Stefan stood up next to Tyler. His insides were turning into one another. He could bet his bottom dollar that Tyler probably had a camera or voice recorder in here, so if Stefan denied being with Elena, then he would probably show her that and Elena would kill him especially after just saying he wanted to be with her but if he tells everyone now, he can already see the disappointment in his brother's eyes. They were meant to be doing this together, he would feel so much better just having Elena in the same room as him, if it hadn't been for Tyler they would have been standing side-by-side and when they told everyone they were together he would hold her hand and so forth. It was a nice fantasy but if he had learnt anything over the last few weeks it was that fantasy are great until you realize how different they are from reality. His phone buzzed in his pocket, it probably was Elena. He remembered the moment he was going to let her go when he felt close to his parents, that must have been a sign, they want him to be with Elena. He swallowed, took a deep breath and began to speak.
'Everyone, what he says is true. I know you are very surprised but it is what it is. Yeah, a few weeks ago I thought Elena was a stuck-up cheerleader who had no life but then I got to know her and now, I feel quite different about her. Most of you like Tyler may be thinking, I don't want this guy to be our captain, he can't even judge a girl properly then that's life. I will always love football and be on the team but you guys are my team and anyone of you can be captain next year and I know we will do great. You may not want me being captain, because I will probably turn into a whipped idiot but those of you who have girlfriends who you adore, even if you're whipped you can't imagine being with them any other way. Most of our captain's over the year's besides damon have always taught as to get girls to sleep with us and what not. We need a change, we need to focus on football and not always be wanting to impress girls who we are going to use for one night then never talk to again. Call me what you want but that's the truth and I'm not going to deny that I'm with Elena because I am and she makes me happy. I am sorry if any of you feel like I failed you.' He said. Everyone faces still looked shocked as he walked to his bag and the coach announced they were done.
He was putting his water bottle in his bag when his friends came over just when they were going to leave.
'Hey mate, have you told Elena about what happened?' asked Klaus.
Oh god, Stefan thought. He had no idea what Elena would do when she finds out, she was going to kill him. He could already see her, she will probably avoid him and then when he finally talks to her, she will give him the biggest bitch slap of his life. He was scared to say the least.
'I do, I do love him but after what happened last night, I don't know if he feels the same way. I never told him I loved him but he tells me almost every day. He said sex didn't matter to him but last night he just kept asking me about it and then I thought he was going to rape me but I slapped him before he could kiss me again. A part of me wants to never forgive him and not talk to him again but another part can't imagine my life without him.' Said Lexi.
Elena had finished telling them about Stefan, she read Stefan's text asking her to talk to Lexi about forgiving Kol, at first she had no idea what Stefan was talking about, but eventually they got Lexi to talk. Elena was secretly on Kol's side, because he had spend the last year waiting for Lexi and he had said he had loved her since the end of spring break, so for him to put up with her not saying it back for so long, as so cute. They were perfect for each other and Elena knew sooner or later they would have to get back together.
While they were talking Elena opened up her laptop to check Facebook, she saw that Tyler had recently uploaded a video that had 69 likes and 203 comments already! She thought it would be some immature, but she was curious since usually no-one looked at them. When she played the video she saw why. The title was 'Is stelena here?' kind of strange but when it started to play Elena was torn between thinking Stefan was so romantic for standing up for her in front of his entire football team or that he was stupid in telling everyone when they were going to wait. She saw Tyler make his announcement and she felt an absolute fury, how could anyone put people in a position like that? But when she saw Stefan's speech, tears came to her eyes as she realized he really did care for her. Caroline was squealing in delight as Lexi started screaming while Bonnie's eyes were in shock and about the size of a plate.
'That's not fair! You have hardly been dating him and he already has stood up for you!' Caroline said.
Elena smiled, she was so lucky to have a guy like Stefan, even if their relationship wouldn't last.
'Why did he tell everyone? Why wouldn't he lie and say we weren't?' she asked her friends as much as he was amazing, he still went and ruined what was supposed to be a big moment for them.
'I really don't know but why don't you text him and see if you can meet with him later? And we can help you get ready!' Lexi said, going over to her cupboard and pulling out clothes.
Elena went over to her phone and saw Stefan had already texted her.
'Please tell me you aren't mad.'
He must have known she would react this way, she sent back. 'Find out for yourself, can we talk later?'
Almost immediately he sent back, 'Sure, Dinner, 6pm, the grill'
'We're having dinner tonight!' yelled Elena as soon as she read it. Even though she was mad at Stefan, she couldn't help but feel excited for their first date.
Stefan was sitting in a booth at the Grill, Elena had texted to say she was coming. When she walked in he realized he had seen her for the entire day and he missed her. She was wearing a blue dress that came up at the front but went to the middle of her calves at the back, the back of it was covered in threads that had been purposely weaved into a pattern. Her hair was straightened and out, her face didn't have any traces of make-up on it. When she saw him, her eyes lit up and she walked over to give him a peck on the lips before sitting down across from him. He knew she what she was going to ask.
'Why did you tell everyone? Why didn't you deny it?' she was determined to know the answer.
Stefan sighed. 'I thought about denying it but Elena, I hadn't seen you all day and we never really talked about it.' He started to say.
Elena cut in. 'Wait, so you told everyone because we hadn't talked about it?' she had a shocked and almost disgusted look on her face.
'No, I told everyone because I thought that Tyler would be filming or recording everything I said, which was confirmed when you found out through facebook but think about what would have happened if I denied it. I wouldn't have been able to tell you I was lying and seriously, Elena would you answer any of my calls or talk to me if I basically told everyone that I didn't want to be with you?' he asked her. He knew he had her and that she understood his situation, he just hoped she wouldn't be mad at him. She was quiet but he reached across the table and grabbed her hand in his, stroking the top of it with his thumb. 'I don't want to lie anymore.' He said it as sincere as he could, this was to let her know he was planning on telling a whole lot more people about their new relationship.
It was Elena's turn to sigh, she would have to learn that one of the best and worst things about Stefan was that he could always turn something around. He knew exactly what to say to her to make her crack and knew which reactions he would get from whatever he did.
'Ok' said Elena, scooting around to get closer to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. 'But you're paying for dinner.' She added with a smile.
'I think you would have made me pay either way. Now, how was your day?' he asked. He knew Elena would forgive him but even the thought of her not, could make him nervous.
'it was good, btw, Bonnie caught us making out at the Halloween party so I am guessing your friends and mine knew before the rest of the school, which means they hopefully won't be mad at you.' She said.
'Ha, Elena! We're guys, we don't get annoyed because someone doesn't tell them about a new boyfriend or girlfriend, we get annoyed when the new boyfriend or girlfriend is an ex and even then we let it slide after an hour or so. Which make-out session did she see because it would be extremely awkward to be around her if she saw us in the science lab?' he said, with a smile as those sweet memories started drifting back into his head.
Elena hit him over the head. 'You are disgusting, no, she saw us in the hallway.'
'Really Elena? We are on our first date and you're already insulting me. I thought we we were stronger then that..' he said pretending to get all emotion as Elena rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. 'Did you talk to Lex about Kol?' Stefan asked when Elena got the point.
Elena suddenly buried her face in his chest. He took that to say that Lexi's reaction wasn't what he hoped. He put his arms around Elena. Then slowly he leaned forward, brushed the hair away from her face that was creating a shield between him and her, he gently turned her face up so she had to look him in the eyes. 'What happened?' he said. Lexi had been his best friend since preschool, she was always the one hitting in the back of the head when he did something wrong and trust him, that was more often than you would think. He set Kol up with Lexi when Klaus came over to him and expressed his concern about his twin brother. Stefan didn't give it a second thought but now growing closer to Kol, if they broke up he might have to choose between them and he didn't know who he would go with.
'She is really upset, I saw what happened last night and it may have been bad but she is picturing it like he tried to rape her when he simply let his hands roam for literally two seconds. She is putting on a strong face but she needs him and she loves him. I hope they can find their way back to each other.' She said before burying her face back in his chest.
Stefan nodded and tightened his arms around her. He understood, he felt bad now because he kind of tossed his new relationship in Kol's face when Kol's was coming to an end. He knew Elena wanted to be happy about being with him but kept feeling as though she let her friends down, he could see it in her laugh she would start and then she would stop her face would fall instead of keeping a smile on for a few seconds longer.
'Well, here is another good thing about us being together, we can pass their messages along and plot for them to get together.' He said, Elena lifted her head off his chest and looked at him as much to say 'Are you serious?', he nodded and Elena broke out in a smile. As they began talking about the best ways to put them together again and what they should tell Kol or Lexi if they ask about one another.
After they had finished their dinner, Stefan knew they should be getting home but he didn't want to move. They had been talking for 4 hours, they needed their sleep and the grill was getting filled with drunks trying to get sober. Suddenly, a whole crowd of students came in and looked towards them. The students were almost all from the football or cheerleading team, when they looked over, it was when Stefan was grabbing Elena around the waist as she tried to put sauce on him. She froze and looked over at them with a scared look on her face. What would they do? Would they continue like this and hope they saw the video? What if they came over and ruined this date she was having with Stefan? All her worries disappeared when Stefan, as if he had practiced this before, lifted her on to his lap and kissed her exactly like he kissed her last night. It was filled with warmth and comfort but fuelled with enough passion to make her completely forget about the group who just walked in. They soon had to break away, earlier in the evening when they kissed, a waitress came over to them told them they were being a public disturbance. Elena wrapped her arms around his neck, she was higher since being placed on his lap and put her head on his shoulder. He kissed her hair and when they looked over at the group they weren't in shock or disgust instead they had looks or envy and pure jealousy.
As they should, Elena thought. She had the most perfect guy looking down at her like she was his entire happiness because to say the truth she was. She didn't care about head cheerleader because as she was seating here with Stefan she realized she will look back on this year and remember her times with Stefan that were perfect, not her stressful times as head cheerleader with all-nights to make up routines or to catch up on school work and she knew he felt the exact same way!
On Monday, Elena didn't want to go to school. She didn't want to face everyone about Stefan but she did want to see Stefan. Katherine sent a message out on Facebook to tell everyone on the cheerleading and football team that we have a meeting a lunch. Elena rolled her eyes, did she just want to rub it in their faces that they lost the leadership positions of the team. Elena wore a casual outfit, a pattern top that went to the top of her thigh with a pair of modest denim shorts under. When she got to school, she knew everyone was looking at her. They might have been jealous of her, but they were probably thinking about how mean she was to Stefan to just turn around and say 'Hey, I like you. We should go out.' Which it wasn't like at all, she got to her locker and tried hard to ignore all the stares. She was so focussed on getting her books and putting her books away that she didn't even notice Stefan come and lean against her locker door.
He was standing there for a while before saying, 'Need help with your books?'
Elena jumped in fright like she saw a ghost. 'Holy cow, you gave me the biggest fright. I was busy and didn't notice you until just now.'
'Don't worry, I picked up on that after about 10 minutes of standing here and are you trying to avoid everyone staring at you?' he asked.
'Is it that obvious?' she asked, looking around.
'Nope, I could tell since no one is usually that concentrated when getting books, but get used to it because what we do next will be a whole lot worst.' He said, lowering his voice.
Elena put her last book in her bag and gave him a confused look. Stefan simply took her hand and pulled her towards him as they started walking to her first class.
Elena was shocked at how many people could stare at one scene, she started feeling quite uncomfortable and put her hair in front of her face but then Stefan leaned over to her and whispered in her ear 'Relax, it doesn't matter what they think and anyway, you are beautiful.' They stopped at her class and he brushed her hair behind her shoulder and kissed her before saying 'I'll see you later.'
Elena's heart was still fluttering when she sat down. No one could do that to her but Stefan. His kisses made her stomach become filled with butterflies and her brain turn into slosh.
At lunch, Elena made her way over to the sports office with Caroline, Lexi and Bonnie. They were standing near the front so they could hear. Damon and Katherine were talking and from the looks Katherine was giving her, she could tell that Katherine knew about her new relationship but she didn't feel ashamed, being with Stefan only made her happy and no one could take that away from her.
She saw Lexi suddenly become uncomfortable and go pale, but before she had time to turn around, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist as Stefan placed a kiss on her cheek.
'Hey.' He said as he put his head on her shoulder.
'Hi', Elena turned around in his arms so she could kiss him probably.
Suddenly they heard Lexi's voice. 'yeah, I am glad your such a great best friend too, Stefan.'
They broke away and Stefan, clearly frustated turned to Lexi and said 'Way to ruin a moment, Lexi, couldn't you see I was busy.'
'Busy, yeah next time don't get busy right in front of my eyes.' She laughed, she was glad Stefan and Elena were together and right now, they were helping her avoid talking to Kol.
Stefan sat on the bench that was on one side of the room. He pulled Elena with him so she was standing in the V of his legs, giving him lots of chances to kiss her, in which he took every single one. He could feel his brother looking at him but Stefan didn't bother looking up, last night they talked about it and they came to an understanding and he agreed that being with Elena would definitely beat being football captain. Klaus sat next to him and Caroline copied Elena's position. They started talking about shopping then went to talking about some celebrity or movie star but he lost track so settled for talking to Klaus about the football season while playing and running his hand through Elena's hair.
Elena leaned back against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, he took this action to say, she was finished talking to Caroline and wanted to talk/kiss him. Without missing a beat, he leaned forward and kissed her after a matter of seconds, he could hear his brother clearing his throat and asked for everyone's attention. Stefan painfully broke away from Elena and began playing with her hair again while occasionally leaning forward to kiss her head. Whatever nervousness or shame he may be feeling, it all disappeared when he touched Elena.
Lexi watched them, while listening to Damon. Klaus never played with Caroline's hair, Damon never played with Katherine's and Kol never used to play with hers. She never thought about any guy doing that because it seemed they just didn't think about that but watching Stefan play with Elena's, she felt a touch of envy. Whenever Elena would tilt her head up to look at him, he would kiss her head and you would see Elena smile before giving her attention back to Damon. Argh, this meeting was moving so slowly! They congratulated the football team etc. She could feel Kol staring at her but she would not look back, if she did then she would see that sincere, loving look he only gives to her and then she would be running over to him, on her knees begging for forgiveness in not even 30 seconds.
Suddenly Damon said, 'Now, this fall break we are having a joint cheerleading and football camp!'
Lexi stared at him in shock. Oh god, she thought. She would have to spend 2 weeks living right next to Kol, she wouldn't be able to stay away from him and especially if he was training shirtless, even the thought made her brain fuzzing. She looked around, some guys were high-fiving, other girls who jumping up and down with excitement. Elena and Stefan were looking at each other and they both seemed excitied but she could see the fears in there eyes. Last cheerleading camp, Elena lost her virginity to one of the male coaches after she claimed to be drunk. Stefan, on the other hand, slept with one of the coaches girlfriends and any other girl that walked in. What happened if something like that happened again? Lexi began praying, she wanted them to stay together but if they can't control themselves, she knew they would probably have their first fight.