Chapter Eight
Awkward and tense—that was the atmosphere in the room as Damon's eyes were on Stefan. He stood by the table, looking over at Matt who sat onto a seat across from Stefan on the table. Stefan looked up at him briefly before mumbling something in which Damon couldn't quite catch.
"Damon, have a seat," Matt chimed, wanting so hard to break apart from the tense environment around him. Matt sighed internally as Damon didn't take a seat.
Stefan wanted to move from his seat since the moment his older brother walked into the door but as soon as he moved a muscle everything ached and pained. He cursed under his breath at one point when he leaned a bit on one of his feet in order to get up only to fail and sit back down. Adjusting to the seat, Stefan looked up at Damon who was still looking at him. He arched his head a bit.
"How, uh, how are you feeling?" Damon asked, moving a bit in his spot standing up.
Stefan's jaw clenched, "fantastic," he mumbled, "thanks to you."
Damon tensed further at that. Matt pursed his lips.
"If I could take it all back I would," Damon said slowly, almost as if he was picking and choosing every word he let out of his mouth.
"Ya, well you can't so…" Stefan trailed off, pissed that he couldn't move from his spot and away from Damon's presence. He hated feeling so weak.
Damon's jaw clenched, "Everything, I wish I could take away all of it."
Stefan's brows furrowed slightly at that as he looked at his older brother. There was something in that that made a hint towards a completely different conflict.
Damon really did wish he could take back everything. All of what he ever did to hurt Stefan, sleeping with Elena, dating her for years after, not contacting him at all, beating him to near death—causing him so much pain.
"Okay," Stefan breathed out, still extremely confused and starting to feel incredibly uncomfortable again.
"How's the Grill?" Matt asked suddenly as the silence took over.
Damon looked over at Matt, clearing his throat slightly, "yeah, good, I slipped out to check on…Stef…" Stefan's brow arched, "and Macy's got everything under control," Damon finished moving slowly towards the wall before leaning his back against it. Damon looked over at Stefan and clenched his jaw when his eyes met his younger brother's. He eventually looked away when Matt continued, "Macy the bartender?" Damon nodded and Matt nodded back.
Damon looked back at Stefan as it became quiet again. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly.
Stefan twitched a bit, "you asked that already," he reminded, sighing slightly as the pain struck him again.
Damon nodded, "Right," he said sighing out loud.
"You good?" Stefan asked causing both Damon and Matt to look over at him. The shock on their faces was clear to Stefan. He simply looked at Damon who replied, "I'm fine."
Matt smiled and Stefan noticed and rolled his eyes a bit. "I may look worse but I put up quite a fight alright?" he defended.
Damon grinned a bit at that.
Stefan looked back over at Damon who wasn't absolutely healed himself either, however, was absolutely exceeding the healing process when it came to Stefan and his injuries. Stefan remembered his reflection. "Leave Caroline alone and we'll go on ignoring each other without conflict okay?" Stefan started before looking over at Matt, "I mean that's what the agreements you told me about are all about right? Avoiding conflict?"
Damon's jaw clenched at the mention of the blonde, his small grin no longer in view.
Matt glanced between the two, "I'd prefer conflicts to be solved rather than avoided…"
Stefan grinned over at Matt. The smile did not meet Stefan's cold eyes at all, "Yeah well I'd say under these circumstances avoiding each other and the so-called conflict will be the best for everyone." Stefan looked back over at Damon, "You leave Caroline alone, leave me alone, and live happily ever after with Elena…there you go, problem avoided and solved."
"Stefan do—"
"Nope," Stefan interrupted, "no preaching and motivation talks from Mr. Donovan alright?"
Matt sighed and Stefan looked back over at Damon, "Do we have a deal?"
Damon was tense. He shook his head slowly and, at first, unsurely, "No…we don't have a deal."
Stefan's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean 'we don't have a deal'?"
Damon swallowed, "I've kept my distance from Caroline and plan on doing so for a very long time, but you're my brother and I can't cut you out of my life like that."
Stefan grinned bitterly, "Damon you've cut me out of your life for 18 years straight. I'm sure it'll be easy to do so again."
The older Salvatore shook his head, "Not after everything that happened. Not after I screwed up to the point where I almost killed my little brother."
Stefan moved a bit awkwardly on his seat.
Damon smiled slightly, "And you are you know? You're my little brother and always will be."
The blonde's bruised jaw clenched, "Yeah well it's been a long time since you've treated me like one," he mumbled before trying to get up now. The other two watched a bit concerned as a hurting Salvatore got up from his seat before gripping the table as he stood.
Damon's lips pursed. He wanted to apologize so badly. So much had gone through his mind during the days of recovery…the breakup between him and Elena, Stefan being injured, Caroline hurt and humiliated because of him. Caroline, fuck, he thought to himself as he tried to side track his thoughts away from the blonde once again. Ignoring the conflict had become almost an additional sense for him at this point.
"I'm—"
There was someone at the door. Matt was a bit confused at first but managed to glance over at the time. His lips pursed as he looked over at the two, his eyes lingering on Damon as he spoke, "it's Caroline." Damon tensed. He looked back over at Stefan who was standing and looking at Damon as well. "I should go," Damon muttered out as he leaned off the wall. He started to follow Matt as he walked to the door, he glanced over at Stefan lastly as he went. "I'm very sorry," he said lastly causing Stefan's teeth to grit harshly. Matt smiled slightly at that and Damon sighed at his friend's reaction before watching as he opened the door for Caroline.
Damon's eyes met Caroline's on the other side of the door, her small smile faltering immediately at the sight of him. Damon swallowed before looking away from her when she looked away from him. He moved out first, Matt's hand squeezing his shoulder as he left the house, the urge to punch the brick wall of the house so prominent. Damon resisted, looking down at his little cast for his broken knuckles as he walked onto the driveway, his car far on the street. No wonder Blondie didn't know I was here, he thought internally.
Caroline walked in, trying to shake off the fact that she had just seen the one man that she was avoiding. She smiled slightly over at Matt who greeted her with a huge smile. "Hey Care," he said and Caroline smiled back. "What?" she asked, curious to Matt's expression. Matt simply grinned further and she chuckled.
"How's Stefan doing?" she asked a bit seriously. Stefan rolled his eyes a bit at the serious concern coming from the blonde near the door. "I'm fine Caroline," he blurted out causing her to look over at him instantly.
The excited and happiness that swarmed her expression that the very sight of him caused him to chuckle, "I'm okay," he repeated.
"You're awake!"
Stefan smiled a toothy grin and watched as the woman took in a puff of air as she rushed towards him. She threw herself at him and he groaned in pain. Mumbling a "sorry", he chuckled painfully before hugging her back, "it's okay. I'm okay."
"You're okay," she said breathlessly at his neck.
Stefan could hear the shakiness of her voice and he sighed, smiling warmly, "Yes, I'm okay."
She smiled, her embrace lingering for a while as she eventually tried to blink back tears.
Chloe was in her first period English class which meant being stuck with Josh for the project again. They had come far so far—more like she did most of the work as she had to practically force him to undergo certain categories within the huge assignment. They still couldn't stand each other but they managed to compromise. However, it confused Chloe to why Josh slowed down with the constant harassment once he found out that she was spending time with Dean.
She glanced over at Dean who was with his partner; she smiled at him slightly when he looked over. He smiled back at her and she looked away, a toothy grin taking the small smile's place. Josh glanced at the girl grinning before looking over at Dean. He grinned at Dean before arching his brow, Dean's smile faltered slightly when he seemed to get a message from Josh, "this is working out perfectly" it read and something within Dean turned slightly but he managed to force a grin before writing back a "yeah it is, get those NFL tickets ready". There was a slight laugh heard from Josh across the room and he watched as Josh went back to his work when Chloe muttered something at him. Dean's grin fell a bit as Josh looked away from him; he looked back at his sheet before moving a bit in his chair. He suddenly felt a bit off.
At lunch, Dean met up with Josh who was once again with his unlabelled girlfriend, Christina. He slumped by them loudly so they wouldn't be making out as he sat there.
"What no Chloe?" Josh asked grinning as their table was still pretty empty. Dean didn't say anything as he took a spoon of his macaroni.
"So when exactly you thinking on hitting it?" Josh asked a bit eager. Christina was into the conversation too. "The deals to have the girl fall in love with me," Dean mumbled as he took in another spoonful, "that's kind of impossible to get down in just these few weeks, don't you think?" Christina grinned, "Impossible or not, you've got a deadline." Dean's eyes narrowed at the giggling girl. Jaw clenching he nodded curtly, "I know." "Good," Josh said chuckling himself a bit.
The tables soon started to pile with the football team and their friends, he sighed when his eyes met Stacey. Josh thought after all of this she'd come crawling back but Dean wasn't so sure. She rolled her eyes at the sight of him and he couldn't help but grin bitterly before getting up as he ate the last bit of his food, "Well if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make out with the new blonde now." Stacey looked up at that along with everyone else. Although most of the people at the table knew why he was doing all of this in the first place, some still managed to make faces of disgust. He grinned when Stacey pursed her lips. He felt satisfied as he walked away from the table and went to go find the familiar dirty blonde that he hadn't even kissed yet, yet alone made out with.
Matt had stepped out of the house to get groceries, leaving Caroline and Stefan alone. They caught up and Caroline took care of the injured man. Having to leave, she tried her best to delay the leave and not bring it up since she didn't want to leave at all. "Go," he said as he noticed her check the clock the fifteenth time now.
"No, it's—"
"Care, go," he said smiling reassuringly at her, "I'll be fine."
She sighed before looking at the clock one last time and groaning a bit as she got up from the couch that he sat on. He slowly got up too and she yelled at him, only to have him chuckle and hug her. She shut up and hugged him back. Sighing, she pulled away, "I'll be back later," she said before grabbing her purse, "plus Elena's going to be here soon I think so you won't be completely alone."
Stefan tensed a bit at that and Caroline looked over at him slowly. She pursed her lips as she straightened and turned her body to face him. She smiled faintly before slowly walking towards the man and standing before him. She took hold of his right hand making him slightly confused.
"I was holding this hand for hours when you fell unconscious in the hospital," Caroline started before letting go of his right hand and lifting his left one, "and Elena was holding this one."
Stefan's eyes hardened at that. "Caroline—"
Caroline smiled softly before winking at the man, "I'll shut up."
"You're okay with her?" Stefan asked a little surprised that she wasn't angry at the brunette for doing what she did 18 years ago.
Caroline shrugged. "I don't hate her," she started, "I honestly don't know what I feel for the brunette...all I know is that since all of this occurred, my perspectives have changed."
Stefan nodded slowly, even though he had no idea of what that truly meant.
She sighed, "But I can confidently say that I'm not completely okay with her just yet."
Stefan's brow arched at the 'yet', almost as if Caroline was working on being okay with Elena—the eventually forgive the brunette. Tensing further at his own thoughts, he sighed internally.
"…and the difference is that you hate Damon," Stefan said softly, licking at his lips quickly.
It took a while, but Caroline finally nodded at the man. "I really do," Caroline breathed out, re-evaluating everything he had did today.
He smiled a bit but it didn't reach his eyes, "You're not alone with that one."
She pursed her lips, pecking Stefan on the cheek real quick before walking towards the door where he followed slowly. They got to the door and she opened it before opening the door.
Stefan winced, causing Caroline's eyes to widen, "Wha—" she cut herself off when Stefan laughed, "Just kidding." Caroline was about to gently slap his chest but ended up scrunching her nose as she brought it back to her side. She glanced at his visible injures again. "Are you sure you're okay?" Caroline asked, skeptical. Debating on whether or not she should leave and wait until Matt or Elena came over.
Stefan nodded, smiling gently at the blonde woman. Although it hurt like a bitch, Stefan was just going to laugh it off in front of the blonde—I don't want her to worry about me. "I'm fine, go," he said before pushing her a bit causing her to move closer to the opened door. She smiled as she stepped out. "Alright, just call me if you need anything." He nodded and watched as it took forever for Caroline to leave. Stefan eventually closed the door behind her.
He simply sat around, trying to do things on his own for a bit. He managed to make himself a late lunch at around three in the afternoon. He slumped back in front of the TV, flipping through channels. The bell rang and his jaw clenched. He knew exactly who it was. If it were to be Matt, he wouldn't have rung the doorbell…
Sighing, the bell rang again and he groaned in frustration. He managed to eventually get to the door, another bell and his jaw clenched, "Coming!" he yelled annoyed as he eventually made it to the knob. He turned the knob and leaned slightly against the door as he was face to face with a slightly taken back Elena. "Where's Matt? Are you hom—"
"He left for groceries," Stefan mumbled as his eyes narrowed slightly. He looked down at her hands. She was carrying a dish full of food in which he could smell from his spot. His jaw clenched further, mentally preparing himself to withhold on eating anything that she brought.
"I—"
"Did you need something?" Stefan sighed out irritated.
Elena moved a bit awkwardly at the porch, "Yeah—well no—I mean I just came to drop off my famous lasagna…I remembered that you used to love it."
His jaw clenched at that and it created a bolt of pain to penetrate through his head. Moaning a bit as he let his head rest against the side of the door, he heard a worried Elena walk into the house as she now stood before him. She refused to touch him knowing that that was probably the last thing he needed. "Stefan why don't you sit—"
"I'm fine," he snapped and she jumped a bit at that.
His jaw clenched again at her reaction to his outburst only to get further annoyed, "Matt will eat it," he mumbled as he closed the door behind her, "he's going to be starving when he gets back."
She nodded and watched as the man managed to walk over to the couch again as he slumped down onto it. She lingered a bit before walking to the kitchen and placing the tray of food onto the kitchen counter. She walked back to the couch, standing a bit behind it. "You sure you're good?" she asked softly as Stefan moved in pain as he shifted on the couch.
Stefan's body tensed, his jaw clenching at her voice. "I'm fine," he snapped quietly again.
Elena heard and pursed her lips. "Are you hungry? You can have some of—"
"I don't want anything from you Elena!" he yelled, angry and in pain. His head was starting to throb and he was getting easily agitated. He could feel the medicine wearing off at this point. He simply snapped further at the woman as he turned a bit to face her from the couch, "What do you not get from 'I hate you' huh? I'd appreciate you avoiding me until Matt comes back because that's all I'm trying to do, I'm trying to avoid you, don't you see that?!"
Her eyes stung. She moved a strand of her hair behind her ear as she looked down at the floor below her feet. He shut his eyes when he noticed her expression and he sighed internally. Trying to collect himself, Matt's words echoed through his brain. Opening his tired eyes, he didn't see Elena in the same spot as before anymore. Stefan heard the woman rushing out of the house and his brows arched.
"Where are you going?" Stefan asked, yelling after Elena.
He sighed in frustration when the woman didn't respond back, her sniffling heard from where he struggled to stand up. He managed to keep up with a steady jog as he moved out the house.
"Elena, wait up!" he called after her, groaning as she didn't turn around as she simply continued to walk down the driveway.
He made it to her and his body almost gave up on him as he grabbed at her arm. Her watering eyes were slightly concerned as he struggled in standing straight. He was gripping at her arm to stable himself at this point. She wiped at her cheeks but failed as more tears fell down her damp skin.
"What were you expecting me to say?" Stefan asked, gripping onto her as he tried to catch him breath without blacking out, "That I'm madly in love with you or something? Were you just planning on giving me food and suddenly hoping that everything would be okay between us?"
Elena's eyes narrowed at the sarcasm again. He was so different.
Simply walking now, Elena sighed when Stefan stumbled a bit only to catch up with her, his hand gripping onto her arm again causing her to stop and turn a bit so that she was facing him again.
Stefan's hand twitched awkwardly on her warm skin before he stepped away from her again. .
"We need to get back," Stefan stated softly before glancing behind them. He hadn't noticed just how far away from the house they had gotten.
"I'm not asking you to stick with me," Elena mumbled before wiping at her cheeks. She wasn't going to cry anymore.
Stefan grinned at the frustration raging off the brunette. Glancing at where they were stood at, Stefan pursed his lips before mentally debating on if he should do what he was thinking of doing.
"You don't get it," he said breathlessly, "I'm asking you to do just that because I'm seeing dots right now and am sure that my body is going to fail at any moment."
There was worry on her face again and Stefan started to blink slowly now. Elena's eyes widened as he almost fell, his eyes rolling into the back of his eyes. Elena gasped a bit as she instantly tried to help to the best of her ability. She stabilized him a bit, struggling under his weight but got him upright again as he continued to blink slowly now.
Elena had her arms around him as one of his arms wrapped at her shoulders for support. She looked up at him and froze a bit at how close his face was to hers. Swallowing, Elena tried to ignore that as she stumbled a bit but managed to get the blonde man into the house again.
He fell unconscious so quickly once he hit the bed.
A/N: Hey guys, I'm greatful that many of you are baring with my EXTREMELY late updates but I'm working on them. I'm about to update Alternate Reality and Expect the Unexpected soon so stay tuned for that. I gravely appreiciate all the support and I hope to make you all proud aha. I hope you all enjoyed this little update and soon more Daroline will be shown in this fic (it's still all tense for the two right now so I'm working on it).