Into Your Arms

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Elena's P.O.V.

When we get home from be carnival, I feel like I'm on cloud 9. Stefan and I finally kissed. I know it wasn't the first time, but that time felt more real. More like we were taking a step in the direction of getting together as more than friends. Stefan opens the door for me and we walk into his house.
"I'm going to go get us something to drink. Is Coke alright?"
"That's perfect. Thank you."
Stefan walks away and my arm is quickly grabbed by a strong hand. Before I can protest, I feel my arm being harshly tugged on. Without thinking, I begin to walk in the direction of the tug. I see that it's Damon pulling me, and I start to object by trying to pull my arm away from him.
"Stop fighting me, Elena. I just want to talk."
"Why couldn't we talk there?"
"Because I didn't want my little brother to interrupt us."
He takes me into his room and closes the door behind me. He turns to face me, standing very close to me. I'm in a trace by those blue eyes all over again. But I have to remind myself that he hurt me. He wasn't nice to me. He didn't care about me.
"What do you want, Damon?"
"I want to apologize."
"Then do it." I say, crossing my arms and taking a step back from him.
"I just did. That was me apologizing."
"You're unbelievable." I roll my eyes and turn around, but he grabs my shoulder and pulls me to face him again.
"Wait. Wait. I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry for the crappy apology and I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I feel horrible about it. I haven't dated anyone since. Please, can I just have one more shot?"
"Considering it's only been a few days, I'd sure hope you haven't dated anyone since we broke up." I say, not convinced by his apology.
"Really! I haven't even slept with anyone!"
"You're lying!" I say, my voice beginning to raise."
"No! I'm not! I swear!"
"Then why are there bras and panties all over your room!"
"They're old." Damon says. I'm still not convinced.
"Damon, I'm sorry, but no. I can't forgive you for how you treated me. Clearly, you've been cheating on me for a while now. There's too many women's clothing items on your floor and in your closet for three days. I can't be with someone who's cheated on me."
"Elena, I can explain. I have an addiction."
"An addiction?" I say, waiting for his Damon response.
"Yes. A sex addiction."
"Oh my god. You're crazy. You're an actual lunatic. I can't do this anymore. We're through. For good. No more chances. Goodbye, Damon." I say as I walk out the door, slamming it behind me.
I begin walking towards the stairs, but I hear a voice behind me. It was Stefan. He's standing outside the door of his room and he changed into black jeans and a tight white v-neck. Seeing him standing there looking so worried about me just breaks down all the barriers that I had up. I run over to him and begin to cry. It's just hitting me that I've been cheated on. Even if I'm incredibly mad at Damon, I was still cheated on. It's like this burning feeling in my chest. It feels horrible. Stefan wraps me in his arms, holding me right, stroking my hair and whispering "shhh" to me as I cry into his chest.
"What's wrong? Talk to me." He says holding me away from him to look into my eyes.
"I-I don't really want- want to talk about it." I say in between sobs.
"Ok. That's fine."
He pulls me against him again for a second before pulling away again and grabbing my hand. He leads me into his room and helps me sit down on the couch. He releases my hand and walks out the door. I look up at the empty room in surprise. He pops his head back into the room to explain.
"I'm going to go get you some water. You just focus on calming down, ok?"
I nod and he leaves again. I begin focusing on slowing my breath. I wipe my eyes and stand up, looking around his room. I realize I've never really looked at his room. We were either doing homework, or it was late and I was tired, or too sad, which was the case of the last time I was in here.
I start at his desk and find a receipt for flowers. I wonder who he bought the flowers for. Does he have a girlfriend that I don't know about? No. That can't be it. If he did, then why would he kiss me? In the corner, I see a stationary set. I can't help but think that it's strange. Why would you need a stationary set when you have a phone? I walk away from his desk and towards his closet. I start looking through the jackets that are all so familiar and smell like his cologne. Then in the back, there is a large bag. I move it towards the center of the closet where I can see it better. I unzip it and my jaw drive. I recognize this suit. It's so familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Then everything is put into place when I look up and see the familiar looking mask on his shelf. It was him. It was him at the dance. This was the suit my mystery guy wore. Stefan was the guy I danced with. It all makes so much sense now. The mesmerizing green eyes, the voice, the smell, the familiarity of him... the kiss. How caring he was. It was Stefan. My secret admirer was Stefan. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him walk into the room with a cup in his hand. He immediately puts it down, knowing what this means. I turn to look at him. His expression is almost blank, but the slightest bit of fear is evident in his eyes.
"I can explain." He says. But I don't need one.
I strut over to him, closing our distance and throw my arms around his neck, kissing him. He quickly pushes me off of him.
"What about Damon?" He asks.
"I caught him cheating. I finally realized what a horrible guy he is and dumped him." I say, smiling, my arms still around his neck.
"I'm sorry." He says. And I can tell he means it. He really is very sweet.
"Thank you." I say.
"For what?"
"For being so kind to me." I say, smiling and looking into those familiar sparkling green eyes. "For being an amazing secret admirer. And for being an amazing friend. For everything."
"I just... I just think that you deserve nothing but the best. Because I think you're amazing." He gives me a small smile, not sure how I would take that. Maybe he thinks that him saying that it weird.
"And is that ? 'The best'?" I joke with him.
"Well, obviously. I'm amazing." He says, smiling. We both give a small laugh before he puts his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him for another kiss. This time, it isn't interrupted until we both are out of breath.
"So... what does this mean?" I ask.
"Well, what do you want it to mean?" He says.
"Well, I hope it means that we're dating."
"Then it means we're dating." He says before giving me another quick kiss.