Ah yes, I'm back with another story. Delena, nonetheless. A new story is the last thing I need right now, but what can I say? Delena shoots my will power all to hell.
Full summary: Elena Gilbert thought she left that summer behind her a long time ago- the one where Damon stole her heart, and then broke it. Five years later, she's moved on. Stefan- her boyfriend of a year- decides to take her to his home town of Mystic Falls, Virginia to meet his family. But when she arrives, she gets the surprise of her life: Not only does she come face to face with Damon, but she learns that he is Stefan's older brother. Can the two pretend nothing ever happened between them, or do old feelings die hard? AU/AH
I couldn't sleep last night…
Her heart was pumping wildly in her chest, making her feel dizzy and lightheaded. Everything seemed far away, like she was standing in a tunnel, looking down at the scene before her. Beautiful, pale blue water- turned nearly white with the sun in her eyes- stretched endlessly out in front of her. It was impossible to tell where the ocean ended and the equally blue sky began.
"One…"
She sucked in a breath, desperately trying to steady her heartbeat. She squeezed the smooth, familiar hand in hers. The hand squeezed back and despite the fear pumping through her veins like blood, she smiled. His hand was cool and dry, while hers was hot and sweaty. A breeze rustled her hair and cooled her back. She impatiently pushed the hair in her face away.
"…two…"
As the second ticked on, she held her breath. It felt as if time paused around her. They were the only real things in the entire world.
"…three!"
And she jumped.
She left her stomach at the top and her heart lodged itself in her throat. Her hair whipped wildly behind her, twisting and flowing like a live thing, tangling and knotting itself. The rush of adrenaline was like nothing she had ever experienced. She'd never felt so alive.
It was terrifying and exhilarating and thrilling. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or scream or both. The wind was so loud as they fell, she wasn't sure which she did.
The cerulean water grew closer and closer until it was just a heartbeat below them. She didn't have enough time to close her eyes before her feet were submerged in the warm water. It rose up her calves, past her knees, up her thighs, wrapping around her hips, snaking up her midsection until finally, she was completely under. The sheer force of the drop was enough to plunge her a few feet under the surface. She ignored the sting of saltwater in her eyes and forced them to stay open.
For just a second, she saw him perfectly. His eyes were closed and he was smiling. His whole face lit up when he smiled like that. She'd learn that he so rarely smiled, she had to savor it when the opportunity presented itself. His startling black hair was a stark contrast against the pale blue water. His long lashes were the same color as his hair, and she knew if he opened his eyes, the blue of his eyes would put the water to shame.
Her lungs began to burn with the need to breathe. She tugged on his hand and together, they swam their way up. They broke the surface gasping for air and laughing.
"Oh- my god," she gasped, her body shaking with giggles.
He shook his hair, sending water droplets flying and pushed the remaining strands away from his face with his free hand. His smile was wide and his eyes hopeful.
"That was…" she trailed off, searching for the right words. How did you put something so exhilarating into simple words? It felt impossible.
Luckily, he understood just what she meant. "I told you," he exclaimed. "Did I not tell you?"
She smiled at him, because it was impossible not to when he was looking at her like that. He shined so brightly, everything else was dull in comparison. How could she not smile when a boy with the face of an angel was smiling at her? It seemed impossible that someone could shine so brightly; surely he would burst any second.
"You were absolutely right," she admitted.
He put on a mock serious face. "I'm always right."
She splashed him with water, but couldn't bring herself to stop smiling. "Shut up."
He grinned and pushed back a lock of her long, dark brown hair away from her face. His touch sent electrical jolts through her and she was lost looking into those blue, blue eyes of his.
Seconds or minutes or hours could have passed before he tugged on her hand and said, "Come on. I don't want you to drown or get eaten by sharks or something."
His voice broke her compulsion and she stuck her tongue out at him. Though she knew he was kidding about the sharks, she swam a little faster. The long, even strokes of her arms pushing the water helped clear her foggy head. The heat in her body ignited by his gaze had almost completely disappeared by the time she felt sand beneath her feet.
They collapsed onto the hot white sand, panting and laughing. Somehow on the way down, they entangled themselves in each other: legs snaked around each others', arms intertwined and faces an inch apart. Again, she found herself getting lost in the depths of his eyes. They were staring into hers so intensely, she thought he could read her mind.
"I love you," he said breathlessly.
Her breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat. He'd said it. He loved her. He really, really loved her.
"I love you, too," she said.
And after a declaration like that, they did the only next logical thing: they kissed.
Elena woke with a jolt, her lips tingling from a kiss better left forgotten. Sweat rolled down her face and back, dampening her blue camisole and sticking her hair to her temples. Her heart was thumping in her chest from something she didn't want to examine too closely, and her muscles were sore, like she actually just swam to shore.
She swallowed thickly and looked down at the still sleeping figure beside her. She was half disappointed and half relieved her jolt out of dreamland didn't jolt him out of slumber too. As much as she wanted Stefan's comforting arms around her, she wanted the solitude of her own mind even more.
Knowing sleep was now just wishful thinking, she slowly slipped out of bed and tip toed to the door, ignoring the bags littering the floor. She closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief at her silent escape.
She padded into the kitchen and flipped on the light, ready for some much needed therapy before examining the very recent events of the night. To do that, she needed energy and for energy, she needed sugar. She grabbed a coffee mug and hot chocolate packet from the cabinet. Microwaving was the cheater way of making hot chocolate but she didn't have the patience to boil water, so she filled the cup with water, stuck it in the microwave and on the way to the counter, she grabbed a spoon, milk and a tub of Ben and Jerry's.
A few minutes later, as she was stirring her hot chocolate, she allowed herself to think. She hadn't had that dream in a very, very long time. Not since she'd met Stefan. He'd filled that void inside her a long time ago and she was fervently thankful for that. So why the hell was she dreaming of he-who-shall-not-be-named (courtesy of Caroline Forbes, aka her best friend in the whole world)? It's said that dreams are a way of your mind telling you what you wanted. In that case, was her mind telling her she wanted to jump off a cliff? Quite possible with what she was going to be enduring the next week and a half.
She glowered and took a huge, heaping bite of Brownie Fudge- the kind of bite you only took when no one else was around. She washed it down with a scorching sip of hot chocolate, cursing whoever studied dreams and came up with that theory. Hadn't they ever heard of the theory of randomness?
She took another bite of ice cream, her mood deteriorating rapidly.
"Elena."
She jumped and whirled around, the spoon still poised in her hand. She swallowed rather painfully and wiped her mouth just in case.
Stefan was leaning against the counter in a wife beater and basketball shorts, his arms crossed over his chest, golden brown hair disheveled and a half amused, half worried look on his face.
"Hey," she said, feeling like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "What are you doing up?"
"I could ask you the same," he said. His tone was light, but his leaf green eyes were filled with worry.
"Touché," she said, putting off answering the question.
He smiled and came and sat down beside her, taking her hand in his and drawing little patterns on the back of it. He surveyed the hot chocolate and ice cream as he did so, before asking, "Is this about tomorrow?"
No, but now that you mention it, she thought. The thought of meeting Stefan's family after a year of them dating scared the living hell out of her and the week before his little sister's wedding no less didn't do good things to her nerves either.
He took her silence as an approval. She wasn't about to correct him- Stefan knew very little about who-he-shall-not-be-named and she'd like to keep it that way. "Don't worry," he said softly. "They'll love you. How could they not?"
She felt guilty for lying to- or in the very least deceiving- him, but she just couldn't tell him the truth. She just… couldn't. She'd tried plenty of times, but she could never bring herself to actually say the words. But damn it, he was just so sweet, it made her feel like a terrible person for not telling him the one hundred percent truth. She was nervous about meeting his family though. That wasn't a lie.
"I just… do you really think it's a good idea to bring me?" she asked miserably. "I don't want to get in the way or be a distraction, what with the wedding and-"
He put a finger to her lips, silencing her. He leaned forward and said, "Rose wants to meet you so bad it's killing her. Don't be surprised if she asks you to be a bridesmaid." Then he pecked her on the forehead.
"You promise they won't hate me?" she asked in a small voice.
"I promise on the moon and the stars," he said, grinning widely. "It's impossible to hate you."
"You're so corny," she said, though a smile was threatening to lighten her bad mood.
He smiled good naturedly and dipped the spoon in the tub of ice cream, coming back with a giant spoonful. He ate half of it and held out the rest to her, which she took gratefully. "Okay," he said, licking his full lips. "Come back to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow and I know how you are at seven A.M.."
She made a face and nodded. "I'll just clean up and be right in."
He nodded, kissed her softly on the cheek and headed toward the door.
"Wait!" she called after him. When he turned around, she said, "What woke you up?"
He shook his head, laughing softly. "You're not as quiet as you think you are," he said, and then disappeared down the hall, taking all of his comfort and reassurance with him.
She stood there frowning for a moment before gathering all her therapy supplies and putting them in their respective places. After switching off the light, she stored the memory of that summer in the box labeled "Things Better Left Forgotten" in the very corner of her mind with braces and prom.
Stefan was snoring softly when she climbed back into bed. Even in his sleep, he opened his arms for her to snuggle into, just like he'd been doing for the last six months they had been living in this tiny little apartment in New York City together.
In the dark, with nothing but the sound of Stefan's breathing and her own heartbeat in her ears, she whispered, "This is where you belong, Elena."
What'd you think? Good? Bad? Leave me a review and let me know(:
Oh, and in this fic, Rose is Stefan and Damon's little sister.
(: