Walking home after meeting Stefan was a blur. She vaguely remembered the walk, but what she mostly remembered about it, was how insecure she felt about their meeting. When meeting him, Elena had been swept off of her feet. She had felt good, even happy, and she didn't want to lose the feeling, so she had suggested hanging out together. It seemed as a good idea then – it still seemed right now – but she had no idea how she would explain her parents.

Hey, so yeah, I am going out with one of the Salvatores, Elena thought bitterly. She imagined her parents faces. She couldn't say it out loud. And even if she did tell her parents, they would ground her, if necessary. The only person she could picture herself telling, is her four-year-old little sister, Margareth, and even she could accidentally spill it to their parents.

The thought stressed the brunette, and made her stomach joint when she realised she had reached home. She took a few deep breaths and put on her best smile before entering the house. Because, to be honest, what had the Salvatores done, that could be so bad? Since no one would tell her, it's no harm. Besides it wouldn't be the first time Elena went on a date without telling her parents.

So instead of confronting her parents, the girl said a quick 'hey' to them, and ran upstairs.

Elena had made it through the day without seeming too secretive, so she was able to go out. Half an hour before five, Elena started getting dressed and doing her make up. She couldn't do anything that was too glamorous, so she just put on her best jeans and a blouse that was a bit more formal than she usually wore. She added some mascara and raspberry lip palm, and released her hair from the pony tail. The hair that was usually straight, was now in loose curls thanks to the pony tail, but Elena didn't mind. She liked it this way, and she wouldn't have had time to straighten it any way. One last look in the mirror told her she looked okay, so she left for her date with Stefan.

It was 29 minutes past five when Elena olened the cafe door. She immediately noticed Stefan in the corner of the room, smiled brightly and almost ran there. When she saw the smile on Stefan's face, she felt a thousand butterflies flutter their wings in her stomach. She hugged him briefly and then sat down across from him.

„Sorry if I kept you waiting," she said with an apologizing smile on her face. „I tried to get here as soon as possible, but the weather is awful." She pointed at the snow storm outside, as if to prove her statement about the weather, but she didn't believe it herself. She thought the snow was beautiful, and she always enjoyed winter.

„Don't worry," Stefan said softly as if he wanted to calm her down. „You're here on time. I was just a bit early."

Elena smiled. She didn't know what else to do. She had toyed around with boys a lot, but this here was something else, it was something special. She took the menu from the center of the table and flipped through it. Her eyes finally stopped at pizzas. Stefan had seen what the girl had wanted, so he offered politely: „We could share a pizza if you want."

Elena didn't raise her eyes from the menu – she was busy deciding which pizza she wanted – but she nodded enthusiastically. „I really like their salami pizza," she told Stefan, finally locking her eyes with his.

Stefan nodded briefly. „All of the pizzas are really tasty. Let's order the salami one."

After ordering the pizza and two cups of tea, Elena and Stefan started talking. She had worried about what she would say to Stefan, but it came to her as a bit of a surprise, that it was so easy to talk to him. He never judged you, listened to anything you told him, and seemed like he really cared. Elena had never really believed in love at first sight. It's something that develops between two people, was her thought about it. But she now started wondering, whether the statement is true or not.

„So yeah, they can both be quite idiotic sometimes, but they are my best friends, and I love them," Elena said to finish her story about Caroline and Bonnie. She always had a smile on her face while talking about them. „Tell me about your friends." The sentence slipped out of her mouth. She regretted it, because she could imagine Stefan's life. Being a Salvatore wasn't easy in this town, and it certainly didn't get you lots of friends.

But even if the question upset Stefan, he didn't let it show. „My best friend is my brother," he confessed. „We argue a lot, like normal brothers, but he is important to me."

„He sounds lovely," Elena said, even though she actually knew nothing about him. It just seemed like a polite thing to say.

Stefan laughed. „Elena, you know nothing about him. You don't have to say stuff like that."

Elena blushed and hid her face in her scarf. „I'm sorry."

„You don't have to apologize either," Stefan said, not laughing anymore, but Elena could definitely feel a spark of humour in his voice. It made her happy. „And don't hide your face in your scarf. You should show your beautiful face to everyone," Stefan said softly. „Even though you are really cute like that," he had to admit. „I never thought you're the kind of girl who gets embarrassed so easily."

„I'm not," Elena said and removed the scarf. „I'm just different with you," Elena admitted. Before Stefan could say anything about the fact that she shouldn't change herself for him, Elena raised her hand. „I mean I'm more like me," she said. „At school, around all these people, I feel like a completely different person. I'm not the same as I am with my family or Care and Bonnie. But with you, I can be myself." After a pause, she added: „I want to thank you for it."

Stefan's face lit up. Elena had never seen anyone as happy as he was. It's like a little kid in a candy shop, only magnified. Before Stefan had the chance to say anything, Elena walked to the ohter side of the table, pulled Stefan up, and hugged him tightly. When she pulled away from the hug, she sat down again, only now, instead of sitting across the table, she sat next to Stefan.

After they had finished the pizza and had an interesting conversation, Elena looked at the clock – it was already nine. „I have to go, Stefan," she added quickly and tapped on her watch. „It's getting late, I don't want to worry my parents."

She quickly pulled a pen out of her purse and wrote her cell phone number on Stefan's wrist. „Call me tomorrow. My lessons end at three," she said quickly and basically ran out of the cafe.