Stefan has been standing there in front of the mirror for almost an hour now. It's either the tie which for some reason kept loosening or the strand of his hair which didn't stay in place even if he placed a lot of hair gel and made it pointed. While buttoning up the collar, his fingers put a lot of pressure, and the tiny white button got freed from the thread keeping it on his white shirt, falling straight on the floor.

A sigh of frustration leaves his mouth. He turns around and walks straight to the Giant brown colored cabinet in his room. His cabinet is filled with a bunch of grey, black and white T-shirts, jeans perfectly ironed and folded and the shirts and jackets on hangars hanging on the left side of cabinet corner. Whoever knows Stefan Salvatore, they know that his tastes in the clothing might be smart, but they all are plain boring colors. Anyways, he needed another white shirt to go with his tux, and he had plenty of them.

"Looks like some is having a wardrobe malfunctioning issue."

Another deep sigh comes in an automatic fashion from his mouth. He is in no mood for comical, sarcastic comments, and wherever his brother is present, sarcasm comes as a package deal.

"What do you want Damon?" Stefan asks, while unbuttoning the rest of buttons on the shirt he is wearing.

"So, I can't even come to see my brother? I am really hurt." Damon pouts and walks towards the bed lying across the room in the exact middle section, and lie down, looking straight at the chandelier hanging in Stefan's room.

"That much bored are you, huh?" Stefan turns around, and walks towards the mirror, tying up the tie for umpteenth time.

"What do you mean?" Damon asks blinking at the chandelier.

"Nothing."

"And since when did you started getting worked up for looking good and all that?" Damon question, and sits up.

Stefan doesn't reply. More like he just chooses to ignore his brother, because if he will say something there will multiple horrible comebacks ready from Damon. And Stefan doesn't have a mood for that right now.

"What? Ken is getting ready for Barbie, not a big deal. And it's not like she cares for your dressing sense, because if she did, she wouldn't be dating you for past five years."

"You done?"

"Anyway, since when did you started getting worried for your looks? Just because your girlfriend spends hours in front of the mirror doesn't mean you have to as well. Maybe they do say it right?"

"What is that Damon?"

"A couple who stays together for long starts to act like the other."

"It's 'the couple who stays together, starts looking alike' Damon." Stefan corrects him.

"Whatever, smarty pants."

Stefan takes a deep breath again.

"Speak." Damon prompts.

"I have been making these plans for months now, and now since the day is here, I have this weird feeling that everything is going to go downhill." The plans for himself and for her…. Caroline. Even if he is tensed, just the thought of her brings a smile on his face.

"You say you are frustrated, and yet you are smiling like a teen girl, what should I call that?"

"Nothing." Stefan knew it's a waste of time to talk to his brother.

"So are you really going to propose her?" Damon was looking at his little brother, who was going to take a step forward for the biggest day of his life. For the first time in the whole conversation, Damon looked serious with no tone of any joke.

Stefan had discussed about the proposal with him. Who would he talk to anyways? The only two persons with whom he shares about his life are Damon and Caroline, and since he couldn't talk with Caroline about it, he had to put his faith in Damon.

Doesn't mean he had been easy on him. First time he heard about it, he almost rolled laughing on the floor.

"We are vampires, we don't do marriages."

Those were his exact words.

"There was no doubt in that. Everyone knew that someday I will do this, so why not sooner." Stefan replied.

"I don't know the logic behind your proposal because of all this vampire-"

"-Can't marriage and all. Yeah, you told me before your opinion about marriage. But, why Damon? Why is it odd for a vampire to propose?"

"Because there are humans who have limited time, and then there are us, vampires. WE have an eternity to live, why to bind with marriage stuff?"

"Because I think when you find the one, you don't wanna let them go, and it's just a way of showing them that you want to spend every second of your life with them."

"Then are you afraid that she might reject you?"

"No, it's not that. I want her to be happy, and if she doesn't want to…. I won't mind. It's her choice."

"And, are you happy?"

Stefan glanced at Damon. His lips flickering with glowing smile. He didn't have to reply him, because his face was saying everything. Stefan can never be happier than he was at that moment.

"You wanna practice or something? Because I can see you are having cold feet." Damon offered.

"Ha. No thanks. I am good."

"Not that I am doubting your ability, but seriously, how exactly are you going to propose? I am curious."

Stefan chuckled. "I have booked a restaurant."

"The whole restaurant?"

"mhmm." Stefan nodded while putting the cologne on himself.

"That's it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know how grand you are in expressing your feelings, and when it comes to love, you become all poetic and all. What am I missing here?"

Stefan shook his head laughing. "Does it matter?"

"Yeah, for the sake of my brain's health. You are making me anxious now."

And when Stefan didn't respond, Damon continued. "Where is this restaurant exactly?"

"Stop investigating my proposal, Damon."

"Hey, you wanted my help, I am just checking whether your proposal is sappy or not."

"Shut up." Stefan was about to say more, when he heard a noise right outside his room.

"What's that?" Stefan jerked his head on his left on the commotion. And when he concentrated on the sound, his heart started to race.


"And don't forget the-"

"-icing. Yeah, I know Caroline. I am putting it right now."

"And what about-"

"-the open bar? Yeah, that has been taken cared by your secretary."

Caroline started making a mental check of the stuff that were still remaining.

"Care?" The voice halted her thoughts. "Everything will be fine. You are doing perfect."

"Yeah, but it's tomorrow Matt, and there are A LOT of stuff remaining to be done before tomorrow, and by a lot I mean A LOT." She practically shouted at Matt, more like she shouted at the speaker in her car.

"Who can know that better than me?" Matt laughed, and Caroline was sure if he was standing in front her right at the moment, she could see his eyes glowing.

"I don't know about that, but I do know that if you have taken the responsibility, nothing is going to go wrong."

"Yeah, pressurize me more won't ya."

"It's not a time to freak out Caroline, it's the time to enjoy the moment."

"Ha. Easy for you to say. You are not the one who has to finish up every single work before tomorrow."

"Hey I am helping you with the icing."

"That's because Bonnie can't know about the cake, AND that's the sole reason for me to ask you for the help."

"You are so kind with words, Caroline."

"Buttering me up won't do any good to you. Save it for later."

"As you wish."

"But don't forget to call me when the caterer comes. I have to talk to check with him for the menu in person."

"Sure, and Caroline, everything will be over before you come here."

"Let's see. Talk to you later."

"Are you at Stefan's place?" Matt asked before she could end the call.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing… will talk to you later. Bye." And the call went dead.

She frowned at the way Matt ended the call, as if trying to dodge some kind of question. Caroline shook her head, since for the next 24 hours her whole schedule was packed up, and worrying for something out of scope wasn't included.

Caroline turned her car to the right entering the Salvatore property and pulled her car in front of the boarding house. Since she was busy with the preparation, she had asked Stefan to pick her dress up. And as usual he didn't object in doing so.

Few hours before

"Everything is messed up here, and everyone's brain is literally frozen. I mean, they can't do anything without my guidance. How the hell-"

"-Caroline. Calm down and tell me what do you want me to do?"

"Pick up my dress." She sighed.

"That's it? Consider it done."

"But, are you sure? I mean I don't want to be a kind of girlfriend who bosses around their boyfriends."

Stefan chucked on the phone. "Caroline, I will pick the dress. Don't worry."

"Thank you."

"Ok, gotta go. Love you."

She couldn't hear his reply, because her phone died. "Ugh."

And now here she is, in front of the Boarding house, for the dress. And also because she was missing Stefan. It's been about seven years since she fell for him, five years of being together, but it still feels like a fresh breath. A smile automatically comes on her face just by the thought of being with him. She and Stefan… who would have thought? Irony was that when they met for the first time, the moment her eyes fell on him, she dreamt about the fairytale date with him while he dreamt of a fairytale story with Elena. But, that was all in the past now. Today, Stefan is here, and he loves her.

She turns the knob and opens the front door. Boarding house has never changed in the past six years. She wonders if it ever did. She looked around the living room, which was empty and since she could hear the muffled voices coming from upstairs, she knew he must be in the bedroom. So, she quickly started to walk up the stairs.

"So are you really going to propose her?"

She heard Damon asking the question. She was still near the room, and thanks to vampire's super-hearing, she could hear each and everything clearly. At least when she wants to hear. And the matter of proposal had all perked her ears up.

Propose? Did she heard it correct? Did Damon actually said propose?

"There was no doubt in that. Everyone knew that someday I will do this, so why not sooner."

She tried to take a deep sigh, her eyes were getting blurry because of the new information she got.

"Then are you afraid that she might reject you?"

"No, it's not that. I want her to be happy, and if she doesn't want to…. I won't mind. It's her choice."

She could feel the ecstasy in every single bone inside her body. Although, she was pissed at Damon a little, for interfering in the conversation all the time, but also somewhat happy for asking the questions, because now she could hear Stefan's answer.

"And, are you happy?"

She waited for the answer, standing in the middle of the hallway. There was no response, and she wanted nothing but to go and have a peak at his face. She was standing right outside Damon's room, which was right across Stefan's room.

Maybe there is no harm in taking a glance.

"Not that I am doubting your ability, but seriously, how exactly are you going to propose? I am curious."

"I have booked a restaurant."

"The whole restaurant?"

"mhmm."

"That's it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know how grand you are in expressing your feelings, and when it comes to love, you become all poetic and all. What am I missing here?"

Stefan shook his head laughing. "Does it matter?"

"Yeah, for the sake of my brain's health. You are making me anxious now."

"For the first time I am on your side Damon." She muttered. It's kind of sneaky to find out about the surprise he has been planning for so long, before he could even try it on her, but she can't help herself. The anxiety to know more is killing her. And even if she loves to plan the best surprises for others, she never liked to be kept out of any kind of loop.

"Where is this restaurant exactly?"

"Stop investigating my proposal, Damon."

She was jumping inside out at that moment. Is it a dream? Or is it real? And in that moment, she might have kicked a vase, or was it a sculpture. She didn't see it, and didn't care much since it belonged to Damon.

The only problem was… they might have heard her. Thus, she traced her way back down to the living room.

"Oh my god." She whispered. In the matter of seconds, she had practiced her all kinds of surprised expressions, since she didn't want to hurt his feelings. She can totally play it, when will the drama major come handy anyways.

She heard the footsteps behind her, and knowing that he might doubt her, she pulled her best face possible and before turning around and said, "Hey, I was just looking for you."

"Same here." The voice was calm, and wasn't anywhere near Stefan's. It was a woman's voice.

Caroline turned around, and her the shock hit her to see the person standing in front of her. "Lily."

"Yes… Lily… Lily Salvatore." Her eyes were fixed on Caroline.

Lily had disappeared and last time she saw him, it was five years back. Maybe she came to visit her sons. But, that didn't make any sense to her, since Caroline knew how things ended up between them.

"Are you here to meet Stefan and Damon?" She asked.

Lily smiled. "You have no idea why I am here."

Caroline frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"It will be over in seconds. And I hope you won't feel anything."

Before she could ask anything else, things happened in the fraction of a second. She could see the stake thrown at her direction, aimed directly at her heart. She should be running away from it, duck in to dodge the shot, but she couldn't even move in that moment, as if stuck, glued to the air around her, forcing her to stay at the position she was.

That's it. This is the end. She thought. The only instinct left inside her was to shut her eyes, waiting for the fear to go away.

However, when she opened them slightly, she saw a black thing in front of her, sheltering her. She blinked her eyes twice, and figured that the black was the color of Stefan's tux. She looked at him, who was smiling at him, and she smiled back too with a confusion, because the smile wasn't a peaceful one, it was filled with pain. Her eyes slowly fell on his chest, the sharp end of wood sticking out of his body.

"No." Her eyes went wide. "This can't be happening." The words whispered through her mouth, at the exact moment his legs started shake, losing the strength to stand.

At one side, Damon was sitting, while on the other, it was Caroline. She took his head and slowly put it on her lap. "No, no, no, this can't happen again." His tan colored skin tone started to change into ashen grey in front of her eyes.

"Stefan, look at me, you can't go." Damon hurriedly removed the wooden stake that was stuck in his heart. "You have to stay with me. Stefan…"

He was struggling, his throat was choking and out of oxygen. He saw his brother, and then he looked at Caroline. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"I… love….."

She nodded, and waited for him to complete the sentence.

His eyes looked lifeless, transfixed at her, his mouth half open, trying to complete those unfinished words.

"Stefan?" She called his name. His eyes were still staring at her.

"Stefan!" She shook his shoulder. "Stefan…. Stefan, you were saying something. And you know how I get annoyed when you almost stop in the middle of a sentence."

"Caroline…" Damon called her, but she was busy talking to Stefan.

"Stop, playing with me okay. And I know you have to say a lot. So, now get up and finish what you started."

Damon put his hand over her shoulder. She looked at him. "Tell your brother to get up."

"Caroline… he is"
"DON'T..." she glared at him, shutting him off. "Don't you dare? He is going to get up."

"Caroline, he is gone." Damon turned her to face him.

"I said, don't say that." Caroline shrieked. "He isn't… gone. Stefan, tell your brother that you are still here. Please." The tears, the sobs she had been trying hard to keep within, started to come out. She was breaking, and even though Damon hugged her, which he would have never done before, and once he did, she broke into the floods of tears.

"Stefan… STEFAN…"

His name was echoing in the empty air around them, but there was not a single response from him.