Fall

Chapter 38: Derelict

"How did you find me? Did Elena and Bonnie get you?" I ask, rubbing at the back of my head. I feel much more comfortable in my day clothes now, something I'm very grateful for. "Also, thanks for bringing me a change of clothes." I smile as Stefan chuckles, him looking down at the sleep shirt in my hand.

"Yeah, well as cute as you looked in the Toadally Tired shirt, I figured you would want some real clothes." He looks down at his shoes and smiles, leaning against his car. "And actually, I found out from both Shiela Bennett and that old lady from the bookstore you love, Ms. Skuld." He looks back up at me now and I freeze at the mention of her. He met her? How does he know her? "When were you gonna tell me that she's a Valkyrie too?"

I swallow hard and take a deep breath, looking up at the Bennett house that we're parked outside of. "Listen, Stefan-"

"I feel like every time we talk now, you've been hiding something from me. When did things change?" He crosses his arms in front of his chest and looks at me with concern. Not the anger I was expecting, nothing but care and it makes my heart ache. 

Pursing my lips, I scuff the ground with the tip of my converse. "It wasn't my secret to tell. And I just.." I bite my lip and look at the ground before glancing at those green eyes of his. "I'm trying to get over you, Stefan. Go back to being just friends. That means distance, you know?" I divulge, feeling like there's something crawling in my throat, wanting me to stop sharing personal things with him. I ignore it, ignore that feeling. 

"Friends still tell each other things, Kara. Please, please don't pull yourself away from me anymore. I need my best friend." He responds to me, a vulnerable quality to his voice. I analyze him, his stance, the look in his eyes. 

"Ok. Ok, I'll stop." I bite the inside of my cheek and watch as he breathes out in relief. We start to move up the steps towards the house. "Best friend, huh?" I tease him, smirking and nudging him with my elbow. He just chuckles and shakes his head, opening the door for me. We walk through the house into the kitchen. Elena, Bonnie, Shiela, and Ms. Skuld all wait at the table for us. I'm surprised to see Ms. Skuld out of the bookstore, I don't think I've actually ever seen it before. 

Elena sighs at the sight of us. "Good, you got out. So what do we do now?" I lean against the counter as Stefan walks around the table, checking the windows and seeming on high alert. Ms. Skuld sends me a look over the table, one I can easily discern from her icy eyes. She wants to talk to me in private, soon. 

"For now, you need to stay here." Stefan replies to the question. Ms. Skuld and Shiela immediately seem opposed to the idea. Ms. Skuld pushes a teacup towards me, looking warm and inviting with a cookie on the saucer. I shoot her a grateful smile and shove the cookie in my mouth, sipping on the tea as I chew. 

"A prisoner in my own home? I don't think so." Shiela responds, shaking her head. 

Stefan purses his lips, readjusting his crossed arms. "I can't protect you if you leave the house." He replies. I keep chewing on the shortbread cookie, brushing off the crumbs that keep falling onto my shirt. The warmth of the peppermint tea fills me, helping sustain me a bit after the morning I've had. Speaking of, what time is it? Can I even find a clock in this place? 

"Valkyrie do not hide, Mr. Salvatore. We fight. We'll protect ourselves." Ms. Skuld responds, Shiela nodding and repeating the 'we'll protect ourselves' bit. Stefan doesn't look too happy with that answer.

Bonnie and Elena have been silent during this tête-à-tête, but Elena decides to offer her two cents. "We need to let him have Katherine back." I watch her for a moment, already having promised Damon I'd help him get Katherine. 

"He won't stop until he gets her, if we keep getting in his way something bad is bound to happen. We help him, it ends this." I agree with Elena, my voice scratchy around the cookie I'm eating. I sip some more tea to get rid of all the crumbly cookie in my mouth.