DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS // CHRISTMAS CALENDAR 2020

Tuesday December 8th

Stefan wasn't in bed when I woke up. He had already left for school. I headed downstairs, smelling pancakes and wondering why. Stefan wasn't here to cook and Damon wasn't very good at cooking. I was in a rush anyways and I jogged around grabbing my stuff.

"You're eating breakfast or...?" Damon called from the kitchen.

"Can't. I'm late," I said.

"You're not. I called you in."

I slowed down. Stopped everything I was doing and walked to the kitchen, still very confused.

"Pancakes?" Damon smiled at me.

"Why did you call me in?" I asked. "I'm not sick."
"I know," he smirked. I sat by the table and he sat a plate in front of me.

"So?" I asked.

"So?"

"Why did you call me in?" I was getting impatient. I had somewhere to be. I had a show to prepare for.

"You and I. We're going gift shopping." He said.

"Damon, I already have a gift shopping day prepared with the girls. I have to go to school." I said, pushed my chair out from the table and grabbed my jacket.

"You're hurting, Luna. This is not just regular Christmas shopping. It will help you. It has helped me."

"Goodbye, Damon," I sighed and left the house, not giving him a chance to say another word. I didn't go to school. The teachers would think that I had been lying if I showed up after Damon had called me in sick, so I spend the entire day hanging out in the library. Reading parts of books that I loved, and only reading the first chapter of many books I had never laid my hands on.

Stefan picked me up at 8pm. He grabbed my hand and kissed my palm.

"Damon said you left in a rush this morning," he said and looked at me. I didn't return his gaze.

"He won't leave me alone. He keeps talking about how hurt he thinks I am. He wants quality time and that's fine, but he confessed to me that he loves me, and I don't want things to get weird between us. We both know Damon. He doesn't want to get hurt again, so he's trying to make sure I won't hurt him."

I put the books back where I took them.

"Do you really think that that's the reason that he's so clingy with you at the moment? Because I don't." Stefan said. I looked at him. The look is his eyes explained it all.

"You think it has something to do with my parents?" I asked. He nodded a little.

"I think, he feels guilty for hurting since your mom wasn't his mom. He didn't want to take her from you."

I huffed and shook my head.

"No that can't be it. I always let Damon know that it was okay for him to miss her. He's allowed to miss her. She took him under her wing after all. She did that with the both of you."

Stefan shrugged.

"Do you want to go home?" He asked. I nodded. He kissed me and led me to his car. Damon had already gone to bed by the time we came home.