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Chapter 11

It was now only a couple of weeks before Bonnie's birthday on February 5th and all the girls were in Elena and Caroline's dorm room, sitting on Elena's bed. The two blondes were at the foot while Elena and Bonnie were at the head when Rebekah asked, "so Bonnie you're coming up on the big twenty-one. What do you want for your birthday?"

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders and lied. "I don't know."

"No, seriously," Caroline tried to drag the answer out of her. "What do you want?"

"Kol," Bonnie said bravely and boldly. She didn't even wait a beat and the other girls just stared at her.

"In what capacity?" Caroline was the first to find her voice and to ask the salacious question. Elena and Rebekah sent Caroline a little glare but she waved it off.

"All of them." It seemed that Bonnie's bravery found it's ending as she got up and left, seeking some fresh air and escaping the room that had two angry vampires and one gutter minded vampire. The girls did wait but as the time ticked by, Bonnie never returned.

Elena just kept her glare on Caroline. "Caroline Forbes! How could you ask her such a question?" Elena seethed.

Caroline looked away. "I thought that she would be more open about it considering that she's a vampire and vampire hormones seem to drive us crazy."

"Still," Rebekah groaned. "Learn tact when it comes to Bonnie. Otherwise Kol would kill you and Nik would dagger him and we don't want that."

Caroline nodded and Elena got up to leave the room, obviously trying to find Bonnie but ended up bumping into someone else instead.

"Stefan!" He knew that voice like his own; knew he should keep walking; pretend he hadn't heard her. He had paused a moment too long however, and she was nearly upon him. "Stefan!"

He turned around and gave her a hesitant smile. If she only knew what she was doing to him! If anyone saw him he could lose Rebekah forever!

"Oh my God Stefan it's really you!" Elena grinned.

"Elena it's good to see you again but I'm here for Rebekah," he said hoping that perhaps bluntness would force her away. He watched as his words delivered a blow as solid as any physical action. The sudden hurt that rose to her eyes gave him pause. "Elena..."

"No, I get it. You left my life and never wanted to see me again. This was just an unavoidable accident. Well I will do my best to stay out of your way."

"Elena it's not like that! It's just he thought - we thought it would be for the best if you all had a few years free of the supernatural. We had brought you so much pain already..."

"He thought? Who is he?" Elena asked latching on to his words as her anger began to grow. "Which one of you arrogant men dared to presume that I couldn't make my own decisions this time?" The question hung in the air for a long moment while Stefan weighed his options. Ultimately he decided that she deserved the truth.

"...Elijah"

"Elena you look positively murderous," Kol observed as he fell in beside her as she strode angrily up the path. "I'd offer you a baseball bat if I had one. Might I ask who we're going to kill?"

"Your asinine, traitorous brother," Elena growled.

"Well now there you'll need to be more specific so I can decide if I want in," Kol smirked.

"Elijah." Elena spat and Kol gripped her shoulder gently steering her off the path then and into a deserted side of a building. She tried to turn back so he placed her against the brick wall and placed an arm on either side to gently block her escape.

"Talk to me Elena. The other night you and my brother were practically having eye sex and now this murderous rage..."

"Stefan told me that it was Elijah's decision to drive everything supernatural from my life - to take you from Bonnie and Klaus from Caroline! He didn't ask he just decided!" Stefan Salvatore's presence peaked Kol's interest but he would have to deal with that later. Right now he had to deal with the problem at hand.

"Yes after you cried against his shoulder and lamented the fact that you couldn't have a single, normal life experience anymore! Elena you practically begged Elijah to take action whether you intended to or not! He cares very deeply for you and he could not in good conscience watch your misery and do nothing - not the way he feels about you," Kol spoke passionately.

"Yes I hated to leave Bonnie as it hurt him to leave you but it was never going to be forever. You were going to get your choice. We were supposed to wait until your college graduation and then each of you would get to decide with a clear experience of both sides whether you wanted the supernatural in your life. Elijah is trying to offer you an informed decision - one where you have seen both sides. I don't know what more you could ask of him, Elena."

Elena stared at Kol a long moment and he could see the rage leaving her. He pulled back from his blocking position. She offered him a small smile.

"I didn't know that he'd take me that seriously," Elena smiled gently.

"Elijah takes you seriously."

"Thank you Kol," Elena impulsively gave the original a quick hug and he smiled as he hugged her back.

"I've got to go see Elijah," she smiled and headed off. Suddenly a thought occurred to Kol and he called after her.

"Hey what was Stefan doing here?"

She didn't hear him.

Caroline sat down nervously on the couch in Kol's dorm room on Tuesday afternoon.

"Okay so I don't know if you know this or not but Bonnie's birthday is February 5th and this year is a big one- her 21st. So the other day Bekah asked Bonnie what she wanted for her birthday..."

"Does this conversation have a conclusion?" Kol asked feigning disinterest. He did really want to know what to get Bonnie for her birthday but he was genuinely hoping the blond baby vamp would reach a point sometime soon. She had already made nervous small talk for half an hour.

"Umm," Caroline fidgeted nervously, "maybe I should let Bekah tell you..." That was the moment when Kol became truly interested.

"Okay Caroline this has you written all over it. What did you do?"

"I just asked her what she really wanted and she wants...she wants you. I mean she...she's nev- oh you're a thousand years old YOU figure it out!" That was when Kol made sense of what Caroline was trying to say.

"You're saying that Bonnie wants me," Kol said and the shock on his face was obvious. It wasn't often anymore that anything surprised him but Bonnie wanting him to make love to her and- "Did you say she's never…that she's a virgin?"

"I am SO dead. She's never going to speak to me again! I…I need…I might as well get Elena to snap my neck a few dozen times…" Caroline was pacing as she spoke and finally Kol grabbed hold of her.

"Caroline I'm not going to tell anyone," Kol said sincerely. "You don't…that means something to me Caroline. That means a lot to me. "

"Kol if you think she's another trophy for your wall," Caroline warned then.

"If you truly thought I felt like that you wouldn't have come to me," Kol said.

"She's my best friend and I just want to see her happy – especially for her twenty-first birthday," Caroline said.

"Message received Caroline," Kol smirked and with vampire speed Caroline fled his dorm room. She patently avoided Bonnie the rest of the day.

Rebekah was smiling as she pressed her lips to Stefan's over their date at his place-a little Italian restaurant that he restored and brought to life. She was truly happy and as she pulled back, she saw her happiness reflected on his face.

"So," she started as she went back to her spaghetti that was drenched in a pesto sauce. "What did you have to talk to Elijah about?" Stefan choked on his bite of food and began to cough. She flashed over to his side and began to pat his back when he began to breathe a bit normally again.

"It was just a little something-hey," he looked at her with a smirk. "Could you check on the dessert?" She nodded and as she went over to where the two plates were, she saw one had a lid over it. Taking the lid off it, she saw a ring sitting on the plate with a chocolate sauce heart surrounding it.

Turning, she saw him on his knees and a smile.

"Will you marry me?" he asked and she nodded.

She choked on the words before finally squealing out, "YES!" He wanted to say something when the doors opened and six familiar scents filled the dining area.

"Oh wow! Everything here is so beautiful!" They could hear Elena gush at the artwork that was plastered over the walls.

"It truly is spectacular…" Elijah said trailing off and the two blondes who were hiding knew that he was probably talking about the brunette who had him wrapped around her fingers and not the art.

The two tried to leave until they heard the door open to the kitchen. They were afraid to see who it was until the girls squealed, "Stefan and Bekah! Oh my GOD!"

"Over my dead body Salvatore," Kol and Klaus growled as they saw Rebekah with him. Elijah would have said something but he was busy trying - and failing miserably - to calm Elena down from her hyper state of mind.

At first, Stefan didn't know why until he saw that Rebekah had placed the ring on her finger and was admiring it while simultaneously ignoring her brothers.

"I didn't plan for everyone to appear!" Stefan was looking panicked at Elijah who spared him a glance and nodded.

"An accident," He murmured darkly as he finally got Elena in his arms and calmed down. She didn't fight but she was absolutely giddy with excitment.

"-so happy you got what you wanted!" were the only things that they could understand as she was putting Caroline to shame with how fast she was talking.

"When did you two get together?" Bonnie asked and the newly engaged couple looked at each other, worried about her other two brothers' reactions to this news.

"A couple years ago, right before high school graduation," Rebekah replied.

"So then you've been together all this time and you never said a word?" Caroline grinned.

"They couldn't," Elena smiled. "This is so romantic! I'm so happy for you!" She was squealing with excitement once again. The girls smiled and were giggling over the newly engaged couple. Kol and Klaus were angry and began advancing on the Salvatore boy in front of them who backed away. He turned and began to run with them chasing him around the kitchen equipment. Elijah sighed and with his free hand began to rub at his temple to relieve his headache that was slowly beginning.

"Don't hurt him too awfully." He cautioned before Elena elbowed him in the gut. He looked down at her and she looked back at him defiantly. Elijah didn't see what his brothers did to Stefan but when they were all back in front of him, Stefan was badly beaten and bruised with some blood dripping down his nose whereas his brothers looked to be the picture of arrogance and were very composed-not one single hair misplaced on their heads.

That dinner was the most awkward one Stefan had ever had-including the dinner party whose sole occupants were the hybrid, Damon, Elijah and himself.

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