The next few days Elena and Stefan went about their usual business by making snide remarks to one another. Elena had informed him that her dad was working on the annulment and that everything would be okay. Stefan was thankful for that because that meant his life would be at ease again. He wouldn't have to worry about his future for the moment he could just be a teenager. Neither one dare spoke of what had happened at her house or how the two had shared a moment when she revealed their secret. Lexi was dying to know the details though considering she was the only one who knew.
"Stefan you have to tell me what happened." Lexi pleaded with him as they sat at his house after school.
"Nothing happened." He sighed flopping down on his bed face down. He was exhausted and did not want to relay the events to Lexi.
"You are holding out on me!" Lexi said hitting him with a pillow trying to pry the information from him. She could tell something was being left out.
"Lexi I told you her dad is going to fix this." Stefan mumbled into his pillow. He just wished Lexi would leave it alone for once. He didn't want to talk about what happened.
"That isn't the juicy stuff!" Lexi huffed sitting down on the bed beside him,
"Nothing juicy happened!" Stefan raised his voice while Lexi just rolled her eyes at his attitude.
"Yes it did! Bonnie told me she had a bad feeling about you two on Sunday when we were having lunch and you know her psychic ass is always right."
Stefan rolled over onto his back and crossed his arms over his chest as he stared up at the ceiling. "I told you nothing juicy happened."
"Stefan Salvatore you are not a best friend." Lexi laughed poking him in the chest earning a smile from him. He knew eventually he'd have to spill to her but he liked givign her a hard time. "Do we need to get super drunk so you can share your secret with me?"
"Not without me!" Katherine said entering the bedroom. Stefan cursed himself for not locking the door behind them today.
Stefan flinched at the thought of getting drunk with Katherine. " I don't think so." Stefan answered with anger in his tone. He couldn't decide if being around Elena or Katherine was worse. He was sure he'd rather endure Elena than Katherine any day of the week.
"Oh it will be fun." Katherine smirked leaning against the door frame crossing her arms over her chest. Damon was out and she was bored so she needed the company.
"No one invited you." Stefan said not paying her any attention.
"Katherine please tell me what happened the other night." Lexi didn't care that Stefan was in a bad mood about Katherine today, he was always angry with Katherine but Lexi needed answers. Katherine was the one surely to tell her what she needed to know.
Katheirne looked at Stefan and could see how irritated he was with her presence. He wasn't always like this with her but it seemed now that he couldn't stand the sight of her some days. "Only if Stefan has a drink with us." Katherine smiled at him as he shot her a dirty look. He sat up on his bed leaning back agaisnt the headboard.
"Why would I ever have a drink with you? Why don't you find your boyfriend to get drunk with." Stefan said wondering where his brother was. He had been gone a lot this past week leaving Stefan with Katherine too much.
Katherine rolled her eyes walking further into the room running her fingers along his desk picking up his journal. "Damon is out." She shrugged. "He said you'd keep me company." She winked as Stefan stood up to snatch his journal out of her hands.
"Get out." He said in a low voice looking her directly in the eye.
"You can't stay mad at me forever Stefan." She whispered into his ear. "We're family now." With that she walked out of the room leaving Stefan to safetly put his journal up that he had forgotten about this morning. Lexi watched his tensed body move through the room as he tried to calm down. Somehow Katherine always got him worked up kind of like Elena did, but it was in a different way. With Katherine Stefan seemed like he could rip her heart out whenever she angered him.
"Wanna go to the Grille?" Lexi asked.
"Love to." Stefan said as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door with Lexi behind him.
Back at Elena's house Bonnie was sitting on Elena's bed waiting for her to get out of the bathroom so they could study. She went to pick up her phone off of the night stand only to be stopped by a familiar ring staring back at her. There was only two people in town who had a ring like this one. It was a Salvatore's and no one was ever able to get the ring off the two. What was Elena doing with it? Picking it up she inspected it further to see it was indeed Stefan's family ring. This was strange.
"Okay I'm ready." Elena said in a chipper voice exiting the bathroom. She froze in place when she saw the ring Bonnie was holding.
Bonnie looked at her with eyes full of question. "What is his ring doing here?"
Elena rubbed the back of her neck and then shrugged taking it from Bonnie. "He must of left it here the other night after dinner."
"You are lying."
"No I'm not." Elena went and put it in her dresser drawer.
"He never takes that ring off and I have not seen it on his finger since we left Vegas." Bonnie said as she realized the last fact. "Elena tell me what is going on please."
Elena looked at her friend with eyes that were begging with her to understand. "You can't judge me."
"What is it?"
"Stefan and I got married in Vegas and I woke up with his ring." After the shock wore off Elena elaborated the story for her going into full detail better than she had with Katherine or Lexi previously.
"So you two are married?" Bonnie asked with disbelief. She was still in shock not sure if she should believe her or not. This was Elena they were talking about. Elena never did anything careless or stupid...unless it involved Stefan Salvatore. He was her only weakness.
"Unfortunately yes." Elena said as she sat on the bed beside Bonnie.
"But you are getting the marriage annulled?" Bonnie asked trying to understand the situation better.
"Yes, dad is working on it now. Stefan hasn't told anyone but Lexi." Elena said looking down at her hands ashamed of keeping secrets from her best friend.
"How come you didn't come to me?" Bonnie asked hurt.
"It wasn't that I didn't trust you with the information Bonnie because I do, but I have been so ashamed of my little scandals with Stefan that I couldn't bear the thought of you knowing my dirty little secrets. Lexi only knew because she walked in on us one night at a party but didn't make her presence known, she kept it a secret until she had to cover for us one time when Matt was looking for me at a party. I had ended up staying the night at Stefan's and he was coming to get Stefan for an early morning workout and Lexi just happened to be the one to answer the door because she passed out on the couch. We were busted then and there and I promised to stop whatever was going on between me and Stefan but I just couldn't stop…"
"I am upset I was the last to know but I do understand your reasons for keeping it a secret. Stefan doesn't deserve you, but he was your first love so it's hard to let go sometimes." Bonnie hated that Elena felt that she couldn't come to her sooner with this.
"Thank you, but Bonnie I need you to never speak of this again. Once we put this marriage behind us I am going to be the best girlfriend to Matt that I can be. He deserves to be treated with more respect. I'm closing the Stefan chapter in my life for good. I know this will be hard but we made a deal that if we told my parents then we would let each other go gracefully and without a fight."
"Is that even possible?" Bonnie had witnessed a lot of versions of Stefan and Elena over the years but she wasn't sure they would ever be completely over each other. Not now with a marriage added into the relationship.
"I don't know but I can't keep holding onto him like he is mine when I'm not even his. He deserves a shot at happiness just like I do. I don't want to be married to a man I cannot stand to be around any longer than I have to be at school."
"I will do whatever I can to help you."
Elena smiled hugging her best friend. She felt like everything was going to be alright in the world again. The worst was about to be over and she would be able to move on with her life the way she wanted. Things could go back to normal and she could fix her damaged relationship with Matt. Stefan would be able to be free of her completely and it strangely made her feel at peace knowing that they would finally let go and just stop all the arguing and walk away with a fresh start.
It was Saturday morning and Elena was happily coming down the stairs to meet her family for a late breakfast. Last night had been the first football game which meant that she had gotten to stay out late with Matt and that they would be going out on a date tonight. She was excited for her date with him because things had been so weird between them since the trip to Vegas, but as if she had completely forgotten about her marriage to Stefan she was moving on with Matt. This little mistake was not going to break her down anymore. She had not spoken to Stefan since the day she told him her dad was going to fix things.
"Good morning." Elena said happily. She ruffled Jeremy's hair as she walked by him heading to get a cup of orange juice.
"Someone is awfully happy to be a Salvatore this morning." Jeremy grinned getting a death glare from Elena.
"Jeremy." Their mother scolded him.
"About that mom I wanted to ask to see when we are signing these papers. Matt and I have a date tonight and next weekend we are going to visit Duke." Elena sat down across from her brother. She was hopeful about her future with Matt. Maybe it was the guilt that was sitting in that had made her want to make all these future plans with Matt now.
"Your father has been hard at work since Monday on that." Miranda confirmed.
"How long does that take?" Elena groaned. "The judge said all we needed was your permission and we would be free."
Miranda didn't answer her daughter but instead just exited the room pretending to be on the phone.
"What is going on?" Elena asked Jeremy and he just shrugged her off.
Elena was in her room getting ready for her date with Matt. She was wearing a new pair of jean shorts and a cute top that she had purchased in California. She was straightening her hair when she heard a knock on her door.
"Come in." She called out.
Looking over her shoulder she saw that Katherine was entering her room.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Elena asked curiously.
"Can't a big sister come visit her little sister?" Katherine asked innocently.
"Not you." Elena laughed. "Not that I don't love you being here but you don't ever drop by without a hidden agenda. I have a date tonight and I cannot play your games."
Katherine rolled her eyes sitting on Elena's bed. "I hate how well you know me."
"It comes with the price of living with you." Elena told her as she set her straightener down and picked up her lip gloss adding some more.
"Have you talked to dad?"
"I haven't seen him today. He's been rounding up my annulment papers." Elena turned to face her. "Why? Should I have talked to him?"
Katherine shook her head. "No, I was just curious. He stopped by the house today and Damon left with him after breakfast and they have not returned since then. I know mom was with them at some point."
Elena was confused. Why were all three of them together? "Dad was probably apologizing to Damon about the outburst with Stefan." She didn't need to think anything more about it.
"Damon hasn't returned home since then." Katherine repeated again.
"Mom and dad have been gone since this morning as well." Elena confirmed. "What is it Katherine?"
"I have no clue I came here to ask you." Katherine told her. She had been trying to get in touch with Damon all day and he hadn't returned her calls. "Have you heard from Damon?"
"Why would I be talking to Damon?" Elena eyed her curiously.
"You two are friends right?"
Elena shook her head with confusion. "Damon and I are friends I guess but we don't talk on a daily basis. He sure as hell doesn't call or text me out of the blue for no reason. The only time I hear from him is when he needs help with you or Stefan." Elena confiremed for her. "Have you talked to Stefan? He has a better chance at knowing his whereabouts than I do."
"No. He had some girl stay the night."
Elena tried to hide her disgust. "Gross."
"Whatever." Katherine shrugged. "Isn't it technically cheating?"
Elena shrugged and looked herself over in the mirror. "If it is I don't care, he can do whatever he wants."
"So I can't believe my little sister has gotten married before me but also will be getting a divorce before me." Katherine laughed.
"I can't believe my big sister is actually jealous I married a Salvatore before her."
"Good one." Katherine smirked because Elena was right, she was jealous of the fact that her sister beat her to the altar. Damon wasn't the type of guy who wanted to rush into marriage and she wasn't sure that he would ever be willing to put a ring on her finger no matter how much he loved her. "You know you are giving up a lot for this annulment?"
"I don't care what comes with being married to him. I want this life with Matt not Stefan."
"Why did you even suggest marriage in the first place?"
"Stefan kept saying how cool it would be to get married by Elvis and I was drunk and thought it would be pretty awesome too." Elena shrugged not daring to tell Katherine the truth.
"Was it?"
Elena had a huge smile on her face as a small memory flashed through her mind. "It was a blast, but I think we were so drunk and it was too unrealistic that we both didn't realize it was real."
"What happened to the big white wedding you've always dreamed about?"
"I'm still getting it, just after my first marriage is annulled." Elena grinned. She was glad Katherine was the only one she could joke about this with.
"Right because you are never going to tell Matt?"
"Why would I?" Elena asked now serious.
"Because that is not just something you keep from someone you love." Katherine pointed out. Katherine wasn't one who was always honest but she didn't want Elena to be like her.
"It is when you are eighteen and the thought alone is enough to break his heart."
"I didn't come over here to get into your love life, you know how well that worked out last night." Katherine said. "I came over here to find my boyfriend and because Stefan was annoying me with the tramp he brought home. I think her purposely got up to cook breakfast so I would have to endure her for a few moments."
Elena wanted to ask who she was but she didn't want Katherine questioning why she wanted to know. So Elena just simply stayed quiet about the topic. "I haven't seen him." Just then Elena and Katherine heard the doorbell ring. "Matt's not supposed to be here for another hour." Elena said looked at the clock.
"Well who could it be?" Katherine smirked walking out the room heading towards the door with Elena following her. Katherine swung the door open revealing none other than Stefan. Elena took in his appearance as a force of habit. He had on his usual jeans with a dark grey t-shirt that hugged him perfectly. His hair was styled to perfection as usual and the ray ban sunglasses he had on let her know he had in fact had a long night meaning he had gone to the party she had skipped out on last night just to avoid him, but tonight her and Matt could not skip the party because it was hosted by Caroline. Elena crossed her arms over her chest looking at him with a face demanding to know he was at her door.
"Keep making that face and it might just get stuck and you will look like Katherine." Stefan said sarcastically with a small laugh. He walked past both of them entering the house removing his sunglasses. "So wifey why am I here?"
"Don't call me that." Elena said with anger building inside of her. Being near him made her blood boil.
"Seriously Stefan why are you here? If you couldn't tell I left the house to get away from you."
"You're just jealous you couldn't join." Stefan winked with a smirk.
"You have some nerve!" Elena said with disgust in her voice.
Stefan just laughed earning death glares from both sisters. He looked around the house confused as to why he was here still. "Look I don't want to be near the both of you either any more than I already have to on a daily basis just to keep the damn peace, but I got a message from Damon saying to meet Elena over here that it was important. He didn't mention anything about you being apart of it." He directed towards Katherine. "It must be a Salvatore thing."
"You are just full of jokes this morning aren't you?" Katherine asked.
Stefan shrugged with a smile. "Why hasn't he put a ring on that boney little finger of yours yet?"
"Maybe because he is too busy wasting all his time on his no good brother who just keeps screwing up left and right. There isn't much time to plan a wedding when he is constantly picking up your slack!"
"Or maybe I'm just a good excuse to not curse himself to a life with a she-devil." Stefan said like it was any other comment. This was usually how the two of them interacted with one another.
"Look I don't have time for this!" Elena interrupted their banter. "Matt is coming over soon and you being here is not a good idea. What did Damon say he wanted from the both of us so we can just get this over with?"
Stefan sat down on the couch and turned the TV on. "I don't care that Matt is coming over. I'm your husband I can stay if I want." He grinned up at her knowing it was a matter of time before she lost it completely.
Elena yanked the remote from him turning the TV off standing in front of him with her hands on her hips.
"Mmmm Elena I like it when you get angry. Reminds me of the night you got jealous of the new girl talking to me. You were standing just like that when she slipped me her number and then you well you know the rest." He smirked.
"Disgusting." Katherine muttered under her breath. The two could be worse than her and Damon at times and she didn't like to think about her little sister having sex, especially not with a jerk like Stefan.
Elena was lost for a moment thinking about that exact memory. She had taken Stefan that night at the party in some coat closet showing him just who he belonged to. It wasn't that Stefan was even showing the other girl any attention but it was the fact that the other girl clearly didn't respect that he had a girlfriend and well it brought out the jealous side of her. It was a side that usually tended to get her into more trouble with Stefan than anything else.
"Get out!" She said in a stern voice pointing to the door. "I don't know why Damon told you to come here but clearly he isn't here and I'm not going anywhere with you so just get the hell out!" She stomped her foot almost screaming now
Stefan held his hands up in defense and began to stand when Katherine's phone started ringing. She answered it and when Stefan heard her say his name he stopped his motion to leave.
"Sit." She said when she got off the phone. "The both of you."
Elena raised an eyebrow at her and Katherine gave her a look that told her not to defy her in this moment.
"What in the hell is going on?" Elena asked in a huff as she sat down. Stefan followed her action showing his frustration in the situation as well.
A few minutes later the door was opening with Miranda, Grayson, and Damon walking through it.
"Thank God someone is here who can finally answer some damn questions." Elena said.
"Language." Miranda warned her. "Elena call Matt and tell him you will meet him at the party instead of you two going out beforehand."
"What? No!" Elena yelled. She was tired of everyone ruining her plans for the night.
"Elena, listen to your mom please." Damon said sounding exhausted. Elena could see his tired eyes begging her not to fight them on this one.
"Fine." She mumbled shooting Matt a text telling him something came up she had to help her parents with.
"Now that the family is all here what is the point of this meeting?" Stefan asked.
"Do we need to sign the papers?" Elena asked with hope.
Damon looked at the Gilbert's waiting for them to make the next move. Whatever was said next would need to be handled with great caution because if not then the whole house might go down in flames from the two teens in front of them.
"No." Grayson spoke up. "That's why the two of you are here."
Elena and Stefan both looked at him confused.
"Your mother and I want you to know how disappointed we are in you for the most part." Grayson rubbed his forehead tiredly. He looked at his wife wondering if this was the right move to make. His daughter was only a teenager. "You made a selfish choice that night and as much as I hate it, and I know that you hate it, the both of you do we can't pretend it never happened."
"Why the hell not?" Stefan asked looking at Damon for answers. "Like you said I'm not worthy of your daughter and I totally agree." Stefan said.
Damon rubbed his eyes and sat down in a chair trying to form the right words in his mind before he let them out. "Stefan, there is something that Grayson and Miranda have agreed upon that we have been discussing all week."
"The annulment I presume?" Elena asked her parents.
"Elena, dear…" Her mother opened her mouth and then closed it, she was about to do the one thing her daughter may not forgive her for. "What you and Stefan did was very immature but I believe there was a motive behind it. You two did not just get married for no reason. There are hidden feelings somewhere inside of you two that seems to keep you from completely moving on."
"There isn't a bone in my body that loves her still." Stefan quickly reminded them.
"Mom you can't be serious right now." Elena pleaded. "I was drunk, like wasted!"
"We do stupid things when we are drunk." Stefan tried to justify their actions.
"Stefan, Elena we don't believe the two of you got married just because you were drunk." Miranda softly told them. "I've watched you two for years grow up and I know how you feel about each other. Those feelings just don't go away no matter who you move on with. Elena I'm not saying that you don't love Matt but I'm saying you have not completely let Stefan go. Likewise with him, Stefan don't think you are fooling anyone."
"I see the way you look at my daughter." Grayson's tone was calmer and less defensive this time with Stefan. "I have to go with my gut feeling here and assume that you two still love each other."
Elena and Stefan were both shaking their heads. Her parents were so wrong. There was no love left between the two. They didn't want to spend another minute together. This was awful, it was like a bad nightmare that they couldn't wake up from.
"Damon please say something." Stefan begged. Damon felt helpess int his situation. He had pleaded with Miranda to just fix this for his brother, but she had a plan that he wasn't on board with. Stefan looked desperate for his brother's help in this moment.
"Miranda we have to do what's best for these two." Damon tried to reason with them.
Elena was on the brink of tears as reality of the situation was sinking in. Her parents were turning their backs on her and Damon was the only one fighting for their freedom. She never thought he'd be the one coming to their rescue but it seemed that way today.
"Mom no." Elena cried as she saw in her mother's eyes what was about to happen.
"I agree with the judge." Miranda spoke quietly. A pen drop could have been heard in that moment. Stefan's stomach turned and Elena let out a sob. "I know this doesn't seem fair but I have no choice but to try and fix this broken relationship between the two of you. It has gotten unbelieavbly out of hand. The way you speak to each other is just downright disrespectful. Stefan your mother would turn over in her grave if she knew what has been going on between you two and it's bad enough that I have allowed it to go on for so long. It's mainly my fault becasue I should have put a stop to the things going on but I thought with time the two of you would heal and be okay. I believe your love was real and I'm trying to give you a fighting chance to fix it before one of you screws it up even more. Mistakes have been made but they can be fixed if you try. I talked to the judge and we are going to cut the therapy out and just let you two do this alone."
"No." Stefan said standing. "I refuse to do this."
Damon stood up with Stefan. "Miranda please think this through."
Miranda stood as well standing her ground. "Stefan I'm giving you a chance to make things right with my daughter. I'm giving you my blessing to fix her broken heart, to allow her to fix yours in the process. You took vows promising yourselves to one another and mirrage is a sacred thing you played with so therefore as part of your consequence I'm forcing you to stand by those vows you took. To stand before everyone to stand by your promise to one another. I will not change my mind on this one."
"Are we done here?" Stefan asked.
"No, sit." Miranda demanded him again. "The two of you are married now and I will be treating you like the adults you want to be. So therefore Elena as of tomorrow we are moving all of your things to the lake house along with Stefan's."
"What? No! I'm still in high school. Mom it's a 30 minute drive."
"You are right you are still in high school Elena. Did that stop you from getting married? You and Stefan will live as husband and wife for the remainder of the year."
"What about Matt?" Elena pleaded.
Miranda sighed sadly. "That's something you will have to figure out on your own. You and Stefan were very selfish in your acts and now Matt's heart is a consequence of it. Elena it's time you grow up and start taking responisblility for your actions." Elena was quiet with that. Her mother was right. It was her own selfishness that was going to be the reason behind Matt's broken heart.
"Mrs. Gilbert I'm begging you to please not make us go through with this. It was my fault that we got married. I was the one who made Elena get married to me. She was drunk and I completely over stepped my boundaries and took advantage of her drunkeness. She was upset with Matt because of me like always. I'm the reason for this. Elena deserves to be happy with Matt, not forced in this marriage with me." Stefan was desperate for Miranda to understand him. "She deserves a normal senior year with the man that she loves, my friend. Please don't take this away from them because not only will this hurt Matt and Elena's relationship it will hurt my friendship with him and that's very important to me. I know it doesn't seem like it considering I have been very careless with the term friend and have been fooling around with his girl behind his back on more than one occassion but he doesn't deserve this. Getting this annulment isn't just for our needs, it's to save someone else's heart from breaking. So by for asking for this annulment we are being unselfish by thinking of Matt, a boy who has never had anyone in his life like Elena before. He needs her and I can't take that away from him." Stefan sighed. "With all do respect towards your opinion of Elena and I's love, I have to disagree. Matt loves her and will be the best option for her in the long run. Matt should be the one living with her not me. He's the better choice for your daughter, you two know this deep down." Elena was shocked to hear him say such things. It was very unlike him to be this way and it was weird to see this man standing in front of her because it was a guy she no longer recognized. It was almost as if he was being the guy she fell for years ago.
Miranda and Greyson were quiet for a long time while everyone sat anxiously awaiting what their final answer would be. Stefan had plead a good case with the Matt thing. Matt was the better choice for Elena, but Miranda felt in her heart that Stefan was something Elena needed to figure out before she truly continued down her path with Matt. The only way she thought Elena and Stefan could figure out their true feelings were to stay married. Sure it was crazy and many parents around town would be talking about their poor parenting skills, but Miranda would be even more devestated if Elena married Matt down the road only to cheat on him with Stefan and end that in divorce. It wasn't a road she wanted her daughter to go down.
"Enjoy your last night of freedom. Starting tomorrow you will be moving in together. Damon thank you for your coperation in this and not fighting with me. Stefan I appreciate your concerns on Matt but I believe in due time you will be thanking me. I love the both of you and want nothing but the best. So trust my motherly instinct on this one. "
"I'm starting to doubt it." Elena mumbled earning a disapproving look from her father.
"I'm sorry this is hurting the both of you but in due time you'll understand." With that said Miranda leaned down kissing the top of Elena's head and walking out of the livingroom. Grayson sighed and stood up awkwardly leaving the room because he too didn't fully agree with his wife but he's not one to argue with his wife. Damon stayed in his seat not sure what he was supposed to do. He couldn't exactly argue with Miranda because without her agreement their was nothing he could do. Here was his 18 year old baby brother married to a girl he was no longer in love with, or at least Damon thought he wasn't. After talking with Miranda this morning he wasn't too sure about anything anymore in his brother's life. It seemed to him that Stefan was hiding his true feelings from everyone around him. How Damon had been blind to what was happening all along between the two teens in front of him was beyond his belief. He felt like a lousy brother for not seeing this before. Stefan and Elena argued like cats and dogs because they still had feelings for each other. It was easier to pretend to hate each toher than to act like they cared.
"Stefan I tried, but now it's time you do your part." Damon sighed heavily standing up. "Try not to kill each other tonight." With that he left the house in search of Katherine. She had somehow disappeared before their very eyes. She was probably at home already with a bottle of wine drained. He couldn't wait to join her after this day.
Stefan and Elena sat in silence for almost an hour in their own thoughts. This was not what they had in mind at all whenever they woke up this morning.
"Come on." Stefan said standing and headed towards the door. Elena grabbed her jacket and followed him.
"Where are we going?" She asked when he opened the car door for her. It wasn't out of character for him to be this way with any girl so she didn't feel special at all when he did it.
"To celebrate our last night of freedom." Stefan said with no emotion.