A/N: Alright, before I start this chapter, let me just say that you guys made it SOO hard to pick which character to use! They were all so incredible and I had ideas for every single one!

After a lot of hard thinking, I would like to congratulate as . lighting . strikes for winning the contest with their character, James!

Now, without further ado, here is the next chapter! As promised, there is Stelena fluffiness! :)

Enjoy!

Song used: "Never Alone" by Jesse Bonanno.

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The kiss deepened, and Elena lost every current train of thought. She was amazed by the simplicity of Stefan's lips warm against hers, and how the chills he gave her managed to wash away every single worry. He was her own personal remedy, her natural drug…

She could feel him getting lost, and she happily let him wrap his arms around her, holding her as close as he possibly could. The world surrounding them was completely forgotten; every issue and situation currently happening paled in comparison to the intensity of their connected lips.

After a few minutes, Stefan had to pull away to let Elena take a much needed breath. "We… need to get to homecoming," he panted.

Elena breathlessly giggled and rested her forehead against his. "Let's go then."

After placing one more quick kiss on his lips –which were now trembling with desire-, Elena took Stefan by the hand and they walked to the car.

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Katherine lifted her skirts to walk down the elegant steps in front of the Salvatore mansion. The winter wind made her shiver though it wasn't because of the cold. She was lonely and bored. Damon had left for the confederacy about a week ago and Stefan was avoiding her, spending most of his time either journaling or poring over a dusty book in the family library. The last time she had tried to speak with him, he smelled like Vervain and she knew he was trying to stay away from her.

She was about to go for a calm stroll until she decided against it; she was going to figure out what was going on with Stefan and she was going to figure it out now.

With confidence in her steps, Katherine strutted back up the stairs until she finally reached the Salvatore library. To no surprise, Stefan was wearing a pair of reading glasses, writing in his journal, forehead creased in concentration. He jumped when he heard Katherine clearing her throat, instantly taking the glasses off.

"Hello," he said with a nod. It was clear that her presence made him tense.

"Care to tell me why you've been avoiding me, Mr. Salvatore?" she asked with a harsh glare. "I am your guest and I expect to be treated like one. The way you walked out on me last week was very impolite and I still have not heard an apology."

Stefan tried not to roll his eyes at Katherine's snarky attitude. Staying away from her seemed to be the best choice he had made since he arrived in 1864; being human with very human desires, he figured it would be best to not have any contact with Katherine until he figured out how to get home. With his dulled thoughts and a more cluttered mind, the lines between Elena and Katherine tended to blur at times, especially in his dreams.

It felt as if his heart and mind were constantly at battle.

Stefan's heart ached whenever he thought about Elena. He missed her and his chest felt empty, for he knew there was absolutely no way to contact her. He felt lost without Elena, his soul mate, his other half. His heart always would be Elena's. Always. The beautiful memories that he had shared with her haunted him, and he wondered if he would ever be able to see her again.

Then there was the danger of his thoughts. Being a human once again, Stefan's judgment felt off. Although he was still himself, so much had changed over the century… He was once again a human whose body was accustomed to heating up at every simple touch from Katherine. And that scared him. There had been times when Stefan caught himself staring at Katherine from afar in the past week, longing to speak to her, to press his body tight against hers. Whether it was from compulsion or not, this Stefan craved Katherine's touch like an addiction that he wanted so badly to break.

"I'm sorry," Stefan finally said. "I guess I've just had a lot of work keeping me up." He looked back at his journal, hesitantly closing it so that Katherine could not read it. "It's been making me very… um, tense."

Now amused, Katherine arched a brow. "It sounds like you need a distraction, Stefan."

He froze. "No, thank you. I really need to get this work done and I just took a break…"

Katherine noticed the quiver in Stefan's voice, giving her a rush of confidence that she really didn't need. With a smirk, she silenced him by placing a finger to his lips.

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Stefan and Katherine did not know about the two vampires intently listening to their whole conversation.

A dark haired girl lazily leaned against the side of the mansion, a smug smirk curling on her lips. She was clad in a skin-tight tank top, with dark jeans clinging to her legs. It was clear that she was not from the current time period. "I hear kissing noises." Her ice blue eyes glimmered with mischief. "It won't be long before he never wants to go back."

The man standing beside her rolled his eyes. Blonde hair cascaded over his forehead into his gray-blue eyes, so he casually moved it away with a jerk of his head. "Is that part of your spell?"

She giggled, giving him a slight nudge, one far too friendly for his liking. "Maybe." He arched a brow, so she shrugged and nodded. "Kind of. Well, I put another spell on him… You know that I don't have the ability to control love, so I made him want her. Won't be long until he's infatuated, and you know what the best part is? It's going to confuse the hell out of him."

Confusion filled his oceanic eyes. "What about the one in the present day?"

She chuckled. "He's easy. We both know he's already falling hard without any of my… help. Guess we'll just watch and see how things play out with him."

He glared. "So you're just playing games now, Charlotte?"

"Calm down, James," she responded. "No need to be so dramatic."

This earned her another glare from him. Usually, he was very poised and comfortable, but she knew exactly how to get to him. "My family calls me James. You call me J."

She smirked again. "Your family called you James. They're dead, remember?"

He huffed and looked away, hiding the vulnerability in his eyes by letting his hair fall in front of them. Charlotte let out a sigh and began to examine her perfectly manicured nails. "Look, J. We have a deal. You stay here and go through with the plan. Whatever it takes, make sure he doesn't get any closer to returning back to the present day. You do that, and I'll free you from your curse. 'Kay?"

"Fine," J replied simply and angrily, crossing his arms over his chest. Charlotte gave him a grin and patted his shoulder.

"Alright then. Now, if you don't mind, there's a homecoming dance I need to attend about 145 years in the future."

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Stefan wasn't sure what to make of the homecoming dance. Music blasted through speakers, and though the lyrics were too fast for him to understand, he knew they were inappropriate and brought a slight blush to his cheeks. People he didn't recognize kept coming up to him to say a friendly "hi, Stefan", so he politely smiled and nodded in greeting.

Then there was Elena, the one thing that was keeping him in place. His eyes never once strayed from her as she stood talking to her two friends… Bonnie and Caroline. It was clear they were talking about him by the way they kept glancing at him every so often. While the looks of Elena's friends were full of worry and confusion, when her eyes met his, it filled him with strange warmth that rushed through his body from head to toe.

Stefan couldn't help but smile when his eyes trailed along Elena's form. She looked so elegantly beautiful, with her hair pulled into an updo and that incredible dress making her look even taller. When Stefan's gaze fell upon her face, he made note of the soft makeup; he thought she looked equally beautiful with it as she did without.

Then the simple action of looking at her lips was enough to make his heart skip a beat. A genuine smile formed on Stefan's lips as he recalled her sweet and passionate kisses from earlier in the evening.

A silky voice suddenly brought Stefan back to reality. "Like the party?"

Stefan turned his head and was met with chillingly blue eyes. The woman beside him had long, brown hair that ended at her waist. She wore a seductive red dress, though it had no affect on him. He shrugged and politely nodded. "I am having a good time, I suppose."

"Hmmm," she said. "That's good."

Stefan smiled a bit and glanced back at Elena, their eyes momentarily locking. He could see her welcoming grin when she started to walk in his direction, making his stomach flutter. The steady beat of a slow song was filling the gym and Stefan's heart leaped. He was about to excuse himself from the woman beside him, but when he turned in her direction she had disappeared.

Shrugging away his confusion, Stefan stepped forward to meet Elena halfway. "Miss Gilbert," he bowed respectively then extended his arm, "may I have this dance?"

Elena smiled widely and placed her hand in the loop of Stefan's arm. "Absolutely, Mr. Salvatore."

With graceful and slow steps, Elena and Stefan made their way to the center of the dance floor. Like a gentleman, he looked ahead with a content grin on his lips, while her head was turned. She couldn't keep her eyes off of his unnaturally beautiful face.

Finally, they reached the center of the floor. Stefan lightly but dominantly held Elena's hand in his own, while his other hand rested on the small of her back. Her free arm circled around Stefan's shoulders to get as close to him as possible. Moving perfectly like the two dancing dolls in a child's music box, they began to sway.

Words were not needed in this rarely precious moment; their soft contact was enough. Elena's head that now rested on Stefan's shoulder confirmed his every worry, and that simple act was enough to make his every problem feel miniscule. The only thing that mattered was the girl in his arms, who was beginning to sing along to the soft melody of the song.

"I'll do anything that I can do, to show you my love and comfort you."

Her voice was like the beach in the morning: calming, soothing, comforting… But Elena was the one ocean he'd gladly drown in. Ever so softly releasing her hand, Stefan wrapped both of his arms around her waist to pull her as close as she could get. Contently, he turned his head and pressed his lips to Elena's temple, giving her a slow kiss. She grinned dreamily and continued to sing along.

"When you can't seem to find your way home, and when life gets too hard to face on your own…"

The other people in the room slowly faded away. To Stefan and Elena, they were the only people there. Everyone else was forgotten. Elena lifted her head and Stefan began to place warm kisses down the side of her face. Her skin tingled where his lips had been.

She kept singing to him.

"I will stand as your light through your darkest unknown, I will walk with you…"

Stefan couldn't wipe the grin from his face when he pulled his lips away, resting his forehead against Elena's. This moment was his idea of perfection; all of his past memories paled in comparison to this one. The way he looked at her and she gazed at him… could only be described as magical. In that very moment, Stefan realized just how much he was beginning to fall for Elena Gilbert.

Finally, she sang the last line:

"So you're never alone."

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A/N: There you go! So, a lot happened in this chapter! Charlotte and James were introduced and Stefan is really starting to fall for Elena! What did you think of the Stelena dance scene and the new characters?

If you go to my profile, you will be able to see photos of Charlotte and James, so please check that out and tell me if you like the people I chose! And just to clear things up, the Stefan that is with Elena is NOT under any kind of spell. He is actually falling for her :)

Please leave a review! You all know just how much your comments inspire me! Every single one makes my day!

Thank you! Xoxo

-Sara

Things to think about:

-What is going to happen with Stefan and Katherine?

-What is James going to do in 1864?

-What is Charlotte up to?

-What's in store for Stefan and Elena? :)