Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

92. Family Ties

Damon and Riley had recruited Stefan and Alaric to come with them to Portland, where they were supposed to find a magical item called an 'Ascendant'. With that, Damon believed they could bring Bonnie back. It was a long shot, but one that they were all willing to take.

"Did you tell Caroline that you're not coming to 'Friendsgiving'?" Ric asked Riley. 'Friendsgiving' was a Caroline invention, intended to bring everyone together for the special day.

The human girl raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me if I want to die before we've found Bonnie? Matt and Jeremy aren't going because Enzo killed Tripp and they're cleaning up the metaphorical mess, and our parents are working. If she knew that I was bailing too, she'd flip. Actually, she'd probably compel me to stay home."

They got out of the car after pulling up next to, what looked like, an empty field. According to their research, this is where they'd find what they were looking for.

"Were you invited to 'Friendsgiving'?" Stefan asked Damon curiously.

"Of course," Damon answered. "Caroline demanded I bring string beans." He peered at his brother closely. "Why? Were you not invited?"

Riley laughed once. "Of course he wasn't invited," she said, putting a hand on Stefan's shoulder. "Don't expect to be invited to any events until you and Care make up."

"What am I supposed to do?" Stefan asked. "She's not talking to me."

Ric frowned. "Wait, is this why Caroline assigned me the turkey and the cranberries?"

"And why I had to pay a guy in one of my classes to make the mac and cheese," Riley added, remembering the conversation that she'd had with Luke the previous day. His cooking skills got him a one-time payment and an invite to 'Friendsgiving' dinner. "Care didn't want to ask Stefan."

"See what you did?" Damon asked Stefan rhetorically. "Now we're pulling your weight. I really hope you figure this out before Christmas."

"I'm really glad you're all finding amusement in this," Stefan said, wondering how this was his fault. He couldn't force himself to feel something that he didn't.

"Why don't you just date her?" Damon asked his brother. "Look, she's hot – objectively."

"Plus, she puts up with you," Ric added.

"And just think, if you guys get married one day, you'll have like, the best sister-in-law in the entire world," Riley joked.

Stefan pretended to think about their words for half a second. "Yeah... no. Caroline's my friend, I'm not gonna date her just to get an invite to 'Friendsgiving'."

"How could you not know that she had a thing for you?" Damon mocked.

Stefan looked at his brother incredulously. "I don't know, Damon. I mean, she was my best friend, I cared about her more than anyone in the world; obviously I just wasn't aware of what was right in front of me. Like, literally right in front of me."

After noticing that she was standing on Damon's right-hand side, Riley knew that Stefan wasn't talking about himself and Caroline anymore.

"So, what's the deal with the empty field?" she asked, trying to change the subject. According to her GPS, they were in the right place.

"The deal, like I said 3,000 miles ago, is that it's not here. Can we go home now, please?" Stefan asked. He'd traced the lead of the Gemini Coven when Damon and Bonnie first went missing.

Damon held Bonnie's bear, Miss Cuddles, in front of his face. "Oh no. Is Stefan feeling sensitive about ruining his friendship with Caroline? She really liked him and he broke her heart," he said in a high pitched voice.