Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun,

And, baby, when it's love if it's not rough it isn't fun.

Poker Face by Lady Gaga

Chapter 3

Two months had seemingly flown by for Elena. Everything at the club was going great and she was making more than she could spend. Being a responsible adult, she put money aside out of every paycheck just incase she fell on hard times. She wanted to be prepared for anything.

It was almost the weekend, meaning that she'd be able to travel home to Mystic Falls to check on her brother. She hadn't heard from him much in the past months, but she knew that he took whatever money she could offer him. And, to her, it was important that he was taken care of and happy; she owed him that much.

It was almost quitting time on Thursday and she was gathering her costumes and makeup before shoving them in her duffel bag. She was beyond ready to go home and see her friends. It felt like it had been too long, but she knew why most of them disassociated with her when she moved to New York; no one wanted to be friends with a stripper in such a small town.

She was just about to walk out of the club when a voice calling her name stopped her. She turned to face Stefan and gave him a small smile, "Mr. Salvatore, what can I do for you?"

"Please, Elena, call me Stefan," he laughed as he fell in step beside her, "I was wondering if you had plans this weekend, seeing as you're off."

Elena furrowed her brows as she responded, "I'm actually going home to check on my brother."

"Home? Where are you from?" He asked, genuine curiosity coating his words.

"Mystic Falls," she answered tightly, "It's a small town in-"

"Virginia," he cut her off, "That's actually where my family's from as well. My parents still live there. Damon and I try to visit whenever we're free, but with our jobs, it makes things difficult sometimes."

Elena pursed her lips slightly at the words. She had no idea that the Salvatores were from Mystic Falls; surely she would have known, right? Perhaps he was making it up just to get in her good graces.

Stefan looked over at her, a knowing smile on his face, "You think I'm lying, don't you?"

"No offense," she shrugged, "But a lot of guys have made up crazier stories to get in my pants."

"While getting in your pants wouldn't be a bad thing, I promise I'm not lying," he teased, "My parents own the Boarding House on the outside of town. It's been closed for the past decade or so, but they still live there."

"Oh!" She exclaimed. How on earth could she have been so stupid? She sighed slightly, "The Salvatore Boarding House."

"That would be it," he nodded, "Maybe you could stop by sometime."

She blinked owlishly for a second, "I-I don't think that would be a idea. You're my boss-"

"Actually, Damon and Enzo are your bosses," Stefan corrected her slyly, "I'm merely one of your boss' brothers."

"Aren't you dating Katherine?" She blurted out before her nervousness could wrangle her words.

It was his turn to blink owlishly as he looked at her, "Katherine doesn't date. She has flings. I've never dated her and neither has Damon, but she still feels the need to warn off any new girls from talking to us. I guess she told you the same?"

"She said the Salvatores were hers," Elena said bitterly.

He chuckled, "I can make up my own mind about who I want to date and Kat certainly isn't on that list. You, however…"

She looked down and felt heat rising to her cheeks as she listened to his words. Stefan was cute, she had admitted that to herself the second she met him. His eyes were a gorgeous forest green and his hair was such a lovely shade of chestnut. He was handsome, no doubt about it. But him being interested in her? Now that was too good to be true.

"Perhaps when you get back, we could go for coffee or lunch?" He suggested, pulling her from her thought of self-loathing, "I'd really like to get to know you better outside of the club setting."

She felt herself nodding, "That would be great, uh, do you want my number?"

"I'll get it from Damon," he smiled, "I'm sure you're eager to get home."

"Thanks, Stefan," she laughed before heading out into the cold, hurrying to make her flight.

"Damon?" Stefan knocked on the door to his brother's office, "Are you in there?" Not hearing a response, he opened the door anyway and was greeted by the sight of his brother sleeping on the couch.

Sighing, he made his way over to his brother, shaking his shoulder as he called his name, "Damon, wake up. Come on."

"Ugh, haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Damon groaned as he cracked open his eyes, "What time is it anyway?"

"I did knock," The green eyed man pointed out, "You just didn't answer. And it's almost noon. I think you slept away the night again."

Damon groaned louder as he lifted himself off of the couch. He scrubbed his face with his hands as he went over to the tumbler of Bourbon, pouring himself a generous drink. Looking up at his brother, he eyed him carefully, "What did you want? Why did you wake me up?"

"I need Elena's number," Stefan said firmly.

"I can't give out my worker's information, Stef. You know that."

Stefan pursed his lips, "It's a good thing I asked her permission first then, huh? She was in a hurry to leave last night and I said I'd get it from you."

"Why? Going out on a date?" The older man teased, knocking back his glass in one gulp.

"Not that it's any of your concern, but yes," Stefan confirmed, causing Damon to choke on his drink, "I invited her to have coffee and she agreed. You didn't make a move, so I figured I would."

Damon gritted his teeth as he restrained the urge to strangle his little brother, "It's in my phone, feel free to take it."

Stefan nodded, grabbing the phone from the desk and putting Elena's number into his own. He looked over at Damon with a concerned expression, "Does it bother you? I mean, me going out with Elena?"

"Of course not," Damon instantly protested although his mind was screaming at him to tell his brother to fuck off, "If you think she'll make you happy, then go for it."

"She's from Mystic Falls, you know," Stefan said wistfully, "She might want to settle down there one day and then I'll be closer to Mom and Dad."

"Jesus, Stef! You guys haven't even gone on a date yet and you're already trying to plan a future with her?" Damon asked incredibly, "There's no need to rush into things. You're only twenty-one."

Stefan looked down bashfully before meeting his brother's gaze, "Sometimes you just know when she's the one. I've barely had a full conversation with her, but I know that I want her in my life."

Damon kept his growl of possessiveness at bay as Stefan's words played back to him. He knew exactly what Stefan meant because he had felt the same when he laid eyes on her in Klaus' club. Elena was something else, he was certain. She was the light in the world of darkness and he so desperately needed that life in his life. But, Stefan had moved in on her first and he had to respect that.

"Jeremy!" Elena called into her seemingly empty childhood home, "Are you home?"

After a ridiculously boring flight, she had barely managed to make it inside the house. She was so tired and it was late, but she wanted to check on her brother before she collapsed into the soft bed that was awaiting her upstairs.

"Jer?" She called up the stairs with no hint of an answer.

Just as she was about to give up, the front door opened and a giggling mess of tangled limbs fell through the door.

"Oh my God, Jer, let's do that again!" A girl said as she picked herself up off the floor before extending her hand to Jeremy.

"Uh, hi to you, too," Elena said awkwardly as the pair regarded her wearily, "And you are?"

"Anna," the girl said, fidgeting slightly, "We were just…I'm sorry it's so late, he said your flight wouldn't be in until tomorrow."

"Well, if he bothered to answer his phone, he would've known that I changed my flight to get here a little earlier," Elena said callously.

Jeremy huffed, "And he is right here. Damn, 'Lena. My phone died, okay? I was just out having fun with Anna. It's Friday after all."

"Fine, whatever," Elena mumbled, holding up her hands in defense, "Tomorrow we have things to do though, so don't stay up too late," she turned to Anna, "Do you need a ride home or something?"

"She's been sleeping here, her mom kicked her out," Jeremy explained as he pulled Anna up the stairs behind him, "Hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," Elena said before mumbling, "Not like I'm paying the bills or anything."

"I heard that," he called down behind him before she heard the door shut viciously.

Morning seemed to come all too soon for Elena's liking. After dragging herself out of bed and readying herself for the day, she walked around the house and took inventory. She noticed that she'd have to replace the sliding glass door at the back of the house since the glass had seen much better days and she had to do grocery shopping.

As she was making a list, Jeremy bounded into the kitchen and grabbed a pop tart.

"So," he said, taking a carnivorous bite out of his breakfast, "What're we doing today?"

"Well, we have to replace the back door and I'm sure that you want food," she sighed, looking over the list, "Have you been doing okay with the money I've been sending you?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I still think you're sending too much though. I'm a teenage boy, not a pregnant mother of three."

"I'd rather you have more that enough than not enough," she chided, "You know that. Besides, you can put aside what you don't use and save it for college."

"Mom and Dad left us enough for college, for the both of us," he said softly, "You can quit your job and move back here. We can live off of it and then you wouldn't have to work in that sleazy club."

"Hey!" She smacked his arm, appalled at his words, "That sleazy club is what's kept us afloat lately. I don't want to tap into our inheritance unless it's absolutely necessary. And, right now, it's not. End of story."

"Fine," he mumbled, pretending to be engrossed with his breakfast.

Being around Jeremy was stressful sometimes. At times like this she wished that there were someone else who could be responsible for him because she was too young herself to take care of a teenage boy.

"What're you getting? I can't decide," Jeremy asked as he looked over the Grill's menu.

Elena snorted, "Come on, you eat here like every day. Get what you usually get."

"And you're just getting a salad, right?" He rolled his eyes as she nodded, "You can eat whatever you want, you don't have to starve yourself."

"I'm not starving myself," she grumbled, "I can eat whatever I want, when I want."

"Do you guys know what you want?" The waiter said as he walked over, notepad in hand.

Elena looked up and smiled, "Hey, Matt! How are you?"

After dating him for three years, she had left poor Matt's heart in shambles. She had felt awful about it, but she wasn't happy with him. He deserved someone who would love him unconditionally for all the right reasons.

He looked at her sheepishly before he smiled, "I've been doing good. Saving up for college and trying to keep sane in this little town. How's New York? You've hardly been back the past few months."

"New York is good," she smiled slightly, trying not to let her uneasiness show, "I actually started a new job and I'm making more than I'm used to, so I should be home about once a month if I'm lucky. But, I can't say I miss it here."

Matt nodded in understanding as Jeremy cut him off, "So, are we just going to reminisce about the old days or are you here to actually take our order?"

"Jeremy!" She smacked his arm from across the table, "Would it kill you to have some manners?"

"No, no, it's okay, 'Lena," Matt chucked, "Jeremy's just messing around. We've been hanging out a lot the past few weeks. He's just an ass."

"Dick," Jeremy retorted with a wry smile.

Lunch at the Grill was a sure way to cheer Elena up most of the time, but when Sunday rolled around, she knew that it was time to go home. She would miss her little town, but she couldn't wait to get back to the city. And she definitely couldn't wait for her coffee date with Stefan. He seemed like such a great guy and he was so easy to talk to.

Being only eighteen, she never really gave thought to how the next couple of years would go. She always preoccupied herself with Jeremy and his wellbeing. He came first; she didn't want his childhood ripped away as hers had been.

Saying goodbye to Jeremy was always hard, but as she sat waiting for her plane to arrive, she realized that they had been saying goodbye since their parents died. They were hardly as close as they used to be and she felt as if she hardly knew her younger brother anymore. She kept telling herself it was only one more year until Jeremy would be off to college and she would be less responsible for him.

She had to keep this job at the club; it could potentially pay her and Jeremy's way for the foreseeable future and maybe Stefan could help with that.

"Does Elena work tomorrow?" Stefan asked as he walked into Damon's office, unannounced as usual.

Damon sighed, "Please come in, Stefan. You know how I miss you when you're not annoying me every moment of every day. And, to answer your question, yes. Elena works tomorrow night. Why?"

"Just trying to plan our coffee date," Stefan shrugged, taking a seat across from Damon's desk, "She flies in tonight and I know she'll be too tired to go out. Monday is the second best option."

"You're going to chase her away with your persistence before you even have a date with her," the raven-haired man scoffed as he turned his attention back to the papers littering his desk. He couldn't let on how much his brother going after Elena bothered him, otherwise Stefan would work that much harder to get her.

Stefan smiled mischievously, "I'll have you know that I haven't even called or texted her since I got her number from you. Restraint, huh?"

"She's either thinking restraint or disinterest," Damon suggested, "Maybe she thinks you're not interested in her anymore because you haven't tried to contact her."

The green eyed man gaped slightly, "Wait, really? I was just trying to give her space; three day rule and all."

"That rule is only valid if you got her number from her, however, you got it from me. Therefore that rule is void."

"Shit!" Stefan jumped up and ran his hand through her hero hair, "I've got to text her or something."

Damon shook his head in amusement as he watched her brother practically run from the room. Perhaps Stefan could mess up yet and Damon could still have a chance. But, he wouldn't hold his breath.

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~Grace