AN: So my New Orleans Saints lost and I am super bummed. I got tipsy and decided to write. If you feel sorry for me, leave a review. Good, bad. I don't care.
The sound of gravel crunching beneath the tires of a Porshe pierced the quiet night's air as Stefan slowly eased into the driveway leading to the Lockwood Manor. As he turned off the engine, a puff of cold air escaped his lips as a breath as he leaned forward in his seat and fixed his gaze on the sprawling mansion that was eerily dark and quiet. When he had spoken to Sybil earlier and discussed the terms of the drop out, she had made it perfectly clear to him that she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him. If he didn't bring the package to exchange before midnight, all bets were off. Lowering his forest green eyes to the clock on the panel facing the driver side of the vehicle, he sighed deeply as he realized that he was ten minutes away from the looming deadline. To retrieve Elena, it had taken him one hour to get to the warehouse in New York where her body was kept and it took another hour to return back to Mystic Falls. The ride hadn't been exhausting, but Stefan was more than ready to get this trade over with so that he could grab a bite to eat and return to his comfortable California King size bed that was waiting for him back at the Boarding he was lucky, the snack that he was craving would come in the form of some leggy blonde who had O negative blood and was down for a good time that included blood letting and hot sex. Just the thought of getting his fix of blood and getting some relief from the built up sexual frustration he had been experiencing over the past few days caused the bulge inside of his denim jeans to grow, and a low moan escaped his be told, seconds before Stefan had left Bonnie Bennett's home earlier that evening, he had been more than a little tempted to get his fix from her. Her consumption of wine and the impromptu massage had loosen her up and for the briefest of moments he thought she would cave to the sexual tension that had been buzzing between them.
Unfortunatly, the tempation hadn't been enough to break through the resistance that had empowered her to be completely and utterly faithful to her man. Her loyalty was something he both admired and resented due to the fact that Caroline and Elena had never offered him the level of devotion that Bonnie had displayed that evening. Elena had tried desperately to hold on to their epic love and even spent months lying to both him and herself about where her heart truly lied, but at the end of the day, she had chosen to be with his brother which had devastated him. Just when he thought falling for Caroline wouldn't lead him down that same road of betrayal and misery, Caroline had threw his ring back in is face after the stunt he had pulled as the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. He smiled bitterly as he thought back on all the things that he had forgiven her for in the past. He had always stood by her, even when she insisted on pushing him away, but when he failed to live up to her incredibly high standards, the first moment she got, she threw his engagement ring back in his face and walked away.
As he climbed out out of his Porsche and made his way towards the back of the vehicle, a thought suddenly occurred to him. Maybe he was better off a lone. The women in his life bought him nothing but heartache and misery. Opening the trunk, he stared down at the slumbering doppelgänger feeling a wave of bitterness and resentment wash over him. Maybe after he got rid of Elena, he would focus his energy on his neurotic ex fiancé and get rid of her too. After they were gone, they would be no woman left in his life that had the ability to hurt him anymore.
Reaching down into the trunk, he made a move to lift Elena into his arms when something happened that made him cry out startled before stumbling away from the vehicle.
(*)
"I'm Elena."
"I'm Stefan"
"I know. We have history together."
(*)
The memory of his first encounter with Elena hit him so hard that he nearly doubled over. His mouth grew dry and he felt his guts twist as he struggled to gain control of his emotions. Closing his eyes, his chest tightened noticeably as he recalled the way she had smiled at him when he had approached her in the grave yard. Her big brown eyes had been filled with so much sadness and grief that he couldn't help but to be drawn to her. She had appeared to him as a beacon that represented a second chance at life and a second chance of love. She had been someone he had thought would have been his angel of mercy and salvation, but he had been wrong. As the memory of his first encounter with Elena fade, he was quickly and abruptly overwhelmed with the memories that came after that fateful meeting in the graveyard. He was flooded with the recollection of the good times, the bad times, and the moment that their epic love affair had ended in devastating heartbreak.
Gritting his teeth, he fisted his hair into his fingers before walking away from the Porshe feeling eternally torn. He knew what this feeling was. The pull of the light and righteous side of him that wore the mask of his humanity. The good part of him, or whatever good was left of him anyways, was trying to claw its way out from the cold darkness in order to protect and save Elena. He would have laughed at the insanity of the situation if he didn't currently find himself so pathetic. After everything that had happened between him and Elena, it should have been easy to let her go. God knows he had his reasons. Giving up Elena would solve so many problems. It would remove her as an obstacle between him and his brother, it would secure Enzo's release and allow him to return to Bonnie, and it would force everyone to live their lives without having to be anchored down to the doe eyed doppelgänger. Unfortunately, he could ignore the one reason that he wanted to keep her safe. Deep down, beneath the bitterness, the pain, the anger and the hate...a part of him still cared about her. Jamming the heels of his palms into his eye socket, he inhaled sharply. He could turn his back on his hometown, he could even turn his back on his own brother for decades, but he couldn't seem to turn his back on Elena and make it stick.
(*)
"Humanity is a vampire's greatest weakness. No matter how easy it is to turn it off, it keeps trying to fight its way back in. Sometimes, I let it."
(*)
Katherine Pierce's surprisingly sage words served as a cruel and taunting soundtrack to the internal struggle taking place inside of the conflicted vampire. The more that his conscience tried bleeding out, the more angrier that he got. Glaring down at Elena, he couldn't help but wonder how it was possible that he could feel such conflicting feelings for one person? How could he want to throw her to the wolves while simultaneously feeling the annoying need to protect her? He was so sick of his past feelings for Elena coming back to bite him back at the most inconvenient times. He was tired of actually giving a crap when he had no reason to. Pinching the bridge of his nose he, forced himself to focus on the task at hand. The deadline was growing near and this was no time for him to be having second thoughts. If he had any chance of breaking lose from his humanity once and for all, he had no other choice but to get rid of Elena. His jaw tightened and his forest green eyes narrowed as he finally came to a decision about her fate.
Moving as careful and gentle as he could, Stefan lifted Elena's body out of the trunk. Draping her over his shoulder, he secured his arm around her waist before using his free hand to gently close the trump. Making his way up the jagged little path leading to the eerie mansion, the caramel haired vampire frowned as he got a familiar charge electrifying the air. The only time he had ever sensed this type of power was whenever he was around Bonnie, which led him to the conclusion that a witch was somewhere on the premises. Even though this discovery should have made him more on guard and alert, Stefan wasn't too concerned. As long as Sybil held up the end of her deal and released Enzo once he handed Elena over, there was nothing to worry about.
The first thing that the carmel haried vampire noticed when he walked into the Lockwood Manor, was the smell of blood and mold permeating through the air. Glancing around the foyer, it was clear that the place was a far cry from what it had once been when Carol Lockwood had been alive and in charge. The Manor that was notorious and infamous for hosting dinner parties for the small town's elite and had walls covered with the most exclusive and expensive paintings that money could buy. All of that eloquence and prestige that had been the foundation of the Manor was destroyed. Approaching the living room, he noticed that there was spider webs covering every corner of the room, a leaky pipe was protruding through the ceiling causing several deep puddles in the broken tiles that had once been a marble floor. Something in the East corner of the room caught his eye, and he frowned when he spotted a box filled with abandoned photo albums. He couldn't explain it, but something about the sight of the abandoned photo albums made him feel a sense of Deja vu which creeped him out.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he finally took notice that he wasn't alone in the depressing looking living room. Turning his head slightly to the right, he found Enzo tied to a kitchen chair barely conscious and hidden in the shadows. Stefan eyes narrowed evenly as he spotted Kai standing behind him with a small pocket knife in his hands and a giddy expression on his demented face.
"Stefan," Kai exclaimed as he abandoned Enzo and apporached the other vampire with a lopsided smile on his mouth, "Long time, no see."
Stefan merely rolled his eyes in response as he walked past the beaming heretic and deposited Elena on a raggedy couch near the floor to ceiling windows at the East side of the living room. After placing her hands across her flat stomach, he walked back over to Kai and spared him a glance of indifference.
"I remember this place being a bit more stylish and sophisticated, but now it's run down and disgusting," Stefan said wrinkling his nose, "I guess it's current condition is suited for you considering how repulsive you are."
"I see some things haven't changed,"Kai sighed as he clutched his chest before batting his eye lashes. "You are still as charming as ever."
Stefan snorted softly before turning his attention to Enzo. He was gagged and breathing heavilly through his nose and his face was twisted and contorted with excruciating pain. From the looks of things, Kai had really done a number on him. Seeing Stefan's brooding forehead furrowing, Kai chuckled amused. "Don't look so glum, chum. I didn't tune him up that bad. I mean, compare to the way you work, this is just a little child's play."
"I couldn't agree more seeing how the person responsible for Enzo's assault has the emotional maturity of a toddler," Stefan said dryly causing the smile to disappear slowly from Kai's face, "Tell me, Kai. What kind of person attacks someone who can't hit back? I knew you were a lot of things, but I never taken you to be a coward."
Kai narrowed his bluishe gray eyes as he swaggered over to Stefan slowly.
"You want to talk about cowardice?" he drawled slyly, "Let's talk about you showing up here all happy and eager to hand over your former epic love. You have had plenty of chances to kill her and completely remove her from the equation as far as you and your brother concern, yet here she is still breathing peacefully in a magical coma while you wait for Sybil to do what you never had the balls to do and that's end Elena's pathetic little life."
Stefan was considering whether or not to lay Kai flat on his ass when the sound of the front door opening and closing caused him to hesitate. He heard the sound of two separate footsteps echo down the hall leading to the living room, and Stefan tensed as he braced himself for whoever it was preparing to enter his line of vision. Sybil appeared looking pleased and happy as she clung to the arm of a man who looked like he had just stepped off the front cover of a GQ magazine. He was at least six feet and six inches tall, he had a head full of raven black hair and his eyes were the color of sable. His jaw was chiseled and square and was covered with a five o' clock shadow.. Sybil and the mystery man took a look around the room and while Sybil looked genuinely mortified and angry, the human she was latched on seemed unbothered and strangely calm. If any other person was to walk into a room where a man was tied to a chair and covered in blood, they would have freaked out, but judging from this guy's cool demeanor, it was obvious that he was under Sybil's spell that was her own special brand of manipulation and mind fuck.
"What. Did. You. Do?" Sybil hissed in horror as she took in Enzo's battered and bloodied condition.
"I was just having a little fun at his expense," Kai mumbled as he shrugged indifferently, "I don't see what the big deal is."
"I can't even leave you alone for one minute without you screwing everything up," Sybil snapped angrily, "He was suppose to remain unharmed."
"First of all, you were gone for, like, hours. Secondly, you should have specified what condition you wanted him left in before you went prancing off to find you some aged inappropriate jiggalo. I mean first you drone on and on about how you are hard up for Damon and now you are dragging in this kid. I don't mean to slut shame, Sybs, but isn't going back and forth between Damon and this dude going to be a little rough on the hardware?" Kai asked frowning.
"You want to be very careful on how you address me, Malachai. I may very well forget that you and I are allies," she warned evenly.
Kai flashed a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He was never the type to take being threatened lightly. Especially when Sybil was acting like she was somehow superior to him and in charge. She may have recruited him to help her out on her plan to screw Damon and Bonnie over, but she wasn't his master and he wasn't her puppet. He had every intentions on dolling out pain in all the ways that he saw fit and if she had a problem with that, she could go fuck herself.
"You will do well to remember that your cheap parlor tricks don't work on me, Sybs. You take a step against me, and I promise you, you will regret it," he said coldly, "Enzo can tell you personally that I don't play nice.
Sybil narrowed her eyes at the bold heretic and for a moment, she swore she was seeing red. The little prick was seriously working her last nerve and she was feeling highly frustrated that she couldn't use her special set of skills to put him in a world of pain right now. She couldn't help but resent Cade for making her work with Kai. Sure, he was a twisted sociopath who had a love for killing and torturing several annoying supernatural citizens of Mystic Falls, but he was unpredictable and Sybil didn't trust people who weren't playing with a full deck of cards when it came to their mental mind frame.
After sending him one last murderous look, she pointedly decide to ignore him as she made her way over to where Enzo was groaning softly in agony.
"My poor Lorenzo," she murmered as she reached down and removed the gag from his mouth. His eyes lifted towards her face and while she knew that he despised her with ever fiber of his being, she smiled as she could sense that a very small part of him was appreciative for her presence. "If I knew what that animal had planned for you, I would have never left you alone." She was preparing to untie him when something lying across the couch a couple of feet away from her. Her lips parted and a soft squeal of surprise erupted from her throat as she walked over to Elena and stared down at her with a triumphant look on her face. She clapped her hands in child like glee before turning her gaze away from the doppelgänger so that she could lock eyes with Stefan.
"I really didn't think you had it in you to give her up," she admitted breathlessly, "Elena Gilbert. She is a modern version of Helen of Troy. The face that lanched a thousand ships! She is the one person in the world that all of the most powerful super naturals are wiling to wage war over." The disdain in the siren's voice was more than prominent. It was ice cold and chilling. "When I got your phone call offering to hand Elena over, I thought you were laying a ill intentioned trap for me where you, Bonnie and Damon would somehow try and take me down, but I was...wrong. It's weird for me to say that because being psychic and all, that almost never happens."
"What can I say?" Stefan inquired as he emitted a long, deep and audible breath expressing indifference. "I'm not one to hold on to dead weight."
"Referring to your former flame as dead weight is a bit harsh," Sybil tsked with a devious smile on her lips, "I have to admit that cold and heartless is a good look on you Stefan."
Turning away from Stefan, Sybil's gaze drifted over to Enzo who was staring at her warily.
"As much as I hate to let you go, I guess a deal is a deal." she reached down and tugged lightly at his restraints causing them to fall away easily. "However, I think it would be rather rude of me to send you back to Bonnie in this condition." Running her fingers through Enzo's hair with a fond smile, she used her free hand to motion Todd over to where she was standing. "Todd, would you be a dear and give my friend some of your blood?"
Without batting a single eyelash, the man in question lowered himself on his knees in front of Enzo before tilting his head back and exposing his throat. Enzo wasted no time and sunk his teeth into Todd's neck and began to gulp down healthy amounts of blood. When he felt his strength returning, he detached his fangs from Todd's flesh and wiped the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Don't be a shy eater, Enzo. Feel free to take more," Sybil offered generously, "Todd doesn't mind."
"I'm fine," Enzo mumbled pushing the weak human aside before slowly rising from the chair. "You need more blood to replenish your energy," Sybil insisted as she snatched Todd up off his knees before shoving him back into Enzo's arms.
"I said I had enough," Enzo repeated a litter shaper than he had intended as he stood in front of the weak and fragile human that was clutching the side of his neck tightly in a desperate attempt to keep his blood from spurting from the artery vein.
Feeling re jected and a little hurt, Sybil turned her attention towards Stefan who was standing by idly with a stoic look on his face. Despite the fact that he seemed unbothered by the sight of a vulnerable bleeding man who could easily be made a delicious meal, Sybil was able to use her psychic abilities to detect that he was struggling with his hunger. Feeling the need to be entertained, Sybil gently took Todd's hand and led him over to Stefan who bristled noticeably as his nostrils flared from the strong scent of the blood dripping from Todd's neck and making a small trail across the floor.
"My apologies. I just realized that I have failed in my duties as a host. Would you care for a bite?" Sybil asked innocently as her lips pursed in a pretty pout.
Stefan's green eyes darkened and he felt his stomach churn violently.
"No," he growled roughly as he focused his gaze on anything and everything but the bleeding man standing several feet away from him.
An unlady like snort escaped Sybil's lips. The fact that Stefan was trying to pretend was was unaffected by the blood spilling across the floor was both amusing and pointless. She didn't need her psychic abilities to know that the blood thirsty feign trapped inside the young Salvatore vampire was just itching to come out to play.
"Why not? You showed up here and delivered me the doppleganger," Sybil pointed out as toyed with the platinum necklace that was hanging loosely around her swan like neck. "I only think it's proper that you have some kind of reward."
Before Stefan could respond, Sybil reached over and pressed her thumb against Todd's oozing wound causing him to hiss in agony. She spared him an half hearted look of regret before turning back to Stefan. Reaching up, she smeared her bloodied digit across his bottom lip causing a strangled moan to escape his lips. Before anyone could move, Stefan blurred over to where Todd was swaying and pounced on him. Ripping into his jugular, he fed violently causing the drab walls to be sprayed with blood and torn pieces of flesh. Sybil and Enzo were no strangers to the gruesome nature of the Rippah, but Kai had never seen anything or anyone feed that violently, and it made him feel a little nauseous.
"And you call me the savage," the heretic mumbled as he stared transfixed by the mess Stefan had left behind after his feeding.
"You were suppose to have a little taste, Stefan. You weren't suppose to rip him apart," she said nonplussed. "I had special plans for him that required certain body parts to be attached."
Stefan rolled his blood soaked tongue across his fangs and stared the siren down with a sinister look clouding his handsome face. Sybil thought she was slick by standing in front of him feigning a look of innocence and mild disbelief, but he could see through her as if she was made of a glass. She was intentionally pressing buttons and goading him to go flying off the rails. He didn't know what game she was playing, but he wasn't intending on sticking around and finding out. He could feel his blood lust pounding at the door of his consciousness, but he wasn't about to lose complete control over his life long obsession with blood. Especially not in front of Sybil and Kai. There was no doubt in his mind that Sybil and Kai would jump at the opportunity to take advantage of him if he became a slave to his blood lust and that was the last thing that he needed to happen. Closing his eyes, be began to gather his bearings and push back the beast that was roaring and clawing to break through the surface. The sooner he got Enzo and got out of there, the sooner he could lock the monster back inside of it's cage.
"I regret my poor manners. I could have least left a piece of him for you to enjoy, but what's done is done," Stefan apologized lamely as he backed away from Sybil, "However, I would like to get back to the point of why we are gathered here in the first place. I held up my end and delivered Elena into your custody, so if you can just hand over Enzo, he and I will be on our way."
Sybil shook her finger in front of his face as if she was chastizing a small child. "Not so fast, Salvatore." She studied him closely before grinning deviously. "Before you take Enzo and ride off into the dark of the night, there is something that I am dying to know. Why are you so willing to hand Elena over for Enzo? Last time I checked, you and Enzo aren't exactly friends and ever since you became Cade's newest minion, you haven't exactly jumping at the chance to play the part of hero to anyone," she mused out loud with her big brown eyes filled with curiosity. Placing her hands on her hips, she stared up at the ceiling and tapped the toe of her left foot giving off the impression that she was trying to solve a seemingly complicated algebraic problem. "You either really hate your brother and this is the only way you know to really hit him where it hurts or you are trying to get on the good side of little Bonnie Bennett. So humor me. What's your angle, Rippah?"
Enzo's head snapped up at the mention of his girlfriend. Even though Stefan's face was stoic and unreadable, he could tell from his body language that he clearly was less than comfortable with siren's line of questioning.
"Why does my motives matter to you? You got what you want. By this time tomorrow, you can use Elena to get Damon to do whatever you want him to do. Does anything else really matter?" Stefan huffed annoyed.
Sybil lip curled into a hostile sneer as she realized that he was trying to avoid giving her an answer to her inquiry. She realized that by deflecting, Stefan was attempting to cover up something that he didn't want exposed to the naked eye, and Sybil was going to press until he came clean. After all, she was never the type to leave certain stones unturned.
"You are keeping something from me. Something naughty," she growled as she perched her hands on her hips and stared at him accusingly, "You know how I feel about secrets so you should do yourself and just come clean because if I have to go digging around in that complex head of yours, things might get messy."
Stefan licked his lips slowly as he stared down at the fuming siren. "Do your best, Sybil. I'm not afraid of-"
Before he could finish his statement, Sybil pressed the palm of her hand against his chest and he grimaced trying not to show any signs of weakness. As she wormed her way through his mind, she bit down on her bottom lip and scrunched her face up into confusion before her eyes snapped opened in disbelief. Removing her hand from her chest, she slowly began to fan herself.
"Wow," she murmered saucily," I must say that was one hell of a kiss you and Bonnie shared. No wonder you are so anxious to play hero for her. You fancy her," Sybil giggled shaking her head amused. "Selling out the love of your life for a chance for a new romance. That's classic."
Enzo glared at Sybil angrilly. "You're lying. Bonnie would never..."
Sybil glanced at the seething raven haired vampire sympathetically before turning her attention back towards Stefan.
"Let me tell you what I know, Enzo. Not only did Stefan force your blood down Bonnie's throat on the day of the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, but he kissed her, very passionately, might I add," she revealed darkly, "Not only did he seem to have enjoyed it, but she did as well. I know the obvious question I should be asking is why Stefan would kiss her when his heart supposedly belongs to sweet Caroline, but that's not bothers me. What bothers me is why did get off on kissing her in front of Damon?"
Before Stefan could come up with a response to Sybil's angry interrogation, Kai began to choke violently causing a much needed distraction from the tension .
"Wait a sec," Kai mumbled swallowing down a mouth full of chewed up skittles before he moved off his perch on the arm chair and made his way over to Stefan, "You and Bonnie actually swapped spit? I'm confused. The last time I checked, she preferred the more snarky and older Salvatore vampire. You must have been really desperate," He started to snicker but stopped abruptly when Sybil cast a dirty look in his direction.
"Stefan wasn't desperate," she snapped irritably, before taking a deep breath to calm herself. "He kissed Bonnie because he wanted to. Not because he was weak."
Enzo slowly turned away from the seething siren and faced Stefan with a cold look in his dark eyes.
"So is she telling the truth, mate? You actually had the nerve to tarnish Bonnie with that filthy mouth of yours? "Enzo spat disgusted as he glowered at Stefan who couldn't bother looking the least bit remorseful, "Why?"
A dark and cold smile slowly stretched across Stefan's lips as he replayed the sordid memory in his mind. "I could lie to you and say that what I did was a mistake and that I regretted claiming her sweet, pretty mouth for my own. I could stand here and pretend that I didn't like it, but I did," he laughed quietly, as he folded his arms across his chest, "I liked it a lot, actually. The truth is that I put the moves on Bonnie because there is nothing that I love more than pissing Damon off and I have a terrible habit of not being able to resist a beautiful woman."
Enzo bristled and felt his ears burn from the heat of his anger. Ignoring alarm bells going off in his head, he marched across the room and invaded Stefan's personal space with his fist clenched tightly at his side.
"You think kissing my girl is amusing, mate?" he asked haughtilly, "I'm willing to bet you didn't find it funny when Damon was shoving his tongue down Elena's throat when she claimed to be in love with you."
Stefan scoffed rudely as he shoved Enzo away from him. "If you think that is going to get a rise out of me, you're going to be really disappointed. I bought Elena here to gain your freedom. Clearly, she means absolutely nothing to me."
"Bonnie," Enzo started softly as he clenched his hands into tight fists, "Does she mean something to you?"
A nerve in Stefan's jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes as the vampire standing before him. He knew that he could simply lie and brush this whole thing off like it was beneath him, but the truth was that Enzo wouldn't believe him and Stefan wasn't sure if he could be a convincing liar when it came to what he felt for Bonnie when he wasn't even sure himself. Sure, he wanted to fuck her seven different ways from Sunday, and there was the little fact that he wanted to build an actual friendship between them that didn't revolve around Elena or Damon, but those two things didn't equate to him having some sort of romantic feelings for her, did it?
"I don't know," Stefan said after several long tense moments had passed.
As the two vampires regarded each othier with thinly veiled contempt and hostility, Kai was busy watching the drama unfold in front of him with a shit eating grin stretched across his face. He knew that his time spent in hell had taken him out of the loop and he had been clueless on what had been taking place in his absence, but from the looks of things, he had severely underestimated how many things had changed. Finding out Bonnie was dating the great value version of Damon had been surprising, but learning that Stefan was the Salvatore brother sniffing around Bonnie's goods instead of Damon...that was gold. Kai had always assumed that Damon would be the one to cave and give in to his attraction to the little Bennett witch, but apparently he had been wrong. Stefan kissing Bonnie revealed that Damon wasn't the only one who harbored a sexual attraction towards Bonnie and that little revelation was going to make things a whole lot more interesting than Kai ever expected. Shifting his gaze between Enzo and Stefan, the enraptured heretic silently wonder which of the supernatural powerhouses was worth betting on if a fight just so happened to break out between them. Sure, Stefan was older and more ruthless than Enzo, but Enzo was a man fighting to protect his spoils which made him a very dangerous contender.
Sybil released a sharp laugh as she shook her head in disbelief. She was practically vibrating with anger. "I'm so tired of the men in Bonnie's little harem pretending that she is decent and she is worthy of such loyalty and devotion," she spat venomously, "She thinks she is untouchable because Cade has taken him under his wing. She thinks that she is so special because she has Damon and Enzo wrapped around her fingers, but I have news for you. She's not! Bonnie is vulnerable and if I really wanted to, I..could..make...her...hurt."
"Stop with all the theatrics and monologues, Sybil," Stefan groaned annoyed, "You are getting everything that you want. By this time tomorrow, my brother will be offering you his undead heart in exchange for keeping Elena safe from harm. What more could you possibly want?"
Sybil smiled coldly as she walked across the room and stepped into Stefan's personal space without a single care for her personal well being. "For someone who pretends to be so astute, you are coming across as incredibly dense, Stefan. What I want is to make her hurt. What I want is to make Bonnie freaking Bennet feel unimaginable pain and horror. I want to break her. If I can't literally stab her in the back, I am going to figuratively stab her in the heart."
The three vampires in the room locked thier gazes on Sybil wearily as she paced back and forth across the wooden floor with a disturbed look on her attractive face. It was clear that she had an agenda against Bonnie and nothing that they could say or do could make her fall back. She was clearly obsessed with her and nothing that they could say or do would divert her from the chaotic path that she was currently on.
Seeing that she had finally commanded thier attention and taped into their sense of fear, she stuck her nose up in the air feeling superior and untouchable. "I am going to destroy everything and everyone that Bonnie cares about. I'm going to make her suffer."
"You may despise Bonnie, but here's the kicker," Stefan drawled slyly as he towered over the angry siren with a smug smirk on his face. "You can't touch her. Everyone in this room knows that Cade will mount your head to the wall if you so much as even breathe on her. Hate her all you want to, but at the end of the day, there is nothing you can do to hurt her."
"Wanna bet?" Sybil shot back with venom dripping from her words.
Before anyone could stop her, she walked over to the couch and reached down and wrapped her fingers around Elena's throat and proceeded to squeeze. A soft strangled noise escaped the doppelganger's dry and chapped lips as oxygen began to leave her lungs. Before he could second guess what he was about to do, Enzo used his vampire agility to rush to Elena's aide. Grabbing Sybil by the arm, he slung her against the wall and pent her shoulders against the cracked partition. Sybil felt her breath catch in her throat as Enzo leaned closer to her with a menacing look in his dark brown eyes.
"Don't touch her," Enzo warned quietly and with a hard edge in his voice.
"Why do you care what happens to Elena?" she taunted insipidly, "It's not like you will be broken up when she is dead and gone."
"True," he agreed frankly, "Elena and I aren't particularly close but she means a lot to my girl and she means a lot to Damon. Once Damon knows that you have her, he will do anything that you want. Killing Elena to hurt Bonnie isn't necessary. There has to be another way for you to achieve your agenda without hurting a single hair on the Elena's head."
Sybil stared into Enzo's eyes and the desperation she saw both moved her and made her feel even more resentment towards Bonnie. He could have walked out of the door and returned home into the arms of his precious little witch, but here he was trying to do all that he could to make sure that the most important person in Bonnie's life, Elena Gilbert, wasn't harmed or killed. That level of devotion, that need to protect the people that his lover cared about showed true selfless and she realize that with that amount of affection came the willingness to sacrifice and put Bonnie's need above his own. Suddenly, Sybil realized that her earlier impulse to strike Elena down had been foolish and had been a reaction born out of pure emotion. If she was to be logical, hurting Bonnie would mean claiming something close to her heart. Since killing Enzo wasn't something she was interested, she smiled slowly as an idea slowly began to form in her head. The only thing that bought her more pleasure than spilling the blood of the wicked was using their flesh for her own personal enjoyment. Since Stefan had killed the man Sybil had intended on using to satisfy her physical needs, there was one other prospect that the siren simply couldn't pass up.
"There isn't anything that you wouldn't do to protect Bonnie and the people she loves, is there?" she murmured impressed as she bit down on her bottom lip while starring up at him suggestively.
Stefan frowned suspciously as he watched the heat between Sybil and Enzo simmer in a slow and intense pace. He was starting to get the feeling that something extraordinarily bad was about to take place.
"You were right Enzo," Sybill confessed softly, "There is another way for me to get what I want without hurting and Elena." Moving closer to him, she grinned as she felt his entire body stiffen as her lips brushed his earlobe. "Maybe we should take this conversation somewhere a little more private so that I can tell you all the different ways and different positions it will take to save Elena from a certain death."
Enzo blinked startled as he stumbled back looknig extremely flustered. She couldn't possibly be suggesting what he think she was suggesting.
"Don't look so taken aback, Lorenzo," she advised smiling as she tapped his cheek gently with her right hand, "What I want from you isn't anything that you haven't given me before. Pull yourself together and come to me when you are ready to talk about the price you are going to pay to keep Elena safe and Bonnie happy. I will be upstairs waiting," she informed excitedly, her melodic voice thrumming inside of the vampire's ear, "The choice is entirely up to you."
Turning to Stefan, she flipped her short hair over her shoulder before smirking. "I know this probably goes without saying, but I simply don't trust you. If Enzo does decide to what it takes to save Elena's life, Kai is going to take the necessary steps to make sure you stay around until Enzo completes his task to my absolute satisfaction. I wouldn't want you to do something like intervene and interrupt us while we are getting...intimate."
Stefan flashed his teeth wolfishly. "Honestly, Sybil. You really think this kid can physically keep me from leaving?"
"Intresting fact, Stefan. I don't have to physically restrain you," Kai informed smugly, "A boundary spell is all it takes to keep you in place."
Sybil wiggled her nose and smiled gleefully as she watched the grin quickly fade from Stefan's face.
"Perfect," she sighed sweetly. "Now that we have all the unpleasantries out the way, I can look forward to attending to much more gratifying matters."
Before Enzo could respond, Sybil blew him a flirty kiss before turning on her heels and making her way out of the living room. Kai, Stefan and Enzo watched her hips sway to and fro as she disappeared from their sight. The tread of her heels clicked quietly against the hardwood floors as she slowly ascended up the staircase. The silence that had fallen over the living room was broken by the sound of Kai clapping slowly and dramatically. Stefan and Enzo turned and faced the grinning heretic with matching looks of annoyance on their faces.
"I must say. This has been one hell of an evening," Kai exclaimed, his eyes wide and bright with amusement, "So entertaining. I thought I was diabolical, but Sybil...that is one spiteful bitch." He turned his attention towards Enzo and shakes his head sympathetically. "If you leave with Stefan, you are condemning poor little Elena Gilbert to a tragic death. If you stay and sleep with Sybil, you spare Elena while simultaneously betraying Bonster. Would you like to know what I would do if I was in your situation?"
"No," Enzo stated flatly, "I don't have to ask because I already know. You would leave Elena here to die because you are selfish and nothing or no one else in this world matters to you."
"God, you are such a boyscott, Fonzo," Kai began but was silenced abruptly when Enzo suddenly appeared in his face, their noses practically brushing. "The name is Enzo, and if I were you, I wouldn't press my luck by continuing to comment on matters that is no concern to you." Enzo warned murderously. The heat between the two men was intense and Stefan knew that it was only a matter of time before one of the vampire's lost their cool and threw the first blow. Even though Stefan knew that Kai could probably get the upper hand on Enzo, he wasn't exactly interested in watching an smack down ensue between the two, so reluctantly, he placed his hand on Enzo's shoulder and pulled him back so that they were no longer invading each other's space.
Enzo shrugged Stefan hand off his shoulder and leveled him with grave look.
"I should go. Sybil is waiting for me," he muttered as he made a move towards the exit of the living room.
"Enzo, you don't have to do this," Stefan insisted as he blocked the dark haired vampire's path, "When I made the decision to exchange Elena for your freedom, I knew the possible risks that came with that choice and I am fine with it. If Sybil decides to snuff her out, so be it. Elena is no longer my concern and she shouldn't be yours either."
Enzo shook his head. He found it both surprising and disappointed that Stefan was willing to give up a woman that he once loved so easily. Especially since Stefan knew how important Elena was to not only Bonnie, but to Damon. Stefan was so blinded by whatever emotions that he still had attached to Elena that he failed to see that handing over to someone as murderous and unstable as Sybil would be the straw that would finally break Damon's back. He knew that Damon was capable of forgiving a lot of things, but when it was all said and done, Damon will never forgive Stefan for playing a part in Elena's demise. Enzo knew that he owed it to Damon and Elena to make one last plea to Stefan so that he could see the errors of his ways before it was too late.
"Believe it or not, Damon loves you mate. Despite the eternity of misery that he promised you and all of the grief he has put you through over the years, he actually longs for the close brotherhood that the two of you had when you were human," he said, his voice soft as he stared at Stefan with a hardened look in his dark eyes, "If something happens to Elena because you chose to trade her life for mine, Damon will never forgive you. You will truly find out what it feels to be completely alone in this world." Enzo paused before a look of pain flashed across his face. "Take it from somewhere who has been there mate, being alone in this world is a fate far worse than death."
Stefan scoffed rudely. "You don't need to worry about my relationship with my brother. I know Damon's limits. I know exactly how far I can push him. What you should be worried about is your relationship with Bonnie. How are you going to look Bonnie in the face knowing that you screwed a woman she despise not only once, but twice? I have had front seats and seen what it looked like when Bonnie is betrayed." Stefan jaw clenched tightly as he distinctively recalled how badly Jeremy's betrayal had devastated her. He hadn't witnessed her grief up close and personal, but even from a distance he could tell that it changed her. It hardened her. Even though he didn't exactly like the fact that Enzo and Bonnie were together, the last thing he wanted was for Enzo to repeat Jeremy's past mistakes. Even if it was for noble purposes. "I am warning you. If you go through with this, it's going to destroy your relationship with Bonnie," Stefan cautioned softly. "This will change everything."
"My relationship with Bonnie will be fine because I don't plan on telling her anything about this night, and neither will you," he said stiffly. What Bonnie doesn't know, won't hurt her,"
Not waiting around to hear Stefan's response, he brushed past the brooding vampire before stalking out of the living room and headed up to the second floor of the mansion to find Sybil. Jogging up the stairs at a brisk pace, Enzo forced Stefan's warnings to the back of his head. As much as he hated to share a bed with a woman that wasn't his beloved Bonnie, he knew that keeping Elena safe was always the one thing that came first to Bonnie and the doppelgänger was a burden she had carried on her shoulders for far too long.. It was time for him to help carry some of that load and if that meant doing something that was unpleasant and demeaning, so be it.
Arriving at the entrance of the master bedroom, he sighed softly before making his way inside the room quietly. He felt his undead heart lodge inside of his throat as he took in the saucy siren's appearance. No longer was she wearing her simple clothes from earlier. Standing before him shamelessly, Sybil flaunted a navy blue see through robe that exposed the lacy black bra and panties that she was wearing to cover up her intimate and most private of places.
"I knew that you would make the right decision.," Sybil purred happily as she wrapped her arms around his waist pressing his body tightly against hers. Enzo tensed, but she didn't seem to notice as she was too busy gloating over the fact that she was seconds away from getting what she wanted. While it was Damon's mouth and hands that she desired on her body, she had to admit that Enzo wasn't a terrible choice for a stand in. She had been with her fair share of lovers, but there was something about the way he aimed to please a woman while in the throes of passion that commanded her interest and her respect. Fucking Enzo was going to bring her immense physical pleasure, but throwing the fact in Bonnie Bennett's annoyingly righteous and judgey little face was going to be fat, juicy cherry on a very delicious screw you cake.
Sighing sweetly, she slowly trailed her tiny hands from his firm chest before finding them a resting place on his hips. "I know that this may be hard for you at first, but just think about it this way. We were good together once. We can be good together for one last time."
"Bonnie can never know about this," he warned hoarsly as he felt her fingers glide over his manhood trapped inside of his black jeans, "This will hurt her and that's the last thing I want."
Sybil sucked her teeth and narrowed her eyes annoyed. The last thing she wanted Enzo thinking about was the charmless bore that he called a girlfriend. Bonnie was merely a boring moral, while she was a goddess among men. The fact that he was so willing to settle for someone who was his inferior was absolutely maddening. Not wanting her mood to sour any further, she forced a smile.
"You have no need to worry, darling," she lied softly as she curled her fingers around the nape of his neck causing their noses to brush against each other, "Your secret is safe with me."
Swallowing deeply, Enzo closed his eyes and reluctantly parted his lips as the saucy siren slipped her tongue inside of his mouth and kissed him hotly. Feeling the tension melt from his body, Sybil swallowed a moan of approval before lacing her fingers through his and slowly leading him back towards her bed.
End Note: Enzo screwing Sybil. *cue outrage* I know. Poor Bonnie. She can never catch a break. Good news. The next chapter is almost completed so I should be posting it before the week is up. Reviews are really motivating, so feel free to leave some feedback.