This time Caroline woke up to the sound of the brakes.
"What the-"
"Rise and shine." Klaus said with a cold voice. "Honestly, its like you have some kind of disease. Spent the last 24 hours sleeping."
"Hey, it's not like I have the best company that'll keep me awake with his pity-talk, y'know." Caroline scorned.
Klaus ignored her comment.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"The hotel is ten minutes from here, but first I need a drink." Klaus got out of the car.
"Here?" Caroline asked as she looked outside and saw the dive bar named "Marnie's place".
"Yes. Obviously." He walked off.
Caroline just stared at him as he walked away. "Asshole." Her mind said and she nodded.
Klaus entered the bar and looked around at the people who were already all drunk and as happy as they could ever be in their whole miserable lives. They wouldn't even notice if he laid someone on the table and drank from them with a neon colored, umbrella shaped straw. Now that was an idea.
Caroline huffed and puffed for a second before following him inside.
Klaus was already in a corner, talking to a young, impressionable girl with very recognizable assets. And by assets, she meant breasts. Of course Klaus would go for someone with big assets, she thought. The only set he had before him was hers, which had never been, and never would be that big. She shook her head.
"Oh, I need whiskey. Yes." She said to herself and then walked up to the bartender.
"Whiskey on the rocks, please?"
He nodded and put a glass in front of her. She grabbed the drink and took a sip while trying not to make it obvious that she was watching Klaus all the time. She turned her body slowly in his direction without facing him. But she could see that he was caressing the girl's hair from the corner of her eye. She put down the empty glass and sighed.
"Another?"
Klaus was deep in conversation with the young brunette.
"Oh, is that why you're drinking? Your parents don't respect your desicions?" he looked truly interested in this topic.
The girl smiled. "Well, no. I am drinking because I want to. They are just the excuse. Don't tell anyone." She giggled.
He chuckled. "Smart girl." He said. "If you want to become an actress, you should get out of this town first." He said seriously. "I mean, do they even have a theatre here?"
"Of course we do! Silly!" she hit him on the arm playfully.
"My, my." Caroline thought. "Already on the second base of Klaus hunt."
Klaus knew Caroline was looking at him, and also that she thought she was subtle about it. So he played it shamelessly.
He went for the girl's hair again, and fondled it.
"Argh. Bastard! You don't have to flirt with her. Just eat her and be done with it!" she mumbled to herself. And of course she realized he could hear her right after. She didn't dare look at his direction to see his smug bastard face. Wanting to make it look like she did it deliberately she said:
"Bastard." again with more force.
Klaus smirked to himself.
The girl was already deep in Klaus trance as she dreamily asked:
"What is it?"
"Nothing, love." He said softly. "It's just amazing how you come in a to a small town, with every intention but to meet a woman so fascinating and captivating."
The brunette giggled.
"You sure know how to make a girl fall for your advances." She said coyly.
"Oh, barely." He said turning to look at Caroline who was already drinking her fourth glass of whiskey. He wondered if she knew he was talking about her but then again, he didn't want her to know for sure. He had promised her not to manipulate people only for a night. Now he was back at the game. And he was going to play it, without mercy.
Caroline tried to find something to distract herself from Klaus and his prey. She looked at the middle aged couple that was making out like nobody's business in the corner. "Oh." She looked away.
"Permanent damage, there."
Then she looked at the bartender who was eyeing her for quite some time now. He had dark hair, green eyes and a lovely coy smile. She knew what to do.
Oh, Klaus wanted to be hard to deal with and play with her at the same time? She was going to teach him how to do it!
She leaned against the bar as she subtly battled her eyelashes at him. The bartender raised his eyebrows for a split second before coming closer and asking:
"Do you want a refill?"
"Oh, No." Caroline smiled.
"I should slow down." She said as she pushed away the glass.
The bartender smiled.
"So, I am new. Tell me what you guys do for fun around here?" Caroline asked all bubbly.
He looked surprised that she started a conversation.
"Well, we drink." He said. "We also play football and see movies. You know, the usual stuff. Nothing big."
"And do you always work here?" she asked.
"Uh, only on the weekends." He stated.
"Where are you coming from?" he asked a bit hesitant.
"Oh, Mystic Falls. A small town like yours actually. Which involve the same amount of activity…and a bit more." She smiled.
"So…you're a student?" she asked.
"Yeah. I am a freshman at College. Studying illustration."
"That's so cool." Caroline said. "I'd love to study fashion and design or something like that next year, I haven't really decided yet." She stated. "Oh by the way, I am Caroline."
She reached her hand out to shake his and the guy smiled.
"Seth." He said as he shook her hand.
Klaus listened to her chatter away with this Seth guy as he tried to concentrate on the girl in front of him. It was getting harder by every second Caroline's voice echoed in his ear though.
The drunken brunette asked daringly:
"So, you wanna go to my place?"
Klaus sighed. "I thought you said your parents were strict." He smiled.
"Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about them!" The girl laughed a little too amused by herself as she moved closer to Klaus.
In the mean time Caroline was asking this guy about his favorite band, Klaus drank another glass of wine as he ignored the brunette grinding up on him. "Slow down." He gently pushed her aside.
Then he realized how gentle he was and decided he had to make up for it. He leaned in closer to her and said:
"I'm staying in a hotel in town. Would you like to spend the night with me?"
"I really shouldn't…" the girl shook her head regretfully. "I'm totally drunk and I should get home before they call the sheriff to find me and bring me home." She said putting her hands against his chest.
Klaus nodded.
"I see. Then we're gonna have to finish our business here."
Caroline was flirting with the bartender and was happy to find him even more gorgeous now that she was drinking again and the drinks were surely showing their effect on her. When she looked at the corner Klaus was sitting with the girl her eyes widened. Klaus was actually drinking from her. And here. He had pressed her against the wall and he was biting her neck all the while touching her everywhere.
Caroline felt the blood rush to her head and she felt dizzy from anger. She slowly got up from the stool.
"I'll be back in a minute, Seth." She said to the bartender. His nerve was the most frustrating thing ever. He had promised her not to do this on their road trip.
She tried not to draw any attention as she silently walked up to Klaus and his victim.
"Easy there, tiger!" she said with a harsh voice.
Klaus didn't even look at her.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" she went ahead and poked him in the back.
Klaus looked up.
"What?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Really, now? What are you doing?" Caroline asked like a smothering mother.
"Making out with a beautiful woman? Why?" Klaus asked with a voice just as cold as hers.
Caroline then noticed how his mouth wasn't smeared in blood like it was supposed to be and the girl was giggling like a maniac as she pulled on his shirt and said "Who is that? Just let's get back to it…a little more before I go home…"
Caroline stared at them wide eyed. Klaus raised his eyebrows.
"Something the matter, love?" he asked.
"What are you trying to accomplish by making out with a 13 year old with overgrown chest, may I ask?" she questioned.
"She is 18." Klaus emphasized as put his finger in the air and continued "Also enjoying the company of someone who is not spending her time judging me and hating me is like a breath of fresh hair, really." He said with a serious tone.
"Fresh hair? Really?" Caroline snickered. "Maybe you should stop drinking."
"You can't tell me what to do. And I am keeping my promise after all." He grinned.
"Damn your dimples." Caroline thought. But she shook her head and said:
"By all means, carry on." And she slowly turned away and got back to her seat.
"Stupid. You just behaved like a jelous girlfriend." Her mind scolded her.
"How could I know he was just "innocently" making out with her?" she thought. "That bastard."
Seth smiled. "That's your brother?" He asked pointing to Klaus.
Caroline looked up.
"Hardly." She said as she pointed to her empty glass.
"Another please?"
Seth nodded and gave her a refill.
After a few moments of silence and brooding on Caroline's part she took one last look to see that the brunette was now leaving the bar. Without Klaus.
Oh, that was new.
She looked over to Klaus, who looked smug and drunk of his arse. Just looking at the table and smirking to himself. She didn't think a second before getting up.
"Hey." She said to the hybrid who slowly gazed at her face in return.
"Oh, Caroline, you're still here, love?" he asked smiling affectionately.
"You're full or are you going to wait on another slut?" she asked. Hmm that had sounded less bitchy and jealous in her head… not that she thought before she spoke.
Klaus laughed.
"She was no slut… she was just a little impressionable thing and I barely touched her." He said as he reached for the bottle of wine.
"Yeah, barely. I thought you were eating her neck!" she scoffed as she sat down.
He raised an eyebrow. "You'd rather I did that?"
"Yeah." She said like she implied that was the norm.
Klaus laughed as he took another sip. Caroline reached to get the bottle from him, but he quickly took it away.
"Watch it." He said with a hidden threat coming from the back of his throat. That wasn't going to be enough to stop Caroline. So she moved closer to him. He was going to be more difficult than she'd imagined.
"Klaus?" she asked with a sensible, soft voice.
"Caroline?" he mocked her tone.
"I think you've had enough." She said simply.
"Hmm…is that right?" he tilted his head to the side.
"Yes." she said even more softly.
Klaus gazed at her face curiously.
"So have you made friends already? We are going to stay here only for a few days, don't play with anyone's feelings." he chanted, his eyes turning in the direction of the bartender.
"I should be telling you the same thing" Caroline spat as she avoided looking the same way. Then she tried to snatch the bottle away once more but he caught her arm.
"I am not that drunk yet." He said as he stared into her eyes. His breath smelled of red wine and they were so close, she felt dizzy once again as she moved to escape his grip. He didn't let go of her arm. Instead, he slowly put the bottle of wine down and began caressing Caroline's hair.
"Actually, I am not drunk at all. I am hungry though. Will you suck on your beloved blood bags or join me this time?" he asked casually.
Caroline didn't know how she needed to react.
"You already know the answer to that question." She simply answered.
"Of course, the boring old Caroline will tell me that I promised her that I wouldn't hurt anyone." He said as he ran his fingers through her hair. What was he trying to do?
Caroline felt weak. She would say she wanted to go alone and she didn't care what he did anymore. But his intense stare kept her silent. "He is just teasing me." She thought.
"Why didn't you bite her then?" she asked innocently.
"She was pitiful. Too young…didn't really feel like biting her." He explained.
"She was old enough to make out with, though." She remarked.
Klaus laughed.
"Oh, that's another thing."
"Yeah? Enlighten me." She dared. "Again with reckless speaking!" her mind screamed at her.
"Hybrids have needs, too." Klaus simply stated.
Caroline raised an eyebrow.
"That's your justification? "Hybrids are people too"? You are "only hybrid"?"
His eyes glimmered.
"Does it matter?" he smiled. "The question is, Caroline; Why would I need to justify myself to you?"
"Yeah, you are right. Forget I asked." Caroline got up and sped out the bar.
And the moment she got out, she immediately wanted to kick herself for that jealous girlfriend confrontation. Though she didn't have more time to regret it because as she walked towards the parking lot Klaus appeared right in front of her.
"Why are you running?" he asked, his face supporting a childish frown.
"Because I feel like it." She turned her back on him and started walking to the car.
Klaus caught up to her and pushed her against the car.
"Tell me." He whispered.
Caroline felt every alarm in her head going off but she didn't know what to do about it.
"I…"
"Why are you more upset about me kissing a girl than sucking her dry?"
"I never said that." She tried to move but he already had her trapped between him and the car.
"Yes, you did, love." He tilted his head to the side.
"I was just surprised." Klaus ignored her lousy attempts at denying her upset.
"Tell me how that made you feel?"
"It made me feel like you are an ass." Caroline hissed.
He smiled. "And why exactly am I an ass?"
"You are hurting me." Caroline tried to push him away.
"No, I am not. I would know if I was hurting you. You just dont like it because you have nowhere to run." He stated as he leaned in closer.
"Admit it, darling." He said through his teeth.
"Admit what?" she pushed him again but it seemed to tickle him at most.
"Tell me how it made you feel."
"It made me feel angry and desperate." Caroline pushed him one more time but he didn't even move.
"Why?" he asked as his eyes pierced her soul.
"Because I wanted it to be me." she blurted.
He held her still and cupped her face.
"That's more like it." With that he softly captured her lips with his own. Caroline didn't have a chance to even begin to protest. He was kissing her so tenderly and with such intensity, she responded to the kiss without thinking. Her hands were pressed against his chest, and his were gently touching her face as he kept on kissing her. He pressed her against the car firmly. And sucked on her bottom lip as if he wanted to torture her. She moaned and that made him smile through the kiss, his fingers running through her hair all the while she clang to him. Caroline slowly moved her hands from his chest to his back and one of them to his soft hair. She caressed it as she deepened the kiss. She sucked on his tongue and caused a deep moan to escape from his beautiful, full lips and then she softly licked them as she pulled him closer to her.
Klaus broke the kiss and looked at her face.
"We need to stop now, love."
Caroline looked embarrassed under the dim street light. Klaus smiled at her beaming and he pulled her to himself to kiss her one more time, this time with more pressure and force. Caroline was glad she didn't need to breathe. Because he was sure as hell not leaving any room for it.
"We are going to the hotel?" She asked when he let her go this time, surprised that she could speak at all.
He held her hand and kissed it. "Yes. Unless you want to do something else?"
Caroline thought for a second. Tyler had been dead for how long now? She felt uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping with someone else. Even if it was Klaus…and even if she felt this connection and all these feelings for him, she needed time.
"I can't." She said.
Understanding what she meant, Klaus caressed her cheek.
"We don't have to. I've waited too long to kiss you, I might as well wait a bit before we do anything more."
Caroline smiled. He kissed her cheek and then the top of her head and said. "Let's go."
Caroline felt silly and cheesy to be as excited as she was now to have her hand held by a hybrid she was supposed to hate not all that long ago.
But she couldn't really help it…
