Taking the last long drink, I toss the drained squirrel to the side before squatting down at the edge of the creek to wash my face and hands. The water was cold, even for my own cool skin. Winter was just around the corner. I drank a few handfuls of the frigid water before standing to make my way out of the forest. I wasn't particularly eager to get back to Damon and Enzo's den of bourbon and half-drained co-eds. But there was nowhere else to go and someone had to keep them under some kind of control.
A cracking twig put me on guard. Another and I was on alert. Who would be out here off the beaten path at this time of evening, in the cold? My mind raced through dozens of possibilities, none of them good.
So when I peered through the trees to see a beautiful blonde in the distance, I was quite relieved. And surprisingly blissful to see her.
Caroline Forbes made her dainty way through the crunchy leaves, leaning down to something up every few steps and put whatever the things were in a bag on her shoulder. I made my way toward her, watching her look around nervously at the approaching sound. Then she was gone in a flash and reappeared behind me with a broken branch poking me in the back.
She dropped it in an instant once she realized it was me.
"Stefan!" she yelled, "What the hell are you doing out here? You scared me to death!"
I raised my eyebrows at her phrasing.
"Shut up! You know what I mean!" she continued to yell.
I fought back a smirk.
"I'm just hunting," I explained, "I noticed a lot of wildlife around here when I was here last."
Here being the forest surrounding Whitmore college.
Caroline nodded and crossed her arms. Suddenly I remembered that we were no longer friends. Somehow I'd actually forgotten that.
"What are YOU doing out here?" I returned the question, gesturing to her discarded bag.
"Oh, I was just...collecting pine cones," she said sheepishly, bending down to pick up her bag and pick up the pine cones that had fallen out.
"Pine cones?" I asked, helping her get the ones around my feet.
"Yes, pine cones!" she said, unexpectedly defensive about it.
I threw up my hands and stepped back.
She huffed and sighed.
"I'm making wreaths, okay?!" she exclaimed, shoving a final pine cone in her bag before turning to walk away.
"Okay," I said, calmly, before reaching out to gently take her arm, "Hey, wait a second, please."
She stopped but crossed her arms angrily. I knew that I deserved her anger to some extent. Just last week I was ready to leave my newbie vampire girlfriend with her and skip town. Now that Damon was back, I felt like myself again. But the damage between me and Caroline was done, it seemed. And it was only now occurring to me how much of a problem that really was.
My eyes trailed from where my hand loosely held her thin wrist, up her black cashmere-clad arms to her beautiful, angry face. Her cheeks and nose kept turning pink from the cold air but healed immediately back to porcelain. A gust of wind whipped around us and blew a strand of golden hair across her sad blue eyes. I fought the urge to reach up and remove the hair from her face. I didn't have that right. Not after the way I had treated her. One of the only people in the world that actually cared about me. What was I supposed to say to fix this? I had no idea.
"Can I help you?" I tried, letting her arm go and watching it drop to her side.
She hesitated.
"I guess, unless you need to skip town or something," she said, bitterly, walking back toward campus and picking up pine cones along the way.
I winced a little at her harsh tone but I just accepted it and kept walking.
After a few minutes of silence, Caroline spoke again.
"So, how's it going with Damon being back?"
I sighed deeply, "Well, he's...Damon."
She laughed in a little puff and looked at me.
"But I'm glad he's back, even so," I admitted, shoving pine cones in the pocket of my jacket since Caroline's bag was almost full.
Caroline nodded sadly.
"And I'm sorry about Bonnie," I finally remembered to say.
She stopped and looked at me.
"She deserved to be here. To come home," she said, leaving unspoken that Damon DIDN'T. I appreciated that.
I nodded and thought about how right she was. I had gotten my brother back, but her best friend, more of a sister to her, was still gone. Probably forever.
"Damon's kind of falling apart about leaving her behind," I mentioned, "Between that and Elena not remembering him...he's drowning in bourbon and sorority girls."
Caroline wrinkled up her nose in disgust.
"And for THAT you finally decide to stay around?" she complained.
"No, I'm staying around because someone has to be around to minimize the damage," I defended myself.
"Is that the only reason?" she asked, opening up only slightly for the first time tonight.
"No," I said, immediately, ready to start opening back up myself.
She didn't ask why even though I wanted to tell her.
"So, are you just going to walk around picking up pine cones and letting me bitch at you all night?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it's better than the alternative."
"What? Going back home to the murder house?"
I stopped and took a tentative step closer to her.
"Not being with you."
I studied her face and thought I saw just the beginning of a smile, the faintest softening of her eyes. I was probably imagining it.
She simply turned and started walking again. I followed her.
"So, I know we aren't friends anymore or whatever," she said, "But if you need a place to stay to get away from Damon-being-Damon...you can always come to Whitmore. I AM still your sober sponsor."
I was in awe of her kindness. Her responsibility. Her forgiveness. All of the things that made her HER. And I wanted nothing more than to close the distance between us and wrap her in my arms. Like I would have felt comfortable doing six months ago. But now. I wouldn't. I didn't deserve to.
So I just followed her. Would follow her until she decided I could walk next to her again.