Thank you so much for all of your reviews! I'm so glad people are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it. This is a slightly shorter chapter. A little bit of calm before the storm... enjoy!


11 years ago

Elena stood at her locker in Mystic Falls High setting her books back before heading home, when Caroline walked up beside her and smacked a flyer on the locker.

"Elena Gilbert I hope you are excited because I sure as hell am." Caroline said with a smirk as Elena took the flyer from her hands and read it

"Boy toy auction... this outta be good." Elena said.

"The cheerleading squad are organising this little event to raise some funds to give the town a little bit of a face lift. It's dying a death, it's about time someone did something about it." Caroline replied.

"And of course a boy toy auction was the go to" Elena said with a little laugh.

"Oh absolutely, we have some fine bachelors in this town, just ready for the picking. And... non bachelors, I persuaded Matt to take part, but I have no problem rigging it so I get him." Caroline said with with a sly smile. "You are coming right?"

"I will be there Caroline, don't worry, have to support the squad and all that." Elena assured her as Caroline gave her a thankful smile before moving in the other direction.

Elena closed her locker and turned to leave when she ran straight into Stefan who was smirking at her.

"What are you smirking at?" Elena asked as she stepped back a bit.

"You in that cheerleading uniform." Stefan smiled as Elena couldn't help but smile back.

"Chaming" she replied sarcastically she said as she walked on.

"Where you heading?" he asked as he caught up with her.

"Home. I need to mentally prepare myself for what could go down tonight at the boy toy auction." Elena replied as they walked out the front door of the school.

"Yeah Katherine hounded Robbie and I until we agreed to take part... I wanted to make sure that you were cool with it." Stefan asked, wanting to show Elena the respect she deserved, even if this whole thing was just a bit of a joke.

"Well it wouldn't be a boy toy auction without the Salvatore Gilbert duo." Elena replied as she stopped and looked at him. "It's fine Stefan, I trust you and it's not like it's a proper date."

"I promise I will be on my best behaviour." he said holding his hands up.

Elena smirked; "don't make promises you can't keep..." she said as she walked closer towards him and whispered in his ear; "because if I win you? That is the last thing I want you to do. I'll see you later Salvatore." she said as she pushed off from his chest. What was this girl doing to him?

Later that night, Elena walked into the grill and saw Stefan standing by the bar with the guys being auctioned off. She raised her eyebrows at him as he tipped his head and downed his drink causing her to giggle. They both knew all the two cougars would be out tonight hoping to snag an evening with one of the guys, which made Stefan nervous and Elena laugh.

"Elena!" she heard Caroline call as she turned around and came face to face with her best friend.

"Hey, what's going on?" Elena asked as Caroline dragged her over to the other girls.

"How would you feel about interviewing the guys tonight?" Caroline asked.

"Uh... sure, but why me? Isn't this something Katherine would want to do?" Elena asked, knowing as head cheerleader, Katherine liked to take charge of just about everything.

"She has put herself in charge of organising the boys and making sure they look smart, which is going to be a task, so we need you to do the questioning." Caroline said as she handed her a piece of paper. "Here are the questions, good luck."

Elena nodded as folded the piece of paper and turned to walk away, but she was stopped in her tracks by Jeremy, Lincoln and a mystery guy.

"Hey Elena" Jeremy said as Elena smiled at the boys. "You remember Lincoln's older brother Clay right?" Jeremy said as Elena looked at the man who was smirking down at her.

"Vaguely..." Elena said as the pair shook hands.

"Understandable it's been a while." Clay replied, his eyes glued to hers the whole time.

"Clay's just passing through town from Richmond university, he's a sophomore there." Lincoln explained.

"Well you chose a good day to come, the boy toy auction is always a sight to behold." Elena joked as Clay chuckled.

"I have no doubt about that." Clay replied.

"We're going to shoot some pool, why don't you buy Elena a drink Clay." Lincoln suggested as he and Jeremy walked away.

"Yeah can I get you anything?" Clay asked.

"Oh no I'm ok, I have to be on stage soon anyway, I'm interviewing the guys." Elena explained.

"Oh cool. I'll look forward to seeing you up there Elena, I'm sure you'll be a natural." he said with a smoldering look.

Elena knew Clay was flirting with her, and he seemed like quite the charmer, but Elena was only going to humour it.

"We'll see... I'll catch you later." Elena said as she smiled and walked away. Before she could get very far, she was stopped by Katherine.

"Who was that hottie?" Katherine asked staring over at Clay.

"Clay Browning, he's Lincoln Browning's older brother." Elena explained.

"Hm a Browning... I've always wanted one of those..." Katherine said with a seductive smirk as she walked away. Elena shook her head and laughed as she watched Katherine strut over to Clay and flirt with him. He looked pretty receptive, but Elena figured Clay was the sort of person who would flirt with anyone.

Robbie walked over to Stefan as he downed another drink at the bar and chuckled.

"You look like you're preparing for the worst." Robbie said. "How are you getting away with all these drinks? You're 18."

"The drunker the better Robbie and... these guys owe me a favour." Stefan said as he smirked at the bar tenders.

"I'm not even going to ask..." Robbie said as he sat at the bar stool. "Did you ask Elena if she was cool with this?"

"Yeah, she was fine with it, she trusts me." Stefan replied as he sat beside him.

"Is she right to trust you?" Robbie asked seriously.

"... of course she is Robbie." Stefan said looking seriously back at his friend. "Look, I know the idea of us together freaks you out a bit Rob but I swear I would never do anything to hurt her. I'm crazy about her man, I've never felt this way before."

Robbie nodded; "That's good... cause I would beat your ass if you did hurt her. Best friend or not, this is my sister."

Stefan held his hands up; "Dude I would want you to beat me up."

"Ok... glad we're on the same page..." Robbie said awkwardly as Stefan laughed, patted him on the shoulder and walked away.

A short while later, the auction had begun, and it was Stefan's turn to be interviewed.

"And now for the man all you ladies have been waiting for, Mystic Fall's resident brooder, the Salvatore to Robbie's Gibert, Stefan Salvatore!" Katherine introduced as everyone cheered.

Stefan walked onto the stage and waved to everyone, sat down beside Elena, who was trying to hold in her laughter at the attention Stefan was getting. After everyone quietened down, Elena looked at her page and began asking the questions.

"Ok Stefan;" she began, "What would be your ideal date?"

"Well Elena, my ideal date would have to be a long, romantic stroll on the beach, followed by a candle lit dinner and then out for some ice cream in the town square." he said seriously. Elena mentally rolled her eyes, knowing that was the exact opposite of what Stefan would want to do. He would want to go skinny dipping at the beach, hot dogs for dinner and head home for a different kind of dessert...

"Sounds great." Elena said with fake enthusiasm that Stefan saw right through. "Next question..." Elena said as she looked down at the sheet. She smiled when she saw the question; "... have you ever been in love before?"

Stefan smiled; "Now that would be telling Elena."

"Come on, the ladies want to know."

Stefan nodded, knowing full well that Elena was teasing him. "I have been in love before Elena... and it's the best feeling in the world." he said sincerly, as all the women in the audience 'awed' at him.

"Ok, that's enough questions." Katherine said, thinking she was going to be sick at Stefan's soppiness. "Let's start the bidding at $20."

Stefan eventually went for $500 to Mrs Veronica Fell, the town's most notorious cougar, and Stefan visibly gulped when Katherine sold him to her. It was certainly going to be a long night.

Later on Elena was standing at the bar waiting for her drink when Clay approached her and lent on the bar facing her.

"Elena, you were really good up there." he said.

"Oh thanks, it was no big deal." she said with a shrug. "I saw you talking to Katherine earlier." Elena said with a smirk.

"Uh yeah, she's quite something. She a friend of yours?" he asked.

"I wouldn't exactly say friend..." Elena replied.

"I see... she wanted to hang out sometime but I uh, I couldn't do that until I tried my luck with you." he said with a smirk. "and I'm feeling pretty lucky" he said with arrogance in his voice.

Elena laughed awkwardly; "I'm flattered, really but uh... I'm not on the market." she said.

"You sure about that?" he replied.

"... I have never been sure about anything in my life." she replied, talking about more than just being taken. She was more sure about the love she had for Stefan than anything else.

"I see... but, I don't like to give up, so... one day." Clay said before turning and leaving the bar.

Elena watched as he left, not quite sure if she had ever seen someone so cocky in her life, despite the certain element of charm he had about him. She scoffed as she took her drink and turned around, only to come face to face with Stefan, who was leaning on the table behind him, with his arms crossed and a small smile on his face.

"Hey..." she said cautiously, not knowing what he had heard Clay said to her. "You ok?"

"I'm just... thankful." he replied.

"What for?"

"You could have any guy in the world, yet you chose me." he said as Elena smiled.

"It wasn't a choice." she replied honestly. You can't help who you love.

"Did you really mean that you were so sure about us?" Stefan asked.

"Of course I did. You're it for me Stefan, I just know it." Elena said quietly so that no one else could hear.

"and you're it for me... though now you have a bit of competition in Veronica Fell." Stefan joked as Elena laughed.

"Yeah she can keep dreaming." Elena replied as she smirked at Stefan and walked over to Caroline.

Stefan watched after her, not quite believing that she was his, and he swore that he would never take that for granted.


Elena walked through the town square late one Thursday evening after Stefan had texted her telling her to meet him at the centre of town. She was curious with what Stefan had planned, and between moving into the Salvatore house, work and Theo, she was glad to have some time with just the two of them.

She approached the monument in the middle of the town and saw Stefan standing there with two hot dogs.

"Hey" she greeted as he turned and smiled when he saw her.

"Hey yourself." he greeted as he kissed her. "A hot dog with everything for you" he said as he handed it to her.

"Hm you read my mind... how did you get these, it's past midnight?" she asked before she took a bite out of the hot dog.

"The guys at the grill owe me a favour." he said with a smirk.

"Ah the same favour they've owed you since you were 18?" Elena asked with a little laugh.

"It's a big favour." he replied.

"So what are we doing out here so late?" Elena asked as they started walking.

"I was thinking about the boy toy auction in my senior year..." he said as Elena laughed.

"When you scored a date with Veronica Fell." she said, remembering the night well.

"Yep... that was an interesting date." Stefan said with a little chuckle.

"That was an interesting night." Elena said, stressing the word night. "That uh... that was the night I met Clay. Officially, I'd seen him around before but that's when we were introduced." Elena said. "He was so arrogant and smug... I was an idiot to ever think I could make something work with him." she said sadly.

"Clay is a bastard but he's a bastard that is out of your life for good. So why we are here... I was thinking about when you asked me what my perfect date would be and I lied through my teeth, but I also swore that one day I would take you on my idea of an actual perfect date, starting with hot dogs." he said as he wiped a bit of mustard from the corner of Elena's mouth.

"Well I'm glad we're finally getting round to it 11 years later." Elena teased.

"11 years too long... I'm never letting you go again Elena. We are going to have many more dates like this." he said sincerely as Elena smiled softly at him.

"Absolutely... so what's next on this date?" she asked as they kept walking.

"You'll see when we get there" Stefan said.

"Very mysterious..."

"Just keeping you on your toes." he replied as he wrapped his arm around her and continued to walk.

Eventually, the couple made it to the park on the edge of own, and Stefan led Elena to the basketball court. Stefan walked over to the bench and picked up the ball that was sitting there and threw it to her. Elena eyed Stefan in confusion.

"Your idea of a perfect date is playing basketball and getting me all sweaty and gross?" Elena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Aw babe you could never be gross to me." he replied teasingly as Elena stuck her tongue out at him.

"My idea of a perfect date... involved strip basketball." he said as he took the ball from Elena's hands and threw it through the net. "Basically, you shoot and if you miss you lose an item of clothing. First person to be naked loses." he said with a smirk.

Elena's mouth fell open as she looked around her to see if other people were about, then she remembered how late it was. "Stefan Salvatore, we are out in public not to mention we are supposed to be mature adults." Elena replied.

"Oh come on Elena, no one is here! Let's be kids for just one night. Let's live." Stefan said.

Elena smiled and shook her head; "You're on Salvatore."

A short while later, Stefan and Elena were lying on the basketball court in just their underwear, laughing.

"You were way worse at that than I thought you would be." Elena said laughing.

"I was distracted by you getting naked in front of me..." Stefan defended.

"Yeah blame me" Elena said rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry we never got to do this in high school." Stefan said sincerely as he turned his head to look at her.

"It's ok Stefan... it's not like we had a crappy year together, it was probably one of the best years of my life." Elena replied.

"... mine too. I wish I hadn't screwed it up." Stefan replied quietly.

"We were kids, I- I don't really blame you. Despite the bad, a lot of good came from it too. You have your restaurants, I have Theo and my job... it wasn't our time then, but it is now."

"We have a life time to make up for the past 11 years." Stefan said.

"Too right we do." Elena said as Stefan kissed the tip of her nose. "What is the final portion of the date? Wait! I could probably guess..."

"Oh really? You think you know me that well?" Stefan said with a laugh.

"I know you better than you know yourself Salvatore." Elena said as she sat up, and Stefan soon followed her. "I'm guessing... dessert." Elena said.

"What kind of dessert?"

"Dessert Salvatore style, which I believe probably involves a bottle of whipped cream and us completely naked." she said as she stood up, and Stefan looked her up and down.

"Man you are good." Stefan said with a gulp.

"You bet your ass I am. Shall we?" she said as Stefan stood up, picked up their clothes and grabbed her hand.

"Absolutely."


The following Friday morning, Averie made her way round to Elena, Matt and Caroline's law firm, determined to find out if what Lincoln said about Clay getting out had any grounds for truth. She didn't want to scare anyone, but they needed to be prepared for something happening.

She walked round to Matt's office, expertly avoiding Elena, and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Matt called and Averie walked in. "Averie, hey. What brings you by?" he asked as she sat at the seat in front of his desk.

"I have a question... about Clay." she said cautiously.

Matt looked at her curiously; "What about him?" he asked.

"Do you think there's anyway he could get out sooner than he's supposed to?"

"I don't think so, he clear as crystal broke the law and he has to pay for that." Matt replied. "Why do you ask?"

"... Lincoln is under the impression that Clay's trying to get out and he's going to succeed." Averie replied quietly.

"There's no way a judge would over turn his conviction."

"Clay has connections Matt, money is power, would you really be that surprised if he did?" Averie said.

"I can't believe that he will get out Averie, not after everything he put Elena through." Matt replied.

"I know that, it's not something that any of us want to facilitate, but it's a reality Matt, Clay always wins." Averie said as she sat back in her chair.

"Not this time. I'll see if he's filing an appeal and if he is... I'll do everything to keep him in. Let's not panic about this when we don't even know what's going on." Matt said as he ran a hand over his face.

"Ok... if I can do anything, please let me know." Averie said as she stood from her chair.

"For now, if Lincoln says anything else, just give me a call." Matt replied.

"Ok, I'll see you later." Averie said as she left the office.

She walked by Elena's office and saw her resting her head in her hands with her eyes closed. She laughed lightly before leaning on the door frame.

"You ok sis?" Averie said, causing Elena to jump lightly and wake up.

"Oh hi uh... yeah, I'm good, late night." Elena replied as she ran her hands through her hair, trying to make herself look a little more presentable.

"Oh say no more." Averie said wiggling her eyebrows.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Averie." Elena replied.

"Don't lead me there then" she replied.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Elena asked as Averie walked into the room.

"Oh nothing, I was bored just through I'd come and say hi..." Averie lied, not wanting to freak Elena out.

"Right... why don't you call Lincoln up, I'm sure he would love to hang with you." Elena said with a smirk.

"You're funny. I think painting Theo's room together was enough to last us a life time." Averie replied.

"I wouldn't be so sure Averie, something tells me you just won't be able to stay away from each other."

"Just like you and Stefan weren't able to?"

Elena giggled and smiled like a school girl with a crush; "Yeah"

Averie smiled; "It's nice seeing you so happy Elena. You really deserve to be happy."

"I am happy" Elena replied sincerely.

"Good... I better get going, let you go back to sleep or do some work, whatever you fancy." Averie said. "Have a good day."

"Bye Ave." Elena said as her sister left.

Averie made her way downstairs and out of the building when she heard her phone rang. She lifted it out of her pocket and saw that it was an out of area number. She answered it carefully

"Hello?"

"Hello Averie. I hear you've been asking some questions about me."

The voice on the other end of the line sent shivers down Averie's spine. What was he doing calling her?

"Clay... how the hell did you get this number?" Averie spat.

"Let's just say I have some... perks that some of the other prisoners don't have." Clay replied and Averie could feel him smirking down the phone.

"Of course you do. What the hell do you want?"

"I want you to stop running to Donovan about me."

"Yeah like hell. I'm not giving you any opportunity to get out Clay. You don't deserve it, not for one second. How do you even know I went to Matt?" Averie said, growing angrier by the second.

"You think I don't have people watching you all for me?"

"Lincoln?" Averie said, hurt that he would do such a thing, especially after how nice Elena had been to him.

"Like I would trust Lincoln to do my dirty work... Averie, I'm Clayton Browning, I always, find a way to get what I want. I'm getting out, whether anyone likes it or not, and let's just say Elena's gonna pay for what she did to me."

"She didn't do anything Clay, you're the one who screwed up her life."

"Well then I guess I better not leave that little task unfinished. Stop getting in the way Averie, or I'm bringing you and your family down with her." Clay said, before the line went dead.


Averie struggled over what to do with Clay's information all day, she paced back and forth in her bedroom for what felt like hours. Eventually at around 9pm that night, she grabbed her coat and got in her car and drove straight towards the Salvatore house.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself to bring Elena and Stefan's perfect world crashing down. She got out of the car and walked straight into the house and into the living room, where Stefan and Elena were sitting on the sofa reading.

"Averie, hey." Elena said putting her book down. "What's going on?"

"Clay phoned me today" Averie said straight away.

Elena stood from her seat as her face fell. "... what?"

"He's trying to get out of jail Elena... and I think he's going to do it."


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