His Oldest Friend

Stefan was left staring disconsolately at the passenger's seat that Lexi had just vacated. He wished she could have stayed. Lexi had always been there for him even when he didn't want her to be. Even when he was his worst ripper self, she always stuck by him. She brought him back. Lexi made him enjoy his life undead life. She was his oldest friend. He would miss her.

Stefan sighed as he continued on his way out of Mystic Falls. He was finally making good of his deal with Damon; whomever Elena didn't choose would leave town and let them be. Pain ripped through him again as he recalled her words to Damon earlier that night; "I'm not sorry that I love you". He had hoped ,in vain it seemed, that after all they'd been through together, that Elena would choose him.

It almost seemed as if he was forever doomed to compete with Damon over the women he loved. Katherine had been painful at the time but it did not compare to losing Elena.

Stefan smiled ruefully, recalling Caroline's insistence that his relationship with Elena was 'epic' . His friendship with Caroline had pleasantly surprised him. She wasn't a replacement for Lexi; their friendship had been unique. The irony was had Lexi still been alive her and Caroline would have been gotten along quite well.

Stefan continued brooding, almost out of habit; it wouldn't be long he probably lost Caroline too. He had this terrible predilection to lose those who mattered to him. He chuckled darkly, knowing with 100% certainty that he wouldn't lose Caroline to Damon.

Annoyed with the melancholy/ angsty direction that his thoughts had taken, he decided to distract himself. Stefan pulled out his phone to send Caroline a quick text; letting her know that he was leaving. He promised to contact her in a few days. A few seconds after sending it his phone began to ring. He didn't even have to glance at the screen. He knew it was Caroline.

Stefan ignored it at first. However, he knew how relentless Caroline could be; she wouldn't stop until he answered.

"Caroline".

"Stefan! What do you mean you're leaving? You can't go?" Caroline then proceeded to list all the reasons why he had to stay.

"Caroline, you do know that Elena chose Damon? I can't stay here"

"What? Seriously? Ugh. Stefan I'm sorry"

"It's alright. Well no it's not. I'll return one day. Eventually"

Stefan didn't know if he meant it. Perhaps one day he would come back to Mystic Falls. After Elena had gone off to college.

"What else did I miss? Do you know if Elena took the cure?"

"You didn't hear? Well, Katherine decided that it was all Elena's fault that nothing had worked out in her life? Crazy, right? So they get into this huge fight and Elena manages to shove the cure into Katherine's mouth!".

Stefan was shocked. After everything they'd been through to get the cure and Katherine was one who got to take it? Katherine who never wanted it for herself. Katherine who certainly didn't deserve it.

"Katherine's human now?"

"I know! I'm sorry Stefan. We all wanted the cure for Elena".

"Not much we can do about it now"

There was an awkward beat. Stefan could tell Caroline was trying to decide between comforting him or distracting him. In the end, she opted for distraction.

"On the bright side, Jeremy's back".

"How?"

"I don't know how exactly. Bonnie used expression or something. He's back though Stefan. Not as a ghost or anything either"

"I didn't realise Bonnie had that kind of power. She alright?"

"Same. She's fine. She took off pretty much right after the ceremony to spend the summer with her family"

"So, how'd it go with Klaus?"

"What do you mean?" Caroline replied innocently. Stefan could tell when she was trying to be evasive. He reminded her that it was him she was talking to; not Damon or Elena or Bonnie. She could tell him.

"Well... he was really charming and he had this romantic speech about how Tyler was my first love but he intends to be my last. No matter how long it takes"

Stefan was impressed.

"Smooth. But why did he mention Tyler? It's not like he's in any position to return?"

"Oh, didn't I mention? He's free to come back! Tyler's coming back!"

"You realised you mentioned this after the Klaus's allegedly romantic speech?"

"Stefan...I'm glad Tyler's returning. I love him. Yet Klaus... I don't know. He has this way of getting under your skin, you know?"

"I understand, Caroline. I always felt a little guilty about all those times we tried to kill him. Not enough to stop it; he's still evil and he has done terrible things to all of us. You're right though; he finds a way to get in".

Stefan heard Caroline sigh on the other end of the line.

"I miss the days when the bad guy was the just the bad guy. Grey areas are overrated".

Stefan laughed dryly in agreement but his heart wasn't in it. It definitely didn't fool Caroline.

"Stefan, will you be okay?"

"To be honest, no, I'm not". I just need time, Caroline. I'll keep in touch".

"Ok well, make sure you do. Maybe I'll come visit?"

"Maybe. Goodbye Caroline."

"Bye Stefan. I'll miss you".

Stefan smiled sadly hanging up the phone. He reflected on their conversation. Katherine was human? He hadn't seen that coming. He had always expected Caroline to take it if Elena didn't. Yet, he wasn't sure she would have. Being a vampire didn't seem to alter her negatively.

Stefan idly wondered if Klaus would resurrect his hybrid dream now that doppelganger blood was now available again. At least Elena would be safe. If she had taken the cure, they would have had to deal with Klaus and his obsession with doppelganger blood all over again.

Something else Caroline had mentioned had been niggling at him; Jeremy was human again. How was that even possible? Could any witch who used expression be able to do that? If he found another like Bonnie could he bring some one back from the dead? Could he get Lexi back? The idea filled him with a new sense of purpose. He knew getting her back wouldn't eradicate his pain; nothing could ever do that. Only time. Yet Lexi was his oldest friend. He missed her immensely. They knew each other better than anyone. He wouldn't even consider it if she was at peace on the other side. However, he knew that wasn't the case. Alaric had strongly reiterated that point; they spent most of their time watching over those they left behind. Lexi especially, always embraced her brief jaunts back to life with the same vigour she had had in life.

His mind was made up; he would find another witch who practiced expression. He wasn't sure how witch craft worked but he was fairly certain that resurrecting someone would be quite the power drain and that Bonnie wouldn't be up to the task for quite some time. He figured his best bet would be to ask someone well known for associating with witches. He rolled his eyes at his willingness to go visit the man whom he had considered his enemy not too long ago.

Determined, Stefan stepped harder on the accelerator as he mentally calculated how long it would take to get to New Orleans. He strongly doubted that Klaus would have lingered too long in Mystic Falls; hopefully he would be back by the time Stefan arrived.

Author's note. Apologies if Stefan seems a bit OOC; first time writing him.