Elena's POV
Stefan smiled warmly at me as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Sorry that took so long. It took me forever to find these." Stefan started to open the box of bandaids he was holding, but my next question made him pause and look up at me, startled.
"who were you talking to, Stefan?" I asked.
"Nobody, don't worry about it." Stefan shrugged and peeled open a bandaid after a second of hesitation that Elena didn't miss.
"I heard you upstairs! Don't tell me you were talking to yourself!" Stefan just looked away uncomfortably, trying to think of an excuse.
"I'm sick of all your secrets, Stefan! First you tell me you 'got something in your eye'-when I clearly saw blood red veins popping out underneath your eyes, and now this! Are you going to explain yourself? Or should I just go?"
"Okay, fine. The person upstairs was my brother. I didn't know he was visiting tonight, and he surprised me."
"And you're eyes?" Stefan furrowed his brow.
"Elena, there are some things that I just can't explain." Stefan handed me the opened bandaid.
"Okay." I took the bandaid and walked briskly towards the front door, trying to act like I wasn't hurt, even though I was. I was really starting to like Stefan, and I wanted things to work out between us, but that wasn't going to happen if he was keeping unexplainable secrets from me. Suddenly I felt Stefan touch my shoulder.
"Elena. Wait." He said, gently turning me to face him. I raised my eyebrows, waiting for an explanation. Stefan took a deep breath.
"What do you think happened to my eyes?" He asked me. I frowned.
"I already told you. They got darker, and I could see-"
"No, I mean why. If you saw it happen, then you must have an explanation, right?"
I paused. I hadn't really thought about my theories. I just wanted him to explain it.
"I don't know why it happened. All I know is I started bleeding and your eyes...changed."
Stefan smiled grimly. "You sound crazy Elena. What you are suggesting isn't possible."
"I know what I saw." I insisted.
Then suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. It wasn't possible, yet it was the only explanation for his behavior. Now it was my turn to take a deep breath.
"What are you?" I asked shakily. Stefan's face was hard when he replied.
"You know."
"No. I don't. It not possible." My voice wavered and Stefan stepped towards me.
"Elena." He said softly.
"What are you stefan?!" I yelled, taking a step away from him.
"Are you sure you want me to tell you?"
"Just say it stefan!" I wanted so badly for it not to be true. It couldn't be true, but the next words that escaped from his lips confirmed what I already knew deep down.
"I'm a vampire."
I stood still for a second before my senses kicked in and I bolted out of the room.
"Elena!" Stefan yelled, following me. I ran down the hallway, towards the door. Suddenly I ran into something-or someone. Stefan had appeared in front of me. That shouldn't be possible. He grabbed my shoulders and held me in front of him. I screamed.
"Elena, please listen to me."
"How did you do that?!" I yelled at him, struggling in his grip. "Let me go!" Stefan's grip loosened and I yanked myself free and ran to the door.
"Elena, wait! Let me explain." stefan yelled after me but I was already running to my car. As I pulled out of his driveway, I glanced at stefan, who was standing in the doorway with a pained expression. By the time I parked at my house I was shaking uncontrollably. I ran up to my room and collapsed on my bed, kicking my shoes off.
Suddenly I heard a rustling outside my open window. My head snapped to the window, but I didn't see anything.
"Elena." Stefan's voice came from the opposite side of the room. I screamed and ran to the door, not wanting to think about how he just appeared across my room.
I started to pull the door open but a strong hand pushed it closed again. I started crying and sank to the ground, cowering away from Stefan. Stefan bent down over me, with his hands pressed against the wall on both sides of me, caging me in.
"Please let me go." I whimpered, not making eye contact with him.
"Elena. You have to understand that I would never hurt you. You need to promise me no one will find out what I am. It would put everyone in danger." I was shaking and crying uncontrollably now. I just wanted to get away from him.
"Do you kill people?!"
"No! That's not the way I choose to live." A dark look came over Stefan's eyes. "My brother does, but not me." He assured me.
"I won't tell anyone, just go. Please." Stefan nodded slightly and stood up slowly. He looked like a hurt puppy as he backed a few feet away from me. Then just as soon as he had appeared, he was gone, leaving the curtains blowing in the wind. I stood up slowly, not taking my eyes off the window. When I had convinced myself that he was really gone, I ran to the window and yanked it closed, locking it.
I didn't want to try and process what I had just witnessed, so I collapsed on my bed and buried my head in my pillows. I prayed that I would go to sleep and wake up realizing that the past half hour had just been a terrible nightmare.
