"you're dressed as the Easter bunny at our town's Easter egg hunt and I take my younger sibling, but she's afraid of people in costumes and you accidentally make her cry and you take off the bunny head to apologise and hey you're kinda cute" AU
Caroline had hoped that moving into a new town the day before Easter would mean that she didn't have to drag herself (and her unwilling little half-sister) to said new town's Easter celebrations. Unfortunately, her mom thought it would be good to make new friends and meet new people if they went- coincidentally, her mom couldn't make it because she had to unpack. When Caroline used that excuse her mother had shoved her out of the house with a box of flapjack and her little sister, Danielle.
"I hate this just as much as you do," Caroline told the six-year-old, who was a result of her father's affair with another man (it was a long story). She was not in the least bit sociable and seemed to hate anything that required her to be removed from her books, but she got along with Caroline fairly well and they often stayed up late to just talk.
Danielle didn't reply. She just heaved a labourious sigh and continued down their road in the direction of the town square. It was about a ten minute walk away and the two girls wasted time by making up ways to bug their mom when they got back.
The square was decked out in a way that could only be described as interesting. Bunting hung across everyone's heads in pastel colours; fake eggs were strategically placed at every corner and one giant bunny made its way through the crowd of people, high-fiving teenagers and hugging little children.
Danielle saw the bunny and froze up immediately, closing her eyes tightly in a way that Caroline had learnt meant that she was scared of something.
"It's okay, it's just somebody dressed up," Caroline tried to say soothingly, but Danielle didn't look convinced. "Alright, we'll just avoid it. First port of call is the refreshments table so we can put down the flapjack. Maybe we should save everyone and put it in the bin."
Danielle giggled at that and seemed to loosen up slightly. It was no secret that Caroline's mom was a terrible cook- a result of too many late-night shifts as a sheriff- but it didn't stop her trying.
They found the refreshments table without too much trouble and they slid the flapjack in between a large carrot cake and a brownie with little chicks frosted on top.
"Wow," Caroline breathed when she saw the other desserts. "This is one of those small towns."
The town she had lived in before- Beacon Hills- was small as well, but in an entirely different way. Everyone still knew everyone, and the same families had been living there since the day it was founded. But it was more modern than Mystic Falls, where they still celebrated the founding families and the founding of the town; where they (according to the leaflet Caroline had read) still held parades and crowned a Miss Mystic Falls. It was very old-fashioned and exactly the type of town found usually in a film or book.
"Miss Forbes?" Caroline whipped around to see the Mayor, Carol Lockwood, approaching. She was the epitome of small-town mom, with short, styled auburn hair, a pearl necklace, an embroidered cardigan and a winning smile. "It's so nice to see you here. Is your mother around?"
"Er… no," Caroline said with an apologetic smile. "She had to stay and unpack, but she gave Danielle and me a couple hours off to come see this."
"How kind of her," the mayor said, her smile so fake it made Caroline want to whack it off. "Well, I hope you enjoy the festivities. Hello, Danielle!" She crouched and waved at Caroline's little sister, who hated (more than anything) being talked down to. Still, she fixed a smile on her face and the mayor was on her way.
"Let's get out of here," Caroline decided. "We'll go to the park or something. Get some ice cream."
"Good idea," Danielle agreed solemnly, and they started to make their way through the maze of stalls and people.
Caroline wasn't watching where she was going and walked smack-bang straight into something large and fluffy.
"Sorry!" she called out on impulse, and looked up to see the giant Easter bunny from before, grinning its smile almost as fake as the mayor's down at them. Next to her, she felt Danielle freeze up again and Caroline had to harness all her energy into not swearing.
"'Salright," the rabbit's rather muffled voice said, waving a hand in indifference.
Danielle didn't seem to like that the rabbit was also talking and opened her mouth to scream.
"It's okay, Danni," Caroline tried to soothe. "It's just a person in a rabbit costume!"
That didn't seem to make her feel any better, and Danielle screamed loud enough to burst a few eardrums. Without any warning, the rabbit swiftly reached its arms up and tugged its head off to reveal its very human counterpart.
Danielle stopped screaming and even Caroline hesitated a moment because the guy underneath was young and hot. He had blonde-brown short hair, swept up into a sort of quiff on the top of his head and rather prominent eyebrows, with a crooked smile that made Caroline's heart do a little dance. Then she seemed to find herself again.
"I'm so sorry," she apologised profusely. "Danni's just really scared of… things that shouldn't exist. Like giant Easter bunnies."
The guy shrugged and continued to smile. "It's fine; it happens a lot." He looked straight to Caroline this time. "So are you new around here?"
"Yeah, just moved in yesterday," Caroline explained. "Is it that easy to tell?"
"Nah," the guy said. "It's just that everyone around here knows that Stefan Salvatore is the Easter bunny."
"Doesn't that defeat the point?" Danielle pointed out.
Stefan laughed. "I suppose. But I got into trouble a couple years ago- for something I didn't do, by the way-" he said pointedly at Danielle, who giggled. "-and my punishment was to do this. Anyway, I enjoyed it so much that I volunteered to do it again the next year… and the next, and the next. I was a bit of a nerd back then."
Danielle seemed to find him hilarious and even Caroline found herself laughing.
"So what's your name?" Stefan asked Caroline.
"I'm Danielle," Danielle jumped in. "And this is Caroline."
"Caroline, huh? How old are you?"
"Seventeen," Caroline said.
"So you're coming to the school then?" Stefan guessed.
"My mom's home-schooling me until next school year," Caroline said. "Then I'll be joining the… Timberwolves?"
"Woo, Timberwolves!" Stefan whooped almost instinctively. "I don't even know what a Timberwolf is. So, Caroline, there's this small group of people who meet every Friday night at the Mayor's house and there's a small amount of…" He looked at Danielle and then stage-whispered. "-alcohol. Anyway, I figure it's a good time to introduce you to the good people of Mystic Falls. You want to come?"
Caroline hesitated for a moment, then Danielle nudged her in the side. "That would be great," Caroline said honestly. "Thank you!"
"Great!" Stefan said and straightened up. "I'll pick you up at seven."
"You don't know where I live," Caroline pointed out with a slight laugh.
Stefan held up a giant bunny paw in protest. "It's a small town, I'll find it. Seven?"
"Sure," Caroline said. "Why not?"
"Great!" Stefan exclaimed, and then began backing away. "I have to go scare more kids."
Danielle laughed one last time and then tugged Caroline away. "The park, remember?"
"Right," Caroline said almost breathlessly. "The park."