Love Sucks | The Vampire Diaries

The Salvatore Love Story

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

        "Stop here," Stefan told Elena as they drove through the woods, the two sitting in the front with Annabelle in the backseat, and Elena obeyed, stopping the car. As soon as the halted, Stefan got our of the car and started walking further into the woods. Elena's brows furrowed and she looked at Annabelle over her shoulder. They shared a confused look, before also getting out of the car, Annabelle closing the door behind him and proceeding to follow Stefan. However, she stopped as she turned around and waited for her sister to do the same, but Elena stayed by the car, her hand on the still open door and her body hidden behind it.
        "What are we doing here?" she asked, a hint of fear in her voice as she realized that she and her sister were in the middle of nowhere, away from other people, with a vampire.
        "I want to show you something," Stefan repeated, his heart clenching at the look of fear in her eyes.
        "In the middle of nowhere?" Annabelle asked skeptically, but without fear. For a reason that remained unknown to her, she trusted Stefan. Or at least... a part of her did. A bigger part of her told her to run away as far as possible, but the smaller part of her remained curious. Now knowing the Salvatores' secret, Annabelle wondered if that's why she was always hit with nausea and coldness whenever they touched her or, in Damon's case, even looked at her. But why? Why did she feel like that? Why was she so sure that there was something dangerous about the Salvatores? How did she know that even before she figured out their secret? And, more importantly, why was she choosing to go against her instincts and trust a vampire?
        Annabelle has always been a curious person. Some people would even go as far as saying that when she died, it would be because of her curiosity. Perhaps that's why she was choosing to trust Stefan. Because it would be easier... because she wanted to know everything. She wanted to know how he became a vampire. She wanted to know when he became a vampire. She wanted to know why he came back to Mystic Falls. She wanted to know everything. But was her curiosity truly powerful enough to make her ignore the danger and ridiculousness of the very idea and trust a vampire?
        "This... didn't use to be nowhere," Stefan said, his lips twitching upwards into the smallest of smiles when he saw no fear in her eyes, before turning back around to look at their surrounding, "This used to be my home," he said, before walking further into the woods. Annabelle's brows furrowed, and she looked at Elena over her shoulder, only to see her sister looking at Stefan in interest before finally closing the door of the car. The two girls shared a look, before following Stefan a few feet further into the woods. As he stopped, the girls eyed the ruins they were now standing in front of.
        "It looks so..." Elena trailed off as she looked at the two pillars that would be used to decorate a garden. But they were nowhere near beautiful. No, they were nearly in ruin. Big chunks of bricks and clay were missing, and the color wore off over the years.
        "Old?" Stefan supplied. "That's because they are,"
        "Wait, how long have you...?" Annabelle trailed off, not wanting to seem insensitive or rude but wanting to know all the same. However, there was no need for her to finish the sentence. Elena and Stefan knew exactly what she was asking.
        "I've been 17 years old... since 1864," Stefan said, and Annabelle's eyes widened in shock.
        "Oh, my God," Elena breathed out after a moment of silence, tears building up in her eyes, although she didn't know why.
        "You said you wanted to know," Stefan said, "I'm not gonna hold anything back," he said, and Annabelle gave him a nod, silently thanking him for his honesty since she could already tell that it was hard for him to talk about him past, while Elena remained still and silent, "Half century before the Boarding House was even built, this was my family's home," Stefan said as he started walking further into the ruins, "Damon and I... we were both born here," he said, turning around to look at the girls as they followed him. "The Salvatore brothers, best of friends,"
        "Wait. Where did you learn this game?" Stefan asked his brother as they ran out of the estate and into the garden, Damon holding a football in his hand.
        "Camp outside Atlanta, one of the officers picked it up at Harvard. Catch!" Damon quickly explained before throwing the ball to Stefan, who caught it swiftly.
        "Wait a minute. Wait a minute," he said as his brother ran towards him, "What are the rules? What are the rules?" Stefan asked as he quickly dodged his brother.
        "Who needs rules?" came a voice from behind them, and the two brother stopped running and turned around, only to see Layla, along with Katherine and their dark-skinned maid, on the porch, "Mind if we join you?" she asked, gesturing between herself and Katherine as they walked down the steps of the front porch.
        "Uh... well, you could, uh, you could get hurt," Stefan said, a bit out of breath, as he walked up to the two young women, looking at Layla with a kind and charming smile, "My brother likes to play rough," he said, while Damon eyed the two sisters up and down.
        "Somehow, I think that you play rougher," Katherine said with a seductive smirk as she took a few steps towards Stefan, the two now only inches apart as she looked into his eyes. Layla rolled her eyes as Stefan looked at Katherine with a slightly uncomfortable expression, and used the moment of distraction to snatch the ball out of his hands. Stefan and Katherine both turned to look at her, but she just laughed before running away, Stefan looking after her with a dazed look.
        "Why are you just standing there? That is a girl who clearly wants to be chased," Damon said to his brother, who seemed completely mesmerized by the blue-eyed beauty, "If you don't do it, I will," he said, before chasing after Layla. Stefan then finally snapped out of his daze, and quickly chased after his brother and Layla with a carefree smile, neither of them noticing Katherine's heated glare.
        "You knew Katherine and Layla in 1864?" Annabelle asked as she, Stefan, and Elena stopped in front of ruins that were definitely once a house, "Damon made it seem like..." she trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it.
        "Damon wanted you, both of you, think that... I was still heartbroken," Stefan said, moving to stand in front of them, before looking at Elena. "He saw that I was happy with you, and he wanted to ruin it.
        "All because you loved the same woman... 145 years ago?" Annabelle asked in disbelief, wondering just how long the older Salvatore is able to hold a grudge for.
        "She wasn't... just any girl," Stefan shook his head as he gave her a small smile, understanding why it seemed hard to believe, "Damon and I were both entranced with her. We both strived to please her, and looked for every possible way of spending time with her. At one point, she needed an escort to the Founders' Ball, and Damon and I both offered to take her," Stefan said as the three walked away from the ruins, towards a small white bench a few feet away. "She chose me. I escorted her to the ball at the original Lockwood Mansion,"
        "The first Founders' Party?" Elena asked, and Stefan nodded.
        "Where you signed the registry," Annabelle realized, remembering the original guest registry she saw at the Founders' Party a week earlier, and Stefan nodded.
        "I didn't care that... I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care if it hurt him. I only knew that... I wanted her," he said.
        "I'm... guessing he was upset," Annabelle said as she and Elena sat down on the bench.
        "That's the thing about Damon," Stefan shook his head. "He doesn't get mad. He just gets even. What Damon wants, Damon usually gets. I-I didn't know it at the time, but... turns out that night... Katherine was with him, too,"
        "So... he stole her from you, not the other way around?" Elena asked, confused, feeling even more confused when Stefan shook his head.
        "Turns out... she wasn't ours to steal," he said, before slowly walking away from the bench, the Gilbert sisters sharing a confused look before standing up and following him. As he stopped a few feet away, they also stopped and leaned against a tree, "She could control my mind, and Damon's. She compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted all of us to be together... forever," Stefan said, before looking down for a second, "Didn't turn out that way, but..." he squatted down and reached down underneath one of the fallen-over white pillars that would have been used to decorate a garden, pulling out a piece of cloth before straightening back up, "Damon and I... looks like we're stuck with each other... like it or not," he said, unfolding the cloth and pulling out a lapis lazuli ring that strongly resembled his daylight ring, and Annabelle's eyes widened as realization dawned on her.
        "Is that Damon's ring?" she asked, and Stefan nodded.
        "I took it from him, but I have to give it back,"
        "No," Elena shook her head, pushing herself off the tree and walking up to him. "Don't, Stefan. Keep it hidden,"
        "Elena, if I don't give it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way that he knows he can hurt me," Stefan said, also taking a few steps forward to stand closer to her as Annabelle pushed herself off the tree and walked up to the two.
        "And how is that?" Elena asked, exasperated.
        "By hurting you," Stefan replied. "Either of you,"