CHOOSE | Stefan Salvatore

16 | honesty is the best policy

Season 3, Episode 10
The New Deal

Estella woke up in a comfy bed, a sweatshirt that wasn't hers, and tucked into a blanket that she didn't put on herself. She looked around the room, not recognizing it. She stretched, letting out a yawn before getting out of bed. She still had her dress on from the night before, which meant no one got into her pants. At least that was a good sign.

She walked into the bathroom and washed her face of her makeup. She decided to take her dress off seeing as the sweatshirt was as long as her dress. She sighed, finally comfortable in her clothes. She fixed her hair as much as she could before walking out of the room and going downstairs. She finally noticed where she was after walking down.

The Lockwood Mansion was a mess. There were still cups everywhere from last night, and it looked like someone threw up on the carpet multiple times. She scrunched her nose at the foul smell.

What truly caught her eye was the people in the house. There were so many of them, all cleaning the house together. She looked in confusion at them all.

"Hey, Stella. You're awake." Tyler came down the steps in a pair of sweatpants. Estella had to admit he had a nice body, but she wasn't attracted to him.

"Yeah. Why exactly am I here?" She looked around, realizing she was getting stares from many of the people. She looked down, now self-conscious of her outfit. She crossed her arms and looked back at Tyler, who was walking into the kitchen. She followed behind him.

His kitchen was as big as the living room. The room was covered in marble counters, and the walls were an off-white color. Although Estella had seen better, she couldn't help but stare. It felt expensive, but it also felt homey.

"Pancakes?" Tyler questioned, grabbing ingredients from different cabinets.

"You can cook?" Estella questioned warily. Her eyebrows were furrowed. She didn't believe Tyler was a cooking kind of guy.

"Not really. But I can try." Tyler shrugged with a smile. Estella shook her head, walking over to Tyler and shooing him away. She made the pancake batter quickly and turned on the stove, pouring the mix into the pan.

Tyler just watched in shock, sitting on the counter with his legs dangling. He felt like a girlfriend whose boyfriend knew how to cook, even though it was the opposite.

"So, why am I here?" Estella turned and leaned back on the counter, staring at Tyler in curiosity.

"You were passed out on the floor when I came in. I thought it would be better to let you sleep here rather than taking you to the Salvatore's." Tyler shrugged.

Estella smiled at Tyler. She didn't speak to him that much, but she thought he would make a pretty good friend. Caroline was lucky to have him. Although, she was pretty sure something happened between them last night.

"Have you heard from Care? I haven't spoken to her since before Homecoming yesterday." Estella looked at Tyler from the corner of her eye and saw him visibly shrink. He rubbed his face tiredly.

"We kind of... broke up. I don't know." Tyler slumped forward at the remembrance of last night.

Tyler had made sure Caroline was safe from whatever was about to go down with Klaus, and when he went over in the night, she pounced. When he asked her if she would stick by his side, she didn't respond. He took that as his invitation to leave.