Damon waited until Stefan fell asleep to get out of the house, feeling like a sneaky teenager. His heart pounding in his chest, he couldn't help but remember that last time he'd done something like this, it was to steal a kiss (and much more) from the amazing beauty that was Katherine Pierce.
The thought of her – especially of her confession of eternal love for Stefan – left him cold, now. He had spent 145 years yearning for her and making plans for a future that was never going to happen, but he was fine. Yes, the love of his life had looked him in the eye and admitted to having only ever loved his brother, but he was fine. It was a surprise to everybody, but Damon was fine.
He had a lot on his hands these days. Number one on the list was to find out what kind of freaks the Lockwoods were. Never mind that his friendship with Elena had scattered to pieces the moments he snapped Jeremy's neck, or that Katherine was somewhere preparing something that would blow up in his face someday soon.
The Lockwoods' secret was more important.
Stefan called it his "new obsession", and maybe he wasn't entirely wrong. Because one of those Lockwoods was dangerously close to his real obsession.
Damon parked his car a few blocks away and walked down the lane, to Caroline's house. It was past 3 in the morning, certainly not an appropriate time for a visit, but Liz was working again; Carol Lockwood had been giving her Hell since the Mayor's death. He simply wanted to make sure that the blonde was safe and fine, instead of crying herself to sleep or something equally girly and Caroline.
Ever since Stefan had told her about the sire bond, she had been doing her best to avoid Damon. It was hard on both of them, of course, but she was Caroline Forbes, she managed. As for him, he tried with all his might not to feel too frustrated about it. In other words, he stalked her from a safe distance. At cheerleading practice, at the Grill. And this.
Using the extra key that Liz predictably hid under the doormat of the back door, Damon sped up to Caroline's bedroom, relying heavily on his vampire abilities to remain silent. As soon as his eyes landed on her sleeping figure, it was easier to breathe. She was sprawled across the bed, and she had pushed the covers down because of a heat she could no longer feel. Judging by the look on her face, she was having a pleasant dream.
Before he could help himself, Damon ran his finger down her cheek. Caroline sighed with a dreamy smile and, in the darkness, he could barely contain his own. It was the first time of the day that he hadn't felt heavy. Being around her was soothing, relaxing. Damn her for being so determined to stay away from the big bad vampire.
He spent a few more minutes watching over her, his gaze always shifting from concern to relief, to annoyance and tenderness. Not to mention a little bit of desire, as well. It should have felt intrusive and creepy, but it was nothing like it. His intention was solely to make sure that this nuisance of a blonde would live to see another day.
Damon dropped a light kiss on her forehead.
"Mom," she mumbled sleepily without opening her eyes. "Miss you."
He frowned. He'd have to do something about this, as well. Number two on the list.
"Sleep tight, baby vamp," he whispered.
—
Caroline took a deep breath and hurried through the corridor to catch up with Bonnie and Elena. This silly situation with her friends had been going on for too long; they had known each other since they were wearing dippers: what were two fangs in the face of that? The new-born's mind was set on picking up the pieces of her life and moving forward. But to achieve that, she needed to solve her biggest problem. With a little help from her friends.
"Hey guys," she chirped when she neared Bonnie and Elena's lockers. "Who wants to ditch school and help me break a sire bond?"
Bonnie remained silent, like Caroline had thought she would. Honestly, she perfectly understood that Bonnie was repulsed by the supernatural altogether, but it didn't hurt any less to see that, once more, Bonnie would rather hang out with Elena, the town's vampire girl by choice, than give her a chance to deal with something that had been imposed to her.
Caroline's hopeful eyes met Elena's brown ones. Truth be told, the blonde still had trouble grasping this whole doppelgänger thing, so it felt quite disturbing to smile at the last face she'd seen before she was smothered with a pillow, but there was a softness to Elena that Katherine couldn't possess in a million years.
However, she was still pissed: it had been two weeks since she turned, two weeks since she stopped attending classes, and two weeks since Elena had gone off the radar.
"Do I have to guilt you into this, 'Lena?" she asked with her devilish smile. "Because I will."
It was unusual from her friend, and Caroline wondered why, in the darkest time of her life, Elena would choose to turn her back on her, and leave her in Damon's care, of all people. The brunette shook her head with a semi-exasperated smile.
"Stefan says a new-born vampire is fragile," she said after a while. "You can't be close to Damon. He'll ruin you."
Caroline put her hand in front of her mouth to hide her mocking smirk. Damon, ruin her? As if.
"Bonnie?" Elena said, holding out her hand to their witchy friend. She hesitated for a long time, then sighed.
"A sire bond is unbreakable, Caroline," she informed calmly.
"All I'm asking is that we try," the blonde exclaimed. "Please don't leave me alone again."
Caroline bit her lip. Her blunt honesty could be a serious liability sometimes; she didn't know how to simply ask for things – no, she had to ask in a particular way that would, without a doubt, get her to her objective. She was feeling so helpless about this sire bond that it didn't matter if she had to play the friendship card on Bonnie. It was crucial that she got her control back.
The witch shrugged.
"Fine," she grumbled. "But I'm telling you, you're wasting your time."
Caroline chose not to answer that. She would find a way. If there was none, she'd create one.
They started walking to the exit when a voice stopped them.
"Where do you think you're going?"
The girls turned around and simultaneously rolled their eyes when they faced their nosiest "friend", Dana. The brunette was the school's worst gossip, and it was actually quite amusing that she had no suspicions about the supernatural events and beings around her.
"We're ditching school, Dana," Caroline said enthusiastically. "If anyone asks, you didn't see us. I'll owe you one."
"I can't let you," she said.
Bonnie and Elena frowned. Dana didn't sound like herself. She was nosy, yes, but she didn't usually mind other people's business like this – she only made it her mission to let the entire school know what was going on. Besides, three girls skipping class was hardly juicy news.
Dana slid her hand into her pocket and purposefully let Caroline see what she hid there. The smell was very recognizable. Vervain.
"If you're trying to be reckless, I have to stop you."
Caroline's eyes widened when she realized what was going on. She should have figured it out sooner. How dare he? She frantically looked around, although she already knew her eyes would fall upon nothing but thin air.
"She's been compelled," Caroline hissed. "Damon did it."
Her friends exchanged puzzled glances as Dana looked dumbly at them. Caroline felt pity for the girl – Damon was using her. Using people was the only thing he was skilled at, and she refused to be one of them, ever again.
"Dana, what happens if I do something reckless and you don't stop me?"
Fear was painted all over Dana's face at the mere thought. She started shaking steadily and held on tighter to her vervain.
"Oh, I'll stop you," she said. "I can't fail. You have to stay safe, at school. Or he'll —."
"Who's he?" Caroline pushed.
"I don't know, okay," Dana exclaimed. "Just – just go to class, Caroline, please?"
The blonde heaved a sigh. She couldn't risk anyone being hurt.
"Okay," she said. "I'll go. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine. No one will hurt you."
Dana threw a radiant smile at them.
"I'll see you later, then!"
She walked away like nothing happened, leaving Bonnie, Caroline and Elena completely speechless. This was insane. They all knew Damon was excessive, but that? That was off-limits.
Elena turned to Caroline.
"Is that what Stefan meant when he said Damon would be protective of you?"
"I don't know, and I don't care," the blonde exclaimed. "But after school, I'll find a way to stop this! So, Bonnie, are you willing to help, now?"
The witch took a deep breath and glanced at Dana, who was chatting to some of her friends. This wasn't acceptable. Even though it wasn't entirely Damon's fault, the implications of a sire bond with a personality like his were far too dangerous. She could not let the connection deepen and intensify.
"I'll break this bond if it's the last thing I do."
—
"Thank you for coming, Ric," Stefan greeted when the history teacher entered the house.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Damon asked. "Coffee? Bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?"
Alaric folded his arms against his chest; he obviously wasn't thrilled to be here, and Damon figured it had to do with the whole snapping Jeremy's neck.
"Elena mentioned you needed my help," he answered.
Damon grimaced. It was lucky that Elena agreed to talk to Ric, but she had refused to show up. Again, that whole snapping Jeremy's neck thingy. He gestured for Ric to sit, and went to sit next to Stefan. He was dying to go straight to the point and ask Ric to hand over Isobel's research, but a heated conversation with his younger brother had resulted in going for the "easy way". Stefan and his damn tact.
However, he decided to calm down, if this was the only way to get answers. He hadn't seen Caroline – properly, that is – in a while and the sooner they'd figure out this Lockwood thing, the sooner he'd be able to devote his energy to her.
"Yeah," Stefan said. "We were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family."
Alaric looked at Damon, slightly surprised.
"Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwoods?"
Stefan paused, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his thoughts. Damon, however, was already running out of patience.
"Well, you wouldn't," he said. "But your dead-not-dead vampire wife might."
The human looked down, visibly troubled by the mention of Isobel, like he always was. But there was no time to be gracious.
"You said that she had spent years researching this town?" Stefan encouraged softly.
"Isobel's research here, Mystic Falls, was rooted in folklore and legend," Alaric said, visibly dubious about the situation. "At the time, I thought most of which was fiction."
"Like that amazing vampire story," Damon said. "Aside from vampires, what else?"
"The Lycanthrope," Alaric said.
The brothers exchanged a glance, and Damon's mind quickly raced back to Stefan's supposedly funny comment about werewolves. Could it be true?
"No way," he objected. "Impossible. Way too Lon Chaney."
"Is it?" Stefan said, still cautiously.
"I've been on this planet a hundred and sixty some hundred years, never came across one," he said. "If werewolves exist, where the Hell are they?"
Alaric sighed impatiently.
"You asked me a question, there's your answer. If you can't handle it, don't ask," he snapped.
Stefan moved towards him to appease the growing tensions.
"Alaric, what does it mean?"
Damon rolled his eyes at his brother's continuous need to be polite. It could be useful in some situations, but not here, and most definitely not now.
"It means that Mason Lockwood is a real-life Lon Chaney, and that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney Junior. Which means, Bela Lugosi, meaning me, is totally screwed."
"Yeah," Ric said. "That pretty much covers it. That's all I know, so if you don't mind, now—"
"Oh no," Damon said. "You and Stefan are taking a little road trip to Duke. Go do your thing and dig up your wife's dirt. I need to know how to end them."
Alaric didn't object. His curiosity was visibly torturing him. But Stefan threw his hands up in the air defensively.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "Katherine's around, and Elena needs me here."
"Oh please," Damon snorted. "Katherine won't hurt Elena because that'd mean losing you, her endless love. Besides, if she wanted her dead, I already told you, she would be. But you know who Katherine killed? Caroline. Who needs me here because she's sired to me! So get over yourself. I'll keep an eye on your precious Elena."
Stefan frowned at how detached Damon sounded when talking about Elena. A few days ago, he was kissing her and now it seemed that she barely even mattered to him. He couldn't help but be grateful for the sire bond, if only for this. He didn't have it in him to fight for Elena, not with his brother. Of course, it was a horrible thought to have, but if having sired Caroline meant Damon wouldn't develop further feelings towards his girlfriend, then, good.
But he couldn't forget Caroline. She'd been deeply upset by the revelation of her bond with Damon, and he knew she did her best to avoid him. Leaving town with Alaric would force Damon to focus on something else – although it was all linked. It would be good.
"I'm not going," Stefan repeated stubbornly. "After all, this is your obsession, brother, not mine. You wanna know more about werewolves? Get the information yourself."
Damon's eyes widened.
"I'll keep an eye on Caroline," the green-eyed vampire promised. "She'll be fine and you'll be back tonight."
Damon gaped at him, truly dumbfounded that Stefan could be sly and selfish. He'd encouraged that behaviour in his brother for years, and Stefan chose to listen to him today? He sighed.
"You're driving," he told Ric.
—
"How does it feel?" Elena asked shyly. "To be sired, I mean."
They were in Bonnie's bedroom, old books scattered all around the floor. After a day at school that seemed to never end, they had rushed out of Dana's radar to investigate on the sire bond. They had read a great deal about it, and none of it was reassuring.
One good thing, though, was that Caroline now knew she was doing the right thing by staying away from Damon. One book said that, the more they'd stay together, the stronger the bond would get. It could take various forms: some people were able to read each other's minds, or experienced the "gift" of empathy. Well, she didn't want any of it.
Caroline paused for a moment. In the whirlwind of emotions she had been experiencing since she turned, being sired to Damon was unmistakably the most intense. She couldn't tell which part was due to her "heightened emotions" and which part was the bond, but clearly, she was swimming in dangerous waters. She could feel herself struggle against the stream, and she could tell that she was failing.
She looked up to her friends to find that Bonnie had dropped her dusty book to pay attention. Caroline felt so special in that moment; it was almost like before, when they'd gather for her to share her greater knowledge and experience about boys.
"It's overwhelming," she confessed. "You guys know how I feel about Damon Salvatore. I hate everything about him."
Elena and Bonnie nodded at the familiar tone of disgust in the blonde's voice. They had both seeing their friend fight her attachment to Damon, when he was abusing her. It had taken a great deal of strength for Caroline to move on from him, and there she was again, bound to him. It couldn't have been anything other than overwhelming.
"But now, I look at him differently," she continued. "Very differently."
"Differently, how?" Bonnie questioned.
"In many ways that even I don't understand," Caroline said, lowering her eyes to the floor and staring at her feet. "I have no control over it. Like, sometimes, it's like I still have this embarrassing crush on him and I want him so much that it hurts. But then I remember he's Damon and I can't forget what he did to me, so I fight it. I bury it just like I bury the urge to kill people. The next minute, I'll want him to tell me how good a vampire I am, or I'll feel completely worthless. Sometimes it's like he's my Dad, then my best friend, then my mentor. I – I just don't know."
Silence fell upon them for a while as her friends let her words sink in. It was quite a shock for them to hear Caroline talk about Damon like this. Elena knew that Damon could be a good friend, he'd showed that to her lately, oh yes, right before he forced a kiss on her and killed her brother, but a mentor? She was very sceptic. But she didn't say anything, to save Caroline some more embarrassment.
"I read that a sire bond can turn into many different relationships," Bonnie informed. "It just takes time for you to figure out which one will prevail."
"All I know is that it's hard for me to stay away from him, or not listen to what he says."
The young witch sighed heavily, while Elena looked genuinely sorry for her friend. It warmed Caroline's newly-undead heart to see that she still mattered to them in that way. It made her feel supported, and she desperately needed that. She buried everything under smiles and jokes and bubbliness, but she was really scared. She felt trapped. And yet, she wanted nothing more than ditch this stupid research session and go find him.
"It's like he's compelling you all over again," Bonnie said bitterly.
Caroline flinched. Why did everybody still think she was a fragile little thing that Damon could bend to his will?
"No, it's not," she argued. "Damon isn't making me do anything, Bonnie. I make my own decisions, with only one thing in mind: doing what feels right to me. I do things because I genuinely feel like it's the right thing to do."
"We know that, Care," Elena stepped in. "We're not blaming you, or accusing Damon of anything. But you gotta admit that this is…unusual. I mean, you've changed the way you dress for him!"
Caroline sighed in defeat. What could she answer to that?
"I did it because my new personality needed matching clothes," she lied. "I didn't do it for him."
Elena glanced at Bonnie and decided to say her piece.
"Good, then. Because you know that, outside of this bond, Damon's never going to care for you, or love you. He loves Katherine and she broke his heart. You don't want to be involved with him."
"Let's go back to these books so all this can stop soon."
—
Damon's mind was racing as he and Alaric drove back to Mystic Falls.
The Curse of the Sun and the Moon was real. Vampires were slaves to the Sun – except those, like him, who had a ring – and werewolves (because yes, they existed, those nasty dogs) slaves to the Moon. In families where the werewolf gene was running, all it took to trigger the curse was causing someone's death. Not feed on them, like a vampiric transition, just be responsible, directly or not, for their death.
Tyler had caused the car accident that put Caroline in a coma. It was his fault if she was in the hospital, unprotected. Thus, it was Tyler's fault if Katherine had managed to kill Caroline. Curse triggered.
After that, they couldn't control the transformation on a full moon, which meant that, even if he wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to Mason – and more importantly Tyler – Lockwood, he simply couldn't risk it. Especially since vampires were werewolves' prey of choice. "Legend has it a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires."
Damon was staring angrily at his phone while Alaric tried to make small talk. Going to Duke was a bad idea. He should have stayed in Mystic Falls. Digging into stupid folklore wasn't his thing; Stefan would have done a much better job at this, while he would have done a much better job at keeping everybody safe back home.
The atmosphere in the car was suffocating him. The history teacher was usually good company, when a few drinks and a good fight were involved, but this was getting ridiculous.
He finally gave in to his instinct and dialled Caroline's number. He needed to talk to her. He didn't hear from Dana all day, which meant Caroline had attended school like every other day, but he was still worried. She was at school, which meant she was in the close vicinity of Tyler Lockwood.
He needed to hear her say that she was okay, or he was going to lose it.
It rang once…twice…and went straight to voicemail.
"Damn it, Caroline," Damon growled. "Pick up the phone."
He called a second time. Still no answer. Right, she was still avoiding him.
He feverishly typed a text message. GOT NEWS. STAY AWAY FROM TYLER LOCKWOOD. HE IS DANGEROUS.
Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline turned off her phone and tossed it to the other side of the room. She would not falter. Yes, his last text message could be labelled considerate, so what? Screw him and his consideration.
—
Bonnie thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest as she feverishly browsed through the poorly-written lines. The bond could be broken. But to achieve that, she needed to know what was binding Caroline to Damon – the reason why there was a bond, to begin with. Chances were, Caroline and Damon had no idea themselves, so she'd have to get the information smartly.
"Hey, Caroline," she called. "Can you tell whenever Damon's around, or what he's thinking or stuff like that?"
"What? Why?"
"I mean, like, now, he's out of town, you know. Just wondered if you could feel that."
Caroline's casual smile instantly turned into a frown. Damon had left town without telling her? He had abandoned her, just like that? What if Katherine showed up? Stefan, adorable and protective as he was, wouldn't be able to do much with his stupid vegan diet. What about that text?
"When is he coming back?" she asked nervously.
"Why the concern?" Elena asked, aware that Bonnie must have been pushing Caroline for a reason. "It's better if he's not here, anyway."
"No, it's not," the blonde protested. "What if something happens? It's not safe here without him!"
Bonnie shot a satisfied smile at Elena.
"A sire bond, at its core, is about one thing," she explained. "Gratitude. You believe you owe Damon your life, Caroline. Ask yourself why."
The blonde answered automatically.
"I was weak," she said. "I felt powerless. Damon took that away."
"He freed your from your pain, and you feel indebted to him," Elena observed. "Now that you're a vampire, not much can hurt you anymore."
Caroline nodded, properly astounded that she had never thought about it like this, but also that Bonnie was able to deduce it after an hour together. Because that was exactly how she felt. She would never be abused like before, because she could rip almost everyone to shreds.
"To break the sire bond, you gotta put yourself in danger," Bonnie said. "Own your fears, stand up for yourself and realize that you don't need his protection. Then you'll owe Damon nothing, and you'll be free."
Panic immediately showed on Caroline's face. She was still a baby vampire, she couldn't even control her powers or her bloodlust. Putting herself in danger willingly could very well equate suicide, or mass murder.
"You asked for help," Bonnie reminded. "This is the only way."
Elena hesitated. She wasn't comfortable with the idea either, but thinking that Caroline could stay linked to Damon frightened her even more. She grabbed her friend's hand, promising herself that she'd have Stefan secretly check on Caroline if she decided to get on with the plan.
"You don't have to do it," she said comfortingly. "But ask yourself one question: how badly do you want your freedom?"
—
Damon honestly thought he was going to die right then and there when he walked into the Grill and saw Caroline in deep conversation with Tyler. It was nothing much, really, just a silly talk between two silly teenagers, but it was more than he could stand. Ignoring Alaric's warnings, he strode towards their table.
When Caroline turned to face him, although he was coming from behind her back, a strange sensation spread through his body – excitement. He was actually excited to see her? No he wasn't, he was angry. She, on the other hand, looked excited. Damon paused for a second, wondering what could account for the tingling feeling he felt in his stomach. But then he got back to his senses, when Caroline laughed that annoying high-pitched laugh of hers.
"What the Hell, Blondie?" he growled when he neared her. "Are you crazy?"
Tyler wisely interpreted this as his cue to leave, which Damon thought was a smart move. It wasn't a full moon yet, so he could easily take down that punk-ass for good. But somewhere deep inside, he knew it wasn't right. Besides, Carol Lockwood was still mourning a husband, that poor woman.
He snapped back to reality when Caroline grabbed his arm and started jumping up and down like a kid. He was already intolerably annoyed with her.
Caroline frowned for a second, as she felt something darken her mood, but immediately returned to her hysterical state.
"Oh my God, Damon," she said, excitingly. "You were totally right about Tyler! He's a werewolf!"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering what on Earth was stopping him from strangling her.
"So you did get my text," he said under his breath. "Why didn't you answer?"
"Who cares? I'm telling you that the guy is a werewolf and all you care about is that I didn't answer your text? I was busy!"
Damon grabbed her arm roughly and stuck his own phone under her nose. She let out a small howl of pain, and a few patrons turned to glare at him, but he couldn't care less.
"Do you not understand English? Do the words "STAY AWAY" mean nothing to you?"
"Well, excuse me," she hissed. "I was too busy witnessing his healing abilities and glowing eyes."
Damon immediately let go of her.
"What happened?"
"I don't know," she confessed. "He hurt himself. But then something freaky happened and he was healed. I tried to convince him that he was just drunk, so he wouldn't tell his mother."
Damon inhaled deeply. God, he hated days like this. Nothing could ever go according to plan in this God-forsaken town, could it? He was gone a few hours and it was chaos, again. Tyler was a werewolf, he was friends with Caroline, and she didn't listen to a word he had to stay. Just brilliant.
When Damon didn't congratulate her on convincing Tyler to keep his mouth shut, Caroline felt insulted.
"Do you really think it's a good idea for him to tell his mom that he's a werewolf?"
"Well, no," Damon answered mockingly. "Of course not."
"Especially since that werewolf road leads straight to Vampire Boulevard," she reminded. "I thought I was thinking fast on my feet."
She had been. He was impressed by her cold head – a few days ago, she would have told about this to the first person ready to listen to her rambling. But this time, she had thought about it, and put his interests – and hers – first. He was proud of her.
"Wait," Damon said. "Did you see Tyler's eyes turn yellow?"
She pursued her lips.
"They're more gold with amber highlights."
He rolled his eyes, but couldn't help a smile. That was the Vampire Barbie that he loved. In a critical time like this, she wasn't concerned about running from a deadly enemy, oh no, she was concerned about freaking highlights.
"Can he turn into a wolf, now?" she asked nervously.
"Only on a full moon," he reassured. "But now he has increased strength and who knows what else. I wonder how much Mason told him. Does he know about us?"
Caroline looked away long enough to grab her phone and read Bonnie's text, telling her to be careful with Damon. She smiled benevolently at the screen. This day, although it was a catastrophe since she hadn't owned her fears because Damon had interrupted her, had brought her at least one good thing: Bonnie wasn't mean to her, and better yet, Bonnie didn't seem as disgusted with her as before. There was clearly progress, there.
"Hey," Damon called reproachfully, annoyed that she was so easily distracted. "What did you tell him?"
"Nothing, really," she said. "I – I don't think he knows much of anything. He seemed really…freaked out and … honestly? I felt kind of bad for him."
She walked past Damon, feeling like she'd seen enough of him to last the evening. Her friends were out there waiting for her. Now that the "face your fears" operation had failed, they had to figure out something else.
As for the other vampire, seeing her get away from him after the day he had was unbearable.
"He's gotta know something," he insisted.
"Alright," Caroline sighed from a distance. "I'll ask him."
Damon's blood ran cold at her words. Disregarding every single rule about discretion, he used vampire speed to get in front of her. He grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, his eyes suddenly darkened.
"No, you won't, Caroline," he instructed. "He cannot know about us."
She frowned at his sudden aggressiveness, wondering if jealousy was also in the "sire bond" package.
"A bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire, so don't be his friend," he said. "Do you understand me?"
She felt herself falter. He was only looking out for her. He didn't want Tyler, or anybody else, to hurt her. So although this looked very much like compulsion, she knew it was only Damon's twisted way of being a friend to her.
"I understand," she promised shyly.
His gaze imperceptibly softened, and suddenly, his hands weren't so much as grabbing her, but more like caressing her shoulders. The touch felt nice, of course, but she could not let him do that in public, not here.
"I have somewhere I need to be," she said.
Her tone clearly implied that she had nowhere to be; she simply wanted to maintain some distance between them. Damon took the offense in silence.
"Right," he said.
He gave her shoulders an awkward pad and took a step back, gesturing to the door.
Caroline sighed in relief, but then in annoyance, as he fell into her step and walked her back home.
to be continued ...
a/n : hey there, lovely people. I hope you've liked this chapter. I've reworked scenes from various episodes to fit into the story, what do you think? Besides it's a little Caroline-centric, but Damon will have his turn, too ;) So ... do you think there's still hope to break the sire bond? Did you like Bonnie and Elena as friends in this chapter? Share the love, the indifference and the hatred, but please, review ! xx PS check out my other stories :p
