Who: Caroline Forbes, Peeta Mellark, Stefan Salvatore When: Saturday, December 5th Where: Karaoke bar What: Caroline forcing the boys to sing Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Caroline had to admit she was a little nervous to introduce Peeta to her friends. It made things so real. But she wasn’t planning on breaking up with him anytime soon and she did miss spending time with her friends. It was time to start bringing Peeta into her world. Starting with Stefan seemed like a good idea. They were both had the whole military thing in common after all. So there was that. And Stefan was one of the first friends she had told Peeta about, back when she had to postpone her birthday for him and made him sing karaoke for it. Which is exactly why going to a karaoke bar seemed like the perfect idea to her.
She arrived at the bar with Peeta, walking in her hand in his. She spotted Stefan right away, already sitting at a table. Caroline waved with her free hand and led Peeta over to him. “Hey,” she greeted her friend with her usual warm smile. “Didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” she added dropping Peeta’s hand for a moment to give Stefan a hug. Then it was time for introductions. “Peeta, this is Stefan. Stefan, Peeta my sex friend turned boyfriend.”
Well, that was an incredibly awkward introduction. Peeta couldn’t help but cough in surprise and stare at Caroline for a moment. Really, Caroline? Well, whatever. He wasn’t going to deny that’s how things started and hopefully this Stefan guy didn’t have any kind of feelings for her that would cause awkwardness between the two of them. He stepped forward to shake Stefan’s hand with a smile, “Well, couldn’t ask for a better introduction than that apparently. It’s nice to meet you Stefan. How in the world do you handle living with all those girls?”
Stefan climbed to his feet when Caroline and her new boy approached the table. He was honestly and genuinely happy for the pair of them, though he was also a little wary. This was Caroline after all. She was practically a kid sister to him, and he had this inexplicable, unavoidable urge to protect the girl. He shook his head a little. “No no, not at all. I just ordered some drinks.” Then he gave his attention to Peeta, chuckling softly. “Wow, that wasn’t awkward. Not at all.” He reached out a hand and shook the baker’s. “Good to meet you, too. It’s… not easy, I must say. I never get to use the bathroom.”
Well that’s what Peeta was. For like a month she had described him as either her friend with benefits or her sex friend. She had told Peeta that as well and he seemed very amused by the term at the time so there he had it. Besides they were all adults. It wasn’t like Stefan didn’t know what Caroline was up to when she spent so many nights away from their home.
“Whatever,” Caroline said rolling her eyes and taking a seat at the table. “You know you love us.” Once Peeta was seated she scooted closer to him leaning against him slightly. “Did you put your name in to sing?” she asked Stefan because she was determined to get him to sing again. “I’m thinking Single Ladies by Beyonce this time. What do you think Peeta?” For Stefan to sing. Not her, or Peeta. She would only make Stefan embarrass himself like that.
“You should consider adding an extra bathroom just off of your bedroom. You could even put in a fancy lock code or something to keep them out of there,” Peeta suggested with a smile. He didn’t mind the introduction but he wanted to tease Caroline just a little bit. Stefan seemed like a chill enough guy that he didn’t really care too much about it. When Caroline asked about Single Ladies he raised his eyebrows and coughed lightly.
“For me or for him? Because you’re going to have to get a few more drinks in me before I even attempt to sing. I’m the type of singer that you leave until the bar is closing because I’m going to drive everyone out of here. But, if you want Stefan to sing that then more power to him. He’s got to throw in the dance moves though,” Peeta glanced over at Stefan with a laugh.
“Good thing I ordered two rounds to start us off, then,” Stefan said, lifting a hand to clap against Peeta’s shoulder in a good man sort of gesture. “Because if you think I’m getting up there and singing Beyonce you’ve gone completely off the deep end.” He perked up a little when the waitress (a familiar girl with short, black hair, who seemed to only have eyes for Stefan) came over and delivered six drinks to the table.
Stefan gave her a wink when she handed the last drink from her tray to him, and the woman wandered off, blushing.
“Here’s to singing something that’s not a pop forty girl power ballad.” Stefan said, holding up his drink. They were all rum and cokes to start.
“For Stefan,” she clarified. “I’ll let you pick your own song,” because she was determined to get Peeta to sing too. Everyone was singing tonight if she had anything to say about it. It didn’t seem like it would take too much convincing for Peeta. Just had to give him enough liquid courage. And she could always bribe him with sex too. She couldn’t do that with Stefan and he had a higher tolerance so it would be a bit more difficult. But then the waitress brought over their drinks and Caroline remembered her. “She liked it when you sang last time,” Caroline commented once the girl was out of earshot.
Laughing she picked up one of the drinks raising it to Stefan’s toast before taking a sip. “Fine,” she agreed pleased that her friend remembered what she liked to drink. “You can pick own song but you’re still singing,” and then her attention was back on Peeta. “And you too,” she gave him an encouraging smile although she was still pretty sure it would take some alcohol to get him to do it. “If it will make you guys feel better I’ll even be nice and go first.” She wasn’t sure about leaving them alone together but really what could Stefan do? She didn’t think he could say anything that would embarrass her too badly or scare Peeta away.
Peeta let out a laugh when Stefan announced he had ordered two rounds of drinks already. This was certainly going to be an interesting evening and he wasn’t surprised when Stefan quickly dismissed the idea of singing Beyonce this evening. He was in complete agreement on that one and he happily accepted his rum and cokes. “We need something rock and heavy,” Peeta countered as he lifted his drink up and clinked his glasses against the others.
“And thanks for allowing me to pick my own song, Caroline,” Peeta was debating if he should just make the night as cheesy as possible and bust out a little ‘Sweet Caroline’ and embarrass the shit out of her. It was incredibly tempting as he took a sip of his drink before chuckling at her comment, “Oh yes, please, go ahead and show us how it’s done.”
“Hey, she’s gonna blow everyone else out of the water.” Stefan said, pointing at Caroline. “Don’t encourage this one. No one else will be able to take the stage after her.” Then he lifted his glass for a gulp, considering. “...what about Queen?” He asked. He could rock Queen, he thought. And maybe Peeta could, too.
“We could all go up together,” Stefan added, almost hopefully. If he had to make an ass of himself, he’d surely drag the others along with him.
Of course the two guys she was with had some pretty unique names. There were no songs with Peeta or Stefan in the title or in the lyrics at all that she knew of. It wasn’t like her name. So not fair, there would be no way for her to retaliate if Peeta did go with ‘Sweet Caroline’. “Anything for you,” she teased Peeta in regards to letting him pick his own song.
Stefan was right though. She was a pretty decent singer, something Peeta had yet to find out. Though he probably should have guessed it. No way would she have suggested a karaoke bar if she wasn’t any good. It was a talent she didn’t explore much until after she started dreaming. it wasn’t like she sang often in the dreams, well she did a lot of it in her recent dreams but early on not so much. But she was still getting a little used to singing in front of people in the real world.
“Way to raise Peeta’s expectations of me,” she commented though there was a smile on her face as she took another sip of her drink. She held back laughter at Stefan’s comment about Queen. He was not the best of singers but if he thought he could pull off Queen she was not about to discourage him. “Okay, you sing Queen,” she gave him her most encouraging smile. “If you really need me to go up with you I guess I can do that.” Because she was nice, but she wouldn’t speak for Peeta.
“I’m always down for Queen. We should do Fat Bottomed Girls or something like that,” Peeta had to admit that he had a soft spot for Queen and their songs were karaoke gold. It would be ridiculous and a lot of fun to sing. He was more than happy to help Stefan out with that if he wanted, “You gotta let me finish these first two drinks before I get anywhere near that stage.” He didn’t really have stage fright or anything of that nature, but he knew his singing was horrible. It was easier to embarrass yourself when you were able to forget it.
“And Caroline, you can definitely go first. We’ll finish our drinks up and then follow a few after you probably,” it was an easy way to put together how this night would go. He would probably need another round before he got up to do something like ‘Sweet Caroline’, but he was also more than happy to allow other patrons to sing.
Stefan smirked. “I like the way he thinks,” he said, and lifted his glass to tap against Peeta’s. “Go on, Care, you go up there and sing, and we’ll follow you a few songs and a few more drinks later.” That way they’d have time to figure out what Queen song they could sing. Stefan wasn’t sure how likely it was that he was going to get up there on that stage, but he hadn’t ruled it out completely. Caroline had convinced him before, and she was likely to be able to do it again.
“Fine fine,” Caroline said with a dramatic sigh. Though she really didn’t care. As long as they sang at some point. And she was still determined to get both of them to sing. After a few more sips of her drink she stood up. “But both of you better sing,” she added before walking off to go put her name in. Just like Stefan had done the last time she compelled the DJ to let her to next. Then she was on the stage singing ‘What a Girl Wants’.
Well, that wasn’t what he was expecting her to sing, but it was certainly a good choice. He hadn’t heard her sing much except a little bit in the shower when she thought he was asleep, but she was very talented. He couldn’t really look away from her and made sure to shoot a couple Snapchat videos that he would send out to embarrass her. Near the end he leaned over to Stefan, “So, what Queen song are we doing?”
Stefan watched Caroline for a moment, smirking and shaking his head, then turned to Peeta at his question. He raised an eyebrow. “...something that will get the whole bar singing along.” He suggested. “Something that doesn’t take a whole lot of skill.” Those two were compatible, right? “Something like ‘We are the Champions’ or ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’” Stefan thought those were popular enough that other people would join in and drown them (mostly him, he had no idea if Peeta was a good singer) out.
Caroline knew she was somewhat of a good singer. Stefan wasn’t the best. She had no idea about Peeta’s skills. But karaoke was more about having fun anyway. And really if they were going to sing the least she could do was pick a song from her childhood. She did however keep her eyes on Peeta and Stefan while she sang, not like she was singing to them. More just watching them get along, which definitely made her happy. She knew they would though, it was hard not to like Peeta. Taking video though? Yes she would repay the favor when they were up. Once she was done Caroline returned to the table “Well,” she said as she sat down. “What did you two decide on?”
“I think it’s gonna have to be ‘We are the Champions’ if you want something without much skill. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ takes a lot of skill and some high notes that I am not drunk enough to even attempt,” Peeta explained with a laugh as he applauded Caroline when she finished and pulled her over for a kiss once she sat down, “You sounded great. I make no promises on us, but definitely a Queen song. I think I need another round before we put our name in.”
Stefan gave a laugh. “Isn’t part of karaoke not hitting the high notes, and having everyone applaud anyway? We could pretend to be more drunk than we are.” He glanced up when Caroline came back over and took her seat. “...We are the Champions or We Will Rock You, but I agree with Peeta. We need another round.” Even though he’d ordered two to start.
The pretty waitress came back over as soon as Stefan raised a hand to her. He ordered a round of shots, and then asked if she could kindly leave the bottle. He didn’t have to compel her to get her to agree to leaving the bottle on the table for them. With a wink, the girl said she’d be right back.
Caroline rolled her eyes dramatically at the mention of needing another round. She would have commented on it but that probably wasn’t the best way to get them up there. While Stefan was making eyes at the waitress she leaned over to whisper into Peeta’s ear. “The sooner you sing the sooner we can go back to your place,” and she would definitely make the singing worth his while.
She turned her attention back to Stefan just as the waitress was winking at him. Well then, maybe her friend would be getting laid tonight too. “Okay, you have your drinks. Time to sing!”
The whisper in his ear made his eyebrows raise as he looked over at her. Well, that was certainly incentive to get this over with. “I think We Will Rock You will get the crowd going. Let’s just go with that and get this done with. She won’t leave us alone until it happens,” he shot Caroline a smile as he waited for the waitress to appear and quickly took his shot. He wasn’t going to enjoy this, but they might as well have some fun and get it over with.
Stefan nodded. He knocked back his own shot, then climbed from his chair. The pair made it up onstage to sing We Will Rock You to thunderous applause.