[ HOPES & DREAMS ]

Senior year was already well under way and if he was honest Dec was a little nervous about the idea of graduating but he was excited at the same time. High school hadn’t been too bad for him but he was starting to feel like he was ready to start the next chapter of his life. He had known for a long time that he wanted to go to college and even though he had applied to a few good schools that were away from home but with so much going on in Mystic Falls he wasn’t sure that he wanted to be that far away from his family so he was tempted to stay closer to home. In the last year alone he had come face to face with hunters twice and while he knew that it would probably be safer pretty much just about anywhere else he knew that he couldn’t just abandon his family. Mystic Falls had always been his home anyway and he had friends there so the truth was that despite the danger he wasn’t in a hurry to leave there either.

For now he knew that he just needed to focus on getting through the rest of his time at high school rather than worrying about that and he wanted to enjoy that time while it lasted. That day he had been heading in the direction of his locker when he heard a loud noise as books hit the floor. Looking over in that direction, he could see that Caroline was already there helping but he made his way over anyway, picking up the book that had slid across the floor in his direction and holding it out to the boy Caroline had bumped into who quickly shook his head before walking away. “I don’t know who Peter is but I can help you look if you like,” he offered as he sent a smile in his friend’s direction.

CAROLINE FORBES

Dec had a few people in his life that he had grown up around but one that had always meant a lot to him was Caroline. They lived next door to each other and even though they both had other friends, he still considered her to be his best friend along with his sister. He could have kept her in the dark about what he and his family were but the idea just hadn’t felt right and he knew that he had done the right thing by coming clean. He hadn’t wanted her to think of him as anything other than the guy she had grown up with but thankfully she seemed to have taken it in her stride and even though he wouldn’t be surprised if she had questions, the two of them were closer than ever.

“It’s no problem,” he assured her, flashing her a smile as he fell into step beside her. He didn’t know why Caroline was searching for the boy but he knew that he wasn’t about to let her search the school on her own. One thing he knew about Caroline was that she wouldn’t let anything stop her when there was something that she needed to do and if it meant that they got the chance to catch up then he wasn’t going to pass it up. “Not really, I had another run in with a hunter not too long ago so I’m just trying to make it through the rest of the year in one piece,” he admitted. He had already filled Caroline in about the run in he’d had that had resulted in Ben saving his life so he knew that she would understand. “How about you, what have you been up to?” Dec was actually looking forward to the next chapter of his life when he started college but he hoped that the people who mattered most would be right there with him.

CAROLINE FORBES

Dec knew that it was perhaps a little cliché to have a best friend that lived right next door but that was exactly the way that it had worked out for him. He and Caroline both had other friends and he knew that there were probably things that she told Elena and Bonnie that she didn’t want to tell him but they trusted each other completely and it had been that way for as long as he could remember. He had lost count of the amount of sleepovers that had taken place over the years while they were growing up and aside from Amy, Caroline was the person in the world that he was the closest to. When he first started turning into a tiger during the full moon he had thought about keeping the truth from her but just the thought of it had made him sick to the stomach. There wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t do in order to keep her safe but with everything that was going on in Mystic Falls he had known that he just couldn’t lie to her. His parents had stressed to him the importance of keeping what they all were a secret and he had supernatural friends that he could talk to about it but none of those friends were Caroline so it had felt natural to tell her. She had promised to keep his secret and he trusted her to do that. She wasn’t just anyone, she was his best friend and he was certain that they would always look out for one another.

Telling her about the first hunter he had encountered had been a relief in a way. Amy and Ben knew because they had been there but it wasn’t something that he wanted to tell his parents and there were certain things about that day that he hadn’t wanted to tell his sister either so it had felt good being able to talk to Caroline about it and he knew that she really would have killed him if he hadn’t told her about the second encounter he’d had. “I’m fine. No bullet wounds this time, I promise,” he assured her, making sure to keep his voice low so that no one would overhear them. “This one was different, she was more like Ben and listened to what I had to say. Apparently the two of them know each other,” he explained. It certainly explained why she had let him go rather than killing him like she had set out to do but he still didn’t know who had sent her and that worried him.

As talk turned to prom, Dec couldn’t stop a smile from forming on his face as he looked over at her. Caroline had always been in her element with things like that so it was no surprise to him that she was excited about it. “You’re running the committee so I’m sure it will be,” he grinned. Caroline never did things by half measures, everything had to be perfect and that was one of the things that he admired most about her. “If there’s anything I can do to help just let me know,” he added, knowing that no matter what it was if it made things easier for Caroline then he wouldn’t hesitate in lending a hand. As soon as she nudged him with her elbow he knew what she was going to ask and he couldn’t help but laugh before shaking his head. “I actually was thinking about giving it a miss but I think I’d regret it if I did,” he admitted. With everything that had happened with the two hunters that he had run into he just wanted to keep a low profile at the moment and get through the rest of his senior year in one piece but he also knew that he didn’t want to let his senior year pass him by. He had always been an outgoing person and he liked being surrounded by people so he knew that he didn’t want to miss out on prom only to regret it later. Everything that had happened had made him want to live life to the full and that meant getting the whole high school experience while he had the chance. “I don’t have a date though,” he shrugged. If it came down to it then he knew that he would have no problem going on his own but there was still some time left to think about that. “How about you – which guy is lucky enough to be able to call you his date for the night?”

CAROLINE FORBES

There were people around Mystic Falls that Dec knew that he could trust but when it came to the people outside of his family there wasn’t anyone that he trusted more than Caroline. The two of them had been through so much together and he knew that no matter what happened they would always have each other’s backs. A part of him had been a little worried that she might not accept him after he told her what he was but she had done more than that, she had supported him and he knew better than to ever doubt the bond they shared. Dec couldn’t help caring about people, it was who he was, but at the end of the day Caroline would always be one of the people who mattered the most to him in the world and he really didn’t know what he would do if he ever lost her. As she said she would pull his tail if he ever got hurt, Dec couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that really the best you could come up with?” he teased before his smile fell. “I’m trying. I’ve been keeping my head down and not using any of my abilities but this hunter was different. She said my name is on a list and there might be other hunters coming,” he explained. He wasn’t sure whether he would be lucky enough to survive a third run in with a hunter so he was doing his best to be as careful as he could but Alix had been given his description to go by so whoever had sent her after him had clearly known exactly who and what he was.

Needless to say Dec was relieved to have something else to think about and he could see the gleam in Caroline’s eyes when he said that prom was going to be great because of her and it was enough to bring a smile to his lips. “I’ll be there,” he nodded as Caroline said that she would let him know when she needed help. Caroline’s reaction when he said that he was thinking about skipping prom wasn’t unexpected and he couldn’t help but laugh as she said that she would drag him there if she had to. “As if I could ever forget,” he chuckled. “Alright, I’ll be there.” If nothing else he knew that he could use it as an excuse to hang out with his friends anyway so he knew that it wouldn’t be too bad. As she spoke again he took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You never need to apologise to me,” he assured her. “Listen, Matt was an idiot for letting you go but you’re seriously telling me that no other guy has caught your attention since then?” he asked, knowing that it really would be a first if that was the case. “If neither of us has a date then why don’t we go together?” he suggested, knowing that it would be fun if Caroline was up for it.

CAROLINE FORBES

Mystic Falls always used to seem like such a safe place to live but now Dec wasn’t so sure. His family had been fortunate in that they had been out of town when the device was activated that had wiped out so many of the town’s supernatural population but there were still hunters all over the place and Dec knew that it was more important than ever to keep what he was a secret from those around him. He had friends who were a part of the supernatural world and he had confided in Caroline because he had known that there was no way that he could live his life lying to his best friend about what he was otherwise he was keeping it to himself and he knew that that was just how it had to be. There were a couple of hunters in town who were good people and saw the person behind the creature like Ben and Alix but others like Creedy wanted nothing more than another kill to add to what was probably an already long list and those were the hunters that he knew he needed to be careful of.

“It’s ok, I’ll figure out what is going on,” he assured Caroline. “No matter what it is I refuse to let them chase me out of my home.” Dec had lived in Mystic Falls his whole life and while it was true that his family hadn’t been in town as long as Caroline’s had they still had ties to the town and he knew that he wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from him. As she spoke again he couldn’t help but laugh. “I thought I could feel a lecture coming,” he teased, a smile forming on his face as he looked over at her. He had known that there was no way that Caroline would let him skip something like prom especially when she had put so much hard work into it but the thought had crossed his mind for a while before he had dismissed it. As she said that none of the guys that had asked her were her type, he studied her carefully for a moment. “And just what would that be these days?” he asked. Caroline seemed to like all different kinds of guys so he was genuinely curious as to what she was looking for this time. He hadn’t actually thought that she would turn down his invitation but as she said that she would think about it he nodded before laughing as she told him to be there at seven. “I’ll be there at a minute to,” he chuckled.

CAROLINE FORBES

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Dec admitted. He knew that Caroline meant it when she said that she would help but he still knew that he didn’t want to drag her into it if he could help it. He had told her the truth about what he was but the last thing he wanted was for her to end up getting involved with hunters. Caroline had been his best friend for a long time and if he was honest he had no idea what he would do if anything ever happened to her so he knew that putting her in the firing line just wasn’t an option but it was still nice to know that the thought was there.

“Why am I not surprised?” he chuckled as she said that lecture had been brewing. He had known Caroline for long enough to know when he wasn’t going to get his way and when it came to prom a part of him had always known that she would never let him get away with skipping it even if he had wanted to. The thought honestly had crossed his mind but everything that had happened over the last year had made him realise just how easily a life could be taken and he knew that he didn’t want to end up regretting anything that he had done during the course of his life and that included skipping prom.

As Caroline said she would let him know what her type was when she figured it out, Dec found himself nodding. “As soon as I know then I can start playing wingman. I want you to be happy, Care,” he said gently as they walked. Her happiness meant the world to him and if there was anything that he could do to help that along then he knew that he would in an instant. He knew that she had been through a lot and her taste in guys wasn’t always completely on point but none of that really mattered now. He had never met anyone else quite like Caroline before and if the guys she had been interested in previously weren’t able to see that then they really were idiots as far as he was concerned. Caroline deserved the best and he wanted to make sure that she got it if he could. As she turned the question back onto him, he rubbed the back of his neck. “To be honest I thought I knew but now I have no idea,” he admitted. “My track record hasn’t exactly been great.” While he’d had some fun during his previous relationships they had never tended to last too long and the truth was that now he had been single for a while so he really wasn’t sure what he was looking for now. As she said she was going to blame him if she couldn’t find the kid she was looking for, Dec couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ve been keeping an eye on the people we have been passing and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them all around before,” he chuckled. He knew that Caroline was only joking but he really didn’t want to stop her from doing what she had set out to do. “I’m on a break, how about you?”

CAROLINE FORBES