Stefan is not dealing with the loss of his brother quite as well as everyone might think. To cheer him up Alaric and Enzo take him out on Halloween with Jeremy being dragged along for a little game of "What would Damon do?" Minor hijinks ensue. Slight AU. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries TV show. That honor goes to Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson.

Hello, my lovely readers. I love Defan brotherly love (platonic love) and friendship. This story is slightly ahead of events on the show because Enzo will probably spend his holiday locked up by Tripp and we know how Stefan feels about Enzo let alone what Alaric would think of him. But they're all buddies here. On with the show…

Haunted:

"Hey, so I just got off the phone with Ivy and she says the girls are going out tonight," Stefan called as he walked into the empty Great Room of his new home just outside of Mystic Falls. Looking around him, he shook his head. "Very funny, guys," he yelled as he turned in circles. Rolling his eyes, he walked to the edge of the room and then saw something flash in the corner of his eye. Whirling on his heel, Stefan's brow furrowed. "Hello?" he called. No one answered him. "Come on. I thought that we were going to act like adults for once," Stefan shouted, rolling his eyes when he turned to find Damon standing behind him.

"Boo," Damon said quietly and Stefan laughed.

"Very funny, Damon. Where were you?" Stefan asked, grinning like an idiot at his older brother for some reason.

"Getting this," Damon replied, producing a bowl of Halloween candy.

Stefan sighed, "Why?"

Damon rolled his own eyes. "'Cause there might be trick-or-treaters and I don't want the poor little babies to go home crying to their mommies that they didn't get any candy from the scary man in the spooky house. Here you go," shoving the bowl into Stefan's gut, Damon moved toward the table where their decanter was.

"You want me to hand out the candy?" Stefan asked and Damon nodded.

"Uh huh," Damon said and his eyes glowed with mischief when the doorbell rang. "Right on time," he exclaimed, swirling his drink.

Stefan had a bad feeling that there was more to this handing out treats to kids when he walked with heavy feet to the front door. Opening it he found a British solider, who saluted him before taking a fist full of candy in his hand. "For me? I'm honored. Is Ric here yet?" Enzo asked as he headed toward the Great Room.

"No," Stefan replied. "He's getting the drinks that he figured that you would forget to bring," Stefan replied as he looked out into the night.

"Aw, man. We can't party without Ric," Damon said with a mock pout as he wrapped an arm around Stefan's shoulders.

"I know," Stefan replied and Enzo looked up from where he was leaning against the wall and unwrapping a mini Twix bar

"What was that, mate?" Enzo asked, giving Stefan a curious look as Damon turned to smirk at Enzo while Stefan sighed.

"Nothing," Stefan called as the doorbell rang again and he opened it to greet Alaric.

"Hey," Ric said while holding up a bag with their drinks in it.

"Sod that," Enzo muttered as he licked chocolate off his fingers. "We're going out."

"One problem," Alaric remarked and then he pulled Jeremy out from behind him. "I'm on babysitting duty."

"Then bring the lad with us," Enzo called as he headed toward the door. "We'll just pretend he's not there as usual."

"You tried to kill me," Jeremy snapped at Enzo with a glare.

"Yes, and I'm truly sorry. Can't you tell?" Enzo inquired. "Have some candy." Taking a fist full from the bowl, he shoved the candy into Jeremy's chest. "And, Little Gilbert, if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be here to tell the tale. Off we go."

"Seriously hate that guy," Jeremy grumbled.

"Love him," Damon said with a grin as Stefan rolled his eyes but smiled in spite himself as they headed out and into the night.

"Enzo, you're not driving," Alaric yelled as Enzo tried to get in the front of Damon's car.

"Why the bloody hell not?" Enzo yelled back. "He would want me to have this. It has his legacy of success with the ladies and I want his luck to rub off on me."

"You'll be lucky if VD doesn't rub off on you," Jeremy snapped and Enzo laughed.

"Remind me why I tried to kill you again? You're not nearly as boring as Damon told me you were," Enzo called to Jeremy as he hopped into the back seat of Damon's car as Stefan slid into the driver's seat with Ric in shot gun and Jeremy was forced to ride in the back with Enzo. Damon leapt over Enzo and sat in between him and Jeremy.

"'Cause you're a dick like Damon is… was," Jeremy said.

"Hey, sitting right here," Damon called but no one looked at him or spoke. Stefan frowned but didn't point out that Damon was there.

"Damon was a dick," Alaric said with a laugh. "But you know what, he was our dick."

"That doesn't sound right," Stefan retorted with a laugh. "Where are we going again?"

"To a bar," Enzo called. "That's where Damon would go."

"Yes, and we should always do what Damon would do," Jeremy huffed sarcastically.

"Yes, that is what we should do," Alaric pointed out with a wide grin. "We should make this a Halloween where we do whatever we think that Damon Salvatore would do."

"Can't. Not a vampire," Jeremy argued with a frown.

"So?" Enzo shook his head. "Don't have to be. There are other things that you can do that will make you very Damon like."

"Like drinking, picking up women and being a dick," Jeremy listed and then smiled. "That sounds easy."

"You mean because you've already been doing that for months now?" Alaric asked with a smile as he turned to look at Jeremy who rolled his eyes.

"We'll need to fix your hair and get you a leather jacket," Enzo told Jeremy. "Stefan, I know you have a bottle of hair product on you. Hand it over."

"Contrary to the rumor that Damon started, I do not carry hair care products on me," Stefan informed the group.

Alaric looked at the others. "What would Damon do?" he inquired and then Stefan had three sets of male hands reaching toward him, trying to find the objects he claimed to not have. Soon Alaric had produced a comb. Enzo had a bottle of mousse from his jacket pocket and Jeremy had a mirror from his back pocket.

"Happy now?" Stefan yelled, feeling extremely violated and looking at Damon. 'This is all your fault,' he informed his brother who grinned back at him with his fingers laced behind his head.

"And?" Damon replied out loud. "It's not my fault that some of the rumors that I spread about you are true."

"Whatever," Stefan grumbled as he pulled into one of the bars around Whitmore's campus' parking lot. Getting out, he walked behind the group, falling into step beside Damon.

"After you, little brother," Damon murmured and Stefan walked inside. Following the others to the bar, he looked around.

"What would Damon do?" Enzo called out and Jeremy grinned.

"Dance on the bar top," Stefan said.

"You say it, you do it," Alaric informed Stefan who shook his head. He supposed he should have seen that one coming as he stepped on the bar top and began to dance. Matt who had come in looking for who knew what was staring up at Stefan as Enzo got on the bar top with a couple of women and Stefan had to admit that being Damon wasn't so bad after all.

"What would Damon do?" Jeremy called and Enzo smirked.

"Take a hit from a lovely stranger," Enzo muttered as he helped a young woman off the bar top and snuck off to the bathrooms.

"Don't kill her," Alaric whispered.

"What… oh, screw it. Everyone take a shot," Jeremy proclaimed before grabbing Alaric's drink and knocking it back.

"Play pool," Stefan called out, moving toward the table.

"Call Liz," Damon pointed out while Stefan was bent over the table with his cue placed against the eight ball. "Tell her Happy Halloween for me."

Stefan pulled out his phone and waited for Liz to pick up, but Caroline's voice informed him that no one was home. Calling the police station, Stefan was informed that Liz was out in the field, but he could leave a message. Telling them that he would wait until he could speak to the sheriff, Stefan hung up. "Scare the hell out of someone," Stefan said and then he saw Matt walking toward the front door.

Part of Stefan felt guilty as he walked out into the parking lot. Following closely behind Matt, he came to stand right behind the former quarterback. When Matt turned to look at Stefan all the human found was air. Leaping on top of the truck, Stefan knelt down and snarled at Matt who jumped backwards. "What the hell, man?" Matt exclaimed. Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head. "Why did you do that?"

"'Cause it's fun," Enzo whispered as Matt turned to look at him and moved back against his truck.

"Enzo, I helped you out of Tripp's prison. The least you could do is not terrorize me," Matt groaned.

"You're right," Alaric said. "I am so sick of all these vampires. It's time to take them out, one at a time." Biting Enzo's neck, Alaric began to drink the other vampire's blood and Matt looked confused.

"Ric, are you okay?" Matt questioned Alaric as Enzo struggled.

"Yeah, I'm great. Never better. I was talking to this doctor that works for Whitmore who gave me this amazing stuff that makes me want to feed on idiots like this," Alaric said, shaking Enzo like he was a rag doll.

Stefan felt his lips tugging upward. Okay, maybe he was letting the Ripper have a bit of fun, but he couldn't be in control all the time, right? "Stefan, what's going on?" Matt yelled as he turned to look up at Stefan. Then someone jumped inside his truck. Jeremy pressed his face to the window and screamed with a huge grin, a pair of fangs on display.

Matt ran away screaming as Stefan hopped off the truck. Jeremy got out of the truck and pulled out the fangs while Enzo rubbed his sore neck. "You didn't have to bite me so hard," Enzo groaned.

"Yeah, and you don't have to eat so much garlic. It gives me indigestion," Alaric said, burping.

Stefan smiled. "I have to go talk to someone. You guys have fun playing your little game," he called.

"But you've got the car," Enzo protested as Stefan whistled on his way to the car.

Getting inside, he drove to the border between Mystic Falls and the next town. Lying on the hood of the car, Stefan stared up at the sky while Damon lay quietly by his side. "Are you really giving up on finding me, little brother?" Damon inquired and Stefan looked at him. "Because I'm alive. You and I both know that I'm still alive."

"I know, Damon. And I tried everything. No one had an answer," Stefan replied, feeling his heart contract painfully in his chest.

"I know you did. And I'm trying to make my way back to you and Lena. Hey, there's Liz," Damon said, sitting up as Liz arrived in her Sheriff's vehicle.

"Stefan, I was told you wanted to talk to me," Liz called with a look of worry. "Is something wrong? Is Caroline alright?"

Stefan shrugged as he slid off the car top. "I think she'll be better when she finds a way home to you," he told her. "And as far as I know she's out with Elena, Ivy and Liv. They've got some kind of girls' night out thing going and I asked Caroline to help Ivy control her new vampirism. I figured it would take her mind off her problems for a minute or two."

"Thanks for that. And how are you doing?" Liz asked and Stefan smiled wistfully.

"I'm okay. Been better. But I'm coping," Stefan told Liz with a nod.

"I miss him," Liz said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Yeah, I miss him, too. But I bet if he were here he would tell you to have a Happy Halloween," Stefan said with a smile.

"I would say the same," Liz said with a light laugh.

1994:

Damon was standing on the border of Mystic Falls and the town that the maniac, Marcos had placed as the limit to his home. For a moment he could swear that he saw Stefan and Liz talking about Halloween as he stood beside his brother. "Happy Halloween, Stefan," Damon said quietly, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder as Stefan turned to smile back at him. For the briefest of moments Damon felt like dancing with joy and then they were gone. But one thing was certain, he was going home somehow so that he could say Merry freakin' Christmas to his baby bro, his best friends and his girl. Of that he was certain.

2014:

Of one thing Stefan was certain as he looked into his brother's eyes. It was that by Christmas Damon would be home. That was the one present that he was determined to give himself and Elena this year. And God help anyone or anything that stood in his way. He was finally ready to fight. Yes, it was a happy Halloween for Stefan Salvatore after all.