Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

42. Seventeen Candles

"Bad news," Riley said, running into Elena and Bonnie at school. "Caroline's not coming."

Elena dropped the balloon that she was holding, allowing it to bounce onto the floor soundlessly. "What do you mean?"

"She doesn't want to celebrate, and she especially doesn't want to talk to Tyler."

"They're still on the outs?" Elena asked sympathetically.

"Of course," Riley replied. "Everything Tyler does now is out of his misplaced loyalty to Klaus." Since becoming a hybrid, Tyler had become the subject of the 'sire bond', where he felt loyalty towards Klaus, his sire, so did everything he wanted. It was driving Caroline crazy.

After a second, Riley noticed that there was some sort of tension between Elena and Bonnie.

"What's going on, guys?"

Bonnie's face was a mixture of anger and hurt. "Damon compelled Jeremy to leave town."

"It's not safe for him here anymore," Elena jumped in. "Leaving will give him a better life."

"You're taking away his choice," Bonnie argued. As angry as she was, the reality of him leaving hit her hard. If he left, everything that they had really was over for good. "Jeremy wouldn't just leave you to deal with Klaus on your own and you know it."

Bonnie walked away before Elena could respond, causing her to sigh.

"What was I supposed to do?" she asked Riley. "I have to keep him safe."

Riley nodded, leaning against Caroline's locker. "It's not a crime to want to protect your little brother, Elena."

Elena shrugged. "It feels like a crime. Maybe Bonnie's right."

"If you think that sending him away is what you have to do, then you have to do it," Riley told her, gathering up the decorations that they'd placed over the locker.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked, frowning.

"Taking these to the car," she responded with a smile. "If the birthday girl won't come to the decorations, we're taking the decorations to her."

***

Matt joined the girls as they let themselves into Caroline's house, waiting with giggly anticipation. When she eventually returned home, the gang jumped out of their hiding spaces.

"Surprise!" they yelled in unison.

Caroline jumped, a small smile spreading onto her face.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, her voice full of wary happiness.

"You ditched school," Riley reminded her. "How else were we gonna celebrate?"

Bonnie grinned excitedly. "Change into warmer clothes, we're going to the Falls."

The small smile that was on Caroline's face fell. "Thanks guys, really. I'm just not feeling my birthday this year."

"You're kidding right?" Matt asked. "As long as I've known you, your birthday has always been your favorite day of the year. What changed?"

Caroline sighed, deciding to be honest. After all, if you couldn't be honest with your group of best friends, who could you be honest with? "What changed is that I died. And now my birthday is a reminder of the fact that I'm dead. And I died in a filler year – I mean, who wants to be stuck at 17?"

"You're not stuck," Elena told her.

"Yeah, I am," Caroline asserted, looking around at her friends. "I love you all, and I'm really happy that you came... but I need some time, OK?"