Barely A Memory

Chapter 9

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The doorbell rang.

Instantly, Stefan sat straight up and shuffled to his feet, a bright, hopeful smile curling on his dry lips. He glanced over at the clock: 7 am. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, and he hadn't slept at all. How could he? He'd spent the past hours listening to whatever music he could find–it turned out that he was a fan of Bon Jovi—and envisioning exactly what Katherine would look like. When he had called and explained his situation to Katherine, he distinctly remembered the sound of her voice; it had been dark, sultry, inviting... and oddly familiar. He imagined a slender face and wide lips, big, blue eyes and maybe auburn hair that landed at her hips, flaring out at the bottoms like individual flames. Whoever Katherine was, he was well aware of one thing from his journal entries; this girl was beautiful and cosmic and powerful enough to shake the earth.

The polar opposite of Elena Gilbert.

And he was ready.

Stefan quickly ran his hands along his shirt, smoothing it out. As he ran down the stairs, he pushed his fingers through his hair to give it enough volume. Apparently, girls liked volume. Or, at least, Elena liked volume.

He caught himself and tried to stop thinking about her.

Stefan stopped fixing his hair.

Nervously, Stefan placed his hand on the doorknob, preparing himself for whatever was on the other side. As Elena had told him earlier that day, he was about to jump off of the figurative cliff.

And so, before he could change his mind, Stefan opened the door and...

Elena was standing there?

His jaw nearly hit the floor as he looked her over. She was flat out sexy, leaning against the doorway like she owned the place, like she owned him. Dressed in a tight, black top and even tighter jeans, she was... breathtaking. Her eyes were burning into his –she was completely eye-level now, thanks to the stiletto heels she was wearing—and Stefan had to remind himself to breathe. He had to suppress a smirk of his own as he looked her over once more. She had changed her mind. She'd gotten dressed up at seven in the morning and there was no doubt in his mind that it was for him.

Stefan stuttered a few times before he could get a single word out, and when he did, all that he managed to say was, "Wow. Elena. You look..."

She smirked, and he had to restrain himself from staring at her lips. "Can I come in, Stefan?"

Practically drooling, he nodded, stepping aside for her to enter. He heard her heels click across the threshold and watched her enter, completely enthralled by her poise. "Hey," he finally said. "About what happened today—"

She cut him off by placing a finger to his lips. "Shhh." He complied, and she started leaning closer, and his temperature rose about tenfold. His mind was foggy; she'd never had this kind of effect on him before. He was almost taken off guard. The air in the room with Elena was usually less thick... it wasn't worse or better than what was happening right now... just different. He then remembered who he'd been waiting for moments ago, and the realization crashed over him in a moment of clarity.

Right before her sultry lips met his, Stefan whispered, unsure but defiant, "You're not Elena."

Surprised but never one to lose her smooth composure, Katherine took a step back and laughed, her eyes still glued to his. "Even when you can't remember anything, you can still recognize me, Stefan." She smirked, running her long, slender fingers through her luscious, curly hair. A surge of disappointment rushed through Stefan at her confirmation. Was he really expecting Elena to show up and choose him over his brother? He should have been angry at Katherine for her deception, but for some odd reason, he was too spellbound by her appearance to care. Her brown eyes shone with faux innocence, giving him a strange rush. "I'm Katherine." Even the way she said her name made his body quake with want.