But I'll fall away if you tell me to…

Tonight, he let his humanity get in the way.

Stefan was back in Mystic Falls already, standing outside of Elena's house. He knew better than anyone that he shouldn't have been there, especially not when there were caskets to guard in Atlanta. But he couldn't stay away, not right now, not when he was in such a vulnerable state of mind.

He was letting his emotions in slowly, piece by piece… and it was painful and he needed her forgiveness. He needed to give her a proper goodbye before he left for Georgia again; she deserved that much.

He knew that she hated him now; she one hundred percent, without a doubt despised everything about him. But really, Stefan couldn't blame her. Earlier tonight, he had saved Klaus, the man who had murdered her aunt and killed even her in the process, in order to save his brother. But she didn't know that, and he figured it would be best if he didn't tell her.

For a long moment, Stefan stood outside of Elena's window, just watching as her light turned on. He could see her silhouette through the open window, the way her shoulders hunched as soon as she sat on the bed. Her shoulders shook with gentle sobs and Stefan frowned deeply, his heart wrenching at the sight. Before everything happened, on a night like this, it would have been so simple just to appear in her room and hold her close until the tears stopped… But he knew that it wasn't even a possibility anymore. They were so different now; no longer under the innocent spell of a high school romance, Stefan was a complete stranger to her. Klaus really had taken everything from him. He took Elena away from him, the one thing that finally brought him hope and clarity. Now, Stefan had nothing. No one.

With trembling fingers, Stefan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Elena's number. His gaze remained on her open window as he picked up on the sound of her cell phone ringing. Very slowly, he could see her get up and reach for her phone. "Hello?"

Stefan's throat caught when he heard her shaky voice on the other end. This moment reminded him so much of the night when he called her, just needing to hear her… But it was different now. And he had a lot to say. "Hi," he whispered.

There was a long pause on Elena's end. Quickly, Stefan left her yard and ended up in the woods, not wanting to risk her seeing him. If he even saw her up close, there would be absolutely no way that he'd ever leave, and it was clear that going away was exactly what both of them needed. Finally, Elena spoke. "What do you want?"

He sighed. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry… and goodbye."

Elena scoffed. "What kind of game is this? You can't apologize. I know you don't mean it… Do you?" Her voice was sharp and bitter though Stefan wondered if he recognized a small glimmer of hope in her words.

Stefan ran his free hand through his hair, avoiding her question. His bottom lip quivered but he tried to keep his voice steady. "Just make sure Damon takes good care of you." Stefan swallowed thickly. "He loves you."

Once again, it took Elena a long moment to reply. This time when she spoke, it was unsure and slightly timid, no signs of any bitterness or hatred. "S-Stefan?"

A cool tear rolled down his cheek, causing him to quickly brush it away, feeling betrayed by his own heart. Every single cell in him was screaming to stay and talk with her, but he knew he couldn't. "Yes, Elena?"

A sound came from Elena's line and Stefan vaguely wondered if it was another sob. "Is it really you?"

"I don't know." he started, furiously wiping away any tears before they could run down his face. "I don't even know who I'm supposed to be anymore…" He was about to keep talking, about to explain why it wasn't safe for him to be in Mystic Falls, tell her he was sorry and that they couldn't talk again for her sake, but something caught his eye in the distance. There were three men approaching him, now walking down the hill close to the stream.

Within a second, the first man was in front of him. "Well, wasn't that sentimental."

Stefan's body went rigid. He could recognize that voice from a mile away: Klaus. A shiver went through his spine and he quickly hung up his cell phone, his face going hard and emotionless. "What do you want, Klaus?"

A smirk formed on the original vampire's lips. "Well, Stefan, it wasn't long before I found out where you were hiding my family." A devious chuckle erupted through the forest. "You no longer have any leverage."

Stefan's lips curled up with a feral glare. "You're lying."

"You were hiding them in the basement of a Victorian house in Atlanta," Klaus said snidely, his flat blue eyes full of sadistic amusement. "Did you really think you could outsmart me, Stefan? I know how you think… it was easy to figure out your hiding spot. That was a big mistake…"

Stefan's heart fell to his stomach as the two men came to Klaus's side and looked Stefan over with cold expressions. "Don't hurt anyone here," he begged.

"Physically?" Klaus questioned and raised his brow. "That was never my angle. You see… I'd rather watch you suffer. I mean, Elena and Damon wouldn't care if you died, right? In fact, I'd probably be benefiting them. You're just a burden."

The young vampire's eyes closed in defeat. He knew Klaus's words were true, and the fact that he was currently not in control of his emotions definitely wasn't helping. He backed up until he hit a tree. The two men who were behind Klaus didn't intimidate him, but he could feel slight tremors of fear rush through him. "Just don't hurt anyone else… please."

"As you wish." Klaus laughed, a deep, throaty sound that disturbed the whole forest. "Always the martyr, Stefan…"

With those words, Klaus raised his hand, keeping his eyes locked on the vulnerable vampire, and snapped his two fingers together.

Instantly, the two hybrids, who had been standing behind him, pounced at Stefan.

AN: Okay, mainly another intro chapter leading into everything. The next chap will sort of be where everything really starts: Elena and Damon finding out about Stefan, learning exactly what happened to Stefan, etc.

I hope you liked it. Still don't know if I should continue this or not though. What do you think?

Please review! Every single comment inspires me to write more as soon as I possibly can.

Xoxo,

Sara

(Song Credit to Tawgs Salter: "Brave")