Elena and Stefan

This is the complex, significant, yet notable relationship between the cured Vampire/Doppelgänger, Elena Gilbert and the cured vampire/doppelgänger, Stefan Salvatore.

Stefan and Elena were the original and main couple of the series. Stefan originally returned to town to get to know Elena after saving her from a car accident. They instantly fell in love and began a romantic relationship in season 1, which became strained when Damon fell in love with Elena and Katherine returned to win Stefan back. Though they continuously reassured each other and remained loyal throughout seasons 1 and 2. They fell out of contact at the end of season 2, when Stefan left to save his brothers life. Though they stayed faithful to each other, whilst Elena searched for him, until Damon kissed Elena. She admitted this to Stefan and at the end of season 3 rejected Damon, choosing to be with Stefan. Their relationship was rekindled and lasted into the beginning of season 4. Though they eventually broke up when Elena began to reciprocate Damon's love, and chose to be honest with Stefan about her feelings and intentions.

They are known as "Stelena" by fans.

Early History
While visiting his nephew Zach Salvatore, Stefan hears a car crash near Wickery Bridge and sees a car submerged in the water. He dives in the water and goes after it and is able to get to the car. A man is still conscious and tells him to help his daughter, who is unconscious. Stefan does as he is asked, and saves Elena from drowning. When he sees her face, he is shocked to see she resembles an old flame of his, Katherine Pierce. He goes back to the car, but is too late to save her parents, Grayson and Miranda. Due to his curiosity about Elena, Stefan remains in Mystic Falls and keeps an eye on her from a distance. When school starts, he decides to become a student so that he can meet her and get to know her better.

Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series
After the death of her parents, Elena Gilbert promises herself that she will be fine on the first day of school. She is with her best friend, Bonnie Bennett when she sees a new guy registering in the office. Bonnie remarks on the sexiness of his back. Elena gets distracted when she sees her brother, high on drugs and follows him into the men's room to scold him. As she exits, she accidentally bumps into the new guy, Stefan Salvatore and leaves awkwardly. At the Mystic Falls Cemetery, Elena is spooked by a sudden fog and a crow. She hurries away and gets injured. She runs into Stefan again; Stefan tells her he is visiting some of his deceased family. After seeing the blood from her injury, Stefan mysteriously disappears, but he comes back the following evening to return Elena's journal, which she had forgotten at the cemetery. She invites him to come join her at the Mystic Grill with her friends Bonnie, Caroline Forbes, and Matt Donovan. Caroline invites him to a back-to-school party which Stefan accepts, seeing as Elena is going as well.
 * -|Season One=

At the party, Stefan hears Bonnie and Elena talking about him from a distance and tries to make his way over, but is stopped by Caroline. By the time he gets to Elena, Bonnie has left. Elena is happy that he is there. As they talk, Stefan notes that she is sad. Elena admits that her parents died the previous spring, and only she survived. Stefan tells her that she won't be sad forever. Elena explains that she used to date Matt, but they broke up after her parents died. Elena then notices there is something wrong with Stefan's eyes and he hurries away to get himself and Elena a drink.

When Stefan comes back, Caroline tries again to get his full attention, but he kindly rejects her and goes to Elena, who sees her brother high again and has to go after him, leaving Stefan alone. She and Jeremy come back with Vicki Donovan, who has been attacked by an animal. Elena notices Stefan has mysteriously disappeared again. He comes by her house later that night to see whether she is alright. She tells him that that is all people wonder about her, but he should ask her the next day. She invites him in and he accepts.

The next morning, both Elena and Stefan feel better than they had before, knowing that they will see other again. While talking to Caroline and Bonnie, Elena decides to go to the Salvatore Boarding House to see Stefan, but runs into his older brother, Damon Salvatore. Damon "unintentionally" mentions Stefan's past love Katherine Pierce, driving Elena to believe Stefan is on the rebound. Stefan finds the two and Elena talking, and Elena leaves, seeing that Stefan doesn't seem very happy. Elena is disheartened after hearing about Katherine.

They later meet at the Night of the Comet Festival, where Stefan apologizes for his attitude when she visited his house. Elena tells him about what Damon said to her about Katherine, and she tells him that when you lose someone, it stays with you and always reminds you how easy it is to get hurt. Stefan replies by telling her that it was a long time ago, meaning that he's over it. Before she leaves, Elena says that it isn't going to work, because it is too complicated.

After Elena and Jenna had a talk, Elena realizes that she is a little scared of starting a new relationship. She visits Stefan at his house, and says that she was going to do what she always does, and write in her diary, but she should be saying it to him. Stefan tells her what he would write, saying exactly what Elena had said earlier at the comet festival, and they share their first kiss.

Wanting Bonnie to like Stefan, Elena arranges a dinner for the three of them, and as she hoped, Bonnie warms up to him. Stefan, who is against letting Damon inside the house when he arrives with Caroline, loses the argument. Elena has no problem with it. Wanting to protect Elena from Damon, Stefan gives her a necklace containing vervain so she won't fall victim to compulsion. Elena asks Stefan to be her escort to the Founder's Party to which he accepts, though reluctantly. While she and Bonnie are getting ready, Bonnie tells Elena what Caroline told her: Stefan tried to take Katherine from Damon.



At the party, Elena asks Stefan to be open with her, but he keeps dodging her questions, leading her to believe what Bonnie had told her is true. But when she discovers Damon has been hurting Caroline, she begins to see that Stefan has been truthful on the subject all along.

Stefan goes about his daily life after he imprisons Damon. While leaving the Mystic Grill, Stefan runs into an old man who is shocked to see that Stefan hadn't aged a day. Stefan denies knowing him, but it makes Elena curious, for this isn't the only strange thing that has happened since they began dating. Stefan and Elena go to the Sexy Suds Car Wash together. Elena sees and speaks to Tiki's Grandfather, who tells her he had seen Stefan in June 1953. With the help of Logan Fell, Elena investigates this, and sees Stefan's face for herself on an old film at the local television station. Still disbelieving, she goes to the Salvatore Boarding House and demands to know what Stefan is. She is shocked when he tells her he was a vampire. She runs to her car and goes home, but he gets to her room and tries to explain that Damon is behind the attacks in Mystic Falls. Elena, still frightened, asks him to leave. Stefan does as she asks, and leaves. The next day, Elena arranges a meeting between them, so Stefan can explain everything to her.

Elena admits she researched vampires on the Internet, but only got fiction. Stefan explains that holy water, garlic, and crucifixes are harmless to vampires, and that his ring protects him from the sunlight. He takes her to the ruins that were once his home, revealing he has 17 years old since 1864. It all goes back to Katherine, who is a vampire. She toyed with Stefan and Damon's hearts, and both brothers fell in love with her. He tells her the necklace he gave her has vervain, so she would be protected from vampires' compulsion. They then go home to find Jeremy and Matt with Vicki, who Stefan realizes was transitioning into a vampire. When she escapes, Stefan goes after her to help her, but fails in stopping her from drinking Logan Fell's blood. Elena understands what Stefan is, and promises to keep his secret, but she explains to him that she can't be with him in the process and broke up with him.

Stefan and Damon keep Vicki in their house, but she escapes when Damon starts to teach her how to use her vampire powers. Stefan alerts Elena on the matter, and they find Vicki with Jeremy, whom Vicki was about to attack. Elena tries to stop her, but Vicki bites her and throws her aside. Seeing no other choice, Stefan takes a broken piece of wood and plunges it in Vicki's chest, killing her. This devastates Jeremy and Elena. Elena tells Stefan that she would give anything to forget what she knew about vampires, but she would never forgive Stefan if he took the memories away. For Jeremy's sake however, she asks him to erase the memories of Vicki. Stefan, however, can't do it properly because of how he feeds, so Damon volunteers to do it instead.

Sheriff Forbes questions Matt, Jeremy, Elena and Stefan on Vicki's disappearance and all have no clue what happened to her or where she went, although Stefan and Elena are forced to lie. Stefan wants Elena to talk to him about her concerns about Matt and Jeremy, but she tells him he has to stay away from her.

Later, deciding to talk to Stefan, Elena goes to his house. The door is answered by Lexi, who has just gotten out of the shower. When Elena asks where Stefan was, Lexi tells her that he is in the shower. Misunderstanding, Elena leaves.

Stefan comes to Elena's house that evening and realizes that Elena thought Lexi is his "rebound girl". Stefan explains that Lexi is a 350 year old vampire and Stefan's best friend, who came to Mystic Falls to celebrate Stefan's 162nd birthday. He asks Elena why she came by, but she tells him it was a mistake. Again, Stefan asks her to talk to him, and she says she can't because she needs to talk, but could only be with him and that was too hard. Before he leaves, Stefan asks Elena if she needs a ride to Caroline's party. Elena says she is not going, and tells Stefan having a great time with Lexi.

After Stefan leaves, Elena changes her mind and goes to Caroline's party at the Grill. After small talk with Damon, Elena decides to leave. However, Lexi invites her to talk, unaware that Stefan is eavesdropping. Lexi gives Elena advice about Stefan before leaving, drinking Elena and Stefan's tequila before joining Stefan at the pool table.

After another attack, Sheriff Forbes injects Lexi with vervain because the witness was compelled by Damon to think Lexi was the attacker, and takes her away. Stefan sees what happened, and tries to leave, but the deputies refuse to let him go. He and Elena manage to get out of the Grill, and see Lexi fight off the deputies. She is then shot by wooden bullets by Forbes, and was staked by Damon, much to Stefan's horror. Stefan is grief-stricken by the death of his friend, and Elena tries to comfort him, but is too angered by what Damon has done, and says that he has to kill him. Elena tries to stop him from destroying his life, but Stefan says she is right to stay away, and leaves.

Damon soon reveals why he had returned to Mystic Falls: to get Katherine, who is trapped in a tomb under the ruins of Fell's Church. Emily Bennett, Katherine's handmaiden, was a witch who cast a spell over the vampires to protect them from being destroyed. however, she couldn't let Damon have what he wanted and possessed Bonnie, her descendant, to destroy the crystal that would help open the tomb. Enraged by Emily's actions, Damon attacked Bonnie. Elena was horrified by this but Stefan went over to Bonnie and fed her some of his blood which healed her wound. Elena took Bonnie home, but before leaving, she saw that being with Stefan was something she could handle after all and was willing to continue there relationship, but Stefan, seeing that he could put her in danger, refused, believing it best if he left Mystic Falls, breaking Elena's heart.

Elena and Jenna spoke over the events of their ex-boyfriends, with Logan reappearing and Stefan leaving. however when another vampire started attacking in town, Stefan decided to stay a little longer and warned Elena about it. On Career Night, Stefan and Elena discussed Stefan never sticking to anything because he always had to leaving due to his immortal age. Elena didn't want to discuss her future because he wouldn't be in it. After finding out Logan Fell was the vampire, Stefan and Damon went after him. They rescued Caroline from him and Stefan took her home, leaving Damon to deal with Logan. At the Salvatore Boarding House, Elena told Stefan that she wanted him to stay, but he couldn't. Elena declared her love for him and they made love for the first time. Later, Stefan went for a drink of water and left Elena alone in his room. Their relationship hit a rocky patch when Elena came across his photo of Katherine and was shocked at how much she looked like her. Heartbroken and confused, Elena took off her necklace and left. Stefan came back and found Elena's necklace on Katherine's photo and realized what happened.

Stefan tried to contact Elena but didn't expect Damon to answer her phone. Damon brought Elena back to Mystic Falls and Stefan told Elena about how they had first met, how he had save her from the car with her parents. Elena wanted to know why she looked like Katherine, and Stefan said it was a possibility that she was adopted since Katherine was a "Pierce" and Elena was a "Gilbert", going over all the research he had done after seeing her for the first time. Elena was still shocked, but Stefan said it didn't matter to him, he loved her. They shared a kiss initiated by Elena and made up.

Stefan questioned Elena about the mysterious guy, but all she could remember was that he was hooded. Stefan gave her the compass so she would know when a vampire was around and a box with jewelry with vervain for her friends, Jenna and Jeremy. While getting ready for the 50's dance, Elena found the compass spinning in all directions and called Stefan out of panic but Damon answer, telling Elena that Stefan was coming over. Elena was relieved as she believed Stefan was one the one the compass was pointing to until she was attacked by Noah, who had posed as a pizza-delivery guy to get in the house. Damon suggested Elena become the bait for Noah, something Stefan was against, but Elena agreed to it.

She and Stefan danced at the party until she saw a hooded man in the crowd. Stefan went after him, but he wasn't Noah. Noah threatened Elena with Jeremy's life and she left the dance and fled into the cafeteria. She managed to subdue Noah with pencils and broke a mop to stake him but Noah caught it before she could kill him. Stefan was able to save her in time, stabbing Noah with the broken handle of the mop. Stefan and Damon questioned Noah who told them about Emily's spell book but refused to spill anything else, so Stefan killed him. After taking Elena home, Stefan told her he promised to help Damon get Katherine back, but it was a lie. Elena promised to help him.

Damon was unaware of what the two had planned, but he suspected something was up. Because he couldn't believe what Stefan told him, he asked Elena whether Stefan was lying. She lied to him and Damon believed her. Elena and Stefan continued to try to find the grimoire themselves. They learned from Johnathan Gilbert's journals that he had given the book to Giuseppe Salvatore, Stefan and Damon's father. Stefan always heard his father say he would take secrets to the grave and realized where the grimoire was: buried with his father. He and Elena found Giuseppe's grave. They unearthed it and Stefan took the book away from his father's corpse. But then Damon arrived, knowing the Stefan would plan something like his. However, he admitted that Elena had him fooled, but he wanted the book. When Stefan denied handing it over, Damon did the one thing to make sure Stefan gave him the grimoire.

Damon grabbed Elena and forced blood into her mouth, threatening to turn her into a vampire if he didn't give him the book, and Stefan gave it up for Elena's safety. Stefan took her home and explained why Damon no longer trusted him: because he had broken the promise not to reveal what Katherine was to their father Giuseppe. Stefan went to get Elena medicine for her headache and heard from Jenna that Jeremy had brought a friend of his home: Anna. Stefan immediately knew that Elena was in danger and hurried to her room find her missing.

He went back home but Damon was unhelpful, saying sincerely that he hoped Elena died. Stefan went to Bonnie's grandmother Sheila Bennett who helped him find Elena and Bonnie held captive by Ben McKittrick who had been turned by Anna. For the sake of getting Damon out of town, the Bennetts agreed to open the tomb. Damon took Elena in with him so they wouldn't close the tomb with him inside. However, the witches hadn't broken Emily's spell and when Stefan went in to save Elena, he couldn't get out of the tomb. The Bennetts broke the spell to let him out. To Damon's disbelief, Katherine wasn't in the tomb at all and later learned from Anna's mother Pearl that Katherine had never been in the tomb and didn't care about Damon.

Stefan and Elena were both worried about Damon's behavior after finding out the Katherine never gave a damn. While researching her mother Isobel, it was revealed that she had been Alaric Saltzman's wife and that Damon had killed her. Elena was angry and confronted him. She and Stefan left the Mystic Grill to find a stranger who warned them to stop searching for Isobel, meaning she was alive—or at least, undead. He committed suicide after delivering the message.

Wanting her life to be normal without any vampires except Stefan and wanting to just have fun, she and Stefan accepted Caroline's invitation of a double date with herself and. At the Mystic Grill, Elena and Matt reminisced about their childhood memories, much to Stefan's amusement and Caroline's disappointment. While walking back from the bathroom, a man called her "Katherine" but said he mistook her for someone else when he heard Caroline call her "Elena". Elena told Stefan, but the man had already left. They all had fun until arriving at the Salvatore Boarding House to find Damon making out with Matt's mom Kelly Donovan. Elena left with Caroline and spoke to Stefan on the phone when she got home. He decided not to tell her he and Damon were attacked by two vampires after she left, one of them being the guy who called her Katherine.

Elena remained hostile towards Damon. While Stefan went out to feed on animals, he was attacked by the tomb vampires. Damon got worried and informed Elena who had no clue where he was. Damon went to Miss Gibbons' house and saw that the vampires were torturing Stefan in revenge for killing Bethanne, Frederick's girlfriend. Samantha Gibbons was compelled never to let Damon in and he had to watch helplessly as they took Stefan away. He went back to his car and told Elena had Stefan was their prisoner. Elena decided she was going in to get Stefan, but Damon believed it would be too risky. They went to Alaric who agreed to help because Damon had lied to him. Elena didn't want to remain in the car so she took a vervain dart and went to the house. She came across an angry Damon along the way and they found a tortured Stefan, who convinced Damon not to kill Harper, another vampire who had tried to stop the others from hurting him.

Elena took Stefan away from the house and to the car, but they were attacked by Fredrick who stuck a branch in Stefan, badly wounding him. Elena shot him with a vervain dart and removed the branch. Seeing that Stefan was severely weak, she forced him to drink her blood to get stronger. Stefan refused, but eventually gave in and ferociously killed Frederick. His behavior had frightened Elena, as she had never seen him like that before. He thanked her afterwards for saving him and said he never wanted her to see that side of him. Elena believed had gone back to normal but the memory was still unsettling. Unknown to her however, Stefan had grown a craving for human blood and Damon found him drinking out the blood he had taken from the blood bank.

Stefan kept his new secret away from Elena, but she noticed he started to act livelier than he had before. At the Founders' Day Kick-Off Party, Stefan persuaded the DJ to play better music than what was assigned and danced with Matt's mother, Kelly, and Elena. They accidentally bumped into Duke, who rudely spoke to Elena for what had happened. This angered Stefan and he compelled Duke to apologize twice since the first time was unsatisfactory. This started to worry Elena.

Stefan was Elena's escort to the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, but his craving for blood led him to steal from the blood bank. This news was reported to Damon by Sheriff Forbes and he alerted Elena to the new situation. Stefan walked in on the conversation but his attempt to assure Elena that he would be fine failed. Frustrated, he broke the mirror in the bathroom and was interrupted by Amber Bradley, another contestant. Stefan compelled her to not be afraid and took her away from the event, leaving Damon to take his place as Elena's escort. Stefan remained confused and angry and eventually compelled Amber to be frightened and run, but caught up and fed on her. Elena and Damon arrived to see what Stefan had done and with Bonnie's help, Stefan fled the scene without Amber remembering what happened.

For Stefan's own good, Elena went to Alaric and asked for one of his vervain darts, which she injected into Stefan to weaken him. She and Damon locked Stefan in the basement until the effects of human blood left his system. However, Stefan was guilt-ridden about the recent events and wanted to die. He refused to drink the animal blood he was given and Damon explained to Elena how they had finally become vampires: Stefan had transformed first and persuaded Damon to do so afterwards. Stefan believed that he was responsible for making a monster of his brother and every bad thing that had happened was his fault. He tried to scare Elena, but was unsuccessful. She left his door open so when he was ready to talk, he could come upstairs. But Stefan left his ring behind and went to the quarry where he and Damon had been during transitioning and Elena arrived. Stefan felt guilt and pain for what he had done, but he also felt the constant craving for blood and worried that one day he may not be able to control it any longer and hurt her. Elena knew that would never happen and gave him his ring back with two choices: throw the ring away and wait for the sun to rise and die, or wear the ring and fight the cravings he had. Stefan chose the latter.

Not long afterwards, Isobel Flemming came to town with a mission: to get the device for Katherine. Stefan kept a watchful eye on Elena and Isobel at The Grill where Isobel told Elena to get the device from Damon. After renewing her friendship with Bonnie, Elena managed to get the device from Damon and had Bonnie remove the spell cast upon it. Bonnie of course, knew that Grams would never have done it, so she faked that she had and Elena gave the device to Katherine. Isobel told Elena that Damon loved her and as long as she had a Salvatore with her, she was doomed. After Isobel left, Elena embraced Stefan with relief as Damon watched on.

Stefan was Elena's escort Founder's Day Parade. He told Elena what Damon had told him, and that it was a possibility that her uncle, John Gilbert, was her biological father, something Elena didn't want to believe. By the time night fell, Elena was still upset about her fight with Jeremy, but Damon arrived to tell them that the tomb vampires were in the crowd, wanting revenge on the founding families. Elena and Stefan went to find Jeremy when the device was set of by John. Stefan was also affected and Elena, with the help of Alaric, took him to safety. She was confused about how the device had worked and Stefan believed that Bonnie had never really removed the spell. The two went to rescue Damon from being burned to death with the help of Bonnie who was able to calm the fire long enough for Stefan to retrieve his brother. Stefan was worried that Elena may fall in love with Damon but she reassured him that he was the one she loved. Elena went back to school to get her things to find that they were missing and someone had taken them. Elena told Stefan this when she came home and entered the house to hear a noise coming from the kitchen.}}

After Katherine's attack at her house, Elena called Stefan, worried about Jeremy. He examined Jeremy to see whether he became a vampire or not, confirming he hadn't. Elena was upset about what Jeremy wanted and stopped Stefan when he handled Jeremy roughly. She left Jeremy in Stefan's care while she went to check up on Caroline. In her absences, Katherine returned to the house, but did not fool Stefan like she had Damon. Elena and Damon arrived just as Katherine escaped Stefan's wrath.
 * -|Season Two=

Damon explained how he attempted to kiss Elena, angering Stefan, but Elena managed to calm him by reminding him it was Katherine. They went to the hospital together to see John, but he wasn't pleasant towards them and openly insulted vampires, wishing that Elena would kill Stefan. His rudeness offended Elena and she left, but Stefan remained behind and became hostile. He threatened John to leave, or otherwise, Stefan would turn him into a vampire himself. Elena was not fooled by what Stefan had done and was grateful for it. Stefan went to try and find Katherine, but when he angered her, she stabbed him. Elena cleaned his wound.

He went back to the Gilberts' house and consoled Elena when Damon killed Jeremy out of rage because Elena denied his advances. When Jeremy came back to life, Stefan again confirmed that he was still human, much to Elena's great relief.

Elena wanted to have an ordinary day with Stefan at the carnival: no vampires, no Damon, with the exception of her boyfriend. This was unavoidable when Caroline was killed by Katherine and revealed a vampire. Stefan disagreed with Damon on killing her, but secretly knew it was right after what happened to Vicki Donovan. They protected Caroline from Damon who told them that the consequences were theirs.

Stefan and Elena discussed Elena's going to Duke University with Damon and Alaric. Stefan thought it was good for her to find out more about her heritage and admitted he hated that fact she was going. He saw her off, giving her a passionate goodbye kiss to make Damon uncomfortable.

Katherine almost fooled Stefan as Elena, but he saw through her. He interrogated her for the rest of the day, but she got the upper hand and met Elena in the boarding house living room. Stefan rushed in and Katherine out, leaving the two alone. Stefan embraced Elena in relief and they went to the Mystic Grill where Caroline apologized for her behavior to Elena and eavesdropped on their conversation. Stefan and Elena argued about how Katherine was trying to get between them and after Stefan said she had, Elena responding by leaving. However, Stefan appeared at her house, revealing that the fight was an act to prove Caroline was working for Katherine. They decided to fake their break-up and force everyone to believe the lie.

They continued their relationship facade until they openly 'broke up'. Mason spiked Damon's drink with vervain, so Stefan and Damon went after him, but were shot by Sheriff Forbes and her deputies, and injected with vervain. Caroline knew something was up and she and Elena went to find out. They found Liz torturing Damon with Stefan lying unconscious. Elena ran in and Caroline followed, killing the deputies. Elena held Stefan as he started to recover from his wounds. After he fed on animal blood, he and Elena got into an argument about Stefan drinking human blood, due to the fact that last time he had human blood, he'd ended up addicted to it. Elena disapproved, but Damon told her that Stefan needed that blood, to be stronger. She went to speak to him again, and Stefan told her he had to try to control himself and learn to drink a little blood everyday. Elena agreed and cut herself, deciding that they were going to do this together, allowing Stefan to drink a some of her blood before kissing him passionately.

Unbeknownst to Stefan, Elena was also searching for the moonstone with Bonnie and Caroline's assistance. She, worried about how Damon and Bonnie were doing and unable to be patient, repeatedly texted him and he later called her, saying that they were fine. Later on, she and Stefan figured out that the moonstone was hidden in a well, which turned out to be the one that Bonnie and Caroline used to play at when they were young. Stefan jumped in, but the water was contaminated with vervain. He screamed for Elena's help, and she went into the well to save her boyfriend. She wrapped the chains around Stefan and Caroline pulled him up while Elena retrieved the moonstone after encountering a snake that Mason had possibly planted there. She then fed her blood to a severely weakened Stefan, assuring him that everything was fine and that she had retrieved the moonstone.

After Katherine had compelled Jenna to stab herself, a traumatized Elena was terrified by the possibility that she could kill everyone she loved just because she and Stefan were together. She visited a tearful Stefan at the Boarding house, saying that she'd been selfish because of her love for him. She kissed him one last time and, feeling as if she had no other choice, ended their relationship before leaving in tears.

Due to Jenna's incident, Stefan decided it was time to kill Katherine and worked out a plan with Alaric, Jeremy, Damon, Caroline and Bonnie, without Elena's knowledge. When she finally discovered that they were setting their plan into motion, she was surprised and worried about their safety. She headed to the masquerade ball, but when Katherine was stabbed multiple times during her fight with Stefan and Damon, she began bleeding to due one of Lucy's spells. When the fight ended, Katherine was incapacitated by a spell that Lucy had put on the moonstone and placed into the tomb, with a seal that prevented her from escaping.

Stefan later assured Elena that Katherine was gone forever, clearly wanting to resume their relationship, but this did not change anything, even though she still loved him. She told him that she couldn't be with him until she knew for sure that her family was safe again, putting them before her love for him. Stefan was upset by this, but understood her reasons.

However, he was unaware that Elena had been kidnapped. He had Bonnie use a locating spell, using Jeremy's blood due to his relation to Elena, and discovered that she was 300 miles away from Mystic Falls. After Bonnie sent Elena a message that told her that Stefan and Damon were coming for her, she was relieved. Once they did so, Stefan gave her a vervain bomb, which she threw at Elijah in self-defense and Damon eventually "staked" him. She ran into Stefan's arms, grateful that she was safe again.

Stefan was worried about Elena's safety when he couldn't find her anywhere, given the fact that she'd recently been kidnapped. He later discovered her in the tomb just after the end of her conversation with Katherine, and warned her not to believe anything she said. However, Elena and Katherine knew it was the truth. At her house, a hysterical Elena came to the realization that she put her loved ones in danger just because she was Katherine's doppelgänger and he consoled her as she cried.

When Jeremy attempted to retrieve the moonstone from Katherine, she attacked him and this forced Stefan to intervene. He tossed Jeremy out of Katherine's reach, trapping himself in the tomb. A devastated Elena tried to visit him, but Damon wouldn't allow it. After she departed, Stefan requested that she be kept away from the tomb, and he and Damon promised to protect Elena, despite her decision to turn herself in to Klaus.

Elena negotiated with Elijah for the security plan, and she asked one favor from him: to free Stefan from the tomb. After he was released, Stefan went to Elena's bedroom and she was ecstatic to see him, and ran into his arms, initiating a passionate kiss and resuming their relationship.

After Stefan's return, he debated with Elena about whether he should contact Isobel, who could help them research more about Klaus, but Elena refused the idea. Stefan went ahead with it anyway and John reappeared in town.

Elena and Stefan went on a romantic getaway at the Gilbert Lake House, where Elena discovered the existence of more Gilbert Journals. They recorded a few of Stefan's ripper days and Stefan explained to her that it was a time when Stefan wanted revenge on the Founding Families, but Lexi took him under her wing when she discovered him. During their stay there, they were tracked by the werewolves so they could capture the doppelgänger and break the curse in their favor. However, they failed and were killed. Elena read the journals and discovered the dagger with white ash wood can kill an Original. She was upset when she realized that Stefan and Damon planned to use the dagger to kill Elijah and argued with Stefan about the matter where he said her sacrifice would be tragic, not heroic.

Alaric stabbed the dagger into Elijah, killing him, but when he removed the dagger, Elijah came back to life. Elena fooled Elijah but stabbing herself and when he tried to heal her, she stabbed him with the dagger, revealing that Damon had gotten to the lake house in time. Stefan then used his blood to heal Elena. On their return back to town, the warlocks, Luka and Jonas Martin, try to bring Elijah back, resulting in Luka's death. Jonas went after Elena, but since Katherine was freed from the tomb due the Elijah's death, she was able to take Elena's place and eventually killed Jonas with Stefan's help.

Elena and Stefan attended the 60's dance together, not knowing that Bonnie and Damon have a plan to trick Klaus. Jonas returned Bonnie her powers before he died, and information that could help them against Klaus. Damon kept it a secret from Stefan, knowing he would tell Elena, which he did eventually. The plan was for Bonnie to "die", but, in reality, it was a spell to fake her death. Elena was horrified and heartbroken at first, but after learning the truth, she recovered quickly, happy that Bonnie was alright although furious with Damon.

Elena released Elijah from his death, much to the outrage and shock of the brothers. When Elena returned home to comfort Jenna (who found out Stefan was a vampire), but Damon wouldn't let Elena return to Elijah. Stefan found it in himself to trust Elena and let her leave, but when she came back with Elijah, she found the brothers in a fight, caused by Stefan saying he had Elena's respect while Damon did not. Stefan apologized to Elijah for the death plan, for Elena, while Damon didn't, much to Elena's disappointment.

Damon didn't trust Elijah's plan to save Elena, and decided to force Elena to drink his blood so she would come back as a vampire. Stefan and Damon fought about this, Stefan being furious that Damon was taking away Elena's life. Stefan later took Elena on a hike to enjoy her last few hours of human life. By the end of the day, Elena broke down in tears, confessing that she had no desire to be a vampire at all.

Returning to the boarding house, Klaus was there waiting for her. Stefan reluctantly let Elena go with Klaus, but was worried for her safety, upset about what was happening. The Salvatores learn that Katherine tricked Jenna into leaving her house where she was kidnapped by Klaus and turned into a vampire for the sacrifice. Stefan tried to trade places with her, but failed. He and Elena were horrified when she was killed. Klaus wounded Stefan so he was unable to anything while he drained Elena of blood. Damon arrived and killed Klaus' witch, Greta Martin, and carried Elena's body away from the scene while Stefan and Bonnie waited for Elijah to kill Klaus. However, Elijah failed his end of the deal when he helped Klaus escape after discovering that their family's bodies weren't lost forever.

Damon told Stefan of his werewolf bite and asked him not to tell Elena. Stefan turned to Bonnie to see if she could find a cure, but he ended up having to go to Klaus. He made a deal to becomes Klaus's wingman so Klaus would give him the werewolf cure: his blood. Katherine delivered the cure to Damon who was being cared for by Elena. Stefan left town with Klaus, leaving Elena with Damon.

In The Birthday, during some months until her birthday, Elena desperately tried searching for Stefan despite Caroline's efforts to get her to move on. On Elena's birthday, with a tired and sick expression, Stefan called her, but when she picked up he remained silent. Elena immediately realized who is on the phone and she told him that he would be okay, that she loved him and for him to hold on that and never let it go.
 * -|Season Three=

In The End of the Affair, Elena finally found Stefan. She stayed at Stefan's old apartment and hid from Klaus and Stefan. Younger Salvatore noticed Elena in the storage and saved her life by taking wine and distracting Klaus. Later, Stefan and Elena had a conversation, they hugged and Elena tried to shoot him with a vervain dart. Stefan was faster and avoided her attack. He said to her, that he doesn't want to come back. He wanted to protect her in this way.

In Disturbing Behavior, In Chicago, Klaus uses Gloria the witch to find out why his hybrids aren't turning out the way he planned and Gloria discovers that Stefan is hiding the fact that the doppelgänger is still alive. She sees his memories and discovers that he is still in love with her.

In The Reckoning, Klaus compelled Stefan to kill Elena if the clock reached 0. Stefan showed great strength when he fought the compulsion and told Elena to run. Unfortunately, Klaus then used compulsion one last time and ordered Stefan to turn his emotions off. Stefan was forced to attack Elena. He bit Elena and almost killed her. In the end of the episode, Stefan is shown back at the Salvatore boarding house, saying as Klaus left town, he's been ordered to keep Elena safe (for the reason that her blood is needed to create hybrids).

In Smells Like Teen Spirit, Stefan goes back to school and has moved back to Salvatore Boarding House again, staying behind to keep an eye on Elena, and "guard" her for Klaus. When Elena distracts Stefan by falling off the bleachers, he saves her. Elena responds by saying "I knew you'd catch me", before Alaric shoots him with a vervain arrow. Elena, Damon, and Alaric then formulate a plan to lock Stefan up, to try and restore him to his normal self. The plan fails thanks to Vicki interfering and trying to kill Elena, but Elena does see a glimmer of hope for Stefan. Stefan later asks Elena why did she save him from the burning car and calls her pathetic when she says she still has hope.

In Ghost World, Stefan is knocked out by Lexi and dragged to the Lockwood's old jail cell where she attempts to "fix him" by giving him false visions of himself hungry and starving blood. He is under the illusion that he has had nothing to drink in years. This happens with Elena's hesitant support-eventually, she has to leave the room when the torture comes to be too much for her.

Later that night, when Elena goes to leave the jail cell, Stefan remarks that he wondered when she was going to give up and that Lexi had given her a glimpse into her "tragic" future. She goes back over to him and says that she hasn't given up hope but that if he didn't get his back and fight, he would lose her forever. "I won't love a ghost for the rest of my life", she says to him, before leaving.

In Homecoming, Stefan makes a deal with Klaus to get his humanity back if he would deliver the body of Mikael to him. Unbeknownst to Klaus, Stefan, Elena and Damon had made a plan to kill Klaus and break the compulsion Stefan was under. However, before the plan was about to be executed, Katherine arrives and tells Stefan that if he wanted to go through with the plan, Klaus would have Damon killed. Stefan jumps on Damon knocking him off Klaus at the last second and takes off with Katherine. He says that he doesn't want to get his humanity back, that it was too painful. Back at the Salvatore mansion, Damon is furious that their plan had broken apart and that they would never get Stefan back. Elena tells Damon that they would have to let him go, then.

In Our Town, in an effort to get Klaus to back off and remove his hybrids from Mystic Falls, Stefan kidnaps Elena and feeds her his blood, telling Klaus that if he doesn't tell his hybrids to back off he would drive off Wickery Bridge so that Elena would die and turn into a vampire. Klaus tells him to stop the car, that he would call off the hybrids. Elena jumps out of the car and yells tearfully at Stefan, asking him how he could drive over that bridge, knowing that her parents had died and that she had almost died with them. Stefan tells her that destroying Klaus is all he has left. Elena tells him that 'he had her' and Stefan responds by saying that he lost her the minute he left town with Klaus, that she just hadn't admitted that to herself yet. She asks him if he was doing all this just so that he could make her hate him, Stefan responds by saying that he didn't really care what she thought of him anymore.

In The Ties That Bind, Elena reunites with Stefan at Bonnie's mother's place and Stefan expressed anger at her for coming here. Affronted by Stefan's hostile attitude, Elena tells him just how horrible he was becoming and Stefan simply said it had to be this way. Soon after, Stefan is shot by wood from a shotgun while Elena was tied up. Eventually breaking out of it, she rushed to help Stefan and was forced to remove the wood from his chest. Once she was done, Stefan noted that she had changed from the way she was before. Elena then takes the opportunity to tell him about kissing Damon since she felt guilty he was unaware of it. Clearly pained and stunned by this information, Stefan walked away for her and said nothing. Elena followed him and begged him to say something to her. Stefan finally speaks up and apologized for what he did to her on the bridge, admitting that he had went too far but he also scolded her for lying about going to see Abby as it was too dangerous for her to do so while Klaus was still around. Elena understands him concerns, and tells him that she never intended to kiss Damon. Stefan, still hurt, told her that she was better than both him and Damon before driving away in his car. He soon after sees his brother and punches him for kissing Elena, angry with him.

In Bringing Out The Dead, Stefan told Damon that he loved Elena and Damon said "so do I".

In Dangerous Liaisons, it is learned that Elena had been invited to the Mikaelson Family home for a ball and that the mother, Esther has requested an audience with her. Stefan and Elena agree that she should meet with Esther while Damon doesn't want her to go. They all end up showing up to the ball and Elena is escorted in by both brothers. Later, Stefan watches as Damon and Elena begin to dance but as the waltz shifts to a sequence that switches partners, Elena runs into Stefan.

They dance and while the energy is intense they share a light hearted chat about Stefan's usual lack of enthusiasm for dancing. The subject then switches to Damon and Stefan tells Elena that Damon needs to figure out that she can look out for herself. Elena tells Stefan she needs to talk to him and she asks for his help in getting her into the room with Esther alone. She mentions that he cares about killing Klaus more than anything and Stefan says she's not wrong, though he has a conflicted look in his expression.

Elena mentions her appreciation that he still at least lets her make her own decisions. Stefan helps Elena and later takes her home. They talk about Damon's self destructive behavior that night. Elena says she said something she didn't mean and Stefan admits that he did too. Stefan says goodbye and as he walks out Elena stops him and asks how he can't feel anything and tells him that feeling anything is better than acting like he doesn't care. Stefan reveals that he can't because he hates himself for what he did to her. He says "If I let myself care, all I feel is pain," and then leaves.

In All My Children, Stefan and Damon are given an ultimatum from Elijah that puts Elena in danger so they turn to Meredith and Alaric for help which ends up being a terrible choice.

In 1912, Finally, Elena comes across Stefan drinking human blood (coaxed by Damon) and horrified, quickly leaves. While discussing her feelings for the Salvatore brothers with Matt, Elena confesses that she fell in love with Stefan because she felt safe and knew that he would never stop loving her. Never die either like her parents did but she also admits that Damon got under her skin and she couldn't shake him off, no matter what she did.

In Break On Through, When Damon informs Elena of Stefan’s latest struggles, she reaches out to Stefan to help her save a friend in danger, in hopes that it will help bring Stefan even closer to his humanity.

In The Murder of One, Elena and Stefan confront each other and Elena admits to him that she never once stopped loving him, despite all the things he's done. Stefan says he knows that, and everything that happened is his fault. Stefan confesses that he loves her and always will but to also tell him the truth about her feelings for Damon. Elena tells him she doesn't know what she feels for him. Unsatisfied with her answer, Stefan quickly leaves.

In Heart of Darkness, Stefan is convinced that Elena has some feelings for Damon. He suggests to Elena that he go to Colorado with Damon to find Jeremy. During the episode, Rose tells Jeremy that Stefan's love for Elena is pure.

In Do Not Go Gentle, Caroline convinces Elena to ask Stefan to go to the decade dance with her. During the dance Elena and Stefan slow dance for a little while until Damon tells them that Alaric has been taken over by The Darkness and wants to kill him. After Alaric is turned into a vampire and refuses to complete the transition, Elena is distraught.

Elena starts to clean out Alaric's desk of all his vampire slayer weapons, but Stefan takes her to the gym hall. Elena tells Stefan how she doesn't have anybody anymore and he says, "You have me."

In Before Sunset, Stefan saves Elena from Klaus. Stefan makes a promise to Damon that if Elena chooses Damon then he will leave town.

In The Departed, Stefan comes back to Mystic Falls leaving Damon to drop Klaus' body somewhere after Elena has a minor concussion. Stefan says Elena should be able to make her own decisions after Matt questions Elena's decision to stay in Mystic Falls. Before Stefan leaves to take the stake from Alaric, he promises Elena to do everything he can to come back to her. After he makes the promise, he kisses Elena, and says, "In case there is no later." Matt then gets Elena in his car and are driving when they find out Klaus is dead.

Elena insists that they go back and Matt tells her that Damon isn't in Mystic Falls. When Elena calls Damon, she confesses that she loves Stefan. Elena has at that point in her life, chooses Stefan. Rebekah calls Stefan and tells him that she wants to kill Alaric and in order to do that she has to kill Elena. Rebekah stands in the middle of Wickery Bridge and Elena tells Matt to watch out. It is too late and Matt swerves off of the Wickery Bridge. Elena and Matt then are trapped in the car in the river beneath the Wickery Bridge and water starts to fill up the car. Elena starts to remember the first time Stefan saved her when she was with her parents. Then it flashes back to current day and Matt's car is completely immersed in water.

Stefan comes and tries to save Elena, but Elena tells Stefan to save Matt instead of her. Elena then drowns shortly after Stefan saves Matt. Damon then comes to the hospital and Meredith tells him that Elena came to the hospital she had a serious brain injury and that Meredith Fell gave her vampire blood to heal the wounds. However, the vampire blood was still in Elena's system when she died. Stefan is sitting next to Elena's dead body in tears when suddenly Elena awakens, taking her first breaths as a vampire in transition.

About Their Relationship
Since the beginning of the show, Stefan and Elena had this instant connection. After her parents' death, Elena felt completely lost and dead inside. This is until Stefan arrives and makes her feel glad to be alive. Elena and Stefan have constantly risked their lives for each other. Elena helped Stefan control his heavy blood addiction by giving him her blood a little each day in order for him to gain strength. In Season Two, they face a huge obstacle when Katherine comes back to town to win Stefan back. Despite this problem, the love between Stefan and Elena prevailed.

In Season Three, their love story takes a huge turn when Stefan leaves town with Klaus to save Damon from dying. Elena constantly searches for Stefan all summer and teams up with Damon and Alaric to bring him back. When Stefan comes back to town, Klaus immediately makes him turn his humanity off when he learns that Elena is still alive. Elena desperately does everything to get Stefan to turn his humanity back on and vows that she won't give up. During this process, Damon and Elena begin to grow close and Damon kisses her, which makes her question who she should be with. At the end of the season, Elena calls Damon and tells him that she's coming back for Stefan. Even though she had strong feelings for Damon, she was still deeply in love with Stefan. Elena claimed that no matter what happens he's "the best choice she's ever made."

Throughout Season Four, Elena struggles with her transition into a vampire. Stefan assures her that everything will be okay, but their relationship becomes strained. They eventually break up when Elena admits that being a vampire has heightened her feelings for Damon which she can no longer control. When it's discovered that Elena is sired to Damon, Stefan does everything to try to find a way to break the bond. Stefan, Elena, Damon, Alaric, Jeremy, Rebekah, Bonnie, Katherine, and Klaus race against each other to find the vampire cure. Stefan and Damon attempt to find the cure before the others in order to break Elena's sire bond. Shortly after the journey, Elena turns her humanity off in reaction to Jeremy's death. Stefan discovers that this also broke the sire bond. He does everything he can to turn her humanity back on. At the end of the season, Elena reveals that her feelings for Damon are real and she chooses to be with him, leaving Stefan heartbroken.

A lot of characters admired Elena and Stefan's romantic relationship including: Caroline, Christine Meade, Rebekah, Klaus, and Lexi. Caroline often mentioned throughout the show that Stefan is Elena's epic soulmate. After their break up, Caroline told Elena that breaking up with Stefan was a huge mistake. The powerful Original Hybrid Klaus admits that he has never seen a love as strong as Stefan and Elena's, emphasizing how influential their love story is. Even a vampire like Rebekah envied the love Stefan and Elena had for each other. When Elena chose to be with Damon at the end of Season four, Lexi assured Stefan that Elena was and always will be his epic love.

Significant Moments and Symbolism
Throughout the show, there have been a various amount of objects, heartfelt embraces, and emotional moments that have played an enormous role in the representation of Elena and Stefan's relationship. These symbols also continue to frequently reappear throughout the course of the show. Famous symbols and memorable moments of their relationship include:


 * The Graveyard Scene
 * In Pilot, Elena is sitting in the cemetery while writing in her diary. A crow then appears on her parents gravestone, and she tries to shoo it away. Fogs starts to surround her, and she sees a man standing behind a tombstone. Elena gets scared and trips and falls while running away, injuring herself. When she gets up, she encounters Stefan. He asks her if she's okay. Confused, Elena asks Stefan if he was following her the whole time. Stefan, taken off guard, tells Elena that he just saw her fall, and that he was visiting some family too. Elena is taken back and apologizes, saying that she was being tactless. Elena smiles and introduces herself, “I’m Elena”. Stefan smiles and introduces himself, “I’m Stefan”. Elena replies, “I know. We have History together”. This is a significant scene because it shows Stefan and Elena’s bond and connection with each other, even when they only just met.


 * Stefan and Elena's Love Scene
 * In The Turning Point, Stefan and Elena make love for the first time. It was also a pivotal moment in their relationship because Elena had finally confessed her love for Stefan. Stefan and Elena go to the Salvatore Boarding House, where Elena talks about Stefan's decision to leave town again. Stefan says that it might be hard for Elena to understand, but the reason he's leaving is for her. He gets out of the car, and Elena runs after him, and says that he doesn't get to make that decision for her, because she knows what she wants. Elena tells Stefan that she loves him. Stefan still has his back towards Elena. Elena waits for a moment, tears sparkling in her eyes. Stefan finally turns around with tears in his eyes, and quickly walks over to Elena and kisses her passionately. The two continue to kiss as they make their way into the Salvatore house. Suddenly, Stefan pulls away and turns around so Elena cannot see his vampire face. Elena tells Stefan to not hide from her and he turns to face her, revealing his vampire face. Elena touches the veins underneath his eyes, and kisses him. The two then make love.


 * Blood Sharing
 * Blood sharing is a very intimate moment for vampires. The first time that Stefan feeds from Elena is in Let The Right One In, after Elena rescues Stefan, he ends up getting seriously wounded when stabbed with a piece of branch. Although initially reluctant at hurting her, Stefan decides to listen to Elena and he bites her wrist, drinking her blood for the first time. The second time that Stefan feeds from Elena is in Kill or Be Killed. Stefan is sitting in the library at the Salvatore house, and Elena joins him. She asks him if he believes that he can control himself on human blood. Stefan says he's unsure, but if he doesn’t try to, then he’ll never know. Elena picks a needle off the table in her room and pricks her finger with it. Stefan seems confused, but Elena states, "it's you and me, Stefan. Always." Elena takes her finger, and drinks her blood, and his face starts to vamp out. Elena kisses him and his face becomes normal again. In Plan B, Elena saves Stefan from a vervain-filled well. She feeds him his blood, demonstrating another blood sharing moment. These scenes are significant because blood sharing is a very intimate moment for vampires and also indicated intimate moments for Stefan and Elena's relationship.


 * Ferris Wheel Scene
 * The Ferris wheel scene, which took place at the carnival in Brave New World, is a popular scene for Stelena and the fans of the relationship. Elena originally wanted to go on the Ferris wheel with Stefan and kiss him at the very top, but they were unable to do so due to supernatural events. At dawn time, Stefan comes by Elena's house and tells her to come with him. They go to the carnival together, and Elena warns Stefan that they could get caught. He tells her that he compelled the guard to go on a break so that they can kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel. Stefan tells Elena that they have to take these small moments to forget about their problems and spend time together. He reminds Elena that he came back to town to know her, and that despite facing Katherine, Damon, and other supernatural circumstances, they have to set aside time and live life. Elena holds Stefan tight as he uses his flying abilities to fly them to the very top of the Ferris wheel. They both sit down on a seat of the Ferris wheel. Elena laughs and smiles, and Stefan tells Elena that it's so nice to see her laugh. They stare into each other's eyes for a while, before leaning in to kiss.


 * Mouthing Silent “I Love You’s”
 * The first time this is seen is in Isobel, when Stefan goes to the Mystic Grill to support Elena's first meeting with her biological mother Isobel. Elena is sitting alone at a table while Stefan is standing at a pool table. Elena asks Stefan if he can hear her, and he nods. Elena thanks Stefan for coming with her and that she is nervous about meeting Isobel. Stefan smiles at her comfortingly, letting her know that he is there for her. Elena tells Stefan that she is happy that he's here, and says, "I love you" to Stefan. Stefan smiles and silently tells Elena while moving his lips “I love you”. The second time this is seen is in Daddy Issues. Stefan arrives at Caroline’s house to bring some “back up”, meaning Elena and Bonnie. Elena tells Caroline that they are going to sleep over and slumber it. Caroline hugs both Elena and Bonnie. The girls hug, and Elena looks onto Stefan. She silently mouths “I love you”, and he mouths “I love you” back.


 * Stefan Saving Elena in Car Accidents
 * The first time that Stefan had saved Elena from a car accident was at Wickery Bridge on the day that Elena's parents', Grayson and Miranda's car went off the bride on May 23, 2009. This also marked the day when Stefan and Elena first met, unofficially. Stefan had heard the accident and attempted to save Grayson, who was still conscious underwater. Grayson begged Stefan to save Elena over him. When he first saw her, he was both shocked and confused by the strong physical resemblance between Elena and his former lover, Katherine Pierce. Stefan saves Elena’s life, but sadly, was unable to save her parents in time, resulting in their deaths. It was saving her life that inspired Stefan to want to get to know Elena and who she is before leaving Mystic Falls again.
 * The second time that Stefan tries to save Elena from a car accident was in in The Departed. This accident mirrored the first accident that happened over a year ago with Elena, Grayson and Miranda. Elena chose to return home to Stefan, so Matt was driving over Wickery Bridge. Rebekah, in an attempt at defeating Alaric through Elena's death, runs the truck off the bridge. Stefan comes to the rescue once again to save both Elena and Matt. Stefan attempts to save Elena first, but Elena begs Stefan to save Matt first. Stefan, out of respect for Elena’s wishes, saves Matt before Elena. Unfortunately, Elena ends up drowning to death, with vampire blood in her system. Arguably, this is when things took a very tragic turn for Stefan and Elena’s relationship. The first time that Stefan had saved Elena was the beginning of their love story and the second time he saved her turned out to be the "bump in the road" of their love story.


 * Serendipitously Bumping Into Each Other Outside of Restrooms
 * The first time that Stefan and Elena officially encounter each other is outside the men’s restroom at Mystic Falls High School in Pilot. Elena goes into the men's restroom when she sees her brother, Jeremy taking drugs. She gives him a lecture, and leaves the restroom and unexpectedly bumps into Stefan. When Stefan and Elena first bump into each other, the two are instantly drawn to each other, showcasing the strong and profound connection between the two of them. Stefan asks Elena if this was the men’s room that she had just come out of. Elena stumbles and has a hard time explaining why she came out of the men’s room. Stefan and Elena end up doing a little “dance” with each other when Stefan and Elena try to get past each other. This occurs when Stefan goes left, Elena goes in the same direction as him and vice versa. This little dance between the two of them happens to be one of their signatures or trademarks when bumping into each other. The second time that Stefan and Elena bump into each other outside of a restroom is in Smells Like Teen Spirit. Stefan has his humanity off and is assigned by Klaus to look after and protect Elena. Elena comes out of the men’s room after having a discussion with Tyler and Caroline. Unlike the first time when they bumped into each other outside of the men's room, Stefan and Elena’s interactions were shown to be cold and distant in nature, due to a no humanity Stefan. The third time that Stefan and Elena bump into each other outside of the men's room is in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Elena tries to get an amnesia Stefan to remember his very first encounter with her. Like the first time, Stefan and Elena also engage in their signature “dance” with each other.


 * The Cell Scene
 * This moment happens in Growing Pains. Elena is struggling with her transition as a vampire. On top of this, Stefan, Elena and Rebekah are captured and imprisoned in different cells. Elena becomes so weak because she yet has to feed on human blood to complete her transition as a vampire. Stefan and Elena's cells are next to each other, but they are separated by a wall and cannot see each other. Stefan apologizes to Elena for not letting her feed earlier on human blood. She tells Stefan that he does not need to apologize because he had hope that they would find a way out this. Stefan tells Elena that he loves her so much, and tells him that the reason she was on the bridge in the first place was because she was coming back for him. Elena states that she had to choose between him and Damon, and she picked him because she loves him. Elena continues by telling Stefan that no matter what happens, it was the best choice she has ever made. She further states that it sucks that she cannot see him. Stefan is crying on the other side of the cell and tells Elena that he's smiling. Elena says that she's smiling too. In this scene, Rebekah is looking on, and suddenly has a change of heart after seeing Stefan and Elena declare their love for each other. She helps Stefan kill the guard to help save Elena's life. Some fans feel that this scene was the real, pure human Elena who chose Stefan before fully becoming a vampire.


 * Fighting/Resisting/Breaking Compulsion
 * Stefan and Elena are known to have either resisted or broken compulsion for each other. The first time that Stefan broke his compulsion for Elena is in The Reckoning. Stefan was compelled by the Original vampire, Klaus, to feed on Elena once the the timer on the gym clock went off. Stefan fears for Elena and tells her that he won't be able to stop his bloodlust because he is a ripper and rippers don’t know how to stop or control themselves around human blood. Elena tells Stefan that she doesn't believe that, and that he has the capability of fighting compulsion, that he just has to want it bad enough. She then tells Stefan that it is because he loves her that he will fight because after everything that they have been through, he owes her that. Stefan agrees, claiming that she was the reason why he didn't give up or turn it off, but also states that he can't help who he is. As time ticks down, Stefan tells Elena to run, but she tells him that he can find another way to fight compulsion. Suddenly, the buzzer makes a sound and Elena tells Stefan that she loves him and won't give up on him. Stefan yells at Elena to run and to go, and she runs through the school, while Stefan tries stop himself from running after Elena by holding onto everything that he can. However, Elena ends up running into Klaus, who brings her to the cafeteria where Stefan is. Klaus tells Stefan that he is fascinated; the only thing stronger than Stefan’s craving for human blood is his love for Elena. This shows that despite Klaus's powerful compulsion, Stefan was able to fight and resist his compulsion because of his strong love for Elena.


 * Memorable Dances
 * The first memorable dance between Stefan and Elena was in Dangerous Liaisons. Stefan had just turned on his humanity, and Esther had invited Elena to the ball so that she could meet and talk with her. Stefan and Elena share a dance after she danced with Damon. When Stefan catches Elena, fans can see the strong chemistry between the two. The song that was played during this dance is “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran. The lyrics of this song (i.e. “It’s been a while but I still feel the same”) highlights the fact that Stefan and Elena still have strong and undeniable feelings for each other, despite everything that they had gone through.
 * The second significant dance between Stefan and Elena was in Do Not Go Gentle. Elena asks Stefan to go to the 20s Decade Dance with her, at the request of Caroline. They dance for a while, and then slow dance together, but get interrupted by Alaric's situation. Later, Elena is upset because with Alaric gone, her and Jeremy don't have anyone to take care of them anymore, and they have just lost another friend. After insisting her to come with him, Elena takes his hand and follows him into the school gym. He tells Elena about how after he bit her, he never wanted to feel anything again. He then says that someone told him that it was okay to feel, and that emotions are what makes vampires human, good or bad, and to not lose hope. Elena smiles and asks him who gave him that horrible advice. Stefan smiles and says, "Just some girl I used to date" (quoting Elena from earlier in the episode). Elena starts sobbing and states that she doesn't have anyone anymore. Stefan touches her cheek, and states, You have me". Elena hugs him, crying on his shoulder. This scene is a popular scene between Stefan and Elena, since Stefan comforts Elena and gives her hope, just like she tried giving him hope throughout the season.
 * The third significant dance between Stefan and Elena is in Pictures of You, which happened to also be senior prom. Elena had her humanity off, and Stefan decided to dance with her to get her to feel something again. While dancing, Stefan asks Elena if she really feels nothing, and she assures him that she doesn't feel anything. He tells Elena that he doesn't believe her, and tries to get her to remember what it felt like when they used to dance together, when his hand would always touch her waist. Stefan rests his hand on her waist, but Elena’s expression doesn't change, and entwines his fingers with Elena's and reminds her about how their fingers used to touch while they danced. Elena’s facial expression starts to change as they continue to dance together. Stefan dips Elena and holds her there for a moment and asks her if her heart really refuses to remember what they shared. They pull back and she whispers to Stefan, “What heart?” The song being played while Stefan and Elena danced was “Stay” by Rihanna. The lyrics matched Stefan and Elena’s situation at the time: "Not really sure how I feel about it, something in the way you move. Makes me feel like I can’t live with you and it takes me all the way. I want you to stay." This is significant because fans can still see glimpses of Elena’s humanity seeping through, even though it was brief, meaning that she did feel something while she was dancing with Stefan, although she did not want to admit it.


 * Elena Takes Stefan Down Memory Lane
 * These series of events between Stefan and Elena happen in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Stefan lost his memories and began suffering amnesia after Qetsiyah conducts a spell on Stefan. Elena takes Stefan back to the high school to try to trigger his memories. She mirrors their official first meeting by coming out of the men's room and bumping into Stefan. They share a deep moment with each, before deciding to go to the woods. Stefan then questions if he was there both times on Wickery Bridge, why didn’t he save her both times. She tells Stefan that the second time, he chose to save her best friend, Matt, because she asked him to. Stefan says that he must have been an idiot, but Elena insists that Stefan was the perfect boyfriend because he always respected her choices and valued what she wanted even if it wasn’t what he agreed with. They walk towards the bridge, and Stefan tells Elena that being around her ceases his urges to feed on blood and that he is not as hungry around her. He further states that whatever monster he was capable of being, he could understand why he was different around her. Elena tells Stefan that he was a never a monster, and that he never scared her. She tells him that the first time she saw who he really was, she touched his face and told him not to hide from her. Elena gently touches both sides of his face. She starts to remove her hands from his face, but Stefan stops her by grabbing her wrist. He gently places her hand back on his face, and looks deeply into her eyes. They slowly lean in to kiss... but Elena stops herself, by saying that she's with Damon. Stefan looks a little confused and saddened by Elena’s confession, and becomes upset because he felt that he should have been told that Elena was dating his brother. Elena apologizes, and Stefan tells her that his hunger has returned. The trip down memory lane may have not brought back Stefan’s memories, but it's quite clear that Stefan still has strong feelings for Elena, despite his memory loss.


 * Elena's Vervain Necklace
 * Stefan gave Elena this necklace in Friday Night Bites. He gave her this necklace to prevent him from getting the urge to ever compel her, and to protect her from the charming, Damon. During the first three seasons, this necklace has symbolized the strength of their love. When Stefan went missing during Season Three, the necklace gave Elena hope that she will one day be united with Stefan again. In Ghost World, Bonnie and her Grams had done spell to try to burn the necklace but it turns out that the necklace was indestructible, implying that Stefan and Elena's love and bond was unbreakable.


 * The Comet
 * The comet seems to be a significant symbol for Stefan and Elena's relationship, as it was during the night of the comet's arrival that the two had shared their first kiss together and confessed how they felt about each other. The arrival of this comet officially started their epic romance. In the The Night of the Comet, Stefan and Elena met up at the candlelight celebration. Together, they stargazed and viewed the comet together, and Stefan opens up a bit about his past with Damon. Stefan tells Elena that the comet has been traveling across space for thousands of years. Elena comments that Bonnie told her that the comet was a harbinger of evil. Stefan tells her that the comet is just a ball of snow and ice, trapped on a path that it cannot escape, and once every 145 years, it gets to come home. Going by that interpretation, many people see Stefan as the comet, since he recently came back to Mystic Falls after being away for many years. Stefan could also be referring to the fact that he had returned home to be with Elena, referencing her as "his home". At the end of the episode, Elena goes to the Salvatore mansion to see Stefan. Elena tells Stefan that she wants to view the comet with him outside. It is then when they confess their feelings for each other and when they kiss for the very first time, sparking the beginning of their epic romance and embarking on a romantic journey together.


 * Forehead Kisses
 * Soft moments like forehead kisses have played a big part in Elena and Stefan's relationship. These delicate gestures are what keeps their relationship so heartwarming. These small moments help to eliminate the heavy tensions portrayed in certain scenes.In The Turning Point, Elena is lying with Stefan in bed, and starts to talk to him about his previous memories. Stefan softens the scene by kissing Elena on the forehead as they continue their conversation. In Children of the Damned, Stefan feels that Damon's behavior is his fault. Elena assures Stefan that everything that happened between him and Damon in 1864 wasn't his fault. Stefan then tells Elena that he'll get her an aspirin for her headache and kisses her on the forehead before leaving. In The House Guest, Elena is struggling with the Katherine-Klaus situation. Stefan tells Elena he can come over later, but she says that her, Caroline, and Bonnie are having a "girl's night out". Joking, Elena states that Katherine can join them and Stefan laughs and lightly kisses her forehead as they head to school. When Elena attacks Meredith, after learning of Jeremy's death in Stand By Me, Stefan softly kisses her on the head as he attempts to comfort her.


 * Rings
 * Elena and Stefan have this special thing with rings. Their first notable ring scene was introduced in Blood Brothers, when Elena puts Stefan's daylight ring in his hand and encourages him to fight his blood lust. After Elena's transition into a vampire, Stefan shows Elena the daylight ring that Bonnie made her. He slides it onto her ring finger. Elena tells him that she'll be with him forever and that they're going to get through everything. This shows how much faith she had in their relationship. They kiss and snuggle together on top of the roof, looking into the sky. In Original Sin, Elena and Damon find Stefan, and they lay him on the couch at the Salvatore Boarding house. Elena sits next to him and holds his hand while sliding his daylight ring onto his finger. In Resident Evil, during Elena and Stefan's hallucinations, Elena sees a vision of her human-self coming into her kitchen and opening a drawer. Inside the drawer is a ring box, and Elena automatically says "Yes." She holds onto the ring box while passionately kissing Stefan in the kitchen. In Black Hole Sun, Elena gives Stefan her daylight ring. Stefan kneels down and "proposes" to Elena with her daylight ring. After Elena says "Yes", he slides the ring onto her finger and they hug.


 * Stelena Hugs
 * Throughout the show, Elena and Stefan have meaningful and powerful hugs that makes their relationship epic. Whether in a romantic relationship or not, they always find comfort in each other's embrace when it comes to reuniting again or from saving each other from danger. Some of their most memorable hugs include:
 * Their hug in Bloodlines, when Stefan tells Elena that she's the woman he loves, establishing their relationship.
 * Their hug in Unpleasantville, when Elena runs into Stefan's arm after being attacked by Noah.
 * Their hug in Children of the Damned, when Elena was almost killed by Damon.
 * Their hug in Under Control, when Elena tells Stefan that she loves him and isn't afraid of him.
 * Their reunion-hug in By the Light of the Moon, when Stefan reunites with Elena, after being trapped in a tomb with Katherine.
 * Their hug in Isobel, when Stefan comforts Elena after a conversation with Isobel.
 * Their reunion-hug in By the Light of the Moon, when Stefan reunites with Elena, after being trapped in a tomb with Katherine.
 * Their hug in Rose, when Elena embraces Stefan after being captured by Elijah.
 * Their hug in Daddy Issues, when Stefan comforts Elena after a conversation with John Gilbert.
 * Their hug in Crying Wolf, when Stefan whispers to Elena that he loves her.
 * Their hug in As I Lay Dying, when Elena comforts Stefan about Damon's condition.
 * Their hug in Do Not Go Gentle, after Elena informs Stefan that she has no one, to which Stefan replies, "you have me".
 * Their hug in Growing Pains, when Elena is dealing with her struggling transition.
 * Their hug in Memorial, when Elena tries to fight her bloodthirst.
 * Their hug in Handle with Care, when Elena discovers that Stefan's memories have returned.


 * The Diaries
 * Stefan: "I wouldn't want anyone to read mine."
 * Elena: "You keep a journal?"
 * Stefan: "Yeah if I don't write it down, I forget it. Memories are too important."
 * --Pilot


 * The Diaries' represents the similarity between Elena and Stefan and eventually plays an important role in their relationship. When Elena discovers that Stefan keeps a diary, she becomes amazed by the writing hobby they share. This also helps Elena to become more drawn to Stefan. After reading Stefan's diary, Elena becomes more aware of his past life, establishing a strong understanding between her and Stefan. In Season 3, Elena is able to use Stefan's diary to help her find a way to get Stefan's humanity back. Throughout the show, Elena and Stefan both write about their true feelings and the situations they are dealing with in their diaries. In the books, the Diaries' are also an important part of their relationship.

Dating Timeline
First Relationship: Second Relationship: Third Relationship: Fourth Relationship:
 * Start Up: The Night of the Comet (1x02)
 * Break Up: Lost Girls (1x06)
 * Reason: Elena finds out that Stefan is a vampire.
 * Start Up: The Turning Point (1x10)
 * Break Up: Plan B (2x06)
 * Reason: Katherine wanted Elena and Stefan to break up and to prove it she attacks Jenna. So for the sake of anyone she loves getting be killed, Elena does what Katherine wants, and tearfully breaks up with Stefan, despite how much she doesn't want to.
 * Start Up: Rose-Marie (2x08)
 * Break Up: The End of the Affair (3x03)
 * Reason: Elena and Damon go in Chicago to save Stefan. But by the time she was there to save Stefan, Stefan rejects Elena and said that he doesn't want be saved; he lies and says he doesn't want her anymore.
 * Start Up: Growing Pains (4x01)
 * Break Up: We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes (4x06)
 * Reason: Elena admitted to Stefan that since she became a vampire, her feelings for Damon had intensified and that she wasn't the same girl that chose him on the Wickery Bridge. Stefan consequently broke up with Elena.

Trivia

 * In the novels, Stefan and Elena are soulmates.
 * Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley, the actors who play Elena Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore respectively, are very close friends in real life.
 * Stefan and Elena were both born in Mystic Falls, Virginia.
 * Stefan is a Scorpio (November 1) and Elena is a Cancer (June 22), meaning that astrologically, they are very compatible.
 * Stefan and Elena both keep a diary.
 * In the novels, when Stefan realizes how Elena looks exactly like Katherine, he tries to avoid her, but in the series, Stefan wants to know Elena and be with her.
 * In What Lies Beneath, Caroline mentions Elena and Stefan's ship name, "Stelena", which marks the first time a ship name has been mentioned by a character in the series.
 * Stefan and Elena both have a passion for writing and for literature.
 * Stefan and Elena both want(ed) to be doctors career wise.
 * They have both lost a parent(s).
 * Stefan and Elena have both been abandoned by their mothers.
 * Stefan and Elena both have brown hair, but in the novels Stefan has jet black hair and Elena has light blonde hair.
 * Stefan was the first to tell the difference between Elena and Katherine.
 * He was also the first to discover that Katherine had inhabited Elena's body.
 * Both the novel version and the television series version of Stefan wants to protect Elena from the charming Damon Salvatore.
 * Both Stefan and Elena were turned by the blood of a love interest.
 * Stefan by Katherine's blood.
 * Elena by Damon's blood.
 * Stefan and Elena were both turned into vampires against their will.
 * Stefan was compelled to drink Katherine's blood.
 * Elena was administered Damon's blood by Dr. Meredith Fell in the hospital in attempts to heal a cerebral hemorrhage.
 * Stefan and Elena have both had their humanity shut off against their will.
 * Stefan by Klaus Mikaelson.
 * Elena by Damon Salvatore.
 * Both Stefan and Elena felt feelings of revenge after they turned their humanity back on.
 * Stefan wanted to get revenge against Klaus.
 * Elena wanted to get revenge against Katherine.
 * Both Stefan and Elena had a hard time adjusting to vampirism.
 * Both Stefan and Elena desire a regular human life and to "be normal".
 * Both Stefan and Elena hate being vampires.
 * Stefan and Elena both had their first taste of human blood in a very similar manner while they were completing their transitions, with both of them tasting human blood for the first time with their finger tips.
 * Stefan and Elena both wear their daylight rings on their right hand.
 * Stefan has always respected Elena's decisions.
 * Stefan has never compelled Elena.
 * Both their birthday's have been celebrated.
 * Many characters on the show have been open in their support of Stelena. Such characters include Klaus, Caroline, Christine, Lexi, Jeremy, Rebekah and Matt.
 * Elena chose Stefan over Damon as a human and told Stefan that "No matter what happens, it's the best choice I've ever made." However, they break up after her transition into a vampire.
 * Bob Levy was shocked by how much chemistry Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev have.
 * In Resident Evil, Stefan and Elena admitted that they'll always love each other.
 * About Nina Dobrev's departure from The Vampire Diaries, Hollywood Life claims that it's "unbearable to think about a world where Elena and Stefan no longer exist together."