Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries and am not making any money from writing this story.
Chapter two
As the plane landed, he thought about how his sudden arrival would affect the people of Mystic Falls. Furthermore, he wondered whether he should've called Elena to let her know when he would arrive.
He bit back a yawn. Sitting between two wailing children deprived him of the luxury of taking a nap. Deep down, he knew that he probably wouldn't have been able to fall sleep anyway. He buried thoughts of fear and nervousness to the back of his head and grabbed his bag.
There was no need to worry about how he was going to get to Elena's, he realized once he walked out of the gates. Alaric noticed Elena standing with a sign that had his name written in huge letters. Stefan was standing next to her wearing an unreadable expression. He seemed to be fidgeting too, as if he was uncertain as how to act. Now or Never. He thought as he walked over to them.
"Hey Ric, it's good to see." Elena said and nudged Stefan with her elbow. Though the jab obviously didn't hurt Stefan, it caught his attention.
"Yeah um… good to see you, Ric." Stefan muttered and linked his fingers with Elena's. Alaric smiled. It was good to see that things between Elena and Stefan hadn't changed at all. For a few minutes, he thought that they would just be standing in an awkward silence when something caught his eye. Both Elena and Stefan had rings on.
"When did that happen?" He asked nodding his head toward the rings on their linked hands.
"Oh Stefan proposed a few weeks ago." Elena's face brightened as she talked about the proposal.
"We haven't set a date yet. Things have been hectic, what with Damon being sick." Stefan finally got out of his trance.
"Oh well, congrats."
He ignored the comment about Damon; guilt may claw at your heart but it wouldn't get you anywhere.
"So what's the plan?" Alaric asked.
"Well I was going to find a place that doesn't serve crappy food in this airport." Elena stated and before Alaric could blink, she was gone.
"Aren't you guys…" Alaric trailed off.
"Vampires?" Stefan asked amused. As an after-thought he added, "Yes but good food can be appreciated once in a while. Not like it makes a difference to our bodies."
"Oh I see." Alaric responded even though he clearly didn't see.
Within minutes, Elena returned saying that there was a good pizza place in which they could eat. So with that, the three of them took off.
Once they were given a table and placed their orders, Elena's cell phone rang and she excused herself from the table. There was yet again another awkward silence. Alaric decided to try to break the silence.
"So how's school been?" He asked
"As great as school can be." Stefan said. Alaric knew the feeling. Though he was a teacher and not a student, there were days that he dreaded school the same way that his students did.
"You're going to the same college as Elena, right?"
The conversation wasn't going anywhere.
"Yep." Stefan simply answered. Where was Elena and what had happened to Stefan? Alaric remembered there was a time when he could talk to Stefan without there being any problems.
"Listen Ric, I know that Elena told you that Damon isn't looking too hot but I don't know if you know the extent of the situation." So this was what Stefan's hostility had been about.
"Well she told me that he was dying. She didn't exactly have the time to explain to me the details." Alaric said.
"Well, then I should warn you- he...he isn't himself." Stefan said.
"I think I can handle it." 5Alaric swatted at the bug that flew by buzzing.
"Look, I know you had a falling out back then. I won't pry you to tell me what happened that night because god knows neither of us wants to have another awkward conversation. All I'm saying is that I hope you can get past that when you see him and try to help us with his problem."
"I can't promise anything but I'll try my best."
The food arrived but Alaric wasn't hungry anymore.
Elena came back apologizing for leaving. The rest of the conversation went by smoothly. They talked about college and their plans for the future. Elena told him how wonderful it was that she was going to be finishing college soon and how she was thinking of applying to grad school while working. Stefan said that after centuries of going to different high schools, he was finally graduating college. Though he knew the sight and smell of blood would be a challenge for him, he was thinking about going to med school.
After they finished their food, they left the restaurant. Compelling the waitress not to charge them anything earned Elena a judging glare from Stefan and a reprimand from Alaric. Elena smirked and simply said, "Hey, being a vampire has got its perks."
Alaric smiled. He had heard that somewhere before. After a few seconds of trying to pinpoint exactly where he had heard it, his blood ran cold. That used to be Damon's catch phrase.
After making sure everything was loaded into Stefan's car, Alaric opened the car door and slid in the backseat.
I wonder how he'll react to seeing me again. Alaric thought as they drove down the highway.
