pivot | ( OPEN POST )

( sighing much louder than he needs to, stefan finishes the bag of chips and then tosses the bag into the trash before he gets up and crosses towards the window.

he opens it, peering out at their surroundings. it's nondescript and unexciting but a good place to blend in. and while it's boring, it's better than constantly getting shot down by katherine because he dared to come find her. )

I'm going to take a shower.

( there, that's something he can do that gives her some privacy but also isn't him leaving like she seems to want him to do. )

[ when he moves to the window, she takes that as her opportunity to look at him without him noticing. she still doesn't understand why he's here other than the fact that she has his car and doesn't want to give it to him, but he can easily overpower her to get it. she expects to get her answer from his back, but finds herself lacking one. ]

Okay.

[ she keeps her magazine open in her lap. at least he's not leaving, which is ultimately what she doesn't want. ]

Don't use all the shampoo.

I'll try not to.

( sighing, stefan steps into the bathroom and closes the door though he does leave it a jar somewhat. he turns the water on and let's it warm up while he starts stripping off his clothes.

there's a towel on the back of the door that he unfolds and then he holds his clothes up before stepping into the shower to try and unwind. )

[ katherine thinks this is her perfect opportunity to run. but where? if she was herself, she'd sneak out of the motel and take his car and rush out of town. but she has nowhere to go, she's not herself, and the only place she wants to drive to is a supermarket to get herself some actual decent food.

this would be a good time to do that, but she finds her feet aren't moving.

she does want to escape the motel room considering she can hear him in the bathroom. she tries not to look at the door that's ajar, but considering the television has shitty channels and she's bored of her magazine, no one can blame her for getting up and stretching, and happening to be looking at the direction of the door, right?

it's been far too long since she's seen anyone naked. no one can blame her for having poor etiquette. ]

( stefan doesn't take very long in the shower. he's in and then he's out, towel wrapped around his waist while he puts his clothes back on.

eventually, he re-emerges with his hair still wet but looking a little more awake than previously. when he spots her, he almost looks surprised. )

I was wondering if you'd take off while I was in there. ( he's glad she hasn't. )

[ 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. )

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