𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐲 | 𝐭𝐯𝐝

-23-

I rolled over on my bed when I felt the hairs lift on the back of my neck. Someone was behind me. Millions of thoughts smacked my brain, but I instantly chose to fight instead of flight. I sped at the person and pinned them against the wall while holding onto their throat. "Stefan?" I whispered, scoffing at his way of making an entrance. I let go and stepped back. "What are you doing in my room at," I checked the time. "1 in the morning?! Some people like sleeping, you know." I glared. "I know, I know. Can I talk to you?" He asked. Something felt off. I nodded slowly and sat back in my bed after a gust of cold wind hit my arms. He sat down in front of me. "Elena and I broke up."

My jaw dropped. "Are you kidding? You're joking. Why? How? When? Are you okay? Is she okay?" I bombarded him with questions. I was in shock. Tears filled his eyes. I scooted closer and hugged him. He leaned in and cried on my shoulder. I whispered soothing things to him while he let out the hurt he's feeling. It kills me to see him like this.

"Damon." He croaked. "Hm?" I looked down at him. "She likes Damon." He told me. "Oh no, Stefan. I'm so sorry." I hugged him tighter. He sniffled. He was so broken. "Come here." I patted the spot next to me. He laid beside me and got comfortable. I laid down and turned towards him. I didn't know what to say because it's impossible to mend someone who was broken up with when they were so in love with their partner. "She told me she had felt something before she turned, but now that she's a vampire, the feelings are amplified." He told me. I listened as he began talking about that moment. He was shattered.

"Stefan, there wasn't anything you could've done to prevent this happening. These are her feelings and her feelings only. Don't blame yourself." I told him. "I pushed her away but I didn't think she'd turn to my brother. I thought we'd...I don't know." He sighed. "Try to get some sleep, okay? Let's sleep this off and see how you feel in the morning. You can work off all that anger you're gonna feel later when the sun comes up." I remembered he'll have a denial phase. He needs sleep because he won't want to later. Stefan nodded. "Okay? Good night, Stef." I whispered, shutting my eyes.

--

I got up early for once and made breakfast for Stefan and Damon. After I was done eating my plate, I sat on the counter and drank some water. Damon walked in and stretched his arms into the sky, making his shoulders rollback. He let out a large yawn. "Gross, I can smell your morning breath from here." I gagged. "Sucks to be you. You made breakfast?" He lifted an eyebrow. I nodded and handed him a plate. I received a text message from Stefan, telling me to meet him in his car. "I'm gonna go run some errands. Put Stefan's plate in the fridge or something? Please?" I asked. He nodded while raised the fork to his open mouth. I walked out.

-

Stefan and I went to the woods. I followed him to a clearing. He seemed aggravated. "Wanna eat? I'm sure there's a deer or two here, right?" I asked. He nodded. We listened for movement and when I finally found something, I smirked at Stefan. "Race you." I challenged, speeding off. It was a good way to get him to run the anger out. He was the first to the doe. I watched as he sank his fangs into it. I looked around to see another fleeing the scene. I followed it and snapped its neck, then dragged it back to Stefan.

We ate and went back to the clearance and he began throwing rocks at a tree. He then began doing push-ups. When it got easy, he requested me to sit on his back. His phone began ringing and he groaned. It was from Caroline. After that I kind of drowned it out. They were talking about Miss Mystic Falls and he refused to go. "What do you mean you're not coming? I don't need to remind you that your Miss Mystic Falls attendance record totally sucks. Besides, you're a founding family member, by definition you have to be here. River is going." She tried to persuade. "When did I say I was going?" I scoffed.

"River? You're with- You know what? I'm not even going to question it. And yes, you're going." She told me. "Elena and I broke up. By definition, I don't need to be anywhere." Stefan resumed doing his push-ups. "Did that sound as depressing to you as it did to me?" Caroline asked me. "He's a bit angry and would probably tear through this town feeding if he could," I explained. "Well he can't. Try and sublimate." She told him. He stopped moving and threw me off his back so he could lay down on the grass. "She said she has feelings for Damon." He told Caroline.

"What?! She can't have feelings for Damon! He's...Damon. And you're...you. And I'm - revolted. You know, I'm gonna talk to her. I'm going to shake some sense into her clearly diseased brain." Caroline groaned. "Yeah, well I don't know what good that'll do. Elena's right, being a vampire really has changed her."

"All the more reason you need to cure her. Look, I got to go. Be careful. And remember, there is sublimating and then there is insanity. Take care of him, River." Caroline said. "I promise." I looked down at him. He glanced at the ground next to him and I laid down. "I'll be fine. Bye." Stefan hung up. He put his phone down and looked at me. "Again?" I asked, getting up. He nodded and was about to resume his workout position when someone sped at me and pinned me against a tree by the throat. Klaus.

"In what world do the words, "tell no one" mean tell your brother and every teenage sycophant in town?" He asked me, anger bubbling in his eyes. "The secret's safe. No one who knows about the cure will endanger us. Trust me, you know I want to find it more than anyone else." Stefan told him. "Well then, I suggest you find some more vampires for Jeremy to kill before I'm tempted to offer you both up as a victim." The hybrid glared at us and let me go. I rubbed my throat. It was now sore. "And try and keep this one to yourself, would you?" He asked me. I nodded and he sped away. "You okay?" Stefan asked. "Yeah. C'mon, back on the ground." I instructed.