i'm just a fool//open//

[Elena Gilbert]

Elena moved slightly, the sheets rubbing on the right side of her face. Her eyes squinted open and then her eyelashes fluttered a few times. Raising her hands and resting them on her forehead, and then rubbed her eyes awake. In these past few days, Elena hadn't been able to sleep well. It was nightmare after nightmare, and she'd wake up with a pain on her chest or crying. She didn't know why. And lately everyone was being way to harsh on her and it was completely stressing. No matter how much she tried to push herself aside and not care about how she felt and worry about others, it just made her even feel worse.

She blew a breath into the air and stood up from the bed. Grunting at the sunlight, she closed her curtains and went to wash up to the bathroom. She took about 30 minutes to get ready, wash her teeth, take a shower and put her simple yet classy make-up. She had to admit, the only reason why she wanted to go to school was because she needed a distraction, she needed friends and most importantly Stefan.. He had helped her go through tons of stuff that were almost impossible, or at least that's what she thought. Him being a Vampire, even if it was scary at first, she couldn't think of him being any other way.

Elena looked at herself in the mirror and approved of her reflection. Leaving for school, she just couldn't wait to get out of that house. Her mood today was strange, she just had a really bad feeling. When she got to school, Elena walked through the hallways, waving towards Bonnie who was too busy talking to a guy who's name she couldn't remember. She stood in front of her locker and organized her backpack. She felt someone standing behind and when she turned around, she jumped - startled.

"Geez, don't do that to me!" She looked up, her heartbeat wanting to jump out of her chest.

[Stefan Salvatore]

Stefan let out a moan as the sun hit him in the eyes. No matter how long he lived, he would never like this part of the morning. Granted, the sun didn't really hurt him as he had his daylight ring on, but it was really annoying. Don't wanna get up, he thought to himself. Then, he let out a chuckle. How much of a human did that sound like? With an uneeded sigh, he got out of bed, quickly redressed choosing to put on dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt as well as his black leather jacket, and then headed to the refrigerator where he kept bags of animal blood. Yes, it was weird to keep animal blood stored, but it kept him from having to hunt every night and risking exposure because of an influx in animal deaths, because believe it or not, if enough deer or large animals came under attack, an investigation was launched. Stefan opened the refrigerator, got out a blood bag and drank.

When he had his fill, he tossed the bag into the garbage and then quickly got his things together. He looked through his backpack, making sure that he had everything he needed. When he was satisfied that he had everything in his backpack, he grabbed his keys and went to where he had stored his dark red 1963 Porsche 356B Karmann Coupe, got into the car, put the keys in the ignition, started the car, and then drove off.

When he finally got to Mystic Falls High, he parked his car. Then, he opened the car door, slung his backpack over his shoulder, locked his car, and then closed the door. Okay, maybe locking the car wasn't necessary as not a lot of people would necessarily try to take it, but it was his baby. He had paid good money for it and he wasn't going to risk it. He continued into the school and headed down the hall. Then, his lips curved into a grin. Elena. As always, she looked beautiful. Resisting the temptation to use his vampiric speed, he walked up to her.
"Hey," he greeted. Then, he internally winced as she jumped. He hadn't meant to startle her. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," he apologized after her exclamation. He couldn't blame her for being upset. He had never liked it when people had startled him either. "Everything okay? You look a little tired," he noted. And she did, though she was still looking very beautiful---as always. It's a good thing I'm a vampire or I don't think I'd have any breath left to take away, he thought to himself. It didn't matter what the girl wore, he always thought she looked fantastic. But maybe he was biased...

[Elena Gilbert]

"Stefan.. I'm so sorry. That didn't come out the way I intended, it was rude.. I'm just really not having the best day and it hasn't even started." Elena looked at him, with eyes that showed pain, anger and frustration. Something was keeping her from sleeping and when Elena didn't have her sleep, she would always get grumpy and mean. But she couldn't let herself be rude towards Stefan. Stefan.. Her savior. Literally. She knew that no matter what he would always be there for her, to help her in any way that he could and to correct her from right or wrong. And she couldn't lie, sometimes she actually felt bad about it. He was so.. perfect, beautiful, flawless. And Elena was.. human.

After she realized what he was, after she found out.. She didn't care. At first she was scared, but the she realized that she wouldn't want to have him any other way. Stefan was a person she looked up to, someone who had the potential to do many horrible things and still chose not to - that was something she admired. Elena rearranged her locker very quickly, closed it and then leaned against it. She would lie if she said that she felt fine. But she couldn't afford to make him worry about too much. "I'm alright, what about you, Mister Salvatore?" She quirked up a grin, placing her hands around his body.

Elena hugged him, hugged him so tightly that if he were human, she knew he wouldn't have been able to breathe. She was happy to see him.. His light colored eyes, amazing smile, perfect bone structure, build up body. She knew that if he stayed over every night, she would have no nightmares. But she could never ask that of him. She felt bad enough that she was lying to everyone about him. Elena got on her tippy toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. Not that she didn't want to kiss his lips, but she didn't want to make a big scene in the hallway. And every now and then Matt would pass by and would just stare. But.. brushing away unnecessary thoughts, Elena unwrapped her arms and looked up at him with a serious expression. "Can I ask you something? Is there anything I should know that I don't? Are you having the same bad feeling that I'm having or do you think I'm just paranoid..?"

[Stefan Salvatore]

Stefan shook his head with some amusement and he smiled at Elena as she apologized for her reaction, saying that she wasn't having the best day and that it hadn't even started yet.
"I know what you mean. It feels like one of those days that you just want to stay in bed," he commented. And that was certainly the truth. He had had to force himself to even get up. Which was weird, seeing as how the sun was shining and that he was a vampire, so things like like having a blah day shouldn't even apply to him. But then again, things hadn't exactly been normal lately, so he supposed that it made sense. As he answered her, Stefan took the time to really study his girlfriend. He could read the differing emotions in her eyes---pain, anger, and frustration---and really, could he blame her? Everything had been chaotic lately. She was probably sick and tired of it, as was he. He had come here to live a normal life as a high school teenager and yet he had brought darkness back into this town. Maybe he should've just stayed away after he had saved Elena from drowning. Everything would've been better for her if he had just stayed away. However, he knew that she didn't believe that at all.

These thoughts were interrupted as he realized that she was speaking again, saying that she was fine and asking about him, as she put her arms around him.
"Could be better," he admitted. "Still a little on edge from what happened at the Founder's Day Celebration," he told her. It had taken him a lot more animal blood than he usually drank to get the pain to subside and even then he had been left with a dull headache. At that moment, the prospect of human blood had been very appealing. But he had been a monster when he was on human blood. Hell, he had blocked the entire twenties from his mind, so that meant whatever he had done was so bad that he never wanted to remember it again. And he was never going to let himself go back to a place that dark. He had to stay in the light---so to speak. Because after all, a vampire could never truly join the world of the day, not even with a special ring.

He had gotten off track again. Man, why was he spacing so much this morning? He then smiled as his girlfriend hugged him tightly. Good thing I don't need to breathe, he thought to himself with an inaudible chuckle as she leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then his eyes clouded as she asked him if she needed to know anything and whether or not he was having a bad feeling just like she was?
"You know everything I know," he replied. "And no, you're not being paranoid. Katherine is up to something," he continued. And that worried him. Katherine was dangerous, especially if she didn't get her way. He had no idea what she was doing back in Mystic Falls, but he instinctively knew that it wouldn't be good.

[Elena Gilbert]

Elena nodded at him, asserting that 'I don't want to get out of bed' moment that morning. Truth be told, she was worried about Caroline. She had been in the hospital for a few days, or so, thanks to Tyler and the accident they had. More questions had been appearing/popping up and Elena had a feeling none of it was going to end well. The Lockwood family had an abnormal secret, Katherine was back and nobody knew why and everytime Katherine came back.. Damon went coo-coo. But whatever Katherine came back for, it better not be for Stefan because there's no way Elena was going to let go of the best thing that had ever happened to her. Much less will she get what she wants.

Elena fixed her eyes on him. Not that she didn't believe that he knew everything she knew, but lately that never happened. If he did know more than she knew, it wouldn't have been the first time it happened and she hated that. Yet at the same time, she understood the purpose to why he did it and it helped, but it didn't make it even. "Stefan, we still need to figure out how did my ancestors device work on the Lockwoods.. That's the whole reason Caroline is in the hospital. We can't keep letting people get hurt.. The only reason Bonnie saved Damon and you was because the both of you were people that I cared about. But it doesn't mean she's going to spare the both of you again." Elena paused for a moment, and she remembered how Bonnie had lied to her about deactivating the device. She had apologized and she understood that Bonnie was just trying to do the right thing, but if she had deactivated it, Caroline wouldn't be in the hospital. Yet, they still wouldn't know about the Lockwoods.

"Be careful with Katherine, Stefan.. She already messed with Damon's head and I need someone sane to help me get through all of this." She pleaded and the worry was visible in her face. What she was most scared of was that Stefan would actually still have feelings for Katherine.. Elena wasn't used to being insecure, and she looked down, hating the horrible feeling of it. Whenever Elena felt insecure before, in any other relationship, she'd walk away since she didn't want to be the one humiliated. But with Stefan things didn't work like that. She couldn't just walk away, besides for the fact that it would follow her and bite her in the butt, she was so in-love with Stefan.

Katherine, Damon, The Lockwoods, whatever it was that was supernatural.. nobody was going to get in the way of them. Even though Elena was human, she wasn't stupid and she did have a few tricks up her sleeve.

[Stefan Salvatore]

Stefan watched as Elena nodded, confirming what he had said about wanting to stay in bed. Not that he could blame her. She had already been through so much and the events of the Founder's Day Celebration were probably just now catching up with her. Not that he could blame her of course. It had been a horrible night. A part of him was surprised that she hadn't already run screaming for the hills by now, but another part of him was glad that she was still sticking around. She was one of the most strongest and loyal people he had ever known, even if she didn't see herself in the same way at times.

His eyes clouded as she said that they needed to talk about the reason that the Gilbert device had affected the Lockwoods even though they weren't vampires since that was the reason that Caroline was even in the hospital in the first place, adding that Bonnie had only helped her to rescue him and Damon because they were people that Elena cared about, though that didn't mean that she would spare them again.
"I honestly have no clue why that would happen. I thought it was only spelled for vampires, but maybe there was something else out there at the time," he stated. And that worried him. If there was another type of creature in Mystic Falls that could possibly hurt the town, they needed to take it down as soon as possible. He briefly considered asking Bonnie for help, but immediately rejected the idea. She was still hurting over her grandmother's death, not that he could blame her. He missed Sheila too. She had been quite a girl in the sixties, full of energy and life and he regretted not getting the chance to get to know the woman she had become.

At the mention of his Sire, Stefan stiffened. Katherine. Oh, how he hated her. She was nothing but a conniving bitch.
"I know Katherine's messed with his head. She's his weakness and I think he has some things to figure out when it comes to her," he responded, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. A part of him knew that he shouldn't really be angry with Damon for kissing her, as Katherine had only been pretending to be Elena when it had happened, but another part of him was pissed that it had happened. How come Damon hadn't respected the boundaries? How come he had to be lusting after his girlfriend? Then, he mentally shook these thoughts away. Damon wasn't to blame. He couldn't help who he loved. It was Katherine who was at fault. She was the one who had come between them, destroying their friendship and closeness as brothers. "You don't have to worry about me with Katherine. I don't love her. I never did. You're my girl. You're the only one I want," he told her, reaching to take her hand. And it was the truth. Elena was the way that he truly cared for and he wasn't going to let anyone jeopardize that. Especially not Katherine...

[Elena Gilbert]

Elena smiled when he said that.. She liked how that sounded. Being his girl - It made Elena's heart skip a beat and her stomach tingle with butterflies. He always knew what to say to her to make her feel better. "I know, I know.. But it still doesn't take the fact that she looks exactly like me and can do whatever she wants.. Damon almost killed my brother, Stefan. If it wasn't for that ring, he wouldn't have survived. How am I supposed to forgive that?" She said, with sad eyes. Elena knew Damon wasn't a bad person, and she wanted to see the best in him, but she couldn't. After all he had done, she couldn't make herself see it.

"Isn't there any other creature that has canine perfect sense of hearing?" She asked, and was then wondering exactly what she said.. The word canine would be fairly used if they were talking about werewolves. But she actually ignored that, thinking that Stefan would have found it ridiculous if she actually did say that. Sometimes these things were better if she kept them to herself.

"Katherine is here for you.. That's the only reason why Damon got mad." She was upset by this. And she kept jumping subject on subject and she asked herself if she was actually stable enough to be in the middle of this mess. Then again, she didn't think she had a choice. There were always complications, life could never be normal, and she knew that when she accepted to be Stefan's girlfriend. But she did this, because she had faith that with Stefan everything was going to get better. And instead, Stefan MADE everything better, no matter how bad the situation was. And she knew she made the right decision, and as far as she knew, she wasn't going to regret it any time soon.

"I'm sorry I keep bringing these things up, I just can't think straight today.." She wanted to skip school, have fun for just a mere second. But she knew she couldn't do that. She needed to be persistent with her grades, other wise, she had no future. Though, her future wasn't exactly secure at that moment.

[Stefan Salvatore]

Apparently, he had said the right thing as Elena smiled when he called her "His girl". There's the smile that I know and love, he thought to himself. He had missed it. He hadn't really seen it in a while since Katherine had come to town and really, who could blame her? There hadn't really been much to smile about with Katherine causing all the trouble she had. He mentally shook this thought off and focused back on his girlfriend who went on to say that it didn't change the fact that Katherine could do whatever she wanted as the two of them looked alike.
"I know," he said softly. Then his eyes clouded at the reminder that Damon had nearly killed Jeremy and would have succeeded if the younger boy hadn't been wearing a ring that protected him from death by Supernatural creatures, wondering how she could forgive him for what he had done. "Honestly, I don't know," he told her. He had no idea why Damon had done what he had done, though he suspected Katherine was somehow a driving force behind the action. She always did know how to affect people. And Damon had loved Katherine for a hundred and forty-five years. So, he couldn't really blame him for losing it like this as their Sire didn't seem to care about him, but it still didn't excuse his actions. "I don't know. I can't really tell you what to do. I can imagine that he's probably kicking himself for killing Jeremy," Stefan continued. Granted, he hadn't really talked to his brother about what had happened, but he liked to think that he had come to know his brother pretty well recently. Besides, he remembered what he had been like before they had turned: full of compassion and protectiveness of others. THat was the side of him that he had been showing them lately and then Katherine had screwed it all up somehow. He didn't know how she had done it, but she had. And he wasn't ever going to forgive her for that.

At Elena's question, Stefan frowned thoughtfully. Was there another creature that would have sharp hearing like a vampire? It didn't really seem possible, unless...
"I don't think so. I mean, the only other thing I can think of is a werewolf, but I don't think those exist," he replied. But he couldn't say for sure that they didn't exist. Just because he had never seen one himself, didn't mean that that they weren't real. For all he knew, they could be in hiding, just like he, Damon, Anna, and Pearl were. Not that he could blame them if they were. Mystic Falls residents weren't exactly known for their tolerance of things that went bump in the night.

He then let out an unnecessary sigh when Elena reminded him that Katherine had come to town for him, which was why he had gotten angry.
"I know she came back for me. She's said as much and as far as I'm concerned, she can go to Hell," he said bitterly. He wouldn't forget how she had screwed with his head, making him keep secrets from Damon and seducing him. Maybe at one point he had loved the girl, but that had died the moment she had compelled him to keep their relationship a secret from Damon. That was the one thing that he had always hated: having to keep things from his brother. Whenever someone had asked him to keep something from Damon, it had always meant something bad.

He then mentally shook these thoughts off. How had he let himself get so distracted? He wasn't supposed to be thinking about the past. He needed to focus on Elena. And speaking of Elena, she had started to talk again, apologizing for continually bringing things up.
"No. You should always feel comfortable enough to talk about these things with me. I---I know things are really confusing right now and---even I don't know why you look like her, but...I don't want you to ever be afraid to talk about anything that's on your mind," he told her. And it was the truth. He wanted her to feel that she could always be honest him, just as she was always encouraging him to be with her. And if she felt that they had to talk about Katherine, well, he wasn't going to stop her, even though there were about a dozen of different things that he'd rather be talking about...