DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES


CHAPTER 1: MOVIE NIGHT


Caroline breathed loudly keeping her irritated gaze on the screen.

She was sitting on the couch legs crossed underneath her and the - now empty - pop corn bowl rested aimlessly on them. Enzo was right next to her, leaning casually back on the couch, his body openly facing Caroline's. His head was resting lazily on his left hand as he watched her amused.

"All right…" he said smiling at her, while dramatically rolling his eyes at her - not so subtle attempts - on hiding her irritation "This must be the fifteenth time that you`ve sighted in the last five minutes, what is it that bothers you, gorgeous?"

Caroline paused the movie angrily and turned to face her companion.

"Seriously?!" she exclaimed "Do you even know what has happened the past five hours on that screen?!"

"Yeah… That kid from that weird planet became a jet sky night-" he started.

"Jedi Knight!" Caroline corrected saying the word in between her teeth.

"Same difference!" Enzo shrugged and Caroline growled. "The little apprentice, Bobby Z, became a master… or... whatever! The Chinese girl became a mini female terminator… Oh and that dragon-like creature somehow became a politician…" Enzo finished with a self satisfied grin on.

Caroline shook her head disapprovingly.

"So, have I got it right?" Enzo asked, wearing an arrogant smile that Caroline had convinced herself a long time ago that she hated.

"Oh let's see…" she said annoyed, while shifting her positions so she could face him too. "You called Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi Bobby Z, you think that Queen Padme is a Chinese girl-slash-gladiator, and the Gungan, Jar Jar Binks – not a politician, obviously –a dragon-like creature! Which leads to the conclusion, that you haven`t been paying the slightest bit of attention, because - aside from the plot - you don`t even remeber the names of the main characters!"

At the end of her speech she took a deep breath and crossed her hands on her chest while the dark haired Brit, tried very hard to suppress a laugh.

"Well it`s hard to remember all these weird names…" Enzo protested trying very hard not to laugh at her exaggerated glare "Especially after five hours of brainwashing…"

"For a human it might be a little difficult, but for a vampire it's a piece of cake!" Caroline retorted. "And if you have been watching the movie half the time you were watching me, you might at least remember the names!"

"Oh, come on, watching your face was so much more fun than watching these stupid flashlight swords…" Enzo replied unable to stop his smile from spreading this time, as he added "Especially when you cried…"

"I… I did not cry!" the blonde protested crossing her hands and raising her chin up resembling a five-year-old. A really kissable five year old if you asked Enzo.

"Oh yes you did…" he teased "When that guy killed the dark haired boy you were weeping…"

At that point Enzo pretended to be a kid weeping dramatically. He put both hands on his eyes and made weird sounds, that Caroline would have found ridiculously hilarious if she wasn`t so pissed off right now, while rubbing his eyes - all at once.

"I was not!" she protested loudly.

"You were my brother! I loved you!" he mimicked the protagonist`s voice and then he faked Caroline`s cries: "Oh no please! Don't kill him! Guhu… guhu… sniff… sob…"

And then he went on keeping up the theatrics, riling up the blonde furthermore. Caroline was so angry she could swear there was smoke coming out from her ears. Maybe even her nose. Like and angry female dragon, ready to pounce at her worst enemy. He didn`t manage to laugh at her any longer, because something soft landed with force on his head. A pillow, he realized.

Uhm... was that supposed to hurt him?

He threw his head back and laugh with everything he had, completely unable to stop from doing so.

" . .!" she growled as she landed one blow with the deadly pillow she held, with every word she let through her teeth.

Unfortunately for her, he didn`t stop laughing and she realized everything she did from then on, only made him laugh more. So she decided not to do anything. She crossed her hands on her chest once more and refused to look at him, until - as she hoped - his laughter died down and he was now only grinning at her from ear to ear.

He looked at the angry girl sitting next to him, trying to suppress his amused smile. She was so adorable when she frowned like that and crossed her hands on her chest. He fought hard the urge to grab and kiss her right there and then knowing that she wouldn`t like it. Never mind the fact that he would probably lose his head if he did.

"Caroline Forbes…" he said seriously now, and the girl actually blinked surprised with the use of her full name, so formally. She looked at him and was once more surprised to notice a spark of anger in his eyes "Did you just throw a pillow to my incredibly handsome and madly irresistible face?"

Caroline cracked a smile and rolled her eyes.

He went on pretending to be angry and serious.

"And instead of begging for my forgiveness, to the state of your knees, you`re laughing at me instead?!" he continued the farce and watched her smile grow into a giggle.

"Yes, I am!" she said sternly after a few seconds, deciding to play along with this new game.

Whats could do wrong?

"Ts ts ts…" he tsked "This is not a way to treat people older than you, you should show more respect for the elders... Didn`t your mother teach you that?"

"Hey, leave my mom out of this!" she said throwing another pillow at him, her grin still on.

"Apparently not!" he concluded too seriously throwing the pillow away and shifting to lean closer to her "Well, how lucky for her I am still around and more than willing to teach you some manners!"

With his last words, he grabbed her from the waist and laid her on the couch settling himself on top of her, all at once.

"What are you doing? Stop!" she protested in between her giggles, lightly pushing him away. He continued tickling her on her stomach as the bowl fell down to the floor smashing into thousand pieces. Their laughter filled the room slowly but steadily.

"Oh no, gorgeous… You`ve been continuously torturing me for the last few hours, with these boring excuse of movies, now it`s my turn…"

"S-stop!" she said again laughing.

When he didn`t listen to her request she tried to escape him by pushing him with her vamp strength. He caught her wrists and pinned them above her head immobilizing her within less than a minute. They lay on the couch, with Enzo still on top of her while Caroline tried desperately to escape him, with no luck.

Slowly her laughter faded into low giggles but Enzo`s smile remained all the same on his face. He had her immobilized in every possible way now.

"What are you going to do now, gorgeous?" he asked at last, breathing heavily.

And suddenly something in the air changed.

It became more... electric.

His warm breath embraced her face, heating it up, making her feel dizzy all of a sudden… he smelled like pop corn and coda… She could almost taste what his mouth on hers would be like… But the most dominant scent and biggest allure was his natural one mingled with his cologne… it made her nose ache and her eyes burn with desire.

She licked her lips unconsciously.

Only then did Caroline notice, how close they truly were and her smile faded. The amusement in her eyes was replaced by something entirely different, something she hadn`t felt for years now, for anyone. It was lust.

His legs were pinning hers down as his hands were immobilizing her wrists. His chest rested softly above hers. And his face, his lips were only inches away from hers, their noses practically touching, their lips gazing. He was invading her personal space, overwhelming her. But the worst part wasn`t the fact that she didn`t mind being so close to him. No, the worst part, it was that she wanted to get even closer.

Play with the fire and you'll get burn, Carebear! Damon's voice echoed in her ears.

They were both breathing heavily now, clearly worked up from their earlier struggle. Well, struggle for Caroline, play for Enzo.

"I…" she trailed off, out of breath after few silenced moments. She had – for a second – forgotten that he had asked her a question. A rhetorical one, but still a question, none the less. "I am going to kindly ask you to let go of me…" she whispered looking away from his intense gaze.

She swallowed hard… Their bodies were so close, too close, yet not close enough. Their mouths too much alluring as their tongues were thirsty to taste each other.

"What if I don`t want to?" Enzo murmured his eyes betraying his desire, as she was certain he could read hers too. His bad intentions were clear, and she so badly wanted everything he had in store right now.

Caroline couldn`t help a pleasant chill that explored her whole body. They exchanged a long lasting look while their eyes were searching one another`s for some hidden clue, suddenly an unspoken understanding passed through them at the same time … A massage only they could understand… Maybe because of the desire they shared… They both leaned in together at the same time, like if their minds were linked... The anticipation was over as soon as their lips met each other with hunger and despair they never had felt before in their lifes.

"He kissed you?!" Elena exclaimed raising her eyebrows while Bonnie almost spit her coffee on the table.

The three girls were sitting in the Salvatore boarding house, drinking coffee and enjoying the sunny day. The boys - meaning Damon and the Brit that was the theme of the conversation - were out, somewhere. Possibly at the Grill. Okay, definitely at the Grill!

"Was it good?" the witch asked, smiling wickedly.

"Bonnie!" the blonde vampire exclaimed choked.

"That means it was!" said Elena sharing a wild smile and a high five with her brunette friend, as the blonde vampire glared at both of them.

"Oh come now, Caroline, spill the beans!"Elena said "We both know that if it was us, not telling you even the slightest, details you`d killed us! Same rules apply!"

"I`m the Queen, remember?" she reminded them half jokingly. Both girls flinched. "I can just ignore the rules!"

"Spill, your highness!" mocked Bonnie rolling her eyes as Elena laughed. "Before I knock your royal ass off!"

The blonde girl made a face and stuck her tongue out at both of them, knowing perfectly well that their conversation was not private at all. Not that they didn`t know. Sometime it was as if her friends had forgotten the entire predicament. She wished it was that easy for her to forget too.

"Come on! You have to tell us!" Elena insisted.

"What happened after the kiss?!" the Bennett witch asked impatiently backing her brunette bestie. It wasn't hard to figure what the ex witch implied by her tone.

"We went to my bedroom and we had excruciating, mind-blowing sex till dawn!" she replied seriously.

Her two friends exchanged a shocked look.

There were a couple silent moments before both of their eyes turned back on her.

"Really?!" Elena asked echoing Bennie's frightened enthusiasm.

"Of course not!" the blonde replied dismissively, almost laughing at her friends` disappointed looks. "Me and Enzo... We`re not... It`s not like that! We`re… just… friends!" she added after a minute. "And we both agreed that this… kiss … will never to be discussed or repeated again!"

"Mhh…" the other vampire said unconvinced. "Hey Bonnie, remind me, wasn`t she JUST FRIENDS with Matt, before she started dating him?"

"And with Tyler…" Bonnie retorted smiling as if she wasn`t even there "... before she started dating him!"

"And with Stefan…" Elena continued "... before she-"

"Ok, all right, I get it!" Caroline yelled annoyed raising her hands to stop them from continuing "But this time is different, you know it is… I can`t let myself feel anything for him… I can`t put him in that kind of danger. And I won`t!"

The two dark haired girls exchanged looks again, this time sad ones.

"I mean you did mention Stefan…" the blonde said to Elena, her voice breaking "Have you forgotten what happened to him? Because I haven`t… And I`m not gonna do the same to Enzo!"

This time the two girls stopped smiling. Sad memories filled their vision as they recalled how Stefan had left town. Or rather, how Stefan was forced to leave it.

"It`s been twenty years, Care…" Bonnie said holding her best friend`s hand into hers reassuringly.

"It doesn`t matter how much time passes, Bonnie…" the blonde girl replied standing up and turning away from her friends to look through the window. She could clearly hear and at some spots see the hybrids - his spies - rounding the mansion in circles. She wasn`t alone. She was never alone, he wouldn`t allow that.

Caroline hugged herself and whispered the next word, voice braking at some parts.

"He won`t leave me alone... He won`t let me go... I know it…"

Elena felt the urge to hug her friend and to reassure her that everything would be ok. That she`d be okay. That they`d help her escape the cage and his wrath. But she didn`t. Because she knew that this could be a lie… she knew that her best friend was right. This was her fate and only a miracle could rescue her.

Everyone knew that he wouldn`t have forgotten. He would never forget what she did. Nor forgive it. And he would never grant her her freedom.

That much he had promised.

"Hey, what the hell is going on with you and Caroline?!" Damon demanded to know as he emptied a double shot of Bourbon and ordered another round.

They had been out for the better part of the day playing football at first and then a lot of pool at the grill. He had been trying not to ask too hard for too long, but he was Damon Salvatore, he wasn`t known for his impulse control...

"Oh, so that`s why you lured me here?" his friend retorted with his British accent filling the air "…to get me drunk and ask me about the Vampire Barbie?"

"Uh oh, dodging the question by using another question…" Damon mocked "it`s not a novelty and it`s, sooo not a good sign!"

"I`m not dodging, I`m just debating whether to tell you or not…" his friend replied not losing his wit just yet.

"Enzo, Spill! Now!" said Damon putting down his drink so abruptly, it almost spilled out of the glass. "What happened between the two of you?!"

"Nothing yet…" he admitted as his eyes softened in the memory of last night.

"Oh... I`m sorry... Did my ears deceived me? 'Yet'?!" Damon`s eyebrows arched in surprise.

Enzo just smiled shrugging nonchalantly as he sipped from his drink.

"Are you out of your mind?!" exclaimed the Salvatore.

"I like her, Damon!" he said sternly. "And I`m not gonna let her go so easily, not when I feel like she feels something back, not without a fight! I`m going to claim her…"

"Well, here`s the thing dumb ass, she is claimed, spoken for and you have to stay as far away from her as you can!" he retorted using his serious voice this time as he straightened up. "Or you`re gonna put yourself in a kind of a trouble no one could get you out from, including me!"

"What can I say?" Enzo inquired faking a sad look and raising his hands in the air as if surrendering "I`m a thrill seeker…"

He didn`t manage to finish his sentence and Damon was on him in nanoseconds. He flashed them both against a wall, not caring if the unsuspected Mystic Falls folks were watching, but Enzo was older and stronger. He crushed Damon`s hand and threw him on the pool table that gave away under his weight.

Meanwhile the people in the grill were frantic… Some were fleeting the place the minute the fight broke off while the more bold ones were closing in to see what caused it. Neither of the two fighters seemed to notice or care about their reaction though.

The perks of being a bad guy, I guess…

"What the hell do you think you`re doing?!" Enzo asked infuriated as his friend rose from the floor.

"Me?! Or you?!" Damon yelled pointing an angry finger at him "Do you really think that you`re gonna walk away from this unscratched?! I refuse to think you`re that stupid!"

"And I refuse to believe that the Damon Salvatore I know is now trembling with fear because of some guy who thinks that the world belongs to him! I don`t care if he comes for me… I`ll kill him and be done with it, if I have to!"

"You can`t kill him!" Damon yelled back taking a face that someone would use to a two years old child. "You know you can`t. And you can`t free her either. Do you really think we haven`t already tried?! Time after time, and guess what?! We failed!"

Enzo frowned at that.

He knew the history...

"And he`s not just some evil guy who thinks he owns the world… He really owns it! If he wants to ruin the entire planet, he will… If he decides to come and kill us all one day, just for fun he`ll come and kill us all… If he wants to take Caroline away, he`ll take her away and nobody – not even you – can do anything to stop it… With no witches against him, no vampires or even werewolves – for that matter – that can defeat him, and two loyal bodyguards to protect him – as if he needs protection…" he half laughs at the idea. "He is truly invincible…"

Now Damon stood in front of him, breathing heavily with fury and concern in his eyes.

A moment of silence passes and when the Salvatore spoke again he seemed relatively calm. He took a few steps closer and placed a hand on Enzo`s shoulder while saying the next words.

"I know how you feel Enzo…" he said calmly "And I`m truly sorry, but there is no way for you two to be together… At least not in the way you want…"

"What if we kept it a secret?" he asked with renewed hope in his eyes, or was it desperation? "What if no one knew?"

Damon shakes his head sadly.

"He has her followed by ten of his hybrids... Maybe more… He knows her every move, he`ll figure it out sooner rather than later…"

"But we`ve been hanging out for years now and he never made an appearance… Maybe it means he can be fooled…"

"Hate to disappoint you…" Damon said sadly "But it`s more likely that he knows exactly what you two were doing all this time rather than anything else… He must know that you are just friends…"

The British man thought about it for a while, before coming up with another idea.

"What if we run away?" he asked with renewed hope in his eyes. "Katherine Pierce managed to run away from Klaus for 500 years hasn`t she?"

"You`ve forgotten that he actually caught her in the end." Damon replied. "And that she was a soulless bitch who preferred to let Klaus slaughter everyone she ever cared about than get caught. Don`t you know what happened to her family? The same will happen to us... And neither Caroline nor you will sacrifice our lives for your happiness, am I wrong?"

Enzo shook his head, jaw clenching with rage.

He hated that bastard!

"Plus Katherine had a chance because she had a witch on her side blocking the locator spells he was using to find her and the only witch I know that is still alive is the Bennett witch… But let`s not forget that she has no magic, because he forced her to give it up in return of her life… and we all know he showed her that kind of mercy because of a certain blond vampire that begged for it…"

Enzo`s face drop. So there was really no way, he really couldn`t do anything…

"I…" he muttered looking lost. "I`ve never felt so powerless in my life…"

The chaos broke around them and Damon realized he had to do something as Enzo didn`t seem to notice anything that was going on...

"Not even when we were captured by the Augustine's…" Enzo added as he sunk in the nearby armchair.

Damon looked around and decided to take matters into his own hands, since his friend couldn`t help. One by one, he compelled everyone in the bar to forget what just had happened and the bus boys to clean up after the mess. Damn! Where was that Donovan boy when you needed him?!

Taking a bottle of Bourbon on his way, he sat opposite to his friend and offered it to him. Enzo took it and after drinking a few seeps he gave it back to Damon.

"I know…" Enzo finally said. "I know how dangerous he is… I know I can`t kill him. I know it Damon… despite everything I said earlier… I was just… angry… I was angry at the fact that you were right…"

"I`m just looking out for you… If anything happens, it won`t only be dangerous for her it will be dangerous for you too…" he said narrowing his eyes on the bottle he was holding. His next words were almost inaudible. "I`ve already lost my brother… You`re all I`ve got left now…"

Few more minutes passed as they drunk in silence…

But Damon asked the question again, for the last time. And Enzo finally sighted and said:

"I kissed her… and she kissed back..."

Caroline felt someone else`s presence in the house before she even unlocked the front door. The lights were off... No car, other than hers, was parked outside so it wasn`t her mom. Maybe it was a hybrid? But no, none of them had ever walked into her home without her permission.

It might be Enzo, she thought, but he wouldn`t have invaded her privacy like that, would he?

No he wouldn`t. Not after last night…

She threw the keys on the table slowly removing her coat and scarf and at the same time, trying to recognize the scent…

It didn`t take her long.

"You`ve got to be kidding me!" she said her eyes widening in disbelief and fear as she walked slowly towards the living room...

Of course it is him! She thought sarcastically.

He was sitting on the armchair, in the center of the room, settled as if it was his own throne. His face screaming off of the power only a King can radiate... He was more beautiful that she remembered him… Or was it the darkness in which he sat that suited him so well? His blue orbs already set on her, checking her out, drinking her in till the last drop, intimidating her... His gaze went slowly from her toes to her head, scanning her whole posture… and then, as he imprisoned her eyes into his, a sly and seductive smile appeared on his lips.

He stood up slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, and took a few steps closer, leaving a considerable amount of space between them as he halted in front of her. He was one feet away, but Caroline felt like she couldn`t breathe from the proximity... After all, it has been awhile... Twenty years, to be exact... And though she hated herself for it, she had to admit she had missed him and was now breath-taken by his presence…

"Hello Caroline…" he said with that god damned accent of his, evil smile playing on his gorgeous lips.

"Klaus…" she whispered blinking a few times.

It was just like old times in Mystic falls...

Or not...

His name was all she managed to say before his expression changed from friendly to hostile and he whooshed aggressively towards her.

Please Review!

T.J.