A/N- Been a while since I updated. Sorry about that this is the lates istallment. SO i am wondering should I change the tags to Katherine and Hayley? Tis is still about Stefan but I tend to write more focused to them. Plus the pairing won't change. What do you say.

Chapter 4 - Weakness

-Stefan-

He couldn't help but stare at her face as she snuggled her head closer to his chest. She had woken him up with her movements a couple minutes prior and clung to him as if he was her saviour. A small smile crossed Stefan's lips as she let out a small pout while whimpering something about a psychotic vampire chick. Katherine who was doing her nails on the bed next to his let out a scowl. Said vampires hair was clinging to her body due to its moistness from her recent shower.

"Hey Stefan." The vampire on the bed along smirked. "Why don't you come here with me and we can have some fun?" asked Katherine in a teasing manner. Stefan scoffed and didn't even look back. It was during his small muscle movements that Hayley opened her eyes and saw that she was staring at his chest. Her eyes rose up to meet his and they stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before the realization hit her. She practically flew off the bed, embarrassed beyond belief. The slightly revealing nightie and cold air was forgotten while she kept repeating her apologies as Stefan just told her it was nothing.

Said vampire couldn't help but chuckle as he also got out of bed and stretched his muscles. Katherine, who had been teasing Hayley, focused her brown searching eyes on him. It had been years. Many, many years. Hayley was in the same state of admiring. Stefan was completely oblivious and made his way towards the bathroom to change. After closing the door, Hayley saw Katherine lick her lips and sent a death glare at her direction. The female vampire just let out a fake smile and returned her death glare. After a few minutes of glaring Katherine eased up and showed one of her real smiles. Something that for some odd reason made Hayley smile herself.

"You sure have guts, I must say. I admire that." Katherine stated sincerely, catching Hayley off-guard. "I'm guessing you will need some clothes. Look through my bag and wear anything you like. WE ARE DEFINITELY GOING SHOPPING."

"Thanks... I'll wait until Stefan is done so I can shower."

Katherine was about to say something when Stefan's phone started to vibrate. Katherine checked the I.D and her facial expression immediately became serious.

[X]

Stefan was combing his hair from the quick shower he had just taken when a he felt the temperature in the motel drop. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Quickly putting on a new pair of boxers and pants he walked outside shirtless only to see the room empty with Katherine's screams echoing outside.

-A few minutes prior-

-Katherine-

"What the hell do you want Elena!?" Katherine yelled after walking outside. When she saw that it was Elena who was calling she had immediately left the room with Hayley close behind. Hayley had quickly thrown on the same clothes she had worn the previous day. Katherine had put the phone in speaker mode so that Hayley could hear. Elena was not at all pleased with Katherine answering Stefan's phone.

"What are you doing with Stefan's phone Katherine!"

"None of your damn business." By now the Hayley and Katherine were in the parking lot. Hayley now had a serious expression on her face and Katherine was getting royally pissed off. Yelling echoed across the parking lot for almost a minute. Hayley put her hand on Katherine's shoulder to at least calm her down. Elena who saw her chance to talk again didn't waste it.

"Where are you?"

"Why the hell should I tell you."

"I want to talk to Stefan."

"That's great!" responded Katherine with fake enthusiasm. But her voice quickly turned serious. "Look you little whore. I will not let you talk to Stefan and if you want to keep living you better shut the fuck up and leave him alone. Because one thing is for sure. I am older then you, and that means stronger. I can rip your sorry ass to pieces." Hayley, who had been only a couple of inches away from her, was taken aback by Katherine's threat. Elena in the meanwhile had remained silent and had still not responded. After 15 long seconds she responded.

"Whore! Are you serious? Your no better you pathetic psychotic slut! You played with both their hearts from the beginning! You slept with god knows how many men. And you have the nerve to call me! ME A Whore! You are the worst person he can be with!"

Katherine was now gritting her teeth and Hayley decided to take hold of the phone. Katherine gave it to her with no resistance and kept quiet. Although she and Katherine were not close, she was at least trying to undo her mistakes.

"Katherine is not the same. She wants to change."

"Who are you!?"

"Oh, you don't remember me? The Grill, Stefan dropped me off. I kissed his cheek." The line was silent.

"Where is Stefan?"

"Damn you're persistent. Let's just say we are on a little trip. But we won't let you talk to him. Try all you want Stefan is not yours any more. He is ours." The last word caught everyone off guard. Hayley didn't know why she said that but it seemed to have quieted down Elena.

"What do you mean ours?" Before she could respond Stefan was walking out a confused look on his face. Hayley quickly ended the call and handed the phone to Katherine from behind her back.

"Oh um what are you doing out here Stefan?" Stefan raised an eyebrow.

"Well I heard screaming wanted to check what was happening." Hayley glanced at Katherine in her side and found her with a pleading look on her eyes.

"We got into a small disagreement." Responded Hayley soon after, a little too quickly. Stefan narrowed his eyes suspiciously but left it at that. Katherine who had been observing the short conversations saw the quick change in Stefan's personality. She saw coldness in his eyes but it only lasted for a few seconds before they were replaced and he gave a fake smile, one that she was all too familiar with. She couldn't pull the thought of those eyes out her head though. It was the same set of eyes which had stared down on her the day she had reintroduced herself into his life. They were eyes which showed her how much pain she had caused him. Eyes that haunted her dreams every night. Yes, she was manipulative, cunning, and ambitious. But that did not mean she could not love. She loved him more than he could imagine. But he didn't trust her. He had no reason to trust her, and that fact hurt her beyond belief.

Katherine stared down at her feet contemplating if she should tell him the truth. She was tired of lying to him, besides what she had done a few minutes prior was for him; for her Stefan. If she wanted him to trust her, she would have to forget about her pride. She could not continue like this anymore. Stefan was the only one that could make her feel this way. She was supposed to be a cold bitch, a heartless bloodsucking vampire, but he made her feel things she had never felt for anyone else. That, that truly scared her.

"Ste...Stefan. The reason that," She gulped. "We were here is … because Elena called." Katherine was too busy looking at her feet to notice Stefan raising his eyebrow and Hayley wearing a small smile on her face giving an approving nod. Seeing that Katherine was having a hard time she put her hands on her shoulder which caused Katherine to face her. Hayley gave a nod and a smile and started walking back into their room to get a quick shower before changing into a new set of clothes.

Once gone there was an awkward silence for a few minutes which was causing Katherine to give an uncharacteristic fidget. Katherine was once again looking at her feet while berating herself for acting like a little girl. "Why?" Stefan's voice was cold but held a hint of curiosity. She mumbled her response incoherently. "What? Look at me Katherine... please." The request caught Katherine off guard and she lifted her head slowly to see Stefan standing a few feet in front of her with his arms crossed. He had a curious look on his face. There was another long minute of awkward silence with Stefan waiting patiently. It took a while until she finally composed herself, she was glad that Hayley had given her this privacy; the vampire did not want to show any weakness. It was that weakness that had hurt her many times. Finally standing straight and looking into his eyes she started to slowly respond.

"Elena called, and I am guessing she had called a lot by the amount of times you had ignored your calls yesterday." She pauses to take a long breath and continues. "I wanted her to stop. I wanted it just be us; you, me and Hayley. I wanted you to enjoy this trip. But she was messing it up. I wanted her to stop bothering us, to leave us alone. I want you to be happy..." She saw a small smile on Stefan slips as she finished her words. She felt her stomach flutter and inwardly cursed Stefan for being able to do that to her. She hated that he had that much control over her. She barely had time to time to realize he was moving towards her when he had wrapped his arms around her into a tight hug. It was not the same awkward hug he had given her the previous day. This was an affectionate hug, one she had not felt in a long time. She immediately wrapped her arms around him in response and couldn't help but fall into tears as she lived through everything she had done to him. She felt sick with herself and here he was, comforting her. Telling her everything would be okay. She knew she didn't deserve him and yet she couldn't let him go. She needed him, he was her anchor. Her moist hair and tears and gotten a little of Stefan's shirt wet, but he didn't seem to mind he still held her in his strong arms. Those very arms that made her feel safe, god she felt like a weakling. But if this meant being weak, she wouldn't mind being the weakest.

She let out a small disappointed sigh when after a couple minutes he backed away from her. Katherine quickly wiped to tears off her face. Stefan held out his hand which she accepted without a thought, he led her back to the motel and she heard sing in the bathroom and couldn't help but let out a giggle which soon turned to silent laughter that was accompanied by Stefan.

"I'm guessing she didn't expect us to come this early." Katherine couldn't help but nod as the water was turned off. Hayley was still singing and Katherine could honestly say that she was quiet good. It took a few minutes but Hayley finally walked out with a towel around her body and one on her hair. She stopped her singing abruptly as she saw both Katherine and Stefan giving her amused looks. They burst out laughing simultaneously at her expense and she narrowed her eyes at both of them. Stefan got up from Hayley's bed and went for the door.

"Where are you going?" Hayley asked immediately.

"Just to look around before we leave. Besides, you still need to change. I'll be back soon anyway, I also need to look at the map I bought yesterday. Don't want us getting lost or anything." He left quickly leaving her alone with Katherine. Katherine had a faraway look on her face but she could see the traces of tears.

"I won't ask anything if you don't want me too." Hayley was already putting on skinny jeans and a black button up shirt.

"Thank you. All I'm gonna tell you is that, deep down he still cares. Hopefully he will give me the chance to make amends..." Hayley gave Katherine a small reassuring hug while strangely feeling no hint of jealously. The hug was different from Stefan's but it was still much appreciated and Katherine sat sill, her mind travelling at light speed trying to figure out what was happening.

-An Hour Later-

-Hayley-

"Next time Stefan I am looking for the damned hotel or motel. There is no way in hell I am staying in something like that again." They had just signed out of the motel that Stefan had rented for the night and Katherine was back to her normal self. Hayley was now in the passenger seat with Stefan in back of the car. The trio had ate a quick breakfast because Katherine wanted to get on their way. She had promised to take them to a drive thru. Hayley had to admit that she really liked the car. It was very comfortable and luxurious, but the best part was that it was warm, unlike the room that had been getting colder as the morning went on. Katherine was heading for a drive thru and Stefan seemed deep in thought. 'I really hope everything works out.'

-Caroline-

Caroline was currently having a very bad day. The previous day Klaus had informed her that there was no way to bring Tyler back to life. But she was a strong person and tried to not dwell on it too much. But he had been an important part of her life. She couldn't act like it was nothing. She had cried herself to sleep the previous night. She had wanted to stay in today but knew that if she wanted to get over Tyler, she could not stay in her house thinking about him. So here she was at school, it was a half day and the the last day of school until January. Winter break normally filled Caroline's heart with happiness but not today. But what was really ruining her day was the fact that she had been having bad luck all day and she was nearly at her breaking point. She was currently in a scarcely used school restroom cleaning up some soda that had spilled on her clothes.

"Hey Caroline I need to talk to you!" A very familiar voice behind her yelled. 'This day keeps getting better and better.' She thought sarcastically to herself. She looked around for a way to escape but with being in the girls' restroom, there were not really any options.

"What do you want Elena?!" She hissed out.

"I need to talk to you about Stefan."

"I am not going to talk to you about him. Leave him alone.'' Caroline all but greeted out. It was the same thing almost every day.

"This is important. Really important." Caroline had her arms crossed looked at Elena with distaste but nodded her head so that she could continue. "Well I called Stefan.."

Damn it Elena stop calling him. He doesn't want to talk to you!"

"Let me finish." Caroline let out an irritated sigh.' "You see Stefan didn't answer the call, Katherine did." Carolione immediately narrowed her eyes.

"Katherine, are you sure?"

"Yes, completely positive. But that's not all there was also this one girl that I remember seeing you with at the grill a few days ago. Both were keeping me away from Stefan." Caroline raised an eyebrow. 'Why is Katherine with both of them? I don't remember them telling me anything. I will need to get to the bottom of this. But I should give them the benefit of the doubt.'

"Look Elena. I am pretty sure there is a perfectly good explanation for this. I will call later and talk to him. But I am doing this for me and not you. So don't think I am going to tell you what happens."

"What Why?!" Elena yelled. Caroline was really not in the mood and just wanted to be left alone. She made her way to the exit when all of a sudden Elena had gripped her wrist with her vampire strength. At that moment the small pacifist part of Caroline broke and her anger flooded through without a barrier.

Caroline turned around at great speed and had Elena pinned up against the wall with her empty hand. She had a death grip around her neck applying enough pressure that would have killed any normal human. She was staring directly at Elena with blood red eyes.

"Get this, and get this good Elena. DO NOT FUCK WITH ME!" Her voice was deep and almost demonic; Elena had a look of fear in her eyes. "If you ever cross me again, I will kill you." All Elena could was nod." Caroline abruptly let go of her neck which caused Elena to fall on the ground rubbing the bruises area on her neck. There was an indent of her body against the wall. Caroline walked out without looking back slamming the restroom door shut which caused it to break. She was lucky most people were in class and that nobody ever used this restroom. She regretted coming to school and made her way to the exit. Her stayed red.

A/N- SO what do you think?