past curfew || katherine x open
The sharp click of Katherine's heels echoed against the empty streets as she approached the council building. Mystic Falls was eerily quiet tonight, the kind of quiet that felt oppressive rather than peaceful. The streetlights buzzed faintly, their orange glow flickering like they could barely hold themselves together. Fitting, she thought grimly. They matched her mood. And right now Katherine was in a bad mood... it was a bad day, a bad month... a bad fucking decade. Somehow her plans weren't exactly coming to fruition and it was frustrating her to no end.
And now this. Being human. Disgusting.
The cold air bit at her skin, and she pulled her coat tighter around herself, the human sensation of chill still foreign and unwelcome. It had been some time since the spell had rendered her mortal, and the novelty of vulnerability had long worn off. Every ache, every pang of hunger, every shiver reminded her of just how fragile she’d become. But Katherine Pierce wasn’t fragile. She refused to be.
She stopped in front of the council building, her eyes scanning the steps. The towering columns loomed over her like sentinels, and for a moment, she let herself feel small—just for a moment. Then the sound of footsteps broke the silence, and she instinctively stiffened, turning sharply toward the noise. Someone was there, stepping out of the shadows. Of course, there was. There was always someone lurking in this cursed town. Katherine’s heart skipped a beat—a genuine, human reaction she despised—and she clenched her fists to steady herself.
“Perfect,” she muttered under her breath, forcing her lips into a sardonic smile. She couldn’t let them see her falter, whoever they were. She straightened her posture, lifting her chin like the queen she still believed herself to be, even now. Her eyes swept over the figure, assessing. Stranger or not, friend or foe, it didn’t matter. She would handle it. She always did. But the weight pressing against her ribs, the hollow ache of her mortality, made her feel exposed in a way she hadn’t since... well, not in centuries. The person moved closer, and Katherine felt her pulse quicken—a sensation she was still getting used to. She curled her fingers into the fabric of her coat, masking the tremor with a haughty gesture as she folded her arms. “What?” she quipped, her voice sharp and dripping with derision. “Haven’t seen a girl out past curfew before?”
The snark came easily, a shield she didn’t even need to think about. Let them believe she was in control. Let them think she wasn’t just human, vulnerable, and out of her depth. But beneath the mask, Katherine felt the faintest pang of unease. She hated this. The nights were colder now, the shadows darker, and for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t the thing lurking in them. She watched the figure carefully, her sharp brown eyes revealing nothing but cool disdain. “Well?” she said, louder this time, her tone hard and impatient. She was Katherine Pierce. She would be damned if she let anyone—human, vampire, or otherwise—see her crumble.
Tyler wasn’t necessarily following her, he had to walk in the same direction anyway. At first he had paid no attention to the person walking ahead of him, it was dark out after all. When the light from the moon finally let him get a better look at the person he thought it was Elena for a brief moment before getting a better look, there was no mistaken it was Katherine. Considering the possibility that she was up to something being 50/50 is when he decided to catch up to her. “What? A guy can’t walk home.”
