A/N: I love Steroline, and these promo pics for 603 have me going crazy! I'm sorry if Stefan and/or Caroline are OOC; I haven't written for them before. Anyway, this just kind of came to me.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.
Something More
...
She heard a faint knock as Liam's lips grazed the skin on her neck. She threw her head back in pleasure, running her hands through his hair and sighing contently.
"Someone's at the door," she whispered as her back met the cool surface of the wall behind her. Liam's fierce eyes looked into hers.
"They can wait babe," he replied, his lips meeting hers once more. No matter how much Caroline was enjoying herself, she knew who was at her doorstep and didn't want to put any more distance between the two of them. Pushing Liam away slightly, she brushed his cheek and smiled.
"It's something I need to deal with." She saw a look of concern cross his face. "It's nothing, really," she promised, and he trusted her.
"I'll call you tomorrow," he said as he crossed the room to grab his jacket. Making his way to the door, he stole one more kiss from Caroline before opening it slightly, revealing the person on the other side and almost running into him.
"Oh, sorry man. I was just leaving," he started, motioning to Caroline. "Hey, I'm Liam," he continued, trying to make the moment a little less awkward. He extended his arm.
"Liam, Stefan, Stefan, Liam," Caroline said, walking up to the two guys. She could feel the tension between them almost instantly.
"Stefan, nice to meet you."
"Yeah, uh, you too," Liam acknowledged.
There was a long and still silence before Caroline gently ushered Liam out the door. He brushed past Stefan and made his way to his car, turning around briefly to flash Caroline his pearly white smile. She smiled back hesitantly, aware of Stefan's presence.
"He seems nice," he said nonchalantly.
"Don't," was all she said before turning on her heel and walking away. She left the door open, though, knowing Stefan would follow her inside. "What are you doing here, Stefan?"
She made her way to the kitchen, preparing herself a giant bowl of ice cream. She knew she'd need it. Stefan shrugged, stepped into the house, and closed the door. His quiet footsteps were heard making their way to the sofa. He sat down and rubbed his hands together.
"So, Liam."
Caroline rolled her eyes and made her way back to where Stefan was seated. She sat across from him, setting the bowl of ice cream down on the table that was separating them.
"Yeah, Elena introduced us. He's a premed student. She said we'd be "perfect for each other"," she answered, imitating Elena's voice. Stefan stifled a laugh before leaning closer to Caroline.
"Was she right?" he asked, catching Caroline off guard. She could feel the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. Stefan was only inches from her; she could easily lean over and kiss him…and she was trying so hard to ignore the urge to. She was with Liam. They were good, weren't they? Suddenly, with Stefan sitting across from her, his attractive figure illuminated in the light from the moon, she felt a little less certain.
"Was who right?"
"Elena," Stefan whispered, bringing his hand to caress her cheek, her smooth skin warm at his touch. She inhaled sharply.
"I don't know…" she trailed off, lost in his green eyes. "I mean, we've only been together for like three weeks, if that long. And we really didn't even start dating until, like, last Saturday. He hasn't even really taken me out on a proper date yet. He's just been coming over and—"
Stefan's lips were suddenly on hers, his hands cupping her face, bringing her closer to him. It took Caroline a few seconds to realize what was happening before she pulled away.
"What was that?" She brought her finger up to where their lips had just touched.
"I'm sorry." His apology was abrupt, and he quickly stood up from where he was sitting only seconds ago, starting to make his way to the door. "I should go."
It was Caroline's turn to stand up, and she made her way over to him. Stefan could easily read the expression on her face.
"No, you don't get to just knock on my door, interrupt time with my boyfriend, kiss me, and then just leave. That's not okay. That's not you Stefan. So tell me why you're here."
He stuck is hands in the pockets of his jeans and stepped forward; once again, there was very little space between him and her.
"I can't stop thinking about you Caroline." Her gaze softened. "Our talk the other day…"
"You mean the one where I practically poured out all my feelings for you," she joked sarcastically.
"Yeah, that one," he replied tenderly, smiling softly. "It meant something to me."
Caroline crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Why did you have to wait this long to tell me? I'm finally tryingto get over you, to bury the feelings I've felt for you, to move on with my life and realize it's just a one-sided crush that will never happen, to make things work with Liam, to come to terms with the fact you never said good-bye, to…"
"It's not one-sided Caroline. I don't think it ever was. Whatever this thing is, that I feel right now," Stefan explained, motioning his finger between the two of them, "it's real."
"What do you mean by "thing?" You mean the feeling you get…"
"When you see the person you can't believe has been your best friend for years but has slowly turned into to something more? And when you finally see them, your stomach knots up and you get so freaked out that, instead, you just want to run away? That feeling?" he asked.
Caroline giggled. "Yeah, that one. Yet, you're still here."
He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to contemplate what he wanted to say next. "When Damon didn't return, I was lost. I was terrified. Even if more than half the time he could be an ass, he was still my brother. And I think I did feel some ounce of love for him."
"Of course you did, Stefan. Like you said, he's your brother. If you didn't feel anything, you wouldn't be, well, you," she teased ever so slightly. He smiled at her.
"I couldn't move on, it was physically impossible for a while. I just wanted to escape the life I had here in Mystic Falls and start somewhere new, somewhere fresh. I didn't want to see anyone; it would just hurt even more." He took a breath and continued. "Especially to see you."
Caroline inhaled and stepped closer to him.
"Why?" She knew he wasn't always good at saying what he felt; she wanted to push him. She wanted to hear it directly.
"Because I knew if I saw you it would remind me of how much I'd be leaving behind… how much I felt for you. So instead, I just ran, as far as I could. It killed me every day, Caroline, to not see your face and your smile…to not have my best friend by my side. I hoped that those feelings would disappear the longer I stayed away."
"Feelings don't just disappear, Stefan. They're real and heartfelt. And it takes a long time to move on," she paused, "trust me, I would know," she whispered, under her breath.
"That's the problem, they didn't disappear. And when I saw you again, all the memories of you, of us just came rushing back."
"And?"
"And I knew that I had to see you again." His answer was simple.
"Well, I'm here. I've always been here."
"I know. I wasn't ready then, Caroline, but I am now."
"What are you saying?"
He saw the twinkle in her eye and chuckled. "Are you really going to make me say it? This would go so much smoother if we just made out right now. Because we both know we want to."
Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck and locked eyes with him.
"Say it," she whispered.
"You don't make it easy, do you?"
"Just say it already," she half demanded, half laughed.
He brought his arms to her waist and pulled her close; she could feel his heart beating, steadily.
"Caroline, I want us to be something more. And I want to know you feel the same way," he finally said.
She rested her forehead against his. "I've known for a while, Stefan. I was just waiting for you to catch up."
…
She could feel his soft breathing beside her. And it was the most peaceful noise she had heard in a while. Shifting to lay on her side, she gently rested her arm over his chest. He felt her move and opened an eye, just slightly. It was still dark out but dawn was breaking. He looked down at his best friend in his embrace and placed a kiss to her head.
"You were so wrong," Caroline stated, looking up at him, tracing his jaw line.
"How so?"
"Caroline, you and me, it's not gonna happen," she mimicked.
"First of all, that is not how I sound, and second, I don't always know what I'm talking about."
"Clearly, but I'm definitely not complaining." She reached up to place a kiss on his lips.
"Neither am I."
…
She composed the text quickly before touching send: I just don't think this is going to work out between us. I'm sorry Liam.