A/N - It's been a while since I've written any fanfiction but I have been writing in my absence. This is my first Damon/Caroline multi-chapter story so I'm actually really excited about this story and pairing. This takes place beginning of season two. Caroline's just turned and Damon has just been told by his past love, Katherine, and his current one, Elena, that for both of them it will 'always be Stefan'.
This chapter is going to be really short compared to the rest of the story because it's the scene that sets the story. Everything is cannon from the show until this moment. It's the turning point in these two character's relationship.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries or any of these characters unless otherwise stated. No matter how much I wish I did.
"It may be said with a degree of assurance that not everything that meets the eye is as it appears."
-Rod Serling
Caroline wasn't sure why she was here. Sitting alone at a booth in the corner of the grill. She supposed it was because she had no where else left to go. Life seemed to be falling to pieces around her and she couldn't figure out a way to put it all back together again. Over the course of a couple weeks her life had made a complete one-eighty and she just wished she had someone to go too.
She had just finished spending the day hunting little rabbits with Stefan, and although he was trying his best, it was just difficult to learn control from someone who couldn't manage it over himself.
Caroline liked Stefan. Not in the wanting to be with him sense, or even the wanting to fall in bed with him way, but just as an overall person. He was like the big brother she never had but always wanted. It's been close to two weeks since she's become a vampire and he was the only one who immediately offered to help her. Despite how much she knew he didn't like her beforehand. And that meant something to her.
Caroline wasn't naive. She knew that she was the last person any of them wanted to have mixed up in this supernatural drama. Selfish and shallow and only caring about her image. She was the little blonde cheerleader no one could get close too and no one really wanted to spend time with. She didn't particularly mind that though. Sure, she hated to be alone but that was infinitely better than being around a bunch of people who were indifferent to her existence.
That's why she liked Stefan. He's been the first person who's been real with her in a very long time. Well him and Matt, but she couldn't be around Matt right now so she had to focus her attention on something else. Anything but dealing with her own issues. So she's decided that she was going to take this Salvatore friendship seriously. It's been an awfully long time since she's let anyone in for real. Hell, it's been a long time since someone's even tried. But she was going to need the help if she was going to survive in this world. Perseverance. It was critical. She had discovered this at a very young age.
It was this mindset that compelled Caroline to get out of her lonely little booth and make her way across the bar towards the eldest Salvatore brother. Damon and her had a complicated past to put it mildly, he fed on her and used her and then tried to kill her, and she remembered every vivid detail. They weren't on the best of terms right now, but he was seated at the bar when she came in over an hour ago and she lost count of how many drinks she's already seen him shoot back and who knows how many were before she arrived. It may not have been any of her business but while she and Stefan were talking today it dawned on her how much he really needed his brother. Even if he was a manipulative asshole. She just wanted to help.
"Well, don't you look cheery." Caroline greeted as she slid into the bar stool beside him, absentmindedly raising her hand so the bartender would notice her on his next round. This was a lie of course. Damon looked anything but cheery. In fact, he looked like someone dragged his heart around through the dirt and ran over it with a semi, but she wasn't exactly going to show him any form of sympathy.
Caroline heard him exhale although she wasn't looking in his direction. It was heavy in irritation and she couldn't help but smirk at the realization that she was annoying him. Good.
"Is this the game plan? I hurt you so now you're going to annoy me for the rest of eternity? Hardly seems like a fair trade." His tone was mocking as he finished off the contents of the glass in his hand. Caroline wasn't an idiot. She knew he didn't care about a thing he did to her. It was now just an inconvenience that she regained her knowledge of the whole series of events.
"Yeah, you know, I was sitting around today thinking to myself; 'Self, what's the best way to get back at Damon for all the shit he's done?'" Tilting her head, she glanced in his direction and she could have sworn she saw his lips twitch. But she could have been wrong. "And then it came to me - annoy him until he felt he had no choice but to stake himself. It's perfect."
Grinning to herself, she ordered a rum and coke when the bartender came back, watching as Damon gestured down to his now empty glass in a silent command for another.
"I have to give it to you, Blondie. That plan might actually be fool proof. You do have a nasty little habit of being the most annoying thing that walks into a room." Now she knew she did see the edge of his mouth twist upwards. The bastard was smirking at her. Caroline wasn't fazed though. She was used to it. It sudden became very obvious to her that this wasn't just a random drink at the bar to avoid his brother or whatever. He was hurting over something - and he was taking it out on her. And here she thought they might have moved past this.
"And you have a habit of being the most obnoxious but you don't hear me complaining." Shrugging her shoulders, she smiled gratefully as the blonde haired man delivered her drink. He's been the bartender for the past month and one of her first acts of vampirism was compelling him to serve her without hesitation. Caroline had to admit that the whole being dead thing had some perks. She caught Damon's head turning in her direction as she glanced back at him, raising a brow as he gave her a look of disbelief.
"You never shut up about it!" His tone rose slightly in volume as he held his glass outstretched in front of him in a gesture that conveyed that he couldn't believe she was suggesting anything otherwise.
"You're right. I never was good at filtering." A smile overtook her features as he continued to just stare at her. As if he really was at a loss for words. "So how about since we're both the most annoying things on the face of the earth and currently drinking alone, you tell me what your problem is. I won't guarantee that I'll care, but I could use the entertainment."
"Shouldn't you be out with Saint Stefan lowering the town's animal population one squirrel at a time?" No smile. Just a heavy resentment that Caroline couldn't ever imagine feeling towards a sibling. Weren't they supposed to like... love each other unconditionally or something incredibly cheesy like that? She wasn't exactly sure how the whole sibling thing worked. But personally, she couldn't imagine losing one over a girl. It seemed to always come down to one with these two.
"Already did that and I'm scarred for life. But I'm not the one drinking my problems away."
"You're not adapting to the Stefan diet well? Shocking." Damon responds sarcastically, clearly avoiding her questioning. Caroline was pretty sure he's thinking about how he's still right on what kind of food Stefan really needs. She remembers him mentioning it a few times to her in privacy during one of his venting sessions.
"Wow, you're bashing on your brother. Must be Tuesday." She has to roll her eyes. It's just ridiculous. All this sibling rivalry. Caroline's grown up with Elena and has been friends with her for a very long time and although she thinks of her as a somewhat good person, she doesn't think Elena is worth tearing apart a family.
"Well by all means, if another member of the Stefan fanclub has something to say don't let me stop you. It's always going to be Stefan, right?" The bitterness was obvious in his tone as she watched him finish yet another drink. That was about when she decided she's had enough of this.
"Would you shut up? My god, you're turning into the brother you claim to hate so much with all this brooding." That seemed to catch his attention. Damon's head snapped towards her so fast that she's surprised he didn't just give himself whiplash. "Let me guess, Elena turned down another one of your numerous advances and now you're drowning yourself in your own self pity. But let me ask you something; have you ever thought about what you were going to do after you got the girl?" This seemed to have stumped him as his gaze dropped down to his glass before he sneered in her direction.
"Have you ever thought about how no one would care if I ripped your heart from your chest right now?"
"Think about it, Damon." Caroline snapped, her teeth gritting together. Somehow he could still manage to create a blow, no matter how many times she told herself that she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being able to hurt her anymore. "Lets say you manage to steal Elena out from under Stefan. Then what? Could you live with knowing you stole away his main source of happiness? I mean, maybe you do love her more. Maybe he'll move on and years later he'll find someone new." There was something in his gaze, like a twinkling of hope that she might be right and Caroline almost felt horrible for the next words that were about to come out of her mouth. Almost. "But he'd never forgive you. Regardless of if he manages to move on or not. So instead of hating Stefan and punishing him because Elena loves him. Maybe you should ask yourself if she's worth losing him."
She probably could have toned down the bite in her voice but she was growing disgusted by the entire situation to begin with. So with that, Caroline hopped back off the stool and took off towards the front door. Leaving the raven haired man behind to stare after her. Pondering over both the words and the mysterious young woman he was beginning to realize he didn't know in the slightest.
A/N - Reviews would be appreciated on whether or not I should continue. They really do fuel inspiration.
