Love Sucks | The Vampire Diaries

Vampire

Third Person's P.O.V.

Mystic Falls, Virginia 1864

        Stefan Salvatore stepped out onto his front porch, watching the arriving carriage with with leaf green eyes as he stood straight with his hands behind his back.
        "Whoa," the driver of the carriage called, pulling the horses to a stop, and Stefan could vaguely see the silhouettes of three women in the carriage. The driver then jumped off of his seat on the carriage and placed a stepping stool by the door of the carriage, before opening the door.
        A young, dark-skinned woman's head peaked out from the carriage, and the driver held out his hand, helping her out of the carriage. She was dressed in simple clothing, certainly not of a standard to own her own carriage. The dark-skinned woman gave the driver a nod in thanks, before stepping to the other side and holding out her hand as another woman, dressed in finer clothing, stepped out of the carriage, holding onto the dark-skinned woman's hand.
        Once she stepped out of the carriage gracefully, the young woman looked up, and Stefan felt his breathing stop for a second in shock. The young woman was gorgeous, her curly dark brown hair pulled back in an elegant bun, a few strand curls decorating her delicate face. Her lips were pulled back in a subtle smirk as she eyed him with her brown eyes, her ivory skin adding onto her elegance.
        Stefan took in a deep breath, before forcing himself to step forward. He walked down the steps of his front porch as the young woman eyed him, while the dark-skinned woman quickly fixed her dress in any spots it might have gotten wrinkled in the carriage before stepping back towards the carriage.
        "You must be Miss Pierce," Stefan greeted with a polite smile and a small bow once he stopped in front of the beautiful woman.
        "Please... call me Katherine," the young woman said in a smooth voice and with a smile as she held out her hand for him to take before curtsying elegantly. Stefan nodded with a small smile as he nearly got lost in her eyes, and she in his.
        "Katherine," came an almost melodious voice from behind Katherine, and Stefan looked over Katherine's shoulder, only to see the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had a perfect figure, one that was noticeable because of her corset. Her luminous dark brown hair was pulled back in a styled bun, her beautiful light blue eyes nearly sparkling as she looked up. Her lips were lightly colored and full, and her skin was so fair it look as though made out of porcelain. As he looked at her, Stefan nearly forgot his own name.
        Katherine turned around, almost groaning in annoyance, but stopped herself as she realized that the reason the young woman called her name was because she was standing too close tot he carriage, and the blue-eyed woman had trouble stepping out. Katherine quickly stepped to the side, allowing the young woman to step out of the carriage.
        "May I introduce my sister," Katherine spoke with a small smile on her lips as she moved her eyes back to Stefan, but the smile faltered slightly as she noticed the way he looked at her sister.
        "Miss Pierce," Stefan bowed after a second, finally managing to start breathing properly once again after getting over his shock as the woman's beauty.
        "Please, call me Layla," the woman smiled kindly as she curtsied, and Stefan nodded with a smile as he grabbed her hand, before pressing his lips to her knuckles.

        Annabelle sat up on her bed abruptly as she heard the window in Elena's room slam shut, and her brows furrowed in concern as she quickly jumped off the bed and walked down the hallway to her sister's room.
        "Elena?" she called as she opened the door, and stopped when she saw her sister sitting on the window seat, breathing heavily with tears in her eyes, "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked as she walked over to her sister.
        "It's Stefan," Elena said, her voice cracking as she tried to stop the tears from coming. "He's... He's-"
        "A vampire?" Annabelle cut her off, and Elena looked at her with wide eyes. "Yeah, I know,"
        "You know?"
        "I connected the dots," Annabelle explained, before sighing. "By the looks of it, so did you,"
        "But... how is that even possible?" Elena whispered helplessly, and Annabelle sighed again.
        "I don't know," she shook her head, before stiffening as the sound of the window slamming shut popped into her head again, "Was he here?" she asked, turning back to look at Elena, who nodded.
        "He wanted me to let him explain," she said, "He said that he doesn't drink human blood, that it was Damon who killed all those people, that he would never hurt me, but I just..." Elena trailed off as she choked up, and Annabelle sighed as she leaned against the window, positioning herself on the window seat beside her sister.
        "Yeah... I know,"

*The Next Day*

        "Hey," Elena opened the door to her sister's room, making Annabelle look up from where she was reading one of Edgar Allan Poe's poems that she had to read for school.
        "Yeah?" she asked, sitting up on her bed, and Elena took in a deep breath.
        "I called Stefan," she said, and Annabelle raised her eyebrows in surprise, "I want answers," Elena clarified, and Annabelle nodded understandingly. She, too, wanted answers, "I asked him to meet with me... Do you want to come with?" Elena asked, and Annabelle hesitated for a second before nodding.
        "Yeah,"

*15 Minutes Later*

        "You said you would explain everything, that's why I asked you to meet us here," Elena said as she, Annabelle, and Stefan sat at a table outside of Mystic Grill, Annabelle and Elena close together on one side of the table, Stefan on the other.
        "When you google 'vampire', you get a whole world of fiction," Annabelle spoke up this time, and Stefan nodded as he listened to them speaking. "What's the reality?"
        "I can tell you whatever you want to know," Stefan said, willing to do anything he had to in order to keep them his life, as well as have them keep his secret.
        "I know you eat garlic," Elena said.
        "Yes,"
        "And, somehow, sunlight's not an issue," Annabelle spoke up again. "That's what I don't understand,"
        Stefan opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by a waitress stopping by their table.
        "Hi, here are your drinks," she said, placing a cup of coffee in front of Stefan, handing one to Elena, and placing an iced caramel frappuccino in front of Annabelle.
        "Thank you," Annabelle murmured, and the waitress nodded before walking away.
        "We have rings that protect us," Stefan showed them the ring on his finger, answering Annabelle's question.
        "Crucifixes?" Elena questioned.
        "Decorative,"
        "Holy water?"
        "Drinkable,"
        "Mirrors?"
        "Myth,"
        "From what I heard, you said that you don't kill to survive," Annabelle spoke up after Elena stopped questioning Stefan, and the Salvatore nodded. "How is that?"
        "Animal blood keeps me alive, but not as strong as Damon," Stefan said. "He can be very powerful,"
        "And yet you let him get involved with Caroline?" Annabelle snapped, feeling her blood boil at the thought of her best friend being hurt.
        "Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous, believe me," Stefan said.
        "He was hurting her!" Annabelle snapped.
        "He was feeding on her," Stefan corrected. "He was able to take away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion, she never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have,"
        "I'm sorry, is that supposed to make it okay?" Annabelle snapped, glaring at the vampire in front of her, momentarily not caring that he could truly hurt her if he wanted to. All she cared about was that Caroline was hurt, and she wasn't able to do anything about it, and now she was sitting in front of a man who could have done something about it, but didn't.
        "No. No, none of this is okay, Anna," Stefan assured her, "I know that," he said, and Annabelle sighed as she rested her elbows on the table and rested her head on her hands for a moment, while Stefan leaned back in his chair.
        "Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?" Annabelle spoke up again after a few seconds, looking up.
        "Not in Mystic Falls, not anymore,"
        "'Not anymore'?" Elena and Annabelle repeated, their brows furrowing.
        "There was a time when this town was... very much aware of vampires, and it didn't end well for anybody. That's why it's important that neither of you tell anyone," Stefan explained.
        "I can't promise that," Elena shook her head, but Annabelle stayed quiet.
        "Elena, Anna... give me today," Stefan said, a hint of pleading in his tone. "I will answer any questions that you two have, and when it's over, you can decide for yourselves what you want to do with what you know," he said. "It'll be your choice,"
        The two sisters were silent for a moment, before they both nodded, willing to let Stefan explain everything to them before making a decision. After all, Annabelle always, always, followed the saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover'.
        "Come with me... I want to show you something,"