Hello! I recently discovered the series and I'm in love with Stefan and Elena (let's forget about the last seasons, please xD). Since I'm learning English this summer, I came up with the idea of writing a little story that popped into my mind while watching the series.

Therefore, I would like to apologize for any mistakes I may have made. You can tell me what you think about the story in the comments. I enjoy improving and learning, thank you for reading!

Chapter 1: Something is Not Right

He woke up startled, before dawn had even broken. He felt cold sweat running down his skin, like he had rarely felt before. He could barely remember the nightmare he had just had, but there was a hole in his heart for some reason. He brought his hands to his chest, just to make sure it hadn't been ripped out. He was uncovered, but he was there, whole, with all his ribs intact. And it was then that he finally took a deep breath, feeling more at ease. He wasn't dead.

"Stefan..." someone groaned beside him, still half asleep. "It's still early, Are you okay?"

It took him a few seconds to turn and see who it was, although he didn't need to do it to recognize that voice. She was lying there with her eyes closed, tangled in the sheets because there was nothing covering her body. Even though it was still dark, he could see her skin glistening under the first signs of daylight. Her straight, brown hair falling over her cheeks. He had the urge to reach out and caress her, but he was afraid it wasn't real. He stopped just before even brushing her.

"Elena," he whispered, still finding it hard to believe, "You're... here."

The girl smiled, still half asleep, and opened one eye to look at him. She was curled up like a ball of silk and white sheets; he doubted he would ever see anything more beautiful in his entire life. It was her, his Elena, with her rosy cheeks, as human as ever.

"How long have I been asleep?" he wondered.

"Of course I'm here, Stefan. Where else would I be?" she chuckled, tugging at his arm to bring him closer. He didn't react in time and fell heavily onto her chest like a lump of lead. "Did you have a nightmare?"

He buried his fingers in her hair, trying to free her face and get a better look at her. She was human again. She was human, and he was alive.

"The worst one, honestly," he confessed, unsure of what to make of it. If it was a dream, he liked being in it. "I hope I'm not dreaming because... losing you again would hurt so much."

The girl looked into his eyes for a few seconds, trying to figure out what he meant, but eventually she couldn't hold back her laughter. It seemed he had a very, very realistic nightmare. Deep down, she pitied him and felt bad for laughing in his face.

"You're not dreaming, Stefan. I'm here," she smiled. He couldn't help but mimic her."But we need to hurry if we want to make it on time without getting killed."

"Make it on time?" he repeated, as she had already crawled across the mattress and crossed the room to grab the clothes she had arrived in the night before. She was just starting to put on her underwear when he got up to catch up with her.

"Don't tell me you don't remember," she laughed, and he shook his head. He definitely seemed more like he had been hibernating than merely sleeping. "Today is my birthday, remember? We had plans to have breakfast at Jenna and Jeremy's house. If they don't realize I'm not there, that is. Couldn't you use your super speed powers or something? We'd save ourselves a good scolding."

Stefan raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Elena, you're 17 years old, and you have a boyfriend who adores you. Do you really think it takes him by surprise when we occasionally spend the night together?"

"It doesn't matter, Stefan," she sounded flustered as she hurriedly put on her jeans. She held her breath for a few seconds to button them up. "They're my family, and I don't want them to think poorly of us. Especially you. I'd like to see you tomorrow too. And the day after tomorrow, and the day after... Do you understand?"

The boy smiled, overwhelmed by the immense tranquility that had just washed over him. Was everything okay, then? Had no one he remembered seeing die suffered any harm?

He couldn't wait to leave the house to find out.

"So you want to see me tomorrow too," he smiled, "and the day after tomorrow."

His girlfriend tried to follow him on the way to the door, but it seemed like Stefan didn't touch the ground with his feet. He crossed paths with his brother just as he was about to reach the door, already holding a glass of whisky in his hand. He greeted them by raising his glass, although not out of pleasure precisely. The annoyance on his face was evident at the sight of his brother and Elena together.

But Stefan wasn't going to be the one feeling guilty about it. In that dream, they seemed to have spent years suffering for her. And all because of his dear brother Damon.

He tried to tell Elena a bit about his journey along the way, but it wasn't long enough to explain everything. Their relationship had started to unravel when Damon was bitten by a werewolf.

"So, you're saying that in the dream, everything started going wrong because Tyler turned into a werewolf and bit Damon?" It sounded crazy when put that way, but it was the truth. Until that moment, everything had been perfect. "It's a bit... crazy, but... knowing you, I'm sure you would do anything to save him."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore. Maybe it would have been better to let him die, so he wouldn't talk so much." It wasn't a bad idea; Damon only opened his mouth to embarrass him or to try to break them up with rumors about his previous girlfriends. Stefan was tired of it. "Besides, we would have saved ourselves a lot of trouble."

As the girl looked out the window and realized the car had stopped in front of her house, she discovered with more fear than embarrassment that Jenna was waiting for them, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. That could only mean two things: either she had spent the entire night sitting on the couch waiting for them, and she would need more than two cups of coffee to finish her thesis, or she had gone up to her room wanting to wake her up for breakfast together and found her bed empty. Either way, it would end up the same. She looked at her boy and bit her lip, resigned.

"Are you ready for my aunt to tell us the birds and bees story and why we can't sleep in the same bed until we're married?"

He also looked out the window to observe the girl. After what he had dreamed, he wouldn't mind receiving another scolding from that woman. Having to bury her had already been tough enough for him.

He reached out his hand, silently asking Elena to offer hers, and she did. He kissed her knuckles one by one to try to calm her down, and it seemed to work because her eyebrows relaxed. Today, they would only have to celebrate a normal birthday, without thinking about any other supernatural creature besides himself. He was willing to fulfill that for her.

- "I can handle whatever she has to say because, honestly, I don't regret what we did last night," even though he couldn't remember it, he could imagine it, "nor what we'll do the next time we're together. I'll pretend it's the first time I hear the birds and bees story, and then we'll celebrate your birthday the way you deserve."

She tilted her head, somewhat surprised and puzzled at the same time. It seemed like Stefan had come from another world, because he spoke as if they hadn't discussed her birthday the night before.

"With a party at the Mystic Grill, remember?" He nodded, not having any idea what she was talking about. "We're meeting Bonnie, Matt, and Caroline to play pool and have some drinks. Although I still think you've prepared something more for me."

"That's something you'll find out in due time," he played it cool, taking the opportunity to catch her cheek before she exited the car and gave her a kiss. She reciprocated, of course, and it warmed his heart. "I love you, Elena."

"I love you too, Stefan," she laughed, brushing him off and looking at her aunt again. "But if you misbehave, I think our relationship won't last very long."

Jenna was truly giving them a death stare, but he refused to succumb to her threatening gaze. His phone vibrated just as he was about to leave as well to accompany her. It was a message from Bonnie: "We have a little problem."

"Uh... what if you go talk to Jenna first," he suggested when she had already closed the door and was waiting for him leaning on the open window of her seat. "I need to talk to... to Damon. He's been asking since yesterday if he can come to your party, and of course, I told him no because... who wants Damon at a party with happy couples, right?"

She raised the corner of her mouth, trying to smile, but all she managed was an uncomfortable grimace. What was he talking about?

"But I told you yesterday... that he could come," she remembered, and Stefan pressed his lips together into a thin line. He was terrible at lying. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem really off."

"No, of course not!" he laughed nervously. Cold sweat was already running down his back. "It's just that this night without you felt like an eternity, and I think I need a few minutes alone. Is it alright if you start making toast for me?"

"Su-sure," she narrowed her eyes to look at him one last time. He was sure he had messed up again with her. "We'll wait for you inside, okay?"

The boy nodded and let her walk away a little before dialing Bonnie's number and calling her. She answered on the first ring, although the first thing he heard wasn't her voice, but the deafening noise in the background. Caroline seemed completely hysterical.

"Stefan, it's great that you called us so quickly. This is a disaster," she hushed her friend, but she ignored her. "The costume shop where we were going to buy the outfits is closed, and Caroline insists that even though it's a 1860s themed party, we can play Bon Jovi music. Could you please tell her that Bon Jovi wasn't even born in 1860?"

"But classical music is so boring, Bonnie! Elena will be bored to death."

"But we agreed that she always wanted a themed party and that she's fascinated by the founding era," her friend complained. "Stefan, we can discuss the Bon Jovi thing, but without costumes, we have nothing to set the ambiance."

"I'll take care of that later," he let out a sigh. He had another problem to solve that he didn't even know existed. "But now I have to have breakfast with Jenna and Jeremy before they kill me."

"Okay, we'll wait for you here."

"What was that?" Caroline asked, abruptly turning off the music from the speakers. "Matt wasn't supposed to come until 12."

"It must have been the wind, the guest house is very old," her friend clarified. And even though Stefan couldn't see her, he knew she was rolling her eyes. Caroline could be exhausting at times. "Don't take too long, Stefan, or we'll need one less dress."