I've Been Roaming Around
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm just writing this because I enjoy writing and I love Stefan/Caroline! 3
It's been two and a half years-almost three- since she left Mystic Falls. Since she lost contact with everyone there, Elena, Bonnie, Matt and even Jeremy. She packed up and left, without saying a goodbye. So she tells herself that she deserves it. She deserves them not contacting her. But she still wishes that they'd send a letter saying that they're all okay. But then she thinks; why are they the ones who have to send something? She's just as capable as they are. The person who she regretted not saying goodbye to the most, was Stefan. He had been such a good friend to her and instead of returning his kind actions of friendship, she left town without saying goodbye. What kind of a friend was that? A horrible friend for sure.
She thought about him a lot, wondering what he was doing, where he was, if he left Mystic Falls or if he went somewhere new. She had all these questions that she would want to ask him if she saw him again. She hoped that she would see him again; she hoped it would be soon. Caroline thought she saw him once. She had been in Vancouver, in Canada, and she could have sworn that she saw his tall figure retreating into a big massive crowd of people. She had spotted his light brown hair and his nice broad back, wearing his old leather jacket. She had wanted to follow him, but she soon lost sight of him as he moved more into the sea of people. Now however, she wished she had followed him. She wished that she had gone up to him and hugged him, asked how he was, what he was doing here. I mean he was in Canada? Why would he be here? But then she thought I came to see the scenery of British Columbia. She had heard how beautiful it was and she had to admit, it defiantly succeeded her expectations, and then some. But now, she lived in a small old little house along the coast in Seaside, Oregon. She realized -with her time spent in B.C. - that she would like to live by the water, so that's what she did. She tried her best to live a normal live, she didn't go back to high school, once she had graduated from Mystic Falls High she didn't want to go back. So instead she got a job at a little café off Main Street.
She would go hunt in the woods at night and early in the morning, so that no one would notice anything. She had a routine in the mornings she would wake up, go for a human run along the beach, go hunt, then shower and go to work. She spent most of her time on the beach, by the water. It seemed to calm her, sooth her. Caroline liked this new life she was living; it made her feel more mature, more grown-up. Now Caroline sat on her couch reading Pride and Prejudice, she took in a deep breath and shot her head up in alert. She smelt it, she had smelled the scent of his cologne and she suddenly felt his presence. She shook her head and chucked to herself. Caroline you're going crazy. She was about to continue on reading when her doorbell rang. Questionable about whom it was, Caroline got up and opened the door.
"Stefan?" She was sure her jaw had dropped. "Wh-uh Hi." She smiled as she moved towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Wh-What are you doing here?" She asked as she released him and pulled away.
He smiled at her. "I just wanted to see how you were. It's been awhile."
Caroline bit the inside of her lip and nodded. "Yeah, it has. How did you find me?"
He ran a nervous hand through his hair. "I caught your scent awhile back and followed it, which led me here."
Caroline looked down. "Oh."
She took a step back inside and held the door open for him.
"Come on in."
He smiled at her and entered her new home. It smelt like her, the warm vanilla scent, the Dark Kiss hand lotion that she got from Bath and Body Works. It just smelt like Caroline, which made him smile. He walked more into the house, away from the doorway and scanned around.
"It's a nice place you have here."
Caroline smiled. "Yeah, I like it."
He turned and faced her.
"So, uh," She racked her mind for something to say. "How's everything back home?"
He shrugged. "I wouldn't know."
Caroline furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"
"I left shortly after you did. I travelled around for a bit, and I even ran into Tyler in Ohio."
"You ran into Tyler? How is he?"
"He seemed well. He asked about you but I couldn't say much. I only told him all that I could remember." He looked at her, head cocked to the side. "So how have you been?"
"I've been good, busy with work and the chaos of trying to live a normal life, without people finding out what I am."
Stefan nodded. "That's good. It's good that you're being careful."
Caroline nodded. "Yeah."
A somewhat awkward silence filled the room, changing the atmosphere with it. Caroline was somewhat surprised when Stefan purposefully walked towards her and pulled her into another hug.
"It's really nice to see you Care, really nice."
She tightened her grip around him. "It's really nice to see you too Stefan. I've missed you so much!"
"I've missed you too." He murmured into her hair.
They just held each other like that for awhile. Completely comfortable and content in each other's embrace.
"Stefan." Caroline spoke. "Want me to show you around?" she asked as she pulled away, her hands resting on his biceps.
He nodded. "Yeah, sure." He said as he stroked her cheek.
She smiled and started walking towards the door. She reached for his hand. "Come on."
Stefan grabbed her hand and followed her out the door. They walked into the small local shops; Caroline showed him all the unique things. She showed him where she met her friend Abby, who wasn't a vampire but she knew a lot about them, so she answered any questions that Caroline had. She showed him where she worked and where she would hangout during her free time, when the beach was too busy. As they were walking Caroline bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, turning to see who it was. Before continuing her conversation with Stefan.
"Caroline?"
She looked back at the man.
"Ethan?"
He nodded. "Yeah, hey."
Caroline shook her head in shock, a smile on her face. "Hey." She walked over to him and hugged him. "How have you been? It's been a while." She said as she pulled away.
Stefan tried to ignore the feeling of jealousy that he got in his chest, at the close contact between Caroline and Ethan.
"I've been good thanks. I work as a journalist now. What do you do now?"
"Oh I've had a hard time trying to find the right job, but now I work at the local café just off of Main Street."
He smiled at her. "That's great Caroline."
She nodded. Caroline noticed Ethan look at Stefan and then back to her.
"Oh right. Ethan, this is Stefan Salvatore." She motioned to Stefan. "Stefan, this is Ethan Campbell." She motioned to Ethan.
Ethan held out his hand. "Hi." He said a little too cheerfully.
Stefan looked at him a little uncertain. "Hi." Stefan said, shaking Ethan's hand.
"So," Ethan spoke. "How did you meet Caroline?"
Caroline noticed Stefan's uncertainty about the new stranger before them and answered for him.
"We went to high school together." Caroline spoke up.
"Oh." Ethan nodded. "It was nice to see you again Care."
He to a step towards her and hugged her once again.
"Yeah Ethan, was nice to see you again too."
He kept hold of her a little too long and gave Stefan a smirk as he moved his hand slowly down Caroline's back. Stefan gave him a menacing glare, as he clenched his fists in protectiveness over Caroline. Who seemed to be oblivious to this whole situation.
Caroline pulled away and smiled at him. "Bye Ethan, I'll see you around."
She turned back to Stefan and grabbed his hand, as they continued on walking.
"So, are you going to tell me how you met Ethan?"
Caroline looked at him. "Is that jealousy or sarcasm that I detect in your voice?"
Stefan chuckled. "Neither, I just want to know how you met the guy. I kind of got a weird feeling from him."
Caroline gave him an unconvinced look. "I met Ethan awhile ago. I was at a job interview and we hit it off, we went for drinks afterward and then..." she trailed off. "Yeah." She shrugged. "We didn't keep in touch and I haven't seen him until now."
Stefan nodded. "Hmm."
"What?"
"What?" Stefan asked looking at her.
"You don't seem impressed. You didn't like him did you?"
Stefan shook his head. "Actually no, I wasn't quite fond of him." He turned and stood in front of her. "He seems like a sleazeball Caroline."
Caroline dropped his hand.
"Stefan, you don't even know him." She said defensively. "But there's no point in arguing about him. We're never going to see him again. Come on, let's go to dinner."
She reached for his hand again and led him toward the local bar.
... {love}...
"So," Caroline said once they had taken their seats at the bar. "How's Elena?"
She noticed the oppressed look grace his strong features and she knew something was wrong. She placed her hand on his and squeezed lightly. As if encouraging him to open up to her.
"What happened?" Her voice was soft.
Stefan looked up at her and met her eyes. "We uh, broke up."
He cleared his throat and looked at their hands, which rested on the bar counter.
"She made her choice." Stefan looked at her again. "She chose Damon."
Caroline slightly tilted her head to the side, a merciful look on her face. "I'm so sorry." She said kindheartedly.
He gave her a thankful smile at her gratitude. "I've gotten over it. I realized that since I'm not with her, I'm not going to waste eternity sulking over her. She chose Damon, and she won't be around forever. Eventually Damon will find someone else once she's gone." He shrugged. "And hopefully I will too."
Caroline intertwined their fingers together and squeezed his hand. "You will, you just have to have patience."
Stefan looked at her as she said it. Something changed about the way he saw the beautiful fair haired girl sitting in front of him. He stared at her intently, seeing her in a new light, noticing things that he had never really noticed before. Like how her smile lights up her eyes and the bright aura around her. Or how caring she is over him, how concerned she gets when she notices something's not right with him. He loves how kind she is and how warm and friendly her presence is.
"What will you guys be drinking?" the bartender asked.
The unfamiliar voice brought both of them out of their intense staring.
"What was that?" Caroline managed to say, her eyes still glued to Stefan's.
"What will you guys be drinking?"
"I'll just have straight scotch."
The bartender nodded at Stefan.
"And what would you like Miss?"
"I'll have a scotch on the rocks."
The bartender nodded and left to make their drinks.
"Thank you!" Caroline called after him.
She hadn't noticed Stefan's astounded look. She looked at him her lips curving up into a grin.
"What?"
Stefan shook his head, the look still plastered across his face.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Caroline asked, still grinning.
Stefan blew out air. "Nothing, I-I just didn't think that you were a scotch kind of girl."
Caroline laughed and threw her head back. "You've got to be kidding me?"
Stefan furrowed his brows. "What?"
"You and Damon basically made me a scotch kind of girl! It was the only alcohol you guys had at your house! That's all we drank, especially on those nights where we really needed to forget everything that was happening. You two made me a scotch junkie!"
Stefan laughed. "Well, I guess I never really noticed it before then."
Caroline smiled. "I guess not."
... {laugh}...
"Ssstefan Sssalvatore, you are an amazzzing guy!" Caroline slurred. "I'm ssso glad you arre my frriend!"
Stefan chuckled. "Alright Care. I think you've had enough to drink." He said as he took the drink from her hand.
"Naaaw, hey Stefan, give that back." She begged, as she reached for her drink.
"No way." Stefan laughed. "Let's get you home."
He stood from his barstool and watched as Caroline tumbled off of hers. He rushed to her side.
"Are you okay?"
Caroline just simply nodded.
"Can you walk?" He asked.
"Can you sparkle?" Caroline responded.
"What?"
"Can you fly?"
Stefan raised his eye brows. "Okay Caroline, you've had too much to drink."
He grabbed her arm and put it around his neck, as he put one of his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. He opened the bar door and the cold, crisp air hit against Caroline's cheeks, cutting and nipping. She instantly sobered up. She moved her head so she was looking at Stefan.
"Do you want to go for a walk on the beach?"
Stefan nodded. "I would love that."
The two changed direction and walked towards the beach. Once they were there, they walked for a bit. Caroline still having her arm around Stefan's shoulder, and his arm still rested around her waist.
"Let's go swimming!"
Stefan gave her a perplex look. "Caroline, that waters freezing and it's night time, and not to mention, it's dangerous."
Caroline pulled away and shrugged. "So. We can't feel the coolness and we can see in the dark. And we are much more dangerous."
Stefan was unconvinced. "I don't know."
Caroline stopped walking and stood in front of him, head tilted and hands on her hips. "Oh come on Stefan! Stop being such a baby!"
Stefan sighed. "Caroline-"
"Come on!"
He sighed one more time before giving in. "Fine, but we have to be careful."
Caroline nodded. "Okay!"
She started toward the water, removing her clothes as she went. Stefan stared after her a chuckle escaping his mouth. He soon followed her and removed his clothes as well. Caroline waded in the water and watched Stefan come towards her, a smile on his lips.
"Oh my! Is that a smile?" Caroline teased. "Everyone, Stefan Salvatore smiled!"
Stefan swam towards her and splashed her with water. Caroline's jaw dropped and she had a shocked expression on her face. She looked over at him, as she wiped the water out of her eyes.
"Oh," A smile forming on her lips. "It's on now!"
She swam after a laughing Stefan. Once she had caught up to him, she pushed herself up, off the ground and put her hands on top of his bare shoulders and pushed him down into the water. Stefan, who was stronger than her, reached around and grabbed her waist.
"Hold your breath." He spoke as he held her in his arms and brought them down under the water.
He came back up and Caroline squealed in laughter, as she rubbed the water out of her eyes. Stefan looked at her, and with one hand tilted her head back into the water, moving her hair out of her face. He lifted her head back up and Caroline smiled as a laugh escaped her lips and she leaned her head against his bicep. She scrunched one of her hands through his hair. She played with it, making pieces stick up. Suddenly Stefan had that look in his eyes again, back when they were at the bar sharing that intensive stare. A bead of water was running down his face and Caroline gently stroked it away with her thumb. She hadn't noticed how close she was to him until she felt his warm bare chest against her arm and his breath against her skin. Her lips were mere inches from his. Stefan closed the gap between them and kissed her. Her lips felt nice against his and as he deepened the kiss, Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck; her hands snaked into his wet hair. Pulling apart for air, Stefan looked at her, her lips were swollen and her chest, heaving up and down, trying to take in oxygen. As Caroline thought of what just happened a shiver cascaded down her spine. Stefan noticed this and he gave her a small smile while rubbing her arms.
"Come on." He said. "Let's go."
He stood, still holding Caroline in his arms. One arm was hooked under her knees, while the other around her upper back. He walked out of the water and slowly helped Caroline stand. They dried themselves off with their clothes before getting dressed into them. Caroline smirked at him before taking off up the beach towards her house.
"Caroline!" Stefan called after her.
Only to be met with her laughter. He laughed as a grin spread across his face before running full speed after her. This girl is insane! They reached her house at the same time, laughing.
"Looks like I beat you."
"Ha-ha you keep thinking that Mr. Salvatore."
She unlocked her door and walked in, letting Stefan close it behind him. He turned and faced her, but was attacked by her lips meeting his. With their vampire speed, they were quickly in Caroline's room. Starting to discard the clothing that they had just put on merely moments ago. Suddenly Caroline pulled away, coming to her senses. She didn't want them to do something that they would later regret.
"We should stop." She said, slightly out of breath. "When-if we do this." She motioned between them. "I want it to mean something, for both of us. I want to know that you are completely over Elena."
Stefan nodded. "I am, Caroline."
She shook her head, unconvinced. "No, you're not."
Stefan moved off of her and left the room. Caroline sighed as she ran a hand over her face and through her hair. He was angry. She walked out and into the living room where she saw him sitting on the couch.
"I always have the guest room ready, just in case-" She stopped herself. "You can sleep in there."
With that she left and went into her bedroom to sleep.
A/N: Alright so let me know what you think! The next chapter will be up in a couple of days. After I upload the second chapter, I'm thinking of uploading the other chapters once every week, so yeah. Please review!