Forever The Name On My Lips

twenty-nine.

twenty-nine. you and i walk a fragile line

Caroline wasn't alone when you walked into The Mystic Grill. She was sitting with Elena as you made your way over. "I wasn't aware this was a party," you said.

"Hi, Y/N, thank you for coming," Caroline said, smiling slightly at you.

Elena glared at you. "What are you doing here?"

"I was invited," you said, sitting down. Caroline had texted you last night, asking you to meet her this morning. She had to leave town, she said, and she needed to see you before she left. You had really thought Caroline was your friend. You knew the bond she had with Elena spanned back years, and you knew it tore at her being divided in her friendships. You had never expected her to stand against Elena for you, but you had never thought she'd betray you like she had last night either.

Still, a lot had happened since her betrayal, and given what you knew now about the tree, you needed to play nice. For now at least.

You had slipped out from Klaus' arms this morning to meet her. He was still sleeping when you left, looking more peaceful than you'd seen him in a long time, especially considering their mother's disappearance and the existence of another white oak tree looming over your heads. There had been hundreds of mornings just like this one, waking up next to him, feeling the warmth of him engulfing you. Truthfully, you had never thought you'd have this again. You'd never allowed yourself to believe you could.

But something had broken the ice that had surrounded your heart for the last century. Maybe it was the invisible string tying you so tightly to this man, as it had for over a thousand years. Maybe it was almost losing him last night. Whatever it was, you were content in his arms, reminding you of the man you had fallen for in the first place. That was why you'd never let anything happen to him.

"Listen, Elena, while I have you here," you said. "Given everything that has happened lately, I've come to realize I was being a bit of a hypocrite in my anger towards you. You were simply trying to protect your family when you let Mikael compel me, even knowing it would mean the end of my life. So I'm willing to...look past it and move on if you are. Maybe we can find a way to coexist? Especially considering I'm stuck in this town a little longer."

"That sounds like a good plan. I think that..." Caroline started before Elena cut her off.

"Bonnie's mom died," Elena said coldly. "Your 'family' killed her. I can never forget that."

You wanted to laugh. Of course that was how she would see it. Not her actions that led to the problem. Not her little pact with Esther. Of course it was everyone else's fault. "I warned you not to get involved with Esther," you said. "You chose not to listen to me. Did you really think they would just willingly go gentle into the night and let their mother kill them without even putting up a fight? Why do Stefan and Damon or hell even Caroline get to live but they don't?"

"Because they're not raging psychopaths," Elena said.

"Really? How many people has Stefan killed, do you think?" You asked casually. "And let's not get started on Damon. Do you know when I met him, he was so out of control, the police thought a serial killer was on the loose in the streets of New York?"

"Guys, I really think we should maybe move onto a different topic," Caroline said. "Who wants coffee?"

"That's different," Elena defended, ignoring Caroline.

"Of course it is," you rolled your eyes. "It's always different when it's the people you love. But let me be perfectly clear here, Elena. My family didn't kill Bonnie's mom. Damon did. And he only did it to save your life. So instead of blaming everyone else, maybe look in the mirror. None of this would have happened if you hadn't listened to Esther."