taxonomites | 013 ━ [ visual ] / [ location: elena's house ].

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013 ━ [ visual ] / [ location: elena's house ].

The sheets were soft; much softer than those on his own bed or anything he had access to on Serenity. They weren't the fine silks that Katherine's bed was lined with, either. Yet, the feel of them against his skin was familiar to him somehow, and in the bleariness of morning, Stefan couldn't quite place it.

He stirred, rolling over instinctively towards the warm body on the other side of the bed. Still sleepy-eyed, he smiled at her. "Good morning."

Elena stirred at the familiar words and voice, putting her hand on her forehead to push the hair that had fallen in her face as she'd slept out of her face. Blinking as things came into focus, she turned to the other body occupying her bed and smiled, pleased to see him. "Morning."

Stefan held that smile for a moment longer until reality set in and who he was in bed with clicked. His eyes widened. "Elena."

Elena's eyebrows knit together in confusion for a moment, wondering why he was surprised, and then everything came back to her in a split second and she sat upright with a start, eyes going wide and a hand clapping over her mouth.

"Stefan," she said breathlessly once she removed her hand. "What are you -- what are we -- what happened? Do you remember?"

He sat up, too. "No." Last he could recall, he was crawling into his own bed at the boarding house. He couldn't remember how he even got to Elena's, let alone what they did or did not do. "Do you?"

"No," she replied with a shake of her head, absently feeling around to make sure her clothes were still on. Not that she didn't trust Stefan and not that they weren't sleeping together anyway, but she didn't like that she couldn't remember it if it had happened. "Just going to bed last night."

Similarly, Stefan was lifting up the covers with and peering under the sheets to make sure he still had pants on. Check. Thank God.

He slid out of the covers and stood-- Or he tried to, but the silver chain that had thus far gone unnoticed pulled taught between them, catching him off guard. Stefan stumbled and fell awkwardly over the side of the bed.

Elena was concentrating on not panicking when she suddenly found herself jerked violently to her side, landing face-down on her bed as Stefan fell over the side. "What the--" And then she saw it -- the chain glinting in the early morning light that connected them by the wrists.

The chain wasn't what Stefan's eyes were on. "Elena..." They were on the bright red recording light on the tablet.

It recorded a few more seconds of footage, then cut off the feed.

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The feed may have cut itself off, but Elena grabbed her pillow from behind her and threw it at her dresser in hopes of knocking it over, even though it had already turned itself off. It clattered to the ground, along with a couple of nondescript bottles, and she worried her fingertips at her mouth for a few moments before looking back at Stefan, her expression one of barely-contained panic.

"It's a glitch," she guessed, looking back at their chained wrists. "It has to be, right?"

Edited 2011-08-04 03:44 (UTC)

It worked, the tablet landing near his feet. Stefan reached for it and handed it over to her when he sat back down on the bed. Her theory received a shrug in answer as twisted the chain around his fingers.

Thin and flimsy as it appeared to be, when he tugged on it, nothing happened. The metal didn't give and snap like he expected it to. He tried again, pulling on it a few more times with all his strength, so much that he caused them both to topple backwards towards the end of the bed, Elena landing on top of him. He couldn't break it.

She took the tablet from him wordlessly and turned from him for a moment to shut it away in the drawer of her nightside table. When she turned back, he was working on breaking the chain. She would have helped, but her own strength wouldn't have done much to help, and so she kept her wrist still as he tried.

It didn't work, and she landed on top of him with an 'oof'. After a few moments of rearranging and untangling limbs, she sat back up, looking at the chain again.

"Maybe we can use tools on it." Said without a lot of hope.

"I don't think that'll work," he said grimly, still laying back at the foot of the bed. He laid there for a while longer, staring angrily up at the ceiling as if he could see beyond it and the faux Taxon sky, past the barrier to wherever it was the aliens were. She was right. This was a glitch. Had to be.

Stefan sat up. "If I can't break that, any tools you'd have laying around here won't be able to. Whatever this is," he touched his fingers to her bracelet where the chain was connected to it, "they don't want us to break free of it so easily."

She sighed, dropping her face into her hand for a long moment as she tried to collect her thoughts. After a while, she looked at her wrist where his fingertips rested on top of the bracelet, then at him.

"What do we do about this?" she asked, her voice soft. Obviously there wasn't much they could do to get out of it, and she wasn't sure what, specifically, she was referring to outside of the obvious 'how are we going to handle it with everyone else' question.

Stefan shrugged, at a loss for answers. He was waiting for the inevitable moment when Katherine saw that feed. Whatever her reaction to seeing him in bed with Elena would be, it wasn't going to be good. This wasn't their doing; neither was at fault for something the hamsters probably saw as some sort of joke for their own amusement.

"It's a glitch. If anyone asks, we'll just have to tell them that. It is what it is and it doesn't look like we can do anything to undo it." He pulled at the chain where it connected to her bracelet, again. "We should consider ourselves lucky. They could've glitched us into much worse."

Stefan looked up at, fingers sliding off the metal band to the back of her hand. "Or that tablet could've turned on during something else that would've been our fault."

Elena's gaze met his, and she gave him a small, playful smile as she turned her hand over to press her palm against his.

"That would have been really bad," she agreed, glancing back down, then back up as she linked their fingers together.

"Very bad," he agreed, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Are you going to be okay with keeping up the act while we're... connected? People are going to want to know if you're okay with being chained to your twin sister's boyfriend."

She felt herself stiffen, and the smile slipped from her face as suddenly as it had appeared. Would she do it? Of course she would. Would she be okay with it? Not exactly, but what choice did she have?

"Yeah," she ended up saying, shrugging her shoulders. "Of course."

"No, you're not." Stefan knew her well enough to know that no, she wasn't okay with this. It had been stupid of him to ask when he knew the answer. None of this was okay, and it wasn't okay in ways Elena wasn't even aware of yet. No-one was. River didn't count, because she knew due to the talents she possessed and not because Stefan had told her. He was avoiding talking about it with everyone.

He lifted a hand to her face, pushing some strands of hair behind her ear. "We're going to have to fight, pretend that we're annoyed with one another. That being chained like this is the last thing we want, and we're going to have to make it believable. Especially for Katherine."

Elena nodded, looking back at him and not bothering to put on a brave or smiling face. She didn't it at all. Keeping this up was becoming exhausting, taking its toll on her emotionally, and she wondered every so often whether or not it would ever end, if he'd ever find enough information about the sun and moon curse to be satisfied with ending this. If he even wanted to end it anymore.

No. She wasn't going to let herself think about it. She couldn't, or this would be much worse for the two of them.

She swallowed hard to fight off a sudden, strong urge to cry, then nodded again, her expression a little less angry and a little more sad. God, when had she become this person, someone so willing to bend her own moral code and lie to everyone, including herself? When had she become okay with letting herself be treated like this?

"Okay."

Stefan tugged on her hand suddenly, drawing her into a hug. He felt bad -- worse than bad, like some sort of horrible person for putting her through this emotional roller coaster and asking her to lie. She was lying about so much for him, from his being a vampire to what they were doing behind everyone's backs. It was too much to ask of one person, he knew that, but what other option was there?

Tell the truth, he knew to be the answer. Stop doing this thing with Katherine and step back, return to his place among those who stood against her instead of with her like something resembling an ally to her cause. He wasn't and he knew it. They both knew it. When did he become this person so capable of deception and asking people of things he would deny someone who'd ask them of himself? He doesn't like the person he is now, but he's too caught up in everything to simply call it quits. It's not that easy anymore.

"I'm sorry," he said into her hair, near her ear. "I'm so sorry."

She wants to tell him to stop all this if he's so sorry, end it so that they can start on trying to get things to feel right and normal between them again. For a second the words are at the back of her throat and heavy on her tongue, and she considers pushing him back and speaking them out loud to him.

But they're lost in a sob, and she just hugs him tighter, as if he'll disappear, be attached to Katherine instead, if she lets him go.

"I know," she says after a few moments. Tears fall, but she's not inconsolable, just accepting. She hates this, but it's routine by now, and sobbing isn't going to solve anything. But she's not going to tell him 'it's okay', either.

Thing is, Stefan knows he should stop. He's known it for a while now, but he's purposely ignoring logic and reason, shutting his person off from anything of the sort when he should be listening to all those little voices in the back of his mind that are whispering to him, telling him that this is wrong. It's all wrong.

He kisses her forehead and rubs her back soothingly with the hand that's not chained to hers. "We'll figure this out."

And yet, it feels like a hollow, empty promise. Whether he means the glitch or this whole mess in general is up in the air.

Elena nods as she pulls back, taking a deep breath and wiping away the few tears she'd let fall. She doesn't feel very reassured by his words, but there isn't anything more solid for her to cling to right now. So she'll put on a brave face, pretend that she's okay with this, pretend that she understands why he's still doing this and ignore her own suspicions. By the time she looks up, the only evidence that she was crying is that her eyes look a little too bright.

"Yeah," she says with another nod. She sighs, then looks at the chain, then her bedroom door. "Should we head downstairs?"

"Is Jenna home?" He pauses, listening carefully to the sounds of the house to see if he can tell. There's nothing that sounds distinctly like Jenna moving about or a person, so he can't answer his own question.

Stefan nods all the same. "Yeah. I'll make you breakfast, if you don't mind having to shadow me around the kitchen."

"I don't know," she answered after listening for a moment. "I don't hear her. If she is, she's not awake yet." She started to move to get out of bed, then rolled her eyes before settling back down. Charlotte joined them on the bed, poking curiously at the silver chain that connected them.

Elena began petting the cat before looking up at Stefan with a tiny smile, recalling the other times he'd done that for her. "I'd like that. I've missed your cooking."

Edited 2011-08-08 05:37 (UTC)

"And I've missed--" You, but somehow, that didn't feel appropriate and it made his stomach knot up. "--cooking for you."

He slid off the bed, careful not to accidentally yank her down along with him. Stefan was going to have to be extra mindful of his strength and speed as to not accidentally hurt her.

"Come on, let's go downstairs." He held out a hand to her, the one that was linked to hers.

Katherine sees the chain and the clothes both Stefan and Elena are wearing, but rational thinking is overridden by a purely emotional response at the visual. Her boyfriend. His ex-girlfriend. Together in bed.

"What the hell is this?"

Stefan has to fish for his own tablet, assuming that the aliens were kind enough to send it with him when he was moved from his house to Elena's. He finds it stuffed under a pillow, trapped between the mattress and the headboard. They're supposed to still be cross with one another, so Stefan schools his expression into one of proper annoyance before he turns the device to address Katherine.

"Someone's cruel idea of a joke," he scoffs, shaking his head.

Far from placated despite Stefan's apparent irritation, Katherine crosses her arms across her chest and narrows her eyes. The image of him and Elena in bed is stuck in her head and it's stirring up all sorts of unvoiced insecurities along with good old jealousy.

"Out of all the people. Isn't that convenient," she seethes, her sentences terse and clipped.

"You think I asked for this?" Stefan snaps at her, gesturing to Elena. "I'm sure she didn't, either. This won't break."

He grabs a handful of chain and shows it to her. The lack of a lock keeps him from saying that he can't break it, which is the big point here. Stefan could put his fist through the floor if he wanted to, but he can't break a flimsy little chain. Clever, hamsters. Very clever.

Katherine's sharp gaze flicks from Stefan to Elena - her glare intensifying a little as it settles on her doppelgänger - and back to Stefan again.

"I don't know, Stefan, you two sure looked cozy together," she retorts, a sarcastic emphasis on the word. "Oh, won't it, now? Again, how very convenient."

In the back of her mind Katherine knows she's being unfair and unreasonable, aware that if Stefan can't break the thin chain connecting him and Elena with his supernatural strength, then doubtless nothing could. But at the moment, she just doesn't care.

"I thought she was you!" He feels horrible for protesting with that, especially in Elena's presence and he has to stop himself from casting a glance her way to see how she responded to the comment. "I woke up here, Katherine. They moved me. Take it up with the hamsters for sticking me in your sister's bed."

Stefan purposely throws 'sister' into that, as if to remind her, in case she's forgotten in her outrage, that this is unlocked and certain appearances need to be kept up.

"You know how to tell us apart!" The impulsive, indignant response is out of her mouth before she can fully even process it, a knee-jerk reaction stemming from her private abhorrence of the fact that there was someone else on the face of the earth with her face. Katherine hated to be compared to or mistaken with Elena in any instance, especially with anything that had to do with Stefan. It was one of her few sore spots.

Setting her jaw stubbornly, Katherine stews in helpless rage, shoulders jumping up and down as she huffs out a frustrated breath. She knows Stefan is correct, but damn it, she doesn't like it at all. And this isn't something she can make go away, either, which only adds to her annoyance.

"Fine. You and Elena have fun with your little alien-induced reunion."

"Katherine," Stefan pushes his anger aside in favor of something softer, adopting a pleading, apologetic look. "Don't be like that."

It feels wrong to be doing this in front of Elena, putting on what is and isn't an act with her sitting right beside him. If he could take this conversation somewhere private, he would, but he can't unbind himself from Elena -- in more ways that one. There's guilt sitting on his shoulders like a heavy blanket of snow weighing down the limbs of a tree, and he can't figure out if it's because of what he's doing to Elena or what he's doing to Katherine.

Maybe it's both. When did he become the bad guy in this?

For all her normal self-assurance, the idea that Stefan would be spending however long the glitch lasts in such close proximity to Elena makes something twist inside Katherine - something that smacks distinctly of not only jealousy, but also uncertainty. Does he still love Elena? Katherine knows he still cares for the doppelgänger. It's Stefan, it's what he does. And that's exactly what concerns the older vampire. She loves both brothers, but if she had to, she would have no problems discarding (in whatever capacity - even permanent death) Damon from her life. It would always be Stefan for her. One part of Katherine suspects Stefan wouldn't be able to do the same with Elena, make such a distinct, permanent choice. But Stefan has pledged his love for her, chosen her and not her doppelgänger, hasn't he? This prickle of doubt is ridiculous, wasn't it?

Were this a private conversation, Katherine might actually push the issue, but it isn't and she won't. Not with Elena right there.

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm less than thrilled about this turn of events," she manages grudgingly, sounding slightly less spiteful in response to Stefan's pleading tone.

He knows what he has to do in order to reassure himself, as much as he can right now, that she won't try anything. Katherine can rage in her own private corner of Taxon, but Stefan doesn't want her coming anywhere near this house or Elena. It's not her fault, or his, that they're stuck together. It is, however, his fault that he's still involved with Elena behind Katherine's back (behind everyone's backs), and there's a self-involved part of himself that hopes she'll leave things be for his own sake, too.

Doing what needs to be doing -- or rather, saying what needs to be said -- with Elena right there makes it difficult and Stefan has to focus on the screen to keep his expression steady and unwavering, to stop himself from looking over at her doppelgänger. If he looks at Elena, he'll not only waver, but also lose his nerve. This is going to hurt her, he knows, but as much as he actually trusts Katherine, he doesn't want her temper and possessiveness of him to get the better of her and for Elena or Jenna to get hurt caught up in the crossfire.

Best get it over with.

"You know I love you, right?"

Indeed Stefan knows Katherine well, for the thought of seeing if her invite into the Gilbert-Sommers house holds weight in Taxon has already crossed Katherine's mind and is seriously considered for a few long moments, the fact that she had promised Stefan to keep away from Jenna ignored in her fit of temper. What exactly would storming the house actually accomplish is another question entirely, one that Katherine hasn't really contemplated at all. That's clearly beside the point, here.

...But then Stefan speaks up and, oh -- that selfish side of Katherine is suddenly rather glad Elena is right there, feeling shamelessly gleeful that the doppelgänger heard Stefan say that to her. The satisfaction from this goes a long way to calm Katherine's mood, and the corner of her mouth tugs up into a tiny smile.

"Mmhm," she hums her agreement. "I love you, too."

The sense of vindication is fleeting, however, and some of the disgruntlement over the situation returns. But what can she do? Damn hamsters. Exhaling a tetchy huff of air, she relents. "Come see me after this thing is done?"

Being a light sleeper, Jenna actually heard the first of the thuds that was Stefan falling over the side of the bed. But she was so tired it didn't really register for a while. The silence in the house since Caroline had disappeared was deafening and when she finally noticed that it was completely silent, something quite like panic shot through her body.

Jenna was out of bed in an instant, not even bothering to throw a robe on as she dashed out of her room and towards her niece's.

"Elena?!"

Please let her still be there. Please let her be okay.

Stefan got up to open the door, but paused as the resistance Elena's weight presented tugged on his arm. He could've dragged her clear off the bed and reminded himself to keep his strength in check. One wrong move and he could hurt her without meaning to.

"You want to get that?" He whispered to her, nodding towards the door. Whichever one of them got it, the other was going to have to go along.

Elena nodded, carefully getting out of bed to answer her door. She stopped short of answering the door, though, glancing behind her at Stefan before calling out to answer Jenna. She didn't know whether or not her aunt had seen the broadcast, but she was only calling for her, so she was thinking she hadn't. Which meant explaining how she and Stefan had ended up like this was going to be interesting.

"I'm here, Aunt Jenna. I'm fine."

Okay, that was...a start.

It was a good thing Jenna couldn't hear the whispering from Stefan, but she frowned at the fact that Elena didn't pull open the door to show her. Hesitating a moment, she took a few steps closer to the door.

"Are you going to keep the door shut and not show me or is there something in there I shouldn't see?"

For various values of "shouldn't." Jenna wasn't sure what would fall under that heading, but at this point she didn't really want to find out the answer. She'd give Elena the benefit of the doubt for now. Just hearing her niece's voice was a good start, though being able to see that it was Elena and not Katherine would make her feel much better.

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013 ━ [ visual ] / [ location: elena's house ].

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine;

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

[ visual ]

i'm headed for the breakdown;

i'm headed for the breakdown;

i'm headed for the breakdown;

i'm headed for the breakdown;