𝒮 𝔱𝔢𝔣𝔞𝔫 𝒮 𝔞𝔩𝔳𝔞𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔢 (wouldberipper) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-06-13 16:22:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, elena gilbert, stefan salvatore |
Who: Elena and Stefan
When: Early May
Where: Rainbow Motors
What: Talking about Dreams and stuff
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Since the dreams had begun, Elena had worried about her own sanity. At least until she’d gotten up the courage to bring the dreams up to Caroline and discovered that she wasn’t the only one experiencing the same thing.
That revelation had made a lot of things fall into place. Caroline’s mood swings were at the top of the list but slightly below that fell Stefan’s awkwardness at the book store. At the time, Elena had thought it was because of her doomed relationship with his brother. But now she wondered if there wasn’t more to the story.
And so she’d decided to stop by the garage Stefan had mentioned, hoping that he would actually be there and that he wouldn’t be too busy at 8am on a weekday. In that, at least, her prayers were answered. There didn’t seem to be any other customers around just yet.
“Stefan?” She questioned, leaning into the garage.
**
Stefan was in the back room when Elena came into the garage. It was still early enough that there wasn’t a rush. Last Stefan had seen him, Joe was out back with some car or another. Honestly, they didn’t keep that close of an eye on one another. And they had a contracted employee doing oil changes, too, to keep things running smoothly.
At the sound of Elena’s voice, though, Stefan came zooming out from the back room. He appeared in the doorway quite suddenly, almost unnaturally so, looking at first concerned, but then more curious.
“Elena.” He said, alarming her to his presence--if he hadn’t seen her yet. “Hi.”
**
His voice still made her jump, one hand pressing to her chest as she turned to face him fully. But she grinned, a bit sheepishly. “I suppose that will teach me to make an appointment,” she answered. So that he couldn’t surprise her.
Looking up at him, it all felt suddenly so weird. Because whatever they were in Mystic Falls, they certainly didn’t have that history in Orange County. It was all so complicated. The grin faded, Elena suddenly nervous. But she had to go through with this and see if he was dreaming like she was. Like Caroline was. Like who knew how many other people in their world were.
“Hi. I was hoping...do you have some time to talk? I mean, if I wouldn’t be interrupting anything.” There weren’t any customers that she could see but who knew what he had planned for the rest of his morning.
**
It was strange how much she was like the Elena he knew in his Dreams. There was this strange separation now between his Elena, and Damon’s Elena. (Or, the Dream Elena and the Real World Elena.) He hadn’t really thought of her as the Dream Elena until… well, until now. Until he’d bumped into her in the bookstore. Now he kinda couldn’t get it out of his head.
“Sure.” Concern made his brow furrow just a little. What did she want to talk about? “You want a cup of coffee? Or a soda? I’ve got some things in the break room this way.” He motioned for her to follow her back out of the lobby to a small break room in the back with a sofa and a small table and chairs. There was a fridge fully stocked with snacks and drinks, and a television in one corner.
**
“Thanks,” Elena offered something of a smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. How did she even begin the conversation? It wasn’t an easy topic to discuss. “But no thank you to the drinks.” She was jittery enough already that caffeine was not needed.
She couldn’t even quite bring herself to sit down, instead standing rather awkwardly in the middle of the room. “When we met at the bookstore the other week, I thought there was a weirdness because of how things ended with Damon. But then…. You’ve been dreaming, too. Haven’t you.” Not really a question. That was why things had been weird. Because he had the same dream memories that she did.
**
Stefan moved to the fridge and reached in for a can of Coke. There were beers in there, too, but that probably wasn’t the best idea. (Not that it would do much to impair his judgement, but it wouldn’t look good to be drinking on the job, would it?)
He turned around to face her, surprise on his face. She wasn’t beating around the bush. Had Damon talked to her about the Dreams? Or was it someone else? How much did she know? Had she started Dreaming??
“I have.” He said, and set the Coke down on the table. After a quick sign, he pulled out a chair and slipped into it. “Have you?”
**
“Just recently. I hadn’t been when we met at the bookstore. But since then…. Yeah.” Arms crossed for lack of anything better to do with them as Elena’s gaze stayed focused on Stefan. “And I know others have, too.” Caroline, for one. But she wouldn’t spill anyone else’s secrets.
Elena forced herself to sit across from Stefan, leaning forward slightly as she studied him. “I dreamed about meeting you first. About Damon using Caroline. About finding out…”. Her voice trailed off then, Elena offering a significant look. Finding out that Stefan and Damon were both vampires.
“I don’t know how far you’ve dreamed. The last one was about a Halloween dance.” He had staked Vicki to save her.
**
Stefan knew that Caroline was Dreaming, but he didn’t know how far she was, or how much hold it’d taken on her life. He knew that Damon was far ahead of him in the Dreams. And Lexi was, too. And they were all vampires. That part might have been the hardest to swallow.
“Wow.” He exhaled deeply. Honestly, he half wished she didn’t have to go through all this. To Dream it the way the rest of them had. But perhaps it was unavoidable? In any case, he had to think back to when he had first come back to Mystic Falls, to enroll in high school, to be closer to her. He felt like such a stalker now, looking back on it.
“That was… I’ve dreamed quite a bit since then.” He admitted. “Are you… are you handling it okay?”
**
There wasn’t really a good way to answer that, Elena shrugging in response. “I’m trying.” That was about all that could be said.
“I thought I was going crazy at first. I still don’t understand exactly what’s going on but at least I know I’m not insane.” Which helped put her mind at least a little bit at ease, though not much.
“Is it always so difficult? The dreaming, I mean. It seems like there isn’t ever a moment of peace. We just race from one disaster to the next.”
**
Stefan nodded. He knew it was a lot for a person to deal with, and that she was trying said a lot about her. Elena was a fighter. Her drive was admirable. She rolled with whatever punches were thrown her way, and succeeded. She was a winner.
“You’re definitely not insane.” Stefan opened the soda, and couldn’t help break into a smile. “That’s an apt way of putting it. Racing from one disaster to the next? It fits.” He lifted the can to sip from it, quickly, trying not to stare at her now.
“It hasn’t slowed down, though. Not that I’ve Dreamed.”
**
That was not something to look forward to, then. It never slowed down. Her mind buzzed with questions ranging from what these dreams could possibly mean to how many people they knew had these dreams to how long they might continue. What if she lived a double life for the rest of her life?
“You said you had dreamed a lot since the Halloween party..,how long? Because mine started the first day of school so...end of August, junior year of high school to Halloween so far. Two months and yet so much has happened.”
**
“You’re in college in my Dreams,” Stefan finally admitted. He wasn’t sure how much he was supposed to tell her--he didn’t want to scare her. Or spoil her, really. Elena could decide when and how she wanted to get this information, he wasn’t going to give it to her before she was ready for it.
At the same time, he was going to answer her questions honestly.
“Damon is way ahead of me, from what I understand.”
**
“So at least two years of dream life.” That was a little daunting. If Stefan had dreamed two years and Damon was way ahead of him, how long could the dreams last?
She hesitated, not sure how to feel about everything that was going on, or how much to ask. “...is everyone okay? In the dream world? Does everyone make it through the next few years alright?”
**
Stefan took a deep breath, staring deep at her. Gazing, really. He wasn’t sure how much he should say. How much could he say?
“Define alright.” He said, softly. Curiously. He wanted to be honest, but… he really didn’t know how to answer that question. They’d lost so many friends. And they were sure to lose more. But many of them were… well, they were fine. Between adventures, anyway.
**
“Alive,” Elena returned. “Does everyone survive?” They’d already lost Vicki and, while there had been no love between Elena and Vicki in the dream world, there had been so many ties. Matt’s sister, a fling with Tyler, dating Jeremy…. Coach Tanner, too. How many more people that Elena knew would she inevitably lose?
“Please, Stefan. You don’t have to give me specifics if you don’t want to but...how much heartbreak am I in for?” She had to know.
**
Stefan turned his eyes to the table between them. He swallowed. It was terrible and heart-wrenching, and he felt horrible that he had to be the bearer of bad news. He couldn’t look her in the eyes.
It wasn’t all her heartbreak, either, though hers was the hardest to take. Stefan had his share of losses, too. Ones he didn’t want to remember.
“A lot.” Was his only reply.
**
It felt like a gut punch. “Oh.” She wasn’t sure what else she should say to that revelation. So things in the dream world didn’t calm down and on top of that, she would have to deal with more than a few losses it seemed.
“...thank you. For being honest with me.”
**
“I’m sorry, Elena.” Finally he lifted his eyes from the table to look at her again. She was… beautiful. Just like the Elena in his Dreams. It caught him completely off guard. “But you’re not alone. You’ve got Caroline. She’s Dreaming, right? And Tyler. Jeremy, obviously. And I’m here. And Damon.” He wasn’t sure where she and Damon stood, but it was true. She wasn’t alone. She could turn to any of them and they would be there for her one hundred percent.
**
“I have a lot of people to turn to,” she agreed, nodding. A lot of people to lean on in times of need. Which made it a bit easier to bear the knowledge that her dream world was going to be full of so much hardship. If only slightly.
“You know that I’m there, too, right? I know I just started dreaming but if you need someone to talk to, I am here for you.” It was so strange, having both the dream world memories of such an all-consuming love, as well as the real world ones where he had been just her boyfriend’s brother.
“I know you have at least Damon but…” But she was there should the need arise.
**
Elena was lucky. Actually, it probably wasn’t luck. She had one of those personalities that made everyone want to protect her, befriend her. It was no wonder she was surrounded by people who loved her.
“I know.” Stefan met her eyes again, but didn’t stare. He leaned back in his chair. “I want you to know… I don’t expect anything now that you’re Dreaming. I don’t want it to change anything between us.” They hadn’t been overly close before, and he was hoping they could become better friends now. But he wanted her to know that he wanted to be her friend not just because of the Dreams and what they held. But because he thought she was cool in this world first.
If that made any sense. Maybe he wasn’t saying it right.
**
She was glad he had said something. Not that she truly thought he had been angling for any sort of relationship, but it did help to address some of the awkwardness in the room.
“Me, too,” she answered, with a nod. “I want to be friends. Better friends but…” But friends nonetheless. “The dreams are confusing but there is a lot of real history life, too.”
**
“Friends.” Stefan agreed with a nod. He wanted to be friends, too. He hadn’t had any Dreams in a while, so it would probably be easy to push those weird feelings to the back burner. Though, they were still there, and probably always would be, but it was easy to ignore the farther he got from his Dreams.
“There is. Enough history to make us stronger.”
**