CHAPTER TWELVE: The Knight in Shining Armor's Return
WARNINGS: damon, mention 4somes, rat donovan, damon being nice🤭, mention of abuse, jealousy, stalking, 

ELENA TIES HER HAIR UP AS she walks downstairs. She had spent the night with Athena and Caroline after explaining to them what Stefan had told her and how Jenna had reacted. After going home, she had come right back, not being able to handle the news and be in the same house as Jenna.

She walks into the kitchen and rubs her eyes tiredly. She made her way to the fridge for some water.

"You three should've invited me."

Elena lets out a small scream as she whips around, bracing herself against the metal box. She releases a heavy breath, closing her eyes and pressing a hand to her heart when she sees a cheeky looking Damon sitting at the counter with a couple of old leather books.

"God, invite you to what?" The brunette asked, opening her eyes and shooting the middle Salvatore a glare.

"To the threesome, obviously," he grinned.

Elena grabbed a towel and whacked him with it. He laughed as he tried and failed to dodge it.

"Come on, Bambi, you know you wanted that foursome," he winks.

Elena groaned, rolling her eyes, "you two are never gonna let that go, are you?"

Athena walked in with Caroline close behind. The Heretic scoffed, "no way," she pressed a kiss to Damon's forehead and ruffled his hair as she walked around the counter to the fridge, "and, I mean, Bree was sort of right. We do like to share—sometimes."

Damon wiggles his eyebrows as Elena hits Athena's back and Caroline shoved Damon's head down. "Alright, alright! Enough with the abuse, please," Damon said with a slight pout.

"Oh, don't even get me started on abuse," Caroline said, narrowing her eyes and pointing at the Salvatore.

Elena went silent while Athena tensed.

Damon stared blankly at the blonde for a long few second as Elena observed. Then he said, "I'll take you both to whatever restaurant and get you anything you want."

Elena and Caroline glanced at each other, having a silent conversation with their eyes. Athena chuckled under her breath, taking out a bottle of blood and putting it in the microwave. She clicked two minutes and leaned against the counter.

"Okay..." Caroline crossed her arms with a smirk, "we'll go to the new restaurant that opened in the town over—Franklins Diner. We've been dying to go and..."

"Athena comes with," the two girls' chorus.

Athena grabbed the bottle of blood as she raised an eyebrow.

Damon deflated in relief, "of course. I don't think I'd be able to deal with you two alone," he said causing Elena to roll her eyes and Caroline to smile sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah, I'd love to go. Thanks for asking," Athena said sarcastically.

"Mm, sorry, baby," Caroline grinned.

Damon smiled and then looked down at the journal in front of him. Elena looked at it curiously, leaning against the island and saw some drawings, a lot of different sentences in different colors, and some words in another language.

"What's that?" She asked, tilting her head as Caroline grabbed the water bottle that Elena had taken out of the fridge.

"One of Athena's grimoires," Damon replied as he looked at the Latin closely. Athena spat out some blood, barely missing the girls by two inches. Elena and Caroline make disgusted sounds as they shimmy away. Damon throws the rag Elena had whacked him with at his sister.

"Why—what—why do you—how the fuck did you even find them?" Athena coughed, wiping her mouth before beginning to clean the counter.

"You keep them in the secret artifact room. You left it open the other day. You were distracted by Luna so I went in and snatched a couple," Damon replied nonchalantly. He then pointed at the spell he was reading, "and I've found what I'm looking for."

"And that is?" Caroline asked.

Damon smirked, "the spell to fix Athena's computer that I may or may not have broken in half during one of my douche-tantrums."

Athena almost slipped vamping over to her brother and looking over his shoulder at the book. She gasped, "oh, my God, you beautiful boy!" She grabbed her grimoire. She disappeared as Elena snickered behind her hand.

Damon frowned, "oh, yeah! I'll just cleanup for you!" He shouted after her, shaking his head.

"Thanks, Day!"

Caroline snorted. "Okay, before we head to school, we need to get some coffee," the blonde said as she glanced around the kitchen for the coffee pot.

Elena agreed but came up with a different way to get themselves coffee. She turned to face Damon, a smirk on her face. He looked up from where he was wiping the counter and saw the look. His arm went limp, groaning, "what?"

Caroline caught on and the two smiled.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"STEFAN MADE YOU, ladies, these," Damon said as he grabbed a box from the passenger seat of his car and handed it to the two who were lounging in the back. They were parked in the school parking lot, away from the other teenagers.

Caroline grabbed the box and set it on their laps, taking a sip of her coffee. Elena flicked it open, and her eyes widened at all the jewelry and the abundance of plant in there.

"What is this?" Elena asked, "and how did you get it from Stefan?"

Damon took a sip of his coffee and then looked behind him as his glasses slipped down his nose, "Athena took it out of his room and gave it to me after she found out I was taking you beautiful girls to school. But that's a secret between us."

He smirked at them and then sorted through them.

"These are vervain. For you, Jenna, and this one," he picks up a bracelet, "is for little Gilbert." He hands it to Elena who inspects it, "there's also a few extra for, you know, the exceeding number of friends you two lovely people have."

"Ha ha," Caroline stuck her tongue out at him as she picked up a thing of vervain. She held it threatening at Damon who flinched back. She smiled and set it back down.

"As long as you're wearing or it's inside of you, vervain will act as a block to vampires. You won't be able to be compelled," Damon said, "you both already have one but Athena thought it'd be good to have another just in case."

Elena released a heavy breath, looking a bit overwhelmed, "that's a lot to remember."

"Mhm, but since there's another vampy in town, I'd rather not have my sister going on a murderous rampage if either of you get attacked—better safe than sorry," Damon explained as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, doing a little dance before taking another sip.

Elena picked up a necklace and dangled it in front of Caroline, "this is definitely for you."

"Ooh, pretty!" The blonde grinned and moved her hair as she turned her back towards Elena. The brunette put the necklace around her friend's neck before they both settle back down. "It'll go with, like, everything, thank God. Oh, what should I tell people who ask about it?" She wiggles her eyebrows, "lesbian friend necklace? 'Cause we're freaky like that?" She winked playfully at Elena.

Elena giggled, "yes. Our friendship is near the top of the list, you know, besides our buddying foursome romance with Athena and Damon, of course."

"Amen to that," Damon said, amused at what he had just witnessed between the two girls.

"You know, when you're not being a dick, you're actually pretty cool," Caroline said and Damon gave her a sarcastic smile. The blonde eyed him suspiciously, "why are you being so mushy?"

"Don't get used to it," he muttered, not answering the question as he glances around at the passing teens, "don't you two have to get to class?" Elena and Caroline roll their eyes at the change in subject. He turns around in his seat, "alright, I'm gonna make a proposition." He looks right at Caroline.

The blonde raises an eyebrow, intrigued, "go on."

He sets his coffee down and gives the blonde his full attention, "I want to make it up to you," Caroline tilts her head, confused, "with the whole... abuse and compulsion thing that I did." Caroline hums and nods, beckoning him to continue, "You're Athena's girlfriend which, unfortunately, makes you sort of family—"

Caroline gasps, "family?" There's a light blush to her cheeks at even the implications but she keeps her tone teasing, "wow! You really are mushy."

"Just a big marshmallow inside, aren't ya?" Elena joins in, a teasing grin on her lips.

Damon gives them a dry look, "forget it." He moves to turn back around but Caroline stops him with a hand on his arm and a laugh,

"No, no! Continue, I'm sorry," she giggled.

Once the girl calms down, Damon explains, "so, to show you that I really want your forgiveness..." The word was spat out with much difficulty that made the two girls amused, "I'm going to do whatever you want for three days. Only you though, blondie."

As Caroline sits there, stunned and jaw dropped, Elena shoots Damon a pout as she tilts her head.

He glances at the brunette and then breaks a couple of seconds later, "fine! Both of you."

Elena beams as her and Caroline high-five.

Damon makes a face as he turns around, what did I just get myself into? He thinks.

He gets out of the car, some eyes turning towards him as he pushes his glasses back up his nose. He pushes the seat forward and sticks out a hand for Elena. She smiles and takes it, letting him help her out of the car. He does the same for Caroline who places a kiss on his cheek making him scrunch his nose.

He leans back into the car and grabs their bags from the passenger seat. He grabbed the vervain box and put it inside of Elena's bag before leaning back out of the car and handing the two their things.

"Thank you, kind sir," Elena says.

He bows dramatically and Caroline snorts. Then, he leans back against the car, "have a fantastic, lovely, truly interesting day, you beautiful ladies," he says, sarcasm only coming out at the 'interesting' part.

Caroline smiled, linking her arm with Elena, "and you try not to get on Athena's bad side and have her kill you."

"Probably a good idea," he sighed.

Elena raises her eyebrows, "probably?"

Damon grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes, "alright, I won't do anything to get on Atty's bad side. There you go."

At the edge of the parking lot, where the basketballs are, a small group watches the interaction. Matt and Tyler were the first to witness it, having seen Damon's car pull in. Stefan and Bonnie had joined them, asking if they've seen Elena or Caroline—Stefan didn't know Elena stayed over last night—and the two boys had pointed at the car. Then Braxton came over, searching for Caroline since they had first period together.

"Since when did Elena and Caroline hang out with your brother?" Braxton asked, keeping his eyes on the three. He had heard about what Caroline—at least a version—went through and didn't want his friend falling back into that. "Also, isn't she your girlfriend?" He asked when Elena blushed lightly at something Damon had said.

Stefan shifts uncomfortably, "she is."

Back with Damon and the two girls', Caroline and Elena were finally bidding the vampire a goodbye. He leans back against his car, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He watches the girls behind his shades, but his eyes catch the group and the many other teens looking at them.

He smirks evilly, "have a good day, lovers!" He calls after them.

"Oh no," Caroline mutters under her breath.

"I'll pick you up after school," he adds, "we'll go get that dinner we were talking about."

Elena face-palms as Caroline tries to mold herself into the brunette's side, both extremely embarrassed.

Athena pops up beside Damon, tossing an arm over her brother's shoulder, "then that foursome you two seem so fond of!" She teases.

"ATHENA SALVATORE!" Caroline bellows as Elena turns around and glares at the two. The two humans look murderous now.

Athena gulps as Damon fumbles for the door handle. "Car—leave—now," Athena says as Elena begins advancing towards them with Caroline close behind.

Damon yanks the door open and Athena rushes inside, crashing into the passenger seat. Damon slides in and slams the door closed, starting the car quickly.

"Damon, fucking step on it!" Athena yelps. He does as he's told, pulling out of the parking lot and speeding away.

Elena and Caroline watch the car get smaller as it grows farther away from them. They both smirk and Caroline sticks out her hand. Elena grins and low fives her before interlocking their fingers and pulling the blonde along as they giggle.

"Moooorrrnnning!" The two chorus to the group with smiles as they try to calm down from their fit of laughter.

Nobody responds but just stares.

"What?" Elena asked, tilting her head in a confused manner.

Bonnie seems a bit out of place as she stares at her two friends. They seemed to be on much better terms than were before, the physical affection evidence to that. Why hadn't they filled her in? Or at least asked her to join them?

Stefan was upset but tried hard not to show it. First, Athena takes off with Damon. Second, takes his girlfriend and Caroline with them. Third, barely speaks to his girlfriend and when he does it's a fight about Katherine. Fourth, his friend and girlfriend show up with his brother—who abused Caroline and was screwing up all their lives—wearing the vervain jewelry he had created. Fifth, what foursomes?!

Braxton is worried but knows Athena wouldn't put Caroline in any danger, so he was going to trust the blonde. He didn't have a right to much else since they've only been friends for a couple weeks.

Matt's flared with jealousy and bitterness. His ex—who he still loved—and his crush were hanging out with not one but two Salvatores who he considered cocky douche bags.

Tyler just seemed surprised.

"So, you two are into foursomes?" The youngest Lockwood asked with a smirk.

Caroline gave him a judge-y stare, a disgusted expression on her face. Elena shifted, feeling unnecessarily uncomfortable.

"Lockwood, shut your fucking trap before I shut it for you," Braxton snapped, a sharp glare pointed towards Tyler, daring him to defy him.

Tyler took a hint, for the first time in his life, and scoffed, walking away. Matt watched the two girls for a second before following after his friend.

Elena relaxed, leaning into Caroline's side absentmindedly as she glanced around. Caroline, sensing her friends hidden nerves, squeezed her hand gently. Before they had said goodbye to Damon, he had told them to keep an eye out for any weird or strange looking people watching them and to call either him or Athena if they felt unsafe.

They had momentarily forgotten about their little vampire problem, but sadly, nothing stays forgotten forever.

Stefan decided to speak up, wanting to shake off the horrible green feeling that comes with his girlfriend spending time with Damon and Athena without him. "I went to pick you up this morning at your house, but you weren't there," he said to Elena.

He earned a sheepish smile in return, "sorry. After the bomb, you, uh, dropped on me last night, I couldn't stay in the same house with Jenna. I had some much-needed cuddle time with Caroline as we watched Clueless and Legally Blonde. I'm pretty sure we accidently pushed Athena off the bed—or she just fell off and slept on the floor..." Elena looks amused by either option.

"I did hear a thud," Caroline says with a nod, "not sure how she would've though since she was in between us."

Elena shrugs not too worried about it, "don't know but, either way, she landed on the floor." Caroline snorted.

"Oh, you slept over?" And there's that ugly feeling again. Jealousy. Pooling right there in his stomach.

Elena nods, "Damon let me in, saw my expression, and sent me on my way while saying he'd make popcorn and get chocolate."

"You guys have really good chocolate," Caroline says, eyes distant as she remembers how sweet and mouth-watering it tasted the night before. Damon had come in with a tray—a big bowl of popcorn, a bunch of chocolate, three glasses of water, and a warmed cup of blood—, made a comment about their movie choices, and then left the three to their girls' night.

Elena elbows her and the blonde snaps out of it. "Anyway, we should probably get to class. The bell is gonna ring in, like, a minute," the brunette said.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"I CAN'T BELIEVE you're adopted," Bonnie said and Elena nods in agreement as she bites a fry, "I never saw that coming." The witch eyes Damon who was sitting at a booth with Athena.

Damon was nursing a glass of bourbon while Athena had a vanilla milkshake. They were talking animatedly, it made Bonnie suspicious.

"And it gets weirder," Elena said, snapping her friend out of her thoughts, "I looked at my birth certificate. It lists Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as my birthparents. None of it makes any sense."

Bonnie gives her friend a look, "which is why you should ask Jenna."

Elena groaned.

"First of all, the Elena I know would always want the real truth, good or bad."

"And second of all?"

"You just found out your boyfriend and friend are vampires, so unless your birthparents are aliens... how bad can it be?" Bonnie asked.

"They could be shapeshifters, took the form of your real parents and were never your real parents at all," Damon says dramatically as he appeared beside their table.

Elena laughed, "go away, asshole," she whacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand.

"Your wish is my command, Bambi." Elena groaned at the nickname. Damon set down another Pepsi and then walked back to his seat.

Bonnie watched him as Elena shook her head, sporting a smile. "Alright, I'm gonna take something out of your book—are you and Damon, like, friends?" She asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

Elena looked up at her, as she took a sip of her drink. She set down the glass and sighed, "look, I know what he did to you and Caroline, but he's trying. Like, actually trying. He's being nice," an excited and smug gleam appears in the brunette's eyes, "and Care and I got him to do whatever we want for three days. Plus, he's taking us to that new restaurant that just opened up in the town over."

Bonnie stared, feeling a lot left out, "we're you going to invite me?"

Elena seems to realize her mistake, eyes widening with guilt, "no," she admitted, and Bonnie scoffed, a hurt expression plastering itself on her face, "but! That's only because Caroline and I knew you didn't want to go to this place. And you don't like Damon. We didn't want you to feel pressured to do something just because we are." She tries to take Bonnie's hand, but the witch pulls it away, looking uncomfortable.

"Um, look, I gotta go help Grams with something before the dance," Bonnie excused lamely, getting up and grabbing her bag, "I'll see you later."

Elena watched helplessly as her friend walked away. Damon and Athena shared a look as Elena slumped in her chair. Caroline walked in, getting a hard shoulder bump from Bonnie.

"Oh, Bonnie?" She called, frowning in confusion. Her friend ignored her, disappearing out the door. She furrowed her brows and shook it off, walking to the table Elena was at. "Hey, E, what just happened?" She asked, concerned at seeing Elena's dejected expression.

"Bon asked about your new buddying friendship with Damon," Athena explained as she placed a claiming hand on Caroline's back, pulling her close. Damon slipped an arm around Elena's shoulders, squeezing her gently in the same way.

Matt backed down, watching the two Salvatore's with disdain and annoyance.

"She got upset about the fact I'm taking you ladies to dinner at Franklins," Damon added.

Caroline frowned, "but she didn't even want to go."

"Well, I think, perhaps, she just wanted an invitation. A sign that she was thought of," Athena said as Damon walked away to the bar. The two humans' frown, knowing Athena was right. "Here, we all have to get something for the decade dance, right?" Elena and Caroline nod, "Damon and I will take you and you guys can help us pick out what we're gonna wear."

Elena's eyes light up, "I call Damon!"

"I call Athena!"

Athena startles when the two shout in harmony, eyes wide as she glances between the two. Athena blinks a couple of times as they begin to converse about color coordination and types of... pants? She looks over at Damon who has his head in his hand as he shakes it.

When the four milkshakes are finished, Damon walks over, "alright, let's go. We gotta get you guys' home before at least 11 which means we got four hours."

"Well then we better go, this is gonna take a while!" Caroline says, grabbing Athena's wrist and dragging her out of the Mystic Grill with Damon and Elena following close behind.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

DAMON FINDS BONNIE at the Mystic Grill around 11:45. He had broken off from the girls ("I can't believe you're leaving me with them!") to go get them some snacks since Elena and Caroline had been complaining they were hungry.

Bonnie is sitting at a table with Matt, having a heartfelt conversation about how Athena is bad for Caroline—Bonnie seems to be on Athena's side, defending her against some accusations that Matt seemed to pull out of his ass.

He ordered the food—Turkey Club with no cheese, bacon, or honey mustard for Elena, a Chicken Salad Sandwich for Caroline, and a Classic Caesar Salad with raw tomatoes instead of roasted for Athena, with another side of fries for them all to share—and then spotted Bonnie getting ready to leave.

He quickly walked over, stepping in her way. She faltered, glaring up at him, "what do you want from me?" She demanded.

He smiled, "I think we need a fresh start."

"You tried to kill me," Bonnie argued in exasperation.

"But I didn't," Damon said quickly, "and if I wanted to, I would have. And what Elena said earlier is true. I'm trying, for them and for Athena. Does that not count for anything?"

"You know, I can start fires with my mind," Bonnie narrowed her eyes threateningly, "fires kill vampires, right?" Damon shifted uncomfortably, swallowing. "Just stay the hell away from me."

Damon pursed his lips, staring down at her in slight annoyance.

"Everything okay over here?" A voice intervened.

"Yeah, we're fine," Damon replied as both he and Bonnie turned their heads towards the barista.

The guy stepped closer, "I wasn't talkin' to you," he smirked.

Damon stared at him, amused. He glanced between the two, the witch and her protector. The smile that was forming dropped as fast it came as he heard the familiar beating of Elena's heartbeat.

He turned sideways right when Elena crashed into him, wrapping his arm firmly around her, "woah, easy. Breathe," he said as she buried her face in his chest, her own heaving in fright, "what's got you so scared? And why are you here? You were supposed to wait with Atty and Caroline back at the shop."

The girl shook in his embrace, heartbeat slowing down as she heard the gentle beat of his. It was there but barely, and it was enough to bring her comfort.

"Elena, are you okay?" Bonnie asked, concerned and the brunette nodded but didn't release the Salvatore.

Damon threaded his fingers through Elena's hair, tugging her head back a bit, "what'd you see?" He asked, searching her face.

He finds the answer quite quickly and pulls away from the girl, walking out of the bar and looking around. He surveys the parking lot and the sidewalk, looking in the dark places. The vampire must've run off when Elena got inside.

He gives one last glance and sees somebody staring at him by a tree. They have a hood over their head, but he somehow knows that's not the vampire. He tilts his head a bit, sending the person a confused glance.

They disappear from thin air, and he has to blink a couple of times. He shakes his head, he's seen weirder, then heads back inside.

He walked to the bar, grabbing their food, and then walked back over to Elena who was being comforted by Bonnie and the witch protector. He slides an arm around Elena's shoulders and the brunette relaxes against his side.

"Nice talking to you, Bonnie," Damon says and then guides Elena out of the restaurant.

Athena pulls up and Damon helps Elena inside before getting in himself.

"We gotta kill this son of a bitch," Damon said as Caroline hugs Elena close.

"You read my mind, Day."

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"I'VE NEVER SEEN you such a mess," Athena says with an amused smile as she takes in Caroline's attire. She was in a purple tank top with an unbuttoned pink shirt over it, and jeans. She had paint in the most random places. Athena on the other hand was dressed in a red t-shirt that hugged her nicely and dark-washed jeans. "Well, unless you count after our love-making," she winks and paints a strip of blue on the poster.

Caroline gasped, "Athena," she whacked the girl as a giggle bubbled from her throat, "we're in public."

Athena knew, she was hyper aware of everyone around them. After the encounter Elena had last night, Damon and she have been on the lookout more often than not. Plus, Braxton and Ace were on one of the other posters with Matt.

Caroline scoffed as Athena gave her a once over again, "don't talk smack, asshole," she smirked, dragging the paintbrush along Athena's arm.

Braxton barked out a laugh at Athena's expression. The redhead's jaw was slackened, eyes wide in disbelief as she stood their stunned.

"I meant," Athena held the paintbrush threateningly towards Caroline who leaned away with a grin, holding up her finger, "that you usually tell everyone else what to do and you observe critically."

Caroline scrunched her nose, "that was one time—"

Athena laughed, "you still did it! You looked like you were about to murder me!"

"You weren't doing it right!" Caroline argued with her own laugh, slapping her girlfriend's chest playfully.

"There's no right way to eat a donut. People eat donuts differently—"

"You shoved it down your throat!" Caroline gasped out, holding her stomach.

"It got you, Jeremy, Jenna, and Elena to laugh!" Athena said with a smile, "that's the only reason I did it!"

Caroline groaned, remembering that day. It was the day Athena took the four on a hike, they got drenched, helped a baby fox back to its family, and then got donuts when they got back into town at around 11 PM. Bonnie hadn't joined them because back then she hadn't really liked Athena.

"Anyway, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," Caroline finished her thought. She smiled over at Athena and the redhead stared back with a soft look, adoration in her gaze.

The blonde continued to paint, and Athena followed her lead. They stayed silent, Caroline glancing at her girlfriend every few seconds.

She admired the look of concentration, brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, and a small part of her lower lip tucked between her teeth. Caroline didn't forget about Athena's passion for art, so she had invited her girlfriend to help her (and maybe because she knew Matt volunteered and did not want to be alone with him).

Caroline saw movement above Athena's head and glanced up. A gasp left her mouth, the paintbrush falling into the paint making Athena startle. Ace jumped a bit, Matt glanced up in concern, and Braxton stopped what he was doing.

The Heretic whipped her head around, worried, "what's wrong, love?" She asked, setting a hand on the girl's forearm.

Caroline couldn't speak, out of breath. The brunette leaning against a car smirked at her, "she's all good, your highness," she said. She was dressed in tight fitted jeans that hugged her curves in all the right places, a dark blue blouse, and a brown unzipped jacket. Her hair was tied up into neat ponytail, neck exposed. A necklace hangs around her neck, bringing attention to the pendant that sits snugly on the top of her sternum.

Athena whipped around, flinging paint of Caroline on accident. The blonde made a noise, "I swear to God..." she muttered under her breath.

Caroline grabbed her paintbrush and made a blob on Athena's shirt in retaliation. Athena looked down at it, face unreadable. The brunette laughed at the pout that formed on the redhead's mouth.

She pushed off the car and walked towards them as Athena set her paintbrush down, "if it isn't the knight in shining armor," the redhead said, "thought you skipped town."

"Thought wrong," the brunette said with an easy smile. She glanced at the blonde who blushed when she noticed she was caught staring.

"Hi," Caroline blurted gracelessly.

The brunette smiled softly, a small chuckle passing her lips, "hi."

Silence filled the air for a moment. Athena and the brunette could hear the girl's rapid heartbeat. "Okay, bye," Caroline spun on her heel and began to walk away but Braxton quickly grabbed her, pulling her back over.

"No, no, no. You got to get used to pretty girls," Braxton teased, "which means—" he grabbed Ace's arm and rushed away.

"WAIT, COME BACK!" Caroline yelled, "YOU HAVE TO—and they're gone."

The brunette watched her, smiling at the clear frustration on the blonde's face. Athena shook her head. Caroline grunted and turned around, having momentarily forgotten the brunette was there.

Blushing out of embarrassment, Caroline squeaked out another, "hi."

The werewolf's smile widened, and she tilted her head to the side, kind of like a confused dog, and repeated, "hi."

Athena chuckled at the interaction, "what are you doing here, love?" She asked curiously, placing her hands on the table but being careful of the wet paint.

The brunette shrugged, "I heard you had a little—" She stopped, eyes shooting towards Matt who was trying hard to not seem like he was eavesdropping.

Athena turned her attention towards the blonde boy and sighed, "Matt, take a break?" She asked.

The blue-eyed boy looked up at her, mouth set into a firm line, "I don't feel like it."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "can you just take a hike? Do I need to have sex with Athena in front of you for you to understand we're never happening?"

Matt smirked, "we already did happen."

"Yeah. Worst mistake of my life with Tyler right behind," Caroline deadpanned. The werewolf snorted, trying to cover it up with a cough as Athena openly snickered at the boy whose face dropped. "But, hey! You're put first for once!"

Matt frowned, hurt, and dropped the paintbrush. He walked away, not glancing back.

Caroline shrugged and went back to painting in the lines Athena had drawn. The werewolf cleared her throat and resumed what she was saying, "I heard about your little vampire problem. Thought I'd stay around," she shrugged.

Athena raised an eyebrow, "you seem pretty attached for a one-time encounter, Little Wolf."

"Face-to-face."

"OH, so you're the stalker type," Athena grinned and Caroline added,

"Kinky."

The werewolf's cheeks flushed a pretty pink, "the one-time encounter did include Princess here being knocked out cold in a van with a vampire. Maybe I feel a little protective seeing as I'm the one who saved her," she diverted, not wanting to be teased about her admission. It had already taken a lot of courage for her to come up and talk to them.

"Fair point," Athena nodded, "but you could've stayed lurking in the shadows. Why are you here now?"

"Hold on," Caroline interrupted, holding a finger up to stop the werewolf from speaking, "we don't even know your name which I know is kind of the whole point of a stalker but—"

"Hayley. Hayley Marshall," the brunette interrupted with a smile.

"Hayley..." Caroline tested it out, the name slipping off her tongue like honey, "I like it."

"Pretty name," Athena agreed, "but seriously, why are you here?"

Hayley shrugged, "I have a bad feeling about tonight," she pursed her lips, "not that you have to take my word for it, but I don't think that vampire will leave you alone just because of the—"

"Decade Dance," Caroline filled in.

"—Decade Dance tonight," Hayley finished.

"Good thing I'll be there, huh?" Athena smirked. Hayley made a face causing Athena to let out an indignant scoff, "I was going to save her, you just so happened to beat me to it!"

"I didn't say anything," Hayley said with her hands raised in surrender.

Caroline smiled and shook her head. "Since you're here, you want to help us paint or do you have more stalker things to do?" The blonde asked.

Hayley smirked, "I kind of have a thing for watching." Caroline's eyes widened a bit, face turning red at the husky tone in the wolfs voice.

Athena's nostrils flared at the scent of Caroline's arousal. She stared the werewolf down, knowing Hayley could smell it just as much. She didn't mind the flirting, but Caroline was still her girlfriend. Yet, she didn't feel the same want to tear into the werewolf's throat like she did Matt.

Hayley must've caught on since she sent the Heretic a 'relax' look, "I'll see you guys later. Or not. I might've skipped town by then," she gave them a smile and started to walk away.

"Don't leave without a goodbye," Caroline said which caused the brunette to stop in her tracks. Athena glanced at her girlfriend who was biting her lip, looking thoughtful.

"Okay," Hayley turned around to face them.

"Promise?" Caroline asked.

Something flashed in Hayley's eyes before she gave a curt nod, "promise." Then, the brunette was walking away again, and the two let her.

"See ya later, Little Wolf," the redhead said under her breath.

Caroline turned to face her girlfriend, "that's her. That's the woman from my dreams just younger," she whispered, sounding a bit panicked, "why am I dreaming of someone I've never met before now?"

Caroline's heart started to race, fear flooding off her in waves. Athena wrapped her up quickly, "shh, it's alright. I don't know why you're having those dreams. Maybe... Maybe you knew subconsciously she was watching us," she said, running her fingers through the blonde's hair.

Caroline dug her face into Athena's chest.

AN: I know, I know... I'm very late, but writer's block is a bitch. Then when you get out of it and end up writing over 11000 words, you have split the chapter into two parts 😭 and I'm moving so there's a lot going on in my life. I finished this chapter a couple of days ago, I just hadn't cut it into two and I'm still writing the second part—so I'm sorry guys! 

Word Count: 6003
Finished: Janurary 27th, 2022
Edited: