moved to desecratedvalor

Until now it hadn’t really dawned on him that he needed to think this through. That it didn’t just require showing up with a pretty girl and getting his family off his back for a little while. They were going to ask questions. They were going to need a story of how they got together. Most of them already knew Caroline. They were going to want to hear their entire romantic tale. Slowly his mouth begins to gape open and he meets her gaze, barely able to utter more than a soft umm before she’s already off the subject. Guess they’d talk about it later. “R-right. I’ll uh, I’ll pick you up at six.” And then he’s struggling to find his footing, giving her one more final wave before he’s walking back to his car in a nervous daze. He was so screwed.  

Six. He’s going to pick her up at six. She tries not to think about how little time that leaves for her to get ready. Instead, she’s mentally finalizing her outfit, planning out her makeup look, and not thinking about pretending to be Stefan’s date. She doesn’t want to think about the lies she’ll have to tell or how she’ll have to act around him. This is a bad idea, she thinks as she heads home. They’re friends. They’re better as friends. She doesn’t want things to be awkward. She should have said no. Should have, but couldn’t. He’s too cute to deny.

She settles on a simple black dress (it’s the cleanest and easiest one to wear) and pins a few pieces of her hair out of her face. Choosing her makeup was a little harder. With the simpleness of the dress and hairstyle, she decides to go fancy on the makeup (without looking too done up).  When she’s done, Caroline looks over at the time. It was nearly six and she doesn’t feel ready. She throws her lipstick, cell phone, and bank card in a clutch that matches her dress.

His head hangs a bit low when she refuses his help. Not that he’s surprised. Caroline has always prided herself on being self sufficient. And while they were friends, he always wondered if she thought of herself as more of a patron at his diner than an actual friend. They saw each other at town meetings and on occasion would share a conversation when they’d bump into each other. And he of course did a few little things here and there around the Inn when money was tight. But friends…good friends? Stefan wasn’t so sure. “Of course. I mean, you know I’d do anything for that kid.” He replies, giving her a soft smile as he slowly pulls himself back up and sets the coffee pot back on the burner. “Just let me know if you need anything else for the party. Seriously. Anything at all.”

He grinned against her skin as she said the words back to him and he felt her smile. He sucked gently at her neck, dark eyes looking up toward her expression as she spoke again. “Mm.. yeah. Yeah, always,” he spoke, hands moving over her sides to her thighs.

You was what was running through his mind, to close the door and taste her lips, her body, but he did not want to scare her away, something felt different about her, it was not like the other women that had passed through his life, his tongue is darting over his lower lips, thoughts pushed to the corner of his mind as he is nodding his head at her thank you, offering a warm smile, her lips so close to his ear, sending goosebumps to his body, “ I have an idea, we will go up to the rooftop, you can see the entire city from there, just get a jacket on you”.

Caroline swallows thickly, biting the inside of her cheek. “Jude,” she whispers. She’s not sure how to respond. Of course, she loves him. That has never and will never change. She slowly sucks in a breath, rolling her shoulders back. “Why did you think that I was leaving you two forever? I can understand Emma’s reaction. But you? I thought for sure you would have at least asked me why. I thought we would have talked and then sought Emma out to tell her together.” 

She knows it’s unfair to ask, but it’s been bothering her since that night. She’s tried to move on from it but she keeps circling to that one point. Out of the three of them, Jude is the fighter. He’s the more reasonable one. He had begged her to stay and she did. Why had he thought that she changed her mind?

Caroline’s hands reached up and cupped his cheeks. “I know, Cameron. I know.” Her thumbs brush along his cheekbones and she leans her forehead against his cheek. She knows that she’s being difficult and that he’s trying to keep her safe. And she knows this can’t be easy for him. She presses her lips together, sighing through her nose and taking a step back. Her hands fall away from his cheeks. She’s terrified that this might drive a wedge between them.

“I…I have to do this. He’s my dad and…and it’s my fight. I can’t ask someone else to fight my battles for me.”

Nothing like a hunt gone wrong to throw a wrench in things. 

Caroline presses her hands to the wound on her stomach, leaning into Emma with a shake of her head. “I’m fine,” she murmurs. She ignores the pain and the severity of the injury. She doesn’t want to worry Emma. She just needs to be stitched up, at least that’s what she tells herself. She needs to rest and staunch the bleeding. Her head is starting to spin. Her fingers tremble against her stomach.

“Really, Em, I’m okay.”

Tyler’s tongue pushed past her lips to massage against his, arms moving to slide around her waist, pulling her body more firmly against his. “I love you,” he murmured against her lips before breaking their kiss, his lips beginning to trail along her jaw and neck.

The brunette pouts up at her girlfriend as she hovers over her. She refuses to give in and let the other woman win. “This isn’t going to work–” She chides. “You’re still in trouble.” She goes on even as the hand travels up her body. It isn’t until she digs into Caroline’s mind that she begins to falter. “I–” She pauses, pursing her lips as if to hold onto one final shred of reservation. In the time she formulates a proper response her eyes stay trained on the lips of the woman on top of her. Her own mind fills with images of such promised things. “Maybe I’m not completely opposed to the idea…”

She says those three little words to him and his chest tightens. And he knows that she’s hurt by his reaction. He can practically feel the guilt rolling off of her as she begins to clean up and he wants nothing more than to go to her. To pull her into his chest and kiss every worry and doubt she has away. He wants to. But he can’t. Because as much as he still loves her, he’s hurt. And a part of him wonders if they’ll ever be able to move past this. “I’ll call you.” Stefan reiterates, wanting her her to know that it’s the truth. Needs her to know. And when he turns to go, his hand settles on the door handle as he falls still. And with one final sentence he’s gone. “I love you too.” 

The babysitter is surprised to see him home so early but she didn’t have to be told twice. She grabbed her stuff and the wad of cash from him with a happy smile as she bounded out of the front door. Looked like someone’s Friday night was looking up. The girls were watching the movie in the living room, Stella tucked into the side of Ava, already passed out cold as Moana played across the room. Their favorite. His oldest lifted her head to offer in a sleepy smile and without hesitation he sinks down to the cushions beside them, his arms draping over the back of the couch. 

The entire drive over he’d been convinced that it would feel different now that he knew. That somehow he’d forget his new life. The one that Caroline had given him. That Jodi and his girls would feel out of place. But one look at his girls and he knew it wasn’t the case. They were his. The best thing he’d ever done. “Where’s Caroline?” Ava finally whispers as Stella stirs with a yawn, rolling over so that she’s now tucked against Stefan’s side. He offers up a sad smile and reaches forward, brushing Ava’s hair back from her face before he answers. “She just had to take care of a few family things. We’ll see her soon.”

It’s days before he finally musters up the courage to talk to Caroline. And he can’t even bring himself to call her. Instead he shoots her a text, his fingers nervously clutching at his phone as he waits for her to respond. 

[ text: caroline ] hey. can we meet? 

His ‘I love you too’ breaks her. She sits on the couch and sobs, curling up into the cushions that they had been cuddling on only minutes before. It takes her several hours to calm down. Her Stefan was back. But was he even hers anymore? Could they repair their relationship? Did he want to? The uncertainty is disheartening. She wants to talk to him, wants to figure out what happens next. She doesn’t sleep that night, keeping her phone clutched to her chest. She doesn’t want to miss his phone call. 

Unfortunately, it’s days before she hears from him. She stares down at his text message and it does nothing to soothe her nerves. This isn’t the phone call she was expecting and she’s not sure what she should read into it. Maybe he can’t talk on the phone. He does, after all, have two beautiful girls. Yeah, she’s sure that’s it. He can’t talk because of the girls. 

[ sms: stefan ] sure. just name the time and place.

She dresses, making sure that she looks perfect before she reaches for her purse. She can hop into her car and just drive around until he messages her back. That’s her plan, of course, until she gets a phone call from Damon. She’d been dodging him for days and she knows if she ignores his call this time, he’ll probably show up.