Note: chapter title from "another love" by tom odell.

18. all my tears have been used up

… … …

In hindsight, walking into school hand-in-hand with Damon on the first day back from Thanksgiving break is probably not the best idea she's ever had. Because all of the sudden, their relationship is the talk of the school, and she gets more whispers and stares than she's ever gotten in her life.

"I feel like I'm a science experiment, or something," she tells Bonnie as she gathers her things for the day at her locker.

"The novelty will wear off," Bonnie assures her. "It's just because it's new. Don't worry, eventually something more gossip-worthy will happen and they'll be right on to the next."

"Hey, guys," Caroline greets, turning to Elena with a sympathetic grin. "You doing okay?"

Elena's momentarily distracted by the fact that Caroline apparently came to school with Stefan, and he just walked right by and went straight to his locker without a word. She didn't see him at breakfast this morning; she wonders if Caroline had something to do with that. Does she really have to worry about their friends taking sides now?

She smiles a little. "I'm getting by," she says honestly.

"Sorry I'm so MIA," Caroline apologizes. "I've just been… well." She grins nervously. "You know."

"It's okay, Caroline," Elena sighs, lets her lips quirk up in a little grin. "I know you're caught in the middle of all this."

"Caroline, you coming?"

Elena turns to Stefan, who steadily avoids her gaze. She tries to ignore the stab of pain in her heart and turns back to Caroline.

"Yeah, sorry." She turns to her friends, smiles apologetically. "I'll see you guys later."

Bonnie watches Elena for a moment after Caroline walks away with Stefan. "He's still not speaking to you?"

Elena lets out a long breath, shakes her head. "It's been almost four days," she says. "I don't know what to do, Bonnie."

She shrugs. "The only thing you can do is give him time," she reasons. "You guys are best friends. You'll work this out eventually, but he needs to process it before he can move on. You just have to give him the time to do it."

Elena closes her eyes, nods, then takes a deep breath, smiles at her friend. "Enough about my drama," she insists. "Tell me what's going on with Enzo."

Bonnie's eyes light up, and as she listens to her friend talk, Elena thinks that it's nice that her friends are happy, even if she's not quite there. It's nice to know that true happiness is still there, within reach. She wonders how long it'll be before she gets to be happy, too.

(She's had a rough couple of days, okay? She's allowed to be dramatic if she wants to be.)

… … …

Tax evasion. Damon almost has to laugh, because of all the horrible things his father has done, the one that gets him thrown in jail is tax evasion. Ten years' worth of tax evasion and fraud, to be exact. He's not sure how he got caught, and to be honest, he's not sure he cares. Damon's eighteen, and Stefan's not too far behind him. They don't really need anyone to take care of them at this point, and Damon is seriously considering forgoing the option to bail his father out.

The only problem is that this isn't a decision he can make alone, and his brother still won't speak to him.

"He knows what's going on, but he doesn't seem to care," Damon tells Enzo as they get changed for football practice Monday afternoon. "I get why he doesn't want anything to do with me, but this is kind of important."

"So just make the decision for yourself," Enzo shrugs. "Wouldn't you rather have him in jail than risk him coming after you again? I'm sure Stefan would agree with that."

"It's not like he doesn't deserve to be there," Damon reasons. "If not for what he's done to us, then at least for what they brought him in for."

"Exactly," Enzo agrees. "So what's the problem? Tell your dad to go to hell and leave the bastard in the dust."

"It's more about the principle at this point," Damon tells him. "Just once, I'd like for Stefan to put his damn pride aside and be a man about it. He has every right to be angry with me, but this is bigger than all that."

Enzo rolls his eyes as they start to make their way out to the field. "If you ask me, Stefan's got nothing to do with you and Elena anyway. He needs to suck it up and get over it."

"Speaking of Elena," Damon mutters. He watches as she sets down her bag on the grass, bends over to pull her hair into a ponytail for cheerleading practice. He nudges Enzo with his elbow. "I'll catch up with you."

He jogs over to his girl, reveling in the way she smiles when she sees him. "Hey, you."

"Hey back." She grins, checks him out. "I think that uniform is my favorite look of yours."

"Yeah?" he smirks, returns the favor. "I could say the same thing about you," he murmurs.

Her cheeks turn pink, and God, he loves that it's so easy to get a reaction out of her. "I've gotta get to practice," she tells him, turning away.

"Hey, wait." He grabs her waist, pulls her into him. He tries to ignore the way her eyes dart around, like she's afraid someone might see, and he's relieved that she doesn't push him away. "You okay?"

She bites her lip. "It's been a long day," she admits.

"Yeah," he agrees. "Let's go out tonight."

"Out?" She lifts one brow. "Mr. Salvatore, are you asking me on a date?"

He nods, grinning. "A real date, where we don't have to go to the next town over."

Her smile fades a little. "Damon-"

"I know this sucks," he interrupts her. "Trust me, it's not that fun for me, either. But we don't have to hide anymore, Elena. I don't want to hide with you anymore."

"We don't need to flaunt it all over the place, either," she argues.

"Speak for yourself," he smirks. "You obviously don't see the way the vultures in this place look at you."

"Damon!" she laughs. "They do not."

"They do, but they won't once I make it clear that you're mine." He smiles, and she blushes, bites her lip. "What do you say? An inaugural trip to the Grill?" She ducks her head a little, and he kisses her forehead. "We can even study if it makes you feel better."

She rolls her eyes, but she nods. "Okay," she concedes, and his grin must be infectious, because it makes her grin, too. "I'll meet you in the tutoring center after practice."

Before she can stop him, or protest, he swoops into kiss her, lets it linger for a few seconds more than he probably should. He smirks. "I've been waiting to do that for so long."

She rolls her eyes, but she can't wipe the smile off her face, and he feels like he's standing on top of the world. "You're quite charming when you want to be," she laughs.

"You haven't even seen my A-game," he smirks.

… … …

It's Monday afternoon when Stefan decides he needs some serious advice. Caroline's great, but she's too good at seeing both sides of the equation. She's too close to everything, and she's a perfect sounding board, but he needs more, and she can't give it to him.

There's only one other person he can think to go to.

"Stefan." Alaric looks up from his computer in surprise as Stefan enters the classroom after school, sits down on a desk across from him. "Haven't seen you in a while. It would be nice if you would check in at home every once in a while, just so we know you're not dead."

Stefan's lip quirks up in a sheepish half grin. "Sorry," he says. "Home isn't exactly the most comfortable place for me to be these days."

"Guess I can't blame you for that."

"I just don't know what to do," he admits. "I have a right to be angry, don't I?"

"Sure," Alaric agrees. "Sure you do. We all knew this was wrong from the get-go."

Stefan scoffs. "I can't believe all of you knew. Everyone knew except me."

"Trust me," Alaric insists, "if I'd known she was going to drag it out this long, I would have said something."

"I still don't get it," Stefan sighs. "I just don't understand."

Alaric leans forward, rests his elbows on his desk. "Look. I don't claim to understand the female mind. I never have," he concedes. "But I do know Elena, and believe me when I say she never wanted to hurt you. I know that doesn't make a difference, because it happened anyway, but I think that should carry some weight. Did she handle the situation wrong? Absolutely. But, Stefan," he says, commanding Stefan's attention, "you have a habit of shutting people out who you believe have wronged you, whether it's justified or not."

"I know," Stefan protests, "but-"

Alaric puts his hand up. "If you know that about yourself, can you understand why Elena would be hesitant to tell you something like that? Why she might be scared that she might lose you?"

"I guess so," Stefan mumbles. "I just don't get why she thinks that Damon is worth the trouble."

"He's your brother," Alaric reminds him. "And no matter how much you dislike him, I know that you two had started to mend those fences before all this happened. You know he has redeeming qualities, despite his arrogant exterior."

"She's in love with him." Stefan rolls his eyes. "She's an idiot if she thinks he feels the same way."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Alaric tells him. "But that's not my place to say. I will say that the Damon who's been hanging around for the last few months is not the monster you make him out to be. You're so afraid of what you might find that you refuse to see him for who he truly is."

"He's not worth it," Stefan tries.

"Do you really think Elena would put her friendship with you on the line for someone who isn't worth it?"

Now that's something to think about. He would like to think his friendship with Elena is as important to her as it is to him. They've been there for each other through everything, and she's told him more than once that she wouldn't have made it through her parents' death if it hadn't been for him. Despite how she knows Stefan feels about Damon, she obviously sees something in him, something that Stefan doesn't (can't? won't?) see. The more Stefan thinks about it, the more he thinks that maybe whatever is going on between Elena and Damon has nothing to do with him. And maybe that's the part that sucks the most - that Elena's found someone else she can rely on the way she used to rely on him.

For whatever reason, she decided that what she had with Damon was worth the strain it might put on her friendship with Stefan. The question, he supposes, is whether he's willing to set aside his feelings for his brother to let her be happy. He wishes that question wasn't such a loaded one to answer.

… … …

Caroline is acutely aware that she has put almost her entire life on hold to be there for Stefan. For the last five days, she's been at his beck and call. She's been his escape when he needs to get out of the house, she's been his sounding board when he needs to vent. Hell, she's practically compromised her friendship with Elena to be there for him. It's not like he really has anyone else, she reasons, especially since his brother and his best friend are the ones who betrayed him. (His words, not hers.) It's hard, though, when she's seen Elena's side for the last three months, to suddenly be on the opposing team. (Is that really what it's come to?)

It's not until Klaus approaches her in the hallway Tuesday morning that she realizes she's been neglecting him, too.

"Nice to see you're alive and well," he says coldly, leaning against the locker next to hers as she gathers her things for the day. "I trust you had a restful break?"

"I did," she nods. "And yours?"

He scoffs. "Let's skip the mundane pleasantries, shall we?" He narrows his eyes at her. "I see you've been spending ample time with Stefan these days."

Caroline rolls her eyes. "What I do or don't do with Stefan is none of your business, Klaus. We're not dating."

"No," he concedes. "We're not. You've made that perfectly clear, time and time again. I suppose it's my mistake for assuming eventually you'd come to your senses."

And, okay, now she feels bad, because she should have seen this coming. It's been developing for a while now, she knows. Klaus has always been more invested in her than she has in him, and while it was a convenient arrangement at first - one that he never seemed to mind - she knows that at some point, she has to be up front with him about what she wants. Who she wants.

"I know you care about me, Klaus," she acknowledges, winces as she feels a twinge of guilt. "And I know I've been horrible to you in return, and I'm sorry about that. But Stefan needs me right now. I'm all he has, and I won't abandon him."

"Then you'll need to choose," Klaus insists. "Because I won't wait around for you anymore, Caroline. If you want to be with him, then fine. But you can't have us both."

There's a side of her - a tiny, negligible sliver of her heart - that wants to pick him, because being with Klaus is the easiest thing she's done in a really long time. For her, there's no attachment; no drama, no feelings. She doesn't have to worry about getting her heart broken. But she supposes that now it's not her own heart she should be worried about.

Caroline's eyes soften a little. "Klaus…"

He holds his hand up to stop her. "It's Stefan," he finishes for her. "It'll always be Stefan. I'm well aware."

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," he corrects her with a smirk. "But you will be."

Maybe so, she thinks as he stalks off down the hallway, because it seems that all Stefan wants from her these days is her friendship. But it's like he said - she'd rather be friends with him than nothing at all. So if a friend is what he needs right now, then that's what she'll give him. She just hopes that, one day, he'll give her the chance to be more than that.

… … …

By Wednesday afternoon, Elena feels like she's desperate, because it's been almost a week since Stefan has spoken to her. She knows she screwed up, okay? She can admit when she's wrong, and she apologized to him. Maybe it was marred a little by her anger toward him, but she feels like she was justified in feeling that way, considering the things he said to her that night. But no matter what's going on between them now, no matter how hurt or angry or betrayed he must be feeling, he's still her best friend. For as long as she can remember, they've been inseparable, and now it feels like she's been completely cast aside. Walking through the halls without even speaking to him… it's like she's missing a limb or something.

She's thankful that football practice runs later than cheerleading, because as grateful as she is that Damon and Stefan have a place to stay, she's feeling a bit suffocated by the tension in her house these days. It's not wrong for her to want a little peace and quiet for a couple of hours, is it?

She quickly realizes, however, that peace and quiet is not an option, because Alaric is sitting at the breakfast bar when she comes through the door.

"Hi," he greets. "How was practice?"

She shrugs, takes the stool next to him. She plucks a grape from the bowl in front of him. "Same as always."

Alaric hums. "You doing okay?"

She levels her gaze at him, narrows her eyes. "What do you think?"

He chuckles. "I think you're drowning in a mixture of guilt and confusion."

"It's really annoying, how well you know me by now."

"Stefan came to see me yesterday," he reveals, and her eyes widen in surprise. "Came to my classroom right after school looking for advice."

"He still won't speak to me," Elena tells him.

"He's just as confused as you are," Alaric informs her. "He's really struggling with the fact that you seem to find redeemable qualities in Damon that he can't see."

Elena rolls her eyes. "He sees all the same things I see," she insists. "He just doesn't want to admit it, because of this stupid, baseless feud they've had going for the last five years."

Alaric tilts his head in contemplation. "Five years is a long period of time to unravel," he muses. "His resentment toward Damon was much more deep-seeded than yours was. Maybe it's just taking him a little extra time to piece everything together."

Elena sighs, buries her face in her arms on the counter. "I apologized," she mumbles. "Multiple times. I don't know what more he wants from me."

Alaric's hand comes to rest on her shoulder, and she turns her head to face him, rests her temple on her arms. "He'll come around," he says confidently. "He's already starting to crack. I can see it. It's only a matter of time."

She thought their friendship was strong enough to withstand anything. Now, she wonders if it's even strong enough to last until he's taken all the time he needs.

… … …

He didn't tell anyone he was coming here. Not Elena, not Enzo, not Alaric, not even Stefan. No one else would understand his need to see his father, to come face to face with him and say all the things he needs to say. Damon didn't want to give anyone the opportunity to talk him out of it.

This is something he needs to do for himself.

His father looks stoically disheveled, not unlike the last time Damon saw him. It's strange, because it feels like it's been forever since they've been face to face, when it's really only been a week and a half. He'll admit that he's a little apprehensive, especially considering what happened that last time, but he takes comfort in the fact that there's a thick sheet of bulletproof glass separating them and guards who can restrain his father if they need to.

"Damon," Giuseppe smirks, speaking through the phone. "I knew you'd come eventually."

"We have some unfinished business," Damon agrees.

"Ah, you know your old man only wants what's best for you," Giuseppe says innocently as his eyes sparkle with amusement.

"Look," Damon begins. "I'm not here to bail you out."

It wasn't a hard choice to make, if he's being honest. The last thing he wants is for his father to be able to terrorize he and his brother whenever he pleases. Then he met with Giuseppe's lawyer - at least twenty years, maybe more, he'd said - and got all the confirmation he needed.

Giuseppe's expression quickly turns to rage. "You ungrateful son of a bitch," he seethes lowly.

"You deserve to be here, Dad," he informs him. "There are things you've done that you can't take back. You've pushed away everyone who ever cared about you. You drove your wife to leave without even saying goodbye. And you assaulted both of your sons."

His father slams his closed fist against the glass, and Damon just blinks in response. "Everything I ever did," he says lowly, his body practically vibrating with rage, "was for your own good. It made you into the man you are today."

Damon sucks in a deep breath, steadies himself. He looks his father square in the eye. "Maybe so," he concedes, "because you showed me exactly what kind of man I don't want to be. I'm nothing like you, Dad, and I never will be."

"You're right," Giuseppe smirks maliciously. "You'll never be as good as I was, not at football, not at anything. You're nothing, Damon. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you," Damon says. "But I'm not listening anymore."

He hangs up the phone, watches as his father stands up, slams his hands down on the table. He can hear Giuseppe shouting unintelligibly through the glass, but he's already walking away, and he won't look back.

… … …