𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭

- - -
❝You say 'Thanks for being a friend'
And I'm going in circles again and again❞

Heartbreak Girl
~5 Seconds of Summer
- - -

Kat skips downstairs in the morning, plopping beside Jenna at the table. Elena was right across her, with her straight still pin-straight in stark contrast to Kat's flimsy mane of curls.

It had been three days since the party, and it was both painful and sweet. Painful, because Elena turned into her worst mode: she whined about a boy without really admitting that she was stuck up. 

Sweet, because Kat spent possibly every waking minute of the three days with Stefan whenever she wasn't with Caroline. Albeit it was in the process of making sure his homicidal brother doesn't drain every vein of the town dry with vengeance, she still got to be with a version of Stefan she always wanted to see. He was protective, sweet and most recently, a pro at karaoke hopscotch. Elena was slowly becoming a word they politely avoided discussing about, and they focussed on the fun side of Stefan Salvatore instead. Kat and he bonded over cars, his bike which she took for a spin. For one of the first times since he came to Mystic Falls, Kat felt content being friends with him.

Sighing out of her satisfied daze, Kat looks over at her aunt, who is busy scribbling notes for her thesis. Elena's nose scrunches up as she addresses Kat and Jenna, "Are you aware of what's going on upstairs...?" Her vocal distaste makes Kat cringe sheepishly.

Vicki got back with Jeremy after Tyler was a douche to her at the party. And oh god were the two teenagers going at it like a bunch of wild animals. Elena even had the worst of it as the walls were kinda thin and her room was right beside their brother's.

Elena sets her mug down a bit too fast, looking between Kat and Jenna, "And you both have no objection?!"

Both the ladies collectively shrug but Kat amends her reaction, "Not that I advocate sex at such an early age. But consensual sex... is okay, I guess? I mean, did you expect Jeremy to be a nun? He's bound to date at some point..."

"Oh and speaking of date," Jenna throws the twins a smile, "I won't be home for dinner"

Kat's head snaps to her in betrayal as Elena smugly enunciates "—So you're actually going to do it. You're gonna go out with Logan."

Kat was never a fan of Logan Fell— he was all cockiness and no responsibility. The reporter was actually lucky that Kat never told on him to her parents when he babysat her and Caroline, he was just lousy. He ruined half of Jenna's mind since he was her first.

Limiting her reaction to a shake of her head, Kat sighs. Totally serious, yet with a totally lethal suggestion, she says, "Jenna. It better be to torture him for what he did—"

Jenna nods vigorously, shoving papers into her satchel with a hysterical smile, "Yes, I'm going to show up and torture him. Yes" 

"Don't know who you're tryna convince there Auntie Dearest." 

"You and Stefan, Elena? Update?" Jenna asks the younger twin with a concerned face. Kat didn't miss the glaringly obvious topic-change but she let it go. 

As if she were the reason Elena left Stefan at the party that night, Elena glares at Kat. It was something Kat marked as the only con to her friendship with Stefan: her twin couldn't possibly get over the fact that Kat was someone Stefan considered his confidant.

In answer to Jenna's question, Elena shrugs, "Not since he left that very vague message three days ago," she deepens her voice with a broody look to imitate Stefan, "Hi, um, Elena, I, um, have something I have to do. I'll, uh, explain in a few days..."

"Haven't you called him?" Jenna asks. Elena shakes her head "Not going to either"

"And you're ok with everything?" Kat narrows her eyes. 

Elena takes a deep breath and begins her well-rehearsed speech "No, I'm not ok with any of it. But I'm not gonna cry about it, either. You know, I was going to write in my diary this morning and then I thought, what am I going to write? Honestly, I'm not gonna be one of those pathetic girls whose world stops spinning because of some guy..."

Jenna and Kat look at each other and murmur, "Okay" 

Elena nods, pasting a fake smile on her face, "I'll be fine" She gets up and goes to the refrigerator. 

Kat nudges closer to a frowning Jenna and whispers in her ear, "She's in denial" 

"Definitely"

Elena throws an orange at Kat, or at least tries to, "I am not in denial!" 

Jenna sighs, "There's that word...."

Elena sighs. So much for moving on.

▻▻▻

Later, at the Salvatore Boarding House

"So... did Zach have anything to say about the vervain thing or the healing?" Kat asks with a cringe. Stefan runs a frustrated hand through his hair as they walk across the parlour. It was another thing they had to worry about: how Kat's bite marks had healed without any vampire blood.

"I don't know," Stefan sighs, "He hasn't returned any of my calls. He left the town as soon as he saw Damon, and he even wrote over the house to me."

"So basically he's cut ties with you?"

Kat plops down onto the couch before the fireplace, Stefan following suit before moving his legs into Kat's lap. 

"Seems like it, I just wanted to deal with Damon, there's no other vampires in town as far as I know. so at least I know you're safe." He smiles sadly.

Stefan always seemed to have a version of a smile that oozed all his inner turmoil and age. Kat always thought it was heartbreakingly beautiful on his cheeks, but that didn't mean she didn't try to make Stefan laugh till his legs threatened to give out.

"So am I like, supernatural or something?" Kat whistles as she made her fingers jump from his one big toe to the other. Another thing Stefan had taught her— whistling.

Stefan shakes his head, "It's not funny Viv" He gets up, walking off towards the hallway.

"Oye, wait!" she runs beside him. "Will I like..." she goes into a kung-fu stance with overly furrowed brows "turn into a ninja turtle or something? Ha-yah!" she swings her fist towards him but Stefan catches it in a heartbeat with a raised eyebrow. 

"I said it's not funny"

They go towards the coat stand where he slips over her satchel for her. Kat's eyes inadvertantly go to the door leading to the cellar and she remembers. "I'll drop by later, I can free up three hours because Caroline and I have to plan that charity car-wash thing" 

"It's okay," Stefan reassures her, "You don't have to do this"

"Babysitting a drained vampire? Who else has the luck?" she jokes, nudging him in the collar with a chuckle. 

He gives her a rare smile "I still don't want you anywhere near him"

She rolls her eyes, something she never imagined she'd do if she'd known vampires were real, "I'm not coming for him, I'm coming for you, you've hardly slept a wink Broody."

It was true. If Stefan wasn't over by his enormous bookshelves or helping Kat learn a new language, he was brooding over Elena.

He palms his face with a doomed groan, "It's just... how do I explain three days to Elena?"

There was that word, after three full days of blacklisting, it eventually always did come up. Kat pats his shoulders, trying to use his own soothing voice, "She's blind in love, and in denial. Tell her a twisted version of the truth." 

They get out onto the porch to leave when he sees her car, freezing in amusement, "I still can't believe you have a Camaro."

"Well" she wiggles her eyebrows with child-like excitement, "It technically is mine now. Elena isn't a classic girl, but me?" she runs a hand over the edge of the windshield with a motherly smile, "This is my baby"

He smiles, getting in "You're talking to the owner of a classic Porsche"

"I know, I'm just waiting for you to ride it or donate it to me" she chuckles, flooring it to the school. They joke and laugh along the way, but it still scared Kat to the core that down in the dusty Salvatore cellar, Damon Salvatore was lying bloodthirsty and desperate to get out.

▻▻▻

Soon, at Mystic High

Kat notices Elena walking across the parking lot with some girls when she and Stefan get out of her ride. Pushing his satchel into his hands, Kat nudges him towards her twin with an encouraging look.

"Don't lie," she whispers while he walks away, "Just twist."

Kat rushes in the other direction with all her stuff and stops near Caroline and Bonnie "Hey..." she smile. "How're you? Feeling better?"

Caroline rolls her eyes "Just stop with all that pity talk"

This makes the green-eyed Gilbert frown "It wasn't pity talk, it was a 'good morning Caroline I'm here to plan the fuck outa the charity car wash' greeting."

The blonde sighs, "Okay, I'm sorry, hug?" she opens her arms, to be filled by a snuggling Kat.

They all chuckle and Kat pulls in Bonnie too "Threesome hug" 

Boys could only wish they had such a strong bond.

▻▻▻

Kat paces in the parlour of the Salvatore Boarding House, mumbling and shaking her head. THe evening sun was dipping right below the horizon over the chunk of trees on Stefan's lawn. 

Throwing an occasional glance towards the closed cellar door, Kat pops her right wrist with a roll of her eyes. She was waiting for Stefan Salvatore.

The moment the front door creaks, Kat rushes out of the big room and sighs at her dejected best friend "What the hell happened?"

Stefan had convinced Elena to at least meet him at the Grill after school so that he could offer some namesake of an explanation. But when she was leaving from Caroline's, Kat got a call from her blubbering twin about how late Stefan was to meeting her at the Grill.

Stefan looks at Kat then, sighing, "I screwed up, okay? Damon was really edgy when I was here and it took me two hours to make sure he was vervained again"

Kat throws her hands up in resignation, "You were two hours late to the Grill Stef! I would've been here if you'd called! Elena's conflicted. So conflicted that she called me to rant about her on and off boyfriend. And she's my twin!"

Stefan sits down on the porch steps, his head bent low in rejection, "I know. I know..."

She sits beside him. Stefan wanted to get back with Elena, and Elena wanted to be with Stefan as much as she denied it. They were miserable without each other and Kat could do nothing to help it, except play Cupid. She really did not want to play Cupid.

"I can, you know,  make you earn brownie points to neutralise this, I guess..." Kat offers in a whisper. She wanted Stefan to not take the offer, to let his relationship with Elena have some time and space. But she gets her answer as soon as Stefan looks up at her with hope in his eyes.

"Anything to get a chance to talk to her, I'm in."

Well, that's that then. She'd have to play matchmaker even if she did not want to. Kat looks down to Stefan's muddy shoes and his his jeans with streaks of green and earth. 

"Might wanna change into something you didn't hunt in"

Stefan's eyes widen and he almost smiles in excitement "I'll be back in 10 minutes" and he runs off inside. Kat smiles to herself sadly before shouting to Stefan, "Button-down shirt Broody! Dark button-down!"

He comes down later with a smile, obliging to her instructions and puts on the leather jacket. She shakes her head, pulling it off of him "No leather jacket today". He puts on his watch, only to have Kat yank that away yet again "Teens don't like watches, you've got your phone, all the bliss you need" she coaches.

Stefan begins to roll his sleeves, but stops and looks slowly to Kat. She nods with a soft smile, approving, "Go on."

"Okay..." he opens the door and goes out "I don't know when I'll be back, but don't go down in the cellar okay?"

"Yes mom..." she shakes her head, holding out her hand, she commands "Fist bump".

Stefan smiles and starts walking off only to have Kat scream for him "Stefan catch!" Thank God for reflexes, he finds himself staring at shiny keys in his palm. Kat narrows her eyes in warning.

"Not a scratch Broody, and might wanna cook up some Chicken Parmesan" she winks.

He salutes, nodding confidently "Thanks Viv, bye"

She waves as he drives off and punches out a number on her phone, smiling "Hey Jerry... How about some extra credit?"

She deserves the World's Best Friend award for what she's doing.

𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫
Okay, this was sort of a filler, but hey, we got more of Stefan and Kat (I guess?)
How's the book so far? (sorry I keep asking, I'm insecure like that welp)