I was sitting in the front room reading when someone knocked on the front door. I opened it to see a tall man with sandy blond hair standing on the other side.
"Hello."
"Hi…"
"I was expecting Caroline; this is a pleasant surprise." He smiled.
I gave him a small smile in return, more because of this British accent and slight dimples than from the complement. "She's just in the other room." I let the door stand open as I turned and raised my voice slightly. "Caroline, you have a visitor."
Caroline came into the hallway and I watched as her smile instantly turned into a scowl when she saw who was at the door. "Ugh, what do you want?"
I took a few steps back from the door; I did not want to be between C and anyone she was giving that face to. I'd never seen the eternally-sunny Caroline show so much open hostility to someone before. I must admit — I was amused.
The man at the door gestured towards me but spoke to C. "Are you not going to introduce us?"
She stepped forward, putting herself between me and the door. "No," she spat at him.
He looked past C, focusing on me. "I'm Klaus."
So this is Klaus.
His name had come up more than once as C tried to catch me up on what was going on in Mystic Falls.
Before I could say anything, C turned to look at me. "Could you go into another room, please?"
"Sure." It wasn't like I couldn't overhear their conversation/argument from anywhere else in the house anyway.
~The Next Evening~
Ugh!
I had to get out of that house. Both C and Aunt Liz had been home all afternoon and they were driving me crazy. We were in the front room, and they kept looking at me, or glancing my way, as if they were waiting for me to have a breakdown. They were walking on eggshells.
"I'm going for a walk," I said as I stood up. "I need some fresh air."
C offered to come but I politely declined; I wanted to be alone. "Besides, C, aren't Bonnie and Elena coming over to hang out?"
"Plans can be cancelled, Ri."
"Don't bother — they'll be more interesting than me on my walk. Have fun."
I took my time as I walked around Mystical Falls. I paused to stare at every building, every monument, trying to spark a memory from my past life in this town, or even some feeling of familiarity.
Nothing.
I was standing in the town square, looking at the statue, when I noticed someone walking towards me. Klaus.
"Hello again," he said once he was standing in front of me.
"Hello."
"Our introduction was unfortunately cut short yesterday."
"Yes, it was," I replied. "But I found Caroline's shortness with you very amusing." He seemed to smirk at the memory.
"You're Caroline's cousin, aren't you? Just arrived — not visiting, new to town."
"You have good sources."
"Caroline's cousin…" he said, as if he were playing around with the idea in his head.
"You can call me Riley. It's a little shorter than 'Caroline's cousin'."
"Of course. Riley."
We stood in silence for a few moments.
"This is the town square, right?"
"That's correct."
"And it's been here for years?"
"More like a century, at least."
"So if someone were to remember anything at all about Mystic Falls — any of the structures or landmarks — it would be this? The statue in town square."
"Probably. Or the clock tower," Klaus responded as he pointed in the direction of the clock, which I could see if I looked just past the statue. "Both are older than you."
I sighed as my line of vision shifted from the statue to the clock tower, trying to bring up a memory. Or even a faint flash of recognition.
Nothing.
Who knew nothing could be so frustrating.
Klaus spoke again, this time with a grin. "I'm sure Caroline spoke of me after I left yesterday."
"Wow!" I said with a slight laugh. "Is egotism a characteristic of being a hybrid, or is that just something you and Tyler naturally have in common?"
He chuckled darkly, but I spoke again before he had a chance to. "I was just about to head home, actually."
"I won't keep you then. It was lovely to meet you, Riley."
"Goodbye," I said while stepping backwards, before turning around and walking away.
