Devil in Disguise ➳ S. Salvatore [COMPLETED]

➳ 8: my brother's keeper

STEFAN secluded himself to the woods where he was aggressively doing push ups and speaking to Caroline via speaker phone.

"Besides, you're a founding family member, by definition you have to be here." The blonde pointed out, convincing him to join her at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

"Elena and I broke up. By definition, I don't need to be anywhere." He said sternly while breathing heavily.

"Did that sound as depressing to you as it did to me?" Caroline snapped, trying to be her usual positive self.

"Oh, I'm not depressed. I just want to rip into someone's artery and feed until I can't breathe anymore." Stefan snapped in frustration then stopped doing pushups and lied down with his back against the ground.

"Well, you can't. As your sober sponsor, I am not going to let that happen. Try and sublimate." She advised him.

Stefan stared up at the sky in silence for a moment. "She said she has feelings for Damon."

"What?!" Caroline exclaimed in disbelief. "She can't have feelings for Damon! He's... Damon. And you're... you. And I'm - revolted." She complained with a small sigh, changing her tone to comfort him. You know, I'm gonna talk to her. I'm going to shake some sense into her clearly diseased brain."

Stefan threw his hands up in defeat and sat straight up. "Yeah, well I don't know what good that'll do. Elena's right, being a vampire really has changed her."

"All the more reason you need to cure her." Caroline reminded him then sighed again. "Look, I got to go. Be careful. And remember, there is sublimating and then there is insanity."

"I'll be fine. Bye." He reassured her and hung up the phone.

Stefan stood to his feet just as Klaus rushed up from behind him and grabbed him in a chokehold. "In what world do the words "tell no one" mean tell your brother and every teenage sycophant in town?"

"The secret's safe. No one who knows about the cure will endanger us. Trust me, you know I want to find it more than anyone else." Stefan gasped out for air, gripping into Klaus' arm.

"Well then, I suggest you find some more vampires for Jeremy to kill before I'm tempted to offer you up as a victim." Klaus released Stefan from his chokehold so Stefan stepped away and turned to look at him. "And try and keep this one to yourself, would you?" He suggested darkly before speeding off again.

"Hey, bestie!" Efah greeted cheerily, jumping down from a nearby tree and landing in front of Stefan.

"Are you stalking me?" He asked in discomfort, panting for breath and rubbing his throat.

"No. I happened to be around." She responded with a smirk and twirled hair in her fingers. Her green eyes moved up and down, soaking in his attire.

"Why are you still here? Connor's dead. Shouldn't you be going home?" Stefan asked, disgruntled.

"Because you idiots haven't given up your fruitless mission for this cure." Efah responded in a vexed tone and crossed her arms over her chest. "If I leave, there's no one to prevent you from succeeding."

"Is that really what you want? For us to fail?" He asked incredulously and slipped a sweatshirt over his wife beater.

"What I want... is to avoid a family reunion." She clarified strictly and shot a look at him. "If that means rooting for your failure then yes, I'm rooting for your failure.