Loving Care Was Red

The five guys who have loved Caroline Forbes reveal their thoughts at the moment they fell in love with the blonde beauty. First up... Matt.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything; the song, the show, the lines I used from the show, etc. :)

1. Matt:

"A washed up jock who pours drinks for a living." He turned away as she said the words to Bonnie, feeling like he'd been stabbed in the heart. He and Caroline hadn't been all that close before, but they were starting friendship, and then she had to go say something like that. Sure, she hadn't been saying it about him, but who was he kidding? He was just Matt Donovan; no-one special. He was never going to get out of this small town. The only future he could see for himself was high school dances and pouring drinks at The Brew.

He pushed past her to get to the kitchen, replying only with a nod to her greeting.

He'd managed to hide out in the kitchen for a good five minutes before his boss told him to go clean up a table. Groaning silently to himself, he walked past Caroline, keeping his head turned away. "Seriously?"

He turned to face her, cocking his head. "Is that for me?"

She rolled her eyes, shrugging her shoulders minutely. "Do you see anyone else in the vicinity?"

Her sarcasm was blatant, almost cutting. He replied, "Do you need something?" Hoping to move away as soon as possible.

"Why are you mad at me?" He just shook his head but she raised her eyebrows. "Yes you are. You're ignoring me."

"No I'm not." He cut in, in that moment wanting her to hurt as much as she'd hurt him. "I'm working. I have a table to clean. That's what washed up jocks have to do to earn a living." He stormed away before she could respond.

She would never understand, she was nothing like him. She'd grown up with two parents who loved her, albeit separately, but he'd never even had one. All he'd ever had was his sister, and these days Vicki was too busy with Tyler Lockwood or Jeremy Gilbert or whoever was her next boy of the week to talk to him.

As he cleaned the table she came up behind him, apologising, but saying she hadn't been talking about him. True, not specifically, but he was just like Ben McKittric, this was clearly how she felt about him. That he was just some small town boy, destined for a small town life. And she was too big for that. Too beautiful. Too amazing. He knew she was going to do great things. He knew she was gonna get out of this town.

"I'm a terrible, awful person- but I'm working on it." Why did this sound like a couple's fight? They weren't even dating.

"Can we just not do this right now?"

"Okay, when do you get off?" She asked, not getting his point.

He let out a breath and pushed back the box containing the plates, a cluttering sound resonating through his thoughts. "Look," He said. "This thing that we've got; it's nice and it feels really good and I know you wanna take the next step-" as he said the words he realised how true they were. He hadn't felt anything like this since Elena. Oh god, Elena.

"How do you know that? Have you even asked me?-"

"I'm, I'm not over Elena." The smile on Caroline's face faded and he felt like a criminal for taking it away. Immediately he tried to rectify his words. "I mean, I don't know if I am." She was his first love and he still loved her, it felt like he always would. Was that normal though? Maybe you would just supposed to move on? Maybe it was okay to feel like this, so long as you kept moving. Maybe that was his problem. But if he and Caroline did progress their relationship they would lose this. And this was the best thing he had going for him right then. He never wanted to disappoint her and hurt her.

The look on her face was his realisation that he'd said the words out loud. She looked so hurt. He never wanted to make her look like that. "Big problem Matt, you already took the next step, all by yourself." His forehead creased. "And you played it all out in your head, and you decided to bail before even giving it a shot. So this thing that we have, for worry about losing it, because it's long gone."

He just stared after her as she stormed away from him; beautiful and passionate. She was right. He'd spent so much time thinking reasons through why he shouldn't do this, imagining horrible outcomes, that he hadn't stop to think about what he was really feeling. And when he did it all became crystal clear. He was in love with Caroline Forbes. He didn't want to ever lose her. He wanted to be with her forever. He dumped his towel down on the table and hurried outside, not listening to his boss shouting after him. She wasn't in the parking lott, so he got in his truck and drove down the road slowly until he saw her, making sure he wouldn't miss her. God, she was fast, storming away with her arms crossed. "Caroline!" He called out of the window as he drove along slowly beside her and she just ignored him.

Pulling the truck to a halt in the middle of the road he pushed open the door and ran around the side, to where she would have to cross. He kept walking as she asked him "what?-" And then he crashed into her lips, holding her against him. He didn't deepen the kiss, instead he pulled back and told her,

"This will never work," grinning like a lunatic despite himself. She beamed back, and he kissed her again.