Yeah, I ship it.

is this the end of the moment
or just a beautiful unfolding of a love that will never be
or maybe...be?
anywhere but here, safetysuit

She ignored every question he kept throwing her way, choosing to stare out the window at the rain that matched her mood perfectly. She didn't want to look into his eyes and find pity written all over them. She didn't want him - a practical stranger - having the memory of seeing her so weak, so fragile.

So utterly pathetic.

Out of her peripheral vision, she can see his long arm extending to turn off the radio, cutting off Justin Timberlake's voice.

It didn't sit well with the current situation anyways.

She thanked the heavens and nearly went limp with relief when he turned on her street and she could clearly see her house, wanting to get out of the damn sports car that reminded her so much of when she kissed Matt in it.

She shivered at the memory, running her hands over her bare arms, wincing when her fingers touched the already-forming bruise near her elbow, and he furrowed his eyebrows at her, but frowned and kept on driving, parking in her driveway just a couple of seconds later.

An awkward silence filled his car, and he couldn't fathom what he could possibly say that would make her feel better, so he settled for reaching into the backseat and grabbing his jacket, handing it to her. She took it, fingers shakily fiddling with the hood, light breaths making her chest rise evenly and slowly, though he could hear the speed of her pulse, which seemed to be accelerating as she had an internal war in her head as she placed Stefan's jacket on her body.

"We're friends right?"

His eyes widened, for the question had caught him off guard, but quickly regained control and nodded, although he really wasn't sure. He considered his relationship with Caroline more as strangers on a first-name basis, but knew that it would make her open up to him if he answered correctly. "Of course."

Her lower lip trembled slightly, and she hated the fact that she was about to start crying, but told herself that if he had already seen her in such a pitiful state and still hadn't run off, shedding a tear in front of him wouldn't be such a big deal.

"Then tell me something. Is there something about me, that...I don't know, makes me...undesirable?"

Stefan restrained the urge to bust out laughing because honestly, he had just punched out some disgusting creep who would've likely raped her outside the Mystic Grill had he not shown up, and she was worried about what guys thought of her?

She is truly something else.

He kept a straight face and averted his eyes for a split second when a tear made its way down her cheek, internally cursing Matt to the pits of hell for downgrading her self-esteem so much.

"You want my honest answer?"

She gave a humorless chuckle, looking up at him through glimmering cerulean orbs, preparing herself for even more hurt, positive that he was going to say something that would likely send her spiraling over the edge.

"It's...preferred, yes."

Call her a masochist.

"I think..." he started, dragging it out, because the small part of evil in him wanted to tease her a bit. "That any guy would have to be either blind or extremely foolish to deem you as undesirable."

Her answering smile was dazzling, and she quickly sighed, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, reaching over to embrace him in a hug. "Thank you Stefan. For everything," she whispered in his ear, and he patted her back, glad that he made an improvement in her life, even if it was slight.

"Happy to help."

She pulled away, and hit her knee, thanks to the clutch. She sighed, biting a bitter smile back at Stefan. "Sports cars," she groaned, and he gave her a small smile in return. She gave him another fervent thank you before pulling the hood over her head and running out of the car and across her lawn, into her house.

Deciding that she would be safe for the night, Stefan sighed before putting the clutch in reverse and backing out of her driveway, deciding to head over to Elena's for a while, smiling at the fact that, despite what Matt would tell him, Caroline really wasn't bad. Not at all.

As she was climbing up the stairs, Caroline processed Stefan's words over and over again in her head, deciding that she shouldn't be agonizing and pining after Matt when it was clear that she would never be number one for him.

She should be with someone who knows her flaws, and still accepts them. Someone she can truly go to with anything. Someone who will catch her when she falls. Someone who will save her from herself.

Someone like Stefan.

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