The blaring of Elena's alarm startled her awake. "Ugh, nnooooo." She reached out, groping for her phone. When she found it, she shut her alarm off. Sighing in frustration, she sank further into her pillows and yanked the covers over her head. "Why?" Could she not have one day to sleep in?

Stefan. The simple thought was enough to jolt her out of bed. If Stefan was the new coach, he might be at weights this morning. That alone was enough to catapult Elena out of her bed and into the bathroom. She rushed through her morning ritual before hurriedly pulling on her clothes and rushing out the door. She needed to see Stefan.

Stefan moaned as he heard the hotel phone ringing. Keeping his eyes shut, he slid an arm out of bed for the phone. "Damn it." He swore as he knocked the phone off the nightstand. Throwing off the covers, he climbed out of bed and picked up the offending device. "Hello?"

He was greeted with an overly cheery British accent. "Stefan! Morning, mate. How are you?"

"I was real great until someone called me at…" He glanced at the clock beside his bed. "4:30 in the morning. What the hell, Nik?" He heard a chuckle on the other end and Stefan began to imagine the satisfaction of throwing Nik into a pool next time he saw him.

"You said you wanted the job, well, this is the job." The girls will be at the gym in half an hour. Chop chop."

Stefan groaned. "Alright. I will be there." He moved the phone away from his face, preparing to hang up.

"Oh, and Stefan?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't be late." He heard the click as Nik hung up.

"Great, just fucking great. I never did miss getting up early." He walked into the hotel bathroom and looked in the mirror.

Elena. He would get to see Elena again. That alone was enough to bring a smile to his face. Maybe getting up so early wouldn't be as bad as it used to be. He grabbed his toothbrush, thinking that maybe, just maybe, he would come to enjoy early mornings.

"Alright, Ladies. Before we begin this morning, there is someone I would like for you to meet. He is an old friend of mine from my Olympic days. A lot of you may already know who he is so I won't bore you with introductions. He will be joining us as our new distance coach. Stefan, get over here mate." Elena glanced to the side to see Stefan leaning against the door frame of the weight room. Olympic days? Then it clicked. This was Stefan Salvatore, gold medalist in the 800 free, three Olympics in a row. Elena remembered watching Stefan on TV when she was younger. He looked very different without a cap and goggles. Hotter. Elena felt herself getting excited again.

"Hello everyone, my name is Stefan Salvatore. Some of you probably know who I am." He stopped when Klaus coughed. "Alright, you all probably know who I am. Sorry, Nik, for being humble." The group of girls laughed. Elena blushed. She couldn't believe Stefan Salvatore seemed interested in her.

"Anyway, as Nik said, I am your new distance free coach. I went to school here at the U. I was born and raised in Virginia and some of my fondest memories come from my times here at U of V. I'm excited to be back and I can't wait to start working with you ladies. And….yep. I'm done." He stepped back and Elena thought she detected a blush as Klaus stepped back up.

"Alright, now that you have all met Stefan, let's get to work. You've all got an hour in here and it better be good or else I will keep you here until you have given me an hour's worth of effort? Got it? Good. Get moving."

Elena sprang to her feet and headed towards the pull-up bars. Pull-ups were her weakness, she thought it was just sad that she could barely hoist all 120 pounds of herself up but she could throw down a record worthy 800 no problem. Elena pressed her hands into the chalk bucket before clapping them together, ridding her palms of excess powder. She focused on the lower of the two bars above her head and jumped. Hanging for a second, she quickly adjusted herself and began to lift. Half way up a voice stopped her.

"You know, if you moved your hands about three inches wider on each side, reversed your grip, and tucked your elbows it would be ten times easier to get up there." Elena dropped to the ground and looked over at Stefan. He was leaning against the leg press, arms crossed, watching her from beneath thick brows. Gosh, why does he always look so hot leaning against stuff? Elena shook her head, clearing her mind.

"I'm sorry, what?" She looked at Stefan, her eyes curious.

"Your form, that's why you're struggling to pull yourself up, here, let me show you." He stepped around her and stood squarely in front of the bars. He sprang nimbly up, hands attaching to the higher bar as if it required no effort. "See, this is how you were holding it." He demonstrated her form and then began to lift. "Very difficult to get up because you are fighting your body as well as gravity. If you move your hands and arms like so." Stefan adjusted his grip and turned his elbows, pulling up all the way. "See? Much easier to get up." He did another for added effect.

Elena nodded, only half aware of what Stefan was telling her. She had a lovely view of his back muscles as he hung in front of her. Her first thought of a hot back had been spot on and she found herself almost drooling as she watched the power transfer between muscles as Stefan moved. Stefan hopped down, startling Elena. "Make sense?"

"Yeah, thanks, Stefan!" She smiled. He smiled back at her and Elena felt herself begin to blush. She looked down, running a hand over her hair in an attempt to distract herself.

"No problem. Helping you is my job now." Elena smiled again; something about his personality drew her in. When she was by him, she wanted to be happy.

Deciding to be more daring than usual Elena replied; "Well then, Stefan. You are very good at your job. Would you watch me, so I know I am doing it right?" Stefan nodded. "Great." Elena repositioned herself under the bars. She exhaled before leaping up and grasping the bars, as she hung she made an effort to copy Stefan's form. "Like this?"

"No, your hands aren't wide enough." Suddenly Stefan's hands were on her hips, lifting her body up. "Move your left hand about three inches out, there. Now slide your right hand over just a hair. Good. Now try." He slowly lowered her back down until her arms once again supported her weight. Elena heaved her weight and was surprised to find that lifting her body was immensely easier now. She did four more before dropping nimbly back down.

"Wow, that is so much easier! Thank you, you don't know how long I have struggled to be able to do a full pull-up." She started straight into Stefan's face, her eyes glowing in success.

"Don't worry about it." Embarrassed, Elena averted her gaze. "Can I ask you a question?" Elena looked up, into those mesmerizing eyes and nodded. Stefan glanced around them causing Elena to look around as well. At least half the room was blatantly staring at them. She looked back at Stefan. They were inches apart. "Not here." He said. She nodded and allowed him to lead her into the hall.

Once they were safely out of earshot Stefan stopped. He turned to face her and smiled. He was doing a lot of smiling lately. "So, I know this might sound nuts, and I am probably repeating myself but I still want to get to know you."

"I want to know you too."

"Alright, so… I feel super awkward right now. Um, dinner tonight?" Elena nodded. "Great. What kind of food do you like? I'm easy." Elena giggled. "Not like that, well if you wanted… never mind. Sorry. Where would you like to eat? It's been a while since I was back and I'm sure the restaurant scene has changed."

"Um." Elena nibbled on her bottom lip. The small action made Stefan weak at the knees. He felt this urge to kiss her. "I've been craving Ethiopian lately. Ever had it?" Stefan shook his head. "Great, I know the amazing little hole in the wall like ten minutes from here."

"That's settled then. Pick you up at 6?" Elena nodded. "Sweet. We should probably get back inside." Elena turned to walk back towards the weight room. "Oh, and Elena?"

She stopped. "Yes, Stefan?"

He scratched his neck nervously. "Would you mind not telling any of the girls? I don't want people to think I'm available for dating."

"Sure." She opened her mouth to say something else, thought for a second, then closed it again.

"What?" He dipped his head, staring directly into her eyes.

"If you're not available…" Stefan laughed.

"You, Elena, can have as many dates as you want. They, on the other hand, do not appeal to me."

"Oh." Elena blushed for the millionth time. She had no other response. Her heart swelled though, she felt so special when she was with Stefan.

"Like I said, I feel this connection to you, and I fully intend to get to the bottom of the mystery that causes it. I will see you at 6."

"Definitely." Elena returned to the weight room, visibly happier than when she had left it. She had a date with Stefan tonight! Oh shit, what do I wear?

A/N: They are getting closer! Thank you so much for all the reviews, follows, and favs! I so did not expect this much of a response! You can tell, because I hate exclamation points and I have used three in this note.
The next update will be Stefan and Elena's date.

For all of you wondering about Damon, don't worry. I haven't forgotten him, he will come. And just to clear up any questions – Elena goes to the University of Virginia. It is a D1 swimming school.

Keep the reviews coming! If you want to be able to ask me questions more directly my tumblr is on my profile or I can make an if you guys want. Let me know!