Perfect Match

Chapter 1

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"The answer was D," Elena argued as she walked out of English class with Stefan Salvatore. He scoffed.

"It was definitely B." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and chuckled at her stubbornness. Her chocolate eyes were filled with determination and denial.

"If 'none of the above' is an option, you always take it, Stefan. That's stuff you learn in sixth grade!" she laughed and looked back up to him. She knew there was no point in arguing with Stefan anyways; he was always right about everything. "I got that question wrong, didn't I?"

He grinned. "Yup."

Elena rolled her eyes. Stefan Salvatore was a genius and everyone knew it; she was the only person who ever actually bothered to debate with him, which was probably the reason that she'd been his best friend since fifth grade. She gave up far too easily half the time, but he didn't care. He liked her spunk. She seemed to be the only girl in Mystic High who actually understood him and his terrible sense of humor.

"I just hope that I get an A," he said as they made their way through the hall. "If my GPA drops..."

Elena looked up at him, giving him a nudge on the shoulder. "Loosen up. We all know you're going Ivy League. Stop worrying." The creases on his forehead gradually smoothed out under her sharp stare, his green eyes softening. She couldn't stifle the chuckle that escaped her lips; he got so serious over the simplest things. "I'm pretty sure I got a C on that. I just don't get symbols. How on earth can a dog represent prejudice?"

They made their way outside to the picnic tables. They could see the familiar faces of Tyler, Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt in the distance. "I can tutor you, if you want," Stefan offered after a short while.

She smiled softly. "Tonight?"

Stefan's green eyes locked with hers, a playful glint in his shining pools of hazel. "I thought that I was coming to your house anyways to watch that Scream marathon. Now we have to study?" Jokingly, he let out an aggravated groan, causing Elena to hit him on the shoulder.

"Remind me again why we even have to watch those stupid movies if we've already seen them more than twice."

"Because," Stefan started. "Watching you hold up a pillow to your face whenever the killer's wandering around is priceless."

Elena scoffed and hit him again. Finally, they reached their friends at the picnic table. Caroline and Bonnie glanced up at them both with a giggle. "Seriously," Caroline said. "Is there ever a time when you two aren't together?"

They both smiled and sheepishly looked away.

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It was pitch black in the house, except for the blue light coming off of the TV, reflecting on Stefan and Elena. They had started off with two large blankets, but she had somehow ended up with both. The first blanket was cocooned around her while the second had fallen to the floor. Elena, who was too caught up in the movie to grab it, buried her face behind Stefan's shoulder to avoid watching the gore. He, on the other hand, was watching without even flinching. She wished she could be as poised as he was.

Luckily, a commercial came and Elena let out a breath of relief. "I have no idea why I even watch these with you," she sighed. Stefan looked at her with an arched brow. "Okay, I love watching them. But I hate it at the same time."

He smiled. "It's tradition. We've been doing this since, when?"

Elena let her head fall back, loud laughter coming from her as she remembered it. "Since we met! We were ten, and we weren't allowed to watch R rated movies..."

Stefan's eyes shone with happiness at the memory. "...So I figured out how to download them all to my gameboy," he chuckled.

"The technology nerd that you are," she joked. "And then we snuck up into your tree house and watched every single one."

"Yes!" Stefan exclaimed with a wide grin. "My first all-nighter."

"Oh god," Elena barely got out through her fit of giggles. She knew that the situation wouldn't have been funny to anyone who heard them, but the image of them as two little kids, huddled up in his tree house around this little gameboy to see what the hype of Scream was about... it was enough to make her crack up.

Stefan calmed himself down and realized she was still laughing, a sound that was enough to get him chuckling once again. God, her laugh was so beautiful and so contagious... Elena smiling was the most gorgeous thing he'd ever seen. It was an understatement to say that Stefan had a crush on her... after spending so much time with her, he'd fallen in love.

Stefan and Elena told each other everything, but that was the one thing he kept from her.

It was safe to say that he pretty much knew everything, but the one thing that he was not aware of was the fact that Elena Gilbert was keeping the same secret from him.

So, here they sat, two shy best friends enjoying each other's company but longing for more. Stefan sighed at the thought, when his attention suddenly turned to the television. A fancy commercial came onto the screen, a man's voice narrating it:

"Are you a perfect couple? Are you madly in love? Do you really think that your relationship can conquer everything that we'll throw at you? Put it to the test... by auditioning for the newest reality show, 'Perfect Match' coming to you on ABC. Directors will be coming to a location near you soon. Call the number below on this screen... You may just be the winning couple who gets a grand prize of 100,000 dollars!"

Elena had also been watching in awe, her mind spinning. "100 grand is a lot of money," she muttered.

Stefan nodded slowly. "I could do a lot with that."

They refused to look at each other, staring at the television. "It's too bad, though," she started awkwardly, "That I don't have a boyfriend to audition with..."

Stefan sighed. "Shame."

Just then, they both jumped at an idea, turning their heads, eyes meeting at the exact same moment. "Unless..." Elena began.

A grin curled on Stefan's lips. "Unless we pretend to be a couple. I mean, we've been friends for years... We'd probably be able to pull it off."

Her brown eyes widened. "Absolutely... I mean we know everything there is to know about each other. And we could split the hundred grand." There was a long pause before Elena said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Call the number!"

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