She walked into the party, she had taken her time getting ready and was thinking of all the ways to get back at Stefan for his smart comment he made earlier. Stefan, she shuddered at the thought of his name. He was always on her nerves, the way he strutted around the hallway like he owned the place and treated girls like they were his puppets, moving to every one of his wants. She needed a drink, or 2.
Stefan was standing at the back talking with his friends when Elena walked in. He was surprised, for a girl who so against him, he couldn't help but admit she was really pretty, maybe too pretty to use the word pretty…beautiful, no Stefan, she is a stuck-up cheerleader, she is never to be called beautiful. He was tempted to walk over to her and find some way to annoy her but she was quick in walking away and going towards the bar. When she moved out of sight, he tried to return to his former conversation but something was holding him back. He felt a sudden need to check on her, she had confidence, a guy might try take advantage of her and Katherine would kill him if something happen to her. He managed to move near the doorway, wear he had a clear view of her.
'Dude, since when did you have the hots for the stuck-ups leader?' said Tyler. Man, the guy couldn't go 2 seconds without destroying someone's life.
'Don't call me dude. I don't have the hots for her, I wanted a good look at all the other cheerleader's legs and she happens to be in the same room as them.' He fought back.
'Cause that's what it looks like.' returned Tyler.
Suddenly extremely irritated by Tyler, Stefan snapped back. 'Just cause your girlfriends dumped you for Klaus doesn't mean you have to make everyone else's lives a misery. Ok?'
Unable to stand being in his presence Stefan walked outside to be greeted by a not-so sober Caroline. Even though he hadn't known her for very long, he already treated her like a sister. She was fun and bubbly which was what Stefan liked, he used to think she was clingy and annoying but Klaus loves her, so Stefan had to accept her and willed himself to get to know her. He was so glad he did.
'What you up to pretty girl?' he asked.
'Nah, uh-uh, according to Klausy-pie I am beaaauuutttiiifuuulll. Why aren't you inside?' she slurred, hanging on to Stefan to stay standing.
'Ha, Klausy-pie, I will have to tell him that one. I am outside because I needed some air and because of your extremely annoying and moody ex-boyfriend.'
'Ohhhh, yeah, he is really annoying isn't he? When are you meeting eeeelllleeeennnnaaaa?'
'In about an hour, now where is your Klausy-pie?' he said slightly worried and glancing around.
'We are playing hide and seek, but then I saw you and I wanted to say hhhhiiiiii!'
Then as if on cue, Klaus comes running out saying 'Baby, I found you.'
Stefan handed Caroline over to Klaus. He was planning on staying sober this evening and was now even more determined since he would probably be stuck driving that couple back home too. It was about time for him to meet with Elena, he hoped if she was drunk, she wasn't an angry drunk or he would be having a bit of trouble controlling her. He walked into the room and sat on one of the sofas. He pulled out his phone, which on his notes had all the ideas he got for the cheerleader and football team events. Then he heard someone open the doors and to his disappointment he saw a drunk-Elena walk in. She was trying to walk straight but clearly having a lot of trouble. When she was about to go to the lounge opposite him, Stefan got the biggest fright when she fell forward and somehow ended up on his lap.
'I.. wasn't meant to do that…. But…ah!.. Your pretty comfy!' she slurred while making herself comfortable against his chest.
Stefan felt very taken back, not only 10 minutes ago they weren't making eye-contact and now she was on his lap, snuggling up to him…. He was very confused.
'Uhhh…Elena…. I think it's time for you to go home, I can text you this list tonight.' He said trying to stand up as gently as possible.
'No! We have to do this now and Caroline is taking me home.' She argued, trying to push Stefan back down.
Stefan sighed. Elena was usually very determined when she sober and being drunk she must have been just as determined but over very little things. Caroline would definetly not be able to take her home and Elena wanted to go over ideas. Trying to compromise he said 'How about I take you home and on the way we talk about ideas?'
Elena started thinking about it. You didn't have to be a genius to know that, she bit her lip and looked up as if her brain was slowly processing what he just said. 'Ok' she said.
On the way out, he was trying to find Klaus's younger sister, she had her license and would hopefully be sober and would drive them home. Eventually he did but she didn't have her car here, so he had to lead her his. Walking back to Elena he said 'Elena, how far away is your house?'
'From here, it is far far away… I live…. I live at P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney!' she said and then burst out laughing like she told the funniest joke she ever heard.
Stefan chuckled. This was going to be a long night. 'You're lucky, your brother and I used to play football together or we would get so lost. Now are you coming?' he said and offered her his hand. She took it and so the night began.
As they walked she talked about everything. At times he would think she is talking to herself but then she would lean towards his arm and look up at her and ask him a question.
'When I was 12, I started cheerleading. I used to think that if you started cheerleading you would become pretty. That you would get popular, meet your dream guy and then win every competition. Just like in the movies but, for 3 years I never won a competition and I was a nerd. Then in high school, suddenly no one liked cheerleading, I kept going but most people quit and then it became popular again and guess who was the best of them all?' she said.
'Ah, that's a hard one. Ummm, I am guessing.. You?' he asked playing along.
'Yeah! How did you know? You must be able to read my mind… So, whats your story with that gruesome sport…football?' she asked leaning against him and tucking one of her hands on the inside of his arm.
'Football is not a sport, it's a way of life… Ha, I don't know, when I was little I used to always want to be a hero, don't laugh! I did, I imagined myself working side-by-side with spiderman or superman, batman already had robin so I couldn't be with him. Then my dad came and said "You weren't born with superpowers and I doubt we can find you some now, but being a hero doesn't mean saving the world, it just means making a difference and leading people in the right direction. Being a leader is the closest thing we have to super heroes these days". So then I made it my goal to be captain. I also love the sport.' He explained.
'Ha, I can so imagine a mini you running around the house with a superman cape on or saying 'To inifinti and beyond!' she said.
They turned to corner to her street and saw her house ahead. He heard Elena sigh, so he moved his arm around her shoulder. 'Don't worry Elena, soon you will look at your house and see good memories.' He said, as they walked up her porch steps.
'You can only hope. Do you know what time it is?' she asked.
'Around midnight, why are you late for your curfew?' he asked, with a dry sense of humour in his voice.
'Nope, far from it actually, my aunt was supervising so she won't be home till about 3 am and my brother is usually out until about 1. Want to have a picnic?' she said, breaking out into an dazzling smile, looking up at him.
'Elena, you're drunk. We have school tomorrow and it wouldn't be the right thing to do..' he said, pulling the responsibility card.
'Awwww, but stefan!' she said in a pleading voice.
'Nope, pleading voices don't work on me, actually I find them kind of annoying.' He said, hoping she would take a hint and know he won't give in.
'What about puppy eyes?' she looked up at him with the biggest eyes he had ever seen and put on a sad face.
Damn it, he thought. Why did she have to bring out the puppy eyes?
'So why is it you wanted this picnic?' he said in defeat.
'Because if I am drunk as you claim me to be, then tomorrow I will probably have a hangover and won't be able to remember talking to you. I don't want to forget our conversations just yet.' She said, bounding up the stairs and collecting everything they would need.
Stefan was shocked. He hadn't thought about that. He knew she would have a hangover, but he didn't want her to forget their conversation. It was then realized that he was so happy that he agreed to the picnic, just a few more hours till reality sinks in he thought. She would never remember tonight but him, on the other hand, would remember every moment and remember what it felt to feel this way. He couldn't explain it but he felt like he was getting everything off his chest but he couldn't do that around anyone except Elena.
'Let's go!' said Elena, interrupting his thoughts.
'Where? Because I don't exactly think it's the best idea that I follow a drunk…' he asked.
'It's a surprise….' She said. 'Don't worry it's just down the road.' She added when she saw the worried look on his face.
When they walked down, Stefan decided to take a leap of faith and instead of offering his hands, put his arm around her, trying to hold her as close as he could. He glanced down to see if it was too far, but to his surprise, Elena responded and wrapped both arms around his waist. As they started walking, they began talking all over again. Stefan had absolutely no clue, where they were going but he knew he could trust Elena.
Suddenly, Elena looked up at him and asked 'What about your parents?'
He stopped walking and loosened his arm around her but she still held him close. 'Ummm, well, I don't like to talk about it…' he started. But he looked at Elena and saw the understanding in her eyes. 'They left damon and me with our uncle when we were 5 for a business trip and I guess, they never came back. We were told they went scuba diving for the first time and mum wasn't doing the right technique, so when she came to the surface to get air, she died. There are more scientific terms but I never understood those.' He said looking ahead.
'And your dad?' she asked with the same look in her eyes.
'He suicided the night before he was meant to come home. The police thought he was mourning and had too much alcohol and then forgot about Damon and me and suicided so he wouldn't have to suffer a broken heart. But they were sugar-coating it for us. Our dad wasn't drunk, he thought about us. He suicided because he didn't want to look after us, he knew our mum would have done a better job and he didn't want us to compare him to her. So then at 5 years old, I was an orphan with Damon as my only immediate family. Luckily, the police tracked our uncle or I have no idea what we would have done.' He said.
He didn't understand why he was telling her this. He hadn't told anyone, not even his closest friends knew. Stefan usually said 'car accident' or 'left when he was born' but he had never said the entire truth yet here he was telling a near-stranger one of his darkest secrets.
'I got heaps of advice from the entire town when my parents died. They all said 'soon it will get better' or 'it's ok.' None of what they said matter, they never knew how it felt to lose the two people who always accepted you and nothing you did could change their love for you. But I was sitting down next to my bookshelf crying and then suddenly a book fell on me and the page it was opened to, the first lines were 'If we were birds and my parent flew away, I would try to accept it and remember that they always love me.' It was diary that fell and it opened to when I was 12 and we did an assignment on birds and we got asked what we would do if our parent flew away like many other birds have done, I was too shy to answer in class so I wrote it in my diary. When I saw that I knew I would have to follow my own advice and at least act like everything was fine when really it would never be fine again.' She said, he could see her eyes beginning to get teary.
'Let's stop talking about how gloomy our lives are and talk about the future, like for example where the hell are we?' he said, trying to lighten the mood.
She laughed and turned near the end of the road. There was a small bushwalk but once you came out from behind the trees, there was a small, circular field about 4 metres in diameter and it was bordered with blooming flowers. This place was beautiful, the flowers were great but the view of the sky and mood were absolutely breath-taking. The moon shone brightly down on them and the stars were scattered along the sky. Elena pulled out a picnic mat and lay down, dragging Stefan with her. They looked up at the sky together and talked about their dreams and future they wanted for them selves, they laughed and joked about the silliest of things and then they simply enjoyed the silence and appreciated life not concerned about anything else but each other. When it was 4am they decided to run back to the house to see if they could beat Jenna home. Elena seemed almost sober but Stefan didn't say anything, scared he would ruin that temporary friendship.
They walked up to Elena's door, puffing and trying to catch their breath.
'Wow, for a girl, I must admit you have speed.' He said leaning against a pole.
'What can I say, I'm a cheerleader!' she replied.
'So I will probably be ditching school today and getting sleep but I will meet with you at lunchtime tomorrow to go over ideas?' He asked.
'Sounds good, don't worry I doubt anyone will be going to school today, considering how much we were all drinking.' She said.
'Well, then I'll see you tomorrow.' He said. Then he walked away giving her a wave when he turned the corner to go to his house.
As soon as Elena got upstairs, she fell into bed and instantly went to sleep.
At 10am the next morning she woke up, happy she told Stefan she wasn't going to school. Wait, what did you just say? She thought. The party at caroline's house was great, she remembered walking in and seeing Stefan then drinking much more then she should have then its all blacked out but then she remembers falling on to someone's lap and that same person taking her home. Oh my gosh! It was Stefan! Why was he being so nice to her? She remembered their conversation when he walked her home, she remembered not wanting to have to say good-bye to him so asking him to come to a picnic and she remembers how much fun she had with him and how kind he was to her.
Something she had to decide before tomorrow was whether or not she would tell him she remembered. Should they try to stay enemies or could they have the potential to be something so much more?
