STEROLINE.

Caroline frowned when someone knocked on the door. She turned off the tv and saw Stefan on the doorway, hands on pockets and a little smile on his face.

"Hey."
"Hey."
"What are you doing here?"
"Mmm… are you alone?" –he asked, looking behind her.
"Yeah, what's wrong, Stefan?"
"Liz is not here?"
"She wanted to go to the office despite of my opinion about it."
"I see. Listen, I was wondering if… maybe…"

Caroline looked at him raising her eyebrows. She thought that Stefan might be drunk. It was not common in him to behave like that. He looked how Stefan closed his mouth after having it open a few seconds, looking for the right words to say. Caroline, then, realized that Stefan was nervous. But she could not understand why.

"Is something wrong?" –Caroline asked. Stefan shook his head.
"Are you free? I was wondering if you would like to spend the evening with me."

Caroline opened her eyes excessively, realizing that Stefan was asking her out on a date. If she had had enough time to think about it, she would have come to the conclusion that Stefan had gone crazy. Was he really asking her out on a date?

"Spend the evening with you? Like on a date?" –she said, trying to assimilate it. Stefan nodded. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know? I don't want you to feel compelled to go out with me just because I told you that I…"
"It's not that, Caroline. Just say yes, please."

Caroline analyzed him with her look. Stefan seemed to be desperate and for the first time he was looking into her eyes directly, with an unlike intensity. She noticed how good-looking he was with his jeans and his leather jacket.

"Okay. Should I change my clothes or…? Where are we going?" –Caroline asked.
"You're… fine like this" –Stefan said, looking at her up and down. The girl repressed a smile when Stefan swallowed after observing her. It seemed that he was having a battle inside his mind against himself.

Caroline went out and closed the door. She realized that there was no car. Stefan had already gone downstairs of the doorway when he noticed that Caroline was not following him. He turned around to look at her, fearing that she had regretted of having accepted his invitation.

"But where's the car?" –the blonde asked. Stefan smiled relieved and pointed at his motorcycle. "You're letting me to get on your bike? I can't believe it!"

Caroline walked toward the vehicle and Stefan followed her, smiling.

"Don't tell me that you're afraid of bikes" –he said when they were next to the bike.
"Does it look like I'm afraid of bikes, Stefan? –she asked with a roguish smile. Stefan nodded, although he had already predicted it. Caroline was going to get on it when Stefan stopped her touching her elbow.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting on?"
"Put on this. I don't want you to get hurt" –Stefan gave her one of the helmets. Caroline looked at the object with an inquiring look.
"We're vampires, Stefan" –she reminded him.
"Imagine if the police see us without helmets."
"In that case I'll pay the fine, but I'm not wearing this."

The helmet has some cartoons drawn on it. Stefan sighed as he knew that Caroline would get away with it and then he put the helmets away. When he got on the bike, Caroline could not help but feeling something on her back. Stefan looked at her, waiting for her to get on. The girl got on with a rapid movement and sat behind him. Stefan started the bike.

"Caroline, you have to hold on to me" –he said as if he had read her thoughts. Caroline bit her lip. It was the first time that she was going to be that close to Stefan after such a long time. The girl put her arms around his waist and came closer to his back. Stefan noticed her breath in his nape, which made him want to turn around and kiss her at once. But he knew that he should not do it after how he had behaved with her the last months.

Then Stefan started to ride the bike and Caroline felt the wind on her face and how it was moving her hair. She standed her head on his back and closed her eyes, breathing as if she had not done so for a long time. Stefan looked at the side mirror and saw that she was smiling. How could he have been so blind about his feelings toward her? He had tried to oblige himself to think that they could not be friends and something more at the same time, when that actually was what he needed. He regretted having taken so long to realize that he felt something more than simple friendship for her. She had always called him "friend" and for that reason he had blocked all his thoughts and feelings toward her, as he never thought that she would have feelings for him. Stefan accelerated and Caroline hold on to him harder, so he smiled once more. Later, Stefan braked slowly and stopped the bike.

"Caroline" –he called her.
"Mmm?" –she stayed there with her eyes closed and with her heart resting on his back.
"You have to get off the bike."
"Oh" –Caroline got off the bike, realizing that she had been very evident. "Sorry."

Then Stefan got off the bike and Caroline noticed that they were in the woods.

"Now I'm intrigued."

Stefan put his jacket on her shoulders and rubbed her arms. Caroline looked at him and got surprised that Stefan did not look away. He caressed her cheek gently.

"Here it's colder, so I thought that…"
"You have to stop doing that, Stefan."
"Doing what?" –he asked confused.
"Looking at me like this."
"Looking at you like what?"
"As if…"
"I felt something for you?" –Stefan said point black. Caroline did not know what to say. Now she was the one who stayed there with her mouth open, looking into his eyes. A little smile appeared on Stefan's face. "I'll continue looking at you like this as much as you let me."

Caroline felt something inside her stomach. She had never fallen in love for someone like that and that scared her. She was afraid because she was more and more in love everyday and she did not know how to stop it. And now Stefan told her those kinds of things, as if he really felt something for her. He put his arm over her shoulder and pointed to a blanket on the floor. There were a few sandwiches and some wine.

"I know this is very common, but I thought that you would want to come back to reality after everything that you…"
"It's great."

Then Stefan looked into her eyes and Caroline returned him the gaze while she took the hand that was hanging over her shoulder.

"I know I don't have the right after all you've been through and that this may not be the right moment, but…" –Stefan observed how Caroline was smiling shyly and he asked himself if he would really be able to repress his desires. "If you give me one last chance, I…"
"I already forgave you some time ago."
"You know what I mean" –Stefan said, looking at her lips.
"Actually I don't" –Caroline said, realizing that Stefan was getting closer to her. She wished that Stefan could not hear how quickly her heart was beating, but he had already heard it as he was smiling.
"Okay, I'll get to the point, because if I don't kiss you right now, I think I'm gonna explode."

Then Stefan's lips touched Caroline's and they felt a relief that they had not felt before. Stefan pulled her more against him and put his arms around her waist. Caroline pushed his neck with her hand and she opened her lips giving free way to Stefan. When their tongues touched, it was the best sensation. Stefan kissed her all over again and Caroline let him every time.

"Caroline…" –he mumbled while he was kissing her.
"Shh" –Caroline said while she biting his inferior lip.
"I have to tell you something" –Stefan said, trying to getting away from her lips, but he felt like an exterior force that did not let him do so.
"It can wait" –she whispered as she was pulling him to her to kiss him again. "We have an immortal life to talk."
"This can't wait" –he said with his eyes closed while Caroline was attacking his lips. He did not know how or when, but they had reached a tree and the blonde had her back against the trunk. Stefan pushed her away gently and looked into her eyes. Was she really real?
"What's wrong?" –she asked.
"I… I love you, Caroline."

Caroline smiled from ear to ear and put her arms around his neck again.

"I'm glad to hear that."
"Well, because I'm not gonna let you alone not even a second from now on. You're going to get tired of me." –he said smiling and grabbing her waist.
"I'll survive."

Stefan was going to kiss her again but something interrupted them. This time, actually, was not something, but someone. A person had coughed. Stefan and Caroline looked for who had interrupted them.

"I swear that I had no idea that you were here" –Damon said innocently. Then he looked at Stefan and Caroline with an impish smile. "Alaric?"
"What?" –Alaric asked, getting closer to Damon and noticing that Caroline and Stefan were there. She tried to primp her hair and Stefan was hands on hips. "Well, well, well."
"Yeah Alaric, Stefan knows how to seduce a woman on the first date very well" –Damon said, seeing the picnic. "But I don't know why they needed the food. They were eating themselves."