CHAPTER 59: GROWING PAINS

Mystic Falls Hospital

Change. It's such a simple word, isn't it? Only one word, six letters and yet it could have such an impact on someone's whole life. It can be the small things, like changing your hair, and it could be big things, like changing even your species. But change is something awfully difficult to cope with sometimes and sometimes you have to let the people cope before going there to support them.

Natalie Saltzman sucked at change. You never knew if it would change for the better or for worse. It could get up at cloud nine where you get everything you've ever wanted and it could break you apart piece for piece and steal your soul. And as a pessimist, her thoughts on change usually drifted to the latter option.

So her sister, Elena Gilbert, turning into a vampire was a huge change that she felt was going to be awful. So many things had been going wrong lately and so many things had been going right. She didn't want more wrong and she didn't want to ruin the good. She didn't want to lose another person she cared about and she didn't want to lose the slowly rebuilding relationship the two had by getting, I don't know, eaten?

And as Elena had to get used to the thought of the whole change, another person was going through a different change. Matt Donovan was used to being the happy, blond kid with no real importance in the lives of the other people in town. But now he had to get used to the crushing guilt of being the reason his ex-girlfriend was dead and couldn't do anything about it. He changed for the worse, or at least how was feeling changed for the worse.

But he was being discharged from the hospital, and since Stefan suggested that Natalie should get out of the house, as Elena had to get used to the bloodlust and Jeremy was more than enough human in the house, she was helping him get out of there.

But they weren't the only two there. Caroline Forbes stood in front of them, her also feeling a change in how she was feeling. She just lost someone she loved very much. Her boyfriend. Tyler Lockwood. And another change in her life was that she could no longer walk around in her own town and feel safe as she was being hunted by the vampire hunting town council.

Matt shook his head at the guilt that was pressing onto him, making him feel like just simple crap. "Elena doesn't want to be a vampire."

Caroline sighed at his persistent need to blame himself for the death of their friend, except, as you know, she wasn't completely dead. "She doesn't want to be dead and now she's not. This isn't your fault, Matt."

"It's all my fault. I was driving. I was saved. She's a vampire because of me!" he exclaimed, not knowing how she was able to not blame him for it. It was all his fault and she should have accepted that the moment she heard about the crash.

The blonde vampire's eyes widened as she heard him use a word he shouldn't use so loudly because of all the vampire hunting going on around town at the moment. "Shh! Cool it on the V word. I'm a fugitive, remember? I'm supposed to be halfway to Florida by now."

"Then why aren't you?" Natalie spoke up softly, looking at her best friend with worried eyes, easily just wanting her to be safe, and she wasn't really safe as she was walking around town visiting everybody she knew.

"Because I don't know where to go," she answered, tears building up in her eyes at the thought of previous events. "Tyler's dead and everything's different now and I..." Matt and Natalie exchanged looks for a moment before the two embraced the crying girl who had just lost who she felt as if was the love of her life at the moment. She sobbed as she hugged the two, before she suddenly stopped and was out of the room.

The reasoning quickly became clear as a deputy opened the door, looking around the room before looking between Matt and Natalie, and not recognizing their faces from any pictures of fugitives they've gotten. "Sorry," he apologized to the two before getting on his dispatch. "All good here."

He walked out and Natalie and Matt shared sighs of relief. She rested her head on his shoulder sadly as a way to comfort both of them at the moment and he rested his head on top of hers as he sighed once again.

▹▹▹

The Gilbert House

After he got released from the hospital, Matt refused to go home. He had to see Elena, even if it wouldn't be a good idea because of her bloodlust. But Natalie had only one place to go and Matt wanted her to take him with her.

As soon as Natalie unlocked the front door, Matt was quick to walk into the living room, and Natalie had to hurry to keep up. "Hey, is Elena here?"

Then she heard choking noises. She had to guess who was there, and it would only be Damon Salvatore who she could imagine just grabbing somebody by the throat and choking them, well, he was the only one after Klaus died and everyone but Tyler somehow ended up surviving being in his sire line.

She ran into the room, and she was right. "In what world are you the one that gets to live?" Damon growled as he was holding Matt by his throat against the wall and Dr. Meredith Fell and Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes were desperately trying to get him down.

"Drop him, Damon!" Natalie then demanded. Damon glanced at her for a second and as he saw her deathglare, he suddenly let Matt down as he glared at the blond boy.

▹▹▹

It turns out that when Natalie isn't around for an hour, everything goes to hell. The previously mentioned vampire hunting town council had captured Stefan and Elena and nobody had any idea of where they might have been taken to. They had to brainstorm possibilities and it wasn't the easiest thing in the world.

"With your vervain and Alaric's weapons; they could be anywhere." the Sheriff did not help their enthusiasm at all with her negativity and refusal to say anything helpful.

Damon, however, wasn't buying into the whole thing where they wouldn't be able to have some restrictions no where they could end up being. It had to have some specialties. "Come on, guys, think. It takes a lot to hold a vampire. Reinforced steel, iron doors."

An idea suddenly popped up in Matt's head as he remembered something. He was ready to help save Elena this time when he was the reason she wasn't saved the last time. "The Pastor has a cattle ranch. Those pens could easily be modified."

"Is it remote and secluded?" Natalie asked, knowing that that was also something that the captor, Paster Young, most likely wanted for his vampire farm. Having it right next to the Mystic Grill or something wouldn't really be the best idea.

Matt nodded at her in response and Damon narrowed his eyes at the blond human. "Well, guess what? Looks like you get a chance to prove how sorry you really are. Let's go."

▹▹▹

The Bennett House

As Matt and Damon were saving Stefan and Elena, Bonnie was going through some struggles as it turned out that she had put Klaus in Tyler's body and that was why nobody died from Klaus' death. And then she had been forced to get him back in his own body, even if it would have disastrous consequences for the witch herself.

She knocked on her friend's bedroom door, having been told several times before that she could enter the house whenever she wanted, so she did. "Hi, Bon." she greeted the teenage girl who was lying in bed and staring at the wall.

She turned around and smiled at her brunette friend in greeting, even though it was fake. "Hi, Nat."

Natalie sighed for a moment before walking over and gesturing for the witch to scoot over, which she did, letting Natalie sit next to her on her bed. And the huntress was somehow able to hide something from the shorter girl. "Caroline told me what happened. Are you okay? Stupid question. Of course you're not okay."

Bonnie shrugged as she remembered her dead grandmother screaming and saying the consequences for her granddaughter's actions would be taken out on her. "It's okay. It just hurts a little right now but it's not a big deal."

"Well, I'm here for you," the brunette then suddenly smiled widely as she was ready to give her friend a surprise. "But I can't always be. So when you're feeling down and I'm not there, I want you to have something."

Bonnie tilted her head as Natalie pulled out a teddy bear with light-brown fur and creepy, black eyes. "I had a bear like that once. I called her Ms. Cuddles."

Natalie smiled in surprise, not having expected that, as she was hoping she was completely original in her gift, but turns out Bonnie had been there, done that. But that didn't keep her from giving the gift and being very happy about it. "Hm. Well, say hello Mr. Cuddles. He loves you very much."

Bonnie smiled widely at her friend as she was handed the bear. She held it against her chest as was so happy for having a friend like Natalie that she almost felt like she could cry. "Thank you, Natalie."

"Any time."

▹▹▹

The Salvatore Boarding House

Even after him getting taken and left in at a cattle ranch with the air even having vervain in it, she still hadn't gotten to talk to Stefan Salvatore, a man she had told she loved and he told her the same back, who had kissed her and the fact that it all happened not so long ago only made it worse that they've barely spoken.

So, that's how she ended up on the roof of his house waiting for him to come home so they could maybe have a talk. She was just looking at the stars over the woods surrounding the old boarding house as he climbed up on the roof as well as he noticed her. He smiled at her in greeting and she smiled back. "Hi."

"Guess it's time to have that talk, then?" he sighed, placing himself right next to her, their arms leaned against the other's.

"I guess."

Stefan looked down on his feet for a moment, not really knowing what to say. Yes, he did love Natalie and, yes, he'd be happy being with her for the rest of her human life but then there was Elena. Elena who had called him the best choice she had ever made. Elena who chose him. "Elena chose me. The reason she drove off that bridge was because she was coming home to say goodbye to me."

Natalie pursed her lips and looked down on her feet for a moment, not knowing what this would mean for them. "Where does that leave us?"

Stefan turned around slightly to get a better look at her as he grabbed both of her hands, making her glance at their hands before meeting his gaze. "I love you, Natalie, don't doubt that. But she needs me. She just turned into a vampire and all her emotions are heightened and I can't just go out and tell her that I choose you over her."

She frowned for a moment as she realized what he was saying, and she quickly allowed her face to become the usually lying I'm-okay-face. "So you're choosing her, then?"

"We were always better as friends anyways. The moment we acted on our feelings, everything seemed to go wrong. But we used to be happy and content with one another. I don't want to ruin that just because I'm in love with you." he told her, and he knew that there was a chance that he might have regret that decision for the rest of his life but it was the hardest decision he had ever made and he hated the hurt look in her eyes that she wasn't able to hide.

"Yeah, you're right. Why should our feelings ruin our friendship, right?" she agreed, although she wasn't really okay with the idea. She thought that for once the two would have their chance without Elena having to come between them.

He looked at her for a moment, just as she looked at him. Slowly, they started leaning in before their lips met silently. They didn't say anything and they didn't have to. They both knew what this kiss was, especially compared to their previous kisses.

Their other kisses had been filled with fire and it was always opening up to new possibilities and adventures. They were surprising and nobody knew what they would mean. But this one was calm and easy as they poured their emotions into that simple action that they both understood what meant.

Those other kisses felt like hellos. This one felt like a goodbye.

He pulled away and sent her an apologizing and guilty smile before sliding down the roof, getting ready to find Elena and start his eternity with her.

The moment she couldn't see him anymore, a tear went down her face and she closed her eyes as this meant that they were over.

And she didn't want them to be over.

▹▹▹

A/N: Is it just me or am I really mean to Statalie in season premieres?

Votes and comments are greatly appreciated.