AN: Another update ! I hope you enjoy it and that i haven't lost your interest..

Caroline was the first to arrive at Elena's get together. She wanted to make sure that everything was in the correct place and that there was enough drinks and food for everyone that will be coming. Elena made it clear that she could handle it, but Caroline wanted to see for herself. She looked at the dinning room table that was covered in food. In the corner of the room, there was a barrel full of drinks and ice. Glasses were available on the side. Even the porch outside was available and had a couple of tables with food. She ended up in the kitchen where there was even more available in case it ran out.

"Huh, so you can pull off a party afterwards," concluded Caroline with a smile on her face, obviously proud of her friend.

"I told you Care, it's not a party, it's just a get together, " responded Elena.

"Same diff, whatsoever. So, are you excited?" the blonde asked. Elena couldn't help sustain a smile. After all everyone was coming to celebrate her 18th, it should definitely be worth it. Before she could even respond Caroline kept on talking, "Oh. My. God. I met Nathan this morning. He's such a cutie and just so sweet!"

"Woah, wait! Who's Nathan?" Elena asked.

"He's Damon and Stefan's cousin. He's staying over for 2 weeks," she said before hesitating, "Stefan told you right?"

"Oh yeah," she said remembering the conversation she had with Stefan in the morning. "Stefan asked if he could come tonight and I said yes. I couldn't leave the unknown guy alone at that massive boarding house by himself knowing that we're going to have a good time here, or at least I hope."

"Awww, always so considerate," mocked Caroline and Elena rolled her eyes in response.

By 8 o'clock, Tyler, Matt, Rebekkah, Katherine and Bonnie had arrived as well as a few others. The house was slowly filling up and the mood of everyone was just getting better. Slightly later, Elena opened the door to Elijah.

"Happy early birthday beautiful," he said while picking her up in his embrace and twirling her. He handed her a small gift and she smiled.

"Thanks Elijah. Food is on the table and drinks are in the corner. Make yourself at home," she responded while quickly going upstairs to drop her gift on her bed with the rest of them. She didn't want to open them now, she wanted to wait until it was quite and she could actually appreciate what hr friends gave her. She scribbled Elijah's name on the wrapper before putting it down on her bed. It was a known fact that she would forget who gave her what if she didn't write the name on the wrapper. She made her way back downstairs and realized that he hardly saw Alaric or Jeremy since people had arrived, only a few glimpses. Alaric had invited just 2 of his friends so he wouldn't be lonely and Elena was more than okay with it. After all, he was like her second father. It was already 8:30 and there was no sign of any Salvatore. She figured they must have run into something but she really didn't mind. Stefan had a reputation to usually be late at events; it was his 'thing'. However, everyone forgave him because that was who he was, it was just a part of him. If anything happened the usual answer from someone would be: 'oh don't worry, it's Stefan.' People just get used to it. Soon enough, Elena saw headlights come into the driveway and that could only mean it was them. Although the living room was packed, she knew that Damon, Stefan and Unknown Nathan were the only ones missing. She heard a couple of car doors close and in a minute Stefan was stepping onto the porch with someone following close behind. Elena went on the porch to meet him and as soon as he saw her he smiled. He couldn't help but notice how good she looked in her red dress, beautiful even. They hugged quickly and then he said:

"Happy birthday 'Lena. I'm really sorry I don't have anything to give you. I'm so so sorry…."

"It's fine. You're here, that's all that matters," Elena cut him. She immediately thought of what people usually said 'oh don't worry, it's Stefan' and it made her smile.

"Um, this is Nathan. Nate, this is Elena, the birthday girl," introduced Stefan.

Nathan walked up to Elena and without even waiting to get to know her better, he took her in his arms and hugged her. "Happy Birthday Elena." After he released her, Elena was unsure how to react.

"Thanks… Nathan," she said and chuckled a little. Caroline wasn't kidding when she said Nathan was a cutie. He was about the same height as Stefan , he had curly brown hair and he had a side smile just like Damon. If Elena didn't know any better, she could easily say that he was another brother. He was actually a mixture of both Damon and Stefan. "Well guys, drinks and food are inside in the dinning room, help yourself," she said to stop herself from staring. They were about to leave when Elena called after Stefan.

"Stef, where's Damon?"

"Oh, he was taking forever in his shower, so we left without him. But he'll be here in a matter of minutes. Don't worry; he wouldn't miss this for the world. You're his best friend and I think he would never forgive himself for missing it."

Elena giggled at Stefan's explanation.

"Alright, thanks. Enjoy tonight," she answered quickly. Stefan left her on the porch, she was about to take some food when she could feel someone staring at her. She turned to the side and sure enough Nathan was looking at her with a smile. Elena raised her eyebrows with an amused expression on her face. He started walking up to her.

"I'm sorry for intruding on your birthday party Elena," he said and she could see that he really meant it. He wasn't using it just to start a conversation with her.

"Don't worry about it Nathan, I'm glad you came," she answered and gave him a genuine smile.

He quickly glanced around before saying, "You've got a beautiful home," he commented.

"So now you're trying to gain points by complimenting my house. Alright, I see how this works," she said and couldn't stop a giggle from escaping her mouth.

Nathan nudged her with his elbow "That truly wasn't my intention," he defended himself.

"Sure it wasn't," she replied in a heartbeat.

"Fine. Game on. Elena Gilbert," he answered with a slight smile at the corner of his lips. They eventually stopped teasing each other and fell into an easy conversation. Elena noticed how sweet and funny Nathan really was. She could easily befriend him and spend time with him. Stefan was standing on the other side of the room talking to Caroline, Tyler and Matt but he kept on glancing at Elena every so often. He quickly looked outside the window and saw that Damon had finally decided to make an appearance. He felt somewhat relieved. It meant that Elena would have to stop talking to Nathan in order to welcome Damon. He shouldn't think like that, but he didn't like the idea of Nathan and Elena getting close to each other. Damon and Elena, he could cope, they were best friend since forever, but Nate and Elena; that was a different story.

Elena hadn't noticed that Damon had arrived as not only her back was towards the front door but Jeremy had started to play music which was drowning out any sound coming from outside. She was still talking to Nate when she felt two strong arms circling her waist from behind and a kiss on her cheek. Elena smiled knowing that it could only be Damon, he was the only one that ever did that to her. She turned around in his embrace and returned his hug by throwing her hands around his neck.

"Happy Birthday gorgeous," he said. It made her smile, she loved it whenever Elijah or Damon called her that or 'Beautiful'. Stefan who was still staring kind of chuckled when he saw Nate's face. He decided to make his way over because he knew that the conversation was bound to get interesting. He came just in time to hear Nate ask them "You two a thing?"

"I would be the luckiest man if she was mine, but sadly no. She's the best friend in the world though," answered Damon and put his arm around her shoulder pulling her in while she circled his waist with both arms. Stefan thought he imagined it, but he was pretty sure that he saw Damon quickly glance his way when he said 'if she was mine'. He was sure he imagined it because it didn't make any sense to him.

The night went on and eventually Jeremy started playing dancing music. Everyone pushed the couches, sofas, chairs and tables to the side to create a 'dance floor'. Elena was having a really good time but she was unsure whether the others were having as much fun. She saw Nate a few more times and really appreciated his presence. He was a pleasant guy, just like his cousins Stefan and Damon. He came up to her and handed her a drink. She accepted and then heard him say "Just gaining points". Elena laughed out loud and put her two hands together, one slightly higher than the other.

"This," she said shaking the higher hand, "is the amount of points that I've got and this," she continued by shaking the lower hand slightly, "is the amount of points you've got. The only reason I've got more is because you're at my house." Nate laughed out loud before nodding his head.

"I'm sure I'll catch up pretty soon."

"Whatever makes you sleep at night."

A few people came to join the conversation and Elena eventually zoned out. She decided to take a beat from all the noise inside and went to sit on the steps to her porch. Everyone had moved inside, so it was a nice peaceful place to sit and think. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see Stefan coming to sit by her.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's just that I hope everyone is having a good time. I'm worried they're not."

"Look inside through the windows," he commanded her. She did as she was told and she could some of her friends dancing, others getting drinks and laughing with other people while others were stuffing their faces with food. "Your party sucks, everyone is having a shit time 'Lena," he concluded. He saw a smile creep upon her lips and he gently bumped his knee to hers. "You've got nothing to worry about. Everyone is having a really good time. The food is amazing, the drinks seem as though they're never going to run out and the music is just the best. Stop worrying."

"Don't you remember, I worry too much, I over think things," she replied remembering the conversation they had at the beginning of the summer where she thought she had forced him to dance. That was also the first time he and Caroline got together for the summer.

"That's right, it's contagious. You got it from me," he recalled. Elena giggled and was actually surprised that he remembered the conversation as well. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Stefan suddenly asked, "How do you do it, 'Lena?"

"Do what?" she asked confused.

"Have a best friend and not screw it up," he explained. Elena knew what he was hinting at- Caroline and him. Elena quickly put the pieces together: being in a relationship with Caroline was not his choice, but hers. She suddenly understood that he had no say in the matter.

"I don't know Stef. I mean, I grew up with both Damon and Elijah and going any further is just plain weird for us. I've never imagined kissing either of them. To be honest, I'm grossed out by the idea," she replied and Stefan chuckled.

"You seem so at ease with them as if you don't have a care in the world," he said.

"Because I don't," she simply answered. "With them I can be myself and not care what they think. I know that they like me for who am I. I don't have to try to please them or do things that will make me seem better. They're the big brothers I never had. I know I can talk to them about anything anytime. They're there to listen and not give me life lectures about everything. But you should know, it's not something that I take for granted. It took us literally a life time to build this friendship and so far, it seems unbreakable."

"I bet it is unbreakable. I'm not going to lie, Elena, I'm jealous. I want to have a friend to be there for me but also to just remain a friend, you know what I mean," he asked.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Those types of friendships don't just appear out of nowhere Stefan, you have to work at it. I've fought millions of times with either Damon or Elijah but we always make it up and it's as if nothing ever happened."

"I see you and Damon or you and Elijah and it just seems so natural. Like earlier when Damon hugged you from behind while you were talking to Nate and how you responded. I mean, how do you not get emotionally attached, as in more than friendship wise?"

"I don't know. I guess it's just something you get used to. I got used to Damon and Elijah treating me like their little sister and any further would seem wrong."

"Yeah, it's just so complicated," he finally said. He let out a deep sigh before going on, "Okay, I'm done trying to pretend that there's nothing and I'm not going to lie to you. I want to be with you Elena and I can't. I don't know how to fix things either. Caroline is an amazing girl, I love her, but not in the way she wants me to. I love her as my best friend. She's leaving in 2 weeks and I can't just dump her right before she heads back to Australia for her second year. I'm not going to pretend either that I haven't noticed Nate's eyes on you throughout the entire night. He obviously knows you're single, an amazing person and just perfect. I want to be able to come talk to you and hug you and not feel guilty or have that nagging voice in my head telling me that I'm crossing the friendship line. I want to just sit with you in a comfortable silence and hold you hand and…"

"Stop. Just stop," Elena interrupted. She thought her heart was going to explode with everything that he just told her. She never knew how strong he felt for her, because at one point she truly did believe that he might have lead her on. "I can't have you tell me those things and then see you with Caroline. It's painful, because as much as it makes me happy to hear you say that or how I'm dying to repeat those words to you, I'm not. The reason being that Caroline is my best friend and you can't treat her like that. She loves you, and you obviously love her too, but for some reason you're not going to admit it."

"Remember when I told you there was something stopping me from going ahead with my relationship with Caroline?"

"Yeah, I vaguely remember. Why?"

"Because I figured out what it was. I figured out what was stopping me from going ahead with her. However, I decided to go for it anyways and now I regret it, all of it."

"Why? What was the thing stopping you Stefan?"

"You. I had unresolved feelings for you when I dated Caroline. I'm sure you know that saying from almightly Johnny Depp. The one that goes something like 'if you love two people at the same time, choose the second one because if you really loved the first one you wouldn't have fallen for the second one.' I realized that I fell for Caroline after everything that happened between us, so I chose her. God, I could not have made a bigger mistake. Don't get me wrong Elena, I know that what I'm doing to Caroline is not right but I can't just leave her, not yet anyways. And I definitely don't want you to wait because that would just be selfish of me and just not worthy. To be honest, considering what I'm doing right now, I'm not worthy to be with anyone."

"Stefan, thank you for telling me everything. You know what? Things that are meant to happen will eventually take its course. So let it go, let things happen, go with the flow. Do what you have to do. Okay?"

"How can you be so calm and considerate about this?" he asked and he truly admired her for it.

"Getting angry or upset isn't going to change the facts or situation. It's a way of seeing things," she answered and smiled warmly at him.

"Elena, it's your birthdaaaaaay," came Caroline's slurred voice from inside indicating that she was well and beyond drunk. "Stop talking and come daaaannnncccceeee." She didn't give Elena and chance to answer that she was already pulling her to her feet and dragging her onto the dancefloor. The music was a real success. Jeremy knew the perfect songs to play and in what order. Since Caroline dragged her onto the 'dancefloor' in her living room, she didn't leave it once. Next to her were Elijah and Matt. She quickly scanned the room to see who else were still dancing before returning her focus to her two friends but noticed that someone else had joined, Stefan. He was looking in her direction and as soon as Elena made eye contact, he smiled. He stepped to the beat towards her while she was stepping back. They didn't touch each other but it was as though they both knew the choreograph to their unknown dance. They felt as thought they were in their own world. They were dancing to their own rhythm and no one else existed. Elena couldn't take it anymore and broke her gaze. She couldn't handle the fact that he was right there in front of her and she couldn't do anything. As soon as Elena glanced away, the spell was broken. Stefan turned around and walked towards the middle of the dance floor. Elena felt odd all of a sudden without his presence but she knew she had to put a good face on. She couldn't let others know that she cared about Stefan. Caroline could definitely not know. Elena would never try do anything with Stefan as long as he was with her best friend- it was a firm line that she would never cross. Damon, as always, spotted the little scene. He also knew that her face wasn't a natural smile but rather a forced one. She was biting her lips more than usual. He knew that face and knew she was about to lose it. He came onto the dancefloor and wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder.

"It's safe to cry now 'Lena," he whispered in her ear. In a matter of seconds, Elena was sobbing onto her best friend's shoulder.

AN: I hope you liked the chapter.. As always, please leave your reviews- they make me smile.

In case you wanted to know: The chapter where Stelena talks about worrying too much is the 10th one and the one where he talks about 'something stopping him from moving forward with Caroline' is Chapter 8