pivot | ( OPEN POST )

[ katherine at least has the forethought to not be standing near the door of the bathroom when he's finished. she sits on the bed and lies back against it, staring up at the ceiling with her hands clasped again her chest. she's bored. listening to him shower had been entertaining.

if she had her sharp sense of smell, she'd be able to smell him as if he was hovering right over her. considering she lacks it, she can't smell him at all. ]

I thought about it.

[ she doesn't look at him as she sighs.

dryly, ] I thought that would be rude. We all know I'm a very kind and considerate person.

[ she knows—and suspects—him to be the first not to agree with that statement. ]

Uh huh.

( and that's all he says to that. he retakes his seat on the bed, sighing and stretching out. he really doesn't know what to do or what to say to her. )

Do you want to, I don't know, talk about this, Katherine?

( it might help. )

[ what she doesn't expect is for stefan to lie on the same piece of furniture that she's on. she kind of expected he'd keep his distance, perhaps a little fearful of the five-hundred-year-old human. but if he was afraid, she doubts he would've followed her by himself.

it makes her sad to think she's no longer intimidating.

she keeps her gaze on the ceiling, not wanting to look at him at all. if she does, then she loses the game that she knows he isn't participating in. ]

Talk about what? This motel? The walls are a little thin but the wallpaper isn't that bad.

[ she knows exactly what he wants to talk about and she would rather not address it at all. if she does, it makes it real—more real than it actually is. ]

Katherine.

( he sighs and rubs a hand across his face. he doesn't want to pull this out of her but he thinks she needs to talk about it. he thinks it would be beneficial but he also knows that katherine pierce talking about anything personal is very unlikely. )

You know what I mean. If you don't want to talk, just say that. I'm not going to pry it out of you.

[ katherine does and doesn't want to talk about it. she wants to talk about it until she's blue in the face and somehow has her vampirism back, and she doesn't want to talk about it because talking about it makes it real.

so, she's quiet for a few long moments. she continues to stare up at the ceiling. ]

You want to talk about the fact that Elena shoved the cure down my throat and has now rendered me human and weak? [ her tone lacks a lot of ire, even though she feels ropable at the mere thought of what transpired. her heartbeat picks up.

she turns her head to the side to face him and regards him with a furrow to her brow. ] Didn't you all laugh about this already?

No, I didn't laugh about it. I'm not laughing now. Why do you think I'm here, Katherine?

( he wanted to try and help her. he hadn't come here to keep an eye on her or make it harder for her. he'd come to help her and that was all. )

If you want me to leave, tell me. I'll leave you alone if that's what you truly want me to do.

[ she has to bite her tongue against what she wants to say, which is most definitely going to spur him away from her. she doesn't want him to leave. out of all of them, he's the least annoying—it's what she tells herself, anyway. ]

I'm human. [ the way she says it should tell him everything he wants to know: she hates it, she resents it, and she's not coping well. ] I turned myself into a vampire so I wasn't human.

I know. And I know it's not easy but it's not the end of the world, Katherine. You can still...you can still live.

( he sighs, shoulders slumping. )

I came here to help you.

[ she scoffs and sits up, leaning on her elbow to look at him like he's grown two heads. ] It is the end of the world, Stefan.

[ the fact that he can't see it like that only goes to show how he doesn't know her. none of them do. she shouldn't be surprised. they all believe she deserves this, and maybe she does, but katherine doesn't want to believe in it entirely. ]

I cannot be a human.

[ she says it with far more emotion than she likes. ]

You are human, Katherine, and you are giving up.

( and he's never known katherine pierce to give up. )

Is that what you want to do? Just throw your hands up and decide that you're just going to let death come?

( because that's the feeling he's getting. )

What else am I supposed to do, Stefan?

[ while katherine wants to lie back on the bed, she remains where she is, all her weight resting in her arm as she presses her hand against the bed. her fingers curl and dig into it angrily, and she knows she can't tear the bedspread like she once could. ]

The moment the people I've pissed off hear I'm human, they're going to come after me and I have no way of defending myself.

[ thanks, elena. ]

Let me help you.

( that's why he was here, that's what he wanted to do. he wants to help her because he can't even begin to comprehend what it must be like for her. )

I came after you to help you.

( so, let him. )

[ that's not the answer she expected. truthfully, she didn't really know what he'd say. stefan is, after all, compassionate. he wants to be everyone's hero.

she narrows her eyes and looks at him suspiciously. ]

Why?

[ if she's going to trust anyone from the scooby gang, it'd be stefan. he is far more honest and direct than the rest of them, even if he's far more capable of hurting her. ]

Why do you want to help me?

Because I think you need help and I don't want you to be alone during this.

( she hasn't been a human for nearly half a millennia. he doesn't think she's going to be dealing well. )

Because you would help me.

( despite it all, despite everyone going against her, she would help him if their positions were reversed. )

[ she scrunches up her face. ] Would I?

[ they both know she would. katherine cannot help herself when it comes to helping stefan or damon, but mostly stefan. it had been his brother she had saved so many years ago, an ungrateful brother who isn't here repaying the debt.

she sighs, dropping back onto the bed. her hands fold against her chest as she stares up at the ceiling. ]

I'm not going to ask you to turn me back into being a vampire. I doubt it's that easy.

I wasn't going to offer to do that either. But, I can help you.

( he's sure there's a way to reverse this cure. maybe they can find a witch or a vampire even older than her. but he can help her especially now. )

You've helped me, Katherine. Let me help you but if that's something you really don't want. I'll leave.

( he's not going to force something on her. )

[ she doesn't want him to leave even though she wants to tell him to go. katherine doesn't want to be alone but she wants to be without company. it's a push/pull she's always struggled with over the centuries and it stems from her lifestyle.

that lifestyle doesn't exactly suit being a human.

after a long pause, she keeps staring up at the ceiling. ]

I need to get to New Orleans. I think there's someone who can help me.

A witch?

( that's who he thought she'd go to when he'd been trying to find her. and it's probably the best bet on figuring this out. )

We can go to New Orleans. I've got some places along the way that we can stop at that I've built up during my life. So, we don't have to always stop at motels.

[ accepting his kindness is very, very hard for katherine. she looks like she's trying to figure out the best way to turn him down until she realises she shouldn't. if he's going to help her and make it comfortable for her, then… who is she to say no? ]

It could take weeks.

[ so… he has other things to do, evidently. is he really going to erase his calendar for her? ]

Okay.

( he waits for her to say why that's a problem for her because it's not a problem for him. )

I've got time.

( and maybe he wanted to be away from mystic falls for a little while so he could breathe. )

[ she inhales deeply through her nose to steady herself from wanting to sharply ask him why. why does he want to help her so badly? why does he want to give up so much just to help her after everything she's done? katherine knows not to look a gifted horse in the mouth too much. ]

If you want to go back to Mystic Falls at any time, you'll have to find another car.

[ she's keeping his car until she sees this through. perhaps a part of her wants to have a reason to go back and gloat. ]

Any reason you stole my car specifically and not some random person's?

( that just seems targeted, like she wanted to get his attention for some reason. )

Damon's was right there too.

[ she scrunches up her face as if she's tasted a lemon. ]

I don't like his car and I don't like his company.

[ it's as simple as that. katherine has briefly weighed up which brother she would tolerate chasing her and there's some poetry to it being stefan. it doesn't matter to her that it's exposed she had a plan to be followed—she knows both salvatores love their cars a scary amount and only one was bound to follow her, anyway. ]

( he laughs, a quick exhale and then shakes his head. )

Were you expecting me to come after you?

( since she'd apparently been judging who'd be better company for her. )

Edited 2020-09-04 15:22 (UTC)

It's what you do, Stefan.

[ she looks at him with a rather open expression. while it may reveal her vulnerabilities in hoping that he would be coming after her, it's who stefan is. she'd much rather take his car than damon's. his company is at least palatable. ]

You ride in on your steed and rescue people. I don't need to be rescued, I need to be cured.

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