Elena didn't put much effort in getting ready for their second date, considering where they were going. She decided to wear jeans, tight black shirt and low black Converse, since she will be in a paintball suit for the better part of their date. She also thought tying her hair into a bun might be a good idea. The possibility of getting paint all over her face didn't stop her to apply a minimum amount of make up, concentrating on her eyes the most, and on her lips the least, like she usually did. She wasn't that big of a fan of lipstick, but a strawberry lip gloss was a must at all times.
She had luck on her side because her dad wasn't home. Actually, no one was home, and for the first time in a long while she was thankful for that. She was able to nervously run up and down the stairs, even though she couldn't find the origin of her nervousness. Stefan was ten minutes late, so she attacked a bag of chips, viciously, asking herself when did she become this girl? Girl who shivers before a date, who blushes when he whispers sweet nothings in her ear, who melts under his fingertips. Is every girl that girl? Do even the strongest ones pull their walls down when they find themselves in such a situation?
Carrie Bradshaw was independent and one of the earliest models of a modern woman, and in the end she went back to the man who treated her like shit, forgiving him all of the times when he walked away, forgetting all of the times she cried, hoping he will walk through that door and come back to her.
Maybe she should be more like Elizabeth Bennett. Maybe she should keep fighting it, and instead of pulling her walls down, she should wait for someone strong enough to pull those walls for themselves. Someone willed enough.
Or maybe, she should be more like Elena Gilbert. Whoever the hell she is.
Finally, Stefan came, she fixed her lip gloss, and went to meet him. This time he rang the doorbell. She smiled at him blushing, and he returned her the same smile. This time, she didn't want him to kiss her, she wanted to feel his skin on hers, she wanted him to take her hand into his.
He didn't fulfill her wish.
Instead he walked her over to his car, opened the car door for her, and she settled into soft, comfy leather seats, regretting she didn't wear anything that exposes her skin so she can feel leather on it.
The drive this time was a little shorter than the last, since the paintball factory was on the edge of the town, but on the other side, which was a lot closer to Elena's house. They spent their time chit chatting, teasing, and this time, there was no need for music.
After a while, Elena relaxed completely, forgetting all about her initial nervousness.
When they arrived they realized they're the only ones there. It was probably too late for kids to be there, unless someone's celebrating their birthday there, and paintball isn't exactly popular among people older than twelve. Stefan never claimed he's mentally any older then a twelve year old.
The guy working there eyed them wearily when he gave them their suits and equipped guns.
Elena wanted to pay for her part, but Stefan gave her a look of warning, reminding her of their deal from the other day. She wanted to follow the rules, just in case.
"I'm going to kick your ass so hard," Stefan says as both of them emerge out of their cabins, dressed in the suits. He cocks his eyebrow in her direction, trying to intimidate her, but she doesn't seem too preoccupied by it.
She smiles at him encouragingly and he winces.
"Have you been here recently?" he asks. He has to win, he's a sore loser, and he doesn't want her to see him like that.
Elena frowns. "Not since we were little," she scratches her leg which is itchy under her suit.
The last time she was here was probably with him. She remembers how much he loves paintball. Or anything action packed where the winner is clear. Stefan loves winning, and she doesn't care about losing, which always made them a perfect team. Since she didn't mind letting him win only so she doesn't have to see that sour look on his face.
"Then I'll give you a head start," he winks at her, letting her go in the room first.
She shrugs, leaving him uncomfortable in front of the door. She enters a big black room constructed like a labyrinth. There are bright blue lights all over the room, they're dim though. Her skin is itching even though she has her clothes under the suit, and the paintball gun is heavy in her arms.
She concludes she likes romantic dinners in restaurants much more than wild surprises.
Maybe that's who Elena Gilbert is. Simple girl from a small town who has dreams far too big for her hands to create.
After few minutes she can hear the door opening and Stefan's footsteps on the linoleum floor.
"Stefan, help," she calls for him innocently.
He frowns. "What?"
"I'm stuck," she says with an annoyed tone of voice.
He chuckles while walking forward, going deeper into the labyrinth. "Elena, you're not going to trick me."
"Stefan," she says his name through a sob, "Please, I'm being serious," she whines, hitting into one of the blocks which make the labyrinth.
"Elena," he rolls his eyes, "You're so transparent."
"My skin was so itchy," she cries out.
"Excuse me?" he says with a husky voice.
"It's still itchy. The suit made it itchy. I tried to take it off, but it got stuck on something," she whimpers, "I tear it off me, and scratched myself, but that wasn't enough," he can hear her swallowing her own tears, "My skin was still itchy, especially on my legs, so I had to take my jeans off," she whines, and he can hear a scratching sound, her fingernails meeting her skin.
He swallows.
"I tried to take my top off, but I fell over the net," she says, and he remembers there indeed is a net in the room, "And got stuck in between two blocks," she cries out loud again, before she says, "I just hope there are no cameras here."
There are few cameras in the room indeed, if anything goes wrong, if someone accidentally gets hurt, but he doesn't say anything. He doesn't want her to worry.
Plus, he's not exactly sure he believes her, even though her whimpering is pretty convincing.
The problem is, Elena Gilbert is not one to whimper.
"I'm itchy and I can't scratch myself," she says silently, and he can imagine her blushing, "I'm itchy all over my body. Will you scratch my skin for me, Stefan?"
He swallows hard as he stops walking. He looks around the room but he can't see her anywhere.
She's half naked asking him to scratch her itch? Yes, please.
"Where are you?" he asks.
"The last row, right next to the net," she says, this time more calmly.
He knows where the net is by memory, and when he reaches it he makes the right turn, and notices two slightly shifted blocks, a gap between them. He exhales in relief, thinking he has found her, but when he comes closer and bends to look into the gap, there's no one there.
He furrows his brows and groans angrily. He wants to say her name, but before he manages, he can feel something pressing onto his back. He pulls himself straight up and slowly turns around. He notices Elena pointing a gun at him, a gun which is now pressing onto his stomach, and there's a smirk on her face.
"I was thinking, which I was able to do since you were so generous to give me a head start," she says slyly, "I'm a little rusty at paintball, so there's no way I could win playing fair," her smirk becomes wider, "And I knew you would never give up on a half naked girl."
As he faces his defeat, he realizes he's strangely proud of her for being able to trick him. It's such a turn on, when a woman deceives a man, since men do it all the time.
He grins at her and grips her wrist with his fingers. She gasps in surprise, but lets him lead her on the other side of the room. He turns her around and pins her to the wall in the corner, her gun falling from his stomach. She looks at him curiously.
"It's a good thing you didn't take your clothes off," his eyes lock on hers, capturing all of the surprise she carries in them, "Since there are cameras in here," his grin becomes wider as more surprise washes over her face, "There are few places which can't be seen on the cameras, though. This is one of them."
It takes her some time to realize what he's saying, but once she does, a devilish smirk appears on her face.
The rules? To hell with them.
His hands fall on her hips, and he keeps looking at her eyes expectantly, not doing anything until she gives him a hint there's something she wants him to do.
Instead of letting him pull her closer to him, away from the wall, she pulls him onto herself. He puts the open palms of his hands on the wall behind her, on the level of her shoulders, so he doesn't squish her with his full weight. Instead he lets his body linger on hers, his chest touching her chest.
Their bodies create an unbelievable amount of heat. So much heat which starts prickling their skin through their suits, making them sweaty. She wishes they're somewhere else. She wishes she can just throw herself on him. She wishes she can be with him.
She's not acting like herself again. She can feel someone else possessing her body, some other side of her, a side she never knew exists. Side she can't believe is part of her.
Such a corrupted side. But the worst thing is, she finds it enjoyable.
His face comes closer to hers until the tips of their noses touch.
He parts his legs so hers can fit in between his as he steps over them, making her a prisoner under his body.
Her heart starts to pound wildly again. Pounding so hard that she has a feeling it's going to pierce through her skin.
She wonders can he hear the thumping sound, the one she can hear in her ears, as well.
His lips are so close to hers, but he doesn't kiss her, not just yet.
She inhales his scent. It's like it never left her nostrils.
Her eyes wander over his face until their eyes meet. He keeps staring at her, even though they can see each other well because of the darkness, she can feel the tension. She can feel he's devouring her with his look.
His lips scrape hers and she shivers. Her lips tremble under his, and all she can think about is how this is a wrong place, and maybe wrong time.
Her chest rise and fall under his, very quickly.
His lips fall on hers, and his hands start roaming up and down her body. She opens her mouth, giving him access, and she can feel him on the places his hands haven't even touched yet. He's making her hot. Hotter.
His kisses burn her throat like acid, but they're also healing it right afterwards. She's afraid she will burn all the way to the bottom if he ever stops kissing her.
He detaches his lips from hers, allowing them to catch some air, but before she even manages to take one inhale, she can feel his lips on her neck.
The temperature of her body starts changing rapidly, one second she's hot, the other she's cold.
Her arms fly around his neck and she starts pulling her fingers through his hair.
"Stef," the words stumble out of her mouth, "You make me feel so.." she tries to finish her sentence, but she can't find the right words. Or any words. "I feel like.. unf," his teeth scrape over the skin of her neck, making her tremble under his touch, "You've destroyed me."
"That's my specialty," he mumbles.
When they came to return their suits they realized the guy didn't see anything going on in the labyrinth. He was playing some online video game, hi eyes far away from the screens that camera captures. He eyed both of them wearily when he noticed neither of their suits are covered in paint, but he didn't say anything.
Elena thought that their date ended there, even though it was only 10 in the evening, but Stefan suggested a drink. She happily accepted.
She was also surprised when he stopped the car in front of her favorite coffee shop.
"Here?" a smile appeared on her face. She hasn't been in here since they came home from Rome.
"This is your favorite place, isn't it?" he asks, but doesn't wait for an answer.
He gets out of the car and she follows him, surprised he knows this is her favorite place since she started coming here some time after they stopped being friends.
They get in and the little bell above the door rings. The waitress raises her head in surprise. She's probably not used to seeing anyone in here so late even though they're opened until midnight. She smiles at them happily, and Elena smiles back at her. The waitress probably recognized her since she spends a lot of time in here.
The place is empty so they have a full freedom to decide where they want to sit. Elena chooses the little booth in the corner, and Stefan follows her. They sit across each other, and the waitress comes to take their order. Elena orders a hot chocolate, and Stefan asks for coffee, which surprises Elena a bit.
"Won't coffee make you lose sleep?" she asks once the waitress is gone behind the counter.
A faint smile appears on Stefan's face as he shakes his head. "Coffee has no effect on me."
The waitress comes with their orders quickly, a smile still present on her face.
"Let's play a game," Stefan says happily, his eye flickering.
Elena frowns, afraid to find out what he has in mind. "Which game?"
"Never have I ever," he smirks lightly.
She cocks her eyebrow in his direction. "Aren't you supposed to play that game with alcohol?"
He laughs. "Yeah, but we can play it for fun as well."
"Okay."
"Okay, you go first."
Elena wiggles her nose, trying to think of something.
"I've never been skiing," she says, mentally slapping herself for such a stupid statement.
Stefan furrows his brows. "Neither have I," he smiles in her direction, "I've never been to a zoo."
Elena's mouth drop. "Never?" she asks surprised.
Stefan shakes his head no.
"My parents used to take me to the one in Atlanta."
"Well, my parents aren't kind of people who plan family trips," he says, a note of sadness audible in his voice.
Elena takes a sip of her hot chocolate, not knowing what to say in reply. She only thought how one day they could take a trip to Atlanta so he can visit a zoo, but she didn't say anything. She was thinking too far ahead.
"I never got so drunk that I didn't remember anything the next day."
Stefan smiles at her. "I wish I could say that," he says through a chuckle. "I never read a book longer than 150 pages."
Elena cocks her eyebrow at him. "They write books with less than 150 pages?" she comments cockily, and he laughs.
She realizes she likes making him laugh.
"I never had sex with someone who I've just met," she bites her lower lip.
She has no idea why she said that since she obviously knows the answer.
Maybe she wanted to test him. Maybe she wanted to hear it one more time.
Maybe, if she hears it again he will fall low in her eyes and all of this will stop. Things will go back to how they were. She will get out of this without being hurt, unscratched.
She was still afraid. Maybe she was stepping forward but every time she made a step fear washed all over her.
Maybe she wanted out.
Did she?
"I have," he says truthfully, "One time too many."
No lies. He wants to be completely honest with her. She deserves the truth. She deserves everything. She deserves better than him.
Nothing happens. He doesn't fall in her eyes. She still feels the same. Like he deserves more, a girl who can give him what he wants. A girl that's not afraid.
"I've never been in a relationship."
"You haven't missed much."
He laughs again, and she laughs at his laugh, because him laughing makes her happy.
She inhales and bites her lip one more time.
"I've never had sex in a public place," she looks him in the eye. She didn't want him to tell her that he has, that was not her intention. She was admitting something to him.
He raises his eyebrow, smiling. "And you want to?"
"Maybe."
"Where?"
"A car," she says instantly, and he grins at her. "Beach," her eyes shimmer. She looks at him, "Are there any places you haven't done it at and want to?"
He takes a sip from the cup and nods. "Kitchen."
She smirks. Interesting.
"I've never been in love," he says while looking her in the eyes.
She exhales. "Neither was I," she admits.
Surprise washes over his face. "Matt?"
"I was far from being in love with him."
"He was in love with you."
"I know," she sighs, "Which is why I broke up with him. Because I knew I'm never going to feel the same."
"I've never walked with a girl holding her hand," he says, ignoring the fact it's her turn. He reaches for her hand over the table and intertwines their fingers. "Until you came along," he smiles at their hands.
"I never thought a kiss can do this to you," she bent over the table, her lips collapsing with his. It was a small peck on the lips, but he knew exactly what she means. She sits back and blushes. "Until you came along."