A/N: In case you couldn't tell, I have a weakness for the Originals and Damon. Trying to write for some of the others. Here's some Stefan for you hero hair lovers out there.

***

Lexi Branson was your best friend. You were human but knew all about the supernatural. You planned on turning one day but not until you were a couple of years older. At the moment you had just arrived in a little town called Mystic Falls. It was Stefan Salvatore's birthday and Lexi had dragged you along with her to visit. Actually, she declared you Stefan's present.

Lexi had zoomed inside to freak out her friend and you waited on the front porch. You were anxious to meet the vampire your friend couldn't seem to quit talking about. Actually, she wouldn't quit going on about what a perfect couple the two of you would be. You rolled your eyes. Lexi could be a bit much at times.

The front door flew open and you spun to find Lexi grinning at you. A very confused, very handsome vampire stood behind her. "This is your present, Stefan. Happy birthday!" she announced.

Stefan took a tentative step forward and looked between the two of you. "When she says I'm your present she does not mean I am your dinner or a hooker. She merely thought we would get along. Clarify, Lexi," you said and held out a hand. "Y/N Y/L/N."

His lips twisted into a smile as he shook your hand. "Stefan Salvatore. Pleasure to meet you. Lexi, can I have a second?"

The blonde shrugged. "Sure." She shut the door leaving you on the porch once more. That girl was lucky you loved her.

After an eternity, that was really less than five minutes, Lexi was back, a disgruntled expression on her face. "Apparently there's an Elena," she grumbled before grasping your wrist and pulling you into the house.

You were slightly disappointed as Lexi had done a lot of talking about Stefan, but you weren't surprised. The three of you stayed up talking for awhile before you couldn't keep your eyes open any longer. Besides the two vampires needed to catch up. Stefan showed you to a guest room and you crawled into the bed. You were asleep in minutes.

***

You woke suddenly in the morning, frowning as you blinked at the light coming in the window. "Hello, lovely," a voice said and you jerked your head toward the door. A dark haired vampire with striking blue eyes leaned against the frame. He tilted his head and looked you over with a smirk. "Do we know you?"

This had to be Damon. Lexi had warned you about him. "I'm here with Lexi for Stefan's birthday," you explained as you tossed the covers aside and sat up on the side of the bed.

His eyes sparked with mischief. "Lexi's here? I haven't seen her in ages."

"What the seventies? New York, maybe?" You couldn't help the bite in your voice. You weren't nice to people that hurt your friends. 

His eyes widened. "My. You really do know everything, don't you?"

You shrugged. "Just leave her alone, Damon."

"Now where's the fun in that?" he asked and zoomed off. 

***

Someone had determined that you were all going to the Grill for a party. It wasn't for Stefan's birthday but it happened to fall on the day just the same. As predicted, you and Stefan had been getting along famously. And honestly, it was fun to flirt with him with no expectations.

At the moment, the two of you were laying on the bed talking while you waited for Lexi to get out of the shower. You held Stefan's hand in both of yours while you looked at his huge daylight ring. "So you think we should go to this party, too?" he asked. 

You glanced up at him and shrugged. "I usually just go along with whatever Lexi wants to do. It's kind of nice having a vampire friend. I figure she'll protect me but how much trouble can there be at some little bar."

Stefan huffed a laugh and turned his hand to play with your fingers. He lifted your hand to look at your rings as you had done his. "It's a party Damon wants us to go to. That can't mean anything good. He must be up to something."

"Who cares?" Lexi said as she stepped from the bathroom, steam billowing out behind her. She had a towel wrapped around her. "What can he possibly do in a public place with all those people around him?"

Stefan dropped your hand and rolled off the bed to talk to her. You shoved down the little spike of disappointment that threatened to creep up.

"He knows how to keep a low profile. Believe me," Stefan said.

"Okay, fine. So he'll behave. One day a year I get you. One day that you're not brooding and existing in your own head. Though you'd have a lot more of those days if you and Y/N hooked up. She'd be good for you. Just saying."

You groaned and buried your face in the bed. Lexi certainly knew how to embarrass you. You heard Stefan sigh and kept your head down, not daring to look at him. 

"It's my birthday but if you two want to go, we'll go."

"Good," Lexi said. "Then quit your whining and go get ready."

"Fine," Stefan said as he started to back out of the room.

You lifted an arm in his direction. "Stefan! Don't leave me here. She's so embarrassing."

"Hey!" Lexi protested, but she smiled when Stefan returned to the bed and hauled you to your feet. 

"Come, fair Y/N. I shall rescue you from the treacherous Lexi," he announced as he swept you up in his arms and carried you out the door dramatically. You were laughing as he dropped you in front of your door with a bow. Shaking your head, you stepped inside to change.

It didn't take you long to put on the dress Lexi had insisted you bring with you. Probably because there wasn't much fabric involved. It stopped just above your knee with an open back and cutouts on both sides. You pinned your hair back then followed the sound of voices back toward Stefan's room. Lexi was not happy from the sound of things.

"I met Elena and you have some serious explaining to do, Stefan. She looks just like Katherine," Lexi yelled at the other vampire.

You knew you shouldn't eavesdrop but you couldn't pass up this opportunity so you lingered down the hallway where you could hear but hopefully wouldn't be discovered.

"It's not what you think," Stefan argued sounding much more reasonable than the blonde. "Yes, the resemblance drew me in, but that's it. Elena and Katherine may look the same on the outside but on the inside they are completely different."

"Oh, so Elena's not a raging bitch then?" Lexi piped up and you bit your lip to keep from laughing at her bluntness.

"No. She's warm, she's kind, she's caring, she's selfless and it's real."

"It sounds like you're in love with her," Lexi said softly. You swallowed past the lump in your throat and ignored the little tug at your heart.

"I thought I was, but..." he trailed off.

"But what?" Lexi asked her voice heavy with excitement. You could almost picture her bouncing on the bed. 

He sighed. "Then you brought me a present and now I'm not so sure. Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," she all but squealed. You resisted the urge to join her. 

You backed up several paces and brushed your hand down your dress. You walked back toward Stefan's room, intending to enter this time. Your steps were quiet as your shoes were by the front door. Lexi always insisted you wear heels and you quite honestly hated them. 

You stepped into the doorway and smiled at the two friends. "You two ready to go yet?" you asked with a grin.

They both turned to look at you. Lexi grinned, her eyes lighting up and Stefan gaped at you with wide eyes. Seeming to snap out of it, he cleared his throat. "Yeah, I think we're ready. You look fantastic."

"Thank you," you said and gave him a little curtsey. You didn't miss the way his hand rested on your lower back as he steered you toward the door.

***

Lexi and Stefan were dancing when you saw Damon slip out the door. You'd been watching him all night and he was definitely up to something. You followed at a distance, keeping to the shadows. You didn't have a vampire for a best friend without picking up a few things along the way.

When Damon came across a couple making out in an alley, you had to physically bite your lip to keep from crying out as he killed the man. He slammed the woman against the wall and you listened to him compel her. "You are going to stay right here next to your dead boyfriend until help comes. When the police ask you who did this, you're going to tell them it was a blonde with long hair wearing a black dress with silver details. That's who killed your boyfriend and it was traumatizing. I was never here."

He zoomed past you, never seeing you. Why was he trying to get Lexi killed? There had to be a way to save her. You contemplated going back to the Grill and getting her and Stefan but you were afraid you didn't have time. There was only one thing you could think of.

You crept down into the alley. The girl was sitting with her back against the wall and her face buried in her knees.

"Hey," you said softly.  

Her head jerked up and she looked at you, tears running down her face. "Are you here to help me?"

"Yes I am. We're just going to wait right here until the rest of the help gets here, okay?"

The girl nodded whimpering as she saw her boyfriend. You crouched down as you pulled out your phone. "Hey. Don't look at him okay? Just put your head down or look the other way." She nodded and buried her head against her knees again. 

You stood and typed out a text to Stefan. You kept it simple. I need you. Now. Matter of life and death. Don't tell Damon. And don't bring Lexi. And you attempted to give him basic directions. 

It wasn't long before you heard him call your name and you stepped into the light. "Down here."

He rushed to you and was by your side in an instant looking you over. His hand settled on your hip. "What's going on?" 

You gestured to the body and the woman beyond. "Damon," you said in a low voice. "He compelled her to think Lexi did it. Told her to point Lex out to the cops."

"What?" 

You simply nodded. "I'm sorry, Stefan. I didn't know what else to do."

You didn't realize you were crying until he pulled you against his chest and wrapped his arms around you. "It's okay. We'll figure this out. I've got an idea but I'm not sure it will work. My diet interferes with some of my gifts."

He moved over to the girl and crouched in front of her much as you had done earlier. He lifted her head so he could look into her eyes. "You were never here. You and your boyfriend got into a fight because he told you he was leaving town. You had a horrible dream that he was killed but none of it was real. You're going to go home, go to bed and when you wake up this will all be a bad dream. You won't remember any of us."

She nodded and stood, wiping the tears from her eyes as she stepped past the body and you as if you weren't there. "Think it will work?" you asked after she disappeared from your sight.

He sighed. "I don't know. But I hope so."

***

Right now, you were waiting in Stefan's room as you listened to him argue with Damon downstairs. Lexi had left town, leaving you behind after Stefan promised to see you home in a few days. You'd both spent the rest of the party disposing of a body. 

The brothers were screaming at each other and you stepped out of the room and over to the railing to look down at them. "Not that I want to encourage your behavior, Damon," you called out and they both froze to stare up at you. "But why don't you turn some random douchebag and blame it on him. Leave people you actually know alone. Just a thought."

With that you turned and went back in Stefan's room slamming the door behind you. The vampire himself joined you after only a few more minutes. "Well, Damon liked your idea," Stefan said, not seeming happy with that fact at all.

"Hey, I'm just trying to keep the people I care about alive."

"Yeah." He raked a hand through his hair as he gave you a small smile. "This wasn't exactly how I planned for my birthday to go."

You flopped backward on his bed, your arms stretched out above your head. "Well, it went exactly how I intended. This is my body disposal dress after all."

He hummed as he laid beside you and ran his hand up the side of your hip. "It does seem a waste of a perfectly lovely dress." Two fingers absently made soft patterns on the exposed skin at your side.

A tremor went through you and an ache built in your stomach. "What about Elena?"

"I'm tired of trying to talk her into a relationship," he admitted. "Besides my best friend brought me such a lovely present. It would be rude to give it back."

He grinned as he bent over you and captured your lips with his. When he pulled back, he studied you with dark eyes. You draped your arms around his neck and brought him back down. "Happy birthday, Mr. Salvatore," you said against his lips before kissing him once more.