Perfect Match

Chapter 6

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The next week went by smoothly. According to Rob, Perfect Match had gotten very high ratings upon airing its first episode. Eliza and Brad were the first to go, but they left with smiles on their faces; it was obvious the southern couple was far too quiet for reality television. Elena was sad to see Eliza go, but was extremely proud to know that her charade with Stefan was believable.

A few days passed by and the cameras continued to roll. As it always did, the awkwardness of Stefan and Elena's kiss didn't last long, and soon they were back to normal.

That week, there was a challenge held, involving song writing and Stefan with a guitar. Elena swore that the lyrics her best friend came up with were the funniest things she had ever heard in her entire life, or maybe it was the way he delivered them. "Your eyes are so nice and brown, let's go dance through the town! I hate it when you wear hats, 'cause your hair is pretty when you wear it flat... Never mind, your hair's pretty all the time, I suck at singing, so maybe I should just become a mime. Hey Elena, you've forever left a stain uh... on my heart!" Surprisingly, they won the challenge and she didn't understand how, considering how terrible his song was.

Hey, at least she could say his guitar playing was decent.

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Now, Saturday morning quickly approached, the pink sun beginning to rise over the skyline replete with palm trees and modern buildings. Elena was the first to wake due to the strong sunlight hitting her face, but she didn't dare move. She was far too comfortable.

Slowly opening her eyes, Elena snuggled up to her insanely comfortable pillow, only to realize it wasn't a pillow at all. It was Stefan's chest. Stefan's bare chest. He constantly complained about the hot weather and the lack of air conditioning, but she really didn't mind; it was definitely worth it, considering he never slept in a shirt.

She grinned warmly, snuggling a little closer to him. It felt nice to be with Stefan like this, felt right somehow. Beneath his smooth skin, she could distinctly hear his mellow heartbeat, pulsing rhythmically. Thump thump, thump, she heard repeatedly. His chest gently rose and fell with every shallow intake of breath, soft little snores escaping his lips on occasion. Elena had to resist the urge to giggle; if she woke him, surely this moment would be ruined.

Ever so gently, Elena brought her hand up to trace her fingertips along the rose tattoo lining his left bicep. The blue ink seemed to fade in and out at the most perfect spots; it was absolutely beautiful, just like Stefan.

Suddenly, he shifted a little bit beneath her, letting out a small whimper as his eyes drifted open. Immediately, they fell on her, a lazy smile instantly coming to his lips. "Mmmm... good morning," he mumbled.

Elena laughed, knowing he was still half asleep. "You look happy," she commented.

He scrunched his nose in a way that made Elena think he looked even more adorable sleepy than he did when he was serenading her. "I'm dreaming 'bout you," he drowsily replied before closing his eyes once again, his breathing going heavy. Elena couldn't stifle her laugh at the fact that Stefan had fallen asleep again so easily.

She let out a deep, happy breath. Was he really dreaming about her? Grinning idiotically, as if this relationship actually were as real to Stefan as it was to her, she slid out of the bed and went over to her bag of clothes to figure out what to wear that day. Upon digging through her stuff, Elena noticed her vibrating iPhone at the very bottom of her bag. She picked it up, only to see that she had 21 missed texts. Five from Bonnie, one from Tyler, two from Matt, and thirteen from Caroline.

The majority of them were asking what was going on and why she was with Stefan. Caroline, who had religiously been watching the show and knew the truth behind Elena and Stefan's charade, seemed to send a text at every little thing.

You and Stefan showered together? OMG details please! :-D

Way to fangirl over Rob Kardashian. He didn't even win Dancing with the Stars...

OMFG! YOU AND STEFAN WERE MAKING OUT!

Did u like it? I swear to god, I bet u did.

There were tons of texts like this, and Elena had to hold back her laughter, careful not to wake Stefan. She skipped over a few of Caroline's texts, until she came across one that made her heart drop.

Going to prom 2nite with Tyler. When u get home, im screaming at u 4 not being here. Bon & I missed u dress shopping!

She let out a discontent breath and went into the bathroom to shower. After about a half hour, she exited, wrapped in a towel. Expectant to see Stefan still sleeping in their big bed, she was disappointed when he wasn't there. Instead, in his place, was a note.

Smiling a bit, Elena lifted the letter and read Stefan's elegant handwriting:
Meet me at seven tonight?

Confused by his note, she furrowed her brows but laughed. Why would Stefan want to see her, and where? Nevertheless, she got ready and wore something nice. All day long, there was no sign of Stefan anywhere. At 6:50, she was downstairs in the sitting room when she heard the clicking of heels down the hall.

Katherine was quickly approaching. With that ever present smirk on her face, she made her way over to Elena, sly steps fueled with catty determination. "Hello, Elena," she said with mock sweetness.

Elena gritted her teeth and glared. "Katherine."

She bit her lip. "Mmmhm. So I suppose you and Stefan are on pretty good terms now, considering that you're here. He loves you a lot, doesn't he?"

Elena swallowed. "Of course he does," she lied. Katherine chuckled.

"Well let's get something straight, Elena Gilbert. I want him. And I intend to get what I want. I know Stefan better than you ever will... I know exactly how to get him going, make him tick." She grinned wickedly as if remembering some past memory that Elena definitely didn't want to hear about. "So if you think for even a second that by the end of this, you'll still be together, I'd reconsider."

Upon hearing Katherine's words, Elena glared coldly and took a step closer. "Let's get something straight, Katherine," she spat. "Stefan hates you. You left him in the dust without even looking back, and if you think for even a second that he's weak enough to go running back to you after you moved on without him, you're an idiot. He loves me, because what we have is real. It's not just something physical. It's pure, and it's beautiful. Sometimes it's tragic," she admitted, now speaking the truth without even meaning to. "but I love him. I've always loved him and I always will."

Katherine didn't respond, but simply glared right back.

"Well," Elena announced after a long moment. "If you don't mind, I have somewhere to go. Have a nice night, honey."

With that, she strutted outside into the front lawn and stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth falling to the floor. Standing in front of a white limo, wearing a black tuxedo with his hair slicked back, was Stefan. He looked, in any sane way to put it, stunning.

When she could walk, Elena approached him quickly. "Stefan!" she exclaimed, "What is this?"

In response, he simply smiled at her, that dazzling, gentle smile of his and opened the door to the limousine. "We won a challenge, didn't we? Doesn't that mean we get a date?" His green eyes glimmering with what could only be explained as admiration, he nodded for Elena to enter the limo. She obliged eagerly. Damn, he was good at pretending to love her. He was currently staring at her as if she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked.

"You'll see."

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