Barely A Memory

Chapter 23

XXXX

2 Years Later...

Beep. Beep.

Seriously? Already?

He would never get used to that sound.

Didn't he just go to sleep? Wait, no... When did he go to sleep? The previous evening was a complete and total blur, and if his raging headache wasn't any indication as to the type of night he'd had, the girl beside him in his bed surely was. Wait. Girl beside him?

Stefan groaned and quickly threw his arm over his eyes, blindly reaching for the snooze button on his alarm clock. "I am never drinking again," he grumbled to himself, aggravated with the relentless jack hammering on his brain.

The girl giggled a bit and turned her body so that she was now facing him, an amused grin playing at the corners of her lips. "I'm pretty sure you say that every time," she observed. "Don't worry, broody. Nothing happened. You seem to forget that you're a cuddly drunk."

Moving his arm just slightly to peek at her, he sent her a raging glare. "I'm in so much pain."

"I, on the other hand, do not get hangovers," she stated with a grin.

Genuinely furious with that fact, Stefan sighed out in dramatic frustration. "I hate you so much."

"No you don't," she quipped as she sat up, her head against his headboard. She appeared to be far too comfortable with being in his bed, not that he really minded. Her being there was much better than the alternative. He hated sleeping alone. More than anything. "You love me, Bitch."

Stefan couldn't help but chuckle at her choice of wording, though he quickly regretted it when his laughter only seemed to make his headache even sharper. His snicker faded to yet another groan. "Ugh... I have to get to Biology." He winced at the thought of surviving through class in this state. Surely, he'd have to wear sunglasses.

"Just skip." She shrugged.

Now, he removed his arm, raising both eyebrows. "Skip? Are you kidding me?" he snapped. "How am I supposed to get into medical school if I just skip because of a hangover?" Stressed –as he so often was-, Stefan ran both hands over his face. "Jesus, Caroline. I'm not a freshman anymore."

"Breathe, Stefan. Breathe," she said calmly. "Harvard is going to accept you. They'd be crazy not to." Comfortingly, she placed her hand on his shoulder softly, sinking back into the pillow. He got so stressed sometimes over such simple things. He worried her sometimes, he did. Stefan Salvatore was easily the most astute pre-med student at Whitmore, only a sophomore taking all senior classes. Of course, he achieved these goals by working hard, by burying himself in work and giving himself hardly any time to just exhale. The summer and semesters and breaks blurred together for Stefan. Honestly, Caroline was glad she actually managed to get him to party last night. She really only ever saw Stefan smile nowadays when he was drunk. Which was a shame. He had a nice smile.

Elena took his smile with her when she left, and since Stefan never had found her, he never found it. Two years, and he never really did find it.

"Why did I let you take me to that party last night? Why?" he croaked.

"Because," she huffed, reaching to the drawer on the left and grabbing her phone, "I was not going to let you sit around and mope all night."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Stefan made sure to avoid eye contact when he asked, "Why would I mope?"

Caroline shot him an annoyed "don't lie to me" glare. "You really want me to say it?"

"Say what?"