Sorry for the late update, but I am trying my best! Now I seriously understand the pressures of writing these fanfics. But alas, here is chapter 12! Enjoy (:

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It was 11pm and Stefan was lying in bed tossing and turning as he heard the faint music coming from the club just in the basement of their hotel. He turned around to put some music in his ears in hopes of falling asleep. When he turned up the volume to his music he missed the card sliding in the door granting access to Elena who was sneaking around their hotel floor trying to get to his room, late at night.

Elena tiptoed across the room whispering his name trying to gage whether or not he was still asleep. As she got closer to the bed she whispered a little bit louder but still got no response from him. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Elena quickly jumped on the bed which made Stefan yelp like a little girl and jump up out of bed.

At this point Elena had tears in her eyes and she was holding her stomach as she laughed as hard and loud as she could.

"Elena" Stefan sighed in relief once he heard her giggles.

"I'm sorry, but please don't tell me that is your bedroom scream" Elena laughed as she collected herself and sat cross legged in the middle of the bed with Stefan standing at the foot of the bed.

"I'll show you a bedroom scream" Stefan muttered too low for Elena to hear as he walked back to the bed collapsing on it.

Elena giggled one last time as she got up on all fours and crawled over to where Stefan was lying and fell on his chest as she pressed a kiss to his nose.

"So you found your way to my room did you?" Stefan asked as his hands came to rest on her back and she laid her head down on chest with her legs straddling his.

"Indeed I did" Elena said muffled by her lips pressing against his chest which was bare.

Stefan just laid there for about 10 minutes slowly stroking Elena's back in utter silence which was comforting. Elena was lying in utter content loving the feel of Stefan's hand on her back rubbing small circles. Elena began thinking of their relationship and all that has happened so far.

They have been dating for three weeks now yet they both felt things stronger than a three week old relationship. They were comfortable with each other and loved one another's company. They could get lost in each other and they loved the feel of each other. They set each other's hair on end when they get close, their kisses leaving them breathless and wanting more. How much more though? Elena thought. Enough to take the next step? Yes she was not a virgin, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to fully give herself up to Stefan yet. But he was a guy, he had needs.

But little did she know that Stefan was not adamant about taking the next step what so ever. Stefan wanted to take this slow, and do it right. He knows what he feels for Elena is real, and he knows the way she makes him feel isn't just a teenage crush so he wants to do this right, and he wants to make it comfortable for Elena.

"What are you thinking about" Stefan broke the silence first.

"Us" she responded truthfully.

This made Stefan smile like a child on Christmas morning. He loved the sound of that. Them, us, Stefan and Elena, he liked being seen as hers, and he loved her being seen as his.

Elena rubbed her hand up and down his chest slowly, loving the feel of his strong chest under the gentle fingertips.

"What about us?" he countered.

She took a deep breath before she began.

"Do you want the honest truth?" she asked.

"Always" he said with sincerity.

"I was thinking about" she hesitated for a second or two "our physical relationship" she said the last part a bit quicker than she normally would have.

She felt Stefan chuckle underneath her before he began speaking again.

"What about our physical relationship?" he asked, vocally air quoting the word physical

Elena suddenly felt her cheeks blush and she hid her face in the crook between his soft neck and broad shoulder which she was sure was her favorite place to rest now.

"About getting intimate?" she phrased this more as a question, than a fact,

Stefan laughed harder at her shyness and rolled Elena off of him and on top of her, effectively trapping her between his body and the bed.

He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then on her cheek, then on her nose, then on her chin, then finally a soft peck on her lips.

"What about getting intimate?" he asked as his hand was trailing down her side to be placed on her ass lightly.

Elena let her arms rest on his side slowly tracing the muscles that were now being flexed due to the fact that he was holding himself above her.

"I was just thinking about when we would get intimate, IF, we get intimate." Elena said quietly looking up into his green eyes that she loved so much.

Stefan removed his hand from her ass and placed it on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Only when you want to, Elena. There is no pressure, whenever you're ready." Stefan said.

"Stefan, I-I'm not a virgin" Elena said, feeling the need to get that out of the way.

"Ou, Gilbert! Shy, yet sexy in the sheets?" he teased letting himself fall beside her.

"Stefan!" she chided playfully smacking his chest before she rested her head on it and curled up in to Stefan's side.

"I'm just kidding. Listen, our pasts are just that, our pasts. I don't care if you are or if you aren't. We're together now and we will make our own memories and have our own past. I don't want to rush into things when this feels so right. I want us to take our time, and I want us to be real and true with one another. I want this to last, and I want you to stay, Lena" Stefan said softly finally confessing all that he feels for her, and about them.

"Stefan, I don't know what to sa-" Elena began, but Stefan interrupted her.

"You don't have to say anything, let's just do this right. And when it feels right, we'll take the next step. However, just to clear the air, you DO want to take the next step right?" Stefan asked teasingly yet affirmatively.

"Yes I want to take the next step" Elena said before she reached up to give him a kiss which lasted a little longer than she planned, but she was not complaining.

"Go to sleep" Stefan said as he pulled away and grabbed the blanket to throw on them. Elena dragged herself back to Stefan's side, rested her head on his chest, draped her arm around his waist and pulled up her leg to cross over his left and she nestled in to make herself comfy.

"Comfy there?" Stefan teased.

"Very" she replied smugly.

"Good night babe" Stefan said as he left a kiss on her head.

"Night Stef" Elena responded.

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Three days had passed and they loved their trip in Barcelona so far. They had fun almost every single day and they loved getting to see all the historical places Spain had to offer.

Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena were getting ready for their first night out to the club that was a part of the hotel they were staying in. They had their curfew of 2am and they planned on enjoying the freedom. They were all excited to go and check out the club since clubs back in the States had an age limit. But since they were in Europe, Europe was a bit more lenient. Elena was almost ready and she was excited because she was finally turning 18 tomorrow.

Caroline was leaning over the counter applying her mascara, Bonnie was putting on her heels, and Elena was waiting for them to be done.

"So, are you excited about tonight?" Caroline asked them

"I am beyond excited; maybe we can see some hot Spanish boys!" Bonnie said as she added a wink.

"Oh yeah, I mean, we're single, except for Elena, but we can have some fun" Caroline said.

Elena just laughed "Just because I'm not single, doesn't mean I can't have some fun!" She countered standing up to check herself out the in the mirror.

Bonnie finished getting ready and planted herself on the bed. "Is Stefan coming tonight? Oh, sorry I mean Mr. Salvatore." Bonnie teased.

Elena laughed, "Yes, he is coming"

"So how are things going between you and Steffy poo?" Caroline called from the bathroom.

Elena moved to sit down and she took a deep breath.

"Things are going great! I really, really like him and he is just the sweetest guy I have ever met. He really knows how to make me feel special. And he listens, and he is attentive and he is an amazing kisser." Elena finished with a dramatic sigh.

"I'm glad things are going good, you guys have been official for what? 3 weeks now?" Bonnie asked.

"Three weeks, yup. But, I know this may sound crazy, but I feel something stronger than a three week old relationship. It's just, the connection we have is something I haven't felt before, and the way he makes me feel is something I never want to forget. This feels real, and I want this to last." Elena finished quietly.

"Stefan is your epic love" Caroline said as she walked in to the bedroom.

Elena froze a bit as she heard the word love. Love? Did she love Stefan? She didn't know. It was way too early to tell, wasn't it? Elena decided to push the thoughts to the back of her head. She didn't want to complicate things as of yet. Love was a big step and she wanted to do this right, and with earnest feelings.

A knock on the door broke her out of her little reverie; she went to go open the door expecting it to be Ric coming over to go over the rules.

Elena opened the door and began speaking before she even saw who it was. "Hey, Ric can we extend our curfew if need be?" Elena finished as she looked up and saw Stefan starting at her like she was the only person in the world right now.

Elena blushed and laughed apologizing to Stefan "I'm sorry, I thought you were Ric"

Stefan was quiet as his eyes raked over Elena and he was mentally saying a prayer that all of that was his.

Elena was wearing a black strapless dress that came up to just above her knees and it hugged all the right places, and accentuated her curves. Her long legs looked sexy in her matte black heels, and her hair was curled slightly hanging in loose waves by the sides of her face and her makeup was just perfect.

"Stefan?" Elena asked trying to get his attention

"Elena, you look…" Stefan was struggling to find the right word. Yes she looked beautiful, but her aura was going for something a bit more seductive so he carefully chose his wording.

"You look so hot" Stefan finally said as he walked in to the room and placed his hands on her hips and placed a kiss on her awaiting lips.

Elena broke away needing air, "thanks" she smiled up at him.

"Ready to go?" he asked still not willing to let go of her.

"More than" she said allowing her hands to wrap around his waist.

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Before they even got downstairs they could feel the bass of the music. There was a group of about 9 of them, Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler, Mark, Dana, and Brianna.

As soon as they walked in they all walked to the bar and ordered their drinks, a round of shots to start off the night before they all dispersed throughout the club.

Stefan grabbed Elena and pulled her close as they sat on one of the stools by the bar, "I'm gonna go the bathroom, I'll be right back babe" he whispered into her ear before placing a kiss on her neck.

She nodded letting him know that she understood him over the loud blaring music.

Caroline and Bonnie grabbed Elena by the hand and dragged her to the dance floor to dance as soon as they heard Rihanna's We Found Love. Elena began to feel the beat and started dancing among the crowd. The dance floor was a bit crowded and she could feel bodies all around her. As she began to dance with Caroline and Bonnie she felt a hand being placed on her hip and a mouth by her ear began to speak ,

"Hey beautiful, can I buy you a drink?" the husky voice asked her with a hint of a Spanish accent.

Elena flinched away from his hand and turned around to kindly respond no, when the man's other hand flew to her hip.

Elena brushed his hand off and was about to say no when she felt another pair of hands grab her by the waist and pull her against his chest.

"No, she's with me, so back off" Stefan responded for her over the music, telling the man to go away.

Elena remained with her back facing Stefan and she relaxed into his chest among the crowd of people. She felt down for his hand and found it and laced their fingers together bringing it up to her lips to place a kiss on it.

Stefan leaned down to whisper in her ear, "you okay?"

Elena craned her neck around to place a kiss on his lips to thank him. Stefan's hands flew to her hips as they began to move to the song blaring all around them. Elena broke away from the kiss to turn around and placed her arms around his neck.

"Thank you" she whispered as she placed a kiss on his neck.

Stefan leaned down placed a hot kiss on her neck as they moved to the music feeling the beat around them. They began dancing and it was getting heated, they had danced to about 3 songs before Elena pulled away and dragged him by the hand to the bar for another drink.

She looked around and she saw Bonnie and Caroline sitting down at one of the booths in the far corner laughing with Tyler and Matt as they sipped on their drinks.

Elena turned around to grab her drink from Stefan when he leaned down and whispered for her to follow him outside.

They walked hand in hand with Stefan leading the way outside. When they got outside Stefan stopped and looked at the time on his phone before he looked up at Elena.

"Stefan, what are we doing out here?" Elena asked

"Just wait a minute" Stefan said still looking at this phone

"Stefa-" Elena began but was cut off.

"Happy birthday beautiful" he said as she pulled out a long velvet box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a diamond bracelet from Swarovski.

"Stefan" Elena said almost close to tears, "you didn't have to get me anything. Paying for the rest of the trip was enough for me" She said as she walked to Stefan and grabbed him by the arms and jumped up to kiss him deeply. Elena let herself kiss him for a bit but when Stefan's hands went over her ass she remembered they were in public.

"I know, but I just wanted to get this for you. You deserve it and I wanted this to be a good birthday for you. So, happy birthday babe" he said as he grabbed her hand and placed the bracelet on her wrist and clasped it close.

"Thank you Stefan" she said as she gave him a hug

"Anything for you" Stefan responded when his hands found the small of his back and pushed her body closer to his.

Stefan was the one to pull away first, "come on, we should go enjoy the rest of our night."

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So that was chapter 12! I hope you guys are still interested in the story! The next update will have a bit of a time skip and it will be their last day in Barcelona! Also, there might be a little something awaiting one of the characters once they reach Mystic Falls! Keep reviewing and let me know what you think! Thanks!