A/N: It's here! I know it's been a long long time since last update, but bear with me. Enough rambling, have fun! :))

… …

She walks down the stairs in a pair of jeans and some gray hoodie, looking around to find anyone but the place is empty. She hears laughers coming from outside so she walks to the glass door to find chairs and tables with leftovers and empty glasses. She searches for a certain friend and once she finds her she shoots her a deadly glare.

"Seriously?" She walks to them. "Seriously?" She repeats.

"Caroline! You're up." Bonnie says, and she seems scared.

"Eight hours, Bonnie?" She shouts. Everyone around them try to hide their smiles and contain their laughs.

"Hey, Care…" Matt says but gets interrupted.

"Wait for your turn, Donovan." She points a finger at him then look back at Bonnie.

"I tried to wake you I swear, but you were fast asleep."

"Even if I were tied to bed that's not an excuse, Bonnie. I'm not coming here to spend the whole time sleeping! And now, you all will fall asleep soon and I'll be awake alone." She shouts again and her hands fly in the air in utter disbelief, and while doing so she hits someone behind her.

She turns around to see it's Stefan, trying to hold his smile.

"Oh I'm so- I'm uh… sorry." She starts in a rush but gets confused in the middle of her words. He shakes his head politely, looking down as he walks to his chair. Lexi appears then.

"Oh hey, you're awake. I was starting to get bored." She says as she nudges her which Caroline returns with a smile. "I wanted to wake you up but Bonnie told us to leave you."

She spins in her place and glares at Bonnie.

"What? You barely had any sleep lately with the whole moving in thing and learning new stuff." Bonnie says with wide eyes, trying to define herself.

"Whatever, you'll stay up with me till I feel like sleeping." She smirks.

"Yeah, absolutely." Bonnie shrugs, trying not to make any promises.

"Unless I take you to bed early." Damon says as he puts an arm on her shoulder and kisses her cheek before she giggles.

Caroline, Lexi and Alaric shout 'ew' at the same time. Before Jo clears her throat and everyone looks at her.

"Uh, since everyone is here, Ric and I wanted to tell you something." She pauses as she looks at Ric who's sitting next to her. Their hands find each other and they smile.

"Oh my god." Bonnie mumbles as she sits straight.

"Ric?" Damon looks at him with confusion.

"We're having a baby." They both blurt out at the same time, Jo's face filled with happiness and excitement and Alaric is… shy?

"Oh my god." Bonnie jumps from her place and Damon laughs loudly at the news.

"Wow." Caroline breathes out before looking back at Lexi and laughing as well. Matt and Nadia laugh from their seat, too.

Stefan stands up with a big smile, watching as the group surrounds them and shares hugs. Once everyone is done with Jo, she looks at him with a smile. Then he walks to her and pulls her into a hug.

There is a noise coming from the rest of them, Damon pulling Alaric's head and rubbing his hair while everyone laughs. But she hears it, that one soft, warm laugh. She looks back at him, sees how he hugs Jo with closed eyes. And he laughs again.

Seconds later everyone is standing in a big circle, laughing at one of Damon's jokes.

"Caroline?" Bonnie calls her after noticing how she stares at nothing for a long moment. Caroline looks up to her, eyes wide open and hands clapping in excitement.

"We have to celebrate."

"What?" Damon asks.

"Cake, we need cake and drinks, coke for you." She points at Jo and everyone laughs with wide eyes, surprised at her excitement. Except for Matt and Bonnie who look at each other and chuckle.

"Care, I don't have anything to bake a cake here." Bonnie interrupts.

"I'll go buy it." Caroline jumps before walking backwards to get inside. And Bonnie follows her with a 'what'. They're alone inside as Caroline puts on her jacket and heads to the door.

"I actually think I need a walk, you know? After eight hours sleep." She says.

"Caroline, it's late." Bonnie says firmly, trying to sound serious enough.

"And I can handle myself." She smirks as she opens the door. "I saw some market on our way here, it's not far so don't worry." She winks at her before closing the door and leaving.

Bonnie shuts her mouth which didn't even say much, she lets out a breath and turns around to see Stefan standing next to the glass door. She gives him a smile which he returns before she joins the rest outside.

… …

She walks down the street slowly, hands in the jacket's pockets as she looks around the street. It is so calm and almost empty. The night's breeze hits her cheeks, making them rosy. She finds the shop in the next corner and she enters it.

And sadly, it is just a cheap market with some soup cans and necessary things, no cake in view nor any material to make one.

She curses under her breath, looking away from the cashier. Her eyes land on something rather beautiful, like a drop of water in a desert. Box of cupcakes is on the table next to the wall, but they don't look like they are for customers.

"Those are mine." Says the guy behind the desk, his looks is bored and clearly not willing to negotiate.

"Oh." She says with a smile, eyes shining that she found her rescue. "Well, you see, my friends and I are staying at a lake house nearby and one of our friends just told us she's pregnant and well, we want to throw her just a little party." She gets closer to the desk and rests her hand on it. She titles her head and raises her eyebrows. "And you know there's no party without a cake."

"I'm sorry but this is off the table." The guy says firmly, yet she can tell she can take him down in a second.

"I totally understand." She says sincerely. "And you totally don't have to, but wouldn't be great if you did us this great favor? She's pregnant for the first time I mean… can you imagine the disappointment on their faces when I open the door with empty hands and say… 'no cake'." She lets out a breath, her face filled with pain and sadness from the tragedy she speaks.

The guy shifts in his place, looks away for two seconds then shake his head. "Fine."

She claps her hand and her face shins with joy.

"That would be twenty." He says.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She says as she hands him all the money she has before walking out of the door.

She puts her hair behind and walks on the pavement. Walking like a little child who just got their candies on the Halloween.

The street is calmer than before, there's no voice of anything but that one car that passes. But then she hears sound of laughers, suddenly three guys come out of an alley, groggy and clearly drunk. They walk in her direction and she takes a breath, looking straight ahead and ignoring them.

But then she sees them from the corner of her eyes, nudging each other and looking at her. Her steps go faster a bit, her fingers clinging to the cupcakes' box in her hands. She suddenly feels a hand over her shoulder, pulling her closer. She feels panic building inside of her, a scream almost makes it through her lungs. But she turns around to her right, and she sees the same face that she grew to like lately.

Stefan's lips curve into a thin smile, as if he was apologizing for helping her. Well, perhaps for the gesture, it must be that. She keeps staring at him, her mind still processing what just happened. Where did he come from? He just appeared out of the blue. She gathers herself eventually. She returns the smile, although it is nervous and confused.

They keep walking few more steps. She looks around after few seconds and sees the three guys walking away. She lets out a breath, then she feels him pulling his arm away. She looks back at him, and she can see his eyes shining as he keeps smiling at her.

She feels her cheeks going warm, which means nothing, even if the breeze was cold just few minutes ago. She licks her lips, thinking whether she should day something or not. She can say 'thank you', she can even say it in sign language. But she keeps silent and stares at him for more seconds before he looks away, letting out a chuckle that sets fire in her heart. She looks away, too, chuckling herself.

She looks at him again and nods, turns out as the best way to thank him. He nods too.

They keep walking in silence for a while, she feels her heart beating loudly all the while. She didn't feel this way since she was fifteen and on her first date.

In their way back, she can feel him every once in a while looking at her, as if he wants to start a talk or something. She can say same thing about herself, but she never found the courage to. And that itself, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, because Caroline Forbes? Lacking words? Shut up.

They soon reach the lake house before neither of them talks. On the porch, they look at each other, smiling as if they were finishing a long talk.

They get inside and he heads for his room, she looks at him one last time before walking to where everyone is sitting.

… …

She feels like a war heroin, the way everyone cheers up and thanks her for the cupcakes. It's like she has returned with a lost child. The empty glasses are refilled, and everyone is in a hysterical mood that she feels like the only sane one in them. She takes a sip from her drink, watching how Matt and Bonnie fall off the chair in the middle of their laughers. Damon and Nadia help them to stand up.

While so, Lexi sits down next to her, taking a bite from her cupcake before talking.

"Those are great." She moans as she swallows the last bit of it. "Where did you find them?"

"There's a shop fifteen minutes away." Caroline nods proudly.

"Huh." Lexi titles her head. "So…" She lowers her voice as she leans closer. "How was the company?"

Caroline blinks few times, not sure how to answer. "Uh, surprising." She chuckles.

"I know." Lexi chuckles as well. "He sneaked around and left without a word." She scoffs and rolls her eyes, which made Caroline more shy.

"Whatever it is you're doing, it's working." She nudges her in the elbow.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Caroline manages to say, her voice sounding strange to her.

"Oh come on." Lexi rolls her eyes again. "Come on, I'm his best friend, tell me whatever you wanna say, I'm sure you have questions." She shifts her body so that she's facing her completely.

"I… don't have any… questions." Caroline shrugs, eyebrows furrowing in fake confusion and denial.

All what it takes is for Lexi to stare blankly at her, and then she speaks.

"Okay, maybe you'd like to tell me why he stormed out of the balcony once I said 'hi'." Caroline shoots. "Cause that was awkward, still is to be honest."

Lexi just looks down and chuckles.

"What?" Caroline rolls her eyes, not understanding what is so funny. "I really don't get it. For a while I thought that maybe no one talks around him anymore and use sign language instead, but looks like you guys talk normally around him." Caroline crosses her arms, and while she is focused on Lexi, Bonnie's screams interrupt them. They both look at Bonnie and find her on Damon's back, legs crossed around him as she tangles her hands around his head.

Caroline laughs before Lexi pulls her back into the conversation.

"Stefan learnt lip reading." She states.

"Seriously?" Caroline almost screams. "So what? He didn't learn to read 'hey'." She raises her eyebrows.

"He understood you just fine, Caroline."

"That still doesn't explain why he left as if I stabbed him in the back."

"I don't know, Caroline, all what I know is that it's been years since Stefan felt bitter that he couldn't hear something or someone or anything, and suddenly it moves him that he couldn't hear your 'hey'. So you tell me, what is the special thing about you that made you any different?" She says as she titles her head.

Caroline opens her mouth but fails to reply.

"I don't know." She says, looking down. Lexi stays quiet for a moment but then she speaks.

"Listen, you shouldn't overthink it, don't put much though into it and just let whatever happens happens." She smiles at her. "And believe me, this awkwardness between you two will fade with time."

"I don't even know how to talk to him." Caroline shrugs angrily. "I mean what if he runs for the hills again if I say something, and you saw how sign language turned out, it was more of a joke to all of you." She huffs.

"No it wasn't." Lexi laughs. "It was cute."

"You're being nice."

"Look, Caroline, if you want to talk with him, then that's all what matters, doesn't matter how."

"Just give it a try." She says before standing up. "And I'll go see what that nerd is doing."

Caroline looks at her as she walks away, mouth open.

"Don't worry, this conversation is between you and me." She winks at her before entering the house.

Caroline chuckles helplessly.

… …

"DON'T GET TOO CLOSE IT'S DARK INSIDE IT'S WHERE MY DEMONS HIDE." Caroline leans to the imaginary mike as she shouts louder and louder, with Bonnie and Nadia they make the best band.

Jo is resting her head on Alaric's shoulder, laughing at the sight in front of her. Damon is leaning his head on the armchair, his eyes almost closing and giving in to sleep, yet he almost jumps from his place when Bonnie hits him accidently while singing.

Lexi comes with more beer and hands one to Matt, who smiles at her and turns back to the show.

"IT'S WHERE MY DEMOOONS HIIIIIDE." They finish and fall backwards laughing.

"Oh boy." Bonnie manages to say through her giggles, she falls back, her head resting on Damon's lap and her knees crossed beneath her.

"You really have a nice accent, Nadia." Lexi says.

"Oh, thank you." Nadia answers, dimples appearing in her cheeks as she smiles.

"Yeah, I never knew where you are from." Caroline joined the conversation.

"That's because you only met her today." Bonnie says with a roll of her eyes.

"It's Bulgarian, I'm from Bulgaria." Nadia says with a smile.

"Really? Wow." Caroline says with amazement, the alcohol had already got her.

"Oh, so maybe that's where you and Matt met." Bonnie says.

"As if I had gone to Bulgaria before." Matt chuckles before taking a sip from his beer.

"Well, we wouldn't know. You keep lots of secrets lately, Matty." Bonnie shoots back, unaware of how aggressive her tone is. Caroline raises her eyebrows and looks down.

"Yeah, shame on me." Matt rolls his eyes.

"Seriously, when are you telling us how you two met?" Bonnie tries to sit down but her head is too heavy to even move.

"When you're sober." Matt says.

"Okay, time to get you to bed." Damon says as he stands up and pulls her to him.

"Yes, please." She mumbles before wrapping her arms around him and he holds her straight before heading to the stairs. "Night, Care." She says.

"Night, Bonnie."

"Night, everyone." She mumbles to Damon's chest.

"Okay." Damon says as he tries to hold her better.

"That's it for us, too." Alaric and Jo follow them.

"I need the bathroom." Caroline says and stands up.

When she comes back few minutes later, the living room is empty and the lights are dim. She huffs before walking to the stairs. Hand on the fence and one leg on the first step, she looks at the half-open door to the basement room- which turned out to be three steps down the hall.

She licks her lips before backing away from the stairs, walking slowly but steadily to the door. One hand reaches out to put her hair behind her ear. She feels her breath going quieter as she steps closer, like a kid sneaking around and trying not to wake their parents. She stands still for a moment, chewing on her lower lip. Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head, what was she thinking?

She turns around only to pump into his chest. She smiles nervously at him, a chuckle leaving her lips at the awkward situation. He doesn't try to hide his smile this time, maybe because she deserves the humiliation.

"I was uh-" She points at the room but doesn't know how to continue. His eyebrows raising at her makes her more embarrassed, she laughs again. And he lets out tiny chuckle as well.

"Good night." She says finally. And he nods.

She passes him and hurries to the stairs, looking at him and his stupid smile one more time before jumping the stairs.

He shakes his head and looks down, licking his lips and nodding to himself before his smile falls. He walks to his room then.

And she sees nothing.

… …

A/N2: So, what do you think?