back at it again

AS SOON AS THE CAR STOPS, STEFAN RUSHES TOWARDS IT, RIPPING LOGAN FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT. He feels sick satisfaction when the newly turned vampire groans in pain as he lands roughly on the ground, but he pays no more attention to the man as Damon quickly takes him down with wooden bullets.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?"

Stefan's panicked gaze falls to Athena's slumped form and fear rips through his chest, making him hurry to her side.

"Get her out of here," Damon instructs, eyes lingering on the unconscious teen worriedly before he pushes it away.

Stefan gently picks her up, cradling her in his arms before disappearing in a blur. In what feels like hours to him but is only mere seconds, he stops in the driveway of the boarding house, brushing Athena's tangled hair off of her face.

He grimaces when he sees the bruise on her forehead, and the blood staining her olive skin, but his mind flashes back to a few weeks ago when they stood mere inches apart from one another in the locker room, Athena's bruised and bloodied face staring up at him.

As soon as he opens the door, Lexi is standing before him with worry shining in her dark eyes. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," He nods, speaking quietly. "I'm going to take her upstairs and give her some of my blood. She should be fine. Is Caroline okay?"

Lexi shrugged a bit. "She's a little shaken up, but I explained as much as possible. She says it answers a lot about you and Damon, but she's worried about Athena's involvement. It's obvious she cares for her."

"They care for each other. Athena wanted to keep Caroline out of it to keep her safe."

Lexi heaves a sigh, stepping out of Stefan's way so he can take Athena upstairs and hoard her away until he's sure she's okay like she knows he wants to. "I'll keep her down here until Athena is ready to talk."

Stefan nods gratefully, beginning to walk towards the stairs.

"Stefan," Lexi calls, stopping him momentarily. "Don't use this to prove your point. All she wants is for you to be happy."

"That's all I want for her, Lexi," He mutters, biting the inside of his cheek. "And look where it got her. I'm better off leaving her alone."

"No, you aren't," The blonde vampire smiles, shaking her head. "You two aren't meant to be apart. Just– trust me on this, okay? Be there when she wakes up. Talk to her."

Stefan nods quietly and hurries up the stairs so Lexi can take care of Caroline. He bypasses the bedroom Athena has claimed as her own and goes to his bedroom, shutting the door as quickly and quietly as he can.

He lays her down in the middle of his bed, sliding her high heels off of her feet and onto the floor in a careless manner that he knows she'll scold him for once she's awake. She was precarious about how her shoes were treated, and the thought made him smile. He'd happily be scolded if it meant he heard her voice again.

He grabs a cloth from his bathroom and gets a corner wet before approaching the wound on her forehead. Gently, he wipes away the blood tainting her skin before he drops the rag and lets his fangs fall from his gums as he bites into his wrist. He feeds the gentle flow of blood into Athena's mouth, not pulling back until he hears the deep breath she takes in.

When he looks down again, wrist healed over, he meets her glassy eyes and swears he's never felt so relieved in his life. He recalls their first conversation in the hallway at school, and his immediate adoration of her dark brown eyes, how they were so dark he could hardly see her pupils. He's never been so happy to see them.

"Stefan?" Her voice is raspy, laced with confusion and Stefan shakes his head, softly shushing her.

He brushes a strand of hair off of her healed face and smiles down at her. She shuffles on the bed, trying to sit up, but he lays a hand on her shoulder and pushes her back down. "Hey, hey, you're alright. You're fine."

"What happened?"

"Logan Fell," He hums, pushing away the dangerous anger that rises in him. "He attacked you to get back at me and Damon."

She groans, rolling her eyes. "What an ass,"

"Well you're obviously feeling better," Stefan laughs, shaking his head at the utterly Athena comment. "Uh, Caroline is downstairs with Lexi."

Briefly, Athena's eyes widen and Stefan nods, answering her silent question. Athena sighs, wringing her hands together against her stomach. "She's okay, though, right?"

"Yeah, she's fine, just a little shocked. She's the one that saw you get in the car with Logan, and came to me about it."

"Why'd she go to you?"

"Well," He pauses, quickly shaking his head. "I don't know."

Athena huffs a tired laugh, her lashes fluttering with exhaustion. "What time is it?"

"I don't know. It's late, though. Caroline is staying the night."

"She'll be fine until the morning, then. She and Lexi are a dangerous combination, I think."

Stefan huffs a laugh in agreement. "Do you feel alright? I gave you some blood, but,"

"I'm fine. Tired, but otherwise fine. Thanks for the blood, though." She smirks up at him, quickly averting her eyes to pat the open space in his bed beside her. Stefan moves quietly, not bothering to fight her on it. He'd give her whatever she wanted at this point, he's sure of it.

Athena rolls into his side as soon as he's settled, resting her head on his chest and draping an arm over his middle.

Stefan inhales sharply but doesn't waste a moment longer before he encases her in his hold, feeling the warmth she provides him more than ever.

Though he can't see her face, he knows she's half-asleep with the way her pulse has begun to even out. Despite her exhaustion, she speaks into the silence. "You didn't leave."

He furrows his brows, looking up at the ceiling. "What?"

She burrows into him further, chasing his presence. "You didn't leave me, even though you had to."

"No," He murmurs, her words practically slapping him in the face. "I didn't. I couldn't."

"Please don't try to leave again,"

Stefan shakes his head, despite her being unable to see him. "I won't. I promise."

──────

"Damon, where are you?"

"In Georgia with Elena,"

Athena stops, looking at Stefan incredulously as he pulls a fresh shirt over his head. Motioning to her phone, she puts it on speaker and beckons him over to her. "Why the hell are you in Georgia with Elena?"

"Well, somehow, our little resident doppelgänger found out that she looked just like Katherine. She had a little meltdown and there was an accident, and now she's in my car, and we're in Georgia."

"You kidnapped her," Stefan frowns at the phone, knowing his brother could hear the exasperation in his voice. "What the hell, Damon?"

"Damon? Damon, where are we?"

Athena rolls her eyes at the sound of Elena's groggy voice in the background and she looks up at Stefan through her lashes, watching his face flutter through a dozen different emotions. "What are you doing in Georgia?"

"I'm meeting an old friend, she's a witch. Oh– also, did you know that precious Elena has a certain affinity for the nicer things in life? She took Katherine's necklace, Stefan. The one you so carelessly left lay while you and Athena were smothering one another in your sleep."

Stefan's eyes widen and he rushes to his desk, pilfering through the drawers. He comes up empty, looking at the phone helplessly. "Damon, get the necklace back. You know we can't risk losing that."

"I don't know, I'm kind of curious to see what she was planning to do with it. Maybe she's more like Katherine than we realize."

"Damon, please, just," Stefan runs his hands through his hair, meeting Athena's worried gaze. "Katherine wouldn't want her to have that, you know that. And I also know you don't want Katherine to be upset, so just get the damn necklace back, okay?"

There's a pause on the other line and Athena and Stefan both wait with bated breath to hear the temperamental vampire's response.

With a sigh, Damon seems to have made up his mind.

"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

The phone call ends with a click and Athena stands up straight, watching Stefan pace through his bedroom. Narrowing her eyes, she pockets her phone and eyes him closely. "Stefan? What's the deal with Katherine's necklace?"

Stefan stops, eyeing her for a moment before he decides if he'll tell her the truth or not. "I can't– I can't say much. I've been holding onto it for a long time, and the person who asked me to do that won't be happy if it's gone."

He hesitates again, sighing apologetically. "Can you just trust me on this one?"

Athena nods, but she has a million questions and a newfound wariness where Stefan's concerned. But she knows he's right, they don't have the time to talk about it right now if his vague answer is anything to go by. "So, I guess we have to wait and see what Damon does since we don't know where they are,"

"Not exactly. I think I know someone that can help."

──────

"Hey, Bonnie, can we talk?"

The witch stops in her tracks, glaring at the two people before her. Scoffing, she shakes her head and continues walking past them towards the school, only stopping when Athena reaches out for her and wrenches her back by her arm.

"Either you stop and talk to us, or I cause a scene and make you wish you've never even breathed the same air as me."

Bonnie heaves a sigh but knows that Athena will make good on her promise in some way. She gestures to the picnic table beside them and the unlikely trio sits down, Bonnie watching the way that Athena and Stefan seem to mirror one another as they swing their legs over the bench seat.

"I thought you were leaving," Bonnie raises an eyebrow at Stefan, who sighs, uncomfortable in her presence. He's dealt with Bennett witches time and time again– it never made him anymore at ease around them. It didn't help that Bonnie didn't like him, either.

"Things changed," His eyes briefly shift to Athena who's sporting a heated glare in Bonnie's direction with all of her might. Bonnie doesn't miss the sentiment behind his words, and she feels an inherent defensiveness rise in her on Elena's behalf. "I need– we need your help with a spell."

Bonnie heaves a sigh, wringing her fingers together. "I know that Elena is okay with all of this," She gestures to Stefan, inadvertently speaking about his vampirism. "And I appreciate what you did to help me,"

Athena scoffs, not bothering to hide her eye roll.

"I'm not really ready to dive into it with you just yet."

Stefan nods, forever empathetic and understanding, much to Athena's dismay. "I understand that, but I need your help. It's Elena. Damon's got her and I don't trust him to bring her back in one piece."

Bonnie seems to stutter around her shock, but she nods in agreement to Stefan, momentarily putting her grudges aside. "I– I'll need something of hers."

Athena pulls a small, silver necklace from her pocket and drops it on Bonnie's chemistry textbook, earning a curious look from the witch. "I broke into her house," She says.

Stefan clears his throat, giving Athena a scolding look that makes her roll her eyes. "Fine, I kindly asked Jeremy if I could get something of mine from Elena's room and he was too busy staring at my boobs to care what I was doing."

Bonnie rolls her eyes, but takes the necklace in her hand, fumbling with it a bit. "I don't even know if I can do this spell. I've barely known about all of this stuff, let alone my powers."

"I've known a few witches over the years, and I've seen what they can do," Stefan nods reassuringly, clasping his hands together on the table. "Your ancestors were some of the strongest. If you can't do it, then no one else can."

"My ancestors? Like– like Emily?" Bonnie leans forward with a hopefulness in her voice that makes Athena silently gag. "Did you know her?"

Athena slaps her palm down on the table, making Bonnie shift a glare onto her. Smiling sweetly, she waves her hand in Stefan's direction. "He'll tell you all about her after you find Elena and Damon."

Bonnie rolls her eyes, but clasps the necklace between her hands and shuts her eyes.

Athena taps her fingers in a pointless rhythm on the table, watching as Bonnie's face scrunches up in confusion before falling. "Did you find them?"

The witch shakes her head. "No, usually– usually there's an image, a feeling, something. There's nothing," Bonnie sets the necklace down briefly, her eyes darting around anxiously. "Tell me if anyone is watching,"

Stefan nods as she picks up a fallen leaf from the ground and sets it on the table before her. She hovers her hand over it for a moment before another noise of distress leaves her.

"What? What is it?" Stefan leans forward, eyeing her frustrated state closely.

"There's something wrong."

"With Elena?"

"With me. There's something wrong with me," Bonnie shakes her head, panic flooding her voice. "I have to go. I'm sorry, Stefan. I can't help you."

Bonnie runs off before either of them can get a word in and Athena blows an angry breath from her nose, propping her head up on the table with her hand. "I don't want to say I told you so, but I absolutely told you so,"

"Thank you, Athena."

"Well, I'm just saying,"

Stefan shoves her hand, earning a yelp of surprise as her head jerks, falling slightly before she catches it. "That's enough out of you."

────── 

author's note; a bit of a filler chapter but it's whatever <3 

originally published; 11.16.20. 

edited: 11.28.23.

- liz