CAROLINE'S POV:

"All done," Rebekah proclaimed "you look totally hot. A blonde bombshell."

"I can't believe I let you make me over…" I admitted as she passed me the mirror

"Hey!" she replied "I think I've done a pretty good job, thank you very much."

I smiled at her warmly and then turned my head to look in the mirror, my smile widening as I took in my appearance… "Bek!"

"You like it?" she questioned

"I love it!" I informed her

She smiled at me warmly and moved behind me, pulling the hair tie from my hair, ruffling it with her hands as she did so… "Your hair's so much better down."

"You think?" I asked

She nodded her head… "Right, we need to get going."

I nodded my head in agreement and set the mirror down, stepping down from the stool and grabbing my handbag, letting her take my hand in mine before leading me out of my house…

"What do you say to this weekend, redecorating your place?" she asked as we climbed into a cab

"Redecorating?" I inquired

"Yeah, y'know, get rid of all the bad Tyler air in there." she replied

"The bad Tyler what now?" I questioned

"The bad Tyler air." she informed me "We clear out everything he had to do with and buy all new, pretty things."

"You're serious?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her "As much as I love the idea, my place is totally fine, thank you."

"He was the scumbag who cheated on you…" she proclaimed "C'mon, Caroline, fresh start. What do you say?"

"I am not redecorating." I informed her "End of story!"

"Okay, if you're not willing to redecorate, then will you at least consider having a "screw you, Tyler, and burn all his stuff" party?" she inquired

"Now that's an idea I can get on board with." I replied, smiling at her warmly

STEFAN'S POV:

I'd been sat at the Mystic Grill bar for half-an-hour when two girls walked in laughing and joking, making their way to the end of the bar…

"There you go." Alaric proclaimed, setting another Bourbon down in front of me

"Thanks." I replied, downing the amber liquid in one

"Whoa, don't you think we should slow down?" he suggested

"What's the point in slowing down?" I asked "I'm a free and single man with no work in the morning. I'll get drunk if I want to."

"If that's the way you wanna be, then I'll see you in the morning for a coffee when you're suffering with a hangover." he informed me, patting my shoulder before disappearing

By the time two of the girls made their way back to the bar to order another round of cocktails, it had cleared slightly, and I watched the blonde as she turned to face the crowds on the dancefloor and swayed her hips to the music as her head looked around the room, her face finally turning to me as I shot a smile in her direction. Reciprocating, she was then pulled away by her friend…

CAROLINE'S POV:

An hour later and Rebekah and Bonnie (who'd joined us after work), were very drunk, and happily chatting away to two random's who had bought them a drink each. Deciding to escape, I headed back over to the bar and ordered a drink, watching as my friends who were supposedly here to help me take my mind off the past week got up close and personal with the two strangers as they let themselves be led out of the bar…

"You look how I feel…" an unfamiliar male voice spoke to my left

Turning, my breath hitched in my throat and I was sure my heart skipped a beat as I came face-to-face with the guy in front of me, the one who'd smiled at me at the bar as Rebekah and I had got the last round of drinks. He was gorgeous, sexy and so damn attractive…

"You mean bored out of your mind, right?" I asked "If so, you're right."

I swallowed a lump in my throat as his eyes sparkled as he smiled warmly at me and I couldn't help but stare. Suddenly, I felt the air change around us and I felt completely sober, even though I wasn't. Leaning closer, he placed his hand on my arm and I gasped…

"So, what's a girl like you doing standing at a crowded bar all on her own?" he questioned

"Excuse me?" I inquired "A girl like me? What the hell is that meant to mean?"

"I didn't mean anything by it," he proclaimed "sorry. I mean, you're here, and your friends are on the dancefloor. Shouldn't you be with them?"

"They left a few minutes ago." I informed him

"And you chose to stay here?" he questioned

"They didn't really give me much of a chance, as they've pulled." I admitted

"Well in that case, would you like to join me for a drink?" he inquired

"Yes please." I replied "That'd be nice."

STEFAN'S POV:

"Great," I proclaimed "what would you like?"

"Anything," she replied "I'm pretty much on my way to being drunk anyway, so what's the harm in mixing my drinks now?"

"You might regret that tomorrow morning…" I admitted

"Life's too short for regrets, don't you think?" she questioned

As I was about to reply, the barman made his way over to me and I ordered us two bottles of beer. Being handed my change, I motioned over to a booth in the corner that had become available and guided her over to it…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"So I've let you buy me a drink, and I've let you lead me to a quiet corner, do I get to know your name now?" I asked as we both took a seat

"I suppose you've earned it," he replied "Stefan. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," I greeted him; shaking his outstretched hand "I'm Caroline."

"Lovely name." he admitted, smiling at me warmly "Did you know it means song of happiness?"

"You learn something new every day." I replied, turning to take a sip of my drink "Shit!"

"What's wrong?" he asked

"My ex is on his way over." I informed him "Act like we're deep in conversation or something…"

"We were, weren't we?" he questioned

STEFAN'S POV:

"Caroline," the guy proclaimed "is that you?"

"Tyler," she sighed "what were you saying, Stefan?"

"You look so good, Care. Really hot!" Tyler informed her

"She does, doesn't she?" I inquired, my arm slipping around her shoulder, pulling her closer to me "It's because she's happy. She's actually having fun with someone who treats her with respect. Am I right, Caroline?"

I glanced at her as she nodded her head, a small smile gracing her lips as she turned to Tyler…

"And you are?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him

"He's no one, Stefan." Caroline replied "No one at all. So if you don't mind, Tyler, we were kind of having a private moment which we need to be alone for. I think we should dance; now our moment's been ruined…"

I nodded my head in agreement and took Caroline's hand as I stood and led her onto the dancefloor, Tyler standing aside as we moved from our booth... "What was that back there?"

"How about we don't talk about our pasts tonight?" she suggested "I know you're here for a reason too but I really don't care. We both know what we want, right?"

"And that is?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at her as I let my arms slide around her waist, pulling her tight against me

"Sex…" she replied, her hands sliding down my back as she spoke "I think we need to get out of here, don't we?"

I could only nod as her hands slid to my bum, her hips pushing against mine as she did so. Cupping her cheek in my hand, I pulled her face to mine and captured my lips in hers passionately, pulling away from her a minute later, both of us breathless. Entwining her hand with mine, I led her through the crowds and out of the bar…

CAROLINE'S POV:

We arrived at Stefan's apartment what felt like an eternity later when in fact it had only been a matter of minutes in a cab, the ride being filled with sexual tension as we tried to keep our hands off of each other as the driver weaved through the streets of Mystic Falls. Taking his hand in mine as he climbed out of the cab, he handed the driver his fare and led me to the building door, unlocking it and hurrying to the elevator, his lips capturing mine as the doors shut behind us…

"God…" I moaned as the elevator dinged, signalling we'd arrived on his floor

"No, just Stefan." he replied as he pulled away from me

Smirking as he pulled us from the elevator, I wound my arms around his waist from behind as we arrived at his door, allowing my lips to press against the skin of his neck, hearing him breath deeply as I did so, smiling against his skin as I realised the effect I was having on him. Opening the door, he dragged me inside and pushed me against the door as he shut it behind us, his body pressed against mine, no space between us, his hands cupping my cheeks once again as his lips sought mine…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Well, when I went out tonight, this wasn't what I expected to be doing…" Caroline admitted as we laid together afterwards, her back against my front

"I'm glad you came to the bar." I informed her

"You are now, are you?" she questioned as she turned onto her stomach to face me "Why would that be?"

"Because what we've just done was pretty amazing." I replied

"Pretty amazing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me

"Okay, mind-blowing. Is that better?" I inquired

She nodded her head and pressed her lips against mine, pushing her body closer to mine as she did so…

"Is someone ready for round two?" I asked

"I was just about to ask you the same question." she informed me, her hand sliding down my chest as she moved to straddle me, taking a hold of my length in her hand as she did so, guiding me into her "But that's my question answered…"

Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her down to me, our chests colliding, my lips swallowing her moans as we began to move in sync…