To Be Or Not To Be » Stefan Salvatore

Chapter 20 - How?

Skye's fingers twitched at her side, blonde strands framing her porcelain skin, the ache to reach out to the boy in front of her almost impossible to ignore.

Stefan was looking at her with an intensity that made her stomach flutter. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with romance.

Ever since they'd realized Elena was sired to Damon, he hadn't been able to stop obsessing over it. Neither had Skye, really.

Sire bonds didn't happen often, and she was worried. She didn't know how much of Elena's free will had been taken away because of it.

Despite their differences, Elena had become her friend.

Skye wanted her to be safe, to be happy—but she wanted her to be those things on her own terms, not because of some freaky supernatural connection.

For Stefan, it was different. He still loved Elena, and this revelation gave him hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd have another chance with her.

The thought of them getting back together stung, but Skye forced herself to push it aside.

She'd spent enough time wallowing. She needed to get a grip on her emotions, move forward, be happy—just because she couldn't be with the boy she liked didn't mean she had to stop living.

Focusing on the task at hand, she sighed. They'd been going over this for hours—basically the entire night. Morning light was already beginning to trickle through the blinds.

Stefan didn't want to believe the sire bond had that strong of a hold on Elena. But the evidence was all there.

"This is a mess," Skye muttered, pressing her fingers against her temple as a headache pounded behind her eyes.

"We don't know anything for sure," Stefan countered, stubborn as ever.

Skye wanted to shake some sense into him.

"Elena is sired to Damon, which means her one singular burning desire is to make him happy. Just like Klaus and his hybrids. It's not that hard to understand, Stef."

"No, it's not," he admitted, but his jaw was tight. "A vampire sired to another vampire is one in a million, though. Maybe it won't affect her the same way."

Skye narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure who he was trying to convince—her or himself.

"We already know it's affecting her," she said. "Everything he says, she agrees with. Everything he asks her to do... she does."

Stefan looked at her then, head tilted slightly, taking in her words. Skye bit her lip, uneasy.

She didn't know what they could do about it. The only option was to talk to the people involved.

Calling Elena and dropping this on her wasn't an option. They weren't close enough for Skye to spring something like this on her.

"If this is true, then it could be influencing every action and emotion she's had since turning," Stefan murmured, echoing her thoughts. "We can't just talk to her about this."

"Maybe Caroline can ask Tyler how the bond between him and Klaus's hybrids worked. That could give us some insight," Skye suggested. "I don't know much about it. Never really cared enough to look into it."

Stefan's brows furrowed. "You really think it's the same?"

Skye shrugged. "Maybe. I'm not certain, but it won't hurt to ask."

A heavy sigh left Stefan's lips, but he nodded. He knew just as well as she did that they had to do something.

"I'll talk to Damon too," he said. "I know he probably won't believe me, but I can try."