Kol popped out of the car first. He impatiently waited for Caroline, Klaus, and Elijah to get out, propping his foot against the curb. He put his arm around Caroline's shoulder and gave her a look of relief. "Good times, Care. It doesn't look a day over as we left it."
Caroline looked back at the Salvatore boarding house. She watched as the population of Mystic Falls was practically pouring into the foyer. "No, it does not."
"Well let's get this hell of a ride over with, shall we?" Elijah said fixing his tie. He clenched his jaw as he walked with Klaus and the rest of his family.
Caroline smiled at him, "You were the one that wanted to come here, remember?"
"Yes, what's the matter brother? Scared of the doppleganger?" Kol smirked. Elijah pursed his lips and glared at him. Kol started again, "Well that's not a pleasant face."
"Now Kol, no need to be pestering. I'm sure Elijah will have his own fun tonight," Klaus decided to join in the fun. When they entered, Caroline was definitively taken back. It reminded her of Elena's 18th birthday party. The only difference was the adults and council were everywhere. Kol and Caroline had been following Klaus and Elijah since they stepped through the door, but Caroline had already known where they were headed.
"It looks like our guest have arrived," Damon chimed from a distance admiring the new family. He was around Matt and Stefan. Damon silently counted four family members walking towards him. Damon quickly put on a confused face, knowing one was absent.
The Originals and Caroline walked towards the trio. Klaus's arms were around her waist. Caroline's head started to spin, but she put on a brave face, showing no emotion at all. Damon gave Caroline a wink, resulting in a huge eye roll at him. Same old Damon, Caroline thought.
"Welcome to Mystic Falls," Damon said happily, "I'm Damon, and this Matt Donavan and my brother, Stefan Salvatore." He pointed towards Stefan in which he gave a polite smile.
"Kol Mikaelson," Kol said proudly like it was the most important name in the family. "This is my brother Elijah, my other brother Klaus, and his lovely girlfriend Caroline." He shook hands with Damon, followed by Matt and Stefan.
Damon looked at Kol sternly, he put his index finger towards his lips, "Have we met?"
Caroline's heart skipped a beat. She clenched her fists together in waiting silence for Kol to respond. They know, Caroline thought. How do they know? She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Kol. Say something! Seconds felt like hours in that moment.
Kol laughed. Of course, not of the reason that everyone around him might have thought. Damon had said the same thing to him when they first met. Well, it wasn't the first time they had met or else Damon would have never thought he knew Kol from somewhere. He was completely amused by the fact that they had no idea. "Well, I've met a lot of people, and you don't particularly stand out.
"Wait, isn't there supposed to be five of you?" Stefan asked. "At least, that's what I've heard."
"Yes, it seems our sister didn't feel like tagging along. It's a shame though, she likes parties like this." Klaus answered. Caroline looked back at Matt for his reaction. They locked eyes for about a second or two. He looked lonely as hell. She gave him a sad smile, but he quickly darted his eyes away from her very awkwardly.
"I'm going to go meet the town. It was a pleasure meeting you boys, but if you'll excuse me," Caroline walked away giving Klaus an I'll be fine look. He nodded and let go of her arm.
Rebekah sat in her bedroom watching a tv show, hardly paying attention to it. She stood up from the bed and started pacing back and forth. I most definitively will not go to that party, she thought. She turned the television off and tapped her fingers on the bedpost. She knew that everyone in Mystic Falls was going to be at the event. A party in which Kol was going to be obsessing over the Bennett, Elijah goggling Elena, and Klaus remembering a time where he and Stefan were good ripper buddies. Rebekah was lonely as hell doing nothing. She pouted in frustration as she opened her closet door finding something to wear. I most definitively will not go to that party.
Caroline walked through the crowd hoping to find someone she knew. At the corner of her eyes, she spotted a long haired brunette whose arm was around a curly haired girl. She forbid herself to go towards them, but was reminded of the good times she had with them. Despite leaving on a bad note, Caroline knew that she would always having a special place in her heart for them. Caroline quietly walked towards the two girls.
"Hi," Caroline said shyly. "Um, I'm sorry, I'm part of the new family in town. I'm Caroline." She waited for Bonnie or Elena to speak, but they just stood there. Caroline Forbes had never put herself in a more uncomfortable situation.
"Elena," the dark haired girl spoke up. "I'm Elena and this is Bonnie."
"Nice to meet you, Caroline," Bonnie spoke kindly. "So, how are you enjoying Mystic Falls?"
"It's new," Caroline lied. "It's a stretch from Chicago, but I'm learning to adjust."
Elena's phone buzzed for the third time. "I'm so sorry for leaving, but Damon keeps ringing me non-stop. I should probably go find him. It was nice meeting you, though." She smiled and nudged past Caroline and crowd.
"So, tell me more about the people in this town. Are there any witches, werewolves, ghosts?" Caroline asked. She wanted get at least two things straight about the people here; Tyler and her mother.
"I'm a Bennett witch," Bonnie explained. Caroline and Bonnie started to walk around the house, making sure no one could here their conversation. "There are no ghosts, but Elena's little brother can see them from time to time. A man named Tyler Lockwood was a werewolf. He used to live here but about a year ago, he died."
"He died?" Caroline felt her stomach twist and gulped hard. Caroline didn't know what to feel. She had no feeling left for Tyler, but he was still her friend. He played a major role in helping him transition into becoming a werewolf, and he did the same to her when she became a vampire. "How?"
"His heart was ripped out. No one knows why, how, or any of the details. We just found him lying there… dead," Bonnie's face was emotionless, like she wanted nothing to do with the subject. "His mom decided to skip town after that and many people tried to talk her out of it. Suspicion grew, and people thought to believe that she killed him. I knew better though. Only the supernatural could do that kind of damage. She went crazy and killed four council member, including the sheriff."
Caroline's stomach twisted again. Her mother and Tyler were both dead. She turned her face down trying to hold in tears. She bit her lip and had a sour face. After a couple of moments, she put on a brave face and turned her head upwards.
"I think I'm going to go meet the rest of the town. I'll see you later?" Caroline gave a weary smile.
"Sure," Bonnie smiled, "Yeah and sorry for the depressing story. Terrible things always happen in this town."
"It's fine," Caroline put her hand up to her cheek.
She walked past Bonnie looking for a quiet place to calm herself. Luckily, she found a secluded hallway upstairs that led to bedrooms if Caroline remembered correctly. She sat down on a mahogany bench right outside Damon's room. Caroline cupped her hands to her cheeks and let out a deep sigh. She wiped the small tears that formed earlier and closed her eyes. She then heard murmuring and it didn't take too long for Caroline to know that she was being talked about. The word liar was being whispered which sparked her attention. She turned on her hearing senses and listened closely.
"I'm telling you right now Elena, I know him from somewhere. I just can't put my finger on it," Damon pleaded. Caroline widened her eyes and waited for Elena's response.
"Are you sure it's not the amount of alcohol you've consumed tonight? Damon, they're actually nice people and Kol said he never knew you, he's probably not lying." Elena reasoned.
"No, there is something sketchy about this family, and I'm going to find out what it is," Damon threatened. "I know that this isn't the first time I've met Kol." He sounded so sure of it.
"Can we just talk about this tomorrow?" Elena asked. Caroline heard footsteps coming towards her and used her speed to hide behind a statue at the other side of the hallway. Elena walked right past her and Caroline sighed. She went back to the bench knowing that Damon would not be leaving his room anytime soon.
Then, Caroline's phone started buzzing from her clutch. She opened it as fast as she could, trying to turn the cellphone off but was shoved against a wall with Damon's hands around her neck.
"You were listening to that whole conversation, weren't you Blondie? You know, you might have Elena fooled, but I know better," Damon scoffed. "And if you're as strong as a vampire as they say, why aren't you fighting back? Why-"
It happened so quickly. Caroline saw a flash and with one hit Damon was on the floor. Elijah shoved Damon against the wall and pursed his lips.
"I suggest you leave," Elijah said, his voice crisp and clear. He let go of Damon. He just stood there not moving a muscle.
"Are you challenging me?" Elijah said in a incredulous tone. He cocked his head to the side. Damon gave him a slight nod.
"Very well then," Elijah twisted Damon's neck in the quickest way possible. Caroline gasped and put her hand up to her mouth. It's not like Elijah permanently killed Damon, he just temporarily killed him. Elijah put his hand on the small of Caroline's back, ushering her to leave.
Rebekah entered the Boarding house looking for anyone she knew. She walked over to the kitchen looking for a drink. At the corner of her eye, she saw Elijah and Caroline coming down from the stairs. She smiled almost walking over to them, but was stopped by a voice behind her.
"So just for the record, when were you going to tell me?" Matt appeared behind Rebekah. She quickly turned around to see him with a lonely look on his face. He looked just as hurt as when he left her that afternoon.
"Look, if you're going to take pleasure in making me feel bad every chance you get, I suggest you leave," Rebekah scowled. She tried to turn and walk away but Matt's arm quickly grabbed her and pulled her towards him.
"I..." he sighed. A moment passed, "I wasn't trying to make you feel bad."
"Then why are you doing this? What's your angle here, Matt?" Rebekah asked tired of fighting. She tried to look for Caroline or any of her family but they were nowhere to be seen. With no luck, she looked down out her heels.
"It's just-" Matt started.
Rebekah's voice softened, barely above a whisper, "And what is it that makes me worse than the rest of your friends, huh? I've done nothing to you."
That was partially true. Rebekah had done damage to Matt and his friends in the past. But for someone who supposed to have a clean slate, Rebekah had already damaged it. She had already damaged the one thing she was looking forward to coming back to Mystic Falls. Matt just stood there silently. Rebekah gave up, turning around, her blonde hair almost whipping him in the face, and went to find Caroline or someone to talk to.
"I have to find my family, Matt," Rebekah reasoned. She walked away looking for Elijah and Caroline. They had not gone far, but were already at the door with Klaus and Kol.
"There's our girl," Kol chimed. "I thought you weren't coming?"
"I decided to drop by," Rebekah retorted. "You're leaving already?" Rebekah asked. Caroline nodded at her. Elijah opened the door about to walk outside.
"I'll tell you at home," Caroline said wrapping her arm around Rebekah's shoulder.
"Yes Caroline, why don't you tell her how you temporarily killed my brother and that I found him lying on the floor unconscious? Katherine told us everything about you guys." Stefan asked harshly. The Originals turned around to find Elena, Bonnie, and the rest of them standing behind Stefan.
"He strangled Caroline to begin with. I was doing her a favor," Elijah stood in front of Stefan. Elijah Mikaelson was not one to be tricked or messed with when it came to his loved ones.
Klaus shoved Stefan almost knocking Elena over, "Don't dare tell me your brother put a hand on her. And Katerina Petrova? You're going to believe her of all people."
Stefan pushed Klaus knocking Caroline over. A fight broke out between the Originals and Matt and Stefan. There were punches thrown, swearing, and many shouting. The town gathered around to watch. Finally, it was broken up by Caroline and Rebekah, because no doubt Elena and Bonnie could have done anything progressive.
"We're leaving. Now," Rebekah said pushing Kol and Elijah outside the door.
Caroline and Klaus left together trailing behind the others.
AN: I always wanted to play out why Damon thought he'd met Kol before in 3x14. There is more to explain and many questions to be answered in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! Review, love.