"You're hopeless!" Jeremy Gilbert glanced up, hearing the raised voice of Matt Donovan, his sister's ex-boyfriend and her friend Caroline's current boyfriend.
"If I'm hopeless, I'd hate to hear a word elaborate enough to describe you," Caroline shot back at him. Jeremy couldn't control the little twitch of a smile forming in the corners of his lips. He'd known Caroline since before he could remember and he'd always known her to hold the same fire she projected while speaking to Matt in that moment.
Matt sighed and shook his head, "Just forget it, Car, okay? I have work to do," he said, walking away from her. The blonde's lips formed a pout as he walked away, becoming more visible as she glanced around to make sure no one, or even anyone, had seen their fight, Jeremy couldn't tell which. Her eyes met his for a second and he glanced down quickly, not wanting to intrude. He looked up again and sighed to himself seeing Caroline headed toward the booth where he'd been sitting.
He glanced up again feeling a small tap on his shoulder. "Oh, Jeremy…" Caroline's small voice chimed, giving him a small smile.
He gave her a nervous smile, "Hey Caroline."
She gasped, sitting down in the booth beside him, nudging him aside, "Oh my God, you heard and saw everything, didn't you?"
He sighed and nodded, "Um, yeah, I did." He tilted his head, "Is it always like that? Because you know with Elena, they never really-"
Caroline lifted her hand, stopping him. "Before you say anything else there, just don't. I'm not Elena and I know I don't measure up to Elena and I'm only an Elena substitute, but I've accepted that."
Jeremy looked up at her, furrowing his brows, "Caroline, I wasn't gonna say that, honestly."
She tilted her head. "Well what were you gonna say?"
He lightly shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. But nothing like that."
Caroline glanced down and nodded. "Oh… well, thanks?"
Jeremy nodded. "Mmhm." He glanced around. "Your other friends aren't here? Just Matt?"
Caroline looked back up at him, "Oh, am I bothering you? You were probably busy… brooding… or sulking… or whatever you do that makes you pouty and sad loner-y looking all the time."
Jeremy laughed a little, repeating her last words to himself. "Pouty and sad loner-y looking… Hmm…" He shrugged. "I don't try to look that way, I don't guess. I look like that?"
Caroline nodded. "Yeah! That's why you don't have many friends. Because you look like you wanna be sulking and alone all the time. But it doesn't bother me because I know you don't mean it, and I'm used to being ignored when I talk anyways."
Jeremy shook his head. "I got everything you just said. Maybe you other people can't keep up with you."
"Oh, and you can?" She scoffed. "It takes a lot more than five minutes of listening to me to know if you can keep up with me."
He nodded, "I bet. But a lot of other people probably don't try as hard, either."
She tilted her head. "A lot of people don't want to try for me. I don't know why, I try sooo hard for everyone else, but they can't do that same for me? What is that?" She shoved his shoulder a little.
He laughed softly and rubbed his shoulder. "I dunno. Maybe you just need the right person to try.
Caroline nodded, thinking out loud as she looked Jeremy over again. "Yeah. The right person."