AN: Here's another chapter for you lovely readers. There's not exactly a lot happening, but it's things that I couldn't just ignore. I hope you're going to like it. This story is nearly done, only a few more chapters to go... Maybe 2 or 3! But I'll definitely be writing other stories!

A shout-out goes to notorrious who has helped me come up with ideas for this chapter! Thank you :)

Enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think :)
xx

"You heard me: I love you 'Lena."

Elena didn't know what to answer. She did love him, yes, without a doubt, but she was still leaving in three weeks for Toronto and then what happens? They would separate once again for God knows how long. She wanted to say it back, she wanted him to hear those three little words coming from her, but she just couldn't form them.

"You don't have to say it back, 'Lena. I just thought that you should know how I feel about you," Stefan told her. She looked into his eyes and couldn't see a trace of disappointed, just pure love. He accepted the fact that he might have expressed his feelings way too fast when it hasn't been that long since they started dating. He knew how Elena felt about him, and he would wait to hear those three words coming from her.
Instead of saying anything, Elena leaned in and kissed him.

"You're perfect," she whispered against his lips before kissing him once more.

An hour or so later, all four of them decided to go back home. They were walking in the middle of the road since it was early morning and more or less the entire of Mystic Falls was asleep. As they approached the boarding house Stefan suddenly said "I want to lay in the grass." Elijah chuckled out loud and so did Damon and Elena.

"Well no one is stopping you," the brunette answered. Without thinking twice, Stefan dropped to the ground and laid on his back. Elijah and Damon did the same making Elena the odd one out. She didn't hesitate to join the boys and soon enough she was on her back as well. As she laid down, her hand accidentally brushed against Stefan's and he intertwined their fingers together. Elena couldn't help the smile from creeping onto her face as she tightened her grip in his hand.

"Let's look at the stars," he said with a hint of sleep in his voice.

"Yeah, if you can see any through those clouds," Elena answered. Little did she know that he was looking at her when mentioning the stars. Elijah and Damon who were laying down on either side of them were listening to their conversation and couldn't stop themselves from smiling either.

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Elena woke up late the next morning. She was alone in her house for the very first time after a night out- no one had came to sleepover. It felt slightly weird to her because in some way, she could sense that summer was quickly coming to a close. Damon was already leaving in 4 days, and three weeks after that it will be her turn to leave. What is going to happen between her and Stefan. They're both going to university, meet new people, lead different lifestyles, it's not going to be that easy to maintain a long distance relationship. Was their love even strong enough to give it a shot? Yesterday when he told her he loved her, she choked and couldn't say it back. She wanted to, but then she thought of the upcoming three weeks and couldn't get herself to say it. Saying "I Love You" to someone isn't something that comes naturally, it's not meant to be thrown at anybody anytime. "I Love You" almost takes your relationship to the next step. Was she ready for that? Yes, she was. But was her future allowing her to welcome it? No, it wasn't.

She got out of bed with a sigh. "First things first", she thought to herself. That 'first thing' was to talk to Caroline. What happened last night had obviously come as a shock to her. Stefan and Elena had planned on telling her, but they weren't sure when; Caroline was extremely unpredictable in those situations. Elena jumped in the shower, grabbed the first pieces of clothes she could find, gulped down a glass of orange juice before finding herself behind her steering wheel in front of Caroline's house. She slowly opened her door and walked towards Caroline's front porch breathing in deeply. She knocked on the door three times before she heard shuffling coming from inside of the house. The door opened and Caroline was now standing in front of Elena.

"What do you want?" asked Caroline immediately, not bothering to hide her anger. She had calmed down a little bit since the night before, but she was still trying to get ver what she saw.

"I need to explain last night."

"Oh that's right. It's the 'long story' that you couldn't be bothered to tell me last night."

"You stormed off before I even had a chance to explain myself, Care!" Elena answered, her voice rising a little. She then mentally told herself to calm down, she was here to fix things with Caroline, not to create another spark. Caroline just glared at Elena wondering whether she was saying the truth or not.

"Can I come in? We can sit down and I'll explain everything," Elena offered. Caroline thought a little before giving a short nod and opening the door a little more.

Both girls sat in the living room on the couch.

"First off, Stefan never cheated on you," Elena started. All doubts should be erased from Caroline's mind, Elena thought. "You know him, he's been your best friend for ages and you know that he isn't that kind of guy."

Caroline once again nodded. For some reason, she felt calmer as the minutes passed. Was it because Elena was willing to explain everything, or maybe she had time to sleep over it? Whatever the reason was, Caroline was ready to hear the story.

"It started when I first saw Stefan during that New Year's Eve Party- 2 years ago. Remember that night? We spent the entire night taking care of drunk Stefan and drunk Damon. From what I remember, it was a good night and you and I were having such a good time." Caroline smiled a little bit at the memory. It had been a good night indeed.

"Stefan and I hadn't seen each other in a long time and when we did, it just kind of clicked, like we've always known each other," Elena went on. "Then you threw a party a couple of weeks later and we saw each other again. Conversation just came so easily and at the club..." Elena wasn't sure how to go on "We got together that night, Caroline. It was in the middle of the dance floor and no one was around to see it. We've never really talked about it and the only other people who knows are Damon and Elijah. So I was obviously starting to have feelings for him but hey! I had to go back to Bulgaria so everything just ended. Then Jenna comes back and tells me about you and him."

Caroline remained speechless as Elena was telling the story.

"I was so happy for you because I knew that he was a great guy and you deserved him. I thought it was especially cute since you guys have been best friends for the past few years. Then you guys called it off when you left for Australia because you both considered it to be a summer fling. Stefan and I kept in touch, we talked quite often and then summer came along. I was half expecting you guys to pick up from where you left off, and you did."

"Why didn't you tell me anything?" Caroline asked with tears building up in her eyes. "You should have said something. All of those times that I kept asking what you thought of Stefan and I and you kept saying that you were happy. I didn't know that things had happened between the two of you before. I wouldn't have done that, you know? If I knew that you guys had something going on."

"Care, there wasn't anything happening between Stefan and I. It was just a hook up and I fell for him way too fast. Then you guys broke up and we kind of started again. But he never cheated Care, and I would never do that to you," Elena explained with her own tears building up.

"I'm so sorry! I should have seen the way he looked at you from the very start. He looks at you in a way that I always wished he would look at me. I decided to ignore it because I was selfish and because I didn't know your history. I'm so sorry 'Lena," Caroline said with tears streaming down her face causing Elena's tears to free fall as well.

"It's not your fault. We're happy now," Elena answered and opened her arms. Caroline fell into her embrace. Both girls let their tears fall without bothering to stop them. All of the things that they hadn't told each other was now out and everything was forgiven. They held each other for a long time before they heard the doorbell ring. Caroline wiped her tears with the back of her hand and made her way towards her front door. She opened it and before her stood Stefan.

"I came here to explain everything," he started. That's when he looked behind Caroline's shoulder and saw Elena and noticed how both of their faces were red and their eyes slightly puffy.

"I think I'll leave you two to talk," Elena said. She hugged Caroline one last time and looked over to Stefan and mouthed "It's going to be okay" and gave him a reassuring smile. He nodded and smiled slightly. Elena let go of her friend and walked past Stefan squeezing his arm slightly before making her way to the car. Caroline smiled at the gesture.

"Elena explained everything, don't worry Stefan," Caroline said giving him a warm smile.

"I figured. But as your ex and one of your closest friend, you still need to hear it from me," Stefan insisted and returned her smile. Caroline invited him in and he sat where Elena was on the couch.

"Why didn't you tell me Stef?"

"I didn't know what to do Care. I mean I was with Elena and then a couple of weeks later I was with you. I didn't know what to make of it. Then this summer came and we kind of just picked up from where we left off. I didn't know how to stop it," he said and looked down shamefully. Caroline cupped his cheek with the palm of her hands and forced him to look at her.

"Don't blame yourself for this Stefan. We're not together anymore and one of the main reason for this is because I love you. No, not in that way, but in a brotherly kind of way. You've always been there for me and I know that I can count on you, I don't want that to change."

"Me neither, Care. Me neither," Stefan replied and flung his arm around her shoulder bringing her in to hug her. They stayed cuddled up on the couch a while longer both thankful for their unbreakable friendship bond. Maybe it's possible to have a friend who's a girl and not anything more after all, Stefan said. Now that they've both indirectly agreed on limits, it might be good to have Caroline back in his life as a best friend.

"So Tyler, huh?" Stefan asked jokingly.

"Shut up," she answered with a smile on her face.

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Friday had come in a flash and it was already time for Damon to leave and go back to Switzerland. The night before he had a small gathering with everyone he knew. It was nice having Tyler, Matt, Katherine, Bonnie, Nate, Meredith, Rebekah and everyone else there. Even Alaric had decided to come by and say goodbye to Damon. Nothing too crazy was happening, it was just a simple meal all together just so they could see each other one last time before they separated. Elijah, Ric, Elena and Jeremy decided to stay over on Thursday night. Elena wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to Damon. After everything she put him through, she felt as though she didn't have enough time to be with him and just be happy, she always had to burden him with her Stefan problem. When she finally got with Stefan, she spent so much time with him, and not Damon.

Damon was leaving Friday mid-day. However the entire house was up at 8 in the morning. Elena had woken up with a heavy heart that morning. No matter how many times Stefan had held her last night telling her it was going to be okay, she wasn't ready for Damon to leave. She was never good with goodbyes, and when it concerned one of her best friends, she really couldn't handle it. When everyone was saying goodbye to him yesterday after dinner, Elena had hid in the bathroom because she couldn't watch the faces of her friends while saying goodbye to him. It seemed like Elena was over reacting to it but to her goodbyes felt like forever. She lost the two people she loved the most when she was least expecting it. Her parents. Now, whenever she said goodbye to someone, she feels as though it might be the last time because she didn't know what the future had planned for them.

As Damon was packing his suitcase in the car, the rest of them were outside waiting to say goodbye. As his last luggage was packed he turned around and faced the group with a hint of sadness in his baby blue eyes. He hugged all three boys and patted them on the back. Elena was the last one to say goodbye. She hugged him and quickly let him go barely managing to get "Good bye Damon" out.

"No. Don't give me that crap Elena. You're pulling the Caroline move; you're trying to block all your emotions out to make this as painless as possible," Damon responded as he took hold of her shoulders. Elena's jaw clenched attempting to bloke the tears from falling. "Come here," he said and pulled her into a tight hug. Her face was hidden in his chest and she finally let herself break down, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

"You're going to be okay 'Lena. In no time you're going to be starting a new life in Toronto. You're going to meet new people and have a blast. Next summer we'll be back here again and it will be just like old times," he comforted her. She nodded slightly as she reluctantly pulled away. He kissed her on her forehead before looking at Stefan and saying "Take care of her baby bro," and winked as he made his way to the car.

Damon started the engine, and with one last wave of his hand, he was gone.

AN: Please let me know what you think of the chapter and/or what should be included in the next. Your reviews mean so much to me!