Caroline tried not to frown and glare at everything as she walked around the store in her prom dress. She tried not to growl at the sounds of crickets as she pulled the party supplies out of her car and put them in the former Lockwood manor. She really did try not to, but by the time she reached home after setting up the after party to grab her second dress to change into, Caroline's face was set in a permanent frown.
Prom had sucked.
Well that wasn't entirely true. She danced with Stefan and Matt. For a few minutes she forgot about all the drama with Elena. The noticeable absence of Tyler never really went away nor did the thought that she kept expecting to see Klaus out of the corner of her eye each time Stefan twirled her around the dance floor.
She was confused and upset because she wanted Tyler to be there but some traitorous thoughts told her she wanted Klaus to be there too.
Caroline huffed, yanking at the pearl pins in her hair to loosen her waves for the after party. She ran her fingers through; the gentle pressure on her head comforting after her hair had been pinned up so tightly. The dress had been the perfect fit.
She tried to corner Rebekah at some point in the night, to thank her for the use of the dress but Elena had always been within arms distance of the other blonde. Caroline had no desire to approach Rebekah with Elena lurking so she gave up. She'd just thank Rebekah the next time she saw her at school when the dress stealing former best friend was nowhere to be seen.
A tick of noise against the door caused Caroline to spin around, halting her progress of unzipping her dress. Her hands froze as she saw Tyler arms crossed leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom.
Caroline's heart speed up for a second and then unceremoniously grinded to a halt. But she covered it up by smiling brightly, she was happy to see him however dangerous it was for him. She dropped her hands from their progress on her back, and ran over to him throwing her arms around him.
"You really shouldn't be here", she whispered.
Tyler just smiled, "It's prom, you love prom."
Caroline grinned, that was true. She did want the perfect night and Tyler there made the dance worth it. Something was missing though for the night to be perfect, but she pushed the thought out of her mind.
Tyler stepped back, "Let me help you."
Caroline nodded and turned around. Tyler grabbed the zipper on her back and slowly started where she stopped. Caroline closed her eyes trying to enjoying the sensation of his hands on her skin but her mind kept drifting to Klaus grabbing her arm the week before when she helped him with Silas and then again when Klaus came to visit to return her phone.
It really had been stupid. She still shook her head about throwing her phone at him. He had just made her so angry, she had been trying to tell him about Elena and he just laughed at her. She'd be lying though if she didn't admit that the sound of his laugh made her whole body tingle with some nervous excitement.
It's why she had thrown the phone in the first place. She wanted to dissipate all feeling of warmth that he continually sparked in her. So when he showed up at her door with her phone in his hand all those annoying flutters of excitement came rushing back at a thunderous pace.
She may have even let her fingers brush against his as she grabbed the phone from his outstretched hand and let her eyes linger on his to watch them grow darker at the contact. Her breath may have even caught in her throat at the sight, trying to do her best to stop her body from inching forward to Klaus' powerful masculine scent.
But she may have been powerless to stop herself, her body leaning forward towards his, her whole body on edge after the encounter at his house about almost admitting to him that she enjoyed talking to him. She may have been just an inch or two away from his lips, his breath tickling her skin and his eyes piercing her soul and she may have wanted nothing more than to taste his lips at that moment when the stupid phone in their hands went off.
She may have smirked at the curse that rolled off of Klaus' tongue as she begrudgingly answered the phone when she realized that it was Lacy from prom committee. She may have kept her eyes on Klaus the whole time she listened to Lacy crying over a mishap with the catering. Somehow the right number of plates they ordered turned into a much smaller amount of actually delivered.
The temperature around them may have skyrocketed as the friendly smile that had been on Klaus' face changed into something darker and more seductive. Caroline may have tried to focus on the word's being sobbed into her ear but may have failed horribly. It was only when Lacy said that she didn't know where they could find replacements did Caroline finally snap out of her fantasy that she was indulging in with Klaus.
She may have given Klaus a bright smile before dashing off to save prom from the ill managed hands of her committee. She may have done all of that the day before and for some reason that was all she could focus on as Tyler helped her out of her dress.
"There you go," he murmured and Caroline stepped out it hastily not wanting to look back at him, afraid that her face would betray the thoughts in her head. Tyler had other ideas though. He grabbed her arm and Caroline looked down at the arm and stiffened instantly.
It wasn't Tyler's hand that grabbed her arm. She looked intently at the hand on her arm, shocked out of her mind. The dark wasn't the dark tan of Tyler's skin, but paler, Klaus' hand. Her heart escalated rapidly trying to understand what was going on.
A faint warning bell screamed in alarm at the back of her mind as she turned around. It was Tyler's face and skin again. He cocked his head, "Everything alright Care? You're giving me a funny look. Did Klaus do something?"
Caroline shook her head before kissing him to eradicate all thoughts of Klaus. "No, I think I'm just tired that's all."
She grabbed the dress and slung it over her arm and proceeded to the closet. Her mind was racing as she placed the ivory dress back on its hook, pulling out the blush pink party dress and shimming into it. She knew she had seen Klaus' hand on her arm. She wasn't making that up, but it had been Tyler who was standing behind her.
Caroline grabbed the nude pumps from her rack and stepped into them. Something was going on, she just didn't know what. Trying to remain calm and aloof she continued to dress for the party. Walking over to the vanity to grab her brush and fix up her hair. He could see Tyler out of the corner of her mirror; he was spread out on her bed, looking up at the ceiling.
She began humming a song, as the brush lazily dragged through her hair. Caroline's insides though were not the lazy show her outside displayed. Her insides were twisting as her fear grew over what she had seen.
While trying to discreetly look at Tyler, Caroline went back to the thought of Klaus on her front porch the day before. It was her only plan; recreate what happened before she saw Klaus' hand. Maybe then she'd able to figure out what was happening. She let the flood of emotions come back as she remembered Klaus' lips and how closely she could see each strand of hair on his head.
Tyler's skin changed, becoming paler and Caroline watched his face shift into the profile of Klaus. Caroline paused in her humming before resuming not wanting to give away her discovery. Internally she was screaming, that was Silas on the bed-not Tyler and not Klaus.
It had to be Silas; he was only one person she knew with that type of power. Her mind raced through all the things she could do, knowing each them resulted in her being outnumbered, outmatched, and most likely dead.
She tried to remember where her phone was, if she could get a hold of Klaus, and then maybe she might have a chance. Only one problem, her phone was in the kitchen where she dropped it with her keys after she came into the house.
She groaned for real then, her body slumping over in defeat. They had never come up with their codeword either. If they had she could have at least texted it to Klaus hoping he would realize she was in trouble.
"Care, what's wrong?" Tyler jumped from the bed and approached her, kissing the soft spot of skin between her neck and shoulder. Uncontrollable fury raged in her, Silas just kissed her. She had kissed Silas, thinking it was Tyler. The thought made her sick, that she placed her lips on some creepy, perverted ancient immortal.
Spinning around, without thinking Caroline let her fist fly straight into Tyler's face. Tyler soared through the air and landed with a sickening crunch against the wall. He slid down the wall, drywall and specks of paint littering him.
Tyler scowled pulling himself up from the ground, "Well that was the fastest anyone figured who I was. Everyone else I had to tell them or give myself away. Bravo my dear."
"You're disgusting! Get out of here! I don't care what you want or what you're doing I'm not helping you!" Caroline growled.
Pure adrenalin was pumping in her; she was itching to put her fist into his face again. That and go wash her mouth out, she couldn't believe she actually kissed him.
Tyler laughed and Caroline snarled back at him. "Could you please change your face? That's gross!"
"Why? Would you prefer this face?" Silas asked morphing into Klaus. Caroline balked and with a rush of disgust blurred over and aimed to slug him again. But instead of meeting Silas' face, her fist collided with her wall, ramming straight through.
Caroline wretched her hand out and turned around. Silas was gone. She zoomed around the house but the witch was nowhere to be seen. Still pumped Caroline grabbed her phone and without thinking dialed Klaus.
The phone rang twice before he picked up the phone.
"Caroline?" he queried.
Caroline didn't give him the chance to say anything more, "I don't care what you are doing, just get to my house now."
The phone was clicked off before she could do so herself. It only took her returning to her room and beginning to pick up the pieces of drywall that crumbled away from the nice hole she created in the wall, before Klaus was beside her with a small gust of wind.
Caroline glanced up from her crouched position with pieces of wall in her hands to Klaus. She watched his face shift from concerned to annoyed when he saw she wasn't in danger.
"I'm not your clean up boy Caroline. I'm certain you can do that yourself." He snapped.
Caroline rolled her eyes. Why had she called him again?
"I'm perfectly capable of cleaning up my own messes. Thank you very much. Wouldn't this be beneath you anyway?" she snipped back, refusing to look at him.
She regretted calling him now. She called him in the heat of the moment, because that was all she wanted and now that the rational part of her mind was thinking again.
"What happened?" he tried again, rubbing his forehead.
Caroline continued picking up the pieces, wondering if she should answer him. She might as well though.
"I may have possibly punched Silas in the face." She answered with a shrug of her shoulders as nonchalantly as possible.
She stood up with an armful of broken wall and to walk to the door. Klaus stopped her and grabbed the load in her arms. Caroline didn't stop him.
He was grinning, "I would have enjoyed seeing that."
Caroline bit her lip and walked past him, brushing the dust off her dress. It was only then that she realized her hands were shaking. The high was finally starting to wear off and Caroline realized how drained she truly felt.
She grabbed the hidden bottle of bourbon from atop the one of the kitchen cupboards and pulled out two glasses. Her mom could yell at her later. She tried to focus on the pouring herself a glass but her hand shook too much.
Frustrated that she couldn't even pour a glass she tried to slam the bottle back down but Klaus' firm hand enclosed around her wrist. Caroline refused to look at him. Klaus simply grabbed the bottle with his other hand and while still holding onto her wrist poured both of them a drink.
Klaus finally let go of her wrist and held out the glass. Caroline accepted her drink in silence. She threw back the liquid in one gulp, the burn of alcohol anchoring her a bit more to reality.
Klaus held out the bottle for another round. Caroline shook her head. She was doing her best not to burst out and unload everything on Klaus but each moment they stood there side by side the stronger the urge to talk grew.
"Tonight sucked, my senior prom was ruined."
It burst out before she could stop herself; the ticking of the clock had grown too loud.
"It's just a dance Caroline," he countered.
"No, it's not," she replied.
She was too tired to argue with him. Suddenly that other drink sounded like a good idea. She grabbed the bottle and noticed her hands had stopped shaking. She didn't know if it was Klaus' presence or the alcohol that helped.
She hadn't looked Klaus straight in the eye since he had arrived. Too many thoughts and feelings were swirling around in her now and she was sure if she looked at him again that everything in her would come undone.
Caroline started working on the second glass of bourbon, slowly this time.
"Silas isn't going to go away is he?" she asked.
There was a low growl from Klaus that she could feel more than hear. She hadn't realized that they were standing against one another. Caroline finally noticed his warmth pressed against the side of her body and quietly relished in the peace it brought. Her whole body seemed to slow down and her fears about Silas ebbed away.
"Until he achieves his goal I have no doubt he will be an annoying blight on our lives," he answered after a minute.
Caroline sighed. So much for any good coming out of the night, she was hoping that at least Silas would leave them alone. It was too much to ask for one night to go right in Mystic Falls, especially prom night. Dances were a magnet for all kinds of supernatural trouble.
She had looked amazing though and felt like she was the hottest thing in the room. Rebekah had good taste in ball gowns. The ivory dress would fit right in with her dress that Klaus had given her. Caroline jolted at the thought.
The dress honestly seemed more Klaus' taste than Rebekah's. Rebekah's were much more girly, it was one of the reasons that Caroline had picked it in the first place. Plus, the dress had fit her so snugly compared to the rest. A shiver shot down her spine and she glanced sideways at Klaus.
He was caught up in the dredges at the bottom of his glass and paid no attention to her. Caroline raised a brow, but he had told her the dress belonged to Rebekah. Maybe he had been telling her the truth after all. Maybe Rebekah had just bought the dress but never wore it.
Caroline didn't know what to think anymore. Here they were promising to be friends but she thought about him more than she did about Tyler. Then she almost kissed him the day before. She flicked her tongue to wet her lips at thought of Klaus' breath tickling her face, his smell that clouded her over. Kissing Klaus…
She did want to but she couldn't.
Klaus finally looked at her from his glass. "I think it would be wise to have that code word now."
Caroline smirked and blurted the first word that came to her mind, "Pineapples."
She laughed outright at the stunned blank expression Klaus gave her. Klaus after a minute smirked back at her.
"We could always think about it tomorrow." Caroline tried after the last of her laughter finally started to die down.
Klaus nodded, placing the bottle of bourbon back in its hiding place. Caroline watched him pull out a pen and grab a scrap of paper from the counter. He scribbled something on it and handed it to Caroline.
"When I go, call the number. They'll know what to do."
It was all he told as way of explanation. Caroline frowned at it turning back to Klaus whose face was tight and cheeks clenched. She glared at him, trying to understand why he was so upset all of sudden.
"It's Tyler."
She didn't know whether or not to be upset or excited with him. It meant that he had known the entire time where Tyler was and never told her. At the same time he hadn't killed him and he had just given her a number to get a hold of him. It was so confusing, she wanted to thank him and slap him at the same time.
She opted for another idea instead. "Call me when you think of a code word."
Klaus nodded and then was gone. Caroline stared at the number in her hand and then back to the place where Klaus had been standing. She groaned and leaned over the counter to rest her head in her hands.
Strange fluttering feelings beat away, sparks of emotion she tried to hide from everyone peaking through. If she was right in her hunch about the dress and now the number in her hand, Klaus was doing things that made her question the carefully built defenses she placed up to barrier herself against him.
Ever since they decided last week to be friends, her defenses were continually being called into question. It had been too easy to talk to him, too easy to call him, and too easy let her body almost surrender to him.
The number stared at her from the paper, the prospect of talking to Tyler again. Caroline shook her head and couldn't tell if her excitement was for Tyler or knowing what Klaus had done for her.
One thing was certain; they were never going to be just friends. There was too much there.
There you have it. Sorry it took so long for to me to update. I meant to have this story finished before 4x19 premiered. Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.