Our Love Prevails {Stelena} (1)

5-Saying Goodbye

The next day

Elena's POV

I wake up with mixed emotions, I feel happy for the fact that Stefan proposed to me last night. To have someone as amazing as Stefan propose to me is honestly unbelievably perfect, I'm still in shock. But then, the sadness drips in, slowly but surely and then floods my body. I don't want Stefan to leave, I really don't. But this is an amazing opportunity for Stefan and I'm not going to be the one to stop him. Basically I don't want him to leave me but I do want him to go, confusing right?
All I know is that this is an amazing opportunity for him and I'm happy that he's been selected to go. Pushing any negative thoughts to the back of my mind, I smile at the tightening grip around me.
"Good morning," I smile. I'm honestly just trying to stay positive for him. Although, I can't deny how happy I am because of his proposal.
"How is my gorgeous fiancée this morning?" He asks and I can't help but smile at the word 'fiancée.'
"I'm good. How is my handsome fiancé this morning?" I ask as I turn to face him.
"I'm okay," he says. I furrow my eyebrows at him, knowing that he isn't. Although I said I'd push this to the back of my mind for now, I hate seeing him upset.
"You sure? You don't sound it." I give him a comforting smile, attempting to let him know that I'm here for him to talk to.
"Yeah I guess. Are you going to be okay on your own?" I gently push away the stray hairs resting on his forehead.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about me." I don't want him to worry in the slightest way, I just want to make sure that everything goes okay for him. I snuggle my head towards him, appreciating lying with him for the last time before he leaves for four months.
"I guess we have a lot to tell our parents today," he says as he touches my ring. I nod my head, happy about telling them that I have a fiancé, but dreading seeing their expression when they find out that he's leaving.
"I guess we do," I reply as I lift my head and kiss him on the lips.

Somehow we managed to get out of bed and eat breakfast, it took a lot but we got there. At the moment we're packing Stefan's things ready for us to leave for the airport in a few hours. It stings having to pack as it reminds me of break ups, but I've been telling myself that it's not a break up. When we're almost finished I hear a knock on the door.
"I'll get it," I say before kissing him briefly and heading down stairs.
"Hey, thank you for coming." I open the door to allow Stefan's parents, my mum, Jenna, Caroline and Bonnie to enter.
"What's all this about? What's going on?" I hear a bunch of other questions regarding the news we have to share.
"I'll take you upstairs and then we'll tell you together," I laugh nervously. I take them up the stairs and into our bedroom. When they see his suitcase and belongings inside they immediately panic.
"Are you two breaking up? Oh please no, you can work through it." Lilly says in pure concern.
"It's okay, we're not breaking up," I reply to ease her.
"Then what is it?" Jenna chirps in and I look at Stefan. He has the same nervous look on his face as I do on mine.
"Do you want the good news first or the other news?" Stefan asks, and they all look at each other in confusion.
"Good," we hear a few times, so we know they want to hear about the engagement.
"Okay..." I say holding up my ring for them to see. The girls all squeal and come to me, trying to get a closer look. They all love it as much as I do, Lilly especially. My mum and Lilly start to cry, which makes me start to feel emotional.
"I'm so proud of you two," my mum says after all the chaos dies down. We both smile at her words.
"So my boy's finally popped the big question!" Giuseppe smiles and pats Stefan on the back, who is also grinning away.
"Congratulations you two, but can we also know why you're packing?" Caroline asks in anticipation.
"Okay, about that..." I say nervously as I play with my fingers.
"Basically, I'm being relocated for a few months. They're moving me to Australia." They take a while to process the simple and short sentences.
"So you're leaving? Are you leaving as well Elena?" Bonnie asks, and I see a tear slide down her cheek.
"I'm not leaving, but Stefan is," I say quietly but loud enough for them to hear.
"Oh my god... When are you leaving?" Lilly asks, looking like she's almost in tears.
"In a few hours," Stefan replies.
Lilly wipes her eyes with her fingers before stepping forward in a panic. "That's so soon. Um, we're going to help you pack."
"You guys don't have to, I'm almost finished actually. Why don't you all go downstairs whilst I finish up here?" Stefan says and looks towards me, looking as if he's seeking help from me.
"Yeah, we have some time so I'll make some tea and we can sit down for a while," I say before escorting them all downstairs.
"How are you feeling about this, Elena?" I hear and I take a breath in.
"I think that it's a great opportunity for him," I smile before sitting down next to Bonnie. I look towards her and she subtly tilts her head to the side and raises her eyebrows.
"Okay fine, it sucks that he has to leave and I'll miss him but, I am happy for him," I say.
"Don't worry, we'll make sure you don't have enough time to miss him. You'll be too busy looking through wedding magazines." I laugh at the comment and bring my gaze back down to my ring. The thought of a wedding makes me so happy, I can't wait to start planning it.
"I'm sure I will," I say with a hint of sarcasm. Saying that I'll be doing nothing but plan this wedding is a little far fetched, of course I'm still going to miss him.
"I just can't believe all of this was sprung on the two of you so fast." I nod in agreement.
"But anyway, tell us how he proposed. That'll take your mind off it," Caroline says as she leans forward. Bonnie, Lilly and my mother do the same, it makes me laugh how interested they are.
"Well, if you must know," I smile. "We went out to dinner last night and the restaurant happened to be the restaurant we went to on our first ever date." Caroline and Bonnie's mouths drop open before they smile and squeal.
"Are you talking about that really romantic place? The one with the field a mile down the road?" Caroline asks and I nod to answer her questions.
"Oh my god! That place is so cute, how romantic," Bonnie squeals.
"I love that place so much!" Lilly chimes in.
"I did tell him it was a nice choice of restaurant," I laugh. "But anyway, we eat and finish off our meals and when we get outside he tells me that he's got another surprise for me, but it requires walking. So I go along with it and he takes me down the same forest track as we've been down over the years. He leads me to the field and I'm looking at the stars in the sky and all of the sudden he's down on one knee saying all of these romantic things." I finish after my rambling. I'd rather keep his speech private since it was something personal to us both.
"I don't think I've ever heard anything cuter in my life," my mum says before she stands up to give me a hug.
"I'm so happy for you," she adds.
"Thank you mum," I say sincerely.
We spend the next couple of minutes talking until we hear Stefan making his way down the stairs, suitcase in his hand.
"Hey, have you got everything?" I ask as I get up to help him.
"Yeah I think so, I'm all ready," he says.
"Good," I say a little quieter and less confidently. He takes my hand in his before following me to the sofa.

When the time came to go, they all decided that they want to come with us to drop Stefan off. I'm not objecting at all, they need to say goodbye as much as the next person does.
We're all in separate cars since we don't all fit in one single car. I'm driving Stefan and we've been talking for the whole drive. Stefan also rang Klaus to let him know what was happening, since Klaus wasn't able to come round today because of work, and told him that he'll call him when he next can.
It's about a two hour drive to the airport and thankfully we make it there with time to spare. We all walk down to Stefan's gate and wait. I feel my emotions heighten at the sight of hugging couples and people separating to go into their separate gates.
"It'll be okay," Lilly says as she places her arm around my shoulder.
"I know. I just hate the thought of him leaving," I say to her. We both look over to Stefan, who's saying his goodbyes to his dad. Giuseppe is definitely not one to cry but even he's almost in tears. My fingers subconsciously lower to wrap around the beautiful diamond ring that now lies on my engagement finger.
"Four months sounds like a lot but, in reality, it's nothing compared to the lifetime you'll spend together." Her words are comforting but nothing's going to take away the longing I'll have for him. Nevertheless I smile at her comment and she smiles back comfortingly.
A few more people start to arrive at the gate which makes us realise how little time we have until he has to leave.
"Mum," we hear and instantly Lilly has her arms around Stefan.
"We'll miss you, but don't let that stop you from having a good time out there. I want to hear all about it," she says.
"You will mum," he replies with a laugh. After a heartwarming hug, they both pull away. I know for a fact that I'm going to start crying before he even says my name.
As expected, tears start falling from my eyes as he stands in front of me.
"Hey, don't cry, it'll be okay." He pulls me into a hug and I wrap my arms around him tightly, not wanting to let him go and leave me.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to cry. I'm happy for you," I say resting my head on his shoulder.
"I know you are honey," he says with a kiss on my forehead.
"Be safe, and call me when you get there." I say as we release from the hug, a small smile on his face, even if he's forcing one like I am.
"I will, please look after yourself, don't worry about me. Call me if you need me," he says before kissing me on the lips. I hang on to the kiss for as long as I can, knowing that this will be our last kiss for four whole months.
When our lips finally part we hear the flight attendant on the speaker calling passengers to the plane. I give him one last hug, surprised by the fact that I haven't clung to him or begged him not to go. I guess I'm just holding it together for him.
"I love you," I say at the last minute. He smiles and kisses me once more.
"I love you too." Is the last thing I hear him say before he has to go.
We all wave him off as he reluctantly picks up his bag and walks over to the gate. He disappears behind the doors. That's when it happens. That's when I fall apart. Buckets of tears come flowing out of my eyes and I can't stop them, not even if I tried.
"He'll be back soon honey, you'll see."
"It's all going to be okay."
"You're strong, you can get through this."
I hear all of these comforting things as I continue to cry but my mood still doesn't change. I know it sounds like I'm over reacting but at this point in time, it feels understandable to react the way I'm reacting. He's the love of my life and I'm losing him for four months, that's a third of an entire year.
Without Stefan I feel only half complete, he is my second half; he completes me. Seeing him disappear behind the gates just makes all of this much more real and upsetting. I know the next four months are going to be hard without Stefan, but I'm going to take everyday as it comes.

AN: So Stefan's leaving for four months... How are we all feeling about that?? I can't wait to publish the next few chapters because they're all really interesting and I think you'll like them.
Also, I'm so sorry that I've taken so long to update. I've been having some personal issues lately so I haven't been writing much. I'm going on holiday this Friday so I'll have more time to write so hopefully I'll update soon. Thank you all for the support.
-Chelsea x