Day Seven - Second First Impression
The past week has been nothing but fake smiles and pretenses. She might have been good at this in another life, but Caroline is getting seriously tired of it. She has not heard from Bonnie yet and the signs she is supposed to find are nowhere to be found. The only thing she can think about is the image of her hand, given to Damon by his father and by his brother. Not to mention the fact that the path Stefan showed to her on the crossroads was the path on the right – the right path – and it led to Damon. She has had dreams about it and she is wondering if that could possibly mean something. She remembers the conversation Stefan and Bonnie had, about not taking any chances. If she fails, she might not go back to her friends – she can't fail. And so, she does nothing.
Caroline has never felt angrier in her entire life. Being sent back to 1864, without any indication as to what she must do or how she must do it is definitely not the way she was hoping to spend the next days - weeks?- of her life. She is pissed at Bonnie, even though she had been warned that things could get tricky. She is pissed at Elena for requesting that Stefan stayed. She is pissed at Damon from being human again, because it means that she is completely alone in this. Their fate lies in her sole hands and she never had to handle so much pressure before.
"Miss Jones, may I come in?"
As usual at this time of the day, Caroline is in her bedroom, pretending to read one of the books she has borrowed from Stefan. She avoids being in the presence of the Salvatores as much as she can, which is no easy task at all. The three men are very fond of her, and annoyingly hard to resist.
"Yes, M. Salvatore, please do."
Caroline rolls her eyes at how polite and solemn she sounds – 1864 is definitely not fun when it comes to manners and it takes all of her willpower not to swear and scowl all day long. She must behave like a lady, and, so far, she has been successful in doing so. It's like permanent role-play and she has seen "Gone with the Wind" so many times that it really is no trouble for her.
Damon slowly pushes open the door but doesn't cross the threshold. Caroline smiles at his shyness; he is nothing like the inconsiderate and cocky Damon she is used to. He is so sweet and polite that she could reduce him to silence with a single glance. It is awkward, but quite enjoyable to be in control of the relationship, for a change.
"You can come in," she says and as he bows slightly to thank her; she curtseys.
"Father says you have been feeling a bit down, these days, Miss Jones. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"
"Your brother should be here any minute now, we are taking a walk around the estate. It is always the highlight of my day."
"I hate to tell you this, but Stefan and Father have some business in town, I'm afraid."
Now, that is a bummer. Her daily walks with Stefan have also turned into her only opportunities to feed. She has convinced him to go a little further out of the estate and into the forest so when she pretends to play hide and seek with him (yeah, so maybe she started acting über childish and mentioned that she used to that with her "brother" and she missed it), she super speeds around to sink her teeth into a bunny. If Stefan is not here, it means that she doesn't have an excuse to go out – they will never let her venture outside on her own. She is upset but she has become a master at hiding her emotions.
"It's okay. I will stay here and read," she says with a smile.
"I could walk with you, if you like."
She is about to decline when the image of their hands crosses her mind once more, along with that of the path. Maybe it meant that she should take walks with him? And even if it didn't, if she is to be his guide, she might as well start spending time with him.
"I would love that, M. Salvatore."
"Please, call me Damon."
"Only if you consent to calling me Caroline."
"Very well, then," he says with a childish grin. "Let's take a walk, Caroline."
It is a warm day and Damon asks Dolores to make sure she gives Caroline a sunshade before they go; something the vampire would have forgotten very easily, since she is not subject to sunstroke. It sort of annoys her how everyone always wants to take care of her, like she is weak or something. She looks at them both and thinks: if only you knew.
She lets him guide the walk, although she has now become very familiar with the Salvatore Estate. Its trees, its bushes and its flowers – Stefan has told her all about them and she marvels at how erudite he sounds when discussing plants. Actually, Stefan sounds erudite, whatever the topic. He is a very curious young man and he likes to let his mind wander to various subjects, although philosophy and literature are his favorites. The talks they have make Caroline love him just a little more and she is sad that life, or rather, death, turned him into a different person. Now, she understands why he feels like being a vampire is a curse – she is starting to agree with him.
"You are very pensive," Damon says. "May I be bold enough to ask what it is you are thinking about?"
"My apologies," she says. "I was just…thinking, you know?"
He nods even though it's obvious that he doesn't have a clue what she is talking about. They spend more than two hours together. At first, the conversation is just a little bit shy and the moments of silence are numerous, but then, she starts asking him questions about the books he likes to read, the places in the world he would like to see. She finds out that Damon is nothing like his brother, except that both are genuinely kind-hearted.
"Father tells me you and Stefan spend a lot of time together," Damon says casually.
"You seem upset about it."
They have stopped their walking to pause under a huge tree; Damon thought she might be tired from walking for thirty minutes in a row. He has taken care of everything: the basket with fresh food and lemonade, the mat. He is constantly making sure that she isn't too warm and asking if she'd like to get going. Caroline doesn't think she can get used to human Damon – way too charming.
"Upset is not the word. I wish you would want to spend time with me as well."
Caroline almost chokes on her lemonade. The way he says that – so truthfully, almost vulnerably. Like he is really hurt that she gives more attention to his brother. She looks up and finds him staring at her in the most embarrassing way; it takes her back to the days when she was crushing on him. Thank God for an undead body, she can't blush.
"It was never my intention to offend you, Damon. I like the time we are spending together, now."
He genuinely smiles at her and the conversation resumes. He asks about her life in California – which is where she comes from, apparently. He asks about her parents and her friends back home. It's the first time anyone has asked her that since she got here and she wishes she could tell him everything that's been on her mind, but she simply doesn't feel it. Damon has never been very interested in her Matt drama or in anything related to her life, actually; but then again, the man sitting with her is not the same Damon she knows, so, why not?
"My life back home is slightly complicated at the moment," she admits, emotion perceivable in her voice.
"Do you wish to tell me about it?"
"Everything seems to go wrong. I wouldn't know where to start."
"From the beginning?"
Caroline laughs and the first thing that comes to her mind is how her relationship with her mother is nothing but a mess right now. Yes, they have made peace, somehow – but how will it be, at breakfast, when she needs to have a cup of blood and her mother has coffee?
"I am not what my mother expected me to be. Actually, I've become what she hates the most in this world."
"Nonsense. You are a delightful young woman."
"How would you know? I've been here only two weeks."
"My father likes you. Trust me, that is saying something," Damon says bitterly.
Caroline remembers all the talks she has had with Elena about the Salvatore brothers and their father. No doubt Damon would understand what being a bitter disappointment to a parent feels like. This simple and insignificant common point makes her feel like she is not completely out of place anymore. For the first time since she got here, she doesn't feel like a fraud – when she talks to Damon about her mother, when he confesses things about his father, she feels like it is real.
But soon enough, they are back in front of the house and she is almost disappointed that Stefan will be taking her to walk tomorrow.
"It was very nice of you to keep me company, Damon," she says with a smile.
"My pleasure."
Caroline throws her arms around Damon in a way to say thank you, just like she would do with any of her friends, but he doesn't return her embrace. Caroline frowns – that is so not like him. She takes a step back and fakes embarrassment when she sees that he is blushing. Another thing she will never get used to – Damon Salvatore, blushing. Because she hugged him. Seriously. Yeah, maybe she forgot for a minute that this was 1864 and that it was extremely inappropriate for a young woman to be this close to a person of the male gender.
"Please forgive my enthusiasm. I just meant to let you know that I had a lovely time."
"Same for me," Damon says, still a little confused.
"But, if we're going to be friends, Damon, you might as well get used to it: I am inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, you must have noticed."
"You are not like the other girls. I like that about you, Caroline," he just says before he walks away.
Caroline wants to stand there with just a smile on her face as she waits for Dolores to join her, but she calls after Damon.
"Maybe you can walk with me tomorrow as well?" she asks shyly.
"What about Stefan?"
"I am sure he won't mind."
Hello, there! Thank you everyone for the many reviews, I hope we can outdo ourselves and set a new record from Save the Hero (if you haven't read it : GO!). I'm glad you liked the Steroline moment, I'm not spoiling anything if I say that those two will be very close, in many different ways.
You all Daroline lovers: impressions on their first actual interaction? Fire away: review ! With your review, please tell me in which country you live? I'm just curious.
- M. -