[ katherine wonders if he wants her to reach out and ensure he doesn't leave. it'd be something stefan does. if damon was here, he'd have gotten up and started walking to the door, but not stefan. he doesn't make her as uncomfortable as his brother does.
eyeing him for a moment, she picks more salad up with her fingers and chews on it thoughtfully. ]
[ she smiles and leans forward to poke him in the chest.
she grabs more of her salad between her fingers and pops it into her mouth smugly. despite feeling absolutely rotten, katherine feels good now. being playful with stefan makes her forget everything for the moment. ]
I was on a bus recently, actually. [ she says that rather haughtily.
it was a horrible experience and one she hopes to never repeat ever again. someone at one point had sat down next to her and she had no room at all to sit and relax. she wants to never have a repeat of that again, hence his car.
she pokes his chest again. ]
It's what happens when you lose the ability to compel people to drive you places.
[ does he think she's completely hopeless and helpless now that she's hopeless and helpless? katherine had done what katerina had done in 1490 when she'd been thrown out of her own country and home and far from her comforts.
she looks at him like he's grown a second head before she eats more of her salad, acting like the topic at hand is the weather. ]
But you should know better than anyone that you have to be careful.
[ katherine looks down, not liking his empathy. it's much easier to deal with his teasing or even him being rude about her predicament. but stefan isn't damon or elena. this is why she stole his car, isn't it? stefan doesn't ridicule her and she's tired of being ridiculed.
so, she sighs. ] Isn't that the point? I wasn't fed the cure so life would be easy.
[ his apology makes her uncomfortable. it's not like stefan decided that this would happen to her. if anything, he should be happy. how many times has she ruined his life, stealing his car included?
she shrugs and tries to appear nonchalant in how she eats her salad. ]
[ she looks down, not wanting to see his face. she wants to run away from his words so that she can't hear them any longer. she doesn't deserve them. after everything she's done, she knows she doesn't deserve them at all.
shifting on the bed, she looks up at him with a pinched expression. ]
You're the only one who's been nice to me since it happened.
[ a part of her just wants him to say she deserved this so that she didn't feel so uncomfortable with his empathy, but she knows that's not what's going to happen. if he thought that, his car would be gone with him in it. ]
What if I end up staying like this forever? I'll be an almost six-hundred-year-old human. [ she scoffs. ] I don't even know how to treat a cold.
You can learn, Katherine, and I can help you. We're going to do everything we can to make sure you don't stay like this but if you do, you can survive it.
( she's survived much, much worse. being a human shouldn't be hard at all. )
[ she turns her face away as subtly as she can and lifts her hand to wipe at her eye. she hates the fact that she's crying. she doesn't want to cry. how many times has she cried since waking up as half herself?
she sniffles and clears her throat. ]
That's nice of you. [ it comes out quieter than she'd like. ]
[ she wants to know why he's helping her—the real reason behind it—but katherine is stupidly scared of that reason. she's spent far too long feeling scared that she wants to not feel it for just once.
so, she turns her face away from him, uncaring if it makes it obvious she's crying and avoiding him, and wipes hard at her face and controls her breathing. she may not be able to turn herself back into a vampire, but she can control her crying.
when she feels better, she turns to face him with her gaze down. ] Are you going to eat the rest of this food? I doubt you have blood stored away in one of your bags.
Ew. [ she scrunches up her face in disgust. ] Who willingly puts that in their body?
[ she honestly wouldn't be surprised if he did.
the secret fact is: she doesn't want him to leave. she hadn't wanted him to leave to get this spread, but she had wanted him to give her space all the same. she had wanted to test the waters, see if he was true about wanting to stick around and help her despite the difficult road ahead.
she's surprised when she shouldn't be that he means it. ]
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[ she hates the way he can hear her heart pick up in its pace and her blood rush to the surface of her skin.
despite that, she tries to play it coy. she's human, she feels unattractive, and stefan's just being charitable. ]
Is that why you came all this way? To ogle me in the driver's seat of your car?
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( you'd found him out, katherine. )
Now that I've been caught, I guess I should go back and leave you be.
( he wasn't going to do that. )
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eyeing him for a moment, she picks more salad up with her fingers and chews on it thoughtfully. ]
I'll call you a cab.
[ she's keeping the car. ]
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( he'll let her borrow it, though, because he's nice. )
Or I could fix up a car for you.
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[ she smiles and leans forward to poke him in the chest.
she grabs more of her salad between her fingers and pops it into her mouth smugly. despite feeling absolutely rotten, katherine feels good now. being playful with stefan makes her forget everything for the moment. ]
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( this time, he leans forward and pokes her chest before laughing. )
You would look great on a bus.
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You would look great on a bus.
[ she leans forward to poke his chest. ]
I wouldn't. Good thing no one listens to you when it comes to what good and what doesn't.
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( maybe that's what she needs to do. get on a bus and give it a ride and see how things go. )
You can borrow my car but it's not yours to just take and drive around whenever you want.
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it was a horrible experience and one she hopes to never repeat ever again. someone at one point had sat down next to her and she had no room at all to sit and relax. she wants to never have a repeat of that again, hence his car.
she pokes his chest again. ]
It's what happens when you lose the ability to compel people to drive you places.
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( even without compulsion, she's very convincing. he knows that for a fact. )
Did you try that?
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[ does he think she's completely hopeless and helpless now that she's hopeless and helpless? katherine had done what katerina had done in 1490 when she'd been thrown out of her own country and home and far from her comforts.
she looks at him like he's grown a second head before she eats more of her salad, acting like the topic at hand is the weather. ]
But you should know better than anyone that you have to be careful.
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( she was cautious and wary of anything and anyone. it's not a bad thing to be especially in this world. )
I'm sorry. I know it's been hard.
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so, she sighs. ] Isn't that the point? I wasn't fed the cure so life would be easy.
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( and while he can acknowledge that in the moment, elena might have gone for anything to save herself, she knows how hard this is for katherine. )
I'm sorry.
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[ his apology makes her uncomfortable. it's not like stefan decided that this would happen to her. if anything, he should be happy. how many times has she ruined his life, stealing his car included?
she shrugs and tries to appear nonchalant in how she eats her salad. ]
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( stefan starts to say something and then he shakes his head because anything he says, she's going to try and argue with so he just stops. )
It shouldn't have happened like it did. That's the bottom line.
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shifting on the bed, she looks up at him with a pinched expression. ]
You're the only one who's been nice to me since it happened.
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( because it shouldn't be. just because katherine's done some questionable things doesn't mean she should be left alone to deal with this. )
But I want to help. I mean that.
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What if I end up staying like this forever? I'll be an almost six-hundred-year-old human. [ she scoffs. ] I don't even know how to treat a cold.
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( she's survived much, much worse. being a human shouldn't be hard at all. )
You're not going to be alone, though. Okay?
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she sniffles and clears her throat. ]
That's nice of you. [ it comes out quieter than she'd like. ]
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You're welcome. I'm not doing it to be nice but you're welcome.
( he's doing it because he wants to help her and because she deserves the help. )
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so, she turns her face away from him, uncaring if it makes it obvious she's crying and avoiding him, and wipes hard at her face and controls her breathing. she may not be able to turn herself back into a vampire, but she can control her crying.
when she feels better, she turns to face him with her gaze down. ] Are you going to eat the rest of this food? I doubt you have blood stored away in one of your bags.
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( he pushes the food towards her, not saying a thing about the fact that she's been crying and that he can tell she's been crying. )
I'll go out and get you dessert later, if you want. I'm sure I can find some place that sells cheesecake.
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[ she honestly wouldn't be surprised if he did.
the secret fact is: she doesn't want him to leave. she hadn't wanted him to leave to get this spread, but she had wanted him to give her space all the same. she had wanted to test the waters, see if he was true about wanting to stick around and help her despite the difficult road ahead.
she's surprised when she shouldn't be that he means it. ]
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