Hold On

It was Damon who found Willow in the school corridor, where Willow first met Stefan...

And where she said goodbye to him...

Willow was on the floor, her back leaning against the lockers. She was staring at the door that Stefan had left through, where he'd find peace. Willow hoped Lexi was there on the other side waiting for him. The two best friends deserved to find peace with eachother.

Damon didn't say anything when he found her. Just by the look of her, he knew that she was aware of Stefan's passing. He watched her, guilt eating away at him as he saw the tear tracks on her cheeks and her glassy eyes telling him that she wasn't done crying yet.

Damon sighed and sat himself down beside her. Neither said anything. Like there was anything to be said anyway.

The heartbreak outweighed any other feeling right then. The agonising pain she felt was just too much to even put into words, and if she was being honest she didn't really want to spout all of her feelings onto her dead boyfriend's brother. Though she gathered he wasn't feeling much different.

Surprisingly, it was Damon who broke the agonising silence, "I'm sorry." His voice was hoarse like he'd been crying too. Willow didn't care enough to look and check.

Willow let out a breath, wiped her eyes on the back of her hand smearing her mascara everywhere. What was she supposed to say to that? Was she supposed to give him a big hug and say 'me too' and then cry on his shoulder? So instead she managed to croak out a broken, "Yeah."

Without another word, Willow stood up, although she almost stumbled back to the floor because her legs felt like jelly. She quickly steadied herself on the lockers, let out a shaky breath, before forcing her legs to move forward towards the door that Stefan had left through.

She didn't spare Damon another glance as she trudged towards the doors and he didn't try and stop her. Just as her fingertips touched the door to push it open she felt fresh tears burn her eyes again. Her head bowed to her chest, a broken sob coming from her.

She knew as soon as she opened these doors, there would be no peace for her.

But with a heavy heart, she used all of her strength to push the door open, the darkness swallowing her whole.

Caroline had managed to arrange for Stefan's funeral to be for the next day. Willow didn't ask how she managed to do it, or who she had to compel to get everything sorted in such a short amount of time because the truth was that she simply did not care. Maybe she should have but the numbness had set in now and she found it hard to care much about anything, even Stefan's funeral.

There was no body to bury anyway. There was just a tombstone with Stefan's name on it, his year of birth and a simple line that said he was a friend and a brother, and that he was at peace. Caroline had insisted that they put something in that was to do with Willow, but Willow couldn't think of what to put down. Lover? Significant other? Soul mate? No, no and no. Caroline had suggested they put 'Brother - Husband - Friend' since according to the blonde vampire Stefan was going to marry her anyway one day. But Willow ultimately disagreed because at the end of the day she wasn't his wife and he wasn't her husband.

It was only going to be a small service, only consisting of the small group that had been through everything together; Willow, Raven, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Alaric, Jeremy and Damon. Willow imagined it wouldn't go unnoticed by people that Stefan wasn't around town anymore and they'd never know that Stefan had died saving their lives. To Willow, it just didn't seem worth it. And maybe that was selfish of her to feel like Stefan's life meant more than a few thousand but she couldn't help it.

The first thing that Willow did once she got to the cemetery for Stefan's funeral was to go into the Salvatore family crypt where Stefan's tombstone was. She had made it clear to Caroline and Raven that she didn't want to be disturbed for a moment, knowing that they would give her the time that she needed right now.

Willow shivered as she went inside the crypt, closing her eyes as she stood before Stefan's name.

Stefan Salvatore

Brother - Friend

Born 1846

Found Peace

Willow pinched her eyes shut for a second as she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. It had become a familiar feeling in the last twenty-four hours. Willow opened her mouth to say something except nothing but a shuddering breath escaped her lips. Her throat felt tight, her mouth dry. She could feel the beginnings of a sob coming on. "What the hell am I supposed to say?" Willow practically whispered, unable to force her voice to go any louder. "What do you say to someone who's dead?" She shook her head, not caring when the tears finally fell.

Willow thought that she'd just cry and go on about how heartbroken she was, talk about how amazing Stefan was for saving her and everyone else. Say that she was proud of him. But she didn't. Instead, Willow felt a black fog come over, smothering her in anger and frustration. "Fuck you, Stefan." She breathed out in a broken whisper. "How could you do this?" She placed her hands over her eyes, her tears burning her eyes. "Why did you have to go and be the hero? Couldn't you for once just be selfish?" Willow rubbed her eyes. She couldn't stop the onslaught of questions. Questions that she knew would never be answered. "Did you even think about me? About us?"

Willow removed her hands from her face, now feeling like she couldn't breathe and that her legs were going to give out on her. She found herself leaning her hands on his tombstone, her head bowed downwards, her shoulders rigid as she tried to stop the never ending tears. "I hate you." Willow murmured, the anger leaving her for now. Willow inhaled deeply, using one hand to wipe her eyes and nose as she sniffled. She looked back up, eyes finding his name. She sighed deeply. "I love you. And I forgive you."

Willow brought her fingertips to her lips, kissing them lightly before placing them over Stefan's name. "I love you." She repeated brokenly. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her hand away, albeit reluctantly, and turned to make her way out of the Salvatore crypt. Just as she took her first few steps to leave a light breeze flew in, rustling her hair and causing her to gasp. The breeze was warm, comforting almost. Willow shook her head, the beginning of a smile breaking through the tears as she looked back to Stefan's tombstone. "See you in the next life, Salvatore."

Hold on, I still want you

Come back, I still need you

The second part of this short story. I know it's, taken ages, and I'm sorry about that but so much has been going on lately and I've had no time or inspiration to write. (I'm also really sorry for not updating 'Me, Myself and I'. I will get back into it soon, and I think this short story is a good way to do it actually.)I was originally going to add more to this chapter, including Willow's life after all of this but it was getting insanely long. I now think this will be around 5 or 6 chapters long due to the fact that I have another idea continuing on from the idea of this.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Hopefully I'll get back into finishing the original story soon. (And I'm sorry I made you cry)

Songs I highly recommend for this chapter: What About Us by P!nk

Feels Like The End by Mikky Ekko

How To Save a Life (The Fray Cover) by Nilu

Hold On by Chord Overstreet (had to include the song from the episode. yes they fucked everything else up but this song was the only good decision they made since season 3)

Taxi Cab by Twenty One Pilots

Signs by Bloc Party

All Is Well (Goodbye, Goodbye) by Radical Face