Stefan rubbed his hands over his face as he made his way towards the hospital's waiting room. Elena would be there, waiting for him. She would also ask what happened with John...and he would tell her. He was far too tired to lie to her about something so insignificant as threatening to kill John Gilbert. He only threatened him. Damon, and probably Eve, had actually killed the man...And now he had to deal with the bombardment of thoughts about his stupid brother and his dumb best friend. Well, if they were still even friends after what had transpired in the alley...Really, since she returned from New York. And as much as Stefan didn't mind seeing Damon kicked a few steps down, he also didn't want to have to deal with his mopey dramatic ass. That was why he had called Eve to begin with. To make sure his brother would be happy..and to make sure the older vampire wouldn't go off and turn anyone else... Stefan sighed quietly as he turned into the waiting room and saw Elena. His heart lightened, even just for a moment, at seeing the brunette.
"You ready to leave?" Stefan asked, walking up to Elena. Elena looked up from her phone and smiled at him.
"More than anything." Elena exhaled. Stefan pulled her into a hug and felt his worries disappear as she hugged him back. "Let's go." Elena said, pulling away from Stefan and grabbing his hand before walking to the exit. Her hand fit so nicely in his. "I just have to swing by home and pick up Jenna and Jeremy so we can go to the Lockwoods'." Elena said, taking her hand from his and texting on her phone. "How did you leave him there? John?" Elena asked hesitantly. Stefan took a few steps ahead of her.
"I-uh...I asked him to leave town." Stefan replied hesitantly back.
"Asked?" Elena asked, sounding slightly amused at his reply. "You threatened him." Elena stated, not sounding disappointed at all. Stefan slowed down before turning around and facing her.
"Yeah." Stefan admitted. "I threatened him." Stefan's hands went into his pockets, slightly guiltily.
"Good." Elena stated sternly. Stefan couldn't help the small smile that creeped onto his lips from how sure of herself she sounded. "I want him gone, Stefan." Elena continued seriously. "I know that I shouldn't feel that way, but I don't want someone like that in my life. Or Jeremy's life." Elena said, continuing to explain herself, despite Stefan already fully supporting her decision.
"I know, I know." Stefan stated aloud, nodding his head at her explanations. Elena sighed before she pulled him into a hug. Warmth engulfed him once more from their hug. God, he was in love with her.
"So what now?" Elena asked against his shoulder, still sounding upset with herself.
"Now…" Stefan stated, the warm feeling slowly burning away as he thought of what he had to do. "I need to go find Damon." Stefan stated as the two pulled away.
"Please Stefan, don't fight with him." Elena pleaded. Unfortunately, Stefan had made up his mind.
"No Elena. He tried to kiss you. He was a dick to Eve." Stefan explained his reasonings. Maybe if he mentioned Eve, Elena wouldn't be so pissed that he was planning to go beat the shit out of his brother.
"He did say that I had tried to kiss him, so he wasn't the one to initiate it." Elena tried to make Stefan back down, but that only made Stefan want to punch the bastard even more.
"He thought it was you though." Stefan grumbled back.
"He did say he thought it was Katherine, but he wasn't too sure…" Elena tried once more to calm him down. Before Stefan could retort, Elena continued. "Listen, Katherine is the problem." Elena stated sternly. "She's already messing with both of your heads." Elena grumbled back. "And if he is being a dick to his only friend, then that means Damon won't be stable when it comes to Katherine." Elena continued to explain herself. "The last thing we need is to make things worse." Elena chastised. Stefan took a moment before letting himself sigh.
"You know, I hate it when you're right." Stefan grumbled, watching as Elena slowly smiled back up at him. He felt himself begin to smile back at her. "Come on, I'll drop you off at home." Stefan said, nodding as he turned to continue their walk towards the parking lot.
"And what will you do?" Elena asked in a very playful tone. Stefan let out a long sigh back at her.
"I'll go to the Lockwood's and avoid Damon like the plague." Stefan grumbled reluctantly back. Elena's laugh made his dramatic display worth it.
The car ride was filled with small chatter from Elena as she let herself talk about something that didn't involve vampires or vampire drama. It was nice. Even with how short the ride was, it was still just...nice. It made Stefan get out of his own head. Plus, he learned that despite all the vampire drama that she had to deal with, she was still getting good grades. After already getting a few different college degrees, Stefan was breezing through high school, but didn't want to mention that to a girl who was only doing it for the first time...plus, it was pretty easy to cheat when only 3 teachers in the whole school ingested vervain. Oh the things he did to be closer to Elena…
As Stefan parked on the curb beside Elena's house, the two shared a quick kiss before she rushed out of the car and ran into her house. She was going to be late to the wake...But Stefan could explain why when he got there ahead of her…Plus, if he was explaining where Elena was to questioning people, he could ignore the fact that he wanted to kill his brother for being such a good-for-nothing prick.
Stefan let himself steam on his way to the Lockwood's. Elena wasn't there to distract his mind or keep him from nearly crushing his steering wheel. Luckily he didn't, but he did hear a few cracks that made him uncomfortable to take off the steering wheel cover to see the damage. Stefan drove up to the Lockwood's and looked for a place to park before making his way to the old mansion.
Even after a century, Stefan could still hear parties of old...Being human really stuck with a vampire. As Stefan made his way up to the mansion, he couldn't help but look across the large front yard. A gentle warmth filled his heart. Somewhere, just beyond the treeline was where he first met Eve. Stefan could find Eve in here...Stefan had heard Caroline mention to Elena that Eve had gone to the Lockwood's with the sheriff. It would be a little more difficult to find the short woman though since she wouldn't be near Damon. At least, he didn't think they would be hanging out after the words that were spoken between the two...Then again, those two had been friends for nearly a...century? They were just drawn to each other. Everytime Stefan showed up in Eve's life, he knew Damon wasn't far behind. So maybe what happened behind the alley was just a speed bump in their relationship…Either way, Stefan was going to use the hurtful things Damon said to Eve in the alleyway as an extra excuse to punch Damon in his stupid face.
As Stefan walked into the Lockwood's, his ears perked up as he heard a very familiar voice that he had just dropped off...Stefan walked over cautiously towards where the voice was coming from.
"I've been around a long time Bonnie." The voice, just past a closed door, muttered. "You're going to have to do better than that." The woman snarked. The door suddenly swung open. Stefan looked into the room and saw Katherine holding Bonnie against a wall. "Nice." Katherine muttered, looking impressed at the opened door before her eyes caught his.
"Katherine." Stefan muttered as Katherine smiled back at him, still holding Bonnie by the throat.
"Stefan." Katherine chirped.
"Leave her alone." Stefan stated seriously.
"Okay." Katherine said with a smile as she let go of Bonnie and walked over towards him. Stefan stared at her, remaining neutral as he looked at her despite the irritation he felt bubbling up. Her finger tracing across his chest as she walked past him. Stefan looked back at Bonnie to make sure she was okay before he turned and followed Katherine.
"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, following Katherine as she walked across the foyer and grabbed a glass of wine from a table.
"After the way you treated me last night, I thought that a public place would be less violent." Katherine said in a teasing voice as the two continued to walk through to another room.
"You're taking this a little far, don't you think?" Stefan muttered. "Elena could walk in at any moment." Stefan chastised as Katherine walked up to a table with fruits and chuckled.
"But that's part of the fun, Stefan." Katherine smiled, picking up a cherry from the tray. "Damon's here...somewhere." Katherine said looking around cautiously. "I've been avoiding him." Katherine muttered, going to take a bite from the cherry.
"Hey guys." Matt Donovan said, pulling Stefan's attention towards the human . Katherine was quick to change her playful attitude into a fake concerned one.
"Hey Matt." Katherine said softly. "I heard that Caroline is doing much better." Katherine said, still putting on a show for the boy. "Her recovery was practically miraculous . You must be so relieved." Katherine said with a smile.
"I am." Matt said with a gentle smile of his own. "Thanks Elena." Matt said before walking away from the two. Katherine oogled him as he left.
"Ugh, his eyes are so blue!" Katherine groaned aloud.
"You need to leave now ." Stefan muttered back quickly, keeping Katherine from talking any more. He was getting far too fed up with the woman.
"You're hurting my feelings, Stefan." Katherine whined as she took another step away from him. "Damon was much happier to see me." Katherine continued before stopping and looking back at Stefan. "Then again, he thought I was your girlfriend, so…" Katherine sassed back at him.
"Katherine, I'm not doing this with you." Stefan muttered, pausing his movement.
"Okay, how about we don't have a couple's fight in front of all your friends?" Katherine said with a small smile. "Walk with me?" Katherine asked, looking past Stefan.
"Just tell me what you're doing here." Stefan stated. He was getting tired of Katherine.
"Maybe I missed you." Katherine said, pouting her lips. "Is that an acceptable reason?" Katherine asked with a small, hesitant smile. Stefan rolled his eyes at the comment.
"What game are you playing?" Stefan asked, folding his arms.
"Why? You want to play with me?" Katherine chirped, taking a closer step towards Stefan.
"I don't know." Stefan stated, knowing he was going to have to play a little to actually find out what Katherine wanted. "How can I play if I don't know the rules?" Stefan asked, trying to sound even remotely playful back...it came off a little sharp.
"No rules, Stefan." Katherine smiled. "Don't you remember? No rules." Katherine smirked back at him, walking around him. Stefan listened and knew she stopped from the lack of clicking of her heels. Stefan let himself sigh before turning around and looking at Katherine. Katherine had her hand held out for him to come and take. Stefan began walking towards her and could practically feel her smiling to herself. Stefan walked past her hand and through the doorframe right past her. The clicking of her heels told him she was following, if a little reluctantly.
Damon had found some actual booze. No help from Eve and her new booze buddy. Damon ignored the snarky thought as he stood out on the porch. The sun was slowly beginning to set, the sun turning a lighter shade of yellow. Damon thought maybe with fresh air, he would get out of his own head. It wasn't working. He just kept letting his mind take him to darker and darker corners...without a certain someone by his side, he couldn't pull himself out so easily without a life preserve. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Damon's attention landed on the Gilbert's as they walked up the steps to the mansion. Elena's eyes caught his and he felt his heart flutter in his chest before he looked back out at the front yard. Moron, idiot, jackass.
"Hey." Elena said as she walked up to him. "How are you doing?" Elena asked in her stupidly kind voice.
"Great Elena." Damon muttered, taking a drink of the bourbon he was able to find. "Walking on sunshine, thanks for asking." Damon snarked, gesturing out towards the slightly glowing yard.
"Damon." Elena chastised gently.
"Elena." Damon mocked back.
"We should be able to talk about this, Damon." Elena stated seriously. "We're close enough now." Elena continued. Damon took a drink to ignore how her eyes reminded him of honey. "I really want to know how you're doing." Elena said softly.
"You kissed me. I kissed you back. Doppelganger hijinks ensued." Damon muttered, looking back down at the girl. "How do you think I'm doing?" Damon grumbled, looking back out at the yard. He remembered parties the Lockwood's used to hold on evenings like this...warm breeze, gentle music playing.
"I think you're hurt." Elena stated, but Damon quickly interrupted her, knowing she was going to try and give him a long and boring speech.
"No, I don't get hurt, Elena." Damon muttered back.
"No, you don't admit that you get hurt." Elena sassed back at him making him blink back at her. "You get angry and cover it up and then you do something stupid." Elena continued. Damon rolled his eyes back at her comment. "You're alone right now, so you already said something stupid to someone ." Damon flinched at Elena's last comment before glaring back over at her. She looked worried...Damon let out a sharp chuckle.
"You're scared." Damon stated, ignoring Elena's comment. "You think Katherine is gonna send me off the deep end, don't you?" Damon asked, watching as Elena's jaw clenched. "I don't need her for that." Damon stated, taking a step around Elena.
"Yeah, that's why Stefan called your best friend to come to Mystic Falls to cheer you up after you found out that Katherine wasn't in the tomb?" Elena muttered back making Damon freeze before turning back around to look at her.
"And what happens if my dear Evie is the one who sends me off the deep end? Did you think of that?" Damon asked, pointing his finger back at her accusingly. Elena looked at him before shaking her head.
"No. Because I've seen how you two interact." Elena muttered back, folding her arms. Damon rolled his eyes back at Elena.
"Have you seen how she interacts with everyone she likes?" Damon asked back quickly. "How she interacts with Caroline, for instance." Damon said, his words coming off much harsher than he had wanted. "Tell me, what's the difference between Caroline and me?" Damon asked, taking a step closer to Elena. Elena stared back at him challengingly.
"She likes Caroline, she loves you." Elena nearly snapped back. Damon felt his heart clench as he bit the inside of his cheek and looked away from Elena. "If Eve sends you off the deep end, it's your own fault." Elena stated, staring back at Damon. "She came to a small town to console you over Katherine and not once have I seen either of you fight." Elena continued to explain making Damon's fist clench. "But that's just my own opinion." Elena muttered, walking past Damon to go inside.
"You know why…" Damon muttered aloud making Elena pause. "Why is it such a surprise that you would kiss me?" Damon asked, despite the ache in his heart at the mere conversation about Eve.
"I'm surprised that you thought I would kiss you at all." Elena stated seriously. Damon needed more bourbon to deal with these stupid emotions. Or you could just get out of your own head and apologize and confess your love to a certain red head. Damon swallowed as he looked at Elena and ignored the burning in his chest.
"Now I'm hurt." Damon muttered aloud, turning and nearly crashing into the little witch herself.
"Elena!" Bonnie said sharply, making Damon stop and watch the interaction.
"Bonnie...what's wrong?" Elena asked, full of concern. Damon nearly sighed. Now what?
Don't go snooping. That's what Mason said. But it had been way past 5 minutes and Eve was getting bored. So she was snooping. First, she looked and found a master bedroom halfway across the top floor. It looked nearly perfect. Minus the bedsheets. Eve wasn't about to snoop any further in that room. She had some restraint. What was she even supposed to see? By the look of the room, it had the look of a normal bedroom. But Eve felt guilt bubble in her stomach at even just peaking into the room. Eve quickly went about looking around the mansion.
Eve couldn't remember ever actually going into the Lockwood's mansion when she was a human. She always remembered being outside on the lawn...in a fancy dress with an attitude. Eve let herself chuckle at the memory. Her mother had tried so hard to find a suitor for her...She failed by making each suitor a spitting image of her father...or spitting attitude...really, every suitor Eve remembered her mother trying to get her to settle for had something that reminded her of her father. Strange why a woman who was often beat by a man wanted the same to happen to her daughter...A bitter taste in Eve's mouth made her search for a bathroom to get a drink from the tap. It was a mansion, after all, their tap water probably tasted like booze. Eve snickered to herself.
The bathroom she entered seemed fancy. Of course it did, it was the Lockwood's. Eve looked in the large mirror at herself. Yeah, she was pretty cute...for feeling like her heart was in a dryer and turning to dust. Eve rolled her eyes at her thoughts. She was being dramatic. Eve shook her head and turned to leave, forgetting about the bitter taste in her mouth to ignore the pain in her chest. This Mason guy was a good distraction, but he was just that; a distraction. When he wasn't around, she was left with her thoughts...and unfortunately, she had a lot. Words just down the hall caught her attention.
"I remember when my dad died, I had a house full of strangers telling me what a great guy he was." That sounded like baby Gilbert. Eve slowly walked towards the room she heard the conversation going on in. She was bored and this was a great escape from her own thoughts. "Anyway, I know how hard all this is." Jeremy continued. All the Gilberts had a great way with the tone in their voice. Jeremy's was soft when he spoke.
"The difference is that in your case, it was true." Another familiar voice… "My dad was a dick." Ah. Tyler. Eve hesitated outside the room with glass doors. No need for the boys to know they were being spied on for fun. A long pause.
"Yeah. Yeah he was." Jeremy retorted back at Tyler's comment. Eve covered her mouth to keep herself from snorting.
"I found this in his desk." Tyler said after another long pause. "He won't mind, he's dead." Eve once more kept herself from chuckling. These kids were dark creatures.
"Yeah, you know what...sure." Jeremy replied. "Why not?" Jeremy said. The smell of alcohol, some type of harder and more expensive liquor hit Eve's nose. Oh my, the scandal. Teenagers drinking. Eve pulled out her phone and pulled up Caroline's messages.
Caroline: O M F GGGGGGGGG. WHO IS HE?
Caroline: Single? REady 2 mingle? ONS? FLIRT WI TH HIMMM
Eve let herself snicker quietly as she read the message from Caroline. Eve had been able to snap a secret picture of Mason and send it to Caroline without being too suspicious. Luckily, Caroline was in a hospital bed instead of at the Lockwoods', otherwise, Eve knew she would have had to control the girl.
Eve: I mean, free booze is free booze ;) You know how booze and I mix, right?
Eve texted back playfully, making herself giggle. Eve wasn't half as smooth as she made herself out to be...but then again, Caroline was drowsy from her high dose medicine, so she would hopefully believe her for just a moment and not drag her for being an awkward prude, as she lovingly put it...on multiple occasions.
Someone close behind her cleared their throat. Eve let out a muffled scream as she whipped around to see Mason standing right behind her, looking smug as ever. Hopefully he wasn't able to read her text message. Eve smacked his chest a little harder than she had intended, making him bend over a bit and cough.
"Serves ya right, ya prick." Eve hissed, slightly pushing him further from the literal see through doors.
"You know it's a little rude to be texting at a wake for my dead brother." Mason chastised playfully making Eve roll her eyes.
"And tellin' any girl ta wait upstairs fer hard liquor isn't?" Eve snarked back. "Now shh." Eve muttered, glancing around her shoulders at the door to make sure she hadn't alerted the boys with their little friendship session. Mason stood back up, rubbing his chest, a little too sensually, which Eve ignored.
"You see any other girls upstairs?" Mason asked lowly. Eve took in a sharp breath, nearly making herself cough before she put her finger to her lips to quiet the man again. "What are you hiding, baby girl?" Eve ignored the butterflies that bombarded her stomach at such a small little nickname. "Besides text messages." Mason added, making Eve's ears burn.
"Serious teenage boy hangout." Eve whispered back to the obnoxiously loud man, ignoring all of his comments . Mason let out a scoff, grabbing hold of Eve's hand and twirling her around in a circle before he twirled her into him. Eve's feet nearly tripped over one another so she landed against him roughly, forcing a small 'oof' from her mouth. Mason smiled down at her. Eve felt her cheeks slowly burn as she looked up at this incredibly attractive man. He smelled nice. Like where the mountains and the ocean meet. Eve didn't even have a chance to blink before he twirled her quickly away from him and walked into the opened room.
"Hey, what's going on in here?" Eve heard Mason ask very seriously. Eve let out a small huff as she allowed her brain to stop spinning before she walked over to the door and peeked into the room. "Tyler?" Mason asked towards a guilty looking Tyler sitting on a couch and a guilty looking Jeremy standing with a flask in his hands. Eve nearly snorted.
"Nothing." Tyler stated quickly looking between Mason and Jeremy. "Nothing." Tyler tried once more sounding a little more convincing, but Eve could see the guilty look from the door. Mason held out his hand towards Jeremy.
"You got somewhere else to be?" Mason asked, still sounding serious. Jeremy awkwardly handed the flask over to Mason before he turned to leave. Jeremy's brows furrowed as he walked past Eve. Eve tsked him playfully, making the baby Gilbert puff out an annoyed teenager breath before walking around her and leaving for the bathroom. Eve's attention landed back on Mason as he took a drink from the flask before he handed it back to Tyler. Tyler looked a little concerned before he took the flask and drank from it himself. Eve rolled her eyes at the action, letting herself chuckle at the dick interaction between the two. "Your mom is looking for you." Mason said, nodding back towards the door. Tyler let out a long sigh before letting himself sink back into the couch. "And I am not going to be the one who tells her I found you drinking with one of your friends." Mason chastised, folding his arms. Tyler let out a groan before he stood up, only a little wobbly.
"So don't be." Tyler muttered, shoving the flask into his back pocket.
"Trust me, I won't." Masons sassed back. Tyler's attention finally found Eve's. Tyler's brows furrowed at the woman's apparently 'sudden' appearance. His tongue clicked before he looked back to Mason with a little bit of a judgmental look. Eve took a second before she recognized the look and felt her heart flutter.
"I'm just lookin' fer de good booze, boy." Eve snarked at the teenager, pointing an accusational finger his way. Tyler's arms raised, still not looking convinced. Eve huffed. "Ya have a literal flask on ya, don't judge me fer wantin' somethin' better dan de shit wine downstairs." Eve muttered. Tyler seemed to think her statement over a minute before nodding in agreement.
"Come find me when you're done with your mom." Mason said, gently grabbing hold of Tyler's shoulder, stopping him as he walked towards the door to leave. " If she doesn't beat you for smelling like scotch." Mason teased making Tyler shove his hand from his shoulder and leaving the room.
"Just remember, it's a dead man's office." Tyler muttered as he got to the door. "Don't make the eventual getting rid of things a bigger problem." Tyler stated seriously. Eve took in a deep breath. She was not going to kill this boy. Eve let herself grumble and shove the boy out of the room towards the stairs. A light chuckle followed as he turned and saluted before turning back to face the let out a scoff.
"Dought ya weren't good with 'serious'." Eve sassed as she walked into the office, looking at the space and feeling a little shiver run up her spine. Mason mentioned something about the mayor having mistresses...Eve looked around before sitting on the couch...even that made her a little uncomfortable.
"I mean, I can play serious." Mason teased back, making his way around the fancy desk in the corner of the room. "You know...my brother was...well, he was kind of a dick." Mason said aloud as he bent down behind the desk. "He was always acting all...all 'mightier than thou'." Mason muttered as Eve began hearing glass start to clink together. "I mean, he was still my brother, but I wasn't blind to how he treated people." Mason continued as he stood up straight, placing two whiskey glasses on the desk before he bent back down and grabbed a dark bottle. "He treated Carol okay , but even then, he would call me at odd hours, usually a little tipsy, or drunk and talk to me about some girl he hooked up with." Mason muttered, pouring a glass of a dark brownish-yellow liquid in one of the glasses. "It's not jameson, but it's some kind of strong whiskey. Is that okay, baby doll?" Mason asked, looking back up at Eve. Eve felt the ever familiar warmth burn her ears as she simply nodded. Mason poured some into the other, empty glass. "Luckily, since I live in California, his calls weren't so bad since I was 4 hours behind him." Mason explained, pulling and putting two ice cubes into each glass. That desk had a lot going for it…
"I used ta live in California." Eve muttered aloud, feeling a little awkward for remaining silent for so long. Mason looked up from his pretty eyelashes and smiled.
"Not part of the surfer crowd, huh, whitey?" Mason teased, closing doors behind the desk before walking around and towards Eve. Eve let out a chuckle.
"No." Eve shook her head. "I was too busy gettin' me heart broke." Eve said, taking one of the glasses from his hands. Mason raised an eyebrow as he sat down beside her.
"Let me guess," Mason started, leaning back into the couch, taking a small sip of his drink. Eve raised an eyebrow as he closed his eyes and seemed to think about something before opening his eyes and looking at her excitedly. "He was an actor." Mason stated confidently. Eve raised an eyebrow and leaned back into the couch's arm. "Not a very good one or smart one. Obviously, if he broke your pretty heart." Mason said, fluttering his lashes at her playfully. Eve chuckled before taking a small sip of the alcohol. It was scotch.
"He was actually very persuasive in gettin' roles." Eve stated seriously, nearly chuckling at her own comment. Cory used to compel his way into getting roles, except for the ones he actually wanted...which he usually failed miserably at the auditions and came back home irritated and depressed. "Just not de roles he wanted." Eve shrugged.
"Oh, tell me you dumped him and not the other way around." Mason nearly begged making the longer sip Eve took ever so telling. "Oh, baby girl, why would anyone want to get rid of that pretty face?" Mason asked, gesturing towards Eve as a whole. Eve snickered.
"Turns out, men don't like women who are stuck on a friend." Eve said, raising her glass towards Mason. Mason nodded his head backwards, letting it bump the back of the couch before he took another drink.
"So...is that why you moved out to a little town in Virginia?" Mason asked, trying to be sneaky with his words...despite him being fairly open with the suggestive comments he had muttered in earshot of mourning people downstairs. Eve let herself chuckle before she let herself sigh.
"Maybe." Eve stated, taking another drink from her glass. Mason clicked his tongue.
"You came in with the Sheriff...does that mean you and this... friend... aren't a thing?" Mason asked, making Eve raise her eyebrow back at him. Mason retorted by wiggling his own back at her. Eve let out a soft laugh.
"We…" Eve got out before she let out a long sigh. "No." Eve stated after a moment of thinking.
"So…" Mason said, not subtly scootching closer to Eve. "You're...free?" Mason asked looking around to think of the word before looking back over at Eve playfully.
"I was free before ." Eve snarked back, tapping his nose.
"I mean, I've been told I'm pretty good at making people forget certain things...people…" Mason stated lowly, the playfulness in his voice was nearly washed away by how quickly his tone dropped. Eve nearly spit out her drink she had sipped. Luckily, she covered it up with a small cough...Smoothe. "So some city boy broke your heart, and you thought your friend could fix it…" Mason continued to scoot closer to Eve. Eve was now in the edge of the couch, between the arm and the back in the little nook. "How much fixing is this friend doing?" Mason asked, cornering Eve into the couch. Eve felt herself swallow at the sudden closeness of the two. "You moved to a small town from some big city just to be heartbroken again." Mason stated seriously. Eve felt her brows furrow as she finally had the courage that she wouldn't throw up if she looked up at him, to look into his intensely blue eyes.
"How would you…" Eve stated, now staring at the man who had her cornered. As if she felt threatened. She was a vampire. He was a human. It was no match…
"I'm not some dumb surfer, who's brains have cooked from being in the sun too long." Mason stated lowly back. "My brother was a manipulative asshole. I learned how to read people so I could always know when he was telling the truth about something. So he could never hide anything from me…" Mason nearly growled. Eve's heart was racing in her chest. "It's not hard to see when someone is hiding." Mason said, still close to Eve. "I'm not sure what, but it's not the fact that you were one of my brother's hookup girls." Mason stated backing up, barely an inch. "But there's something…" Mason stated, looking Eve's face up and down before his eyes landed on her lips. Eve bit her tongue...She needed to play this off somehow...and maybe...with fire... Bad idea. Ya already played a fire game with Damon and look how dat turned out. Eve blinked before she moved closer to Mason's face.
"When ya find out, let me know." Eve said, letting her voice turn to honey. "I'd love ta see what ya find." Eve smirked back at him. Despite her stomach flipping at the intense staring contest the two were having, this was a great escape from her Damon troubles. Playing with fire wasn't half as bad knowing that Katherine's hands were a part of the game. They had always been a winning hand for Damon... Not this time. Katherine wasn't about to screw this up. She was far too preoccupied with the Salvatore's...and Mason was no Salvatore.
"I kind of only want to find out one thing…" Mason said, pulling back and downing the rest of his drink before casually tossing the glass behind him. Eve flinched as the glass broke and her own glass was tossed out of her hand. Eve blinked back at Mason as he was back to being close to her face.
"And what's dat?" Eve asked playfully, watching as Mason's pupils dilated as he looked her over. Mason's hand went and cupped her neck only for a moment before they traveled lower.
"Are your freckles everywhere?" Mason asked, his eyes leaving hers for a moment as they trailed down to where his hand hesitated at the edge of Eve's dress. Eve let out a sharp laugh, pulling Mason's attention back towards her.
"Wouldn't ya like ta know." Eve muttered lowly. Fuck it. Eve grabbed hold of the collar of his flowy white shirt and yanked him down and kissed him. Now this was inappropriate for a wake.
Stefan didn't like it. Stefan didn't like playing along with Katherine's little game...but he knew he had to...to try and get more information out of her...to keep Elena safe. The two walked by the side of the Lockwoods' private lake.
"The Lockwoods have a lot more land than they used to." Katherine said aloud, walking just ahead of Stefan. "The possessions from all the tomb vampires built them quite a fortune." Katherine muttered, looking across the lake. Stefan rolled his eyes at her casual chatter.
"Yeah, why did you want them dead?" Stefan asked casually back. "You're the one who turned most of them." Stefan stated. Katherine let out a small chuckle.
"There's nothing more annoying than a vengeful vampire, Stefan." Katherine said. "Just ask John Gilbert." Katherine stated, smirking back at him.
"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Stefan asked, slowing to a stop in front of a stone bench beside the water. Katherine slowly stopped as well before turning around.
"But you have." Katherine said, looking Stefan up and down. "You're stronger. Meaner. It's sexy." Katherine smiled playfully back at him. Stefan looked down at his shoes, trying his best to keep this game up.
"Don't flirt with me, Katherine." Stefan stated seriously. "I'm not Damon." Stefan said, looking back up at her. "I haven't spent the last 145 years obsessed with you." Stefan snarked back at the woman.
"I mean, he had a little red headed distraction along the way." Katherine muttered, letting her playful demeanor break for a moment. "And you , being the valiant little brother , calling in his dearest friend when he was at his lowest." Katherine sassed back, pouting and playing it up now. Stefan couldn't stop his brows from furrowing. "I kept tabs on you boys." Katherine chastised, taking a step closer to Stefan. " Very close tabs." Katherine muttered lowly, tracing her finger against his chest as she walked around him. "Really remarkable that even after what he did to Lexi that you would want him to be happy." Katherine said with a little bounce in her words. Stefan's heart clenched as he kept his feet firmly planted so as to not turn and look at the woman as she was obviously living for this chaos. He missed Lexi...kept her in the back on his mind...the darkest corner...it had only been 3 months since Damon killed her but fuck it still hurt. "I'm more surprised that you've let him live this long...more so that you haven't killed his little buddy ." Katherine sassed. Stefan turned around, letting his boiling blood take over for only a moment.
"I'm not like you , Katherine." Stefan barely kept himself from snapping at her. "I don't need to kill an innocent girl just because my brother has no impulse control." Stefan stated back, pulling his anger back under his wings. Katherine rolled her eyes at the comment.
"Maybe I should just kill her for the both of us then." Katherine said in a fake pout. "She's been filling Damon's head with...garbage." Katherine said, her mask once more slipping as she growled the sentence out...Did...did Katherine have something against Eve. Stefan folded his arms.
"Like the garbage you filled our minds with when you compelled us?" Stefan asked back sharply. Katherine blinked once and the mask was right back on.
"I never filled your head with garbage, Stefan. Not like that little girl is doing." Katherine hissed out. Despite the smile, Stefan found soulace in the fact that Katherine seemed to genuinely not like that Eve was making Damon happy and without treating him like a playtoy...and the fact that she hadn't said Eve's name yet made it even more interesting. "And as much as I hate to admit it, I think you may be a little bit more obsessed with me than Damon when it comes to your choice of women." Katherine chuckled. "Although, I'll admit it does bother me that you've fallen in love with someone else." Katherine said, sounding a little more serious.
"Oh, I was never in love with you, Katherine." Stefan said, looking back at the woman, shutting her comment down instantly. "You compelled me." Stefan continued. "So none of my feelings were real." Stefan stated seriously. Katherine folded her arms and walked up to him with a chuckle.
"Believe what you want, Stefan, but I know the truth." Katherine stated with a bounce in her step. "And deep down, so do you." Katherine smiled, poking his chest playfully.
"The truth?" Stefan asked as Katherine continued to giggle. Stefan took a step closer to the woman. "Well, the truth is that you are still the same lying...selfish...manipulative bitch that you've always been." Stefan explained softly, letting his anger and frustration boil over once more. Katherine looked on at him. "So, whatever it is that brought you here...why don't you just get on with and leave town?" Stefan asked rhetorically as Katherine watched, the playfulness in her eyes slowly fading as Stefan spoke. "Because if you don't, I will hunt you down and I will rip your heart out." Stefan growled lowly at the woman. Katherine blinked back at him.
"You want to know why I'm here, Stefan?" Katherine asked. Stefan only nodded his head once. "I came back for you." Katherine stated seriously. Stefan blinked at her. He couldn't contain his boiling blood any longer.
"Well, the problem, Katherine, is that I hate you." Stefan muttered lowly back to her. Before he could even blink, Katherine grabbed an iron candle holder from the ground and stabbed him in the stomach. Stefan bent over in pain.
"You hate me, huh?" Katherine asked, keeping the rod in his stomach as she spoke. "That sounds like the beginning of a love story, Stefan, not the end of one." Katherine muttered lowly before pulling the iron rod out of his stomach and flittering away. Stefan finally fell to his knees as he grabbed hold of his now wounded stomach. Stefan pulled out his phone and called Elena. Elena quickly picked up.
" Stefan? Where are you? Are you okay? " Elena rapidly fired questions his way over the phone.
"I'm out back, near the lake. Bring a towel or something. Katherine stabbed me and ran off." Stefan explained roughly. His wound would heal, but he needed something to clean the wound with. Didn't need any of the Lockwoods and guests wondering why he had a bloody stomach.
" Katherine was here? " Stefan could hear Damon's voice which only made the stabbing hole in his stomach hurt more from the sudden twist, knowing that Damon was already around Elena. " I'll go after her ." Damon stated making Stefan roll his eyes. Of course he would go after Katherine. Plus, now with Damon and Eve not talking or having a fight, or whatever it was they were doing, he had Eve to worry about...especially after how Katherine spoke about her.
"Can you see if you can find Eve first? Tell her what's going on?" Stefan asked into the phone.
" I can do that. " That was Bonnie's voice...Stefan's stomach pain seemed to lighten at the thought of Bonnie also being with Elena and it not just being Elena and Damon. " Go, take care of Stefan. " Bonnie said before she presumably left. " Alright, I'm going to go steal a towel from a bathroom and I'll be out there as soon as I can, okay? " Stefan subconsciously nodded.
"I'll see you soon." Stefan grumbled before hanging up. Luckily there was some extra deer blood in the fridge at home.
Bonnie gave small, apologetic smiles towards people as she slipped around them looking for the relatively short woman. Bonnie nearly sighed if she wasn't in a room full of people in mourning...or at least a type of mourning. However much a person could mourn a mayor that many hardly, personally knew… Eve was about the same height as Bonnie. Bonnie was sure that if the girl ever stopped wearing heels that they would be the same height. Bonnie didn't care for heels though...Being a vampire for a long time probably helped keep feet from hurting after hours in heels...Now, Bonnie sighed. She really didn't like vampires...but this one seemed...okay.
Okay as in as okay as a vampire can be. Stefan was also okay. Really...Bonnie just hated Damon. And she was using her hatred for him to justify her hatred for the others...Still, Bonnie felt a little cheated. Her Grams had died for nothing. Bonnie sucked in a breath and shoved the thought back, deep inside of her mind. If anything, this was an appropriate place to look mournful...but she was tired of mourning. She was tired of being sad. She was tired of being so...judgemental...because of bad things bad vampires did. Bonnie grumbled as she continued looking through the crowd of people. It was so much easier when Damon and Eve were attached at the hip…
"Bonnie." Bonnie flinched as she heard the loud voice call her name. Bonnie looked through the crowds before spotting Tyler Lockwood on a step. He motioned for her to come closer. Bonnie made her way through the crowd and finally reached him. "Hey, who are you looking for?" Tyler asked, looking over her head and across the crowd.
"Oh, I wasn't…" Bonnie tried, not wanting to bring Tyler into her search for a certain short vampire.
"You're like 4 foot nothing." Tyler snarked, nodded to the step he stood on. "It'll be easier to look if you can actually see." Tyler sassed. Bonnie let out a small sigh as she took the step beside his. "Or, you could just tell me who you're looking for so I can help you get out of here." Tyler suggested. Bonnie felt her ears burn.
"Don't word it like that." Bonnie chastised. Tyler rolled his eyes.
"Trust me, it's okay." Tyler muttered, scanning the crowd. "I want these people gone so if you're looking for someone to take with you to get out of my house, please, let me assist you." Tyler nearly begged, looking back over at Bonnie. Bonnie gave a sympathetic smile back at him.
"I'm looking for Eve." Bonnie broke and stated. "She's the short red head who always hangs out with Caroline." Bonnie explained. Had the two ever met? She seemed to only really hang out with Caroline...plus with Tyler and Matt having this feud they were in… Tyler let out a small chuckle.
"Yeah, I know who she is." Tyler said, looking back up towards the stairs. "MASON!" Tyler shouted up the stairs, pulling attention their way. Bonnie sent a chastising glare at Tyler. Alcohol was slowly filling her nose as she looked at Tyler. "EVE!" Tyler called again, chuckling as others sent him sympathetic looks as well as he tattered on the edge of the step. Bonnie grabbed hold of his arm as a man appeared at the top of the stairs. He looked similar to Tyler. Dark hair...a mess and his shirt was loosely thrown on...And soon after came a just as disheveled looking Eve. Bonnie's eyebrows raised at Eve as she stood at the top of the stairs. Eve finally looked down. A light pink ran across her nose quickly as she wiggled her fingers at Bonnie as a hello.
Damon was in a bad mood. He couldn't find Katherine. Evie wasn't by his side. Stefan got stabbed by Katherine. He missed Eve. Damon grumbled as he made his way up towards the two...only two... where is she?
"I tried to track her, but she's gone." Damon said interrupting Elena and Stefan's conversation. "Oooh, cover up Fabio." Damon teased, closing his eyes and turning away from the two. "We got a crazy ex on the loose." Damon sassed, turning back and seeing Stefan's shirt was pulled back down. "You better watch out." Damon teased towards Elena. "Looks like Katherine is trying to steal your guy. " Damon teased...Elena looked back at Stefan with a worried look. Tough crowd.
"That's not what's happening." Stefan muttered. Damon rolled his eyes. He had a bunch of pent up rage he had from fighting with Eve and watching this Mason character get all up close and personal with her.
"Isn't it?" Damon asked, letting some of his anger slip out. "I mean, it's only fair since I went after your girl." Damon muttered sharply back at the two. Elena looked Damon up and down before looking back at Stefan.
"I'm going to go check on Jenna and Jeremy." Elena announced. "Let me know when you guys are done." Elena muttered, standing up and walking away from the two. Damon watched her leave before turning his attention to his brother.
"So, what's it gonna be huh?" Damon asked before he put up his fists. "Fight to the death?" Damon asked as he began posing as a boxed. Stefan let out a snort. "Go ahead, make your threats, stake your claim." Damon teased, gently punching Stefan in the arm as he continued to bounce around playfully.
"I'm not going to fight you." Stefan muttered, only a little entertained by Damon's shenanigans. Evie would have laughed.
"Why?!" Damon whined, dropping his stance. "I'd fight me." Damon teased, still playing around with his ever so serious brother.
"Katherine is going to try and play us against each other, you know that right?" Stefan asked, gesturing towards the two of them. Damon nearly rolled his eyes.
"Brother, don't you worry, out bond is unbreakable. " Damon stated seriously, despite the teasing still lingering in his voice. Pent up rage was sure coming off as comedic genius. Who are you even playing it up for? She's not around. Damon nearly grumbled at the thoughts in his head.
"Like your and Eve's." Stefan asked, standing up quickly. Damon let out a small hiss, as if he was hit.
"Low blow." Damon muttered, his playfulness dropping.
"We need to stay united against Katherine." Stefan stated seriously, the ever so serious brother. "So yes , as much as I would like to kill you , I'm not going to fight you." Stefan reiterated angrily, turning and beginning to walk away. Damon let out a small huff.
"I kissed Elena." Damon called after him, making him pause in his little power walk off. If he was going to go for low blows, Damon was just dishing it right back at him.
"No." Stefan snapped, turning around quickly. " Katherine kissed you. " Stefan stated sternly. "You didn't kiss her. She initiated it." Stefan snapped. Damon stared back at him, folding his arms and rolling his eyes. Always with the wording .
"I mean...we still kissed." Damon shrugged with a cocky smirk...but Stefan wasn't biting. Stefan shook his head with a small, irritated smile.
"Because maybe you feel something for Elena." Stefan growled back...and that didn't feel as good as Damon would have liked. "But you've got your head so far up your ass that you're doing this little bit because you miss Eve." Stefan snapped. Damon's heart fluttered at the mention of Eve. "You want me to hit you so you can feel something...because you feel like shit inside and not out." Stefan explained, his hands going together as he began to speak. "And maybe that's because you feel bad for liking Elena when you know that there is a certain other woman who you love but just don't want to admit out loud." Stefan continued to mutter, irritated at Damon. Damon didn't like this. He did just want to be punched. "Listen, I'm not going to let Katherine come in here and destroy that part of you that is finally , after all of this time, willing to feel something. " Stefan snapped, walking closer to Damon and pointing his finger at him. Damon's heart clenched. He didn't like feelings. It was so much easier when he just shut off his emotions...When he didn't have to deal with the backlash of falling for Elena when he has always had Eve… "Katherine will try and break you. She will try to break us and how we respond to that will define us." Stefan stated seriously, gesturing towards the both of them. "It's our choice…" Stefan said, looking Damon in the eyes with such sincere (and a little angry) puppy dog eyes. "So no. I'm not going to fight you." Stefan stated. "I'm not going to make you physically hurt because you think you deserve the pain." Stefan said, watching Damon's eyes flicker from his to past his shoulder. Damon didn't like this...Didn't like this Stefan… "I think you're suffering enough, behind all the jabs and eye rolls…" Stefan said, his voice softening. "I don't know what happened between you two, but I think it's worth it to try and fix that relationship." Stefan finished his long spiel and began walking around him.
"She said it needs time." Damon muttered aloud. Stefan stopped walking for a moment.
"Don't let time be years, Damon." Stefan replied back. "As much as I want to kill you, I still want you to be happy." Stefan said, making Damon turn and look at him, even if it was the back of his head. "And the only time I've ever continuously seen you happy is with her." Stefan said, looking back at Damon. "You two complete each other...Don't lose that other half because you're too big of an idiot to admit you feel any way. " Stefan chastised before continuing his walk towards the mansion. Damon sighed before looking across the lake. He had to do something...And he knew what it was.
Unedited 8/9/20
Welcome BACK mother UFCKS! I love you all for sticking with this! My laptop shit out on me back in June so sorry for the late update! Now. Hear me out. I know the whole Mason x Eve ship kind of came and hit everyone with a bat...which was the intent. So, whoever was like FUCK YEAH MASON. This one's for YOU. Otherwise it's just more ANGST BUT MORE SUBTLE. I've just got a lot of angst in my soul and here it be. We gotta get through the mud to get to the sunshine my lovelies, so please stick around! I love you all for favoriting, following and commenting. And basically just all of you. SMOOCH.
-Nebula