I walk down the halls at school confidently, or at least I used to.
My head is held high, and I avoid eye contact.
I am happy with my life. Where did I go wrong?
I am Caroline Forbes and I am completely lost in my own life.
From a young age, I was different. Not in the "eat sand" kind of different; in the sort of different that makes the other kids call you weird and not want to play with you different.
I was eight when the visions started. They started off so slow I thought they were normal. They felt like dreams. As I grew older, they became more frequent, more scary. I couldn't tell anyone because they would think I was crazy, so I kept it to myself.
After a while, they became easier to ignore and I started to settle back into my life again. I became cheerleading captain and I signed up for clubs, but I can feel them coming back stronger, and this time I don't think I can ignore them.
It's like I take one look at someone and I see their future. Some good stuff and bad stuff, but it doesn't make sense; it's muddled. I don't know how I'm supposed to prevent it from happening. I don't know if this is some gift I have been given to help people. It's just a big bunch of "don't knows." It's not just other people's lives, it's mine too. Always the same vision of me in a hospital being smothered and waking up craving blood. I know about vampires and werewolves and witches. Maybe I am a witch. That would explain all of this.
I got up out of my bed. I was not ready for the world today, but unfortunetely school doesn't care.
"I need to visit Bonnie," I mumbled to myself. Bonnie had left school to run a magic shop with her Grams. She must know what's wrong with me. There must be a book or a pendant or something.
I walked downstairs to an empty house. It was usually like this. I had grown used to the quiet. I grabbed an apple and headed out the door. I always liked to walk. It helps me think, helps me feel something other than worry. I get so wrapped up in my own head sometimes.
"I wonder if I do turn out to be a witch. Will I get a broomstick? I need to catch up on some 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' episodes," I thought to myself as I walked to the magic shop.
I walked inside to the sound of a very angry customer.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE BOOK IS NOT FOR SALE?! IT HAS A VERY OVER-PRICED PRICE TAG, SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS FOR SALE!" the man shouted.
I had never seen someone get so angry over a book. Well, I guess I can understand. I mean, I would have gone crazy if someone had stopped me from buying Harry Potter books.
"Could you lower your voice please, sir? You are causing a scene," Bonnie said calmly.
The man turned around to see who else was in the shop. His eyes locked with mine. I got this feeling of darkness from him. Something about him was powerfully evil. I could feel a vision coming on.
I saw some sort of ball. The man was there and he was looking at something…. He looked pleased with whatever it was. Ugh these visions never make sense! Why couldn't they just be spoilers for who wins 'America's Next Top Model'?
Before I even noticed, the man had stomped out of the shop.
"Another day at the office, huh Bon?" I said.
"I don't even know why he wanted the book so badly. I don't understand people. Wait, shouldn't you be at school?" Bonnie said with a smile.
"Well you see, Bon, I need to talk to you about something…kinda important," I said nervously, staring at the ground.
"I'll go get the green tea," Bonnie said, going into the back room of the shop.
"Oh God, she is going to think I have lost my mind! What if I have? What if this is a vision? What if my whole life is a vision? What if I forgot to tape 'The Bachelor'? What if 'The Bachelor' is just a vision too?" I thought to myself.
"Here we go, one fresh cup of Aunt Bonnie's green tea," Bonnie said, handing me the cup.
"Now, what is it that you felt you had to miss history for to tell me?" she said with a laugh.
"Well you see, Bonnie, there is something wrong with me."
"Care, we all know about your 'Bachelor' addiction," she said, smiling at me.
"I wish that was what I came to talk about, but it's something more serious," I said, still avoiding eye contact.
"When I was eight, I started to have these dreams about my parents splitting up. They felt so real, Bon, but I just thought nothing of it. But then my parents starting arguing a lot more. They spent less and less time with each other and I watched it happen. I didn't know how to stop it, and then one day I started getting a really bad headache and I started seeing some sort of hallucination. It was of my parents agreeing to a divorce. I thought I was just dreaming but I wasn't, Bonnie, because later that night I heard them have the exact same conversation that I saw in the hallucination, and I realised that somehow I see the future. As I've grown older, I have started to have more and more visions and hallucinations and I can't ignore them no matter how hard I try," I finished, finally looking Bonnie in the eye.
"I'll need to research this, Caroline. Can you come back later after school to see me? I should have some sort of answer to this," she said, walking over to some books.
I walked out of the shop feeling happy that finally someone else knew about this, and that I could finally talk to someone about it. I started walking to school. If I hurried, I should make it to 3rd period.
I reached the school gates out of breath, and I saw the man from the book shop. He was walking in my direction.
"Oh God, oh God, he's coming over here! Why, oh God," I thought, internally screaming.
He walked so confidently, like nothing could hurt him. Like no one could get in his way.
"Excuse me, sweetheart, but you don't happen to know where the nearest bar is around here?" he asked, smirking.
"Speak, Caroline! Oh God, speak! Remember your words, remember your words! Oh God, that accent!" my thoughts were screaming at me.
"I could walk you to it, if you like," I offered, hoping he'd say yes.
"Uh…sure, love," he said, staring at me.
"Follow me. I'm Caroline, by the way," I said, putting my hand out for him to shake it.
"I'm Klaus. I'm new to this town," he said, returning the handshake.
As soon as our hands touched, I felt this weird connection to him, like somehow I understood him. I could feel the visions, but this time it was different. It didn't show me his future, it showed me his past. His past full of a father who did not love him, a death in the family. It's like I could feel his pain, like I understood it, but he had no idea. He was walking beside me, completely unaware of what I know about him now. From what I felt from his past, I found myself feeling sad for him having to spend so many years feeling unloved. I, too, feel like that sometimes. Kind of like there's not one person in the whole world loves me.
"Well, here it is! The Mystic Grill," I said cheerily.
"Join me for a drink? Come on, it's the least I could do," he asked, giving me puppy dog eyes.
"Hmm, I dunno, Klaus." I was unsure.
"Come on, Caroline, take a chance. I dare you." He smirked.
"Fine," I said, walking over to the bar.
"Don't worry, love. I'll make sure you have fun," he said with a devilish grin that I felt like I would see a lot.
"Ugh, why did Nik bring us here? It's so boring," Rebekah said, standing to face Kol.
"He's here because the person he needs to break the curse is living in Mystic Falls," Kol said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, you mean that 'seeker of the future and the past' person he always talks about?" Rebekah said, mocking his voice.
"He went to that magic shop to try and find a book on this 'seeker of the future' or whatever. They refused to sell it to him," Kol said, amused.
"He would react well to that. I just hope Nik hurries up and finds this person before I die of boredom," Rebekah said, falling to the sofa.
"Grams, I think I found something. It's from the book that man wanted earlier," Bonnie said, looking through the book.
"What does it tell you, child?" Grams said.
"It talks about an ancient princess who saw the future. It says she used this gift to help people but was later kidnapped by a wolf gang. The wolf gang needed the princess to break some sort of curse. They did this by ripping out her heart," Bonnie read.
"This means Caroline could be in danger. What if the man that wanted this book has something to do with this story?" Bonnie said, worried.
"You can't tell Caroline this. We have to protect her," Grams said, serious.
"I have a feeling that man is going to cause more trouble than good."