-stefsalvatore:

Callie’s body pressing against his felt satisfying. Damon would never know the distinct feeling of the way her body arched into his, nor the taste of her lips, the way her breath tickled his face. It wasn’t even a game of ‘haha, I got the girl and you didn’t’ and it never had been- at least for Stefan that is. Callie wasn’t a game but the fact that Damon seemed to thinks he could be fair for the both of them made those reassuring thoughts passed through his head. The girl currently grazing her hands over the skin under his shirt was his- not his brother’s or anybody else’s. And as much as he thought that certain truth was getting through to him, he still felt the possessive feeling that was currently coursing through him take over as his hands moved to grip. One hand on the back of each thigh as he picked her up in the slightest, his head turning upward so their lips didn’t dare to detach. He nudged for her legs to wrap around him before he moved the two of them to fall onto the bed. 

Finally, he moved his lips away from her- for the sake of Callie catching his breath rather than himself. He didn’t exactly need it which led open mouth kisses to be trailed along her jaw, his tongue meeting the skin before setting on a spot on the underside and sucking on it. Normally, he wasn’t the one to leave something behind that her sister or her parents or her friends would be able to pick up on but the need to pull away before a small bruise was left never entered his mind. He sucked and nibbled the spot, trailing his tongue over it only when he knew that the mark would be left behind. Despite the lack of need for air to be produced in his longs, he was still panting when he pulled away from her skin, examining the reddened spot before his eyes fell on her neck. He was in control. He knew how to feed from somebody without killing them- without hurting them more than at the most five minutes, healing them, compelling them to forget and sending them on their way. There was no recent trail of bodies leading to him right now and he was more than grateful for it, even confident. But the confidence had never led him to being okay with feeding from Callie, even if she would insist that it was okay. More than insist, really. She wanted it but he had never given into the urge. The veins on his face were shifting, making themselves more clear, his fangs joining them in visibility. Instead of fighting it, he moved his head down towards her neck and scraped a long canine against her flesh. Slow, controlled, and barely pressing against the skin. The smell of her was intoxicating him more than he’d like to admit and her heartbeat was thumping in his ears. Not yet, he told himself and instead moved his hips to ground down against Callie’s, and hand settling on the side of her thigh as he repeated the motion and caused himself to let out a groan. 

More than once - as Callie did her best to take in air through her nose and in short gasps as their lips moved together - the thought crossed her mind to pull away and ask what had gotten into him. His behavior hadn’t done much to reassure her that nothing was wrong, and as much as she enjoyed this sudden change of pace, maybe this was something she needed to talk to him about. Maybe something really was seriously wrong, maybe - and then he was picking her up, and Callie abandoned the thoughts for a moment as she wrapped her arms around his neck and helped him lift her. Her back hit the mattress with a slight bounce, and within seconds Stefan’s lips left hers. The loss she felt faded the moment she felt him move along her jawline, and her chest heaved as she tried to take in as much air as she’d lost. Tilting her head back slightly and then huffing out an irritated sigh as she realized her hair was caught under her back, leaving her with a slightly restricted range of movement, Callie slipped one hand to curl her fingers around the back of Stefan’s neck, as if to hold him against her skin. She didn’t have much to worry about, really, and a short breathy gasp - that she would later heavily deny ever making - escaped her throat as she realized what he was doing. It wasn’t like him, leaving a mark in such a noticeable place. Granted, she rarely escaped without one, but they were usually in much more…unobtrusive places. Always easy to hide, even if that meant not wearing a tanktop to school that day. 

Still, as his tongue flicked lightly over the new mark that would earn her disapproving looks from her parents and demands of details from her sister and Charlie, Callie couldn’t bring herself to feel anything but pride. All of her friends knew what was going on with her and the younger Salvatore, as did the general population of the school, but the physical marking proof seemed far more territorial than just holding hands in the hallway or fleeting kisses at her locker. Her hips rolled up of their own volition a moment later, the boxer shorts she was wearing having somehow managed to bunch up higher on her thighs. She’d long since gotten over any amount of self consciousness about her pajamas around Stefan, given how much time she spent in them and how much time he spent with her. Wearing an old pair of Troy’s boxers he’d had the idiocy to leave at her house years ago as a pair of pants was old news, and wearing them around Stefan was…well, also pretty old news. She’d gotten over any desire to try and wear something more alluring when lounging just in case something happened, and damn it, her mismatching things were far more comfortable.

Her thoughts were racing from one thing to the next so fast that she almost missed it when it happened. Had she been paying more attention, even with Stefan’s head bent, she would have been able to see the shift in his features, something she’d insisted early on in their relationship that he not try and control around her. He was a vampire, not a human, and everything that came along with that was a part of him. Just because she wasn’t a vampire didn’t mean that she wanted him to act like a human around her. The goal was comfort, familiarity, a trust and intimacy that relationships needed. So the sight wasn’t alien to her, but by the time she’d realized what he was about to do, he was already doing it. 

Feeding had been one of their biggest arguments as a couple, and now that she thought about it, it was probably their only long running argument. Callie had once explained that she thought it could be a good idea for the two of them, that sharing something like her blood willingly was likely a far better option than random feedings from strangers, or a blood bag that she still couldn’t understand wouldn’t go stale. Granted, she had no real idea of vampire customs and was probably coming in way out of left field, but she felt like she had a pretty solid argument. Stefan, however, had clearly disagreed. His refusal to feed from her was a bit of a blow to her ego, for some strange reason, and they hadn’t stopped arguing about it since, mostly because Callie refused to let it go. She still went on about for hours, almost always ending up yelling at him for reasons neither one of them could ever figure out, while he sat there and responded to all of her points in that infuriatingly calm and logical way of his that made her want to throw her shoe at him. They always made up relatively quickly, but his refusal was unwavering, and they’d never been able to come to an agreement.

So the feeling of one of his fangs sliding over her skin, barely scraping over her suddenly pounding pulse point, coupled with a sudden roll of his hips forwards was completely unfamiliar to her. She was also incredibly unprepared for her body’s reaction, her hips rising to meet his in a familiar way, but a moan escaping that shocked her with its volume and desire. Tucking one of her calves against his lower back as he gripped her other thigh, she drew her leg back towards her body, forcing their hips together again as she rolled hers forward, the friction barely enough to give her even momentarily relief from the pounding pulsing heat that seemed to occupy her whole body. One hand tangled in the sheets underneath her, twisting until the light blue cotton was firmly wrapped around her knuckles as she gasped his name, not entirely sure if it was closer to a moan, a question, or a plea.

-stefsalvatore:

Damon’s growing insistence on having to be on the same wavelength when it comes to Stefan and girls he wants was no longer something he could joke about in his own head. Fair game, brother. Let Callie choose who she wants. Something we didn’t let Elena do until things got way out of hand. Learn from our mistakes and start while it’s still fresh. Still fresh, Stefan’s ass. It wasn’t like his relationship had popped out of nowhere with the girl. It took building a trust that he had lost when he kidnapped Mia and a break up with Rebekah. Endless fights (or more accurately— endless nights of Callie yelling at  him), harsh words, and a lot of work is what took for their relationship to actually become what it is. Yet Damon didn’t seem like he could stomach that considering he had obvious feelings for Callie- a deja vu he didn’t like to think about. What? Think that I’ll actually steal her from under you if we were to propose that. He didn’t regret the right hook. He didn’t regret it at all. 

Leaving the boarding house was the most logical thing to do. Winding up at Callie’s probably wasn’t. Not with the state of mind he currently was in. Thoughts running through his head about how things had come to be the last time. When he did everything he could to save Elena and Damon both- yet all that seemed to do was push the two closer. He’d still do anything for his brother and- of course- Callie. Haunting thoughts of the same thing happening with them two caused a pain in his chest he didn’t feel like addressing with anything but anger. Anger he didn’t want to take out on his girlfriend, however. Yet, here he was standing in her room since he had shamelessly invited himself in. Nobody else was home, he could tell by the lack of noise and a glance at the clock told him that her parents were out and about. He swallowed as he stared at her, clearly alerted by his sudden presence but he didn’t make a move to explain it. He was overcome with only one thought as he looked at her: mine. Taking the steps forward until he was in front of her, his hands quickly grabbed her face and pulled her the short space until their lips crashed together. 

Callie wasn’t entirely sure what time it was, just that the movie she’d been watching in her room had long since rolled through the credits and back to the menu screen. She hadn’t had the thought to turn it off, instead flicking on the light next to her bed and stretching to grab the book next to it. Dropping her back against the mattress, she flicked through the pages, trying to find where she’d left off. Callie didn’t believe in dogearing the pages of your books, thinking it ruined them. Bookmarks did the same thing - they made a lump in the way the pages closed and it was unnecessary. Finding your place wasn’t that hard. Eventually making her way back and quirking a brow as she realized how close she was to being done, she wrinkled her nose and resumed reading. The music playing on a loop for the menu of her movie had just started to get really fucking annoying when she saw more than heard movement to her right.

When one’s dating a vampire, one learns not to let little things that go bump in the night bother them. When one’s also basically being stalked by an Original Hybrid, however, paranoia is a rather close friend. She practically flew into a sitting position, her free hand flying to her chest as her hand holding the heavy hardbound book instantly shifted. Her wrist bent back slightly towards her body, just in case throwing it might be a good idea, which was usually only the case if Damon decided he wanted to have a ‘perfectly normal chat’ on her balcony. Usually around one in the morning. Callie was almost positive that was his version of a booty call, which was even worse when you factored in that she was dating his brother, and perfectly happy in her relationship. Though she’d sworn she wouldn’t get involved with the Salvatores, Callie seemed to be smack dab in the middle of them, like her doppelganger ancestors before her. The thoughts, definitely not any she wanted to drift into while she was in a slightly defensive position on her bed with that fucking annoying theme music still playing in the background, Callie let her eyes actually focus on the source of the movement, realizing a beat before the sight registered that there was nothing to worry about, as there were only a couple vampires she’d allowed entry into her house, and human burglars weren’t nearly as scary as Hybrids.

“Stefan?” She asked worriedly, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and setting her book down next to her. His posture was wrong, too stiff and more than a little like he was trying to contain himself. She opened her mouth again, this time to ask what was wrong. Because, obviously, something was terribly wrong, and whatever it was - and then her thoughts were cut off by his rapid strides towards her, ending with a bruising before she could even draw breath. Oh. Well then. Callie wasn’t sure when she’d ended up on her feet, but she pressed her body against his eagerly and easily, one hand slipping around his neck to keep him as close as possible. She tried to follow the pace of his kiss, realizing quickly that it was a moot point, and there was no way she’d win against the dominance that he was clearly asserting. Instead letting him take control of the kiss, she slid her free hand down his chest hurriedly, slipping under his shirt and roaming his abdomen and then his back with familiar movements.

-stefsalvatore:

The past however long Stefan and company had appointed themselves the babysitters of Calliope Donovan have been a bit of a whirlwind that should have been expected from the start. It might have been ignorant and silly of them to believe that it’d be any easier than Elena had been but they figured with the whole experience thing- second go around would be much better. Elena might have lived but there was always that evidence that she never got over the things that went on since practically the second that Stefan walked into her life. The man felt like a plague, really. He showed up with intent of just… getting to know her. After the car accident and seeing her- it was an impulsive he couldn’t drive away. And then later, a guilt that consumed him entirely. It had been brought to his attention a numerous amount of times that even if he hadn’t gone back to Mystic Falls to quench his curiosity- she would’ve been discovered by Elijah or Klaus and a multitude of different situations could have happened. But there was absolutely no convincing him it would have turned out better. He felt that both Caroline and Tyler could have lived out a normal life without being seventeen forever like he was. Something he wouldn’t wish towards an enemy but by the same degree- the one thing he wished the girl he was in love with would’ve chosen. Half of him would never blame her for the want for a normal life. It was something Elena had given him whenever the two were alone and laid in bed. When the world wasn’t crushing them and Mystic Falls wasn’t falling apart by the seams. But the other half of him was filled by a disappointment that he could never really shake. In the long run, it was a good idea- he knew that. Both of the Salvatores were still in love with her far after the day she died. An eternity of an actual love triangle where neither of the brothers had come to the conclusion to hate her guts? Probably not the best fate to wish on himself and the two people he cared about the most. But in a selfish tunnel- he was upset, disappointed and extremely wounded with Elena’s decision to stay human. 

His feelings, however, felt different now when he was looking at Callie. Five hundred and seventeen years after Elena’s death stood another spitting image of the Petrova line- but one very different from the two ancestors Stefan had known. She was intriguing, maybe even more so than Elena had been. Or maybe that was more due to the fact that he was consciously distancing himself from the latest doppelganger to ensure ten times the amount of things that happened to Elena didn’t dare to repeat themselves. A love triangle- for instance- being one of them. Stefan kept quiet for the most part when it came to voicing Damon and his more than obvious growing feelings for Callie. Caroline had constantly brought it to his attention and it was like he realized it more and more when that happened. His best friend was worried that she was only being sought over because of her lineage- a concern that Stefan couldn’t exactly swipe at due to the fact he wondered the same thing himself. Not only about Damon, but also about the sparks of jealousy that coursed through him whenever he saw his brother do an attempt to woo Callie. Stefan tried to pin in out bringing a sense of deja vu that he felt when Elena and Damon had grown closer- the sight of seeing the two of them unsettling him and reminding him of those days. But now, even when he was casually talking to his brother and the girl would come into the conversation followed by Damon making some ‘what if’ comment about liking her- it was almost undeniable that it meant Callie. 

The girl was neither Elena nor Katherine. A phrase that many of them preached but it was always a wonder if it was meant. Of course, it was obvious she wasn’t them. However, they were solely in her life because of Elena and Katherine. If she hadn’t been the doppelganger, they would’ve never uprooted themselves in hopes to protect the descendant of the girl they were all close to in different ways (besides Rebekah and Kol but those are two different stories). It was no doubt that Callie was living in the shadows of her two lookalikes. Caroline hadn’t dealt with this before- most likely the blond caught a glimpse of Elena before she realized it was Callie. Something he had done himself with Elena when it came to Katherine when the two had just begun to talk. It had stopped soon enough, when his feelings became more about falling for Elena and less about the fact that she looked like his first love. But it happened nonetheless. When it came to Callie, the whole seeing Elena thing only lasted until his first real conversation with her. It didn’t take him more than five minutes to realize just how different she was and for some reason- it had been an easy task to differentiate her. The only difficulty he seemed to not be able to grasp was the fact that Callie had so much more to lose than Elena did.

Nothing would be able to describe the weird and unorthodox feeling of the newest doppelganger actually having a set of parents. Real ones that hopefully would last a lot longer than both sets of Elena’s. Still, neither himself, Caroline or Damon seemed to take into account that by protecting Callie— they had to protect them too. Considering they’d easily be her vulnerabilities just as much as Jeremy was to Elena. Speaking of siblings, she had one of those as well. An older sister rather than a younger one. One who came home from college with a man on her arm that happened to be the monster they were trying to hide the entire Donovan family from. It had come to a shock to everybody, but the one thing it did erase with the constant promise that Klaus didn’t have something up his sleeve. If he was playing dirty by using an in through her family- there really was no further doubt that if the cards weren’t played carefully- it’d turn out something to similar than their last go around with Elena. 

That knowledge put together with the fact that his brother was going on a suicide mission (that could good and well get the rest of them killed if they came from Klaus’ lineage) had Stefan doing something reckless. He hadn’t thought it through long enough to just know what he was going to do and executed the plan. That plan being kidnapping Mia and keeping her in the basement. He needed a reaction from Klaus. He needed to see if there was a minuscule of feeling there for Mia or if it was all to just dangle in front of Callie to make her feel uneasy. Even so, he had every plan to compel her to do Damon’s plan for him. If they had somehow come from someone different’s linage, it’d assure to him that he wouldn’t lose his brother. The plan was obviously kept quiet from the blonds- both Rebekah and Caroline. Rebekah had know just enough for her to retrieve him a lease owner for their house- to assure Klaus couldn’t step foot into the Salvatore boarding house without an invitation in from Fred. Caroline knew absolutely nothing given she was to marry her hybrid boyfriend of five hundred years. A hybrid that came from Klaus’ lineage with no mistake. Obviously the plan fell through given he couldn’t keep Mia in there any longer. The two had heart to hearts, him telling her everything she needed to know and her going back and forth from questions to hating him for what he’s done. He kept her well nurtured with food and making sure she was comfortable. Stefan liked to think of himself as the world’s worst kidnapper but in reality- he didn’t do it to hurt Mia. Or scared everybody who cared for her. The only reaction he wanted was Klaus’ and he never got it. Which is why he had Damon play hero, compulsion free. He couldn’t drag the innocent girl into a battle that shouldn’t be hers more than it needed to be. Something he realized a beat too late since the second Callie had known that it was him who kept her- she was far from happy with him. She had punched him and yelled at him, not seeming to care for a second that he was a vampire that could overpower her if he wanted to. He didn’t, of course. He did nothing but stare and agree and share few words because he deserved it. Stefan withdrew his role as babysitter but hadn’t completely dropped the whole protecting thing. He just did in the background as best as he could without Callie daring to say a word to him.

Prom. An event that he’s been too a countless amount of times in the past century due to Rebekah’s insistence over it. Every time, she seemed just as happy as the first time around. It usually never failed to make him smile. He did this time around but there was a bit of force holding the curl of his lips up when she came out of the bathroom, straightener in hand while she talked about Prom King and Queen like they’ve never won the titles before. The two had won for schools they never even bothered to enroll in. It was always a good idea considering if Rebekah didn’t get crowned, the girl who did was in some serious danger. His head shook as he stared at himself in the mirror, tugging his jacket on. It was a comfortable fit- not too loose, not too snug. Rebekah had picked it out to match her own outfit and Stefan just went along with the ride. Speaking of, the blond popped up behind him and wrapped her arms so her palms were flat against his chest, then running down to smooth out the fabric of his suit. He felt her chin lean against his shoulder and he met her eye contact through the mirror. “You excited?” she asked and he just nodded, causing her to roll his eyes. “Would it kill you to be verbal, Stefan?” she moved back, then tugged him to face her direction and swiped the corner of his mouth with her thumb. “You’re a messy eater,” Stefan blinked before moving his hand up to wipe at his mouth to make sure he hadn’t missed anything else. He had fed earlier. From live food with Kol considering that’s what their bromance stemmed off of. The two enjoyed each other’s company as well now but it wouldn’t be forgotten that they became friends from sharing college girls. 

“You ready?” Stefan’s voice croaked out, his eyes glancing to the block letters that shone on the digital clock display. They were going to be late but that wasn’t unlike the two of them. This time around, he was a bit more worried about the possibilities of what could go on. He doesn’t think their track record for dances will ever get any better with possible villains lurking around to keep them from feeling safe. Even with the withdrawing from being a personal bodyguard, he had to be there to make sure nothing actually happened. He’d intervene if it did and he wouldn’t feel a little bit bad about breaking what he had said if it meant keeping Callie safe. “Two seconds,” Rebekah called from the bathroom. He peeked in her direction, leaning back to properly see into the space and saw that she was applying the last of her make up. He grabbed the keys off the dresser and called over his shoulder that he’d be downstairs. 

The usual things that went on when one has a date happened. The descent down the stairs and Stefan’s grin as he saw his girlfriend practically glow. The whispers of compliments on how the other looked and the kiss before they were out the door to go to one of Stefan’s cars. It might have been prom but it was not an occasion to break out one of the antiques. He took a newer one and the two were on their way. 

Almost as soon as they arrived at the dance, Stefan had spotted Callie with Damon. He hadn’t even known Damon was going to the prom anything more than feigning to be a chaperone. His jaw had clenched on reflex, something he was sure by the look of Rebekah’s face that his girlfriend caught the look of jealousy and where his line of vision had went. It took him five minutes to get her to not walk away and do something reckless. Somehow he had managed to convince her to dance with him and she took it. The way teenagers danced nowadays was far different than either of them were used to but Rebekah seemed to somewhat adapt while Stefan looked around the hotel room with a blank look in his eyes when it came to this. However, at some point, Rebekah excused herself to the ladies room to touch up on her make up and left him alone on the dance floor. He had scoped out what was around him and once again saw his brother with Callie. Another spark of jealousy which he just wished would go away. There was no real reason for it, at least he hadn’t think there should be. Isn’t this what Stefan wanted? His encouragements to his brother to do what he wanted and go for it. Hell, it might have been his go ahead for Damon to take Mia back to the Donovans that sparked them to go into a romance. Or whatever this was. He had no reason to be feeling like this but he did. 

Stefan had subconsciously moved himself closer to where the two were, fighting the crowd to get closer. It was a constant pushing to worm through bodies that were seemingly trying to become one with how close some of the teenagers were dancing (read: grinding). Finally, he was there only a few feet away. And before he knew it, Callie was right up against him by some fluke of a spin. His hands had reflexively moved up, both of his hands settling softly on her waist. Their foreheads skimmed each other, their proximity that close, while his eyes searched her entire face and then found hers. Words both didn’t seem like a good idea nor were any coming to mind. He had no doubt that Callie would have some once she became conscious of what just happened. From the corner of his eye, he could see Damon seemed to have some. His jaw was clenched and there was an obvious look of irritation in his eyes. If Rebekah came out of the bathroom and saw what was going on, there’d no doubt be hell to pay but he didn’t move away. He swallowed a bit and licked his lips. “Hi,” there was a hint of a smile on his lips which shouldn’t have been there but appeared anyway. “Having fun?” he asked, the confidence that human blood boosted with him causing one of his hands to move to grip one of hers as he began to dance with her to the new song that had started flowing through the speakers. 

Callie blinked up at Stefan as his forehead lightly made contact with hers, knowing that she should probably say something to him, or at the very least detangle herself from his arms. As it was, the words caught in her throat in the wake of his proximity, and the deep breath that was closer to a gasp gave her nothing more than a dizzying amount of his cologne into her system. Both of her hands had found his chest, her fingers splayed out slightly as if to steady herself. The positions both of them were in were far too intimate for Callie’s liking, and she opened her mouth to speak again. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say, really. Something biting and insulting about what a shitty person he was, something about her sister, something about his brother, maybe, and how clearly, personal space was something that Papa Salvatore hadn’t taught either of his sons about. Then Stefan cut her off with a soft greeting, and the insult she was carefully constructing was lost instantly. What was it with the Salvatore’s and managing to head her off almost every time she took longer than two seconds to choose her words?

“Go fuck yourself,” she hissed back, her default angry exclamation leaving her lips before she could think of anything else. She had to make up for lost time in between his reply and hers, a pause too long would send the wrong image. There was no way Callie was going to let Stefan think - even subconsciously - that she’d forgiven him. And in the scheme of things, the long run, the bigger picture, all of that, she probably should. After all, he hadn’t hurt Mia once, he’d released her relatively quickly, and Klaus hadn’t intervened and hurt either one of them. But the logic of the situation was near nonexistent when Callie factored in that the kidnapped party had been her older sister, and - no matter what anyone had said - it was partially her responsibility. If she wasn’t involved with this world, her sister would never had to go through that. Never mind that Callie hadn’t asked for any babysitting protection, or the fact that Klaus was already in Mia’s life before the kidnapping happened. There was no way around the fact that at least a little part of her felt responsible, and she could have let it go if it weren’t for that one fact.

Twisting her face into a forced smile at his question as she caught Damon’s scowl out of the corner of her eye, Callie let Stefan take her hand against her better judgement and moved with him easily. “No,” she replied bluntly, glancing around the dance floor as everyone adjusted to the slower beat of the new song. What she was looking for, Callie wasn’t sure, but it was easier than keeping her eyes on Stefan and continuing the conversation that way. “I don’t know how Damon did it, but I hope he knows he can’t talk me out of this dress as easily as easily as he talked me into it.” Rolling her eyes, she glanced back at Stefan for less than a second before returning her gaze to a point just over his shoulder. “He’s a passable dancer, though. And if he wasn’t so convinced I’ll trip, fall, and snap my neck at any given moment, he’d be an…okay…date, I think. I mean, honestly, I’m clumsy but not that clumsy,” she said, a smile appearing without her conscious consent. “You’d think someone would have a little more faith in me, even if I have heels on.”

Catching herself as she realized she was joking, Callie blew out a frustrated sigh and lifted her hand from his shoulder and pressed it to her hairline, remembering a second later that she couldn’t actually push her hair back with the way it was pinned up. Dropping her hand again, she fought the urge to let her head follow out of irritation. “I’m still pissed off at you, you know,” she murmured a moment later, returning her attention to his face. Though Callie was going for angry and cold, she was sure her expression was more hurt than anything. “I appreciate you withdrawing right now, but you and I both know that’s not permanent, so let’s just…let’s agree not to lie to each other. Because I know you’re going to get involved in this again before long and you know you’re going to be looking for the first opportunity to make sure Klaus doesn’t get his way. But I mean it, Stefan, the moment someone gets my family involved again is the moment I start coming after my fucking babysitting team with stakes. My parents don’t need to know what’s going on and I’ll be damned if Mia gets dragged headfirst into this again. I don’t have a choice in being involved, but they do, and I’m not letting any of you make that decision for them.” She narrowed her eyes slightly to prove her point before deflating slightly, her teeth catching her lower lip for a moment. 

“I’m not sorry I punched you. But your jawline left me with a nasty bruise, so I think you should apologize for my knuckles,” she finally said, pressing her lips together to stifle a laugh. It was almost impossible for her to stay mad at the younger Salvatore, and that in and of itself was enough to make her angry all over again. Then again, it was exhausting enough trying to stay pissed off at him while she was already directing her energy in so many different directions. Deciding to let this one go - for now - and leave some unspoken peace treaty between the two of them now that she’d said all she needed to, Callie raised an eyebrow at the flash of blonde she caught as Rebekah came out of the hallway that led to the bathroom. “Original vampire girlfriend at 3 o’clock,” she informed Stefan, one corner of her lips quirking slightly. “I’m curious, honestly, does she normally kill women who dance with her boyfriend, or is it traditionally just a mauling? I need to be prepared, you know. I doubt Damon could stop her if she put her mind to it. He can’t even stop me most of the time,” she snorted, trying to locate Troy on the dance floor and only seeing her sister, who was talking - arguing? - with Klaus. Callie’s eyes kept drifting before the scene registered and she blinked back at Mia, her eyes now wide.

“Jesus fucking…you have got to be fucking kidding me. What is he doing here?” She muttered, more to herself than Stefan. Returning her attention to her dance partner, she bit her lip again. “If Damon sees him, I’m going to be on a short leash all night and I’m going to end up staking your brother with a chair leg before the end of the night out of frustration. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

How Callie had managed to land herself on the arm of Damon Salvatore for senior prom, she’d never know. She didn’t even actually remember saying yes to him, and - now that she thought about it - she probably hadn’t, and he’d just assumed her pause meant yes. She really needed to come up with faster insults where the older Salvatore was concerned. After the whirlwind of finding out she was the newest Petrova Doppelganger and all that went along with it, the last thing she needed was a boy fawning over her. Troy was enough to deal with as it was, and he was her best friend when it came down to it. Though she’d sworn to herself and anyone who would listen that she wasn’t going to go near the Salvatore brothers, they had somehow wormed their way into her life and taken up jobs as her bodyguards. Glorified babysitters, really, but that wasn’t the point. The point was they were suddenly a near omnipresent part of her life, and Callie was fucking fed up. Damon had already tried to kiss her, and while he’d backed off the moment she asked and hadn’t made a single pass since then, it was obvious he wanted to, and she wasn’t sure what to make of that. Damon was funny, he was good to talk to, and he’d broken the news that her life was turning on its head relatively gently, something she appreciated. But the fact of the matter was that Callie didn’t want anything to do with the same two brothers who had caught the last two doppelgangers between them. It was trying to get Damon realize that she was serious that was a problem.

And then Stefan had to go off and kidnap her older sister. 

Mia and Callie had always been close, and the nineteen year old Donovan was home for the spring semester. Callie had been looking forward to getting her sister back for spring and summer, to getting her sister to chaperon her prom, and to getting her older sister’s opinion on what the fuck was happening. Then Mia insisted on introducing Callie to the guy she was seeing, only days after Callie’d gotten the news from Damon. Sitting down across from her sister at the Grill after months apart had been odd enough; Mia’s hair was longer, her makeup was different, little differences that were just enough to disorient Callie. Then the elusive boyfriend had walked in, and Callie was suddenly sitting across from the Hybrid who wanted to use her as a human blood bag. While the lunch had gone well enough and no one had caused any trouble, it had done the job of unsettling Callie. While the younger Donovan sister managed to keep Klaus out of her house, she had no real idea how to tell her sister she couldn’t keep seeing the charming man who seemed to dote on her. Telling the Salvatore’s, however, was far too easy for Callie’s liking. While both had seemed rather disturbed and insisted that the guard on the Donovan house be increased - which meant Caroline staying over almost nonstop and bugging Callie constantly - the news had seemingly rolled off both of their backs. Somehow, this increased guard hadn’t saved Callie from a bite from Klaus, who’d surprised her one day after school and bit her in broad daylight. Stumbling into her house bleeding from the side of her neck and worrying all of her friends was something she definitely didn’t want to repeat. And Damon’s constant fussing over her was getting old.

Two days later, Callie woke up to an empty house. Her parents came home from work at the usual times, but Mia was nowhere to be found. Writing it off initially as a night out that had gone overboard, Callie didn’t think much of it. Her sister had always had an impulsive streak, and given the man she was dating…when her sister still wasn’t home the next day, Callie started to get worried. After searching for almost three days and crying herself to sleep more than once, Damon had finally shown up on her doorstep with her older sister, carefully evading Callie’s interrogation about where he’d found her. Stefan owned up the next day, trying to calmly explain to her his reasoning about using her as leverage against Klaus, who hadn’t actually come to Mia’s rescue, something neither brother obviously hadn’t anticipated. Another thing they hadn’t anticipated, really, was Callie’s temper. After pushing Stefan, punching him, and cursing him out until she was nearly blue in the face, she’d warned him to stay the fuck away from her family, leaving the Salvatore boarding house as fast as she’d come in.

She hadn’t spoken to Stefan since, though she knew he’d withdrawn his role in protecting her. For some reason, that just pissed her off more. There was something about the younger Salvatore that got under her skin, from the way he constantly seemed to know exactly what to say to placate her to the way he could quote Jane Eyre almost better than she could. Callie hated it almost more than she hated Klaus, which was already a lot and steadily rising. She was walking around scowling so much that Charlie had told her more than once that she was going to give herself crow’s feet before she was thirty. Her best friends were no help at all, really. Charlie had been the one who had suggested taking Damon’s offer of a date to prom, while Troy had been adamantly against it. Though she usually refused to let anyone make her decisions for her, Callie was pretty sure the fact that the eldest Salvatore was waiting on her porch for her - no vampires allowed inside other than Caroline - was more his own decision than hers. He’d presented a convincing argument about protecting her better if her was near her all night, but if he tried to kiss her again, she’d stab him with a chair leg, and had made that explicitly clear.

Reluctantly finishing her makeup, Callie braced her hands on the edge of her bathroom counter and stared at herself in the mirror. Mia had done her hair for her, curling and waving in intricate swirls and ringlets from where part had been pinned up elegantly. How her sister had managed to make her look like something akin to the Greek muse she was named after in less than an hour and with barely any hairspray, Callie would never understand. Her makeup was minimal, gold and bronze colored eyeshadow to match the patterns in her dress and the heels she had on, blush on her cheeks, more than she usually wore, but not as much as most girls would surely have on tonight. Tearing away her gaze from the girl in the mirror who felt as much as her own reflection as looking at Katherine did, Callie glanced at the clock and sighed. Damon was waiting. Her earrings went in quickly, her shoes were slipped on, and her clutch was grabbed. “Let’s get this fucking thing over with,” she muttered to her reflection over her dresser as she prepared herself to leave her room. 

Descending the stairs as rapidly as her heels would allow, Callie swept past her parents, pausing for only a moment to allow them to kiss her and remind her of a curfew she didn’t actually have. Calling a goodbye over her shoulder, she stepped outside and managed a smile at Damon. Admittedly, he looked devastatingly handsome in his tuxedo, something that irritated her almost as much as his brother’s ability to tell her exactly what she needed to hear at any given moment. “You look-” “I know,” she cut him off, rolling her eyes inwardly and pressing a gloved hand to her forehead. “Damon, can we please just skip the formalities that are going to get really uncomfortably really fucking fast? Let’s just go now before I rethink this godforsaken idea and regain my sense. I’m pretty sure my Pride and Prejudice dvd’s still in my laptop and I could be watching it in less than ten minutes and feeling a thousand times better about my night, but for some fucking reason, I’m standing out here with you so can we please just go?”

Damon - looking as close to pouting as a nearly 900 year old vampire could look - thankfully complied, saying something that Callie wasn’t listening to as she got into the passenger seat of his car. “You really do look beautiful,” he said a moment later as he turned the key to the ignition. She hadn’t even seen him get into the car. Still, the compliment had the desired effect, leaving her with a flustered ‘thank you’ as her only real response. She fiddled with the fingers of her elbow length gloves the whole ride there, the bracelet Mia had let her borrow just a hair too big for her wrist. It slid with each movement she made, glittering off the streetlights they passed. Soon, too soon, the hotel the prom was held at came into view, and Callie and Damon were standing in front of the entrance before she could blink. “You’ve got to warn me before you do that,” she hissed, eliciting a smirk from Damon as she tried to reorient herself. Spotting Charlie - who was standing with Kol, making Callie’s eyes widen in surprise - she waved at her friend. The blonde smiled back, but was clearly more invested in her conversation with the Original she’d managed to get on her arm. Speaking of being on someone’s arm…Callie was suddenly aware that Damon was offering his to her, and taking it seemed like both the best and worst idea she’d ever been faced with. “It would be rude not to, you know,” he said smoothly, and the look in his eyes and the sudden odd sense of deja vu that hit her somewhere behind her navel made her mind up for her. Looping her hand into the crook of his elbow reluctantly, Callie let him lead her into the throng of bodies that made up the senior class she’d be graduating with soon. 

People passed by in a blur, juniors she knew were clearly not supposed to be there mixed with alumni who had obviously talked their way in, and all were virtually undetectable in the amount of real seniors in the hotel ballroom. The music, the heat, the people, the voices, it all threatened to drown Callie, and the inability to pick a lot of people out of the crowd was making her almost uneasy. So when Damon suggested they dance, she agreed. At the very least, it would take her mind off everything. They were three songs in when she was starting to get antsy again, this time from the way Damon was damn near holding her and she was not okay with any of it. Too much too soon and far too fast, she’d told him this before and it clearly wasn’t getting through to him. She was just about to open her mouth to tell him off when he spun her out. Somewhere in the process of a dance move she’d performed with Troy at countless school dances, she lost the grip she’d had on Damon’s hand, and upon completing the spin, Callie suddenly found herself in the arms of Stefan Salvatore.