to be or not to be » stefan salvatore

chapter twenty six: there was a time.

It didn't take long for Skye to change out of her blood-stained clothes and into something cleaner.

She wouldn't have said no to a shower as well, but they were already losing precious time as it was.

Elena and Rebekah could be anywhere by now.

If they didn't find them, they had to start looking all over again. Those two were not a good combination to be left by themselves.

As soon as she buttoned up the last part of her crisp white blouse, she turned towards the mirror and took in her reflection.

Her skin, a fair white, her eyes, blue and bright, her mouth, rosy and pouted.

It surprised her. She would've thought that the heartbreak and tragedy would be able to be read from every crevice in her face, every little wrinkle, in the way her body held itself.

Instead, she looked normal. Okay.

It felt like a lie.

Turning away from the mirror, she casted one last look at the room, remembering the evening before.

At least there was still one memory that could make her smile.

Then she closed the door.

...

The car ride felt like it was lasting forever. They had been driving the entire day and night and it was nearing early morning. They were close to Damon's location, and even then, they still had a long way to go.

The only thing keeping her sane through the duration of it was Stefan's fingers interlocked with her, their hands resting between the seats.

She could feel his eyes on her occasionally, but her own blue hues were glued to the view outside the passenger side window, watching as everything blurred by.

Everything that had happened the last couple of days was wearing her down. She didn't know how to feel, or how to behave, or what to think.

'Can you call Damon and put him on speaker?'

Stefan's voice cut through her thoughts, both not haven spoken in a couple of hours, which caused the sudden noise to startle her.

Still, she complied, grabbing his phone from his jacket pocket, before dialing Damon's number and putting it on speaker.

She held the phone between them, head resting against the car seat, as Stefan spoke, 'We're almost there. Did you get the gas I asked?'

'Yeah, all two gallons of it. Took you long enough to get here. I was starting to get bored to death.'

Huh, who would have thought that she'd miss Damon's voice and blatant mockery?

'Well, I had some things to take care of, I'm not just on standby for whenever you screw up,' Stefan shot back, exchanging a glance with Skye before rounding the corner.

Damon came into view.

'Whatever, I'm hanging up now. I see your dumb car.'

They stopped in front of Damon, as Stefan rolled his window down, directing himself towards his brother.

'Put the canisters in the back and get in.'

'Yeah, yeah, no need to be so pushy,' Damon grumbled, before lugging the two cans with him to the back and popping open the trunk before storing them.

Coming back to the side of the car, he slid into the backseat, head popping in between their chairs.

'Hey, lovebirds. Good to see you walking around again, princess.'