A/N: Hey all! This update is a bit short. But, I wanted to post a little "Happy Thanksgiving" treat. :) Hope you all have a wonderful and safe day for all of my readers in the U.S. that celebrate! Anyways, enjoy. I'm honestly not really sure how long this story will go. I'm planning on doing a significant time jump soon and it will change things a bit. ;)

Thank you all so much for reading!

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Before You Were Mine- Chapter Twenty-Four

-Matt-

"Are you sure that leaving to Caroline's cabin for the weekend is such a good idea. Stefan's going to be there and Elena kind of invited me." I comment, watching Tyler's eyebrows lift as he spits out his water and glances up at me. It's been three weeks since they've broken up and neither of seem to want to talk about anything. Stefan's been avoiding Makayla like the plague at work and any mention of Elena makes him angry because he keeps blaming himself for the state that she's in, even though they're still living under the same roof.

"It'll be good for all of us, trust me. And, so what if Elena invited you? Wait, I thought she couldn't stand you." He points out as I laugh, getting up from the table in the cafeteria as we hear the sirens go off and the alarm blares into our ears. "Engine, Ladder, Battalion."

"Shit! We got to get a move on." He replies, patting me on the shoulder as I look back over to see Damon and Stefan huddled together, talking amongst themselves.

"Well, she said that she didn't want to spend the weekend alone and after what happened with the pill incident. I've stopped by the diner to see how she was doing. We got to talking and she asked me to come with her to Caroline's. It surprised me too. But, apparently she doesn't hate me as much as I thought she did." I add in with a wink, rushing over to stand by Tyler as we make our way out to the apparatus bay where the firetruck is already running and waiting for us.

"You know, my wife hates your guts by the way." Tyler tells me, causing me to pause and stare at him for a long minute. "Excuse me?" I ask, hearing Tyler laugh as he smiles at me and then clarifies. "She thinks that you hitting on Elena a few times when she was interested in Stefan was uncalled for. But, I told her not to worry. You and Elena are friends now, I guess. Just, keep this as a reminder Matty boy. As much as you might like her at the moment or whatever you two have going on. Stefan, well he adores her."

My mouth opens to form a come back. But, the moment I try and say something to him. I feel someone patting my back as Stefan states. "Matty, good to see you actually joining us today. Let's go." He says flatly, making me turn around as Tyler jumps into the front seat and Damon slides into the passenger seat beside him, hitting the lights. "Let's roll boys, light 'em up! ." He shouts out loudly before any of us are able to say anything else, the truck starts moving and we're on our way to an important call as I sit there and think about this weekend. My goal isn't to make Stefan jealous with hanging out with his ex-girlfriend or whatever they are now. But, if it happens, then so be it.

-Caroline-

"We should talk about what happened with you and those pills." I state in an irritated tone. She's been avoiding the topic, distracting herself with cleaning and working at the diner. To be honest, I think she's just distracting herself from thinking about Stefan. They haven't really spoken about it or really seen each other for long in these last few weeks. He's too broken up to really face her and so he's enlisted me to keep an eye out on Elena.

"I don't want to talk about it and to be honest, Caroline. You don't need to be my babysitter. I'm fine." She snaps, throwing her purse down on the counter of the small coffee table in Stefan's apartment as she pivots towards me on her heels. "He put you up to this, didn't he? He can't talk to me about it because I scared him half to death and he's making you watch over me like a hawk." She spits out, figuring it all out fairly quickly as I try to deny it. "No, he didn't. Elena, I'm your friend and I love you. So, Stefan had nothing to do with this." I'm trying to make it sound as if I really didn't do anything. But, she knows me too well.

"Yes he did. He can't talk to me, he can't even look at me whenever I walk about this damn apartment!" She exclaims, inhaling through gritted teeth and turning around as she blows her hair out of her face. "I'm an idiot and it was a careless thing to do. But, Caroline. I just don't want to feel so much pain anymore. From my mother, from losing my dad, from this whole thing with Stefan. He was," She pauses as I lift up my hand and correct her. "He is, the greatest thing for you, Elena and this whole break up is silly. Come on, just make up already and stop this."

She rolls her eyes at me, muttering out. "I wish it was that simple. But, it's not. I don't like cheaters, I never have and even if he's told me that he and Makayla are over for good. It didn't look like it, you should have seen the way they were together. They've got a history that I'll never understand, Caroline and maybe it's better this way. Stefan and I living as roommates and doing our own thing."

I scoff at her words, standing in front of her and crossing my arms. "This isn't what you want though. He's not your roommate, Elena. He's your lover, your boyfriend, your best friend and these feelings of anger towards each other will come boiling out to the surface even if you two try and move on, you'll never get anywhere because something will always pull you right back into each other. You are meant to be with him."

She shakes her head, certain that I'm not telling the truth. "No, it won't. If he wants to be with his ex-girlfriend. Then, he can. Besides, he made it clear that we're taking a break. So, I should be able to hang out and see whomever I want to see. What's the big deal?" She asks me, watching me lock my eyes on to her.

"The big deal is that whoever you're with. You'll start comparing them to Stefan! I know you love him and he loves you. This whole thing between you two is ridiculous." I stammer out, moving my way towards the door as she glances down at her feet and says. "I won't be. Yes, I love him and he said he loves me too. But, maybe this is for the best. Besides, we're not talking at the moment with each other too much and so maybe it'll be less awkward when he see's me hanging out with Matt his weekend at the cabin."

I choke back a laugh, my hand slips away from the door as I gawk at her. Did she just seriously say she's bringing Matt Donovan, Stefan's best friend with her to our weekend get away spot. This won't end well, it won't end well at all!

"Out of all the people you could have invited or even the option of going by yourself. You invited Matt, like it's not that big of a deal. Like, Stefan won't get pissed off seeing you two together?" I ask her, watching Elena nervously run her fingers through her hair.

"He's just a friend, Caroline. I'm not asking him to share my bed with me. I asked him to come with me so that we could all hang out together. Besides, Matt rarely gets invited to these things with all of us and he should get invited more often. Yes, he's a bit of an asshole. But, he's a nice guy and we've been talking about what it was like for me when Stefan was in the hospital. He said that he hopes things workout for us. And, that he's coming to the cabin to be my moral support." She explains, leaving me utterly speechless and trying to comprehend her words.

"Oh, Give. Me. A. Break! For god sakes. Yes, Matt is my husband's friend. But, he's not as sweet and charming as he seems to be. You know what he see's in you right now?" I ask her, watching her shift her weight and lick her lips.

"What?" She asks, tilting her head to the side and giving me a curious glance.

"Here's what Matt sees in you, a lonely and very suddenly single Elena Gilbert that's emotionally fucked up and that he can easily get into bed. That, is what Matt Donovan see's in you and I swear to god that if he tries anything at all this weekend, I'll be the one telling you. I told you so." I spit out at her, watching her eyebrows lift as she tries to argue with me. But, she knows I'm right.

"Caroline, it's not like that with Matt and I. He is Stefan's best friend and I love Stefan. So, nothing is is going to happen between us this weekend. You don't need to worry." Elena tells me with a reassuring tone, watching as I walk out of the apartment, briefly turning around and saying quietly under my breath. "I hope not."

-Elena-

"So, are we going to talk about how you scared me half to death or are you and I just going to keep avoiding each other?" He asks, sitting across the couch from me as I cross my arms over my chest and stare at the news that's reporting on the Television, something about a snow storm coming our way and hitting us all hard over the weekend. It's the start of November and for some reason, snow this early seems a little odd and if it feel like we were at the cabin, I could only imagine it trapping us all inside and that would be hell. I can feel his body heat radiating off of him and I want nothing more than to curl up into his arms and tell him that we should stop this nonsense. That I was wrong for what I did to myself and that he doesn't need to worry. I want him to tell me that the kiss between him and Makayla meant nothing and that we can go back to being, boyfriend and girlfriend. That we can go back to being, us.

"No, it was stupid and I ended up throwing them all up anyways. You watched over me all night long, remember? There is nothing more to say." I comment, watching him fidget in his seat.

"Elena," He stops, licking his bottom lip with his tongue as he reaches out to caress my arm and I pull away. "I know this is hard on you and I'm sorry for what I did to hurt you. I didn't mean to kiss her."

Laughing a little and pulling back, I stare into his eyes. Maybe he is telling the truth, he seems insincere enough in his tone. However, I've built up these walls in the last few weeks, maybe in the last few years really that have been protecting me from situations just like these. "You should be sorry." I comment icily, getting up from the couch and going straight into the kitchen as I hear him get up too and follow me.

"We need to talk about this, alright! Our fight was stupid and I didn't mean what I said. I was drunk and pissed off. Makayla just happened to come on to me and the kiss just happened. I didn't mean to kiss her and it's not like I cheated on you, kissing her meant nothing to me!" He yells out, anger in his eyes as he looks down at the floor and huffs out a breath. "But of course, you're just too damn stubborn to believe me."

"Stubborn?" I scoff out the word, placing my hand firmly on to the counter and leaning my side into it. "I'm not stubborn. I'm pissed off at you for everything. I'm even more pissed off at myself for believing that you were different than all the other guys and that we actually had a potential with each other."

"Oh. I am different from all the other ones. Trust me, sweetheart." He says in a cocky tone, watching me nearly stare him down. "Speaking of other guys. I heard about Matt's sudden invitation from Damon today. Is he really going to Caroline's little getaway weekend with all of us. Care to explain what that's all about?"

"Nothing. He's our friend and I felt bad for him. So, I invited him to tag along." I comment, feeling strange and uneasy talking about this topic with Stefan. But, I'm telling him the honest truth. Even though Matt's one of his 'best friends' he barely gets invited to any of our tight knit gatherings and to be honest, I figured that it'd be nice to have him be with us this time of year. Especially after all of them are still trying to deal with losing Daniel.

"Alright then. If you don't want to talk about that either. That's fine. But," Stefan turns away from me, shifts his weight from one leg to the other before he adds in. "I know him, Elena. And, he is a great guy. But, I don't want him anywhere near you at all. Even if you and I are taking a break. I still don't want him trying to make moves on my girl." He tells me confidently, pivoting on his heels and taking a beer from the fridge as he looks back at me and concludes with a short tone. "I'm not the jealous type. But, when it comes to you, I can be. Even if you don't think so at the moment, I do care about you and I don't ever want to see you get hurt in anyway because of me or anyone else like you did that one night with those pills, ever again."

"Isn't it beautiful?" I hear Bonnie shriek out from the back seat as I peel my cheek off from against the passenger side ice cold window. We're all in awe of the large house that sits behind a small creek and that's tucked away behind a bunch of old looking pine trees down a gravel and dirt road in Bolton which is in upstate New York. The mint green paint color of the house with it's white wrap around porch and the peacefully calm atmosphere makes me forget all about my troubles for a little while.

"I thought you said your mother inherited a townhouse. Not a whole house!" I exclaim, rolling down the window just as the car comes to a complete stop and she smiles at me when she turns around to grab the house keys from her purse. "Just wait until you see the inside. Six bedrooms, three bathrooms and the most breathtakingly gorgeous view of the creek you've ever seen." Caroline tells me, opening the car door as I lean back into my seat, trying to quietly figure out how I'm going to deal with both Stefan and Matt this weekend.

"I invited Matt." I blurt out, causing Caroline to stop and Bonnie to poke her head back into the car through the open car door window on my side. "We know, Damon told us." She smiles, patting me on the shoulder as she says. "Good luck with that."

My eyes close as I huff out a breath. "No, I invited Matt because I thought I was going to make Stefan jealous this weekend by spending time with his best friend instead of him and..." My voice trails off, placing my hands into my lap and staring down at them when I finally admit. "It was a stupid idea."

Caroline laughs, walking over to the other side of the car and opening the door, pulling out her suitcase when she smiles over at me. "Oh, Elena. Why don't you just let the man love you and believe him when he says he does. You know, if you two hadn't fought about it. You wouldn't be living like roommates right now. You'd probably be having lots of sex upstairs this weekend."

"I know. I don't know what I was thinking and I messed up, Care. I messed up majorly. So, now this weekend is going to be really awkward because Stefan and I are semi-still not talking and Matt and I are, well...We don't hate each other as much." I comment, running my hand over my face and saying that I'll surely need a few drinks to survive this as Bonnie lets out laugh. "If I were Stefan, I'd get drunk on purpose just so that I could punch Matt in the face if he tried making a move on you."

"Bonnie!" I shout out her name, watching as she shrugs her shoulders back, asking in a sweet tone. "What?"

"They're best friends." I point out, hearing Caroline joining in with laughing right along with her.

"It doesn't matter, Elena. I'm team Stefan. Matt touches one hair on your head this weekend and I'll make sure that he regrets it." Caroline states with an undertone of anger, tossing Bonnie her bag as she tells her to go set them on the steps in front of the entry way.

"Nothing is going to happen between us. We're just friends, I guess." I'm clear and to the point in my tone as Bonnie and Caroline lean against each other, both laughing as I hear them shout. "Aha. Here's the thing sweetie. Matt can't be friends with any woman. He has trouble with the term, boundaries because he has none. Very extreme with everything, that guy." She tells me, watching as I get out of the car too, looking down the dirt road and hoping that the guys take longer than they need at the grocery store before I have to face them both later tonight at the little get together that Caroline's got planned for us.

-Damon-

"I swear to god that I see him lean into her one more time as she's talking to him. I'm going to punch his pretty little face into the new year!" Stefan tells me, puffing out a breath and taking a seat next to me as I pull Bonnie into my embrace, feeling her head lay against my chest.

"Uhh, someone sounds a little jealous." She teases Stefan, nudging his shoulder playfully. My brother rolls his eyes, his gaze dead locked on Elena and Matt who are both sitting under the same blanket, laughing and chatting about nothing that really seems too interesting.

"You should go and sit in the middle of them. You know, make your presence known." I suggest, hearing Stefan laugh as he bites down on his lip and looks over at Bonnie and I. He's stressed, worried almost and I can see it written all over his face.

"I messed up with her. I keep messing up and I don't want to do it anymore. I keep thinking that I've changed and that I'm a better person. But, something always screws it up again. This time it was Makayla...I can't do this anymore with her." Stefan mutters out, glancing directly into the fire pit as the embers from the wood and coal burning together crackle and spark up into the air.

"What are you saying?" Bonnie asks him, pushing up from me with an intrigued glance on her face.

Stefan shrugs his shoulders back. "That maybe the break up between Elena and I should be permanent and that we should try dating other people for a while. See if we're really meant to be or this whole dating each other thing really just isn't for us."

Bonnie reaches out and swats at his arm before spitting out her words at him angrily. "Have you lost your mind! No, you two are going to get back together and Elena isn't going to date anyone else. She's going to date you, love you and maybe even one day you'll be smart enough to ask her to marry you, that way you'll lock it down!" Bonnie tells him with a demanding tone as I watch my brother look down at his feet, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Maybe Matt's a better option for her. He's less screwed up than I am. Elena doesn't need anyone else screwed up in her life, she needs stability." Stefan replies back, earning him a light slap on the face from my hilariously and blunt fiancee. "The hell he is! Get up off your sorry ass right now, Stefan Salvatore and march your cute little gloomy looking face over there. Apologize to her and tell Matt to piss off before you sit down and talk to her!"

Stefan's glances up at Bonnie with a small smile forming across his lips. "Talk about what? She's made it pretty clear to me that she doesn't want to really talk about us or the pills that could have killed her. So, there isn't much else to say."

"I don't care." Bonnie pushes up from me, leaning into my younger brother and cupping his face in between her hands as she deadlocks her eyes on to him before adding on. "One day, you're either going to marry her or you're going to lose her forever if you don't do something about it right now. She loves you. But, she's scared and so are you. So, stop being two complete idiots about this and go talk to her before Matt wedges his way into your relationship and you lose her to him."

Stefan closes his eyes tightly, placing his hands on to his knees as he looks out at them. Elena's leaning into Matt, laughing at something he's just told her and they're smiling at each other, joking around.

"I'll catch her later tonight when she's sitting alone or something." He says softly, taking the bottle of untouched whiskey beside him and getting up as he turns towards both of us and says in a low voice. "I love her, I really do. But, she's happy right now, sitting next to him even if they're just friends and I don't want to ruin it because I love seeing her smile." He tells us both, turning away and heading back into the house alone with a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey in his left hand, taking a sip of it before he walks into the living room.

"Your brother is an idiot!" Bonnie tells me, curling up back into my embrace and exhaling deeply as she adds on. "I don't understand why he won't fight for her more. He loves her so much and yet, he'd rather just watch Elena be happy without him. What in the hell is wrong with him, Damon?" She questions as I shrug my shoulders back. "I don't know, honey. I say we just leave him alone. They'll figure it out, Bon. I know that they will." I tell her, glancing back across the patio were Elena still sits with Matt just a few feet away.

"I just hope that they do it before it's too late and this goes on for too long." Bonnie hears me quietly say as we both watch Elena excuse herself abruptly, glancing around the patio and resting her eyes at the spot where Stefan had been. She places her hand gently on to Matt's shoulder and smiles sweetly at him, leaning in and whispering something before she gets up and goes in the same direction where Stefan had disappear off into.

A/N: Well, let's just say that Stefan being drunk and jealous of Elena hanging out with Matt won't end well. Besides, I think Stefan and Elena really need to hash things out and clear the air, even if they're yelling at each other...Oh, all of that tension in the next chapter...hm... ;)

As always, reviews are appreciated!

-Until Next Time!-