A/N Okay so this is my first The Vampire Diaries fanfiction. I've been a devoted, obsessed, loving Stelena fan forever and this is my shot at writing a reconciliation story between Stefan and Elena. I loveeeee Paul Wesley and I find Nina Dobrev a truly confident and talented actor... I'm impartial to Damon. I mean, I think Ian Somerhalder is the sexist thing alive, but Damon the character is not someone I can say I like... omg now I'm just rambling.

Read. Enjoy. Tell me what you think :)

ELENA's POV-

Stefan. That abhorrent, inconvenient Stefan. That beautiful, considerate, unwavering Stefan. That man who, no matter what caused him to shut it off, would love me. That man who I loved with every ounce of passion in my body.

I thought of that Stefan, my Stefan, as I lay in bed the night of the first day of my senior year. So much had happened in the past year but my love for Stefan, from that first sight and until now, had stayed constant. It was, aside from my responsibility for Jeremy, the only thing keeping me alive.

And by what I saw in his eyes today… there was no question I was for who he was alive.

I silently cried to myself while gripping my soft, khaki comforter. It was the very comforter that Stefan and I had gotten ourselves tangled into so many times. It was the very comforter in which I hid before Stefan found me and tickled me until I begged him to stop. It was the same comforter that kept me warm through the night when Stefan and I stay lay awake whispering to each other and talking about everything: our lives, our pain, our hopes, our love.

I thought of —fantasized of, moreover—what could have happened if he had had the chance to say something before Ric shot him. I imagined him scolding me for being so damn reckless, and asking me how selfish I could be for doing that, for leaving him. I dreamt of him saying "Elena, I love you so much."

His eyes gave away how shaken he was and how he wouldn't have forgiven himself if something had happened to me. If I wasn't mistaken, there had been a shimmer of tears in his eyes. The way he held me tight for those few, glorious seconds proved to me that he still believed I was his and he would fight Klaus and the world to protect me. Not for his obligation to Klaus, but for me. The way he questioned me before I left the Salvatore Boarding House tonight, asking why I saved him, was the perfect example of how he was instigating me to tell him that I love him. He needed my faith in him to hold through all this, just like how he needed my words the night of my birthday. He would play it cool and pretend like nothing he was doing to me was bothering him, but it was. Like every five year old boy who pushes a girl in the sandbox to not give away how much he cares, Stefan was playing his part well.

But I saw through his façade. And I couldn't take it anymore. DAMMIT!

Stefan wasn't really compelled. He was still the real Stefan, not ripper Stefan. He was pretending to be devoid of any emotion so that he could protect me from any further damage from Klaus. IT WAS ALL THERE… HE WAS ACTING THAT IT WASN'T to fool Rebekah, Tyler, us all. It was his excuse to be by me all the time, free of Klaus. And he was perfect at it.

If anything, Stefan was, like Damon had said, high off of human blood. I'd taken care of that before, so why not now. I would help him. I'd do anything for him.

Just like he would for me. Because it was Stefan and Elena. Always.

This time, I knew exactly what I had to do. I was gonna put up a fight and make him admit that he saw the "human blood bag" as his Elena. I was gonna do it the hard way. I was gonna make him cry… but I was gonna do it to see him in my arms again.

I got outta my bed, and walked across the room, my bare feet shivering at the feel of the cold wooden floor. I reached my elegant, pearl dresser… some never married great aunt Gilbert had left it for me before she died, but that was the last thought on my mind right then. I grabbed my phone. Damn, it was 2:47 am, and I had school the next day. But what I was about to set out on doing was so much more significant than what school could ever be for me after all that I had dealt with. I was prepped to be the perfect writer just like I was ready to make Stefan reveal his game to me.

G-u-y-s I typed slowly at first onto the touchscreen, my half-closed eyes adjusting to the bright light coming from the phone. I picked up my pace: M-e-e-t m-e a-t t-h-e D-u-n-k-i-n o-n t-h-e o-t-h-e-r s-i-d-e o-f t-o-w-n 715 a-m C-a-n-t m-e-e-t a-t t-h-e G-r-i-l-l T-h-i-s i-s s-e-r-i-o-u-s I-m-m-a b-r-i-n-g S-t-e-f-a-n b-a-c-k.

I selected Bonnie, Caroline, Ric, Tyler, Matt, Damon and Jeremy as the recipients. I would need them all. I pressed the green, instigating Send button. The first two times I did, it didn't go through. I thought that maybe it was a sign that my idea wasn't so great after all, but then decided that I was thinking into it too much. The third time it worked.

I heard a deep growling sound come from the back of my room, towards the window. I turned abruptly. I convinced myself it was just me imagining things again, being the girl involved with vampires and werewolves and witches and all, and went back to my bed, taking my phone with me. I felt relieved after sending that message, hopeful. I dunno when I fell asleep, but it must have been as soon as my muscles collapsed on my big bed. I needed to sleep.

After all, dying was going to take a lot of energy.