And here we go! I may have rushed it a bit because I have to go see Deathly Hallows.*bounces excitedly* Thanks for the lovely reviews! I hope you like it!

XXXXXX

After Bonnie and Damon left, Stefan and Caroline just smiled at each other—Stefan seemingly genuinely happy, and Caroline a bit nervously.

"Come in," Stefan said, moving back so that she could enter.

"Thanks," Caroline said.

"So what brings you here? Everything okay?" Stefan asked, a little concerned.

"Yeah, I was just worried about you actually,"Caroline smiled brightly. "You were there when I needed you, so I want to be here for you. And, um, apparently Bonnie is too."

Stefan looked at her as if he'd never really quite seen her before. "Thank you, Caroline." He smiled at her, deciding to ignore the awkwardness. "Bonnie was just being a good friend, much like you, might I add."

Caroline facepalmed. "Wow, I'm being silly. I just, I wanted to make sure that you know that if you need me, you have me." Her eyes widened as she realized how that sounded, "I mean, um." She stopped and took a deep breath.

Stefan quirked his head to the side cutely, "It's okay, Caroline."

Caroline just stared into his eyes for a brief moment. She stopped smiling. "So, are you okay?"

Stefan lifted his hands and shrugged, "As happy as I can be," he said softly.

Caroline took his hand, "What happened, Stefan? You loved each other . . . and now it's just over."

Stefan sighed and squeezed her hand back, "Honestly, Caroline, it just happens that way sometimes. You know that as well as I do."

Caroline looked at him as if she didn't quite believe that that was all there was to it. "How do you feel, Stefan?"

Stefan's smile disappeared. "I'm fine."

"Fine is not a feeling," Caroline said sternly.

"But it's true."

"No, it's not," Caroline teasingly whacked him with her free hand. "Is this more of a "get the cavalry, we're taking her down" or winning Elena back sort of situation?" Caroline asked, semi-seriously.

Stefan just laughed, "Neither. It hurts, but it'll go away."

Caroline opened her mouth to worry when Stefan held up the hand not still entangled in Caroline's. "Don't worry, I'm not about to go off the deep end and declare I'll never love anyone else ever again."

"You will," Caroline heard herself say without even thinking.

Stefan looked at her in surprise. "I will. Just like after you and Matt broke up you dated Tyler for a while. Just because a relationship ends doesn't mean the world does too."

"I could set you up with someone, if you want." Caroline winced. Yeah, she didn't want to do that. She needed to stop saying things without thinking them through. She would have smacked herself upside the head if that wouldn't have made her seem incredibly suspicious.

"Caroline," Stefan said slowly, taking his other hand in hers. He swung their hands back and forth between them. "That's not what I want. I want to be alone." The look on his face said otherwise though, and Caroline could read him well enough to know that.

She didn't want him to be so unhappy, not because of Elena. She wasn't special enough to warrant that. "You were alone for a really long time before Elena," Caroline said, then winced again when Stefan stopped and a look of pain crossed his face. "I'm sorry," Caroline whispered. "That's not what I meant. I just mean she's not everything."

"You're right. But that's part of why I'm not ready. I loved her a lot."

"Loved?" Caroline asked, noticing the use of past tense. That she didn't expect.

"I knew for months that she didn't love me." Stefan said, without anger or resentment.

"Then why didn't you-"

"Why didn't I just end things?" Stefan finished her question. Caroline nodded. "Because it's easier this way. Because as much as I love Elena, I also know her really well."

"What do you mean?"

"If I had ended things before she was ready, she would have missed me. This way, there's a clean break. And she really seems to want Damon."

Caroline snorted. "She only wants him because she couldn't have him. If you were to start dating someone else, she'd been on you like that," Caroline snapped her fingers.

Stefan closed his eyes and sighed. "Elena isn't as bad as you're making her out to be. She's just human. And in love." Caroline nearly slapped herself. He was in love with her still, he didn't need her to bash the girl he was pining over.

Caroline just looked at Stefan and realized that Elena wasn't the only one in love. She gulped. "Okay, enough of this. We're going to go do something fun!"

Stefan opened his eyes and just stared at her. Typical Caroline, flitting from one place to another in mere seconds. He smiled. He was grateful for that, actually. "Where to?"

"I have an idea," Caroline practically proclaimed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along, giggling as she led him to their destination.

XXXX

A few weeks later

Bonnie sighed. She didn't know what to do. Too many things had changed in her life in too short a period of time for her to adjust. Tyler and Jeremy had feelings for each other, Elena was dating Damon, and Bonnie just felt . . . well . . .

Bonnie just felt sort of alone.

Caroline wasn't answering her messages, and when Bonnie had stopped by her house, she hadn't been there. Stefan wasn't responding either though, so she went to hunt him down in person.

Please not let Damon and Elena be there. She sighed and knocked on the door.

"Oh, Bon Bon. Are you looking for Stefan? He's out with Caroline. Again." Damon smirked at her.

Bonnie plastered a smile on her face, "In fact I was. Thanks, bye." She did an about face and started to walk down the steps when Damon grabbed her arm. She turned around to bite out an angry retort when she felt . . . something strange.

She lost her words and just stared up at him.

"What's going on Damon?"

Damon looked down at his hand on her arm and dropped it. "Nothing that's your business."

"You just grabbed me, so I think it is. And that-what was that?" Bonnie asked, trying to seem confident instead of incredibly shaken.

Damon just hid behind his patented smirk."That was a sample of my amazing ability to stir . . . " he twirled his finger around in the air, "heat within any woman."

Bonnie raised and eyebrow. He held her gaze.

He didn't expect what came next, even though he was watching carefully for a sign of something like it.

She lifted her hand and snapped her fingers, throwing a magical punch.

"Ow. That wasn't nice." Damon grasped his head in pain.

"Neither are you." Bonnie said with more confidence than she felt and spun around on her heel. She needed to get away from him. A few feet away from the house she turned back to face him. He was just standing there, staring after her. "If you see Elena before I do, tell her I need to speak to her."

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Damon asked curiously.

Bonnie humphed. "Just tell her, Damon." And she turned.

He watched her until she disappeared behind something that obscured his view of her. Then he listened. Her heartbeat was racing abnormally fast.

Odd.

XXXX

Bonnie rushed to find Elena she tried to calm down.

That had been strange.

When he'd touched her she'd felt . . . something.

First, she'd felt unhappiness. And that didn't make sense at all. Damon was in love with Elena, and now he had her. He should be happy.

But she could feel his dissatisfaction, his regret over hurting Stefan, and then there had been something completely different.

She'd touched him before, but this time had been different.

She was getting stronger in terms of her powers, yes, but he'd also had his guard down.

So she'd felt . . . a spark.

A tingle.

She hadn't felt a tingle in a really, really long time.

She refused, simply refused, to call it attraction. Because that couldn't, wouldn't, definitely was not it.

It wasn't.

But it was something strange. Almost a sort of understanding, maybe something akin to sympathy.

It wasn't actually sympathy, but Bonnie let herself believe it anyway.

XXXX

"I can't believe you told her," Jeremy hissed at Tyler. "Why the hell would you do that?"

Tyler's face fell completely. "I needed someone to talk to. What, did you want me to tell Matt or something?" Because that would have been much, much worse. Bonnie was obviously the superior choice.

"I didn't want you to tell anyone."

"It's not just about you." Tyler replied.

Jeremy swallowed hard. "I know. And I'm sorry. But we can't-I can't do this right now."

Tyler just stared at him. "What exactly can't you do?" Tyler didn't even notice his body drifting slightly closer to Jeremy's.

But Jeremy did. He stepped back. "This, Tyler."

"What is this? Do you know? Because I sure as hell don't." Tyler practically yelled, burying his hand in his hair.

He started to pace, trying not to look at Jeremy. "All I know is that I can't stop thinking about that night."

"Don't." It was all Jeremy could say.

Tyler didn't stop. "And whether I'm around you or not, I want to do it again." Tyler stopped pacing for a moment, "I think I might . . . want you. I feel . . . more."

Tyler realized what he'd said and just sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to get upset, but I just-"

While Tyler had stopped looking at Jeremy he hadn't noticed that Jeremy had been drifting closer to him. When he'd revealed that he wanted him, a strange look had crossed his face and he'd taken the opportunity to close the distance between them and kiss Tyler, cutting off his stream of words.

For a short moment they melted into each other, letting the rest of the world seemingly fall away.

"What's going on here?" Until they were interrupted, of course, by Elena coming down the stairs.

Tyler and Jeremy pulled away from each other, each sporting a dazed sort of expression.

"What were you just doing?" Elena asked, more than a little shocked.

"We were, um . . . " Jeremy started to explain, then saw the look on Tyler's face and stopped. He zoned out for a moment, getting lost in Tyler's gaze.

Elena quickly shook him out of it, walking up and grabbing his arm. "Jeremy, what are you doing? Really, Tyler? Of all people? And you're not gay, what's going on?" Elena turned to Tyler, "This is your fault, isn't it?"

Tyler just looked at her as if he didn't know what to say, which he didn't.

"Explain yourself." Elena commanded him. She was nothing if not ruthlessly defensive of her brother. Except, you know, that she was dating a guy who had once almost killed him. But that was in the past, she assured herself. Damon wasn't that guy anymore. He was better. He'd changed for her, because he loved her.

But that was beside the point. Tyler shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

Jeremy looked at Tyler, waiting for him to give some sort of explanation. Upon realizing that he wouldn't, his expression hardened. "He was just leaving."

"He better be, because I don't want him anywhere near you, he's obviously just confusing you." Elena gave Tyler a firm look, "Please leave, Tyler. And stay away from my brother."

Tyler looked to Jeremy, and watched as he looked away. Jeremy wanted him to leave, Tyler realized.

He felt a pang in his-he wouldn't say heart. "Fine," and he turned around, pausing before opening the door to look back at the siblings.

Elena gave him a look that demanded he turn around, open the door, and get the hell out of her house.

Jeremy finally looked, but only as Tyler had already turned back and opened the door to a ready-to-knock Bonnie. She looked at him in surprise, "Tyler, hey." Tyler nodded at her before rushing off, not even bothering to say goodbye.

Bonnie turned to watch him leave. As she saw him get into his car, she turned back towards Elena and Jeremy. "May I come in?"

Elena plastered on a fake smile, "Of course."

Bonnie stepped in carefully, looking at Jeremy. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Elena answered for him. "I handled it."

"Obviously there's a problem if it was something you had to 'handle.'" Bonnie turned toward Elena. "What's going on here?"

"I caught them kissing. And I don't like to see Tyler toying with Jeremy's emotions again. He's just being a douche."

Bonnie looked at Elena as if she'd never seen her before. "What happened to you, Elena?"

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked, more than a little offended. "I was just taking care of my brother."

Bonnie turned away from Elena and towards Jeremy. She simply had nothing to say to that.

"Jeremy, are you okay?"

"He's fine," Elena said, exasperated.

"Jeremy," Bonnie asked pointedly, "Are you okay?"

Jeremy met her eyes.

Ah. Bonnie stepped forward and gave him a quick and tight hug. "We'll talk later, okay?" She whispered, only loud enough so that he could hear her.

"Thanks," he said back softly.

Bonnie pulled away.

"So why are you here anyway?" Elena asked.

"I needed a friend. But it doesn't matter. I'll talk to you later." Bonnie shot Jeremy one last look and left the Gilberts alone in their thoughts.

XXXX

Update up tomorrow!