Well here it is, and I sincerely hope you guys will like it ! Reviews are greatly appreciated ;o)

Thanks to my dear friend Heather for correcting even though she's not a big Daroline fan ;o)

Caroline had no freaking idea what she was doing here.

It was early morning at the Salvatore boarding house. Or, as she privately called it , the Salvatore mausoleum. It definitely looked that way since Stefan had left with Klaus one year ago.

At first Damon had been searching everywhere, leaving for days, even weeks sometimes, when he thought he was on a trail. Each time he came back a little bit more down.

And then about two months ago he just stopped. He gave up, and stayed locked inside the house.

By then, everyone had kind of moved on, especially Elena.

She had been there too, in the beginning, wanting to find Stefan as much as Damon did. But one day she understood that he wouldn't come back, and had decided to go on with her life.

Damon didn't forgive her for that, and they kind of grew apart.

He wasn't really close to the rest of the gang, except for Alaric. But the teacher had been offered a job at Harvard, and Damon had pressed him to accept. Who would be stupid enough to choose Mystic Falls High over one of the most prestigious universities in the country ? So Alaric had left, and even if Damon wouldn't admit it, losing his brother and his best friend in the span of only a few months had seriously undermined his spirit.

That left Caroline.

It was not as if she liked the guy. At worse he was a jerk, at best he was an ass, especially to her. But there was something about him, about the way he wouldn't quit searching for his little brother -that same brother he enjoyed making miserable – that had touched her. And she had to admit that there was something about Damon Salvatore lately that always stirred some parts of her...she had thought it was pity, but no...she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Not that she wanted to put her finger anywhere on him anyway. Been there, done that, got the emotional scars to prove it.

And yet here she was again, bringing him some blood to make sure he at least ate properly, besides the numerous bottles of bourbon littering the den, and his bedroom.

His bedroom that needed a good dose of fresh air. Caroline made a grimace and pinched her nose when she walked in, and went to open the window wide. She smiled when she heard the growl emanating from the bed.

"Rise and shine, master Salvatore. Barbie Housekeeping is here."

He lifted the pillow under where his head was buried and opened one eye to look at her.

"You're not wearing the right outfit," he muttered before hiding back under the cushion.

She put a mug of blood on the nightstand before tugging the cover. She scrunched her nose again. "Geez, Damon, when was the last time you took a shower?"

A growl was her only answer and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I have to go."

He immediately sat up in the bed. She cursed herself for thinking how cute he was with his bed hair and his sleepy blue eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"It's graduation day, Damon."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Already?"

She sighed. "I told you two days ago."

"So that's why you look so hot," he observed, eyeing her black pencil skirt and pink shirt.

Well, she guessed that as far as compliment went, she could do worse, especially coming from Damon Salvatore.

"I'm not hot, I'm elegant," she contradicted him nevertheless.

He shrugged and laid down again. "Whatever."

She waited for him to add something, but he stayed silent so she left the room.

How silly of her to think – to hope – that he would offer to come.

Damon had no freaking idea what he was doing here.

It wasn't even as if he liked the girl. At worst she was totally vapid, at best she was shallow. But she had been the only one sticking around the last few months. Despite the fact that he had treated her like crap not so long ago, she had been checking up on him regularly. Without her he would have gone weeks without feeding properly or even getting out of bed.

There was a genuine kindness to her that touched a deeply buried part of him. And he had always liked her smile.

Although he would never tell her that. Ever.

The fact that he was here, wearing a damn suit, was a nice enough gesture on his part.

"Hey! You came."

She stood before him in her graduation robe, a big smile on her face. The sun was reflecting on her blonde hair and seemed to make her eyes bluer than their usual gray-blue shade.

"Yeah, I thought some fresh air wouldn't hurt." He made a gesture to the diploma she was holding in her hand. "Congratulation. So you're not as blonde as you look, then. What's up next?"

An excited smiled graced her lips. "New York City, of course. College."

He seemed genuinely surprised at that. "You're leaving?"

Was that disappointment in his voice? Of course it was. Who would come see him and bring him blood when she would be gone? That was all it was, she reasoned herself. He certainly didn't care if she stuck around or not.

"Yup. I applied to FIT, I'm starting end of August. I just have a few more things to take care of, and by next week I'll be out of here!"

And needless to say that she couldn't wait to leave the ever present drama that was Mystic Falls, to be an almost normal girl in a big city, to meet new people. To be in a place where not everything was revolving around Elena or vampires, or werewolves. A place where she would be to busy to remember how much she missed Stefan.

She sent him a cheeky look. "Don't be too sad, Damon. Don't worry, I'll write...if I have the time."

He smirked back. "I'll try not to cry...as long as you come say goodbye."

She pointed to the others who were standing a few feet away. "Don't you want to come say hi?" she asked, and he let his eyes linger on Elena for a few seconds, before turning back to Caroline.

"I'll just go. See you around, Blondie."

"Thanks for coming, Damon," she started, but he was already gone.

She would definitely miss him. At least for the first week.

Caroline put the last suitcase in her trunk and closed it. She was ready to go.

She had said goodbye to her mom the night before, and she had promised to come see her as often as she could, and Liz would try to come and see her in New York.

She had one last stop before leaving Mystic Falls. Ten minutes later she was in front of the Boarding House.

She found Damon in the den, busy reading a book. He stood up as soon as he saw her.

"Barbie, finally ! I've been expecting you."

She frowned. "You were?" She didn't remember telling him exactly when she would come.

He sauntered to a corner of a room and retrieved a big travel bag from under the table. He showed it to Caroline with a big, proud smile on his handsome face.

She was afraid to understand. "Are you going somewhere?"

He took his jacket and walked to her, motioning to the front door. "Definitely. I'm coming with you. Shall we?"