The flight was long and Stefan was silent for most of it. Elena stayed unusually quiet as well pretending to be asleep on Matt's shoulder. Caroline was going on and on about the trip talking Bonnie and Tyler's ears off. Lexi watched Stefan as his eyes would glance to Elena and Matt and his whole body would tense. For someone who claimed to not care he sure did show a lot of jealousy in his body language. No one else would ever be able to notice it besides Lexi because she was the only one he could not fool. Elena and Stefan may have been able to convince their other friends that they despised each other but Lexi wasn't buying it for a second. She was the one who was always covering their asses when they would have their random drunken hookups. Which as of lately was becoming more frequent. Lexi hated lying to their other friends but Stefan and Elena swore her to secrecy. She has a fan of the two being together again but she just hated all the lying. It wasn't right what the two had done and she was worried about her friends and their future. Someone was going to end up hurt and it seemed to Lexi that Elena wasn't going to leave Matt, so therefore Stefan may be the one burned in the end.
"You're thinking too hard." Stefan whispered in Lexi's ear.
"I'm worried about you." Lexi sighed looking at him and Stefan could see the sincere concern she had for him. Lexi wasn't ever usually serious about much in life and Stefan knew something was troubling her if she was.
"For what?"
Lexi nodded her head towards Elena and Matt and Stefan looked over at them. Elena's head was resting on Matt's should with a blanket pulled up to her chin while Matt had his arms wrapped tightly around her. Stefan shook his head not wanting to see them anymore.
"She's never going to leave him no matter how many times you two go behind his back." Lexi told him with a soft tone.
Stefan's eyebrows scrunched together wondering where this was all coming from. Lexi never talked about his situation with Elena. It was odd to him.
"What happened was a mistake." Stefan shrugged. "I don't want to be with her and I don't want her leaving Matt for me. That would be the biggest mistake she could make because her leaving him for what we did would be pointless because there is nothing left between us."
Lexi eyed him wondering if he truly meant what he was saying. How could he be so in love with a girl one day and then the next not care that she was with his best friend? It was as if Stefan gave her over willing. Lexi didn't understand the two. It was obvious something was still there but then again what if the only thing there was attraction? What if that's all they ever would feel for each other? Lexi didn't like that thought, but it was becoming more believable as time passed. Elena loved Matt now and Stefan well...he didn't love anyone or anything anymore.
"I just worry that's all." Lexi smiled at him. Stefan smiled back wrapping an arm around her shoulder pulling her close to him. He kissed the top of her head.
"Thank you for caring Lex, but I promise I'll be fine. Now tell me about our next adventure."
Lexi grinned with a laugh telling Stefan of what she had planned next for the two. Stefan listened intently eager to hear what she had in mind. Lexi was truly his best friend always standing by his side no matter what and he loved her like the sister he never had. Without her he would be lost in this world. She kept him entertained and living life to his fullest. Stefan couldn't imagine his life without her.
Elena had fallen asleep and woke up to see that Matt was asleep as well. She sat up and looked around the plane to see most people were asleep. Caroline was reading a book, Tyler looked to be playing a game on his phone. Bonnie had her headphones in with her eyes closed. Elena's eyes fell on Stefan and Lexi. Lexi was talking animatedly using her hands to make gestures and he eyes were wide which was a sign that she was really into what she was talking about. Stefan's face was full of amusement as his lips held a bright smile. Elena wondered what they were talking about, what Lexi was saying that was making Stefan so happy. It had been so long since she had witnessed him be happy. Lexi seemed to be the only one who could get him to truly laugh or smile. Other times it just seemed forced in her presence. She knew they were no longer together but she didn't think that he would hate being around her that much that he couldn't even enjoy himself. Elena hated what they had done. She hated that she had married a man who doesn't even smile at her. This whole thing was so messed up. How she had ever let herself fall into his games was beyond her knowledge. Elena had not realized she was staring at the two because she was lost in thought but when she snapped back to reality she locked eyes with Stefan. His eyes bore into hers with a serious look, it was as if he was looking through her. There was nothing behind his green eyes anymore. Elena cringed at the realization. Stefan's eyes then turned into amusement as he realized she was staring at him with a serious look as well. Elena had been caught staring. Stefan smirked at her and winked letting her know she'd been busted. Elena rolled her eyes and turned away from the two and kissed Matt's cheek before settling back into Matt.
Finally back in Mystic Falls the bunch decided to go their separate ways.
"Stefan can you give me a ride?" Elena asked surprising Matt and Stefan.
"Why?" Stefan asked. "Can't your boyfriend take you?"
Elena fought the urge to roll her eyes. "My sister cooked dinner tonight with our names on it."
"Your sister sucks at cooking. I'd rather eat shit." Stefan threw his bag in his trunk.
"Dammit Stefan they said they had something important to talk about." She said through gritted teeth and Stefan got the point loud and clear then.
"Maybe Damon popped the question finally. At least one of you gets to be a Salvatore." He smirked.
Matt shot Stefan a glare warning him to back off but Stefan wasn't phased by the guy. "Can you give me a ride or not?"
"Yeah as long as you don't talk." He said over his shoulder getting in.
"You don't have to be such an ass." Elena said slamming the door to get in.
"You don't have to be such a bitch, but I guess that gene just runs in the family." He said referring to Katherine. Elena wasn't sure why Stefan had a problem with her because at one point and time that Elena could remember as clear as day that Stefan was really cozy with her.
"I can't stand you."
"Feeling is mutual dear."
Entering the boarding house things were unusually quiet. There was no food on the table waiting for them like Elena lied to Matt about. Stefan tossed his suitcase on the floor and walked to the table with the scotch on it. He poured himself a glass and then Elena one.
"Here you are going to need this."
"Can't argue with that." She threw the drink back as did Stefan. She poured herself on more before going on search of their relatives.
Before she even made it out the door there was a clapping sound entering from the other way. Both teens turned to see Damon and Katherine clapping with smug looks on their faces. Stefan cringed upon seeing Damon's face. He knew he was in for an ass chewing. They may have been brothers but Damon had raised Stefan over the years even though they had lived with their Uncle Zach. Damon was his only father figure and even though he wasn't a very good one Damon expected more from Stefan than he did. Damon scolded Stefan when he was in the wrong and tried his best to teach him to be the type of man that he failed to be day in and day out.
"Welcome home Mr. & Mrs. Salvatore." Damon said. "Would you like us to move out so you can move in? You are the ones legally married."
"What the hell were you thinking?" Katherine said with a bit more venom in her voice. She looked as if she was going to rip Stefan's head off at any moment."Elena mom and dad are going to literally kill you!"
Elena didn't know what to say. These were answers she had tried to come up with the plane ride back home. She had no real answer to the questions people would have. Why had she married Stefan? It was something she couldn't even answer herself. Katherine was coming closer to her and Elena involuntarily flinched because she was in fact afraid of her older sister like most people in this town were.
"Did you honestly think about what you were doing? Vegas? How the hell did you two get to Vegas?" Katherine screamed at them. Both teens jumped at her outburst.
"We all went." Stefan spoke up. "It was my idea to spend our last night in Vegas. We got drunk and I guess one thing lead to another."
"And you ended up with my baby sister? You woke up next to my baby sister with wedding rings on your hands and naked? Explain to me exactly how you two pulled this one off." She glared at Stefan. Stefan though had enough of her trying to intimidate him, he wasn't backing down now.
"I don't think that is any of your business." Stefan replied surprising each one of them. "What happened with us is our private business, all you need to know is that it did happen and we are married as of now. So either help us fix it or keep your opinions to yourself." He snapped.
"Your private business huh?" Damon snapped back at him. "I say you are still a kid and apparently you need my help to get that annulment you two so desperately want to erase the biggest mistake of your lives. So if I were you I would start explaining what happened."
Stefan looked to Elena and he could see the fear in her eyes. She didn't want them to know what the two had done since their breakup. "No." Stefan told Damon firmly. "You are my brother first and you are Elena's sister and I am demanding some respect out of those two roles. Damon you may be all I have and you may be my guardian but you are my brother. Be my brother in this situation please I am begging you. I came to you as a brother, not a kid looking for a parent."
Damon's body relaxed slightly upon realizing what his brother was asking for. He was right. They were brothers before anything else.
"You can yell at me later, but I won't allow it in front of Elena." Stefan knew the things Katherine and Damon said would affect Elena more than they would him.
Elena was in shock over the situation. Stefan and Damon always butted heads, but Damon usually won out because Katherine would convince him otherwise that Stefan was the kid in the situation and not the adult, but it looked as if Damon would not be told differently. It was like a newfound respect was formed between the two. Elena almost felt like she was witnessing history.
"We're not done." Damon reminded him.
"Fair enough."
"You're not my brother." Katherine said with fire in her eyes. "I want answers." She looked at Elena with her hands crossed over her chest.
"What do you want to know Katherine?" Elena sighed tiredly throwing her hands up in the air. "That Matt and I were arguing? That I was drunk and was acting a fool dancing on the bars and tables?" Damon's eyes got big at that picture in his mind. Stefan didn't have an emotion on his face to show surprise so Damon knew it was true. Katherine was about to choke on her words when Elena admitted that. "Because I was so drunk Matt was angry and left me there at the club and went to the hotel. I saw Stefan in my drunken stupor and I acted on it. We started dancing and..." Elena stopped upon hearing Damon's voice.
"That's enough." Damon spoke up. "Elena I don't want to hear the details." He would have loved details any other time but not today. Not in this situation.
"You don't?" Katherine asked wanting to know more about why her sister was so careless.
"The deed is done." Damon made himself a glass of scotch. "We can only try to help them from here on out."
"Damon your brother married my sister!" Katherine yelled again. She was doing that a lot today.
"And your sister said 'I do'. We have a bigger problem on our hands." Damon told her.
"And what could be bigger than these two married and in high school?" Katherine was fuming.
"Miranda and Grayson Gilbert." Damon said looking her in the eyes and Katherine finally stopped talking.
The four finally sat down and talked things out like normal people would. Stefan was not saying much besides the fact that he didn't want to tell Elena's parents. Elena agreed saying that they could just stay married until the end of graduation and not say anything at all.
"You can't do that." Damon told them.
"And why the hell not?" Elena asked. "I have a boyfriend whom which I love and I actually want to marry one day."
Stefan laughed.
"Because I made a deal with the judge." Damon leaned back waiting for their reactions.
"You what?" All three asked together.
"I made a deal with him that if he wasn't going to annul the marriage that you two would do whatever it took to get the annulment. He proposed one idea after learning a few things about your relationship history that if you two would try to make amends and show that you actually put forth an effort into this marriage then he would annul it after graduation."
"You made a deal with the devil it sounds like." Stefan told him. "There is no way I can pretend to be happy with her."
"Same." Elena crossed her arms over her chest.
"That's the thing you two already agreed and without going to your court ordered therapy and good results back from that then you have to stay married and then go through an actual divorce where you both could lose things in the process. Stefan with you marrying Elena then she is part owner of the family business."
"She is what?" Stefan exclaimed. "No." He shook is head. "Not possible."
"You know the rules Stefan." Damon told him. "Any woman who is married in immediately becomes a partner in the business, she is an equal. That is way this family takes marriage so seriously." Stefan had failed to pay attention to that part of the family history. He was never worried about it before.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Stefan cussed kicking the coffee table. Elena was overwhelmed with this information because even she didn't even know this part about the family history. The Salvatore's were a very wealthy family, but the family business was something passed down for generations. It wasn't just a means to make money. Heart and soul was put into the production for he company. Elena didn't want to be a part of any of this. She didn't want the business, but she knew how much it meant to Stefan. She was really beginning to hate how family orientated the Salvatore's were. "Anything else I should know brother?" Stefan was livid by this point.
"You don't get your trust fund if you get divorced before 21." Damon said calmly.
Stefan and Elena's eyes went wide at this statement. Elena knew how big of a trust fund he was going to receive when he turned twenty-five and Stefan was going to use it to pay back college loans when he finished and then further build the family business. That was one thing he looked forward to.
"I wouldn't get it until I'm twenty-five anyways." Stefan said.
"I hate to break any more bad news but if you get married before then you would receive it one year after being married."
"So what you are saying is that I have no choice but to stay married and pretend to be happy?" Elena asked. "Or he will lose everything?"
"Yes." Damon said. "You're a Salvatore at this time and you are an entitled owner of our business and you also have control over Stefan's funds."
"Great." She mumbled. Just what he needed was a shopping addict with access to his money.
"So what's the plan?" Katherine asked. She wasn't for this marriage at all but she also knew that if Stefan and Elena did not follow the court's orders then he would lose everything.
"What if I don't want any of his money? If we get divorced after the year then I will just return whatever is given to me in the settlement." Elena said like it was a bright idea.
"Stefan would but cut from any other funds set up to come his way." Damon reminded her.
"Can we just take a few days to process this all." Stefan asked. "School starts on Monday and I have way too much to think about besides being married to her."
"I have a name." Elena spat. "But I agree can we keep this thing between us for at least a week or two until things in our lives get settled in with senior year. It's a big year and we still have our own college plans to pursue with or without the marriage. I'm going to have a life after this." Elena said with determination.
"You have a week." Damon told them. "Next Sunday you two are going to be the adults you acted to be and you will tell your parents Elena."
"I say you tell them they are your parents." Stefan said standing. "I'm done with this conversation I have things to do." He walked out without looking back.
"Stefan." Damon called after him but he continued walking. "He is going to be the death of me."
Elena sat awkwardly on the couch not making eye contact with Katherine or Damon. At this moment she just wanted the couch to swallow her. This was too much to take in and for a high school senior. This was not in her plans at all. This year was supposed to be the best year of her life, she was going to apply to tons of colleges giving herself options, she was going to be a cheerleader with her best friends, take road trips on the weekends, enjoy her relationship with Matt. She wasn't sure if she was more afraid of breaking her parent's hearts or Matt's hearts. He had been through so much in his life and Elena truly was the one good constant thing he had. She was his foundation and she didn't want to take it all away from him.
"I'm going to meet up with Ric." Damon stood up. "Don't worry I'm not going to say anything." Elena's face washed over with relief.
"I'm going to take Elena home." Katherine stood kissing Damon before looking down at Elena.
"Katherine I'm not in the mood to argue over this." Elena said in an even tone.
"How the hell you managed to snag the Salvatore name before I did you little bitch." Katherine's lips curved up into her trademark smirk almost like Damon's.
"You want it so bad pretend to be me." Elena snapped. "I have to be married to the biggest dick in town."
"That big huh?" Katherine tried lightening the mood.
"Katherine please quit." Elena was on the verge of a breakdown so Katherine dropped the act and went into sister mode sitting down beside Elena on the couch and pulling her into her arms where Elena just cried on her sister's shoulder. Katherine felt extremely sorry for her sister because in all her years of rebellion she had never done something like this. Dating Damon may have been the biggest thing she ever did that upset her parents. Elena on the other hand had a motherload of things that involved Stefan that their parents were disappointed in. Elena though was different than Katherine. She was the type of kid that any parent would want. She was a people pleaser and she always did whatever it took to be the best because she strived to make her parents proud. It was something Katherine always envied about her but it was also something that she knew would be Elena's biggest downfall in the end. Elena would do whatever their parents wanted and it feared Katherine sometimes. It wasn't because their parents were bad people or expected impossible things from their children, but they had a name to uphold throughout town and the Gilbert's never did anything that was frowned upon. Katherine was more of the wild child growing testing their parent's patients while Elena was the golden child. Their younger brother Jeremy just kind of took life at his own pace.
"It's going to be okay." Katherine told her.
"No it's not." Elena pulled back drying her eyes. "Everyone keeps telling me that it's going to be okay but it's not. Hell even he knows it's not going to be okay." Elena pointed upstairs. "And when he can't fix something then I know there is no hope."
"Sweetie then maybe you are putting faith in the wrong man." Katherine told her. It was true Stefan usually had a knack for fixing everyone's problems and for getting Elena out of trouble even when he didn't want to, but Katherine was not going to let her sister sit and think her life was over all because some boy had no solution to her current problem.
"Kat what am I going to do?" Elena was desperate for an answer.
"We are going to go shopping." Katherine smiled. "Call the girls if you want them to join or that annoying friend of Stefan's that I think Damon has a crush on."
Elena laughed. "You like Lexi and you know it."
"I do." Katherine grinned. "But she gets Stefan drunk and they jam Bon Jovi at all hours of the night."
"And that bothers you?"
"It bothers me that I don't get invited to their two-man parties."
Elena smiled shaking her head.
"I can tell you what you are not going to do and that is cry over this or Stefan at that matter. We closed that chapter remember?"
"I'm over him."
"We will get through this next year together." Katherine promised.
Elena hugged her older sister once more before they gathered their things to leave. Elena didn't call any of her friends. She just needed time to herself and to think. Once they were done shopping Katherine accompanied Elena into the house so she wouldn't be the main focus.