The woman led them to their table, and Rebekah started walking a little faster to catch up with Stefan. "You really can't keep your mouth shut, can you?" He asked her silently.
"You might be willing to give her a free pass, but I'm not as forgiving as you are." She told him, equally as silent.
The showed them their booth and they took their respective seats. It was a round table with 6 chairs around it. It was quite reserved and it made Stefan wonder if it wouldn't be best if they were in a less reserved table, afraid Rebekah would give Elena another piece of her mind and the situation would get out of control.
Rebekah was a great friend, protecting him, looking out for him, but right then he wished she would not be herself for a couple of hours. The last thing he needed was for his blond friend to ruin his newly formed friendship Elena and him had started. As for his brother, well, Stefan wouldn't mind Rebekah saying a thing or two to him.
Stefan pulled out a chair for Rebekah, pushing it back in place when she sat down, taking his seat to her right. Elena eyes them for a moment, tearing her look away before anyone noticed. They seemed to be pretty close, and now that she came to think of it, Damon was never one to pull out a chair for anybody, not even her. Nik sat to Stefan's right, and Caroline took a seat beside him, to which he smiled flirtly at, and she rolled her eyes. Damon sat to Rebekah's left, leaving Elena to take a seat right in front of Stefan. She did everything she could not to have to look at him.
The waitress brought them the menu and they silently searched for something they'd like to eat. The lady asked if they wanted to order drinks first, and Damon asked for a bottle of their best wine.
The silence was too uncomfortable, but Caroline couldn't think of anything to say to break it. The other five were looking at the menu, but she was pretty sure they were mostly pretending to look for something so they wouldn't need to make conversation. She felt bad for Elena. Rebekah was incredibly inappropriate, but then again, she was right. Caroline lowered the menu in her hands and noticed Damon was no longer holding his, but talking to Elena.
"Says here that this shrimp thing is big enough for two people, wanna share it?" Damon asked Elena. Stefan chuckled, making Damon turn to face him. "Do you have a problem, brother?"
"She's allergic." Stefan said, making Elena raise her look to him as well. How does he remember those things?
"No, she's not!" Damon smirked, like what Stefan said was something so impossible it required laughing of.
"I am, actually." Elena corrected him.
"Since when?" Damon asked, confused. He had eaten shrimp with Elena before, hadn't he?
"Since she was born, genius." Stefan snapped at him, not being able to help himself. He was still furious with Damon for being there, ruinning his night.
Rebekah, Nik and even Caroline tried to hide their laughter. Caroline didn't exactly approve of her friend's behavior, but she despised Damon, and it was nice to see someone showing him he wasn't right all the time. He wasn't right most of the time, actually.
"Fine, I'll eat it all by myself." Damon said, annoyed with his brother.
"So, where do you guys know each other from?" Elena asked, turning to Nik, desperate to change the subject, asking the first thing that came to her mind. It was probably better than talking about the fact that her ex boyfriend, even after 3 years without seeing her, still knew her better than her fiancé.
"Oh, Stefan and my sister used to date." Nik said nonchalantly, and Stefan wanted to slap him in the face. People in that family really don't know how to hold their tongues.
"Oh!" Elena exclaimed. Stefan detected disappointment in her voice, but shrugged it off, she had no reason to be disappointed at this piece of information. "Used to?" She asked, pretended to be indifferent, like she was just trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, he couldn't keep up with me." Rebekah joked. Stefan sighed relieved, he expected her to say something nasty. Well, nastier.
"Oh, I doubt that." Elena thought to herself, or maybe she said it out loud, she wasn't sure. If she did, nobody seemed to hear it.
"I don't remember you complaining, miss." They both laughed and Nik looked like he was about to throw up.
"Can we stop talking about my sister's sex life before this gets out of control, please." Nik pleaded, as the waitress approached. They ordered their food and silence was there once again.
Rebekah started to feel bad. Not for what she said to Elena, but because she was the reason of the awkward silence, so she spoke up, making an effort to be friendlier, for Stefan. "No, we just... It wasn't right, he's more like a brother to me."
Elena raised her look and smiled awkwardly at Rebekah, glad to hear that, but not being a hundred sure she believed it.
"And you're almost as annoying as a feminine version of Damon would be." Stefan turned to Rebekah. "No, actually, you're not even close." Stefan said, making everyone laugh. He had to make a tremendous effort to joke and be civil to his brother tonight, despite his earlier snap. He didn't want Elena to feel guilty for ruinning the Salvatore's apparently not so unbreakable bond. It was Damon's fault. She helped, yes, but she wasn't the one related to him. She wasn't the one he knew and looked up to his entire life. Damon was. And this was his fault.
"I feel sorry for you, mate." Nik said, getting another round of laughter out of them all.
They kept the conversation very superficial. Stefan didn't once speak directly to Elena and she was starting to feel a little frustrated, though she didn't make the smallest effort to talk directly to him. Nik seemed perfectly fine to her. He wasn't inappropriate like Caroline suggested earlier he would be. Maybe because he knew the situation was already awkward enough. Rebekah seemed okay too, if you ignore that first comment about Elena's betrayal. Their food finally arrived and they all started eating, except for Rebekah.
"God, why didn't I order the same thing you did?" Rebekah looked at Stefan's meal with envy. It looked so, so tasty!
Stefan smiled at her hungry face, then at her plate. It really didn't look as tasty as his own meal did. "Here," He said, putting some of his ratatouille in the fork and bringing it up to her mouth. Elena watched their interaction, it made her want to be sick.
"This is so unbelievably good!" She said as he repeated his earlier movement. "You don't have to feed me, Stefan, I have hands." She said laughing, grabbing her own fork and starting to eat his food.
"I try to be a nice, helpful guy and what do I get in return? No food." He dropped his fork and grinned. He looked across the table for the first time that night, locking eyes with Elena who had a different look on her face. He couldn't read it, but she wasn't pleased. He didn't plan on looking, but his look had a way of finding his way to her, like it was some sort of magnetism. She quickly looked away from him, going back to playing with her food. He noticed she still haven't touched it.
"Is everything okay?" Stefan turned to Elena, interrupting his playful banter with rebekah while she kept eating his food.
"Yeah, of course." She answered a few moments later when she realized he was talking to her. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I don't know, you haven't touched your food and that salmon is your favorite." Damn him! Stop knowing me so well, she thought.
He could tell something really was bothering her, but knew not to press the issue. She would talk when she wanted to.
"Rebekah, stop devouring my food!" Stefan exclaimed, surprised to see she was already halfway done. Rebekah pulled a devilish smile across her face while he grabbed his fork and started eating again. "Like I said, you're always starving." He said, earning a shove on the shoulder from her.
"Shut up and eat, Salvatore."
Xxxxx
They all finished their meals and the environment was a lot more comfortable. Caroline was even being nice to Nik, and he didn't once flirt with her. It was his new tactic, Stefan guessed, letting her come to him instead of him looking for her. Whatever it was it probably wouldn't work. Caroline was too proud to admit the fact that she still was attracted to Nik. Even Damon was civil, though a lot more quiet than usual. He was probably trying as hard as Stefan to keep it together for Elena. She was the problem, though. She never touched her food, and didn't ask for any desert, all the while keeping quiet and occasionally nodding her head as if encouraging the others to keep making conversation. If it wasn't for that magnetism, Stefan wouldn't even have noticed she was their with them.
Stefan payed the bill and they headed out. As usual, Rebekah and him were walking side by side, now at the back of the group and she could see it was bothering Stefan, the way Elena was acting. Rebekah didn't know the first thing about Elena, but one wasn't supposed to be that quiet. "What's wrong with her?"
"Maybe you scared her off." Stefan said, annoyed.
"I hope I did." She said. "What are they doing?" Rebekah looked at her brother and Caroline this time and the were walking really close to each other, their arms brushing against the others's one, and laughing.
Stefan looked at them, with zero interest. "Maybe they finally realized the we're meant for each other." Moving his look to Elena and Damon.
"Doubt that." The blond disagreed. "Maybe it would be a lot easier if Nik told her he loved her back, instead of panicking like a little kid and screwing things up."
"Nah," Stefan said, not taking his eyes away from his brother and Elena. He hand was on her hips and her head was leaning onto his shoulder. Damn it! He wanted to touch those hips. "I think they'll figure it out eventually." He told Rebekah. "We just need to get Caroline drunk enough." Rebekah laughed and Stefan saw Elena's body stiffen under Damon's touch. What the hell was wrong with her? Could it be her parents? Maybe. Probably. She was starting to miss them too much. Yeah, that was probably it.
They got to the parking lot and Damon told Elena he'd go and get the car for them. Stefan waited until he left to go to Elena. He put his hand on her back to get her attention and she nearly jumped, turning to him. "I'm sorry about Bekah."
"No, it's okay." She told him, not being very convincing. "I probably deserved it."
Stefan shook his head, and Elena smiled weakly at him. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem kind of... off."
"I'm just tired." She lied. "Look, Stefan, I'm sorry about tonight. I shouldn't have come."
"Don't apologize, Elena, it's okay, we all had a good time." He lied as well. He had the worst time.
"Yeah, I'm not sure about that." She said, and both of them kept staring awkwardly at nothing in front of them in silence. "I like Nik," Elena said, breaking the awkwardness and changing the subject. "He seems like a decent guy."
"You should tell Caroline that."
"Why does she hate him?"
"She doesn't. They had a thing." He told her. "A summer thing, and it kind of went downhill." Stefan looked over at the parking lot and he saw Damon's car approaching.
He got out of the car, and walked over to them, putting an arm around Elena's waist when he got close enough, pulling her close to him. Stefan took a step back. "We should go, I still need to drop them back at the hotel." Stefan said to Elena, already walking away, putting as much distance as he could between them.
"Why didnt you invite them to stay with us?" Damon asked, making Stefan turn around.
"Well, you're the one living there and I didn't plan on asking you for any favors, so." Stefan said, exhausted of pretending to be in good terms with Damon for the night.
Damon eyed him, then lowered his look to catch Elena's, who was looking down at the ground. He wondered what was wrong with her. She usually wasn't like that. "Take them to the hotel and get their things. They're staying with us, no question." Damon turned around, only giving Elena a chance to send Stefan a quick smile, before turning and leaving.
Stefan went back to the rest of the group, wishing Damon and Elena's intrusion never happened. "Well, that was something." Caroline said, finally.
"What were you thinking? I mean, inviting Damon and Elena..." Stefan asked the perky blond.
"Oh, I didn't invite him." She told Stefan, and he looked at her confused. "I invited Elena, Damon's just a party crasher."
"That makes my night a lot better." Stefan said, ironically and rubbed his eyes. "I'm exhausted." He said. "Come on, let's go. My dear big brother invited you guys to stay with us." Stefan turned to Nik and Bekah.
"That's very nice of him." Nik said. Rebekah chuckled. "What?"
"He's not being nice, Nik." Stefan answered.
"Why not?"
"Because it's an excuse not to have to be alone with Stefan in the house, I'm sure." Rebekah clarified and Stefan nodded.
"How do you know that?" Nik asked, surprised with his sister.
"People are easy to read." Rebekah told him with a winning smile. "Can we please go now? I need a shower and a bed."
xxxxx
After showing his friends their respective rooms, Stefan threw himself on his bed, hoping to be able to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. That's not how it happened, though. He couldn't sleep. Damon still wasn't home, and he couldn't only imagine what his brother and ex girlfriend were doing. They're engaged, Stefan! He told himself. They are going to get married. He wanted to slap himself for thinking about those things, but hearing it, or seeing her ring — it was nothing compared to actually seeing them together. Hugging, kissing, touching each other. Stefan didn't realize how much it had hurt him until now. He kept looking at the ceiling, wondering what the hell was he doing. He felt a sting on his chest when he let the memory of seeing them back then, when everything got so screwed up, fill him.
The taxi Stefan was in stopped at the front door of the boarding house. He paid the driver, telling him to keep the change. He got out of the car, grabbed his bags and sighed. He missed being home. Italy was great as always. He remembered going there as a kid a couple of times with Damon and his father. Father said they couldn't live without knowing their origin. The Salvatores. The long line of Salvatores, traditional family in Italy, founding family of Mystic Falls. Four year old Stefan didnt understand all that very well, but he enjoyed the warm wind the place had in the spring, making his skin tingle, and liked seeing the high trees that made him want to climb really, really high and pretend he was the king of the world, or maybe Tarzan, he still had to choose. He didn't know how to climb trees, anyway. Maybe Damon could teach him how when father wasn't looking.
18 year old Stefan enjoyed Italy very much as well, but for completely different reasons. He loved the wind and the trees, yes, but the history and the scenary, they held so much meaning, Stefan couldn't deatach his eyes from them. The only thing that would make this even better would be sharing it with Elena. She had stayed home to take care of some problems with Jeremy. She appeared to be the only one to get through to him, and his drug problem was getting out of control. He offered to stay with her, maybe help, but she insisted for him to go and enjoy his trip, and she promised to be by his side the next time. He couldn't wait for next time. Maybe Jeremy was better now, who knew? They could go back to Rome that same summer for a short stay.
Stefan wanted to go straight to Elena's house, but his flight landed very late, and everyone at her house was probably in bed already. So he went home, planning on taking a quick nap before heading to Elena's. Nothing was stronger than his desire to see her, not even his exhaustion. He grabbed his bags, throwing them back on his shoulder, and walked to the door. He pushed it, hoping Damon had forgotten it open so he wouldn't have to go throw his stuff to find his keys, and it openned slightly. He pushed it open carefully, not wanting to make any noise ont to wake his brother up. It wasn't necessary, though. Before he even stepped inside the house, he could see Damon on the couch, laying on top of someone. If it wasn't for the girl's skinny arms on his brother's shirtless back, he wouldn't even have seen her there. They were swallowing each other. Stefan wanted to go upstairs, not having the smallest desire to watch a porn movie with his brother as the star.
He took a step foward, careful not to step on that one spot on the hardwood floor that haunted house noise. As he did it, the couple on the couch changed position. Damon was now lying under her, and her brown hair with blond highlights was falling in front of her face, not allowing Stefan to realize who she was. He was curious about it. Not any girl would be able to get his brother's mind off of Katherine. Actually, he never thought anyone would. A few more steps and he was at the bottom of the stairs. He turned around to see if they were aware of his presence, and saw the girl had lifted herself from Damon's body. He messy hair still wouldn't let him identify her. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and lifted it up. Stefan tried to look elsewhere, as the girl undressed, but he couldn't. He was frozen in place, staring. Air escaped his lungs. Sharp pain going through his heart.
How did he not notice it was her, even without seeing her face? Her hair was different. But that was no excuse. Maybe his mind blocked that possibility, he didn't know.
What he did know was that Elena, his Elena, was sitting on his brother's lap, undressing herself to him. Kissing him, letting him touch her. And he was doing it. He was touching her hips and her waist and her ass. Tears started grouping in his eyes. He blinked a few times. That was not happening. that couldn't be happening. He wanted to scream but he couldn't find his voice. He couldn't find any strenth to move, either. He just stood there, with tears rolled down his eyes, watching his brother and his girlfriend, together.
How could they be doing that to him? The only two people in the world he loved with his entire heart and soul. Two people he would die for without giving it a second thought. How could they? How dare them betray him like that?
He watched as Elena leaned down and started kissing Damon again, her hands going down his body and stopping on his jeans, unbuttoning it. That was too much. He had to get out of there. Now. He forced his muscles to work again, and ran out the door, not bothering to be silent. He got to the door and turned around one more time, and looked at them. He literally felt like he was being stabbed in the back. How could he have been so naive? She didn't tell him to go without her because of Jeremy. She didn't want to go with him. She didn't want to be with him. She wanted Damon. So he would let her have him.
With his bags over his shoulder Stefan walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him. It was silent outside, and he could hear Elena's voice in the distance. "What was that?" She sounded startled, a little more than she slound have been.
"Just the wind." Damon answered her. "Where were we? Oh, yeah!" Stefan hear, completely disgusted with the two of them.
He walked away, and kept walking and walking into the woods, not even bothering to think about where he was going. There was no point in it. He had no home to get back to.
Stefan mentally cursed himself for letting his thoughts go that far on the memory. Usually he would block it before he could place her face, like it would make it less real. But it was real. It was real then, and it was a hell of a lot more real now, seeing them together as a couple. Stefan rubbed his eyes and kicked his shoes off, not bothering to change clothes, he was too tired for that. He made himself comfortable and fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.
XXXXX
So, we got Stefan's point of view on seeing Elena and Damon together that night. I might write Elena's point of view, or maybe even Damon's, later on, would you guys like that?
Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it (: xoxo
