𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 | 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄 [𝟏]

𝐓𝐄𝐍

CHAPTER TEN | OUR TOWN

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

EVER SINCE THEY WERE CHILDREN, CAROLINE FORBES' BIRTHDAY WAS AN EVENT TO BE CELEBRATED FULLY. On Caroline's birthday, the female loved to be the center of attention and the girls enjoyed rallying around her to make sure she had the best day imagine and today was no exception. Even with all the Original vampire drama surrounding them, they were still determined to give Caroline an amazing birthday.

The plan was to get into school early, before Caroline arrived, and decorate her locker with a birthday banner and dozens of balloons. But, it seemed that Riley and Elena were the only ones that remembered. Bonnie was late.

"It's unlike Bonnie to be a no-show," Elena mumbled softly as she glanced around the corridor in search of the Bennett witch. "Any ideas where she is?"

"Not a clue." Riley shrugged softly, then eventually she saw the flustered female hurry down the corridor. "Oh, there you are."

"Sorry, I'm late. I got held up." Bonnie spoke in an evasive tone that intrigued Riley, though Elena completely shrugged off the vague excuse.

"It's okay. I just got here, too. Will you pass me the balloons?" Elena requested as Riley bent down to pick up the array of birthday balloons. "What got you running late?"

"Uh—working on some new spells." Bonnie nodded her head as the lies flowed from her mouth, then she glanced at Elena. "What about you?"

"Working out with Alaric," She nodded at the two girls as they held up a card for Caroline. "So, uh, Bonnie, I have something I need to tell you and you're not gonna like it."

Bonnie's posture and face stiffened the minute Elena's tone of voice had completely changed. She knew it ought to be something bad, she just didn't know what. "What happened?"

"Jeremy's gonna be leaving town for a while." Elena suddenly revealed as she watched Bonnie's mouth gape open in surprise. "He's gonna be staying with some old family friends in Denver until this whole Klaus thing blows over."

"Jeremy wouldn't just leave you to deal with Klaus on your own." Bonnie raised a confused eyebrow.

"Yeah, he wouldn't. But, she had Damon compel him to leave." Riley explained and then suddenly the look of heartbreak on the witch's face.

"What?" Bonnie growled in the doppelganger's direction.

"I know, Bonnie. But, it's not safe for him here anymore. Leaving will give him a better life. The only reason I'm telling you is because I know that you two haven't really worked out your stuff and I thought maybe you'd wanna say goodbye."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

All the work that the girls put into decorating Caroline's locker went to waste since the girl was a no-show at school. So, the group of friends decided to ditch school and surprise Caroline at her house. Riley, Elena, Bonnie, and Matt all waited quietly inside Caroline's living room with balloons in their hands and smiles on their faces. As soon as they heard the blonde walk inside, the four of them jumped out into the hallway to surprise her. "Happy birthday!" They yelled in unison.