Must Love Dogs

Chapter Twenty-Five

A/N:  You guys are SO wonderful! Thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following. Seriously! I write my stories for you all and I'm thrilled to know that so many of you are finding this story so addictive and interesting. ;)

Anyways, with that being said. Here's Ch.25. Hope you all like it!

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Must Love Dogs- Chapter Twenty-Five

"Wait!" Elena shouted after him, opening the door and running to the middle of the hallway, stopping just a few feet away from where Stefan had already been.

She watched his body tense as he turned around slowly. "I already told you, Elena. Go home and-." He began to say as Elena ran up to him, placing her hands on to his cheeks, stroking each side with her thumbs.

"This is not your choice to make! Don't you understand?" She asked, deeply breathing as she tried to keep her tears at bay. As much as she hadn't wanted to fall for him. It had happened and in the back of her mind, she really was hoping that he felt something for her too.

"As mad as I am at you. I care about you too." She stated, placing her forehead against his and exhaling deeply.

"Please, don't push me away." She said, choking back her tears.

"I'm not good for you. But, I care about you enough to realize that you're better off without me. So, go back to your aunts house. Pack your things and go home to where you belong. Be with someone who's better than me, Elena. Be with someone who is going to love you like you deserve." Stefan suggested softly, kissing her lips and placing his hands on to her cheeks, cupping her face into his hands as he forced her to look at him.

"Maybe I'll see you again, one day." He told her softly, inhaling a sharp intake of breath as his shaking hands lifted off of her face and he brushed past her, walking away without looking back.

"Don't walk away from me, Stefan!" Elena shouted after him, tears falling down her cheeks as she placed her hands on to her face and felt them fall, watching him slowly turn around.

"It's better this way. You and I both know that." He said, his eyes glazed over with tears as he pushed open the door, leaving without another word.

Elena stood in the middle of the empty hallway, tears cascading down her face as she leaned her back against one of the large windows that lead into a conference room.

We're at Lapellah for lunch. I'll text you the address. Elena, are you coming? A text message from Jeremy caused her body to jolt a little bit as she took her phone out of her purse, reading the text message with blurry vision. Elena wiped away at her tears, exhaling deeply before replying back with a simple, On my way.

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"Elena! Over here!" Bonnie waved her over, noticing that her best friend was a little bit not as enthusiastic as she was in the morning when she had seen her last.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie quietly asked as Jeremy moved so that Elena could take a seat next to Bonnie.

"Nothing. I'm great. " Elena lied, making herself smile forcefully up at her brother, Jenna and then at Alaric who was looking down at the liquor menu. Bonnie shrugged as she watched Elena look down at the menu for a long drawn out moment.

"So, what are we having for lunch?" She asked, tapping her fingernails against the plastic laminated menu in her hands, hearing Jenna cough out a breath before she said. "We kind of already ordered for you. I know, you are kind of specific with your food. So, Jer got you a hamburger with fries." Jenna told her, smiling as Elena sighed out a breath, rubbing the back of her neck with the tension that she felt.