This is my first story, I published it yesterday, but I was confused and it didn't work out as I wanted. Anyway, it's about Klaus and Caroline, it's set up in completely different world, without any hybrids, vampires and that stuff. I used couple of characters and you might be surprised how I pictured them here. Also, I changed Carolines', Bonnies' and Elenas' friendship here. They're a lot more closer, I think, how real friends should be. Okay, here we go. I hope you like it :) Enjoy!

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Chapter 1

I was already eating my second chocolate, while stuffing myself with paprika crisps. I loved the sweet taste mixed with something salty. But I wouldn't mind something with bubbles to drink, really. Cola. Ah, that could do.

However, curled up in dads' comfortable, battered chair and wrapped in an old blanket, which remembered better days, I didn't have the slightest desire to move anywhere.

I didn't care that there were shouts coming from the kitchen. I'd be a little more worried, if it would be quiet in here for five minutes. I'd suppose that finally, mom couldn't take it no longer, so she murdered Stefan with the tube of a vacuum cleaner, as she promised she would, thousands of times before.

"Stefan! Leave her alone!"

Moms threat didn't stop my beloved brother and a moment later I felt racy buss on my left cheek. I opened my eyes, giving him contemptuous look. A pair of blue and green eyes were staring at each other with hostility, in order to laugh at each other after couple of seconds.

I admit, my brother was fucked up in a hundred ways and one of his biggest defects was excessive showing his love towards… well, everyone. But, still, he was my brother and I couldn't be angry with him longer than one minute.

"How's Elena?" He asked, giving me that look. I rolled my eyes.

"I wasn't home for a month and this is your first question you decide to ask me?"

Lazy smile across his face harmonized with twinkles in his eyes. He shrugged, as he settled down on the couch by my chair.

"Well, you know, she grew up into a hot chick."

"A chick is an animal." I said quickly.

„Okay, then, if you don't want to talk about that then let's talk about the fact that you're overeating," I snorted at his words. I was already used to it, so I reached out for another square of chocolate, smiling sweetly at the same time. He shook his head with reprimand. "And then, you women complain that you're fat."

"Speak for yourself."

" Right, by the way you've lost some weight." I raised my eyebrows.

"I have not." I said, smiling inwardly. Under the blanket, stealthily, I grabbed my thigh with one hand.

I don't know. Since I remember I wasn't that type of girl whose motto is "I'll eat, when I'll die". I'd never refused eating sweets, but I wasn't fat. Simply, I was rounded off where needed, but my thighs and butt were and always will be my nightmare, although everyone kept telling me that there's everything fine with them.

Blah, blah. I have a mirror. And because of that, even though I wanted to jump with joy after this little observation, that my twenty-nine-year-old brother has made, I just shrugged nonchalantly and ate another crisp.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" He asked slowly, as if my question was a tricky one.

I waved my hand.

"You still don't want to work full time? Wait, what do you always say about it?" I stopped with theatrical silence."Ah, yes, vegetation."

He smiled with this eternally boyish grin, the one that irritated our mom so much.

He stood up, leaned over to me and muttered:

"Let me tell you something, Care. Some things never change."

And in the same second he took my blanket from me. I squealed, when I felt cool air on my legs. God, will he ever grow up?

"What's going on there? Peter, go check on them!"

I smiled with nostalgia when I heard moms' frustrated voice. I was twenty-seven-years-old, but she always made me feel like irresponsible teenager.

Dad came out from the kitchen and stopped in the middle of the room. He observed me and Stefan with a frown. For a moment he was pretending to be serious, but second later he giggled loudly. Rubbing his hands, he sat down on the couch taking TV remote control from me.

I laughed, even though there was nothing funny at all, but that's what his presence caused. He made everything look so much easier and merrier.

"Peter!"

Moms shout echoed all around the house. And mom was a different matter. Not paying attention to her at all, he still was watching football.

"How is it, little girl? You've lost some weight."

Oh. My day was getting better and better.

"Well, it's not like I'm gonna be anorectic after that."

He made some uncontrolled gesture: I definitely inherited it after him.

"Stop. You need to eat."

My beloved daddy. He always saw only the best in me.

"And what about your work?"

My brother was faster than me with the answer.

"Like in any other job, dad. Vegetation." Dad gave him his angry look, but it didn't work out as he wanted. He just couldn't pretend to be a frustrated man.

"I'm a lawyer, Stefan. Believe me, I like this job." I said, unable to miss that proud look on dads face.

"We'll talk after ten years. " Stefan murmured.

Mom appeared in the doorway with her hands clasped on her hips.

"How long am I going to wait for you?" She hissed at dad.

"Not now, I'm watching football." I laughed. He was giving her this excuse since I can remember.

Of course, in response mom threw at him a cloth. Then she focused her attention on Stefan.

"And you again with your miserable life? Go to work, you sluggard!" And with angelic smile she looked down at me. "You need to rest, my child."

A crooked smile appeared on Stefans face when she turned on her heel, muttering something nasty under her breath.

Dad pulled away from the TV for a moment, with a frown.

"This is how she shows love."

I scowled, when his voice echoed all over the house. I already forgot how loud he can be. I nodded. We had different personalities. My mom was overprotective, she got mad really fast and was a loner. Dad loved companionship and fun, and Stefan was annoying on every level, but he was also my friend, whom I confided in. We argued on every occasion, laughed at stupid jokes and watched matches, which were so much hated by mom, but, still, it was our family tradition.

And it was home.

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"You've promised to come more often."

Moms blue eyes stared at me reproachfully. Dad was looking at something in the distance, bored.

"I have a lot of things on my mind now. It's hard."

"So you should come more often."

There was no point in arguing. You'll never win with mom. I smiled reassuringly.

"Ah! What about your Tyler?"

I rolled my eyes and dad stopped staring at our neighbors across the street. Alarmed, he raised his eyebrows and looked at me expectantly.

"He's not mine." I gasped with frustration. I won't tell her anything now. It's always the same.

"I kept saying that twenty-nine years ago, too." She whispered conspiratorially, glancing at dad.

"Liz, give her space. A girl is a lawyer and she's working. She doesn't need a peasant to be happy."

"And you're just jealous, again. For God's sake, she's going to end up a spinster. My brother was right, when he told her not to sit on the corner of the table."

Stupid superstition.

I let out a breath with hiss. I stood in the doorway of our house, trying to say goodbye to my parents and, as usual, one minute has turned into ten. To be honest, I was getting colder, I was only wearing a sweatshirt and this year, November was unusually chilly.

"Hello! I'm here!"

They looked at me like I was an alien. Dads green eyes, and mums blue. So different. Mom was pale, with a tiny nose and blonde hair, and dad, even though he wasn't Italian, he had their skin, straight nose and black hair. I felt a pang of guilt. I was leaving them, again. People, who I was usually tired of, but I loved them for what they were. If not them, who knows, I'd be a completely different person.

"Dad, trust me, I'm not getting married, and even if so, there won't be any wedding. With you, it would be such a shame." Mom smiled widely, when she was looking at shocked dad. "Mom, Tyler's not mine and never will be. Now, it's all about my career."

Her smile disappeared, and as it was her habit when something didn't go her way, she bristled.

„Thanks for the dinner. It was delicious as always." I hugged her when she muttered under her breath, that I'm the only one, who makes her feel important. Then I hugged dad, telling him not to smoke. He sent me a wink. Well, at least I tried.

I turned on my heel and headed to my old Ford Mustang. When I started the car, I could hear my mom calling dad, and his irritated response:

" What do you want, woman?!"

I didn't know why, but I smiled to myself.

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Exhausted by two hour ride to New York, I was practically walking on all fours to the third floor, where my flat was, which I rented together with my two friends. Elevator wasn't working again, usually I wasn't using it, I wasn't that lazy, but today, I wouldn't say no.

Doors were open and for the first time I wasn't pissed because of that. Finding keys in my bag, after my mom gave me food for whole next month would be a nightmare.

With a relief I put my bag on the floor in the hallway and without blinking I walked into the living room.

Creamy walls made this room warmer and because of some purple accents it wasn't so boring here. Living room with kitchen was my heaven. I loved to sit on the couch, watching horror movies and eating sandwiches with mayonnaise along with girls.

Bonnie always cooked in the evening, and she loved to experiment, but luckily for me and Elena, those experiments usually tasted good. And you can't say that about me and Elena. We are masters in baking cakes and cupcakes, because it's hard for us to make it out alive without sugar, however, making spaghetti? I'll say it like that: I don't even have idea how to cook noodles. And if Bonnie loved to cook so much, then why do we had to learn something that is completely unnecessary for us? The second thing is that we simply don't want to.

Tonight, it was the same as always. Bonnie bustled around the kitchen in her pajamas, preparing dinner and Elena was watching some show in her old track suit, waiting for the food with a frown.

Hungry, we weren't ourselves.

I pulled off my sneakers, threw them somewhere in the hall and I sat on the couch next to Elena. I noticed that she was watching Desperate Housewives. Again. I glanced at her. When she'd found out that the show is ending, she kind of fell into depression. And I'm not joking. She took a break from her work, where she's a journalist and for a week she didn't leave home and just watched whole series from the beginning. It ended up that we got the depression too.

I understood Elena. We grew up on that show. I remember perfectly those carefree moments in college, when we sat down with interest in front of the TV, with a feeling that the world was waiting for us. I think that for Elena it was a symbolic good-bye to our college life.

"Do not look at me like that, Caroline." Oh, I was Caroline now. So she wasn't in a good mood today. "Do not forget, that I still have a video of you, crying when Mike Delfino died."

I opened my mouth widely. She was teasing me, but, still… it was a low blow. I loved Mike Delfino.

"This is a threat," I muttered. "Threats are punishable."

She grimaced, irritated.

"Damn, I sometimes regret that you're a lawyer."

I heard Bonnie's laugh from the kitchen.

"God, Elena, just tell her!"

I knew this tone in Bonnie's voice too good. Little bored, annoyed and concerned at the same time. I looked at Elena again, this time carefully absorbing all details.

She tied her brown hair in a pony tail. They weren't straightened as always, which was strange. I saw sadness in her brown eyes. Bitterness, regret and sadness. Brow furrowed, lips pursed in a thin line and round face. Usually, her optimism was contagious, she even had been hyperactive, which I kept telling her with a smile. I moved closer to her.

I didn't have to ask, I knew exactly what happened, after all, I knew her since we were little.

"What did that asshole do to you this time?" I asked bluntly.

She let out a sigh in response and relaxed a little. Her lips were full again, she had smooth brow and slumped shoulders. She looked at me questioningly.

"What's wrong with me, huh? It always ends up wrong!"

I bit my lip.

"You're just too good for them. They're frightened, cause they're starting to understand that they've met the ideal. And, as far as I know, they are not, so they run like hell."

Elena hit me in the ribs, with a slight smile wondering on her face.

"I know it's not true, but thanks."

"This is what friends are for, right?" I muttered. She laughed, but I could still see pain in her eyes.

"Terry was really nice." She whispered.

"And he had gorgeous eyes." I added quickly.

"And he had gorgeous eyes." She repeated slowly.

I winced at a thought popping in my head.

"But he had terrible name. It makes me think about an old man with a beer belly and a gold tooth."

Elena giggled.

"You're right. Oh, imagine me with a guy like that in forty years. Ugh."

A shudder of disgust came across our faces.

"Elena, just say anything, and I'll be happy to go to him with Bonnie and we're going to talk to him nicely, just like civilized people do."

She looked at me leniently.

"In other words, you're going to cut his balls."

I grinned.

„Something like that." I said, giving her a wink.

"I'll think about that, but, to be honest, I'd rather do that myself."

"Dinnnneeeeer!"

I glanced at the kitchen.

Elena was in a better mood. Tomorrow, she's going to be annoying again, with her optimism and wide smile, as always. I smelt a chicken from the kitchen. Yummy.

With new strength, that I thought I won't find today, I got up from the couch and I took Elena by the hand to the kitchen. There, the three of us sat around the table.

I looked at the chicken and I started to drool. God, did I always have to be hungry?

"Guys, does that chicken smile to you, too?"