This is litterally the best thing I’ve ever seen OMG

the near touch is o v e r r a t e d. (insp)

Stelena + The Notebook requested by anon

Not my gifs.

New Sneak Peek |  The 100 | Watch the Thrones Scene | The CW

I got shivers.. Look how angry Lexa is when she looks at that Ice queen bitch lol

Dobsley Chemistry [Not my Gifs]

Bob Levi: For the pilot and the TV series to work, the relationship between Elena and Stefan had to be magic. I said to myself “This is phenomenal”. There is real chemistry between Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev. 

Julie Plec: […]  And the sun is just hitting him so perfectly and his eyes are so beautifully green and he’s just staring at her and she’s staring up in him… Kevin and I both went “He is our guy, oh my god he is our guy!” 

Kevin Williamson: The look on her face, the way they connected in this moment, that’s what worked for me.

I really don’t think people get that Paul was chosen specifically for Stefan because of his chemistry with Nina and that onscreen chemistry is a real and powerful thing because Nina and Paul worked with each other through three very different love stories and every time it feels real, it feels like these people are actually falling in love with each other; the sheer tragedy of Samara, the sheer tension of Steferine, the sheer intimacy of Stelena, they express it so honestly and truthfully — they do playful and they do sexy and they do tragic and they do caring and they do intense and they do goofy ALL so well together and it’s not something that can be forced. There are people who work well together and you watch it and go, yeah they work really nicely together and you’re invested in the story and it’s nice and it gets the job done and then you have chemistry like Dobsley chemistry where it’s just so natural and magnetic and powerful that just brings a level of authenticity to a ship that makes you really feel it and you can see them feeding off of each other, feeding off that energy, feel them immersing into the story and the dynamic of the people they’re playing and that was the thing with Paul because Paul is clearly bored with TVD and is putting in minimal effort but whenever he was onscreen with Nina it’s like he couldn’t help but sell the scene because their chemistry just takes over.

What’s A SoulMate? [Pt. 3]

Links to Parts 1&2:

http://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/137291932855/hello-are-you-there-pt-1

http://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/137598436035/only-if-for-a-night-pt-2

OK! Part 3 is here. I’ve been writing these so fast and I didn’t think it would be this quick! This is definitely the most intense part of the series so far and as I mentioned in my “FYI” post, it’s also the part of the series that contains the “smut” aspect of the requests I got so you have been forewarned (I hope it leaves you breathless because it’s the intent, ha!) I really wanted to explore the concept of being “tethered” and what it means to be a soulmate, I wanted to really emphasize Stefan and Elena’s bond and illustrate the beauty and agony of loving each other so much. It’s pretty long (sorry) but I really hope you enjoy it and leave comments and that it moves you because it was a BLAST to write! Which reminds me. There are some parts that I admittedly rush through because I didn’t write this in order and the scenes I wrote last were bridging scenes there to get to the juicy parts so you can tell I just wrote them kind of quick so apologies!

@thewitchandlonerdiaries @stefan4president @youareatypo @savagetore @stelena-forever-and-always @stelena-lover-forever @stelenamagic @emjo029 @theeverlarkfamily @stefan-is-too-sexy-for-you @demetrias-stelena @melissasbamonromantictales @kissmebluesexyvioletsme @christinaelena-1 @everythingdobsley @tvtaughtmehowtofeel @fiftyshadesofstelena @denisa-diana @1000-to-1 @tea-moonn @sunnydrive92 @stelenaliveson @stelenaisforever

[not my gif]

“The beautiful thing about Elena is that she is so dialed into Stefan […]“She and Stefan particularly have this bond, and we later figure out in the mythology of the story why that is. But her having this feeling is genuine.”

— Ian Somerhalder, TV Guide

“No you’re not.”

“Yes I am. Look, Jer —”

“You must be out of your mind.”      

“Matt, listen —”

“Well there has to be another way. What makes you think this will even work?”

“Caroline, I told you.”

Elena took a deep breath to keep her irritation from exploding into anger. She was back in Mystic Falls, at the Salvatore Manor, standing in front of the fireplace as Jeremy, Matt, Bonnie and Caroline sat on the couches in front of her. She had just finished explaining her plan for the third time.

“If Stefan really is dying over and over again and if I can meet him on the Other Side then maybe he can tell me where he is and I can go find him.”

“There are too many ‘if’s’ and ‘maybes’ in that sentence, Elena,” said Jeremy.

“Why can’t Bonnie just do a locator spell?” said Caroline.

“What, you think we haven’t tried that?” snapped Elena. “Damon left a vial of his blood for us to use just for that. It isn’t working. Bonnie can’t get a read on anything.”

“Which makes me think that wherever Stefan is, it’s protected by magic,” said Bonnie.

“How would you even get to the Other Side, you’re not a vampire anymore,” said Matt.

“But I’m still a doppelganger. Doppelgangers are supernatural, remember?”

Matt scowled.

“I wouldn’t be gone for more than five minutes,” said Elena. “Just enough time for Stefan to tell me where he is. I’ve been dead for longer than that and look, I’m still here.”

“OK fine,” said Caroline. “Let’s say Stefan really is dying repeatedly and let’s say you manage to get to the Other Side, how do you know for sure that the five minutes you’re there will be the same five minutes he’s there?”

“Because they’re tethered,” said Bonnie. Everyone turned to look at her. “Elena shares a connection with Stefan that’s unearthly. Cosmic even. It’s why she’s been sensing his pain all summer. It’s how she just knows that he isn’t dead. Not permanently anyway.”

“What do you mean?” said Jeremy.

“I mean that they’re soulmates. Literally.”

Everyone continued to stare at her. “Soulmates?”

Bonnie rolled her eyes. “OK the soul? It’s the essence of someone’s humanity. It’s what allows you to feel and to experience, what allows you to be inspired. And when two people connect the way Stefan and Elena have, it actually nourishes the soul in each person, which creates a bond between the two of them and allows them a sort of access into each other. It’s why Stefan was able to fight off Klaus’ compulsion for as long as he did; he could feel Elena in his soul even if he didn’t realize it at the time. And it’s why Stefan was able to help Elena when she turned her humanity back on, she trusted him implicitly. So I’m saying that with a bit of practice, Elena will know exactly when Stefan dies again.”

Caroline raised her eyebrows. “Wow,” she said. “And I can’t even get Tyler to return my calls.”

“OK but soulmates?” said Matt. “I died and Elena turned her humanity back on, what does that make us?”

“Friends,” said Bonnie simply. “The power, the bonds in friendship shouldn’t be underestimated. She loves you. A lot. We all love each other, we all want to protect each other, but being tethered means feeling something for someone that’s greater than even love. I’m saying that her and Stefan…” Bonnie looked at Elena. “Their souls call to each other. It’s something that’s both romantic and platonic yet at the same time beyond friendship and beyond romance. This is ancient magic. Elena will actually be able to feel Stefan whenever she wants to once she learns how to use it. She could pull this off.”  

“Thanks, Bonnie,” said Elena, smiling slightly.

“Oh I still think that this is a completely insane plan,” she said. “And that you shouldn’t go through with it.”

“What?”

“Elena,” said Bonnie, standing up and walking over to her. “You just became human again. The witches granted you mortality for a reason and I still don’t know what it is. You have cheated consequences for five years now. This isn’t the time to be asking for more favours.”

“This is the only option there is!” said Elena, gesturing angrily. “I’m at my wit’s end.” She put her hand to her forehead and started rubbing her temple. “I don’t know what else to do. I can keep looking for him, I can keep driving and flying all over the country and I will. I will do that, but this is the best way for me to find him. And once I find him I can go forward with my life. That’s what you guys want, right? For me to move forward?”

“Elena, we want Stefan back too,” said Caroline quietly. “He doesn’t only mean something to you. Each of us owes him something. We just don’t want to lose you in the process of getting him back.”

“But you guys won’t.”

“Why can’t Damon be the one to do this?” said Bonnie. “You can sense when Stefan’s about to die and Damon will be the one to actually die. He’ll be able to meet Stefan on the Other Side as long as you’re next to him because Stefan’s spirit goes wherever you go.”

“He’s already tracking down a lead and I don’t want to disrupt that,” said Elena. “It’s better if the two of us are using different methods.”

“I’ll do it. I have the Gilbert Ring,” said Matt, standing up. “You and Caroline are both right, Stefan is a part of the group and I know he’d do the same thing if it were one of us. I haven’t forgotten that he tried to help out Vicki.”

“Matt, you’ve died too many times already too. The last time you were on the Other Side, it took you way too long to find your body and come back. I just have a feeling that this isn’t the right time to be pushing our luck,” said Bonnie. “And anyway, you’d forget everything Stefan told you the minute you got back.”

            Jeremy stood up now. “I’m still a hunter so if I—”

            Bonnie shook her head. “Jeremy, you of all people —”

“Are you and I tethered?” said Jeremy, cutting her off. “Could you bring me back no matter what?”

“Jeremy…”

“Are we tethered?”

Bonnie stared at him, parting her lips and then she lowered her eyes. “You and I … we’re entwined but never meeting.”

“Well, what does that mean?”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Elena suddenly. “It doesn’t matter because you’re not going to do it. I would do anything to get Stefan back. Anything. Except risk any of your lives. I can’t do that. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for it and Stefan wouldn’t be able to live with it.”

“But I thought there was no risk, Elena,” said Matt.

She glared at him. “Well anything involving magic has some risk, that doesn’t mean—”

“I’ll do it,” said Caroline. “I’ll go to the Other Side.”

“Caroline, didn’t you hear what I just said?”

“Look, I’ve only truly died once. I think I’m allowed to push my luck a few more times. And Stefan has done nothing but be kind to me and help me and be there for me. I’m alive right now because of him. He’s like my Yoda or my Obi Wan or something.” She turned to Matt. “Did I use that reference right?”

Matt closed his eyes and nodded.

“Right, I can’t just leave him to suffer. I’m going, Elena. Just … just be sure that he’s there.” Caroline looked at Bonnie. “So how does this work?”

Bonnie walked back to the couch and rooted around in her bag until she pulled out a glass vial full of red liquid.

“You have to drink this,” she said.

Caroline stared at the vial, horrified. “Please don’t tell me I have to drink Damon’s blood.”

“What? No. This is a potion. I haven’t really done potions before this but you need to die right away and this will work faster than a spell.”

“Wait, this is your first potion? Will it work?”

“Trust me, you’ll be dead almost instantly,” said Bonnie. “Then I’ll say a spell to revive you. I’ve memorized it over the years because of how many times I’ve had to use it but I brought the grimoire just in case. You get five minutes, seven tops, or you’ll be stuck there.”

Caroline nodded her head, determined. Bonnie turned to Elena. “You’ll have to tell her when to take the potion so be sure.”

“OK how do I…?”

“Just meditate,” said Bonnie. “Focus on the feeling. Don’t doubt it or question it, embrace it and it will engulf you. Everyone else, stay quiet so she can concentrate.”

Elena took a deep breath, sat down cross-legged, and closed her eyes. There was a pang in her chest that felt natural yet unfamiliar, as if it were a sensation that was a part of her but didn’t belong to her completely, something she couldn’t get rid of, something she didn’t want to get rid of but something that wasn’t of her own making. A part of her wanted to figure out why it was there, but she ignored the impulse and simply accepted its presence, digging into its nuances and shades, and then through that she felt it. Felt him.

“OK, I feel … pain. So much pain … like he’s suffocating or, or, drowning …” Elena’s voice thickened as tears wet her eyelashes. “He’s fighting. Hard. He’s … struggling … trying to reach out to me…” She inhaled again. “He wants … he wants to …”

Elena snapped her eyes open. “Caroline, drink it now!”

In one quick motion, Caroline drained the vial, tilting her head back. And then she collapsed.

Seconds later, Caroline propped herself up on her elbows. “Well I guess that was a dud, Bonnie,” she said. “Bonnie?”

She was still in the Salvatore Manor, half-lying on the very spot she’d fallen down on, it was all the same as a few seconds ago, only it wasn’t. Everything was grey, everything corporeal and physical felt distant, like an invisible barrier prevented them from feeling real; she couldn’t feel anything except for isolation.

The Other Side.

She had to be on it.

The potion worked.

Which meant …

She didn’t have much time.

Caroline stood up and started walking around the Salvatore Manor. “Stefan? Stefan! Stefan!”

“Caroline?”

She turned around and saw Stefan walk out from behind a corner. She ran toward him and hugged him, the impact making him stagger, and then he wrapped his arms around her.

“You’re here,” he said. “You’re here — wait.” Abruptly, he let go of her and grasped her shoulders, looking into her eyes, his expression severe and panicked. “How are you here? What happened? Why are you dead?”

“No, it’s not like that. Bonnie did a spell. Or made a potion. Look,” said Caroline. “Elena and Damon have been looking for you. I don’t have much time. Tell me where you are so we can find you.”

Stefan blinked. “I…”

“Quickly,” said Caroline. “I have like four minutes left.”

“Caroline, I don’t know where I am. I was forced in a locker and then it was pushed into the quarry.”

“So you really are drowning,” said Caroline quietly.

At the look in Caroline’s eyes, Stefan tilted his head sympathetically. He opened his mouth to say something, to comfort her but he didn’t know what he could possibly say that could diminish the torment of drowning every day, nonstop, for what felt like years on end. “It’s not that bad” sounded unbelievably stupid.

“Caroline…”

“You have to give me something,” she said. “Something that can get us to you. Anything. Is the locker moving?”

Stefan closed his eyes, thinking. “It was at first, I remember hitting rocks. And then it sank.”

“Were you moving for a long time?”

“Caroline, when you’re being tortured, everything feels long.”

She flinched at his words. “Please think. Elena is going crazy looking for you. We just want to find you but we need your help.”

“OK uh…” Stefan sighed. “The current carried the lock box for a while and I think I passed under some kind of waterfall because there was hammering against the metal. And there may’ve been construction somewhere.”

“Great, OK, I —” Caroline furrowed her eyebrows. “Oh no. I’m being brought back.”

“No, don’t be mad, you don’t belong here.”

“But neither do you!”

“Caroline.” He hugged her again. “Thank you for coming here,” he said.

“Just hold on, Stefan, OK?” said Caroline. “Elena and Damon … they’re not giving up. We’re going to find you.”

“Caroline, tell them, tell them I—”

Breath! Life!

Caroline took a deep, wheezing breath as she sat upright on the carpet. Bonnie was already crouched beside her and Matt, Jeremy and Elena came rushing toward her. They all spoke at once.

“How are you?”

“Do you feel OK?”

“Need anything?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” said Caroline impatiently, standing up. “You were right, Elena. Stefan’s drowning. He’s in a lock box. It was pushed off the quarry. He thinks he passed through some kind of waterfall or something and he heard construction. That’s all I managed to get, Elena, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s, it’s fine. It’s more than what we had before,” said Elena. “Thank you for doing this. And you, Bonnie, thank you so much for well, for being you.”

“So what now?” said Jeremy.

“Now, we work with this. Caroline, can you call your mom and ask if there are any reports about sightings of a locker in a quarry or something like that. Bonnie, maybe we can try one more locator spell? Focus on rivers and lakes around Mystic Falls and nearby States just to be sure. I’m going to call Damon and let him know what we found out.”

Elena took out her phone as Bonnie and Caroline left the living room to get started. Matt walked up to her.

“Well what about us?” he said.

Elena looked at them. “Um,” she said. “I’m sure Bonnie and Caroline need help, you guys can see what they need.”

Jeremy and Matt set off after Bonnie and Caroline, Matt turning in Caroline’s direction, Jeremy turning in Bonnie’s.

Twenty minutes later, everyone came back into the living room where Elena was still on the phone with Damon, Caroline almost running up to her.

“Damon, hold on,” said Elena, moving the phone away from her ear. “Found something?”

“OK so, my mom pulled a few favours and got access into databases in a couple of other States and it turns out a construction worker in Savannah called in about a floating locker but then it disappeared like right in front of him, like an apparition.”

           “Savannah?” said Elena. “Damon, you’re cl —” she paused. “OK.” She hung up the phone and headed over to the couch, picking up her jacket. “I need to get to Savannah.”

           “What?” said Bonnie. “But I thought you said that you and Damon should be working separately but together because it was faster?”

           “Yeah but a lead like this? It fits what Stefan told Caroline perfectly. This is it. This is what we’ve been looking for all summer. I have to go.”

           Caroline started. “But your clothes—”

           “I have a travel bag ready to go in the car, it just seemed like a practical choice,” said Elena. She picked up her car keys and then threw her arms around Caroline and Bonnie.

           “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you so much. What you two did … it means the world to me.” She looked at Matt and then tilted her head toward Jeremy. Matt nodded in understanding.

           “I love you guys,” she said.

           And then she was off.

Bright. Warm. Air. Light. Real? Dream? Memory? Hallucination?

           Stefan opened his eyes and immediately started gasping for breath. There was no water. There was no darkness. He was above ground. His lockbox was opened. His brother’s face loomed before him.

           “Stefan? You alive yet?”

           He started to flail and jerk but Damon held him by the shoulders and lifted him out of the locker. “It’s OK,” he said. “It’s OK. You’re alive. This is real. Hey, hey. Stop being a pain in the ass and listen.”

           Damon held Stefan’s head to still him and looked him in the eye. “You’re out, OK? We got you out.”

           Stefan stared at him for a minute and then nodded.

“I should kill you for real for making me go all around the country. I went to Florida, Stefan. You know how much I hate Florida?”

           “Thank you, Damon. Really, I —”

           “Whoa, whoa whoa,” said Damon, raising his hands. “No heart to hearts. You’ve saved me a few times, I’ve saved you a few times, it’s what we do, let’s not make a big deal out of it.”

           “How did you get me out?”

           “It’s a long story but I had to get a witch to de-spell the lockbox because whoever put you in here worked some serious juju on that thing. She was no Bonnie Bennett but she got the job done. Had to call in a favour with Klaus. He was super worried about you, little brother. If I didn’t know any better I’d say he’s half in love with you.”

           “Damon…”

           “No, I mean it. I think Elena has cause to be jealous.”

           Stefan turned his head sharply toward Damon, his eyes wide, his jaw clenched. Damon nodded his head slowly.

           “Ah yeah, now I’ve got your attention,” he said. “C’mon, let’s go home so you and Elena can look lovingly into each other’s eyes or whatever it is that you two do when you’re together. Let’s go.”

                                                       __________

There was no one in the Salvatore Manor when Stefan arrived. The others told him Elena had set off straight for Savannah to be there when Damon went looking for him. Damon told him he’d left message after message on her phone, explaining that they were already on their way back to Mystic Falls and to do whatever she could to turn around and come back. They told him and he’d heard them but when he was confronted with the empty house, he was still swallowed whole by utter disappointment so devastatingly painful; devoured by a longing so agonizing he felt as choked as he did underwater.

           He walked around the living room in an attempt to distract himself from an absence too profound to be ignored; he tried to reacquaint himself with his space, with being alive at all. He took everything in slowly; the fireplace, the wooden beams, the chandeliers. It felt strange being there, really being there when he’d become so accustomed to being a phantom in his own home. It all felt so —

Tingles on the back of Stefan’s neck made him turn around swiftly and he was rewarded with the sight of Elena standing beneath the living room archway atop the stairs.

           For a moment, neither of them said anything and only stared at each other from across the room. Everything in Stefan stilled. He was rooted to the spot. Tearing his eyes away from Elena felt physically impossible. She was there. They both were. He was standing across from her. Alive. Right? He was alive. He’d already seen everyone else, touched everyone else; he could feel the air on his skin, the wooden floor beneath his feet — things he couldn’t do on the Other Side. This was real. Wasn’t it? But how could he be sure? This could all be a forgotten memory or a conjured hallucination; he could still be drowning; Elena the figment of a desperate man’s imagination. The only thing real to Stefan anymore was pain and he was no longer suffering endless torment so how could any of this actually be happening? He wanted it too much. Wanted her too much. Wasn’t she supposed to be in Savannah anyway? Stefan didn’t try to move from where he stood, scared to be proven right, scared to learn that he in fact couldn’t move and was trapped in a fantasy.

           Elena sighed heavily, her teary eyes bright with excited relief, her forehead creased, her mouth in a half-smile.

           “Stefan?”

           He closed his eyes as she whispered his name and then started walking determinedly toward her as she ran down the steps toward him. They met in the middle of the living room and kissed without a word, Stefan’s mouth opening hers with a ferocity that compelled Elena to grab a hold of his head, to grip his hair with her nails and push him deeper to her. Her lips were swollen from Stefan’s fervour and eager for more of it as she kissed back with a savagery of her own; the savage need to claim him as hers.

Stefan grasped the sides of Elena’s face, his tongue urgent against hers, his hands moving from her hair to her back to her hips; he crushed her against him, his fingers squeezing the curves and shallows of her body, itching to tear through the material of her shirt and experience the feel of her skin against his. He held her waist so tightly that his knuckles whitened. Yes, he was there. Elena moaned into his mouth, her hands clutching his shoulders. He felt it. He was alive. This was real. He kissed Elena’s neck, finally allowing her air, and she clutched him, panting and breathless; he groaned, savouring the taste of her, and sucked the fleshy underside of her chin, making her breathing grow even shallower so that her chest rose and fell in rapid succession.

This was real. This was happening.

Elena slipped her hands beneath Stefan’s shirt, flexing her palms over the hardness of his torso, skimming her thumbs over his nipples, making him gasp and groan at the same time. He raised his head to her and kissed her again, even more fervently than before, and he grabbed her beneath her behind and lifted her onto him, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as her arms circled his neck. Stefan zoomed across the room, crashing Elena against a wall, his body pressed hard against hers, causing her to mewl into his mouth and dig her fingernails into his skin. It wasn’t something he should’ve done — use his heightened speed; somewhere in the back of his mind, Stefan knew this. He could’ve hurt Elena given her renewed human condition. But it wasn’t something he could help. He’d only been alive again for a few hours and so didn’t have a grasp on his reflexes, on the urges that came natural to him and right now what came most naturally was the urge to meld with Elena as intimately as possible.  

           He couldn’t control his want for her.

           Stefan tried to break away, but the moment his hold on Elena loosened, she wrapped her legs around his waist more tightly, pressing her mouth against his with a passionate determination, recapturing him in their embrace, and Stefan couldn’t help but allow himself to be ensnared. He grabbed Elena’s wrists, breaking her grasp of his neck and he pinioned her hands above her head, against the wall behind them, entwining his fingers with hers; her nails squeezing his knuckles as he kissed the side of her face, tugging her earlobe with his teeth. Elena moaned loudly.

           “Stefan.”

           He grumbled deep in his chest. The way she said his name … it did something to him — frenzied his blood, hardened his body, intensified his own need for her, his own need to be with her in every which way there possibly was. He pressed harder against her, pushing himself into her groin, making her gasp and the sound was like a whisper on his skin, inflaming his nerves. Stefan felt his baser nature surfacing: his gums itched, the veins beneath his eyes prickled, his desire for her, his love for her … it was starting to cross over to hunger.  

           He pulled away. “I can’t,” he whispered.

           Elena ignored him and pressed her lips against his again; immediately Stefan put his hands on the side of her neck, kissing her deeply, fiercely. No! I can’t. He pulled away again, taking several steps back.

           “I mean it, Elena, I —” he had to catch his breath. “I can’t do this.”

           Elena stayed slumped against the wall, also breathless, her skin flushed. “Why not?” She walked toward him. “Stefan, what’s wrong?”

He shook his head.

           “You can tell me anything,” said Elena. “You know that.”

           “This, what we’re doing, it’s dangerous. I’m dangerous right now,” said Stefan. “I want this too much. I want …” He looked at Elena, his eyes raw and aroused. “I don’t want to hurt you. I did that once, I am never doing it again.”

           “This won’t hurt me,” she said, her voice heavy with longing. “You won’t hurt me.”

           “You don’t get it,” said Stefan, his voice choked and strangled. “I can’t be — this can’t —” He started gesticulating, trying to find the right words; his body trembled with the intensity of what he couldn’t articulate. “This won’t be gentle. I’ve seen you every day and haven’t been able to touch you or speak to you and now you’re here and I…” He swallowed hard. “I can’t restrain myself. I won’t be able to help myself with you, I —”

           “Trust me, Stefan,” said Elena, rushing toward him. “I know the feeling.”

           And she kissed him again, her hands on his face, his hands on hers. Neither of them moved for what felt like a while, each of them testing themselves to see if the simple act of kissing would be enough to satiate the violent necessity of being together. But then Elena shifted, an infinitesimal movement, and it immediately shifted everything else, intensifying their embrace so that Elena hastily rid Stefan of his sweater as he hooked his nails into the back of her own top and tore apart the material, his fingertips brushing her bare back as he ripped her shirt in half. Quickly, he bent down and nipped her chest frantically, cupping her breasts; he enclosed one of her nipples in his mouth and Elena moaned loud and long, arching her back. She unbuckled his belt, her hands trembling with keen readiness, slipping her hands into his jeans, edging them downward. Stefan grabbed Elena, roughly holding her to him, kissing her so that she bit and sucked on his bottom lip, and then he moved forward so that she fell onto the carpet, him atop her. Once on the floor, Stefan curved his fingers into the waistband of both her shorts and underwear and in one fluid motion slid them both off her legs so that she was lying completely naked in front of him. He spread her thighs with his knee, pulling down his own underwear, and then he thrust into her without preamble, filling her instantly, sheathing himself within her in only one motion, causing her to mewl loudly as a low groan cracked in his throat.  

           “I love you,” said Stefan, plunging himself even further into Elena. “God, I love you.”

           Elena gripped his arms and Stefan pressed her down, gyrating his hips, thrusting into her so that she felt each of his strokes deep in her belly, striking her with a sharp pleasure that nearly blinded her; it overwhelmed her, overtook her, expanding her, extending her — she felt like she’d come apart from the sheer intensity of it all.

           “Stefan,” she whispered. “Stefan, please…”

           She didn’t even know what she was begging for; his rhythm was relentless, almost feverish and each of his strokes renewed in Elena the frantic, disjointed thought that she’d be ripped to shreds by the utter sensation of his movements; it was a pleasure past endurance, too great for one body to contain and yet she couldn’t bear to ask him to stop, couldn’t bear to disentwine from him, to deny herself this feeling, the satisfaction of Stefan within her.

           “God, Stefan…”

           She pressed her hands against his back, urging him on. He grunted and redoubled his efforts, quickening his already frantic pace and Elena slammed her hand down on the carpet, bunching it in her fist, squeezing the textile as a way to rid herself of some of the excess; she tore at the fabric and ripped off a tassel, the nails of her other hand raking Stefan’s back — he groaned.

            Elena writhed and quivered, tilting her hips to meet Stefan’s movements, his hammering causing a friction between the carpet and her naked body, the ceaseless impact bruising her thighs, but the discomfort was nothing compared to the vicious carnality of his rhythm; her muscles clenched in spasms and yet didn’t relieve her with release, only devastated her with pleasure that compelled her to scream, which only compelled Stefan to thrust himself even deeper.

           “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted this,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

           Elena tilted her head back and Stefan ran the tip of his tongue down her throat, making Elena clench his back. He circled his hips, spiking the already sharp sensation in her belly and abruptly Elena brought her head forward and bit down hard on Stefan’s shoulder, causing him to growl and moan at the same time, thrusting into her even harder, moving like he would never tire.

           Elena’s body was one continuous shudder that escalated with each of Stefan’s thrusts, jolting and rising with his motions, threatening to physically break her apart. This was what he needed, this was what she wanted, this was what they both longed for, yearned for, for months on end: to make physical their intangible connection, to prove, really prove, to each other the extent of how much they loved one another, to literally tether themselves together. Elena bowered her head back, stretching out her neck. Stefan looked at her, his expression a mixture of desire and hesitation.

           “Elena, I can’t …” he whispered, his breath hot and fast, his words fragmented, his voice hoarse.

           “I want you to,” she said. “I trust you. I—”

           He stopped her mouth with his, kissing her violently, their teeth clashing. Elena gripped his shoulder and then she felt his fangs puncture her neck, causing her to cry out so loudly she shredded her throat.

           This was too much. Too — she — he — Elena forgot how to speak, how to think, how to breathe. Her body convulsed in waves of pleasure so penetrating that she didn’t know how she could possibly not die.

It felt like — she felt like — he — they —

           Stefan sucked from her neck with even more flourish and Elena kicked out her foot with such force that it smashed into one of the wooden coffee table legs, cracking it in two, making the glass tilt and shatter. The clatter echoed in Stefan’s ears but he couldn’t stop feeding, he couldn’t stop moving; Elena was everywhere on him and he was revelling in her essence, her very being, she’d allowed him that access, he was alive to experience that access and that was — it was — he was —

           Stefan’s body tremored with the same severity it trembled from before and he quickly extended his arm, turning his hand into a fist, and he crashed it down on the carpet, creating a hole through the material and through the wood; the impact of his punch splintered the floor throughout the living room. His other hand reached for the leg beneath the couch, his hips rotating, his tongue lapping, Elena’s blood on his tongue, her legs around his waist, her moan in his ear —

           “Stefan…”

           He thrust into Elena hard and deep, clenching the wooden couch leg in his hand, splintering it in his hold so that the couch became lopsided. He withdrew his fangs from her neck and rolled to the side, his arm beneath her body, cradling her back. Elena turned so that they were no longer side by side but that she was lying atop him. She rested her head on his chest, both of their breathing rapid.

           It was a while before either of them fully returned to themselves; Stefan’s fingers traced patterns on the back of Elena’s shoulder blades as she skated her own fingers across his chest.

“Are you cold?” he said finally. “I can get a blanket.”

“Don’t you dare move,” said Elena.

“Honestly, I don’t think I could if I tried. You wore me out.”

Elena laughed in disbelief and moved so that her chin rested on Stefan’s torso, her face turned toward his. “I wore you out? I didn’t think you were ever going to stop.”

Stefan grinned and started brushing her hair with his fingers. “I didn’t think you’d let me.”

Elena smiled sheepishly. “Well, I missed you,” she said.

Stefan looked at her seriously, his eyes moving slowly back and forth across her face. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” he said.

Elena’s lips parted at the sincerity in his voice and she leaned forward to kiss him gently on the lips. “I don’t want to be apart from you. Ever. Again.”

“Well, that’s going to be difficult since you’re starting college soon,” said Stefan. “In a week, right?”

“You can come with me,” said Elena.

“What, and ruin your authentic college experience?”

“Lots of people go to the same college as their boyfriends.”

           “Is that what you want, going to a dorm party with your socially awkward, brooding, a hundred and sixty-eight year old boyfriend?”

           Elena held either side of Stefan’s face, staring at him fixedly. “Yes,” she said emphatically. Stefan grinned. “You can major in a subject you’ve never studied before,” said Elena.

           “Oh I’ve studied them all.”

           She quirked her eyebrow. “No, there is no way you’ve majored in every single subject in a college course book.”

           “What can I say,” said Stefan, leaning his head toward Elena’s. “I had the time.” He pecked her quickly on the lips and then nuzzled his nose against hers.

           “I still don’t believe you,” she said.

           Stefan laughed. “OK,” he said. “OK I’ll go. It’ll be fun to study psychology for a fourth time, see how much they’ve updated the syllabus.”

           “It’s decided then,” said Elena, biting her lip.

           “It’s decided,” said Stefan. “But I still want you to room with Bonnie and Caroline. You should experience the horror of living with your best friends.”

           Elena shook her head, smiling, and kissed Stefan one more time. “OK,” she said. “Now I’m cold.”

           Stefan moved to get up but Elena put her hand on his chest, pushing him back down to the floor. “I didn’t say you could move!”

           “Well what are we — hold on.” Stefan reached across Elena, his fingers finding the edge of the now-destroyed carpet and he pulled it over their bodies so that they were wrapped in it, their torsos pressed together.

           “There,” said Elena. “That’s better.”

                                                      _________

Elena woke up abruptly. Stefan felt cold and clammy beneath her and she decided that a rug wasn’t enough to keep them both warm. Quietly, she inched out of his hold, slipping out from beneath the carpet and put on his shirt, walking out of the living room to the hallway in search of the linen closet.

           “Damon!” she said.

           Damon stood on the last step of the staircase and looked at Elena with his eyebrows raised, taking in the sight of her in his brother’s shirt.

           “Hello, Elena,” he said. “I see you and my brother got reacquainted.”

           Elena clutched at the front of Stefan’s shirt, shifting her weight awkwardly, and she folded her arms across her chest. “Ha - have you been here since last night?”

           “Yes,” said Damon, smirking. “So what you’re thinking is right. I did see you and my brother lying naked on top of each other and wrapped in a 200 year-old antique carpet that is quite literally priceless. You two had better not have wrecked the bar. I had some good Scotch in that bar.”

           “Damon … thank you. I know I wasn’t —”

           “You don’t have to thank me, Elena. He’s my brother,” said Damon, shrugging.

           And then a howl broke through the relative quiet of the house. “Elena? Elena!”

           “Stefan?”

           She ran quickly back into the living room. Stefan lay, writhing, beneath the carpet, his entire body was slicked in sweat, hair stuck to his face, he was pale, a blue-tint to his skin. Elena moved to rush toward him but she felt herself get back, like she was hooked onto something. She turned her head and realized Damon was holding her back.

           “He could be having a nightmare about … what happened,” said Damon slowly. “He could hurt you. He wouldn’t know what he was doing.”

“No,” said Elena. “No, this isn’t a nightmare. He’s, he’s sick. This looks like what happens when you’re infected with werewolf venom but he wasn’t bit. He’s sick.”

“Vampires don’t get sick,” said Damon quietly, his eyebrows furrowed. “Call Bonnie.”

           Elena was about to get her phone when she heard the front door open. Bonnie walked into the living room, determination in her step.

           “Bonnie,” said Elena. “I was just about to call you, Stefan—”

           “I know,” she said.

           Damon turned to her. “What do you mean you know?”

           She ignored him and kept her gaze on Elena. “We may have a possible problem.”

           “What is it?”

           Bonnie tilted her head toward Elena’s neck. “Stefan fed from you last night, right?”

           Elena touched the puncture wounds on her neck that Stefan hadn’t gotten around to healing. “Yeah,” she said slowly.

           “Stefan’s transitioning back into being a human,” said Bonnie. “The spell works like the cure that way. It’s in your blood so if a vampire ingests it …”

           “Wait, does that mean I’m going to die?”

           “Then…” Elena smiled. “I don’t, I don’t see the problem, Bonnie.” She started to laugh. “Do you know how much this will mean to him? All he’s wanted since becoming a vampire is to not be one anymore and now he —”

           “Elena,” said Bonnie. “The way this transition works … it could kill him. It takes a hold like a fever and he has to get through it but it’s not a normal fever, it’s designed to purge and … and if he does make it through, if he does become a human again … he’ll only have his human memories, he’ll forget his vampire ones.”

           “Wait, what? What does that, what are you —?”

“He will remember everything up until 1864 but he’ll forget everything past that. He won’t remember Caroline or me or Matt or Jeremy, or … you. He’ll remember Damon and he’ll remember —”

           “Katherine,” said Elena. “You’re saying that if he survives, he won’t know who I am but he’ll remember Katherine, right?”

           Bonnie took a deep breath. “Right.”

Only If For A Night [Pt. 2]

Hi all, so I’ve finished Part 2 (a lot earlier than I expected tbh and here is the link to pt. 1: http://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/137291932855/hello-are-you-there-pt-1) and this one focuses a lot more on Stefan’s pain and emphasizes the angst and the connection between Stefan and Elena and what it means. I wanted to contrast fluff with heartbreak this time and raise the stakes so hopefully I did that and hopefully you all enjoy it because I did have a lot of fun writing this and I really like giving you guys things to read that you find interesting so here we go, people to tag: @thewitchandlonerdiaries @stefan4president @theeverlarkfamily @stefan-is-too-sexy-for-you @savagetore @emjo029 @demetrias-stelena @melissasbamonromantictales @kissmebluesexyvioletsme @christinaelena-1 @stelena-forever-and-always @stelenamagic @stelena-lover-forever @youareatypo @everythingdobsley @tvtaughtmehowtofeel @fiftyshadesofstelena @nor-20 @girlmeetsbamonsdescendants @denisa-diana @1000-to-1 @tea-moonn @sunnydrive92

And I heard your voice As clear as day And you told me I should concentrate It was all so strange And so surreal That a ghost should be so practical Only if for a night

– Florence & the Machine, Only If For A Night

The pain was constant. It didn’t come in waves. His body never gave up fighting, never tired into acceptance that he was in fact drowning, never allowed him to drift away into death. No, instead Stefan struggled to break free of the lock box, shaking his head frantically, coughing and inhaling at the same time, snorting in water that blocked his nostrils, gasping in water that flooded his airway. He banged his fists against the metal, cutting open his knuckles; his arms were cramped and sore, his legs were stiff from being unable to move them, his chest was heavy from the feeling like it was going to cave in or combust. Agony was his state of being. Agony was beginning to drive him mad; he could feel it. Feel his mind begin to splinter, fragment into oblivion. And he wanted to let it; he wanted to give up fighting so desperately so he could find some sort of peace in insanity. But every time he tried he instantly remembered when he’d yearned for the same defeat two years earlier. Every time he tried, he instantly heard her voice echo in his head, reverberate through his chest:

           You can fight it, you just have to want it bad enough.

           Why? Because I love you?

           That’s right, Stefan, because you love me. You’ll fight because after everything we’ve been through, you owe me that!

           He couldn’t. He couldn’t stop waiting. He couldn’t disappoint her like that, he couldn’t disappoint himself like that. He’d have to hold on.

           More water.

           Stefan felt like his entire body was on the verge of shattering and yet would never actually break; his throat was swollen and raw. He had to do something other than struggle. He had to do something other than drown. And even though it took everything he had in him, even though it felt like he was wringing his very brain painfully tight, Stefan squeezed his eyes shut and forced his mind into a different place, a different time.

           The Salvatore Manor. His manor. His kitchen.

           There was steam everywhere. The smell of garlic and onions. The sizzling of ground beef. The innocuous bubbling of boiling water. Copper pots. Copper frying pans. A wine bottle. A wine glass. Music in the background. Stefan was in front of the stove, moving quickly but gracefully, stirring here, seasoning there. He picked up a spoon and dipped it in the largest pot, moving it upward toward his mouth and then —

           Darkness. He couldn’t see. The feel of a palm against his eyes. He grinned.

           “This is how accidents happen.”

           “C’mon, Stefan. I wouldn’t let anything happen to this kitchen. Don’t you trust me?”

           “The words ‘Elena Gilbert’ and ‘kitchen’ don’t exactly inspire confidence.”

           “Hey!”  

           Elena moved her hand away from Stefan’s eyes and he craned his neck back to see her head rested on his shoulder; his grin widened as she slipped her arms around his middle.

           “What’re you cooking anyway?” she said. “It smells incredible.”

           “Spaghetti Bolognese. A Salvatore Family recipe. I’m just worried that the sauce doesn’t have enough garlic.”

           Elena put her hand on Stefan’s and moved his wrist so that he guided the spoon into her mouth.

           “Mm,” she groaned as she sampled the sauce. “Tastes perfectly good to me.”

           “You could be lying.”

           Elena leaned forward and kissed Stefan hard on the mouth, her hand on the back of his head; she grinned at the surprised moan in his throat and pulled away.

           “There. You tasted it. What do you think? Enough garlic?”

           “You know,” said Stefan. “I don’t think I could tell just from that.”

           And Stefan kissed her again, causing Elena to giggle. He dropped the spoon onto the counter and put his hand on the side of her face, turning around completely to intensify their embrace. Elena stood on tiptoe, running her fingers through his hair and Stefan began guiding her to the counter on the wall opposite the oven so that her back bumped against it. He held her tightly, smiling at the taste of his sauce, the taste of her lips on his tongue.

           Whoosh. Hiss. Sizzle.

           Stefan broke away and looked behind him to the stove. The pot with the spaghetti was overflowing. He rushed back over and lifted it off the burner, draining the pasta in the strainer.

           “You’re distracting me. You can’t be in the kitchen,” he said.

           “But I like watching you cook.”

           “Then you have to watch. Stay there.”

           “But I can’t see from over here. Let me help.”

           “Remember the last time?”

           “The fire extinguisher was right there! Come on, I can do something.”

           Stefan turned his head to look at her, she looked back.

           “Fine. Come here.”

           Elena grinned and skipped over to the counter by the stove.

           “You can start on dessert. Work the dough with your hands.”

           Elena shifted over to the sink and rinsed her hands beneath the faucet, wiping them off on a tea towel, and then she dug her hands into the silver bowl in front of her, kneading the dough.

           “Like this?”

           Stefan glanced over to what she was doing then turned the heat down on all of the burners and moved from the stove to the counter. He stood behind Elena, his front pressed against her back and he put his hands in the bowl with hers, their fingers entwining as they both massaged the dough. After a while, Elena hooked some on her index finger then turned around slightly to smear it beneath Stefan’s nose, giving him a moustache.

           “There,” she said, barely containing her laughter. “Much better. You look so much more sophisticated with a moustache.”

           Stefan stared seriously at her for a minute and then abruptly grabbed fistfuls of dough and slathered it in her hair.

           “STEFAN!”            Laughing, he used his speed to zoom away from her as Elena reached for the cutting board and hurtled diced onions and tomatoes and parsley at him by the handful. Quickly, she opened the fridge, taking out a bottle of Heinz and raced toward Stefan, squeezing all of the ketchup onto his head. Stefan retaliated by grabbing clumps of the spaghetti and throwing it at her. They continued to run around the kitchen, their bodies a blur of speed, chucking fruits at each other, spraying condiments on one another, dumping juices and sodas on each other until they were grimed and slicked with food. Breathless and exhilarated, Elena hid behind the breakfast counter, stooped low as Stefan stood in the kitchen.

           “Surrender!” he said.

           “Why should I have to surrender? You surrender!”

           “I don’t want to!”

           “Neither do I!”

“OK how about no one surrenders. How about a truce?”

           A pause.

           “Agreed,” said Stefan.

           “So if I come out, that means you can’t throw anything!”

           “I won’t.”

           “Promise?”

           “How could you even ask that, you trust me, right?”

           Elena pushed her mouth to the side. “OK I’m coming out!”

           Before she could fully stand up, Stefan was at her side. They gazed at each other for a minute, smiling widely, and then Stefan lunged forward and kissed her. Elena threw her arms around his neck in response.

           “Dinner’s ruined,” she said between kisses.

           “That’s why they invented pizza delivery,” said Stefan.

           Elena kissed him deeply then pulled back. “Feel so gross. I need a shower.”

           “Love it,” said Stefan. He picked her up without warning, making her cry out in surprise. “Let’s go.”

           Stefan felt his body move, felt it speed out of the kitchen and up the stairs. And yet he was stuck. Yet he, his presence, his mind, didn’t go along with his body but stayed where it was —

           It was like the earth turned on its axis. For a brief second everything was beyond space, beyond time, or maybe between it. Stefan felt weightless. Then cold. Then bodiless.

           Suddenly, everything clicked back but he was no longer in the Salvatore Mansion; he was no longer in a living memory. He was in a … motel room? But he wasn’t really there, everything was grey and muted and removed. This was purgatory. This was death. He’d finally died. And that meant —

           There was the sound of a key turning in a lock and Elena walked into the room, her cell phone between her ear and shoulder.

           Everything within Stefan shifted. He was nervous yet relieved, calm but excited; like always, the sight of Elena anchored Stefan yet sent him into a free-fall and he moved to rush over to her, to hug her, to kiss her, but then re-remembered that he couldn’t and suffered excruciating disappointment that devoured him; consumed him with sadness. He suffered through this cycle every time he died, every time he saw her because holding Elena had become more than a habit to Stefan, it’d become instinct, and instinct was something that could seldom ever be unlearned if at all.  

           “I didn’t find anything here. What about you?” Elena walked further into the room, tossing the keys onto a tiny nightstand table. “Well, did you find anymore leads when you were there?”

           Elena nearly brushed Stefan’s shoulder as she paced the length of the room and Stefan took a deep breath in as she passed him, feeling only the tension of a near-touch that suffocated him with longing. His entire body screamed with it — longing, desire, screamed with desperation for her to know that he was there, for her to know how unbearable it was to not be able to feel her, for her to know how painful it was to see her in pain and that if he could, he’d have cured her of that pain in an instant, cured her of her want for him.    

“OK well I’ll get the next flight out to South Carolina and then you and I — yes, I am coming, Damon. Are you giving up on looking for him?” Elena paused and then whirled around in frustration so that her back was facing Stefan. “So then why should I? You’re not the only one entitled to finding him! You’re not the only one who loves him!” She stood where she was, clenching her hair in her free hand. “How can you talk to me about school right now? You didn’t care about me going to school when you thought I’d be spending the entire summer with y — of course I want a regular college life but I won’t be able to have one if Stefan isn’t back!”

Stefan walked toward Elena, an expression of sheer anguish contorting his face. He stood directly behind her as he’d done in the kitchen all those months ago and slowly, he moved his hands across her shoulders, sliding them down her arms, wanting nothing more than to soothe her. Elena arched her back and quickly reached around with her free hand, spinning on the spot only to come face to face with nothing.

“But I felt …” she whispered. Then she shook her head and spoke into the phone. “Nothing, Damon. I’m just talking to myself. Look, it isn’t about whether or not I trust you, it’s about — Damon, I am not waiting on you to bring him back to me, if we’re both looking there’s a better chance of him being found, this isn’t up for discussion.”

It was cruel that Stefan could feel the panic in Elena’s words, feel it so deeply that her anxiety trilled in his veins but he was unable to experience her body next to his, she was unable to know just how much he wanted to trail his thumb across her bottom lip. His eyes were red with unshed tears, his forehead creased. He had to do it. He had to try. Like every time he saw her.

Stefan reached forward and then —

That familiar hook behind his navel. No. No. This wasn’t enough time! He’d barely been here five minutes! This wasn’t fair. He wasn’t ready! NO! NO! NO! Stefan looked around frantically, as if there were a door or a passage he could escape through so he wouldn’t have to return, so he wouldn’t have to leave. He couldn’t go back!

“No!” he yelled as he felt himself lose grips, lose his hold on his purgatory. “NO! I’M NOT READY TO GO! NO!”

Elena flinched.

                                                      ___________

Elena flinched and looked frantically around the motel room. She’d heard it. Not an echo but almost. There were traces of it bouncing off the walls. And it felt like Stefan. She’d be afraid that she was going crazy if she wasn’t so sure, if she didn’t know without a doubt what Stefan’s presence felt like, if she didn’t have such resolute hope, such stubborn faith that Stefan would hold on, that he would trust her to find him.  

“Damon, I’ll call you back.”

She hung up the phone and dialled Bonnie’s number immediately afterward.  The other end picked up.

“Elena?”

“Bonnie? Hi. How are you? How’s Jer? Is everyone OK?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. Worried about you. Caroline wants me to let you know that registration is on Monday.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Elena. “Listen. I need to ask you a question. A magic question.”

“Uh yeah. OK. Shoot.”

“Is it possible for me and Stefan to be linked somehow? Like is it possible that when I say I feel him, I’m literally feeling his pain? Or that he’s literally calling out to me and I can feel that call? That it’s not just an expression?”

“Well, Grams did talk about certain connections,” said Bonnie. “Like this is old magic, natural magic, beyond spells and incantations and it’s not love, it’s bigger than that. It’s life. When two people find life in each other, it’s a bond that’s able to transcend even space and time — it creates a sort of tether. It’s like the definition of a rare occurrence but it can happen. I mean, that’s what a soulmate is.” Bonnie paused. “And if any two people could find that, I believe it’d be you and Stefan.”

“I feel him, Bonnie,” said Elena quietly. “I swear, sometimes I feel like he’s in the room with me. Like he’s trying to … it’s like he’s touching me.”

“Elena, that sounds way too specific,” said Bonnie. “That sounds like … it sounds like me when I was on the Other Side. When I wanted to touch Jeremy. It sounds like Stefan’s —”

“He’s not dead, Bonnie,” said Elena emphatically. “I’m telling you, I’m not being delusional, I know he isn’t dead.”

“Maybe not permanently,” said Bonnie slowly, as if she were thinking her idea through as she said it. “Maybe he’s dying over and over again because he’s a vampire and … you two are tethered so his spirit goes wherever you go. He’s literally trying to touch you and call out to you, like you said.”

Elena held the phone to her ear, not speaking, as she contemplated the horror of that situation; the frantic need to find Stefan turning reckless in her.  

“Elena…?”

“OK,” said Elena. “OK, I have a plan. I need to pack, get ready for the drive home.”

“Wait, you’re leaving now?”

“Yes now. Right now!”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, what’s the plan?”

“Well, it really boils down to this,”  said Elena as she opened her travel bag and started shoving her clothes in it. “I’m going to die.”

Hello [Are You There?] Pt. 1

OK. A lot of my SE readers have been asking for me to write another fanfic and I’ve decided to do another one in parts but unlike with all of my one shots, I have no idea where this is going, I just know certain scenes I want to be included and that I’m living up to my promise of incorporating fluff, heartbreak, angst and smut into this series. I don’t know if what I’ve come up with so far is particularly interesting to you guys so please let me know if you want me to continue or if I should come up with something else, feedback is key ;) Someone specifically asked for me to write Protective Elena and my conversations with SErs of late has been about how no one really appreciates how much Elena fought for Stefan so I had that in mind when I wrote this, as well as a desire to sort of continue an interrupted makeout scene that happens between them in season 2. I really do hope you guys enjoy this and please reblog and comment (if you do), tagging people: @blackylovesicecream @stefan4president @emjo029 @demetrias-stelena @melissasbamonromantictales @kissmebluesexyvioletsme @theeverlarkfamily @savagetore @stefan-is-too-sexy-for-you @christinaelena-1 @fiftyshadesofstelena @everythingdobsley @stelena-forever-and-always @taylorwritesstelenaslovesongs @do-you-think-im-spoopy @stelenaclub @tvtaughtmehowtofeel @youareatypo @stelena-lover-forever @stelenamagic

Some people I wanted to tag but tumblr wouldn’t let me so sorry if you’re offended. If you want me to try and tag you when I upload stuff, let me know, if you’d rather me not, let me know too!

“I don’t know what they are called, the spaces between seconds– but I think of you always in those intervals.”

— Salvador Plascencia, The People of Paper   

It was the middle of the night and the sky was a dark, blank canvas; there was no moon, no stars to cast the town below in silvery light. Stefan’s room was pitch black and silent except for the rustle of sheets as Elena tossed in bed. She had a lot of energy; too much energy and it was churning beneath her skin, working her muscles, hindering her from relaxing into sleep. She turned on her side for the fifth time and watched as Stefan slept on his back, completely still. For a moment Elena allowed herself to gaze at his profile, his chiselled jaw and straight nose and eyelashes so long it sometimes made her envious. He had the features of a sculpture, a true Adonis.

           “You’re staring again,” he said, keeping his eyes closed.

           “I can’t sleep.”

           “Elena…”

           “You didn’t change the mattress?”

           “It’s the same mattress as last night and the night before and the night before that.”

           “What about the sheets are they new?”

           “No,” said Stefan. “Now go to sleep.”

           Elena bit her lip and kept looking at him.

           “You’re still staring,” said Stefan.

           “Are you sure this isn’t a new mattress?”

           “Why would I lie about this?”

           “So you can shut me up so I can go to bed.”

           “But you aren’t going to bed,” said Stefan.

           “I can’t sleep.”

           “Elena—”

           “Well what about the room is there something different about the room? Because—”

           Stefan sighed and snapped open his eyes, turning his head so that he was looking directly at Elena. She smiled sheepishly at him. “Sorry, did I wake you up?”

           “Yeah and now you’re going to pay the price.”

           Elena started to protest but Stefan rolled over so that he was on top of her and her words turned into screams of laughter as Stefan kneeled between her legs and tickled her.

           “Stefan, Stefan, please stop! Please!”

She couldn’t breathe from all the laughing, tears were in her eyes, her stomach began to ache and she tried to push Stefan’s hands away as she writhed uncontrollably on the bed, her legs flailing, a screech in her throat.

“STEFAN!”

He growled and tickled harder, grinning as Elena tried in vain to fight back. He lessened the pressure as he shifted his weight to get more comfortable but Elena saw the opportunity and took it. She lifted her head and pressed her lips squarely against his, reaching up to put her palm on the side of his face. Stefan pushed himself into the kiss so that Elena’s head sank down into the pillow, his mouth opening hers with such enthusiasm that she couldn’t help but giggle as she moved her hand to grip his neck. Quickly, Elena turned so that Stefan was the one lying flat on the bed and she was on top of him, gently tugging his lower lip with her teeth, eliciting a grumble deep in his chest. He slipped his hand under her tank top, skating his fingers up her bare back so that her entire body erupted into shivers. She kissed him harder, sucking his tongue as his hands glided from her back to her chest, his palms kneading her and massaging her, exploring her with reverence, with passion. Stefan broke away from the kiss, keeping Elena’s face inches from his, so close that their eyelashes brushed each other each time they blinked, and he held her gaze as his trailed his fingers further down, a soft caress from her breasts to stomach … beneath the waistband of her pyjama shorts …past the lace of her underwear …

And then —

Elena moaned and Stefan gasped as he eased a finger into her, rubbing and circling, their smiling mouths hanging open and pressed against each other. Elena circled a hand around Stefan’s moving wrist and subtly grinded against his movement, relishing the sound of the grumble in his throat, aroused by the feel of him stiff beneath her. When Elena quickened the pace of her swivelling hips, Stefan withdrew his finger, grinning as Elena’s lustful frustration passed across her face, kissing her nose to keep it from exploding. Elena narrowed her eyes in playful challenge and moved away, kneeling upwards. She crossed her hands at the hem of her shirt and slid it off, letting it fall to the bedside. She started to lean back down to Stefan but he sat up before she could, he sat up, his head raised toward Elena, his lips parted and his eyes raw and fixed and steady on her gaze; his stare had the contrary effect of inflaming her skin and calming her mind. He nibbled on her chin and then rained kisses along her neck and shoulder, running the tip of his tongue down her throat, causing Elena to clasp the back of his head and graze her fingers through his hair, clenching the strands, sighing heavily as Stefan’s mouth found her breasts. Abruptly, he held her tight around the waist and swivelled, making her squeal and she was pinned back down on the bed, laughing loudly. Stefan kissed her hard and fast and instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his back, pressing him to her, urging him on as he rocked into her and Elena marvelled at how even with the flannel of her shorts and the cotton of his pants, she could feel the intensity of his hardness against her groin and it made her ache all over. With fumbling fingers, Elena untied the strings to Stefan’s pyjama pants and then plunged her hand in, gripping his manhood, causing a groan full of need and desire to crack in Stefan’s throat and resonate deep within her body. He pulled away from her, his eyebrows creased and Elena slid his pants down as her hands stroked his shaft, becoming more and more eager as his moans echoed in her ears and moistened her thighs. She felt his hands on her waist, tugging off her shorts and then suddenly, finally, wonderfully, he thrust into her and then —

Whoosh.

Elena woke up with a start, sitting upright in bed. She was slicked with sweat and her hair was sticking to her forehead and to her back. She was hot. Really hot. Quickly, she threw the covers off of her so that the cool air could soothe her skin. It was light outside. Painfully bright. Day. Or morning. She squinted her eyes and used her hand as a visor. Why was it day or morning? What was going on? Had she been dreaming? Elena looked around frantically. This was Stefan’s room. She was in Stefan’s bed. So then what was —? And then she saw the figure by the window. Saw who drew open the curtains.

And then she remembered.

Stefan was gone.

Stefan was —

           “Jeremy and I decided it was time for you to get up.” The figure moved away from the window to the middle of the room and revealed itself to be Matt. He sat down on the edge of the bed. “That was some dream you were having.”

           “It wasn’t a dream, it was a memory,” said Elena.

           “Of you and Stefan?”

           Elena nodded her head quickly “What time is it?”

“It’s almost eleven.”

“You shouldn’t have let me sleep this late. Maryland is like a four hour drive from here.” Elena started inching off of the bed but Matt moved to stop her and she sat back down on the mattress.

           “You needed the sleep,” said Matt. “You’ve been going all across the country nonstop all summer. You just got in from Nevada two days ago. Stefan wouldn’t’ve wanted—”

           “I thought we agreed we wouldn’t talk about him like he’s dead,” said Elena sharply. Matt raised his eyebrows at her town and then he lowered his eyes. Elena sighed.

           “Matt, I’m sorry. I know you’re just looking out for me. And I know I don’t always thank you even though I really do appreciate you trying to make sure I’m OK,” said Elena. “But I’m not going to be OK until I find him.” She shook her head, her voice gravelly with emotion. “I have to find out where he is and why he’s in so much pain.”  

           “But how do you know he’s in pain? And —” Matt licked his lips and took a deep breath. “And how do you know he isn’t dead, Elena?”

           “I feel him,” she said simply. “I know that that doesn’t really make sense but …” She looked around the room, casting around for the right words. “It’s like a pit in my gut, a void that’s been there since Stefan left — since he’s gone missing and and it keeps getting bigger and, and, and stronger and I just know it’s because he’s in trouble. Like my body is responding to his pain even from miles away.  And then other times … it’s like I can feel him in the room, sense his presence or his … soul or, or something and it’s reaching out to me and just when I think I can reach back it’s gone.” Her voice turned into a strangled whisper. “God, it’s killing me.” She looked at Matt directly in the eye. “He’s alive.”

           She got up from the bed and walked across the room to Stefan’s closet, wrenching open the door.

           “And what makes you think that Maryland will be any different than Nevada?”

           “The same reason why I thought Nevada would be different from California,” said Elena. “Hope.” She started taking out a towel and a robe. “I know it’s a crappy lead, Matt. I know the other ones were crappy too but I can’t sit around and do nothing.

           “You sound exactly like how you did when he went off with Klaus,” said Matt quietly.

           “And he came back to us then, remember?” said Elena, slamming the closet door shut. “I can’t give up now just like I couldn’t give up then. Stefan doesn’t bring that out in me. He … he makes me believe. And I have to believe that I’m getting closer to finding him.”

           Matt stared at her for a while and then let out a deep breath. “Well you can’t drive to Maryland alone,” he said. “I can co —”

           “No,” said Elena, cutting him off. “You need to stay here.”

           “Elena, you’re human again, you need back up.”

           “And I’ll have it,” said Elena. “But I can’t let you —”

           “Look, I’m not new to any of this. I’ve seen my fair share of danger just by living in Mystic Falls and being friends with you guys. I’ve been in my fair share of danger.”

           “It’s not about that,” said Elena. “I mean it is but it’s mostly … You’re the glue. You know that right? You’re the glue keeping all of us together, keeping us from falling apart, from drifting away from each other. Jeremy and Bonnie and Caroline and Tyler, they all need you here, they need you to hold down the fort.”

           “They need you too, you know.”

           “Like I need all of you,” said Elena. “But I also need Stefan. And you guys do too. He’s a part of us, Matt.”

            He blinked a couple of times. “Drive safe,” he said. “And try to stay off bridges.”

           Elena returned his grin and watched as he loped out of the bedroom but as soon as he turned his back and closed the door, her small smile no longer pulled awkwardly at the corners of her mouth and her expression slid back into its true form; quietly agonized and full of painful longing.

           An entire summer.

           That was how long Stefan had been gone.

           That was how long Elena had suffered the pit in her gut, the void in her stomach. For two months her body was telling her something was wrong, something needed her immediate attention. For two months, her body had been screaming Stefan’s name. At first Elena convinced herself that it was her vampirism, that it had to be some kind of after-shock from switching her humanity back on. But then she’d actually become human again, spelled into mortality by the witches, and the sick feeling within her lingered, intensified. She let herself feel it, embrace it, let herself listen to it.

And then she knew.

Knew it in her heart, in her bones, knew it like how she’d known that on her eighteenth birthday, Stefan had been on the other end of that voiceless phone call — he was in trouble, he was in pain and he was holding on. For her.

It wasn’t a question. She had to find him. That was all she wanted. Him back to her. Him in her arms. The feel of his body next to hers, against hers, enclosing hers and … and …

Elena stilled. A chill had entered the room, prickling her arms, the nape of her neck, causing her back to arch and her shoulders to hunch — a movement across her skin …

           …

… Stefan stood in front of Elena, watching as tears brimmed her eyes, eyes that were looking directly at him, directly through him because he couldn’t be seen, because he wasn’t in her world. The desperate desire to hold her overtook his body with excruciating urgency, making his fingers tremor with the impulse to touch her, and he saw it on Elena’s face too: the need to be comforted and satiated by what only he could give her — his touch. Her need was like a punch in his chest and Stefan tried to do it. To touch her.

           He reached forward, stroking the side of her face, tortured by the inability to feel her skin beneath his fingertips yet solaced by the attempt, by the fact that he was in front of her at all. He traced his thumb along her jaw and slowly, she closed her eyes, almost like she was reacting to him and Stefan parted his lips, sighing heavily, teary-eyed and hopeful. She could feel it. She could feel him. Feel something. He knew it. Elena leaned into his palm, like it was a natural inclination, her face smoothing out into relief; her arm even jerked like she was about to put her hand on his like she’d done so many times before when he’d held her face like this. And then she opened her eyes, her pupils darting back and forth, her eyebrows creased in confusion.

           “Stefan?”

           The way she said his name, it made his lips tremble. He opened his mouth to respond and then —

           It was like a hook behind his navel, dragging him backward at warp speed. And then he collided into something, a body, his body, reanimating its parts like he brought himself back to life. He yelled out her name.

           “Elena!”

           No sound.

           Bubbles.

           Water.

           He was choked by water. No air. No room. Immediately, Stefan started thrashing around, his fists crashing into something metal. The lock box. His lock box. His tomb. He was drowning. No, he couldn’t be drowning. He couldn’t accept it. He wouldn’t accept it. Stefan banged on the door, pummelled his fists into the indentations he’d managed to cave into the locker from his earlier attempts to escape. Breathe, his brain told him. Try and breathe. Holding your breath is killing you …

           Stefan took a deep breath and the water squeezed his windpipe; he tried to cough but only inhaled more water, stuffing his nose, crushing his throat. He was lightheaded but his temples throbbed, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t escape. He just wanted out. Out! Out! OUT!  He tried to crack his elbows against the side of his lock box but it was too narrow for him to bend his arms, he was confined to one position, he couldn’t even turn over if he wanted to.

           More water in the airway.

           His throat constricted.

           The pain was a particular kind of unbearable. And Stefan wanted to die. Not to stop the pain altogether but to trade this physical torment for the emotional anguish of the Other Side. When he died, he found himself in supernatural purgatory, sometimes for thirty seconds, sometimes for ten minutes, sometimes for even an entire hour. And there, on the Other Side, he could check in on Damon — the sight of his brother a pang to the chest and a comfort to the mind at the same time.

On the Other Side he could see Elena, relish the cruel pleasure of a near-touch, a half-conversation; he could hear her whisper his name, her voice rich with yearning and thick with sorrow, steady with hope. And that was what he wanted more than anything, that was what kept him fighting to wait, fighting to be rescued.

           The sound of his name on her lips.  

reblog if y'all in the Stefan Salvatore sqaud till the end of time

Stefan shut off his humanity for Caroline, Stefan fought to keep his humanity for Elena.

THE DIFFERENCE.

It’s 2015 and I’m still over here hardcore shipping Stelena.

Oh my God. Was the actual quote ‘Bring me back. Just remember to bring me back?’  Like it kinda chokes me that he said remember….

the show just confirmed that elena is stefan’s emotional tether. i feel so alive

Oh ewww, oh god, oh jeez, my eyes, my eyes!!! I just saw Steroline kiss, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…oh god. Puke. Everywhere.