
"It's hard to explain," Caroline sighs, "I'm not mad at you for kissing me… It's just that when you get your memories back then you're going to regret it and I'm not."
"Look," Stefan licks his lips, "I don't know how I would react feeling these things with my memory but right now I don't have my memory and I don't know when I'm getting it back and the only time, I feel safe and happy is when I'm with you… You're like this ray of sunshine in a very dark ripper world." She laughs.
"I want this… I want you," Stefan says looking into her eyes. Her breath hitches at the huskiness of his voice. Before she can stop herself, she has her lips on his and is pressing her body against him. He steps in and closes the door behind them before taking her to bed.
Caroline wakes up to kisses being trailed along her collarbone. "Good morning, beautiful," Stefan whispers in her ear. She blushes and can't stop a smile from gracing her features.
"Good morning," Caroline licks her lips as she looks at him.
"How about we make it a great morning?" Stefan says suggestively before pulling her onto him so that she's straddling him.
"I think you have the most brilliant ideas," Caroline winks. And anyone walking past their room for the next couple of hours hears quite the show.
They both collapse next to each other, sweating profusely and smiles on their faces. "I wish we could just stay in this bubble forever," Caroline says cuddling into him.
"Why can't we?" Stefan asks.
"Well for one, you have no memories. For another thing, we still have to deal with Silas. Not to mention the fact that Elena will be here soon." Stefan groans.
"Okay, how about this… We figure out this Silas mess and then you and I get out of here and take a vacation?" Stefan flirts, "One where we never leave the hotel room."
Caroline giggles. "Deal."
Author's Note: So I haven't decided whether I should leave this as a one-shot or continue it as a story... Let me know what you guys think.
Much Love
Awesomeness2502