The Supernatural Diaries {Book One}

You're Undead To Me: Soap Suds & New Buds (Pt. 2)

SAM AND ELENA

After Caroline left, Sam and Elena continued manning the sales booth until she returned, making sure to keep track of every payment they acquired. As they did so, Elena couldn't help but think back to a few moments ago when Sam and Caroline were wrapped in each other's arms. They both seemed so comfortable and at ease. Looking at them together, you would have thought that the last handful of weeks hadn't happened with how naturally peaceful they looked in each other's arms.

Especially Sam, but, who knows? Maybe she was just imagining that part. Besides, she's two years older than him and they're just friends. Right?

"A penny for your thought," Sam chimed, breaking her out of her trance. "What? Oh, sorry. It's nothing," she replied. Sam gave her a look. "When has it ever been nothing with you?" he retorted. Elena pursed her lips and blew a raspberry. "Okay, the truth is I was worried about you..." she trailed off for a moment, debating whether or not to say the last part before deciding that she would. "And Caroline."

Sam tilted his head in curiosity. "How do you mean?" "I mean that I have just noticed recently how close you and Caroline have been getting," she stammered out. "Especially since the whole D-A-M-O-N situation." Sam nodded in understanding before letting out a soft chuckle. "Elena," he started. "Yeah?" she returned sheepishly. "Caroline was my best friend before all of you. She was the one who introduced me to you, Matt, and Jeremy," Sam sighed. "Bonnie was more of a sister to me when we first moved in, and of course, I had my brother, but sometimes siblings aren't enough, you know. And outside of them, Caroline was the first person who put in the effort to make me feel like I was at home, like I was safe and normal. I just wanted to make her feel that way, too, especially since she hasn't felt any of the above recently."

As she heard Sam conclude his statement, Elena gently placed a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "It wasn't your fault, Sam. It wasn't any of ours," I declared. "The only person at fault here is Damon, and whether he's here or not, the things he did to Caroline are his actions to be burdened with. And despite her previous outburst at you this morning, Caroline knows she can trust you."

Sam let out an airy laugh as he ducked his head away to look at the cash register even as his ears turned bright pink. Elena almost felt tempted to call him out on it, when a gentleman came up to the teenagers asking for a car wash service. She nodded in and took one of the yellow tickets from the ticket box, and handed it to him as he began to go through his wallet and fished out some cash. "That'll be $20," she said. The man pulled out the appropriate amount and handed it to her, and it was only when she looked at him to grab the money that she recognized him.

"Hey, I saw you last night. You were talking to a friend of mine, at the grill," she beamed, drawing Sam's attention to the man in question. The man seemed to recognize her, but he seemed unsure about whether he should say anything. "Well, I thought it was somebody I knew," he replied. "You thought you knew Stefan Salvatore?" Sam interjected warily, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach about where this conversation might lead.

"Nah, it can't be. It was just my mind playing tricks on me," the man answered with a shake of his head. Sam inwardly sighed in relief. If the old man had said the wrong thing that would have opened up a whole new can of worms that neither Sam, nor his brother, nor Stefan was ready to open. But of course, leave it to Elena to poke her head into things she doesn't need to mess with.

"Where did you think you'd seen him before?" she inquired. Sam looked between the man and Elena anxiously as the man told his tale. "When I first moved to this town, I stayed at the Salvatore Boarding House," he began. "Stefan was just passing through to visit his uncle. I mean, none of us even knew he was here until the attack."