𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐓, ᵗʰᵉ ᵛᵃᵐᵖⁱʳᵉ ᵈⁱᵃʳⁱᵉˢ

𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 + 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 & 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦

𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞

back at the school, phoebe arrived with her mother for the event that's taking place there for future careers.

the pair stood together at the musician career, laughing and reminiscing about memories of phoebe when she was a little girl and music.

then stefan enters the classroom, almost immediately catching sight of phoebe laughing and talking with her mother; it brought a smile to his face.

she was living her normal life, without him and the stress of worrying about him and his secret.

that's all he wanted for her.

then phoebe caught his gaze.

stefan nodded his head toward the door.

the teen nodded back in understanding.

~~~~~~~~~~

phoebe leaned against the wall outside the classroom,''i'm guessing you're not here to plan the path for your future'' she looked toward the younger salvatore, who didn't answer,''you're looking out for me''.

''hope that's okay''.

the dawson girl nodded a little, walking back inside the classroom, moving to check out the writing career, figuring if stefan just wanted to look out for her then she might as well go back to enjoying the festivities.

he followed behind her,''you know, i wanted to be a doctor before everything happened, but, uh, then i couldn't, cause...''

"the blood'' phoebe finished, with a nod, not bothering to make eye contact with him.

''yeah. i've dabbled in a bunch of different things, though''.

''didn't love anything enough to stick to it?'' phoebe glanced up at him for a second, before moving around the table to a different career.

''no, i—i loved it all. i just--i had to move on before anybody could notice that i wasn't getting any older''.

''how long before that would happen?'' phoebe asked, still looking at the careers.

''few years, usually. sometimes shorter''.

the girl knew this wasn't about careers anymore as she finally looked up at him,''and you always left?''

''i didn't have a choice'' stefan said, trying to get the girl to understand why he had to leave.

phoebe didn't respond and averted her eyes back to the career table.

''so what about--what about you? what are your, uh, plans for the future?''

''i don't wanna talk about my future, stefan, because everything you're saying is making it perfectly clear that you're not gonna be in it'' phoebe stated, looking up at him.

''phoebe, it's not that i don't wanna be in it'' stefan started, trying to get phoebe to understand that him being in her life is just too dangerous.

''you can't. i get it. i heard you the first time, the second time, and i appreciate you looking out for me, but, please, if you're gonna leave, then just go. please'' the teen said, with nothing but pain in her eyes, which stefan saw.

stefan didn't get the chance to respond because jenna had walked up to the pair,''since elena is not here, you're gonna have to help me with my problems. so, please hide me'' she said, turning to phoebe, seeming irritated and afraid for some reason.

''what's going on?'' phoebe turned her head to her friend's aunt with furrowed brows, after seeing her current mood.

''the scum fell has landed'' jenna said, referring to logan fell, her ex boyfriend.