Episode sixteen: There Goes the Neighborhood
"Well, At least they're having fun," Caroline comments. The six of them surround a pool table. Theo has his chest to Aurelia's back as he shows her how to play the game. His lips are by her ear, his breath tickling her neck as he whispers instructions and the occasional dirty comment. Aurelia leans forward to take her shot.
"If the grill wasn't filled with people, I swear I'd bend you over this pool table right now for a different reason." Theo whispers the dirty remark in her ear, his lips brushing the shell of her ear as he talks. Aurelia holds her breath as he speaks. She bites her lip. The sigh falling from her lips did not go unnoticed by her lover. He smirks when he hears the sound. He says this right as she takes her shot and because of her falter in focus, she misses her shot...by a lot. And by a lot I mean the cue ball is now on the floor after bouncing off the table. The strength of Aurelia's shot had been exaggerated in her reaction to her lover's comment. Stefan tries to ignore the interaction to the best of his ability and pretends to have not heard them.
"They're drunk," Elena says.
"Thank you, captain obvious." Theo deadpans.
"Remember when Elena's parents busted us here after homecoming?" Matt asks.
"Oh my god, yes!" Caroline exclaims, laughing.
"We were wasted," Elena adds.
"It was the first time Aurelia had ever got drunk," Caroline giggles at the memory.
"I blame Matt," Aurelia states.
"Elena's parents got seated at the next booth," Matt explains. Stefan can be seen smiling at them as they reminisce.
"Oh, Matt had me pretend I was choking so he would get away," Elena says, laughing.
"Except her dad was a doctor so, he jumped up to save her," Matt continues.
"And I ran and slipped on the wet floor and bit it. In front of everyone, do you remember that?" Elena asks Matt. Caroline looks annoyed. Aurelia notices and squeezes her hand in reassurance that she's not alone.
"For a second there, I almost forgot it was the Elena show...till she made it about herself," Theo whispers to Caroline and Aurelia as he leans his head down between the two of theirs.
"Again," Aurelia adds. Caroline just remains silent as she continues to watch the exchange. Theo and Aureila share a concerned glance.
"Three stitches, a hangover for days, and I was grounded from seeing this one for a week," Elena looks towards Matt as she finishes the story. Matt smiles at Elena, eyes only on her for the whole story. Caroline forces a smile but no one notices but the two soulmates standing next to her.
"Well, I'm gonna go to the restroom," Caroline announces.
"Oh, do you want me to go with you?" Aurelia asks her.
"No, I'll be quick," Caroline answers.
"If you're sure," Aurelia replies skeptically.
"Elena?" Caroline says as she walks away. Elena follows her to the bathroom.
Aurelia watches Caroline walk to the bathroom with Elena in concern while Theo does his best to reassure her. He kisses the side of her head as he wraps an arm around her shoulders. He hugs her close as she leans back into him.
"You're turn, Stefan," Theo says, grabbing Stefan's attention. Stefan moves to make his shot, getting a ball he was aiming for into one of the pockets.
"Is there anything you're not good at?" Matt asks Stefan.
"Triple dating," Stefan responds, smartly. Matt and Aurelia laugh at his response and Theo just scoffs. "This is all kind of new to me. I usually keep to myself. I don't always fit in."
"Gee, I wonder why." Theo remarks to Aurelia. She lets out a breathy chuckle.
"That's because you're that guy," Matt responds.
"What guy?" Stefan asks.
"The guy who seems like he has everything so, people don't kinda run the other way."
"Did you understand any of that?" Aurelia asks Theo.
"No," Theo responds.
"Neither did I," Aurelia tells him. Theo chuckles into her hair.
"Is that what I seem like?" Stefan asks them.
"Pretty much," Matt responds.
"I don't care," Theo answers, indifferent.
"Um, no?" Aurelia replies with uncertainty.
"Hmm... what a dick." Stefan says.
"Yeah," Matt agrees while Stefan chuckles.
Caroline comes back from the bathroom and Elena follows shortly after. However, not before Theo overhears the interaction between Elena and an unknown person where she is mistaken to be Katherine.
"How's everything going?" Elena asks him.
"Matt and Aurelia are cheating." Stefan jokes.
"No need, I'm awesome," Matt retorts
"Aurelia doesn't need to cheat. She has me helping her," Theo says.
"Yeah, Theo cheats for me." Aurelia jests causing everyone to laugh and Theo to roll his eyes. After some thought, he tilts his head and nods conceding.
"Everything okay?" Stefan asks Elena, sensing something was off.
"Everything is great," Elena responds while showing Stefan what she typed onto her screen.
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The group decides to bring the triple date to the Salvatore boarding house. Caroline, Matt and Aurelia are in awe of the boarding house as they walk in with their respective partners.
"Yeah, uh yeah. This is much better than watching Damon visit cougar town." Caroline says. "No offense" she adds. Stefan leads the way towards the parlor area.
"Don't remind me." Matt comments. "Man, I've always wanted to see what it looks like in this place."
"Yeah, I guess it's a bit much." Stefan agrees
"Yeah, my entire house could fit in here, like, twice." Matt tells him
"I feel like I've been here before." Caroline says. "It's weird." But in her head she thinks about what Theo and Aurelia said about possibly being compelled to forget.
"Do you guys wanna watch a movie or something?" Elena suggests, blatantly changing the subject. Aurelia rolls her eyes at Elena's lack of subtlety.
"Whoa, these are great," Matt says as he walks up to the cabinet that holds car models.
"Uh, that's, uh, ... just a little hobby of mine," Stefan tells him. Theo tunes out the rest of the conversation. Aurelia and Theo whisper to each other. Both in their own world as the others talk about who knows what.
"You guys coming?" Caroline calls out to them as she and Elena begin to follow the boys to the garage.
"Where?" Aurelia asks, confused.
"Stefan wanted to show Matt something." Theo explains.
"How do you know that? Neither of us were listening."
"I have my ways," Theo says, vaguely.
"Well, that explains everything. Definitely not cryptic at all." Aurelia retorts. Theo just smirked at her in response. They follow Caroline outside to where the others were in the garage.
"Prepare yourself, my friend," Stefan tells Matt before he pulls off the cloth that was covering the car.
"Whoa, wait. How do you have this?" Matt asks him.
"Got passed down through the family," Stefan says, simply. Theo scoffs at his lie.
"Why don't- I mean, why don't you drive it?" Matt questions.
"Well, it, uh, doesn't run." Stefan explains. "I mean, it's not that I could figure it out."
"Well, why would you keep a car that doesn't run?" Caroline asks, judgmentally.
"Be more of a girl right now," Matt says to her, smiling. Caroline fake laughs in response. Aurelia and Theo share a look at the interaction. Aurelia felt insulted for Caroline at the stereotype while Theo was angry at Matt for saying something that upset Aurelia and Caroline. Aurelia grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze. She looks at him pleadingly, hoping he won't act on his anger. Theo relents, knowing the comment wasn't that bad and that, based on the smile on Matt's face when he said it, it was meant as a joke. He just doesn't like it when Matt belittles Caroline based on how she presents herself to others. It hurts Aurelia to see Caroline try so hard to be accepted by those around her only to be pushed aside and taken for granted.
"Hey, why don't you, uh, come take a look at this for me?" Stefan asks Matt.
"Elena, remember the old Camaro your dad used to have?" Matt asks as he walks over to where Stefan was standing.
"Of course," Elena responds.
"I built and rebuilt that engine 20 times." Matt tells Stefan.
"Wow," Stefan says.
"Why do I feel like me, you, and Care are the outsiders on this date?" Aurelia asks theo. Leaning over to whisper it to him.
"Cause we are," Theo mutters back to her before clearing his throat.
"Should we say something?" Aurelia suggests.
"You guys are losers." Theo remarks loud enough for the boys to hear. Before the boys can respond Caroline speaks up.
"Well, I don't like sports cars. They're too hard to make out." Caroline says, attempting to gain Matt's attention once more.
"Nah, it wasn't that bad," Matt retorts, making Elena look up at him. Aurelia's jaw drops at the comment. Matt sighs and Caroline walks away from the group. Elena then sighs. Aurelia then sighs because everyone else seems to be sighing. Theo looks at her confused. She just shrugs.
"Everyone else was doing it," She explains. Theo nods in understanding before turning towards Matt.
"Very nice," Theo tells him, sarcastically. "Nicely done."
"Don't," Matt says.
"Don't what? Tell you off for being a dick? You do it all the time to me." Theo comments. "Not that I listen." Theo adds, talking to Aurelia. Aurelia walks away to find Caroline. Elena follows much to her dismay.
"I'm sorry man," Matt tells Stefan.
"No, no, no." Stefan reassures him. "Don't worry about it, you and Elena... you guys have a history and ignoring it doesn't do anybody any good."
"The comment was still uncalled for," Theo says after scoffing. Stefan nods acknowledging Theo's comment and Matt sighs, ashamed.
"She's good with you," Matt comments to Stefan about his relationship with Elena. "You know, I wasn't sure but...she's happy and, uh, I'm glad." Theo walks away to find the girls, having heard enough.
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"Care!" Aurelia calls out as she walks towards where Caroline is standing.
"Caroline," Elena says. "You're being ridiculous."
"Oh fuck off, Elena!" Aurelia shouts back at her. She walks so that she's next to Care to signify that she's on her side.
"And insecure and stupid but that doesn't change the fact that Matt's always gonna be in love with you and I'm always gonna be the back up." Caroline says, sadly.
"You're not the back up," Elena disagrees.
"Yes, I am." Caroline argues. "I'm Matt's Elena back up, I'm your Bonnie back up-"
"Now it's about me and Bonnie?" Elena asks, incredulously.
"You're missing the point, Elena." Aurelia tells her, angrily. Caroline laughs humorlessly.
"You don't get it. And why would you? You're everyone's first choice." Caroline remarks bitterly.
"You're always my first choice, Care." Aurelia tells her, giving her a hug.
"But Theo-"
"Understands that you will always come first for her." Theo interrupts to reassure her as he walks up to the girls. Caroline gives him a small appreciative smile. She and Aurelia share a quick hug. The conversation between the three of them makes Elena feel invisible for once. They pull away from the hug when they hear the roar of an engine. They all turn to see the car from the garage pull up beside them.
"Piece of cake," Matt says as he steps out of the car. Caroline gives him a tight smile and looks down. The action makes Matt sigh again.
"You know what? Why don't you guys go and take it for a spin?" Stefan suggests to Matt before tossing him the keys.
"Really?" Matt asks him.
"Yeah," Stefan confirms. Matt smiles
"Caroline?" He says, opening the car door for her. Caroline gets in and pulls the door closed. Matt gets in the driver's side. Elena looks at Stefan impressed and appreciative and Stefan smiles back at her, proud of himself. Theo rolls his eyes, seeing the exchange. Aurelia watches the car drive away in concern.
"Alright, we're gonna head out," Theo tells Elena and Stefan. He does not feel like spending a second longer in the presence of the couple than he needs to and seeing how Caroline left with Matt, he feels no obligation to stay.
"Are you sure?" Stefan asks.
"Yeah, it's getting late anyways." Aurelia answers. With that, Theo and Aurelia walk over to Theo's car. Theo opens the passenger side door for Aurelia. She smiles at him, lovingly as she gets in. Theo gets in the driver's side and pulls out of the Salvatore boarding house driveway. Leaving Elena and Stefan to their lonesome until Matt comes back with Caroline.