Chapter Six
"Alright, now it comes to the culminating of this unit."
Groans filled the World Religion classroom.
Chloe grinned slightly at the sound of the tortured students. Her grin simply grew when he, the teacher, mocked the dramatic reaction.
"There will be partners that I'll assign—"
More groaning—this time Chloe groaned as well.
"Eric Walters and Elizabeth Lancaster," the teacher spoke, his eyes poking at the student attendance sheet on his desk.
"Derek Clarke and Stacey Smith…"
Chloe's head turned at that. It had been a week now in Mystic Falls High School and it was a total travesty. It surprised Chloe how quickly she had discovered every clique and social group—whether it be the cheerleaders, the football team / jocks, the chess team, the math participants, the drug abusers and addicts, or the foreigners…Chloe had unwillingly memorized all.
Yet, she still couldn't find some place where she belonged.
Anyway, off topic, Chloe thought to herself when returning back to the names that were previously mentioned. Derek Clarke and Stacey Smith, Chloe didn't really know either of them. All she knew was that Derek was the center forward of the football team, while Stacey Smith was the cheerleader, the ex-girlfriend, of the quarter back—Dean, a.k.a, the cute waiter from the Grill.
Chloe remembered the moment she found out Dean was a jock; she hated herself for having an enormous crush on him. She felt like such a conformist at that point.
Eyes shifting over to Dean who sat at the back of the classroom, Chloe's eyes softened at the way she caught him in. His eyes were devastated, tortured, when looking at Stacey Smith's back. It was clear that the boy still had feelings for the captain of the cheerleading squad.
I mean it fits: captain and quarter back of the football team with the head cheerleader.
"Abby Winters and Claire Bree…"
Chloe sighed. She knew she was simply staring now. Forcing her gaze away from the dark haired boy, Chloe looked back in front of the class.
"Dean Ambrose and Christina Ambers…"
Christina was another cheerleader. Word was around that Josh and she had a 'thing'—the best word in the entire English vocabulary to suit Josh Hemmingway and all of his social ties.
As you can see, Chloe Lockwood hated Josh Hemmingway.
She remembered her first day here. She had arrived in World Religions class and Josh wouldn't stop picking on her. He hit on her and then insulted her for most of the period. It was easy for him to get by without the teacher knowing because of his seat behind her. Gosh, she hated him so much.
It was a privilege to slap the insensitive jerk in the face when he insulted her father. Although Josh knew nothing about her, or about her father being dead, Chloe still couldn't help herself that day. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt a bit bad for humiliating him in front of everyone in the class.
The only one who had no idea what had happened was Dean Ambrose. Chloe noticed him skipping more than often lately and she was just glad that he didn't witness her embarrassing his best friend in front of everyone—well fourth period, that is.
"Chloe Lockwood and Josh Hemmingway…"
Chloe's jaw dropped, her fingers tightening around her pencil.
"What?" she heard a voice call out irritated from behind her—it was Josh.
"Is there a problem?" the man behind the desk asked, clearly disapproving the idea of Josh yelling out at him.
"I'm sorry Mr. Wayne, but it there anyone else you can partner me up with?" Chloe asked, trying her best not to let her desperation leak through her words.
Mr. Wayne shook his head.
It was settled.
Chloe and Josh were the only one's groaning in frustration at this point.
What's up with you and the new girl?
Dean
Josh peaked at his phone before rolling his eyes at the message. He replied:
Nothing, what's more important is the fact that you haven't starting banging her yet. I thought we had a deal; you break her heart and get Stacey and NFL tickets in return.
Josh
Dean peaked at the message himself. Re-reading it briefly in his mind, Dean pursed his lips at the words before him. Looking away from the message, Dean's eyes fell on the dirty blonde, Chloe, which seemed to be looking back at him, only to turn around quickly. He huffed in a breath before looking back at Josh who sat behind her.
Dean couldn't help but grin at the wink that his best friend sent his way.
It took him a while to type back, but he did:
I'm on it.
Dean
Caroline's heart thumped at her chest, her pulse high. She hated the fact that she had to second guess her visit to her friend's house - his reaction to her possible arrival was scary enough in her mind.
Debating on whether to open at the golden knob, Caroline took in a breath before awkwardly bringing her hand back to her side.
Finger tips dancing quickly at her upper lip, a soft "fuck it" escaped the blonde before she barged into the house, the front door to Matt's house opening wide for her visit.
She moved in slowly when she saw no one near the door. Walking towards the hallway which lead to the kitchen, Caroline heard soft echoing of a steel spoon hitting the bottom of a glass bowl, it's scraping touch making Caroline cringe.
She stood close to the fridge, watching Matt look up at her from his cereal. She smiled gently in his direction only to get a sigh from the blonde man.
"I see I left the door unlocked," Matt said, his spoon itching the end of the bowl one last time before he completely gave up on the corn flakes.
"You've got to stop doing that," Caroline said laughing nervously and quickly when remembering just how award it could get if she addressed any memory from the past which included Tyler - Matt's deceased best friend.
She remembered being able to walk into Matt's place anytime because of his lack of responsibility. She smiled at the moments.
Caroline watched the man place the bowl in the sink before he walked past her and towards the door. By the looks of it, Caroline was sure that Matt was now headed to the Grill.
"Matt," Caroline called out, walking closely behind the man who was rushing to be away from her, "you can't avoid me."
"Oh and why can't I?" Matt asked, grumbling, as he slipped into his shoes and walked out of the door. Caroline walked behind him and watched as he locked the front of the house.
"You can't ignore me because I don't want you to," Caroline began, chasing after him to the drive way. She heard Matt scoff before unlocking his car. She stopped at the front of the car, watching Matt open up the car door. "I've lived most of my life trying to avoid this place - Mystic Falls. I've avoided my friends, my family... Not anymore. I don't want to be in the middle of drama and hatred anymore Matt. I just want to raise my child in the place where I grew up, with all the people that I love by my side."
"You didn't tell me Tyler was dying," Matt stated softly.
"I know," Caroline said, nodding. Her eyes brewing with tears.
"Shit, even Tyler didn't care to confront his best friend and tell me that he was dying," Matt added, his fingers gripping at the side of the car door, knuckles going white.
"I know."
"He died 16 years ago and I find out now?" Matt asked, a few tears streaming onto his cheeks, "I find out at a stupid dinner party that I held full of people that hated each other over another secret that I didn't catch on to."
"I'm sorry," Caroline breathed out.
Both were crying at this point.
"You should be," Matt said, his eyes shutting before he sighed out a long breath.
"Well at least you'll remember him as the smiling young man—your best friend," Caroline said, eyes shedding tears, "I'll always remember him as the young and healthy man who pasted away…sick…so sick…"
Matt's eyes softened. His head tilting to the side as he viewed the woman before him, he had his head so far up his ass that he didn't realize how hard it must have been for Caroline these past 16 years, raising Chloe all alone…
Caroline had lost someone too—she had lost her husband.
Closing the car door, Matt made his way towards Caroline before wrapping her in an embrace.
"You ignored all my calls last night," Caroline said, laughing quietly into his chest.
Matt smiled gently at that, "I was trying to be a dick for once. Wanted to see how it felt like."
Caroline laughed at that before pecking the man on the cheek. "Matt Donovan a dick? Now that's just not possible!"
Matt rolled his eyes before squeezing Caroline in his arms and pulling away.
"I'm officially late now, thank you."
"You're welcome," Caroline chimed before watching the man pull out from the drive way. It wasn't long until Caroline decided to leave herself.
"Wait, why don't you come to the Grill?" Matt asked, knowing that he probably will need help with the party later on that day.
Caroline hesitated, her hand on her car door.
Matt could see right through her. He knew exactly what she was worried about.
He smiled gently in her direction, "Don't worry," he started, "He's not going to be there."
Caroline nodded slowly.
Okay.
Stefan was silent and convincing when it came to sneaking out of a random girl's bedroom. He would usually struggle with escaping the cuddle, but would succeed when finding himself to be standing by the side of her bed, looking for his clothes that he had scattered around the previous morning. Then, he would quickly find a pen or a paper / sticky note and would write a small message for the naked woman that would lay sprawled across the sheets.
In this case, he cursed at himself when realizing he had forgotten her name. Stefan knew he was known for his one night flings, but he also knew he wasn't a complete asshole...he would at least try to remember the woman's name.
Thanks for the fun night last night, the card read in messy writing, loved the orange cactus you've got in the corner of your apartment. Sorry I couldn't cuddle, got an asshole older brother and a cheating ex-girlfriend to annoy. Stefan grinned at his words; the random honesty that dwelled in the choice of words threw Stefan off of what exactly he was writing to this stranger. Licking at his lips quickly, Stefan left his master piece unfinished as he simply finished it with a quick "bye" and a "you look cute when you're asleep", even though Stefan barely glanced at her as he rushed into his jeans. He only wrote such things so he wouldn't feel like such an ass, and the woman wouldn't totally wake up to hate a complete stranger who she may or may not remember the next morning. In the end, Stefan wasn't a douche-bag to the ladies, he was just not the type to settle and commit to one girl - I mean that ship sailed years ago, Stefan thought to himself before grabbing his t-shirt and quietly running towards the door of the apartment, his head pounding in his chest when realizing that he had to be very quiet and still avoid the raging hangover that was creeping up on him.
After the dinner party - a. k. a. the tragedy that would beat any of Shakespeare's plays - Stefan had lamely visited a random bar, only to find a random woman, randomly flirt and drink A LOT, overall ending up in the random girl's random apartment in the random part of town. Random.
Stefan smiled to himself before slipping out of the apartment and peeling on his dress shirt, by the time he reached the elevator across the hall, he had his jacket on as well.
Relaxed is what he felt at the moment. No anger or negativity towards anyone or anything.
Nothing.
Chloe walked out of the school, the front doors closing slowly behind her and others that streamed out of the school. She sighed in frustration at how much of a screwed day she was having, the news about Josh and her being partners completely shifted her world upside down – now she had to meet up with him tomorrow after school to start on the assignment.
Shaking her head while trying to shake out the saddening thoughts from her mind, Chloe walked down the path before the school and rubbed at her temples when she finally heard nothing but quiet. The buzzing of teenagers being left behind her with every step she took away from the school.
Chloe was done with the day.
Taking her earphones from around her IPod, Chloe plugged them in her ears before starting to scroll down her playlist, debating on what to play first.
To distracted, when paying attention to only her IPod, Chloe didn't notice the three jocks that walked in front of her.
Josh glanced away from Dean and Derek before looking in front and at his World Religions partner who stared down at her phone. Grinning, his jaw flexed when he nudged his best friend who walked closely by his side. "Straight ahead dude, now's your chance," Josh mumbled before dragging an oblivious Derek to the side, both now crossing the road so that Dean would be left alone with the girl that was still completely clueless to exactly who she was about to bump into.
Dean, clueless and barely paying attention to what had happened was just as surprised when he felt a small form bump straight into his figure. Eyes shooting open at the sound of something hit the ground, Dean pursed his lips away from the blonde girl before looking down at the IPod and earphones that lay faced down on the concrete ground. "Shit, I'm sorry," Dean apologized before bending down to help the girl pick up her belongings.
Finally glancing over at the girl that he had bumped into, Dean's brows furrowed before glancing over at the other side of the road and having his eyes meet Josh and Derek, sighing, Dean got up from the floor before smiling at her. "Sorry again," he said, his mouth in a huge smile when looking down at the awestruck blonde.
Her eyes stared at him and then at her IPod that still played loud music on his palm. His brows furrowed when she started to blush and attempted to grab at her phone. Tugging his hand away, curiosity took over Dean when he grabbed at one earbud, smiling at what he heard in return.
"Guilty pleasure?" Dean asked, hoping the girl will laugh and agree with him. What made him laugh was when she simply blushed further and politely asked for her IPod back. Not a guilty pleasure then?
"Can I please have my stuff back?" she asked, her voice revealing her annoyance towards Dean.
Hands in the air, Dean repeated "okay, okay" when passing Chloe her stuff back. "I didn't mean to offend," Dean said, smiling at the girl who seemed to close her music and stuff her IPod into her jean pocket. Watching her smile gently at him after her phone was away, he couldn't help the genuine grin that appeared on his face when he heard the blonde whisper "thank you". The redness of her cheeks sending sudden butterflies to the pit of Dean's stomach.
"Chloe," Dean said slowly, trying his best not to fuck up her name, "I was meaning to ask you if you wanted to go out some time - hang out maybe?" Dean displayed one of his irresistible smiles, his efforts clear and charming when trying to pick the new girl up. He was confident that he could make any girl crumble... But when he heard a "no thank you" from the dirty blonde, his grin flattered immediately. "What?" He asked, completely dumbfounded at this point. He watched as she started to walk past him, her form walking in the same direction she was before: away from the school. He followed her, running up to her side and questioning her again, both of their feet never stopping when travelling farther and farther away from educational grounds.
"Is it because I'm on the football team?" Dean asked casually, hoping to find an answer.
"Nope," Chloe began, sighing out, "Well, sorta."
"Sorta?"
"Yeah," Chloe began, grinning over at the boy, "you're the captain of the football team - the school's hero! You used to date the head cheerleader - the one girl you still care for even though she's sleeping with some other jock."
Dean's jaw was clenched hard at this point, his eyes piercing through her huge orbs that stared back at him with the slightest glint.
"Plus, I feel like I've already got a lot of drama in my life," Chloe mumbled under her breath, remembering the other night.
"Huh?" Dean asked. His forehead wrinkled.
"I don't want to be some sort of rebound," Chloe finished, shrugging before walking away from the dark haired boy who now slowed down and froze - watching the blonde leave before him. His confusion grew when she looked back at him, smiling gently and waving. Bye?
"You're not a rebound!" Dean called after Chloe, jaw clenching again.
Not a rebound... Just some stupid bet, Dean thought to himself before lamely turning around in search for his asshole of a best friend.
A bet.
Damon woke up slowly, his eyes pained and red when finally meeting a figure that shuffled around by the foot of his bed. Brows furrowing as he watched her empty her side of the closet, Damon sat up on the bed and stated at her duffel bag. "Elena?" Damon asked, confused to what exactly was happening.
She froze before looking over at him, "I was just packing up my clothes that were left behind... So I could fully move into my apartment."
Damon's confusion simply grew, "Elena, I know we're fighting right now, but I don't understand why you've got to move out, I-"
"It's not because of the fighting Damon," Elena started, only to have Damon's brows rise, "well, it's a little bit about the fighting..."
Damon sighed, "Elena we can work this out, and we can-"
"It's also about Stefan and Caroline back - I just think it would be easier for now to just take a break."
"A break?" Damon asked, watching the girl start to zip the duffel bag. "Yes, a break," she responded, her eyes finally meeting his. "I just need some time to think," Elena finished, letting out a shaky breath. It was clear to Damon that she was trying not to cry in front of him.
"Okay," he let out softly, getting up from the bed and towards the girl.
He was about to kiss her on the cheek only to stop when a tear finally slipped onto her cheek, "Do you actually think what we did to Caroline and Stefan years ago was not a mistake?"
Damon froze. He knew she was referring to his stupid slip-up about how he felt no regret from what he had did. The truth is, he knew it had hurt Caroline and Stefan, but he couldn't hide the fact that he didn't find anything wrong with what he did... Sighing at his own thoughts, Damon felt disgusted towards how he was trying to persuade his own mind. Of course we fucked up, Elena and I had hurt Caroline and Stefan - that was definitely something to regret.
"I don't think that," Damon simple stated, his voice dry before he sat on the bed, the duffel bag grazing his knee.
"Why did you have sex with me that night?" Elena asked softly before sitting on the other side of the duffel bag. She was curious to what exactly had happened between the blonde and the dark haired man years ago.
Damon's jaw clenched hard at that. His whole body was tense again.
"Why did you have sex with me?" He asked. His voice was low. He knew Stefan and Elena were happy years ago; it still bugs him that Elena agreed to sleep with him even though her relationship with his younger brother was going so well.
Elena let another tear roll down her cheek. "I don't know," Elena said honestly. She really didn't know why she left Stefan that one night only to crawl into bed with his older brother.
Damon's eyes softened at the crying brunette before him. His reason was way worse than hers. Elena would hate him if he told her why exactly he had slept with her that night. I slept with you because Caroline told me she was in love with me, Damon thought to himself, his eyes never leaving the brunette.
"We made things worse by staying together all these years," Elena stated. Her voice was without expression—bland.
Damon's eyes narrowed at that, "Elena, don't over think—"
"I'm not overthinking Damon; I feel as if I've finally opened my eyes to the truth," Elena started, more tears falling from her eyes, "We betrayed Caroline and Stefan the moment we decided it was a good idea to be together."
Damon knew where this was going. He could feel it from the way the brunette would look his way. "What did you really come here to do Elena?" Damon asked. His eyes were piercing.
It took a while, but the soft words finally escaped Elena, "I want to break up."
Damon grinned at that. It was obvious he didn't mean it, the harsh twisting of his lips was clear when he spoke, "So you're just going to throw everything away because Caroline and Stefan came back and you feel bad?!"
"No," Elena began, "It's not just that."
"Then?" Damon asked, desperation leaked into his tone of voice.
"Why do you think we stayed together all these years?" Elena asked, questioning their entire relationship.
"We fell in love with each other," Damon stated, searching for the right answer to the question. He knew this could very well decide whether or not the brunette wanted to keep up with his bullshit.
Damon watched as she finally looked over at him. Her eyes were similar to his—red. "Did we really though?" She asked, her eyes searching his.
Damon cleared his throat before walking into the closed Grill. He awkwardly jogged towards Dean who wiped at a table to the right of the Grill. He nudged the boy slightly before walking through the empty place. Looking up at the bar, Damon froze slightly at the sight of Caroline at a stool. Both Matt and Caroline stared back at him, Caroline slowly darting her eyes away from him and to the ground below her, as Matt's eyes glanced between Damon and the blonde.
Looking away from the blonde, Damon's jaw clenched before he simply ignored the sudden feeling at the pit of his stomach at the sight of Caroline. It was anger…
You're break up with Elena isn't her fault, Damon internally scolded himself, It isn't her fault.
Walking past Caroline and towards the back of the Grill, Damon looked over at Matt behind the counter and let out a "hey", only to get a nod in return.
Just like that, Damon got lost in the back, no longer in sight.
Caroline looked back up, and took a sip from her drink. Glancing over at the empty restaurant, Caroline sighed knowing that eventually it would get packed and she probably wouldn't have to confront Damon. Plus it was party night at the Grill tonight, which meant booze, dancing and ignorance—perfect.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know he was coming in today."
Caroline nodded at Matt, smiling. "It's okay," she let out, only to jump when she heard a huge bang from the back of the Grill. She looked over at Matt who glanced at the two doors hiding whatever had happened behind them.
Glancing over at Dean and Caroline who were now curious, Matt walked from behind the counter and into the back only to find the rack on the ground along with some plates and glasses broken on the floor. Eyes finding Damon's back, Matt's brows furrowed at the scene. "What the fuck Damon?" he asked, walking over the broken glass and towards the man.
Damon turned around slowly and watched Matt pick up the rack before aligning it with the rest of them that stayed intact. "Why is she here?" Damon asked sudden anger and anguish taking over him at once.
"Who?" Matt asked. He knew who Damon was talking about, and yet he preferred to play it stupid.
"Caroline," Damon said with his fists at his sides.
"She was happy with helping out today," Matt said shrugging, "we've got a 21 year old booked for tonight remember?"
"We had Dean," Damon tried. How hard could it have been to decorate a boring Grill into a 21-year-old's birthday dream?
"The more the merrier," Matt sang out, grinning at the man.
Damon's eyes narrowed at the blonde man's expression, "Who else is coming?"
Matt laughed before starting to walk out from the back, "Everyone."
Damon's brows rose at that.
"Clean up back here before coming out," Matt called out before finally exiting before Damon's eyes.
Damon watched from the bar. Gulping the last of his drink, Damon cringed slightly at how fast the bitter liquid went down his throat.
'The house of awkward' is what Damon named the sight before him. Dean and Elena at the entrance, Caroline's daughter and Matt stocking up the snacks in the corner of the Grill, and Stefan and Caroline working on the banner; no one spoke, clearly successful, Damon thought, this all being Matt Donovan's master plan to get everybody to 'like' each other again.
"You know you can help right?" Matt asked, walking over the Damon who sat lazily on the stool.
Damon glanced over at everyone else who seemed to look in his direction. Grinning, Damon turned at his stool so he could face Matt who was now next to him. "I don't know which duo to partner up with," Damon whispered out, "Caroline's daughter and you, the brother that hates me and the woman that I betrayed, or—wait for it…Dean and my ex-girlfriend."
Matt's eyes widened at that. "You and Elena broke up?" he whispered at Damon, glancing over at Elena who was back to working with Dean on the front door.
"Yup," Damon said, standing up from his chair. "Hell," he started, "if she seems to okay with it, I'm good too."
Matt's baby blue eyes softened with worry, "Damon why don't you go home," he started, "you've already had enough to drink and—"
"What?" Damon asked, "Afraid I'll snap and make a scene? Or are you genuinely worried about me?"
Matt sighed. He knew he had been an ass to Damon earlier, but that was before he knew about him and Elena. If that was the case, Matt wouldn't have invited anyone over to help out…
"Damon—"
"No, no, it's all good bestie," Damon muttered out before patting at Matt's chest. "Just do me a favour alright?" Damon said, grinning, "When I do make a scene later, just make sure I get home safe alright?"
Matt sighed out again.
-x-
"You alright?" Stefan asked Caroline, smiling at her when she looked up at him from the banner.
"Yeah," Caroline said, sighing before continuing to paint the banner, "It's all overwhelming, but I'm alright."
"How's Chloe taking it?" Stefan asked slowly, not knowing if it was appropriate to bring up everything that had happened the other night.
Caroline shrugged. "I haven't really talked to her about it yet," she said. "What about you?" Caroline asked, looking away from the paintbrush in her hand and at Stefan who continued to paint the banner, "What happened last night with Elena and you?"
Stefan's jaw clenched before he allowed himself to glance over at Elena who smiled at Dean struggling to decorate the front door. Stefan watched as Elena glanced over at him, her smile faltering at the sight of him. He didn't look away though, his eyes lingering knowing that he was making her uncomfortable. He watched her look away from him before she focused back on Dean.
Looking over at Caroline, Stefan smiled before shrugging, "It was nothing," he started, "what happened after the dinner party was where things got heated."
Caroline's brows furrowed at the huge grin plastered on Stefan's face and she snorted when trying to hold her laughter, "oh my god," she whispered, nodding her head in disappointment before looking back down at her paint streaks.
Stefan quietly chuckled too before looking down at his messy work, "God, I fucking suck at this."
-x-
"So when are you going to ask her out?" Elena asked Dean who seemed to be unknowingly glancing over at Chloe.
"What?" Dean asked brows high when looking back at Elena who had her eyes on the tape she was previously using.
"Chloe," she said, grinning, "You like her?"
More like, I've got to date her in order to gain NFL tickets, Dean thought to himself. "Yeah," he let out instead, sighing out at the memory of the girl turn him down.
"Then do it," Elena said, "ask her out."
"I can't—well I already did," Dean sighed, "she said no."
Elena pouted, glancing over at Chloe who was still at the snacks. Watching the blonde, she smiled when she saw Chloe glance over at Dean. The dirty blonde's cheeks slowly turning red.
"I suggest you keep trying," Elena said grinning before looking back over at the dark haired boy, "I think she might say 'yes' next time."
Dean's brows furrowed, "What makes you say that?"
"A hunch," Elena finished, shrugging.
-x-
Chloe walked over at Matt and Damon. "Done," she chirped happily before jumping onto the bar stool next to Damon.
"Great, want a cookie?" Damon mumbled before chugging down more bourbon before walking away from the two and heading to the back of the Grill again.
Chloe pouted. "Now I want a cookie," she sighed out before looking over at Matt who smiled slightly at her.
Her brows furrowed at the look of concern that was written on Matt's face towards Damon.
Damon Salvatore: the one that had cheated on her mother and broke her heart. Chloe was starting to think about her father's letter. It was pretty clear that her mother didn't love Damon anymore, and it was also crystal clear that he was an asshole. So was she still supposed to try and bring the two together?
"He's not so bad when you get to know him," Matt said sighing before slumping onto the bar stool next to Chloe.
Chloe sighed. I guess that's why I haven't lost hope, Chloe thought to herself when thinking about what Matt had just said. Maybe the asshole had potential to stop being such a tool.
"Alright," Matt started, getting up from his seat, "I'm going to make Damon drink coffee till he pukes, so don't mind me."
Chloe laughed before nodding at the man.
She looked past Stefan and Caroline, and towards Dean and Elena.
She smiled at him when he looked her way.
The banner was up, the food was destroyed, and the smell of alcohol and sweat was in the air. Bodies swayed together as music blared loud loud loud loud.
Dean stood next to Chloe, his hand hitting the side of hers before he allowed his fingers to lace with hers.
"What are you doing?" Chloe asked, glancing down at her hand in his and then back up at him.
He grinned. "Dancing," he let out before dragging her into the pit of unknown people.
Chloe squealed, protesting, only to laugh when Dean picked her off her feet, stopping her from running away.
Dean's stomach fluttered at the sight of the blonde. His palms sweating at the sound of her cute squeal, his brows knitted in confusion at what he was feeling.
2 out of 7 people from the decorating committee were having fun at this point. The rest—Matt, Damon, Caroline, Stefan and Elena—were not, as they stood in different parts of the Grill.
"Do you think I can score tonight?" Stefan asked the blonde next to him, his voice was loud when trying to overpower the music.
Caroline rolled her eyes, before grinning at the blonde man, "You're disgusting."
Stefan winked at the blonde before jumping over the ledge the separated him and the dance floor.
Caroline laughed when Stefan looked back at her and mouthed "she's so hot" when glancing over at a brunette in the middle of the dance floor. Waving her hand at him, Caroline watched the blonde man disappear into the crowd.
"Damon I told you to stop with the bourbon," Matt muttered in annoyance before trying to rip the glass away from Damon's hand. His brows furrowed when Damon gladly passed him the glass.
"I'm barely tipsy," Damon stated, rolling his eyes when the blonde man grinned at him, "thanks to the coffee you poured down my throat earlier."
"Oh come on," Matt said, unconvinced, "You chugged down a whole bottle of vodka already, "You're part being tipsy."
Damon couldn't help but grin at that. "Go fetch me coffee mother!" Damon exclaimed dramatically, causing Matt to laugh before he walked away from the man he was keeping an eye on for most of the night.
Damon's grin faltered almost instantly when Matt left, his eyes glancing between Caroline and Elena who stood in opposite parts of the Grill.
Let's create a scene.
It all happened so fast. Chloe and Dean having fun together, Stefan on the dance floor with the hot brunette, and Matt in the back filling up a glass of coffee—Damon, Caroline and Elena outside of the Grill.
"Damon let go of me," Caroline demanded, struggling when trying to rip away from the grip that Damon had on her wrist. She looked over her shoulder to see a worried Elena exiting the Grill.
Turning around, Damon roughly turned Caroline around as well causing her to crash into his shoulder before stumbling a bit backwards.
"Damon, what are you doing?" Elena asked, walking closer to the duo before her, in the middle of the parking spaces.
The number of cars that surrounded them was hard to count.
"I'm just trying to make things better," Damon exclaimed, looking over at Elena, "I mean this is what you want right? Caroline and I together again so you won't feel so fucking bad about yourself?"
"Damon, that's not what I—"
"And you," Damon said, cutting Elena off when looking over at Caroline who was now frozen, "you were supposed to be gone forever—not back to ruin my life!"
Caroline's mouth gaped open, "Wha…Damon I—"
"In all honesty, I'm glad I cheated on you 18 years ago," Damon started, grinning when looking over at Elena who seemed to eye him in disappointment, "Thanks for helping me dodge a bullet Elena."
Caroline's jaw clenched. She could feel angry tears starting to brew at her eyes. "Fuck you," Caroline shot out bitterly before trying to free herself again, "Let me go," she screeched before starting to yell at him, "Damon, I said—"
Lips crashed hard against hers. She could taste the alcohol on his lips.
Tears falling onto her cheeks, Caroline pushed him off of her before gasping when he held her by the hips and attacked her mouth again. His grip on her was hard when pressing her against him. She could hear Elena yelling for Damon to stop hurting Caroline. To stop—stop kissing her.
It was muffled, but Caroline heard a growl and then a "Stefan don't", when suddenly, Damon was yanked off of her. Caroline's red eyes shot open to see Damon being punched in the face by Stefan.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Stefan yelled at Damon who was now against a random car, wiping at the blood that was running down his nose.
Stefan worriedly glanced over at Caroline who simply stood in shock, Elena at the blonde's side now, just as shocked. He watched the brunette hesitantly hold the blonde.
"You know what little brother?" Damon said, slowly turning around, "I'm done with your bullshit."
Damon ran at Stefan, catching him off guard. He punched at his jaw, only to have Stefan hit him back.
"Damon stop!" Elena yelled, trying to drag the man off of Stefan only to get thrown off when Stefan jabbed Damon in the stomach causing him to go into a coughing fit.
"Yeah well same here, big bro," Stefan sneered out, only to kick Damon behind the knees, causing the dark haired man to fall forward.
"Stefan stop it!" Caroline finally voiced out.
Damon's blood boiled. His eyes fixated on the ground below him, he could feel Elena's hand on his back, her face at the side of his, asking if he was okay. His blood boiled.
Lip twitching, Damon growled before getting off the ground and pushing Stefan to the ground. He didn't stop. He sat on his little brother's stomach before using each hand repetitively to harm Stefan. His knuckles broken, Damon could feel new cuts springing open on Stefan's face with each swing. Broken nose to jaw, Stefan slowly started to become unknown—his face unrecognisable. Stefan's strength no longer present as he simply lay there—taking it all in. He was at the verge of becoming unconscious.
There was an audience of people by the entrance of the Grill now. Matt ran towards the scene, Elena yelled from the side of tears dripping at her cheeks. "Damon stop" she yelled constantly, too much in shock to walk over and stop the dark haired man.
The hot girl from the dance floor watched from the entrance, Chloe and Dean watched from the entrance, all shocked from what happened in the distance.
Damon could feel her at his left side. Crouched down beside him, she tried her hardest to lift him off of Stefan. "Damon" she screamed. "STOP! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!"
"STOP!" she cried out, grabbing his left fist from swinging at Stefan's right cheek.
Damon froze at the feeling of her cold fingers pushing into his broken knuckles.
"Stop," she whispered, the crying causing her voice to crack.
Damon's eyes looked down at his younger brother. He watched, blankly, as it took a while for Stefan's bloodied face to move.
"Why didn't you stop?" Caroline said through her tears, her hold on Damon's hand still tight.
Damon's eyes widened at everything. Everything he saw before him—everything he did.
He looked at each tear that escaped the blonde's eyes before stumbling off of Stefan, his bloodied hand separating from her cold fingers, leaving his hand dead and broken.
He was numb.
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