Ryan walked through the silent garage toward the black Skyline. The cold lights reflected off the flawless bodywork, creating a metallic sheen that contrasted with the dense shadows of the underground. He opened the driver's door, got in, and started the car; the engine answered with a deep, satisfying growl.
He fastened his seatbelt, rested his hands on the steering wheel, and took a deep breath. There was something comforting about driving alone at night, something that had always brought him peace, from his past life until now.
Before leaving, he connected his phone and put on a playlist he himself called "Dean Winchester mode": classic rock, heavy riffs, raw guitars, that empty-road, absolute-freedom vibe. The first song began with an unmistakable solo, Back in Black, one of his favorite songs, and Ryan, without realizing it, began to hum softly, following the rhythm as he drove out of the garage.
Mystic Falls at night was a quiet town. The streets were lit by old lampposts that cast a yellowish glow on the sidewalks. The colonial-style houses displayed warm lights in their windows; some residents were still chatting on their porches, while the wind gently swayed the tall trees.
The Skyline moved forward unhurriedly, cutting through the city's silence with its deep growl and the soundtrack of the seventies filling the interior. Ryan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, humming the chorus with a faint smile. He was relaxed, light, almost in a good mood.
After a few minutes, he turned onto the Gilberts' street.
The house was exactly as it always had been: cozy, with the downstairs lights on and the porch illuminated by soft lamps. At least, for now, it still wasn't at risk of being "burned down" by a humanity-off vampire Elena… something that, hopefully, wouldn't happen anytime soon.
Ryan parked across the street, leaving the engine idling for a few moments before shutting it off.
Silence.
Only crickets and the sound of the wind moving through the trees.
He picked up his phone and typed:
"I'm here."
The reply came almost instantly, as if Elena had been holding the phone in her hand:
"I'm coming! Just one minute."
Ryan tilted his head slightly to the side, a small smile appearing.
"She always says that, but in my dear past memories she was usually ten minutes late…" he murmured, amused, while continuing to hum softly and keep the rhythm with his finger on the steering wheel. His eyes remained fixed on the phone screen, a simple model that looked nothing like the ultra-modern devices that existed in the life he had come from.
But it did the job.
It was 2009, after all. Technology was still crawling compared to what he knew.
And in that loose, almost random thought, an idea crossed his mind like a lightning bolt.
Bitcoin.
Ryan froze for a moment, blinking slowly as he pondered. As far as he remembered, Bitcoin had been launched earlier that same year, and it was still at a ridiculously low price.
Could it be…?
Could he really take advantage of that?
His first impulse was almost comical: a mixture of disbelief and very welcome greed. If he bought Bitcoin now, literally now, at the very beginning, he could multiply his fortune to absurd levels in the future. He wouldn't even need much; a few hundred dollars would be enough, and years later, he would be swimming in money.
Although he had never really been someone overly concerned about money, and if he were, he would never have enlisted in the army or devoted his past life to military service, he recognized that, in this new world, he could very well take advantage of the opportunity to get rich.
After all, unlike the vampires there, he did not possess "compulsion," supernatural charm, or any mystical trick capable of opening doors with a simple look. All he would have in his favor would be his skills, his intelligence… and the resources he managed to gather on his own.
In the end, both in his past life and in this one, he knew that money was a tool as useful as any weapon he had ever wielded.
He let out a silent laugh, shaking his head.
"I'm going to become a billionaire in this life so easily it's almost comical…" he murmured to himself with a mischievous smile.
Ryan leaned back in the seat, analyzing every detail carefully. Although he knew, with absolute certainty, that Bitcoin existed in that period and that its value was practically negligible in 2009, he also recognized a crucial point: that world, as similar as it was to the old real world he knew, was not the same. It was a world based on the series The Vampire Diaries, where the former actors who had played the roles had, in fact, become those "characters," existing as real beings.
Nothing guaranteed that the financial market would behave exactly as he remembered; nothing assured that the explosion in value would be identical.
Even so, when he put the risks and the advantages on the scale, the cost of trying was practically nil. If he bought now and the future followed the known flow, his profit would be stratospheric. If the future diverged, at most he would lose an irrelevant amount for someone like him, especially considering his ability to make money easily in any context.
In the end, the conclusion came in a pragmatic way: it was an extremely low-risk bet for incalculable potential return.
This life definitely had its advantages.
Determined to take advantage of this opportunity, and taking advantage of the fact that Elena would still take a little while, he decided to research more deeply on his phone, driven by pure curiosity. It didn't take long to find results. The creator of Bitcoin had not announced anything in newspapers, not even on Reddit, which, at that time, was still small. Instead, he had publicized his project on cypherpunk forums and cryptography mailing lists…
After a few minutes browsing old threads and technical archives, he finally found what he was looking for. Still, he did not feel anxious to acquire the software necessary to mine Bitcoin… at least, not for now—he had a "date" that night…
He put his phone in his pocket and lifted his gaze toward the door of the house, having noticed movement before even hearing it, courtesy of the heightened awareness of his surroundings that he had inherited from the King of Curses. Of course… an Elena Gilbert "minute" was, in fact, ten. At least that hadn't changed. That was the only thing that crossed his mind.
But when she finally appeared on the porch, Ryan swallowed any desire to tease her about the delay.
Elena walked down the steps, each step a cruel reminder of how that body liked to test his sanity. The tight black skirt, made of soft fabric, hugged her hips like a second skin, elongating her endless legs even more. On top, the wine-colored, thin-strapped blouse dipped into a discreet but treacherous neckline, enough to draw the eye, especially when the fabric adjusted to her slim waist and slid over her bare shoulders that were covered by the short leather jacket, open in the front, adding a touch of rebellion that made the whole outfit seem designed to provoke.
Her hair fell in loose waves, capturing the porch light as if made of liquid silk. The light pink lipstick highlighted her full mouth, and he felt his stomach tighten with a magnetism that had no name.
She crossed the street toward the car, and he followed every movement.
Elena opened the passenger door, got in, and closed it carefully. Her perfume — sweet, warm, lightly floral — filled the interior of the car almost instantly, mixing with the smell of leather and the low music vibrating softly through the speakers.
Ryan took a second to look at her directly. One second longer than he meant to. But when he finally came out of his stupor… it was simply impossible not to smile.
"You look…" he began, his voice lower than he intended, "Very beautiful…"
Elena turned her face toward him with a slow smile, and her eyes traveled over his body without any shame. The black high-collared shirt, tight enough to highlight his physique without looking forced, that modern, long-cut overcoat, also black, whose light fabric, the dark, simple slim-fit pants, stood out only for their precise stitching. On his feet, polished black leather boots reflected the light just enough to complete the ensemble. No excessive accessories: just a matte black watch on his left wrist and a silver ring on his right index finger; she noticed all of it…
Her lips curved into an almost involuntary smile, warm and soft, but with that touch brought on by the new phase of her life: more woman, more aware of her own desire, and dangerously aware of him.
She tilted her head slightly, watching him for one more second than would be considered casual, and then let out a compliment that seemed to be born from both her heart and her instincts:
"You look ridiculously handsome today too, Ryan…"
Her voice came out low, loaded with that sincerity she only let show when emotion surpassed any attempt at control. And, as much as she tried to keep the comment casual, her eyes completely betrayed her intention: there was admiration, nostalgia… and an intense interest that had only grown since he had reappeared in her life.
Deep inside, there were some complex emotions in her heart. When Ryan disappeared, she learned to move on because there was no choice. Then came her parents… and her world simply collapsed.
For years, she carried the feeling that everything she loved drifted away or died.
And then Ryan came back.
It was impossible not to feel her heart tighten, not from sadness, but from a kind of relief she thought she would never have again. For the first time since her parents' death, she felt truly happy. And that, by itself, was already terrifying.
But there was another layer, much less poetic and much more human: because Ryan was incredibly hot, with that absurdly defined body, with that deep voice, with that gaze focused only on her… Every detail of him seemed designed to make her lose her breath, and the awareness of that only made her breathing heavier and her skin hotter.
On the other hand, not knowing the effect he was having on the girl at his side, Ryan let his smile grow slowly, adopting the deliberately conceited tone he always used when he wanted to provoke.
"Well…" he said, tilting his chin slightly, "I couldn't expect anything less from myself, right? A famous model in the East can't disappoint…"
The line came out light, full of humor.
Elena sighed immediately, rolling her eyes the way she did when he said something absurd just to get a reaction out of her.
"You're still unbearably conceited…" she murmured, but a small smile was already starting to appear at the corner of her lips. And then, half without meaning to, her fingers touched her own jacket, adjusting it shyly. She looked away toward the window, her cheeks gaining a soft blush…
"And… I…" she swallowed hard, speaking more softly, "Just so you know, Ryan. I was a little late because I was trying to… look nice today…"
Ryan watched her for a moment, and his expression softened before being swallowed by the same old smile.
"You succeeded," he said without hesitation. "Actually… too much…"
He turned his face forward for a moment, as if mentally evaluating the night that was to come, before adding with a naturally loaded humor:
"I'm going to have to stay close at the Grill later. Can't let any idiot guy think he has a chance to get close like that…"
Elena's eyes widened slightly, surprised by his confidence and perhaps a little by what that meant. But soon the surprise dissolved into a soft, almost shy smile, the kind that appears when someone tries to hide their happiness and fails miserably. She bit her lower lip for a second, the gesture almost unconscious, before letting out a soft giggle that came out more like a relieved sigh. She leaned her body slightly toward him, her arm resting on the console between the seats, and her eyes shone with a mix of teasing and something sweeter, more vulnerable.
"Alright then… my personal bodyguard…" she murmured, her voice coming out in a playful tone, but with that underlying trust that only appeared when she truly felt at ease. "I'm counting on you, okay? Don't let anyone steal my night."
Ryan let his gaze linger for one more second in her eyes, those brown eyes that always seemed to hold a piece of late-afternoon sky, before turning the key in the ignition. The Skyline woke up with a low, almost lazy growl, as if the car knew the night was theirs. He adjusted the rearview mirror without hurry, his fingers sliding over the steering wheel with that calm of someone who had driven in situations far worse than a nighttime ride in Mystic Falls.
"Relax," he said, his deep voice carrying a tone of certainty that left no room for doubt. "By my side, you're safer than anywhere on the planet."
He put the car in gear, and the vehicle glided down the street smoothly, the sound of the engine blending with the rock track that still played softly. The yellowish light from the lampposts passed across the windshield in flashes, illuminating Elena's face for brief moments, highlighting the soft contour of her chin, the spark in her eyes as they looked at him for a second that seemed longer than it should have been. Her smile faltered, not from discomfort, but from really feeling how much that meant. It was beautiful. It was intense. It was a relief she wasn't used to since her world began to shatter after her parents' death…
And, of course, it also made her stomach do that dangerous little flip.
"Okay…" she murmured, looking away for a moment, her cheeks gaining that soft blush she tried to ignore. "Then I'm going to trust you."
Ryan didn't answer right away.
"You should," he finally said. "I'm reliable as hell."
Elena laughed in that spontaneous way, as if he had just dismantled the tension with a typical line she had missed.
The road ahead stretched out in gentle curves, surrounded by tall trees whose shadows danced as the Skyline's headlights passed. The music changed to a slower track, Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the atmosphere inside the car became even more intimate, as if the outside world were miles away.
Elena crossed her legs, adjusting her skirt with the movement. Her perfume seemed stronger there, trapped in the confined space, and Ryan registered that without taking his eyes off the road, although every fiber of his body was painfully aware of her provocation.
She watched him from the side. She didn't hide it.
She didn't want to hide it.
The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable; it was dense, charged with something they didn't name, but that both of them felt.
____________________
(A/N: Did you enjoy the chapter? Then you should know that over on my Patreon you can read up to 10 chapters ahead for just 5USD! And yes—for that price, you also get full access to all of my content. That's right: cheaper than a snack… and with way more drama, action, and guaranteed emotional damage.
The link is right below. See you there!
My Patreon: patreon.com/Adam_Kadmon
Thank you so much for your support — you make all of this worthwhile.)