Hey guys! First of all- thank you for the nice reviews and the follows they mean a lot to me. I am sorry if I've provoked some sad feelings and emotions in some of you. I am indeed trying to keep it as realistic as I could and I don't want to make anyone cry. ):

Here you have some Stelena scenes going on as well as Peter/Stefan. Let me know what you think of both of them relationships cause I really had five different ways of dialogues between the characters in my head and I deleted and wrote certain moments a couple of times. So it wold mean a lot to let me know if you like it or not.

Anyway,enjoy cause it's not gonna be all rainbows and unicorns in next chapter. ((:

Stefan's POV

I came home around eight in the evening so tired that I wasn't sure I could keep my eyes open for a minute more. I really hoped Bonnie has prepared something to eat because I haven't put a single bite in my mouth all day. The whole house was dark except of the kitchen window which meant she was probably feeding James or watching her favorite TV show in there. Damon must have got to work again. I hardly saw him these two days and I didn't like that. He was sometimes the thing that kept me back to earth and didn't let me lose myself in too much thoughts. We often argued a lot but it was a tradition of ours to smoke in the backyard while the nights were still warm and talk about stuff- life, work, sports, everything. I liked that. Lately, thought, work consumed us both and we hardly found time to do that. I think he has a free day tomorrow but on Sundays him, Bonnie and James usually went out for a walk and to shop for our fridge was empty by the end of the week. Sometimes I came with them too. Actually Damon insisted that I go with them but almost every time I was trying to get away from this. They were family-they needed some time together, only the three of them.

Once I finally entered the house I could hear the TV was on. She liked it with the volume up in the sky and that made me smile.

"Bonnie!" I yelled but she didn't respond in any way so when I finally entered the kitchen she almost dropped the iron in her hand.

"Oh God, Stefan! You scared me."

"Well maybe you shouldn't watch those soap operas with the volume so high that the neighbours can listen to it without turning their own TV on!" I joked and she furrowed her brows trying to play angry.

"It's not a soap opera! It's a love story!"

"Whatever." I looked around and saw James crawling in his bed, which was put in the corner against Bonnie so she can keep an eye on him. "Hey buddy! What's up?" I kissed him on the forehead and he tried to greet me with one of his baby sounds again.

"Stefan?"

"Yeah."

"I need a favor tonight." I turned around trying to put a smile on but I guess I wasn't very successful in that because her eyes suddenly got this sad expression "You have to watch him. Emma called me and there's some work to be done. I have to be in their house in fifteen minutes." Emma was one of our neighbors. Since Bonnie didn't have a job cause someone was supposed to watch James and we couldn't afford a babysitter, this friend of hers Emma often called for some help. She was a seamstress and Bonnie and her sometimes worked all night long doing extra orders. The money she got from it weren't at all bad. I was feeling like crap tonight but I had to do this. Especially when I have in mind how much money we've spent on me lately.

"Of course. That won't be a problem." I tried sounding optimistic

"I know you're tired but I could actually get some cash out of this."

"Bonnie, really. It's fine." I gave her a reassuring look.

"I'll try to get home by midnight" she always said that. But I knew she wouldn't be done until two or three in the morning. She started explaining me what needs to be done and what should I do if he wakes up and he's hungry. Where's the food, oh and not to forget to take a shower, his pajamas was in their room. It was better if I stayed in the kitchen cause it was warmer and so on and so on I really tried hard to listen to her but at moments I definitely lost myself in the chain of advices and must-to-do-things. "Oh and by the way some boy Peter came by looking for you."

"What?" that suddenly brought my attention back to reality. In these last few days of school we kept hanging out in the breaks but I really didn't expect him to come look for me. I still couldn't shake the feeling that he was a spoiled rich and very bored boy. I really tried hard not to judge people by their place in the society or by the fact that their parents were assholes. I felt like I should be cautious. I didn't know this guy and my brother worked for his father. What if I say something wrong and then wonder how to fix it just because I was afraid Damon might lose his job. I admit I saw a glimpse of something good in him as well as the loneliness which marked his face and which I managed to notice from the first day. But I didn't want friends. I was desperately trying to avoid that. "What the hell was he doing here?"

Bonnie was surprised by the tone of my voice.

"Well, he said he wanted you to hang out but he didn't know you were working today."

"Ugh."

"What is wrong? He seems like a polite boy."

"He's Thomas Fell's son. That's the problem."

"He's the one that owns the car factory?" she asked in disbelief when I nodded to confirm.

"Well I don't think that's relevant. Stefan" I knew by the way she said my name that she was about to give me a speech. I really wasn't in the mood to oppose her so I just leaned back on the chair and fixed my eyes on the TV avoiding her look as better as I could "look at me." unfortunately she stood right in front of me. I hated it when I was about to be scolded. When my mother did that I always felt so bad. Even James has stopped his mumbling and was looking at us with his interested peaked and maybe a little confused by the tone of his mother's voice "You have to make friends." I let a sight out. "No, no, don't snort at me like a horse. You can't keep running away from your life. When was the last time you went outside with friends to have fun, huh? When was the last time you took a break and just enjoyed your free day? You spend the better half of this last year in a hospital or inside the house, or looking for a job. "

"Bonnie I"

"No. I won't let you isolate yourself from the world. I know you prefer this whole lone wolf lifestyle but you need to find at least one soul out there that you can have a beer with and talk about your boyish bullshits with."

At this point I was laughing already. She always got so funny at some point of her full-of-truth speeches.

"I am trying to be serious here." she furrowed her eyebrows this time with a very determined expression on her face.

"Hey James, you hear your mother? We're so going talk about boyish stuff tonight, huh?" she slapped me on the back of my neck like my brother used to do all the time while James again gave us his wide toothless smile. "I can't wait for the moment when you'll have to give him the sex talk."

"Shut up, Stefan." she returned to ironing one of Damon's shirts and hurried up to finishing the rest of the clothes cause she was about to get late "Anyway, I gave him your phone number so he's going to call you."

"You did what? Bonnie!"

"Uh-uh. Don't Bonnie me. Plus I felt more bad for him then for you."

"What am I now? Some entertainment for the rich kids? Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Like I don't know-maybe rich helping poor or anything?"

"I love it how you try to play tough and proud and stubborn but in reality we both know it –you feel bad for him."

"No, I don't" but I did. She knew me so better.

In ten minutes she was gone and in order for me to overcome my tiredness I made myself a whole jug of coffee. James was so restless this evening he wouldn't fall asleep no matter how much I talked him and carried him around the room even when my knee started hurting. I knew that from the movement he must get tired because every time we went outside with the pram he was out five minutes later. I guess to some extent my theory worked and by the time I finally put him to bed I needed another cup.

Next day I slept until three in the afternoon. Damon was a little angry that I didn't spent the morning with them and now I was about to head out and meet Peter. I tried to joke around with him but he was simply grumpy. I guess it wasn't only about me but we didn't have time to really talk about it. Bonnie was also very tired from working almost all night long so by the time I was about to leave the house she was sleeping and Damon was taking care of James.

I always took the bus to head downtown. Our neighborhood was at the edge of Mystic Falls, where the middle and the lower class occupied small wooden houses with little front or back yards. The sky seemed sadder here, the only noises you could hear while walking to the bus stop were children's cries from not fully closed windows and 7-8 year old kids playing football in something which should look like a park. Tired faces on the crowded pavements, people coming home from tiring day at the fabrics or heading to night shifts. I was passing by sadness and moving through reality.

Once I finally got to the town center Peter greeted me with one of his goofy smiles and we headed to the store as to buy beer with my fake id. It didn't felt awkward though. I felt like I've known him for years and not just from a week. We started talking sports and it turned out I wasn't wrong when I noticed that he had a basketball player posture-he really did play. But not in the high school team. Last time he tried to get in there was two years ago. They accepted him but a month later he refused to keep playing. "Too much cocky douches" was his excuse. It turned out I had a whole wrong first impression about him and that statement bended down even more when we got into his house.

It was an enormous one. Maybe only the Lockwoods had something that big and I wasn't sure which one looked better. Only his living room was around three times bigger than our whole house.

"So..where are your parents?" I asked trying to make a small talk.

"Oh, they divorced two years ago. My mother left and I haven't seen her since. Father is somewhere out of town and my big brother is studying in New York. We saw each other last Easter, I think." he responded with his calmest voice.

His answer surprised me and I suddenly stopped following him. Was I really that blind all this time? The boy seemed broken, now I was starting to understand why. I tried to hide my emotions so as not to make him uncomfortable but I really felt so bad. How did I even judged him without knowing what was really happing in his life?

I opened my eyes. He had the biggest house in this god forsaken town but he was alone.

"I'm" I tried apologizing for something that wasn't even my fault.

"No, please. Don't say you're sorry. I know you mean it but..don't say it"

"Okay. " he smiled friendly at me and we went outside, to what seemed like a big backyard, which wasn't consisted of nicely cultivated grass but from what looked like a small basketball playground. "Wow..that's nice."

"You like it?"

"You have your own court at the back of your house, Peter. I think your question is unreasonable."

"Come on" he threw the ball at me and I caught it with the risk of losing my balance. "You said you used to play."

"Yeah..I used to-that's the key phrase here. Are you blind or something? Or is that a joke?" I suddenly got a bit angry. I barely walked. What was this all about? I threw the ball back at him and he almost failed to catch it. "Is that why you brought me here? To make fun of me?"

"What? No, Stefan, I" now he was the one who was surprised. I saw guilt in his eyes but turned my back on him. "Hey, hey, wait. I didn't mean anything like that. Look I just wanted to show this to you cause I thought you might like it."

I sighed. There was regret in his voice. I don't think he really meant to insult me at all.

"What do you really want from me?"

"I don't want anything. Come on, Stefan. You know I didn't mean that. And I'm sorry if I offended you somehow."

For a moment we stayed in uncomfortable silence.

Oh to hell…I'm going to give it a chance.

"Fell…you're a douche bag!" I laughed and grabbed the ball from his hands. Then I turned around and made a three point strike.

"Wow, you're good."

"I was good." I emphasized on the past tense. "Let's see you." I nodded him towards the ball and in a few minutes he was already throwing it in the air.

We spent the next hour outside-him showing me what he can do and me pointing out how wrong he's doing it. It was nice though. I haven't felt like that since Damon and I played football in our backyard when we were little. Most of the time I watched him but I made a few shots from standing at one single place just to make myself feel good. I can't deny I had this thrill inside me every time I pushed my hands into the air. But that was in the past now. I could never play normally again. Only trying to jump caused me enough pain as it was. Peter however was careless in his game as he was in his life- he threw the ball and randomly waited for it to somehow end up in the hoop and he wasn't running fast enough. I didn't tell him all that, though but I tried to guide him through some stuff. He seemed to be taking my advices.

After it finally went completely dark we got inside and played some video games until we decided we were dying from hunger so we headed to something that he called The Grill. We ordered the biggest sandwiches there were offering as well as fries. The place was too full for Sunday night if you ask me but Peter enlightened me that most kids came here with their families on weekends since the rich were too lazy to cook in their only free days.

"Oh, look who's here" I turned around only to notice that Jenna, Elena and that other girl she always hanged out with in school came in. Thank God they didn't notice us but the way Peter was staring at them made me suspicious.

"Let's get out of here" his face suddenly attained this expression between bitterness and some kind of strange determination.

I nodded and followed him. He was strangely quiet so I let out my pack and offered him a cigarette.

"It's best after you've eaten, right?" he asked and we headed down the street towards the biggest park in town. He walked somehow slowly now and seemed to be overwhelmed with memories. For a moment I felt like I wasn't even there.

"So, you want to tell me what happened between you and this blond girl?" somehow my words brought him back to reality and he turned to me with a sad look. The subject was obviously sensitive. Peter let a deep sight out and the smoke from the cigarette disappeared in the air.

"Caroline Forbes." he stopped for a moment like he was trying to put his words into place. Then with a slow pace we continued. My knee was starting to hurt but I wasn't about to tell him right in this moment that I couldn't keep walking. Plus this wasn't about me anymore. "I've known her since we were kids as her parents are from the founding families." he took a drag on his cigarette trying to slow down the story. Apparently saying it all out loud hurt so I decided to help him as I was already starting to see where this was heading to.

"She was your childhood love?" he seemed to be relieved by the statement he had difficulties spilling out. Then he nodded and we continued filling the darkness with our silent, almost inaudible steps. "And she broke up with you?"

This time he shook his head.

"She couldn't break anything she didn't know even existed in the first place."

"So you never told her?"

"I never did." this time I swear I could almost see tears in his eyes but he hurried to look away "She hates my guts though, we've been arguing like cat and dog since we were little. Now I guess she's more .." he paused trying to find the right word "indifferent to me."

"Maybe that can change." I was desperately trying to sound optimistic and after everything that I learned about him today I thought I owe him at least that.

He simply shook his head and we went on bashing the rest of the high school society. I felt there was something about him and Caroline that he wasn't telling me. I was ok with that though-I wasn't hanging out with him because I wanted to know his secrets. Bonnie was right-I just needed a soul to have a beer in peace with.

Elena's POV

After I got home from school Jenna and I had another one of our fights. That seemed to become a part of my daily routine so someone could hardly say I was surprised when my aunt, for the millionth time threw her hands in the air, filled with despair and went outside leaving me standing alone, trembling from anger in the kitchen, breathing the sad delirium possessing every single corner of this house.

That didn't last long though cause I was brought back to earth by the steady beats of a hammer coming from outside and I headed towards the back door with the intention to scream at him and force him to stop working but as soon as I went out and saw him there-bended down, with the hammer in his hand, sweat streaming down his face, looking completely ruined from working, probably all afternoon, something in me prevented me from bursting out. He stopped whatever on earth he was doing and looked at me. His glance wasn't judging or full of pity. What I saw in them confused me completely-it was understanding. He stood up and slowly came by the stairs. I didn't realize I was following him. Once we sat down he lit a cigarette and wiped off the sweat of his forehead with the sleeve of the work shirt tied on his waist. At this moment I wasn't the high school queen, I wasn't the quarterback's girlfriend. I was simply me-sharing a silent moment with a boy I didn't know.

What was going on with me? What was I doing? Why was I here now?

"So..are you going to say it out loud?" I turned to him surprised by the sound of my own voice.

He smiled and for a moment threw me a surprised glance, but then hurried to look away.

"You want me to actually speak to you? Did you forget that I am the limping retard fixing your porch?" the way he spoke my own words made something inside me clinch. But they weren't accusative or filled with anger. They sounded even somehow childishly honest.

"If you're looking for an excuse you're not getting one."

"I am certainly not expecting that." he let the smoke out and handed me over his cigarette. I finished it while we stood in silence. He wasn't expecting anything from me. He wasn't judging me. He just simply shared my amusement at the fact how screwed up this world could be. I didn't need to know him-on the opposite. I was craving for a single soul out there who had no idea who I am or what has happened or how did I used to behave. I craved for an unknown understanding and I got it from this boy. A boy I used to mock a few days ago but with whom now I shared my pain. He wasn't indifferent, he wasn't judging and honestly he was the first one in months I didn't feel uncomfortable being in the presence with.

We stood like that for another twenty minutes. I caught him watching the sky a few times and smiling to himself like he was remembering something. I avoided staring at him though, not because he could get the wrong impression but because I felt like invading his privacy.

I didn't know his story. Hell, I knew nothing about him other then the fact that he was a the new boy in town. Every other conclusion I drew for him was based on the way he was dressed, which as I now realized was incredibly stupid. Did he seem poor-yes and what if he was? As we were standing there I realized that this wasn't what drove me away the first time- it was the emotional weight he was wearing with himself that people don't notice in the first place. There was such deep sadness in his eyes but also a kind of determination in his posture. He didn't seem defeated- he seemed willing to do whatever he had to. For what reason? I didn't know. Maybe he had a family he cared about or a girlfriend who pushed him to keep going. Whatever it was I couldn't prevent myself from envying him for having it. I didn't let the feel of admiration that passed through my mind sink in.

Eventually he stood up and I look at him annoyed by the fact that the only comfortable moment I had in months was about to disappear into the oblivion of the evening reality.

"I am sorry, but I have to finish this." he said, his voice still so warm and kind. I nodded and he returned back to putting the new laths in the left part of the porch. I stood up and headed to the door. For a moment something inside me screamed to stop and at least thank him somehow but I didn't. I got inside feeling both angry and relieved.

I couldn't understand what was happening inside me.

Damon's POV

I was sitting on our bench in the back of the house when I heard my brother's voice in the kitchen. He has just come in, I guess, feeling pretty tired but he knew I was outside. For the first time in a week our work schedules weren't preventing us from seeing each other.

"Hey brother" he greeted and slowly came closer. Honestly-he didn't seem better than me.

"What's up?" I asked and moved aside so he can sit down.

"Work." was the only thing he said and it was also the only answer that seemed completely adequate for all my questions "How's at the car factory? You seemed pissed yesterday."

"That son of a bitch Thomas Fell is killing us. He's urging everyone to work extra hours so that we can finish the orders earlier than planned." I let a sigh out "How are the Gilberts doing?"

"Ah, so Bonnie told you" he smiled not at all surprised by the fact that I already knew he wasn't at the factory these days. "Well everything is better than Daniel screaming at me all day long. But I guess it will take me till the rest of the week to finish the job."

"I haven't seen you study? Aren't they giving you homework or do you just prefer to forget about them."

"Damon…" he let a sign out prepared to fight me but that was not my intention at all.

"I'm not looking to stir the water, Stefan. I get it-you barely find time to sleep, but you have to at least try and do whatever you can. I'm not urging you to be a straight A student. I just don't want you to have to go through your senior year for the third time because you know I won't give up and allow you to drop out now."

"You realize that I have no intentions of even applying to college, Damon?" he wasn't defending himself anymore. He sounded realistic and completely honest.

"I do. And I know studying is the least of your concern right now, but I want you to finish high school. You're smart and even though you're trying desperately to hide that fact I know it. You're doing too many things for me already that's why I think it's time you do something for yourself, yeah?"

He has bend his head down, staring at his shoes silently. He was thinking and like always loosing himself in it.

I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Brother I just"

"I know, Damon" he interrupted me and a light understanding smile appeared on his lips. "I'll try my best."

After a while I send him back inside to shower and get to sleep because I couldn't stand a minute more looking at him like that. Before I went to bed however I saw the light of his room on. I slowly opened the door and found him asleep with the geometry book opened in his lap as well as a notebook in which he apparently was writing his homework. I drew them out of his hands and since I couldn't find a single place where to put them, because there wasn't any space for a desk in his small room I left them down on the floor, covered him with the blanket, turned the light off and let him sleep, while a small grateful sigh escaped my lips.

Stefan's POV

I worked four more days in the Gilbert house. Every afternoon, when Jenna went out and Elena came home from what seemed like cheerleading practice, she would come outside, wait for me to finish whatever I was doing and then we would sit on the stairs just consumed by silence. I would lit a cigarette and somewhere in the middle of it I would give it to her so that she can finish it. We got something like half an hour of silence. She wouldn't say a word and I wouldn't either. In those moments she wasn't the high school most popular girl and I wasn't the new poor limping boy. That however didn't mean she started behaving better, on the contrary-she continued to be mean towards Jenna, me, and any other poor freshman in this school- changes don't happen overnight. That was never my goal. Damn..I don't think I had a goal when it comes to this girl in the first place.

Often when I was on my way home I was asking myself- what was this all about? It seemed so strange to me and I often questioned both her and my sanity. Was this normal? To just sit like that and not talk at all with a girl I didn't even know?

Then, on the other hand-why was I desperately trying to find sense in anything?

In those silent moments I felt she was sharing her grief. It was like a cloud that surrounds your whole body once you let it all out. I often noticed that about my brother a little after our mother passed away- he held his grief deep inside him, but in the moments he thought I would never see it, I did and it hit me unexpectedly even if I knew it was there this whole time.

Watching someone else like this is beyond ruining. It leaves you desperate, helpless.

When I watched Elena though I didn't feel helpless. Somehow I got this idea in my head that sharing a silent half an hour with her was making all that weight she had inside her lift up a bit. At least I hoped so.

She didn't knew that my last day there was going to be my last day there until she saw me finishing the painting of the porch. For a moment her eyes grew big, scared. Had she not noticed that I'm about to come to an end of this thing? Was she that much consumed by her thoughts? I tried to give her a reassuring smile and stood up leaving the white-colored brush away and heading towards the stairs. Jenna was home this time. I knew it because she said I should finish up so we can go to the factory together and discuss the whole work and the payment with Daniel.

That was the reason I didn't hand her my cigarette this time but continued smoking on my own.

"So…you're done." I honestly didn't expect her to say anything. Not today, not when I was about to leave.

"I am." I still was avoiding her look. Was I curious to ask her about all this? Did I want to know what's the meaning of it? Did she even have an answer for me?

Despite all those questions in my head I remained silent. That was the end of the deal in the first place- we don't talk, we just sit here with our own problems and pray for better days when the world seems somehow more understandable.

"The first day you were here you said you didn't expect me to apologize to you. Why so?"

"I'm sure you know the answer to the question yourself." this time I turned towards her. By the look on her face I realized she wanted to hear the words out loud, but I wasn't going to say them. She had to say it to herself first in order for something here to change.

"Ok, I got it." a light smile appeared on her face "Can I ask you something else then?"

I nodded and threw the cigarette butt down.

"What will you use the money for?" she asked as if I had won the lottery and not simply fixed a porch at the back of some rich people's house.

"You think I'm going to get a lot of money for this?" I laughed out loud. "Wow..ok I guess you really don't have an idea how it works in the middle-class world." she gave me a confused look and I thought I should at least explain myself so I let a deep sight out and started "I work. For the fact that the factory has send one of their people here instead of making them finish far more profitable orders there they get more money from your aunt and they still give me the same salary at the end of the month because it doesn't matter how much energy or hours I have spend-I am at the bottom of the chain, a boy for everything, a simple worker. But on your previous question-I'm going to give the money to my brother because he needs them."

"So you worked your ass for someone else?"

"No, I worked my ass because I'm not the only person in my family." this time I felt my words hit her. She even pushed herself a bit away looking like she can't completely understand what I'm saying and letting it sink in at the same time.

We were, however, interrupted by Jenna opening the door. She was also stunned when she saw us there but after a few seconds she got herself together and told me it was time to leave. She disappeared adding that she needs to get her purse and Elena and me both stood up, facing each other for a moment.

I reached in my jeans pocket and let out a small note out which I handed to her.

"What's that?"

"That's for you." it was my address "If you ever feel that you need to stay in silence with someone. And no, please don't burst out at me." I could see her angry face already. She was about to give me a hard time but I somehow managed to prevent it by speaking faster "I don't want anything from you, I have no ulterior motives, nor is this some kind of game to me. I don't try to reach out to you and tell you how much shit I've been through in my whole life . But I am human. You are human too. And if you ever feel like a lost human you can come, knock on my door and I'll give you a cigarette." then I slowly walked away but decided to turn one last time only to see her with the note in her hands. I could feel she was conflicted. "Goodbye." that was all I added but she didn't let a single word out.

Next day when we went to school Peter welcomed me with the news that Elena Gilbert was no longer the captain of the cheerleading squad.