drabble where in season 4 Caroline and Stefan are close best friends hang out all the time on double dates everyone refers to them as the couple not Elena and Stefan and Tyler and Caroline when they all go to the memorial for the founding families who died it's not Elena who smells the blood Caroline does and Stefan says she should feed of him and it will look like she is mourning so she starts he takes her down stairs but she cant control her self and feeds on him and he starts to gets turned on..

This first part is set in season 3.

Jealous Games

Part 1

"And then he tried to make me eat bunnies!" Caroline was almost howling with laughter as she recounted the story of her first hunting trip with Stefan after she first turned.

Stefan laughed loudly, his happy chuckles combining with Caroline's own joyous laughter, his arm around the back of her chair, his fingers absent mindedly stroking her back. He remembered that day clearly, she was freaking out about becoming a vampire and all she wanted to do was go see Matt.

Elena and Tyler didn't share the joke, in fact, seeing the way that Caroline and Stefan so casually touched and smiled at each other was making them very uncomfortable. An irritable feeling crept up their spines, and it felt like their hearts were in a vice, jealousy boiling under their skin.

Stefan continued to smile at Caroline as her chuckles died down, he liked seeing her happy, which didn't happen that often anymore which saddened him more than he knew why. He supposed it was because she was his best friend, her happiness was his top priority, after all she has done so much for him, the easiest thing he could do was make her smile.

Elena cleared her throat as she noticed that Stefan's attention was still on Caroline, when he looked over at her with an expectant look on his face she resisted the urge to snap at him. It was their double date night with Caroline and Tyler and he had spent most of it sharing stories with Caroline, "How about we play pool?" She raised her eyebrows, "Couple against couple."

Stefan didn't know why but the moment Elena said couple versus couple his heart sunk, he wanted to play with Caroline and not against her. But Elena was his girlfriend, he should want to do everything with her, but lately he found himself spending his time more and more elsewhere with a certain bubbly blonde that was slowly but surely making his existence happier than it had ever been.

"Okay!" Caroline almost jumped out of her seat she was so excited. She placed her hand on her hip and lent over Stefan a smirk on her lips, "I am so going to destroy you, Salvatore."

Stefan smirked back, "Bring it on, blondie." He tucked on a stray curl and tugged on it, repressing a grin at the glower on her face, she hated Damon's nickname for her which is why he used it.

Two can play that game, Caroline thought with a grin. She got so close to him that their noses were brushing, she ran her fingers through his hair and whispered, "Challenge accepted, Mr Hero Hair."

Stefan playfully growled at her, and with a touch of vamp speed had his arm around her waist lifting her up in the air, carrying her giggling self over to the pool table.

"You two make such a lovely couple." An older woman whom sat with her husband commentated after watching their little display, "You remind me of my husband and I when we were younger."

"Don't count me out yet, darling." Her husband winked at her, a twinkle in his eyes that made him look decades younger, "I can still make you giggle like a teenager." He leant in and kissed her neck.

She preceded to giggle like the teenager she no longer was in body but in heart her husband always brought that side out of her.

Caroline's heart skipped a beat at what the woman had implied, that Stefan and herself were a couple and they reminded her of herself and her husband. They were so clearly deeply in love with one another. That was the kind of love she wanted for herself, the growing old together part would never happen of course, but the teasing playful light that surrounded them when they looked at each other could, they might as well be teenagers, they looked so much younger and happy. She was envious, she had loved Tyler so much that she honestly thought he was the love of her life. That proved true in the beginning of their relationship, she had felt so happy and in love and like nothing could ever tear them apart but then Klaus happened and he became a Hybrid. Things were never the same after that.

Stefan's thoughts had led him down the same path. He had wanted a love like theirs his entire life, and he had thought he had found it with Elena. At the start of their relationship he had found that kind of love, she made him happier than he ever thought possible and he loved her more than he ever believed it was possible to love someone. Then their world got crazy, his brother fell in love with her, he relapsed into ripper hell and almost destroyed their relationship for good when he used her against Klaus and almost drove her off the bridge that almost killed her. Something had begun to change with them and he didn't know what to do to fix it.

Elena clenched her jaw with irritation at the woman's assertion that Stefan and Caroline were together. To be honest she was getting sick of it, not one person since the beginning of their relationship had commentated on how good they looked together, but almost every time Caroline and Stefan were together people always complimented them. Elena was on the verge of screaming that Stefan Salvatore was her boyfriend and he wouldn't even think twice about Caroline Forbes, only now, she didn't quite believe that statement as adamantly as she used to. They were best friends, and if she was honest with herself, Stefan had been a better friend to Caroline than she ever had.

Tyler stalked past Caroline and Stefan making sure to shoulder check Stefan. He had always hated him, he hated how Caroline went to him with every single problem she had, he hated how she always went for his advice, he hated how protective Stefan was of her, that should be his job as her boyfriend. He was so unbelievably jealous of Stefan, more so than he was whenever Klaus sniffed around his girl. Some days he wished he could take Caroline and leave Mystic Falls behind forever and live their lives together free of all this obligation that surrounded them. He longed to be free, a freeness he had only experienced very briefly when he had spent time with Jules and the pack of wolves she ran with.

Stefan gritted his teeth and tried really hard to resist the urge to punch Tyler in the face. His behaviour towards him had always been standoffish to say the least, but sometimes he was more than openly hostile and one of these days he was going to snap and possible rip his worthless heart out of his chest. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down, when he felt warm fingers tingle across his palm, he turned to see Caroline looking at him apologetically. His temper lowered instantly.

"I'm sorry about him, Stefan. He just..." She trailed off as she chewed on her lower lip, hating that she once again had to apologize for Tyler's behaviour toward Stefan. She had come to realize that Tyler would never like Stefan and he returned that feeling which left her somewhat in the middle, she loved them both and she hated how they just never like each other.

"Gets jealous." Stefan finished for her, a knowing roll of his eyes accompanying his observation. Well Tyler would just have to get over it, Caroline was his best friend and he would never abandon her just because Tyler couldn't stand him being around her. Deep down, he believed whole heartedly that Tyler never even deserved her, and he not proven to him that he ever would. He would never tell Caroline that though, he knew how much it upset her that they didn't get along, and he knew he would feel just as bad if Elena didn't get along with Caroline, she was his best friend and he was hers and he needed her in his life, forever. Whether Tyler would be there forever remained to be seen and until the day came when they broke up he would continue to offer his silent support to Caroline whenever she needed him.

"Yeah." Caroline sighed, for the first time tonight the tension returned to her. Tonight was supposed to let them blow off steam and for once not worry about what Klaus and the rest of the Original's had planned, to just be the teenagers they were – except Stefan – and hang out with her best friends and boyfriend, have a good time and laugh for what felt like the first time in months.

"I'll try to not take it personally." Stefan smirked, trying and succeeding to raise a smile from Caroline, not her usual breathtaking one but the one that made his own heart less heavy for just a moment.

Caroline chuckled, her smile growing just that little bit brighter and she threw her arms around him. She held him tight and buried her face in his neck, "Thank you, Stefan."

Stefan didn't even hesitate to wrap his own arms around her waist, his face sinking into her hair and breathing in the scent that was only her, "You're welcome, Caroline."

Tyler had just finished racking the balls up when he turned around and spotted Stefan holding Caroline in an embrace that was way too intimate for his liking, not that he ever liked seeing Stefan touching Caroline, or holding her, or smiling at her, or hell just in the same vicinity as her. She was his, he had put himself through torture to break the sire bond and be worthy of her, and he would not let anyone take her away from him.

Elena really wanted to march over and rip Stefan away from Caroline. This was a double date and therefore her respective date should want to spend time with his actual girlfriend and not the best friend he spent practically half his time with. She blew an irritated breath out of her nose, put on her fakest smile and decided to remind them that they actually had a date with her and Tyler and not just each other, "Hey! Are we gonna smash Care and Ty at pool or what, Stefan?"

Stefan reluctantly pulled away from Caroline, smiled at her and returned to his competitive words from before, "Time to obliterate you, Forbes." He grinned down at her and tickled her side, "If only Damon could be here to witness your downfall."

Caroline giggled, trying to get away from Stefan's hands.

"Did I hear my name being called?" Damon appeared, literally from nowhere as no one had seen him at the bar. He raised his eyes and smirked at seeing Stefan's hands all over Caroline, "Well well, brother. What downfall do you wish me and my buddy to witness? Are you taking blondie down? If so, I am so here for that." He chuckled into his glass.

Alaric appeared at his side, glass at his lips and his own eyes knowing as he took in the scene before him, "What have we walked in to?"

"Oh nothing." Damon cocked his head to grin at Alaric, "Just that my heroic brother is going to take blondie down."

Alaric nodded, "Down where?" Then he chuckled, a salacious grin touching his lips and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "On her knees?"

Damon almost choked on the sip he just took, Alaric wasn't usually so... Damon-esque, he must have gotten him drunker than he realised, not that he was complaining, drunk Alaric was one of his favourite Alaric's and something that the kids in Mystic Falls had never witnessed before. He looked over at his brother and had to bite his tongue to stop the full fledged laughter that wanted to escape him. His eyes were wide in shock, his mouth open, and if he wasn't wrong – and Damon never was when it came to his brother – more than a little bit of desire. Tonight had just took an interesting turn.

Caroline stepped away from Stefan as if she had been burned, a deep blush on her face, and she all but ran to Tyler's side. She had never seen Alaric act like that before, he sounded so much like Damon that perhaps she was now seeing the reason they got on so well. She grabbed a pool cue from the wall aggressively, trying very hard to get the visual out of her head that Alaric had put there. She was going to kill him. She was going to vervain Damon, lock him in a cell so that he wouldn't rescue him and she was so going to murder Alaric Saltzman. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Alaric, a more than little evil smirk on her face.

"Hey, Damon?" Alaric leant over to speak into his ear, "I think Caroline is plotting my murder."

"Oh, is she?" Damon glanced over at Caroline and chuckled at the definite murder in her eyes, "Lets see if we can't make her positively homicidal. She is far too innocent looking for a vampire." He grinned at his best friend and winked, "I'll protect you, Ric."

"Sure you will, buddy." Alaric patted Damon on the head, and then rest his elbow on his shoulder, "Let the games begin."

Damon waited until Alaric had just taken a sip when he announced, extremely loudly, "May the odds be ever in your favour!"

Alaric choked, the liquid going down the wrong hole, his hand slapping his chest as he tried to get his breath back. He turned watery gaze to Damon and coughed, "YOU know Hunger Games?"

"Caroline." Damon rolled his eyes, as if that explained everything.

Which to Alaric; who knew almost everything there was to know about Damon Salvatore, things that not even Stefan was aware of, it did make sense. He GOT Damon, just as Damon got him.

"There bromance is just creepy." Caroline commentated out of the blue, chalking her cue not taking her eyes off the giggling drunks on the other side of the room, "They finish each others sentences, they practically hang off the others every word, and they are both annoying ass holes."

"Care!" Elena glared, defending the only father figure that she had left, "That's Ric you're talking about."

Caroline rolled her eyes at Elena, "And he is the best friend of Damon Salvatore! The biggest ass hole that ever lived." She shouted casually across the room, "No offence."

"None taken." Damon called back, smirk wide on his face, "I am a spectacularly fantastically bastardly ass hole."

"Seriously?" Alaric raised his eyebrows, "Did you just use the word fantastically?"

"Yes, Ric, I did." Damon held his hand against his chest as he said with all seriousness, "I have an excellent vocabulary."

"Right!" Alaric laughed loudly, "Didn't you say that Stefan was the poet in your family?"

"You told him that!" Stefan almost screamed from across the room, just what other secrets had he shared with Alaric?

"You write journals, Steffy, not exactly a shocker." Damon shot back, his voice full of amusement.

"What did I ever do to deserve a brother like you?" Stefan rolled his eyes to the ceiling, smiling as he heard the laugh escape Caroline.

"For starters you killed our father and turned me into a vampire against my will." Damon helpfully supplied, before letting out a shriek, "Ow!" He turned to Alaric who had just hit him, "What was that for?"

"Stop being mean to your brother." Alaric scolded, before knocking back the rest of his drink, "I need a refill." He left then to get another drink.

"Hey!" Damon pouted, calling after Alaric's retreating form, "You are my friend and therefore are supposed to take my side. On everything."

Alaric snorted, "Keep telling yourself that, buddy."

Damon crossed his arms over his chest and continued to pout.

"Are you sure Damon is actually older than you, Stefan?" Caroline asked, shaking her head in bemusement, "Because he's acting like he's five."

"No," Stefan answered quietly, "He's acting like my brother." He caught Damon's stare, hidden feelings lurking in their depths before he looked away. That shouldn't make his heart ache but it did.

Stefan had never actually seen how Damon acted when he was with Alaric when they were just drinking and having a good time together. He had to admit, to himself, that he was more than a little jealous at the closeness, he acted like he did when they were human and had never heard the name Katherine Pierce, when Damon was everything to him and his best friend and they teased one another lovingly because they were all they had in the world. Their father may have been there since their mother died but he had never actually BEEN there for either of them. He missed that about them, the easy banter and even easier smiles, everything had been so hard between them, they had hurt each other so much. With their feelings for Elena and the rivalry that had ruined their relationship once before happening again, Stefan began to wonder, would he ever get his big brother back or would Damon always find replacements for him in his life.

"Are we playing or what?" Tyler asked annoyed. He wanted this night over with so he could spend some actual quality time with Caroline; without Stefan, or Elena, or Damon, or Alaric, just him and his girl alone.

"Yes!" Caroline smiled brightly, took a coin out of her pocket and asked, "Heads or tails?"

"Tails." Stefan replied.

Caroline flipped the coin, watching as it flipped in the air before landing in her hand, her other covering it. She slowly lifted a hand away and looked at the coin face, "Tails it is."

Elena jumped up, "I'll go first." She lined up her cue and took her shot, the balls flying around the table but nothing going in the hole.

"Me next." Tyler aimed down the cue and immediately potted the first ball.

Caroline cheered, "Score one for team vamp hybrid."

"Vamp hybrid, Care?" Tyler snickered, lining up for his next shot, "Seriously?"

"Well what would you call us, Ty?" Caroline stuck her lip out in a pout.

"I don't know, Care." Tyler potted the next ball and scrunched his brow thinking about where his next shot should be, "How about team Care and Ty?"

"I like it." Caroline smiled, her love for Tyler hitting her again. He was the first person to really see HER, and fell in love with her all by himself, she did not have to try and get his attention at all; at the time she didn't want it as she was with Matt, he fell for her on his own. He would always have a special part of her heart forever marked Tyler, no matter what happened between them.

Tyler missed his next shot and Stefan took his place. What none of them knew; not even Caroline, was that he had decades of practice at hustling guys in dive bars. Back then it was usually to eat them depending on what faction of his personality, or the state of his humanity switch, was in charge at any given time. He could pot every ball and the game would be over, but he would hold back and let Caroline think she had the upper hand before beating her swiftly.

"Doesn't your brother know how to completely destroy them at pool?" Alaric asked, his voice beginning to slur as the copious amounts of alcohol he had consumed started to affect him, "I thought you told me he was a hustler?"

"Oh he is." Damon answered, never taking his eyes off Stefan as he blatantly checked Caroline out as she bent over to take her shot, "He's playing her. He'll look like he's losing before going in for the kill."

Alaric grinned, the Damon-y part of his brain taking over, and he yelled out with perfect timing, "Don't forget to pot the pink or is it the black?" He turned to Damon, pure mischief in his eyes, "I can never remember."

Damon stared at Alaric with what looked suspiciously like awe before slapping his hand on his shoulder and guffawing at his drunken friend, "You my friend are a genius."

Caroline scraped the cue across the table, a furious blush on her cheeks, and an overwhelming urge to kill Alaric.

Stefan shouldn't, he really shouldn't, it was quite possible that Caroline would actually try to kill him but he couldn't help it. She looked too damn adorable; the red of her cheeks, the fire spitting from her eyes, her gritted teeth. He burst in to laughter.

"That is it!" Caroline almost screamed, and before she could truly think over what she was about to do she jumped on Stefan. Literally into his arms, her legs clutching his hips, her hands on his waist as she very determinedly went for his ticklish weak spots.

Stefan giggled, stumbling back against the wall behind him, her own fingers going for Caroline, grin growing at the girlish screams she let out.

"No! Stefan, stop!" Caroline giggled, breathless with the laughter that spilled from her, "Stop!"

"You stop!" Stefan laughed back, his skin on fire from the touch of her bare fingers against him.

Elena would not witness this any longer. Caroline was literally straddling her boyfriend in the middle of the grill and said boyfriend was not pushing her off. Oh no, in fact, his hands were all over her. She gritted her teeth, grabbed her jacket off the chair and stormed off. She was super pissed at how their date night had turned out and she was never ever going out with Stefan if Caroline was going to be there.

Damon and Alaric shared a look. Elena was on her own, at night, in a town infected with hybrids that would love to get their hands on her to please their master. They nodded their agreement and went after Elena to keep her safe.

Caroline's face was buried in Stefan's neck, giggles subsiding, her hands finally stilling as she couldn't take it any more, and released Stefan from the torture.

Stefan had a brilliant smile on his face, which he always did when spending time with his best friend. She was his light, no matter how down he felt she always managed to raise a smile from him.

Tyler walked over and took Caroline's hand and tugged her away from Stefan to be at his side, "Dates over. Lets go."

"What do you..." Caroline looked up and noticed that Elena, Damon and Alaric were all gone, "Where did everybody go?"

"I guess they didn't want to see you two all over each other." Tyler glared over Caroline's shoulder at Stefan, "Can't imagine why."

Caroline suddenly felt guilty, she was only making Stefan laugh like she always does, she didn't mean to chase anybody off. She bit her cheek and looked apologetically at Tyler, "I'm sorry."

Tyler shook his head with a smile, "You are too cute to stay mad at, Care." He pulled her close and placed a not so innocent kiss on her mouth, a satisfied look on his face at the desire on hers.

Stefan felt uncomfortable at the sight, he wasn't going to analyse why, he was going to lock it away in the part of his mind labelled 'Caroline' and dismiss tonight as nothing out of the ordinary. He approached them, his hands in his pockets, and a soft smile on his face as he addressed her, "I'd better go after Elena and make sure she's alright."

Caroline nodded smiling back, "I'll call you later."

Stefan kissed her on the cheek and squeezed her arm, "Talk soon." Then he went to find Elena, not that he was too concerned as Damon and Alaric were both gone and as they were basically her protectors he knew she was in safe hands.

Caroline also didn't want to examine whatever was or wasn't lurking between her and Stefan's friendly/flirty banter. She wasn't ready to know and she knew neither was Stefan. So she took Tyler's hand and followed him out of the grill toward his house.

That was the last time Elena, Stefan, Caroline and Tyler had a date night. In fact it was the last fun and free night they had before their lives went to hell and both Elena and Alaric died. Only Elena came back as a vampire, and Alaric was gone forever.

TBC

AN – I know that it is basically half the prompt – and this part is set in season 3 – and it may have completely taken on a life of its own. I honestly don't know where Damon and Alaric came from, they wrote themselves in – lol! Part 2 will be season 4 and cover that part of the prompt. I hope you all enjoyed it!