Bella slammed the door of her room behind her, the sound reverberating through the small room giving her a petty sense of satisfaction. She began to pace, her feet pounding against the floor, a storm of emotions brewing within her. "Ugh," she groaned, her hands ruffling through her hair in frustration.
"Stupid Supernatural assholes," She muttered, feeling as though her skin were on fire. "even as another species they're all assholes." Like a caged animal at the zoo, she continued to pace from end to end of her room, words gone and replaced by huffs and sighs of irritation.
It was all suddenly beginning to feel like too much at once; the lingering feel of his mouth and hands on her, the absurd lion's den she'd walked into earlier, being married to a literal stranger, not having Alice or Jake or even one of the Cullens. It was like each problem was a flame under the proverbial pot she was simmering in, bringing the temperature in the room higher and higher.
The emotions boiled over, and with one swift motion, she snatched a book from the dresser— and in a fit of raw emotion, she hurled it against the wall, shouting, "Dammit!" The book hit with a resounding crash, sliding down to the floor to lie in a crumpled heap.
It was then that she noticed him—Stefan. Stupid vampires and how they constantly appeared out of nowhere, his casual grin juxtaposed against the chaos in the room. "You know, it's quite entertaining to see how alike you and Damon are when you're upset," he said, amusement dancing in his eyes.
Bella jumped, startled out of her anger. The memory of his earlier aggression flooded back—how he had ripped the curtain in the hotel room, how he had yanked her hair to force her to look at him. Fear shot through her, and she started to back across the room while trying to make the movement seem casual, her heart racing. "Stay away from me, please," she said, trying to sound braver than she felt, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her.
Stefan's expression shifted from playful to concerned. "Look, Bella, I have to apologize to you for the hotel room the other day. I never should have put my hands on you that way and there really isn't any excuse that might make sense to you." His expression seemed genuine, causing Bella's proverbial walls to begin to lower – even just slightly.
"Truthfully I should have known better than to go into a volatile environment so soon after my humanity was triggered—" He stopped talking, watching Bella furrow her brows in confusion.
Curiosity flickered within Bella despite the remnants of fear. "What do you mean your humanity?" she asked, her voice steadier now.
Stefan took a deep breath, battling his own emotions as he glanced at Bella, whose initial fear seemed to be dissipating with each passing moment that her curiosity grew. The tension between them softened in the air as she moved from her corner across the room to sit on the edge of the bed, her eyes fixed on him, curiosity mingling with still-tinged apprehension.
"When a vampire turns their humanity off," he started, choosing his words carefully, "it's like turning off the volume on everything that makes us… us. We stop feeling anything. No joy, no sorrow—just instincts. It's a way to shield ourselves from the chaos of the world."
He hesitated, a shadow passing over his expression as past memories threatened to resurface. "I've done things I'm not proud of, things I wish I could forget. But when that humanity flips back on..." His voice softened. "It's like suddenly being hit by a tidal wave, drowning in feelings that can be overwhelming."
He met her gaze, vulnerability etched in the lines of his face, as if sharing this piece of himself brought relief and fear all at once. It wasn't even something he'd brought himself to talk to Elena about yet. "It's a tough balance," he added quietly, allowing the silence to wrap around them like a fragile thread.
Bella didn't break her gaze. After a moment's thought, she murmured at a volume that matched his, "So, it's like when a newborn Cold One is unable to control anything but the way that they instinctually need blood... Or when a new vegetarian still struggles with their diet change, like Jasper…" Her words hung in the air, weaving a bridge of understanding between their experiences.
Stefan too it as a sign she was opening up to him. "Exactly," he replied softly, feeling an understanding between them deepening.
Semi-comfortable silence stretched between them before Jeremy's voice once more rang out through the hall "Bella, Caroline and Bonnie want to know if you want to come with us, we are going to eat." As if an afterthought, he added "I'd take them up on it since the guys don't have much in the way of food here."
Bella nodded even though there was no way for Jeremy to see. She rose from her seat on the bed, grabbing a sweater she had thrown on the bed earlier. "I'll be right there." She started to stride past Stefan, pausing in the doorway and looking over at him one last time.
"Thanks," She mumbled, shifting her weight from one foot to the other while she slung her bag across her body. "for talking to me."
Stefan nodded quietly, watching her walk off. She made it to the top of the stairs before he called out to her, "Bella," She turned around to took at him curiously. "don't let him push you away. He does that a lot." Sure, the reasons behind his sudden bandwagon jump from against to for Bella and Damon was selfish; getting them to choose one another meant not having to constantly worry about Damon and Elena, but there truly were little snippets of emotion and protectiveness that Stefan had rarely seen in his brother.
She didn't seem to know what to say to that, and awkwardly turned on her heels back towards the stairs, bounding down them. "s-sorry!" She mumbled when she ran straight into Carolines back, her foot slipping on the last stair in true Bella fashion.
Late lunch/ early dinner went about as well as could be expected. She sat in a small booth currently, across from Bonnie and Caroline, in uncomfortable silence. Jeremy had ended up not going due to something with Elena, who also refused to go. Matt was the one who escorted Elena away and Caroline and Bonnie were the only two who had actually ended up honoring the invitation. Bella was fairly certain even Caroline was only here because Bonnie was human and she wasn't to be trusted with anyone one on one yet.
They'd just gotten their food and Bella was sipping from her straw when Caroline decided to be the first to break the ice.
"So, Bella, you aren't, like, nervous that this was all a big plot to get you away from Damon so I could compel you to leave?" Bonnie nudged her sharply in the blondes ribs.
Before whatever chastising phrase was on her lips never made it out when Bella picked up a fry, studying it momentarily before she spoke, "It doesn't work on me, they both tried it."
She popped the food into her mouth, closing her eyes and enjoying how good the food was.
"What do you mean, it doesn't work?" Bonnie asked her with an incredulous expression on her face.
"Like, at all?" Caroline asked in unison, eyebrows shooting up as she spoke.
She shook her head, blinking her eyes open again to take them both in. "No, I'm a shield or something I guess." She continued eating, feeling oddly detached from herself in this moment. Unsure of if the sudden openness was the result of the fog she was moving in or an attempt to plant misinformation, Caroline exchanged a glance with Bonnie, who shook her head as if confirming that the slight brunette across the table from them was indeed not lying.
"So then, what do you think of all the weirdness?" Caroline leaned in as though someone might be listening despite the fact that the small restaurant/bar was nearly empty. "You know, the vampires." She dropped her voice to a whisper for the last words which nearly made Bella roll her eyes.
Instead, she laughed a little at the absurdity of it all, shrugging "Well, you guys aren't anything like the vampires I have experience with so it's a little weird. Like learning about their existence for the first time all over again."
"What do you mean like the ones you have experience with?" Bonnie asked "Like, like the originals?"
It was Bella's turn to be confused, her brow furrowing. "No, like cold ones. You know, frozen in time, iridescent skin, cold to the touch don't eat or sleep?"
Their mirror expressions of horror grew with each characteristic she listed, and Bella started talking more and more softly with each word from her mouth.
"So, no then?" She muttered finally, taking a big bite of her burger so she didn't have to talk.
"uh, NO, Bella. No." Caroline nearly shouted, before lowering her voice again and continuing "How do they even exist, I have, like, so sooo many more questions now."
"You are a LOT more interesting than Elena let on." Bonnie chimed in, causing Bella to blush deeply.
Just then, Caroline's posture shifted ever so slightly as she caught sight of a familiar presence entering the room. Damon walked in with his trademark confidence, his eyes scanning the restaurant until they landed on the three girls.
"Speak of the devil…" Caroline murmured softly, a glint of mischief in her eyes as she watched him move effortlessly to the bar. He ordered a drink, leaning against the polished wood as he swiveled around on the barstool, his gaze now trained intently on Bella, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.
Bella detected a shift in Caroline's demeanor but remained blissfully unaware of the full attention she had captured. Instead, she focused on Bonnie, who was still watching her with an understanding smile.
"So, Bella, it's been a few days now. What do you REALLY think of Damon? And don't hold back; it's just us girls." Caroline leaned impossibly closer, her expression shifting from one of curiosity to something like a cat playing with a mouse.
Bella's cheeks flushed crimson, and she shrugged, her gaze dropping to her plate. She moved the food around on her plate, eating a fry as she studied the grain pattern in the wood tabletop. The silence stretched on before she finally looked up at them and murmured with a small smile. "I don't really know; it's all so confusing. He seems like he's not the worst person."
Caroline's surprise was evident as she absorbed Bella's response, while Damon, from his spot across the bar, grinned at her flustered reaction, the two vampires in the room having caught the way her heart skipped a beat.
Bonnie chimed in, trying to lessen Bella's embarrassment, speaking Caroline's name pointedly. "What Caroline means is that we're sure you must have a lot of emotions about everything going on."
Bella shrugged again, the pink still lingering on her cheeks before she finally confessed, "There's a lot going on, and to be honest I haven't seen anything in Damon that scares me yet." She paused for a moment while considering her next move, before shrugging. "Well, at least it wasn't Stefan."
Bonnie nearly choked on her sip of water, and Caroline stared in disbelief, surprised by Bella's boldness, as Damon felt a swell of pride in his chest. He was about to push himself away form the bar when he caught Carolines expression shift to one of pure calculation.
"Yes, well, I can't say that I blame you." Caroline began innocently, in a too sweet tone that even had bonny staring at her friend in confusion. "I mean, the sex is pretty incredible. At least in my experience."
"Caroline, seriously?" Bonnie started to chastise her, the words fading from Bella's audio register momentarily.
It wasn't as if she could really expect Damon to have been a saint before they'd ended up where they were; if fate had tossed them in Forks, he or Edward could very well be dead, and Jake would probably be staring daggers at him.
Damon's past had nothing to do with the gut punch she felt now, the vertigo rising as she considered how she could begin to untangle the confusing feelings inside her. She had let her guard down, begun to relax around these two girls, even finding comfort in comparing Caroline's bubbly personality to Alice's, which had buoyed her spirits over the past hour.
But Damon misread the dumbstruck look on Bella's face, interpreting it as a reaction to his past. A tide of emotions washed over him—annoyance at Caroline for opening her mouth, anger at the pain her words had brought Bella, shame for not having explained the intricacies of his relationship with each person in the room, and confusion at why he even felt the need to justify himself at all.
Anger and annoyance won out, Damon taking purposeful strides to close the gap between himself and his doe-eyed wife, who stared blankly at her plate. "Now Caroline, don't be shy. Tell her about how I compelled you to forget every moment and you only remembered when you changed. Or how the only reason we had sex was because it was the only way you'd shut up long enough to let me feed in peace."
Damon's voice turned icy, laced with a sharpness that cut through the restaurant's ambient chatter, drawing the attention of nearby patrons. Caroline's expression faltered, her playful bravado evaporating at the realization of just how serious he was. The moment hung heavy in the air, the underlying threat weaving through his words, reminding everyone present that Damon was not to be trifled with.
"Damon," Bonnie interjected, her tone cautious as she started to rise, ready to diffuse the situation.
But Damon halted her with a sharp glance, his tone uncompromising. "Unless you want a piece of that you're dishing out, you should mind your business, Bonnie."
Caroline looked as if Damon had slapped her, taken aback by the sudden shift in the atmosphere and the ferocity of his words. She had the common sense to wear a look of embarrassment but though internally experienced a realization that Damon was willing to go to these lengths to protect Bella from any verbal misstep, even if it meant slicing through their fragile camaraderie with brutality.
Bonnie, sensing the tension escalating, quickly piped up, "Okay, that's our cue to leave."
Damon dismissed her words with a wave of his hand, his gaze still fixed on Caroline, who was struggling to regain her composure. "No, it's my cue to escort my wife away." He stepped closer to Bella, the fierce protectiveness radiating off him like heat, a silent promise lingering in the air—no one would dare hurt her on his watch.
Turning back to Bella, his expression softened, the fire in his eyes dimming to something more tender. "Let's get out of here," he murmured, offering her his hand as if to both shield her and draw her closer, leaving Caroline reeling from the sharpness of his words.
Bella hesitated for a fleeting moment, caught between the raw intensity of the encounter and the unexpectedness of Damon's protectiveness. She slipped her hand into his, a small gesture that seemed to ground her, and as they moved toward the exit, she felt a rush of gratitude for the man beside her.