*Jeremy's POV*
As I approached Tyler and Callie, I see Caroline walking toward the two, like I am. She has on her vampy pissed off face now. Uh oh. I speed up a little trying to head off the trouble before it started. I knew there was something going on between those two, but Tyler had to act like a player and go for the new girl.
I didn't beat Caroline to the table, stupid vampire speed. She hadn't started a scene yet though. I ended up practically running back to the pool table, almost tripping over my feet as I drew closer. Callie looks a bit confused to see the look on Caroline's face, but was being nice all the same. Do they know each other?
"Hey, guys' what's up," I say as I put my hand on the pool table trying to cover the fact that I just tripped. All three heads whipped in my direction. Tyler looked a bit relieved, Caroline looked aggravated, and Callie still looked confused.
"Nothing I was just talking to Tyler and our new friend Callie. Isn't it nice that she's fitting in so well," she practically snarls at the frightened new girl. Callie looks like a frightened chew-Wawa, kind of trembling around the edges and is slowly backing away from Tyler. She shouldn't have to be afraid of Caroline, he shouldn't have put her in this type of situation, I want to bail her out, but I know that to do that means that I have to save Tyler's ass as well.
"Yeah, I asked Tyler to keep her company because I had to talk to Elena and Stefan about that thing that's going on," I say. Caroline knows all about what's going on with Clouse. She also knows that Tyler can't know and with Callie being a new girl in town we really don't want her knowing anything. The pissy look is wiped away from her face in an instant and replaced my a remorseful one. Score! Damn I'm good at covering.
"What thing," Tyler asks, his brow furrowing in confusion. Damn, ok, so I'm not that good. Caroline and I share a look and she fumbles with coming up with a convincing lie, but ends up giving him a half truth. "Um, its nothing really just something that Stefan and Elena have been fight about, its so stupid really," she says with a fake smile.
"Ok, so you don't want to tell me, I get it. So, what's up?" he asks as he puts his arm on the pool table and takes a step closer to Caroline, making things even more tense between him and Callie. I see the look on her face and know that she feels like shit because of what he has just done to her. He made her look like a fool and in front of someone who could have been her friend.
"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go for a walk? You know with the full moon out and all its going to be romantic and stuff," translation, we need to get you to the chain cellar before you rip out someone's throat. Tyler nods his head furiously, practically throws his drink down on the table and almost runs to the door, no doubt once he's out those doors he'll be hauling ass to the cell that he will be in all night long, with Caroline by his side the whole time.
"Well that was odd," Callie stammers out, watching the two run out The Grill.
"Yeah, well, they are kind of a thing," I shrug my shoulders. Tyler pretty much ruined whatever chance he had with this girl. What could it hurt if I try getting to know her, I need to move off of Bonnie, she doesn't want me anyways.
"I guess they are. He's a player, isn't he,?" she asks, still looking at the door that Tyler just ran out of. She looks really pissed too. If looks could kill, I'm sure Tyler would be on the floor struggling to breath his last breath.
"Yeah, you could say that. He's been through a lot though," I try to defend him. I can't exactly tell Callie that he was just running away from everyone because he doesn't want to eat anyone. He's going to have to come up with a story to cover his own ass.
"Doesn't mean he can play with Caroline's feelings like that though. If I had known that they where kind of dating I wouldn't have flirted with him. She's a sweet girl, I want to stay friends with her," she says with a mad look on her face. Her eyebrows are drawn together and her lips are kind of in a pouty face. She's cute when she's angry. Suddenly she looks back at me and catches me staring at her. Quickly, I look away from her, like I've been caught thinking about her naked or something.
"You and Bonnie have a thing too, don't you," Callie still looks angry. She must think that I'm trying to do the same thing that Tyler was doing. Only difference is that me and Bonnie really don't have anything going on. She's made it perfectly clear to me that she wants Luka. I glance back at Bonnie, who is caught up in an argument with Elena. She's beautiful, that's for sure, but there will never be anything between us.
"I thought we did, but she made it clear that nothing is going to happen. She likes this new guy, Luka. Plus, she doesn't want to date her best friend's little brother," I say put out. Callie still doesn't looked convinced though. She keeps looking between me and Bonnie, like she's expecting the same reaction out of Bonnie that came out of Caroline. She can look all she wants, but she wont find an angry Bonnie if we flirt.
"You can trust me, you know," I say as I reach out to put my hand on hers. She jerks it back and glares at me. Great now her guard is up and I haven't even done anything to deserve her anger. This is Vikki all over again. Hopefully Tyler and I don't get into any fights over this girl though.
"No, I don't. Your cute and everything…like really cute, but I don't like games, no matter how cute the guy is," She says, taking a step back.
"I'm not playing a game with you. I'm not even trying to flirt with you. We can just be friends, do you like to draw," I drop my hand, and take a step away from her too, trying to calm her down. It seems to work because she settles down a little bit and looks back up at me with a kind of apologetic look.
"Friends? Yeah ok. We can be friends and yes I like to draw, I'm pretty good," she says, leaning against the pool table again. She props one leg up and looks down at the floor.
"Me too, do you have an art class that your in?" I take a seat in a chair across from her.
"Yeah, I'm in art IV. We have this new assignment that's kind of tricky for me though. We're supposed to make a wire sculpture of an animal, and I can't seem to get the shape right for the stupid things head," she furrows her brow again and make the pouty face that I like so much and I smile a little bit at her.
"Maybe I can help. I'm not as advanced in the art classes as you are, but I would like to help," I say. Callie looks back up at me and seems to judge whether or not she can trust being alone with me, incase me and Bonnie are dating.
"Sure, we can meet here tomorrow after school and I'll bring it with me," Callie says. She must have chosen to do it in public, thinking it would make things less awkward between her and Bonnie. I really wish I could punch Tyler in the face for making this so difficult. Now her guard is up and I can't seem to soften her up. I'll take what I can get though, and I want to have Callie's trust.
"Ok, sounds good to me. Do you need a ride or anything," I ask, trying to be helpful. Again, she looks at me suspiciously and thinks about it for a second.
"Yeah, sure. I'll have to carry a lot of wire and stuff with me, so a ride would be helpful," she says, and finally slides in to the chair across from me. She fiddles with the zipper on her jacket before she finally looks at me again.
"So you think I'm cute," I say, trying to lighten the bad mood that she was just put in. It doesn't make her laugh, she glowers at me and shakes away some of the curls that have gotten into her face, "Yeah, but don't let it get to your head."
I give her a big grin and slowly she returns it, tucks a stray curly hair behind her ear, and she starts to blush a little before she looks down at the table and starts to trace the wood patterns with her middle finger. That's when I get a good look at the ring on her finger.
It's the same stone that Damon, Stefan, and Caroline have. The same stone that lets them walk in the sun. I can feel the blood drain away from my face. No, Callie can't be a vampire. She's too full of life, she has parents that look like her, she just can't be.
I clear my throat and point down at the ring, "That's pretty, can I see it," I ask. The sun is just starting to set and there is a window close to where we are. There is a soft glow that is hitting us a little right now. I need to know if she is like Stefan.
"Sure, its just some ring that my ex gave me. I was having some problems and he said it was supposed to help," she says as she takes off the ring and hands it to me. Callie doesn't sizzle and burn like a vampire would. Nothing happens to her, but I get a closer look at the stone in the ring anyways. It turns out that the ring isn't exactly like Damon's and Stephan's, its has more of a green tint to it. I run my finger along the stone and hand it back to her. She places it back on her finger and goes back to tracing patterns in the wood.
"What kind of problems?" That's something that a friend can ask another friend. She looks up at me and straightens up a little bit.
"Not the kind that I want to tell someone that I just met," she says a bit defensively. Touchy, touchy this one, but she's hiding something and I know it. Callie is defiantly hiding something, and she's a mystery. I find that I'm intrigued by that fact. I like a girl who can keep me on my toes.
*Callie's POV*
My first impression of Tyler was the right one. He's a dick and a liar. I should know better than to go against my first instincts. Hopefully I didn't completely screw up the small amount of friendship that Caroline and I had made. She was really pissed off when she came over to talk to us. Thank god Jeremy showed up and covered for Tyler because I really don't want to get into a fight over some guy I just met.
That doesn't mean that I trust Jeremy though. He seems to be in the same kind of situation that Tyler is in and conveniently they both have some excuse that says they aren't with the girls. I have decided that I'm not setting my sights on any guy until I know for sure if they are single or not.
Jeremy is a nice guy though. That much I can tell, but he's also nosy. I don't like that he seemed to notice my ring. For a second I thought he knew what it was for. I really don't want anyone knowing what I am; it makes things difficult for me. Thankfully, he didn't really know what it was, that much I could tell because when I took it off he looked really relieved by something. I don't know what he expected would happen.
"Right, well I think I need to be getting home now," I say, standing up. As I do, so does he.
"Do you need a ride home or someone to walk with," he asks. I have to think about this for a second. What is he trying to do? I already made myself clear that all I want to be is friends for now. I look around for my parents, but I can't find them in the crowd that has popped up. This really is a small town if this in the only place people can go for fun.
I check my phone and see that I have a message from my dad.
Sorry we left without you, but we didn't want to interrupt you with your new friends. Whenever your ready to come home just call or text and either your mother or I will come and get you. Love you.
I give a heavy sigh, "Yeah, actually I do. My parents already left. They didn't want to interrupt me having fun," I say. I'm actually kind of put out and angry with my parents. Yeah, I get to walk home with a cute guy, but I thought that after we moved my parents would be around more. Guess that was just a dream.
"Ok, well walk with me so that I can tell my sister that I am going to walk you home and then we'll leave," Jeremy says as he straightens up and adjusts his jacket. He's about a foot taller than me, and god those eyes of his make my stomach do summersaults. I'm afraid to say anything with him looking at me that way, so I just nod my head and follow him over to where Elena, Bonnie, and Stefan stand.
"Hey, Elena!," Jeremy yells as he runs up to his older sister with me in tow. I don't know if Elena will be ok with this. If I had a younger brother who was willing to walk a strange new girl home, I would be suspicious of it.
"Yeah?" Bonnie and Stefan stop talking as soon as I come into view. Wow, I feel special, I can make things awkward just by walking up with no one knowing about my special secret.
"I'm going to walk Callie home, Okay?" Elena smiles at me and then tell him that its fine. She looks happy that her brother is willing to walk me home. Bonnie doesn't say anything, and she actually give me a small smile too and than give Jeremy an approving look. Maybe he was telling the truth unlike Tyler.
"Callie, can I get your cell number. I want to make sure that you get home safely," Elena says. I give it to her, and I tell Stefan it was nice to meet him, even though I didn't really, and wave good-by to Elena and Bonnie.
The air outside is nice and fresh. It feel nice out here and the moon is really pretty it almost puts me back into my good mood, but then I remember that somewhere out here Tyler is taking a "romantic walk" with Caroline. I bet they're making out behind a tree not far from here.
I really don't live that far from The Grill, its maybe a ten minute walk, but its going to feel like forever walking with Jeremy.
"You really don't have to walk me home. I don't live far," I say, looking up at him. Its much easier to talk to him when I can't really see his face. I don't get so confused when I can't get distracted by his smile or his eyes.
"No, its no problem. Really. I don't live that far either, what street do you live on," he asks, looking straight ahead.
"Elm St. but its just a couple of block away," I look down at my shoes, but I lose my footing a little and bump into his shoulder.
" I know where it is, its just a couple of streets away from where I live. We're practically neighbors," he jokes. I can hear the smile in his voice and when I look up at him I can see the white gleam of his teeth through the night air. It makes me crack a smile, too.
We walk silently for a while, but its not uncomfortable. I'm not a big talker and it seems like he isn't either. So we walk silently through the night, sometimes one of us bumps into the other, but neither one of us apologizes. When he bumps into me for about the tenth time I actually laugh, "Ok, now your just doing that on purpose." I push him away playfully and he stumbles a bit, laughing.
"I swear I'm not, I just can't walk in a straight line around pretty girls. Its like they make me drunk," he jokes, but it makes me blush because it means that Jeremy just called me pretty. I hate that I always blush when I get nervous; its such a give a way.
"Well sober up man. I don't wanna get mugged because your drunk just by my presence," I say jokingly. He must know that I'm joking, but he gets all serious and starts walking closer to me than before and our arms are brushing against each other.
"I would never let that happen. It can get dangerous around here at night," he's still all serious only now he's looking all around through the trees and bushes and stuff like he expects a robber to pop out and say, "BOOGY BOOGY BOOGY!"
I don't know whether to be grateful that he is willing to protect me, or be offended that he doesn't think that I can defend myself. If he only knew the things that I could do.
The rest of the walk home is kind of tense after that. I don't know what to say after that and he doesn't either. The rest of the walk I spend looking out at other people's lawns. Some people have rose bushes, some have lilies, I love lilies. We have just rounded the corner when my house comes into view, we walk a couple more feet and stop at the mail box outside the fence that goes all the way around my house.
It really is a pretty house, it's a two story mostly made out of brick. The shutters are a dark blue, and there are bushes that go all along the house. There is a big oak tree right outside my window and the front porch light is on, casting a hazy glow all the way out to where I stand with Jeremy. The sidewalk leads all the way from the front door of my house to where we stand now by the mail box.
"Thanks for walking me home," I say awkwardly, stuffing my hands in my jacket pocket and looking up at Jeremy. I really shouldn't have looked up at him because now my heart is all fluttery even though I know it shouldn't be.
"No problem, really. We can make this a daily thing; me walking you home? You know from school and stuff," his eyes lock onto mine and I feel myself nod my head. This is why I shouldn't have looked up at him, I shouldn't be agreeing to these types of things so quickly after I just met this guy. I shouldn't want to be around a guy who is caught up in girl drama, but I find myself liking Jeremy.
"I'd like that," I say with a smile as I open the gate to my yard. I look up at Jeremy as I close the gate to my yard, closing it between us, for the night. He's smiling too as he takes a couple of steps away.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he says with a wave that I return. I take my time walking to my front door, dragging my feet a little. Today was a good day, with some bumpy spots, but if there is something that could go on between me and Jeremy than maybe all the crap with Tyler was worth it…that is if Jeremy is worth it and I have a feeling that he is.
I smile the whole way to my front door, feeling a little like a catholic school girl. I turn around expecting Jeremy to already be walking back down the street, but am surprised to find him still at my gate, smiling at me. We're just friend, We're just friends, We're just friends I find myself chanting, but its not helping because I know that I am already falling for this guy.