TVD imagines/preferences

When he realized he loved you

Stefan: Stefan had always thought very highly of you. He admired you, the way you carried yourself, how you spoke, your intelligence and your kind heart. But in saying so, he had never been anything more than just your friend.

There was no doubt he felt something for you, but after hearing about he and Elena's 'destined' love, and inevitable 'soulmate status', he thought nothing more of the way he felt around you, and dismissed it as admiration and comfortability.

>>

Of course, he and Elena ended up being together for quite some time. The two were inseparable. Everyone agreed that they made a good couple. Although, you couldn't help but feel that small pang of jealousy whenever you were around the pair.

>>

Time had passed. Fights had been fought. And enemies; defeated. But through it all, Stefan and Elena had grown further and further apart from one another, as Elena grew closer to Damon. The two tried desperately to keep the connection alive but eventually, it faltered and broke. As did their relationship.

>>

You were headed to the Salvatore house to seek out your best friend Stefan.

Hopping out of your car, you started for the front door, knocking on it with your usual beat. The familiar sound brought Stefan's brooding to a halt and caused a small smile to creep onto his lips as he thought of you.

Opening the door, he was instantly met with your large smile, which soon disappeared as you realized that something was wrong. Something was different.

"Stefan? You alright?" You asked, stepping closer to him as your eyebrows knit in worry.

"Yeah." He suddenly scoffed with, what was to you, a clearly fake smile, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to play off his 'nothing is wrong' façade. "Everything's fine." He assured you as he moved to the side, allowing you to step into the house. You walked past him with a quizzical look, moving to seat yourself on the couch where you normally would when you would hang out together.

>>

"Okay, enough of this." You stated suddenly, breaking the silence that had grown the moment you had arrived. "Stefan, what's wrong?" You asked, worry clear in your voice. You had known him long enough to know that something was wrong, what exactly it was; you couldn't tell. But seeing the pain in his eyes broke your heart. He lowered his head in defeat, his hands clamped together as his elbows rested on his knees, sinking himself further into the couch.

"Elena and I broke up." He spoke, only lifting his head once the words had left his lips, his eyebrows slightly furrowing. Your heart dropped. Stefan had had past trouble with relationships and whether the love in them was ever real or not. But having someone who he was, quite literally, destined for, break up with him, must have left him questioning the very existence of love. For if a destined love cannot suffice, what can?

With all but an empathetic look, you walked over to his tense figure and wrapped him in a comforting hug. Almost instantly, he eased up and rested his head on your shoulder, pulling his arms around you as his face softened, choking back tears as he thought of his break up with Elena, but his thoughts soon drifted to you.

It was then, at that moment, the moment that you held him after he had his heart broken. The moment that you let him get his emotions out, free of judgment. The moment that you realized something was wrong despite his desperate attempts to play it cool. It was then that he realized that it wasn't the comfort he felt around you that he loved, it was you. It wasn't admiration that he had been feeling all these years, it was love, and secretly, you had always felt the same.