The Vampire Diaries(BxB)

3: Happy Birthday

I'm in my bed, miserable. It's been three months of looking for Stefan, and it's also my Birthday. Which means the Wedding is in four months. I look out the window and inhale, then exhale, and sit up, and get up, and walk over to my window, about to pull the curtains down, and sigh, and open them, letting the Sun pour out. I jog to Jeremy's room, and pull his curtains open, letting the Sun pour out. "Ugh, early. Bad." He says, as I look at him, and he's extending his left hand, and I walk over to him, sighing, pulling his covers off, sighing. "It's not early. You're late for work. Matt just called." I say, and walk over to the door. "Well, maybe they'll fire me." He says, and I give a small laugh. "Aim high." I say. "Happy Birthday." He says. "Thanks." I say, and walk downstairs, pulling out my phone and call Tony. "What are you doing?" I ask. "Just shopping for the party you're trying to bail out on." He says. "I never said yes in the first place." I say. "You were never going to which is why I planned it anyway. And my Mom wants you to call her." She says, and I stop, as I'm heading towards the kitchen. "Did she find something?" I ask. "An animal attack in Memphis." He says, and I continue walking to the kitchen. "It's the third one this week in Tennessee." He says, and I see Alaric making coffee. "And you're sure it's a vampire?" I ask, and Alaric and I look at each other. "Yes, but that doesn't mean that it's Klaus." Tony says, and I sigh. "Doesn't mean it's not." I say, walking over to Alaric, and pat his right arm, and put my hand down, as he moves out of the way. "I'll call her." I say, and press the button, and smile at Alaric. "Well call her on her cell." He says. "Tell her thank you for her help." I say. "All right. Well, I gotta go. I'll see you in a bit." He says. "Oh, Tony wait, just.. keep tonight small. Please." I say. "Wear something handsome." He says, and hangs up, and I groan, and hang up, and put my phone in my right pocket. "Was that uh.. Stefan news?" Alaric asks, as I open the cabinet, and pull out a mug with my left hand. "Could be more Klaus victims." I say, looking at him, and notice he's making his bed, which is the couch. "You're certain Stefan's still with him." He says, as I look down, pouring a cup of coffee with my right hand, and face him. "Easy to be certain when the alternative is that he's dead." I say, and look back down, and up to him, and set the pot back. "Are you sure you're still okay on the couch?" I ask. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." He says, and I walk over to him after picking up the other coffee cup, a carry one, in my left hand, and the mug in my right. "Because you spent half the summer on it. If you need your own bedroom.." I say. "And sleep in your dead parent' room or my dead girlfriend's room.." He says, and shakes his head. "Nah." He says. "Right." I say, holding out the coffee mug in my right hand. "Got it." I say, and he sighs, and walk over to the table, and set my mug down, and grab my red bag. "Hey, Ethan.." He says, and I look at him. "Happy Birthday." He says, and I sigh, and look down, and back up to him. "Thanks." I say, and nod. I soon arrive to the Salvatore Boarding House, adjusting my silver nose ring, and put my bag down. "Morning." Damon says. "Hi, I was going." I say, turning around, and see him naked, with soap all over him, as he's dripping water, smirking. "Ohh!" I exclaim, and turn around. "You heard me." I say, giving a fake laugh. "You knew that I was here." I say. "You know you should learn to knock. What if I was.. risqué?" He asks, and I grab a black towel with my right hand, and cover my eyes with my left, and turn around, and throw it at him, and sigh, and so does he. "Ok." He says, and I separate my ring finger and pinky with my middle, index, and thumb, looking at him, and see he has the towel around his waist, and I put my hand down. "Sheriff Forbes gave us another location to check." I say, pulling out a note from my right pocket. "Memphis." I say. "Another dead end, you mean?" He asks. "You don't know that." I say, as he approaches me. "You're right, Ethan. This could be the one." He says, getting closer, and I look to my right. "Yep. After almost two months, this could be the one clue that tells that Stefan is alive and well and living in Graceland." He says, and I look at him, and sigh. "Fine. I'll go by myself." I say, as he's smiling, and begin to walk off, and he dashes in front of me, and takes the note with his right hand, as I gasp. "And let Klaus know you're tracking him. He thinks you're dead. Let's keep it that way." He says, and looks at the note. "It's a new lead, Damon. We haven't had one in a while." I say. "Ok. I'll check it out. If I find anything, I'll call you." He says, and walks off. "But.." I say, and sigh. I'm helping Tyler and Tony set up for the party, and Tony hands me napkins. "I feel like I have to fight Damon every single time we get a lead on Stefan." I say. "Maybe he doesn't want to find him." Tyler says. "Tyler!" Tony exclaims. "What? He's into you, isn't he?" Tyler asks, approaching us with chips, and hands them to me, and I set them down. "The only reason Stefan left with Klaus was so that he could save Damon's life. I mean, trust me, Damon wants to find him." I say, as Tyler walks away from me. "But you kissed him." He says, and Tony and I look at him. "Probably screwed with his head." He says. "Tyler!" Tony exclaims, and I look down, smiling, and back up to Tony. "I'm sorry." He says, and I look back down, and wave my right hand. "I. Don't worry about it. Look." I say, and look up at Tyler, as he's approaching us. "Yes, I kissed him, but it was a. It was a goodbye kiss. I thought he was gonna die." I say, and look down, and scoff. "Ok." Tyler says, as my phone beeps, and I pull it out of my right pocket, and see I missed a call from Mark. "I just missed a call from Mark. I'll be right back." I say, and put my left index finger up, and down, and run off. I'm in Stefan's bedroom, looking in the mirror, as I'm adjusting my black tie. I'm wearing that with a white long sleeve shirt with my sleeves rolled up, and look down, and put my hands down, and back up, and see Damon's reflection by the door with his arms crossed. "Don't worry I'm not gonna lose it." I say, and look at him. "At least not before the cake." I say, and he turns his head to the left, and back to me. "It's your party, you can cry if you want to." He says, and smiles, and I smile back, and puts his arm down, as I look forward, and hear footsteps. "Ah, Stefan. Such a packrat." He says, and I look at him, and see a picture of me and Stefan when he's in his football jersey, and take a step forward towards him. "Hm." He says, and sets it down. "I got you something." He says. "What is it? Did you time travel and bring me back a White Oak stake?" I ask, and he gives a small laugh. " I know I promised not to buy you anything so don't worry, iI didn't pay for it." He says, approaching me, and pulls out a black box. "You stole it?" I ask. "No." He says, and opens it. "Found it." He says, and I look down, and see it's my necklace, and gasp. "My necklace." I say, and look up at him, and shake my head, and look back at it, and pick it up, gently, with my right fingers, and hold the end in my left, and hold the chain up with my right. "I thought I'd never see it again." I say. "Alaric found it in his loft. I figured you'd be happy to have it back." He says, and I look up at him, and smile. "I am happy." I say, and he smiles back, and looks down. "Thank you." I say, and he looks up. "You're welcome." He says. "Can you.." I say, looking down at the necklace, and back up to him, holding it out, as he looks down at it. "Ah, absolutely. And, happy birthday." He says. "Thank you." I say, and takes it with both hands, and I turn around, looking in the mirror, and he puts it in front of me, and unclips it, and puts it around my neck, and I turn around, looking at him. "Shall we?" He asks, offering his right arm, and I take it, and sigh, and we walk off. We walk down the stairs, and I see a bunch of people, and look at him, and he smiles at me, and I smile back, and look forward, and we see a guy standing upside down on a beer tank, and people chanting, go, and he gets down, and they all cheer, as I let Damon's arm go, and see Tony approaching me, carrying a red cup in his right hand, smiling. "You like?" He asks. "Uh." I say, and he puts his right index finger up. "Don't answer that." He says, and puts his finger down. "This is, keeping it small?" I ask, and roll my eyes. "What are we drinking?" I ask, and he laughs, and puts his cup in his right hand, and offers his left arm, and I take it, and we walk off. We arrive to the Living Room, as I'm holding a red cup half way full of beer in my left hand, and can smell the pot. "Oh, the Stoner den." He says, and I cough, and unhook arms. "Buzz kill." He says. "Hey, guys." Matt says, as I sip my drink, and look at him, as he's smiling, and swallow. "Matt, hi." I say, smiling back. "Hi." He says, and moves his lips towards me. "Oh." I say, and he kisses my cheek. "Happy Birthday." He says, as we smile at each other. "Thank you." I say, and look down, and chuckle, as he walks off. "He hates me." He says, and I look at him. "His hatred of me, has driven him to drugs." He says. "He doesn't hate you, he hates that he's not with you." I say, looking forward, and notice Jeremy on the couch, smoking pot. "Is that my brother?" I ask, and exhale, and hand Tony mine drink. "Thank you." I say, and walk off outside, and see Damon and Alaric, as Damon's drinking Bourbon. "Hello, Birthday Boy." Damon says. "Drink." I say, holding out my right hand, and he hands it to me, and turn to Alaric. "Jeremy's smoking again." I say, and take a drink. "Is his stash any good?" Damon asks, and I put my hand down, looking at him, giving him the evil eye. "You're an ass." I say, and turn to Alaric, and sigh."Talk to him, please? He looks up to you." I say, and turn to Damon, as he holds his holds his right hand out, and I put the glass in, and turn around, and walk off. I open the door to Damon's room with my left hand, as I'm holding a red cup half way full of beer in my left hand, and walk in, looking around. "This room's off limits." Tony says, and I look to my right, and see him holding a blood bag. "Tony?" I ask, and he smiles. "Sorry. I just needed to take a beat." He says, and sets the bag down, and I smile, and he walks over to me. "Are you hiding?" He asks, crossing his arms, and I look down, and back up to him. "I was just looking for Damon." I say, smiling. "Well, he better be here somewhere because we haven't even done the cake yet." He says, and puts his arms down. "I think I'm gonna pass on the whole cake thing." I say. "No! No, way, No! It's your Birthday." He says, and I look down, and back up to him. "No, it's the dawn of a new day, and you can't get on with your life until you doing made a wish and blown out the candles. I had to go all the way to Virginia Beach to find the specific Ice Cream cake you love. Chocolate Peanut Butter." He says. "I appreciate that. I really do. But, is that what you all want me to do? Just get on with my life?" I ask. "No. Maybe. I just don't think anyone wants to see you like this." He says. "I'm not gonna give up on finding Stefan, Tony." I say. "Of course not. And you shouldn't." He says, and I nod, and look to my right, and begin to walk off. "But you have to admit that you kinda just letting your life pass you by." He says, as I look at him. "And isn't Stefan the one who wanted to make sure that you lived it?" He asks. "You want me to make a wish?" I ask, and he nods. "I just wanna know that he's alive. That's it." I say, shaking my head. "That's my wish." I say, and nod, and walk off, and stop at Damon's closet. "I'm sorry, ok? I'm just drunk and dumb tonight." I say, and open the door some with my right hand. "You know.. what are you doing?" He asks, and I see a bunch of notes, maps, and articles. "What's all that?" He asks, and I see a sticky note that says, Klaus. "It's Klaus. Damon's been tracking him without me." I say. "Why wouldn't he just tell you?" He asks, and I shake my head, and notice a article about a body discovered at a drive in and a sticky on it that says, Stefan, and one with, neck wounds, written on it. "I don't know." I say. I'm walking around where the party is, and call Damon. "Party Central." He says. "Where are you?!" I exclaim. "I'm by the.. Punch Bowl." He says. "Don't do that, Damon. Don't lie to me. I saw your closet." I say. "Oh, oh, gotta go. Gotta go break up Beer Pong." He says. "Wait, Damon." I say, as he hangs up, and sigh. I'm in Damon's room, holding out the articles in my right hand, as I hear the door open, and turn around, seeing him. "What? What are you doing here?" He asks. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?" I ask. "Can we not do this right now? I'm having a really bad night." He says, and I walk over to him. "All Summer, every single time I came to you with a lead, you made me feel like an idiot for having hope." I say. "You were an idiot. We both were." He says, and walks over to me, about to walk past me, and I grab his right wrist with my left hand. "Tell me what you know, Damon." I say. "I know you need to get back to your party, Ethan." He says, and takes my hand off, and walks past me, as I look at him. "We're supposed to be in this together. Why didn't you tell me that you've been tracking Klaus' victims?!" I exclaim, and he looks at me. "Because they're not Klaus's victims, Ethan, they're Stefan's!" He exclaims. "What?" I ask. "He's left a trail of body parts up and down the eastern seaboard." He says. "No. You're wrong." I say, shaking my head, and he approaches me. "I've seen it happen before. He's flipped the switch." He says, and takes the articles from me. "Full blown Ripper." He says. "Stop it, Damon." I say. "No, you stop, Ethan! Stop looking for him. Stop waiting for him to come home. Just stop! Stefan is gone and he's not coming back. Not in your lifetime." He says, and I begin to cry, and he looks remorseful, and walks off, and I hear the door open and close, and cry, and touch my necklace with my right hand. I arrive home, and open the door with my right hand, and shut it, and hear a throwing, and look up at Alaric, and he zips his bag. "What are you doing?" I ask. "Ahh. I'm not going to stay here any more." He says, and looks at me. "What?" I ask. "I'm not a role model. You know, I drink too much, I say the wrong things. You know, I encourage bad behavior." He says, and looks back at his bag. "At school I can pull it together, but in my own life.." He says, and puts his bag over his right shoulder. "You know, the way I miss Jenna, it's just, I'm really not any good to anybody right now." He says, walking towards tje door, and looks back at me, and sighs. "I'm sorry, Ethan. You're eighteen. You can do all this alone now. You can do it better without me." He says. "If you ever need a place to stay, you're welcome here. Always. I better not catch you on the street, or I will drag you home, myself." I say, and he smiles, and walks over to the door, and opens it with his left hand, walks out, and closes it. I'm in my room, after taking a shower and get changed into my golden owl hoodie and black underwear, and see a Birthday card next to a black teddy bear, and pick it up with my right hand, and see it's from Jeremy, and smile, and look out at my bathroom, and walk over to my drawer, and set it down, and walk to my bathroom, and run my hands through my hair, and put them down, and walk back to my drawer, hearing my phone vibrate, and pick it up with my right hand. "Hello? Hello? Stefan? Stefan, if this is you.. you'll be okay. You can survive this. Whatever you do, just hold on. I'm not gonna give up. I love you, Stefan. Hold on to that. Never let that go." I say. "Give me a second, I have to get further away." He says, and I hear a whoosh. "Happy Birthday, Ethan." He says, and hangs up. I hear a knock on my door, and walk downstairs, and open it with my right hand, and see a man standing there, holding up an envelope in his right hand. "Are you Mr. Ethan Gilbert?" He asks. "Yes." I say, and he hands me the envelope. "What's this for?" I ask. "Happy Birthday." He says, and rips his own heart out with his right hand, as I scream. "Jeremy!" I yell, and hear running, and turn around, and see Jeremy next to me. "What happened?" He asks, and we look at the man. "A vampire. He was compelled to rip his own heart out." I say. "But.. only Originals can compel others. Klaus?" He asks, and I look at the envelope, and see it's from Elijah. "Elijah." I say, and open it, and see a letter, and pull it out, and hand it the envelope to Jeremy. "My dearest Ethan, if you are reading this, it means I am daggered. If you're not, then I would be standing with you on you're Birthday. I've compelled the vampire to rip out his own heart so that he would take the existence of you to his grave. Literally. I had a Witch approach me and use her Tarot Cards. You are in horrible danger. I wish you the best of luck. Sincerely, Elijah. PS. Happy Birthday, and enjoy the present." I read, and look at Jeremy, and he pulls out car keys. "Keys?" I ask, and he hands them to me. "I'll call Damon." He says, as we walk outsdie, and I see a black Camaro with a giant black ribbon around it, and see it has a note on it. "For if you're ever on the run. And I had Jeremy tell me what your dream car was. E." I read, and look at Jeremy, and he smiles.