Fairytale

Chapter 26

"Stefan" Was all that I could say i was so surprised.

"Hey" He said with a huge smile on his face. How could he not be smiling he had just won an award.

"Hey" I said trying to force my smile

There was a long pause afterwards as I was trying to work out what to say next. "Congratulations on your award that's fantastic. You really deserve it."

He smiled again "Thank you. I was so nervous up there."

"I think you did great" I said smiling more genuinely now.

Again another pause before Stefan broke it this time.

"I'm sorry."

I looked back at him with both love and shock on my face "What for?" I needed to hear it from him personally.

"I'm sorry for being a jerk to you. I worked out what your letter meant the other day and I feel terrible for it. All I wanted to do was give you the perfect relationship and to be loved for the amazing person that you are." He started before he couldn't say anymore.

"How did you work it out?" I asked.

"..... honestly you would not like how I found out." My stomach lurched at the idea of what it could be.

"You have to tell me otherwise we can't get passed this." I say trying to encourage him.

"Okay." He said taking a deep breathe. "I was on the phone to Lexi still trying to decipher your message and she confessed about what Rebekah was like. I was so hurt by you leaving still I didn't want to listen so I hung up on her and decided that I needed to work it out for myself. So.. I called Rebekah and invited her over." He starts. Inside I am bubbling fury at just the mention of 'her' but I let Stefan carry on. "Anyway, I tried to talk to her about it and she just said that you were looking for drama and all but I insisted that she tell me why cause I knew that she really knew why she left...and she freaked out, told me she loved me and....." I look at him trying to make him finish his sentence.

"And?" I prompt.

"She kissed me." He finally said.

"Oh." Was all that I could say. My insides drop as I realise what happened. Inside I am mad that it took something so drastic for Stefan to realise it, but at the same time, it saved me trying to explain everything to Stefan tonight. However, I'm shocked and surprised that she finally snapped and revealed her true feelings to him. But the next thing that comes out of my mouth is the one thing I really wished that I didn't have to ask.

"Did you kiss her back?" I asked hoping for the right answer. My stomach ties in knots as I await the answer, trying so hard not to cry at this news.

"No no no not at all. It felt too weird so I pushed her away and she slapped me, told me that she was the best thing that ever happened to me and that I had lost future happiness and stormed off. To be honest I was glad that it had happened because once it all went down, I realised just what you meant. I thought about all of the times that you, Lexi and Damon had tried to warn me but I was just too stupid to see it for myself and for that I am truly sorry." He walks up to me cupping his hand to my cheek as I feel a tear run down my cheek. This was the first time that we have touched in a week and I am fully fighting the urge to jump into his arms and never let him go, but I needed to let him finished what he was saying.

He connected his eyes with mine and smiled his oh-so-sweet smile and said to me in a soft tone. "I love you Elena. I will always love you. I don't know what I would do without you in my life. I just hope that I did not leave it too late for us to start again."

Tears are now running down my cheeks as I watch his eyes change to sadness and hope. Inside I am bursting with joy that it was not as I feared and that he still loves me. I am full to the brim with love for this man but I have to calm myself down to talk in a rational and adult manner.

I take a deep breathe and look back into those wonderful eyes as I say my next few words very carefully as I place my hand over his own that is on my cheek feeling that connection run through us even more than before. "I know that you do Stefan. But you really hurt me and these last few days have been awful and I hope that I never have to go through that again. I truly thought that I had lost you when the newspaper article came out saying that you had moved on so quickly with Rebekah." Stefan looks at me as if he was going to say something in protest but I continue in time to stop him in his tracks. "But once I found out from Matt what was really happening, I had never felt so happy. I knew that there was still a chance for us and now that you realised what was happening..... I can begin to trust you again. I do love you Stefan, please know that. But I can't be fully with you right away like we were. We really do need to start from scratch as a couple. This is not going to blow off easily."

He nodded in response. "Okay. That is understandable. Are you still living with me?"

I smile. "Yes I am. I still want us to be going out and I want to still be living with you, but I need to be able to be with you knowing where you and I stand on things now. You didn't trust me enough to believe me when I was trying to tell you something important so we need to begin again. From this moment on. This will be where our story begins." By the end of my little speech I am grinning from ear to ear. To finish off, I say "And I don't blame you for the kiss with Rebekah. She kissed you not the other way around."

Stefan smiles at me even more than before as I see his shoulders visibly relax. "Thank you." He says enveloping me in his large embrace and immediately I am home again. I feel the pain and the hurt and the struggle of the last few months just melt off my body as I am transported back to the girl that first met her prince at an interview for her work.

Stefan moves away from me and starts to lean his head down towards mine. He looks nervous as his lips search for mine but when they finally lock, all of both of our emotions are dragged into this one kiss. Everything that has happened recently lifted off us as if this big burden had been lifted. His tongue moves my lips apart and starts to look for mine, searching every corner of my mouth possible. I feel his hands roam around my body as I feel myself doing the exact same thing. The familiar sense of adrenaline rushes through me as I am slammed against the wall, moaning slightly from my back smashing in to the wall and from feeling Stefan all over me again. As I feel his kiss break from my lips he is immediately on my neck where he knows full well is my weakness. My head rolls back and my eyes shut as I enjoy the feel of his touch once again. I need his right now. I need to feel his touch, I don't ever want to let go. I am NEVER letting go.

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