Authors Note:

Woah! Its a new extremely long chapter. I promise you this fic is a pure DE fic! and this Stelena moment is only temporary ;) Okay, is it me or TVD losing its story line of the two salvatores fighting for elena! its so different now! especially yesterdays episode omg.

Anyways sorry it took me so long to write another chapter because according to my word doc, I wrote like eight pages and then i had to edit it... mind the grammar cuz im not the greatest at english but whatever.

this chapter concentrates on the relationships between everyone and Elena and a bit of each other. It basically explains what has happened since the past 10 years, since I decided to skip all their childhood. LOL anyways enjoy...

btw i made the chemistry between Stefan and Elena weird and automatic cuz thats how it felt like in season one! they just fell in love. The end. There was barely any fight for it. LOL so pointless... at least here i made them wait 10 years~!

Chapter 2

"Elena, open the door!" Stefan yelled from outside her bathroom door. Elena curled up in a ball in the bathtub. The water was scalding hot and her skin was bright red. She winced in pain as she moved in the water, but she continued to sit in there, thinking.

"No Stefan," Elena cried. Matt Donavan, her boyfriend of three years had just broken up with her. For her best friend.

"Elena, don't make me grab the key…" Stefan warned. Elena could already hear his voice fade away, already knowing he was heading for the drawer in the cabinet next door.

"Damn it Elena! Stop hiding the keys!" Stefan came back banging on the door again. Elena stared at the key that she had sunk to the bottom of the hot water and smiled slightly. She knew Stefan would try something like this.

What she didn't expect was for Stefan to kick the door down.

"What the hell!" Elena shrieked. She tried to cover her naked body and Stefan rolled his eyes.

"Elena, please. We're like siblings. We used to shower together." Still, Stefan tried to avert his eyes and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Elena. She hissed as the fabric touched her now sensitive skin and glared at Stefan. He chuckled. "Always having to be pampered now are we Elena,"

"Go away," Elena grumbled. She shoved Stefan's chest lightly. "I'm not in the mood for you games."

Stefan's expression softened. "I know that," Stefan said more softly. So he had probably heard about what happened. Elena had stormed into the house and ran upstairs as soon as she came home. Stefan guessed that she'd been in there for about 3 hours. "Let's just bring you to bed and see if you can sleep it off."

Stefan wrapped his arms around Elena's shoulder and let them into her room. He could feel the heat that radiated off her of from the hot water she was in and winced as he noticed her red skin on her shoulder blades, sticking out of her towel.

Elena walked into her room and sighed. After living there for about ten years, she still felt unfamiliar with the space.

Her room was situated in the middle of their rooms; Katherine's on right side, and Stefan on the other. As weird as it was, Damon and Katherine were forced to share the same room by Giuseppe, while Elena and Stefan each had their own.

Elena gave Stefan a look when he curled up next to her on the bed. His expression became amused and he chuckled. "Hey, you're going to be my sister in law soon anyways," he said smiling.

She smiled tightly back, feeling bad. She never liked mentioning her sister's marriage because she knew the truth about their so –called perfect love. Especially after the incident.

Over the years, Damon and Stefan had become her best friends, like family. Both brothers had come to the rescue whenever she was bullied at school, and every girl was jealous she was living with the famous Salvatores. Elena had always depended on Katherine, but after moving in, Stefan and Damon somehow became more important than her. Stefan and Elena grew up as best friends, even if Elena had always secretly liked him. Damon became the mysterious big brother, who acted like he hated all of this and he hated Elena, but from that one moment he found her in the closet crying, she knew he cared. It was her fourteenth birthday, and also the anniversary of her parents death. He had climbed in with her and sat in silence until her sobs turned into hiccups. She remembered him stroking her hair and reassuring her for hours.

She knew Damon had fallen in love with Katherine so deeply, starting from the point they got to know each other. He pretended that this was just an arranged marriage, but Katherine was the only one he had ever loved. The more she ignored him, the deeper his feelings became. Knowing her sister though, Elena knew that Katherine had become more cold hearted throughout the years, and only concentrated in the business. Damon knew this, and he gradually became the womanizer around the city, drinking every night and sleeping with woman from the bars.

The incident happened the night she hadn't been able to sleep and was sitting by the fireplace when Damon came stumbling through the front door, drunk, mumbling about how Katherine didn't love him. Panicking, Elena had tried to hide him from Giuseppe, knowing that Giuseppe would throw another fit if he found out Damon went out drinking again. Covering his mouth, Elena pulled the very emotional Damon towards the stairs when he confused Elena as Katherine and pushed her up against the wall.

"Katherine" he breathed down Elena's neck. He was way too close for comfort and Elena stiffened and had to get a hold of herself before she pushed him off of her. She could practically hear the love rolling off the tone of his voice, the way he spoke her name; suddenly she felt uncomfortable being there. All she wanted was to get him to his room as soon as possible.

She didn't speak, and she didn't want to speak. Something inside her became mad that he thought she was Katherine.

"Katherine, stop avoiding me," he mumbled. The hurt was visible in his eyes as he lazily propped himself up against the wall with one arm; Elena trapped in-between. She squirmed uncomfortably and tried to turn her head away from him.

Gently, he cupped her chin in his hands and slowly turned her head back towards him. "Just kiss me once…" and before she could answer, he pressed his lips against hers.

When she finally realized what was happening, she shoved him off of her and slapped him in the face. Feeling a sob build up in her chest, she ran into her room and closed it behind her, cheeks flushed, breathing extremely hard. He was probably too drunk to even remember.

She touched her lips softly, remembering the fire and passion the kiss had held that night. "Just kiss me once…" As bad as it was, she kissed him back, enjoying every blissful moment of it. She had never felt that with Matt, and that's when she began doubting their relationship.

Remembering Matt again, she sighed. She acted as if she mourned their relationship, but really, she didn't. After she doubted Matt, they've been arguing over and over again, and Elena's best friend, Caroline, kept telling Elena to break with up him. Little did she know that Caroline was in love with Matt, and as soon as they broke up, Caroline started talking to Matt more. Elena groaned in her stupidity. How could she not see that coming?

Stefan looked at her. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ears and looked into her eyes. "Elena, are you okay?" He said, stroking her cheek.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Honestly, I stopped caring about him a long time ago, but I was too scared of being alone." She bit her lip. "Am I a bad person?" her voice trembled a bit. She needed Stefan's reassurance.

"No, no." Stefan reassured. He looked intensely into her eyes. "You're beautiful; you'll always find someone who loves you just as much." His eyes suddenly lit up, and he grinned. "I'll be right back." He walked of the room and turned left, towards his own room.

Elena stared at the ceiling, where pictures of all four of them were spread across. She smiled as she stared at a picture of all of them rolling in mud; they had gotten in so much trouble from Giuseppe. Elena had been the one who suggested that they go outside and play, but when Giuseppe found them walking into the house, covered in mud, Damon stepped up and took all the responsibility while Elena hid sheepishly behind Stefan.

There was a knock on the door. Expecting Stefan, she just groaned. "Just come back to bed."

Damon opened the door and held his breath as he watched Elena. She was only wearing a towel and Damon could see her slender legs glistening with water droplets. Her hair was all fanned out across her pillow and her cheeks looked flushed from the hot bath. He gulped. She would have never allowed him into her room if she knew it was him. Still, he walked into the room and shoved his hands into his pockets sheepishly.

Elena waited for the mattress to cave in next to her, but it never happened. Confused she rolled over and saw Damon awkwardly standing next to her bed.

"What are you doing in here." she hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh, but she was too shocked to know which way to approach him. They hadn't spoken since the accident, and clearly both of them remembered all of it.

He flinched at the tone of her voice. "I just wanted to check if you were okay," he said softly.

Truthfully, Elena was not okay. What she was not okay with the most was the incident. Things were supposed to be perfect in this family, and things weren't supposed to fuck up like this.

She wanted to tell Katherine what happened but she couldn't bring herself too. Not like Katherine would care. She was also mad at Caroline for taking Matt away, and how Stefan still treated her like a little sister. She wanted to tell everyone that she wasn't eight anymore, and she didn't need any protection. But all those troubles seemed to disappear whenever Damon was around. No matter what happened and how mad she was at him, he was still Elena's big brother.

"I'm sorry," she whispered so quietly she wasn't even sure if Damon heard. She realized that she needed both of them very much in her life.

"Its okay Elena," Apparently he did. "Shit always happens. Not to spoil the ending, but everything's gonna be okay." He said with a smirk.

Elena giggled through her tears. Damon was always joking around no matter the situation. He bent over and kissed her on the forehead and turned around to see Stefan waiting at the door.

"Hello Damon." Stefan said a little too coldly. Elena had heard Stefan and Damon fighting in Stefan's room yesterday night, and apparently their fight was not over yet. Stefan didn't know about the incident, and neither of them were prepared to tell anyone about it.

"I was just leaving Stefan." Damon said quietly, looking at his feet. He walked out of the room as fast as he could and Elena watched as he turned the corner towards his own room.

Elena started to worry over the relationship of the brothers when she saw what Stefan was holding. A jar of cookies. She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my God," she said, smiling. "I swear we stopped doing that as kids."

Stefan finally grinned after frowning about Damon's presence. "Things never change Elena, not between me and you."

Elena held her breath. She always had feelings for Stefan, and hearing that they would always be siblings made her swallow any hint of happiness she just felt.

Stefan noticed the change in expression. "Hey, what's wrong?" His eyebrows scrunched together in concern and sat down on the bed next to her. He placed the jar of cookies on her nightstand.

"Nothing," she said quietly. She turned away from him, scared that he'd be able to see her hurt. She already knew this. They'd be siblings and no more.

Elena liked Matt, but she had always loved Stefan. No matter how many times she denied it, she knew that she loved Stefan more than any high school boyfriend she could ever have.

"Elena, you know you can tell me anything," he said softly. Elena could hear the rustle of the bed sheets behind her as he climbed in next to her. "Is this about Matt? Did he hurt you again?"

Elena didn't answer. She felt all the questions she had building up her chest. "Are we just friends?" She blurted out. Shit, I actually said it. She bit her lip and felt her face warm up. She pulled the cover to cover her face.

Elena waited for an answer. Anything. Silence filled the air and she felt herself squirm uncomfortably underneath the covers, creating a deafening rustle sound compared to the dead silence she was receiving.

After what seemed like hours, Stefan spoke. "Elena, I like you." He sighed. Stefan liked Elena ever since she stopped being a little girl. When Stefan had left for university, he thought that his feelings would disappear, since they were supposed to be siblings very soon when Damon and Katherine eventually got married. It was wrong, he knew, because he loved Damon more than anything else. They had their conflicts and regular arguments but Stefan treated Damon as the most important person in his life.

Elena thought quietly to herself. What the hell did that mean? "I don't understand," Elena said.

Stefan stiffened, not sure if he should explain his feelings to her. Elena rolled over to face Stefan, eyes glistening from her tears. Her expression was so readable at this moment. Her eyes pleaded that he give her the answer she wanted, and breath ragged in anticipation. It hit Stefan that maybe Elena had liked him back all these years as well.

Elena realized how close they became once she rolled over. Her eyes flickered towards his lips and she licked her lips unconsciously. She felt the blush creeping up her face again as she tried to look elsewhere without it being too obvious. "You know what, it doesn't matt-"

Stefan silenced her with a kiss and she froze as her eyes widened, feeling her face grow warmer and warmer. The kiss was gentle, and his lips were soft, just the way she had expected them to be after so many years of looking at them. She closed her eyes and placed her hand on his chest, and he cupped her face with his.

He pulled back and rested their foreheads together, flustered. He knew he probably shouldn't do that, but lying in bed with her made it impossible. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Elena, you know this is impossible," he breathed.

"I know," she whispered. "Damon and Katherine are getting married."

"We can try, okay?" Stefan said, smiling.

Elena hesitated. Then she smiled back, not answering his question. Trying to change the subject, she grinned. "Now how about those cookies…"

Stefan laughed. "Right, the cookies." Both of them sat up and Stefan reached for the jar. He took a cookie out and broke it in half, handing the other half to Elena. Elena accepted the delicious cookie and took a bite. She moaned. "Oh my God Stefan, did you get Tiffany to make these? I missed them." She looked at the cookie. It still had the same aroma of chocolate chips and dough from all those years ago.

"Now, tell me all about the break up." Stefan said.

Elena laughed, feeling relaxed, just like when she had first met Stefan and poured all her worries to him. Even though they had just found out about their feelings for each other, it felt like it didn't matter. They would always care about each other this much, and she didn't need a relationship with him to show it. She talked about Matt and Caroline and about how she felt about their breakup, minus the incident. By the time she finished, they had finished the whole jar of cookies, and Elena thought she was going to be sick.

"Hey, they say sweets are the best comfort food," Stefan grinned childishly. "Besides, you're anorexic, fatten up!"

Elena mocked a shocked expression and smacked him on the arm. "Hey! I'm perfectly normal okay. Maybe you're just a little too fat."

Now Stefan pretended to be offended. "Excuse me, but I work out okay," He lifts his arms up to show his muscles, and Elena pokes him has hard as she can right on his biceps. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Softie!" Elena teased, and jumped out of bed. She laughed at Stefan's bewildered expression, and Stefan grinned evilly. This was the best part of their friendship. No matter how serious things became, they would always turn back into kids that would just tease each other with no worries.

"You're gonna get it Elena," he growled. He was about to fake tackle her when they heard a knock on the door.

Elena squealed at an opportunity to escape and opened the door. Katherine was standing outside, hands in her pockets. She peered inside. "Oh, am I disturbing something or…"

Elena 's smile immediately fell and she straightened out her towel. She must have looked really bad standing there with just her towel with Stefan in her room. Things had become weird between her and Katherine, and Katherine always preferred it when Elena was serious around her. "No," Elena said, in a weird tone of voice only Stefan would understand. It was the leave-right-now tone. "He was just leaving." She smiled politely. She was smiling politely at her own blood-related sister.

Stefan grumbled and walked out of Elena's room. "You'll get it later," he whispered into Elena's ears.

She composed herself into a serious state and smiled at Katherine. Katherine raised her eyebrow but didn't say anything and stepped into Elena's room.

Katherine used to be so loving to Elena, and over the years she'd become more distant, however, Elena loved Katherine just as much as she did when they were kids. As soon as they had moved into the Salvatore home, Giuseppe started her training to take over the Gilbert's Jewellery business. Katherine would go to school, and come home and start business training with Damon. Elena, wanting to help had started designing jewellery as a child. Wanting to please Katherine, she would always show Katherine her drawings.

Elena walked to her closet and started pulling out clothes to put on. "So Elena, do you have any new drawings to show me?" Katherine asked. She faked a smile and Elena smiled back. What Elena never knew was that Katherine had no skill in designing jewellery and the board would not accept her unless she showed she had talent. When she ran out of options, she pulled out her folder of Elena's drawings, and named them as her own. The board loved them, and now she needed more. Anxiously, she waited for Elena's answer; Elena didn't know that Katherine was using her drawings. Elena thought that Katherine wanted Elena to work in their company eventually.

"Mhmm, I have one right here. I designed it for you," She showed Katherine a drawing of a diamond butterfly inspired necklace. "It's elegant and beautiful, just like you are." Elena smiled proudly.

Katherine choked as she looked at the fragile piece of paper. She couldn't believe she was doing this to her baby sister. "Elena," she whispered. "It's beautiful." She cleared her throat and plastered on a smile. "I have a present for you!"She tried her best to sound enthusiastic but she just wasn't feeling it. Katherine pulled a velvet pouch out of her pocket.

Elena looked at it curiously and reached inside. She felt the cool silver touch her skin and she knew it was going to be some sort of jewellery. "Katherine, you-" Her jaw dropped as she stared at the tiny piece of silver in her hands. This was the piece she created when she was only a little girl. It was a locket made of silver with an elegant pattern, and there was a G engraved on it. G for Gilbert.

When Katherine had made the request to make it to the board, she told them she had designed it herself, and it was specially made for Elena. Katherine hoped this present would make Elena happy and that she would continue to draw designs for Katherine. "Do you like it?" Katherine asked.

"Yes, oh my God! I can't believe you remembered I gave you this drawing! I swear, it was years ago…" she said. Her eyes were glued onto the locket and she opened it. Inside there was a picture of her and Katherine, and another picture of Damon and Stefan.

Katherine was pleased that Elena liked the locket, and took the locket from her. "Here, let me put it on for you." Katherine pushed Elena's hair to one side and put the clasp on. Both of them looked in the mirror, and Katherine realized how much Elena had grown up. They both looked like their mother, with their beautiful brown hair and brown eyes. Their eyebrows were even the same shape, as well as their lips. Only Elena's expression was softer while Katherine's was always hard. "We're your family now," Katherine whispered and stroked Elena's hair. She tried her best to smile, but she could feel her face start to grow stiff. She cleared her throat again, feeling uncomfortable. Katherine had a hard time showing her emotions to her baby sister ever since she was forced into this life. "I have work to do now, you go to bed early okay?"

"Okay," Elena went back to picking her clothes. Katherine was always working. "Oh, and Katherine?"

"Hmm?" Katherine paused at the door, head sticking in towards the room slightly, but Elena couldn't see her face anymore.

"Matt and I broke up." Elena said. She was hoping for some kind of reaction from Katherine. It's been a long time since they had a long talk.

"That's really unfortunate Elena. Maybe next time you'll find someone better." And with that Katherine left the room, leaving Elena there, slightly more heart broken.

LOL this thing was like 4000 words, next one will come soon i promise!