6

Elena giggles while Tom poorly tries to reenact a movie. "I don't know," She gives up with a smile, shaking her head, "You really suck at this,"

He scoffs, "You suck at guessing,"

She gasps, holding her hand over her heart, "Do not. Take that back,"

"Make me, Gilbert," He leans forward as she smiles into the kiss. The rest of her friends boo-ing the public display. Tom takes a seat next to her, placing his arm on the couch directly behind her as Elena shifts closer. He smiles and wraps his arm around her shoulders to give her a half-hug.

Three months in, Caroline decided that it was time Tom was properly introduced during a triple date. Bonnie and Caroline had been weirdly persistent about meeting Tom, and it honestly was starting to freak Elena out.

Although, after two full glasses of wine, Elena was beginning to not care what her friends thought.

"Alright, I'm up next," Caroline announces, jumping up from her seat. The door opens before she can choose a card. She turns around before running toward him and jumping in his arms.

"Hello, love," He greets, "Sorry I'm late. Figured I'd come prepared," He waves the alcohol to her friends, which Elena gladly jumps from the couch to grab before heading into the kitchen for more glasses.

"Don't worry about it. You showed up at the right time. It's my turn!" She reaches for his hand and pulls him to the couch despite his initial stumble forward.

"You mean, I didn't miss it?" He states sarcastically as if he was late purposely for this reason.

"Klaus!" Caroline glares at him, but he simply smiles at her, extending his hand as a way to gesture for her to continue.

She picks a card and a sly grin appears on her face before she begins to act out a scene. Her friends collectively shout their answers, all of their words becoming hard to understand. "Charlie's Angels," Klaus' casual tone made it easier to focus on.

"Correct!" Caroline points at Klaus before sitting next to him, pointing at Bonnie to go up. Elena sat back next to Tom after placing the bottle of wine and six glasses on the table.

Tom narrowed his eyes, turning his body toward Elena, but pointing at Caroline and Klaus, "Did he even say anything? How did she hear him?" His voice was low, but Elena's eyes shifted to Caroline anyway, knowing that she heard.

"Um..." She pulled her attention back to her boyfriend, hoping that he did not suspect anything.

"Couple's intuition," Caroline places a hand on Klaus' chest, smiling at Tom.

"That's not a thing," Tom whispered in Elena's ear before kissing her cheek and flashing a goofy grin. She smiles back at him, and he swears that his heart could single-handedly win a marathon with how fast she can make it race. A simple smile and eye contact—that's all it takes for him to almost forget that they aren't alone.

It's terrifying how Elena makes him feel—how he wants to spend every moment being the reason that she brightens up the room with her smile.

Caroline opened her mouth, but Elena gave her a look that made her think twice. They all turned their attention to Bonnie, who was focused on Enzo. "Hey, that's cheating! No mouthing the answers!" Bonnie was attempting to use her new telepath powers, but she couldn't exactly say that in front of Tom.

"Oh come on. You have your 'couple's intuition'. That should be cheating." Enzo smirked at Caroline, knowing he is getting under her skin while trying to force the 'vampire secret' to come out. He believes Tom should've been told the truth when Elena found out that he was 'a freaky carbon copy of her previous love'. Even though Elena tries to argue that Tom has a different personality and is, therefore, a different person, Enzo doesn't buy it. "Besides, she wasn't mouthing the answers. She was telling me that we should figure a way out of here to--"

"Okay!" Bonnie shouts, leaping forward to put her hand over Enzo's mouth, "Don't listen to him," She says to Tom, who simply nods and holds Elena's hand, trying to gain some comfort in her touch.

Tom doesn't necessarily dislike Elena's friends, but they do seem...odd. Like they have an inside joke that he isn't a part of, and it shouldn't cause his nerves to skyrocket, but it does. Especially when Enzo stares at him with a Cheshire cat grin, allowing his eyes to scan over his neck. He rubs his hand on his neck, hoping to get rid of whatever Enzo was staring at as he subtly ducks behind Elena.

"Yeah," Caroline starts, "none of us do," She stares at Enzo as she speaks, giving a closed-mouth smile. Klaus watches her and holds back his laughter. He covers his mouth with his fist, glancing around at the unamused faces amongst them.

Triple date. It'll be fun. Yeah right, Caroline. Elena rolls her eyes at her thought while Tom kisses her hand, trying to make her believe that this evening is going better than she thinks.

"Caroline," Bonnie snaps, glaring at her.

She puts her hands up, one of them holding a glass of wine before she raises the glass, downing it all in one gulp. Caroline reaches for the bottle afterward, pouring more. If Enzo is going to continue to slide his sneaky comments all night then she is going to need it. Klaus' hand hovers over top of hers, stopping her from pouring too much. He leans closer to her ear, whispering that they should probably go back to his place.

Caroline has a hard time keeping a poker face. Her face breaks out into a smile as a blush creeps onto her cheeks. She places her wine down, "We gotta go. So sorry. Bye!" She waves as they head out the door.

"Caroline!" Elena calls out, "This was your idea!" Her voice is covered by the door slamming and she sighs.

Elena

Elena looks over at Bonnie, who is staring at her with a pleading expression.

You wouldn't mind if...

"No, go ahead," Her hand waves them both off, and they head out the door as well to Enzo's apartment.

"How did you know--"

"Tom, you don't really want to know," She mumbles under her breath, pushing herself off the couch to clean up. She then adds, "We have been best friends since middle school. You pick up on a few things. Like how to read each other's minds." She laughs a little at herself but knows that she couldn't explain to Tom why that was funny.

"Um, literally or...?" Tom's question causes her to freeze.

"What?" Elena slowly turns, forcing a smile on her face and hoping that she doesn't look as nervous as she feels.

He sits on the edge of the couch, finding it difficult to make eye contact with her as he brings up such an insane topic. What if she thinks that he is crazy and breaks up with him? He doesn't want to lose what they have, but he also doesn't think that he can continue without asking the questions that nag at him. "I've heard the rumors about Mystic Falls. I'm assuming you have too, considering you lived there."

"What are you trying to say?" He glances up at her after she asks the question. Tom studies her before answering, believing that this may be the last time that he is able to. Her narrowed, frantic eyes, the way that she has put her hair behind her ear three times within the last minute, and how her lips are softly parted as she tries to slow her breathing. He thinks about how he wants to stand up, pull her close to him, and kiss her.

Tell her to forget it. They'll never discuss it again. But he knows that he can't. These questions will continue to be in the back of his mind. Every time they hang out, he will be wondering if his intuition is failing him—if his sense of safety and calm around her is false.

Tom stands up, but instead of pulling her to him, he puts some distance between them, "Are you a vampire?" He blurts out the question before he can have time to change his mind.

"What?" Her eyes widen, not believing that he asked her that. Does he know? How much does he know? Elena's head swirls, trying to gain some clarity.

"A vampire. You know. Drink blood. Read minds. Lure men to their deaths." He fiddles with his hands, obviously terrified of her answer.

Elena chuckles at his insinuations, taking a step toward him, "I think you are getting your myths tangled together. The last one you mentioned is sirens."

"But you don't think I'm weird for thinking you are one?"

"No, Tom, I don't,"

"So...you are?"

"No, but I've known people who are," She paused, grabbing his hand and pulling him down to sit with her on the couch, "And I've...dated people who are."

His eyes went wide, "You've dated those freaks?"

"Okay, calm down on the word choice," She begins, letting out a deep breath, "Falling for someone...it kinda chooses you sometimes,"

"Yeah, I know that feeling," He smiles softly, holding her hand tighter. "But aren't they...dead? I mean, do they eat, and did you ever..." Tom trails off, but his eyes finish the rest of his sentence.

Elena turns her face away as it scrunches up, shaking her head, "Um, okay, let's never discuss that," He nods, understanding a need for privacy, "Look, there's a lot about my life that you still don't know. And I'm sure that there is a lot about yours that you have kept hidden from me. I'm not saying that I'm going to keep secrets, but I want these things to come out naturally. We are still getting to know each other, Tom,"

"You're right. It shouldn't be forced," He begins, staring at their hands as he rubs his thumb overtop, "but if I ask, will you tell me the truth?"

"Of course," She places a hand on his face, hoping it would entice him to look in her eyes—to show him that he shouldn't be afraid to ask her anything. Her soft smile falls when he looks at her—his lips almost form a pout and his eyes, usually bright, practically droop from the dull green color.

"Who is Stefan?"