Changeless ( Sequel Of Timeless.)

Chapter 2

"Does Damon say "I love you'?" Caroline asked Elena.

They were inside Caroline's navy Honda, an early graduation gift from her father, heading out of town on their last minute planned "Girls' Weekend". They passed the Welcome to Mystic Falls sign, heading northeast, the large, wooden sign bidding them farewell and hoping they would visit again soon. The back of the car was filled with luggage, packed with swimsuits, dresses, and other girly weekend vacation items that they wouldn't be using.

Elena's eyebrows shot up. "You're asking me about my relationship with Damon?"

Caroline gave a little shrug as she increased the car's speed, now that they were outside the city limits. So she hadn't been the most receptive person when she heard about Elena and Damon getting together less than a day after Elena's breakup with Stefan. She was a little biased though. Stefan, other than Elena and Bonnie, was her best friend. But, again, so was Elena. It was weird being caught in the middle, but Caroline had to put her foot down and speak her mind about how wrong she thought Damon was for Elena. However, Bonnie had reminded her how accepting their friend had been with the whole Klaus thing, and Caroline begrudgingly changed her tune.

"Well Stefan, I can see being super romantic," Caroline replied. "Damon just doesn't seem like the type to be all moonlight and roses and epic declarations of love."

Caroline thought maybe it was just a guy thing. Some guys said I love you, and some didn't. She may not have enjoyed the idea of Damon and Elena's relationship, but she couldn't deny that Damon loved Elena, in his own overbearing, caveman sort of way.

Elena's lip curved, amused at Caroline's not very well hidden dislike of the relationship. "Well, Damon's different than Stefan, but yeah, he tells me he loves me. All the time," she answered. "Is there a particular reason you ask?"

"No, no reason. Just trying to be supportive of your relationship," Caroline said, deciding to be evasive. Maybe boy talk wasn't such a great idea. She didn't want to give Elena any reason to hate Klaus again, considering that she had finally moved up to simply disliking him. At Elena's answer, Caroline felt a sense of dejection again. Somehow she had thought if Damon wasn't an I-love-you sort of guy, then it would make her feel better if Klaus hadn't said it.

"We're still meeting Rebekah at the hotel?"

"Yep," Caroline nodded. "We're all checking in together and then we'll head out to the airport. Shane and Bonnie will take care of the charter plane."

"You mean Rebekah doesn't have a private family jet?" Elena quipped.

Caroline laughed. "Even if they did, we probably couldn't use it. I'm sure anybody who staffed the flight would be compelled by Klaus to report back about anything we did." She tried to keep the annoyance at Klaus's autocratic nature out of her tone.

Caroline had also made a rule that no-boyfriend calls were allowed over the weekend. Maybe she had taken it one step too far, and veered close to suspicious behavior, but she was taking into account the long plane ride and the hours on the island when they might not have cell reception. If any of the guys called, hopefully they would assume that the girls were just ignoring them in favor of female bonding.

"What if he calls the hotel looking for us?"

"That's why we're actually checking in and meeting in the room," Caroline reminded her. "And Rebekah will take care of compelling a few desk employees, just in case."

Elena nodded, impressed with Caroline's planning. Caroline was proud of herself, too. It wasn't often that she got to use her organizationl and control freak skills for something like this. It was actually fun.