"SO, Alaric is trying to pull himself together. Why is that a bad thing?" Caroline asked in confusion as she, Elena, and Carter walked through the high school gym, which was being decorated for their decades dance that night.
"It's not." Carter said dully. Honestly, she didn't want to think about Ric falling apart. It broke her heart into pieces.
"I just..." Elena trailed off, sighing heavily. "I wish there was something I could do." She admitted helplessly and then picked up a fake chandelier. "Where do you want me to hang this thing?"
Caroline exhaled loudly in frustration as she took it from her. "You know what? If Rebekah wanted to hang this monstrousity, she should have shown up to do it herself." She jeered before she handed it off to a passingby student. "Just no!" She saw Matt and Jeremy hanging up stars from the ceiling and raised her voice to be heard by them. "What are you doing? You can't just hang them! They're supposed to trickle down."
Jeremy hit Matt's shoulder and whispered in an amused tone. "Trickle, duh!"
"Look at them all, bromancy." Caroline commented with a warm smile.
"Yeah, I asked Matt to help Jeremy readjust. He got him his old job back at the Grill." Elena informed them happily.
"Frank said that we were so understaffed that he'd allow it." Carter added, leaning against one of the tables and making a pondering face. "Honestly, I don't actually think he actually cares."
"That was nice of him." Caroline remarked oddly, then furrowed her eyebrows. "I think."
"Jeremy has got a lot on his mind." Elena said in concern as she sorted through decorations. "The whole thing with Alaric has got him really stressed out."
"You sure it has nothing to do with witnessing you trying to get hot and heavy with Damon in a skeevy motel?" Caroline judgementally questioned, causing Carter's dark eyes to widen in shock and her mouth to hang open slightly.
"I didn't tell you that so you could torture me with it." Elena groaned shamefully.
"Ah, what are friends for?" Caroline affectionately teased her.
"Besides, it's not like it went anywhere. He rejected me. Said he didn't view me in 'that way'. Whatever that means." Elena mumbled under her breath in disappointment.
"So who are you bringing to the dance?" Caroline asked them curiously.
"I'm not going." Carter confessed with a nonchalant shrug.
"What?" Caroline gaped incredulously. "You have to."
"No. I don't." Carter replied after rolling her eyes dramatically.
"What do you mean? I thought you, Bonnie, and I were going as girl dates." Elena pointed out as she wrapped a feather boa around her neck.
Caroline breathed out a laugh and made a suggestive face. "Hm, Bonnie has a date."
"What?" Elena reacted in surprise.
"Jamie called and wanted to see her, so she asked him." The blonde spilled the information like the gossip she was.
"Good for Bonnie." Carter praised in genuine support. "She deserves happiness."
Elena took the boa off, pursed her lips, and smiled giddily. "Hmm."
"So here's a thought, why don't you ask Stefan?" Caroline proposed as if it was an idea she had just thought off, not at all hiding her feelings about which Salvatore she thought Elena should be with.
"Here we go..." Carter mused lowly and turned to Elena.
"I-I can't ask him on a date. I just tried to get with his brother." Elena reminded Caroline through gritted teeth and looked down at the table of stuff in front of her.
"All the more reason!" Caroline pushed, causing Carter to give her an unimpressed scowl. "Look, you're supposed to be figuring out what you want. That's what Stefan wanted you to do, right?"
"Yeah, but -" Elena began.
"But nothing!" Caroline immediately interrupted her. "I've watched The Bachelor, okay? Fair is fair. It is Stefan's turn." She pointed out in a slight whine, almost as if she was desperate.
That made Carter laugh genuinely, and she bit her lip to stop herself.
"Yeah, and you're not biased or anything." Elena replied sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, but Stefan is your epic love. And I'm not going down without a fight." Caroline told her sternly.
"Alright. You guys are lame." Carter jokingly insulted. She pushed off the table, backed away, and held her hands up into peace signs. "Have fun. I'll see you Monday." She bid them farewell before walking out of the gym and leaving the school completely.
The huntress spent her night lying on her couch upside down with a jar of peanut butter and plastic spoon while watching reruns of her favorite sitcoms.
Suddenly, she received a few text messages. Furrowing her eyebrows, she sat up to read them properly.
Ric's not taking his herbs. Call me. - D
We need to talk. Meet me at the Salvatore crypt. -R
She turned the television off before cleaning up her mess and leaving the house. Something in her subconscious told her to be cautious. Extra cautious. So she grabbed a pistol from her trunk and stashed it in the waist band of her black jeans.
She climbed in her car and then drove off toward the cemetery, parking her car at the edge of the woods.
"You'll forgive me for taking you from the dance this evening. That's the burden of being the doppelgänger, I'm afraid. Your blood is a potent binding agent for a witch's spell." Esther explained as she and Elena approached the Salvatore tomb.
"Just please don't hurt Alaric." Elena pleaded desperately.
"She's not hurting me." He assured her, walking out from the darkness toward them.
"Ric!" Elena said in relief and moved to neet him in the middle but stopped when she sensed something was off. "What's going on? What are you doing with him?"
"I'm going to remake him." Esther answered cryptically.
"Remake him?" Elena asked for clarification.