Sorry for the wait, guys! I've been trying to think of a good way to end the story and different ideas came to my mind. Not sure I made the best choice, though. I promise, next chapter will be longer. This one was necessary to move the story forward.

Forgive the mistakes please.

"You two totally did it!" Caroline squeals excitedly when she opens her door to find Stefan and Katherine standing on her porch.

They share a confused look as Caroline claps her hands happily.

"I knew it was only a matter of time! So, what happened?" She asks them as she ushers them inside.

Stefan's hand is holding Katherine's tightly. It's the first time they actually go out together during the day. They still avoid places where Katherine could be mistaken for Elena, since everybody knows that Stefan and Elena are no longer dating. After waking up this morning, Stefan and Katherine talked about leaving Mystic Falls. They still don't know where they would go, but they need to leave anyway because Klaus will be back. Then Stefan decided to break the news to Caroline.

"Listen, Caroline, we came here to tell you something."

"What is it? What about yesterday? Where were you?"

"I… Elena wanted to talk to me."

"She did?"

"Yeah. We've cleared things up. I told her we'd never get back together."

"Oh."

The blonde vampire sits on the couch and she invites her friends to do the same. She has decided to refer to Katherine as a friend too, now. It's easier that way. Plus, it seems like the Petrova doppelganger really has changed and Stefan seems genuinely happy with her.

"We came here to tell you that we'll be leaving soon."

"Wait… Why? Mystic Falls is your home…"

"There are too many risks for Katherine here. But… I was thinking that maybe you could come with us, if you want to."

Caroline glances at Katherine who just shrugs.

"Stefan… Thank you for thinking about me but I can't leave. My mother's here. So are my friends. My life is here. Maybe… Maybe in a few decades I'll join you."

Stefan nods understandingly.

"Of course. Okay."

"Okay. So… Let's talk about something else! Klaus isn't coming back for another two weeks at least, last I've heard he was in Roma. We should go out tonight. Next town there's a new club and it looks awesome!"

"I'm in," Katherine answers immediately.

Stefan smiles and agrees. He didn't imagine that it would be so easy for Caroline and Katherine to get along but it seems like their personalities can be pretty similar sometimes.

"Well, we'll pick you up at eleven tonight."

"Perfect."

"I have someone I need to see," Stefan says as he stands up.

"Is it Elena again?" Katherine asks abruptly.

"No," he answers with a small smile.

The jealous tone of her voice is not lost on Stefan. He takes her hand and kisses it gently.

"I'm done with Elena. I'll meet you back at the hotel. See you tonight, Caroline."

"Yep! Definitely. Katherine, why don't we do some online shopping? Plus, I need to know everything that's happened between you two!"

Katherine is still unsure about what to do. On one hand she doesn't want to let Stefan out of her sight for too long, but on the other hand she knows that she has to learn to trust people. So even though she's very reluctant to let him go, she smiles at Caroline and accepts her invitation to stay. Only then does Stefan leave the house.

"Well, well, isn't that my little brother!" Damon exclaims as Stefan enters the living-room.

Damon is lying down on the couch with a nearly empty bottle of bourbon in his hand.

"Are you too drunk to have a conversation with me?" Stefan asks calmly.

They've done this already, several times.

"I think I'm not drunk enough to speak with you, Stef."

"Well too bad. Because I came here to talk to you and you'd better listen."

"Oh, okay then."

Damon sits up straight and stares at his brother. In his blue eyes, clouded by alcohol, Stefan can still discern the sadness and the hurt he must be feeling over losing Elena. It's hard to miss the sarcastic tone in Damon's voice as he adds:

"I'm all ears."

Stefan takes a deep breath before starting.

"I hate you."

"No news here."

"I hate you because despite everything you did to screw with my head, you're still my brother and I still need you in my life. I hate you because I can't hate you."

"You're losing me, Stefan, please remember that I'm not sober…"

"Shut up, Damon. What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry about how things turned out between us recently. About Elena."

"Oh well, I set her free so that she could choose with whom she wanted to be, and it appears that she chose you. Because it's always you, Stefan!"

Damon gets up shakily and he sets the now empty bottle on the table before walking over to the chimney where a fire is burning.

"I told Elena that I didn't want to get back with her. I'm with Katherine now."

His last words earn a snort from his brother.

"Good for you, Stefan. Why did you come here, really? Why aren't you with your girlfriend?"

"Because I wanted to check up on you. You're not okay."

"Of course I'm not! I was hoping that maybe, maybe after I freed her from the bond, Elena would realize that she loved me more than she loved you. But she didn't. She doesn't. She loves you!"

Stefan expected the outburst. He's dealt countless times with Damon's anger. Still, it hurts to see him in such pain.

"Damon… I'm going to leave, with Katherine. Elena has feelings for you. Without me in the picture she will let these feelings grow."

"And I'll always be the second choice! Perfect."

"You don't get it, Damon. She already loves you. She's just very confused right now but I'm sure that she'll come back to you eventually."

The blue-eyed vampire remains silent.

"I'm sorry. There's nothing else I can do."

Stefan sighs as he receives no answer.

"I'm gonna go now. Just… Don't do anything stupid, Damon."

"Whatever."

The younger brother hesitates a moment before he finally turns around and leaves the house. Damon will get better.

During the next two days, Stefan spends most of his time with either Katherine or Caroline. His blonde friend has given Katherine a fair warning about breaking his heart and his girlfriend has pretended to be intimidated. Obviously, Caroline was pleased that Katherine faked her reaction to her threats. It feels a little surreal that a few weeks ago only, she hated the Petrova doppelganger.

"C'mon Stefan, don't just sit here when we're dancing!"

He lets out a chuckle as Caroline takes his hand and forces him to get up. They're currently at her place with Tyler for a little improvised party between the four of them. Caroline has talked to Tyler about Katherine. Even though she's responsible for turning him into a werewolf, Tyler said that it didn't matter anymore since he was now a hybrid and didn't have to turn every full moon. He also told them that he'd be happy as long as he's with Caroline. Stefan can't believe that things are so easy. He knows that something will happen to ruin this.

As if on cue, the door swings open and a man is standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face.

"Well, well… You're throwing a party and no one has thought of inviting me? I'm offended!"

Stefan stands up and instinctively steps in front of Katherine. Tyler takes Caroline's hand in his.

"Klaus."

Big bad Klaus is back in town!

Okay, so I hope that you liked it. Personally, I didn't. But I'll try to make an awesome ending.

Dying to read your reviews, so make sure to leave one ;)

OTH-FOQ