At 8 O'clock exactly, Elena walks into the Grill. Okay, she may have stood outside in the cold for 2 minutes. But she didn't want to look eager, so here she is, exactly on time.

She looks around for her supposed date and spots him sitting at the bar, just taking off his coat.

Taking a deep breath in and praying this won't turn out like her shockingly awful last blind date, the brunette tentatively weaves through the Grill.

Halfway through her journey to the barstools, Stefan turns and the two make eye contact. Elena awkwardly makes her way over to the chair beside him as he buys himself a beer.

Elena sits down and strips off her gloves and coat, rubbing her hands together. "You're Stefan, right?"

"That's me. You must be Elena. I'm pleased to meet you."

"You too." Elena isn't really sure what to say, and can already feel the awkwardness of first meeting building up. "So… it's pretty cold out there."

"Yeah, I think it's about to snow. Can I buy you a drink?"

"That sounds good."

"A cruiser, please." Stefan says to the bartender as Elena raises her eyebrow. "What? Isn't that what girls drink?"

Elena giggles slightly at this, but her smile slowly fades as she notices the gleam of a new, expensive looking watch on his wrist as he pulls an equally new, equally expensive-looking wallet from his pocket. A wave of discomfort rushes over her as she realises he must be quite well off. Her family had always been comfortable with their finances, but with her parents gone and both she and her brother in college, she'd had to reign in the expenses a bit and was worried now that Stefan might be a little too rich for her.

These thoughts are interrupted as her drink is placed in front of her. "So, Caroline says you're from Chicago?" Elena prods as she pulls the bottle towards herself.

"Well, My brother and I were born here in Mystic Falls, actually. But my parents died when I was quite young so we grew up with family in Chicago."

"Oh…" Elena doesn't know how to react to that. She wasn't expecting a fellow orphan. "I'm sorry about your parents."

"It's okay. I hardly remember them. But I'm back here now. I inherited the Salvatore boarding house and I figured it would be good for me to get some small town fresh air." This worries Elena slightly, did Stefan think of her as just a small town girl?

"Right, so how do you know Ric and Caroline then?" She starts to change the subject.

"My brother, Damon, introduced me to Ric, who introduced me to Caroline. Damon said he met Ric through some hunting group or something." Stefan says with a smile. He's wasn't expecting his date to be this beautiful. "I'm just surprised we haven't met before in the month I've been here. But I'm glad we've rectified that now."

Elena's brow furrows as she takes a sip of her drink. "Oh. Now I see why you're on a blind date."

"What do you mean?" Stefan meets her eyes.

"You're one of those charming, flirty guys who picks up girls at bars with smooth lines like that. But you don't keep them around."

"I'll be honest," he starts, "the way I've been lately, you're probably right. It works though." He shoots her a cocky, lopsided smile and she curses herself for secretly wanting to see him do it again.

"I bet it does."

"Can I buy you another drink?" He tries to move on, knowing that a little bit of arrogance can be cute, but seeing that she's a genuine girl and not wanting to make her think he's an ass.

xxxxx

Conversation flows smoother after that, and by 9 O'clock both of them are finding themselves more than a little tipsy. Stefan is enjoying the refreshing company of a more real girl for once, and Elena is feeling comfortable enough to let loose a bit. Her vision is a little blurry now and she decides to order them both shots.

By their time Stefan calls for their fourth shot, both have noticed how they've been slowly moving closer together. The bartender clinks the two little glasses of tequila onto the bar in front of them and they say cheers in slurred voices before downing them.

"God. I can still taste it." Elena screws up her face and turns to Stefan, suddenly becoming very aware of just how close they are.

"Maybe you just need a chaser then." he says and their lips collide, sloppily, but somehow feeling perfect. The thick layer of alcohol wrapping Elena's brain has removed her reservations, and she starts to kiss back. They respond to each other, their pace and pressure climbing, until Stefan breaks away suddenly. Elena starts to give him a questioning look when he opens his mouth. "Wanna come back to my place?"

Elena looks over him with hazy vision and just nods. Why not? They fumble to grab their things and rush through the freezing weather outside, and they find themselves in his car in no time.

Usually this would be the time that Elena would start to have thoughts of backing out, but through the haze in her brain all she can focus on is how Stefan has one hand on the steering wheel, navigating the snowy weather, and one arm across the centre console of the car to allow his hand to steadily creep up her inner thigh. Stefan hears her breathing hitch and he drives a fraction over the speed limit to get them back to his house.