Why Stelena Might Yet Live

Are you sick of talking about which lucky lady will get to call Stefan Salvatore her own in TVD Season 6? Ha, of course you're not. Ever since Stefan and Elena broke up way back when, no one's stopped thinking about whether or not The Vampire Diaries will bring them back together before it takes its final bow. And for the past season fans have been really pushing for Steroline to get together (even though it most likely won't be happening in Season 6). So, with Damon's death in the Season 5 finale and Stefan telling Elena to "move on" in the Season 6 promo, does that mean that Stelena might reunite again after all? It's possible — no offense to Bustle's own Kelly Schremph, who's argued that Stelena is actual kaput.

Vampire Diaries exec Caroline Dries recently revealed a massive spoiler to TVLine that officially squashed the idea that Steroline will happen in Season 6. Dries told the site that Stefan "doesn't have the emotional energy for a relationship" when TVD picks back up on Oct. 2, crushing the hopes of Steroline 'shippers everywhere. Because, let's face it, we all know that Caroline demands a certain level of emotional devotion and connection that's slightly higher than most and that Stefan definitely can't handle while he's mourning Damon's death. I know that Dries didn't say that the couple could never happen explicitly, but they definitely won't be going anywhere until this mess with Damon and Bonnie is sorted out. It's only fair to Stefan and Caroline that TVD doesn't go there right now.

So, it might actually be time for TVD fans to consider the possibility that Delena might be officially over and Stelena is back on the fire. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss, Steroline fans. But it's definitely possible that while Stefan and Elena are both battling their guilt and grief over Damon's death, they'll be driven closer together than ever. The pair did initially bond after while Elena was still grieving her parents, after all. I know what you might be thinking — how could Elena and Stefan do this to Damon? Didn't Elena learn anything from her first Salvatore brothers swap? How could Stefan do this to his brother who died to save him? All good questions, people, and all questions that I've asked myself while writing this post and considering the possibility of Stelena's return.

Looking back at past hook-ups and some relationships on TVD, when this series' characters are actively avoiding getting involved with someone, they end up getting together. Look at Caroline and Klaus — they might be the perfect example of this particular phenomenon. Caroline obviously didn't want a relationship with Klaus — she fought it for dear life — because he was making Tyler's life miserable, but they ended up getting together anyway in the end. Even looking back at the start of Delena, the pair fought their feelings for one another so hard to protect Stefan from getting hurt, but they ultimately gave in anyway.

Yes, Stefan and Elena's situation and the scope of their guilt is a lot different now going into Season 6. Stefan wasn't dead nor did he sacrifice himself to save Damon when Delena was forming right under his nose. But both of those things are true of Damon now and they're both weighing heavily on Stefan and Elena's decisions and behavior — I mean, look at the promo, they are both HOT messes. Also in the promo is Stefan doling out some tough love to the dramatic Elena we know and love and telling her to "move on" and get her shit together. So it's clear that Stefan isn't trying to coddle her or get emotionally involved on any level with Elena's grief.

And that, TVD fans, is where he's making a big mistake. When Stefan finally stops closing himself off to Elena and Elena finally stops pretending like she's the only sad girl in the world, they're going be hit with an emotional flood that's going to drag them right back to being Stelena. The Stelena that we know and love except better because they've both been around the emotional merry-go-round a time or two. Get ready, TVD fans, because Season 6 is going to be a hell of a lot different than we might have expected.

Image: Michael Narducci, Annette Brown/The CW