Ryan kept his eyes fixed on Elena for a few seconds. Outwardly, it was just an affectionate gaze, the kind an old friend would give, full of nostalgia and genuine affection. He even tilted his head slightly, letting the smile widen into a lazy grin, as if the moment were perfect. Inwardly, however, he was starting to get bored with that constant need to "pretend." After all, it was obvious what he really wanted by bringing a beautiful girl home; there was nothing innocent in that choice....
Unfortunately, he still needed to maintain an image. A mask carefully constructed from his "inserted past" in that world, something that couldn't be discarded so soon. With luck, the day would come when he could act freely, exactly as he truly was. Until then, it was enough to keep performing... just for the time necessary to get what he wanted.
Perhaps that was why his mind wandered so much. He had never been a big fan of suspense movies; he preferred horror or action, and occasionally some comedy. Still, as a good gentleman, he had let Elena choose. The problem was simple: he clearly would rather be doing something else.
In short, he was bored—confusingly bored.
Oh, how he wanted to be fucking at that moment....
Unaware of the problematic thoughts of her childhood best friend, Elena, on the other hand, felt her heart leap so strongly that it almost made her lose her breath. It was ridiculous how his gaze could still affect her that way. Ridiculous and absolutely inevitable.
The first one to break the silence was obviously Ryan, who finally lifted his chin toward the screen.
"So, what will it be, then?"
Elena took a deep breath, as if that really mattered.
"The Village."
As soon as she said it, she realized her choice hadn't been made for the movie. It was because he had commented that she got anxious with slow movies; part of her wanted to prove him wrong....
Ryan took the remote from her hand, slowly, almost dragging the touch across the back of her hand before pressing play.
The movie started.
And the silence that settled in had nothing to do with suspense.
After a few minutes, while the opening credits rolled and the ambient sound filled the room, Ryan leaned back deeper into the sofa. He turned his face just enough to observe her before speaking.
"I think I've said this before when we were heading home after school, but I really missed this....."
Elena blinked, surprised by the direct confession.
"The movies?" she asked, trying to sound neutral. But her voice came out too low, too soft.
"Of course not. As if you've forgotten our conversation...." Ryan rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "I meant the two of us together, the nights we spent watching...."
He said it like someone dropping a memory on the table between them, without asking permission, without apologizing. And that, more than any provocation, made her breath catch for a moment.
"Yeah," Elena replied, looking at the screen but seeing nothing. "It was really our thing. And I remember our conversation, okay? I just didn't understand why you're bringing it up again...."
Ryan smiled again and said: "Reason? Do you need one to relive memories? For example, I remember you always got mad when I paused the movie to comment on something....."
Elena rolled her eyes.
"You commented too much."
"And you pretended you wanted total focus... but you always ended up asking something afterward."
She looked at him sideways, narrowing her eyes.
"Not always."
"Almost always," he corrected, with a playful tone. "You don't know how to fake boredom. You make that expression with your mouth... that one right there."
She immediately hid her mouth with her hand and realized too late that it only drew Ryan's attention even more to the gesture. He laughed silently, satisfied at having successfully provoked her again, making her lightly hit his arm; the two then turned their gaze back to the screen and continued watching....
The movie continued at its slow pace, almost too patient, as if it were waiting for something to happen off-screen.
Elena shifted position on the sofa, pulling her legs closer to her body. The movement was discreet, almost unconscious, but Ryan noticed. He always noticed.
"You're going to end up falling if you keep shrinking like that...." he commented, without taking his eyes off the television.
"I'm not shrinking," she replied automatically, though she was already practically sitting sideways.
Ryan shot her a quick glance, arching an eyebrow: "Okay. So you've always watched movies in that weird position and I never noticed."
She let out a short sigh, defeated.
"It's comfortable."
"Sure..." he said, with that calm tone that always sounded like provocation. "Until you complain that the sofa is hard."
Elena opened her mouth to retort, but gave up halfway. Instead, she just adjusted a pillow behind her back. Ryan watched in silence for a few seconds before extending his hand and pulling another pillow closer to her, placing it practically between them.
"That's better...." he said, simply.
She stared at him, surprised by the gesture, then averted her gaze to the screen.
"Thanks."
The silence settled in again.
A few minutes passed. Elena realized she was mentally commenting on every detail of the movie, just like she used to, and, like before, she didn't resist for long.
"Do you think it's weird that they never leave the village?" she asked, in a low voice.
Ryan didn't respond immediately. He just tilted his head a little, thinking.
"They're afraid of what's outside," he said finally. "Sometimes it's easier to create theories about the unknown than to face it courageously head-on...."
Elena looked in his direction, with a slightly surprised expression, saying: "That sounded pretty wise...? Words that make a lot of sense coming from a Coldplay listener...."
He shrugged.
"Just goes to show, I have a talent for it....."
Elena laughed lightly and turned her gaze back to the screen.
Without realizing it, she moved a little closer. Their arms brushed lightly, a minimal contact, but enough to make her hold her breath for a second.
Ryan didn't pull away.
In fact, he relaxed his body against the sofa, allowing the contact as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if it had always been there.
"You're nervous...." he commented, low.
"I'm not...." she replied too quickly.
He smiled crookedly, his green eyes shining slightly as he said: "It's like I said, isn't it? You always get like this with slow movies. You start overthinking..... I bet you're thinking almost the same thing as me... just believe it's separated by moments..."
Elena raised her face slowly, the movement almost automatic, as if her body had reacted before her mind. Her gaze met his, intense, too attentive to be casual. There was something there, curiosity, challenge, expectation, all mixed in an expression hard to define.
"Oh, really?" she asked, her voice low but firm. "And what exactly do you think I'm thinking, Mr. Know-It-All?"
Ryan didn't respond immediately. Instead, he draped his arm around her naturally, pulling her closer in a light, almost lazy embrace. There was no rush in the gesture, just certainty. The smile that appeared on his lips was calm... and dangerously mischievous.
"I could be wrong, but I rarely am when it comes to your thoughts..." he began, in a tone too calm: "But I think you're remembering that night..."
Elena's heart leaped immediately. How did he know? Since she was alone with him in the apartment, she couldn't push away the thoughts of that night. The memory of him dominated her, but amid the whirlwind of memories, she focused on those that involved just the two of them, ignoring the rest, which ended up bringing with them a feeling of uncontrollable desire. But it was the moment she most wanted to relive, the instant he had taken her lips, the way his large hands explored her body, that really made everything "uncontrollable."
"Ryan—" She swallowed hard and spoke quickly in an attempt to deny the accusation: "No, I wasn't thinking about that..."
He tilted his head, pretending to consider the denial, but the smile didn't fade.
"Hmm, really? I didn't specify which 'that night' in my words. How did you know what I was talking about?"
Damn, he got me... Elena thought, feeling her heart race even faster in her chest. Her cheeks burned immediately, betraying her before she could say anything. She had been foolish, too careless in letting that unconvincing denial slip. Now, there was no way to pretend indifference while the tension between them only grew....
Ryan continued looking at her as she avoided looking directly at him and said: "Well, how about I refresh your memory? It's that night when you, me, Caroline, and Bonnie finally stopped pretending we felt nothing. When everyone let their desires speak louder."
Elena's face heated up immediately.
"That was—" She stopped, took a deep breath: "It was just... a moment. It doesn't mean—"
"It was memorable..." He interrupted her softly. "You know it. I know it."
She averted her gaze, her heart beating too fast to be ignored.
"Ryan…"
"But..." He added, his voice dropping a little: "For me... there's a moment that could be even better."
That made Elena look back at him.
"What...?" she murmured.
Ryan leaned in slightly, his face too close now.
"This one."
Before she could respond, he kissed her.
It wasn't abrupt. Nor rushed. It was firm, decided, as if that choice had been made a long time ago. Elena stayed still for a second. The heat rose immediately, so strong that she could almost feel her skin burn. Her heart's rhythm seemed offbeat, a quick and uncontrollable beat that told her, without words, what her body already knew. Elena tried to focus, but it was useless. That feeling of losing control, of surrendering to what she desired most, dominated her. How could it be so easy, so irresistible?
She still remembered the time when she saw him only as a childhood friend and her first crush. But now? Now he was there, so close, so irresistible. He had grown up, become the kind of man who made her heart race with just a look. The truth was she didn't want to run from it anymore. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that she should still resist. After all, who would resist someone like him, especially after so much time?
So she reciprocated.
Her hands grabbed his shirt without thinking, pulling him closer. Ryan responded immediately, deepening the kiss and, in a continuous movement, guiding her down onto the sofa while supporting himself over her.
The kiss intensified like an inevitable wave. His lips pressed against hers firmly, his tongue tracing the soft contour of her mouth before invading it slowly, exploring with a deliberate slowness that made Elena arch her body without realizing it. His taste flooded her senses, spreading sparks of heat that exploded in her chest and trickled like liquid fire down her spine. A low moan escaped against his mouth, involuntary, while her hands climbed up his broad chest, feeling the firm muscles under the thin shirt, his heart beating strong.
Ryan didn't hesitate to respond. One of his hands slid along the curve of her waist, his fingers spreading possessively over the fabric of her blouse, pulling her closer to him, while the other buried itself in her dark hair, tilting her head to deepen the contact even more. The friction between their bodies was electric; his weight over her on the sofa created a delicious pressure that made her gasp between kisses. Elena's legs intertwined with his by instinct, and Ryan's hip brushed lightly against hers, in a subtle movement that promised more, much more. He nibbled her lower lip with calculated gentleness, drawing a shiver from her, their hot breaths mixing as he murmured something, his hoarse voice vibrating like a caress.
"See how much better it is....?"
Elena responded with a trembling smile, her eyes still dark, full of something that mixed challenge and surrender.
"Maybe...," she murmured, her voice too low to sound confident, "but you always knew how to choose the worst moments to prove your point."
Even so, she didn't wait for the reply.
Her fingers closed again on Ryan's shirt and she pulled him back, pressing her lips to his in a kiss that asked no permission.
Without giving him time to respond, she pulled him back, their lips colliding with his in renewed urgency, the kiss transforming into something wilder, more desperate, as if all the lost time needed to be recovered right there, on the sofa in his house in Mystic Falls.
Her hands rose to Ryan's neck, tangling in the short hairs at the nape, guiding him while her tongue danced with his, exploring with a boldness that surprised even her.
The heat between them grew, intense and urgent, the kiss turning into a dance of tongues and sighs. Each suck, each gentle bite, sent waves of desire that made her squeeze her thighs, the tension building like a storm about to break....
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