Capital Letters

eight

After Nathan spent some time at the Mystic Grill, he headed back to the Salvatore house with the intention of crashing in his own room. However, his plans took an unexpected turn when he heard a familiar voice coming from Stefan's room.

A warm smile spread across Nathan's face, and he couldn't resist the urge to investigate. He made his way to Stefan's room, intrigued by the conversation he overheard.

"If some freak shot at me with wooden bullets, I'd bail in under 60," the voice, undoubtedly Lexi's, echoed from within Stefan's room. "And why is a news reporter hunting vampires?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Nathan chimed in as he entered the room. "Hi Lexi," he greeted with genuine affection in his voice.

"Nathan!" Lexi exclaimed, leaping off Stefan's bed and into Nathan's arms. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too," Nathan replied warmly, returning her embrace. He was genuinely pleased to see her. Lexi broke away from the hug, her smile radiant. "What are you doing here?"

"Stefan's birthday, obviously. And I had to see my other vampire best friend," Lexi explained.

"Right, of course, Stefan's birthday," Nathan said with a grin, hopping onto Stefan's bed. "While you're here, just be careful. We don't know how many people know about us."

"Ugh! Why stay?" Lexi questioned, clearly not one to shy away from adventure. "I'm headed to New York for the weekend, Bon Jovi, in the garden, 'Wanted Dead or Alive.' It's our theme song. It'll be a blast."

"Hey, do you think that he would actually remember us?" Stefan interjected, his voice tinged with nostalgia. "That was a pretty crazy weekend, huh?"

"We can make him remember us," Lexi replied confidently. "Come on. Let's go. I mean, what's keeping you guys here?"

"Her name is Elena, it's always Elena this, Elena that," Nathan teased his brother, a playful glint in his eyes. Stefan responded with an eye roll and threw a pillow in Nathan's direction.

Stefan, not one to back down, countered with, "And what about Caroline, huh?" His raised eyebrows emphasized the point he was making.

Lexi, always quick to join in the banter, grabbed a picture of Katherine and turned toward Stefan. "Well, let's hope she's better than the last girl you got all sprung over."

Nathan couldn't help but interject, mumbling in agreement with Lexi, "Let's just say Stef has a type when it comes to looks." He casually took the picture from Lexi's hand and tossed it onto the table with a nonchalant flick of his wrist.

Stefan, defending his past choices, retorted, "You didn't even know Katherine."

"Because if I did, I'd kick her ass, the little bitch," Lexi declared with a grin, glancing at Lexi and offering her a playful high-five. "Speaking of, where's Damon?"

"Infecting misery somewhere," Stefan replied, a hint of concern in his voice. He then directed his attention to Lexi. "You gonna be okay here? Alone? I got some things I gotta take care of."

Lexi grinned at Stefan's teasing concern, replying with an air of confidence, "Well, it's not exactly like I can go anywhere. And you Salvatores are the only ones with these nifty little daylight rings." She playfully hinted at her own limitations as a vampire without such protection.

"I have a mood ring from '75. One of you wanna trade?"

Stefan chuckled, shaking his head at the idea. "Doesn't work that way, and you know it."

"She's not gonna be alone Stefan. I'm gonna be here," Nathan says smiling up at Lexi and his brother.

"That scares me. You two together, not a good combination. Reckless," Stefan joked before turning his attention to Lexi. "I'm really glad that you came here."