hope is a dangerous thing

MYSTIC GRILL @ 4? PLEASE?

Athena frowned at the text on her phone from Stefan, her anger from that morning immediately rising once more. Realistically, she wasn't worried about Damon's well-being, she was just mad at Stefan for bending and breaking his back just because he didn't want to accept that Damon wasn't going to stop being a nuisance.

And whether or not he liked it, Stefan was a vampire. He'd had nearly two hundred years to come to terms with it, but it seemed that at every turn he was refusing another aspect of it and hating his brother for not doing the same.

It made Athena mad because she liked Damon, murderous tendencies and all. He was a prick to you no matter who you were, and she knew he could never pass judgment on her which is why she felt so comfortable around him.

Athena rolled her eyes and pulled her keys from the ignition, glaring up at the boarding house. She sent Stefan a reluctant agreement in reply before she dropped her phone in the cupholder and got out of her car. She headed towards the door, knocking on it hard enough so it'd echo through the large house.

A few minutes later, the door swung open and she plastered a polite smile at the unfamiliar face behind the door. The older man smiled at her, though she could see the confusion in his eyes. "Can I help you?"

She rocked back on her heels, shrugging slightly. "I was wondering if Damon was here. He hasn't texted me back in a few days and I was starting to get worried."

The man's eyebrows furrowed and she briefly looked over his shoulder through the house, hoping to see a glimpse of Damon walking around. She stifled her frown when she saw nothing, keeping her polite smile plastered on as she met the man's gaze again. "Uh, how do you know Damon?"

"Oh!" She faked enthusiasm, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "We met at Charlie's in town, I work there part-time and he came in a few weeks ago for a coffee. We got to talking and exchanged numbers, we've actually gotten really close."

If possible, the man grew more confused, though he seemed somewhat surprised at her fib. She could agree, silently, that it wasn't very plausible that Damon interacted with a human longer than it took to drain them dry.

"What's your name?"

"Katie," She lied easily, biting back the urge to stop smiling. The muscles in her face were tired, she truly couldn't remember the last time she smiled for this long. Bashfully, she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I don't know if he's mentioned me. I'm not sure who you are, for that matter."

"I'm Zach, his, uh, his uncle," The man pointed to himself, and she mentally rolled her eyes. "And, no, I don't think he's said anything about you, sorry."

She faked disdain, looking over his shoulder more pointedly this time. "Is he here? If I see him, it'll make me feel better. The last time we talked, he was really worried about his brother, and I just need to know if he's doing better."

Zach's face scrunched up at the thought of Damon being worried for Stefan or anyone for that matter. He eyed the teenage girl pitifully, letting out an apologetic sigh. "Listen, Katie, I've, uh, I've never heard of any place in town called Charlie's, so I hate to ruin anything, but... Damon left town abruptly. He's not coming back. It'd be better if you just... moved on."

Her face fell and she smiled sadly at the adult, feigning hurt. "Uh, okay. Thanks, I guess. Sorry to bother you."

"Don't worry about it, Katie. Be safe out there."

She nodded, turning off the front porch and back towards her car. As soon as her back was facing Zach, her face fell into a glare and she rolled her eyes.

As she got back into her car, her eyes fell to the rose bushes that lined the perimeter of the house and she eyed the windows at the base of the house. She'd been in the house many times, but she'd never seen the basement. Stefan had mentioned that they had cellars down there– that there was vervain growing down there, and that's how he'd gotten her necklace.

Her eyes darted to the digital clock on her stereo and she sighed. She had to get back to school so she could meet Stefan afterward. As she pulled out of the driveway, her eyes darted to the basement windows one more time, feeling determined as she left.

──────

Athena's foot bounced anxiously underneath the table she sat at, her brown eyes darting around so quickly they never had the chance to truly focus on something. Her phone vibrates with a text and she checks it immediately, her eyes scanning Josh's contact name and number.

Rosie went home early, said she was feeling sick. Come split my shift with me?

She frowned at the thought of Rosie being sick but didn't dwell on it long to save herself the panic. She checked the time, sighing as she saw it was thirty minutes past four– thirty minutes past when Stefan asked to meet her at the Grill.

She gets up and leaves the bar without thinking, rushing out into the slowly dimming daylight down the sidewalk towards the cafe. It was convenient, she supposed, that the Grill was barely two blocks from Charlie's.

Josh sends her an odd look when she rushes in, knowing she lives farther from town than the time it took to get there. She shrugs him off, grabbing an apron from a shelf underneath the counter. "I was already in town,"

Josh hums in acknowledgment, and her eyes go towards the bustling cafe. Dinner time was a prime time for the cafe, people getting off work and stopping in before they went home, or students using the free Wi-Fi to finish their assignments before the deadline they procrastinated.

She gets so caught up in work, that nearly an hour passes by before she realizes it.

A customer comes in, and she knows Josh is on his lunch break, so she steps up to the register. "Welcome to Charlie's, how can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you had a few minutes to talk,"

The familiar voice startles her and her eyes shoot up to the Salvatore man standing there with an uneasy smile on his face, as if he doesn't know how she's going to respond to his approach.

She does so with a narrow-eyed glare, looking at him suspiciously before jerking her head towards an empty booth. "Give me a minute, I guess,"

He nods, grateful, and walks off to the table right as Josh comes back out to the front. "Who's the hunk sitting in the booth staring longingly at you?"

She rolls her eyes at him, looking up with a passive-aggressive smile. "He's," She pauses briefly, internally wincing as Caroline's words echo in her mind. "A friend." She finally settles on, suddenly uber-aware of Stefan's eyes on her.

"I wasn't aware you had any friends. I thought the dark and mysterious vibe worked for you," He smirked as he teased her.

"If you know enough life-threatening secrets about someone, do you really have any other option besides friendship?"

"You could always have sex," He shrugs, laughing lowly at the way her eyes widen in alarm because of his blunt words. "I'm just saying. No man looks at a girl like that and doesn't want some."

Athena's face flushes, because she's well aware that Stefan could hear what he was saying. How on Earth was she supposed to even look him in the eye now?

"He has a girlfriend, Josh," She bites out, turning her flustered gaze away from him to glance at Stefan. "And she's not my biggest fan in the first place."

"That's because her boyfriend wants to fuck you,"

"I'm telling Rosie that you're being vulgar at the counter again."

"She'll agree with me," He retorted smugly, finding humor in the way her face twisted with embarrassment and anger. "Just admit it to yourselves, and hop on one another. He totally has some sort of repressed anger and that would be so fun to explore in bed."

Athena mutters a panicked, "Oh, my god," under her breath as she unties her apron. She avoids Stefan's stare, and Josh's, too overwhelmed with everything to hold eye contact with them.

She rushes out from behind the counter, grateful the crowd has died down so there's little chance of someone seeing Josh standing behind the counter thrusting his hips upward in a crude manner while gesturing between her and Stefan.

Athena rushes to the booth and practically throws herself down in it across from Stefan, huffing frustratedly at the sight of Stefan's amused smile.

"So, your friend,"

"He's not my friend, I hate him," She says quickly, rubbing her temples as she looks at Stefan. "What did you want to talk about?"

Stefan sighs, his lightheartedness disappearing immediately. "I know you're upset about what I did with Damon, I get that, but it had to be done. He has to realize what he's done wrong."

She scoffs, the stress of the day and the entire situation making her anger rise steadily. "Don't you get it, Stefan? Damon is never going to think he's done something wrong when he's just doing things to survive."

"He killed innocent people, Athena."

"And you haven't?" She doesn't mean for it to come out, let alone as harsh as it had, but the silence that washes over them says enough as an answer. She pushes away the guilt she briefly felt at the hurt on Stefan's face, instead nodding knowingly at his prolonged silence. "Exactly. You're a vampire. It's in your nature to hunt, to kill, to feed. Just because you're a vegetarian doesn't mean everyone else has to be."

"You don't understand,"

"Then make me!" She exclaims, suddenly, slamming her palm down on the table. It echoes through the silent cafe and she's aware of Josh watching the interaction closely from the counter, not even bothering to conceal his blatant eavesdropping. "Why are you so adamant about making Damon a good person? Why can't you just accept him as is?"

Her eyes search his face, past the hurt and trepidation from their conversation. Her face falls suddenly. "It's because of Elena, isn't it?" It's not a question, really, so much as it is a realization.

By the way Stefan's eyes widen, she knows she's right.

"It's always about her, isn't it?" She leans forward, lowering her voice. "You'd do anything for her approval, wouldn't you?"

Stefan shakes his head immediately. "No, of course not, I'm doing this to keep her safe. To keep you safe. If Damon tries to blow the lid on–"

"Damon wasn't going to tell anyone and we both know that," She cuts him off sternly. "News flash, Stefan, Elena is a human. That means she's going to die one day, with or without you. You know who isn't? Damon. Your brother. I don't understand what's so special about one girl that could make you give up your only family for her attention."

She shakes her head at him, knowing he could see the disappointment in her eyes. "Let me tell you something, Stefan. From personal experience, Elena Gilbert is not the one you want to risk your life for. Because in an instant, she'll turn on you and throw you under the bus. Or off a bridge."

Athena stands but keeps eye contact with Stefan as she does. "I'm telling you as a friend, and as someone that knows the truth about you, stop trying to change for someone that you're never going to be able to please."

──────

Athena sighs loudly when the doorbell rings, echoing through her house.

"Are you going to get that?" She yells out, groaning from her bed when her dad echoes a refusal back at her.

She rolls out of her bed and slides her fuzzy slippers on, dragging her feet down the staircase. She walks past her dad in the living room, lying on the couch in front of the fireplace and watching what appears to be 13 Going on 30. "It's fine, I'll get it. It doesn't matter if it's a murderer or something. I mean, what's more appetizing than a teenage girl?"

"Two teenage girls?" Her dad replies, not taking his eyes off the movie. "Be quiet, honey, Mark Ruffalo is on the screen."

She narrows her eyes at her father, scoffing under her breath as she walks over to the front door and swings it open. Lazily, she leans against the doorway and closes her eyes tiredly. "I'm sorry, we don't do door-to-door hookers, but I will take your money."

"That's what you open with?"

Athena's eyes snap open in shock at the sight of Stefan standing on her front doorstep. "I'm gonna get you a bell, I swear to god," She mutters, rolling her eyes at him. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to tell you this in person, and maybe apologize," He shrugs, his hands folded neatly in front of him. "Elena and I broke up."

Athena straightens up, looking at him in silent shock. He nods, though, and she's confused by the smile on his face. "Uh,"

"You were right," He admits. "I don't need to be with someone I'm lying to. And, I figured the one person I wasn't lying to deserved to know the complete truth."

Athena bites the inside of her cheek, choosing to not snark back as quickly as she usually would. Instead, she smiles at him, feeling her scar pull taught at the action. "Has anyone ever told you that you've grown sentimental in your old age?"

Stefan chuckles at that, but he doesn't take his eyes off her. He can't, not when she's standing before him with a rare, real smile on her face. Her silk pajamas shine in the light of her foyer, and her feet are pressed into slippers with the words 'Don't Touch' embroidered on them. It's so utterly Athena that it almost makes him dizzy.

Heaving a heavy sigh that's more for dramatics than actual need, Athena steps to the side and gestures to the hallway into her home. "Well, Stefan. Care to come inside?"

Stefan steps over the doorway and his eyes immediately start to examine the foyer of their house. It's bigger than he would've thought, and he feels his eyebrows furrow as he studies the modern interior.

It's a lived-in home, there are soft rugs that line the hallways and art on the walls that look like they belong in museums. Athena leads him through the foyer and into the living room, where a man he presumes is her father is cuddled on the couch amongst copious pillows watching a movie he doesn't recognize.

"Dad, this is Stefan," She announces their presence, making the man startle and turn around. Stefan's eyes flicker nervously, but he channels his reaction as he silently compares the similar features between the two people before him.

"He's a friend. From school." Athena's smile is more of a grimace now, as her dad examines her and Stefan's intertwined hands– Athena had taken his hand to lead him through her house and he hadn't even realized it until now.

"Raphael. It's nice to meet you, son," Her father stands up, grinning wide as he rounds the couch and the side table next to it, bringing Stefan into an unexpected hug.

Stefan's wide-eyed as he meets Athena's stare from over her dad's shoulder, but he nearly laughs when he sees the appalled look on her face.

"Oh, my god, Dad, get off of him!"

Raphael grins knowingly, patting Stefan's back with unexpected strength. "It's just been so long since Athena brought home any friends,"

"Oh, my god," Athena mutters, clearly embarrassed by her father's actions. Stefan goes with it though, and simply greets him back. "Anyways, I'm going to find something to eat because you're starving me," She holds a hand to her stomach and Raphael rolls his eyes at his daughter's dramatics.

Raphael's face scrunches in confusion. "Why don't you order something in, prinkípissa? It's certainly better than those frozen things you're always eating. So greasy." He shivers as if it physically pained him, and Stefan coughs to hide a laugh.

"You were going to have frozen snacks for dinner?" Stefan asks dubiously, turning to look at Athena, who glares at him. "That's so gross."

"Then you make me something," She shoves his shoulder, but he barely moves, and he can tell it makes her more annoyed– which only makes him smile wider.

He glances at Athena's dad, who is still standing before them, watching fondly. "I can make a pretty good chicken parm if that's okay with everyone."

"I love chicken!" Raphael exclaims, his face alight with excitement. "Prinkípissa, giatí den pas na ton voithíseis?"

Athena rolls her eyes, exclaiming. "Giatí egó? Aftós proséfere!"

Raphael claps his hands, dismissing her as he looks back at Stefan. "Athena will help you! She's not half bad if you can actually get her to cook."

"What did I say about volunteering me for things I don't want to do?" Athena mutters, taking a step closer to Stefan. "Why didn't you tell me you could make chicken parm? I was so distraught over your lack of actual Italian knowledge that I couldn't think of any food."

Stefan laughs, and he nudges her. "I can make my own mozzarella, but you never asked that."

"You know what? You kids can have the upstairs, Mark Ruffalo and I will go to the den."

Athena's eyes widen at the insinuating look on her father's face and she grabs Stefan's arm, dragging him away from the living room. "Great! We'll come get you when dinner's ready, I guess."

She yanks Stefan into the kitchen, past the stairs and another hallway that leads to rooms he's silently curious about.

Their kitchen is large, like the rest of the house, and there are marble countertops that match the black appliances throughout the kitchen.

Athena walks over to the fridge and takes out a package of chicken, and a container of shredded mozzarella. "Is store-bought okay with you? I know that us peasants aren't on the same level as you, but it'll have to do."

"I suppose I can make an exception," Stefan simpers, playing into her dramatics. "For you."

She groans, waving a hand at him. "Ugh! Tóso geloío!"

──────

"So now that you've been invited in, does that mean you're going to watch me sleep?"

Stefan scoffs, not taking his eyes off Athena's ceiling. They're lying flat on her bed, having retreated to her bedroom after dinner was over. "Absolutely not. I'd probably just see you drooling."

She swings her arm over and hits his chest. "I do not drool!"

The vampire laughs lightly at her offense and blinks owlishly at the pale moonlight casting odd shadows onto her ceiling.

They fall silent for a few minutes, but it's a welcomed contrast to the usual chaos. It's soothing, almost, to both of them to know that they at least had one another to go to when it was too much.

Athena is the one to break the silence, turning her head to the side to finally look at Stefan. "What was Katherine like?"

Stefan looks at her in surprise, but she doesn't falter in her questioning. "Damon doesn't talk about her a lot. And when he does it's... it's like she's not dead. He's shown me pictures. I mean, she's practically Elena's twin."

He knew his brother had a hard time accepting that Katherine was gone, but he guessed he never realized how bad it truly was. Knowing Damon, though, he'd never talk to Stefan about it.

With a conceding sigh, Stefan met Athena's gaze again.

"She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen," It clearly startles Athena, but she takes it in stride and silently urges him on. "She had this perfect olive skin, and she had this laugh, it was ridiculous. Her laugh made you laugh. And she was fun. She knew how to have a good time."

The way he speaks is fond, and Athena can't help but wonder what Katherine would be like today. She'd probably like her more than Elena, despite them looking identical.

"But Katherine was also very impatient and entitled, and selfish. And, um, impulsive." He grimaces. "Enter Damon. He claims that he was with her first, I don't remember. I do know that I did some things I'm not proud of. And my biggest regret is not being able to make it right before she died."

Athena searches his face, seeing the sadness there, but the anger as well. He's not only mad at Damon for the past, but Katherine as well. But it's hard to hold resentment for a person who isn't around anymore.

"She was a vampire, wasn't she?" Athena speaks up, softly, not wanting to upset Stefan. He nods silently, still looking at her. "You said... you said you did some things you weren't proud of. Was it because she compelled you to?"

"Sometimes." He responds quietly, still watching her reaction closely.

"But you loved her. And a part of you still does."

"But I'm no longer crippled by her loss," Stefan agrees with fewer words, and she sighs deeply.

Athena ponders the conversation for a moment before she looks at him again. "What would you do if she was alive?"

Stefan shrugs. "I don't know. I don't feel the same way I once did, and she wouldn't react well to that, especially now that she can't compel me," He looks into her eyes, unblinking. "But I think I have a stronger resolve than I used to. And better things to look forward to instead of clinging to the past."

Athena looks at him, and a small smile grows on her lips. Stefan mirrors the action, and examines her face, noting every small detail he can.

The silence falls around them again, and they are consumed with its comfort– but this time, both of them happen to be thinking the same thing.

Is it wrong to hope for this?

────── 

author's note; athena literally only speaks facts

originally published; 11.4.20.

edited: 11.20.23. 

- liz