I searched my world but I can't find you
You're standing there but I can't touch you
Try to talk but the words are just not there
-Demons, Brian McFadden.
Caroline watches as Klaus listens to Damon. He stops abruptly and she sees a hint of fear flicker in Damon's eyes. Klaus has been around long enough for them to recognise his little tells.
She bites her lip nervously and feels helpless as Stefan opens his mouth to calm Klaus down, only to be cut off by Klaus blurring over to Damon.
"What do you mean she's missing?" Klaus snarls, pinning Damon up against the wall. Damon chokes for air, grabbing Klaus' wrist and pulling himself higher to catch a breath.
"Bonnie did a cleansing spell," he coughs, "And Barbie vanished from the room." Klaus releases Damon and turns to Bonnie, glaring at her murderously.
"I'm right here," Caroline screams again, only to be ignored... Again.
She walks across the room and places her hand on Klaus' chest. He shivers and looks down at her hand and she smiles, until he steps back as if he were burned.
"What is it, Klaus?" Stefan asks, standing protectively in front of Bonnie. He takes a step forward and Klaus raises his hand to stop him. Stefan halts and Klaus looks up, right into Caroline's eyes.
She feels electricity running through her and there's a collective gasp from them all. She looks around and they're all staring at her.
"Caroline?" Bonnie gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. Caroline looks down at herself, noticing she's glitching. She looks up at Klaus and opens her mouth to speak, only to gasp and fade once more.
"No!" Klaus roars, stepping forward and looking around the room desperately. "Witch, what did you do?" He growls, eyeing Bonnie maliciously. Bonnie gulps and Caroline jumps in front of Klaus.
He takes a step forward and she pushes him back. He flies across the room and hits the wall. She stares wide eyed as he groans and pulls himself to his feet. He glares at Bonnie and she raises her hands in surrender.
"It wasn't me," she stammers, "I swear. I can't do that kind of magic, anymore." Caroline walks over to the mirror and fogs it up with her icy breath. They all turn to the squeaking and Damon frowns as he read out loud, "It was me. C... Well, she's no Dr Seuss, that's certain."
They turn back to the mirror and Bonnie and Stefan laugh quietly when they read 'fuck off, Damon' in the breath. Caroline turns to Klaus and walks over to him. She tests herself, touching everything she can and finding she can knock stuff over.
They follow the sounds. A glass clinking against fingernails. A pen rolling over. The corner of the paper being ripped slightly. A book falling to the floor. Klaus gasp. That catches their attention.
Caroline puts her hand on his cheek and he looks truly terrified. She closes her eyes and focuses on him. She hears him swallow and whisper her name. Her eyes snap open and he's looking right at her, not past her. She looks at herself and smiles, she's glitching, but not as much as before.
"Care, what happened?" Bonnie pleads. Caroline turns to look at her, her hand sliding down Klaus' body until she has a hold on his wrist. "I think I'm a ghost," Caroline shrugs. She turns back to Klaus with a small smile. "Sorry about... throwing you across the room. I didn't mean to," she mumbles before looking back at the others.
Klaus is still too shocked to respond, so he just listens. "I can focus myself on Klaus," she tells Bonnie. "What does that mean?" Stefan asks, frowning slightly. Damon sighs, "It means Barbie loves Klaus more than she's letting on."
They all turn to him and Caroline blinks at him with a small frown. "What do you know about this?" She challenges, glaring at him. He smirks, shrugging his shoulders innocently. "I've seen this spell before, Blondie," he replies smugly, "I know what happened. Witchy here has put you in a kind of limbo, so now you're a weird ghosty thing that has to focus on their love to be seen. Looks like you've been keeping secrets. Bad girl." He waves his finger at her, as if to scold a bad puppy and she rolls her eyes.
She looks at Klaus and meets his eyes. He stares back at her, narrowed eyes and brows furrowed in confusion. She tilts her head and looks at his lips for a second, as if to tell him something she can't say out loud. He can see it in her eyes, that Damon's right. that she does feel something for him. She quickly turns back to Damon, breaking their moment.
"Do you know how to bring me back?" She asks him. He scratches the back of his neck thoughtfully and scowls at one of the bookshelves. "Last time, the ghosty person had to admit to something, so I'm guessing you have something to admit to," he shrugs, turning back to her and smirking.
"I'm going for a walk," she mumbles, releasing Klaus. There's a unison of protest and Klaus reaches out to grab her again, but the front door flies open and she's gone.
"Bloody hell," Klaus growls, flashing from the boarding house and heading to his mansion.