dying of boredom, or something

HIS CHILDREN ALMOST SEEM HAPPY. It's as unexpected as it is odd. To see them practically carefree, threat-free. He's been asleep for quite some time, but he knows their lives haven't been peaceful by any means. He'd made sure of that, even in the event of his death. They were animals, and some animals had to be put down. He knew they were expecting his arrival, and were slow on the uptake to realize that he had been here for quite some time already, just watching. But even still, he was used to instilling fear in them. Even Niklaus, though he still liked to parade about acting like he wasn't still a scared little bastard.

Now, though, he wouldn't even think they knew his name with how they're going about their days. Seeing them continue on this charade of humanity strikes something irritable in him. They weren't meant to be happy. They weren't meant to be human.

His original plan has to be scrapped.

He wanted to get rid of Rebekah first because she would always choose her brothers in the end no matter how much she liked to go back and forth. Then he'd find Elijah, Kol, and Finn, and perhaps make Niklaus watch as he killed them. He wanted the bastard to know it was his fault. To know that even though they were all abominations of nature, Klaus was the worst parts of it all wrapped into one.

But now he has to rethink all of it. His children seem to be getting along in this century, which is a rare event in itself, not to mention the level of danger it brings anyone who threatens that.

Elijah is nowhere to be found, presumably daggered because he inconvenienced his brother for a second too long. He'd been hoping that wasn't the case, as Elijah tended to be the mediator between them and could easily be bartered with if the falsehoods he was promised sounded convincing enough. The man relied on sentiment more than he let on, and it could be used against him when the time called for it. If anything, Mikael could promise him peace with the rest of them if they just gave Klaus up. The only problem was Klaus had become so paranoid that he was typically impenetrable, surrounding himself with an army of people that would take a blow for him even if they didn't realize what it would cost them.

Finn and Kol, he knew, had been daggered for centuries now. Finn was hardly ever satisfied as a human, let alone a vampire, so his presence would just be a hindrance. There was no deal he could make with his son that would fill the void that being a vampire left in someone, and that left only death as the solution to his problems.

Kol was the wild card, perhaps more psychotic than Niklaus because he didn't think ten steps ahead like the hybrid tended to. Kol was unpredictable and entitled, and there was always a shade of neediness to him that showed his outlandish actions always stemmed from his desire for attention. It was entirely childish, but something Mikael could use to his advantage.

Those observations, while helpful in the past, were entirely useless now, and Mikael had just found out why.

There was a girl. A dark-haired, expensively-dressed, loud-mouthed girl. One that Niklaus seemed to confide in, and that Rebekah befriended. The rest of them followed blindly like she was some sort of deity.

She wasn't a vampire like he originally had thought. If that were the case, he'd have killed her already. There was no daylight ring, no vervain intolerance, no apparent worries of anything being a true threat. He'd almost say she wanted a fight with the way she carried herself. That sort of ego was an innately human trait. Testing the boundaries of every person around you, just to see who would snap first. But no one ever would, at least not in this case, because she was intelligent enough to use her looks and her charms to distract everyone from the things she was doing right under their noses.

She reminded him of Katerina. That comparison didn't waver when he realized she had the Salvatores and his children wrapped around her finger. Like their token human, or something.

Mikael knew she was the key to weakening the group. If he got rid of her, the rest of them would all scramble around desperately searching for some sort of replacement. All he had to do was take care of her.

──────

"Hey, sweetheart, a black tie will match your dress for tonight, right?" Stefan's voice called out, echoing through his bedroom as he held up different ties against his white button-up.

The click of her heels follows his question like their own response, but Stefan only looks up when he hears her voice.

"Black is perfect, baby,"

Green eyes widen, and his eyes rake down the vision that she makes in the reflection of his mirror. He blinks and turns swiftly, ties long forgotten at the sight of her tan skin confined into the tight, black dress.

Athena smiles knowingly, her long hair straightened down her back along the soft material of her dress. "Do you like it?"

Stefan nods as he meets her eyes, his gaze significantly darker. "You know I do,"

She simpers, shrugging as she grabs the black tie from his hand and drapes it over his neck, already tucking it under his collar. "I know, I just like to hear it."

Stefan smiles softly, eyes drifting across her face as he sears her features into his mind over and over again. His eyes run along her sharp jawline and then drop to her neck, and a brief furrow twitches at his brow when he sees the dainty gold chain around her neck.

Carefully raising his hand as she ties his tie, he taps the gold necklace lying on her chest, eyeing the engraved rose and the faint scent of vervain coming off of it. "You still have this?"

Athena looks at him, shrugging at his question. "Of course I still have it, you gave it to me,"

Something soft gleams in Stefan's green eyes, and his smile widens slightly, his gaze upon her turning earnest. "Yeah, but you don't need it anymore. You can't be compelled,"

"I like it," She shrugs again, pulling his tie taut. "It sounds kinda stupid, but it makes me feel safe even if I technically don't need it anymore,"

He flickers his gaze along her face, shaking his head as he slides his hands around her hips, squeezing them reassuringly. "It's not stupid. And it looks better on you than shoved in a box somewhere to be forgotten about for another century,"

She huffs, resting her hands against his chest. "You know, I never asked you where you got it from. I'm not wearing another doppelgänger's necklace, am I? Because I can barely deal with the ones we have already,"

Stefan chuckled, rolling his eyes at her dramatics. "No, actually. Lexi gave it to me a very long time ago, along with some other things. She said it would probably come in handy one day when I had someone to give it to. It just so happened to be a few decades before I met that person, of course,"

"Oh, yeah? What was her name?"

He hums, wrapping his arms around her waist to squeeze her playfully. "Her name was Athena. She was real pretty, and she had a mouth on her that could make the devil blush," He smirked when a pink hue darkened her cheeks. "And I loved her a lot. More than I ever said."

Athena puffed out a flustered noise, lashes fluttering on her cheeks as she looked up at him. She pressed up on her toes, giving him a kiss that he immediately tried to deepen, his fingers digging into the material around her waist. She pulled away, smirking knowingly at him. "We have a dance to go to, Mr. Salvatore,"

"Whatever you say, Ms. Hunt,"

Athena spun on her heel and grabbed his hand, pulling him behind her as they headed out of their bedroom.

"You know," Stefan drawled, his voice bouncing off the walls as they traipsed down the stairs. "I don't think I wanna call you that much longer."

"What, by my name?" She laughed a bit incredulously, looking at him over her shoulder as he nodded. "Why not?"

They came to a stop on the landing, and Stefan pulled her closer to him, bringing his hands up to her shoulders. "Athena Hunt," He repeats, shaking his head. "Doesn't roll off the tongue."

"Oh, really? What do you think I should change it to, then, huh?"

"I'm not sure," He shrugs, feigning innocence. "Athena Salvatore has a nice ring to it."

Athena stiffened, her eyes going wide as she stared up at him. "Stefan, are you–"

He shakes his head, his eyes warm. "Just thinking out loud."

He leans forward and presses a kiss to her cheek before skirting around her, heading down the last few steps ahead of them. Athena stands still, eyes locked in the same space he'd been taking up just moments before.

Shaking her head in disbelief, she lets out a heavy sigh, the pounding of her heart unmistakable in her ears. "What the fuck,"

"Athena, come on! We're taking pictures!"

Caroline's voice startled her from her stupor and she cursed under her breath, tucking her hair back behind her ears as she hurried down the stairs, black heels clicking frantically as she hurried to the living room.

"I'm coming," She puffs out an exasperated breath as she enters the living room, shooting Stefan a mean glare that he laughs at. Damon gives them both an odd, mostly annoyed look as he pours himself a drink.

"Come on, come on, girls first," Caroline pulled her into her side, Bonnie and Rebekah already lining up to pose for the picture. "Damon, take the picture!"

The dark-haired vampire rolled his eyes, lifting the disposable camera Caroline had provided him with for the night. "Okay, everybody say Stefan sucks!"

Athena huffed a laugh, a grin spreading across her face as the other three girls echoed his words, making Stefan roll his eyes. She waved him over after the flash went off, leaning into his side while they switched up their positions.

Bonnie stood in the middle, her arms wrapped around Athena and Caroline's waists as Stefan and Rebekah stood on either side of them.

"I feel left out," Damon pouted, putting his drink down to hold the camera in both hands. He turned, extending his arm to hold the camera up high so he could get in the frame along with them. "This is better."

"Your face is the only thing in the frame, Damon," Athena deadpanned, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yeah, better,"

Sighing, Athena glanced up at the ceiling. "Lexi!"

The blonde appeared before the echo of her name died out, and Athena smiled at her. Lexi looked at the group of them lined up, an adoring gleam coming to her eyes. "Oh, look at you guys all dressed up. So cute,"

"Can you take a picture of all of us?" Athena nodded to the camera in Damon's hand, and the blonde took it, ignoring Damon's petulant comments about his picture-taking skills not being good enough. "Damon, come on,"

Athena stepped away from Bonnie, gesturing for the vampire to take his place beside the witch with a small, knowing smirk that he glared at. With a sigh, he stepped into place, wrapping an arm around Bonnie's waist as they came together again.

Lexi held the camera up to her face, making sure they were all in frame. "Everybody smile, and try not to look like you're a group of immortal creatures!"

They all held their poses, grins widening with a shade of genuineness as the flash went off. Lexi pulled the camera away and gave them a thumbs up, offering it to Caroline as the blonde stepped forward.

"I'm gonna get these developed tomorrow," Caroline stepped forward, taking the camera from Lexi and holding it up pointedly. "God knows we only get so many opportunities for good pictures."

"Alright, everybody out, I want to enjoy the silence while I can," Damon waved them all away, stepping back from the group. "Go enjoy your cheesy teenage experiences."

"You're such a ray of sunshine, Damon," Caroline simpered, earning a similar smile back from the man.

"You know me, all warm and fuzzy."

Athena huffed, intertwining her fingers with Stefan's. "Alright, we're going. Maybe work on your attitude while we're gone,"

"Yeah, yeah, and remember–" He pointed a finger at all of them. "If you see Elena, call me so we can kill her. I don't wanna be left out of the fun."

Bonnie stopped, a confused gleam coming to her eyes as she faced Damon. "You know, usually people say be safe or don't do drugs. Not 'let's kill somebody'."

"Okay," Damon drawled, shaking his head. "Be safe, don't do drugs without me, and call me if we need to kill somebody."

Bonnie started to speak again, but clamped her jaw shut, giving Damon a look of disbelief. "Goodbye, Damon,"

"Bye, Bon-Bon," He fluttered his fingers in a wave, his smirk devastating as she ran from the burn of his gaze. "Have a wonderful time."

──────

The dance is boring.

Athena belatedly thinks that it probably wouldn't be so boring if someone were trying to kill her like usual, but then she has to tell herself that's not a productive train of thought, and if she were to ever voice it aloud, she'd probably be locked up and treated for severe mental distress. Which doesn't sound so bad until she thinks of the starchy, plain hospital clothes they'd put her in, and how they'd take away her heels because they'd be considered weapons– and on further inspection, she quickly decides to keep all alarming thoughts to herself.

"You're doing that thing,"

Athena raises a brow, looking at Stefan over her shoulder as he approaches her, fresh off of the dance floor at Caroline's behest. "What thing?"

"The thing where you glare at everyone like you'd rather be at a funeral than here,"

She huffs, feigning ignorance as she looks out at the dance floor again, swirling the punch in her plastic cup. "They're going to bore me to death and I'm immortal, Stefan. It'll be my funeral by the end of the night."

His brows briefly twitch and he smiles slightly, looking down at her. "Well, they don't know about the immortality part, so to them, you're just a really intimidating eighteen-year-old."

She groans under her breath, leaning against his chest as he slides his arms around her waist, pulling her into him. "I forgot about my birthday. Time is different there, so I barely knew what day it was."

Stefan pauses, a contemplating look crossing his face before he decides to voice his thoughts to her. "I called you," He shrugs, going for nonchalance. "On your birthday. I got your voicemail, though. I'm not sure if you knew, or–"

"I know," She tilts her head back, looking up at him with rare softness reserved for only him. "He took my phone, and I found it one night. I stayed up listening to all of your voicemails until it died, and it's, uh,"

She pauses glancing away from him as she recalls the bone-deep sadness that had resided in her all those weeks. "It's what made me want to come home. Back to Mystic Falls, I mean. I'd spent so long convincing myself that I'd be better off there, but hearing your voice again, I knew that I was wrong. Even if things hadn't worked out the way they did and I hadn't found you right away, I would take looking for you rather than being there any day."

Stefan's arms tighten around her, and Athena lifts her hand, brushing her fingers along his sharp jaw. She smiles and kisses his cheek, pulling out of his grip slowly. "I'm going to the bathroom," She hands him her drink, his twinkling eyes watching her raptly. "And then I'm going to come back and we're going to dance."

She doesn't wait for a response as she walks off, pushing through the double doors with ease and taking a small moment to relax in the muffled silence she had once they slammed shut behind her.

Her heels clicked in the empty hallways and she turned the corner, pushing the wooden door to the girl's bathroom open with her elbows.

She hummed mindlessly to herself as she stood in front of the mirror, combing her fingers through her straightened locks and picking a few pieces to frame her face while she tucked the rest of it behind her ears.

Leaning forward in the mirror, she eyed a pinkish mark at the slope of her neck and frowned, rubbing at it curiously. She twisted the knob on the water faucet before her, running her fingers beneath it to wet them. Bringing the moisture up to the mark on her neck, she rubbed at it, trying to get what she assumed was makeup off.

With an irritated sigh, she stepped back from the mirror, sudden realization dawning on her that it wasn't makeup on her neck, but rather the remnants of her boyfriend's heated passion.

Torn between fondness and exasperation, Athena exited the bathroom and stepped out into the quiet hallway again, determined to bring it to Stefan's attention and see what he had to say for himself.

She picks up her pace as she heads towards the gym again, but stops short at the sound of footsteps close behind her. Without thinking, she swings around and slams her fist into the approaching figure, making him stumble back slightly.

She raises her other fist as he charges her, but she misses the second punch, his unexpected speed taking her off guard. She flinches, expecting a blow to the face, but she stops in confusion when he hits her neck instead.

A sharp prick radiates from her neck and she grunts as the pain slowly ebbs through her body, pulsing with each throb of her racing heart. She inhales, and her breath turns shaky as she looks up into the man's eyes, brows furrowing confusedly at his unfamiliar face.

Her body seems to catch up with the inflicted wound, and Athena feels the rush of blood surge through her, rising into her throat with a gargled noise of pain.

His hands come up to catch her as her knees weaken, and she clutches onto him as he slowly kneels, bringing her to the floor with him. He looks at her, smug satisfaction in his light eyes and she tightens her hold on him, choking around the blood in her throat that pools onto the tiles beneath her.

A strangled whisper of something chokes its way out of her blood-stained lips, and he raises a brow, smirking as he leans towards her, cupping an ear mockingly.

"What? What was that?" His accented voice echoes in her ears, and Athena frowns at the sound of it, her brain too muddled to make a connection that was so obvious.

Instead, she chokes on her blood and the feel of whatever he'd stabbed into her throat, and pulls at the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt, drawing him closer. Her lips nearly brush his ear, and she huffs, the sound strangled. "Asshole,"

The last thing she sees before her vision goes black is the man's irritated face, and an echo of a threat she had no way of stopping, and her morbid mind supplies the fleeting thought of– at least I'm not bored anymore.

────── 

author's note;

(this kinda gets more real with every update idk – liz from the future)

originally published; 10.27.21.

edited: 12.9.23.

- liz