I want to apologize for not getting a chapter out sooner, especially since I've been pretty good updating so far. Finals are coming up, and that takes precedent. I'll try to do my best and get the chapters out as soon as possible, but it might take awhile. Bear with me, please…

Previously on:

The nightmares will still come, but I'll have Damon to help fight them, and my normal life will keep me busy during the day, so I don't have to think about the fear. I know all about the supernatural things out there, but I will no longer let them consume me.

Damon's POV:

On the day Caroline is suppose to start school again, I show up at her bedroom door with coffee. It takes her a few minutes to notice me; she's busy throwing dresses onto the bed.

"Damon! What are you doing here?" she asks and her eyes light up when she sees me.

"Liquid courage," I say and pass her the coffee cup. The dresses on the bed are only one of the ways I know she's nervous about school. Her hands shaking when she grasps the cup are another.

"Thanks," she says and flashes me a smile. "Which one do you think?" she asks pointing to a red and a blue dress on the bed. I couldn't care less because I know that she'll look great in either, but I've learned to anticipate the answer she wants to hear after hanging around her for so long.

"Neither. Go with your leather vest and your best pair of jeans," I say. She looks at me, as if she's surprised that I know her closet so well. In truth, the leather vest and jeans outfit is the one I can't help staring at her ass in.

"Comfort and style, I like it." She says and heads to the bathroom to change. I sit on the edge of her bed fiddling with my sun ring. For some reason, ever since Caroline told me she was heading back to school, there's been this awkward tension between us. I tried to brush it off as her nerves about returning to school, but it's more than that. I can't place my finger on it and that bugs me. Caroline comes out of the bathroom and all I can say was I was right about the outfit.

"I'm nervous," she blurts out standing in front of me. "What if I can't face other people, Damon?" "What if Katherine is there?" she asks. I put my hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, you are Caroline Forbes. You can handle anything, and if you ever feel like it's getting to be too much you can call me and we'll play hookie," I say.

"Thanks," she whispers and smiles.

I drop Caroline off at the front entrance of Mystic High and after I see her join Bonnie on her way to class I drive off, unsure of where to go. It's sad to say, but I have nothing to fill my days now that I'm not spending them with Caroline. I head to the Grill hoping to find relief at the bottom of a glass.

Caroline's POV

"Caroline, you're back," I hear. Turning I find Bonnie squealing and flinging her arms around me. I am so glad to see her. I hadn't realized how much I've missed my friends, until I saw her.

"I'm so happy to see you Bon," I whisper into her hair with the start of tears in my eyes. Great, I'm getting emotional, exactly what I didn't want today.

She pulls away and says, "Come on, we're late for English and I have so much to fill you in on." During English, Bonnie fills me in on her new relationship with Jeremy Gilbert, a relationship I definitely did not see coming. We continue to gossip, until the teacher calls us out on it, and we stay silent until the bell rings.

The rest of my morning goes by quickly, at some point I see Matt and he waves, but there's no more of the puppy eyes my way. When lunch comes, I look forward to sitting next to my friends and eating the crappy cafeteria food, but when I get to the lunch table, my seat right in between Matt and Stefan is filled. Not only is it filled, but there is nowhere else to sit.

"Oh my, Caroline am I in your seat?" Lexi asks. Yes! She's in my seat and she's gripping on to Matt like he's her freaking life line. Regardless of how I feel about Lexi, and most of my feelings stem from what Damon has told me, I have to shrug her existence off for now, if I want my day to have any semblance of normality.

"It's okay, she can pull up a chair right here," Elena says and pulls over a chair for me to sit next to her. It's sweet that Elena wants to help out, but as I sit down next to her I get a whiff of her perfume and it sends me right back to panic mode. I can feel my airways closing up, and it takes everything I have in me to not vamp out right then and there.

"Guys, I forgot to get my assignment from Ms. Zinger in English, so I'm going to go do that." I say and scramble out of there. I can sense their confusion, and I know Bonnie knows I'm lying, since we just had English, but I can't stay there a second longer. Elena reminds me too much of Katherine, and Katherine is the gateway to all my nightmares. My first instinct is to skip the rest of the day and take Damon up on his offer to play hookie, but it's my first day back and I am determined to get my life back to normal. Fear and panic will no longer rule my life.

Instead I run towards the nearest bathroom. I take out my phone and speed dial Damon, hoping that he can talk me through this recent episode of hysteria. No one answers. Instead I get Damon's voicemail message and I close my eyes and let his voice waiver over me like a calming ocean tide. He may not be answering right now, but I know that if anything were to happen he'd be here. Just his voice is enough to calm me down and I am able to finish the rest of the day.

After school, Elena and Stefan invite me over to the boarding house. Elena has set up her Dance Dance Revolution game over at the house, and they sound so excited to hang out with me that I decided to go for it. I am going to have to get use to the fact that Elena looks exactly like Katherine. Maybe spending more time with her will help.

I walk into the Salvatore house a little after 4 and Elena, Stefan and Lexi are already playing. It looks like hanging out with Elena and Stefan now means I have to hang out with Lexi too. The three of them play eight sets before they even realize that I'm there, and by that time I've lost interest in the game.

I think about going home, but being home would be so depressing right now, so instead I head over to Bonnie's house hoping that at least one of my friends won't mind hanging out with me. Boy was I wrong. I'm not sure how I could have missed the tell tale signs of sex, but after I catch Bonnie and Jeremy doing the deed in her bedroom, I realize that they were all there. You'd think that with all of my vampire senses I would've heard the sounds, smelled the stench of sex, but no I was too preoccupied with getting to my friend.

I try Damon once more on his cell, but he doesn't pick up. This is going to be a hard night, alone. I probably should get a drink before turning in for the night. A drink will help me steady my nerves for the nightmares that are bound to come tonight without Damon at my side.

Next up… Still Care's POV. Winter formal… Who does Caroline go with? More importantly who does Stefan go with? Haha…

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