THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
'Is this a bad time to mention that I'm not Elena?'
Two vampires falling in love isn't exactly a functional norm in the world of Mystic Falls, and the relationship forged between Katherine Pierce and Florence Allen is...
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FLORENCE FELT her stomach drop. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As she walked down the streets of her neighborhood, she happened to steal a glance at the Gilbert home and felt her heart shatter. She didn't blame him; she was the one who called it off in the first place. But to think that, in less than a day, he had already moved on made her want to curl up into a ball. She could hear her heart sing in her head and felt a weight on her chest. Biting her lip, she shook her head.
She had no right to be saddened by the fact that he had someone else in his heart. It was all her fault, anyway. If she hadn't done what would have made Elena happy, he would have been with her and not that 'she-devil.' Sure, it hurt, but she knew she couldn't blame the hurt on him. She broke her own heart. Not even Elena had a hand in it, seeing as she had never directly told Florence to break-up with her brother. Still, it was implied.
When she received a text, she sighed in relief, finding something to take her mind off the lump in her throat. After dabbing her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, making sure what little tears she had left, she checked her phone.
FORBES MAGAZINE: You better not bail on me now, Florence Gioia Allen! Stop sulking and work your way through it. An ungrateful boy doesn't deserve your tears. We need you here. The Sexy Suds Carwash won't survive without your boobs!
She grinned, shaking her head with a large smile. She knew the girls were better off without her, seeing as they had around thirty that signed up to help out, but had agreed to go anyways. It was a good thing to find something to indulge in-even if it involved getting half-naked and cleaning cars for pervy guys. She just hoped Ryan would be there.
And so, as she began to walk to where they had put up the car wash, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Maybe it was the fact that, after the days that she had spent without Jeremy, she was finally finding something to move on with: her friends. They were always there-even when she didn't want them to be-and they would never keep anything from her.
That was why, even though she wasn't in the mood anymore, she was standing next to Bonnie at the wash. Ryan wasn't there. She tugged on the sleeves of her shirt for a while, contemplating on whether to take it off or just leave it on. It went down mid-thigh, so she was sure it wouldn't be all that bad to keep it on . . . right? Not right. Caroline waltzed up to her with a frown as soon as she saw what the girl was wearing.
"Come on, Flore! Let loose! It's called Sexy Suds, not Cleaning Cuties-though, I admit, that would have been a great name." Florence rolled her eyes with a chuckle as Caroline rambled. "That is, if we were in the third grade. You better be wearing a two-piece under that!"
She laughed when Caroline left to supervise the rest of the girls washing cars. Gathering what little confidence she had remaining after the night of the party, she tugged on her top, pulling it off with little to no effort. Under it was revealed to be a pastel orange bikini, which earned her a whistle from Tyler Lockwood, who was washing the car next to hers.
"Lookin' sexy, Flore!" he called.
She sent him a crooked smile as she walked over to him, taking the washcloth from his hands. "That's the point, Lockwood."
He chuckled, taking the hose next to the car in his hand as she went to wiping down the windows of the car, enjoying how the soap was coming off easily. Suddenly, she felt a headache coming on. But this wasn't like a regular headache. It was like one of her hangover aches, but worse. She squeezed her eyes shut. The name she had written and forgotten nights ago went through her mind and, when she opened her eyes, she could see that she had written out the initials on the car.
K.P.
Widening her eyes, she hastily wiped it off, her ears ringing. Strangely enough, her headache was gone. Convincing herself that it was just something caused by the commotion at the wash, she shook her head and focused on cleaning the car in front of her. And when she realized she needed to soak the cloth in water, she called for Tyler to give her the bucket of water, which was lying on the other side.
He sent her a cheeky grin and she furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you-my goodness, Tyler!"
She shrieked as he soaked her with the water from the hose in his hand, laughs escaping his lips. She scoffed, shivering under the bright sun when he was done. Noticing that there was a water bucket right behind her, she bit her lip and ran to get it, dumping it over his head. When she put the bucket down, he exchanged a glance with her, laughs erupting from both of them.
By that time, most of the people at the carwash were looking at them, some laughing alongside the two. When Tyler noticed this, he smirked, an idea coming to mind. Then, with his arms out, he walked towards Florence.
"I think I deserve a hug, no?"
She let out a small scream, jogging away from him as he ran after her. And, when he engulfed her in a hug, she laughed, despite the uncomfortable feeling of her back coming into contact with his chest. And, then and there, she realized that she hadn't thought about the boy who had stolen her heart once. Maybe that meant that she was right. Her friends were her solution.
And, when she felt the laughs from Tyler's chest and caught Bonnie's eye, she knew she was at home.
