To Elena's surprise Stefan acted like a gentleman. He did not make any rude or inappropriate comments, he did not even try to sneak a peek while she was getting dressed into her pajamas. Not that he had a reason to do so, he feels absolutely no attraction towards her, but she thought he would do it for the sake of annoying her. When they went into bed he stayed on his side, and Elena expected some teasing from him, similar to teasing he did that same day, only few hours ago. When she woke up, he was in the same position he was before they turned off the lights. She did some tossing and turning, but he did not even move from his initial position.
She found herself dumbfounded because she felt a bit of disappointment caused by his lack of teasing, so she rewarded herself with a mental slap. Teasing and annoying each other is something they always did, and she felt like something is missing when they found themselves in the same room and did not go through the same routine they've been going through for years. She never thought she would miss it.
He stayed awfully quiet until they went to sleep, she even asked him is everything alright.
The whole atmosphere in the room changed and she did not know how to react to it. It became more personal, more intimate, more normal. There wasn't that much hate or tension or bickering in the room. She felt like they're two old friends sharing a comfortable silence together, and it scared her. It scared her because she had though how easily she could get used to it.
And she did not want to get used to it because people always leave. They never stick around, not for her, and adjusting herself to loneliness one more time would be too hard. She could not afford losing more people, neither physically or emotionally. She did not want to get comfortable in the four walls of the room they shared because she knew they will be leaving Rome sooner than she blinks, and she did not want to get comfortable with him because she knew things will go back to how they were as soon as they land in Mystic Falls.
So she had set some ground rules, first and foremost being not getting comfortable, followed by not letting him in, not even half of a step, because she could remember how much his stomp on her heart had hurt the first time. How much losing him had hurt even though it was all his fault. Even though leaving her was his decision, and even though if it was out of her power, she felt like it was her fault. Like she should have been a better friend, a better person or simply better. Maybe then she would be enough and he wouldn't have left.
There was a set of rules she decided to follow, mostly including him, and Elena Gilbert never breaks any rules.
They woke up at 8am and had breakfast before the bus with their tour guide picked them up in front of the hotel. They had a pretty tight schedule that morning with visiting sights like Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, St. Peter's Basilica and Pantheon. Rome had such a rich history, and their tour guide was talking about the sights they were seeing with such passion and pride. Their tour guide was a middle sized, middle aged man with curly black hair and dark skin. His English was pretty amazing, but he could not hide his Italian accent, especially when pronouncing certain words. He was pretty attractive for a man his age, and some girls even commented on that.
Elena was more into the words coming out of his mouth and things he was pointing at than his looks. She was simply amazed with the history the whole Europe apparently possessed. More than anything, she found it beautiful.
Back home everything was modernized. Old buildings were repainted or remodelized, some important historical sights even bulldozed for more skyscrapers and malls to be built. The importance of those places now exists only in books no one reads placed in libraries no one goes to anymore. It was like everyone were ashamed of their own history, or they simply wanted to get over it. Pretend like it never happened. So they destroyed it. The only things that are still there are the things that were too big to hide or to destroy.
But people here are proud of their own history. They are so proud of it some of the things are protected by law so a human hand can't destroy it, if someone dumb enough who wants it gone comes along. There are big buildings, not so pleasant to the eye, visible from miles along, and no one ever though about repainting them or making them seem prettier. Because there is no way they could look more beautiful than they do now. Standing proudly, looking the same they did couple of thousand of years ago. They keep reminding everyone they have been through a lot, but they're still standing there, as solid as they were so many years ago.
And that's a nice feeling to have. Knowing that the place you live in holds so much strength. Gives you something to be proud of. Gives you more pleasure than pleasant to the eye, modern, five minutes from your house, fully equipped shopping mall ever could.
Elena thought how she would love to live in that kind of a city. How easily she could find a home there. She would instantly feel less alone.
They came back to the hotel around 3pm when they had lunch. They found out Italians serve giant lunches, and they were stuffed. Elena couldn't remember the last time she ate a cooked meal. It was nice having something that did not come from a frozen box.
They were also informed they have the rest of the day off, so naturally all of them motioned themselves to the outside pool.
It was an incredibly sunny day, without a cloud in the sky, something you can rarely see back home. The air was pleasant, there was no smoke or unpleasant smell of the factories, only the natural smell of pine in the air. It took Elena some time to get used to it.
She concluded, alongside Bonnie and Caroline, she could use some color on her skin, and today was a perfect day for it, since the sun wasn't too hot, it was mildly warm and bright. Her skin was as white as snow.
She got changed in her hot pink bikini, tied her long, chestnut brown hair into a messy bun, put a short, yellow cotton summer dress to cover herself on her way to the pool, and a beach towel. She had put some sun creme in her room because she felt uncomfortable with rubbing the creme over her whole body in front of everyone, something she knew Caroline had no problems with.
When she arrived, Bonnie and Caroline already spread their towels near the pool, saving her a place. She came to them with a smile on her face, spread her towel next to theirs, got herself out of her dress, and casually placed herself down on the towel.
Tyler ran over to Caroline and gave her one sloppy peck on the lips before he joined the rest of his friends who were passing by the place they sat their towels on.
"Girls, if you need any help with putting some lotion on your bodies," Niklaus yelled into their direction, "I would be more than happy to assist you," he smirked into their direction, making Caroline giggle, and Elena and Bonnie roll their eyes.
With the corner of her eye she had caught Stefan looking at her while passing by them, and for a moment it seemed like he's checking her out, but she knew that happening is as possible as the rain of toads.
Actually, toads raining from the sky had bigger chances of happening.
"I love Rome!" Caroline exhales as she puts her sunglasses over her eyes and looks up at the sky. An excitement burns in her eyes as she opens her mouth a little to speak, "Let's get some cocktails," she points to the bar on the other side of the pool.
"They would never sell us alcohol, especially not in a hotel," Elena says casually, surprising herself with how much she could go for a cocktail. It's the only thing missing to fill out this movie picture she had found herself in.
"We're in Europe," Caroline says like it should mean something.
"So?" Bonnie looks at her confused.
"You're allowed to buy alcohol since the age of 18," she explains all knowingly.
"Really?" Elena asks surprised.
"Fucking Europeans," Bonnie says through laughter.
"Didn't you guys do your homework?" Caroline frowns at them, "They have it way easier than we do," she gets up from her towel and motions herself and her friends towards the bar.
As they get closer to the bar, they notice the bartender. He's young, probably not a lot older than them, five years tops. He's not wearing any shirt, he's in his sea blue boxer swimsuit. He's very tanned, almost like every other Italian they have seen so far, and he has thick black hair that is reaching his shoulders, and deep, piercing blue eyes. In few seconds they were walking over there, Caroline pointed out, probably hundred of times, how hot he is.
They stand in front of a bar, and he shoots a big smile at them, showing off his snow white teeth.
"Che cosa prende da bere?" he asks with his sexy Italian accent, still smiling at them, so much that it seems his face is naturally constructed that way.
All three of them look at each other, not knowing what to do. Neither of them knows Italian. They keep glancing from one to another helplessly, and when he notices the confusion on their faces, he releases a light laugh.
"What can I get you to drink?" he asks them in a very bad English, but still, it was good enough for them to understand the question.
"I'll have a Pina Colada," Caroline says quickly, determined. He smiles at her and moves his look to Bonnie.
Bonnie wiggles her lips a little before she says, "I'll have a Bloody Mary," she says skeptical since she never tried that one. But since they're in Rome, it's time to try new things. He smiles at her as well before he moves his look to Elena.
Elena's eyes lock with his, but she has no idea what to say, so she keeps silent. The only cocktail she knows is Bloody Screaming Orgasm, and she really, really doesn't want to order than one. She shoots him a smile, "I do not know," she chuckles, "What do people usually drink?"
He chuckles back at her. "You're cute," he makes her blush which is embarrassingly visible on her cheese colored skin, "Why don't you decide while I make these two?" he struggles with some words, but in the end they stumble out of his mouth.
"Deal," Elena answers flirty, a lot more than she initially planned to.
"So, what bring you girls to Rome?" he asks while pouring ingredients into a mixer.
Usually Caroline is the one who takes initiative while talking to strangers. If Caroline is not there, Bonnie does so. Never Elena, she's too shy to talk to anyone, especially people she only met few seconds ago.
But this time, neither of them says a word, and Elena looks at them confused. Caroline gives her a supportive nudge, and points in the bartenders direction with her head.
"Uhm," Elena says, mentally cursing at her friend, "Senior trip, we came with school," she tries to keep it as simple as she can, which is really not a problem since she's always nervous while talking to strangers.
"You guys from America?" he asks, and Elena concentrates on his hair flying in the wind.
"Y-Yes," the word stumbles out of her mouth.
He smiles at her nervousness. "Well, if you need a tour around town, I have a night off today," he winks at her, and she feels like her knees are made out of jello.
"Stefan, are you listening to me?" Rebekah whines as she splashes Stefan with small amount of pool water. They are resting in the pool, keeping their arms outside of the water, on the edges of a concrete box. The water splashes on his left cheek, but he doesn't seem much bothered by it.
"Who's that guy Gilbert is talking to?" he points in Elena's direction with his eyes. Rebekah looks to where he's pointing at.
"A bartender," she furrows her brows.
Stefan frowns. "Why is she talking to him?"
Rebekah looks confused at her friend. "She's probably ordering a drink, Stefan."
Stefan huffs, still frowning. They spend few moments in silence, Stefan looking at Elena, and Rebekah trying to read the expression of his face.
"Do you think he's Italian?" Stefan asks quickly, "Like Italian Italian?"
Rebekah shakes her head in confusion, trying to understand what's going on, knowing she won't get an answer is she asks the question directly.
"How Italian can one be? Are there levels?" she cocks her eyebrow in his direction.
Stefan does not answer her. He looks like he completely ignored her question.
"Look at him," he says with a disgusted tone of voice, "Parading around shirtless among young girls. He's like hundred years old. Isn't he at his work place? Is it even legal to be shirtless on your work place? His name is probably Giorgio or Andrea or Eros or some other Italian name girls lose their panties over," suddenly a panic washes over his face as he looks at Rebekah, "Do you think he has one of those Italian accents everyone find sexy?" his eyes widen as they lock with Rebekah's.
"Stefan, what the fuck are - " Rebekah yells at him before a wide grin appears on her face, "Are you jealous?"
Stefan looks at her confused. "No. I mean, I don't have an Italian accent, but I have better abs than him," he taps his chest proudly.
Rebekah chuckles. "Not at him, you idiot. At Elena. Are you jealous she's talking to him?"
Stefan glares at her before he bursts into laughter. "Are you on drugs?"
Rebekah directs him a raised eyebrow. "I mean, look at them," she gets closer to Stefan, whispering into his ear, "They're obviously flirting. Doesn't that tick you? How she flirts with him, a complete stranger, but she refuses to do the same with you, someone she knows for years?" Rebekah teases him as she explores the changes on the lines of his face, seeing little hints of jealousy, "Doesn't it bother you, knowing she's the only girl you can't have?"
He turns his head to look at his best friend. "It's okay Rebekah, we will find you professional help for your addiction," he tells her sympathetically, making her roll her eyes. "But you're right," a smirk appears on his face, "She is having fun. Which means it's my duty to spoil it for her," he says while getting out of the pool.
"Stefan, don't be an ass!" Rebekah yells after him.
He turns his look to her and smirks.
Too late.
He's already standing behind Elena, his wet chest slightly pressing next to her back, making her jump when she feels the coldness of the water on her back.
She turns around and when she sees him standing behind her, smirking, she looks at him angrily. She has to admit he looks good, with his wet hair, and his body is as hard as a rock.
"What the fuck Salvatore?" she hisses at him.
"Very lady like, Gilbert," he smirks at her, "What are you doing here?" he asks.
"Ordering a drink, what else?" she snaps at him.
"And Mr. Bartender here is asking here out tonight," Caroline adds.
"Fabio," the bartender says his name after he chuckles at Caroline's nick name for him.
Stefan rolls his eyes. Fabio. Of course.
"No," Stefan shakes his head, "We're not allowed to leave the hotel after 10pm, and Gilbert over here is not the one to break the rules," he looks down at Elena whose eyes are glimmering in his direction.
"I'll bring her home before 10pm," Fabio promises.
Stefan raises his look at him. "Man, you can't bring a girl like her home before 10pm," he winks at him, deserving a punch in the stomach from Elena, "And she will have Sex on the Beach."
"What do you know what I want?" she tells him through her teeth.
"Oh, I know," he tells her meaningfully, "You know too. You just have to stop fighting it," he winks at her.
Caroline and Bonnie chuckle, and Elena puts her hands on her hips as she rolls her eyes at his comment.
"I also know you would love to take a swim in that beautiful pool," he points in the direction of a pool.
"No, thank you."
He smirks. "Oh Gilbert, that really wasn't a question."
"Salvatore, what are you - "
But before she got a chance to finish her sentence, he had put his arms around her waist and lifted her up. She was as easy as a feather, and as her head passed by his nose, he had realized how good her hair smells. Her skin was slick and soft, and it felt nice under his palms.
He turned around and started walking towards the pool.
"Let me go!" she yelled while kicking with her hands and feet, but her desperate tries to get out of his grip were unsuccessful.
"You know Gilbert, from up here, your ass looks a lot better," he comments smugly.
When they reached the pool side, and when she realizes her attempts to get free won't get her anywhere, she accepts the fact she's getting wet today. But she won't go down without a fight.
She had put her legs around his waist, clenching to him, and when he glanced at her confused, she smirked and said victoriously, "If I'm going in, you're going in with me," thinking that will make him change his mind.
He smirked right back at her and said, "Okay," before both of them fell into the pool.
"Urgh!" she yelled annoyed once she resurfaced, "Why do you always have to act so immature?"
"Because I am immature."
She eyed him. He was right, he was probably the most immature adult she had a pleasure of meeting. "You know, you just ruined what might have been a time of my life," she cocked her eyebrow in his direction.
"Like you would ever go."
"How come you're so sure I wouldn't?"
"Because it's against the rules. And you never break those."
"Some rules are worth breaking."
"Maybe. But not this one."
He was right. And she hated it.
"What is that?" she asks when she notices a giant, white cup in his hands.
"Hot chocolate," he answers while blowing into the cup.
"You ordered a hot chocolate in an Italian hotel during Spring?" she cocks her eyebrow at him.
He nods his head with a smirk. "If you listen carefully, you can hear my father yelling all the way from home "Who the fuck bought a $5 worth beverage?"" he chuckles a little.
"Your dad gave you his credit card?" she asks in disbelief, thinking about how hers would never even dream of doing such a thing.
"For emergencies," Stefan takes a small sip of chocolate.
She bends down and opens the drawer of the bedside table to find her blow dryer. After they got out of the pool, they had dinner, she washed herself up, got into her pajamas, and now she was about to blow her hair dry.
"And this is an emergency?" she asks through a light laugh.
"I'll think of an excuse if he asks any questions," Stefan chuckles, "Want some?"
It smells really, really good.
"Okay," she accepts his offer and turns around on her heel.
Without knowing he's right behind her, she straights her body up, knocking the cup out of his hands, and having the hot chocolate land right on her pajamas.
And it was really, really hot.
"Ouch, ouch," she cries out loud while blowing streams of air on the place the chocolate landed. But it started dripping down her body, and soon enough it was on her legs.
"I'm so sorry," he says seriously, still confused by what happened.
"Help me you idiot," she snaps at him, "Get it off!"
"Get what off?"
"My clothes!" she says angrily, feeling the hotness of the chocolate stinging her skin.
He eyes her wearily but decides to help her since spilling chocolate over her was partially his fault. He pulls the strings of her pajama bottoms and helps her stand out of it as she pulls her pajama top over her head and throws it on the other side of the room. His look falls on her stomach, and he notices slightly red skin caused by the burn hot chocolate made.
She sighs in relief. "That's better," she says as she sits on the bed in nothing but her bra and panties.
"Congratulations Salvatore, you just ruined the only pajamas I brought with me," she says, annoyed with him once more.
He shrugs. "You can sleep naked, I don't mind."
She shoots him a look of warning.
A smirk appears on his face. "Or in what you're wearing now. I never took you for a lace girl, Gilbert."
She blushes when she realizes she's sprawled on the bed in front of him in nothing but her bra and panties.
"And that's how that incapable idiot spilled hot chocolate all over me," Elena tells Bonnie and Caroline, still angry at Stefan.
She had to get dressed and walk on the other side of a hotel, to Bonnie and Caroline's room, to ask one of them to borrow her something to sleep in, since she felt the most comfortable in a pajama.
"Just like that?" Bonnie cocks her eyebrow in Elena's direction.
"Accidents happen, Bon," Elena rolls her eyes at Bonnie's following question.
Bonnie had nothing to borrow her. She sleeps in Hawaiian shorts and a tank top.
"I know," Caroline says while going through her clothes she did not even bother unpacking from her suitcase, "Men are pigs. They run around with food in their hands and mouth, getting it all over, like animals," she says annoyed, obviously having experience in that area. Elena should have figured as much, her and Tyler are in a relationship for almost two years now. "That's why I always bring a couple of everything," she says proudly, "Ha! Here it is!" she yells victoriously, pulling something out of her suitcase.
Elena sighs in relief, happy she will have something to sleep in.
Caroline throws it at her, and Elena examines it. She opens her mouth when she realizes Caroline gave her a short, silky, baby blue nightie.
"Caroline, I'm not sleeping in this," her eyes widen in her best friends direction.
Caroline shrugs. "It's the only thing I have," she says, and Elena looks at her, examining a very similar nightie on Caroline's body.
"Nevermind. I'll ask Stefan to borrow me his shirt to sleep in," Elena exhales loudly.
Bonnie shakes her head. "That's such a turn on for guys."
"He sees you in that and he will be jumping on you like a hungry monkey on a banana," Caroline adds, confirming Bonnie's words.
Elena cocks her eyebrow at her friends. "You're telling me guys find their shirts on girls sexier than overexposed pieces of clothing that fit them like they're born in it?"
Caroline and Bonnie shake their heads simultaneously.
"There's so much you have to learn about men," Caroline chuckles.
Elena looks at the nightie Caroline had given her one more time before she releases and painful sigh and says, "Fine," before she leaves the room.
When she comes back to her room, she catches Stefan already in bed, flipping through channels. She shoots him an angry look when his falls on her, and without saying a word she motions herself towards the bathroom to change in the nightie Caroline had given her.
She shuts the bathroom door with a loud thump, and takes her clothes off, until she's standing in nothing but her panties and a bra.
Both of them are pink, and she hopes the nightie is not transparent. She puts it on, and is surprised by how comfortable she feels in it. It falls down her body so naturally, and she has a feeling like something is caressing her skin at all times.
She looks herself in the mirror, and thanks God when she sees the nightie is not at all transparent. She turns around herself and realizes how she doesn't even look quite bad in it. She takes her long hair and ties it into a pony tail, letting it fall down her back.
When she exists the bathroom and steps into the bedroom, his eyes fall on her lazily. When he finally catches a glance of what she's wearing, his eyes widen.
"Gilbert," he says her name, "You look like a woman!" he exclaims with a smirk on his face.
"Fuck off," she tells him calmly.
She walks over to the bed and gets herself under the covers. Her head falls on the pillow and she turns her back to him, but despite even that she can still feel his look on her.
A satisfactory smile appears on her lips.
AN: Well, it seems there's some.. progress ;)