❝the glass is shattered.❞
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"DO YOU REGRET IT? NOT GOING TO THE FUNERAL?"

Charlotte shrugged, pulling at the button in the cuff of her flannel. "Not– not really, but I feel like I should, you know? I mean, Bonnie's not my friend, not really– she's Elena's friend. But I can't go to funerals, and I know that Bonnie's not my biggest fan right now, so,"

"Do you think she would've been upset with you if you had gone?"

"I... don't know." Charlotte furrowed her brows, pausing abruptly as she mentally tried to figure out how to navigate through the things she could and couldn't mention to her therapist. "Bonnie's grandma had been... arguing, with– with Damon. And it put a lot of stress on all of us, but it wasn't Damon's fault in the end. I had already been defending Damon, so I think that in light of her grief, she's looking for someone to blame. Damon and I are the easiest targets, because he was the main stressor, and I came to his defense, like always."

Mary observed her, obviously seeing the unspoken words, but she didn't prod. It wasn't her job to force the truth, and she'd learned by this point that Charlotte would open up on her own time. "Well, do you feel guilty for her grandmother's death?"

"No! No, I..." Charlotte tilted her head. "I couldn't have done anything. None of us could've, really. At the end of the day, she is the one who continued to do what she was doing, and it just took too much out of her. I'm sorry for Bonnie's loss, but it's not my fault. Or Damon's."

"You seem defensive of Damon. Especially with your sister and her friends."

Charlotte's mouth opened and closed a few times before she looked away, feeling suddenly bashful, and resenting herself for it. "Well, he's a good friend of mine, and I think people see him as an easy target to blame."

"And what does Damon think of your defense on his behalf?"

Charlotte looked up at Mary, frowning. "I don't know. He isn't big on, you know, feelings. So, we don't really have heart to hearts all the time."

Mary hummed, and she eyed Charlotte's posture, seeing the stiffness in her shoulders, and the obvious defensiveness in her line of questioning. Clearing her throat, the doctor sat up straighter, crossing her legs over one another. "Feelings aren't a common subject for you, either, so I can imagine you find comfort in the fact that Damon doesn't put pressure on you to open up."

"I–I guess, yeah. But, there are still things that I'd like to say, and not just to him. It's like, I don't know how to say them, you know? This whole thing with Bonnie is a perfect example, like I have things I would like to express, but I can't ever say them to Bonnie because they're not the nicest things, you know?"

Charlotte swallows and pulls at her hair, messing with the ends of her curls. "And I know that I should probably be a little more understanding, but it's not like my family gives me a lot of space to open up, either. Any time I even begin to show emotion around them, they think I'm going to try and hurt myself again!"

She finds herself suddenly angry, and she casts her gaze to the wall just behind Mary's head. She still can't make eye contact with the woman during their sessions. "With Damon, I can at least talk about my feelings without him treating me like I have one foot in the grave still."

Silence settles for a solid minute, and Charlotte shifts uncomfortably, prompting Mary to speak. "I know you've not been able to use a journal like your sister has, but have you ever considered writing letters?"

Charlotte's face scrunched up and she gave Mary a dubious look. "Writing letters to who?"

"Bonnie, Damon, your sister," Mary shrugged. "Anyone. You don't have to send them, of course. But if you're in a situation where you feel certain things, or wish to say certain things that you think can't be said out loud, you could simply write them a letter. That way, you can still feel like you're addressing the person, and your emotions."

"I... haven't thought of that."

"Perhaps it would be a good place to start," Mary smiled softly. "And if it doesn't work out, we'll find something else."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Charlotte stopped short at the sight of the figure in her passenger seat, and she gritted her teeth, pressing down on the unlock button on her key fob just to see the boy startle. Hurrying into her seat, she turned and glared.

"How did you get in my car, Cory? And how did you know where I was?"

"Okay, well, first of all– I have your spare car key, so I just unlocked the door. Obviously."

Charlotte tilted her head, giving him a mocking look. "Obviously,"

"To answer your second question, I know when you have therapy because it's, like, the one day a week you can't hang out with me. It's also the only time you're not glued to Damon's side, and he's the first person I asked."

Charlotte's glare falters and she looks at him warily. "You talked to Damon? Where at?"

"The Grill," Cory huffed, leaning against the passenger side door. "He was very loose-lipped, and said something about tri-delts, which I chose to ignore, and smelled like he'd slept in a barrel of whiskey."

Concern passed over Charlotte's face, and Cory narrowed his eyes at her, leaning in slightly. "What's wrong with him? You know something, don't you?"

Charlotte laid her hands on the wheel after turning the key over in the ignition, giving Cory a brief look out of the corner of her eye. "Why the sudden concern over Damon? I didn't think you liked him that much,"

"I like him plenty. He's nice to you, and doesn't like Caroline. What's not to like?"

Charlotte spared him a scolding look that he dutifully ignored. "Damon's just having a hard time right now. Some stuff happened, and he found out that his– his ex-girlfriend, wasn't exactly doing what she said she would be doing."

"Why would he care about what his ex is doing?"

"I don't know, because he hasn't moved on from her? Because she led him on for a really long time, and made him think that she would be with him again?"

Cory scoffs as they make their way through town, heading for Charlotte's neighborhood. "That's bullshit, Charlie."

"It's really not, Cory."

"No, it definitely is. There's no way he's hung up on an ex still, not with how he looks at you."

Charlotte slows to a stop at a stop sign, and shoots him a look that's almost pleading. "Damon is my friend, Cory. I was trying to help him, but things didn't work out, and now I'm worried about him. Can we just leave it at that?"

Cory heaves a sigh, irritated and put-upon, but nods. Lifting a hand as she presses the gas again, he waves her solemn mood off. "Sure, sure, I'll drop it for now."

There's a slight pause, and Charlotte takes a premature breath of relief.

"But if you think for a second that I don't see that man's obvious thing for you, you're wrong."

"Cory!"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Hello?" Charlotte's voice echoed through the boarding house as she and Cory made their way up the stairs, her friend making comments under his breath that she knew the owners of the house would hear. Blindly reaching behind her to smack her hand at him, making him curse, she stepped into the hallway and frowned when she still hadn't gotten a response.

"Elena," She called, looking around. "Stefan?"

"If they ditched us already, or they're having sex somewhere in this house, I'm honestly gonna burn this place down,"

Charlotte stopped, letting out a disappointed sigh at Cory's words. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you that you aren't allowed to commit arson, and you're not allowed to talk about my sister's sex life. Both of those are things I want no part of."

"I'm just saying–"

"You just say a lot of things," She grunts lowly, stepping into one of the many rooms off the hallway and looking around. "Elena! Stefan!"

"Better," A voice comes from behind them, and Charlotte jumps, holding a hand to her racing heart as she turns to face the vampire. "Me."

"God, you scared the shit out of me,"

Damon smirked, tilting his head at Charlotte. "Cute, but just Damon is fine."

She rolls her eyes, and suddenly takes in his half-dressed state, feeling a flush flood her cheeks at the sight of his chiseled chest.

"I gotta say," Cory tilts his head, obviously eyeing Damon. "I get it now."

The vampire shoots him a wink, making the boy roll his eyes, but his attention quickly goes back to Charlotte. "So, sunshine, why are you looking for my lovely little brother?"

"Uh," Charlotte cleared her throat, trying to ignore Cory's pointed look burning holes into her profile. "We're supposed to be going to the Bachelor Night thing together, Elena said to meet her here."

"Well, they've been in Stefan's room for quite some time now, so I don't know how fast you'll be leaving."

Charlotte rolled her eyes again, for the umpteenth time in a very small frame of minutes, and shot a hand out to slap Cory's arm. "I can't stand either one of you, you know that, right?"

Cory winces, holding his arm as he glares at her. "Sunshine my ass, you're such a little shit sometimes, Charlie–"

"Charlie!"

Her sister's voice cuts into his insult and Charlotte gives him a sweet smile he huffs at, posture tensing at Elena's arrival. "Elena, hey– are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, Stefan's just finishing up and then we can go," Elena waved her hand, shooting a brief look at Damon over Charlotte's shoulder. "Did Damon tell you that he's one of the bachelor's tonight?"

Charlotte's brows furrow and she turns again, seeing Damon look up from where he'd been trying and failing to button his shirt up. "Oh, really? What lucky bachelor are you?"

"Bachelor number five," He mutters, shrugging her slight amusement off. "Come help me do this, I'm obviously incapable."

Charlotte smiles fondly but makes her way over to him, her Converse scuffing on the wood floors. Her nimble fingers come up, pulling at the fabric so it sits right on his shoulders, looking less wrinkly than before. "How'd you get roped into this, then?"

"Sheriff Forbes asked for a favor, so I asked for one in return. It's a business transaction,"

"Right," Charlotte hummed, glancing up at him to see that his piercing gaze was already on her. "Well, I'm interested to see what exactly it is you have to offer the single women of Mystic Falls."

"I've got plenty to offer, sunshine, would you like to find out?"

Charlotte blushes again, flicking his chest as she straightens his collar and finally pulls one of the buttons together at the top of the shirt.

Elena clears her throat from beside them, and Charlotte snaps her dark gaze over to see Elena frowning slightly and Cory smirking knowingly– both expressions that made her uneasy. Shifting, Charlotte focuses on the buttons and drops the banter she'd been participating in.

"So, Damon," Elena drawls, a smile in her voice. "Did Stefan tell you that I found Charlie and I's birth mother?"

Charlotte tenses, her fingers halting on a button at her sister's words. When she lifts her gaze up across the room again, she sees a fire already lit behind Cory's eyes, and she thinks she'll have to step in before he says something to upset Elena, but before he can, Damon's speaking.

The vampire scoffs and Charlotte looks at him just in time to see him roll his bright blue eyes. "Please, who cares?"

Charlotte's lips part in surprise at his words, and she knows Elena's expression matches hers.

"She left you," Damon continues, looking pointedly at Charlotte. "She sucks."

A weak but relieved smile pulls at her lips and she forces herself to finish buttoning his shirt, sparing a glance at her twin, who looks unsatisfied with his response. "I have to agree with Damon, Elena. I'll support you with whatever, but I have no interest in knowing a single thing about her."

"Okay, but, get this, Charlie–" Elena starts, continuing on before her sister can stop her again. "We know someone who could tell us about her, and we could–"

"Elena, enough." Cory's sharp voice cut in as Charlotte stepped away from Damon, shooting him an apologetic smile he frowned at as she turned away from him. "Let's just go, Charlie, we can meet them at the bar, okay?"

Charlotte nods, giving her sister a short look in farewell before throwing a wave over her shoulder as Cory pulls her out of the room and back down the stairs.

"Cory, I really–"

"If you're about to tell me I shouldn't have said anything, I might actually hurt you,"

Charlotte huffed a laugh, shaking her head. "No, I was going to say thank you. I don't know what it is, but Elena's been persistent about me learning about our birth mother, and I just– I don't know what I have to say to her to make her back off. So, thank you."

"Well," Cory looks slightly surprised, but he shrugs it off easily, keeping his nonchalant face up. "At least Damon was on your side, too."

The Gilbert girl nodded silently as they walked to her car, sliding into the front seats silently. Charlotte turned the key over in the ignition, but made no sudden movement to actually leave.

"Hey, Charlie?" Cory cleared his throat slightly, garnering his best friend's attention.

Charlotte hummed, urging him on with her perpetually soft, dark eyes set on him.

"I get it now," He shrugged a shoulder, gesturing vaguely at the boarding house. "The whole– you know."

"Cory–"

"No, I'm not– I'm not being a dick for once. I just... I understand. And I'm glad that you have him on your side."

Charlotte smiled, the look a bit sad and bittersweet. "Yeah, well. Sometimes I feel like it's too good to be true, you know? I'm just... waiting for the rug to be pulled from beneath my feet."

There's a brief pause before Cory raises a brow at her, a bit of humor coming back to his eyes. "Wow, he really did get the whole 'sunshine' thing wrong, didn't he?"

Charlotte scoffed, a laugh of disbelief spilling from her lips as Cory echoed the sound from the passenger seat. "Cory!"

"I'm just saying! You're kind of a glass half empty girl, you know?"

"God," She groaned dramatically. "If anything, the glass is shattered." 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── 

author's note; this is more cory/charlotte brotp moments than anything but they are literally everything to me like i love cory so much and charlotte deserves a bestie like him fr

edited and published; 12.22.22. (happy holidays babes) 

- liz