White Lies (The Vampire Diaries)

| 15 | Ripper

The familiar sound of Presley's boots against the wooden floor of Mystic Grill pulled Elena's attention away from the conversation she shared with Tyler. She peered over her shoulder as Presley approached the table with a white mug held between her hands, noticing the steam that billowed out from the top.

"Is that your second cup of coffee?" Elena asked, raising a brow.

Presley smiled to herself as she reached their table and carefully placed the mug down without spilling the hot liquid over the rim. The toe of her boot hooked underneath the bar of the chair's legs as she pulled it closer to her body. Elena lightly shook her head when she caught a glimpse of the dark beige liquid.

"I will never understand your ability to drink coffee so late," she stated with an amused look.

"Caffeine doesn't bother me," Presley responded as she sat down beside her, purposely ignoring Tyler across the table. "I just like the taste of coffee. It's warm and comforting."

Tyler rolled his eyes as he averted his gaze when she rejoined their table. He aimlessly looked around the restaurant for his other friends with his arms folded across the table in front of him. Elena subtly glimpsed at her friends on either side of her, aware of the growing tension between them.

"The warmth must feel nice for someone cold blooded," he murmured.

Presley cocked her head to the side when she heard the mumbled words under his breath. Her fingers wrapped around the warm mug as she lifted it to her chest level with her elbows propped on the table. Elena held her breath.

"Then why aren't you drinking any, Tyler?" Presley snipped in response.

She sweetly smiled at him over the top of her mug. Elena quietly groaned between them as if she had hoped Presley hadn't heard Tyler's remark or simply wouldn't respond if she had. Tyler snapped his head toward her, eyes narrowed.

"What?" He demanded.

The small change of his tone brought an amused smile to Presley's lips. There was a part of her that still felt irritated by her brothers and she knew a good way to release some of that negative energy was to see how far she could push Tyler. No one would be surprised if they had a little spat. They were common between them.

"Well," Presley began without her smile wavering. "You said the warmth must feel nice for someone cold blooded, right? So, should I go get you a cup as well? You must be freezing over there."

Tyler's facial expressions marginally hardened at her words. His jaw tightened as he glared at the brunette across the table. Presley's eyes swiftly raked over the visible changes in his behavior. She barely said a few words and the teenage boy was already on the verge of anger. It was simply too easy tot irritate Tyler Lockwood.

Perhaps, that's why she enjoyed it.

"What? You can dish out the insults, but you can't take them?" She pressed, curious to see how long it would take before he snapped.

This was a little game Presley liked to play; see how long Tyler lasted before he lost control of his temper. He was quite short tempered, which provided great entertainment to the vampire. She only pushed him when she knew she was fully capable of handling his explosion of emotions.

He reached for his glass of soda on the table and brought it near his lips without breaking their intense eye contact. Elena slumped back in her chair when she realized she found herself in the middle of an argument again.

"I'm not cold blooded," Tyler coolly responded before he took a sip.

"Are you sure about that?" Presley countered.