"Is it just me or does Bonnie not approve of anybody?" Caroline muttered with a frown as she pushed on her knee. Her legs were spread apart on the summer grass, her hair tied up in a loose bun as she stretched out the kinks in her muscles. Elena was doing similarly, placing her hands on her hips and attempting to bend as close to a ninety degree angle as possible. Caroline sprang up on her feet and joined her in this exercise. "She just doesn't know Stefan," Elena reasoned, shrugging a shoulder as her long fingers reached up to tuck away a strand of loose hair.
Elena had mentioned about how hesitant Bonnie was whenever Stefan was around, which only made Caroline think about how she seemed to freeze when she saw Damon. Was it because of Stefan or had she known him already in the past? But she doubted Bonnie had such connections. Both had lived in the town all of their lives and surely Caroline wouldn't gotten the scoop if a certain dark-skinned beauty began fraternizing with either Salvatore.
They had showed up to cheerleading practice as they had the year before that and the year before that. It seemed to be such a routine that it was as normal and typical as walking. Caroline practiced a few kicks, breathing through the burn she felt in her upper thigh.
She wondered if she should tell Elena she had met Stefan's brother, whom Elena had only mentioned once or twice, but she had apparently met herself. 'It was a fluke,' She remembered Elena saying. 'I went there for Stefan. Between you and me, he was intimidating.' Later, she had spoken to Stefan about it, asking why he had never mentioned a brother before.
Stefan had brushed the topic away, Elena said, as if the very thought of Damon was poisonous. Caroline didn't understand that, because from what she knew, Damon was sweet and sincere. A smile appeared on her lips and warmth flushed in her cheeks as she thought about how he stared at her, bright blue eyes shaded by thick lashes.
His mouth was always tinged in a smirk, as if every word that came out of his mouth was connected to some sort of inside joke. Caroline liked that. Perhaps what she needed was a touch of bad boy.
Her thoughts swarmed with Damon at one point, and soon it became impossible for her to keep it inside of her. "I met Damon." Her words rushed out almost giddily, but her expressions soon fell when she knew that Elena would never gossip with her, like it used to be with Matt. The second she and him kissed, Caroline was the first to know. Nowadays, it seemed like she knew less and less about Stefan rather than more, because she wasn't sure what was a rumor and what was a concrete fact.
"You did?" Elena raised a brow as she tilted her head downwards slightly, staring at her through her lashes in a skeptical way. "Yeah," Caroline sighed dreamily, brushing away bits of grass and mud that had stuck to her shorts. "But Bonnie doesn't approve of him either, I don't think." Maybe it was because Caroline had ditched her for him, but what shook her most was Bonnie's reaction to seeing Damon. "I talked to her about him after he drove me home. She told me to be careful with him."
Elena nodded suddenly, her eyes taking on a strange look. "Yeah, that's what she said to me about Stefan." Caroline's face twisted with confusion, a small pout appearing as she wondered why. Surely there was nothing wrong with Stefan or Damon, besides that they were both too incredible looking to be human.
"Damon's coming to pick me up after practice." Caroline gushed quietly, a grin appearing on her lips as she faced Elena, who attempted a few jumping jacks. "Stefan's taking me out after practice too." Elena smiled slightly, exhaling a few breaths. A whistle blew and the girls were called together to a large group.
Tiki, a senior girl, led the group through the motions of last year's routine. She and Elena worked through them effortlessly. She glanced at Elena from the corner of her eye and felt her self-esteem swell. She was just as good as Elena. If a man like Damon noticed her, then maybe she wasn't giving herself enough credit. He was unlike any man she had met and she had a feeling that this was just the beginning of his surprises.
An hour had passed of flips and turns, thrusts and hip movements. Caroline and Elena picked up their bags and began walking to the parking lot where Damon and Stefan were meant to come and get them.
Stefan came first, and Elena soon disappeared from Caroline's side and into his arms. She smiled and giggled as he greeted her with a kiss. Caroline stood near the STOP sign located at the corner of the first opening in the parking lot, glancing down at her phone occasionally. She wondered if he wasn't coming. Maybe he forgot. Or changed his mind. Or just didn't care. She looked at Stefan and Elena from the corner of her eye. Elena was leaning against the side of the car and Stefan stood in front of her, leaning against the window with one hand. She cupped his cheeks and pulled him to her. Caroline sighed wistfully.
"You know, it's not nice to stare." A voice made her jump, making her phone clatter to the cemented sidewalk below. She groaned and picked it up, brushing away the gravel and checking for scratches. "You need to stop doing that." Caroline shoved her phone in her pocket, finding that she no longer cared about its state. Damon had come. She looked up at his face, smiling at what she saw. Jet black hair with a prominent jawline and perfectly straight nose.
"You scare too easy." Damon reasoned, shrugging a shoulder as he glanced over Caroline's head at Stefan and Elena. He felt a twinge of jealousy. "Damon?" Caroline inquired quietly, looking up at the frozen figure with a look of worry.
"Hm." Damon murmured, then lowered his eyes down to her. "Why don't you go over there and see if we can join them, hm? That's what is the latest rage now, right? Double dating?" Caroline's face fell gently. Her jealousy of Elena had much faded since two nights ago, but she had been looking forward to spending time with Damon alone. She needed to make sure she wasn't crazy after all.
"Maybe some other time, Damon. I'm sure they want their privacy, as we want ours.." Caroline giggled quietly, her fingers trailing up the black button-up shirt on Damon's toned upper body. Damon exhaled somewhat impatiently. He regained himself, offered a small albeit tight smile and took her hands in his. "Oh, come on. It'll be fun. Then afterwards, we'll have as much privacy as we want."
Caroline still seemed hesitant. She was yet to open her mouth when her eyes flickered up to his. Damon took advantage of this, his pupils dialating as his mind connected and warped hers. "Go make sure we can join them." His voice was soft and soothing but demanding. A tone which would have made Caroline swoon any other time. But her mind was under pressure at the moment, at Damon's expense. She nodded, her glazed eyes slowly returning to consciousness. "Hey, maybe we can join them! I love double dates." Caroline smiled before turning around and jogging over to the other couple.
Damon rolled his eyes at her insistent enthusiasm, but his eyes wandered up and down her figure as she bounded away. She might be his best choice yet.
He stood relatively still as his hearing perked up, hoping to hear some parts of the conversation.
"Elena, hey, glad I caught you before you guys left. Damon and I were thinking, we should hang out together for lunch." Caroline presented the idea with such animation, she seemed to be proud of thinking of it herself. Actually, the more she thought about it, the better of an idea it seemed. She could find out more about Damon and Stefan at the same time, along with continue battling her raging jealousy of Elena. Surely the green eyed monster would have no reason to return with a Salvatore on her arm.
"Oh, Caroline, we were actually going to-"
"The Grill?" Caroline chimed in, her blonde locks shifting in the light autumn breeze. "Perfect. We'll meet you there."
She walked back to Damon, consciously making sure her hips shook a little bit more than usually. A wave of confidence swept through her when she saw Damon staring straight at her as she walked towards him.
While his eyes had glanced towards the perky blonde's fabulous curves, Damon was more intrigued by the look of confusion on Elena's face and the one of disgust on Stefan's face. Elena shrugged off the invitation, deciding it wouldn't be so bad. But Stefan's eyes were hard and cold as they met Damon's. He could see Caroline had been compelled.
"We're on for lunch at the grill." Caroline reported proudly as she stooped down to pick up her bag. Damon smiled, glad that he had chosen Caroline, and bent over to pick it up himself. "Please, allow me." She smiled at him coyly before walking towards the pale blue convertible parked just off the street.
Damon turned around and looked over his shoulder, giving a sly wave to the couple standing just thirty feet away.