#carza

The gym suddenly felt claustrophobic. He could still feel Caroline’s hand in his and the weight of it surprised him. She looked perfectly at home in the spotlight, surrounded by her friends as she drank the punch that had obviously been spiked. Ezra felt as though the walls were closing in upon him. He had to get out, to get away from the blonde who was causing his distress. He wanted nothing more than to just pull her away with him so he could touch her and love her. Never before had he felt this way about anyone. It scared him.

The air outside felt cool on his face. A few stragglers from the dance walked around, but left him alone. They didn’t know him or care about the stress that was evident on his face. Ezra had thought he could handle it. He thought they could be friends or even family, but he couldn’t do that anymore when he felt like this every time he was around her. It was enough to drive anyone crazy with lust and want; more than enough to drive the normally moral and righteous vampire to smoke.

Of course, he had known all along that coming back to Mystic Falls was a mistake. This was where his life had ended. One would think he knew better than to give into pleading to return home. He did know better than it, but still, he gave in to Savannah’s pleading that they could come back and live a happy life. Once, they had lived here. Too long ago to really matter to anyone now. And he, at least, had been happy then. He had belonged there and he knew what to expect out of life. He would have married Mary Fell and they would have had children. He would have been sheriff after his father and carried on the Forbes line. A seat on the Council would have been his. A life dedicated to the slaying of what he was now. The only thing he could be thankful of was that his father never found out what he and Savannah had become. That was something Ezra Forbes would not have been able to handle.

Ezra had always been a more serious person than his sister. That was something that had not changed since their release from the tomb. Savannah had fit perfectly into this time, molding herself into the typical teenager in looks and attitude. He found it more difficult to let go of the outdated practices he actually enjoyed. And now that she had found someone he was assuming she really liked, he felt more out of place than ever. He had thought Savannah would always be the toddler clinging to his leg and following him around. People grew up though, and she was no longer the tow-headed child he still saw her as. She didn’t need him anymore, and that hurt more than he would ever care to admit.

Cursed was the day she had convinced him to come back here. They had been doing fine in the Midwestern town they had settled in, far away from Mystic Falls. If they had not returned, Savannah would not have met that boy. Ezra had yet to meet him, something he assumed to be Savannah’s doing. Soon, he would meet him though, and make it very clear to the young man that his sister was not to be toyed with like some of the modern girls. She would be furious with him for that, but it didn’t really matter to him. Savannah was the person he had to protect.

As much as he hated to admit it, he still couldn’t entirely regret coming to this town. Before the power outage, he had thought that maybe, just maybe, he had found someone he could spend time with. Someone who wouldn’t judge him or ridicule him. Caroline. Even her name still made his dead heart race. When they had kissed, he felt the connection, as if their souls were intertwined. The reasoning for that may have been their shared bloodlines. It pained him to know she was descended from his brother William. That was another thing he would never admit. Even though they were family, Ezra still wanted to be more than that. Much more.