Love Sucks | The Vampire Diaries

Death

*Third Person's P.O.V.*

        There must be shred of humanity left inside my brother. Somewhere. I keep hoping. But how do I make him see it? And how do I protect them? Stefan leaned back in his chair after he wrote down the entry in his journal as he sat in his room the next morning, deep in thought. How is he supposed to protect Elena, and, more importantly, Annabelle? It's true, Elena may look exactly like Katherine, but Annabelle is the exact replica of Layla, whom both of the brothers held dear to their hearts. Yes, they both had feelings for Katherine once, but at the end of the day, Stefan would always choose Layla. And he knew that Damon would too. And that is why he had to find a way to protect Annabelle from his brother. Because the similarities between her and the beautiful girl from 1864 are too great.
        After a few seconds of thinking, Stefan stood up and walked over to one of the bookshelves in his room, and grabbed a medium size brown case, carrying it back to where he sat. He placed the case on top of his desk, and opened it, rummaging through a few papers before taking out two small, dark brown, wooden boxes.

*Late Afternoon*

        "Annabelle!" a voice came from behind the beautiful girl as she walked down the Mystic Falls High grounds in her cheer-leading uniform, and she sighed, recognizing the voice, and turned around, wishing nothing more than to simply disappear.
        "Stefan," she smiled tightly, and he gave her a small smile, wanting to make her feel a bit more comfortable, still not understanding why she was suddenly so tense around him. "Hey,"
        "Hey. Listen, I... I wanted to make sure my brother didn't overstep his boundaries last night," he said, and Annabelle shook her head.
        "Nope. He was on perfectly good behavior," she said, and then furrowed her eyebrows, looking at him curiously. "Why?"
        "Well, my brother has a tendency to stick his nose where it doesn't belong," Stefan said.
        "Don't we all?" Annabelle asked rhetorically, cracking a small smile, making Stefan chuckled lightly.
        "Look..." he started, taking a step towards her, making her stiffen. "I know, this may seem strange, but I want you to have something," Stefan said, before pulling out a small, dark brown, wooden box with engraved holes on the lid. Annabelle looked at him confusedly, and he gave her a small smile before popping the lid open, revealing a simple yet utterly beautiful bracelet.
        "Oh, wow..." Annabelle whispered, staring at the bracelet in awe as Stefan took it out of the box.
        "Take it," Stefan encourage her with a small smile, and she looked up at him for a second before hesitantly taking the beautiful piece of jewelry out of the box. As she brought the bracelet closer to her face in order to properly look at the engraving on the small charm, a scent filled her nose.
        "What is that smell?" Annabelle asked Stefan curiously as she raised the bracelet to her nose, smelling the charm delicately.
        "It's an herb," Stefan said, before looking at her with a small smile. "It's nice, isn't it?"
        "I love it," she smiled, before furrowing her eyebrows, looking at him confusedly. "Why are you giving this to me?"
        "I've had this forever, and I think it's time for me to do something with it," Stefan shrugged, before giving her a small, teasing smile, "Besides, I hope this gift can be the beginning of getting you back on the 'I think you're a great guy' rails," he said, and Annabelle sighed. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised that he noticed her weird behavior, but at the same time, she was hoping that he wouldn't. And now that he has, everything will get even more complicated, "Hey, it's okay," Stefan assured her, "I don't know why you suddenly hate me, but I just want you to know that I won't hurt Elena. If I can promise you anything, it's that," he said, and Annabelle sighed.
        "I know you won't hurt her," she said, before looking up at him. "And I don't hate you. It's just... everything's so complicated that I just-"
        "Hey, it's okay," Stefan cut her off, seeing the guilt at how she treated him in her eyes, "Don't worry about it, okay?" he smiled, and she couldn't help but return it.
        "Okay," she agreed, and Stefan smiled at her one more time before looking down at the bracelet in her hands, "You need help with that?" he asked, gesturing to the bracelet, and Annabelle looked down at it before looking back up with a smile.
        "Yes, please," she nodded, and he grabbed the bracelet from her hand. Annabelle stretched out her left arm in front of her, giving him an easier access to her wrist and allowing him to clasp the bracelet around it. Annabelle tried incredibly hard not to shudder as Stefan's fingers brushed against her wrist, and, much to her joy, succeeded, which made her smile. Perhaps she can, in time, learn to feel normal around Stefan again. Perhaps, in time, they can be friends.