Elena's POV

There's something so different about this boy that I can't really even begin to think exactly what must be going on inside his head. Ever since he interrupted me and told me that I was completely aware of my actions, I've been staring at him, trying to get what he must be like and why on earth was he so ruined? At first, I was so mad that he said those stuff. I mean who the hell did he think he was? How dare he say what I felt when he didn't even know me? He couldn't just go around people and judge them like this, tell them how wrong they were. I was having a really bad day to begin with-first I fought with Jenna at home, because I went out and broke the rules of my grounding, then I came here and Meredith started asking me questions I didn't have the answers to. She dug deeper into my parents death and the only thing she achieved from doing so is made me feel even worse than I already did. This subject what opening a wound inside me every time someone started trying to get something out of me about that. How come no one wanted to just understand that I didn't want to talk. I wanted to forget.

When Stefan came in later than us all, I thought that Meredith will just get off my back and turn towards him since as we all knew he wasn't talking and she was desperately trying to change that, but instead of paying him the necessary attention, she continued torturing me until he himself intervened. I'm sure that she was as much surprised when he spoke up as all of us were. I couldn't figure why he was so bend on talking when it came to me and even though I was extremely mad at his words, I realized that he was right-I was absolutely aware of what I was doing and because he was right I was so mad. I didn't like when someone could see through me like this, it made me feel even more vulnerable than I already was, but the thing is that he didn't sound mean or cocky-he sounded sad as he spoke those words to me. There was this pain in his voice-pain, which was very familiar to me and I kept wondering till the end of the session how did he know so well my feelings back than at this moment and I realized that he must have gone through the same, or at least that's the only thought that made sense. I had no idea why he was here in the first place-I couldn't figure if he had problems in his family like some of the other boys or if he just wasn't fitting in or if something terrible has happened to him—I had no clue, but the one thing I was completely sure of, was that his case was pretty serious. Just by the look on Meredith's eyes I could tell that and moreover-she seemed determined to do something, but not that kind of stubborn determination that you get when you want to achieve something great, but the kind of one that is desperate to save the situation. He looked like a completely wrecked person-his whole posture screamed with desperation, he was walking slowly, a little bent down, there were big dark circles under his eyes and a very tired expression on his face. Honestly-I thought that I look bad, but when I saw him today I asked myself how he's really standing on his feet. At some point, by the end of the session he looked back up at me, he dared to meet my stare and he smiled sadly, apologetically. He probably tried to say that he was sorry he interrupted me, but that moment lasted no more than a short minute and he hurried to look away. I noticed him staring at the empty seat beside him-he seemed concentrated, as if he was remembering something, which however didn't seem to be exactly a happy thing.

I shook my head and tried to pay attention to Meredith's words-I couldn't figure out why I was so bend on observing this boy-a person who I didn't know and who interrupted me abruptly, only to make accusations about how I really wanted to kill myself. I had enough troubles in my life as it was and I was supposed to focus on fixing that, not thinking of broken people, who were barely holding themselves alive. I had problems at home, I was barely talking to Jeremy since I was still mad at him for backing Jenna up about this whole stupid group thing. Then again, I had to go back to school this week, even though I wasn't eager to do so at all and the only person I actually talked to there was my friend Bonnie and even she could figure that there was something wrong, but she couldn't say what it was exactly. I never told her that I tried to kill myself, because…well I was ashamed to do so. I wasn't even ready to admit what I've done to myself, let alone try and share it with someone else. She was the only one there who was backing me up and helping me with everything, even though sometimes I yelled at her out of nowhere or acted like I wasn't the person she grew up with. She was wondering what was going on, but she didn't question me or pressured me in any way-she was trying to do her best, even though I could see how hard I was making it for her. I have no idea how I would repay her one day.

My thoughts were interrupted by Meredith who was finally dismissing us. I stood up eagerly, ready to go, though by the time I was realizing what was going on, most of the people were already gone. When I turned to the door I noticed Stefan approaching it himself and I headed towards him with a slowly pace as I actually felt this urge inside me to talk to him, but Meredith's voice who echoed through the empty room made me turn turn around abruptly.

"Elena! Stefan!-" he called us both and I noticed Stefan furrowing his eyebrows at the sound of his name "Can I have a word, please?" I almost wanted to laugh when both me and him let a deep annoyed sigh out at the same time.

"What is it, doc?" Stefan asked as he approached me and we stood only a few feet away from Meredith "I thought you had my number." he winked playfully, once again showing how he doesn't give a damn about what she has to say. Meredith was really serious, though and she didn't pay any attention to his words at all.

"I would like you two to come again here on Monday." she started

"But I thought the group sessions are only today?" I interrupted her before she could have the chance to continue. I noticed Stefan tensing next to me-he wasn't finding it funny anymore.

"They are" she nodded slowly "And you would still attend them, but I think it's better if I work some extra with you two." Stefan let a pretend laugh out once she spoke up the sentence and helplessly threw his hands in the air, while I kept staring at the doctor intensely. I couldn't figure out why she needed this, though the boy next to me seemed to have understood what was it all about as he shook his head knowingly.

"What?" my voice cracked "But why?"

"Because you two are the only people, who are not talking and not making any progress and I would like to have some more time with you and work on you getting better." she explained calmly as she stood up with a bunch of folders in her hands and approached us.

"I'm not sure my aunt can afford this. We have a lot of expenses lately." I started saying with uncertainty, trying to find a way out of this. What was this all about? I barely stood up here for an hour and now they wanted me to have another session? No way in hell I'm doing this.

"Yeah, my mother can't keep spending all her money on this as well" Stefan said for the first time seriously "She's giving enough as it is for those stupid pills."

"I'm not going to charge you." Meredith said as she gave us an understanding look "I already talked to your parents and they agreed that you could use this."

"Jeez, doc, stop fooling us around" Stefan started with a silent hoarse voice "Elena here might be new, but I know why you're doing this."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, but he didn't turn towards me, his eyes were pierced in Meredith's, trying to show her that he's not even slightly disturbed by her. He knew where he was standing with this and even though he seemed like he's completely broken, right now he was giving her a knowing look-there was something here that I was missing.

"I'm not coming on Monday" he stated seriously, still not paying attention to me, then he turned around and headed to the door, now with a faster than his usual pace. I looked back at forth between him and Meredith, who was now watching him with a worried expression as he opened the door and disappeared into the hallway. Then she turned back towards me and asked me to be here on Monday after school, but I just shook my head, trying to show her that like Stefan, I had no intentions of doing so and hurried to go outside, because I wanted to catch up with him.

This boy was surely walking fast, because when I went outside he was already crossing the parking lot. There wasn't a single car out there, which meant that Jenna was late and I thanked God for that, even though the sky above us was getting darker and darker with every passing minute and I could already feel a few drops coming down. The wind was playing with my hair and I usually enjoyed it, but right now it only frustrated me more, because I was running, trying to catch up with him.

"Stefan! Hey!" he turned around surprised by my voice, but stopped and waited up for me. "Please, I need to know what you meant." I blabbed out once I get next to him. He only smiled and shook his head, trying to show me that he doesn't want to talk about it at all, but I caught his wrist and turned before him, preventing him from going any further. I was surprised by my own actions and he seemed a bit stunned for a moment that I dared to do this, but that lasted less than a few second and he composed himself fast "I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me." I said, determination evident in my voice. A minute before I let go of his hand I realized how cold it was and it even made me shiver, though I wasn't sure if that was from the wind or from our touch. He let a small laugh out.

"Damn, you're stubborn." he moved away from me and then looked up at the sky just as it started to rain more heavily. He didn't seem even slightly disturbed by it-on the contrary, he closed his eyes and let the teardrops cover his face, then he bowed his head down and shook it so he could remove the water from his hair. For a moment, I think he has completely forgotten about me, but then he opened his eyes "Fine, let's go." he said with the same silent voice which he used to talk to Meredith. I'm starting to think that he sounds like this all the time-that deep sadness just can't seem to let him go.

"Go where?" I asked confused, but followed him as I was silently praying that Jenna doesn't come up out of nowhere right now. "It's raining."

"Afraid you'll melt?" he asked, sarcasm evident in his voice, but took the black sweater he was holding in his hand and covered up my shoulders with it. I was surprised by his actions and gave him an appreciating smile, though he only nodded sadly in return and took off, with me barely keeping up with him.

We didn't really talk on our way to..wherever it was he was taking me, but I started worrying a bit, asking myself why am I even following this boy when I had no idea who he was? For a moment I got a bit scared, but then hurried to get rid of those thoughts-he wasn't a bad person, I could feel it. He was just broken, he would do me no harm. I watched as his back went completely wet-water was falling down his face and he was already breathing a bit heavily, but he wasn't walking any faster than usually. Finally, as we made just another turn down the street he stopped and nodded me towards the entrance of a small diner. I've not been in this part of town in such a long time that I felt as if I'm in a whole different place. He opened the door for me and I hurried to get inside while he followed leaving a wet trace behind him.

"You're soaking wet." I stated and he gave me another smile as he approached the bar behind which one of the waitresses was standing and fixing the coffee machine, frustration evident on her face. She didn't pay us much attention, she just threw us a fast glance and got back to doing her thing.

"That's what happens if you stay outside when it rains." Stefan stated knowingly and looked up at me, trying to figure if I was as wet as he was, but for now, I was relatively okay as on our way here he was making sure that I walk on the dry side, under the roofs of the shops or houses we were passing by. He approached the waitress and cleared his throat, trying to announce his presence. She looked up at him annoyed that she was interrupted.

"Hello." he greeted her with a calm voice even though she seemed as if she's ready to jump on him from frustration "Is William Grant here?"

"Yeah, he's back at the kitchen. Working" the girl announced with a harsh voice as I was wondering why on earth was Stefan asking for this person. My initial thoughts that we went here just because he wanted to find a place to hide from the rain turned out to be all wrong-he came here on purpose.

"Can you tell him that Stefan Salvatore came by to say hi." the girl nodded unwillingly and turned around abruptly, only to disappear behind one of the doors on our left, which seemed to be leading to a kitchen. He smiled and nodded me towards one of the tables in the corner, away from the few people who were still here on a Saturday afternoon.

"Why are we here?" I asked still extremely confused as I sat on the opposite side of him while he was still trying to get rid of the water in his hair and clear his face as best as he could, though he was extremely wet, but he didn't even tremble for the cold. He just leaned down on the back of the chair tiredly.

"God, you are impatient" he stated and let a sigh out as he ran his fingers through his wet hair once again. "You said you wanted to know what I meant, right?" I nodded and he looked down at his hands, obviously thinking about something, wondering if I was worth sharing this with and then he moved his right hand and started rolling up the sleeve of his black T-shirt. At first I gave him a confused look, but then I realized that he was trying to show me something-there was a tattoo on his arm-two big letters on it J.G, which were probably someone's initials as there were also two years under it-1994-2012 that I assumed marked the beginning and the end of a person's life. I started at it for a moment and then moved my look up at him as he rolled the sleeve down.

"Who is that?" I asked again, clearly confused as he shook his head, trying to deal with my impatience "What does this stand for?"

"That is Meredith Fell's biggest failure." he stated seriously and I gave him an even more confused glance, but he didn't keep his green eyes long on me, instead he looked up, obviously observing someone else behind my back and stood slowly up, with a smile on his face. When I turned around, to see who has attracted his attention, I noticed a man in his fifties, with a tired expression and sad brown eyes approaching us. He was tall, with white short hair, his hands above his wrist were covered in flour, but he smiled widely as he saw Stefan, stretched his big arms and instead of shaking Stefan's hand he pulled him in for a hug and patted the his back a few times as he closed his eyes, trying to hide the tears in them. I was clearly stunned by everything that was going on here, I couldn't figure out why Stefan has brought me here and what he meant by this biggest failure, but right now that wasn't even slightly important, because what was happening before me was quite heartbreaking and it made me even feel bad for pressuring Stefan into talking so much about this as there was more to the story than I thought in the beginning. When the man let go of Stefan he put his hands on his shoulders and looked at him for a while-he seemed to care for him and he obviously hasn't seen him recently because he was staring at him from top to bottom, trying to figure how much the boy before him has changed.

"You're even thinner than before!" he finally let out and Stefan smiled apologetically as he bowed his head down nervously "How are you doing, son?" he asked as he finally let go of him and looked around only to notice me. "I see you brought company." he mumbled with his deep voice and gave a smile.

"This is Elena" Stefan introduced me "She's a the newest member of the support group." he said without hesitation, obviously the man was familiar with the fact that Stefan has problems. I still couldn't figure out how they knew each other.

"Nice to meet you, Elena" he said and I shook his warm hand as I tried to smile as well. Then he turned back towards Stefan, now with a little worried expression, but didn't make any attempt so sit next to us, it seemed as if he was busy. "Are you better?"

"Yeah" Stefan nodded a bit too eagerly with a wide smile on his face. He was trying a bit too hard if you ask me, but the man didn't seem to notice "I'm doing great." he continued lying and the man let a relieved sigh out. They talked a bit more mainly about random things like how was Stefan doing, how's his little brother and if he's being trouble, how he's holding up all stuff like that to which Stefan responded vaguely and with just a few words, which however seemed to be enough of an answer for the man. He clearly knew that Stefan wasn't very talkative. A few minutes later they were interrupted as a girl appeared from the kitchen door and asked for the man to go back in because they needed him. He shrugged his shoulders apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Stefan, I'll have to go. But you're always welcome to come by, okay?"

"Absolutely, sir." Stefan smiled again, there were no more drops falling down his face, but his clothes were still wet. I wondered how he's not shivering from the cold, but he seemed as if doesn't bother him at all.

"I'm glad you're doing better." the man said again and put his hand on Stefan's shoulder as he was about to leave, but trying to show him how much it meant that he has come by. "Jack would've been proud, you know?" he added and his voice broke a little, but he tried to cover his weakness by clearing his throat. Stefan seemed to be having a hard time finding his words as well so he only nodded in return as the man gave him one last apologetic look and headed towards the door. On his way there he stopped by the frustrated waitress and made told her something so by the time Stefan sat back down and I was about to start asking him what was this all about she came to our table with two cups of hot chocolate and said it was on the house. I took a sip from my cup and leaned back on the chair as I observed Stefan who now appeared to be even more lost in his thoughts than before.

"Stefan." I said his name silently, trying to remind him that I'm still here, waiting for what he has to say and he smiled weakly as he embraced his own cup with his trembling cold hands.

"Right." he started as he took a deep breath "You want me to explain." he looked up and I nodded, confusion still evident on my face. "There was this boy, who attended our group" he started and looked away from me, because it was obviously hard for him to talk about this "His name was Jack Grant" then he glanced back at the door where the man has disappeared "He was the son of the man who came to greet me. He was also my best and only friend." he added and his eyes finally fell back on me. For a few minutes we sat in silence. It was obviously hard for him to talk about this and I was feeling uncomfortable pressing the subject, but I spoke up nevertheless.

"What happened to him?" Stefan cleared his throat and shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of all the thoughts he had right now. He took a sip of his chocolate and prolonged the moment as best as he could.

"He killed himself six months ago." he stated with a shaky voice and I remembered the initials on his arm-J.G for Jack Grant and it suddenly all made sense. "He was bullied at school and he was in a very bad shape. When I met him in the support group he has already changed a bunch of schools in desperate attempt to finally get some rest. He was next to me in some very hard moments." he stopped again, obviously remembering who he was talking to and looked away nervously. "Anyway-he was the biggest failure Meredith ever had. She tried very hard to help him and honestly, he was far more talkative than both me and you are."

"So now she's scared that she'll fail with us too?" I asked already knowing the answer, but feeling the need to hear it from him as well.

"I guess so." he confirmed with a light nod and took another sip from his chocolate.

"Is that what happened to you?" I asked and he looked at me in confusion until he realized that I was talking about his friend dying. Just after I asked my question I realized that he met Jack in the support group, which meant that he had problems before that so it couldn't have been this.

"Many things happened to me" he said silently and I let a relived sigh out. I honestly thought that he would be mad at me for asking, but instead he just rubbed the back of his head and bowed his head down sadly. There was something so screwed up in this boy that even by observing him I got this feeling inside that made me suffocate-feeling of pure sadness. "But yes, I guess you could add this to the list." I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket for the fourth time ever since we left the parking lot so I let it out and put it on the table without answering. Jenna was probably going insane right now. Stefan looked at me and furrowed his eyebrows

"You should go home." he stated seriously, guilt evident in his voice which made me wonder if he's questioning himself whether or not he should've taken me here in the first place. "I don't want you to get into trouble." he added sincerely, trying to show me that he doesn't want to get rid of me, but that he's just concerned, which was something new for me. No one ever really cared about me like this until. Not any boy for sure.

I didn't make any attempt to get up, though, I only moved my already empty cup away and look down.

"I don't want to go on Monday." I admitted sincerely.

"But you should." he said with the same serious intonation and I looked up at him surprised. I expected him to say anything but that and as he saw the genuine confusion on my face he continued "Look, there's still hope for you. You just started visiting the group, you can get better." he said with determination in his voice as if he was desperate to make me understand him.

"And you can't?" this was unbelievable, he seemed so convinced that he's a lost cause that it made me forget about how mad I felt only a minute ago at his words.

He just smiled and stood up as he saw my phone buzzing again, then he stretched his hand and helped me raise up. Even though, I wasn't that wet, I still felt a bit cold and he noticed that , because he furrowed his eyebrows angrily.

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do here." he continued sincerely as we headed to the door "And I'm well aware of the fact that you won't consider taking a stranger's advice under consideration." he stopped before opening the door and looked outside-it has stopped raining already and the sun was setting down. "Not now for sure. I still think it's better if you go." he tried to smile as he opened the door for me and followed me outside.

He smiled and wished me a good evening, then turned around in the opposite direction and walked slowly away before I could actually comprehend what was going on.

"Stefan!" I yelled and he turned around only to see me taking his sweater off.

"Keep it." he said with another sad smile "You need it more than I do." I nodded gratefully and he turned around again, only to hear my voice calling him once again.

"Stefan, wait."

"What now? You are having such a hard time resisting my charm that you can't let me go?" now sarcasm was back evident in his voice, but I was dead serious, I wasn't up for any games and he saw it, but didn't move towards me as if he was afraid that if he approaches me he'll somehow step a line he's not supposed to.

"I will go if you do." I stated stubbornly and he looked at me surprised. He surely didn't expect me to bribe him this way. He surely didn't expect me to say that, but he chuckled a bit when he let my suggestion sink in.

"What makes you think I won't just promise you to come now and "forget" to show up on Monday?"

"You won't." I was sure of it. He wouldn't just bring me here and tell me this story for nothing. For some odd reason he thought he should help me somehow. That is why he spoke up on the session today, that is why contrary to what I expected he advised me to go to the meeting with Meredith. I kept my eyes on his for a minute or so, trying to show him my determination and how serious I was about this matter. I really wouldn't go if he didn't, because deep down, I don't want to even begin to understand how it's possible for a person to be so deeply ruined by sadness and despair. There was no trace of hope in his eyes-the only thing I could distinguish was acceptance. He wasn't fighting for anything anymore. Not that I was to be honest-I felt the same desperation he had and right now I didn't really think there was any point in going to those meetings or doing anything at all. If it wasn't for Jenna, I would be lying peacefully in my bed right now, staring at the ceiling and thinking about how life doesn't make any sense. But I was here and so was he, because of the same reason, because he was forced to do so, even if he hated it with his guts. He wasn't doing this for himself, I'm guessing that he stopped thinking about getting better a very long time ago, but he was holding on for someone else, probably his family, for that little blue-eyed boy who jumped on his back when I first saw him. He was barely holding on-his whole appearance screamed that he was on the verge of letting go of everything in this world and I wondered if he tried to do what I did and how much it must have hurt him. I wondered if he ever woke up in the hospital bed like me cursing the whole world that he's still here. I wondered if his closest relatives looked at him the way they looked at me when they realized what I've done-was he able to face the judgment in their eyes, their inability to comprehend why someone would do this to themselves? With all that pain in his eyes, I couldn't figure out what has really happened to him and right that in that moment, I realized that I want to know, because he was the only person up until now who didn't judge me for anything even after he knew what has happened-he just told me the truth right in the eyes, without fearing what I would think or do. Maybe a long time ago he was in the same place I was right now, maybe he also believed deep down that eventually things will get better at some point along the way, but he has lost this battle and that caused the darkness in his eyes.

"See you, Elena." he said vaguely and turned around. I really wanted to call him one more time, ask him if that was an yes or a no, I was desperate for an answer, but he just left and it seemed like he's not even going on his way home. It seemed as if he's just walking down the street looking up at the sky and wondering about something. I tugged myself in his sweater-it smelled of rain and coffee and I suddenly felt warmer. I stared in this direction until he made a left turn and I lost sight of him. The last thing I remember noticing was his wet T-shirt gently moving as the evening breeze announced its presence everywhere around us. I remembered the tattoo he showed me and looked back at the almost empty diner where we spent the last hour or so. Unintentionally, I smiled to myself and took off just as I felt another buzz in my pocket-Jenna was going to be mad with me and honestly now I didn't really care.

Stefan's POV

I got home an hour before midnight and I hoped for everyone to be asleep already, because I wasn't up to talking with mother. After I left the diner, I wandered a lot around the streets, bought myself a beer and sat in the park to drink it in silence and to think a little about Jack and how long has it been since we were both together in this exact same place. When you're lost in thoughts time flies by, but when you're sad and lost in thoughts-even faster. I can't believe that it's been six long months since he succeeded in doing what I've tried to do twice. I really wanted to believe that he was in a better place, because his life here was awful and I wouldn't wish the things he went through even to my biggest enemy. He was a nice person, he even had a sense of humor, but he was crushed in so many ways that I'm not sure anyone around him understood at all what he was going through. When his father called our house to tell me what has happened I was everything but surprised. See, the thing is that nobody expected him to do this, I mean he wasn't like me or Elena, he hasn't tried to take his life, ever and even though he was suffering from severe depression and a bunch of other mental illnesses, no one even considered him going down this road. Honestly a few months before he got very worse, I believed that there was a way out for him.

Anyway, when they called me I wasn't surprised, because he has told me a few times how he just wants to get away from everything, to disappear and well…I know most people thought that he meant he needs to just move somewhere, but I guess deep down I knew what he was talking about, simply because I've wanted that once too. I guess that back then I should've told Meredith what he was talking about and how I am at least a bit suspicious, but I didn't and that's something I'll carry with myself for the rest of my life. After his funeral, I was a mess. I remember mom being so scared for me, thinking that I'll do something stupid as well. I stopped going to the meetings, I stopped talking as well and that very much resembled a time in the past when things really broke down for me, when it all started. I guess that terrified mom most.

I slowly opened the kitchen door, only to find her sitting on the table, drinking tea and watching TV with a very tired expression on her face, barely keeping herself awake. Once she saw me, she let a relived sigh out, I'm guessing she's been waiting me for quite some time and even though she was used to me wandering outside and not coming home early, she was always worried.

"Jesus, Stefan, where've you been again?" she stood up, suddenly somehow more enthusiastic as I approached the table and wanted to sit down and get some rest as walking around town for hours has tired me, but she stopped me before I've even attempted to do something. "You're wet." she stated with worry "Were you out in the rain?" she didn't even wait for me to answer her but went to the pile of clean clothes on the couch and got me a t-shirt out.

"It's fine mom." I said barely audible, trying to calm her down a bit. I felt as if she wanted to keep scolding me, but as she saw how tired I was she changed her mind and just handed me the T-shirt.

"Come on, change." she ordered and went to the fridge to find me something to eat, before I could protest that I'm not hungry. Lately, I wasn't eating much at all. I put off my wet shirt just as she came back to the table and threw me another worried look. She was staring at the scars on my back and my left arm-she hated seeing them, because they reminded her of the two unfortunate times I almost died and I knew it so I hurried to put the clean shirt on, before I got her all upset. " Damon was waiting for you tonight. He wanted a bedtime story." I didn't say anything, I just didn't have the strength to even feel guilty right now. My only thought was how I'll go to bed, I won't even fall asleep and even if I did, I might still have this awful dream. She continued though "Did Meredith talk to you?" she asked, clearly trying to got some reaction out of me.

"Mom, please." I shook my head as she put the plate in front of me, but I only pushed it away and went to grab a coke from the fridge. "I'm not hungry" I started, trying not to sound ungrateful, but wanting her to understand me "And I don't want to talk about the failed psycho."

"She's not failed" mom protested and crossed her hands on her chest as she gave me a judging look.

"Yeah, right." I spilled out with hatred and leaned on the kitchen plot as she sat back down on the chair, feeling more helpless than ever.

"You need this, Stefan." she started with a voice which meant she wanted to argue and she wasn't going to stop. There was this determination in her eyes once again-a determination, which was the reason I went to those stupid meetings in the first place.

"I need this because you're afraid, mom" I said seriously "And I'm not doing anything out of fear that isn't even mine."

"Damn it, Stefan" she suddenly raised her voice and stood up abruptly "Do you think I don't know what's going on with you-I can see you! You're not fine and you're getting worse."

"That's the thing, mom" I continued calmly as if she wasn't bothering me at all with this, which I guessed piss her off even more. "You only think you know what's going on, but you really don't. I'm fine" I added as I tried to desperately calm her down, because I really wasn't up for that, but she only shook her head tiredly. She knew I was lying.

"Momma?" Damon's sleepy voice got us out of our misery and we both looked up at the opened door of his room. He was in his light blue pajamas with his stuffed giraffe under his hand, gently rubbing his eyes and wondering what's going on. I guess we must've woke him up. "What's going on?" he asked and mom turned back round to me as she closed her eyes and tried to get herself back together, but I knew she was on the verge of crying so I approached him with a fake tired smile

"Come here, buddy." I said and picked him up in my embrace, only to get him back to his room. I turned the small bed lamp on so I would see where I was going and gently lied him in his bed. "Go back to sleep, Damon." I said seriously, but his blue eyes were wide open and he didn't want to let me go so he caught my hand and prevented me from getting up.

"Why were you and momma yelling?" he asked with concern and I felt the guilt I was trying to prevent from appearing tonight, kicking me in the stomach yet again.

"I got home wet and she scolded me for being out in the rain." I lied and gave him a wide foolish smile. "Why are you not sleeping, huh?"

"I was, but I had a bad dream." he spoke up sadly and almost trembled as he remembered what it was about.

"Yeah, I have those too."

"Will you tell me a story? Like one of those you made up, not from a book?" he asked and I really wanted to tell him how tired I am and how I just need to get back to my room and try to get some sleep, but I couldn't leave him, not right now, because his sad expression and his teary eyes broke my heart so I nodded and lied down next to him. I stretched my arm and he leaned his black messy hair on my chest as he looked up expectantly, waiting for me to start. In fifteen minutes he was out, but I couldn't move, because he was still resting on my chest and I had no heart to move up and wake him once again as I was afraid I'll startle him and wake him up again. So I waited there for quite some time, listening to his peaceful regular breathing as I got back at my thoughts about Elena and the way she tried to bribe me into going to our private session on Monday.

What a girl she was-I thought-a special one.

A/N: Thank you for reading, guys. I would really appreciate your reviews on this and I hope you enjoy the chapter.