Two Lost Souls

Be Not So Fearful

She's standing near the entrance to the cemetery, her gaze focusing on anything but the path before her, the one that will lead her to her mother's grave. She's been frozen in place for the past few minutes, trying to find the courage to take that first step forward and hoping that once she does, the rest will come.

She woke up this morning on one of the couches at the boarding house and scribbled a quick note for a still sleeping Elena telling her that there were things she needed to do today. She then took a quick shower and put on warm clothes before going out.

And now here she is, unable to take that step.

She takes a deep breath and holds it in, only releasing it after half a minute, relishing in the cool air that burns all the way down her throat and to her lungs. Spring is not that far away, but it's still damn cold in Mystic Falls.

And she's focusing on the weather to avoid thinking about what she's supposed to be doing. When did she become a procrastinator?

"So you've been back since yesterday and I don't find out until twenty minutes ago?"

She twirls around at the voice, unable to believe that she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear him until he spoke. Her worried expression turns into a hesitant smile when she sees the grin on his face, and she swallows back her emotions in order to greet him.

"Hey Matt."

"What's up, Care?" he asks casually, his grin still firmly in place, like it hasn't been almost three months since he last saw her.

That's when the dam breaks.

A sob-laugh manages to escape her, and in the next second she's crushed against him as his arms come around her, supporting most of her weight as she lets go. She let her emotions overwhelm her yesterday with Elena for a minute, but it was mostly the stress and gratefulness of being back and seeing a familiar face from her hometown.

Being in Matt's arms is different.

It's like he's suddenly shouldering every single one of her worries, letting her unload it all on him, from her mom's death to her inability to deal with it, from her remorse over New York to her fears about the future, from her anxiety about the fight with Klaus to her nervousness about... well, Klaus. It's... exactly what a hug from a friend should feel like, and she suddenly feels ten times lighter.

"I missed you," she whispers against his shoulder, feeling his hold on her tighten in answer.

"I missed you too."

Laughter breaks through the few stubborn tears that have managed to roll down her cheeks and she pulls away from the embrace.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live in Mystic Falls, you know," he teases.

She punches his arm, making sure to keep her vampire strength in check.

"You know what I mean!"

"Elena called me," he say, his tone more serious. "Told me you were back and said you had a few things to take care of. I figured you'd start here."

She nods, grateful for his presence, and motions towards the path she's been trying to avoid.

"I wanted to do this alone, but it turns out I... I can't."

"Good thing you don't have to," he says with a smile.

Then he takes this first step through the cemetery, like it's no big deal, like crossing that imaginary line is a common occurrence, which, sadly, it kind of is for him, and he turns to look at her expectantly. Steeling herself, she follows his example, smiling triumphantly when she manages to get over her fear and to fall in step beside him as he leads them down this damn path. Before they get to her mom's grave, Caroline decides to ask the question that has been on her mind since Klaus gave her that dream back at the cabin, knowing that if anyone is going to tell her the truth about it, it will be Matt.