gorysortofstory | Writing Prompt Table.

Basically? My writing muse has been kicking my ass lately, so I want to copy a few other people and steal a prompt table from 100_situations on LJ and offer it up for claims. Feel free to claim as many as you like, and I'll try to get to them eventually. Just give me a pairing (canon, crossover or a game pairing or whatever) and a game or verse (or leave it open, also an option) and I'll try to eventually get to them. It doesn't have to be a romantic ship either, just any group of characters will work.

001.	Finger	002.	Bad	003.	Intelligence	004.	Announce	005.	Day
006.	Murder	007.	Sad	008.	Plan	009.	Ill	010.	Secret
011.	Behind	012.	Want	013.	Stranded	014.	Wealthy	015.	Marriage
016.	Affected	017.	Long Hours	018.	Worthy	019.	Sinful	020.	Obvious
021.	Caught	022.	Splatter	023.	Flight	024.	Slip	025.	Escape
026.	Honor	027.	Ashamed	028.	Attentive	029.	Motivated	030.	Grovel
031.	Swear	032.	Shoot	033.	Switch	034.	Promise	035.	Crawl
036.	Hell	037.	Grin	038.	Hug	039.	Burn	040.	Kiss
041.	Mute	042.	Suffocate	043.	Punch	044.	Exile	045.	Plead
046.	Strong	047.	Defenseless	048.	Discover	049.	Action	050.	Sport
051.	Memorable	052.	Die	053.	Missing	054.	Luck	055.	Rescue
056.	Abort	057.	Possessed	058.	Graveyard	059.	Trail	060.	Walk
061.	Plunge	062.	Jump	063.	Self-conscious	064.	Suspicious	065.	Mistake
066.	Complicated	067.	Black Out	068.	Reveal	069.	Grotesque	070.	Swim
071.	Resign	072.	Nonsense	073.	Declare	074.	Corrupt	075.	Wrong
076.	Right	077.	Administer	078.	Embrace	079.	Argue	080.	Lose
081.	Monster	082.	Hit	083.	Build	084.	Destroy	085.	Breathe
086.	Assist	087.	Stab	088.	Bite	089.	Hunger	090.	Passage
091.	Drama	092.	Haunted	093.	Crisis	094.	Dirty	095.	Emotional
096.	Writer‘s Choice.	097.	Writer‘s Choice.	098.	Writer‘s Choice.	099.	Writer‘s Choice.	100.	Writer‘s Choice.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This is a really, really loose interpretation of the prompt. I apologize. Timelinewise, season 4 of Angel, and sometime after season 3 of TVD I guess.

------

When Cordelia comes back from the realm of the Higher Beings, she's different.

It's not just the amnesia, though that certainly throws Stefan off. He wonders what did it, if it was a medical after effect of changing realms, or something done to her. He's had memories forced from his head before, he can't help but think that something similar happened.
He doesn't want to leave her like that, but Damon calls him away. He's needed in Mystic Falls.

"I'll be back soon," He promises her, hugging her. He doesn't want to upset her in this state, so it's all that he allows himself.

"Okay," She whispers. She sounds alien. Cold. But he supposes it's because she doesn't remember who he is.

At least that's what he tells himself.

-

Next time he visits LA, she has her memories back. He's happy, ecstatic even, to see that she's okay. Or so he thinks. But when he draws her close, when he kisses her, she freezes up in his arms.

"I can't do this anymore, Stefan," She whispers.

"Why?" Because he doesn't understand. Something's not adding up. Something doesn't make sense here, and he can't quite figure out what.

"I don't love you anymore." Her words are sharp. And while Cordelia's always been honest in all the time he's known her, she's never been deliberately cruel like this. It feels like she stabbed him in the gut.

"I don't believe you." He challenges her, placing his hands on her cheeks, lifting her face up so their eyes would meet one another's. He's hoping to find answers in those depths. He doesn't.

"When I was in the Higher Realm, they showed me what you were like. What you used to do. Do you really think I could love a Ripper like you?"

He'd learn later on she gave a similar speech to Angel about his time as Angelus. That she was playing everyone. But in this moment, he doesn't know that. He doesn't know anything yet, except that the Cordelia he used to know would have never said anything about that.

He leaves.

-

When he hears about the rain of fire in Los Angeles, he finds himself making his way back to the hotel despite his better judgment. Though Cordelia made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him, he can't just let her die either. He's incapable of just completely turning his back on those he cares about.

When he finds her, she's even stranger than the last time he saw her. She's standing too close to Connor, and if he inhales, he can smell the young boy all over her. The young boy who was once like a son to her (she had described him as such to Stefan on more than one occasion).

He sticks around for a few weeks, trying to help them against the Beast the best he can. But mostly, he's trying to look for signs. For clues. Something to confirm his suspicions that this isn't Cordelia. He's paying attention to any details he can pick up.

And then he hears it. Her basically goading Angel into letting them remove his soul. It's careful, manipulative. It almost like something Katherine would say.

It's not Cordelia.

-

It'd be too far to call in Bonnie, he realizes. But he remembers a witch Cordelia used to mention who lived in Sunnydale, Willow. It turns out, him calling her into town is useful on a few levels. She's able to return Angel's soul once it goes "missing". But she's also able to inspect Cordelia.

Not that Cordelia's exactly willing. She's trying to squirm, trying to run, but when Willow puts her mind to it, she's not something easily reckoned with. She manages to knock Cordelia out, giving her time to scour the seer's soul.

Stefan waits for an answer, and when he gets it, it's what he's suspected for a while.

"Cordelia's out of the driver seat. It isn't her."

-

The next few days are a blur. He talks to Willow. He calls Bonnie. He watches as Cordelia's body swells up in pregnancy from the being she's been possessed by for months. There has to be a way to stop it. He's not going to give up on her.

Bonnie's the one who finds an answer. There's a section on possession in her Grimmoire. But it's not a spell Willow can do alone. She needs help.

Needless to say, Stefan wires the money to fly Bonnie in as quickly as possible.

-

It's takes four tries and five days before they manage it. They expel Jasmine, and Cordelia's body goes back to normal.

Cordelia herself? Not so much. She's quieter. She can't look anyone in the eye anymore. She cries at night. Stefan notices. He's gotten so used to watching her carefully, he can't stop now.

People try to reassure her it's not her fault. She smiles, and says she knows, but it doesn't reach her face.
-

Stefan stays at the hotel for the time being. Bonnie's gone back home, but he can't just yet.

One night, Cordelia crawls into bed with him, and surprises him as she presses her lips against his.

"What's that for?"

Her voice is shaking as she speaks. "For noticing." There's a pause, and then she adds. "I can't stay here, Stefan. I can't -- not after that thing -- what it did --"

He nods, gathering her close. "Come with me then. You don't have to be alone anymore."

And she does. Go with him, that is. Starts anew. Tries to forget everything. Well, not everything. She'll never forget how Stefan saw what no one else did, the way he paid such close attention to what was going on with her. Caught it before it completely consumed her.
No, that she'll never forget.

EEEEE I LOVE THIS. There are so many things I just want to fix about S4, and this does that perfectly.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome! It always drives me insane that nobody noticed all the weird stuff going on with Cordelia (stuff that should have just screamed it wasn't her, honestly) so it was kind of nice to write a version where somebody did.

Writing Prompt Table.

I Want You To Notice When I'm Not Around -- Stefan/Cordelia - 975 words

Re: I Want You To Notice When I'm Not Around -- Stefan/Cordelia - 975 words

Re: I Want You To Notice When I'm Not Around -- Stefan/Cordelia - 975 words