A.N.: you all know Caroline isn't really that pathetic, so don't expect any 'love at first sight' just cause she had just broken up with Matt. As you shall see she's not even trying to impress Klaus, which will kind of make him more interested in her.
Just read it and I hope you enjoy it :)
Oh and, yes the title 'the selfish one', you'll get why I chose it from this chapter.
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chapter one: La Rencontre
'He dragged me out of the house to the MysticGrill just to tell me he wants to break up with me? He could've sent a text. No a break up text is worse! ugh!' she thinks to herself as she enters the house. She saw it coming, (~didn't she?~) considering their numerous quarrels lately because Matt never stops comparing her with Elena and making her feel inferior to her best friend. She drops her bag on the entry table, barely standing on her feet, her mom comes out of the kitchen, in a rush, still wearing her uniform.
"Caroline, glad you're back early" not noticing how depressed her daughter seems, "I've got some work to do so I'll step by the office and then I'll come back to pick you up around 6pm, ok?" Liz takes her keys from the table where her daughter is standing and heads to the door when Caroline calls for her.
"Mom wait,"
Liz closes her eyes in frustration knowing she inevitably has to have this conversation all over again.
"We've gone through this already! I'm not in the mood to go!" Caroline urges with a brittle tone.
Liz turns around with an appealing look "Sweetheart, can't you put your personal issues aside for a while and take responsibility for once!"
"So you also think I'm" she pauses for a moment, staring at her feet "selfish..?" her voice's sounding very low.
"Honey," a desperate look of sorrow appears on Liz's face "no! Of course not. I just…"
Caroline interrupts her mom "fine! I'll go" and then she grabs her bag and heads to her room.
She enters her room, feeling so tired and dizzy, she falls on bed burying her face in a pillow. 'how did I end up like this? why am I never good enough for anyone? oh god! I really am so insecure' she thinks to herself again, "ugh!" a sigh escapes her mouth.
She keeps blaming herself until she gets a call from her mom telling her to get ready!
She sits up, taking a deep breath, she shakes her head a little, "be responsible! Right!"
She gets up trying to be as cheerful as she was in the morning, when she thought Matt had a surprise for her (~yeah, saw it coming~). She opens her wardrobe and searches for something to wear. "too bright, too dull ..." she murmurs as she goes through the dresses, "uhm maybe, no, I don't want to look broken-hearted or pathetic! I want to look ok. No, not just ok, I want to seem great!" she stops for a moment, 'Am I really ok?'
"ah! this is the one!" holding a double-bow floor-length black dress.
Liz comes back home and gets ready too then they leave the house together. With her mom quiet behind the wheels, the drive seemed to take ages. It would've been easier for Caroline to talk about what's bothering her with her mom if Liz didn't indirectly call her selfish.
.:.
At the Founders' hall
The place doesn't look too crowded some locals with a few strangers, and both Elena and Bonnie are there. Caroline tried her best to avoid them, she doesn't want any break-up-sympathy. It has always made her feel pathetic and weak. They finally catch her in spite of her efforts.
"Care! Are you avoiding us or something?" Elena asks.
She turns back forcing a smile on her face, "avoiding you? Why would I do that" she studies their expressions wondering if they believe her, but with the frowning on Bonnie's face it's obvious that they don't, "I was just busy!"
"We met Matt today" Says Bonnie, trying to get Caroline to talk.
"Oh right! Matt! I'll check if he's here" She dodges Bonnie's circuitous question and heads out, leaving her best friends wondering helplessly.
She walks out of the front door to grab some air, but that doesn't really help, all she can't think of is how much of a loser she must seem to everyone now. Plus, her mom is too busy to even notice. Tears stream down her cheeks and she just buries her face in her hands.
"Having a spot of bother, love?" a honeyed voice interrupts her. She tries to wipe her tears fast and turns around to see this handsome (~or rather hot~) man. It's hard to see in the dark with a blurry view (~thanks to the crying session she had just had~) but it's quite obvious that his hair is blond, and he's tall probably 5'11. Plus, he clearly has a great fashion taste!
Before she could say anything he takes off his jacket and places it on her shoulders
"Now," he bends his feet so that he's now sitting in front of her and his gaze meets hers, "I heard a woman called Katherine Pierce had recently moved in town, do you have any idea where I can find her?"
Ha! A vampire! A British vampire!
"Sorry to disappoint you" she stands up and waits till he does the same "I'm on vervain!" she chuckles a bit then takes off his jacket and pushes it into his chest "and to answer your question, no I don't know where Katherine Petrova-Pierce, or whatever she likes to call herself, is!" that leaves the vampire in total shock, 'she's not afraid! Not in the slightest!' his inner voices notice.
"one more thing, you do realize you have the asking-politely option instead of compulsion, right?"
He smiles to himself as he watches her walk into the hall, interesting. Something about her catches his attention, her beauty (~duhh!~), her liveliness, simply her vulnerability, but most of all her confidence, she knew he was a vampire but didn't even flinch! (~though it might just be her bad mood's doing~)
He follows her inside, he scans the hall searching for the beautiful blonde human, and there she is, standing in front of a hanging painting, so he approaches her from behind, watching closely as she shows interest in what she's seeing.
µovaξιά
"the hell is that supposed to mean?" her voice is soft and barely heard, (~for humans~).
He takes a step forward so that he's standing just one step behind her "Monaxia, it's Greek word actually and it means loneliness".
"And I thought you were British!" she turns left and looks over at him, 'God! He's so freaking handsome!' a voice in her head tells her.
"Oh I am! But there's nothing wrong with learning a couple more languages, don't you think?"
"I don't think anything," her arms crossed over her chest "now excuse me!"
.:.
Caroline stays out of sight for two days, literally locking herself home, avoiding Bonnie and Elena's never-stopping calls. When her friends finally got too worried they decided to go to her house to check on her, she begged her mom to tell them that she went out.
A day later she wakes up feeling like she's choking, she can't take it anymore. She clearly needs to go out.
But where to go?
Matt's working at the MysticGrill, Elena and Bonnie could be anywhere for all she knows.
She really needs to go out. She might have a mental break down if she doesn't.
'The forest'
For a second it doesn't seem like a bad idea. Actually, any place where she could be alone will do. She'll simply have a walk to clear her head of all the negativity and then come back. And so she does!
And guess who she runs into!
bingo!
(~if she knew who he is she would so run for the hills!~)
Instead,
"Don't you have anything better to do than stalking me?" Caroline sounds a bit rude as she sees the now familiar not-so-welcomed face.
"Aren't you a bit rude and arrogant, love?" his voice is softly-spoken, he doesn't sound offended at all.
She rolls her eyes, "aren't you a bit too nosy?"
(~ouch!~)
(~That's it! He'll rip her throat out!~)
He grins instead, "only when it's worth it!"
She chuckles slightly then brushes his compliment by rolling her eyes at him again.
But that doesn't hold him back, "do you have a name?"
She turns around and starts walking away, "I do!" her voice is so taut.
He intends to follow her when she stops him with a brittle voice and a sad look, "don't please! I need some space!"
And he complies with her wish generously.
.:.
About a week later, Matt's day off, she decided to go to the MysticGrill.
She drops herself on one of the seats and miserably crosses her hands on the table and lets her head fall on them. And that's when he swiftly takes a seat next to her, "over a week and you're still moping?" the same honeyed British voice hits her ears, "I reckon it's a break up then? Am I wrong, Caroline?"
(~oh good God!~)
The way her name came out of his mouth, Caroline, the way it sounded rolling off his tongue, was a flattery to her like she was never called by her name before.
"And you know my name!" her voice is a bit thick as she's not lifting her head yet, "should I be impressed or something?"
"I don't know love, are you?" his voice is sort of smoky.
"who did you compel?" faking a bit of interest.
"Actually I took your advice," he pauses a little "and asked politely".
After hearing that she turns her head left and looks at him with the I'm-not-buying-it expression on her face, but she doesn't say much .
He orders a hot-chocolate for her, "there you go," he pushes the drink to her side "drink!" he urges.
"Seriously? Is that the best you could offer someone this depressed?" she sighs, "you nearly began to impress me but" frowning slightly at him.
"Well, you're technically still underage sweetheart!" he smirks widely knowing that he definitely got her attention "I might offer you something better a week from now" his voice is so silvery but wicked in a charming way.
(~Oh waw~)
She jumps in her seat and sits up. 'He went further and asked about my birth date? Now that's impressive'. "What else do you know?"
"Not much! I'd like to hear the rest from you though!" the wicked tone is back again.
"Look, I'm very insecure and have trust issues, don't expect me to spell my beans to a stranger!"
"Is that really who you are? Or you're just playing a role you've been given?"
"What do you mean?" her voice is low and she seems puzzled. Of course she gets his question she just never really gave it a thought, and why would she when it's her closest friends who called her that. They wouldn't lie to her or fake things up.
"I mean" he leans forward and looks into her eyes "do you really think you're insecure or that's what people think of you?"
"Well," she sighs, a long sigh, "I have no idea"
He leans back and sits comfortably in his seat, trying to figure her out. (~it shouldn't be hard for a thousand years old original to see how broken she is now~) And he does, however,he wants her to talk, to admit it so that he can help her.
"You can tell me all about it, love" his soft voice is so soothing to her ears, it makes her want to trust him, and tell him about her messed up life.
She looks over at him, her eyes are a bit teary, but she manages to force a smile up her face, "It's a bit complicated" her voice is so thick.
"I've got all the time in the world sweetheart! Go ahead!"
"well, where should I start? My father left me and my mom when I was little, he turned out to be gay. Not that I have a problem with gays but you know... My mom is working all the time, we barely even talk lately. My friends call me the control freak, and they say I'm insecure and too selfish. Even Matt." she stops and looks over at him and she realizes he needs some explanation to keep up "Matt is my ex-boyfriend," she explains "and apparently I wasn't good enough for him, I was never good enough for anyone actually, I'm never anyone's first choice. When I thought I was for once, I turned up to nothing but a tool, the guy just manipulated and used me to get to Elena, my best friend. God! Now I'm sounding like an attention-seeker!" she rolls her eyes at her own misery, not realizing that a tear has escaped her eye until too late. She lifts her right hands and wipes it out. 'He must think you're the most pathetic person on the planet now! Keep it together Caroline!' the voices in her head tell her.
He watches her attempt to look strong in front of him, however, he can't help but to lift his hand and place it on top of her left hand that's still resting on the table in sympathy.
She stares at his hand for a moment, and then she moves her gaze to meet his "and here I am, talking to a complete stranger about my personal issues to a stranger, how pathetic is that!" she frowns slightly, slipping her left hand from under his, and then she throws her hands in the air in annoyance.
"Ouch! We've met three times already, love" he says cheekily, trying to make her smile.
She grins slightly "well, I don't even know your name so yes you're technically still a stranger"
"All you had to do is ask!"
She chuckles, "will you do me the great honor and tell me your name Mr stranger?" she says sarcastically.
"Klaus."
"Klaus? never heard that before!" she tilts her head to the side "but, pleased to know you, Klaus!" she is, as in she really is glad she met him. He was a good listener, just the kind that she needed, someone who would listen to her till the very end and not just someone who would pick on her every word and preach her.
He leans back in his seat again grinning widely in response, "now then sweetheart," his expressions become more serious "back to Katerina, what do you know about her?"
"oh" Caroline laughs at his question, "you know" crossing her hands over her chest "for a second I thought you were different! Turned out you're all the same!" sounding really disappointed. He sort of reminded her of Damon and his manipulative ways, and that sent shivers down her spine. She doesn't hate vampires as beings, she wants to believe that they didn't really have a choice, she wishes they were all more like Stefan however.
He knows exactly what she means, it's obvious that she thinks that he used her or faked interest in her. But he didn't. He was listening closely and he even sympathized with her. (~asking politely and kindness has never been his thing. BUT in spite of her attitude with him, he hasn't killed her yet for crying out loud. She should appreciate that!~)
"and just to get you off my shoulders, I don't know much about her and I don't know where she is at the moment." she grabs her blazer and heads out, leaving him to his regretful thoughts (~or that's at least what she hoped~).
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A.N.: oookay... that was a bit long, wasn't it?
anyway, I know you'd think that the Caroline we know isn't really that willing to trust a complete stranger but I thought, you know, considering her status she might just want to let it all out to anyone, well not anyone exactly but to someone who's willing to listen.
That was chapter one, I can't figure out how I'm feeling about this for the moment, but I'm pretty excited about what's coming ( it's still in my head basically but I assure you it is there and it will be fun).
