“You look a little lost,” he offers, smiling.
He has to look away because fuck he must be lost.
Is this the Twilight Zone?“It’s my first day,” he finally manages in response. Pathetic.
Another smile. Broader. Knowing.
“Yeah.” The still smiling jock, probably the quarterback, offers his hand and he stares at it. He can feel himself staring at it. Painfully. ”I’m James,” he prompts, giving his hand a little wiggle.
Fuck he thinks clearly. That’s it. Just. Fuck.
A bell rings somewhere in the distance and James’ smile falls slowly. It seems like only a second before a full on pack of other students approaches and more or less yanks him away.
He spends the rest of the day painfully lost and regretting not shaking his hand.
In the months that Klaus had been tempting her with promises of power and chasing her into dark corners with drugging kisses and the rough slide of fingers, Faye had never seen him like this. Not even after the multiple times she had reluctantly turned down his offers in the beginning. It was more terrifying than when he raged, breaking anything in his path and half transforming into the monsters that warred over the other for dominance within him.
His face had hardened when he took in Stiles defiantly standing down the hybrid to protect the girl he cared for, but made no move to dispatch of the pesky human and reclaim what he thought was his. Faye thought she almost saw… disappointment in the set of his face.
“Well,” He breathed the word on a sigh, a smile finally twisting his sinful lips, “This should be fun.”
“I’m sorry,” Aria chuckled, “Do I look like someone you want to screw with?”
“No. You don’t.” Stefan said, crossing his arms across his chest as he stared at her with a hint of derisive smirk. “You look like another dog that needs to be put down.”
“And here I thought you were the Salvatore with brains.”
“When you threaten the people I care about, I don’t give a damn about democracy.”
“You and I have that in common, as much as I hate to admit it.” Her distasteful once over elicited a chuckle from him, “But there’s something you should know about me, Stefan. That bloodsucking tick Katherine set something in motion that’s about to land on my brother’s head, and I will burn this Goddamn town down before I let anyone hurt Tyler.”
“You’re not the only one that wants to kill Katherine for what she’s set up.”
“I’m the only one willing to actually do it, apparently, seeing as you’ve let numerous opportunities slip through your dirty little fingers.”
“Hypocrisy doesn’t suit you.”
She made a hum of agreement, “True, I’ve killed people. Long after the curse activated. When the moon wasn’t even in the sky. Some of them I don’t even feel remorse over.” Aria admitted, watching something shift in Stefan’s eyes as he realized she was possibly more dangerous than he initially thought. “Klaus is coming. And I hear he’s pissed. I’m content to sit back and watch you all tear yourself to pieces. But what that bitch did involves my brother now. So I have no choice but to join in on your little Scooby Doo meetings and play nice with the vampires. But believe me, if you and your brother decide that the little war we’re fighting together can do with some werewolf casualties, Elena will be the first thing I go after when all is said and done.”
“And what makes you think we wouldn’t take you down in a heartbeat?”
“I thought we’d already established I’m not some little pup you can whack on the nose with a newspaper and send whimpering into a corner. I have seven years on my side. If you thought Mason was strong, you haven’t seen anything yet. From any of us.”
