Happy TVD Thursday folks! :) I was astounded by the amount feedback I got only for the first chapter. When I posted it, it was late at night and I went straight to bed thinking that nobody will probably read it and I'll just delete the story in the morning, but when I woke up... I literally screamed, never in my wildest dreams I saw this coming, because I've never written anything before, so you guys brought a big smile on my face, so thank you! You are really best and now I really feel the pressure rising lol

Stefan

We start walking away from the street and I can still feel her shaking next to me. I have this sudden urge to put my arm around her for comfort, but at the last second I restrain myself thinking that it would frighten her more. I can hear her deep breaths as she is trying to calm herself down.

"Where did you come from?" she asks suddenly, "I didn't see anyone in the street earlier, it's like you just appeared out of thin air." I feel her questioning gaze upon me.

I am really unsure what to say to her, I know that she is not an easy person to fool. But at the moment I opt for the safest explanation.

"I was right behind you, on my way home," I lie smoothly.

Her eyes narrow just a tiny bit, a sign that she doesn't believe me. I also notice that her shaking as stopped and her breathing has returned to normal.

"There's no way you were behind me, I would have heard you," she persists, her big brown eyes scrutinizing me.

I sigh; this girl is a real life lie detector. I just can't say that I'm an angel signed to protect her, she'd think that I was as crazy as the man who attacked her, or even worse, so I try again.

"I swear, Elena, I was about 100 feet behind you. I saw the man coming out of the house and then the next thing was that you were against the wall with his filthy hand over your mouth. So I ran and pulled him away from you."

I still see uncertainty in her eyes as she studies my face for what seems like an hour. I notice that we have stopped somewhere in the street.

"You should really go home now," I say as her eyes on my face become unbearable. She breaks out of her daze, nods her head and we start walking toward her house again.

Elena

Stefan Salvatore, the saviour. His name rings in my head over and over again and for some reason I can't stop staring at him. His face is like straight from a men's underwear catalogue. He probably is a male model; someone that handsome should definitely be one. The thing that catches my sight the most is his lips, I wish he smiled; I bet that when he smiles then it's the most beautiful sight ever.

I slap myself mentally as he suggests moving on. I finally realize that while I was interrogating him, we had stopped on the sidewalk. I look around and see that my house isn't that far away anymore. I sigh to myself wishing that my house was a bit farther away. Don't get me wrong, I still find it suspicious that he was there in an instant; I could swear that there was no one walking behind me until that horrible man came. I would've heard Stefan's footsteps, I'm not that oblivious to my surroundings as he thinks I am. But something about Stefan makes me feel safe, the feeling I get from him is warmth, like nothing bad can ever happen to me when I'm with him. I've never felt this safe in my life.

I nod my head, unable to say anything coherent; I'm still mesmerized by his face. So we start walking again and I try to keep my eyes straight ahead, because I'm afraid that when I look at him again, I won't be able to take my eyes off him again.

"Why were you in that street?" his voice startles me.

"Um, that's the shortest way to home," I respond. To be honest, I never use that street, it has a bad reputation and everyone tries to avoid it, especially at night. I guess that today I learned that the hard way.

"Don't you know how dangerous that street can be?" I feel his eyes on me, but I can't look at him. I will myself not to look at him, instead I concentrate on my house ahead.

"Of course I know that." – My voice cracks and I take a deep breath.

"So why did you go there then?"

"I don't know," I whisper trying to hide my shame about being so stupid. I knew how risky it was to go into that street. I have heard the stories about people living there, how their lifestyle of drugs and alcohol have completely destroyed their life and how people passing through the street have been victims of robbery, rape and murder.

I feel Stefan's eyes searching mine, but I keep my glued to the pavement, too afraid to face the judgement in his gaze. I'm sure he is judging me, I have no doubt about that, why wouldn't he?

"I just really wanted to get home," I confess, "I had a horrible day and all I could think of was my bed, so I decided that I'll use the shortest way. I have never ever used that street before, no sane person hardly ever does. But today, I thought to myself they are only stories people tell their children so they wouldn't go there, and I really didn't believe that I would be the person in those tales, the one who gets attacked. Foolish and naive, I know. And with my luck, I should have known that something bad would happen. I have a knack of getting into trouble. One time, I almost fell off a rooftop, you know. And there was this occasion where I almost swallowed some poisonous berries, but every time there has been someone there to save me." I babble mindlessly.

I hear Stefan chuckle under his breath and that makes me come to my senses. I dare to look at him and I see some kind of an amusement in his eyes, like he is enjoying some kind of an inside joke.

"What's so funny?" I accuse him. I don't like when people laugh at me, it makes me feel so utterly insecure, that there is something wrong with me.

"Nothing, I just memorized something funny," he answers with a light smile. And I was right, his smile is god-sent, and again I find myself staring at him.

Stefan looks at me straight in the eyes and I can't tear my gaze off of his. His eyes are the shade moss, mesmerizing and alluring. I've never seen eyes like that before, so beautiful and serene. And old. His eyes look like they're a thousand years old, ready to tell stories about men conquering whole countries, how seamen came home from long trips to their wives, who were willing to wait for years, how women with hair so high like the Eiffel Tower, attended balls with delicate music playing, and dancing old dances, now forgotten.

"Um," he starts, uncertain. "Is this your house?"

We've stopped in front of a house with a big porch and a hedge in front of it. I look around and recognize my home.

"Yes," I breathe, finally free of his hypnotizing eyes. "Would you like to come in, I could offer you coffee or something." And just as I say the last word I want to kick myself for being so obvious.

He smiles again, and I feel a blush creeping up on my cheeks – "Thank you, but I really should get going, I just wanted to make sure you get home safely."

"You never said where you lived." I say, desperately trying to prolong our conversation. "I've never seen you before here, and you said earlier that you were going home too."

He looks away - "Well, yeah, I'm actually not living here right now, just visiting some friends."

"Oh, what's their names, maybe I know them," I ask in hopes to know more of this mystery man.

"I'm sure you don't know them," he says a little too fast.

"It's a small town, everyone knows at least someone who knows someone," I respond through a nervous laugh. Nervous because he makes me feel like that. I'm pretty sure that he is lying. His eyes, so serene, give away every emotion, "Besides, if you..."

"It's not important, Elena," he cuts me off with slight irritation in his voice. I stare at him, dumbfounded. It's strange how he makes my emotions go from one edge to another. Right now I feel suspicion creeping up on me again.

"Look, just be grateful that you're alive. You survived today. Who knows what might have happened if I hadn't been in that street." Again, I catch the slight motion in his eyes which tells me that he's being dishonest. "You're home. Safe. That is most important. Please try to stay away from trouble."

And with those words he begins to walk away from me. I look at him for a minute and then decide to go in the house. The warmth he brought with himself has left and I feel cold. I notice how my hands are starting to shake again and how fear is starting to raise its head again. For some incomprehensible reason I feel completely alone.

Stefan

I feel horrible about my behaviour, but I had no choice. Elena is smart, she can see right through me and my lies. I watch her go into the house, her eyes fixed to the ground and her tiny hands in fists. I know that I hurt her, but there was nothing else I could have said to her to keep her from asking more questions. It seemed that for every answer I had, she had ten more questions.

I silently follow Elena in the house and I see how her hands are starting to shake again. She makes her way down to the kitchen and by the time she tries to take a mug from the kitchen cabinet, they tremble so violently that she's unable to grasp it. I see tears forming in her eyes and I want nothing else just to hold her, so she wouldn't hurt so much. I wish that I could tell her that she won't be sad forever, but I can't. And just then, right before my eyes, I see the strong woman I've come to known over the years, fall into pieces as she sinks down to the floor, crying.

I hope that I haven't made Stefan some kind of a creepy stalker guy, that'd be awful. And of course, all ideas and suggestions are welcome, because inspiration can come from all kinds of places. :)

Oh and thank you, ICURAQT2, for pointing out that I had rated this M, which really wasn't my intention. :)