Stefan opened his eyes for the fifth time in less than an hour. He had already gotten used to the darkness of the night in the bedroom, which made him sigh again. The silence in the house was deafening. The walls seemed to be staring at him, mocking him for the loneliness.
He had to admit that, once he had known what having Caroline living there with him was like, it was hard for him to be on his own in that king size bed, without her. He missed her proximity and touch so much that his skin stung due to her absence.
Stefan groaned in annoyance and grabbed Caroline's pillow to replace his. He buried his face in it and breathed in deeply. The smell of her skin and hair clouded his senses and he was finally able to release the air he had been holding. She was his cure, because every time he buried his face in her neck during the night and she stroked his hair, he knew what heaven really was.
He groaned a second time against the pillow. Enough was enough. He knew it was 4.30am and that she was probably sleeping, but he had to try. And so he did, grabbing his phone and opening her chat.
Stefan:
I know this probably sounds really selfish
And I don't wanna sound jealous
But I hate this as well.
He was really surprised when he saw that she was writing.
Caroline:
Which thing?
Stefan:
This.
You there, me here.
I'm used to having you inside my arms.
Caroline smiled softly, staring at the screen of her phone, her heart melting.
Stefan:
I miss you.
The phone buzzed in his hand. His heart jumped helplessly, and he accepted the call.
"Hey" he said with a little smile on his lips, sitting up on the bed to rest his back against the headboard.
"I miss you too" she said, not beating around the bush.
"Hm, you sound a little desperate" he joked.
"Hey, I'm not the one who has texted you in the middle of the night."
Stefan chuckled and scratched his chin.
"Yeah, I deserve that" he said. "How's Bonnie's cabin?"
"Good, it's good" she said. Stefan could hear her steps. She was probably getting out of Bonnie's bedroom so that she would not wake her up. "Very Enzo and Bonnie-like, actually. It's nice."
Stefan nodded, as if they were having the conversation face-to-face. He had missed her voice.
"Where are you right now?" he asked, playing with the drawstring of his sweatpants.
"Sitting on the porch" she said, tightening her carding against her body.
"I'm sorry" he said after rubbing a hand over his tired face.
"For what?" she asked with a frown.
"Your day. Bonnie told me she'd go wedding shopping with you and… Well, it was kinda ruined thanks to my brother, so."
"It's okay" Caroline said after a sigh. Then, she smiled. "We have time to plan everything. And I did see some dresses."
"Yeah?" he said, amused, picturing her being all excited.
"Yeah" she said cheerfully.
They remained silent for a few seconds, and he took advantage of the opportunity to listen to her breathe. She sighed dreamily and he bit the inside of his cheek, trying really hard not to tease her.
"You're doing it again" he said.
"What?"
"You're staring at the ring, again."
"I-, I swear I'm not" she cleared her throat, trying not to give herself away.
Stefan could not help but laugh and she giggled.
"I swear I'm not!" she repeated, trying to sound more convincing. She pictured him laughing at her and could not help but smile. "But, you know, if by any chance I were, I hope you know how much I love it."
"Yeah, you already told me last night, remember? Like, 30 times."
"Hm, when, exactly?"
"Oh, you know, when I was just trying to kiss you and you couldn't stop talking about dresses, the organization of tables and seats, dates for the ceremony, honeymoon destinations…"
She threw her head back, laughing and rolling her eyes.
"Speaking of dates" she said, biting her lower lip nervously. "I was thinking and-"
"Wait, give me a second, I just…" he stopped talking for a moment and she frowned, waiting.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, just… What's this?" he said with an amused voice. "Caroline's wedding book, huh."
Caroline blushed immediately and almost chocked. She stood to her feet and started to pace the floor.
"That's totally embarrassing and I made it when I was little, so can you just-"
"I didn't know you had one of these" Stefan said. Caroline could hear the turning of the pages and she rubbed her forehead anxiously. "It's cute."
"Stefan, if you keep reading, I swear I'm gonna-"
"Oh my God, what's this?" he said and laughed loudly. Caroline pursed her lips and closed her eyes. "Did you really put on your mom's wedding dress when you were 10? You look adorable in the picture, and so tiny. It looks huge on you" he chuckled silently and she gritted her teeth.
"I'm so going to kill you, Stefan."
"Oh, wait. And you made Bonnie and Elena dress as the maids of honor. What the hell were they wearing, though? This is hilarious."
"Stefan, seriously" Caroline could not help but let out a nervous laugh. "Stop, please."
And then, silence. A long, long silence. Caroline covered her face with her hand, knowing that he was probably looking at the last page.
"Oh" he finally said.
"Yeah" she breathed out.
"When did you do this?"
"You know when" she said shyly.
He smiled softly, looking at his name written on the page, with a lot of hearts around the letters, and a very small page of June from a calendar under them.
"So" he said, raising his eyebrows. "Do you still want June?"
She bit her lower lip, smiling.
"Yeah, I do."