Perfect Match

Chapter 21

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Elena was slowly roused from sleep when the bright Los Angeles sun shine into her eyes, though she was still not willing to open them. Letting out a little sigh, she realized she felt awfully cold without Stefan's arms around her, without his protective and comforting presence next to her- or pressed against her. Where was he? Her hazy mind raced with possible scenarios; what if he left to get breakfast, or maybe he was in the pool, collapsed and unconscious from some post-injury disaster...

Okay, no, she told herself. She was definitely overreacting. Her heart raced with anxiety, and she was almost afraid to open her eyes; it was stupid, she knew, but waking up without him just made her feel... empty. On edge. When she finally did open her eyes, it was quickly followed by a huge sigh of relief. Her gaze fell on the little wooden shower at the other side of the roof -seriously, what didn't this hangout have?- where water was steadily flowing across the concrete and collecting in a drain. Elena's heart instantly returned to its normal pace; she hated how nervous she felt nowadays, after Stefan's injury, after realizing that he was merely human, that she was merely human... and that life -his life, specifically- was more fragile than it seemed one month ago.

Slowly, Elena sat up with sore muscles, her feet lightly hitting concrete. She took a moment just to smile at the pink skyline of the city as the sun started to rise over the gray-blue buildings. She wanted to imprint this image into her mind, save it for when there was a dreary day at home. She would always remember this place, this city... the things she felt here. The man she fell in love with. Well, not just any man. Her best friend.

Elena silently made her way over to Stefan's shower, smiling to herself as she stood outside of the blue, wooden door. Under the loud pelting of the water, she could hear him singing. Singing and humming! She had to stifle her giggle, though it was nearly impossible once she realized what exactly the song was.

"Baby you light up my world like nobody else," he sang quietly and Elena nearly fell over right then in hysterical laughter, especially when he started humming he rest of the song because he didn't know the words until he got to, "You don't kno-o-ow, you don't know you're beautiful."

Elena couldn't help herself now, and the laughter flooded out of her lips like water being released from a dam. "That's what makes you beautiful!" she sang-shouted back, and in response she heard a loud thump -probably Stefan hitting the wall of the shower because he was so startled and embarrassed by her presence- followed by some very out of character cursing that made her nearly collapse in laughter.

"Shut up!" he chuckled back. Elena grinned to herself and discreetly opened the creaky shower door, stepping inside. There was a small bench next to the archway, which Stefan was on the other side of, and she took a seat.

"Gosh, Stefan," she teased, resting her back against the wall. "No need to sound like a teenage girl! Oh wait, I forgot... you are one, you closet boy band fangirl!"

Peeking his head out from the archway, Stefan glanced at her playfully. "I believe they're called One Direction, love. And I deny that!"

"Mmhmm," she sighed sarcastically, giving him that joking look that made him return to his shower, out of her line of vision. She loved this side of Stefan, the soft, playful side that very few people got to see. She highly doubted that anyone would believe her if she told them that he was singing pop music in the shower... she didn't care though. She liked it. There was a part of Stefan that was reserved for her and her alone. It was what she loved so much about him. It had always been that way; it was nothing new. Even in middle school, Elena was that one person he could truly be himself with, the one person who could get past that thick layer of brooding and pondering; she always saw him for who he truly was. "You know, you really out-did yourself with the whole date last night."