Rescue Me
A.N. Okay…first off…You guys are awesome. I know I probably sound like a broken record in my notes, but it's true. Seriously. Over a hundred follows? It blows my mind! You have no idea how much it means to me, guys!
Next…Joseph Morgan smells like happiness. Period. He is also far more handsome in real life than in TVD (if you can believe it, because I had trouble!) and, yes, his accent is even dreamier. He was a bit skittish though, because apparently the night before, he was mobbed by a group of girls at the hotel bar. Not cool. They were apparently pretty hard to disperse, considering Sebastian Roche and Nate Buzolic couldn't even get through their brigade. But, security finally intervened. But it was obvious he was a little uneasy with the crowd that showed up for him. He did say, however, that I was the first person to ask if I could poke one of his dimples. He said it was a bit too odd of a request, and gave me a hug instead and called me "love." Which, you know…was awesome. But yeah…point of this whole second note, I guess, is to rant about the disrespect some fans have towards JoMo. You have to admit, the whole mobbing this is pretty ridiculous. If you can clearly see someone is uncomfortable in a situation, back off. Like I said, it's not cool.
Okay. Rant over. Please enjoy the newest chapter and let me know what you think!
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Humiliation coupled with a hangover was not the best way to wake up in the morning.
Caroline bit back a groan when she pried open her eyes, the offensive sunlight nearly burning off her corneas. Or at least, that's how it felt her hazy, throbbing brain. She rolled over onto her back, dragging a hand down her face as the other tangled in the knots of hair on top of her head. Her new dress—the one she'd bought in New York a few short hours before catching her flight to Virginia—was bunched around her hips, the smooth material now marred by hideous wrinkles she knew no amount of ironing would ever disperse. An empty bottle of champagne was tucked into the blankets at her side. Her stiletto heels were tossed in the armchair across the room.
"Morning."
This time, she let out a tortured groan, her hands quickly traveling to her ears at the sound of the chipper voice. "Lower the megaphone, Stef," she muttered out, squinting up at the distorted figure that stood at the foot of her bed. "Ugh, what time is it?"
"Almost ten," Stefan said, smirking down at the disheveled and clearly miserable form of his best friend. "I'm honestly amazed you are even coherent right now. Between the bottle you guzzled up here on your own and the other two I'm sure you downed during the party, you should be dead, at the very least."
Caroline moaned, turning over onto her side and curling in around herself. "Oh, God, death would be too sweet a mercy right now," she whined, cradling her aching head in her hands. She heard Stefan laugh above her, and then cried out when she felt him hurl himself onto the bed, curling up next to her. "Stefan! Seriously?"
"Lighten up, Carebear," he said, propping himself up on his elbow and grinning down at her. "Come on, we've had worse hangovers. And we were a lot younger than we are now."
Caroline shook her head, shifting so her cheek rested against Stefan's shoulder. "We were a lot stupider too."
"Can't deny that," Stefan replied, scooting a bit further back on the bed so Caroline could rest against him more comfortably. He stared down at her blonde head, watching her fingers massage her temples slowly. "So. Want to talk about what exactly led to the all night kegger?"
She groaned, offering a half-hearted shrug. "Hell if I know," she said. "First it was all the judgmental, two-faced looks from everyone who came up to me. Then it was Damon."
"Good ol' Damon," Stefan muttered, pushing Caroline's bangs out of her eyes as she settled more on her back. "I'm sorry if he upset you, Caroline. I made him promise to be on his best behavior, but, clearly, his word can't be trusted."
He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but he knew he was failing at it. Though Caroline had put her brief affair with his older brother behind her—or as behind her as she could—Stefan held a bit more resentment towards it. It was no secret to anyone that the Salvatore brothers had been anything but close during Stefan's teenage years. Damon had very much been the black sheep of the family, jealous of Stefan's golden boy image and various accomplishments. Their father had voiced his disappointment in his eldest son, and years of his words and harsh looks had started to take their toll on Damon. A bitter, harsh side to him started to rear its head, and he made it a point to come between his brother and anything that made him happy.
Enter Caroline.
Sweet, naïve, insecure Caroline.
She had been easy pickings for Damon. A smooth word here, a flattering comment there, and young Caroline Forbes—so desperate for approval and attention since she rarely received it at home—was putty in his hands.
"Damon's a first rate jackass, Stefan," Caroline said, breaking him from his train of thought. "It's not a secret to anyone."
Stefan chuckled, nodding. "True." They lied there in silence for a moment before he glanced down at her again. "And, uh, what was up with all the tension between you and Rebekah's brother?"
Caroline hesitated a moment. "What tension?"
"Caroline," Stefan laughed, shaking his head. "You can't lie to save your life, so don't even pretend to not know what I'm talking about. You could have cut the tension between you two with a chainsaw last night."
"Ugh," Caroline groaned, throwing her hands over her face and turning onto her back.
"Seriously, Care, what happened after you gave him a ride into town?"
"Nothing," Caroline muttered, peeking up at him from behind her fingers. Stefan merely arched a brow at her, and she threw up her hands. "Seriously, nothing happened. I mean, I gave him a ride. He said his name was Nik. I never even made the connection that he could possibly be Rebekah's brother. Though I really wish I had, considering I ranted about her for a good 10 miles. And before you say it, yes, I know. 'Give her a chance, she's not that bad, blah blah blah.' And I am giving her a chance, but it was an awkward silence, Stefan! You know how I freaking hate awkward silences. And he wasn't offering any kind of conversation, so I just kept going. And going, and going. God, I'm such a nimrod!"
Stefan barked out a laugh, flinching away from her when her fist aimed for the center of his chest.
"This isn't funny, Stefan! I mean, how did I not connect the dots? A hot, British guy in town for a short visit—"
"You think Klaus is hot?"
"What? No!" Caroline bolted up in the bed, freezing for a brief second when the room took a bit longer to catch up with her movements. She sighed, looking down at her best friend, whose face was a mixture of amusement, wariness, and confusion. "I mean…sure, I guess to the naked eye, he's not horrible to look at. I mean…Rebekah's pretty hot, and they're related, so it's gotta be a genetic thing. Or something." She shook her head. "Anyway, that doesn't matter, Stefan. The point is, I made a complete idiot out of myself, twice, and he just freaking stood there, smirking. He knew exactly who I was when he walked into the engagement party, and he enjoyed every moment of my misery. Freaking jerk."
"Okay, I will admit. It was kind of a dick move for him not to mention he knew who you were when Rebekah and I mentioned you. But isn't drinking yourself into oblivion over some guy you're only going to have to see for a couple months overdoing it a bit, Care?"
Caroline sighed, running her fingers through her hair and then cringing when they got caught in a knot. "He was just the cherry on top, Stef," she said quietly. "I guess I just hadn't braced myself for Mystic Falls as well as I thought I had. It just…hit me hard, I guess."
Stefan reached up and rubbed a hand on her back reassuringly, gently pulling her until she rested against his side. "I know, Caroline," he said softly, sighing. "You know, I'd understand…if you wanted to leave—"
"No, Stefan," Caroline interjected, pulling back so she could stare him in the face. "I am not letting my issues get in the way of your wedding. Okay? Seriously. I'll be fine." She smiled, shrugging. "I'm not girly little Caroline anymore. I can take care of myself."
Stefan smiled, nodding. "Sure you can." He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead, squeezing her shoulder briefly. "Anyway, you should get up. Official wedding business starts this afternoon, and I your mom already called from the station asking if the two of you were still on for lunch since she hadn't heard from you yet." He watched as Caroline's face fell slightly, and he wanted to just wrap his arms around her and hide her away from the trials he knew she would be facing over the next few weeks. "I told her to give you an hour or two. Though maybe I should have said three or four, considering you look like you went five rounds with Lindsay Lohan on a binge."
Caroline scoffed, sliding off the bed and stretching her arms over her head. "Whatever. I could drink that ginger skank under the table."
Stefan laughed, nodding his agreement, and rose to his feet as well, wrapping an arm around her waist as she followed him to the door. "Seriously, Caroline. Take it easy, okay? Don't get too wrapped up in Mystic Falls and people. And the whispers. They don't mean shit in the long run. You're stronger than all of it." He smiled when she rolled her eyes, a faint blush covering her mascara smeared cheeks. "And go easy on Rebekah, okay? She's stressed about the wedding, and you know she's really uncomfortable with you being here."
"Which is ridiculous. I mean, I'm still traumatized from that one kiss we had back in junior high during Spin the Bottle."
"Yeah, that was wrong," Stefan said, cringing himself at the memory. "But it did help cement our friendship, so we should be grateful for that." They laughed, and Stefan reached for the doorknob. "Everything's going to fine, Caroline Forbes."
Caroline smiled at him, nodding. "Don't I know it, Stefan Salvatore."
Stefan squeezed her shoulder again, pulling open the door and turning on his heel to leave, but stopped when he nearly collided with Rebekah and Klaus who were coming from the other end of the hall. He couldn't help the smile that burst across his face at the sight of Rebekah, but it slowly slipped when he saw her blue eyes taking in the scene before her, and he knew her mind had automatically jumped to a place he'd assured her it never need to.
"Caroline," Klaus said, smirking when she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Good morning, sweetheart. Sleep well?"
"Just peachy," Caroline retorted, shifting on her feet when she saw his eyes graze over her form, and she wished to God she had pulled on a robe or something, considering her dress was bunched ridiculously high on her thighs.
"Stefan, what's going on?" Rebekah asked, her eyes darting between her fiancée and the sleep rumpled blonde at his side. Yes, she knew she was being foolish. Stefan loved HER. But he also loved Caroline, and she really, truly did not.
"Caroline overslept," Stefan said reassuringly, reaching out and interlacing his fingers with hers. "She has lunch with her mom today. I just wanted to make sure she was still alive."
Caroline snorted, and Rebekah nodded, a small smile on her face. "Of course. Well, if you're done checking on her well-being then, we have to make a final decision on the photographer by this afternoon. I thought we could do lunch and discuss it."
"Sounds great," Stefan said, smiling at her and giving her fingers a squeeze. He turned to smile at Caroline. "See you later tonight, Care?"
"You bet," she answered, her lips quirking into a smirk when she saw Rebekah's eyes narrow at them slightly. "Thanks for the wake up sex." And she shut the door in their faces—Rebekah's stunned, Stefan's irritated, and Klaus' amused, smirking one.
"She was kidding," she heard Stefan stress to Rebekah, and she couldn't help but laugh as she made her way to the shower.
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Klaus was lounging in the den when Caroline made her way downstairs an hour later, hair perfectly curled and sundress wrinkle free. He refused to admit that his breath caught in his throat when he saw her. He'd seen more beautiful women in his lifetime—thousands, in his time overseas—but there was just something about this baby blue eyed blonde that made him rethink that statement.
She stopped in her tracks when she saw him. "You're still here?"
He grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "Where else would I be, love? You're the only person I know in this town. Apart from my sister, who is currently occupied with snapshots and various other things that hold no interest for me."
Caroline scoffed, shaking her head. She tried not to notice how his long sleeved Henley clung to his chest in a way that was oddly distracting. Or the how the stubble that grazed his cheeks seemed to beg to be stroked. No, because noticing those things would be ridiculous. She hated him. Niklaus Mikaelson, with his posh accent and stupid smirk that clearly sent a chill down her spine. A chill of disgust. Certainly not one of pleasure. Seriously.
"Well, you're out of luck, because I'm on my way out," she said, shifting the purse on her shoulder as she made her way to the front door.
"Yes, for lunch with your mother, if I recall," Klaus said, rising to his feet and following her into the hall. "It just so happens that the two I called today for my truck said it would be fixed and ready to go within the hour, so I thought that I would tag along."
Caroline stopped, whirling around to face him, her blonde curls nearly smacking him in the face, he was so close to her. "You are not tagging along."
"Oh come on, love, you can drop me at the garage on the way back."
"No!" Caroline protested. Klaus raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her outburst, and she stopped for a moment to take a breath, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Look, I can give you a ride to the garage, but you can't come to lunch with me. I haven't seen my mother in five years, Klaus, so it's going to be awkward enough without having to explain why some British stranger is sharing the table with us."
"I didn't mean to imply I would be joining you, Caroline," Klaus said, clasping his hands together behind his back. "I merely meant that I'd have a seat at the bar, have a drink and a bite until you had finished with your mother. I'm imposing enough, asking for a lift, I wouldn't dream of intruding on your time with her."
Caroline lowered her hand, shifting on her feet slightly. "Oh," she said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't…" She laughed, uncomfortable, as she looked up into his blue eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little stressed."
"It's quite alright, Caroline," he said, smiling softly. "I can wait for Rebekah to return, if it's a bother to you."
"No, no it's fine," she insisted, sighing. "Really. It's not a problem."
Klaus smiled, nodding. "Very well then," he said, stepping around her and motioning for her to go ahead of him as he placed one hand at the base of her back. "Shall we?"
Caroline nodded, smiling at him, all while trying to not admit that the feel of his hand on her back sent shivers down her spine.
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The Mystic Grill was exactly the same. It was as if nothing had changed in five years.
It was an understatement to say that it made Caroline very uneasy.
"Caroline!"
Caroline barely had time to register her name being called before she was enveloped in a pair of strong arms and pulled into a crushing hug. She staggered a bit before she caught her footing, smiling softly when she recognized the familiar scent of Bonnie Bennett, and wrapped her arms around her old friend in return.
"Hey Bon."
Bonnie pulled back, keeping her hands firmly on Caroline's forearms as she looked her friend over. Her long dark hair cascaded around her dark face, and her lips were turned up in the first welcoming smile Caroline had seen since she arrived.
"How are you, Care? I'm so sorry I missed the engagement party last night. Work has been insane."
Caroline laughed. "It's fine, Bonnie. And I'm good. You know…settling in a bit. I'm just meeting my mom for lunch right now…" She trailed off, noticing how Bonnie's eyes were now focused on the man standing behind them. "Oh, sorry, Bonnie this is Klaus. He's Rebekah's brother."
Bonnie's eyes brightened a bit at that, and she nodded, reaching out to shake his hand. "Right, of course. Stefan mentioned that one of her brothers was getting into town early for the wedding. I'm Bonnie Bennett. It's nice to meet you."
Klaus smiled politely, shaking her hand. "A pleasure, Bonnie."
"Bonnie went to high school with me and Stefan," Caroline said, smiling. Klaus nodded, returning his hands to their place in the pockets of his jacket. "Anyway, Bon…I'm really sorry to cut this short, but I see my mom over there, so…"
"Oh, no it's fine," Bonnie said, shaking her head and waving a hand in the air. "I actually was just on my way out. I have a staff meeting in, like, half an hour at the high school I need to get to anyway. But…we should catch up. You know…talk."
Caroline didn't miss the tone in her friend's voice, and she nodded, shrugging. "Absolutely. Just…swing by the boarding house whenever. I'll be here for a while yet."
Bonnie smiled, nodding, and reached out to pull her into a hug again. "I've missed you, Care."
Caroline closed her eyes, nodding. "I missed you, too." She pulled away, smiling. "Come by in a few days. We'll have girl talk and just catch up."
Bonnie nodded, and glanced over at Klaus once more. "It was nice to meet you." Klaus merely nodded in reply, smirking slightly, and Bonnie waved a farewell, maneuvering around them and heading out the door.
Caroline let out a breath, dropping her hands to her sides. "Well, that's one more awkward encounter I can cross off my list," she said, shaking her head when she heard Klaus chuckle at her side. "Anyway, the bar's over there, clearly. The burgers here are great, but I will remind you that it's barely noon, and I am on an anti-overindulgence on alcohol kick, so try to take it easy."
"No worries, darling," Klaus said, smirking at her as he made his way towards the bar. "I'll be fit as a fiddle to drive myself home. I'd be foolish to overindulge in the presence of the sheriff's daughter, after all."
Caroline laughed, shaking head as she watched him take a seat at the bar and smile at the pretty waitress that made her way towards him. She kept her gaze on him for a moment longer, a part of her wanting him to turn and look at her once more—which she didn't understand, because, hello? They didn't like each other, remember?—but his attention stayed focused on the brunette and the menu in front of him. She sighed, knowing that she'd put off the inevitable long enough, and made her way towards the table in the back of the Grill, where the familiar form of her mother sat with her back towards her. She took a deep breath, and stopped just behind her mother's chair. She forced a smile onto her face.
"Hey, Mom."
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Klaus kept his back to the dining area, knowing that if he turned even for the slightest second, his gaze would stay riveted on Caroline Forbes. She was like some unnatural siren. No matter what she did, her every action drew him in. He'd found it so hard to focus when he was being introduced to the Bennett girl, so distracted by the softness of her hair as it had brushed against his skin when she'd turned to face him. She was stunning, in the very essence of the word.
And she was a distraction he didn't need.
He smiled at the waitress as she placed his meal in front of him, ignoring the way her green eyes seemed to linger on him a moment longer than they should have, and raised the glass of bourbon to his lips.
"Bourbon for brunch. My kind of guy."
His gaze slid to his left, and met the hazy eyes of the man that sat there. He frowned for a moment, trying to place where he knew the blue eyed man from, before he recalled seeing him the night before, cornering Caroline at the party. Stefan's brother, he remembered Rebekah mentioning t him.
"Damon Salvatore," he said, nodding at him. He recalled his sister's distaste for the elder brother, and from Caroline's reaction the previous evening, came to the conclusion that it was more than likely a universal opinion.
Damon grinned, raising his own glass in acknowledgement. "The one and only," he said, smirking. "And you are the prodigal Mikaelson brother, I presume. Rebekah has not stopped talking about you."
His words were slurring together slightly, a testament obviously to the amount of drinks the young man had already consumed. Klaus wondered if he had ever actually stopped since last night.
"She's had a few choice words to say about you as well, mate," he said, setting his glass on the countertop and turning to his food. "So I'd suggest you move to another portion of the bar."
Damon scoffed, ignoring the warning and sliding into the barstool next to him. Klaus glowered at him from the corner of his eye, but kept his controlled posture. "Well, aren't you a ray of freaking sunshine. You'd think hanging out with Barbie Forbes you'd be a bit more chipper. Not that, you know, she has ANY cause to be chipper, but it just comes naturally to her, I guess. Defense mechanism or something like that."
His words piqued Klaus' interest, especially since they were concerning Caroline, and he turned his body to half face the man at his side. "Defense mechanism against what, might I implore?"
"Against everything. The gossip, the glares, the very taboo-ness of her even coming back to this God forsaken town after what happened. She's an idiot for that move, I'll tell you that."
Klaus gritted his teeth, tightening his grip around the glass in his hand. "It's an act of idiocy, returning to your hometown?" he leveled out, outraged and confused over his reaction to the man's insult toward Caroline. Why did he care so much?
"For Caroline Forbes, you bet your ass it is," he said, throwing back his scotch and signaling the bartender for another one. "I mean, kudos to her, for having the guts to endure the attention she's going to be getting over the next couple months. She loooves my brother." He smirked, shaking his head. "He really is the only one that could get her to come back here after all. But, I mean, if I were here, I would have stayed far, far away, and never looked back."
"And why is that?"
Damon frowned, looking over at him. "Because there isn't anything left for her here. Apart from Stefan. And her mom, though, Liz is far from Mother of the Year. Married to the job and all that."
Klaus nodded, risking a glance over his shoulder. Caroline was sitting across from her mother, an uncomfortable look on her face as she stared down at her salad. He couldn't make out the conversation from his place at the bar, but from the strained looks on both the Forbes' women's faces, he didn't guess they gushing about how much they'd missed each other.
"Stefan was selfish, asking Caroline to come back here."
Klaus tore his gaze away from the blondes at the table, and looked back to Damon, who was staring intently into his half empty glass. He frowned.
"He wanted her here for the wedding. But it was a huge thing asking her to come back here and face all this. She's a tough cookie, Caroline…but there are some things you just can't handle."
"You'll have to excuse me, Damon," Klaus said, taking a drink of his bourbon as he eyed him intently. "I'm new to town. I'm afraid Caroline's history is a bit of a blank slate for me."
Damon sighed, crossing his arms on the counter and leaning forward, his eyes fixed on something in the distance that only he could see. "Caroline Forbes is a bigger black sheep in Mystic Falls than I am." He smirked, glancing over at Klaus. "And that's saying something. Because half of this town hates me."
He believed that, Klaus thought, Rebekah's description of him ringing in his head. "Yes, well, that would be because of your own foolish and immature choices, Damon. No fault but your own. But, tell me, how would Caroline be worse off than you?"
Damon scoffed, pushing away from the counter and reaching behind the bar for the bottle of scotch the waitress had left unattended. He whistled as he poured himself a generous drink, wincing when the amber liquid overflowed the glass. He set the bottle down, licking his fingers as he raised the glass to his lips, peering over the rim at Klaus.
"She killed the town's Golden Family."
Klaus's eyes snapped up to his, his mouth opening slightly as he cocked his head, as if wondering if he heard him right.
Damon smirked.
"Yeah. It's a real buzz kill, ain't it?"
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Dun-dun-dun!
Gasp! What did Damon mean? Was it just the booze talking? Or is Caroline really hiding a darker secret than Klaus suspected….
Please sound off in the reviews! You all know how much I love to hear your reaction! I'm hard at work on the next chapter, so I won't hold you in suspense for too long!
