𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒. ❪ 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗏𝖺𝗆𝗉𝗂𝗋𝖾 𝖽𝗂𝖺𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌 ❫

𝐢𝐢. WELCOME HOME

˖*°࿐chapter two.
ii. WELCOME HOME

———

janelle

"Janelle! Oh, my God, I can't believe you're here."

Being pulled into a tight hug by Caroline, I smiled at her reaction to seeing me. I was just walking around town, which was fairly close to where she was currently going to college, and we ran into each other.

"Hey, Care," I laughed. "Not to be rude, or anything, but you're kinda killing me." She released her death grip on me as I let out a breath of relief.

"Sorry about that," she apologized.

"No worries," I said, waving my hand at her. "It's nice to see a familiar face around here finally."

"Are you moving back home? I mean, what happened with you and Klaus?"

"Some things are going on around the city and Klaus doesn't think it's safe for me to be there right now, so he thought it'd be best if I stayed in Mystic Falls until it's all clear. So, technically, I am moving back," I explained to her as we continued walking down the path.

"Aw, he does have a soft spot for you," Caroline cooed with the stupidest look plastered on her face.

"Stop that. It's creepy." I pushed her shoulder. "Look, Care, I don't mean to cut this short, but I really need to see my brothers. Do you know where I can find them?"

"Well, last I heard, Damon went on a date with Elena somewhere last night." I rolled my eyes at the doppelganger's name. Like I want to see the two of them together anytime soon. "And I, um- I haven't really been keeping up-to-date with what Stefan's been doing."

I narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously. There was something about the look she was giving me when she talked about Stefan. It was if Caroline wanted nothing to do with him anymore, which is weird since they're practically best friends.

I stopped walking and stood right in front of Caroline. "All right. What happened?"

"What?"

"Don't what me. I wanna know what Stefan did that has you acting as if he's a complete stranger all of a sudden." I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for her to answer.

She mimicked my actions. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Don't answer a question with a question. What are you, a lawyer?" I scoffed. "I'm asking you what happened, Caroline."

She sighed and took a moment to think over what she was going to say. "He shut me out. He dumped so much crap on me with his stupid plan of 'starting over.' He left me alone to fall apart for months and treated me like I was nothing to him anymore."

"Oh, Care. I'm so sorry." I placed my hand on her arm in comfort.

What the hell has gotten into him? I can't believe he would do that to Caroline. This was not the Stefan that I knew and loved. There had to be a reasonable explanation as to why he's acting like this, but that's for another discussion.

"It's fine, Janelle. Stefan doesn't deserve my friendship. Not after what he's put me through."

Oh, my God.

No freaking way.

I knew there was something, but I didn't think it had already happened.

Caroline's in love with Stefan.

No wonder she's so upset with him. She feels as if he broke her heart. It makes so much more sense. But I seriously need to find Stefan right now and knock some sense into him.

I sensed for his presence around the area and saw him sitting at a bar near the college. "Caroline, I'm going to go talk to him, okay? Let him know how of much a jerk he is for putting you in such a rut."

I said a quick goodbye to her before going to the Scull Bar to see my wonderful brother. Note the sarcasm. Yes, I love him, and yes, he's my favorite, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let this one slide so easily.

"Wow. This place is definitely an upgrade from the Mystic Grill. I can see why. Much better selections of booze."

Stefan's head whipped around so fast at the sound of my voice as I met those familiar bright green eyes of his. "Janelle."

I smiled warmly at him as he stood up, engulfing me into a big hug. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I giggled as he lifted me off the ground. "I missed you too, Stef."

Okay, I'm a bigger softy for him, than I led on. But you can't blame me. I haven't seen him in so long. I just needed a moment.

"What are you doing here?" he asked once he set me back onto my feet, a big grin on his face.

"Well, Damon's been calling recently, and it's been getting on my nerves, so I finally decided to stop by. But I had to see you first before doing so, of course," I told him, sitting in the empty seat next to him. "Also, things are getting pretty hectic in New Orleans, and it isn't exactly safe for me, but we'll talk about that later. You, mister, have some explaining to do."

Stefan completely dodged my question. "Wait. What? Why isn't it safe for you?"

"Don't try and change the subject, young man." I pointed a finger at him as he rolled his eyes. "I wanna know why you've been pushing Caroline away."

"I'm not. At least not anymore. I've been trying to apologize to her for weeks, but she doesn't want to talk to me, let alone see me. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, Janelle. I don't know how to get her to stop being mad at me."

I can not believe that he didn't see it. He didn't understand what she was feeling towards him. It's official; men really are dense. They literally can never take a hint; they just want direct answers handed to them on a silver platter.

"Stefan, she's not mad at you. She's mad at the fact that even after everything you've done to her, all the pain you've put her through, at the end of the day, she's still going to be in love with you," I stated, a little bit harsher than expected, but I knew I got my point across. "Trust me, I know that feeling, and it isn't easy."

There was something that suddenly clicked in his eyes. He put his head in hands and let out a deep sigh. "How can you be so sure of that?"

"I may not have been here a while, but I've seen the way she looks at you. The way she talks about you. It's exactly how you were with Elena." Horrible example, I know, but I prefer her over Katherine. "Just give her some time, she'll come around. Don't let a girl like Caroline get away. You both deserve some happiness."

"Thanks, Nelle."

I nodded, taking his hand. "You're welcome. And I don't ever wanna hear about this again, all right?"

"All right," Stefan chuckled. "I swear, sometimes you're more of a mother to me, than a sister."

I sat back in my chair with a smirk. "That's a good thing. It just means I can ground you whenever I want."

"Now, can you please tell me what's going on with you in New Orleans?"

"Sure. As soon as you catch me up on what I've missed in this lovely town."