I was sitting at the Mystic Grill reading and waiting for Elena when Damon walked up to me.
"What do you want?" I asked not looking away from my book.
"So, this is where you spend your time when you're not stabbing people in the back." Damon asked me. I rolled my eyes and put my book down on the table.
"I tricked you into telling me the truth, that's not stabbing you in the back, it's using your own tactics against you." I told him getting up.
"Where are you going?" Damon asked me.
"I made myself clear, Damon. I want nothing to do with you." I told him grabbing my book.
"Okay. See you at Jenna's barbecue." Damon said stopping me in my tracks.
"How did you know about Jenna's barbecue?" I asked, suspecting him of trying something.
"It was my idea. Jenna went to high school with Mason Lockwood so I figured a social gathering would be a good way to get to know the guy. So I told Rick to tell Jenna and…"Damon trailed off smirking.
"Does Jenna know that you're going to be there because she's not exactly a fan of yours." I said interrupting him. A woman walking up to us and gave Damon a box.
"Perfect. Thank you. I'm hoping this peach cobbler will pave the way." he said as the woman walked away.
"What are you up to?" I asked him, glaring.
"I'm gonna put some silver into Mason Lockwood and prove he is a werewolf. See you at the barbecue." My eyes widened as he walked out. I shook my head and walked home. When I got home, Elena and Jenna were in the kitchen talking.
"Thanks for letting me invite Caroline. She could use a day of distraction." Elena was saying as I walked into the kitchen.
"Well, she's not the plus one I'm worried about. Why is Damon coming?"
"It's only because Alaric is a pity taker." I told them.
"Come on, be nice." Elena said.
"I'll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off you." Jenna told her. Elena looked at me.
"I'll be nice when he stops acting like a spoiled brat." I told her as Mason walked in.
"Good news! I found the shot glasses!" Mason told us holding the glasses.
"That would be my exit." Elena said smiling and leaving. Jenna looked at me.
"What? She said it was her exit, not ours." I told her.
"Go." I rolled my eyes and smiled before following my sister. I went outside as Elena was leaving a message to someone on her phone.
"Hey. Just checking in. Did you get my message about Jenna's barbecue? Call me when you can." She hung up Caroline joined us on the porch.
"Is that Stefan?" I asked her sitting on the railing.
"Yeah, he hasn't called me back. I'm trying to decide if I should be worried." she told me.
"I'm sure he's fine" I told her smiling Caroline grabbed a bowl of chips and started eating them
"God! I cannot stop eating. Stefan says it's a great way to sublimate the cravings. It's horrible just fighting the urge for blood every minute of every day." Caroline told us.
"I know that Stefan really hates that part of himself." Elena told her, being supportive.
"Yeah and he hates that you're a constant temptation." Caroline told her, snacking away and avoiding my gaze.
"He said that?" Elena asked her.
"The desire to rip out your jugular every time he's with you? Trust me, it's there. It's why I had to break up with Matt." Caroline said as Alaric came out the door.
"Hey! Food's ready, come get it." Caroline put down the chips.
"Finally, I'm starving." She said walking past him inside.
"You coming sis?" I asked her standing up. She just nodded and stood. After eating we were playing Pictionary and it was Damon's turn.
"Dress! Ballerina!" Jenna guessed.
"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!" Caroline tried.
"No, no." Damon said smirking at us.
"A dog! Hound-dog!" Jenna tried while I rolled my eyes.
""Dances with the wolves"" I told them leaving to go into the kitchen.
"Nicole wins…again." Damon said following me into the kitchen.
"How is that a wolf?" I heard Jenna ask. Elena was taking the pie from the box and putting it on a plate when Damon and I joined her.
"Aunt Jenna is getting tipsy" Damon told her.
"Will you stop plying her with alcohol?" She asked him messing with the pie.
"I want her to like me" He told her looking at the pie over her shoulder.
"How is operation Lockwood?" I asked him sitting on the counter.
"He's my new BFF." he told me, smirking. That was when Jenna came in the room.
"There you are. Isn't this fun?" Jenna asked us and I smiled at her buzzed attitude.
"Yes, thank you so much for inviting me." Damon said to her.
"Did I have a choice?" She asked him, getting a silver set out.
"I know what you must think about me." Damon started to tell her.
"No, you don't. You've never dated you; I have dated many you's." I smiled at the banter between them.
"I'm a work in progress." He told her and watched as Elena gave her a cake knife from the set Jenna had pulled out earlier. "These are fancy." Damon commented on it, watching the set.
"Thanks. My mother's silver set." Jenna told him. Elena and I watched him as he took a knife from the set. I gave him a look and he just smiled slightly at me. I followed Elena into the living room and sat next to Caroline on the sofa.
"Would I be the worst friend and sister in the world if I abandoned you guys and went to Stefan's?" Elena asked us.
"You want to leave?" Caroline asked.
"But it's just getting interesting." I told her, thinking of Damon taking the knife.
"It's just that he hasn't gotten back to me and I'm starting to get this bad feeling." Elena told us.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Elena." Care told her.
"Damon's got it under control here." Elena told us.
"Take it from me, there's nothing worse than a clingy girlfriend." Elena told her and I just watched.
"I'm not being clingy, I'm just concerned. You understand, right?" Elena asked us.
"How about I drive you?" Caroline offered her.
"And you're not leaving me here alone." I told them.
"Yeah, okay, that'll be great, thanks." We all walked out of the house and into her car.
"Thanks for this, I appreciate it." Elena told us in the car.
"Here we come, to the rescue." Caroline snapped a little.
"Why are you being so snippy?" I asked her, leaning up to them.
"That's my own drama. I'm sure that you two will beat the odds. Not that there is any study to pull odds from. What is the ratio of success vampire-human coupling? I'm guessing nil." Caroline told us.
"Okay Caroline." Elena said trying to get her to shut up.
"Sorry." I was silent for a few minutes before Elena turned on the radio.
"I love this song." Elena commented on it and Caroline pushed a button on her steering wheel.
"Whats playing?" She asked no one.
"Playing "We Radiate" By Goldfrapp." a voice over told us.
"Ta-da." Caroline smiled at us and I laughed a little. Not to long later we heard the tire burst.
"Oh crap." Care said. Elena looked at me and sighed in frustration. Caroline called for a tow and we got out of the car to wait.
"Are you sure the tow's coming? We've been waiting forever." Elena asked looking at Care.
"I know, it's weird. They said they'd be here by now." Caroline looked down the road to see if she could see the truck.
"Yeah. I'm just gonna call Jenna." I told them pulling out my phone.
"No! Let me try the tow people again. And I'll use my mad girl voice." she said smiling at us and pulling out her phone also.
"Can't we just walk from here?" Elena asked watching the two of us.
"I can't just leave my car." Care told her. I just gave her a look.
"We'll come back for it." I said, starting to pull Elena with me.
"Just give me a minute." Care snapped again.
"Caroline, what part of "I'm worried about Stefan" didn't sink in?" Elena snapped back.
"What's the rush? Why are you hurrying to get to a relationship that will never work?" Caroline asked her.
"That's enough out of you Caroline! I know that you're upset over Matt but you will stop projecting it onto Elena and Stefan, is that clear?!" I shouted at her.
"I'm not projecting anything! You're human, he's a vampire. You're gonna be 70 and in diapers and he's still gonna be smoking hot and you will never have his children, Elena! And you are too maternal to not have children!" Caroline told us.
"Where is this coming from?!" I asked her.
"I'm just trying to be your friend." Caroline told me.
"Okay, well, do us a favor and stop." I told her, standing between her and Elena as the tow arrived.
"There's the tow, we're gonna walk" I told her, pulling Elena with.
"No, Elena, Nikky, don't!" She grabbed our arms.
"Caroline, you're hurting us." Elena told her.
"Don't leave me alone." Care begged us.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked her.
"Hey there, someone called about a flat tire?" The tow guy called to us.
"She did." Elena told him as I pulled my arm from her grip and we left.
"Hello? Stefan?" Elena called as we walked into the living room. "Stefan?" We looked around the room and saw our triplet standing behind us.
"You must be Elena and Nicole." She said pointing to us.
"How is this possible? How do we look exactly alike?" Elena asked her. She didn't answer and looked at us from top to bottom. She touched her neck and went behind us.
"You're asking the wrong questions." Katherine told us.
"Why are you here?" I asked her. Stefan chose that moment to run into the room.
"Elena?! Nicole?!" We looked to him and then back at where Katherine was to see she disappeared. "Are you two okay?"
"Not really. Are you okay?" Elena asked him.
"Not really." Stefan answered her. They held each other close. I just looked at the spot where Katherine had just told appeared before us.
I entered the Mystic Grill with Elena and Stefan. We passed by Caroline who was sitting alone at a table. I walked to the bar and sat down as far away from everyone as I could.
"Elena." I heard Caroline say.
"Hey." Elena greeted.
"Oh my god. I am so sorry about earlier today. I don't know what came over me." Caroline told her.
"It's okay, Caroline. Everything that you were saying was right. It's just hard for me to hear, you know?" Elena asked.
"So… you're not mad at me?" Caroline asked, wanting to feel better.
"You were just being a good friend…in your own way." Elena told her.
"My own head case, horrible way. Elena, I really am sorry." I heard Elena walk away from her, probably to Stefan.
"I'm starving." Stefan told her.
"Well, spending the day with your jealous ex will do that to you." Elena snipped.
"Listen, I know you're upset but we have to take her seriously. Today, was all about the lengths she would go to." Stefan told her.
"If she was going to hurt me, she would have. Nicole and I were standing right in front of her." Elena told him.
"Elena, you caught her off guard. It doesn't mean that you're safe." Stefan tried explaining to her.
"I'm not afraid of her." Elena told him.
"Well, you should be." Stefan said, trying to convince her.
"If Katherine had her way, we'd be breaking up right now." Elena said, trying to convince him of her point of view.
"If today taught me anything, is that Katherine is used to getting her way." Stefan told her.
"You're not actually saying that we should what she says?" Elena asked, sounding hurt.
"Listen, she's sadistic, okay? She threatened you, she threatened everyone." Stefan explained to her.
"Yeah, no, I get it. She's dangerous. But every day that we are together, it's dangerous. Why are you giving her so much power over our relationship?" Elena asked him, confused.
"This is the reality of our situation." Stefan answered her.
"Well, reality sucks." Elena told him. "This is what she wants. She wants us to fight. She wants to get between us." Elena told him, trying to convince him that they should stay together.
"She already has, Elena." Stefan told her. I pulled out my phone and text K everything that'd happened today, ending K's day on a high note.
"I'll take a vodka tonic." I told the bartender.
