The One Where
Chapter 9 – The One Where Elena Finds Out
Stefan crossed his arms over his chest, and asked his first question, "Where did we first meet?"
Elena creased her brow, "Outside the men's room at school." She looked between Stefan and Caroline with confusion, "Why do you want to know?"
Stefan ignored her, "Who was my best friend?"
"What is this, twenty questions?" Stefan just stared at her so Elena answered, "Lexi."
Caroline raised her eyebrows at Stefan, "Seriously? Like Katherine doesn't know that." She shook her head at Stefan, and asked her own question, "Who was the first boy I ever kissed?"
"Tyler, during spin the bottle." Elena answered.
Stefan turned to Caroline clenching his jaw, "Tyler was your first kiss?"
"It was during a game, Stefan." Caroline rolled her eyes, and then gestured to the bound Elena, "I think we are getting a little off topic."
Elena stared at them with narrowed eyes, "Why would you care who her first kiss was?"
Stefan would not hide the truth from Elena, he was sick of hiding how much he loved Caroline. He moved his palm over hers sliding his fingers through hers to interlock their fingers. He smiled at Caroline lovingly before telling Elena, "Because she's my girlfriend."
Elena just stared between the two of them, her eyes wide in disbelief, a little twist of something in her gut that felt suspiciously like jealousy. She looked at their joined hands, and she couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her chest, "Good one, guys. You got me. There is no way that you would go for her, Stefan. She's not exactly your type."
Ouch, bitch, Caroline felt hurt, she wanted to take her hand from Stefan's but she didn't want to give Elena the satisfaction. Instead, she straightened her shoulders, tilted her head, and smirked, "You sure you're not still Katherine, Elena?"
Elena glared at Caroline, "I am nothing like Katherine!"
Caroline snorted, "I think you're more like her than you think."
"Enough!" Stefan held up his hand silencing both girls. He crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes at Elena, "Caroline is my type, Elena. She's loving, she's kind, she's compassionate, she's loyal, and..." He turned his head to gaze at Caroline, his lips curved into a soft smile, "I love her."
Elena gasped. She was in shock, Stefan loved Caroline? When the hell did that happen?
Caroline couldn't help the smile that broadened across her face. She had to admit that there was the tiniest spark of insecurity over Elena, especially after she realised that the reaction they got from 'Elena' was actually Katherine's reaction. She was pleased to learn that Stefan did not even hesitate to tell Elena. She leaned forward, placing a sweet kiss on his lips.
Elena had to look away, the sight of Caroline and Stefan kissing making her uncomfortable. It still doesn't make sense to her, she knew they were friends nothing more, sure Caroline was always on his side on everything, and she knew they had grown closer as she and Stefan grew apart but... love? How could they possibly be in love with each other? Stefan was still in love with her... wasn't he?
Stefan smiled as her lips parted from his, her beautiful blue eyes glittering at him lovingly. He sighed, wanting so much to bring her back to him but they did have Elena tied up to a chair.
Elena huffed, "So why am I exactly tied to a chair?"
"What's the last thing you remember?" Stefan asked, he was sure know that it was Elena and not Katherine.
Elena's brow furrowed as she thought back, "I was... with Nadia, and some traveller... they had Katherine's body... and she was doing something... something to me..." Her eyes widened as she recalled the feeling of being taken over by Katherine's life, "I escaped... and I was running to get back to Damon... Katherine's whole life was flashing before my eyes." She closed her eyes, as she struggled to remember what happened after that, "I ran into Damon's arms... and then nothing."
"That was almost three weeks ago." Caroline told Elena, guilty that it had taken them so long to realize that something was wrong with her.
"Three weeks!" Elena almost shouted, she had been gone for that long? How come no one realised sooner? Damon, why wasn't Damon's here? She had to know, "Where is Damon?"
Stefan and Caroline shared a look, before he answered her, "When you ran into his arms? You broke up with him." He lowered his head, and winced as he added, "Well... Katherine broke up with him."
Elena swallowed, "How... how is he?"
"Not good." Caroline answered, sympathy bright in her eyes, "He went off with Enzo for a... impromptu boys two week bender thing."
Stefan shook his head chuckling, his girl had the most amusing way of putting things. He looked over to Elena to see how she was taking the news when he noticed that she was still tied up. Had they done enough to prove that Katherine was no longer in there? What if she was dormant, and could re emerge at any moment, "Caroline?"
Caroline turned to Stefan, her brow raised, "Yeah?"
"Does Matt know how to call out a passenger? You know after having Gregor inside of him." Stefan frowned, that sounded so wrong the way it came out.
"Yeah, I think he does." Caroline took her phone out, and quickly called Matt. Not wanting to beat around the bush she asked, "Do you know how to call out a passenger?"
"Why would you-"
Caroline cut him off, "Do you? It's important."
"I do." Matt answered.
Caroline breathed a sigh of relief, "Good." She walked over to Elena, put her phone on speaker, and asked, "Could you say it now, please?"
Matt was confused and curious, but he said it regardless, he trusted that Caroline would tell him what's going on, "Vyjít."
Elena stared blankly at Caroline.
Caroline peered into Elena's eyes, they looked the same, and she had no clue as to how she would determine whether Katherine was still in there, "What exactly am I looking for?"
"I was there when Katherine killed Gregor. His eyes went black." Stefan walked over, peered into Elena's eyes, and asked Matt, "Say it again, please, Matt."
"Vyjít." Matt repeated, now insanely curious as to what Stefan and Caroline were actually doing.
Stefan looked closely into Elena's eyes, they stayed the same, not a twitch of passenger black. Stefan smiled in relief, "It's her."
"Thank god!" Caroline smiled bright, she took the phone off speaker, "Thank you for the help, Matt."
"No problem." Matt then waited a moment before asking, "Are you going to tell me what I've actually helped you with?"
"There is no easy way of saying this so I'm just gonna come out with it." Caroline took a deep breath, released it on a sigh and told Matt what had gone on, "Turns out that Katherine had been passengered inside of Elena for the last few weeks and none of us noticed. Well, Stefan and I eventually did, and we made a plan to lure Katherine here to kill her. With the traveler knife, which we did. We just wanted to make sure it worked."
Matt was shocked. Elena hadn't been herself, and none of them noticed. She had been surprisingly upbeat after just breaking up with Damon. He frowned as he realised what Caroline had said, "Wait. The knife? I have that back at my place."
"You did have that back at your place." Caroline corrected, she enthused her voice with her usual level of cheerfulness to distract from her stealing, "Stefan and I... took it. Long story. You may here something from Tyler." She shook off the thought of being confronted by an angry hybrid, "Just know that is was totally necessary, and we couldn't tell anybody as usually the more people that know the more chances there are of Katherine finding out."
Matt didn't really know what to say in return, Caroline had stolen something from him without asking, but it had been to save Elena. He was part annoyed, part grateful, part amused.
"Okay, well, I'll be going now. Sorry about stealing your stuff. Bye." Caroline hung up before Matt could say anything else. She didn't know if he'd be angry with her, or grateful for saving Elena, and to put it off a bit longer she just hung up.
Stefan chuckled as he released Elena from the chair, Caroline was just absolutely adorable. He was constantly in awe of her positive attitude, no matter what life threw at her Caroline Forbes always picked herself back up, and moved on. He envied her for that, while also admiring her for the same trait. He wished he could be more like her, be less broody, less weighed down by all the mistakes of his past. He was getting there, the more time he spent with his girl, the more he began to let his past go. She was his future now, and he was very much looking forward to spending it with her.
Elena pushed herself up from the chair, and stretched her limbs out. She eyed the way that Stefan was gazing at Caroline with more than a hint of envy. He had not looked at her like that in forever, if ever. She could see that he was completely enamoured with her, and it irked her that he had fallen for her best friend. Was that why he had not known she was Katherine earlier, because he was so into Caroline he never took the time to notice. Stefan used to know her better than anyone, and she always thought he would, regardless of whether she still loved him or not.
Stefan noticed Elena's eyes on him, he raised his brow at her, asking, "What?"
"You and Caroline, huh?" Elena crossed her arms over her waist, a defensive posture, and looked down before meeting his eyes again, "I admit that I never saw that coming."
"You didn't?" Stefan met her stare full on, not hiding a thing about where his affections now lied, "Because I knew it months ago. I knew it before amnesia, before the safe, before even the thought of leaving entered my mind." He glanced over at Caroline, she was oblivious to their discussion, busy straightening out the living room. His eyes softened further as he watched her, a sigh of pure contentment leaving him as he all but whispered, "She stole my heart a long time ago." He ducked his head, biting his lip briefly before looking at Elena again, "I was just waiting for her to catch up."
Elena's eyes widened, finally realising that Stefan was completely in love with Caroline. Though his statement didn't make complete sense to her, as she was sure he was devastated when she chose Damon over him after graduation, "But you seemed..." She tried to word it as delicately as she could, "Hurt... heartbroken... when I chose Damon. How could you had already had feelings for Caroline then, if you still wanted me?"
Stefan wasn't sure why Elena cared, but he would be honest with her anyway, "I clung on to you for far too long because I was afraid. I was scared of the possibility of loving someone that wasn't you." He chuckled at his previous thinking, seeing how utterly stupid and pointless it was now. He couldn't live without Caroline then, and he couldn't live without her now, "You had already broken me once. If Caroline had ever... rejected me... I wouldn't have just been broken... I would've been the ripper."
"She really means that much to you?" Elena asked, she still couldn't see it, every moment of last year Stefan seemed still in love with her, and at no point could she see that he was falling for Caroline. They were close, really close, but it never occurred to her that they could be more, "You would turn it off if she rejected you?"
"I don't have to be without humanity to be a ripper, Elena." Stefan knew that he was capable of ripping people apart with his humanity just as much as without it. Blood made him do horrible things, be a horrible person, and he didn't need a switch to make him that way. He was an addict, and it took him to dark places where he didn't care about anything but his next drop of blood.
Elena knew that Stefan's statement was partly true. When he came back from Klaus, his switch appeared on one minute, and then off the next, yet he still did horrible things. Though Stefan could never be a monster to her, she loved him too much once to be ever able to view him as one. He was her first love, and he had been one of the epic loves of her short life. Maybe that was why it hurt that he now viewed Caroline that way. Your love for your first never truly goes away, she was no longer in love with him, but the thought of him no longer being in love with her, hurt some deep dark selfish part of her.
"I love Caroline, and everyday I spend with her I only love her more." Stefan smiled dreamily as he gazed at Caroline, his heart skipping a beat at the stunning girl that had turned his world upside down. She was his everything, and she was his forever. He only wished that he had lost that longing for Elena that had become a part of him that he didn't notice when it had actually gone, that his heart beat for another, until hearing Elena tell Damon that she loved him had shattered the illusion he had held inside his head. That was part of the reason he had wanted to go to Portland, to sort out his confused feelings for Caroline.
Elena had heard enough. She didn't want to keep hearing Stefan profess his love for Caroline, as it was still hard to wrap her head around the news. May be she never would, but that was an issue for another time. She had someone she needed to find, "I better go find Damon."
"Try the grill." Stefan offered helpfully, he didn't know for sure but he bet that it was a good place to start.
Elena nodded. She said her byes to Caroline and Stefan, and left to find Damon. She needed to see if she could undo whatever damage Katherine had done.
Stefan was lying down on the couch with Caroline across his chest, his fingers were running though her soft hair, as he enjoyed the quiet with his girl. Today had been a whirlwind, finally killing Katherine then getting Elena back. He just wanted to content himself by keeping her in his arms as long as he could.
Caroline had her eyes closed as she listened to the thumps of Stefan's heartbeat. She loved the way it jumped at her touch, and how it would race as she trailed her fingertips across his skin. She kissed the spot above his heart, and smiled as his heart skipped and raced.
Stefan tilted his head, smiling down at Caroline, their eyes meeting in a loving stare. He caressed her hair, loving the dreamy look in her blue eyes, she was so beautiful that he couldn't help say, "I love you."
"I love you." Caroline bit her lip, hesitating to ask but at the patient look on Stefan's face she found the courage, "How long... have you... had feelings... for me?"
"When I lived with you, I started to notice more and more things about you." Stefan never stopped the movement of his hand as he tried to pinpoint the moment Caroline became it for him, "How your smile was still as bright first thing in the morning as it was last thing at night."
Caroline could feel her cheeks blush under the emotion in his gaze.
"I began to live for the times I would make you smile, and especially when I made you laugh." Stefan chuckled, his fingers rubbing against the skin of her cheek, "I didn't realize that I was falling in love with you, it never occurred to me that my need to be around you was was because I never wanted to be away from you, and it never crossed my mind that the aching pit in my gut wasn't because of Elena but because you were off with Tyler instead of being with me."
Caroline blinked in shock. She never even knew that he thought that way about her back then. She thought that she was trying to help him heal his broken heart.
"Then at prom..." Stefan smiled in awe as he remembered how utterly stunning she was. She took his breath away, looking so beautiful that it was hard to keep his eyes off her, "You were the most beautiful girl. So unbelievably gorgeous that you stole my breath." He curled his arms around her waist, tightening his hold as he revealed his thoughts during their dance, "I joked that you had Klaus wrapped around your finger, but it was only beginning to dawn on me that you had me too."
Caroline chuckled, even as her words stuck in her throat. She remembered all too clearly that dance, even though she was in love with Tyler at the time, for the briefest of moments she had wanted to kiss Stefan.
Stefan sighed, "I was worked up over Elena, and with a few short beautiful words she was the last thing on my mind as all could see was you." He tilted her head up to meet his, his lips hovering over her mouth, "You told me that I would find love again, and for that one fleeting moment, I knew that my heart had begun to beat your way." He pushed a brief kiss on her lips, "And I wanted to kiss you so bad, your overwhelming scent invading my senses, and making me fall under your spell."
Caroline kissed him again, her hands stroking along his chest, before she pulled back, and confessed for the first time, "I wanted to kiss you too."
Stefan shook his head, so much wasted time apart, but then again, she was still with Tyler back then, so she couldn't have been his even if he wanted her to be. He kept his head nuzzled against hers as he continued, "I was scared after that. Scared of loving you, and scared of losing you. I wanted to go to Portland to clear my head, as I was still hurt over Elena, and only just realising what I felt for you." He tightened his arms around her, "Then there came the safe. I was drowning constantly, and holding onto the pain of Elena choosing Damon to not succumb to the overwhelming pain I was in everyday."
Caroline rubbed her hand against his chest soothingly, offering Stefan her support as he talked about that difficult time.
"When I lost my memories you were there for me unquestionably, and I started to fall for you." Stefan smiled, his eyes looking lovingly into her eyes, "After I got my memories back, that was when I knew what I wanted, but thought it was too soon after Tyler so I gave you your space to move on." He brushed his knuckles against her cheek, "I had been waiting months to finally having my chance with you."
Caroline chewed on her lip, her eyes bright with happiness, "All it took was alcohol, dancing, and Bon Jovi."
Stefan laughed, pulling her mouth back to his, moaning as he kissed her again and again. Gently stroked her face as he moved his mouth against hers. He abruptly pulled back and asked, "When did you start to fall for me?"
Caroline grinned, cupping his face between her hands, "When I saw this hot guy walking down the hallway on my first day of school. I knew he was the one. I was already planning our June Wedding."
Stefan couldn't help the wide grin on his face, her beautiful face alive with teasing. He wished he had seen how amazing she was sooner, but he wouldn't change any of the things they had been through together for anything. She had proven her loyalty and her friendship over the last few years, and he had seen her grow into this amazing woman before him. Stefan pulled Caroline back to his lips, losing himself in the perfect feel of her against him.
It would have been amazing if they'd got together sooner, but they were pretty perfect right now.
TBC
AN – Hope you all liked it!
