Chapter Four
"Not much to see here, but I've always loved this little town."
Chloe's brow eyes squinted in the effort in trying to stare back at her mother that stood closely at her side. She then smiled. This was the town her parents had grown up in and this was the very town where he parents had run away from. They had run away together and fell in love. She smiled even larger.
"It's a beautiful town mom," Chloe said before messily running a hand through her dark blonde hair.
Caroline had found herself walking alongside her daughter for about the past ten minutes now and she wanted nothing more than to just breathe in the air of the town that she had finally come back to. She found it surprising that she felt completely at ease. Damon or Elena could have turned the corner to face her and she would still feel at ease because she was here to live her life with her daughter and mother and no one was going to get in the way of her happiness now.
"Dad would always talk about Uncle Matt in the letters. It felt good to finally see him in person though, he was Dad's best friend after all," Chloe stated before placing her hands into the front of her skinny jeans.
Caroline smiled at her daughter. She nodded.
"Yes it was great meeting Matt after all these years and I was glad when he invited us for dinner for tomorrow night. I'm actually excited in meeting everyone again."
Chloe looked over at her mother and grinned at her expression. Her mother seemed excited. Chloe had noticed the happiness that had raged off of her mother earlier at the sight of Matt and she knew her mother was starting to look forward to seeing all of her old friends again.
Maybe even Damon Salvatore.
Chloe was still confused over why her mother was so tense around the dark haired man. There was definitely something that her mother wasn't saying and that her father hadn't written about, but she couldn't help but want to know.
What was up with Caroline Lockwood and Damon Salvatore?
What had he done which was so bad to cause her mother to run?
Why was Chloe kept in the dark about all of this?
"You ready for your first day of school tomorrow?" Caroline asked her daughter, clearly oblivious to her thoughtful form.
Chloe snapped out of her thoughts before groaning in frustration. Although she loved her mother and thought the town her mother had grown up with was great, she still hated school and all the drama and chaos that came along with it.
Chloe had always been the odd one out in school. She never gave a second thought about any clubs of any sort. All she did was show up to school and come back home. She followed that routine on a daily basis. Plus being superficial and high and mighty wasn't actually her way of doing things.
"I will respect your town mom, but the high school you used to go to is the one thing I am not looking forward to," Chloe stated, laughing slightly at her mom's confused expression.
"What's wrong with it?"
Chloe shrugged.
"Just don't expect me to bring pom-poms home anytime soon."
Caroline laughed before hooking her hand through her daughters while both walked side by side on the familiar side walk.
"Wouldn't dare count on that."
It was funny how Chloe was so similar and yet so different from Caroline.
It built curiosity and strength between their bonds throughout the years. It's always been that way and it always will be that way.
They loved each other more than words could describe.
-x-
"I'm just really tired of it Matt," Elena whispered out, her face in her hands.
Matt sighed, his eyes softening at the defeated brunette.
Arching his hand from across the table, Matt rubbed at her arm gently and watched as she finally looked over at him again. He froze slightly at the tears that poked at her eyes.
"W-We've been arguing non-stop and I can't just wait forever for him," Elena started, her voice was wavering, "I'm done."
Matt smiled at the crying woman.
Elena's eyes narrowed at his expression. "What?" she asked while quickly wiping at her cheeks.
"You're not done," Matt whispered at her, rubbing at her arm again before slipping his hand into hers from across the table.
"Matt—"
"Elena," Matt began, "Damon and you have been battling with this for so long and have been immature about it."
Elena's brow arched. She couldn't help the small smile that erupted at her face when Matt laughed at her. "So what am I supposed to do?" Elena asked, trying not to think of the older Salvatore that continuously seemed to get on her every nerve.
Matt shrugged before smiling sweetly at the woman. "Talk to him," Matt suggested before slowly getting off chair that sat across from Elena.
She seemed to nod at him and he smiled again before reassuringly squeezing at her hand which was in his. He slipped his hand from out of hers and watched as she got up from her chair as well.
Eyeing the almost empty Grill, Matt sighed before starting to stack the chairs of the table next to the one he was previously sitting at with Elena.
"Almost time to close," Matt muttered, rolling his eyes when Elena laughed at his defeated form.
"I'll help," Elena said sweetly.
Matt laughed when Elena thanked him before kissing at his cheek. Shrugging her off playfully, Matt and Elena worked on closing up the Grill.
"You're a great friend," Elena whispered out, nudging Matt in the shoulder when stacking another chair.
Matt grinned.
"Obviously…"
-x-
Caroline rubbed tiredly at her eyes before leaning against the frame of the entrance to the kitchen. She smiled tiredly at the sight of her mother wide awake.
"You do know it's pretty late in the night right?" Caroline asked before nearing the counter her mother seemed to be leaning against.
Caroline's eyes softened at the sight of tears staining her mother's cheeks. Stepping in front of her now, Caroline's shock and confusion simply increased when her mother seemed to quickly wipe at her face before smiling up at her.
"Oh," Liz started, "What are you still doing awake, Caroline?"
"I could ask you the same question," Caroline whispered out before rubbing at her mother's sides in reassurance. "What's wrong mom?" she asked, concern and confusion lacing her words.
"I've just been thinking about how great it's going to be with you and Chloe here," Liz stated, shrugging slightly before smiling up at Caroline again.
Caroline's eyes softened.
"After Tyler, I barely got to see you two and I'm just glad you two will be staying here for good now," Liz explained, struggling with keeping more tears from falling at her face.
Caroline could feel tears brew at the sight of her mother cry before her. Laughing gently, Caroline smiled at her mother before pulling her into a hug.
"It's just been really lonely Care," Liz said at her shoulder, she chuckled a bit only to have it waver.
Caroline's head buried into her mother's hair before she let out a sigh, she chuckled again before squeezing her mother in her arms.
"Mom," Caroline started, laughing again, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here and I'm going to stay here."
Caroline smiled at the sigh that escaped the woman at her shoulder.
She meant it though…she wasn't going to leave again. She wasn't going to run again because her past was nothing to run from.
Sure Elena and Damon had hurt her years ago, but she had moved on, aged and matured. She had fallen in love with Tyler and had a child. She had moved on with her life and wasn't going to hold this burden on her.
She was fine.
She wasn't going to run.
The Next Day
Chloe heard the click of the door from behind her. Staring out into the crowded hallways of her new high school, Chloe eyed everyone and anything that pasted by her. Although the constant pushing and shoving was annoying, Chloe was able to make out all the varsity teams, the cheerleaders, the druggies and all the other cliques that stayed crowded at particular parts of the hall with multiple red lockers.
Again, she was definitely the outcast. But then again she was the new kid; maybe this time things would be different for her.
Looking down at the schedule that she clutched in her hand, Chloe tried her best in trying to find her first period class. She started to get a bit worried at the sight of the hallways starting to clear at the sound of another bell ring through the air. She hoped she'd find her class before she was to be late.
Walking past the few cheerleaders that remained in the hallway, Chloe stopped in her tracks before pursing her lips shut. Rolling her eyes at herself, Chloe turned around and walked closer towards the girls that giggled constantly at something the blonde in the cheerleading outfit had said. Chloe eyed the outfit and tried not letting out a laugh as she approached the group. She could practically see their asses hanging out of the skirts.
"Hey, I was wondering if you know where Mr. Witherspoon's English class might be."
Looking back up from her paper, Chloe's eyes narrowed at the sight of the brunette eye her up and down. Glancing down at herself Chloe tapped her converse slightly against the polished hallway floor before looking back at the brunette haired girl.
"Never mind," Chloe muttered before turning away from the group of girls who went back to giggling about the joke before Chloe had interrupted.
Roaming the almost empty hallways once again, Chloe continued to search. She knew she was going to be late to her first class on the very first day of school. This always happened.
But for some reason she couldn't help but laugh at her own predicament.
Turning another corner, Chloe gasped when crashing hard into a hard surface that seemed to be turning the corner as well. Stumbling slightly, Chloe managed to straighten herself before looking at the person she had bumped into. Muttering a sorry, Chloe looked at the boy before her and smiled instantly. "Dean, right?" she asked, remembering the cute waiter from the Grill.
She watched as his brows furrowed a bit in front of her as his eyes searched her appearance. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" he asked, awkwardly shifting his weight from one leg to the other.
Chloe sighed internally at that, of course he doesn't remember me. She could feel herself start to flush slowly before him and Chloe had no idea how to get out of this one.
"I—"
"Wait—you're the girl from the Grill," he started, a grin forming on his lips when his eyes continued to search her every movement.
Eyes meeting his, Chloe smiled at that. Nodding her head at him, she could feel butterflies erupt at her stomach when he laughed slightly at her flushed form.
"I'm sorry, Chloe, right?" he asked, his brows knitting together again. Dean grinned when the blushing girl seemed to nod at him again. "You go to this school?" he asked curiously.
"Just started," Chloe began before glancing down at her schedule again, "But I can't seem to find my first class."
She watched as he laughed again before glancing at the schedule in her hands. "I've got this place memorized," he started, "maybe I can help."
Arching her hand towards him, Chloe watched him take the schedule that was previously in her hand before he seemed to read it.
"We've got first, second and fourth together," he seemed to whisper, glancing up at her and watching as Chloe seemed to shoot him a slightly surprised look. "I guess we can walk in late together then," he stated grinning before straightening himself up and arching his hand out in the opposite direction.
It took a while for Chloe to process what he was saying. Nodding at him, she huffed in a breath before turning around and starting to walk in the way he had pointed. Rolling her eyes at herself, Chloe glanced at Dean who seemed to walk beside her and down the hallway. He seemed to smile in her direction and she smiled back before looking before her again.
Wow, he was really hot.
-x-
"So what's up with the girl?"
Dean's eyes lifted off his lunch plate before he looked over at his friend that sat across from him. Dean grinned at the sight of a cheerleader on his blonde friend's lap. Waving over at the familiar girl, Dean simply looked down the table and at Stacey Smith. She seemed to glare at him before starting to flirt with the new member of the football team and Dean rolled his eyes before looking away from his cheerleading ex-girlfriend.
"You didn't answer my question."
"She's just some new girl," Dean stated, sighing, "Why do you care Josh?"
He watched his friend grin before quickly eyeing the cafeteria again.
"I've been hearing things," Josh started, watching his friend eat in boredom before him.
"Like what?" Dean asked before stuffing another spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth.
"She's a virgin," Josh started and Dean almost chocked on his food.
"How the hell did you figure out that?" Dean asked, grinning at his blonde headed friend.
"I've got fourth period with her," the girl on Josh's lap started, "she's obviously a total prude."
Dean eyed the blonde girl—Christina—he grinned further at her giggling form. He then looked over at his friend, Josh. They're so having sex, he thought to himself when looking between the two.
Dean Ambrose had known Josh Hemmingway ever since he was a kid. They'd joined the baseball team in elementary together and had carried on the tradition by joining the football team. It was rewarding when becoming the Captain of the team for two years now and Dean knew Josh was jealous of him. Although they were good friends, Dean knew Josh and him could become enemies just as easily…
"I hit on her twice today," Josh started, his eyes searching the cafeteria for Chloe, "she turned me down every time."
Dean tried not to laugh at the sight of Christina give Josh a glare before putting his attention back on the food before him. "Why are you telling me this?" Dean asked, his eyes teasing when the blonde boy rolled his eyes at him.
Josh could see right through the new girl. She might have rejected him and thought of herself being better than him and the rest of the football team, but Josh knew how to set newbie's like her in shape.
She had slapped him in the middle of class and he wasn't going to just let that go.
Josh's jaw clenched.
People like Chloe weren't supposed to just enter the school and expect to be accepted. She was judgemental and thought high of herself…of course she had to be brought down.
"She likes you," Josh began, grinning at the thoughts in his head, "She seems to hate all of the football team apart from you."
Dean's eyes narrowed. "That's because she doesn't know I'm on the team," he started, "I've barely talked to her since this morning."
It was silent for a while and Dean had thought Josh had finally dropped the subject. What's gotten on his case? What's so interesting about the new girl?
"You've got to sleep with her," Josh blurted out, grinning when Dean's eyes shot in his direction again.
The whole table seemed to go quiet when suddenly listening in on the conversation.
"Oh my god," Christina beamed, giggling before nodding down at Josh, "Yes! You've got to loosen the loser up!"
Dean simply looked at the two before him.
"Why?" Dean asked, his brows cocked, she was clearly nobody and he clearly had no interest in her so he didn't understand where this was coming from.
Dean could have sworn sudden anger flashed across Josh's face but he had to second guess it when Josh grinned at him.
"She's a loser Dean," Josh started, "A loser that needs to be shown how things go around here."
Josh's jaw clenched when remembering the girl slapping him again.
Dean grinned, "So you want me to sleep with her?"
Josh nodded. "Take her out, make her happy…have her fall in love with you," Josh expanded, grinning, "Then break her judgemental little heart."
"What do I get out of it?"
Josh grinned at his dark haired friend.
"Sex," Josh began and watched Dean laugh before rolling his eyes, "and a chance to make Stacey jealous to the point where she comes crawling back to you."
Dean glanced over at Stacey who continued to place her attention on the new guy. His teeth gritted together before looking back at Josh. He didn't even know this new girl and all of this seemed slightly out of order. What did she do to Josh to get him all riled up?
"It'll be hilarious," Josh emphasized. Grinning when his best friend seemed to be thinking about it, Josh laughed, "You can have the two tickets to the NFL game I was holding."
Dean laughed.
The challenge was written all over his friend's face and Dean's eyes narrowed before he grinned hugely at his blonde haired friend.
"Sure," Dean started, nodding; "I'll do it."
Dean looked back at his food.
Josh grinned.
-x-
Damon stirred a bit in the bed. Eyes tiredly opening up to meet with the alarm clock beside him, Damon simply stared at the minutes change.
Life was a bitch.
Elena was mad at him because he refused to ever get married, his younger brother was coming back and Caroline was back in town too…
Life was a bitch.
He didn't know if this was all the karma that was just getting back at him for all those years or if his life was just starting to take a twisted turn. He didn't know at all of that was starting to get at him.
He didn't know why Caroline left Mystic Falls with Tyler, but he knew it was probably for the same reason why Stefan had left years ago too.
Damon, Stefan, Elena and Caroline had all gone to the same college. Damon and Caroline were together, Stefan and Elena were together. Everyone was happy until Damon and Elena hurt the ones that loved them.
Damon and Elena had gone behind Stefan and Caroline's back. Damon was an ass and Elena was in love with him. He loved Elena too though and when he cheated on Caroline and Elena cheated on Stefan, everything went downhill from there.
Stefan didn't talk to him.
Caroline disappeared and had a child with Tyler Lockwood.
He knew they both probably hated him.
What made him feel more like an ass was the fact that he didn't regret any of it…
He had spent years and years with the brunette and was happy. What would Caroline and Stefan feel about that?
"Hey."
Damon's dazed form was interrupted by the familiar voice that erupted from the bedroom door.
"Hi," Damon said tiredly before sitting up on the bed. He forced a smile upon his face when looking up at the brunette. He wanted to forget about whatever he was thinking at the moment. He wanted to forget the sudden stupid guilt. After all these years…why am I feeling guilty now?
Elena sighed before awkwardly making her way into the bedroom. Sitting onto the side of the bed, Elena smiled gently at the man before her.
"Damon," she started, trying to collect her thoughts, "I know these past few days have been hard for us—"
"About to get harder," Damon muttered, causing Elena's brows to furrow.
"What are you talking about?"
Damon's jaw clenched before he rolled his eyes at his tense exterior. Why was he so tense?
"Caroline's back," Damon blurted out.
Elena's eyes widened.
"What?"
"Yeah," Damon stated before slowly rubbing at his aching neck. Sitting further up on the bed, Damon sighed at the awestruck brunette before him. Caroline was her best friend…
"There's another thing," Damon said. He watched as the brunette looked his way in more shock. He sighed.
"Caroline's not the only one back in town, Stef—"
"I'm back too," said a voice from the bedroom door.
Elena and Damon's heads whipped to the door. Damon swallowed hard at the blonde haired man, Elena's eyes simply widening further.
"Stefan?" Elena breathed out, her eyes on the grinning man before the both of them.
Stefan glanced between the couple before him. He grinned huger.
"Well, well…my two most favourite people in the world."
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