AN: What can I say? I never get tired of rewriting this fuckery. I haven't been watching s7 at all, so this does not apply to canon at all. This is a birthday present for my lovely friend, Shannon, happy birthday darling, I hope you like it! Review if you please. Title taken from Same Old Love by Selena Gomez, the lyrics are also used in the last part of the fic, and largely inspired the idea for it.
I'm Not One to Forget
Her footsteps echoed in the empty room, dust already coating her shoes. Caroline scowled; she liked these shoes. The flowers were long dead and there was a thin coat of dust covering everything, even the coffin.
In retrospect, leaving her in a coffin seemed especially maudlin. It had been years, it seemed, since anyone had thought to visit her. Caroline pushed aside her guilt, she had a good reason, and one she knew she understood.
She stopped in front of the coffin, and without hesitating, she threw open the lid and looked down at that beloved, familiar face. Her hair was perfect and shiny as ever, her lips gently parted, lashes fluttering against her cheekbones, hands folded over her stomach, slender and elegant against her blue dress.
For a moment, Caroline admired her, perfect and beautiful, Elena Gilbert was always the prettiest girl in the room—at least in her opinion. She inhaled, breathing in the barest hint of perfume still clinging to her clothes, and underneath was the natural musk of her skin that reminded her of cheer camp and kisses that tasted like strawberry hubba-bubba bubblegum.
Steadfastly, she ignored the other coffin in the room. He really was a drama queen. All these years, selfishly desiccated so he didn't have to live without her everyday, the way the rest of them did. Caroline sniffed delicately.
She had to work fast; she only had so much time before someone figured it out. Then again, the dust suggested a certain amount of neglect that could mean they would have days before anyone realized what had happened.
Her car had a full tank of gas and two bags full of clothes in the trunk. She'd been planning this moment for three years. Caroline reached out reverently and took Elena's hand. She looked back at the other coffin and snorted. She turned back to Elena.
"Fuck Prince Charming," she said, leaning over.
"Leave me alone," Damon spat angrily. "Just let me go back to sleep."
Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"Look, we need your help, you grumpy dick, so get over yourself and help," Alaric snapped.
"What part of 'leave me alone' do you not understand?" Damon snapped.
"The 'me' part," Alaric retorted. "You're acting like you're the only person who loved Elena, like you're the only one who lost her, and it's pretty fucking tiresome."
Stefan cut in before it could go any further. Alaric backed off, striding over to stand near the entrance, his back to them.
"Look, Damon, we really do need your help," he said, his tone gentle but firm.
Bonnie piped up.
"Just help us, and then I'll desiccate you again, if that's what you want," she added.
He glared, unconvinced. She sighed heavily.
"Why don't you talk to Elena?" she suggested. "She'd want you to help us, you know that."
"That is an excellent idea," Stefan agreed.
Bonnie strode over to Elena's coffin, Damon trailing reluctantly behind her.
"I'm not saying I will help you, but I will talk to her," he consented. Bonnie nodded as if that was an acceptable compromise. She was confident Elena would be able to talk him into helping them. She pushed open the coffin lid.
"What the hell?" Damon demanded. Bonnie stepped back, stumbling.
"Where—?" Stefan began.
Alaric whirled around and hurried over to see what had caused their reaction.
"What's going—" Alaric cut himself off as he caught sight of the open coffin.
"I don't understand?" Bonnie whispered.
They all stared into the coffin, uncomprehending of what they were seeing.
The coffin was empty.
"Take away your things and go, you can't take back what you said, I know, I've heard it all before, at least a million times, I'm not one to forget, you know…"
The radio played softly in the background, mile markers passing by in the darkness. Caroline was in the driver's seat, Elena curled up next to her in the front seat.
Caroline's phone rang. Elena, now dressed in jeans and an oversized red sweater, plucked it from the cup holder, glancing at the caller I.D.
"It's Damon," she told Caroline. Caroline rolled her eyes.
"Throw it out the window," Caroline suggested. Elena laughed.
"We still have to call Bonnie," she pointed out, worry seeping into her tone. Absentmindedly she tugged on her braid.
"She texted back," Caroline reminded her. "She's fine, I did my research properly. You're both fine," Caroline reassured her. Elena smiled.
"I know, I still can't believe you did it," she admitted. Caroline smirked.
"People tell me I can't do something, I prove them wrong, remember?"
Elena rolled her eyes affectionately.
"I remember," she assured her. She smiled at her. "You're Caroline Forbes," she told her, "You can do anything."
"Damn right," Caroline agreed.
"I don't believe, I don't believe it, you left in peace, left me in pieces, too hard to breathe, I'm on my knees, right now…"
Elena felt strange in her skin, like it was too heavy, suffocating her. She rolled down the window, pillowing her head on her arms to breathe in the nighttime air.
"I'm sorry it took so long," Caroline said quietly. Elena breathed in the smell of pine trees and dirt.
"It's okay," she replied, her eyes closed. "You had to be sure that Bonnie wouldn't die when I woke up, I understand. I'm glad you were careful," Elena admitted freely.
"I'm so glad to have you back," Caroline confessed. "I missed you."
Elena pulled back from the window to turn and look at Caroline. She reached out and took her hand, interlocking their fingers.
"I missed you too," she whispered, squeezing her hand. Caroline squeezed back.
Her phone rang again. Caroline rolled her eyes before Elena even untangled their hands to picked it up to see who it was.
"Stefan, this time," Elena informed her. Caroline scoffed.
"Throw it out," she begged. Elena shook her head.
"Bonnie," Elena reminded her.
Caroline pouted and Elena relented.
"After we call Bonnie we'll trash it," she said with a smile. Caroline grinned.
"Call her now," she suggested.
Elena took a deep breath, imagined dialing the number and hearing Bonnie's voice for the first time in years. Then she remembered that Bonnie was with Stefan and Damon. They'd be listening in and would demand to talk to her. Elena exhaled and turned off Caroline's phone. She reached for Caroline's hand again.
"We'll call her tomorrow," she said. Caroline squeezed her hand.
"Okay," she agreed.
"I'm not spending any time, wasting tonight on you, I know, I've heard it all, so don't you try and change your mind, 'cause I won't be changing too, you know…"
"I like this song," Elena said absentmindedly.
"It's so last year," Caroline informed her primly. Elena raised an eyebrow at her, her admonishment unspoken.
"I like it," She said stoutly.
"Me too," Caroline admitted.
Elena idly raised their interlocked hands and pressed a kiss to the back of Caroline's hand that sent shivers down her spine. Elena didn't miss her reaction.
She unbuckled her seatbelt and scooted over to curl up right next to Caroline, glad that she'd opted for a car with a bench seat. Glancing at the empty road, she tugged on Caroline's hand until she turned her head to look at her.
She cradled Caroline's jaw with her free hand and kissed her deeply. Caroline returned the kiss eagerly. She slid her fingers into Caroline's loose blonde curls. Mindful that the blonde was driving, Elena reluctantly pulled back.
"Just like cheer camp," Caroline said breathlessly. Elena shook her head.
"Better than cheer camp," she corrected. "Cheer camp ended when summer did," she reminded her. "No cheer camp, no summer. No summer, no ending."
"Better than cheer camp," Caroline agreed.
AN: These are my girls tbh, my precious beautiful girls.
xoxo
-Pixie