Title: let's you and I rewrite history (carve your face into my memory and your smile into my heart)
Category: The Vampire Diaries
Genre: General/Romance
Ship: Stefan/Caroline
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Stefan meets Caroline when he's still got amnesia but she doesn't know. – nonny (tumblr)
Word Count: 1,618
Summary: Stefan meets Caroline for, what to him, is the first time, and is immediately taken with her and what she has to offer.

let's you and I rewrite history (carve your face into my memory and your smile into my heart)
-1/1-

She was hugging him before he had time to react.

He was standing in the living room, pouring himself a glass of scotch when there was an excited cry of, "Stefan!" and then arms were wrapped around him and his vision was drowned in blonde curls. Very soft, very sweet smelling curls. When she pulled back, she was smiling at him, her hands cupping his face, her bright blue eyes looking him over searchingly.

"Elena told me you were back. Well, she said a lot of things, but I didn't really let her get past 'We've found Stefan. He's alive,' before I hung up and came back." She rolled her eyes then and frowned. "Don't just stand there! Hugging back is usually recommended."

She tipped her head, her smile dimming and sincere worry flooded her pretty features. "Unless you're mad… I mean, I had no idea you were stuck down there. You know I would've drug you up out of there myself the second I found out!"

He didn't know her from anything, but the certainty of her voice, the fierce honesty she said it with, told him that she would have done exactly that. He only knew about his supposed drowning via Damon and Elena, but it was nice to know someone cared that much. It made him wonder what their relationship had been like that she was so protective, so dedicated to him.

"…you texted, you said you needed time from Elena, and…" Her brows hiked. "I mean, who could blame you, right? She's with Damon now, totally bad move on her part, debateable sanity really. And then everything with Lexi, losing her again, I tried to give you your space, you know?" She sighed, her whole body seeming to slump. "Which was obviously the worst idea ever! I mean, look! You were forcibly drowned, over and over, while Silas was out causing total chaos…"

He hadn't met Silas yet, at least not since his memory loss, but it wasn't something he was looking forward to.

She shook her head, before taking a deep breath. "But it's okay, because you're back and you're here and…" She smiled. "And you're you."

He stared at her. At this perfectly beautiful stranger who looked like she could talk for ages and never get tired. And it didn't bother him, not like the others. He didn't like the hovering and the kid gloves. Damon was caught somewhere between suspicion and concern. He wanted Stefan back, the guy he knew, but he also seemed to question everything Stefan did or said. He tried to trigger his memory, often not in the nicest of ways. And then there was Elena. Sweet, gentle Elena who was constantly trying to help him, to encourage him, only it was suffocating. Damon was never very far from her, always watching, lingering, waiting on that big 'ah-ha!' moment that would change the dynamics again. And now he got it. He got why Damon was like that. Because Elena used to be with Stefan.

Call him crazy, but he didn't want back into that sordid triangle. Whatever he'd done before he lost his memory, he wasn't sure he wanted any part. As far as he was concerned, he didn't remember Elena, but she was happy with Damon. They could go on with their lives together, good riddance. But that didn't change the fact that as much as he didn't remember those people, they remembered him, and they wanted him back.

He wasn't so sure he wanted to be back until just this moment.

What was her name? he wondered, staring at the bubbly blonde in right of him. And how did he forget her? This woman who seemed so familiar with him. The way she talked to him, looked at him, how she leaned in, there was a natural intimacy there. But it wasn't like with Elena, it wasn't stilted or unsure, there wasn't the weight of an untold history between them. This woman wasn't afraid to touch him, lean into him. She didn't pause or stumble over her words. She expected him to know her, to accept her, and she expected that he would welcome her being close.

And he did. He liked that when he breathed in, he could smell her. The faint spritz of perfume, the mint of toothpaste, the floral scent wafting from her shampoo. He liked that she was close enough that he could feel her breath on his chin as she talked. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, see how easily she fit against him. He wanted to know how close they'd been in the past. How intimate had they gotten? Or were they on a precipice, still waiting to fall over and explore things between them? He could see that; a slow build-up to something amazing.

He wasn't sure what held him back before though. Because just after those few first moments, he wanted to know her. He wanted to make her smile and laugh and drag his fingers through her hair. He wanted to pull her closer and bury his face in her neck, taste her skin, let his hands slide up beneath the fabric of her brightly colored tank top and explore the curves beneath. How did he cope with the temptation of her so close?

She didn't seem to have any qualms about personal space. She hadn't let go of him, her hands still framing his face, one of her thumbs gently, absently, stroking over his cheek as she talked. College. She was telling him about life away at college and how it was everything she expected and yet not, that something was missing.

"…and then I realized, you know? What I really need is my sober-companion…" Her brow furrowed. "Or wait, am I your sober companion…?" She waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever. The point is, I missed you, and now that you're back…" With a grin, she let her hands fall to take his, tugging on them, one after the other, to make him do a little dance. "You can come with me! Come on, it'll be great, I promise. Elena's basically deferred back to playing mother-hen to all the Mystic Falls craziness, so you can take her bed and we'll just be college roommates for the rest of the year… or until someone notices that you are not the willowy, doe-eyed brunette I'm supposed to be staying with."

With a little giggle, she asked hopefully, "So? What do you say? You wanna come to college with me? Maybe compel your way into the general populace and become a student so I don't have to be that lame loner who sits at the back of the class and pretends she totally doesn't care that she doesn't know anybody…?"

He didn't know her name or their history or what she meant by sober companion. But he did know this: when she smiled, his stomach flipped. It twisted and tightened and turned inside out with that anticipation of meeting someone new and exciting and who could change his whole life in the blink of an eye. He grinned reflexively whenever she did and his every nerve-ending seemed to fire off in reply to her laughter.

Outside of that, his knowledge was limited: he was a vampire, his name was Stefan, and he'd been alive for a very long time. There was a messy love triangle he no longer wanted to be a part of that might possibly be trying to suck him back in. There was something weird going on in Mystic Falls that involved someone named Silas and a doppelganger named Qetsiyah, or Tessa. He had a brother and an ex-girlfriend, neither of whom he was sure he wanted to spend any extended time around currently. And, lastly, he had a very beautiful woman in front of him who was offering freedom and fun and no drama.

So he nodded, he grinned like he had some vague idea of what it really meant, and he took a step closer to her, squeezing her hands still tangled with his. He noticed with a smirk that her breath had hitched in her throat. "Yeah," he said, staring into her wide blue eyes. "Yeah, I think I'd like that."

He would have to tell her eventually, probably sooner than he thought. But for right now, he was going to fake it. She seemed to be the talker in the relationship anyway, so he'd just take her cues as they came. He had a chance at getting away in front of him and he wasn't going to waste it. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe he was only making things worse for himself; he didn't know. But as she gave a happy cry and wrapped him in another hug, he decided he didn't care. He wanted this. He needed this. And he was pretty sure it was going to be worth it.

"Yay," she said, drawing back. "Okay, it's going to be amazing!" Taking his hand, she started leading him to the stairs, intent on packing up his belongings so they could leave immediately. "Stefan and Caroline, the whole college experience! Roommates, drinking buddies…" She paused on the stairs to look back at him, her face lit up with a grin. "I'm officially calling it. Best. Year. Ever." She rapped her knuckles on the banister. "Knock on wood."

He laughed under his breath as he followed her lead, letting her infectious excitement settle inside him.

Caroline.

Her name was Caroline.

He didn't know about the rest of the year, but here, right now, this was the best decision he could ever remember making. Whatever happened, he was sticking by that.

[End.]