Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

88. A Talk to Remember

"I can't do this," Riley moaned, lying on her bed in the dorm room. "Sooner or later I'm gonna slip up."

Caroline packed her clothes into a suitcase. "Just try, okay? Elena needs this from us."

Riley rolled her eyes, blowing air out of her mouth. "I just don't get it. We're all mourning, why does she get a... 'get out of grief free' card?"

Caroline shushed her, just as Elena walked through the door, looking happier than she'd looked in months.

"So, I figured we could carpool to the party at the waterhole," Elena said conversationally, watching Caroline continue to shove her clothes into the suitcase. "Why are you packing?"

"I'm not staying," Caroline said. "Last night was just a momentary moment of weakness."

Elena smirked. "'Momentary moment'? Are you sure you don't want to come back to school?"

Riley sat cross-legged on the bed. "I already tried to convince her that she needs us. We should all be around friends right now."

Elena nodded in agreement, while Caroline scoffed.

"Tell that to Stefan," she said bitterly. "Who clearly needs no one."

Elena crossed her arms over her chest. "Cut him some slack, he just lost his brother." She thought about the oldest Salvatore for a second, her only memories being all of the bad things he'd ever done. "Granted, said brother was a soulless homicidal maniac, but still."

Riley sucked in a sharp breath, brushing her hair out of her face. "He was a great guy, Elena. Maybe you'd know that if-"

"Wow, look at the time," Caroline interrupted, shaking her head slightly at her sister. "We have breakfast with Enzo."

Elena made a surprised face. "Enzo?"

"Yeah, Enzo," Riley confirmed, trying to keep her anger in check. "Or is he a soulless homicidal maniac too?"

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"I'm sorry," Elena apologized. "I know that Damon was your friend, I didn't mean to..."

"It's OK," Riley said quickly, focusing on Caroline. "I'll meet you in the car."

As she left, she heard a second of the conversation that she'd left behind.

"I didn't know she was still hurting," Elena said apologetically. "I thought everyone would have been over Damon's death by now."

"Yeah, well," Caroline started. "Clearly some people were more affected by it than others."

***

The girls walked into the diner to find Enzo already waiting for them, a plate of pie in front of him.

"I'm just saying, maybe I should move out of the dorm?" Riley suggested, sitting beside Enzo, while Caroline sat across from them. "Because if you're not there and she starts talking about homicidal maniacs again, I'm gonna snap."

She took Enzo's fork out of his hand and took a bite of his pie.

"She's gonna know that something's up if you move out," Caroline reminded her. "You just need to get used to being around the new her – starting with the party today." She pointed at Enzo. "Which you're coming to, by the way."

Enzo smirked. "Sorry, love, I tend to tune you both out when you're speaking to each other. Nothing personal."

Riley rolled her eyes. "You're coming to a party with us later."