secretshame | | I'm always in this twilight |

[ caroline is thrilled elena is back. for her own sake, as she missed her best friend, but mostly for jenna's. however, the one thing that constantly plagued her mind - besides the fact of why her mom wasn't here or matt or someone for her - was that jenna now had elena to live in the house with. it was back to being the gilbert-sommers house. though it never really stopped being that during her short stay. ]

[ caroline knew that what she was thinking was simply her insecurity reaching out and wrapping its hands around her neck, but she couldn't help but feel that she wasn't exactly needed anymore. jenna wasn't alone. and caroline felt like she was overstaying her welcome by continuing to live in a room in the house. hence why she went and found a place in the city, somewhere away from the gilbert-sommers house for a lot of stupid reasons, and pressed her hand to the pad and took over ownership. ]

[ she's picked up her tablet to call jenna a dozen times, but the speech she has prepared hasn't stuck. she wills her courage to stay with her and leaves a message, her voice uncertain for jenna. ]

Jenna, it's me. [ a beat. ] Caroline. [ another beat. ] I've found a place to stay so I'll be out of your hair. Thank you for letting me stay with you. But now that Elena's back, I'm sure you'll want to spend time with her. [ and i don't want to stay where i will be a nuisance. ] I can always be reached by the tablet, but ... [ i don't see why you would need to. there's the sound of movement as caroline fiddles on the spot and tries to think of a good way to end this. ] Thank you.

[ jenna's more than surprised when she finally gets the message. she's been wondering where caroline disappeared to, but filling elena in has kept her busy. however, once she sees caroline's message, her worry - and a bit of guilt - pops back up. did she do something to make the girl think she wasn't wanted? did she say something to offend her? it takes her just a few minutes to respond, wanting to reassure her. caroline means a lot to elena... and now jenna herself, and she doesn't want the girl to be alone, not with katherine here. ]

Caroline? [ oh god how does she even say this? ] You were never in my hair... [ no, that won't do. ] Is everything okay? You don't need to stay away if you'd like to be here. Elena and I wouldn't mind. [ and she would honestly feel better. she's kicking herself for not talking to caroline about the whole vampire thing sooner, but the time just hadn't ever seemed right. ]

[ this takes forever for caroline to type up. it's much easier to fake it through text rather than through her voice or facial expressions. ]

Everything is fine. Spend time with Elena. I was going to look for my old place - previous me's - here, anyway. Any little bit of what I - she - was like would be good to have.

Caroline... the other you stayed with me and Elena, too.

[ sob, jenna's the one to talk to about inferiority issues, care. she's got a boatload. ]

I don't want you to think you have to go away just because she's back. You're her friend. We wouldn't want you to be out on the streets alone, not with Katherine out there. ...I'd feel better if you were here.

It's not that she's back. And I won't be alone. There are other people out here.

[ ... extras, but Caroline is sure there are others like her out here, too. ]

I can take care of myself when it comes to Katherine. You and Elena need to protect yourselves from people like her.

[ which means having Caroline out of the house so you can vervain it up. ]

[ hng, Jenna. why do you make this complicated? ]

You're safer without me there.

Caroline... That's why I liked having you there. You're a bright spot for us both...

[ wait, this all sounds so familiar. ]

I should have told you this sooner, but then Elena left and then she came back. I didn't know how to bring it up. I know about you, about everything. Having you here makes me feel safe.

[ sob, don't make her beg, caroline. ]

Can we at least talk it out?

[ wait, what? ]

You know what, exactly?

[ don't play dumb, caroline. what else could jenna know? caroline's life is as boring as watching a dung beetle move from one side of the room to another. ]

And you want me to still live with you?

You shouldn't be able to stand the sight of me.

[ a few minutes later. ]

Did you want to meet?

What you are, yes, I do anyway, and yes, if it's okay with you. We could meet at the house and if you're not comfortable staying there to talk, we can walk. Or find somewhere else.

[ caroline is so incredibly unsure on how to handle this. here's jenna, reaching out. but -

there really are no buts, are there? jenna's the one person in mystic falls who is entitled to throw a bitch fit for being left out of the secret underworld shenanigans. and here she is, calm as ever, asking her to come home. ]

I can come to the house. At any time.

[ nope. no buts. jenna will not take any buts. ]

Whenever's comfortable for you. I'll be here all day.

[ please come over, caroline. she may track you down later if you don't :( ]

[ why can't you be a bossy mum and tell her she has to be there in two minutes or else? honestly, it makes caroline want to ... not go. but that's the two percent of a much larger pie. she wants to go. she's just incredible unsure. ]

I'll be there in a minute.

[ or a few seconds.

knock, knock? ]

[ because jenna has yet to master the strong hand of discipline. she's almost afraid caroline won't come, but then she's knocking at the door. jenna hurries to open it. hope caroline's ready for this because she's getting a bright, warm smile- ]

I'm glad you decided to come.

[ and the second caroline walks into the house and jenna shuts the door, the vampire's getting hugged. care, she's not afraid of you. not at all. ]

[ the hug is plenty unexpected.

caroline continues to forget that jenna knows and that she expressed she was okay with it. but, still, she remembers her own mother's face, her disappointment, and her own disownment. thus, the hug is unexpected.

she doeshug her back, lightly, though, aware of her own strength and uncertain, even still. ]

It's not like I couldn't. You'd have kicked my ass if I didn't.

[ said jokingly, but she knows jenna may not have given up.

caroline pulls away and can't help but look down for a split second. ] I'm sorry I didn't tell you before.

[ when they pull back, jenna shakes her head. ] I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but I wasn't sure how to. You got here and then everything turned upside down. I didn't want you to have to deal with this on top of that, but maybe it would have made things easier.

[ well, what was done was done. jenna can't beat herself up for it now. ]

So... are you hungry? We could hatch something. [ she means for anything, human food or blood. ]

It's not up to you. I came in here with the knowledge that you were in the dark. I didn't want to be the person who blew that.

[ caroline frowns, smiling. she has been wondering how to do this, but has left it alone for the time being. what happens if she does something wrong? ] How do you even hatch things?

And I get that. I understand why everyone kept things from me. [ even as much as it had hurt to find out, she does get it and she doesn't blame any of them for it. ]

You just find one of the machines, press your bracelet to it, and think about what you want. If you've got enough credits and it's small enough, you'll get it. It's kind of like wishing things up.

It still wasn't cool of us. You had a right to know. A lot of things wouldn't have happened if you did. [ katherine wouldn't have been invited in. jenna wouldn't have stabbed herself under katherine's compulsion. she'd have known to keep the vervain up.

it sounds like she needs a bank card. ] And it's normal? No catches?

Hey, it's okay. I've dealt with it. [ she's curious, but at the same time she really doesn't want to know. there's a lot she knows and she's sure it's not even the half of the story. ]

No catches that I've heard. I think you're better off if you have a job, but don't worry too much. You live here. I won't let you starve.

[ yes, jenna's probably taking this guardianship thing too seriously, but it's the only real thing she has to tie her to life in mystic falls right now. she needs it. ]

[ caroline smiles. a really, big, genuine one. she lives here. and jenna - it means a lot to her that jenna would care so much. ]

I'll totally pull me weight, though. No couch potato for me.

[ getting a job, for one, would be her pulling her weight around here. ]

I'll go job hunting. Whoever wants a blonde vampire, they're getting one. [ she smiles.

then, with an inhale - and all the tension sapped from her body - she smiles warmly: ] Thank you, Jenna. It means a lot to me that you're even giving me a chance.

[ jenna smiles. ] It that'll make you feel better. It'll probably give you something to do during the day. Or whenever your hours end up being.

Hey, I know it's hard getting thrust here without remembering how or why. It's hard enough for someone like me. [ granted, she hadn't known half of this was possible before she got here. that had been a rude awakening. at least caroline knew of magic and vampires, etc. ] And I wasn't kidding when I said you're important to me. You're important to Elena... and I really do feel safer having someone else here with us. Just in case Katherine gets ideas.

[ the worried look on jenna's face at the mention of katherine speaks well enough for what she feels about the vampire. katherine scares her, much as she hates to admit it. ]

| I'm always in this twilight |

message ; set a few days after elena's reintro. hope i did this right. sorry for tl;dr.

message; /LOVES IT OMG

text; lmao i am so sorry ;o;

text; /weeps ;o;

text; ;o; hng why do you do this!

text; BECAUSE ILU ;o; and jenna is sobbing inside

text; 1/4 ♥ also have a tag chain of text spam into your inbox, jenna. /dries your eyes

text; 2/4

text; 3/4

text; 4/4 complete.

text; <3333 i love your spam

text; ♥ i love spamming you, ngl.

text; ♥ THEN SPAM ME FOREVER BB :3 I CAN TAKE IT

text → action?; ♥ ARE YOU SURE. I SPAM WITH AN ANGRY IRON FIST OF GOD.

i want to believe that this is for real; ♥ YES AND I LOVE IT <33333

i want to believe that this is for real; ♥ BRILLIANT BECAUSE I WAS READY TO COMPEL!

i want to believe that this is for real; ♥ SOB COMPELLIIIIING ;o;

i want to believe that this is for real; ♥ i will admit i have a compelling addiction /hangs head

i want to believe that this is for real; ♥I DON'T MIND AS LONG AS I'M NOT BEING COMPELLED ;o;

i want to believe that this is for real; ♥ NEVER! DON'T SAY SUCH HORRIBLE THINGS!

i want to believe that this is for real; ♥ /LOVES ON, THEN!

i want to believe that this is for real; ♥ THAT IS BETTER. (angrygym)

i want to believe that this is for real; ♥ [HEARTBEAT]! OF THE SCRIBBLY KIND