Caroline searches the entire town for Stefan – but wait, that's a slight exaggeration; she goes to Elena's house, and to his house, only to discover that he's at neither. The list of places Stefan could be is short, extremely short, because, let's be real, it's Stefan – in all his broody, friendless, Elena-obsessed glory.
She finds Damon instead. Not exactly the brother she was hoping for, but she'll take what she can get. Caroline regrets not walking out the door the second she walks in when she notices what's in his hand; whiskey. An intoxicated Damon is a funny Damon – hell, it's a constant Damon is what it is.
But a drunk, upset Damon, as he seems to be at the moment, is never a good combination.
Caroline contemplates leaving him to wallow in whatever misery he's fallen into, but because she's a damn good person, and he's sort of her friend, she stays.
Later, she discovers that she doesn't regret doing so.
"Damon," she says softly.
He looks at her, but she feels like he's seeing right through her. She feels like that on a daily basis, that no really sees her for her; she's just the bright, control-freaky, insecure, neurotic vampire cheerleader. Caroline sits on the couch across from him, takes the bottle, and tips it back – being a vampire has its perks; the high alcohol tolerance is awesome.
So for Damon to be in this state suggests he's had a whole helluva lot to drink.
Straight away, Caroline knows it has something to do with Elena. She waits for him to speak, because it's inevitable – he loves the sound of his own voice – and it takes a while before he finally does.
"For years you've been second best to Elena," he mutters; she refuses to reply. "Guys always choose her first. You don't know why – honestly, neither do I; you're annoying and you constantly get on my nerves, but you have the type of beauty that's hard to find in this world, and you're decisive. You know what you want – unlike some people."
Caroline doesn't understand where this conversation is going, but if she knows anything about Damon, it's that there's always a point, no matter how ridiculously stupid, to most, if not all, of the things he says.
Damon sighs, takes the bottle from her. "I get it," he groans. "I know how it feels, and it sucks, and it's so easy to flip the switch. Because she wants Stefan, they all want Stefan. It's always gonna be Stefan." He gives a dry laugh. "Even you like my baby bro more; now, what does that say about me?"
Caroline pities him. She knows that by tomorrow, he'll be threatening her to forget they ever had this conversation. But while she's there, she's going to be a good friend.
"You're never the one," she murmurs sadly, understandingly. "And yeah, Elena didn't choose you, but you're better than this, Damon; you're stronger than this. At the end of the day, she's just a girl – a pretty amazing girl, true – but there are so many girls out there that would be more than happy to be your girl, if you could only see past what Elena can offer, or what you thought Katherine once could." And she smiles softly; it's barely there. "Believe me, I know; I used to be one of those girls."
Damon looks relatively pained and she thinks, like always, that she's said the wrong thing. "You were easy prey," he says. "I probably don't deserve to be forgiven, and I'm not asking for it, but what I did to you… wasn't right." Damon closes his eyes, leans back against the couch. "She doesn't love me, and maybe she never will, but it's what I deserve."
Caroline disagrees; everyone deserves to be loved.
"That's not true," she says.
Damon shifts. "I've never said this before, and it's long overdue, but I'm sorry for what I did to you. For how I teased you and tortured you and-"
"Made me feel completely worthless," she inserts, then holds up her hand. He manages to look ashamed, and it surprises her. "Stop, Damon. You don't need to apologize, because I forgive you, I do."
He remains silent, watching her with those gorgeous blue eyes that she once adored, and she figures now is a better time that any to state her opinion.
"You know, there's this saying," she goes on. "'It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.' If you ask me, you're on the right track."
Damon scoffs. "No offense, Barbie, but what do you know about love? You're seventeen."
"Eighteen," she corrects; technically, it's true, and just because she's frozen in a filler year doesn't change this fact. "And you'd be surprised."
"I am," he drawls, tipping back the bottle. They're both quiet for a long time, the only sounds being the steadiness of their breathing. Damon stands, ruffles Caroline's hair, which causes her to slap his hand away. "You're not as stupid as you look, Blondie. Now get your ass out of my house, before I throw you out."
Caroline rolls her eyes – just as she thought they were having a moment, a heart to heart, he spoils it. Simply to spite him, and perhaps because she's crazy, she jumps up and kisses him on the cheek before she dances out the door.
The corner of Damon's mouth tilt upwards – damn that vampire Barbie.
-}{-
a/n: i don't even know. possibly, dreadfully, slighty, maybe out of character. and proof tvd isn't mine.