Pas De Duex (Elena)

[Stefan Demetrio Salvatore]

To anyone who wasn’t in the small circle of those who knew Stefan was on the road to recovery, it might have looked a bit odd to see the vampire standing outside of the ballroom, simply being still. Well, the average Mystic Falls denizen would probably not find it too out of character, but for certain others—they would probably wonder why Stefan wasn’t cruising for a drink among the guests. With one exception, Stefan had been drinking a mixture of animal and human blood, but never directly from the source. Doing such a thing would probably mean death for his victim. Really, if his one encounter hadn’t been with something that wasn’t human, that Ruby girl he fed on would have been dead. Speaking of which, he had seen her the elegant restaurant past the entryway, and thus he was making sure to avoid her at all costs. Tonight was going to be tricky enough to pull off without Ruby making things harder.

Fortunately, Stefan had one convenient excuse. He was supposed to be protecting Elena. It was a bit unclear what could happen to her in a ballroom full of people, but then again, too many things had gone wrong at dances just like this, and if questioned, he could recount the past as his reason for being with his girlfriend. In a way it was sad that he couldn’t be more open about being with Elena, but in the end, it was quite a stroke of good luck that Klaus had ordered him to protect the Doppelganger. Now the only trick was to keep his emotions from being too apparent. It was unknown if any of Klaus’ hybrids or siblings were attending, but if any of them saw Stefan acting too much like his normal self, word could get back to Klaus. That couldn’t happen.

But Elena had yet to arrive, so it wasn’t too hard to keep a blank expression and stare down anyone who tried to be too friendly with a cold glare. Waiting became a repetitive dance. Check the phone, straighten the thin black tie, adjust the sleeves on the sleek wool blazer, check the phone. But he wasn’t sure what else he could do. He didn’t want to blow his cover by speaking to anyone he knew, though he had seen a few friends and felt a few pangs of jealousy at how much they could relax and just have fun, despite the lurking dangers that existed. Stefan did his ritual again, but this time, as he looked up, he caught a glimpse of her and a soft smile came over him. He wondered if he should try to drop the warm expression, so out of character for the Ripper, but he didn’t want to. Elena was here. That was all that mattered.

+++

TAGS: Elena
WORD COUNT: 470
NOTES: Stelena <3 *smooshes them together*

[Elena Isobel Gilbert]

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After finishing getting ready she looked in the mirror, smiling at her reflection. It seemed like ages since she had been able to get all dressed up for something that she was genuinely looking forward to. Sure they had dances and parties in Mystic Falls all the time, more than the typical town she was sure, however this was the first one in quite a while that she hadn't dreaded. It might be due to the fact that things were settling down at least at the moment...it could be due to the fact that all her friends would be there…or it could be because Stefan would be there.

She was betting on the last one, hands down.

Taking one final look at herself she studied her reflection, making sure that she was satisfied. This was a highly formal ball so everyone had to look the part. Her dress was gorgeous, black with a full Cinderella-esk skirt. The top was a corset back with the front dipping lower than she usually wore. The dip had green and red laced flowers on it, accenting the dip but also hiding her cleavage in a modest way. Her hair was down and curly, something she usually avoided thanks to it being her identical ancestor's choice of hairstyles. Though she did add her own unique flare with a silvery headband with a bow on it. It wasn't a huge thing but it did match her dress perfectly so she went with it.

Accessorizing her dress had been a bit of a challenge since green nor red were her favorite colors. However after looking at her mother's jewelry that she had been left she found the perfect set. The necklace was diamond and emerald, hitting right at her neck and accentuating the detail on the dress. The earrings were simply diamond and emerald studs, matching the necklace perfectly. The last accessory was a emerald and diamond ring that was actually hers from when she turned sixteen. It had been a gift from Jenna and matched almost as if it had been made from the same set.

Noting that she was happy with her appearance she quickly slid on her heals which were black and strappy with a higher heal than she was used to but liking the look all the same. Plus the dress was a tad too long on her so the heals helped so it didn't drag too much on the ground.

She walked carefully down the stairs once she was sure she was settled and got into her car, driving carefully to the Mystic Falls Hilton. It wasn't the easiest thing to do in a formal dress but all her friends were going with their dates so she was the loner who had to drive herself. Pulling up to the valet she quickly handed over her keys to the man working the stand and headed towards the entry of the ball, stopping when she saw the warm smile on Stefan's face. She knew she had to watch herself tonight but she couldn't help in returning it. She wasn't sure if she should go to him or keep her distance, but she did know that tonight would be difficult.

Throwing caution to the wind she walked carefully over to him, watching his face in case she saw alarm or warning in it. When she didn't she finished the distance and stood a few feet in front of him. There wasn't anyone paying much attention to them but then again he could hear a lot better than she could.

"Hi." She whispered simply.

Word Count:: 615
Tag:: Stefan Salvatore
Outfit:: Click here for Elena’s Ball Gown!
Note:: LOVE STELENA <3

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[Stefan Demetrio Salvatore]

Watching Elena was simply mesmerizing for him. Everything about her tonight was elegant, effortless… and to know that he would have to be on the lookout all night just made him frown internally. Why couldn’t he just be able to enjoy the evening with his girlfriend? Well, while he was wondering things, why couldn’t there be some way he and Elena could have a long, content life together? Deep down, he knew he had to blame himself. But that’s one of the things he admired about Elena. She understood that this relationship wasn’t easy and would never be normal. And yet, she chose him anyway. It was going to be extremely hard to put on his Ripper act with her on his arm.

The closer Elena got, the more Stefan was aware that he should be on the lookout for anyone who could report his behavior back to Klaus. And though it was difficult for the vampire to pull his eyes off of his love, he did begin to look around, as if he was checking for threats. On the other hand, it wasn’t so bad to make sure that Elena was safe whether he was compelled to do so or not. When she had drawn close to him, he wanted to put his arms around her, but instead he just smiled. He tried to make it kind of a smirk, like Damon’s typical grin, but it ended up being just a sweet smile, with a simple reply, ”Hi.” Stefan reminded himself to work on channeling specific emotions more. Otherwise, no one would believe he was still in Ripper mode. So, instead of offering his arm, he merely made a sweeping gesture to the main entrance, ”After you.” Perhaps there would be more of a chance to be intimate during a dance or two.

Although, following her, Stefan caught a scent that made his entire body tense for a moment. Knowing that Elena would probably sense this, he thought it best to explain quickly, ”I think Klaus is here.” He whispered, his forehead creasing as he spoke, ”Be careful.” The warning was as much for Elena as for himself. The last thing he wanted to do was run into Klaus. If the Hybrid even suspected that Stefan’s humanity was turned back on, all the hard work set forth by Lexi and Elena would have been for nothing. Regardless, Stefan made his way through the entrance, and noted quite a few of Elena’s friends were already attending. He looked to her and said under his breath again, ”If you say hi to Bonnie and Caroline, I can stay behind here for a moment.” It was unfortunate, but true, that Stefan would have to lurk in the distance if Elena wanted any time with other people.

+++

TAGS: Elena
WORD COUNT: 464
NOTES: Short and sweet.

[Elena Isobel Gilbert]

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She could see the effort he made in order to appear aloof, but it wasn’t enough to fool her. While some may think his smile was a smirk, all she saw in it was a soft loving smile from the man that she loved. She knew that this wouldn’t be easy…but then again when had their relationship ever been easy? Even before she knew that he was a vampire their relationship had been filled with drama. Between meddling brothers, her own depression over her parents, finding out what he was, Katherine, Klaus, Elijah, and all sorts of other things, their relationship had definitely stood the test of limitless compassion.

She could see how badly he wanted to take her into his arms, but only because she desperately wanted the same. She hadn’t been able to talk to him much over the past few days since Matt had gone missing. She hadn’t been able to spend any amount of time with him between Jeremy and Caroline and Bonnie. She missed him, missed being in his arms. She wanted nothing more than to grab his hand and drag him back to either her house, the boarding house, or even better…the lake house. She made a mental note to suggest that for New Years before noting his sweeping motion. She smiled thankfully and headed inside, wishing that it was on his arm and not by herself.

She felt more than saw Stefan freeze up behind her and she herself seemed to mimic this motion without conscious thought to do so. Hearing his whispered words she looked around quickly but didn’t see him. She did however see Jeremy and Bonnie smiling and dancing from within the ballroom. She would have gone over to say hi but decided against it, not wanting to interrupt their night. Her brother deserved all the happiness in the world and she would make sure that he got it one way or another.

Hearing Stefan's whispered comments she shook her head. "Nah, they are both happy with where they are." She stated, not seeing Caroline but figuring that if she wanted to talk she would come over to her. "Besides Caroline and I didn't exactly have the best get together the last time we saw one another so I'm going to steer clear tonight." She told him with a sigh. This night was not going to be what she expected. "As for Klaus, I don't see him, but it looks like his little brother is here." She pointed to where Kol was standing and cringed. He was honestly the original that she feared the most with the exception of Klaus. Seeing many people turning in their ballets for Ball Court so she shook her head and looked away.

Turning her attention away from the others in the room she put her focus on her boyfriend. “I hate this.” She whispered.

Word Count:: 511
Tag:: Stefan Salvatore
Outfit:: Click here for Elena’s Ball Gown!
Note:: Short posts or long posts, doesn’t matter to me as long as they are cute lol

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[Stefan Demetrio Salvatore]

Elena paused right next to him, making him wonder if anyone seeing them would think they were too in sync—too much on the same page. He knew as the Ripper, Elena should seem at least a little bit perturbed by his presence, but it was hard to pretend. Perhaps he was being paranoid, but Stefan’s eyes kept scanning the room for anyone watching too closely or giving them a funny look. This night really wasn’t what they had wanted. What was the point in being here together when they couldn’t be themselves? Maybe they would duck out early and spend the rest of the night curled up together. It was an excellent consolation prize for an evening gone a bit sour.

It made sense that Elena didn’t want to bother her little brother and her best friend, and Stefan had to admit they looked content on the ball floor. If he was the envious type, he certainly would have been feeling some envy towards the pair. What was a bit disheartening to hear was that Caroline and his girlfriend were not speaking to each other, evidently. Being a past mentor to the young vampire, Stefan was a bit worried that Caroline being disconnected from her friends would have certain consequences. But he also understood that best friends fought and made up all the time. Fighting made up a great deal of his and Lexi’s relationship at times. To Elena’s statement that she didn’t see Klaus, Stefan gently shook his head, ”I caught his scent. If we’re lucky, he’s not here anymore.” But when the vampire looked to where Elena was pointing, he merely thinly frowned at the sight of Kol, ”Okay, so we’re not lucky.” But they both already knew that. After all, between the two of them, there were probably more than half a dozen people that they wanted to avoid, and even more they had to fool. He had teased both Lexi and Elena about Lexi being their chaperone, but right now, it would have been nice to have an extra pair of eyes to make sure no one caught Stefan acting out of place.

A small pause in the conversation happened, mostly filled in by the background music and the hum of the entire population of the ballroom talking. It was almost as if Stefan could tangibly feel the silence between them and the distance between them that he wanted to close so badly. When Elena turned back to him, he didn’t respond to her for a moment. But eventually, he looked to her and said, with a tone he kept fairly neutral, ”Elena, I can’t do this anymore.” And he waited for her reply, knowing the words he wanted to hear back.

+++

TAGS: Elena
WORD COUNT: 457
NOTES: ~

[Elena Isobel Gilbert]

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Hearing that Stefan caught Klaus’ scent caught the young brunette to tense up exponentially. She didn’t want tonight’s ball to turn into a nightmare like it had on numerous other occasions. She had a brief thought that maybe she should stop attending parties and balls altogether but pushed that thought out of her head as soon as it came. She was one of the only two members of one of the town’s founding families and the founder’s were huge in this town, meaning that she truly had no choice in the matter. She knew Jeremy hated a lot of these things as well (though he didn’t look like he was hating it tonight) and yet he still went…so she would have to as well.

Ditching the parties though wasn’t an out of this world idea though. Thinking back on the past year or so and it was plainly obvious how often things went wrong at town events such as this. The founder's party was where she learned that Damon was abusing Caroline. The car wash was where she learned enough to figure out Stefan's secret. The Halloween party was where Vicki was staked. Caroline's party at the grill was where Lexi was staked by Damon. The Miss Mystic Falls pageant was where she learned that Stefan was still drinking human blood. Founder's Day was where Caroline was hurt and thus leaving her in the hospital in which Katherine was able to turn her. The carnival was where Caroline killed a man. The picnic revival was where Masen tried to kill Stefan and Damon, thus revealing their secret to the sheriff, and the worst one in her opinion being the night where the school was filled with a bunch of seniors and Klaus compelled Stefan to turn off his humanity.

These were just a few…there had been more but those were the ones she could remember directly off the top of her head. She brought herself out of her inner musings and nodded when Stefan stated that they weren't lucky. "Are we ever?" She asked under her breath, knowing that he would be able to hear her.

Hearing his words caused her to freeze for a tiny second before a memory popped into her head. Okay how about this. Today when we're fighting if I say 'I can't do this anymore, Elena' what I'll really mean...is that I love you. And when I say 'Fine, Stefan, Whatever' well it means that I love you too. She shot him a look that anyone else would interpret as a glare but she hoped he knew what it meant. “Fine. Stefan. Whatever.” She told him, her eyes boring into his. Praying that they would be able to make it through this. He had promised her once before that they would get through anything…and he had been right then. She just had to have faith in him and their relationship that they would get through this as well.

Word Count:: 510
Tag:: Stefan Salvatore
Outfit:: Click here for Elena’s Ball Gown!
Note:: <3 <3 <3

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[Stefan Demetrio Salvatore]

Stefan continued to be vigilant, watching for signs of the Original Hybrid. After a few moments though, he began to relax a bit, and hoped that Elena would be able to do the same, ”Maybe he just passed through and he’s not here anymore.” Stefan said, though his eyes were still scanning the room. It couldn’t hurt to be too careful. Beyond Klaus and Kol, he could also smell Rebekah and Ruby, two girls that he did not want Elena to interact with. Stefan wasn’t so convinced that Rebekah would try to pull anything, since she was much too self-involved and would probably be trying to get lots of people to pay attention to her. Ruby, on the other hand, seemed unpredictable, and Stefan didn’t know much about her. Then, the unmistakable scent of his brother led him to spy the older Salvatore across the way, speaking with Rebekah and someone who seemed vaguely familiar. He might have gone to investigate if he wasn’t so reluctant to leave Elena’s side. His ears perked as Elena agreed with him about their monopoly on bad luck, and he grinned for a moment, thinking her indignant tone to be endearing in a way. But of course, he couldn’t say anything and could barely react to it. Stefan was slowly beginning to agree more and more with Elena’s hatred of their situation.

The pause that came before her reply worried the vampire for a moment. It was a risk to say such a thing, since he couldn’t explain and was hoping that she could remember such a small thing from a year ago. But as she stared into his eyes and told him that she loved him in code, he just blinked a couple of times. It made his heart feel like it was on fire, but he resisted the urge to show any of that. When they got home tonight… he wasn’t sure how much he’d be able to hold back. Hopefully Elena wouldn’t find him too clingy. Most of his volatile behavior had calmed down with Lexi’s and Elena’s help, but his appetite, his anger and his passion for the one he loved the most were still difficult to control. But he understood the consequences of failing to restrain any of those, especially here at the ball.

Then again, there had to be some way that they could spend a little time together without drawing too much attention. He had a feeling that some people had already noticed that Stefan wasn’t being as aloof as he should have been, but he almost didn’t care. Finally, hearing the current song end, he laced his fingers through Elena’s and led her towards the ballroom proper, ”C’mon. You’re going to dance with me. Because you can’t resist my bad boy charms,” Stefan said in a teasing manner, a little on the sharp side, trying to act like the Ripper, ”You’ll just have to bear with me,” Which was code for ‘act like you’re putting up with me’. Perhaps if they spoke in riddles and opposites for the entire night, no one would notice?

+++

TAGS: Elena
WORD COUNT: 518
NOTES: Soooo much cuuute... <3

[Elena Isobel Gilbert]

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She noticed how Stefan’s eyes gazed around the room and she herself did the same. She saw Rebekah over in the doorway of the ballroom. It didn’t surprise her that she was talking to some random girl and…Damon. She hadn’t spoken to Damon since he had compelled her to stab Stefan and tell him everything that had gone down since he had come into Mystic Falls. She really had no idea if he had done anything else while under compulsion and she hadn’t had a chance to ask Stefan about it. She also wondered if Damon had his memories back yet or not but was too annoyed with him to go over and ask. “Stefan, I did apologize for stabbing you right?” She asked randomly or at least to someone else it would have been taken as random, to her it was the natural progression of her former thoughts.

His earlier words finally hit her brain having been immersed in her thoughts. “I really hope he came, saw Caroline with that guy, got pissed and left.” She answered honestly, knowing about Klaus’ obsession with Caroline and not liking it in the slightest. “I really don’t want him around Caroline. Not only do I not trust him but I also know how Caroline is. She likes boys and if she suffers a broken heart she tends to do very dumb things…meaning that I don’t want to take that chance of Klaus making a move when she’s vulnerable. God knows what would happen.” She whispered under her breath only loud enough for Stefan to hear her.

Seeing the look in the vampire’s eyes made her own eyes smolder. She hadn’t been with him in the physical sense in so long that she almost ached for him. She understood why they hadn’t been together since he had come back, he hadn’t trusted himself that much alone. However after what they were dealing with and what they would still have to deal with she had no idea how the night wouldn’t end with them clinging to one another in the biblical sense. She needed him, especially after tonight. She wanted to feel him against her and she had absolutely no idea if either of them had the restraint to stop that flaming desire.

Breaking her stare as she felt her tan skin start to darken until his gaze she turned to face the crowd again, noting a few people staring at them. That wasn’t good. She didn’t want to draw attention to them but at the same time she wanted to shout out that he was okay and that they were a couple once more. She knew her later desire couldn’t happen, at least not for a good long while, but that didn’t quell the notion.

She was surprised as she felt Stefan’s familiar hand lock around her fingers, bringing them towards him. Looking up at him sharply she was surprised to see a teasing smile on his face, one that was very similar to his ripper smile though this one held a little more warmth that she doubted anyone but her would be able to notice. She could almost hear the words he really wanted to say in her mind and she nodded, following his lead onto the dance floor. "You know you’re lucky your handsome or else I would have backhanded you by now for forcing me to dance." She told him which was code for 'you look handsome and I'm glad you came up with a way for us to be close without giving anything away'. Thank goodness they knew each other so well or else this talking in code thing would have been tricky.

Word Count:: 639
Tag:: Stefan Salvatore
Outfit:: Click here for Elena’s Ball Gown!
Note:: These two are so precious I can barely stand it! <3

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[Stefan Demetrio Salvatore]

By how she was looking at Damon, the younger Salvatore brother could tell exactly what Elena was thinking of, and her words didn’t come as much of a surprise as they could have been, ”More or less. I won’t make you write a formal letter or anything.” A smile tugged at his lips for a second as he teased her a bit. He understood that it probably was hard for her to have gone through hurting him, even if she was forced to, but the alternative made the choice clear for Stefan. Ironically, hurting Elena had been a fear Stefan had been going through ever since his humanity switch had been flipped back on, and he felt a certain amount of sympathy for her situation. But yes, she had apologized, and he had accepted it without a word, even though he didn’t think she needed to say sorry to him, ”Besides… I’m still compelled to protect you, remember? That means if you’re at risk… I’d do anything to save you.” Of course, even if he wasn’t compelled, and quite possibly even if he was consumed by his Ripper mentality, he would keep her from being hurt.

”That guy? Not Tyler?” Stefan whispered back, completely out of the loop. Although he wasn’t really interested in meddling in or gossiping about Caroline’s relationships, he did know that the young vampire had emotional issues that could lead to trouble, just as Elena was explaining. And also, how had Klaus and Caroline ended up in a romantic situation at all? Had Klaus gained an interest in her? That could certainly be a double edge sword for everyone connected to it. And this new person, whoever he was, if he was human and pissed Caroline off, there could be trouble there too. Tyler was at least able to handle himself, even if he had a sire bond with Klaus. Not to mention if Caroline had filled this new guy in on the fact that she was a vampire, ”I don’t mean to sound paranoid, but the last thing we need is another stranger causing problems.”

With their veiled words of affection still lingering in the moment, it was difficult to tear his eyes away from the wonderful girl on his arm. But he could sense Elena tense up again, and it became evident to them both that certain people were staring at them staring at each other. As far as he could tell, it wasn’t anyone who could report things to anyone who would care about Stefan’s humanity, but he supposed the entire town thought they weren’t a couple anymore. And with the way they were talking, chances were that the average person would think that they weren’t going to get back together. But for anyone who knew them better, it would be hard to say if they would be fooled by their little act. Fortunately, going to dance floor with their pretend tension between them caused most people to return to what they were doing.

The song that started was a sweet Christmas jazz ballad, a bit on the corny side, but the woman’s voice who was singing reminded him of Pasty Cline. Anyway, it wasn’t as if they were really going to be listening to the song as so much as swaying to it. Stefan responded with small snicker, kind of enjoying the little game of opposites they were playing. He readjusted the position of his one hand and slid his other around the small of her back, pulling her close into a casual slow dance form, his words soft, ”You’re not so bad yourself.” That really wasn’t too much of an opposite as it was an understatement. She was simply gorgeous. If he had breath to take, she would have taken it. He considered asking if she wanted to leave right then, but if he was asked, Stefan would probably say he was at least content just being close with his girlfriend.

+++

TAGS: Elena
WORD COUNT: 660
NOTES: They're going to end up running away from the ball, aren't they?

[Elena Isobel Gilbert]

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She glared at him, though anyone who knew her would notice that it was a playful glare. “Thank god for that. After finals I’m surprised my hand didn’t fall off. And I am sorry.” She told him, though she realized she was treading on dangerous grounds. “Granted if you hadn’t been compelled to protect me I doubt I would have gotten a stab in before you took me down.” She told him, looking imploringly at him hoping he understood that she was just covering her tracks. She knew that they had to be careful for Rebekah was Klaus’ little lap dog and Kol would do whatever he wanted regardless.

“I didn’t do anything else did I?” She asked, a nagging part of her brain kept telling her that she had done something else that she didn’t remember. She remembered stabbing Stefan in the stomach, she remembered reporting everything that had happened since Stefan and Damon had come to Mystic Falls, yet there was a part of her that rebelled against the knowledge that these were the only things that Damon had made her do. She could easily remember the first time that Damon had tried to compel her and she had hit him, thanks to having the necklace that Stefan had given her. He had tried to get her to kiss him and it hadn’t worked. So stabbing Stefan and telling him the truth seemed a bit too tame for Damon in that way.

Shaking her head she looked over where Stefan was looking, seeing that guy, Dean, she thought his name was and Caroline and shrugged. “Apparently Tyler left to break the sire bond. She and Matt hooked up one night but then she got with this guy Dean I think she told me his name was. And yeah, Klaus has a thing for Caroline.” She told him before realizing once again that she wasn’t playing her part very well. “Of course if you were in your right mind you’d know all this.” She told him, shooting him an apologetic glance. She hated having to play a role with him but she knew it was in order to keep him as well as everyone else that she loved safe…so she would do it…she would just hate every minute of it.

“Tell me about it. Especially since it was because of this that Matt left town.” She told him. “I am not really impressed with Caroline jumping from guy to guy recently but unfortunately I can’t tell her what to do. We haven’t seen eye to eye on a lot lately so I doubt she’d listen to me anyway.” She shrugged. “Luckily she’s stemmed Klaus’ advances numerous times so I don’t think we have to worry about that.” She whispered under her breath so that only Stefan could hear her.

Feeling his arms around her caused her heart to speed up. She wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in his arms all night, never having to let one another go. She didn’t want to have to play this part, pretend as if they were disgusted by one another. Well, her part was a bit easier to play than his. Even when he had been under the control of the ripper she had still wanted him back, begged for him to come home to her, so if she messed up she could play it off as getting swept up in the moment of wishing things were back to normal. He was the one who had to walk a fine line and she knew it bothered him. Leaning in to him so that her head was on his shoulder for a moment she whispered quickly. “Think we should stage a bit old drama filled fight and storm out in separate directions? At least we could sneak up to the lake and have a tiny bit of time for ourselves before real world comes crashing down.” She stated, barely a whisper so that no one had a chance of hearing.

Word Count:: 707
Tag:: Stefan Salvatore
Outfit:: Click here for Elena’s Ball Gown!
Note:: Oh most definitely! Lol. I doubt they’d last long at the ball where all couples were around and they couldn’t even pretend to be one.

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[Stefan Demetrio Salvatore]

”I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t compelled to protect you.” He put, a bit darkly. Stefan knew he was supposed to be playing it dark and evil, but even saying that felt horrible. Probably because it was true. Had he not been compelled to protect Elena, he would have kept his distance from her, and probably would have stayed at Klaus’ side, where Lexi could never have captured him. But he still recognized her apology for the third time, though he didn’t smile. In fact, his mouth kind of slumped into half a frown when she asked if there was anything else. That was hard, even harder than playing the Ripper. Even though he hated how his brother went after Elena, he still wanted to be a little considerate of Damon’s feelings. But he didn’t want to outright lie to his girlfriend and claimed that nothing happened. He fidgeted a bit before trying to flippantly remark, ”You should ask Damon about that.” But it came out as an annoyed mutter. He hoped that Elena wouldn’t press the issue, since he really didn’t know what to say when it came to Damon kissing her and then compelling her to forget about it.


”I don’t really care who Caroline is sleeping with. I just don’t want anyone to screw around with what’s happening in Mystic Falls.” Stefan said bluntly, trying to be a little extra caustic to make up for Elena’s chattiness. He knew she would see through it, but hopefully Caroline wouldn’t catch wind of it. Stefan already had a long list of things to apologize for and adding ‘I kind of called you a slut at the Christmas Ball’ was not one he wanted on there. But he was even more worried about Caroline. It was possible that she wasn’t trying to control her emotions enough and that’s why she was acting out so much. He had only taught her very little about being a vampire, and perhaps with the lack of any vampire willing to teach her, she had been sliding. Maybe Caroline was using relationships like he abused blood. But the unfortunate truth was that he couldn’t do anything about it right now. At least Caroline had made a line at hooking up with Klaus.

Feeling her pulse race was exhilarating. There really wasn’t anything else in the world like it. To hear her heartbeat and touch her warm skin—he could pretend that he was almost alive himself. Maybe it was the emotions still rattling around him, but it almost made him want to tear up that he couldn’t say I love you to her like this. Seeing the other couples, even friends just having a good time, being able to genuinely show they cared for the ones they were with while he and Elena were having to use all manners of code and lies was something that made him feel a bit despondent, even with his love swaying in his arms. As she leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder, he was worried about how that would look, but was soon more interested in what she had to say. Giving a slight nod, he whispered back, ”Okay.” He didn’t really like the idea of drawing so much attention to them by having a spectacle of a fight, but simply slipping off in different directions would probably cause too much suspicion to arise among the guests.

After a few more moments of dancing, Stefan gave a little chuckle, and then finally spoke up in a tone a bit more frigid than he thought he was capable of, ”Let me tell you something. You are really so cute… when you’re this desperate.”

+++

TAGS: Elena
WORD COUNT: 617
NOTES: Complete 180... oh Stefan x3

[Elena Isobel Gilbert]

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Hearing his words hurt her though she knew he was playing a part. Unfortunately the fact that it was true didn’t help the matter anyway. It also didn’t help that the way that Lexi had been able to reach him had been because she was in danger. She played on that compulsion and forced him to turn his humanity back on. If he hadn’t been compelled to protect her then he wouldn’t have cared when Lexi stabbed her in the stomach. It wouldn’t have mattered. Luckily for them Klaus seemed to think he was better than he really was or else they wouldn’t have had a clue how to help him.

Her frown became more pronounced when she asked if she had done anything else and he told her to ask Damon. That didn’t bode well but she made a mental note to do just that. She wondered what else he could have possibly done or more accurately made her do that would upset Stefan more than stabbing him seemed to and she could only think of a couple things, none of which were things that she even wanted to consider. She made a mental note to smack Damon as hard as she could once she actually talked to him again just for the compelling her thing, whether or not she had told him to or not.

Stefan's comment was more blunt than she was used to, reminding her of a time when he had called her a human blood bag. She shivered at the tone as well as the memory but kept her face schooled into hopefully an expressionless mask. "Well hopefully he won't screw up things in Mystic Falls. We all know how much you'd hate that." She told him, making sure that her voice was steady before continuing on, hating herself for even trying to pick a fight with him, even if it was pretend. "We all know that your precious Klaus would hate it if something didn't go his way." she almost sneered, her eyes apologetic.

She could see the reluctance on his face when she proposed the idea of fighting and it didn’t take a genius to realize why. Fighting would call attention to them. Unfortunately what she noticed more than anything was that the attention had already been upon them. She had heard rumblings from students and teachers back at school how they couldn’t believe that their once seemingly perfect relationship had come down to heated looks and sneering comments. She had even heard one of the teachers say that they wondered if the superlatives could be changed since she and Stefan had won ‘Cutest Couple’. So it was understandable that people were looking at them, and she had a feeling that the loving looks were more suspicious than a fight would be.

She felt him tense up just a little before she heard his cold words. Shooting him a glare and ignoring the pang in her chest she pulled away. Remembering a similar time that they had a similar fight it was almost as if the words were ingrained into her brain. I know who you are. Better than anyone Stefan. And I'm not giving up. Elena, Do you have any idea how pathetic that makes you? No Stefan. It makes me strong. “Why? Because I care about you. Because I believe that somewhere inside your still there? That makes me desperate?” She asked him, hating how her voice shook even though it was all just a ploy. “Last I checked that made me an optimist, not desperate.” She told him before slamming her heal down, making it look like it was on his foot but really it was on the floor next to him and walking away, not looking back.

Word Count:: 681
Tag:: Stefan Salvatore
Outfit:: Click here for Elena’s Ball Gown!
Note:: I can archive this and then you can start the new one at the lakehouse or you can post once more and I can start the one at the lakehouse. Either way I’m good. Just let me know. <3

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[Stefan Demetrio Salvatore]

Though her face had kept perfectly still, Stefan had felt the slight tension that went through Elena’s body as he spoke about the happenings in Mystic Falls. Had his plan to speak in code backfired? Perhaps, since he was beginning to notice more and more eyes following their movements. Just the fact that they were dancing together was probably suspicious enough. But how was he supposed to go to a ball with his girlfriend and not dance with her? Another lose-lose situation for the couple. But at least this way, they could say they were brave enough to try this. But he had to answer her again as the Ripper, and the answer was not he wanted to give, ”I just want the job to be over so that I can leave.” He said, his voice tinged with a sour tone and a sardonic half-grin on his face. It seemed so long ago that all he wanted to do was escape Klaus and Mystic Falls. Now, between Damon mysteriously losing his memory and Elena, he had every reason to stay.

But they had to leave this ball somehow, and not on good terms. He still could see several people giving them confused or unimpressed glances, and he knew that he would have to say something that no one expected from a Stefan in his right mind. He felt a pit in his stomach well up, but he spat out the vile words anyway. Anyone far enough away wouldn’t notice how upset they made Elena, but Stefan felt a quiet sense of loss as she wrested herself from his arms. It was hard to remain cool and aloof as she flung words back in his face, and he had to swallow the urge to apologize right away. But he kept his jaw strong, even with the tremor he heard in Elena’s voice. He reacted with fairly good timing to her ‘stepping’ on his foot, his teeth grinding together as if to bite back a yelp of pain. He managed to look up and watched her walk away until she was out of sight, and soon he couldn’t even hear her footsteps anymore.

But the pressure of the stares that they had been receiving all night was suddenly not there anymore. Maybe they felt awkward looking at a spurned man, but that wasn’t the thing on Stefan’s mind. What exactly was he supposed to say when he met with Elena at the lake house? It seemed that his emotions were not fully in check, and he had gone overboard. The glare that she had given him had hurt much more than the knife she had stabbed him with. But it had done the job, and it seemed everyone took the ruse well. Stefan stole away to a corner for a moment, giving harsh glares at anyone who dared looked his way, and after ten minutes left the ball, making his way to the Boarding House to pack as quickly as he could.

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TAGS: Elena
WORD COUNT: 500
NOTES: Stick a fork in it, it's done :3 Can't wait for next thread.

[ADMIN BRITT]