A/N: So I decided to combine my love for figure skating and Kelena into one story and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. This is a little different from the usual smutty stories that I write but I hope that you like it anyway. :) (Thanks to MysticFun and The Cursed Shadow who both helped me make this story better with their feedback. 3)
"I just don't understand how this can be considered a sport," Stefan stated simply, his brows furrowed in confusion.
Here we go again…
Elena and Stefan were watching a figure skating competition on tv, something Elena had been looking forward to for weeks. She thought it would be a good way to hang out with Stefan, now that they were just friends, but she was really regretting her decision. All he had done for the last hour was criticize and complain and she was getting tired of his negativity.
"It actually takes a lot of athletic ability and stamina to be able to do what they do," Elena grumbled, obviously annoyed as she glared in Stefan's general direction.
A smirk started to form on Stefan's lips. "Football, basketball, even soccer I understand. But this?" Stefan began, gesturing emphatically at the tv. "This is just frilly girly stuff." Elena let out a sigh and took a sip of her soda. She watched as the skater effortlessly threw herself into the air, doing a double axel jump and landing cleanly.
"I could do that," Stefan shouted, throwing his hands up in frustration. Elena rolled her eyes. "You're a vampire Stefan," she sighed, trying to remain as calm as possible. "These skaters are human!"
"But all it is, is hopping into the air and waving your arms around like an idiot every so often," Stefan answered coolly. He popped a potato chip into his mouth and looked at Elena. "Not a sport." She knew it was pointless to argue with him, even though he was so very wrong. Elena was too tired to discuss the matter any further, so she stayed silent as she internally cursed herself for ever thinking he would understand.
When the competition was over, Elena said goodnight to Stefan and made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. She shut the door and inhaled deeply, attempting to calm herself down. After a few moments she walked over to her computer bag and pulled out her laptop, setting it down on the bed. She opened her desk drawer and took out a small case holding a DVD. Once she had popped the disk into her computer, she sat on the bed holding it in her lap.
A video started to play and Elena plugged her earphones in so she wouldn't wake Jeremy. She saw a younger version of herself on a big sheet of ice and as the music began, she felt her eyes threaten to well up with tears. She remembered when she had begged her parents for skating lessons one day after falling in love while watching the Olympics at age ten. She had skated every day for six years, up until the day before the accident that took her parents' lives. After that, she couldn't bring herself to skate again. Not without the people that had encouraged her and supported her through all the long practices and early mornings and bruised knees. She had hoped that she could share that part of her life with Stefan, but she knew now that would never happen. Stefan would never get it. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and stood up, determined to not let Stefan's ignorance bother her any longer. She grabbed her pajamas and headed into the bathroom.
Elena looked in the mirror at her tired reflection. She had dark circles under both of her eyes and she looked exactly how she felt; physically and emotionally exhausted. She changed into her pajamas and after brushing her teeth, she took one last glance in the mirror. She let out a heavy sigh as she turned off the bathroom light and went back into her room. She jumped when she saw Katherine casually lying on her bed, her ankles crossed over one another and her hands resting on her stomach.
"Katherine," Elena managed to say, clutching at her chest. "You scared me."
"Did I?" Katherine asked innocently, a mischievous glint in her eyes. A smile started to form on her lips at the way Elena's heartbeat seemed to quicken, pounding like a drum in her ears. Knowing that she was the cause of Elena's nervous demeanor only caused her smile to widen. Elena looked around nervously, trying to decide what the best course of action would be.
"What are you doing here?" Elena questioned, her stomach in knots at the mere sight of the vampire. Katherine gracefully stood up from her spot on the bed.
"I just stopped by to see my favorite doppelganger," Katherine announced cheerfully as she ran her hand along the edge of the comforter, her eyes never leaving Elena's.
"Okay well now you have," Elena acknowledged dryly, her eyes shifting from Katherine to the door. She was sure that Katherine was up to no good and she was too tired to play one of her games tonight. Katherine took a step towards Elena.
"Relax, I'm not here to hurt you," Katherine attempted to assure her. But Elena was unconvinced. She felt her heart start to race as Katherine came even closer. She took a step back instinctively and Katherine frowned.
"Are you not happy to see me?" Katherine asked, mock hurt in her voice.
Elena ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. "No, I just... it's been a long day Katherine," she sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Her gaze shifted back to Katherine's as the vampire took another step towards Elena, stopping just inches away. "Just tell me what you want so I can go to bed."
Katherine reached out and gently brushed her hand against Elena's arm. "I wantedto see if you were all right."
She knows.
Of course she knows, she was probably listening in the entire time.
Elena wanted to confide in Katherine, but now wasn't the time. She was tired and she was certain that she would do or say something stupid and she wanted to avoid that at all costs.
"I'm fine," Elena said a little too firmly, clearly feeling anything but.
Katherine tilted her head and studied Elena's face. "Are you sure?" she questioned suspiciously. Elena bit her lip and nodded her head, knowing very well that Katherine would be able to see right through her. She found Katherine's eyes staring back at her to be too much, so she looked away.
"Well, in that case, I also wanted to know if you were free tomorrow night," Katherine said, her eyes sparkling.
Elena snapped her gaze back to Katherine's. "Why?" she asked cautiously, genuinely curious about Katherine's potential plans.
Katherine leaned in closer to her doppelganger; close enough so that Elena could feel her warm breath on her lips. "You and I are going out," she said deviously.
Elena's heart jumped at the mere idea of being with Katherine alone somewhere, but her rational side was having a hard time dealing with it. "I can't," Elena stuttered. "Stefan and I..." she trailed off, trying to come up with a plausible reason for why she had to turn Katherine down, but her mind went blank and she struggled to find an excuse.
"Were you going to finish that sentence?" Katherine teased, a grin starting to form on her lips as Elena got more and more flustered.
"Things are… complicated between us right now," Elena managed to stutter.
"Us meaning you and Stefan…? Or you and me?" Katherine questioned, raising her brow.
"Both," Elena admitted softly. She wrung her hands and started to fidget with the hem of her shirt.
It was true. Things had gotten complicated between her and Stefan. They no longer shared the easy silence that they used to and the rest of the time they usually spent arguing over stupid things. But things had also gotten complicated between her and Katherine. She had been coming around to see Elena more often and was actually surprisingly pleasant to be around. Elena hated to admit it, but she had a strong feeling of affection towards the vampire and no matter what she did, she couldn't seem to shake it.
Katherine took a couple steps backward and leaned her back against the wall. Elena was grateful for the space that was now between them.
"All the more reason to take a night off, with me. It will be fun. Besides, I won't take no for an answer," Katherine insisted.
Elena knew it was pointless to pretend that she wasn't dying to go and spend some alone time with Katherine, so she shrugged her shoulders and sighed in defeat. "I guess I don't really have a choice," she said with a small laugh.
A smile appeared on Katherine's face, and she looked very pleased with herself. "Excellent!" she purred softly. "I'll pick you up at eight?" She turned to walk back toward the window. "Oh and Elena," Katherine started to say, turning around to look at the girl one last time. "Wear something warm," she requested gently, a sparkle in her eyes.
"Okay," Elena answered nervously. Katherine flashed a smile in Elena's direction and then disappeared into the night, leaving Elena to wonder what she was getting herself into.