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Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. This is a work of fiction written for entertainment purposes, but the original characters and original storylines present in "My Paper Heart" are my own work.
"Hello sunshine! Your escort is ready," Damon said cheerfully in a mockingly gentlemanly manner, as soon as I opened the door.
"Hi Maya," Stefan added, an apologetic smile on his lips.
"Hi guys…" I grabbed my keys and my bag. "Okay, let's do this." I sighed, still not convinced that the whole thing was a good idea.
I got in the backseat of the car, Stefan sitting very close to me. Damon took the wheel and started to drive, but I knew that if the car could drive itself to the school, I would have a Salvatore on each of my sides, flanking me closely. The two of them were alert and wary, making me incredibly nervous.
"So, what's the plan exactly?" I asked, trying to ease the tension. "You're going to waste half of your time following me around every time I want to step outside?"
"We're not wasting our time, Maya…" Stefan answered seriously, looking at me with furrowed brows.
"That's pretty much the plan until we figure out what this is all about," Damon stated bossily. "Plus, we're vampires Maya; we have more time that we need," he added, a cocky grin on his lips.
I almost shot back "Maybe you do," but kept my mouth shut. I would just rub in the fact that he didn't have the girl of his dreams to spend every minute of his day with. It would have been mean of me, and he didn't deserve it. At least, not at the moment.
I shot a quick, questioning side glance at Stefan, trying to figure out if this body guard thing was okay with him too, knowing it would impinge on his time with Elena. He gave me a barely noticeable nod, a little reassuring smile on his lips.
When I stepped out of the car and walked toward the high school doors, I felt like I was a celebrity ready to walk on the red carpet with my two body guards in tow. A couple of students we passed by gave me a half surprised, half scornful look. If only they knew. I sighed, trying to relieve my discomfort, and was glad to finally reach the doors. They stopped just in front of them, still trailing me closely, looking nervous and concerned.
"Are you okay?" Damon asked, giving me a piercing look.
"You mean, despite the feeling that I'm back at my first day of preschool again?" I joked in a half hearted tone. They were both too damn serious about this, and it was making me even more uncomfortable than when Katherine was around. Damon shot me a sarcastic smirk.
"I'm going to stay around while you're in class," he informed me seriously.
"Damon, you don't have to. It's fine, she's not going to-"
"No discussion! See you later," he cut me off, winking at me. I kept my mouth shut and watched him disappear around the corner of the building, my brows knitted together in worry. I turned around and walked into the hallway.
"Is everything okay?" Stefan asked softly, glancing at me carefully, and standing firmly at my side.
"Yes. It's just…" I murmured, looking at the ground. "I don't want any of you getting in trouble."
"You are in trouble. And there is no way in the world we could possibly let you deal with it all by yourself," he stated in a smooth caring voice. "Everything will be fine, OK? We're not leaving your side," he insisted, being his usual strong warm-hearted knight in shining armor. I wasn't convinced but gave him a small thankful smile anyway.
The day went without noticeable incident and the same routine was repeated the next morning. When Stefan and I arrived together again in the classroom for the second time in two days, all the students gave us a suspicious glance. Including Elena, Caroline and Bonnie. I pretended not to notice it, hoping that if I was acting like it was perfectly normal; it wouldn't turn into a big deal at some point. The little act was proving to be difficult to keep at lunch break, when Elena grabbed Stefan by the hand.
"Come to have lunch with me?" she asked him in a perky tone. Stefan glanced up quickly at me. I was supposed to meet one of my team mates to pick up the new practice schedule before going to eat.
"I have something to do first, but I'm right behind you, okay?" he answered with a smile, giving Elena a soft peck on her lips. Elena looked at me, confused then her eyes landed on Stefan again, but kept her mouth shut.
When we joined them at the cafeteria a little bit later, Caroline was bombarding Bonnie with questions about Jaime. Despite the fact that Bonnie was usually conservative about those kinds of subjects, she was playing along knowing that Caroline was living vicariously through her relationship with him to sooth Tyler's absence. Stefan slid smoothly on the chair next to Elena and snaked an arm around her back to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. I sat down between him and Bonnie.
"So what you two were doing?" Elena asked, glancing between Stefan and me with a curious smile on her lips.
"Nothing. Just picking up some papers, that's all…" Stefan dodged nicely. She narrowed her eyes at him and finally looked suspiciously at me. I suddenly drew my attention toward my plate, taking a bite of my meal to avoid her gaze. I hopped that maybe Bonnie or Caroline would keep Elena for bringing up the subject but they were so immersed in their own conversation that they didn't pay any attention to us.
"Not that I'm the jealous girlfriend type, but you two have to admit that showing up together twice in two days kind of look suspicious!" she said, half laughing. "Not to mention that the two of you obviously have secret meetings…" Stefan and I both laughed at her comment. On my part, I was laughing at the thought that she could even consider something happening between me and Stefan. She had no idea how beyond absurd it was. I took another bite to cover up my hilarity.
"You're jealous of Maya? Or are you jealous that you can't have your best friend for yourself when I'm spending time with her?" Stefan asked jokingly, looking tenderly at Elena. I choked on my food at his question.
"Both!" she answered, laughing merrily. Damn it, this discussion was making me uncomfortable.
Fortunately for me, the next topics were a lot more usual and the rest of the day went smoothly. Until Elena asked Stefan, after our last class, if he was up for picking up Chinese food and having a movie night at her house.
"Right now?" he asked, a little bit taken aback.
"Yes," she answered, a bit surprised by his reaction. I positioned myself out of Elena's sight and gave him all the signs I could possibly do quietly to tell him that it was fine- that he could go. He shot me a stern side glance.
"There's just one thing I need to do first, and then I'm all yours," he said gently, stroking her arm. But Elena didn't buy the evasive answer this time. She turned her head quickly to look at me, seemingly making a connection with what already happened at lunch.
"Another secret meeting?" she asked blankly.
"I have a bunch of heavy stuff to carry home… He's just going to drop me off," I mumbled urgently. I hated lying to her. I couldn't handle her looking at me with confusion, or suspicion.
"Fine," she said a bit sternly, starting to walk toward the outside doors. "But the two of you will have to explain why you're suddenly acting like you are glued together at the hip," she continued while pushing the door open. Damon's head suddenly popped into view through it.
"Hi there! Ready to go?" he asked me cheerfully, a big grin on his face. I instantly shot him a nasty look. Worst timing ever.
"Okay. What's going here?" Elena asked harshly, turning back to look at me and Stefan straight in the eye, her arms crossed over her chest.
"What?" Stefan let slip unbelievingly.
"She wants to what?" Elena asked at the same time, utterly shocked. They were both standing side by side at the frame door of the Mansion's living room, their eyes wide open. I would have found it funny, or annoying, that everyone seemed to have the same reaction at what Katherine had planned, but even though Elena's surprise was expected, Stefan's not so much. I shot my head swiftly toward Damon, realisation suddenly hitting me. The look on his face was surprisingly matching mine.
"You didn't tell him?"
"You didn't tell her?" We shot incredulously at the same time.
"I'm the only one who should get to ask this question!" I spoke up, irritated. "Stefan has been helping me for two days and you didn't think it would be a good idea for him to know?"
"You're one to talk!" he shot back. "I thought she was your best friend and you two were telling each other everything…" he said in a taunting tone, mimicking an 8 year old girl.
"Just shut up, both of you!" Elena yelled suddenly. It was so unusual of her to snap like this that Damon and I immediately shut up. We exchanged a quick side glance, tacitly knowing that we were both in trouble.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Elena asked strongly, her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Because I didn't want you to worry."
"Because I didn't want him to get all chivalrous about it." We answered at the exact same time. I gritted my teeth and looked quickly at Damon, returning his annoyed glare.
"Stop doing that!" Elena shot out, irritated, watching the both of us unbelievingly.
"He's the one doing it!"
"She's the one doing it!" We exclaimed together. Again.
"Oh my god, I'm going to slap them both…" Elena sighed exasperatedly, rubbing her temple with two of her fingers. Stefan stroked her lower back gently and gave her a smoothing smile. She turned her attention to him.
"Why didn't you tell me Stefan?" she asked quietly, in a slightly hurt tone.
"It's my fault. I asked him not to…" I admitted before he could say anything. Stefan looked at me, obviously upset that I was taking the blame on me.
"You already went through a lot with Katherine; I didn't want to worry you," he said miserably. "The plan was to figure out what she was up to before dropping the bomb on all of you." Elena looked at him intensely but remained silent; giving him a quick nod to acknowledge him that they were fine.
Stefan turned his head toward me.
"Do you see any reason why she would want to… get you inside her bed?" he asked me gently. I would have found his hesitation cute if it weren't for what he was implying.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I shot back, instantly on the defense.
"I can see thousand of reasons why someone could want her inside their bed…" Damon muttered, a cocky smirk at the corner of his lips. I turned to him sharply with wide opened eyes. Did he just really say that?
Stefan looked embarrassed right away, realizing what he had implied.
"That's not what I meant," he apologized sheepishly. He took a few seconds to obviously think how to formulate his thoughts. "Did something happen between you and Katherine before that we don't know about?" he asked again cautiously.
"Of course not!" I shot out, offended. I really didn't like the turn this conversation was taking.
"Oh come on!" Damon snapped exasperatedly. "No need to be a psychic to know why Katherine wants to sleep with Maya! The bitch is a notorious horny slut, that's why."
I was really thankful for Damon's intervention. I could think of one reason why she went after me specifically, but I was far from ready to share this information with any of them.
I suddenly realized that Elena hadn't said a word for a while now, and when I turned my head toward her, I caught her staring at me, a strange look on her face. I couldn't decipher the expression she was making, but it made me wary. She quickly brushed it off when she became conscious that I was looking at her and covered it up with a soft smile. A glint of worry shone in her eyes before she could conceal it.
"Okay. Now that we have cleared the air, can we stick to the plan and avoid anymore drama?" Damon asked in a dryly tone. After a few seconds, Elena and Stefan just nodded in response.