A/N: Shaz. It's been ages, right? I'm really sorry guys. :/ But what with my GCSE History exam in a couple of weeks I haven't really had much time to add anything. Anyway, I hope this chapter will be up to your standards. Read away. ;)

Chapter 5: The Ask and Almost Answer.

EPOV

Oh, god. Oh… Oh, great. I was doing it – again. I'd promised myself I'd stop thinking about it, that I wouldn't think about it; sadly, my mind didn't want to comply. Damon wasn't lying about a word he'd said to me the day prior… I knew that for certain. (Damon was a lot of things, but a liar he was not) Really I should be thinking about what I was going to do, or rather how I was going to approach the whole Stefan-keeping-me-in-the-dark situation, but my ever wandering mind forever brought me back to the brief, but very bittersweet encounter with his brother. Surely his hands shouldn't have grasped me quite so tightly, my eyes should never have locked with his, sinking deeper into the core of me, forcing hidden emotions to arise…

'No! Elena.' I abruptly cut off that (thankfully only) budding thought.

It was just that he was attractive – every person with eyes in their head realised that much. And if that's what I told myself, then I would believe it. A part of me prayed that was the truth. I wandered over to the window, the soft fabric of the carpet gently caressing the soles of my feet as I gripped the curtains, drawing them apart and soon finding myself staring out of the clear glass. The school had been closed today, something about the air-con going ka-boom. It was hot though, the hottest it'd been in a long time. It wasn't even nice warmth, it was a humid smother. Had I really opened the window? And was I really leaning out this far? The unbreakable hold my digits and knuckles had upon the pane and tender brush of the nearly-noon wind confirmed my suspicions. I really could stay here forever, the breeze was so relaxing, and it made me feel strangely at peace. Just as my orbs began buzzing over the beautiful summer-like scene, the rap of my front door broke my concentration.

Leaving my room, (and the window fully open) I padded slowly down the stairs, and without stopping, made my way to the door. I groggily rubbed my right eye with a single hand as the other twisted the door knob, opening it as wide as it would go. I had to blink twice at the man in front of me. I should be mad with him, and in theory I was; seeing him again though after his several day absence made me realise how much I truly did miss Stefan. His chocolate brown eyes were warm and glowing, his hair was perfectly ruffled, (giving him the formal, but could pass for in formal sort of look), and his lips put on the smile that never failed to make me blush.

The unmistakeable love behind it radiated greatly. I'd be angry with him later; I missed him too much right now.

"Elena." My name rolled effortlessly from his tongue. The way he said my name always gave me tingles all over.

Before I could respond, Stefan pulled me into a fierce, but a very emotion engrossed hug. I held him tight for a few seconds as I found my voice.

"Stefan, I missed you. Why were you gone for so long?" I hoped the inquisitive nature of my question wasn't too obvious.

And like I had wished, his voice (or body) didn't show any signs of suspicion. I felt him sigh into my hair.

"I didn't expect to be so long. I just had a few things to take care of, that's all love. And I'm sorry I didn't call." I couldn't help but notice his honey-sickle voice had altered into a sort of coo; his hand was in my hair, stroking it tenderly in a slightly patronizing manner.

It made me feel young and impressionable. I didn't take too kindly to that.

There was obviously something he didn't want me to know. And I had a feeling I knew exactly what was 'being taken care of.' My mind was buzzing away, trying to think of the best way to confront my (vampire) boyfriend, and then I felt the falter and then the eventual stop of his combing fingers. So I took my chance, I looked up at him; to my surprise, he wasn't looking in my direction at all. For the first time since we'd met, Stefan's eyes were stone. He face was betraying no sign of emotion at all. If I was honest, it scared me a little bit.

Even though I was wary of him right now, this was probably the only chance I'd get. So, I had to ask.

"Stefan… Why didn't you tell me? And could we please cut out the entire damn protecting me crap?"

His eyes snapped down to meet mine immediately; there was an intense hollowness about them I'd never noticed before. As if adding to the impact of my statement/question, my body recoiled from his, wrapping my own arms around myself. He stared at me for a long, painful moment before speaking.

"I was going to tell you, Elena. When I felt the time was right. But, it seemed others got there before I did didn't th-"

"Stefan, there's been reported attacks for weeks. And don't you dare tell me there's nothing to worry about. I'm not stupid Stefan… I just want you to be honest with me." My voice, as I knew it would, faded into the last word of my sentence. Stefan and I had always had a trust issue.

I could feel my body shaking; somehow my arms had ripped from my chest and were now jittering ever so slightly at my sides. Stefan looked to me with those sad, sad eyes. A part of me felt guilty for snapping at him; we were still lingering in the door way and I didn't want to make a scene. I steadied my hands at my hips, ready to apologize when his answer caught me off guard.

"Who… Told, you?"

I let myself frown, that wasn't what I was expecting at all.

"I f-"

Stefan shook his head at me.

"It was Damon, wasn't it?"

My brows furrowed together, letting my eyes narrow a degree or two.

"No, it wasn't Damon, Damon just confirmed it. It was Caroline, actually. Caroline, and, come to the think of it, the rest of the school," I said in a matter-of-factly-tone.

"Mmm." Stefan didn't look convinced; there was more going on between the two brothers than just a broken brotherhood.

My entire expression softened; there was something the matter with Stefan, hell, there was something the matter with everything right now. But, at least I could get this part of the mess over and dealt with. I took a step closer to him, raising my hand to touch his face. My fingers ghosted across his features, caressing them with care. I forced him to look at me.

SPOV

"Stefan, what's the matter?"

How could I have let it come to this? Elena was mine, and it didn't matter what Damon said, what he did, Elena was and is mine. Her gentle bambi eyes filtered her love and concern for me perfectly; she really did have no idea. I laughed without a trace of humour. The laugh wasn't cold; it was just a nervous sort of sound. Elena was the only woman who could make me nervous. And, technically speaking, that was true. Since Katherine was long dead by now.

"But.. He'll always be there you know. He wants you. And, believe me Elena, when I say Damon wants you. He'll stop at nothing until you're what he gets," I was going to continue with my ramble, but Elena chirped into my thought track.

"What are you talking about Stefan?"

'What I'm talking about, Elena… Is the fact that you and my brother continue to get considerably closer than a normal boyfriend's brother/ brother's girlfriend relationship. And, the big deal is, I really hate leaving you alone together. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just the fact I don't trust him.'

I sighed deeply, shaking my head before pulling her close to me; her body crushed against mine and we melted together silently. I shook my head once again, there was no point. I'd been stupid and fool to be so jealous over something that was clearly nothing. Raising her head up to mine, she smiled, the sweetest of smiles, and claiming what was mine, I craned my neck and caught her lips in between mine. For a long moment I held our kiss, relishing in the very woman I was more in love with than I'd ever been.

Finally, we pulled away. I regarded her silently, I could see her eyes wash over my features; the look of innocence that was so alluring it was what drew me to her the most. But, in the corner of my mind, I knew something wasn't right. The kiss we'd shared had been passionate, yes, it had. But, it'd also been careful, very careful. Elena was distracted. And it wasn't something, it was someone.

Yes, Elena's lips belonged to me, but for how long?

EPOV

He was staring at me, his face was a mask of expressionless emotion, he was just staring. And it was at that moment I knew that he did in fact know. And I could've sworn if he'd asked me right there, I wouldn't have been able to deny it - I couldn't have. But of course, Stefan wouldn't think that. He wouldn't do such a thing. He smiled, but it didn't touch his eyes. It was enough though, enough for me.

"Another reason I came over today was because of the ball…"

I watched a dry smile break across his lips, raising a brow I laughed.

"You hate dancing?" I asked, stifling back another chuckle.

And then he winked, throwing me a carefree shrug.

"I wasn't going to leave you without a date, now was I?" and there was the Stefan I'd missed, smiling at me in his radiating perfect ness.

I felt my heart squeeze with the sheer thrill of knowing he was mine. I returned the smile, my mouth stretched so far it almost hurt.

"Well, in that case, I'll see you later then," I beamed, my eyes locked with his.

He nodded once, planting a single kiss on my cheek before turning away. Stopping, he cocked his head to the side, his body twisted towards me.

"Seven?"

"Seven," I confirmed softly, watching him turn and walk away.

Whirling, I walked back into the house, slamming the door shut behind me. How could I have even begun to doubt my self-control around Damon? Stefan and I belonged together, that much was obvious. But right now, I wouldn't trouble my mind with the minority; there had been, and were still attacks in Mystic Falls, (that were clearly by vampires) that was the important thing. The thing I would force myself to focus on until it was sorted. But, that little nagging, annoying voice at the back of my mind persisted on counselling, until, finally, I said the question out loud.

"If Stefan and I belonged together… Then why was my mind even contemplating a choice?"

The words were so true it scared me. I didn't want to know the answer; I was petrified of it.

Author's note: A little longer than previous chapters, but I really didn't want to rush this one. But, as always, thank you for all of the subscriptions and all reviews are welcome. ;D Peace out!

Jackie. xxx