𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 5:𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜

I sat down on the dining table that hadn't been used ever since I had came to Mystic Falls. There had been a trail of dust around the edges of the wood but now the table smelt fresh and clean, a lemony scent hung around it. Stefan had obviously cleaned up before he had started cooking dinner which only made me wonder how long had he planned this for? Was this some sort of date or just a genuine thank you? Even though I wanted to know what Stefan was up to, I couldn't bring myself to ask. Whatever this was between me and Stefan it would stay like this until he admitted his feelings or until I had the courage to ask him but until then I wouldn't dwell on the matter. Well I would try too.

Stefan placed their towel on the kitchen counter before he turned down the radio so that you could still hear the music but it was only a soft sound in the background. Adding the finishing touches to the dinner, Stefan looked back at me probably wondering why I had not made a sarcastic comment during the last five minutes. I smiled encouragingly back at him because I couldn't bring myself to frown at him and with a brief nod at me, he turned back around.

"Dinner is served." Stefan said picking up the two plates and placing one in front of me and the other opposite me.

I waited for Stefan to sit down before I picked up the silver knife and fork that been neatly displayed in front of me and started eating. Stefan's chair scratched against the floorboards and the sound almost made me wince as it was the only sound you could hear in the room. Stefan muttered an apology before we both started eating the dinner that he had cooked for the both of us.

We ate in silence neither of us knowing what to say to each other, what do you say to someone who you had always loved yet said they didn't love you but still slept in your bed last night? The entire situation was bizarre but if I was with Stefan and us spending time together was getting him closer to admitting his feelings for me then any situation would be worth it, if he was mine by the end of it. Stefan peered up at from behind his eyelashes and smiled before returning to his dinner but I couldn't help the smile I returned him. After all these years he still made me feel like the young human girl who I was pretending to be back in 1864.

I didn't look at him for the reminder of the meal because he would only distract from my thoughts and I needed to think. I needed to think things through and one day soon I needed to talk to Stefan about his true feelings but I knew that neither of us were ready for that conversation. Somehow I didn't think I would ever be ready for that conversation. What if he just turned me away again? What if he didn't want to be with me? What if he wanted to be alone and wallow in self pity because Elena no longer loved him? Yet all these possibilities were 'what ifs' they weren't certain and one thing all these years had taught me as vampire would be; true love was never certain. True love was confusing but so real that no one would ever question it, you just went along with it.

"Are you finished?" Stefan asked me picking up his plate and making his way over to the ceramic sink.

"Yeah, thanks. When did you learn to cook?" I asked as he made his way back over to me to pick up my plate. Stefan's smile disappeared and he turned away from me, placing both of our plates into the sink and into the soapy water. The plates were soon masked by the soap and I wondered if it was a metaphor for me and Stefan, didn't something always wash our love away? Something always distracted us from what really mattered and soon we would forget about our love for each other. I sighed sadly to myself, would it always be this way for us?

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked me raising his eyebrows and for the first time in over century, Stefan showed an emotion upon his face that I thought I would never see on his face again, at least not for a while anyway. Stefan Salvatore was actually showing me concern. They way his eyebrows knitted together, the way his forehead creased and the way his eye lit up were all the evidence I needed.