CHAPTER TWO; PILOT

❝ it is here in this quiet little town where our story began and group of near strangers found themselves on an inescapable journey together that would intertwine them for eternity ❞

˚ ༘ ·˚꒰ 𝒏𝒐 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝒆𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 ꒱ ₊

˚ˑ1:35 ━━━●───── 3:47

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ

volυмe : ▁▂▃▄▅▆▇▉

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･ ｡ﾟ☆

❝ mystic falls high school ❞

FROM THE TIME SHE was young Maya Jane had excelled at school. She had always been good at that, excelling at things. From school, to archery, fighting, or art she loved to achieve simply because it was the one time she felt good about herself. That being said, even with her need for approval and achievement she avoided Mr. Tanner's class as if he were a plague.

Not that she was different than any other student in the school in that regard. But all her bluster for avoidance was cut short at the sound of Tyler calling out, "May! May hold up!"

The brunette turned her body stopping in her path seeing Tyler making his way towards her swiftly. Any desire she had to avoid class had vanished with the sight of him and filled her with an urgency to get away. Nearly a completed week of school was finished and it had taken everything in May to hold it together. A few cigarette breaks carefully masked from Elena's watchful eye, paired with returning home merely to sleep the rest of the day was enough for her.

Tyler had graced her with leaving her alone for a short time that seemed to be up as it seemed. Every time she looked at him she saw nothing but his lips on Vicki's neck, all the other ways they hurt each other seemed like nothing compared to genuinely cheating on the other. Sure, they had played cruel, down right twisted games during their "breaks" to rile the other up, but neither had ever cheated, at least she hadn't.

She could and had forgiven him for a lot, it was her weakness to forgive him and she knew she would always want to. Pushing through the crowd he reached out his hand grabbing on to the back of her arm stopping her dead in her tracks. Maya turned to see a glint of mischief in his eyes as he reminded, "Come on you know I'm faster than you, you knew you weren't getting away this time."

She glared at him with narrowed eyes, "Well there's nothing wrong with wishful thinking is there," Maya reminded him before asking the Lockwood boy, "What do you want Tyler?"

"To ask you something," he answered her simply wearing a friendly smile despite her clear exasperation as her mouth twisted and her brow raised pointedly at him. That might've been a historical moment in her life, it was the only time she wanted to be in Tanners class.

The Lockwood boy glanced at her waiting face small relief finding him but when he focused what what was really lingering behind her eyes he fell flat. Her mischievous glint in her eyes had died, and her will to care for anything relating to him had been wiped out. All that remained was the pain he had left her with, all for Vicki Donovan of all people. Someone probably loved her, Jeremy did, but Tyler only did love Maya. But there was something in him, something he felt so wicked it only ever brought out the worst in her.

And instead of dealing with it he did exactly what he knew he always would, he broke her heart time and time again. Not that Maya was incapable of returning the favor, revenge was one of her major food groups however, she at least saved her worse plots for retaliation purposes. He never waited that long for someone to hurt him, he always had to be the one to break someone's heart first and Maya paid most for that.

Nearly all of the cheating and the fighting seemed like a dreadful nightmare compared to the last, and in his mind, worse thing he ever did to her. While Maya grieved and lost who she was he sat back and watched, doing nothing to save the girl he loved as she was withering away. She smelled of cigarettes she attempted and failed to mask with her vanilla perfume.

And judging by her rapid tapping of her fingers against her palm Maya was...eager for destruction. She never cared what formed it came in, jumping from the highest survivable point of the falls into the water below, drinking till she blacked out and became another beast needing to be tamed, or by her simply being mean. When she couldn't act out in her normal ways she would say some of the most hurtful things she could think of, and she didn't care.

All that being said, Maya looked like all that was fighting a war inside of her and the only one losing was her. "You know about the party at the falls tonight," Tyler began to say making the Gilbert girl take a deep breath knowing exactly what he was gonna ask before the words began to fall from his lips. What scared her wasn't that she knew what he was going to say, no, it was the fact she wanted to say yes already.

It wasn't the possible self destruction that made her want to, but the familiarity that clung to whatever girl she used to be that was still inside her that made her need him. That dead version of herself that she thought was undeserving of the survival she'd been granted wanted to make the most a life she didn't deserve. Which was why this new version didn't want to let him in, he could give her enjoyment from life that a girl who killed her parents didn't deserve.

"Let me finish," he interjected grabbing her arm before she pulled away from him. The Gilbert teenager nodded as he released her and finished, "I know I messed up, but I still want— no I need you on my life May. So will you go with me tonight? It doesn't have to be a date. We don't even have to show up together or leave together. I just...I wanna see you."

There was a desperation in his voice that she hated how it had power over her. Whenever he had sounded like that it wasn't fake, he couldn't fake that, he didn't ever fake that. Maya truly was the person he loved and respected most, and though to most it would've never seemed like it, he try and do right by her. So there had been certain things each of them reserve not for their games where they toyed with each other's anger, but for when the anger had turned to regret and sorrow.

Tyler became who Maya always knew he really was, a good man in the making who was as gentle as he was fierce. His voice would soften, his words became sincere and he was nearly crawling for forgiveness. When Maya had been the one to cave she was hardly ever teary eyed, always firm in her view on things, and looking like some lost traveler. It was true, without him balancing her out she didn't know how to exist. Neither of them did, and perhaps that was their biggest issue and everything else was just a cause of that.

Maya's eyes were fixed on the ground not sure what to say to him; part of her wanted to give him a second chance, she really did. But, the other part of her knew that them being together would them both pain. She had chosen to say no, until her eyes met him and she said, "One night, and because I was already going I will meet you there. I'll say hi."

Tyler couldn't help his face as it broke out into a grin, he gripped tightly onto his bag saying, "Okay, tonight. I can meet you by the falls." Her slight nod had them falling into patterns that felt so right as he kissed her cheek running off to his class. Maya knew he hadn't realized what she'd done, and perhaps any other day he would've shouted at him. Reminded them of their status, but this time, she wasn't angered by him. If anything it offered a pause, an ability to be someone she missed.

Maya chuckled at his behavior, she was the only person he acted like that in front of, that was part of the reason she fell in love with him. There was a protector in him, one that was as caring as he was intimidating and she could tell as clear now as the day the first began dating, she loved him. Little had Maya, or Tyler known they had been seen, it wasn't like he meant to find them but when Stefan came around the corner he saw. He saw how Maya smiled when she watched Tyler walk away, and the one she attempted to hide while they spoke. Watching them left this thing building inside him that felt green with an envy for Tyler Lockwood of all people.

One he shook away when her smile faded and it seemed all the life Tyler offered in that moment had been taken and drained twice more for good measure. What was left gave him a glinting reminder of what Samara, he didn't mean for it to and certainly didn't want it to.

Despite feeling, well there was no better way to phrase it than, drawn to Maya he didn't want a connection built because she reminded him of Samara. He didn't have that with Elena, Katherine had compelled, manufactured their love. Katherine had removed any ability he had to fear her, and without fear how can you know when you don't want something? Every kiss, every touch, every shared memory became a twisted lie Katherine made to manipulate him. While Samara hadn't been innocent, and had hurt him just as deeply, if not more so than Katherine, Samara had really loved him. Loved him in ways people who knew her thought she had only been capable of loving her sister that purely. Even Samara herself had assumed so, but when it came down to it -- all the pain she allowed her sister to inflict on him, all the lies she'd spoken to manipulate his understanding of things, didn't hurt as much as her dying.

He didn't want to put all that onto Maya just because she wore the same face as a woman she would never know. Just when he had decided to walk away, he realized he had been spotted against the lockers and Maya was already making her way over to him.

"Stefan," she called out to him forcing him to straighten out his posture. "You coming into class or would you rather stand out here and people watch," Maya playfully jeered at him, "I mean I'll stay with you as long as we make fun of them at least a little bit." Leaning her back against the wall assuming he was avoiding class she added, "You seem annoyingly perfect that you wouldn't do it but oddly also like you would be perfect at it."

Stefan was forced to chuckle by his own mouth, "You're not wrong, but maybe next time, the new kid probably shouldn't miss his classes the first week."

Pushing off the lockers she rolled her eyes, "Not unless you want to be honest and keep their expectations realistic but hey, your choice this time," she quipped already having put back on the mask she'd worn for everyone the last week. The two students funneled into the room beside everyone else in their first period taking their usual seats.

Stefan, taking his seat closer to the back of the room while Maya sat right beside her sister which was always left for her. That was the benefit to being twins who lived in the same town all their lives, people usually assumed where one was, the other was not far so they always left a seat open for them. It wasn't long after they sat down that tanner entered and began speaking so dryly that Maya was starring out the window contemplating jumping out.

She wished she had headphones without wires she'd have to hide under her clothes. She was wearing her tight overalls that hugged her body perfectly with her favorite black top that did the same but offered the bonus of giving small holes to her her thumbs through, where was she going to hide the wire? Without an answer she was left drifting between the window and her journal.

Journal was the best word she had for it, mainly because she switched between having pages and pages of written out feelings followed by more which had been utilized of its every ounce space for drawings. Today was one one of the drawing days, the majority of her page had been covered with hands that reached out for each other that she used her red pen to connect them by string. She loved how using red pen with pencil always made the color seem so vibrant and alive, same as her manicured nails always done with red.

Which was the exact opposite of how Tanner speaking made her feel, "The battle of willow creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle." Hearing how Tanner trailed off looking around the room for his next victim, or how he'd see it, student to call on. Maya threw her head back practically begging for death to come back and finally finish her off when he landed on, "Ms. Bennett."

Bonnie snapped her head up from her own doodles in her notebook pausing briefly before she rather cutely said, "Um...a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."

Maya along with a few other people chuckled at the girls sarcastic response, she loved when someone other than her messed with him. She really could not help how much she hated the man, he never tried to be nice to them. It didn't help that all she and her fellow students thought they escaped him after middle school only for them to move him up to the high school alongside them. Which was a miserable twist of fate which could be the slogan of the Defective Gilbert girls life she thought. Tanner smirked unable to resist the chance to insult the girl, like any 'good' teacher would do Maya thought, "Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett."

While his back was turned Maya flipped him off making students chuckle and cover their mouths trying not to get her caught. A reaction perfectly timed as Tanner and his ego assumed it was for him and his 'joke' they reacted this way. His eyes wondered around the room once again looking for another person to victimize, "Mr. Donovan. Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

Not caring at all Matt shuffled in his seat before answering, "It's ok, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it." The effortless dodge of his statement made May proud of the boy who was almost mute at times.

Tanner hummed his eyes scanning and landing on the older twin, "Elena." His call out to Elena perked Maya up and away from her drawings. Her sisters worse trait? She was always trying too hard to be nice. Most times that lead to her being the one hurt which made Maya protective, and other times it made her the one doing the hurting. With Matt Elena was so consumed with no hurting him that she only made things worse for him in the end because he's madly in love with a girl who won't ever love him again. That sometimes made Maya the one to call Elena on what she called 'her bullshit,' but that wasn't the version Tanner was getting.

After their parents death her normal over protective streak had gone into an almost mad woman's obsession with keeping her happy, moving forward in life, and most importantly, alive. "Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events," he taunted her almost certain she hadn't known when he'd chosen her.

The older twin looked horrified having not know the answer as she apologized, "I'm sorry, I-- I don't know." Maya hoped due to her apologetic attitude he would back off. Unlike their other two friends Elena was actually sorry she didn't know the answer. Then again, how was she supposed to know, school started this week and what seventeen year old knows things like that off the top of the head? Maya did, but that was because her mother and father always made her help with historical society when she was on punishment.

Even sometimes when she wasn't they would bring her places around town telling her its history over and over again. Her siblings never her joined her on those days, granted, neither of them wanted to, but at least had those special, and oddly helpful memories to cling to now.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break," Mr. Tanner told his student coldly his words raising the rate of MJ's heart.

Without much thought Maya muttered a serious of curse's in French at him. She loved that class because Tanner absolutely hated the French language because he couldn't grasp it no matter how many times he tried. And here was this arrogant teenage girl mocking constantly how she had picked it up from school and French drama's she pirated over the internet. "Is there something bothering Miss Gilbert," Tanner asked hearing her.

Her friend exchanged glances around the room begging each other to do something, distract them both somehow. But they were too late, Maya had perked up and said, "Oh nothing, just said how I wonder if five months was enough for you to get over your wife leaving you but since it's clearly enough for teenagers to get over dead parents I bet you don't flinch every time you walk by her house where she lives with her new husband."

Her words filled with room with gasps and one boy went as far all to say rather loudly, "Oh damn."

Just as Tanner opened his mouth to begin shouting at the young girl another voice, firm and commanding said, "There were 346 casualties, Unless you're counting local civilians." Looking across the room Maya saw it had been Stefan to answer the question and cause the distraction her friends were begging to think of.

Moving his eyes away from the young brunette Tanner fixation on the Salvatore boy prompting, "That's correct. Mister..."

"Salvatore," Maya answered for him not realizing she had until the name had fallen from her lips. Elena along with some of the other students looked at her for a moment but Maya never took her eyes off Stefan who didn't either until tanner spoke again.

"Salvatore," Tanner repeated crossing his arms as he began to interrogate the boy, "Any relation to the original settlers here in Mystic Falls?"

Stefan nodded admitting it as if he hated the idea of his relation, "Distant."

Their teacher nodded before concluding, "Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

The boy furrowed his brows insisting before the man could walk away from the conversation, "Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The founder's archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts. Mr. Tanner."

Maya gave a slight smile to him, he had the courage to not only stick up for her but prove Tanner wrong. There was no doubt in her mind, Stefan Salvatore was more interesting than met than eye. He tried to hide it, but she could see he had so much more to him than mystery. Mystery was what he was to her now because she didn't know him, but right then she decided she needed to know him.

Not a second later the bell rang and while everyone rushed out Maya avoided Tanner by sneaking out the side doorway. As soon as she could she caught up to him in the hall catching his attention by saying, "You really are a mystery Mr. Salvatore."

He laughed at her seeming to attempt to deflect attention away as he replied, "Well you are too Miss Gilbert."

"Kindred spirits? Should make us perfect friends," she flippantly retorted as she walked side by side with him down the hall.

"I hope so," he replied his words forcing red flush in her cheeks she quickly did away with.

Suddenly her pursuit of him seemed wrong, granted he and Elena weren't dating and he'd only just gotten there it felt wrong to deny her a chance. If she was ever going to even joke about the idea of her and Stefan ever again it would only ever be if what he and Elena had was just something fleeting. So instead of sticking with him as she'd wanted to, MJ made the excuse, "I have to go to my locker so I'll see you tonight, Salvatore."

"See you around, Gilbert," he mocked lightly as she disappeared into the crowd of people.

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

❝ the falls ❞

"Just admit it, Elena," Maya demanded from her sister shaking her for information literally as they stood at the party surrounded by drunk teens.

Bonnie laughed watching as Elena had to playfully swat Maya back when the shaking was too much as she caved in saying between laughs, "Oh, ok, s-so he's a little pretty!"

With eyes wide as dolls Maya exclaimed the head start on the beers and jungle juice having gotten to her already, "H-He is more than a little pretty Elena! He's hot as fuck and you know it."

"He has that romance novel stare," Bonnie laughed still joining in on the joke while being careful to keep an eyes on where Maya stepped, "Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul."

The three girls laughed together, and when their laughter died out she asked her sister as she glanced around, "So, where is he?"

"I don't know," Elena shrugged before looking to Bonnie, "You tell me, you're the psychic one."

Bonnie smiled lightheartedly saying, "Right, I forgot. Ok, so give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate."

"Wait," Elena protested making their friend stop, "You need a crystal ball." Elena looked around before she grabbed a bear bottle handing it to Bonnie. The second the bottle touched her hand  she gasp making both the girls slightly jump out of confusion.

"What," Elena asked worriedly.

"Bonnie you okay," May asked touching her friends arm.

Freaked out the shorter girl said recoiling away from her touch, "That was weird. When I touched you, I saw a crow." Maya looked to Elena remembering the story she heard about her at the graveyard, she told her how she practically ran into Stefan.

"A crow. There was fog, a man. I'm drunk. It's the drinking," Bonnie looked even more scared seeing the looks on her friends faces. "There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Ok, I'm gonna get a refill."

"Bonnie," Maya screamed as she watched her walk away. When she turned back facing her sister she saw Stefan head their way, "I'll see you later Elena. I have a friend to go see and you have a date to get to."

The elder sister smirked as Maya walked away to go find Tyler, somehow after they got here they spilt up. She was looking for him when she somehow found herself in the woods looking for him, "Ty!"

She glanced around trying to find him, but had no luck. Suddenly she heard branches snap behind her, she whipped her head around but saw no one. Slightly fearful she called out, "Ty, come on this isn't funny."

Out of no where fog started to find it self forming around her, her heart started to race as her fear increased. Maya was about to run back to the party when she turned back around someone latched themselves onto her neck. The dark haired girl screamed out in pain, for a split second her attacker pulled away. "Sorry just testing out a theory," they said mocking her fear as she couldn't even get out a mangled scream.

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

"Jeremy, where the hell are you going," Elena yelled at her little brother as she followed him into the woods.

"I don't want to hear it," he yelled back slightly intoxicated.

Not putting up with it Elena said, "Yeah, well, too bad!"

Jeremy kept walking but he's not paying attention and tripped over something. When he looked down he's horrified to see his big sister's body. When he turned his head slightly he saw Vicki's body lying next to her.

"Maya? No! Oh, my god, it's Maya and Vicki," he shouted looking up to Elena horrified.

"Maya," Elena said in shock seeing her sister. They were in shock and had no idea what to do, Jeremy leaned down touching her slightly Maya's eyes snapped open and she gasped for air.

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Quickly they returned to the party, Maya unconscious in her little brothers arms. "Somebody help," Elena called out grabbing everyone's attention.

Jeremy quickly put Maya down on the table before he ran as fast as he could to grab Vicki. Less than three minutes later Jeremy returned with Vicki's body also.

Tyler hearing the shouting looked over and was heart broken when he saw Maya's body being carried. "Maya?! Maya, what the hell," he cried rushing over to her. The second he was close enough to her sibling he asked yelling out in panic, "What happened to her?"

Matt ran up to them seeing his sister, "Vicki?! Oh my god. Somebody, call an ambulance," he screamed out to people.

"Everybody back up, give them some space," Tyler barked at the people pushing them back.

"It's her neck," Elena explained to them her voice shaken, "Something bit them. They're losing a lot of blood," she cried terrified for her sisters life.

Elena had just lost her parents ,she couldn't lose Maya too. With all the chaos no one paid any attention to Stefan, who looked more angry than anyone. He knew who had done this, and it made his blood boil.

Damon attacked both those girls, and he only hoped that it was at random, not that Damon knew he cared for Maya.

He hoped that's why Damon did it, but part of him knew deep down that wasn't the reason. The moment Damon would've seen Maya he would've thought of Shay. How wouldn't he? They looked exactly alike.

Slowly Stefan backed out of the crowd and raced home as fast as he could possible run.

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

❝ the salvatore boarding house ❞

Stefan raced all the way home bursting through the front door of the boarding house. "What's going on," his uncle asked.

Looking back he answered, "Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't me."

Before he could say anything Stefan ran upstairs to his bed room. The moment he walked in he felt something was off, slowly he turned around seeing a crow fly through his room.

He turned back around seeing his big brother standing on his balcony, "Damon."

The raven hair man in the black leather jacket smirked, "Hello, brother."

"Crow's a bit much, don't you think," Stefan asked.

Damon kept his smirked on his face, "Wait 'till you see what I can do with the fog."

"When'd you get here," Stefan asked trying to get information out of him.

"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school," Damon answered avoiding giving Stefan the answer he really wanted. "Your hair's different. I like it," he told him wandering around Stefan's room.

"It's been 15 years, Damon," the light haired brother said.

"Thank god. I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look," he laughed at himself, "Did not suit you. Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."

Ignoring him Stefan asked forcefully, "Why are you here?"

Damon kept moving around the room as he told him, "I miss my little brother."

Shaking his head Stefan disagreed, "You hate small towns. It's boring. There's nothing for you to do."

Impressed by himself the elder brother replied, "I've managed to keep myself busy."

"You know, you left those girls alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you," Stefan said nearing the topic of Maya very carefully.

"Ah," Damon sucked his teeth together telling his brother, "That can be a problem... for you."

Done with his brothers games Stefan asked, "Why are you here now?"

"I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into two little words... Elena, and Maya," he taunted his brother. Stefan tensed at the mention of both their names.

The raven haired man went on to say, "She took my breath away. Elena. They both did. They're dead ringers for Katherine, and Samara. Is it working, Stefan?".

"Being around them, being in their world? Does it make you feel alive," Damon taunted some more. Stefan shook his head at his older brother, neither on of those girls were like Katherine and Samara, he made sure of that. He couldn't figure out why they had the same faces, but their souls? Who they truly were? They were not Katherine and Samara.

Finally voicing his thoughts Stefan managed to tell his brother, "Elena's not Katherine, and Maya's not Samara."

"Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended," Damon said stepping directly in front of Stefan. "Tell me something, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel," he wondered his disapproval clear as ever.

Stefan started to back away knowing exactly what he was talking about "I know what you're doing, Damon. It's not gonna work."

"Yeah," Damon taunted with a challenging tone before he pushed at his brother, "Come on. Don't you crave a little?"

"Stop it," Stefan glared at him wanting to get him far as he could from the boarding house as possible.

"Let's do it," he chanted trying to push his brother to the edge jabbing his hand into his chest. "Together. I saw a couple girls out there. Or just, let's just cut to the chase, let's just go straight for Elena! Or you can have Maya, she taste amazing."

Stefan turned away trying to control his blood lust, his eyes were read and veins grew around them, "It helps that she's extremely hot."

"Stop it," Stefan screamed at him.

"Imagine what her blood tastes like," Damon taunted again pushing his brother. "I can, I did and I think I wanna taste more," he said shoving his chest again.

Stefan turned his head around his fangs out and his eyes turned monstrous as he shouted, "I said stop!" He charged at his brother sending them both flying through the window.

They landed on the ground looking around Stefan had lost sight of his brother. Fear crept inside him until he heard his brothers taunting voice. Already standing up he was telling him arrogantly, "I was impressed. I give it a six. Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face--- thing. It was good."

Stefan stood up finding that Damon was already standing up behind him. "You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die," he said to his brother in an astern voice.

Shrugging Damon replied, "That's a given."

The younger brother shook his head sternly telling him, "Not here. I won't allow it."

"I take that as an invitation," Damon smirked standing with his arms crossed.

"Damon, please. After all these years, can't we just give it a rest," Stefan asked sounding exhausted.

Repeating himself Damon said, "I promised you an eternity of misery, so I'm just keeping my word."

"Just stay away from Maya," Stefan begged.

"Where's your ring," Damon asked ignoring his brother's request. "Oh, yeah, sun's coming up in a couple of hours, and, poof, ashes to ashes. Relax. It's right here."

He handed it over to him, and Stefan slowly took it from him. Damon took Stefan by his T-shirt and projected him against the wall. "You should know better than to think you're stronger than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again." Seeing how the lights turned on above their heads Damon realized, "I think we woke Zach up. Hmm. Sorry, Zach."

Just before entering the house Damon said one finale thing, "You know, I tested a theory out tonight."

"What theory," groaned his brother struggling back to his feet.

"That after all these years, all this pretending they never mattered to you, you are right back here making yourself the hero between them both. It seems we are both servants to our own natures," stated Damon being one of the only living people to know the truth of the Salvatore Brothers and the Petrova women.

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❝ mystic falls hospital ❞

Maya laid in her hospital bed looking appearing lifeless, while her sister slept in the chair uncomfortably beside her. Elena was up the almost the whole night worrying about her, what ever attacked her and Vicki had attacked Maya with more violence. The marks are her neck were more torn, and she had lost a lot more blood.

Jeremy, and Elena were terrified they had lost their parents losing their sister wasn't an option. Not ever. Or at least until they were much older and old age was coming for them. Despite hardy holding herself together Maya was constantly doing her best to make the three of them never lost sight of each other. They were siblings and they were all they had left of their parents now.

Each of the girls were so exhausted they hadn't heard Stefan arrive. With everything that happen back at the house with Damon he had to come check on her, make sure she was okay. Make sure Damon hadn't come to finish her off. Quietly he made his way over to the empty side of her bed his hand finding hers,

The faint touch triggered what was probably a spasm Stefan told himself, but it didn't change how her squeezing his hand back made him feel like she knew he was there. That even though she was unconscious Maya felt the warmth of his touch flow throughout her and knew she was safe.

And to ensure it, Stefan sat with her there until the sunrise began trickling in. Before he was caught, he knew he had to leave so he kneeled beside her quietly saying, "I am so sorry I let this happen to you -- no one will hurt you again I promise."

This was a promise he should've known better than to attempt but never would regret every single attempt he would ever make to keep her safe. Even if at the time neither of them knew what would become of them. Just like neither had known that once Stefan had gone and his goodnight kiss lingered on her cheek she awoke for the briefest of seconds to say, "St-Stefan..."

maya's outfit next chapter