That is, until Elena became reacquainted with Tyler...

"Hey. Stefan, how about we check out that new karaoke bar that opened up on Greenstone Street?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Stefan replied

Stefan didn’t drink often. He only drank sometimes, for the taste. He could drink as much as redneck, beer-bellied trucker and only get a bit tipsy. The only reason he even bothered going to bars is because Elena wanted to. Whatever she wanted, he gave. Stefan gave himself, heart and soul, to Elena. He loved her more than he had loved Katherine. Poor, naive Katherine...No! He refused to be sucked back into his past. What mattered was the present. Katherine is dead; Elena is alive...well, back from the dead, to be exact.

"Uhm...Stefan? Are you OK?" Elena asked.

Jerked out of his memories, Stefan replied, "Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go."

Stefan got on his motorcycle and Elena held tight to his waist. He started it up and headed for Greenstone Street. What happened to his Porsche, you ask? He lost it in a bet.... Long story. You wouldn’t be interested. Now, let’s get back to the story, already! They pulled up in front of the bar, entered, and was greeted with quite a surprise...

"Ah, Elena, I knew you’d come back for me. I knew it all along...." Tyler said with animal passion in his eyes.

When Elena looked at Tyler, she felt...something.

The only time she’d ever felt this way was with...with...STEFAN!

NO! I gave my soul to Stefan, no one else! Elena told herself.

Still, Elena couldn’t help but stare at the bulge made more prominent by Tyler’s skintight blue jeans.

"Hey, I can’t help if we just happened to go to the same karaoke bar. Now, leave my...lover and me alone." Elena said, without much conviction.

After quite a few drinks, Elena’s inhibitions had disappeared. Elena shamelessly flirted with Tyler. With horribly slurred speech, they sang duets.

Stefan sat in the corner of the room, sipping a martini, fury burning inside him. He wanted to rip Tyler limb from limb. He wanted to split Tyler open from neck to cock and feast on his insides. At this point, he hated Elena even more. Damn bitch.

"A couple of forty ouncers would never make that ugly mug look good. She had to have liked him from the beginning." Stefan muttered under his breath.

Stefan wanted to kill them both, right here, right, now. But, a big, barroom brawl just wasn’t his style. No, that was something Damon would do. Stefan forced himself to wait, which wasn’t at all easy. He couldn’t stand watching them any longer, so he paid for his drink and left.

Sometime later, Elena and Tyler left the bar. Stefan was sitting on the curb, looking both hurt and pissed at the same time.

"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOHOOOOOO! That was fucking awesome!" Elena gushed. She glanced down at Stefan. "What the fuck’s your problem?" She said.

"What the fuck’s my problem?!? I should ask you the same thing! What do you see in that...that....NEANDERTHAL!?!" Stefan shouted.

Elena held fast to Tyler’s arm. "I just realized how much better Tyler is, compared to you. You know, Damon was right all along. You are nothing but a sniveling, whining piece of shit!" She said.

"That’s it. Oh, that is fucking it! I have had enough with you Elena Gilbert! You can have Tyler; I don’t give a shit anymore!"

***

Within a week, Elena had all her stuff out of Stefan’s apartment. The apartment looked so very bare now. He felt angry, lonely and above all, betrayed. And now, the old, familiar burning grew in his veins. At times like these, he had Elena to feed on. Every part of him ached for blood. A nice thought occurred to him. Why didn’t he just kill Elena and Tyler? Stefan sighed. He just didn’t feel like hunting them down. But, a better thought came to him. He would just go to Taco Bell, pick up anything in a skirt and kill her. Yes, perfect...This newfound coldness would have frightened him at any other time, but it strengthened him now.

Stefan ordered a few chalupas and sat down. He surveyed his surroundings, looking for the perfect victim. Stefan’s eyes unexpectedly fell upon someone who made his heart skip a beat.

A few tables away there sat a beautiful woman. He had never seen anyone quite as sexy.... And he’d lived over 500 years! She had short, jet-black hair, hazel eyes and beautiful milky white skin. She had on a super short black vinyl dress, knee high black boots and ripped fishnet pantyhose. The dress was so short that he could see a bit of an ass cheek. Perhaps she was wearing a thong...or nothing at all! Stefan grinned at the thought.

The girl looked into Stefan’s eyes and smiled. Fuck! He didn’t realize he was staring! Slowly, gracefully, she moved towards him. Just before she reached his table, she slipped on a little packet of ketchup and fell flat on her ass! Stefan may have been a cold-hearted predator, but he still was a gentleman. He got up and helped her to her feet. Feeling her pulse pounding in her wrist was almost too much for Stefan. She sat next to him and smiled again. He returned the smile whilst being careful not to show his already extended fangs.

"Thanks for helping me up." She said

"No problem," Stefan said weakly.

"Man, you look like you’re having a rough night," she said, looking him straight in the eyes.

"You don’t know the half of it," he said coldly.

Stefan still hurt from what happened with Elena. Why don’t I just fuck this bitch to spite Elena? That wasn’t something he would normally do, but a one-night stand sounded just fine with him right now. After all, he was single! Being single felt strange after being tied down by Elena so long. Stefan and the girl talked for a while, discussing how shitty their weeks had been. Her asshole boyfriend cheated on her, so she left him. So much like Stefan’s week!

"What’s your name?" Stefan asked. He didn’t want sleep with someone without even knowing her name!

"I’m Kristin. You?" She said.

"That’s a pretty name. My name’s Stefan."

"Stefan, huh? You know, that name sounds so familiar! I just can’t place my finger on it. Oh hell, I’ll figure it out later. Hey, you wanna go to my place?" She said, smiling devilishly.

Damn, she was fiery! Of course, Stefan agreed. He hadn’t felt this way in a long time. Torn between the craving for blood and lust. But, he enjoyed the feeling. Yet he still wondered where he could have heard his name before....

Her house was small with grayish siding. An ordinary looking house. The house looked ordinary inside, as well. But, when Stefan stepped into her bedroom, he stopped in his tracks.

"What the fuck?" Stefan said under his breath.

Hanging on one wall were dozens of whips and paddles varying in size. Above the whips and paddles, there was a shelf with about three dozen dildos from finger size to extra large! On another wall, there were quite a few saddles, bridles and stirrups. In a corner of the room, there was a fairly large stack of porn magazines. In the center of the room was a king size bed with chains connected to all four bedposts. Calling Kristin kinky was quite the understatement! She was downright deranged! Stefan surveyed Kristin’s "collection," not knowing what to make of it.

Kristin smiled. "I dabble in BDSM."

"Dabble?!? It looks like you do a helluva lot more than dabble!" Stefan sputtered.

Her grin broadened. Apparently, he liked his reaction. Suddenly, her _expression changed.

"Hey, do you, by chance, have a brother named Damon?"

"Uh...why?" Stefan choked out.

"My friend, Autumn dates this guy named Damon and you kinda look like him. And I think he mentioned having a brother. Oh, and get this, he’s a 500 year old vampire! Cool, huh?"

Stefan was speechless. She knew Damon! And that also meant she knew Stefan’s secret, too! Kristin smiled a knowing smile.

"You’re a vampire, aren’t you?" Kristin said with a grin.

"Yes...I am." Stefan said slowly.

Damn! That’s the quickest any human had figured him out! He felt like the hunter becoming the prey....

"Kick ass!" Kristin shouted. "That is so fucking cool!"

Well...that went well. Elena freaked out when she found out the truth about him. He didn’t want to kill Kristin, now. She seemed....interesting. Elena was never up for anything kinky, just straight fucking. He’d probably be the one getting beaten, but he always had a bit of a masochistic streak anyways.

"Hey, let’s make a deal." Kristin said. "If you agree to be my bitch, I’ll let you feed on me whenever you want. How’s that?"

"Oh hell, why not." Stefan replied nonchalantly. He had nothing to loose.

Kristin’s face lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning.

"I knew you’d make the right decision. Now, do you know anything about pony play?"

"What the hell?"

Kristin sighed heavily. "We’ve got a long way to go...."