TVD fanfic: I Told You So
A/N: This fic is based on Carrie Underwood’s song I Told You So. I love the song and I really wanted to write a fic to do the song justice.
Warning: This is SUPPOSED TO BE a sad fic. If I get requests to move on with the story, I might think about it, but for now, think of it as a one-shot.
It was his fault. He knew that fact from the moment he picked up the phone. Damon sat there on his bed, cell phone in his hand. He was looking at it, contemplating whether or not he should call her, because all of this had been his fault. He was the one who had left.
Looking at his phone intently, Damon went over that night in his mind. He wouldn’t blame Caroline in the least if she wanted him to stay gone.
Flashback, six months ago.
“I don’t think that this thing between us is working,” he watched her intently as he recited the words that he had practiced for so long to her. If he didn’t get up the nerve to break up with her now, he never would.
“What do you mean?” Her blue eyes watched his carefully, and she knew it was coming. She had to know that it was coming. Things between her and Damon hadn’t been the greatest lately and, in all honesty, she wouldn’t blame him is he did leave her.
“This isn’t working out, Caroline. I’m moving back to the boarding house with Stefan…”
“You don’t have to say anything, Damon. I understand.” She spoke the words softly, and he almost had a hard time hearing her. “But if you come back to me wanting a relationship, I’m just going to laugh and say I told you so.”
Ouch, but even Damon couldn’t deny that he had that coming. He turned and went out of her house, leaving a heartbroken and torn Caroline behind him.
End of flashback
So, what he did was wrong, and he knew it, but he had been dating her for almost five years, and it just felt like routine. Everything that they did, even everything that they said to each other, just felt like routine. He wanted something else, something that would feel brand new.
It turns out that you have to be careful what you wish for. Since the breakup, Damon had been with other women - none of them were girlfriend material, unlike Caroline. He had just gone hopelessly from one woman to another, and in the end he was just keeping a certain girl around, mostly to snack on. It bothered him that that’s what he kept her there for, but he always justified it with some little excuse. Damon was getting sick of this life, though, and wanted to go back to Caroline.
But what would she say? What would she do? If he picked up that phone right now, would she say ‘I told you so’, just like she had threatened to do? Would she even give him a chance? He sighed softly before closing the phone and silently putting it on his dresser. Maybe that was just another problem for another day.
-x-
Another day, the same problem. This was starting to eat him alive. He was growing more and more in paranoia every day. He wanted nothing more than to call Caroline up and apologize. He would even buy out the local flower shop if he thought that would give him a chance to start over with her. But Caroline had always been a stubborn one -not to say that she didn’t have a right this time, because she really did - and he knew that a few flowers - or a few hundred, even - wouldn’t change her mind either way. Sometimes he wished that she was a flowers kind of a girl.
He had messed up; he knew that perfectly. Even if Stefan hadn’t lectured him afterwards, and Elena and Bonnie for that matter, he’d still feel awful. It took a few weeks for it to actually sink in - ever since the first girl, he was always comparing in his mind what she had that Caroline didn’t, and vice versa. He missed her before he even realized that he missed her.
Flipping his phone open once more, he watched the screen. Part of him wished that he could just make the goddamn phone call, but the other part of him was panicked that Caroline would have found somebody new. There was that Tyler Lockwood that was always hanging around with her - with Caroline knowing that Tyler was a werewolf and Tyler knowing that Caroline was a vampire, they could pretty much take on the world together - as long as she stayed the hell away from him on a full moon, where his bite could, you know, actually kill her.
Tyler and Caroline always had chemistry. Even when they hated each other, they still had chemistry with one another. They had a chance to be epic, and Damon was kicking himself double time for even thinking about leaving.
He sighed heavily, gathering his courage, before he flipped his phone and dialed her number. She answered on the first ring.
“It’s been six months,” was all she said, but it told him everything that he needed to know.
“I know, Caroline. Can we meet somewhere, where we can, you know, talk? How about the Grill?”
“Tyler is working at the Grill and I’d rather him not see us together right now. Why don’t you come over to my house?”
Damon wasn’t sure if he should jump for joy or be green with envy that she seemed to have established some kind of relationship with Tyler. After a moment of silence, he said, “That sounds great. I should be there in 10.”
-x-
He went through her front door, not even bothering to knock, and saw Caroline on the couch in the living room. She was laying on her back, a small couch pillow over her head. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to sleep, or if she knew he was here and this was her weird way of avoiding him.
“Hello, Damon,” came the muffled voice from underneath the pillow. She reached up and grabbed a hold of the pillow, lifting if off of her slowly. Her blue eyes met his ice blue ones and she sat up, making room for him on the couch. He sat, his gaze never leaving hers.
“Caroline,” he answered abruptly. “What’s been happening?”
Caroline shot Damon a look before saying, “You’ve been gone for six months - which was your idea, by the way - and now you come back and all you say is, ‘what’s happening?’”
“I know that I was gone for a while, and I know that the breakup was all my fault, but I need you to understand me.”
She sat up, crossed her legs and glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was quarter to eleven, “I’m meeting Tyler at the Grill for lunch at noon. You have an hour and twenty five minutes.”
“I - we - broke up because I felt like I needed space. I needed air. But the more and more space I got, the more needy I got. And I tried to date other girls, I tried relationships with other people, but I couldn’t do it. And do you know why?”
Caroline nodded slowly, “Because tying you down doesn’t work, Damon.”
“That’s not it, dammit!” Damon sighed slowly, trying to get his anger under control, because looking at her once more. “I need you. I wanted a break because I wanted to see what else there was out there. You were the first girlfriend I had had in one hundred years, Caroline. I just needed to know about other girls. But none of them hold a candle to you, and that is because you are unique. You are genuine. All neurotic control freakiness on crack that you are, I love that. I love you, Caroline, and I’m just now realizing it. Would you please think about taking me back? I’m nothing without you.”
Caroline watched Damon for a moment. She hated seeing him so down like this, only knowing that she was going to make it worse. She watched him intently, and finally spoke, “I know that you’ve changed, Damon. I can see it written all over your face. But…” she paused for a moment and took his hand in hers, “I’m dating Tyler. Actually, we’re engaged.” She lifted her left hand to show him the engagement ring that was on her left ring finger. “I’m really sorry, Damon, but when you dumped me, I just couldn’t handle it, and Tyler was there for me when nobody else was.”
“You’re really going to do it, aren’t you?”
“What, marry Tyler?”
“No. Don’t you remember what you said when we broke up?”
Caroline watched the floor and then looked at Damon.
“Damon, I told you so.”
Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six
Warning: This is SUPPOSED TO BE a sad fic. If I get requests to move on with the story, I might think about it, but for now, think of it as a one-shot.
It was his fault. He knew that fact from the moment he picked up the phone. Damon sat there on his bed, cell phone in his hand. He was looking at it, contemplating whether or not he should call her, because all of this had been his fault. He was the one who had left.
Looking at his phone intently, Damon went over that night in his mind. He wouldn’t blame Caroline in the least if she wanted him to stay gone.
Flashback, six months ago.
“I don’t think that this thing between us is working,” he watched her intently as he recited the words that he had practiced for so long to her. If he didn’t get up the nerve to break up with her now, he never would.
“What do you mean?” Her blue eyes watched his carefully, and she knew it was coming. She had to know that it was coming. Things between her and Damon hadn’t been the greatest lately and, in all honesty, she wouldn’t blame him is he did leave her.
“This isn’t working out, Caroline. I’m moving back to the boarding house with Stefan…”
“You don’t have to say anything, Damon. I understand.” She spoke the words softly, and he almost had a hard time hearing her. “But if you come back to me wanting a relationship, I’m just going to laugh and say I told you so.”
Ouch, but even Damon couldn’t deny that he had that coming. He turned and went out of her house, leaving a heartbroken and torn Caroline behind him.
End of flashback
So, what he did was wrong, and he knew it, but he had been dating her for almost five years, and it just felt like routine. Everything that they did, even everything that they said to each other, just felt like routine. He wanted something else, something that would feel brand new.
It turns out that you have to be careful what you wish for. Since the breakup, Damon had been with other women - none of them were girlfriend material, unlike Caroline. He had just gone hopelessly from one woman to another, and in the end he was just keeping a certain girl around, mostly to snack on. It bothered him that that’s what he kept her there for, but he always justified it with some little excuse. Damon was getting sick of this life, though, and wanted to go back to Caroline.
But what would she say? What would she do? If he picked up that phone right now, would she say ‘I told you so’, just like she had threatened to do? Would she even give him a chance? He sighed softly before closing the phone and silently putting it on his dresser. Maybe that was just another problem for another day.
-x-
Another day, the same problem. This was starting to eat him alive. He was growing more and more in paranoia every day. He wanted nothing more than to call Caroline up and apologize. He would even buy out the local flower shop if he thought that would give him a chance to start over with her. But Caroline had always been a stubborn one -not to say that she didn’t have a right this time, because she really did - and he knew that a few flowers - or a few hundred, even - wouldn’t change her mind either way. Sometimes he wished that she was a flowers kind of a girl.
He had messed up; he knew that perfectly. Even if Stefan hadn’t lectured him afterwards, and Elena and Bonnie for that matter, he’d still feel awful. It took a few weeks for it to actually sink in - ever since the first girl, he was always comparing in his mind what she had that Caroline didn’t, and vice versa. He missed her before he even realized that he missed her.
Flipping his phone open once more, he watched the screen. Part of him wished that he could just make the goddamn phone call, but the other part of him was panicked that Caroline would have found somebody new. There was that Tyler Lockwood that was always hanging around with her - with Caroline knowing that Tyler was a werewolf and Tyler knowing that Caroline was a vampire, they could pretty much take on the world together - as long as she stayed the hell away from him on a full moon, where his bite could, you know, actually kill her.
Tyler and Caroline always had chemistry. Even when they hated each other, they still had chemistry with one another. They had a chance to be epic, and Damon was kicking himself double time for even thinking about leaving.
He sighed heavily, gathering his courage, before he flipped his phone and dialed her number. She answered on the first ring.
“It’s been six months,” was all she said, but it told him everything that he needed to know.
“I know, Caroline. Can we meet somewhere, where we can, you know, talk? How about the Grill?”
“Tyler is working at the Grill and I’d rather him not see us together right now. Why don’t you come over to my house?”
Damon wasn’t sure if he should jump for joy or be green with envy that she seemed to have established some kind of relationship with Tyler. After a moment of silence, he said, “That sounds great. I should be there in 10.”
-x-
He went through her front door, not even bothering to knock, and saw Caroline on the couch in the living room. She was laying on her back, a small couch pillow over her head. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to sleep, or if she knew he was here and this was her weird way of avoiding him.
“Hello, Damon,” came the muffled voice from underneath the pillow. She reached up and grabbed a hold of the pillow, lifting if off of her slowly. Her blue eyes met his ice blue ones and she sat up, making room for him on the couch. He sat, his gaze never leaving hers.
“Caroline,” he answered abruptly. “What’s been happening?”
Caroline shot Damon a look before saying, “You’ve been gone for six months - which was your idea, by the way - and now you come back and all you say is, ‘what’s happening?’”
“I know that I was gone for a while, and I know that the breakup was all my fault, but I need you to understand me.”
She sat up, crossed her legs and glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was quarter to eleven, “I’m meeting Tyler at the Grill for lunch at noon. You have an hour and twenty five minutes.”
“I - we - broke up because I felt like I needed space. I needed air. But the more and more space I got, the more needy I got. And I tried to date other girls, I tried relationships with other people, but I couldn’t do it. And do you know why?”
Caroline nodded slowly, “Because tying you down doesn’t work, Damon.”
“That’s not it, dammit!” Damon sighed slowly, trying to get his anger under control, because looking at her once more. “I need you. I wanted a break because I wanted to see what else there was out there. You were the first girlfriend I had had in one hundred years, Caroline. I just needed to know about other girls. But none of them hold a candle to you, and that is because you are unique. You are genuine. All neurotic control freakiness on crack that you are, I love that. I love you, Caroline, and I’m just now realizing it. Would you please think about taking me back? I’m nothing without you.”
Caroline watched Damon for a moment. She hated seeing him so down like this, only knowing that she was going to make it worse. She watched him intently, and finally spoke, “I know that you’ve changed, Damon. I can see it written all over your face. But…” she paused for a moment and took his hand in hers, “I’m dating Tyler. Actually, we’re engaged.” She lifted her left hand to show him the engagement ring that was on her left ring finger. “I’m really sorry, Damon, but when you dumped me, I just couldn’t handle it, and Tyler was there for me when nobody else was.”
“You’re really going to do it, aren’t you?”
“What, marry Tyler?”
“No. Don’t you remember what you said when we broke up?”
Caroline watched the floor and then looked at Damon.
“Damon, I told you so.”
Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six