The Call

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next morning, after getting ready for school, I walk into the kitchen and hear Elena talking to Jenna about Stefan. "I don't know what is going on with him. I thought we had a good time Friday night. But when I talked to him Saturday he told me that he liked me but that he thought that we should just be friends." Jenna sees me walk in and hands me a cup of coffee and says "Maybe he just doesn't want to date anyone right now. Just be friends and see where it goes." Elena looks at her a little sad and says, "Yeah, maybe you're right." and walks out to meet Bonnie. Jenna looks at me and asked "You seem happy this morning." I smile and say "I am but I have a problem." She looks at me concerned and I say "The reason Stefan doesn't want to date her is because he wants to date me. Do you think I should back off since she likes him?" Jenna looks at me and says "Absolutely not. You deserve to be happy too and he obviously makes you happy." I hug her and say "Thanks Jenna." I grab my bag and head out the door to Caroline's car.

Getting into Caroline's car I tell her about Elena's conversation this morning with Jenna and mine and I tell her about Stefan's text about promising me a date and she says "It's about time Layne comes out of Elena's shadow." I can't help but laugh and it feels good. Once we get to school, Elena and Bonnie go one way and Caroline and I go the other. Stefan walks up and kisses my cheek. "Good morning." he says. "Morning." I say and we head to class. I feel Stefan intertwine our fingers and I can't help but smile as I squeeze his hand. We get to class and take our seats and it seems like this class is a little more interesting this morning than before.

We make it to lunch and are sitting in the cafeteria and I see Elena and Bonnie looking at us and Elena looks shocked when she sees Stefan sitting beside me. The three of us are talking about one of the homework assignments that we are dreading when Elena walks over. "Layne, can I talk to you a sec?" she asked. "Sure." I say. I get up and walk over away from everyone else and she asked "Are you trying to hurt me?" I look at her shocked and asked "What are you talking about?" She sighs and says "You knew I liked Stefan and here you are flirting with him." I take a deep breath and say, "El, look. I know you like him but I like him too but if you want me to step away, I will. But I really like him El." I tell her. She huffs and says "I want you to step away." I sigh and say "Okay. I will. He's all yours." I walk back over to the table and get my things and walk out the door with Caroline hot on my heels. "Where are you going?" she asked. "Home. I'll call you later." I tell her before walking away and leaving her standing there.

I get home and head up the stairs and to my bed. Laying down, I start to cry. Why can't I be the one for once? Why do I always have to back down and let her have what she wants?" Maybe I should just get out of here for a while. Packing a bag, I put my things in my car and head out to the cabin. I can be alone there and think.

It takes me over an hour to get there and by the time I get there, my phone has blown up. Calls from Caroline, Stefan and Jenna. I read each message:

C: Where are you? Call me right now and tell me what is going on.

J: Layne Marie call me right now. Where are you?

S: Layne, please call me and let me know you are okay. What happened with Elena?

I decide to text Jenna and tell her that I am okay but that I am taking some time to myself but that I am somewhere safe. I call Caroline. "Where are you?" she greets me. "I'm safe, Care. I just had to get out of there for a while." I say. "What happened?" she asked. "What do you think? Little sister asked me to step away because she likes him and I did what little sister wanted. Like I always do." I tell her. "Layne, he is going crazy worrying about you. You need to call him." she says. "I can't call him. It doesn't matter. She likes him. She can go after him now. I am thinking about moving back with Uncle John." I tell her and she says "The hell you are. You are not leaving me and you are going to be with Stefan. Just because you walked away doesn't mean that he will be with her." she tells me. "Just call him because I know you are at the cabin. That is where you always go when things bother you. I won't tell anyone where you are but if you don't call him and talk to him I will bring him up there and lock you two in one of the rooms until you work this out." she threatens. Only thing is that she will do it. "I'm not calling him." I tell her and hang up.

Two hours later, the front door opens and in comes Caroline and Stefan. "What did I tell you I was going to do? Now, you two get in that bedroom and talk this out while I make dinner." she tells us. I sigh and lead him to one of the bedrooms. "What happened?" He asked as we sat down side by side on the bed. "Elena likes you, Stefan. You should be with her." I tell him. "I don't want to be with her. I want to be with you. What did she say to you?" he asked. "She asked me why I was trying to hurt her because I knew that she liked you. Knowing how she is, I told her if she wanted me to step away I would and she said she wanted me to step away so I did." I tell him, looking down at my hands. Stefan turns me to look at him. "I like you. Not Elena. You. You don't realize how much you fascinate me. How much it makes me want to get to know you more." he tells me and a tear falls down my cheek. "But-" and he cuts me off by kissing my lips softly. "No buts. I like you Layne. I want you to be my girlfriend. Please?" he asked. I ask "Are you sure?" He intertwines our fingers and says "I'm sure."

We walk out to the kitchen where Caroline has made dinner and we eat. After dinner, we stay at the cabin and I call Jenna. "Hey, Jenna." I say. "Where are you? Are you okay?" she asked. "I am now. I just needed to get away and think. I'm at the cabin. Caroline and Stefan are here too." I tell her. "Is that why you left?" she asked. "Elena wanted me to step away from him so I did but Caroline brought him up here so that we could talk and he wants to be with me. Not her." I explain. "Good. You have fun up there and I expect you to be home tomorrow. I will handle Elena. Get some rest." she tells me. "Thanks Jenna. Love you." I say before ending the call.

Walking back into the house, I sit on the couch with Stefan and Caroline and we put on a movie. Once the movie is done, we head to bed. Me in the master bedroom, and Caroline and Stefan take the other two rooms. Before heading to bed, Stefan kisses me goodnight and says "Goodnight Layne." before he walks away and I head into my room with my lips still tingling.