I Will Never Leave You

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

The next morning Elena emerged from her bathroom with her towel wrapped around her midsection. Her long brown hair was still dripping from the shower she took and her old cheerleading uniform lay ready on her bed.

She took one look at it and remembered what Damon had said about her cheerleading last night. No matter how long she stood there and tried to make herself excited for the pep rally and the football game as a cheerleader today, it didn’t make her feel any better. Perhaps he was right, maybe the best thing to do was just quit and not let any of this get to her.

When she went to her mirror and began brushing out her hair her eyes were caught by one of the many pictures arranged in frames on her dresser. This one was one her mom had taken the previous year, Elena was in her uniform and smiling happily.

It made her sad to see how much had changed, but she knew what he mom would say if she was here right now. She would tell Elena to do what made her happy, and to follow her gut. And right now her gut was telling her to leave the cheerleading uniform behind.

Driven by her new determination to live her own life and not her old one Elena grabbed her favorite jean skirt and a green tank top. It didn’t take long to straighten her hair once it dried, and she put on barely any makeup.

Even though it was still pretty early in the day by the time she got to the school there was already a bunch of people milling around. Some of the football players were getting the stage set up but most people were just hanging around getting ready for a good game of football.

She was talking to some of the new girls who had joined cheerleading when she caught sight of Stefan. Her dream last night and her reaction to it made her feel even worse about whatever it was she was feeling for Damon. It was so unfair to Stefan, so Elena vowed to completely ignore her feelings for the black haired and blue eyed brother and focus instead on how she felt for Stefan.

He was wearing his jersey, number seventeen, and jeans. He looked incredibly hot as he walked through the growing crowd towards her.

“Look at you,” she said once he was close enough, “you look hot in your jersey.”

Stefan smiled in appreciation and asked, “what happened? No more cheerleader?” Obviously referring to her lack of uniform.

With a smile Elena told him, “I quit. I’m a quitter.”

“No, hey, you’re not a quitter,” Stefan said comfortingly as he took both of her hands in his, “you suffered a great loss. You’re not the same person. You should be looking ahead. You should be starting over. Ok?”

Even though what he said made it impossible to feel bad about quitting anymore the encouragement didn’t make her happy like it should. Instead it plucked at her nerves, it was like Stefan was being too good, and too nice, but before Elena could thank him or say anything about it Stefan said, “I hope you don’t think this is too soon or too weird, but...I, uh, I wanted you to have this.”

As he spoke he pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a silver necklace. It was shaped like an orb, covered with intricate designs that were impossible to follow with her eyes and just on the top was a red stone that Elena couldn’t recognize. Her annoyance disappeared the instant she saw it.

Gently as if it would shatter if she grabbed it too hard she reached inside the small box and pulled it out. The chain was also made from silver and shimmered whenever she moved it. “Oh, my god, it’s beautiful.” She said with a chuckle.

Stefan looked relieved and told her, “it’s something that I’ve had forever, and, uh, I’ve never wanted to give it to anyone until now. I’d very much like it if you’d wear it for me. For good luck.”