thepicketfencecliche | salvatore school } { of birthday weekends and meeting the friends with benefits

Elena: [it's Care's birthday weekend so they came to Elena in Indiana instead of her going home to Mystic Falls. They paid the cover for a show at a local bar, bought a few drinks, and are currently just having the time of their lives jamming along to the music. Caroline is the most obvious, as she's clearly having a good time, but Bonnie and Elena are there too]

Ben: [and his mother told him to go out and be a normal 20 something, so he's going to just go to a bar and listen to music for a few hours while sitting at a bar. Has no idea Elena & Co. is there.]

Caroline: [well, this blond is dancing and singing her way over to the bar to get herself a refill of her fruity concoction of choice, bobbing her head to the beat as she goes]

Ben: [and he will look up and flash her a smile because he's two beers in and she is hot]

Caroline: [smiles in return with a wave] Have you seen them before? They're great.

Ben: Nope, first time. They're pretty good.

Caroline: Too bad they're a local band. I'm only here for the weekend.

Ben: Just means you have to come back. [grins]

Caroline: Well, my best friend does live in town, so that helps.

Ben: Even better. You'll have a couch to crash on.

Caroline: Yep. [picks up her drink and grins] Whenever I want.

Ben: Maybe I'll see you again then. [turns in his seat a bit more to face her]

Caroline: Maybe you will. [and with that off she will go and if he follows her back to her table he will also find Elena and Bonnie]

Ben: [he will watch her go, but more for the view than where she's going and once the crowd on the dancefloor fills in behind her, he'll go back to his beer]

Elena: [well the girls are just going to keep dancing, jamming out to the songs, and then it will be Elena's turn to go buy a round and she'll make her way over to the bar]

Ben: [and he will probably be ready to go, or at least to leave and find some food to help absorb the alcohol before calling an Uber to take him home.]

Elena: [and as she's waiting for her drinks, she glances over and:] Ben?

Ben: [looks over, then smiles] Elena. Hey. Fancy meeting you here.

Elena: [grins] Hey. We just came to see the show.

Ben: The friends who came to visit you. [he's tipsy. Lightweight] You having fun?

Elena: Yeah, it's been a good time. Are you here with anyone?

Ben: Nah. Mom kicked me out for the night. Told me to pretend to be a real boy.

Elena: Ah. Well, if you want to come join us, we have a table with bar snacks.

Ben: I could come over and say hello. I was thinking it was time to go find some food to offset the beer.

Elena: Come have some of our food. Though, I apologize for them in advance?

Ben: Eh, it's fine. As long as they aren't as flirty as Poe.

Elena: Caroline is three drinks in, I cannot make that guarantee, but once they know who you are, she'll stop.

Ben: Oh, and who am I? [teasing]

Elena: [her head ducks as a bit of a flush colors her cheeks] My ... friend. Who I ... occasionally make out with. [it sounds awkward as she says it, but that's mostly because they never actually put a name on this]

Ben: [smiles] So your boy toy.

Elena: I wouldn't call it that.

Ben: But not your boyfriend.

Elena: I didn't know if we were there yet.

Ben: I feel like it's somewhere between that and a friend with benefits.

Elena: Minimal benefits - [because they haven't had sex yet] - but ... true. And I don't want you to feel like we have to rush into something more because you're meeting my friends, but I have talked to them about you.

Ben: No, I'm good with the going slow we got going.

Elena: Okay. [and her tray of drinks arrives and she tips her head back towards the table] So. Shall we?

Ben: Yeah. [and he'll toss money to cover his tab and a tip before following her]

Caroline: [and as they arrive] There you are, that took you forever. [she leans over to reach for her drink, when she catches sight of Ben behind her] Oh, never mind, you met Hot Bar Guy.

Elena: [sigh] Care, this is my friend, Ben. Ben, these are my friends, Caroline and Bonnie.

Caroline: [her jaw drops, comically] Hot Bar Guy is that Ben?

Bonnie: [reaches for Caroline's drink] Okay, I think I'm gonna cut you off. Hi, Ben. Nice to meet you.

Ben: Oh hey, Hot Blonde Chick. [because yeah, why not.] Bonnie. Nice to meet you both.

Caroline: Awww, he thinks I'm hot too. [yes, she's definitely cut off. She'll be fine in a few minutes because vampire, but for now she needs less booze] Welcome. Sit! We've been wanting to meet some more of Elena's Indiana friends since Poe abandoned us for his hot military boyfriend.

Ben: Well, can't really blame Poe. He doesn't get a lot of time to see that boyfriend. [and he'll just slide in to sit between Care and Elena]

Caroline: He doesn't get to see me a lot either. Finn could have come here! We've never gotten to meet Finn!

Bonnie: I'm sure we will one day. But I'm also betting that Poe didn't want their weekend crashed by nosy blonds.

Caroline: [squints at her best friend] I resemble that remark.

Ben: I don't think Finn had a long leave and Poe didn't want to lose time to travel.

Caroline: Oh. That's fair, I guess.

Elena: You guess?

Caroline: Leave me alone. It's my birthday, and I've had many fruity drinks.

Ben: [and his stomach growls, so he's going to lean forward to look at the bar snacks they have] Happy Birthday.

Caroline: Thank you.

Bonnie: So Ben, are you in the same specialization as Elena?

Ben: No, I'm more in sports medicine, but I've got to study both adult and pediatric anatomy for it.

Bonnie: Oh cool. Do you want to work for like a sports team or an individual PT kind of place?

Ben: Not sure yet. I mean, working for a team would be awesome and probably pay well, but there are facilities that focus on recovery from injuries.

Bonnie: I guess you don't have to know right now. You just have to figure it out before you graduate.

Ben: Yeah, pretty much.

Bonnie: That's cool though. That you have a variety of options.

Ben: It makes it easier to go with the flow and see where things take me.

Caroline: How do people do that? Go with the flow?

Bonnie: They don't share your joy in planning their entire life at age five.

Ben: When I try and make plans, they never go as planned. So I just stopped.

Caroline: That just means you need to make better plans.

Elena: Caroline.

Caroline: What, it's true? You adapt the plan-making to fit the insanity of your life.

Bonnie: [shakes her head] Caroline's plans have plans. You don't have to aspire to her Type-A life.

Ben: [shrugs] Everybody has their own way.

Elena: They do. And if it's what works for you, then that's fine.

Ben: Exactly.

Caroline: Whatever you say. [plants her hands on the table] I have to pee. B-R-B. [and Bonnie will let her out to go do her thing]

Ben: [and he is probably eating through one of their plates of food] She seems like a handful.

Bonnie: She's usually much less judgy when she's sober. But no, you're not wrong.

Ben: My mom was pretty laid back. I get it from her.

Elena: I'm pretty sure my psychology professor would say that Care seeks to control everything around her for the illusion of control in an uncontrollable world.

Ben: [leans back and thinks a moment] Sounds about right.

Elena: She's the best friend you could ever have, though. Judgy or not.

Ben: [nods] So what else do you guys have planned for the weekend?

Bonnie: [she shrugs] Elena was going to show us around the city. Any places we really shouldn't miss?

Ben: I'm sure she'll take you to the amazing burger place we all go to after class.

Bonnie: Burgers were on the agenda, yes.

Ben: They have great local craft beers. You can get a flight and try them all.

Bonnie: Oooh, we'll have to try that.

Ben: Further down the street from it is an amazing ice cream place. They make their own stuff.

Bonnie: [looks at Elena] You know where all these places are right?

Elena: [nods] Yes, I do.

Ben: She better. [smirks, since they go there often]

Elena: [and her head ducks a bit]

Bonnie: [takes a breath] My turn for drinks. Ben, can I get you anything?

Ben: I was actually telling Elena that I was going to head out for something to eat. I think I've hit my limit.

Bonnie: Can I get you bar snacks instead?

Ben: If they've got sliders, that'd be perfect.

Bonnie: I will investigate. [and off she goes to get drinks and sliders]

Elena: [sighs as she relaxes a bit] And those are my friends. I'd say that they're not normally this much but that would be a disservice to Caroline.

Ben: It's totally fine. But now I see where you get your perky optimism from.

Elena: She has a way of rubbing off on people.

Ben: I didn't know you'd be here, for the record. [did he say this before? he can't remember. But he's going to reach for a water bottle]

Elena: [she raises an eyebrow] Did you think I'd think you were stalking me?

Ben: No... but just in case one of them thinks it.

Elena: If they thought you were stalking me, this would have been a very different conversation. [because honestly, Caroline is only half-faking being drunk]

Ben: Good. Cause I don't want to, you know, make a bad first impression.

Elena: You're not. We have had worse "Meet the boyfriend" moments.

Ben: Good, then.

Elena: [she nods, and eventually the girls return with the food and drinks and we can skip a bit]

Ben: [totally. and he'll get a bit more sober]

Elena: [and the girls will get ready to head back to Elena's apartment for some sleepover shenanigans]

Ben: [and he will with them, because he can catch an uber anywhere]

Elena: [and as they're waiting for the cars to roll up, she'll flash him a smile] So I put them both on a plane Monday morning.

Ben: We still have Monday off, don't we?

Elena: Yes, I believe we do.

Ben: Wanna grab a coffee after?

Elena: I will text you on my way back from the airport.

Ben: I'll keep my phone charged.

Elena: Good. [and with that, their uber pulls up and she goes to herd the two other women into the car]

Caroline: Bye, Ben! Nice meeting you!

Ben: [and he will smile and wave as they head off]