Destined - TVD

Chapter 8

{ Three months earlier }

(Stefan's POV)

It was the middle of June now and Stefan has been figuring out his new life in Florence, Italy for the past three months. It was so beautiful here, just how he'd remembered it from his visits in the past. There was breath taking pieces of history everywhere he went, and there was never an evening without a captivating sunset to admire. That's why he chose to come here of all places. Hoping the beauty would be a distraction from his painful reality.

He couldn't blame Elena for choosing Damon. After all, he practically threw her into his arms when he left for months and lost himself to Klaus. He could blame Damon, though.

The whole reason stefan was stuck with klaus in the first place was to save Damon's life. Stefan had done everything and threw everything away for him, and he repaid him by stealing the love of his life.
I guess he meant it when he said he owed me a life time of misery, stefan thought to himself.

He spent most of his time walking the busy streets, enjoying the scenery. He hated having to go back to his hotel room,  stuck with his own thoughts. He was so heart broken he couldn't even think about Elena. That's why he channeled all his energy into anger towards Damon. But after a while even that stopped working. Stefan couldn't stay mad at Damon forever and he knew it. However, he was almost certain he would miss Elena forever.

Stefan took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts out of his mind, trying to soak in the fresh air as he made his way back to his hotel room for the day. He quickly moved out of the way for a cyclist on the cobblestone street as he approached his destination. He ran a hand through his hair and reached for the key in his pocket, opening the door and stepping inside to plop himself onto the bed, sinking into the fluffy white duvet.

He breathed in the scent of laundry detergent and mildew from the old hotel room. He was just about to start getting lost in his thoughts again when he noticed something on his night stand- it was a letter addressed to him. He opened it and read it to himself:

Stefan Salvatore,

I'm watching you both.

Stefan's mind raced with every question: who would be watching him? What did they want? Who's "you both"?
He bit his lip as Elena's soft brown eyes filled his mind. No. It couldn't be her they were after too. Maybe the note wasn't meant for me, he thought before looking at the envelope and remembering his name was written in cursive on the front.

He started pacing around his room as the worst case scenarios filled his mind. Klaus? He thought. No klaus was gone now and he had no reason to speak to Stefan in code. He then drifted back into thoughts about Elena and became distracted for a moment.

He remembered how beautiful she was all the time, even when she didn't try. Her silky long hair that laid perfectly against her back, her prominent collar bone that laid beneath the necklace he'd given her when they first fell in love. Her smile, her lips... he shook the thought of her from his head and slammed his fist into the dresser in front of him. It shook and rattled the entire room. He winced at the pain in his hand and sighed, looking for answers and finding none.

He realized it was no use worrying about something he had no proof of. How could he know if the mysterious messenger was after Elena? He decided he'd just wait until he had more evidence.

He pulled off his jeans and lifted his shirt over his head so that he was in only his boxers, then sprawled out across his bed, ready to let the peaceful sleep take him- trying not to wish Elena was there with him instead of just his pillow.
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{ present day }

Stefan was panting out of breath by the time he reached his hotel in Virginia. He couldn't stay in mystic falls and risk being caught by people who knew him. He felt relief knowing that Elena was okay for now, but being so close to her for only a few moments had destroyed him.

He had only been in Virginia for a week or so now, though he had planned on never coming back at all. He knew he had to come when he received his fifth letter from his mysterious stalker. It read:

Stefan Salvatore

I look forward to seeing you and Elena in Louisiana.

This confirmed Stefan's fear, whoever this is was after Elena too. He figured she was receiving letters as well, and given an address- 33 Jackson street. He had to come and make sure she was safe before heading to Louisiana. He hoped that whoever was messing with them would settle for just Stefan if he gave himself up, before they could get to Elena.
But since being here he's already had to save Elena twice, from Tyler Lockwood of all people. Who would tyler be working for and why? Stefan had no clue and he didn't figure he'd get any answers until he found the stalker himself.

Stefan wondered where Damon was during all this, it was unusual for Elena to be without him so often, and quite frankly terrible timing. Maybe Damon and Elena were having relationship troubles... Stefan couldn't even let himself feel selfishly happy about that, knowing that Elena would be safer under Damon's watch.

He decided enough was enough tonight and planned on heading to Louisiana in the morning to put an end to it all. He desperately hoped Elena would keep her promise and not go to the address on the letter. He shivered at the thought of her walking into the hands of a psycho. Sure Stefan didn't know who was after them, but it had to be a psycho to stalk them for months in secret.

He sighed deeply as he gathered his things into a backpack in preparation for his morning trip. He grabbed a blood bag from the fridge and tried to restore his health as much as possible, prepared for anything. He wasn't sure how well he'd sleep with Elena's safety consuming his mind, but he knew he had to try.