Chapter 7

Caroline was freaking out. There was no other words to describe her current state of distress. When she had returned home, she had stripped out of her clothes and into the shower. It became futile when she realized that she could not wash away her sins from the night before.

She had crossed a very serious boundary. There was no was way she could tell Elena or anyone for that matter – but it didn't stop the ripper from spewing his guts. What would everyone say? They would desecrate her. Especially Tyler. He would insist that what she had done was more horrid than what he had done. It wasn't like anyone was Rebekah's friend. Caroline had committed the worse crime when it came to friendships and she had a feeling that she wasn't going to be able to explain what had caused her to sleep with Stefan or ripper Stefan; because truthfully she didn't even know why she had done so in the first place.

Caroline sighed out in frustration as tears began rolling down her cheeks. She was so disgusted with herself. Caroline pulled on a pair of three – quarter jeans and her favorite white t-shirt. It was only once she was dressed that she noticed what she was wearing. It was the same outfit she wore when "he" had been helping her with her emotions. When she was still strung up on Matt.

Why couldn't she escape him! This was becoming impossible.

The buzz of her phone alerted her. It was Elena. Elena was calling her. She must have found out. Caroline gulped and answered the phone.

"Elena … I" Caroline begins to apologize but she's interrupted by Elena.

"Caroline! Stefan's back." Caroline could hear the relief and joy in her friends' voice.

"How?" Caroline asked.

"We don't know yet. He just said he woke up and he was his normal self again."

"Oh." Caroline gulped. She didn't know exactly how to feel about this. There was both relief and dread. Relief that Stefan was back by some miracle and dread because if he knew what had happened, he would be beyond disappointed with her. She had never thought to consider how he would be feeling about all of this. After all Stefan hadn't wanted to sleep with her, the ripper had.

"Are you alright, Care? You sound weird?" Elena asked.

"I'm alright. I had a rough night." It wasn't exactly a lie, she thought.

"Oh well Stefan's on his way to your place."

"What? Why?" Caroline instantly moved to her bedroom window and peaked behind the curtain. She spotted Stefan walking up the road towards her house. She pulled the curtain back. What was she going to do?

"He's coming to ask for your help. You know? With his urges. You're the only one that can help him get back on track, Care."

"I don't know…" Caroline whispered. She knew he was coming for a confrontation. She doubted they were going to be talking about diet regimes.

"Please, Care." Elena begged.

"Ok." Caroline said dejectedly as the doorbell rang. "He's here. I better go." Caroline gulped.

"Thank you, Care. You're such a good friend." Elena hung up.

'Oh the irony' Caroline thought. She wasn't a good friend at all. She was the worst kind of friend, the one that should be introduced into children's books to warn them about. The doorbell rang again and Caroline slowly creaked down the stairs. Maybe if she was quiet then he would assume she wasn't there.

"Caroline. I know you're there. Please we need to talk." Stefan's desperate voiced drifted through the front door.

Caroline chewed her bottom lip. So much for that plan. She walked towards the door and opened the door.

There he stood. The Stefan that she knew, not the ripper with his uncaring smirk. Her heart plummeted down to her toes.

"Can I come in?" He asked quietly.

Caroline nodded.

"Yes." She glanced down at her feet and stepped sideways that Stefan could pass her.

The warm scent of him engulfed her and she recalled the way how warm he had felt when he was gripping her close to his body.

'Snap out of it." She reprimanded herself. This was no time to be thinking about that! Not when it had led to this awkward encounter.

The both of them could feel the stiffness around them. The awkwardness and the hint of something else that was bubbling beneath the surface. Stefan took a seat, while Caroline stood motionless.

"You're you again?" She broke the silence.

"Yeah."

"That's great." She replied awkwardly.

An uncomfortable silence fell once again over the room.

"Last night was …." He shifted uncomfortably before continuing, "What I mean to say is … I don't know what to say. I just knew that I had to come to you. To make sure that you're fine … that I didn't hurt you." Caroline's eyes widened.

"You never hurt me, Stefan. Last night was … a mistake I guess?" She crossed her arms, the room's temperature seemed to drop.

"Still he … I mean I took advantage of you." He said glumly. There was no one else to point a finger at. The ripper and he were one.

"I didn't put up a fight. It was wrong of me as well. You're with my best friend and last night you made me forget about everything and that was selfish of me. I'm to blame as well, Stefan."

"What do we do now?" He asked.

"I don't know. Carry on. Act as if nothing happened." She sighed.

"Can we do that? Because I need you and I don't think there is anyone else I can turn to right now. Can you help me? I understand if you don't want to be near me …" Stefan spoke, his voice cracking at the end. Whether he wanted to or not, Caroline was the only option. She was the only person that would be able to help reign in his urges. Although he wasn't sure if he could stop the crashing memory waves that hit him, every time he looked into her grey eyes.

"You helped me before and we can do this. We can go back to normal. Last night was just a bump in the road and we can forget about it. You have Elena to think of and your health, I suppose if you can put it like that. Plus I need to sort out things with Tyler and I must just find my feet. But I can help you." Caroline took a seat opposite him.

"Thank you. I'm sorry about, Tyler." Stefan entwined his hands together. A nervous habit of his.

"Don't worry. Not the first guy that's loved and left me or should I say used and left me." She blurted out. She could have slapped herself. She didn't mean him. Or did she?

"I never wanted to use you." He leaned forward in his chair.

"I didn't mean it like that. Let's not talk about it okay. No one has to know about it and we'll never mention or think about it again." Caroline sternly said, leaning back into her chair, away from his closeness. Away from the enticement that wanted her to cave to her bodies desires.

"Ok." He said.

"Bunnies or squirrels?" She asked.

"What?" He asked bewildered.

"Do you prefer bunnies or squirrels? We'll start you off with the small stuff. I'll head over to the house later again today, clear up the fridges and freezes of any blood bags. Every morning before school we'll run and then again in the evening." Caroline stood up, mentally check listing in her head the things she would need to do. At least this could maybe provide the distraction that she needed to move on.

"Um … sounds like you've put some thought into this." Stefan queried.

"It's detox one on one." She shrugged, smiling slightly.

"I guess I should go." Stefan stood up. He moved closer to Caroline, but she stepped back. She was afraid of the proximity. If they were going to really forget this then there would need to be boundaries. But she had a feeling that it was going to be a lot harder.

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'll meet you here … and Caroline?" Stefan said as she walked him towards the door.

"Hmm?" She replied quietly.

"I'm sorry about last night. I really hope this doesn't change things. I mean it obviously has, but I hope not too much that we can't be friends and civil around each other." Stefan sighed, tucking his hands into his jean pockets.

"It won't. We'll be fine. Everything will be fine." She said firmly. Although she didn't believe it. Not for one second. Things were going to change. Things had already changed.