I Told You So (5/6)
TITLE: I Told You So
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS: Caroline/Damon, slight Stefan/Elena
RATING: T
GENRE: Romance/Drama
SUMMARY: After their breakup, Damon decides he wants Caroline back. Has she already moved on?
Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four
“Tyler, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep this up,” Caroline said into the phone as she unlocked the front door. “Elena practically bitched me out earlier because of how much I’m hurting Damon.”
“So, Caroline, what do you want to do about this?” Tyler asked her.
“I don’t know, Tyler. It’s just that…well, I miss him,” she said softly, setting her purse down on the coffee table and plopping herself down on
the couch. “I don’t know if I can keep this up.”
“You said that already, Caroline. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I still love him, Tyler. This just…it isn’t working. I don’t know what to do.”
“Take a deep breath. We’re in this together, remember?” Tyler asked, and for a moment Caroline thought she was going to explode. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed heavily.
“I can’t…I can’t keep hurting him like this. He’s just…he’s so sad. I’m practically killing him. We shouldn’t have done this; I just feel so guilty about it.”
“So, Caroline, what are you afraid of? I mean, really afraid of?”
Caroline just sat there, pulling her legs up so they were resting on the couch, and tried to figure out how to tell him what she was feeling. As a matter of fact, what the hell was she feeling?
“I’m afraid that if I give him another chance, he’s going to walk out on me. Y’know, like he did before. He got tired of me before - what should I do if that happens again? I can’t just give it up, I have to make sure that what I’m feeling is real before I talk to Damon about it.”
“You know, whatever you decide, I’m going to back your play. I just want to make sure you’re 100% sure of what you’re doing before you act.”
“Thanks, Ty,” Caroline said softly. “You’re the best.”
-x-
Damon wandered into the Grill the next night, trying to find more bourbon. He had drank every drop at the boarding house, and besides, Stefan was starting to give him a headache.
He sat up at the bar, and, as luck would have it, he was right next to him.
“Tyler,” Damon said, as nicely as he could, “what are you doing here?”
“I’m 22, dude,” Tyler said, looking at him. “I can drink if I want.”
Damon shrugged, “Shouldn’t you be out celebrating with your fiancée?” He said the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth. He watched as Tyler downed a shot of tequila, and then said, “I mean, if I had Caroline, I would definitely not be spending my time at a bar.”
“Just because Caroline and I are engaged does not mean we have to spend every waking moment together,” Tyler answered, downing another shot.
It was everything Damon could do to not punch the kid right in his face. Damon sighed, taking a shot of whiskey, before telling the bartender to leave the bottle beside him, and then looked at Tyler. “What did you do to her?”
“Huh?” Tyler asked, downing another shot. He looked confused.
“Caroline. What did you do to her?”
“After you left, Damon, Caroline was left in little pieces. She’s afraid of her loved ones leaving her. Think about it, dude - you guys were together five years. Five years is maybe a long time for a human, but for vampires, five years doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. How the hell did you get tired of her after five fucking years?” Tyler’s voice started to raise, and people were looking at him and Damon, so he poured another shot, drank it, and said, “She misses you, a lot.”
“Yeah, I got that impression,” Damon said, almost smugly. “I’ve been all over town with her to plan your damned wedding. She’s dragging me everywhere, when she has Bonnie and Elena that would gladly go with her. I was starting to think that she missed me.”
“Maybe things would turn around if you were worthy of her, Damon,” Tyler said. Damon’s eyes grew wide.
“Are you sure that you really want to insult me, Tyler? Just because Caroline loves you does not mean that I won’t break your neck.”
“Look, Damon, I don’t want to fight you, okay? It’s hard enough to know that Caroline still loves you.”
“Does she?” Damon asked bitterly. “I mean, she’s been taunting me with your fucking engagement.”
“Do you ever think that maybe she’s doing that to see how you’d react to it?” Tyler asked, mentioning something that Damon never thought of before. “Maybe she’s just pushing your buttons.”
“Why are you being nice to me?” Damon asked suspiciously.
“Honestly, because I don’t want to fight you, Damon. I love Caroline, and I want her to be happy - even if that means that she’s back with you.”
That was when Tyler slapped some money down on the bar and got up. “Think about it, Damon,” he said, leaving the Grill.
-x-
After Damon’s talk with Tyler, he practically flew to Caroline’s house. It was almost three in the morning, but he just had to see her. In his heart he knew that he’d always love her, that he’d always choose her. He climbed through her window - which wasn’t as easy of a task as he remembered it - and sat on the edge of the bed beside her, watching her sleep. He sat there for a few moments, watching her, lost in thought.
“What the hell, Damon? Stalkerish ex-boyfriend behavior much?” Caroline bolted upright and looked at him. “Do you even know what time it is?”
“Yeah, it’s three in the morning, but I just had to see you.”
“God, Damon, you smell like whiskey. Where the hell have you been?”
“Drinking at the Grill. Which, by the way, I ran into Tyler there.”
“Yeah, so? He’s 22, he can drink if he wants.”
Damon bit back a chuckle; that had been exactly what Tyler had said to him, so he thought it a little funny that she said it like that.
“Look, Tyler and I had a talk - well, I guess that’s what you could call it - and I’m a little confused.”
Caroline rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands and looked at Damon questioningly, “Well, what did he say to you?”
“He said that he loves you, and wants you to be happy - even if it was with me.”
Caroline nodded, “Look, Damon, I’d love to talk to you about this, but not at three in the morning. I’m too tired. How about you go home and I come see you tomorrow, around, say noon? Then we can talk about this to your heart’s content.”
Damon nodded, “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As she watched Damon climb out her window, she put her head in her hands. What was she supposed to do now?
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS: Caroline/Damon, slight Stefan/Elena
RATING: T
GENRE: Romance/Drama
SUMMARY: After their breakup, Damon decides he wants Caroline back. Has she already moved on?
Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four
“Tyler, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep this up,” Caroline said into the phone as she unlocked the front door. “Elena practically bitched me out earlier because of how much I’m hurting Damon.”
“So, Caroline, what do you want to do about this?” Tyler asked her.
“I don’t know, Tyler. It’s just that…well, I miss him,” she said softly, setting her purse down on the coffee table and plopping herself down on
the couch. “I don’t know if I can keep this up.”
“You said that already, Caroline. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I still love him, Tyler. This just…it isn’t working. I don’t know what to do.”
“Take a deep breath. We’re in this together, remember?” Tyler asked, and for a moment Caroline thought she was going to explode. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed heavily.
“I can’t…I can’t keep hurting him like this. He’s just…he’s so sad. I’m practically killing him. We shouldn’t have done this; I just feel so guilty about it.”
“So, Caroline, what are you afraid of? I mean, really afraid of?”
Caroline just sat there, pulling her legs up so they were resting on the couch, and tried to figure out how to tell him what she was feeling. As a matter of fact, what the hell was she feeling?
“I’m afraid that if I give him another chance, he’s going to walk out on me. Y’know, like he did before. He got tired of me before - what should I do if that happens again? I can’t just give it up, I have to make sure that what I’m feeling is real before I talk to Damon about it.”
“You know, whatever you decide, I’m going to back your play. I just want to make sure you’re 100% sure of what you’re doing before you act.”
“Thanks, Ty,” Caroline said softly. “You’re the best.”
-x-
Damon wandered into the Grill the next night, trying to find more bourbon. He had drank every drop at the boarding house, and besides, Stefan was starting to give him a headache.
He sat up at the bar, and, as luck would have it, he was right next to him.
“Tyler,” Damon said, as nicely as he could, “what are you doing here?”
“I’m 22, dude,” Tyler said, looking at him. “I can drink if I want.”
Damon shrugged, “Shouldn’t you be out celebrating with your fiancée?” He said the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth. He watched as Tyler downed a shot of tequila, and then said, “I mean, if I had Caroline, I would definitely not be spending my time at a bar.”
“Just because Caroline and I are engaged does not mean we have to spend every waking moment together,” Tyler answered, downing another shot.
It was everything Damon could do to not punch the kid right in his face. Damon sighed, taking a shot of whiskey, before telling the bartender to leave the bottle beside him, and then looked at Tyler. “What did you do to her?”
“Huh?” Tyler asked, downing another shot. He looked confused.
“Caroline. What did you do to her?”
“After you left, Damon, Caroline was left in little pieces. She’s afraid of her loved ones leaving her. Think about it, dude - you guys were together five years. Five years is maybe a long time for a human, but for vampires, five years doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. How the hell did you get tired of her after five fucking years?” Tyler’s voice started to raise, and people were looking at him and Damon, so he poured another shot, drank it, and said, “She misses you, a lot.”
“Yeah, I got that impression,” Damon said, almost smugly. “I’ve been all over town with her to plan your damned wedding. She’s dragging me everywhere, when she has Bonnie and Elena that would gladly go with her. I was starting to think that she missed me.”
“Maybe things would turn around if you were worthy of her, Damon,” Tyler said. Damon’s eyes grew wide.
“Are you sure that you really want to insult me, Tyler? Just because Caroline loves you does not mean that I won’t break your neck.”
“Look, Damon, I don’t want to fight you, okay? It’s hard enough to know that Caroline still loves you.”
“Does she?” Damon asked bitterly. “I mean, she’s been taunting me with your fucking engagement.”
“Do you ever think that maybe she’s doing that to see how you’d react to it?” Tyler asked, mentioning something that Damon never thought of before. “Maybe she’s just pushing your buttons.”
“Why are you being nice to me?” Damon asked suspiciously.
“Honestly, because I don’t want to fight you, Damon. I love Caroline, and I want her to be happy - even if that means that she’s back with you.”
That was when Tyler slapped some money down on the bar and got up. “Think about it, Damon,” he said, leaving the Grill.
-x-
After Damon’s talk with Tyler, he practically flew to Caroline’s house. It was almost three in the morning, but he just had to see her. In his heart he knew that he’d always love her, that he’d always choose her. He climbed through her window - which wasn’t as easy of a task as he remembered it - and sat on the edge of the bed beside her, watching her sleep. He sat there for a few moments, watching her, lost in thought.
“What the hell, Damon? Stalkerish ex-boyfriend behavior much?” Caroline bolted upright and looked at him. “Do you even know what time it is?”
“Yeah, it’s three in the morning, but I just had to see you.”
“God, Damon, you smell like whiskey. Where the hell have you been?”
“Drinking at the Grill. Which, by the way, I ran into Tyler there.”
“Yeah, so? He’s 22, he can drink if he wants.”
Damon bit back a chuckle; that had been exactly what Tyler had said to him, so he thought it a little funny that she said it like that.
“Look, Tyler and I had a talk - well, I guess that’s what you could call it - and I’m a little confused.”
Caroline rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands and looked at Damon questioningly, “Well, what did he say to you?”
“He said that he loves you, and wants you to be happy - even if it was with me.”
Caroline nodded, “Look, Damon, I’d love to talk to you about this, but not at three in the morning. I’m too tired. How about you go home and I come see you tomorrow, around, say noon? Then we can talk about this to your heart’s content.”
Damon nodded, “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As she watched Damon climb out her window, she put her head in her hands. What was she supposed to do now?