We'll Always Have Summer | Stefan Salvatore

Chapter Two

1993 — Mystic Falls, Virginia

   Her mother had told her no several times. Florence had to stay home and help her mother so they could get prepared for a dinner they would be hosting for all the Founding Families of Mystic Falls. It was a simple get-together, a meeting where they could boast about their family name and the old money they each had. Florence wasn't too keen on the idea, but she did have to listen to her mother. All throughout the day, she helped around the house as much as she could. She cleaned, cooked, and straightened whatever thing her mother pointed out that needed to be fixed. An hour before their small party, Mr. Gilbert and Grayson arrived with bags full of alcohol. They had wine and champagne, pretentious drinks for pretentious people. Believe it or not, Florence preferred beer.

   "Florence, dear, go get ready," Mrs. Gilbert said, waving a hand at her. 

   "I am?" the girl questioned, extending her arms and giving a twirl. She wore a simple shirt, sorts, and a jean jacket, something comfortable. 

   Mrs. Gilbert shook her head. "No, sweetheart, get dressed," her mother said with a sigh. "How about you wear that lovely purple dress I got you last year?"

   "How about I just drown?" Florence mumbled as she turned to head up the stairs.

   "What was that?"

   "Nothing!" Florence hurried up the stairs and straight to her room, closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath and glanced around her room, looking at anything she could wear that wasn't the hideous purple dress her mother had bought for her for homecoming. Hideous would be an understatement. While Cher loved it, Florence thought it was more of the blonde's taste than her own.

   She moved to her closed and brushed her fingers against the clothes,  wondering what she could wear. Her eyes landed on a white dress, simple and plain and light enough for the summer head. She chose that dress, and adorned it with the jean jacket and a golden heart necklace her father had given her a few years back. She ran her fingers down her hair, looking at herself in the mirror with a small smile. At that moment, she realised that she looked a bit simple, so she picked up the light coloured lipstick and ran it across her lips, smacking her lips together once they were a soft red.

   A knock on her door caused her to jump and turn just as it opened. Miranda Gilbert stood there with a small smile. "Everyone's here."

   "Already?" Florence asked, scratching her head. 

   "You've been up here for over an hour," Miranda chuckled, crossing her arms. "Everyone's already downstairs and the party is a bit lively."

   "Lively?" Florence scoffed. "Mom and dad don't know how to throw a lively party."

   "Well, lively for adults," she chuckled. "There are a few kids here. Bob's here."

   "Then that means Charles Fell is also here," Florence mumbled, making a face. "Great."

   "And Zach brought his nephew?"

   Florence stopped moving and stared at her sister-in-law with wide eyes, a smile forming around her lips. "Stefan's here?"

   "You know him?" Miranda smiled, almost knowingly, and crossed her arms. "You met him before, didn't you? At that party Charles Fell threw?"

   "How did you know?"

   "Grayson and I have no secrets," Miranda smiled. "Now, come on. Their waiting for you."

   Florence followed her sister-in-law down the stairs and to the party, where the adults were passing by with smiles and glasses of champagne in their hands. They greeted each other with smiles and some with even a peck on their cheeks as if they were posh. It wasn't a full out fashionable party, but Carol Lockwood came with a brilliant red number that was a too much. At her sight, Florence made a face and turned the other way. She saw her parents speaking to Zach Salvatore and his girlfriend, Gail. They were an adorable couple, one that many knew would get married as soon as Zach proposed. And besides them stood Stefan, smiling politely as her parents spoke to him.