Stefan spotted Zach and led the way toward him, pulling Elena along. After all, it was Zach who was in charge of dispersing the money and therefore, the one who had to be convinced of this marriage.
Elena did her best to keep up with Stefan as he hurried across the room. "So, are you going to tell me the dreaded ex story now or later?" Elena asked, clearly annoyed that he had not mentioned anything about Katherine. She had been blindsided.
Stefan smiled. "Later" he said, pulling her past one more table before stopping. A man turned around to face them. Elena drew in a small breath, ready for the next round of defending herself. The man before them smiled warmly at her, greatly confusing her. "Uncle Zach, this is Elena" Stefan introduced.
Zach held out his hand to which Elena quickly held out hers, welcoming his polite gesture. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you" he told her. "I hope this establishment is to your liking" he added, waving his hand out to show off the rather large room.
"It's perfect" Elena told him, taking her hand back. "But there really was no need to go to all of this trouble" she quickly added. "And it is very nice to meet you as well. Stefan has told me so much about you." That was a lie, but she was going with it.
Zach's eyes seemed to brighten. "Only good things I hope?" he asked with a laugh. Elena smiled and nodded. She kind of liked him already. He was different from the others. Zach turned his attention back to Stefan. "Would it be alright if I had a word with your fiancé, alone?" he asked. Stefan looked at Elena briefly before nodding. Stefan was putting all his faith in her now and he prayed that she would not screw it up. "Elena, dear, would that be all right with you?" Zach asked, looking between the couple.
Elena swallowed nervously. He knew. "Of course" she agreed. She gave Stefan one last look before following Zach across the room and out onto the terrace. Stefan let out the breath he had been holding.
It was much quieter outside and Elena was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "So, how long have you known Stefan?" Zach inquired, leaning against a table. "I was surprised by Stefan's news of your engagement. He's never mentioned you before" Zach said, trying to be polite, yet interrogating. It was his job to look out for his family.
"Honestly?" Elena asked, knowing this was coming. "Not long. But we've spent a lot of time together and I really care about him" she said, trying to be convincing. She hated the guy and never spent more time with him than she had to.
"I assume you are aware of Stefan's finances?" Zach continued to inquire. "And the significant amount of money Stefan stands to gain following this marriage?" he asked.
Elena looked down at her feet for a moment, preparing herself to answer. She decided she would answer his questions as if she were herself, the real Elena, and not the Elena who had stooped so low that she would marry for money. "I am aware of Stefan's money" Elena said honestly. "But I'm not Katherine. I couldn't marry for money if it meant having to be with someone I didn't love for the rest of my life" she explained. She watched Zach stare at her for a moment as if he was trying to detect if she was lying or not. So she continued. "I love Stefan. And I'm not sure what is in store for our future, but I know that I want to figure it out with him." Elena kept the serious look on her face, unsure of how he would react to that.
After a moment, Zach nodded. "You do know what a pain in the ass he is?" he asked, a quirky smile forming.
Elena cracked a smile. "I know. I have to take him as he is though" she told him.
Zach laughed at that. He walked towards her, extending his hand. "Welcome to the family, Elena" he said.
Elena smiled again. "Thank you. It is an honor to be a part of your family." With that, Zach left her to return to the party. She breathed a sigh of relief. That was easier than she thought. Unless that was not the end of the interrogation. But she brushed the thought off. Elena walked back and stood in the doorway, watching the guests. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Maybe this family, and these friends, wouldn't be so bad after all.
"You're in my way" a voice came from outside, behind Elena. Elena turned around to see a small girl, no older than six, standing there with her arms crossed. Elena smiled, though she was slightly taken aback by the small child's rudeness. "Don't smile at me. Move!" she demanded, tossing her hands up in frustration. Elena's smile quickly disappeared.
"Elena" Stefan said, grabbing her attention. Elena turned to him, still a little baffled by the girl behind her.
"Uncle Stefan, thank God. She won't get out of my way. I think she's stupid or something" the little girl said, quite frustrated.
Stefan looked behind Elena and then smirked as the realization hit Elena. Damon and Katherine's daughter. "Come here Lil" he said, motioning for the little girl to walk to him. She walked past Elena, glaring at her the whole time until she was in Stefan's arms. "I want you to meet Elena. I'm going to marry her" he smiled. "Elena, this is Lily. My niece" he introduced.
Lily raised her small eyebrow. "You're marrying her Uncle Stefan?" she questioned. "Her shoes don't match her dress" she insisted.
Elena quickly looked down at her feet, suddenly feeling self-conscious. They were black heels. Didn't black heels go with everything?
Stefan laughed. "Her shoes are fine" Stefan assured the little girl. "You have to be nice to this one. I'm going to keep her around for a while" he said.
Lily sighed. "Fine" she grumbled. Stefan kissed the top of her head before setting her back on her own feet. She looked up at Elena, her brown eyes locking with Elena's. "It was nice meeting you" she said reluctantly before running off, her long brown curls bouncing along with her.
Stefan laughed when the girl was out of earshot. "She's just like her mother" he mentioned, watching Lily wander around, charming all the guests.
"That's unfortunate. She's still so young" Elena said. "She seems to adore you though" she mentioned.
Stefan smiled proudly. "Can you blame her? I'm pretty awesome" he replied smugly. Elena rolled her eyes. "Don't be jealous. I have plenty of love to go around" he added, stepping closer to her. He placed his hands on her hips and leaned in.
"What are you doing?" Elena asked just before his lips came crashing down on hers. His kiss was a little more aggressive this time and Elena knew he was going to leave her breathless. So Elena moved her hands beneath his jacket and held on to his sides, attempting to look more natural.
"Okay you two, enough with the charade. You don't have to fool me" a voice came. Stefan immediately stopped kissing Elena and looked up to find his friend Alaric walking their way. "Just so you know, most happy couples don't have make-out sessions at family functions" he added.
Stefan grinned. "Sure they do" Stefan disagreed, hugging Elena tightly against him. Elena shoved him off of her, looking around to make sure no one saw. "She normally can't keep her hands off of me" Stefan added with a shrug.
"Shut up" Elena warned. "If you want to talk, start with that psycho ex of yours" Elena said, crossing her arms.
"You've met Katherine" Alaric noted. "Pleasant gal, huh?" he asked.
Elena glared at him. She remembered him from the Grill, but that did not mean she was going to be his friend. Not if he was Stefan's friend. "She's terrible!" Elena exclaimed.
"You don't have to convince me" Alaric said, taking a sip of his drink. His focus shifted as his eyes fell on her once again. "Elena, has anyone told you that you look absolutely beautiful tonight?" he asked.
Elena opened her mouth to reply with something witty, until she realized that his compliment seemed sincere. "No" she answered, shooting an offended look towards Stefan.
"What?" Stefan asked. "I figured if I said anything, you would have assumed that it was just a ploy for me to get you out of your dress" he shrugged. "And Dude, stop hitting on my fiancé. Have you been hanging out with Damon?" Stefan said, attempting to laugh it off.
But Elena picked up on something. Something in Stefan's eyes changed and even though he was laughing, she could tell the idea of his brother chasing after the girl Stefan was with upset him. "You could tell me I look beautiful" Elena said, disrupting the laughing going on between the two men.
"Seriously?" Stefan asked. She was asking for him to compliment her?
"Complimenting is part of what happy couples do" Elena said, narrowing her eyes at him. "If you get to make-out with me as part of this charade, then you can compliment me too."
"Yeah Stefan" Alaric said, moving next to Elena and crossing his own arms. "You never compliment anyone but yourself. Tell the lady she looks beautiful." Both waited patiently.
Stefan looked between the two and finally grumbled. "Fine. You look nice tonight, Elena" he said.
Elena smiled triumphantly. But Alaric was not satisfied. "Nice?" he asked. "She looks freaking gorgeous. Try again" he said.
Stefan looked as if he could knock Alaric to the ground. But Stefan sighed. "Elena, you look stunning tonight. I am the luckiest guy in this room" he breathed out. Maybe he meant it a little.
Elena held her serious stare for a moment before laughing. "That was so fake, but it was so worth it to see you struggle so much" she said, continuing to laugh. "Thanks Alaric" she told him.
"You're welcome" he told her. "I know hanging out with this guy will get old real fast, so if you ever want some real fun, you come find me" he winked.
Elena simply smiled, patting him on his shoulder. "I'm going to find something to eat" she told them.
Stefan and Alaric watched her carefully navigate the room until they lost sight of her. "You lucked out" Alaric said, moving next to Stefan.
"I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic" Stefan replied.
"No, I'm serious. She's gorgeous and she has a mind of her own. She doesn't follow you around like a puppy and bend to your every will just to please you. I love it" Alaric smiled.
"Trust me, once she spends an hour in bed with me, she will do whatever it is that I say" Stefan said, confident that he had that power over women.
"Good luck with that Buddy" Alaric grinned, tipping his glass at Stefan and wandering off. Stefan leaned against the door and watched the party before him.
"So when's the big day?" a female voice came, taking Stefan out of his thoughts.
Stefan smiled and pulled the women into a friendly hug. "How soon can you make a wedding happen?" Stefan asked her, letting her go.
Caroline smiled. "Minimum, two weeks" she answered. She grabbed Stefan's hands and held them in her own. "Are you truly happy this time?" she asked. Stefan rolled his eyes. "Hey!" she said, grabbing his chin in one hand. "Don't roll your eyes at me" she warned. "I'm serious. I don't want another Katherine fiasco" she said sadly.
Stefan grabbed her shoulders reassuringly. "She's not Katherine. She's the opposite and I love her" he said, trying to sound convincing. It worked.
Caroline's face lit up. "It's about time!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around him. "I am so happy for you Stefan. Are you going to introduce me? Do you think she's going to like me? Do you think she already has a maid of honor? Oh my gosh, I saw this little dress boutique the other day while I was in Richmond and it had the most beautiful dress!" she rambled off.
"I can't even remember all that you asked me" Stefan said, shaking his head. "Have you seen my niece?" he asked.
Caroline pouted. "You seriously need to work on your listening skills" she told him. "As for your niece. She was threatening that little Johnson boy last I saw her. Something about wanting him to do whatever she said" Caroline shrugged.
"That sounds familiar" Stefan grinned. Caroline returned his grin. "Good seeing you Care. I'm going to go and find Lily" he said, kissing her cheek before leaving to find the little girl.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Elena grabbed a few strawberries and placed them on her plate. She nearly jumped when she felt a hand rest on her lower back and someone stop next to her. "Great party, huh?" Damon asked, taking a strawberry off of her plate and eating it.
Elena moved her body away from his. "Yes, your family went to way too much trouble" Elena said, setting her plate down.
"Please" Damon insisted. "We only wanted the best for our newest member of our family" he said, giving her a devilish smile that made her cringe inside. He was up to something. She could feel it.
"That means a lot to me" she told him. "If you'll excuse me, I am going to look for Stefan" she said, turning to leave.
Damon grabbed her arm and stopped her. "I'm sure Stefan is plenty occupied" Damon said. Elena's eyes locked on his hand that was on her arm. "Besides, I would like to get to know my new sister-in-law" he added. He let go of Elena's arm. "So tell me, how did you and Stefan meet?" he questioned.
"What do you want, Damon?" Elena asked. "Because it sure as hell sounds like you are fishing for information for personal gain" she told him. He was treading on dangerous water and she was going to make sure he knew it.
Damon raised his hands and smiled. "No need to get defensive" he told her. "Unless you and Stefan have something to hide, of course" he added.
Elena's face hardened. She refused to be pulled into his game. She looked past him to see Katherine putting her hands all over some guy across the room. Elena then admired the ring on her hand, remembering the deal she had made with Stefan. Even if hated him, and even if money had never been involved, she had still made a deal with him. And the fact that Damon was failing at trying to take down his brother amused her. If it was possible, Damon was a bigger jerk than Stefan. It almost made her feel sorry for Stefan. Almost. "I have no interest in talking to you, Damon" Elena said. "Neither does your wife apparently" Elena added, shifting her eyes back to Katherine. Damon followed her gaze and his heart sunk. Really? She was doing this in public places now?
Damon turned back around with an angry expression on his face. "You don't know anything about my relationship" he warned.
Elena nodded. "And you don't know anything about mine" she countered. She turned to leave once again, only for Damon to grab onto her arm.
"I know you two are faking this whole marriage. And the truth will come out" he whispered harshly.
Elena tried to yank her arm away from him, but he held on to her tight. His eyes bore into hers for a moment before a figure appeared before them. "Back off Damon" Caroline said, grabbing his arm and removing it from Elena. "Go find your own wife" she glared.
Damon glared back for a moment before deciding it would be better to back off. "This isn't over" he said, pointing at Elena who was rubbing her arm. He backed up and walked towards Katherine.
Caroline turned to face Elena. "Are you okay?" she asked, examining Elena's arm. Elena nodded. "My advice to you? Stay away from him. He's bad news." Elena nodded again. "Oh! I am being incredibly rude. My name is Caroline. I'm Stefan's friend" she said cheerfully and then pulled Elena into a hug. Elena awkwardly hugged her back, trying to decide if this girl was worth being friendly to or not.
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Elena" she said after pulling away from the blonde girl. "So you are a friend of Stefan's?" Elena asked curiously.
"Oh, yeah!" she exclaimed. "I've known Stefan since Kindergarten. He's my best friend. But don't worry, we never slept together or anything like that" she explained. "Well, we did get drunk one time and made out for like an hour, but his uncle caught us and that was the end of that" she added.
Elena smiled. This girl was so energetic and just the right amount of happy. And she was secretly happy that Stefan had never gone that far with her. "So Alaric is not his best friend?" Elena asked.
Caroline scoffed. "Please. He wishes!" she replied. "I know everything about Stefan."
"Really?" Elena asked. Caroline nodded. "So, you know what happened between him and Katherine?" she asked. Elena did not know why she so desperately wanted to know the details, but she did.
The happy, energetic appearance that Caroline had suddenly faded and she went limp. "I ... I can't talk about that" she said apologetically. "It should really come from Stefan."
"What should come from Stefan?" he asked from behind Caroline. Caroline shook her head, signaling that it was nothing important. "I see you've met Caroline" he said.
"Yeah, she has. And she loves me" Caroline smiled. Elena smiled as well. "I like this one, Stefan. Don't screw it up" she warned, patting the side of his cheek and walking off.
"Sorry about her, she's ..." he began, searching for the right word.
"She's great" Elena finished for him. They stood there together in awkward silence for a few minutes, looking around the room and anywhere that was not at each other.
"So ..." Stefan said, checking his watch. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked. "We've been here an hour, made our appearance" he mentioned.
Elena's lips twisted into a knowing smirk. "You're afraid I'm going to crack. That I'm going to screw this up" she accused.
Stefan shook his head no. "If you haven't cracked by now, you won't" he told her. Elena felt a sense of relief to hear that from him. "I just really hate parties" he admitted.
Elena tilted her head to the side. "Maybe you've just never had a date who made it fun" she said, a small smile forming. Was she flirting with him? No, no of course not.
"Are you flirting with me?" he asked, somewhat shocked.
"No" she said, waving him off. "Let's say goodbye to our guests and get out of here" she said, wrapping her arm around his and leading the way.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The ride home wasn't as dreaded as Elena had thought it would be. Stefan talked most of the time, telling her about all the places he had been to. As they were walking into the house, Elena discarded her coat. "I've always wanted to go to Ireland" she said thoughtfully.
"I've never been there" Stefan said, stopping to think. He peeled his jacket off and tossed it over a chair. He turned around to see Elena already climbing the stairs. He followed, stopping at her room. "Well, goodnight" he said, unsure of what else to say.
Before he could continue on to his room, he felt himself being pulled against her as she gripped his shirt, nearly ripping it. She kissed him hard, her hands beginning to work the buttons on his shirt. He regained his balance, greatly confused, but also not protesting. He knew she couldn't resist him for long.
Elena quickly rid him of his shirt, taking her lips off of his briefly to admire his bare chest. It was Stefan who took charge now, pulling her back in for another searing kiss and backing them up towards her bed. He was totally getting lucky tonight.
Elena felt herself falling back on the bed with him on top of her. His lips left hers, beginning to aggressively attack her neck, her shoulder, anywhere he could get to. His hands were on the back of her legs, working their way upwards. "Stefan" Elena gasped, feeling his teeth on her collarbone. He smiled against her skin, gently kissing where he had just bit.
She used all her weight to flip them over so she could be on top. He wouldn't complain. He found it kind of sexy that she was regaining control over the situation. His hands remained on the back of her thighs as her lips trailed down his chest. He closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of her lips on his skin. She sat up, smiling as she moved her hair behind her ears and out of the way. She smiled with satisfaction at how responsive he was to her touch. He wanted her. And fast. "Elena" he groaned, frustrated with her for stopping. He sat up and attempted to flip them back over so he could get the show back on the road.
But Elena stopped him, pushing him back down. Suddenly the lust in her eyes was gone. "Tell me" she said, staring straight into his own eyes. "What happened with you and Katherine?" she asked.
Stefan took in a breath and ran his hands through his hair. "Are you kidding me right now?" he asked, almost angry at the situation. How dare she get him this excited and then try and bargain with him.
"Tell me what happened between you and Katherine" she negotiated. "And this" she said, motioning between herself and him. "Will happen" she finished.
Stefan closed his eyes and let his arms fall at his side. "Unbelievable" he muttered. He wanted her. Bad. But, he did not want to tell her what happened between him and Katherine. Elena smiled. He couldn't walk away from her. He was going to tell.
And then, she felt herself being pushed off of him as he got up off of the bed. She looked at him with pure shock. "What happened with Katherine and I" he told her, grabbing his shirt up off of the floor. "Is none of your business" he finished. "So, I'll be taking a cold shower instead" he added before walking out of her room.
Elena fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. What the hell had she just done?