Barely A Memory

Chapter 17

He swallowed, his heart feeling heavy as she spoke, her pain apparent through every cracking word. "I know how much you love me," he assured her. "And I know what it feels like to have you falling beside me. Remember when we jumped off that cliff in Mystic Falls?"

God, how she loved him.

"And," Stefan started, a little more playful this time. "We can always re-create those memories."

"Starting...?" Elena grinned against his chest at the thought of that. Yes, that sounded wonderful. Wonderful. He made her feel giddy and childish, and she loved him for that. She loved the way he brought her to life.

Stefan brought her fingers to his lips. "Now."

Her eyes went wide. "Now?"

"Now."

XXXX

"Being on this couch sucks."

"Just so you know, Katherine," Damon started, both amused and tense, "I do not support your attendance on this little field trip."

She chuckled. "I knew you were awake. It's five a.m. What are you doing awake?"

"Your complaining has kept me up." Damon rolled his eyes. "If you think for even a second that I'm going to share this bed with you, think again."

With a devilish smirk, Katherine rolled off of the couch and sauntered her way over to the edge of the bed, her hips swaying back and forth as she did so. Damon did not miss a moment of it.

Thank you, vampire vision, he thought to himself, though he hardly even took note of the passing thought. He was a guy, after all. It wasn't as if he actually cared about Katherine. Been there, done that.

"If I remember correctly," she teased slyly, gently tracing her fingertips against the edge of the comforter, well aware of his eyes on her, "We've shared a bed plenty of times. Or have you pulled a Stefan and completely forgotten?" With that, she innocently raised her eyes to meet his, a sure indication that she knew he'd been watching her. But she was far from innocent; they both knew that.

"And if I remember correctly, it wasn't anything too worth remembering." He smirked. Unlike his baby brother, he knew how to give it right back to Katherine. And he could tell by the amused glint in her eyes that she liked that about him.

"Liar."

He simply shrugged.

Although she lacked an invitation, Katherine crawled into bed until she was beside Damon. She was over the covers, he was beneath the covers. There were only about four layers between them, including clothing.

He counted.

XXXX

The dark street was completely deserted, aside from Stefan and Elena, who were aimlessly meandering through the old New Jersey neighborhood. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"A place with a front porch." She ran ahead of him, standing in the middle of the street, her hand up as she gestured for him to halt. She reminded him of a director trying to find a set location, which made him smile. There Elena stood, in the same wrinkled shirt and sweatpants she'd worn on the road, her hair thoughtlessly pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she looked beautiful to him. Maybe he was a little crazy, but she'd never been so beautiful. After a long moment of pondering, Elena pointed to a house a little ways down the road. "There."

Stefan shook his head, smiled, and followed her as she ran down the road like a child looking for the ice cream truck. He almost lost her a few times, but soon, he found her on the front porch of a house, all the lights out. "We can't just stand on someone's front porch—"