The Bourbon Diaries ✢ The Vampire Diaries FanFiction ✢ TVD FanFic ✢ TVDU FanFic

Chapter Six - Stefanie Salvatore

Three and a half years ago

Mystic Falls, VA

New Year's Eve, 9:50pm

Phoenix had exactly fifteen seconds to army-crawl alongside the inside window of the bar in order to fling his jacket over the security camera before the alarm sounded. This wasn't going to be a problem considering the amount of times he'd literally had to crawl his way out of trouble, whether it be dragging himself home drunk or sneaking out of a one-night-stand's bedroom. He managed the crawl in seven seconds, but wasted a further three seconds on a celebration dance underneath the camera, out of its field of view. So the moment Phoenix finally flung his hood over the lens, Stefanie had to run across the room to the keypad and punch in the alarm code to deactivate it.

"Phoenix, I am not getting caught because of you," Adam snapped, "so don't fuck around."

Phoenix switched on his phone torch. Even though the windows were covered while the bar was being renovated, the thin material wouldn't block out the bright new ceiling lights. "Relax, we'll be out of here before you know it. Get into the party mood."

Raid was yanking back dust sheets from behind the bar, the first two sheets revealing nothing of interest. "Adam doesn't party," he said. "He doesn't flirt, he doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke..." Under the third dust sheet, he found three bottles of bourbon; one was already open. "He can dance, I'll give him that, but not like I do."

"If you mean grinding up against women until you leave an imprint of your dick on her dress, no, I don't," Adam shot back.

Raid took the cap off the bourbon, then, with a wink at Stef, confirmed, "It's a very impressive imprint." He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a swig before passing it to Stef.

Stef smiled, her cheeks flushing with the phantom sensation of what that scenario might feel like, and then looked down at the bottle in her hands. She had no intention of drinking any; truth be told, she didn't really like the taste of bourbon, but there was still something comforting about the smell that made it feel like home. So the thought of that same smell on Raid's lips right now was distracting---and this was a problem. She couldn't be having these thoughts, not while Cristian believed they were still an item. After the party, she reminded herself. A new year, a fresh start. Stef tried to divert her thoughts by studying the bottle, noticing it was nearly empty. Struggling to find her voice, she took a deep breath and uttered, "There must be more in the cellar."

Adam grabbed the two remaining bottles from the counter. "Two's enough. We're not supplying for Cristian's entire party."

"Let's check it out anyway," Raid suggested, following Phoenix, who was already heading into the hallway towards the cellar. "We can grab a few more bottles and hopefully I can find something stronger."

Stef placed the bottle on the counter and followed him. "Stronger?"

Adam came up next to her and leaned in. "He wants to impress Cristian The Magician," he scoffed.

Stef smiled softly, humouring Adam's cynicism. She knew Cristian was a witch---you couldn't grow up in the Salvatore household without learning about witches---and she also knew Cristian knew he was a witch. But Cristian wasn't discreet about it. He couldn't help but flaunt his magic at parties, so he gladly accepted that moniker.

"I need something higher volume. I'm telling you, I have nearly mastered fire tricks," Raid insisted, coming to a stop behind Phoenix as he opened the door to the cellar.

Phoenix shone his torch down into the darkness. It wasn't strong enough to see beyond the wooden staircase. "Think you can throw a little of that fire power my way so I can actually see what's down there?"