AN: Fic for 'The Vampire Diaries Free-For-All Comment Ficathon: Part 4'
Prompt by petrova39: can't find yourself, lost in your lies / somehow you've got everybody fooled.
Rated: K
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Caroline Forbes was the poster girl for happiness, except that she wasn't always happy. Sometimes, she would break down in tears after a day filled with emotional turmoil or she would throw things and break them in a fit of anger. Because that's who she was. She wasn't the happy go lucky girl that everyone thought; she never was. As a human, she had always been the bubbly girl that everyone wanted to be friends with. She was the life and soul of the party and could bring a smile to anyone's face but no one ever saw when her own smile, that inspired so many others, disappeared.
People knew of her life, knew that her mother had raised her single-handedly when her father ran off with another man. They knew that her relationship with her mother wasn't the best that it could be but they never stopped to wonder what that did to her. They never stopped to wonder what lay beneath that perfect, but fake, smile that she wore everyday. That's what pained her the most, because even when she wanted to just let her emotions go, she couldn't. She had built up such a persona as the easy going, loving life blonde that she couldn't risk damaging her reputation.
She suspected her friends, the people she let into her heart, would discover what lay beneath the surface. But they never did, she supposed she was too good of an actress.
She felt every sting of pain from the rejection that she suffered; rejection from her mother when she acted out by going to parties, rejection from her friends when they kept secrets from her and the rejection from boys when they realised that they wouldn't get a shot at Elena and opted for second best. Because, that's what she was; second best. Second best to her father's boyfriend, second best to her mother's job, second best to her friends and second best to the boys and men that she had feelings for.
Nobody bothered to look below the surface, and soon enough, neither did she. She stayed the superficial blonde that everybody suspected her to be because it was easier to be what they expected and liked, than to risk being herself and ending up alone.
When she transitioned into a vampire, everything was heightened. Her emotions became too much to handle and soon, everything bubbled to the surface. Her narcotic, controlling behaviour was multiplied and so were her insecurities. But with that, came her heightened sense of hiding herself. She was still the same Caroline that they knew and loved. Maybe, that was the reason she adapted to vampirism so well; she simply pretended that she was okay with it, she took it in her stride as she did with everything else in her life.
Soon, she realised that she never really knew who she was. Emotions were stronger now, they overruled her conscious thought and simply overpowered her. But that was okay, because she realised that the people she loved, loved her back. Unconditionally. Her mother accepted her as a vampire, and soon her father did too. Her friends shared more with her and instead of fighting for boys, they were fighting for her.
For once in her life, Caroline realised that these people that surrounded her would always be there for her.
For once in her life, Caroline didn't have to hide how she was feeling.
For once in her life, Caroline was happy to be herself.
Review if you enjoyed! Amy xo