intricate design ✓

3.

Friday Night

DINNER WITH Elena didn't go as planned. Stefan's older-and hotter, as stated by Florence-brother stopped by the house with Caroline and they continued the rest of the night in the living room. By the time they were all seated on couches, Ryan was comfortable with what he hoped were his newfound friends. However, Florence was anything but comfortable. She wanted so bad to leave and cut the tension between her and the younger one of the Salvatore brothers. But she knew she couldn't.

To keep her mind off the boy, she had confided in the cheap alcohol provided to her by Elena. Eventually, the girl had gotten a bit too tipsy and was taken home by Ryan. The two laughed throughout the entire drive, only stopping when Florence fell asleep. With the amount of alcohol she had consumed she would wake up with one hell of a hangover, and so Ryan decided to spend the night. Italy was out late-making plans for her next 'business trip' no doubt-and the two had the house to themselves.

Sadly, they weren't able to take advantage of it and instead fell asleep.

Florence woke up the next day with a killer headache, thankful to have some Advil on her bedside table. Once she sat up Ryan was immediately by her side, handing her a pair of sunglasses. She mumbled a quiet, "Thanks," and lied back in bed.

"You know for a smartass you make terrible decisions," Ryan said, referring to her hangover.

She groaned, hiding her face in her pillow, letting out another groan at the pain that spread through her head when she moved. "Don't remind me. Hey, do me a favor and tell everyone I'm not going to the football game tonight."

"Excuse me?" he said, narrowing his eyes at the girl. "You're coming to that game tonight. I'll drag you there if I have to." He checked the time. "Actually, you slept through most of the day. It's five o'clock. If you don't wanna be late you should be getting ready now."

Regardless, she refused to get up from the comfort of her bed.

"Good. Let's be late, then."

She raised her blanket over her head and turned away from the boy, trying to fall back asleep. He rolled his eyes and pulled the covers off her, exposing her to the hot, summer sun.

°

FLORENCE WAS enjoying his game so far. Granted, it hadn't started yet, but she was having fun roaming the outside of the field with Ryan. It was especially funny when Tanner would yell at them to get away from the field so that the team could practice. Neither of the two cared much for his commands, though, and he eventually gave up.

Ryan stopped laughing at one of her jokes when he caught sight of Stefan approaching his friend. He nodded in his direction and handed Florence her water bottle, sauntering off to speak to his other friends (which was only a short list of Elena and Caroline). She almost yelled at him to come back, but turned around when a hand reached her shoulder.

"Hey, Stefan," she said, sending a glare towards Ryan who was watching the two giddily as Caroline ranted to him about Elena and her 'quitter tendencies.' Her friend had been trying to set her up with Stefan ever since he'd moved to Mystic Falls, and every attempt would end up in Florence walking away from Stefan and Ryan scolding her. "Did Ryan put you up to this?"

"Actually, this was done on my own accord," he answered cheekily, a grin on his otherwise handsome face. Florence wasn't into him, though, and he could tell. "I'm not here to ask you out, if that's what you're thinking. I'm really here to give you a present."

He took out a small box from his pocket and lifted it up to show it to her. She raised an eyebrow when he opened the lid, revealing a bracelet. "Stefan, I'm flattered, but I'm not interested in you in . . . that way. I hope this isn't too awkward to you, but-"

Stefan threw his head back and laughed in a way that made Florence confused and cause Ryan to internally cheer at how fast the two were getting along. "No, you have it wrong. I mean for this to be just, I don't know, a gift to thank you for being so welcoming."

"Oh," she said, embarrassed. She took the bracelet out of the box and held it up to look at it carefully. "The carving's ancient, is this some type of family heirloom? Either way, you're not getting it back. All jokes aside, it's beautiful."

Instead of clasping it around her wrist, she put it in her pocket and said goodbye to the Salvatore, running to catch up with Ryan. Once she got to him, she gave him a quick slap on the back of his head, causing him to cry out in pain. He sent the girl a look, clutching the back of his head.

"What the hell was that for?"

She took the bracelet from her pocket and waved it in front of Ryan, him watching it with a smug look. "For the record, I will not thank you for walking away when you saw Stefan, but I will say I told you so. Stefan likes Elena, not me. You owe me five dollars. Pay up, Fell."

He groaned, taking out his wallet and dropping a crumpled bill in Florence's outstretched hand. "I hate you."

"My intellects say that's false. You love me, Fell."