chapter rating: pg-13/teen
word count: 5,674

-7-

"Caroline! Wait up!"

Caroline turned to see Bonnie hurrying toward her from the school parking lot, readjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

"Hey," she said as Bonnie reached her.

"Hey! So? Are you excited for the football game tomorrow?"

"I'm… not not-excited," she hedged.

Bonnie snorted. "Yeah. I'm not big on it either. But Elena joined the cheerleading team Freshman year and dragged me along with her. I'm more of a dancer than a cheerer."

"You dance?"

"Hip-hop, mostly. A little ballet. I haven't had a chance to in a while though."

"Oh. Are there classes you can take?"

"Yeah. There's a studio in town. But with school and cheerleading practice, it's just kind of fallen to the backburner, you know?"

"Sure." They started walking across the field, toward the school. "So are you cheering the whole game then?"

"We start a little before the game, to get everybody pumped up. But yeah, I'm pretty much stuck on the ground for all of it." Her nose wrinkled. "But I should be free after."

"Cool. Lexi, Sarah, and I will be there, and I think Eddy's sitting with us too."

"Eddy, huh?" Bonnie grinned, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up." Caroline bumped her shoulder. "Anyway, before I forget, what are you doing Sunday?"

"Um… Nothing, I think. Why?"

"Well, I promised Sarah a shopping trip and we were planning on making it kind of a whole day event. Like, we'd try here but if we don't find anything, we're not opposed to visiting a few surrounding towns, to see what they have to offer. And I thought, if you wanted, you could come too."

"Really?" Bonnie brightened. "That'd be awesome! I seriously need some new tops. I feel like I'm slowly edging into fashion backward."

Caroline laughed. "Okay. Well, we're going to get started early, so I thought we'd get breakfast first and then hit the stores. Do you want us to pick you up at your place or meet you somewhere?"

"I can probably meet you there. Where do you want to have breakfast?"

"So far I think I've only eaten at the Mystic Grill, so if there's a better place then please, enlighten me."

Bonnie chuckled. "I know a few good cafés that would be great for breakfast. Why don't we meet in front of the Grill and walk over? Most of the shops are down there anyway."

"All right. Sounds good."

Bonnie smiled. "Cool. I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too."

[…]

"So… How's it going with you and Caroline?" Matt wondered, catching the football as Tyler tossed it to him while they stood in the field in front of the school.

Stefan looked up from the textbook he was reading. "I asked her to come to the game tomorrow. She said she would. Eddy's going to sit with her."

Tyler snorted. "How are you this slow with girls?"

"Making more progress than you," Matt said, snorting. "You've been hitting on Lexi every day since she got here and she keeps calling you Trevor."

Tyler glared, his mouth pursed. "It's a joke. She knows my name. She's just flirting."

Stefan shook his head. "If you say so."

"I do." He caught the ball as Matt threw it to him and then looked toward where Caroline and Bonnie were cutting across the field. "If you're so close to her, why don't you put a good word in for me?"

"Because. I like her. And if I tell her you're a good guy and then you screw her sister over, I'm the one that has to pay for it." Closing his textbook, he hopped up from the picnic table he was sitting on, shoved it in his bag, and nodded goodbye to Matt.

"Later," Matt said.

"Hey! Who says I'll screw her over?" Tyler called after him, laughing. "Maybe I'll just screw her."

Stefan rolled his eyes, and continued walking, quickening his steps so he was nearly to the girls. "Caroline! Bonnie!"

They turned simultaneously to see him. "Hey Stefan," Bonnie said, looking from him to Caroline. "Caroline was just telling me that she'll be at the football game tomorrow."

"Yeah." He nodded, and looked to her. "I asked Eddy and she said she'd love to sit with you guys. Mom's going to be busy with work, so…"

"Great! Should I pick her up then?"

"Uh, yeah, we'll be practicing most of the day. It's probably better to get here a little early, so you can just call ahead and ask if she's ready. I'll give her your number."

"Okay, great."

"So, uh, what are you doing tonight?" he wondered, fiddling with the strap of his bag.

"Actually… You remember when I said I'd make you pasta?"

He smiled. "Yeah."

"Well, I was thinking… If you don't already have plans, maybe I could do it tonight. That way I can hang out with Eddy a little more too, so she won't feel too weird sitting with us tomorrow."

Stefan stared at her searchingly, his grin slowly widening. "Yeah, uh, that'd be great."

"Okay. So… Your place?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll text you the address. Should I pick anything up?"

"Nope. Just you and Eddy." She waved her hands decisively. "I'll take care of everything else."

The bell rang then, drawing their attention.

"Ugh, is it too early in the year to say I'm sick of school? Especially history," Bonnie said, shaking her head.

"Never too early," Caroline replied. "And I can't say history's my favorite either."

"Yeah. Hey, I forgot to say it before, but the way you stood up to Mister Tanner when he was picking on your sister was really cool." Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't know why he's such a jerk."

"He's a bully," Stefan said, frowning.

"Yeah, he is." Caroline tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "You can't let them get away with it or they think they always will."

"Hey, speaking of, where is Lexi?" Bonnie wondered.

"Sleeping in. She's decided she's put in enough face time at History and will now start showing up at second period." Caroline rolled her eyes.

"I envy her," Bonnie sighed.

Stefan chuckled. "Unfortunately, I think we all do."

"Well, while she gets her beauty sleep, I don't plan to be late." Caroline looked back at them as they stepped inside the school. "See you in class," she said, before walking off toward her locker.

Stefan watched her go, blonde curls bouncing at her shoulders.

"Stare any harder and you'll strain your eyes," Bonnie teased.

He smiled as he looked back at her. "That obvious?"

"Oh, completely." She shrugged as she walked forward and he kept pace at her side. "It's kind of nice, though."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah… Ever since this whole thing between you and Elena and Matt started, it was like that was all there was. And you didn't really seem happy anymore. It was like you were going through the motions… Not exactly fun when you're sixteen."

"No, it wasn't." He sighed. "How's she doing?"

"She's… all right. I think she thinks she messed up with you, in not picking you." Bonnie eyed him curiously. "If she changed her mind, hypothetically, do you think you'd…?"

"Hypothetically?" He half-smiled knowingly. "I was serious before. I still am. Me and Elena, we just don't work. And, it's like you said, I wasn't me anymore. I wasn't happy. I don't want to do that again."

Bonnie nodded. "Okay." She leaned over and bumped his shoulder with her own. "Then, I think it's the right choice, not picking it all up again. And besides, Caroline's really nice and you really like her."

"I do. I mean, it's early and we're still getting to know each other, but… I don't know. I feel like it could be something great."

Well, good. I'm glad to hear it."

"What about Bonnie Bennett then?" He smiled down at her. "Anything on the romantic front?"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Not currently, but I'll let you know if anything changes."

Throwing an arm around her shoulder, he squeezed her lightly. "The guys around here are idiots. Personally, I like to think they all just know you're too good for them."

"Whatever." She elbowed his ribs. "Is it too much to ask for a hot, dependable, smart guy to take an interest?"

"Mmm, no. But your options are limited. I mean, there's me and there's Matt and… That's about it," he joked.

Bonnie laughed. "Yeah, well, no offense, but I'm not wading into that whole mess." She waved a hand around him. "And Matt's one of my best friends. Honestly, I see him like a brother more than anything."

"Hmm. Well, unless someone new comes to town, you might be limited on your options." He paused. "You know, Caroline's brother is visiting… He might be right up your alley."

"Actually." She paused, glancing at him. "I met him last night. Weird coincidence. He was looking for his sisters and we bumped into each other."

"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow. "Any sparks?"

She snorted. "Yeah, right. First of all, he's model hot like his sisters, so that's just a tiny bit intimidating. Second of all, he's probably too old for me."

"And third of all?"

"No third of all yet, but it'll probably come out that he's gay, or he's got some hot, Italian model waiting for him… or both."

Stefan laughed. "You want me to ask Caroline if he does?"

"Nah, I'm hanging out with Caroline Sunday anyway. Maybe I'll bump into him again and find out myself." She ducked out from under his arm then, pausing by her locker. "Have a nice dinner date tonight," she told him, teasingly.

"I will," he replied grinning, and continued on to his own locker.

So far, his day was going great.

[…]

Sarah was running late. She knew she shouldn't have caught a ride in with her friend, Corrine, but she'd overslept and Caroline had already taken off. Unfortunately, this meant Sarah was late for her class and had been off schedule all morning. She kept forgetting her books, or grabbing the wrong ones, and had to make a trip back to her locker to replace them. She had calculus next, not a class she wanted to be late to, considering the teacher was a stickler for the rules, but she'd accidentally grabbed her history book instead of her calc book and now she was minutes away from a tardy slip.

She was just coming around the corner, her classroom in sight, when she spotted Matt Donovan crossing her path. Sarah's eyes followed after him as she chewed her lip. It was pathetic, she knew. She'd had this ridiculous crush on him for so long. But he was just… nice and cute and friendly and… ugh.

She hugged her book a little tighter to her chest and resolved to get over it. But then she spotted something on the floor, shining a little under the track lighting. Bending, she plucked it up and saw that it was a card of some kind, with Mystic Grill printed on the front and Matt's name scrawled messily on the back.

She was calling out his name before she could think it through, and he whirled at the sound, staring at her curiously.

Sarah froze under the sudden weight of his complete attention. "Uh…" She held the card up in explanation.

His brows hiked and he hurried back toward her, plucking the card from her fingers. "Thanks, that's a security pass for work, must've fallen out of my pocket. My boss would've kicked my ass if I lost this." He grinned crookedly at her, and then his head tipped. "Hey, you're a Salvatore, right? You're Caroline and Lexi's cousin or something?"

"Yeah, yes." She nodded. "Sarah."

"Sarah," he repeated, and then gave her a nod. "Thanks for this." He waved the card. "Flag me down next time you're at the Grill. Whatever you want, on the house."

She shook her head. "Oh, you don't have to—"

"I want to. Really." He nodded as he stepped backwards.

Sarah untied her tongue and smiled. "Sure, uh… You're welcome." She tucked a loose chunk of her hair behind her ear and hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt.

He grinned one last time and then turned on his heel to leave.

Sarah watched him go, sighing wistfully, and then blinked back into reality and ran the last few feet to her calc class. Walking quickly to her seat, she kept head ducked to avoid the teacher's accusing glare. Still, as she sat down and opened her books, she couldn't help a smile. Apparently that doomed crush wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

[…]

Caroline had just left her English class and was walking toward her locker when she spotted him through a window facing the parking lot. Her brother, standing near her car, hands clasped together. Rolling her eyes, she changed direction and made her way outside.

"You're a little old to be creeping on a high school," she said in way of greeting.

Damon's mouth ticked up at the corners. "I don't know. I heard the cheerleaders will be practicing after school. I'm sure I could find someone to entertain me."

"Is there a reason you're here, other than to raise red flags with school security?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I just felt like checking in, see how you were settling in at your new school…" His eyes flashed wide for a moment. "Saw Lexi back at the boarding house; she said she was taking a sick day from teenage drama. You seem to be enjoying it though. Can't say I'm surprised."

She snorted. "Of course. Because I've always been so immature and self-centered, please, enlighten me again."

His head cocked curiously. "You're in a mood."

"Not until you showed up. I was perfectly happy until I saw you hanging around…" Her brow furrowed. "Why are you here, Damon? Not just here, as in the school, but here like Mystic Falls? You hate small towns; they bore you. So why—?"

"I told you. Your disappearing act raised my curiosity and I came to see what the big deal was." He shrugged. "What, is the Scooby Gang so full that I can't join?"

"Last I checked, you had your humanity off, which isn't conducive to my plan of action. Namely, getting through this with zero casualties."

"You don't want me to kill your little friends, fine, I won't." He rolled his eyes, exasperated. "But a guy's gotta eat."

"That's what blood bags are for. There are plenty in the freezer. I even made sure to stock up on your favorite type."

"I prefer my food a little fresher. I'll tap veins but I won't tear them…" he offered, "best I can do."

Caroline peered at him, unconvinced, but eventually sighed. "One more body, and you and I are going to have a serious talk." She turned on her heel and started back toward the school.

"Have a good day," he called after her, mockingly cheerful. "Learn something new!"

Waving her middle finger back at him over her shoulder, she heard him laugh before he walked off to his car. She wondered if it was a good or bad sign that he was checking in and making promises not to kill anyone. Damon liked his games, especially when his humanity was off, and Caroline had a feeling he was already playing one. And so was she, whether she wanted to or not.

[…]

Sheila had just turned the corner down a side street; she turned around and waited. As soon as her shadow tried to follow, she asked, "Do you plan on following me everywhere I go?"

The tall, blonde woman stumbled to a stop, blinked, and then stuttered, "I—I wasn't…"

"Mm-hmm." Sheila turned to face her, a brow arched high. "You know, for a vampire, you're not very stealthy."

"Vampire?" She cocked her head. "Are you sure you aren't taking your work home with you?"

Sheila smiled slowly, but there was little amusement in it. "You've done your homework."

"I was always a good student." She crossed her arms and jutted out her hip. "I only want to talk."

"I expect so. If you wanted to do more than that, you might've made a move much earlier." Sheila eyed her curiously. "Just how old are you?"

She shrugged. "Old enough."

Sheila nodded. "Well, what is it you were hoping to learn in your spying today then?" she wondered.

"Nothing in particular. Just whether you fell on the side of Glinda or her greener counterpart."

"And what conclusion have you come to?"

"So far? That you wear sensible shoes."

Humming, Sheila took a moment, and then held a hand out. "Sheila Bennett, but you already knew that."

She glanced at Sheila's hand, hesitated, but finally reached out and took it. "Lexi."

Sheila's fingers flexed and she drew a deep breath. "You've been around some time..." Her brows knit. "Curious, though… My Bonnie's been talking about a recent addition to Mystic Falls. A new friend. Caroline Salvatore… and her twin sister, Lexi."

"Then she's probably mentioned that Caroline wants to meet you… That she has a particular interest in the occult."

"Hm. Is that why you've been following me then? To be sure your… sister would be safe when she met me?"

Lexi stared at her a long moment. "I know what you are, and what you can do. Caroline is a good person. She doesn't want to hurt anyone. She only wants to put a piece of her history to rest, and she's hoping you might help her with that."

"You think you know what I can do. But like most of your kind, you only scratch the surface." Sheila shifted to face her better. "It was a risk, letting me read you, letting me see if I could trust you."

"I don't want to hurt anyone. That's not who I am. And I think you read that just fine."

"Maybe I did. But my priority is my granddaughter. If Caroline wants to speak to me, fine. But leave Bonnie out of it."

"Bonnie is her friend, and she has no idea what we are," Lexi insisted. "The sooner Caroline finds what she's looking for, the sooner we can leave."

"And if she doesn't like what she finds?"

Lexi frowned and looked away. "Just help her get some peace. And then you can have your sleepy little vampire-free town back." She turned to leave then, but only made it two steps before her brain exploded in pain. It only lasted a handful of seconds, but it was enough to make her knees buckle beneath her and her vision swim. She hissed, rubbing at her temples as she turned to look at the witch glaring down at her.

"Next time you want to talk, you ask me face to face, no more following me around wherever I go. And if I find out any harm has come to Bonnie, you'll be the first to find out just what I can do."

Sheila turned then, and calmly walked away. Oh, her heart was pounding and a very insistent voice warned she shouldn't turn her back on an enemy, but she refused to let her fear show in any way. She was a Bennett witch, and that alone bolstered her pride.

[…]

The end of the school day couldn't come soon enough, and Caroline was relieved to be crossing the parking lot toward her car. She was going over her mental grocery list for the dinner she was making and digging her keys out of her bag when she heard the sharp sound of a whistle blowing, followed by the harsh criticism of Mr. Tanner. Or, she supposed, Coach Tanner, in this particular case, as he was currently in the middle of complaining that his football team was not up to standard. She could spot Matt Donovan and Tyler Lockwood from where she was standing, but couldn't see where on the field Stefan was stationed. Bonnie and Elena were going over a routine with the other cheerleaders not far from football practice though, and Caroline found herself wandering a little closer. The grocery store would still be there if she took five extra minutes.

Caroline was just about to take a seat on the lower bench of the stands when she heard a whistling noise and looked over to see Eddy Forbes sitting a few benches higher, a notebook open in front of her.

"Hey," Caroline said, her head cocked curiously. "Do you always come to your brother's practices?"

Eddy shrugged. "It's either this or hanging out at the station. And since they banned me from trying to solve the cold cases, there's not a lot for me to do."

Laughing under her breath, Caroline climbed up and took a seat beside her. "So homework then?"

"Coach told me I wasn't allowed to wear my own whistle and call out plays since it 'confused his players.'" She rolled her eyes.

"Sounds like you go through a lot of trial and error."

"I keep myself entertained." Eddy half-grinned up at her. "So what're you doing here?"

"Thought I'd see what the hype was about cheerleading." She pointed a thumb toward the group and said, "I'm friends with Bonnie."

"Bonnie's cool."

"Yeah, she is."

"Where's your sister?"

"Lexi?" Caroline frowned. "Probably at home… Not that you should follow in her footsteps, but she's not really the academic type."

Eddy snorted. "So she skipped?"

"Yeah. Usually she comes for first period, but she was tired, so she just slept through her alarm."

"Mom would kill me if I skipped school…" She shrugged. "I wouldn't anyway. I like school."

"Me too." Caroline smiled. "I always did. I mean, there are some things that you can take or leave. Like homework, not exactly my favorite part. But I like learning new things and challenging myself to be better."

"Same."

Caroline looked out at the field then, scanning to see if she could find Stefan amongst the formation.

"Seventeen," Eddy told her knowingly, and then pointed down the field. "Have you ever played?"

Caroline's gaze followed Eddy's finger to where Stefan stood, hands on his hips as he waited for them to run the play. "Yeah," she murmured thoughtfully. "A long time ago. With my brother…"

Damon ran ahead of her, the ball held in the crook of his elbow. "Come on, I'll throw it and you catch it," he told her.

Picking up the skirts of her dress, Caroline hurried after him. "Where did you learn this game?"

"Camp outside of Atlanta, one of the officers picked it up at Harvard." He waved at her to move further back. "Are you certain you want to play? It might dirty your pretty dress," he teased.

Caroline glared at him. "What is dirty can be washed. Throw me the ball, Damon." She held her hands out demandingly.

"All right, but you must catch it."

"I will!"

Grinning, Damon drew his arm back and threw the ball in an arc. Caroline shrieked and backed up. Her fingers skinned the edge of it before it finally slipped just into her grip. Holding it up triumphantly, she waved it in his direction. "You see! I told you I would!"

Laughing, he rushed toward her.

Caroline turned and ran away, hugging the ball to her chest. "You have not told me the rules!" she shouted back at him, running out of reach.

"Who needs rules?" Katherine's voice suddenly called out. She walked across the porch and grinned at them, hands clasped together prettily. "Mind if I join you?" she asked, her voice coy as she walked daintily down the stairs.

Caroline slowed to a stop and looked from Katherine to her brother and back again. She walked toward their guest, dusting dirt from her hands and feeling oddly ashamed that she did not look quite as pristine as Miss Pierce did. "It rained last evening, the ground is rather muddy."

Katherine walked up to her and tilted her chin as she stared Caroline in the eyes, her lips turned up faintly at the corners. "What is dirty can be washed." She stole the ball from Caroline's hand, giggled, and then ran off, inviting them to give chase.

Caroline peered after her, brow furrowed and mouth pursed. In all the time that Katherine had been staying with them, it would seem that she only became more of a mystery.

Damon's gaze followed Katherine before he turned to her. "Don't look so sour, sister. If Miss Pierce would like to play, it's our duty to appease her." He wiggled his eyebrows, smirking all the while, and finally took off after her.

Caroline lingered behind a few moments, hesitant and uncertain. But eventually, hearing the lilting sound of Katherine's giggle and her brother's laugh, she too followed.

"Stefan taught me to play when I was little."

Caroline blinked back into the present. "Yeah? Do you like it?"

Eddy shrugged. "I'm better at soccer, but football's fun too."

"Nice. Are you on a soccer team?"

"No. I was before, my dad used to coach the team, but after he left…" Her gaze fell. "I don't know. It wasn't the same anymore. So I quit."

Caroline nodded. "I get that. When my mom was alive, I used to sing and play the piano, but… after she died, I… It was never the same. It reminded me of her and…"

"It hurt," Eddy said, looking over at her. "Yeah."

"Yeah." Trying to shake off the sudden melancholy feeling, Caroline smiled. "Hey, if you want, you can come with me to the grocery store. I need to pick up some things for dinner tonight."

"Sure." Eddy closed her notebook and tucked it in her open backpack. "Beats doing homework."

Standing from the bleachers, Eddy pulled her bag onto her shoulder.

Caroline stood too. "Maybe we should flag Stefan, let him know—"

"STEFAN!" Eddy shouted, hands cupped around her mouth. "I'M GOING SHOPPING WITH CAROLINE! SEE YOU AT HOME!" Hopping down to the next bench, Eddy grinned over at her. "There. Done."

Blinking, Caroline nodded. "Uh, okay. I guess that works too…" She followed after her, making her way down to the field. Just to be sure, though, she looked for Stefan, and waved at him.

His helmet off, damp hair clinging to his flushed face, he grinned and waved back at her.

Caroline stared a moment, a warm feeling washing over her.

"Hey, you got anything to eat? Me and Stefan usually get a snack at Mystic Grill."

Caroline looked over to Eddy, amused by her candor. "Subtle. Well, we have plenty of time before dinner, so, sure, we can get something to eat before we go shopping. Sound good?"

Eddy beamed. "Awesome."

"Great." As they walked off the field, headed to her car, Caroline waved at Bonnie, who wiggled her eyebrows in reply, before focusing back on her cheerleading practice.

"So, how was school?" Caroline wondered, looking over at Eddy beside her.

Eddy shrugged. "It was okay. We're studying amphibians in my science class and there's this big tank of frogs that someone let loose in the field behind the school."

"'Someone,' or you?"

"In the interest of not incriminating myself, I'll have to plead the fifth."

Caroline laughed, shaking her head, and unlocked the car doors with her keychain. "Well, I hope those frogs find a good home."

Eddy pulled open the passenger side door and smirked. "Anywhere's better than the science lab."

[…]

"Hey, Pipsqueak, how was school?"

Sarah rolled her eyes as she walked further into the house. "Fine. How was skipping school?" she wondered, walking into the kitchen to find Lexi sitting on the counter, eating a bowl of grapes.

"Informative." She hopped down and handed the bowl off to her. "Where's my blonder twin?"

"I don't know. I thought she'd be here." Sarah popped a grape in her mouth and frowned. "Why? What's up?"

"Nothing. Just did some Scoobying on my own and wanted to fill her in."

"Oh." She paused. "You could fill me in," she offered.

Lexi looked over at her. "You're really interested in all this vampire stuff, huh?"

"I don't know. Ever since I found out about them when I was a kid, it's just kind of been this giant question mark, you know? I guess there are some things only real vampires know."

"I imagine there's a lot only we know. Just like there's a lot we don't." She grinned as she took a seat at the kitchen island. "So, what do you wanna know?"

"Well, what's it feel like?"

"Like… hypersensitivity, to everything. Better hearing, seeing, tasting, everything. And then other things are kind of muted. Like, food tastes great, but nothing tastes as good as blood. And your feelings are jacked up to three hundred, especially in the beginning. You get used to it and kind of find your middle-ground, but for a while, it's just like wanting to cry and laugh and scream all rolled into one… And love, love is the worst. It's intense and consuming and, for a vampire, that says something. But it's also the best. Unless you fall for a human, and then you've got a world of pain headed your way."

"Have you ever fallen for a human?"

"Sure. You don't live as long as I have and not make a few mistakes along the way." She smiled. "There was this girl, back in 1804, God, she was beautiful. And funny, just… Every time I was with her, I was laughing… And that feeling you get, when you first fall in love, and everything is electric. Every touch and smile and look… It felt like that, every day that we were together. But…" She sighed. "Alas, the girl was human, and we only had so much time together before I had to leave."

"Did she know?" Sarah wondered. "That you were…"

"When you really love someone, you tell them. Maybe it's because you're hoping they'll choose to be like you or maybe you just don't want to lie to them or maybe you want them to love all of you like you love all of them…" She hummed. "But yeah, I told her."

"And she didn't… She didn't want to…?"

"I never offered," Lexi admitted. "And she never asked."

Sarah swallowed, her gaze falling. "That must've been hard."

"Sometimes love has a time limit. So you take every second you can get and when it's over, you cherish it, and you let them go."

"Do you ever regret it? Or wish it was different?"

"Sometimes I ask myself what it would be like if she'd turned, if she was here with me now, if she would've liked being like me… But I think she thought about it, knew that it wasn't something she wanted or could do, and she made the decision not to turn."

"What happened to her after?"

"She lived out her life, she was happy. She had three nieces that she spoiled rotten and that was all she needed. I visited her before she died, just to say goodbye…" Her gaze grew distant for a moment. "She was just as beautiful as the day I met her."

Sarah swallowed tightly. "Do you miss her?"

Lexi blinked back into the moment and looked over at her. "Sure. I miss a lot of people. That's one of the downsides to vampirism. You meet a whole lot of people and before you know it, you're the only one left."

Staring at her searchingly, Sarah frowned and finally turned her eyes away. "One day, that's going to be me."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll just be a memory. Someone you and Caroline remember but haven't seen in decades or centuries. All the little details will be fuzzy and out of focus and I'll just get added to the pile."

"That's a pretty depressing way of looking at it."

"How else would you look at it?"

"That it's not a pile, like I've got a memory dump I leave everything and everyone I love behind in. But a photo album, or a scrapbook, where everyone has their own pages, their own chapters. And sure, I go back and I look at them from time to time, and I miss them, but I don't just put them away and never touch them again. I think of them when I'm having a bad day or when I smell something that reminds me of them or when I hear someone say their name. I think of how soft Anya's hands were or how her breath felt on my neck when we slept.

"It happens to everyone, Sarah. In ten years, you're going to remember what it was like when you were fifteen. Your friends and your family and something funny or scary or embarrassing that happened in school. That memory is going to carve itself into you, to be remembered later, just like I am. Maybe my memories go back further, but it's the same as you. You'll have epic loves and epic fails and they'll condense into different feelings that'll crop up at the best and worst times of your life.

"And I can promise you one thing… In fifty or a hundred years, when I look back and think of Sarah Salvatore, you're not just going to be one face among many. You'll be your own, individual chapter in my life. With page markers and highlighted passages and lovingly weathered pages from me re-reading every inch of when I knew you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. You're my Pipsqueak, remember?"

Sarah smiled, ducking her head. "I don't know. I just… Sometimes I think about how weird it all is."

"Oh, trust me, you've barely scraped the top of the iceberg on the weird meter." She patted Sarah's shoulder. "There's a lot more to come."

[next: chapter eight.]

author's note: next chapter will be a lot more stefan/caroline heavy, since it'll deal with their dinner date. but i did like exploring a few plots going on outside of them. i think lexi often seems really chill about things, but i did kind of want to highlight that she has a serious side and she is taking steps to be involved in helping caroline crack the katherine/elena mystery.

someone asked last chapter when matt and sarah would meet too, and this is just a little moment for them. things pick up more as time goes on and the drama in mystic falls kicks up a notch.

also, eddy is still such a fun character to write, so i hope you're enjoying her! :)

thanks for reading. hope you enjoyed it! please try to leave a review!

- lee | fina