(sorry about the delay. i'm on holiday and posting this from a hotel lobby in Italy)

"Your dad's nice" Stefan says politely.

Caroline snorted. The y had run back to the house and were now sitting on the porch. Caroline had a blood bag in her hands, nothing ever tasted as good as some B+ in the sun.

"He sort of asked you out" she said, shaking her head.

Stefan smiled. She quickly looked away from his face. She was shocked by her own reaction in the clearing. His face had made her lose focus completely. She wouldn't have remembered her name if he had asked her.

"I had this illusion of what this visit should be" she said. "That my dad would pick me off the ground and spin me around. That he would apologize for being absent and have a good explanation for never calling. That he would be proud of me, for once."

She stopped, realizing that she sounded bitter. She stole a glance at him, he was watching her, his head tilted to one side.

"Remember when I was an even more neurotic than I am now?" she asked.

"Maybe."
She could tell he was smiling, even if she didn't dare look at him again.

"I remember how I became that way" she sighed. "I had forgotten how my dad really is."

"He's very different from your mom" Stefan commented.

"Yeah" she exhaled. "Very. But still, they make me feel the same way."

"At least your mom tries" Stefan said.

Caroline nodded.

"I've always tormented myself that I chose to live with the wrong parent, but maybe I didn't."

"Were you given a choice?"

She thought back to that morning when she was thirteen. When her dad had stood in the doorway, holding two bags, Stephen holding two. Caroline had cried hysterically. Her mother had been at work. She remembered her dad kissing her forehead and then leaving. She remembered standing on the porch, looking after him.

"No" she replied. "I guess I wasn't."

She threw the empty blood bag into the trash and went back to the porch. The sun was bright and if she hadn't been a vampire, she might have gotten a tan.

"You heard anymore news from home?" he asked.

Translation; have you heard anything about Elena?

She shook her head.

"No."

He nodded. She couldn't tell if he would have wanted her to have heard something or not. When she didn't dare to really look at him, it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

…

"So, this guy Stefan, is he your boyfriend?" her dad asked, winking.

For one second, Caroline wanted to say yes. Yes, Stefan is my boyfriend. Because she knew that it would make her dad proud of her. It would have proven to him that she wasn't as boring as her mother.

"No" she replied.

"No?" her dad repeated, sounding disappointed.

"No, he used to be Elena's boyfriend."

Her dad seemed to try to remember who Elena was, apparently he didn't succeed.

"The black girl?" he asked. "You're prettier than her, Care-Bear."

"No, the brown-haired girl, with the big eyes."

Her dad nodded.

"Oh yeah, the Gilbert-girl."

Caroline nodded. Her dad didn't tell her that she was prettier than Elena, which she wasn't, but it would have been nice to be told so anyway.

"They broke up?" her dad.

Caroline nodded. She wouldn't talk about this, Stefan was just outside the door. He could easily overhear this conversation.

"He's very, very handsome" her dad commented.

Caroline nodded again.

"You haven't got a boyfriend?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Nope."

"What about that blonde boy you always liked?"

"Matt. Elena's ex."

"Another one of hers?"

She nodded.

"We broke up" she said shortly.

"So you did date him?"

"Yes."

Her dad looked a bit more pleased.

"Well, college boys are probably the better bet anyway" he said, grinning.

Here it came.

"I don't know where to apply, dad" she said before he could ask.

He pursed his lips. At that moment, Stefan came inside. He had left his t-shirt outside and his pale chest shone in the dimly lit kitchen. Caroline quickly looked away, but she had a feeling that her dad hadn't.

"You need some help with dinner?" Stefan asked.

"You can make a salad" Caroline said.

"Care-bear, guests don't make dinner!"

She snorted quietly. So she wasn't a guest?

"I don't mind" Stefan promised and opened the fridge.

"Stefan, we were just speaking of college. Where did you go?" her dad asked as Stefan took out tomatoes and lettuce.

"Harvard."

Her dad whistled low. Caroline had known that Stefan had gone to Harvard, Elena had told her, but she had never asked him about it.

"What did you major in?" her dad asked.

"Psychology."

Caroline caught Stefan's eye and smiled. He smiled back. As if he would ever had major in anything else.

"I would love for Caroline to go to an ivy-league" he dad continued. "But you know, I don't think you'll get in, right, Care?"

Caroline didn't answer. She focused on cutting the meat without slicing her dad's throat.

"I'm sure she'll get in, if she wanted to go" Stefan said, softly. "Caroline has excellent grades and she's does a lot for the school. I'm sure she'll get recommendations from several teachers."

"She organizes dances" her dad said, laughing as if that itself was funny.

"Harvard liked students who get involved" Stefan replied.

Caroline wondered if she had heard coldness in his voice below the politeness.

"Well, we'll just have to see" her dad said, sounding put off.

He went outside to light the grill, slamming the door behind him.

"Thanks" Caroline said, turning to Stefan.

He was cutting onions quickly and with great precision. The muscles in his wrist flexed.

"Parents shouldn't speak that way about their kids" he replied.

She laid a hand on his shoulder to show her thanks, something she often did with everyone. But she hadn't thought about him being shirtless and having smooth and cool skin. She snatched her fingers away as if she had burned herself.

"I'll bring the meat out" she murmured.

…

Lukas Forbes hadn't been kidding about that drink. After dinner, he had insisted that Stefan would join him at the local bar. Caroline could do the washing up. Stefan didn't know how to get out of it without being rude, so he went.

"Caroline tells me that you two are just friends" Luke said.

Stefan had compelled the bartender to give him a drink without carding him, but his compulsion didn't always last. He was anxious to get home.

"Yeah, she's one of my best friends."

Actually, she might be his only one.

"I imagine a guy like you must have a lot of friends" Lukas said, winking.

Stefan smiled politely.

"Not really."

He sipped his scotch and let his gaze wander around the bar. A girl, maybe 25 or older, was staring at him. He quickly looked away.

"I haven't seen Caroline since she was kid" Luke said. "She sure has grown up."

"Kids tend to do that" Stefan said.

"True. How long have you known her?"

"A year, a little more, I guess."

"And you really think she could get into an ivy?"

Stefan shrugged.

"I think Caroline could do whatever she wanted."

He actually meant that, and not that she could compell someone is admissions. Caroline was a force of nature. Saying no to her was almost impossible. However, her father seemed to have no problem with it.

"Sometimes I think that I should have raised her myself" he said, finishing his second beer. "Her mother was never much of a student."

"Then why didn't you?"

Ordinarily, Stefan wouldn't have been so blunt but he felt a growing dislike against this man.

"It was complicated."

Stefan nodded, keeping his tongue in check.

"I feel tired" he said instead.

They rode home in silence.

…

When they arrived at the house, Stefan went to his room. He opened the door and found Caroline sitting on his bed.

"Hey" he said.

She looked up.

"How was the date?"

Stefan went inside and shut the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Looking for your phone. It's been ringing like crazy."

Stefan opened his bag and took the phone out. He had ten missed calls from Damon.

"How much clothes did you bring?" Caroline asked sounding amused, rummaging in his suitcase. "You know, this is 2011, Stefan. We have washing machines now."

He laughed and put the phone back in the bag.

"Seriously, though" she said.

"What?"

She watched him carefully for almost a minute. He felt like a kid who had been caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

"You're not coming home with me" she said.

"No."

"Where are you going?"

"Lexi had friends in Dallas."

She nodded. She didn't look mad or even surprised.

"I should have told you, Care. I just didn't know when."

She ruffled his hair as if he really was a little kid.

"You don't want to go home" she whispered. "I get that."

He nodded.

"Who are these friends?"she asked.

He shrugged.

"I only met them once, but I'm sure they'll take me in."

"You'll drive down?"

He nodded again. He wished he could tell what she was thinking.

"Do you want to go alone?" she asked.

He didn't know.

"They're expecting you at home" he said.

"Who?" she asked, smiling sadly. "My mother who doesn't speak to me because I'm a vampire? My two ex-boyfriends? My best friend who dumped you for your brother?" she asked.

He flinched slightly.

"Sorry" she apologized.

He waved it off.

"I don't know" he said, answering her first question.

"Think about it" she said. "And don't say yes just because you want to be nice."

He nodded.

"Okay."

…

Caroline woke early the next morning from the sound of her phone ringing. She answered while still clamping her eyes shut. It was Elena. Caroline felt like hanging up again.

"You woke me" she whined.

"I need to talk to you" Elena said.

Caroline could picture her sitting on the bed in Damon's room, while he showered, twisting her hair around her finger.

"Well, talk away" Caroline muttered.

"Where are you?"

"With my dad, in Memphis. Elena, you know this."

She heard Elena breathe heavily on the other end. She sounded angry and nervous.

"Why is Stefan with you?" she asked.

Caroline could hear the jealousy dripping off every word.

"He needed to get out of Mystic Falls" she answered, sitting up in her bed.

The alarm clock told her it was 6:30 AM. Jesus. Caroline lay back down on the sheets.

"What are you two doing?"

Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Why do you even care?" she asked.

"Because I love him."

"Just not enough" Caroline remarked, her tone venomous.

Elena didn't reply to that, just breathed heavily on the other end. Caroline felt the urge to hung up the phone again. She didn't want to talk to Elena. She didn't want anything to do with her.

"You can't have him" Elena whispered so quietly that Caroline probably wouldn't have heard her if she wasn't a vampire.

Caroline closed her eyes again. She felt tired now, no longer sleepy.

"Elena, you're acting like Katherine" she said.

Elena seemed to wince.

"Why would you say that?" she asked.

"You can't have them both, Elena" Caroline sighed. "It's not fair to either."

"I thought you were my friend" Elena said, her voice hurt now.

Caroline bit her lip. She has promised herself not pick sides, but it was impossible not to.

"I am" she said.

Then she hung up, because she couldn't bear anymore. She felt angry, but no longer tired. She sighed, got out of bed and went down to drink some blood before her dad woke up.

…

Stefan came downstairs before her dad did. He wore jeans, she had never seen him in jeans before. They had the perfect worn look, but she doubted that they were bought that way. Time had given them that look.

"Morning" she said, brightly, hoping he hadn't overheard her conversation with his ex.

He nodded at her and poured himself a cup of coffee. His hair was tousled and his eyes still heavy with sleep. She wanted to hug him. How could anyone ever want to hurt him?

"I want you to come" he said quietly. "If you want to."

She smiled.

"I want to."

He sat down next to her at the table, his fingers around the cup to warm his fingers up.

"When do you want to leave?" she asked.

"Whenever you feel ready."

"Now" she said. "I'm done now."

He looked up at her, his face soft.

"He's your dad, Care."

"I know, but I can't stand him."

Stefan didn't argue with her. Maybe he couldn't stand Lukas Forbes either. It wouldn't surprise her.

"I just wanted him to be proud of me" she said.

"I know."

"That's why I started doing all those things like arranging dances. Because it would make him think I was fun. That's why I study so hard even though I'm not brainy, because it would make him think I was smart" she whispered.

Stefan laid his hand on top of hers. The coffee had warmed his skin.

"To my father, I'm too much like my mother. To low-class and dumb and simply without a goal. To ordinary, to boring" she began again. "And to my mother, I'm too much like my father. Too superficial and perky and full of myself."

She bit her lip. Stefan watched her with his head tilted to his side. His eyes were sympathetic.

"I can never win" she whispered, feeling tears in her eyes.

She didn't want to cry. No.

"I'm so sorry, Care" he said softly.

They both sat up straight as Lukas came into the kitchen. He wore only a short robe, but Caroline was too upset to be embarrassed.

"Hello kids!" he said smiling broadly.

"Hi" Caroline said, clearing her throat. "Dad, we're leaving."

"What?" he asked, looking clueless.

"We're leaving" she said again.

"But why?" he asked, rolling his eyes at Stefan. "Caroline, you're being irrational."

That did it. She swallowed hard, looked into her father's eyes. She concentrated on his irises and even though she hadn't done this that many times, she knew she could do it.

"Dad, for five minutes, I want you to be proud of me" she said, very clearly.

His pupils expanded and then shrunk. She smiled at him. The compulsion had worked.

"Just so you know, Care-bear" her father said. "I'm so, so proud of you."

"Thanks" she said, kissing his cheek.

…

"You think I shouldn't have done it" she assumed.

They were on the road again. The radio was playing country and the air was cool inside the car.

"You probably shouldn't have" he agreed.

"I just wanted to hear him say it" she said. "And it wasn't like I changed him forever. He was only proud of me for five minutes. Then he told me that I should join a gym."

"Did he say that?"

She nodded and Stefan laughed. She leaned back against the soft seat and exhaled. It felt like she had been holding her breath for the entire time they had been at her dad's.

"I probably would have done the same thing" Stefan said after a few minutes.

"No" she said. "You wouldn't."

"Maybe not."

They shared a smile and they left Memphis.

"Are we headed straight to Dallas?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"Haven't really thought about it. Why?"

"How about we do a proper road trip?" she asked, feeling the excitement build inside her. "We'll drive through the South, stop in small towns and sleep at B&B's. I have to be back at school in a month, so we'll get to Dallas in maybe, three weeks? I'll take a bus back from there."

She watched his face carefully. She wasn't going to force him into spending another month with her.

"Sure" he said, smiling. "You might have to teach me how to road trip, though. I mean, I guess the GPS is still out of the question?"

She smiled back.

"Yes" she said firmly. "And we need more rules."

"Alright."

"New rule, if you need to be alone for a day or want me to go home, tell me. I'm not some kid that you have be nice to. I can handle it" she said.

Stefan nodded.

"Okay."

He was probably just humoring her. Stefan would never be rude enough to ask her to leave.

"New rule number two, every day we have to speak to new people. We can have dinner with them or just speak to them in the queue to something."

"Why?" he asked, sounding amused.

She shrugged.

"It's nice to meet new people."

He laughed.

"Anymore rules?" he asked.

"Yes" she said. "We'll make a list of things that we need to do during this trip."

"More than meeting new people?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

She ducked down and picked up her wallet from her bag. In it, she found a receipt that she started scribbling on.

"What are you writing?" Stefan asked, angling his face to peer over her shoulder.

"Keep your eyes on the road" she said.

She kept writing until she didn't have any more ideas. Then she read it out to him.

"Number 1, get hammered" she read. "Number 2, crash a wedding. Three, sing karaoke. Four, go speed dating. Five, check out at least three colleges that I can apply to."

Stefan shook his head at her, still smiling.

"We'll add more things as we go along" she said.

He snatched the receipt from her hand and tried to read her scrawl.

"Our first stop?" he asked.

"Let's head for Nashville" she suggested. "We can check out Vanderbilt."

"Nashville isn't really a small town" Stefan commented

"Nashville is the only exception. After N-town, we'll only visit small towns."

"Until Dallas" Stefan said.

Caroline nodded.

"Until Dallas."

…

They got gas outside Memphis. Caroline volunteered to pay. Stefan protested, but she went in anyway. At the counter, she bought three bags of candy (even if she wouldn't enjoy it as much as blood, it was still a part of experience), the Fleetwood Mack album "Rumors" and paid for the gas. Back in the car, she popped in the CD and picked track number five, "Go your own way".

"This will be the soundtrack to our journey" she said.

"No more radio?" he asked, sounding doubtful.

"Nope" she said.

"We'll hate this CD by tomorrow."

She shook her head at him, as if just didn't get it.

"This is the best record ever made" she told him. "And of course we'll hate it soon, but then we'll love it again."

He shrugged.

"I have so much to learn" he sighed.

She nodded.

"Yes, you really do."

She smiled and listen to the song. It was one of her favorites.

Loving you, isn't the right thing to do. How can I change things that I feel?

Caroline had loved Fleetwood Mac as long as she could remember. But she hadn't reacted to that phrase before now. It scared her. As the song ended, her phone rang. She picked up without looking at the caller ID.

"Elena's upset" Bonnie said.

Caroline sighed deeply. She had to learn to check who it was that called.

"Okay."

She stole a gaze at Stefan. He probably wouldn't eavesdrop on what Bonnie was saying as he had to focus to do that, but he heard what Caroline said. She had to watch her words.

"Okay? Okay?" Bonnie echoed, sounding angry.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Caroline asked.

"You called her Katherine."

"Yeah."

"That's out of line, Caroline."

"Is it?"

"She didn't choose to love them both."

"Neither did Katherine" Caroline bit back.

Stefan looked at her with interest. Damn. Mentioning Katherine hadn't been that smart.

"She's not Katherine" Bonnie said, emphasizing every word.

"I know."

Bonnie sighed as if Caroline was being a disobedient child.

"Can't you just come back?" Bonnie asked exasperated.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why should we?" Caroline asked back.

"Caroline, don't be difficult."

Caroline snorted.

"I'm not being difficult, Bonnie."

Bonnie didn't answer. Caroline could hear her angry breaths in the other end.

"She'll never forgive you" Bonnie finally said.

"For what?"

"She'll never forgive you if you fall in love with him."

Caroline hung up.