Fall

Chapter 49: Canary

Despite my better judgment, despite my mom no doubt having checked on me and realized I wasn't in my bed, I'm in Stefan's room with him. I'm definitely going to get a lecture about this tomorrow. He sits on the bed next to me, not even looking annoyed at every time I blow my nose or cough into my shoulder. "Do you need some tea or soup or something? Is it the flu?"

I grimace at the cough that wracks my lungs. "Nope, chest cold. Anytime I get sick, it immediately goes to my lungs. Fucking asthma. I would love some tea though, I'll go make it." I move to stand but he catches my hand immediately, something wild in his eyes. 

"No, please don't go. Let me do this, let me take care of you. Please." 

Blinking at the request, I slowly nod despite the frown on my lips. He squeezes my hand once before getting out of the bed and going down the stairs. I decide to bring my phone out to text Elena and Jeremy. 

To: Elevator

Hey, Stefan's in a better place now. But he seems really vulnerable. Is it ok if I stay over with him? If not, I get it and you can easily replace me. Just let me know.

To: Jer Bear

If my mom checks in on me, please cover. That emergency is going longer, will fill you in tomorrow

From: Elevator

That's fine. Having a Bonnie emergency here, fill each other in tomorrow?

From: Jer Bear

Fine, you owe me

When I look up from my phone, Stefan's arrived with a mug of steaming tea, two blankets in his hand, and what looks to be a DVD case. He sets the mug down on the nightstand next to me, and I can tell my the smell already that it's my favorite: peppermint. He starts to fuss over me like a mother hen, bundling me up with the blankets that are much softer than his scratchy sheets. And finally, I catch a glimpse of the DVD, Anastasia. I smile at it, at what he's doing. "Why don't you pick your favorite movie? We don't have to watch mine." 

He looks up at me now, a slight upturn of the corner of his mouth catching my eye. "I...I'd rather watch this one with you." I narrow my eyes at it and shake my head, moving out of the bundle he worked on and going over to the tv and the table it's on, moving through the DVD's there. 

"No no no, we're not watching a favorite of mine. How about one of these?" I pull out two DVDs, one being Taxi Driver by Martin Scorcese and the other being the complete season 6 of I Love Lucy. Stefan zeroes in on the I Love Lucy DVD, despite not saying anything. I give him a slight smile of my own before putting it in the DVD player and pressing play. "Stefan, don't bother trying to lie to me. I've got a superpower you know."

I lay back in the bed and bundle up with the blankets, bringing the mug of peppermint tea to my lips. "You do?" Stefan asks in slight disbelief. 

Shrugging, I take a sip of tea and almost sigh in the relief it brings to my throat. He must've added honey. "Yeah, I can tell whenever you're lying."

He laughs a little at that. "That's bullshit." I just hum and we settle into the bed, watching the show together. Throughout the entire time, he keeps ahold of my hand, intertwining our fingers this way and that so that I almost don't know where mine end and his begin. When we get to the episode, Lucy and the Loving Cup, he perks up even more. We both laugh through the subway scene, of Lucy accidentally sitting on people and trying to find a seat on the subway with a trophy on her head. 

I feel Stefan squeeze my hand a bit throughout that, and at the end of the DVD, he just gets up and turns the tv off. He doesn't move for more I Love Lucy or Taxi Driver, he just comes back onto the bed and focuses on my fingers as if he'll find the secret to some great mystery among them. "I'm so sorry."