Through Rivalry Comes Love

Chapter 33

The entire weekend, Elena knew that something wasn't right. Stefan had been distant and when she had offered to go home to give him time alone, he had told her that he wanted her to stay, yet he continued to act strange. Like something was on his mind, but he wasn't going to tell her.

Quite frankly, it scared Elena. It was a repeat of what had happened with her and Gregory. Stefan was getting bored of her too, though much faster than Gregory had.

So on Sunday afternoon, she was putting her shoes on and getting ready to go home. Maybe they needed a night apart. "Where are you going?" Stefan asked, having come out of the kitchen upon hearing her.

Elena kept her back to him as she finished buckling her boot. "Home" she stated.

"What? Why?" he asked, walking towards her and grabbing her arm.

Elena sighed as she turned around to look at him. "Because. Clearly something is bothering you, and since you won't come out and say it, I can only assume that you want your space" she explained.

Stefan closed his eyes and sighed too. The last thing he wanted to do was make Elena feel unwanted, but he couldn't stop thinking about the next day when they would have to talk about the embezzling discovery. Every time he looked at her, he didn't believe that she could be capable of fraud. But then he remembered seeing her signature on those documents, and the slightest possibility that maybe she would have been capable, was there. "I'm sorry" he said. "I've got a lot on my mind right now, and I'm sorry."

Elena raised her eyebrow. "What could you possibly have on your mind that I don't know about?" she asked.

Again, he sighed. "I want to tell you" he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "But not right now" he added.

"Okay, then when?" Elena asked, crossing her arms.

"Tomorrow" Stefan told her. "Tomorrow" he repeated.

Elena looked at him curiously. "Should I be worried?" she asked him. Though she didn't realize it had everything to do with her, she was still concerned for him.

Stefan shook his head slowly. "I want to take you somewhere" he said suddenly, grabbing her hands.

"Where?" Elena asked. It was nearly three in the afternoon.

"You'll see" he said, smiling softly as he pulled her towards the door. Elena had no choice but to follow.

XXXX

Elena wasn't from Washington, so she was unfamiliar with the geography. But the first stop they made after leaving Seattle was Aberdeen, nearly two hours later. It was a quiet little shore town on the Pacific Ocean. Elena could smell the salt in the air as soon as they stepped out into the night. "We're just stopping here for a minute" he said, pulling her into a grocery store.

While Elena used the restroom, Stefan had wandered throughout the store picking out what he needed. Elena finished drying her hands and checked her hair and makeup. The wind blowing off of the water had given it that windblown look that she wasn't used to.

Elena found Stefan at the checkout with two paper bags full of things. She grabbed one of the bags and he the other, taking her hand in his as they went back outside. It was getting late and Elena tried not to worry about the fact that they had to work the next day.

It was another half an hour or so before they hit another town. Ocean Shores. Elena's best guess was that they were at a beach. There were a few hotels sprawled out along the sand and random gift shops here and there, but those shops were all closed. Other than that, the town was small. Much smaller than Aberdeen. Quieter too, though Elena realized that not a lot of people were probably at the beach at the end of November. Anyone who did live there year round was already tucked in for the night.