A/N: KaterinaPetrova and I worked real quick so you guys could have this chapter as your Christmas present! I really hope you'll enjoy it! And I'm so glad that Malena got a few more votes... Did I just hear two doppelgängers? Let's find out, shall we? ;)
Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows... I love you guys! :) Happy holidays!
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.
I slept through the rest of the day and the entire night. Elena checked on me regularly, but I could have been dreaming her visits for all I could tell. At some point though, I did feel her crawl into bed with me to go to sleep. She had put a soft hand on my forehead and asked me if I was feeling OK. When I replied in the affirmative, she whispered for me to go back to sleep, which I hastened to do.
I woke up to the morning light filtering through the curtains and I felt great in that after wakening moment when everything was quiet and peaceful. I wasn't feeling the slightest pain anymore and my body was perfectly relaxed. The sunbeams shining behind my window made me smile in contentment. It was going to be a blue-skied day. I started to stretch my body, but realized something was weighing it down. I glanced down quickly. The comforter had slipped to the floor, only the sheets remained. Elena had her cheek resting on my shoulder and her forehead nestled into my neck; she looked so cute and serene when she was asleep. I was snapped out of my trance when I noticed that her thigh and calf were hooked around my leg. But what really woke me up was the fact that her forearm was lying across the entire length of my stomach, her hand snaked around my side.
She had already fall asleep in my arms before, bawling her eyes out. We had already awoken with our bodies close together, an arm or an ankle tangled here or there. But this was different. She was hugging me like a teddy bear. It was infinitely more intimate than anything we had done before. I took a deep breath and rationalized that it was just a sleeping habit, and that she unconsciously thought that the body next to her was Stefan's.
Her heartbeat began to speed up, and I knew that she was almost awake. I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. I wanted to give her time to move away without feeling embarrassed. She hummed contentedly while slowly stretching her body against mine and nuzzled her face further into the crook of my neck. I froze instantly.
"Hi," she murmured, a little hoarsely. I didn't know what to do. Answer and freak her out when she heard my not-so-manly voice, or keep my mouth shut and hope she would notice my feminine curves all by herself.
"Are you feeling better today?" she asked in a sleepy voice, her eyes still closed and her breath fanning against my throat. I paused mid-thought and frowned. So she did know it was me?
"Hi…" I whispered hesitantly, still half expecting her to jump backwards once she realized I wasn't Stefan. When she didn't, I continued cautiously. "Yes. I'm feeling great actually."
"Good." I could hear the smile in her voice. "What do you say we stay lazily in bed for a while and then we cook ourselves a nice breakfast?" she asked, balancing more of her weight on my body to hug me even more tightly. "And when I say we, I mean you…" I chuckled, knowing perfectly well how bad she was in a kitchen. But her proposition caused a wave of heat to spread through my entire body. Most of my brain was screaming at me to bolt out of the bed, but what was I supposed to say to get out of this situation while still remaining credible? Lie and say that I had to pee? She would just ask me to join her again afterwards, and I would be back to square one. Not to mention that there was a small part of me who wanted nothing more than to enjoy her tantalizing embrace.
"Sure…" I ended up saying, controlling my arms from hugging her back.
I was completely baffled by her behavior. It was really unlike her to act this way with friends, even with me. Trying hard to find a rational explanation, I finally realized something. Elena and I had never been in a situation before where I was the one who needed to be comforted. I had never been badly injured, and the people we had lost over the last two years had been closer to her than to me. I guessed that that was what happened when you were the last one to join a gang.
Maybe treating me like this was simply her way of taking care of me? Of soothing me? If this was what she was after, it wasn't really working. But she couldn't possibly have known the effect that she had on me.
"You're warm," she said out of the blue, efficiently snapping me out of my thoughts. I frowned automatically and raised my free hand to rest it on my forehead.
"But I can assure you that I don't have fever anymore," I answered in confusion.
"No, I meant… you're always warm. It's nice," she clarified shyly. Her words caused my brain to fry instantly. A thousand thoughts were bumping and crashing into each other at once, leaving me utterly dazed. I responded to cold weather just like everyone else. I got chilly during winter without a big, warm coat- but I supposed I was not exactly sensitive to the cold. That was what my ex-girlfriend had often told me, anyway. And that was the key word actually. Girlfriend. Why was Elena doing this to me? She was going to be the death of me.
I tried my best to keep inappropriate thoughts at bay and settled for lying as still as a starfish.
Thank god my gurgling stomach helped me cut short our lazy cuddling. We finally got out of the bed and I cooked us a tasty breakfast. The rest of the day went smoothly, our interactions returning back to the way they usually were, much to my relief. I could tell that Elena had something on her mind, though, but since she didn't bring the subject up, I figured she wasn't ready to talk about it just yet.
I was pouring us both a cup of coffee when someone knocked at the door. I heard Elena mute the TV, and by the time I reached the hallway, she was already at the front door. I panicked when I realized who it was, rushing toward her wildly to keep her from opening the door. But it was too late; she was already pulling on the handle. I had just enough time to dive behind the wall nearby, hiding myself.
"Katherine?" Elena exclaimed, her initial shock quickly turning into nervousness.
"Elena." Katherine greeted her back politely but I could hear the displeased undertone in her voice.
"What do you want?" Elena asked a bit harshly, snapping out of her surprise.
"I would like to talk to Maya." Despite her coolness, Katherine was obviously trying hard to remain courteous. From the safety of my hiding spot, I raised both of my hands and shook them urgently in front of me to signal my refusal. I was desperately hoping that Elena would notice without busting me with a glance.
"She doesn't want to talk to you," Elena informed her, keeping her eyes focused on Katherine. She had obviously realized it was pointless to lie to her about my presence, but she pretended perfectly well that I wasn't hiding behind the door. I could have kissed her in gratitude. Until I saw her hesitated.
"I'm sorry," she added awkwardly before closing the door. Why was she apologizing? I knew for a fact that she was far from a huge fan of Katherine's, and that she had never had a problem being unkind to her before.
"Wait!" Katherine called out, and Elena warily opened the door again a little bit. What the hell was happening here? Why was Elena letting her compassionate side come to the surface at this inappropriate moment?
"Is she okay?" Katherine questioned in an almost inaudible tone.
"She is." Both of them remained silent for a few seconds and Elena eventually gave a little nod before closing the door quietly. She had a confused expression plastered on her face. Neither of us moved nor spoke for a while. Elena was probably waiting for Katherine to move out of eavesdropping distance while I was just making sure that she wasn't about to throw a trash can in my window.
"What was that about?" Elena asked finally.
"How would I know? You were the one casually chatting with her!" She shot me an "are you serious" glare. "Why were you all sympathetic and nice to her, anyway?" I continued in an irritated tone.
"You didn't see her face…" she mumbled, frowning a little bit.
"No, you're right. I didn't." I tried my best to keep the sarcasm in my voice to a minimum. "But I thought you would have known by now that she can be a really good actress when she wants to be!" I was vaguely aware of the fact that I was channeling my annoyance at Katherine's visit onto Elena, but I couldn't help it.
"She looked really concerned about you," she defended herself. "And she did take care of you when you were sick. What was I supposed to do, ignore her?" I rolled my eyes in exasperation, but gave her a sympathetic look right afterwards to notify her that she wasn't the one that I was mad at.
"Did something happen between the two of you that I should be aware of?" she asked quietly, crossing her arms on her chest out of nervousness. I tensed at her insight. "Yes. Things like... she cast a spell on me, strangled me and forced a kiss on me among other things,"I thought to myself.
"What would make you think that?" I dodged tentatively, furrowing my eyebrows.
"The fact that you look particularly mad at someone who took care of you when you needed it…" There was an expectant look on her face that made me uncomfortable. "That's because you don't know that she undressed me almost completely to do so, and probably took care of me just out of curiosity about my own kind anyway." I sighed inwardly. Admitting that to her would just add to her worry about Katherine's presence in Mystic Falls and what exactly had happened to me.
"Since when is it weird to be mad at Katherine?" I tried in an offended tone.
"Since you're the one who is…" she trailed off. Her statement left me utterly perplexed. "From the moment all of this started, I had been really impressed by how you kept a cool head, knowing that Katherine was after you," she continued. "So why are you cracking up now, especially after such unusually kind gesture on her part?"
"Because there are limits to my patience. Can't we please just stop giving her more attention than she deserves?" I exhaled tiredly, looking at Elena with pleading eyes. She seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before finally nodding in agreement.
I walked to the kitchen a little too enthusiastically and brought us back our coffees. I sat down next to Elena on the couch to watch the movie she had put into the DVD player before the impromptu visit.
"What do you think about getting a little treat?" Elena asked me playfully after the movie ended.
"I'm in!" I stood up to follow her to the kitchen. When she opened the freezer and picked up ice cream, I knew that she had finally decided to talk about whatever had been on her mind all day. When she took a second cup, my favorite flavor this time, and placed it in front of me, I realized that I was actually the one in trouble.
"Doesn't have an "M" on it, but I'm pretty sure it tastes the same," she joked lightly. I chuckled at what she was referring to. It had happened about a year ago when Caroline, Bonnie, Elena and I had had a slumber party. Elena had come out of her kitchen with a huge bowl of red velvet cake ice cream in one hand, and a small cup of Irish cream liqueur ice cream for me in the other- because I was the only one who liked it. Ever since she had learned that it was my favorite flavor, she always kept a cup of it in her freezer.
Caroline had snuck up on me that night and snatched the spoon from my cup. When I had grumbled that it was my ice cream, she made fun of me and grabbed a marker to draw a big red "M" for Maya on the cup. It became a running joke and every single cup Elena had bought since then had been marked with an "M".
My eyebrows raised suddenly as realization hit me.
"You can't go back to your house," I blurted out quickly.
"Since I know how much you like, and need your quota of solitude every day, maybe you really did hit your head after all…" she teased, shooting me a mischievous glance. I pretended to be offended by her remark, but couldn't stop a conniving grin from appearing at the corner of my mouth.
"I'm serious, Elena…" I replied, slowly regaining a straight face. "The fact that Katherine has obviously been snooping in your house can't possibly be a good thing."
"What? What are you talking about?" she asked, not knowing if I was joking or not.
"On one of the first days Katherine started stalking me, she brought me ice cream…" I started to explain, but Elena cut me off.
"She brought you ice cream?" Her expression of shock matched perfectly what I had felt back then.
"I know, believe me- but not the point. Any idea of what kind of flavor she picked?"
"Let me guess… Irish cream liqueur, chocolate chip cookies, and coffee," she answered, finally giving me her full attention.
"Bingo! She pretended it was her favorite flavor, but I never actually believed her. Since I'm the only one around here who likes this kind of ice cream, it would have been a hell of a coincidence."
"I agree. But I don't see the connection...?"
"Well, this one doesn't have an 'M' written on it…" I trailed off, raising the cup in front of me. "But the one in your freezer does. And since the only names starting with this letter are Matt's and mine…"
"She figured it was your cup of ice cream," she concluded. "Oh my god, you really believe that she would go through so much trouble to get in your pants?"She was obviously baffled but I was more unsettled by her choice of phrasing.
"I have absolutely no idea! But it's the only plausible explanation I can come up with, since she can't get inside my house…"
"Wow… she really stacks the odds in her favor to succeed in sleeping with you, doesn't she?"
"I… you're still missing the point," I chided her, tapping my fingers on the kitchen island nervously. She gave me a confused look. "You're living in a house where she can come and go as she pleases, and she obviously has no problem doing so! You can't stay here," I declared, leaving no room for discussion.
"She's been able to do that for a while now. Nothing new…" Her attempt to play down the situation fell upon deaf ears.
"Yes well, she needed you alive for the sacrifice. And she probably figured that killing you wouldn't help her get Stefan back after she found out you had survived the ritual. But, what if she's not after him anymore?" I pointed out cleverly.
"You think she might actually be into you?" Her eyes were wide open in disbelief.
"No!" I shouted, growling in frustration. I tried to think of a way to explain her my reasoning as calmly as I could. "Going after me so openly is not exactly the smartest move if she is still trying to win Stefan's heart back. So it wouldn't be too outlandish to think that she might have had a change of heart about that, would it? Which means that you may have lost your… immunity," I concluded in a worried voice.
"Well, actually, it would be good news. The Stefan part, I mean," she specified with a small smile. "But it doesn't change anything. I haven't survive all we've been through to hide- for what? A week? A month? And I'm not moving out either!"
"How can someone possibly be that stubborn?" I shot in exasperation. "We don't get to have a say about the fact that Katherine could show up at your house in the middle of the night to snap your neck, but I got yelled at for ousting Damon and Stefan as my bodyguards?!"
"Did it convince you to reconsider your decision?" There was a lopsided smirk at the corner of her mouth.
"No…" I admitted reluctantly with a pout. "But she can't get inside my house, and I can defend myself way better than you could."
"I trained to fight too, you know."
"I could take you down in ten seconds," I stated provocatively.
"Try me," she dared, mischief shining in her eyes.
"I'm not going… I'm worried about you, Elena. Damn it!" She looked at me intensely for a few seconds and went around the counter to take a seat in front of me.
"That's funny because I'm worried about you too…" she said softly. The change of atmosphere made me uncomfortable. I knew that she was about to finally tell me what she had been holding back all day.
"I'm fine, Elena. My headache is gone, I don't have a fever, and I certainly don't have a concussion..."
"I know," she stated with a warm smile. "But you said yesterday that what triggered your last powerful migraine was your parents' funeral," she started cautiously. "So I'm worried about the traumatic event that must have happened to you to trigger this one..." Her voice was full of concern. My heart skipped a beat and clenched tightly in my chest. Of course she would make the connection. I was stricken by a powerful impulse to tell her everything, but I knew that I couldn't possibly do it. I hadn't had time to myself yet to think through everything that had happened to me lately. Most importantly, I needed to think about all of the things that I had learned about myself. It was so mixed up and confusing for me that I couldn't even form coherent thoughts to talk about it out loud.
"Maya, hey…" Elena whispered soothingly. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" Her gaze was shining with sincerity as she tucked a lock of my hair delicately behind my ear. When she settled her hand above mine, I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath.
"There are things about myself that I'm struggling with right now…" I started quietly. "But I need to figure them out by myself before I could possibly talk to you about them." I gave her a sad smile, and she looked into my eyes intensely for a moment.
"OK…" she said softly. "But if it's becoming too hard for you, I'm here no matter what, okay?"
I nodded, a thankful smile on my lips.