"Stefan that is the tenth time Damon has called this week." Elena said as they were eating dinner together as she put her phone down. The past week had been calm for them. There was no arguing or dealing with their drama. The only thing that had been happening was the fact that Damon had tried to get a hold of Stefan.

"I have nothing to say to him." Stefan said picking at the food on his plate. Truth was he missed his brother. Damon and him always hung out together. Even when they were mad at each other they stuck by one another. Stefan didn't know why this time he was avoiding him.

"Damon didn't abandon you." Elena said softly. "I know you feel like that because he is the only family you have left but he loves you and wants what is best for you." Stefan looked up to meet her eyes. Elena could see the pain he was feeling from being away from his brother for so long. "Don't shut him out."

"Why do I feel like he abandoned me?" Stefan asked her honestly.

"Because you are scared of losing him. You're scared of being alone in this world."

Stefan looked back down at his plate not liking that she could read him like an open book. He wasn't supposed to be afraid of anything, but losing his brother had always been an irrational fear of his after their mother died. Neither brother ever talked about how alone they were in this world but they both had this unspoken pact to never leave the other. Damon had practically raised Stefan and now for him to be without him scared Stefan.

"You are never going to lose him not even to Katherine." Elena said as she stood up and carried her plate to the sink. Stefan sat at the table thinking of what she had said. Elena was right. Damon wasn't trying to push him out of his life but he was doing what he thought was best for him. Elena slipped out of the kitchen and up to her room leaving Stefan alone.t

An hour later Elena was doing dishes while Stefan laid on the couch watching a game. They were comfortable in this routine. Stefan and Elena had learned to switch off and on with doing dishes and who cleaned. Tonight they both had no homework to catch up on so Elena offered to do the dishes while Stefan caught some game on the tv. Elena didn't mind the least bit. He seemed to be content lounging on the couch like nothing was wrong in the world. This was the Stefan she remembered. One who enjoyed the peace and quiet of things. She wasn't even sure if he was watching the game on the tv. Sometimes he would just zone out and not pay attention to anything at all when he was that still. But soon enough their peace and quiet was broken. A knock at the door both startled them. Stefan sat up quickly getting up.

"You expecting someone?" Stefan asked in a soft tone not sure who was behind the door. Elena shook her head. "You stay there." He said not knowing who it was. He thought that maybe it was someone was lost and needing directions. Stefan opened the door shocked to see who was on the other side. "What are you doing here?"

Damon looked at his little brother wondering what to say. Stefan didn't seem to know he was coming which meant Elena pulled her usual lie when the two were fighting. Damon took a deep breath looking to find the words to say. "You didn't know I was coming I see." Damon flat out said not impressed with Elena's antics. Stefan shook his head looking over his shoulder to Elena who had an innocent look on her face.

"I can't stand to see you two at odds." She confessed. "Yes I called Damon but only because I know that you are so hard headed that you won't do it."

Stefan nodded his understanding. "It's okay." Elena was right. He wouldn't have called Damon without her intervining like always. "Well brother come on in." He moved out of the door way to let Damon in. Damon stepped in taking in his surroundings.

"I don't think I've ever really been inside of here before." Damon said shoving his hands in his pockets not knowing where to go from here. "It's nice."

"It's no boarding house." Elena laughed reaching into the cabinet to pour Damon a drink. "This place could fit inside of that mansion."

Damon and Stefan laughed with her. "The boarding house creeps most people out." Damon said taking the drink from her. "This place is homey. I can see why Stefan never comes to visit anymore." Damon smirked making Stefan roll his eyes.

"I'm just going to go catch up on some reading." Elena said leaving the two alone.

"Well." Damon said setting his glass down on the counter.

"Well." Stefan crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the wall across from Damon.

"I need you back at the company Stefan. There are just some things I can't do without you. We are partners, what I can't do you can." Damon looked down at his shoes. They were really expensive shoes that Katherine had bought him for Christmas last year. He wasn't sure why they were so interesting at the moment but anything was better than looking at Stefan.

"I didn't think the place needed me so bad."

Damon chuckled shaking his head looking back up at his brother. "I'd never leave you Stefan. I was only doing what I thought was best. Elena's parents convinced me this was the right thing to do. I've never been a parent before and I had no clue how to help you through this. They are real parents and Miranda promised me that she wouldn't steer us wrong in this. I didn't mean for you to feel like I left you alone in this situation. I just didn't know how else to help you Stefan."

"You didn't have to kick me out. Damon you are all I have left in this world. You are my only living family member and when you kicked me out I felt like I had failed you somehow." Stefan admitted.

"That's far from it Stefan. You didn't fail me. I felt as if I had failed you somehow in all of this. It's not every day that your little brother comes back married from Vegas. I didn't know how to fix it for you. I thought that maybe I had let you down in some way as a parental figure."

"Maybe we both let each other down in some way." Stefan said as Damon nodded.

"It was bound to happen. But Stefan you will never be alone, I'll always be around even on the days where I want to strangle you for being a pain in my ass."

Stefan laughed. "Same for you."

"Saturday you will be by the office right? I really need some of your advice."

"I'll be there. So you want to catch the rest of the game with me?"

Damon looked at his watch. He knew it was late and Katherine was probably at home waiting up for him because he didn't tell her where he was going but he needed time with his brother. "Yeah sure." He smiled making Stefan smile. Damon stayed over until the game was over catching up with Stefan. The two talked a bit about everything. Stefan told him how school was going while Damon updated him on the business. Damon eventually had to leave and Stefan promised him to stop by more while Damon promised the same thing. After Damon left Stefan walked up to Elena's room to find the door open and her laying on her bed reading a book. Stefan smiled at the sight of her.

"You can come in." Elena smiled looking at him. Stefan walked into her room and sat down at the foot of her bed.

"Thank you." He said as he took the book from her hands and set it down on her night stand.

"I can't stand to see you two at odds and I know you'd do the same for me."

Stefan nodded. "I would do anything to not see you fight with one of your siblings. You know how I think they are the most important people in your life."

"Blood is thicker than anything in your eyes." Elena sighed sitting up some to talk to him.

"I just want you to know how grateful I am for your help with Damon. I've missed him in my life."

Elena reached out and placed her hand on top of his. "I want you to be happy Stefan, not miserable."

"I know you do."

"So will Damon be joining us for our weekly dinners with Aunt Jenna and Ric?"

Stefan smiled and nodded. "I'm sure he will be over more often. I agreed for us to stop by more often in return."

"That's fair."

"I think it's time we talk to your parents Elena." Elena pulled her hand away from his and shifted uncomfortably in the bed at the mention of her parents. She had not spoken to them in so long. Never in her life had she not talked to her parents. Sure she had disagreements with them growing up and a lot when she started dating Stefan but she never shut them out like this. Elena removed herself from the bed and stood up. "Elena." Stefan called after her as she walked out of the room. She was avoiding the subject. Stefan followed her out of the room and into the livingroom where she was now seated on the couch flipping through the channels. "Elena please don't." Stefan gently took the remote from her hands and turned the tv off as he kneeled in front of her. "You can't avoid them forever."

"I can try."

Stefan refrained from rolling his eyes at her. "How can you be so stubborn? One minute you are preaching to me about fixing my relationship with Damon and the next you are refusing to even talk about your withering relationship with your parents."

"Why don't you mind your business."

"You are my business."

"Stefan I haven't been your business in some time now."

"You are trying to push them away because you are mad at them for something that is your fault in the first place!" He raised his voice at her.

"Oh like how you were mad at Damon? Just because you fixed your screwed up relationship with your brother doesn't give you the right to try to fix mine with my parents!"

"You made me realize how trivial our feud was. I want to see you be okay with your parents again."

"Like your feud with your dad? I didn't see you jumping to mend your relationship with him when he was on his death-bed." Elena spat out at him. Stefan stared at her in disbelief for a moment. He was in complete shock that she brought up his father's death. Elena realized what came out of her mouth after it was already too late. She tried to think of something to say to take back what she said but she couldn't find the right words. Stefan's face told her everything she needed to know. No one ever spoke of his father's death.

"Elena you know what's right and what's wrong and you know this fight with your parent's is wrong just like I knew mine was." Stefan said in an even tone. He stood up and left her there on the couch to think. She heard his door slam and she jumped at the force of it. She had yet again broke another piece of him. Elena wondered when she was ever going to stop.

Stefan didn't bother looking up from his journal when he heard his door open. He had not expected her to come talk to him after what she had said earlier. Elena had sat on the couch for a good while pondering a way to fix this with them but she knew she couldn't take back what she said no matter what.

"I'm mad at my parents Stefan because they were supposed to be the two people to save me from this world. They were supposed to stand by me because I'm their daughter and help me. I needed help. I needed them to help me fix this." Elena said as she came and sat on his bed. Stefan stopped writing to look over at her. She looked so fragile admitting how hurt she was by her parents actions. They had left her feeling vulnerable to this world without protection. Stefan ached to reach out and comfort her. To let her know she wasn't alone in this. "I thought they were supposed to help me fix this. I don't want to fight with them but I do not understand them right now. I don't understand how this living thing is going to help us. I don't get any of it. I didn't mean what I said downstairs." Elena felt tears coming on. "You know better than anyone that I did not mean to say that. I know you loved your father and I know you wanted to fix things. Please Stefan know that I didn't mean that."

Stefan set his pen down and walked over to sit by her on the bed. He watched a tear began to roll down her cheek. Before she could wipe it away Stefan did it for her. He held her face in his hand for a moment as he stared into her eyes. She was scared and alone. Stefan hadn't realized just how hurt she was by all of this mess. Her fight with her parents was not his to fix but hers alone. Stefan kissed her forehead before pulling her into a tight embrace as she broke down crying. She clung to him as she let it all out. Stefan knew that she had held all of these feelings in since moving in together. Elena had been putting on a brave face pretending that she was handling everything okay but truth was she wasn't. This marriage was stressing her out.

The next weekend Stefan was at the office working side by side with Damon again getting caught back up on things. Damon and Stefan spent the majority of Saturday in the office while Elena invited Katherine to the lake house to watch movies.

"So how are things with Elena?" Damon asked when they entered the boarding house that night.

Stefan shrugged. "It's Elena."

"You don't have to lie to me." Damon said as he picked up a football tossing it to his brother. "Katherine's out so we can play a little catch in the house." Stefan smiled backing up and throwing it back to him.

"It's complicated." Stefan confessed. "She's exhausted from all the lying."

"You two seem to be getting along better."

"We are but you know that only Last for so long."

"Stefan you have to either let her go or be with her."

"Since when did you become a relationship expert?" Stefan laughed. "You are dating the devil herself!" Stefan dodged the football that was headed towards his face at a fast rate.

"I guess when I actually got into a stable relationship. Mine seems to of lasted longer than yours."

"She must have you under some voodoo spell or something."

"When are you going to realize I'm in love with Katherine?"

"I know you love her Damon. " Stefan said seriously. Damon loved Katherine more than he loved anything else in this world.

"When you love someone Stefan you would do anything to win them back."

"I've done a lot of things to prove my love." Stefan told him. "Did you not remember how I made a fool out of myself for months trying to win her back?"

"Maybe actions speak louder than words. Stop sitting back int he shadows and watching her be with Matt."

"I can't exactly go force myself on her."

"No you can't but you don't have be a sitting duck. Do you want her back Stefan?"

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"Well if you do then show her that you care. If you don't then let her go. But between you and me she doesn't belong with Matt Donovan."

Stefan took in what Damon was saying. Maybe he was right. If Stefan didn't want to be with her he needed to let her go but if he did then he needed to show her. He needed to give her a reason to believe in him again.

Another week flew by for everyone in Mystic Falls. The town was buzzing with Thanksgiving activities. Caroline had everyone busy setting things up for the carnival that they were hosting to raise money for their prom. She was not letting anyone off the hook for this. Stefan and Tyler had tried their best to get out of it but she was having none of it. Much to Stefan's dismay she had paired him to work with Matt on building the booths. Elena had kept a close eye on them afraid that they would get into a fight. Never before had the two friends held so much tension and Elena along with Lexi was worried about the two operating heavy equipment and being mad at one another.

"Hopefully Matt doesn't use that saw to cut off Stefan's head." Lexi whispered to Elena as they decorated some signs.

Elena cringed at that image. "That would be just my luck."

"You two don't have to stare so hard." Stefan said coming over to them wiping some sweat off his eyebrow. For a November day it was pretty hot outside. Stefan wouldn't call setting up for a school carnival his cup of tea for skipping classes on a Friday. "I'm not going to push him onto the cut saw. I prefer to win you back fair and square." Stefan winked at Elena.

"Like you have a chance in hell."

"You did already marry me sweetheart. I think I stand a chance."

"Ugh don't remind me." She groaned.

"You two are too cute." Lexi said in a sarcastic tone as she walked away leaving them alone and went to go help Matt.

"So where have you been the past few nights I haven't seen you at dinner?" Elena was curious about where he had been lately. Stefan had not been showing up for dinner and she was getting lonely without him around the house.

Stefan shrugged taking the paint brush from her hand and dipping it into the pain again. "I've been working on something."

"You could let me know when you're going to be home late?" She stepped back as he started on the sign putting a few different designs on it for her.

"I'm sorry I'll call you next time if that's what you want." Stefan said not realizing that his absence had bothered her. "Damon has just been keeping me late at the office."

"So you've been at the office?" Elena took the brush back from him. She was relieved that he hadn't been out with some other girl like she had assumed. When she had called Lexi and she told her she hadn't been hanging out with Stefan, Elena began to wonder where he was spending his time.

"Yeah I've been trying to get caught back up on everything and I'm helping Damon get back on track with some things. He fell behind without me around. I promise to call next time. Can I make it up to you tonight?"

"No." Elena shook her head. "I'm going to dinner tonight with a friend."

Stefan's eyebrows scrunched together. "A friend? You mean Matt?"

Elena didn't know why she had tried to lie. If it was a friend she would have told him which one. Neither knew why she felt the need to try and cover up that she was going out with Matt that night. When had things become awkward when Matt was mentioned or around? "Yes Matt."

"Will you be home tonight?"

"I don't exactly plan on sleeping with him tonight."

"I don't need to know that." Stefan said shoved his hands in his pockets. "He is your boyfriend after all."

Elena set the paint brush down and looked over to Matt who was wrapped up in working ont he booth and listening to whatever story Lexi and Tyler were telling him. "I've been trying to figure out a way to tell him about us."

"You don't have to tell him about us. You could just break up with him and that would be less painful." Stefan suggested.

"He'd get hurt even worse in the end if he found out later about me lying to his face."

"He's still going to be hurt just the same when you tell him the truth."

"Would you want to know?" Elena asked him.

"No. I would rather be blind to anything that could tear us apart." With that Stefan left her to finish up as he relieved Matt so he could take a a break.

True to her word Elena came hom around midnight. Stefan had heard her come in and get settled in before he allowed himself to fall asleep. The next day everyone stayed busy running around trying to keep everything organized. The friends were enjoying the time spent together. Everyone in town had come to the carnival. By the time the thing was over everyone was too exhausted to do anything at all.

Stefan had watched Elena throughout the night and noticed how her eyes lit up as she watched all the rides. He hadn't noticed her take a break to go ride any because just when it was her turn to take a break a girl got sick and Elena had to fill in her shift for her. Caroline didn't give her the chance to go on another break so Elena wasn't able to do anything fun that night. Stefan had thought about that the whole night. He was still thinking about it as he lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Damon's words were ringing in his ears. He needed to let his actions speak louder than his words. Elena would never dream of giving him another chance if she didn't believe in him. She needed to learn to trust him again. Stefan needed to build his trust with her and the only way to do that was to show her that he wouldn't hurt her again. This wasn't about ruining her relationship with Matt. Stefan wanted her to know that he was still there. That he was still an option.

When he could no longer take it anymore Stefan dressed himself before slipping into Elena's room. She was quietly sleeping but Stefan couldn't help himself. He had to wake her.

"Stefan what is wrong?" Elena asked as she heard him whispering her name as he shook her softly.

"Get up I have to show you something."

Elena opened her eyes and looked over at the clock. "It's almost four in the morning. Can't this wait until the morning?"

Stefan shook his head and Elena could see the excitement in them. She had no clue what was up his sleeve. "I'll meet you in the car." Stefan told her as he headed down stairs.

Ten minute later Elena was in the car. "Stefan this better be good." She warned him. Stefan smiled but stayed quiet as he drove back towards town. This would be epic he was sure. Elena would love it. Before she knew it they were back at the school and Stefan was getting out and opening her door for her. "Stefan we can't be here right now."

Stefan just kept walking as Elena followed him. He looked around to see that no one was around just as he had suspected.

"This is illegal." Elena said quietly not wanting to get caught. Stefan extended his hand to her to hold onto as she crossed over the make shift gate they had. She took his hand anyways and held onto it as they walked through the dark park.

"What's the one ride you wanted to ride the most today but couldn't? We only have one shot at this." Stefan knew they probably wouldn't have time to do anymore rides but one before someone showed back up.

Elena looked around. "The ferris wheel." She couldn't deny the giddy feeling she was getting at the thought of riding the ferris wheel. She loved it. Stefan grinned as they walked over to it. He helped Elena into the seat before walking over to the operating machine. He wasn't quite sure how the thing worked but he had to figure it out somehow. Stefan pressed a button and suddenly the whole thing lit up making Elena gasp. He looked at her and couldn't stop laughing as he searched for another button to push to make the thing go. Finally he pressed one and it started to move. Stefan ran and jumped onto the seat with Elena clasping the bar to hold them in.

"You are insane do you know that!" Elena yelled at him. Stefan just wrapped one arm around her as he looked around at the ground below them. They were the only one within miles of this place as far as he could see.

"You love this and you know it." Stefan said to her.

"Shut up." Elena smiled as she took in the beauty of it all. Stefan had amazed her tonight. This was exactly what she had wanted to do all night. Sure she wanted to maybe ride it with Matt but Stefan had made this a memorable moment. This would be something she would never forget. Stefan watched her take int he beauty of it all. She was getting a thrill from it. They rode around a few times before Stefan heard someone at the bottom yelling at them.

"Oh shit." Stefan said. Elena looked down to see the security guard.

"Stefan what the hell!" She looked at him with panic. "We are gonna go to jail."

"Just follow my lead when he lets us down." Stefan had no clue what they were going to do to get out of this. Breaking in here tonight was very illegal.

"Hey what are you two kids doing?" The guy yelled at them.

"Hey man you gotta get us down from here!" Stefan yelled back at him. They reached the bottom and he stopped the ride and when he stopped it the bar holding them in let loose and Stefan jumped up grabbing Elena's hand and he took off running with her in tow.

"Hey come back here!" The security guard yelled after them as they ran through the park. Stefan and Elena reached the parking lot with the guy hot on their tail. Stefan struggled to fish the keys out of his pocket causing Elena to let out a string of cuss words at him. Stefan finally unlocked the car as they both jumped in and they left the parking lot with a squeal of tires. Looking in the review mirror there was a tired security guard.

Stefan looked over at Elena who was trying to catch her breath just like him. She tried to look mad but she couldn't do it. They both busted out laughing at the same time. They laughed almost all the way back to the lake house.

"Did you see that guys face when we took off running?" Stefan asked.

"Priceless! He was so pissed he was going to have to run!" Elena and Stefan stumbled into the house still laughing about it.

"Maybe he'll think twice about those funnels cakes."

"Stefan I cannot believe we did that tonight."

"You didn't get to ride the ferris wheel so I had to do something for you."

"It was really fun." Elena smiled as they walked up to their rooms. "I'll never forget it."

Stefan smiled happily. That was exactly what he was shooting for. "Even if I almost got us a free ride to jail?"

"Even if we almost got a free ride to jail."

"You deserve memories like that."

"I definitely won't be mad if I get more like that."

"I'll remember that." Stefan stared at her for a few moments more before leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Try and get some sleep. We've got dinner with Damon and Katherine."

Elena nodded as she turned to go into her room. The biggest smile spread across her face as she shut her door. She couldn't believe what had happened tonight. Stefan had not done anything like that for her since they broke up. He was working his charm for sure but Elena couldn't lie and say she didn't like it. He had left her completely speechless tonight and running from the security guard was just icing on the cake.

Stefan had surprised Elena a lot lately. When he was going to be home late he would make an effort to call or text her letting her know when to expect him back at home. When he was home in the evenings he would cook them dinner or go out of his way to make her life easier. Stefan hadn't once start an argument with her about her time spent with Matt although it was becoming less and less in the passing days.

It was saturday afternoon and Stefan was sitting at the table looking over his bills from the past month or so. Damon had dropped off his mail earlier that day for him. Stefan was confused about why his card was being charged for so much lately. He didn't understand it. He always kept up with how much he spent and how much he gave Elena for groceries and other things each week. They didn't usually buy too much now that they were settled in.

"Little brother I'm in the middle of getting ready for that famous Lockwood party." Damon said into the phone.

"Have you been using my account again?" Stefan was growing frustrated with the thought of Damon using his money.

"I told you I wouldn't go behind your back like that again Stefan. Just don't worry about it until after tonight."

"Damon I'm missing close to a grand!" Stefan yelled into the phone. "Maybe even more I'm not even quite sure."

"Hey calm down now. There must be a mix up."

"Are you sure you didn't give Katherine my account number? Hell she is there all day with my mail she probably has it all by now!" Stefan slammed his fist down on the table. "Damon I will not put up with her games any longer."

"Stefan I said calm down. I know Katherine and she wouldn't do that."

"You know Katherine? Damon you don't know the lying bitch that Katherine is!"

"I know you don't trust her but I can assure you that she didn't touch your money Stefan. Just look it over again and see if you can't see where the transaction are coming from. I will talk to you at the party tonight. Please do not make a scene when we all arrive."

"I'll see you there." Stefan hung the phone up with a huff. He needed to figure out where his money was going before it disappeared. He was positive that it had to of been Katherine. It's not like his account was empty by no means but he was missing money and he didn't know where it was going. Stefan ran his fingers through his hair tugging on the ends of it. He retreated to his room to finish getting ready for the party that night. Everyone was meeting at the Lockwood's for their annual November bash. Stefan was sure that the party was only thrown each year as a reason for the older folks of the town to gossip with on another.

"Stefan are you ready? Damon and Katherine are about to be here." Elena said knocking on his door.

"Yeah just a minute."

Elena could hear the agitation in his voice. When she had left him alone earlier before she started to get ready he was in a good mood ready for the night's activities. Opening the door she saw Stefan standing in front of his mirror tugging at his tie. She walked over to him taking his hands in hers and gently bringing them down. Stefan stared at her wondering what she was doing.

"You never could tie on of these." She whispered as she untied the knot he had formed that looked awful. Stefan looked over her shoulder to see the backside of her in the mirror. She was wearing a gorgeous dress. One Stefan had never seen on her, but that was nothing new for these kind of parties. Elena always bought new dresses. "How about you lose the tie tonight?" Elena smiled slipping it from around his neck and tossing it onto the bed before reaching up and un buttoning the the first two buttons on his shirt. "You look better without on anyways."

Stefan nodded as he looked back down at her. Elena's hands were still resting on his chest. Stefan wasn't sure what to do with Elena this close. Usually she would be pulling away by now making up an excuse to leave the room. Lately she would linger longer than she cared to admit. Stefan reached out and gently grabbed her hip. Elena's eyes were fixed on his as she felt his thumb run across the material of her dress.

"This dress is really beautiful on you." Stefan whispered.

"It cost me a fortune so I would hope so." Elena smiled at him. Stefan's eyebrows furrowed together and his other hand went to grab her waist. He held Elena in place as he looked down at her gorgeous dress.

"Is it new?" Stefan asked.

Elena let her hands slip from his chest not liking the closeness. "I bought it this week shopping with the girls."

"The shoes too?" Stefan felt his temper rising.

"Yeah so what?" Elena asked not sure where he was going with this. Stefan looked at her searching her eyes for something. Anything to give him a reason not to suspect her. But something told him that Elena didn't use her own money to buy this dress.

"You've been shopping a lot lately."

"Stefan where are you going with this?" Elena tried to pull away from him and succeeded this time as Stefan let her go. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped and shook his head.

"You don't have any money if I can remember correctly and I don't think your parents are giving you enough to go shopping weekly." Stefan laughed out loud at how blind he had been to her. "How much have you bought exactly?"

"Stefan." Elena tried to start with him. She knew she was busted.

"It was you?" He asked with disbelief.

"I can explain." Elena pleaded with him feeling bad for the first time spending his money.

"I thought it was Katherine! I yelled at Damon telling him what a lying bitch your sister was but it was actually you robbing me blind!" Stefan yelled at her.

"I am not Katherine!" Elena yelled back at him. Stefan went to her room and slung the closet door open and started pulling out all her clothes trying to find something she bought. He found a new shirt with a tag and threw it on the ground. As he continued Elena came into the room mortified to see him tearing her clothes apart. "Stefan stop!" Elena yelled at him.

"You want to spend my money on fucking clothes and not tell me about? How in the hell did you pull this one over on me?" Stefan was fuming.

"Stefan I said stop!" Elena said again grabbing a pair of pants he had in his hand.

"You've been lying to me Elena! This whole pretending to get a long with me thing was just to use my money wasn't it? You blind sided me."

"Stefan that is not true! I would never do that to you."

"I don't know that anymore Elena. I don't know you. The Elena I knew, the girl I loved would never go behind my back and pull a stunt like this. It's low even for you." Stefan shook his head in disbelief and looked at the mess he had made. Elena was on the verge of tears and ruining her make-up that had taken her hours to perfect tonight. Stefan was a mess. Stefan reached down grabbing some of the clothes by the hangers and laying them on her bed. He didn't know why he pulled them down in the first place. "If you want the clothes so damn bad all you had to do was ask. You didn't have to pretend to be my friend. I almost thought for a moment we were back to where we used to be before things got complicated. You fooled me Elena."

Tonight had taken a turn for the worse real quick. Stefan didn't know what came over him. He had been so worked up thinking that it was probably Katherine stealing from him that he never thought that Elena would do something so low to him. Elena never needed Stefan's money for anything but now it seemed like she needed it. He felt as if everything they had been through had been a lie now because she had been using his money all along. Elena felt horrible about the whole ordeal. She couldn't believe that she had used Stefan's card for more than the hot water heater. She wasn't even mad about his outburst. She was mad at herself for lying to him and for making him feel like what they had shared these past few weeks was all a lie. They arrived at the Lockwood's putting on the perfect faces. Elena ventured off from Damon and Katherine who had picked them up at the lake house and went to find Caroline and Bonnie. She needed some major advice. Matt was no where to be seen which was a good thing. She didn't need him questioning her behavior tonight. Not when she needed to find a way to fix things with Stefan.

"Stefan what's wrong with you?"Lexi asked coming up to him as they watched people mingle on the dance floor.

Stefan shoved his hands in his pockets and shook his head. "Can we not talk about it?"

"I can see you brooding from a mile away." Lexi didn't know what was wrong with him. She hadn't been around as much lately because she felt like things were going really well between the newlyweds.

"Lexi I don't want to talk about it." Stefan sighed.

"Hey you always tell me everything what is changing now?"

"She lied to me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying that Elena lied to me. She's only been nice to me just to keep my distracted while she fished money out of my bank account." Stefan tried to hide the pain in his voice but it was obvious to Lexi that he couldn't stand the thought of Elena only being nice to him for his money. Lexi also knew that Elena would never do that.

"Stefan you know that's not true."

"Lexi I accused Damon of having a lying girlfriend because I believed Katherine was doing it. How shocked was I to find out it was none other than her little sister? To think that I actually wanted to try and win her back."

"What?" Lexi had not known about that piece of information. "You want her back? Like you want to be with her?"

"I did." Stefan said. "I wanted to but not now. I don't want her."

Lexi felt the guilt creeping up on her. She had set this lying thing in motion and now here it was coming back to bite her in the ass. "What if I said Elena didn't come up with this joint bank account all on her own?"

Stefan's eyes grew wide at that comment. "Lexi you did not."

"I did." Lexi said sadly. "Stefan she was so desperate for that damn hot water heater and she went on for a couple of weeks without giving in. I didn't think she had it in her, but you have to believe she probably only bought what she desperately needed."

"She had tons of new clothes in her closet." Stefan pointed out.

"Katherine took her shopping when we got back from Vegas. Jenna also took her shopping like a week ago to try and talk her into working things out with her parents." Stefan's heart dropped as he realized what he had done.

"I screwed up again."

Lexi shook her head cupping his face in her hands. "Stefan Salvatore you did not screw up. I screwed up by trying to go behind your back to help another friend. I never should have done that. Go find Elena and fix this." Lexi smiled at him. "I can keep Matt occupied if need be."

"No." Stefan shook his head. "I don't think I need to tonight."

"You have to fix things."

"Tonight just goes to show how little trust we have." Stefan shrugged walking away from his friend.

Later in the evening Stefan was outside by the pond enjoying the moment of peace. He had a million thoughts going through his mind. He wanted to talk to Elena but he didn't know what to say. He had blown up at her before even getting an explanation. Elena didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve a guy who lost his temper so easily with her. He wished that he could take the whole night back.

"I thought I might find you out here." Elena said walking to stand beside him. "This used to be our spot to meet up when the parties got boring. You remember?"

Stefan chuckled as he shook his head and began to walk away only to feel Elena's hand grabbing his hand to stop him. "Quit walking away from me." She pleaded. "I'm sick of chasing you."

"Oh please don't act like you have ever chased me. I seem to recall me chasing you."

"Can we not rehash the past right now? I'm talking about right here, right now what's going on with us. We have to talk about what happened and we can't do much talking if you walk away from me like usual."

"It's what's best for you."

"These past few weeks have not been a lie to me Stefan. They've been real. You know that."

"What's been real to you?"

"Us." She pointed between the two of them. "You and me talking. The two of us getting to know each other again. That night at the carnival. All of those things were real between us not some show to steal your wallet. I only used the card because I needed a damn hot water heater that you refused to fix." Elena shoved him playfully earning a smile from him. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

"For what?"

"For making an ass out of myself when I should have just listened. I jumped to conclusions." Stefan sighed.

"You are always going to make an ass out of yourself Stefan." Elena grinned at him. "It's what you do but I enjoy it." Stefan laughed with her. "Just don't be so quick to doubt me because of the past."

"Communication is the number one thing that ruins marriages right?"

"I think it's the thing that ruins everything."

"That dress really is beautiful."

"I hate to admit it but you did buy it." Stefan's jaw dropped when she told him that. "But I planned on paying you back."

Stefan shook his head wrapping his arms around her pulling her in close to him. "What's mine is yours from here on out." Elena let her arms wrap around him in return. "You deserve nice things. I was just afraid this wasn't real."

"I'd never manipulate you Stefan."

"I know." He whispered. "I know." Stefan held her in his arms wondering how he ever went so wrong with this girl. If you loved something you let it go right? He was familiar with that part of the statement. But he was starting to question the second part. Was Elena coming back to him? Did she still belong to him? Stefan had no clue but all he knew was that if he had her close he had to do what he could to keep her. Elena couldn't walk away from him again. He couldn't spend the rest of his life chasing her. He needed to fix things between them. He was sure he was making progress but sometimes he felt like he was screwing it all up again like the fight tonight. He didn't do anything to show he cared about her.

Somewhere in the distance Damon was handing Lexi a $100 bill. "I told you she'd find him tonight." Lexi grinned.

"Damn girl proved me wrong." Damon shook his head. "I would have thought after tonight she'd be pissed at him."

"You did see them laughing tonight right?" Lexi asked him watching Stefan and Elena continue to walk around the pond talking. They almost looked like a couple. Not two people who broke each other down.

"Stefan's falling for her again." Damon observed.

"More like Elena is falling for him."

"Slowly but surely."

"$100 bucks says by graduation they will be back together." Damon and Lexi smiled at each other watching the interesting married couple continue to entertain one another.